tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-165184682012-05-21T02:13:43.016-04:00Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-49504194201666919302011-11-24T12:09:00.000-05:002011-11-24T12:09:06.165-05:00

Italian Prosecution of Asbestos Boss Heads to a Verdict | Common DreamsThe verdict will be issued on February 13, 2011.

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-67418895503720054802011-09-09T12:52:00.000-04:002011-09-09T12:52:26.106-04:00

Reuters reports on today's House hearing on asbestos trusts and possible frauds associated with how claims are filed and paid. The allegations are that:1) claimants double dip by collecting money from in courts and from the asbestos trust funds in excess to their value;2) claimants back up claims for conditions that are not disabling with fraudulent evidence3) claimants contradictory reports in

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-54920572939155541102011-09-05T15:07:00.000-04:002011-09-05T15:07:25.126-04:00

On 9/26/11 at 6:30 EST, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization - ADAO will broadcast in form of a livestreaming screening “Breathtaking”, a documentary by Kathleen Mullen who, upon her father’s death from an asbestos-related disease, ventures into a journey exploring current present-day use of asbestos in Canada and internationally.

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-81386538763426299452011-08-01T12:08:00.000-04:002011-08-01T12:08:18.547-04:00

Commentary published in Agenda Coscioni (in Italian) on Evans & Kelley's US attitudes toward human embryonic stem cell research.The authors reports the finding of a 2009 US survey that shows that Americans are in favor of deriving human embryonic stem cells via somatic cell nuclear transfer--or better than they do not appreciate differences between deriving these cells from supernumerary embryos

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-3322743544806207802011-06-17T12:57:00.001-04:002011-06-17T12:58:00.899-04:00

NDP's semi-principled stand on asbestos is an interesting commentary assessing the anti-asbestos argument coming from the left in Canada. Here is one of the paragraphs:The arguments against asbestos, however, are logical rather than emotional. And the single argument in its defence -that it's harmless if used correctly -is laughable. In 2010, the top three markets for Canadian asbestos were India

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-56944088183548305872011-05-28T00:54:00.000-04:002011-05-28T00:54:55.821-04:00

This week's Providence Business News reports about shareholders' annual meeting at CVS. I was interviewed as part of the report with regard to the justification and value of these meetings. Link: Annual meetings elicit mostly yawns - PBN.com - Providence Business News

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-76657611744202274642011-05-02T23:56:00.000-04:002011-05-02T23:56:19.662-04:00

Canadians voters have handed Prime Minister Stephen Harper his first-ever majority government. During the campaign, Harper indicated that if he won the elections and the conservatives won majority government, he would work towards supporting the asbestos industry and the notion that asbestos should be reintroduced in Canadians' homes. While one can understand the concern for the local economy,

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-47426296517733512902010-07-14T15:50:00.001-04:002010-07-14T23:16:49.025-04:00

A Spanish court has for the first time ordered a firm to pay millions of euros in compensation to residents whose health was harmed by exposure to asbestos from one of its factories. These cases are known as cases of "environmental exposure." Previously, Spanish courts had awarded damages only to victims who had been exposed to asbestos in the course of their employment ("professional exposure

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-60233171010530683172010-05-26T13:30:00.000-04:002010-05-26T13:30:11.527-04:00

Prosecutor Baltasar Garzón hits the headlines once again. Famous for prosecuting Mr. Pinochet in the late 1990s, Garzón investigated a series of complaints relating to more than 100,000 cases of enforced disappearances that are alleged to have occurred during the Spanish civil war and the regime of General Francisco Franco. The case is now ripe for trial. Yet, this trial is not welcomed by some

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-38635821295943842682010-05-23T22:04:00.000-04:002010-05-23T22:04:04.337-04:00

I am reading a Seth Borgos's chapter on industrial policy in the US (published in 'Managing Modern Capitalism: Industrial Renewal and Workplace Democracy in the United States and Western Europe' a book edited by Hancock and colleagues in 1991) and on page 75 I found this interesting observation with regard to the 1980 bailout of Chrysler: Chrysler Corporation embodied the ills of American

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-17818230704628120672010-04-26T14:49:00.000-04:002010-04-26T14:49:23.447-04:00

WIPO celebrates IP day. Emphatically, WIPO proclaims that:WIPO is dedicated to ensuring that the intellectual property system continues to serve its most fundamental purpose of encouraging innovation and creativity; and that the benefits of the system are accessible to all – helping to bring the world closer.WIPO's optimism seems to be odd with the growing sense that the IP system is hugely

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-74253214766960521202010-03-31T23:28:00.000-04:002010-03-31T23:28:12.391-04:00

One of my papers on biobanks and genetic research appears in the latest issue of Critical Public Health. The paper (titled 'Biobanks and the 'well-being' of humanity: integrating consent to research with the capability approach') explores if and how the capability approach--an approach proposed by political philosophers Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum--can help us think about ethical, legal and

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-79502336474340416352010-03-26T07:33:00.001-04:002010-03-26T07:35:19.589-04:00

I published a short piece on the role of the USA and the EU with regard to advancing human rights. The point I make is simple: during the past decade, the USA has severely damaged its credibility as human rights promoter in the eyes of the international community (and by 'community,' I primarily refer to people rather than governments and international organizations). Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, the

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-30427399295925170992010-03-24T10:58:00.000-04:002010-03-24T10:58:06.826-04:00

[published with Andrea Ballabeni in the World Congress for Freedom of Scientific Research the bulletin, Number 10 (March 2010)] The scientific and political fate of human embryonic stem cells (hESC) is unsteady. In 2010, their use is still contested, and lab research suffers from that. It is increasingly clear that researchers need them, want to use them, and plan to use them for a long time.

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-73535822892493776242010-03-15T09:53:00.001-04:002010-03-15T09:58:08.380-04:00

Laszlo Andor, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, indicated that the EU Commission will monitor the Eternit trial held in Torino as the implications for EU law. The EU Commission had touched upon asbestos disease several times in the recent past. Two examples are:1) In 2003, it had issued a Recommendation 'concerning the European schedule of occupational diseases':

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-41496644008128316832010-02-19T15:16:00.002-05:002010-03-15T09:59:11.916-04:00

After blogging about Lessig's remarks on the US Congress, I thought about what would happen if an Italian professor were to write the same things about the Italian Parliament. Would he or she be considered to be a thinker, an intellectual, who has something to contribute to the political debate? Would he or she be asked to talk or write on major networks, magazine, and radio programs? Well (the

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-67049482481523666232010-02-17T18:22:00.000-05:002010-03-15T09:59:11.916-04:00

Recently, NPR’s On Point dedicated a segment on the issue of influence of influence of the private sector on policy—which happens to be one of my research interests. Building upon the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the radio program featured Larry Lessig, who recently published a thoughtful piece in The Nation in which the Harvard professor argues that

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-30530674828646307612010-02-16T11:26:00.000-05:002010-03-15T09:58:16.315-04:00

A judge in Torino is hearing an asbestos criminal case against two major shareholder of Eternit SA. After a few hearings, the trial is not open. Pretrial motion are in fact still pending. 6392 victims filed motions to intervene as civil claimants in the trial. Under Italian law (as well as under the law of several European jurisdictions), a person entitled to recover (under tort law or criminal

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-50077027924705648212010-02-13T14:54:00.003-05:002010-03-15T09:58:29.228-04:00

For the Italian readers: I just published the paper La procreazione medicalmente assistita tra diritto e clinica: il ruolo del medico (Medically assisted reproduction between legal and clinical practice: the role of the physician) in 'Pratica Medica e Aspetti Legali', an Italian medical journal published by SEEd edizioni, in which I discuss the professional, legal and ethical responsibility of

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-81955610006811364642010-01-02T19:33:00.001-05:002010-01-02T19:36:06.945-05:00

The 2009 scholarship roundup published by the Mass Tort Litigation Blog lists three papers that address mass torts from a comparative perspective. Seeing papers discussing mass torts from a comparative angle is certainly good news as, traditionally, American legal scholarship and law school curricula have ignored (sometimes even dismissed) such valuable perspective. Here are some of the papers (

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-56272567592732366412009-12-30T18:52:00.003-05:002009-12-30T19:00:50.673-05:00

The World Congress for Freedom of Scientific Research published data on the freedom of research and cure in Brazil collected by some of my students at Bryant University in the Fall of 2008 when I taught the class Science, Law and Human Values.A discussion of the overall purposes and methodology the study are available here. Anybody interested in helping with data collection in Brazil (by

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-63447675024918859962009-12-29T14:20:00.003-05:002009-12-29T14:23:06.815-05:00

The review appearing in the November 2009 issue of the WHO Bulletin is authored by Richard Smith of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-45478665992868965532009-11-25T13:39:00.001-05:002009-11-25T13:42:55.346-05:00

I have been blogging irregularly about various topics. At one point, I turned off the comments. Sometimes it feels that things are published online get easily lost in the tons of information that every second are added to the Internet. Yet, recently, a person wrote me and asked to blog about some news (here is the blog entry that followed that request). The famous Italian writer Alessandro

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-47733538732158336852009-11-25T12:57:00.002-05:002009-11-25T13:02:28.254-05:00

I have been asked to comment on the enactment of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). Title II of this law came into effect a few days ago. Under Title II, an employer may not ‘discriminate against any employee with respect to the compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment … because of genetic information.’ I do not feel particularly qualified to speak about

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16518468.post-57892946505861845802009-11-06T17:46:00.002-05:002009-11-06T17:52:20.847-05:00

It was 1947, and Marvel comics created the Asbestos Lady, a blonde-haired, brown-eyed knockout with a green mini-skirt, a purple cape, and a flamethrower with which she will try to take over the world! She wasn't a heroin: she a villain, which is certainly much more in tune with the properties of the 'mineral killer' underlining her powers.

Andrea Boggionoreply@blogger.com0