This has come to the attention of the general public because of the movie ‘Awake.’ 30,000 people a year are mentally alert during surgery. They are physically paralized, but feel every cut and hear everything around them. I’ve known about it, and am choosing to blog about it, because it happened to me when my son was born. Because of the way my spine curves, having an epidural and being awake during my c-section was not supposed to be an option. I was supposed to be under general anestesia.

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A Japanese Court ordered Toyota to pay compensation to the widow of an employee that courts ruled was literally worked to death.  The deceased had logged more than 106 hours of OVERTIME in the month before his death.  Toyota tried to wiggle out of paying the compensation by claiming he’d only worked a mere 45 hours overtime, which is why it went to court, and we get to read about it.

Working people to death is apparently a serious problem in Japan.  In the fiscal year 2005-2006 the labor ministry received 315 requests for compensation from families’ who had a loved one worked to death.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071130/od_nm/overwork_dc;_ylt=AhwQWscfuOg5WTGtj.Xp7QHtiBIF

The people of Venezuela said no to dictatorship and yes to democracy this weekend by defeating Chavez’s proposed constitutional amendment that would have let him hold office indefinitely and broadened his powers as president.

Don’t get me wrong.  I actually kind of like Chavez and think he might be well intentioned, but putting that much power in the hands of one person is never-ever a good idea.  “Absolute power corrupts absolutely!”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071203/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/venezuela_constitution