The Sault Star from Sault St. Marie, Ontario, Canada • 20

BIO THE SAUU STAR TUESDAY JANUARY 13 2004 CanadaWorld Vitamin protects against MS two US studies suggest "What I'm saying is that it is possible perhaps in some people and Fm saying some people who may be in high-risk groups And if we can identify what identifies the people who may re- development of the disease isn't new MS rates are highest in places like Canada where there are long winters with little exposure to sunlight Consequently researchers have been exploring the possible vitamin link for sometime Vitamin is a rarity among nutrients Few foods contain it with fortified milk and fatty fish like salmon and mackerel being exceptions For the most part we get vitamin from sunlight Australian researchers have found thatpeople who spent mote time in the sun when they were children were less likely to develop MS as adults And American researchers have shown that vitamin can inhibit development of an animal model of the disease in mice began in 1976 have followed more than 1B7000 healthy women for several decades monitoring their diets exercise levels and other lifestyle factors that contribute to health and disease The studies have been gold-mines for researchers But observational studies just watch people as opposed to testing out interventions have limitations It was the nurses studies for instance which led to the conclusion that hormone replacement therapy was protective against heart disease That theory has since been debunked In this case the researchers found 173 women in the study developed multiple sclerosis When they ran statistical analyses they found that women taking a multivitamin includ ing 400 units of vitamin seemed to protect against developing MS The findings cannot be extrapolated to address whether vitamin vwuld also be protective for men lead author Kassandra Munger said in an interview speaking it seems plausible but 1 feel comfortable in men and I think we keep it to just the Women are twioe as likely as men to develop MS It's estimated that 50000 Canadians have the disease About 100 people per 100000 in Canada have MS oneoftn highest rates of the disease in -the world In some countries the rate is as low as five cases per 100000 The idea that vitamin or the lack thereof might be involved in TORONTO (CP) Findings from two landmark US studies suggest women who get vitamin supplements through a multivitamin are 40 per cent less likely to develop multiple sclerosis than women who donl take supplementsi But Canadian experts suggest that while an inadequate level of vitamin probably plays a role in the development of VIS in some cases a daily multivitamin for every woman won't make the disease go away "If you ask me do I think if all women take an extra-high supplementation of vitamin that we're going to eradicate MS my answer would be no" said Dr Dessa Sadovnick a principal investigator in a major ongoing study of multiple sclerosis in Canada spond we may reduce how many would get MS if we could intervene at the appropriate time" "But this is certainly not something that is around tire Sadovnick was responding to a paper written by researchers from Harvard school of public health to be published Tuesday in the journal Neurology The study was funded by the US National Institutes of Health The researchers looked at data from two massive observational studies of American nurses The studies which Minister starts pre-budget talks Goodale emphasizes tight spending in the offing for use of tax dollar' JOVAN STRIKA IS BUNDLED UP against the cold weather as he walks down a street in Old Montreal Monday The temperature warmed to -15C but is expected to drop to the minus thirties during the week for Ontario Tory leadership Flaherty to run TORONTO (CP) Former Ontario cabinet minister Tim Hudak confirmed Monday he seek the leadership of the provincial Conservatives and will instead support the bid of friend and colleague Jim Flaherty Since Flaherty has been a mentor and dose friend from a personal level it would be difficult to oppose Jim out of friendship and said Hudak 36 who will act as cochair of campaign 1 look forward to playing a key role in his campaign when the leadership race gets For his part Flaherty who was among those who challenged eventual eral race to choose a leader for the new Conservative Party of Canada is over Flaherty added "We wouldn't want those races to he said noting that simultaneous Tbry conventions would divert attention staff and funds Eves has suggested leave "sooner rather than Flaherty said adding that he expects the race will begin in a matter of months and a convention could be held in tire summer Other possible contenders include fellow caucus member Frank Klees and former provincial health minister Tbtiy Clement who's also said to be mulling a run for the fiederal party leadership REGINA (CP) Federal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale opened his national pre-budget consultations Monday with a message aimed at quelling any notion there will be money to spend come spring "Sound government finances are an absolute prerequisite to everything we seek to Goodale told a breakfast put cm by the Regina Chamber of Commerce the end we need to keep the size of government growth within the growth of the economy overall We need to achieve the best marginal use of every tax dollar and we need conscientious political oversight accountability ana Goodale will travel across the country in the next two weeks gathering opinions on what direction the first budget under Prime Minister Paul Martin should take That budget is erqiect-ed to come down tire end of Febmary or early March While the name of his tour is Listening to Canadians the underlying message is dear "I think our fiscal situation is tight in this current and coming fiscal Goodale said after his breakfast speech room to manoeuvre will bis relatively small" He attributed the tight financial situation to a sluggish economy a high Canadian dollar that is hurting exports and a series of crises that have strained the public purse He citedfallout from the terrorist attacks of Sept 11 2001 the mad cow scare that has devastated the beef industry Tbronto's SARS outbreak and numerous natural disasters as good reasons to be fiscally prudent you imagine facing the global security turmoil of 911 and its ongoing aftermath plus mad cow disease CP ARCHIVE JOHN BJORNSTROM is escorted into court in Salmon Arm BC on Nov 26 2001 Koturbash described how many of the cabins were burglarized several times over die course of two years Many of die items were later recovered by RCMP from lair a hole carved from solid bed rock in Bushman believed bodies of kids buried near Shuswap Lake hideout Hacker tells fast food customers too fat SARS West Nile virus floods drought a hurricane unprecedented finest fires and a huge power blackout all hitting within a few short months if we still carried a $40-billion annual Goodale asked nation would be a financial basket About the only thing Goodale was prepared to commit to was up to $2 M-lion in additional funding promised to the provinces for health care But he cautioned the amount will depend on the size of the surplus during this fiscal year "The provinces and Canadians can be assured that we are doing everything we possibly can to deliver that incremental $2 billion for health this year short of financing a he said Goodale currently predicts the sur- frius will come in at around $23 bilion He and Treasury Board president Reg Alcock are working to increase that cushion Critics have pointed out the federal government has become known for Goodale said he understands that frustration "But the response should not be an apology for prudence an apology for consistently under-promising and over-performing" he said "Would we want it the other way Goodale was vague when discussing what sort of money will be directed toward new deal for cities 1 He said ideas such as returning a portion of the gas tax to municipalities or handing out larger GST rebates to cities need further study before the government commits to them Montreal is the next stop on the tour He wraps up the week with stops in Tbronto Saskatoon Edmonton and Calgary Other stops are planned for next week the hills not far from a beach where houseboaters frequently moored during summer nights Bjomstrom wearing a tan shirt still bearing the wrinkles of the store packaging and set off with a necktie adjusted a bit too short sat quietly in the dock throughout die hearing Court heard how Bjomstrom first arrived in the Shuswap in 1998 from Calgary apparently on the trail of missing children who he claimed had left from Alberta and hadn't returned alleged that he broke into a number of cabins in 1998 stealing goods in a manner eerily prescient of the spree that would follow in 2000 and 2001 Bjomstrom then left the Shuswap and was arrested in the BC Lower Mainland Kbturbash said He was convicted of break and enter and imprisoned at die Rayleigh prison camp near Kamloops But in September 2001 with 10 weeks left in his 10-month sentence he threw a blanket over a barbed wire fimce and crawled over Bjomstrom walked from Kamloops to Anstey Arm and disappeared into the hills for almost two years appearing when he chose but stayingout of reach and sigttt of legions of RCMP officers including highly trained emergency response teams values into account Sikh policemen are exempt from wearing uniform caps and Sikh motorcyclists don't have to wear helmets according to United Sikhs an international umbrella group The group is rallying Sikhs around the world to the cause with a petition online that it hopes to present tQ French ambassadors There are more than 20 million Sikhs woridwide with most living in India -1 London Sikhs and Muslims plan to march against the French ban Saturday said Mejindarpal Kaur one of the organization's directors saying it an interfaith effort" winner Ernie Eves for the post two years ago confirmed Monday that his sights are again set on becoming Tbry leader intend to run for the leadership of the provincial he said made that dear and there's no ambigu- ity about that" Flaherty said begun to organize his campaign and team but started fundraising yet Although Eves has yet to step down from the top post said let die party know this month when he plans to relinquish the position A leadership convention in Ontario likely take place until the fed- cate the radio hacker if the attacks continue Interference with a telecommunications device is a misdemeanour in Ttoy The culprit if found guilty would face a $500 US fine and up to 92 days in jail No new incidents have been reported and the owner of the Burger King restaurant Tony Versace ex-pressed hope that his franchise had seen the last of the perpetrator "Either seen the evil of his ways and has stopped from persisting in these ridiculous calls or been scared away by the police or maybe just too cold to be outside" said Versace He added the restaurant had taken additional security precautions such as changing the frequency of the two-way radio system Versace said he can see the humour in the situation "If there is ever any rudeness towards a customer the employee can say never said that it was that guy with the So got a built-in excuse GUHwGfeM Still it hurts shocked by this" said Chain Singh president of a temple in Bobigny outride Paris The turban is an artide of faith he says and the idea of appearing in public without one is unthinkable Hie proposed law expected to go before Parliament next month will ban Muslim head scarves Jewish yarmulkes and large crosses in public schools It's likely to go into effect for the next school year Much of the debate has focused on Muslim head scarves Fiance's Muslim population is five million-strong the largest in western Europe Already By DANIEL TENCER CbiWbS Nbw TROY Midi Police in TYoy plan to call in the Federal Communications Commission if a spate of verbal attacks on a drive-through window speaker at a local Burger King continues In thnje separate incidents over the past two weeks customers at the fast food restaurant in this suburb of Detroit were insulted by what they believed was a Burger King employe ee According to Lieut Gerry Scher-linck of the TYoy Police Department me customer was told by the drive-through speaker "You need a couple Whoppers You are too fiat Pull ahead" Police believe a hacker used a remote broadcasting device that operates on the same frequency as the drive-through speaker They think hie was in the vicinity of the restaurant when the attacks took place Scherlinck said the commission had offered to provide the police force with technology that could lo KAMLOOPS BC (CP) A man who lived in an underground hideout while robbing cabins near Shuswap Lake believed the hills surrounding that area hid the graves of missing children and was home to a child pornography ring BC Supreme Court heard Monday John Bjomstrom nicknamed the Bushman of the Shuswap was in court for his sentencing hearing on 10 charges including break and enter theft and extortion along with uttering threats and possessing a firearm while prohibited He pleaded guilty on Dec 31 more than a year after being arrested in the Shuswap backcountry in southern British Columbia by a team of undercover RCMP officers posing as journalists His sentencing hearing is expected to last five days Prosecutor Greg Kbturbash told the court Monday that Bjomstrom said he has not his in die Shuswap and intends to search every one of die more than 1500 cabins on the lake for evidence of wrongdoing For that reason Bjomstrom needs to serve two to four more years in jail Kbturbash said "He was not unlike a said Kbturbash "He was a master at instilling fear in the residents of Shuswap girls have been expelled from school for refusing to shed their veils Few people realize Sikh children face a similar situation said Singh who sent a letter of protest to President Jacques Chirac Parents in some schools negotiated with local officials to let their sons keep the turbans which cover their long unshorn hair Sikh girls also cut their tresses: Some go bareheaded others wear veils and some also wear turbans When the law is passed Singh worries there will be no room for such ne- Sikhs in France oppose government plan to ban religious head gear PARIS (AP) In the First World War Sikhs point out their ancestors wore turbans when they helped the French fight on battlefields Now enraged by a plan to ban religious attire in French classrooms and they say that shedding their winding head coverings is unthinkable Sikh population is tiny from 5000 to 7000 in a country of about 60 million likely why French officials neglected them while they consulted with Muslims Jews and Christians before drawing up proposals to maintain tradition of secularism Sikhs say live without our Singh said even sleep wearing a little turban" The debate over religious symbols in schools has simmered for years but it gained momentum in July when the president appointed a panel to study Ftench secularism The repot the product of six months of work made no mention of Sikhs One commission member said they were not considered not in London" Jacqueline Costa-Lascoux replied simply Britain which today has a large Sikh population has carefully taken Sikh.