SUMMARY: The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said that 84 people in European Union countries died from swine flu in single week earlier this month, compared with 43 the week before. "We are globally entering the acceleration phase" of the pandemic, said Denis Coulombier, head of the ECDC's unit of preparedness and response. "We are heading toward the peak for sure." The pandemic has been most severe in northern countries such as Ireland, Iceland and Russia, with Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands are also experiencing significant levels of the illness.

STORY LINK: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/11/AR2009111126675.html?hpid=sec-health

Col. Vince J. Goulding, USMC (Ret.) is the Director of the Experiment Division at the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, Quantico, VA.  Col. Goulding is an expert on issues concerning Marine Corps experimentation and future force development.  In a recent issue of the Marine Corps Gazette, he outlines areas for enhancement of Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) operations.  Click below to read more.

James Giordano, Ph.D., is the Director of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies' Center for Neurotechnology Studies.  Dr. Giordano says with all the attention currently focused on the issue of traumatic brain injury (TBI), both among returning veterans and in the arena of sports, it's a good time to take a closer look at who's at risk for TBI, how we can lessen that risk, and how to provide better treatment to those who have experienced TBI.  Dr. Giordano says in many cases, signs of TBI can be subtle, and may not emerge for weeks or months following the injury. In addition, we're learning more about causes of TBI - which can occur even in cases where the patient has not suffered a blow directly to the head.  The good news, says Dr. Giordano, is that in recent years we've learned that the brain is not a static organ, and that it retains some ability to remodel and repair itself in our adult years.  Dr. Giordano says the challenge is to find treatments that are "technically right and ethically good" for patients who may face a difficult period of rehabilitation. Click below to see comments by Dr. Giordano on the subject of TBI.  

{flv}Giordano Brain Tauma{/flv}

President Obama is asking his war council for more options in Afghanistan, as deliberations over the way forward continue.  The current commander, General Stanley McChrystal, has asked for thousands more troops. But the US ambassador to Afghanistan has publicly questioned that course of action.  Potomac Institute for Policy Studies Senior Research Associate and counterterrorism expert Chris Brown argues that now is not the time to abandon a counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan; Brown tells Hearst Television that more troops are essential to the mission. See a clip of his interview in the Hearst story here:

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/video/21587806/index.html