My dad was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the prime of his life.

We have to speak up. We have to solve this democracy this We have sclerosis in our democracy. And we have to change that.

Another agreement between NASA and the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Association of America will use the technology developed for cooling systems in space suits to develop cool suit technology for victims of MS who have trouble regulating internal body temperature.

In the 1980 s, Scandinavian countries stood for chronic budget deficits, high inflation, and repeated devaluations. In 1999, The Economist labeled Germany the sick man of the euro a monument of European sclerosis, with low growth and high unemployment.

BEIRUT Revolution across the Arab world has forced the region s peoples and governments to grapple with the need for change. Years of sclerosis have given way to a frantic push for reforms to match the aspirations and discontent of millions.

While most transition countries have experienced this phenomenon, the transition pains of Bosnia and Herzegovina have been compounded by the fact that the reform process has faltered and, on occasion, broken down completely amid national political infighting and institutional sclerosis.

UTRECHT Gloria Taylor, a Canadian, has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig s disease. Over a period of a few years, her muscles will weaken until she can no longer walk, use her hands, chew, swallow, speak, and ultimately, breathe.

Is this something that democracies, especially immature ones with fragile institutions of the rule of law and freedom of speech, are simply bad at, when compared with authoritarian regimes? Certainly, what these stumbling economies are guilty of is a failure to learn from Singapore, a system whose managed democracy is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and which has successfully avoided the sort of interest group sclerosis and corruption that is holding back Brazil, for example.