Maureen Dowd in last week's NYT slammed the new pope, lamenting that for "cafeteria catholics" that the cafeteria is now closed...
So the mischivious Father Sibley now has made this into a new tee shirt...or if you prefer, a "German shephard" teeshirt with B 16 on it.
Tina Brown, call your office...
FINEST KIND CLINIC AND FISHMARKET.... Discussing medicine, culture, and the joys of cooking Pansit.
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Chocolate!
Reminds me of the old Smother's brother's song...about yelling "fire" when he fell into a vat of chocolate...
Friday, April 29, 2005
Thursday, April 28, 2005
The book you just have to buy...
126 of 136 people found the following review helpful:
The most amazing book I have ever come across, January 16, 2005| Reviewer: | Jamie R. Wilson (Knoxville, TN USA) - See all my reviews |
I am so glad that Amazon.com is offering the "Search Inside This Book" option for this book so that it can be enjoyed by countless other avid readers who otherwise may not have come across it. I wait, impatiently, for the audio CD version of this fine book.
(from improbable research)
it's too darn hot
we are in summer season here...the aircon cools a bit, but it's still hot.
Fiesta starts this weekend, and there is both a dance contest and a singing contest.
The bad news is that the singing contest preliminaries are being held, so we hear bad singing until midnight.
If I'm not "blogging" it's because of thunderstorms and that blogger isn't working too well...
Fiesta starts this weekend, and there is both a dance contest and a singing contest.
The bad news is that the singing contest preliminaries are being held, so we hear bad singing until midnight.
If I'm not "blogging" it's because of thunderstorms and that blogger isn't working too well...
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
condom news
All the PC are complaining that the Catholics are killing people in Africa by opposing condom distribution...
My opinion is that these things deteriorate quickly, and since prostitutes aren't worrying about committing sin in prostitution, why should they worry about using a condom? Answer: They are very poor and customers object.
However, perhaps we should read about Asia, where you can't blame these things on catholics.
HERE...massive condom shortage in Asia.
HERE might suggest why there is such a shortage...
HERE shows how Thailand does it...altho I'm not sure about the cabbages.
My opinion is that these things deteriorate quickly, and since prostitutes aren't worrying about committing sin in prostitution, why should they worry about using a condom? Answer: They are very poor and customers object.
However, perhaps we should read about Asia, where you can't blame these things on catholics.
HERE...massive condom shortage in Asia.
HERE might suggest why there is such a shortage...
HERE shows how Thailand does it...altho I'm not sure about the cabbages.
Stem cells from brains
This BBC report discusses using brain stem cells to cure Diabetes.
Since it's hard to biopsy brains of live people, and since brains in dead people deteriorate very very quickly, I'm not sure why this is supposed to be a better idea than using umbillical cord cells, or fat cells, etc.
However, one paragraph caught my eye...
Since it's hard to biopsy brains of live people, and since brains in dead people deteriorate very very quickly, I'm not sure why this is supposed to be a better idea than using umbillical cord cells, or fat cells, etc.
However, one paragraph caught my eye...
Scientists have already been looking at using stem cells taken from embryos to treat diabetes.
These are primitive "master" cells that can be programmed to become many kinds of tissue.
However, there have been concerns that these cells can turn cancerous, are difficult to work with in the laboratory and raise ethical dilemmas.
Oh, you mean you didn't know stem cells from embryos can turn cancerous? Yup. a major problem. and another problem is overgrowth. I first ran across this last week in Science News (no link) where they noted that if you grow stem cells too long in a lab they turn cancerous, and that this was also a problem with adult stem cells...(usually there are more adult stem cells to start out with, so they don't have to grow as long, so there is less cancer).
So next time you read about all those wonderful cures from embryonic stem cells, remember...they not only don't mention all the actual cures from adult stem cells but this little problem with cancer.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Don't panic!
Good news: H2G2 is near release.
Bad news: The Beeb doesn't like it.
After viewing the photos, it makes one wonder why the production values are so bad...
arthur dent call your office...
Bad news: The Beeb doesn't like it.
After viewing the photos, it makes one wonder why the production values are so bad...
arthur dent call your office...
YUM
Chocolate covered chicheron (fried pork rinds)...but don't worry...they are sugar free...
via boingboing
via boingboing
Friday, April 22, 2005
R.C. LITE
Scott Ott's take on the NYTimes/Katie Couric/Matthew Fox/Maureen Dowd complaints about the new pope...
R.C. Lite will elect its own leader to the largely ceremonial post of New-World Pope. Thorny moral questions in the new religious sect will be decided by Internet polling, the results of which will provide non-binding guidance to church members......."We need a pope with nuanced ideas," said one unnamed U.S. Bishop. "He needs to be a uniter, not a divider. He can't be afraid to change his deeply-held convictions in light of shifting public opinion. He must be courageous enough to keep his beliefs separate from his behavior and decision making."
John Kerry, call your office...
R.C. Lite will elect its own leader to the largely ceremonial post of New-World Pope. Thorny moral questions in the new religious sect will be decided by Internet polling, the results of which will provide non-binding guidance to church members......."We need a pope with nuanced ideas," said one unnamed U.S. Bishop. "He needs to be a uniter, not a divider. He can't be afraid to change his deeply-held convictions in light of shifting public opinion. He must be courageous enough to keep his beliefs separate from his behavior and decision making."
John Kerry, call your office...
Tch tch don't discriminate
A businesswoman has been banned from asking for 'hard-working' staff in a job ad because it discriminates against the lazy.
Beryl King was told by a Jobcentre that her advert for warehouse workers discriminated against people who were not industrious.
WE REPORT, YOU DECIDE...
Garbage art take two
Now, these artists merely placed a cow on top of a building....
Hmmm...wonder who cleans up the manure?
Naaah...artists wouldn't dirty their hands...
Hmmm...wonder who cleans up the manure?
Naaah...artists wouldn't dirty their hands...
Garbage art
From Ananova:
A woman has given birth as part of an exhibition in a German art gallery in front of dozens of spectators.
Ramune Gele, 27, gave birth to her first child, a healthy baby girl named Audra, in the DNA art gallery in the capital Berlin.
The father, 29-year-old musician Winfried Witt, who said before the birth "it's a gift to humanity, a once in a lifetime thing", called the experience "an existential work of art".
Johann Novak, manager of the gallery, said the couple wanted to challenge conventional norms.
"It's a bit of test to see if society can cope," he said.
Yup....who cares if he is risking the life of his wife and the baby. What if the baby didn't breathe, or the mom had a post partum hemorrhage? Who cares about safety, this is art we're talking about....not...
And do you want to bet that the artist didn't clean up afterward?
Artists are into "Existential works of art"...they aren't into cleaning up messes....
Thursday, April 21, 2005
You are what you eat
The government has a new food pyramid. A poll said that although 70 percent of people recognized the food pyramid, hardly anyone followed it...(note: I truly doubt that 70 percent of people actually recognized the pyramid...but then I doubt 70 percent of people know who George Bush is...)
The goal of the pyramid program was to condense the 70-page Dietary Guidelines into a graphic that would be useful to the public
Yup. One truly doubts that anyone would read seventy pages of guidelines. However, one wonders if people will have time or energy to figure this out either...
Link
There is a flash animation to teach you what to eat etc...
Link
Oh, heck...let's try the Mediterranean diet instead: Pizza for breakfast, pizza for lunch, and spaghetti for supper.
Chef Boyardee, call your office...
The goal of the pyramid program was to condense the 70-page Dietary Guidelines into a graphic that would be useful to the public
Yup. One truly doubts that anyone would read seventy pages of guidelines. However, one wonders if people will have time or energy to figure this out either...
Link
There is a flash animation to teach you what to eat etc...
Link
Oh, heck...let's try the Mediterranean diet instead: Pizza for breakfast, pizza for lunch, and spaghetti for supper.
Chef Boyardee, call your office...
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
dna project
I find it fascinating that you can trace human migration patterns via DNA....our ancestors moved around a lot more than we appreciate...
Diabetes breakthrough
Inhaled insulin
hopefully, in the near future, people will be able to inhale insulin rather than inject it.
I know grown men who hesitate to use insulin because they are afraid of injecting themselves...usually they adjust, but many people put up with poor sugar control rather than to start insulin injections. So this will be valuable.
But you'll still have to prick your finger or arm to measure blood sugar.
hopefully, in the near future, people will be able to inhale insulin rather than inject it.
I know grown men who hesitate to use insulin because they are afraid of injecting themselves...usually they adjust, but many people put up with poor sugar control rather than to start insulin injections. So this will be valuable.
But you'll still have to prick your finger or arm to measure blood sugar.
Uncle Fester take two
Well, the CardinalRatzingerFanClub is ecstatic, and Maureen Dowd, Andrew Sullivan, Cokie Roberts and the NYTimes are having hissy fits...
You know the press is very anti Catholic and showing it's liberal bias when the JERUSALEM POST has to defend the Pope...
But good old Lileks says it best:
The selection of Ratzinger was initially heartening, simply because he made the right people apoplectic. I’m still astonished that some can see a conservative elevated to the papacy and think: a man of tradition? As Pope? How could this be? As if there this was some golden moment that would usher in the age of married priests who shuttle between blessing third-trimester abortions and giving last rites to someone who’s about to have the chemical pillow put over his face. At the risk of sounding sacreligious: it’s the Catholic Church, for Christ’s sake! You’re not going to get someone who wants to strip off all the Baroque ornamentation of St. Peter’s and replace them with IKEA wine racks, okay?
I have my doctrinal differences with the Catholic church as well; I understand the reasons for requiring priestly celibacy, but I don’t agree with them. I don’t agree with many Catholic positions on issues regarding sexuality. Growing up Lutheran, I was gently guided away from the clanging errancy of Maryolatry. Because I disagree with the Catholic Church on these and a few other matters, I am– how do I put this? – NOT CATHOLIC....To those who want profound change, consider an outsider’s perspective: the Catholic Church is the National Review of religion. You may live long enough to see it become the Weekly Standard. In your dreams it might become the New Republic. But it’s never going to be the Nation. And if ever it does, it will have roughly the same subscriber base.
Yes, yes, easy for me to say, it’s not my church. New age of oppression and intolerance, and all that. Write me when hot-eyed Jesuits walk into a mosque in Qom with ten pounds of Cemtex strapped to their chest.
Damn, that man can write...
You know the press is very anti Catholic and showing it's liberal bias when the JERUSALEM POST has to defend the Pope...
But good old Lileks says it best:
The selection of Ratzinger was initially heartening, simply because he made the right people apoplectic. I’m still astonished that some can see a conservative elevated to the papacy and think: a man of tradition? As Pope? How could this be? As if there this was some golden moment that would usher in the age of married priests who shuttle between blessing third-trimester abortions and giving last rites to someone who’s about to have the chemical pillow put over his face. At the risk of sounding sacreligious: it’s the Catholic Church, for Christ’s sake! You’re not going to get someone who wants to strip off all the Baroque ornamentation of St. Peter’s and replace them with IKEA wine racks, okay?
I have my doctrinal differences with the Catholic church as well; I understand the reasons for requiring priestly celibacy, but I don’t agree with them. I don’t agree with many Catholic positions on issues regarding sexuality. Growing up Lutheran, I was gently guided away from the clanging errancy of Maryolatry. Because I disagree with the Catholic Church on these and a few other matters, I am– how do I put this? – NOT CATHOLIC....To those who want profound change, consider an outsider’s perspective: the Catholic Church is the National Review of religion. You may live long enough to see it become the Weekly Standard. In your dreams it might become the New Republic. But it’s never going to be the Nation. And if ever it does, it will have roughly the same subscriber base.
Yes, yes, easy for me to say, it’s not my church. New age of oppression and intolerance, and all that. Write me when hot-eyed Jesuits walk into a mosque in Qom with ten pounds of Cemtex strapped to their chest.
Damn, that man can write...
Monday, April 18, 2005
Food Force
The BBC reports that the UN has produced a video game so children can play and learn the best way to fight hunger...
Well, that's how monopoly started...
Well, that's how monopoly started...
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Culture war take two
David Brooks notes that youth look amoral but that their actions show a return to morality....
remember that next time you watch Christianne Amampour or Sister CHichester or the NYTimes whine about the Vatican's failure to change their rules for the modern world...
A better link on the conclave is Father Neuhaus' blog.
remember that next time you watch Christianne Amampour or Sister CHichester or the NYTimes whine about the Vatican's failure to change their rules for the modern world...
A better link on the conclave is Father Neuhaus' blog.
Culture war? What culture war?
Dee Snider of Twisted Sister is hosting a Passover celebration
VH1 Classic presents a first-ever television special event that is sure to have you shouting Shalom! "MATZO AND METAL: A VERY CLASSIC PASSOVER" invites viewers -- Jews and Gentiles alike -- to the network's own version of a rock-n-roll Passover Seder attended by heavy metal and hard rock artists who happen to be Jewish.
VH1 Classic presents a first-ever television special event that is sure to have you shouting Shalom! "MATZO AND METAL: A VERY CLASSIC PASSOVER" invites viewers -- Jews and Gentiles alike -- to the network's own version of a rock-n-roll Passover Seder attended by heavy metal and hard rock artists who happen to be Jewish.
Jane Austen Joke page
Jncludes this:
Kathleen Glancy has now forwarded the following ``NEW AND IMPROVED JANE AUSTEN TOP 10'':
- When Did I Fall In Love? Mr. Darcy*
- Material Girl. Lucy Steele
- Among My Souvenirs. Harriet Smith
- I'm Just A Girl Who Can't Say No. Eliza Williams
- Girls Just Want To Have Fun. Lydia and Kitty Bennet
- I Wish I Was Single Again. Mr. Palmer
- Papa Don't Preach. Maria and Julia Bertram
- The Second Time Around. Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth
- I Was A Good Little Girl Till I Met You. Catherine Morland
- Wonderful, Wonderful Day! Mrs. Bennet
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Recipe time
In honor of Maureen Dowd who at the tender age of 57 has realized that she won't live forever, even if she exercizes and uses botox, I post the following recipe.
It's from the Leonard Nemoy should eat more salsa web page...
It's from the Leonard Nemoy should eat more salsa web page...
"It's not dead yet" Hot Salsa
Recipe By :
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Salsa
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
5 whole Habaneros -- seeded
10 whole tomatillos -- husked and rinsed
2 whole Vidalia onions -- skinned
6 whole sweet red peppers -- seeded
2 whole smoked Habaneros
3 whole chipolte peppers
1 Tablespoon cumin
2 ounces balsamic vinegar
Process ingredients in a blender individually in order listed until you
reach the dried peppers and place in a non-reactive container. Place
Smoked Habs
and Choptles in blender and drain juice from mixture in bowl into the
blender and process. Add to the mixture in the bowl. Add cumin and stir
well.
Drizzle Balsamic vinegar over the top. Let marinate overnight
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Serving Ideas : Best served warm the day after.
NOTES : Made whie cleaning out the refridgerator....... thus the name...
a litltle of this, a little of that, a little more of that,a _lot_
of that....
Bon appetit!
Friday, April 15, 2005
Knitting ideas
Superhero costumes to knit for Halloween...;or you can pay a couple thousand of bucks and buy one from the art gallery...
This and previous were from boingboing
Peter Parker, call your office
This and previous were from boingboing
Peter Parker, call your office
Hello Kitty insect repelent
Ah, poor Maureen
Maureen Dowd has a gloomy editorial on aging,.....
Despite the boomers' zealous attempts to stop time - with fitness and anti-aging products, with cosmetic enhancements by needle, laser and knife - time has caught up.
The deaths of iconic figures and the noisy debate over assisted suicide have brought boomers face to face with their nemesis. "Suddenly," The New Republic observed, "we are all speculating about the feeding tubes in our future." Boomers want to control mortality so they're looking at living wills, and legal and medical options.
I've visited the future, and it isn't pretty.
Ah, but that's the problem with assuming you are in charge of your own life, and that pleasure, selfishness, and self esteem is the aim of life.. . Sick? See a doctor. Pregnant? Have an abortion. Tired of an old spouse? No fault divorce...eventually you face death...which is why assisted suicide is such a nice idea: You can even be in charge of death...
One of the lessons that John Paul II gave to us in his long dying is that even in the fragility of illness, ones life is valuable. God does not look at the beauty of our face, nor to our wealth, nor to our ability to have a pleasent life under our own control.
The Objibwe saw the elderly as honored, holding the wisdom of the circle of life. And those who were senile, weak, or even confused, were not "non persons" to be starved but people who were partly on the other side and could intercede for the rest of us.
Philippinos have a similar idea about the elderly and You follow God's will in this matter...which is one reason I am in the Philippines with my husband, whose health is good but frail: so that we will not have the desperate depersonalization of health care in "modern" hospitals, but where we also will be cared for in our old age.
Poor Maureen, she doesn't know that all things work for the best for those who love God and follow HIS purpose...
This small hope is what the weak can teach the proud.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
THE HORRORS! THE HORRORS!
Manolo's pick for the ugliest shoes...in the world...
Actually, I had a pair of Birkenstock like listed here, but I only used them to go to work in the rain...and gave them to my granddaughter...
Sorry, Madeline...
Actually, I had a pair of Birkenstock like listed here, but I only used them to go to work in the rain...and gave them to my granddaughter...
Sorry, Madeline...
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
What Tolkien saw
Aussie humor take two
Tim Blair's blog not only had the cane toad purse link, but has a link for this novel tee shirt...just in time to wear to the next Greenpeace convention.
Timblair has the story here:
Timblair has the story here:
When 35 Greenpeace protesters stormed the International Petroleum Exchange yesterday, they had planned the operation in great detail.
What they were not prepared for was the post-prandial aggression of oil traders who kicked and punched them back on to the pavement.
“We bit off more than we could chew. They were just Cockney barrow boy spivs. Total thugs,” one protester said, rubbing his bruised skull. “I’ve never seen anyone less amenable to listening to our point of view.”
Another said: “I took on a Texan Swat team at Esso last year and they were angels compared with this lot.” Behind him, on the balcony of the pub opposite the IPE, a bleary-eyed trader, pint in hand, yelled: “S** off, Swampy.”
Ah, those polite brits...
Aussie humor take one
The Aussies are having a plague of cane toads...
But no one knows how to kill the toads, which are highly poisonous. The obvious way is to whack them, but alas that is no longer politically correct...
But maybe this will work...heck, it almost eliminated alligators from Florida...Buy one for the one you love...or the one you can't stand...
And for your desk, try this novel paperweight...
But no one knows how to kill the toads, which are highly poisonous. The obvious way is to whack them, but alas that is no longer politically correct...
But maybe this will work...heck, it almost eliminated alligators from Florida...Buy one for the one you love...or the one you can't stand...
And for your desk, try this novel paperweight...
THIS IS IT !
Australia's gift to the new millennium
A Tasmanian DEVIL DUMP
Steve Erwin, call your office...
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
This Bud's for you...take Two
How to brew beer in a Mr. Coffee...
headsup from DaveBarryBlog... who also has a summary of last night's TV program "24", in case you missed it...
headsup from DaveBarryBlog... who also has a summary of last night's TV program "24", in case you missed it...
Place your bets
NYTimes mentions a Dublin bookie is taking bets on the next pope...and the odd favorite is an Italian.
Now, there is nothing new under the sun, of course....which is why church law has forbidden such bets since 1591.
I'm placing my bets on Cardinal Arinze...who is the one in second place in the betting...
Now, there is nothing new under the sun, of course....which is why church law has forbidden such bets since 1591.
I'm placing my bets on Cardinal Arinze...who is the one in second place in the betting...
HMMM
The CDC's emergency responsiveness page now has stuff on Volcanoes...
Videos here...
Do you think they know something we don't know?
Actually, considering all the volcanoes in the Philippines, and the fact my son lives near Galeras, it is something I sometimes think about...
Galeras, for those of you who watch National Geographic channel, is the volcano that blew up and killed a bunch of scientists....
Videos here...
Do you think they know something we don't know?
Actually, considering all the volcanoes in the Philippines, and the fact my son lives near Galeras, it is something I sometimes think about...
Galeras, for those of you who watch National Geographic channel, is the volcano that blew up and killed a bunch of scientists....
Expo 2005 Aichi Japan
Has discovered environmentally friendly tableware that biodegrades after use...
Heck, in the Philippines, this is called banana leaves. You use a wicker plate and put a clean banana leave on the top, and place the food there. Voila. Biodegradable tableware....
they also have "biodegradable toilets"...which sound almost identical to old fashioned septic tanks...
Heck, in the Philippines, this is called banana leaves. You use a wicker plate and put a clean banana leave on the top, and place the food there. Voila. Biodegradable tableware....
they also have "biodegradable toilets"...which sound almost identical to old fashioned septic tanks...
Monday, April 11, 2005
Depressing stuff part two
See previous story.
Actually, we don't feed terminal cancer patients, and once I stopped IV on a lady with azotemia, angina, and liver failure...although we did feed her by mouth...
But I want to tell a story of a lady with a stroke.
This lady, an elderly Lakota woman, was treated for pneumonia and during her hospitalization developed a stroke and some dementia.
One of the treatments for dementia is to orient the patient---but she had regressed and could not understand English. So they sent her back to Pine Ridge Indian Hospital, so that she would have caretakers who spoke her own language...
Now, she arrived late Friday afternoon, when I was going off duty from moonlighting on dayshift in the Emergency room. My replacement for the weekend was a resident from Baltimore, from a big shot hospital.
After doing her history and physical, I called the Medical doctor on call, and asked if we needed anything else. He came down and saw her, and decided since she was paralyzed on one side and having trouble swallowing, we should put in a temporary feeding tube through her nose.... (usually this clears up in a couple weeks after a stroke). However, the X Ray tech had the x ray machine taken apart to clean before the "friday night" crowds came in, and we were not able to feed her until an x ray confirmed the tube was in her stomach and not her lung.
He was going out and was within 20 minutes if there were problems, and I was going off duty, so he asked the replacement doctor to check the x ray when it was done, to save him an extra trip and so they could start giving her nutrition that evening.
Then the visiting doctors said quietly: "But why feed her?"
I was ready to say something sarcastic when I overheard this, (indeed, I was trying to remember the name of the AIM aka American Indian Movement member who lived next to my room)...but I did not have to intervene. The medical doctor merely said quiety: We don't do things like that here...
And left the room...and told the nurses not to feed her until he came back that evening to check the xray for tube placement.
Needless to say, that doctor was not permitted to come back to Pine Ridge...
But my question is this:
How many poor black patients were "not treated" in Baltimore? And did their families know that they were being starved as useless eaters?
Actually, we don't feed terminal cancer patients, and once I stopped IV on a lady with azotemia, angina, and liver failure...although we did feed her by mouth...
But I want to tell a story of a lady with a stroke.
This lady, an elderly Lakota woman, was treated for pneumonia and during her hospitalization developed a stroke and some dementia.
One of the treatments for dementia is to orient the patient---but she had regressed and could not understand English. So they sent her back to Pine Ridge Indian Hospital, so that she would have caretakers who spoke her own language...
Now, she arrived late Friday afternoon, when I was going off duty from moonlighting on dayshift in the Emergency room. My replacement for the weekend was a resident from Baltimore, from a big shot hospital.
After doing her history and physical, I called the Medical doctor on call, and asked if we needed anything else. He came down and saw her, and decided since she was paralyzed on one side and having trouble swallowing, we should put in a temporary feeding tube through her nose.... (usually this clears up in a couple weeks after a stroke). However, the X Ray tech had the x ray machine taken apart to clean before the "friday night" crowds came in, and we were not able to feed her until an x ray confirmed the tube was in her stomach and not her lung.
He was going out and was within 20 minutes if there were problems, and I was going off duty, so he asked the replacement doctor to check the x ray when it was done, to save him an extra trip and so they could start giving her nutrition that evening.
Then the visiting doctors said quietly: "But why feed her?"
I was ready to say something sarcastic when I overheard this, (indeed, I was trying to remember the name of the AIM aka American Indian Movement member who lived next to my room)...but I did not have to intervene. The medical doctor merely said quiety: We don't do things like that here...
And left the room...and told the nurses not to feed her until he came back that evening to check the xray for tube placement.
Needless to say, that doctor was not permitted to come back to Pine Ridge...
But my question is this:
How many poor black patients were "not treated" in Baltimore? And did their families know that they were being starved as useless eaters?
Depressing link
Link
Families of fellow patients at the hospital claimed that some staff had become so upset at seeing elderly people being starved that they had taken it upon themselves to feed them secretly.
One relative has described how it was distressing to see his father go without food. Andrew Hughson said his 75- year-old father, also called Andrew, would vainly stretch his hand towards meals being delivered to other patients.
“We kept being told that feeding him would be bad for his general health, and he was too frail to tell us otherwise,” he said.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Is this good or bad?
This blog is discussing how Yale Law school is planning to rewrite our constitution, with funding from George Soros...
Some of the comments could be conservative or "progressive", depending on how you define freedom etc...
However, I am always leery when I read things like this:
Meantime, developments in biology, genetics, and medical treatment ensure that the next 15 years will be ones pushing the boundaries of reproduction, life, and death. This seems a time for caution in what we install as constitutional rules about each of these vital matters while permitting individuals and localities to experiment with the new possibilities.
actually, there is nothing new under the sun..."new possibilities"? Translation: Eugenics, abortion, infanticide, euthanasia...in all it's various forms. Such as what we see in the Netherlands...and which are being touted as "rights" in this country...
John Paul II, in Evangelium vitae, saw all these things. When I read it, I found he was even more paranoid than I was at what was being planned in bioethics seminars and in PC universities --ideas which have little public support but are being imposed by the courts...
However, the suggestion that these things are "new" is wrong. Plato wrote about them, complaining that doctors allowed sick people with poor quality of life to survive instead of encouraging them to end their lives...and in the Republic, eugenic breeding was popular, and of course infanticide of imperfect children was common...
Of course, as the saying goes: Watch what you wish for... you might get it...
Just imagine if a conservative such as Tom Delay gets to write the new constitution...
Judge Holmes, call your office...Ms. Bell wants to talk to you...
Some of the comments could be conservative or "progressive", depending on how you define freedom etc...
However, I am always leery when I read things like this:
Meantime, developments in biology, genetics, and medical treatment ensure that the next 15 years will be ones pushing the boundaries of reproduction, life, and death. This seems a time for caution in what we install as constitutional rules about each of these vital matters while permitting individuals and localities to experiment with the new possibilities.
actually, there is nothing new under the sun..."new possibilities"? Translation: Eugenics, abortion, infanticide, euthanasia...in all it's various forms. Such as what we see in the Netherlands...and which are being touted as "rights" in this country...
John Paul II, in Evangelium vitae, saw all these things. When I read it, I found he was even more paranoid than I was at what was being planned in bioethics seminars and in PC universities --ideas which have little public support but are being imposed by the courts...
However, the suggestion that these things are "new" is wrong. Plato wrote about them, complaining that doctors allowed sick people with poor quality of life to survive instead of encouraging them to end their lives...and in the Republic, eugenic breeding was popular, and of course infanticide of imperfect children was common...
Of course, as the saying goes: Watch what you wish for... you might get it...
Just imagine if a conservative such as Tom Delay gets to write the new constitution...
Judge Holmes, call your office...Ms. Bell wants to talk to you...
POLITICS as usual
Democrats block nomination of man who opposes selling the morning after pill over the counter...they are claiming he is doing it for political reasons.
Actually, from my experience, I've seen too many cases where it made women too nauseous to take it...and had moms complain their teenaged daughters didn't take the pill for days after it was prescribed.
Finally, by telling women they have a "second option", it encourages unsafe sex...or the idea that they don't have to worry...but of course in REAL life, these same women are the same self destructive types who 1) won't use a condom to protect themselves from STD 2) are too disorganized to go the drug store for several days 3) won't take the second third or fourth doses because of side effects 4) will claim they "had to" abort their pregnancy because the morning after pill caused fetal malformations and 5) will then become depressed and become druggies, if they already aren't druggies.
In non self destructive women, it is possible that it will prevent some pregnancies: But the statistics are NOT 100 percent, if I remember correctly only 50 percent lower, so the end result will be more abortions...since the rate of "unprotected" sex will increase...
and the side effects of nausea are common...but what about increase coagulability (phlebitis and pulmonary emboli), increased vaginal bleeding, harming a pregnancy that was conceived weeks before the pill was taken, etc. etc...
LINK
Actually, from my experience, I've seen too many cases where it made women too nauseous to take it...and had moms complain their teenaged daughters didn't take the pill for days after it was prescribed.
Finally, by telling women they have a "second option", it encourages unsafe sex...or the idea that they don't have to worry...but of course in REAL life, these same women are the same self destructive types who 1) won't use a condom to protect themselves from STD 2) are too disorganized to go the drug store for several days 3) won't take the second third or fourth doses because of side effects 4) will claim they "had to" abort their pregnancy because the morning after pill caused fetal malformations and 5) will then become depressed and become druggies, if they already aren't druggies.
In non self destructive women, it is possible that it will prevent some pregnancies: But the statistics are NOT 100 percent, if I remember correctly only 50 percent lower, so the end result will be more abortions...since the rate of "unprotected" sex will increase...
and the side effects of nausea are common...but what about increase coagulability (phlebitis and pulmonary emboli), increased vaginal bleeding, harming a pregnancy that was conceived weeks before the pill was taken, etc. etc...
LINK
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Friday, April 08, 2005
Thursday, April 07, 2005
LNSEMSF world headquarters
The Lenord Nimoy should eat more salsa foundation now has a website.
Please sign the petition. It is VERY VERY important to spread salsa eating by ex movie actors who have pointy ears...
Please sign the petition. It is VERY VERY important to spread salsa eating by ex movie actors who have pointy ears...
EAT SALSA TO LIVE LONG AND PROSPER...
Via Improbable research
SIte also includes games, but I only have dialup in Gapan, so let me know if they are any good.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
YUM
Corn fungus....
Via boingboing
David Gallardo says: "That's an unfair slur against Mexican cuisine! AFAIK, nobody eats huitlacoche whole & plain like that. It's actually quite delicious (and not at all disgusting) as part of a properly prepared dish, esp. when matched with chile poblano & fresh cheese or cream. My favorite recipes are a huitlacoche soup (sopa de huitlacoche) and crepes (crepas de huitlacoche). It's certainly no worse than Chinese cloud ears & such.
"Now, if you want to talk about disgusting Mexican food, this guy should look into some of the other pre-Columbian food that is still popular in south & southcentral Mexico, the stuff involving various grubs & insects..."
YUM....GRUBS AND INSECTS...
Supper anyone?
Ginger
Ginger is used in the orient for stomach problems.
Every time I get sick, my husband feeds me ginger chicken.
Now scientists have decided that ginger helps morning sickness....
But they haven't answered how a nauseous person can manage to even smell ginger without throwint up...I wonder if they've bothered to try it...
Every time I get sick, my husband feeds me ginger chicken.
Now scientists have decided that ginger helps morning sickness....
But they haven't answered how a nauseous person can manage to even smell ginger without throwint up...I wonder if they've bothered to try it...
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Higher brain needs lower brain
The PC are trying to push the idea of "higher brain death" for the last twenty years...hasn't got a lot of publicity outside of medical ethics circles, for obvious reasons...
Now an MIT study questions their basic premise that only the cortex lets us think...
Michael Crichton, call your office...
Now an MIT study questions their basic premise that only the cortex lets us think...
Michael Crichton, call your office...
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Charlie
There is a lot on TV about the plans for a large state funeral of the pope...
Funerals are not for the dead, but for the living. It is a way for us to express our sorrows that we are bereft of the dead one, and a way to honor their life.
This is why it is telling that Mr. Schiavo has cremated his wife...I don't blame him for seeking a secret funeral, but why cremation? She was Catholic, after all, and Catholics don't usually cremate their dead.
Yes, I know...as Mark Steyn remarked, when the topic is brought up, the majority of Americans merely stick their fingers in their ears and say:" La, la, la...I can't hear you".
But, hold on, this is not about Terri.
This is about Charlie.
Years ago, I worked at an institution for the retarded.
One of our clients was a quiet boy in his twenties who wore a hockey helmet because he had severe seizures. Aside from this, he was "normal" looking, and from his history we suspected that his brain damage was probably due to trauma...aka child abuse...and traumatic seizures are notoriously hard to control
No matter what we did, his seizures continued.
So the Neurologist admitted him to the hospital.
Two days later, we heard one of our patients died...we were expecting a death of one client with pneumonia, but no, it was Charlie. He had a seizure and died, despite all they could do.
When we went to bury Charlie, we found he had no funeral fund. His social security checks went to his parents, not the institution...most parents used the money to buy "Goodies" and presents...alas, Charlies parents just used it.
When we contacted them for funeral instrutions, we found them both drying out at the same rehab center...and they were penniless...
So the administration decided to creamate Charley and give his ashes to his parents.It was the cheapest way to "bury" him, and that was that.
This horrified our old fashioned staff...and I heard many comments saying the parents first threw Charley away, then they wasted his money, and now they are throwing away his ashes.
I had a discussion about this with our social worker, who was trying to find a funeral director to give him a "free" funeral, and someone to donate a burial plot.
"Oh, it's too bad the monsignor isn't here any more", she commented, "He always helped us in the past".
"The Monsignor? Which Monsignor"? I asked horrified. The only local monsignor had disappeared after settling a lawsuit for molesting altar boys...
"Yes, that one". She laughed.
"I'm not a Catholic, but whenever we had to bury someone and needed help, I always called him. He wasn't a good priest morally, but he did care about our clients, and when we had a burial to do, he would donate a plot and help fund the funeral ".
This story always reminds me of the Hassadic story of the rich mean miser who once gave a poor lady an onion because he felt pity for her...and when he died, his sins were put on one side of the scale, and the onion the other....
Eventually we found a plot and a funeral director for a real funeral.
So Charlie was buried, the parents were released from the drunk tank to attend, and the staff who was Charlie's real family had a decent funeral to mourn the passing of a nice guy who they loved.
It wasn't much for a life destroyed by cruelty and lived in obscurity, but at least in death he wasn't merely thrown away by a cheap bureaucrat who didn't care.
Funerals are not for the dead, but for the living. It is a way for us to express our sorrows that we are bereft of the dead one, and a way to honor their life.
This is why it is telling that Mr. Schiavo has cremated his wife...I don't blame him for seeking a secret funeral, but why cremation? She was Catholic, after all, and Catholics don't usually cremate their dead.
Yes, I know...as Mark Steyn remarked, when the topic is brought up, the majority of Americans merely stick their fingers in their ears and say:" La, la, la...I can't hear you".
But, hold on, this is not about Terri.
This is about Charlie.
Years ago, I worked at an institution for the retarded.
One of our clients was a quiet boy in his twenties who wore a hockey helmet because he had severe seizures. Aside from this, he was "normal" looking, and from his history we suspected that his brain damage was probably due to trauma...aka child abuse...and traumatic seizures are notoriously hard to control
No matter what we did, his seizures continued.
So the Neurologist admitted him to the hospital.
Two days later, we heard one of our patients died...we were expecting a death of one client with pneumonia, but no, it was Charlie. He had a seizure and died, despite all they could do.
When we went to bury Charlie, we found he had no funeral fund. His social security checks went to his parents, not the institution...most parents used the money to buy "Goodies" and presents...alas, Charlies parents just used it.
When we contacted them for funeral instrutions, we found them both drying out at the same rehab center...and they were penniless...
So the administration decided to creamate Charley and give his ashes to his parents.It was the cheapest way to "bury" him, and that was that.
This horrified our old fashioned staff...and I heard many comments saying the parents first threw Charley away, then they wasted his money, and now they are throwing away his ashes.
I had a discussion about this with our social worker, who was trying to find a funeral director to give him a "free" funeral, and someone to donate a burial plot.
"Oh, it's too bad the monsignor isn't here any more", she commented, "He always helped us in the past".
"The Monsignor? Which Monsignor"? I asked horrified. The only local monsignor had disappeared after settling a lawsuit for molesting altar boys...
"Yes, that one". She laughed.
"I'm not a Catholic, but whenever we had to bury someone and needed help, I always called him. He wasn't a good priest morally, but he did care about our clients, and when we had a burial to do, he would donate a plot and help fund the funeral ".
This story always reminds me of the Hassadic story of the rich mean miser who once gave a poor lady an onion because he felt pity for her...and when he died, his sins were put on one side of the scale, and the onion the other....
Eventually we found a plot and a funeral director for a real funeral.
So Charlie was buried, the parents were released from the drunk tank to attend, and the staff who was Charlie's real family had a decent funeral to mourn the passing of a nice guy who they loved.
It wasn't much for a life destroyed by cruelty and lived in obscurity, but at least in death he wasn't merely thrown away by a cheap bureaucrat who didn't care.
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Yup. another stolen election
Mugabe stole another election...
and the Beeb? They not only report it with a straight face, but they put the complaints of voter fraud by opposition in quotes...I mean, just because dead people voted doesn't mean it was a fraudulent election: They do that in Chicago all the time. However, threatening to withhold food from areas that voted wrong does sort of mean that maybe some people weren't too eager to starve...
They mention election watchers, not noting that these were from nice democracies like Iran...and kept out a lot of neutral observers from real democracies... big deal...
A very depressing story and probably a million will starve or die of famine related disease without a single demonstration from the Catholic left or Move on...
Mark Steyn recycles an old column on this that will make you laugh at a bad situation...it seems the commonwealth sent Mugabe a letter saying that if he didn't change his ways they'd be werry werry angwy...
Read the last paragraph...I can't link because the children might read it...
ignore if duplicate. I'm having problems with blogger
and the Beeb? They not only report it with a straight face, but they put the complaints of voter fraud by opposition in quotes...I mean, just because dead people voted doesn't mean it was a fraudulent election: They do that in Chicago all the time. However, threatening to withhold food from areas that voted wrong does sort of mean that maybe some people weren't too eager to starve...
They mention election watchers, not noting that these were from nice democracies like Iran...and kept out a lot of neutral observers from real democracies... big deal...
A very depressing story and probably a million will starve or die of famine related disease without a single demonstration from the Catholic left or Move on...
Mark Steyn recycles an old column on this that will make you laugh at a bad situation...it seems the commonwealth sent Mugabe a letter saying that if he didn't change his ways they'd be werry werry angwy...
Read the last paragraph...I can't link because the children might read it...
ignore if duplicate. I'm having problems with blogger
Berger humor
Some bloggers have gleefully followed the story of Sandy Berger stealing top secret documents in his sox and other areas...
He has recently pled guilty to minor charges for this.
So the CurtJester suggest Mr. Berger use these to prevent him from furthur "shoplifting"
He has recently pled guilty to minor charges for this.
So the CurtJester suggest Mr. Berger use these to prevent him from furthur "shoplifting"
Monuments.
The two previous monuments were modern art paid for by tax dollars.
However, sometime ordinary people donate time and money for a monument.
This is one example...story here...photo here...
However, sometime ordinary people donate time and money for a monument.
This is one example...story here...photo here...
In the face of the negative news, locals in 1979 proposed to build the white statue on a ledge blasted out of the Continental Divide, 8,510 feet above sea level. The statue, with upturned hands, overlooks the junction of Interstates 90 and 15, and was dedicated to all women, especially mothers.
Volunteers carved a road six miles to the top of East Ridge, sometimes making only 10 feet of progress a day. Many reveled in the tough job.
"It was an expression of everything they had done in their lives," Mihelich said.
Amadeus Mozart, call your office...
Philippino joke
International polls have noted that Filippinos are the happiest people in the world....
They are also the second most corrupt country in the world (the first place was given to nearby Indonesia).
So today's Manila Bulletin has this joke:
There are three types of bribes in the Philippines.
1. Over the table.
2. Under the table.
3. Including the table.
They are also the second most corrupt country in the world (the first place was given to nearby Indonesia).
So today's Manila Bulletin has this joke:
There are three types of bribes in the Philippines.
1. Over the table.
2. Under the table.
3. Including the table.
Friday, April 01, 2005
Red Lake...the real scandal
Red Lake take four
Most people know about the murders in the Red Lake High School...which now seem to be a copy cat inspired from Columbine.`
But there is another Red Lake story that few remember...
Back in the 1950's there was an epidemic of strep impetigo and cases of scarlet fever that resulted in quite a few cases of glomerulonephritis...This was recognized as a problem in 1953 and written up in the literature, in Minnesota Medicine 1954 by Dr. Kleinman.
Native Americans often develop an itchy rash due to sunlight, and impetigo is a common complication , but not all strep strains cause kidney damage. The virulent bacteria was dubbed the "red lake" strain.
Essentially the epidemic was wiped out by culturing and treating everyone with strep.
Ah, but ten years later, there was another study...where people were observed and cultured, but only treated if they sought help. Since most people didn't bother to go to hospital and sit for three hours to get a minor sore throat or skin infection treated, a lot of the infections didn't get treated...and as a result, guess what?
A lot of people got glomerulonephritis.
And by the time the 1965 study was done, it was widely known that untreated strep infections could cause nephritis...
This in some ways is like the Tuskegee study, done to confirm what would happen if you didn't treat infection...and without those in the experiment really understanding what was going on...
To this day, the local Indians remember they were used as "guinea pigs"...
And I knew two of the "non treatment" cases who had kidney damage...
I have scans of about thirty pages of documents,
Most people know about the murders in the Red Lake High School...which now seem to be a copy cat inspired from Columbine.`
But there is another Red Lake story that few remember...
Back in the 1950's there was an epidemic of strep impetigo and cases of scarlet fever that resulted in quite a few cases of glomerulonephritis...This was recognized as a problem in 1953 and written up in the literature, in Minnesota Medicine 1954 by Dr. Kleinman.
Native Americans often develop an itchy rash due to sunlight, and impetigo is a common complication , but not all strep strains cause kidney damage. The virulent bacteria was dubbed the "red lake" strain.
Essentially the epidemic was wiped out by culturing and treating everyone with strep.
Ah, but ten years later, there was another study...where people were observed and cultured, but only treated if they sought help. Since most people didn't bother to go to hospital and sit for three hours to get a minor sore throat or skin infection treated, a lot of the infections didn't get treated...and as a result, guess what?
A lot of people got glomerulonephritis.
And by the time the 1965 study was done, it was widely known that untreated strep infections could cause nephritis...
This in some ways is like the Tuskegee study, done to confirm what would happen if you didn't treat infection...and without those in the experiment really understanding what was going on...
To this day, the local Indians remember they were used as "guinea pigs"...
And I knew two of the "non treatment" cases who had kidney damage...
I have scans of about thirty pages of documents,
Whoops...Beeb caught pushing phony statistics
BBC: reports children in Iraq starving
The actual report states malnutrition has increased from 5% to 8%....
Contradicting a previous UN report that said the pre war level of malnutrition in Iraqi children was 25%...
Thanks to Captainsquarter blog for finding that link.
The old UN report also states:
However, the Oil for Food Programme (OFFP), passed by the Security Council in late 1996, did help to reduce the impact of sanctions on the population by allowing the Iraqi government to sell oil and use the revenue to purchase humanitarian supplies.
Not to mention making a lot of diplomats rich...
Paul volker call your office
The actual report states malnutrition has increased from 5% to 8%....
Contradicting a previous UN report that said the pre war level of malnutrition in Iraqi children was 25%...
Thanks to Captainsquarter blog for finding that link.
The old UN report also states:
However, the Oil for Food Programme (OFFP), passed by the Security Council in late 1996, did help to reduce the impact of sanctions on the population by allowing the Iraqi government to sell oil and use the revenue to purchase humanitarian supplies.
Not to mention making a lot of diplomats rich...
Paul volker call your office
Final word on Schiavo
This article says it all. The Schiavo case is NOT about withdrawing care that prolongs dying (something that as a doctor and as a Catholic I have advised families to do many times), despite the "spin" on many TV discussions. It is about the ability to see severely disabled people as our brothers.
At what point would those who determined that Terri Schiavo's life was not worth living be confident in ruling that my daughter's life -- limited as it is to those few, inconsistently performed acts of awareness -- was also not worth living?
This is the question underlying the growing unease with which many disabled people and their loved ones have viewed the Schiavo story, especially since her feeding tube was removed two weeks ago.
How can anyone know what constitutes another being's life-worthiness?
Ah, didn't you know? Bioethicists have devised all sorts of mathematical formulas for both "Quality of life" and for "criteria of personhood"...
Dr. Lifton, call your office...
At what point would those who determined that Terri Schiavo's life was not worth living be confident in ruling that my daughter's life -- limited as it is to those few, inconsistently performed acts of awareness -- was also not worth living?
This is the question underlying the growing unease with which many disabled people and their loved ones have viewed the Schiavo story, especially since her feeding tube was removed two weeks ago.
How can anyone know what constitutes another being's life-worthiness?
Ah, didn't you know? Bioethicists have devised all sorts of mathematical formulas for both "Quality of life" and for "criteria of personhood"...
Dr. Lifton, call your office...
Hair report take 4
I've blogged on stem cells from hair, about mustache contests, and about the best (?) hair transplant job among European leaders.
Now comes this horrible report:
DANDRUFF CAUSES AIR POLLUTION.....
So dandruff causes global warming...
I wonder if the Kyoto treaty insists that we all use Head and Shoulders?
Now comes this horrible report:
DANDRUFF CAUSES AIR POLLUTION.....
He estimated that the amount of biological particles in the air, worldwide, annually is 1,000 teragrams. A teragram is somewhat more than a million tons.
By comparison, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, established by the World Meteorological Organization and the U.N. Environmental Program, estimated biological particles at 56 teragrams, compared with 3,300 teragrams of sea salt and 2,000 teragrams of mineral dust.
The new finding means researchers should take biological materials seriously in climate modeling, in cloud physics and in hygienic questions such as allergies, Jaenicke said.
"Don't regard that as a minor contribution," he said.
The implications for the global climate are unclear, said Murray V. Johnston, a chemistry professor at the University of Delaware.
So dandruff causes global warming...
I wonder if the Kyoto treaty insists that we all use Head and Shoulders?
are you bald?
Italian premier Berlusconi knows a good hair clinic...
There's an address that balding European leaders are after. Italy's Premier Silvio Berlusconi, proud of his new hair implants, said that his European counterparts "are seriously interested by this operation and that this address is becoming an international success."
And you thought OUR politicians were vain...
John Edwards, call your office...
There's an address that balding European leaders are after. Italy's Premier Silvio Berlusconi, proud of his new hair implants, said that his European counterparts "are seriously interested by this operation and that this address is becoming an international success."
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He didn't give the address, nor did he name names. He just proudly pointed at his hair and said: "To say, that they're actually all mine."
And you thought OUR politicians were vain...
John Edwards, call your office...
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