Catholic world news reports 26 Catholic missionaries were killed in 2005....
Actually that number doesnot include many other martyrs of other faiths or lay Catholics.......the word martyr means witness, and witnesses to truth might include Christian human rights advocates dying after being beaten in China or kidnapped in Iraq, Christians and Buddhists killed in terrorist attacks on their churches or temples, or journalists killed for reporting unpopular stories such as occurs here in the Philippines...
The last year I was in Zimbabwe (it was Rhodesia then) about 25 missionaries were killed in that country alone...not all Catholic...
One doctor friend (and one nurse) was shot at her hospital by robbers.
A Bishop and three companions was ambushed and killed by "guerillas"
An entire family of a British Pentecostal sect was butchered near Umtali.
Five sisters and two priests were taken out and shot one night.
An African doctor at a Swedish Lutheran mission was shot going to a late night hospital emergency.
A lay brother "disappeared"...we know who shot him, but the body was placed down a mine shaft...
And after I left, one of the sisters I worked with was beaten to death...
One of these days I'll write the stories on my screedblog...the details are pretty sad...
To this day, I can't watch the film Romero, because too many scene in it remind me of my friends...
That movie was 1989....and it only took 16 years for a major studio to film a good movie about Christians who risk their lives to help people...
------------------------------------------
UPDATE: InTheAgora Blog has a review of the movie The End of the Spear
FINEST KIND CLINIC AND FISHMARKET.... Discussing medicine, culture, and the joys of cooking Pansit.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Baldilocks is Mad
First, Stein disses all members of the armed forces...and in his editoral whines:
But it's really not that easy to say because anyone remotely affiliated with the military could easily beat me up, and I'm listed in the phone book.
And Baldilocks excoriates him, including this offer...
On the contrary (I thought for a bit}: please, Mr. Stein, spit on me (I’ve had my shots) so I can beat you to a pulp and get arrested so that everyone will laugh at the notion of you getting a beat-down from a slightly overweight middle-aged woman!
Sounds like she belongs the Eowyn Voters League...women who kick the gluteus Maximus of those who oppress them
But then she remembers he also DISSED BALD WOMEN...uh oh.... is he in deep doodoo...
Dumb ideas take one
LONDON, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- A school in London has banned children from raising their hands in class and teachers from calling on students with their hands raised....
To spare embarrassment of the students who do not know the answer, the school has incorporated a "phone a friend" system, allowing one child to nominate another to take the question instead.
I guess they never would think that this would lead to kids picking on the same student to answer...either because he would know, or to harass that student...
To spare embarrassment of the students who do not know the answer, the school has incorporated a "phone a friend" system, allowing one child to nominate another to take the question instead.
I guess they never would think that this would lead to kids picking on the same student to answer...either because he would know, or to harass that student...
The Love which moves the sun and the other stars.
The title comes from Dante's Paradiso...
Seinfels critiques the encyclical " God is Love"...and gets it right...
Commentary moved to my screedblog...
Seinfels critiques the encyclical " God is Love"...and gets it right...
Commentary moved to my screedblog...
Hummm, humm, what IS that song?
Do you have a tune that keeps playing in your head driving you nuts because you can't remember what song it is?
Well, your problem has been solved...
(Heads up from DrSanityBlog)
Well, your problem has been solved...
(Heads up from DrSanityBlog)
YUM!
| You Are a Boston Creme Donut |
 You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you. But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft. You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily. You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out. |
People watching
Nice photo...don't bother with the link, which is about people imitating foreigner's bad grammar...
Expendible grandkids
I am ambivalent on this, because although I raised one granddaughter, I no longer have contact with her, thanks to divorce and a stubborn mother...
When "experts" talk of women only getting 70% of men's pay, I plead guilty...to raise my sons, I worked essentially at a part time job, and now have retired to care for a husband...
Guess I should have spent my time getting the advanced degree in public health/anthropology that I always wanted...but on the other hand, I learned quite a bit from experience...
When "experts" talk of women only getting 70% of men's pay, I plead guilty...to raise my sons, I worked essentially at a part time job, and now have retired to care for a husband...
Guess I should have spent my time getting the advanced degree in public health/anthropology that I always wanted...but on the other hand, I learned quite a bit from experience...
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Haiti, situation normal...AFU...
It's all Bush's fault...
The Philippines lost a peacekeeper helping in Haiti a couple weeks ago...yet they pulled their troops out of Iraq due to one single hostage's life being threatened (Philippine Americans still serve--one helicopter pilot was killed last week, and many work as OFW under contract)...
Yet Gloria has no qualms sending peacekeepers to Haiti...
The NYT article claims that the US combat troops pulled out too soon, or else because the corrupt Aristide was kicked out by an equally corrupt president...
And, of course, the corruption and inefficiency of UN Peacekeepers, whose countries often rent out soldiers for money is notorious...LINK
The above link suggest why this is such a good deal for Gloria:
The Philippines lost a peacekeeper helping in Haiti a couple weeks ago...yet they pulled their troops out of Iraq due to one single hostage's life being threatened (Philippine Americans still serve--one helicopter pilot was killed last week, and many work as OFW under contract)...
Yet Gloria has no qualms sending peacekeepers to Haiti...
The Brazilian-led MINUSTAH mission currently has a multinational force of about 9,000 personnel in Haiti. That figure includes 7,265 troops and 1,741 police. In addition to Brazil, the force includes personnel from the United States, a number of countries from Latin America and other countries worldwide.
The NYT article claims that the US combat troops pulled out too soon, or else because the corrupt Aristide was kicked out by an equally corrupt president...
And, of course, the corruption and inefficiency of UN Peacekeepers, whose countries often rent out soldiers for money is notorious...LINK
The above link suggest why this is such a good deal for Gloria:
The United Nations will shoulder all the expenses during the soldiers' six-month tour of duty, including air fare, billeting, subsistence and other expenses.
Members of both contingents will receive a monthly allowance equivalent to 250 percent of their base pay for officers and 300 percent for enlisted personnel.
Despite the killing of a Filipino peacekeeper in Haiti in April, the Philippines has continued to provide assistance to the Caribbean nation as part of a commitment to help the United Nations provide humanitarian help there, the military said.
In April, Staff Sergeant Antonio Batomalaque was killed during a rebel attack in Haiti. He was recently given recognition by the US government for saving an American military officer during the attack.
Around the same time, Navy Lt. Senior Grade Valentin Menpin and Marine Sgt. Geoffrey Gesiani, who were also part of the peacekeeping force in Haiti, went AWOL (absent without leave) while on R&R (rest and recreation) in the United States.
(Ah, two more hardworking Philippinos getting good paying jobs in the US to support their families...)
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Spacesuit satellite
Col. Thermal updraft sends this story, which is the plan to orbit a space suit with batteries as a satellite...
If you want to monitor it, check with a local Ham radio club, or go to: SUITSAT link
Happy New Year!
The year of the dog is a good year to be married...so go get your licenses...
and here is what you do if you want Good Luck...
on Jan. 29.
“Between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m., during the auspicious hour of the Ox, you should open your door and face north, because that’s where the god of wealth comes from. If you don’t have a door that faces north, open your window, instead,” Too says.
If you want to make this event much more felt and believable, Too suggests that you do what the Chinese do every year. “What the Chinese do is they get an image of the god of Wealth and have it outside of their house. When time strikes precisely on the auspicious hour, they waltz back in to their house with the Wealth god.”
If time doesn’t permit, as this custom is done in the wee hours, one can do it at a later time. “If you can’t do it between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m., then you can do it during the hour of the Dragon from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.,” Too reveals.
The luckiest in the year of the Fire Dog are those born in the year of the Rat (1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996). “The Rat benefits from a very auspicious number. We feng shui practitioners call it the Flying Star 8. It flies in the direction of the Rat, thus, bringing more luck into their homes,” Too says.
And don't forget the FOOD
To ensure wealth and good luck for the new year, certain types of food or fruits are prepared and savored during the Lunar New Year?s Eve starting with the Chinese New Year staple ? "tikoy" or "nian gao." "This lucky cake made of sticky rice is especially prepared for the Chinese New Year because it is believed to bring money, sweetness and unity to the whole family throughout the year since it has a round shape, sweet taste and sticky texture," explained tikoy expert Gerry Chua of the 93-year-old Eng Bee Tin Chinese Deli.
Here's a recipe for Tikoy
2 boxes mochiko or sweet rice flour, 16 oz. each
3 cups brown sugar (you can substitute white sugar)
2 pinches of salt
3 tablespoons vanilla
5 1/2 cup water
oil for frying
Combine Mochiko, sugar, salt and vanilla. Add water little at a time,
mixing constantly until blend well. Spray mold pan with non-stick
spray. Pour mixture into the mold. Steam until firm to the touch. (It
will be wet but you can use it right away. If you want it to be a
little dry, just leave it inside the fridge for a day or two,
uncovered.) Slice and fry until crunchy brown. You can use other
flavorings other than vanilla like almond or pineapple
Kung Hei Fat Choi!
Andea Bocelli
Your secret for good wool...
(heads up from Dave Barry...who also tells us that David Hasselhof
was the reason for the fall of the Berlin wall...
Manolo would be proud...)
Family news: Lolo's REAL Name...
I didn't blog yesterday because we were in Manila trying to get our visas changed to permanent visas...will have to go back again next week...one of the problems was with my husband's birth certificate...
Originally we thought that the registrations books were destroyed in World War II, but actually, when we went this week to get the paper, the clerk dug out the ancient books from 1925 that lists all births, we found my husband was named Paciano instead of the name he has used for the last 80 years...it seems that his godfather, when he was baptised, couldn't remember the right name, so told the priest another name, and my husband has used his baptismal name for the last 80 years...
HMMM...since our marriage license has his second name on it, does this mean we're not married?
Originally we thought that the registrations books were destroyed in World War II, but actually, when we went this week to get the paper, the clerk dug out the ancient books from 1925 that lists all births, we found my husband was named Paciano instead of the name he has used for the last 80 years...it seems that his godfather, when he was baptised, couldn't remember the right name, so told the priest another name, and my husband has used his baptismal name for the last 80 years...
HMMM...since our marriage license has his second name on it, does this mean we're not married?
Floods
The rain is more intermittant heavy rain from thunderstorms rather than the constant rain of two days ago...
But nearby, there have been floods and landslides, with a lot of people displaced...and one man drowned in Dingalan...
What is worse is that the "dry season" harvest of rice and onions was almost ready to harvest, and now is ruined...
So please pray for the people in our area...
However, we are "downstream" and well drained, so we are okay...
But nearby, there have been floods and landslides, with a lot of people displaced...and one man drowned in Dingalan...
What is worse is that the "dry season" harvest of rice and onions was almost ready to harvest, and now is ruined...
So please pray for the people in our area...
However, we are "downstream" and well drained, so we are okay...
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Rain, rain, rain...and flooding
It's still raining heavily on and off here...
LINK2
We fixed most of the leaks in the roof, so only the kitchen is flooding, and not as bad as yesterday...
There has been flooding south of Manila...here the roads are waterlogged with puddles and water, and if it gets too bad, we will probably get mudslides north of here, where the illegal logging has denuded the foothills...
we live in the flatlands, and not near any rivers, so should be okay...
LINK2
We fixed most of the leaks in the roof, so only the kitchen is flooding, and not as bad as yesterday...
There has been flooding south of Manila...here the roads are waterlogged with puddles and water, and if it gets too bad, we will probably get mudslides north of here, where the illegal logging has denuded the foothills...
we live in the flatlands, and not near any rivers, so should be okay...
Typhoid
One of the real medical mysteries was the question of the Plague that helped cause the downfall of Classical Athens...and now, DNA analysis suggests it was typhoid...
Originially it was felt to be due to typhus or smallpox or black plague...or even a more virulent strain of measles or scarlet fever...
All these diseases have in common high fever, rash. epidemics in crowded conditions (typhus by lice, thyphoid by fecal contamination of hands and water supply) but some didn't quite fit (small pox is Pox, so the rash is different, and bubonic plague has...bubos, or large lymph nodes and is again spread by insects i.e. fleas...scarlet fever is strep throat, and many cases are mild...)...the fever often killed within a week, but if you lived, you were weak for quite awhile...and required being cared for...and often died of a second infection...or in the case of typhoid, your intestines perforated on day 21 and you died...
So how do docs figure out what disease a person has? Well, usually we try to figure out what is going around ("when you hear hoovebeats, think horses, not zebras) , what disease is similar to the pattern of the disease (what day did the rash start? Did it start on the Abdomen, like Measles, or on the wrists, like Rocky Mountain spotted fever? Is it raised or flat? etc)...
Lab testing is great, but often not positive early in a disease...and in the third world (Or in Hippocrates Athens) they may be non existant...
Typhoid's blood test is not positive for two weeks...measles requires clinical diagnosis of the typical rash...typhus, I have never treated...if Athen's fever had occured in Oklahoma, I'd worry about Rocky Mountain Spotted fever...
In the past, none of this mattered, because the "treatment" for all these diseases was good nursing and proper nutrition...the rest of the medicines did little but relieve symptoms...
But now that we have treatment, the pressure is to treat as soon as possible...so we "overuse" new antibiotics for simple disease...
But what if you have antibiotics, but no lab tests? You do your best...
When I worked in Africa thirty years ago, the joke was that if someone came in sick with a high fever of unknown origin (i.e. that we couldn't figure out where it came from after an exam) we treated them with Chloroquin (or Quinine) for malaria, and Penicillin for pneumonia...if they still had a fever after three days, we treated them with chloramphenicol for typhoid...and if they still had a fever after a week of penicillin and chloramphenicol, we did a Chest X Ray and/or sent them to the TB sanitarium....
This actually worked pretty well...one of the TB patients we shipped out later turned out to grow TB out of his bone marrow...another, from his peritoneal fluid...but then one young man popped out a lot of lymph nodes after two weeks of TB treatment...turned out he had the classic fever or Hodgkins' disease...
Oh well...back then Hodgkins was untreatable....
But it gives you an idea of how things have changed from the "good old days"...
Originially it was felt to be due to typhus or smallpox or black plague...or even a more virulent strain of measles or scarlet fever...
All these diseases have in common high fever, rash. epidemics in crowded conditions (typhus by lice, thyphoid by fecal contamination of hands and water supply) but some didn't quite fit (small pox is Pox, so the rash is different, and bubonic plague has...bubos, or large lymph nodes and is again spread by insects i.e. fleas...scarlet fever is strep throat, and many cases are mild...)...the fever often killed within a week, but if you lived, you were weak for quite awhile...and required being cared for...and often died of a second infection...or in the case of typhoid, your intestines perforated on day 21 and you died...
So how do docs figure out what disease a person has? Well, usually we try to figure out what is going around ("when you hear hoovebeats, think horses, not zebras) , what disease is similar to the pattern of the disease (what day did the rash start? Did it start on the Abdomen, like Measles, or on the wrists, like Rocky Mountain spotted fever? Is it raised or flat? etc)...
Lab testing is great, but often not positive early in a disease...and in the third world (Or in Hippocrates Athens) they may be non existant...
Typhoid's blood test is not positive for two weeks...measles requires clinical diagnosis of the typical rash...typhus, I have never treated...if Athen's fever had occured in Oklahoma, I'd worry about Rocky Mountain Spotted fever...
In the past, none of this mattered, because the "treatment" for all these diseases was good nursing and proper nutrition...the rest of the medicines did little but relieve symptoms...
But now that we have treatment, the pressure is to treat as soon as possible...so we "overuse" new antibiotics for simple disease...
But what if you have antibiotics, but no lab tests? You do your best...
When I worked in Africa thirty years ago, the joke was that if someone came in sick with a high fever of unknown origin (i.e. that we couldn't figure out where it came from after an exam) we treated them with Chloroquin (or Quinine) for malaria, and Penicillin for pneumonia...if they still had a fever after three days, we treated them with chloramphenicol for typhoid...and if they still had a fever after a week of penicillin and chloramphenicol, we did a Chest X Ray and/or sent them to the TB sanitarium....
This actually worked pretty well...one of the TB patients we shipped out later turned out to grow TB out of his bone marrow...another, from his peritoneal fluid...but then one young man popped out a lot of lymph nodes after two weeks of TB treatment...turned out he had the classic fever or Hodgkins' disease...
Oh well...back then Hodgkins was untreatable....
But it gives you an idea of how things have changed from the "good old days"...
Mayor Nagin and the Chocolate Factory
Nagin is such a mensch, that instead of being ostracized, locals are making teeshirts joking about Chocolate town...
Things to read take three
An article on artist Alan Lee, one of the artists behind the LOTR Trilogy...
There is also an interview to listen to at the link
Bullock powered gernerator
first, bicycle irrigation pumps...and now you can walk your bullock in a circle to generate electricity...A variation on an old technique````
Things to read take two
"..... Eros, reduced to pure “sex”, has become a commodity, a mere “thing” to be bought and sold, or rather, man himself becomes a commodity. This is hardly man's great “yes” to the body.
"...Yet eros and agape—ascending love and descending love—can never be completely separated...
.".... Even if eros is at first mainly covetous and ascending, a fascination for the great promise of happiness, in drawing near to the other, it is less and less concerned with itself, increasingly seeks the happiness of the other, is concerned more and more with the beloved, bestows itself and wants to “be there for” the other. The element of agape thus enters into this love,.....
----------------------------
Summary HERE
(headsup from Ragemonkey)
-----------------------------------
Second thoughts: The fact that even "covetous" sex can lead to caring for one's partner and seeking the happiness of the other and the want to "be there for" the other is a GOOD argument for gay marriage...
"...Yet eros and agape—ascending love and descending love—can never be completely separated...
.".... Even if eros is at first mainly covetous and ascending, a fascination for the great promise of happiness, in drawing near to the other, it is less and less concerned with itself, increasingly seeks the happiness of the other, is concerned more and more with the beloved, bestows itself and wants to “be there for” the other. The element of agape thus enters into this love,.....
----------------------------
Summary HERE
(headsup from Ragemonkey)
-----------------------------------
Second thoughts: The fact that even "covetous" sex can lead to caring for one's partner and seeking the happiness of the other and the want to "be there for" the other is a GOOD argument for gay marriage...
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
It's raining, it's pouring...
Gale Warning UpdateIssued at: 5:00 a.m., 25 January 2006 The surge of strong winds associated with the northeast monsoon as enhanced by the active low pressure are (ALPA) is expected to continue to affect the northern, western and eastern seaboards of Luzon and eastern seaboard of Visayas. ...
And since it is supposed to be dry season, we have been fixing the roof, but haven't gotten around to put in the flashing or gutters...so we have
Rain in the kitchen
Rain in the bathroom
Rain in the bedroom too...
Mud in the courtyard
Puddles on the walkways
Water seeping into my shoe...
and the bad news: Thunderstorms predicted the rest of the week...
And since it is supposed to be dry season, we have been fixing the roof, but haven't gotten around to put in the flashing or gutters...so we have
Rain in the kitchen
Rain in the bathroom
Rain in the bedroom too...
Mud in the courtyard
Puddles on the walkways
Water seeping into my shoe...
and the bad news: Thunderstorms predicted the rest of the week...
Ummmm....maybe it's time to worry about Iran...
Spengler of the Asia times essentially says Bush has to do it...and since Spengler hates bush (and everyone else for that matter) it makes you wonder...
Other headlines on the Asian times are about Turkey and Pakistan worrying... Why is an Asia paper printing so many different opinions on this?
It's the oil stupid...China is in the midst of a giant economic expansion...and needs oil... so would probably block any meaningful intervention by the UN or the US...
Asia is a growing economic powerhouse, and needs oil...so any destablization of the Mideast messes up their economies.
The real wild card is Israel....
But the EU is in real danger (which is why Chirac a few days ago mentioned they have nukes in France and know how to use them)...
The EU (and Hillary Clinton) would like the evil cowboy Bush to intervene...unilaterally of course, so they can keep their hands clean, continue to demonize America, and ignore that their "soft power" isn't worth a bucket of spit...
A good summary of the options are HERE...
And a lengthy report about what a nuclear Iran would mean is found in this PDF link
Other headlines on the Asian times are about Turkey and Pakistan worrying... Why is an Asia paper printing so many different opinions on this?
It's the oil stupid...China is in the midst of a giant economic expansion...and needs oil... so would probably block any meaningful intervention by the UN or the US...
Asia is a growing economic powerhouse, and needs oil...so any destablization of the Mideast messes up their economies.
The real wild card is Israel....
But the EU is in real danger (which is why Chirac a few days ago mentioned they have nukes in France and know how to use them)...
The EU (and Hillary Clinton) would like the evil cowboy Bush to intervene...unilaterally of course, so they can keep their hands clean, continue to demonize America, and ignore that their "soft power" isn't worth a bucket of spit...
A good summary of the options are HERE...
And a lengthy report about what a nuclear Iran would mean is found in this PDF link
Mourning life
A human being lies inside
A sea—why did you hide?
Did you float inside as much
As they who love, as they who touch?
Oh that night, oh that night
You were conceived—
Who would you be
You hidden baby?......
(pavel Chichikov)
A sea—why did you hide?
Did you float inside as much
As they who love, as they who touch?
Oh that night, oh that night
You were conceived—
Who would you be
You hidden baby?......
(pavel Chichikov)
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Carnival of the recipes number 75
YUM...
But read it first...for below I have lots of nasty blog entries to turn your stomach...
But read it first...for below I have lots of nasty blog entries to turn your stomach...
Crayfish help NASA explore cosmos
Your science headline for the day....
Crayfish in spaceMacmillan's research feeds into the field of biomimetics, where designs found in nature are used in robotics.
And here are some more from ABC (Australia)...
Related Stories
Insect robot walks on water, News in Science 16 May 2005
Rat-bots act like real rodents, News in Science 25 Feb 2005
Cockroach robot needs a brain, News in Science 24 Aug 2004
Man, those Aussies can really make up great headlines for boring stories...
Crayfish in spaceMacmillan's research feeds into the field of biomimetics, where designs found in nature are used in robotics.
And here are some more from ABC (Australia)...
Related Stories
Insect robot walks on water, News in Science 16 May 2005
Rat-bots act like real rodents, News in Science 25 Feb 2005
Cockroach robot needs a brain, News in Science 24 Aug 2004
Man, those Aussies can really make up great headlines for boring stories...
Buying organs in a land with severe poverty
Even the most grisley story will have these libertarians blithely say: Why not....they don't need their second kidney...etc.
Then an Indian doc went back and checked the donors a couple years later...and found they actually had become poorer, and sicker...
I muse about how poverty forces people to risk their life to support their families on my screedblog...
Then an Indian doc went back and checked the donors a couple years later...and found they actually had become poorer, and sicker...
I muse about how poverty forces people to risk their life to support their families on my screedblog...
Why I don't have an organ donor card
They keep changing the definition of brain death...
see discussion at my screedblog...
Thanks for the heads up from Bioethicsblog
see discussion at my screedblog...
Thanks for the heads up from Bioethicsblog
YUM
Mike's Amazing Cake website shows some of his...AMAZING CAKES...
And if you don't want to eat Scooby Doo, you can find a Austin Powers cake instead...
Bad science writing in the MSM
Improbable research notes:
"Movie stars validate the worth of scientific research, and scientific research validates the thinking of movie stars. A report in the January 15, 2006 issue of The Telegraph seems to make this point....
Having children 'is bad for your mental health'
By Roya Nikkhah
If you thought that the joys of watching your young ones grow up was one of life's simple pleasures, think again. Parenthood is actually bad for your mental health, according to the latest research. George Clooney, the actor who famously vowed never to have children, seems destined to live a happier life than many of his Hollywood peers, according to a new report which found that parents suffer greater depression than people without children. ....
The article then goes on to mix stars/actors/directors opinions that they are happy as equal to the report from the scientific data...
Earth to MSM: Then why are Philippinos considered the happiest people on earth?
I think they are defining the word "happiness" as being "care free/having fun"...but in classical philosophy and religion, happiness is defined as being contented...so an exhausted mother will be "unhappy" by the first definition, but "happy" in the second defintion...
"Movie stars validate the worth of scientific research, and scientific research validates the thinking of movie stars. A report in the January 15, 2006 issue of The Telegraph seems to make this point....
Having children 'is bad for your mental health'
By Roya Nikkhah
If you thought that the joys of watching your young ones grow up was one of life's simple pleasures, think again. Parenthood is actually bad for your mental health, according to the latest research. George Clooney, the actor who famously vowed never to have children, seems destined to live a happier life than many of his Hollywood peers, according to a new report which found that parents suffer greater depression than people without children. ....
The article then goes on to mix stars/actors/directors opinions that they are happy as equal to the report from the scientific data...
Earth to MSM: Then why are Philippinos considered the happiest people on earth?
I think they are defining the word "happiness" as being "care free/having fun"...but in classical philosophy and religion, happiness is defined as being contented...so an exhausted mother will be "unhappy" by the first definition, but "happy" in the second defintion...
His and Her Cellphones...
(heads up from TheCurtJestorBlog)...
And if you have a child, you can get her THIS one..
Cellphones might even save your life...
Monday, January 23, 2006
When Prayer changes lives
I believe that we often forget that prayers are not dry formulas we mutter to an abstraction, but winged messengers to the transcendent, like doves, perhaps, and that there are beings and persons ready to receive them — and answer.
How likely is it that at that precise moment, in a Moscow that had been atheist for more than 70 years, and Orthodox before that for 800, that a musician would be waiting for me, a desperate petitioner, at the head of a very long escalator, offering a passionate Catholic hymn to God’s Mother?
Sometimes there are BIG miracles and visions...but much more often, God works thru "coincidence" and small people doing the right thing...
How likely is it that at that precise moment, in a Moscow that had been atheist for more than 70 years, and Orthodox before that for 800, that a musician would be waiting for me, a desperate petitioner, at the head of a very long escalator, offering a passionate Catholic hymn to God’s Mother?
Sometimes there are BIG miracles and visions...but much more often, God works thru "coincidence" and small people doing the right thing...
Abortion wars: Nope, no press bias here, folks, just move along
Hmmm...I thought that was supposed to be "My undifferentiated parasitic tissue mass/product of conception is pro choice..."When even the pro choice protesters call it a baby, it makes one wonder...of course, the NYTimes says, well whatever, the good news is that we don't kill infants anymore...(except for late term partial birth abortions, but never mind)...(this retelling of history ignores the fact that most cultures that had infanticide were either 1) in a situation where the baby would starve to death, or else 2) a culture where the baby was a girl and the father ordered the infanticide...these cultures now abort their girls...).
GetReligionBlog covers the press coverage on religion...
They will be covering the Abortion wars, and probably will cover the usually poorly covered March For Life...
Blue Monday
January 23 is the most depressing day of the year, according to one scientist.
And No, this is not my cat...he only drinks San Miguel...
Packman wins!!!
The nation – from President Arroyo down to the people in the streets – hailed yesterday the victory of Manny Pacquiao in his super featherweight bout in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.
Absolutely everyone here was watching the match on TV...he is a real hero for the Philippines...
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Wormwood based malaria drug overused?
There is a cheap drug used to cure malaria...it's based on an herb, wormwood...and has been used sucessfully in Asia...
But the WHO worries that if it is overused, resistance will occur....so they are banning it's use unless you mix it with a second drug...but the second drug increases the cost and makes people sick...so people are ignoring his warnings...
EDSA ONE...EDSA TWO...EDSA 3? Naah, PACMAN
Lots of talk and talk and talk...
Tiny professional demonstrations against Arroyo "in the hundreds"...heck, here you could get more people out to protest the results of a cockfight...
Everyone figures GMA is just as corrupt as every other politician...but until there is an alternative, it's mostly talk....
But HERE is what everyone is really talking about:
NEVER mind the unending Senate hearings on exploited evidence and consumed witnesses; forget the Magdalo officers’ escape from their detention cells.
Tiny professional demonstrations against Arroyo "in the hundreds"...heck, here you could get more people out to protest the results of a cockfight...
Everyone figures GMA is just as corrupt as every other politician...but until there is an alternative, it's mostly talk....
But HERE is what everyone is really talking about:
NEVER mind the unending Senate hearings on exploited evidence and consumed witnesses; forget the Magdalo officers’ escape from their detention cells.
And what does it matter that United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan commended the Philippines for its positive contributions during the country’s membership in the UN Security Council?
Be indifferent, show no concern for them.
At the moment on top of them all is Manny Pacquiao.
***
Tomorrow morning (8 a.m., Manila time) when Manny Pacquiao emerges in the ring at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, millions of people around the world will be seeing the face of a nation seeking fame and recognition which it feels it rightfully deserves.
Pacquiao, undoubtedly, represents the country’s hopes and aspirations to free itself from the tumult of its surroundings for a moment of glory and adulations.
And everybody is praying that that moment would come at last....
The Internet police are coming for you...
BoingBoing has lots of links about the DOJ and Google/Yahoo...
However, if you live in China, and see this lady, you're in deep dodoo...
Friday, January 20, 2006
Roots of conflicts
Right now I am listening to Mgt McMillan's lectures on the Versailles conference...
What is interesting is how some of the small things at this conference led to other problems...
The German resentment is well known...
But what about both the Japanese and Chinese disappointment in the treaty? Or how the collapse of the Turkish empire led to modern Iraq being made out of three separate provinces that had little in common...
And how about that chef who tried to submit a petition about his small country....a man named Ho Chi Minh...
What is interesting is how some of the small things at this conference led to other problems...
The German resentment is well known...
But what about both the Japanese and Chinese disappointment in the treaty? Or how the collapse of the Turkish empire led to modern Iraq being made out of three separate provinces that had little in common...
And how about that chef who tried to submit a petition about his small country....a man named Ho Chi Minh...
Another disease to worry about...duh
I ran across the link, reporting a "new crippling disease" spread by mosquitoes...
Chikungunya virus.
Some Peace Corps volunteers got it in the Philippines twenty years ago...no recent reports here, but Malaysia had an outbreak in 1999...
Vad's Corner has a lot of links on it...
So add this one to your "we're all gonna die" list of problems...
And if you can't pronounce the name, you can call it by it's other name: The Buggy Creek Virus...
Chikungunya virus.
Doctors on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion are battling an epidemic of a crippling mosquito-borne disease that has no known cure, French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand said.
About 7,200 cases of "chikungunya" had been recorded, including 1,600 cases last week alone, the minister told the French upper house.
Some Peace Corps volunteers got it in the Philippines twenty years ago...no recent reports here, but Malaysia had an outbreak in 1999...
Vad's Corner has a lot of links on it...
So add this one to your "we're all gonna die" list of problems...
And if you can't pronounce the name, you can call it by it's other name: The Buggy Creek Virus...
Terrorism and the bomb
Interesting analysis..
Summary:The nutty mullas who are Shiites in Iran and Sunnis from Saudi Arabian who fund madrasses all over the world agree one only one thing: that the Caliphate and ultimately the world should be retaken by Islam.....
But the bomb (and other WMD) are too complicated for terror groups to use properly...so only a rogue state could enable them to use one...
But if they do, it won't be kept a secret who did it...and voila, there goes (insert name of the capital of your favorite Axis of Evil country).....
Bush is scary enough to do it...but he is not the only one who might nuke back... other countries like Russia and Israel would ..(heck, even Chirac would )
But suppose their dreams came true, and they destroyed the infidels without turning themselves into a radioactive waste dump...what would happen then?
UMM... they'd turn their nukes and WMD's against each other (Remember the Iran Iraq war? Sadam gassed Iranian soldiers)...
Bush may be an ignorant cowboy, but he sees conventional intervention might break the monopoly of self delusional propaganda..
Is this analysis true? I don't know.....
But like Bird flu, global warming, and the plight of the bumble bee, it's another "we're all going to die" moment....Don't worry...Be Happy....
Summary:The nutty mullas who are Shiites in Iran and Sunnis from Saudi Arabian who fund madrasses all over the world agree one only one thing: that the Caliphate and ultimately the world should be retaken by Islam.....
But the bomb (and other WMD) are too complicated for terror groups to use properly...so only a rogue state could enable them to use one...
But if they do, it won't be kept a secret who did it...and voila, there goes (insert name of the capital of your favorite Axis of Evil country).....
Bush is scary enough to do it...but he is not the only one who might nuke back... other countries like Russia and Israel would ..(heck, even Chirac would )
But suppose their dreams came true, and they destroyed the infidels without turning themselves into a radioactive waste dump...what would happen then?
UMM... they'd turn their nukes and WMD's against each other (Remember the Iran Iraq war? Sadam gassed Iranian soldiers)...
Bush may be an ignorant cowboy, but he sees conventional intervention might break the monopoly of self delusional propaganda..
Is this analysis true? I don't know.....
But like Bird flu, global warming, and the plight of the bumble bee, it's another "we're all going to die" moment....Don't worry...Be Happy....
Is it Osama or is it the Onion?
"You may have dozens of bases in Afghanistan. You may have thousands of bombs," bin Laden said. "But know this: We still have three or four guns and a full crate of bullets. And some knives, I think. You cannot hope to prevail."...
"Men of the armies of Pakistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan; Americans of the 101st Airborne, 10th Mountain Division, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 4th Special Operations Group, 8th Army Mechanized Battalion, SEAL Teams Four, Six, and Nine, and the Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. Carl Vinson... you are hereby required to report to the smoldering remains of our air base southeast of Kandahar," the statement read. "Turn your weapons over to Kamal and Azir, these two guys who should still be there. Kamal will be the one with the bad limp. After you have been processed by them and your surrender has been accepted, you will be released and sent home as soon as possible. Please, do not throw away any more lives in this useless struggle. Please."
I guess he heard Bushie boy needed help in extending the Patriot Act...
----------------------------------------
REDLETTERDAYBLOG has more...
"Men of the armies of Pakistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan; Americans of the 101st Airborne, 10th Mountain Division, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 4th Special Operations Group, 8th Army Mechanized Battalion, SEAL Teams Four, Six, and Nine, and the Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. Carl Vinson... you are hereby required to report to the smoldering remains of our air base southeast of Kandahar," the statement read. "Turn your weapons over to Kamal and Azir, these two guys who should still be there. Kamal will be the one with the bad limp. After you have been processed by them and your surrender has been accepted, you will be released and sent home as soon as possible. Please, do not throw away any more lives in this useless struggle. Please."
I guess he heard Bushie boy needed help in extending the Patriot Act...
----------------------------------------
REDLETTERDAYBLOG has more...
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Euthanasia in the UK is rare
Although some US reports are touting a large number of euthanasia deaths in the UK, the reality is that it is rare...
It's easy to misunderstand treatment and language in these things. and I have a short discussion of this on my other blog HERE...
It's easy to misunderstand treatment and language in these things. and I have a short discussion of this on my other blog HERE...
Falling sand game
After writing about child labour, the Iraqi bomb, the holocaust, and the culture wars, I need something relaxing...
Or, if you want to be hypnotized try THIS optical illusion..
(heads up from those relaxing neocons at the corner)
Or, if you want to be hypnotized try THIS optical illusion..
(heads up from those relaxing neocons at the corner)
Math impaired Mullahs
While linking to the Iranian Holocaust denial conference, I noticed this exchange between experts:
Guess they can't do basic math...
But for anyone familiar with the Nazi language to justify the Holocaust, i.e. that Jews were a tumor on the purity of the Aryan race, the following comment is more chilling...
----------------
Dr. Majid Goudarzi: Look, what they are saying is more false than true. ...A friend sent an e-mail, in which he wrote that they claim 700 people were crammed into a 30-meter room...
Interviewer: 25 meters.
Dr. Majid Goudarzi: 25 meters. ...and that they were killed there by Hitler... .
Interviewer: No, the claim is that if 700 people were in a 25-meter room, there would have been 30 people on every meter. This makes no sense....
----------------
Guess they can't do basic math...
But for anyone familiar with the Nazi language to justify the Holocaust, i.e. that Jews were a tumor on the purity of the Aryan race, the following comment is more chilling...
----------------
Dr. Majid Goudarzi: A country like Israel... Its flag has two colors: blue and white. The upper stripe represents the Nile, and the bottom stripe the Euphrates. It says that its reign stretches from the Nile to the Euphrates. It puts the Star of David in the middle, and demonstrates its aggressive character daily, by raising this flag. I hope that one day humanity will reach the conclusion that the only solution for this cancerous tumor is an operation.
---------------------------------------------
And these terrible people are getting the Bomb, thanks to the European Unions search for "peaceful solutions"....
Trey Jackson call your office...their nasty letter is not working...
Sobmother likes NIGHT
The hyped book that Oprah thinks everyone on the planet should read is Elie Wiesel's book about the Holocaust "NIGHT"...
Good. Now, send a couple thousand copies to Iran...
Good. Now, send a couple thousand copies to Iran...
YOGURT!
IF you use genetically modified yogurt right, you can prevent HIV infection, according to this "NATURE" report...but the stories are unclear if this means you can eat it, or have to use it like you do Spermacides...
Then you start looking at the "Sources" and find they are all either Indian newspapers (which stress the science was done by an "Indian" scientist) or Food Fad magazines...
The UPI report gives out the REAL story..
The bacteria have only been tested in the lab....
Your "junk science" article for today...
Then you start looking at the "Sources" and find they are all either Indian newspapers (which stress the science was done by an "Indian" scientist) or Food Fad magazines...
The UPI report gives out the REAL story..
The bacteria have only been tested in the lab....
Your "junk science" article for today...
Stuck on Stupid (RANT)
Sometimes one can only shake one's head about the "culture wars"...between the far right bigots and the clueless left wing press...
So we get stupid headlines like this: No Christian Hoorays for Hollywood
CHRISTIAN groups have launched a furious campaign against Hollywood, claiming the Golden Globe Awards promote films with gay or "leftist" themes to serve a political agenda.
Well, that's not strictly true...the reviews on the Catholic bishop's website and on Hollywood Jesus gave Broadback mountain GOOD reviews...that noted how well the themes of illicit love was handled...
But that, of course, is not the point...The point is that reporters would rather have a "hot" story than a nuanced one...which is why I suspect these simplistic arguments are given more press coverage than, say, Bishop Chaput's nuanced arguments on the sanctity of marriage...(when the NYT tried to misquote the Bishop on another issue, Chaput actually published the entire interview on his website...(PDF here)..imagine the cheek of the bishop....Attention NYT: Never, NEVER mess with a Potawatomi...)
What the culture war is about is money, of course....opposing a "gay" movie lets you raise money, trumpeting a sad movie about love and betrayal is a "breakthru" for gay rights helps those groups raise money, and trumpeting the controversy sells newspapers.
What is missing is polite discourse about a very profound change in our social institutions...
So we get stupid headlines like this: No Christian Hoorays for Hollywood
CHRISTIAN groups have launched a furious campaign against Hollywood, claiming the Golden Globe Awards promote films with gay or "leftist" themes to serve a political agenda.
Well, that's not strictly true...the reviews on the Catholic bishop's website and on Hollywood Jesus gave Broadback mountain GOOD reviews...that noted how well the themes of illicit love was handled...
But that, of course, is not the point...The point is that reporters would rather have a "hot" story than a nuanced one...which is why I suspect these simplistic arguments are given more press coverage than, say, Bishop Chaput's nuanced arguments on the sanctity of marriage...(when the NYT tried to misquote the Bishop on another issue, Chaput actually published the entire interview on his website...(PDF here)..imagine the cheek of the bishop....Attention NYT: Never, NEVER mess with a Potawatomi...)
What the culture war is about is money, of course....opposing a "gay" movie lets you raise money, trumpeting a sad movie about love and betrayal is a "breakthru" for gay rights helps those groups raise money, and trumpeting the controversy sells newspapers.
What is missing is polite discourse about a very profound change in our social institutions...
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Gold medal winners
Congratulations to the skaters who got the gold medals at Lake Placid competitions
MLK Holiday: Remember
And the Speech...
Sometimes it helps to remember why this is not a "bashevilbush" holiday for Democrats....
Michelle Malkin, call your office...we know you're really a WASP....
Sometimes it helps to remember why this is not a "bashevilbush" holiday for Democrats....
Michelle Malkin, call your office...we know you're really a WASP....
The coolest Viral Ads on the internet
Definition Of Viral Marketing
A good definition of viral marketing and advertising has been provided by Dr. Ralph Wilson. He states:
Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence. Like viruses, such strategies take advantage of rapid multiplication to explode the message to thousands, to millions.
Some of them are gems..."FAVORITES" ....but NOT workplace friendly...
No, Luke, you can't download Paris Hilton Hamburger commercial...
oh yes...the notorious VW suicide bomber is here too...
(Heads up from itcomesinpints? blog)
A good definition of viral marketing and advertising has been provided by Dr. Ralph Wilson. He states:
Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence. Like viruses, such strategies take advantage of rapid multiplication to explode the message to thousands, to millions.
Some of them are gems..."FAVORITES" ....but NOT workplace friendly...
No, Luke, you can't download Paris Hilton Hamburger commercial...
oh yes...the notorious VW suicide bomber is here too...
(Heads up from itcomesinpints? blog)
A Lefse city
Your Lileks' quote of the day:
"...(Gnat's) at the age where she’d hear a mayor of a town insist that it should be a chocolate town, and she’d think it was sweet. You want to keep them innocent of idiocies of all stripes as long as possible. Remember Grand Forks? It was a town that had the unusual distinction of flooding, then catching on fire. I’m imagining the mayor, were he gripped with the same sort of impolitic idiocy that seized Mayor Nagin, insisting that Grand Forks was “a lefse city, and it would be a lefse city against, because that’s how God wants it.” I’m trying to imagine it, but I can’t. Ah well. Failure of imagination; happens. I also cannot imagine how a desire for monoculturalism will be explained away as an expression of multiculturalism, but I expect that will follow quickly. I need to spend more time in Room 101, perhaps.
Lileks is a master of Irony...
Wikipedia on the flood HERE
But I lived near Grand Forks at the time...
The pride of the city is the headline- the press building was under water, but they still put a paper out every day...LINK
And yes, it WAS a multicultural city...and the mayor was a "she"...
I worked Indian Health Service at the time, and the local Chippewa sent help to build the dikes, and later to clean up...and many locals had relatives and friends boarding with them, and many church groups collected supplies and sent help...which is why I was angry that after Katrina, when CNNI concentrated on complaining about FEMA (in order to bash Bush) and mainly reported on New Orleans (Rather than the more devestated areas of Mississippi)...
But the REAL story is that thousands of locals helped each other...fishermen and Coast Guard risked lives saving people, many peole boarded relatives and friends in their home, and hundreds of church groups sent in food, water, and shelter, and helped in the cleanup.... that stuff didn't get on CNN...
In Grand Forks, FEMA came in later, and Clinton arrived on day 4 to feel their pain...And notice, the rebuilding was helped by McDonalds..
Up in the sky: it's a bird...it's a plane...it's a...
Jellyfish Nebula(Headsup from ColThermal Updraft)
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Adult stem cells help prevent heart attack damage
Essentially, what they did was get bonemarrow from people who just had a heart attack, then they separated the stem cells, and reinject them into the heart...
LANCET LINK HERE
LANCET LINK HERE
Do you always mislay your flash drive?
Now there is no excuse...
except the powder blue flash wrist band clashes with my red Kabbalah wristband, my yellow Lance Armstrong anti cancer bracelet, my pink anti breast cancer bracelet...well,here's the list of politically correct braclets to show that you REALLY REALLY CARE
:
Yellow: Cancer (Lance Armstrong's charity) More yellow: Support Our Troops (also in camouflage green) Blue: Anti-bullying, anti-Bush vote, tsunami relief, prostate cancer Pink: Breast cancer Red: Heart-disease, vote Bush, anti-tobacco, HIV Purple: Cystic fibrosis, lupus (also orange), domestic violence White: Jesus Loves Me, right to life Orange: Asperger's, self-harm Grey: Diabetes, brain cancer Black & white: Racism in football Green: Ecology, leukaemia, organ donor Gold: Childhood cancer Black: Mourning, melanoma
LINK
the second Carnivale of the Couture is up
theme:“Fashion Don’ts That Make You Crazy”
Headsup from Manolo...
Raelians hire Hwang, the lying cloner
Who would hire a scientist who faked experiments? the Raelians, of course....the Raelian Movement, a cult-like religious group ...maintains humans were created by aliens....
According to them, he didn't fake the experiments, he's an innocent victim of (ta-da) the EVIL CATHOLIC CHURCH...
Hmmm...sounds like they read the DaVinci Code...
(headsup from Secondhandsmokeblog)
According to them, he didn't fake the experiments, he's an innocent victim of (ta-da) the EVIL CATHOLIC CHURCH...
Hmmm...sounds like they read the DaVinci Code...
(headsup from Secondhandsmokeblog)
Faking photographs
The blogosphere is laughing at the NYTimes not being able to tell the difference between a missile and an artillary shell...probably from the 1980's...
But, as Powerline sadly observes: ".. Which means the photo was deliberately faked by the people depicted, probably with the knowing aid of the AFP photographer. I think the villagers were lying about not hosting members of al Qaeda, too......No doubt the picture will be reproduced in many newspapers around the world."
And so we will see rioting, thanks to inaccurate reports of innocent civilians killed by the evil Americans, and the proof will be that faked photograph...
---------------------------------
On the other hand, you won't see demonstrations about THIS or THIS or THIS
or THIS
or THIS or This...or THIS
After all, it would be embarassing to realize the Great Satan airlifted ten million pounds of supplies despite bad weather to save the lives of earthquake victims...
---------------------
Update: Jan 19...
After the newsbuzz for three days was that "stupid CIA missed them" or "evil America hit innocent people and see we have the photo to prove it", comes this report
LINK
Jan. 18, 2006 — ABC News has learned that al Qaeda's master bomb maker and chemical weapons expert was one of the men killed in last week's U.S. missile attack in eastern Pakistan...."This is extraordinarily important," said former FBI agent Jack Cloonan.... "He's the man who trained the shoe bomber, Richard Reid and Zacharias Mousssaoui, as well as hundreds of others."
Pakistani authorities tell ABC News ....al Qaeda's No. 2 man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was also expected to attend but apparently changed his mind.
But, as Powerline sadly observes: ".. Which means the photo was deliberately faked by the people depicted, probably with the knowing aid of the AFP photographer. I think the villagers were lying about not hosting members of al Qaeda, too......No doubt the picture will be reproduced in many newspapers around the world."
And so we will see rioting, thanks to inaccurate reports of innocent civilians killed by the evil Americans, and the proof will be that faked photograph...
---------------------------------
On the other hand, you won't see demonstrations about THIS or THIS or THIS
or THIS
or THIS or This...or THIS
After all, it would be embarassing to realize the Great Satan airlifted ten million pounds of supplies despite bad weather to save the lives of earthquake victims...
---------------------
Update: Jan 19...
After the newsbuzz for three days was that "stupid CIA missed them" or "evil America hit innocent people and see we have the photo to prove it", comes this report
LINK
Jan. 18, 2006 — ABC News has learned that al Qaeda's master bomb maker and chemical weapons expert was one of the men killed in last week's U.S. missile attack in eastern Pakistan...."This is extraordinarily important," said former FBI agent Jack Cloonan.... "He's the man who trained the shoe bomber, Richard Reid and Zacharias Mousssaoui, as well as hundreds of others."
Pakistani authorities tell ABC News ....al Qaeda's No. 2 man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was also expected to attend but apparently changed his mind.
Influential "christian" leader...bah humbug
Indeed, the highest ranking Catholic on the list is number 40, Sean Hannity (I bet they didn't know he was a papist, since he is ultra right wing conservative--unlike the others, they didn't note his church)...
And the Pope? well, they finally got around to him as number 44...
And the Pope? well, they finally got around to him as number 44...
Monday, January 16, 2006
Your B 16 quote of the day (with a little help from Ghandi)
I would like to conclude my remarks with a fine quotation from Mahatma Gandhi which I recently, found in a calendar. Gandhi mentions the three “living areas” of the cosmos and notes that each of these involves a specific manner of existing. Fish live in the sea, and they are silent. Animals on earth below, bark and bray. But the birds who inhabit the heavens sing. Silence is proper to the sea, braying is proper to the earth, and singing belongs to heaven. But man has a share in all three, for within himself he bears the depths of the sea, the burden of the earth and the heights of heaven. Hence he possesses all three properties: silence, bellowing and singing.
Today, I would like to add, we see that for man deprived of transcendence there remains only braying, because he desires to be earth arid nothing more, indeed tries to make the heavens and the ocean deep to be his earth. True liturgy, the liturgy of the communion of saints, gives man once again his completeness. It instructs him once again in silence and in singing by opening for him the depths of the sea and by teaching him to fly—the existence of the angels. By “lifting up the heart;” true liturgy allows the buried song to resound in man once again... True liturgy sings with the angels, and true liturgy is silent with the expectant depths of the universe. And thus true liturgy redeems the earth.
--------------
That reminds me of the saying that In Heaven, the Angels sing Mozart...
Thanks for headsup from RexOlandiblog...
Today, I would like to add, we see that for man deprived of transcendence there remains only braying, because he desires to be earth arid nothing more, indeed tries to make the heavens and the ocean deep to be his earth. True liturgy, the liturgy of the communion of saints, gives man once again his completeness. It instructs him once again in silence and in singing by opening for him the depths of the sea and by teaching him to fly—the existence of the angels. By “lifting up the heart;” true liturgy allows the buried song to resound in man once again... True liturgy sings with the angels, and true liturgy is silent with the expectant depths of the universe. And thus true liturgy redeems the earth.
--------------
That reminds me of the saying that In Heaven, the Angels sing Mozart...
Thanks for headsup from RexOlandiblog...
24...24...24...
Dave Barry usually posts summaries of the series "24" (newest one not up yet, but check his blog tomorrow)...
And the site "the American (Right wing wacko) Thinker" has not one, but TWO articles on it...
LINK LINK
Translation: Jack is fantasy Bush...and THAT should scare you...
And for all of Hollywood's attempt to push political correctness, maybe they should know that the show is now being shown on the most popular English network in Asia...LINK LINK2
Of course, we're only into season 2...in the US they are on season five...
Fansite HERE
As for my opinion: Don't ask me...I've never watched the show...
And the site "the American (Right wing wacko) Thinker" has not one, but TWO articles on it...
LINK LINK
Translation: Jack is fantasy Bush...and THAT should scare you...
And for all of Hollywood's attempt to push political correctness, maybe they should know that the show is now being shown on the most popular English network in Asia...LINK LINK2
Of course, we're only into season 2...in the US they are on season five...
Fansite HERE
As for my opinion: Don't ask me...I've never watched the show...
Sunday, January 15, 2006
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Rizalist blogs about the state of Philippine politics...Gloria is not quite out of hot water...
Don't ask me about it, I'm a Democrat...our motto is "vote early and vote often"...
;-)
Don't ask me about it, I'm a Democrat...our motto is "vote early and vote often"...
;-)
Want to win E25 000? Have no talent?
Easy...just paint a canvas with red paint, and add a politically correct explanation, and you too can be a prize winning artist...
"The painting entitled Specto Spectus I & II has been on display at Bonhams auction house in central London. ....
"...Her painting is described as "a carmine-coloured painting whose subtle surface textures speak of an overt male world of leather bound clubs, but also a subversive powerful female reality that links it to blood and veins which appear to work below the surface."
Now, compare photo number one with photo number two, which won the prize...
Notice that they are similar?
Well, photo number one is from a dead link "www.floorplan.ie/
Hmmm...floor plan? So I googled Rawson, and guess what? There is a UK company named Rawson Spectus...They sell carpet tiles for floors...
Coincidence?
Inquiring minds want to know....
Clueless in blogdom
Bettnet is hyperventillating about some politician in Manila proposing forced sterilization to slow Philippino population growth...
Umm...fellahs...they can't even collect the garbage across the street from city hall, so how are they planning to organize this?
It's merely the Manila elite trying to please the US NGO's that push family planning...but the reality is that it is piffle...blowing gas...every once in a while we read such things by a politician in a paper...no one takes it seriously...
Besides, the locals would up and join the NPA if they tried such a thing...and even more docs and nurses would head to Saudi Arabia and Canada...
Umm...fellahs...they can't even collect the garbage across the street from city hall, so how are they planning to organize this?
It's merely the Manila elite trying to please the US NGO's that push family planning...but the reality is that it is piffle...blowing gas...every once in a while we read such things by a politician in a paper...no one takes it seriously...
Besides, the locals would up and join the NPA if they tried such a thing...and even more docs and nurses would head to Saudi Arabia and Canada...
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Money, money, money
See that tiny add in the top left of my blog?
I get paid for running it...so much for every one who views the blog, and so much for anyone who clicks on the blog...
In the past year I have earned $2.61...
Wheeee!
I get paid for running it...so much for every one who views the blog, and so much for anyone who clicks on the blog...
In the past year I have earned $2.61...
Wheeee!
It's about the oil stupid
One of the things that has changed in the last 16 years that I have been visiting the Philippines there are so many more cars....
Not to mention electricity to the villages, and the presence of handplows to prepare the fields instead of the traditional water buffalo (although the water buffalo are still used for many things)...
So what is rarely mentioned during the "it's about the oil" rants that I read is the question: whose oil?
I haven't been to China, but with the economic increases of Chinese manufacturing and increase in wealth, their oil needs are increasing...
The link is to how China pulled a business coup against American and other oil companies in getting apipeline built...note the stuff in the article about Iran...
However, China is expanding their economic power into Africa (many ties with Zim...and their oil ties with Sudan prevents the UN from censoring that country about the genocide in Dafur)...
And, of course, the PHilippines industries suffer not only from Gloria's corrupt government but from being underpriced by cheap imports by Chinese labour...
Just making observations...don't know enough to make a judgement...
Not to mention electricity to the villages, and the presence of handplows to prepare the fields instead of the traditional water buffalo (although the water buffalo are still used for many things)...
So what is rarely mentioned during the "it's about the oil" rants that I read is the question: whose oil?
I haven't been to China, but with the economic increases of Chinese manufacturing and increase in wealth, their oil needs are increasing...
The link is to how China pulled a business coup against American and other oil companies in getting apipeline built...note the stuff in the article about Iran...
However, China is expanding their economic power into Africa (many ties with Zim...and their oil ties with Sudan prevents the UN from censoring that country about the genocide in Dafur)...
And, of course, the PHilippines industries suffer not only from Gloria's corrupt government but from being underpriced by cheap imports by Chinese labour...
Just making observations...don't know enough to make a judgement...
Evil Burt's twin is everywhere
Fark had an expose on EvilBurt's presence in movies....well, here is a panda conspiracy page...Aggh they're everywhere!
(heads up from Cute Overload)
Friday, January 13, 2006
FUNNY TALES OF THE TECHNOLOGICALLY CHALLENGED
Customer: I'm trying to connect to the Internet with your CD, but it just doesn't work. What am I doing wrong?
Tech support: OK, you've got the CD in the CD drive, right?
Customer: Yeah.... Tech support: And what sort of computer are you using?
Customer: Computer? Oh no, I haven't got a computer. It's in the CD player
===============
Tech support: What kind of computer do you have?
Female customer: A white one...
===============
Customer: Hi, this is Celine. I can't get my diskette out.
Tech support: Have you tried pushing the button?
Customer: Yes, sure, it's really stuck.
Tech support: That doesn't so sound good; I'll make a note.
Customer: No. Wait a minute... I hadn't inserted it yet... it's still on my desk... sorry....
===============
Tech support: Click on the 'my computer' icon on to the left of the screen.
Customer: Your left or my left?
===============
Tech support: Good day. How may I help you?
Mal e customer: Hello... I can't print.
Tech support: Would you click on "start" for me and...
Customer: Listen pal; don't start getting technical on me! I'm not Bill Gates, damn it!
===============
Customer: Hi, good afternoon, this is Martha, I can't print. Every time I try, it says 'Can't find printer'. I've even lifted the printer and placed it in front of the monitor, but the computer still says he can't find it...
===============
Customer: I have problems printing in red...
Tech support: Do you have a color printer?
Customer: Aaaah....................thank you.
===============
Tech support: What's on your monitor now, ma'am?
Customer: A teddy bear my boyfriend bought for me in the supermarket.
===============
Customer: My keyboard is not working anymore.
Tech support: Are you sure it's plugged into the computer?
Customer: No. I can't get behind the computer.
Tech support: Pick up your keyboard and walk 10 paces back.
Customer: OK Tech support: Did the keyboard come with you?
Customer: Yes Tech support: That means the keyboard is not plugged in. Is there another keyboard?
Customer: Yes, there's another one here. Ah...that one does work
===============
Tech support: Your password is the small letter a as in apple, a capital letter V as in Victor, the number 7.
Customer: Is that 7 in capital letters?
===============
Tech support: What anti-virus program do you use?
Customer: Netscape. Tech support: That's not an anti-virus program.
Customer: Oh, sorry...Internet Explorer.
===============
Customer: I have a huge problem. A friend has placed a screen saver on my computer, but every time I move the mouse, it disappears.
===============
Tech support: How may I help you?
Customer: I'm writing my first e-mail.
Tech support: OK, and what seems to be the problem?
Customer: Well, I have the letter 'a' in the address, but how do I get the circle around it?
===============
A woman customer called the Canon help desk with a problem with her printer.
Tech support: Are you running it under windows?
Customer: "No, my desk is next to the door, but that is a good point. The man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window, and his printer is working fine."
===============
(From an email from Col. Thermal Updraft...)
Tech support: OK, you've got the CD in the CD drive, right?
Customer: Yeah.... Tech support: And what sort of computer are you using?
Customer: Computer? Oh no, I haven't got a computer. It's in the CD player
===============
Tech support: What kind of computer do you have?
Female customer: A white one...
===============
Customer: Hi, this is Celine. I can't get my diskette out.
Tech support: Have you tried pushing the button?
Customer: Yes, sure, it's really stuck.
Tech support: That doesn't so sound good; I'll make a note.
Customer: No. Wait a minute... I hadn't inserted it yet... it's still on my desk... sorry....
===============
Tech support: Click on the 'my computer' icon on to the left of the screen.
Customer: Your left or my left?
===============
Tech support: Good day. How may I help you?
Mal e customer: Hello... I can't print.
Tech support: Would you click on "start" for me and...
Customer: Listen pal; don't start getting technical on me! I'm not Bill Gates, damn it!
===============
Customer: Hi, good afternoon, this is Martha, I can't print. Every time I try, it says 'Can't find printer'. I've even lifted the printer and placed it in front of the monitor, but the computer still says he can't find it...
===============
Customer: I have problems printing in red...
Tech support: Do you have a color printer?
Customer: Aaaah....................thank you.
===============
Tech support: What's on your monitor now, ma'am?
Customer: A teddy bear my boyfriend bought for me in the supermarket.
===============
Customer: My keyboard is not working anymore.
Tech support: Are you sure it's plugged into the computer?
Customer: No. I can't get behind the computer.
Tech support: Pick up your keyboard and walk 10 paces back.
Customer: OK Tech support: Did the keyboard come with you?
Customer: Yes Tech support: That means the keyboard is not plugged in. Is there another keyboard?
Customer: Yes, there's another one here. Ah...that one does work
===============
Tech support: Your password is the small letter a as in apple, a capital letter V as in Victor, the number 7.
Customer: Is that 7 in capital letters?
===============
Tech support: What anti-virus program do you use?
Customer: Netscape. Tech support: That's not an anti-virus program.
Customer: Oh, sorry...Internet Explorer.
===============
Customer: I have a huge problem. A friend has placed a screen saver on my computer, but every time I move the mouse, it disappears.
===============
Tech support: How may I help you?
Customer: I'm writing my first e-mail.
Tech support: OK, and what seems to be the problem?
Customer: Well, I have the letter 'a' in the address, but how do I get the circle around it?
===============
A woman customer called the Canon help desk with a problem with her printer.
Tech support: Are you running it under windows?
Customer: "No, my desk is next to the door, but that is a good point. The man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window, and his printer is working fine."
===============
(From an email from Col. Thermal Updraft...)
Dave Barry alert
As you know, DaveBarry has stopped writing his weekly newspaper column...
However, he still has a blog, which is (literally) filled with bathroom humor...
However, he is also reporting on important things, such as THIS summary of the TV Show 24
And he links to important PHOTOS of our beloved Sect of Defense...
and keeps us alert to new INVENTIONS and clothing that we would otherwise not know about...including the latest fashion for deer who attend PennState...
STATE COLLEGE -- Police over the weekend responded to two separate calls involving roadkill.
In the first incident, individuals reported that a dead deer dressed in a man's dress shirt and tie, was found along the 200 block of North Atherton Street on Sunday.
It was unknown how the deer got to the area. There were no reports of any vehicles striking an animal in that area....
There is no comment in the newspaper article about why the deer was wearing a dress shirt and tie....this is unusual, since most people in State college wear teeshirt...
However, he still has a blog, which is (literally) filled with bathroom humor...
However, he is also reporting on important things, such as THIS summary of the TV Show 24
And he links to important PHOTOS of our beloved Sect of Defense...
and keeps us alert to new INVENTIONS and clothing that we would otherwise not know about...including the latest fashion for deer who attend PennState...
STATE COLLEGE -- Police over the weekend responded to two separate calls involving roadkill.
In the first incident, individuals reported that a dead deer dressed in a man's dress shirt and tie, was found along the 200 block of North Atherton Street on Sunday.
It was unknown how the deer got to the area. There were no reports of any vehicles striking an animal in that area....
There is no comment in the newspaper article about why the deer was wearing a dress shirt and tie....this is unusual, since most people in State college wear teeshirt...
Your headline of the day
Schoolgirls protest New Orleans' proneness
Presumably, New Orleans should only do it standing up....
(oh wash out my mouth with soap)
Presumably, New Orleans should only do it standing up....
(oh wash out my mouth with soap)
Your medical "non story" of the day
Half of Americans use prescription drugs: survey
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About half of all U.S. women and 40 percent of U.S. men are currently using or have recently used a prescription drug, according to government statistics published on Thursday.
Translation: Lots of women take Birth control pills...lots of older people take high blood pressure pills...lots of kids are given antibiotics...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About half of all U.S. women and 40 percent of U.S. men are currently using or have recently used a prescription drug, according to government statistics published on Thursday.
Translation: Lots of women take Birth control pills...lots of older people take high blood pressure pills...lots of kids are given antibiotics...
Thursday, January 12, 2006
The First Computer Bug
I've been posting too much on medicine and medical ethics...zzzzzzzzSo here is the FIRST COMPUTER BUG...and a photo of the Navy officer who coined the phrase...
"...Have you ever wondered where the term "computer bug" comes from? The Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator stopped working in September 1945. Lieutenant Junior Grade Hopper (who was always good with gadgets) was one of those who took it apart piece by piece until a moth was found stuck between the contacts of relay number 70. The log entry says "First actual case of bug being found," and the word went out that the machine had been "debugged."
"...Perhaps [Grace Hopper's] best-known contribution to computing was the invention of the compiler, the intermediate program that translates English language instructions into the language of the target computer.
"Amazing Grace even has a US Naval vessel named in her honor. The USS Hopper (DDG-70) .."
.....Grace Hopper's Story is at the link...
In vitro fertilization? Is it overused?
LINK2
"..Although IVF is used routinely for the treatment of unexplained infertility, there is limited evidence to show that it is more effective than expectant management"
IVF is indicated if the tubes are blocked...but is being overused...
My essay on this moved Screedblog HERE
"..Although IVF is used routinely for the treatment of unexplained infertility, there is limited evidence to show that it is more effective than expectant management"
IVF is indicated if the tubes are blocked...but is being overused...
My essay on this moved Screedblog HERE
The Demon seed
The abortion wars are being fought against the latest Judicial appointment, and the blogs are full of lengthy stuff about it...
So, as a satire(via Dustbury) Brian asks the question that the Democratic senators would love to ask Alito:
Judge Alito, assuming that your wife were raped by Satan and impregnated, would you not then support abortion? Indeed, would you not, for the betterment of mankind and service to God, use a spoon and a penlight yourself to rid this world of the demon spawn, even if your wife were in her third trimester?
And the demon seed? Well, that's a "comic book" type question, but the comic books actually have an answer: That with a loving father, even "the spawn of hell" may grow up to be a hero...
So, as a satire(via Dustbury) Brian asks the question that the Democratic senators would love to ask Alito:
Judge Alito, assuming that your wife were raped by Satan and impregnated, would you not then support abortion? Indeed, would you not, for the betterment of mankind and service to God, use a spoon and a penlight yourself to rid this world of the demon spawn, even if your wife were in her third trimester?
And the demon seed? Well, that's a "comic book" type question, but the comic books actually have an answer: That with a loving father, even "the spawn of hell" may grow up to be a hero...
Barbie is Jewish?
Nu...who woulda thought
"Saudi Arabia's religious police had then just banned "Barbie the Jewish doll", whose "revealing clothes and shameful postures, accessories and tools are a symbol of decadence to the perverted West"..... "
Guess the Mullahs never saw these Barbie dolls...
"Saudi Arabia's religious police had then just banned "Barbie the Jewish doll", whose "revealing clothes and shameful postures, accessories and tools are a symbol of decadence to the perverted West"..... "
Guess the Mullahs never saw these Barbie dolls...
Evil Burt sweeps the People's choice Awards
Remember Evil Burt?
He is now in the Movies (from Fark)
Oh yes: Starwars III sweeps the PCA's...
Reese Witherspoon ... thanked the public.
"You guys voted for us. Not the stuffy people in closed rooms... people who voted actually go to the movies," she said.
Shhessh...first Bloggers diss the MSM now actresses are dissing the Oscars...
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Lectures on line
While browsing, I ran across a lecture from MIT on Tolkien and Lewis and Beowulf...
There are not only podcasts from universities, but download of pdf notes on many things...including medical, of course...
I already download my audiodigest lectures...and had watched films on bioterrorism preparation from the CDC...
And now, they have a CDC film on bird flu...
Ah, broadband...it's wonderful...
There are not only podcasts from universities, but download of pdf notes on many things...including medical, of course...
I already download my audiodigest lectures...and had watched films on bioterrorism preparation from the CDC...
And now, they have a CDC film on bird flu...
Ah, broadband...it's wonderful...
NY Times on Bird Flu
Lots of questions:
Why that area and not other nearby areas of Turkey...
Why did all the outbreaks occur at the same time...
Why some with bird flu aren't sick...
Why that area and not other nearby areas of Turkey...
Why did all the outbreaks occur at the same time...
Why some with bird flu aren't sick...
Bird flu blogs
An alternate website is HERE and HERE and HERE
There are ongoing rumors that China is covering up an epidemic...LINK (easy to believe, since that's what they did in SARS)
Now they are claiming star anise protects you from bird flu...duh LINK
Am I worried about Bird Flu? Of course...but there's not much I can do about it...except only eat port and fish...
But we have so many other problems... right now we are having a diarrhea epidemic in our area...
This LINK is about Palawan, not here...but we've had lots of sick babies...
------------------
UPDATE: JackWoodal wryly points out that maybe we should worry more about Yellow Fever...
There are ongoing rumors that China is covering up an epidemic...LINK (easy to believe, since that's what they did in SARS)
Now they are claiming star anise protects you from bird flu...duh LINK
Am I worried about Bird Flu? Of course...but there's not much I can do about it...except only eat port and fish...
But we have so many other problems... right now we are having a diarrhea epidemic in our area...
This LINK is about Palawan, not here...but we've had lots of sick babies...
------------------
UPDATE: JackWoodal wryly points out that maybe we should worry more about Yellow Fever...
Elaine is missing
Ruby lost her dog, Elaine.
We dropped Ruby off at school and left the gate open, and probably the dog ran out...since she is small and friendly, we figure someone stole her to sell...
Stem cell hype in the press...
Ethicist Wesley Smith notes that the coverage of the Korean clone scandal doesn't bother to mention the ethics behind the procdure...
It is amazing how similar every story I have read on the Hwang fraud follows the same template, including this AP report. Ditto this New York Times story that ran on the front page below the fold.
1) Report the facts that Hwang is a fraud, but don't accurately describe the process of cloning;
2) Have scientists assure that the field will go forward, perhaps with even more vigor.
3) Describe the dashed hopes of people with degenerative conditions, but do not breathe a word about the adult stem cell research that offers at least as much, if not more, hope to these people--and sooner.....
Reuter's summary HERE
Korean Summary HERE
gives more details...
In an earlier post, he notes:
The Hwang fraud illustrates the problems with human cloning in a nutshell: The hype, the wild promises, the exploitation of women for their eggs, the eclipsing of more promising research involving adult or umbilical cord stem cells, the lack of skepticism by the mainstream media, the politicization of science--it is all there.
------------
Cameron makes a similar point HERE
-------------------------------
Update: the libertarian site TCSDaily has a similar take on the stem cell hype...note the date was BEFORE it found all the data was faked...LINK
Referring to the stamp (above) he notes:
The stamp has two panels. On the left a cell is being manipulated and on the right a paralysed man is bounding out of his wheelchair, kicking up his heels and embracing his girlfriend. With a tantalising vision like this on their stamps, it is no wonder that Hwang is so warmly supported by ordinary Koreans.
Miracles like this are just short of sheer fantasy. Embryonic stem cells have not cured a single patient and they may never do so -- although they could be useful raw material for genetic research and drug testing. This week a British scientist announced the commencement of clinical trials on wheelchair-bound patients with spinal cord injuries. But he is using adult stem cells. These "will avoid the need to use embryonic tissue, to find donor individuals … or to use powerful designer drugs with unknown side-effects,"
The sad thing is that below all this hype (mainly used to bash pro life people who say: Wait, why are you killing your offspring) the dirty little secret is that ADULT stem cells, often from one's own body, have been used successfully...
LINK to a prolife site that gives 45 examples of adult stem cell experiments...
And using adult stem cells in heart patients is already far along...as Don Ho can testify...
Indeed, I'm waiting for Dick Cheney to get a stem cell implant...no one in the press is noticing his end stage heart disease with poor ejection fraction is getting worse...anyone? Anyone?
Bird Flu: lies, damn lies, and statistics.
IN my earlier post about the dangers of Bird Flu being spread thru the Haj, I had a post script noting that maybe the numbers were being hyped...
Here is a longer article from ABC that says the same thing:
Here is a longer article from ABC that says the same thing:
There is one glaring problem with this purported mortality rate of more than 50 percent, however: It is based on those cases that have been reported, and this leads to an almost textbook case of sample bias. You wouldn't estimate the percentage of alcoholics by focusing your research on bar patrons, nor would you estimate the percentage of sports fans by hanging around sports stadiums. Why do something analogous when estimating the avian-flu mortality percentage?
Who goes to hospitals and emergency rooms but people who are very sick? Who doesn't go to hospitals and emergency rooms but people who are not so very sick?
Given how many people in Southeast Asia deal with chickens and other poultry in a hands-on way, some unknown, but likely quite large number of them have contracted avian H5N1 flu over the last several years. Its symptoms are many times indistinguishable from those of the normal flu. Some no doubt have died from it, but the majority are likely to have recovered. The people who have recovered from the avian flu don't make it into the mortality-rate calculations, which are, as a consequence, likely to be skewed substantially upward.
The NYTIMES link HERE
I lived in Oklahoma before retiring to the Philippines...one of the major problems in summertime was Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever...which has a mortality of 25% untreated and 9% treated.....you see, the blood test doesn't turn positive until the second week. So we would treat any "FUO" (fever of unknown origin) with Tetracycline...
The problem was that we also saw Lyme disease and Erlicheosis...and viruses. Bad news: They all have similar symptoms. Good news: They all respond to Tetracycline. Bad news: Tetracycline isn't used in kids and pregnant women because it combines with calcium and you end up with green teeth...
Summary: we probably treated a dozen cases a year clinically, but in the three years I worked there, we had exactly one case with a rash, and one or two positive blood tests a year...we didn't hospitalize anyone, but one of our patients (not seen by us) ended up very sick in the hospital nearby...
BUT if you do a blood test for antibodies on the population, you find most cases are symptomatic
Well, at least you don't have to worry about RMSF being spread at the Haj: It is spread by ticks...
But then, there is this case where a Lone Star Tick managed to make it to Ireland...
Damn Texans...it's Bush's Fault...
Pampered Puppies...
The link is to photos of winners of a pampered puppy photo contest...your cute photo of the day...
Gift Idea!
Just what you always wanted: A handbag inspired by Paris Hilton's dog...
(heads up from Boingboing)
Medical stories...or rather, medical non stories...
Update 6: Turkey Scrambles to Contain Flu Outbreak
Summary: WE're ALL GOING TO DIE...
Actually, I've posted on this already...
Health officials worry that more human infections may raise the risk of the virus changing to a more easily transmitted form. Italy and Estonia advised people not to travel to Turkey, and the EU banned imports of untreated feathers from six neighboring countries, including Syria and Iran.
I'm glad they are saving us from the Feather menace...
US Emergency Care Not Making the Grade: ReportSummary: they are so crowded with minor problems that you have to wait five hours to get your hangnail treated...
and it's hard to find docs to go there, because they can't afford the malpractice insurance...
No evidence cough syrups work: panel
Summary: Dextromephorphan doesn't work if you have post nasal drip...
Anti histamines and decongestants work for postnasal drip, but not for bronchitis.
Clariten and Zyrtec don't do diddlysquat for bronchitis (They work for allergies, and you won't wreck your car if you take them, but the article doesn't mention this)...
AFter telling you nothing works (except if you take the correct medicine to treat the cause of the cough) they then tell you this:"In most cases, a cough that is unrelated to chronic lung conditions, environmental influences, or other specific factors, will resolve on its own."
DUh....no fooling...
So when your kid coughs all night, give him Chocolate...
Violent computer games lead to aggression: study
well, THAT explains the Huns, Genghis Khan, and Hitler...
Heart Patients Not Taking Meds As Directed
Duh...dirty little secret: NO patients take their medicines as directed...
Tomato juice prevents emphysema in animal models
Tomatoes may protect against lung cancer
Summary: Give your pet mice Tomato Juice with their cigars...
Another "anti oxidant" study that proves anti oxidants cure everything...except when they DON'T
And remember, coffee, tea, beer, wine and soy sauce have anti oxidants too...
.
Summary: WE're ALL GOING TO DIE...
Actually, I've posted on this already...
Health officials worry that more human infections may raise the risk of the virus changing to a more easily transmitted form. Italy and Estonia advised people not to travel to Turkey, and the EU banned imports of untreated feathers from six neighboring countries, including Syria and Iran.
I'm glad they are saving us from the Feather menace...
US Emergency Care Not Making the Grade: ReportSummary: they are so crowded with minor problems that you have to wait five hours to get your hangnail treated...
and it's hard to find docs to go there, because they can't afford the malpractice insurance...
No evidence cough syrups work: panel
Summary: Dextromephorphan doesn't work if you have post nasal drip...
Anti histamines and decongestants work for postnasal drip, but not for bronchitis.
Clariten and Zyrtec don't do diddlysquat for bronchitis (They work for allergies, and you won't wreck your car if you take them, but the article doesn't mention this)...
AFter telling you nothing works (except if you take the correct medicine to treat the cause of the cough) they then tell you this:"In most cases, a cough that is unrelated to chronic lung conditions, environmental influences, or other specific factors, will resolve on its own."
DUh....no fooling...
So when your kid coughs all night, give him Chocolate...
Violent computer games lead to aggression: study
well, THAT explains the Huns, Genghis Khan, and Hitler...
Heart Patients Not Taking Meds As Directed
Duh...dirty little secret: NO patients take their medicines as directed...
Tomato juice prevents emphysema in animal models
Tomatoes may protect against lung cancer
Summary: Give your pet mice Tomato Juice with their cigars...
Another "anti oxidant" study that proves anti oxidants cure everything...except when they DON'T
And remember, coffee, tea, beer, wine and soy sauce have anti oxidants too...
.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
The Carnival of the Recipes celebrates Russian Christmas
When I lived in Western Pennsylvania, a lot of the coalminers were Russian Orthodox, and they still use the Julian calander...and celebrate Russian Christmas...
What, you thought all coalminers were rednecks from Kentucky? Shame on you...didn't you see the movie "The Deerhunter"?
What, you thought all coalminers were rednecks from Kentucky? Shame on you...didn't you see the movie "The Deerhunter"?
Fluff was a heroine
Someone on Lucianne places obituaries of World War II heroes on her forum...
This one (link) caught my eyes:
On the night of June 11 1944, Iris Bower (then Iris Ogilvie, known to all as "Fluff") and her nursing colleague, Mollie Giles, boarded a tank-landing craft at Gosport along with 200 men and their tanks. Just before dawn she scrambled ashore on Juno beach near Courseulles-sur-Mer; only her Red Cross armband and diminutive frame marked her out from the men as she became the first woman to set foot on the D-Day landing beaches. When the beachmaster saw the two women in the pale light he simply said "Good God!"
....Iris Bower was determined to look her best when she faced the Germans and commented: "I was not going to land in Normandy looking a sight."
She had put on her lipstick and carried a small waterproof bag she had made for her make-up. Once established ashore, she slept - as did her patients - in slit trenches, washed out of buckets and used a thunder box. Every morning, with shells flying overhead, she took care to apply her Elizabeth Arden lipstick before putting on her tin hat and battledress blouse.
Working out of a roughly-constructed field hospital, she tended to the 1,023 wounded soldiers treated in the first five days; she and Mollie Giles also escorted them to emergency landing strips from where RAF Dakotas flew them back to hospitals in England. She remembered some heartbreaking scenes, but realised that the sight of a pretty face and a smile were a great boost to the morale of the badly wounded...
LINK2
What struck me is that this was a tough, loving, caring woman...
I predate the feminine revolution (my medical school only had 5% women)...so women like this were my roll models...
And in these days where feminists have a cry baby/victim/male hating mindset,
We need to remind our daughters (or for me, my granddaughters) that women like Fluff are the ones to emulate....
EVeryday heroes take two
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - About 200 out-of-state firefighters and support personnel have arrived in Oklahoma within the past week to help fire crews battle grass fires across the state. ...
Most of the out-of-state firefighters volunteered to come to Oklahoma. Many will stay for at least two weeks; most have left families behind. Boone has gone several times to other states to fight fires, but this is the first time he's been in Oklahoma. Lovett said this is his first out-of-state trip to fight fires. He said it was difficult to leave his family. "They hated to see me go but they understand that I come out here to help because it's always something I wanted to do," he said. North Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee have sent 60 firefighters, 12 fire pumpers and 14 bulldozers. Florida is planning to send up to six support workers. In addition, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs has sent 170 firefighters and other workers. Up to 60 are from Oklahoma firefighting units; the rest are from out of state, said Forrest Blackbear with the BIA fire management team. The BIA also is in command of 42 fire pumpers, three bulldozers and five aircraft tankers. Blackbear, of Hot Springs, Ark., said most of the BIA fire teams will stay until rain falls.
Most of the out-of-state firefighters volunteered to come to Oklahoma. Many will stay for at least two weeks; most have left families behind. Boone has gone several times to other states to fight fires, but this is the first time he's been in Oklahoma. Lovett said this is his first out-of-state trip to fight fires. He said it was difficult to leave his family. "They hated to see me go but they understand that I come out here to help because it's always something I wanted to do," he said. North Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee have sent 60 firefighters, 12 fire pumpers and 14 bulldozers. Florida is planning to send up to six support workers. In addition, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs has sent 170 firefighters and other workers. Up to 60 are from Oklahoma firefighting units; the rest are from out of state, said Forrest Blackbear with the BIA fire management team. The BIA also is in command of 42 fire pumpers, three bulldozers and five aircraft tankers. Blackbear, of Hot Springs, Ark., said most of the BIA fire teams will stay until rain falls.
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