Remember to check out http://www.dailyhowler.com/ and mediamatters.org for daily updates on how our well-paid media is destorting the news on behalf of the special interests who fund them.
From yesterday's Daily Howler http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh081407.shtml
"On Sunday, the New York Times wrote a long editorial which told one part of a two-part story (see THE DAILY HOWLER, 8/13/07). U.S. health care isn’t nearly as good as its European counterpart, the editors said. But uh-oh! The editors forgot to tell Part 2 of this story. Omigod! Because of their single-payer systems, European nations are producing superior health outcomes—while spending massively less per-person than we do in the U.S.
They get better results—at half the cost! Somehow, the editors failed to mention that second fact—the fact which makes this story so stunning. And then, the letters came pouring in. And none of the people who wrote to the Times mentioned this striking fact either!"
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Monday, August 13, 2007
who will protect us from the protectors?
http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2007/08/09/rape_herself/index.html
This year's ugly irony award has got to go to the case of 20-year-old Airman Cassandra M. Hernandez, who now faces court-martial after refusing to testify against three men she accused of raping her. Hernandez told WRAL, a CBS affiliate in North Carolina, that she'd been gang-raped by three fellow airmen after a party on May 16, 2006, but chose not to testify after feeling pressured by the Air Force and meeting with one of the defense attorneys without her victim's advocate. In a letter (quoted by WRAL.com) addressed to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Hernandez explained that "under enormous stress and after consultation with the legal office, I made the decision not to testify ... the pressure of the judicial process was too much for me, and I felt like no one was looking out for my interests."
And what is Hernandez's reward for succumbing to intimidation -- I mean legal advice -- from the other side? The Air Force has charged her with committing "indecent acts" with the three men, as well as underage drinking. (As Feministing notes, the definition of indecent act according to military code seems slippery at best.) But that's not even the weirdest part: The three accused officers have been granted immunity in return for their testimony against her. If Hernandez is telling the truth, she's effectively being prosecuted for her own rape.
U.S. ranks just 42nd in life expectancy
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20228552/
Just 4 days ago, I told someone that the U.S. was about 23rd. Now I found out it may have gotten even worse. Because of the increase in the number of countries for which we now track life expectancy. So we might already have been far lower than we thought.
Americans are living longer than ever, but not as long as people in 41 other countries.
For decades, the United States has been slipping in international rankings of life expectancy, as other countries improve health care, nutrition and lifestyles.
Countries that surpass the U.S. include Japan and most of Europe, as well as Jordan, Guam and the Cayman Islands.
A baby born in the United States in 2004 will live an average of 77.9 years. That life expectancy ranks 42nd, down from 11th two decades earlier, according to international numbers provided by the Census Bureau and domestic numbers from the National Center for Health Statistics.
Andorra, a tiny country in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain, had the longest life expectancy, at 83.5 years, according to the Census Bureau. It was followed by Japan, Maucau, San Marino and Singapore.
Researchers said several factors have contributed to the United States falling behind other industrialized nations. A major one is that 45 million Americans lack health insurance, while Canada and many European countries have universal health care, they say.
Forty countries, including Cuba, Taiwan and most of Europe had lower infant mortality rates than the U.S. in 2004. The U.S. rate was 6.8 deaths for every 1,000 live births. It was 13.7 for Black Americans, the same as Saudi Arabia.
Another reason for the U.S. drop in the ranking is that the Census Bureau now tracks life expectancy for a lot more countries — 222 in 2004 — than it did in the 1980s. However, that does not explain why so many countries entered the rankings with longer life expectancies than the United States.
Just 4 days ago, I told someone that the U.S. was about 23rd. Now I found out it may have gotten even worse. Because of the increase in the number of countries for which we now track life expectancy. So we might already have been far lower than we thought.
Friday, August 10, 2007
rich get richer, poor get poorer
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070807171936.htm
The rich really are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, a new University of Michigan study shows.
Over the last 20 years, the net worth of the top two percentile of American families nearly doubled, from $1,071,000 in 1984 to $2,100,500 in 2005. But the poorest quarter of American families lost ground over the same period, with their 2005 net worth below their 1984 net worth, measured in constant 2005 dollars.
The poorest ten percent of families actually had a negative net worth---more liabilities than assets. The poorest 5 percent of American households had a negative net worth of a little more than $1,000 in 1984, compared to nearly $9,000 in 2005.
don't give up
from the on-line book "The Authoritarians"
http://members.shaw.ca/jeanaltemeyer/drbob/chapter7.pdf
http://members.shaw.ca/jeanaltemeyer/drbob/chapter7.pdf
If the people who are not social dominators and right-wing authoritarians want
to have those same rights in the future, they, you, had better do those same things too, now. You do have the right to remain silent, but you’ll do so at everyone’s peril. You can’t sit these elections out and say “Politics is dirty; I’ll not be part of it,” or
“Nothing can change the way things are done now.”The social dominators want you
to be disgusted with politics, they want you to feel hopeless, they want you out of their way. They want democracy to fail, they want your freedoms stricken, they want equality destroyed as a value, they want to control everything and everybody, they want it all. And they have an army of authoritarian followers marching with the
militancy of “that old-time religion” on a crusade that will make it happen, if you let
them.
no thinking allowed!
http://members.shaw.ca/jeanaltemeyer/drbob/chapter3.pdf
Hitler is reported to have said,“What good fortune for those in power
that people do not think.”
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Bob Altemeyer's - The Authoritarians
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/%7Ealtemey/
This is an on-line book about Bob Altemeyer's research on authoritarians. Over the years, I have seen references to this research, and it is exciting to have the book available.
This is an on-line book about Bob Altemeyer's research on authoritarians. Over the years, I have seen references to this research, and it is exciting to have the book available.
OK, what’s this book about? It’s about what’s happened to the American government lately. It’s about the disastrous decisions that government has made. It’s about the corruption that rotted the Congress. It’s about how traditional conservatism has nearly been destroyed by authoritarianism. It’s about how the “Religious Right” teamed up with amoral authoritarian leaders to push its un-democratic agenda onto the country. It’s about the United States standing at the crossroads as the next federal election approaches.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Norcross Coffeehouse, Thurs. Aug. 9, 2007
Catacombs Coffeehouse is 8pm, the 2nd Thursday of each month at :
Mt. Carmel United Methodist Church,
5100 South Old Peachtree Rd.,
Norcross, GA 30092
http://www.mtcarmel-umc.org/catacombs.html
The following performers are scheduled :
08/09/07 Ron HippKnown for his rich baritone vocals and beautifully altered guitar tunings.
09/13/07 Bill KahlerWell-known folky rock singer.He even recorded a song for the Waffle House jukebox!
http://www.billkahler.com/
10/11/2007 Harmon Koetz and Harm's Way
11/8/2007
Act 1. Buck Buckley BandAmerican roots
musichttp://buckbuckleyband.com/bio.html
Act 2. Octave Atlanta's female acapella group, performing jazz, pop, and rock hits.
12/13/2007 Montana SkiesCreates a unique new sound, from finger-picking to flamenco, with the unusual pairing of cello and guitar.
http://www.montanaskiesmusic.com/
Mt. Carmel United Methodist Church,
5100 South Old Peachtree Rd.,
Norcross, GA 30092
http://www.mtcarmel-umc.org/catacombs.html
The following performers are scheduled :
08/09/07 Ron HippKnown for his rich baritone vocals and beautifully altered guitar tunings.
09/13/07 Bill KahlerWell-known folky rock singer.He even recorded a song for the Waffle House jukebox!
http://www.billkahler.com/
10/11/2007 Harmon Koetz and Harm's Way
11/8/2007
Act 1. Buck Buckley BandAmerican roots
musichttp://buckbuckleyband.com/bio.html
Act 2. Octave Atlanta's female acapella group, performing jazz, pop, and rock hits.
12/13/2007 Montana SkiesCreates a unique new sound, from finger-picking to flamenco, with the unusual pairing of cello and guitar.
http://www.montanaskiesmusic.com/
The Truth About Denial
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20122975/site/newsweek/
Good article on the efforts of the oil industry to prevent action to combat global warming. People might call for other people to do something. But I fear that our spoiled citizens won't expend even modest efforts to do their part. People won't even spend a tiny bit of energy and time to turn off their cubicle lights when they go home.
A conservative think tank long funded by ExxonMobil, she told Boxer, had offered scientists $10,000 to write articles undercutting the new report and the computer-based climate models it is based on.
...In January, nine leading corporations—including Alcoa, Caterpillar, Duke Energy, Du Pont and General Electric—called on Congress to "enact strong national legislation" to reduce greenhouse gases.
...every time the scientific case got stronger, "the American public yawned and bought bigger cars," Rep. Rush Holt, a New Jersey congressman and physicist, recently wrote in the journal Science;
...Groups that opposed greenhouse curbs ramped up. They "settled on the 'science isn't there' argument because they didn't believe they'd be able to convince the public to do nothing if climate change were real," says David Goldston, who served as Republican chief of staff for the House of Representatives science committee until 2006.
...They "settled on the 'science isn't there' argument because they didn't believe they'd be able to convince the public to do nothing if climate change were real," says David Goldston, who served as Republican chief of staff for the House of Representatives science committee until 2006.
...Look for the next round of debate to center on what Americans are willing to pay and do to stave off the worst of global warming. So far the answer seems to be, not much. The NEWSWEEK Poll finds less than half in favor of requiring high-mileage cars or energy-efficient appliances and buildings. No amount of white papers, reports and studies is likely to change that. If anything can, it will be the climate itself. This summer, Texas was hit by exactly the kind of downpours and flooding expected in a greenhouse world, and Las Vegas and other cities broiled in record triple-digit temperatures. Just last week the most accurate study to date concluded that the length of heat waves in Europe has doubled, and their frequency nearly tripled, in the past century. The frequency of Atlantic hurricanes has already doubled in the last century. Snowpack whose water is crucial to both cities and farms is diminishing. It's enough to make you wish that climate change were a hoax, rather than the reality it is.
Good article on the efforts of the oil industry to prevent action to combat global warming. People might call for other people to do something. But I fear that our spoiled citizens won't expend even modest efforts to do their part. People won't even spend a tiny bit of energy and time to turn off their cubicle lights when they go home.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Hostility Puts Men's Hearts at Risk
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20070803/hl_hsn/hostilityputsmensheartsatrisk;_ylt=AouLpYBWQZOaHVEvgNKOl8LVJRIF
What about women? Another example of the way studies of "people" often are studies of "men".
Ten years of frequent hostility and depression may harm men's immune systems and put them at risk for heart disease, a U.S. study found.
These negative emotional states may also hike men's risks for related disorders such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, according to research in the August issue of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.
The relationship between the psychological scores and C3 levels remained true even when the researchers looked for the possible effects of other risk factors. Smoking, age, race, alcohol use, body mass index and Agent Orange exposure had no influence on C3 levels.
What about women? Another example of the way studies of "people" often are studies of "men".
Dietary carbs linked to vision loss
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070731/hl_nm/dietary_carbs_linked_vision_loss_dc;_ylt=Ao72zSTIi1f7srZw4Wnu5wPVJRIF
The carbohydrates present in a diet can influence the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of vision loss in older adults, according to a report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
India's tigers in crisis, less than half estimated
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070803/india_nm/india288022;_ylt=Arerw7ps4Zf1as6I3epSFI8PLBIF
India's tigers are facing their severest crisis with only between 1,300 and 1,500 left in the wild, less than half the population of endangered big cats previously estimated, conservationists said on Friday.
Friday, July 27, 2007
THE SMALL PRINT ISN'T ALWAYS BINDING
http://redtape.msnbc.com/2007/07/the-small-print.html
What is the penalty for a train or airline passenger who's late? Often $50 or more. What is the penalty for a company when a train or airplane is late? Nothing. How can that be fair? It's not. But this imbalance, and many others you can probably recite by heart, can be blamed in part on the proliferation of one-sided contractual relationships called "contracts of adhesion."
Every one of us finds ourselves in contracts of adhesion every day, with virtually every consumer product we buy. Contracts of adhesion are pacts between two entities that are not equal, a David and Goliath agreement, where Goliath offers the deal on take-it-or-leave-it terms. Nothing can be negotiated, so everything can be unfair. Buying a car? You have to sign a piece of paper that says you'll never sue the dealer. Won't sign the paper? You can't buy a car. And since all auto dealers require these one-sided terms, consumers don't really have a choice -- either abdicate your right to sue, or don’t drive.
In general, contracts in the United States are only valid when they are negotiated between two equal parties. That makes sense: Only people on equal footing can engage in fair, arm's-length negotiations.
Take-it-or-leave-it Consumer contracts don't fit this bill, however. They are almost always take-it-or-leave-it, non-negotiated contracts. When you purchase a cell phone, you agree to never join a class-action lawsuit against the cell phone provider. When you get a credit card, you agree that the terms and conditions for that card can change at any time. If you don't agree to these things, you can't get a cell phone or a credit card. That's just how it is. Take it or leave it. It's all on those pieces of paper you sign, or somewhere on the firm's Web site, in very, very small print.
To prevent abuses, courts have held repeatedly that contracts of adhesion fall into a special category. Despite what you might have heard, unfair provisions inserted into such contracts are not legally enforceable -– even if you signed the piece of paper. Such provisions are given the drastic legal term "unconscionable." A judge who finds a provision of a contract of adhesion to be unconscionable will void that provision.
There is a problem, however: Absent activist government intervention, everything is legal until someone sues. Long ago, companies noticed this and began pushing the boundaries on contracts of adhesion. As long as no one drags them to court, anything goes.
Point of View
These are the words to one of the songs I'll be singing at the Hungry Ear Coffeehouse, Sat., Aug. 4, 2007. See previous post for details
Point of View
copyright 2002 Patricia M. Shannon
There were two men from the same village,
the truest friends you've ever known.
They were blood-brothers when they were children,
and worked together when they were grown.
(chorus)
They were the best of friend, the best of friends,
brothers of the heart,
They were the best of friends, the best of friends,
nothing ever could tear them apart.
One day the Trickster bet the village,
he could get these friends into a fight;
"Oh, no," said the village,
"We know you can't be right."
(chorus)
Tricks made a coat of different colors,
walked between them so they could view;
"What a lovely red.", said one friend,
said the other : "No, it is blue."
They started shouting at each other
over which one saw it true,
Trickster turned around and showed them
"It's all in your point of view."
(chorus)
They were the best of friend, the best of friends,
brothers of the heart,
They were the best of friend, the best of friends,
they thought nothing could tear them apart.
Point of View
copyright 2002 Patricia M. Shannon
There were two men from the same village,
the truest friends you've ever known.
They were blood-brothers when they were children,
and worked together when they were grown.
(chorus)
They were the best of friend, the best of friends,
brothers of the heart,
They were the best of friends, the best of friends,
nothing ever could tear them apart.
One day the Trickster bet the village,
he could get these friends into a fight;
"Oh, no," said the village,
"We know you can't be right."
(chorus)
Tricks made a coat of different colors,
walked between them so they could view;
"What a lovely red.", said one friend,
said the other : "No, it is blue."
They started shouting at each other
over which one saw it true,
Trickster turned around and showed them
"It's all in your point of view."
(chorus)
They were the best of friend, the best of friends,
brothers of the heart,
They were the best of friend, the best of friends,
they thought nothing could tear them apart.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
good Christians
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/26/world/main3099123.shtml
There are evil idiots of all races, nationalities, and religions.
A dozen Christian men were convicted Thursday and sentenced to up to 14 years in jail for beating to death and beheading two Muslims to avenge the government executions of three Christians in Indonesia last year.
There are evil idiots of all races, nationalities, and religions.
foxes protecting our henhouse
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/26/national/main3099776.shtml
A federal judge Thursday ordered the government to pay more than $101 million in the case of four men who spent decades in prison for a 1965 murder they did not commit after the FBI withheld evidence of their innocence.
The judge called the government's defense that the FBI had no duty to get involved because it was a state case "absurd."
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Better Sleep May Put Huntington's Disease Sufferers Back On Track
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070718002121.htm
Mice carrying the genetic mutation that causes Huntington's Disease (HD) showed marked improvements in alertness and their ability to learn after they were given drugs that put them to sleep.
According to the Cambridge neuroscientists conducting the research, HD mice have abnormal circadian rhythms; their daily sleeping and waking cycles are disrupted and irregular. Since sleep disruption contributes to problems with perception and learning in healthy people, the team wondered whether the circadian disruption and cognitive disturbances in HD mice were linked.
To test this, drugs were administered to regulate sleep patterns in the mice. The results, published today in the Journal of Neuroscience, show that both drugs caused a noticeable improvement in learning and Alprazolam also improved arousal. The study shows for the first time that treatments aimed at restoring normal sleep-wake activity could slow the cognitive decline that is such a devastating feature of the disease.
In Violent Neighborhoods, Adults Too Fearful To Intervene With Most Young Offenders
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070718001548.htm
A study of young, violent criminals in New York City found that they used fear and intimidation to keep adults from interfering with their criminal activities.
The results showed that adults in these high-crime neighborhoods faced a difficult situation in their relationships with young adults. The young offenders said they wanted the adults in their neighborhood to care more about them, and to provide more guidance and help. But those same young people also recognized that their own actions frightened adults away.
The best scenario would be for adults to try to intervene with children when they are still young and more willing to accept guidance from adults, she said.
While adults may be rightfully fearful of confronting violent youth in their neighborhoods, they can help in more subtle ways by being good role models, Wilkinson said.
These young people need to see adults who go to work and make a positive impact on society.
“We found that, in at least some situations, adults can influence the behaviors and thinking of teens and young men,” she said. “Despite their involvement in criminal activities, the youth in our study had aspirations for better lives free of the chaos of drugs and violence. We need to find ways to reach them when are younger.”
Elevated Leukaemia Rates Near Nuclear Facilities
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070718113939.htm
Leukaemia rates in children and young people are elevated near nuclear facilities, but no clear explanation exists to explain the rise, according to a research review published in the European Journal of Cancer Care.
They found that death rates for children up to the age of nine were elevated by between five and 24 per cent, depending on their proximity to nuclear facilities, and by two to 18 per cent in children and young people up to the age of 25.
Incidence rates were increased by 14 to 21 per cent in zero to nine year olds and seven to ten percent in zero to 25 year-olds.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
environmentalism is selfish (good)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6900665.stm
This comment is really great.
The passionate negativity that one reads concerning protecting our environment confuses me. If I were to proceed with complete self-centered selfishness I would still WANT and expect; clean air, a rich and varied flora and fauna, space to live, water to drink, food enough to survive, and a sewage system that works..........this is what is at stake if we breed without limit and consume unchecked.Gretchen Scharnagl, Miami, FL USA
This comment is really great.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Sun variations not behind warming, study says
http://www.livescience.com/environment/060913_sun_warming.html
By Sara Goudarzi, LiveScience Staff Writer
posted: 13 September 2006 01:01 pm ET
Variation in the brightness of the Sun is not the major factor behind the unusual warming the Earth has experienced over the past few centuries, a new study suggests.
Researchers traced changes in our parent star's energy output back to the 17th century and found that solar cycles, peaking nearly every 11 years, did not play a significant role in contributing to global warming.
Earth's warming trend, which climate reconstructions show began in the 17th century, has accelerated in the last 100 years. Most studies reveal that this temperature rise could be attributed to the increase of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere.
In addition to man-made factors, natural inconsistencies in Earth's climate could also play a role in climate change. Additionally, some scientists have speculated that changes in the Sun's brightness affect temperatures on Earth.
About once every 11 years, changes in the Sun's magnetic field result in increases in the number and magnitude of sunspots and solar flares, which bombard Earth with charged particles.
During times of high activity, like in year 2000, the Sun shines about 0.07 percent brighter, researchers report in the September 14 issue of the journal Nature.
The researchers used a combination of data on solar brightness obtained by spacecrafts since 1978 and isotope data --collected from Earth's atmosphere and in ice sheets of Antarctic and Greenland--to recreate the Sun's influence on terrestrial temperatures over the past several centuries.
Although events such as sunspots have increased in the last 400 years, their effect only contributed a small amount to global warming, the results show.
"Our results imply that, over the past century, climate change due to human influences must far outweigh the effects of changes in the Sun's brightness," said study co-author Tom Wigley of the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
By Sara Goudarzi, LiveScience Staff Writer
posted: 13 September 2006 01:01 pm ET
Variation in the brightness of the Sun is not the major factor behind the unusual warming the Earth has experienced over the past few centuries, a new study suggests.
Researchers traced changes in our parent star's energy output back to the 17th century and found that solar cycles, peaking nearly every 11 years, did not play a significant role in contributing to global warming.
Earth's warming trend, which climate reconstructions show began in the 17th century, has accelerated in the last 100 years. Most studies reveal that this temperature rise could be attributed to the increase of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere.
In addition to man-made factors, natural inconsistencies in Earth's climate could also play a role in climate change. Additionally, some scientists have speculated that changes in the Sun's brightness affect temperatures on Earth.
About once every 11 years, changes in the Sun's magnetic field result in increases in the number and magnitude of sunspots and solar flares, which bombard Earth with charged particles.
During times of high activity, like in year 2000, the Sun shines about 0.07 percent brighter, researchers report in the September 14 issue of the journal Nature.
The researchers used a combination of data on solar brightness obtained by spacecrafts since 1978 and isotope data --collected from Earth's atmosphere and in ice sheets of Antarctic and Greenland--to recreate the Sun's influence on terrestrial temperatures over the past several centuries.
Although events such as sunspots have increased in the last 400 years, their effect only contributed a small amount to global warming, the results show.
"Our results imply that, over the past century, climate change due to human influences must far outweigh the effects of changes in the Sun's brightness," said study co-author Tom Wigley of the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Republicans favorite things
I got this off the comments at
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/12/politics/main3050621.shtml#ccmm
Sung to “My Favorite Thing”s:
Two-timing Gingrich,
And page-blower Foley
The cream of the party,
Which claims to be holy,
Big paper bundles
Of cash for Cheney
These are a few of my fave GOPs.
Hookers for Vitter,
A black servant for Strom
A cop for Bob Allen
To go down upon.
Six spouses for Rudy and his current Ms.
This is what’s called family values a-miss.
When Ted Haggard,
Gets his massage,
When a lawyer’s shot,
The GOP will cover up all these things
As the nation just goooooooes to pot!
Posted by wadyaknow at 03:33 PM : Jul 12, 2007
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/12/politics/main3050621.shtml#ccmm
Sung to “My Favorite Thing”s:
Two-timing Gingrich,
And page-blower Foley
The cream of the party,
Which claims to be holy,
Big paper bundles
Of cash for Cheney
These are a few of my fave GOPs.
Hookers for Vitter,
A black servant for Strom
A cop for Bob Allen
To go down upon.
Six spouses for Rudy and his current Ms.
This is what’s called family values a-miss.
When Ted Haggard,
Gets his massage,
When a lawyer’s shot,
The GOP will cover up all these things
As the nation just goooooooes to pot!
Posted by wadyaknow at 03:33 PM : Jul 12, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Stressed-out types at risk for memory problems
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070612/hl_nm/memory_stress_dc;_ylt=AkkJW_sepAqDzuBLYLmY_Lw_cbYF
People who are often stressed out or depressed are far more likely to develop memory problems than those with sunnier dispositions, U.S. researchers said on Monday in a finding that sheds light on early predictors of Alzheimer's disease.
They said those who most often are anxious or depressed were 40 times more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, a form of memory loss that is often a transitional stage between normal aging and dementia.
People with mild cognitive impairment have some trouble remembering things, but they do not have significant disability. Not all people with this problem develop Alzheimer's disease, a much more serious impairment, but about 10 to 15 percent do, according to the Alzheimer's Society.
More vitamin D can put more pep in seniors' steps
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070626/hl_nm/vitamin_d_dc;_ylt=Am4H3ILRgG9YaDME6puF_u0_cbYF
Declining physical performance among some Dutch seniors may not be a simple consequence of aging, it may actually be due to a vitamin D deficiency, results of a new study suggest.
Bills pile up when uninsured eligible for Medicare
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070711/hl_nm/medicare_costs_dc;_ylt=AmQOqofvd_do.JeGUMneTyc_cbYF
I'm a perfect example. I'm saving up to pay for a cataract operation on one eye, which has been legally blind for more than a year. I can still see well enough to work and drive with the other eye, but I can see a deterioration in the vision of my good eye. I expect to put off having a cataract operation on my better eye until I am eligible for Medicare.
And of course, some problems are much more expensive when treatment is put off.
Americans who previously had no health insurance rack up some expensive medical bills once they are old enough to be covered by Medicare, researchers said
"The implication is that expanding (Medicare) coverage to uninsured near-elderly adults may not cost as much as previously thought,"
The American College of Physicians has endorsed the idea of allowing insured adults to purchase Medicare coverage before age 65.
I'm a perfect example. I'm saving up to pay for a cataract operation on one eye, which has been legally blind for more than a year. I can still see well enough to work and drive with the other eye, but I can see a deterioration in the vision of my good eye. I expect to put off having a cataract operation on my better eye until I am eligible for Medicare.
And of course, some problems are much more expensive when treatment is put off.
Mild Stress In The Womb May Worsen Risk Of Cerebral Palsy
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070711105828.htm
Chronic mild stress in pregnant mothers may increase the risk that their offspring will develop cerebral palsy--a group of neurological disorders marked by physical disability--according to new research in mice. The results may be the first to demonstrate such effects of stress on animals in the womb.
In the study, the scientists adjusted the normal cycle of light and dark that the pregnant mice were accustomed to for half of the mice, subjecting them to a mild level of stress. Then the researchers exposed the brains of the developing fetuses to injury. When the brains of the young mice were examined on birth, Gressens and his team found that the offspring born from stressed mothers showed brain lesions about twice as big as those in offspring of unstressed mothers.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Looking for life
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070709093900.htm
This article was different from what I expected.
This misunderstanding gave me an idea.
Reading a science magazine yesterday, a scientist suggested that when looking for life on other planets, we look not at chemistry, but for signs of intelligence. He obviously was referring to technologically advanced societies.
The reference to "planetary pollution" shown above gave me an idea.
When looking for "intelligent" life, we should be looking for pollution.
Stellar Tiramisu: Astronomers Find Hints of Distant Planetary Pollution
This article was different from what I expected.
This misunderstanding gave me an idea.
Reading a science magazine yesterday, a scientist suggested that when looking for life on other planets, we look not at chemistry, but for signs of intelligence. He obviously was referring to technologically advanced societies.
The reference to "planetary pollution" shown above gave me an idea.
When looking for "intelligent" life, we should be looking for pollution.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Best Males Have Less Successful Daughters
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070705095207.htm
In humans, there is evidence that homosexual men are more likely to have female relatives with high fertility.
Of course, in human societies, another reason for the occurance of broad biological diversity is that we need a broad variety of people to fulfill different roles. Eg., I read a study some years ago that found that, in general, the best drivers were those of average intelligence.
Studies of red deer published recently in Nature suggest that the most successful males are more likely to produce less fertile daughters.
Male and female deer need different attributes to succeed. Genes which prove to be an advantage in fathers don't necessarily prove beneficial in daughters.
Males who win fights for females go on to produce daughters who have fewer offspring, whereas the daughters of less successful males demonstrate higher fertility.
The research helps explain why, despite natural selection, there can still be broad biological diversity between individuals in a population.
In humans, there is evidence that homosexual men are more likely to have female relatives with high fertility.
Of course, in human societies, another reason for the occurance of broad biological diversity is that we need a broad variety of people to fulfill different roles. Eg., I read a study some years ago that found that, in general, the best drivers were those of average intelligence.
Intelligent People Are More Patient In Financial Matters; Higher IQ Also Makes More Tolerant Of Risk
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070704144512.htm
Well, judging from such things as SAT and GRE scores, and others judgements, I'm pretty intelligence, but I don't consider myself very willing to run risks.
Assuming someone gave you the choice of 100 euros today or 150 euros in a year's time. Which sum would you take? Scientists at the University of Bonn and the Institute for the Study of Labour (Institut zur Zukunft der Arbeit, IZA) asked 1000 adults in Germany this question. At the same time they measured the cognitive abilities of the participants, using two different methods. The result was that intelligent people prefer to wait for a higher return, rather than going for the money now. This is the first time that this relationship between intelligence and patience in financial matters has been shown. Furthermore, the willingness to run risks increases with higher intelligence.
Well, judging from such things as SAT and GRE scores, and others judgements, I'm pretty intelligence, but I don't consider myself very willing to run risks.
Reap What Your Ancestors Sowed
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070704144923.htm
If you've been reading my blog, you know this is a factor that has been of concern to me. Maybe I have had an impact by putting forth ideas; that would be gratifying. But, to me, this is such an obvious idea, that I would expect more than one person to think of it on their own.
Freeloaders can live on the fruits of the cooperation of others, but their selfishness can have long-term consequences, reports an evolutionary biologist from The University of Texas at Austin in a new study.
"There is a historical dimension to cooperation," says Dr. Sam Brown, the Human Frontier Science Foundation Fellow in the Section of Integrative Biology. "The act of a cooperator can continue to give benefits even after the cooperator is dead. Conversely, cheating will have consequences in the future."
Brown has developed a new model showing that cooperators and cheaters can co-exist in a dynamic boom and bust state in the presence of long-lasting resources, known as "durable goods."
Durable goods can outlast their producers, and then be passed on to future generations. They include things like antibiotics produced by populations of bacteria to kill off neighboring bacteria and public parks or buildings built by humans.
In the presence of a durable good, cheaters can increase in numbers with no immediate consequences. For example, cheaters could still enjoy the shelter of an ant nest or a building for some time even if it is not being maintained.
"But freeloaders can also increase so rapidly that in a generation's time the whole building collapses," says Brown.
"If you have social dilemmas [where there are cooperators and cheaters] mediated by these longstanding, durable entities like buildings, ant's nests, or biofilms in bacteria, then you introduce an instability," he says. "It's almost as if there is a pact with the devil, because you pay nothing now for your cheating, but you pay double tomorrow, because everyone's cheating and the costs come home to roost."
If you've been reading my blog, you know this is a factor that has been of concern to me. Maybe I have had an impact by putting forth ideas; that would be gratifying. But, to me, this is such an obvious idea, that I would expect more than one person to think of it on their own.
Common Environmental Chemicals In Diet Affect Fetal Ovarian Development
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070704144531.htm
Exposing a developing female sheep fetus to low doses of chemicals commonly
present in the environment can disturb the development of the ovary
Over recent decades there has been a dramatic increase in the production of
industrial and agricultural chemicals and heavy metals, and this has
coincided with widespread reports of breeding problems in wild animals.
Fertility also appears to be declining among humans and there has also been
a rise in reproductive defects observed in newborn babies.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070706/india_nm/india283267;_ylt=AvxxpotYGbPe2uvhbwqLqKQPLBIF
Sexual problems could lead to rhinos' extinction
Low sperm counts and other reproductive problems are preventing pregnancy among Malaysia's endangered rhinos, a worrying trend that wildlife experts say could hasten the animals' extinction.
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Altruistic Rats
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070703173345.htm
So what I have said about humans holds for rats : The way you treat others helps create a world in which others treat you in the same way.
Cooperation in animals has long been a major focus in evolutionary biology. In particular, reciprocal altruism, where helpful acts are contingent upon the likelihood of getting help in return, is especially intriguing because it is open to cheaters. In a new study published this week in the open-access journal PLoS Biology, Claudia Rutte and Michael Taborsky demonstrate the first evidence for generalized reciprocal cooperation in non-humans. The authors show that rats who received help in the past were more likely to help another unknown partner.
So what I have said about humans holds for rats : The way you treat others helps create a world in which others treat you in the same way.
Friday, June 29, 2007
good explanation of gloabal warming
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19389317/site/newsweek/
This article has a good. understandable explanation of why climate scientists overwhelmingly believe the global waming we are experiencing is from man-made, rather than natural sources.
I found this through http://dailyhowler.com/ , an excellent web site.
The conclusion that observed climate change is our fault rests on the pattern of warming, too. As it happens, "human and natural factors that affect climate have unique signatures," says climatologist Ben Santer of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, part of the U.S. Department of Energy. The clearest signature is differences in the warming of different layers of the atmosphere. According to satellites and weather balloons, the lower atmosphere, or troposphere, has warmed; the upper atmosphere, or stratosphere, has cooled. That's not what a hotter sun would do. "If you increase output from the sun, you increase the amount of energy that arrives at the top of Earth's atmosphere," says Santer. "And you get heating throughout the whole column. Have we observed anything like that? The answer is a very clear no." Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas and methane from, among other surprising sources, rice fields (where bacteria thriving in the submerged paddies release this and other gases) act from the bottom up. That is, they warm the troposphere and cool the stratosphere by trapping heat waves wafting off the planet's surface. The warm troposphere and cool stratosphere "is entirely consistent with our best understanding of how temperatures would change with an increase in greenhouse gases," says Santer.
But that raises a question for those who emphasize nature's contributions to global warming and other aspects of climate change. Let's suppose that those are nudging the climate toward worse storms and more droughts and more heat waves, just as greenhouse gases are. In that case, you'd think the world would want to control the causes of global warming that it can. At last check, no one had figured out how to turn down the sun.
This article has a good. understandable explanation of why climate scientists overwhelmingly believe the global waming we are experiencing is from man-made, rather than natural sources.
I found this through http://dailyhowler.com/ , an excellent web site.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Human-like Altruism Shown In Chimpanzees
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070625085134.htm
Experimental evidence reveals that chimpanzees will help other unrelated humans and conspecifics without a reward, showing that they share crucial aspects of altruism with humans.
Frequent Brain Stimulation In Old Age Reduces Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070627161810.htm
This is hopeful. But it may just be that people whose brains are healthy are more likely to engage in mentally stimulating activities.
How often old people read a newspaper, play chess, or engage in other mentally stimulating activities is related to risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study.
The study found a cognitively active person in old age was 2.6 times less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer's disease than a cognitively inactive person in old age. This association remained after controlling for past cognitive activity, lifetime socioeconomic status, and current social and physical activity.
This is hopeful. But it may just be that people whose brains are healthy are more likely to engage in mentally stimulating activities.
Mothers' Second-hand Smoke Exposure Linked To Psychological Problems For Kids
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070627130029.htm
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Children whose mothers were exposed to second-hand smoke while they were pregnant have more symptoms of serious psychological problems compared to the offspring of women who had no prenatal exposure to smoke, according to a new University of Washington study.
Nicotine, an alkaloid compound in tobacco, is believed to be the chemical that causes these behavior problems in children. Animal studies have shown that nicotine affects brain development during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, causing changes in brain regions critical to the development of externalizing psychopathology in humans.
..."As a consequence, children who were exposed to smoke in utero have colic and are hard to sooth as infants. As toddlers they are overactive and oppositional. Later on they are irritable, inattentive and low on pleasure."
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Friday, June 22, 2007
Psychologists Attribute Yawning To The Need To Cool The Brain And Pay Attention
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070621161826.htm
The next time you "catch a yawn" from someone across the room, you're not copying their sleepiness, you're participating in an ancient, hardwired ritual that might have evolved to help groups stay alert as a means of detecting danger. That's the conclusion of University at Albany researchers Andrew C. Gallup and Gordon G. Gallup, Jr. in a study outlined in the May 2007 issue in Evolutionary Psychology (Volume 5.1., 2007).
Human Immunity To 'Viral Fossil' May Help Explain Our Vulnerability To HIV
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070621140809.htm
Reminds me of the evidence that some dietary factors that protect against heart disease might increase the risk of cancer.
Human resistance to a retrovirus that infected chimpanzees and other nonhuman primates 4 million years ago ironically may be at least partially responsible for the susceptibility of humans to HIV infection today.
"However, while TRIM5a may have served humans well millions of years ago, the antiviral protein does not seem to be good at defending against any of the retroviruses that currently infect humans, such as HIV-1," Emerman said. "In the end, this drove human evolution to be more susceptible to HIV." For example, the researchers found that changes in TRIM5a that make it better at fighting HIV actually inhibit its ability to stop PtERV1 and vice versa, which indicates that this antiviral gene may only be good at fighting off one virus at a time.
Reminds me of the evidence that some dietary factors that protect against heart disease might increase the risk of cancer.
Putting Feelings Into Words Produces Therapeutic Effects In The Brain
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070622090727.htm
This is ancient wisdom," Lieberman said. "Putting our feelings into words helps us heal better. If a friend is sad and we can get them to talk about it, that probably will make them feel better."
Baby Formula Goes On Trial In Asia
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/22/health/main2967742.shtml
I hae avoided buying Nestle products for years because of this issue. Nestle kept claiming that they had changeed their ways. The first couple of times, I took them at their word, and started buying their products again. Then I caught on to them. Too bad psychopaths have an advantage in the business world.
For decades, moms everywhere have been told that "breast is best" for babies. Health care experts say that message goes double in the developing world, where clean water for bottle-feeding is a luxury and, they say, breast-feeding can be a key factor in an infant's survival.
Health experts say U.S. companies are among those using aggressive marketing to hawk infant formula in Asia's dynamic economies, the same kinds of tactics that sparked a boycott campaign of Nestle products in the 1970s. This led to the adoption in 1981 of a global marketing code for such products.
That isn't the message that Ding Bing says she got from her managers at Nestlé in China where she worked for five years as a marketing rep for infant formula. Ms. Ding, who spoke by telephone from the UNICEF/WHO conference, said the Swiss company told expecting mothers attending antenatal classes that Nestlé's Good Start formula was superior and that many of them would be unable to produce sufficient breast milk for their baby.
"The company told the staff that infant formula is better. It didn't tell us that mother's milk is enough; they couldn't tell us the truth," she says.
Breast milk contains antibodies and enzymes that speed the healthy growth and development of infants and may also lower the risk of chronic diseases later in life, according to WHO.
Struggling parents who opt for formula often dilute the product or substitute rice flour and other powders that lack essential nutrients, say health experts. In the Philippines, where bottle-feeding costs a minimum $43 a month, an estimated 16,000 infants under 5 die annually because of such practices, according to UNICEF. Campaigners point to Cambodia as a sign of what can go right. A national campaign there has raised breast-feeding rates at six months to 60 percent, up from 10 percent in 2000. Over the same period, child mortality fell by one-third, a huge gain that can only be explained by the switch to breast milk, says Karen Codling, a nutritionist for UNICEF.
I hae avoided buying Nestle products for years because of this issue. Nestle kept claiming that they had changeed their ways. The first couple of times, I took them at their word, and started buying their products again. Then I caught on to them. Too bad psychopaths have an advantage in the business world.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
good news from global warming
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/21/ap/tech/main2962385.shtml
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Icebergs that break off Antarctica and drift away turn out to be hotspots of life in the cold southern ocean, researchers report.
Turns out, the melting ice also dumps particles scraped off Antarctica into the ocean, providing a pool of nutrients that feed plankton and tiny shrimplike creatures known as krill.
Indeed, the researchers led by Kenneth L. Smith Jr., of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Moss Landing, Calif., found an increase in life forms surrounding a pair of icebergs they studied.
The abundance extended nearly 2 1/2 miles away from the drifting ice, they report in this week's online edition of the journal Science.
By promoting life surrounding them, the icebergs also may have an impact on reducing the excess carbon in the atmosphere _ at least somewhat countering the greenhouse warming that helped make them break free in the first place, Smith suggested.
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Being Treated As Oldest Linked To IQ
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/21/ap/tech/main2962384.shtml
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Boys at the top of the pecking order _ either by birth or because their older siblings died _ score higher on IQ tests than their younger brothers.
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Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Eating Foie Gras May Raise Risk of Alzheimer's, Diabetes And Other Diseases
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/20/health/webmd/main2956095.shtml
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New research suggests that a compound found in fatty goose and duck liver may be linked to a rare disease called amyloidosis, opening the door to a potential link between the delicacy and a host of other amyloid-related diseases ranging from Alzheimer's disease to type-2 diabetes.
Researchers say it's the first known evidence that a food product can speed the production of amyloid protein in animals. An abnormal buildup of amyloid deposits is linked to a variety of diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, type-2 diabetes and others.
Amyloid is commonly found in waterfowl, but researchers say their concentration is especially high in force-fed birds, such as those used in the production of foie gras.
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global warming - updated 6/21/2007
I posted this on a blog in http://www.cbsnews.com/ where of course many of the posts are from people who don't understand the subject, and in many cases, are just plain silly jerks.
I'm putting it here so that if I want to, I can copy it instead of typing it again!
It is a fact of physics that some gases have a greenhouse effect. See the post by ubrew12 for a good explanation of what that means. It is a fact of physics that humans are causing an increase in these gases. Whatever natural processes there are that are affecting the earth's temperature, this man-made increase in greenhouse gases must cause the earth to be warmer than it would be w/o the extra gases, just like the inside of a car sitting in the sun with the windows up will be hotter than the outside temperature, whatever it is. Yes, when the temperature outside the car is hotter, it will be hotter inside the car, but that doesn't mean the windshield glass does not have a greenhouse effect.
octavianfdlr says that Mars and Jupiter have warmed. The implication seems to be that this is caused by the Sun. If this is the case, what about the other planets? After all, Mercury and Venus are closer to the sun. From my experience, this "fact" might be something that was made up by people like Mobil/Exxon.
Incidentally, Venus is so hot because of a runaway greenhouse effect, caused by water vapor, another greenhouse gas. Venus is closer to the sun than the Earth, which caused an increased evaporation of water, and water vapor is a greenhouse gas. So that caused warming, which caused more evaporation, etc.
(later)
Today is the summer solstice. If the greenhouse effect does not exist, then I guess we could expect the temperature to start getting cooler, since the amount of sunlight will be getting less. Also, we would expect the temperature to start getting warmer after the winter solstive, Dec. 20 or 21. Of course, that doesn't happen
.http://cires.colorado.edu/events/lectures/ruddiman/
William Ruddiman proposes that we would be in an ice age by now if it hadn't been for global warming caused by human activity, going back thousands of years ago.
processor2 What does this have to do with "America's fault"? This is a problem accidently caused by humans. If we continue, it won't be accidental any more, it will be because of irresponsible people who are too lazy and uncaring to change their ways; that would be unpatriotic.
I found this on the Nasa web site, for Mars.I couldn't find a reference to Jupiter warming.Could you provide us with a link?http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/research/2007/marswarming.html
05.14.07
For the past 30 years, NASA scientists have been using high-tech satellite equipment to study features on the face of Mars. It appears a slight change in the planet’s surface luster has caused its temperature to rise.
To determine the extent of surface changes on Mars, scientists took images from the Viking (launched 1975) and Mars Global Surveyor (1996) satellite missions and mapped them into a climate model developed at NASA Ames Research Center. They discovered that a wind-whipped, dusty surface has a measurable effect on the amount of sunlight that is reflected by the planet. The results of this research show that an increase in darkened surface areas may account for a one degree Fahrenheit rise in the surface air temperature of the planet.
=================================
It has been noted that one of the reason's the earth is warming faster than older computer models predicted, is that as ice melts, the ground underneath, which is darker, is exposed, and thus does not reflect as much solar radiation back into space as the ice did.
I'm putting it here so that if I want to, I can copy it instead of typing it again!
It is a fact of physics that some gases have a greenhouse effect. See the post by ubrew12 for a good explanation of what that means. It is a fact of physics that humans are causing an increase in these gases. Whatever natural processes there are that are affecting the earth's temperature, this man-made increase in greenhouse gases must cause the earth to be warmer than it would be w/o the extra gases, just like the inside of a car sitting in the sun with the windows up will be hotter than the outside temperature, whatever it is. Yes, when the temperature outside the car is hotter, it will be hotter inside the car, but that doesn't mean the windshield glass does not have a greenhouse effect.
octavianfdlr says that Mars and Jupiter have warmed. The implication seems to be that this is caused by the Sun. If this is the case, what about the other planets? After all, Mercury and Venus are closer to the sun. From my experience, this "fact" might be something that was made up by people like Mobil/Exxon.
Incidentally, Venus is so hot because of a runaway greenhouse effect, caused by water vapor, another greenhouse gas. Venus is closer to the sun than the Earth, which caused an increased evaporation of water, and water vapor is a greenhouse gas. So that caused warming, which caused more evaporation, etc.
(later)
Today is the summer solstice. If the greenhouse effect does not exist, then I guess we could expect the temperature to start getting cooler, since the amount of sunlight will be getting less. Also, we would expect the temperature to start getting warmer after the winter solstive, Dec. 20 or 21. Of course, that doesn't happen
.http://cires.colorado.edu/events/lectures/ruddiman/
William Ruddiman proposes that we would be in an ice age by now if it hadn't been for global warming caused by human activity, going back thousands of years ago.
processor2 What does this have to do with "America's fault"? This is a problem accidently caused by humans. If we continue, it won't be accidental any more, it will be because of irresponsible people who are too lazy and uncaring to change their ways; that would be unpatriotic.
I found this on the Nasa web site, for Mars.I couldn't find a reference to Jupiter warming.Could you provide us with a link?http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/research/2007/marswarming.html
05.14.07
For the past 30 years, NASA scientists have been using high-tech satellite equipment to study features on the face of Mars. It appears a slight change in the planet’s surface luster has caused its temperature to rise.
To determine the extent of surface changes on Mars, scientists took images from the Viking (launched 1975) and Mars Global Surveyor (1996) satellite missions and mapped them into a climate model developed at NASA Ames Research Center. They discovered that a wind-whipped, dusty surface has a measurable effect on the amount of sunlight that is reflected by the planet. The results of this research show that an increase in darkened surface areas may account for a one degree Fahrenheit rise in the surface air temperature of the planet.
=================================
It has been noted that one of the reason's the earth is warming faster than older computer models predicted, is that as ice melts, the ground underneath, which is darker, is exposed, and thus does not reflect as much solar radiation back into space as the ice did.
Tenn. Candidates Go Homeless For Night
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/20/ap/national/main2958311.shtml
What a good idea. We are too prone to have opinions that are not based on reality.
The National Coalition for the Homeless has been organizing similar experiences for college students and others for the past 25 years. But the group's executive director, Michael Stoops, said it was the first time political candidates agreed to take part.
What a good idea. We are too prone to have opinions that are not based on reality.
'Segregated' Schools Hinder Reading Skills
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070620112148.htm
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Children in families with low incomes, who attend schools where the minority population exceeds 75 percent of the student enrollment, under-perform in reading, even after accounting for the quality of the literacy instruction, literary experiences at home, gender, race and other variables, according to a new study.
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Effect Of Removing TV, Games Consoles And Computers On Young Children
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070619172711.htm
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Twenty-three 7 and 8-year-old school children from a single year group in a primary school in the Manchester area took part.
Over a five-week period, the children were observed in the classroom and along with their families in their homes. During weeks 3 and 4, half the participants had their TV sets, PCs and portable game consoles removed or disabled. The remaining families carried on as normal.
Even after just two weeks, families found they began to interact more, even to ‘rediscover’ their pleasure in each other’s company.
Children tired from an active evening were more liable to go to bed early and wake up refreshed and alert the next day.
One parent told the Panorama team after the two-week experiment: “Thinking of how we were as a family around the TV…the TV controlling us…and using the TV as a pacifier for the kids…just seems totally crazy now.”
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Tuesday, June 19, 2007
pet-food info
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20070605/tc_usatoday/petfoodscandalignitesblogosphere
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As the media focused on breaking news and other significant developments in the story, bloggers took the "completely logical approach" of finding what specific details pet owners need and putting them all together, says Paul Grabowicz, director of the New Media Program at the University of California at Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.
•The Pet Connection , a longtime pet-care site, links to the
Food and Drug Administration' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Food and Drug Administration's list of recalled foods, gives information on poisoning symptoms and provides live streaming text from FDA press conferences.
•Itchmo.com , named for a dog who loves to be scratched, went from a specialty site that founder Ben Huh of Bellevue, Wash., said got "about two visits a month" to a news source with 1.5 million visitors and a high enough profile that it has been banned in China.
•PetFoodTracker.com lists "the latest in head-exploding news."
•ThePetFoodList.com lists the foods that companies describe as safe for canine and feline consumption.
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Friday, June 15, 2007
college degrees for all?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-brook/the-most-dangerous-myth-a_b_52314.html
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In my post on Sunday, I took on one section of the lead article in this week's New York Times Magazine, "The Inequality Conundrum." But before it becomes last week's news, I need to get something off my chest. The piece repeats what is probably the most dangerous and widespread myth about the new inequality -- that education is the answer to the problems of the working poor.
It's easy to see why this trap is so easy to fall into if you don't have an economics Ph.D. If you look at a chart of the average incomes of people by education level, you see it rises with each degree. Those with a high school diploma earn more on average than those without. Those with college degrees do better than those with high school diplomas and so on. The same trend continues for graduate and professional school. So you can see how one can easily make the mistake of assuming that if everyone had more education, everyone would make more money. But that's just not true.
There are lots of jobs for burger flippers not because there are lots of uneducated people who can't do other jobs. People don't flip burgers for a living because we have compassion on them and give them spatulas. There are lots of jobs for burger flippers because there's a high demand for burgers and because running a chain of restaurants that serve burgers is very profitable. (McDonald's stock recently hit an all-time high.)
In the U.K., the minimum wage is roughly twice ours -- about USD $10 an hour -- so their burger flippers get paid about twice what they do here (to say nothing of the fact that every British burger flipper and her children has health insurance). In many other European countries the minimum wage is even higher. And yet, those countries are still filled with burger flippers and McDonald's restaurants. And contrary to the Times' insinuation, their prices are not dramatically higher than our own. The American translation of Sweden's "8 Kronor Menu" would be the "$1.13 Menu" according to the latest exchange rate.
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Savings from outsourcing goes to good cause
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070615/over-the-top-spending/
We can see why it is so important to business to keep workers' wages depressed by various means. It would be such a hardship for their CEO's not to be able to buy a $700,000 pen.
Forget about the $350 stilettos. Shoes with status these days come with $1,000 price tags. And $600 handbags have become so bourgeois. A-listers don't want to be seen with anything costing less than $5,000.
Montblanc recently sold a $700,000-plus pen just a few days after it showed up in the New York store. The pen, adorned with rubies, sapphires and diamonds, took 15 months to handcraft. At Cartier, $1 million to $2 million sales checks _ rare only a few years ago _ is occurring a couple times a month at its North American boutiques.
According to an analysis of the latest IRS tax data available by Prof. Emmanuel Saez, the University of California, Berkeley economist with Prof. Thomas Piketty of the Paris School of Economics, those in the top tenth of a percent reported an average income of $5.6 million in 2005, up $908,000 from the prior year; the top one-hundredth of a percent had an average income of $25.7 million, up almost $4.4 million from the year before, according to the study.
Meanwhile, real reported income in the U.S. rose 3.4 percent in 2005 on average but the average income for those in the bottom 90 percent fell slightly compared with the year before, according to the study.
We can see why it is so important to business to keep workers' wages depressed by various means. It would be such a hardship for their CEO's not to be able to buy a $700,000 pen.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Miracle Surgery Mends Cambodian Orphan
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/12/earlyshow/main2921010.shtml
It's heartwarming and inspiring to read of these caring people.
When Scott Neeson first laid eyes on Lyda, the 13-year-old orphan was clambering over a mountain of garbage in a Phnom Penh, Cambodia slum. She was moving slowly and painfully because of a spinal deformity that left her with a severe hunchback. Still, she persevered.
Neeson and Lyda were truly from opposite ends of the world: He was a former film executive nicknamed "Mr. Hollywood" who gave up his home and Porche in exchange for a life in Phnom Penh and occasional head lice. "I've gone from Hollywood to the garbage dump, and I'm so much happier today," he explained.
Lyda "is such a loving girl," he told Early Show correspondent Hattie Kauffman. "She was living in the garbage dump. She was left there by her parents when she was five. She was fending for herself, basically."
Neeson resolved to get Lyda the medical help she needed through the charity he founded to fund three orphanages he's opened in Cambodia. But the surgery that could give her a pain-free and mobile life would cost dearly, and needed to be performed in an American hospital. Lyda needed an angel in her corner.
Enter Sumner Redstone, the chairman of Viacom and CBS Corporation, and a major philanthropist. "I had no idea how the children live in Cambodia. I mean, little girls being put out for prostitution, children living in dumps, scrounging for something to eat. The story really got to me," he told Kauffman.
Her surgeon, Dr. Robert Bernstein, feels that, without the surgery, Lyda would eventually have been paralyzed, because her bones were pressing against her spinal cord.
It's heartwarming and inspiring to read of these caring people.
deja vu all over again
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/13/politics/main2924206.shtml
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http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/12/national/main2919067.shtml?source=search_story
When the people in the Bush administration are out of their jobs, they can come to Georgia. They'll fit right in. Two or three days after a man was released after spending more than 18/20? years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, an idiot Republican Georgian legislator introduced a bill to reduce the number of jurors needed to impose the death sentence.
A few days ago, a judge ordered Genarlow Wilson released from prison, where he was serving a 10 year sentence for having consensual sex when he was 17 with a 15 year-old girl. Neither she nor her parents wanted Wilson charged. The law he was sentenced under has since been changed, reducing the matter to a misdemeanor (still riduculous) instead of a felony, but it was not made retroactive.
So now the Bush administration wants to impose mandatory minimums at the federal level. What timing!
The Bush administration is trying to roll back a Supreme Court decision by pushing legislation that would require prison time for nearly all criminals.
In a speech June 1 to announce the bill, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales urged Congress to re-impose mandatory minimum prison sentences against federal convicts — and not let judges consider such penalties “merely a suggestion.”
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http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/12/national/main2919067.shtml?source=search_story
One minute,a judge ordered him released from prison , saying the young man's 10-year sentence for consensual sex between teens was a "grave miscarriage of justice." Ninety minutes later, Georgia's attorney general said Wilson wasn't going anywhere — the state had appealed.
When the people in the Bush administration are out of their jobs, they can come to Georgia. They'll fit right in. Two or three days after a man was released after spending more than 18/20? years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, an idiot Republican Georgian legislator introduced a bill to reduce the number of jurors needed to impose the death sentence.
A few days ago, a judge ordered Genarlow Wilson released from prison, where he was serving a 10 year sentence for having consensual sex when he was 17 with a 15 year-old girl. Neither she nor her parents wanted Wilson charged. The law he was sentenced under has since been changed, reducing the matter to a misdemeanor (still riduculous) instead of a felony, but it was not made retroactive.
So now the Bush administration wants to impose mandatory minimums at the federal level. What timing!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Bodies at recycle plants ID'd as homeless couple
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19192734/
Two people whose bodies were found at paper recycling plants more than 1,000 miles apart were a homeless couple who apparently went to sleep in a recycling container before its contents were compacted, police said Tuesday.
Police believe both of the Jansens, who had recently become homeless, had gone to sleep in a recycling container in south St. Louis County before the container's contents were emptied into a truck and compacted.
Woman dies in ER lobby as 911 refuses to help
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19207050/
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/13/health/main2923545.shtml#ccmm
(added later)
The CBS report is followed by reader comments. Some jerk said that if someone doesn't have medical insurance, it's ok that they die, that everybody could have insurance if they were willing to work hard. The following was my response:
I have an M.A. in math & more than 30 years experience in computer programming. Because of age discrimination, I worked for 4 years as a waitress. With so many baby boomers retiring, I was able to get back into the tech field, but I don't know for how long, because business is trying to get Congress to remove all caps on foreign visas, so they can bring in people from other countries, and go back to discriminating against older people. The jobs I can get now are as a contractor w/o benefits.
If everybody were identical, there were still be people who would end up working in low-paying jobs, because we don't have a need for well-paying jobs for everybody. The middle- and upper-class depend on the working class. Where do you think your food comes from? Do you grow it all yourself and cook it all from scratch? Do you build your car and other possessions from raw materials you have mined yourself? If so, how do you have the time to run your business?
For those who are capable, we are lucky. We could have been brain-damaged before birth because our mother was too poor to get enough to eat. We could have had a genetic mutation. Any day we might get brain-damaged or paralyzed in an automobile accident. If we are uncaring towards others, we help to create a world where others are uncaring to us.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/13/health/main2923545.shtml#ccmm
A woman who lay bleeding on the emergency room floor of a troubled inner-city hospital died after 911 dispatchers refused to contact paramedics or an ambulance to take her to another facility, newly released tapes of the emergency calls reveal.
Relatives reported she died as police were wheeling her out of the hospital after the officers they had asked to help Rodriguez arrested her instead on a parole violation.
(added later)
The CBS report is followed by reader comments. Some jerk said that if someone doesn't have medical insurance, it's ok that they die, that everybody could have insurance if they were willing to work hard. The following was my response:
I have an M.A. in math & more than 30 years experience in computer programming. Because of age discrimination, I worked for 4 years as a waitress. With so many baby boomers retiring, I was able to get back into the tech field, but I don't know for how long, because business is trying to get Congress to remove all caps on foreign visas, so they can bring in people from other countries, and go back to discriminating against older people. The jobs I can get now are as a contractor w/o benefits.
If everybody were identical, there were still be people who would end up working in low-paying jobs, because we don't have a need for well-paying jobs for everybody. The middle- and upper-class depend on the working class. Where do you think your food comes from? Do you grow it all yourself and cook it all from scratch? Do you build your car and other possessions from raw materials you have mined yourself? If so, how do you have the time to run your business?
For those who are capable, we are lucky. We could have been brain-damaged before birth because our mother was too poor to get enough to eat. We could have had a genetic mutation. Any day we might get brain-damaged or paralyzed in an automobile accident. If we are uncaring towards others, we help to create a world where others are uncaring to us.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Diet And Exercise Key To Surviving Breast Cancer
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070609112941.htm
Breast cancer survivors who eat a healthy diet and exercise moderately can reduce their risk of dying from breast cancer by half, regardless of their weight, suggests a new longitudinal study from the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Dirty Snow May Warm Arctic As Much As Greenhouse Gases
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070606113327.htm
The global warming debate has focused on carbon dioxide emissions, but scientists at UC Irvine have determined that a lesser-known mechanism – dirty snow – can explain one-third or more of the Arctic warming primarily attributed to greenhouse gases.
Economic Impact Of Hunger Affects All Americans
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070605120859.htm
This is another area where the super-rich elite are whining about conditions for which they are at least partly the cause. They hold down wages to poverty levels for many of their employees, so that they themselves can make an amount that they can have no real use for. They make huge political donations to political candidates to vote to remove taxes from themselves and shift it to the poor and middle-class. This means there is less money for such things as educations and health care for the less advantaged. They fund "think tanks" to support their positions. They inflence the news media because of their advertising power. Also, they control the big media.
Then they complain that they can't get well-educated, intelligent employees.
While thirty-five million Americans feel the physical effects of hunger each day, every household and individual in our nation feels the economic effects. So finds a new study released today by the Sodexho Foundation and researchers affiliated with Harvard University School of Public Health, Brandeis University and Loyola University.
The study found that the lion's share of the overall cost, $66.8 billion, resulted from illness associated with hunger, said Brandeis health economist Donald Shepard, who led the economic analysis. These illnesses included iron deficiency, colds and depression, and other causes of fair and poor health.
"What was unusual about hunger was the wide range of problems associated with it, which included not only the illness burden, but also expenses on food pantries and other charities to mitigate the problem, and lost productivity due to hunger's adverse impact on learning,"
This is another area where the super-rich elite are whining about conditions for which they are at least partly the cause. They hold down wages to poverty levels for many of their employees, so that they themselves can make an amount that they can have no real use for. They make huge political donations to political candidates to vote to remove taxes from themselves and shift it to the poor and middle-class. This means there is less money for such things as educations and health care for the less advantaged. They fund "think tanks" to support their positions. They inflence the news media because of their advertising power. Also, they control the big media.
Then they complain that they can't get well-educated, intelligent employees.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Diet May Influence Survival After Treatment For Colon Cancer
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070604090434.htm
Unfortunately, this study describes my grandmother. But it could have been worse, since she didn't get cancer until she was in her middle 80's, and lived until 10 days before she would have been 92.
Unfortunately, this study describes my grandmother. But it could have been worse, since she didn't get cancer until she was in her middle 80's, and lived until 10 days before she would have been 92.
Patients with stage III colon cancer who have undergone surgery and chemotherapy with the goal of cure may have a higher risk of relapsing and dying early if they follow a predominantly "Western" diet of red meat, fatty foods, refined grains, and desserts
vitamins and pancreatic cancer
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070601072227.htm
A variety of studies have shown health benefits from getting a lot of vitamins from food, vs. increased risk from taking vitamin in pills.
I expect some of this is due to such things as interactions and balance among nutrients, and the intake of nutrients from food that are not in multivitamins, as well as the possiblity of "fertilization" of dormat cancer.
But I wonder if the fact that much of our vitamins come from China could account for some of the detrimental effects of vitamin supplements? Eg., almost all vitamin C comes from China. China shows the result of excessive Capitalism/free markets/libertarianism/freedom from governmen regulations situations. Of course, anybody who knows a little about history could have predicted such problems.
investigators combined data from four large studies and found that people who were at or below normal body weight decreased their risk for developing pancreatic cancer if they took in high levels of vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and folate from food.
The study determined that their risk was 81 percent, 73 percent, and 59 percent lower, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and folate respectively, compared with participants who did not eat as much of these nutrients or who weighed more.
The researchers also say that they uncovered another interesting trend that some people who received these nutrients from multivitamin pills had an increased risk of developing the disease. According to the researchers, individuals who said they used multivitamins, and whose blood showed traces of these nutrients, had a 139 percent increased relative risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
No one knows why vitamin pills may not help ward off cancer, or why, in this study, it might have a deleterious effect, Dr. Schernhammer said, but some research in animals suggests that "if there is a dormant tumor, folate and other similar vitamins may stimulate growth." That might be especially true if a person did not take in enough of these nutrients consistently through diet, and then suddenly started taking multivitamins in an effort to become healthy, she said.
A variety of studies have shown health benefits from getting a lot of vitamins from food, vs. increased risk from taking vitamin in pills.
I expect some of this is due to such things as interactions and balance among nutrients, and the intake of nutrients from food that are not in multivitamins, as well as the possiblity of "fertilization" of dormat cancer.
But I wonder if the fact that much of our vitamins come from China could account for some of the detrimental effects of vitamin supplements? Eg., almost all vitamin C comes from China. China shows the result of excessive Capitalism/free markets/libertarianism/freedom from governmen regulations situations. Of course, anybody who knows a little about history could have predicted such problems.
Friday, June 01, 2007
FDA: Toss Toothpaste Made In China
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/01/health/main2876566.shtml
How can we know. It might have some ingredients from China, but not be so labeled. I try to avoid buying products made in China. In the case of the pet food, there was no labeling indicating that foreign ingredients were used. Many vitamins are made in China, but are not labeled. I guess I am a horrible, unregenerate liberal, because I don't think that this should be left to the voluntary actions of business.
The government warned consumers on Friday to avoid using toothpaste made in China because it may contain a poisonous chemical used in antifreeze.
How can we know. It might have some ingredients from China, but not be so labeled. I try to avoid buying products made in China. In the case of the pet food, there was no labeling indicating that foreign ingredients were used. Many vitamins are made in China, but are not labeled. I guess I am a horrible, unregenerate liberal, because I don't think that this should be left to the voluntary actions of business.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
The "Uninsurables"
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/23/cbsnews_investigates/main2843007.shtml
I'm working as a contractor for a large company. If anybody complains because the company is not providing health benefits to us, they can self-righteously replay that the recruiting company has benefits. However, that recruiting company doesn't hire me or several of my co-workers directly. They hire us thru another recruiting company that has no benefits. I guess that at least helps keep the unemployment rate down a little.
With 46 million Americans living without health insurance, thousands of uninsured people who can't get insurance contact call centers every month.
Last year one nationwide survey, the Commonwealth Fund, found that 89 percent, or 52 million, of those looking for individual health insurance didn't get it because it was too expensive or they were turned down.
I'm working as a contractor for a large company. If anybody complains because the company is not providing health benefits to us, they can self-righteously replay that the recruiting company has benefits. However, that recruiting company doesn't hire me or several of my co-workers directly. They hire us thru another recruiting company that has no benefits. I guess that at least helps keep the unemployment rate down a little.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Grandma told us this
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/18/health/webmd/main2825704.shtml
But note that while drinking several cups of green tea a day may have health benefits, taking very large doses in pills can cause liver and bladder damage.
A new study shows the bulk of apples' anticancer properties lie in the peel.
Researchers analyzed the chemical composition of apple peels and identified a group of phytochemicals that proved potent against at least three different types of human cancer cells: breast, colon, and liver.
Countless studies have supported the old adage "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" by showing a diet rich in fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and a host of other chronic diseases.
But note that while drinking several cups of green tea a day may have health benefits, taking very large doses in pills can cause liver and bladder damage.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Ethicist: Health Care System Is 'A Mess'
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/15/ap/health/main2808161.shtml
Also, 90,000 people a year die in the U.S. because of lack of health insurance.
The U.S. health care system is "a dysfunctional mess" and politicians who insist otherwise look ignorant, according to a medical journal essay by a prominent ethicist at the National Institutes of Health.
"If a politician declares that the United States has the best health care system in the world today, he or she looks clueless rather than patriotic or authoritative," Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel wrote in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.
Emanuel, who supports sweeping health care reform, said the U.S. spends $6,000 per person per year on health care, an amount that is more than 16 percent of the nation's gross domestic product and more than any other country
He also said Americans' average life expectancy of 78 ranks 45th in the world, behind Bosnia and Jordan. And the U.S. infant death rate is 6.37 per 1,000 live births, higher than that of most developed nations.
Also, 90,000 people a year die in the U.S. because of lack of health insurance.
Link Between Mega Multivitamins And Cancer
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/15/health/webmd/main2809956.shtml
As usual, a balanced approach is best.
Men who take too many multivitamins may be increasing their risk of dying from prostate cancer, according to new research from the National Cancer Institute.
Taking a multivitamin more than seven times a week was associated with a 30 percent increased risk of advanced prostate cancer and a doubling of the risk of death from the disease in the study.
Regular multivitamin use (one to six times a week) did not appear to increase cancer risk, and excessive vitamin use was not associated with an increased risk of early, or localized, prostate cancer.
An analysis of 47 studies assessing antioxidant supplementation, published earlier this year, found a slight increase in deaths among people who took beta-carotene, vitamin E, or vitamin A supplements.
In an editorial accompanying the study, Gluud and colleague Goran Bjelakovic, both of Copenhagen University Hospital, offer an intriguing hypothesis on the role of free radicals and antioxidant supplements in the promotion and prevention of disease.
The thinking has been that antioxidant vitamins protect against diseases like cancer and heart disease by reducing the free radicals that are thought to promote these conditions through oxidative stress.
But Gluud and Bjelakovic suggest that free radicals may do some good by targeting and killing harmful cells, such as those that cause cancers to grow.
As usual, a balanced approach is best.
good news for fitness
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/15/health/webmd/main2809954.shtml
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A new study shows that it may take as little as 72 minutes of moderate exercise per week to improve aerobic fitness.
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Wednesday, May 16, 2007
how to lied with statistics about globalization
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18699042/site/newsweek/
In a Newsweek article, Robert Samuelson says that globalization has not hurt the U.S. much because some studies found that only a small percent of mass layoffs could be attributed to offshoring.
What about the "downsizing" category? Ignored was Why the company was downsizing. Maybe because some of the jobs were outsourced to other countries?
He also totally ignores the number of jobs lost to citizens because of the importation of workers through H1-B and L-1 visas.
And of course, he points to low official unemployment statistics :
Of course, this doesn't take into effect cases like a person who has been a computer programmer for 25 or 30 years is working at a low-skilled job, or borrowed money to get a graduate degree, because they can't get a job in their field. Getting a degree in middle-age, certainly in late middle-age, is likely to result only in a higher debt load. Also, the baby boomers who can afford to, and want to, are starting to retire.
In a Newsweek article, Robert Samuelson says that globalization has not hurt the U.S. much because some studies found that only a small percent of mass layoffs could be attributed to offshoring.
In 2004 and 2005, the BLS counted almost 1 million workers fired in layoffs of 50 or more. That isn't a huge number in a labor force of about 150 million. Moreover, most causes were domestic. The largest reason (accounting for about 25 percent) was "contract completion"—a public works job done, a movie finished. Other big categories included "downsizing" (16 percent) and the combination of bankruptcy and "financial difficulty" (10 percent). Only about 12 percent of layoffs stemmed from "movement of work"—a category that would include offshoring. But two-thirds of those moves were domestic.
What about the "downsizing" category? Ignored was Why the company was downsizing. Maybe because some of the jobs were outsourced to other countries?
He also totally ignores the number of jobs lost to citizens because of the importation of workers through H1-B and L-1 visas.
And of course, he points to low official unemployment statistics :
Still, with the unemployment rate at 4.5 percent, it's clear that globalization hasn't crippled the U.S. job machine.
Of course, this doesn't take into effect cases like a person who has been a computer programmer for 25 or 30 years is working at a low-skilled job, or borrowed money to get a graduate degree, because they can't get a job in their field. Getting a degree in middle-age, certainly in late middle-age, is likely to result only in a higher debt load. Also, the baby boomers who can afford to, and want to, are starting to retire.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Thin people may be fat inside
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070510/ap_on_he_me/thin_fat_people;_ylt=AjMholDbXZugzbIv7aR6Nh3VJRIF
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If it really is what's on the inside that counts, then a lot of thin people might be in trouble. Some doctors now think that the internal fat surrounding vital organs like the heart, liver or pancreas — invisible to the naked eye — could be as dangerous as the more obvious external fat that bulges underneath the skin.
According to the data, people who maintain their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are otherwise slim.
Of the women scanned by Bell and his colleagues, as many as 45 percent of those with normal BMI scores (20 to 25) actually had excessive levels of internal fat. Among men, the percentage was nearly 60 percent.
Experts have long known that fat, active people can be healthier than their skinny, inactive counterparts. "Normal-weight persons who are sedentary and unfit are at much higher risk for mortality than obese persons who are active and fit," said Dr. Steven Blair, an obesity expert at the University of South Carolina.
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the "benefits" of lack of government regulations
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070513/hl_afp/asiahealthfooddangers;_ylt=AvOkNx2q7YJ4MJ.yYp0w0zbVJRIF
We don't want excessive government regulation, but neither can we do without some. As in most things, what we need is balance. To depend on business to regulate itself is as rational as to do away with the police and depend on people to voluntarily obey the law.
Across Asia governments appear to be struggling to control the use of toxic chemicals in manufactured and fresh food, chemicals that experts believe are responsible for deteriorating public health.
Formaldehyde seems to be one of the most widely found chemicals, used for everything from keeping flies off fresh meat in wet markets to prolonging freshness and enhancing the colour of manufactured foodstuffs.
Experts across the region are beginning to blame a range of illnesses, including rising cancer rates, liver and kidney ailments, stunted mental and physical development in children -- and, in extreme cases, death -- on adulterated food.
"We have been eating these foods for decades. I think these foods are the reason why we have increasing numbers of liver and kidney ailments," said Rokon-ud-Dowla. "These manufacturers are killing thousands of people, yet we didn't notice."
We don't want excessive government regulation, but neither can we do without some. As in most things, what we need is balance. To depend on business to regulate itself is as rational as to do away with the police and depend on people to voluntarily obey the law.
Going green could beat the blues: British experts
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070514/hl_afp/lifestylebritainhealth;_ylt=AhNq.x4dVo_zpLNKS8HBfHDVJRIF
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A walk in the country is an effective alternative to chemical anti-depression treatment, a leading mental health charity said Monday, calling on British doctors to prescribe outdoor activities.
Researchers from the University of Essex, eastern England, studied the effect of a 30-minute walk in a country park compared with one in an indoor shopping centre on a small sample of 20 people with mental health problems.
It found that 71 percent reported decreased levels of depression and anxiety after the outdoor walk while 90 percent said their self-esteem increased.
This compared with 22 percent who said their stress levels increased, 50 percent who felt more tense and 44 percent whose self-esteem plummeted while indoors.
A second study of 108 people with mental health problems suggested nearly all (94 percent) found "green exercise" boosted their state of mind.
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Chemical Compounds Boost Breast Cancer Risk
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20070514/hl_hsn/chemicalcompoundsboostbreastcancerrisk;_ylt=AgoJZOOBo3iEGtATc25It..WSbYF
A detailed analysis of hundreds of completed breast cancer studies has linked disease development with environmental exposure to more than 200 chemical compounds.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Massive Carbon Dioxide Burps Came From Ocean At End Of Last Ice Age
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070510164044.htm
There are proposals to "solve" the problem of increasing amounts of greenhouse gases by storing them in the ocean or underground. Of course, they will eventually come out, perhaps in large quantities at one time. Eg., the earth gets hit more than rarely by asteroids of various sizes. I would think that an asteroid which was not big enough to harm the earth as a whole, might be enough to free a large quantity of stored gases, causing catastrophe.
This sudy indicates another mechanism that has already caused the sudden release of gas that was stored in the oceans by natural processes.
A University of Colorado at Boulder-led research team tracing the origin of a large carbon dioxide increase in Earth's atmosphere at the end of the last ice age has detected two ancient "burps" that originated from the deepest parts of the oceans.
The new study indicated carbon that had built up in the oceans over millennia was released in two big pulses, one about 18,000 years ago and one 13,000 years ago
"This is some of the clearest evidence yet that the enormous carbon release into the atmosphere during the last deglaciation was triggered by abrupt changes in deep ocean circulation,"
There are proposals to "solve" the problem of increasing amounts of greenhouse gases by storing them in the ocean or underground. Of course, they will eventually come out, perhaps in large quantities at one time. Eg., the earth gets hit more than rarely by asteroids of various sizes. I would think that an asteroid which was not big enough to harm the earth as a whole, might be enough to free a large quantity of stored gases, causing catastrophe.
This sudy indicates another mechanism that has already caused the sudden release of gas that was stored in the oceans by natural processes.
Study: 1 In 4 Kids Go Without Health Care
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/02/eveningnews/main2755159.shtml
The group's report finds despite billions of dollars in government spending, more than one in four children still don't have full-time health care — a gap twice as big as anyone thought
biofuels
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/08/tech/main2774983.shtml
The United Nations said Tuesday that biofuels like ethanol can greatly help reduce global warming and create jobs for the rural poor, but warned that the benefits may be offset by serious environmental problems and higher food prices for the hungry.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Maggots Rid Patients Of Antibiotic-resistant Infection, MRSA
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070503094447.htm
University of Manchester researchers are ridding diabetic patients of the superbug MRSA - by treating their foot ulcers with maggots. Professor Andrew Boulton and his team used green bottle fly larvae to treat 13 diabetic patients whose foot ulcers were contaminated with MRSA and found all but one were cured within a mean period of three weeks, much quicker than the 28-week duration for the conventional treatment.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Children of War
http://neilyoung.com/
Click on "Living With War Doc"
which goes to the following page :
http://neilyoung.com/lwwtoday/index.html
Near the top of the left column, click on LWW Top 1,680 Songs - Listen Here
Ctrl+f and search for "kemp"
His "Top Ten Stories" is currently at 294
Click on "Top Ten Stories"
This takes you to the MySpace blog of singer/songwriter Kemp Jones :
http://www.myspace.com/kempjones
All of his songs are good. I would say that "Children of War" is great, and deserves to become a classic. Kemp wrote it after seeing a documentary where a child in a war zone said "We children don't need war, we need chocolate".
Click on "Living With War Doc"
which goes to the following page :
http://neilyoung.com/lwwtoday/index.html
Near the top of the left column, click on LWW Top 1,680 Songs - Listen Here
Ctrl+f and search for "kemp"
His "Top Ten Stories" is currently at 294
Click on "Top Ten Stories"
This takes you to the MySpace blog of singer/songwriter Kemp Jones :
http://www.myspace.com/kempjones
All of his songs are good. I would say that "Children of War" is great, and deserves to become a classic. Kemp wrote it after seeing a documentary where a child in a war zone said "We children don't need war, we need chocolate".
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Stress causes cancer development
http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20070411-14050700-bc-us-cancerstress.xml
Maybe this is part of the reason African-American and Hispanic women in this country have a higher rate of breast cancer.
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High Levels Of Daily Stress May Result In Lower Risk Of Breast Cancer
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/09/050909221823.htm
Well, here is another factor that appears to lower my risk for this particular problem!
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Animal Research Suggests That Stress May Increase Risk Of Uterine Cancer
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/07/040709081822.htm
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U.S. medical scientists have discovered the stress hormone epinephrine makes prostate and breast cancer cells resistant to cell death.
Researchers at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine said they are the first to report that emotional stress might contribute to the development of cancer and might also reduce the effectiveness of cancer treatments.
Maybe this is part of the reason African-American and Hispanic women in this country have a higher rate of breast cancer.
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High Levels Of Daily Stress May Result In Lower Risk Of Breast Cancer
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/09/050909221823.htm
High levels of daily stress appear to result in a lower risk ofdeveloping breast cancer for the first time, says a study in this week's British Medical Journal.
But high stress may put women at risk of other serious illnesses warn the researchers, a team from Denmark....
One explanation for the findings may be that sustained levels of high stress may affect oestrogen levels - which, over time, may have an influence on developing breast cancer. But this theory has not been tested, and research in this area so far has mainly been restricted to animals, caution the authors.
Despite the findings, the authors warn that stress-induced changes in hormonal balances are not a healthy response, and continued stress may play a damaging part in other illnesses - particularly heart disease.
Well, here is another factor that appears to lower my risk for this particular problem!
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Animal Research Suggests That Stress May Increase Risk Of Uterine Cancer
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/07/040709081822.htm
Research in monkeys suggests the possibility that stress may increase risk for the most common type of uterine cancer, according to a report from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. The study results also suggest that two drinks a day won't increase breast or endometrial cancer risk for postmenopausal women who don't take estrogen.
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Red Meat Linked To Breast Cancer
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070407174018.htm
Good thing I'm a vegetarian. It may offset the increased risk I have of breast cancer because I've never been pregnant.
Eating red meat increases a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer, according to new research from the University of Leeds.
The findings are most striking for post-menopausal women – those with the highest intake of red meat, the equivalent to one portion a day (more than 57 grams) - run a 56 per cent greater risk of breast cancer than those who eat none.
Women who eat the most processed meat, such as bacon, sausages, ham or pies, run a 64 per cent greater risk of breast cancer than those who eat none.Researchers at the University’s Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics have been tracking the eating habits and health of more than 35,000 women for the past seven years, and their latest findings are published in the British Journal of Cancer. Earlier findings, widely reported in January, showed that pre-menopausal women who have the greatest intake of fibre have cut their risk of breast cancer in half.
Good thing I'm a vegetarian. It may offset the increased risk I have of breast cancer because I've never been pregnant.
Male Births: Decline In The US And Japan
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070409115759.htm
A study published in this week's online edition of Environmental Health Perspectives reports that during the past thirty years, the number of male births has decreased each year in the U.S. and Japan. In a review of all births in both countries, the University of Pittsburgh-led study found significantly fewer boys being born relative to girls in the U.S. and Japan, and that an increasing proportion of fetuses that die are male. They note that the decline in births is equivalent to 135,000 fewer white males in the U.S. and 127,000 fewer males in Japan over the past three decades and suggest that environmental factors are one explanation for these trends.
... "Given the importance of reproduction for the health of any species, the trends we observed in the U.S. and Japan merit concern," added Dr. Davis. "In light of our findings, more detailed studies should be carried out that examine sex ratio in smaller groups with defined exposures as a potential indicator of environmental contamination."
Herbal Treatment Effective For Recurring Urinary Tract Infections
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070409082433.htm
A common herbal extract available in health food stores can greatly reduce urinary tract infections and could potentially enhance the ability of antibiotics to kill the bacteria that cause 90 percent of infections in the bladder.
Researchers at Duke University Medical Center, in a series of experiments in mice, believe they have also discovered why many urinary tract infections in the bladder return even after treatment with antibiotics. They found that some bacteria hide in cells lining the bladder, where they cannot be reached by antibiotics. But they also found that forskolin, an extract from the Indian coleus plant, flushes out hiding colonies of bacteria, making them susceptible to antibiotic treatment.
... Abraham said that a new and effective approach for treating urinary tract infections is needed, because constant antibiotic use has many drawbacks, including high expense, possible liver and kidney damage and the potential for creating strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Getting Dirty May Lift Your Mood
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070402102001.htm
Bacteria found in the soil activated a group of neurons that produce the brain chemical serotonin.
Treatment of mice with a 'friendly' bacteria, normally found in the soil, altered their behavior in a way similar to that produced by antidepressant drugs, reports research published in the latest issue of Neuroscience.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Doctor Contrasts His Care With Patient's
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/03/ap/health/main2640883.shtml
An estimated 112,000 Americans with cancer have no health insurance, according to Physicians for a National Health Program.
And that's only cancer. Among the 45 million Americans who have no health insurance, there are countless people with chronic and developing health problems who are risking the same kind of fate that took Searcy's life.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
recommended web site
www.dailyhowler.com
chronicles the main stream media and so-called liberal media bias and lies on behalf of conservatives and against liberals.
chronicles the main stream media and so-called liberal media bias and lies on behalf of conservatives and against liberals.
Spring Has Sprung
Spring has Sprung
copyright 1997 Patricia M. Shannon
Spring has sprung,
the flowers grow,
their pollen flows,
so does my nose.
Oh, hear it blow,
how it does glow.
copyright 1997 Patricia M. Shannon
Spring has sprung,
the flowers grow,
their pollen flows,
so does my nose.
Oh, hear it blow,
how it does glow.
Monday, March 19, 2007
everybody's creative, in their own way
Some years ago, I saw a very small article in a back page of a newspaper, that reported on some reseach genetic vs environmental influences on human thinking. It stated that it did not appear that heridity influenced creativity. There was no information on the way the study was conducted, but I felt doubtful of the conclusion.
However, with time, I have developed a different point of view. I have associated creativity with new ideas. However, I now see that great creativity is used by many people to rationalize their existing views.
However, with time, I have developed a different point of view. I have associated creativity with new ideas. However, I now see that great creativity is used by many people to rationalize their existing views.
inaccurate prediction
I made a spectacularly inaccurate prediction recently. I was talking to someone about the plan by some group to go around to high schools and colleges and lie to students, telling them that IT would be a good job to go into. I remarked that encouraging people to go into a field that they would have such a hard time getting jobs in, as beginners, was dangerous. Having educated people who can't get decent jobs can lead to the development of terrorists. I opined that the job discrimination against older IT people was probably safe enough in that respect, because older people are past the age when most violence occurs, and probably wouldn't suddenly become terrorists. Two or three days later, the following was reported :
http://cbs2.com/national/topstories_story_065072926.html
Mar 6, 2007 4:00 am US/Pacific
Police Investigate Why Gunman Shot Coworkers
(AP) SIGNAL HILL, Calif. Investigators were trying to determine Tuesday why a 68-year-old man opened fire at a menu printing plant, wounding three co-workers who had apparently helped him land a job there.Jose Mendez, of Hawthorne, killed himself as SWAT teams closed in the Kenyon Press offices Monday morning, police said.Capt. Mary Risinger said the business owner told authorities Mendez had been upset that his hours had been cut back amid a company slowdown. The victims had apparently helped him get the job assembling menus there about a year earlier."We're as confused as everybody else," Risinger said. "If he was mad about the hours, he should have been mad with her, not the co-workers."Mendez's longtime girlfriend, Gilma Newhouse, said Mendez hadn't worked since Feb. 9. "It's his only job, that's why he was so worried," Newhouse said in a phone interview.
http://cbs2.com/national/topstories_story_065072926.html
Mar 6, 2007 4:00 am US/Pacific
Police Investigate Why Gunman Shot Coworkers
(AP) SIGNAL HILL, Calif. Investigators were trying to determine Tuesday why a 68-year-old man opened fire at a menu printing plant, wounding three co-workers who had apparently helped him land a job there.Jose Mendez, of Hawthorne, killed himself as SWAT teams closed in the Kenyon Press offices Monday morning, police said.Capt. Mary Risinger said the business owner told authorities Mendez had been upset that his hours had been cut back amid a company slowdown. The victims had apparently helped him get the job assembling menus there about a year earlier."We're as confused as everybody else," Risinger said. "If he was mad about the hours, he should have been mad with her, not the co-workers."Mendez's longtime girlfriend, Gilma Newhouse, said Mendez hadn't worked since Feb. 9. "It's his only job, that's why he was so worried," Newhouse said in a phone interview.
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