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A Quote I like:
Disillusion is the last illusion. --Walter Stevens
with in your contol
feeling
thought
attitudes
awareness
values
desire
education
knowledge
trining
wellness
principles
problem solving skill
choices
How much risk I take
not in your contol
race
sex
age
country of origin
birth family
physical attributes
raw intelligence
other choices
Blogroll:
Joe Blog
RawFrog
Sites:
NCN
NCN Newslogs
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Unique Readers:
Syndication:
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Tell your Truth. As much as you’re ready for.
Take Risks. As deep as you dare without doing harm. There is no growth with- Out risk.
Pay Attention to .Your Body. Breathe and focus on your internal process.
Express your Feelings. Be alive and in touch
Take Personal Responsibility. Own your thoughts, words, actions, experiences and choices.
Make “I” Statements. Taking responsibility more and blaming less.
Speak Directly to Person You Are Talking Th or About
Stay in the Here-and-Now.
Avoid the Use of Globalisms. e.g. everyone does that - we all feel that way.
If You Don’t Like What’s Happening, Say or Do Something About It. (You may or may not get what you want)
Honor and Allow Silence When it Happens. Notice what is happening when nothing is happening.
Blogroll:
ACLU
boingboing
zenzibar
ming.tv
court tv
Discovery
The history channel
oprah.
frank4zen
info please
Dr Phil.
fact check
how stuff works
cover ups
why files
Nova
NASA
Meet up
White House
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Coast to coast
refdesk
aldaily.
mind power news
web Md..
bbc.co
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This is now
opednews.
altpress
democracynow
America blog
mother earth news
.Forbes.com
Abc news
RawFrog
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 10 May 2008 @ 04:02
WASHINGTON (AP) — Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday.
A teen who has been depressed at some point in the past year is more than twice as likely to have used marijuana as teens who have not reported being depressed — 25 percent compared with 12 percent, said the report by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
"Marijuana is a more consequential substance of abuse than our culture has treated it in the last 20 years," said John Walters, director of the office. "This is not just youthful experimentation that they'll get over as we used to think in the past."
Smoking marijuana can lead to more serious problems, Walters said in an interview.
For example, using marijuana increases the risk of developing mental disorders by 40 percent, the report said. And teens who smoke pot at least once a month over a yearlong period are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than nonusers, it said.
The report also cited research that showed that teens who smoke marijuana when feeling depressed were more than twice as likely as their peers to abuse or become addicted to pot — 8 percent compared with 3 percent.
Experts who have worked with children say there's nothing harmless about marijuana.
"I've seen many, many kids' lives negatively impacted and taken off track because of marijuana," said Elizabeth Stanley-Salazar, director of adolescent services for Phoenix House treatment centers in California. "It's somewhat Russian roulette. There are so many factors, emotional, psychological, biological. You can't predict the experimentation and how it will impact a kid."
The drug control policy office analyzed about a dozen studies looking at marijuana use, including research by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Overall, marijuana use among teens has decreased 25 percent since 2001, down to about 2.3 million kids who used pot at least once a month, the drug control office said.
While the drop is encouraging, Walters appealed to parents to recognize signs of possible drug use and depression.
"It's not something you look the other way about when your teen starts appearing careless about their grooming, withdrawing from the family, losing interest in daily activities," Walters said. "Find out what's wrong." More >
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 18 Apr 2008 @ 06:28
SAN ANGELO, Texas - A court hearing to decide the fate of the 416 children swept up in a raid on a West Texas polygamist sect descended into farce Thursday, with hundreds of lawyers in two packed buildings shouting objections and the judge struggling to maintain order.
The case — clearly one of the biggest, most convoluted child-custody hearings in U.S. history — presented an extraordinary spectacle: big-city lawyers in suits and mothers in 19th-century, pioneer-style dresses, all packed into a courtroom and a nearby auditorium connected by video.
At issue was an attempt by the state of Texas to strip the parents of custody and place the children in foster homes because of evidence they were being physically and sexually abused by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a renegade Mormon splinter group suspected of forcing underage girls into marriage with older men.
As many feared, the proceedings turned into something of a circus — and a painfully slow one.
By midafternoon only two witnesses had testified, and both only to lay the foundation for documents to be admitted. One witness, a state trooper, was cross-examined by dozens of attorneys, each of them asking the same question on behalf of a child or parent.
As the afternoon dragged on, no decisions had been made on the fate of any of the youngsters.
Additional details on life at the ranch began to emerge as child welfare investigator Angie Voss testified.
She said that if one of the men fell out of favor with the FLDS, his wives and children would be reassigned to other men. The children would then identify the new man as their father. Voss said that contributed to the problem of identifying children's family links and their ages.
Tough time keeping order
Texas District Judge Barbara Walther struggled to keep order as she faced 100 lawyers in her 80-year-old Tom Green County courtroom and several hundred more participating over a grainy video feed from an ornate City Hall auditorium two blocks away.
The hearing disintegrated quickly into a barrage of shouted objections and attempts to file motions, with lawyers for the children objecting to objections made by the parents' attorneys. When the judge sustained an objection to the prolonged questioning the state trooper, the lawyers cheered.
Upon another objection about the proper admission of medical records of the children, the judge threw up her hands.
assume most of you want to make the same objection. Can I have a universal, 'Yes, Judge'?" she said.
In both buildings, the hundreds of lawyers stood and responded in unison: "Yes, Judge."
But she added to the chaos as well.
Walther refused to put medical records and other evidence in electronic form, which could be e-mailed among the lawyers, because it contained personal information. A courier had to run from the courthouse to the auditorium delivering one document at a time.
"We're going to handle this the best we can, one client at a time," Walther said.
Legal wrangling
Little evidence had been admitted by midafternoon. The first attempt to admit evidence resulted in an hour-long recess while all the lawyers examined it. The rest of the morning was spent in arguments about whether to admit the medical records of three girls, two 17-year-olds and one 18-year-old.
Department of Public Safety Sgt. Danny Crawford testified to DPS's discovery of a church bishop's records taken from a safe at the ranch that listed about 38 families, some of them polygamous and some that included wives 16 or 17 years old. But under repeated cross-examination, Crawford acknowledged the records contained no evidence of sexual abuse. More >
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 18 Apr 2008 @ 03:23
Here's something to drum into your head... the boys keeping the beat may be geniuses (and that means you too, Ringo)
By OLINKA KOSTER - More by this author »
Drummers are usually credited more for their creative skills than for being brain boxes.
But new research turns that theory on its head - suggesting that those with good rhythm, such as Beatle Ringo Starr, may also be the most intellectual.
The study found that intelligence and good rhythm go hand in hand, after those who performed best at a "drumming" task were also found to have scored the highest in intelligence tests.
Swedish researchers were astonished by the results, as the first task - which involved tapping a drumstick to time - did not require any problem-solving skills.
But Fredrik Ullen, from leading European university the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, concluded that the study showed a link between intelligence, good timing, and the part of the brain used for problem-solving.
"The rhythmic accuracy in brain activity that is observed when a person maintains a steady beat is also important to the problem-solving capacities measured with the intelligence tests," he explained.
"It is interesting as the task didn't involve any kind of problem-solving."
For the study, 34 right-handed men aged between 19 and 49 who were recruited randomly via a newspaper advertisement.
They were first asked to tap a drum stick at variety of different time intervals as accurately as possible.
Secondly, they were asked to complete a "psychometric test" consisting of 60 questions and problems.
When the results were analysed, it was found that the participants who tapped the drumstick with the most accuracy also achieved the highest scores in the intelligence test.
Prof Ullen, who led the study with Guy Madison at Sweden's Umea University, said the study showed a correlation between high intelligence, an ability to keep good time, and a high volume of "white matter" in the part of the brain linked to planning and managing time.
"We found that people with high general intelligence are also more stable on a very simple timing task," he said.
"We also found that these participants had larger volume of the white matter in the brain, which contains connections between brain regions."
John Jenkins, emeritus professor at the University of London, has previously claimed that listening to music by Mozart, which features sound waves repeated regularly in a particular pattern but not close together, can boost children's powers of intelligence.
Eight years ago, the Education Department went so far as to say listening to the music could help reduce social problems such as teenage pregnancies and drug abuse.
Scans of the brain have also shown that the brain uses a wide distribution of areas to listen to music.
The left side tends to process rhythm and pitch and the right looks after timbre and melody. More >
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 29 Mar 2008 @ 02:04
Big Belly in Middle Age Increases Alzheimer's Risk
Thursday, March 27, 2008 8:22 AM
Article Font Size
Having a big belly in middle age appears to greatly increase one's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia decades later, researchers said on Wednesday.
Their study tracked 6,583 people in northern California for an average of 36 years starting when they were ages 40 to 45. Their abdominal size was measured at the outset of the study. [Editor's Note: Doctor Says Alzheimer's, Parkinson's Can Be Prevented — Click Here Now.]
A total of 1,049 of them -- nearly 16 percent -- went on to develop Alzheimer's disease or some other form of dementia by the time they reached their 70s. Those in the upper 20 percent in terms of belly size in middle age were almost three times more likely to develop dementia than those in the bottom 20 percent of belly size, the researchers found.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia among older people, and researchers have been working to understand the causes and risk factors for the brain disease.
Belly size in middle age was a much better predictor of later development of dementia than looking merely at obesity as shown by a person's body mass index, a measure of body fat based on height and weight, the researchers said.
"It's not just weight, it's where you carry your weight that is a very important risk factor," said Rachel Whitmer, a research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, California, who led the study.
"If you have two people who are both 10 pounds (4.5 kg) overweight, one carries it around the middle and one carries it around the hips, that person who carries it around the middle needs to know they are at greater risk," Whitmer said in a telephone interview.
Previous research has shown that having a large abdomen in middle age elevates one's risk for diabetes, stroke and heart disease, but the researchers said this was the first study linking belly fat in middle age to increased risk of dementia.
Having a large belly raised one's risk of dementia regardless of whether the person was of normal weight overall, overweight or obese, and regardless of health conditions such as diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular disease, according to the study published in the journal Neurology.
Whitmer said research is needed to reveal the underlying mechanisms linking abdominal size to eventual dementia risk.
"We're sort of at the beginning of understanding the clinical effects of these byproducts of fat," Whitmer said. "But there is evidence from the molecular level, from animal models, and from population studies that it could have a negative effect on the brain."
Measuring abdomen size in the elderly may not be as valuable an indicator of dementia risk because people as they age naturally are apt to lose muscle and bone mass and gain belly size, Whitmer said.
[Editor's Note: Doctor Says Alzheimer's, Parkinson's Can Be Prevented — Click Here Now.]
read
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 17 Mar 2008 @ 19:07
Teenage girls and their parents need to read the latest government study of sexually transmitted diseases. The infections are so prevalent they are hard to avoid once a girl becomes sexually active. One in four girls ages 14 to 19 is infected with at least one of four common diseases. Among African-American girls in the study, almost half were infected. The data, drawn from a sample of 838 girls who participated in a broad national survey in 2003-4, was presented last week by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By far the most common of the four S.T.D.’s was the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which infected 18 percent of the girls. Chlamydia infected 4 percent, trichomoniasis — a common parasite — 2.5 percent, and genital herpes 2 percent.
The study did not look at such feared diseases as H.I.V./AIDS, syphilis or gonorrhea, but the four it did look at are worrisome enough. Although most HPV infections cause no symptoms and clear the body in less than a year, persistent HPV can cause cervical cancer and genital warts. S.T.D.’s can cause infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease and other painful symptoms. It will not be easy for sexually active teenagers to avoid any danger. Even among girls who said they had had only a single sexual partner, 20 percent were infected. With more than three million teenage girls infected, it is imperative to find ways to protect others.
The new findings strengthen the case for providing HPV vaccine to young girls and for regular screening of sexually active girls to detect infection. There is also a clear need to strengthen programs in sex education. Exhortations to practice abstinence go only so far.
Teenage girls who are sexually active need access to contraceptives and counseling. They need to understand that the numbers are against them and that a serious infection is but a careless sexual encounter away.
article More >
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 27 Feb 2008 @ 15:03
A new study finds men who spent more than four hours a day talking on cell phones had lower sperm counts, although the study's author cautions that the findings are "quite preliminary."
Feb. 25) -- Are men speed-dialing infertility by talking for hours a day on their cellphones?
A new study suggests that might be the case, but before potential papas ditch the devices, they should know that lead author Ashok Agarwal says the data are "quite preliminary."
Cellphones emit radiofrequency electromagnetic waves. Scientists have reported potential adverse effects of the waves on the brain, heart, endocrine system and DNA, Agarwal, director of the andrology lab at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and his co-authors write in the journal Fertility and Sterility.
Agarwal's team studied 361 men under 40 who were being evaluated for infertility; men whose personal or family history might explain a low count or other sperm abnormalities were excluded.
The scientists divided the patients into four groups, based on how long they said they talked on a cellphone each day. Then they analyzed the men's semen and found a strong association between length of time spent on a cellphone and sperm count and quality. Those who talked more than four hours a day had lower counts and more poor "swimmers" and abnormally formed sperm.
One reason could be the heat generated by the phones; sperm production is sensitive to temperature, Agarwal says.
The researchers didn't ask the men about other potential sources of electromagnetic wave exposure, like laptop computers, or where the men usually kept the phone when they talked. Next to their ear? In a pocket while using a headset? Says Agarwal: "There are hundreds of variables that can affect our conclusions."
Location, location, location makes a big difference, says British infertility specialist Iwan Lewis-Jones, who, like Agarwal, is conducting laboratory studies of cellphones' impact on sperm specimens. "To get an effect, I think you've got to have the phone very close to the sperm."
In research still ongoing, Agarwal says, he has found that sperm quality decreases in semen specimens left sitting next to a phone in talk mode for as little as an hour. Lewis-Jones says he isn't ready to report results from his research, in which phones in talk mode are left next to semen specimens.
"We are not saying that mobile phones affect fertility," he says. "All we're trying to do is see what effect they have on the sperm cell." In other words, he says, changes seen in laboratory experiments probably are not occurring in real life.
The only way to answer that question definitively, he says, is to randomly assign men to use a cellphone or not. But, he says, considering "I don't know anybody who hasn't got a mobile phone now," few men would volunteer to go without one.
Copyright 2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. All Rights Reserved.
2008-02-25 09:03:22 More >
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 14 Feb 2008 @ 21:50
All too often, we scold ourselves because of our bad habits. The good news is we don't need to participate in that type of self-destructive behavior any longer. Believe it or not, bad habits can be broken. If you are working on changing a bad habit, the best way is to put a new good one in its place—one that will serve you well. Even if you think you do not have a lot of bad habits, this exercise will work for you too. Creating good habits is healthy for everyone.
For the next few days, simply observe your habits. Which ones are working well for you and which ones are not? For example, do you find yourself overeating, under exercising, neglecting your self care, procrastinating, spending too much time on the computer or e-mail? Many of these things seem to come naturally for us, but are frustrating at the same time. It can be madding to always feel that you don't have enough time in the day to do the things you want. The good news is that your daily life can be improved with a few simple changes.
When developing new habits, it's important to write them down. First of all, write down the habits you find yourself doing each day that you want to break. Some of these habits can be modified; some can be let go of completely. Do this for a week so you can see the extent of these habits. Do you find yourself doing them daily?
Next focus on what you would like your typical day to look like. Do you want more time for your family or self care? Would you like more down time—time to read and relax? Have the bad habits you have written down been getting in your way of accomplishing your great day?
Look at your list of bad habits and think about them. Are they really necessary? What is the payoff for having them? There is always a payoff or you would not be doing them. What is the trade off? By breaking the habit, what will you gain? What can you put in the place of the bad habit that would enhance your life? Cross off the bad habit and replace it with a good one.
From that point, make up a list of good daily habits you would like to begin to follow. Don't try to follow them all at once. Change takes time. Pick one that will get you off to a good start. When that becomes a habit, pick another one. Changing a habit can, at times, take a few weeks before it feels natural. If you find yourself slipping backwards, don't give up. Simply continue your efforts. You don't have to be "starting over"; you will simply be picking it back up from where you left off.
As you begin working with new daily habits, you will find that some will work for you and others you once thought were necessary will turn out to be ones that you do not need after all. That's to be expected when you start this process. Try the new habit out. If it is accomplishing what you set out to achieve, then keep it. If not, change it until it does. It's perfectly acceptable to change them as necessary. After you get a solid set of daily habits in place, review them every so often to be sure they are still serving you. The good thing about habits is that they are your choice. Be sure that you put some in place that are great for you. They are meant to support your life, not complicate it. The habits are not "shoulds" or "rules". Keep them simple and have fun with them.
Addressing self-care in your daily habits is essential. If you don't take care of yourself, then life is much more difficult. Be sure that included in your daily habits are a few dealing with your self-care. An example would be exercise and getting enough sleep. This is essential to have the energy you need to create change in your life.
Above all, remember your habits are your choice. You may have developed them in childhood or they may have become recent ones. Whatever they are, they are what you choose them to be. It's your own decision and determination that will replace bad habits with good ones.
Susan Scholl is a Certified Professional Life Coach. You can read more about her at link More >
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 23 Jan 2008 @ 08:21
WE’VE just had the most depressing day of the year – but you don’t have to let bad weather, Christmas debt and failed New Year’s resolutions get you down.
There’s a way to banish winter woes, get fit and lose weight all at the same time.
What’s more, it won’t cost you a single a penny. Just take a walk.
Walking is the world’s most simple exercise and yet has incredible benefits.
In fact, there’s nothing better than a fast-paced walk in the brisk winter air to put a smile on your face and let you know you’re alive.
Take the dog, take the baby or take your partner. The more the merrier.
Even better, one of the major benefits at this time of year is that resistance from the wind adds intensity to each workout so you get fit even quicker.
It doesn’t matter if you haven’t exercised since you were forced to do PE at school.
Just 30 minutes of walking will boost your mood and improve your health, even when broken into small segments of ten minutes.
Walk for 60 minutes five times a week and you will start to see serious benefits.
There’s no need to panic that you won’t be able to walk for that long.
Just take it gradually so you can build up slowly. You’ll soon increase your speed and stamina.
WHY IT WORKS
1. GOOD FOR YOUR HEART. Walking lowers blood pressure, reduces cholesterol and helps prevent strokes.
2. BOOSTS BRAIN POWER. It increases blood and oxygen supply, so you feel more alert. Walking also improves memory, creativity and problem-solving skills.
3. CHEERS YOU UP. Walking three to four times a week for 30 minutes each time has been shown to lift people’s moods, making them feel happier.
4. STRENGTHENS BONES. As a weight-bearing exercise, taking a stroll increases and maintains bone density, helping prevent fractures and osteoporosis and protecting against osteoarthritis.
5. HELPS IMMUNE SYSTEM. Being outside in the elements will build up your immune system. Walking increases levels of oxygen in your blood which in turn boosts your immune system so you can fight off bouts of colds and flu.
REASONS TO KEEP GOING
A brisk stroll first thing is a great way to start the day.
Walking not only busts fat but it also boosts your resting metabolic rate, which means you’ll go on burning calories after you stop.
What’s more, the faster you go, the more fat you’ll burn.
Time yourself. A vigorous 120 steps per minute is around 3mph, 135 steps is a fat-burning 4mph and a seriously speedy 150 steps is 5mph — the fastest most people walk before breaking into a run. Stay walking, though — you’ll burn more calories.
If you reckon you are too busy to fit in a 30-minute walk, slot in smaller chunks to fit in with your schedule.
Studies at Loughborough University found that people who walked continuously for 30 minutes, five days a week, had very similar fitness increases as people who split their 30 minutes into three ten-minute walks.
And the longer you keep going, the better you will feel.
Beta-endorphins — the body’s feel-good chemicals — will kick in after around 30 minutes of brisk walking, so keep it up.
Walking raises blood levels of other mood-enhancing chemicals, too, such a dopamine, adrenaline and serotonin.
Just make sure you wear comfy, supportive footwear. There’s nothing like aching feet and blisters to put you off your stride.
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 2 Jan 2008 @ 18:18
EAGLE COUNTY, COLORADO — What’s the worst thing anyone could say about you? Of the myriad of potential answers you might come up with, let’s say that your spouse or lover says that you’re insecure.
Instead of getting angry or defensive, let’s say you were open to exploring whether the criticism was true (“Well, aren’t I sometimes insecure? OK, so she just told you something true about you. Isn’t that what you want from your relationship — that she tells you the truth?”)
Of course, you could always go to your familiar response: “No, I’m not. It’s you who are insecure!” — but you know where that leads.
Once you understand that you can actually hear something critical and even gain value from it, give yourself a gift of the following exercise, compliments of Byron Katie in the book “I Need Your Love — Is That True?” (Three Rivers Press):
Step 1: When someone criticizes you and says you are wrong (unkind, insensitive, uncaring, etc.), settle into it. Ask yourself, “Is it true? Could he be right? Can I see how someone might see me that way?” Be patient, and wait for the answer. Respond to the other person only with, “Thank you for letting me know that.”
Step 2: After the criticism, ask yourself, “Was hearing that remark at all stressful?” If the answer is yes, it means that the criticism is true about you. Question yourself before becoming defensive. So if a friend says, “You don’t listen to me,” and you want to respond, “You’re wrong,” do an honest exploration with yourself before you react or respond.
“She’s wrong about me — is that true?” No, it’s not. The truth is that sometimes I don’t listen. “How do I react when I believe that she is wrong?” I immediately get upset and feel unjustly accused. I start defending myself. I attack her in my mind. I feel sorry for myself. I stop listening. Who would I be without the thought, “She’s wrong about me?” I might listen. I might be open to what she’s saying. I might take a deeper look at myself.
Turn the statement around: “I’m wrong about her.” Or, “I’m wrong about me.” Or, “She’s right about me.” Are these statements as true or truer than the original statement?
If you’d like to follow these steps with other issues in your life, here are Katie’s steps, which she calls “The Work.” Put an issue, a problem or a conflict into a statement (example: “He or she doesn’t love me,” or, “I would be happier if I got that promotion.” ) 1. Is it true? 2. Can you absolutely know that it’s true? Can you absolutely know that you would be happier, or that your life would be better, if you got what you wanted?
Can you really know what is best in the long run for his, her or your path? 3. How do you react when you believe that thought? Where do you feel it in your body? How do you treat yourself? How do you treat others when you believe that thought? Does that thought bring peace or stress into your life? 4. Close your eyes and imagine yourself with the person (or in that situation) without that thought. Describe how it would feel not to have that thought. How would your life be different? 5. Turn the thought around.
Find three examples in your life where the turnarounds are as true or truer. Examples: Instead of, “I am not insecure,” use turnaround No. 1: “I am insecure,” turnaround No. 2: “The other person is insecure,” turnaround No. 3: “I am secure,” or turnaround No. 4: “I need more security.”
Now take an issue in your life, a thought you have that causes you anger or defensiveness, and use these questions to explore that issue. Your need for approval will likely diminish if you do, and you are far more likely to feel greater peace of mind.
Neil Rosenthal can be reached at 303-758-8777 or by e-mail from his Web site, www.heartrelationships.com. More >
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 2 Jan 2008 @ 18:12
US researchers have identified a married couple who sailed from England to the US in around 1630 as the bearers of a genetic mutation which puts their numerous descendants at higher risk of a hereditary form of colon cancer.
Reuters explains that cancer researchers at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Utah began to look into a local "family", currently numbering about 5,000 people, "because its members had an unusually high risk of colon cancer". Over 14 years they scoured detailed Mormon church records, in the process identifying another group in New York at similar risk. The genetic trail from both eventually led back to the British pair.
tudy leader Deb Neklason said: "The fact that this mutation can be traced so far back in time suggests it could be carried by many more families in the United States than is currently known. In fact, this founder mutation might be related to many colon cancer cases in the United States."
The mutation in question provokes "attenuated familial adenomatous polyposis" (AFAP), which makes people "more prone to developing polyps that can cause colon cancer". In the absence of adequate treatment, the carriers are at a "greater than 2 in 3 risk of developing colon cancer by age 80, compared to about 1 in 24 for the general population".
Neklason concluded: "This study highlights that you need to pay attention to your family history. With intervention to remove the polyps, the risk goes to near nothing."
The study on the unnamed families is published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. ®
Bootnote
Colorectal cancer is the "third-leading cause of cancer death in the United States" and will kill 52,000 people in the US in 2008, according to the American Cancer Society. More >
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 1 Nov 2007 @ 05:23
Part of the reason so many people blog is to help change the world. So I’m starting a new competition. The reward? Convincing people to change the world in 30 seconds or less.
The task?
I challenge all bloggers to blog about 30 things that can be done to change the world in 30 seconds. Before you freak out, that’s 30 seconds for EACH of the 30 things. 30 for 30.
There is a lot you can do to change the world in 30 seconds. In thirty seconds or less, what are things you can do to make the world a better place through your conscious decisions not automatic behaviors and habits? Here is my list.
1. Smile at a stranger.
2. Hug someone.
3. Pick up a piece of trash and throw it away.
4. Let someone else cut in front in the grocery line.
5. Let a car merge in front of you in traffic.
6. Smell a flower, don’t pick it.
7. Put the shopping cart in a shopping cart receptacle or return it to the store.
8. Pet an animal.
9. Say something nice.
10. Gargle.
11. Turn up the temperature on the air conditioner and down on the heater by 1-2 degrees (saves electricity and energy).
12. Stop smoking thirty seconds at a time.
13. Purchase rechargeable not disposable batteries.
14. Buy fruit not candy.
15. Use your car blinker.
16. Park your car farther from the store and walk.
17. Choose NOT to park in a handicapped stall even if you are handicapped - leave it for the more handicapped.
18. Take your children to the park not the store.
19. Drop $5 on the sidewalk and walk away fast and don’t look back.
20. Don’t wear perfume or cologne.
21. Wear less makeup.
22. Wave hello to your neighbors.
23. Reuse paper in your printer (print on the back).
24. Give money to pet charities.
25. Turn off the television.
26. Shut up.
27. Tell someone “I love you”.
28. Tell someone you care about them.
29. Look behind you.
30. Tell someone when they have snot hanging out of their nose, their fly unzipped, food on their face, their shirt unbuttoned, or any other thing you wish someone would have said to you. More >
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 30 Oct 2007 @ 00:25
One of the best and most transformative tools for personal growth I have ever found is absolutely free, and you can do it anytime. It doesn't require any special tools or knowledge. You don't have to believe in any specific religion or even God to use it.
This fabulous tool is called "The Work of Byron Katie," or just "The Work" for short.
Byron Katie is a woman who used to live her life in a lot of anger, selfishness, and greed. One day she had a complete meltdown...and then she had a miraculous breakthrough. She completely transformed, and is now one of the leading spiritual teachers on the planet.
The Work is very simple. It's all about questioning the stories we create in our minds that cause pain to ourselves and those around us. It's also about accepting reality, without judgment.
The general gist of The Work is this:
What is The Work?
The Work is a simple yet powerful process of inquiry that teaches you to identify and question the stressful thoughts that cause all the suffering in the world. It's a way to understand what's hurting you, a way to end all your stress and suffering.
People who do The Work faithfully report life-changing results.
Eliminate stress: Live without anxiety or fear
Improve relationships: Have a new sense of connection and intimacy with your husband or wife, your parents, your children, and with yourself
Reduce anger: Get angry less often and less intensely, and eventually not at all
Eliminate depression: See perfection in situations that were once debilitating
Clarity: Act more intelligently and effectively
Energy: Experience a new sense of vigor and well-being
Peace: Learn how to love what is, and find lasting inner peace
The Work of Byron Katie More >
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23 Aug 2007 @ 12:31
| The war in Iraq, specifically America's role of leadership in this war, is a painful invitation to ask ourselves what, if anything, we've learned from previous wars. I, like you, am revolted by the brutal killing of hundreds of thousands of innocent people during any war. And, like you, I'm saddened by the apparent inability of human beings to find less violent solutions to conflict and terrorism. What can we learn from previous wars? Are there lessons from past experiences that can help reduce or minimize the likelihood of excessive and unnecessary destruction and devastation of lives and countries, and our future on Earth? I believe the answer is yes! We can learn, and there are lessons available.
In an interview with Errol Morris, Robert McNamara, the former Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War and the Cuban missile crisis, delineated some lessons from both events. Eighty-five-year-old McNamara, in Morris's Academy Award-winning documentary, The Fog of War, looks back at the crucial mistakes made by our government in failing to understand our supposed enemy, and even more egregiously, our failure to communicate with those Vietnamese leaders we were assigned to hate and destroy. The lesson? Empathize with your enemy.
Meeting with his North Vietnamese counterpart, described by McNamara as "a wonderful man named Thach," almost 30 years after pulling out of Vietnam, Thach still insisted that America's mission was to colonize and enslave the Vietnamese. Thirty years later, McNamara couldn't convince his former enemy that we believed we were there to protect them from Communist control. In all those years of conflict and killing on both sides, we had never successfully communicated to our enemy why we were fighting and killing them, and we were unable to empathize with what they were experiencing as a civil war. Thach felt they were fighting for their independence and we were fighting to enslave them. Total misunderstanding is the result of failure to empathize. We must learn to find out why we're so hated and make an attempt to understand each other.
Today we are once again engaged in a gigantic battle with people that we've dubbed insurgents or resistance fighters, who seem to be so filled with rancor and rage that they're willing to sacrifice themselves and their loved ones to destroy the hated Americans. Are we making an effort to understand and empathize with our new enemy; to communicate with those who want to destroy us? Sadly, the first lesson of war offered by an octogenarian who's been there and seen the folly of fighting an enemy you cannot comprehend, let alone, understand, is still being ignored at a horrendous cost.
Our strategy today, just as it was some 40-plus years ago, is to kill the insurgents even if we must destroy the villages—including schools, mosques, homes, and businesses in the process. After all, we can always rebuild what we've torn down. Yet the hatred remains, and force gives birth to counter force. The killing and destruction go on, and the people who witness the total annihilation of their land are future insurgents in the making.
We're told by those who represent us that the insurgents and the average Iraqi and Middle Easterner hate us because we stand for freedom and democracy. It's my contention that we have it backwards. We're hated because we fail to stand for freedom and democracy. In fact, what we do stand for is whatever is best for American financial interests. Under the Shah of Iran, freedom and democracy didn't exist, yet we supported that regime. The Saudi royal family certainly doesn't stand for freedom and democracy, yet we have no quarrel with them. The Emir of Kuwait is not about freedom and democracy, and he has our dying loyalty.
The average person on the streets of Iraq isn't fooled by our occupation of their country. They hate us throughout the Middle East and the Moslem world because we care most about how to make money in foreign lands. They know it and we should know it. But we're told that it's our freedom and democracy that engenders this animosity toward us. Residents of Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Syria, and other countries throughout the Middle East hate us vehemently because they believe that Americans simply can't figure out how all that American oil got under their sand. They believe that we're acting in our own self-interest and that we justify destroying their villages and killing insurgents by convincing ourselves that it's in the name of freedom and democracy.
If all of this is blatantly untrue, and we have no monetary motives in our continual clean-up campaigns that are leaving corpses and severely wounded people by the hundreds of thousands, then let's make an effort to communicate with those whom we're now aimlessly killing. I ask each and every person who conducts this war under the guise of Christian principles to answer this question: How much time have you spent praying for your enemy today? Read Jesus in Matthew 5:43-44: You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Throughout our history, there has been a long list of those we've been conditioned to hate. The British, French, Spanish, Germans, Japanese, Russians, Communists, Northern Koreans, Vietnamese, Iranians, Taliban, and both northerners and southerners in our own country are some of the people we've been encouraged at various times to call enemies and to hate. The list is long, and as time passes, those we were assigned to hate we later were told should be removed from our hate list. The enemy is obviously hatred itself, and the glassy eyes and the tears rolling down the face of a former wartime Secretary of Defense say it all to me. Have empathy for your assigned enemy.
With empathy you know in your heart that it's not a sign of weakness to attempt to understand that the people we call terrorists have placed the same label on us, and that the use of force will create a counter force, a never-ending saga of killing and hate. Ending war involves cultivating empathy in our policies and the love of God in our hearts.
As the Native Americans reminded us: No tree has branches so foolish as to fight among themselves. More >
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 16 Aug 2007 @ 17:07
What is the Taoist view on morality?
By Bobba
We cling to our own point of view as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn and winter, they gradually fade away." Chuang Tzu
Nature doesn't provide us with a formula for determining what is moral or immoral. Yet it seems mankind has always desired rigid definitive answers to every social problem it has faced. Of course, setting the social standards has been the principle endeavour of religion. However, all too often when we have looked for guidance from the Holy Scriptures it has ended with deplorable results.
There are no straight lines in Nature. Mountains, trees, our bodies and all natural processes are irregular. The only straight lines we ever encounter at the macro-level are made by the hand of man. This is an important point and it illustrates the obsession humans have for rigid uniformity. We seem to crave definite distinctions and definitive answers. However, Nature doesn't work this way and neither does the Taoist philosophy.
It would be a mistake to think Taoism avoids the contentious issues. Taoism recognises that every individual case is unique and therefore must be judged in isolation. The ancient sages advised against putting the laws into words. They believed words could not be trusted since Nature comes at us with thousands of variables simultaneously and is therefore beyond the linear nature of words.
We have all heard of laws being applied with the opposite intention in which they were devised. For example, when someone is charged with injuring an intruder who has entered their home with wilful intent; or when a criminal escapes prosecution on a technicality. This is the danger of trying to account for everything when the factors of life are infinite.
Many of the world's religions have also made the mistake of categorically defining what should or should not be done in specific situations. All too often this unfaltering devotion to the doctrines is the basis for religious fanaticism. Sacred doctrine is applied regardless of the circumstance and without exception. In recent years we have all witnessed how this type of religious fanaticism has resulted in blind obedience and terrorism "In the name of God."
The ancient Taoist sages warned us that forcing things to be good will in fact create evil. This occurs because it is intrinsic of Nature to always balance good with evil; light with dark; and life with death. We see evidence of this occurring throughout history as unimaginable cruelty for the sake of righteousness. We still see this occurring in the world today in the form of horrendous wars fought in the name of freedom and justice.
We can't make life conform to our synthetic linear desire. We can't apply a set of inflexible values in the hope of making everything either black or white. Each circumstance must be examined in isolation; taking into account the numerous features that will be unique in each individual case. We will never be in a position where we can lay down an ideology that will determine if something is right or wrong in all cases.
Taoism guides us into making virtuous decisions by providing us with the 'three jewels'. These jewels are: compassion, moderation and humility. By applying these jewels to any given situation, Taoists will hopefully arrive at a balanced opinion.
Compassion is our empathy for others. It's considering how we would feel if we were in their position. From this angle it is very difficult to be racist, sexist, prejudiced or intolerant.
Moderation is always avoiding extreme views or taking extreme actions. Moderation is very similar to the Buddhist concept of the 'middle way'. It advises that one should always take the most moderate path on any issue. All too often we over react to a given situation and use force that is disproportional to what is actually required.
Humility is understanding that self-interest and self-importance are self-destructive. Thinking that our own view on any given situation is the only correct view is a dangerous assertion. All too often we are too proud to see the truth out of fear of losing our familiar paradigms. Humbling oneself enough to see an alternative point of view may allow us to see something in a way we have never thought possible.
Finally if all else fails, one should simply look to
What is the Taoist take on evil?
When the world knows beauty, there is already ugliness. When the world knows good, there is already evil." Lao Tzu
Historically religions have always struggled to explain why their God allows evil to occur. It is for this reason evil is often referred to 'as the problem of evil'. Taoism is probably the only philosophy that has a plausible explanation for evil; but this requires that we look at evil from an unfamiliar and an entirely new perspective.
So what is evil? Essentially evil is something we would prefer not to happen. However, we must recognise that what appears to be evil for one group, may be seen as a blessing for another group.
Take the case where a natural disaster devastates the human population of a particular region. It could be a flood, famine, disease, perilous winds or an earth quake. This is a horrendous experience for the people affected and they would most likely see the event as evil. They may also believe their God has forsaken them or is reaping revenge for past deeds.
Yet, from the perspective of the flora and fauna whose habitat may have been under threat from human intrusion, this may be a completely different matter. In light of the devastating impact we humans are currently having on the planet, a reduction in the human population may be very beneficial for the environment as a whole.
Therefore, evil is a case of how something appears from a particular point of view and we usually only ever consider the human perspective. The problem is that many of us feel no connection to the environment and we are often unable to consider anything from any other stance other than our own. We rarely consider things from the perspective of Nature; which will always gravitate towards a balance of all things.
On the other hand there are the atrocities committed by the hand of man. It is evident that a small percentage of our population feel compelled to commit heinous acts. However, it must be remembered that the portion of the population that commits these callous acts is in fact very small. It must not be forgotten that of all the species that inhabit this planet, no other animal is more trusting or more cooperative with outsiders than humans.
It's obvious that most of this man made evil occurs in our cities. Of course there are always exceptations to the rule; but it appears that violent crime is in direct proportion to the density of the city.
In his book 'Human Zoo', Zoologist Dr Desmond Morris writes that the aggression witnessed in our cities is a direct result of people not living the existence intended for humans. Morris compares a densely populated city to a high concentration of animals in a confined space, such as in a zoo. In these circumstances animals will often become aggressive and behave in ways not normally seen in their natural environment. He believes that as a species we should be living in small villages rather than cities. All the anecdotal evidence suggests that the population of a village are far more caring and considerate of each other when compared to their city counterparts.
Therefore it seems that the evil we witness in our society maybe a result of urbanisation not being a suitable environment for our species. In Taoist terms; the urban life style conflicts with living in harmony with the Tao and this will always be a formula for disaster.
Lao Tzu told us that evil must exist in order for us to understand the concept of good. We wouldn't know what was good unless we had evil to serve as a contrast. In the same way, we can only see the stars in the night sky because they are contrasted against the darkness of space; and we can only know something as large when we know of something smaller to serve as a comparison. For this reason there will always be evil. It is only the severity of evil that will vary.
Consequently attempting to rid the world of evil is futile and this very action will in fact create the conditions conducive to evil. Think of how many wars and atrocities have been committed throughout history in the name of God, justice, freedom or righteousness.
The Taoist way is to simply accept evil as part of the cycle of yin-yang. In its turn good will always be balanced with evil, regardless of what we do or think. The acceptance of this fact and simply going with the flow of what ever happens is the secret of living an effortless life of simplicity.
What is Taoist concept of Oneness?
The deepest level of truth discovered by science and philosophy is the fundamental truth of unity. At the deepest sub nuclear level of reality, you and I are literary one." John Hagelin Ph.D.
As individuals most of us feel that we only exist within our skin and we sense no connection to the outside world. This creates the deception that everything outside our skin is alien and potentially hostile. It is this isolationist attitude that allows us to carelessly destroy the very environment that sustains us and irrationally see all other life forms as possible threats. However, the overwhelming evidence is that the separateness we feel is simply an illusion.
Oneness is the understanding that we are not isolated individuals within Nature. We are fundamentally connected to all the natural processes of this planet and ultimately to the Universe - the creator of all physical things.
The first step in understanding oneness is the realisation that without this planet we would not have the nutrition; water; a protective atmosphere; the correct temperature or the air we need to exist. Therefore the earth is as essential to our existence as our own internal organs. Yet most of us feel no connection to earth's environment. We only identify ourselves with our bodies; although the environment is just as crucial to our survival as our body. Needless to say, the sensation of separateness is essentially due to our ego, which prevents us from seeing things as they truly exist.
We probably feel more connected to our body since we feel we have some level of control over what it does; whereas we have no control over the environment. However, the control we have over our bodies is very superficial. Sure, we can walk, talk and strike a blow, but the fact remains that we have as little control over our biological systems, as we do over the environment. For example, we can't directly regulate our heart; control the secretions of our glands; coordinate our digestion; will our cells to divide; or organise our nervous system.
Just like environmental processes, the processes of the body occur spontaneously without any conscious attention. Logically, if what is outside our body is just as essential as what is inside our body and we have no control of either; we can then conclude that both our body and our environment are one and the same. Nature is controlling both equally, making ourselves and the natural world one self perpetuating unity.
Oneness has also been theorised in particle physics. Physicists explain the unity of all things with the 'unified field'; an "universal ocean" that contains all possible things. The unified field exists at the deepest sub-atomic level possible and connects everything in the Universe. All the forces and material objects; including us, are the result of vibrations on the unified field.
The illusion of remoteness we experience as a species is the cause of all the difficulties the world is currently enduring. If we could simply overcome our egocentricity and become mindful of the unity of all things; we would not be on our current course of escalating wars, hatred and environmental destruction.
Is there common ground between Taoism & science?
Physicists do not need mysticism, and Mystics do not need Physics; but humanity needs both." Fritjof Capra
In the past 100 years the disparity between science and mysticism has decreased immensely. The division began in the 17th century with Isaac Newton. Newtonian Physics holds that physical reality is merely the simple interplay of energy and material objects. This view lead to the belief that Nature was nothing but a random machine and it was therefore ours to dominate.
However, this view of the Universe began to be questioned in the first half of the twentieth century, due to the discoveries made in quantum physics. Scientists found that the mechanical view of the Universe didn't hold up when they studied the world of the extremely small. They found that atoms were for the most part non-material and behaved in a way that was very unexpected. It wasn't long before the pioneers of quantum physics; such as Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr; began to see parallels between physics and Eastern mysticism.
The most amazing parallels between science and Taoism are found in the yin-yang principle. The ancient Taoists noticed that everything in Nature had an equal and necessary opposite aspect. For example: it is impossible to have up without down; big without small; light without dark; good without bad; winning without losing; male without female; and life without death.
The yin-yang motif illustrates that all opposites are simply different aspects of the very same thing. Science has also found surprising connections between seemly opposite natural phenomenon. In the past few centuries, science has consistently found that seemingly opposite occurrences are actually an alternate aspect of the same happening.
In 1831 Michael Faraday demonstrated that electricity and magnetism were different aspects of the same occurrence. By moving a magnet inside a metallic coil, Faraday observed magnetism could create an electric current. He therefore concluded magnetism and electricity were part of the same invisible field. From Faraday's findings we can easily see magnetism and electricity as the yin and yang aspect of the same force. This force is now known as electromagnetic radiation and this also includes x-rays, microwaves and visible light to name but a few.
In 1906 Einstein made the link between space and time in his famous "Special Relativity Theory". Einstein concluded that space and time were part of the same fabric called the space-time continuum. He determined that time wasn't absolute as commonly believed and was always relative to the observer. Time and space are now considered to be as interwoven and inseparable as the yin and the yang.
Proving what an incredible genius he really was, Einstein then went even further and made the amazing connection between mass and energy in his famous E=MC2 equation. The equation is in fact saying that mass (material objects) and energy are different forms of the very same thing. Under the correct circumstances energy can become mass; and mass can become extremely liberal amounts of energy. From Einstein's equation we can imagine mass as the yin aspect and energy is the yang aspect of the same phenomena. The most striking example of mass becoming energy is when an atomic weapon is detonated and a tiny amount of uranium becomes an enormous amount of energy. The reverse situation of energy becoming mass occurs when Physicists create subatomic particles in particle accelerators.
Most of us have now accepted that our planet's climate is changing. Taoists explain climate change as an imbalance of our planet's natural yin-yang. Environmental science and Taoism are on the same wavelength in the understanding that everything is part of a finely balanced, interlocking unity. It is therefore little surprise to either Taoists or Environmental Scientists that to disrupt this finely balanced unity with pollutants is having disastrous effects on the earth's climate.
The unity of opposites in Nature has been a fundamental part of Taoism for thousands of years. From the examples above you can see that this unity has now been verified numerous times by modern science. I personally think we should find the connection of all opposites very reassuring. For if death is simply the necessary opposite aspect of life; then death should be no more mysterious or frightening than day becoming night.
Why are we here?
What is the purpose of life?
Two men were arguing about a flag flapping in the wind. "It's the wind that is really moving," stated the first one. "No, it is the flag that is moving," contended the second. A Zen master, who happened to be walking by, overheard the debate and interrupted them. "It is neither the flag nor the wind that is moving," he said, "It's your minds that are moving."
Zen Wisdom.
The reason for our existence has been the ultimate question throughout the ages. Of course, no one can ever be certain they have the definitive answer. Furthermore, there is always the possibility that the reason for our existence is beyond anything we have the capacity to understand.
Nevertheless, isn't it odd that Universe exists at all? After all, material existence requires effort and energy. Wouldn't it be easier for the Universe not to exist? Yet in spite of this it seems that the Universe wants to exist and it expends a lot of energy to make this possible.
Following on from this another question arises. Why has the Universe evolved in such a way as to generate life? What purpose does life serve to the Universe? A clue may be found in the wacky science called quantum physics.
A Quantum Physicist could tell you things that you would probably find very difficult to believe. This field of science has found that nothing can come into material existence without the participation of an observer. In other words, things only exist when something else is interacting with it. So what happens to things when nothing is interacting with them? The subatomic particles that give all things their material properties, smear out into waves of probability. (This is proved by the famous double slit experiment.) This may seem unbelievable, but quantum physics seems to be demonstrating to us, that without conscious entities such as us, the Universe would not exist in a material state.
With the knowledge of quantum physics, we can then come to the same conclusion as Alan Watts when he said, "Without eyes, the sun would not be bright. Without ears, vibrations in the air would make no sound. Without the soft texture of the skin, nothing would be hard or soft. Without muscles, nothing would be heavy or light. It is our organism that brings the Universe into being. Therefore, we live in a Universe that is a human Universe. It isn't anti-human."
It must also be remembered that the human brain is the most complex thing in the known Universe. Being at the apex of the Universe's complexity, it doesn't seem inconceivable that we are playing a significant roll in material reality.
It seems highly likely the Universe is simply a construct of our collective consciousnesses. Consequently, it is little wonder the Universe is a life favouring entity that gravitates towards the conditions conducive to life. We are not simply at the mercy of the Universe as it has long been believed. On the contrary. As observers we collectively control our shared destiny.
As a species it seems farcical that we spend so much of our time feeling anxious and struggling against each other. We are now just beginning to see that our real purpose here is far greater than anything we have dreamed. Just imagine how much more we could achieve if we could transcend our pointless egocentricities and truly feel one with everything?
Taoism provides us with the knowledge to cultivate oneness with each other and the Universe. From the position of oneness, we understand ourselves as an aspect of the Universe, whose function here is to observe and create physical reality.
* If this subject matter interests you, I suggest you watch the 2005 movie 'What the Bleep do we Know!?'
Although every care has been taken to represent the authentic Taoist philosophy, the information presented here is my personal view and may differ from the view of other Taoists. These differences occur because all people are free to interpret the teachings of Nature for themselves. I am neither an academic nor a sage and I don't claim to have any special insight. More >
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 15 Jun 2007 @ 08:39
Judge cites 42 Beatles songs to teach beer thief a lesson
Last updated at 15:47pm on 4th June 2007
Comments (1)
A judge sentencing a Beatles-loving beer thief quoted 42 of the band’s song titles in his verdict.
Andrew McCormack, 20, was asked to recommend to a US court what his sentence should be for stealing beer.
McCormack: Got more than he bargained for after his beer theft
He wrote: “Like the Beetles say, Let It Be”. But his cheeky quip did not impress Gregory Todd, a 56-year-old district court judge in Montana.
In a sentencing memorandum Judge Todd first corrected McCormack's misspelling and then gave the defendant a lesson in The Beatles discography.
He replied: “Mr McCormack, you pled guilty to the charge of Burglary. To aid me in sentencing I review the pre-sentence investigation report.
“I read with interest the section containing Defendant’s statement. To the question of ‘Give your recommendation as to what you think the Court should do in this case’, you said, ‘Like the Beetles say Let It Be'.
“While I will not explore the epistemological or ontological overtones of your response, or even the syntactic of symbolic keys of your allusion, I will say Hey Jude, Do You Want to Know a Secret?
"The greatest band in rock history spelled their name B-e-a-t-l-e-s.
"I interpret the meaning of your response to suggest that there should be no consequences for your actions and I should Let it Be so you can live in Strawberry Fields Forever.
"Such reasoning is Here, There and Everywhere. It does not require a Magical Mystery Tour of interpretation to know The Word means leave it alone.
Sentencing: The Beatles verdict in full
"I trust we can all Come Together on that meaning.
"If I were to overlook your actions and Let It Be, I would ignore that Day in the Life on April 21, 2006.
“Evidently, earlier that night you said to yourself I Feel Fine while drinking beer.
“Later, whether you wanted Money or were just trying to Act Naturally you became the Fool on the Hill on North 27th Street.
"As Mr Moonlight at 1.30am, you did not Think for Yourself but just focused on I, Me, Mine.
"Because you didn't ask for Help, Wait for Something else or listen to your conscience saying Honey Don't, the victim later that day was Fixing a Hole in the glass door you broke."
Judge Todd went on: "After you stole the 18 pack of Old Milwaukee you decided it was time to Run For Your Life and Carry That Weight.
“But when the witness said Baby it's You, the police responded I'll Get You and you had to admit that You Really Got a Hold on Me.
"You were not able to Get Back home because of the Chains they put on you.
“Although you hoped the police would say I Don't Want to Spoil the Party and We Can Work it Out, you were in Misery when they said you were a Bad Boy.
"When the police took you to jail, you experienced Something New as they said Hello Goodbye and you became a Nowhere Man.
"Later when you thought about what you did you may have said I'll Cry Instead. Now you’re saying Let it Be instead of I'm a Loser.
“As a result of your Hard Day's Night you are looking at a Ticket to Ride that Long and Winding Road to Deer Lodge.
"Hopefully you can say both now and When I'm 64 that I Should Have Known Better."
In McCormack’s sentencing he received probation, a community service order and a fine
news link More >
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29 May 2007 @ 22:10
Why is Cuba exporting its health care miracle to the world's poor?
Cuba's health care system is based on the neighbourhood docor and nurse.
Most often, one of them lives upstairs from the office.
Cubans say they offer health care to the world's poor because they have big hearts.
But what do they get in return?
They live longer than almost anyone in Latin America.
Almost everyone has been vaccinated, and such scourges of the poor as parasites, TB, malaria, even HIV/AIDS are rare or non-existent.
Anyone can see a doctor, at low cost, right in the neighborhood.
The Cuban health care system is producing a population that is as healthy as those of the world's wealthiest countries at a fraction of the cost.
And now Cuba has begun exporting its system to under-served communities around the world---including the United States.
The story of Cuba's health care ambitions is largely hidden from the people of the United States, where politics left over from the Cold War maintain an embargo on information and understanding.
But it is increasingly well-known in the poorest communities of Latin America, the Caribbean, and parts of Africa where Cuban and Cuban-trained doctors are practicing.
In the words of Dr. Paul Farmer, Cuba is showing that "you can introduce the notion of a right to health care and wipe out the diseases of poverty."
Health Care for All Cubans Many elements of the health care system Cuba is exporting around the world are common-sense practices.
Everyone has access to doctors, nurses, specialists, and medications.
There is a doctor and nurse team in every neighborhood, although somewhat fewer now, with 29,000 medical professionals serving out of the country---a fact that is causing some complaints.
If someone doesn't like their neighborhood doctor, they can choose another one.
House calls are routine, in part because it's the responsibility of the doctor and nurse team to understand you and your health issues in the context of your family, home, and neighborhood.
By catching diseases and health hazards before they get big, the Cuban medical system can spend a little on prevention rather than a lot later on to cure diseases, stop outbreaks, or cope with long-term disabilities.
When a health hazard like dengue fever or malaria is identified, there is a coordinated nationwide effort to eradicate it.
Cubans no longer suffer from diphtheria, rubella, polio, or measles and they have the lowest AIDS rate in the Americas, and the highest rate of treatment and control of hypertension.
For health issues beyond the capacity of the neighborhood doctor, polyclinics provide specialists, outpatient operations, physical therapy, rehabilitation, and labs.
Those who need inpatient treatment can go to hospitals; at the end of their stay, their neighborhood medical team helps make the transition home.
Doctors at all levels are trained to administer acupuncture, herbal cures, or other complementary practices that Cuban labs have found effective.
And Cuban researchers develop their own vaccinations and treatments when medications aren't available due to the blockade, or when they don't exist.
Exporting Health Care For decades, Cuba has sent doctors abroad and trained international students at its medical schools.
But things ramped up beginning in 1998 when Hurricanes George and Mitch hammered Central America and the Caribbean.
As they had often done, Cuban doctors rushed to the disaster zone to help those suffering the aftermath.
But when it was time to go home, it was clear to the Cuban teams that the medical needs extended far beyond emergency care.
So Cuba made a commitment to post doctors in several of these countries and to train local people in medicine so they could pick up where the Cuban doctors left off.
ELAM, the Havana-based Latin American School of Medicine, was born, and with it the offer of 10,000 scholarships for free medical training.
Today the program has grown to 22,000 students from Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and the United States who attend ELAM and 28 other medical schools across Cuba.
The students represent dozens of ethnic groups, 51 percent are women, and they come from more than 30 countries.
What they have in common is that they would otherwise be unable to get a medical education.
When a slum dweller in Port au Prince, a young indigenous person from Bolivia, the son or daughter of a farmer in Honduras, or a street vendor in the Gambia wants to become a doctor, they turn to Cuba.
In some cases, Venezuela pays the bill.
But most of the time, Cuba covers tuition, living expenses, books, and medical care.
In return, the students agree that, upon completion of their studies, they will return to their own under-served communities to practice medicine.
The curriculum at ELAM begins, for most students, with up to a year of "bridging" courses, allowing them to catch up on basic math, science, and Spanish skills.
The students are treated for the ailments many bring with them.
At the end of their training, which can take up to eight years, most students return home for residencies.
One challenge of the Cuban approach is making sure their investment in medical education benefits those who need it most.
Cuba plans with the help of Venezuela to take their medical training to a massive scale and graduate 100,000 doctors over the next 15 years, according to Dr. Juan Ceballos, advisor to the vice minister of public health.
It started when Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi got curious after he and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus repeatedly encountered Cuban or Cuban-trained doctors in poor communities around the world.
"Our government played politics with the lives of people when they needed help the most," said Representative Thompson.
The disaster assistance is part of Cuba's medical aid mission that has extended from Peru to Indonesia, and even included caring for 17,000 children sickened by the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in the Ukraine.
From the government's perspective, their investment in medical internationalism is covered, in part, by ALBA, the new trade agreement among Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Cuba. More >
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 21 May 2007 @ 23:20
Friday, May 18, 2007
By Don Hammonds, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The age of the hybrid fuel cell car has arrived -- with a whisper.
Against the backdrop of ever-rising fuel prices and worries about global warming, Honda has unveiled its FCX hydrogen-powered fuel cell concept car, set to go into limited production next year.
Honda expects the 2008 FCX will get fuel mileage of around 68 mpg in combined highway and city driving, with a range of 270 miles. The only emission that the FCX's electric engine produces is water vapor created when hydrogen and oxygen combine to produce electricity
This is no ordinary automobile. Be that as it may, Honda officials emphasized that soon, driving such cars would be an everyday experience.
The FCX "is not just some far out, pie-in-the-sky exercise in what may or may not come to fruition some day in the distant future," said Steve Ellis, manager of fuel cell vehicle marketing for American Honda Motor Co. Inc. "We feel fuel cell electric vehicles are the best and ultimate solution to the twin environmental and societal challenges of global climate change and energy sustainability."
The FCX is the first hydrogen fuel cell car that has been certified for daily use by both the Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board.
"Along with that, we've already done our own internal crash testing to ensure that the FCX meets federal crash standards as well. So we consider this to be a production car," said Honda spokesman Chris Naughton.
The FCX looks more like an Italian concept car than a Japanese production car. It is equipped with a two-toned interior with generous contours and brilliantly lit displays that include easy-to-use information on hydrogen fuel consumption. The car's exterior features an overall teardrop shape with a dramatic sloping, yet short, front end.
Don't expect much change when the production model hits the road either, Mr. Naughton said.
"We very much expect to carry over not only the sleek styling and very spacious interior, but also the performance characteristics. ... Any changes will mainly slight tweaks, like headlights, bumper height and a few other things to make it a true production car," Mr. Naughton added.
Despite generating a lot of industry buzz, the FCX doesn't make a heck of a lot of noise. In fact, the car sounded similar to the whistle of a jet engine ready to take off as it zoomed around a test track at the Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington, D.C.
The FCX drives an awful lot like any other car, if you're talking about a sports sedan and not a family car. The real surprise was how aggressively this car can handle. It tore into corners eagerly and without any noticeable body lean. The fun part was acceleration -- strictly linear with no sensation of gear shifting, due to its "shift-by-wire" technology. It picked up speed confidently and smoothly, with increases in speed accentuated by the rising jet engine sound of the car's powertrain system.
Honda introduced the first FCX hydrogen fuel cell car 18 years ago. It, along with the generations that succeeded it, were tiny, boxy two-passenger sedans that are a far cry from the current sleek luxury model.
The early versions of the car went to local and state governments, which provided feedback that Honda officials used to continue to develop the car.
Two years ago, Honda leased one of the little FCXs to its first retail customer, a California family.
The company plans to announce later this year exactly how many of the hydrogen fuel cell cars will be built and leased to customers. (Initially at least, the cars are expected to be offered for lease only). Honda said the car's lease likely will be more than $500 a month because the FCX will be marketed as a luxury car.
Despite Honda's optimism, sizable hurdles remain to widespread use of hydrogen cars, not the least of which is getting enough refueling stations in operation to make them practical. There are only about 60 hydrogen fuel cell refueling stations in the nation, with about 50 of them in California.
But Honda thinks it has that problem licked. It's working on a home refueling station that will use natural gas to create hydrogen -- and provide electricity and heat to homes. More >
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 20 May 2007 @ 19:52
Updated: 6:15 p.m. MT May 18, 2007
TRENTON, N.J. - Women looking for a simple way to avoid their menstrual period could soon have access the first birth control pill designed to let women suppress monthly bleeding indefinitely.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expect to announce approval Tuesday for Lybrel, a drug from Wyeth which would be the first pill to be taken continuously.
Lybrel, a name meant to evoke “liberty,” would be the fourth new oral contraceptive that doesn’t follow the standard schedule of 21 daily active pills, followed by seven sugar pills — a design meant to mimic a woman’s monthly cycle. Among the others, Yaz and Loestrin 24 shorten monthly periods to three days or less and Seasonique, an updated version of Seasonale, reduces them to four times a year.
Gynecologists say they’ve been seeing a slow but steady increase in women asking how to limit and even stop monthly bleeding. Surveys have found up to half of women would prefer not to have any periods, most would prefer them less often and a majority of doctors have prescribed contraception to prevent periods.
“I think it’s the beginning of it being very common,” said Dr. Leslie Miller, a University of Washington-Seattle obstetrician-gynecologist who runs a Web site focused on suppressing periods. “Lybrel says, ‘You don’t need a period.”’
While that can be done easily — sometimes more cheaply — by skipping the sugar pills or replacing birth-control patches or vaginal rings sooner, doctors say the trend is fueled mainly by advertising for the new options. They expect plenty for Lybrel’s July launch, although Madison, N.J.-based Wyeth says it will market to doctors first.
Analysts have estimated Lybrel sales could reach $40 million this year and $235 million by 2010. U.S. sales of Seasonique, launched last August, hit $6.1 million in the first quarter of 2007. Predecessor Seasonale, which got cheaper generic competition in September, peaked at about $100 million. Yaz, launched last August, had first-quarter sales of $35.6 million; Loestrin 24, launched in April 2006, hit $34.4 million in the first quarter.
Convenience vs. nature
Still, some women raise concerns about whether blocking periods is safe or natural. Baltimore health psychologist Paula S. Derry wrote in an opinion piece in the British Medical Journal two weeks ago that “menstrual suppression itself is unnatural,” and that there’s not enough data to determine if it is safe long-term.
Sheldon J. Segal, a scientist at the nonprofit research group Population Council, wrote back that a British study found no harm in taking pills with much higher hormone levels than today’s products for up to 10 years.
“Nothing has come up to indicate any unexpected side effects,” said Segal, who co-authored the book “Is Menstruation Obsolete?”
Most doctors say there’s no medical reason women need monthly bleeding and that it triggers health problems from anemia to epilepsy in many women. They note women have been tinkering with nature since the advent of birth control pills and now endure as many as 450 periods, compared with 50 or so in the days when women spent most of their fertile years pregnant or breast-feeding.
Dr. Mindy Wiser-Estin, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Little Silver, N.J., has long advocated menstrual suppression.
She has seen a big increase in the last year in patients asking about it, but has one concern that leads her to encourage younger women to take a break every 12 weeks. About 1 percent of oral contraceptive users become pregnant each year, and young women taking continuous pills who have never been pregnant may not recognize the symptoms, she said.
“They may not know it in time to do something about it,” Wiser-Estin said.
Barr Pharmaceuticals of Woodcliff Lake, N.J., whose subsidiary Duramed already is developing a lower-estrogen version of Seasonique, said its research with consumers and health care providers indicates they feel four periods a year is optimal, said spokeswoman Amy Niemann.
Wyeth obviously thinks otherwise.
“It allows women to put their menstrual cycle on hold” and reduces 17 related symptoms, from irritability to bloating, based on one small study, said Dr. Amy Marren, director of clinical affairs for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.
link More >
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 10 May 2007 @ 08:48
How to Build an Atom Bomb
1. First, obtain about 50 pounds (110 kg) of weapons-grade Plutonium at your local supplier. A nuclear power plant is not recommended , as large quantities of missing Plutonium tend to make plant engineers unhappy. We suggest that you contact your local terrorist organization, or perhaps the Junior Achievement in your neighborhood.
2. Please remember that Plutonium, especially pint, refined Pluto-
nium, is somewhat dangerous. Wash your hands with soap and
warm water after handling the material, and don't allow your chit-
then or pets to play in it or eat it. Any leftover Plutonium dust is
excellent as an insect repellent. You may wish to keep the sub-
stance in a lead box if you can find one in your local junkyard, but
an old coffee can will do nicely.
3. Fashion a metal enclosure to house the device. Most common
varieties of sheet metal can be bent to disguise this enclosure as, for
example, a briefcase, a lunch pail, or a Buick. Do not use tinfoil.
4. Arrange the Plutonium into two hemispherical shapes, separated
by about 4 cm. Use rubber cement to contain any Plutonium dust.
5. Now get about 100 pounds (220 kg) of trinitrotoluene (TNT).
Gelignire is much better, but messier to work with. Your helpful
hardware man will be happy to provide you with this [tern.
6. Pack the TNT around the hemisphere arrangement constructed
in step 4. If you cannot find Geligrute, feet free to use TNT packed
in with Play-Dolt or any modeling clay. Colored clay is acceptable,
but there is no need to get fancy at this point.
7. Enclose the structure from step 6 into the enclosure made in
step 3. Use a strong glue such as “Krazy Glue to bind the
hemisphere arrangement against the enclosure to prevent accidental
detonation which might result from vibration or mishandling.
S. To detonate the device, obtain a radio controlled (RC) servo
mechanism, as found in RC model airplanes and cam. With a
modicum of effort, a remote plunger can be made that will strike a
detonator cap to effect a small explosion. These detonator caps can
be found in the electrical supply section of your local supermarket.
We recommend the “Blast-C-Marie” brand because they are no
deposit—no return.
9. Now hide the completed device from the neighbors. The garage
is nor recommended because of high humidity and the extreme
range of temperatures experienced there. Nuclear devices have been
known to spontaneously detonate in these unstable conditions. The
hail closet or under the kitchen sink will be perfectly suitable.
10. Now you are the proud owner of a working thermonuclear
More >
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2 May 2007 @ 04:28
The most important activity of adults is raising children to be good people. Science has shown that children are like balls of clay that can be molded into good or bad based on the input they receive. Children are like sponges that soak up everything around them including the strengths, weaknesses, wisdom, bigotry, intelligence, ignorance, morality, criminality, and awareness of the adults who raise them and the teachers who teach them. As a result, morons beget morons, drug addicts beget drug addicts, sexual predators beget sexual predators, hard-workers beget hard-workers, leaders beget leaders, and so on.
The key to raising good children is by setting good examples. If adults act like thoughtful, hardworking, responsible, dependable, moral, freethinking, and honorable people the children around them will follow their example 9 out of 10 times.
It is this reality about child development that has me so upset with the Bush administration. These political leaders, including Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rove, and Gonzales, are setting the worst possible examples for our children. They lie, beg, cheat, steal, kill, torture, imprison, spy, wage wars, profit from war, and manipulate without remorse, compassion, or accountability. If America’s children were to follow these examples what type of adults would they turn out to be?
These corrupt and immoral Republican leaders like to wear their religion on their sleeves and talk about their personal savior "Jesus" but their actions and legislation are the opposite of what Jesus taught. They like to talk about their conservative values but the results of their leadership are far from the conservative values people expect. I believe children pick-up on this gross hypocrisy but are unable process this information correctly and as a result they justify their own bad behavior as normal and then carry this sociopathic psychology into their adulthood. That is probably the reason why over 2 million Americans currently live in prison.
The reality is that our government has been taken over by a bunch of organized criminals who's ideology is greed and who's methods are based on deception, intimidation, subversion, theft, spying, cronyism, and murder. They lie to us about their religious beliefs, political ideologies, and legislation so that we won't lynch them before they get done robbing our government, undermining our democracy, and poisoning our environment.
Bush claims he's a Christian and yet his policies, legislation, and extreme right-wing ideology are the exact opposite of Jesus' teachings. Do the leaders of the big organized religions stand up to expose Bush as a fraud and a fake? No, in fact they are either silent or they publicly express their support for him. One of our most important founding fathers, Thomas Paine, had this to say about organized religion: "All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions set up to terrify and enslave mankind and monopolize power and profit." And Blaise Pascal said: "Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction."
Our current political leaders are not leaders at all, they are nothing more than sycophantic criminal puppets who are whoring themselves for a few shortsighted and extremely wealthy organized crime families. They are not freethinking leaders who use their common sense to legislate, but they are corrupt followers who do what they are told by the greedy men who finance their political careers. Their God is gold and they justify their criminal behavior as part of the natural order of things -- "survival of the fittest" -- .
Greedy criminal organizations have infiltrated both political parties and every level of our government. They are waging constant war against our federal government, legal system, and against any political ideology that believes in honest democratic governance. They assassinated President Kennedy in Dallas in 1963 and then covered it up, and then they started the war in Vietnam, and they have been running things in America ever since. Personally, I believe the CIA and the Mafia are major partners in this criminal organization and as a result of this collusion between lawless organizations we are all their victims. We have all become child Hamlet figures whose father’s murderer still posses the throne.
I hope that someday soon, before it's too late, the American people will wake up to the truth about the criminal Bush administration, the non-conservative Republican Party, the Benedict Arnold Democratic Party, and the financial backers who encourage and enable all this political corruption in America. If they do wake up I can only hope they will react forcefully enough to hold them accountable.
We must not only challenge the corrupt political parties but we must expose their immoral behavior and criminal financial backers to the rest of the world. When this happens things could get very ugly in America, possibly another civil war, but things will be much uglier if we do nothing. Edmund Burke said: "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
Once we do regain control over our federal government we can restore our country's honor and greatness in the world. No longer will we allow America to be run by bunch of money whores, ruthless killers, and greedy thieves, and our new policies will make that reality obvious to the rest of the world, and more importantly to our children.
George Washington said: "Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder." And sadly our current corrupt campaign finance system proves him right every election cycle. The roots of the corruption in our government is a corrupt "money for legislation" campaign finance system, but the problem has grown far beyond any simple change to the campaign finance laws. We need to completely re-staff the federal government and rewrite a number of key federal laws, but this will not be possible until both political parties are removed from power.
What we need is a citizen militia, or military, coup-de-etat that will overthrow the current corrupt federal government and replace it with a new honest citizen government. The Declaration of Independence tells us to commit ourselves to just such an extreme action if the current government ever fails to provide for the protections of the lives, liberties, and properties of its citizens, and clearly that time has come.
It is time to draw the battle lines and begin the fight to take back our country. An American statesman once said: "A patriot must be willing to defend his country against it government." If a revolution in America is inevitable than why not now? The sooner we get started the better chance we have of winning.
Personally, I plan on playing a major part in this revolutionary movement, a movement to bring positive progressive change in America, and I want you to join with me. It is true that a high level of overt civil disobedience could land many of us in jail, or even get us killed, but would it be better to die on our feet or live on our knees? What type of example are we setting for our children if we do nothing? What type of country are we leaving to our children if we do nothing?
Our revolutionary cause is noble and patriotic, and it's imperative to our children's futures that we succeed. If we are successful it will be like a re-birth for America. If we lose we can still hold our heads high because at least we tried.
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1 Apr 2007 @ 15:41
Everyone can do small things every day that help children to have healthy, safe lives. April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. The calendar below suggests an activity you can do each day of the month to show a child how much you care. Every activity is not necessarily developmentally appropriate for every child. So, be creative!
Saturday 1 Compliment a child's accomplishment.
Sunday 2 Read a book with a child.
Monday 3 Fly a kite together.
Tuesday 4 Involve a child in preparing a special meal.
Wednesday 5 Catch your child doing something good.
Thursday 6 Remind your child that your love is not dependent on schoolwork.
Friday 7 Leave a love note in your child's lunch bag.
Saturday 8 Ask your child's opinion on an issue that affects the family.
Sunday 9 Go to a playground or a park together.
Monday 10 Coordinate a scavenger hunt around your house.
(Back to Calendar)
Tuesday 11 Tell a child about something funny that happened to you when you were a child.
Wednesday 12 Take flowers home to your spouse with a note on why you value your marriage.
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