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Friday, October 20, 2006

GOVERNMENT-FUNDED HEALTH CARE FOR EVERYONE IS PRETTY POPULAR THESE DAYS…..

Before making up your own mind, perhaps you need to expose yourself to some of what is entailed in such systems.

The (cancer) treatment, which can extend the lives of sufferers by up to seven years, was approved for patients in Scotland in October 2004 and is routinely available in the rest of Europe.

The leaked ruling, seen by the Daily Mail, which was not due to be made public until next week, reveals that the drug is more clinically effective than chemotherapy but is not regarded as ‘cost effective’.

How do you like them apples? And that isn’t all, either….

Posted by Earl on 10/20 at 05:28 PM
Politics • Healthcare • Life Issues • Comments •

POLISH COAST GUARD FIRES ON GERMAN CRUISE SHIP

Admit it…...your first impression of that headline was that it presaged a joke, right?

Why not - “Polish Coast Guard”? Where is Poland’s COAST, for pity sakes!! And then there’s the history of anything starting out with something about the Polish…..

But, this is real! First of all, Poland had an outlet to the Baltic even before WWII - at Gdansk. And today, East Prussia is gone, so there’s quie a coastline over there - as I learned by checking the Web!

Posted by Earl on 10/20 at 01:17 PM
Miscellany • Politics • International • Comments •

Thursday, October 19, 2006

THE VIEW INTO THE WOMB IS “Extraordinarily Dangerous”........

What springs to mind when you read that headline…...? For me, it was “Aha! An article explaining why women shouldn’t be doing unnecessary ultrasounds just to have a look at their babies”, since there is some question about the safety of these scans for the unborn child, especially at times of maximum brain growth.

But, I"m so old-fashioned….that’s not what the article is about at all!! No, it’s about…....abortion. Yes, what is “extraordinarily dangerous” about the cutting-edge “four-dimensional” ultrasound is that it might make a woman think that her “fetus” is actually a baby and create a disinclination in her to kill it. You don’t believe this? I can understand - that makes you kind of old-fashioned, too.

Sophisticated ultrasound scans that show foetuses as early as 12 weeks appearing to “walk” in the womb have had a dangerous impact on the public debate over abortion, leading doctors and scientists said yesterday. The emotive photographs, taken with new fourdimensional imaging technology, have created a misleading impression that foetuses become viable and potentially self-aware at a much earlier stage than is actually the case, according to experts on foetal development.

Oh, well….that’s all right, then. Wouldn’t want emotion to interfere with abortion, now, would we? And if actually looking at the unborn baby (that is, gathering data by actual observation) could create a “misleading impression”, then it really is dangerous, don’t you think? And what would be the downside of this “misleading impression”, one wonders.

Posted by Earl on 10/19 at 09:09 PM
Science • Politics • Life Issues • Comments •

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

FILE THIS IN THE “GLAD TO HAVE MY PREJUDICES CONFIRMED” BOX….....

No one who knows me is in much doubt about my attitude to computer gaming…..I don’t let it break up families or friendships, and I really don’t think about it much, but I guess the short take would be I value gaming about as much as watching TV.

I realize that this material also belongs in the “Just an anecdote, not a valid study.” box…...but, the anecdote is from someone with considerable experience, so here goes (and yes, I realize that fans are NOT going to like this).

I just left World of Warcraft permanently. I was a leader in one of the largest and most respected guilds in the world, a well-equipped and well-versed mage, and considered myself to have many close friends in my guild. Why did I leave? Simple: Blizzard has created an alternate universe where we don’t have to be ourselves when we don’t want to be. From my vantage point as a guild decision maker, I’ve seen it destroy more families and friendships and take a huge toll on individuals than any drug on the market today, and that means a lot coming from an ex-club DJ.

There’s more, if you can bear it…..

Posted by Earl on 10/18 at 08:56 PM
Family Matters • Miscellany • Comments •

Monday, October 16, 2006

TAKE A MOMENT TO PRAY FOR THE YOUNG MEN UPON WHOM YOUR LIBERTY DEPENDS…...

Today, thank God for men like Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor, a Navy SEAL who unhesitatingly threw himself on top of a grenade, dying to save the lives of his four comrades.

Let us not ask God why young men such as these should die in war. Let us rather thank God that such men lived.~Gen. George S. Patton

READ ABOUT IT, and don’t miss the comments.

Hat Tip: the BOOKWORM

Posted by Earl on 10/16 at 05:46 PM
Politics • International • Iraq • Comments •

THEY’RE GOING TO BE SPYING ON YOUR GARBAGE CAN SOON…...

You can bet on it, folks…..it will be just too tempting.

Here’s the story - in England, a German technology is being quietly installed on “wheelie bins” the Brits use to wheel their trash out to the curb for pickup (we have the same sort of thing here in Tennessee). It consiste of a “bug” that fits just under the big plastic “lip” on the front of the bin. There’s an antenna on the truck, and it records whose bin is being picked up, while the lifting mechanism on the truck records the weight of the “non-recyclable” trash that is being dumped that week by the household. Back at the garbage collecting site, the information from the truck is down-loaded to the central computer. At that point, lots of things can happen—the local government says it’s just a way to check on which sections of the town need encouragement to recycle more….but the suspicion is that homeowners are going to be charged for “excess” trash generation. There is a good deal of angst about it—and this is in England. Imagine if local municipalities in the U.S. begin spending $25,000.00 per truck and $5.00 per garbage can in order to spy on what red-blooded Americans are throwing away!! Tea in Boston Harbor has nothing on the reaction to this bit of privacy invasion!

READ THE WHOLE THING

Hat Tip: Brother Victor

Posted by Earl on 10/16 at 05:11 PM
Science • Environment • Politics • International • Comments •

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

AIRLINE FOOD AT TRULY FANCY (AND HYPER-EXPENSIVE) RESTAURANTS…....?

Well, it’s true…..in a way.

Big-time chefs have discovered the benefits of looooooooong-cooking at relatively low temperatures in plastic BAGS - only the call it “sous vide”!

Barber uses sous vide for practically every piece of meat and poultry he cooks at his restaurants. Yes, he said, he was “skeptical” when he first experimented (The aromas—they’re all trapped!”), and yes, it seems “anathema” to his beliefs. But he was overwhelmed by the results.

I admit to mixed feelings about this - the idea that “the end justifies the means” is something I’ve fought against all my life - but should we apply this principle in the kitchen? WE REPORT, you decide.

Posted by Earl on 10/11 at 08:20 PM
Miscellany • Food • Comments •

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