Monday, February 28, 2005
Computer program useful tool in dental care
Gunnel Hänsel Petersson at Malmö University in Sweden has received an award for her studies of Cariogram, a computer program created in Malmö to assess patients’ risk of developing tooth decay, dental caries.
The program was constructed in 1997 by Professor Douglas Bratthall at the Faculty of Odontology at Malmö University College in Sweden. Today it has been translated into twelve languages and is attracting ever greater interest in other countries. Gunnel Hänsel Petersson’s study is the first evaluation of the program. “Caries occurs in a complicated interaction involving various factors built into the Cariogram Program. The program makes it easier for dentists to initiate the proper treatment to prevent caries,” explains Gunnel Hänsel Petersson.
There are a total of some ten risk factors whose respective importance is weighted in relation to each other: the number of earlier dental cavities, use of fluoride, the buffering capacity of the saliva, medicines, the number of bacteria in the mouth, diet, etc. The information is fed into the computer, and the program calculates the risk of caries. The patient’s risk profile is presented graphically in the form of a circle where sections of varying color and size represent the risk factors-the greater the green area, the greater the chance of avoiding caries.
The Malmö researcher’s study is based on 600 individuals who had been placed in various risk groups following the original examination. At follow-ups two and five years later it was shown that the distribution reflected the actual outcome. More than 90 percent of those with the highest risk, for instance, had developed new cavities. “Cariogram is thus a useful tool in estimating the risk of children and older adults developing dental caries. But dentists are advised not to place blind faith in the computer program; they should rather use it as a complement to their clinical assessment,” says Gunnel Hänsel Petersson.
The idea is that it should be possible to use Cariogram around the world. It can be downloaded for free from the Internet in Russian, German, Thai, Portuguese, French, English, etc.
The prize of SEK 30,000 from the Patent Money Fund for prophylactic research in dentistry is one of the largest for odontological research in Sweden.
A great program and a good adjunct to any dentist's practice.
Women Making Strides in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons reports that:
ROSEMONT, Ill., Feb. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- In the specialty of oral and
maxillofacial surgery, Elaine Stuebner, DDS, is a pioneer in almost the same
sense as the women who helped drive wagon trains across a brave, new world.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are dental specialists who treat
conditions, defects, injuries and aesthetic aspects of the jaws, face, mouth
and teeth. OMSs care for patients with problem wisdom teeth, facial pain and
misaligned jaws. They replace lost teeth with dental implants, remove
cancerous tumors, rebuild faces injured by trauma, perform cosmetic surgery
and provide safe and effective anesthesia.
A Chicago OMS for more than 40 years, Stuebner encountered resistance when
she began her training shortly after World War II. "In dental school I was
told, 'You're taking a space from a veteran,'" she recalls. "I was told that
it's a man's profession and no one would trust me."
Such comments were "just enough to aggravate me but not discourage me. I
resolved to enter the field," says Stuebner, a member of the American
Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.
Stuebner estimates that less than 1% of the students were women during her
days in dental school. Actually, the proportion may have been higher. An
article in a 2001 issue of The Compendium of Continuing Education in Dentistry
indicated that in the 1920s, about 3% of dentists were women. By 1999,
according to the American Dental Association, 15% of dentists were women.
One-third of new dentists are women
An increase from 3% to 15% in nearly three-quarters of a century may not
seem very impressive. But consider the shift in gender balance in the ADA's
figures for "new" dentists, those who graduated from dental school in 1990 or
later: in 1999, 33.5% were women.
Women do appear to be the future of dentistry. In 2000, 37% of new dental
students in the United States were women. However, among women in private
practice dentistry, only 0.8% are OMSs, compared with 4.2% of men.
Long residency is a drawback
During the past seven years, Mary Allaire, AAOMS manager of advanced
education and resident affairs, estimates a 2% increase in women entering
four-year OMS residency training.
"We're asking women to defeat their biological clock," says Seattle OMS
Darlene Chan, DDS, in reference to the long OMS residency. When her youngest
daughter was born, Chan didn't take much of a maternity leave. "While I was
in the hospital, there was a walkway between my office and the hospital. I
walked to my office in my robe to check messages."
When Chan attends professional meetings, she tells her male colleagues
what an advantage it is to have a wife. "I don't mean a spouse," she
explains. "I mean all the things a wife means -- a wife is the campfire
around which everything in the family happens."
The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, the
professional organization representing more than 7,000 oral and maxillofacial
surgeons in the United States, supports its members' ability to practice their
specialty through education, research, and advocacy. AAOMS members comply
with rigorous continuing education requirements and submit to periodic office
examinations, ensuring the public that all office procedures and personnel
meet stringent national standards.
Indeed, it is refreshing to learn of more women in dentistry!
Test Takers Try to Cheat With Cell Phones
Obviously their methodology was a dead give-away Chief!
Test Takers Try to Cheat With Cell Phones
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Forty-six young men preparing to take a military school entrance exam were caught trying to cheat using mobile phones taped to their bodies and hidden in their shoes and underwear, an army official said Monday.
The men, aged 18-24, were among nearly 30,000 who showed up Sunday morning at Ramkhamhaeng University in Bangkok to take the test to vie for 2,000 spots in the one-year military program.
Officials searched the students and discovered the phones after some shied away from guards with handheld metal detectors as they entered the testing rooms.
"When they took off their shoes, we found the cell phones," said Army Spokesman Col. Acra Tiprot. "We questioned them, and they admitted many of their friends were also inside, so we closed the rooms and checked their clothes and shoes."
Army officials suspect the test-takers' parents had foreknowledge of the plan and paid for the phones.
"The parents wanted their children to pass the test, so they believed the people behind this," he said.
The person tipping off the cheaters is "likely a kid who has a high IQ or is a good student, went in to take the test, remembered the test information and sent the answers by code," Acra said.
The suspected cheaters met Saturday to learn how to read the codes they would receive by mobile phone, he said.
I guess the parents really wanted these guys out of the house!
Duchess’ Poison garden opens in UK
BBC News reports:
The Duchess of Northumberland's controversial poison garden has been officially opened.
Cannabis, opium poppies, magic mushrooms and coca - the source of cocaine - all feature at the centuries-old Alnwick Garden.
The Home Office granted the Alnwick Garden Trust permission to grow the plants late last year.
Poisonous foxglove, tobacco and wild lettuce, which can be used as a tranquilliser, will also be grown.
The site has been designed by Belgian Peter Virtz. More than 50 dangerous plants are included in the collection.
'Emotive issue'
To highlight its hazardous nature the garden's beds are laid in the shape of flickering flames.
Members of the public will be escorted around the walled garden by marshals.
The Duchess of Northumberland officially opened the garden with Northumbria Police chief constable Crispian Strachan.
She said: "Drugs are a major concern across the country and an emotive issue.
"The garden will offer a new avenue, outside the classroom, to get people talking about the misuse of drugs - most of which grow in nature.
Ahhhhh Agatha Christi and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would be soooooo proud!
Hat Tip: Boing Boing
U.S. Life Expectancy Rises to Record Level
The Associated Press is reporting:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Declines in death rates from most major causes - including heart disease and cancer - have pushed Americans' life expectancy to a record 77.6 years. Women are still living longer than men, but the gap is narrowing.
Women now have a life expectancy of 80.1 years, 5.3 more than men. That's down from 5.4 years in 2002 and continues a steady decline from a peak difference of 7.8 years in 1979, the National Center for Health Statistics said Monday in its annual mortality report.
Research indicates there also is an increase in active life expectancy, said Mary A. Salmon, a sociology professor at the University of North Carolina.
"It's not that we're having a lot of very old, sick people," she said in a telephone interview.
She added, "There has been lots of speculation on how this will affect Social Security, of course."
Indeed, a major debate topic in Washington and elsewhere is President Bush's plan to change Social Security, which he says is facing a financial crisis caused by increasing life expectancy, lower birth rates and aging baby boomers.
The total number of deaths in the United States in 2003 was 2,443,908, an increase of 521 reflecting a growing overall population.
Most age groups saw a decline in mortality rates. Infant mortality, which increased to 7 per 100,000 in 2002 - the first such rise in decades - was 6.9 in 2003, a change the agency said was not statistically significant.
While the overall life expectancy increase to 77.6 was good news, Americans still trail many other countries, according to statistics from the World Health Organization.
In 2002 figures, Japan had the longest life expectancy at 81.9 years, followed by Monaco, 81.2, San Marino and Switzerland, 80.6, Australia, 80.4, Andorra, 80.3, and Iceland, 80.1.
Other countries topping the United States include Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain and the United Kingdom.
In 2003, both of the two largest killers of Americans saw declines.
The death rate from heart disease decreased from 240.8 per 100,000 in 2002 to 232.1 in 2003. The cancer death rate declined from 193.5 to 189.3 per 100,000.
Among other major killers, the death rate for stroke dropped 4.6 percent, the death rate from chronic respiratory diseases 0.7 percent, flu and pneumonia 3.1 percent, accidents 2.2 percent and suicides 3.7 percent.
On the other hand, the death rate for Alzheimer's disease was up 5.9 percent, for hypertension 5.7 percent, Parkinson's 3.4 percent and kidney disease 2.1 percent.
The increase in Parkinson's deaths moved it into the top 15 causes of death in the United States, one of the few surprises in the report, according to Robert N. Anderson, chief of the mortality statistics branch at the center. Parkinson's replaced murder among the top causes of death.
Among whites the death rates per 100,000 people declined 2.1 percent for men and 1.2 percent for women; among blacks the rates were down 2.5 percent for men and 2.4 percent for women; Hispanic males had a 4.2 percent drop compared with 1.8 percent for Hispanic women.
---
On the Net:
National Center for Health Statistics:
Hertzberg to demand changes in Hahn Staff
BoiFromTroy is reporting a Monday afternoon new conference in the Los Angeles Mayor's Race:
While the Los Angeles Times describes the race for Mayor of Los Angeles as, "a regular soap opera" where, "there are so many unsettled scores among the candidates, a less-civilized group would have taken it outside by now," the Candidates keep slugging away at each other today as they head into the final debate--to be aired tonight at 6:30 PM on KCBS Channel 2.
Before the last debate sponsored by the City's neighborhood councils, Mayor James Hahn made a surprise announcement that he wanted to double the funds given by the City to the advisory panels each year. This time around, it is Bob Hertzberg who appears ready to set the agenda for the debate--focusing squarely on the cloud of corruption surrounding the Hahn administration.
At 1 PM today, "Mayoral candidate Bob Hertzberg will hold a news conference today to call for the resignation of multiple Hahn administration officials. Hertzberg will provide the media with detailed information and rational [sic] for the call for resignation at the news conference." Only 8 more days to see whether all Hahn Administration officials will soon be on their way out!The City of Los Angeles election will be next Tuesday, March 8th.
Me thinks the incumbent Mayor, Jimmy Hahn is in trouble.
Japan Eyes Manned Base on Moon
The Japanese-made H-2A rocket, carrying a navigation and meteorological satellite, blasts off from the island of Tanegashima, about 620 miles southwest of Tokyo, February 26, 2005. Japan launched the satellite on Saturday in a bid to restore faith in its space program, 15 months after its previous launch attempt ended in failure.
Japan Eyes Manned Base on Moon
Yahoo News is reporting:
TOKYO - Japan plans to start building a manned base on the moon and a manned space shuttle within the next 20 years, a newspaper report said Monday.
|
Japan's space agency, JAXA, is drawing up plans to develop a robot to conduct probes on the moon by 2015, then begin constructing a solar-powered manned research base on the planet and design a reusable manned space vessel like the U.S. space shuttle by 2025, the Mainichi Shimbun said.
The space agency's budget could be boosted six-fold to $57 billion to assist those plans, the Mainichi said.
The plans also include using satellites to send information on evacuation routes, locators on people's whereabouts and alerts to cell phones in the event of major emergencies like a tsunami, the daily said.
JAXA officials were unavailable for immediate comment late Monday.
Japan has long focused on unmanned scientific probes. In a major policy switch last year, however, a government panel recommended that the country consider its own manned space program.
Long Asia's leading spacefaring nation, Japan has been struggling to get out from under the shadow of China, which put its first astronaut into orbit in October 2003. Beijing has since announced it is aiming for the moon.
One month after China's breakthrough, a Japanese H-2A rocket carrying two spy satellites malfunctioned after liftoff, forcing controllers to end its mission in a spectacular fireball.
Further launches were put on hold for 15 months, but on Saturday Japan took a big step to re-establish the credibility of its space program with the successful launch of a domestically designed H-2A rocket that placed a communications satellite into orbit.
It was just a matter of time with the Japanese engineering prowess!
I-Pod Shuffle Accessories
XtremeMac, yet another company whose sole product lineup consists of iPod accessores, has a new lineup of no less than 13 shuffle add-ons. Highlights include a line splitter (for sharing with that special someone on the subway), the AirPlay (an FM transmitter), Bumperz (molded rubberized shuffle bras), Shieldz (molded rubberized shuffle cases), Wrapz and SuperWrapz (molded form-fitting shuffle shrouds), and the SuperHook (a hook for, you know, whatever). The best part is, if you buy more than two or three, you’ve already spent more than the value of your player—gotta love that!
Great Stuff!
H/T Engadget
Introducing 'Dirty Harry,' via Video Game, to a New Generation
The New York Times (registration required) reports on a new Clint Eastwood - Dirty Harry Video game:
Pauline Kael described Clint Eastwood's 1971 film, "Dirty Harry," as "cheerfully fascist" and "deeply immoral." One can only imagine what the late film critic would have said about "Dirty Harry," the video game.
The actor will lend his voice and likeness to a new "Dirty Harry" game, which is being produced by Eastwood's Malpaso Productions and overseen by Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment. "There are a lot of fans of the Harry Callahan character," said Warner Brothers' president and chief operating officer, Alan Horn. "And this is Clint's way of bringing it to a new audience and having some fun with it."
In a prepared statement, Mr. Eastwood said the games, "will also introduce this memorable film character to new generations on a medium they appreciate." The game will include characters and settings from the five-film franchise, which began with "Dirty Harry" in 1971 and ended with "The Dead Pool" in 1988. But the storyline will be original. "We are not retelling the stories that have already been told," said Jason Hall, senior vice president of Warner Brothers Interactive.
Mr. Hall would not comment on whether the video game will use a first-person shooter or third-person style of play. But the level of violence will match that seen on the big screen, which was controversial in its day.
"The movies tended to be mature and we are going to be consistent, most likely, with what the films delivered," he said. While Warner Brothers is publishing the title, the game developer has not been announced. The game will not be on shelves until the new Xbox and PlayStation gaming consoles arrive, in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
This is not the fist time Dirty Harry has starred in a video game. In 1990, there was Dirty Harry: The War Against Drugs, a Nintendo Entertainment System title that included sound clips from the movie. And the influence of the Dirty Harry films can also be seen in many recent video games, including Max Payne in 2001, Dead to Rights in 2002, True Crime: Streets of LA in 2003 and the Grand Theft Auto series.
"We have seen plenty of video games over the last decade essentially borrowing from the Dirty Harry franchise to create their own character," said Mr. Hall. "And in our view they are not the real deal."
I always enjoyed the genre.
So, release the games already!
Carnival of the Captialists
This week the Carnival of the Capitalists is hosted over at Coyote Blog.
Flap has an article that is linked.
Go here to see.
A SOCIALIZED MEDICINE DISGRACE
John Ray over at Socialized Medicine has an interesting piece on a young British girl:
The b*******s just don't care. A little girl had to go to America to get a false British diagnosis overturned
From the time Tilly Merrell was a year old, doctors told her family she would never have a normal life -- or even a normal meal. British doctors found that the food she swallowed went into her lungs instead of her stomach, causing devastating lung infections. They said she had isolated bulbar palsy, and their solution was to feed her through a stomach tube. Forever. But having a backpack with a food pump wired to her stomach wasn't much of a life for a girl whose favorite smell is bacon frying -- a girl who once broke through a locked kitchen door in an effort to sneak some cheese. So her family got help from their community of Warndon, about 120 miles north of London, raising enough money to take Tilly, now 8, on a 5,000-mile journey they hoped might change her life, a journey to Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University.
Doctors at Packard were intrigued that she had no neurological symptoms often associated with the palsy. In all other ways, she was a normal child with a mischievous smile and a truckload of energy. After seeing her Feb. 7, they ran three tests and found out what was wrong with her. Nothing. She had infections, certainly, but they were long gone. And when she swallowed something, it went into her stomach, not her lungs.
Until this month, Tilly often had to go off into another room with her PlayStation during family meals. She would always try to sneak morsels of food, not fully understanding the British doctors' warnings about how much harm they could cause. "Christmastime was the worst," said Tilly's grandmother, Sonia Merrell. "She couldn't eat or drink with us. She used to think we were horrible." Having Tilly go through that for the rest of her life wasn't something that her grandmother was ready to accept. After five years of searching the Internet, Sonia Merrell found a story about how a girl with a similar condition was trying to get treated at Packard....
So Tilly, 13-year-old sister Megan, Amelia, Sonia and grandfather Trevor Merrell got on a plane Feb. 5. Two days later, they were seeing Dr. Kenneth Cox, Packard's chief medical officer and its chief of pediatric gastroenterology. "I felt a little bit of anxiousness when they arrived," he said. "I wondered if there was something I didn't know."
After all, England is not exactly a backward nation when it comes to medicine. Tilly had several cases of severe pneumonia as a baby, and her mother said that doctors in the socialized British system clung to the palsy diagnosis....
Once he met with the family, Cox arranged three tests. Dr. Peter Koltai examined the back of Tilly's throat, looking for evidence that she couldn't swallow properly. Dr. Jin Hahn checked to see if she had any neurological problems. Tilly also needed a modified barium swallow, which allowed occupational therapist Marianna Thorn to track whether food was going into her stomach or lungs. "It showed that Tilly had some very enlarged tonsils," Thorn said, "but nothing that told us she would aspirate on food."
More here. (This post also appears on Blogger News)
***************************
For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL hospitals and health insurance schemes should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the very poor and minimal regulation.
I agree, John.
Yes, but the British National Health Service is so ingrained in your society. Socialism pervades every fabric of commerce in the U.K.
There has to be a radical approach to privatization from healthcare and welfare systems to government and taxation.
Then and only then will tragedies like this be avoided and the Underground might run on time.
Sunday, February 27, 2005
More Dutch Plan to Emigrate as Muslim Influx Tips Scales
The New York Times reports that many Dutch plan to emigrate due to an influx in primarily Muslim immigrants:
MSTERDAM - Paul Hiltemann had already noticed a darkening mood in the Netherlands. He runs an agency for people wanting to emigrate and his client list had surged.
But he was still taken aback in November when a Dutch filmmaker was shot and his throat was slit, execution style, on an Amsterdam street.
In the weeks that followed, Mr. Hiltemann was inundated by e-mail messages and telephone calls. "There was a big panic," he said, "a flood of people saying they wanted to leave the country."
Leave this stable and prosperous corner of Europe? Leave this land with its generous social benefits and ample salaries, a place of fine schools, museums, sports grounds and bicycle paths, all set in a lively democracy?
The answer, increasingly, is yes. This small nation is a magnet for immigrants, but statistics suggest there is a quickening flight of the white middle class. Dutch people pulling up roots said they felt a general pessimism about their small and crowded country and about the social tensions that had grown along with the waves of newcomers, most of them Muslims."The Dutch are living in a kind of pressure cooker atmosphere," Mr. Hiltemann said.
There is more than the concern about the rising complications of absorbing newcomers, now one-tenth of the population, many of them from largely Muslim countries. Many Dutch also seem bewildered that their country, run for decades on a cozy, political consensus, now seems so tense and prickly and bent on confrontation. Those leaving have been mostly lured by large English-speaking nations like Australia, New Zealand and Canada, where they say they hope to feel less constricted.
In interviews, emigrants rarely cited a fear of militant Islam as their main reason for packing their bags. But the killing of the filmmaker Theo van Gogh, a fierce critic of fundamentalist Muslims, seems to have been a catalyst.
"Our Web site got 13,000 hits in the weeks after the van Gogh killing," said Frans Buysse, who runs an agency that handles paperwork for departing Dutch. "That's four times the normal rate."
Mr. van Gogh's killing is the only one the police have attributed to an Islamic militant, but since then they have reported finding death lists by local Islamic militants with the names of six prominent politicians. The effects still reverberate. In a recent opinion poll, 35 percent of the native Dutch questioned had negative views about Islam.
There are no precise figures on the numbers now leaving. But Canadian, Australian and New Zealand diplomats here said that while immigration papers were processed in their home capitals, embassy officials here had been swamped by inquiries in recent months.
Read the rest here.
I guess the United States is not the only country with an immigration problem.
Are you listening, Mr. President?
Million Dollar Baby!
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Veteran actor/director Clint Eastwood (news) won his second best-director Oscar on Sunday for drama "Million Dollar Baby," about the complex relationship between a boxing trainer, played by Eastwood, and his protegee, portrayed by Hilary Swank.
Eastwood, 74, beat rival Martin Scorsese, whose biography of eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes, "The Aviator," had been widely praised by critics. The Oscar is Eastwood's third overall. He won two Academy Awards (news - web sites) for 1992 western "Unforgiven," and in 1994 was honored for lifetime achievement by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (news - web sites).
And did you see Hilary in that dress tonight!??
U.S. says it would fire missiles over Canada
The London Free Press reports:
OTTAWA -- The United States will decide when to fire missiles over Canadian airspace whether Canada likes it or not, says America's ambassador. The blunt warning from Paul Cellucci came minutes after Prime Minister Paul Martin announced yesterday that he will not sign on to the controversial U.S. missile defence program.
"We will deploy. We will defend North America," Cellucci said.
"We simply cannot understand why Canada would, in effect, give up its sovereignty -- its seat at the table -- to decide what to do about a missile that might be coming toward Canada."
The warning was no slip of the tongue -- Cellucci repeated several times that Canada's decision had handed over some of its sovereignty to the U.S.
Read the rest here.Click here for an interactive link on how the National Missle Defense System works.
Does Paul Martin and his Liberal coalition in Canada really think we give a DAMN whether they approve of OUR National Missile Defense system.
I mean really!
And........ read about the succesful National Missle Defense test this past Thursday here.
Free Gadgets at the Academy Awards!
Engadget has all the free stuff/gadgets that the stars will score at tonight's Oscar presentation:
girlhacker has tossed together her yearly list of all the stuff celebs are going to be scooping up at the Academy Awards, and as usual, the people who can best afford to pay full price for stuff are getting a bunch of freebies. Here are all the slick new gadgets they’re getting:
- A year free year of VoIP phone service from Vonage.
- The black version of Motorola’s RAZR V3.
- An iXi collapsible bike.
- A Dyson DC11 vacuum.
- Sprint is offering some unreleased “multimedia” phone from Samsung, maybe the SCH-5600?
- A Krups kitchen set that includes a toaster and an electric kettle.
Bill Gates Says American High Schools are Obsolete
Yahoo News is reporting:
Governors Work to Improve H.S. Education
 Photo: AP Click to enlarge |
The nation's governors offered an alarming account of the American high school Saturday, saying only drastic change will keep millions of students from falling short.
"We can't keep explaining to our nation's parents or business leaders or college faculties why these kids can't do the work," said Virginia Democratic Gov. Mark Warner, as the state leaders convened for the first National Education Summit aimed at rallying governors around high school reform.
The governors say they want to emerge Sunday with specific plans for enacting policy, weary of statistics showing that too many students are coasting, dropping out or failing in college.
At least one agreement is likely. Achieve, a nonprofit group formed by governors and corporate leaders, plans to announce Sunday that roughly 12 states are committing to raise high school rigor and align their graduation requirements with skills demanded in college or work.
The high school summit drew at least 45 governors from the 50 states and five U.S. territories, along with top names in U.S. industry and education. The leaders broke into groups late in the day to debate ideas, and planned to do the same through Sunday.
Most of the summit's first day amounted to an enormous distress call, with speakers using unflattering numbers to define the problem. Among them: Of every 100 ninth-graders, only 68 graduate high school on time and only 18 make it through college on time, according to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education......Once in college, one in four students at four-year universities must take at least one remedial course to master what they should have learned in high school, government figures show.
The most blunt assessment came from Microsoft chief Bill Gates, who has put more than $700 million into reducing the size of high school classes through the foundation formed by him and his wife, Melinda. He said high schools must be redesigned to prepare every student for college, with classes that are rigorous and relevant to kids and with supportive relationships for children.
"America's high schools are obsolete," Gates said. "By obsolete, I don't just mean that they're broken, flawed or underfunded, though a case could be made for every one of those points. By obsolete, I mean our high schools _ even when they're working as designed _ cannot teach all our students what they need to know today."
Summit leaders have an ambitious agenda for every state: to raise the requirements of a high school diploma, improve information sharing between high schools and universities, and align graduation standards with the expectations of colleges and employers. Governors say they're in a position to unite the often splintered agendas of business leaders, educators and legislatures.
But such changes will take what Gates singled out as the biggest obstacle: political will.
Requiring tougher courses for all students, for example, could face opposition from parents and school officials, particularly if more rigor leads to lower test scores and costly training....."
Well, the High Schools have been broken in the U.S. for a long time. We will need a state by state initiative and privatization by vouchers in order to correct the many problems.
British Blogs
For my friends in the United Kingdom and the Colonies (just kidding) Tim Worstall has a good list of British Blogs:
BritBlog Roundup Number 2
Here’s week two of the BritBlog Roundup. Week 1 and the rules are here. Anything from a resident or citizen of (wherever resident) these Isles is eligible. Twenty two entries this week, a few extra picks from me and all done in between the various rugby matches.
Please do send in entries for next week to britblog AT gmail DOT com, and yes, I would like entries that disagree with my cherished beliefs. Any subject matter, just whatever you think is worth showcasing to others. Most especially if you’ve come across something from someone else that you think we all ought to know about.
The Observer has started a blog, will be interesting to see how that turns out. Will it actually be a blog or simply an extension of the newspaper?
The Book Club Blog tries to get to the bottom of the Belle De Jour "who she?" question.
Paul Coletti answers the age old question...do you get more if you’re famous? (more, err, well, you know).
Andrew Dodge actually went and did some real research, proper reporting (hear that bloggers? We’ve got work to do) in the aftermath of the Hunting Ban.
Giles is running a competition to rename Ken Livingstone, apparently simple swearwords are not enough.
Jesurgislac follows up on the Eason Jordan story...asking an interesting question, not about what Jordan said or did, but just who has been killed and by whom?
England Expects brings us another little nugget from the centre of the swamp, Brussels (a declaration of interest here, he gave me a job once), on the way in which Irish TDs (like an MP for those who don’t know) refused to meet with MEPs, as one of them was a Sinn Feinner.
Anglo Saxon Chronicles actually nominates one of my posts, on the confusion the Prime Minister seems to be showing over what his real job is. That’s extremely kind but will not happen again. My posts are banned from being nominated...after all, I’ve already read them and part of the purpose here is to point me (and of course others) to things I haven’t yet seen. As a second choice he recommends RoomTwelve’s meditations on smoking bans. (That’s the spirit! nominate things from other people’s blogs!)
Little Red Blogger has angry words for those who contract services out and thus increase infection rates in hospitals. (See, I really do mean it, all economic and political views are included in this roundup. It’s only the rest of the week that this blog is part of the VRWC.)
Attempting Escape gives us his views on yet another manifestation of class bias in University application processes.
Jon Barnard, (who is RoomTwelve up above) also nominates someone other than himself, a masterly Irish blog called Twenty Major. This one post alone, on a commemoration of the Titanic (yes, by towing an iceberg into Belfast Harbour) should earn him a place on many blogrolls. Certainly mine, after I’ve got through this.
Gareth at the CEP sends in something from John at The England Project...applying the current logic of regional assemblies to the EU Constitution. He also wants Neil Herron (one of the few who have actually used this blogging thing to make a real difference to UK politics) to have a mention, so here it is.
Blimpish has a detailed look at Lib Dem proposals for the low cost housing market. Not impressed.
Blood and Treasure tells us about Tamurlaine’s hangovers. Yes, really. And an empire named after a piece of furniture.
Blognor Regis points to a James Hamilton piece on James Bartholomew’s book, The Welfare State We’re In, with commentary on the commentary from the author himself. OK, parse that sentence then.
Clive Davis (this I like. A journalist for the MSM entering blog roundups?) has a very good piece on David Irving, that libel trial and the similarities with Michael Moore.
Nick Barlow of that Ilk offers us his examination of Christian Voice..and is witty, thorough and complete while doing so. Better investigative work than half the Sunday Times there.
Liberal England explains Darwin to us.
Norm of that Blog sends in his piece on a flawed system, talking about the Iraq War and the International Legal System. I’m not quite sure whether to decribe this as a stiletto aimed at the heart of the anti-war left or a cavalry sabre slashing through the presumptions of non-interventionism...you’ll like it though, you’ll like when Norm gets angry.
Blithering Bunny (having spent most of yesterday evening setting up spoofs of my site...we’ve said before about how you should not drive a computer while drunk) offers Whistle Schoenberg While You Work.
Laban Tall suggest visiting Mark Humphrys, an idea I heartily endorse. Not really organised like a blog, he tends to update certain subjects rather than working specifically chronologically like the rest of us. His views on politics and economics seem almost identical to my own, it’s always nice to find that someone as obviously intelligent as he shares the same Bayesian priors.
Iain Murray is back at The Edge of England’s Sword, very angry indeed over changes being made at Oxford University. We have also, through the grapevine, heard some very fun gossip about Iain in Brussels last weekend...even the Press Officer couldn’t remember whether it was 3 or 4 am when the party broke up. As these people are chosen on the strength of their livers that takes some doing.
A from L has much good writing, start with this post and scroll.
A Welsh View points me to lynne ydw i, and an excellent description of the varied natives of these isles, a must read primer for non Brits.
The Yorkshire Ranter is good as always, here on using spyware manufacturers to help the Department of Homeland Security.
Stumbling and Mumbling (one of the best economics blogs around IMHO) doesn’t like the minimum wage.
The Italian Version,(he’s Italian but living in England, thus eligible) entirely new to me, gives a perfect description of the recycling process for plastic bottles and shows why it is not, as often assumed, a good idea. A must read for anyone interested in either economics or the environment.
And a blog that’s a real keeper. The Law West of Ealing Broadway, written by a magistrate and quite excellent. No specific post, just keep scrolling.
OK, that’s it, this week’s roundup. Entries for next week to britblog AT gmail DOT com please. I’m late for the rugby, so Toodle Pip and see you next week.
Thanks Tim and we all will be sure to check these blogs out.
Los Angeles Marathon - One Week To Go
As everyone knows, Flap is participating in the 20th Annual Los Angeles Marathon next Sunday.
My last piece of trainng will be today, so blogging will be light for a few hours.
I will be going to the Marathon Center on Thursday to pick up my participation number and my electronic chip which I will post here so you can track me and encourage me on to the finish. You will be able to watch for me here.
Sooooo... until later!
From last year:
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Father And Son Day At The Iraqi Genocide Tribunal
Captain Ed over at Captain's Quarters has an excellent piece on the Iraqi Genocide Tribunal:
And does anyone really wonder why tht U.S. tank and soldiers are still in Iraq?
Read the piece here.
The Iraqi Special Tribunal for genocide during Saddam Hussein's bloody reign of terror has two new defendants to consider. US forces turned over a father-son partnership reportedly responsible for the murders of over 140 murders in a retaliation for a Dawa assassination attempt on Saddam in 1982:
U.S. forces have arrested an Iraqi father and son accused of participating in a 1982 massacre in the predominantly Shiite Muslim village of Dujail in retaliation for an assassination attempt on then-President Saddam Hussein.Senior U.S. officials said in interviews that Abdulla Rwayid and Muzhir Abdulla Rwayid were arrested Monday and charged with crimes against humanity for their alleged role in the killing of hundreds of people associated with the Dawa party, a Shiite group that carried out the attempt on Hussein's life on July 8, 1982.
Charges against the two detained men were referred to the Iraqi Special Tribunal, the entity responsible for trying those accused of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in Iraq between 1968 and 2003, when Hussein's Baath Party ruled the country.
The attempt came after the Iran-Iraq war provoked by Saddam began to slog into a stalemate in its second year and Saddam's popularity plummeted. Dawa, the banned political opposition group whose leader is likely to be Iraq's next Prime Minister, schemed an ambush to murder Saddam. Saddam outsmarted the ambushers by changing cars in the convoy, a move that saved his life. However, it still took the Iraqi Army two hours to extricate him from the ambush, and the experience affected Saddam deeply. He curtailed his travel in Iraq and started relying on blood relations, concentrating power into his family and the Tikrit syndicate whose loyalty could be counted on.
That wasn't all that Saddam did. In an age-old response of tyrants, Saddam punished the town for the acts of a handful of its residents. Like the Czech village of Lidice after the assassination of Reinhard "Hangman" Heydrich in WWII, the Ba'athists rounded up hundreds, deported the rest and destroyed the town of Dujail. Some of the detained endured months of torture before being released, but at least 147 were killed, on the orders of the Rwayids.
Now they will face the music, along with the rest of the Ba'athist enablers that the Iraqis and the Americans can grab. Like the Nazis that came before Saddam, the Ba'athist regime resembled a crime family more than a government. Humiliation before a tribunal of free Iraqis will be a fitting end for the monsters of Iraq.
As this shows, the Ba'athist remnants and foreign terrorists targeting Iraqis for even more murder and mayhem didn't get pushed into their latest atrocities by the American invasion. With their pool of helpless victims now severely restricted, they have to resort to suicide bombings and remotely-detonated car bombs to satiate their thirst for blood. That change has not gone unnoticed by ordinary Iraqis, as the Washington Post reports at the end:
The Marines have captured 155 suspected insurgents and seized several weapons caches during a six-day security operation in Ramadi and neighboring towns, according to the U.S. military. Of those detained, 51 were arrested Friday, the military said in a statement.Hamoudi Hadib, 45, a grocer in Ramadi, said he hopes the U.S. forces kill all of the insurgents.
"They prevent us from working," he said. "If Islam and religion become like this, we don't need it. They hurt us so much. We don't blame the Americans because they insisted on continuing their mission, but we blame those Arabs who do not want to leave our country. They should leave."
It appears that they have little patience left for their former oppressors and their lunatic supporters. After hearing about the Rwayids, one can't blame them a bit.
Thanks Ed for another insightful article.
Now, are there any questions about our continued presence in Iraq?
Nikon's Top Dog Arrives
Oh Man!
Check out Nikon's latest and greatest digital camera:
"In February 2001, Nikon introduced to the world the D1X – a six-megapixel, three FPS, nine-frame buffer digital SLR. For the next three and a half years or so, it has remained the top professional body in Nikon’s DSLR offerings. Even when the competition released DSLRs that brought the megapixel-count past the single digit threshold, Nikon remains unmoved. Sure, in late November 2002, Nikon offered a memory module upgrade for the D1X to increase image-buffering performances (from nine JPEG Large images to 21 and six NEF images to 14), but shooting speed remained the same. Rumors of a D1X successor have been floating ever since 2002, but nothing ever materialized.
Zoom closer to the present timeline in September 2004, Nikon finally announced the long anticipated heir to the throne that D1X has been occupying for so long. The aptly named D2X is Nikon's first digital camera to go past the 10-megapixel count. As a professional body, you wouldn't think that Nikon is satisfied with offering users a mere megapixel bump. A new sensor, improved technologies, and some rather interesting features and implementations place the D2X on a podium like no other. Finally on 24th February 2005, it is launched officially in Singapore amidst much fanfare. Join us as we bring you on a tour de force on this latest star of the digital SLR arena."
Hat Tip: Instapundit
Quote from an Unhappy Librarian
John Dvorak one of my favorite columnists in the TECH World has these interesting observations about the Blogosphere:
Coined the term “blog people”
Written Inc.: Quote from an unhappy librarian
“[The] Blog People (or their subclass who are interested in computers and the glorification of information) have a fanatical belief in the transforming power of digitization and a consequent horror of, and contempt for, heretics who do not share that belief … Given the quality of the writing in the blogs I have seen, I doubt that many of the Blog People are in the habit of sustained reading of complex texts. It is entirely possible that their intellectual needs are met by an accumulation of random facts and paragraphs.’” — M. Gorman
I have no idea where Cami Levy got this quote, but it’s apparently from library spokesman Michael Gorman (pictured above). Of course the bloggers immediately get outraged. What he is saying is quite true. You hear about “people’s journalism,” “print is dead,” old media, new media, blah, blah, blah. It’s an attack on print just for the sake of an attack. And note that he’s not saying all blogs are crap. He’s saying they are taking themselves a little too seriously with all the changing the world nonsense. He also takes a couple of cheap shots which does his position no good at all.
But let’s discuss changing the world. The way I see it radio was going to change the world. Movies were going to change the world. TV was going to change the world. Computers were going to change the world. And, uh, hmm — they did! But compare the promises to the results. The corporations are bigger. The public is dumber. McDonalds and Coca-Cola are everywhere. Public and corporate corruption is rampant. Like all new technological developments blogs will accelerate these trends, no matter what the bloggers think.
You can see it developing as the most read blogs fall into one of two political categories (conservative or liberal) both essentially serving big government as cheerleaders for one of two narrowly defined knee-jerk positions on everything public. How is this helping anything?
That said there is indeed a third category of blog which is purely informational such as the definitive WifFi Networking News. These tend to be specialty blogs that more resemble a magazine. And when the blog aficionados go on and on about changing the world this blog is never mentioned since it’s not political.
Anyway, you can expect more debate on this topic over the next few years. Ack!
A point well written, John.
The commercialization of the blogosphere and its use to disseminate commercial speech is just beginning. Political speech is easy and cheap.
Companies will invest heavily in this new medium.
Million Dollar Smile
The March 7 Edition of Newsweek Magazine reports:
By Karen Springen
Newsweek
Kendall Ramirez, 34, always felt self-conscious about her teeth, which she thought were too wide and masculine-looking. So before her wedding five years ago, the Dallas marketing consultant splurged on MAC veneers, paying about $15,000 to cover her 10 top front teeth with porcelain. She was so happy with the results that, last year, she went back and had her bottom set bleached. The result: a bright, rounded, more feminine smile. "It was worth every penny," she says.
Ramirez is part of a new era in dentistry that goes far beyond fighting cavities. With the vast majority of celebrities sporting blinding-white smiles, and shows like "Extreme Makeover" bringing da Vinci veneers to Everyman, Americans have grown tooth-obsessed. As a result, dentists are performing about twice as many cosmetic procedures as they were just three years ago, estimates Cleveland dentist Matthew Messina, the American Dental Association's consumer adviser. And companies have sprung up to offer special financing for those who'd like to remodel their mouths. Tempted? Here's a primer on the most popular procedures:
Veneers. At $1,000 to $2,000 per tooth, it's the most expensive option but the best way to improve the shape of your teeth. (One downside: veneers may need to be replaced every 10 years or so.) A dentist typically grinds down your tooth enamel, then glues on a custom-made porcelain shell. To save money, you can buy veneers for just the top six to 10 "smile zone" teeth and bond or bleach the rest. Don't go too white or you'll end up looking like Wayne Newton, who had a special color made so his audience could see his mouth from the back of the concert hall. To avoid the horse look, tell your dentist explicitly that you don't want big teeth, and ask for "temporaries"—resin mock-ups that mimic the smile you'll end up with.
Bonding. This technique involves a plasticlike resin instead of porcelain, and dentists perform it "freehand" in the mouth. It's excellent for smaller work, such as fixing a chip. But, unlike veneers, it can't be used to reshape or whiten a broad surface. It also costs a comparatively low $300 to $700 per tooth.
Bleaching. A good option for people who don't need to straighten or reshape their teeth. Peroxide bubbles out some—but not all—stains that collect within tooth enamel. (Ask your dentist ahead of time if bleaching will fix a particular blemish you're concerned about.) Typically, custom-molded bleach-ing trays—worn at home for an —hour a day for two weeks—cost $300 to $500 and can get your teeth five to eight shades whiter.
Those in need of instant gratification can turn to "power whitening," which takes only one hour in the dentist's office and uses a light-activated peroxide gel. The treatment—under brand names like Brite-Smile, Zoom! and Rembrandt —typically costs $600 to $1,000 and can get patients 10 to 12 shades lighter, says Messina. Over-the-counter products like Crest Whitestrips Premium (seven-day treatment course for $34.99) are a good place to start when you're trying to decide if professional bleaching is for you. But be wary of store-bought bleaching trays, which can make it tricky to keep the gel spread evenly.
Before you jump into the dentist's chair, do your homework. Not all practitioners are equally trained in esthetic techniques, so check their credentials, which may include membership in an association like the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (aacd.org). Ask to see before-and-after photos of their patients—not generic ones of another dentist's work. And think about payment. Companies like Enhance Patient Financing (enhancefinance.com) offer loans for cosmetic dentistry similar to car loans, except that interest rates are higher because there's no collateral. (You can't repossess dental work.) And remember, a little bit can go a long way. "Not everyone needs an extreme makeover," says Messina. "Small changes may make a big difference."
It is always refreshing to see how the MSM portrays dentistry.
What Is a BLOG?
Graphic Courtesy of Kurafire.net.
I often get the question: what is a blog?
And why blog?
Political Teen and Captain's Quarters both have answers.
From the Political Teen :
"I got a clip of a segment that NBC Nightly News did tonight. It was on bloggers and their influence. Mentioned in this piece was Captain's Quarters, Powerline, Right Wing News and many more. Josh Trevino at RedState.Org and Josh Marshall Talking Points Memo were interviewed."
Go here for the Video.
Schwarzenegger: No Regrets About Steroids
AP is reporting:
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has acknowledged using steroids during his years as a champion body builder, said he doesn't regret using the performance-enhancing drugs.
In an interview to be broadcast Sunday, Schwarzenegger told ABC's George Stephanopoulos, "I have no regrets about it, because at that time, it was something new that came on the market, and we went to the doctor and did it under doctors' supervision."
Schwarzenegger has acknowledged taking steroids, but pointed out that they were legal at the time.
"We were experimenting with it. It was a new thing. So you can't roll the clock back and say, 'Now I would change my mind on this,'" he said, according to an excerpt posted on abcnews.com.
 | |
The former seven-time Mr. Olympia said he would not encourage drug use because it sent the wrong message to children. But he said he had no problem with athletes taking nutritional supplements and other legal substances to improve their performance.
On the Net:
But, what about Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire? It seems all of the baseball greats are great at DENIAL!Condi 2008
My friends over at Lifelike Pundits have a killer pic of Secretary of State Condi Rice:
If you want to learn more about Dr. Rice. Here are some links:
If you want to learn more about Dr. Rice. Here are some links:
- Rice 2008
- Americans for Condi
- Condi for Prez
- Condi for President Yahoo Group
- Dr. Rice's White House Biography
- Condi for President 2008
- Stop Hillary, Draft Condi
Battlestar Galactica Available for Download
Slashdot reports:
"The SciFi channel has made Episode '33' (Season 1 Episode 1) of Battlestar Galactica available for free, uncut and commercial free, online at SciFi.com. Also available are deleted scenes from the series. Is this a ploy by the SciFi channel to grow a viewer base as well as loyalty, or an extremely bold move since the series isn't even out on DVD yet? Hopefully it's both. In either case, I believe this is unprecedented, especially since season 1 hasn't even concluded here in the states. Bravo SciFi. Keep 'em coming!"
I have a TIVO but it is outstanding to have this content provided by SciFi to the PC for viewing.
KUDOS to the SciFi Channel.
Nomad Portable X-ray Device
I ran across this device over at Gizmodo:
KUTV in Utah has an article on ARIBA X-Ray, Inc.’s new portable x-ray system, uninspiringly-named the NOMAD. Completely cordless, it allows for more than 100 exposures on a single battery charge, letting you conveniently cancerfy your molars anytime, anywhere. The device is still awaiting approval from the FDA, but the article reports that the inventor “says he can’t get FDA approval on the device until he can prove it’s safe and does not release radiation.” It features a backscatter shield and internal radiation shielding to protect the operator, but obviously some leaks could happen, in theory. It’s currently being used in Phuket, Thailand to identify victims of the tsunami. The FDA may have a decision by July, and if granted approval, the devices will sell for $6,800 each.
Utah Devices Used to ID Tsunami Victims in Asia [KUTV via Medgadget]
Product Page [ARIBA]
The Ariba website is located here.
Add this with digital phosphor plates and/or sensors and we have a great new in-office dental diagnostic system. But, the applications off-site are even greater.
Read about its application in the third world here.
Cool device and looking forward to FDA approval in July.
H/T Gizmodo
Anyway to Get the Kids To Brush their Teeth!
Engadget reports:
"Any parent will tell you that getting kids to groom their pearly whites is all too often like, well, pulling teeth. Some Hasbro executive had the brilliant idea of keeping kids entertained while scrubbing those molars: enter “Tooth Tunes,” a toothbrush that plays a two minute riff to span the ideal amount of brush time recommended by dentists. The clip, stored on a microchip “no bigger than a dot atop the letter i,” (that’s rich) is triggered by a button on the brush. A minicomputer uses bone conduction to send sound waves first through the front teeth, then to the jawbone and into the inner ear (not unlike the Jawbone, SwiMP3, etc., incidentally). Hasbro is currently chatting up several pop stars for the rights to their songs, but will any of them bite? And will the kids complain that it has no screen?"
With the amount of tooth decay that I see and DRILL each week - ANYTHING will HELP!
Prevention People!
The Yumel, Tomy’s doll for the elderly
Since they’re having trouble finding enough kids in Japan to sell their creepy lifelike robotic dolls to, toymakers there have started going after another demo: the elderly. Tomy is coming out with the Yumel, a “healing partner” with a vocabulary of 1,200 phrases that sells for 8,500 yen and is designed to keep you company. It’ll greet you when you wake up in the morning—it has six built-in sensors for keep tracking of its owner’s sleeping patterns—but the downside is that if you start raging all night or oversleeping or ignoring it or whatever the doll will ask you if you’re pushing yourself too hard. And if you treat it right? The Yumel will sing you songs and harrass you into buying it presents. That’s win/win people.
Talk about marketing to your demographics!
No! I don't want one.
Hat Tip: Engadget
Day By Day
Sorry to have been blogus absentus but had a late night/early morning at the local Chumash Casino.
Yeah I did OK.
Friday, February 25, 2005
Kinsley Takes Another Round
L.A. Observed reports the next advantage in the Micheal Kinsley - Susan Estrich feud goes to Kinsley:
Today's advantage in the Susan Estrich-Michael Kinsley feud goes to Kinsley. Last week he informed the USC professor that she was no longer welcome on the Times opinion pages, and today the lead piece splashed atop the op-ed page is by her ex-husband, fellow USC professor Martin Kaplan. Oh, the piece is about lying in Hollywood.
Meanwhile, it appears that Estrich's blog has not been updated for several days. She's wrong, by the way, about the editor of the Orange County Register being a woman. Most of the reaction I've heard around town about her venting at Kinsley disparages Estrich for raising his health as a debate point. Now reading down to the end of her blog (under the headline "ONE LAST CHANCE BEFORE I GO PUBLIC…") I see that she is the first writer to go public with innuendo about Mayor Jim Hahn's wife. I wonder how she will defend crossing that line, putting gossip like that in an email to Kinsley then posting it on her blog.
* Also commenting: Eric Alterman: "Really, insisting that Kinsley’s Parkinson’s is affecting his ability to see the world Estrich’s way is just about as low as a person could go, though her anti-feminist swipe at Arianna may have been the previous record"...Heather Mac Donald: "Estrich’s insane ravings against the Times cap a month that left one wondering whether the entry of women into the intellectual and political arena has been an unqualified boon."
Remember Susan....."Never Pick a Fight with anyone who buys their ink by the barrel!" - Mark Twain.
Moshzilla
I ran across this on the internet the other day:
|
|
| |||||||
 |
|  |
|
"Moshzilla" is a girl named so after a rather funny picture I took of a girl dancing at a show in San Diego, CA. After releasing that picture on this site, it became an "internet phenomenon", and advertly, many "photochops " of the picture were made. Some messageboard threads dedicated to photochopping Moshzilla recieved over 1/4 million views. This is a compilation of some of those photochops.
My apologies and Hat Tip to Alex.
Oh BTW his gallery is here.
Federal Emergency Methamphetamine Lab Cleanup Act of 2005 (S.259)
Methamphetamine Takes Toll on Rural Areas
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Initiative By By Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD)
In this Press Release from Senator Johnson it is reported:
"Washington , DC – In newspapers across South Dakota South Dakota
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Initiative By By Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD)
In this Press Release from Senator Johnson it is reported:
"
In addition to the human costs, I am very concerned about the harsh impact that illicit methamphetamine manufacturing has on the environment. According to most estimates, the clean up costs of a meth lab site can range from $3,000 to over $100,000. The cost can become very significant for local law enforcement entities to absorb. Furthermore, as we become more vigilant in our efforts to locate meth manufacturing lab sites, these costs will only increase.
Recently, I introduced the Federal Emergency Meth Lab Cleanup Act of 2005 (S.259). This act will mandate that a portion of the Forfeiture Fund, administered by the Department of Treasury, be made available specifically for methamphetamine lab site cleanup. Currently, the Forfeiture Fund is used for expenses of drug seizures and forfeiture, contract services, compensation to informers, and other amounts authorized pertaining to remission and mitigation. The Federal Emergency Meth Lab Cleanup Act of 2004 addresses the following:
--Provides payment to the designated state, local, or tribal law enforcement entity, environment, or health entity for experts and consultants needed for cleaning up areas formerly used as an illicit meth lab; and
--In the event the lab is located on private property, payment from this fund will not exceed 90% of costs and can only be used by property owners who had no knowledge of the existence or operation of the lab prior to a law enforcement action or if upon learning of the lab, law enforcement agency is notified within 24 hours.
As a member of the United States Senate, and as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have continuously sought increased federal funding of law enforcement and drug treatment and prevention programs. As well, I have worked to significantly increase funding to assist local law enforcement in the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) initiative. This important initiative has been successful in curbing the expanding drug trade, especially the alarming methamphetamine trade, in
Kudos to Senator Johnson on this one!
Martha Stewart Leaves Prison Next Weekend
AP reports that Martha Stewart after five months in prison in West Virginia will be released next weekend to her 153-acre estate in the rolling horse country 40 miles north of midtown Manhattan. There, for another five months, she will serve the home detention portion of her sentence for a stock scandal.
She will be able to return to work and start drawing her $900,000 salary again, and she will be free to throw lavish house parties - as long as she doesn't invite any criminals.
Martha Stewart will also be wearing the must-have accessory for the convicted felon on the go: an electronic anklet that will allow authorities to monitor her movements.
Read the rest here.
She shouldn't have been sent to prison in the first place. What a waste of government resources!
Welcome Back, Martha!
Bloggers Access the Wire: AP Puts Up RSS Feeds
Artificial Eyes By 2010?
The European Commission reports that an artificial eye may be commercially available by 2010:
Belgian Professor Claude Veraart says that a prototype device has been implanted in two patients so far, according to a Reuters report. He said that 15 teams of researchers are working on the problem, but that the Belgian trials had produced the best results so far. The Belgian team co-ordinates a pan-European research effort, involving scientists in France and Germany.
As with similar work in the United States, the prosthetic retina works by passing artificially stimulating the optic nerve, in line with signals from a tiny digital camera mounted on a pair of glasses.
The technology could be used to treat conditions like macular degeneration, or retinitis pigmentosa, a condition where the eye's photoreceptors are inactive, but the connection from the eye to the brain is intact.
Veraat said the device would likely cost around €20,000. The European Commission said it would be available commercially by 2010, possibly as early as 2008. The Commission has also made grants totaling €2.79m available for research into treating blindness and partial visual impairment.A Related Story: US science alliance eyes artificial retina.
Great News!
Paris Hilton Worming her way into your Cellphone
Oh No! Paris Hilton is everywhere:
Just when you thought you’d seen the last of Paris Hilton, she starts showing up in your cellphone. The Sober.K worm is spreading so quickly, according to AV outfit Sophos, that it comprises 10 percent of all viruses detected in the last 24 hours. The virus is piggybacking off the latest Hilton Sidekick hack, promising “Paris Hilton SexVideos,” but fails to deliver. You’ll have to hack her Sidekick yourself to get those - which apparently isn’t all that hard.
H/T Engadget
Straight for the Heart: The fear: hackers are after your pacemaker
The fear: hackers are after your pacemaker
The developers of remote-from-home defibrillators are concerned that every hacker’s true calling is to intercept one of the remote relaying messages and reprogram grandpa’s pacemaker. The technology for these remotely-controllable implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) hasn’t yet been approved by the FDA, but if it is doctors will be able to periodically fine-tune the pacemakers right through the phone. With that advance comes the concern that hackers will grow ever more bored with the more traditional targets and shoot straight for the heart. We suppose it’s best to err on the side of caution, but we sincerely doubt we’ll be seeing any pacemaker hacks turning up on hackaday anytime soon.
Well, first it was cell phones.....now....this is getting serious......Norton for your pacemaker?
H/T Engadget
4 Inch Mauna Tiki USB Flash Drive Storage Device
How better to store your data:
Meet Mauna Tiki Data™, the most shaka (coolest) flash drive this side of the Hawaiian islands!
Standing at almost 4” tall, the Big Tiki Drive™ is a stylish personal storage device for people on the move. It’s USB 2.0 certified for fast data transfers and is backwards compatible with USB 1.1.
Store all of your data, pictures, music and more on the Big Tiki Drive to take them on the go or transfer them between multiple machines. Giving a Keynote or PowerPoint presentation? Use the Big Tiki Drive to host your slideshows and you’ll never lose their attention.
Once you reach your destination, plug the supplied “Lava USB™” illuminated data cable into the top of the Big Tiki Drive and put him to work. Stare into his glowing eyes and watch his expressive green “aura” glow and blink from below* as he reads and writes your data.
Key Features:
- Stores all of your data, pictures, music and more
- Great for Keynote and PowerPoint presentations
- Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Certified (compatible with USB 1.1)
- Available in 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB and 4GB models**
- No special drivers required
- 6ft. illuminated “Lava USB™” data cable (in red) included to light up the Big Tiki's Eyes*
- Light-up “aura” underneath the Big Tiki Drive indicates I/O activity*
- Includes protective storage bag and protective connector cap
- The Big Tiki Drive is cast and painted by hand, making each one unique***
- Comes with a 2 year limited warranty to ward off island invaders
- Unlimited technical support
Minimum System Requirements:
- Macintosh computer or Pentium PC with USB support
- Mac OS X 10.1.2+, OS 9.1.x+
- Windows 2000, XP or ME
- USB 2.0 port required for Hi-Speed transfer
Physical Dimensions:
- Approximately 2.5" x 2.5" x 3.75"
I think I must have one!
H/T Boing Boing
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Peggy Noonan Weekly Column Blog Style
Peggy Noonan in her weekly Opinion Journal column writes ala Blogger Style:
"This week, an homage de blog. Or would that be homage du blog? James Taranto will know. It's good to have an editor, especially one I would characterize as a nonintrusive stickler. He always knows my topic, doesn't know my view, corrects my spelling and grammar. [De? Du? It's all Greek to me!--ed.]
Today I post thoughts blog-style. There is, however, a theme. Find it.
Hunter Thompson, RIP. Tom Wolfe, a genius, goes over the top in his praise of Thompson. Wolfe and Thompson were of the same journalistic generation, and we are all chauvinists for our era. But Hunter Thompson was not Mark Twain, who was a genius, nor was he the great comic voice of America in the 20th century.
He was a reporter/diarist who helped create a new journalistic form, to which 30 years ago he gave the even then embarrassingly corny name "gonzo journalism." It was highly personal, eccentric, with the writer at the center of the story, and it had its moments, the best of which was "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," which had a different sound, a different attitude, and a whiff of anarchy that seemed liberating.
In time Thompson's swashbuckling came to seem joyless, aggressive and half dead. What he thought fed his gift (drugs, alcohol) killed it. He must have been very scared to get tanked like that to write. The empty page, the blank screen, is scary. But so is a mortgage. So is the stillness of a courtroom before you make the closing argument. And so is a broken leg that needs fixing fast. We all have jobs. You take a bad turn when you start to think your next work must be marked by genius because you are a genius. Thompson's death is an occasion not for inspiration or celebration but compassion. Not pity, but a sense of universal idiocy, and sympathy...."
Read the rest here.
Not a bad attempt..... from one of my favorite writers!
Former Trojan Lynn Swann Running Toward New Goal: Penn Governor
Captain Ed over at Captain's Quarters has an excellent piece on former USC Football great Lynn Swann. It seems that the former Trojan and NFL Great with the Pittsburgh Steelers has a new challenge - the Pennsylvania Governorship. He would face incumbent Pennsylvania Democrat Governor Ed Rendell:
Captain Ed:
"Former Pittsburgh Steelers star Lynn Swann has formed a campaign committee to raise money for a potential run for governor in 2006.Swann named his committee Team 88, the number he wore as a wide receiver for the Steelers from 1974 to 1982, when the team won four Super Bowls.
"I will spend time introducing myself to communities across the commonwealth," the NFL Hall of Famer said in a statement Wednesday. "We will also explore the potential political and financial support for my candidacy."
Swann hardly needs an introduction to Pennsylvanians. As a member of the Steelers dynasty, Swann helped Pittsburgh win an unprecedented four Super Bowl championships in six years, a feat only the current New England Patriots threaten to match. However, most Pennsylvanians may not realize that Swann has an interest in politics, nor of his Republican affiliation. While I don't live in Pennsylvania, I have been a huge fan of Swann and the Steelers since I was a small boy, and Swann surprised me when he showed up at the Republican National Convention. Swann was gracious enough to pose for two pictures with me, as I wanted to make sure I got at least one good one for posterity.
While I still have no clear idea of Swann's politics, his affiliation with the GOP has me very excited about his ability to connect with Pennsylvania voters. Right now Quinnipiac has him down 16 points to Rendell, who ekes out a bare 50% against a man who most people would consider a political cipher at this point. Swann has an opening in which to define himself to voters who will already be predisposed to liking him, and his entry may help attract black voters who want a change from decades of the handouts and hearing loss the Democrats give them.
Best of all, Hugh Hewitt will have to learn to love the Pittsburgh Steelers. A perfect world will truly have arrived!"
I remember Lynn from my days at USC. He was always gracious in victory and defeat. Lynn is rock-solid!
Let's all wish him the best.
Here is a photo of Lynn and Captain Ed at the GOP Convention last year:
NHS in the United Kingdom Recruits Dentists from Poland
Scottish News reports "The Government today hailed the success of an international recruitment drive to bring dentists from overseas to fill holes in the NHS.
Health Minister Rosie Winterton met Polish dentists at a training school in Warsaw who will eventually come to work for the NHS in England.
They will join 29 dentists from Poland who are already working in the NHS to tackle shortages and give more patients access to NHS dentistry.
When they have completed they induction programmes the Polish dentists will fill vacancies in areas with some of the most long-standing shortages, including Hull, Shropshire and Sussex.
The Department of Health said the recruitment of overseas dentists was part of a reform programme to bring unprecedented levels of investment, extra UK training places and new ways of working to make NHS dentistry more attractive to dentists.
Many primary care trusts (PCTs) are managing their own international recruitment programmes in addition to the Government’s centrally managed initiative.
Ms Winterton was meeting with Polish health minister Marek Balicki and his deputy Pawel Sztwiertnia to thank them for their co-operation with the recruitment of dentists.
“Our international recruitment programme is well underway.
“The first group of 29 dentists from Poland are already at work in the NHS treating thousands of patients, with more on the way.
“The NHS has been impressed by their high standards and is supporting them to help them settle into life in England.
“We have committed to increasing the number of NHS dentists by 1,000 by October this year, and our international recruitment programme will deliver two-thirds of these,” Ms Winterton said.
The minister met the dentists towards the end of their language training courses.
They form part of the second tranche of 41 dentists due to start work in England in April and May.
Immigration Minister Des Browne said: “This is a good example of accession state nationals providing key scarce skills to the UK.
“Since May 2004, workers from Poland and from the other seven accession states who have come to the UK are working not only in the health service, but also are filling gaps in sectors such as hospitality, agriculture, and construction.”
Mr Balicki said: “We perceive the UK as a very reliable partner in Europe and do value the importance of the Polish-British co-operation on various issues, including opportunities for Polish dentists to work in the NHS.”
The DoH said Poland was supportive of their recruitment programme because there is a surplus of dentists in the country.
The department is also looking at opportunities to recruit dentists in Spain and Portugal."
I guess the Polish Immigrant Dentists will be like the Guest Worker Program here in the USA. Isn't it grand that if the socialist governmentof Tony Blair cannot cajole indigenous dentists to work for the National Health Service, they merely take their tax money and recruit off-shore.
Bloody disgraceful if you ask me!
Did they ever reckon that a private system of dental care delivery might work better?
Psychedelic Medicine
New Scientist has a long article about the renewed interest among scientists in the possible medical uses of psychedelic drugs like LSD, Psilocybin, DMT, and Ketamine:
JOHN HALPERN clearly remembers what made him change his mind about psychedelic drugs. It was the early 1990s and the young medical student at a hospital in Brooklyn, New York, was getting frustrated that he could not do more to help the alcoholics and addicts in his care. He sounded off to an older psychiatrist, who mentioned that LSD and related drugs had once been considered promising treatments for addiction. "I was so fascinated that I did all this research," Halpern recalls. "I was reading all these papers from the 60s and going, whoa, wait a minute! How come nobody's talking about this?"
More than a decade later, Halpern is now an associate director of substance abuse research at Harvard University's McLean Hospital and is at the forefront of a revival of research into psychedelic medicine. He recently received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to give late-stage cancer patients the psychedelic drug MDMA, also known as ecstasy. He is also laying the groundwork for testing LSD as a treatment for dreaded super-migraines known as cluster headaches.
And Halpern is not alone. Clinical trials of psychedelic drugs are planned or under way at numerous centres around the world for conditions ranging from anxiety to alcoholism. It may not be long before doctors are legally prescribing hallucinogens for the first time in decades. "There are medicines here that have been overlooked, that are fundamentally valuable," says Halpern.
Read the rest here.
If psychedelic drugs can be used for valuable purposes then use them. However, make sure there is appropriate oversight and control.
Hat Tip: Boing Boing
Field Poll: Most initiatives urged by governor have slim leads
The Sacramento Bee (registration required) reports that "A slim majority of registered voters supports most of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's "reform" proposals, according to a poll released Wednesday, but two-thirds oppose spending millions of dollars for a special election."
Read the rest here.
Hat Tip: California Insider
Condi and Fashion and Boots!
My friends over at Lifelike Pundits have a great post and photos of a fashion conscious Secretary of State, Condi Rice.
Check out those boots here.
Star Wars Episode 3 Opening Cannes
Now that the screenshots and story have been leaked here. It is noteworthy to point out that the film will be showcased for viewing at the Cannes Film Festival May 11-22.
Read the story here:
February 18, 2005 - Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith will open the 58th Cannes Film Festival. According to This Is London, a deal was recently struck after months of negotiations between Star Wars creator George Lucas and festival coordinators. Festival De Cannes takes place May 11th-22nd in the south of France.
The UK-based website is also reporting that Ewan McGregor may be in attendance. McGregor is preparing to star in Michael Grandage's new London stage version of Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly Theatre.
If you're not on the Cannes guest list then you'll have to wait until May 19th (in most countries) to see Revenge of the Sith.
The final chapter of the Star Wars prequels takes place three years after the events of Attack of the Clones. The Clone Wars are nearly at an end as the Jedi Council dispatches Obi-Wan (McGregor) to bring General Grevious, the deadly leader of the Separatist droid army, to justice. Meanwhile, back on Coruscant, Chancellor Palpatine has grown in power. His sweeping political changes transform the war-weary Republic into the mighty Galactic Empire. To his closest ally, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), he reveals the true nature of power and the promised secrets of the Force in an attempt to lure him to the dark side.
I better get my sleep. I'll be up all night waiting for the first screening here in L.A.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Sometimes it is Better to Keep It Shut!
Passenger detained, suitcase blown up after bomb comment
SAN DIEGO - A woman was detained in Arizona -- and her suitcase blown up at Lindbergh Field -- after she made a testy comment about a bomb while boarding an American West flight Thursday.
East Coast psychiatrist Esha Khoshnu, 46, apparently became frustrated with security screeners and allegedly said, "if i had a bomb you wouldn't find it," KGTV reported.
The woman made the remark while waiting to board a San Diego-bound flight in Phoenix, said Mike Aguilar, Federal Security Director at the San Diego airport.
Airport personnel responded by detaining her for questioning, but her suitcase got past security and was loaded onto the jetliner.
The plane made a routine landing at Lindbergh Field shortly after 7 a.m.
The pilot was instructed to taxi to a remote area of the airport, where about 35 passengers were taken off the plane and escorted onto two buses.
Members of the San Diego Fire Department's bomb squad searched the plane but found no explosives, officials said.
They removed the woman's suitcase and inspected it in an open area on the grounds of the airport, finding nothing suspicious.
But taking no chances, the blew up the bag with an explosive charge and then doused it with water.
After questioning the woman, federal investigators reportedly cleared her to take a later flight to San Diego, where she was due to attend a conference.
It was not immediately clear if Khoshnu would face charges.
Iran jails blogger for 14 years
BBC News reports:
"An Iranian weblogger has been jailed for 14 years on charges of spying and aiding foreign counter-revolutionaries.
Arash Sigarchi was arrested last month after using his blog to criticise the arrest of other online journalists.
Mr Sigarchi, who also edits a newspaper in northern Iran, was sentenced by a revolutionary court in the Gilan area.
His sentence, criticised by human rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders, comes a day after an online 'day of action' to secure his release.
Iranian authorities have recently clamped down on the growing popularity of weblogs, restricting access to major blogging sites from within Iran.
A second Iranian blogger, Motjaba Saminejad, who also used his website to report on bloggers' arrests, is still being held.
'Illegal and incompetent'
A spokesman for Reporters Without Borders, which tracks press freedom across the globe, described Mr Sigarchi's sentence as "harsh" and called on Iranian President Mohammed Khatami to work to secure his immediate release.
"The authorities are trying to make an example of him," the organisation said in a statement.
"By handing down this harsh sentence against a weblogger, their aim is to dissuade journalists and internet-users from expressing themselves online or contacting foreign media." 
The eyes of 8m bloggers are going to be more focused on Iran since Sigarchi's sentence, not less 
Curt Hopkins,
Committee to Protect Bloggers
In the days before his arrest Mr Sigarchi gave interviews to the BBC Persian Service and the US-funded Radio Farda.
Iranian authorities have arrested about 20 online journalists during the current crackdown.
They accused Mr Sigarchi of a string of crimes against Iranian state, including espionage, insulting the founder of Iran's Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei, and current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Mr Sigarchi's lawyer labelled the revolutionary court "illegal and incompetent" and called for a retrial in a public court.
Campaign
Mr Sigarchi was sentenced one day after an online campaign highlighted his case in a day of action in defence of bloggers around the world.
The Committee to Protect Bloggers designated 22 February 2005 as Free Mojtaba and Arash Day. 
Around 8m people write blogs on websites based around the world
Around 10,000 people visited the campaign's website during the day. About 12% of users were based in Iran, the campaign's director told the BBC News Website.
Curt Hopkins said Mr Sigarchi's sentence would help the campaign spread its message.
"The eyes of 8 million bloggers are going to be more focused on Iran since Sigarchi's sentence, not less.
"The mullahs won't be able to make a move without it be spread across the blogosphere."
And we should be surprised?
Hat Tip: John Dvorak
Once-mighty Putin is now looking vulnerable
Captain Ed over at Captain's Quarter's writes about Russian President Putin and his problems in the homeland.
Putin May Have More Problems On Horizon
One of the closely-watched aspects of George Bush's European diplomacy has been his relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Prior to his latest trip to the continent, critics wondered if Bush would press Putin to return democracy to Russian politics, and were surprised when Bush publicly and pointedly did so. However, the London Telegraph reports tonight that Bush's advice may have come too late, as Putin faces new pressures at home that threaten to undermine his increasingly autocratic rule:
Once known as the Teflon president for his deft handling of public opinion, he is increasingly seen as a ham-fisted leader who is out of touch with the needs of ordinary Russians.Read the rest of Captain Ed's commentary here.In the past two months hundreds of thousands have demonstrated throughout Russia to denounce the president's policies, the largest protests in the country for more than five years.
His popularity in the army and police - formerly mainstays of his support - are reputed to be falling. In a panicked attempt to plug his leaking support, the president ordered army salaries to be increased by 20 per cent and police pay by up to 50 per cent.
But such measures will hurt an economy that has already lost some shine and could further fuel demands by millions of other Russians for a greater slice of the pie.
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Redux 2005
BBC has Infocom's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Ajit Monteiro says: "At the BBC they have the Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, Infocom game from 1984, written by Douglas Adams. Its a text based adventure game, reminiscent of games from way back when. The two episode game works pretty well even ported to flash."
In the '80s, I spent many hours playing this game. It was a lot of fun, but I got stuck (I think I was trying to convince the depressed robot to open a spaceship door for me) and never finished it. The BBC version I'm playing comes with graphics (created by people who entered a BBC contest to port the game to Flash), which might make it a little easier to solve the puzzles this time around.
Now, I want Zork and some of the other INFOCOM games!Oh BTW play the game here.
H/T Boing Boing
HOW TO rotosccope a bad-azz realistic light-saber effect into your movies
Lots of companies sell replica light-sabers that light up and stuff, but none of them look particularly convincing when you film yourself swinging them around like an out-of-control Star Wars Kid. That's because the actors in the Star Wars movies don't actually have buzzing wands of light in their hands while they're shooting: instead, they swing sticks at each other, and later on, effects people matte in a rotoscoped beam of light.
This website explains exactly how to matte in your own light-saber effects on your homemade movies, from how to construct an easy-to-rotoscope saber right up to using video-editing software to add the light-beam.
Hat Tip: Boing Boing
Ok! How do they make Yoda move?
Ventura County: Wildlife officials kill big cat
The Ventura County Star (registration required) reports that Federal game officials shot and killed a tiger near a Moorpark park this morning, after tracking it through residential and agricultual neighborhoods for more than a week.
"If the cat had gotten out of this area, there's no telling what could have happened," said Troy Swauger, California Department of Fish and Game official. "It's clear it was a public safety issue."
Read the rest here.
Star Wars Episode 3 Screenshots
Check out these screenshots from the soon to be released Star Wars Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith:
Click here.
California City Lights
Check out a map of California showing population centers as determined by lights:
Click here for the Map (a pdf file).
H/T John Dvorak
Click here for the Map (a pdf file).
H/T John Dvorak
Don't Chase that One Down, Andre
In preparation for the Dubai Duty Free Men’s Open, tennis legend, Andre Agassi and the world No. 1, Roger Federer, couldn’t resist the temptation to have a friendly knock about on the world’s highest tennis court, the helipad of Burj Al Arab, the world’s most luxurious hotel.
Both players are in Dubai to compete in the US$1 million Dubai Duty Free Men’s Open, which is the first round of the two-week Dubai Tennis Championships.
| Click on the images to enlarge them. | ||
 |  | |
 |  | |
OH MY!
The New iPods
Yep, new iPods! Here’s the run down:
- A new 6GB iPod mini (no color screen!)
- The 4GB iPod mini gets a price cut to $199
- The 20GB iPod stays at $299
- The iPod photo now comes in two sizes: a 30GB version which goes for $349 and a 60GB version which sells for $449
Reservists do battle in family court
Phyllis Schlafly has written a piece regarding one of the many problems with the child support system in the U.S.
The burden is especially tough on military fathers and begs for some Congressional Legislative relief.
Read her column here.
The burden is especially tough on military fathers and begs for some Congressional Legislative relief.
Read her column here.
Despite new technology, Border Patrol overwhelmed
USA Today has an article on the overwhelmed Mexican-USA Border.
Same old story.
Check out the quote from Delay at the end.
Same old story.
Check out the quote from Delay at the end.
The Captain vs Rall
Michelle Malkin opines about the feud over at Captain's Quarters:
"Liberal bigot Ted Rall is now sneering at blogger Ed Morrissey's day job.
"Liberal bigot Ted Rall is now sneering at blogger Ed Morrissey's day job.
Keep stepping in it, Ted. It's the only (mildly) funny thing you do."
The Truth is spoken.
Islamic Saudi Academy = Hatred High
Captain Ed over at Captains Quarters has an excellent piece on Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, an American citizen charged with plotting to assassinate President Bush and trying to establish an al Qaeda cell in the United States.
Read the Captain's story and commentary here.
When will the United States hold the Saudi government accountable for the fostering and support of a terrorist school in the United States? When will the Justice Department close "Hatred High" in the interests of National Security?
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Success Is When All The Right People Hate You
Ted Rall should talk (remember people who live in glass houses.... something about throwing stones).
Captain Ed over at Captain's Quarters gives him a more than adequate slap retort:
"So his problem is that he expected bloggers to exist only to agree with his radical beliefs. Of course, that's Rall's idea of free speech. He can criticize anyone he likes, including me, but when people criticize Eason Jordan for making unsubtantiated allegations of assassination strategies about our military, all of a sudden it's McCarthyism. (I notice that Rall does the same thing, but Rall doesn't run one of the largest news organizations in the world.)
Rall, as usual, rants incoherently about how we're ideologically disinclined to hold journalistic "conglomerates" accountable right after we've done exactly that with CBS (Viacom) and CNN (Time Warner). Unfortunately, Rall appears ideologically unable to coexist with the truth, but as anyone who has had the unpleasant experience of reading Rall in the past knows, that condition appears incurable in his case. Rall doesn't really even have enough of a connection to reality to enrage; he just provides amusement, like a crazy old uncle locked in his rec room, typing and muttering about all of the people out to get him. Too bad he's not important enough for it, and that he doesn't even know it."
So, Ted how about knocking off the ad hominems towards bloggers and criticise us and your bosses over at the Universal Press Syndicate (AKA MSM) on the basis/merits of our arguments. You seem to do that everyday with your cartoons.
Captain Ed over at Captain's Quarters gives him a more than adequate slap retort:
"So his problem is that he expected bloggers to exist only to agree with his radical beliefs. Of course, that's Rall's idea of free speech. He can criticize anyone he likes, including me, but when people criticize Eason Jordan for making unsubtantiated allegations of assassination strategies about our military, all of a sudden it's McCarthyism. (I notice that Rall does the same thing, but Rall doesn't run one of the largest news organizations in the world.)
Rall, as usual, rants incoherently about how we're ideologically disinclined to hold journalistic "conglomerates" accountable right after we've done exactly that with CBS (Viacom) and CNN (Time Warner). Unfortunately, Rall appears ideologically unable to coexist with the truth, but as anyone who has had the unpleasant experience of reading Rall in the past knows, that condition appears incurable in his case. Rall doesn't really even have enough of a connection to reality to enrage; he just provides amusement, like a crazy old uncle locked in his rec room, typing and muttering about all of the people out to get him. Too bad he's not important enough for it, and that he doesn't even know it."
So, Ted how about knocking off the ad hominems towards bloggers and criticise us and your bosses over at the Universal Press Syndicate (AKA MSM) on the basis/merits of our arguments. You seem to do that everyday with your cartoons.
Atlanticist small talk is all that's left - Mark Steyn on Bush's European Sojourn
Mark Steyn has a great piece on Bush's fence-mending trip to Europe:
"...But, in the broader sense vis-à-vis Europe, the administration is changing the tone precisely because it understands there can be no substance. And, if there's no substance that can be changed, what's to quarrel about? International relations are like ex-girlfriends: if you're still deluding yourself you can get her back, every encounter will perforce be fraught and turbulent; once you realise that's never gonna happen, you can meet for a quick decaf latte every six – make that 10 – months and do the whole hey-isn't-it-terrific-the-way-we're-able-to-be-such-great-friends routine because you couldn't care less. You can even make a few pleasant noises about her new romance (the so-called European Constitution) secure in the knowledge he's a total loser..."
Well Said!
H/T Instapundit.com
Effects of plaque disclosing agents on esthetic restorative materials used in pediatric dentistry.
It is common to use red and purple fuchsin dyes to aid in plaque detection for children. The advent of tooth colored restorations for children warrant a caveat:
J Clin Pediatr Dent. 2005; 29(2): 143-6
The aim of study was to evaluate the color stability of tooth-colored restorative materials usually used in pediatric dentistry after the application of two plaque disclosing agents. Twenty specimens of each material: a resin-modified glass ionomer, a composite resin and an ion-releasing composite resin, were prepared. Baseline color evaluation was performed, samples were exposed to the plaque disclosing agents: a basic fuchsin solution and a fluorescent dye, and new color evaluations were made. The resin-modified glass ionomer stained with basic fuchsin presented the greatest color change in the present study, and the fluorescent dye did not show statistically significant changes among the restorative materials. In conclusion, basic fuchsin dyes should be carefully used in children with a great number of tooth-colored restorations.
Queen Elizabeth won't go To Prince Charles' Wedding!
he Queen will not attend the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, it has been announced.
But Buckingham Palace has denied that the Queen is snubbing her son's wedding.
The palace stressed that she would be going to the church blessing after the civil ceremony.
The couple are due to get married at the Guildhall in Windsor on April 8.
A Palace spokeswoman said: "The Queen's prime concern is that the civil ceremony should be as low key as possible, in line with the couple's wishes.
"Clearly if the Queen were to attend, the occasion would no longer be, by definition, low key."
Asked if it was a snub, the spokeswoman said: "The Queen is attending the service of dedication and paying for the reception - that is not a snub."
Prince William and Harry, along with Mrs Parker Bowles's children will be present civil ceremony.
Constitutional historian Dr David Starkey said the Queen's decision was "unprecedented" in Royal history.
Shameful conduct on the part of a mother for her son. And the U.K really needs a monarchy?
Is Wednesday the day for new iPods?
Engadget reports that tomorrow may be the big day for Apple to announce the new iPods:
Everyone seems pretty sure that tomorrow is going to be the big day when Apple unloads a mess of new iPods on us, and it’s seeming increasingly likely that whatever changes they’re making to the lineup involve the iPod photo in a big way. So far the iPod photo has been more or less a disappointment for Apple—they haven’t sold nearly as well as expected, and they definitely haven’t generated anywhere close to the buzz of the iPod shuffle—but it looks like Apple might be sweetening the deal, and we’re not just talking about a price cut, either. Gary Johnson, the CEO of PortalPlayer (the company which makes the chipset found in the iPod and iPod photo), has been talking to CNET about a bunch of new features his company is adding to their technology, like the ability for an MP3 player to connect directly to a digital camera to copy over photos (which sounds like some sort of USB-On-The-Go capability) or to a printer so you can make prints. He’s not saying that these are going to definitely though he’s not saying that these are going to surface in some future iPod photo, but he also not saying that they’re not, either. An Apple spokesperson reportedly had no comment.
We can only hope!
L.A. Observed: Estrich threatens libel suit
Susan Estrich's blog about the L.A. Times has come to life. In today's installment, she COMPLAINS IN ALL CAPS about the lack of female editors at the paper and suggests that's why no women are running for mayor. Her news is that, after a bitter email exchange with LAT opinion editor Michael Kinsley, big-name Hollywood lawyer 'BERT FIELDS IS REPRESENTING ME IN A POTENTIAL LIBEL SUIT AGAINST THEM"
Ok!
Susan Relax!
Ok!
Susan Relax!
Susan Estrich's Blog is Up and Running!
Read it here.
L.A. Observed has an interesting article, including links, on the Estrich - Kinsley fight here.
Group pushes for methamphetamine bill to combat use
EVERETT -- Ashley Kerwin knows firsthand how powerful the grip of methamphetamines can be.
She was in high school when she first tried meth, and was addicted for nearly a year before her parents sent her to an inpatient treatment center in Mexico, where she was finally able to quit.
Now 19 and sober for several years, Kerwin speaks regularly about battling her addiction, the toll it took on her family and the growing problem of meth use in the region.
Yesterday, she and her parents joined law enforcement officials, politicians and community members to push for passage of a bill that would expand federal funding for programs that combat meth addiction. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and dubbed the "Arrest Methamphetamine Act," would provide federal grant money to states that enact a law limiting the sales of pseudoephedrine and other easily accessible "precursor products" often used to manufacture methamphetamine.
The grant money -- $100 million in 2006 and 2007 and $200 million a year through 2010 -- would be used primarily for prevention and community-based education, interventions, hiring and training specialized law-enforcement officers and seizures and cleanups of meth labs.
Meth use is a growing problem, especially in places such as Snohomish County, where law enforcement officials report seeing a dramatic increase in use of the drug in the past decade.
Meth addiction is often tied to other crimes, including domestic violence, assault, shoplifting and identity theft, said Jerry Burke, the deputy chief of investigations for the Everett Police Department. Often "the generating factor is somebody's need to feed their habit," he said.
As much as 35 percent of the criminal cases in Snohomish County courts are methamphetamine-related, according to county statistics.
"The cost is horrendous," said Snohomish County Sheriff Rick Bart. "I don't think we can even put a dollar sign on it."
The extra federal money is necessary, Bart said, because counties around the state are struggling to deal with the growing meth problem at a time when they have been seeing "consistent and continual reductions" in the amount of money devoted to fighting meth production and helping addicts get treatment.
This legilsation (S. 430) would urge the President to negotiate a bilateral agreement with the Canadian government to curb the Northern Border meth precursor trafficking problem. In addition, Cantwell's legislation authorizes $100 million in anti-meth funding for the current federal fiscal year, and establishes a stable federal funding source to combat meth abuse through 2010.
Cantwell's legislation also requires the U.S. Attorney General to establish a national clearinghouse of information, so that when one state or local jurisdiction finds an approach to the meth problem that works, the solution is shared nationwide. The national clearinghouse will help establish “best practices” and provide technical assistance for these state and local agencies.
Under this legislation, funds would be divided under a new formula grant for states with programs to combat meth. In order to be eligible to receive a grant, states must have a comprehensive, long-term plan to address meth use, manufacture and sale, and have enacted or be in the process of enacting a law to limit the sales of precursor products (the commercially available products used to make meth, such as pseudoephedrine). Under Cantwell's bill, states would have flexibility and discretion to decide how to use grant funds. States receiving a grant would be allowed to fund a broad range of activities, including: seizing clandestine labs and cleaning up the hazardous materials they often contain; hiring officers and conducting specialized training for law enforcement; supporting community policing; and promoting awareness, prevention and community based education, among other strategies.
This is a start!
Monday, February 21, 2005
Drugs seen as dentist's undoing
The Dallas News (registration required) has this tragic story of a dentist and drug addiction:
Friends tell of descent from dynamo in school to gaunt suspect in jail
07:56 AM CST on Monday, February 21, 2005
The contrast in Jill Reitmeyer's two photographs is striking. A lively, well-coiffed dentistry school graduate smiling a decade ago for her college yearbook – compared with a gaunt, disheveled inmate staring blankly in a December jail mug shot. They capture a once beautiful and successful Dallas dentist who spiraled downward in recent years – to a life haunted by addictions, neglected patients and charges that she illegally sold narcotics prescriptions from her home. "I want to sit down and cry. It's just such a waste," said Mary Lou Anders, a friend and former employee. "That woman had so much potential, so much to give. I cannot understand why someone would go from where she was to this." Once, Dr. Reitmeyer, 43, owned a $280,000 home near Love Field. She appeared healthy. Had a bustling Lemmon Avenue dentistry practice. Raised prize show dogs. Today, all that's gone. A Dallas County grand jury indicted her in December on four felony charges. She's accused of selling fraudulent prescriptions to an undercover police officer, as authorities suspect she did with numerous people. They also say the Baylor College of Dentistry graduate practiced without a license. From jail, Dr. Reitmeyer declined an interview. Her attorneys didn't return calls. Court documents and interviews tell the tale of a professional, vibrant woman who wasted away, losing everything. What neither the court papers nor her friends can answer is why. Some think a teenage addiction resurfaced, while others wonder whether an illness caused depression. "It's a shock and bewilderment to everyone who's ever known her," Ms. Anders said. Those who lived around Dr. Reitmeyer on hilly Labron Avenue – a quiet area but for the periodic roar of airliners overhead – knew something was wrong. They'd seen their neighbor change since 2002. She lost weight, began acting strangely. The immaculate flowerbeds around her brick home – with its Sub-Zero refrigerator and hardwood flooring – grew unkempt. The neighbors' worry grew when the flood of traffic to the home began. People came at all hours. Some flashed headlights to get Dr. Reitmeyer's attention. Neighbors saw her or her one-time romantic partner, Stephanie Scarth, making hand-to-hand transactions in the driveway, court records show. "We just didn't know what to do," said one neighbor, who asked not to be identified. "It was just really, really getting annoying," They started taking pictures, documenting license plates. Suspecting drug sales, they complained to police. A decade earlier, Dr. Reitmeyer was an attractive, smart and friendly dentistry student, former college classmates said. They recall that while she was older than many graduates – age 34 for her doctorate in dental surgery – she was also more lively. She made them laugh. At senior skits, Dr. Reitmeyer arranged several ultraviolet dental lights like a tanning bed. Then she came out in a bikini. "She was really always high-spirited," said William Roper, a Dallas dentist and a fellow 1995 graduate. "She was pretty fun, always wore a smile." The student yearbook shows Dr. Reitmeyer posing in an honor society. Another picture shows her in medical scrubs, grinning after a test. She looked fit, tan – happy. The alumni office, helping plan a 10-year reunion, recently mailed RSVP requests to Dr. Reitmeyer's class. She never responded. Around the time police got complaints from neighbors, Dr. Reitmeyer left her practice after erratic behavior and a dispute with her business partner. She had for years shared the office – in a Lemmon Avenue strip mall – with Dr. Troy Carmichael. He asked her to leave. Ms. Anders, a former hygienist, said Dr. Reitmeyer started missing work. Her patients suffered. The state dental board began an investigation and was receiving complaints. Some patients paid for work that had to be finished elsewhere. Another needed work redone. Roger Reeves went to Dr. Reitmeyer a year ago to have a bridge replaced and a tooth capped. After preparation, she told him she'd finish later. Months went by, and nothing happened, Mr. Reeves said. The dentist he once adored left him "walking around like a Halloween jack-o'-lantern." It wasn't always this way. Jane Bishkin, a Dallas lawyer who went to Dr. Reitmeyer from 1997 until 2000, remembers her as professional and attentive. She cracked jokes with patients, made them comfortable. She wore a white medical coat, her name proudly embroidered on the front. These agencies offer help with addiction: "She seemed like someone who had everything going for her," Ms. Bishkin said. Dr. Reitmeyer had once before left the practice, in 2003, reportedly to get help for alcohol and crack cocaine abuse. It was there she met Ms. Scarth. Most suspected a relapse. Ms. Anders recalls when the pair raised one of Dr. Reitmeyer's beloved Cavalier King Charles spaniels together. Until a recent jail visit, she hadn't seen Dr. Reitmeyer in months, since driving her to a flight for her father's funeral. Flat broke, a thin Dr. Reitmeyer had borrowed $60. She then asked Ms. Anders to deliver $20 to Ms. Scarth, who abandoned a husband, two young boys and an $800,000 Plano home to live with Dr. Reitmeyer. Dr. Carmichael, too, fondly remembers better times. Now he's tired of the ordeal. "I just want it to go away," he said, declining to discuss the end of their partnership. By late April, Dr. Carmichael told police he suspected Dr. Reitmeyer had stolen checks from his office. Dr. Reitmeyer had financial troubles. In May, she unsuccessfully filed for bankruptcy for the third time in 12 months. A trustee called her filings "an arguable fraud." The same month, narcotics detectives got a complaint from a pharmacy asked to fill a prescription signed by Dr. Reitmeyer. An employee noticed that the dentist's federal drug license was expired. Another request signed by Dr. Reitmeyer came a day earlier. It was for promethazine with codeine – a cold and cough drug usually dispensed by a medical doctor – and Xanax, an anxiety medication. Prescriptions appeared on Dr. Carmichael's stationery, but his telephone number had been scratched out, replaced by Dr. Reitmeyer's home line. The woman trying to buy the drugs told police that Dr. Reitmeyer, working from a computer next to her kitchen sink, authorized the drugs when the woman claimed to have an abscessed tooth. Other pharmacies reported suspicions, too. Promethazine with codeine is often abused as a street drug, so police suspected Dr. Reitmeyer was selling the prescriptions to pay for her own habit. Undercover detective Bonita Morgan knocked on Dr. Reitmeyer's door July 15. She told Ms. Scarth that a friend sent her. Once inside, the detective filled out a patient form. There were no signs of dentistry equipment. The detective then saw Dr. Reitmeyer in a back room with a syringe, "possibly shooting up," records show. Dr. Reitmeyer then emerged, wearing rubber gloves, and looked into the detective's mouth. Without probing further, she diagnosed an infected tooth. She prescribed an antibiotic – and the suspicious promethazine with codeine. The price: $50. The detective, who had no tooth condition, left $60 because Dr. Reitmeyer couldn't make change. The police returned in September, after Dr. Reitmeyer's license expired, to buy $100 more. The detective noticed a glass "crack pipe" on a living-room table, records show. Dr. Reitmeyer sold her $200 worth of drugs a month later. In mid-November, detectives raided the home. They seized numerous items, including patient files, sample pill packets, crack pipes and other drug paraphernalia. Dr. Reitmeyer lost the house to foreclosure about this time. Police reports and neighbors describe a bizarre scene inside: clothes left behind, filthy conditions and a large hole sliced into the master bedroom floor. Soon, few knew Dr. Reitmeyer's whereabouts. The new owner found $15,000 in damage at the home – including strange symbols and slogans painted in cabinets and on walls. One read, "All ways and always." The four felony indictments followed in December. Dr. Reitmeyer was on the run more than a month after a judge ruled $1,500 bail was too low. Last month, sheriff's deputies arrested her at the Candlewood Suites on Interstate 35E north of Mockingbird Lane. Ms. Scarth – who hasn't been charged with a crime – was still there two days later, seen digging around the driver's side floorboard of Dr. Reitmeyer's Ford Explorer. She looked tired. Her skin was blotchy, her hair greasy and her nails dirty. She wore a CIA cap and was dressed in designer, if slightly dirty, clothes. She said she believed Sen. John McCain was communicating with her from a television. She questioned whether the world was round and said she saw angels and demons – some of which once rose from Dr. Reitmeyer's prized spaniels. They are no longer romantic but remain close, she said, and both miss the home on Labron Avenue. "That back yard of hers is a modern-day Garden of Eden," she said, her hands trembling. She worries about Dr. Reitmeyer, who remains in jail, unable to post her $20,000 bond. She faces up to 10 years in prison. No trial date has been set. Asked why her friend's practice fell apart, Ms. Scarth replied, "She just gave up." 
Jill Reitmeyer's jail mug shot (right) shows how much she's changed from her days at Baylor College of Dentistry, where she graduated in 1995. 
Baylor College of Dentistry A picture from Jill Reitmeyer's 1995 college yearbook shows her grinning after a test. Her former classmates describe her as an attractive, smart and friendly student. Resources
Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse: 214-522-8600 or www.gdcada.org
Texas Department of State Health Services: 1-877-9-NODRUG or www.tcada.state.tx.us 
RANDY ELI GROTHE / DMN Jill Reitmeyer lost her $280,000 home on Labron Avenue near Love Field to foreclosure.
Estrich vs. Kinsley (and the L.A. Times)
Justin Levine over at Calblog has a good piece on the war between University of Southern California Law Professor Susan Estrich and Michael Kinsley, Editorial Editor of the Los Angeles Times.
"Patterico notes that Susan Estrich has joined the L.A. Times bias watch with a new blog.
What some readers might not realize is that Estrich's site seems to be a salvo in an increasingly personal war between Estrich and LA Times' editor Michael Kinsley.
This is why I predict that Estrich's site won't amount to much. It pretends to be railing against an institution, but it is probably just a temporary niche-blog that was likely created as a way to gripe about a personal spat over Kinsley's decision not to run specific pieces/authors that Estrich champions.
I'd be happy to be proven wrong though."
Estrich's site is located here.
Dental Laboratory Industry Feels the Sting of Global Competition.
A Press Release from Keri Kramer, Director of Communications Chicago Dental Society:
Dental Laboratory Industry Feels the Sting of Global Competition.
Consortium formed to tackle issues crucial to the survival of the industry.
Changes to the dental technician curriculum important focus of their efforts.
Dental technicians, who work hand-in-hand with dentists to create crowns, dentures and other oral appliances, are facing a serious crisis that could result in a once lucrative and creative field withering on the vine, at least in the United States.
Dental laboratories, which employ technicians, are increasingly facing competition from foreign competitors, especially those in China and the Philippines. Over the last few years, all five of the top major dental laboratories have moved part of their operations to other countries.
“The mom-and-pop labs are in danger of disappearing,” says renowned clinician and educator Dr. Gordon Christensen, who is spearheading an effort to revitalize the industry, together with UCLA’s College of Dentistry. “They can’t compete with the major labs who are now able to offer a lower-cost product with a faster turnaround, all while potentially increasing their profit margin.”
The dental laboratory industry produces $5 billion in sales annually and employs more than 52,000. The majority of these technicians work for independent businesses.
But labs are not the only ones who stand to lose if the U.S. industry falters. Dental product manufacturers who sell to labs are concerned, and colleges and universities that train dental technicians are cutting their programs. In Illinois, only one dental technician program remains, at Southern Illinois University.
Dr. Gordon Christensen and Dr. William Yancey, assistant dean at UCLA’s School of Dentistry, have organized a consortium of dentists, dental laboratory technicians, dental industry professionals, administrators and educators to tackle issues critical to the survival of the dental laboratory industry. They will hold their first meeting February 22–23 in Chicago.
Dr. Gordon Christensen asked me to pass the following information along to media who would be attending our Midwinter Meeting. To follow up with Dr. Christensen, please call his office at (801) 226-6569 or call the other organizer of this conference, Dr. William Yancey at (310) 206-7557.
So, what will the future hold for independent dental laboratories? Competition from off-shore dental laboratories, implant technology and in-dentist office CAD-CAM restoration fabrication may reduce the volume of units of both fixed and removeable prostheses.
Stay tuned!
Methamphetamine Raid in New Mexico
The Alamogordo News in New Mexico has a good story about a local raid and how the small labs manufacture methamphetamine:
BOLES ACRES — Some might call the planning overkill.
Those in the business of trying to keep Alamogordo and Otero County streets clean of drugs take nothing for granted, and they’re not in too much of a hurry. They say you can’t be too careful.
On Thursday, undercover officers with the New Mexico State Police/Alamogordo and the Las Cruces NMSP Tactical Team, together with officers with the NMSP, the Otero County Sheriff’s Department and the Alamogordo Department of Public Safety executed a search warrant on a residence at 13 Sage Ave. in Boles Acres.
Jason Hines, 32, and Amanda Graham, 27, both of that address, were arrested and each was charged with single counts of trafficking by manufacture of methamphetamine; conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine; possession of drug paraphernalia; and child abuse and neglect.
More than a dozen undercover officers took part in the planning and execution of the raid and it didn’t just happen on a whim.
Two surveillance trips were made on the couple in previous weeks, and undercover agents decided there were enough indications of a meth lab in action to warrant an official visit.
In the morning briefing, before the raid, team leaders crafted a bust plan and explained everything to all members of the team. Each piece of the plan was made clear and every member had his own task. Little was left to question. Contingency plans were made and special signals were put in place.
“We’re not in a hurry,” said a NMSP Tactical Team leader, “we’re not breaking down any doors.
“Any questions or concerns?” he asked. “There’s not supposed to be any elderly or any children in there.”
Before the agents grabbed their gear and suited up, the undercover officer in charge read the New Mexico State Police policy regarding the use of deadly force, bringing home the gravity of the situation soon to be at hand: “Commissioned personnel may use deadly force in defense of their lives, the lives of others or to arrest dangerous fleeing felons who present an immediate threat to others and whose capture is not imminent. Dangerous fleeing felons are persons who pose a threat of death or seriously bodily injury to the officer or to other citizens.”
“The tweakers, they’re doing a red P cook,” said a local NMSP undercover agent in advance of the raid.
“Tweaker” is slang for meth user. “Red P” is slang for red phosphorous, one of the precursors of a homemade brand of methamphetamine, which continues to grow in popularity despite concerted efforts from law enforcement on federal, regional, state, county and city levels to stifle its manufacture and use.
In police jargon, a precursor is one of a number of chemicals or substances used in conjunction with others to form another substance, i.e. usually methamphetamine (speed). Some of the precursor chemicals for the manufacture of methamphetamine include lye (usually in the form of Red Devil lye), iodine, acetone, alcohol, camp fuel (Coleman white gas), pseudofed (the cold medication that actually gets converted into methamphetamine), and car starting fluid (used for the ether it contains).
Tweakers also need red phosphorous for the manufacturing process and they get what they need from the striker panels on matchbooks. Lots of matchbooks.
It was decided the entry team would all be wearing oxygen masks and tanks, in addition to their body armor and weapons.
“First, we are dealing with meth users,” said the agent in charge, “who are inherently dangerous because the meth makes them paranoid. Next,” he added, “the lab itself has a lot of explosive hazards and chemical hazards. There’s lots of solvents that make the air explosive.”
A phalanx of police vehicles traveled to Boles Acres and stopped just outside the neighborhood. The entry team, suited up in gas masks, body armor and automatic weapons, rode the rest of the way on tracks attached to the sides of a large Ford SUV.
Two undercover agents in blue jeans and T-shirts, comprising the contact team, knocked on the door at 13 Sage Ave. The air was taut with the agents’ first approach, but the situation turned quickly into a clean, safe raid as the first subject, Hines, answered the door and without ado came outside and was placed into custody. Two other subjects quickly followed, Graham and an unidentified 16-year-old girl.
“They may have a shotgun or a thirty-ought-six inside the door,” the undercover agent said, “and you just never know what’s going to happen when you’re dealing with meth users. Some of these people are up (awake) for days at a time and their judgment is impaired from lack of sleep and the drugs themselves.”
Through a quick interview with Hines, officers determined there were no bombs or booby traps or anything crazy waiting for law enforcement personnel to stumble upon as sometimes happens with meth manufacturers.
After initial contact with the suspects was made and all persons were cleared from the residence, an air assessment team of two officers gears up in gas masks and Tyvek suits. Two additional agents suit up as well in case a rescue is needed.
The first two agents enter the residence with test equipment and check for a number of things, including oxygen and phosphine gas levels, airborne hydrochloric acid and ammonia gas levels. The second pair of agents waits near the front door. No one is allowed in the residence by themselves. Everyone is on the buddy system.
Once the assessment has been made and deemed reasonably safe, all four agents enter the home and begin dismantling and packing up the evidence to be placed outside the home on large tarpaulins spread on the ground for that purpose.
At this point fire fighters with Boles Acres Search and Rescue took a deep breath and began to relax. They were on hand standing by in case agents or tweakers caused a spark, fire or explosion.
“The air was fine in there,” said the agent in charge. “There were no indicators there were any gases or anything.”
The states continue enforcement on a case by case basis.
What about Congressional action to limit the importation and transportation of the precursor chemicals?
| Two arrested in Boles Acres methamphetamine lab raid By Ellis Neel, Staff Photographer/Writer Feb 18, 2005, 12:22 pm |
Those in the business of trying to keep Alamogordo and Otero County streets clean of drugs take nothing for granted, and they’re not in too much of a hurry. They say you can’t be too careful.
 |
| Another meth lab busted – Members of the New Mexico State Police Tactical Team out of Las Cruces search and secure the area around a residence at 13 Sage Ave. in Boles Acres following initial contact with two suspects. Ellis Neel/Daily News |
On Thursday, undercover officers with the New Mexico State Police/Alamogordo and the Las Cruces NMSP Tactical Team, together with officers with the NMSP, the Otero County Sheriff’s Department and the Alamogordo Department of Public Safety executed a search warrant on a residence at 13 Sage Ave. in Boles Acres.
Jason Hines, 32, and Amanda Graham, 27, both of that address, were arrested and each was charged with single counts of trafficking by manufacture of methamphetamine; conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine; possession of drug paraphernalia; and child abuse and neglect.
More than a dozen undercover officers took part in the planning and execution of the raid and it didn’t just happen on a whim.
Two surveillance trips were made on the couple in previous weeks, and undercover agents decided there were enough indications of a meth lab in action to warrant an official visit.
In the morning briefing, before the raid, team leaders crafted a bust plan and explained everything to all members of the team. Each piece of the plan was made clear and every member had his own task. Little was left to question. Contingency plans were made and special signals were put in place.
“We’re not in a hurry,” said a NMSP Tactical Team leader, “we’re not breaking down any doors.
 |
| Riding the rails – Members of the New Mexico State Police Tactical Team out of Las Cruces ride specially built running boards into a drug-bust scene Thursday in Boles Acres. Ellis Neel/Daily News |
“Any questions or concerns?” he asked. “There’s not supposed to be any elderly or any children in there.”
Before the agents grabbed their gear and suited up, the undercover officer in charge read the New Mexico State Police policy regarding the use of deadly force, bringing home the gravity of the situation soon to be at hand: “Commissioned personnel may use deadly force in defense of their lives, the lives of others or to arrest dangerous fleeing felons who present an immediate threat to others and whose capture is not imminent. Dangerous fleeing felons are persons who pose a threat of death or seriously bodily injury to the officer or to other citizens.”
“The tweakers, they’re doing a red P cook,” said a local NMSP undercover agent in advance of the raid.
“Tweaker” is slang for meth user. “Red P” is slang for red phosphorous, one of the precursors of a homemade brand of methamphetamine, which continues to grow in popularity despite concerted efforts from law enforcement on federal, regional, state, county and city levels to stifle its manufacture and use.
In police jargon, a precursor is one of a number of chemicals or substances used in conjunction with others to form another substance, i.e. usually methamphetamine (speed). Some of the precursor chemicals for the manufacture of methamphetamine include lye (usually in the form of Red Devil lye), iodine, acetone, alcohol, camp fuel (Coleman white gas), pseudofed (the cold medication that actually gets converted into methamphetamine), and car starting fluid (used for the ether it contains).
 |
| A “Red P” cook – An undercover agent in Tyvek suit and breathing apparatus brings out some evidence Thursday from a suspected meth lab at 13 Sage Ave. in Boles Acres. Ellis Neel/Daily News |
Tweakers also need red phosphorous for the manufacturing process and they get what they need from the striker panels on matchbooks. Lots of matchbooks.
It was decided the entry team would all be wearing oxygen masks and tanks, in addition to their body armor and weapons.
“First, we are dealing with meth users,” said the agent in charge, “who are inherently dangerous because the meth makes them paranoid. Next,” he added, “the lab itself has a lot of explosive hazards and chemical hazards. There’s lots of solvents that make the air explosive.”
A phalanx of police vehicles traveled to Boles Acres and stopped just outside the neighborhood. The entry team, suited up in gas masks, body armor and automatic weapons, rode the rest of the way on tracks attached to the sides of a large Ford SUV.
Two undercover agents in blue jeans and T-shirts, comprising the contact team, knocked on the door at 13 Sage Ave. The air was taut with the agents’ first approach, but the situation turned quickly into a clean, safe raid as the first subject, Hines, answered the door and without ado came outside and was placed into custody. Two other subjects quickly followed, Graham and an unidentified 16-year-old girl.
“They may have a shotgun or a thirty-ought-six inside the door,” the undercover agent said, “and you just never know what’s going to happen when you’re dealing with meth users. Some of these people are up (awake) for days at a time and their judgment is impaired from lack of sleep and the drugs themselves.”
Through a quick interview with Hines, officers determined there were no bombs or booby traps or anything crazy waiting for law enforcement personnel to stumble upon as sometimes happens with meth manufacturers.
After initial contact with the suspects was made and all persons were cleared from the residence, an air assessment team of two officers gears up in gas masks and Tyvek suits. Two additional agents suit up as well in case a rescue is needed.
The first two agents enter the residence with test equipment and check for a number of things, including oxygen and phosphine gas levels, airborne hydrochloric acid and ammonia gas levels. The second pair of agents waits near the front door. No one is allowed in the residence by themselves. Everyone is on the buddy system.
Once the assessment has been made and deemed reasonably safe, all four agents enter the home and begin dismantling and packing up the evidence to be placed outside the home on large tarpaulins spread on the ground for that purpose.
At this point fire fighters with Boles Acres Search and Rescue took a deep breath and began to relax. They were on hand standing by in case agents or tweakers caused a spark, fire or explosion.
“The air was fine in there,” said the agent in charge. “There were no indicators there were any gases or anything.”
The states continue enforcement on a case by case basis.
What about Congressional action to limit the importation and transportation of the precursor chemicals?
Delta Dental underwrites SDM’s program to increase number of minority dentists
Delta Dental which is one of the largest if not the largest dental insurance company in the United States has made a sizable donation to the Boston University School of Dental Medicine:
A recent survey of Massachusetts third-graders showed that dental decay disproportionately affects children whose families cannot afford medical insurance. Nearly half of the children surveyed who are insured through the state program MassHealth have untreated dental decay, and 16 percent have urgent needs and require immediate care. Even more alarming, doctors say, is the fact that decay is preventable with the right care — the problem is simply a lack of qualified dentists practicing in low-income areas.
Delta Dental of Massachusetts, a major insurance provider, is partnering with Boston University’s School of Dental Medicine to seek a solution. The Delta Scholars Program, launched this year with a $4 million endowment from Delta Dental, will help place dentists in low-income communities by recruiting qualified minority and inner-city applicants to SDM, and offering partial scholarships to offset the expensive cost of a dental education. Scholarship recipients will sign a contract pledging to start or join practices in underserved areas throughout the state upon graduation.
“We have a social obligation, and we take that very seriously,” says Rob Compton, the chief dental officer at Delta Dental’s Dental Services of Massachusetts. “The face of our population is changing, and we need the profession to reflect the face of the people of our state.”
The Delta Scholars Program was envisioned by SDM’s Ana Karina Mascarenhas, director of the division of dental public health, and Michelle Henshaw, director of community health programs. When looking at the higher rates of dental decay among low-income and minority populations, they found that minority dentists are statistically more likely to treat minority patients. However, there are simply not enough dentists treating these populations in Massachusetts, partly because of a dearth of minorities practicing dentistry and partly because of the prohibitive costs of dental school. “Dental students graduate with upwards of $160,000 in debt, and starting a dental clinic is even more expensive,” explains Mascarenhas. “So going to work in underserved areas and in community health centers is not affordable, even if someone wants to do it.Read the remaining article here.
KUDOS to Delta Dental of Massachusetts!
Unnecessary Epidemic - Methamphetamine Arkansas
Drug Task Force Preparing Toll-free Methamphetamine Hotline
Methamphetamine has made its way to Arkansas.
Read about the methods used by the citizens there to combat this scourage:
In 2004, the Fourth Judicial District Drug Task Force investigated 102 methamphetamine labs in Fayetteville. The cost to clean up one of these labs can range from $2,000 to $20,000 at the taxpayers’ expense, depending on the level of contamination and the size of the lab, not to mention the investigative costs and the cost of housing and prosecuting offenders.
The Methamphetamine Awareness Committee met Thursday to generate ideas of creating methamphetamine awareness among members of the community.
Assisted by Public Information Officer Shannon Gabbard of the Fayetteville Police Department, the committee finalized plans for the announcement of a toll-free meth hotline. The hotline will serve Northwest Arkansas, including Washington and Madison counties. The hotline is designed to provide citizens a way to anonymously report illegal drug activity. The main purpose of the hotline is to get the information into the right hands, allowing law enforcement to investigate the reports and begin to address the serious problem methamphetamine has created for communities.
The meth hotline is (888) 852-4908. The calls will be answered by a representative of the Fourth Judicial District Task Force, Monday through Friday during regular business hours. An answering machine will take calls beyond normal hours of operation.
Callers are asked to provide as many detail as possible about the reported drug activity. Some common information requested will include the address where the suspected drug activity is occurring, names and descriptions of the suspects involved in the activity, vehicle descriptions including vehicle license information and specific information about why the caller believes the drug activity is occurring. It will also be helpful to know if the caller has seen drug activity firsthand or if it is second-hand information. It will be crucial for the investigators to know exactly what led the caller to believe drug activity is taking place.
Read the rest here.
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Burning through Napster's collection, free, Part 3
Marv on Record has part 3 of his burning through Napster's collection series:
Burning through Napster's collection, free, Part 3
Whether or not AOL succeeds in blocking Winamp's "music-copying feature", a faster way to get the job done has surfaced.
A program called Virtuosa makes no distinction between DRMed files and non DRMed files when converting to other formats. It can convert an entire protected WMA to WAV in just a few seconds and encode to MP3 in just a few more, depending on the speed of your computer (Try the "re-recording the music as it plays" argument now!). The after your trial, the full version costs $40, so if you want the best free solution, Winamp + Output Stacker is still where it's at.
1. Download and install Virtuosa 5.0 Trial
2. If you want to convert to MP3: Download the LAME 3.97a7 encoder and put the "lame_enc.dll" in your Virtuosa\Plugins\MpgL3 folder replacing the one that is already there. This new version of the LAME encoder greatly speeds up the MP3 encoding process.
3. Load downloaded Napster protected WMAs into Virtuosa
4. Select all of your files in the "Music and Movie Database" and go to File>Convert To
5. In the "File Format Conversion" window:
a. Choose an output format (MP3, WAV, WMA)
b. Choose an output directory
c. Click the check mark
6. Burn WAVs to CD with your favorite burning program or enjoy your MP3s
If you found this useful you can help me out by completing an offer through this freeflatscreens referral. Here is some info on the offers.
Hunter S. Thompson commits suicide
"Fear and Loathing" author dead at 67
| | |
|
Woody Creek - Hunter S. Thompson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Woody Creek on Sunday night. He was 67.
Regarded as one of the most legendary writers of the 20th century, Thompson is best known for the 1972 classic "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." He is also credited with pioneering gonzo journalism - a style of writing that breaks tradition rules of news reporting and is purposefully slanted.
Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis, who is a close personal friend of Thompson, confirmed the death. His son, Juan, found him Sunday evening.Read the rest here.
Damn shame!
Los Angeles Marathon
Flap is walking the Los Angeles Marathon.
Today I walked one half of the Marathon distance here in Thousand Oaks in the rain!
Will train more during this next week and back off on the distance.
I will post my GPS indicator and my contact cell phone so everyone out there can track the Flapster and encourage me as I walk the streets of L.A.
Human 'dental chaos' linked to evolution of cooking
The NewScientist reports "Crooked and disordered teeth may be the result of people having evolved to eat relatively mushy cooked food, suggests new research."
The disarray may have developed because evolutionary pressures affecting the size and shape of both the front teeth and jaw conflict with those influencing the back teeth. This means that there is often not enough space in the human jaw to accommodate all our teeth.
By animal standards, human dentition is extraordinarily disordered, says anthropologist Peter Lucas of George Washington University in Washington DC, US.
"The only body parts requiring regular surgery are the teeth," says Lucas. "It is extraordinary that the normal development of human teeth routinely fails to produce 'ideal' dentition," he says - and no one has yet been able to offer an explanation for this phenomenon.
Mess of a mouth
Human teeth are often spatially disarrayed or "maloccluded", accounting for the huge number of people who seek treatment from orthodontists. This disarray can lead to periodontal and gum disease, because it becomes more difficult to clear food particles from the mouth.
Teeth can also be missing - wisdom teeth simply do not have enough space to fit into the jaw, and sometimes do not form at all. In contrast most other mammals - including our close relatives, the great apes - have very low frequencies of malocclusion, Lucas told New Scientist.
Lucas's theory is that human dentition began to go haywire soon after our early Homo ancestors learnt to chop and process food with simple tools and, later, to cook it. These processes greatly decrease the size and toughness of food. Lucas estimates, for example, that molars can be between 56% and 82% smaller when eating cooked potato rather than raw.
Read the rest here.
You are what you eat!
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Efficacy of articaine and lidocaine in a primary intraligamentary injection administered with a computer-controlled local anesthetic delivery system
Here is another interesting paper on Lidocaine vs Articaine (Septocaine):
Endodontology
Editor: Larz S. W. SPåNgberg
Efficacy of articaine and lidocaine in a primary intraligamentary injection administered with a computer-controlled local anesthetic delivery system
Objective The purpose of this prospective, randomized, double-blind study was to compare the anesthetic efficacy of the intraligamentary injection of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine and of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine, administered with computer-controlled local anesthetic delivery system, in mandibular posterior teeth.
Study design Using a crossover design, intraligamentary injections of 1.4 mL of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine and of 1.4 mL of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine were randomly administered with a computer-controlled local anesthetic delivery system, in a double-blind manner on the mesial and distal aspects of a mandibular first molar, at 2 separate appointments to 51 subjects. A pulp tester was used to test for anesthesia, in 2-minute cycles for 60 minutes, of the mandibular first and second molars and second premolar. Anesthesia was considered successful when 2 consecutive 80 readings (highest output) were obtained within 20 minutes.
Results Successful pulpal anesthesia was obtained 86% of the time for the first molar using the articaine solution and 74% of the time using the lidocaine solution. There were no significant differences (P>.05) between the articaine and lidocaine solutions. The mean onset times of pulpal anesthesia for the first molar were 1.3 minutes with articaine solution and 2.2 minutes with lidocaine solution. Duration of pulpal anesthesia for the first molar was 34 minutes for the articaine solution and 31 minutes for the lidocaine solution.
Conclusion The efficacy of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine was similar to the efficacy of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine for intraligamentary injections.
Endodontology
Editor: Larz S. W. SPåNgberg
Efficacy of articaine and lidocaine in a primary intraligamentary injection administered with a computer-controlled local anesthetic delivery system
Jeffrey Berlin, DDS, MS a [MEDLINE LOOKUP] |
| Abstract | TOP |
Objective The purpose of this prospective, randomized, double-blind study was to compare the anesthetic efficacy of the intraligamentary injection of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine and of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine, administered with computer-controlled local anesthetic delivery system, in mandibular posterior teeth.
Study design Using a crossover design, intraligamentary injections of 1.4 mL of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine and of 1.4 mL of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine were randomly administered with a computer-controlled local anesthetic delivery system, in a double-blind manner on the mesial and distal aspects of a mandibular first molar, at 2 separate appointments to 51 subjects. A pulp tester was used to test for anesthesia, in 2-minute cycles for 60 minutes, of the mandibular first and second molars and second premolar. Anesthesia was considered successful when 2 consecutive 80 readings (highest output) were obtained within 20 minutes.
Results Successful pulpal anesthesia was obtained 86% of the time for the first molar using the articaine solution and 74% of the time using the lidocaine solution. There were no significant differences (P>.05) between the articaine and lidocaine solutions. The mean onset times of pulpal anesthesia for the first molar were 1.3 minutes with articaine solution and 2.2 minutes with lidocaine solution. Duration of pulpal anesthesia for the first molar was 34 minutes for the articaine solution and 31 minutes for the lidocaine solution.
Conclusion The efficacy of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine was similar to the efficacy of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine for intraligamentary injections.
| Publishing and Reprint Information | TOP |
- aFormerly graduate student, Department of Endodontics. Currently private practice, endodontics, Los Angeles, Calif
- bAssistant Professor, Department of Endodontics
- cProfessor and Program Director of Graduate Endodontics, Department of Endodontics
- dAssociate Professor, Department of Oral Biology
- eProfessor and Program Director of Anesthesiology, Department of Oral Surgery, Oral Pathology, and Anesthesiology
- This article was adapted from a thesis submitted by Dr Berlin in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the MS degree at The Ohio State University. A portion of this article was presented at the 2003 Annual Session of the American Association of Endodontists, Tampa, Fla. This study was supported by research funding from the Graduate Student Research Fund, Graduate Endodontics, The Ohio State University.
- *Reprint requests: Dr John Nusstein, Department of Endodontics, College of Dentistry, 305 W 12th Avenue, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43218
- Email address: nusstein.1@osu.edu (John Nusstein)
- Columbus, Ohio
THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY - Submitted June 9, 2004.
- Accepted November 2, 2004.
Comparison of Articaine and Lidocaine used as dental local anesthetics
Here is a treatise by a Norwegian Dental Student:
Comparison of Articaine and Lidocaine used as dental local anesthetics
By Ørjan Johansen
Will it be Hertzberg vs. Villaraigosa in the Los Angeles Mayor Run-Off Electionm
Mayor Sam Yorty has two interesting stories tonight regarding the Los Angeles Mayor's Race.
First, Mayor Sam reports that LA Voice is reporting that an internal Villaraigosa poll puts Antonio at 27%, Hertzberg at 25% and the Mayor at a dismal 20%. LA Voice points out that in the current LA Weekly, Harold Meyerson writes that he thinks the Mayor won't make the runoff.
Second, Mayor Sam reports in what can only be categorized as a huge blow to the Hahn team, the LA Times (registration required) is endorsing Hertzberg and Villaraigosa in the Sunday edition of the LA Times (Not online, but in Sunday early print edition). Read the rest here.
Soooo, Mayor Poopie Hahn is trailing to make the run-off election. We can only hope!
John Fund of the Wall Street Journal Hijacking a Blogger's LapTop
Read this funny story about John Fund of the Wall Street Journal and how he hijacked a CPAC Blogger's computer, The National Debate, to file his own story on Newt Gingrich.
Boy, that MSM never quits on the Blogs!
The 2008 Presidential Election Begins
Clinton and McCain Tour Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (news - web sites) said Saturday a string of attacks killing more than 50 Iraqis in two days were failed attempts to sow sectarian strife and destabilized the country.
|
Clinton, a New York Democrat, and Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., were part of a five-member congressional delegation that meting with U.S. officials and members of Iraq (news - web sites)'s interim government.
Both Clinton and McCain have been strident critics of the Pentagon (news - web sites)'s planning and management of the war in Iraq. But Clinton said Saturday that Sunni Muslim insurgents were failing in their efforts to destabilize Iraq through sectarian violence.
Her comments came as eight suicide bombings struck in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq, killing at least 23 people and wounding dozens Saturday as Shiites celebrated their holiest day of the year. A U.S. soldier was among those killed, the military said.
On Friday, insurgents staged five attacks killing at least 36 people and Shiites blamed radical Sunni Muslim insurgents for attacking them in a string of bombings, shootings and kidnappings.
Authorities had hoped to prevent a repeat of last year's attacks during the Ashoura festival when insurgent blasts killed at least 181 people in Karbala and Baghdad.
Clinton said insurgents had also failed to disrupt Iraq's landmark Jan. 30 elections, won by the Shiite clergy-backed ticket. The United Iraqi Alliance won 140 seats in the 275-seat National Assembly.
"Not one polling place was shut down or overrun and the fact that you have these suicide bombers now, wreaking such hatred and violence while people pray, is to me, an indication of their failure," she said.
"The results of the election are a strong rebuke to those who did not believe that the Iraqi people would take this opportunity to demonstrate their own commitment to their own future."
But Sen. Lindsey Graham (news, bio, voting record), a Republican from South Carolina, said he did not believe the U.S. military would leave Iraq anytime soon.
"How long I don't know, but to leave too soon would be devastating to stay too long is unnecessary," Graham said. "I ask the American people to be patient, because what happens here will affect our security back home."
McCain said the U.S. military presence was tied to the numbers of casualties taken by American forces, but he was heartened by the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq.
"We have a long hard difficult struggle ahead of us and I'm far more optimistic now," McCain said.
In December, McCain said he had "no confidence" in Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, but he added that keeping Rumsfeld in the position was President Bush (news - web sites)'s choice, not his.
The delegation also was briefed by U.S. Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, who is leading the effort to create an independent Iraqi security force, McCain said.
The group had not left the Green Zone, home to Iraqi government institutions and the American and British embassies, because of the security situation, McCain said. They were expected to meet with U.S. troops stationed elsewhere in Iraq on Sunday.
At least 1,476 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
| |
The five senators that flew into Iraq included Clinton, McCain, Graham, Maine Republican Susan Collins and Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold.
Enough Said!Which Drinks Damage Your Teeth the Most?
WebMD has a Dental Channel article on a paper presented in the January/February Journal of the Academy of General Dentistry:
Researchers Blame Sports Drinks and Other Favorites, but Beverage Makers Find Fault With the Study
| |
Feb. 16, 2005 -- Sports drinks and other beverages are on the losing end of a new study about dental erosion.
The study appears in General Dentistry's January/February issue. It tracks tooth erosion from a wide variety of drinks including cola and noncola soft drinks, sports drinks, commercial lemonade, bottled iced tea, and black tea.
The study found that noncola soft drinks, energy/sports drinks, and commercial lemonade "showed the most aggressive dissolution effect on dental enamel," write researchers J. Anthony von Fraunhofer, MSc, PhD, FRSC, FADM, and Matthew Rogers, DDS.
Rogers is with the USAF Dental Corps; von Fraunhofer is a professor of biomaterials science in the oral and maxillofacial surgery department at the University of Maryland Baltimore Dental School.
The study's results came from marinating chunks of healthy human tooth enamel in the drinks for a total of 14 days, weighing them every 24 to 48 hours. The solution's acidity was checked, and solutions were changed daily.
The study was intended to simulate the effects of normal beverage consumption over about 13 years.
"We were totally shocked at how aggressive these were towards dental enamel," von Fraunhofer tells WebMD. "This study revealed that the enamel damage caused by noncola and sports beverages was three to 11 times greater than cola-based drinks, with energy drinks and bottled lemonades causing the most harm to dental enamel," he says, in a news release.
The study's design drew criticism from the American Beverage Association (ABA), which represents nonalcoholic commercial drinks including soft drinks, sports drinks, bottled teas and waters, and juices.
"It certainly doesn't mirror reality," Richard Adamson, the ABA's vice president for scientific and technical affairs, tells WebMD. "Nobody holds liquid in their mouth 24 hours a day, 14 days in a row."
Adamson points out that saliva helps protect the mouth, as does brushing the teeth. He says that dental erosion has multiple causes, including behavior, lifestyle, diet, and genetics. "I would say it's irresponsible to blame foods, beverages, or any single factor for dental enamel loss," he says.
Craig Horswill, PhD, agrees. He's a principal scientist at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute. "Oral health is more complicated than one simple food," Horswill tells WebMD.
In 2002, a Gatorade-funded study of sports drinks and dental erosion appeared in the journal Caries Research. Participants were 304 Ohio State University athletes, most of whom drank sports drinks while training and during competition for high-intensity sports.
"We didn't have the chess team there," says Paul Casamassimo, DDS, a professor at Ohio State's dentistry college who worked on the study. "We found no relationship between dental erosion and sports drinks at all," Casamassimo tells WebMD.
Von Fraunhofer stands by the study and says he isn't trying to trash any drink. "What we're saying is, by all means, drink what you want. Don't sit and sip [these drinks] for a long time. Rinse out with a bit of water. That will minimize the effects. The other thing to realize is that when once enamel is gone, it's gone forever. It doesn't come back."
SOURCES: von Fraunhofer, J. General Dentistry, January/February 2005. News release, Academy of General Dentistry. J. Anthony von Fraunhofer, professor of biomaterials science, University of Maryland Baltimore Dental School. Richard Adamson, vice president, Scientific and Technical Affairs, American Beverage Association. Paul Casamassimo, DDS, professor, Ohio State University's dentistry college. Craig Horswill, principal scientist, Gatorade Sports Science Institute. News release, Quaker Oats Company. Matthew Rogers, DDS, USAF Dental Corps. Caries Research, July/August 2002; vol 36: pp 281-287
One of the most frustrating occurrences in my practice of over 25 years is the lack of education regarding the destruction of teeth by these caries and erosion producing foods and drinks.
Health classes which are required in most California high schools do NOT provide the information necessary to stop the epidemic of tooth decay and periodontal disease.
Hopefully, new internet resources and the new media of Blogs among other educational media will pass along the word.
We can only hope.
Friday, February 18, 2005
Kansas Senate Unanimously Approves Anti-Methamphetamine Measure
TOPEKA, Kan. - A bill designed to fight methamphetamine manufacturing by restricting consumers' access to some cold, flu and allergy medicines won unanimous Senate approval Thursday.
The measure, which went to the House, is patterned after a 2004 Oklahoma law credited with reducing meth lab seizures in that state by 80 percent.
The bill would permit only pharmacies to sell tablets of medicines containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, common meth ingredients.
The medicines would be kept behind the pharmacy counter, and consumers would have to show identification and sign a log. Also, retailers could not sell more than three packages to a consumer at one time.
The same restrictions would apply to other medicines, such as liquid or gel caps, if ephedrine or pseudoephedrine were their only ingredients.
After the vote, Attorney General Phill Kline praised senators for acting quickly.
"Our state has been scourged by methamphetamine for far too long," Kline said in a statement.
The new law would be named for late Greenwood County Sheriff Matt Samuels, who was shot to death Jan. 19 at a home where authorities found a suspected meth lab.
In Missouri, similar legislation passed the state House on a 157-1 vote Thursday.
---_
Kansas meth bill is SB 27.
On the Net:
Kansas Legislature: http://www.kslegislature.org
The many states continue to do the work of the Congress.
Why won't the Congress of the United States take action against the Unnecesary Epidemic.
Nevada Senator Wants to Eliminate UNLV Dental School
The Las Vegas Sun reports that Nevada Senator Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas said "The state could save more than $23 million over the next two years by eliminating the dental school at UNLV and sending the students to other schools."
"It was originally sold to the Legislature as not costing us anything and the price tag has continued to escalate," Beers said. "It's not nearly a cost-effective way to create dentists as the WICHE program."
In the WICHE (Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education) program, the state financially helps Nevada students get into out-of-state professional schools such as optometry, veterinary medicine and physical therapy.
Beers, during a meeting of the Senate Finance Committee Monday, asked Ron Sparks, the Nevada director of the WICHE program, to determine how much would be saved if the dental school in Las Vegas was eliminated and the students got grants to go to out-of-state dentistry schools.
Read the rest here.
Is this a little political payback rhetoric since Beers defeated former State Senator Rawson, the founder of the UNLV dental School, in the last election?
I doubt the legislature will reverse course this early - especially with the population growth of Nevada.
USC dental researchers develop first test for predicting cavities in children
Research News being released from the American Association for the Advancement of Science:
A saliva test can predict whether children will develop cavities later in life, USC researchers say:
A simple saliva test can predict for the first time whether children will get cavities, how many cavities they will get and even which teeth are most vulnerable, University of Southern California researchers say.
Great Stuff from Paul Denny at the University of Southern California School of Dentistry.
A saliva test can predict whether children will develop cavities later in life, USC researchers say:
A simple saliva test can predict for the first time whether children will get cavities, how many cavities they will get and even which teeth are most vulnerable, University of Southern California researchers say.
Developed by a USC School of Dentistry team led by professor Paul Denny, the test quantifies the genetic component of tooth decay (caries).
Dentists have long known that even in areas with fluoridation and good oral hygiene education, some people just have bad teeth. The USC test spots the risk early, when something can be done about it.
"When we apply this to young children, it allows us to predict what might be their future caries history - the number of cavities that they'll get by, say, their late twenties or early thirties," Denny said.
The Caries Assessment and Risk Evaluation (CARE) test measures the relative proportions in saliva of different types of sugar chains, known as oligosaccharides. The same sugar chains are present on tooth surfaces.
The effect of sugar chains on the tooth's ability to resist disease is analogous to the effect of "good" and "bad" cholesterol on blood vessels. "Good" sugar chains tend to repel the bacteria that cause cavities, while "bad" sugar chains allow the bacteria to bond to a tooth and start the decay process.
Unlike cholesterol, humans' sugar chain makeup is 100 percent genetically determined and cannot be changed. The USC researchers found that the sugar chain makeup in saliva can predict a child's future cavity history to plus or minus one cavity with greater than 98 percent confidence.
Children at the far ends of the spectrum - those with exceptionally weak or strong oral hygiene and nutritional habits - may develop more or fewer cavities than the test predicts. Bad habits may cause tooth decay, but researchers caution against extreme measures: completely eliminating sugar has not been shown to prevent cavities, and over-brushing can cause enamel erosion.
The USC test suggests that genes play a greater role in tooth decay now than at any time in the past. Gross malnutrition and negligent oral hygiene are rare in developed societies: That leaves a child's genes as the prime determinant of his or her dental future.
A different version of the test identifies the particular teeth at risk, Denny said. And the test's specificity may reduce the cost and increase the effectiveness of prevention.
"It's possible that in the future - even though a kid might be at very high risk for getting a large number of caries - with the proper preventive dental care he [or she] can arrive at adulthood without any," Denny said.
A further version of the test can identify children with active tooth decay. This test has important public health implications in areas where families cannot afford routine dental exams.
"This is going to help people who are not dental professionals," said Mahvash Navazesh, associate professor in the USC School of Dentistry and co-inventor of the CARE test with USC research scientist Patricia Denny.
School nurses could administer the test, Navazesh said, though she stressed any test would not be a substitute for proper dental care.
"This is not a test to diagnose caries. This is a test that can be used to evaluate susceptibility and risk," she said. "If we can identify those people that are at risk and put in place preventive measures, it is going to prevent them from suffering."
The physical and financial burden of caries increases with age, researchers said. The cost of dental care can be prohibitive and is not covered by Medicare.
Fillings deteriorate and need to be replaced with larger fillings, often leading to root canals, crowns and even tooth loss.
That is why stopping the formation of cavities is so important, Denny said.
"It's the initial cavity or caries that we're worried about," he said. "If we can prevent that, then we prevent this whole lifelong process from occurring."
###
The research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health.Great Stuff from Paul Denny at the University of Southern California School of Dentistry.
Tribute to Air Force One
Jean Ortiz over at the Ventura County Star has a piece on the Air Force One display under construction at the Reagan Presidential Museum.
Cool stuff!
Check it out here.
Governor Fights for Fair Share of Federal Tax Take
The Governator goes to Washington to troll for federal dollars to prop up the state budget. He also picks up the endorsement of Common Cause for his redistricting plan.
Read about it here in the Ventura County Star.
Of course, the Congressional Democrats carp at him for various reasons - most of it due to electoral envy.
If California could be reimbursed for all of the social costs of illegal Mexican immigration - hummmmm might save billions.
Do you think Arnold will mention this when he sees the President?
On Eason Jordan
Captain Ed of Captain's Quarters has an article on Eason Jordan in the Weekly Standard.
Check it out here.
Hat Tip: Patterico Pontifications
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Raymond Chandler Quote of the Day
It got darker. The glare of the red neon sign spread farther and farther across the ceiling. I sat up on the bed and put my feet on the floor and rubbed the back of my neck.
I got up on my feet and went over to the bowl in the corner and threw cold water on my face. After a little while I felt a little better, but very little. I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun. I put them on and went out of the room.
-- Farewell, My Lovely, 1940
Hat Tip: The Fez
5GB iPod mini next week?
AppleInsider seems pretty sure that next week Apple is going to refresh the iPod mini and bump up its storage capacity from 4GB to 5GB. Probably not enough to make you feel more than a twinge of regret if you just picked one up, but it does eliminate that nagging one gig advantage the Creative Zen Micro, the iRiver H10, the GoVideo Rave-MP ARC5.0, the Motorola M500, the Rio Carbon, the Dell Pocket DJ, and Virgin’s 5GB MP3 player have over the current iPod mini. Can we expect to finally see some new colors, too?
Hat Tip: Engadget
Birthday Present for the Flapster?
Common Cause Backs Redistricting Reform
Dan Weintraub over at California Insider has a piece about Common Cause and their support of the Governator's redistricting efforts.
Check it out here.
Welcome! Alanis Morissette Becomes U.S. Citizen
LOS ANGELES - Canadian Alanis Morissette (news) is now an American citizen.
| ||||||
The 30-year-old singer was among some 4,500 people who took the citizenship oath during a ceremony last week at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Morissette isn't turning her back on Canada — she's maintaining dual citizenship.
"I will never renounce my Canadian citizenship," Morissette said in a statement Wednesday. "I consider myself a Canadian-American.
"There was a turning point during the ceremony where I felt connected to this country in a way that I didn't quite expect," she said. "America has been really great to me and I have felt welcomed since the day I came here."
Morissette's songs include "Ironic" and "You Oughta Know."
___
On the Net:
Hat Tip: Yahoo News
Articaine/Septocaine Parasthesia?
DESCRIPTION
Septocaine™ injection is a sterile, aqueous solution that contains articaine HCl 4% (40mg/mL) with epinephrine bitartrate in a 1:100,000 strength. Articaine HCl is a local anesthetic, which is chemically designated as 4-methyl-3-[2-(propylamino)-propionamido]-2-thiophene-carboxylic acid, methyl ester hydrochloride and is a racemic mixture. Articaine HCl has a molecular weight of 320.84 and the molecular and structural formulae are displayed below:
Articaine HCl has a partition coefficient in n-octanol/ Soerensen buffer (pH : 7.35) of 17 and a pKa of 7.8.
Epinephrine bitartrate, (-)-1-(3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl)-2-methylamino-ethanol (+) tartrate (1:1) salt, is a vasoconstrictor that is added to articaine HCl in a concentration of 1:100,000 as the free base. It has a molecular weight of 333.3. The molecular and structural formulae are displayed below:
Septocaine™ contains articaine HCl (40mg/mL), epinephrine as bitartrate (1:100,000), sodium chloride (1.6 mg/mL), and sodium metabisulfite (0.5 mg/mL). The product is formulated with a 15% overage of epinephrine. The pH is adjusted to 5.0 with sodium hydroxide.
Articaine/Septocaine is the newest addition to the local anesthetic arsenal and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in April 2000. It has been in use in Europe since 1976 and in Canada since 1983. Its approval in the US has been delayed by the FDA due to the presence of a preservative which the agency said was unnecessary in single use carpules and was a potential allergen. It was approved when the French company Septodent finally removed the preservative from American shipments.
Yet today controvery exists whether articiane/septocaine causes parasthesias in either inferior alveolar blocks and/or infiltrations of the mandible. Dental bulletin boards like Dental Town and the Internet Dental Forum have been filled with case reports of either transient or more permanet parasthesias.
Dr. Stan Malamed, Professor and Chair of the Section of Anesthesia and Medicine at the USC School of Dentistry and a well-known and respected dental anesthesiologist author has stated the latest on a post at Dental Town:
" On February 17, 2005 at 12:24:39 AM 'malamed' posted....
Very interesting because I AM THE MALAMED you refer to and I have NOT published any study within the past week, or EVER, stating that articaine is associated with a higher rate pf paresthesia. Indeed there is NO scientific valid evidence EVER published that demonstrates a higher rate for articaine or other 4% drugs. All we hear is ANECDOTAL . . . this is NOT scientific evidence. SFM"
So, from where is the parasthesia information/anecdotes coming?
Is anyone conducting the research?
Septocaine™ injection is a sterile, aqueous solution that contains articaine HCl 4% (40mg/mL) with epinephrine bitartrate in a 1:100,000 strength. Articaine HCl is a local anesthetic, which is chemically designated as 4-methyl-3-[2-(propylamino)-propionamido]-2-thiophene-carboxylic acid, methyl ester hydrochloride and is a racemic mixture. Articaine HCl has a molecular weight of 320.84 and the molecular and structural formulae are displayed below:
 |
Articaine HCl has a partition coefficient in n-octanol/ Soerensen buffer (pH : 7.35) of 17 and a pKa of 7.8.
Epinephrine bitartrate, (-)-1-(3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl)-2-methylamino-ethanol (+) tartrate (1:1) salt, is a vasoconstrictor that is added to articaine HCl in a concentration of 1:100,000 as the free base. It has a molecular weight of 333.3. The molecular and structural formulae are displayed below:
 |
Septocaine™ contains articaine HCl (40mg/mL), epinephrine as bitartrate (1:100,000), sodium chloride (1.6 mg/mL), and sodium metabisulfite (0.5 mg/mL). The product is formulated with a 15% overage of epinephrine. The pH is adjusted to 5.0 with sodium hydroxide.
Articaine/Septocaine is the newest addition to the local anesthetic arsenal and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in April 2000. It has been in use in Europe since 1976 and in Canada since 1983. Its approval in the US has been delayed by the FDA due to the presence of a preservative which the agency said was unnecessary in single use carpules and was a potential allergen. It was approved when the French company Septodent finally removed the preservative from American shipments.
Yet today controvery exists whether articiane/septocaine causes parasthesias in either inferior alveolar blocks and/or infiltrations of the mandible. Dental bulletin boards like Dental Town and the Internet Dental Forum have been filled with case reports of either transient or more permanet parasthesias.
Dr. Stan Malamed, Professor and Chair of the Section of Anesthesia and Medicine at the USC School of Dentistry and a well-known and respected dental anesthesiologist author has stated the latest on a post at Dental Town:
" On February 17, 2005 at 12:24:39 AM 'malamed' posted....
Very interesting because I AM THE MALAMED you refer to and I have NOT published any study within the past week, or EVER, stating that articaine is associated with a higher rate pf paresthesia. Indeed there is NO scientific valid evidence EVER published that demonstrates a higher rate for articaine or other 4% drugs. All we hear is ANECDOTAL . . . this is NOT scientific evidence. SFM"
So, from where is the parasthesia information/anecdotes coming?
Is anyone conducting the research?
Former Thousand Oaks City Council Candidate Faces Charges for Phone Hacking
The Ventura County Star reports that a former Thousand Oaks City Council Candidate has been arrested for phone hacking in trying to manipulate last November's election:
The man who ran for Thousand Oaks City Council by intimidating people at a public meeting with a bullhorn and calling for the assassination of President Bush has been arrested on suspicion of felony computer fraud, identity theft, false impersonation and election fraud.
Daniel Avila, 25, is being investigated for reportedly hacking a cell phone text-messaging network and sending messages on Election Day urging voters to choose him, while pretending to be Robert Wilson, who served as a councilman and mayor and was one of his opponents.
Avila is accused of sending the text messages between midnight and 4 a.m. Nov. 2, aggravating thousands of Verizon Wireless customers living in Thousand Oaks. The message, reading "Please vote for Daniel Avila for Thousand Oaks City Council," was purportedly sent from Wilson's e-mail address.
If convicted, Avila could face up to three years in prison, said Jon Hamilton, Avila's Ventura-based attorney....
Read the rest here.
If convicted the courts will need to send a punitive judicial message to Mr. Avila and any individuals who may contemplate high tech election fraud.
Mayor Bob Wilson did not lose the election by much and the public deserves the right to trust the political/electoral process without such dirty tricks.
San Luis Obispo County Narcotic Task Force (SLOCNTF) Announces Major Multi-agency Methamphetamine Bust
February 15, 2005 -- (SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY) – The Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement (BNE) San Luis Obispo Narcotic Task Force (SLOCNTF) today announced the culmination of a multi-agency, year-long investigation that led to the arrest of 18 persons on federal and state drug-related charges.
Law enforcement in San Luis Obispo County have long suspected that a sophisticated criminal enterprise was responsible for distributing large amounts of methamphetamine and heroin in the Paso Robles area. To address the problem, approximately one year ago, an investigation was initiated by SLOCNTF. The investigation required the use of informants, extensive surveillance and undercover agents. During the course of the investigation, agents made numerous purchases of narcotics from an individual supplied by the Guerrero Organization.
At the completion of this investigation, six people were arrested on federal drug charges and 12 people on state drug-related charges. Among the items seized are: more than 13 pounds of methamphetamine worth nearly $500,000, 43 grams of heroin, 3.5 grams of cocaine, over $73,000 in U.S. currency, two semi-automatic handguns, and several rifles. SLOCNTF is pursuing federal seizure proceedings on two residences and a 2001 Yukon sport utility vehicle owned by Guerrero.
SLOCNTF received extensive financial and logistical support from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. It was through this collaborative effort that law enforcement was able to dismantle this organized trafficking ring which operated from Mexico and throughout the State of California.......
Arrested were the following adults:
FEDERAL ARRESTS
• Guerrero, Gavino, 47, Paso Robles
• Sarabia, Raul, 30, Escondido
• Guerrero, Bernardina, 42, Paso Robles
• Gomez-Juarez, Juan, 34, Paso Robles
• Garcia, Jesus Ramon, 50, Atascadero
• Rodriquez, Regino, 59, Paso Robles
STATE ARRESTS
• Guerrero, Adela, 21, Paso Robles
• Guerrero, Eliselda, 19, Paso Robles
• Gomez, Joseph, 37, Paso Robles
• Tirado, Jesus, 22, Paso Robles
• Fredrickson, Scott, 43, Paso Robles
• Panos, Jana Louise, 35, Paso Robles
• Sanchez, Rene Gonzales, 34, Paso Robles
• Martinez, Juan, 47, Paso Robles
• Wilbanks, Dorothy, 61, Paso Robles
• Deleon, Renaldo, 36, Paso Robles
• Nunez, Mike, 54, Paso Robles
• Guerrero, Juvenile, 15, Paso Robles
• ADDITIONAL ARRESTS ARE PENDING
Read the rest here.
When will the Congress and the President see the link between the Mexican Drug Cartels, illegal immigration smuggling and Methamphetamine?
We need federal action NOW!
Peggy Noonan on the Blogosphere
Peggy Noonan of the OpinionJournal has a piece today on the Blogosphere:
The Blogs Must Be Crazy
Or maybe the MSM is just suffering from freedom envy.
Thursday, February 17, 2005 12:01 a.m. EST
"Salivating morons." "Scalp hunters." "Moon howlers." "Trophy hunters." "Sons of Sen. McCarthy." "Rabid." "Blogswarm." "These pseudo-journalist lynch mob people."
This is excellent invective. It must come from bloggers. But wait, it was the mainstream media and their maidservants in the elite journalism reviews, and they were talking about bloggers!
Those MSMers have gone wild, I tell you! The tendentious language, the low insults. It's the Wild Wild West out there. We may have to consider legislation.
When you hear name-calling like what we've been hearing from the elite media this week, you know someone must be doing something right. The hysterical edge makes you wonder if writers for newspapers and magazines and professors in J-schools don't have a serious case of freedom envy.
The bloggers have that freedom. They have the still pent-up energy of a liberated citizenry, too. The MSM doesn't. It has lost its old monopoly on information. It is angry.
Read the rest here.
Meanwhile Captain Ed over at Captain's Quarter's is not too happy with this appeasement piece by the Wall Street Journal's OpinionJournal:
Unfortunately for the WSJ editorial board, what they fail to recognize is that bloggers aren't some third-party creation from ether. Bloggers are media consumers, and in fact should be their target demographic. We're involved, we read voraciously, and we want to interact with the world. Especially for a publication like the Wall Street Journal, which doesn't deliver to the doorstep as a monopoly in a one-paper town, that should be a group to encourage, not one at which to toss dismissive insults. I cannot think of another corporation who thought that implying their customers were too immature to decide for themselves what they need constituted a successful marketing strategy -- except for the federal government and their entitlement programs. Adopting that marketing plan for the bastion of American capitalism seems more than just passingly strange to me.
Hopefully, Noonan's piece intends on smoothing over relations with the bloggers who not only read WSJ/OJ's offerings on a regular basis but normally (speaking for myself) enthusiastically recommend them to their readers. I'd like to feel good about my daily visits to OJ again.
Note: See also Hugh Hewitt's new column in the Weekly Standard on the WSJ/blogosphere debate.
Point well written, Captain Ed.
So, what say you Wall Street Journal?