I have a soft spot for weeds, and this dandelion I saw found a home in a sidewalk crack in busy Yotsuya. I admire the ability of weeds to place themselves, to exist and spread despite our best attempts at organizing our environment. The dandelion is exceptional because it is at once a food, a medicine, and an important early source of nectar for honeybees. Cities need more dandelions!
I obtain my conception of the good life, the end toward which I strive, from Aristotle. In his Ethics, he describes the good life—what he calls eudaimonia—as an objective state of happiness and flourishing that obtains when a person lives a life full of rational action, guided reliably by wisdom and the practical virtues.
I am pursuing medicine as a career because, given my particular intellectual strengths and dispositions, the study and practice of medicine will most completely fulfill my conception of the good life. In other words, I am the sort of individual who flourishes when engaging in activity that (1) actualizes my moral and humanitarian sensitivities; (2) is complex and novel, presenting interesting challenges requiring the meticulous application of intellectual resources for resolution; (3) allows creativity and innovation; (4) is pragmatically substantive, permitting the most fruitful use of my acumen; (5) allows fertile engagement with talented peers; (6) is in part devoted to contributing to a long-lasting body of knowledge; (7) is valued by society, allowing a degree of material comfort; (8) is of such a global nature as to be justifiably constitutive of my identity and world-view. Of all professions, medicine practiced at its best satisfies all of these conditions, I think, and so life as a physician will for me be the most eudaimon. Medicine, I trust, is an endeavor worthy of lifelong commitment.
I’ve wondered a lot about whether this perception fits the profession as actually practiced. And as a philosophy student, I’ve thought about what it means for a pre-med to be properly motivated and suitably constituted to practice medicine. I’m primarily interested in (1) understanding the moral disposition of the physician—her quintessential motivations and character traits, (2) exploring how the physician as a moral agent is distinctive from other heroic and compassionate professions like firefighting, military service, inner-city teaching, and charity work, and (3) discovering what it is about pre-meds that motivates them to pursue, of all careers, medicine. I would like to offer my thoughts on these matters, as some indication of the extent to which these sorts of reflections on have played an integral role in my decision to become a doctor.
Like crimefighting and academia, medicine is fundamentally a normative enterprise—it is directed toward the convergence of the actual state of affairs with particular ideal ends. The profession is best practiced, then, by those (like Atul Gawande, Jerome Groop, and Pauline Chen) that understand their work in an encompassing ethical context and who are capable of articulating the social goals they endeavor to attain. In our formative years, we work most scrupulously to develop a moral worldview that concords with and facilitates our development into the sort of professionals we aspire to be.
I’ve learned from my fellow pre-med students (mostly from the discussions we hold in the Eudaimonic Society, a bioethics/medical ethics literary society) that we are predominately utilitarians at heart. By this I mean that we are particularly impressed by those moral arguments which tell us to pursue projects and activities that produce the most Good, the most human well-being. Most of us structure our opinions about social justice around a utilitarian theory of right and gamely accept the demanding obligations that such an ethical outlook entails. When prompted to justify our fervent devotion to medicine, we offer justification along these lines.
You don’t need to look far to find the appeal. Utilitarianism seems to embrace our egalitarian intuition that people are equally worthy of moral regard—that injured persons are persons in need of help, period—most directly. Plus, as a theory involving rational calculation to do the most good, it fits snugly with our commitment to meticulous and judicious action. Utilitarianism is, at first pass, a faithful theoretical articulation of basic humanitarian intuitions.
But I think that my peers who adopt this view have in some way missed the mark. I’m not alleging them disingenuous in their compassion and commitment to foster the Good (I have the highest respect and admiration for this quality). I concede, too, that the whole and complete goal of medicine as a discipline is the health of the members of society and that physicians should work fully toward that consequentialist end. I am claiming merely that the utilitarian model is an incomplete image of the individual physician, that a compassionate heart is necessary but insufficient to properly motivate the excellent practice of medicine and thus that undergraduates who pursue the pre-med track solely on compassionate grounds aren’t seeing the whole picture.
Upon further reflection, it seems that you need more than an eager and heroic heart to be a physician. For instance, there’s a clear difference between being a physician and being a fireman, but you can’t find that difference in the respective amounts of compassion or heroism required for the two jobs. We need a different model of the medical practitioner to explain why it is that pre-med students are pre-med students and not firemen.
I propose different paradigm: the doctor as a virtuous agent. The physician must be motivated by sincere compassion (concern for the vulnerable and suffering + interest in promoting their betterment) and by a yearning to exercise her intellectual talents to the fullest (a virtue the fireman fails to develop). The physician seems more than just an instrument or mechanism subserving the proliferation of the communal Good. Though centrally interested in the welfare of her patients, she is concerned also with developing within herself the wisdom and the character traits—compassion, courage, temperance, generosity, equanimity, fairness, and practical and theoretical wisdom—that make the manner and mode in which she practices medicine of concern to her own moral condition. There is something about medicine practiced excellently (and being fulfilling to the individual physician), in other words, that has nothing to do with health outcomes and patient well-being, distributive justice, or economic efficiency.
I plan to apply this summer to the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine (among other medical schools), as well as to the UChicago school of graduate studies. My goal is to pursue a M.D.-Ph.D. under the MeSH (Medicine, the Social Sciences, and Humanities) interdisciplinary program at Pritzker, which provides full funding for the M.D. degree when it is pursued in conjunction with a Ph.D. in the social sciences or the humanities. I hope to attain a Ph.D. in philosophy, with concentrations in value theory, the philosophy of biology, and bioethics (and perhaps in epistemology).
Glenn Beck-03-19-10-A
Glenn Beck-03-19-10-B
Glenn Beck-03-19-10-C
Glenn Beck-03-19-10-D
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“Verily, Allah is All-Knowing All-Wise” (al-Qur’an, 76:30)
A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye…and YES science now shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.
Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food .
A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys .
Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.
Eggplant, Avocadoes and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female – they look just like these organs. Today’s research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? …. It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).
Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm cells to overcome male sterility.
Grapefruits, Oranges, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts .
Onions look like body cells. Today’s research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.
Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.
Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries
“Then which of the favours of your Allah will ye deny?” – [al-Qur'an, 55:13]
________________________________________
Milk:
The Holy Prophet(Sal lal Lahu alay he wa salam) said that milk wipes away heat from the heart
just as the finger wipes away sweat from the brow. It strengthens the back,
increases the brain, augments intelligence,renews vision and drives away
forgetfulness.
Honey:
Considered to be the best remedy for diarrhea when mixed in hot
water. It is the food of foods, drink of drinks and drug of drugs. It is used
for creating appetite,strengthening the stomach, eliminating phlegm,
as a meat preservative,hair conditioner, eye salve and mouthwash. It is
extremely beneficial in the morning in warm water and is also a sunnah of Rasoolallah Sal lal Lahu alay he wa salam.
Olive oil:
excellenent treatment for skin and hair, delays old age, treats inflammation
of the stomach
Mushroom:
The Prophet(Sal lal Lahu alay he wa salam) said that mushroom is a good cure for the eyes, it also serves as a form of birthcontrol and arrests paralysis.
Grapes:
The Prophet Sal lal Lahu alay he wa salam was very fond of grapes, it purifies the blood, provides vigour and health, strengthens the kidneys and clears the bowels.
Dates:
The Prophet(Sal lal Lahu alay he wa salam) said that a house without dates has no food, also to be eaten at the time of childbirth.
Figs:
It is a fruit from paradise and a cure for piles.
Barley:
Good for fever in a soup form
Melon:
Melon contains 1000 blessings and 1000 mercies, The prophet Sal lal Lahu alay he wa salam said “None of your women who are pregnant and eat of water melon will fail to produce
off spring who are good in countenance and good in character.
Pomegranate:
The Prophet (Sal lal Lahu alay he wa salam) said it cleanse you of Satan and evil aspirations for 40 days.
Water:
the Prophet(Sal lal Lahu alay he wa salam) said the best drink in this world and the next is Water, when you are thirsty drink it by sips and not gulps, gulping produces sickness of the liver.
So praise be to our beloved Nabi (Sal lal Lahu alay he wa salam) who produced us with marvelous knowledge which dazzles the wisest minds. May this information be beneficial
to all of us Insha-Allah
Those bitches! If you didn’t go through my work notes, I’m not talking about you. I can’t find my prescriptions. That’s normal. I lose everything. BUT I think I put them in my work notebook. (I never mentioned that I moved to another cubicle after my breakdown…I did). Recently I’ve been over carrying stuff and doing extra work on weeknights because I’m busy at home. So I’ve been leaving my notebook at work which is very normal. NO ONE else takes their stuff home. (That is mostly why my boss said how dedicated I am etc.)
At my previous desk, they would not have gone through a CLOSED notebook…at least to my knowledge. However, when I would leave it open, I could tell they looked at that particular page. But where I am now……..SCREAM…nothing is off bounds. So maybe they saw my prescriptions. To me, these are regular medicines. Stuff for depression and/or social anxiety and sleep. Big deal.
Nothing anti-psychotic. Trust me I’ve been hinting for some. ANYTHING to get me through a work day.
OR they saw me reading the Ted Bundy book. (very possible. I read during my lunch break and it has been visible in my car. I carry whatever I’m reading everywhere). Um, you’d be surprised at how many normal people read true crime. And I know some of them watch reality true crime so what is the difference? I read & watch. They just watch. (Note: Once I started watching/reading the real stuff, I can’t touch the fake stuff. Mysteries? CSI? Law & Order? All very lame and phony once you get into reality).
Anyhow they said, “don’t you think we have a right to know if she is a psychopath?” ROFL. First of all, a known psychopath would not be working in an office building (or anywhere??). Psychopaths don’t get hired. Ted Bundy and others were able to work because they could act normal. (strike one for me). My coworkers were even talking about asking the boss. I think only a couple of people were seriously going to ask, “Is —— a psychopath?”
Whatever. According to them, we are getting laid off. I’ll know more at the end of the week. I’ll be free of that stress and have the no work stress. Blah. I have more high school stuff I could report from work but that would make me high school too cause some of it is hilarious.
I have tons of tons of stuff to do and I haven’t even printed out my bracket! I do wish I had my notebook. I’m dying of curiosity. I’ll just wait until tomorrow morning and tweet the results. heh
Since we all know that the H1N1 was a hoax as my previous note accurately demonstrated, and since the CDC brainwashed America into believing the flu season would be the worst in ages, AND since we know that a record low of 2500 people actually died from the H1N1 flu, who by the way already had some underlying health issue, and since the big pharmacy has made record profits off of vaccines, based on these premises let us boycott anything and everything coming from a pharmaceutical industry and pushed by white collared otherwise good intentioned (or not) individuals.
This must be a boycott on principle.
Today the Federal Vaccine Court has ruled “against three families who argued that vaccines which contained the mercury based preservative thimerosal contributed to their child’s autism. The denial of reasonable compensation to families was based on inadequate vaccine safety science and poorly designed and highly controversial epidemiology studies supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” Read the full article at Safeminds.com.
It doesn’t matter that these three families all witnessed otherwise healthy children suddenly digress immediately following vaccination. The vaccine had nothing to do with it according to the CDC, who also said that last years flu season would be the worst on record and that fools don’t get vaccinated. Check out youtube adds for the H1N1 vaccine. What do you think all of those warnings and fine print are for on the little pamphlets that come with shots? They tell you all about the controversial ingredients and the many ways side effects may manifest themselves. Of course they don’t bother to tell you that thimerosal is mercury- one of the most toxic substances known to man- but hey it had nothing to do with autism in those children and the federal government will never owe up to the millions affected by vaccines.
If you still think thimerosal is sugar water search google for mercury poisoning. Well what do you know! Mercury really does have a negative effect on the brain. In fact, it even creates autism like symptoms. Unbelievable.. but the CDC bribed by corporate scumbags from big pharmacies says it is ok in small amounts even though infants and young children are the most susceptible to mercury poisoning. Silly Americans! Drugs are good for you as long as its the government giving them out.
You see, perversion is ok if you are in a place of authority and you are certified to do it. So, with that said boycott all drugs, shots, prescriptions that contain chemicals and preservatives and other controversial ingredients like monkey kidney cells, formaldehyde, lye, mercury, etc. until the perverts are fired and the controversial methods and ingredients disappear. What does any of this have to do with living responsibly anyway? And since the government is the king of irresponsibility why don’t we the people take back what is rightfully ours– responsibility and set things right.
Boycott the drugs today. Ask for an alternative. It is your choice. It is your right. It is your family, your body, your responsibility.
They will try to scare you, they will try to stage hoax outbreaks, anything they can do to bring you back to a state of dependence on them. Americans are independent and do not live in fear! We the people do not need big corporate America and petty industry money whores telling us how to live our lives or what we should be afraid of.
For further reading check out Brandon Turbeville’s article titled Mercury in vaccines: “No more dangerous than the mercury in a tuna sandwich” at infowars.com
I am so sorry I have been not reading and updating you guys. Life got in the way, which made me too tired at night to read.
Well, I’m back to now. I really want to have this book read by March 25th because my support group meets and the topic is on books about Fibromyalgia.
Enough chit chat. Here we go!
Part 3: Your Path to Healing – Chapter 6: Why Conventional Medicine Alone Can’t Beat Your Illness
(portions of this blog came from Dr. Rodger Murphree’s book)
This chapter is very long so I will list some of the key points:
Conventional medical treatments of FMS and CFS focus on controlling various symptoms. Physicians generally rely on pain medications of various sorts, muscle relaxants and tranquilizers, antidepressants, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicines. Unfortunately, as you already know, these drugs rarely yield lasting results.
But conventional medicine has its limits, and our quick-fix society has gotten out of hand. So much of modern medicine is about covering up our symptoms with drugs, rather than treating the causes that are to blame for the symptoms. This is like trying to mop the wet kitchen floor while ignoring the leaky roof.
Many drugs are associated with side effects, and the majority don’t actually cure anything. Treating symptoms doesn’t translate to better health. We’ve got to stop thinking “just stop the pain” and start thinking “let’s fix the problem”.
Short-term use of drugs to mask unwanted symptoms is certainly appreciated by both patient and doctor. But FMS and CFS are not short-term illnesses. And drugs used to treat these symptoms can lead to dependence and further complications. One drug’s side effects can initiate new symptoms, which must then be treated by more drugs.
With so many different symptoms, it’s no surprise that fibromyalgia and CFS patients are typically taking 6-12 different prescription drugs.
Many of the most commonly prescribed drugs for fibromyalgia have side effects that are similar or identical to the symptoms of FMS or CFS. These similarities can cause a lot of confusion when doctors are trying to determine the effectiveness of treatment.
It’s important to realize that your drug or drugs can be causing or contributing to some or all of your symptoms.
Drugs deplete essential nutrients that the body needs to properly function, but it can take weeks, months or even years for the drug to fully deplete the nutrient and for you to see the side effects surface.
One question and point made by Dr. Murphree was “How many folks with fibromyalgia get well under the care of a traditional rheumatologist? I speak to fibromyalgia support groups across North America, and I can tell you what the answer is: very few. The three-month wait for a new patient appointment typically ends in a two-hour interview and exam followed by a 10 minute visit to discuss test results, and then several prescription drugs and a follow-up appointment every 3-6 months”.
The next part of the chapter lists some drugs commonly used to treat fibromyalgia. Along with information on the drugs, possible side effects are listed. Your experiences may be different from what’s described, but be sure to read about the drugs you are taking. See if they might be causing some of your symptoms. If you suspect they are, work with your doctor to slowly wean off of them.
(unfortunately, this part was very long so you are going to have to read the book for information and side effects)
NSAIDS (Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)
Narcotic Analgesics
Sleep Aids
Antidepressants
Tranquilizers
Benzodiazepines
Anticonvulsant Drugs
Beta-Blockers
Stimulants
Statin Drugs
The last part of the chapter is about Treating with Natural Medicine.
Natural medicine uses naturally occurring foods, vitamines, minerals, amino acids, essential fatty acids, and herbal supplements to augment the nutritional status, and therefore the health of the body.
Herbs have always been integral to the practice of medicine.
In general, herbal medicines work in much the same way as do conventional pharmaceutical drugs, via their chemical makeup. Herbs contain a large number of naturally occurring chemicals and those chemicals have biological activity.
Herbal medicines should be prescribed by a professional who is familiar with the actions and interactions of herbals and prescription medications.
I really liked this statement from Dr. Murphree: “Prescription medications can, in some cases, be helpful, but they can never take the place of our own self-regulating, God-given healing mechanisms”.
More and more doctors are turning to nutritional medicine. The tide is turning and conventional medicine is beginning to lose some of its luster.
The next chapter is: Chapter 7: Treating with Orthomolecular Medicine
Cerebral venous system can be divided into superficial and deep systems. The superficial system comprises of sagittal sinuses and cortical veins and these drain superficial surfaces of both cerebral hemispheres. The deep system comprises of lateral sinus, straight sinus and sigmoid sinus along with draining deeper cortical veins. Both these systems mostly drain themselves into internal jugular veins. The veins draining the brain do not follow the same course as the arteries that supply it. Generally, venous blood drains to the nearest venous sinus, except in the case of that draining from the deepest structures, which drain to deep veins. These drain, in turn, to the venous sinuses. The superficial cerebral veins can be subdivided into three groups. These are interlinked with anastomotic veins of Trolard and Labbe. However, the superficial cerebral veins are very variable. They drain to the nearest dural sinus. The superolateral surface of the hemisphere drains to the superior sagittal sinus while the posteroinferior aspect drains to the transverse sinus. The veins of the posterior fossa are variable in course and angiographic diagnosis of their occlusion is extremely difficult. Blood from the deep white matter of the cerebral hemisphere and from the
basal ganglia are drained by internal cerebral and basal veins, which join to form the great vein of Galen that drains into the straight sinus. With the exception of wide variations of basal vein, the deep system is rather constant compared to the superficial venous system. Hence their thrombosis is easy to recognize.
Cerebral venous system can be divided into two basic components.
A) Superficial System;
The superficial system comprises of sagittal sinuses and cortical veins and these drain superficial surfaces of both cerebral hemispheres.
B) Deep System;
The deep system comprises of lateral sinus, straight sinus and sigmoid sinus along with draining deeper cortical veins. Both these systems mostly drain themselves into internal Jugular veins.
A) Superficial cerebral venous system
The superficial cerebral veins (Figure1 and 2) can be divided into three collecting systems. First, a mediodorsal group draining into superior sagittal sinus (SSS) and the straight sinus (SS); Second, a lateroventral group draining into the lateral sinus; and third, an anterior group draining into the cavernous sinus. These veins are linked by the great anastomotic vein of Trolard, which connects the SSS to the middle cerebral veins. These are themselves connected to the lateral sinus (LS) by the vein of Labbe. The veins of the posterior fossa may again be divided into three groups:
1) Superior group draining into the Galenic system,
2) Anterior group draining into Petrosal sinus and
3) Posterior group draining into the torcular Herophili and neighboring transverse sinuses.
The veins of the posterior fossa are variable in course and angiographic diagnosis of their occlusion is extremely difficult. The Superior Sagittal Sinus (SSS) (Figure 3) starts at the foramen caecum and runs backwards towards the internal occipital protuberance, where it joins with the straight sinus and lateral sinus to form the torcular Herophili. Its anterior part is narrow or sometimes absent, replaced by two superior cerebral veins that join behind the coronal suture.
This fact should be borne in mind while evaluating for cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). The SSS drain major part of the cerebral hemispheres. The cavernous sinuses drain blood from the orbits, the inferior parts of the frontal and parietal lobes and from the superior and inferior petrosal sinuses. Blood from them flow into the internal jugular veins.
The straight sinus is formed by the union of inferior sagittal sinus and the great vein of Galen. The inferior sagittal sinus runs in the free edge of falx cerebri and unites with the vein of Galen to form the straight sinus. It runs backwards in the center of the tentorium cerebelli at the attachment of the falx cerebri, emptying into the torcular Herophili at the internal occipital protuberance.
The lateral sinuses extend from torcular Herophili to jugular bulbs and consist of a transverse and sigmoid portion. They receive blood from the cerebellum, the brainstem and posterior parts of the hemisphere. They are also joined by some diploic veins and small veins from the middle ear. There are numerous LS anatomic variations that may be misinterpreted as sinus occlusion.
B) Deep cerebral venous system
The deep cerebral veins are more important than superficial veins from the angiographic point of view. Three veins unite just behind the interventricular foramen of Monro to form the internal cerebral vein (Figure 4). These include choroid vein, septal vein and thalamostriate vein. The Choroid vein runs from the choroid plexus of the lateral ventricle. The Septal vein runs from the region of the septum pellucidum in the anterior horn of the lateral ventricle and the thalamostriate vein runs anteriorly in the floor of the lateral ventricle in the thalamostriate groove between the thalamus and lentiform nucleus. The point of union of these veins is called the venous angle.
The internal cerebral veins of each side run posteriorly in the roof of the third ventricle and unite beneath the splenium of the corpus callosum to form the great cerebral vein. The internal cerebral veins, which lie within 2 mm of the midline, are the most important deep veins since they can be used to diagnose midline shifts. The great cerebral vein of Galen is a short (1-2 cm long), thick vein that passes posterosuperiorly behind the splenium of corpus callosum in the quadrigeminal cistern. It receives the basal veins and the posterior fossa veins and drains to the anterior end of the straight sinus where this unites with the inferior sagittal sinus.
The basal vein of Rosenthal begins at the anterior perforated substance by the union of anterior cerebral vein, middle cerebral vein and the striate vein. The basal vein on each side passes around the midbrain to join the great cerebral vein. In summary, blood from the deep white matter of the cerebral hemisphere and from the basal ganglia, is drained by internal cerebral veins and basal veins of Rosenthal, which join to form the great vein of Galen that drains into the straight sinus (Figure 2). With the exception of wide variations of basal vein, the deep system is rather constant compared to the superficial venous system so their thrombosis is easy to recognize.
Specific features of Cerebral Venous System in Pathophysiology
of Cerebral Venous Thrombosis
The cerebral veins and sinuses neither have valves nor tunica muscularis. Because they lack valves, blood flow is possible in different directions. Moreover, the cortical veins are linked by numerous anastamoses, allowing the development of a collateral circulation and probably explaining the good prognosis of some cerebral venous thromboses. Lack of tunica muscularis permits veins to remain dilated. This is important in understanding the huge capacity to compensate even an extended occlusion. Venous sinuses are located between two rigid layers of duramater. This prevents their compression, when intracranial pressure rises. Superficial cortical veins drain into SSS against the blood flow in the sinus, thus causing turbulence in the blood stream that is further aggravated by the presence of fibrous septa at the inferior angle of the sinus.
Image via Wikipedia
This fact explains greater prevalence of SSS thrombosis. In addition to draining most of the cerebral hemisphere, the superior sagittal sinus also receives blood from diploic, meningeal and emissary veins. Same is the case with other dural venous sinuses. This explains the frequent occurrence of CVT as a complication of infective pathologies in the catchments areas e.g. cavernous sinus thrombosis in facial infections, lateral sinus thrombosis in chronic otitis media and sagittal sinus thrombosis in scalp infections. The dural sinuses especially the SSS contain most of the arachnoid villi and granulations, in which absorption of CSF takes place. So dural sinus thrombosis blocks villi and leads to intracranial hypertension and papilloedema.
References
1. Sutton D., Stevens J.: Vascular Imaging in Neuroradiology in Textbook of radiology and Imaging, volume 2 by Churchill Livingstone New York 2003, pp1682-87.
2. Ryan S.P., Mc Nicholas M.M.J., Central Nervous system in Anatomy for diagnostic Imaging by W.B. Saunders Company Ltd. London. 1998, pp 77-80.
3. Kido DK, Baker RA, Rumbaugh Calvin L. Normal Cerebral Vascular Anatomy. In: Abrams Angiography, Vascular and Interventional Radiology by Abrams HL, Third Edition. Little, Brown and Company, Boston. USA. 1983 pp 257-68.
4. Meder JF, Chiras J. Roland J, Guinet P, Bracard S, Bargy F. Venous territories
of the brain. J Neuroradiol 1994; 21:118 – 33.
5. Einhaupl KM, Masuhr F.Cerebral Venous and Sinus thrombosis – an update Eur J Neurol 1994; 1: 109 – 26.
6. Huang, Y.P., and Wolf, B.S. Angiographic features of fourth ventricle tumors with special reference to the posterior inferior cerebellar artery. Am J Radiol. 1969; 107:543.
7. Hacker H: Normal Supratentorial veins and dural sinuses. In: Newton TH, Potts DG, eds: Radiology of Skull and Brain. Angiography. Book 3. St Louis: Mosby; 1974; 2:1851-77.
8. Weissleder R., Wittenberg J. Neurological Imaging in Primer of Diagnostic Imaging, Third Edition. Philadelphia: Mosby 2003: p 492.
9. Krayenbuhl HA, Yasargil MG. Cerebral Angiography (2nd ed.). London: Butterworth 1968.10. Dora F and Zileli T: Common Variations of the lateral and occipital sinuses at the confluence sinuum. Neuroradiology 1980; 20 : 23 – 7.
11. Taveras J.M..: Angiography in Neuroradiology Third Edition. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins. 1996 pp 998.
12. Wolf, B.S., Newman, C.M. and Schlesinger, B. The diagnostic value of thedeep cerebral veins in cerebral angiography. Am J Radiol. 1962; 87:322.
13. Wolf B S, Huang Y P, Newman C.M. The superficial Sylvian venous drainage system. Am J Radiol. 1963; 89:398.
14. Wolf B S, Huang YP. The subependymal veins of the lateral ventricles. Am J Roentgenol Radium Ther Nucl Med. 1964; 91:406-26.
My son is standing in the living room playing the Wii. He is playing a tank game in which you drive your tank around shooting everything that moves. He apparently is not doing too well as he has been constantly blurting out nonsensical words right and left for the past 10 minutes. My wife is TRYING to read the newspaper and is seated on the couch just behind him. She just yelled at him after he blurted out “NIPPLE”!!!! after his tank was shot by another tank. Yep….he’s a 13yr old male alright……playing tanks and war games on the Wii….and still thinking about Nipples………That’s my boy!…..
If you are a fan of the CBS Sitcom “How I met your Mother” you might want to check out the Idiotflashback blog of mine and check one of the newest entries.
My wife laughed at me when she came home from work because I had one of those fake logs burning in the fireplace on a day when it is 60 degrees outside. She asked why I was using the (expletive deleted) fireplace….I told her I had a “chill”…she said to turn on the (expletive deleted) heat!…..I replied that it was cheaper to burn a fake log than to turn on the (expletive deleted heat)…..
I should have just yelled “Nipple!!”
Should I be offended, with me being the cook of the household, that as soon as dinner is over, both the wife and the kid head straight for the microwave to nuke bags of popcorn? Sometimes, they will get up and start the nuking…..while we are still eating……. Something tells me that I should be offended….
Nipple! Nipple! Nipple!
I’m gonna make Microwave Popcorn for Dinner tomorrow night and see what happens…..
We each have different modes of nuking popcorn in the microwave.
The kid puts it in and programs the timer for like 12 minutes then only takes the bag out when the bag has physically burst into flames inside the microwave. Once ALL the smoke alarms in the house have been activated, he takes out the bag.
I use the “listening” method. I listen to the sounds of the pops and once there is only 8.4 pops per 4 second interval, I take out the bag. Taking the bag out with only 7.3 pops in like a 3.6 second interval will also give you a decent bag but I much prefer the 8.4/4 ratio…..don’t you?
My wife uses the method under the theory that ALL popcorn on the planet MUST be nuked for EXACTLY 1 minute and 32 seconds……NO EXCEPTIONS!! If you take out the bag a second or two too early….she will dump out the bag, pick out the unpopped kernels, and will hurl them at you with all her might. If you leave the bag in for an extra second or two…..she will get out a magnifying glass, dump the popcorn out on the counter, and then will pick out the ONE single piece that is slightly browned….and she will then hurl that slightly browned kernel at you with all her might….all the while yelling that YOU burned HER popcorn!
As you know, I have feet that are completely numb due to my disability. I trot around the house bare-footed most of the time. The by-product of being bare-footed AND numb-footed is that I tend to walk around with a whole slew of objects embedded in the bottoms of my feet…….translation……I pick up everything that I step on. I go to the Doctor regularly and she usually looks at my feet and legs as part of my checkups…… The last time I was in the Dr’s Office, she is looking at my feet and picks out a couple unpopped popcorn kernels that were embedded in my foot…… The Doctor looks at me and smirks….”Ya took out the Popcorn a couple seconds too early didn’t ya?”
The Popcorn Conspiracy must be unique to ALL women!
On the local crime blotter:
A woman reported that an unknown person entered her home, opened her bedroom door and turned off her heater.
(Welcome to Texas. Down here, masked intruders cut your phone lines and security system, break into your home, creep through your home, and with you lying sleeping in your skimpy nightgown on the bed,…….they turn off your heat!….. Do ya now see why we enforce the death penalty so strictly down here??? Do you see the brutality of our crimes we deal with??? Just reading this bit from the crime logs made me go out and buy a rabid one-eyed Doberman that I will now physically chain to my Temperature Control Unit on the hallway wall. You can never be too safe)
A deputy responded to a verbal dispute. A man was arguing with his elderly mother on the sidewalk. He wanted her to move into his house, but she refused because he owns cats.
(I tell ya….it’s always the damn cats fault! Though…………I do own 3 of the little farts….so maybe this will actually protect me from Dear Old Mom wanting to move in……..hmmmmmm)
An unknown suspect attempted to force open the back door of a residence.
(Probably that sex-crazed heater psychopath again…..)
A man was found wandering down the road with a head injury. He was transported to Wise Regional Health System. His story kept changing as to how he received the injury.
(Uh….Yeah!!….Take it from a former Nurse…..a concussion or severe head injury…..tends to make things a “little fuzzy”…..)
Where should one take a visiting mother in Bangkok? Temple-hopping, perhaps? Bargain-hunting in markets and malls? Rooftop or riverside dining? Or maybe to see mutated babies, preserved serial killers, elephantiasis-afflicted scrotums the size of medicine balls, and all manner of diseased, ruptured, punctured, crushed and deformed organs, skulls and limbs?
If that, rather than a Chao Phraya cruise, is what floats your – or your mother’s – boat, then jump on board a ferry to Siriraj Hospital’s Forensic Museum, which mixes genuine scientific endeavour with the kind of shock appeal previously reserved for Victorian carnival freakshows or 1980s body-horror movies.
My mum, visiting me for the second time, and Thailand for a fourth, only planned a token few days in Bangkok before heading for the beaches of Krabi and Phuket, as she had “seen it before”. So, the gauntlet had been laid and I had to surprise her with something. Siriraj’s museum promised to open eyes and turn stomachs in equal measure.
There’s no easing you in. Immediately you a confronted with a brightly-lit room full of pickled babies sporting all manner of deformities, from conjoined twins, to a “mermaid” (fused legs), to one with its brain growing outside its skull, and more.
From there, its on to a photo gallery featuring the hideous effects of various crimes and accidents, sitting atop a row of glass cabinets filled with human bones.
The central body of the museum is a mind-numbing miscellany of disease and disaster, arrange in no logical order, with cirrhosis-afflicted livers neighbouring dismembered hands or feet, blackened smokers’ lungs accompanying sheets of tattooed human skin, punctured organs in a different part of the room to an exhibit boasting the items which did the puncturing (bullets, pencils, and even a vibrator), and, utterly incongruously in a room full of human carnage, a lone, skinned tiger’s foot. Oh, and more bottled babies.
The legend of Si Quey lives on
The museum’s star exhibit is the preserved body of Thailand’s most notorious serial killer, Si Quey, a Chinese immigrant who killed and ate a number of children in th 1940s and ’50s.
His skin coated in paraffin and his orifices plugged with wax, his naked body is housed in a glass box for your viewing pleasure, with a few unnamed peers (labelled simply as “murderers” and “rapists”) similarly accommodated nearby.
Si Quey looks no different to any other decades-old preserved corpse, so in that sense I didn’t feel any gravity in viewing his body, although perhaps its different for Thai people, for whom he is a historical household name. Perhaps I would get more of a chill if something similar had been done with Fred West or Myra Hindley’s remains.
Finally, we enjoyed the delights of the parasite exhibition, with its rows of jars of awful organisms pulled out of innards and extracted from skin, photos of worms pouring out of backsides by the litre, and the aforementioned centrepiece of a preserved scrotum swollen by elephantiasis to the size of a large pillow (indeed, there is a mocked-up display of a man – presumably the victim – sitting atop his afflicted balls as if they were indeed some kind of cushion).
For all its unashamed shock value, the museum is nevertheless genuinely fascinating, especially as such a place would be unfeasible in the First World.
The human rights questions are myriad. Who donated the bones, the body parts, the babies? How do the families of murder victims feel about their loved ones’ mutilated features being put on display, whether as photos or actual pieces of people?
What, even, of Si Quey? As despicable as his crimes were, is it appropriate for his body to be kept in this way, or, having been executed, has he paid his debt to society? And what do the families of his victims think? Does his preservation and public shaming constitute some form of continued punishment, or would they prefer he was buried or cremated and thus have his legend lessened, along with the reminders of what he did?
These are not questions for me to answer. It’s just amazing that such a place exists in this day and age, although appropriate laws and regulations are more relaxed in developing countries. Often that is part of the appeal of living in a country like Thailand - or visiting.
Which brings me back to my mum. She has never been one for the conventional tourist trail, preferring instead to attempt to get under the skin of a place and its people. At Siriraj Medical Museum, you can do exactly that – literally!
* Siriraj Forensic Museum is open 9am-4pm, Monday-Saturday. Entry is 40 baht. The nearest public transport link is Wang Lang pier on the Chao Phraya Express Boat route, or simply catch a taxi to Siriraj Hospital.
Kucinich on the Many Reasons to Kill the Current Health Care Bill
Kucinich: Insurance industry gets $70 billion dollars a year, forces people to buy private insurance, locks in five consecutive years of double-digit premium increases.
What this says to me is that the only way that the members of Congress can figure out how to give the same health care to the American people that the members of Congress are getting for free is by charging the American all over $800 billion. Because that’s about how much it’s going to cost for medical care for the people of these United States to get the same medical care that the members of Congress are getting for free. What’s wrong with this picture?
Economic Fact Sheet (Current as of March, 2010)
The United States currently has a national debt in excess of $12.5 trillion.
The interest on the national debt is now in excess of $11 trillion.
The operating budget for the United States government is now in excess of $43 trillion.
The members of the United States Congress stole $200 million from the Medicare fund, which was going to go for cost-of-living increases to Medicare recipients, so that the members of Congress could have their paper medical records converted to computerized medical records. The attitude by the members of Congress was that they didn’t care if they murdered American citizens as long as they get the medical protection they wanted.
The Christian conservatives and the Republican Party are taking the stand that they do not want American citizens to have any kind of healthcare the of healthcare is extended to anyone that the Christian conservatives or the Republican Party does not like. And this is based not on constitutional law or the Christian conservatives and the Republican Party being patriots. It’s based upon the Christian conservatives Republican Party demanding that the American government understand that no Christian conservative or Republican Party member will in any way ever support the US Constitution above their Christian religion and above their Christian Bible. And so as a result, their Christian Bible and Christian religion says that healthcare should not go to Hispanic Americans or black Americans or Jews or Muslims or gay Americans or Native Americans or anyone who is an immigrant that the Christian conservatives Republican Party just doesn’t happen to like.
And so as a result, the Christian conservatives Republican Party members are trying to commit mass murder in United States by denying health care to millions of American citizens who are in desperate need of medical attention. But the Christian conservatives Republican Party doesn’t really care about that because as far as they’re concerned if they have to walk through rivers of blood to make sure that their Christian religion and their Christian faith is supported more than the Constitution of these United States and the Christian conservatives will do just that.
The current level of unemployment in the United States is now over 9.7%.
The current cost for liquidating the national debt is now in excess of $40,000 per person, which means that every man woman and child in the United States would have to pay at least $40,000 to be able to liquidate the national debt.
When you look at the history of United States from the American Civil War until present day you find that the Republican Party and Christian conservatives were in total and complete control of the United States government every single time there was a financial crisis from the American Civil War to present day. And that basically means that all the policy decisions that were being made by the American government during these times when these financial catastrophes were taking place were being made strictly by Christian conservatives and the Republican Party . And of course that’s all public record.
As my financial analysis of the global economic system , in my see also section below, clearly shows, it was the Republican Party and the Christian conservatives under President Bush who gave the American banking industry $400 billion of taxpayer money and simply told the banking industry to use the money anyway they wanted to. And the banking industry did just that they use the money to pay for expensive gifts and presents and take vacations.
To date, the banking industry has only paid back $30 billion out of the over $500 billion that was given to them by the American taxpayers.
The issues of profitability indexing, pursuant to profit margins and per unit costs and customer bases as they relate to compensation packages throughout the entire corporate sector have not been resolved. That basically means that most businesses are being held hostage by upper level management and executive employees in their own companies who are demanding more and more for their compensation packages. As a result of this most companies are having to readjust their per unit costs for their goods and services in such a way so that what they are doing is pricing their services and their products. So that mostly the upper class and the wealthy will be able to afford them. And this is being done so these companies and corporations can get as much money into their company as possible.
But they are in fact forgetting one of the major factors which is that while most of the money that any company gets comes from the wealthy are customers most of their day-to-day cash flow actually comes from the middle and lower income customers. This is true regardless of where that company exists. So as a result of this most of the companies in the corporate sector are operating on what is known as a cash poor basis. And this basically means that since they are pricing their goods and services in order to get the most money possible they are foregoing pricing their goods and services so they will be more affordable to the middle and lower income customers, which actually provide these companies with their day-to-day cash flow. And so as a result, these companies don’t have enough money to pay for employees or many of the other day-to-day costs that come up.
This factor has not been dealt with in any country in the world at this time. Furthermore, these companies are refusing to be honest about their financial reporting. They are constantly using and accounting,/statistical variance, which is .5%. And .5% variance is such a large variance pursuant to statistical and financial analysis that you can basically drive a moving van through the space. That is allocated for plus or minus error correction in the statistical analyses and financial analyses that are in fact done with .5% variance. This is why I have never used that level of variance statistically or financially. I’ve always used .05% variance because it is such a small variance that the statistical analysis of the profitability analysis cannot be falsified. It is true that using .05% variance does require an additional 100,000 to 200,000 calculations in order to be able to complete the analysis. But when you consider that the final product is incredibly more honest and reliable. It’s worth it.
The banking industry has turned cruel. For example here in Cleveland Ohio Keycorp is taking a lot of pride and threatening senior citizens and kicking them out of their homes so that they can foreclose on the property. This is happening all over Cleveland Ohio and KeyCorp actually is one of the most hated banks in the entire state of Ohio. But KeyCorp is not the only one who’s doing this practice. Because was really happening is that banks all over the United States are basically threatening senior citizens with foreclosure to the point where suicides are now escalating and accelerating at an alarming rate. So badly that the medical community is swamped by the number of suicide calls they are getting. And this is all happening because KeyCorp and other banks like KeyCorp are basically taking the attitude that they don’t care how many men and women and children they have to murder. They just want their money.
When you consider these kinds of factors are going on in the banking industry you realized that the other thing that’s happening is that senior citizens and homeowners are becoming incredibly sick. Do becoming physically ill as a result of the horrible attitude that KeyCorp in other banks like KeyCorp are pushing on the citizens. And there is no help for this at all.
Additionally, the medical community is helping with this because we have a hospital here in Cleveland Ohio called MetroHealth that basically is working hard. Just like KeyCorp to threaten senior citizens and have them thrown out of their homes. So that they can foreclose on the property. And basically kill the individuals. I have been personally threatened by KeyBank and MetroHealth and have recorded conversations proving that.
So MetroHealth does all these commercials where they’re talking about how good a hospital they are and yet they have been sued a number of times for Medicare fraud. They have also been sued by their own employees for unfair business practices. And they have lost doctors so badly because they don’t treat their doctors very well either. Nobody likes MetroHealth.
And for the record, it needs to be understood that my grandfather’s brother, Dr. ally Maschke, was the director of medicine at mount Sinai medical center here in Cleveland Ohio until his death. And my cousin, Dr. Victor Vertese, was also the director of medicine at mount Sinai medical center until his death. Additionally, my grandfather, Maurice Maschke, and his business partner, Mark Hanna, who founded the Hana mining company, which became the 3M company, basically built mount Sinai medical center in Cleveland. And in addition to that, my father, Maurice Maschke Junior, was on the Board of Trustees at Case Western Reserve University, University hospitals of Cleveland, Cleveland clinic, and mount Sinai medical center until his death. And in addition to that, my father, Maurice Maschke Junior, and I., were partners and co-owners of pioneer linen supply company of Cleveland Ohio for 25 years until 1975 when we sold the company.
So given all of the foregoing as actual facts. The only reason that the accelerated growth has taken place is because certain industries in the United States have in fact been making money. Only because their industries are addressing sections of the population who are otherwise disenfranchised by most of the business sector. For example Tyco International is a business that specializes and fire prevention and warning systems and security systems. And of course they’ve done a really good job because people are scared to death and living in their homes and there are so many foreclosures going on that people are having to protect their homes because in most cities the number of police has dropped so badly because most cities are in a huge budget crisis. In Cleveland, Ohio, for example, the city went from 1,500,000 people down to approximately 400,000 people in only a matter of months. And conditions are so bad in Cleveland that Cleveland is now charging nine dollars a month just pick up our garbage.
So given those facts Tyco International for one example is making a lot of money because people are having to protect their homes because they can’t really, the police that much because the number of police has dropped so the greatly because of the budget crisis going on throughout the world and throughout the United States.
Additionally, when you look at a company like Microsoft, who reported a huge profit. This is because Microsoft isn’t doing really well. Because they’re not the only reason Microsoft made this huge profit was because their previous product, Microsoft Windows Vista was actually one of the worst programs and products Microsoft ever created. And so since it did so terribly in the market naturally Microsoft’s increased now is looking fantastic, which is not because if you analyze the overall productivity and effectiveness of Microsoft you will see that they are basically floundering under Steve Ballmer’s direction.
So again, it’s really easy for people to talk about how well the market is doing that the foregoing represents the actual facts of what’s going on in business.
And as I said before, I have been studying the stock market since I was six years old. At age 6 I started studied the stock market at Prescott ball and turban here in Cleveland Ohio. With one of the partner broker’s, Bernie Towell, who was a personal friend of mine. And so every day for four hours every day and age 6 until age 16 I studied the stock market and learned economics and financial analysis . At age 16, while working and being a partner and co-owner of pioneer linen spy company in Cleveland, I did my first financial analysis and profitability analysis . It was done on the linen supply company’s of Cleveland Ohio. The analysis was so good that the results were used to program some computers at the time. And in 42 years and having been a financial analyst I’ve never once been wrong in any financial projection I’ve ever done. Not once. Just like I’m not wrong now.
In my financial analysis of the global economic system in my see also section below, I clearly show that the American market system was going to lose $800 trillion of market value in the third business quarter of 2009. I further substantiated this claim last January in January of 2009. When I explained that the American market system was going to take a huge hit in the third quarter and that it would come out to about $800 trillion of market loss. And that this was in fact in line with the Kondratieff wave . And in fact that’s exactly what did happen. Which means the analysts were wrong. And I was right.
So again, if you go ahead and look at all these factors without looking at all of the peripheral details than you are going to be responding to the information in a very symptomatic, or symptomatically oriented manner whereby you will behave to the information in an extremely reactionary way. By the like term, if you look at all of the information regarding economics throughout the entire global economic system in a problematically oriented manner you will be looking at the financial information in a more anticipatory manner. And much more pervasive rather than in a stereotypical or linear manner. And as a result, you will begin to understand that all of these different factors that I have brought forth in this article right now. Actually do justify what I’m saying that the American market system is on the verge of collapse. And that the economic system for Greece is about to go under. And that unemployment in Spain and France and England is running at almost 30%.
These do not make things look like they’re going good in the United States is basically doing nothing but lying about the economic they I went to school with most of the people who run a lot of these companies in the United States and who are working on Wall Street either went to school with them at Case Western Reserve why went to school with them at Fort Lewis college board went to school with them at southern Arizona school in Tucson Arizona. Or, I did business with them throughout my life.
So again, this is a reality check. And all I can say is, if you don’t believe what I’m saying that’s not a problem. Because you haven’t believe me, for 40 years, what I’ve been talking about all of these issues facing the economic system in the United States and the global economic system. So why would you believe me now?
But the fact is that just because you may not believe what I’m saying doesn’t mean that what I’m saying is not true. Simply means you are refusing or are not able to see the veracity in what I’m saying and that’s all it means.
See Also:
The American Civil War
Slavery
The Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln
John Wilkes Booth
The Christian Conservatives
World War I
Prohibition
The Great Depression
The Battle of Washington
World War II
The Korean War
The Vietnam War
Richard Nixon
Oliver North
The Iran-Contra Affair
The Gulf War
The Savings-And-Loan Crisis
Bill Clinton
The Balanced Budget Amendment
The Iraq War
The Kondratieff Wave
Profitability Analysis
Financial Analysis
Vance Packard
Laissez-Faire
Capital Punishment
Homophobia
Xenophobia
Racism
Prejudice
Bigotry
Fascism
Eugenics
White Supremacy
Mein Kampf
Adolf Hitler
The Ku Klux Klan
The Army of God
US Domestic Violence Statistics
US Child Abuse Statistics
US Child Mortality Statistics
US Religious Demographic Statistics
Gay-Rights
Transgenderism
Women’s Rights
Pro-Choice
NRA
Oliver Wendell Holmes
The US Constitution
The Bill Of Rights
Recording Telephone Conversations
Treason
Sedition
How The Republicans Use The Constitution To Lie (article 1, section 6, Subsection b) of The US Constitution
My Biographical Profile
My Philosophy Of Life
24 Hour Suicide And Crisis Help Center
For Those Who Said I Never Knew Ronald Reagan, They Lied
My Encounter With Joan Baez
My Time Studying The Anasazi Indians
My 250 Million Variable Characteristic Hieroglyphic Language
My Tribute To Jim Varney
The Pebble And The Penguin
A Diamond On A Sea Of Glass
Regarding Me And My Journal
My Spinal Fusion And Me Doing 250 Situps
An Installment Notation of The Maschke Family History and Legacy
It’s A Crime
Hey God! You There? I’m Tired… Ok?
In The Midst Of Darkness The Smallest Spark Lights My Way…
I Wrote Something A Long Time Ago…
Kmart To Close Five More Ohio Stores
The Vanishing Of America
A Place Called Earth
How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down On The Farm
Sounds
Reality …
Second Gear
My Financial Analysis Of The Global Economic System
Adventures In Technocracy
An Explanation Of Vernacular Dynamics and Sequencing Regarding Various Forms of Advocacy
My Global Warming Research
For the record, I am pro-life. I do not support violence against, or the killing of any human being under any circumstances! And the only way that I ever deviate from that stand is that I do not believe that God has ever given any human the right to dictate to any woman how she is to arbitrate her life with the Almighty, and/or God. Therefore, I believe that all women deserve the right to choose for themselves the fate of their own bodies, pursuant to their relationship with the Almighty, and/or God. For an expanded explanation please see my article entitled: “Second Gear“
In both creation stories from Genesis 1 and 2 we read that god created light before he created man [well before he created woman] so if he did create humans he either must need some really strong glasses or is such an incompetent designer that he should be fired.I will list a few of the obvious [some not so obvious] quirks of human anatomy.
Aortic Arches
Backwards/Divided Retina
Blood Vessel Overlap
Ear Muscles
Epiglottis
Male Nipples
These are just a few of the numerous examples I could have listed. I will address each in turn with a short summary of why it is a problem and why it is bad design. Two of them I will discuss with more than just a summary. Last night’s article should have given you fair warning that I am going to look at the circulatory system, in this case the blood vessel overlap. If you didn’t read last night’s article, shame on you. Go read it here then come back.
Human Embryo (7th week of pregnancy)
First up are the six Aortic Arches that form in the embryo. Why am I calling that a problem since it is an obvious holdover from our evolutionary ancestors? In our fish ancestors, these arches were used to form the gills so it is more than understandable why the remain in a human embryo. Only thing is all 4 arches are not needed in a human. Not only are there some cases where the arches do not disappear and a human baby is born with ‘gills’ but apparently the intelligent designer didn’t realize since the arches one, two and 5 disappear bilaterally and arch six disappears one the right side, that there would be an enormous and unnecessary wasting of resources. Then again, this could have been his Rube Goldbergesque joke.
Optical chiasm
The eye, the ’shining’ example IDiots use to show irreducible complexity. There are many, many quirks with the eye alone but I only want to address one. Not even sure I labeled it correctly so I am going to dip into this in a bit of detail and if I don’t use the proper anatomical terms, blame my ex girlfriend down in Texas, she was the optometrist not me. First let me explain our retinas. Each of our retinas have a nasal side and a temporal side. The nasal side is on the nose side and the temporal side is on the side with our ear [just checking to see if your paying attention]. When we look at something, say a vase, the left side of the vase registers on the temporal side of our right retina and the right side of the vase registers on the nasal side of our right retina. Confused yet? Now let’s take a lateral jump to the left eye and we see that the left side of the vase registers on the nasal side of our left retina and the right side of the vase registers on the temporal side of our left retina. Now I am confused so let me trudge on. This is known as crossover. In humans as well as most primates, the crossover is 50%. In the animal kingdom it is usually 100%. You may wonder how our brains actually make sense of this and actually interpret this stereoscopically. If you are familiar with old stereoscopic cameras you are aware that there are two lenses that are slightly offset so they take a picture from slightly different angles and are combined to form one image. Not such a simple and elegant solution for our unintelligent designer. It is necessary for our stereoscopic vision to have the images processed on different sides of our brains otherwise the images are unclear. This can be seen in Albino humans who due to their albinism have less crossing of their axons which they make up for by crossing their eyes. In the animal kingdom all albino animals have crossed eyes. The images from each side of our retinas travels from our eyes to our brains along axons which cross at a spot named the chiasm [named after the Greek letter chi due to its similarity to an X and Xasm sounds like something from a porn movie]. To be more specific, the temporal si de of our right retina crosses with the nasal side of our left retina then continues on for further vision processing in the left side of our vision system and the reverse happens for our retinas other side. This results in the axons from our right and left visual fields being processed by the opposite side of our brains visual center. Any electricians or just plain smart people want to tell me what can happen when wires cross?
Aorta In Red. Inferior Vena Cava In Blue
Now we get to the second longer topic, blood vessel overlap which can have deadly consequences. Inside our body we have our Abdominal Aorta which not surprisingly runs through our abdomen [hence the name]. It is the principal artery in our body. Alongside it, just to the right, runs the inferior vena cava. The first and most obvious question is why is that a problem? That isn’t but what happens is. The inferior vena cava returns deoxygenated blood from our legs and to do so must form a juncture like an upside down Y. Our Abdominal Aorta supplies oxygenated blood to our legs so it to must branch off as an upside down Y. Neither in itself is a problem. Where they branch into the leg there is a problem. As the inferior vena cava branches the Abdominal Aorta does the same only going into the left leg it lays atop the inferior vena cava which can lead to thrombosis and vasoconstriction. This problem isn’t present on the right. And as a medical confirmation of this being a problem just look at Thurner-May syndrome. It is typical for someone with this syndrome to have deep vein thrombosis in the left leg and not in the right. Although a DVT is not a necessary outcome of Thurner-May it is a distinct risk. Now someone want to tell me how loving and intelligent our designer was?
Now we come to ear muscles. Sure they enable us to entertain children by wiggling our ears. They are left over remnants from our ancestors but totally unnecessary for humans. This is an example of something that would only be done by an unintelligent designer.
Epiglottis is #3
The Epiglottis. The epitome of design stupidity and a deadly one at that. The development of the epiglottis is easily explained by our aquatic ancestors. Specifically those that were able to breath both in air and water. The epiglottis evolved as an aid to breathing where it would open when in air allowing breath to enter the lungs but close when in water so water couldn’t enter the lungs but was shuttled towards the gills where oxygen was extracted. In humans the epiglottis serves a vastly different purpose, one which a small piece of cartilage is not made to handle. The epiglottis closes when we eat so our food goes to our stomach instead of into our lungs [which would create myriads of trouble]. Sometimes the epiglottis doesn’t work and that is why things like the Heimlich maneuver were invented. If god did design humans, he eith did so with his eyes closed or did so to give Heimlich something to invent.
Male nipples, the famous question. Why do men have nipples? Mammary glands are the reason we are mammals and all embryos start out as female then either stay female or become male. Wait a sec, doesn’t the bible say man came first? Guess that is another of the millions of dumb mistakes in that book. Anyway back to the question. Where the ‘intelligent’ designer thought creating six Aortic Arches was a good idea then ’suiciding’ some of them, here instead of ’suiciding’ the male mammary glands he chose to leave them in place. Man is he inconsistent besides being an inept designer. Only reason I call it a quirk is that there are medical conditions that happen to the male mammary glands, one is called gynecomastia and that is mostly a cosmetic problem. There is another medical problem and one that occasionally kills. To be fair it affects women also. That is breast cancer. So a loving, intelligent creator gives men mammary glands they don’t need so they can get breast cancer and die?
I just listed six small quirks of human anatomy. Two of them with possible deadly results. All six are perfectly explained by evolution yet none of them are explained by anything resembling an intelligent designer. I guess they could be explained by an unintelligent, sadistic, childlike, cruel barbarian designer but I don’t think the IDiot cult would go for that. Guess I’ll just remain what the Christian’s call a fool and not believe in their god.
If you are multi-ethnic or a person of color, you have a special situation in the treatment of your acne condition. Hyperpigmentation, which is the color excess in the skin is a major complaint of people of color, which is with acne. We hope that over time this condition will fade, but not guaranteed. And in the meantime, it is an embarrassment to the outside and it affects your confidence and self-confidence.
Lightening Creams have become a lifeline forCoping with hyperpigmentation. Properly used, they will help fade dark areas more quickly than expected for the time passes and their effects. A dermatologist can help you with what product is best for your skin color and type. But if you're not the one you are working, there are many more counter products that might help you. Make sure that whatever it is perfect for you. Even at least a SPF 15 sunscreen may help to fadediscolored areas.
Many people use color, petroleum and hair, as this is, almost all of them a degree of acne on the forehead. No matter what color you are, oil-based products to convene an outbreak of acne and create clogged pores leading to blackheads and white. You'll find that if you use these products, your forehead, acne disappears. But if your hair is too dry, then continue to apply to your product, but alsoHe further away from his forehead, so that anything it touches your skin.
Multi-ethnic people of color and should be particularly careful in their use of products and picking and squeezing her imperfections. May occur because of high pigment in skin, scars and discoloration, a lightening of the skin and hyperpigmentation. It only takes once to break a button before time and the skin is at the endBe easier at that particular point. Let your pop-stains on their own time. If you want to face, then you will find a concealer that matches your skin color and tone. The button will be limited in time, the scar of his time, as your actions where an epidemic.
Seven percent (7%) of us will look older than others of the same age. Researchers at the University of Leicester and King’s College diagnosed 3,000 participants in the experiment. There are “telomeres” of certain length attached at the end of chromosomes; the faster the telomere shortens the older you look compared to same age people.
A person with genetic variation near the gene TERC that has the function of regenerating the length of telomere with the help of the enzyme telomerase may be deficient. This deficiency is worsened if the person is a smoker, obese, and lacks physical exercises.
So the budget came out today in the House of Commons. It’s always exciting to see the political juices flowing. Here’s my reactions to the new budget.
No tax increases
Many economists and Canada’s Budgetary Officier have said that raising taxes will become a reality. You either have to cut vital serivces, such as health care and education, through transfers to the provinces or raise taxes. We need to freeze taxes for those who can’t afford a raise (ie, lower and middle class Canadians) while slightly raising taxes for those who can sustain the blow. Corporate taxes and taxes for the richest Canadians need to go up.
No cuts in major transfers to people and provinces
I was honestly scared of cuts to health care and education, two of the most vital services for Canadians. However, I am releaved today. We can’t go down the slippery slope of cutting services. Canada’s health care and education systems needs to remain public, so that we all have the same standards, regardless of socio-economic status.
Reduced Growth of Spending in Defence
I was really hoping for an actual cut in this department. In a time where we need to tighten our belts, why does the government choose to fund violence, bloodshed, and death? It makes no sense. This should have been the first place to cut in a recession situation.
Reduced Growth of International Aid
This does make sense, however this is a global recession. We need to help out other countries if we want to get out of this. I think we should forgive debts to Canada from developing nations and freeze international aid spending at the levels they are at now.
Closing tax loopholes
I agree that we should crack down on those who abuse the system for their personal benefit. It’s no fair to those who legitimately pay into the system. My question is: where was the government on this issue four years ago?
Wage freeze for prime minister, MPs and senators
If the citizens of the country have to tighten their belts, so should the politicians. Again, this should have been one of the first cuts in a recession situation. Cut all politicians’ salaries by $50,000, we save more than $20 million. If we need to suffer, they should have some discomfort too.
Departmental operating budget frozen until 2013
Notably expempt are pensions and other benefits. I also agree with this one too. The government is at least showing modest effort to tightening their belts in a recession. This spending would’ve been harder to cut, and I understand that.
$22 million in funding over 2 years for ‘Own the Podium’
It’s good that they are supporting sport in this country, and doubling their contribution. However, will it create jobs? No
$222 million over 5 years for nuclear and physics research
Very good! Shift the burden from the Chalk River reactor for medical isotopes. Creates jobs, solves health care issues, and is a productive use of money. That’s the kind of spending we need in a recession.
$300 million in tariff savings for business
We could’ve spent that money to create industries for machinery and manufacturing in Canada.
A new red-tape reduction commission
Even though people get pessimistic about government commissions, if it’s done correctly, it’s a good idea. Examine things we can cut and move forward from there.
$2 million for a community war memorial program
Supporting veterans is a good thing, plus it could create some jobs.
$80 million more for an eco-energy retrofit program
I like it, but it should be a little more extensive than that.
$87 million over 2 years for border security
If they use this money to create jobs, then I’m good with it. However, if we just use it to process passports or something, then no.
$28 million over two years to CSIS
In a world where we are in a constant fear of terrorism, I can understand this.
New longer-lasting bank notes in 2011
A bit of a stretch, but it may just be crazy enough to work.
Hits:
-No cuts to health care or education
-Continuation of spending to create jobs
-Creative job creation spending (nuclear and physics research, memorial program, etc.)
-Energy retrofit funding
-Red Tape Commission
Misses:
-Most new spending minor; need more major stimulus
-No corporate tax increases
-Tariff elimination
-No cuts in military or politicians salary
-Isolated recession thinking; no debt forgiveness for developing nations
-No funding for seniors, child care, or aboriginals
-No poverty elimination plan; social housing increases What Would I Do:
I would make some amendments for some of my minor objectives. Salary cuts and increases in spending would be the major amendments. If these passed, I’d vote FOR the budget.
The October 27, 2009 edition of Wall Street Journal ran a story called “Metals: Panacea or Placebo?” by science reporter Melinda Beck that put a skeptical eye on claims of medical and health benefits to the use of metals (copper, silver, gold, titanium, and magnetic items) as adornments and “dietary ‘supplements.” The same week, a blog post by Steven Novella at Science-Based Medicine discussed the recently published “Therapeutic effects of magnetic and copper bracelets in osteoarthritis: A randomised placebo-controlled crossover trial” from Complementary Therapies in Medicine (abstract), which documented a controlled test on the efficacy of magnetic or copper bracelets to help arthritis and other ailments. Unsurprisingly, any benefits from the different bracelets were no better than placebo. Readers are referred to his excellent write-up for a discussion of the study and links to other peer-reviewed work. In it, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a dollar-sucking entity foisted on the taxpayers by Congress, admits that it has found no evidence for beneficial effects on fibromyalgia, migraines, or other painful conditions, from the use of metal bracelets. The idea of people volunteering to put large amounts of metal and metal solutions into their bodies intrigued me, so I reviewed the current state of Metal Medicine.
A couple years ago, Paul Karason became briefly famous as the “blue man” whose skin turned blue due to argyria — a condition where silver collects in the skin and organs and reacts with light, much as the silver emulsion on film. He dosed himself with silver solutions that he created in his home, a procedure easy for anyone who has taken a basic high school chemistry class. “I did it all on my own,” he said. “Originally, I just saw an ad for a colloidal silver generator in a magazine and the picture stuck in my head like a song might stick in your head. I had a friend who had severe petroleum poisoning, and I heard colloidal silver was helpful for that, and that’s how I started.” In the same interview, he admitted that his original health problem, dermatitis, was not cured by ingesting silver, although he continued to drink silver solutions daily. Proponents of colloidal silver claim that ingesting silver can cure or treat colds, flu, cancer, diabetes, herpes, shingles, and HIV/AIDS, among other ailments. Silver solutions, such as silver nitrate, have been used as anti-microbial disinfectants for many years, and frequently used as eyedrops for newborns to prevent conjunctivitis (although most former uses have been supplanted by newer, less toxic treatments). The FDA has repeatedly stated that ingesting silver is not beneficial, is not even safe, and can cause kidney damage.
Of course, one man’s woo is another man’s scam. A company called Purest Colloids charges that Karason was not using the correct silver (he’s ingesting silver in an ionic solution instead of pure silver in a colloid form), and that the stories about his condition are a hoax on the American people. From their web site:
The Blue Man charade demonstrates once again that the mass media cannot be trusted to report anything that even resembles a truthful “news” story. All “news” today is propagated with an agenda just like the phony economic statistics put out the U.S. government.
In other words, a conspiracy to make people afraid to take silver supplements. Oh, yeah.
Silver is not the oldest “magic metal.” Magnets have been tried as treatments for thousands of years. Randi has written extensively about the Q-ray and magnetic bracelets, and those scams continue to be perpetrated on the public with the usual blather about aligning one’s auras, improving the blood flow by acting on the iron in hemoglobin, and other wishful thinking. Dozens of websites sell these items, and while I do not wish to drive traffic to their sites, it’s interesting to poke around to see the prices, claims, and testimonials. “I thought I could save money,” says one alleged testimonial, “by buying another magnetic bracelet from another company advertising them at half the price with 5000 gauss. Well, let me tell you, I was scammed! When that ‘other’ bracelet came in, I checked the magnetic strength by seeing how strongly it attaches to a piece of metal compared to your bracelet…Thanks for a great product!” To view the going prices for lumps of metal, see for example Ace Magnetics or AACopper, which warns you again those cheap Chinese copper bracelets that don’t leave a green ring on your wrist. By doing a search of various magnet proponents, you’ll find you can now buy magnetic mattress pads, cushions, hair brushes — and even styling gel! I suspect if you spend $30 for magnetic hair spray, you are going to see some effects. (These items are ubiquitous on the internet, and a new company pops up every time one is shut down. For instance, in 2002, Quackwatch reported that the California Attorney General sued European Health Concepts for selling magnetic mattress pads and cushions. They’ve been out of business since then, but Googling ‘magnetic mattress pad’ turned up a dozen sites, selling pads running upwards of $800.)
Magnets are cheap to manufacture, but for a classy scam you need something more exotic. Gold has an ancient history as a nearly-magical elixir to provide immortality. For many years, gold salts were used to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, although the toxicity of the metal caused mouth sores, kidney damage, and occasionally, problems with the bone marrow’s ability to make new blood cells (a side effect that killed one of my engineering professors). One supplier, Optimox, carries colloidal gold in tablet form. Although their site states “For use as a source of colloidal metallic gold without medical or health claims,” the subsequent copy clearly implies that colloidal gold can detoxify the liver, act as a anti-oxidant, control joint pain and swelling, and promote resistance to infection. (Since my 50 hours of college chemistry is nearly 30 years old, I won’t embarrass myself with a critique of all their claims about redox reactions, but invite knowledgeable readers to comment.) Another alarming claim, among many, is that taking 30 mg of gold per day for one month increases IQ scores by 20%. In rough terms, that means a month’s worth of tablets could take a person of average IQ into the top 5-10% of the population.
A more recent trend in metal therapies is titanium, which started in Japan. Generally, companies market titanium bracelets or pendants, claiming that the material enhances the flow of energy and creates a positive charge that cancels out pain’s negative charge — i.e., neutralizing the pain. To my knowledge, this particular benefit of titanium has not made it into the anesthesiologist’s tool bag. Some sites sell titanium items to relieve stress or back pain, and feature testimonials from professional athletes. One company, Rob Diamond, explains how the bracelet causes ions in the blood to push against vessel walls, causing heat, which improves circulation and carries away toxins. One of the biggest hawkers of titanium products is Phiten, founded by a chiropractor in Japan. This company has taken the snake oil to a new level, infusing titanium particles into lotions, clothing, shoes, and bedding. Testimonials from Olympic athletes and baseball players spread the word, enforcing the placebo effects of the items. They also market a product called “G Water” which they claim will suppress fatigue of the brain when you spray it on the head.
As the author of the WSJ article remarked “Perhaps if consumers became smarter, they would be more skeptical of such claims.”