I've been lightly following this case and if Clinton picks it up and challenges it she will get respect from me (something she highly lacks). If you haven't heard about it, s a woman named Jamie Leigh Jones was working in Iraq and was drugged and repeatedly raped andbeaten. She was left in a box for days when finally a soldier felt bad for her and gave her his cell phone to call her dad in the states. Her father called the State Department to have his daughter rescued from, wait for it... Americans. These were employees of Halliburton and it happened in July, 2005. Now my question is where's the press on this? I originally heard about this case on an internet news article. Why do we care that Jaimi Lynn Spears is pregnant, but this woman who has a real issue can't get airplay? By the way, Halliburton lost Jones' paperwork while it was processing.
Anyway Sen. Clinton has called for a probe as a public statement on this. Ok, she gets one brownie point, because this is a feminist issue (not the fake feminism running around the U.S.).
Cheers.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Saturday, December 29, 2007
What is lactose free milk?
I've asked myself this question many times so today i decided to look for the answer. It didn't make sense to me that something could still be considered milk (or dairy) with no lactose in it. Lactose is the essential ingredient that makes it milk, it's the milk sugar. Anyway here's the answer to all those who ponder why they can drink milk by the gallon but have siblings so allergic they can't be near it without breaking out in hives.
Lactose free milk is all the goodness of milk (water, fat proteins) without Lactose. So it it still milk. And while we're at it, what is non dairy creamer made of?
Non-dairy creamer is made of sodium caseinate (a derivative of casein a milk protien that contains no lactose), corn syrup and vegetable oil. Often soy products are used instead of casein derivative. So yeah that sounds appetizing.
Interesting milk facts I found on the web:
Human milk has the highest lactose concentration to any other animal. 9%. Cows are only 4.5%
Butter, unless added later, contains no lactose due to processing.
Mammory glands are very spcialized sweat glands.
Cow's milk was first ingested in the Middle East about 9000-8000BC.
Somewhere in the world people drink Reindeer milk.
In Switzerland there is a carbonated milk drink called Rivella
Lactose intolerance (by population):
Dutch 1%, Austrians 15-20%, Northern French 17%, Southern French 65%, African Americans 45% in children 75% in adults, Sicilians 71%, Asian Americans 90%, Thai 98%, native Americans 100%.
There are three types of intolerance:
Primary: induced when a child is being weaned in a mostly non dairy environment.
Secondary: Environmentally induced by intestinal parasites and temporary intolerance is produced by gastroenteritis.
Congenital lactase deficiency: nice was of saying you were born that way.
Cheers.
Lactose free milk is all the goodness of milk (water, fat proteins) without Lactose. So it it still milk. And while we're at it, what is non dairy creamer made of?
Non-dairy creamer is made of sodium caseinate (a derivative of casein a milk protien that contains no lactose), corn syrup and vegetable oil. Often soy products are used instead of casein derivative. So yeah that sounds appetizing.
Interesting milk facts I found on the web:
Human milk has the highest lactose concentration to any other animal. 9%. Cows are only 4.5%
Butter, unless added later, contains no lactose due to processing.
Mammory glands are very spcialized sweat glands.
Cow's milk was first ingested in the Middle East about 9000-8000BC.
Somewhere in the world people drink Reindeer milk.
In Switzerland there is a carbonated milk drink called Rivella
Lactose intolerance (by population):
Dutch 1%, Austrians 15-20%, Northern French 17%, Southern French 65%, African Americans 45% in children 75% in adults, Sicilians 71%, Asian Americans 90%, Thai 98%, native Americans 100%.
There are three types of intolerance:
Primary: induced when a child is being weaned in a mostly non dairy environment.
Secondary: Environmentally induced by intestinal parasites and temporary intolerance is produced by gastroenteritis.
Congenital lactase deficiency: nice was of saying you were born that way.
Cheers.
Friday, December 28, 2007
the pen vs. the sword
It's something like an epic battle. Words are as much a part of our history as swords. So it's interesting in English that the the word sword is one letter off from the word word. Maybe it's because words can cut us deeper than any sword. Words become the choice weapons of politicians, lawyers and spouses. I wonder if the two words developed together, with the intention of sword being a metaphorical weapon. Maybe it's just all coincidence.
Just thinking out loud.
Just thinking out loud.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Maybe I just like dragons...
It was explained to me that dragons are the ultimate 'animal' because they contain all 4 elements. Fire (breathing) Air (wings) Earth (lizards are terrestrial) Water (they can swim).
Whatever.
I just really really really like Komodo Dragons. And water dragons. Competely different. Equally awsome. That's all.
Monday, December 24, 2007
The Red... Threat?
So this film on bacteriophages was pretty interesting. I’ve said before that I’m a microbiologist, so I had heard of them before (viruses that infect bacteria exclusively), But I had never heard of them being used therapeutically. Apparently in the Soviet Union they have been using phages to treat bacterial infections since at least the 20’s. Now there is a reason why this type of research is important, we live in a post-resistant age. There are strains of bacteria resistant to every drug we have, and that means they are lethal, about 100% of the time. Things like strep, TB and staph are killing people all over the world and usually it’s nosocomial (acquired in the hospital).
So someone might ask, why would I want a virus injected into me to kill a bacteria? That’s a valid question, with many answers. 1. You’re less likely to have an allergic reaction 2. You would not be injected, it would be administered based on the location of the infection (topically, ingested, rinsed). 3. Drug resistance is not an issue because the bacteria never interact with a drug. If used in combination, the bacteria would never have a chance to gain resistance, and you can cut infection time significantly. 4. Drug interactions are a non issue. So the next question is… Why haven’t I heard of it? Because there’s a little thing called scientific supremacy that the U.S. has created. If you’re research is not published in well known journals, and it is not published in English, it doesn’t exist. Nice. We’re all going to die from bioweapons because someone didn’t want to learn Russian.
That’s the next interesting thought about this film. At one time in the U.S.S.R. there were huge vaults of both bacteria and their phages, collected from all over the world, much like we have at the CDC and the next place, BioPreparat. BioPreparat was Russia’s leading bioweapons facility, that developed and sold various kinds of weapons grade strains of disease. Now, no this was not mentioned in the movie but it’s a logical connection to be made when it does mention that the height of the bacteriophage production was during the height of communism in the U.S.S.R. So I’m thinking its very possible that a large part of this research was done, and not published so that the Soviets could build and/or dispense weapons (during the cold war), while remaining immune. Another reason the U.S. may have never embraced the research was because it was part of the Red threat and there would be no money going toward a Soviet research program.
So now that we live in the age of WMD what does this have to do with anything? Everything. It is believed, but never verified, that the Soviets sold bioweapons to places like North Korea and Iran. We’ve all witnessed the anthrax scare and the looming smallpox threat and although phages won’t help smallpox (it’s a virus), any bacterial infection spread over an area could be treated in mass with bacteriophages. It’s proven to be inexpensive to produce, and has very few side effects. One of the benefits is, is that when they get in the bloodstream our immune system destroys them as foreign particles, and they don’t have a mechanism to infect us, since their hosts are bacteria (very different cell design).
A venture capitalist originally invested in this research and brought it to America, but it has yet to make him money, or pique the interest of any major company like Novartis (they’re great at growing viruses, they make the world’s supply of flu shot right here in Emeryville, CA). So, maybe if more people are informed about this alternative drug, they can begin to request it. Bacteriophages have also been used as disinfectants for surgical equipment, and hospital rooms, so at the very least we could make the suggestion here. If I ever have some rare bacterial infection, or having invasive surgery I think I’ll demand that Kaiser Permanente (or whoever I’ve sold my soul to at the time) order me some phage medicine from Russia. Because at least then, I know that my exuberant health care costs made somebody actually work, and I’m getting a medicine that won’t kill me in the long term.
wiki Bacterophage
Phage Therapy Center, Republic of Georgia
So someone might ask, why would I want a virus injected into me to kill a bacteria? That’s a valid question, with many answers. 1. You’re less likely to have an allergic reaction 2. You would not be injected, it would be administered based on the location of the infection (topically, ingested, rinsed). 3. Drug resistance is not an issue because the bacteria never interact with a drug. If used in combination, the bacteria would never have a chance to gain resistance, and you can cut infection time significantly. 4. Drug interactions are a non issue. So the next question is… Why haven’t I heard of it? Because there’s a little thing called scientific supremacy that the U.S. has created. If you’re research is not published in well known journals, and it is not published in English, it doesn’t exist. Nice. We’re all going to die from bioweapons because someone didn’t want to learn Russian.
That’s the next interesting thought about this film. At one time in the U.S.S.R. there were huge vaults of both bacteria and their phages, collected from all over the world, much like we have at the CDC and the next place, BioPreparat. BioPreparat was Russia’s leading bioweapons facility, that developed and sold various kinds of weapons grade strains of disease. Now, no this was not mentioned in the movie but it’s a logical connection to be made when it does mention that the height of the bacteriophage production was during the height of communism in the U.S.S.R. So I’m thinking its very possible that a large part of this research was done, and not published so that the Soviets could build and/or dispense weapons (during the cold war), while remaining immune. Another reason the U.S. may have never embraced the research was because it was part of the Red threat and there would be no money going toward a Soviet research program.
So now that we live in the age of WMD what does this have to do with anything? Everything. It is believed, but never verified, that the Soviets sold bioweapons to places like North Korea and Iran. We’ve all witnessed the anthrax scare and the looming smallpox threat and although phages won’t help smallpox (it’s a virus), any bacterial infection spread over an area could be treated in mass with bacteriophages. It’s proven to be inexpensive to produce, and has very few side effects. One of the benefits is, is that when they get in the bloodstream our immune system destroys them as foreign particles, and they don’t have a mechanism to infect us, since their hosts are bacteria (very different cell design).
A venture capitalist originally invested in this research and brought it to America, but it has yet to make him money, or pique the interest of any major company like Novartis (they’re great at growing viruses, they make the world’s supply of flu shot right here in Emeryville, CA). So, maybe if more people are informed about this alternative drug, they can begin to request it. Bacteriophages have also been used as disinfectants for surgical equipment, and hospital rooms, so at the very least we could make the suggestion here. If I ever have some rare bacterial infection, or having invasive surgery I think I’ll demand that Kaiser Permanente (or whoever I’ve sold my soul to at the time) order me some phage medicine from Russia. Because at least then, I know that my exuberant health care costs made somebody actually work, and I’m getting a medicine that won’t kill me in the long term.
wiki Bacterophage
Phage Therapy Center, Republic of Georgia
Sunday, December 23, 2007
3:10 to Yuma; the western influence
Most people probably wouldn’t think I’m a fan of westerns, but I’m a fan of manly men, and what’s more manly than a western? Anyway this movie made me contemplate, and I mean very seriously, why it didn’t do well at the box office. I get it for the other westerns, most of them are corny, outdated, and well… offensive. But this movie was actually really good. So what was the problem? It took me a minute but I figured it out. First there’s an innate absurdity that is built into westerns that I think most people won’t buy into. Things like no matter how many bullets fly, horses never die. Or the total lawlessness of a town, and random badasses that can do whatever they want and have to answer to no man. Followed by the moral cowboy who’s usually some pretty boy prick who looks like he just rolled in from upstate. Just not believable.
But more importantly, westerns are ugly. Aesthetically they are not pleasing. Seriously. All they are, is a bunch of grimy white guys, who aren’t particularly attractive, {even when the actor is normally attractive he has to put of this western look that’s not becoming on anyone, like say Russell Crowe}. The other problem, there’s no women. It’s always a cock fight, which is great, it’s why I watch them, but it does help to have women in the movies because they will bring in men and women to watch them. And lastly the landscape, for those that can’t appreciate its bare beauty, is boring. It’s tan or red hills in the middle of nowhere are not nearly as appealing as the imaginary world in Lord of The Rings, the island in Pirates of the Caribbean, or the international urban backdrop of The Borne series. It’s a bunch of dead grass and cows.
Most American exports do well overseas, but it’s well known that westerns make $0. If it wasn’t for the American nostalgia, or a fight to hold on to traditions, I’d have to wonder why people still make them. But somehow, they still sporadically sprout their Oscar hoping wings. The best westerns have addressed some of the above issues, when one can reach them all, we’ll probably have a hit.
fowl paranoia
normally i'm pretty good about my food paranoia. {i have real issues with ground meat and the like} But it never dawned on me that chicken gizzards could come from other chickens. How do I know that the lungs, liver, neck and heart actually came from the chicken I just defrosted? I didn't kill this chicken. Either I'm crazy and they DO come from the same chicken, or my chicken today was some supreme being and had 2 hearts...
gross.
gross.
The Great Plague
I watched a film called The Great Plague online the other day and I’m a microbiologist by trade, so I found it intrinsically interesting. It had been a long time since I read about our dear friend Yesinia pestis, and usually when I do it is always the same story of uncleanliness and rat vectors. Boring. It sucked that it killed 2/3 of the London
It told a story of a single alleyway community where the details were meticulously kept in a journal by a local journeyman. To say the least I learned a lot from this hour of morbid internet entertainment. During the time of plague it was law that if someone in a household was symptomatic for plague, the whole household would be locked inside the house, almost sentenced to death. The doors were locked from the outside and no one was allowed in except for the death seekers and apothecaries. Now that was an interesting lot. Death seekers were the poorest of the poor, thought to be disposable, sent to see who died and to take their bodies to pits where they would be buried in a mass grave, if not incinerated.
The apothecaries were the most interesting characters in the movie. They wore what I originally thought was a Venetian style mask, this creepy thing with a long nose that you only see in period pieces or Mardis Gras. It turns out this design is based on what was known as a plague mask. Apothecaries had various ways of treating plague; a major part was burning the buboes after draining them. The long nose, logically was supposed to collect the smoke so that it never reached the face of the physician. I’m not sure if it worked, but it did remind me of the spy vs. spy characters and made me wonder what they were really supposed to represent. In addition to burning people, the apothecaries recommended that people drink intoxicating mixtures of alcohol and opium, or smoke tobacco to protect themselves against plague, especially children since they were most susceptible.
It was also amazing that during the time of plague they learned about fumigation. It was common practice to burn piles of sulfur and manure in unison around the cit to rid them of rats. Although I don’t think anything could withstand that putrid smell. It made me wonder why it was so hard to figure out that if you kept things clean, rats have nothing to feed on…
The last cool part of the movie was the Ring around the Rosie song. Originally it was explained to me that this children’s song was developed in the Middle Ages based on fairy rings. {Naturally occurring rings of poisonous mushrooms that sprout up overnight} 
It’s a fairly common phenomena and it was said that the song was a cautionary tail not to eat the mushrooms. Au contraire. Line by line:
Ring around the rosies: a rosie circular rash is the very first indication of plague, it then blisters and buboes appear later.
Pockets full of posies: posies were little bags filled with nicely scented items like lavender to hold over your nose in this putrid smelling situation.
ashes ashes: people were being cremated everyday
we all fall down: a huge part of the population had died due to plague.
So. Mystery solved. If you can find it online, {the link I watched it on is dead, but may be back up The Great Plague } definitely catch it. It’s quite interesting.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
i'm just saying...
and i really like craig as bond. he brings a manliness to bond that wasn't there before. i guess that's the image putin is going for...
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