View 418 June 12 - 18, 2006 (original) (raw)
This week:
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Tuesday, June 13, 2006
The President visits the troops, and is happy to be with them. Hail to the Chief. Not that I begrudge the soldiers these signs of national favor. I remember when Harry Truman came to our unit. There were a lot of us, but there was the President, and we all felt part of the nation.
I am trying to work up something coherent about the Guantanamo situation. No one is happy. The combat troops stationed there are not happy about the situation. There are clearly people there who shouldn't be. There are also clearly people there whom we can never release. Sorting them out is impossible. They don't trust the legal officers assigned to defend them -- why should they? -- and the defense officers can't do their jobs properly. The Military Tribunals are a crude triage device, better than nothing, but they have to operate on the "detain unless there's a clear reason not to" principle. That means that if there is no evidence whatever, they have to determine the credibility of people who don't speak English, and who, the more innocent they are, the more unhappy and upset they are. I do not envy them their task.
But Guantanamo goes with Haditha: an inevitable consequence of imperial war. I would rather this were confined to offshore facilities like Guantanamo than that we corrupt our domestic legal system. Just as I would prefer that we recruit a Foreign Legion to act as constabulary and occupation forces, leaving the Real Legions to their primary job: the best military force the world has ever seen, able to break things and kill people wherever they are and whomever they may be. Constabulary duty leads to Habitha situations: no matter the Rules of Engagement, events like that are inevitable tragedies. I would spare the Regular Legions such duties as patrolling occupied territory.
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Google Sketchup.
http://sketchup.google.com/index.html
http://sketchup.google.com/download.html
It's integrated with Google Earth, which is interesting:
Versions of both for Mac and Windows; Google Earth is also now available for Linux.
----- Roland Dobbins
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FROM another conference:
Wonder pill. Really.
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/
la-he-vitamind12jun12,0,7815295,print.story
[Thanks to Sarah for this.]
VITAMIN D: THE SURPRISE POWERHOUSE
Wonder pill. Really.
As D's benefits become clearer, we're urged to get more -- much more -- of it. By Chris Woolston Special to The Times June 12, 2006
EVEN the most brazen snake-oil salesman might blush at trying to sell the public on a pill to ease aches and pains, strengthen bones, slow down cancer and prevent diseases as varied as Type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia. But these claims aren't the frothy hyperbole of a sideshow huckster. A growing number of serious scientists are quite willing to speculate that a single compound may be able to accomplish all of these feats -- and possibly more. They're not talking about a new miracle drug, but a common nutrient: vitamin D, "the sunshine vitamin."
Once seen as merely a defense against rickets, vitamin D has in recent years gained recognition as a major force that acts throughout the body. It improves absorption of calcium, controls the growth of cells (both healthy and cancerous), strengthens the immune system and seems to rein in overzealous immune system cells that cause diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
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BUT NOTE:
Subject: Re VITAMIN D -- Wonder pill. Really.
Dear Jerry,
CAUTION. Vitamin D is lipid soluble, not water soluble like some other vitamins ('C', for instance). The practical upshot of that is--when you ingest a surplus--it is not quickly excreted, but rather accumulates in your tissues. It can reach toxic levels if you over-do supplements. It is definitely NOT a case of, 'If a little is good, a lot is better'.
"Vitamin D Toxicity ... The first symptoms are anorexia, nausea, and vomiting, followed by polyuria, polydipsia, weakness, nervousness, and pruritus. Renal function is impaired, as evidenced by low sp gr urine, proteinuria, casts, and azotemia. Metastatic calcifications may occur, particularly in the kidneys ..." -- from the Merick Manual; http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/section1/chapter3/3e.jsp
Greg Hemsath
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I had a nice reply from John Derbyshire regarding my comments on his National Review piece. I also posted that in another conference, and received this reply:
Subject: RE: The Derb and I
And to think, Derb probably wrote his admirably honest piece for NR before he saw this Anthony Shadid piece in the WP today, which shows how Jihadism is spreading to Lebanon and elsewhere in the ME. Which is to say, we've got some high times ahead when and if these people start truly electing their own leaders.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2006/06/11/AR2006061100599.htmlJP
Which is an astute comment. Democracy in the Middle East is, I would think, the last thing we want over there.
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Also from another conference:
Subject: Re: bisphenol A & prostate cancer
Tony,
We all want "progress", just progress totally without risk.
I recall reading the assertion that a lot of the increase in prostate cancer, if not all of it, can be tied to better detection of very-slow-growing tumors that would not cause disease prior to the victim dying of something else.
Jim
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And finally, also from another conference:
Joel Garreau: A Dose Of Genius 'Smart Pills' Are on The Rise. But Is Taking Them Wise? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article
/2006/06/10/AR2006061001181_pf.html Sunday, June 11, 2006; D01[I review his _Radical Evolution_ for the Journal of Evolution and Technology.]
Studying with diligent friends is fine, says Heidi Lessing, a University of Delaware sophomore.
But after a couple of hours, it's time for a break, a little gossip: "I want to talk about somebody walking by in the library."
One of those friends, however, is working too hard for dish -- way too hard.
Instead of joining in the gossip, "She says, 'Be quiet,' " Lessing says, astonishment still registering in her voice.
Her friend's attention is laserlike, totally focused on her texts, even after an evening of study. "We were so bored," Lessing says. But the friend was still "really into it. It's annoying."
The reason for the difference: Her pal is fueled with "smart pills" that increase her concentration, focus, wakefulness and short-term memory.
As university students all over the country emerge from final exam hell this month, the number of healthy people using bootleg pharmaceuticals of this sort seems to be soaring.
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Well, I tried: I had Office 2007 running under Vista and tried to write the column with that combination. I have given up, and Norton is busily converting Sativa (her name under Vista) to Satine (her name under XP). It will take a while, but it's worth it.
Of course both Vista and Office 12 are beta 2, and it shows. Now I'll try Office 2007 in Satine and see how that goes.
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Regarding Vitamin D:
Subject: Re VITAMIN D -- Wonder pill. Really.
Dear Jerry,
CAUTION. Vitamin D is lipid soluble, not water soluble like some other vitamins ('C', for instance). The practical upshot of that is--when you ingest a surplus--it is not quickly excreted, but rather accumulates in your tissues. It can reach toxic levels if you over-do supplements. It is definitely NOT a case of, 'If a little is good, a lot is better'.
"Vitamin D Toxicity ... The first symptoms are anorexia, nausea, and vomiting, followed by polyuria, polydipsia, weakness, nervousness, and pruritus. Renal function is impaired, as evidenced by low sp gr urine, proteinuria, casts, and azotemia. Metastatic calcifications may occur, particularly in the kidneys ..." -- from the Merick Manual; http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/section1/chapter3/3e.jsp
Greg Hemsath
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