| 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.
========== Google Sketchup.
http://sketchup.google.com/index.html
http://sketchup.google.com/download.html
It's integrated with Google Earth, which is
interesting:
http://earth.google.com/
Versions of both for Mac and Windows; Google Earth is
also now available for Linux.
----- Roland Dobbins
============
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.<snip>
==
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
===========
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.html
JP
Which is an astute comment. Democracy in the Middle East is, I would
think, the last thing we want over there.
============
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
===========
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.<snip>
================ 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. ===============
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
=================
Tuesday TOP
Current Mail
|
