| Friday, October
22, 2004 Subject: MagBeam Propulsion
It seems you got some impact on space science
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/technovel_magbeam_041020.html
Michael Lund Markussen Denmark
Thanks for calling that to my attention. Hoo Hah!
Subject: More on the Indymedia Seizure
See <
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/21/indymedia_home_office_denial/
>. -- "Truth is the intersection of independent
lies." (Richard Levins, 1966) Harry Erwin, PhD
Fascinating!
=========
Hello Dr. Pournelle,
Too bad about your trip to Japan. Maybe next time.
Windows Secrets has a good review of personal
firewalls that might be of use to some of your readers. (
http://windowssecrets.com/041021/ ) Interestingly, they recommend
dumping the Windows firewall, calling it "woefully inadequate".
Best wishes,
Clyde Wisham
**** "He can compress the most words into the smallest
idea of any man I know."-- Abraham Lincoln ****
Actually I don't trust any software firewall to
protect the machine it is running on. Use a router. But I have never
recommended the Windows firewall.
Subject: Brain Dead
Jerry P:
With respect to the National Review article, this is
an example of smoke without a real fire. Medical professionals, doctors with
degrees, insurance, and all that implies, made a judgement call that the
patient was brain dead. Now at some point qualified medical professionals
will evaluate the case, but at this point there is little of value for the
National Review or anyone else to comment on the case. A guess would be that
the Montrose County coroner was miffed at not being kept in the loop, and
probably he is technically right, we don't know. But writing a magazine
article, with pretentions of good judgment, without a real medical
determination being rendered qualifies as a good 30 second sound bite; AKA
load, shoot, aim. The problem will remain, and good journalism would seem to
require, that the medical/legal determination of homicide would be a good
starting point for the story. The allegation of murder has not been
ajudicated. I predict that we will not see an article in National Review if
the judgement of the doctors is vindicated.
CBS
I more or less share your view, but I worry still:
harvesting someone is a pretty extreme thing to do. And I would not at all
mind seeing this go to a Grand Jury for disposition. I think it is well to
be cautious in these matters. This is a very slippery slope indeed.
But now I see
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3251460,00.html
Coroner review
October 13, 2004
The Coroner Protocol Review Committee met and
reviewed the case of the death of Mr. William Rardin. The members of the
committee are as follows:
Coroner Protocol Review Committee Members:
? Michael Dobersen, MD, Ph D., Coroner,
Arapahoe County ? Thomas Henry, MD, Coroner, Denver County ? Thomas Bak, MD,
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center ? Mark Randall, Chief Deputy
District Attorney, Jefferson and Gilpin County ? Diane Balkin, Deputy
District Attorney, Denver County ? Patricia D. Brewster, Chief Executive
Officer, Donor Alliance ? Sue Dunn, Vice President of Organ Operations,
Donor Alliance
Others Present:
? J. Adair Prall, MD, Neurosurgeon, Littleton
Adventist Hospital ? Robert Breeze, MD, Neurosurgeon, University of Colorado
Health Sciences Center ? D. Nikki Wheeler, Director of Communications/PR,
Donor Alliance
Documents Reviewed In Reference to the Rardin
Case:
? Montrose Memorial Hospital Chart ? St. Mary's
Hospital Chart ? Donor Alliance Case Chart ? Supplemental Documents:
Montrose County Coroner's Office October 4th
Press Release Colorado State Statute 12-36-136 Guidelines for the
Determination of Death American Academy of Neurology Practice Parameters:
Determining Brain Death in Adults Neurology 1995; 45:1003-1011 Determining
Brain Death in Adults Donor Alliance Standards for Brain Death Determination
St. Mary's Hospital Manual Patient Care Standard: Brain Death Determination
St. Mary's Hospital Apnea Testing of Intubated Adult Patients St. Mary's
Hospital Patient Care Organ and Tissue Donation National Organ Transplant
Act- 1984, Title 42 United States Code (USC), Part H-organ transplants,
Section 274e October 18, 2001, Donor Alliance Coroner Protocol Mark Young's
October 4, 2004 Press Release
Prior to making its findings and reaching its
conclusions, the committee reviewed all of the listed documents, considered
statements made by Mark Young to the media and to members of Donor Alliance.
The committee also relied on the following: conversations committee members
had with the doctors that were involved in the medical care of Mr. Rardin,
comments, expert opinions, and conversations with Donor Alliance personnel,
and conversations with you.
The Findings of the Committee:
1. No homicide occurred. Mr. Young should
reconsider his finding and amend the death certificate to reflect the
accurate and irrefutable cause of death as a self-inflicted gunshot wound to
the head, and the manner of death as a suicide.
2. The actions of Mr. Young were based on a
lack of information and an inappropriate understanding of the medical and
legal issues involved. His actions were reckless when, despite ample and
competent evidence to the contrary, he rendered the ruling and completed the
death certificate indicating that this death was a homicide due to the
removal of Mr. Rardin's internal organs by an organ recovery team. It was
also irresponsible for him to then release these findings to the media,
without appropriate factual confirmation and determination.
3. These actions have served to undermine the
public trust in the organ donation system, as well as the public trust in
the health care, coroner and criminal justice systems.
Rardin Case Summary:
At 6:10 p.m. on September 26, 2004, William
Rardin shot himself in the head with a .22 caliber gun. He was transported
to Montrose Memorial Hospital where it was determined that he was mortally
injured. After consultation among hospital doctors, he was transferred to
St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction.
William Rardin was admitted to the emergency
room at St. Mary's Hospital at 9:50 p.m. At 10:15 p.m. Mr. Rardin was
admitted to the intensive care unit at St. Mary's. A determination of brain
death was made at 11:45 p.m. on September 26, 2004 by a critical care
specialist — a medical doctor that is experienced and qualified in the care
and evaluation of critically injured patients. The attending physician, who
was involved in the care of William Rardin, also examined the patient. The
attending physician is an experienced neurosurgeon.
The standard tests performed in this case
included clinical observations of the absence of brain stem reflexes, as
well as standard apnea testing. These tests are routinely used in the
evaluation of brain death not only in Colorado, but throughout the nation.
After the determination of death was made, Mark
Young, the Montrose County Coroner, was advised. Mr. Young released the body
and granted permission for organ donation to Donor Alliance at 1:20 a.m. on
September 27, 2004. His only restrictions were to "not touch the head" and
that there be no eye donation.
Conclusion:
It is very clear that William Rardin committed
suicide and died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
A review of the medical records makes it clear that prior to organ recovery,
the statutory and medical criteria for brain death had been met. This was
done in accordance with accepted medical standards. The criteria for the
determination of death, including brain death, are not ambiguous in
Colorado.
One week later, on October 4th, 2004, Mark
Young announced in a press release that he had ruled the death a homicide
due to the "removal of his internal organs by an organ recovery team." He
stated that all of the information would be turned over to the district
attorney's office for review and to determine whether criminal charges
should be filed.
This action was not only unfortunate, it was
irresponsible. Mark Young's ruling was not supported by the wealth of
information documented in the medical charts as well as the cumulative
experience among all of the professionals directly involved and those
readily available to him throughout the state. Contrary to a statement in
his press release, Mr. Young did not consult with the District Attorney
prior to his ruling that the determination of death did not meet accepted
medical standards.
Mr. Young references financial costs in his
press release. To whatever extent Mr. Young may have been motivated by a
concern over the attendant costs for hospitalization and transport, he chose
a wholly inappropriate manner of addressing this issue. A determination of a
cause of death should in no way be influenced by this factor. Had he
discussed this aspect fully with representatives of the various facilities
and organizations, any questions he might have had could have been answered.
Mr. Young conceded that he rendered his opinion
after reviewing a fraction of the medical records (less than 10 pages out of
over 220). He did not consult with any of the attending physicians, the
physician that declared death, or the District Attorney.
Although he is the elected County Coroner, Mr.
Young is not a medical doctor. He also conceded that he had no prior
training or experience in the declaration of brain death. He indicated that
he was learning about brain death through the internet commencing on or
about September 28, 2004. The committee understands that Mr. Young had a
conversation with a neurosurgeon regarding a "hypothetical case." That
neurosurgeon was not directly involved in the case, nor did the neurosurgeon
have the benefit of reviewing any of the medical records related to Mr.
Rardin's case.
Dr. Rob Kurtzman, the forensic pathologist who
performed the William Rardin autopsy on September 28, 2004, stated, on
October 4, 2004, that his post-mortem examination revealed "damage to the
brain typical of a gun shot wound to the head. The changes in the brain were
not compatible with sustained survival and are typical of individuals who
have been declared brain dead." He also stated that Mr. Young was present at
the autopsy and had no questions regarding the cause of death.
Not only was Mr. Young incorrect in his
conclusion regarding the cause of death, his actions seriously undermine the
best interests of the citizens of our state, and caused undue distress to
Mr. Rardin's family.
So the matter is settled; but I am not myself upset
that an elected Coroner was disturbed by the events.
Credentialism and "experts" will be the death of
liberty.
====================
I have several people sending
me things on this:
Dr Pournelle,
Here is a snippet from an Australian e-news site,
crikey.com.au, quoting and commenting on a portion of a New York Times
article that you may or may not have seen.
<snip>
Frank and fearless media
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/
magazine/17BUSH.html?oref=login&position=&adxnnl=1&oref=
login&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1098158774-e2BNstJ3uwPjyZZdoTPSlQ
If you liked yesterday's nod to Media Watch and
their coverage of "Out-Foxed", the new doco on the evil empire, try this
item by Ron Suskind from Sunday's New York Times Magazine on for size. If
you can't be bothered ploughing through the lot, here are the key pars:
"In the summer of 2002, after I had written an
article in Esquire that the White House didn't like about Bush's former
communications director, Karen Hughes, I had a meeting with a senior adviser
to Bush. He expressed the White House's displeasure, and then he told me
something that at the time I didn't fully comprehend -- but which I now
believe gets to the very heart of the Bush presidency.
"The aide said that guys like me were 'in what
we call the reality-based community', which he defined as people who
'believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible
reality'. I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and
empiricism. He cut me off. 'That's not the way the world really works
anymore,' he continued. 'We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our
own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you
will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study
too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors ... and
you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do'."
The "senior adviser" is presumably Karl Rove.
Has John Howard's odious spinner Tony O'Leary already got that framed on his
wall? The Parliamentary Library gets The New York Times.
<end snip>
Crikey's focus was on the engagement and treatment of
the media by the administration in a small part of the article. Personally I
found the entire article revelatory and was struck by the similarity of
resonances in our own recent federal election campaign. Although I feel we
have not gone anywhere near as far as the USA in those directions, it was
disturbing to see the blatant use of right-wing Christian fundamentalism as
a political tool to drive the allocation of party preferences to influence
Senate outcomes in this country. And on the question of the empire feeding
history to the media and commentators, I think it is definitely happening
over here as well. Makes me worried for my daughters' futures..
Colin
I never pay much attention to "sources" who "quote"
anonymous "senior advisors". Why would anyone say a thing like that, and why
assume that Susskind (1) heard it properly, (2) quoted it properly, (3)
understood what was said, or even had the interview at all since he doesn't
name the person interviewed?
There is a sense in which was was said it true, but
the notion that any political figure would tell a reporter that "We're an
empire now" is bizarre. Who would do that, and for what? "We're an empire"
is the kind of statement that is political death. I can imagine the
egregious Frum saying a thing like that, and I wish that whoever said it
would be named so the guy could be pilloried and fired and got rid of; but I
doubt it will happen because I doubt even the egregious Frum is stupid
enough to say that to a reporter.
I have heard someone tell me that he heard a senior
official to Kerry say that Kerry sometimes thinks he is an aardvark.
===============
Sir,
This site is a Russian woman's personal site, with
this particular part being her history of Kiev. She also has photographs of
her visit to Chernobyl which are fascinating. Her English is pretty bad, but
the site is worth a visit.
http://www.kiddofspeed.com/serpents-wall/index.html
bryan
We've referenced this here before but for those who
missed it...
================
Subject: "Starfleet Academy" - The Beginning -
Interesting!
"Starfleet Academy" - The Beginning
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/milspace-04zb.html
Air Force Space Command officials stood up a space
education and training organization here recently that they said will
provide the foundation to creating a new generation of space professionals.
The National Security Space Institute will be the
Department of Defense's single focal point for space education and training,
complementing existing space education programs at Air University, the Naval
Postgraduate School and the Air Force Institute of Technology.
Full story at the link.
Jim Riticher
==============
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