2011-02-23

usa's chocolate-boxed high-tech education

2.8: pol/edu/gump's chocolate-boxed:
news:
. even while college grad's cry about unemployment,
the high tech industry (this time biotech)
is again complaining they have shortages
of "(qualified) applicants .
pos:
doesn't it seem like a waste to have
everyone piling on spendy college attempts
Stress Wienerjust so these wieners can take the cream
and send the rest home to be dishwashers?

. much of what industry needs
just takes persistent parenting
(ie, with village backup)
rather than specialized schooling .
. if the kids started earlier,
they would have eno' of a background
that industry could easily train them .

. the way to rapidly evolve tech workers
is to support free high-level edu:
# do more with kids earlier:
much of the problem is just motivating kids .
. make motivation cheap:
use any welfare cases as teacher assistants .
. require people imprisoned for drug offenses
(the ones that can read)
to be manning online help centers for tutoring kids .
# free internet:
. put all the college textbooks online
in a place that grabs the attention of kids; [2.23:
this is already happening in wiki's;
now all we have to do is
replace most of the expensive teacher-time
with a free internet edu-portal workstation for every child .]
# volunteering:
. find other ways to allow people to
show how hard they can study
without paying for colleges .
. one can show off papers offered;
wiki contributions, blogs, etc .

[2.23: title: derived from [forrest gump].movie`qoute
"Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates.
You never know what you're gonna get."
]

2011-02-20

fig-leafers and web 0.1

2.18: relig/fig-leafers/the web 0.1 of sociology:
. in the context of sociology or religion,
web 0.1 is the policy of information hiding:
anything that shouldn't be doable
shouldn't be mentionable (webbable) either;
. that strategy does have a valid psychological impact:
it is a constant reminder that some acts are so bad
you can't even think about them!
-- and it even has no side-affects,
if your dogs don't talk much anyway .

. it's meant to complement a traditional
representative form of gov':
one that lets elders do all the policy negotiations;
this is efficient because elders are
less tempted by the mere mention of unmentionables;
. it also enhances political security
by practicing the principle of least privilege:
ie, give subordinates only those powers that are
absolutely essential to doing their assigned function .

. web 0.1 is the real frontline
in the liberal vs conservative debate;
when they argue about biblical interpretation issues
(eg, creationism vs evolution):
it is about defending the fundamentalist's right to
practice the principle of least privilege .
[2.19:
. the term "(fig-leafer) is referring to the
Genesis story (3:7):
"( Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they realized that they were naked.
So they sewed fig leaves together
to make themselves loincloths. )
. "(fig-leafing) has previously described the idea
that worshipping privacy rights
is the original sin that spawns all others;
ie, we could insure proper childcare by
insisting on non-private (communal) parenting;
but we'd lose all our church members!
instead we lose many children
to devils both secret and bold .
. as the Great Rabbi noted (Luke 18:16-17):
without spending our whole life guided
-- starting from early childhood --
we cannot enter the Kingdom of God at all!
. he then mentions that no men are good; (Luke 18:19)
so, why are we maximizing our trust of them?
because, privacy -- our fig leaf --
is the root of all evil .
(life's not all bad;
as some of the bible's prophets remind us,
the devil and god are really the same
(it just depends on
which end of the holy gun you're on!);
for instance, all the hurts that men cause
will only insure that men also devlope
the war technology that will secure our
eternal survival in this physical universe
-- where new stars are being born eternally:
all we have to do is travel to empty space,
and by the time we get there
we'll have a fresh solar system waiting for us!
then our robots can charge up,
and grow some living brains
on a computer's stimulation matrix
allowing us to live inside a
dream synthesizer .)

. web 0.1 can actually be seen as
a variation of fig-leafing;
because, both privacy rights and unmentionables
are relying on information hiding
in order to secure domains of authority;
and, coincidentally, they are both
instruments of a religious military machine
whose economics are too overwhelmed with
out-breeding the enemy
to properly fund a careful debriefing
of what's been going on here,
and why it has to keep going on that way .
. privacy and information supression
are both part of an authoritarian hierarching
that will minimize authority conflicts,
and maximize group cohesion .

. the term "(occult) (hidden) is used by fig-leafers
ironicaly, to identify those who reveal the hidden .
(we usually think of occults as doing evil secretly;
but they are given that name by secret-keepers
for devilishly not keeping things secret!)
. for instance, prayer is an acceptable way
to interact with the supernatural;
other ways are secret (forbidden and unmentionable),
and therefore the domain of "(occults).

. the practice of denying women education
has sometimes been seen as fig-leafing;
but I'm betting it's really a combination of
30% protecting girls from unwed pregnancy,
and 70% an exciting atmosphere of sexual slavery .
. as an aside,
it's often assumed that islamic polygamy
is really about sexually enslaving women;
in fact, polygamy was the idea of the Prophet's wife
seen as a way to get the crude masses
to care for widows
-- the many widows made by perpetual wars
(so you might say it's more about enslaving
militant christians).]




2011-01-31

america the beautiful mind

1.31:
. this is a story about a troubled genius
who was put on anti-schizophrenic med's
after being alarmed by radio jockeys
talking directly to him;
then, given no help without forced medication,
he eventually committed suicide .
. Dr. Breggin’s newest book, Medication Madness (2008),
describes dozens of cases of otherwise self-controlled people
who became spellbound by psychiatric drugs,
leading them to perpetrate bizarre acts,
including mayhem, murder and suicide .
. science has found evidence that failure to medicate
increases the risk of relapse;
but, what kind of relapse are we talking about here?
the public equates schizophrenia with violence;
whereas, schizophrenia puts people at risk for
bullying, mass rejection, and hopeless economic situations;
and it is the hopeless -- not the deluded --
who are doing the mass murders recently .

1.21: news.psy/schiz'ia/med's shoot another beautiful mind:
Orlando Sentinel `Darryl E. Owens 2008:
From very early on,
Dominic lived in his own shell.
for several weeks into day care,
he was silent .
[. he was said to have cursed a playmate to
give him back his "(damned whale)
-- perhaps the mother was actually referring to
the Bible's Jonah story?
. Jonah takes a ship ride to avoid god's plan
only to find god's storm coercing the shippers
to toss the escapee overboard
where god's whale was waiting to bring him back .
. schizophrenia, which challenged Dominic at age 29,
has a lot in common with Jonah's whale .

. schizophrenia is a sanctifier
(a way of setting one apart for god's use),
like so:
smooth socialization depends heavily on
not having a lot of real opinion sharing;
and, schiz'ics routinely broadcast their thoughts
which causes those nearby to mutter echoes of
such intrusive thoughts .
. assuming god makes thought transfer possible,
schiz'ia can thus be viewed as god`storms
that force others to distance themselves
from the one god is storming about .]

[with an IQ > "genius" + (SD15 or SD16)
(> 160 -- testing higher than 99.997%) ]
his smarts meant enrollment in gifted classes,
much to his chagrin.
"He had this sensitive feeling about equality"
his mother said.

As a child, Dominic preferred reading,
reveling in history and military affairs.
[yet], when he joined the Marines, [in the 90's]
his family was shocked.
[ the marines placed him into a prestigious
ceremonial unit stationed in Washington, D.C. ]

They figured he was just following his
older brother, Sebastian, a Navy SEAL.
[. a graduate of Oxford University
and the Navy's Basic Underwater
Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) Class 195,
In 2003, Sebastian co-founded BCM,
a boutique private investment firm
that uses a proprietary algorithm
to exploit price trends in the major
commodity and financial futures markets
(and achieved an 80% return during the 2008 crisis).
Bastiat Blogger is a clearinghouse for
thoughts on hedge funds, global macro,
free markets, decision theory,
mixed-martial arts (MMA) and dueling culture,
private-sector tactical training, ...]
Dominic served six years,
earning his sergeant's stripes,
then left to pursue his passion: writing.
Still wanting to serve, [but as a non-leader?]
he joined the Florida Army National Guard.
He later enrolled at a Community College.
. in 2003-04, he served in Jordan and Iraq
working mostly security details with
Company C, 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment .
--
[. an interpretation of why he left full-time then:

Sergeants serve as infantry squad leaders;
once a Marine reaches Sergeant,
their promotion no longer derives from a
composite or cutting score;
instead, they receive a Fitness Report.

. since schiz'ia was in his future (2003)
it's significant that he left just after
becoming a leader;
leadership is an stressful milestone;
and one reason for leaving at that point
could have been to intuitively avoid
an impending schiz'ic crisis;
it usually precedes a social role switch .
. perhaps there was less stress when blending in
and he didn't know just how paranormal
things would get during war's profanity .
1.31:
. another possibility is that he simply
needed to go part-time military in order to
start schooling .]

[. one of his most notable schiz'ic symptoms
was being convinced that voices on the radio
were talking to him directly.]

[. if there is a living god (or devil),
there's no reason why the deity can't
synchronize your life's specifics with the
random shoot-from-the-hip content of a radio jock .
. perhaps the supernatural was hinting:
"( why didn't a genius get a college degree first
and thereby get fast-tracked to a leadership role?
why aren't we using brains to do brain work
instead of gutter-balling gifts into the line of fire? )
.]

[. seeing the details of Dominic's case,
I wondered if the supernatural mind was
being partial to his genius,
and tried using paranormal events to
convince him that death is more than chance:
in fact, war deaths often happen to
those who are special and try to pass as normal .]

Associated Press:
More than half of the suicides by veterans of
Iraq and Afghanistan returning 2001 ... 2005
were committed by members of the National Guard
or the reserves .

Sebastian:
. Army National Guard infantryman units
often suffer additional stresses
due to the fact that the soldiers' lives are
normally not specifically organized around
military deployments
(as an active-duty soldier's life would be);
such stresses may have promoted
schizophrenic thinking patterns:
Dominic was convinced that voices on the radio
were talking to him directly.
. Dominic would use his genius
to defend [paranormal] theories against
any attempts to establish that they were
incredibly unlikely, if not impossible.
. I was amazed at the intellectual acrobatics
and research efforts he would go to
to preserve a conspiracy theory
in the face of strong conflicting evidence .
. he saw things as overdetermined
and could not contend with the idea that
sheer randomness and coincidence
were major players in his world.
his father:
"We couldn't always understand what he was saying,
He was beginning to show signs of paranoia [schiz'ia]
and really thought [random] people
were trying to get him."
He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder,
prescribed [anti-psychotic?] medications,
and returned state-side several weeks ahead of his unit .

Sebastian:
. I know from personal experience
that as the anti-psychotic effects
reduced Dominic's paranoia symptoms,
they simultaneously caused his
quality of life to plummet
and his ability to concentrate
to fall off dramatically after a few weeks.
Unfortunately,
the tendency is to want the victim to
"get on with life" and find satisfaction in
work or school or relationships,
when in fact
the ability to do these things
is being attacked by the very medicine
that is used to treat the schizophrenia.
Dominic returned to school
but mostly stayed in the house.
Therapy and medication helped ...
his mother carried his pills up to his room .
--[. did she feel obliged to make sure
he took meds ?
perhaps he was having trouble finding employment
and could only get help from his parents
if he complied with psychiatry's genius-wilting chemo' ? .]

. shortly after [living at home on med's]
he slit his wrists,
[. a suicide attempt could cause a court-ordered
application of anti-psychotic medications:
danger to self for schiz'ic delusions
legally requires mind-wasting drugs
whose effectiveness as anti-aggression agents
is proportional to their destruction of
one's precious, life-embracing ability to write .]

. in the three months before [his successful attempt],
he'd tagged along on family trips to the
[GalM] -[apagos Islands] and Bermuda.
. a pistol exorcised the demons of Iraq 2004,
Dominic, 33, died on a monday,
[a week prior to saturday, September 20, 2008]

1.31: the PORT (Schizophrenia Patient Outcomes Research Team):
. PORT has been funded since 1992 by
the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research
and the National Institute of Mental Health
to develop and disseminate recommendations for
the treatment of schizophrenia
based on existing scientific evidence.

. maintenance doses below 300 mg CPZ equivalents per day
carry an increased risk of relapse,
although a substantial proportion of persons (up to 50%)
can be maintained successfully at these lower doses,
warranting a gradual and carefully monitored effort
to reduce dosage over time.

1.30: news.psy/schiz/meds/PORT updates:
PORT has updated treatment recommendations:
. the Schizophrenia Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT)
has issued updated treatment recommendations .

. In contrast to efforts like the
American Psychiatric Association practice guidelines
and the Texas Medication Algorithm Project,
which attempt to address the full range
of situations clinicians encounter,
the PORT review authors limit their recommendations
to those interventions that have been tested in
randomized controlled trials.

. two large clinical trials have compared efficacy of
first- and second-generation antipsychotics:
the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of
Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE)
and the Cost Utility of the Latest Antipsychotic Drugs
in Schizophrenia Study (CUtLASS).
For patients with chronic schizophrenia (1..2 years),
--[why limit at 2years? that was the study range]--
both first- and second-generation antipsychotics
are equally effective at preventing relapse;
however,
clozapine is an option for suicide risks .
[1.31: however, clozapine is hormonal murder .]

. selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
are often prescribed for schizophrenic depression
yet have not been well studied in this population .

During maintenance therapy,
first-generation drugs may be used at
lower doses than those required to treat
the initial (acute) episode,
while second-generation drugs can be prescribed
at whatever dose was effective in the initial phase.

persistent auditory hallucinations
in spite of antipsychotic treatment
may respond to
low-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation.
[$195 Sota Bio Tuner Pulser Bio Stimulator Massager Pulse BT7]

[repetitive TMS (Transcerebral Magnetic Stimulation):
< 1Hz reduces excitability
> 5Hz increases excitability .
. excitation before a task,
or for short bursts during a task
can enhance cognitive performance .]

. medication should be used in conjunction with
psychosocial interventions:

psychosocial # Assertive community treatment:
. a community-based multidisciplinary team,
low patient-to-staff ratios,
and frequent contact with patients.
Randomized controlled trials have consistently concluded
that this model reduces hospitalizations and homelessness,
when compared with standard care.
# The key element of supported employment programs is
# rapid job placement rather than an extensive training,
# integration of vocational and mental health services,
# solicitation of the patient's preferred job type
# support while on the job.

psychosocial # family therapy:
. when patients with schizophrenia have
ongoing contact with their families,
the relatives should be offered a family intervention (6...9 months).
Evidence suggests they help reduce rates of
relapse and rehospitalization for the patient,
and increase rates of adherence to treatment.

psychosocial # cbt:
. Cognitive behavioral therapy (4..9 months,
either in group or individual format)
can be helpful for med-resistent psychotic symptoms;
it involves a collaborative agreement about
symptoms to target in therapy
combined with the use of strategies
to improve the patient's ability to cope.

2011-01-29

aerosolized prions for biological warfare

1.20: news.health/prions/aerosolized prions for biological warfare:
[1.29:
. prions are 100 percent fatal;
but have been avoidable simply by
eating low on the food chain;
however,
a new study has found that an
aerosolized form of sheep`scrapie prions
could cause death when inhaled by mice .]

ScienceDaily (Jan. 14, 2011):
Mad cow disease -- aka BSE,
(bovine spongiform encephalopathy)
is a 100% fatal spongy degeneration
in the brain and spinal cord.
The disease is transmitted by
tiny micro-organisms known as prions.
. over half a million cattle have died from
various prion diseases
. 15 % of Colorado deer populations
carry chronic wasting disease .
[. the original source of prions
is genetic mutation .]

. controls on high-risk offal
were introduced in 1989;
and, less than 300 people have died
from mad cow disease;
but, due to its long incubation period,
the number of human and animal deaths
is expected to rise.
Almost half a million BSE-infected animals
had entered the human food chain
before the controls went into effect .

Professor Adriano Aguzzi's team
at universities of Zurich and Tubingen
and the University Hospital Zurich
found airborne aerosolized sheep`scrapie prions
could cause infection in mammals .

farmed fish are fed cattle parts:
still interested in farmed fish?!

farmed fish provide less fish`health benefits:
. omega-3's increased markedly in
those patients that ate fish fed on
feed containing pure fish oils.
It was also shown that in these patients
the levels of marker substances for
heart and vessel disease
were much better than in patients eating
fish raised on pure rapeseed oil.

think about losing freedom to choose:
. crowded caged farmed fish are promoting the
hyperbreeding of fish parasites
that then reduce the health of surrounding wild stocks .



obamacare vs naturopaths

1.20: news.health/obamacare vs naturopaths:
. what did I think about the first time dr.mercola
said obamacare was a disaster?
here is another naturopath saying the same thing .
NaturalNews.com`Mike Adams December 14, 2010
U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson ruled
that Obama's "minimum essential coverage provision,"
violates the US Constitution.

. the details according to bloomberg.com
are that it's ok to fed'ly mandate
that insur' co's have to be fair,
but it's not ok to mandate
that everyone must buy a policy;
yet the only way insur co's could be fair
is when the insur is manditory .

. to understand this decision,
keep in mind that the legal system
doesn't have to find a good health plan,
they simply have to point out
what's illegal about the one you have .

. but that same argument about forced product
would also be good for any fed service,
since there is no practical diff'tween
a tax for service,
and a law for requiring payment for a service .
for example:
. I should not be forced to buy
a military aggression activity
just because the current congress wills it;
the constitution should mandate
that the decision to go to wars
belongs also to the military units of each state,
not just the rep's of each state and district .
. it would be like a 3rd congressional filter:
house, senate, labor
-- ah, now . let freedom ring .
. only 3 towns want to fight for this war,
is that all you'll need ? .
. the minimum duty is that you have to defend
invaded property, and after an invasion,
preemptives may be required;
but, that would specifically exclude
domino theories and terrorisms .

. if the courts were thinking wholistically
instead of just catering to obstructionists,
they would have talked instead about
what a reasonable min'insurance would be
along the lines of:
# practicality:
. while there are many people
who would not want to undergo or fund
treatments for cancer, gluttony, or sexual promiscuity,
who wouldn't want good care for trauma accidents?
# fairness:
. if you're thinking insur' should not be mandated,
who should pay taxes for your medicaid?

. I would think a reasonable fed min would be
all things with a good prognosis:
that would include most childcare
and would exclude most degenerative diseases,
except for pain control and hospice care .

. other objectors pointed out that
car insurance is state-controled,
so there's no reason health insur' couldn't be;
[1.29: great!
. that goes well with plans for relocalization;
other states may be as weird as foreign countries;
but, hey, your job stays in your state,
so, you never have to worry about
treatment by foreigners .]

. from the reaction of these naturopaths
I'm getting that they have been
excluded from being paid by the min'care system;
but how can that be?
I thought the big grassroots resistance to obamacare
(by the very middle class who would most benefit)
was having to pay to put up with naturopathic's
telling them what to eat, and other invasions
designed to avoid treatment:
"( oh, I'm high blood pressure so I should
meditate and eat my vegetables?! ).

. doctors were going to get paid per
healthy outcome not per procedure
-- this is where naturopathics shine!

. if all they wanted to do was save money
why didn't fed's just apply the same
naturopathic preventive invasions
to the medicaid customers ? .
. there is no need to treat anyone obese
for anything involving diabetes
-- that alone would flush $billions .
[1.29: well,
one reason they can't do that completely
is the very terms for medicaid eligibility;
you can't see a doctor for preventive consultation
until your lifestyle has eaten your wallet;
and, for most people,
that means decades of smoking, ignoring job safety reg's,
finding money to be entertained on the couch
by replacing fresh food with
mass producable non-perishables,
and engaging in strange religious sacrifices
like deep fat frying,
and unprotected promiscuous sex .]
Jul 20, 2010 by U.S. Government
Oct 1, 2010 by Peter Ferrara
Oct 1, 2010 by Scott W. Atlas MD

as In…

Mar 10, 2010 by Jon Kallberg
No-DeathPanels Pride.ware [obs]

zoonotic pathogens

1.20: news.health/zoonotic pathogens:
aolnews.com 1.20:
. zoonoses are the diseases that can be
transmitted from animals to humans,
"the risk for transmission of zoonotic agents
by close contact between pets and their owners
through bed sharing, kissing or licking
is real and has even been documented
for life-threatening infections such as
plague, and internal parasites"
and other serious diseases.
. several people have died from infections
after pets licked their open wounds .
. pets are exposed to salmonella in their food,
and if they've become littered with their own feces
the salmonella can stay alive for up to 12 weeks.

. 53% of dog owners consider their dog to be
a member of the family,
and 56 % of the Pets Are Family set
say they sleep with their dog next to them .
. dogs can carry some meningitis vectors,
and MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).
. dog worms can be a source of human toxocariasis,
causing serious vision problems for young children.

. disease transmissions from cats
are far more prevalent, and often more serious .
. a case of the plague in arizona occurred
when a child slept with his flea-infested cat.

. Cat Scratch is a bacterial infection
causing serious damage to the
liver, kidney and spleen of humans
from the scratch, lick or bite of a cat.
. the germ is also contained in the flea feces
that are dropped by a cat onto food prep areas .




2011-01-27

community gardens of tucson

news.apt/xeriscape/community gardens of tucson:
bill buckmaster radio
interviewing the community gardens of tucson (cg)
http://www.communitygardensoftucson.org/main/
. cg organizes gardens by accepting
free use of gardenable land
and then stocking it with tools
so that assigned people can rent it .
The land is usually lent to cg by a church, school
or private land owner
at no charge, for use as a garden space.
. a drip irrigation system is installed
to supply water to the plants.
A separate water meter is installed in the garden,
and the property owner is reimbursed
for all the water that is used.
each 3′ x 20′ garden plot is $15.00 per month;
This money pays for the water bills
and the irrigation equipment,
the bimonthly newsletter and a shed full of tools.
The gardener usually only needs to supply
plants/seeds and soil amendments.



2011-01-22

reducing risk of food allergies

1.14: news.health/breastfeeding/breastfeed exclusively up to four months:
in the British Medical Journal
. babies not introduced to certain foods
earlier than six months
may have a higher incidence of food allergies.
Countries where peanuts are used as weaning foods
have low incidences of peanut allergy (Israel, for example)
. coeliac disease rose in Sweden
following advice to mothers to delay the introduction of gluten
into their child's diet until after six months,
and it fell when the recommendation
reverted to four months .
. failing to start weaning before six months
 appears to raise risks for iron deficiency anaemia,
"known to be linked to irreversible adverse
mental, motor or psychosocial outcomes."
. Exclusive breastfeeding protects against
infections, such as gastroenteritis
which is critical in developing countries,
but less important where sanitation is better.