Clipmarks | debbyski's clips

Henry's Brain Lives On

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:19:02 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "Last week, a year after Molaison's death, Annese and his team began cutting the brain into thousands of slices, the first phase of a project that will use new technology to preserve the 83-year-old brain.

The work will produce both highly magnified images of the brain that will be available on the Internet and a collection of tissue slices that can be used by researchers worldwide. It will offer a digital map of Molaison's brain in extremely fine detail, a way to re-examine theories based on examinations of him in life, perhaps leading to new insights into the mind responsible for so much of what we know about memory."

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

Henry Molaison lived in relative obscurity, but he possessed one of the world's most famous brains.

Molaison, who was born in 1926, was a smart, technically minded man. But from childhood, he was plagued by seizures, and as he grew older, the seizures and medications he took for them interfered with his life.

The surgery was meant to help. It was performed in 1953 by Dr. William Beecher Scoville, an internationally known expert in lobotomies

The operation reduced Molaison's seizures. But it also left him unable to remember anything new for more than about 20 seconds.

It was a life-changing event for Molaison and, for scientists, a remarkable opportunity.

Gabrieli described the project as a "beautiful legacy."

In one sense his life got taken away from him in the surgery, inadvertently

The idea that his brain would be visible to all these scientists, so people can possibly learn from that information, is sort of fantastic to the field

A Fearful Price

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:07:16 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "The reason it is so easy for the U.S. to declare wars, and to continue fighting year after year after year, is because so few Americans feel the actual pain of those wars. We’ve been fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan longer than we fought in World Wars I and II combined.

I don’t think our current way of waging war, which is pretty easy-breezy for most citizens, is what the architects of America had in mind. Here’s George Washington’s view, for example: “It must be laid down as a primary position and the basis of our system, that every citizen who enjoys the protection of a free government owes not only a proportion of his property, but even his personal service to the defense of it.”

What we are doing is indefensible and will ultimately exact a fearful price, and there will be absolutely no way for the U.S. to avoid paying it".

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The idea that fewer than 1 percent of Americans are being called on to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq and that we’re sending them into combat again and again and again — for three tours, four tours, five tours, six tours — is obscene. All decent people should object.

The air is filled with obsessive self-satisfied rhetoric about supporting the troops, giving them everything they need and not letting them down. But that rhetoric is as hollow as a jazzman’s drum because the overwhelming majority of Americans have no desire at all to share in the sacrifices that the service members and their families are making. Most Americans do not want to serve in the wars, do not want to give up their precious time to do volunteer work that would aid the nation’s warriors and their families, do not even want to fork over the taxes that are needed to pay for the wars.

Winners Without Placing A Bet

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:38:30 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

For the past 10 years, Jesus Leonardo has been cleaning up at an OTB parlor in Midtown Manhattan, cashing in, by his own count, nearly half a million dollars’ worth of winning tickets from wagers on thoroughbred races across the country.

During his glorious run, Mr. Leonardo, 57, has not placed a single bet.

“He’s a legend,” said Paul Pepad, 57, an out-of-work musician who lives in Manhattan. “Everyone knows that this is his turf, that all the tickets thrown out belong to him, period. It’s just been that way as long as I can remember.”

He said that stooping brings him $100 to $300 a day, and more than $45,000 a year.

“Everybody in here loves Jesus,” he said. “When Jesus wins, we all eat, and we all drink. Jesus is a very generous man.”

Uganda Debates Proposal

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:26:38 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "David Bahati, the legislator sponsoring the bill, said he was encouraging “constructive criticism” to improve the law but insisted strict measures were necessary to stop homosexuals from “recruiting” schoolchildren.

I feel that the bill is good and necessary, but I don’t think gays should be killed. They should be imprisoned for about a year and warned never to do it again.

Homophobia is rife even in more tolerant African countries."

Wow, it's encouraging that some think gays should not be killed, eh?
Ignorance, ignorance, ignorance.

"Frank Mugisha, a gay Ugandan human rights activist, said the bill was so poorly worded that someone could be imprisoned for giving a hug.

“This bill is promoting hatred,” he said. “We’re turning Uganda into a police state. It will drive people to suicide.”

Clip Source: www.365gay.com

The legislation has drawn global attention from activists across the spectrum of views on gay issues. The measure was proposed in Uganda following a visit by leaders of U.S. conservative Christian ministries that promote therapy for gays to become heterosexual. However, at least one of those leaders has denounced the bill, as have some other conservative and liberal Christians in the United States.

Landlords who rent rooms or homes to homosexuals also could get seven years and anyone with “religious, political, economic or social authority” who fails to report anyone violating the act faces three years

The bill is still being debated and could undergo changes before a vote, which hasn’t yet been set. But gay-rights activists abroad are focusing on the legislation. A protest against the bill is planned for Thursday in London; protests were held last month in New York and Washington.

Did you Ever Feel Like?

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:36:40 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: didyoueverfeel.blogspot.com

Did you ever feel your sexual fantasies were being replaced by fantasies of quitting your job?

Black In The Age Of Obama

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:20:03 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: Over the decades, conservatives and Republicans have forged and fueled fears of blacks coming after your teenage daughters, your wife, your stereo, your tax money, your job, your kid's college admissions, and the music your kids listen to.

It's out in the forefront again with the offensive images on Google. Any so called justification for that hatred such as one clipper posed here on CM is nothing but a smoke screen for the malevolence that lives in his heart.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

A hundred and fifty years ago, Charles Dickens opened “A Tale of Two Cities” with the now-famous phrase: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. ...”

Last year, blacks dared to dream anew, envisioning a future in which Obama’s election would be the catalyst for an era of prosperity and more racial harmony.

Things have not gotten better. In many ways, they’ve gotten worse.

The recession, for one, has dealt a particularly punishing and uneven hand to blacks.

Things on the racial front are just as bad.

In fact, racially offensive images of the first couple are so prolific online that Google now runs an apologetic ad with the results of image searches of them.

And it’s not all words and images; it’s actions as well.

The hard truth is that Obama needs white voters more than he needs black ones.

In fact, commiserating with the blacks could prove politically problematic.

Meanwhile, black people are also living a tale of two actions: grin and bear it.

How Well They Played Our Game

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:31:25 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "It did not take long for the Japanese to tire of the territorial restrictions placed upon them by their Anglo-American partners.

No one in Oslo, or in the United States Congress, knew the truth then.

But the Japanese did. And the American president’s support emboldened them to increase their military might — and their imperial ambitions. In December 1941, the consequence of Theodore Roosevelt’s recklessness would become clear to those few who knew of the secret dealings."

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

My father — one of the famous flag raisers on Iwo Jima — was among the young men who went off to the Pacific to fight for his country. So the war naturally fascinated me. But I always wondered, why did we fight in the Pacific? Yes, there was Pearl Harbor, but why did the Japanese attack us in the first place?

I read deeply into the diplomatic history of the 1930s, about President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s policy on Asia

But I discovered that I was studying the wrong President Roosevelt.

When, in February 1904, Japan broke off relations with Russia, President Roosevelt said publicly that he would “maintain the strictest neutrality,” but privately he wrote, “The sympathies of the United States are entirely on Japan’s side.”

To signal his commitment to Tokyo, Roosevelt cut off relations with Korea

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Roosevelt had assumed that the Japanese would stop at Korea

Cancer From The Kitchen

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:16:18 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "I asked these doctors what they do in their own homes to reduce risks. They said that they avoid microwaving food in plastic or putting plastics in the dishwasher, because heat may cause chemicals to leach out. And the symposium handed out a reminder card listing “safer plastics” as those marked (usually at the bottom of a container) 1, 2, 4 or 5.

It suggests that the “plastics to avoid” are those numbered 3, 6 and 7 (unless they are also marked “BPA-free”). Yes, the evidence is uncertain, but my weekend project is to go through containers in our house and toss out 3’s, 6’s and 7’s. "

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The battle over health care focuses on access to insurance, or tempests like the one that erupted over new mammogram guidelines.

What if breast cancer in the United States has less to do with insurance or mammograms and more to do with contaminants in our water or air -- or in certain plastic containers in our kitchens?

Younger people also seem to be developing breast cancer: This year a 10-year-old in California, Hannah, is fighting breast cancer and recording her struggle on a blog.

What’s happening? One theory starts with the well-known fact that women with more lifetime menstrual cycles are at greater risk for breast cancer, because they’re exposed to more estrogen.

It’s also well established that Western women are beginning puberty earlier, and going through menopause later.

One class of chemicals that creates concern — although the evidence is not definitive — is endocrine disruptors

These endocrine disruptors are found in everything from certain plastics to various cosmetics.

The Truth About Work

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:01:29 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: The sad truth, that is.

Clip Source: www.fortunewatch.com

Needed: Workplace Democracy

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:52:14 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "Democracy gives us the power to create a society that matches our needs. Democracy in the workplace allows us to negotiate the conditions of our work.
You may think that we have all of these rights now. We don't. US workers have almost no right to organize. Every 23 minutes in the United States, a worker is either fired or harassed for trying to unionize.
In 1874 unemployed workers were demonstrating in New York City's Tompkins Square Park. Riot police moved in and began beating men, women, and children with billy clubs, leaving hundreds of casualties in their wake. The police commissioner said: "It was the most glorious sight I ever saw."

Clip Source: www.truthout.org

Unless you are a CEO, you don't have a lot of leverage to demand benefits at your workplace. Every year or two, you might go to your boss and ask for a raise or an extra day of vacation, but usually you can't do much about what hours you work, what health benefits you receive or how your retirement benefits are structured. Unions give workers that leverage.

Unions are designed to give workers a voice in decisions that affect their jobs. They allow workers to negotiate with their employers for wages, health benefits, retirement benefits, and good working conditions. In the best circumstances, unions partner with companies - both have an interest in satisfied, happy workers.

Conservatives have slandered unions for more than a hundred years.

Most of us don't think about workplace rights. We assume that because we live in America, we have all the rights we need.

Why does that matter?

Doing Our Part

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:57:37 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: blog.sojo.net

It is a mistake to think that we cannot defeat violence. It is not an inherent character trait of humanity. It is not encoded in human DNA. We can decide. The World Health Organization tells us that violence is preventable. When we think of it as a health issue, we can identify risk factors that cause violence. When we address the risk factors, we can reduce the violence. Economic inequality on all levels is a major risk factor for violence. Complacency is another.

World change begins with personal renewal. World peace begins with personal peace.

We can agree that we want to see the end of useless violence wherever we find it. We can agree to do our part.

Sarah Palin's Lesbian Friend

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:47:32 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "And if Palin’s lesbian friend were to fall in love with a lovely Russian lesbian that she could see from Alaska—and enter into an adult personal relationship with that Russian—Sarah Palin doesn’t think her lesbian friend’s lover should be able to emigrate to the United States.

But, hey, at least Sarah Palin refuses to judge her lesbian friend—and that’s something, right? It’s not equality or fairness or respect or full enfranchisement, of course, but it’s… um… something."

Clip Source: slog.thestranger.com

last week I offered to be Sarah Palin’s gay friend because, hey, everybody should have at least one—and Palin’s kids clearly need an adult around who knows something about birth control.

She’s not my gay friend, she is one of my best friends who happens to have made a choice that isn’t a choice that I have made. But I’m not going to judge people.”

And while Palin isn’t going to judge her lesbian friend for the choices she’s made about her “adult personal relationships,” Palin is going to do what she can to deny her lesbian friend the right to marry. Palin also wants to make sure her lesbian friend can’t serve openly in the military, she doesn’t want her lesbian friend protected by hate crimes statutes, and she thinks employers should be able to fire her lesbian friend just because she’s a lesbian.

For All You Wingnuts

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:11:48 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: Take a look at corporate welfare and the business of war profiteering for a change instead of trying to turn greedy I don't wanna pay my fair share of taxes bitching and moaning loud-mouthed asses into some kind of a hero for your own get rich aspirations.

Clip Source: www.opednews.com

Rush Limbaugh, is always bitching and moaning about welfare recipients

Exempt from his criticism are the rich, the politically-connected, and the corporations, who really collect most of the welfare in this country.

how many billions of dollars in closed, no-bid contracts did Halliburton alone receive in the Iraq War? And they're merely one of the pig-like, greedy corporations with their snouts at the trough of the bloated, wasteful Military Industrial Complex.

Indeed, Limbaugh's entire business is dependent on complete and total free usage of the public airwaves that we the people OWN.

If Rush's free ride on the public airwaves ain't welfare, then nothing is.

And now this fat piece of sh*t has the gall to blast any and all government programs that offer a helping hand to working people.

Oh, and to all you wingnuts who constantly bitch and moan about poor people getting a "free ride" off the taxpayers: obviously, you've never been poor, yourselves.

A Cloud Still Hangs Over

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:40:36 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: The families of the dead got an average of $2,200; the wounded got $550; a Dow spokeswoman explained, that amount “is plenty good for an Indian.” As Representative Frank Pallone of New Jersey observed in 2006, “In Bhopal, some of the world’s poorest people are being mistreated by one of the world’s richest corporations.

The Indian government, fearful of scaring away foreign investors, has not pushed the issue with American authorities. Dow has used a kind of blackmail with the Indians; a 2006 letter from Andrew Liveris, the chief executive, to India’s ambassador to the United States asked for guarantees that Dow would not be held liable for the cleanup, and thanked him for his “efforts to ensure that we have the appropriate investment climate.”

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

This is the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal gas disaster, an epic mess that started one night when a pesticide plant owned by the American chemical giant Union Carbide leaked a cloud of poisonous gas. Before the sun rose, almost 4,000 human beings capable of love and anguish sank to their knees and did not get up. Half a million more fell ill, many with severely damaged lungs and eyes.

An additional 15,000 people have since died from the aftereffects, and 10 to 30 people are said to die every month from exposure to the hundreds of tons of toxic waste left over in the former factory. But amazingly, the site still has not been cleaned up, because Dow Chemical, which since acquired Union Carbide, refuses to accept any responsibility. The groundwater is contaminated; children of the survivors suffer from genetic abnormalities; and the victims have long since run out of their measly compensation and are begging on the streets.

The Long Hot Winter

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:34:53 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

I have developed a whole new appreciation for the hysteria over Tiger Woods. Many critics of the news media believe we are spending way too much time worrying about why a golfer had a car accident at the end of his driveway. But given the incredibly depressing nature of all the big news stories of the week, if you want to focus on Tiger’s marital problems, I am in total sympathy.

The president ordered 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan. The New York State Senate defeated a same-sex marriage bill. Even the murder and racketeering trial of John Gotti Jr. ended badly.

Meanwhile, in Washington, the U.S. Senate began its groundbreaking debate over a national health care plan.

The way things are going, we should get to a vote at about the same time that the president is planning to get the troops out of Afghanistan.

Let’s try not to think about what January will bring. Maybe another sports hero will do us a favor and run into a fire hydrant.