www.TheWillaWoman.com

Ask yourself...

2008-11-17T15:09:00.013-05:00

If you voted for McCain/Palin because you were concerned about Obama's "associations":

Obama - Bill Ayers (anti-war activist), Wiki: "In 1973, the federal government requested the dismissal of the charges against the couple in the interest of national security following accusations of government misconduct..."
Obama - Pastor Jeremiah Wright, Wiki: "[Obama] expressed outrage and shock at a press conference on April 29 [2008]..."
Obama - Tony Rezko
Obama - muslim (he's actually a christian)
Obama - ACORN

... were you equally concerned about McCain/Palin's "associations"?

Palin - Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) convicted felon
Palin - Todd Palin, member of the Alaskan Independence Party
Palin - Bishop Thomas Muthee, believes in witches and witchcraft
Palin - Sarah Palin, "...abused her power as governor and violated the state's Executive Branch Ethics Act when her office pressured Monegan to fire Wooten..."
McCain - Pastor John Hagee
McCain - Phil Gramm, McCain advisor
McCain - Charles H. Keating, Jr. and the Keating Five
McCain - George W. Bush (war crimes) (with whom McCain agreed with 90% of the time)

If you were concerned about Obama's "lack of experience", were you equally concerned about Palin's "lack of experience"?

With all that, I have one last question:

When Obama gave his speech in Chicago after winning the election, were you moved? Did you get goose-bumps? Do you fully realize the implications of America having elected it's first black president?

If not, then perhaps these aren't the right questions.

Perhaps the right question to ask is...

Are you a racist?

Sweet

2008-11-14T00:17:00.002-05:00

Veterans' groups sue for faster disability rulings

2008-11-10T23:37:00.001-05:00

(CNN) -- Two veterans' organizations Monday filed a federal lawsuit seeking to accelerate decisions on disability claims for retired military personnel.

The plaintiffs say the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs takes an average of six months to rule on a typical claim.

The lawsuit, filed by the Vietnam Veterans of America and Veterans of Modern Warfare in U.S. District Court in Washington, seeks to force the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide an initial ruling on every veteran's claim for disability benefits within 90 days and to resolve appeals within 180 days.

The veterans' groups also are seeking interim benefits for veterans whose claim rulings take longer than those time periods.

"The failure to expedite veterans' compensation claims creates, at best, the impression that the nation does not respect its veterans," John Rowan, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America, said in a written statement. "America's veterans deserve more, and the VA's failure to fulfill its responsibilities brings dishonor to our nation and can only make the call of military service more challenging."

According to the veterans' groups, an initial decision on a typical benefits claim takes an average of six months. Appeals of initial rulings take, on average, over four years, according to the groups.

"We have not yet seen this lawsuit, and the Department of Justice handles litigation issues in the U.S. District Court for the VA, so we can't really comment," said Lisette Mondello, assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs for the department.

"Regarding the press accounts today, we would note that the VA has made considerable improvements in claims adjudication and continues to do so. It is a key priority for the VA."

The issue of veterans' benefits was highlighted in the recently concluded presidential campaign. President-elect Barack Obama promised, among other things, to increase veterans' benefits to keep pace with rising costs.

In June, President Bush signed a $162 billion war funding bill that contained a new "G.I. Bill" expanding education benefits for veterans who have served since the September 11 attacks.

A Big Yay To This News

2008-11-09T22:35:00.002-05:00

Obama Positioned to Quickly Reverse Bush Actions

Stem Cell, Climate Rules Among Targets of President-Elect's Team

President Bush denied California the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles. The president-elect says he will overturn that decision.

Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team.

A team of four dozen advisers, working for months in virtual solitude, set out to identify regulatory and policy changes Obama could implement soon after his inauguration. The team is now consulting with liberal advocacy groups, Capitol Hill staffers and potential agency chiefs to prioritize those they regard as the most onerous or ideologically offensive, said a top transition official who was not permitted to speak on the record about the inner workings of the transition.

In some instances, Obama would be quickly delivering on promises he made during his two-year campaign, while in others he would be embracing Clinton-era policies upended by President Bush during his eight years in office.

"The kind of regulations they are looking at" are those imposed by Bush for "overtly political" reasons, in pursuit of what Democrats say was a partisan Republican agenda, said Dan Mendelson, a former associate administrator for health in the Clinton administration's Office of Management and Budget. The list of executive orders targeted by Obama's team could well get longer in the coming days, as Bush's appointees rush to enact a number of last-minute policies in an effort to extend his legacy.
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A spokeswoman said yesterday that no plans for regulatory changes had been finalized. "Before he makes any decisions on potential executive or legislative actions, he will be conferring with congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle, as well as interested groups," Obama transition spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said. "Any decisions would need to be discussed with his Cabinet nominees, none of whom have been selected yet."

Still, the preelection transition team, comprising mainly lawyers, has positioned the incoming president to move fast on high-priority items without waiting for Congress.

Obama himself has signaled, for example, that he intends to reverse Bush's controversial limit on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, a decision that scientists say has restrained research into some of the most promising avenues for defeating a wide array of diseases, such as Parkinson's.

Bush's August 2001 decision pleased religious conservatives who have moral objections to the use of cells from days-old human embryos, which are destroyed in the process.

But Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) said that during Obama's final swing through her state in October, she reminded him that because the restrictions were never included in legislation, Obama "can simply reverse them by executive order." Obama, she said, "was very receptive to that." Opponents of the restrictions have already drafted an executive order he could sign.

The new president is also expected to lift a so-called global gag rule barring international family planning groups that receive U.S. aid from counseling women about the availability of abortion, even in countries where the procedure is legal, said Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. When Bill Clinton took office in 1993, he rescinded the Reagan-era regulation, known as the Mexico City policy, but Bush reimposed it.

"We have been communicating with his transition staff" almost daily, Richards said. "We expect to see a real change."

While Obama said at a news conference last week that his top priority would be to stimulate the economy and create jobs, his advisers say that focus will not delay key shifts in social and regulatory policies, including some -- such as the embrace of new environmental safeguards -- that Obama has said will have long-term, beneficial impacts on the economy.

The president-elect has said, for example, that he intends to quickly reverse the Bush administration's decision last December to deny California the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles. "Effectively tackling global warming demands bold and innovative solutions, and given the failure of this administration to act, California should be allowed to pioneer," Obama said in January.

California had sought permission from the Environmental Protection Agency to require that greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles be cut by 30 percent between 2009 and 2016, effectively mandating that cars achieve a fuel economy standard of at least 36 miles per gallon within eight years. Seventeen other states had promised to adopt California's rules, representing in total 45 percent of the nation's automobile market. Environmentalists cheered the California initiative because it would stoke innovation that would potentially benefit the entire country.

"An early move by the Obama administration to sign the California waiver would signal the seriousness of intent to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil and build a future for the domestic auto market," said Kevin Knobloch, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Before the election, Obama told others that he favors declaring that carbon dioxide emissions are endangering human welfare, following an EPA task force recommendation last December that Bush and his aides shunned in order to protect the utility and auto industries.

Robert Sussman, who was the EPA's deputy administrator during the Clinton administration and is now overseeing EPA transition planning for Obama, wrote a paper last spring strongly recommending such a finding. Others in the campaign have depicted it as an issue on which Obama is keen to show that politics must not interfere with scientific advice.

Some related reforms embraced by Obama's transition advisers would alter procedures for decision-making on climate issues. A book titled "Change for America," being published next week by the Center for American Progress, an influential liberal think tank, will recommend, for example, that Obama rapidly create a National Energy Council to coordinate all policymaking related to global climate change.

The center's influence with Obama is substantial: It was created by former Clinton White House official John D. Podesta, a co-chairman of the transition effort, and much of its staff has been swept into planning for Obama's first 100 days in office.

The National Energy Council would be a counterpart to the White House National Economic Council that Clinton created in a 1993 executive order.

"It would make sure all the oars are rowing in the right direction" and ensure that climate change policy "gets lots of attention inside the White House," said Daniel J. Weiss, a former Sierra Club official and senior fellow with the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

The center's new book will also urge Obama to sign an executive order requiring that greenhouse gas emissions be considered whenever the federal government examines the environmental impact of its actions under the existing National Environmental Policy Act. Several key members of Obama's transition team have already embraced the idea.

Other early Obama initiatives may address the need for improved food and drug regulation and chart a new course for immigration enforcement, some Obama advisers say. But they add that only a portion of his early efforts will be aimed at undoing Bush initiatives.

Despite enormous pent-up Democratic frustration, Obama and his team realize they must strike a balance between undoing Bush actions and setting their own course, said Winnie Stachelberg, the center's senior vice president for external affairs.

"It took eight years to get into this mess, and it will take a long time to get out of it," she said. "The next administration needs to look ahead. This transition team and the incoming administration gets that in a big way."

A Fine Line Between Appropriate and Inappropriate Licking

2008-11-08T17:38:00.001-05:00

Barack Obama: We Want a Shelter Dog...a Mutt Like Me!

2008-11-07T22:30:00.001-05:00

Barack Obama let the dogs out Friday on his family's future presidential pooch.

At his first press conference since the election, he announced the family would prefer to adopt because, "a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me.

"With respect to the dog, this is a major issue," he joked. "I think it's generated more interest on our Web site than just about anything."

Check out photos from Obama's First Family Album.

Before picking out the dog that Obama promised to his daughters during his Tuesday night speech, he says they're still sorting out a few issues.

"We have two criteria that have to be reconciled," he said. "One is that Malia is allergic, so it has to be hypoallergenic. There are a number of breeds that are hypoallergenic.

"On the other hand, our preference would be to get a shelter dog, but, obviously, a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me. So whether we're going to be able to balance those two things I think is a pressing issue on the Obama household," he said.

Study clears cannabis of schizophrenia rap

2008-11-06T22:03:00.001-05:00

No greater risk than general non-tokers

Regular readers will recall the confused mess that is this government’s cannabis policy. There has been a drop in cannabis consumption since it was downgraded from Class B to C, but nevertheless they want to put it back up to Class B again. Yes, we know all about the argument that what you ingest is entirely your business, it being your body and all that but morals are always trumped by politics.

In the comments section to our last piece the general consensus was that the policy was driven either by a craven servility to the Murdoch press or, as a daring alternative, a bending to Daily Mail woo woo. The general consensus however was that it was Puritanism, that awful fear that someone, somewhere, might be enjoying themselves and that this situation cannot be allowed to continue. We’re arguing over whose Puritanism, not whether.

There was one vaguely respectable argument that could be put forward on the prohibitionist’s side, that of cannabis induced schizophrenia. This has been increasing even as the general incidence of schizophrenia has been stable (or even falling, depending upon who you ask). That the rise was on the order of 500 people a year means it’s not a very important point, not when compared to 3 million regular tokers, but there are still those who will buy the argument that people should be stopped from harming themselves, even if the risks are very low.

There is certainly a correlation, but we should still want to know about causation before we take any further action. For it is possible, and it is a view advanced by some (like myself last time), that those who are about to become schizophrenic dose themselves on cannabis as they are known to on alcohol and any other substance that comes to hand to still the voices. Or perhaps there’s a milder version, that cannabis induced psychosis isn’t in fact cannabis induced at all, but is simply coincidental: that it’s an early marker of schizophrenia rather than something brought on by cannabis itself.

When we try to test this we also want to be very careful indeed about our sample groups. We really don’t want to be making the mistake that the World Health Organisation has been making with HIV testing in sub-Saharan Africa. Testing pregnant women to give you the incidence of a sexually transmitted disease in the general population really ain't all that clever: you’re testing the one group of the population where you have actual proof that they’ve been partaking in unprotected sex. It might be useful to get an idea of scale, but it's just not going to be all that accurate.

Fortunately, all of this is just what some scientists have done (sadly, the full paper is not online for free access). We know that there is a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia (more accurately to three different conditions that we'll, for convenience sake, group together here). If we’re lucky we can also find a decent data set which we have indeed got, some 2.25 million Danes born between 1955 and 1990, and we know both their own treatments for either cannabis induced psychosis or for those varied schizophrenic type diseases. We can also track their familial relationships and see which of them did or didn’t suffer in these manners. Excellent, we can now try to test our correlation. Do people who have had cannabis induced psychotic episodes then go on to develop schizophrenia at a higher rate than their genetic predisposition (as evidenced by their familial incidence of schizophrenia) would lead us to believe they would?

Well, looking at the 609 who had treatment for such pot induced freakouts and those 6,476 who were treated for the full blown nastiness, well, umm, no. Formally:

In terms of estimated rate ratios, persons who develop cannabis-induced psychosis are as predisposed to schizophrenia spectrum disorder and other psychiatric disorders as those who develop schizophrenia spectrum disorder without a history of cannabis-induced psychosis.

So at this point we can say that, no, that bad trip on some heavy shit does not lead on to schizophrenia. There’s no difference in incidence.

But the paper’s authors go much further:

Altogether, these findings, in addition to those of previous studies, indicate that cannabis-induced psychosis may not be a valid diagnosis but an early marker of schizophrenia.

That is, that the very idea of that bad trip is itself wrong. The disease is already there, simply wrongly diagnosed as being cannabis induced. And finally we get:

Rather, the degree of hereditary predisposition in individuals who receive treatment of cannabis-induced psychosis closely mirrors that in those who develop schizophrenia with no history of cannabis induced psychosis. The results agree with those of other studies that show that cannabis predominantly causes psychotic symptoms in those persons who are predisposed to develop psychosis or show signs of psychosis in the absence of cannabis use.

This goes a great deal further than my or anyone else’s original supposition, that pot consumption might cause problems only for those who are already predisposed to mental health problems. If it were simply this then we could deal with legalised pot simply by placing warnings upon it, as we do with nuts and nut allergies (umm, 'nut' possibly isn’t le mot juste there). But this finding goes further. There seems to be no evidence that cannabis consumption increases the incidence of these mental diseases at all. Incidence is the same for those who have had the "cannabis induced" version as it is in the general population, adjusting for the risks we perceive from the incidence of such problems in their immediate families. That there’s actually nothing to do with cannabis at all, that it just so happens that some who are becoming schizophrenic, something which is often marked by short episodes before it fully takes grip, happen to have been puffing 'erb when such episodes hit.

Thus there really is no logical leg for the government to stand upon in its reclassification of cannabis: there's not in fact one reason against the legalisation of the damn stuff and the increase in liberty and freedom that would result.

So, anyone think this is going to make any difference? No, thought not myself. OK, back to basics then, could the Murdochists and the Mailites let us know who is really to blame for the idiocy which is current drugs policy?

The politics of compassion have overcome the politics of fear.

2008-11-06T18:17:00.001-05:00

Tonight, Michigan became the thirteenth state to legalize the physician supervised possession and use of cannabis. According to early returns, more than 60 percent of Michigan voters decided in favor of Proposal 1, which establishes a state-regulated system regarding the use and cultivation of medical marijuana by qualified patients.

Voters endorsed the measure despite a high profile, deceptive, and despicable ad campaign by Prop. 1 opponents — who falsely claimed that the initiative would allow for the open sale of marijuana “in every neighborhood, just blocks from schools.” (In fact, Proposal 1 does not even allow for the creation of licensed cannabis dispensaries.)

Michigan’s new law goes into effect on December 4th, at which time nearly one-quarter of the US population will live in a state that authorizes the legal use of medical cannabis.

Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, some 65 percent of voters (and virtually every town) decided “yes” on Question 2, which reduces minor marijuana possession to a fine-only offense. Like in Michigan, voters rejected a high-profile, deceptive ad campaign by the measure’s opponents, who argued that it would increase adolescent drug abuse, permit large-scale marijuana trafficking, endanger workplace safety, and sharply increase traffic fatalities.

Question 2 is expected to become law in 30 days — making Massachusetts the thirteenth state to decriminalize the personal possession and use of cannabis. (Note: Under state law, politicians have the option of amending the new law.)

NORML celebrates both victories and recognizes that neither would have been possible without the grassroots efforts of Michigan and Massachusetts state activists — who laid the groundwork for both campaigns by successfully passing a series of similar, municipal initiatives over the past several years.

Wednesday Morning Update:

Victories in four pro-marijuana law reform measures in local elections were announced overnight:

Citizens in Fayetteville, Arkansas voted in favor of initiative question #16, which instructs city police to make the enforcement of minor marijuana offenses a low priority. The initiative passed with nearly 66 percent support.

Not too surprisingly the citizens of Berkeley, California voted again to affirm an initiative that ‘eliminate limits on the amount of medical marijuana patient or dispensary can possess’. Measure JJ passed with 61 percent support.

Hawaii County also passed a lowest police priority marijuana initiative.

Also, the Massachusetts PPQ results regarding medical marijuana, which readily passed as expected, are online here.

Unfortunately for reformers the Drug Policy Alliance-sponsored Prop. 5, which sought progressive criminal justice law reforms for non-violent offenders (and would have changed the legal status of a minor marijuana citation from a criminal to civil offense) did not prevail at the polls, losing with 40 percent support.

Once again, voters have rejected the Bush doctrine on drugs. They’ve rejected the lies put forward by drug warriors and law enforcement, and demonstrated — overwhelmingly — that truth, compassion, and first-hand experience are more persuasive than the deception and scare tactics of those who would take away our freedoms and confine us in cages.

In short, it is the cannabis community, not the Drug Czar, that is shaping America’s marijuana policy, and tonight we go to bed knowing that millions of Americans will wake up tomorrow with a better, brighter, and more tolerant future than they had today.

My favorite part...

2008-11-05T14:20:00.001-05:00

"It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled -

Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America."

Sigh...

2008-11-05T00:26:00.000-05:00

... of relief...

Robot service dogs are on the way

2008-10-31T00:04:00.000-05:00

Georgia Tech professor Charlie Kemp was never much of a dog person until his wife brought home an energetic goldendoodle named Daisy about a year and a half ago.

Since then, the robotics researcher's work has literally gone to the dogs.

Inside Kemp's Healthcare Robotics Lab at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, he and co-workers are developing a robot dog they say could someday perform the same functions as the service dogs that are vital to many physically disabled people.

At a skinny 5 feet 7 inches, with wheels instead of paws, their robodog named El-E (pronounced "Ellie") doesn't look anything like a real dog.

But El-E can open doors and cabinets, fetch dropped objects and do other service dog functions -- all without ever needing to eat or relieve itself.

Ultimately, Kemp and co-researchers plan to train El-E to do things not even highly skilled service dogs can do, such as dial a cellphone for help or relay information about its companion's condition to a doctor.

"A lot of people have looked at robot dogs for entertainment and companionship," Kemp said. "But we said, 'Hey, what about looking at this in terms of physical assistance?' "

Missing Fla. dog shows up 1,000 miles away in Ill.

2008-10-30T23:58:00.000-05:00

RACINE, Wis. (AP) -- A Maltese dog named Max is headed home to Florida after he was spotted in Chicago - 1,000 miles from where he vanished. Richard Gonzalez had reported a pet theft after Max disappeared several months ago from his daughter's yard in Brandon, Fla. Gonzalez says he thought that Max would never get far. But the pooch was identified in Chicago by an implanted microchip.

Gonzalez contacted the Northcentral Maltese Rescue to retrieve Max. Rescue director Mary Palmer had the dog taken to Racine, Wis., and he will be flown Saturday to Florida.

Gonzalez says he has no idea how his dog got so far away. He says he was so thrilled about the find that he almost asked Palmer to put Max on the phone.

---

Information from: The Journal Times, http://www.journaltimes.com

Dogs can read emotion in human faces

2008-10-30T23:30:00.002-05:00

Dogs are the only animals that can read emotion in faces much like humans, cementing their position as man's best friend, claim scientists.

Dogs have a sense of right and wrong

Dogs 'may be able to read their owner's minds'

Dogs display aspects of human intelligence

Research findings suggest that, like an understanding best friend, they can see at a glance if we are happy, sad, pleased or angry.

When humans look at a new face their eyes tend to wander left, falling on the right hand side of the person's face first.

This "left gaze bias" only occurs when we encounter faces and does not apply any other time, such as when inspecting animals or inanimate objects.

A possible reason for the tendency is that the right side of the human face is better at expressing emotional state.

Researchers at the University of Lincoln have now shown that pet dogs also exhibit "left gaze bias", but only when looking at human faces. No other animal has been known to display this behaviour before.

A team led by Dr Kun Guo showed 17 dogs images of human, dog and monkey faces as well as inanimate objects.

Film of the dogs' eye and head movement revealed a strong left gaze bias when the animals were presented with human faces. But this did not occur when they were shown other images, including those of dogs.

"Guo suggests that over thousands of generations of association with humans, dogs may have evolved the left gaze bias as a way to gauge our emotions," New Scientist magazine reported.

"Recent studies show that the right side of our faces can express emotions more accurately and more intensely than the left, including anger. If true, then it makes sense for dogs - and humans - to inspect the right hand side of a face first."

Surprisingly, when the dogs in the study were shown an upside-down human face, they still looked left. In contrast, humans lose their left gaze bias altogether when shown an inverted face.

This may be because the right side of a dog's brain, which processes information from the left visual field, is better adapted to interpreting human facial emotion than the left side, the scientists believe.

Pound puppy becomes narcotics dog in Florida

2008-10-29T00:14:00.002-05:00

When his chief told him there was no money for a new narcotics dog, Polk County Sheriff's Deputy John Maney went to the pound, adopted and trained a dog himself.

Maney, who has previously worked as a handler for five canines, turned down several dogs. He focused on ones that showed alertness, lack of fear and an eagerness to learn. He adopted an eleven-month-old black lab mix in March and named him Rezadu.

They trained in abandoned phosphate mine property and open fields for 12 weeks, detecting illegal narcotics.

Rezadu did so well that he was nationally certified in August.

Dogs Rule

2008-10-27T16:04:00.002-05:00

This puppy may be able to take on this kitty now, but in two years, this cat will dominate!

Oh no they di'ent

2008-10-26T23:31:00.004-05:00

Service dog turned away from local hotel

Indianapolis - A woman says a local hotel told her that her service dog in training is not welcome to stay there.

Colin Zinn says she's been staying at InTown Suites at 86th and Michigan while her house is being renovated. Zinn also helps train service dogs and a new dog, Lady, has just arrived from Oregon.

"This dog could allow somebody to work when they might not be able to work, or be in public where they might not be able to be in public, or function in a way that they normally would not be able to function," said Zinn.

But Lady's training is at a stand-still. Zinn said she went to the hotel manager to tell him Lady would be staying with her. She says she was told Lady was not welcome.

"He said upper management says no service dogs in training are allowed. No pets. And I explained it was not a pet, this is a service dog in training and he still said no," said Zinn.

"I never expected there to be a problem with anybody. Anywhere," Zinn added.

An attorney for Paws and Think, the non-profit that brought Lady here, called InTown's corporate office.

"I was told no problem with the dog and then they changed course," explained Scott Preston with Ice Miller LLP.

Preston explained under Indiana Law, service and guide dogs are allowed in public places. The law also applies to dogs in training.

"The law is very clear that says someone who is training an assistance dog has to be given the same accommodations as someone with a disability that has an assistance dog," said Preston.

Preston says he tried to get a straight answer from InTown's corporate offices, but so far, no one has returned his calls. Zinn says she and Lady could go somewhere else says that's not the point and says she shouldn't have to.

"What's happening is dead wrong," she said.

Dog risks life for kittens

2008-10-26T21:42:00.000-05:00

A dog has risked its life to protect four kittens trapped in a house fire in Melbourne, Australia.

Firefighters found Leo guarding the kittens which were in a cardboard box in one of the bedrooms.

When the fire broke out inside the house, the family of four plus their other dog managed to escape.

However Leo paid the price for his bravery. He succumbed to the smoke and heat.

Firefighters rushed the dog to safety and revived the unconscious Leo with a heart massage and oxygen.

Link to video

Bad dog!

2008-10-26T16:43:00.000-05:00

13 Golf Balls Found Inside Dog

Owner Chris Morrison had been taking five-year-old black labrador Oscar, round the Pitreavie golf course in Dunfermline for few months.

He took Oscar to the vet after he heard a rattling sound coming from his pet’s stomach. After oversight they discovered 13 balls - each weighing 45 grams - lodged in his stomach.

Mr Morrison, a planning administrator, said one of the balls had been in his stomach so long that it had turned black and was decomposing.

He said: “He finds golf balls like truffles. We’re not sure how long exactly this happened over, but it must have been a fair period - several months at least.

“I felt his stomach and heard them rattling around.

“He normally brings a few home, but I had no idea he had eaten so many.

“The vet hadn’t seen anything like it, it was bizarre.

“He is a black lab so he is a fair size, but to swallow 13 is quite amazing.”

The balls were removed two weeks ago in a successful hour-long operation.
Oscar is now on the road to making a full recovery on a special post-operation diet of watered-down food. He also has to wear a muzzle while out and about. Mr Morrison added:

“He does get a bit frustrated now and again.”

Bob Hesketh, 40, principal vet at Vetrica in Rosyth, said he had never seen anything like it.

He said: “It was like a magic trick. I opened him up and felt what I thought was two or three golf balls.”

“But they just kept coming until we had a bag full.”

“I think they must have been in there for several months, one was all black and the shell was swollen.”

No barking

2008-10-26T00:44:00.001-04:00

Calif. woman allegedly abducts dog over barking

HEMET, Calif. (AP) -- An officer at a San Diego County correctional facility who had complained about the barking of her neighbor's dog was arrested after being accused of stealing the animal and abandoning it some 15 miles away.

Diane M. Brown, 42, was arrested on suspicion of felony possession of stolen property, Hemet police Sgt. Kevin Caskey said. She was booked Thursday and released on $5,000 bond.

Brown had filed multiple noise complaints about Spike - a white Maltese - who lives next door to her Hemet home, Riverside County Animal Services officials said.

On Monday, Spike went missing, but Brown was spotted unloading the dog from the trunk of her car outside a water district building in the town of Beaumont, Animal Services Sgt. Lesley Huennekens said. A surveillance camera captured Brown when she returned to the scene to remove to dog's collar.

Two water district employees took Spike to a veterinarian, who located the dog's owners by scanning a tracking chip embedded under the animal's skin. The dog was unharmed.

San Diego County sheriff's officials said Brown was a corrections officer in the city of Vista, but they were unaware of the arrest.

There was no answer at Brown's house Thursday when a reporter for the Riverside Press-Enterprise visited seeking comment.

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Information from: The Press-Enterprise, http://www.pe.com

Pissed off?

2008-10-26T00:40:00.002-04:00

Police: Man urinates on dog after owner spurns sex

MANITOWOC, Wis. (AP) -- A 36-year-old man took revenge on his roommate after she refused to have sex with him by allegedly urinating on her dog, police said. Police said the man was arrested early Thursday morning on tentative charges of criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct related to domestic violence.

According to police reports, the man was drunk when he argued with the woman. After she resisted his advances the man went to the basement where he urinated on her dog and the floor.

Police said the argument continued, and when the woman's sister stood up in defense the man pushed her into a wall. He then allegedly stormed from the home and punched out a window.

It's official, Sarah Palin is an idiot

2008-10-25T22:44:00.001-04:00

Sarah Palin: Ignorant and anti-science

Posted on: October 24, 2008 10:17 PM, by PZ Myers

This is too much. Sarah Palin gave a policy speech today in which she claimed that she wanted more support for children with disabilities, more tools to test for disorders, and while also decrying the expense of scientific research.

Where does a lot of that earmark money end up anyway? […] You've heard about some of these pet projects they really don't make a whole lot of sense and sometimes these dollars go to projects that have little or nothing to do with the public good. Things like fruit fly research in Paris, France. I kid you not.

I am appalled.

This idiot woman, this blind, shortsighted ignoramus, this pretentious clod, mocks basic research and the international research community. You damn well better believe that there is research going on in animal models — what does she expect, that scientists should mutagenize human mothers and chop up baby brains for this work? — and countries like France and Germany and England and Canada and China and India and others are all respected participants in these efforts.

Yes, scientists work on fruit flies. Some of the most powerful tools in genetics and molecular biology are available in fruit flies, and these are animals that are particularly amenable to experimentation. Molecular genetics has revealed that humans share key molecules, the basic developmental toolkit, with all other animals, thanks to our shared evolutionary heritage (something else the wackaloon from Wasilla denies), and that we can use these other organisms to probe the fundamental mechanisms that underlie core processes in the formation of the nervous system — precisely the phenomena Palin claims are so important.

This is where the Republican party has ended up: supporting an ignorant buffoon who believes in the End Times and speaking in tongues while deriding some of the best and most successful strategies for scientific research. In this next election, we've got to choose between the 21^st century rationalism and Dark Age inanity. It ought to be an easy choice.

Wow, good work!

2008-10-25T21:46:00.001-04:00

Wassup 2008

Good god, this is all I need!

2008-10-25T17:50:00.000-04:00

Even BETTER than a shaker can!

2008-10-24T00:53:00.000-04:00

I don't have MS, but this is GREAT news

2008-10-23T16:50:00.002-04:00

Leukaemia drug can halt, reverse MS

Thu Oct 23, 5:26 am ET

LONDON (AFP) – Researchers at the University of Cambridge said Thursday they have found that a drug originally developed to treat leukaemia can halt and even reverse the debilitating effects of multiple sclerosis (MS).

In trials, alemtuzumab reduced the number of attacks in sufferers and also helped them recover lost functions, apparently allowing damaged brain tissue to repair so that individuals were less disabled than at the start of the study.

"The ability of an MS drug to promote brain repair is unprecedented," said Dr Alasdair Coles, a lecturer at Cambridge university's department of clinical neurosciences, who coordinated many aspects of the study.

"We are witnessing a drug which, if given early enough, might effectively stop the advancement of the disease and also restore lost function by promoting repair of the damaged brain tissue."

The MS Society, Britain's largest support charity for those affected by the condition, said it was "delighted" at the trial's results, which must be followed up with more research before the drug can be licensed.

"This is the first drug that has shown the potential to halt and even reverse the debilitating effects of MS and this news will rightly bring hope to people living with the condition day in, day out," said head of research Lee Dunster.

MS is an auto-immune disease that affects millions of people worldwide, including almost 100,000 in Britain and 400,000 in the United States.

It is caused by the body's immune system attacking nerve fibres in the central nervous system, and can lead to loss of sight and mobility, depression, fatigue and cognitive problems. There is no cure, and few effective treatments.

In the trial, 334 patients diagnosed with early-stage relapsing-remitting MS who had not previously been treated were given alemtuzumab or interferon beta-1a, one of the most effective licensed therapies for similar MS cases.

After three years, alemtuzumab was found to reduce the number of attacks the patients suffered by 74 percent over the other treatment, and reduce the risk of sustained accumulation of disability by 71 percent over interferon beta-1a.

Many individuals who took alemtuzumab also recovered some of their lost functions, becoming less disabled by the end, while the disabilities of the other patients worsened, the study in the New England Journal of Medicine said.

Alastair Compston, professor of neurology and head of the clinical neurosciences department at Cambridge, said alemtuzumab was the "most promising" experimental drug for the treatment of MS.

He expressed hope that further trials "will confirm that it can both stabilise and allow some recovery of what had previously been assumed to be irreversible disabilities".

Alemtuzumab was developed in Cambridge and has been licensed for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.