I have an absolutely brilliant idea. Tie up all spammers and put them right in Rita’s path. Feed the ferocious hurricane with human waste products (spammers) and then she’ll be so full that she’ll just turn around and go home. Go back to the hurricane homeland and leave the Gulf Coast alone.

And not only will we avoid hurricane damage, but we’ll be rid of spammers.

Can you tell that I hate spammers? Pond scum is superior to spammers.

Here’s another brain twister–just one cigarette a day almost triples the risk of heart disease and lung cancer.

Now, how many studies have we already chalked up on the dangers of smoking? 1,000? 10,000? The first warning of the Surgeon General appeared back in the 1960s, that we knew cigarettes were a carcinogen and presented other dangers to the human body.

Now, here’s one more enlightening study (pardon the pun). This time around, it is destroying the myth of the “light” smoker, those who only smoke a few cigarettes a day, as well as those who cut down on the amount they smoke. These people still face a health risk, although I assume that the health risk is somewhat reduced since they are smoking less. I haven’t read the study itself, so I can’t give all of its conclusions, but it’s basically saying that you are still not out of the woods as long as you keep reaching for that pack of Marlboros.

Norwegian scientists who studied the health records of 43,000 men and women have shown that even light smoking — less than five cigarettes daily — triples the risk of dying of heart disease or lung cancer.

“In both sexes, smoking 1-4 cigarettes per day was associated with a significantly higher risk of dying from ischaemic heart disease and from all causes, and from lung cancer in women,” said Dr. Aage Tverdal of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo.Women are at more risk than men, even when they smoke less than a pack a week.

However, my point is that these endless studies are meaningless at this point, and also obvious. Smoking less cigarettes still causes health problems–well yeah, of course it does. You’re still put steaming hot toxic chemicals down into your lungs and into your circulation. What myth are they disspelling that “light” smoking isn’t harmful? Whoever said that it wasn’t?

We have rehashed the dangers of smoking so many times over, yet researchers are still getting millions in grant money to “study the dangers” of smoking. The bottom line is, if I may be so harsh as to put it bluntly: We know smoking is a health hazard. We know it causes a cornucopia of illnesses and exacerbates others. So why do we need any further research? If a person who smokes already knows that it can lead to heart disease, lung cancer, and lead to other respiratory diseases that can kill him, is finding out that it–gasp!!!-also can cause gum disease going to convince him to quit?

Likewise, this particular study. If a person really wants to smoke, and has already been bombarded with the constant news that smoking is unhealthy–is the revelation from this study that “light-smoking men also had a three times greater risk of dying from lung cancer, while women had a five times greater risk,” really going to convince them to quit?

In the same vein, people are well aware that drinking 42 oz sodas and eating a large size order of MacDonald’s fries is going to make them fat. Keep eating this way, and they will be obese. But do they stop gouging their face on junk food? No. Junk foods sales are at an all time high.

Instead of spending so much money on the continuous study of cigarette smoking, how about taking a look at some of the other health evils plaguing the human population. Most people who end up with cancer don’t smoke, for example. Of course, digging into the actual causes of cancer will upset some very powerful corporations and industries, so could it be that’s why hardly anyone is going there? It’s safe these days to pick on tobacco, but God help you if publish research showing a link between pesticides and breast cancer.

MSNBC.com

As of noon, local time, the Louisiana death toll from Katrina is 832. This brings the total number of dead to about 1040. Still a lot less than anticipated, but a lot more than needed to be if…and there are so many ifs that can be filled in here. If the levee system had been updated and fortified to withstand a category 5 hurricane, if environmental degradation had been halted and reversed, if FEMA had not been crippled and had been under the leadership of a professional and not a politcal lackey, if there had been better organization in the entire evacuation process, and so on.

On another note, Louisiana is trying to bring patients and doctors together. Displaced patients and physicians can reach each other by going to www.mdtechnologies.com. Physicians can go to this website to their new contact information or they can call 225-343-7169 or 1-800-290-1657 if they do not have Internet access.

What do two hurricanes have in common with the Manhattan Project? For those of you unfamiliar with the name, no, it has nothing to do with urban renewal in NYC or Mayor Guiliani’s prostate. It was the code name for the atomic bomb development, during WW II.

So if you’re curious, Kaslog explains the connection. Very thought provoking, if I do say so myself.

At least the authorities are learning and have learned something from the disastrous preparation and response to the aftermath of Katrina. And admitting you made mistakes and attempts to do it right this time may save lives. For example, the idiocy about not evacuating people with their pets. Of course, many said that they would not leave their pets. But this time, the powers that be seem to have gotten their head out of their underwear and are using common sense.

People love their pets. To many, pets are the only family they have left in the world and possibly the only friend.

At the Galveston Community Center, where 1,500 evacuees had been put on school buses to points inland, another lesson from Katrina was put into practice: To overcome the reluctance of people to evacuate without their pets, they were allowed to bring them along in crates.

“It was quite a sight,” Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said. “We were able to put people on with their dog crates, their cat crates, their shopping carts. It went very well.”

It went very well. So how hard is it to have compassion for people who may be losing their home and everything that they own, to say nothing about their job and source of income–and allow them to evacuate with their pets?

Anyway, Galveston is just about a ghost town now. Read the article at the Galveston Daily News.

I know, the headline makes you want to read it twice. Can the U.S. FDA really do something right, and that is in the interest of the public?

The FDA has approved the first generic versions of AZT, the grand old daddy of AIDs medications. It should be clarified that this is not the first version of the drug, but rather the first version that will be made available in the U.S. Glaxo’s patent has finally run its term, after 18 years, and like it or not, the FDA must allow the generics to move in. I should add that generic versions are already being manufactured in countries like India and China, where they can’t afford to pay the cost of patented medicine.

AZT currently costs about $2,200 for a one-year supply, far more than the average person in a developing nation could ever afford to pay. When AZT first came on the market in 1987, the price tag was about $10,000. So while the cost has declined dramatically, it’s still pricey, especially for people who don’t earn that much in a year. Generic versions of the drug cost as little as $105 for a one-year supply, and U.S.-made generics could be even cheaper than that. Now that will be a boon to saving costs in healthcare, wouldn’t it.

There have some fierce battles over patent vs. generic when it comes to AIDS drugs. Developing nations, home to about 80% of all AIDS cases, simply cannot afford to pay for patented drugs, even with discounts offered by the manufacturer. Thus, breaking patents and making generics was seen as a necessity by many developing nations, and I can’t blame them. I can understand a company wanted exclusivity after they put a drug on the market, but in the case of AIDS, the high prices simply meant that the majority of AIDS patients were just going to die untreated.

Does childhood obesity and eating at MacDonald’s have anything in common? Apparently, a lot of people think so. Obesity and MacDonald’s have a rather symbiotic relationship, I would say.

So that is all the more reason to take a look at Seth Godin’s blog entry. It is the perennial tale of two billboards, the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Felix Unger and Oscar Madison.

Why would anyone hang these two billboards together? Is it a bad joke?

It’s official. Rita has now reached category 5 strength. Of course, that may change by the time she makes landfall. Katrina was a category 5 and then weakened right before she slammed into Mississippi.

Ironic how Houston is the home to the bulk of Katrina evacuees, and now it may become the next victim of a powerful storm. Right now, Rita’s designated hit is anywhere from northeastern Mexico to southwestern Louisiana, although the consensus seems that she will make landfall somewhere in Texas.

And needless to say, this time around, the Feds and local governments are on the ball. Emergency aid is already prepared and set to be shipped as soon as the rain and wind slow down. The Texas National guard is on alert and ready to move in. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities are being evacuated. People are being told to prepare their homes and evacuate now, days before the hurricane is due to reach land (Sat is ground zero day).

I wonder though, if they evacuating hospitals. They didn’t during Katrina, so I am wondering if we are going to have a whole new flock of heroic stories from healthcare workers. But Texas is in a better position than New Orleans because they are not below sea level. Galveston’s extreme vulnerability was corrected after the deadly 1900 storm–a sea wall was build and the entire city elevated. While that won’t stop all damage, it certainly helps control flooding.

Anyway, I’ve got my eyes on Rita. And so, I’m sure, does everyone living in the Gulf.

One of the things that I was most concerned about was the zoo in New Orleans. The Audubon Zoo is It is one of our nation’s premiere zoos, and the site of the Audubon Nature Institute’s Center for Research of Endangered Species. Two rare white tigers live at the Audobon Zoo, and I feared for their safety, along with all of the other critters who call it home.

Fortunately, the zoo is built on the highest ground in New Orleans, and survived relatively unscathed. They were very well prepared for a disaster (unfortunately that the rest of the city wasn’t) and had enough food, supplies and generators–as well as fortifications–to keep the animals safe and healthy. Loss of animal life was very minimal. There is enough fuel to keep generators running for quite some time and the zoo was so well prepared that emergency workers and police were actually coming to the zoo to get their vehicles fueled.

The Aquarium of the Americas, one of the world’s best, was not so lucky. While it did survive the initial blast from Katrina, its generators did give out during the subsequent mess which followed. Nearly all of their fish died, but on a bright note, they were able to ship out their penguins and some of the other mammals to other aquariums. I believe that their white alligator and sea otters are going to be staying at the zoo for the time being. The aquarium will probably not reopen for at least a year.

These little babies also survived. Cute, aren’t they. In case you’re wondering if you can take one home, the answer is no. These sweeties are endangered African wildcat kitties, and are a momentous breakthrough in helping to save endangered species.

This is from a press release issued by the zoo, just 10 days before K-day.

August 19, 2005 New Orleans, La. Audubon Nature Institute of New Orleans has pioneered another scientific breakthrough in the effort to save endangered species.

Two litters of kittens produced by natural breeding of cloned African wildcats have been born at Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species. The first five kittens were born on July 26, 2005 to the African wildcat Madge, who is a clone of the wildcat Nancy. The second litter, consisting of three kittens, was born on August 2 to the African wildcat Caty, also a clone of the wildcat Nancy. The father of both litters is Ditteaux, a clone of the African wildcat Jazz. Jazz made headlines when he was born as the result of transfer of cryopreserved (”frozen”) embryos to a domestic cat.

The regular website of the zoo is currently down, and has been replaced with one devoted exclusively to updates about recovery efforts, as well as information about making a donation.

Rita is now a category 2 storm and is having fun in the Keys. It doesn’t look like it’s a direct hit on Key West though, as feared. However, the story does get better.

Rita may hit Texas, which means that thousands of the Katrina evacuees will have to be re-evacuated to higher ground. In other words, if Houston, still home to a large number of people hunkered down in the Astrodome, is in the path of Rita, they will have to move. The Astrodome has a glass top and is not safe as a hiding spot during a strong hurricane.

And ironically, this month is the 105 anniversary of the devastating storm with wiped out three-quarters of Galveston and killed between 8-12,000 people. Rita could make a direct hit on the city by Sat. Stay tuned.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I still haven’t seen anything about the nursing shortage and how it ties in with these hurricanes. For example, all three hospitals and all nursing homes have been evacuated in the Florida Keys. Where did the patients go? Are there nurses to care for them? Where did these extra nurses come from, because I doubt that the full staff in these facilities left with their patients.

So, what is the story with nurses these days?

This however, is not the lovely Rita of the Beatles song. Rita is a category 1 hurricane which has brushed Key West and the southern Florida coast (Florida has been hit by an astounding 7 hurricanes in the past 14 months), and is predicted to head into the Gulf. Just what they need, right? While she is projected to make landfall in Texas, Louisiana may also feel some of the effects.

But hurricanes are a fact of life in this region, global warming or not. It just seems that the intensity of these storms is growing–Rita is projected to reach category 3 status before she strikes land, although no one is ruling out that she could progress into a more powerful storm. The waters in the Gulf are warm and inviting this time of year, just right for creating a hurricane.

They just never quit, do they. Monsanto dreams of having a world eating genetically engineered food, grown with seeds purchased from Monsanto. Large food corporations want everyone to believe that gobbling down junk food made with cheap and toxic ingredients is good for you. And to all of these businesses, “organic” is a dirty word.

And so they attack again. As the demand for healthy organically grown foods mushrooms, they become desperate to stop the trend. This very disturbing bit of news is just in from the Organic Consumers Association. If you value what you eat, pay close attention.

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) needs your immediate help to stop Congress and the Bush administration from seriously degrading organic standards. After 35 years of hard work, the U.S. organic community has built up a multi-billion dollar alternative to industrial agriculture, based upon strict organic standards and organic community control over modification to these standards.

In the past, grassroots mobilization and mass pressure by organic consumers have been able to stop the USDA and Congress from degrading organic standards. This time Washington insiders tell us that the “fix is already in.” So we must take decisive action now. We need you to call your U.S. Senators today. We need you to sign the following petition and send it to everyone you know. We also desperately need funds to head off this attack in the weeks and months to come. Thank you for your support. Together we will take back citizen control over organic standards and preserve organic integrity.

What is with these people? People buy organically grown food because they don’t want to eat the toxic crap in the standard fare. They want produce free of pesticides, meat free of hormones and antibiotics (and from animals that are not fed parts from other animals–cannibalism is a no-no), and if they consume dairy–most definitely do not want Monsanto’s beloved bovine growth hormone in their milk. I should add that we are the only nation that permits the bovine growth hormone in milk. It was banned in Canada and the European Union, despite intense pressure from both Monsanto and the US government. And why was it banned? Not only has it not been proven safe, as Monsanto would like us to believe, but the EU stated that evidence showing that it may be harmful was deliberately concealed by the US FDA and Monsanto.

Doesn’t that make you feel good? That the FDA is watching out for your interests and health?

Anyway, I want these goons to get their fingers out of my organic food. If I want to eat toxic waste products, I know where to find them, thank you. But if I buy a product labeled organic, then I want to be sure that it is held up to the highest standards of purity.

Can the words Dubya and science really be put into the same sentence? Sort of a bad joke, I know. But like or not, at the worst of times for Dubya’s popularity, he is once more being harassed with that annoying critter known as Global Warming. Poor George just keeps hoping that it will disappear, but it just keeps popping up like a bleeding hemorrhoid that just won’t quit.

Even Dubya’s own hand-picked group of scientists turned against him. They were sent out on a mission to disprove the theory of Global Warming, to disprove the very idea that soccer moms driving gas guzzling SUVs might be disrupting our climate–and instead of telling him that gas emissions and toxic chemicals were good for the environment, they threw it back in his face No can do, George, they said.

So now, in the wake of hurricane Katrina, one of Dubya’s most colossal blunders to date and the mess that he just can’t erase away with photo-ops and nonsensical speeches or prayer days, here comes another attack.

Global warming. Again.

An increase in the ferocity of hurricanes around the globe over the last 35 years may be attributable to global warming, a new report states.

“I’m heading towards being a little less cautious,” study lead author Peter J. Webster, professor at the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, said at a news conference Wednesday. “I think [rising] sea surface temperature is a global-warming effect and I think the change in [hurricane] intensity, which is a universal thing, is following sea surface temperature.”

You can read the rest of the article on Red Nova.

One point that the study emphasizes is that while the total number of hurricanes has actually dropped since the 1990s, the number of powerful catastrophic category 4 and 5 storms has increased. In fact, the number has doubled in the past 35 years. I hardly think that’s a coincidence. In the North Atlantic, the number of hurricanes has actually gone up, along with the number of powerful storms.

Category 4 and 5 hurricanes in the North Atlantic have increased at an even faster clip: from 16 in the period of 1975-89 to 25 in the period of 1990-2004, a rise of 56%.

Read the rest of this article at the Center for Atmospheric Research.

How long is it going to be before the Atlantic and Gulf coasts get hit with these monsters several times a year? How many times can you rebuild? Are these regions just going to become deserted?

Have an answer for us, George Bush? You’ve destroyed everything you’ve gotten your hands on thus far, save for the bank accounts of your rich friends. So why should you care about our coastline. Greed before life, that seems to be your motto.

A new face? Yes, it’s on the horizon. I know many of us look in the mirror and wish we could exchange our face for an improved model. And many of us try, considering the soaring rate of plastic surgery.

I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with improving one’s appearance, and I personally can’t stand listening to the “but it’s not natural” and “you should work on your inner beauty” crowd. Or the “but wrinkles give a face character.” Please. I think plastic surgery can be overdone, or done for the wrong reasons, but in most cases, people just want to look better.

Anyway, for right now, the complete face-over is something that is being examined for those who have suffered extreme disfiguration from burns, accidents, illness, etc. We transplant organs like kidneys and hearts, and we graft skin onto burned areas, so why not transplant a face?

It is this: to give people horribly disfigured by burns, accidents or other tragedies a chance at a new life. Today’s best treatments still leave many of them with freakish, scar-tissue masks that don’t look or move like natural skin.

These people already have lost the sense of identity that is linked to the face; the transplant is merely “taking a skin envelope” and slipping their identity inside, Siemionow contends.

Siemionow is Dr. Maria Siemionow of the fabled Cleveland Clinic, who wants to try to give these patients a new lease on life. Inner beauty be damned, these people have suffered through severe trauma, and are disfigured. A face transplant is not for everyone, but there are many who would love the chance to look normal again.

Of course, there is always the chorus of naysayers. They show up everytime something new is about to be tried. And they may be right, it may be a disaster, but then, I guess we would still be using candles and torches to light our homes and dying from strep throats if no one ever stepped out into the unknown and took a chance.

But her critics say the operation is way too risky for something that is not a matter of life or death, as organ transplants are. They paint the frighteningly surreal image of a worst-case scenario: a transplanted face being rejected and sloughing away, leaving the patient worse off than before.

Ultimately, it comes to this: a hospital, doctor and patient willing to try it.

If the patient is in sound mind, and completely aware of the risk, and willing to take the chance, why not? If technology has advanced to the point where this can be a possibility for someone who has lost their face, then why deny him the opportunity?

Read the AP story.

Last night was another one of those “maintenance attempts,” from Fatcow, which put my site out of service from 1am to 9am ET today. I just checked and it seems to be counting visits again, a good sign. Generally Fatcow maintence outtages screw things up, and it’s like starting from square one again. But my blog seems to be up and about, and it even looks like the sun will make an appearance in Seattle.

So, all quiet on the Western front for now. I’ll check my visit tallies later and see if it is working. Hopefully it will be, so I don’t have to deal with semi-brain dead humanoids–the people who staff Fatcow’s customer service.

As of today, the official death toll from hurricane Katrina is 816. Fortunately, a lot lower than the 10,000 predicted in New Orleans alone. While it may still go up, it is highly doubtful that it will come anywhere near the projected number.

Here it is, state by state:

ALABAMA: 2

FLORIDA: 14

GEORGIA: 2

LOUISIANA: 579

MISSISSIPPI: 219

TOTAL: 816

What has been lacking in all of the media reporting on the hurricane? Does the phrase “nursing shortage,” ring a bell? Thus far, I haven’t heard one peep about the late great nursing shortage that has befallen the nation, and how it affected care for the hurricane victims.

Were hospitals in the affected areas already running on empty, as in being short staffed before Katrina flew into town? Was it a problem? Did it cause problems in finding staff to cover shifts during the time period that the hurricane was predicted to hit?

And in the aftermath–has the nursing shortage affected the ability of shelters to take care of the medical needs of victims? Or does it not have anything to do with it? Finally, is the nursing shortage having any affect on the govt trying to round up volunteers to come and work with evacuees in need of health care?

Has anyone heard one single peep about the nursing shortage and its impact during this crisis? I haven’t. I’ve seen stories about nurses volunteering, stories about nurses who worked while the storm raged, and so on. But nothing about a lack of nurses.

Isn’t that just a little too strange?

Three years ago, a report appeared that stated that the nursing shortage had become a national security concern, and God help us if we were ever in a situation with a large number of casualties. So far there are about 700 reported dead from the hurricane, from all areas combined, but no numbers have been issued in regards to the number of casualties. Many of the people requiring medical help were not injured from the storm, but as a consequence of it–running out of vital medication such as insulin and AIDS drugs, not being able to get dialysis, running out of oxygen and not being able to access a spare tank, getting dehydrated or heat stroke, and so on.

Still, a lot of people did require care, and the lack of care did not appear to be due to a nursing shortage. Rather, the delay and lack of care was more due to the slow response of FEMA, general confusion, lack of anyone being in charge, and so on. It seems that the nursing shortage has not had any discernible effect, and in fact, a great many nurses are coming out of the woodwork and volunteering from all over the country. While this may not be quite the level of crisis that the authors of the report had in mind, the great nursing shortage has not become a national security concern, or anywhere near it. At least, I surely don’t get that impression judging from the dearth of nursing shortage news related to this crisis.

This is a press release from Michigan State University, from September 3, 2002, about the nursing shortage and its impact on a crisis situation:

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The shortage of nurses has become a “national security concern,” the dean of the Michigan State University College of Nursing says, and those in the profession must work more closely with others in the health care field as well as with state and federal governments if the crisis is to be solved.

“We’re looking at 30 to 40 percent of our faculty who could retire within the next three or four years,” Rothert said.

Today is the birthday of my blog. Officially one year old today. I can’t believe that I’ve managed to keep it up for a year now, and hope to make it even bigger and better.

A lot of people start blogs with the greatest intentions, but then realize how difficult it can be to actually write something done. And to keep it up day after day. I don’t know how many blogs I’ve stumbled upon where the last entry was in 2002. Or they manage to write and post something once a month.

But nabeepchen has persevered. I’ve blogged nearly every day, save for when I was on vacation or out of town, and I often update several times a day (usually when I’m supposed to be working on something else).

Well, I just wanted to wish my blog a happy birthday.

Just in case anyone would like to do more for the victims of hurricane Katrina, there is still a great need for volunteers. And that includes nurses.

The federal government is calling upon registered nurses and other health care personnel to assist relief efforts in the hurricane-stricken Gulf Coast region.

According to the HHS, volunteers must have current Hepatitis A and B, as well as tetanus/diptheria, immunizations. Volunteers will be considered non-paid federal employees eligible for liability coverage under the Federal Tort Claims Act, as well as workers’ compensation coverage. Although no salary is provided, travel and per-diem expenses will be paid to health care volunteers, HHS says.

I am curious as to why a diptheria vaccine would be required. Hep A, B and tetanus I can understand. In fact, the Hep B vaccine requirement is the reason why I can’t volunteer (other than my inactive license which would require 30 CEUs in a hurry to get reactivated). I can’t take the vaccine, unless I wish to take the risk of severely damaging my health. But why diptheria?

Diptheria is extremely rare in the United States, with fewer than 5 reported cases a year. As far as we all know, the childhood series of DPT vaccines provides lifelong immunity to it. Boosters of the vaccine are recommended for adults because the benefits of the vaccine decrease with age, but still–that mainly would apply to anyone traveling to an area where it is still a problem. And since tetanus can certainly be given separately from diptheria, why on earth would this vaccine be required? It is extremely bizarre to say the least.

You do have to pay for your own vaccines, by the way, so that makes this requirement all the more strange.

By the way, and I’m going to write more on this subject later on, but has anyone heard a peep about the nursing shortage, as it relates to the hurricane? Were nurses in short supply at the hospitals which suffered damage? And how does the nursing shortage affect the call for volunteers–if at all?

Points to ponder…

Can it be a year already? Time doesn’t just fly, to moves faster than my cat does when the phantom wind spirits are chasing her.

But my anniversary is creeping up. One year ago tomorrow, I began this wonderful blog. So this is a pre-anniversary announcement. Get ready for tomorrow–it’s the real thing!