Monday News Bucket

19 Comments

1. 

   CabinGirl on February 6, 2006 at 7:20 am

   I guess we should expect airport shootings to increase shortly: WashPo

   Even among the incident reports crossing Craig Knoll’s desk weekly now, this one stood out: A 43-year-old client of Knoll’s mental health agency, a man who suffers from bipolar disorder, had come from his pharmacy frustrated to the point of meltdown. There were snags in his new Medicare drug plan. Of his four medicines, it would fill only two.

   “I’m not going to take any of them anymore,” he yelled, according to the report by caseworkers. Before they could do anything, he grabbed the prescription bottles he’d just gotten, ran for the restroom and dumped both in the toilet.

   “He flushed everything he had on hand,” recounted Knoll, executive director of Threshold Services in Silver Spring, whose staff spent day after day last month grappling with the many ramifications of the government’s troubled program. Threshold came to the rescue of clients who couldn’t get any medications or who, despite their pills, were in increasing distress because of all the confusion. It reimbursed several who’d mistakenly paid hundreds of dollars for pills that should have cost them a few dollars — and replenished the supply of the client who had thrown his away.

   “I’m not saying it’s the federal government’s fault he flushed his meds,” Knoll said. “I’m saying it’s the federal government’s fault he couldn’t get his meds.”

   And the predictions for the consequences of this?

   “The continuation of medications is absolutely critical to keep them in community living,” said Steven S. Sharfstein, chief executive of the Shepherd-Pratt Health System in Baltimore and president of the American Psychiatric Association. Last week, the association joined other mental health groups in a lengthy talk with Medicare officials about the myriad problems.

   “I really don’t know what the future will bring. . . . I have a very deep concern that psychiatric patients will suffer disproportionately,” Sharfstein said. “If by the end of February or March, if [federal officials] haven’t figured this out, we could have an epidemic on our hands.”

   • 

     AndiF on February 6, 2006 at 7:35 am

     Bush’s compassionate conservatism means that Bush has to conserve his compassion because he has so little to spare.

     • 

       CabinGirl on February 6, 2006 at 7:45 am

       I think that might be the theme of my news choices today (although unintentional).

   • 

     maryb2004 on February 6, 2006 at 8:47 am

     “necessary to keep them in community living” is the positive way of saying the negative result “end up on the streets”.  It will be just like the 80’s when that other great compassionate American president, Ronald Reagan, “let” all of the mentally disabled people “out”.  They were out, all right. Once their routine was gone, they didn’t take their meds and ended up as “crazy street people”.  

     There may be work arounds to the current problem but people with these type of challenges are usually just not flexible enough to deal with a work around.  It’s part of their illness that they need routine. They just give up — and do things like flushing what meds they DO have down the toilet.

     • 

       CabinGirl on February 6, 2006 at 9:07 am

       After I read that, I thought of the times I kept the pharamacy open an extra half hour because my one of my schizophrenic patient’s parents had called, panicking because their son was out of medicine, and they needed to come get it before we closed.  What are they and other caregivers like them going through now?

2. 

   CabinGirl on February 6, 2006 at 7:33 am

   Do you think this would have happened in the absence of a major network anchor being blown up?  NYT

   The Pentagon is tripling its spending, to about $3.5 billion this year, on a newly expanded effort to combat the rising number of increasingly powerful and sophisticated homemade bombs that are the No. 1 killer of American troops in Iraq, military officials say.

   The move is a tacit acknowledgment that despite years of rising death tolls from the devices, the response has not been sufficiently focused or coordinated at the highest levels. And it comes in addition to recent spending to get more and better armor for troops and their vehicles, spurred by concerns expressed by Congress and the American public…

   …The increased response comes after the number of attacks with makeshift bombs against allied and Iraqi forces and Iraqi civilians nearly doubled in the last year, to 10,593 in 2005 from 5,607 in 2004. The military says it is able to discover and defuse only about 40 percent of the bombs, and the result is deadly: 407 of the 846 Americans killed last year in Iraq were killed by the bombs, which are called improvised explosive devices.

   • 

     Oui on February 6, 2006 at 9:21 am

     .
     My recent diary —
     Col. Hoggs 2nd Brigade 4th Infantry ¶ From Hi-Tech Shock & Awe to IEDs

     “But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”

     ▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY

3. 

   CabinGirl on February 6, 2006 at 7:43 am

   The UK defies King George’s abortion gag rule: Guardian

   The British government will today publicly defy the United States by giving money for safe abortion services in developing countries to organisations that have been cut off from American funding.

   Nearly 70,000 women and girls died last year because they went to back-street abortionists. Hundreds of thousands of others suffered serious injuries.

   Critics of America’s aid policy say some might have lived if the US had not withdrawn funding from clinics that provide safe services – or that simply tell women where to find them…

   … The “global gag” rule, as it has become known, was imposed by President George Bush in 2001…It requires any organisation applying for US funds to sign an undertaking not to counsel women on abortion – other than advising against it – or provide abortion services.

   The “global gag”, he said, had increased the number of unsafe abortions by stopping funding to clinics that primarily provide contraception. “What I’ve never been able to figure out about American policy is why they persist in cutting down funding to organisations that are about preventing unwanted pregnancies.”

   That last quote says it all.

4. 

   Oui on February 6, 2006 at 8:37 am

   .

   US-led troops involved in antiquities smuggling – Iraqi official

   DIWANIYA (Azzaman.com) Feb. 3 — Many smugglers of antiquities in the country sell their stolen items to the U.S.-led occupation troops in the country, a senior official from the Antiquities Department said.  

   Mohammed Mehdi said smugglers seized recently admitted that they were specifically working for foreign troops in the country. Mehdi, who is in charge of antiquities in the Province of Najaf, said the smugglers were given badges that allowed them to enter foreign military camps in southern Iraq.

   Medhi did not mention the nationality of the foreign troops but said the smuggled antiquities were mainly sold to the troops serving in Diwaniya.  

   
   The Treasures of Nimrud were on
display alongside other prized artefacts
in Baghdad's museum

   ● Iraq Museum in Baghdad
   ● Protecting Iraq’s Ancient Heritage

   “But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”

   ▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY

5. 

   idredit on February 6, 2006 at 9:17 am

   The NSA hearings is on at 9:30 am. It’ll be carried by NPR radio and C-Span3.

   We’ll see how many ‘law and order’ GOP critters give cover to Gonza and boy king for breaking the law.

   This administration declared themselves above the law so congress can agree and make themselves irrelevant-since there’ll be no more need to write anymore laws and regulations OR they can recover from their abdication and move to articles of impeachment in the house for a trial in the senate.

   • 

     idredit on February 6, 2006 at 9:29 am

     btw, as a follow up, you’ve gotta read ReddHead over at firedoglake commenting on C-Span’s interview – Glenn Greenwald’s going at it with some Prof Turner who holds to “long live the king”

     In support of warrantless spying, Prof Turner pulls this one:

     “terrorists maybe imbbedding messages in viagra spam”

     I guess that’s why AOL and Yahoo will now charge companies to deliver email.

     link here “Kicking asses, taking names”

     http://firedoglake.blogspot.com/2006_02_05_firedoglake_archive.html#113923238063305800

     are we screwed?  Pardon the pun. Yea, it’s early.

6. 

   Knoxville Progressive on February 6, 2006 at 11:05 am

   Progress on Dark Matter  By studying the motions of dwarf galaxies circling our Milky Way, astronomers have come up with more precise measurements of the properties of invisible “dark matter,” supporting the idea it is composed of subatomic particles called WIMPs – weakly interacting massive particles.  As a part of the research, they have also determined the Milky Way is the largest galaxy in our galactic neighborhood (previously the Andromeda Galaxy was thought to be larger).

   Post-Katrina Images Now Available on Google Earth
   When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in August 2005, it changed the look of the coastlines of three U.S. states. Now, using Google Earth’s software on-line, people can see the before and after affects, thanks to detailed images from NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

   The No-Stick-But-Sick Generation  The Baltimore Sun is reporting that researchers at Johns Hopkins U. hospital have found ninety-nine percent of 300 newborns tested were born with trace levels of a possible cancer-causing agent that is used to manufacture Teflon pans and dozens of other products.  Potential effects on hormone levels and thyroid glands are under investigation.

   Does Economics Qualify as a Science?

   Winds of climate change are about to make their impact felt in many a boardroom – Top British science adviser sounds death knell for theory that insists growth is good…  

   Editorial du Jour:

   A Bright Idea:  On the BBC science webpage today, Dr. Matt Prescott, of banthebulb.org, notes in a commentary that if the incandescent light bulb were invented today it might well not be allowed to be sold, it is so energy inefficient.  He proposes taxing light bulbs by their energy use (wattage) if a ban is not feasible, as a way of encouraging use of more efficient bulbs.  He notes that given the huge subsidies to nuclear and coal power, we can afford this and it would save a significant amount of energy:

   Each one of these [compact fluorescent] bulbs produces the same amount of light as an incandescent light bulb whilst being responsible for the emission of 70% less carbon dioxide.
   It also saves money; about £7 ($12) per year in the UK, more or less in other countries depending on electricity prices. [snip]

   It has been estimated that if every household in the US replaced just three of its incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving designs and used them for five hours per day, it would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 23 million tonnes, reduce electricity demand by the equivalent of 11 coal-fired power stations and save $1.8bn.

   And LED light bulb technology now in development will offer even higher energy savings and longer light bulb life.

7. 

   IndyLib on February 6, 2006 at 11:07 am

   Same-sex couples should be able to adopt children, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis told a largely gay group on the weekend. But the Tampa congressman later told reporters that he does not support gay marriage in Florida.

   I’m sorry. ::shakes head vigorously:: WHAT? Do you have any freakin’ idea how hard it is to manage custody issues, and all the other concomitant paperwork you have to go through with children, without a marriage?! Because yeah, the insurance companies are just thrilled to have a bunch of legally unrelated people on family policies. That’s never a problem for anyone. And those states that are outlawing all kinds of contracts between gay people that might kinda resemble a sliver of marriage if you look sideways and squint, those won’t be a problem for gay families at all. There must be some really good reason for this kind of disconnect between adoption policy and marriage policy.

   “I think marriage is a religious sacrament, and I don’t think the government should get involved in that,” Davis said.

   Oh, so it’s just that you don’t think anyone should be legally married? Because while I strongly disagree that religions should be allowed to bully civil policy, at least that would be a consistent opinion, and holding it would let you off the hook from necessarily being either a bigot and/or a hypocrite.

   Except that Jim Davis is married to Peggy Bessent Davis.

   Does anyone think for a second that his marriage is not of the legal variety? Hypocrite.

   So, it’s rights for thee but not for me, huh, Congressman Davis? Walk the talk and divorce your wife or STFU about whether marriage should be legal for other people. You are not a very good liar, sir, and while you appear to have a firm foothold on hypocrisy, frankly you are not doing very well with the bigot routine either. It has become abundantly clear that politicians who are successful in the fascist corporatocracy wear their bigotry right on their [Armani] shirtsleeves. You are going to have to improve your skills greatly if you intend to hold office in a place like Florida. Although I commend you on your pandering talent, since you apparently knew enough to talk about the pro-equality stuff directly to the queers and the anti-equality stuff directly to the media — that’s class, baby.

   • 

     Militarytracy on February 6, 2006 at 12:46 pm

     I live next door to two women who are in the military and I don’t ask and they don’t tell.  My husband said that if they ever tell me that I can never tell him just so he can never be sworn in and have to testify to anything other than he knows nothing.  They have a daughter the same age as our daughter.  The week before last my daughter was suspended from school for three days for writing “Fuck Mr. Soandso” in permanent marker on some bleachers.  She was one of the guy’s class “pets” but she said that he was being mean to other students and that ticked her off.  My neighbors on the other did not have a child suspended from school last week or the any other week so far.

8. 

   Oui on February 6, 2006 at 1:58 pm

   .

   French potholer finds 25,000 year old cave markings

   ANGOULEME, France (AFP) 1 hour ago — An amateur potholer in western France has discovered prehistoric cave art dating from 25,000 years BC, several thousand years before the world-famous site at Lascaux, the French culture ministry said.

   
   Interior of a cave housing a spectacular collection of engravings carved up to 35,000 years ago, discovered in the Dordogne valley in southwestern France in 2001. An amateur potholer in western France has discovered prehistoric cave art dating from 25,000 years BC, several thousand years before the world-famous site at Lascaux, the French culture ministry said. AFP/French Ministry of Culture/HO/File

   “In a small chamber I found the bones of two hyenas — complete skeletons, which is rare. And I saw human bones amid the debris — tibias, vertebrae and shoulder-blades,” Jourdy told AFP.

   “Then in the bigger chamber there was this hand — very beautiful, very delicate. There was just the one in cobalt blue. When you come into the chamber it is like it is greeting you. It’s incredible,” he said.

   Jourdy made his discovery in November at the village of Vilhonneur, 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of Angoulême, after descending a hole used by local farmers to dispose of dead livestock.

   “But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”

   ▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY

   • 

     CabinGirl on February 6, 2006 at 2:15 pm

     Wow, what a find.  maryb is going to love this.

     Thanks, oui!

     • 

       Oui on February 6, 2006 at 2:40 pm

       .
       when the headbashing started amongst our ancestors, that’s so very troubling in today’s news.

       I used a special link to the caves of Lascaux, with interesting data on global warming charts and ice ages!

       Perhaps 35,000 years ago, human kind was more concerned with survival than they were in waging war with other tribes, living far apart when planet Earth was still a lonely place! I wonder how the BooMan would be tribal leader and survive the absence of sound and solve primitive communication concerns.

       
       Cave = Boo + Man

       “But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”

       ▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY

     • 

       maryb2004 on February 6, 2006 at 4:25 pm

       I JUST saw this and I DO love it. Thanks Oui!

       And on Mondays I’m SURE I should have been an archaeologist.

       • 

         Oui on February 6, 2006 at 6:23 pm

         .
         Jesse James’ hideout Meramec caverns, the Ozarks and …
         cotterperson nearby.

         “But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”

         ▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY