philly

Stem Cells: Big in 06

I found this article in Monday's NY Times very interesting for a couple of reasons. First off, it deals with the hot button social issue of embryonic stem cell research. Secondly, given the recent coverage of the NYT of the PA senate race where they basically say Bob Casey will get the nod even with staunch opposition from within his own party; this stem cell article doesn't bring up Casey's position on embryonic stem cell research. It's the same as BushCo.

I support the current federal policy on embryonic stem cell research and would oppose the Castle bill to expand federal support of embryonic stem cell research... As a U.S. Senator, I will strongly support funding for stem cell research that doesn't destroy an embryo. [Ignatius Insight 7.29.05]

Unfortunately, Bob doesn't seem to be aware that embryonic stem cell research is the future and those embryos have to be destroyed. Also, the embryos that are to be worked on have already been discarded and will be destroyed anyways.

Some more reporting on the Castle bill here from 7.29.05 by the same reporter as this newer article.

Human embryonic stem cells are considered by scientists to be the building blocks of a new field of regenerative medicine. The cells, extracted from human embryos, have the potential to grow into any type of tissue in the body, and advocates for patients believe they hold the potential for treatments and cures for a range of diseases, from juvenile diabetes to Alzheimer's disease.

But the cells cannot be obtained without destroying human embryos, which opponents of the research say is tantamount to murder. "An embryo is nascent human life," Mr. Frist says in his speech, adding: "This position is consistent with my faith. But, to me, it isn't just a matter of faith. It's a fact of science."

On Aug. 9, 2001, in the first prime-time speech of his presidency, Mr. Bush struck a compromise: he said the government would pay only for research on stem cell colonies, or lines, created by that date, so that the work would involve only those embryos "where the life or death decision has already been made."

The House-passed bill would expand that policy by allowing research on stem cell lines extracted from frozen embryos, left over from fertility treatments, that would otherwise be discarded. Mr. Castle has said he believes the bill meets the president's guidelines because the couples creating the embryos have made the decision to destroy them.

Today's story focuses on the potential using of the issue of embryonic stem cell research as a new wedge issue.

Democrats are pressing their support for embryonic stem cell research in Congressional races around the country, seeking to move back to center stage an issue they believe resonates with voters and to exploit a division between conservatives who oppose the science and other Republicans more open to it.

The question of whether the government should support or limit stem cell research has cropped up in Senate races in Maryland and Missouri, and in House races in California, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin, especially in suburban swing districts.

I let out a laugh as Pennsylvania was listed in the House races and left off the Senate list. In what the NY Times has already started to highlight [here and here] as one of the most important Senate races to get back majority in Congress, the issue that Dems are supposed to be using as a new wedge issue is moot.

This is the first real wedge issue Democrats have had with Republicans

says Jennifer E. Duffy, who tracks Senate races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. The first real wedge issue and what has Sen. Chuck Schumer done? Kissed it goodbye here in PA. Schumer promissed his Congressional colleagues that while this guy was pretty far Right, he'd never back extremist SCOTUS nominees, but then Bob goes out and says he'd vote to confirm both John Roberts and Samuel Alito. Oh, and he said he would've also voted to go to war in Iraq and doesn't feel a need to withdraw anytime soon. Let's not even touch on the whole anti-universal healthcare, anti-living wage, anti-choice thing. This candidate Casey is just a shitty choice who just falls short everywhere except for having a dad who was the governor, a popular one at that.

And then there's the candidate I'm volunteering more and more hours every week, Chuck Pennacchio. On the issues, he's a knight in shining armor compared to Bob. Chuck is pro-choice, pro-universal healthcare, pro-embryonic stem cell research, anti-war, anti-extremist SCOTUS appointments, pro-balanced budget amendment, pro-living wage, wants to renew the assault weapons ban... The list just goes on and on and you can read more about his stances on the issues here.

There's only one choice for me in the primary and that's Chuck Pennacchio. A Casey victory would push back the progressive movement six years [his full Senate term]. It would plant another Zell Miller / Joe Lieberman in the Dem side of the aisle undercutting the efforts of the entire party and being BushCo's new favorite Dem lapdog. This guy can't be trusted to vote for a Democratic Senate Majority Leader.

First Metrosexual?

So, I haven't seen this pop up on any of the blogs I visit everyday so it will go up for all to see. This Bog Man is said to have used imported hair gel to perhaps make himself look taller. And then, he was axed to death and later mummified in an Irish peat bog.

The BBC News story dubbing him the Iron Age David Beckham. Ha. I wonder how many people stateside know who Beckham is, even with the fauxhawk craze.

Photo: BBC

Über Hybrid

330 miles per gallon.

Now that's some fuel efficiency. This Wired post on an über hybrid concept car gives a peek into a car that could get you coast to coast on a single tank of gas.

Sure, the thing's a one-seater, but it's a nice step to some serious efficiency.

1 Billion Megapixels

I need me a camera that has a resolution of one billion megapixels. It's true. I do. I need a 30'x40' blowup of a single pore of my face... so... I guess I'm gonna have to start saving for one of these suckers. Only $14B.

Flour or Coke?

A horrifying story in today's Inky about a female Bryn Mawr student falsely accused of transporting upwards of a kilo of cocaine/speed/opium while headed home to California after finals. She spent three weeks in a Philadelphia jail cell. This happened two years ago, but a civil-rights lawsuit was filed recently on the eve of the expiration of the statute of limitations.

"I haven't let myself be angry about what happened, because it would tear me apart," Lee said. "I'm not sure I can bear to face it... . I'm amazed at how naive I was."

That naivete, she said, began when screeners at Philadelphia International Airport inspecting her checked luggage found three condoms filled with white powder. Lee laughed and told city police they were filled with flour. It was just part of a phallic gag at a women's college, she told them, a stress-reliever, something to squeeze while studying for exams.

The police didn't find it funny. They told her a field test showed that the powder contained opium and cocaine.

A lab test later proved the substance was flour - and no one now disputes that Lee is innocent, including the prosecutor.

Now that's some fucked up shit.

I think everyone's seen a cop/FBI/CIA/... show where they do that taste test of powder. I think I recall a cop coming to speak to us in either high school or middle school telling us that they did/could do such a thing and it wasn't some fake Hollywood stuff [I may be warping reality with TV here though]. But either way, I've read that cocaine is supposed to taste pretty nasty and is supposed to have a numbing effect. So, a taste test should reveal a nasty tasting and then numbing substance. Flour tastes like, well, flour. Yes, coke is often cut with flour, baking soda, talcum powder, sugar... but none of those things cause a numbing effect. So what the fuck happened during two field tests at the Philadlephia airport?

I can't imagine spending three weeks in a cell. I don't know if I'd just lose hope even if I was 100% positive I was innocent, shit just happens and I read about it every day, I just did again right here!

Lee's lawyers say that there are two possibilities as to why the two field tests resulted in a positive for drugs:

Either the field test was faulty or someone fixed the results.

And to futher the matter, a prison guard, who recognized Lee from her volunteer work at Overbrook HS, thinks that the two positive tests were racially motivated. Whoa.

Santorum on ID

In this Inky report by Carrie Budoff and Paul Nussbaum, it outlines Sanitorum's stances on the issue of Intelligent Design:

"Therefore, intelligent design is a legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in science classes."
- 2002 Washington Times op-ed article

"I'm not comfortable with intelligent design being taught in the science classroom."
- Interview in August [2005] on National Public Radio

"I do not believe it should be required teaching."
- Interview yesterday [Dec. 21, 2005] with The Inquirer

"I thought the Thomas More Law Center made a huge mistake in taking this case and in pushing this case to the extent they did."
- from Inquirer interview [Dec. 22, 2005]

Thanks for totally clearing that up, Dick.

Cheaper Biodiesel

The United States' reliance on gasoline and foreign oil is crippling. After reading this National Geographic News article on cheaper veggie diesel, I got a little happier. First off, out of the total amount of diesel engine vehicles in the US is about 2% of the total, 40% in Europe (but I'm positive that there are waaaay more cars here than in Europe so the numbers, not percentages, are much closer). So why isn't every diesel car running clean burning biodiesel? It's a tad on the expensive side, but a new technique has been discovered by those geniuses in Japan, you know, where they invented the hybrid engine?

Michikazu Hara, of the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Yokohama, Japan, and his colleagues have used common, inexpensive sugars to form a recyclable solid acid that does the job on the cheap. Their research is reported in last week's issue of the journal Nature.

"We estimate the cost of the catalyst to be one-tenth to one-fiftieth that of conventional catalysts," Hara said.

The breakthrough could provide cost savings on a massive scale, he said, because the technique could fairly easily make the transition from the lab to the refinery—if interest warrants.

If interest warrants read: if Big Oil is down with it. People are interested, but Mobile-Exxon, Chevron, Royal Dutch-Shell and the rest of the crew are bathing in their black gold. Exxon-Mobile just made record profits by any corporation. Ever. $9.92B in a single quarter. While that is gross in itself, they did it by price gouging in the weeks after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in late August. Royal Dutch-Shell wasn't hurting either with their $9.06B in that same quarter. If Big Oil says no, the largest market in the world for this cheap biodiesel is cut off. No matter how much smaller companies may want to increase throughput of the clean stuff, only so much can be pushed through.

Here's to hoping the public demand for this cheaper, clean fuel rises to the point that Big Oil cannot keep ignoring us.

Self-Medicating Prescription Drugs

I just read this article from the NY Times on some young NYers who self-medicate prescription drugs; trading/offering drugs via friends, the internet and discussion groups. It reminded me a ton of my high school friends. I grew up in an über rich NYC suburb where the names Xanax, Percocets, Ritalin, Adderall and more recently Viagra were pretty commonplace. Wait, let me clarify, the drug taking was mostly during college by my high school friends; I don't think there was much abuse beyond Ritalin during high school, but hey, I've been wrong before.

Stealing from parents' staches, trading favors with ADHD siblings, saving refills or unused portions. All that and then there was always just plain lying to the doc.

It was interesting to see these kids I grew up with, playing sports with, studying with, fighting with all just talk about this stuff like it was their favorite sandwich at the local deli in town. I'm just not big on drugs, let me clarify again, illegal drugs - I love me some alcohol and that sure as hell is a drug. I never had an interest in smoking pot, but my childhood best friend's older brother was a dealer since I was about twelve or so; he lived six houses down from me. I used to go over to sleep over on weekends and there would be parties with an orgy bong in the kitchen. I was just trying to get some Oreos or something. My once best friend sure as hell loved smoking reefer (hehe - isn't that a funny sounding word?) all through high school and college. He even dealt a little here and there. I recall him admitting he was addicted to it during college, before we had a falling out (nothing to do with weed directly or anything, just a growing apart thing). In high school I had one other good friend (one of the few people from HS I still speak to) who didn't do drugs, besides drink, either. In college, I had another friend like that as well. I think it made it a little easier with them around, but I just never had the urge anyways.

I don't like going to doctors. Fuck, I don't go to doctors. I didn't when I had insurance, and I don't now that I don't. But I probably should. Once I get some insurance, I should go get a checkup, make sure everything's in working order. But I don't recall ever being prescribed anything harder than the 800mg horsepill of ibuproferin when I sprained my knee my junior year while playing soccer. Nothing to help me sleep. Nothing for stress. No anxiety problems. No issues staying awake. I guess I'm lucky I don't really have any of those ailments. I'm pretty middle of the road. I guess that's a good thing sometimes.

Sweet Bird Flu Preparedness

The U.S. is woefully prepared for a potential bird flu outbreak. Our buddies across the pond, are prepared.

Britain is one of the best prepared countries to deal with a human pandemic of bird flu should one occur, the health secretary has told MPs.

Maybe that's why they've got that new Bond coming out. They've got Q in some back room performing bird flu experiments.

Hybrid Car Rental

I wonder why rental car companies haven't started buying up some hybrids to add to their lineup. I know that they want to get their maximum return on an über cheap car with no extras, but I think people would want to rent a hybrid. The thought of not having to shell out extra money in gas would want me to step up a class or two in car rental price.