Is this justice?

Libyan court to announce verdict in Bulgarian nurses trial Dec. 19

All six defendants were sentenced to death (one is a Palestinian doctor, the others are Bulgarian nurses) for allegedly intentionally infecting more than 400 children with HIV. They deny the allegations, and there has been international pressure from Europe, the US, and human rights groups (including Amnesty International) to reverse the verdict, saying the charges were concocted to cover up poor hygeine isues at Libya's hospitals. The Supreme Court of the country ordered a new trial, where the verdict is expected December 19th. Meanwhile, human rights groups insist that the suspects have been tortured, including being given electric shocks, in order to confess.

I could see one sick hospital worker doing something like this. But 6, in some sort of conspiracy? It just seems so far-fetched, and I get the impression there's not much real evidence against them. I hope the truth will prevail

The Merck Manual is now available online

THE MERCK MANUAL MEDICAL LIBRARY: The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy

with hyperlinks to drugs, other conditions, etc. :) I tried it out and everything looked free, at least for now. Have fun.

But they ARE citizens...

US Tightens Medicaid Rules for Babies of Illegal Aliens

In the past, Medicaid was extended to mothers who fell within the right income bracket regardless of immigrantion status on an emergency-only basis, and then it was automatically extended to a child born to that mother, because it was obviously a citizen with a verifiable birth place in the US. This was to prevent delays in care. Now a Bush Administration reading of a law signed in February will require all babies to go through an application process that could take anywhere from days to months to begin their coverage--potentially delaying care for many babies. Medicaid pays for a full 1/3 of babies born in this country, so the impact is great. Tens of thousands of those children are born to illegal immigrants, so they represent a small percentage of the total. However, in the case of illegal immigrants, the fear is that many will simply not apply in fear of coming to the attention of immigration authorities. By doing this, babies who are citizens of this country, are entitled to coverage, and who are at their most vulnerable in terms of health, are put in the position of not being able to obtain health care.

Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law at George Washington University, said: “The new policy reflects a tortured reading of the new law and is contrary to the language of the 1984 statute, which Congress did not change. The whole purpose of the earlier law, passed with bipartisan support, was to make sure that a baby would not have a single day’s break in coverage from the date of birth through the first year of life.”

I agree that non-citizens should not be covered under our health care system, but their children born here are citizens and there should be no delay in coverage. Thank you, Mr Bush, for yet another convoluted mess that does not serve the interests of the country.

The proof is so far sketchy, so I'll reserve judgement for now

but if true, this is going to shake up a lot of people. And I have to ask--why does this guy talk to the President or his advisor every Monday? What's so special about his opinions?

US Evangelist in Male Prostitute Claim

But why would you want to?

A new action figure lets you take Dr Laura Schlessinger with you wherever you go, listening to her 23 pet phrases along the way.

Take Dr Laura Everywhere

Talking Presidents Announces Release of Dr. Laura Talking Action Figure

Talking Presidents: 'Listen to her Preach, Teach, and Nag!'

I'll give them this much, they market well. Their website is very carefully written to appeal to both those who take these figures seriously and those who mock them. I get the impression that their sense of humour is a bit skewed against all the figures. I mean, really, George Bush in Top Gun flight gear? President Clinton who talks about how he didn't have sexual relations with that woman. Most of the figures are conservatives or Republicans, such as Ronald Reagan, both Bushes, Donald Rumsfeld, Anne Coulter, and of course Dr Laura, but there are others, such as Clinton, Dennis Miller, and Kinky Friedman. The company apparently worked with Dr Laura to come up with this figure.

What I do expect to see happen to the Dr Laura action figure is that it'll wind up on Robot Chicken. I mean, isn't it perfect for that?

Sometimes I think humans are a blight on the planet

Study: All Commercial Seafood Species May Collapse by 2048, eliminating a major source of our food, but also disrupting the biodiversity of the planet and creating algae blooms, oxygen depletion, and ocean flooding. (I'm not sure how that last ties in, to be honest.) But the idea is certainly disturbing. The good news is conservation could help avert it. The question is whether countries that are heavy fishers will agree to it. Plus, you can't just close fisheries right and left--it would eliminate livelihoods and be politically unpopular. But there might be ways to limit the catches or protect certain endangered areas.

Two objects cannot occupy the same place

Yeah, I know that. It was unfortunately demonstrated today when I tried to make a sharp left into the ATM lane at the bank. The good news? I didn't hit the car that was too close to my lane. The bad news? I scraped the car along the back wheelwell and door on the driver side against a barrier set up to keep one from doing the same thing to the building. That's actually the first real thing I've done to hurt the car; the other two dents were not done by me. Oy.

This seems like a delightful story

Welcome to The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

one I would have loved as a child, and would probably love now. I'm glad someone mentioned it on one of my library lists, as I had not heard of it. I also like that the vocabulary is not dumbed down...one of the words in the very first chapter is ennui, another is condescending.

It is the story of a china rabbit with rabbit fur-wire ears and wonderful silk suits with a working pocketwatch. He is adored by his owner, a young girl, but is lost overboard from The Queen Mary due to some boys' pranks. From there he is found (and lost again) several more times, all the time learning to appreciate what he has had and lost.

The website has an excerpt (chapter one) and a teacher's guide. It's rather well done.

It's a new book, one I definitely would like to pick up. Perhaps you would, too.

New Hope for Preventing SIDS

Scientists find Abnormalities in the Serotonin System of the Brain in infants who died of SIDS. This is the third study to find problems with this system, giving confirmation that it is, indeed, a major issue in SIDS. Children with SIDS were found to have higher serotonin receptors but a dearth of transport cells compared to other babies who had died of other causes. The focus of the study was on the medulla oblongata and cells within it. Basically when presented with less breathable air (such as when a baby is on it's stomach and re-breathing the carbon dioxide it has exhaled), the area of the brain that would normally signal the baby to wake up and move his head doesn't work.

This is all the more reason to go with recommendations to put babies down to sleep on their backs, without pillow or other obstructions, on a firm mattress.

Happy Samhain

Happy New Year, if you happen to celebrate it as such, although that assertion about the old Celtic calendar is under scrutiny by historians. In modern Paganism Samhain (pronounce sow--rhymes with cow--en) represents the end of summer with the last harvest, the turning of the year, and also celebrates the spirits of the dead and that of the ancestors. Samhain eve is where we get Halloween. This reverence for the departed is shared in Mexico, where today is the first day of the two Dias de los Muertos (Days of the Dead). Today is also All Saints' Day in Catholicism, followed tomorrow by All Souls' Day.