Hi,
see previous entry on asthma incidences.
The government has just brought out a reveiw which states that nanotecnology can have serious problems when 'normal' chemicals are used as very small particulates, sort of what I said about platinum in vehicle exhaust systems. Hope its wrong cos its affecting the entire world's health ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3930179.stm
Friday, July 30, 2004
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Iraq,Iran,.... Germany
Sounds stupid. It is, well....
Unfortunately the US has declared war on any country/individual/industry that it thinks may harm its interests.
I agree with invading Afganistan [that was ostensibly done to catch the perpetrators of 11/9 ] , but Iraq was hit cos of dubyas dad. Iran is next in case it gets the bomb and could harm Israel . After that a few years down the line it could be any country that gets up the US nose that couldn't hit the States hard. So n.Korea, Israel,UK,France,Russia, S.Africa and a few others are safeish, but watch out Germany .........
It's a frightening thought, I think we should surrender now . May have said this before, but talking of Iran makes it worth saying again.
Lets have Pax Americana for the world or impose serious sanctions against it by every other country in the world, something is gonna have to give ......
Unfortunately the US has declared war on any country/individual/industry that it thinks may harm its interests.
I agree with invading Afganistan [that was ostensibly done to catch the perpetrators of 11/9 ] , but Iraq was hit cos of dubyas dad. Iran is next in case it gets the bomb and could harm Israel . After that a few years down the line it could be any country that gets up the US nose that couldn't hit the States hard. So n.Korea, Israel,UK,France,Russia, S.Africa and a few others are safeish, but watch out Germany .........
It's a frightening thought, I think we should surrender now . May have said this before, but talking of Iran makes it worth saying again.
Lets have Pax Americana for the world or impose serious sanctions against it by every other country in the world, something is gonna have to give ......
Friday, July 23, 2004
global warming heard it here first !
news item : http://uk.news.yahoo.com/040722/12/eyl8u.html
US States are trying to sue power companies over global warming ! isn't the government the responsible party here ? Oh well, at least it's started .......
Well i was wrong , sort of : see my entry of
http://www.blogger.com/app/post.pyra?blogID=7188645&postID=108668904430465785
US States are trying to sue power companies over global warming ! isn't the government the responsible party here ? Oh well, at least it's started .......
Well i was wrong , sort of : see my entry of
http://www.blogger.com/app/post.pyra?blogID=7188645&postID=108668904430465785
Thursday, July 15, 2004
MRSA
I started this blog with the intention of not putting personal stuff into it. Last week there were reports of an item that could kill MRSA contamination , but the NHS werent interested. Then a couple days later there was a report saying that they'd found a way of disinfecting areas from MRSA [ apart from the usual idea of cleanliness]. So maybe the NHS was right ?????
Then Sunday I read a report that a major source of MRSA contamination is via ballpoint pens ![passing from nurse- nurse] and that cleaning up can help this deadly problem. [ wow thats a novel idea about health matters- cleanliness helps :~ ]
Meanwhile a friend dies from MRSA. Apparently it affects 8% of patients in the UK- sort of thing you dont want to get if you are so sick you need to go to hospital- especially as 5000 people in the UK die from it .........../ year
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/040714/140/exz0i.html is some of it
Grow Up Please our health service- not read reports from other countries about this - is it a problem ?
Then Sunday I read a report that a major source of MRSA contamination is via ballpoint pens ![passing from nurse- nurse] and that cleaning up can help this deadly problem. [ wow thats a novel idea about health matters- cleanliness helps :~ ]
Meanwhile a friend dies from MRSA. Apparently it affects 8% of patients in the UK- sort of thing you dont want to get if you are so sick you need to go to hospital- especially as 5000 people in the UK die from it .........../ year
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/040714/140/exz0i.html is some of it
Grow Up Please our health service- not read reports from other countries about this - is it a problem ?
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
President Blair survives another inquiry [phew]
The Butler report sort of exonerates him. Not a surprise I suppose.
However, I am minded to give my own ,short report. No quotes, so I am open to criticism.
P. Blair stated in Parliament in 2002 that Iraq posed a real and present danger to the inhabitants of the United Kingdom. [the 45 minutes bit is totally irrelevant, but may have been part of this speech also ].
That is the essence of the speech as I remember it- ie Mr/Mrs John Smith could get hit with WMD via long range missiles .
During the Hutton enquiry it turns out that he did not mean this at all, just that anyone who was on holiday in Malta or nearer Iraq [ but preferably within it ] could be in danger of attack. I jest.....
He actually meant that some soldiers who were stationed in Malta could be in danger - especially if their surname was Smith. These soldiers and the soldiers we sent into Iraq were the ones we went to save according to the Hutton findings
If I am wrong and the Maltese caveats were always mentioned in the debates at the time so people were not hoodwinked, then fine.
My memory states not , and I personally was not in any danger from Iraqi long range missiles ........
However, I am minded to give my own ,short report. No quotes, so I am open to criticism.
P. Blair stated in Parliament in 2002 that Iraq posed a real and present danger to the inhabitants of the United Kingdom. [the 45 minutes bit is totally irrelevant, but may have been part of this speech also ].
That is the essence of the speech as I remember it- ie Mr/Mrs John Smith could get hit with WMD via long range missiles .
During the Hutton enquiry it turns out that he did not mean this at all, just that anyone who was on holiday in Malta or nearer Iraq [ but preferably within it ] could be in danger of attack. I jest.....
He actually meant that some soldiers who were stationed in Malta could be in danger - especially if their surname was Smith. These soldiers and the soldiers we sent into Iraq were the ones we went to save according to the Hutton findings
If I am wrong and the Maltese caveats were always mentioned in the debates at the time so people were not hoodwinked, then fine.
My memory states not , and I personally was not in any danger from Iraqi long range missiles ........
Monday, July 12, 2004
fruit and veg are fine !
I know there are loads of arguments about whether GM stuff is doomsday or saviour material.
I just have one
niggling doubt.....
GM is done by insertion of a gene that makes a protein or organic compound that does something.
These compounds can and do come from poisonous organisms [I suspect- cos they do come from esoteric flora/fauna]. I'd be all for GM if the genes came from an organism that humans were known to eat without keeling over.
I just have one
niggling doubt.....
GM is done by insertion of a gene that makes a protein or organic compound that does something.
These compounds can and do come from poisonous organisms [I suspect- cos they do come from esoteric flora/fauna]. I'd be all for GM if the genes came from an organism that humans were known to eat without keeling over.
Sunday, July 11, 2004
fish might not be , cows are?
Ok we all know about BSE and that we are no longer allowed to be sold cows that were over 2.5 ? to 3 ? years old [legally].
Take a look at how the prions [ the bits of the cow that cause CJD- mad cow in humans] are produced - as I understand it.
Prions are mis-shaped proteins that accumulate in the brain and other tissues. These eventually overwhelm the normal operation of the brain and the brain starts to 'dissolve', causing death within 18 months [ in humans ] .
The keyword here is ACCUMULATE. The evidence is that cows who are slaughtered within 3 years [or earlier] do not show signs of BSE.
This is because not enough prions have formed to produce symptoms. You still eat what they have in their body.
Thus we are eating BSE contaminated products.
Doctors have stated that we would need to be 150 years old for us to be affected by this toxin and develop CJD or one of its variants.
Information given below is supposition on my part as I haven't seen the technical data, but..
1. This information is by necessity extrapolated from a very small database , so cannot be rigorous and must be subject to error. Without the technical data, it is impossible to speculate about the degree of uncertainty [in statistical terms] in that figure.
2. The physical figure of 150 years in 'lethal' terms is prone to massive error without the covering caveats/assumptions. Lethal doses in pharmaceutical terms are normally done using what is called LD50 - ie the dose required to kill 50% of the population exposed to the substance . The article I read had no such detail [it was a newspaper- so they do tend to miss out on these figures]. If it is an LD50 number then even ignoring the huge errors above in point 1 - if the standard deviation was something like 25 years[I have picked this number totally out of the air as it gives a number you can think of] , then we would lose something like about 1% [ I'm struggling here but isnt 3 sd= 1% ish ? ] of the population above 75 years old due to CJD- I know this is alarmist, but its broadly true.
3. A third way exists to extrapolate the data and that is to fit the data into a 'bell curve' . This is to say that the deaths that have occured already fit into a statistical normal distribution pattern.
This *can* produce a reasonable extrapolation if sufficient data points [deaths] exist, but they don't. Also this method fails to take into account of actions oustide the curve- like if showing the disease is a function of how many prions have been ingested and/or the time scale to be affected- then we could see HUGE parts of the population dying and would make AIDS look like a midge bite
The reason for hiding this fact from the population of the world ? So the UK did not have to slaughter its herd , is all. Frigtening aint it , what else has been swept under the carpet over the years....
Take a look at how the prions [ the bits of the cow that cause CJD- mad cow in humans] are produced - as I understand it.
Prions are mis-shaped proteins that accumulate in the brain and other tissues. These eventually overwhelm the normal operation of the brain and the brain starts to 'dissolve', causing death within 18 months [ in humans ] .
The keyword here is ACCUMULATE. The evidence is that cows who are slaughtered within 3 years [or earlier] do not show signs of BSE.
This is because not enough prions have formed to produce symptoms. You still eat what they have in their body.
Thus we are eating BSE contaminated products.
Doctors have stated that we would need to be 150 years old for us to be affected by this toxin and develop CJD or one of its variants.
Information given below is supposition on my part as I haven't seen the technical data, but..
1. This information is by necessity extrapolated from a very small database , so cannot be rigorous and must be subject to error. Without the technical data, it is impossible to speculate about the degree of uncertainty [in statistical terms] in that figure.
2. The physical figure of 150 years in 'lethal' terms is prone to massive error without the covering caveats/assumptions. Lethal doses in pharmaceutical terms are normally done using what is called LD50 - ie the dose required to kill 50% of the population exposed to the substance . The article I read had no such detail [it was a newspaper- so they do tend to miss out on these figures]. If it is an LD50 number then even ignoring the huge errors above in point 1 - if the standard deviation was something like 25 years[I have picked this number totally out of the air as it gives a number you can think of] , then we would lose something like about 1% [ I'm struggling here but isnt 3 sd= 1% ish ? ] of the population above 75 years old due to CJD- I know this is alarmist, but its broadly true.
3. A third way exists to extrapolate the data and that is to fit the data into a 'bell curve' . This is to say that the deaths that have occured already fit into a statistical normal distribution pattern.
This *can* produce a reasonable extrapolation if sufficient data points [deaths] exist, but they don't. Also this method fails to take into account of actions oustide the curve- like if showing the disease is a function of how many prions have been ingested and/or the time scale to be affected- then we could see HUGE parts of the population dying and would make AIDS look like a midge bite
The reason for hiding this fact from the population of the world ? So the UK did not have to slaughter its herd , is all. Frigtening aint it , what else has been swept under the carpet over the years....
Saturday, July 10, 2004
then fish are healthy eating ?
HM Govt has told us to eat x grammes fatty fish /week as part of a healthy diet.
Unfortunately what they haven't told us is just how healthy are the fish themselves.
Fish are quite high up the food chain as marine life goes, so they concentrate toxins found in their environment.
The North Sea is a natural toxic bowl as much of Europes waste ends there and has done since before the start of the Industrial Revolution , of course. It has the dubious distinction of being almost enclosed so it doesn't have much of a cleansing current, so poisons can and do accumulate.
Unfortunately this has had the effect of killing the marine life tryng to survive there. Much of the fish harvest cod/haddock and other bottom feeders have ulcers , tumours and other serious problems . Once again the media dont seem to want to know.
Oh , newspapers in the UK have articles saying that fresh water fish arent breeding too well because the males are too female [see yesterdays rant] - pity they cant go that extra step- or they just dont want to alarm us......
Anyway--- you cant drink water, or eat fish, breed easily. Whatever next?
Unfortunately what they haven't told us is just how healthy are the fish themselves.
Fish are quite high up the food chain as marine life goes, so they concentrate toxins found in their environment.
The North Sea is a natural toxic bowl as much of Europes waste ends there and has done since before the start of the Industrial Revolution , of course. It has the dubious distinction of being almost enclosed so it doesn't have much of a cleansing current, so poisons can and do accumulate.
Unfortunately this has had the effect of killing the marine life tryng to survive there. Much of the fish harvest cod/haddock and other bottom feeders have ulcers , tumours and other serious problems . Once again the media dont seem to want to know.
Oh , newspapers in the UK have articles saying that fresh water fish arent breeding too well because the males are too female [see yesterdays rant] - pity they cant go that extra step- or they just dont want to alarm us......
Anyway--- you cant drink water, or eat fish, breed easily. Whatever next?
Friday, July 09, 2004
We're becoming women !
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/040709/80/exocm.html
The above is a news item stating that fish are becoming more feminine due to oestrogen and other such stuff coming from the sewers.
This was the subject of quite a detailed Horizon TV programme about 15 years ago about the above , but with more emphasis on how it was affecting human beings. Basically, it was able to show that penis sizes have dropped over the last 50 years and fertility has also declined.
It then went on to show that this phenomenon was not due to hormones in the water , but was due to an additive that was used in making plastic bottles. It was something like nonanol or maybe decanol if I remember correctly.
I had assumed that because there was no major outcry after this programme that companies had stopped this chemical [I think it was/is used as a stabiliser] before the pogramme had appeared.
Looks like I was wrong. Oh , one of the nastier health bits is that its used to make bottles that mineral water is stored in - so you cant escape that way !
Oops, I am starting to get very worried about the world's health - see next few blogs .........
The above is a news item stating that fish are becoming more feminine due to oestrogen and other such stuff coming from the sewers.
This was the subject of quite a detailed Horizon TV programme about 15 years ago about the above , but with more emphasis on how it was affecting human beings. Basically, it was able to show that penis sizes have dropped over the last 50 years and fertility has also declined.
It then went on to show that this phenomenon was not due to hormones in the water , but was due to an additive that was used in making plastic bottles. It was something like nonanol or maybe decanol if I remember correctly.
I had assumed that because there was no major outcry after this programme that companies had stopped this chemical [I think it was/is used as a stabiliser] before the pogramme had appeared.
Looks like I was wrong. Oh , one of the nastier health bits is that its used to make bottles that mineral water is stored in - so you cant escape that way !
Oops, I am starting to get very worried about the world's health - see next few blogs .........
Friday, July 02, 2004
saddam goes on trial
You cant help but think that this trial is going to be a little like a "display what attrocities he's done and then lynch him can you" ?
Shouldn't an independent court do the above ?
I'm actually against the death penalty, but can see no other course of action in his case.
Shouldn't an independent court do the above ?
I'm actually against the death penalty, but can see no other course of action in his case.
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