Archive for category health
You Are What You Eat — So Eat Something
Posted by zoboxrox in health, malfunction, not news, tragedy on February 18th, 2010
My brilliant, charming, lady-killer of a friend has begun his own blogging adventure, Lunch Poems, and, while my bitter cynicism is in stark contrast to his levity, he has inspired me in terms of the direction of my new post.
I’m having a hard time with women lately — as a group. I should specify that statement — I am finding it difficult to sympathize with first world women who have chosen the desire to be thin as a main goal in life. And I’m not talking about the estimated 7 million American women who actually have an eating disorder. I’m not talking about the 4%of these women who will die every year. I’m not even talking about the 50% of 10 year olds who “want to lose weight.” I’m simply referring to your average women who battles everyday with her food intake and exercise routine, and the unnecessary stress it causes on her already overworked frame.
Yesterday, standing in line for lunch, the thin woman behind me asked to taste one of the soup options, I believe it was a delicious looking cream of corn and chicken option. “I can tell this is fattening,” she told the server, before walking off to the salad bar. And while I should learn to mind my own business, a little part of me cried for her, and for every other woman out there counting calories every day of their lives. First of all lady, do you really think the soup guy gives a shit? Secondly, LIVE YOU LIFE. If the soup is delicious, EAT IT.
My adorable friend Sumer has a category of issues she refers to as “First World Problems.” Examples of these are as such: “I ordered a dress online last week and it still hasn’t gotten here — ugh!” or “I love driving my (shiny, new) car to work, but parking is such a pain in the ass, I’ve had to start taking the subway.” And if I’m being preachy its only because its in my nature, I have my fair share of FWPs (the fan on my computer is malfunctioning, I am finding full-time steady employment to be less fulfilling than I expected, I haven’t been on a nice date in months). None, however, seem as callous as denying myself food, when there are millions of people who dont know when they’re next meal will be. Additionally, it strikes me as a huge blow to the advancement of women — are we really going to let something as petty as weight dictate our self-worth.
I’m all for looking good and feeling good. I think excersise and nutrition are both extremely important and I could certainly afford to lose a few pounds myself. I will never, however, let food and weight consume my life. I think that anyone who plans on being happy should consider that advice, because, and I know there are those out there who make a lot of money disagreeing with me, but a lot of things actually taste better than being thin feels! Besides, she may look great, but is this really someone you want to take advice from:
Dear Prudence
Posted by zoboxrox in charity, economy, health, human rights, international, science, tragedy on January 18th, 2010
Haiti, 2008
While the images coming out of Haiti since the January 12th earthquake are heartbreaking, images of Haiti before the massive devastation are nearly as appalling. For many, just one week ago, it was simply easier not to look.
Haiti has long been the pariah of the Western Hemisphere, deemed the poorest country, many Americans don’t even realize it shares an island, Hispaniola, with popular hot spot the Dominican Republic. With HIV rates unheard of on this side of the world, not to mention Malaria and a killer strain of drug resistant Tuberculosis, and levels of poverty we have only seen in Hollywood films, Americans have found it surprisingly easy to overlook Haiti’s hellish existence in the past, despite its close proximity and dire need for aide. And while there are those who have dedicated their lives to moving mountains in this forgotten place (Paul Farmer and his Partners in Health comes to mind most immediately, but there are certainly others as well, many with little to no recognition at all), there is no question that Haiti has been more or less abandoned by the rest of the world.
While the media provides us with day to day body counts and relays gruesome details of injuries and loss, forcing us to see what we’ve ignored for so long, racking up donations from the college student text messager to the saintly celebrity givers, I can only wonder, if this Disaster Relief had poured in years ago, would we be facing the situation we are facing today?
Jian Lin, a WHOI senior scientist in geology and geophysics, said that there were three factors that made the quake particularly devastating: First, it was centered just 10 miles southwest of the capital city, Port au Prince; second, the quake was shallow—only about 10-15 kilometers below the land’s surface; third, and more importantly, many homes and buildings in the economically poor country were not built to withstand such a force and collapsed or crumbled.
When there are no roads, no hospitals, no doctors, no reliable government, no one to really trust, how far can the money go? Perhaps the lesson here is of prudent giving — spending money earlier, before its too late.
When History Calls, a love story
Posted by zoboxrox in health, politics, powerful women on October 15th, 2009
I would like to just start off here by giving my girl Olympia Snowe [seriously great name] a big one up for growing a pair. I’m pretty sure she and I live by the same motto, which, though basic and commercialized, I’ve found tends to work out in the long run: DO THE RIGHT THING.
Inevitably, we will not remember this moment as fondly as we do today, if she changes her mind in the next few months, but I’d like to point out that, unlike, I’d say, the majority of her colleagues, she made a lot of sense when she finally opened her mouth:
When history calls, history calls. And I happen to think that the consequences of inaction dictate the urgency of Congress to take every opportunity to demonstrate its capacity to solve the monumental issues of our time
I want one of those little tape recorders!!
In other words: how will we face our children and our children’s children if we don’t do this now, when things have gotten so bad, that if we do nothing, we will always be remembered for our failure to act? You know what Olympia, I happen to agree with you.
Secondly, I’d like to offer one piece of truth I imagine would be recognized if it was pondered by anyone with the capacity for understanding: the health care system, in its entirety — from insurance companies to pharmaceutical companies to private hospitals to ERs, ORs, ICUs, OBGYNs, etc.– should be a NON-FOR-PROFIT enterprise. And let me tell you why… (you knew I was going to):
1. There will never not be doctors
There have always been doctors. And, I can say from my own experience with them, both the doctors who have treated me and those I know personally, they’re really not in it for the money. Part of the Hippocratic oath reads: “Into whatever houses I enter, I will go into them for the benefit of the sick and will abstain from every voluntary act of mischief and corruption.”
While they can look scary, they tend to be pretty decent, unselfish people. That which is driving doctors to leave their profession is not their pay, but instead their inability to treat their patients the way they would like to if they were free of the restrictions brought on by insurance companies. Ex. “No, we won’t cover that life-saving medication.” Which brings me to point two.
2. Medicine, as a science, will never advance without large scale access, in both directions
I was reading about the phony “insurance industry report” recently released by, lets face it, the bad guys, which stated something along the lines of “premiums to reach $4000/month under Bacaus plan.” While we’re obviously not the most empathetic country in the world, I’m not sure we’re ready to reach a point when less than a quarter of our population has health care. Not only is wrong, but it is also against the natural progression of medicine, which requires new patients with unique cases in order to grow.
And guess who gets irritated when they don’t have a massive population to sell their overpriced drugs to?
3. We all need each other in order to make this work in the end
The truth is, while they currently have all the say in the relationship, without access to professional health care and FDA approved medications, people will find another way — it is in our nature to do so; it is, perhaps, the greatest genius of our species — and Big Pharma will lose control of the court. And pharmaceutical companies need a large population of people on their medications in order to sustain themselves. Why do you think they advertise so aggressively?
You don’t have to talk to your doctor about these drugs, they already know about them! And they know if you should be on them or not. But Pharma continues to advertise because Pharma needs us to keep buying their drugs, and they need scientists to keep producing them. Likewise, the insurance industry needs doctors to accept their plans, which many have stopped doing, and in turn, needs us to buy into them. If anyone stopped for a second and realized how well this could work if it ran the way it ought to… maybe instead of changing the practices, we just have to remove the people currently practicing them.
ELIMINATE GREED FROM HEALTH CARE: THERE IS NO ROOM FOR IT IN TRUE MEDICINE
“Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity”
Hippocrates, c. 400 BC
Who Deserves the Best?
Posted by zoboxrox in health, human rights, malfunction, politics on September 10th, 2009
First of all, South Carolina should probably just go ahead and secede all over again. They’re track record so far this year is about as impressive as Lindsay Lohan’s. This latest incident is hardly even surprising. In fact, I would say they were due for another serious embarrassment. South Carolina, I hear you’re trying to fire your governor — while you’re at it, why don’t you just get rid of your whole legislative body and start over again. Or better yet, merge with North Carolina and let them do all your voting for you.
Watch Joe Biden after Joe Wilson shouts out “You Lie” to the President. It looks like someone just ran over his German Shepard puppy Champ. I’ve never seen a grown man look so sad. And I get it. He’s thinking, “the times they are a changing,” because, before last night, nobody ever really shouted at the President (besides this guy).
One thing that I don’t understand about the Health Care debate, and maybe I’m being insensitive now, but why do senior citizens automatically deserve better (and freer) medical care than the rest of us? Its not that I don’t think they should be insured, but why them and no one else? Why not children? Why not students? I like the way this guy puts it:
The President [gave] a great speech last night and outlined his points for why we need universal health coverage in America. In case you missed it, here it is in a nutshell: you cannot call yourself the greatest country in the world if you don’t have it.
True that!
Why why why why why?
Posted by zoboxrox in corporate america, economy, health, human rights, international, malfunction, politics, religion, tragedy on August 17th, 2009
So, the major problem with American Democracy is that it is representative: we elect people who we feel will represent our views within the legislative body upon which they sit – we do not participate in our democracy directly — we are not always privy to the actual truth. Majority rules, and so depending on where you are and who won your local elections, this means you may not be represented at all. If your guy lost, then basically, you’re voice remains silent as your elected representative fulfills the needs of most of the people, which could be as little as one percentage point over half, in your district/county/state.
The reason this is a major problem, it seems pretty clear to me now, is that the majority of Americans are at worst stupid, and at best simply irresponsible, ignorant, gullible, stubborn, and set in their ways. What always amazes me is the fact that people actually vote against what’s in their own best interest: fiscally, the Republican Party only benefits around 5% of the population.
With Universal Health Care we meet a similar problem. Many of the people who’s lives would be improved by it, are being lied to and misinformed. Take this guy, for instance, who if you can believe it, is actually a Senator, Chuck Grassley of Iowa. He doesn’t even come close to answering the question he’s been asked, and then he lies, repeatedly, to those who he is supposed to be representing:
Come on Chuck. LETS BE TRUTHFUL!!
So here are the Top 5 lies about some of our health care options, and the one truth standing in its way:
LIES:
1. Single Payer Health Care is the same thing Socialized Medicine: NOT TRUE
Socialized Medicine doesn’t actually exist, but if it did, it would still be different than Single Payer System. Under “socialized medicine” the doctors work for the government directly. Single Payer simply means there is a single fund or insurance company which is making payments aka “centralized payment”:
Single-payer health insurance is a term used in the United States to describe the legislated insurance of individuals by way of centralized payment of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers and facilities…. The administrator of the fund could be the government but it could also be a publicly owned agency regulated by law
2. Socialized Medicine leads to Socialism: NOT TRUE
We currently have socialized the following industries, and I’m pretty sure most every American, red-blooded or blue, would like to keep it this way: The Police Department, The Fire Department, The United States Postal Service, The Public Education System, The Public Library, and Neighborhood Parks and Recreational Services.
Imagine the outrage if we decided to privatize fire services, and unless you had insurance, your local department, no matter how close or how able, would simply let your house burn down. And we don’t talk about a government run Fire Department - it has not communalized our way of life, nor taken control of our personal liberties. It is simply something no American could imagine living without, which is exactly how they feel about health care in the countries where it is free.
3. Universal Health Care would be more expensive than our current system: NOT TRUE
Turns out, we spend more right now, both individually and as a nation, than we would in a government funded option.
A 2003 study examined costs and outputs in the U.S and other industrialized countries and broadly concluded that the U.S spends so much because its health care system is more costly. It noted that “…the United States spent considerably more on health care than any other country…[yet] most measures of aggregate utilization such as physician visits per capita and hospital days per capita were below the OECD median. Since spending is a product of both the goods and services used and their prices, this implies that much higher prices are paid in the United States than in other countries.
Perhaps it has something to do with the $71 Billion that Pfizer raked in last year, or the $61 Billion Johnson & Johnson made on pharmaceutical products alone.
4. Health Care in countries with a Universal System suffers in quality as a result: NOT TRUE
Not only is health care in the United States more expensive than it is in any other “first world” country, it turns out, its also not as good. I have this argument all the time: “Oh but we have by far the best health care in the world…” or “I’d rather be in a hospital in America than anywhere else….” Funny. The World Health Organization disagrees with you. As do over half of the citizens of Western Europe.
See here. Or here. Or here. Or here.
5. The government wants to create “Death Panels” in order to kill your elderly grandmother or your disabled child: JUST SO NOT TRUE
While a “death panel” more or less already exists, its called an insurance company, this particular piece of nonsense actually stems from a bill, written by a Republican member of Congress mind you, which requested that, part of health care reform would include end of life counseling for those approaching death. The horrors!
A couple months ago I had the opportunity to see New York Times contributor Jane Brody speak on her newest book, Jane Brody’s Guide to the Great Beyond: A Practical Primer to Help You and Your Loved Ones Prepare Medically, Legally, and Emotionally for the End of Life. As someone who, throughout her entire career has focused on living well and prolonging a healthy life, I can truly say Jane Brody is not the kind of person who would kill your grandma. She is, however, knowledgeable enough on the subject of death, that I trust her when she says the following: receive End of Life counseling, have a living will and a health care proxy, if you are in a situation where death is a possibility, acknowledge that!
So if your little old grandma is sitting at home alone, listening to conservative talk radio, clutching her shotgun and trembling in fear for her life, please just bring her a newspaper. If she can’t see the tiny print, read it out loud to her! Because right now, the people she’s supposed to be able to trust, well they’re lying and it ain’t helping granny out one little bit.
The Irony of Truth: Its Better Than Fiction
Posted by zoboxrox in health, human rights, politics on August 12th, 2009
Its really too bad that Michael Moore made all those other movies before he made Sicko. While I personally don’t have a problem with Mr. Moore, and tend to agree with a lot of his opinions, I do realize that he is neither the most popular, nor the Most Trusted Man in America, and I’m afraid that because of previous films like Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko does not get the recognition it deserves. I believe that of all his films it is the most informative, least divisive, and exhibits the greatest compassion and humanity.
While it could easily have focused upon the plight of the nearly 50 million uninsured Americans*, it is instead about those who have insurance, and get screwed anyway.
Interviews are conducted with people who thought they had adequate coverage but were denied care. Former employees of insurance companies describe cost-cutting initiatives that give bonuses to insurance company physicians and others to find reasons for the company to avoid meeting the cost of medically necessary treatments for policy holders, and thus increase company profitability
In one particular case, an interviewee is denied coverage for the surgery necessary to treat her brain tumor, and dies within the time it took to make the film. For this reason, I find the whole “Death Panels — Obama wants to kill your Grandma” excitement unforgivable, because in reality, this is a policy that presently exists. Under current health care options, people who ALREADY HAVE INSURANCE are often denied access to treatments — which their doctors recommended for them — because they are considered too costly, or too experimental.
From Daily Kos:
You might ask yourself why, of all possibilities, reforming America’s health care system is the thing that “tramples on the Constitution” or “leaves the existence of the Republic at risk.” You might ask this, because you’re probably not insane. But again, this matches what we’ve been seeing in every “deather” protest so far –people angrily denouncing government intervention and “socialized medicine” — but they all love Medicare. They don’t want government to supposedly decide who’s too expensive to keep alive, with visions of “death panels” and the like — but insurance companies are doing that now, all the time, and there’s nary a peep about that. The opposition, in other words, doesn’t know the first damn thing about the thing they’re supposedly protesting.
*people will argue this number is exaggerated, which I think is ridiculous — when we already know the unemployment rate is at a high, shouldn’t the uninsured numbers also grow?
Who Loves the Sun?
In honor of our new Surgeon General, and the fact that I imagine a lot of you are indoors right now, here are the Top 5 reasons you shouldn’t feel bad about missing out on the sun this summer.
1. Sun Burns:
While I’m the last person who should ever lecture about sunburns, (last weekend I literally got one on my eyeballs… if you don’t believe me, here’s a link) I thought I’d offer a little insight into what is actually happening to your skin — and mine — when we spend too much time in the sun.
A sunburn is a burn to living tissue such as skin produced by overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, commonly from the sun’s rays. Usual mild symptoms in humans and animals are red or reddish skin that is hot to the touch, general fatigue, and mild dizziness.
After the exposure, skin may turn red in as little as 30 minutes but most often takes 2 to 6 hours. Pain is usually most extreme 6 to 48 hours after exposure. The burn continues to develop for 24 to 72 hours occasionally followed by peeling skin in 3 to 8 days. Some peeling and itching may continue for several weeks.
2. Sun Poisoning:
Been there, done that. Once again, not lecturing here. Just sharing some important information with my favorite people.
Sun poisoning and sun burns are actually the same thing: your skin’s allergic reaction to the sun.
In the case of sun poisoning, however, the reaction is a bit more severe and the symptoms may become seriously uncomfortable. A typical sunburn involves itching, redness, and peeling. Severe sunburns may also be accompanied by small blisters that may lead to infection. Symptoms of sun poisoning also tend to include nausea, fever, headache, and dizziness and may also be accompanied by fluid loss and electrolyte imbalance.
3. Sun Damage:
This may be the hardest pill for some of you to swallow but I’ve got to keep you informed: A tan is actually a sign of damage and the body’s attempt to protect itself from further harm.
Wrinkles, Sun Spots, Leather, Oh my!
- Contrary to popular belief, a tan is not “healthy.” A tan is a sign that damage has been done to your skin.
- When exposed to the sun’s UV rays, your skin’s melanocytes produce melanin, the dark pigment that creates a tan. A tan is your skin’s attempt to prevent UV rays from doing any further damage to the sensitive skin cells in your epidermis.
- A tan does not help protect your skin from getting a sunburn in the future. A tan is equivalent to merely an SPF 4.
I’m not trying to kill everyone’s summer. Just be aware. Wear SPF - UVA and UVB protection! Tan gradually.
4. Cataracts:
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! (no offense)
5. Skin Cancer:
From the Skin Cancer Foundation:
- Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than one million skin cancers are diagnosed annually.
- Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.
- One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.
- In 2004, the total direct cost associated with the treatment for non-melanoma skin cancers was more than $1 billion.
- About 90 percent of non-melanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.
- The incidence of many common cancers is falling, but the incidence of melanoma continues to rise significantly, at a rate faster than that of any of the seven most common cancers.
- Melanoma accounts for about three percent of skin cancer cases, but it causes more than 75 percent of skin cancer deaths.
Surgeon General’s Warning
Posted by zoboxrox in health, politics, powerful women, science on July 14th, 2009
Yesterday Obama nominated Dr. Regina Benjamin of Bayou La Batre, Alabama, to be his new Surgeon General, and while the position is more or less a symbolic one, his choice highlights his thoughts on the nations health, and perhaps the direction he hopes to take the entire health care system.
Whats interesting, and at the same time predictable, about his choice, is that here is a woman of color who comes out of the same meritocratic system as the President himself (as well as his choice for the Supreme Court). In this way, unlike someone who came from privilege and never needed any help, Dr. Benjamin feels she owes the system, and has dedicated her life to helping others — NOT to cashing in on her skills and experience. In fact, the New York Times quotes her current employer as saying they are currently $300,000.00 in debt to her, because she hasn’t received payment for years.
Mr. Obama’s signature domestic policy goal is reforming the nation’s health care system to make doctors more accessible to the tens of millions of people without insurance. He picked someone who has spent her entire career tending to the poor and the uninsured, sometimes accepting pints of oysters as payment.
It was Dr. Benjamin’s willingness to sacrifice — something health care reform may ask of many more doctors — that Mr. Obama discussed at length Monday.
Dr. Benjamin, Mr. Obama said, “represents what’s best about health care in America — doctors and nurses who give and care and sacrifice for the sake of their patients.”
On top of her qualifications as a doctor and an advocate for the poor and uninsured, she also comes from the land of disaster AKA the Gulf Coast (perhaps most memorably Hurricane Katrina), and has a lot of experience with emergency health situations — an incredible tool for the job of Surgeon General. Her own clinic in Bayou La Batre, which she built in a shrimping town 25 miles south of Mobile, Alabama, has been destroyed and rebuilt three times, twice due to hurricanes, and once to fire. 
She has an intimate knowledge of tragedy and early loss, as she has been personally affected by what she considers, “preventable diseases”: her mother’s death from lung cancer due to smoking, her father’s death from high blood pressure and diabetes due to diet, and finally her brother’s death from HIV due to lifestyle. In other words, she understands what’s killing Americans — its happened right in front of her eyes, both in her home, and in the clinic where she serves thousands of people, sometimes at cost to herself.
Here are some awesome facts about her from her Wikipedia page:
- In 1998 she was the United States recipient of the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights
- Dr. Benjamin was named by Time Magazine as one of the “Nation’s 50 Future Leaders Age 40 and Under.” She has been featured in a New York Times article, “Angel in a White Coat,” and was chosen “Person of the Week” by ABC’s World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, “Woman of the Year” by CBS This Morning, and “Woman of the Year” by People Magazine. She was also featured on the December 1999 cover of Clarity Magazine and received the 2000 National Caring Award, which was inspired by Mother Teresa.
- In 2006, she was awarded the papal cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice by Pope Benedict XVI.
- In 2008, Benjamin was named one of America’s Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report.
- In September, she was one of 25 recipients of the $500,000 “genius awards,” awarded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
While You Were Mourning…
Posted by zoboxrox in environment, health, international, malfunction, miracle, not news, politics, religion, science, tragedy on July 2nd, 2009
So my favorite eatery has captioned CNN on their television at all times (hence, my favorite) and while the 24/7 media channel has a tendency to be a little hokey, perhaps overblown, and often downright dramatic (but no news is good news right?), I respect them simply for the fact that they are huge enough to sink their perfectly manicured, yet often clumsy, claws into most every major news item au current. I can’t help myself, then, from feeling majorly disappointed that this generally satisfactory and overly accessible outlet for information is, at this very moment, reporting “BREAKING NEWS: VIDEO OF MICHAEL JACKSON’S FINAL REHEARSAL RELEASED.” (Here it is if you’re curious… entertaining, but not news)
I have to ask myself, is this really breaking news? And don’t get me wrong, I love MJ. I was a die hard Jackson fan even when it was embarrassing to admit. My list of favorite songs include some of the lesser known, deeper felt (”She’s Out of My Life” now has a whole new meaning), and I’m proud to say that while its not a consistent ability, I have successfully moonwalked on occasion. BUT — before I am a Michael Jackson fan, I am a citizen of the world, and my deeper concern lies in what has happened in the week since his untimely passing. So here is the list of Top 5 News Events that occurred while you were mourning:
1. Lets start with the ridiculously important act by the House last Friday, June 26, which, after years of ignoring the inconvenient truth, passed H.R. 2454, or The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. While the act itself is far (far far far far) from perfect, and in truth it dragged itself across the finish line at the last second, winning by only seven votes, it is hugely significant because it is the first time Congress has formally recognized what every other thinking American knows as Global Warming, Climate Change, the Greenhouse Effect (remember that one?), the End of the World, etc:
The vote was the first time either house of Congress had approved a bill meant to curb the heat-trapping gases scientists have linked to climate change. The legislation, which passed despite deep divisions among Democrats, could lead to profound changes in many sectors of the economy, including electric power generation, agriculture, manufacturing and construction.
President Obama hailed the House passage of the bill as “a bold and necessary step.” He said in a statement that he looked forward to Senate action that would send a bill to his desk “so that we can say, at long last, that this was the moment when we decided to confront America’s energy challenge and reclaim America’s future.”
But I bet a lot of people didn’t hear about this. After all, we’d only had a day since Michael’s passing. Who cares about… you know, the world…?
2. Two days later, on Sunday June 28th, a little place called Honduras, you may have heard of it, its part of our continent, went ahead and had themselves a coup. 
Back story is as follows: Left-leaning President Manuel Zelaya (think Chavez, with a mustache) was pushing for legislative reform which would allow him to lift the term restrictions for presidents, enabling him to run again (think Mayor Bloomberg, without the cash). Apparently the military found this completely unacceptable, and in the middle of the night, took over the government and exiled Zelaya to Costa Rica (actually, that sounds pretty nice).
In the first military coup in Central America since the end of the cold war, soldiers stormed the presidential palace in the capital, Tegucigalpa, early in the morning, disarming the presidential guard, waking Mr. Zelaya and putting him on a plane to Costa Rica.
Mr. Zelaya, a leftist aligned with President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, angrily denounced the coup as illegal. “I am the president of Honduras,” he insisted at the airport in San José, Costa Rica, still wearing his pajamas….
Church services were canceled and most people stayed home. Several thousand protesters supporting the president faced off against soldiers outside the presidential palace, burning tires.
The government television station and a television station that supports the president were taken off the air. Television and radio stations broadcast no news. Only wealthy Hondurans with access to the Internet and cable television were able to follow the day’s events.
Normally a coup would be pretty big news — HUGE. Remember in Pretty Woman when she goes back into the store to tell them what a mistake they’ve made by not letting her shop — HUGE MISTAKE — well this is huge the way that was.
3. Another two days later, in the early morning of Tuesday June 30, a passenger plane, an Airbus 310 to be exact, carrying 153 people, crashed on its way from Yemen to the Comoros Islands. 
While normally this would be an instant global tragedy for the world to rubberneck, the story becomes even more unbelievable, as a sole survivor, a 14 year old girl who can barely swim, is rescued, found floating in the Indian Ocean. The young woman, Bahia Bakari, was traveling with her mother and three siblings, all of whom are believed to be dead, and cannot explain how it is she managed to stay alive.
A severely bruised young girl believed to be the only survivor of an Indian Ocean p
lane crash flew back Thursday to Paris, where she was embraced gently by her father, who tried to lift her spirits with a joke.
Bahia Bakari, 12, returned to France from the Comoros Islands on a French government plane. The Falcon-900 jet with medical facilities left the archipelago nation, a former French colony, and arrived at Le Bourget airport just north of Paris…
Bahia, described by her father as a fragile girl who could barely swim, spent over 13 hours in the water clinging to wreckage before she was rescued. She was found suffering from hypothermia, a fractured collarbone and widespread bruises to her face, elbow and foot….
“In the midst of the mourning, there is Bahia. It is a miracle, it is an absolutely extraordinary battle for survival,” France’s cooperation minister, Alain Joyandet, who flew back with her, said at the airport. “It’s an enormous message that she sends to the world … almost nothing is impossible.”
And yet, there are people who don’t even know this story, haven’t even heard of Bahia, because Michael Jackson died last week, and there’s only so much room for misery in one’s life.
4. Later that very same day, Al Franken defeated Norm Coleman in the final battle of the war for the Minnesota Senate Seat.
Apparently Coleman had to dip into his dental fund to continue the lawsuit, and when pressed with the idea that he may be required to shell out even more cash, decided to call it quits, like a true conservative. Obama now has 60 friends in the Senate. He can basically do anything he wants. Even Bush never had it this good. And while I’m sure people know this happened, no one really seems to care. All of the passion Americans have put into politics over the past year, seems to have died with MJ.
5. Finally, the people of Iran continued to struggle for basic human rights, like freedom, and fairness, and safety. They continued to protest, continued to recieve beatings, continued to be kidnapped, murdered, or worst of all, disappeared. They continued to document their troubles as well, but couldn’t post the images online, their main resource at this time, because the inernet had basically crashed with Michael Jackson frenzy.
So here’s a little video someone put up on YouTube to remind us all, its not over, its only just begun.
(Amanda — don’t watch this)
What Makes This War Different From All Others?
Posted by zoboxrox in crime, health, human rights, international, malfunction, military, tragedy on May 12th, 2009
Recent news reports of the murder of five US troops by a fellow soldier on an army base in Baghdad, Iraq went more or less unnoticed, despite the fact that it is the deadliest attack of its kind (US soldiers killing their own), although by far not the first.
Monday’s attack marks the sixth incident in which a service member was killed by a fellow service member since the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
In March 2003, Capt. Christopher Seifert and Maj. Gregory Stone of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division were killed in a grenade attack at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait, that wounded 14 other officers. Sgt. Hasan Akbar was convicted by a court-martial in 2005 and sentenced to death.. Sgt. Joseph Tackett was fatally shot in June 2005 by a fellow soldier in Baghdad. Lt. Willie Davis later pleaded guilty to a charge of negligent homicide and was sentenced to 30 months in prison, the independent Army Times reported. The same month, Capt. Phillip Esposito and Lt. Louis Allen were killed in an explosion at a base in Tikrit, north of Baghdad. The military charged a sergeant in their company, Alberto Martinez, with murder in their deaths, but a military jury acquitted him in 2008. Two U.S. sailors based in Bahrain, Seaman Anamarie Camacho and Seaman Genesia Gresham, were shot and killed by a third sailor who then shot himself in October 2007, the Navy said. A 39-year-old soldier was charged with killing Staff Sgt. Darris Dawson and Sgt. Wesley Durbin in Tunnis, Iraq, in September.
While five or six years ago, such an event would 
have made headlines at multiple media outlets, CNN most likely would have named the incident and created a graphic, it wasn’t even covered by a majority of news sources and its appears the reason is a lack of interest among the public. To go one step further, it seems the civilian population has given up on outrage and instead adopted their own, “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy concerning the deteriorating mental state of our armed forces.
And perhaps for the first time, the Military are asking for help. Reports of long term and widespread Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, reaching all the way up the rankings, and an alarming suicide rate, by far the highest ever for the Army, which prompted a $50 million study from within to try to help the young people serving abroad and those who have come home.
A U.S. soldier is now more likely than a civilian to take his own life. The Army crossed that threshold at the end of 2008 — a year in which 140 soldiers killed themselves — a record high. And the situation is getting worse, not better.
So why is this happening? There are those who credit the current state of the military on lack of new recruits, perhaps due to a general unenthusiasm with the war. This thins out the soldiers they already have, sending them back for second and third tours, far sooner than they had expected to have to go. And the general outlook on the conflict can’t help. Instead of fighting for a defined purpose, this military finds itself trapped in what feels like an endless war that nobody believes in, seeing things they were never trained to see. The answer to this question is actually fairly obvious to me: “the first casualty of war is innocence.” Imagine yourself in this situation, imagine having killed dozens of people, mostly civilians at that (which make up a huge percent of the casualties in Iraq) for reasons you’re not quite sure about, to serve the most unpopular Commander in Chief we’ve ever had. I would be traumatized, depressed, and probably suicidal as well.
The real question is, why don’t we care anymore?
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