The heated seat sounds like a good idea to me. The rest of this toilets gadgets are just a little to “Buck Rogers” though.
“Amenities include heated seats, sound effects, lids that raise automatically.
Dr. Michael Sykes, a San Diego molecular biologist who runs the International Center for Bathroom Etiquette blog says he’s surprised at how long it’s taken for high-tech toilets to hit the U.S.”
Photo by Kim Terca / Page One PR
This is BIG NEWS for veterans. An alert reader sent me this story: VA to automate its Agent Orange claims process
“The Department of Veterans Affairs announced today that it will fully automate how it pays claims for illnesses related to exposure to the chemical Agent Orange to keep an overburdened system from collapse.
It is the department's first effort at automating claims processing in its 80-year history, says VA chief technology officer Peter Levin. It comes as the agency struggles to cut a backlog of more than 1 million disability claims, appeals and other cases.”
Pa. woman accused of recruiting jihadists
What does a terrorist look like? They’re dark-skinned and are Muslims right? Wrong! It’s time we understand that the enemy comes in all colors and from all countries. Even right here in America.
I’m not talking about terrorist cells. I’m talking about a person like Colleen R. LaRose who carries on her own jihad against the USA and other Western countries like Ireland and Sweden.
Indictment alleges American used Internet to spark terror overseas
Ireland arrests linked to the above case
Authorities in Ireland on Tuesday arrested seven people accused of joining a plot to kill the Swedish cartoonist, and U.S. officials said the two cases were linked.
I’m somewhat skeptical about this style of baby sling (see photo) being branded as dangerous.
This same basic design for carrying babies goes back hundreds of years in numerous cultures. All of a sudden it’s a death trap? What do you think?
Is it an over-reaction? Are American men and women just so stupid that they wouldn’t notice if their child was suffocating in a sling like this?
The concern: infants can suffocate, and at least a few have.
Are you wondering what reforms have been imposed upon the banks and financial institutions that caused our economy to nearly collapse while we were bailing them out? None. Nothings changed. They still play their games. They still hold the strings to power in our capitalistic country.
How much hope is there for real financial reform you may ask? In my opinion, none. Look at those clowns in Congress. They’re so polarized that they can’t agree on the simplest subjects. Throw in the lobbyists for those financial institutions, and you can see why there won’t be any real change in the financial regulatory system soon. Consumers lose as usual. It’s a corporate world after all!
So far in congressional debate, it’s lenders 1, consumers 0
“As Congress this week inches toward a new set of rules to avert another global financial collapse, it is focused on two conflicting goals: reforming the banking system to protect consumers while still giving lenders the freedom to take risks.”
PTSD is not something you can cure with drugs. As a matter of fact, there’s no definitive cure.
With counseling, group therapy, and years of support, a person can still lead a relatively normal (I’m really not sure what normal is) life. Sometimes it’s necessary to add drugs to peoples PTSD treatment.
For example, I take Trazone at night to sleep. Zoloft, a common anti-depressant drug that’s been around for over a decade, is also used as part of a treatment program. There are other drugs out there that have proved their worth as partial components for PTSD therapy.
But, a potentially deadly drug- Seroquel - manufactured by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has been linked to the deaths of soldiers returning from war.
Although it has not been approved for treatment of PTSD, Pentagon purchases of Seroquel nearly doubled between 2003 and 2007. Elspeth Ritchie, medical director of the Army's Strategic Communications Office told the Denver Post the drug is "increasingly utilized as an adjunct for PTSD."
Yet the FDA continues to approve it!
A new book claims that Robin Hood was not as selfless as he is often depicted, suggesting he stole from the rich and lent money to the poor as an early kind of loan shark.
Robin Hood: The Unknown Templar has a lot of Englishmen talking. Every hear the phrase, “Say it ain’t so Joe?” The British are saying, “Say it ain’t so Robin.”
By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard
Posted: 03/07/2010 01:27:21 AM PST
San Diego Zoo, 1960 -- I'm 10 years old and it's my first visit to a zoo. My parents and I walk past cages full of fascinating animals for several hours. At one of our stops my Dad points out the biggest rat I'd ever seen peacefully lumbering around in its enclosure.
He weighs about a hundred pounds Dad said, “which means he's heavier than you.” That sobered me up quick. As he talked about the capybara, I moved closer to the cage and came eye-to-eye with one of the big rascals.
What I saw was sorrow. A longing for home. “They can be found in Panama, Columbia, Venezuela, Peru...” Dad droned on, but his words were lost in my growing sadness.
Go here to read the rest.
My column tomorrow “In a better world animals wouldn’t be held in captivity” will be considered controversial by some.
As I look around at recent incidents, “Report: Tiger bites keeper to death in Chinese Zoo,” “Women bitten by Bear at Wis. Zoo: fingers severed,” and the recent death of Animal trainer Dawn Branch at Sea World in Orlando, Florida, all trouble me. Tilikum, a 12,000 lb. Killer Whale, probably didn’t mean to kill his trainer, but by all accounts he was “stressed out” from living in isolation, with the exception of breeding attempts.
There’s even a darker side to some “so-called zoos.” A good example would be:
Tigers Being Turned into Wine!
Although the Xiongsen tiger park, near Guilin in south-east China, appears to be a depressingly typical Third World zoo, with a theme park restaurant and open areas where tigers roam, it actually hides a far more sinister secret: it's a factory farm breeding tigers to be eaten and to be made into wine.
The two reasons for zoos and animal theme parks are to make money and to study the animals in order to keep them from going extinct. At least, that’s the way I see it.
The first reason is inevitable; animals attract people who pay big bucks to see them. So, the argument is that visitors are able to experience seeing exotic (and not so exotic) animals that they might never come into contact with otherwise. With the technology we have today, we could have virtual zoos (holographs and all) that would give people the same experience without putting the animals into captivity.
The second reason is scientific. Zoos are a way to preserve species that might otherwise disappear. I’d rather see scientists spending their time in the wild to study them (I know some do that now) and creating habitats for endangered species that don’t have gawking humans involved.
Be sure to see my column on the subject in Sunday’s (March7) Op Ed page in The Times-Standard.
By Carl Young
(Veterans Activist)
It’s finally official. Thirty-five years after the war ended in Vietnam, a welcoming home for the Veterans of the Vietnam war has been established.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill last September, AB 717, which calls for an annual “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” on March 30. The Board of Supervisors, and local cities will be doing resolutions supporting it. Sadly, local veterans are deeply split on the issue of even having a day for Vietnam veterans.
Our country was deeply divided during the Vietnam war, and at times some people were hostile to the returning veterans. Those memories still haunt some Vietnam veterans. The damage done to our fellow Vietnam veterans, and their families, is incalculable. Many will never see their “Welcome Home,” because they prematurely died due to aliments associated with their military service.
I support the establishment of this long overdue day of remembrance, in which 58,000 U.S. troops died and more than 300,000 were wounded. These statistics don’t include the number of suicides, mental health, destroyed families and the illnesses directed associated with our service.
Additionally there is the possibility that many other birth defects and aliments suffered by our children are because of their parents exposure to Agent Orange. The Department of Veterans Affairs only recognizes a few birth defects like Spina bifida.
I think Daniel L. Lawrence, President, of the Humboldt Memorial Chapter 781, Vietnam Veterans of America summed it up well, “We are the only defenders of freedom in this country to be vilified, berated and shunned by our own people. If this resolution brings peace to many Vietnam vets then I am all for it. It’s said that time heals all wounds. I guess not enough time has passed for me to heal my wounds. I am pleased that our country has chosen to not place the blame for this current war on those who doing the fighting. instead placing the blame where it belongs on our so called leadership. For all the problems these new veterans will face, being shunned by their own people will not be one of them.”
Maybe, California’s enactment of a special day to recognize Vietnam veterans will encourage other states to follow, someday making it a national holiday. I also support the idea of establishing a similar day for the forgotten veterans of the Korean War. It’s the very least we can do for those who served so faithfully.
I encourage everyone to attend the reading of the Resolutions with the following government agencies: Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, on March 23, at 9:00 a.m; the Fortuna City Council meeting on March 15 at 6:00 p.m.; Ferndale (already presented March 4th); Rio Dell March 16th at 6:30Pm and the City of Arcata March 17, at 6:00 p.m. As far as I know, there aren’t any other plans locally to recognize this special day for Vietnam veterans on March 30.
Lastly, I would like to thank the folks at the Eureka VA and Mental Health Clinics and our local Vet Center for the excellent care they provide. I’m hopeful the VA can further support local medical and mental health providers and our veterans through the “fee basis” program, and the establishment of local VA specialty clinics. The professionalism of the staff has been remarkable, as well as the coordination of care with local providers.
Once again, Don the Con is making history for all the wrong reasons. No former president has ever been indicted for a felony and forced to ...
