A tale of two retailers [See Jane Compute]

This weekend, I went to 2 different retailers to return a couple of items. (Grandma Jane bought Baby Jane an Easter outfit that consisted of a frilly frilly dress and a delicate WHITE sweater. Now, Easter is not exactly a dress-wearing holiday in our household, and if Baby Jane wore either item to daycare, or even around the house for more than 30 seconds, the outfit would be toast.) Since I was there anyway, and since shopping trips ALONE are so rare these days, I decided to check out the baby departments and see if I could spend the store credit then and there.

My experience at each store could not have been more different.

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FULL TEXT OF MAJOR DEM DONOR LETTER TO PELOSI

Speaker Pelosi was apparently surprised by the letter from 20 major dem donors

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the US House of Representatives
Office of the Speaker
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Madame Speaker,

As Democrats, we have been heartened by the overwhelming response that our fellow Democrats have shown for our party's candidates during this primary season. Each caucus and each primary has seen a record turnout of voters. But this dynamic primary season is not at an end. Several states and millions of Democratic voters have not yet had a chance to cast their votes.

We respect those voters and believe that they, like the voters in the states that have already participated, have a right to be heard. None of us should make declarative statements that diminish the importance of their voices and their votes. We are writing to say we believe your remarks on ABC News This Week on March 16th did just that.

During your appearance, you suggested super-delegates have an obligation to support the candidate who leads in the pledged delegate count as of June 3rd , whether that lead be by 500 delegates or 2. This is an untenable position that runs counter to the party's intent in establishing super-delegates in 1984 as well as your own comments recorded in The Hill ten days earlier:

"I believe super-delegates have to use their own judgment and there will be many equities that they have to weigh when they make the decision. Their own belief and who they think will be the best president, who they think can win, how their own region voted, and their own responsibility.'"

Super-delegates, like all delegates, have an obligation to make an informed, individual decision about whom to support and who would be the party's strongest nominee. Both campaigns agree that at the end of the primary contests neither will have enough pledged delegates to secure the nomination. In that situation, super-delegates must look to not one criterion but to the full panoply of factors that will help them assess who will be the party's strongest nominee in the general election.

We have been strong supporters of the DCCC. We therefore urge you to clarify your position on super-delegates and reflect in your comments a more open view to the optional independent actions of each of the delegates at the National Convention in August. We appreciate your activities in support of the Democratic Party and your leadership role in the Party and hope you will be responsive to some of your major enthusiastic supporters.

Sincerely,

Marc Aronchick
Clarence Avant
Susie Tompkins Buell
Sim Farar
Robert L. Johnson
Chris Korge
Marc and Cathy Lasry
Hassan Nemazee
Alan and Susan Patricof
JB Pritzker
Amy Rao
Lynn de Rothschild
Haim Saban
Bernard Schwartz
Stanley S. Shuman
Jay Snyder
Maureen White and Steven Rattner
[Source: http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/03/in_letter_a_dozen_top_clinton.php ]

NUDE PHOTO OF THE FRENCH FIRST LADY UP FOR AUCTION AT CHRISTIE'S

[Telegraph]

A nude photo of the French First Lady Carla Bruni has been put up for auction at Christie's New York, just hours ahead of her and her husband President Nicolas Sarkozy's state visit to Britain, the Telegraph reports.

The photo of Carla Bruni is expected to bring around £2,000 at auction next month
The image, by photographer Michel Comte, shows Bruni facing the camera wearing no more than a thoughtful expression.

The first couple are to arrive in the UK on Wednesday for the start of their two-day state visit, and will be meeting the Queen and the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, the Telegraph says.

Mr Sarkozy has faced criticism that his flashy, Rolex-wearing image belies a lack of substance, and he had hoped that the visit would add some much-needed gravitas to his public persona.

Comment on 29 Worn Out Perspectives in Need of the “Oh Really?” Factor by Iphigenie

I too like challenging common platitudes and received opinions like some you list here. The kind of things people say without ever thinking, the thoughts we were "fed" to think. Many of these tell “you arent capable!” “there’s no point” “its too late” “leave it to the special people”.
I have directly or indirectly had to work with many people where I had to fight these kinds of inner thoughts… often acquired at school.

One thing that strikes me over and over is how it takes so little to allow people to shine and empower themselves… and so little to shut them off.

I believe that a lot of these “received ideas” were encouraged to make people stay where they are. Fit in, do what everyone does, don’t question, don’t make waves, stay in your place and for heaven’s sake don’t think for yourself or get ideas above your station like thinking you are capable to write or create or be your own person!

Pah to that!

It is a good idea to challenge all the messages out there dumbing people down, telling us the world is too complicated for peons like us, achievement is for special people, thinking is for the technocrats… especially us who are lucky enough to be in these “elites”.

Challenge these ideas whenever you find them in people, and watch the people learn to shine.

Comment on 29 Worn Out Perspectives in Need of the “Oh Really?” Factor by JM

“6. You're supposed to get married and then have the baby.”

Being a 30 year-old father of nearly 2 (#2 in June) and married for nearly 7 years, I disagree with this statement entirely. What kind of message are you sending to your new-born child that Mom and Dad aren’t committed enough to each other to get married? I know very few people who either stay married or get married when a child comes into the picture. With divorces at a 50% clip in this country, some “old fashioned” values should be taken more seriously than being mindlessly considered antiquated by today’s standards. I owe it to my children to be committed to my wife and to their future through marriage commitment to my wife. There is something very profound in that. Most people who follow that statement will never realize that, and wonder why their children have such a hard time in their relationships 30 years later. Your decisions affect your children’s and grandchildren’s futures more than you realize.

AMNH Subway Art #85 [Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)]

tags: Lepidoptera, photography, subway art, AMNH, NYC, NYCLife

A Black Swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes,
as portrayed in tiles on the walls of the West 77th street entrance to the NYC subway stop (A-B-C)
at 81st and Central Park West. (ISO, no zoom, no flash).

Image: GrrlScientist 2008. [wallpaper size].

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SUPER-DELEGATE-GOVERNOR OF PUERTO RICO INDICTED

[Associated Press]

Puerto Rico Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila indignantly denied wrongdoing Thursday and gave no sign he would abandon his re-election effort after being charged with campaign finance violations that carry a penalty of 20 years in prison.

Acevedo, a super-delegate to this summer's Democratic convention and Obama supporter, accused U.S. prosecutors of pursuing a politically motivated indictment alleging that the governor and a dozen other people conspired to illegally pay off his campaign debts.

His indictment on 19 charges, including conspiracy to violate federal campaign laws, conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and giving false testimony to the FBI, made him the latest U.S. governor to run into legal trouble.

Others include New York's Gov. Eliot Spitzer, forced to resign after he was accused of soliciting prostitutes, and Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, convicted for corruption in 2006 in what his allies allege was a politically motivated prosecution.

Acevedo's indictment could create some awkward moments for Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama if they campaign as expected on the island ahead of its June 1 Democratic primary.

"I am going to defend my rights and protect the dignity of my family and of the people of Puerto Rico who support me," the governor said in a statement hours after the FBI arrested most of those named in the indictment in San Juan, Philadelphia and Washington area.

Acevedo served in Washington as the island's nonvoting delegate to Congress then was elected governor in 2004 after campaigning on an anti-corruption platform.

"I want to assure the people of Puerto Rico that I have never solicited nor accepted a contribution in exchange for a government contract, never permitted the illegal use of public funds nor acted illegally," he said. "I know very well several of those accused today, and I am convinced that they never accepted a bribe or stole a single cent."

Acevedo canceled all his public events and remained sequestered all day in the island's powder-blue colonial governor's residence with his wife and two children. He said he would turn himself in Friday.

In a brief address on Puerto Rican television Thursday evening, he repeated his denials and accused U.S. authorities of distracting him from trying to revive the island's struggling economy. "They want blood not your well being," he said of federal prosecutors. The governor did not take questions.

In any event, the governor and super-delegate's legal problems are unlikely to be resolved by either the Puerto Rico Democratic primary election or the Democratic convention.

Could this Democratic primary season get any more bizarre? Probably.

.
March 28 top story: OBAMA'S REV WRIGHT STORY CHANGES AGAIN—THIS TIME ON THE VIEW

Deadly I-55 crash leads to wrongful death complaint

The estate of Georgia Shaw filed a wrongful death complaint against Joann Rye of Normal, Ill., alleging Rye's negligent driving caused Shaw's death.

According to the complaint, Shaw was a restrained front-seat passenger in Rye's vehicle on Aug. 18, 2007.

Represented by Allen Surinsky of Clayton and Russell Depew of Bloomington, Shaw's estate claims Rye was traveling south on Interstate 55 near mile post 32 in Hamel Township when she allowed her vehicle to drift to the left and into the median.

"Defendant over corrected and lost control of her vehicle such that her vehicle began to rotate clockwise, crossed both southbound lanes of Interstate 55 and left the roadway to the right," the complaint states. "The vehicle overturned and came to rest on its roof in the grass on the west side of Interstate 55."

According to the complaint, Shaw was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her estate claims Rye negligently drove at a speed which was high, dangerous and excessive, failed to maintain control of her vehicle and failed to slow, stop, swerve, sound a warning or take evasive action in order to avoid overturning the vehicle.

Shaw's estate claims Shaw left behind five children who have been deprived of her companionship and society.

Seeking damages in excess of $50,000, the estate also claims that Shaw experienced great pain and mental anguish prior to her death.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Daniel Stack.

08 L 255

Grad Students Getting Evicted Into The Streets [DrugMonkey]

As usual, Female Science Professor has an outstanding post up this morning. Unfortunately, however, this one is not about the the trials-and-tribulations or joys-and-pleasures of academic science. Rather it describes a terrible situation that increasingly faces her students, and that is only going to get worse, and worse, and worse:

Several of my graduate and undergraduate students have recently had their lives disrupted because their apartments were in houses or apartment buildings that went into foreclosure. Some have already had to find a new place and move, and some have to move within the next 1-2 months.

* * *

Even without the current mortgage crisis in the U.S., students are too often the victims of irresponsible or even unethical landlords, as I well know from my own experience with an avaricious, grasping, duplicitous, thieving scoundrel of a landlord when I was in graduate school. And now this. In addition to the problems that make the news, the mortgage crisis has generated a cascade of lost time and productivity that affects graduate and undergraduate students, and all those who work with them.

Of course, this kind of thing is just the beginning, and it ain't just grad students who it is happening to. If you are not comfortable with honest, angry language, don't read below the fold.

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EXPERTS: CLINTON RUNAWAY PENNSYLVANIA VICTORY LIKELY

[Source: Politically Uncorrected blog, Franklin & Marshall, hat tip to The Swamp]

Hillary Clinton is now up by as much as 26 points in the latest Pennsylvania polling, and Obama's negatives have increased by ten points, according to the Pennsylvania based Franklin & Marshall Center for Politics and Public Affairs, and their "Politically Uncorrected" blog.

How bad does it look for Obama in PA? Really bad, Franklin & Marshall reports:

"Just how bad is documented by some key findings from a series of polls, including the Franklin and Marshal College Poll, all released recently. Almost none of the results bode well for Obama. Across the board Clinton is winning and winning big. She has decisively stopped Obama's earlier momentum in Pennsylvania—and seems set for a romp.

"Statewide among Democrats, Clinton holds a lead that ranges from 16 to 26 points. The Real Clear Politics consensus estimate is roughly 17 points. She is winning every major region of the state except Philadelphia, while Obama has actually slipped slightly with blacks and more substantially with younger voters—two demographics that are critical backstops for him in the contest. He has also lost support with other key constituencies including white males and evangelicals.

"Moreover Clinton is seen by voters as the overwhelming favorite to deal with the economy and healthcare, two of the three issues Pennsylvania voters care most about, and she is virtually tied with Obama as the candidate voters most support to end the war."

Moreover, the poll demographic breakdowns are really depressing for Obama, seemingly indicating that inroads that the candidate made weeks ago with white voters and women have not only evaporated, but reversed course:

1. Appeal among Key Groups of Likely Voters: Clinton leads among women (57% to 29%), whites (57% to 29%), ages 55 and older (55% to
29%), union member households (67% to 26%), and Born Again Christians (45% to 38%). She also leads among Catholics (26 points) and Protestants (23 points). Obama has the clear edge only among non-whites (76% to 12%). Obama and Clinton are tied or virtually tied (within sampling error) among younger, college-educated, and male voters. (Source: Franklin & Marshall College Poll)

2. Support across Major Regions of the State: Clinton leads in every region of the state except Philadelphia and has overwhelming leads in
the Northeast, Northwest, and Central Pennsylvania. She leads two to one in the Northeast and almost two to one in the Northwest and Central Pennsylvania. At this point only Philadelphia and the Philly suburbs (Southeast Pennsylvania) seem competitive for Obama. (Source: Franklin & Marshall College Poll)

3. Convincing on the Critical Issues: On the issues that voters say are most important, Clinton is controlling the field. Among voters who say the economy is most important, she is up 15 points. Among healthcare voters, she is up 19 points. Among voters who rank leadership highest, she is up 30 points, and among those who say electability is most important, she leads by 15 points. (Source: Quinnipiac University Poll)

Franklin & Marshall does throw Obama a bone or two at the end of the post:

"To a remarkable degree for a candidate down by double digits, Obama may still control his own fate. In the next couple of weeks, we will see what he makes of that opportunity."

As to whether the authors damn Obama by faint praise, we leave that conclusion up to the reader.

What we think: If Pennsylvania voters disliked the Reverend Wright fiasco, wait until they get a load of the books-on-tape version of Obama's first book—in the candidate's own voice, throwing the N-word around like he was Reverend Wright. (See here.)

Stay tuned. The Pennsylvania primary is still 30 days away.

Marine protests in Berkeley on Daily Show

A little outdated, but this was a ridiculous experience (and proof that every Berkeley stereotype is pretty damn accurate). Protests have continued, and I just received a warning e-mail that there are numerous demonstrations planned for tomorrow. We'll see how the Code Pink saga unfolds...

p.s. Just to clarify, I think it's absurd to expect the Marines/other military branches to offer protection (not just in war, but in the event of an earthquake etc.) without allowing them a recruiting station. The complaint was supposedly largely due to the station's proximity to Berkeley High and UC-Berkeley, but it's not that close to either, really. It's just downtown, with everything else.

Fighting The Shift With Seedbanks [Shifting Baselines]

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (predicts that 25-30% of plant species will be extinct or endangered in the next century. Any way you cut it - that is a very bad thing. Many of those plant species will be crops - food we eat. Some of you may have caught the announcement of the "Doomsday Vault" in the news recently: a vault located 600 miles south of the North Pole on a Swedish Island designed to safeguard seeds from climate change, wars, and other on-coming disasters.

The icy island of Spitsbergen is home to about 2,000 miners and researchers. In a few years, it will be also home to some 1.5 million varieties of seed crops. Over the next five years or so, the seed stockpilers hope to amass seeds from virtually all the recognized varieties of 150 crop species routinely grown and eaten by humans, including the 100,000 varieties of rice (rice accounts for 20% of all calories eaten worldwide).

But, is the Doomsday Vault just a band-aid to a larger issue? Obvisouly such a vault can't help preserve livestock breeds or in many cases the ecoystems that exist side-by-side many crop and livestock systems, interacting in complex ways. Then again, maybe the Vault will inspire. Inspire us to conserve our seeds and natural heritage.

We certainly need more inspiration to safeguard both our native and commensal biodiversity. It is a simliar story with livestock that it is with plants, although the former are much more difficult to stockpile. The United Nations has reported that 16% of the world's 7,600 recorded indigenous breeds of cattle, pigs, sheep and poultry are at risk of disappearing, and 11% have already gone extinct.

While seed and livestock banks can help, including the new North Pole vault, in the end the farm will be the real battleground. That is where the fight to save or our food diversity will be won or lost.

See Michael Pollan's new book In the Defense of Food for some strategy.

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Dram shop suit filed against Locust Hills Golf Course

Three people injured in a Belleville automobile accident last year filed a dram shop suit against Locust Hills Golf Course in Lebanon alleging the golf course served alcoholic beverages to a man who later collided with them.

Represented by Jerald Bonifield of Belleville, Robin Caldwell alleged she and her minor daughter Natasha were injured June 5, 2007, when Brian Lavalle collided with them at the intersection of Route 161 and Falcon Drive in Belleville.

The third plaintiff, Querra Caldwell was also in the vehicle at the time of the collision.

The plaintiffs allege that prior to him driving, Lavalle consumed alcoholic beverages at Locust Hills which caused him to become intoxicated.

Locust Hills is located at 1015 Belleville Street in Lebanon.

Each plaintiff claims the collision caused them to sustain serious internal and external injuries that caused them to lose income and incur medical expenses.

They are each seeking damages in excess of $50,000, plus costs of the suit.

08 L 151 (20th Circuit)

More Information About Reports Of Byetta Use Being Linked To Acute Pancreatitis

March 2008 Article In FDA's Drug Safety Newsletter Discusses Two Cases In Detail

(Posted by Tom Lamb at DrugInjuryWatch.com)

The quarterly issue of the FDA's online Drug Safety Newsletter [DSN] which was published on March 18, 2008 includes an article about a postmarket safety review of Byetta (Exenatide) that associates this diabetes drug with acute pancreatitis.

As background, one may recall that in October 2007 the FDA issued an alert to doctors informing them that the agency had reviewed 30 postmarketing reports of acute pancreatitis in patients taking Byetta, which was approved by the FDA on April 28, 2005 to treat adults with type 2 diabetes.

As seen here, this March 2008 DSN article about Byetta builds upon those 30 reports of acute pancreatitis:

FDA has been monitoring cases of acute pancreatitis in its postmarketing review of adverse event reports associated with the use of [Byetta] exenatide. Spontaneous adverse event reports of acute pancreatitis were described in the Adverse Reactions section of product labeling. Further postmarketing review of [Byetta] exenatide identified additional cases of acute pancreatitis associated with use of the drug. The product labeling has been updated to include information about acute pancreatitis in the Precautions section of the label, and information for healthcare professionals has been posted on FDA's Web site. [Text of footnote 1:  Exenatide (Byetta) product labeling.]  This article, based on the review of 30 reports of acute pancreatitis, describes the postmarketing data that prompted the revision to product labeling and provides recommendations to healthcare professionals regarding this serious adverse event.

As an aside, one part of this FDA article about the suspected Byetta - pancreatitis link caused a double-take:

Exenatide was originally identified in the saliva of the poisonous Gila monster lizard. Pancreatitis has been reported with envenomation with Gila monster saliva due to overstimulation of the pancreas. [Text of footnote 2: Sherman M. Therapeutic Venoms. US Pharm. 2005;12:33-36.]

Here are some of the details about these 30 postmarket reports of serious side effects in patients taking Byetta:

• From April 28, 2005, to December 31, 2006, FDA received 30 domestic reports of acute pancreatitis in patients who received [Byetta] treatment.
• In 21 of the 30 cases (70%), the patients were hospitalized.
• There were no fatalities and no cases describing a hemorrhagic or necrotizing pancreatitis event.
• Nineteen (63%) patients were female.
• The median age of patients described in the case reports was 60 years (range: 43-72 years).
• The median time to onset of symptoms of acute pancreatitis from the start of [Byetta] therapy was 34 days (range: 4-300 days).
• Twenty-seven cases (90%) reported one or more possible contributory factors, including concomitant use of medications that list pancreatitis among reported adverse events in product labeling, or confounding conditions such as obesity, gallstones, severe hypertriglyceridemia, and alcohol use.
• A dose-response relationship was observed in six patients who reported the onset or worsening of symptoms associated with acute pancreatitis soon after the dose of [Byetta] was increased from 5 mcg twice daily to 10 mcg twice daily.
• Twenty-two patients improved after [Byetta] therapy was discontinued, and 15 reports described the event as resolved at the time of the report.
• These findings suggested a strong temporal association between [Byetta] and acute pancreatitis.

In this March 2008 Drug Safety Newsletter article about Byetta one finds two reported cases discussed in some detail.  Both of these selected case reports in this part of the article serve to show the temporal relationship between initiation of Byetta treatment or dose escalation and the onset of symptoms associated with acute pancreatitis.  (Note: The first case has been presented previously in a medical journal article -- Denker PS, Dimarco PE. Exenatide (exendin-4)-induced pancreatitis: a case report. Diabetes Care. 2006;29(2):471.)

We will continue to watch the medical journals for reports of acute pancreatitis in association with the use of Byetta.

Why Lynch doesn't watch basketball any more ... [Stranger Fruit]

I don’t watch NBA basketball. I don’t watch NCAA basketball. I used to play basketball in high school and played club basketball in college (Ireland doesn’t have the same college scene as here). The reason why I don’t watch is something Chad has hit upon when talking about Davidson’s run for the "final four":

Basketball isn’t just about amazing physical feats-- it’s about knowledge and planning and execution, and a team that plays the game well can hang with (and sometimes beat) vastly superior individual athletes. That’s more impressive to me than any acrobatic highlight-reel dunk.

Basketball - especially the pros - has become one "acrobatic highlight-reel dunk" after another. And I miss the old days.

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My picks from ScienceDaily [A Blog Around The Clock]

American West Heating Nearly Twice As Fast As Rest Of World, New Analysis Shows:

The American West is heating up more rapidly than the rest of the world, according to a new analysis of the most recent federal government temperature figures. The news is especially bad for some of the nation's fastest growing cities, which receive water from the drought-stricken Colorado River. The average temperature rise in the Southwest's largest river basin was more than double the average global increase, likely spelling even more parched conditions.

Are You What You Eat? New Study Of Body Weight Change Says Maybe Not:

If identical twins eat and exercise equally, must they have the same body weight" By analyzing the fundamental equations of body weight change, NIH investigators Carson Chow and Kevin Hall find that identical twins with identical lifestyles can have different body weights and different amounts of body fat.

Appendix Removed Through Vagina: U.S. First:

On March 26, 2008, surgeons at UC San Diego Medical Center removed an inflamed appendix through a patient's vagina, a first in the United States. Following the 50-minute procedure, the patient, Diana Schlamadinger, reported only minor discomfort. Removal of diseased organs through the body's natural openings offers patients a rapid recovery, minimal pain, and no scarring. Key to these surgical clinical trials is collaboration with medical device companies to develop new minimally-invasive tools.

Teenage Risk-taking: Teenage Brains Really Are Different From Child Or Adult Brains:

Many parents are convinced that the brains of their teenage offspring are different than those of children and adults. New data confirms that this is the case. An article by Jay N. Giedd, MD, of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), published in Journal of Adolescent Health describes how brain changes in the adolescent brain impact cognition, emotion and behavior.

Who's Bad? Chimps Figure It Out By Observation:

Chimpanzees make judgments about the actions and dispositions of strangers by observing others' behavior and interactions in different situations. Specifically, chimpanzees show an ability to recognize certain behavioral traits and make assumptions about the presence or absence of these traits in strangers in similar situations thereafter. These findings are by Dr. Francys Subiaul - from the George Washington University in Washington DC - and his team.

Can You Rescue A Rainforest? The Answer May Be Yes:

Half a century after most of Costa Rica's rainforests were cut down, researchers from the Boyce Thompson Institute took on a project that many thought was impossible - restoring a tropical rainforest ecosystem.

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Yi Guan on stopping a pandemic before it starts: trust isn't transitive [Effect Measure]

Trust is not transitive, as someone recently pointed out, when reporting on the airline pilot who carried a gun into the cockpit and then accidentally or negligently discharged it and blew a hole in the plane. We had every reason to trust the pilot to be able to fly a 747, but not necessarily to handle a firearm properly. Trust isn't transitive.

There is no doubt that Yi Guan, a professor at the University of Hong Kong, is an expert on H5N1 virus, its genetic lineages and surveillance for the virus in wild birds. He has reportedly screened, via cloacal swabs and fecal specimens, more than 200,000 wild and free ranging aquatic birds and poultry in China since 2000. So if he has an opinion about whether proper surveillance can stop a pandemic it is reasonable to listen to what he says and consider it seriously. But it is not necessarily reasonable to trust his judgment because he is an expert at the lab bench in using surveillance specimens. Because once Guan talks about a pandemic he is talking about a global scale outbreak of disease in human beings. That involves epidemilogy. So I am slightly skeptical of a pronouncement by someone whose speciality is surveillance of birds, not the epidemiology of influenza in people:

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