New Orleans news

WWLTV is a local station in New Orleans. They have a huge amount of information on the latest reports coming out. The situation has only been getting worse all day. It looks like the remaining people in the city are going to be evacuated. They're figuring out where to take the people in the Superdome, other shelters, and struggling to evacuate the hospitals, and trying to get everyone rescued who are stranded in attics and on rooftops.

Unconfirmed report from a Farker: One of my friends (who runs this WISP) is a retired police officer. He tells me that things are a lot worse than we are hearing. There are quite more people dead than we are getting reports of and in his area they have run out of body bags. There is an unconfirmed report of a prison uprising that is supposed to be pretty bad.

New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin says the entire city will soon be underwater. He's expecting it to flood all the way up to sea level, meaning anywhere from several feet to 20 feet across the city.

Hurricane Katrina

The hurricane has passed, but the water continues to rise in New Orleans. Gulfport, Biloxi, and other towns have been devastated. Over 80% of the city is underwater. They're now evacuating some of the shelters that previously were dry. Canal Street is literally a canal. Much of the French Quarter, which was previously dry, now has a few inches or more of water in it. Some parts of the city are flooded as much as 20 feet deep. Levees were breached and workers, I think FEMA and the National Guard, are struggling to keep the breaches from worsening and block what they can. The twin span bridges on I-10 in New Orleans East are totally destroyed. The list goes on. Here's CNN's current coverage.

A New Orleans station spent about 20 minutes talking to the mayor last night. You can see the video here. He seems like a good guy who's been thrust into a very difficult situation and is doing the best he can.

A local news affiliate interviewed a man on the street who had to let go of his wife's hand and help his children. His wife was swept away. It's the saddest video. It appears the reporter was just interviewing random people after the storm and stumbled across this terrible story. She lost her composure in the short interview.

The Red Cross is in the midst of their largest single relief operation ever. Links to donate to the Red Cross and a few other charities can be found here. Please donate to the relief effort if you can.

the Straight Dope on psychics

Blasting health fraud Kevin Trudeau last week reminded me of TV psychic and douche John Edward (regarding his homepage pic, is he a refugee from a boy band?). If you ever wondered how he and other psychics, particularly on television, fool people, here's the Straight Dope on it.

To be fair I think Trudeau is much worse than Edward and should win the next "Biggest Douche in the Universe" award hands down. People who waste time trying his bogus "natural cures" may die as a result. A fake reading from John Edward isn't going to kill someone.

In other news, President Chavez of Venezuela said he might even ask for the extradition of US televangalist Pat Robertson for calling for Chavez's assassination last week. A poll from the Bureau of SIPOMABHAT* found that 93% of Americans said, "Great! You can have have him! And while we're at it, would you like Jerry Falwell too?"

* Statistics I Pulled Out of My Ass But Hope Are True

Go Falcons!

So my alma mater, BGSU, got a mention in a greenlit Fark story today. I'm so proud. Okay, so it was because one freshman girl attacked another, her roommate, with a hot iron. The victim had her skull cracked and was burned. Now that's farked up. It gets stranger. The psycho girl accused her roommate of having hidden cameras in the room before attacking her.

So... umm.... roll along, BG warriors? Or not.

Doping allegations against Lance Armstrong

edit: I'm going to preface my prior long comments with this: The complete text of Lance Armstrong's latest responses regarding these new allegations is found here. Sorry, I think it requires you to register to see it, but it's quick, free and they don't spam you. Trust me, it's worth reading. Among other things Armstrong notes that several anti-doping experts have already said this is crazy. He also notes the lab made at least two serious ethics violations according to the code they are supposed to follow. Something very shady is going on here.

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Analysis and commentary on this week's accusations against Lance Armstrong:

L'Équipe, one of France's most popular sports publications broke doping charges against Lance Armstrong this week. It should be noted that L'Équipe has frequently attacked Armstrong in previous issues over the years.

The NY Times has this article on the doping allegations. They say that the EPO test is a controversial one in cycling with some questioning its accuracy. They also note that L'Équipe is owned by the same company that owns the Tour de France. Interesting

When riders are tested, an A sample and a B sample are taken. The A sample is used first and the B sample is only used in the event that the A sample tests positive. It must also be positive to convict the rider of doping. The A samples from 1999 were used up at that time, when no test for EPO existed. The B samples were saved for some reason.

In this case, the lab claims they were simply refining their test methods.
Yet to refine test methods, why did the lab just happen to be using 6 year old preserved samples, many of them being Armstrong's? An article in the Christian Science Monitor questions their motives. I'm extremely doubtful that they "just happened to be testing these particular samples. A quote from CSM:

"L'Équipe said they had been refining their detection methods. One prominent antidoping expert, however, suggests the analysts were deliberately seeking to target Armstrong.
"Scientists have had their doubts about Armstrong for a long time," says Jean-Pierre de Mondenard, a sports doctor in Paris who once worked for the Tour, detecting riders' drug use. "They were fed up with being fooled. Armstrong's seven victories were a defeat for the battle against doping.""

In other words, they couldn't see how he was so dominate, so they were convinced he MUST be cheating. I'm curious, were L'Équipe and their 'experts' also convinced that Miguel Indurain was a doper as he was dominating the Tour de France for five consecutive years? He was almost as good as Armstrong. Yet I at least can acknowledge that, hey, maybe the guy was just that good. No, I think this French publication just can't stand it that an American dominated the Tour for seven years. A Spaniard is okay, but not an American! /gasp

On the other hand, the Boston Globe claims that L'Equipe is a must read in France, a very credible paper. Then why is it that for six years, without proof which they now claim to have, they have been attacking Armstrong? How is that credible? L'Equipe's negative views toward Armstrong are well known. They've been looking for and hoping for some way to discredit him. Their credibility with regards to Lance Armstrong was blown a long time ago, regardless of how respected the publication is in France.

The Boston Globe writer then draws a lousy comparison to a swimmer who was mediocre for a long time, then suddenly winning golds. She was found to be doping. Yet I would note that said swimmer didn't go through cancer and have her life completely transformed and her commitment level pushed way up like Lance did. Also remember that Lance Armstrong was a huge talent who was thought in some ways to be achieving below his ability level. He won a world championship all the way back in 1993. He also won a couple Tour de France stages before he had cancer. But he wasn't dominant in the mountains like he later became after his comeback and some very hardcore mountain training. Plus a more lithe body helps immensely. The writer mentions the lithe muscle of the post cancer Armstrong as part of Lance's "explanation", as though it's a shady explanation. He doesn't bother saying that it's one small part of a completely reasonable explanation for Lance's transformation as a rider, the most important part of which was the incredible determination forged by his battle with cancer.

Armstrong has been tested scores and scores of times over the years, often in surprise tests. Testers will simply show up at his door, literally, to take test samples. They've never found anything, and this test for EPO has been around for a few years now. Over the years Armstrong has also come out in support of extensive testing in cycling. That's not what a man trying to hide his doping would be inclined to do. Were he doping, more and better testing might catch him.

In conclusion, there are many doubts regarding the accuracy and the motives of everyone involved with these allegations. L'Équipe has long disliked Armstrong. They are extremely biased in this regard and determined to bring him down. The lab testing these particular six year old samples when they claim they were just using some samples to "refine their testing process" is very suspicious. On top of that the results were also leaked. What's going on between L'Équipe and this lab? Also I wouldn't be too concerned about the director of the Tour de France already claiming that Lance's doping has now been "proven". For one he's being horribly irresponsible to pass judgment on these allegations already. He's a huge douche just for that. Additionally people should remember that the Tour is owned by the same people who own L'Équipe. So he's sure as hell not going to say "these allegations are bogus".

No, most likely these allegations are the corrupt workings of a certain group of pathetic, jealous Frenchmen. I'm not saying that everyone in France dislikes him, but in the past French media, Tour organizers, prosecutors, police, and the French Ministry of Sport were all in on trying to bring down Armstrong. They found absolutely nothing and some of the media still tried to twist it into something. Armstrong correctly called it a witch hunt.

Asshat patient files complaint when doctor tells her the truth

In more proof that people are idiots, a New Hampshire woman recently filed a complaint with the state's Board of Medicine because her doctor told her she was obese. He continued that she needed to lose weight to get healthier and that the weight was bad for her health and her love life, a lecture he gives many patients. The idiot wrote her letter and inexplicably the letter was not thrown away or burned. It was passed on to the state Attorney General's office, who is investigating the matter. Unbelievable. Why go to the doctor if you're going to get all offended and file a freaking complaint just because he tells you the truth about your health?

Also here's another article on that giant douche Kevin Trudeau. In the early '90s he received a felony conviction for credit card fraud and spent 22 months in jail. It's a nice addition to his numerous FTC violations. The New York Consumer Protection Board issued a warning this week about his bullshit book. From the article: "This book is exploiting and misleading people who are searching for cures to serious illnesses," said Teresa Santiago, who chairs the board. "From cover to cover, this book is a fraud," she said, adding that a doctor quoted apparently endorsing the book died in 2001.

Proof that people are idiots

One of the bestselling books in the country right now is Natural Cures They Don't Want You to Know About. It's nothing but medical quackery written by a scam artist. Author Kevin Trudeau is not a doctor for starters. His book and informercials highlight one bogus quack treatment after another while spinning ridiculous conspiracy theories about why these supposed cures have been kept secret. He use to sell various quack nutritional supplements such as coral calcium in his infomercials, but the FTC fined him $2 million for false advertising and forbid him from selling anymore supplements. So now he's making millions by selling a book and running a subscription based website about more of the same bullshit treatments.

Dr. Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch has a good analysis of Trudeau's infomercial for this book. He includes a transcript of the entire infomercial with his comments pointing out the numerous quack claims and outright lies. For example, one of Trudeau's many lies is this: "There is . . . in the book I tell you, in most cases, MS symptoms are caused by something you’re eating. It’s a food additive. And when you stop eating it within . . . in some cases, days, the symptoms of MS go away. Now isn’t that shocking?" Shocking? No. As Dr. Barrett says, "It's pure baloney." He's even gotten around having to mention any actual "cures". He claims there are natural cures out there but he's not allowed to name them because of the FTC. He also claims there are all sorts of scams in the food and pharmaceutical businesses to do things like put additives in our food that make us eat more, but he can't name any of them because of the FTC. This is all pure bullshit.

Despite Trudeau's ridiculous claims and blatant lies, and the recent history of FTC actions against him, millions of people are sending him money. Unbelievable. People really are morons. Don't give this son of a bitch any of your money. He's a liar and a con artist who should be in jail.

The apologists are full of it

To the apologists for Iraqi insurgents who claim that we can't blame them for fighting back against on occupying power: you're full of shit. Today we have another headline of what form this "fighting back" takes. As usual, insurgent bombers attacked innocent Iraqi civilians with the aim of slaughtering and maiming as many as they could. Not only did they blow up a bus and people at the bus station with two bombs, but they also rigged a third bomb between the bus station and the nearby hospital. Then they set it off as rescuers were passing by with victims of the first two bombs. Obviously these insurgents, these terrorists, are disgusting excuses for human beings. They care nothing for their own people or anyone else, but only for their own power.

Whether you think we were right or wrong to invade Iraq isn't the point now. It's done. The point is what's going to happen there now. Some people back home want us to withdraw to save American lives and money. Meanwhile some Iraqis, mostly Sunnis, also want us to withdraw, but their stated reason is clearly not their real reason. They of course claim that they want the "occupiers" out so they can run their own country. In truth they are angry because as minority Sunni, who ruled the country under Saddam, they will not be the most dominant power in a democracy. That's part of being a minority. The Kurds and Shiite for the most part are trying to work with and be a productive part of the new government. They were oppressed under Saddam and now they have a chance to have fair representation.

The insurgents aren't satisfied with fair representation. These militants want power. American military targets are hard to hit effectively, so they sow chaos and terror by blowing up innocent people. If ever we needed another example of what evil is, they've given it to us. It is not unfair to "demonize" those who would commit such atrocities. They are not freedom fighters. They are terrorists. Period.

Touched by His Noodly Appendage

RIP Peter Jennings

The title says it all. Peter Jennings was the voice millions of people heard in their homes each night for over two decades, and he was damn good at what he did. He will be missed.

Clinical trial for diabetes cure needs funding

In research funded by Lee Iacocca's foundation, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have cured late stage type 1 diabetes in mice. They used an old medication for tuberculosis to achieve the now peer reviewed results. The catch is that an existing medication does not have much profit potential for the pharmaceutical industry, so it's hard to get funding. They need $11 million for the first phase of testing, and may need more after that but are hoping to get federal funding if phase I goes well. Lee Iacocca, who lost his wife to diabetes, has committed $1 million to get them started and is trying to raise the rest. They're over halfway there for phase I. Also the site notes that 100% of contributions will go to the MGH research and not to pay overhead costs for the foundation.

The research is obviously important for millions of diabetes sufferers, but the site FAQ also notes that similar treatments may be viable against other autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthitis and lupus. Millions of people have these diseases as well and we know so little about them.

Like anything going into a trial, this research may turn out to simply not work in humans. But what if it does work? Such trials are necessary to find successful treatments. For more information go to this page and read about the Trials. There's a link to the FAQ on the trial page.

The Insanity of James Dobson

In a recent radio broadcast discussing his opposition to stem cell research, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson said:

But I have to ask this question. In World War II, the Nazis experimented on human beings in horrible ways in the concentration camps, and I imagine, if you wanted to take the time to read about it, there would have been some discoveries there that benefited mankind,"

Nice. He's comparing stem cell research to Nazis. Way to Godwin the debate, Dobson. More proof, as if we needed it, that this man is bat shit crazy.

Senator Frist finally did something sensible when he announced his support of stem cell research using fertility clinic embryoes that would otherwise be discarded. Of course Dobson is rabidly opposed to that, even though many thousands of embryoes are instead thrown into the trash every year. Dobson unrealistically wants every single embryo saved until someone adopts it because that microscopic bunch of cells is a human being in his book.

Dobson and other whacko fundamentalists like him want their opinions to be the law of the land, and sometimes they succeed. Scary.