Sunday, November 11, 2007

"the inner monologue is in peril"

The fame generation needs to learn the value of privacy

With Britain home to four million blogs, the inner monologue is in peril. But when everything is made public, something is lost

Marina Hyde
Saturday November 10, 2007
The Guardian

" ... There's something in that repeated "who I am" that seems to suggest the almost total collapse of the private into the public. Gradually, older generations are having to adjust to the notion that not only do younger people not really care about privacy; they often don't even comprehend the idea of it. Watch the audition rounds of any television talent show, and it seems as if an entire generation now believes fame to be a basic human right. Maybe one of the other rights had to give. Maybe it was privacy. At this rate, they'll be employing acting coaches to make their CCTV outings stand out from the crowd.

But the view that this is a cultural shift with which we must all make our peace is wrong. Naive and cavalier is a dangerous combination, and a disdain for their own privacy will leave young people immensely exposed.

Consider the case of the 23-year-old Muslim woman who was found guilty this week under new anti-terror laws. Samina Malik worked for WH Smith at Heathrow, but was given to writing poetry about beheading non-believers and martyrdom and suchlike. Not long after she had begun visiting chatrooms, calling herself the "lyrical terrorist" - she thought the name "cool" - the knock at the door came. Examination of her computer revealed she had downloaded, inter alia, something called "How to win in hand-to-hand combat". She lives in Southall, awaits sentencing.

When we live in a society where reactionary bedroom poets are found guilty under terrorism laws, it makes you wonder whether their rather more seasoned and significantly more brilliant predecessors such as Swift wouldn't, in a similar climate, have realised the folly of bunging their every move on Facebook, and made alternative arrangements.

The world may be shifting, but we must attempt to encourage in young people an understanding of the value of privacy, and a sense of the very real dangers that might attend them should they discard it. Continue to create a lively persona, by all means, but keep at least some of that inner monologue back from public consumption. After all, one can commune surprisingly rewardingly with oneself alone. As Gwendolen, Cecily's imagined love rival in The Importance of Being Earnest, so memorably declares: "I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train." ... "

~ full article ~

'Even vaccine advocates are calling it a setback'

ANALYSIS-AIDS vaccines experts confused, dismayed

8 Nov 2007

WASHINGTON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - AIDS vaccine researchers are worried about the future of their field after learning an experimental HIV vaccine not only does not work, but just might make recipients more susceptible to infection with the AIDS virus.

They are worried about their volunteers and the future of AIDS vaccines in general. And they are worried because they cannot understand how a vaccine would make a person more vulnerable.

Researchers from Merck & Co. (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which makes the vaccine, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is helping develop it, said on Wednesday they believe a type of common cold virus used as the basis of the vaccine may somehow have made their volunteers more susceptible to HIV.

They are meeting this week in Seattle to hash through the data and figure out what happened.

This is what they know: Out of 1,500 people vaccinated, 82 became infected with the AIDS virus. Of these, 49 got the vaccine and 33 got a placebo shot.

While they are counseling volunteers that they may have raised their own risk of becoming infected, they are also trying to figure out what happened.

"The data are disappointing and puzzling but we don't have definitive answers," Dr. Lawrence Corey of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, who was organizing the trial, told reporters.

Only one woman in the trial became infected with HIV. The rest were men having sex with other men, and it was the men who started out with the highest immune reponse to the adenovirus 5 common cold bug used to make the vaccine who were the most likely to become infected with the AIDS virus.

But the infected men were also less likely to have been circumcised -- circumcision can also prevent HIV infection -- and may have engaged in more risky behavior. So did the vaccine actually do something, or were the results a fluke?

"I don't think we really do know," Dr. Keith Gottesdiener of Merck Research Laboratories told Reuters.

FUTURE OF THE FIELD

Nearly 30 potential AIDS vaccines are being tested in people around the world.

"It is very important for the future of the field," said Margaret Johnston, director of the AIDS vaccine research program at the NIAID.

"It makes us rethink some of the candidates that are in trial," said Dr. Seth Berkley, president of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.

Even vaccine advocates are calling it a setback.

"These data are deeply disappointing and troubling, and raise more questions than answers for the field of AIDS vaccine," said AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition executive director Mitchell Warren.

"This setback should not and can not diminish our commitment to developing an effective HIV vaccine," said NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci. "Every day, another 12,000 people become infected with HIV, most of whom live in resource-poor countries," he added.

The researchers agree the finding could at the very least scare people off from taking part in AIDS vaccine trials. And because HIV only infects people, having human volunteers is key to finding a way to prevent an infection that has killed 25 million people and affects 40 million more.

"That is why we are being completely transparent, as open as possible," Fauci said in a recent interview.

Berkley agreed. "I am only worried if there is a lot of buzz, misinformation around," he said.

But the fact that vaccine volunteers even became infected drives home the need for a vaccine, said Berkley. All the volunteers were counseled about ways to avoid HIV infection, and given condoms. "If those behavioral change interventions worked, we wouldn't need a vaccine," Berkley said.

"People will get infected despite the best counseling possible." (Reporting by Maggie Fox, editing by Jackie Frank)

http://www.reuters.com/article/europeCrisis/idUSN08226151

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

Saturday, November 10, 2007

7 Countries Considering Abandoning the US Dollar (and what it means)

By Jessica Hupp

It’s no secret that the dollar is on a downward spiral. Its value is dropping, and the Fed isn’t doing a whole lot to change that. As a result, a number of countries are considering a shift away from the dollar to preserve their assets. These are seven of the countries currently considering a move from the dollar, and how they’ll have an effect on its value and the US economy.

Saudi Arabia: The Telegraph reports that for the first time, Saudi Arabia has refused to cut interest rates along with the US Federal Reserve. This is seen as a signal that a break from the dollar currency peg is imminent. The kingdom is taking “appropriate measures” to protect itself from letting the dollar cause problems for their own economy. They’re concerned about the threat of inflation and don’t want to deal with “recessionary conditions” in the US. Hans Redeker of BNP Paribas believes this creates a “very dangerous situation for the dollar,” as Saudi Arabia alone has management of $800 billion. Experts fear that a break from the dollar in Saudi Arabia could set off a “stampede” from the dollar in the Middle East, a region that manages $3,500 billion.
South Korea: In 2005, Korea announced its intention to shift its investments to currencies of countries other than the US. Although they’re simply making plans to diversify for the future, that doesn’t mean a large dollar drop isn’t in the works. There are whispers that the Bank of Korea is planning on selling $1 billion US bonds in the near future, after a $100 million sale this past August.
China: After already dropping the dollar peg in 2005, China has more trouble up its sleeve. Currently, China is threatening a “nuclear option” of huge dollar liquidation in response to possible trade sanctions intended to force a yuan revaluation. Although China “doesn’t want any undesirable phenomenon in the global financial order,” their large sum of US dollars does serve as a “bargaining chip.” As we’ve noted in the past, China has the power to take the wind out of the dollar.
Venezuela: Venezuela holds little loyalty to the dollar. In fact, they’ve shown overt disapproval, choosing to establish barter deals for oil. These barter deals, established under Hugo Chavez, allow Venezuela to trade oil with 12 Latin American countries and Cuba without using the dollar, shorting the US its usual subsidy. Chavez is not shy about this decision, and has publicly encouraged others to adopt similar arrangements. In 2000, Chavez recommended to OPEC that they “take advantage of high-tech electronic barter and bi-lateral exchanges of its oil with its developing country customers,” or in other words, stop using the dollar, or even the euro, for oil transactions. In September, Chavez instructed Venezuela’s state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA to change its dollar investments to euros and other currencies in order to mitigate risk.
Sudan: Sudan is, once again, planning to convert its dollar holdings to the euro and other currencies. Additionally, they’ve recommended to commercial banks, government departments, and private businesses to do the same. In 1997, the Central Bank of Sudan made a similar recommendation in reaction to US sactions from former President Clinton, but the implementation failed. This time around, 31 Sudanese companies have become subject to sanctions, preventing them from doing trade or financial transactions with the US. Officially, the sanctions are reported to have little effect, but there are indications that the economy is suffering due to these restrictions. A decision to move Sudan away from the dollar is intended to allow the country to work around these sanctions as well as any implemented in the future. However, a Khartoum committee recently concluded that proposals for a reduced dependence on the dollar are “not feasible.” Regardless, it is clear that Sudan’s intent is to attempt a break from the dollar in the future.
Iran: Iran is perhaps the most likely candidate for an imminent abandonment of the dollar. Recently, Iran requested that its shipments to Japan be traded for yen instead of dollars. Further, Iran has plans in the works to create an open commodity exchange called the Iran Oil Bourse. This exchange would make it possible to trade oil and gas in non-dollar currencies, the euro in particular. Athough the oil bourse has missed at least three of its announced opening dates, it serves to make clear Iran’s intentions for the dollar. As of October 2007, Iran receives non-dollar currencies for 85% of its oil exports, and has plans to move the remaining 15% to currencies like the United Arab Emirates dirham.
Russia: Iran is not alone in its desire to establish an alternative to trading oil and other commodities in dollars. In 2006, Russian President Vladmir Putin expressed interest in establishing a Russian stock exchange which would allow “oil, gas, and other goods to be paid for in Roubles.” Russia’s intentions are no secret–in the past, they’ve made it clear that they’re wary of holding too many dollar reserves. In 2004, Russian central bank First Deputy Chairmain Alexei Ulyukayev remarked, “Most of our reserves are in dollars, and that’s a cause for concern.” He went on to explain that, after considering the dollar’s rate against the euro, Russia is “discussing the possibility of changing the reserve structure.” Then in 2005, Russia put an end to its dollar peg, opting instead to move towards a euro alignment. They’ve discussed pricing oil in euros, a move that could provide a large shift away from the dollar and towards the euro, as Russia is the world’s second-largest oil exporter.

What does this all mean?

Countries are growing weary of losing money on the falling dollar. Many of them want to protect their financial interests, and a number of them want to end the US oversight that comes with using the dollar. Although it’s not clear how many of these countries will actually follow through on an abandonment of the dollar, it is clear that its status as a world currency is in trouble.

Obviously, an abandonment of the dollar is bad news for the currency. Simply put, as demand lessens, its value drops. Additionally, the revenue generated from the use of the dollar will be sorely missed if it’s lost. The dollar’s status as a cheaply-produced US export is a vital part of our economy. Losing this status could rock the financial lives of both Americans and the worldwide economy.

~ Link ~

Is it in us?

Chemical Contamination in Our Bodies

Toxic chemicals from everyday products contaminate the bodies of every person in this country. Shower curtains, water bottles, baby bottles, toys, shampoo, cosmetics, couch cushions, computers, and hundreds of other common products that ordinary people use every day contain toxic chemical ingredients that leach out of the products and into our bodies.

Thirty-five Americans from seven states participated in a national biomonitoringproject in the spring of 2007. This is the broadest non-governmental project of its kind to measure toxic chemicals in the bodies of average Americans.

Each participant was tested for contamination by twenty toxic chemicals from three chemical families: phthalates (THA-lates), bisphenol A, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs).

The project found toxic chemicals in every person tested.

All 35 participants had at least 7 of the 20 chemicals in their bodies.
All 33 participants who contributed urine samples had phthalates in their bodies.
All 33 participants who contributed urine samples had bisphenol A in their urine.
All 35 participants had six types of PBDEs in their bodies, and all but one had decaBDE.

“I expected that because I’m a vegetarian and have a healthy lifestyle that the levels in my body would be lower. Now that I see my results, I’m wondering if the water bottle on my bike, or other things I thought were safe, are actually causing harm.”

-Reverend Jim Antal, Age 57, Massachusetts

Human and animal studies link the three families of chemicals detected in this project to birth defects, asthma, cancer, learning disabilities, and other health impacts. For some toxic chemicals, the levels found in people are near or above levels linked to health impacts in laboratory animals. Consider that scientists estimate that 95% of Americans are contaminated with bisphenol A at levels thought to cause harm in laboratory animals.

The participants experienced a range of feelings and emotions after learning their bodies were contaminated with toxic chemicals including shock, anger and passion to act for change. Here’s just a sampling of participant reactions:

“While it is disturbing to know the level of these unwanted chemicals in my body, I believe it is important to have this information and use it to demand change.”

— Elaine Nekritz, age 49, Illinois

“I feel lucky that I was able to participate in an important project like this. Most kids my age don’t get to do something that could help so many people.”

— Bryan Brown, age 12 (the youngest participant), Michigan

“The project created a new perspective for me regarding the need for action—if not by the federal government, then by the state.”

— David Koon, age 60, New York

“As a health professional and a legislator, this is empowering information for me and I hope it galvanizes change.”

— Toni N. Harp, age 60, Connecticut

“What other contaminants might be in our systems that we don’t know about?”

— Diane Benson, age 52, Alaska

We Can Fix Our Broken Chemical Safety System

Our nation’s chemical safety system has failed. Three-quarters of the 80,000 chemicals in commerce today have not been tested for safety.We know next to nothing about how the interactions of multiple chemicals may affect our health. Manufacturers of products containing known toxics are not even required to list those contents on the label.

The problem is a Jurassic-era law regulating space-age chemicals. The federal Toxic Substances Control Act was enacted in 1976 and has not been updated to reflect recent research, including evidence that even tiny doses of toxic chemicals may cause harm. U.S. standards are so weak that even well-known toxic hazards, like asbestos and lead, are not banned from commerce.

“With rising numbers of children with developmental and neurological problems, we simply shouldn’t continue to allow chemicals that are toxic to the brain to be used in products.”

-Shelley Madore, age 45, Minnesota

Common Sense Solutions

No one can shop, eat or exercise his or her way to a body free from toxic chemicals. We shouldn’t be exposed to unnecessary, dangerous chemicals as we go about our daily routines. We can improve our health and the health of our communities by adopting these common sense policies, which are already advancing at the state and federal levels:

Phase-out the most harmful chemicals and switch to safer alternatives;
Require that all chemicals are screened for safety and that toxicity data and product ingredients be made publicly available;
Promote the development of safer alternatives and environmentally friendly “green” technologies;
Protect workers and communities where toxic chemicals are produced, used, and disposed.

Americans need a new, comprehensive federal policy to raise the standards governing chemical use in society. Some states are taking the lead to create new solutions that could be applied nationally. To learn more about what is happening in your state or in Congress, visit www.IsItInUs.org.

First Espresso Book Machine Installed and Demonstrated

"...An ATM for books that prints and binds any title on the spot within minutes from a digital file.

New York, NY (PRWEB) June 21, 2007 -- The first Espresso Book Machine™ (“the EBM”) was installed and demonstrated today at the New York Public Library’s Science, Industry, and Business Library (SIBL). The patented automatic book making machine will revolutionize publishing by printing and delivering physical books within minutes. The EBM is a product of On Demand Books, LLC (“ODB” - www.ondemandbooks.com), the company founded by legendary publishing executive Jason Epstein and business partner Dane Neller, who joined SIBL’s Kristin McDonough for a private event there to speak about the EBM’s potential impact on the future of reading and publishing.

[ ... ]

The EBM, now available for sale to libraries and retailers, can potentially allow readers anywhere to obtain within minutes, almost any book title in any language, whether or not the book is in print. The EBM’s proprietary software transmits a digital file to the book machine, which automatically prints, binds, and trims the reader’s selection within minutes as a single, library-quality, paperback book, indistinguishable from the factory-made title.

Unlike existing print on demand technology, EBM’s are fully integrated, automatic machines that require minimal human intervention. They do not require a factory setting and are small enough to fit in a retail store or small library room. While traditional factory based print on demand machines usually cost over $1,000,000 per unit, the EBM is priced to be affordable for retailers and libraries.

[ ... ]

Additional EBM’s will be installed this fall at the New Orleans Public Library, the University of Alberta (Canada) campus bookstore, the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, Vermont, and at the Open Content Alliance in San Francisco. Beta versions of the EBM are already in operation at the World Bank Infoshop in Washington, DC and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (The Library of Alexandria, Egypt). National book retailers and hotel chains are among the companies in talks with ODB about ordering EBM’s in quantity..."

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/6/prweb534914.htm

Tibetan musician shares spiritual teachings

Lying in a hospital bed in India last winter after a deadly car crash, Tibetan composer Nawang Khechog requested a pillow and began to chant.

Hollywood actor Richard Gere, his friend, had paid for a private medical flight to bring the injured former monk to New Delhi after a truck crashed into Khechog's taxi in eastern India, killing the Grammy-nominated composer's niece and injuring his son.

"The hospital would not give me any painkiller," said Khechog, who suffered a brain injury. "I put the pillow behind me, and I sat up straight. I start to meditate."

Khechog, 53, who is scheduled to perform a concert tonight at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, said he summoned the healing power of Tibetan medicine.

"You take all suffering of sentient beings upon yourself," he said in his first US interview since the Feb. 17 accident. "You visualize that and then you give out all suffering. I became like someone else. No pain. Just sitting there very quiet and still."

Khechog has fully recovered and returned to teaching workshops on nurturing compassion and kindness. His teachings, combined with his music for meditation, are based on bedrocks of Tibetan Buddhism, though Khechog said his teachings are not religious.

"It's a spiritual teaching, a universal tool," he said. "Anybody can utilize it."

This weekend he is holding a three-day course titled "Awakening Kindness to Create a Culture of Love" at Kripalu with author Sharon Salzberg, cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre.

According to Salzberg and Khechog, compassion and kindness are deceptively simple concepts, yet essential to achieve peace and happiness.

"Love and compassion is the ultimate answer to violence, war, and hatred, whether on an individual level, or community level, or international level," said Khechog, whose family escaped into the mountains when China invaded Tibet in 1959.

Khechog said that humans use only 5 to 10 percent of their ability to experience love and compassion.

"I feel we really should invest money to research is there any tool or way to make people more loving and compassionate," he said.

Khechog teaches his students through a combination of meditation, walking, and circle dance.

"You don't have to be Buddhist, or Christian or Muslim or Hindu or anything," he said. "It is a human value. You can utilize these tools to become more loving toward yourself and others."

Human kindness is like butter in whole milk, he said. "In the milk, there is a butter. But we need to churn it to manifest the butter. In the same way in our heart and mind there is love and compassion. We need to churn it."

Khechog firmly believes that kindness is contagious, spreading from individuals to their families, from families to communities, and eventually from nation to nation.

In September, the world watched the Burmese military brutalizing hundreds of Buddhist monks engaged in peaceful protest. In October, Chinese police beat Tibetan monks as they whitewashed a monastery in honor of the Dalai Lama. International focus on those events and on the plight of Tibetans will eventually bring change, Khechog said.

"There will be a time, not too long, that something good is coming in Burma," said Khechog, who was a monk for 11 years. "The awareness of what's happening there is really growing more."

He lived in the Himalayas for several years studying under Gen Yeshe Topden, a hermit who also has taught Gere. It was Gere who encouraged Khechog to move to America. Khechog now lives in Boulder, Colo., with his second wife, Tsering Khechog, 72.

Nawang Khechog's music, which was used in the soundtrack for the movie "Seven Years in Tibet" starring Brad Pitt, reportedly comforts prodemocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest in Rangoon 17 years after Burma's military junta prevented her from taking her post as elected prime minister.

South Korean filmmakers recently finished filming Khechog's performances and workshops in India, San Francisco, and Paris for a documentary about his life slated to air next year in the United States via satellite.

Khechog said he experienced one of the most moving experiences of his life last month when he played his flute for Congress and President Bush as they gave the United States Congressional Gold Medal to the Dalai Lama.

"They did not say anything bad to China . . . but they all said, 'Look, this man of universal peace, he's not asking for Tibetan independence. He's asking for autonomy, so Tibet can preserve its religious tradition and culture.' It was so powerful to see the center of that power in that rotunda, everyone speaking with one voice," he said.

~ Link ~