AIDS remains prevalent problem nationwide, rampant in other areas

Every year on Dec. 1, millions don red ribbons to symbolize their commitment to the fight against HIV/AIDS. But more needs to be done worldwide during the rest of the year.

In Florida, the reported number of HIV cases in 1997 was 61,787. The number of deaths caused by AIDS was estimated to be at least 3.1 million worldwide in 2002 alone.

In Africa the disease has reached pandemic levels. In some areas the infection rate is as high as 39 percent and it is the continent’s leading cause of death for people ages 25 to 44, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

When two out of five people are infected with AIDS, it has an adverse effect on the rest of society, creating economic turmoil on top of the suffering directly caused by the disease.
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that time of the semester

Any student will know what I am talking about when I say it’s the week before finals week. There are not enough hours in the day to do all the things you have to do. And somehow everything that could go wrong usually does.

Today, for example, my schedule included a class from 11 to 1. I also had to meet a professor to talk about a paper he wanted me to write. I had to do both but there was the slight problem of me only being able to be in one place at the same time (trust me, I tried). The only other time the professor had time to meet me was before his 9 a.m. class. So I trodded over to his office this morning probably the earliest I had been on campus in a while and he gave me an assignment. Problem solved.

Then I waited for 11 to roll around. Like I usally would I went to the library to hang out and surf the wireless web with my PowerBook. I pull the powerbook from my bag and realize I packed the wrong one this morning. This is the one my wife is using right now. I also knew she had a christmas present planned and had ordered it using that computer. I resisted the urge to peek and put the mac away without using it. The gruesome truth: The only alternative was to use the windoze boxes available at the library to check my mail. Yuck. How do people do it? I even had to wait my turn. Oh, the humiliation.

A few minuted before 11 I walked over to the classroom. The professor showed up and asked “Hey, do you mind if we don’t have class today?” He gave us a paper to write (adding that to the pile) and we left.

Now I am sitting in the paper’s newsroom waiting for someone to email me where to meet around noon to exchange lecture notes. Naturally the exam we need the for is tomorrow. And naturally I am working tonight, possible even covering a Howard Zinn lecture.

So far it’s business as usual. Man, I need a break.

Long-term planning needed for USF’s parking and traffic

Parking and traffic have always been hot-button issues at the University of South Florida’s Tampa campus. With the arrival of the new Collins Boulevard Parking Garage this semester, the problems have abated a little, but it’s hard to please students, who all want to park as close to their classes or residence halls as possible. The garage is also only a temporary measure. Now, a new speed bump is being built on Holly Drive exposing the less-than-ideal traffic-flow planning on the USF campus, which may have to be rethought if USF plans to keep growing as fast as it has been.

When USF was founded, green space in the middle of the then-new campus, spreading from what is now Martin Luther King Plaza to the Fine Arts building, was set aside to remain a green center of the campus. This created a traffic-planning problem, as the rest of the campus was developed around this area, effectively banishing cars to the outer rims of the campus.
This is just how the campus is, and without major reconstruction it is how the campus will remain. Building a parking garage at the center of campus may have resolved the parking problem for the short term, but if enrollment numbers keep rising, this will be only a stopgap measure.
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Red Cross Finds Detainee Abuse in Guantanamo

I am shocked, shocked, there is torture going on in this establishment:

The International Committee of the Red Cross has charged in confidential reports to the United States government that the American military has intentionally used psychological and sometimes physical coercion “tantamount to torture” on prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

The finding that the handling of prisoners detained and interrogated at Guantánamo amounted to torture came after a visit by a Red Cross inspection team that spent most of last June in Guantánamo.

The team of humanitarian workers, which included experienced medical personnel, also asserted that some doctors and other medical workers at Guantánamo were participating in planning for interrogations, in what the report called “a flagrant violation of medical ethics.” NY Times

Seriously though, I’ve been writing about this for years now. Why did it take so long for it to be addressed?

Old media

The St. Pete times says NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw leaving is yet another sign that network news has lost much influence:

The phrase “end of an era” has been kicked around plenty.

But the buzz on Main Street doesn’t seem to be what one might expect. It’s not the kind of buzz heard over the last episode of Friends.

Maybe because huge audiences actually watched Friends, the way they used to watch the evening national news. SP Times

A paper is writing about the loss of influence network media has been experiencing. I could make a snide remark, but since you are reading this on the internet I don’t think I need to.

AFP: Paralyzed woman walks again after stem cell therapy

This still has to be confirmed, but if true it would be outright amazing:

A South Korean woman paralyzed for 20 years is walking again after scientists say they repaired her damaged spine using stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood.

Hwang Mi-Soon, 37, had been bedridden since damaging her back in an accident two decades ago.
(…)
They said it was the world’s first published case in which a patient with spinal cord injuries had been successfully treated with stem cells from umbilical cord blood.

Though they cautioned that more research was needed and verification from international experts was required, the South Korean researchers said Hwang’s case could signal a leap forward in the treatment of spinal cord injuries.

The use of stem cells from cord blood could also point to a way to side-step the ethical dispute over the controversial use of embryos in embryonic stem-cell research. AFP

No embryos died to make this happen. How could you possibly bring up any ethical counter-arguments to argue against such uses of stem cells?

8 billion

Black Friday used to be the biggest shopping day of the year, but now it competes with the Saturday before Christmas for top sales. Black Friday was the biggest shopping day in 2003.

Early sales data from analyst ShopperTrak showed Black Friday sales rose 10.8 percent from a year ago to $8 billion, while Visa USA said spending on its cards rose 15.5 percent to $4.1 billion with sales up but plastic also more widely used.
(…)
The National Retail Federation has forecast sales rising 4.5 percent between Thanksgiving-to-Christmas to about $220 billion, compared to an increase of 5.1 percent a year ago. Reuters

New York Times: High for the Holidays

A couple of days ago I joked on this page Christmas had to be experienced drunk. According to the NY Times that’s still true, but some people take it even further:

It was not so long ago that the preferred method of self-medication for the holidays might be called the Cheever model: copious alcohol, delivered in highball glasses and cut if necessary with a creamy bolt of eggnog.

The age of psychopharmaceuticals has changed that. With a smorgasbord of antianxiety medications easily available — if not from a physician, then from Internet drug sellers or simply from friends — almost anyone so inclined can take a tablet for holiday stress. And to hear doctors tell it, many people are so inclined.

“It is clear that psychotropic medications are used more commonly than they were 10 years ago,” said Joseph A. Himle, the associate director of the anxiety disorders program of the psychiatry department at the University of Michigan. “If that medicine is prescribed by a competent clinician and taken according to the prescription, it can be quite helpful in managing holiday stress.”

Despite the best efforts of Hallmark and television channels rebroadcasting “It’s a Wonderful Life,” holidays have long been understood to represent an interpersonal minefield for some individuals and families, as much as a time for carols and warm reminiscences around a glowing hearth. NY Times

In the year 2004

A friend (thanks Sebi! yes, same name) just send me this via email. The caption under the photo reads:

“Scientists from the RAND Corporation have created this model to illustrate how a ‘home computer’ could look like in the year 2004. However, the needed technology will not be economically feasible for the average home. Also, the scientists readily admit that the computer will require not yet invented technology to actually work, but in 50 years from now the scientific progress is expected to solve theses problems. With teletype interface and the Fortram language the computer will be easy to use.”

Update: I guess I was had. As Brad wrote in to point out, snopes.com has a detailed explanation that the image below is fake. Read the explanation here

Iranians Refuse to Terminate Nuclear Plans

This beginning to sound more and more like the ramp-up process to military actions in Iraq:

Iran refused Thursday to abandon plans to operate uranium enrichment equipment that could be used either for energy purposes or in a nuclear bomb-making project, European and Iranian officials said.

The refusal threatened to scuttle a nuclear agreement Iran reached 10 days ago with France, Britain and Germany to freeze all of Iran’s uranium enrichment activities, the European officials added. It also gave new ammunition to the Bush administration, which asserts that Iran has a secret nuclear weapons program and cannot be trusted. NY Times

Ironically the bad sitatuation in Iraq is probably the biggest hurdle the Bush administration would face if they should chose (let’s assume for now the decision hasn’t been made yet, like it had been in Iraq) to go in with military force.

Of course stakes are higher this time as we know Iran has WMDs. This also creates an interesting dilemma.

If Bush does not resolve the situation with a strong win on his part, he will lose face and establish a dangerous precedent: Once a country has WMDs, the U.S. will hesitate to use it.

If Bush choses to go in militarily, Iran may actually use what they have.

Tough call.

Apple one example of retailers getting ready for Black Friday

I am huge fan of everything Apple. Heck, I even own some Apple stock. But even I would have to agree that this is “obscene:”

Apple is gearing up for tremendous turn-out at its retail stores this black Friday, clearing out Genius Bars for extra checkout space, tripling staffing in most stores, and stocking up on product, sources say.

Retail stores have been getting so much stock (for the day after Thanksgiving sale) lately one source describe the amount simply as “obscene.” At least sixty iPods can be found on the floor alone of most stores at all times, with another one or two hundred in the back. iPod accessories are also being hoarded, with stock of Bose SoundDocks topping 100 in most stores. Stock of Apple desktops and laptops are also at about 150 percent of normal levels, sources say. Think Secret

ideals vs. facts

White House stance:

“You know, Paul, Reagan proved that deficits don’t matter. We won the mid-term elections, this is our due.” VP Dick Cheney to former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill as quoted in his book The Price of Loyalty

.

The effect:

The dollar slumped to a record low against the euro, at 1.3315 euros.

And the pound rose above the $1.9 level to hit $1.9015 in Tokyo trading, as Bank of England economist Charles Bean said the dollar could fall further.

The dollar hit its lowest against the yen since early 2000, at 102.15, amid fears it could damage Japan’s exports. BBC World

Repeat tours of combat-zone duty put strains on families, Pentagon

And just in time for the holidays:

Nearly a third of the 1 million US military personnel called to duty in Afghanistan and Iraq have served two or more extended tours in combat zones, according to figures compiled by the Defense Department.

The breakdown indicates that of the 955,609 members in the armed forces, including active-duty and reserve personnel, who have been deployed for operations in Afghanistan or the Persian Gulf region since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, 303,987 have been sent overseas more than once.

The data, as of Sept. 30, demonstrate the extent to which the Afghanistan operation and larger Iraq mission have placed enormous strains on soldiers and their families and how the frequent deployments are threatening the Pentagon’s ability to retain veteran soldiers in the future, according to military officials and specialists.

“Our research indicates that deployment is a big influence on people’s commitments to military service,” said Harold Weiss, a psychology professor and codirector of the Military Family Research Institute, a government-funded center at Purdue University that is conducting a study on how military deployments affect families. Boston Globe

Sunnis demand delayed Iraq vote

BAGHDAD - Leading Sunni Muslim politicians Thursday urged postponement of the Jan. 30 national elections, and a senior official said the government had agreed to meet outside the country with Saddam Hussein supporters to try to persuade them to abandon the insurgency. AP

Ain’t gonna happen. It would mean Bush would actually have to acknowledge some “real world” problems.

war justice at turning point

The international justice system is at a turning point, top war crimes prosecutors have heard at a conference in Tanzania.

Furthermore, a global system of justice is necessary if peace is to be maintained, the prosecutor for the Rwandan war crimes tribunal said. BB World

Too bad the U.S. doesn’t want to join because they are afraid they may be subject of a trial themselves. But I guess the U.S. does have some things it would have to answer for, doesn’t it?

Falluja weapons finds ’stunning’

US troops searching the Iraqi city of Falluja say they have found enough arms to mount a nationwide rebellion. BBC World

Join Buy Nothing Day

Find out how you can join the Buy Nothing Day efforts here.

I have every intention of buying absolutely nothing that day. Last year I forgot and bought something online 20 minutes past midnight.

Thanksgiving no longer about giving thanks, stresses consumerism

Thanksgiving has become more than just a time for being thankful. At some point in recent American history, it became a time to eat yourself silly only to subsequently shop till you drop.

What used to be a humble day on which the family got together has turned into a marketing bonanza.
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merry

Exchange at Starbucks earlier tonight:
I notice that they are playing a christmas song: So what’s the difference between “merry” and “happy”?
Brad: I think merry means “drunk.”

Krugman to Reuters: Economic Crisis a Question of When, Not If

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The economic policies of President Bush have set the country on a dangerous course that will likely end in crisis, Princeton economics professor Paul Krugman told Reuters in an interview.
Krugman, who may be best known for his opinion column in The New York Times, said he was concerned that Bush’s electoral victory over Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites) earlier this month would only reinforce the administration’s unwillingness to listen to dissenting opinions.
That, in turn, could spell serious trouble for the U.S. economy, which under Bush’s first term was plagued by soaring deficits, waning investor confidence and anemic job creation.
“This is a group of people who don’t believe that any of the rules really apply,” said Krugman. “They are utterly irresponsible.”
(…)
“If you go back and you look at the sources of the blow-up of Argentine debt during the 1990s, one little-appreciated thing is that social security privatization was a important source of that expansion of debt,” said Krugman. link

Every professor I took this semester seems to agree with that assessment. But what they also say is that it is still avoidable if Bush makes changes. We’ll just have to wait and pray hope he does the right thing. But maybe nudging him in the right direction is something to we should consider before “The United States of America” can be found in the history section of future libraries next to “The Roman Empire.”

Artists still lose out in record deals

It took several years for the recording industry to even acknowledge that changes in technology might very well spell its doom if it did not adapt. Then it took others, such as Apple Computers, to show them how technology can help sell music rather than limit profits. But even now, artists are often still the ones who are being shortchanged.

Digital music players, such as the iPod, are widespread on campus. The iPod itself is selling so fast – at least 4 million units are projected to be sold during this quarter alone. Combined with the Apple’s iTunes music store, it single-handedly put the Apple brand name on the map again. Monday, the stock price of Apple rose to a four-year high, while analysts corrected the stock price projections upward to heights it had not reached in years.

The five big music labels, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Group, Warner Brothers Music, BMG Entertainment and Universal Music Group had grudgingly agreed to let Apple sell their music in the iTunes music store. Only when sales of tracks reached millions per week did they realize there was money to be made.
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more troops or less troops for Iraq

So which one is it going to be? Scenario A; more troops, more offensives:

Senior U.S. military commanders in Iraq say it is increasingly likely they will need a further increase in combat forces to put down remaining areas of resistance in the country.

Convinced that the recent battle for Fallujah has significantly weakened insurgent ranks, commanders here have devised plans to press the offensive into neighborhoods where rebels have either taken refuge after fleeing Fallujah or were already deeply entrenched. Washington Post

Scenario B; get the troops out as soon as possible because they cause about as much damage to stability as they do good:

A growing number of national security specialists who supported the toppling of Saddam Hussein are moving to a position unthinkable even a few months ago: that the large US military presence is impeding stability as much as contributing to it and that the United States should begin major reductions in troops beginning early next year.

Their assessments, expressed in reports, think tank meetings, and interviews, run counter to the Bush administration’s insistence that the troops will remain indefinitely to establish security. But some contend that the growing support for an earlier pullout could alter the administration’s thinking.

Those arguing for immediate troop reductions include key Pentagon advisers, prominent neoconservatives, and some of the fiercest supporters of the Iraq invasion among Washington’s policy elite.

The core of their arguments is that even as the US-led coalition goes on the offensive against the insurgency, the United States, by its very presence, is stimulating the resistance. Boston Globe

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go away, you nasty reality

The videotaped shooting of a Fallujah combatant by a U.S. Marine has evoked strong emotions in the Arab world and on Capitol Hill. Rep. Sylvestre Reyes, D-Texas, says it’s time to rethink the presence of embedded reporters in combat zones. During a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee, Reyes compared it to a football game, saying “we don’t want to know everything that’s going on on the field.” Reyes says this is not censorship. In his words, “We should not be providing the Al-Jazeera the kind of propaganda they’ve had the last couple of three days.”CBS/AP

Here’s an idea: Stop such things from occurring. Then they won’t be reported and the Arab world won’t get pissed.

Is this guy really slamming the media for truthful reporting? If anything we need to de-embed the media because we should be hearing more about such things if they occur.

unnatural presidents

NYT columnist Safire is arguing for an amendment that would allow non-U.S. born U.S. citizens to run for the presidency. I’m a little torn about the whole issue. Then there is this line in his column:

That makes all naturalized citizens - including taxpayers, voters, servicemembers - slightly less than all-American. Even children born abroad of U.S. citizens have fallen under the shadow of Article II; this has caused pregnant women to race back to our shores to make certain their children’s political potential is not somehow beclouded. link

This is one one those many reasons why I cannot take Safire seriously. He brings up a convincing argument, that of a degraded citizen status for those that were not born in the U.S., and undermines it with a ridiculous point that was meant to back it up.

Are there seriously women “racing back to the United States” for this reason? I find this somewhat unbelievable. It is true that because anybody born on U.S. soil is automatically a citizen, which has lead to many pregnant women trying to get into the country to give their children said citizenship. But I have never heard of someone saying, “I need to get back to the U.S. in time so my baby can run for the presidency.” Who thinks in such terms? Cuban refugees? Haitians?