Order from Chaos

Those of a more religious bent, are often prone to use the "unseen Watchmaker" argument to argue in favor of there being an invisible intelligence that created the world. They use the analogy of finding a watch in the forest, and argue that it could not just have "evolved", but that there must be an "invisible watchmaker" (GOD?) that created this marvel.

Then of course, they say the human body is far more complex than a watch, and that obviously, something this wondrous and complex, also would demand the existence of an "invisible watchmaker" to explain the creation of something this intricate.

This of course begs the introduction of natural phenomena that has been studied by scientists, in which an apparent higher "order" comes spontaneously from chaotic movement.

One such spontaneous order from chaos is from a " Benard cell ". For more on this, we can look at a web site.

"The Benard cell

The "Benard instabilty" is another striking example of the instability of a stationary state giving rise to the phenomena of spontaneous self-organisation. The instability is due to a vertical temperatire gradient set up in a horizontal liquid layer. The Benard instabilty is a spectacular phenomenom. The convection motion produced actually consists of the complex spatial organisation of the system. Millions of molecules move coherently, forming hexagonal convention cells of characteristic size.

Dissipative Structures

In far from equilbrium conditions, the concept of probability that underlies Boltzmann's order principle is no longer valid in that the structures we observe do not correspond to a maximum number of complexions. Neither can they be related to a minum of the free energy F = E - TS. The tendency towards levelling out and forgetting initial conditions is no longer a general property. In this context, the age-old problem of the origin of life appears in a different perspective. It is certainly tru that life is incompatible with Boltzmann's order principal but not with the kind of behaviour that can occur in far-from-equilbrium conditions.

Classical thermodynamics leads to the concept of "equilibrium structures" such as crystals. Benard cells are structures too, but of a quite different nature. That is why we have introduced the notion of "dissipative structures", to emphasise the close association, at first paradoxical, in such situations between structure and order on the one side, and dissipation or waste on the other. Heat transfer was consdered a source of waste in classical thermodynamics. In the Benard cell it becomes a source of order.

The interaction of a system with the outside world, its embedding in nonequilibrium conditions, may become in this way the starting point for the formation of new dynamic states of matter - dissipative structures. Dissipative structures actually correspond to a form of supramolecular organisation."

Here is another site dealing with such a phenomenon.
http://www.mpi-dortmund.mpg.de/departments/swo/markus/hp1.php3

" OSCILLATING REACTIONS AND CHEMICAL WAVES

We have investigated periodic and turbulent waves in excitable media and, in particular, in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction. We found that turbulence can be induced by high light intesity or low catalyst concentrations (in the Ru-catalyzed reaction) by oxygen, or by methanol.

The different spatiotemporal modes were analyzed by correlation analysis of video images, and they were simulated both by cellular automata (CA) and by partial differential equations. The figure below shows CA-simulations of three-dimensional waves.

There exist conditions for which a short light pulse can cause splitting into a forwards and a backwards running wave. If this is done with a spiral wave, the two resulting spirals  annihilate  each other.

Due to the formal analogy (analogous form of differential equations) between the BZ reaction and heart muscle, BZ-turbulence is comparable to the fatal heart fibrillation. Moreover, considering that light in the BZ-reaction corresponds to electrical current in the heart, the annihilation  of spirals points to a method of controlling heart tachycardia. Formerly, we investigated the physiological clock (of yeast) due to oscillating enzymatic breakdown of sugar. Considering the coupling to membrane transport, one obtains, under certain conditions, chaotic biorhythms.
 
 
 

Examples of 3D waves in an excitable medium (simulations)

"

The  Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction is indeed an interesting and well studied example of this "order out of chaos" phenomenon. Here is an interesting page on it. http://online.redwoods.cc.ca.us/instruct/darnold/deproj/Sp98/Gabe/

 

Here is a mathematical explanation of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction.
http://www.cheng.cam.ac.uk/~mkraft/pages/teaching/CETIIB-StoMo/WebModule/bz/node7.html

"

Algorithm for the Belousov-Zhabotinsky system

 

(1)

Initialize variables , , , for and .

 

(2)

Calculate

 

 

 

where .

 

(3)

Generate

• waiting time
  
• reaction index
  

 

(4)

Perform reaction

 

 

 

(5)

Update time:

 

(6)

If then goto (2). "

And, here is yet another page on this fascinating reaction

http://www.ux.his.no/~ruoff/BZ_Phenomenology.html

Ways how the BZ Reaction is Studied:
Chemical Wave Propagation

Study of the BZ reaction in a thin unstirred layer of reacting solution, where concentric waves ("target patterns") or spiral waves are developed. This system is almost exclusively studied with ferroin and malonic acid as substrates. Note that chloride ions have to be avoided because they may act as inhibitors. The reacting solution is normally spread out as a thin film with a few millimeters thickness in a petri dish (diameter ca. 10 cm). After a certain time blue oxidation fronts which propagate on the red background (reduced ferroin) develop.

From left to right: Propagating oxidation waves in an unstirred layer of the ferroin-malonic acid BZ reaction. When the wave is broken at a certain point (for example by a gentle airflow through a pipette) a pair of spiral waves develop at this point.

 

[Note- I have other blogs and sites, and this time, I am blogging a health issue from one of my health related sites...Healthcare Doctor]

Since this Healthcare Doctor Website (Another Fine CodeWarriorz Thoughts Information Portal)
deals with a variety of health related topics, I thought I would explain a phenomenon that
many males can experience at some time in their life, and , because it is an indeed unpleasant
experience, that this may help those who go through this, understand why they are having it.

"Blue Balls" is a lay term for a strong, uncomfortable feeling of pressure in the genitals in general,|
but the testicles particular.

In some ways, it is similar to the type of pressure males feel when they need to urinate.

Various websites give their explanations of this phenomenon.

One such site
http://www.askthecouch.com/2_past_template.asp?article=116
gives this explanation:
".The basic physiology behind blue balls is, during sexual stimulation, the male's genitals become engorged with blood, including the testicles. Prolonged stimulation, as in hours, results in the scrotum getting to the point of actually squeezing the testicles which hurts."

A more formal article on this topic is found at
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/106/4/843

" PEDIATRICS Vol. 106 No. 4 October 2000, pp. 843

EXPERIENCE AND REASON:
"Blue Balls": A Diagnostic Consideration in Testiculoscrotal Pain in Young Adults: A Case Report and Discussion

"Blue balls" is a widely used colloquialism describing scrotal pain after high, sustained sexual arousal unrelieved because of lack of orgasm and ejaculation. It is remarkable that the medical literature completely lacks acknowledgment of this condition. The case reported here illustrates that a good history may help make the diagnosis, offer the possibility of prompt relief, and avoid any unnecessary evaluation. Clinicians should be aware of this condition and consider it in the differential diagnosis of scrotal pain.

	CASE REPORT

A 14-year-old male presented to the emergency department with a history of severe bilateral scrotal pain of 1.5 hours' duration. There was no associated nausea or vomiting. The patient denied fever, chills, or feeling systemically ill. He described the pain as sharp, stabbing, constant, and unaffected by position. There was no history of dysuria, urethral discharge, previous urinary tract infections, trauma, or any history of prior sexual intercourse. The patient was a reluctant historian.

On further history he noted that 1 week earlier he had experienced a milder form of this scrotal pain that had resolved slowly over 2 to 3 hours. In each instance the pain started when he had been "messing around," engaged in foreplay with his first girlfriend, kissing and fondling while fully clothed. In neither case did he ejaculate, and the pain began immediately after stopping foreplay.

On physical examination the patient was alert and nontoxic. He appeared uncomfortable and in moderately severe pain. Vital signs were normal, and physical examination was unremarkable except for diffuse testicular tenderness, increased over the epididymis bilaterally. Cremasteric reflex was present bilaterally. The urine analysis was normal. The patient's pain resolved spontaneously during 1 hour of observation in the emergency department. Telephone follow-up several weeks later revealed that the patient had begun to have sexual intercourse with his girlfriend, and no further episodes of testiculoscrotal pain had occurred.

	DISCUSSION

A review of the literature was undertaken but no comment or reference to "blue balls" in any urologic, pediatric emergency medicine, general emergency medicine, or adolescent medicine textbooks could be found.^1-5 Medical librarians at 3 institutions conducted separate literature searches. Cross-references were made to articles in the sexuality literature, adolescent health literature, and to articles about scrotal pain. The one article found was from a human sexuality journal.⁶ The article is nonreferenced and the information came from "common knowledge and experience."

Specialists in urology and adolescent medicine were contacted, and although they all knew about "blue balls," their information was anecdotal and not related to medical training. The great majority of adult, pediatric, urologic, and emergency physicians, as well as nurses and nonmedical people informally surveyed, know of this condition, yet no one was aware of any medical references. Certainly the urologic and adolescent literature is full of subjects equally sensitive and potentially embarrassing. What is the pathophysiology of this condition? Sexual arousal produces pelvic venous dilatation. Perhaps if this persists and testicular venous drainage is slowed, pressure builds and causes pain. Is epididymal distention the cause of the pain? As with any disease entity, there is probably a spectrum of pain with "blue balls" varying from brief, mild discomfort to severe, sustained pain, as in the case described.

The treatment is sexual release, or perhaps straining to move a very heavy objectin essence doing a Valsalva maneuver. In the one article found, the author talks of straining to lift an immovable object such as a car bumper. He claims the pain often disappears within 15 to 30 seconds. Does this work?

How many young men have suffered unnecessary pain and anxiety if a simple maneuver could bring immediate relief? Is pain always bilateral? How many patients have had surgery to rule out testicular torsion or transient testicular torsion where the pain is episodic, when the true diagnosis was "blue balls"? Is the incidence of this condition high in age groups starting sexual exploration? The answer to these questions might easily be obtained with careful histories and further research. Patient education might be integrated with clinical research. It would seem logical to incorporate discussions of "blue balls" into age-appropriate sexual education.

	CONCLUSION

In summary, "blue balls" is suspected to be common among young male adults and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute testiculoscrotal pain in such patients. A search of the medical literature shows a paucity of information for this condition and suggests that a greater awareness and discussion of this entity would benefit both physicians and their patients.

Jonathan M. Chalett, MD
Department of Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Mary Bridge Children's Hospital
Tacoma, WA 98415
 

Lewis T. Nerenberg, MD
The Permanente Medical Group
Kaiser San Francisco
Department of Pediatrics
Kaiser South San Francisco, CA 94080
 

	REFERENCES

1. Campbell's Urology. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: WB Sanders Company; 1997
2. Fleisher GR, Ludwig S. Textbook of Pediatric Emergency Medicine. 3rd ed. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins; 1993
3. Barkin RM. Pediatric Emergency Medicine. 2nd ed. St Louis, MO: Mosby-Year Book; 1992
4. Tintinelli: Emergency Medicine; A Comprehensive Study Guide. 4th ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Text; 1995
5. Neinstein LS. Adolescent Health Care: A Practical Guide. 3rd ed. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins; 1996
6. McIntrye RV. Relieving male pelvic congestion. Med Aspects Hum Sexuality. 1989:51 "

Another site gives this advice:
"Everyone's body manufactures different amounts of semen, and that amount can change over time, both in the short term and the long term. Perhaps it's true you're generating a lot of semen right now. However, your semen is not being stored in the testicles and causing them to ache. (Semen is stored in an organ called the ampulla; see Science Corner, Semen Production & Ejaculation.) The ache is probably from testicular vasocongestion, known on the street as "blue balls." It usually results from prolonged arousal that doesn't end in ejaculation. Blood builds up in your testes when you're aroused, and the blood tends to leave after you ejaculate. If you don't ejaculate it the blood tends to stay there, causing discomfort. So for you specifically, if you get this discomfort but you aren't doing anything in particular to cause arousal (making out, looking at erotic pictures for a long time, etc.), I'd suggest that you masturbate more often to relieve the discomfort. If you are in fact causing the condition by getting aroused but not ejaculating, don't do it if you want to be comfortable and "save" your semen. Or just continue to masturbate, but when you have sex, hold off your ejaculation for a while. That will build your semen back up."

Yet another site says this about "blue balls"
" Blue Balls

Say those two little words to a man, and his face will tell you what they mean: pain. But what causes that uncomfortable feeling? When a man is aroused, his testes are filled with blood. If he does not have an orgasm, the testes can become swollen and tender because of the extra blood. He may also experience lower abdominal pain if the vas deferens (tubes extending from the testes to the seminal vesicles) are irritated. This condition is known as blue balls. The bad news is that it is painful; the good news is that it does not cause any permanent damage."
 

OK....THAT'S FOR GUYS...BUT CAN LADIES HAVE A CONDITION SIMILAR TO "BLUE BALLS"?

" Dear RSA,
I can not understand how women say sex is still fulfilling even when they don't get off. However, if a guy gets blue balled, he's in a world of hurt. What’s up with this?
Ryan, West Point

Ryan,
Thanks for asking this question. This is one of the fundamental differences between men and women and the cause of much misunderstanding on both sides. What follows is an oversimplified explanation, but basically it boils down to the fact that there are big differences in male and female physiology and male and female sexual and emotional response.

From a physiological point of view, because of the way male sex organs are constructed, there is a physical imperative for a man to ejaculate once aroused. Once a guy gets close to coming, his penis is completely engorged with blood, his testes have started contracting in preparation for ejaculation, and the gateways of his internal plumbing have already started opening in anticipation of a flood of spunk. All kinds of stuff is happening internally in order to propel the sperm around the pipes and out into the world, which requires a lot of force. Your semen has to travel through about two feet of tubing just to get from your balls to the end of your cock. So a lot of pressure builds up in there. The next time you bust a nut, take a moment to marvel at the feat of physics and engineering that your body pulls off to produce the hydraulic spectacle of a cum geyser.

Female ejaculation aside, the mechanics of a woman’s orgasm are a lot different. When a woman cums, her orgasm produces internal, rhythmic muscular contractions of the uterus and vagina that, from a biological and procreative perspective, are meant to suck sperm up toward the ovaries so she can be inseminated. If a woman gets aroused to the point of almost coming, but doesn’t have an orgasm, the experience may feel physically unsatisfying to her, but it isn’t going to be physically uncomfortable the way it would be for a man.

So if a woman doesn’t have an orgasm, but says that sex is fulfilling to her, what the heck is she talking about? Well, the truth is that most of the time men and women want and expect different things from their sexual encounters. While both men and women enjoy the physical pleasure of sex, for most men the goal is primarily achieving a physical release, whereas for women, the goal is less straightforward. Women get more into the emotional aspects and implications of sex. For them, being physically intimate is a way of being emotionally intimate. Many women say that having sex makes them feel emotionally “bonded” to their partner. This also explains why men and women often behave quite differently and have different sets of expectations after having had sex, and why men are usually more comfortable with having casual sex or one-time encounters. Of course, this is a broad generalization - men can also be very emotionally engaged during sex, and sometimes some women just want to get off. But most of the time, most men and most women are coming from different places as far as sex is concerned. Understanding those differences can help you both get your respective needs met while avoiding confusion and hurt feelings. "

HIPAA RUINS THE OFFICE ENVIRONMENT- IT POISONS OFFICE INTERACTONS
by CodeWarriorz Thoughts

The impact of HIPAA guideline implementation on the logistics of the office, and the negative effects on office morale and appropriate worker access to said records.

There are those who would obscure the effects of HIPAA under a smokescreen of alleged
benefits of enhanced patient privacy. What a load of horse manure.

The thousand pound elephant in the middle of the room that no one talks about, is the fact
that implementation of this HIPAA nonsense, causes a significant and palpable decrease
in office morale, and interferes with what may have been a previously happy and harmonious
office environment.

The draconian nature of what most health care providers perceive as the regulations mandated by HIPAA,
usually causes most health care institutions to institute some person to become what I call the
"HIPAA Nazi". The martinet nature of HIPAA Nazis make them march around finding all the little ways in which a business MAY be violating HIPAA regs, and the big thing they usually do is start by trying to turn all the monitors around in such a fashion that it makes it more difficult for those people working in these places, to actually USE the monitors.

From that point on, the appointed  HIPAA NAZI for each office goes about trying to make life and work in the health care provider's office as unfriendly a place as possible, and to cause the logistics of the place to be a nightmare.

Often, their misinterpretation of HIPAA guidelines, or their carrying these guidelines to such insane lengths,
makes the whole enterprise seem like something a madman would dream up. What often happens, as a result of these crazy modifications of what WAS a perfectly fine office arrangement, is that those people who have the best and most legitimate right to view the records, too often find inappropriate barriers to their free access.

I've personally seen HIPAA implemenation ruin, yes , RUIN the environments in various offices, making the offices become a sea of HIPAA paranoia, but even more, they become unfriendly and almost hostile situations for both health care providers and patients alike.

Blog Ad News Pages Place your business ad here

Political Gateway- Feb 11- Dateline New York...
A new strain of HIV has been found in one man in New York. It appears he was infected in December or close to it. He has full blown AIDS and the strain is resistant to treatments.

Scroll down for the actual health department memo.

``We've identified this strain of HIV that is difficult or impossible to treat and which appears to progress rapidly to AIDS,'' said New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden. ``We have not seen a case like this before. It holds the potential for a very serious public health problem.''

``It is likely there are others infected with this strain and this individual has infected others,'' Frieden said. The case is ``extremely concerning and a wake-up call,'' he said.

``We're talking about a single case, but clearly the fact that we are dealing with such broad resistance of drugs and the rapid clinical progression is quite alarming,'' Valdiserri said.

``In this patient's case, onset of AIDS appears to have occurred within two or three months and at most 20 months after HIV infection,'' Frieden said. The patient, whose name was withheld, has symptoms usually associated ``with someone who has very advanced disease,'' he said.

==========================================
Press Release

New York City Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene
Office of Communications
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Sandra Mullin/Sid Dinsay
Business Hours (212) 788-5290
After Business Hours (212) 764-7667
Friday, February 11, 2005

NEW YORK CITY RESIDENT DIAGNOSED WITH RARE STRAIN OF MULTI-DRUG RESISTANT HIV THAT RAPIDLY PROGRESSES TO AIDS

Highly Virulent Strain Resistant to Three Types of HIV Drugs Is Rare In Patients Not Previously Treated for HIV; Strain Is Also Associated with Rapid Onset of AIDS

Health Dept. Urges At-Risk Groups To Stop Risky Sexual Behavior; Patients Who Are On Treatment For HIV/AIDS And Are Doing Well Do Not Need Susceptibility Testing Unless Advised By Their Physician

NEW YORK CITY - February 11, 2005 - A highly resistant strain of rapidly progressive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been diagnosed for the first time in a New York City resident who had not previously undergone antiviral drug treatment, according to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). The strain of three-class antiretroviral-resistant HIV - or 3-DCR HIV - does not respond to three classes of anti-retroviral medication, and also appears to greatly shorten the interval between HIV infection and the onset of AIDS.

The patient is a male in his mid-40s who reported multiple male sex partners and unprotected anal intercourse, often while using crystal methamphetamine (crystal meth). He was first diagnosed with HIV in December 2004 and appears to have been recently infected. The diagnosis of 3-DCR HIV was made shortly thereafter at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center. Since then, the patient has developed AIDS. DOHMH is counseling and offering HIV testing to those contacts of the patient who have been identified.

While drug resistance is increasingly common among patients who have been treated for HIV, cases of 3-DCR HIV in newly-diagnosed, previously untreated patients are extremely rare, and the combination of this pattern of drug resistance and rapid progression to AIDS may not have been diagnosed previously. Strains of 3-DCR HIV are resistant to three of the four available types of antiviral drugs that are most commonly prescribed: nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and protease inhibitors. This strain also caused a rapid onset of AIDS, which usually occurs more than ten years after initial infection with HIV. In this patient's case, onset of AIDS appears to have occurred within two to three months, and at most 20 months, after HIV infection.

Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH said, "This case is a wake-up call. First, it's a wake up call to men who have sex with men, particularly those who may use crystal methamphetamine. Not only are we seeing syphilis and a rare sexually transmitted disease - lymphogranuloma venereum - among these men, now we've identified this strain of HIV that is difficult or impossible to treat and which appears to progress rapidly to AIDS. This community successfully reduced its risk of HIV in the 1980s, and it must do so again to stop the devastation of HIV/AIDS and the spread of drug-resistant strains. Second, doctors in New York City must increase HIV prevention counseling, increase HIV testing, obtain drug susceptibility testing for patients testing HIV-positive who have not yet been treated, improve adherence to antiretroviral treatment, and improve notification of partners of HIV-infected patients. Third, the public health community has to improve our monitoring of both HIV treatment and of HIV drug resistance, and we have to implement prevention strategies that work."

The Health Department recently issued a Health Alert to physicians, hospitals and other medical providers asking them to test all previously untreated patients newly diagnosed cases for anti-HIV drug susceptibility. The Department is monitoring laboratories for additional cases of 3-DCR HIV in newly diagnosed persons. DOHMH is also working with New York State to establish a long-term system for monitoring drug resistance in HIV-positive patients who have not yet undergone treatment.

Dr. Frieden added, "Patients who are on treatment for HIV/AIDS and are doing well do not need susceptibility testing unless advised to by their physician."

REMARKS BY MEDICAL AND COMMUNITY LEADERS
Dr. David Ho, CEO and Director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, said "This patient's infection with an HIV-1 strain that is not amenable to standard antiretroviral therapy, along with his rapid clinical and immunological deterioration, is alarming. While this remains a single case, it is prudent to closely watch for any additional possible cases while continuing to emphasize the importance of reducing HIV risk behavior."

"The rapidly growing crystal meth epidemic in New York city continues to play a significant role in facilitating the transmission of HIV. In light of the emergence of this virulent new strain, health care providers must be especially vigilant in not only recognizing and diagnosing HIV infection, but also in recognizing the signs and symptoms of crystal methamphetamine use in their patients," said Dr. Antonio Urbina, Medical Director of HIV education and training, at St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center.

"Callen-Lorde is deeply concerned about this newly identified case of multiple drug resistant HIV," said Jay Laudato, Executive Director of the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center. "We urge all persons, both HIV negative and positive, to only engage in safer sex practices in order to prevent new infections or re-infection. For those persons who don't know their status, we urge HIV testing and obtaining the information and support necessary to reduce their risk for HIV infection. We also ask all gay and bisexual men to become knowledgeable about the dangers of crystal methamphetamine and in particular its relationship to sexual risk taking."

Dr. James Braun, President of the Physicians Research Network, said "We believe that the transmission of treatment-resistant HIV was a disaster waiting to happen, particularly in communities where safer sex is not practiced regularly and in light of people using drugs like crystal meth. All primary care providers in acute care settings need to know how to diagnose HIV in its earliest stages and where to refer people so that new infections are properly worked up and treated."

"HIV prevention is an ongoing process," said Ana Oliveira, Executive Director of Gay Men's Health Crisis. We have to double our efforts and resources to maintain treatment and prevention education for people who are infected as well as for those who are not. New Yorkers must be vigilant and know that infection with resistant strains of HIV can be avoided. People living with HIV can live healthy and satisfying lives by protecting themselves and their partners, regardless of HIV status."

Tokes M. Osubu, Executive Director of Gay Men of African Descent, said, "This is the news we have all been fearing. While the recent advances in HIV treatment have led to the improvement of countless lives, we have always known that many people respond poorly to these therapies and for many others, the side effects are devastating. Continued education about staying safe and avoiding HIV remains our most potent weapon."

Dr. Jay Dobkin, Director of the AIDS Program at Columbia University Medical Center, said, "This case is a striking reminder that the risk of getting infected with HIV has not gone away. In fact, risky behavior may be even more dangerous now since there is a chance of infection with a virus we may not be able to treat."

"This case should drive home the point that substance use can lead to unsafe sex, and unsafe sex can lead to infection with a highly drug-resistant strain of HIV that can be extraordinarily difficult to treat and may cause rapid progression to AIDS," said Roy M. Gulick, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in Manhattan.

Dr. Jack DeHovitz, Professor at SUNY-Downstate Medical Center said, "This finding supports the need for enhanced availability of HIV testing, as well as preventive interventions, which are effective in reducing subsequent HIV transmission."

Know Your HIV Status
There is an epidemic of HIV and AIDS in New York City: more than 88,000 New Yorkers are known to be living with HIV/AIDS, and an estimated 20,000 more are believed to be living with HIV/AIDS and don't know it.

By knowing your HIV status, you can protect yourself, anyone you are having sex with, and, if you are pregnant or planning pregnancy, your baby. Free and fully confidential STD exams and treatment, as well as confidential or anonymous HIV testing, are available at Health Department clinics throughout New York City. Health insurance, proof of citizenship and/or parental consent are not required to receive these services. Please call 311 or visit http://www.nyc.gov/health for a list of clinics and hours of operation

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_6133.shtml

Marine General Says 'It's Fun to Kill'
By JOHN J. LUMPKIN
Feb 4, 2005, 08:15

A decorated Marine Corps general said, "It's fun to shoot some people" and poked fun at the manhood of Afghans as he described the wars U.S. troops are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
His boss, the commandant of the Marine Corps, said Thursday that the comments reflected "the unfortunate and harsh realities of war" but that the general has been asked to watch his words in public.

Lt. Gen. James Mattis, a career infantry officer who is now in charge of developing better ways to train and equip Marines, made the comments Tuesday while speaking to a forum in San Diego.

According to an audio recording, he said, "Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight. You know, it's a hell of a hoot. ... It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up front with you, I like brawling."

He added, "You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them."

His comments were met with laughter and applause from the audience. Mattis was speaking during a panel discussion hosted by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, a spokeswoman for the general said.

Thursday, Gen. Mike Hagee, commandant of the Marine Corps, issued a statement saying, "Lt. Gen. Mattis often speaks with a great deal of candor. I have counseled him concerning his remarks and he agrees he should have chosen his words more carefully."

Hagee also said, "While I understand that some people may take issue with the comments made by him, I also know he intended to reflect the unfortunate and harsh realities of war."

Among Marines, Mattis is regarded as a fighting general and an expert in the art of warfare. Among his decorations are the Bronze Star with a combat distinguishing device and a combat action ribbon, awarded for close-quarters fighting.

He is currently the commanding general of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico, Va., and deputy commandant for combat development.

Marine Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it was up to Mattis to address his own comments, but he added, "All of us who are leaders have a responsibility in our words and our actions to provide the right example all the time for those who look to us for leadership."

Pace spoke to a Pentagon press conference. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he had not read Mattis' words and deferred to Pace.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil liberties group, called on the Pentagon to discipline Mattis for the remarks.

"We do not need generals who treat the grim business of war as a sporting event," said the council's executive director, Nihad Awad. "These disturbing remarks are indicative of an apparent indifference to the value of human life."

Pace and Hagee praised the general's service.

"His actions and those of his troops clearly show that he understands the value of proper leadership and the value of human life," Pace said.

Hagee called him "one of this country's bravest and most experienced military leaders."

He said the commitment of Marines "helps to provide us the fortitude to take the lives of those who oppress others or threaten this nation's security. This is not something we relish, yet we accept it as a reality in our profession of arms."

Hagee said he was confident Mattis would continue to serve with distinction.

Mattis' comments were reported by the television station KNSD in San Diego, and the audio recording was posted on its Web site www.nbcsandiego.com .

As a lieutenant colonel, Mattis led an assault battalion into Kuwait during the first war with Iraq. During the war in Afghanistan, he commanded the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade and subsequently Task Force 58, which fought in southern Afghanistan as the Taliban fell.

During the second war in Iraq, he commanded the 1st Marine Division during the invasion and also when the unit returned to Iraq for counterinsurgency operations last year.

In a letter to his troops before they redeployed to Iraq last March, Mattis warned them of "hard, dangerous work."

"The enemy will try to manipulate you into hating all Iraqis," he wrote. "Do not allow the enemy that victory. With strong discipline, solid faith, unwavering alertness, and undiminished chivalry to the innocent, we will carry out this mission."

He is not the first senior military officer since the Sept. 11 attacks to stir controversy with his comments.

Lt. Gen. William Boykin, a senior military intelligence officer, was criticized for speeches he made at evangelical Christian churches. He said that America's enemy was Satan, that God had put President Bush in the White House and that one Muslim Somali warlord was an idol-worshipper.

Boykin later issued a written statement apologizing and saying he did not mean to insult Islam.

A Pentagon investigation concluded that Boykin violated regulations by failing to make clear he was not speaking in an official capacity in the speeches beginning in January 2002.

 

The 2005 Coronation of King George the Cowardly.

Well, our national trip down the Rabbithole of Alice in Wonderland was made complete with the Coronation of King George the Cowardly. As I watched the "parade", it was bizarre to say the least. There were vehicles moving in a V formation like the flying phalanx of ancient Sparta...there were Matrix like guys in dark sunglasses and long, black overcoats flanking the "Presidential limo", and at one point, there was a truck that came rolling along that had armed thugs hanging on the side that a friend watching the procession remarked to me, looked like the Mob, much like something you would see from the Al Capone era, when armed thugs would be festooning a vehicle's exterior, with their feet implanted on the running boards of the truck or car.

It looked less like a Presidential inauguration parade (I've never seen one  of them), and more like Hitler's triumphant march into Poland or Paris. Actually, if some of the Men in Black had been sporting the traditional silver SS pins or Death's Head pins, the picture would have been complete....all Bushy would need would be a tiny little moustache (but perhaps, he cannot muster enough testosterone to generate one).

In another portion of the program, Hitler...er, uh, BUSHY, was addressing / commanding people from a large white podium, which was reminiscent of something you saw Il Duce (Mussolini) or Hitler do, in old film reels. His Effete Foppishness was. for all the world, an effeminate version of Big Brother re-enacted for all the world to see.

To say that the Inauguration Parade looked like the New World Order in all its "glory" would be to understate the matter.

As the tanks and troops marched down the road, even the commentators on ABC said it looked like something you would see in a Banana republic, at the direction of some dictator. As they say..."TRUE DAT".

Along the parade route, it was teeming with people, held behind great fences which, for some reason, looked like the fences at Auschwitz . And, we saw the police running along the fences, often spraying pepper spray into the eyes of these law abiding citizens whose only crime was exercising their right of free speech.

While our own citizens are starving, and troops don't have what they need, Marie Antoinette...er...Mrs. Bush, was prancing around in a solid white Oscar de la Renta that costs TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. Talk about letting them eat cake and fiddling while Rome burned...surely, their little pageant needs to reserve a rank in the history books as at least as outrageous as these. Estimates of forty to forty four MILLION dollars for this little debacle, are said to be low.

To me, it certainly adds up to a new definition of an obscene waste of money...but of course, the money is from "private" sources, which is the easy way of saying it oozes from the teats of the Pigopolists, each vying for the ability to muzzle in on the treasure trove which will be available to Bushy's toadies.

So, as Alex in Clockwork Orange might say in Nadsat, "Yes my little droogies, even the melodies of the Glorious Ludwig von....were soured by that scene. Bushy is a baddiwad chelloveck!".

During one scene, the "Presidential Limo" rolled through a tremendous cloud of smoke/fog, coming from a heating vent or something in the road. As it emerged eerily from the grey cloud, it looked like Dracula tooling around Transylvania, with his black coated, black sunglassed Familiars in attendance.

And so, the New Nightmare Begins.

~CodeWarriorz Thoughts

Marching bands and other performers, are being warned in the strongest terms, not to look at Mr. Bush....in fact, to avert their eyes from him, and not to make any sudden moves.

This not looking at Bush in the eyes, stems from royalty not letting commoners let their eyes meet theirs....(and don't even THINK about touching the hem of his garment either!)

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