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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Grainne who wrote (106890)	7/21/2005 12:12:08 AM
From: epicure	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 108807

I think it is fine to close your culture to outsiders if that is what you want to do, and if your laws allow it. The Islamic societies do everything they can to discourage infidels from living in them- other religions are often illegal. The West could to this as well- though some countries, like ours, would have to change their constitutions. Barring that sort of change, which would result in a very different type of society, I don't see how you can have real freedom, and not constantly live with the risk that reactionary forces will try to change the freedom in to tyranny. That's part of the beauty of democracy- the risk and fragility of it.

To: Grainne who wrote (106890)	7/21/2005 12:51:25 AM
From: Constant Reader	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

They want European society to become like theirs, which is really bad news for women and children. Yes, they do. And yes, it is. And gay people in Europe will be taken care of like these two teen-agers (one under 18) in Iran were recently, if they get their way: hurryupharry.bloghouse.net Leading leftist-gay rights advocates in the UK have been threatened with beheading by Muslims living within the UK because they have publicly supported gay refugees fleeing attempts at "honor killings" in Algeria, Iran and Palestine, according to Andrew Sullivan. My friends in the Netherlands say that people are afraid to speak up in public after the van Gogh murder.

To: Grainne who wrote (106890)	7/21/2005 2:14:02 PM
From: epicure	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

Here's some good news: Date: 2003-08-18 Print this page Smallpox Death Toll May Be Lower Than Expected In The Event Of An Outbreak, And One Vaccination May Be As Effective As Many PORTLAND, Ore.– Final results of a smallpox vaccine study conducted by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University show America's preparedness for a smallpox outbreak may be greater than initially thought. The research shows 90 percent of those vaccinated 25 to 75 years ago maintain a substantial level of immunity. In addition, researchers concluded that in the long term, repeated vaccinations do not result in a higher level of disease protection. The research project is the largest of its kind ever conducted. The study is printed in the September edition of Nature Medicine. "Previously, it had been widely accepted that smallpox virus effectiveness lasts only 3 to 5 years," said study principal investigator Mark Slifka, Ph.D., a scientist at the OHSU Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute. "This research shows that significant immunity levels last for many decades, perhaps throughout a person's entire life. It also shows that repeated vaccinations provide a short-term boost in immunity but, over time, do not create a sustained higher level of protection compared to those persons vaccinated only once." To conduct the research, OHSU enlisted the help of 332 study participants. Of this larger group, 306 participants had received at least one vaccination within their lifetime, some had undergone as many as 14 inoculations. The timing of vaccinations also varied among study volunteers. Some participants had been vaccinated as recently as one month prior to testing and as long ago as 75 years. The remaining 26 participants in the study had never received a smallpox vaccination in their lifetime and served as control subjects. The study group was very diverse; volunteers included those vaccinated in 43 states and 34 foreign countries. "Some of our study participants had received repeated vaccinations. In one case, a person who at one time worked in a smallpox hospital had been vaccinated 14 times over their lifetime ," explained Slifka. "While many would assume this person would have a much higher level of immunity than a person only immunized once, we found this to be not necessarily the case." Researchers also made key discoveries about long-term immune system responses following inoculation. They found that one component of the immune system retained memory of how to fight smallpox for a much longer period than another immune system component. One form of immunity is linked to levels of antibody produced in the body in response to the vaccine. In study participants, these antibody levels remained relatively stable up to 75 years post-vaccination. The second form of immunity is antiviral T-cells programmed by the vaccine to attack the smallpox virus. In study participants, antiviral T-cell levels declined slowly over time with a half-life of approximately 8 to 15 years. "We found that while antibody immunity can last throughout a person's lifetime, T-cell immunity declines slowly over time," explained Slifka. "This may help explain curious findings in previously gathered data about vaccinated patients who became infected with smallpox at a later time." Historical data suggests that immunity against lethal smallpox infection can be maintained for many years after vaccination. However, this same data also shows that the level of disease severity increases with the length of time between vaccination and infection – in other words more severe cases occur in infected patients vaccinated many years ago compared to infected patients vaccinated more recently. While Slifka says it's difficult at this point to state whether antibody or T-cell levels correspond to death and severity rates, the possibility of a connection exists. The next step for Slifka and his colleagues is to track immune system responses for those recently vaccinated, the designated "first responders" in the case of a new outbreak. By studying these individuals, scientists will obtain a better understanding of how their immune systems respond over time and how varied the vaccine responses can be. Slifka and his colleagues wish to thank those who assisted in gathering this research data, including the many local study volunteers, Washington County Public Health Officer Jay Kravitz, M.D., Clackamas County Health Officer Alan Melnick, M.D., and Multnomah County Health Officer Gary Oxman, M.D.

To: Grainne who wrote (106890)	7/22/2005 12:28:34 AM
From: epicure	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

this is a good article: Giving the Hatemongers No Place to Hide By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN I wasn't surprised to read that British police officers in white protective suits and blue gloves were combing through the Iqra Learning Center bookstore in Leeds for clues to the 7/7 London bombings. Some of the 7/7 bombers hung out at the bookstore. And I won't be surprised if today's bombers also sampled the literature there. Iqra not only sold hatemongering Islamist literature, but, according to The Wall Street Journal, was "the sole distributor of Islamgames, a U.S.-based company that makes video games. The video games feature apocalyptic battles between defenders of Islam and opponents. One game, Ummah Defense I, has the world 'finally united under the Banner of Islam' in 2114, until a revolt by disbelievers. The player's goal is to seek out and destroy the disbelievers." Guess what: words matter. Bookstores matter. Video games matter. But here is our challenge: If the primary terrorism problem we face today can effectively be addressed only by a war of ideas within Islam - a war between life-affirming Muslims against those who want to turn one of the world's great religions into a death cult - what can the rest of us do? More than just put up walls. We need to shine a spotlight on hate speech wherever it appears. The State Department produces an annual human rights report. Henceforth, it should also produce a quarterly War of Ideas Report, which would focus on those religious leaders and writers who are inciting violence against others. I would compile it in a nondiscriminatory way. I want the names of the Jewish settler extremists who wrote "Muhammad Is a Pig" on buildings in Gaza right up there with Sheik Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sudayyis, a Saudi who is imam of Islam's holy mosque in Mecca. According to the Memri translation service, the imam was barred from Canada following "a report about his sermons by Memri that included Al-Sudayyis calling Jews 'the scum of the earth' and 'monkeys and pigs' who should be 'annihilated.' Other enemies of Islam were referred to by Sheik Al-Sudayyis as 'worshipers of the cross' and 'idol-worshiping Hindus' who must be fought." Sunlight is more important than you think. Those who spread hate do not like to be exposed, noted Yigal Carmon, the founder of Memri, which monitors the Arab-Muslim media. The hate spreaders assume that they are talking only to their own, in their own language, and can get away with murder. When their words are spotlighted, they often feel pressure to retract, defend or explain them. "Whenever they are exposed, they react the next day," Mr. Carmon said. "No one wants to be exposed in the West as a preacher of hate." We also need to spotlight the "excuse makers," the former State Department spokesman James Rubin said. After every major terrorist incident, the excuse makers come out to tell us why imperialism, Zionism, colonialism or Iraq explains why the terrorists acted. These excuse makers are just one notch less despicable than the terrorists and also deserve to be exposed. When you live in an open society like London, where anyone with a grievance can publish an article, run for office or start a political movement, the notion that blowing up a busload of innocent civilians in response to Iraq is somehow "understandable" is outrageous. "It erases the distinction between legitimate dissent and terrorism," Mr. Rubin said, "and an open society needs to maintain a clear wall between them." There is no political justification for 9/11, 7/7 or 7/21. As the Middle East expert Stephen P. Cohen put it: "These terrorists are what they do." And what they do is murder. Finally, we also need to shine a bright light on the "truth tellers." Every week some courageous Arab or Muslim intellectual, cleric or columnist publishes an essay in his or her media calling on fellow Muslims to deal with the cancer in their midst. The truth tellers' words also need to be disseminated globally. "The rulers in these countries have no interest in amplifying the voices of moderates because the moderates often disagree with the rulers as much as they disagree with the extremists," said Husain Haqqani, author of the new book "Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military." "You have to deal us moderates into the game by helping to amplify our voices and exposing the extremists and their amen corner." Every quarter, the State Department should identify the Top 10 hatemongers, excuse makers and truth tellers in the world. It wouldn't be a cure-all. But it would be a message to the extremists: you are free to say what you want, but we are free to listen, to let the whole world know what you are saying and to protect every free society from hate spreaders like you. Words matter.