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Thursday, August 27, 2009
Aghaat, and Govind Nihalani's use of actors
The audience, comprising trade union leader Madhav Verma (Om Puri) and hundreds of factory workers, applaud heartily; they've just won a minor battle of their own, getting bonuses raised by 17 per cent. But as the film will show, the real-life battle isn't a straightforward one with sides clearly defined. There are ideological differences and selfish agendas within the worker class, and the management is more than happy to divide and rule.
The official authority of Madhav's union is challenged by a rival group led by the shadowy figure of Rustom Patel and his broad-shouldered henchman Krishnan. While Madhav has the long-term interests of all the workers in mind – and is willing to allow benefits to accrue at a steady pace, keeping the future in mind – the rival group succeeds in getting people on its side by promising them quicker, more dramatic changes; so what if a few workers end up being retrenched along the way? Soon this ugly internal conflict begins to play itself out around the personal tragedy of a worker named Chotelal (Pankaj Kapoor), who has lost his legs in an accident. The human side of the story is quickly lost, so that even Chotelal's funeral late in the film will become a pretext for one-upmanship. Among the others caught in the situation are a conscientious human resources employee (Salim Ghouse) and a woman hired to improve the company's public relations (Rohini Hattangadi).
There's an essay waiting to be written about Nihalani's use of Om Puri in the early 1980s. Brooding intensity is sometimes an overrated quality in actors, but Puri's performances as the mute victim of caste discrimination in Aakrosh and as the introspecting policeman in Ardh Satya are outstanding. His piercing eyes and lined features – often filmed very effectively in half-shadow – as well as the poetic realism of his speech (though in Aakrosh he barely speaks at all) are inseparable from the overall impact of those films. As Madhav, a sincere man who begins to despair of the moral ambiguities he finds himself facing, he dominates Aghaat, which is some achievement considering the many acting heavyweights on view here. (The Malayali actor Bharath Gopi, as the menacing Krishnan, is another standout.)
Madhav's opposite number is Rustom Patel, whose presence hangs over the film – people are constantly talking about him and his actions move the plot along – though he isn't seen until the final 10 minutes when he shows up (in a white Fiat!) to deliver a much-anticipated rabble-rousing speech. This short role is played by the biggest name in the cast, Naseeruddin Shah, whose appearance we, the viewers, would similarly have been anticipating. This could have been gimmicky, but it's the second time Nihalani has used Shah as a sort of doppelganger-cum-nemesis for Om Puri's Man of Integrity, and to good effect.
In Ardh Satya, Shah has a small but very effective role as Mike Lobo, a former police inspector who had to leave the force because he couldn't deal with the compromises the job required, and who now spends his time getting drunk on cheap liquor and pathetically begging for money. The character makes short appearances four times in the film, each time providing a distorting mirror for Om Puri's sub-inspector Velankar – when Velankar looks into Lobo's bloodshot eyes he sees a portent of what he himself might become. In Aghaat, Rustom Patel performs a similar function for Madhav Verma. For all his voiced concern about worker welfare, Patel is palpably cut off from their lives and it's obvious that he has his own agenda; whereas Madhav moves from one crisis to the next, handling things personally, making sure he's around for anyone who needs him. By the end, he has seen enough to know what he must do to avoid becoming another Rustom – though the film itself is open-ended about what lies ahead for him.
P.S. The Shemaroo and Moser Baer DVDs are helping me rediscover a lot of these movies and make up for an anomaly in my personal development as a movie buff. Up to the age of 12 or 13, mainstream Hindi cinema made up the bulk of my film-watching (everything Amitabh, but just about anything else with lots of dhishum-dhishum in it), with only occasional, reluctant asides into the "parallel" films that got shown on Doordarshan. Then, sometime around 1990, I discovered Hollywood classics, and shortly afterwards the major French, German and Japanese filmmakers – and I drifted away from Hindi films of almost any description for a decade. Result: for the past 5-6 years I've been trying to catch up with the non-mainstream Hindi cinema of the 1970s and 1980s, which I only fleetingly experienced as a child (when I wasn't best-placed to appreciate a lot of it). Films by Shyam Benegal, Mani Kaul, Govind Nihalani and others of course, but even the more accessible stuff by people like Sai Paranjype and Basu Chatterji – much of which was only a dimly remembered world for me. (On the other hand my wife, who has seen many of these films multiple times on TV over the years, can recite pages of dialogue from movies like Chashme Baddoor and Albert Pinto ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai.)
P.P.S. Aakrosh and Ardy Satya are on YouTube, for those of you who can bear to watch films that way.
24 comments:
I vaguely remember having seen this movie on DD.
Have you seen Party?IIRC Naseer's character was only mentioned in 3rd person and Om made his entry very late.That movie stacks up with the finest works of Robert Altman.
Also, on another note, Vijay Raaz's character in jungle reminds me of Om Puri.- Radhika10:28 PM, August 27, 2009
I've also been having a blast with Moser Baer's DVDs - a DIY course on Hindi cinema. The only one that I've had to give up on has been Anand Math - I couldn't take it after a 15 mins, but thoroughly enjoyed watching a host of Bimal Roy, Benegal, Basu Bhattacharyya films among others. Also films like Ankahee (Amol Palekar), Hu Tu Tu (Gulzar) which I had heard of but never been able to see
ReplyDelete Niice - an aside the opening credits of Ardha Satya with stripes running down the screen - mutliplying laterally to form Om Puri's tortured visage - the credit for that goes to Ms. Padmanabhan too. I am guessing there may have been more to this collaboration.
And Party - man if you haven't seen that movie then you should see it first chance you get - it is simply fantastic.- Anonymous11:06 PM, August 27, 2009
Chakravyuh mein ghusne se pehle,
kaun tha mein aur kaisa tha,
yeh mujhe yaad hi na rahega.
Chakravyuh mein ghusne ke baad,
mere aur chakravyuh ke beech,
sirf ek jaanleva nikat'ta thi,
iska mujhe pata hi na chalega.
Chakravyuh se nikalne ke baad,
main mukt ho jaoon bhale hi,
phir bhi chakravyuh ki rachna mein
farq hi na padega.
Marun ya maarun,
maara jaoon ya jaan se maardun.
iska faisla kabhi na ho paayega.
Soya hua aadmi jab
neend se uthkar chalna shuru karta hai,
tab sapnon ka sansar use,
dobara dikh hi na paayega.
Us roshni mein jo nirnay ki roshni hai
sab kuchh s'maan hoga kya?
Ek palde mein napunsakta,
ek palde mein paurush,
aur theek taraazu ke kaante par
ardh satya.
-- ArdhSatya(Dilip Chitre) Great post Jai! To be honest, I have been a very regular reader of your blog for years now, but have commented for the first time. On a different note, would you know any place in Delhi where I can find old Hindi (and Hollywood as well) movie posters? I'm nuts for the classics and was looking to decorate my otherwise very plain house up. Any help would be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteMudit: there are a couple of good places in Hauz Khas Village. Also in Karol Bagh I'm told, but I haven't been to those ones. I've got all my posters (including nicely kitschy ones of Barsaat - the RK-Nargis clinch against a florid red background - and An Evening in Paris) from a chap who used to have a makeshift storeroom in Hauz Khas Village. I don't think his base is in Delhi, but he tends to be around. My wife has his number, will get hold of it and pass it on.
ReplyDelete- Anonymous4:53 PM, August 28, 2009
Bharat Gopi....
I remember Aghaat and the white wearing Krishnan played by Bharat Gopi.
Gopi was not comfortable in Hindi and I have heard he requested Nihalani to reduce dialogues spoken by the character!
Malayalam and Indian cinema lost a great actor when Gopi was paralyzed in 1986. He was a star (a Malayalam version of Amitabh Bachchan) who did not compromise on the quality of films. Whoever came after him did not have his sensibility or refinement. The drastic nosedive in the quality of Malayalam cinema in the 90s till now can be attributed to him leaving the field.
He is a good example on how an actor who is a star can actually elevate quality of films with his choices...what Amitabh Bachchan could have done, but did not!
Personally, his close friend is mine too...and we keep his memory alive by downing Chalafonte...the unknown, rare and cheap cognac which he had a craving for.
You can catch more of Gopi in Adoor Gopalakrishnan's second feature - Kodiyettam (Ascent) - one of the best screen performances by an actor in Indian cinema. The depiction of Trade Unions and labour relations has remained largely the same--the archetypal capitalist fiends and the oppressed working class that is ever-eager to unseat the powers that be. Lazy ! This is one of the few films that shows atleast some other hues and tones, if not all.
Decent intertwining of personal angst--Mrs. Ali's domestic troubles and even the resultant confusion in the Personnel Officer's marriage ( BTW played by K K Raina )make the otherwise slow pace appear less ponderous.Anand, Om Puri was in Kalyug as a not so nice trade union type.
Salim Ghouse I remember as being pretty decent in Bharat Ek Khoj (and he was also quite active in theatre - I quite liked the one he did based on Chekhov's stories). And hard as it is to believe a fair few of Nihalani/Benegal movies used to screen at Regal. And the ref to Manjula Padmanabhan reminded me of the Suki cartoons in the Sunday Observer in the 80s.
I think Ardh Satya was Nihalani's best though Tamas did come along later. Dilip Chitre's poem was in Marathi if I remember correctly. An English transliteration was floating around in the 80s and I happen to have it. Here it is for anyone interested.
Before entering the circular death trap
Who was I? What was I?
I would not remember
Once I enter
After entering the circular death trap
I would not even realise
How excruciatingly close were we
Myself & the enemy
Maybe I will even be able to make myself free
From the circular death trap
But the nature of the trap
Will never change......
Shall I die? Or shall I kill?
Shall I be the victim or the assassin?
This can never be settled.
The light in which decisions are made
Does it render all things equal?
Impotence is weighed against manhood
And the pointer of the balance
Fixed on a half-truth.And the ref to Manjula Padmanabhan reminded me of the Suki cartoons in the Sunday Observer in the 80s.
Anu: you've seen this?
Anand: that was K K Raina as the personnel officer? Not sure why I thought it was Salim Ghouse. I do remember Ghouse as a very convincing Krishna in the Mahabharata scenes in Bharat ek Khoj.'Aghaat' was a movie apt for the time it was made in. That was a time when socialism was spreading as a parallel logical alternative to liberal democracy. For the common man the versions of liberal democracy would always remain hazy and clouded by his own personal experiences. Aghaat attempted to highlight the plight of a common wage labourer for whom the lofty ideals of socialism and democratic emancipation are linked to his getting money to somehow pass his time.
Despite its obvious good intentions, I personally do not think Aghaat passes the test of a really good movie , simply because it tackles a wider social issue on a very small scale. The problem with most of the parallel cinema of the 80's was their inablity to simplify the level of writing and be sublime in their approach. Many of these filmmakers tried to make serious meaningful cinema but somehow failed to capture the very essesnce of the problems they were showcasing . Perhaps a case of trying to solve too many issues with one film. However I liked Aghaat in parts and their is one scene were Pankaj Kapoor and his wife try to get intimate after he returns from the hospital having lost both his legs.
Apart from movies like Akrosh , Ardh Satya , Manthan and perhaps to an extent Sparsh and Bhumika the rest of the parallel cinema wave failed to get its act together as a cinematic experience.Someone please remind me the last time trade unionism was seriously captured in a Hindi movie. It is almost as if it doesn't exist anymore.
Was just thinking that movies reflect contemporary realities so well - compare the way Ardh Satya examined police brutality to movies today where it is almost celebrated, unchallenged, unquestioned.I can't thank you enough for directing me towards movies like Aakrosh and Ardh Satya. I had heard about them but I somehow didn't take them seriously till I read your blogpost. I knew there was a huge body of dark Hindi movies that I hadn't yet discovered.
Om Puri is spectacular in both of them. Can't wait to watch Aghaat.


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Tiger sharks feast on migratory birds that fall out of the sky
Other marine animals don't appear to target land birds that end up in the Gulf of Mexico
It all started when a small tiger shark barfed up a bunch of feathers.
Marcus Drymon, a fisheries ecologist at Mississippi State University in Biloxi, had been catching sharks as part of a long-term shark monitoring program in the north-central Gulf of Mexico. Typically, a shark spent only about 90 seconds out of the water, enough time for scientists to weigh and tag it before releasing it. But one day in 2010, a tiger shark, perhaps stressed by the experience, left its stomach contents on the boat's deck.
"Being the science nerd I am, I scooped up all the feathers, all [that] tiger shark barf, and put it in a bag and took it back to the lab," Drymon says.
Little did he know that those stomach contents would lead to a discovery about how young tiger sharks take advantage of bird migrations to get a free meal.
First, Drymon wanted to know what bird species the feathers had come from. So he reached out to an old friend, molecular ecologist Kevin Feldheim of the Field Museum in Chicago. Feldheim usually looks at shark DNA to study relationships between individual sharks. But he agreed to try to identify the feathers with DNA barcoding, a technique that lets scientists identify a species based on a short strand of mitochondrial DNA. The analysis showed that the feathers came from a brown thrasher, a type of terrestrial songbird.
Intrigued, Drymon searched the scientific literature, finding a handful of reports of tiger sharks eating terrestrial birds, and he decided to investigate how prevalent these meals were. During monthly surveys from 2010 to 2018, he and his colleagues collected the stomach contents from 105 tiger sharks — by dissecting dead sharks and washing out the stomachs of live ones — and sent them to Feldheim for analysis.
Some of the samples "smelled pretty bad," Feldheim says, "because they're just what the shark was digesting at the time." Barely digested feathers weren't too bad, and were easy to extract DNA from. "But others were, you could just tell. You could just take it out of the jar and it just smelled horrible. And those were usually very difficult to extract from," he says.
Forty-one, or 39 percent, of the sharks contained bird remains from 11 species: eight songbirds (including barn swallows and house wrens) along with white-winged doves, yellow-bellied sapsuckers and the American coot, the only water bird of the bunch, the researchers report online May 21 in Ecology.
"When he started sending me feathers, I just assumed they would all be seabirds like gulls or pelicans or something like that," Feldheim says.
The part of the Gulf where Drymon works is near the last spot migratory birds can land before they take off for Mexico in the fall. It's also the first spot that many can land in the spring after their marathon flight across the water. Drymon at first thought that the birds might be the ones that don't quite make it to land in the spring. But when he looked at the timing of when the birds showed up in the sharks, he could see that most of the birds were eaten in the fall. "That was a puzzle," he says.
And so Drymon reached out to Mississippi State colleague Auriel Fournier, an ornithologist, to make sense of it all. They consulted eBird, an online database of bird sightings, and hashed it out with other colleagues over lunches. The birds, the researchers determined, must take off for their journey south and then get caught when the weather unexpectedly turns nasty. And unlike ducks and other water birds, the species found in the sharks can't keep themselves dry once they hit the water. So if they're knocked out of the sky by something like a storm, they become shark bait, Drymon and his colleagues propose.
"It made sense within what we know about bird migration," Fournier says. "It's just a piece of the puzzle that we didn't know about."
So, are these birds feeding other species in the Gulf, too?
No, Drymon says. "I've looked at the stomachs of so many other species of shark, so many other species of bony fish, and none of them eat these terrestrial birds, or marine birds for that matter, the same way that the tiger sharks do."
The birds' fall migration does coincide with a peak in the young tiger shark population in the north-central Gulf of Mexico. And about half the sharks that had birds in their bellies were in fact baby sharks. Drymon and his colleagues now think that mama sharks have figured out that the area is a good time and place to give birth because it lets their young access an easy-to-obtain food source before they've fully honed their hunting skills.
That idea fits with tiger sharks' will-eat-anything reputation, Drymon says. "I don't like it necessarily when people say tiger sharks are the trash cans of the sea, because that carries a kind of negative connotation." They're more like teenage boys, he says, gobbling up whatever food you put in front of them, even terrestrial birds that nothing else will apparently touch.
Editor's note: This story was updated May 22, 2019, to correct the description of the feathers in the image caption. They are from a woodpecker, which is not a type of songbird.

subset: commoncrawl


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member since February 02, 2007
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Jared Banter is a normal young man. Smart, nice looking, and utterly boring. Until he meets Toni, the cute girl running the new hobby shop in town.
This is a (very) short photo-graphic novel I made for my Photography A-Level. The story is a little far fetched, the villains somewhat dense, and the case is not even much of a case - but I had fun with it.
A city full of Weirdos.
A deadly war has errupted and all life is fighting for its own survival. Ryu, fights with the "Dragon Warriors" because they beleive the elimination of the Kaisers was wrong. but Ryu has no idea how strong he really is, and he'll have to learn soon.
John Clyde decided to leave his job as a camp counselor and become a nature guide on television, much to the chagrin of his wife.
A boy holding secrets in his past and bearing a thirst for revenge meets a girl with a serious anger problem. While they're struggling to deal with each other, demons are hunting them down for something they don't even know about!
Rated bizarre for: monsters, zombies, cannibalism, school girls, unrequited love (with a vengeance), government conspiracy, chocolate bunnies, angels vs. demons, all that with a limb or two to spare.
Set in a post-apocalyptic world, society is shattered into factions and all live in fear of a second alien invasion. Wren and his team fight to unite the earth against its real enemy: fear itself.
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BreathOfDreams at 3:07PM, May 25, 2008
Yay, you added me back ^^ Thanks for my first DD profile comment ever! We've been chatting long enough, it only just dawned on me that I never got around to adding you... I guess I'm just lazy like that XD Anywhos, can hardly wait for the next book to start (though the fanservice makes the wait easier to bear ^.~ )
Viviane_ch at 9:43AM, Jan. 26, 2008
Thank you too for your add!!!~^____^~
Steely Gaze at 12:09PM, Nov. 7, 2007
I love the new avatar! For a new beginning...a new you!
Steely Gaze at 10:05AM, Oct. 21, 2007
It's finally happened. I'm having withdrawal symptoms. I compulsively check GMTS everyday to see if you managed to sneak an update in there, but no good so far. When will you be back? Hey, maybe you are right now! I should check out GMTS again! :P
Gedanken at 2:04PM, Sept. 21, 2007
Wow! you have your own dot com! Thx for the add and for recommend my comic :_D
Steely Gaze at 6:01AM, Aug. 15, 2007
What are you doing reading this? Scroll up, yes like that, and click on that big thumbnail that says 'Give Me the Sky'. That's a smart move.


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Tyrepower Region A Conference & Presentation Dinner
November 10th was marked for the Tyrepower Region A annual conference and presentation dinner, a 'must do' on many of our guests' calendars. The venue was glamourous and magnificent, complete with spectacular views of Melbourne's CBD. The River Room at Crown Casino certainly delivered the most outstanding event yet.
The day started with our AGM and conference session, where special guest, Yvonne Adele facilitated a business workshop where members had the opportunity to brainstorm together and discuss simple ideas that could benefit their business practices and staff satisfaction.
The evening event bought together our valued suppliers, marketing partners and of course members, from across our region, travelling from all over the country. With a guest list of 260, we celebrated the year and took focus on our Tyrepower family. We even celebrated through music, with the Scared Weird Little Guys producing and performing a song, featuring all 89 Tyrepower Region A store names. A hilarious and creative highlight to be remembered for years to come.
The annual presentation dinner is our chance to get together as a group and celebrate the many milestones and achievements from the year. This year we had an impressive 16 stores celebrating years of service milestones covering 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 years. The evening also includes 6 CAF awards for outstanding service based on store performance and most importantly our highly regarded Dealer of the Year. Congratulations to all those stores who took home an award, your achievements and efforts are what make our business so successful. Well done!
A wonderful event and we're certainly looking forward to the next one in 2019.


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Lindsay Lohan: I Can't Deal with the Outside World!
Lindsay Lohan is suffering from post-incarceration syndrome ... courtesy of her friendly, neighborhood paparazzi.
Lindsay -- who is free to party in the outside world for the first time in more than a month -- is telling friends she's scared to leave home, largely because she thinks there's a bounty on her head in the paparazzi community.
So LiLo is planning to do the same thing she's been doing for the last 35 nights -- chill out, relax, and put her feet up ... in peace and quiet, in the company of sister Ali and a few buds.
Where is our Lindsay and what have you done with her?!


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The clinical appearance of neonatal rotavirus infection: Association with necrotising enterocolitis
François P R de Villiers, Marie Driessen
Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, MEDUNSA Campus, University of Limpopo, Pretoria
François P R de Villiers, PhD, FCPaed, MMed, FACP
Marie Driessen, MB ChB, MSc
Corresponding author: F de Villiers (email@example.com)
Background. Rotavirus is the most important aetiological agent causing severe gastroenteritis in children <2 years of age in South Africa and worldwide. Most endemic neonatal nursery strains are thought to be asymptomatic. However, serious conditions have been reported to be associated with rotavirus infection, such as necrotising enterocolitis (NEC), diffuse intravascular coagulopathy, pneumonia, apnoea and seizures.
Methods. We studied newborns needing screening for sepsis in our Neonatal Unit. Rotavirus screening was included in the septic screen. The clinical signs and symptoms were studied in the control group (no rotavirus identified) and the study group (rotavirus identified in the stools).
Results. Of the 169 babies screened for sepsis, 44 (26%) were rotavirus positive. Of the remainder, 63 comprised the control group. Rotavirus-positive stools were identified from day 4 of life. The virus was excreted in the stools for a mean of 4 days per infection episode. Asymptomatic infection was only observed in one baby; the others had clinical signs and symptoms ranging from mild to severe, and there were even some deaths. Gastrointestinal symptoms were prominent manifestations of rotavirus infection. There was a high incidence of NEC (66% in the study group v. 30% in the control group). Of the rotavirus-infected babies, 9 died; 3 had no other pathogens identified, so that rotavirus infection could have been the cause of death.
Conclusions. Rotavirus infection in the neonate is rarely asymptomatic. It is a dangerous condition that may cause death. It is associated with, and probably a cause of, NEC.
S Afr Med J 2012;102(7):620-624.
Nearly 2 million children die from diarrhoeal disease every year worldwide;1 in South Africa, this disease causes the deaths of a quarter of children who die aged 1 - 5 years.2 Rotavirus infection is the most common cause of diarrhoeal disease in childhood and of considerable morbidity and mortality among infants and young children throughout the world. Most deaths from rotavirus occur in developing countries.1 Rotavirus infects all socio-economic groups and races, and essentially all children throughout the world have been infected by the virus by the age of 3 years.3 Rotavirus gastroenteritis causes an estimated 610 000 deaths worldwide each year, and an increasing proportion of diarrhoeal disease is now due to rotavirus (40% cf. 25%).4
Unique strains of rotavirus occur endemically in neonates in neonatal and maternity units worldwide. Rotavirus infections in newborns are reported to be mild or asymptomatic,5 while infection with rotavirus during the neonatal period seems to protect the child clinically against severe gastroenteritis when re-infected later on in life.6
However, literature reports indicate that rotavirus could be associated with several other serious clinical conditions in infants: necrotising enterocolitis (NEC),7 pneumonia, sudden infant death syndrome, diffuse intravascular coagulopathy (DIC),8 , 9 seizures,9 encephalitis9 and episodes of bradycardia-apnoea.10
A neonatal death of an infant who died 18 hours postpartum with a clinical picture of DIC and afebrile convulsions, who had rotavirus infection,8 posed the question of whether the severity of neonatal rotavirus has been underestimated. Are we missing cases where rotavirus plays a role in causing neonatal disease? We therefore studied the clinical signs and symptoms associated with rotavirus infection in our Neonatal Unit.
The study was conducted in the Neonatal Unit of Ga-Rankuwa Hospital, which admits babies <4 weeks old who need hospitalisation, including term and preterm newborns from labour wards at the hospital, and from local community clinics, rural referral hospitals and home deliveries. The disease profile included illnesses and anomalies expected in a tertiary care neonatal unit. Breast-feeding is promoted extensively; formula feeds are only occasionally used when breast-milk is contraindicated.
Newborns needing screening for suspected sepsis in the unit were studied. Screening for rotavirus was included whenever a septic screening was needed (rotavirus screening is not routinely included in the septic workup in this unit). Specimens collected for the septic workup were used, including blood, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), throat swab, tracheal aspirates, colostomy or ileostomy fluid, and stools. If rotavirus was detected during such a septic workup, the baby was allocated to the rotavirus-positive study group. All clinical information since birth was retrospectively gathered, daily stool specimens were obtained henceforth, and available clinical data were recorded daily for the rest of the infant's hospital stay. Septic screen babies testing negatively for rotavirus were allocated to the control group, whose clinical information was obtained from retrieving a summary from the Neonatal Unit's computerised information system after the infant's discharge or death.
Laboratory studies were conducted at the departments of Microbiology and Virology of MEDUNSA and the MEDUNSA/MRC Diarrhoeal Pathogens Research Unit. Stool samples were tested for rotavirus antigen, detected by a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (Rotavirus IDEIA, Dako, Denmark).
The study was approved by the Research, Ethics, and Publications Committee of the Faculty of Medicine. Informed written consent was obtained from the mothers.
Data were statistically analysed using SAS. A confidence level of 5% was considered statistically significant. Descriptive statistics including mean, standard deviation, range and frequency tables were performed for each variable. Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests were done to test for associations between categorical variables. Student's t-test was performed to test for differences in means of continuous variables.
Of the 169 babies who were screened for sepsis over a 14-month period, 44 were infected with rotavirus. Twelve babies were excluded whose stools tested weakly positive for rotavirus antigen but could not be confirmed. Of the remainder of the septic screen babies, only 63 summaries could be retrieved from the ward's computerised information system. Accordingly there were a rotavirus-positive study group (n=44) and a rotavirus-negative control group (n=63).
There were no statistically significant differences between the study and control groups regarding their mass, gestational age, gender, booking status, presence of birth asphyxia (low 5-minute Apgar), presence of HIV antibodies, total days in hospital and mortality rate (Table 1). The study and control groups were therefore comparable. The age at which the first positive stool was found, and the period of rotavirus excretion in the study group, also appear in Table 1.
Table 2 shows the disease profile on admission for the babies in the different groups, reflecting the pathological problems that are encountered at our Neonatal Unit. Low birth weight (<2 500 g) and respiratory distress were most frequent admission diagnoses for both groups. Neonatal sepsis occurred statistically more frequently in the control group than the rotavirus-positive study group.
The high incidence of rotavirus infection seems to indicate the endemic nature of rotavirus infection in this Neonatal Unit (Table 1); 44 (28%) out of 157 babies were found to be infected with rotavirus during their hospital stay, of whom 4 contracted a second episode of rotavirus infection. Rotavirus was excreted for a mean of 4 days (range 1 - 15 days). The bigger and more term babies developed rotavirus infection statistically significantly sooner than the smaller and more preterm babies (p=0.0001; Spearman correlation coefficient).
To assess the signs and symptoms associated with neonatal rotavirus infection they should be compared with similar patients without rotavirus infection. In our study, the rotavirus-positive and -negative control groups were comparable. However, while the rotavirus-positive infants excreted rotavirus in their stools for a discrete time period, and their clinical signs and symptoms could be recorded, the control group patients were rotavirus-negative but had many other problems and complications that caused clinical signs and symptoms during their hospital stay, from admission to discharge. It was not feasible to select a time period during the control group's hospital stay which correlated with the same time period of rotavirus excretion for the study group, as both the age when the first rotavirus-positive stool was documented (4 - 46 days) and the duration of rotavirus excretion (1 - 15 days) ranged widely. Noting this limitation of the study, Table 3 lists the clinical signs and symptoms in the two groups.
Rotavirus infection was not found to be asymptomatic in our patients. Apart from one baby in the study group (who only excreted rotavirus on the day before discharge) who was completely asymptomatic, all other rotavirus-infected babies had clinical signs and symptoms ranging from mild to severe, and there were even some deaths.
Signs and symptoms observed during the time of rotavirus infection were mainly general signs suggestive of sepsis in the neonate, including temperature instability especially pyrexia >38°C, jaundice other than physiological, apnoea, respiratory deterioration, acidosis, anaemia, low platelet and white cell counts, and serum C-reactive protein. Pyrexia >38°C was associated with rotavirus infection while, in the control group, sepsis was not associated with fever.
Gastrointestinal symptoms were prominent in the study group. Diarrhoea (≥6 stools per day), vomiting, increased gastric aspirates, and bloody stools occurred much more frequently than in the control group. The modified Bell's staging criteria for NEC are used to diagnose NEC. Confirmed or suspected NEC was found in 28 (63.6%) infants in the study, and 19 (30.2%) infants in the control group. The difference was statistically significant (p=0.001, chi-square). This supports a possible link between rotavirus infection and NEC in the neonate.
Neither central nervous system (CNS)-related signs and symptoms nor respiratory symptoms were associated with rotavirus infection, as these symptoms also occurred in the control group; differences were not statistically significant. None of the throat swabs taken was positive for rotavirus when tested with the RT-PCT technique.
Positive blood cultures for other pathogens included species of Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, Candida, coagulase negative staphylococci, Staphylococcus aureus, Haemolytic streptococcus, Streptococcus group B and group D, and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli from stools. The most commonly associated pathogen was Klebsiella species: 4 infants had positive blood and/or stool cultures for Klebsiella. Positive stool cultures for stool pathogens were reported for 3 babies (Salmonella typhii and enteropathogenic E. coli in 2 infants). More babies in the rotavirus-negative control group (27.5%) had antibodies for HIV than in the study group (13.6%), although this difference was not statistically significant (Table 1).
Four babies had a second episode of rotavirus infection (after secreting negative stools for some time after the first infection); all had less severe symptoms with the second infection, except one who had mild symptoms in both episodes. This observation supports the literature in that infection induces clinical protection against the severity of re-infections, and that re-infections are common.
Nine (20.5%) of the babies in the study group, and 16 (25.4%) of the control group babies died (Table 1). Table 4 summarises the clinical picture and causes of the death for the rotavirus-infected babies. Of the 9 babies who died, 3 had no other pathogen identified, and it is possible that the rotavirus infection could have been the cause of death in these 3 babies.
The role of rotavirus as an important aetiological agent causing diarrhoea in young children and infants worldwide has long been established, as has the endemic presence of rotavirus causing mild or asymptomatic infections in neonatal nurseries worldwide. However, much remains to be learned about the epidemiology, transmission and pathophysiology of the virus. It is generally reported that rotavirus infection in neonates is either asymptomatic or mild, in contrast with infections in older children.7 In 1975, 2 years after Ruth Bishop discovered human rotaviruses, they were detected in the stools of symptom-free newborn babies in nurseries in several parts of the world. Bryden et al.11 described a sharp contrast between the asymptomatic or mild infections in neonates, and the severe diarrhoeal disease seen in older hospitalised children.
Rotavirus infection was found to be completely asymptomatic in only one baby in our study. All other infants had signs and symptoms. A limitation of our study is that the comparison of the signs and symptoms observed during rotavirus infection with those in the control group without rotavirus infection was not accurate, because the latter had many other problems and complications causing morbidity throughout their hospital stay. The control group might have been a sicker group of patients, with higher percentages of unbooked pregnancies, birth asphyxia (low 5-minute Apgar score), congenital syphilis, HIV-positive antibodies, and with a higher mortality, although none of these differences was statistically significant. These factors may imply that the statistical difference between the two groups might indeed have been more significant if we could have identified a truly comparable control group.
Signs and symptoms suggestive of sepsis were present in most of our infants with rotavirus infection. Chen et al.12 also reported this finding, that 57% of their rotavirus-positive neonates were symptomatic, with vomiting, poor feeding, elevated core temperature and diarrhoea. Kunz et al.13 studied all neonates in their premature baby ward and infant nursery, and reported pyrexia, vomiting, poor sucking, increased gastric residue, increased frequency of stool passage with a pathological quality (thready, green, mushy, stinking, slimy stools) and greyish skin colour, mottled skin, poor perfusion, and one infant with brief clonic convulsions. In our study, gastrointestinal symptoms were also prominent. As breast milk is used to feed our neonates, we used 6 stools per day as the cut-off point to determine increased frequency of stools passage. The quality of stools was not recorded. Other symptoms included vomiting, increased gastric aspirates before the next feed, and bloody stools.
Only fever, thrombocytopenia and gastrointestinal symptoms were associated with rotavirus infection in this study. In particular, there was no association with CNS signs and symptoms during the time of rotavirus infection in our rotavirus-positive patients; this finding has been reported in more detail, based on 2 studies.9
The pathogenesis of NEC is complex and multifactorial; there is no unique 'cause' of NEC. Neu14 summarised the risk factors associated with the development of NEC to be prematurity, aggressive enteral feeding, hypoxic-ischaemic insults, and infectious agents. Prematurity is reported to be the most important risk factor. In term and near-term infants, NEC may result from a specific ischaemic insult on the gastrointestinal tract. It has been suggested that NEC, at least in some cases, is a contagious disease. The evidence includes: epidemics of NEC, association of outbreaks with specific bacterial pathogens, interruption of epidemics by infection control measures, and prevention of NEC with oral antibiotics. Epidemics of NEC have been observed in most neonatal intensive care units. Pathogens implicated include E. coli, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Pseudomonas, Salmonella, Clostridia, coronavirus, rotavirus and enteroviruses. Four babies from our study group had positive cultures for Klebsiella.
An important finding from our study was the large number of infants with confirmed or suspected NEC, who were also infected with rotavirus in our septic screen cohort: double the attack rate in our control group – a highly statistically significant difference (p=0.00063). This observation supports the possible link between rotavirus infection and NEC in the neonate. Several investigators reported cases of NEC where rotavirus was the only pathogenic agent found.7 Of the 28 babies in our study who had suspected or confirmed NEC, 17 (60.7%) had rotavirus as the only pathogenic agent identified. This result suggests that rotavirus should be included as an agent associated with NEC in the neonate.
The clinical picture and causes of death from our study for the 9 babies who died are summarised in Table 4. No other pathogen was identified in 3 of these babies, and it is possible that these deaths could be rotavirus related. These babies were all preterm, and NEC was confirmed or suspected. The presence of rotavirus as the only infectious pathogen identified, strengthens the hypothesis that rotavirus should be listed as one of the infectious agents associated with NEC in the neonate.
Rotavirus infection seemed to be endemic in the Neonatal Unit of Ga-Rankuwa Hospital. Preterm and low birthweight neonates were infected at a later age than term and bigger neonates, and therefore seemed to be protected to some extent against rotavirus infection. Neonatal rotavirus infection was rarely asymptomatic in our neonatal population; more often, general signs and symptoms suggestive of sepsis were present to alert suspicion of infection.
Gastrointestinal signs and symptoms were the most prominently observed during rotavirus infection, with strong support for the possible link between NEC and rotavirus infections in neonates.
1. Waggie Z, Hawkridge A, Hussey GD. Review of rotavirus studies in Africa: 1976-2006. J Infect Dis 2010;202(S1):S23-33. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/653554]
2. MacIntyre UE, De Villiers FPR. The economic burden of diarreal disease in a tertiary level hospital, Gauteng, South Africa. J Infect Dis 2010;202(S1):S116-125. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/653560]
3. WHO. Rotavirus Vaccines: WHO Position Paper. Weekly Epid Rec 2007;82(32):285-296.
4. Parashar UD, Gibson CJ, Bresee JS, Glass RI. Rotavirus and severe childhood diarrhea. Emerg Infect Dis 2006;12(2):304-306.
5. Sharma R, Hudak ML, Premachandra BR, et al. Clinical manifestations of rotavirus infection in the neonatal intensive care unit. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2002;21:1099-1105. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.inf.0000040423.10649.bF]
6. Velazquez FR, Matson DO, Calva JJ, et al. Rotavirus infection in infants as protection against subsequent infections. N Engl J Med 1996;335:1022-1028. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJM 199610033351404]
7. Sharma R, Garrison RD, Tepas JJ, et al. Rotavirus-associated necrotizing enterocolitis: an insight into a potentially preventable disease? J Pediatr Surg 2004;39(3):453-457 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pedsurg.2003.11.016]
8. Pager C, Steele AD, Gwamanda P, Driessen M. A neonatal death associated with rotavirus infection - detection of rotavirus ds RNA in the cerebrospinal fluid. S Afr Med J 2000;90(4):364-365.
9. De Villiers FPR, Steele AD, Driessen M. Cental nervous system involvement in neonatal rotavirus infection. Ann Trop Paediatr 2003;23:309-312 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/027249303225 007789]
10. Huppertz H-I, Salman N, Giaquinto C. Risk factors for severe rotavirus gastroenteritis. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2008;27:S11-19 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/INF.06013e31815eeeO9]
11. Bryden AS, Thouless ME, Hall CJ, et al. Rotavirus infections in a special-care baby unit. J Infect 1982;4:43-48 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/SO163-4453(82)90988-4]
12. Chen HN, Dennehy PH, Oh W, Lee CN, Huang ML, Tsao LY. Outbreak and control of a rotaviral infection in a nursery. J Formos Med Assoc 1997;96(11):884-889.
13. Kunz J, Slongo R, Schams M, Zbinden R. An outbreak of rotavirus infections in newborns – new aspects? J Perinat Med 1990;18:357-362 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/jpme.19188.8.131.527]
14. Neu J. Necrotizing enterocolitis: the search for a unifying pathogenic theory leading to prevention. Pediatr Clin North Am 1996;43(2):409-432.
Accepted 30 April 2012.
Table 1. Characteristics of infants studied |
RV pos n =44 |
RV neg control n =63 |
p -value |
Birth mass Mean Median SD Range |
1 659.3 1 445 720.926 720 - 3 780 |
1 681.4 1 460 719.921 900 - 1 500 |
0.8199 |
Gestational age (weeks) Mean Median SD Range |
32.6 32 3.521 24 - 40 |
32.2 32 2.684 27 - 40 |
0.7396 |
Gender Female Male |
26 (60.5%) 17 (39.5%) |
37 (59.7%) 25 (40.3%) |
0.9357 |
No antenatal care |
6 (14%) 1 unknown |
17 (26.9%) |
0.1100 |
Low Apgar (<7 at 5 min.) |
2 (4.9%) 3 unknown |
6 (9.5%) 11 unknown |
0.4443 |
HIV-positive antibodies |
6 (13.6%) |
14 (27.5%) 12 unknown |
0.0996 |
Age 1st pos stool Mean Median SD Range |
21.3 19 11.894 4 - 46 |
Not applicable |
Not applicable |
Days excreting Mean Median SD Range |
4.3 2.5 4.135 1 - 15 |
Not applicable |
Not applicable |
Total days in hospital Mean Median SD Range |
37 37.5 15.987 10 - 74 |
36 27 32.6017 6 - 196 |
0.8511 |
Mortality |
9 (20.5%) |
16 (25.4%) |
0.5522 |
Missing data were not counted when percentages were calculated.
RV = rotavirus; pos = positive; neg = negative; SD = standard deviation.
Table 2. Disease profile on admission |
RV pos n =44 (%) |
RV neg n =63 (%) |
p- value |
Low birth weight <2 500 g |
37 (84.1) |
56 (88.9) |
0.4710 |
Respiratory distress Hyaline membrane disease Meconium aspiration |
25 (56.8) 9 (20.5) 2 (4.5) |
27 (42.9) 23 (36.5) 1 (1.6) |
0.1570 0.0767 0.5670 |
Sepsis (unspecified) Meningitis Congenital syphilis |
1 (2.3) 0 2 (4.5) |
12 (19) 2 (3.2) 6 (9.5) |
0.00896 0.5112 0.4663 |
Birth asphyxia |
5 (11.4) |
2 (3.2) |
0.1211 |
Neonatal jaundice |
4 (9.1) |
1 (1.6) |
0.1568 |
Multiple pregnancy |
4 (9.1) |
6 (9.5) |
0.9399 |
Congenital abnormalities Congenital heart defect Hirschprung disease Cleft palate Tracheo-oesophageal fistula Small bowel atresia Omphalocoele/gastroschisis Congenital rubella syndrome Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) Trisomy 18 |
4 (9.1) 0 0 0 1 (2.3) 1 (2.3) 0 1 (2.3) 1 (2.3) 0 |
7 (11.1) 1 (1.6) 1 (1.6) 1 (1.6) 0 1 (1.6) 1 (1.6) 0 1 (1.6) 1 (1.6) |
0.7361 |
Table 3. Clinical signs and symptoms associated with rotavirus infection |
Signs and symptoms |
RV pos n =44 (%) |
RV neg control n =63 (%) |
p -value |
General Asymptomatic Unstable temperature Pyrexia 38º C Jaundice (other than physiological) |
1 (2.3) 11 (25) 22 (50) 4 (9) |
0 5 (7.9) 2 (3.2) 5 (7.9) |
0.4112 0.0153* 0.00000* 0.8331 |
Gastrointestinal Stools 6 or more per day Vomiting Raised gastric aspirates Distended abdomen Bloody stools Confirmed or suspected NEC |
16 (36.4) 21 (47.7) 26 (59.0) 10 (22.7) 15 (34.0) 28 (63.6) |
5 (7.9) 7 (11.1) 18 (28.6) 13 (20.6) 4 (6.3) 19 (30.2) |
0.00027* 0.00002* 0.00167* 0.6059 0.00024* 0.00063* |
Central nervous system Apnoea Jittery Convulsions Poor sucking |
11 (25) 2 (4.5) 0 2 (4.5) |
16 (25.4) 1 (1.6) 3 (4.8) 1 (1.6) |
0.9631 0.5671 0.2628 0.5671 |
Respiratory tract Mild respiratory distress Needs oxygen headbox Needs ventilation |
3 (6.8) 12 (27.3) 6 (13.6) |
0 11 (17.5) 3 (4.8) |
0.0667 0.2262 0.1565 |
Haematological abnormalities Thrombocytopenia (150x109 /l) Anaemia Leucopenia (4x109 /l) Raised C-reactive protein Diffuse intravascular coagulopathy |
18 (40.9) 24 (54.5) 9 (20.5) 7 (15.9) 3 (6.8) |
5 (7.9) 25 (39.7) Unknown Unknown 4 (6.3) |
0.00005* 0.1307 n/a n/a 0.9235 |
Positive cultures for other associated pathogens |
13 (29.5) |
14 (22.2) |
0.3930 |
Stools pathogens positive* |
3 (7.3) (3 not done) |
2 (5.0) (23 not done) |
0.6668 |
*Note that missing data were not counted when percentage was calculated.
Table 4. Causes of death in rotavirus-infected babies |
Case number |
Clinical picture |
Causes of death |
Possibly related to rotavirus |
41 |
Preterm, stage III B NEC, rotavirus the only pathogen |
Respiratory failure |
Yes |
43 |
Preterm, bloody stools and vomiting (NEC), apnoea, rotavirus the only pathogen |
Respiratory failure |
Yes |
74 |
Preterm, had rotavirus infection which cleared up and was discharged, re-admitted with sepsis |
S. aureus meningitis |
No |
76 |
Preterm, apnoea, pneumonia, anaemia, distended abdomen and brown gastric aspirates (NEC) |
K. pneumoniae septicaemia |
No |
88 |
Preterm, respiratory deterioration, P24 Ag test pos, frequent watery stools |
Possibly vomited and aspirated (milk was sucked from airways) |
Yes |
96 |
Preterm, apnoeic episodes, DIC |
K. pneumoniae septicaemia |
No |
100 |
Preterm, bloody stools (NEC), developed chicken pox 13 days after mother, apnoea, rotavirus-positive stools |
Respiratory failure |
Yes |
102 |
Preterm, congenital rubella syndrome, neurologically impaired, DIC, pyrexia, no other pathogen identified, stools negative for rotavirus at time of death |
Died on ventilator in decerebrate position |
No |
105 |
Preterm, respiratory deterioration |
Streptococcus group D meningitis |
No |
NEC = necrotising enterocolitis; DIC = diffuse intravascular coagulopathy.
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More Letters on Shields and Grounds
February 26, 2010
Recent Tips from Titus columns — "An Update on Shielding" (11-2009) and "Look Deeper at Shielding"– in Design News magazine prompted e-mails from readers. I ran four letters in the March 2010 Tips column in Design News and include some others below. For the original columns, see the links at the end.
1. I think the reasoning behind the 1/20-wavelength rule of thumb is this: A dipole antenna — a tuned circuit — serves as a model of the shield. Tuned circuits have a roll off of roughly -40 db per decade. At 1/20 the wavelength of the highest frequency, this is about -44 db, or 99 percent attenuation. That seems good enough to easily remember.
— (Name withheld)
2. In the November issue of Design News, Jon Titus wrote, "The twisted-pair cable, A, has a 100-percent aluminum-foil shield and separate 'drain' wires that connect to the shield and simplify a ground connection. These separate wires have a lower resistance than the foil alone."
The shield is not "100-percent aluminum foil." Aluminum foil would be too delicate and would tear if the cable was bent. The "foil" is actually Mylar plastic coated with a thin layer of aluminum on one side. The drain wire serves two purposes.
First, if the metallization cracks and opens electrically, the wire provides a continuous path that bridges the crack. Of course, the shield no longer offers 360-degrees coverage at that point and high-frequency performance is compromised.
Second, the drain wire provides a way for a connector to make contact with the thin aluminum layer. At the connector, most people undermine the effectiveness of a foil shield. Grounding through the drain wire seriously compromises the high-frequency effectiveness of the shield because the thin drain wire becomes inductive at high frequencies. Therefore, the length of the drain wire (at the connector) must be kept as short as possible.
A metal shield blocks an electric field. Even an ungrounded shield will do that. A typical shield on a shielded cable is very ineffective at blocking magnetic fields. –Chuck Gollnick, Lead Electrical Engineer, Beaverton, OR.
3. I found the reference, "Grounding and Shielding for Sound and Video," by Philip Giddings, and thought it might help others like me who are mechanical rather than electrical engineers. Here's what Giddings said in Section 3.3.2:
"Any opening in the shield will diminish its effectiveness. The most interesting thing about electromagnetic leakage through slots is that the longest dimension on the opening is critical not the total area of the opening. For example, a 10-by-1/10th inch slot will be about 10 times more leaky than a 1-by-1 inch square hole, even though both have the same total area. The general guide line is that slots should be kept shorter than 1/20th of the wavelength of the highest frequency of concern. For example, at 100 MHz the slot should be less than about 6 inches, 300 MHz about 2 inches and 1,000 MHz about 2/3 of an inch. These dimensions will assure at least 20 dB of attenuation at the highest frequency. For 40 dB of attenuation you would need to keep the slots shorter than 1/200 wavelength." –Howard Kasper, Mechanical Engineer, Carlsbad, CA.
4. Cable shielding remains a mystery to many people and is not well taught in schools. Also, old habits and rules-of-thumb, whether good, bad or inconsequential, seems to dominate many designs.
I design many shielding arrangements; most for the relatively benign environment of 4-20-mA signals where almost anything reasonable will work. In a past life, I did more extensive work in rigorous analog-instrumentation environments. I have collected articles on the shielding and refer to them when in doubt, or when a customer quizzes me about my designs.
First, I like two articles published in Analog Dialog from Analog Devices; "Grounding for Low- and High-Frequency Circuits," by Paul Brokaw and Jeff Barrow, Vol. 23, No. 3, 1989 and "Shielding and Guarding," by Alan Rich, Vol. 17, No. 1, 1983.
Second, I like the book "Grounding and Shielding Techniques in Instrumentation" by Ralph Morrison. This is a theory-heavy volume that also condenses bits of wisdom in the form of "rules" that engineers can follow without getting deep into theory. The rules generally correlate directly with those listed in the Analog Dialogue articles noted above and include some refinements. –Paul Schmidt, Senior Electrical Engineer,
Waukegan, IL.
Here are the links to the published columns:
"An Update on Shielding," www.designnews.com/article/388473-An_Update_on_Shielding.php.
"Look Deeper at Shielding," www.designnews.com/article/439434-Look_Deeper_at_Shielding.php.
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Wednesday, February 24, 2010
The Freshmen Dems
For most of the Senators who didn't- Kay Hagan, Jeff Merkley, Mark Begich, and Mark Udall- the numbers are a lot less pretty. Last month we found Begich at a 35/51 approval spread and Hagan at 29/42. Our most recent poll on Udall's approval, late last summer, found him at 39/38. Survey USA had Merkley at 37/49 this month.
Not really falling into either category is Al Franken- he has unusually high positives and unusually high negatives for a freshman Senator at 50/47 in Rasmussen's last Minnesota poll. That probably reflects his celebrity status.
The new Senators who voters have known for a long time seem to be weathering this political climate but the relatively unknown ones who rode the wave in are being defined right now more by the unpopularity of their party than anything else. Of course the good news for them is that they have a long time to fix it.
2 comments:
- Christian Liberty said...
Dems with state-wide experience are more popular because state-wide politicians (prior to the 2006, 2008 Democratic wave elections) were more motivated to moderate and develop a moderate record. The recent freshmen Dems were delusional enough to think that progressivism was popular (as a result of the dissatisfaction towards the Republicans and the slick marketing of Barack Obama). The Democrats have vastly overreached beyond their mandate. Their mandate was ethics reform and reducing government spending and reducing government deficits.
Obama's fiscal mandate was to cut taxes. Obama won NOT because he ran on expanding government healthcare. Obama won because he promised NO TAX INCREASE (below $250k) and attacked McCain for proposing a tax on employer-provided health benefits (to equalize the tax treatment that subsidizes labor unions and big employers). Obama's government spending (stimulus, health care "reform", and cap and trade) are CONTRARY to his election promises. And he WILL suffer electorally for not fulfilling his mandate to control deficits by lowering spending and NOT raising taxes. And Senate Democrats WILL suffer electorally for supporting Obama's tax-and-spend status-quo policies.
America rejects undiluted progressivism every time they see it. Just like America rejects Obamacare and the cap-and-trade. And just like America rejected Congressional Democrats in 1946, 1966, 1980, and 1994, so they will in 2010.
The American people's litmus test will roughly equate to this: if you supported Obama's stimulus and/or health care takeover and/or cap-and-trade, then you are too left-wing to be trusted with political power. - February 24, 2010 at 5:10 PM
- Jeff said...
SurveyUSA shows Merkley's numbers at 43%-39% this month: last month's numbers were the one's you cited. http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=6f7f86e2-3312-4af3-ba0c-c58ea6d4e6b1
Though looking at their tracking he's had mediocre to bad numbers pretty much since he was elected. - February 24, 2010 at 6:18 PM


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What is a soft robot anyway? Over the last few weeks I've been giving demos at Resistor to show students what they are, what they're good for, and how you can make your own.
Resistor was host to two meetup groups: the ACM NYC Group and the Soft Robotics Technology Group. During the demonstrations I gave a brief overview of the state of the art in soft robotics and then went into how I designed and built my most popular soft robot to date: the Glaucus.
Students helped out by casting waxes, degassing silicone, and pouring up molds themselves. Maybe soon I'll come up with a way to get an even more hands-on demo where people can each make a bot themselves to take home.
Below you can find video from the ACM lecture:


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A cactus is a great decorative to add interest to your living space. All cactus plants are members of the Cactaceae family, they are all flowering plants, but some have more prominent blooms. They can most definitely survive the warm and dry conditions of a centrally heated home.
How To Care
Light: Cactus plant likes a strong light, it's essential for healthy cacti. It can cope well in direct sunlight.
Water: No need for much water, water whenever the compost begins to dry.
Fertilizer: Use a cacti fertilizer during the growing season.
Temperature: Around 18°C is ideal, during summer it's ranging from 70 F to more than 80 F. In the winter, the plants prefer a cooler period.
Potting: Once a year, you need to repot your cactus and transfer it to a larger pot.
Pruning: Usually can be pruned by cutting away diseased portions.


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Jason and Whit Fireson keep dying, but they can't seem to stay dead.
Leaders of the notorious, bank-robbing Firefly Gang, they wake up one day in a small-town morgue with no idea on how they got there. They should be dead – they both sport apparently fatal gunshot wounds – yet miraculously they've survived. Slipping away before the authorities realize what's happened, they race to complete one more big job and to find the women they love.
Set in 1934 with the country mired in the Great Depression, The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers follows the adventures – and deaths – of the outlaws as they race across the Midwest, J Edgar Hoover's fledgling FBI agency hot on their heels. To the common people, the Firefly brothers are seen as daring heroes, striking a blow against a broken system, and the stories of their escapades reach mythic proportions. To the law they're an embarrassment that must be stopped.
Mullen does an incredible job of evoking the atmosphere of the times from the cars and the slang to the desperation, the fear, the feeling that society itself was breaking down. There's a little of everything here – kidnapping, gun fights, car chases, narrow escapes, blood and violence. There's also loyalty and friendship, family ties that reach across time and distance, love that outlasts death with an ending that leaves plenty of room for discussion.


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5 Daily Fantasy Baseball Studs to Target on 5/13/16
In daily fantasy baseball, pitchers are the cornerstone of your lineups. It's important to spend wisely at the position; if your pitchers fail, your lineup is doomed.
In any slate, it's also important to select the correct top-priced hitters. Luckily for us, some top bats have excellent matchups today.
Let's take a look at the FanDuel studs for today's main slate.


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The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is the central bank of Switzerland. It is responsible for Swiss monetary policy and for issuing Swiss franc banknotes. The SNB is an Aktiengesellschaft under special regulations. About 55% of its shares are owned by public institutions like cantons and cantonal banks. The remaining shares are traded on the stock market. They are mostly owned by private individuals.
Chairman: Thomas Jordan
Current Voting Members: Thomas J. Jordan, Jean-Pierre Danthine, Fritz Zurbrügg


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Homeowners in England and Wales will be offered subsidies of £5,000 from next April to help them to replace old gas boilers with low carbon heat pumps.
The grants are part of the government's £3.9 billion plan to reduce carbon emissions caused by heating homes and other buildings.
It is hoped no new gas boilers will be sold after 2035. The funding also aims to make social housing and public buildings more energy efficient.
However, experts have stated that the budget is too low and the strategy not ambitious enough. Ministers say the subsidies will make heat pumps a comparable price to a new gas boiler, but the £450 million being allocated for the subsidies over three years will cover a maximum of just 90,000 pumps.
Matthew Fell, Chief Policy Director at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said:
'£5,000 heat pump grants will help get the ball rolling when it comes to decarbonising homes across the UK. The government's Heat and Buildings Strategy provides a golden opportunity for both the public and private sector to pick up the pace of progress to net zero.
'There's no doubt that the scale of the challenge is considerable. These welcome measures – including the 2035 phase out of new gas boilers – will help consumers and business better prepare to change the way they heat their homes and buildings.'
Internet links: GOV.UK CBI website


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Sifnos Neutral Pillow Cover
- Regular price
$48.00 - Regular price
$0.00 - Sale price
Hurry, only 4 items left in stock!
Shipping information
Shipping & Delivery Information
Shipping Rates
- Free US domestic standard shipping for all orders above $100 and flat-rate $12 for standard shipping of orders below $150 (excluding over-sized Art Work pieces).
- Flat rate of $55 is applied to all over-sized Art Work pieces for US domestic standard shipping, no free or express shipping policy in this category.
- We use USPS, UPS and FEDEX. APO/FPO & PO Boxes are not accepted
- Front Door Parcel Delivery (e.g., UPS, USPS) to your delivery address
- A telephone number is required for delivery. Leave the correct email address in your order so that order confirmation and shipping confirmation will be sent.
- Your address should be detailed enough, even include apartment or unit number. Nondelivery or extra shipping fee due to personal reasons will not be taken by Thehomemind
- Shipping charges will be automatically added to your order at checkout. Florida state laws require us to charge Florida residents of the state's sales tax on each order total (products + shipping and processing charges)
Delivery times:
- Shipping in 5-7 days (this does not include weekends or holidays). Exceptions: 1) Art Work requires special packaging, so it takes 1-2 weeks for shipping. 2) For Pre-Orders or Made to Order items shipping requires 4-6 weeks, but details please check each listing for the exact shipping estimation.
- US Domestic standard delivery time aprox. 5-7 days. US Domestic Express delivery time aprox. 2-3 days.
- You will be emailed a tracking number when your product is shipped, so please ensure that your email address is correct.
- Please feel free to contact us if you don't receive any notification in 7 days. Email to: firstname.lastname@example.com
- Please contact us within 30 days of shipment if the package does not arrive in time. Note that overdue requests may not be accepted.
- International delivery times vary by country.
Local Pick up:
In Miami, FL
Call customer service: +1 (786) 473 7803
Returns information
Return process:
- Please contact our customer service team if you need to process a return for any reason. You can send an email to email@example.com including:
- The return shipping address will be sent to you in an email. Please ship the items back to the address we send to you and include a copy of the original receipt along with the return receipt.
- We do not offer Freight To Collect (FTC) service for returns. The returns will be made at your own cost. We will provide return shipping labels only for defective product or shipping errors.
- We do accept Returns on Made to Order items, Custom Orders and Original Paintings.
- Refunds will be reimbursed back to your original payment method. Credit & debit cards may take 5-7 business days to process. Refunds will be made for the product cost value deducting shipping costs.
Return conditions:
- Orders are able to be cancelled and refunded before shipping from the warehouse.
- You can initiate a refund or exchange in 30 days after delivery. Customer is responsible for the return shipping cost.
- Items must be returned unwashed and undamaged in the original packaging and original condition. Also receipt should be included.
- Please inspect your products immediately upon delivery to notify us of any damaged, incomplete, or inaccurate shipments, and we'll fix the issue or offer a full refund for the product cost value deducting shipping costs.
In case you have any query, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our customer service on email@example.com
Product Details
'Sifnos' Bohemian Fringe Pillow cover. Mix & Match with these playful neutral throw pillows cover and add some boho texture in your sofa or bedroom. Handmade in India, crafted of 100% woven cotton with jute details, tassels & fringe.
Pillow features:
• Made in India
• Color: Ivory/Cream neutral
• 100% cotton
• Two sizes: 18 x 18 inches, 20x20 inches, 19x22 inches, 22x22 inches. Select the size before ordering. Only ONE pillow cover per size. Insert is NOT included
• For inserts is recommended to use one size up for plumper look
• Might be slight differences from the design shown as each piece is one of a kind
• Spot clean
• Design on front; solid on reverse
• Hidden zipper closure
Pillow insert features:
• Down alternative Hypoallergenic Decorative Pillow / Cushion insert
• Made in USA
• Exterior material: 100% microfibers, filled with 100% Hypo allergenic polyester
• Size: 20x20 inches (fits nicely 18"x18" cover), 21x21 inches (fits nicely 20"x20" cover), 23x23 inches (fits nicely 22"x22" cover)
• For inserts is recommended to use one size up for plumper look
• Machine washable up to 30C or 86F


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Hi everyone!
It's Dawn here with the final winners post for The Crafting Cafe! *Sad Face*
We had 16 amazing entries in our June, Black & White Challenge!
Thanks you all for playing along, it was an honour to visit your blogs to
check out all your fantastic creations!
As always, I asked Mr Random.Org to help with choosing the winner of our
Sponsor Prize
The choice of 3 Images & 1 Sentiment from
He gave me #11! Congratulations Lindsey!
Don't forget to email us: email@example.com to claim your prize,
Here is your winners badge too!
Now, on to our Top 3 picks as chosen by the DT
This was a very tough choice to make. I can tell you there was a lot of pushing,
shoving & jumping up & down but we finally manage to agree on
the entries below!
Thank you for your amazing entries ladies! Pleae find your Top 3 badge below!
Thanks to everyone who has played along with us over the past two
and a half years, it's been a blast!
and a half years, it's been a blast!
Thanks to all the sponsors too, the DT had great fun playing with your images.
If you're not already a member of our Crafting Cafe facebook group,
please do pop on over & join us here!
The monthly challenges will continue over there, but will be just for fun!
Now, all that remains is for me to cover everything with dust sheets, make sure the
lights are out & lock all the doors & windows.
Who knows, we may return one day............


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Navigation |
Video Adapters Product SelectorChoose from our wide selection of Video AdaptersContact our FREE Tech Support
Not sure, which Video Converter suits your installation? Request a free call back from our AV experts any time. Today, AV equipment comes with many different video interfaces. Connecting older to newer AV equipment can become a challenge, when you do not have the right video cables on hand. Video adapters (also often referred to as a video converter) are a very cost efficient solution to fix your video compatibility issues.
There are many more use cases where you will require a video adapter. Keep always a selection of video adapters in stock. Choose from our wide selection most suitable for your daily video source to display connections.
Black Box ExplainsWhen to choose an active DisplayPort adapterWhen you connect a source with a (mini)DisplayPort interface to one or more DVI or HDMI display(s), you need to know the difference between active and passive video adapters. PCs and other video sources with dual-mode DisplayPort (also known as DP++) interface support the conversion between DisplayPort and HDMI or DVI. You can use a passive video adapter. Watch out for the DP++ symbol at your source port. Use always an active video adapter, if your video source has a single-mode DisplayPort interface or needs to support multiple video outputs. Active adapters are equipped with an internal chip that performs the conversion between single-mode or dual-mode DisplayPort and HDMI or DVI. When to choose a video converter with scalingVideo adapters are a very cost effective solution if you want to match two different video interfaces physically. For some applications, you might need a more sophisticated video converter with physical and electronical adjustments. These devises convert analog video (VGA, component, or composite) into digital video (DVI-D, HDMI or DisplayPort) or vice versa. In addition, many video converters automatically scale the video input up or down for a high quality display on the screen. |


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"Why does the state try and persuade individuals to quit smoking, but not skiing?"
All human activities carry costs that have to be weighed against their benefits. Risk to limb or life is merely a type of cost that will occur with a probability lower than one but higher than zero. Economist Kip Viscusi reports that, in the U.S., the annual death risk from motor vehicle accidents is 1/5,000. In France, 115,000 skiers are injured every year, and more than 50 killed. In a typical year, 390 Canadians drown, and 5 are killed by lightning. Individuals presumably take risks into account when they make choices. They believe that the pleasure of driving, skiing, swimming, or walking outweighs the risk; otherwise, they don't engage in such activities.
Why does the state try and persuade individuals to quit smoking, but not skiing? Why do we hear about the "social cost of smoking"—$130 billion per year in the U.S., according to a 1998 Treasury study—but not about the social cost of driving or swimming? What do we mean by "social cost"? We shall see that, on these issues, economists generally arrive at conclusions opposite to those of the Public Health approach—i.e., the approach of the medical specialists and government organizations of which we hear so much in popular discourse and the media.
Economics Versus Public Health
Before we look at the main Public Health arguments and the economic counter arguments, let's have a first look at how the two approaches differ on the basic concepts of benefits and costs.
Economics starts with subjective individual preferences. Individuals who smoke tobacco reveal that they gain net "utility" (or satisfaction) from this consumption. The risky character of many activities—whether smoking, driving cars, or skydiving—does not change this conclusion, as the demand that each consumer brings to the market includes his estimates of such non-price costs. Economic theory demonstrates that, given certain conditions, free markets are efficient; i.e., they lead to the socially optimal allocation of resources.
The Public Health school adopts a radically different methodology. Starting from the observation that smoking is bad for the smoker's health, it goes on to conclude that individuals do not derive benefits from smoking. Anti-smoking activist Scott Ballin asserts that "There is no positive aspect to [smoking]. The product has no potential benefits."
Not only does the Public Health school neglect subjective benefits of smoking, as evaluated by each individual, but it often reveals a confused notion of cost. This was especially obvious in the Public Health literature of the 1970s and 1980s, which assumed that costs of smoking-related illnesses were of the nature of a "social cost," borne by "society as a whole." Typically, 75% of the so-called "social cost" of smoking was made of incomes lost by ill or deceased smokers.
Now, if we consider, like economists, that "society" does not own individuals, such costs are private costs to smokers, not "external costs" transferred to others. Each individual deducts these costs from his subjective benefits before making his consumption choices. It would be double counting to add them again to social costs.
The Transfer Argument
Not all Public Health arguments were so simplistic. A more serious one was related to what economists call "transfers," i.e., subsidies between different groups in society. The transfer argument claimed that health care costs of treating smoking-related diseases was partly supported by non-smokers and, hence, amounted to a forced subsidy to smokers. This claim implicitly relied on the fact that health care has been more or less nationalized; otherwise, smokers would have to pay for their self-imposed diseases, possibly through higher private insurance premiums. Now, public health insurance regimes have been set up with the avowed objective of operating a redistribution from the healthy to the sick; in fact, the whole Welfare State is based on cross-subsidies between social groups. It would seem a perversion—if not a totalitarian slippage—of the system to single out certain groups who happen to be on the receiving side.
Consider, for a moment, the similar cases of alcohol and sedentary lifestyle (i.e., lack of physical exercise). Research has shown that alcohol consumption transfers net costs to the rest of society because it is often a causal factor in automobile accidents and violent crimes. Yet, forcing the drunk to bear responsibility for the costs they impose would seem to be a more appropriate response than prohibition for everybody. As for sedentary lifestyle and obesity-related diseases, economists Willard G. Manning, et al. write: "Surprisingly, the lifetime external costs of a sedentary life-style are actually higher than the external cost of smoking. … We estimate that lack of exercise imposes external costs of 24 cents for every mile that sedentary people do not walk, jog, or run." The fact that not doing something might impose "costs" on others illuminates the troubling implications of this kind of transfer argument.
In the case of smoking, anyway, the transfer argument is empirically false. Economists who looked at the figures in many countries (including Robert Leu and Thomas Schaub in Switzerland, Willard Manning in the U.S., Raynauld and Vidal in Canada, and Jean-Jacques Rosa in France) discovered that net transfers go the other way around if one factors in tobacco taxes paid by smokers plus the savings that their early deaths brings to public pension plans and other kinds of old-age care. Not only do smokers pay their way, but they actually subsidize non-smokers. Interestingly, Public Health activists have turned this defeat to their advantage: they now argue that this is simply "not the kind of calculation that a civilized society engages in," as MIT Prof. Jeffrey Harris puts it.
The World Bank's Arguments
After the economists' analytical assault, the case for smoking regulations seemed pretty thin in the early 1990s. Then, a new argument was proposed by World Bank economist Howard Barnum. It relied on welfare economics, a field of neoclassical economic theory designed to show that "market failures," created by external costs or other types of "externalities" (phenomena that bypass the market), prevent free markets from maximizing social welfare. The welfare-economics argument against smoking has since been refined by other economists working with the World Bank, and has provided the intellectual basis for the Bank's 1999 report on the smoking "epidemic."
The argument runs as follows. Smoking is not like other consumption choices, and the economic presumption of market efficiency does not apply. This is because, as the World Bank puts it, "many smokers are not fully aware of the high probability of disease and premature death," and because of the addictive nature of tobacco. Consequently, the demand that smokers bring to the market does not represent the true benefits of tobacco for them. Externalities transform what would be private risks and costs of the smoker himself into social costs. Reducing tobacco consumption (or eliminating it, in the original Barnum version) would increase net social benefits.
The first question is whether addiction really take over the free will of its impotent victims. Statistics show that half of non-smokers are former smokers, which suggests that quitting is not infinitely costly. Many smokers claim that they would like to quit, but that they are unable to. Words are only words and, in the economist's eyes, an actual choice to smoke reveals that, all costs and advantages being considered, this is what the smoker prefers to do. Analogously, notes Kip Viscusi, half the residents of Los Angeles claim that they would like to move out, but never do. There is much everyday evidence that one is "addicted" to tobacco because one likes it, not the other way around: many former smokers start again months or even years after any withdrawal symptom has long gone away, and smokers prefer a cigarette to nicotine gum or patches.
Moreover, the theory of "rational addiction", developed mainly by Gary Becker, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, has brought addictive behavior into the realm of rational choice. An addictive good is defined as one whose utility is a function of previous consumption: the more you have consumed, the better you are likely to appreciate it—like for alcohol, drugs, music, television, or religion. Individuals become addicted to something because, given their own circumstances, they judge the benefits higher than the costs, including possible withdrawal costs. One can test the rational addiction theory by testing whether addicts take future prices into consideration in their current demand for the addictive good (as a rational individual would, because he can get hooked into paying higher future prices). Indeed, it has been found that smokers are more responsive to long-term price changes.
The second basis of the World Bank argument lies in the assumed imperfect information about smoking risks. This is contradicted by research showing that American smokers actually overestimate the risks of smoking, compared to the claims of Public Health specialists themselves. While the smoker's risk of getting lung cancer during his life is estimated at around 10% in the scientific literature (much higher than the nonsmoker's risk), opinion polls show that the public's assessment of this risk is at least three times higher. Moreover, if perfect information may be a convenient assumption in formal neoclassical models, it is not an economic ideal as long as information is costly; i.e., as long as producing or gathering information requires the use of real resources including time, the scarce resource par excellence. The rational consumer will obtain additional bits of information only as long as their advantages are higher than their costs. This is why the typical consumer doesn't get a degree in mechanics before choosing a car, or a Ph.D. in electronics before buying a computer.
Secondhand Smoke and Property Rights
So far, so good: smokers only "hurt" themselves. (This is only a way of talking since they obviously expect to derive more benefits than costs from smoking.) But what about secondhand smoke? Assuming that secondhand smoke imposes inescapable "external (health) costs" on third parties, most economists (a least in the neoclassical tradition) would consider this as a real case of market failure, which calls for government intervention.
There is a double catch here. First, the health hazards of secondhand smoke may well turn out to be the hoax of the twentieth century. Regarding the 1992 EPA report that classified secondhand tobacco smoke as a "Group A carcinogen," U.S. District Judge William Osteen wrote, in a recent decision: "The court is faced with the ugly possibility that EPA adopted a methodology for each chapter, without explanation, based on the outcome sought in that chapter. … The record and EPA's explanations to the court make it clear that using standard methodology, EPA could not produce statistically significant results with its selected studies" (Flue-Cured Tobacco Cooperative v. EPA, No. 6:93CV00370 at 60, 77, M.D.N.C. July 17, 1998).
The second point is that, even if secondhand smoke did cause a risk of disease to non-smokers, private property rights would solve the problem better than regulations or prohibitions. Take the example of restaurants. In order to maximize his profits, a restaurant owner must mediate between the demands of customers who want to smoke, and of those who do not wish to have smokers around. Depending on his clientele, on how much they are willing to pay to have their preferences catered to, and on the costs of satisfying them, the owner will decide to which extent he will segregate his customers. The market will show its usual diversity, with non-smoking, smoking-only, and dual-section restaurants. Non-smokers who do not wish to be exposed to secondhand smoke will give their patronage to non-smoking restaurants. Similarly, people who don't like to be punched don't climb on boxing rings, and people who want a zero risk of being hit by an avalanche or a fellow skier don't patronize Alpine ski resorts.
Is Government Perfect?
If what we have said is right, it appears that, even in the worst possible scenario—i.e., smoking harms smokers' and nonsmokers' health—economics cannot justify regulation of smoking, at least on private properties. Yet, an objection remains: in the real world, markets do not work perfectly. We have returned to the market-failure argument.
Suppose that there are, indeed, unredeemable market failures. It would still remain to be proven that government intervention would succeed in correcting them at an acceptable cost, including the loss of individual liberty. There is no point in comparing imperfect markets with perfect government. Yet welfare economists traditionally do just that.
The main thrust of the Public Choice school of economics has been to show that government failures are often worse than market failures. Incoherent policies are one manifestation of government failures—when, for example, government subsidizes tobacco farmers while trying to reduce tobacco consumption. Public policy is more an outcome of pressure group politics and bureaucratic incentives than a product of enlightened welfare economists.
Regulation against smoking is not only a theoretical debate. In most Western countries, smoking is legally prohibited, or regulated, on private properties—not yet in people's private homes, but in many private places open to the public, like restaurants, shopping centers, or workplaces. Laws—and the armed men that ultimately enforce them—not only prohibit businesses from mixing smokers' and nonsmokers' accommodations, but also from offering smoking-only restaurants or smoking-only flights.
Most economists are opposed to regulating adult smoking because economics shows how markets are generally more efficient than political and bureaucratic processes. On the contrary, the Public Health school expresses a heavy prejudice in favor of coercive government intervention. There are some economic arguments for government regulation of smoking, but they resort to the most questionable aspects of welfare economics, and assume that bureaucrats and politicians are disinterested and omniscient. History suggests that, between imperfect markets and imperfect governments, liberty and prosperity side with the former.
The EPA report that had a major impact on the smoking debate and smoking regulation is Respiratory Health Effects of Passive Smoking: Lung Cancer and Other Disorders (Washington, DC: December 1992).
A good layman's introduction to the economics of smoking can be found in Robert D. Tollison and Richard E. Wagner, The Economics of Smoking (Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1992). My little book Smoking and Liberty: Government as a Public Health Problem (Montréal: Varia Press, 1997) provides a non-technical account of surrounding issues. The reader may also want to look up my review of Jacob Sullum, For Your Own Good. The Anti-smoking Crusade and the Tyranny of Public Health (New York: Free Press, 1998), in The Independent Review 3 (Winter 1999), 8-13, available at http://www.pierrelemieux.org/artsullum.html.
Many references to the Public Health literature of the 1970s and 1980s can be found in A. Markandya and D.W. Pearce, "The Social Cost of Tobacco Smoking," British Journal of Addiction 84 (1989), 1139-1150. Journals of the Public Health school include the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and Tobacco Control.
The transfer debate has been settled by Willard G. Manning, Emmet B. Keeler, Joseph P. Newhouse, Elizabeth M. Sloss, and Jeffrey Wasserman, The Costs of Poor Health Habits. A RAND Study (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1991).
The main studies by the World Bank, or economists associated with it, are: Howard Barnum, "The Economic Burden of the Global Trade in Tobacco," Tobacco Control 3 (1994), 358-361; Iraj Abedian, Rowena van der Merwe, Nick Wilkins, and Prabhat Jha, eds., The Economics of Tobacco Control. Towards an Optimal Policy Mix (Cape Town: University of Cape Town, 1998); and the World Bank report, Curbing the Epidemic: Governments and the Economics of Tobacco Control (Washington, DC: World Bank, 1999). A technical analysis of the World Bank's welfare argument is given in my La Banque mondiale et le coût social du tabac, paper presented at the "Individual Choices and Liberty Seminar," Université du Québec à Hull, January 14, 2000, available at http://www.uqah.uquebec.ca/lemieux/en/papers.html, and at http://www.pierrelemieux.org/lemieux_bm.pdf.
The rational choice approach in the social sciences as well as the Beckerian theory of rational addiction are discussed in Alan E. Woodfield, The Rational Approach to Consumer Risky Choices, paper presented at the "Individual Choices and Liberty Seminar," Université du Québec à Hull, December 10, 1999, available at http://www.uqah.uquebec.ca/lemieux/en/papers.html. Gary Becker's original work is presented in a more technical article: Gary S. Becker and Kevin M. Murphy, "A Theory of Rational Addiction," Journal of Political Economy 96 (August 1988), 675-700.
W. Kip Viscusi's path-breaking work on smokers' risk and information include his article "Do Smokers Underestimate Risks?," Journal of Political Economy 98 (1990), 1253-1269, and his book Smoking: Making the Risky Decision (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992).
*Pierre Lemieux is a Visiting Professor of Economics at the Université du Québec à Hull.
To read follow-ups to this essay, see
Follow-up Posts and Letters.


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Exxon's PR Agency Possibly Behind Spoof of Al Gore's Film
Like everyone else, it's Al Gore's turn to be spoofed on YouTube. While Exxon and its PR firm, Washington-based DCI Group, deny having anything to to with it, the creator of Al Gore's Penguin Army, a video that spoofs Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, 29-year-old "Toutsmith" was found by the Wall Street Journal to be using an email address that tracked back to DCI Group. He would not tell the Journal who he was or why he made the video. Oh now let's see. Al's movie slams oil companies. Exxon in an oil company. Nah. There's no connection there.


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In these Conditions: MaXXimus Australia is "the Company" or "We" or "Us"; "the Client" or "You" or "Your" means the legal person or persona to whom the Company is obliged to provide the Services; "the Services" means the provision of booking facilities, passes, corporate hospitality, event information and any other services and "the Price" means the cost for the Services, exclusive of all (if any) GST. - CONTRACT
We agree to contract with you only on the Conditions contained herein. The Conditions take precedence over any terms or conditions subsequently issued by You, including any terms on a purchase order or similar document. All Contracts and transactions relating to the provision of the Services by the Company, whether verbal or in writing, are subject to these Conditions which are be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any contract between the Company and the Client. You must pay the non-refundable deposit amount requested. If We accept Your order, We will issue an invoice for the amount to be paid. The issue of the invoice and Your receipt of it constitutes the contract. - PAYMENT
The price shall be paid as follows:- A deposit of 50%, unless otherwise stated at the time of booking, must be paid to the Company within 7 days from the date of booking;
- Final balances must be paid to the Company no later than 13 weeks prior to the first day of the booked Event; and
- if the booking is made within 6 months of the first day of the booked Event, the total must be paid to the Company within 7 days from the date of booking. If the price or any part thereof being outstanding after the due date for payment, the Company at their sole discretion reserves the right to cancel the booking and resell the services.
Cancellation or alterations of bookings will be accepted at the sole discretion of the Company. In the event of the Client wishing to alter or cancel the booking, any such alteration or cancellation must be confirmed in writing to the Company. On receipt of such cancellation or alteration instruction, the following scale of cancellation and alteration charges will be applied and due and payable to the Company (whether already paid or not):- Cancellations:
- Up to 13 weeks before the first day of booked Event – 50% of the price; and
- Less than 13 weeks before the first day of booked Event – Total price.
- Amendment Fee: Where the Company is willing and able to accept alterations or amendments, a $100 administration charge may be added to final balance for each amendment made to the original booking, save where the amendment increased the size of the original booking. Cancellation and amendment charges are not intended to be penal but are an estimate of the loss that may be caused to the Company. The Company will use their best endeavour to re-sell the services to mitigate the client's liability.
- Bookings are non-transferable and may not be sold or transferred by you.
- Cancellations:
- Behaviour: The Company reserves the right to refuse entry or to provide the Services to any Client or any Client's guest on the day of the Event if the Client or guest behaves in any manner which is in the opinion of the Company likely to cause offence or injury to any other party. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Client shall be liable with regard to any loss, damage, cost, expense or injury incurred or suffered by the Company which relates to or arises out of the acts or omissions of the Client or the Client's guests and the Client shall indemnify the Company accordingly. This obligation shall be without limit of time.
- Alterations to the Programme: The Company shall make every reasonable effort to adhere to the programme but the Company is authorised to alter or omit or change the services for any cause which the Company in their absolute discretion shall consider to be just and reasonable. In the event that the Company is obliged to make any material changes in the services or cancel them as booked by the Client for any reason other than "Force Majeur", the Company will always use its best endeavour to ensure that arrangements offered are of at least equal or superior standards.
- The Company reserves the right to pass on any suppliers' price increases to the Client. Such increase must be paid to the Company before any tickets can be issued or the Event staged.
- If the price is materially increased or the Company unreasonably alters the service or the package of any events the Client shall be entitled to cancel the order concerned by giving written notice to be received by the Company within 48 hours of the Client having been notified of the change. In this event the Client shall be entitled to a full refund of the monies paid in respect of the Service or Event concerned provided that the Client shall indemnify the Company for all obligations incurred by the company on behalf of the Client subject to any refunds which the Company may be able to obtain and provided that the Company shall be entitled to retain the Deposit.
- Cancellation by the Company of one or more Events or Service shall not entitle the client to cancel any other Event or Service.
- The Company has no control over the running of the Event or Service and all details and descriptions in relation thereto are for guidance purposes only.
- The Company shall not be held liable for any omission by any person not employed directly by the Company. The Company has no control over the Events and does not have any say and cannot accept any liability for the actions or omissions of the organisers or operators of the Events or their servants, agents or employees.
- The Company give no warranties that the Event or Service shall take place at the time and place stipulated or at all. The Company shall not be liable to give any refund should the Event be postponed or cancelled except where the Client has insured against such postponement or cancellation.
- The Client hereby acknowledges that the Company has no control over the pricing policy of tickets for the Event and that any description of the position of seats is a matter for which the Company have no liability.
- Force Majeure: Both the Company and the Client shall be released from any further obligations regarding an Event or Service in the event of national emergency, prohibitive governmental regulations, cancellation of the Event by third parties or any cause beyond the Company's reasonable control which renders the performance of any event impossible. This provision shall not relieve the Company of its obligation to pay for all Events completed pursuant to an order or to indemnify the Company for obligations incurred by the Company as an agent of the Client or oblige the Company to repay the deposit.
- Liability
- In all arrangements involving third parties, the Company act only as an agent of the Client and no liability of any kind whatsoever shall be attached to the Company in connection with or arising from such arrangement with a third party.
- The Company will not be responsible for loss, damage, injury to any Client or third party or their property, howsoever caused.
- Company liability will under no circumstances exceed the price paid for the Service or Event Package
- Unless expressly stipulated the Company acts at all times as an agent for the client. The Company sources event products and services on behalf of the client and provides no warranty as to their quality, availability, fitness for purpose, nor that they will be provided nor take place at all.
These Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of New South Wales and the parties submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales. MaXXimus Australia is a trading name of MaXXimus Australia Pty Ltd, ABN: 47 090 649 139.


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It's been a while!
Gonna start with a minor league post about colors, old computers and such.
OpenGeek is speech brought to you by an open minded geek interested in technology and political issues and their combined effect on society. You will also find a few other (hopefully) interesting ramblings mixed in as well. Thank you for reading. Your feedback is welcome --encouraged actually!