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Discordian Hymnal #006: New Fool's Day Edition
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Tuesday, March 31, 2009 | Published in discordianism, hymnal, video
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Monday, March 30, 2009 | Published in legal, skepticism, tech
Our YouTube account has been suspended, which means all of the Randi Speaks and other JREF videos are temporarily unavailable. We're researching the problem, and will be back online as soon as possible. Thanks very much for your patience.It's too early to speculate on exactly what caused this problem, but I've got a couple of quick guesses: 1) Flag bots hit the channel hard and tripped YouTube's automatic ban system 2) Someone filed a DMCA complaint which automatic suspends an account (ala the whole Thunderf00t - PCS saga). Either way the whole situation stinks to high heaven. If you want to complain to YouTube about how they are handling it then click here: http://www.google.com/support/youtube/.
Even more of importance, contact your favorite member of Congress and tell them that the DMCA is a complete joke with too many loopholes that can be misused for censorship.
Intermittens: A Magazine for Spags
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Friday, March 27, 2009 | Published in discordianism, intermittens, irreligion
Ok, enough of that. Several fellow Discordians have decided to gather assorted essays, clip art and interesting columns together in handy zine form. The third issue was just released today. You can read all three issues here: http://www.intermittens.org/
If you like it, go give the people at PrincipiaDiscordia.com some love. If you'd like to contribute to future issues there is a button to do so at the Intermittens site. Issues 4 and 5 should be out in the next couple of months.
Enjoy! Hail Eris!!
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Thursday, March 26, 2009 | Published in apophenia, denialism, video
(NOTE: The original video that was here was taken down by YouTube for copyright issues. Here is a slightly edited version of the show. Hopefully this one will stay on YouTube.)
Skeptics Acting Like Discordians
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Wednesday, March 25, 2009 | Published in skepticism
It's entitled "What Do I Do Next?" and most of it is pretty good grassroots advice: help out skeptical organizations, learn about skeptical stuff, teach that skeptical stuff to others, investigate all bullshit claims, team up with other Skeptics to go fight crime, spread the word through your community, interact with the media, help out schools and libraries, get political, learn to use film, video, and the internet wisely; and talk amongst yourselves. All very good pieces of advise and stuff that I need to work on. I don't think I'm doing any of that besides using the internet to talk to myself. Looks like I've got a lot of work to do.
FTC Finally Does Something Right
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Monday, March 23, 2009 | Published in money, science, skepticism
That means no more Jared Fogle ads, no more body builders hocking diet pills, no more guys in Ferraris telling you how they made millions overnight in the real estate business. Late night cable TV will have to find a whole new batch of advertisers who will have to think of some other loophole to defraud people with.
Updated guidelines on ad endorsements and testimonials under final review by the Federal Trade Commission—and widely expected to be adopted—would end marketers' ability to talk up the extreme benefits of products while carrying disclaimers like "results not typical" or "individual results may vary."
Instead, companies would be allowed to tout extreme results only if they also spelled out typical outcomes."
For a good part of the last decade, we have noticed a problem, particularly with consumer testimonials," said Richard Cleland, assistant director of the FTC's division of advertising practices. "The use of consumer testimonials had become almost a safe harbor for companies as long as they threw in some sort of disclaimer about results not being typical."
The tougher rules, the first update to the guidelines since 1980, are designed to make it easier for consumers to judge the credibility of marketers' claims. The changes would affect all forms of advertising and marketing, including blogs and company Web sites. The FTC could bring legal action against firms that don't comply.
Classic Skepticism: The Amazing Randi vs. Maureen Flynn
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Sunday, March 22, 2009 | Published in denialism, law of fives, skepticism, video
It's interesting to see an unedited cold reading like this. It's very telling when she asks for someone attached to the name Taylor,the third most common surname in the UK, and describes a spirit that died with something over his mouth (raise your hand if you know someone who died in a hospital with an oxygen mask on). It's funny to see all of the complete misses too ("Do you know James?" "No, sorry." "How about Doris" "No..." LAIL)
It gets more interesting in the second part when Randi confronts one of Maureen's regular
All Hail the Belief-O-Matic!
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | | Published in religion
It's a pretty good diagnostic tool too. I've taken it many times over the last 4 years and it's been interesting to see how my opinions have on religion have shift over that time. The first time I took it I was 100% Liberal Quaker. When I took it six months ago, Nontheist was at the top of the list. When I took it 5 minutes ago it showed Secular Humanism. Universal Unitarianism, Neo-Pagan, and Theravada Buddhism have always been high on my list too. Not surprisingly Roman Catholic and Jehovah's Witness have always been at the very very bottom. I don't see them gaining any time soon either. Scientology is in the middle, which scares me.
So anyways, enough about me. Go over there and see what box you are supposed to be in. If you actually read this post then put your results in the comments.
Discordian Hymnal #005
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Friday, March 20, 2009 | Published in discordianism, hymnal, law of fives, video
Pope-Counter Pope
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Wednesday, March 18, 2009 | Published in Christianity, larf, satire, skepticism, troll
As a counter-point I, Pope Iason Ouabache the Skeptical make this statement:
"It (AIDS) cannot be overcome by the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, they increase the problem."
"Automobile accidents cannot be overcome by the mandating of seatbelts in all cars. On the contrary, they increase the problem. Sure, the statistics show that traffic fatalities have gone down worldwide since the seatbelts have become wide spread. But we believe that the best way to prevent these deaths is to tell people to not drive at all. Or you may obtain a specialized license from the Holy Church of the Skeptic after you swear to never ever drive dangerously."The other pope is currently unavailable for comment.
Creationists in... Canada?
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Tuesday, March 17, 2009 | Published in creationism, denialism, evolution, politics
That should throw up caution flags for just about anyone. He was asked a valid science question and gave a religious response. I know of only one group of people who do that and they don't tend to like "materialism", as they call it. It doesn't help that he was a chiropractor by trade, a profession that had a very dubious history. When asked to clarify his position, he started doing the denialism tango:
"I'm not going to answer that question. I am a Christian, and I don't think anybody asking a question about my religion is appropriate."
"I do believe that just because you can't see it under a microscope doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It could mean we don't have a powerful enough microscope yet. So I'm not fussy on this business that we already know everything. … I think we need to recognize that we don't know."Whatever that means... There are already major scientists ready to descend from their "ivory towers" and rip Goodyear apart. He hasn't helped his case by slashing through the science research budget recently. Here's hoping that the Canadian branch of the Reality-Based community will win this battle.
Not What but Net Twit
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Monday, March 16, 2009 | Published in beginning, meta, tech
I wonder if the guy who writes Doonsbury has stock in Twitter. Has anyone investigated this?How could you miss out on an opportunity like this??
If there was a website where a bunch of pr0n stars constantly updated their status would it be called Twatter? I bet someone already regged that name
I have just discovered the awesomeness of Sprite with orange flavoring from Sonic. I wonder if I could get a raise for this
Having a dream about Twitter and my blog is probably not a good sign.
The Most Important Technological Advances
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Sunday, March 15, 2009 | Published in evolution, science, skepticism, tech
The topic was brought up on what was the most important technological advance in mankind's history. It is a rather tough decision to make. Things like the wheel, fire, agriculture/domestication of animals, urbanization, art, organized religion, geometry, clockwork, and fermentation were all extremely important prehistorical discoveries. Humanity wouldn't exist without all of these things. There were only a handful of developments in the 1 - 1750 CE that I would consider earth shattering. Off the top of my head: empiricism/scientific method, the printing press, the telescope, the microscope, Newtonian physics/calculus, and gunpowder. The Dark Ages really did set us back a lot.
Meanwhile, the time from 1750 until today has given us huge leaps in technology. Atomic theory, evolution, quantum mechanics, theory of relativity, germ theory, and genetics were all fleshed out in this period. Plus we came up with inventions like the combustion engine, the light bulb, rockets, turbines, computers/the internet, digital watches, vaccines/antibiotics, the telegraph, telephone, radio, television... I feel like I could go on forever here.
However, if I had to pick one single technological advance that shines head and shoulders above everything else, I would have to pick: Language. That is the single greatest advancement humanity has ever made. None of the advances (except for a few) would have even been possible without language.
Language is what helps us spread knowledge and information to our tribe mates, our neighbors and future generations. Because of it mankind doesn't have to go through the learning process anew every generation. Our descendants will be able to build on the knowledge we have already amassed, add to it, and pass it to future generations. And some of the biggest leaps have been thanks to new ways to spreading information: written language, the printing press, the telegraph, the telephone, radio, television, the internet. Humanity would be not be humanity if we had never learned to communicate with one another.
Adam Carolla on Strong Atheism
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Saturday, March 14, 2009 | Published in atheism, podcasts, skepticism, video
Now Taking Applications
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Thursday, March 12, 2009 | Published in meta, satire
So obviously what I need to do to get more readership is to attach myself to someone bigger... er, I mean find a worthy adversary that will help me hone my veritable wit. Let steel sharpen steel, if you will. I am now taking applications for arch-villain in the comments section. No shoving each other to get to the front of the line.
Billy Graham's Shiny Shiny Mirror
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Wednesday, March 11, 2009 | Published in Christianity, larf, unintentional irony
I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of irony meters suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
One characteristic of cults is that they strongly believe they alone are right in their beliefs and everyone else is wrong. Thus they reject the central truths of the Bible that Christians have held in common for almost 2,000 years and substitute their own beliefs for the clear teaching of Scripture.
Dennett at Ted Talks
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Tuesday, March 10, 2009 | Published in apophenia, Christianity, evolution, memes, meta, science, skepticism, video
ARIS is Here!
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Monday, March 9, 2009 | Published in Christianity, irreligion, science, skepticism
The number of Christians in general declined from 86.2% in the early 90's to 76% today with the biggest dip coming from mainline Protestant groups. Quite a few other groups had a decline as a proportion of the population too including Baptists, Mormons, Jews, and the generic category "Eastern Religions".
All of this means that the number of non-religious people in the United States has increased... kinda. While 12 percent of people say that they either believe in no god or are unsure about the whole matter, only 1.6% actually label themselves as atheist/agnostic. To me, this shows one of two things: A) the religious education in the United State is so poor that people don't actually know what they believe in or B) the "A" word still has a sharp stigma attached to it.
I'm always disappointed that there is never an irreligion category in these surveys. It'd be interesting to know exactly how many people identify themselves as Discordians, Subgenii, FSMists, etc. Then again, knowing those groups we'd purposely fuck with the survey takers to skew their data.
(USA Today has a very good article and various graphs and charts on this including state-by-state breakdowns. As always Indiana is exactly average in every category.)
Hail Alma Mater, Old VU
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Wednesday, March 4, 2009 | Published in larf
I'm taking a slight detour for this post because I just saw that my alma mater has just been featured on one of my favorite site/blog, Mental_Floss. They put together a list 11 Unusual Majors Your College Probably Didn't Offer and Vincennes University landed at numero uno!
Sniff. It makes me so proud. Go Blazers!!!
1. Bowling Industry ManagementBeing a pin monkey may have been Homer Simpson's dream, but you can make it your reality if you attend Vincennes University. The Indiana school offers the country's only program in Bowling Industry Management and Technology, where students learn topics like pinsetter mechanics and lane care. The program's site proudly touts its equipment, including a number of pinsetters and a Vacu-Jig drill machine.
Discordian Hymnal #004
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Tuesday, March 3, 2009 | Published in discordianism, hymnal, video
Right Where You are Sitting Now
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Sunday, March 1, 2009 | Published in Church of the Subgenius, discordianism, irreligion, podcasts
I had never heard of this podcast before but I'm a big fan now. I don't know how I'll be able to fit yet another podcast into my busy schedule but I'll find a way.
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | | Published in irreligion, larf, meta, skepticism, troll
Apparently FSTDT's owner Yahweh has decided to give it all up. She's taking the site down for good. But not to fear, several admins are working behind the scenes to bring it back to life. Distind has put up a temporary board to let everyone know what is going on. So far he has copied the entire database and is working on getting it uploaded to FSTDT.net. I'm hoping he improves the layout too. The current layout is sooo turn of the century. I'll post updates as I get them.
It's been a good run, but the FSTDT archive is going into read only-mode effective Mar 1, 2009. Thank you everyone who has contributed to the archive over the years :)
Crocoduck Fossil Discovered in Peru
Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | | Published in creationism, evolution, science
I'm sure many of you have seen the footage of bone-headed Creationist Kirk Cameron on the O'RLY Show saying that if evolution was true we'd find a crocoduck in the fossil record. Since we haven't found a crocoduck, that means that God wins. Well, it appears that Mr. Cameron will now have to eat his words:
The unusually intact fossilized skull of a giant, bony-toothed seabird that lived up to 10 million years ago was found on Peru's arid southern coast, researchers said Friday.I can't wait to hear what his reaction to this story will be.
The fossil is the best-preserved cranium ever found of a pelagornithid, a family of large seabirds believed to have gone extinct some 3 million years ago, said Rodolfo Salas, head of vertebrate paleontology at Peru's National History Museum...
With fossils discovered in North America, North Africa and even Antarctica, Kepska said, the birds were ubiquitous only a few million years before humans evolved and scientists puzzle over why they died out. Some believe they are related to gannets and pelicans, while other say they are related to ducks.


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- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon orange juice
- 3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting parchment and dough
Caramel Filling
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- ½ cup whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
- To make the caramel, place the sugar and water in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook on medium-high heat until sugar melts. After several minutes, the sugar will start to color. Stir the mixture so all the sugar browns. When it is a uniform amber color, turn heat to low, remove saucepan from heat and add the cream. The mixture will bubble up. Add the butter and salt and stir. Return to the heat and cook for one minute, or until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and let cool. Chill in the fridge for at least a half hour to thicken the caramel. Store in the fridge for up to five days.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment. You will bake in batches.
- In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, oil, and orange juice. Add the baking powder, pepper and flour and mix until the dough comes together. I like to use my hands for this because it kneads the dough well. Divide the dough in half.
- Take another two pieces of parchment and sprinkle flour on one, place one dough half on top, and then sprinkle a little more flour on top of the dough. Place the second piece of parchment on top of the dough and roll on top of the parchment until the dough is about ¼-inch thick. Every few rolls, peel back the top parchment and sprinkle a little more flour on the dough.
- Use a glass or round cookie cutter about 2 to 3 inches in diameter to cut the dough into circles. Place a little less than a teaspoon of the filling in the center and then fold in 3 sides to form a triangle, leaving a small opening in the center. Pinch the 3 sides very tightly. Place on the prepared cookie sheets. Repeat with the rest of the dough and re-roll and cut any dough scraps you have. Place the cookies sheets in the freezer for ten minutes; this helps the hamentaschen hold their shape and not open up while baking.
- Bake for 12 to 16 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Slide the parchment onto racks to cool the cookies. If desired, drizzle any remaining caramel over the cookies. Store covered with plastic or in an airtight container at room temperature for five days or freeze for up to three months.
Yields: 4 dozen hamantaschen

subset: commoncrawl


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The Spindle is the main effector on your CNC Mill/Router. It holds the end mill or drill bit, makes it turn and remove material.
While manual control is sometimes fine ( turn it on before starting your G-code, off when you are done ), it is so much neater to have G-codes to control it automatically : simply put an ON G-code at the beginning of your G-code file, and a off G-code at the end of your G-code file, and you don't have to think about it any-more.
The spindle module supports different types of spindles which are described in the following subsections.
The spindle module has an option which lets you enable or disable the entire module:
spindle.enable true # set this to false to disable the spindle module
Available G-code commands:
- M3 will start the spindle. M3 S5000 will start the spindle and set speed to 5000 RPM.
- M5 will stop the spindle. Last set RPM is remembered and used for next M3 command if S argument is not given.
- M957 will report the current spindle speed and PWM value. This returns not the actual value but the value that was set through M3.
- M958 will report the current PID parameters. M958 Px.xxx Ix.xxx Dx.xxx will set them (to save the new values, you need to edit config file manually).
PWM Spindle
Example config options
spindle.type pwm # sets the spindle module to PWM mode spindle.pwm_pin 2.5 # Big Mosfet Q7. Pin must be hardware PWM capable. spindle.pwm_period 1000 # default 1000, sets the PWM frequency spindle.feedback_pin 2.7 # Pin must be interrupt capable. spindle.pulses_per_rev 1.0 # default 1. Defines the number of pulses occur for each rotation spindle.default_rpm 5000 # default 5000. Defines a default RPM value in case no RPM value is provided. spindle.control_P 0.1 # default 0.0001. P value for the PID controller spindle.control_I 0.1 # default 0.0001. I value for the PID controller spindle.control_D 0.1 # default 0.0001. D value for the PID controller spindle.control_smoothing 0.1 # default 0.1. This value is low pass filter time constant in seconds.
Hobby servo ESC as spindle controlSince I'm expiriencing with hobby esc+motor combos (1:8 scale 3 phase 4068 like motor) I wanted to share it's config. ESCs act like hobby servos - 20 ms period time, 1.5-2ms duty cycle time -, so insted of having modified the spindle code, I've created a switch for commands M3/M5. Due to the very small duty cycle window you won't have much control over the motor: S7.5 is neutral, S12.5 is "fastest" after calibrating the ESC manually with bCNC (read ESC's manual; below S7.5 is breaking for now).
The following code is working, setting neutral upon boot - ESC init.
switch.servo.enable true # Servo module for PWM control switch.servo.input_on_command M3 switch.servo.input_off_command M5 switch.servo.output_pin 1.23o! # spare pin with PWM capability, 3.25 should also work from EXP2, maybe needed to set it to 1.23o! switch.servo.output_type hwpwm #switch.servo.pwm_period_ms 20 #set PWM period to 20ms (50 Hz) switch.servo.startup_state true # turn on the output to have neutral for ESC switch.servo.startup_value 7.5 # this is default_off_value switch.servo.default_on_value 7.5 switch.servo.failsafe_set_to 0
Going furtherIf you want to learn more about this module, or are curious how it works, Smoothie is Open-Source and you can simply go look at the code, here.
Analog Spindle
This module is used to control a VFD with an PWM that is converted to an 0-10V analog signal by an additional circuit. That circuit also provides an optocoupler for switching the VFD RUN signal. It is also the mode of choice if you run a brushless motor spindle driven by a ESC, in that case you will not need any additional circuitry.
Example config options
spindle.type analog # set the spindle type to analog, can also be used for ESC spindles controlled by a PWM spindle.max_rpm 24000 # set the max spindle speed that is achieved at 100% PWM spindle.pwm_pin 2.4 # the pin which emits the PWM signal spindle.pwm_period 1000 # the PWM frequency spindle.switch_on_pin 2.6 # the pin which is used to enable the VFD (optional)
PWM to analog converter circuit
VFD adapter board
Used to talk to your VFD via an analog signal
This is an example of a small extension PCB that contains a circuit to convert the 3.3V PWM signal into a 0-10V analog signal.
VFD adapter board schematic
For the curious
This is the related circuit diagram for the converter
VFD adapter board wiring
How to connect it to your Smoothieboard and vfd
This example shows how to wire the Smoothieboard to an Huanyang VFD using the PCB shown above.
VFD analog signal linearity
Going furtherIf you want to learn more about this module, or are curious how it works, Smoothie is Open-Source and you can simply go look at the code, here.
Modbus Spindle
This module is used to control a VFD using a RS485 communication bus. It provides a Modbus implementation and is easily extendable to support a wide range of Modbus compliant VFDs. But is also can support VFD's that are not compliant with the Modbus standard such as the widely used Huanyang VFD that is popular and cheap on eBay.
Example config options
spindle.type modbus # set the spindle type to modbus/RS485 spindle.vfd_type huanyang # set the VFD type, this is necessary because each inverter uses its own commands spindle.rx_pin 2.6 # TX pin for the soft serial spindle.tx_pin 2.4 # RX pin for the soft serial spindle.dir_pin 2.5 # RS485 is only half-duplex, so we need a pin to switch between sending and receiving
Huanyang VFD Modbus Parameters
In order to get the Huanyang VFD accepting commands via ModBus, you need to change a few parameters:
RS485 extension board
Like an analog spindle, the Modbus spindle needs a external circuit, but that is much simpler.
VFD Modbus signal adapter PCB
Used to talk to your spindle over RS485 differential signals
This is an example of a small extension PCB that contains a circuit to convert the 3.3V UART signal into a RS485 signal.
VFD Modbus signal adapter schematic
for the curious
div This is the related circuit diagram for the converter
VFD Modbus wiring
How to connect it to the Smoothieboard and the VFD
div This example shows how to wire the Smoothieboard to an Huanyang VFD using the PCB shown above.


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LONDON – The largest batch of Anglo-Saxon treasure ever discovered was found by an unemployed man!
Terry Herbert is an unemployed metal-detecting enthusiast. He bought a used metal detector for about $6 and went exploring in Staffordshire. While looking through the fields of a friend's farm, his detector went off.
Herbert had stumbled upon the treasure find of a lifetime. He spent five days sifting through the soil and collecting piece after piece before he realized he needed professional help.
Archaeologists ended up recovering 11 pounds in gold and 5 pounds in silver! It is believed the artifacts are from Mercia, one of the five main Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, dating somewhere between 675 AD and 725 AD.
The stash contained almost 1,500 pieces, which includes helmet crests, enamel-studded sword fittings and even a checkerboard piece. A number of the military items bear religious insignia or inscriptions, which will help archaeologists further understand the Anglo-Saxons' relationship between Christianity and warfare.
Because the treasure is over 300 years old, it will offered for sale only to accredited museums in Britain. Herbert and the unidentified farmer will split the profit 50-50, meaning they each will be becoming millionaires!
Take a look at the video below that features some of the biggest pieces:
LONDON – The largest batch of Anglo-Saxon treasure ever discovered was found by an unemployed man!


text:
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Alert canceled :(
However, the post show dinner is still going to be interesting, and not even Martin knows why. ;)
12 comments:
lolwut. I open Outlook before I pop Frasier on and read the notification about the "surprise" on AETV. As I insert the disk and wait for it to load, the RSS syncs again and theres another post from the blog: the surprise is cancelled. Well done.ReplyDelete
Be sure to take some pictures for those of us who don't fancy taking a transatlantic flight just for sunday dinner :)ReplyDelete
On your previous post, Martin said the following:ReplyDelete
"Well, you guys are really pulling out all the stops on the speculating, aren't you? As vivid as your imaginations are, now I'm worried the whole thing may be a big letdown."
How can you atheists say you know anything? One minute you believe something special is going to happen, and then you change your mind based on new evidence! How can you assert anything if you're just going to flip flop on it the next day!?ReplyDelete
I'll never listen again!ReplyDelete
I guess the fork changed back into a spoon before you could show it to the world. What a joker that God is!ReplyDelete
Damn, I guess Ray couldn't make it until next week to participate in the debate.ReplyDelete
Well, this blows. Now I won't be co-hosting that day. I guess that's what Kazim was trying to call me about all day yesterday...ReplyDelete
All I can say is, now the dinner surprise had better be epic!
Y'know they do to Injun givers in Tejas, doncha? Hope so, 'cause I sure don't XbReplyDelete
Sorry to post off-topic, but are any of the Atheist Experience crew coming 'down-under' in March of next year for the Global Atheist convention? http://www.atheistconvention.org.au/ReplyDelete
Should be a big one, Richard Dawkins will be in attendance with a host of others, to discuss topics around science, religion and skepticism.
You said "How can you atheists say you know anything? One minute you believe something special is going to happen, and then you change your mind based on new evidence! How can you assert anything if you're just going to flip flop on it the next day!?"
To answer your question, us atheists dont really claim to know anything. we are open about not knowing. You theists claim to know everything. one of these is ignorant, the other is humble.
Jonah, I think Jesse is joking. ;-)ReplyDelete
PLEASE NOTE: The Atheist Experience has moved to a new location, and this blog is now closed to comments. To participate in future discussions, please visit http://www.freethoughtblogs.com/axp.
This blog encourages believers who disagree with us to comment. However, anonymous comments are disallowed to weed out cowardly flamers who hide behind anonymity. Commenters will only be banned when they've demonstrated they're nothing more than trolls whose behavior is intentionally offensive to the blog's readership.
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How Toxic Is Black Hair Care- A Wake Up Call
- How Toxic Is Black Hair Care- A Wake Up Call - March 14, 2013
There's been some interesting research done on the chemicals that Black women use in their hair – chemicals that are used to make the hair relaxers, shampoos, conditioners and hairdressing products that we use to style, manage and control our locks.
The article, "How Toxic is Black Hair Care", originally posted on New American Media/SF Bay View, goes into fascinating detail about the affects that these chemicals have on our health over time:
"Take the kinks out of your mind," intoned Marcus Garvey, founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), "instead of out of your hair."
As founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), Garvey refused advertisements for products to lighten the skin and straighten the hair of African Americans in The Negro World, the UNIA's newspaper. That was "back in the day" – between 1918 and 1933 – when the paper had a circulation estimated at close to 200,000 per week.
During the 1960s, Black Power and Black Pride proponents ushered in "naturals" and "afro" hairstyles. In between shouts of 'Right On' and 'Power to the People,' many of these proponents declared that the hair straightening process was damaging to the brains of African Americans. Though speaking figuratively, from a literal standpoint they may have actually been on to something.
Since the 1970s, when America's environmental movement created unprecedented awareness of the damage humans were doing to planet Earth and to ourselves, there has been little if any media attention or research on the possible connections between African American beauty salons, the personal care products utilized primarily by Black women and adverse health outcomes, specifically in the area of reproductive health.
But that has begun to change.
In May of 2011, Dr. Mary Beth Terry and others authored a study, the findings of which showed that African-American and African-Caribbean women were more likely to be exposed to hormonally-active chemicals in hair products.
Terry's study, "Racial/Ethnic Differences in Hormonally-Active Hair Product Use: A Plausible Risk Factor for Health Disparities," published in the Journal of Immigrant Health, found that the African-American African Caribbean women surveyed used products that contained chemicals — commonly referred to as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) — linked to various reproductive and birth defects, breast cancer and heart disease.
Most recently, a team of researchers led by Dr. Lauren Wise of Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center found strong evidence indicating that African-American women's hair relaxer use increases the risk for uterine fibroid tumors by exposing Black women to various chemicals through scalp lesions and burns from the products.
Fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop in or just outside a woman's uterus/womb from normal uterine cells that begin to grow abnormally. Although fibroids are fairly common, African-American women tend to get them two to three times as often as white women and experience more symptoms from them, such as prolonged and heavy menstrual flow, difficulty conceiving a child, and instances of pain during menses and intercourse.
Wise's team also found that women who got their first menstrual period before the age of 10 were more likely to have uterine fibroids. The researchers followed more than 23,000 pre-menopausal African-American women from 1997 to 2009 and published their study, "Hair Relaxer Use and Risk of Uterine Leiomyomata in African-American Women," online in the Jan. 10, 2012 edition of the Journal of American Epidemiology.
Researchers have also posited that a link exists between the early onset of puberty in Black girls and Black hair care products. In a study of 300 African-American, African-Caribbean, Hispanic and white women in New York City, the reported age when these women experienced their first menstrual period (menarche) varied from age 8 to age 19. However, the African-Americans were more likely to use hair products and reached menarche earlier than other racial/ethnic groups.
Dr. Tamarra James-Todd of Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital is the lead author of "Childhood Hair Product Use and Earlier Age at Menarche in a Racially Diverse Study Population," published online in the June, 2011 Annals of Epidemiology. The study specifically sighted the use of hair oils and hair straightening ('perm') products and the onset of early menarche in the women.
According to figures from the Black-Owned Beauty Supply Association, African-Americans are estimated to spend between $7 billion and $9 billion dollars per year on hair and beauty products. The potential costs to our health, however, have yet to be adequately quantified.
Natural Beauty and Calls for Regulation
Black women today who strive to take Marcus Garvey's admonition to heart are in a better position than their sisters of the past. Research focusing on the products used in African-American beauty salons (and homes) is increasing; and while the findings are showing links to adverse health outcomes primarily amongst Black women, there exists an increased motivation for natural, less toxic beauty products, as well as calls to more stringently regulate the personal care product industry.
In Los Angeles, Black Women for Wellness (BWW), a Leimert Park-based, grassroots health and wellness advocacy organization, has produced a 'green chemistry' booklet entitled "Black Going Green," which is a part of their "Green Chemistry Initiative."
The 28-page booklet, geared toward African American women and girls, lists the chemical ingredients and possible health risks of everyday household and personal beauty products, and provides many healthy and environmentally-friendly alternatives.
Readers will find information on products and chemicals such as relaxers, detanglers, shampoo and conditioner; nail polish and lipstick.
"In order to make better choices and be more critical consumers, we understood that arming Black women – the primary caretakers in our communities – with reliable information was key," said Nourbese Flint, Program Director at Black Women for Wellness (BWW) and project coordinator for the booklet. "This is one small step to help Black women make the kinds of choices that are critical to increasing our communities' health and well-being," said Flint.
Also as part of its Green Chemistry Initiative, the organization has organized a "Beauty Salon Campaign" to conduct research among African American beauty salons that explores possible connections between products utilized primarily by Black women and possible reproductive health disparities.
According to BWW Executive Director Jan Robinson-Flint, the project, still in the data-gathering stage, is doing a survey of beauty supply stores, beauty salons, barber shops and wig shops within a one-mile radius of the organization's Leimert Park-based headquarters – approximately 60 stores in all.
"We asked the owners and the stylists what were the products that they were using? And from those products what we did was create a list of the top ten chemicals … and then looked at the impact of those chemicals because they're toxins on our health and well-being. Anytime you look at any statistics for Black women, you'll find that we are at the top," said Robinson-Flint.
BWW plans to rate the chemicals in terms of how toxic they are once the results of their research are made public.
Another component of BWW's Green Chemistry Initiative is an Activist and Advocate Academy organized with the goal of "developing a cadre of women and youth working with the African American and Black community to increase information and education on Green Chemistry issues… [and to] increase the voices of African American women and girls with environmental justice issues as they impact our health and well being."
Dera Baskin, a midwife and health educator, attended the academy in 2011 with the purpose of learning how reproductive and environmental justice intersect and to find out what the common citizen can do to change the situation.
As a 'birth worker,' Baskin said many of the families she works with are not aware of the exposure to chemicals in their home environments and how they can reduce or remove them. "All in the name of beauty and looking cute … we are damaging our bodies and [our] ability to bring forth healthy babies … we often buy products because of the brand, smell, what it will do aesthetically without thinking about what it will do long term. I wanted to be able to learn and share accurate information with people who look like me," she said.
Black Women for Wellness is a member of the National Healthy Nail And
Beauty Salon Alliance, which works to raise the profile of salon worker health and safety issues primarily in the Asian/Pacific Islander community. Along with the Bay Area-based California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, the group has provided testimony before congressional committees in Washington, DC, regarding concerns of African-American salons and their clients.
Saffiyah Edley, the owner of Los Angeles-based Luv Mi Kinks told the 'Salon Worker Health and Safety Congressional Briefing' in Washington, DC, last May that a truly 'natural hair care industry' is needed "where hair product manufacturers can't hide behind harmful ingredients." Edley said that "… Awareness is needed for stylists and clients around the harm that may be caused by using certain products. But what's needed the most is that manufacturers must take responsibility for products on the market today that they are making and take out harmful chemicals."
In addition to helping to organize the Congressional Briefing, the Oakland, CA-based California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, along with the Environmental Finance Center (EFC), has also produced a "Naturally Healthy Hair Guide" to highlight sustainable alternatives for hair care.
The multicultural/multiethnic publication gives an explanation of five basic hair textures: wavy, tightly coiled, straight, very curly, and grey hair, which is included because of its different growth pattern and occasional difficulty in managing.
The guide also provides tips on natural hairstyles for men, women and children such as braids and pony tails, natural curls and crimps, and the use of a flat iron for straightening. Natural care techniques mentioned in the guide include Avocado or Olive Oil hair conditioners, using Witch Hazel for dandruff and Sunflower Oil for moisturizing and tips for "greening" hair salons.
A project of the Environmental Protection Agency, the EFC seeks to build green economies and foster sustainable communities in the U.S. by working with government and industry, communities, and Native American Tribes.
The partnership between grassroots groups, business and government will be necessary for success.
Says Saffiyah Edley, "There are safer alternatives, but we need regulation in order to really push them forward."
This featured post was written by Thandisizwe Chimurenga
|Thandisizwe Chimurenga is a Los Angeles-based writer and a 2011-2012 New America Media Environmental Health Justice Fellow. Thandi is also the conductor of the CyberGround Railroad, "Black Los Angeles' News and Views Source," a community journalist and a founder and host of Some of Us Are Brave, a Black women's public affairs show on KPFK-Pacifica Los Angeles.
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A spiritual approach to money
One group's formula for trying times: Live gratefully, spend less, buy justly, give more.
| Jamaica Plain, Mass.
In turbulent economic times, the watchwords are usually: Cut back. Live frugally. Hunker down and put money in safe places!
But here in Boston, small groups of churchgoers have been applying a different message to money management. During the past two years, they have studied what the Bible teaches about money and wealth, discussed their personal budgets, and taken concrete steps aimed at four commitments: "Living gratefully, spending less, buying justly, and giving more."
With gratitude as a foundational principle, the study groups follow a 12-session curriculum called "Lazarus at the Gate," referring to the challenging gospel story about a rich man who persistently ignored a beggar named Lazarus at his gate (Luke 16). They discuss passages from the Old or New Testaments that consider wealth as a blessing, a potential idol, a resource for meeting needs, and to be justly distributed.
"Right now there are a lot of opportunities to feel fear when thinking about money. But if you start from a place of gratitude and abundance, it radically changes your perspective," says Rachel Anderson, director of Boston Faith & Justice Network (BFJN), which coordinates the small-group program. "How we choose to spend our money – there are many justice issues there and room for change to steward Earth's resources better and alleviate poverty."
Many participants say the experience has been eye-opening and life-changing, as they explore the meaning of economic discipleship.
Each individual decides on ways to live more simply, such as not buying sodas or snacks during the week or selling a car and taking public transportation instead. At the final session, they commit some of the resources saved from new spending habits to charitable organizations they've researched and prioritized.
The first group to follow the Lazarus program met once a month for 12 months in 2007.
"It was a fantastic experience. The group of 14 people wound up giving $40,000 to five organizations dealing with poverty around the world," says Mako Nagasawa, of InterVarsity Campus Ministry. He and Gary Vanderpol, a Boston pastor, initiated the program, and worked with BFJN to offer it to churches in the area.
For Jo Hunter Adams and her husband, Eugene, the small-group experience brought remarkable results in their own lives along with an increased capacity to give.
"Creating our first budget and sharing it with the group really helped us. We didn't buy anything we didn't need, and we didn't eat out," says Ms. Adams, a public health worker. "We stayed away from 'lifestyle inflation.' "
Instead of moving into a larger apartment as they had planned, Adams and her husband remained where they were.
As a result, the couple managed over the year to reduce the $50,000 they had in student loans to only $3,000. "It was miraculous!" she says.
A step in the process that really opened her eyes, she adds, was checking their financial position in the global economy on the website, globalrichlist.com. After entering their annual income, she learned that they were among the top 0.7 percent in the world. While she had always thought she could give time and energy to good causes but not much money, "now I see I can give a lot of money, actually," she says.
What she most appreciates, however, is being able to live her Christian values more consistently. "I tended to think that being saved was the most important thing. Now I'm more interested in reflecting God's love as much as possible," she says. "And God wants us to be involved in dealing with poverty and justice."
For most people, discussing budgets is not easy, but the questions aim to be helpful, not judgmental. At High Rock Covenant Church in Arlington, Mass., the experience brought people together. "When we shared budgets, that vulnerability created a real bond," says Austin Calhoun, director of a church ministry. "Everyone is much closer, and we continue to meet to support each other in this discipline of simplicity."
Along with Bible study, the Lazarus curriculum guides groups through research on global poverty and development. Participants educate each other about specific organizations active in development, microfinance, and fair trade.
Earlier this month in Jamaica Plain, seven women gathered for Saturday brunch and their 12th meeting to select the groups that would receive their donations in the coming year. After sharing individual progress, each made a pitch.
Two were keen on an agricultural development program, one spoke for a small business initiative in Afghanistan, and others highlighted public-health projects. One was passionate about efforts to get bikes to African women who walk miles each day to gather water for their families.
Reaching consensus on four organizations, the women decided to divide their pledged pot of $6,000 evenly among them. As they joined hands in prayer, group leader Angela Letizia began: "Dear God, Your abundance is clearly felt today, and we are grateful for what You have given us and how You have opened our eyes to the world."
Each woman will write four checks a month, giving her a chance to pray for those who will receive them, and for sustaining the changes in her own life.
"I think this is reimagining the body of Christ to include both those in rich and poor countries," Ms. Letizia says in an interview. "Today, when we all have so much information about the world, Lazarus is at our gate, so we can't pretend that we don't see him."
Many involved speak of the way the Lazarus process builds community, enabling each group member to accomplish more than he or she would on their own. For instance, Letizia was giving away 1 or 2 percent of her yearly income though she had thought about giving more.
"Doing it in community lends a different joy and excitement," she says. "This year is the first time I've been able to give 10 percent, and it comes from doing it with others."
The question for many is whether they can sustain the lifestyle changes and commitments – or build on them. Some groups decide to continue meeting weekly or monthly. A few participants are leading new groups to spread the message. So far, 18 groups have completed the Lazarus program in Boston, and 15 more are getting under way this spring.
The curriculum is available on the Web (click here) to encourage churches in other parts of the country to sponsor groups.
It's now being used in La Jolla, Calif., and Colorado Springs, Colo., and perhaps soon in New York, Mr. Nagasawa says. He's also created an eight-week version for use by college students. The Lazarus program is part of a broader BFJN initiative to encourage people to consider what it might look like to have a "gratitude economy."


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Fetal Bradycardia
1. What every clinician should know
Clinical features
Fetal arrhythmias affect over 2% of pregnancies and include irregularities of the cardiac rhythm, rate or a combination of both. Fetal bradycardia is defined as a sustained fetal heart rate less than 110 beats per minute. Once fetal bradycardia is noted, a quick ultrasound examination of the remainder of the fetus should be performed to confirm normal fetal movement, tone, and amniotic fluid. This will help assess for fetuses in distress requiring urgent delivery.
There are various types of fetal bradycardia, including sinus bradycardia, blocked atrial ectopic beats and atrioventricular (AV) heart block. The diagnosis of the specific bradycardia depends on particular echocardiogram findings and AV conduction patterns.
Sinus bradycardia: atria and ventricles beat at the same rate with electrical impulses originating in the sinus node.
Continue Reading
Transient sinus bradycardia refers to brief episodes of bradycardia of less than 1-2 minutes duration that are usually physiologic and due to increased vagal stimulation. This phenomenon is usually seen during the second trimester when the sympathetic nervous system is immature and unable to sufficiently respond to the vagal response of the parasympathetic system.
New-onset sinus bradycardia can be a sign of fetal distress and/or severe hypoxia and may be an indication for urgent delivery. This finding may be associated with placental abruption, uterine rupture, prolapsed umbilical cord and fetal hemorrhage. Depending on the clinical situation, delivery may be indicated.
Sinus node dysfunction is often due to an abnormally positioned sinus node that functions at a slower rate, usually varying between 80-120 beats per minute (bpm). Structural heart diseases that disturb the location of the sinus node include heterotaxy syndrome, interrupted inferior vena cava, and single ventricle heart physiology.
Long QT syndrome (LQTS) includes a diverse group of disorders of myocardial repolarization that can lead to life-threatening polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (torsade de pointes). On electrocardiogram (ECG), it is characterized by a prolonged QT interval. When sustained fetal bradycardia is identified and congenital heart block is ruled out, the diagnosis of LQTS should be considered and can usually only be ruled out by a postnatal ECG. Multiple mutations have been identified in congenital LQTS. Given the genetic predisposition, a detailed family history is vital in evaluating fetal bradycardia. Two clinical phenotypes of LQTS have been described:
Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder that is associated with profound sensorineural hearing loss. Mutations in the KCNE1 and KCNQ1 genes interfere with the normal structure and function of potassium channels found within the cardiac muscle and inner ear.
Romano-Ward syndrome is an autosomal dominant form of long QT syndrome without extracardiac abnormalities. Mutations in the KCNE1, KCNE2, KCNH2, KCNQ1, and SCN5A genes are responsible for causing Romano-Ward syndrome. Proteins derived from these genes are vital in providing normally functioning sodium and ion channels in cardiac tissue. The ANK2 gene, another gene thought to play a role in this syndrome, provides instructions for proteins that are inserted within cell membranes. Disruptions in proteins derived from the above genes interfere with the normal rhythm of the heart.
Blocked premature atrial contractions: arrhythmias caused by ectopic beats arising prematurely from a site other than the sinus node. The non-conducted atrial ectopic beats result in "missed" beats manifesting as fetal bradycardia. The diagnosis is challenging if the ectopic beats occur with regularity and give rise to a regularly irregular rhythm. Atrial bigeminy results from ectopic beats that alternate with sinus beats and the lack of conduction of the ectopic beats are physiologic and not indicative of conduction abnormalities.
It is essential to differentiate blocked premature beats from AV block because of prognostic and therapeutic implications. The time intervals between consecutive atrial impulses remain relatively constant in AV block versus shortened atrial impulses on every second or third beat in bigeminy or trigeminy.
Congenital heart block: refers to delay or interruption in electric conduction within the AV node, bundle of His or bundle branches. Congenital AV block occurs in approximately 1 in 15,000 live births, 40% of which occur in the setting of underlying structural heart disease (e.g. heterotaxy, corrected transposition of the great arteries). The remaining 60% are caused by immune-mediated connective tissue disorders due to the presence of anti-Ro (SSA) or anti-La (SSB) antibodies. 1-2% of pregnancies with anti-Ro (SSA) or anti-La (SSB) antibodies will be affected by heart block among women who have never had an affected child, with a recurrence risk of about 15% for those who have had a prior affected child.
First degree block refers to a prolonged AV interval with a 1:1 conduction pattern between the atria and ventricles. Although the resulting fetal heart rate is normal, first degree block may be a precursor for 2nd and 3rd degree block.
Second degree block allows some but not all atrial impulses to penetrate the AV node and bundle of His. The atrial rate remains regular.
Mobitz type I involves progressive lengthening of the AV interval followed by a blocked impulse resulting in an irregular ventricular rate. This is usually due to a conduction abnormality of the AV node.
Mobitz type II refers to a normal AV interval with intermittently nonconducted impulses resulting in a slow irregular ventricular rate. This signifies disease within the bundle of His and may progress to third degree heart block.
Third degree block occurs when there is complete interruption of the AV conduction and the atria and ventricles beat independently. This is usually due to dysfunction of the AV node and/or bundle of His. Ventricular contractions are dependent on the underlying escape rhythm intrinsic to the ventricles. The resulting ventricular rhythm is usually slower with rates between 40-90 bpm. Third degree block, commonly known as complete heart block, may occur in association with structural heart diseases such as heterotaxy and AV discordance.
2. Diagnosis and differential diagnosis
Establishing the diagnosis
The diagnosis of fetal bradycardia is established by fetal echocardiogram. Evaluation of the conduction pattern is required to diagnose the particular type of fetal bradycardia. It is also important to obtain certain laboratory studies when working up congenital AV block that may be due to immune-mediated maternal connective tissue diseases.
Imaging studies
Fetal echocardiogram is performed to assess the structure of the fetal heart and diagnose any structural anomalies.
M-mode demonstrates cardiac and valvular wall motion and the relationship of atrial to ventricular contractions.
Pulsed wave Doppler velocimetry also helps to characterize the relative timing of cardiac events and is used to measure the P-R interval. The mechanical P-R interval is very similar to the P-R interval on ECG but is measured using Doppler timing. The ability of that, or any test, to predict fetuses at risk for heart block in pregnancies with anti-Ro (SSA) and anti-La (SSB) antibodies remains unproven. The normal fetal mechanical PR interval is 0.12 +/- 0.02 seconds when measured in the area of the mitral/aortic valves. (Figure 1) We offer women with positive antibodies weekly ultrasound testing for the PR interval from 16-24 weeks and biweekly testing from 24-34 weeks. Tricuspid regurgitation, echogenicity of the atria and decreased cardiac function may be other potential predictors of heart block.
Conduction patterns
Sinus bradycardia: one-to-one AV conduction with a normal AV interval and a slow atrial rate.
Blocked premature contractions/atrial bigeminy or trigeminy: the time interval between consecutive atrial impulses is not constant and the atrial rate is higher than the ventricular rate. The atrial impulse is shortened on every second beat in bigeminy and on every third beat in trigeminy.
Congenital AV block
First degree: one-to-one AV conduction with a prolonged AV interval and a normal heart rate.
Second degree:
Mobitz type I: progressive lengthening of the AV interval with a subsequently blocked impulse resulting in an irregular heart rate.
Mobitz type II: normal AV interval with intermittently blocked impulses. If there is a 2:1 conduction pattern, the heart rate will be slow and regular. If the conduction pattern is not fixed (e.g. 2:1 or 3:1 pattern), the heart rate may be irregular.
Third degree: the atria and ventricles beat independently due to complete AV conduction interruption. Contractions of the ventricles are usually a result of an underlying escape rhythm resulting in a slow, regular ventricular rate.
Laboratory studies
anti-Ro (SSA) antibody testing.
anti-La (SSB) antibody testing.
The above laboratory tests are important in diagnosing congenital AV block due to maternal connective tissue disorders, such as systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjogren's syndrome. Over 90% of patients with fetuses with immune-mediated congenital heart block will test positive for these antibodies. Only a small minority of these women will actually carry a preexisting diagnosis of connective tissue disease. In rare cases of congenital heart block, maternal antibodies are not identified but may be found years later, and in the remainder of cases the cause is unknown and possibly familial.
Differential diagnosis
Sinus bradycardia due to vagal stimulation.
Sinus bradycardia due to fetal distress and/or hypoxia.
Sinus bradycardia due to sinus node dysfunction.
Sinus bradycardia due to long QT syndrome.
Blocked premature atrial contractions.
Atrial bigeminy.
Atrial trigeminy.
Congenital heart block (first, second or third degree) due to structural heart disease.
Congenital heart block (first, second or third degree) due to maternal autoimmune antibodies anti-Ro (SSA) and anti-La (SSB).
3. Management
The antepartum management must be targeted towards the particular type of fetal bradycardia.
Sinus bradycardia: no fetal therapy is necessary unless the bradycardia is a result of fetal distress or hypoxia and urgent delivery is clinically indicated. Fetal sinus bradycardia that persists after birth should be comprehensively evaluated by pediatric cardiology. Infants with sick sinus syndrome may require pacemakers. Beta-blockers, pacemakers and/or defibrillators are possible treatments for children with long QT syndrome.
Blocked atrial premature contractions: no fetal therapy is necessary as these premature atrial contractions are not pathologic.
Congenital heart block: in the setting of structural heart disease, heart block cannot be treated in utero. Immune-mediated congenital heart block may improve with certain therapies. Multiple studies have evaluated various therapeutic strategies, including steroids, intravenous immunoglobulin, and more recently hydroxychloroquine. It is well established, though, that third degree block is irreversible and therefore treatment is primarily expectant.
Fluorinated steroids (dexamethasone 4mg/day). We offer this to women with prolonged mechanical PR intervals in an attempt to prevent progression to complete heart block, although the data supporting this are not definitive. First and second AV block may have brief windows of reversibility. Steroids are thought to play a role in diminishing the autoimmune response and cardiac inflammatory injury and perhaps preventing progression of first and second degree AV block.
Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) (400 mg/kg). IVIG has also been studied as a potential prophylactic therapy but current data does not demonstrate its efficacy in preventing recurrent congenital heart block. Additionally, it is extremely expensive and requires prolonged weekly infusions.
Beta-sympathomimetic drugs. These drugs have been used to increase the fetal heart rate in cases of complete heart block. Although acute therapy results in short-term increases in the fetal heart rate, the effect is brief due to fetal tolerance which develops over time. Therefore, increasing doses, which are unlikely to be tolerated by the mother, are required to achieve a long-lasting response and are not standard of care. Additionally, beta-sympathomimetics do not reverse AV block, which is at the root of the cardiac dysfunction.
Hydroxychloroquine. A recent case-control study suggests that in mothers with lupus and anti-Ro (SSA) or anti-La (SSB) antibodies hydroxychloroquine may reduce the risk of fetal cardiac injury of neonatal lupus. Larger prospective studies are being performed to confirm these findings.
Fetal pacing has previously been described in isolated case reports, although outcomes were poor. Work is in progress to develop devices and leads to improve outcomes with fetal pacing.
If workup reveals that the fetal bradycardia is a sinus bradycardia due to fetal distress, urgent delivery may be indicated.
Any medical therapy that had been initiated to target the fetus should be discontinued in the postpartum period. Women with underlying connective tissue diseases should follow-up with their primary care physicians or rheumatologists postpartum for the remainder of their medical care.
4. Complications
Complications of fetal bradycardia
Hydrops fetalis: In the setting of fetal hydrops, prognosis is extremely poor and, in the presence of AV block, it is almost universally fatal. A course of fluorinated steroids may be administered in an attempt to improve the underlying condition (myocarditis). If fetal hydrops occurs early in the pregnancy, termination of pregnancy may be considered.
Low ventricular rate: A low ventricular rate (less than 55 bpm) along with a nonreactive fetal heart rate are associated with an increased risk of hydrops fetalis, neonatal cardiac failure and need for neonatal pacing.
Complications due to management of fetal bradycardia
Long-term steroid use during pregnancy may increase the risk of gestational diabetes, while beta-sympathomimetic drugs may cause maternal tachycardia.
5. Prognosis and outcome
Maternal and fetal/neonatal outcomes
The prognosis depends on the underlying etiology of the fetal bradycardia, the clinical situation, gestational age and associated structural heart defects. Specifically, the prognosis of heart block is extremely poor when there are major structural cardiac anomalies and/or fetal hydrops. These conditions are associated with an increased risk of intrauterine fetal demise and neonatal demise. Additional predictors of adverse neonatal outcomes include low ventricular rates, cardiac dilatation, tricuspid regurgitation and pericardial effusions. The prognosis for immune-mediated heart block without hydrops is better but children are at risk of requiring pacemakers after birth or later in life.
Impact on maternal long-term health
A patient diagnosed with fetal bradycardia in the setting of a connective tissue disorder is at risk for the long-term complications of these autoimmune disorders, including chronic renal insufficiency, cardiovascular diseases, and neurological problems.
6. What is the evidence for specific management and treatment recommendations
Abuhamad, A, Chaoui, R. "A Practical Guide to Fetal Echocardiography: Normal and Abnormal Hearts". Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. 2010. (This textbook reviews the practical aspects of fetal echocardiography as well as the interpretation of findings in normal and abnormal hearts. The final chapter on Fetal Arrhythmias includes a section on diagnosis and management of fetal bradyarrhythmias.)
Askanase, AD, Friedman, DM, Copel, J. "Spectrum and progression of conduction abnormalities in infants born to mothers with anti-SSA/Ro-SSB/La antibodies". Lupus.. vol. 11. 2002. pp. 145-51. (The authors examined records from children enrolled in the Research Registry for Neonatal Lupus and described the various conduction abnormalities in infants born to mothers with anti-Ro (SSA) and/or anti-La (SSB) antibodies. They described findings on fetal echocardiogram and postnatal electrocardiogram. They noted that resolution of incomplete AV block was variable and that progression of incomplete block could occur postnatally.)
Brucato, A, Frassi, M, Franceschini, F. "Risk of congenital complete heart block in newborns of mothers with anti-Ro/SSA antibodies detected by counterimmunoelectrophoresis: a prospective study of 100 women". Arthritis rheumatism. vol. 44. 2001. pp. 1832-35. (Brucato et al performed a prospective study of 100 women with anti-Ro (SSA) antibodies and connective tissue disease to determine the prevalence of congenital complete heart block. They calculated a prevalence of 2%.)
Buyon, JP, Hiebert, R, Copel, J. "Autoimmune-associated congenital heart block: demographics, mortality, morbidity and recurrence rates obtained from a national neonatal lupus registry". J Am Coll Cardiol.. vol. 31. 1998. pp. 1658-1666. (Using information from the National Neonatal Lupus Registry, this study found that immune-mediated congenital heart block was most often diagnosed in the late second trimester and was associated with substantial morbidity and mortality in the neonatal period. The recurrence rate of congenital heart block was 2-3 times higher than in those women with previously unaffected children. The authors support close monitoring with fetal echocardiography in subsequent pregnancies of patients with prior pregnancies complicated by congenital heart block.)
Friedman, D, Kim, M, Copel, J. "Utility of cardiac monitoring in fetuses at risk for congenital heart block: the PR Interval and Dexamethasone Evaluation (PRIDE) prospective study". Circulation. vol. 117. 2008. pp. 485-93. (The authors performed a prospective study evaluating 98 pregnancies in 95 women with anti-Ro (SSA) antibodies in an attempt to identify early markers and effective therapy for third-degree congenital heart block. They found that prolongation of the PR interval did not precede more advanced block and that third-degree block and cardiomyopathy could occur within a week of a normal echocardiogram and prior to 24 weeks gestation. Therefore, the authors concluded that it was appropriate to perform intense fetal echocardiographic monitoring between 16 and 24 weeks.)
Friedman, D, Kim, M, Copel, J, Llanos, C, Davis, C. "Prospective evaluation of fetuses with autoimmune-associated congenital heart block followed in the PR Interval and Dexamethasone Evaluation (PRIDE) Study". Am J Cardiol. vol. 103. 2009. pp. 1102-6. (The study was a multicenter, open-label, nonrandomized trial that evaluated the efficacy of dexamethasone in 30 pregnancies involving fetuses with congenital heart block in the setting of anti-Ro (SSA) exposure. The study concluded that complete congenital heart block was irreversible and that the progression of second to third degree heart block occurred despite the use of dexamethasone. The authors considered the potential benefit of steroids in reversing first or second degree block in rare cases but also noted the potential adverse effects of prolonged steroid use.)
Friedman, D, Llanos, C, Izmirly, P. "Evaluation of fetuses in a study of intravenous immunoglobulin as preventive therapy for congenital heart block: Results of a multicenter, prospective, open-label clinical trial". Arthritis rheumatism. vol. 62. 2010. pp. 1138-46. (The study involved a multicenter, prospective, open-label clinical trial to determine the efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) as preventive therapy for congenital heart block. Twenty pregnancies were included in the trial. The authors found that IVIG at low doses did not prevent the recurrence of congenital heart block or reduce maternal antibody titers.)
Izmirly, P, Kim, M, Llanos, C. "Evaluation of the risk of anti-SSA/Ro-SSB/La antibody-associated cardiac manifestations of neonatal lupus in fetuses of mothers with systemic lupus erythematosus exposed to hydroxychloroquine". Ann Rheum Dis. vol. 69. 2010. pp. 1827-30. (This case-control study evaluated the risk of cardiac neonatal lupus in fetuses in women with systemic lupus erythematosus exposed to hydroxychloroquine. Using multivariate analysis, the group found that the risk of congenital heart block was lower in fetuses in mothers with lupus and hydroxychloroquine exposure [OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.18-1.18; p=0.10].)
Saleeb, S, Copel, J, Friedman, D, Buyon, JP. "Comparison of treatment with fluorinated glucocorticoids to the natural history of autoantibody-associated congenital heart block: retrospective review of the research registry for neonatal lupus". Arthritis rheumatism.. vol. 42. 1999. pp. 2335-45. (The group of authors performed a retrospective review of the Neonatal Lupus Research Registry to compare outcomes with fluorinated steroid treatment versus untreated congenital heart block with respect to conduction abnormalities, pleural effusions, ascites, fetal hydrops and the requirement of a pacemaker. Reviewing 50 pregnancies, the data suggested that fluorinated steroids could improve outcomes in fetuses with incomplete heart block or hydrops.)
Zhao, H, Cuneo, B, Strasburger, J, Huhta, J, Gotteiner, N. "Electrophysiological characteristics of fetal atrioventricular block". J Am Coll Cardiol. vol. 51. 2008. pp. 77-84. (The authors described the complex fetal electrophysiological characteristics of congenital heart block by evaluating 28 fetuses with fetal magnetocardiography. Fetuses with second degree or isolated third degree block did better than those fetuses with structural cardiac anomalies and third degree block.)
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- Fetal Bradycardia
- 1. What every clinician should know
- 2. Diagnosis and differential diagnosis
- 3. Management
- 4. Complications
- 5. Prognosis and outcome
- 6. What is the evidence for specific management and treatment recommendations


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As we gear up to start our January Whole 30 (Just FYI: I've decided we are officially going from January 2-31 -though I'm not closing the door to actually doing it for 60 days) I've been paying specific attention to the current state of my health. I'm noting how I look, how I feel and also how my body is performing because I want to get a baseline of where I am starting. This is so important, and in just a second I'm going to encourage you to do the same thing. But I want to do a little bit of housekeeping before we start.
First of all, I was OVERWHELMED by the number of readers here who are planning to participate in the January Whole 30 with us. When I wrote that post last week I was hoping a few of you would dive in, and that maybe we could all complain about our sugar withdrawals together. But between the emails I got, the tweets, and the comments on that post OVER ONE HUNDRED OF YOU WHO READ HERE DAILY ARE PARTICIPATING.
Holy heck on a ham sandwich, that is amazing! OVER ONE HUNDRED. I am flabbergasted. So because of that, I definitely feel like I want to make sure I'm facilitating some community instead of just bitching about my food for 30 days, because who does that help, really? But before we start let's all get on the same page here.
If you are doing the Whole 30, I think it is important to respect that it is a proprietary program — it's not just some random 30 "cleanse or detox" it has an actual protocol. It's a free protocol, so it's not like you have to buy something to do the Whole 30, but it is specifically developed and designed by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig over at Whole 9 Life.
Here it is, from the horse's mouth:
Established in April 2009, the Whole30® is Whole9's original nutritional program designed to change your life in 30 days.
The physical benefits of the Whole30 include improved body composition, energy levels, sleep quality, attention span, mental attitude and athletic performance.
The psychological benefits of the Whole30 include changing long-standing, unhealthy patterns related to food, eating and your body image, and a dramatic reduction or elimination of food cravings, particularly sugar and carbohydrates.
So of course if you want to achieve all of those awesome results, you have to play by the rules, right?
The rules and A METRIC TON of easily digestible information regarding the science behind the rules are available in their book It Starts with Food. But even if you don't want to buy and read the book, the information can still be found out there for free.
*Want a PDF outlining exactly what the program is: here you go!
A few things worth noting: You should not be counting calories, you are not dieting, you do not need to be counting carbs, and this isn't really a "detox." The Whole 30 is designed to give you 30 days to focus on how your body looks, feels and performs when you are eating only "Good Food". Good Food is outlined in detail on the Whole 9 site but I'll give ya the cliffs notes right here. They stick to 4 parameters:
1. Promote a Healthy Psychological Response
2. Promote a Healthy Hormonal Response
3. Support a Healthy Gut
4. Support Immune Function and Minimize Inflammation
*****And THAT, is the Whole 30 in a nutshell******
Now, if you are not going to follow the program that they outline, this doesn't mean that your 30 days are a waste, or that you are a terrible person, or that you aren't "being healthy" or any other crazy judgment, but it does mean that you aren't doing a Whole 30. I don't say that to be the food police, and I certainly am completely supportive and encouraging of any and all food experimentation that feels right to you right now (YOU KNOW THIS!) but I felt like it was worth noting that when it comes to the Whole 30: there is a specific protocol to follow. It's what makes it The Whole 30, and not a Paleo/Primal/Sugar Detox challenge. And before we get started I wanted to underscore that this is what we will be doing in January and what I plan to be sharing my strategies for.
While we are talking about getting rolling on this Whole 30, here are a few of my favorite resources from the Whole 9 site:
A "Good/Better/Best" Grocery Shopping Guide (hint: everything doesn't have to be grass-fed, organic, hippy-ville to be transformative)
Look, there is even a Vegetarian Version (This is why I particularly love Dallas and Melissa — they are quite inclusive in their pursuit of spreading the word on good food.)
Meal Planning Guide (This may spark some inspiration for your own meal planning)
****If you have any favorite resources to share, please do so for everyone reading in the comments!
The last thing I want to talk about, and the thing I want to encourage you to do before you get started is to acknowledge the current state your health in all its glory. 🙂 If you are anything like me, December has been a liiiiiittle bit lax on the health front. Maybe you've been eating more cookies than kale, maybe you have been working out, maybe you haven't. Maybe you've been sleeping great, or maybe you are just a little bit cranky and think the holidays may be to blame. Because there are a million ways to measure health that don't include the scale, I encourage you to do a quick audit of how you are feeling right now. Make this a December to Remember. 🙂 Need some ideas about things to think about, check out this post. This will help you see how much changes in January, and I am glad to share my own with you. So here comes the complete honest truth.
*My body composition is suffering. I don't think my CrossFit friends are ready for all this jelly. And I'm not a fan of all this jelly when I have to run, jump and huck myself over a bar.
*My face feels like it has a rash. Constantly. It doesn't, but it feels like it. Unpleasant.
*I am so so sluggish these days. My motivation to do anything is at an all time low. Garrett said to me the other night "I haven't seen you sit on the couch this much in the entire 7 years we've been together." It's epic, my current level of laziness.
*Constant dehydration. No matter what I drink I just feel dry and thirsty. The red wine isn't helping either.
*My face feels puffy constantly. I am completely certain each time I look in the mirror I'm going to see Mama Elsa staring back at me.
*Two Words: Back Fat. I don't really need to expand on this one, do I? There is nothing worse than a preponderance of back fat.
*My nails are splitting. This is no bueno for my manicure.
*Vampire Bite Acne. I heard Diane say this on the most recent Balanced Bites Podcast and was like "Yes! That's it! This is what I have! Acne that looks like I've been bitten by a vampire on my neck!" Oh wait…NO! NO NO NO NO NO. Nobody wants to relate to this.
*Speaking of Acne I don't even want to discuss how much I'm breaking out.
*Icky Body Image. I have the time and money to go shopping right now and the desire to get a few new items for my wardrobe. But THE LAST THING I feel like doing right now is shopping for clothes. UGH.
And that is really the state of my health right now. I can't wait to get started with January's Whole 30. I'm looking forward to turning all of this around, and I know from experience it can be done quickly with a little dedication.
I've got some meal planning inspiration, some recipes and more motivation coming this weekend, but until then here's what you can do for me, and everyone playing along:
*If you blog about your Current State of Health, leave a link in the comments.
*If you are going to be writing about your Whole 30 experience leave a link to your site in the comments so we can all add you to our feed readers.
*If you don't have a blog, feel free to leave your list in the comments.
Let's help each other out, y'all!


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(CNN) -- The first lady of the United States has opened up the White House to the Food Network in an episode of "Iron Chef America" that will air in January.
Michelle Obama will appear on the show and announce the "secret ingredient" to the chefs before the competition. The episode, which has already been filmed, will feature chefs using ingredients that were grown in the Obama family's White House vegetable garden.
This will mark the first time that a first lady has appeared in a reality television series. Obama agreed to take part in the show as part of her efforts to promote healthy living to the American public.
The episode will feature White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford as well as celebrity chefs Bobby Flay, Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse.
Cook-off judges include British chef Nigella Lawson, actress Jane Seymour and U.S. Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin.
During her appearance, Obama spoke about the influence that cooking shows like "Iron Chef" have on the American perception of healthy foods.
"It's going a long way to help change the way this country thinks about food," she told the chefs.
The first lady has begun a crusade to get Americans, particularly children, to follow a healthier diet. She launched the Healthy Kids Initiative to encourage healthier eating and urge children to reject fast food.
White House aides said that Obama's willingness to appear on the program and invite the show into her home proves her dedication to this cause.


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Eric Blair
Activist Post
Instituting capital controls seems like the next big event in the government-banking-oligarchy's great looting of America.
First, these vampires designed "free trade" agreements to use slave labor abroad at the expense of American jobs. Next, they moved their investment capital and assets abroad sucking the life-blood out of the U.S. economy. Then, they covertly used America's remaining wealth to prop up their bogus financial instruments like credit default swaps and derivatives, which came crashing down. Finally, they got their taxpayer bailout, and now they want your pension funds and cash deposits to stay under their control.
This last stage of the mass looting requires your wealth to remain in their possession. They seem to be setting up several ways to control the remaining capital. One of the first tactics used by the banksters to control your money was to get the SEC to adopt a proposal to allow money market funds to suspend withdrawals during a financial crisis to prevent bank runs. As reported on ZeroHedge:
A key proposal in the overhaul of money market regulation suggests that money market fund managers will have the option to 'suspend redemptions to allow for the orderly liquidation of fund assets.'
Money Market funds, which account for nearly 40% of all investment company assets. The next time there is a market crash, and you try to withdraw what you thought was "absolutely" safe money, a back office person will get back to you saying, 'Sorry – your money is now frozen. Bank runs have become illegal.'
Now they have made it much more difficult to move your money out of the country using protectionist language disguised in a "Jobs Bill." It is important to note that "free trade" agreements caused the exodus of American jobs overseas, taking massive investment capital out of the United States. Clearly, this capital would not have traveled offshore without the incentive provided by those agreements, thus we must realize that the capital leaving was the result, not the cause.
Yet, instead of repealing or modifying these trade agreements to truly stimulate job security at home, our caring leaders seek to restrict and control capital from leaving the shores as outlined in the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (HIRE Act – H.R.2487) this past March, also reported on ZeroHedge:
As it was merely the latest in an endless stream of acts destined to expand the government payroll to infinity, nobody cared about it, or actually read it. Because if anyone had read it, the act would have been known as the Capital Controls Act, as one of the lesser, but infinitely more important provisions on page 27, known as Offset Provisions – Subtitle A—Foreign Account Tax Compliance, institutes just that. In brief, the Provision requires that foreign banks not only withhold 30% of all outgoing capital flows (likely remitting the collection promptly back to the US Treasury) but also disclose the full details of non-exempt account-holders to the US and the IRS. And should this provision be deemed illegal by a given foreign nation's domestic laws (think Switzerland), well the foreign financial institution is required to close the account. It's the law. If you thought you could move your capital to the non-sequestration safety of non-US financial institutions, sorry you lose – the law now says so. Capital Controls are now here and are now fully enforced by the law.
This under-reported piece of legislation is supposed to create jobs through limiting the capital allowed to leave America, and through weak tax incentives for companies to hire people at home. However, this bill is the perfect model for our government's solutions: Attack the symptoms (capital leaving America) while not addressing the disease (unemployment because of unfair free trade agreements). And just to round out its perfection, the bill also limits the freedoms of average Americans while exempting Big Business.
Economist Mark Nestman reported that the law does not put in place strong "capital controls" yet, but definitely lays the groundwork for them:
It's a terrible law that will make it much more difficult for U.S. citizens to invest, do business, or even live outside the United States. But it doesn't impose capital controls, although it's an important step in this direction.
Along with requiring U.S. citizens and permanent residents to disclose a great deal more information about their offshore investments than they currently do, the law imposes a 30% withholding tax on certain types of U.S-source income and gross sales proceeds to foreign financial institutions (FFIs) and certain foreign non-financial entities (FNFE). The only way to avoid the tax is for the FFI or a 'withholding agent' for the FNFE to enter into an information reporting agreement with the IRS. These rules become effective in 2013.
In other words, it will remain legal to move money to a foreign country, but you will now have to prove that you paid taxes to Uncle Sam on those funds prior to investing them. So, American citizens are guilty of tax evasion until proven innocent. Therefore, like other corrupt tax laws, you'll pay massive tax penalties for noncompliance to scare you into submission. What's more, private foreign banks are being forced to cooperate, as the U.S. government gave themselves the power to close foreign bank accounts for noncompliance.
Last, but certainly not least, an authoritarian measure of capital control has been proposed by some Elite economists who suggest forcing private sector savings into public sector debt, as explained in the Daily Reckoning:
During WWII, the US government needed investors to buy an unprecedented amount of Treasury bonds. Commercial banks loaded up on Treasuries, which limited the amount of credit that could be granted to the private sector. It may have been the patriotic thing to do, but the real returns from war bonds were very poor. Napier said, 'That's the type of society [the US and the UK] had to run to sustain our government debt. And I'm suggesting to you that these are exactly the sorts of things we have to look out for in our future.'
This is the process of forcing private sector savings into public sector debt. Most investors will tell you that this is impossible. But Napier ticked off two potential tools the government could use to strong-arm investors into Treasuries:
1. Capital controls: An example of this comes from the UK in the 1970s. For most of this decade, the yield on UK government bonds was below inflation. The government wouldn't let investors take money out of the country.
2. The 'Buffett tax': Political leaders would say, 'We love capitalism. It is the best thing America has ever had. And we would really, really like to promote it. And the best way we can promote capitalism is to get all you capitalists to invest with a long-term holding period.' The idea would involve a 4% 'transaction tax.' This effectively forces shareholders to engage more deeply with corporate executives, rather than trading shares aggressively. The authorities would say, 'This is a wonderful thing because Warren Buffett does it. And if Buffett does it, it has to be good. So as of tomorrow, we'll have a 4% 'Buffett' tax for the trading of all financial instruments except for government debt.'
These steps are a slippery slope to complete control of your capital. It didn't happen overnight, but the same tactics have been used recently in places like Venezuela, where well-off citizens are still allowed to leave the country; they just can't take their money with them.
Given that most experts anticipate a severe worsening of the U.S. economy, we should be aware and prepare for the tyranny of capital controls that are coming. For those wishing to leave America with their money, doing so before 2013 seems like a good idea. For those looking to survive the continued collapse of the economy, perhaps now is the time to allocate your remaining wealth properly.
Related Article:
Recession Causing a Banking Awakening in Tough-Hit Midwest
Expatriate Your Wallet
Banksters Are Coming For Your Retirement Next


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§ 15.5
Administrative claim, who may file.
(a) A claim for injury to, or loss of, property may be presented by the owner of the property interest which is the subject of the claim or by the owner's duly authorized agent or legal representative.
(b) A claim for personal injury may be presented by the injured person or that person's duly authorized agent or legal representative.
(c) A claim based on death may be presented by the executor or administrator of the decedent's estate or by any other person legally entitled to assert such a claim under applicable State law.
(d) A claim for loss wholly compensated by an insurer with the rights of a subrogee may be presented by the insurer. A claim for loss partially compensated by an insurer with the rights of a subrogee may be presented by the insurer or the insured individually, as their respective interest appear, or jointly. Whenever an insurer presents a claim asserting the rights of a subrogee, it shall present with its claim appropriate evidence that it has the rights of a subrogee.
(e) A claim presented by an agent or legal representative shall be presented in the name of the claimant, be signed by the agent or legal representative, show the title or legal capacity of the person signing, and be accompanied by evidence of authority to present a claim on behalf of the claimant as agent, executor, administrator, parent, guardian, or other representative.


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If your business is considering a major layoff or plant closing, Iowa Workforce Development's Dislocated Worker Program staff can help guide you through what will be a difficult process for your company and a difficult time for your employees.
Our Rapid Response Team can help ensure compliance with federal regulations that apply to mass layoffs, and can provide a variety of services for your employees.
How Iowa Conducts Rapid Response
Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)
Adult and Dislocated Workers Program
Voluntary Shared Work Program
The Voluntary Shared Work (VSW) program offers an alternative to layoffs of five or more workers and is an effective tool for Iowa businesses experiencing a decline in regular business activity. Under VSW, work reductions are shared by reducing employees' work hours and Unemployment Insurance (UI) partially replaces lost earnings. By avoiding layoffs, employees stay connected to their jobs and employers maintain their skilled workforce for when business improves.


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Global Household cleaning supplies Market Research Report 2017
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- piuneer
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