I have been following a story that I find to be very interesting.  It deals with the drug manufacturers and safety. 

Recently, VIOXX was pulled from the market because of concerns with heart attacks and strokes.  This sounded an alarm.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided to do some research into other drugs.  They asked one of their own employees, Dr. David Graham.  He had concerns about other drugs in the VIOXX family.  Well, for his efforts, he was dismissed from the panel he was on.  Now, this makes me wonder about the FDA.  It seems to me that if an FDA expert voices concerns about medication that could potentially affect thousands, even millions of people worldwide, they would err on the side of caution and test more thoroughly, right?  Let's hope.  According to what I read, Dr. Graham is being heard. 

The article also says an FDA spokesperson,  Dr. Sandra Kweder, disagreed with Dr. Graham's comments on five other drugs.  These drugs are Meridia (weight loss drug - Abbot Labs), Crestor (anti cholesterol drug - AstraZeneca), Bextra (arthritis drug - Pfizer), Accutane (acne drug - Roche) and Serevent (asthma drug - GSK).

All of the above-mentioned drugs are well known and used by many people worldwide.  If the FDA won't do further testing, maybe doctors will stop prescribing them.  Maybe that would make the FDA sit up and listen.

Back in July, I wrote an entry about my trials and tribulations regarding my job search.  Well, I finally got a job and Monday, I start back to work.  The search was tedious and at times, I thought I was going to have to make a career change just to gain some kind of employment.  I won't be doing much coding anymore.  I will be doing more analysis and design.  I'm really looking forward to it.

While I was unemployed, I started making beaded lanyards and eyeglass chains.  Yes, this is the shameless advertising I mentioned in the title.  People seem to like what they are buying.  I take a lot of pride in my work and these are quality pieces.  These aren't the cheap chains you buy at the local Wal-Mart or Eyeglass Hut...these are well-made, durable pieces made for both men and women.  They can be worn casually as well as in a professional environment.  If you're interested, the url is http://www.usefulcreations.com.  I am proud of what I've done with the website.  It's nothing fancy, just straight html with a little javascript.  I created all of the buttons, the logo, the border, the thumbnails, the lanyards, the eyeglass chains, etc.  I just uploaded holiday designs.  Hopefully, you'll like what you see. 

As I was flipping channels on the tv tonight, I stumbled on a report that just left me speechless.  First, I want to say that I don't agree with the war in Iraq and I think it's a terrible mistake.  But, I DO support the troops that are over there.  They are doing what their Commander In Chief is telling them to do and I respect that.  So, when things go bad for our troops over there, how does the military bureaucracy treat them?  Read this article and you can make your own decision. 

Now that the Kobe Bryant case is over, I was wondering how the fiasco ended up in a dismissal.  I often feel sorry for victims when a celebrity is involved in a crime.  The way of thinking in the current media is to sensationalize everything...even if it means destroying lives along the way.  Maybe somebody will take note of what happened and try not to let this happen again.  The following article from USATODAY sums it all up elegantly... 


All parties share blame for a travesty of justice

Such was the sorry state of the Kobe Bryant case, one dismissed by Judge Terry Ruckriegle upon motions by both the prosecution and defense. One where the question of Bryant's criminal guilt or innocence will never be known because the judicial system failed miserably to provide even a semblance of fair trial to either party.

What went wrong, you might ask? From the beginning, the case was more about a celebrity on trial than a woman accusing someone of raping her. It was more about digging up her past indiscretions, and a daily dose of character assassination designed to cloud the truth, to prevent her from ever being able to present her case to a jury. It was more about a bloodthirsty media searching everywhere for dirt about the alleged victim and about Bryant, who was bandied about as if he were a piece of NBA merchandise instead of a young man in the midst of a successful career fighting for his freedom.

From the moment that Bryant defense lawyer Pamela Mackey violated every semblance of judicial decorum by announcing six times the alleged victim's name during an initial court hearing, the game was on. By not chastising Mackey's conduct, Judge Ruckriegle suffered the fate of any judge that permits the lawyers to run the case and lost control of the proceedings. Despite a gag order, both the prosecution and defense used court filings and media leaks to disparage all of the parties concerned. Neither the alleged victim nor Bryant received anything close to their constitutional rights regarding this judicial debacle.

Blaming an overworked and underfinanced court staff cannot alleviate the responsibility the judge has for causing the alleged victim untold harassment, belittlement, and what must seem like a never-ending nightmare. Over and over again court personnel made mistakes when critical court documents were mistakenly posted on the Web site that the judge created to assist the media with the case. Judge Ruckriegle finally apologized to the alleged victim, but he could not repair the damage, and once again this week a jury questionnaire listing the alleged victim's name three times and the names of many of those scheduled to testify was leaked to the media.

With her identity known, her past sex life revealed, her mental state common knowledge, and her life in shambles due to constant anguish about the motive behind the charges, it is no wonder that she threw in the towel. Most will see this as a vindication of Bryant, but if you read closely his apologetic statement, there is no victory for him. He is an admitted adulterer who must take responsibility for his actions in a Vail hotel room where only he and the alleged victim know the truth about what occurred.

For prosecutor Mark Hurlbert, the case is an embarrassment, for he let down the alleged victim by not protecting her against the mad dash of harassment she encountered. When Mackey attacked the alleged victim in that early hearing, Hurlbert basically stood idle and did not ask for sanctions. This weakness permitted Mackey and her partner, Hal Haddon, to continue their assault on Hurlbert's client, one that continued with regularity until the alleged victim could stand it no more.

While the judge, the lawyers, and the court system must take most of the responsibility for this travesty of justice, the media feeding frenzy that surrounded the case caused unbearable pressure on all of those concerned. Television, radio, print reporters and media pundits spent little time concentrating on the facts of the case, instead looking for the sensational, one-upsmanship story that could make headlines in their respective reports. So often they forgot that the case was about truth and justice and the lives of two people and instead focused on what they felt was important to the case. Many who commented on the case had never even set foot in a courtroom before and few had ever covered a rape case.

In all likelihood, the truth will never be known about the hotel room incident, and both Bryant and the alleged victim deserved a chance to present their case and then let a jury decide the outcome. Instead, both are sullied with doubt regarding their behavior during that fateful encounter, and the knowledge that when they asked the judicial system to be a beacon of light to seek the truth, it failed them miserably.

I was born and raised in southern Maryland.  So was my mother and her mother and her mother before that.  The one thing about Mama's style of cooking was the fact that it was bland...lots of fried stuff, but not very spicy.  She always said that was the food she was raised with and that's what we got used to when we were growing up.  

When my best friend moved out here, he introduced me to an entirely different world of food.  He's a wonderful cook and he loves to experiment with different spices and various cuisines.  This past semester in school, he took a class on Japanese culture.  Sushi is something that I have tried in the past, but it wasn't very tasty.  He told me how they made sushi in class that was really good and much tastier than what I had tried.  So, we went to an asian market to purchase ingredients for sushi.  While we were there, we bought some pre-made sushi from their food bar.  Wow, I was amazed.  It was wonderful. 

Last night, he decided to try it on his own.  He made a "California roll"...whatever that is.  All I know is that it was good.  He used wasabi paste and every once in a while, a bite would be strong enough to clear your sinuses.  I'm not much on really spicy food, but I can handle food that is mildly spicy. 

I'm surprised how much a like sushi...when it's made right...and how I wish Mama could have enjoyed it while she was alive.  Now I look forward to more of his experiments with other foods and cuisines and I'm sure he will find more good recipes for sushi. 

Ya know...I always get a big kick out of somebody that's excited about being on the member mosaic.  I always thought it was silly that they felt that way just because a pic was up there.  Well, I have to apologize to all that I thought that about.  My pic is up on the mosaic (it's the first time that I have seen it up there) and I have to admit...I'm jazzed about it.  It's cool. 

In my meanderings around the web today, I stumbled across an interesting website.  http://onshorealternatives.com/ is a website that posts names of companies that are offshoring jobs for cheaper employment costs.  As an out of work COBOL programmer, I have been looking for a job for over 6 months.  I'm finding that a lot of the places that used to hire mainframe programmers are now outsourcing them to India.  According to an article that I read, this website talks about the pitfalls of outsourcing, the information about all of us that is going abroad, and it lists around 600 companies and their parent companies.  It also talks about how the IT industry is the second hardest hit industry...second only to office (administrative) work.  You can read the article here:  http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=13528537

There are mainframe programmers that are accepting employment for pennies compared to what they used to earn, only because that's what's available.  If anyone knows of any people hiring COBOL programmers, please let me know and I will gladly send them a resume. 

We really need to keep the employment here and support the American worker.  Of course, we need to tell our current administration that too...but will they listen?

I just noticed something interesting, and it made me giggle.  I am embarking on a new possible career...making beaded lanyards and beaded eyeglass chains.  What I make are high quality with glass beads and/or gemstone beads.  Other quality beads are used for accents.  They are strung on wire for flexibility and strength.  These aren't just for women, I make masculine lanyards too with bone beads animal accent beads.  If you might be interested, let me know and I will go into more detail for you.  Ok...enough of my shameless advertising. 

I was looking into possibly personalizing these items.  I thought it would be fairly easy so I went to all of my usual sites that I order my beads from.  They had lots of beads.  One problem, though.  I need to have beads that are drilled vertically.  Most of what is offered are beads that are horizontal.  So, I decided to Google it. 

The search came up with a few sites that I could check out, but according to google, there are pages and pages of sites that I could check.  I started looking at the links and what I saw just made me laugh.  They had alphabet beads grouped in with insurance, travel, car rental, etc.  Here is a shining example of one of the links:

      ... equipment alpha kappa sorority - rome hotel - alphabet beads - cell phone ... fax machine venus serena williams - cellular accessory - vertical horizon everything ...

Do you think I will find what I need at that link????  hahahaha

Before September 11th, 2001, I was just another American citizen that skipped merrily along and didn't pay attention to politics or homeland security.  I felt our government would protect me or, even worse, I never thought about it at all and therefore I guess I was thinking that I wouldn't be affected.  I remember sitting in a parking lot because we were evacuated, in gridlock, and not knowing where the terrorists were gonna hit next.  I was talking to friends and family on my cellphone.  Not only were they keeping me up to date on what was happening, but I didn't feel so alone.  Now, I am more politically aware of what's going on and more skeptical than I used to be...much more skeptical.
 
I went to see Fahrenheit 9/11 last night.  I saw all kinds of things happening during this presidency of George W. Bush, but when they're all put together in a film or documentary, it gives me the chills...it should give everyone the chills.  I know one thing...this administration doesn't have any respect for the American people and they try to keep them "dumbed down" and scared so they will look like they know what they're doing.  Have you ever noticed that when negative information is released about the president or the administration, all of a sudden the security threat is raised and a target is "possibly" named, or they warn you of something that could be considered a security threat, e.g. pens with bombs in them or radio control toys?  Why is that?  Crying wolf again?  Have you also noticed that nothing ever happened?  Does the president feel that keeping the citizens of this country afraid will keep them distracted for the actual facts and events?  The security threat level directly affected how and if I could go to work.  After about a dozen "security threats" I became immune to the warnings.  I know so many people that feel the same way.  If a threat to our national security ever actually happens, there are a lot of us that may be thinking it's just another administration tactic. 

This movie is heart wrenching (I was moved to tears in some scenes) and horrifying, but it also made you think about the past events and what they mean.  I suggest that everybody see this movie and then try to form their own opinion about what has been happening.  Also, if you have any proof that can rebut what Michael Moore was saying, please feel free to send it to me or send me the link. 

When was the last time you heard a liberal say, “That’s offensive…it should be banned from the airwaves.”  When was the last time you heard a liberal say, “I don’t want my children to see this on television…it should be banned from the airwaves.”  Was it the liberals that tried to discredit Moore before his documentary came out?  A few months ago, I went to a march on Washington for Freedom of Choice.  I didn’t see any liberals standing on the sidelines calling me a disciple of Satan.  Most liberals believe that everybody has a right to feel and say what they want.  They should be able to express their beliefs and views without persecution.  America was originally founded with just those ideals in mind, especially when it comes to religion.  Whatever my religious beliefs are, I don’t want others to foist theirs upon me.  When the people complained about not being able to display the Ten Commandments in the Statehouse, how do you think they would feel if a Buddha was displayed alongside them.  That’s freedom of religion, right?  Freedom of speech, right?  And what about the CIA agent who’s identity was disclosed.  Was it because her husband was doing his job and ran up against the current administration?  Was it the liberal government that exposed her illegally to keep her husband quiet because he found out this administration had been lying to the world?  Wait…we don’t have a liberal government.  This government and cabinet are the most conservative in history.    

 

These are things that you need to think of before you look at freedom of speech and its meaning.

Who says the media doesn't want to influence readers and voters?  They all want to be the first to jump on the bandwagon with the "scoop" about the hot topic of the day.  Well, this time, it's the New York Post.  It reported that John Kerry chose Dick Gephardt as his running mate for the Democratic ticket.  What a blooper.  Of course, the papers sell for 50 cents on the newstand.  Right now, they're being sold on eBay for as high as $50. 

During the last presidential election, the media "projected" states' wins for the presidential candidates only to find they were eating crow because they were wrong.  Will they ever learn?????

Speaking of trying to influence people...FOX news should take a bipartisan stance.  I get tired of them trying to trash the democrats and the liberal viewpoints that a lot of them have.  Instead of them pointing fingers at the little stuff, maybe they should look in their own backyard and tell the truth about the republicans party, our Government, and the conservatives, and what they are doing and saying.  With their track record and the WMD's, I would be embarrassed to say I am a supporter of the same people that would lie to the world about what they are doing.  Remember..."It's not about the oil."

A friend said something to me the other day that I found amusing.  He asked me if I'd ever tried to throw away a trash can.  It seems to be a difficult thing to do because the trashman never takes it. 

Then, I was shopping for long white shoelaces for my sneakers.  I went into several shoe stores (including Foot Locker) and it seems they don't sell shoelaces or, if they do, they have just a handful of them.  Foot Locker said they had sold out.  What?  There was a run on shoelaces?  I was absolutely amazed that I couldn't find any longer than 54", so I finally ordered them online.  I guess they figure if a lace breaks, don't replace the laces...buy a new pair of shoes...

If you can think of any more impossible or near impossible things, let me know.

I'm usually pretty good at keeping up with the latest viruses and so forth.  The past couple of days, though, I've received at least a dozen emails infected with one virus or another.  Is there another competition going on about who can infect the most people?  I'm glad my isp catches them.  It shows the software is getting better.  There are still a few that get through and then my firewall or my antivirus software catches them. 

I doubt if this really happened, but it's a real possibility.  This was sent to me by a friend.  I wanted to share:

An honest man was being tailgated by a stressed-out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman hit the roof, and the horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection with him. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer.

The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping the guy off in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Follow Me to Sunday School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk."

"Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."