UNDERSTANDING WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO BE AN EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR

The media has had some remarkable footage of the destruction of buildings. Wonderfully, cell phones are working....at least those on satellite. The city's infrastructure is demolished. But these are the tangibles.

Watching pictures of young men walking, swaggering, though the city with machetes makes my flesh crawl. What about the 4000 prisoners who escaped when the prison lost its ability to confine them. How many of them were there because they are sociopaths who care nought for people's feelings, lives, or properties and rights? We as a country have responded far more rapidly than our own country responded to Katrina. In fact, it is encouraging that much of the world has responded.

We are at the mercy of what reporters and producers choose to show us and that is fine with me. I know all I need to know. The Haitians need help. They need money. The charities need money to bring in potable water and supplies. What we all need to do is to stop gaping at the TV and send money to those places like the Red Cross or other non-profits with whom you have experience and trust that what you donate will actually get to them.

The losses of life is devastating to the people there and we do not need to hear the heartbreak and grief in order to donate funds. One picture and description should say it all.

Sympathy must rest in our hearts sufficiently to ask, "What would I want people with resources to do for me if I found myself in that situation?" Now is the time for action. Many have useful skills which are needed there, doctors, nurses, professionals with ability to organize resources. With so many dead, they are trying to photograph the thousands who are being tossed into mass graves, by necessity. For those of us unable to be there to help, I repeat, send money or whatever we are being asked to do and are able to do. It will make the world smaller, friendlier, and make fewer children grow up hating America.

LONGEVITY GENE

ScienceDaily (Jan. 13, 2010) — Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found that a "longevity gene" helps to slow age-related decline in brain function in older adults. Drugs that mimic the gene's effect are now under development, the researchers note, and could help protect against Alzheimer's disease.
The paper describing the Einstein study is published in the January 13 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"Most work on the genetics of Alzheimer's disease has focused on factors that increase the danger," said Richard B. Lipton, M.D., the Lotti and Bernard Benson Faculty Scholar in Alzheimer's Disease and professor and vice chair in the Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology at Einstein and senior author of the paper. As an example, he cites APOE ε4, a gene variant involved in cholesterol metabolism that is known to increase the risk of Alzheimer's among those who carry it.

"We reversed this approach," says Dr. Lipton, "and instead focused on a genetic factor that protects against age-related illnesses, including both memory decline and Alzheimer's disease."

In a 2003 study, Dr. Lipton and his colleagues identified the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) gene variant as a "longevity gene" in a population of Ashkenazi Jews. The favorable CETP gene variant increases blood levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) -- the so-called good cholesterol -- and also results in larger-than-average HDL and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles."

"We found that people with two copies of the longevity variant of CETP had slower memory decline and a lower risk for developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease," says Amy E. Sanders, M.D., assistant professor in the Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology at Einstein and lead author of the paper. "More specifically, those participants who carried two copies of the favorable CETP variant had a 70 percent reduction in their risk for developing Alzheimer's disease compared with participants who carried no copies of this gene variant."

Click here entire article.

WHEN PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIVES INTERSECT

There are professions which become so much a part of one's normal thought processes, it is hard to turn them off, even when you are not getting paid for your time or sharing your expertise. For example, if a plumber walks into a friend's house just as a pipe bursts, spewing water all over the room and the owners clearly do not know how to find and turn shut-off valves, should the plumber not offer immediate help and suggestion? Should nurses refuse to bandage their friend's kitchen cut? Similarly, if friends or acquaintances display symptoms that, after talking and knowing a bit about someone's current life, does not seem reactive, is it wrong to try to educate that person (given what that person is describing) about clinical depression, its symptoms, and available resources for its relief. This is especially true when that person is telling you that there is no reason in their life that they should be feeling so lethargic, despondent, and unable to think clearly or remain focused on work issues.

As a psychotherapist for many years, I keep professional boundaries Occasionally I have felt it would be unconscionable not to try to help educate people to some of the choices of action they may have with which they are unfamiliar. I'm careful to allow people to take the lead as to how much they comfortably wish to share and only respond with those questions they are willing to answer to aid my direction in helping, if that is what they wish. It is not a therapy contract; never considered in place of a friend wishing to go into therapy with a professional; but always with a promise never to violate a confidence or discuss their sharing with others.

Over the course of years, I have never felt used because, and rarely felt that the person was trying to get free advice. Sometimes I knew they could benefit from seeing a professional who could prescribe medication (which I do not do) for them, I have urged them to do that. To me, most importantly, was to fill in the gaps of their lack of understanding how it could help and work on their resistance do to lack of knowledge. I explain what therapy is (or is not) and how it might benefit them. I have often explained clinical depression versus difficulty in dealing with a life situation. Many expressed fears are unfounded in the real clinical world and, because I have been taken into their trust, resistance often fades away more easily. I have let people know they never have to take any medication prescribed if they do not trust the prescriber or the medication but they should allow themselves the recommendations from a clinician as to how it may be helpful to them. Some fears of being forcibly hospitalized are dealt with realistically. Today, you can only be hospitalized involuntarily if you are a danger to yourself or others and that may only be for diagnosis and short term beginning of treatment. As with people who need to quit drinking alcohol, most of us know you only success when you are motivated internally, not by external pressure, unless motivation comes from the belief you will lose your family, loved ones, or livelihood.

I do not think giving money is sufficiently sharing one's self and shirking the potential for the potential help most of us have within us. Few of us have enough money to pay the many sources which need monetary help. It is a better world when we help others. Should we not all use whatever expertise or skills we have learned for that endeavor? That defines real charity to me.

NIT-PICKING MEDIA

Today Sarah Palin became a paid contributor on Fox News. Fox News host Bill O’Reilly told his viewers that his guest Tuesday night will be “the most charismatic politician in the country right now, with the possible exception of President [Barack] Obama.”

How insulting to compare those two people. Obama is brilliant, highly educated, truth-telling, and cares about the people he who elected him. I have described my negative opinions of Sarah Palin enough on this blog and will not tediously repeat myself today. None of the positive adjectives used to describe Obama can be applied to her.

What does this say about our current media. Everyone is writing a book. It used to be that professors, in order to gain or retain tenure, had to publish. Now everyone is writing their version of reality and history. Monday night, John Yoo (the government lawyer who felt that torture was indicated and legal) was on the The Daily Show. For some reason, people commenting thought Stewart was too kind and expected him to take Yoo 'to task'. The extended interview can be seen if you click here.

People do not think about the agendas for things. It reminds me of a participant in a book review group who wanted me to show videos! I really had to say what part of book review have I failed to stress sufficiently? Stewart did what his producers asked of him and let the man describe the book (Crisis and Command). If people watched and recalled the news during the Bush administration, the might not bother to buy the book. You did not appear on the show to debate his book with Jon Stewart who was a remarkably gracious host to a man who did a great disservice to our country. It was not his place nor his choice to do otherwise. Any intelligent person watching the interview would have caught Stewart's failure to agree with Yoo's basic tenets. The political and news media is trying to entertain. People forget, Jon Stewart makes it very clear that he is not a news-person but an entertainer. He was not asked to clean out the Aegean stables, just to be funny, though I learn more about what is happening from him than the 'real' news channels.

WORLD SEEMS TO CATCH UNPREDICTIBILITY OF NEW ENGLAND WEATHER

just before Christmas in Milan, Italy, there were Arctic temperatures. Railways had prolonged delays as there were predictions of the weather becoming worse. Cold even killed two elderly men in Savona whose had domestic heater accidents.
Another froze to death, falling down a steep slope. For more details, click here.

Joe Bastardi, AccuWeather.com which covers the UK and Ireland, reports on 1/11/2010, the area suffered the coldest opening ten days of a year suffered since the 1970s.

Spain reports unusually snowy, cold winter. Over 100 roads were closed, some parts of major highways. Despite the postcard beauty of the snow and ice, the country (counting on it tourists) hope the nation will soon warm.

Even our Florida retreat for sunbathers and warmth catchers escaping from the North reports record low temperatures.

Meanwhile, we in New England handle the snow removal quickly because we are used to it. Many of us drive all wheel drives because they do well in the snow. We have houses that were built to expect the cold of winter. Our clothing is made to protect us from the wind chill. Despite my belief that we are going through a global warming cycle...it does not mean we are all about to burn up. With the Arctic and North Pole melting so much, it is pushing the Gulf Stream further south and predicts that in the future there will be another Ice Age in Europe. It is unlikely those living on earth today will see it but are we seeing the beginning of it? Will the weather people let us know when they find out? Will our non-believers who don't want to hear that change will happen, whether we are ready for it or not, finally accept the reality that the world and most other things WILL change. Nothing stays the same.

CHUCK ( 3rd season on NBC)

I've been told that the show Chuck is great and that I have been missing it because NBC has been stupid enough to put an unknown show against 2 1/2 men, begging for it to fail to draw an audience. However, those who saw the first two seasons were so loyal, they convinced the producers to hold it for a third season beginning this month. As a preview, they put two hours of episodes on in prime time on a Sunday evening.

A cool intersect has been downloaded into Chuck's brain. He has a veritable wikipedia, google and all sorts of other resources stored in that brain to which he has access. The end result is that a marvelously entertaining humorous, action show should not be missed. Try it, you might like it!!!!

PLEA TO MAKE DONORS OF BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTS LEGALLY COMPENSATED.

This video describes the dilemma of compensating bone marrow donors (bone marrow regenerates so there is no permanent loss or damage to the donor) and differentiate it from organ transplants which are gone permanently when donated.

The decision to lump bone marrow donors in with organ donors was, apparently, an arbitrary one. (We are back to my pet peeve that too many people try to simplify decisions by trying to put too many decisions into one category in a one-size-fits-all attempt).

As of October, 2006, 29 states have enacted laws that provide paid or unpaid leave for bone marrow and/or organ donors. Eight states (Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska and Oregon) allow a leave of absence for private sector employees. The period of leave is usually 30 days for organ donors and 7 days for bone marrow donors. Some state laws have provisions which require authorization for requested leave or prohibit states from penalizing employees from taking such leave. For more info, click here.

In December 2009, a suit was filed to challenge the decision banning compensation.
Kevin B. O'Reilly, amednews staff. Posted Dec. 21, 2009 and describes the issues.
Sherry F. Cole also wrote a description of the suit.

The argument to prevent this change seems to be one that we so often see from people who think in 'slippery slope' logic and fears, thus allowing many to die for lack of medical help. Will those who fear change continue to make enough noise to control decisions that would save lives? What has happened to this country...can the media not work with the people to make it better instead of supporting all the obstructionists? We can only hope the tide will soon turn, before the desperate begin to act as heedlessly as they feel their government is acting on their behalf.