CNN.com - West Nile Virus found in dead bird from WH lawn - July 29, 2002
The West Nile Virus has killed 16 people in the United States since 1999, according to Keller, who added that most of those individuals' immune systems were already compromised by other diseases such as cancer.
And yet harmful sprayings and paranoia continues. Anyone want to hazard a guess at what else has killed 16 or more people since 1999 that our government has not been paying any attention to at all (and shouldn't)?
Pretty much everything you can think of.

CNN.com - University sued over Islam reading assignment - July 24, 2002

"Drop in a book by Salman Rushdie or another critic alongside it -- give the students an opportunity to weigh the argument," said Glover. "But don't shield them from the truth about a religion that incites people to fly airplanes into buildings, killing 3,000 Americans at a time," he said, referring to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

John says: Everyone, huddle up! Hands in the middle, here we go! Another school year is approaching, and I just want everyone to realize the major quality we must have in order to proceed at this institution of higher learning. So, on the count of three, let's hear "Ignorance"!

Honestly, if they were told to read a review of the New Testament, do you think they would be up in arms? And would anyone mention all the bloodshed in the name of Christianity? Judaism? Catholicism? Atheism (as manifested in political movements), even? Does nobody remember the Crusades? Oh, and there have been a few wars since then, demonstrating greater atrocities.

Obviously, UNC is trying to do the right thing by breeding understanding, which is the first step towards peace. Each one of us admonishes every crazy who takes our religion to its extremity and commits horrible crimes in the name of the religion. Realizing this, and making others more aware of their own pitfalls is one of the most powerful things a University can do at this time. Let's hope this lawsuit fails miserably.

Reevaluation

This may not be worth it.

I just called the screening nurse. She likes to talk. Especially when the person on the other end is talking. And she's most definitely, always right.

Apparently, nothing was sent out on the 12th. She spoke about the placement officer with contempt, as if this kind of thing is always happening, that they are always making things up. Then, she went on to tell me that my asthma evaluation was never completed, a form that is three pages long and I remember the doctor filling out and I remember then sending along. I tried to get a word in, but she said that she could barely hear me. Nobody else has this problem. When I did speak, I couldn't take a breath or it was her turn to speak. The more frustrated I became with explaining my side, the slower, more deliberate and more childlike her speech became. This frustrated me as well.

She went on to say that I also hadn't seen a specialist for a certain potential physical problem. I had read the forms I was sent (I don't know how many times) and never ran across anything requesting this of me. I tried to relay this, but all I heard back was that she had the copies of all the forms that I was sent, and it was in there, so it must have been sent to me -- END OF STORY.

So here it was, I needed two more potentially time-eating and money-wasting forms filled out. And I find this out one month, 16 days after I sent the forms in. I was bold and asked her why I hadn't been notified, as everything had told me if anything was missing, I would be notified immediately.

"I have ten to twelve clearances to issue today. I don't have the time to go through everyone's information and make sure all of it was sent in."

And I was definitely the one taking up *her* precious time that she could spend ignoring applicant's forms and churning out those tedious clearances.

If I end up needing to see another specialist, my already ridiculous medical bill will skyrocket further. All told, the medical (physical, dental, eye) screenings will have cost me well in excess of $1000. This isn't what scares me, though.

What scares me is that these are the people who are going to ensure my safety in a world that is so completely different than the one I've spent almost 24 years in. They are going to tell me what immunizations I need and when I need them. They are going to make sure that if I start to feel sick, how serious it is and how it should be handled. And they can't seem to even send along a quick e-mail or phone call -- or even bother to check -- to see if my medical forms are complete in over six weeks. This is an organization who seems to be churning out volunteers as quickly as possible.

But there's light at the end of the tunnel. This, as I've always thought about it, is just a means to an end. There's almost always beaurocracy involved in these matters, and it's just being steadfast and committed that gets you through it. But with this added delay, it's most likely that I will not see a September departure date. What the hell am I going to do? That's the goal for this week, figuring this next part out. It won't be easy.

Now what?

I hadn't received my invitation in the six weeks I was told to wait, so I e-mailed my placement officer, and he said:

"Apparently something was sent out on the 12th of June."

I never got that. And it's what, the 22nd of July? Did they expect me to take that much time, or is it just that they don't follow up or keep tabs on people? I'm a pretty patient person, but I can't believe that not even the website (where you can log in and check your status) reflected that something was sent, which it even has a space for. Yet, even my placement officer has records that something was sent. Arrgh. I'm trying to contact the screening nurse who knows what was sent out, but that's going to take at least the morning.

What's more, my placement officer sent me an e-mail on the 13th of June that stated I was qualified for education and that he was waiting for my medical to clear, but there was no mention of anything having been sent or requested of me. I partially blame myself for this, because I should have been in better communication, but I didn't want to be the impatient bugger who just wouldn't shut up. I guess there's a happy medium I still have yet to find.

Last week, I heard from a recently returned volunteer (second-hand) that I would be foolish to do Peace Corps. Apparently, her first year was great, but things went downhill the second year. That's the first bad thing I've heard. I really hope this problem with the screening nurse can be quickly resolved, or I'm going to start having serious doubts about this myself.

Ani DiFranco on 9/11

And I thought Monday was hard

Last night, I played the hardest game of Ultimate I've ever been a part of. I know, it's Summer League, it should be taken nice and easy, but it wasn't. We played a team with a completely different style than ours, but it was the closest game yet this year. They had a few amazing players who played 85-90% of the time and had a bunch of beginners who got really shitty playing time (PT). It's quite unfortunate, but we've been seeing this a lot, as our team did so well last year (we lost a close one in the finals). And we've always put PT as a top priority, except sometimes in close games for the last point or two. As much as everyone wants to play, they also would like to win.

So losing last night after putting everything out there was especially difficult. I ran in the cup (zone defense) for the entire second half that I was playing (at least a half-hour). Running in the cup is kind of like doing lots of short sprints. Except you don't know how long the sprints are going to be, and you get to stop for a few seconds at a time, but you're doing jumping jacks while stopped. You run in the cup as long as you're on defense -- and then, when you're on offense, you run more. It was really hard to motivate myself to run that hard on offense when I knew a simple turnover would result in getting back in the cup. But I did. And by the time the last point came around (9:15ish), my legs were simply done. I would try to run to the disc, and my legs would just jog over. It didn't help that I got mauled when receiving a pass, also receiving a knee to the outer thigh.

We got lectured every time we were on the sideline about running harder, and I couldn't help but think that maybe I wasn't running hard enough. But I knew that it wasn't me, yet it seemed like we were being pushed a little bit too hard -- too much emphasis on winning. Again, though, conditioning paid off and I was able to handle running as much as I did, even though my legs didn't feel too great afterwards. Plus, where I got injured stiffened right up and hurts through today. I think I might have gotten sick as well, as I have a stuffed nose and can't seem to smell or taste very much today. Needless to say, the ride in this morning was harder than usual, and I ended up gearing down on hills and just sitting down. I ended up a couple minutes slower than I usually am on a Thursday, but that's OK! If I can bike 30 miles on crappy legs, a bum thigh, and a head cold, then I think my body can handle most of the rigors I'll endure.

Bush and Power Companies Oppose Lone Star in Energy Bill Opposition to Renewable Electricity Contradicts Administration's Own Study

UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS
CONTACT: Alan Nogee 617-547-5552
Paul Fain 202-223-6133

WASHINGTON, July 17 -- The Bush administration and big electric utilities have announced their opposition to a Senate energy bill provision that would increase wind, solar and other renewable energy produced by major electric companies to 10 percent by 2020. This opposition to one of the lone bright spots in the energy bill comes despite findings from the administration's Energy Information Administration (EIA) and new data from the Union of Concerned Scientists that show that the provision could be a boon for consumers and the economy.

"Bush's opposition to the renewable electricity standard makes no sense given that its own study shows that the renewable electricity standard would actually save consumers billions of dollars," said Alan Nogee, UCS Clean Energy Program Director. "The administration is catering to big utilities that want to continue dishing out the same old mix of dirty fossil fuels. The summer air conditioning and smog season is a stark reminder of the need to develop clean energy sources."

The Senate energy bill includes a renewable electricity standard that requires major electric companies to increase sales of electricity from wind, solar and other renewable sources from 2 percent today to about 10 percent by 2020. This would result in a quadrupling, by 2020, of the amount of clean, renewable energy produced. The 74,000 megawatts of renewable energy that would be online by 2020 would be enough to power about 53 million homes. Twelve states, including Texas, have enacted their own renewable electricity standards.

"Because of the Texas renewable electricity standard that President Bush signed when he was Governor of Texas, the amount of wind turbines built in Texas last year was more than those built in the entire U.S. in any year," Nogee said. "It's a shame that Bush won't support the clean air, consumer savings and energy security benefits that renewable energy could provide on the national level."

New research from UCS finds that the Senate's renewable electricity standard could save consumers nearly $3 billion through 2020. Recent analysis by the Bush EIA shows that a more comprehensive 10 percent renewable electricity standard than the one included in the Senate energy bill would save consumers over $13 billion through 2020 on reduced energy bills. Despite this evidence, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham recently sent a letter to Congress stating that the administration opposes the federal renewable electricity standard.

In addition to opposing the consumer-friendly renewable energy standard, utilities and Washington are colluding to propose weakening other consumer protections in the electricity market.

Energy technologies like wind, solar and bioenergy can also help reduce the emissions of heat-trapping gases that are causing global warming, as well as reducing smog-forming pollution that fossil-fuel burning power plants emit. These clean electricity sources are available throughout United States. For example, Illinois has the technical potential to generate all of its current electricity needs from renewable power alone.

For more information on the federal renewable electricity standard see http://www.ucsusa.org.

Good hockey

I think I played one of my best games of hockey last night. I spent very little time on the bench -- I'm estimating that I played between 35 and 40 minutes of the 50 minute game. We had 3 subs (4 play at a time), which means I got a bunch more PT than others, but I took my turn and everyone else was just tired. Aside from just playing, I hustled a lot and played physical and solid both ways. I had only a couple turnovers, and I battled for things I usually don't try for. I took a lot of faceoffs, only winning a couple of them, however. I broke up several important passes and blocked a few shots (like usual).

I think the most important aspect is that my conditioning was fantastic. I had an insane shift where I scored a couple minutes into the shift, then stayed on the floor for the ensuing draw. They came back stronger than usual, and the only times it came out of our zone, I was in the play. One of those times, I hustled down the wing, tailed by a pretty big defender. I cut back, and ended up tripping him with my stick (his fault :> ). The ball dribbled on goal, the goalie didn't handle the rebound very well, and I hustled in to get another shot. That lead to a break the other way, and seven minutes after the previous whistle (for my goal), I finally got a rest. It was the most tiring shift I've ever had, but I was back up and ready to go after about one or two minutes.

I've been noticing that my conditioning has been getting better every week, especially when I have games like that. The ride in this morning felt great -- I wasn't fatigued at all, and I took it at a nice steady pace, coming in only two minutes slower than yesterday (Mondays are always very fast). I've also noticed this trend at Ultimate, when I'll run in the cup (zone defense) for quite a few points, and feel fine to go back out for the next point.

The real question is, how will I ever keep this up in Africa? And do I want to? It would be nice to stay this fit, and I'll feel healthier, but it requires a lot of food. Last night I made a dish with a pound of tofu, two zucchinis, a half-cup of risotto rice and heavy seasoning. I ate it all with room to spare. During the day, I usually have a couple pieces of fruit, at least one cup of granola, a couple PB&J sandwiches, one or two other sizable snacks, and then one or two small snacks. I can't expect to find anywhere near this variety or quantity where I'll end up. I think my project when I stop working should be to lower my metabolism without sacrificing conditioning (or at least too much).

And, of course, I may have to start eating meat overseas. Harrumph.

She'll say the pledge (CNN)

"I was concerned that the American public would be led to believe that my daughter is an atheist or that she has been harmed by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, including the words 'one nation under God,"' Sandra Banning said in a statement. "We are practicing Christians and are active in our church."
Banning never married Michael Newdow, the third-grader's father and the atheist behind the pledge lawsuit. She has full custody of the girl, which Newdow is challenging in court.
John says: She has a child out of wedlock, and now the high road is to put down atheism and make atheists out to be spiritually devoid monsters on the intellectual level of amoebas. The whole Pledge reaction sounds a lot like the beginnings of a new Cold War, or even scarier, an 18-years-too-late Orwellian reality.

Gay couple awaits their set of quads (CNN)

(Story here)
"I wouldn't want them to be gay," concludes Thomas. "Because of the fight I've had to go through since I was a child. I wouldn't want them to go through the same thing."
John says: I suppose I'm distracted today. I've got one more for you, too.

Based on information from the Peace Corps web site, here's the top five places I think I'll end up (in order of likeliness, highest to lowest). What I know so far is that it's a Southeastern African country that has a program in teaching biology and also emphasis on HIV/AIDS education. Mozambique is first because it's also trying to develop an ESL program, as it was colonized by Portugal (they left in 1975):

1) Mozambique
2) South Africa
3) Tanzania
4) Kenya
5) Malawi

Making this list is actually pretty exciting ... I should know *any day* now where and when I'm going!

ESPN.com - WNBA - Recap
The Seattle Storm and Los Angeles Sparks did something rarely seen in the WNBA -- they had an all-out fight.
John says: It seems that the wonderful combination of violence, stupidity and bravado is in fact a truly American quality, not just a *male* American quality.

CNN.com - Company offers AIDS vaccine hope - July 8, 2002
An AIDS vaccine could be ready within the next three or four years if results from trials are as good as expected, a U.S. company has told an international conference in Barcelona.

It is better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam

I think the most poignant aspect of this clichéd idea is that when you love, you don't lose at all. So it's not the fear of losing that should drive someone, but it is the fear of not being able to love enough. And I suppose when time is a factor, that's a justified fear. We'll see.

CNN.com - UN: AIDS will claim 70 million by 2022 - July 2, 2002
In Zimbabwe, one-third of adults are infected, up from one-quarter two years ago. Botswana, the worst-hit country, now has a staggering 39 percent of adults infected with HIV or AIDS, up from 36 percent two years ago. Because of AIDS, life expectancy in Botswana has dropped below 40 for the first time since 1950.