News

Psychiatric Drugs Help Skinny People

June 13, 2008

From the New Scientist, “Yet one culprit is rarely mentioned: the broad range of psychiatric drugs that can cause substantial weight gain. They include drugs marketed as antidepressants (such as amitriptyline, doxepin and imipramine), mood stabilisers (including lithium and valproate) and antipsychotics (including clozapine, olanzapine and chlorpromazine). After 10 years on lithium, for example, two-thirds of patients put on around 10 kilograms. And in December 2006, The New York Times published an article based on internal documents from the drug company Eli Lilly which indicated that it had intentionally downplayed the side effects of olanzapine, which it sells as Zyprexa. The company’s data showed that one-third of patients who have taken the drug for a year gain at least 10 kilograms, and half of these gain at least 30 kilograms.”

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Hoodwinked and Bamboozled

March 11, 2008
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I’ve always enjoyed talking politics with friends. I’ve even stayed in touch with History and Political Science professors from my undergraduate days. A few days ago, while talking with a former History professor, I realized that not everyone sees America the way I do. I told him that for the first time in my life I was really optimistic about a presidential candidate. I wasn’t just being forced to choose from two stooges that special interests had propped up. My optimism came from the little known U.S. senator, Barack Obama.

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Soldier Suicides Reach Record Level

February 1, 2008

The Army was unprepared for the high number of suicides and cases of post-traumatic stress disorder among its troops, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have continued far longer than anticipated. Many Army posts still do not offer enough individual counseling and some soldiers suffering psychological problems complain that they are stigmatized by commanders.read more | digg story

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MOTD: Dana Perino

December 10, 2007

Every time I think I have heard it all from Bush and his cronies, it gets worse. The latest comes from the current White House Press Secretary for President George W. Bush, Dana Perino. When asked about the Cuban Missile Crisis, she said, “It had to do with Cuba and missiles, I’m pretty sure.” In other words, she didn’t have a clue. Unfortunately, there are probably not many people surrounding her that could answer that question much better. How sad is this? I bet she knows who won last season’s American Idol however.

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10 Point Republican Plan

November 28, 2007

I had a chance to see the Republican Presidential debate tonight. It seems that my fellow Americans are interested in pretty silly issues. Apparently, immigration is the most important issue we face today. Here is a quick characterization of what America would look like if this group of Republicans really got their way.

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What Are Family Values?

September 29, 2007

A few years ago, I remember seeing a sign during the election season with the campaign slogan, “I’m for the Family”. I thought it was funny because I had never met anyone that was against the family? What do these strange appeals for “family values” mean? The seem vacuous to me. Wouldn’t family values include excellent, free education and healthcare for children – not just for the rich kids. Wouldn’t family values mean valuing families? Yesterday I was asked to sign a petition to tell Congress that they should make insurance for children mandatory. A petition. How insane is it that a petition is required to convince the morons on Capitol Hill that insurance for children is a good idea?

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Celebrity Suicide

September 6, 2007

There is an interesting (and shocking) article over at Mental Floss. The author writes, “I was surprised and saddened last week to read of the reported suicide attempt by actor Owen Wilson. Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums are staff favorites here, and we’re definitely hoping and wishing for Wilson’s full recovery. But as I started thinking about the comedy star, and mulling over the constant stress of his profession, it made me realize just how pervasive suicide attempts are among high-profile people. Here are some selected 20th century celebs who attempted suicide, but managed to turn their lives around.”

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CMS Review: Bricolage

August 17, 2007

Moving a great story from concept to content requires inspiration, a little creativity, a lot of proofreading, and publication – or as they say in the newsroom, “Copy!” A good web content management system (WCMS) makes this happen seamlessly for the content creator. In the newspaper business where a quick content turnaround equals revenue, the last thing software should do is stand in the way.

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