May 01, 2008
Thrown Your Baby off a Building Lately?
Yet another “bizarre ritual” from the desh…but to be honest, I’ve never heard of this at all before. Have you? Anyone know anything about this?
Muslims in western India have been observing a bizarre ritual - they’ve been throwing their young children off a tall building to improve their health. The faithful have been observing the ritual at a shrine in Solapur, in western India’s Maharastra, for more than five hundred years. They believe it will make their children strong and say no accidents have ever happened. link
cicatrix at 02:37 PM in Health and Medicine, News, Religion · 71 comment(s) · Direct link
April 16, 2008
Bye Bye Nalgene?
We may be seeing the end of the ubiquitous Nalgene bottle, like the one sitting on the corner of my office desk that I drink from continuously throughout the day. The Canadian government is about to declare bisphenol-a, or B.P.A, a toxic chemical:
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The Nalgene is dead. |
B.P.A. is widely used to make polycarbonate plastics, which are rigid and transparent like glass but very unlikely to shatter…Because animal tests have shown that even small amounts of the chemical may cause changes in the body, however, researchers have focused on food- and drink-related applications of B.P.A., like the popular Nalgene brand beverage bottles. [Link]
The US government may be moving in the same direction, albeit more slowly:
… a draft report from the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ National Toxicology Program endorsed a scientific panel’s finding that there was “some concern” about neural and behavioral changes in humans who consume B.P.A. [Link]
The debate about the health impact on humans will probably continue for a while, but one way or another, Nalgene’s days as the dominant water jug are over as people decide that they’d rather be safe than sorry. I’m probably going to be one of them, since I don’t have the expertise necessary to evaluate the health claims myself. 
So how will I keep myself hydrated? Well, I’m thinking of rocking it old school. What would be better than a stainless steel jug and tumbler to keep in my office? You know, the kind with the rough edge that you can feel on the underside of your lip as you drink the water with the slightly metallic tang? Nalgene never induced nostalgia like this.
Now if only I could replace my office chair with a charpoy …
ennis at 11:17 PM in Health and Medicine · 52 comment(s) · Direct link
March 16, 2008
What’s wrong with medicine
Recently, I’ve read three articles by brown doctors (Darshak Sanghavi, Atul Gawande, and Sandeep Jauhar) all of which claim that there is something systematically wrong with the practice of medicine today. All three argue that we pay too much and get too little; Gawande goes the furthest by claiming that doctors and nurses routinely fail perform simple tasks they claim to be carrying out, thus endangering lives [Thanks Rahul]. 
Jauhar argues that poor incentives lead to gigantic amounts of waste in almost all medical practices:
In our health care system, where doctors are paid piecework for their services … overuse of services in health care probably cost hundreds of billions of dollars last year
Are we getting our money’s worth? Not according to the usual measures of public health. The United States ranks 45th in life expectancy, behind Bosnia and Jordan; near last, compared with other developed countries, in infant mortality; and in last place … among major industrialized countries in health-care quality, access and efficiency. [Link]
The other two go deeper than just the reimbursement system. They argue that doctors are not doing the routine tasks of their profession well, which reduces the quality of health care across the board and even kills patients:
… a team of researchers … reviewed children’s medical records from 12 major American cities and found that fewer than half of children got the correct medical care during doctor visits…A similar study of adult quality of care was published in 2003 with similar results. [Link]
While Sanghavi blames medical training that emphasizes diagnosis over execution, Gawande argues that medicine has become too complex for doctors to remember to do all of the simple things they need without some form of codification:
A large body of evidence gathered in recent years has revealed a profound failure by health-care professionals to follow basic steps proven to stop infection and other major complications. We now know that hundreds of thousands of Americans suffer serious complications or die as a result. It’s not for lack of effort. People in health care … are struggling … to provide increasingly complex care in the absence of effective systematization. [Link]
To address this, Gawande supports greater use of the humble checklist, an activity that makes airplanes safe to fly. One ICU checklist, listing five simple steps that all doctors are supposed to know and follow already, quickly saved money, suffering and lives:
Doctors are supposed to (1) wash their hands with soap, (2) clean the patient’s skin with chlorhexidine antiseptic, (3) put sterile drapes over the entire patient, (4) wear a sterile mask, hat, gown, and gloves, and (5) put a sterile dressing over the catheter site once the line is in….These steps are no-brainers; they have been known and taught for years… in this one hospital, the checklist had prevented forty-three infections and eight deaths, and saved two million dollars in costs. [Link]
In Michigan, where the same checklist was implemented on a broader basis, the results were even more profound:
Within three months, the rate of bloodstream infections from these I.V. lines fell by two-thirds. The average I.C.U. cut its infection rate from 4 percent to zero. Over 18 months, the program saved more than 1,500 lives and nearly $200 million. [Link]
Other checklists have had similar effects, yet the use of such checklists is restricted to a small number of hospitals (and even then on a limited basis) rather than being routine and widespread.
The fact that a simple codification of existing practices could save so much makes me heavily discount my doctor friends when they tell me that “they’re doing all they can.” The checklists didn’t reduce the load on doctors, nor did it change their incentive systems, it simply held them accountable for the things they said they were already doing, although they clearly were not. Honestly, I can’t see how doctors can, in good conscience, oppose such changes.
Related posts: Atul Gawande’s Medical ‘Complications’, Childbirth in the U.S. and India
ennis at 10:44 PM in Health and Medicine · 99 comment(s) · Direct link
March 14, 2008
The Biggest Malpractice Suit Ever?
This story broke last week, but I’m just starting to catch up on it now: in Las Vegas, more than 100 people have tested positive for Hepatitis C and HIV after being treated at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada. Apparently, investigators have found that anesthesia needles were re-used on different patients without adequate cleaning, and in some cases, portions of the same dose of anesthesia was injected into multiple patients.
The person who founded the Center, who has also been its majority owner, is a doctor named Dipak Desai. Three class action lawsuits have been filed against the center, with more than 100 plaintiffs total. Doctor friends tell me it might be the biggest medical malpractice case in recent history (I have not been able to directly confirm this… any docs in the house?).
I haven’t come across anyone saying that Desai himself gave the order to use the syringes this way, though I gather that the anesthetists employed at the Endoscopy center were nurses rather than doctors (might be a little corner cutting there). Since the investigations started, the nurses employed at Desai’s clinics have given up their nursing licenses. As of now Desai has not given up his own medical license, though he has voluntarily agreed to not practice medicine until the investigations are complete. My own inclination is to “wait and see” before piling on against Desai: he ran several clinics, and employed many other doctors, nurses, and technicians. This particular policy, which has caused so much harm to so many people, may not have come from him.
Before this mess started, Desai was a very well-respected doctor in the state of Nevada; he had a $1 million contract with the University Medical Center, where he directed the gastroenterology department; and the governor had appointed him to the State Board of Medical Examiners. All of that is not to excuse him; rather, it helps give us some sense of the scope of this case. Incidentally, when two doctors working at his clinics had earlier complained about unsafe hygiene with syringes, the claims weren’t investigated.
I’m curious to know what people think about this case. Obviously, it doesn’t reflect the practices of Indian doctors more broadly (and I come from a medical family, so I’m quite proud of the contributions Indian-Americans have made in medicine in the U.S.). But it does seem like a terrible tragedy, and for the employees of this particular Endoscopy Center, a huge mess.
amardeep at 10:31 PM in Health and Medicine · 74 comment(s) · Direct link
February 18, 2008
Crown vs. Turban: Unravelling the truth
I am often amazed at the claims that so-called experts make, even in a court of law. For example, the government of Ontario recently defended its policy that Sikhs riding motorcycles should wear helmets (not a requirement in BC or Manitoba) by claming that turbans would unravel in the breeze, thus posing a risk to other motorists.
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Born to be wild |
… the Crown declared that an expert it had hired proved that turbans unravel rapidly in 100 km/h winds. The Crown’s test had been carried out by a professional engineer who purchased a mannequin head, mounted it on a stick and then placed the assemblage in a wind tunnel. [Link]
Say what? Turbans unravel at 60 mph? Have they ever seen a Sardar riding a motorcycle? Or riding a roller coaster? Or even sticking his head out of a moving vehicle? The paag stays on tight my friend.
To test this claim, the plaintiff, Baljinder Badesha of Brampton (can you say that 10 times fast?), tried to replicate the study. He drove down the Cayuga Speedway at … gasp, 110 kmh. Did his turban unravel and flutter into the wind like a wayward plastic bag? Ummm … no. It was fit to be tied.
Mr. Hutchison [Baljinder Singh’s lawyer] was unable to find a documented case anywhere in the world where a Sikh motorcyclist’s turban had unravelled. Skeptical, he persuaded the OHRC to authorize its own test. After he confronted the Crown with the dramatically different test result, prosecutors conceded that their engineer had grossly miscalculated the force of the wind he had generated to batter the imitation head, Mr. Hutchison said.
In fact, the device had been subjected to a 300 km/h wind. [Link]
That’s right - they used 180 mph winds in their test, more of a gale than the stiff breeze you get at 60mph. And even so, I’m not entirely convinced. I’ll bet if they used a real person with a real turban going 180 mph, it might still stay on. But in any case, given that driving at 300 kmh is illegal, the point is moot.
So now the Crown is switching arguments. Instead of defending this policy in terms of the danger to others that turbans pose (those huge swooping turbans flying around the freeway, covering up windshields!) they’re arguing that helmetless motorcycle riders will cost the taxpayers more:
… its main argument is now based on increased costs to the health system, should helmetless Sikh motorcycle riders end up suffering head injuries. [Link]
The problem is that if you accept this argument, why are they allowing anybody to ride on a motorcycle at all, given that it’s far riskier than driving a car. In fact, they should only allow people to drive safe, slow, sober sedans like the Ambassador.
…a study … concluded that, assuming half of all Sikh motorcyclists wear turbans, the increase in serious injuries would be between .43 and 2.83 Sikh riders a year.
The study also projected that medical treatment for traumatic brain injuries would … [lead to] a .00005-per-cent overall increase in the province’s annual health-care budget.
Mr. Hutchison told the court that the province already licenses motorcycle riders in spite of the fact that they have far more accidents than automobile drivers. “Clearly, the decision to allow motorcycles to be used at all recognizes and accepts a significant degree of risk and concomitant social cost,” he said. [Link]
I realize that Canada is not a very libertarian country, but where they draw the line between acceptable risk (riding a motorcycle vs. riding in a car) and unacceptable risk (riding a motorcycle with a turban vs. riding a motorcycle with a helmet) is clearly determined by social preferences rather than public health. You can’t be penny wise and pound foolish and then say you’re acting out of frugality, it wont wash.
ennis at 12:50 AM in Health and Medicine, Law, News, Religion · 193 comment(s) · 1 reader(s) linked · Direct link
February 15, 2008
Flying high with just one engine
The folks over at Cinematical.com have been taking an early peak at some of the films that will be playing at this year’s SXSW Film Festival in Austin. This one immediately caught my eye as a film that more people need to know about:
FLYING ON ONE ENGINE captures the story of the severely disabled Dr. Dicksheet, a man who has donated his surgical skills to the cause of alleviating suffering among India’s poor. The film both highlights the problems of cleft lip and other congenital deformities, and also tells the dramatic story of a person risking his life to help those in need. Emphasizing Dr. Dicksheet’s frailty, his surgical brilliance, and the spectacular effects of his actions, this film juxtaposes the Nobel Prize nominated surgeon’s godlike status alongside the incredible desperation of the Indian community in which he serves.
The website of The India Project which Dr. Sharadkumar Dicksheet (from Brooklyn) runs is filled with inspirational pictures and stories, so I am glad someone has made a documentary about his work to spread the word. He is an eight-time Nobel Prize nominee and although he is himself hobbled by sickness, his patients think of him as a “God” for the help he brings to their lives.
In 1968, Dr. Dicksheet started his first free surgery camps to give dignity, function and opportunity to these otherwise condemned children of India with congenital facial and eye deformities. Each year Dr. Dicksheet spends five to six months in the poorest regions of India conducting free surgery camps…To-date, 64000 surgeries have been performed. Each surgery also impacts an average of 10 family members and 90 relatives and friends. Through Dr. Dicksheet’s human spirit and medical intervention, over 5.5 million people in India have been touched by his life changing surgeries…
In 1978, Dr. Dicksheet met with a serious car accident leaving the right side of his body paralyzed. He managed to recuperate within three years. While recuperating, Dr. Dicksheet continued to travel to India to conduct the free medical camps, and completed his fellowship in cosmetic surgery.
Tragedy struck Dr. Dicksheet again in 1982. Dr. Dicksheet was diagnosed with stage four larynx cancer and had to undergo four major operations followed by radiation therapy and given a life expectancy of two years. One of Dr. Dicksheet’s greatest love was singing classical music. But, Dr. Dicksheet did not lose hope. He continued to travel to India to conduct the free medical camps, learned how to talk using oesophageal speech techniques, and studied further in the specialized field of Plastic Surgery. [Link]
If you would like to help the filmmaker finish his work you can donate here and join the Facebook group here. Donations directly to The India Project can be made here.
50% of the film’s profits will go to a charity focused on treating severely deformed children. The documentary will also raise awareness of cleft lip and congenital deformities, and help ensure Dr. Dicksheet’s noble quest continues for years to come. [Link]
abhi at 12:22 AM in Film, Health and Medicine, Non-profits · 24 comment(s) · Direct link
February 12, 2008
The mini Hercules
As a person who appreciates his time at the gym (and advocates fitness in general), I knew I had to post this story as soon as I read it earlier today. Meet India’s Aditya ‘Romeo’ Dev, the world’s smallest bodybuilder:
Unlike many dwarfs, Romeo is well proportioned, with a head circumference of 15in and a chest measurement of 20in.
Romeo said: “I’ve been training as a bodybuilder for the last two years and by now I think I must be the strongest dwarf in the world.
“I have always been fit but since I started working out, I have become famous for my strength. [Link]
I doubt very much that he is the strongest dwarf in the world, but I do admire his ambition. What I appreciate most about “Romeo” is that he just does his thing with confidence. One big fear some people have about going to the gym is that they will look weak in front of the rest of the “big muscle-bound” guys. As you can see from the pictures, Dev isn’t even afraid to wear Calvin & Hobbes shorts while working out:
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Don’t stare without pinhole sunglasses |
Finally, the media will have something from India besides the Little Superstar to talk about. At least this guy is a certified pimp.
abhi at 10:43 PM in Health and Medicine, News, Profiles, Sports · 39 comment(s) · Direct link
February 11, 2008
Duh, only Royals can be inbred.
A British politician has caused quite a stir with his statements regarding the defective results of the arrangements Asians accede to…
A minister who warned about birth defects among children of first cousin marriages in Britain’s Asian community has sparked anger among critics.
Phil Woolas said health workers were aware such marriages were creating increased risk of genetic problems.
The claims infuriated the Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPAC) which called on the prime minister to “sack him”. [BBC]
As far as Woolas is concerned, he’s bravely confronting a worrisome issue which is politically incorrect; he has been quoted as saying he has an obligation to bring this up. He isn’t attacking the marriages as illegal or even a religious problem, his point is that this is a cultural practice which should be examined. Children of such unions are 13x more likely to suffer from recessive disorders.
“The issue we need to debate is first cousin marriages, whereby a lot of arranged marriages are with first cousins, and that produces lots of genetic problems in terms of disability [in children]. If you talk to any primary care worker they will tell you that levels of disability among the… Pakistani population are higher than the general population. And everybody knows it’s caused by first cousin marriage….Awareness does need to be raised but we are very aware of the sensitivities,” [BBC]
Critics wonder about his motives, since his political position deals with the environment instead of health. The timing for this hullabaloo in the empire’s orchard is awesome:
His comments follow the storm sparked by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who suggested some aspects of Islamic Sharia law could be allowed in Britain. [mirror]
Anti-green team, please note, both Woolas and the the cabinet minister who has his six, Geoff Hoon, are taking pains to point out that this conniption about cousin-coupling doesn’t involve the “wider Muslim community”; oh no, this backwardness is alll Asian.
The junior Minister has other vocal supporters besides Hoon:
Ann Cryer, MP for Keighley, said she was delighted that Phil Woolas had triggered a public debate on the issue which she said affected some sections of the Pakistani population in her constituency.
An expert in genetics, Steve Jones, also defended Woolas today, saying that first-cousin marriages doubled the risk of babies being born dead or disabled. [Guardian]
Cryer, like Woolas, reps significant numbers of Pakistanis. She has plenty of gasoline for this fire:
“I am delighted we are talking about. I have been fretting about this for 10 years and at last we are having a debate about something that is having a very large impact on my Pakistani constituents,” Cryer told the Today programme.
She stressed that she was only talking about “certain sections” of the Pakistani community. The problem related to families who engaged in “trans-continental marriages” because most of those marriages were between cousins.
There was often “a price to pay”, she went on. “The price to pay is often babies being born dead, or babies being born very early or babies being born with very severe genetically-transmitted disorders.” [Guardian]
“This is to do with a medieval culture where you keep wealth within the family.”
“I have encountered cases of blindness and deafness. There was one poor girl who had to have an oxygen tank on her back and breathe from a hole in the front of her neck,” she added.
“The parents were warned they should not have any more children. But when the husband returned from Pakistan, within months they had another child with exactly the same condition.” [BBC]
Anyone seen Razib? :) Someone page him. He HAS to chime in on this…
anna at 11:18 PM in Health and Medicine, Issues, Religion · 193 comment(s) · Direct link
January 29, 2008
Urban legend becomes real?
There is an old and familiar urban legend about kidney thieves that prey upon unsuspecting travellers, stealing their bodily organs. The most common version involves a business traveller who goes out for a drink, gets knocked out, and wakes up in a bathtub full of ice with his kidneys missing.
According to Snopes, there have been no documented occurrences of travellers’ kidney being stolen. The roots of this story are probably an incident in 1989 where a Turkish man falsely claimed he had been lured to England with the promise of a job only to find his kidney removed. The story fell apart once it was revealed that he had advertised his kidney for sale, but not before the account had mutated and spread.
So you’ll have to understand that I was shocked, and a bit skeptical, to hear about roughly 600 kidneys stolen from poor people in India for transplant in rich foreigners:
Many of the donors were day laborers… picked up from the streets with the offer of work, driven to a well-equipped private clinic, and duped or forced at gunpoint to undergo surgery… The men said there were no postoperative medical checks and no discussion of money or other compensation.
Four doctors, 5 nurses, 20 paramedics, 3 private hospitals, 10 pathology clinics and 5 diagnostic centers were involved… The officials suspect that several private hospitals in Delhi and its suburbs were quietly complicit in Dr. Kumar’s work and treated patients recovering from kidney transplants.[Link]
Beyond my moral revulsion, I was also a bit confused as to why they were robbing people of body parts when there was already a voluntary (and still illegal) trade in kidneys. Generally speaking, one would prefer to buy rather than steal kidneys because the donors are less likely to go to the cops and because you’re less likely to have your gundas stage a coup and take all your money.
Sure enough, this group both bought and stole kidneys, although we don’t know in what proportion:
… a team of criminals he called kidney scouts usually roamed the labor markets Delhi and cities in Uttar Pradesh, India’s poorest state, searching for potential donors. Some prospects were asked outright if they wanted to sell a kidney and were offered $1,000 to $2,500. A car equipped with testing equipment was often on hand so that potential donors could be checked immediately to see whether their kidneys matched the needs of prospective patients. [Link]
On a moral level, even one kidney being robbed from a victim is too much, but I will confess that part of my mind was trying to understand the … business model of these crooks as well. If it was effective, sadly we’re likely to see more crimes like this in the future.
ennis at 05:38 PM in Health and Medicine, News · 27 comment(s) · Direct link
December 21, 2007
Kashayyam for what ails me.
As much as left-coast-born-and-raised me loves living on the right side of this vast country, there is one situation which inspires a reaction which is more pathetic than independent— being sick. I’m not talking about the sniffles or an errant sneeze or three, I mean, 102 degree fever, rhinitis which resembles a broken faucet and exhaustion which is so powerful, Ambien is envious of its ability to force sleep. I mean, sick sick.
When you’re sick and at home (or near it, even), parents can do what they love to, they can fuss and scold while they bustle about making clucking noises and shaking their heads. There’s something so comforting about the cadence of a mildly-irritated, slightly-worried parent. I tune out the actual words and just follow along until I’ve reached the portal to that ever-running game of subconscious Chutes and Ladders, and then I slide back to baby-hood in a blissful blur.
Don’t hate. You totally do it, too. When you can, that is. But when you are 3,000 miles away, and you are surveying the destruction which is a charitable way to characterize one kleenex-strewn, studio apartment, there is no such succor. We modern, vesternized children who think we know so much, who move so far from mummydaddy, we do the only thing we can. We wallow during those brief moments we’re conscious, reconsider our stubborn and proud refusal to get married already and then, when it’s 4am and we’re awake because the drugs have worn off, we update our Facebook status with something miserable. What, you don’t? Well, I’m kinda glad I did that last thing. I woke up to a post on my wall which immediately cheered me…
I can only suggest the concoction foisted by many mother on her sick, jaded-by-alopathy children, kashayyam:
…and then there was a fantastic link to the substance he suggested.
Inji kashayam, a medicinal drink made with fresh ginger,pepper,coriander seeds and jaggery.This is mother in law’s famous recipe to make us all feel better when we are down with cold,indigestion or even nausea.Simple and easy to make…[link]
Ginger? Pepper? Jaggery? Awww, yeah. You know, I don’t know anything about cricket, I don’t watch Bollywood, I’ve never seen any of those 2nd gen experiments on celluloid which contain various combinations of “American”, “Desi” or “Chai”, but I’m brown in some very persistent, weird ways and this is one of them; I’m talking about the home remedy, the more random and bizarre, the better.
Back when I was a disdainful ten-year old, if you had told me that one day I’d be drinking, nay, CRAVING Jeera-vellam I wouldn’t have believed it. No way. Eeew. Not me. I was too cool for amber-colored water with icky masses of cumin seeds lurking at the bottom of a glass. And yet, there I was last year, 21 years older and determined to steep this mysterious drink, just so. Yes, I know it’s a brew so simple an idiot can make it, but that doesn’t lessen my anxiety, hokay? I was born here. That fact alone has me convinced that I will never be able to replicate my Mother’s legendary Meenkari-with-no-meen.
Anyway, thanks to a darling friend’s sympathetic post on my “wall”, here was another recipe which required ingredients from a store which probably also stocked ladoos (mmm…ladoos), a recipe which would probably work, if for only one reason (but it’s a powerful one, so one is all we need)— it was desi. And someone’s Mom used to make it. And it has nothing to do with medicine, over the counter or otherwise.
Placebo effect? Sure, I won’t dispute that at all. I also won’t dispute the ridiculously smug sense of satisfaction such a concoction summons, as if we have a secret, cultural-velvet-rope-thang. Those moments, when my brain is being boiled by a fever, and when I’m dazed, crazed and amazed at how good pepper, sugar and something I can’t pronounce which was allegedly smuggled in someone’s suitcase can taste…those are the moments when I am consummately down with my brown.
anna at 08:48 PM in Health and Medicine, Identity, Musings · 47 comment(s) · Direct link
December 04, 2007
Bone(s), thugs ~n~ western medicine
If you’re a scientist, you say that your own understanding of the world comes from standing on the shoulders of giants. If you’re a doctor, it turns out that your knowledge comes from standing on the pilfered graves of dead Indians:
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Alas poor Yorick |
Medical students across the world rely on anatomical models to become informed doctors. What many don’t realize is that a large number of these models are stolen from graves in Calcutta, India. For 200 years, the city has been the center of a shadowy network of bone traders who snatch up skeletons in order to sell them to universities and hospitals abroad. In colonial times, British doctors hired thieves to dig up bodies from Indian cemeteries. Despite changes in laws, a similar process is going strong today. Throughout parts of Calcutta, many of the cemeteries have been empty for generations. [Link]
Last week Scott Carney broke the story of the human bone trade in West Bengal, with accounts at Wired, NPR and his own blog [Photos here].
Why Indian bones? Well, skeletons are hard to get in the west, so medical schools look elsewhere:
In the US, for instance, most corpses receive a prompt burial, and bodies donated to science usually end up on the dissection table, their bones sawed to pieces and destined for cremation. So most skeletons used for medical study come from overseas. [Link]See, everything really does come from India!In 1985, the Chicago Tribune reported that India had exported about 60,000 skulls and skeletons the year before. The supply was sufficient for every medical student in the developed world to buy a bone box along with their textbooks. [Link]
Twenty years ago, the bone trade was a legal multi-million dollar enterprise. This ended in 1986 with concerns that children were being killed for their skeletons:
In 1985 rumors began to surface that the bone dealers had run out of skeletons in Calcutta’s graveyards and were killing children for their skeletons. Child skeletons are rarer than adult skeletons and fetched a higher price on the market. A man was arrested for exporting more than 1,500 child skeletons. A member of the legislature accused him of murder and put the nail in the coffin for the legal industry. By 1986 exports had all but stopped and the 13 original bone exporters all seemingly shut their doors. [Link]
However, since demand continued and plastic models are seen as a poor substitute, a business opportunity remained to be exploited. A company called Young Brothers, located near the largest morgues and cemetaries in town, brazenly advertised human bones for sale in its catalogues. The business was well known in the neighborhood:
The main storefront, neighbors said, was emitting a stench so horrible that it could be detected several blocks away. Neighbors also reported that they had seen bones drying on the roof and skeletons boiling in massive tubs. [Link]
However, after the crackdown business has continued for Young Brothers, albeit more quietly:
Since then Young Brothers has been more discreet about it’s business affairs, but he hasn’t exactly shuttered his doors. His brother in law … pulled a fetal skull off the shelf and offered to sell it to me for $400. [Link]
The most recent Young Brothers catalog (2006-2007) takes care to inform customers that it abides by the law. It lists a wide assortment of bones at wholesale prices, noting that they’re “for sale in India only.” Indian skeletons are somehow making it out of the country anyway. [Link]
The police don’t think that cracking down on the trade is a high priority:
Indian authorities express a similar lack of concern. Although the international bone trade violates the national export law and local statutes against grave desecration, officials look the other way.”This is not a new thing,” says Rajeev Kumar, West Bengal’s deputy inspector general of police…”We are trying to implement the law based on the stress society places on it,” he adds. “Society does not see this as a very serious thing…” [Link]
Personally, I don’t care what happens to my own body after I’m dead. If people want to sell their own skeletons, that’s fine by me. However, stealing somebody’s bones is stealing their most personal property, and that’s just wrong. Sounds like somebody needs to be smacked with the jawbone of an ass.
ennis at 11:59 PM in Health and Medicine, News · 87 comment(s) · Direct link
November 03, 2007
Has Doc 420 been smoking her own stuff?
CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta is just too damn perfect. He is a doctor (including combat neurosurgery), a journalist, a University of Michigan grad, has a perfect smile, and speaks out against drug use. I really believe that the Universe has a way of balancing out the existence of such people with Doppelgängers, “anti” people, who use their skills to aid the dark side. The story about Sona “Doc 420” Patel, posted on our News Tab, makes me wonder if we have finally found the anti-Sanjay Gupta of the Indian American community.
Chances are you’ve never met a doctor like Sona Patel. She’s the cover girl for medical marijuana. We first interviewed her at a medical marijuana convention in Los Angeles.
“I’ve always believed in the medicinal effects of marijuana,” says Patel, a medical marijuana doctor.
Six months ago, she started calling herself Doc 420 — 420 is the street slang for smoking marijuana.
“That’s just kind of a bit of a fluke, just kind of happened that that phone number was available and the Web site was available. So, I became Doc 420,” says Patel.
Yes, she has a toll-free number, a Doc 420 Web site and a MySpace page with a picture.
Dan Noyes: “What did you hope to accomplish with this image?”
Sona Patel: “Well, you know what, it was just something that a marketing team had come up with for me…” [Link]
The article excerpted above is actually the transcript from a television story (including undercover camera work), the video of which is posted on the site.
First, I should say that a part of me admires the hot Doc420. She is using existing loopholes in the California medical marijuana laws to maximize her profit. She definitely is not the only such “rogue” doctor. According to the ad above she already has three clinics in three cities and she is only 31! Her website shows that the clinics are very nice as well. Incidentally, her website has a note saying it is down for construction but will be re-opening today, presumably sans racy “Doc420” ads. Thank goodness for screen capture. She must be feeling a little bit paranoid because of the undercover story, and probably with good reason. Even though California state laws allow for the distribution of weed for “medicinal reasons,” the feds do not, and will go after people that exploit the laws by freely writing prescriptions without good cause. For those wanting a clearer background on all this, 60 minutes devoted a great story to this problem just a few weeks ago. The problem for Sona is that she is caught on tape implying that just about any reason is good enough to be prescribed some marijuana by her.
The other issue here is her ad which “drips” with sex. In the under cover video when some potential clients approach her she acts very demurely, so I can give her the benefit of the doubt and believe that she isn’t using her sexuality on a daily basis. Even if it was a marketing team’s idea to dress her up like that, it was a bad call. No doctor should be that stupid. Citing an ad like this as evidence will undoubtedly bolster a prospective federal lawsuit against her.
I-Team Producer #1: “What if you don’t have a condition?”
Doc 420: “Well, most likely, people are using it for something whether you… really realize it or not, if it’s helping you sleep or calming your stress or there are so many different reasons that still qualify you. You may not even realize it.”
I-Team Producer #2: “It could be something like just I can’t sleep or whatever?”
Doc 420: “Yeah, exactly, and I have a lot of people like that, too.”
Our producers went to the ATM, returned with cash, and after a few minutes emerged with a three-month recommendation for medical marijuana.
Dan Noyes: “Oh, you’ve been diagnosed with a serious medical condition.”
But Dr. Patel didn’t really diagnose our producer. She told him what would qualify him for medical marijuana with a series of leading questions. [Link]
Marijuana might eventually become legalized, even at the federal level. Sona’s problem is that the law just isn’t there yet. The extreme marketing decisions she’s made in order to maximize her profit (i.e., conflating her physical appearance with her competency to prescribe a controlled substance) may come back to haunt her. We’ll keep an eye on her story.
abhi at 01:14 PM in Health and Medicine, Profiles · 174 comment(s) · 1 reader(s) linked · Direct link
October 22, 2007
I know what I'm going to be for Halloween!
Thoughtful readers NKN and Daniel sent in this delightful wideo and we are all smilier for it. It’s catchy! Err…wait, I think it’s supposed to prevent that…
Achtung, babies: it is NSFW, especially if you work with Telugu people. ;) Otherwise, it seems so innocent, the stars of the clip reminded me of Boobah or the Teletubbies…well, until they get to the graphically illustrated part about gay sex. But we won’t go there! I mean, hasn’t Tinky Winky endured enough?
Now sing it with me one time, “I am sealed with lubricant!” Ah, this song is going to be in my head, all day. Happy Monday to all and to all, check the manufacturing date.
P.S. The next time you’re blue (heh), make like our dancing friend Nirodh and tell yourself, “Turn a deaf ear to others, I am very good.” I know I will!
anna at 04:35 AM in Health and Medicine, Humor, Issues, Video · 68 comment(s) · Direct link
October 12, 2007
Help Me Sing It, Ma Ma Se, Ma Ma Sa, Ma Ma Coo Sa
When it comes to “hot fields of scientific research”, obviously desis are at the forefront of discovery and innovation; that’s not chauvinism, that’s just logic. Millions of brown people exist and a solid chunk of them are in science, so the odds are just stacked in our favor. But I digress. And there’s exciting stuff regarding Proteome Research to get to, so let’s get back on topic! [Via MSNBC]:
A small study links the type of bacteria living in people’s digestive system to a desire for chocolate. Everyone has a vast community of microbes in their guts. But people who crave daily chocolate show signs of having different colonies of bacteria than people who are immune to chocolate’s allure.
That may be the case for other foods, too. The idea could eventually lead to treating some types of obesity by changing the composition of the trillions of bacteria occupying the intestines and stomach, said Sunil Kochhar, co-author of the study. It appears Friday in the peer-reviewed Journal of Proteome Research.
This study isn’t biased at all:
Kochhar is in charge of metabolism research at the Nestle Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland. The food conglomerate Nestle SA paid for the study. But this isn’t part of an effort to convert a few to the dark (or even milk) side of cocoa, Kocchar said.
Here’s my favorite part of the study:
In fact, the study was delayed because it took a year for the researchers to find 11 men who don’t eat chocolate.
BWAH! In your face, people who think chocolate craving = pre-menstrual misery and weakness. MEN! They couldn’t find eleven MEN who don’t indulge.
Kochhar compared the blood and urine of those 11 men, who he jokingly called “weird” for their indifference to chocolate, to 11 similar men who ate chocolate daily. They were all healthy, not obese, and were fed the same food for five days.
The researchers examined the byproducts of metabolism in their blood and urine and found that a dozen substances were significantly different between the two groups. For example, the amino acid glycine was higher in chocolate lovers, while taurine (an active ingredient in energy drinks) was higher in people who didn’t eat chocolate. Also chocolate lovers had lower levels of the bad cholesterol, LDL.
That does it. I’m having red wine and Cadbury for dinner tonight. What to do? It’s the healthy choice.
The levels of several of the specific substances that were different in the two groups are known to be linked to different types of bacteria, Kochhar said.
They’re still not sure if it’s the bacteria that wants to be startin something, gots to be startin something or if diet affected the bacteria blah blah chicken egg.
How gut bacteria affect people is a hot field of scientific research.
I think my tummy is always warm, but that is based on highly unscientific rubbing of it, while attempting to pat my head simultaneously.
Wots this? A reference to my bellowed alma mater? GO AGS!
…Kochhar’s research makes so much sense that people should have thought of it earlier, said J. Bruce German, professor of food chemistry at the University of California Davis. While five outside scientists thought the study was intriguing, Dr. Richard Bergman at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, had concerns about the accuracy of the initial division of the men into groups that wanted chocolate or were indifferent to it.
What matters to Kochhar is where the research could lead.
Kochhar said the relationship between food, people and what grows in their gut is important for the future: “If we understand the relationship, then we can find ways to nudge it in the right direction.”
You can nudge me right in the direction of some hot cocoa on this oddly autumnal day; apparently we had a 40 degree temperature drop in a scant 48 hours, at some point this week (Can I get a hearty WTF? Or was this orchestrated in conjunction with the Nobel committee, to make us all think of global warming while Gore gets his props?).
I’m so not used to being cold. Right now, I’m wearing a turtleneck sweater with a thinsulate vest over it; I was wearing a sleeveless dress on Monday! Also, I am taking little breaks while I type this to nibble on a chocolate chip cookie. Apposite, nah? Admit it, you total want one, too. Awww, don’t feel bad…it’s not your fault. Thanks to Sunil, now you are aware of your status as an innocent captive to your gutsy bacteria. Blame the glycine— it gots to be startin’ something!
anna at 05:00 PM in Dance, Food, Health and Medicine, Humor, Science · 28 comment(s) · Direct link
October 10, 2007
We can do this, again. We can help (in nyc, TOMORROW).
As Amardeep mentioned, the bunker is exceptionally quiet these days, because a few of us are consumed with our day jobs (as opposed to this, our beloved virtual one). For me, holidays like the one we just had are difficult to enjoy, because it zimbly means I’m going to be forced to squeeze five days worth of work in to four. No, I’m not bitter at all, despite how that read. :) I’m swamped, but I’m not salty. Do you know why? Perspective.
I am constantly reminded of how I am one lucky person; other people have real problems, challenges which threaten their very lives.
Many of you remember Vinay, who needed a marrow donor, whose friends and family coordinated an extraordinary operation which found him (and a few others!) matches, even though his wasn’t “perfect”. SM constantly posted about the drives which were happening everywhere, and so many of you stepped up to give a little bit of yourself, for someone who could have been your little brother, your best friend, your cousin.
Well, we need your help again.
Another young person is fighting for his life, and despite the outstanding increase in South Asian donors in the national database thanks to Team Vinay, there is no match for him…yet. His name is Bevin and in the picture above-left, he is (of all things) wearing a “Gimme ur spit/get registered” tee-shirt in honor of Vinay. You see, as someone who was in remission, he took Vinay’s cause to heart and felt it was his obligation to do all he could to help spread the word, donate funds, convince people to get swabbed, since he knew first-hand what Vinay was up against.
Scrap the past tense; now, he is facing the same adversary Vinay is. Bevin needs our help and he needs it soon. But I’m not going to lose hope; if there was one thing I learned from Team Vinay, it was that negativity should be banished. Let’s focus on what’s good: Bevin’s friends are holding drives in New York City, within the next few days. Info on that below, the link to Bevin’s facebook group is here.
I’m sorry this post is so rushed, but I wanted to publish it ASAP, because the first drive is tomorrow. GO. PLEASE. HELP.
SWAB FOR BEVIN
All it takes is 12 seconds and you might be a match for Bevin…..
Please join us this Thursday at Bar 13 and/or Saturday at Katwalk for a Bone Marrow Drive for our dear friend Bevin Varughese. Below are the details of the events.
Date: Thursday, October 11th, 2007
Time: 6:30-9:30pm
Location: Bar 13
35 E 13th Street (Corner of University Place)
New York, NY 10003
————————————————————————————
Date: Saturday, October 13, 2007
Time: 6:00pm-9:00pm
Location: Katwalk
2 West 35th Street (Btwn 5th & 6th Ave)
New York. NY 10001
For further Information please contact: Swab4Bevin@gmail.com
I’ll try to rewrite/update this post later…but for now, fire up your iPhone/Palm/Outlook/GoogleCalendar/Dayrunner/FranklinCoveyWhatever…if you are in NYC and you have not registered with the NMDP yet, you my friend, have plans tomorrow. If you are not in NYC, I know you’re related to, the ex- of or friends with someone who is— persuade THEM to get swabbed, if they are willing to be a committed donor.
anna at 03:15 PM in Events, Health and Medicine · 33 comment(s) · Direct link
September 16, 2007
Catching Up With Vinay & Sameer
As we said back in the day, nothing beats a good, solid success story. Well, I’m happy to report to the Mutiny that in BOTH Vinay and Sameer’s case, we’ve got some pretty solid success.
 |
Team Vinay reports - Hello everyone, this is Bharath (Vinay’s brother). Sorry for keeping many of you in the dark about Vinay’s progress. |
 |
Sameer reports - …Ladies and gentlemen, I was informed today that, through a miracle of God, a 10 out of 10 match has been found for me!! |
A hearty SM congrats to both of them.
Mutineers - keep your fingers crossed and these guys in your thoughts & prayers — as far as they’ve come, they’ve still got a long way to go and can use the help. And, for every Vinay and Sameer that we write about, there are thousands of others we don’t so if you haven’t been swabbed yet, there are still opportunities to get it done.
vinod at 09:29 AM in Health and Medicine · 11 comment(s) · Direct link
September 13, 2007
Curcumin, anyone?
When the topic comes around to traditional vs. western medicine, I tend to side pretty consistently with the western medicine camp. It’s not that I’m anti-Ayurveda in particular; I just believe in a firm line between science and faith. In my view, one or another medicine cited in Ayurveda might actually be effective, but until it’s been tested in a well-designed double-blind trial, and the results published in a rigorously peer-reviewed journal, I’m generally not interested in using it as anything other than a supplement.
Now, however, the line between eastern “folk remedy” and western science is getting just a bit blurrier, as accredited scientists have recently begun to formally study the effects of things like Turmeric using the scientific method, and blogger Ashutosh has an interesting post at Desipundit summarizing a recent article in Cell on the active ingredient in Turmeric, Curcumin. First, the hype, which is considerable:
Turmeric’s beneficial effects as recorded in Ayurveda are impressive. It is a multitalented molecule, and in its particular case, many of its effects have stood up to the hype. It shows among other things, potential antiinflammatory, anticancer, digestive, respiratory, pro immune system, and cardio and neuroprotective (anti-Alzheimer’s) effects. With such a profile, curcumin would be extremely alluring as a drug, almost seeming like a magic cure. (link)
That’s a lot of potential benefits! Emphasis on “potential”: there are some serious scientific hurdles that have to be jumped before the drug’s effectiveness can be fully understood, or deployed to best possible use, and Ashutosh outlines those as well. Indeed, the fact that Curcumin’s benefits are so generalized might actually be part of the problem:
However, the very varied tricks that curcumin can perform also makes it a somewhat problematic molecule as a drug. A drug usually needs to be very potent, and selective for one particular disease that you are trying to cure. Almost all drugs exert their beneficial effects by either speeding up, or more commonly, inhibiting the activity of a protein that’s involved in a disease. For example, many proteins are perpetually “turned on” in cancer cells leading the cells to incessantly proliferate, and many anticancer drugs work by blocking the activity of these proteins and therefore bringing rampant cell division under control. What we, and pharmaceutical companies are looking for, is a molecule that is potent, selective, and safe. All these qualities are of paramount importance. Potency is important for the very action of the drug, and also so that doses can be small; a weakly potent drug may have to be administered in intolerably large amounts to work. Selectivity is perhaps even more important, because if the drug hits other proteins or targets, it is going to cause unwanted side effects. As we all realise when we take a pill, no drug is completely selective, and there are always side effects, but an effort has to be made to keep them mild and to a minimum. Which naturally brings us to the last point; safety, without which you cannot convince any patient to take a drug, no matter how effective it may be.
In case of curcumin, it shows beneficial effects, but it is not particularly potent for one specific disease. To make it potent for one disease, first of all it would have to be known which protein(s) it blocks or interacts with in the body. Then, knowing the structure of the drug and the protein, chemists can make efforts to modify the structure and increase the potency, and also to reduce the above quoted off-target effects. In case of curcumin therefore, much work needs to be done, before if it can be turned into, say, an effective anticancer drug. In addition, there will need to be extensive animal and finally clinical testing of the modified molecule before it can be approved and marketed. Not surprisingly, the effort required for this whole process has been compared to the expended in putting a man or woman on the moon and getting him or her back. The current estimates are staggering; upto a billion dollars, and 10-12 years, from conception of an idea for a drug (say, curcumin) to finished marketed product, with a success rate of about 5%! No wonder that making drugs is an extremely risky business in all its aspects. This is also the reason why companies are obssesed with patents, because that is the only way for them to recover all this money that has been spent and make a profit to fuel further research.
Anyone have a billion dollars and 10-12 years to invest in deciphering the medical benefits of curcumin?
Googling around, one does find reference to other studies involving Curcmuin, including a UCLA study that suggested Curcumin might help reduce the likelihood of contracting Alzheimer’s Disease (though no full-scale study on humans has been conducted yet). I also came across reference to a Johns Hopkins study suggesting that Turmeric/Curcumin might help reduce the number of precancerous colon polyps. And there may be other serious studies that explore other ways in which circumin might be beneficial (or not); readers, any tips?
Incidentally, I believe the article at Cell Ashutosh mentions is available here (subscription needed).
amardeep at 10:25 AM in Health and Medicine · 45 comment(s) · Direct link
September 12, 2007
More Regulatory Evil: Palliative Care
There’s an article in the New York Times about the problems faced by doctors in India who want to prescribe morphine to terminally ill patients, especially those who are suffering from cancer.
The centerpiece of the article is a Dr. Rajagopal, who runs a palliative care clinic in Kerala, the one Indian state where morphine tends to be accessible. Dr. Rajagopal has been lobbying to make morphine more accessible to ordinary Indians nationwide.
About 1.6 million Indians endure cancer pain each year. Because of tobacco and betel nut chewing, India leads the world in mouth and head tumors, and has high rates of lung, breast and cervical cancer. Tens of thousands also die in pain from AIDS, burns or accidents.
But only a tiny fraction — Dr. Rajagopal estimates 0.4 percent — get relief.
Clinics dispensing morphine are so scarce that some patients live 500 miles from the nearest. Calcutta, a city of 14 million, has only one. (link)
Ironically, India grows the poppies from which much of the morphine used in western countries is derived. But government regulations (a highly familiar villain, in the Indian context) make it virtually impossible for ordinary people who are seriously ill to get access to it:
Elsewhere, the state laws enforcing the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, passed in 1985 to curb drug trafficking, are complex and harsh. The book outlining them is 1,642 pages, and even minor infractions can mean 10-year sentences. Legal morphine use in India plummeted 97 percent after 1985, reaching a low of 40 pounds in 1997. It has since crept up.
“India is a regulatory morass,” said David E. Joranson, director of the Pain & Policy Studies Group at the University of Wisconsin medical school. “It is controlled by the Ministry of Finance, and the rules are based on excise regulations that go back to the British Raj.”
Each shipment requires five licenses. Pills must be locked in two-key cabinets. When patients die, families must return unused pills — sometimes a struggle in a country where the dead may be cremated with their medicines.
Many pharmacists just cannot be bothered.(link)
Obviously, simplifying the regulatory process would help this situation a great deal. One would obviously still want tight control and monitoring of the morphine that is dispensed, but not so much that it discourages the use of the drug where it could be of help.
There is some hope. At the end of the Times piece, the reporter describes an interview with Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, a Cabinet Minister at the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs, who has expressed support in Parliament for greater emphasis on pain relief in the Indian health system.
Does anyone have personal experience (i.e., with friends or family) of trying to get access to painkillers or palliative care in the Indian health system?
amardeep at 10:40 AM in Health and Medicine · 35 comment(s) · Direct link
August 28, 2007
Call the Wambulance! We have a pre-med allergy!
A slightly Anonymous Tipster operating via the chimney which is our News tab gifted me with a robust cup of breakfast-reading which perked me right up.
How’s that for two utterly unrelated metaphors? Huh? Yeeeah, boyee.
Now you are surely not asking, “what got you all twitchy and agitated, Anna?”, but I am going to gift you with an answer anyway! I’m hyper thanks to the latest advice column from Cary Tennis, which is published at Salon.
Today’s edition of Cary-wisdom is inspired by a letter writer (LW) who can be neatly summed up by the title of the column:
I don’t want to be a doctor!
Fair enough, LW. A good number of us did or didn’t, but I want to know more about you, even as part of me groans, knowing I will regret it and get all uber-bitch on your ass by the end of this.
Aug. 28, 2007 | Dear Cary,
I am 20 years old, go to a state university, and am severely confused on what I want to do in life.
When I was little, I wanted to be an “artist.” With the beret, paintbrushes and canvas. Then, I moved on. Sure, I loved art, and enjoyed it, and was good at it, but I realized I wasn’t exceptionally creative in that sense. So I wanted to be a journalist. That idea left as soon as it entered my mind in high school. Then, toward the lag end of high school, I got interested in becoming a doctor. It wasn’t out of some desire I had to cure the world or make lots of money. It was because of my parents.
My parents and my family are from the Indian subcontinent and are Muslim. In their minds, the best thing to be is a professional. Especially a doctor. My father always tells me that I should be a doctor to help people and to be independent. My dad works away from home and flies back to my family every three to four weeks. It’s a hard life for him, because he misses out on our lives. It’s important to him that I become independent and have the ability to work wherever I want to. So, in high school, I took some medical classes. I enjoyed them; they weren’t my favorite classes, but they were, I suppose, “all right.”
When I started applying for university, for my possible majors, I would alternate between political science and English. My mother would ask me to write “pre-medicine” next to the others. Therefore, when I got accepted, I was put into the pre-professional advising. I never truly desired to become a doctor. The only reason I wanted to become one was to help people. To fix them. So I kept going. I took biology, chemistry, bioethics.
Then, my sophomore year, last year, I fell apart. I took physics and organic chemistry. I was doing terribly in both. I made a 48 on my first exam in physics and a 63 in organic. I had to decide whether or not to drop physics. I eventually did, and I was so disappointed in myself. You see, I did well in high school. I took many Advanced Placement classes, made A’s, and was an excellent student. And I got burnt out. I just couldn’t force myself to work. I tried, but it wasn’t enough. I didn’t care enough. So I eventually made a C in organic.
It was during this semester that I would get these sort of panic attacks. I would just cry and cry when thinking about how badly I was doing in life, in organic, in everything. This is what really scared me the most. I always prided myself on not stressing out, not freaking out, and doing well in what I was studying for. But here was a class that just broke me down into tears. I couldn’t study when I was like that.
Then, the spring semester began. I took the second part of organic. Struggled through it and was averaging a C in the class. Then I fell apart again. I made a 48 on my last test, which dropped me to a D. I had to make an amazing grade on the final. I didn’t start studying for the final until the night before because I had basically given up. I failed the class with an F. In all my other classes that semester, I made A’s and B’s.
So now I don’t know what to do. I’m signed up for organic again this semester, with the same professor I failed with. I’m already freaking out about it. I don’t want to have those panic attacks again, but I can feel my heart rate getting faster just thinking about it and typing it out. I don’t think I want to be a doctor anymore. But I don’t know what else I can do. I’m majoring in English, and I enjoy writing, reading, and analyzing, but what could I do? I know I’m good at it. I’m thinking about public policy, law school, etc. Sometimes I blame my parents for, in a way, forcing me to do pre-med. It prevented me from pursuing architecture, for example. Or anything else. I know I shouldn’t blame them, but it seems so convenient.
I want to do so much with my life. I don’t want to regret anything. I want to study abroad and travel and do the Peace Corps and help people. But I need to make a decision.
What should I do, Cary? I trust your advice. I read your column and your advice is always sound. If you could help me, I would be so grateful.
Typical Confused College Student
There is this phrase in Malayalam my Father used almost daily; I wish I could recall it, so I could butcher its spelling right now. It was something to the effect of, I’ll break your bones and GIVE you something to cry about, you little twerp. Or similar. But let’s allow the sensitive Amreekan (whom I’m a huge fan of, normally, btw) to have his say, since it IS his column we are disgusting discussing.
Dear Confused College Student,
We interupt this post to raise a point of clarification: I’ve numbered the paragraphs below , so they’re easier to refer back to and pillage, no need to thank me, it’s just the kind of blogger I am.
1.) Your parents are sitting on the floor in the living room, playing with a doctor doll. The doctor doll wears a nice white lab coat. The doctor doll is good-looking and rich. The doctor doll has a whole doctor household complete with doctor grandchildren and doctor spouse, and the doctor is in a Lexus driving down the street waving to admirers. Your parents have some play money and they have piled it up next to the doctor. The pile of money is nearly as tall as the doctor.
2.) Your parents would be very upset if someone were to take the rich doctor doll away. So you must use the tactic of redirection. You must show your parents something that is just as interesting to them.
3.) You must wave a shiny lawyer in their faces. You must say, “Look, parents! Shiny, famous lawyer! Rich, famous, shiny lawyer! CNN consultant fees!”
4.) In this way, you can induce them to turn their attention from the rich doctor doll to the rich lawyer doll, without feeling that they have lost a precious dream. If all goes well, they will forget about the doctor and will soon be back on the living room floor, assembling a rich lawyer family, complete with lawyer spouse, successful lawyer children and a big expensive lawyer house filled with money to the ceiling.
5.) You would think that you could just talk to parents. But they aren’t like that. You can’t talk to them. You have to treat them like children.
6.) You, on the other hand, are fairly adult. You know what you need to do. You just have to clear some space for yourself to do it.
7.) While you’re at it, in case you are feeling alone, take a look at this article on Sound Vision. It addresses your situation almost precisely: “The child wants to be an artist; his parents want him to go to med-school and become a doctor. The child wants to be a political scientist; his parents want him to be an engineer. This clash seems to be especially prevalent in immigrant Muslim families.”
8.) And it makes one particularly encouraging observation that might be persuasive to your parents: “Muslim leaders have long complained about the lack of Muslims pursuing careers in the media.”
9.) Law is a difficult career, and it may not be exactly what you wish to pursue for your entire life. But I think you have a good shot at it and should give it a try. It can be a springboard to many other occupations, journalism and writing principally among them.
10.) Your parents are right about one thing. They know, as countless other immigrants have known, that though American society is an open place, it is not a kind, safe place. It is a place where you have to make your own way. You have to establish status for yourself. If not, you will be trampled. That’s the way it is here. So they are right to push you to acquire a profession that will afford you some protection from the vicissitudes of capitalism and individualism.
11.) Sure, you will have to change some of your educational arrangements. But you would have to do that anyway. You flunked organic!
12.) Don’t worry. It’s probably the best course you’ve ever flunked.
13.) Law is excellent training for a writer. Look at Salon’s Tim Grieve, for instance, and Glenn Greenwald. They are both lawyers. They are also powerful writers working as journalists.
14.) So drink some coffee and cancel the pre-med studies.
15.) Throw yourself into what you love best. Make yourself happy. Excel. Immerse yourself in it. Go toward what you love. Work. Graduate. Stay healthy.
16.) Keep telling your parents you’re going to law school.
17.) Then join the Peace Corps.
18.) After the Peace Corps, you’ll know what to do.
Oh, my. What struck me first about all this was how— for lack of a better word— unoriginal the dilemma is…a LOT of us have been exactly where LW is, which partially explains my sarcasm-infused title. Anyway, what follows are my thoughts on specific points Cary made (see why I numbered things?).
…….
Re: no. 3 Anyone else sick of people substituting law school for med school, as if the two are super similar? No? Just me? Meh.
As for the “famous” and “CNN consultant”-bit, I thought there was a glut of lawyers, who are often an ambitious, deliciously ruthless bunch (I speak fondly because like every other quondam debate dork, I almost went, you know), who will annihilate this sniveling child as if they were an amuse bouche.
…….
Re: no. 5 You can’t treat your parents like children. Not if they’re desi. Well, you can, if you enjoy the sensation of a Bata chappal as it glides upside your head, but that’s all you. Seriously though, I know I’m officially ancient because I’m indignantly offended on behalf of this kid’s parents. You know what’s awesome about being 32, though? I DON’T GIVE A SHIT.
…….
Re: no. 6 “Fairly adult” my callipygian rondure. This kid has been directed and pushed, their entire life, “guided” forcefully by parental decisions. That’s why LW can’t make an important choice—they don’t know how. Believe me, I speak from experience, after being raised by an over-protective Father who chose MY major for me, as well.
The one thing Cary SHOULD have told LW is to take a deep breath and prepare for some harsh-but-necessary emotional growing pains. Hie thee to the student counseling office, honeychile, because you gonna need it. It’s awful and challenging, but learning how to make your own choices MUST be done…long before you mindlessly traipse off to law school or whatever else. Take it from one who knows and has the scrapes and scars to prove it.
…….
Re: no. 7 “especially prevalent in immigrant MUSLIM families (emphasis mine)”?? As opposed to the obvious lack of clash in immigrant homes which religiously identify as Christian, Jewish, Sikh or Hindu? Come ON. This is not a Muslim thang. Mira, this is a BROWN thing. An IMMIGRANT thing. Really, a normal thing.
…….
Re: no. 8 I really don’t think the Muslim community needs more problems—LW can’t speak on behalf of themselves, let alone a massive world religion. One thing at a time. See: my response to number 6.
…….
Re: no. 9 STOP TELLING PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO TO “GO TO LAW SCHOOL”. This is why every lawyer I know (and I know almost a hundred), with the whopping exception of four of my friends, HATES THEIR LIFE. The Law is not an easy-way out. Respect it, don’t use it when what you really need, is a year off to backpack around Turkey or Nepal or just chill, while you figure out what you think you want to do for the foreseeable future. Taking out loans which will later encircle your ankle like a golden chain, keeping you trapped inside corporate law will not make you any happier than flunking O-Chem, LW.
My most miserable friends are the ones who regret going to law school, who work at “big firms”, who wake up to find hair on their pillow, because it’s falling out, who have ulcers and budding substance abuse problems. I find the “Oh, well…if I can’t figure out what to do, I’ll just go to law school!”-attitude offensive, because I really love the law. One of my friends who is a medical resident said something to the effect of, “Be damned sure this is what you want to do, because it’s not worth the sacrifices unless it’s what you love.” Um, yeah. That goes for everything, because just about everything requires sacrifice, if you want to achieve success.
…….
Re: no. 10 Your parents are right about plenty of things, LW. I started to grok this around age 23. Don’t get it twisted— you, LW, and I, will NEVER know what manner of struggle our parents survived, as new immigrants to this foreign place. There was no internet to utilize as a resource for information, and if they came here in the late 60s, early 70s, there was no community to cushion their landing, either. My mother didn’t know that Oklahoma would get cold in the winter, so she didn’t have a proper coat. She shivered until she could save enough to afford one. My father, who was worried that everything had some meat byproduct in it, unless he cooked it, was a borderline manorexic.
Your parents suffered, too. It made them fierce and strong and it taught them ridiculously valuable lessons about life, which they are using to guide you because they love you more than anyone else will and want to see you thrive. I could never pick up at 21 and move to a totally different country, where I didn’t have a single family member and knew nothing about the local culture, and build a life for myself. I can’t do that at age 32. But my mother did it, when she was more than a decade younger than me. And I worship the ground she treads on, because of it. When I’m not swearing in two languages in her long-suffering, tolerant presence, that is. My point is, your parents, more often than not, unless they are advocating extreme things like forced marriage, are right.
…….
Re: no. 11 You know what I wish Cary had said at this point? What I wish the dean at the College of Letters and Sciences had said to me, when as a miserable Freshman, I said that I hated my major and wanted to transfer schools, but didn’t know what to do, since I was a sheltered, barely-18-year old. Here’s what the dean said:
“College is tough, but at least your parents are paying for it…you’ll be fine. Political Science can be fun! And much more useful than South Asian Studies, which you’d have to go to Berkeley for…”
Here’s what I wish he said:
“There are these amazing resources called pell grants and student loans—if you’re concerned about the financial implications of standing up to your parents, head to the financial aid office and see what your options are.”
If this kid is worried about getting cut off financially, there is no better country in which that could happen. Especially if you’re at a state school, which is cheaper than a private one.
…….
Re: no 13 (and now I have the Pixies in my head, :) …Law is excellent training for a lot of things, but as my embittered ivy-league JD/MBA ex-bf reminded me, ad nauseum, when he got home from work every morning at 1:30 am from his “big” Manhattan firm, for his five hours of restless sleep, IT IS NOT REQUIRED IN ORDER TO BECOME A WRITER.
…….
Re: no 15 Yes. Do what you love. If you are passionate about something, you will give up jealous boyfriends, reading for pleasure and half of your social life for it, even when you don’t get paid. LW, once you find something which fulfills you to the point where you can’t imagine NOT doing it, you’ll be all right. College, where you can have a range of different experiences and the opportunity to sample so many classes, is an excellent place to start the process through which you uncover your bliss. :)
…….
Re: no 16 Sigh.
…….
Re: no 18 Maybe. Sometimes, that sort of experience/perspective-gathering/kick in the kundi is exactly what we need.
…….
What do you think (like I need to ask)?
anna at 01:25 PM in Health and Medicine, Humor, Identity, Musings · 274 comment(s) · Direct link
August 21, 2007
Cuddling and being dirty can halt HIV?
So I’m reading Jezebel, where they wittily illustrate their take on a certain news story with a photograph of a turtleneck…
…and I realize that obviously, what is being discussed there MUST be blogged here, because if there’s anything which is widely relevant to the brown Diaspora, it is the wearing of, ahem, turtlenecks. On your pee-pees. And for those of you who are sporting one such fleshy outfit, take heed— today’s Grey Lady has some filthy words for ya.
A study in Uganda has come up with a surprising finding about sex and H.I.V. Washing the penis minutes after sex increased the risk of acquiring H.I.V. in uncircumcised men.
The sooner the washing, the greater the risk of becoming infected, the study found. Delaying washing for at least 10 minutes after sex significantly lowered the risk of H.I.V. infection, Dr. Fredrick E. Makumbi reported on July 25 at an International AIDS Society Conference in Sydney, Australia.
The researchers do not have a precise explanation for the findings, which challenge common wisdom and the teaching of many infectious disease experts who urge penile cleansing as part of good genital hygiene. Health experts have suggested that washing the penis after sex could prevent potentially infectious vaginal secretions from entering the body through the uncircumcised penis.
A lubricious error (and what inspired the picture I chose to go with this post)!
Because of a slip-up, the researchers did not ask details of how the cleansing was done or directly about using soap, said Dr. Ronald H. Gray, a co-author from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Some soaps used in Africa are more irritating than those used elsewhere.
See? That’s why you should take happy little soap’s advice and rub…never mind.
So I read the following:
Men who washed within three minutes had a 2.3 percent risk of H.I.V. infection compared with 0.4 percent among those who delayed washing for 10 or more minutes. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases paid for the study.
…and thought, “now cuddling is an actual strategery”. Well, call me the psychic, because the Doctors, they agree!
One message from the study, Dr. Gray said, “is that there ought to be a little time left for postcoital cuddling before you go and wash.”
“Don’t just finish and jump out of bed,” he said.
I don’t know if this is going to thrill women everywhere, since many of the women I know don’t conform to that cuddle-bunny stereotype; they are just as likely to roll over and commence blissful, post-coital snoring.
Anyway, it’s on a bird, it’s not plain..it’s…dun-dun-duh…SUPER VAG!
Dr. Makumbi and other AIDS experts said they did not know why the washing practice increased vulnerability to H.I.V. infection, but offered various explanations. One is that the acidity of vaginal secretions may impair the ability of the AIDS virus to survive on the penis. Delayed cleansing — and longer exposure to the vaginal secretions — may then reduce viral infectivity.
H20 is evil!
Another is that use of water, which has a neutral pH, may encourage viral survival and possible infectivity.
H.I.V. apparently needs to be in a fluid to cross the mucosa to infect cells, Dr. Gray said. If the H.I.V.-contaminated fluid dries, its infectivity may decrease. Adding water could resuspend H.I.V. to make it more infectious.
Jezebel’s readers were especially scornful of these fascinating results; they wondered why the mens in Uganda weren’t wearing raincoats over their turtlenecks. After all, it’s precipitous out there. ;)
anna at 07:40 PM in Health and Medicine, Humor · 58 comment(s) · Direct link
August 07, 2007
Blame it on the rain
Monsoon rains come every year, but the flooding caused by this year’s downpour has been some of the worst in decades for India, Bangladesh and Nepal.
19 million people have been displaced by the deluge. That’s roughly the entire population of New York State, the 3rd largest state in the union, or around the entire population of Sri Lanka.
Put another way, these monsoon floods have already produced nineteen times as many refugees as Katrina did. Katrina scattered up to one million Americans, and that was the largest American population displacement in 150 years.
The biggest danger from the rain isn’t drowning, it’s the disease that it brings once water supplies get contaminated:
“Entire villages are days away from a health crisis if people are not reached in the coming days,” … UNICEF’s health chief in India, said in a statement.
The threat of waterborne disease is high because wells have been contaminated by floodwaters … In Bangladesh, there were 1,400 reported cases of diarrhea in the past 24 hours… [Link]
The danger is worse because floodwaters have closed the roads to many villages, so aid workers can’t easily distribute food and clean water. The Indian air force has air dropped food for 2 million people in Bihar. This is going to be a serious task, one that will require both government and civil society working together, something they are lousy at doing.
A lack of coordination between relief organizations can have serious effects. During the 2005 Pakistan earthquake all the groups involved worked without even a map to determine who was most important to reach, who had been reached, and who still needed help. Not only were they uncoordinated, but they were hostile to the very idea of coordination:
no one was coordinating the hundreds of aid groups… Improving coordination would not be hard, the economists realized…. they designed a simple form and approached donors with a simple request: whenever you send out a consignment, please fill out one of these. There were paper copies available as well as a Web-based form and a call center.
The reaction, when it was not actually hostile, tended to be derisive: “Are you mad? You to want us to spend time filling out forms when people are dying? We need to go and go fast.” Go where? the economists wanted to ask. But nobody seemed to care… the most reputable Pakistani NGO … did not fill out a single form. The United Nations team filled out a few. [Link]
The same sort of thing happened after the Tsunami - plenty of groups stepped in, but their efforts were not coordinated at all, so areas near roads got too much (and often of the wrong stuff) while areas further out went without.
Why don’t they do better? Well, everybody is in such a hurry to do something that nobody wants to do the unglamorous work of coordination so that those most in need get helped. And of course it doesn’t hurt than neither voters nor donors penalize governments or NGOs a year later if it turns out that their efforts yielded nice PR photos but did little to help those most in need.
We need more than feel good efforts, we need either accountability or a whole bleepload of gopher wood.
If you want to donate, a great place to start is one of the International Red Cross groups.
Related posts: Here comes the rain again
ennis at 03:23 PM in Environment, Health and Medicine, News · 36 comment(s) · 1 reader(s) linked · Direct link
July 24, 2007
Realpolitik with Burma
While I do not hold a naive and idealistic view of the Indian government, I was still saddened to recently hear about the extent to which the GOI has gotten into bed with the odious dictators of Burma. Is this really much different from US-Pakistani relations? Both are justified by realpolitik, national interest, and claims that the end justifies the means.
In this case, India is circumventing the EU arms embargo on Burma by selling them attack helicopters made from EU parts:
Last week, India sparked fresh cries of outrage from human rights groups when a report surfaced saying that it plans to sell an unknown number of sophisticated Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) to Burma (also known as Myanmar).
According to a report by Amnesty International and other international organizations, the helicopters should be covered by the embargo because they are made with components from at least six EU countries and the United States… the Advanced Light Helicopters include rocket launchers from Belgium, engines from France, brake systems from Italy, fuel tanks and gearboxes from Britain. [Link]
Nor is it the first time - India has made several weapons sales to Burma in the last few years. [Note - India has neither confirmed nor denied the helicopter sale] The Burmese government is the kind of government that is perfectly willing to attack and kill its own civilians to maintain its grip on power, so selling weapons to the Burmese junta is serious business.
What does India get from this? Just like the USA, India arms and supports dictators so they can help India with its security problems:
India says it needs Burma’s help. There are at least 20,000 guerrillas from five major militant groups in India’s northeast - all fighting the Indian government for sovereignty or independence - who have training camps in the dense jungles of Sagaing in northern Burma. New Delhi has been deliberating with Yangon over plans for a military offensive against such groups.
Counterinsurgency operations in India’s northeast, says an official from India’s Ministry of Defense under conditions of anonymity, cannot succeed unless neighboring countries refrain from supporting the separatist groups based on their territories. [Link]
And of course, trade in general between India and Burma is increasing, as is Indian investment in Burmese gas even though the Burmese government is notorious for using forced labor when building pipelines and other infrastructure.
The problem with getting into bed with dictators to improve security is, as we’ve seen in Pakistan, the dictator has every incentive to let the security problems continue so as to extract future concessions:
in a bid to continue extracting favors from India, the Burmese junta might want to keep the insurgency alive in the northeast. [Link]
It might also lead to pressure within the EU not to export the parts to India that India is then selling to Burma, in violation of the EU embargo. Lastly, of course, it leads to a loss of the moral high ground vis-a-vis other countries making similar dirty deals that India dislikes.
I don’t know much about the security situation in the NorthEast of India, but I would like to think that there is a better way to deal with the situation than this. The costs to innocents are high, and the security payoff seems dubious.
Related sources: State Department report on human rights in Burma, Human Rights Watch on Burma, Amnesty International Report on the helicopter sale
, Saferworld
ennis at 10:10 AM in Health and Medicine, Military, Politics · 51 comment(s) · Direct link
July 20, 2007
Downward Dog, Not Doggie...
In latex, India’s women should trust (thanks, Jeet). So much for treating one’s husband as if they were a deity, hmmm? Via TimesNow.TV:
Women’s welfare minister, Renuka Chowdhury, has asked women to trust condoms more than their husbands.
Chowdhury commented on Monday (July 16) that Indian men can’t be trusted in their sexual behaviour. According to Chowdhury, men also play a pivotal role in fuelling the country’s HIV epidemic – so women, she said, should protect themselves by keeping condoms as straying husbands might bring the virus home.
I’m sure that will go over VERY well.”Honey, I don’t trust you and these business trip-ships you are always having. Please be covering up, thank you, come again”. (Oh, like you could have resisted that last bit…it’s Rahul’s influence, I tell you.)
“Half our problems stem from hypocrisy. We women are too shy to ask our husbands to use a condom. At one time it was considered immoral to even use the word. People still feel reluctant to say it. And this shyness costs women dearly,” she said.
Whenever I read the word “shyness”, I think…
Shyness is nice, and Shyness can stop you From doing all the things in life You’d like to So, if there’s something you’d like to try If there’s something you’d like to try ASK ME - I WON’T SAY “NO” - HOW COULD I ?
Ah, that was lovely. If women in India take Renuka’s advice, here’s hoping that last sentence is what they are met with, in response.
“Men can’t be trusted and everyone knows this,” she said adding “with due apologies and exemptions to the current company - most husbands can’t be trusted at different levels. They stay away from home for work purposes for long periods, often falling prey to temptation and then making