Bloodthirsty Liberal

The Palestinian cure: get yourself a man!

Fatenah, which tells the fictional story of a young seamstress from a Gaza refugee camp, is the first commercial Palestinian animation film ever made.

The heart-wrenching tale follows Fatenah’s pain and humiliation as she struggles to leave Gaza for treatment after finding few Palestinian doctors willing to help.

At first, one doctor suggests she loosen her bra, while another says her condition will probably go away once she marries. It takes six months for Palestinian doctors to treat her concerns seriously and diagnose her with breast cancer.

Fatenah becomes tied up in Israeli and Palestinian bureaucracy, denied treatment until it is too late. It is a devastating tale that Habash said is not unique.

“The Shata refugee camp, which exists in Gaza … represents any refugee camp and [Fatenah] could be any woman,” he said. “The story could happen again.”

I find it curious how Palestinian health care (or lack thereof) sounds like the National Health Service, or any other government-run health plan.

But that’s for another time. I didn’t know (but should have guessed) that the Palestinians were just as backward about breast cancer as they are about pretty much everything else.

Reader Kyle brought our attention to this story (and thanks a lot to you guys for making our, uh, “job” easier!):

The United States of America is devolving into medical fascism and Massachusetts is leading the way with the passage of a new bill, the “Pandemic Response Bill” 2028, reportedly just passed by the MA state Senate and now awaiting approval in the House. This bill suspends virtually all Constitutional rights of Massachusetts citizens and forces anyone “suspected” of being infected to submit to interrogations, “decontaminations” and vaccines.

It’s also sets fines up to $1,000 per day for anyone who refuses to submit to quarantines, vaccinations, decontamination efforts or to follow any other verbal order by virtually any state-licensed law enforcement or medical personnel.

The bill really does seem to exist. I found the official text of it here (though I confess to not having the time or inclination to reading through it with a fine-toothed comb). Neither the Glob nor Herald has covered it as far as I’ve been able to determine, but one local TV outlet has (YouTube here).

Among the provisions are these violations of civil liberties:

Here’s some of the language contained in the bill:

(Violation of 4th Amendment: Illegal search and seizure)

During either type of declared emergency, a local public health authority… may exercise authority… to require the owner or occupier of premises to permit entry into and investigation of the premises

…

(Violation of 14th Amendment; illegal arrest without a warrant)

…an officer authorized to serve criminal process may arrest without a warrant any person whom the officer has probable cause to believe has violated an order given to effectuate the purposes of this subsection and shall use reasonable diligence to enforce such order.

(Government price controls)

The attorney general, in consultation with the office of consumer affairs and business regulation, and upon the declaration by the governor that a supply emergency exists, shall take appropriate action to ensure that no person shall sell a product or service that is at a price that unreasonably exceeds the price charged before the emergency.

“Involuntary Transportation” (also known as kidnapping)

Law enforcement authorities, upon order of the commissioner or his agent or at the request of a local public health authority pursuant to such order, shall assist emergency medical technicians or other appropriate medical personnel in the involuntary transportation of such person to the tuberculosis treatment center.

$1,000 / day in fines

Any person who knowingly violates an order, as to which noncompliance
poses a serious danger to public health as determined by the commissioner or the local public health authority, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 30 days or a fine of not more than one thousand dollars per day that the violation continues, or both.

Forced vaccinations

Furthermore, when the commissioner or a local public health authority within its jurisdiction determines that either or both of the following measures are necessary to prevent a serious danger to the public health the commissioner or local public health authority may exercise the following authority: (1) to vaccinate or provide precautionary prophylaxis to individuals as protection against communicable disease…

Forced quarantine for those who refuse (illegal imprisonment without charge)

An individual who is unable or unwilling to submit to vaccination or treatment shall not be required to submit to such procedures but may be isolated or quarantined pursuant to section 96 of chapter 111 if his or her refusal poses a serious danger to public health….

It’s beyond me how this compares with other emergency legislation, but it sure seems to go way, way beyond what the Feds are considering:

The CDC’s report, released Monday, may well create some level of hysteria. It said 1.8 million Americans could become seriously ill this fall and as many as 90,000 could die.

In truth, America’s national pandemic response plan has been shaped by lessons from the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic, which killed millions globally and did include gun-point quarantines. If the circumstances are deemed dire enough, the government’s “Pandemic Influenza Plan” allows for strong measures, such as banning public gatherings and calling in the military to help with law enforcement.

Yet the far greater concern for public-health officials right now is more mundane: trying to make sure that there is enough vaccine to meet demand – and that there are enough healthcare professionals on hand to handle a potential influx of patients.

We’ve already reported on the hysteria over the 90k deaths. In fact, that wasn’t a CDC figure at all, but a White House one—which the CDC expressly reludiated, saying they expect nothing like that.

But back to the jack-booted thugs:

In the event of a health crisis, the federal government has broad powers. New rules enacted by the Bush administration include swine flu among quarantinable communicable diseases. For its part, the Obama administration is also reportedly reviewing proposals to strengthen three-decade-old federal quarantine policies, including, according to some reports, presidential power to impose a six-day quarantine on those affected by swine flu. The Department of Health and Human Services has asked the Pentagon to assist local health officials in the event of a pandemic.

But these are clear attempts at preparing for the worst.

“There’s not going to be compulsory vaccination,” says Jennifer Nuzzo, an analyst at the Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “But what you may be picking up on is that the military does have a lot of healthcare professionals, so [the government] may be enlisting some of the extra hands that are out there.”

Could someone please tell that to the Democrats here in the State House? The cradle of liberty is in danger of smothering under the weight of the Democratic super-majority here.

Via Rush, the White House is evidently trying to use doomsday-we’re-all-gonna-die-head-for-the-hills-lock-up-the-women-and-children tactics to sell socialized medicine.

But it’s not working:

On Monday the White House released a report from a group of presidential advisers that included a scenario in which as much as half the population could catch the H1N1 virus, and death possibilities ranged from 30,000 to 90,000.

“We don’t think that’s the most likely scenario,” CDC flu specialist Anne Schuchat said of the presidential advisers’ high-end tally.

…

“Everything we’ve seen in the U.S. and everything we’ve seen around the world suggests we won’t see that kind of number if the virus doesn’t change,” Thomas Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a C-SPAN interview taped Wednesday.

…

The H1N1 virus so far has been no more deadly than the flu strains seen every fall and winter. And close genetic tracking of the new virus as it circled the globe in the past five months has shown no sign that it is mutating to become more virulent.

Am I the only one hearing Don Adams as Maxwell Smart saying “Would you believe… four deaths and a couple of swollen glands?”

Also according to the CDC, 36,000 people die from the flu every year. So even 30 thou from the swine flu would be a light year.

I’m still going to wash my hands like Howard Hughes, don’t get me wrong—and I’ve had a flu that felt as close to death as I’d care to come—but if it’s okay with this administration, I’ll decline to panic.

I’m going to catch hell for this, but I just have to ask: if the two greatest threats to the health of the American people come from smoking and obesity, then why…

Oh, you’ll see what I mean:

President Barack Obama

Surgeon General designate, Regina Benjamin

Both attractive people, both in reasonably good health, I’m sure. But, come on! I’m going to eat a bag of Doritos and smoke me a stogie and see if I get appointed to higher office later today.

I appreciate the position President Obama is in with regard to Iran: say too much, and risk being accused of meddling and tampering by the mullahs; say too little and risk being on the wrong side of history:

Senator John McCain said today that the United States needs to be on the “right side of history” in responding to the disputed Iranian elections and ensuing protests.

…

“America’s position in the world is one of moral leadership,” the senator said. “It’s not about what takes place in the streets of Iran. It is about what takes place in America’s conscience.”

…

“America has a moral obligation” to provide moral and other forms of support, he said.

…

“The fact is, America has been and will be the beacon of hope and freedom,” McCain said. “We are on their side as they seek freedom,” he said of the protestors.

You can’t tell me that a president with the best teleprompter money can buy can’t speak more forcefully about America’s inbred sympathy with those who seek freedom. Hell, even President Bush could do that.

But the smartest, cleanest, most articulate president ACORN and Soros could buy can’t do any better than this:

“The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching,” Obama said in a statement yesterday. “We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people.”

Maybe it’s better if you set it to music:

Allons enfants de la patrie,
We call on the Iranian government to
Stop all violent and unjust actions
Against its own people.

Maybe not.

But there is one subject that does stir the president:

You know, the legislation I’m signing today represents change that’s been decades in the making. Since at least the middle of the last century, we’ve known about the harmful and often deadly effects of tobacco products.

…

Each day, 1,000 young people under the age of 18 become new, regular, daily smokers. And almost 90 percent of all smokers began at or before their 18th birthday.

I know — I was one of these teenagers, and so I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it’s been with you for a long time.

Smoking is often called a dirty habit. So we can scratch “smart” and “clean” from the list of his attributes.

As for articulate, even lies can be articulate. Smoking already has been regulated for decades—with success. Far fewer people smoke today than 20 or 30 years ago. And through taxes government makes a lot more money per pack than Big Tobacco does.

And would His Articulateness care to explain this?

The future of menthol cigarettes, smoked by 12 million Americans and 75 percent of African American smokers, could be the next flashpoint in a decades-long campaign against smoking in the United States.

…

The bill outlawed flavorings like chocolate, cherry and cloves that can attract young people to start smoking — but excluded menthol, by far the most popular flavoring accounting for around 27 percent of the cigarette market.

So little black kids can still get hooked on butts, and that’s okay with this president?

Whatever. You voted for him.

Tips for Dad on how to get fit for Father’s Day

“No,” I said, holding up my hand to stop David, the bartender, who as soon as he saw me automatically pulled out a bottle of soda water, as he had done for the past four months. He smiled when I pointed to the keg of beer.

“I’m so happy,” David said, filling a tall glass. “You know, it was scary, the process you went through. Lately I had become afraid that I’d even start to like you.”

“Give me a frozen-vodka chaser, too,” I said.

“The vodka is on the house,” the proprietor replied.

That’s it. I’m back. I had no alternative. I mean, I had all the alternatives in the world, but enough was enough. If things had ended with just kicking the drinking habit, I could have lived with it, but the process deteriorated into eating health food, going on a serious diet and recently even taking brisk walks at night, along with doing push-ups and pull-ups. I had to end it before it was too late.

“Lechayim!” I raised my glass and nodded at David, who went on smiling behind the bar. I chugged the beer in memory of the good old days, appalled by the thought that just an hour earlier, I had actually considered giving up smoking.

I watched the news with great interest. The hand gestures and facial expressions of the charming female announcer were very convincing: We almost cried when she blinked her eyes a few times after a report about starving children; with her, we seethed with rage when she cocked her head to the side disparagingly after a report about a corrupt cabinet minister.

“Oy, our poor country,” I found myself saying as I nodded at the screen. “What will become of us, Lord of the Universe?”

Shortly before 9:30, after a three-minute tooth-brushing session, according to the clock, we got into bed. My wife went on reading a book that I had passed on to her with a warm recommendation, and I had the latest best-seller. What can I tell you, it’s a work of art: a grand family saga in which the author moves us deeply. A sigh of relief escaped my lips when I reached the end of yet another riveting chapter.

Oh my God, what I have I come to? I, who once used the mirror to help guide scissors into my nose, found myself checking my physique every hour on the hour. Standing in front of the mirror, pulling up my shirt and sighing with pleasure at every kilogram I shed. I - who promised myself to respect only a leader who would stand up and say straight out that he has contempt for all religions - I now found myself applauding with tear-filled eyes as the American president promises peace and quotes from the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Koran. And the really disturbing thought, which made me leap out of bed, was that even my parents were pleased with my behavior of late.

“What happened?” my wife cried out in alarm, sitting bolt upright.

“What happened?” I said, slapping my cheeks with both hands. “Look at me. That’s what happened.”

“Yes,” she nodded and gave me the impression that she understood what I felt. “I was a bit worried when you said you were thinking of giving up smoking.”

“Man, what’s become of me?” I looked at her and tried to calm my breathing. “Tell me, how did I become such a monster?”

“It’s no big deal,” she said, soothing me. “It’s only been a few months.”

“And you,” I said, shaking an accusing finger at her. “This whole time you didn’t say a word. You saw, you knew, and you said nothing.”

“I wanted you to experience everything alone,” she chuckled. “You know, the children asked me this week why Daddy has become boring.”

Naturally I must have frightened the children, I thought to myself. They had never seen me like this and that’s probably why they have been so well behaved lately.

“They must hate me now,” I said.

“No,” my wife replied dismissively. “Don’t exaggerate. Anyway, I had a talk with them. I explained that you were going through a crisis and I promised them that within half a year at most, their anxious and screwed-up dad would be back.”

“So what do you recommend?” I asked. “How do I start to fix things?”

“Hmmmmm,” she pondered and contorted her face. “It seems to me that the way back has to be gradual, in stages.”

“Yes,” I muttered impatiently. “So where do I start, with alcohol or shawarma?”

- Aggie

I knew it, I goddamn knew it:

Researchers at Granada University in Spain have come across a discovery that will undoubtedly please athletes and sports enthusiasts - a pint of beer post-workout or match is better at rehydrating the human body than water.

Professor Manuel Garzon, a member of Granada’s medical faculty, made the finding after tests on 25 students over several months. Researchers believe that it is the sugars, salts, and bubbles in a beer that may help people absorb fluids more quickly.

The subjects in the study were asked to run on a treadmill at temperatures of 104F (40C) until they were close to exhaustion. Once they had reached the point of giving up, researchers measured their hydration levels, motor skills, and concentration ability.

Half of the subjects were given two half pints of Spanish lager to drink, and the other half were given just water.

Garzon said that the rehydration effection in those who were given beer was “slightly better” than those who were given only water. He also believes that the carbon dioxide in beer helps quench thirst more quickly, and that beer’s carbohydrates replace calories lost during physical exertion.

‘Scuse me while I go work out for a minute or two. [Belch]

Cancel that previous order to light up or else.

Or else:

A Chinese county has rescinded a rule urging its government workers to smoke more in order to boost tax income.

The authorities in Gong’an county had told civil servants and teachers to smoke 230,000 packs of the locally-made Hubei brand each year.

Those who did not smoke enough or used brands from other provinces or overseas faced being fined or even fired.

But the government has now backtracked from the policy, after a report in a local newspaper generated criticism.

It doesn’t matter. So many people in China light up that Vietnam complains about the secondhand smoke.

It took some doing to find a worse job than mining coal in China, but your intrepid reporter has done it: making light bulbs in China. (Of course, any job in China would be at the bottom of my list.)

WHEN British consumers are compelled to buy energy-efficient lightbulbs from 2012, they will save up to 5m tons of carbon dioxide a year from being pumped into the atmosphere. In China, however, a heavy environmental price is being paid for the production of “green” lightbulbs in cost-cutting factories.

Large numbers of Chinese workers have been poisoned by mercury, which forms part of the compact fluorescent lightbulbs. A surge in foreign demand, set off by a European Union directive making these bulbs compulsory within three years, has also led to the reopening of mercury mines that have ruined the environment.

Doctors, regulators, lawyers and courts in China - which supplies two thirds of the compact fluorescent bulbs sold in Britain - are increasingly alert to the potential impacts on public health of an industry that promotes itself as a friend of the earth but depends on highly toxic mercury.

Just one broken bulb in your house is enough to alert everyone in the neighborhood to another Bhopal—can you imagine what an entire factory of these things is like?

BTW, I broke one once, and swept it up like anything else. You don’t see me kldfhidfih;apisu8efpabvksnbso

PS (I’m feeling better, thanks for asking): Turns out, that wasn’t even the best (worst) news out of China:

Officials in China have reportedly been told to puff their way through four and a half million cigarettes a year.

Staff at local government offices in Hubei province were given the order in a move intended to set an example for the rest of the nation, according to state media.

And if they fail to smoke their way through 230,000 packs of locally-produced cigarettes, the officials could face fines.

Brands such as Huanghelou have been earmarked as part of the official quota.

“The regulation will boost the local economy via the cigarette tax,” local official Chen Nianzu was quoted as saying in the Global Times.

The measure may also be a ploy to boost sales of local cigarette brands, under pressure from competitors in neighbouring Hunan province.

Some 350 million Chinese - including more than half of all male doctors - currently smoke, with around a million dying from smoking-related diseases every year.

There are more smokers in China than there are people in America.

I thought the 21st Century would be China’s—but they won’t live to see it out. Looks like it’s ours again, Americans, if only by default.

Well, no bad lobbyists. Good lobbyists are okay—and he gets to make the distinction:

President Barack Obama says lobbyists won’t run his administration, but he picked an antitobacco lobbyist with ties to the pharmaceutical industry as the No. 2 official at the Department of Health and Human Services.

The nomination of William Corr — former executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, where he was a registered lobbyist until September — highlights the murkiness of Mr. Obama’s antilobbyist policy.

Mr. Obama requires employees to sign a pledge stating they will not “participate in any particular matter on which I lobbied within the two years before the date of my appointment.” Those rules prohibit Mr. Corr from working on tobacco issues, the White House says.

But Mr. Corr’s nomination raises another question: In an era when industries often make financial donations to public-interest groups that support policies that help those industries, when are public-interest advocates conflicted by the funding that supports the causes they advocate?

The second in command at HHS is prohibited from working on tobacco issues? That’s either a lie (as even President Obama’s most ardent support would have to concede by now), or incredibly bad policy. But no, Obama had to make that asinine declaration during the campaign to show he was whiter than white (you know what I mean), and he can break his word in only so many pieces before Jake Tapper or somebody (like who?) calls him on it.

So we get the lobbyist (the good lobbyist), and an empty promise that he won’t touch the issue on which he has any expertise.

Fine, whatever.