Technology for search is soooooo primitive. Natural Language Processing can be used profitably for a lot of things, but sometimes you just fall off your chair.
PhysOrg reprinted an article on a spammer who got nailed for mail fraud, wire fraud, and failure to file a tax return. Other terms in the article included "e-mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and numerous other counts of mail and wire fraud."
Here is the text from the bottom of the page:
Related Products:
* Zatoichi: Zatoichi and the Doomed Man
That is a genuine ROTFL (even though I am the only person I know who puts the "T" in anymore.)
3.18.2008
3.09.2008
Health Care and Quacks, a possible connection
There probably isn't a causal link but it must be at least partly true that a high number of quack practitioners in other countries must have some effects here.
The February 21 issue of The Economist had two interesting articles that ran on the same page. One said that India has more fake doctors than real ones. Up to 40,000 in Delhi which has a population of 14 million. The other article explained that most of China's population can't afford health insurance and those who have it are reimbursed at a rate of 30 to 40 percent.
India's Fake Doctors
Health Care in China
Both of these sad situations explain the use of so-called traditional cures in places where people are desperate. But look at what happens here when people distrust medical institutions. This distrust allows quackery to take root and flourish.
One of the things that is important to notice is that in India, quacks are included in public health initiatives. This is important because it points up the political decisions that are made here every day that validate quackery in the minds of citizens. Food supplements, acupuncture, reiki, chiropractic, and of course the overuse of zombies at work.
Addition posted 3-20-2008:
Here is a link to an article about how the abominable conditions in Iraq are being exploited by quack-think.
The February 21 issue of The Economist had two interesting articles that ran on the same page. One said that India has more fake doctors than real ones. Up to 40,000 in Delhi which has a population of 14 million. The other article explained that most of China's population can't afford health insurance and those who have it are reimbursed at a rate of 30 to 40 percent.
India's Fake Doctors
Health Care in China
Both of these sad situations explain the use of so-called traditional cures in places where people are desperate. But look at what happens here when people distrust medical institutions. This distrust allows quackery to take root and flourish.
One of the things that is important to notice is that in India, quacks are included in public health initiatives. This is important because it points up the political decisions that are made here every day that validate quackery in the minds of citizens. Food supplements, acupuncture, reiki, chiropractic, and of course the overuse of zombies at work.
Addition posted 3-20-2008:
Here is a link to an article about how the abominable conditions in Iraq are being exploited by quack-think.
3.06.2008
Airborne Effervescent Health - Evil Quack
The makers of Airborne products have admitted that their claims of efficacy are bogus but the only thing that will happen is that they will make some refunds. Too bad.
New York Times
Web MD story
A spokesperson for Airborne, who declined to be quoted by name, says, "Airborne is an immune booster. We are pleased to have reached this settlement." LOL this is not true. Immune boosters are things that challenge the body and stimulate it to fight. It is known as an inflammatory response. You know, the kind of thing that gives you a heart attack later in life.
Unless Airborne puts bacteria into their vitamin pills, it won't challenge the immune system. Hmmm maybe we ought to look into this since a company representative has actually said it. Have you ever noticed that con artists often tell you exactly what they are intending to do to you? Look at AmWay for instance: "You are going to give us $150.00 a month forever." They are totally clear. What is unclear is that you expect something in return and it isn't there. ROTFL
The New York Times had this morsel:
New York Times
Web MD story
A spokesperson for Airborne, who declined to be quoted by name, says, "Airborne is an immune booster. We are pleased to have reached this settlement." LOL this is not true. Immune boosters are things that challenge the body and stimulate it to fight. It is known as an inflammatory response. You know, the kind of thing that gives you a heart attack later in life.
Unless Airborne puts bacteria into their vitamin pills, it won't challenge the immune system. Hmmm maybe we ought to look into this since a company representative has actually said it. Have you ever noticed that con artists often tell you exactly what they are intending to do to you? Look at AmWay for instance: "You are going to give us $150.00 a month forever." They are totally clear. What is unclear is that you expect something in return and it isn't there. ROTFL
The New York Times had this morsel:
Airborne said that a double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted with “care and professionalism” by a company specializing in clinical trial management, GNG Pharmaceutical Services.
GNG is actually a two-man operation started up just to do the Airborne study. There was no clinic, no scientists and no doctors. The man who ran things said he had lots of clinical trial experience. He added that he had a degree from Indiana University, but the school says he never graduated.
2.23.2008
Come Here and let me bite off your leg!
Although I attended two talks on religion and evolution at the AAAS annual meeting last week, the one I learned the most from was on public health and communication.
In particular, from a gentleman (sorry notes at work) who works as a lobbyist for scientific enterprise. His remonstration toward scientists who do not empathize with lawmakers was pointed. The fact is that they have many competing interests that simply must be served. Simply doing what we think is the best thing for science and the public is often not possible for them.
His other point was that when you put truth forward in a persuasive way, the people who hold the swing votes are in fact most often listening with an open mind.
Folks like the two creationists, one of whom actually contacted the Discovery Institute for guidance, are not going to listen. Whatever the reason, their minds are closed.
Jeb Bush, like his brother, moved to destroy institutions in order to advance his agenda for education by placing stooges in positions of influence. Who knows whether successive federal powers will restore balance in Washington. Obviously the Florida Board of Regents was abolished by Jeb Bush (along with student representation) at the University level. He wanted to bust the professor's union but failed.
Getting back to the folks whose minds are closed . . .
They are like the Black Knight at the bridge. You can knock out one weapon after another till they have nothing of reason remaining. You can cut away their footing, till they have nothing on which to launch a logical attack. Nevertheless, they will insist on fighting on to preserve their ill-founded affection for lousy theology. Jimmy Carter left the Southern Baptist Convention because of their oddball behavior. He puts it in a more diplomatic way. But if you schlep down to the entry about Reverend Kennedy, a Presbyterian Church of America leader, you will see that fundamental beliefs based on thoughts about humanity two thousand years ago that are not mediated by reason can lead to some bizarre results.
reference:
Students ‘biggest losers’ in evolution debate
Point of View
By DONNA CALLAWAY
Special to Florida Baptist Witness
Published February 22, 2008
In particular, from a gentleman (sorry notes at work) who works as a lobbyist for scientific enterprise. His remonstration toward scientists who do not empathize with lawmakers was pointed. The fact is that they have many competing interests that simply must be served. Simply doing what we think is the best thing for science and the public is often not possible for them.
His other point was that when you put truth forward in a persuasive way, the people who hold the swing votes are in fact most often listening with an open mind.
Folks like the two creationists, one of whom actually contacted the Discovery Institute for guidance, are not going to listen. Whatever the reason, their minds are closed.
Jeb Bush, like his brother, moved to destroy institutions in order to advance his agenda for education by placing stooges in positions of influence. Who knows whether successive federal powers will restore balance in Washington. Obviously the Florida Board of Regents was abolished by Jeb Bush (along with student representation) at the University level. He wanted to bust the professor's union but failed.
Getting back to the folks whose minds are closed . . .
They are like the Black Knight at the bridge. You can knock out one weapon after another till they have nothing of reason remaining. You can cut away their footing, till they have nothing on which to launch a logical attack. Nevertheless, they will insist on fighting on to preserve their ill-founded affection for lousy theology. Jimmy Carter left the Southern Baptist Convention because of their oddball behavior. He puts it in a more diplomatic way. But if you schlep down to the entry about Reverend Kennedy, a Presbyterian Church of America leader, you will see that fundamental beliefs based on thoughts about humanity two thousand years ago that are not mediated by reason can lead to some bizarre results.
reference:
Students ‘biggest losers’ in evolution debate
Point of View
By DONNA CALLAWAY
Special to Florida Baptist Witness
Published February 22, 2008
2.19.2008
Evolution in Florida Science Standards
Today, February 19th, 2008 the State of Florida's Board of Education voted on new Science standards for their schools. (Not that they are really wonderful 'cause there are warts aplenty.)
The very public issue was the use of "evolution." The word is now included in the official education framework as a "big idea" we should teach all children.
You should read the entry on the Florida Citizens for Science Blog to see what kind of oddball things are going on. But hey, it's Florida.
Speaking of brains, "I warned you not to use those things!"
The very public issue was the use of "evolution." The word is now included in the official education framework as a "big idea" we should teach all children.
You should read the entry on the Florida Citizens for Science Blog to see what kind of oddball things are going on. But hey, it's Florida.
Speaking of brains, "I warned you not to use those things!"
2.13.2008
Measure, Measure, Measure, Barf
I was shamelessly looking over a shoulder this morning at test scores and remarked to the guy they were intended for that they looked remarkably uniform. Was the maximum score on the test 30? No, he said it was 100.
Uh oh.
He told me his 9th grade Algebra class was full of children who had never been to school. I don't mean kids who skip school. I mean kids who have attended only a year or two of school in their lives because their parents couldn't afford to pay tuition where they used to live.
There are two things to think about here.
First, there are countries with no free education.
Second, these kids are like Tarzan when it comes to school. You remember him? Tarzan was not even marginally ready to go to high school. But we have a staff to care for and teach him and the other kids who are not ready to do any number of the things that your kids are ready to do.
Our school has ten reading teachers. Not English teachers. These are just for teaching reading to kids who are not up to reading above a fourth grade level. That means they may be at a first grade level for those of you who don't know that the NCLB ruler begins at four, not zero.
I have no idea how many remedial Math teachers we have (there are eighteen Math teachers for a population of 1,700 students) but fifteen reading teachers require about three quarters of a million dollars in payroll and benefits, not to mention the fact that they displace other classes since the school has a fixed budget based on a population of kids who have NO SPECIAL NEEDS AT ALL. Or put another way, ten percent of our staff doesn't teach high school skills. The official count for Reading is ten but there are twenty English teachers on staff.
18 Math, 20 English, 10 Reading = 48 out of 134 people teaching classes and providing resources.
Uh oh.
He told me his 9th grade Algebra class was full of children who had never been to school. I don't mean kids who skip school. I mean kids who have attended only a year or two of school in their lives because their parents couldn't afford to pay tuition where they used to live.
There are two things to think about here.
First, there are countries with no free education.
Second, these kids are like Tarzan when it comes to school. You remember him? Tarzan was not even marginally ready to go to high school. But we have a staff to care for and teach him and the other kids who are not ready to do any number of the things that your kids are ready to do.
Our school has ten reading teachers. Not English teachers. These are just for teaching reading to kids who are not up to reading above a fourth grade level. That means they may be at a first grade level for those of you who don't know that the NCLB ruler begins at four, not zero.
I have no idea how many remedial Math teachers we have (there are eighteen Math teachers for a population of 1,700 students) but fifteen reading teachers require about three quarters of a million dollars in payroll and benefits, not to mention the fact that they displace other classes since the school has a fixed budget based on a population of kids who have NO SPECIAL NEEDS AT ALL. Or put another way, ten percent of our staff doesn't teach high school skills. The official count for Reading is ten but there are twenty English teachers on staff.
18 Math, 20 English, 10 Reading = 48 out of 134 people teaching classes and providing resources.
11.22.2007
Thankful is such a pitiful word sometimes . . .
The Jehova's Witnesses were here a minute ago. I told them I am an atheist and they asked me how I came to it. I said nothing more than years of theology. One of them laughed and said, "Of course! That will do it every time."
I wondered what she thinks she studies. Are their heads just so upside-down that nothing can fit?
I am thankful that it is my choice to talk to them - or not. Thankful that it is the act of men and women, not gods.
I wondered what she thinks she studies. Are their heads just so upside-down that nothing can fit?
I am thankful that it is my choice to talk to them - or not. Thankful that it is the act of men and women, not gods.
9.06.2007
Thank God and Greyhound You're Gone
Sun-Sentinel:
The Rev. D. James Kennedy, a pioneering Christian broadcaster and megachurch pastor whose fiercely conservative worldview helped fuel the rise of the religious right in American politics, died Wednesday. (September 5,2007) — Dr. D. James Kennedy, founder and senior pastor for 48 years of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (CRPC) in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., passed away peacefully in his sleep at approximately 2:15 a.m. at his home with his wife and daughter by his bedside, following complications from a cardiac event last December.
NYT:
Mr. Kennedy stayed largely in the background as men like Mr. Falwell, Mr. Robertson and James C. Dobson of Focus on the Family spoke to Americans about the need to curtail abortion rights, gay rights and the teaching of evolution. But over the last decade, he, too, grew more openly active, creating the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, which held conferences that taught people to how to get involved in the political process. The center closed in April.
Me:
Kennedy's attack on Science.
Of course he probably did many things during his lifetime that were worthy of our admiration. I only know that the kind of poison represented by the program is deadly to free will. Reverend Kennedy wanted to take back America for a certain group of morally superior people. I suggest that he was far more Hitler's heir than the people he, Behe, and Coulter attack.
The Rev. D. James Kennedy, a pioneering Christian broadcaster and megachurch pastor whose fiercely conservative worldview helped fuel the rise of the religious right in American politics, died Wednesday. (September 5,2007) — Dr. D. James Kennedy, founder and senior pastor for 48 years of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (CRPC) in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., passed away peacefully in his sleep at approximately 2:15 a.m. at his home with his wife and daughter by his bedside, following complications from a cardiac event last December.
NYT:
Mr. Kennedy stayed largely in the background as men like Mr. Falwell, Mr. Robertson and James C. Dobson of Focus on the Family spoke to Americans about the need to curtail abortion rights, gay rights and the teaching of evolution. But over the last decade, he, too, grew more openly active, creating the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, which held conferences that taught people to how to get involved in the political process. The center closed in April.
Me:
Kennedy's attack on Science.
Of course he probably did many things during his lifetime that were worthy of our admiration. I only know that the kind of poison represented by the program is deadly to free will. Reverend Kennedy wanted to take back America for a certain group of morally superior people. I suggest that he was far more Hitler's heir than the people he, Behe, and Coulter attack.
8.25.2007
Murdoch and the WSJ
Those of us who have heard that Fox News takes daily political direction and believe it think the situation should be exposed. Others say that there is no evidence that Fox does anything more than run from fire to fire gawking and pumping up fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
Here is an article that provides a pedigree for what is happening today. It is _Bending to Power_ by Bruce Page in the Columbia Journalism Review.
It appears to me that between the Moonies and Murdoch, neo-conservative manipulation got a tremendous boost over the past few years. When global warming skepticism proved to be so easily planted in the psyche of a substantial portion of the public, it became clear that critical thinking skills are sadly absent at all levels of society.
FUD produced by the Wall Street Journal will have the same effect on the grey-suited and well-educated that Fox News has on "angry middle-aged men who scream at the TV." In fact it will be more insidious because they honestly feel their education confers mental fitness.
Here is an article that provides a pedigree for what is happening today. It is _Bending to Power_ by Bruce Page in the Columbia Journalism Review.
It appears to me that between the Moonies and Murdoch, neo-conservative manipulation got a tremendous boost over the past few years. When global warming skepticism proved to be so easily planted in the psyche of a substantial portion of the public, it became clear that critical thinking skills are sadly absent at all levels of society.
FUD produced by the Wall Street Journal will have the same effect on the grey-suited and well-educated that Fox News has on "angry middle-aged men who scream at the TV." In fact it will be more insidious because they honestly feel their education confers mental fitness.
8.22.2007
Who would have thought Ben Stein is an idiot?
Why would Ben Stein collaborate with the production company that created this abortion ? It looks like a good education doesn't armor one from errors in thinking. OMG what an obvious statement. Just look at the smorgasboard of autodidacts around Bush. Smart, well-educated people who will do anything to have the last word. They are the Strangeloves of today, inventing convoluted solutions to problems that exist only in their huge, echoing brainpans.
Ignoring the U.S. District Court decision that found the ID folks from the Discovery Institute to be disingenuous and liars, somebody is throwing actual money into producing a movie about how science is somehow screwing free thought.
Forget the philosophy. Forget the science. Forget the religion. What they did was lie when they should have told the truth. As far as I'm concerned, there is no thoughtful consideration of alternatives involved. I vote for the side that tells the truth.
This reminds me of the stranger who was observed swimming in a lady's swimming pool last week. When confronted, dripping wet in her driveway by police, he denied the illicit swim.
Ignoring the U.S. District Court decision that found the ID folks from the Discovery Institute to be disingenuous and liars, somebody is throwing actual money into producing a movie about how science is somehow screwing free thought.
Forget the philosophy. Forget the science. Forget the religion. What they did was lie when they should have told the truth. As far as I'm concerned, there is no thoughtful consideration of alternatives involved. I vote for the side that tells the truth.
This reminds me of the stranger who was observed swimming in a lady's swimming pool last week. When confronted, dripping wet in her driveway by police, he denied the illicit swim.
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