A few days ago I wrote this screed of disdain about David Brooks data-less, thoughtless complaint about the vapid sex lives of Kids These Days™.*  I have more than once commented on the evil consequences of marrying sexual queasiness to bad science, social or otherwise — and it struck me that  it is important to remember that Brooks’s queasiness about sex has a broader context and worse consequences.

The thought came to me as I was reading my pre-pub copy (what used to be called a galley) of Rebecca Skloot’s marvelous new book The Immortal Life of HEnrietta LAcks.  Rebecca has written a work that  is proximately the story of HeLa —  the most ubiquitous (some would say ferocious) human cell line used in modern biology — and the woman from whom those cells were derived, without her knowledge or permission.  It’s more than that, of course — an inquiry into race and its twisted history in America, family, medical practice and medical ethics, the autonomy — or lack therof — with which we all inhabit our own bodies, and much more besides.  I’ll blog about it properly closer to pub date, but put this one on your list.

Within all that, the factoid that got me thinking was Rebecca’s discussion of the particular type of cancer that killed Henrietta Lacks so swiftly and cruelly: cervical cancer, the sequel to her multiple infections with HPV-18, one of the most malign of the 100+ strains of Human Papilloma Virus.

HPV infection was and is an epidemic.  In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control reported that

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S., with about 20 million people currently infected. Women have an 80 percent chance of getting HPV by the time they are 50. HPV is most common in young people who are in their late teens and early 20s.

That is:  about 7 percent, give or take, of the American population — closer to ten percent of the adult population**–are infected with a virus whose consequences range from nothing to death in predictable proportions.  The same CDC report tells us that each year 11,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and that 3,600 will die of it.

For those of you keeping score, the number of women who will die this year of the disease that killed Henrietta Lacks is about 80% of the total US military deaths in Iraq since 2003 — 4363, according to the latest AP count.  It is greater than the number of combat deaths in that period:  3,476.

There is this difference of course:  death is a necessary component of battle.  War is the imposition of national will by violence, in one short hand definition, and within that context, people will die.

By contrast, no one — or rather, within a generation, very close to no one — need die of HPV infection.  The HPV vaccine, approved by the FDA in 2006, protects against four of the strains of HPV, including those that cause genital warts and cancer.  It is effective, according to the CDC, and safe:

As of June 30, 2008 VAERS has received a total of 9,749 reports of potential adverse events following HPV vaccination. Ninety-four percent (94%) of these reports were about non-serious adverse events.

Six percent (6%) of adverse events reported for the HPV vaccine were considered serious, which is about half of the average number of serious reports for other vaccines. In comparison, the overall average in VAERS for any serious adverse event following vaccination ranges from 10% to 15%; therefore, the percentage of serious reports for Gardasil® is less than the overall average for other vaccines.

The CDC goes on to caution that the number of adverse events actually caused by the virus vaccine is almost certainly lower than that number, due to the post hoc ergo propter hoc problem.

The virus vaccine is recommended for girls aged 11-12.  Why?  Because this is before the age of likely infection, given that HPV is a sexually transmitted pathogen.

We all know where this goes.  The notion of protecting girls from a deadly disease transmitted in the context — oh get the fainting couch ready — of the sexual lives of their older selves is terrifying, at least to some.

So much so that  those terrified of especially female sexual appetite and expression (see for an allegedly respectable example, Chunky Reese Averse Ross Douthat) would rather kill people than acquiesce in the possibility that human beings might on occasion make the beast with two backs.

Recall:  Texas secessionist Governor Rick Perry wasn’t always 100% crazy.  Back when the loon quotient was down to no more than 95% or so, he actually, in a moment of clarity in 2007, signed an order that all require all sixth grade girls in Texas to receive the HPV vaccine.  The response?  As you’d expect.  Texas legislators “rushed to file bills that would override the governor’s order, which they said revokes parental rights and could encourage young girls to be promiscuous.”

To his credit Perry stood up for modern public health:

Providing the HPV vaccine doesn’t promote sexual promiscuity any more than the Hepatitis B vaccine promotes drug use,” Perry said Monday. “If the medical community developed a vaccine for lung cancer, would the same critics oppose it, claiming it would encourage smoking?”

Soon, though — damn soon — in fact, he lost.  Though he complained — accurately, that the legislators who had voted in favor of the bill overturning his executive order would rather tell women that  ”We could have prevented this disease for your daughters and your granddaughters, but we just didn’t have the gumption to address all the misguided and misleading political rhetoric,” he lacked the votes to prevent his veto from being overturned, and allowed the bill, unsigned, to become law.

Perry, it should be noted, still defends this decision.  I have no time for just about everything Perry stands for  – but on this one, he has it right.

So let’s recap:  we face a disease that kills more women in this country each year than have died in battle in the last six in our war in Iraq….

…that will be allowed to persist in the lives of our daughters because to some people it is more important to pretend that human beings don’t have sex with more than one person in their lives than it is to prevent wholly avoidable suffering.

So, finally, to return to why I find David Brooks’s maundering about the sex lives of New Yorkers so pernicious is not just because of the gaping crater of intellectual shoddiness at its heart:  it that he offers a well-spoken version of the attitude that declares, whatever may actually happen in real human experience, women shouldn’t have the temerity to uncross their legs.  Remember the corollary of that belief as well:  if they do, then, by gum, disease, distress and death are merely the appropriate consequences for such sin.

Last note:  when ever I hear the term “value voters” I throw up in my mouth.  The single central value of just about any ethical system, including those advanced by the sages of traditional religion, is that it is wrong to use other people as objects, rather than subjects, individuals of intrinsic value.  Requiring others to die to avoid unpleasant contradiction with one’s own value system is not a virtue.  It is, in the only true sense of the word, the very definition of a sin.

A pox upon them.

I mean that literally.

Oh — and one more thing.  If anyone wants to draw the obvious connection to the current health care debates (Joe Stupak, are you listening?  Senators?) then I think that is an entirely appropriate link.  The entire anti-health care movement is in the end a decision to allow innocents to die in large numbers in order to achieve other ends; it sacrifices individuals in the service of either or both abstract “values” and the financial interests of various elites.  Mere sin hardly covers the case; evil is more like it.

*I later found out that Brooks’ silliness was deeper than I thought, for I chanced across the original article in New York magazine in which the editors described the process by which they accumulated the sex diaries that so confounded the gentle Mr. Brooks.  These were, which I’m sure will surprise no one, wholly selected for maximum effect.  Producing social commentary on the basis of sought-and-found soft porn purveyed to prop up an at-risk publishing model is something only the credulous or the contemptuous-of-their-readers would attempt.  Consider this an exercise for the readers to decide which it might be.

**and yes, I know that plenty of under-18s will have HPV infections.  This is numerical shorthand here — an attempt to express scale.  It is not, as I hope the language makes obvious, a precise claim.

Update: minor but crucial edits above (for “virus” read “vaccine” twice) thanks to the eagle eye of  Lovable Liberal.

Images:  Albrecht Dürer, “The Revelation of St John: 4. The Four Riders of the Apocalypse” 1497-1498

Berthe Morisot, “The Balcony” 1872

You haven’t heard it all on the H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccines. 

Growing viruses in cell cultures has allowed preparation of purified viruses for the manufacture of  vaccines.  The Salk polio vaccine was one of the first mass produced earning three scientists a Nobel Prize for a discovery of a method of growing the virus in monkey kidney cell cultures related to the polio vaccine.  Recall President Obama just recieved a Noble for “for giving the world “hope for a better future.”    http://ahrcanum.wordpress.com/2009/02/27/obama-nobel-peace-prize-nomination-for-what/

Along comes AIDS. http://www.whale.to/v/aids2.html, http://www.newdawnmagazine.com/Article/Cancer_Causing_Vaccines.html

Along comes SARS.  http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/channel.cfm?channelid=8&contentid=824

Along comes H1N1.  www.ahrcanum.com

Once again, the science of virology and pharmaceutical corporations seek out a cure and prophylaxis. There are a zillion sites for vaccine ingredients including this one, but none other than here will you learn that the H1N1 vaccine in America may have been cultured in a dog’s kidney.   

In one trial of Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent MF59-Adjuvanted Vaccine- http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/NEJMoa0907650v1 The vaccine was manufactured by Novartis it is noted that-

The seed virus was grown in Madin–Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cell culture by means of standard processes similar to those used for the development of Optaflu vaccines against interpandemic influenza. The vaccine was formulated and produced by Novartis (Marburg, Germany) as an inactivated surface-antigen H1N1 vaccine…

Our vaccine was produced from a classical egg-derived seed virus propagated in a MDCK cell line..

Optaflu®  is the first influenza vaccine made in a mammalian cell line, rather than chicken eggs.

“The federal government is encouraging manufacturers to set up production in the United States, since all companies but one, Sanofi-Aventis, now import their flu vaccines.  The government also gave $1.3 billion, spread among several manufacturers, to develop ways of producing the vaccine in vats of animal cells rather than in eggs. Cell culture is less vulnerable to contamination and the process could save at least a few weeks. 

Novartis is building a cell culture flu vaccine factory in Holly Springs, N.C., which might be ready for use in 2010 or 2011. The federal government is providing nearly $500 million in construction costs and guaranteed vaccine purchases. ” http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/business/economy/29vaccine.html?_r=1&ref=health

Can you spell collusion? C O LL  U S I O N- not only will our tax dollars build the facility, but we are guaranteeing vaccine purchases that will be made in animal cells like monkeys and dogs.  Arf, Arf, to another emergeny use authorization.

First comes the egg, next comes the dog, next comes the human.  Are we barking up a tree?  We do not have a virologist on staff here, but seeing as H1N1 is a mutated virus of pigs, birds and humans and that vaccines are grown in mammalian cell cultures- the possibility that a reassortment of genetic materials sure seems plausible.   No DNA vaccine is approved for human use, although. “There are reasons that injections of a sequence of DNA encoding part of a pathogen could stimulate immunity. It was soon realized that “DNA vaccination” had numerous potential advantages over conventional vaccine approaches including inherent safety and a more rapid production time.  http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2746192&tool=pmcentrez.  We ask if a DNA vaccine  also couldn’t motivate genetic cross mutations in human species?  Would humans be suject to viruses unique to animal species? If we grew a tail, it sure wouldn’t wag.

Walter Nelson-Rees revealed the extraordinary fact that roughly one third of all the tissue cultures in laboratories around the world had been colonised and taken over by the human cancer cell line called HeLa.  http://www.aidsorigins.com/content/view/221/2/  HeLa cells are shown above.  One of the earliest human cell lines, descended from Henrietta Lacks, who died of the cancer that those cells originated from, the cultured HeLa cells shown here have been stained with Hoechst turning their nuclei blue. -wiki-

Wake up and smell the dog shit. 

Drug manufacturers are likely using cells infected with cancer, growing them in chickens, culturing them in pigs, monkeys, dogs, even plants, and then encouraging you to, “Just get your damned vaccine.”  http://www.infowars.com/just-get-your-damn-vaccine/ said. 

You have to ask yourself, don’t they realize that toxic ingredients and mishmash of species for vaccines can damage the immune system in an of itself?

Dr. Kalokerinos said, “My final conclusion after forty years or more in this business is that the unofficial policy of the World Health Organisation and the unofficial policy of ‘Save the Children’s Fund and almost all those organisations is one of murder and genocide…. They want to make it appear as if they are saving these kids, but in actual fact they don’t. I am talking of those at the very top. Beneath that level is another level of doctors and health workers, like myself, who don’t really understand what they are doing. But I cannot see any other possible explanation: It is murder and it is genocide.” http://www.whale.to/v/kalokerinos.html

He goes into detail on the vaccine conspiracy and relays a story from 1975- ” When this politician rang me up he said in an endeavor to improve the Aboriginal mortality we stepped up the vaccination campaigns. And that is what had done it. They were actually immunising sick kids. “

The WHO, CDC and others claim that the world has no defense against H1N1 or any other virus for that matter and they are WRONG.  In the Novartis trial study:

Fifteen percent of subjects had detectable prevaccination levels of hemagglutination-inhibition antibody, consistent with results of seroepidemiologic studies.  Although we excluded subjects with previous respiratory illnesses, asymptomatic infection with influenza A (H1N1) viruses cannot be ruled out, as local activity was present during the study. ^“

Basically, they immunized people who already had the H1N1 antibody similarly to immunising sick kids in Aboriginal territories! 

In a different study out of Spain, released October 2009, suggests that some people born before 1950 have residual immunity against the influenza A H1N1 subtype (both seasonal and pandemic) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19814966?ordinalpos=14&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum.  How do these people have immunity?  

“Certainly the government learned a lesson about swine flu in the mid ‘70s because they did vaccinate everyone, and there were a lot of instances of Guillain-Barre syndrome,” he said. “But hopefully they learned those lessons, and certainly the flu shots we have in this day and age have no major evidence of any major side effects.” said Dr. Michael Serlin, the chief of infectious diseases at North General Hospital in New York City. http://jta.org/news/article/2009/05/05/1004932/before-getting-the-swine-flu-vaccine-consider-sam-goldstein  from the article, What they didn’t tell Samuel Goldstein in 1976 about the swine flu vaccine killed him.

He died of pneumonia, a complication of Guillain-Barre a side effect from the Swine Flu on Jan. 15, 1977. 

From the Pharmacy Group H1N1 vaccine side effects recap, “In 1976, a certain type of influenza (swine flu) vaccine was associated with Guillain-Barré© Syndrome (GBS). Since then, flu vaccines have not been clearly linked to GBS. However, if there is a risk of GBS from current flu vaccines, it would be no more than 1 or 2 cases per million people vaccinated. This is much lower than the risk of severe influenza, which can be prevented by vaccination.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=meds&log$=drug_bottom_one&part=a607017 

One in a million indeed. 

Are you willing to be that one?

Keeping in disclosure-, “None of the approved influenza A 2009 (H1N1) monovalent vaccines or seasonal influenza vaccines contains adjuvants.”  (in the U.S.) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19816398?ordinalpos=3&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum  As for dog kidney cells, just maybe.

Not all research centers around vaccines, with some hope for cures >> Researchers identify mechanism that helps bacteria avoid destruction in cells - http://www.physorg.com/news174400147.html 

Thanks for visiting.

related- http://ahrcanum.wordpress.com/2009/07/27/swine-flu-vaccine-connection-to-aids-polio-smallpox/

Open wide, say ahhh and check out these posts on the A/H1N1 Swine Flu from Ahrcanum, where the conspiracy spreads as fast as the virus itself .  Our disclaimer-Swine Flu Conspiracy theory can sometimes be triggered by real world events.  http://ahrcanum.wordpress.com/swine-flu-report/

Fyllda hela ugnsbakade äpplen

4 port

4 röda äpplen
½ dl mandel
50 gr smör
½ dl farinsocker
1 tsk kanel
2 msk sirap 

Tvätta äpplena och kärna ur och gröp ur dem men se till att de är hela botten. Skåra skalet så att äpplena inte spricker.

Hacka mandeln och blanda den med rumsvarmt smör, farinsocker och kanel. Fördela fyllningen i äpplena. 

Ställ äpplena i en smord ugnssäker form och ringla över sirapen. Baka äpplena i 225º i ca 20 minuter eller tills de är mjuka.

Äpplena kan också kärnas ur och delas och läggas med den delade ytan uppåt med fyllningen ovanpå.

Hemgjord kallrörd vaniljsås

6 port

3 äggulor
2 msk socker
3 dl vispgrädde
1 tsk vaniljsocker

Vispa äggulor och socker pösigt. Vispa grädden. Blanda ner äggsmeten i grädden och smaka av med vaniljsockret.

Ann

Temel günün birinde umumi helaya girer. Elleri cebinde olan Temel yanindakine:
- Ha aç oni der.
Adam elleri cebinde olan Temel’i özürlü sanip onun dedigini yapar. Temel arkasindan:
- Ha cikar oni disaru der.
Adam yine büyük sevap isledigine inanarak mutlu bir sekilde Temel’in arzusunu yerine getirir.
Temel daha sonra adama:
- İşet ha oni der ve adam denileni yerine getirir.
Arkasindan temel adama:
- Sok ha oni içeru der.
Adam tabiki bunuda yapar. İşi bittikten sonra Temel ellerini cebinden çıkarır ve pantolonunun fermuarini kapatir.
Bunu gören adam büyük bir öfkeyle:
- Eh be adam, mademki ellerin sakat degildi, neden bu isleri bana yaptirdin ha? diye sormus.
Temel’de bunun üzerine:
- Ha pu namussuz penu tün kece rezil ettu, küsum ona konusmairum demis!!!

There are butchers and then there are ‘German Butchers’. Tucked away in an unassuming building on the corner of South Street and Carrington is a meat-lovers dream. The signage reads in bold letters MASTER-BUTCHER and is an indication of what lays within. As you slide the manual double door open, the aroma of smoked meat immediately arouses the senses. You know Germans do things with meticulous care and skill, right? Well this little enterprise is no exception and upholds the traditions of old. The produce is of the highest quality, like Porsches, Mercedes, and Volkswagens but better because you can have this fine time-honoured German fare without the expense but feel as fortunate. The service is friendly, courteous and matter-of-fact. If you were German I’m sure it would feel like home. A number of condiments and sweets can be found to enhance the experience. Do yourself a ‘flavour’ and go to Hela Smallgoods – you won’t be disappointed.

Hela Smallgoods
290 South Street
Hilton
Phone/Fax 9337 4193

     Simon Trask finally makes his move in the latest issue of Uncanny X-Men, and the Dark X-Men have to take care of it.  All the people Trask “infected” have now turned into organic Sentinels with pretty lame character designs.  Cyclops talks to Psylocke, Moonstar, Domino, and Mindee of the Stepford Cuckoos (real name Irma, great job Matt Fraction!) and gives them crucial, individual jobs.  On Alcatraz, Wolverine and Hawkeye fight, and Emma Frost breaks them up.  Then, the Dark X-Men fight off Trask’s Sentinels, and when they discover that the are essentially no longer human, things get messy.  Cyclops talks with Pixie a bit, and he leads a team out to scout out Emma’s Dark X-Men.  Dani arrives in Las Vegas to meet with a mysterious benefactor, whose casino says “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.”  Guess we’re getting a shout-out to Hela and Dani’s former Valkyrie status.  The Dark X-Men finish off the Sentinels, and Cyclops tells his handpicked team, which includes Pixie, Karma, Iceman, Colossus, Dazzler, Armor, and Northstar, that they will have to fight the Dark X-Men as a team, since the Dark X-Men don’t fight as one.  Meanwhile, X-Force plus Magik assembles, and the X-Club, led by Psylocke, go to some mysterious place underwater just off the coast.

     I continue to support my statement that Utopia has revived the X-franchise.  For the first time since he started writing this series, Matt Fraction seems capable of differentiating the voices of the various X-Men who aren’t Wolverine, Cyclops, Emma Frost, and Colossus.  Additionally, he does a good job with the Dark X-Men and Norman Osborn, as well as a few of the Dark Avengers who are neglected by Brian Michael Bendis.  I would still have to say that his work on this series is much weaker than his work on other books, and it’s sad that he can’t bring some of the sensibilities that he shows in Invincible Iron Man to the table here.  Still, he had a great idea with this story, and it’s quite enjoyable.  I may have some problems with the execution, as well as the underlying ideas, but it’s a testament to his skill as a writer that, even with all those reservations, I’m enjoying it.  Terry Dodson’s work here isn’t the best of his career, but it’s still quite beautiful.  I’m even beginning to see some variation in his faces for women.  It’s not much, but it’s a start.  It also makes me afraid of the day that Greg Land comes back to this series.  On the whole, this is a fun and different arc for the X-Men that is good even though it could be much better.

Plot: 8.8      Art: 9.1      Dialogue: 8.7      Overall: 8.9

dzisiaj zenek tak sie z góry na junaku rozpędził że aż mu czopka spodła i koło heli domu tak wykrzesoł że z junaka to ino koło zostało a zenek poszedł do domu i mioł zacierke wtedy na biad to zjodł ze smakiem

POZDRO

How many of our old fellas will live to see it again-the vote of no confidence, a democratic process enshrine in the constitution. The test of demoracy, a barometer indicating the confidence of the ruling government members.

Parliament this week was full of high drama as members from both side of the chambers exchange heated arguments and oppositon serving the notice of motion to overthrow the Somare/Temu Government. It started of as a meeting of members in Goroka, EHP to amendment the oil & gas act to give power to resource owners. The strategy was devised very well, however the information leak to the government remains a mystery and something for the opposition find out themselves.

Governor Parkop bluntly told the Grand Chief Somare that his own ministers have planned a ‘revolt’ to overthrown him. That statment can not be taken lightly! The defection of the government back benchers to the opposition signals a new move – a strategy in making in which time will tell whether Somare/Temu government survives or not? Without testing its strength the government through the speaker has move the session to November 09. This gives the oppostion time to flex its muscle. Opposition indicated  having 35 members in camp. Opposition have supported the government is granting of Jiwaka/Hela provinces, the power brokers within the opposition camp have signalled for the bill to tabled and supported unanimously on the floor of parliament. During the same session, the government introduced the bill for four (4) additional ministries and women in parliament, the opposition ultimately withdrew its support.

The number game is on whilst the opposition citing breach of constitution has referred the government to Ombudsman Commission (OC). Whoever wins, the winner lives on  whilst the majority of people in the villages awaits the call for services in the rural frontiers of the land of the unexpected.

Traditionally, November session of parliament are budget session. Hopefully both sides of the parliament can debates issues meaningfully to achieve a better outcome for the people.

The fainted echoes and voices of the many are vanishing but the spirits are echoing on to the corridors of Waigani-God save us from vultures!

සිවු හෙළ වංශ කතාවට පෙරවදනක්.

ආර්යයන්ගෙන් සිංහලයින් පැවතෙන බවත්, විජය රජ ඇතුලු ආර්යයන් සත් සියයක් සේනාව සමඟ තම්බපන්ණියට ගොඩ බැස ලංකා ශිෂ්ටාචාරය ආරම්භ කළ බවත්, අපට පාසැලේ දී උගැන්වූ විට එය ගිරවුන් මෙන් කට පාඩම් කල බව අපි දනිමු.
ඊට අමතරව විජය රජ, බැල්ලක විසින් මඟ පෙන්වන ලදුව, කපු කටිමින් සිටි කුවේනිය සරණ පාවා ගෙන ලංකාව පාලනය කල බවත්, විජයගේ සේනාව විසින් අනුරාධගාම, උපතිස්සගාම වැනි නගර පිහිටුවා ගත් බවත්, ගෝකණ්න, මහාතිත්ථ වැනි නැව් තොටුපොළවල් පිහිටවූ බවත් අපි උගත්තෙමු.

ඉහත කරුණු වල සත්‍ය අසත්‍යතාවය ප්‍රශ්න නොකරම මිනිසුන් වළැඳ ගන්නේ ඒවා සඳහන් වන පොත පත පිළිගන්නා ලෙසට අපගේ මානසීකත්වය කුඩා කල සිටම සැදී තිබෙන බැවින් විනා විචක්ශණව තර්ක කර නොවන බව කනගාටුවෙන් වුවද පිළිගත යුතු ය. සැබැවින්ම සිදු වූයේ කුමක් ද? ආර්යයෝ යනු කවරහු ද? විජය ඇත්තෙන්ම ලංකාවට පැමිණ තිබේද? පැමිණියා නම් එතැනින්ද සිවු හෙළ ශිෂ්ටාචාරය ආරම්භ වුනේ? විජය ආක්‍රමණයට පෙර සිවු හෙළයන්ට ප්‍රෞඩ ඉතිහාසයක් තිබුනේම නැද්ද? සිවු හෙළයන් යනු ආර්ය සම්භවයක් ඇති, එම නිසාම ඉන්දීය සම්භවයකින් හෙබි පිරිසක් ද? විජය එනවිට කුවේනිය කපු කටිමින් සිටියේ කුමකින් ද? කුමක්ද අපිට උරුම අපේම අනන්‍යතාවය? කුමක්ද අපට තිබුනු තාක්ශණය?

එකී මෙකී සහ ඇතැම් නොකී ඓතිහාසික කරණු වල සත්‍ය අසත්‍ය තාවය සොයනු වස් කරනා විද්‍යාත්මක, පුරා විද්‍යාත්මක සහා සමාජ විද්‍යාත්මක ගවේශණයක ආරම්භය මෙසේ සටහන් කරමි.

මෙම ලිපි පෙළ නිර්මාණය වනුයේ විවිධ ලේඛකයින් විසින් දශක ගණනාවක් මුළුල්ලේ කරන ලද විද්‍යාත්මක සහ සමාජ/ පුරා විද්‍යාත්මක පර්යේශණ සහ අපේ ප්‍රවාද තුලින් බව මතක් කර සිටිමි. මෙය ඕනෑම වැඩිහිටි කෙනෙකුට වුවද කියවා තේරුම් ගැනීමට පහසු සරළ බසකින් ලියුවද, අ.පො.ස සා/පෙළ සහ උ.පෙළ සිසුන් මෙහි ඇති කරුණු සහා ඉතිහාස පඬිවරුන් ලියූ පාසැල් පෙළ පොත් වල සඳහන් කරුණු පටලවා නො ගත යුතු ය. මන්ද යත්, මෙම ලිපි වල සඳහන් ඇතැම් කරුණු, පෙළ පොත් වල සඳහන් කරුණු වලට තරමක් දුරට පටහැනි බව මම දනිමි. විභාගය සමත් වීමට බේගල් දෙසා බෑව ද සැබෑ ඉතිහාසය දැන ගැනීම සිවු හෙළ අපගේ අනන්‍යතාවය රැක ගැනීමට ඉවහල් වන බවත්, එමඟින් ඇති වන ආත්මාභිමාණය සහ අපේ හැකියාවන් තේරුම් ගැනීම හේතු කොට ගෙන ඉදිරි අනාගතය සුභදායී, ස්වාධීන, දියුණු සහ යහපත් එකක් වනු ඇති බවත් මා හැඟි ඒකායන පැතුම යි.

මෙම ලිපි පෙලෙහි සඳහන් කරුණු හුදෙක් මෙහි සඳහන් වන නිසාම නොව, ඔබගේම මනසින් තර්කානුකූලව සිතා පිළිගැනීමට හැකි නම් පමනක් පිලිගන්නා ලෙස ඉල්ලමි.

අපගේ සැබෑ අනන්‍යතාවය සොයා යන ගමනේදී පිළිගත යුතු වැදගත් කරුණු 3ක් වෙයි.

1. බටහිර විද්‍යාවට ඔබ්බෙන් (beyond western science) දිවෙන අපට උරුම තර්කණ ශෛලියක් තිබෙයි.
බටහිර විද්‍යාවේදී බොහෝ විට භාවිතා කරන්නේ ඇරිස්ටෝටලීය සිද්ධාන්තයන්ය ය. එනම් පර්යේශණයක් තුලින් නිඟමණ වලට එළැඹීමට හැකි නම් පමණක් යමක් පිළිගැනීම හෝ යම් කිසි භෞතීක හෝ ස්පර්ශ කල හැකි (tangible) නියැඳියක් තුලින් පමණක් නිඟමණ වලට එළඹීම. මෙම, ඉතා තර්කානුකූළ ක්‍රමයේ වරදක් මම නොදකිමි. එනමුත් එහි අපටම ආවේණික වුනු ජන ප්‍රවාදයන්ට හිමි තැන අහිමි කර ඇත. එනම්, සිවුහෙළයන් ඔවුනට හිමි ජන ප්‍රවාද වල අඩංගු කරුනු, ඔවුනගේ බුද්ධියට ගෝචර වන්නේ නම්, පිළිගැනීමට පසුබට නොවිය යුතුය. උ.දා.: ගලේ බංඩාර දෙවියන්ට මාතලේ/ පොලොන්නරුවේ මිනිසුන් අදටත් වන්දනා මාන පුද කරනුයේ ජන ප්‍රවාද මඟින් ඒවා පැවත ආ නිසා විනා පොත පතක සඳහන් වූ නිසා වත්, විද්‍යාත්මක පර්යේශන මඟින් දේව අනුහස ඔප්පු කර ඇති නිසා වත් නොවෙයි. (මෙම ගලේ බංඩාර දෙවියන් යනු කවරෙක්ද යන වග ඉදිරි ලිපි වළින් විග්‍රහ කරමි). තව දුරටත්, බුදුන්ගේ දේශයේ ජීවත් වන්නේ නම් බුදු දහම පිළිගැනීමත් කළ යුතු ය. “යං භික්ඛවෙ, නත්ථි සම්මතං ලොකෙ පණ්ඩිතානං අහම්පිතං නත්ථිති වදාමි, යං භික්ඛවෙ, අත්ථි සම්මතං ලොකෙ පණ්ඩිතානං අහම්පිතං අත්ථිති වදාමි” – සංයුක්ත නිකාය, පුප්ඵ සූත්‍රය. එහි අර්ථය වනුයේ, “මහණෙනි, ලොව පණ්ඩිතයින් විසින් යමක් නැතැයි සම්මත නම් මම ද එය නැතැයි කියමි. මහණෙනි, ලොව පණ්ඩිතයින් විසින් යමක් ඇතැයි සම්මත නම් මම ද එය ඇතැයි කියමි”.

2. දහ හත සහ දහ අට වැනි සියවස් ලියැවුනු බටහිර ලේඛන සහ පොත පත දැඩි ලෙස ක්‍රිස්තියානිකරණය වීම.
අතීතයේ තිබුනු ප්‍රාථමීක විද්‍යාත්මක දියුණුව නිසා මිනිසා තමුනගේ මනසට ගෝචර නොවන සියල්ලම පාහේ දේව බලය නිසා සිදු වන බව සිතීය. (උ.දා.: අකුණු ගැසීම, වළාකුළු, ඉර, තරු). මෙම ‘දේව’ සහ ‘මැවුම්’ සංකල්පයන් පදනම් කරගෙන මධ්‍යකාලීන බහුතරයක් ලේඛකයන් යුදෙව් ක්‍රිස්තියානි මැවුම් සංකල්පය හමුවේ එල්බගත් ස්වරූපයක් ගත් බව මැක්ස් මුලර් වැනි ගත්කරුවරුන්ගේ ලේඛන වලින් පැහැදිලි වේ. එකල විද්වතුන්ගෙන් බොහෝ දෙනා ඉතිහාසඥයින් වත් පුරා විද්‍යාඥයින් වත් නොව මිශනාරී බලය හමුවේ බටහිර සංස්කෘතිය සහ සමාජ ක්‍රමය පතුරවාලීමට උත්සාහ දැරූ බටහිර හා යුදෙව් ක්‍රිස්තියානි ප්‍රවාහයේ ප්‍රධාන පුරුක් බව ෆ්රෝලි, රාජරාම් ඇතුලු විවිධ ලේඛකයින් විසින් වරින් වර පෙන්වා දී ඇත. මෙම හේතුව නිසාම, පහත තුන් වන කරුණ ගැනත් අප සැළකිලිමත් විය යුතු ය. (එකළ සිටි ස්වාධීන විද්වතුන්ට සාධාරණයක් ඉටු කරනු වස් ඕගස්ට් විල්හෙයිම්, හර්න් හම්බෝල්ට්, ආතර් ස්කෝපනෝර් වැනි අපක්ෂපාතී සාධාරණ විද්වතුන් සිටි බවත් අමතක නොකල යුතු ය).

3. ජීවය මෙලොව ඇති වුනේ ක්‍රි.පූ 4004 ට කලින් වීම.
ඉහත දැක්වූ දෙවන කරුණ මුල් කරගෙන, එකළ පොත පතේ සඳහන් වනුයේ මෙලොව ආරම්භ වුනේ ක්‍රි.පූ 4004 වන බවයි. මේ බව 1654 දී අයර්ලන්තයේ බිශොප් වරයෙකු දැඩි ස්ථාවරයක සිට පවසා ඇත. (ඔහු සඳහන් කර ඇති පරිදි, දෙවියන් වහන්සේ ලෝකය මවා ඇත්තේ, ක්‍රි.පූ 4004, ඔක්තෝබර් 23 වැනි දින පූර්ව භාග 9 ට ය.) ක්‍රි.ව. 1654 දී එතුමා කල මෙම නිවේදනයෙන් පසුව 17 වැනි සියවසෙන් පසුව ඉතා මෑත කාලයක් දක්වාම ලියැවුනු පොත පත ලෝකයේ ආරම්භය ක්‍රි.පූ 4004හි පිහිටුවයි. එනමුදු දැන් විද්‍යාත්මකව සොයා ගෙන ඇති කරණු අනුව අපට ගම්‍ය වන්නේ මෙලොව ආරම්භය ඊට ඉතාමත් කලින් සිදු වූ බවයි. එබැවින්, 17 හා 18 සියවස් වල ලියැවුනු ග්‍රන්ථ භාවිතයේ දී ඉතාමත් සැළකිලිමත් විය යුතු ය. එසේම, ලෝකය සහ මානව ශිෂ්ටාචාරයන් බිහි වුනේ ඊට කලින් (ක්‍රි.පූ 4004 ට පෙර) බවත් සාධක සහිත නම් පිළිගැනීමට මැලි නොවිය යුතු ය.

ඉහත කරුණු තුනටම පොදු කරුණ වන්නේ අප, අපගේ මතයන් දැඩි ලෙස බටහිර ආභාශිත කර ගැනීම යි. බටහිර විද්‍යාඥයින් පවා ඔවුන්ගේ මතයන් දහ නව වන සියවස තුළ දී නිවැරදි කර ගත්තද අපි තවමත් ඔවුන් විසින් ‘දායාද කළ’ වැරදි මතයන් තුළම එල්බ සිටින්නේ ඇයි?
ක්‍රිස්තියානි සභාව පවා අද පරිණාමය පිළිගනිත්දී, අපි තවමත් යුදෙව් අන්ධ කිතුනු භක්තික ආචාර්ය මහාචාර්යවරු එදා ලියූ දේවල් තුළම එල්බ සිටින්නේ ඇයි? එවැනි ලේඛන වල ආභාශය ලබා සහ ඒවා මූලාශ්‍ර කොට ගෙන ලියැවුනු මහාවංශයේ ‘ඇතැම් පරිඡ්චේද’ තුළම එල්බ සිටින්නේ ඇයි?

අපේ ශිෂ්ටාචාරය ගවේශනයේදී අපට අනෙකුත් ශිෂ්ටාචාර හැදෑරීම ද කල යුතුය. ඊලඟ ලිපියෙන් ලොවෙහි ආරම්භය සැකෙවින්, යුප්‍රටීස්-ටයිග්‍රීස් ශිෂ්ටාචාරය, ඉන්දු නිම්න, නයිල් නිම්න ශිෂ්ටාචාර සහ අනෙකුත් පුරාතන ශිෂ්ටාචාර ගැන සළකා බලමු.

ස්තූතියි.

ධනුෂ්ක ද සිල්වා [විද්‍යාවේදී, විද්‍යාපති], තොරතුරු සහ සන්නිවේදන තාක්ශණ අංශය, දකුණු ඕස්ට්‍රේලියානු විශ්ව විද්‍යාලය.

මූලාශ්‍ර:
Giri, S B V 2000, ‘The Myth of Aryan Invasion’.
Frawley, D, ‘Gods, Sages and Kings’.
Rajaram, N S, ‘Aryan Invasion of India: The myth and the truth’.
Agraval, D, ‘Aryan Invasion/ Race theory’, Penn State University, The USA.

පසු වදන:
මෙම ලිපි පෙළ කිසිම ආගමකට, ජාතියකට හෝ රටකට නිග්‍රහ කිරීමට ගන්නා වෑයමක් නොවන බව ඉතා වගකීමෙන් ප්‍රකාශ කරමි. තවද මෙම ලිපි පෙළ විවෘත මනසකින් යුක්තව කියවන මෙන් ඉතා යටහත් පහත්ව ඉල්ලා සිටිමි.

මෙම ලිපි පෙළ නිර්මාණයේදී නන් අයුරින් සහය පළ කල / කරන අමිල සොයුරාටත්, වචනයේ පරිසමාප්ත අර්ථයෙන්ම සැදී පැහැදී සිටින මාගේ ජීවන සහකාරියටත්, නන් අයුරින් උදවු කල සොයුරු සොයුරියන් සියල්ලටත් හද පිරි ආදරය සහ තුති පුදමි.

oh so fabulous.

kylen @hela, styled to perfection by neven radovic.

a little something different! just a quick teaser from yesterday’s super fabulous hair shoot at the ted gibson salon at hela!

Iniciando a sessão de quadrinhos, mostrarei um review da minissérie Loki, da editora Marvel Comics, lançada no Brasil pela Panini em 2005 em duas edições, com roteiro de Robert Rodi e arte de Esad Ribic.

Essa minissérie nos mostra o deus nórdico da trapaça Loki tendo se tornado o senhor de Asgard. Toda a história se passa entre o momento em que Loki prende seu irmão Thor até o momento que irá acontecer sua execução pública.

É interessante que logo nas primeiras paginas já somos situados do que ocorrera em Asgard pelo simples fato de vermos Thor ajoelhado perante Loki. Conforme a história se segue vemos que Loki se mostra um tanto quanto entediado com sua posição de rei, pois agora que assumira o poder, diversos outros deuses vêm até ele pedindo ajuda e favores.

Convencido por Hela, Loki resolve que irá executar Thor em público, e enquanto o deus do trovão é mantido enclausurado, entendemos por meio de flashbacks um pouco da revolta de Loki e sua rixa com seu irmão, Loki sempre se sentiu rejeitado por todos os outros deuses, enquanto Thor recebia toda a atenção.

Não só Thor está aprisionado como também Odin, Sif e Balder, e é em um encontro com Balder que começa uma reviravolta, seguindo a mitologia nórdica real Balder sofrera um atentado arquitetado por Loki usando um deus cego, mas aqui Balder não morrera apesar de que com isso seu espírito tenha ido até o reino de Hela, e Balder revela a Loki que nessa viajem ele aprendera mais sobre os deuses e descobrira que todos eles possuem inúmeras duplicadas, diversos Thors, Lokis, e Balders paralelos, mas que no fundo possuíam a mesma sina final, e que em nenhuma destas Loki teria se tornado realmente um senhor de Asgard.

É muito bem feita a relação com a mitologia que ocorre em tal momento, pois nos é mostrado como sendo as diferentes lendas nórdicas nada mais do que realidades paralelas, tendo suas diferenças e similaridades, e que o Asgardianos que conhecemos nos quadrinhos nada mais seriam do que uma versão alternativa.

Assustado e revoltado com o que Balder lhe revelara, Loki pede ajuda a uma Norne e ela o mostra que tudo o que ouvira era verdade. Indignado por se sentir incapaz de fazer algo contra sua própria sina Loki se pergunta sobre o que realmente deve fazer e acaba percebendo que no fundo Thor era o único que realmente o entendia e lhe dava atenção.

Loki então resolve não seguir a sina de suas versões paralelas e que para isso deve libertar Thor e não haver mais rixas entre os dois irmãos, mas é então que o final da história acaba nos deixando com pena de Loki, pois o mesmo, apesar de sempre ter sido conhecido como maléfico, mentiroso e ardiloso, se mostra arrependido de seus atos, porém isso fora tarde demais para se reconciliar com seu irmão que em tal momento acabara de fugir de sua prisão, e Thor se encontra em tamanha fúria a ponto de ser impossível que Loki pudesse mudar seu trágico destino.

Essa minissérie é uma boa história indicada tanto para os fãs de quadrinhos, quanto para os fãs de mitologia devido as referencias e ligações que é feita para ambos.

E é claro não podemos nos esquecer do belíssimo desenho, com uma pintura e um traço realista e ao mesmo tendo artístico.

Hemlock Lake MAPS Site

All of the needed permits and agreements are now in place to move forward with more detailed planning for the installation of three Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) stations in our study area. With the study area being over 15,000 hectares in size, it has been a big project just to develop a basic framework for maximizing the utility of the MAPS program for the purposes of our Frontenac Breeding Birds initiative. From the beginning it was clear that one station would be good, two would be better and that three could be a powerfully instructive network of stations that could calculate and monitor avian demographics for an area of approximately 22,000 hectares (not bad for 21 days of fieldwork!). This initiative also represents the first major expansion of the MAPS program in Ontario since 1995 when a total of six stations were simultaneously initiated in 1995 at Kakabeka Falls in Northwestern Ontario, all of which closed in 1998 (there have been a few isolated stations added in the province since that time). It is our intention to continue adding stations in strategic areas as we move forward. However, establishing these first three will be important to understand appropriate criteria for future expansion and to test feasibility of specific landscape components for the MAPS program in this region.

Young hardwood forest swamp

Selecting suitable sites for MAPS is a slightly tricky business as many factors have to be considered including access, habitat components, species assemblage as well as proximity of infrastructure, development and agricultural activity. In developing our MAPS network we were careful to consider sites that could be accessed relatively comfortably and that were fairly consistent in degree and type of anthropogenic pressure, habitat maturity and habitat structure. However, a hallmark of the Frontenac Axis is its heterogeneity, and it is true that something quite different can be found at any turn. All three of our sites are similar but will have distinct characteristics of slope, vegetation, hydrology and representative bird species. This will allow us to sample a broad array of breeding bird species and also provide the opportunity to study some species shared by all three stations that are occurring in differing landscape contexts.

The panoramic image above was taken from our new Hemlock Lake (codename HELA) site, which is a site that I’ve been very keen on since my first visit in January, 2009. The site is a spectacular example of the Frontenac Axis with shield-like features and characteristically southern forest elements. The 20ha site is focused around a small lake with hundreds of flooded snags. The perimeter of this lake is very rocky with meandering creeks and small wetlands. The habitat is predominantly successional coniferous forest with young hardwood communities, however mature mixed-forest and juniper-rock barrens are also abundant in the area. A visit to the site yesterday was very buggy to say the least but I did find an impressive community of birds, which seemed to be on territory within the site. A shortlist of the species mix is provided below. We will return to this site once the Black Flies have relented to set up for our first banding day in early June, 2009. It is going to be an absolute pleasure to spend seven summer mornings with the birds at Hemlock Lake!

Hemlock Lake (HELA) Species on May 7, 2009

Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Ovenbird
Brown Creeper
Hermit Thrush
Winter Wren
Pileated Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Yellow-throated Vireo
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Eastern Towhee
White-throated Sparrow
Red-shouldered Hawk

Nu sitter jag och Daniel på X2000 mot Herrljunga så nu räknar jag med att ha en hel del tid på mig att skriva om bröllopsdagen innan det är dags för tågbyte.

Dagen började väldigt olika för alla inblandade men här kommer iaf min dag Vaknade redan vid 9:00 för att hinna äta lite och packa ner alla saker. Vi hade nämligen insett att tiden skulle bli allt för knapp för att jag och Helen (som skötte dekorering) skulle hinna hema och byta om emellan. Helen kom och plockade upp mig redan kl 10:00 och sen åkte vi ut till Herrängens Gård. Där möttes vi av brudparet som var aningen uppstressade då lokalen tydligen inte blivit städade av de tidigare gästerna. Verkligen ett minus! Men tillslut kunde Charlotte (bruden) ge sig iväg till frisören och Kjelle (brudgummen) kunde hämta upp sina hjälpredor (Daniel och Anders). Jag satte igång med att stryka alla dukarna och Helen fixade servettringar och servetter.

Som tur var hade vi en egen hjälpande hand (Gustaf- Helens pojkvän) som levererade lunch till oss – tack så mycket! Efter lunchen ökade vi farten för nu var det dags för dukning OCH fixning av oss själva. Fotografen kom strax före 14:00 och brudparet kom en stund senare. Sofie var också klar hos frisören så hon hjälpte oss med dukningen. I samma veva kom personalen och någon skulle hämta barn och mormor. Problem uppstod dock när vi kom fram till att barnstolarna inte var inne i bilen på sin plats utan att någon med kunskap kring detta var tvungen att hänga med. Allt detta medan brudparet skulle fotograferas… Men allt löste sig, ibland är det allt bra med taxi.
Tyvärr kom inte Kjelles mamma i tid för färdtjänsten hade visst kört till fel adress – så himla dåligt!

Men vigseln var väldigt fin. Vigselförrättaren talade och sen var det en solist som sjöng tre sånger innan brudparet förklarade man och hustru. Ni var väldigt fina båda två
Efter vigseln följde middag och tårta och sen blev det dans/fest till kl 01:00 då alla hunnit bli trött och fått ömmand fötter.

Lite bilder från dagen!

Brudparet (Charlotte & Kjelle)

Sofie var brudtärna!

Emma & Linn var supersöta brudnäbbar.

Bröllopstårtorna - med hallonsmak *gott*

Efter tårtan blev det dans och såklart var brudparet först ut även om de inte dansade bröllopsvalsen.

Sen blev det partystämning och det var många som var uppe på dansgolvet och rockade loss. Men givetvis fanns det de som utmärkte sig *ler* måste ge lite extra cred till dessa tre som minst sagt hade inlevelse *härligt*

Thomas - brudens bror *yeah*

Det var helt enkelt en underbar dag som vi alla kommer minnas. Man kunde riktigt se hur kärleken strålade runt brudparet och jag hoppas brudparets dag/kväll blev lite oförglömlig som min. Om drinkarna gjorde kvällen suddig så har jag inte mindre än 239 bildbevis som kan påminna er *ler*

All lycka till er Charlotte och Kjelle!

EDIT
Får inte till texten på alla bilderna men fixar det när jag är hemma på “riktigt” internet ikväll.

“Follows the story of the cells of Henriettta Lacks. She dies in 1951 of cancer, before she died cells were removed from her body and cultivated in a laboratory in the hope that they could help find a cure for cancer. The cells (known as the HeLa line) have been growing ever since, and the scientists found that they were growing in ways they could not control.“

stylist to the stars.

i had the pleasure of photographing the fabulous ted gibson this morning! ted gibson is ridiculously talented, super stylish and incredibly sweet.  he is one of the most sought-after editorial, runway, and celebrity hair stylists in the business. his work has appeared in publications such as vogue, harper’s bazaar, and rolling stone, and caters to clients like angelina jolie, anne hathaway and debra messing. in addition to two gorgeous salons – flatiron in NYC and ted gibson salon in chevy chase – he offers an amazing line of luxurious hair products. (i’m obsessed with my new glimmering gold shampoo!)

i met up with the team at the chevy chase location for some quick shots! learn more about the hela + ted gibson salon in chevy chase HERE.

     This review does not include Thor #600 because I have not read it yet.

     In my last review of Thor, I said that its main problem is that the story is too slow.  That is still the case.  However, re-reading some of the issues, and looking in particular at other people’s comments and reviews, including a review on IGN.com, I have realized quite how beautifully crafted the whole story has been since the relaunch under J. Michael Straczynski and Olivier Coipel.  To borrow a term from that same review, it is Shakespearean in its quality and tone.  Loki could be likened to a modern-day Iago, the main villain of Othello, though Loki’s motivations are far more personal.  This issue is an excellent character study of the motivations of Loki by connecting some of the dots of his past and, in particular, Odin’s past.

     The fact that all these things were so well connected makes me marvel at Straczynski’s brilliance.  That may sound like high praise, but it’s nothing he doesn’t deserve.  I also complained that Loki being female was silly.  Now that I know whose body he uses, that of Sif, it isn’t silly.  It’s excellent.  How could Thor harm the body of his greatest love?  It’s perfect.  And the addition of Hela in this issue is a nice touch, providing, as Loki says it, someone else who can appreciate his work.  Olivier Coipel also continues to do his best work, in particular with the stark contrast between Loki as a woman, Loki as a man, and Loki as a child.  He’s also really good with people with beard and mustache combos, like Odin.  To be honest, this work should almost be judged on a different level from most comics, rather on the same level as, perhaps, Grant Morrison’s work on Animal Man, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, or Alan Moore’s Watchmen.  That’s how good this story is.  The slowness is the only complaint you could possibly have, but the richness of the story more than makes up for it.

Plot: 9.6      Art: 9.6      Dialogue: 9.6      Overall: 9.6