Google Suggest dissected by Joel Spolsky

Slashdot remarks that "Google suggest Javascript code dissected and rewritten for all of you web developers out there. Cool piece of web reverse-engineering!" Joel Spolsky astutely notes that this will raise the bar in terms of how people expect the "internets" to work. To read more click here.

Read more!

Private satalites to compete with government ones, may reduce prices of connection

Engadget - www.engadget.com: "GlobeTel Communications of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, says it's on target to launch its prototype 'Stratellite' in the first quarter of next year. The Stratellite is a massive floating airship (though GlobeTel says it's not a balloon), and GlobeTel plans to deploy a network of them, stationed 13 miles above the Earth, to provide wireless services, including WiFi, cellphone service and HDTV."

Read more!

Stun guns to include video

"Two manufacturers of stun guns will equip their weapons with video cameras next year in an effort to ensure that the weapons aren't used inappropriately. "

Click to go to complete story

Read more!

Compound Slows Key Step in Alzheimer's

Compound Slows Key Step in Alzheimer's

Small molecules make better drugs than large ones do, because they can more easily enter cells and gum up chosen chemically active sites. But their size makes it hard for them to stop larger molecules like proteins from interacting with one another, which is critical to many diseases. Now, borrowing a trick from soil bacteria, researchers have designed a small molecule that effectively forms a new drug on the spot by teaming up with a large protein that is common inside cells. As reported today in Science, the resulting complex binds to fragments of beta-amyloid protein and keeps them from sticking together to form the "plaques" that are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease."

Click here for full article

Read more!

Real time monitoring of Ubiquitination on living cells by BRET assay's

Ubiquitin has emerged as an important regulator of protein stability and function in organisms ranging from yeast to mammals. The ability to detect in situ changes in protein ubiquitination without perturbing the physiological environment of cells would be a major step forward in understanding the ubiquitination process and its consequences. A new method has been created to study this dynamic post-translational modification in intact human embryonic kidney cells. Using bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) a measure of the ubiquitination of Beta-arrestin 2, a regulatory protein implicated in the modulation of G protein-coupled receptors. In addition to allowing the detection of basal and GPCR-regulated ubiquitination of Beta- arrestin 2 in living cells, real time BRET measurements permitted the recording of distinct ubiquitination kinetics that are dictated by the identity of the activated receptor. The ubiquitination BRET assay should prove useful as a tool for studying the dynamic ubiquitination of proteins and for understanding which cellular functions are regulated by the post-translational events.

Want more on what this means in English! Click read more.

Ubiquitination is a rapid cellular and reversible post-translational modification that is involved in numerous aspects of biology. The 76-residue polypeptide ubiquitin fulfils essential functions in eukaryotes through its covalent attachment to other intracellular proteins. Historically, the best characterized role for this modification is the targeting of the proteins for degradation by the 26S proteasome after the transfer of an ubiquitin chain of at least four units, referred to as polyubiquitination. More recently, the addition of a single ubiquitin to one (monoubiquitination) ot multiple (polyubiquitination) protein sites has been described. In these cases, the post-translational modification serves as a reversible signal involved in a variety of key cellular functions including intracellular signaling, sub cellular localization and protein-protein interactions.
Despite the growing interest in ubiquitination, inspired by the diversity of cellular functions that appear to be influenced by this process, the lack of tools for monitoring its dynamic regulation limits studies in this field. Western blot analysis using antibodies to ubiquitin allows the detection of protein ubiquitination. Although this assay can be used to determine whether a protein is ubiquinated, it cannot be easily adapted to study the dynamic nature of the ubiquitination and deubiquitination cycles. To monitor the ubiquitination process in living cells, they took advantage of a bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) method, which allowed real-time detection of the protein-protein interactions in vivo. This technique is based on the nonradiative transfer of energy between a luminescent energy donor (here they used, Renilla luciferase, Rluc) and a fluorescent energy acceptor (Here it was green fluorescent protein, GFP). This is a system of choice monitoring for both constitutive and regulated intermolecular interactions because of the strict dependence on molecular proximity (<100 Angstroms) between the donor and acceptor molecules for energy transfer. It was recently proposed that Beta-arrestin 2 (Beta-arrestin), a versatile protein involved in the regulation of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling, is ubiquitinated in response to receptor activation. Based on the stability of their interaction with Beta-arrestin, two broad classes of GPCRs are distinguishable: GPCRs known as class A receptors (for example, the Beta2adrenergic receptor, Beta­2AR) interact only transiently with Beta-arrestin after activation, whereas activated class B receptors (for example the V2-vasopressin receptor, V2R) form stable complexes with beta-arrestin. Recent findings are suggestive of a link between the dynamics of Beta-arrestin ubiquitination and the nature of its interaction with the activated receptor. A stable interaction correlates with sustained Beta-arrestin ubiquitination. Using Beta-arrestin as a model ubuiquitinated protein, we report here that BRET allows monitoring of the changes in the ubuiquitination state of a protein in real time.
To read on the procedural methods please see articles written by the University of Montréal’s Biochemical department, Laboratory of functional genomics, Montpellier France.

Read more!

Negative Side effects for Steroids

The rampart use of steroids has prompted tons of searches on the negative side effects of steroids. Some are from un-updated information. Here is a small list of the most major effects for men and women. From the American Academy of pediatrics (yes they had to do research due to so many kids in twelfth grade taking steroids. 4% in 2002, according to the University of Michigan, and from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.)
Negative Effects:
Baldness (men)
Headaches (men)
Development of breasts (men)
Impotence (men)
Reduced Sperm Count (men)
Enlarged Prostate (men)
Shrinkage of the testicles (men)
Reduced Sperm Count (men)
Reduced Breast size (women)
Enlarged Clitoris (Women)
Increase in facial and body hair (women)
Deepened voice (women)
Menstrual problems (women)
Increased risk of tendon injuries (Both)
Aggressive behavior (both)
Aching Joints (both)
Mood Swings (both)
Urinary and bowel Problems (Both)
Bloating (both)
Liver damage (both)
High Blood Pressure (both)
Heart Disease (both)
Nausea (Both)
Heart disease (Both)
Severe acne in the face and back (Both)
Strokes (both)
Blood Clots (both)

Read more!

Do we overstate ourselves?

Harris Interactive for Intel remarked that 32% of US Women say that men will overstate their knowledge of computers. But, only ten percent of men say this of women.

Read more!

Extreme Insurance anyone.

30% of americans 19-29 are uninsured.
Watch for new plans just like this. The insurance companies are now beginning to go after the hip, and active lifestyles sought after by the young techie. Take Blue cross and Blue and Blue Shields of California, their new product called ‘TONIK’ is marketed and designed for all these extreme sports that took hold in the past decade.
But beware, look behind the cool graphics and flashy iPod-esque edgy ads, Bright colors, and nonjargony choice of plans: “Thrill-seekers, “Part-Time daredevil, “Calculated risk-taker”. Newsweek reports that once you hit the buttons to look deeper, the ‘un-hip lingo starts to bombard you once more. It is not cheap either, Deductibles can be up to $5,000. Extreme insurance anyone.

Read more!

Animal Acupuncture at $50 a pop!

Oh, what people will do for their pets, for $50 a session!
But Bernie can attest to the fact that it works. Bernie is Paul Shanyfelts Saint Bernard. They went to Chicago's family pet Animal Hospital where Bernie went from being carried in to a year later walking out from a neck injury. Many vets are using acupuncture to treat pain, as it parallels in the human worlds of medicine. Barbara Royals, who treated Bernie, claims her patient list has tripled in a decade. Other vets are now to busy to take on new patients, as Chris Cahill, he treats one of the Kentucky Derby winners. He claims that he does not know any major trainer who does not use acupuncture. Many traditionalists still view acupuncture as an art, yet Colorado State University is spearheading a project in acupuncture to create standards and a certification. Royals most famous patient is now running around Brookfield Zoo, Jewel who is an arthritic camel who has not run for years. Originally collated by: Pamela Hamer for Newsweek

Read more!

Yahoo, and AV have competition, and it looks sweet.

I Want My blinkx TV! Television Search Engine
blinkx today announced the availability of blinkx TV, the first search engine that allows you to search TV across news, sports and entertainment programming. blinkx is the first search engine to make such TV programs fully searchable on demand. Because blinkx captures and indexes the entire video stream directly from the television, consumers can get straight to the exact clip they want. blinkx TV can be accessed at http://www.blinkx.tv ."

Read more!

Yahoo! offering traffic updates in USA

Now web users in America can plan their daily travel routes after referring to Yahoo's new web service. They would soon be able to check their local traffic conditions from Yahoo! Maps website. Yahoo! plans to offer this service integrated with online roadmaps. In addition, users will also be able to search them through normal searches.
Yahoo! claims it is the first of its kind offering which would provide speed conditions and dynamic traffic information, changing by the second, nationwide. It is a massive undertaking and would require inputs from road sensors and traffic cameras operated by state and local government entities.
Computer users would be able to get information by simply searching for city-name traffic and Yahoo! Search would take care of the rest. They would then be taken to relevant sections with maps and latest traffic reports. Sounds like a great concept. And Yahoo! are next planning to extend it to wireless devices which are going to be used mostly for this particular function as they are more accessible on the road. "

Read more!

Internet Pharmacies: Good or Bad?

kuro5hin.org: "Internet Pharmacies: Good or Bad?
By Stinky Bottoms
Wed Dec 1st, 2004 at 05:12:22 PM EST

An investigation into the practice of Internet Pharmacies and how they are changing the U.S. pharmaceutical industry.
Full Story (100 comments, 3999 words in story) "

Read more!

This was way to cool to pass up.

"Napier's Chessboard Calculator

It is a long read but well worth it.

By kbs
Mon Dec 13th, 2004 at 06:39:30 PM EST

Isn't Napier the logarithm guy? Yes indeed. A man of varied talents, he popularized the modern decimal point notation and argued that the Pope of 1593 was the Antichrist.
And created one of the first devices to automate binary arithmetic. Using nothing more than a chessboard and some counters, he developed ways to multiply, divide and even find the square roots of binary numbers.
Full Story"

Read more!

Beware! Spyware Companies Trying To Act Legit By Bribing Anti-Spyware Companies

This hot off the desk from mile at TechDirt:
Last week, we wrote about Direct Revenue, a spyware/adware company that kept claiming that it was trying to be transparent, when all of the evidence suggested otherwise. One of the execs of the company quoted in the article kept using the excuse that they offered their very own anti-spyware cleanup system that would remove products, as if that was a defense. Well, it appears that others in the spyware/adware/malware space are looking to co-opt the anti-spyware offerings, sometimes with what looks very much like bribery. Broadband Reports points to WhenU's agreement with an anti-spyware company, whereby that anti-spyware product will no longer remove WhenU, even though WhenU hasn't actually changed the product, plenty of people have no clue they installed it and they aren't happy that it's there. WhenU and other spyware companies have apparently been approaching plenty of anti-spyware vendors with deals to get free publicity if they agree to stop designating their products as spyware. Wouldn't it just be easier to set up the products so that they never install without permission and are completely upfront about what the products actually do? That would seem a much better path to getting out of anti-spyware programs.

Read more!

Techdirt: Is It Illegal To Say You're Raising Money?

Techdirt:Is It Illegal To Say You're Raising Money?: "You see stories all the time from startup companies saying that they're in the process of raising money from investors. However, the folks at Silicon Beat have noticed that this practice may be illegal. There are plenty of regulations concerning raising funds, and soliciting them from the public without going through the whole SEC process is a no-no. Of course, the companies in question will obviously say that a statement to the press that they're raising money is quite different from soliciting funds -- but depending on how you read the regulations, this might not matter. If the funding source comes by way of this press statement, then it almost definitely does violate regulations. While the regulations are there for a good purpose -- to avoid tricking gullible investors, this does make you wonder if they go too far. Statements to the press shouldn't be considered solicitation of funds no matter what, and any investor at such an early stage is likely to go through a lot more due diligence (one hopes) than simply reading about a company in the news. "

Read more!

Cell phones on planes, no problem anymore!

With the advent of broadband now being introduced on airliners, the remaining issue is cell phone usage. Well, with a laptop, VOIP and the broadband you can make all the calls you want and not be restricted by any regulations.

Read more!

The Renaissance: Literary Humanism and its Role in the Battle of the Sexes

The Renaissance: Literary Humanism and its Role in the Battle of the Sexes
Infiniumetal

Abstract:
Literary Humanism drew the line between the Medieval and Renaissance eras. The changes that emerged were everywhere. Almost everything that was done was done differently. It was not the specific actions that changed but the intent. This impacted not only the geographical areas and those who held the power, but also the educational system. More importantly it heightened the awareness of women within society and those things that gave them a place within society. I feel that the inner status of women changed, allowing them to change their position within the male dominated hierarchical structure. They were able to open the awareness of their previous actions, defend their status, and climb to a higher level. Many of these bold stances changed the lives of women for the better, some still holding true today.


Sources:
The Western Experience, Volume 1, 8th edition, Mortimer Chambers, Barbara Hanawalt, Et Al., McGraw Hill, N.Y.
Civilization, Volume 1, Dennis Sherman 6th edition McGraw Hill, N.Y.
A Letter to Boccaccio: Literary Humanism By: Francesco Petrarch
The City of Ladies By: Christine de Pizan
Machiavelli and the Renaissance By: Federico Chabod


From the fourteenth to the sixteenth century Northern Europe and Northern Italy were enmeshed within changes. These changes emerged within societal, literary, artistic, and political realms. The fuel for the transition from medieval times to the renaissance was humanism. Humanism allowed people to understand their self worth, thus changing their interactions. Powers shifted, with religion not being the forerunner of imaginations anymore. The people’s actions were now being done with the intent to propel the secular world. People all had a place in society, and each one had the capabilities to propel it forward. They were now powerful people with creative individuality in a changing time. This individualism came at a price. It meant that the age-old fires of contention between man and women raged strong and hard.
Women pounced on the chance to express themselves, riding on the wave of humanism. However, some of their actions were immediately suppressed, a few were only challenged within the next century, and some are still allowing women to express their creativity today. In the meantime, men were making changes in their thinking patterns, and this meant that without any barriers to hold them back, almost every realm they roamed within was changed.
1436 was the year of the plague. When farmers and freemen started to dwell in cities the crowding began. This immunologically virgin people offered themselves as a feast to the germs that lurked hiding within their domesticated animals, wastes, garbage, and scavengers. Just when a sense of community and kinship was established, massive percentages of each town in the path of this unstoppable monster were sickened and killed. The silent beast attacked with a savagery that we rarely know of today, it demoralized entire societies. In the aftermath people began to feel special, nay important, in their individual self worth. They saw it as their duty to propel themselves forward from their ancient ways. They refused to allow a hegemonic society to rise and suppress the light of Alethia. The ancient ways of Greece and Rome were rejuvenated. The literature and ideas of old propelled their new concepts of a Classical Civilization. Religion somehow maintained its hold over societies, yet in a different manner, for people now concerned themselves with the physical world.
Humanism allowed men and women to become enthralled with the same classical works, and logic; this meant that they thought and communicated alike. Humanism was a way of thinking. It was a way of studying. It was a way of living. It didn’t define one’s actions, but was defined by the actions one completed at the end of the day. It was not easy to get literary humanism to take hold. Francesco Petrarch wrote a letter to Boccaccio in 1362 that answered some of problems that society posed regarding literary humanism. His opening remark claims, “Neither exhortations to virtue nor the argument of approaching death should divert us from literature; for in a good mind it excites the love of virtue, and dissipates, or at least diminishes, the fear of death.”[1] He also refers to the latest invention of the time; Piety. “While I know that many have become famous for piety without learning, at the same time I know of no one who has been prevented by literature from following the path of holiness.”[2]
It may not be apparent, but Francesco showed us that textual criticism emerged as a result of the humanists looking back at literature and analyzing it. The key difference in the approach texts was that they were not looking for god’s supremacy, but they looked to “the past to illustrate human behavior and provide moral examples.” [3] This was drastically different than before. Social values were being presented as the all important focus of life. Piety was the new yardstick with which society measured itself. This new perspective led directly to the many new features set in place as the demarcation between the medieval and renaissance times.
Men and women were each approached differently by this life giving source called humanism. They each treated it differently and they each gained different elements from it. Overall men still remained dominant in the grander scale of autochthony, religion, politics, education, and art. But, women carved a niche out for themselves and held on. In fact they are currently still widening their cavern to this very day.
To gain a better understanding why, and how, women had the ability to see a changing wave of standards, grasp it, and use it to their advantage we must take a step back and understand the role women held right before the renaissance in the medieval times. Nature played a part on one of the rungs of the ladder to individuality for women. They seemed to have higher incidences of immunological factors in their favor; they also recovered faster than men. “They became a disproportionately larger part of the population.” [4]
In fact, this strong position led to some printed rebuttals on the outlook men had towards women. By looking back at the literature and images of women, Eve and Mary, we can see that men viewed women as signs of “depravity, vanity, fickleness, and weakness.”[5] One of Christine de Pisan’s books The City of Ladies advocated the various positions women held throughout the ages. “She pointed to all the heroic women in history as examples of women’s superior qualities, describing virtue in the most trying circumstances, heroism, self-sacrifice, wisdom, and leadership.”[6] She posed questions and then answered them in a rhetorical manner. She responded to the thought that “women aren’t intelligent enough to learn the law”[7], “and “against those who claim that it is not good for a women to be educated.”[8] “Women could not attend Universities, be ordained as priests, or participate in legal and magisterial roles.”[9]
However, women were not forgotten roles within the framework of society. They held various positions, some of high esteem. Yet, they had to practice these acts within regimented laws governing what was acceptable female behavior. To be more specific women did engage in the cultural enrichment of the Middle Ages. They participated in “nunneries, courts, and individual experiences did permit them to write, engage in intellectual debate,”[10] “act as regents and queens, powerful female saints and mystics.”[11] Women were not simply household items. Women actually were married at younger ages than the men they wed. “Because these men went through apprenticeships and started a business to accumulate capital, they postponed marriage.”[12] This meant that women ran the jobs their husbands left them when they died. “In 1427 more than one-half of Florence’s female population over forty were widows.”[13] On top of running their late husbands businesses, they raised the children. They also engaged in silk spinning, and weaving, and selling items in the marketplace, running inns, and dressmaking. Women were not simply tools of the men who ran societies. As the last darkness before the light finally shone we saw that in 1460 in the town of Arras women were used as scapegoats. Any hint of changes brought a charge of witchcraft on women. This was a show of the women’s traditional subordination to men. For example if they tried to learn to read their vulnerability would make them “targets of denunciation.”[14] In fact, “linked to the fear of the devil was a fear of women.”[15]
So what was the difference between the medieval era and the Renaissance in respect to the status of women? What changed for women? First and foremost, the outlook on life’s values changed, and thus changed the way society viewed the role women played. What was once a backburner position became predominant within society. As a new era emerged women not only took advantage of the opportunity, but helped perpetuate their overlooked roles into distinct societal needs. Take the example of Calvin and his Protestantism. “Calvin’s earliest significant converts were aristocratic women.”[16] Humanism allowed them to look through new lenses. They saw the opportunity to express themselves. They did this via “demanding broader access to education.”[17] Humanism gave them an avenue to justify the things that they were already doing. They were the prominent Bible readers within their family. The new religion gave them the ability to demand that young girls be taught to read early on. This access to literature, coupled with the printing presses rapid influx of personal causes, made women regularly and “prominent in radical movements.”[18]
When we look at the records of the Inquisition it is “full of the trials and executions of women who were martyrs for their beliefs.”[19] The women asserted their individuality and “rejected the authority of the priests with their rights to individual faiths.”[20] In January of 1549 Elizabeth Dirks was interrogated in the Netherlands. She remarked, while being tortured, that she spoke with a free tongue. Her answers were direct, and reflected the outlook that women had on everyday values including religion. “There was a remarkable flowering of new religious orders for women in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, many of which became identified with charitable works.”[21] These female orders had many key roles within philanthropic activities. They opened new hospitals, and “expanded their assistance to the orphans, poor, and unfortunate.”[22]
Last, but certainly not least, women of the renaissance gave our modern culture two of the greatest and everlasting elements of change, St. Theresa, and the Jesuits. She established convents and had her own order dotting the landscape of Spain. Her mystical visions gave her an unwavering faith and her spiritual journeys gave her strength and purpose. Her individuality combined with the ability to bring God closer to the masses, on a personal level, is what made her a saint only forty years post death. She “embodies the religious devoutness of Spain.”[23] One of the new hospitals convalesced the son of a Basque nobleman who was injured in the military. He went on to reform the Church from within. He was St. Ignatius Loyola, and went on to change the various elements of education that have been passed on to modern times relatively uninjured through the Society of Jesus.
The lives of the men changed as well in many areas of life. Art changed, government changed, societal values changed. More importantly the approach to political powers changed. Machiavelli defined the techniques and strategy of gaining and keeping political control through his analysis of statesmanship and power. He was a Florentine Noble who wanted to set down the rules, and moves, for anyone who wanted to seek power. His book the Prince has become the blueprint for dictators. This drastic change in how the powers viewed life during the renaissance had significant impacts on the Church, geography, revolts, economics, and power. The manuscript has been loved and hated for the impacts it had on society.
One of the areas that he writes on is the way to govern cities or dominions that, previous to being occupied, lived under their own laws. He spoke of the ways that a prince must keep the faiths, and how a prince must act in order to gain reputation. His were available to the public and put the pressure on those who were in the Church and on those in control of power. The general masses now had the knowledge to not only point out where the faults of their leaders lie, but also to reach that position and correct it. This caused upheavals, and reforms in the general public as well as the Church. “This was a turning point in the Christian world. The minds of political theorists were no longer trammeled by catholic dogma.”[24] “It was an era in which Unitarian States were being created amid the ruins of the social and political order of the Middle Ages.”[25]
Around 100 years after the Renaissance the strength of the changes was still evident. As mentioned earlier, women propelled Loyola into a new world filled with the light of Christ. He took on Mary as his inspiration, and wrote a book that underwent many revisions called, the Spiritual Exercises. Loyola’s efforts regarding religion were different than any predecessors. Just like women he “emphasized that believers can act themselves; they do not have to depend on faith alone to gain salvation,”[26] He established schools that rivaled anything in place at the time, and for years to come. Four pillars held up the Jesuits: Preaching, Hearing confessions, Missionary Work, and Teaching. The teaching element is what propelled them through all the tribulations posed to them over the hundreds of years to survive today. This was because, “The instructors followed humanist principals and taught the latest ideas, including the most recent advances in science.” This combined with Machiavelli’s works were an unstoppable force in changing the renaissance.
Humanism paved the path for individualism. Since individualisms arrival coincided with the aftermath of the Plague of 1463 this was an important element in the restructuring of societies. As a way of thinking humanism took some effort to take hold. However, once it did it wormed its way in to the very core of the values on life. Other than Machiavelli, men made small changes on many areas, yet, in contrast, women made some drastic improvements to their lives that are still maintained to this very day. The way society handled women changed. They established hospitals, orders, philanthropic activities, each of which had some massive tangential impacts on the activities of the men. The handiwork of St. Ignatius Loyola is an example of this that is still active today.



[1] Western Civilization, Volume 1, Dennis Sherman 6th edition McGraw Hill, N.Y. page 160
[2] Ibid.
[3] The Western Experience, Volume 1, 8th edition, Mortimer Chambers, Barbara Hanawalt, Et Al., McGraw Hill, N.Y. page 407
[4] The Western Experience, Volume 1, 8th edition, Mortimer Chambers, Barbara Hanawalt, Et Al., McGraw Hill, N.Y. page 374
[5] The Western Experience, Volume 1, 8th edition, Mortimer Chambers, Barbara Hanawalt, Et Al., McGraw Hill, N.Y. page 347
[6] The Western Experience, Volume 1, 8th edition, Mortimer Chambers, Barbara Hanawalt, Et Al., McGraw Hill, N.Y. page 375
[7] The Western Experience, Volume 1, 8th edition, Mortimer Chambers, Barbara Hanawalt, Et Al., McGraw Hill, N.Y. page 162
[8] Ibid.
[9] The Western Experience, Volume 1, 8th edition, Mortimer Chambers, Barbara Hanawalt, Et Al., McGraw Hill, N.Y. page 376
f Ibid.
[11] Ibid.
[12] The Western Experience, Volume 1, 8th edition, Mortimer Chambers, Barbara Hanawalt, Et Al., McGraw Hill, N.Y. page 339
[13] Ibid.
[14] The Western Experience, Volume 1, 8th edition, Mortimer Chambers, Barbara Hanawalt, Et Al., McGraw Hill, N.Y. page 421
[15] Ibid.
[16] The Western Experience, Volume 1, 8th edition, Mortimer Chambers, Barbara Hanawalt, Et Al., McGraw Hill, N.Y. page 460
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid.
[19]The Western Experience, Volume 1, 8th edition, Mortimer Chambers, Barbara Hanawalt, Et Al., McGraw Hill, N.Y. page 466
[20] Ibid.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Ibid.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Western Civilization, Volume 1, Dennis Sherman 6th edition McGraw Hill, N.Y. page 170
[25] Ibid.
[26]The Western Experience, Volume 1, 8th edition, Mortimer Chambers, Barbara Hanawalt, Et Al., McGraw Hill, N.Y. page 468

Read more!

Pfizer says Celebrex increases heart risks

"Pfizer Inc. said it found an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes for patients taking high dosages of its top-selling arthritis painkiller Celebrex -- the same problem that led to the withdrawal of its one-time competitor, Vioxx. "
Click read more for the whole article.
The company said it has no plans to remove Celebrex from the market, but the disclosure on Friday sent Pfizer's shares tumbling because of fears that it could cripple sales of what had been the most-prescribed drug for treating arthritis.

Acting U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Lester Crawford said the government is advising physicians to consider prescribing drugs other than Celebrex to their patients.

"We're leaving open all regulatory decisions as we move forward. But we do not have a decision on the fate of the product," Crawford said during a news briefing. "We do have great concern about this product (Celebrex) and the class of products."

Still, at least one Brevard County physician cautioned against labeling Celebrex a "bad drug," until further studies have been done and the heart risks have been clearly sorted out.

"People don't need to panic over Celebrex," said Dr. Roderick Salach, a local rheumatologist on staff at three area hospitals. "Before stopping the drug, patients should be evaluated individually in terms of their cardiovascular risks."

But, Salach said, patients at high risk for either heart attacks or stroke, "to be safe, should probably avoid all cox-2 inhibitors" for now -- the class of drugs that includes both Celebrex and Vioxx.

"The safest thing is probably taking something like Tylenol," a nonprescription painkiller, he said.

Dr. Richard Hayes, a New York cardiologist, offered a harsher assessment.

"We thought Celebrex was safe, and the problem was just with Vioxx," said Hayes, who is now recommending his patients switch immediately from Celebrex to drugs like Tylenol and Advil for treating pain. "The problem is more complex than we thought."

Doctors nationwide already have been besieged with phone calls from worried patients, and say they will curtail writing prescriptions for the drug.

Shares of Pfizer, a member of the Dow index and the world's-largest pharmaceutical maker, plunged $3.23, or 11.15 percent, to $25.75 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The decline wiped out almost $25 billion of Pfizer's market value.

The cox-2 inhibitors have become popular in recent years because of their effectiveness in treating the pain of arthritis and other ailments, while reducing the risk for gastrointestinal bleeding.

Salach stressed that these drugs still offer substantial benefit to those with ulcer problems or other conditions, where over-the-counter medications, like Advil, might aggravate internal bleeding over time.

"That's why you need to weight the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding against the cardiac risk," he said.

News of the increased heart risk for patients using Celebrex barely caused a ripple for some local pharmacists by late Friday.

Mark Hobbs, president of Hobbs Pharmacy on Merritt Island, said he had had no queries from either physicians or patients about the drug -- far different from when Merck took Vioxx off the market.

"It has kind of surprised me," Hobbs admitted.

Bill Anderson, the clinical manager of the pharmacy at Holmes Regional Medical Center, said he, too, had received few calls about the drug.

"The news really isn't out there yet," he said.

But before patients act hastily, Anderson said, the data need further evaluation, since the heart risk on Celebrex emerged in one of two long-term cancer trials, and "cancer patients are more prone to clotting."

The drug industry already has been under fire for numerous high-profile debacles: Merck & Co.'s withdrawal of Vioxx; the failure of Chiron Corp. to deliver half the country's flu vaccines; and disclosures that drug companies had stifled negative clinical trial data from studies examining anti-depressant use in children.

Both Celebrex and Vioxx are a type of drug called cox-2 inhibitors, which have become popular because of their effectiveness in treating the pain of arthritis and other ailments. Vioxx was pulled from the market in September because it doubled patients' risk of heart attack and strokes.

National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni said he ordered a full review of the more than 40 agency-supported studies involving cox-2 inhibitors.

News of the increased heart risk for patients using Celebrex came in one of two long-term cancer-prevention trials.

The National Cancer Institute, which was conducting the study for Pfizer, said patients in the clinical trial taking 800 milligrams of Celebrex had a 3.4 times greater risk of cardiovascular events, compared with a placebo. For patients in the trial taking 400 milligrams of Celebrex, the risk was 2.5 times greater. The average duration of treatment in the trial was 33 months.

In the 2,000-patient study, 15 individuals taking 400 milligrams, 20 patients taking taking 800 milligrams and six patients on placebo suffered either a cardiac-related death, heart attack or stroke.

The study was intended to show whether Celebrex could prevent precancerous growths called polyps in patients that had already had at least one such growth.

A separate cancer study done by Pfizer found no increased heart risk with patients taking 400 milligrams of Celebrex a day.

Dr. Joseph Feczko, president of worldwide development for Pfizer, noted that the results in the trial finding increased risk of heart attacks were not consistent with either the other cancer prevention trial or with a "large body of data" that the company had collected.

Feczko said in an interview later in the day that sales of Celebrex will continue because "it has not shown in totality that it increases the risk of heart attacks."

He said Pfizer still hadn't seen the data from the NCI study so he couldn't speculate on how the two trials could have such different outcomes. He added that the company still was planning to go ahead with a previously announced study to see if Celebrex actually could help patients at high risk of heart attacks.

Finding patients to participate in such a study will be challenge because doctors are now saying patients at high risk of heart attacks should avoid taking Celebrex.

Dr. Garret A. FitzGerald, who has been critical of cox-2 inhibitors, said he doesn't believe Pfizer should take Celebrex off market, but has to work hard to find the appropriate patient population for the drug.

Cox-2s were developed to be gentler on the stomach than older pain relievers called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as naproxen, that are associated with gastrointestinal problems.

But unlike Vioxx, Celebrex was never statistically proven to decrease the risk of ulcers. It also doesn't reduce pain better than older drugs.

"The challenge for Pfizer now is to show why this drug should be chosen," said FitzGerald, a cardiologist at the University of Pennsylvania.

FitzGerald said Pfizer's huge marketing push behind the drug accounted for its dramatic use. Last year, Pfizer spent $87.6 million to advertise Celebrex. It recently launched a new campaign for the drug and placed full-page ads in newspapers touting Celebrex's safety in the wake of the Vioxx recall.

FitzGerald said he believed the news has implications for cox-2 inhibitors such as those under development at Merck and Novartis.

"I think the trial concludes the controversy about whether there is a class effect of these drugs. Now there is clear evidence of it," FitzGerald said. "You would need to believe the earth is flat if you thought this was just a coincidence."

For the first nine months of the year, worldwide sales of Celebrex more than doubled from a year earlier to $2.3 billion, accounting for 6 percent of Pfizer's total sales of $37.6 billion during that period.

Barbara Ryan, a managing director at Deutsche Bank said she expects Celebrex's sales to fall by 50 percent next year and has dropped her Pfizer 2005 earnings estimate to $2.10 a share from $2.35 a share.

"In this environment people are hysterical," said Ryan, who said all the headlines would scare people even though the drug's problem manifested itself at high doses.

Moody's Investors Service revised its outlook on Pfizer to negative from stable because it believes Celebrex use may decline as the controversy about the class increases. Moreover, it said the likelihood that the drug could be pulled from the market may have risen and Pfizer's litigation may increase.

Moody's points out that this is happening when Pfizer is facing high exposure to patent expirations, with 30 percent to 35 percent of its revenues coming off Patent through 2007. The combination means Pfizer may not be able to maintain its triple A rating, Moody's said.

Dr. Marie Griffin, an epidemiologist and drug-safety expert at Vanderbilt University, said concerns may apply only to patients taking Celebrex at high doses.

She noted that the halted study was testing a 400- to 800-milligram dose. The highest recommended dose for Celebrex to treat rheumatoid patients is 400 milligrams a day while the dose for osteoarthritis patients is 200 milligrams a day.

Still, some doctors are concerned about the drug at lower doses because different patients metabolize drugs at different rates.

"You can't say as a result of this study that doses under 400 milligrams are absolutely safe," said Dr. Eric Matteson, a professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Matteson said his office has been besieged with calls and that he plans to review his patients' records and take some of them off the drug. Some have specifically asked to be given something else.

The withdrawal of Vioxx has been a financial and public-relations disaster for Merck. Its legal liabilities are estimated at up to $18 billion, and its shares have dropped by nearly one-third since the recall announcement in late September.

Vioxx had been a blockbuster drug for Merck, its No. 2 earner with annual global sales of $2.5 billion, amounting to 11 percent of the company's $22.49 billion in revenue last year.

Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration said it was adding a warning to the labels of another Pfizer drug, Bextra, noting a risk of potential heart problems associated with the use of Bextra in people who have recently had heart bypass surgery. Bextra is also a cox-2 inhibitor type of drug.

Griffin and two other Vanderbilt epidemiologists also raised fresh concerns about Bextra, in a letter to be published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Doctors should not prescribe the drug "except in extraordinary circumstances," they recommend.

Last month, in testimony before Congress, a Food and Drug Administration official said that Bextra was one of five drugs whose sales should be halted or curtailed because it is unsafe.

Staff writer Susan Jenks contributed to this story. Contact Jenks at 242-3657 or sjenks@flatoday.net


What it all means


Findings: A cancer-prevention study found people taking very high doses of the painkiller Celebrex had higher risk of heart problems.
Action: Federal scientists halted the study. But Pfizer, the maker of Celebrex, did not pull the drug off the market because the study involved doses much higher than normal use.
Fallout: This is yet another blow to drugs called cox-2 inhibitors, painkillers that scientists believe show promise for other uses. Earlier, the drug Vioxx, was pulled off the market for heart risks.

Read more!

Wearable clothing is the latest hype. What is it?

Heated Jackets, Glow in the dark Jackets, Music Playing Jackets, Walkie Talkie Jackets! How Bizzare.



• Heated jackets. The North Face Met 5 boasts built-in heaters, which run on a rechargeable battery. At medium power, it stays toasty for about five hours ($600, northface.com).

• Glow-in-the-dark jackets. The Marmot Phenomenon EL has battery-powered, electroluminescent light panels on the arms, shoulders and hood that light up at the turn of a switch, making the wearer visible from nearly a mile away. The jacket would assist rescuers and be helpful in reading maps ($750; marmot.com).

• Walkie-talkie jackets. Nike ACG's COMMJacket has a built-in speaker around the collar and a microphone for two-way, hands-free radio communication ($500; altrec.com).

• Music-playing jackets. Burton's Shield iPod Jacket has an iPod control system built into the sleeve allowing just a touch of the buttons to switch songs ($380; burton.com). Burton also has a similar jacket for women, the Burton 2L ($330).

Music is a big growth area for wearable technology. Also on store shelves is the Oakley Thump, sunglasses that have a built-in MP3 player. The glasses have tiny pivoting speakers attached to the sides, weigh just 2 ounces and can store up to 120 songs ($395-$495, depending on storage capacity; oakley.com).

You've got the power if you're wearing the new Solar SCOTTe-VEST, which has a removable solar panel to juice your electronics long after their batteries have died.

Designed for backcountry skiers, hikers and other outdoorsy types, the $425 jacket is the latest in "wearable technology," an emerging trend.

These things are a bit pricy but they are really geared for specific uses and not for the casual purchase.

Read more!

An interesting compliment to yesterdays robot story.

Engadget - www.engadget.com: "Scientist claims he's developed robot genes "

A Korean scientist has created a robot that he claims can bequeath its "genes" to other robots. Professor Kim Jong-Hwan says his robot has 14 artificial chromosomes that can be passed on to offspring, creating new robots with unique personalities. Kim, who has built soccer-playing robots, isn't worried about his 'self-reproducing' robots attempting to whack their creators, as in 'I, Robot,' 'Terminator,' and just about every other robot movie ever made. 'If we design the chromosomes quite safely, then we can avoid such a bad situation,' he said. Which is totally the money quote in some future robot historian's book about how they ended up taking over."

Read more!

Bush can put us in the dark ages, via GPS!

Engadget - www.engadget.com: "Bush plans GPS shutdown in national crisis >

Given its widespread commercial use in everything from cellphones to cars, it's easy to forget that the global positioning system was created as a military application, and the satellites that it depends on are still owned and operated by the U.S. government. In case you need a reminder, President Bush has furnished one, in the form of a plan to shut the whole GPS system down in the event of a national crisis in order to prevent its use by terrorists. The White House has also ordered the Pentagon to put together a plan to block overseas GPS access selectively during military operations, and apply similar jamming to non-U.S. systems, such as the EU's forthcoming Galileo program. Though administration officials insist that a shutdown would happen under only the most extreme circumstances, you may want to brush up on your map and compass-reading skills and memorize some escape routes if you've become wholly dependent on your Navman for getting around."

Read more!

Wired News: Ecobot Eats Dead Flies for Fuel

Wired News: Ecobot Eats Dead Flies for Fuel: "Ultimately, the goal is to create a robot that can effectively operate for years without any human intervention, able to feed and keep itself going on all fronts."

Read more!

Alternative Medicine: Heavy metal (12/14/04)

On the same freakin day. Weird huh.
USNews.com: Health: In Brief: Alternative Medicine: Heavy metal (12/14/04)

12/14/04
Heavy metal
Some ayurvedic herbal medicines contain lead, mercury, arsenic
By Helen Fields

Because herbal medicines are considered dietary supplements, their manufacturers don't have to prove that they are either safe or effective in order to market them in the United States. Researchers at Harvard and the Environmental Protection Agency tested ayurvedic medicines for heavy metals.
What the researchers wanted to know: How common are lead, mercury, arsenic, tin, silver, gold, and cadmium in ayurvedic herbal medicines?

What they did: The researchers used www.superpages.com's online yellow pages to find stores in and near Boston that sold ayurvedic (traditional Indian) herbal remedies. They bought one of every medicine they could find—70 different products—and sent them to the EPA's regional lab to be analyzed for heavy metals. For each one that turned up lead, mercury, or arsenic, they went back to the store to buy another one to re-test; most were still available, and those that were retested had levels similar to the first test.

What they found: Fourteen of the 70 products contained lead, mercury, and/or arsenic. Seven of those products were recommended for children; for example, 21 of the 30 stores sold a product called Safi, recommended for children, which contained 54 micrograms of arsenic per milliliter. If a child took that medicine daily in the recommended doses, he could get more than 10 times what the EPA calls the "reference dose" of arsenic—a dose of a toxin near the upper limit of safety. Some products could expose adults or children to thousands of times the reference dose of lead, mercury, or arsenic. Some products had high levels of all three.

What the study means to you: Just because it's herbal doesn't mean it's safe. According to ayurvedic theory, certain metals are supposed to help cure you, but there have been cases of heavy metal poisoning from some ayurvedic medicines.

Caveats: The researchers didn't know what chemical form the metals were in, which can affect how toxic they are.

Find out more: The EPA explains the reference dose at www.epa.gov. Scroll down to 1.3.2.3 Reference Dose (RfD).

Read the article: Saper, R.B., et al. "Heavy Metal Content of Ayurvedic Herbal Medicine Products." Journal of the American Medical Association. Dec. 15, 2004, Vol. 292, No. 23, pp. 2868-2873.

Abstract online: http://jama.ama-assn.org

Read more!

Poison danger of bogus cigarettes - The Herald

Poison danger of bogus cigarettes - The Herald

Poison danger of bogus cigarettes

A SCOTTISH scientist has discovered high levels of carcinogenic heavy metals in counterfeit cigarettes widely available throughout the UK.
Research by Dr Ed Stephens, of St Andrews University, revealed that a typical counterfeit cigarette contained five times more cadmium than genuine brands and three times more arsenic. They also contained six times more lead.
The findings of the senior lecturer in geoscience were the centrepiece of a government campaign yesterday to warn smokers about the extra health risks of fake cigarettes.
A parallel study published by Customs and Excise revealed that more than half the million-plus cigarettes seized each day are counterfeit. In London, 85% of the cigarettes sold informally are fakes.
While 250 gangs had been broken up in the past four years, the smuggled share of the cigarette market still stood at 15%, worth £500m, it said.
Dr Stephens's study raises concern that the fake cigarettes are being imported from areas, such as China and Eastern Europe, which were abandoned by big cigarette makers because the tobacco was grown on strongly acidic soils which were thought to have higher levels of cadmium.
Dr Stephens said: "Even at low concentrations, arsenic and cadmium can cause cancers in humans, and, like lead, they can give rise to other disorders. The main purchasers of counterfeit cigarettes are those on low incomes, young people who then become addicted to smoking or the socially disadvantaged for whom so many other factors impact negatively on their state of health that the addition of another factor is potentially very serious."
He stumbled over the heavy metal contamination of illicit cigarettes by accident while setting out on research into how heavy metals get into the body.
"We did not set out to look at counterfeit cigarettes, just regular brands because it was a way of finding out how heavy metals affect our environment.
"But, when I found out counterfeits were such a big part of the market, I thought that if we wanted to know what is going into the lungs of the British working population we have to include these.
"So we asked customs for samples and they obliged."
Dr Stephens said: "I am not a toxicologist. But hopefully some toxicologists will start thinking about what effect these elements might have."
At the Downing Street campaign launch yesterday, John Healey, the customs minister, warned that it was nearly impossible to detect from packaging whether cigarettes were fake or genuine.
He said: "As we have disrupted the supply lines and made it more difficult and more expensive for the international smuggling gangs to get their hands on genuine cigarettes, they are starting to manufacture their own, fake versions."
A third of UK smokers say they sometimes buy fake cigarettes, but only one in five know their packs are smuggled.
A SCOTTISH scientist has discovered high levels of carcinogenic heavy metals in counterfeit cigarettes widely available throughout the UK.
Research by Dr Ed Stephens, of St Andrews University, revealed that a typical counterfeit cigarette contained five times more cadmium than genuine brands and three times more arsenic. They also contained six times more lead.
The findings of the senior lecturer in geoscience were the centrepiece of a government campaign yesterday to warn smokers about the extra health risks of fake cigarettes.
A parallel study published by Customs and Excise revealed that more than half the million-plus cigarettes seized each day are counterfeit. In London, 85% of the cigarettes sold informally are fakes.
While 250 gangs had been broken up in the past four years, the smuggled share of the cigarette market still stood at 15%, worth £500m, it said.
Dr Stephens's study raises concern that the fake cigarettes are being imported from areas, such as China and Eastern Europe, which were abandoned by big cigarette makers because the tobacco was grown on strongly acidic soils which were thought to have higher levels of cadmium.
Dr Stephens said: "Even at low concentrations, arsenic and cadmium can cause cancers in humans, and, like lead, they can give rise to other disorders. The main purchasers of counterfeit cigarettes are those on low incomes, young people who then become addicted to smoking or the socially disadvantaged for whom so many other factors impact negatively on their state of health that the addition of another factor is potentially very serious."
He stumbled over the heavy metal contamination of illicit cigarettes by accident while setting out on research into how heavy metals get into the body.
"We did not set out to look at counterfeit cigarettes, just regular brands because it was a way of finding out how heavy metals affect our environment.
"But, when I found out counterfeits were such a big part of the market, I thought that if we wanted to know what is going into the lungs of the British working population we have to include these.
"So we asked customs for samples and they obliged."
Dr Stephens said: "I am not a toxicologist. But hopefully some toxicologists will start thinking about what effect these elements might have."
At the Downing Street campaign launch yesterday, John Healey, the customs minister, warned that it was nearly impossible to detect from packaging whether cigarettes were fake or genuine.
He said: "As we have disrupted the supply lines and made it more difficult and more expensive for the international smuggling gangs to get their hands on genuine cigarettes, they are starting to manufacture their own, fake versions."
A third of UK smokers say they sometimes buy fake cigarettes, but only one in five know their packs are smuggled.
A SCOTTISH scientist has discovered high levels of carcinogenic heavy metals in counterfeit cigarettes widely available throughout the UK.
Research by Dr Ed Stephens, of St Andrews University, revealed that a typical counterfeit cigarette contained five times more cadmium than genuine brands and three times more arsenic. They also contained six times more lead.
The findings of the senior lecturer in geoscience were the centrepiece of a government campaign yesterday to warn smokers about the extra health risks of fake cigarettes.
A parallel study published by Customs and Excise revealed that more than half the million-plus cigarettes seized each day are counterfeit. In London, 85% of the cigarettes sold informally are fakes.
While 250 gangs had been broken up in the past four years, the smuggled share of the cigarette market still stood at 15%, worth £500m, it said.
Dr Stephens's study raises concern that the fake cigarettes are being imported from areas, such as China and Eastern Europe, which were abandoned by big cigarette makers because the tobacco was grown on strongly acidic soils which were thought to have higher levels of cadmium.
Dr Stephens said: "Even at low concentrations, arsenic and cadmium can cause cancers in humans, and, like lead, they can give rise to other disorders. The main purchasers of counterfeit cigarettes are those on low incomes, young people who then become addicted to smoking or the socially disadvantaged for whom so many other factors impact negatively on their state of health that the addition of another factor is potentially very serious."
He stumbled over the heavy metal contamination of illicit cigarettes by accident while setting out on research into how heavy metals get into the body.
"We did not set out to look at counterfeit cigarettes, just regular brands because it was a way of finding out how heavy metals affect our environment.
"But, when I found out counterfeits were such a big part of the market, I thought that if we wanted to know what is going into the lungs of the British working population we have to include these.
"So we asked customs for samples and they obliged."
Dr Stephens said: "I am not a toxicologist. But hopefully some toxicologists will start thinking about what effect these elements might have."
At the Downing Street campaign launch yesterday, John Healey, the customs minister, warned that it was nearly impossible to detect from packaging whether cigarettes were fake or genuine.
He said: "As we have disrupted the supply lines and made it more difficult and more expensive for the international smuggling gangs to get their hands on genuine cigarettes, they are starting to manufacture their own, fake versions."
A third of UK smokers say they sometimes buy fake cigarettes, but only one in five know their packs are smuggled.
MARTIN WILLIAMS December 16 2004 Copyright © 2004 Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited. All Rights Reserved

Read more!

This you have to try out. Google

Google

Try this link out I think that you need to be patient with it, but it is pretty nifty tool. When you find the word you want, but want another word without making it search then you should just move your curser to the end of the word with your arrow. I like that it gives you the most up to date number of pages for that answer.

Read more!

Google Desktop Search Tips (GDS) Tips

GDS Tips

This is the ticket for anyone who is interested in modifying and truly using the technology they own. I think that it is a must to learn to use what you have.

Read more!

St. Ignatius Loyola and the Jesuit Society

St. Ignatius Loyola and the Jesuit Society

Roughly one hundred years after the Renaissance religion counter attacked by rapidly adapting to the times. Christianity was forced to reevaluate their position and needs within society. One of these reformations was the internal restructuring and new perspective of Christian philosophies proposed by St. Ignatius Loyola, in 1540, which ultimately evolved into the Jesuits, or more accurately the Society of Jesus. This new system and special branch of the papacy was responsible for introducing and maintaining religion. It was upheld on a foundation of four main principals; preaching, hearing confessions, missionary work, and teaching.
The pillar of teaching in a secular manner was what led them to circumvent millennia of adaptations. The advent of the Jesuits rose after people became comfortable with their individualism. The Plague had demoralized cultures and people took to looking towards education and the lasting, finite, elements of life. Education became a prominent aspect in the demarcations of power and frailty, money and destitution, fastidiousness and industrialism, political correctness and marginalization. Many of the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States are among the top schools within our nation. Some of the better known Jesuit institutions are Georgetown University, Boston College, Fordham University, and Loyola University.
The Jesuits are the largest Catholic religious order with over 25,000 members worldwide. Innovative from the start, the Jesuits emphasized flexibility and education and developed a reputation for scholarship that earned them great influence in the Church. Jesuits have made significant contributions in atomic theory, optics, non-Euclidian geometry, and astronomy. There are several craters on the Moon named after Jesuits.
The Jesuit Universities require you to take basic theology courses, but their rationale for this requirement is that religion is a strong force behind human history and culture. Even if a student is not religious and has no desire to change, an understanding of religion is important to an understanding of humanity. This viewpoint is expanded on at Georgetown University's website. "[The University] neither wishes nor expects all its members to be Catholic, but it does assume that all of them share a basic, widely accepted view of humankind. . . . It imposes no religious creed on any faculty member or any student, but it expects them to respect the religious convictions of each person." It is a Jesuit university, and has a firm commitment to Catholicism, but there is an impressive diversity among the students and faculty. The scores of active student organizations on Georgetown's campus include the Jewish Student Association, Native American Student Association, Women's Empowerment League, Black Student Alliance, and Right to Life.
There are over one million alumni of Jesuit universities in the United States alone." Bill Rancic, of the Apprentice, was chosen by Donald Trump for his openness to creativity and ability to remain respectful during trivial arguments. He claims to have learned this trait here at Loyola University Chicago. The medical School and hospital also maintains the religious standards that were established for the order. They were more than happy to record lectures for students who have religious obligations that conflict with classes, as well as rearrange clinical and lab times.
This unique ability to remain the thrust of our society’s elite for hundreds of years is what makes the Jesuits the most important contribution.

Read more!

Hooka

Hooka

Made from
Agizilik (Mouthpiece). Mouthpieces, were generally carved out of the top quality amber. Amber NO=germs.
Lule the top
Marpuc (the tube)
Govde glass bubble Handcraft decorated with floral motifs. Silver or Crystal.

The hookah = physics and chemistry, things like pressure changes, energy transfers, conduction and convection, and fuel consumption, water filtration system.

Describe how it works.

Tobacco, coals, production
Iranian tobacco = Strong and is washed several times
Only oak charcoal was used until the mid 19th century
Some people added pomegranate juice or rose oil (more falvor)
Massall (molasses) is the tobacco used in smoking the Nargile. Is a blend of international leaves, molasses extracted from sugarcane, and mashed up fruit pulp
The usage of Massal, of Egypt, was introduced with the Ottoman occupation by the beginnings of the 19th century.
The Egyptians named it Gouza due to the name of coconut fruit in Arabic. This was how it was originally smoked. with a coconut and reeds.
The story goes initially there was a water pipe to cool the regular tobacco leaves. But the art began when a lover of smoking the nargile was making a bowl after dinner. He had molasses (a staple of the times as a dessert) and mixed this with the tobacco to make it sticky and added texture. The science began then.
added flavors to the massal like apple and other fruits. The target of these companies was to attract the cigarette smokers.
Strawberry, mint, apricot rose, cappuccino, mango, apple,
The coals are now treated with gunpowder to better facilitate their burning.
The raised underside of the coal has been the latest innovation in the technological realm.


Art
It became so popular and fashionable in the 19th century that it became the thing to be photographed with one, it was also very popular for afternoon tea and intellectual gatherings. It suffered a decline with the use of cigarettes.
The Turkish water pipe is no longer at the center of Istanbul’s social and political life, but the men who gather each day—and the scatterings of women who joint them. Still consider it one of life’s pleasures.
A 71 year old named Ismet Ertep said it best, “Cigaretts are for Nervous people, competitive people , people on the run. When you smoke a nargile, you have time to think. It teaches you patience and tolerance, and gives you an appreciation of good company. Nargile smokers have much more balanced approach to life than cigarette smokers.”
No ETOH is served, as is traditional in nargile cafes, and smokers usually sip coffee as they puff.
The grinds of the Turkish coffee leave a mellow flavor in your mouth. (tell personal experience)
Older = strong Turkish tobacco grown near Syrian borders while the younger = aromatic apple and cherry blends imported from Egypt and Bahrain. I prefer the mango flavored ones form Egypt.
It takes about an hour to smoke a pipe full of fruit tobacco; it can take up to 2 hours for the stronger stuff.
The smoke is noticeably cooler they cigarette smoke, and it is lightly intoxicating.
It was used for relaxing the day’s stress away with friends and relatives.


History
introduced to turkey from either India or Persia (the word Nargile is Persian post 500 yrs.)
Until recently all coffee shops had special seating for Nargile smokers
An advanced nargile smoker may spend up to 3 hours over the ceremony
Most smokers actually kept his personal nargile at the coffee shops
Some carry a silver mouthpieces.
Some bring their own tobacco, and would only let certain waiters set it up when they came to smoke.
Fewer than a dozen nargile salon s are left in Istanbul, when their were thousands during the early 17th century.
Sultans used smoke to smoke a special mixture of opium, perfume, and crushed pearls (this is in contrast to the American fallacy as I mention later. The opium is wetter and mushier.
Orientalist (post Neapolian end of the 1700’s) began to depict the water pipes as artistic artifacts this lasted until the mid 1900’s.
Some famous paintings were by: Rudolf Ottenfeld, Eugene Delacroix, Paul-Desire Trouillebert, Jean-August Dominique Ingres, Ange Tissier,
Jean-Leon Gerome = The last painting called Bashi-Bazouk Chieftain featured a chieftain of mercenarily troops of the Ottoman Empire. He had a pleated skirt showing him to be of the Balkan region. These skirts are still worn today as ceremonial dress in the Greek military. Gerome’s painting was so accurate in recording details that scholars used them as ethnological records.
The Hookah (Egyptian)
The Nargile (Lebanese)

Narcotics
Common Misconception is that in American is that the hookah is associated with the smoking of Weed.
Theoretically it can be used for this purpose mechanically it is not reasonable.
It will degrade the quality and texture of the smoke and will not be as clean burning as the moist Shisha.
Not moist therefore it will burn faster.
It is not a bong.


Tips
Put ice in the glass base of the hookah gets the water cold before smoking. = Smoother
Mixing lemon juice, or other flavored water in the base to enhance the taste.
Some smoke it like a cigar and others like a cigarette
Add wine for a sweeter taste.
Wrap the foil with the shiny side down. It will retain more heat from the coal
Mixing other flavors with mint enhances the “menthol” flavor
Blow the smoke from the base so it does not collect and become stale.
Place the hose in the freezer for 20 min before smoking it will be extras smooth.

Read more!

Pityrosporum ovale, and dandruff

Pityrosporum ovale
Inflammation
Some shampoos slow down the production of skin cells; others remove the cell overgrowth and keep the dead cells from clumping together and/or reduce the inflammation on the scalp.

These OTC products include salicylic acid-based shampoos (such as X-Seb T and Sebulex), as well as those containing selenium sulfide (Selsun Blue), pyrithione zinc (Head & Shoulders), tar (Neutrogena T/Gel), and the antifungal ketoconazole (Nizoral A-D).
"Some people find that using two different types of shampoo -- for example, alternating a tar shampoo with a non-tar shampoo -- works best," says Beutner.

For particularly stubborn cases, your doctor may recommend a more potent dandruff shampoo, such as a prescription-strength ketoconazole product, or a prescription shampoo containing cortisone-type medicine.
Shampoo frequently. No matter what dandruff shampoo you choose, use it as often as once a day, says Shupack. Rub it into the hair thoroughly, leave the lather on for several minutes before rinsing, relather, and rinse again.
Let the sun shine. Exposure to ultraviolet light could have an anti-inflammatory effect when dandruff is present, which may explain why dandruff is less common in summer. Even so, the sun's benefits may be limited since the hair acts as a natural sunscreen.
Dandruff is thought to be caused by a form of a skin condition called eczema, which causes increased shedding of normal scalp skin cells.

Your scalp can be either excessively dry or oily.
If an antidandruff shampoo helps stop dandruff for a while but the dandruff problem returns, rotate shampoos.

Rub your scalp. When you wash your hair, lather once, rinse, then lather a second time and rub your scalp vigorously as you shampoo. This will help dislodge excess cells. Be careful not to rub so energetically that you damage your scalp.
Let it soak. After you lather the second time, let the medicated shampoo sit on your head for 5 minutes. This will give the antidandruff shampoo time to work.
seborrheic dermatitis. It's a form of eczema that mostly affects people with oily or waxy skin
The shampoos should be used at least twice a week but can be used daily if needed.
It's not just the brand on the bottle that makes a dandruff shampoo. Many contain tar, salicylic acid, selenium sulfide, sulfur, and pyrithione zinc -- ingredients that give the shampoos their punch. They don't work forever, though. Once you notice that your shampoo is no longer doing the trick, switch to another type. When that one ceases to offer results, switch to another, or go back to the first one.
Shampoos containing the yeast-fighter ketaconazole could do the job, since yeast may be the cause of your dandruff.
Then there are prescription cortisone creams and lotions. Over-the-counter hydrocortisone creams or ointments could also work. But be sure to work with your doctor to circumvent damage to skin and stretch marks, or a rebound effect, in which the dandruff returns as soon as you stop using the cortisone.
The FDA has approved only five active ingredients as safe and effective for treating dandruff: coal-tar preparations, pyrithione zinc, salicylic acid, selenium sulfide, and sulfur (the FDA also recognizes a combination of salicylic acid and sulfur as an effective preparation). All other substances have been banned as active ingredients in dandruff shampoos, so read the label.

Most doctors recommend that dandruff sufferers use a medicated shampoo daily, leaving the lather on for at least 10 minutes. Be sure to rinse thoroughly; shampoo and soap residue can actually aggravate skin problems. After your dandruff has cleared up, use the medicated shampoo no more than once or twice a week, because it is too harsh for daily use. When possible, let your hair dry naturally instead of blowing it dry.
Brushing your hair with a natural-bristle brush can also prove beneficial. Brush your hair from your scalp outward with steady, firm strokes. This will carry oil from your scalp, where it can cause dandruff, along the hair strands, which need the oil to stay shiny and healthy.
Sometimes dandruff is confused with dry skin (flaking caused by peeling sunburn on the scalp), or psoriasis, a chronic skin disease that causes fairly prominent scaling.

I'd recommend using a dandruff shampoo containing the active ingredient pyrithione zinc (such as Head and Shoulders, Denorex, or Pert Plus Dandruff Shampoo). Other such shampoos (for example, Selsun Blue) contain the active ingredient selenium sulfide, which is equally effective but can be more irritating to the skin.
Don't stop using the shampoo when the dandruff clears up. You'll need to continue using it twice a week to suppress the flaking.

Read more!

Critical Thinking: Acting Towards and Within Simultaneously

Critical Thinking:
Acting Towards and Within Simultaneously

InfiniumEtAl
December 9, 2004

“Critical thinking, or reflection, is the courage to make the truth of our own presumptions and the realm of our own goals into the things that most deserve to be called into question.”[1] If we fail to critically think, and thus apply only calculative thinking, we have set ourselves into a trap. This trap is due to us only asking philosophical questions, and we are at risk of confining critical thought into calculative thought. We can break this circle by defining critical thinking and asking why we need to think critically. We must allow them to interact, and check one another. To think critically we must perform in a manner towards critical thinking and simultaneously act within critical thinking.

The memorial address is a perfect example of the courage Heidegger himself speaks of, the speeches interaction between critical thinking and calculative thinking is purulent exudate filled with the very elements required to meditatively think. It asks not only how do you think critically but also why you think critically.
We must define the difference between critical thinking and calculative thinking in order to utilize them correctly. Critical thinking is not calculative thinking, which is simply planning and computations, it never stops and is without reflection. On the other hand meditative thinking is reflective in nature. Its very essence is to merge concepts, and not allow calculative thinking to dominate or control in hegemonic fashions, it is to shatter the actions of fallowness.
It is essential to slide away from Veritas, or what we feel are the only true facts in front of us, and move towards Alethia, or the new exposed options and facts. We must never let ourselves stop this mode of thinking or we will fall back into calculative thinking. The worst part is that we will not even be aware that we have fallen back into calculative thought. It will blanket our thoughts and actions just as the hegemonic empires we live within do. We must pierce the shields that block us from being truly free. We must realize that these shields, which we are told block the harmfulness of what they are concealing, are in fact protecting those dominating and controlling us by forcing us to accept that the options they offer us are the true free-will choices and not the only available options. This understanding of what dominates us should be enough to make one realize that they must break free. However, being that we have been educated in a manner congruent with calculative thought, and that we are mired in it, I will elaborate on why we must think critically.
By relating critical thinking to a virus we can readily answer the above related questions and see its relationship to veritas while understanding its true essence and potential pathology. Armed with these answers it will be apparent why we must think critically.
To clarify, we must think critically at all times. More importantly, we must realize why it is important to think critically. We will always be in a state of flux trapped between the imposed conditions upon us and attempting to pull away and think for ourselves. If one realized and truly understands the mechanisms of Veritas one can understand how to break free from its bondage. Veritas is dependant on a number of elements. Veritas will not budge when pushed against. Veritas is the trickiest of all for it is dynamic and alive; it changes with the times and remembers how we attempted to circumvent it centuries ago. It is a creative and a powerful force. We can never underestimate its power and control. That being stated how can we defeat it, and why is thinking critically of the utmost importance in the respect of breaking free from the prison of veritas?
Calculative thinking surrounds us. It is the way we are educated. It is in the way we do research, the way we read, and the way we enjoy life. It is constantly attempting to get inside us and dominate our minds and machinery. More specifically, in relation to technical devices, yet correlated to education and our informatics way of life, “We can affirm the unavoidable use of technical devices, and also deny them the right to dominate us, and so warp, confuse, and lay waste our nature.”[2]Once it gets inside us (sadly this happens at an early age) it mimics and deceives us into not recognizing its presence. It also forces us to perpetuate its existence and help it survive at all costs. It fools us into becoming an advocate for it by concealing other options that abounds us. Critical thinking gives us options to choose from, and we lead happy lives. However, these options are false. The choices may be correct; in fact they are correct most of the time, yet, this is one of its methods of fooling us: Its concealment of other options.
We must be careful in attempting to proclaim that we know what the other options are as this is still residing within calculative thought. “Its ontologically prior spatialization of being, that is, by its reduction of knowledge to a material and gridded space to be ‘conquered’ and ‘settled’.”[3]To combat this we must only accept that we need to contemplate each and every occasion that arises and demand to break free from the circle of choices, within that very moment. While also taking into account the previous histories and prejudices we bring to the interpretation. We must simply open up other avenues and dissect each and every one. Some may be new and useful options while others may be dead trails leading nowhere. However, we must travel down them all if we want to accept that we have broken out of the cycle.
Occasionally, we can be fooled twice by calculative thinking. We feel we have found new options and are enmeshed within calculative thought when all we are really doing is cherry picking from the elements veritas has given us. If we look at all the options around us that give us new choices we can combat this act of cherry picking, which is an element of the vicious circle. However, seeing that we reside in reality, it is impossible to contemplate each and every path that has a potential for traveling down. How can we then remain meditative thinkers? We remain meditative thinkers by contemplating ideas that pertain to the here and now, by exposing our prejudices that have led us to this path, and understanding how we look at the situation.
We must first muster the courage to think critically. We must accept that we are being dominated. We need to expose the assumptions of the situation and simultaneously demand to know if we are simply seeing these assumptions because we are assuming these things as an external listener. We must reevaluate our solutions and determine if we are truly unconcealed or perhaps we are unconcealed because we cherry picked elements that were imposed on us. Were our interpretations of the situation dominated in a concealed manner by the facts imposed upon us? We can ask how to think critically and why we must think critically. However, the complexities of the never-ending process will be more apparent if I elaborate on this process by discussing a movie.
A documentary was made on ‘The Weather Underground’. They were a revolutionary group formed in the 70’s to combat racism and the Vietnam conflict. They were formed from a student group and eventually evolved right off the campus becoming an independent entity. They primarily were involved in exposing those who where responsible to the public via bombings and other actions. David Gilbert was one of the active members of The Weather Underground as it made its transition from the campus to the broader scope of actions it finally became known for. The documentary interview was a thirty minute clip taken in 1998 in prison. David had been involved in a Brinks truck robbery that involved two murders. He will be up for parole in 2065.
David Gilbert remarks that a revolution means turning over. In his definition and explanation he remarks that he was arrogant in believing that his “turning over” was the only correct choice. Throughout the interview he is consistent in explaining his view from the various angles of his life. If we examine the various things that he speaks of, like why he became a revolutionary, how he viewed his actions, and how he feels currently, we can readily see that he has fallen into a trap of calculative thinking while making every attempt to be a critical thinker.
In the beginning, David Gilbert was a typical citizen. He was educated within a system ingrained with calculative thought. He reacted towards the world with a predefined set of actions and responses. He believed in a democracy for all. However, when the civil rights movement came knocking on his door he began to rethink his position to the happenings around him. He felt that it was his duty to actively question and engage the power structure that framed his life. He redefined his way of life to consistently shake the moral conscious of Americans. He wanted to bring forward the issues of hegemony to the alethia suppressed society. But, he failed to realize that he did not fully understand the nature of the regime and its power. This lack of understanding denied him the chance to combat it effectively. He was cherry picking the elements he chose to believe in and the hegemonic system supplied choices to him while making him believe that he was in fact meditative in thought.
What began as an amazing journey from critical thinking to a meditative approach on life began to spiral out of control. David remarks that the women who sided with the revolution were entering it to become liberated as well as help ‘The Weather Underground’ liberate society. Nevertheless, the women were victims of dominance. They justly felt like they were capable of raising issues in a male dominated cause. They were in truth merely elements of the macho mood, and treated as sexual objects under the guise of complacency.
Currently David feels good about having the chance to cut off pieces of the arms of the octopus that was soaking up money under the protective umbrella of democracy. He is enraged that he is the one in jail as apposed to those who were actually perpetuating the war against racism and liberation via violence. He feels that the corporations are the ones who should be in jail not himself. Concurrently, David was applying humanitarian ideals to resolve issues. He was raising constructive criticism on the government, their power, and the era, but, he had to do this without jockeying for power himself. For otherwise he would be displaying the actions of those he was trying to appose. How did he expect to command and take power without being democratic himself? The sad truth was that he was acting as our government but on a smaller scale.
In retrospect, David Gilbert thought he was acting in a manner congruent with meditative forethought. When in reality he was suppressed by critical thinking and didn’t even realize it due to being caught up in the moment. But, in order for me to bring these issues to light I must ask this very question of myself. Perhaps the cover has been pulled over my eyes early on by the forces of calculative thinking.
I may have gone through this entire process and exposed David’s assumptions, and his prejudices, yet, if I don’t question my motives at this very moment in my personal history I may miss my impositions and prejudices that I am no doubt imposing on this material. Without exposing my history, I have a potential to make stronger the case for calculative thinking. Perhaps, I have picked out the elements of this documentary that pique my interests. I would then be spinning in a circle that purely defines calculative thought. Or maybe I am not actually opening the door to a universe of pathways for me to contemplate and find new meanings. I may dream of being within a world where I am a continual meditative thinker, yet despite my generalizations I may be drunk with power over his words and simply spinning in a never-ending circle. For, “In fact power produces; it produces reality; it produces domains of objects and rituals of truth.”[4]
I could also be imposing restrictions on this text well before I even heard a word from David Gilbert. I certainly heard of revolutionaries before, was I considering David to be just another one of these self-righteous individuals with a fancy justification for their actions? Was I placing my inadequate knowledge base on the statements he made of women and revolution? These are only some of the specifics that must be answered before I can determine if I am actually participating in meditative thinking.
In response to this question I can actually answer yes and simultaneously no. For just as one who is in love is moving towards love and is within love concurrently. So too I have participated in critical thinking and moved towards it simultaneously. I do not have a destination. For when I reach my destination I have thus stopped acting in the manner that has brought me towards it. If one stops and tries to look at all angles they are also switching from being towards and within simultaneously to only towards.
I have begun the interpretation of determining if I am actually imposing my personal attributes on the subject I am attempting to interpret, or if perhaps they are truly unconcealed in the proper manner of meditative thinking? I may have exposed certain assumptions only because I am assuming these things as a listener and this may have been not what David did or was thinking at all. Thus in conclusion, I can only state that in relation to the question of whether I have, in fact, thought critically of David Gilbert I can answer that I made only an attempt to depart from the vicious cycle of critical thinking. In the process of questioning I have acted towards movement of meditative thinking and simultaneously acted in a manner resembling meditative thinking. We must remember that Heidegger tells us to not sit idle. He tells us, “yet releasement toward things and openness to the mystery never happens themselves. They do not befall us accidentally. Both flourish only through persistent, courageous thinking.”[5]
[1] Martin Heidegger, Discourse on Thinking (New York: Harper Touchbooks, 1996), 56.
[2] Martin Heidegger, Discourse on Thinking (New York: Harper Touchbooks, 1996), 54.
[3] William V. Spanos, Empire of the Gaze (Unknown) 269.
[4] William V. Spanos, Empire of the Gaze (Unknown), 267
[5] Martin Heidegger, Discourse on Thinking (New York: Harper Touchbooks, 1996), 56.

Read more!

Unity Withholds Poleis Degeneration

Unity Witholds Poleis Degeneration

InfiniumEtAl
9-23-2004

Thesis:
Communal systems were so important to the ancient Greeks, to the extent that it defined their way of life, but what was even more interesting was the context in which the system emerged, interplayed, and then degenerated into the remnants we call democracy.



Abstract:
The ancient Greek system can be defined via vectors. The united and harmonious way of life, that defined their era, has direction as well as magnitude. The force is still propelling it through our daily affairs. The poleis concept of community was carried along the paths of history in an arduous path to what we currently call democracy. What this means in relation to the poleis of the ancients was that they led their life on a wave defined by their community. What this means to us is that we have some of the most spectacular outlooks on life due to the great thinkers of these times. The various city-states scattered throughout the region had different specifics regarding rule, yet they were all finitely ground in one solid principal. The concepts, inventions, and democracy that was established within this era was modified to modern standards, but it still retains the mystique the ancients gave it.


Sources:
1. Western Civilization
Sources, Images, and Interpretations
Volume I: To 1700
Dennis Sherman
Sixth Edition
McGraw Hill, N.Y.
The Ancient Greeks: Decline of the Polis By: M.I. Finley (51)

2. The Western Experience
Volume I: To the Eighteenth Century Mortimer Chambers (and others)
Eighth Edition
McGraw Hill, N.Y.
Pages 37-102
Unity Withholds Poleis Degeneration


Hermeneutical exogenesis detailing the decline of the poleis, after two centuries beginning around 800 B.C., show an equiprimordial relationship between the emergence of free government and unity of community. The magnitude of these events spanned the globe from the Indus River to Spain and Northern Africa. Many factors came in to play which eventually weakened the poleis. Yet, directionally geographical movements took precedence over all, as it defined the rest of the social interactions that led to the ultimate decline of the poleis way of life. The poleis’ crutch was the very strength that retained their way of life for so many years over such vast terrain. The sense of community was a vitality we are only beginning to realize now in our current society. The Greeks propellant into modern history was the era surrounding the poleis. Yet, it was the poleis structure that eventually led to its demise. Degeneration of the poleis occurred after a deep sense of community waned, which trailed massive shifts of the ancients geographically. Communal systems were so important to the ancient Greeks, to the extent that it defined their way of life, but what was even more interesting was the context in which the system emerged, interplayed, and then degenerated into the remnants we call democracy.
But what was this context that led to the emergence of the poleis? What made the sense of community be such a common thread throughout this part of history, and what allowed it to transcend throughout the entire region? The poleis throughout the Attican plains were home to people we call intellectual pioneers: Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, Pythagorea, Xenophone, and many others. Inventions were created, theorems defined, principals upheld, and social systems established. It was a city state that was independent of anything surrounding it. It was usually comprised of a central town with the land and villages surrounding it. The humans within were composed of citizens, females who were protected but had no voting rights, slaves, and aliens. The independence of the Poleis disallowed anyone from having rights within other poleis. They were an autochthonous people, at least until they established leagues.
The poleis were relatively small as we saw from Athens, the largest of all recorded city states, which had 35 to 45 thousand men; this was how the Athenians recorded it. Historians have added the women and the rest of those residing within these states; we see that the largest city state had between 200 thousand and 300 thousand. The evolution of self government is studied deeply as it is a rare item within historical contexts. It is also the first time this has occurred in recorded history. Between the 600 to 700 poleis that must have existed, the type of governmental control varied from severely different to just slightly different, yet this type of poleis system still was present in all of them. The systems ranged from oligarchy, royal family control, dual kingship, and democracy. The initial causation behind it all was the problem of staving civil war from occurring for the masses were within such crowded quarters for the first time in history. Once the community and creative government was created the citizens found a psychological need fulfilled. They latched on and began to refine the aspect of growth, togetherness, unity, and morals within the confines of politics. Each system was slightly different but unity of the community was the key transcending issue. The individual was a synecdochical aspect of the community. They were one and the same.
The legal codes, hegemonically defined by the type of system, were placed in the town centers, or agora, displaying the manner of interactions that was appropriate for the town’s people, a well as the interactions with other regions as we see in the case of Sparta. This is significant in the creation of the poleis as we see the citizens slowly make a trend towards self government. We also see that the tyrants helped push the poleis into place. They built many public features, and not only gave control, but showed the masses that they had the ability to grow and be strong for their own rights. This was mainly due to the growing numbers of armies that were not formal citizens, and the rich who supported them in having a voice. This is ironic as we see later the fall of the poleis was mainly due to the army’s soldiers who desired a voice, leaving the actual citizens feeling as if their communities were being jeopardized by outsiders. The hoplites, soldiers, and phalanx all had solidarity like no other. This merging of the poleis solidarity and the military solidarity became a point of tension which cracked the exterior of the community from the inside out.
The economical status also lent itself to hang on the precipice of danger. The food and monies were scarce in many of the poleis and due to this lack of necessities many poleis either purchased grain from neighbors outside the immediate city state region or siphoned off their populations via colonization. This dampened the sense of community and began the trend of breaking the sense of harmony and unity from within. The citizens were taxed to support their community although there were no major systems of finances within many of the poleis. This taxation paid for the upkeep of roads, harbors and other public areas. When a project that was out of the scope of the treasury arose they simply charged it to citizens that were capable of handling it. The citizens were happy to oblige in this type of setting yet when those who had a harmonious life together began to pay for the needs of others the system began to degenerate. The Greeks also agreed with the concept of slavery. They held that it went along with morals as long as it was done efficiently.
Slaves had an extreme participation on the rise of the poleis as well as the decline. More importantly the strength of the slaves was inversely proportional to the decline. Meaning that the slaves helped propel them into a creative environment and endure the hardships of the new system. But, the slaves also were one of the feature causes of the decline of the poleis. The slaves define one reason that invention within the area of industrialization did not occur. They were used for building purposes (within Athens) and paid the same as regular citizens. Xenophone proclaims that, “A man buys a slave to have a companion at work.” They worked side by side in all industries, including pottery, stonecutters, and shoemakers.
The Spartans solved their overpopulation problem by conquering other regions. They then used them as slaves. This led them to a powerful community that was focused on war and perfection. “To Greek philosophers, Sparta was a superb example of a “mixed” constitution, in which the king represented the element of a monarchy, the council, oligarchy, and the citizenry, a kind of democracy.”(56) Sparta actually was the first to create alliances with neighboring cities as a result of their inability to outright conquer other regions after a thirty year attempt. This is significant to the community thinking about their citizens and the needs of growth. They referred to it as the Peloponnesian League, and treated it like a democracy of cities, creating a sense of an evolved community within a whole region. The Spartans held the ultimate communal sense of all the poleis as we see that the men of Sparta would live on communes together and the women had the ability to bear a child by another man to upkeep the tradition of war. This was meant directly to focus the efforts of the community towards the ensured survival of the poleis. Sparta was also very deliberate in isolating themselves. As we see they desired to retain economical isolation with the valueless iron coin, and with their inability to be welcome to visitors as well as not really intense travelers. This is not just due to their geographical isolation but also to their psychological position on community.
Sparta had the thread of communal unity running through it. But they were also military in focus and nature. On the other side of the records of ancient Greek history, Athens was like an indecisive child. They toyed with many different systems of government. Yet this was reflective of the trends of the masses that ruled, this showed they had an amazing solidarity for they had few wars and little internal strife. Athens was also one to show they departed from an earlier monarchial system as they had codified laws dictating they were now part of a justice system and not one that relied on elders or kings. The first instance of this codification was regarding the specifics of homicide; it was distinguished between voluntary and involuntary, with the defining factor being the defilement of the community in the eyes of the gods.
We see one period that was a foreshadowing of the future decline of the poleis and may have even been the actual decline of the poleis had a poet and statesman (Solon) not drastically reformed the system and pulled it out of the whole. Athens was in a terrible economical and social crisis. Money was owed, people were owed when they ran out of money, food was scarce and the population was growing. This put the wellbeing of the poleis into jeopardy. The sense of community was waning, the people became focused on food and other issues, and the internal strife levels were raised. Solon brought about not only multiple solutions to the economical situation he also brought the entire community of Greece poleis’ together. He pushed trade far and wide and more importantly he reformed the power struggle and took sole rights away from the wealthy and gave it to the citizens. The sense of harmony was back in place, and the internal levels of unity were once again reached. These rights were eventually taken again and given to all, which led directly to the decline of the poleis. When the people became accustomed to the lifestyle that revolved around the community they were placated and happy. They interacted in a controlled and moderated fashion. The politics were set aside and the community was placed on the ‘front burner’ again.
The tyrants raised themselves up again. This time they took the form of Pisistratus. He behaved within a pattern arising regularly during this period of history and performed reforms that strengthened the communities as well as gave them a true sense of citizenship. He built temples, and public works, held festivals, and created competition. He also gave out land to those who sided with him, no doubt taken from the aristocrats who ruled in the regions he conquered. Nevertheless, he showed the people that they too can live happily within a democracy. His son continued his leadership, yet something frightened him and he began to use ‘fear tactics’ on the citizens. The placated citizens became unhappy. This rapidly led to an overthrow of him and produced changes in the polios systems that we still see today.
In a rapid crescendo Cleisthenes created a true democratic system run by the masses. He spread the authority between different regions, he had a high volume of voices echoing the various locales that held citizens effected by this system. He created it so that the common man had the potential to rise to power within this forum and bring his opinions forward. The tribes of the different regions each had a representative with each one not having the ability to dominate the floor. “Each of these ten tribe’s fought as a unit in the army, and here too, men from all over Attica, not from a single region, stood together in each tribal regiment.”(60). All these communal changes and togetherness that occurred were regardless of the individuals owning land, which was surprising for the timeframe. One of the turning points of the democratic community of Athens was when the usage of lots for political positions was initiated. This was due to the belief that it reduced corruption and angry competition and it placed each man on a podium of equality and honesty. This led over time to the diminished level of people even running for the position. Eventually the positions were simply taken by the ten elders and these men were reelected. This led to the ‘great Athenian politicians competing for the position of general.’ (61)
The masses actually held power under this system by having the ability to also ostracize someone. Although, the votes were high very high to actually work, the ostracized individual was then banished for 10 years, yet their sense of community was not diminished as they still allowed his wife and family to hold land and retain citizenship. There is even a rumor that the man who created the system was banished, Cleisthenes himself.
The Peloponnesian war and the interstate wars reduced the number of men within the poleis drastically. Just when the poleis needed the rest to rejuvenate the most they were further weakened by many small wars that lasted for years. Athens was under the rule of Sparta, for a few years, the naval system was reestablished but due to arrogance the system fell again. The Spartans were finally defeated by the Thebes and almost immediately they lost men and slaves and territory. The back and forth put a toll on the sense of community.
The last leader that was killed before the system really started to decline was in a battle that used to have soldiers in the 6 thousand range and now only had 1 thousand men in their unit, he was never replaced. Alexander the Great of Macedonia took the opportunity to take control over the Greek systems. Notably he devised a tactic to maintain control within the communities as well as retain control by keeping legal power by letting the citizens retain their sense of community. This was vital in his superiority and as we see when he died and the system failed, it was mainly due to the total sense of community lost. When he died the entire system fell in to disarray.
Some of the notable technologies that were created, as progress seems to occurs when there was happiness in the poleis, were the inspiration for philosophical thought, ontological studies, Pythagoras and numbers, The atomic theory, the rhetoric sophists, the death of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, matter and form and essence’ the physical properties and the world of nature. The production of Dramas, Tragedy’s, and Comedies which all had a theme of questions surrounding communities rose within the poleis as well, due to the greater focus on community. Historical analysis with motivations and narratives was born. The perspectives of women held a tight role over control and the issues of togetherness. The civil and military were separated. These historical changes are used everyday of every one of our lives has come about as a result of the poleis. The happiness is what allowed the poleis and creativity to succeed. But, the sense of community is what made it rampant. The force was immense and the direction of the poleis, although they have declined and dropped out of use, it is still being propelled.
The degeneration of the Poleis is readily apparent with the coupling of the definition and the historical context. The community was a vital aspect of the poleis, and when the very essence of the poleis began to ebb away so too the people relocated and caused a spiral loop downward. The sense of community actually defined the Greeks way of life. We can understand the importance of Aristotle’s words regarding the very strength of the poleis community nestled within. Humans normally want to live within a community of people sharing cultural traditions and common citizenship. (53) This system of free government emerged and paved the way for not only the beginning of our recorded history but also denatured into our current state of life.

Read more!