Musical Sanity Break: Glasvegas

by Nomad

I heard this song yesterday- though it isn't new (2008)- and I thought I might share it with you. The idea that personal salvation can come from something mundane as snowfall and as fleeting as a snowflake appeals to me. 

Besides it's a great song.

Ohio Police Assist Christian Pastors to Make Religious Propaganda Film

by Nomad

What could be better for a phony war on Christianity than a series of mock arrests of innocent preachers? And even better than that? Why, video taping the staged event- without bothering to tell the congregation- and uploading them to YouTube without any explanation. 
Best of all, the local sheriff and his deputies were more than ready to assist in the making of this propaganda.

During last Sunday's sermon, parishioners  at Greater Bethel Baptist Church in Akron Ohio must have been stunned and outraged as armed deputies from the Summit County Sheriff's office marched into their church.

The members of the congregation were told that the police- with a camera crew in tow- had come to arrest their pastor, Reverend Melford Elliott. Other churches in the area were scenes for more arrests, which included the Rev. Robert Golson, pastor at Prince of Peace Baptist Church; and the Rev. Vincent Peterson, pastor at Providence Baptist Church. In the video, sheriff deputies are shown handcuffing the pastors who continued to preach before placing them in the backs of patrol cars.

Little did any of the church-goers know that they were actually unpaid extras in a staged event, the making of a film, part of a project called "Defending the Faith." The website says that the goal of the dramatization is to make people more aware of what it takes for pastors to defend the Christian faith beyond preaching on Sundays. According one source:

A seven-minute YouTube video created by the KAZ radio television network documents each arrest, with the theme song to the reality legal series "Cops" playing in the background. In each arrest, sheriff's deputies enter the church with the KAZ film crew in tow, approaching the pulpit during the pastor's sermon and telling him he is under arrest for "defending the faith." The pastors go willingly, but often respond by saying they will continue defending their Christian faith until they die.

After the mock arrests, Edra Frazier, marketing coordinator for the project explained to members of the church that the whole thing had been the making of a marketing tool.

Sheriff Steve Barry and his deputies had agreed to participate. Deputies on the video gave realistic interviews, portraying themselves as conflicted about arresting the pastors. It' all very authentic and convincing.
One thing they had forgotten to mention to the police. As part of the marketing, however, the video of the arrests were immediately uploaded with any explanatory information that the events were simulated arrests. 

WTF: Spiderman Unleashes Butterfly Attack on Bulgarian Parliament

by Nomad

A odd bit of news from Bulgaria.

Now if this news story doesn't convince you that the world of politics is a strange place, nothing will.

Bulgaria news is reporting:

A man wearing a Spiderman mask released five boxes of butterflies in a corridor of Bulgaria’s Parliament on March 6 2014. Reporters in Parliament said that the man refused to answer questions about his actions as he tried to leave the building. He was held by security guards.

According to Bulgarian media, it was probably more related to a promotional stunt related to a television show rather than a political statement

The man apparently gained access with the proper permission from Socialist Party MP Petar Kurumbashev. The Parliament member denied knowing anything about the butterfly stunt.

Snezhana Dukova, an MP for centre-right opposition GERB, expressed outrage at the incident, saying that Parliament was not a terrarium.

Krassimir Velchev, also of GERB, said that “I also love animals, they are very beautiful, but every animal should know its place. I love lions and pumas too, but does this mean that someone should bring them to Parliament?”

And most Americans think the law of the jungle only applied to the US Congress. If the same thing happened in Washington, it would be up to Rep. Darrell Issa to launch another expensive but pointless investigation to find out how much did Obama know about the butterfly scandal and when did he know it. 

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Cure for Hepatitis C: The Politics and Profits behind a Breakthrough

by Nomad

A breakthrough in curing a silent killer, Hepatitis C, should mean that patients will have a new lease on life. But unless they are extraordinarily wealthy or they  live in a state that expanded Medicaid in the wake of the Affordable Care Act, these people will be at the mercy of the profit-driven free market. So for most of the uninsured or under-insured Americans, it will mean no cure at all.

Good News 

Even for researchers who are loathe to use the word "cure," there's no question that the news is very good,

The Denver Post is reporting of a breakthrough drug for hepatitis C in clinical trials at the University of Colorado Hospital. This new anti-viral is being called the blockbuster cure for patients who have long had to endure debilitating treatment for this liver-destroying disease.

Astoundingly, Sovaldi, a daily-dose pill manufactured by California-based Gilead Sciences Inc., has cured about 90 percent of patients in only 12 weeks when used with older drugs, studies nationwide have found.

In other words, it's a very nearly the cure for a killer. Not life-long treatment like the HIV drug therapy, but an actual eradication of the affliction. 

A big big deal.

Silent Killer of the Baby Boomers
This is a disease that infects an estimated 150–200 million people around the world. In the US the majority of the estimated 3.2 million people with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) are baby boomer adults. Seventy-three percent of hepatitis C deaths were reported among those 45 to 64 years old.
For every 100 people who contract the virus, 75 will develop chronic infection. About 5 to 20 will develop cirrhosis over the next 20 to 30 years. Between 1 and 5 will die of cirrhosis and liver cancer. Meaning, more than 350 000 people die every year from hepatitis C-related liver diseases. The disease is found worldwide with some countries having chronic infection rates as high as 5% and above.

One of the particularly dangerous aspects of the disease is its insidious nature. Most of those infected with the virus do not know that they have it, which means they could easily be spreading it to others via exposure to blood—or, occasionally, sexual contact. The main mode of transmission in countries with infection rates above 5% is attributed to unsafe injections using contaminated equipment.

"In almost every country it is a significant public health problem, points out Charles Gore, president of the World Hepatitis Alliance, "and, in some, such as Egypt, which has 10% to 15% of its population living with hepatitis C, and Vietnam, where the prevalence of hepatitis B is 15% to 20%, it is simply overwhelming."

So curing this disease is unquestionably a great triumph for science. It's something that the researchers should be proud of. 

There is however one problem.

Now...The Bad News

Sovaldi was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last December, but it won't be cheap. Sovaldi costs $1,000 a day and that adds up to staggering $84,000 for a 12-week supply.

Flying the Flags: Is Support for a Hate Group Protected Free Speech?

by Nomad

A Boca Raton man flies the flags of the Confederacy and the KKK over his home. A recruitment sign along with a noose are also features in his front yard. Is this really free speech, protected by the Constitution or symbols meant to intimidate black Americans and other minorities?

Does freedom of speech include the freedom to demonstrate open support for a racist hate group? According to one west Boca Raton Florida man, it certainly does.  "Mr. Hayes" - the only name he would give-   hoisted both the KKK and confederate flag over his mobile home a couple weeks ago. He has also posted a sign recruiting new members.  

Hayes told  the reporter that he had moved to Florida from New York about four years ago.  Although the KKK has always had a violent history against blacks and other minorities, Hayes says he doesn't condone such acts. Nevertheless, he does think his right to free speech allows him to hang a noose in his front yard.