You are currently browsing the daily archive for October 2nd, 2007.
If you’re like me and live in fear of Alzheimer’s, you probably always keep an eye out for anything you can do to “avoid it.” Of course, there are no guarantees, but things like learning a second language or changing your routines periodically are recommended. So an article in Discovery News caught my eye today, talking about a study of elderly people that shows that those who see themselves as “self-disciplined, organized achievers” have a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Even more amazing to me is that some of the dutiful people examined after death had brain signs indicative of the disease but showed no dementia during life.
Of the people studied, those scoring the highest on the conscientious spectrum had an 89% lower chance of developing dementia than the people with the lowest scores for conscientiousness. So, get a haircut, get a real job and stop being a bum! :)
Last week I commented on the piece in the NY Times about Blackwater USA being disproportionately involved in confrontations in Iraq. A followup piece today indicates that they have been involved in 168 shootings in Iraq since 2005, and in “a vast majority of cases firing their weapons from moving vehicles without stopping to count the dead or assist the wounded.” The report was issued by the Democratic majority staff of a House committee and criticizes the State Department, as well, for helping cover up and gloss over several incidents.
This seems to confirm the suspicion that Blackwater USA has a culture of shoot-first-ask-questions-later. And as I said before, the strain is just too much for people to handle. Families in Iraq are torn apart when innocent people are killed and these security guys doing the shooting will be suffering the consequences for the rest of their lives as well.
Vote Kucinich.
