Hi! My name is Isaac Privett and here I am getting out into the world, exploring new things, and establishing the identity I will have for the rest of my life. I am starting this blog to inform people about the trials and tribulations of growing up in todays world and making decisions that will affect me for years to come.

:: Sunday, February 25, 2007 ::

Are you a little too hairy?

This is off Reuters.com

Spearmint tea may help treat excess body hair

NEW YORK - A few mugs of spearmint tea could help women combat excess facial and body hair, Turkish researchers report.

Women with excess body hair, a condition known as hirsutism, who drank two cups of the herbal tea a day for five days showed significant reductions in their levels of free testosterone, Dr. Mehmet Numan Tamer and colleagues from Suleyman Demirel University in Isparta report.

Typical treatments for hirsutism target excess levels of male hormones, and include oral contraceptives to prevent the production of these hormones or drug treatment to block the body's response to them, Tamer and his team point out in the journal Phytotherapy Research.

The researchers previously noted that drinking peppermint tea seemed to lower the libido in some men, which prompted them to investigate spearmint as an anti-hirsutism treatment. Hirsutism is characterized by excessive hair growth on the face, breasts and belly, and affects about 5 percent of women. It is thought to be related to the body's level of androgens (male hormones).

The researchers had 21 women with hirsutism drink a tea prepared from a heaping teaspoon of dried spearmint leaves twice daily. Twelve of the women had polycystic ovary syndrome, while the rest had hirsutism with known cause.

(Continues)

So now you can forget about the laser hair removal ladies. The solution is just eat tons of spearmint! I wouldn't suggest any guys trying the spearmint thing because it probably would give you the libido of a male panda bear.

Labels: News

:: American-N-Canada 12:01 PM [+] ::
...

Airport security get to mimic Superman

This is off of Reuters.com

U.S. airport debuts controversial X-ray scanner

PHOENIX (Reuters) - U.S. authorities began testing a controversial new X-ray machine to screen air passengers for weapons in Phoenix on Friday, which critics likened to a "virtual strip search."

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration rolled out an X-ray machine that uses so-called "backscatter" technology at one checkpoint at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The machine peers beneath passengers' clothes to search for hidden explosives and weapons.

The TSA will test the machine in Phoenix for 60-90 days before deploying machines in Los Angeles and New York's John F. Kennedy Airport for additional testing by the end of the year.

"Everyday the bad guys are working and improving their tools. We need to continue working to improve ours and introducing this technology is part of that work," TSA regional spokesman Nico Melendez told Reuters.

Privacy groups and the American Civil Liberties Union have labeled the new screening a "virtual strip search" that could be abused.

But TSA officials said Friday they had worked with industry specialists to blur any images of body parts generated by the scan, and likened the resulting picture to a "chalk outline" of a person.

(Continues)

That is right. Random people that work for the airport get to have x-ray vision. I am not sure how I feel about this. The article says that they have made the machine to blur enough to where no private parts are showing, but I am not sure I am inclined to believe them. Also, what about potential for abuse. I can see huge potential. Before we know it, we are going to see websites spring up with these pictures all over the internet.

Labels: News

:: American-N-Canada 3:24 PM [+] ::
...

Give me a break

This is off CNN.com

FDA approves ADHD drug Vyvanse

The Food and Drug Administration approved Vyvanse, also known as lisdexamfetamine, agency spokeswoman Susan Cruzan said. The drug is made by Shire PLC.

Shire hopes the drug will extend its lucrative ADHD franchise once its top-selling Adderall XR begins facing competition from lower-priced generic versions in 2009. Shire plans to move patients from the older to the newer drug at the time, company spokesman Matt Cabrey said this week.

Shire said it tried to limit the drug's potential for misuse. It tested the drug on adults with a history of abusing stimulants to assess its "likeability." Results suggest the drug delays the onset and limits the intensity of amphetamine-like effects, the company said.

Vyvanse works by gradually releasing its active ingredient, d-amphetamine, after the drug has been swallowed and comes into contact with enzymes in the digestive tract.

Unless it's swallowed, Vyvanse remains inactive. Shire believes that will curtail its potential for abuse by users who snort or inject crushed pills.

(Continues)

First of all, I am going to just come out and say that ADD and ADHD are the two biggest crocks in modern medicine. They are just a lame excuse for people to not act like everyone else. The real problem is that people don't want to take control of their own actions but rather blame it on some phantom disorder.

Second, I guess they need a new drug for all the users out there to have fun with. Sure they made it to where you have to swallow it to get the effects, but they also made it a long lasting drug. Do they only think that people snort pills? I work in the restaurant industry. The percentage of people who work in that industry doing drugs is amazing. Most of them pop the pills at work. They don't snort it off the counter. When are they going to come out with a pill that makes people space out for a whole day until it is time to go to sleep? That way they won't have to do anything but pop a pill in the day time and sleep at night. Then they can't pretend anything is wrong with them until they start complaining about some bad dream disorder.

Labels: News

:: American-N-Canada 1:13 AM [+] ::
...

Why isn't this getting more coverage?

From Reuters.com

U.S. family immigrant centers like prisons: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Family detention centers for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers in the United States are like prisons, where residents face harsh discipline and lack adequate health care, two advocacy groups said on Thursday.

The Women's Commission for Refugee Women & Children and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service surveyed facilities in Texas and Pennsylvania that can hold up to 600. Most of those held there are mothers and children.

"(The) Homeland Security (Department) has to look for alternative models," said Michelle Brane, director of the Women's Commission. "Families should not be split or put in something that looks like a prison."

One of the facilities, the Don Hutto Residential Center in Texas, can house 512 people. Before it opened last year, most of the families were either released from detention or separated and detained individually, the report said.

It is operated by Corrections Corporation of America under contract with Williamson County, Texas.

The center was opened in response to demands by the U.S. Congress for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to stop separating families and to seek alternative programs.

ICE said that detention facilities maintain safe, secure and humane conditions

(Continues)

Apparently these facilities are furnished with razor wire and fenced cells. This is becoming a human rights issue, in my opinion. Yet, very little is being reported about it in the main news entities. I have mixed feelings about illegal immigration. I feel for these people because most are just coming here to have a better life. However, I also think there needs to be an orderly admittance where we can keep track of who exactly we are letting in.

What we are doing now is a disgrace. This is the United States of America. We have one of the best countries in the entire world to live. We are renowned for the freedoms that we are allowed to take for granted. I am proud to be an American but I am not proud about how we are treating these people.

Labels: News

:: American-N-Canada 8:37 PM [+] ::
...

Please No...

Off CNN.com

Is it finally Scorsese's turn?

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Among the five Academy Award directing nominees, one name seems to be on everyone's lips: Martin Scorsese.

Nominated five times previously for best director since the 1980 masterpiece "Raging Bull," Scorsese has gone home a loser each year.

With Scorsese's sixth directing nomination, this one for his return to the vivid and violent crime genre on "The Departed," seemingly everyone in Hollywood figures he finally will have his Oscar come Sunday. (Watch Hollywood's history of Oscar IOUs )

Not that he is up against a bunch of slouches. His formidable competition includes Clint Eastwood, who beat him for the directing Oscar two years ago and is nominated this time for the World War II saga "Letters From Iwo Jima."

Also nominated are two British filmmakers, Stephen Frears for the insightful palace drama "The Queen" and Paul Greengrass for the September 11 chronicle "United 93," and Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for the sprawling ensemble tale "Babel." (Do you think Scorsese will win? Play our inside the envelope game.)

Scorsese has made no secret over the years that he would like to have that Oscar trophy. Contemporaries of his stature, such as Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola, have long since won theirs.

(Continues)

I, for one, hope he doesn't get the directing award. Before you start to scream and shout, I actually really liked The Departed. The only thing about it is that it wasn't anything all that impressive from a directing standpoint. The acting was wonderful. The cinematography and the rest wasn't anything to rave about. Maybe next time Scorsese. Who am I kidding? It isn't really about who deserves to win what anyway. It is all politics.

Labels: News

:: American-N-Canada 8:26 PM [+] ::
...

Britney Melt Down

This off CNN.com

Being 25 in the fast lane lands Spears in rehab

NEW YORK, New York (AP) -- Britney Spears has been ridiculed for everything from her 55-hour first marriage to backup-dancer second husband and her recent pantyless partying escapades.

Now that she's entered rehab, though, the joke is over.

This is a new frontier -- even for Spears, whose well-documented gaffes and personal traumas have played out in excruciatingly public fashion, including photos published of Spears driving with her son Sean Preston on her lap and another time almost dropping him.

Spears' manager, Larry Rudolph, told People magazine's Web site that Spears had voluntarily checked herself into an undisclosed treatment facility. (Watch signs that Spears was in need of help )

"We ask that the media respect her privacy as well as those of her family and friends at this time," Rudolph was quoted as saying.

He didn't disclose what substance she was trying to leave behind.

You know, I feel sorry for this poor woman. She obviously is going through a lot right now. She is trying to cope but the public continues to look with their prying eyes. Everyone wants to know what crazy thing she will do next. The sad part is that her heart is obviously broken. All this behavior is no different from anything that most people go through after breaking up with someone they love. I think we all should give her some space and let her properly grieve. Unfortunately, it probably won't happen.

Labels: News

:: American-N-Canada 11:31 PM [+] ::
...

In the News Today

Today is President's Day and it is a relatively slow news day. However, there are a few things of interest happening around the world. From CNN.com:

N.J. civil unions 'big giant step forward,' backers say

TEANECK, New Jersey (AP) -- Shortly after midnight, Steven Goldstein and Daniel Gross renewed their vows as New Jersey became the third state in the nation to offer civil unions for gay couples.

The law that took effect Monday was "a big giant step forward," said state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, a prime sponsor of the civil unions law, who hosted ceremonies in her office for couples including Goldstein and Gross.

The civil unions, which offer the legal benefits but not the title of marriage, were granted automatically to the hundreds of gay New Jersey couples who had previously been joined in civil unions or married in other states or nations.

For Goldstein and Gross, that meant reaffirming their Vermont civil union. They would have had the rights in New Jersey even without holding the midnight ceremony.

Their civil union license -- No. 1 -- was completed at 12:09 a.m. Monday by Teaneck registrar Laura Turnbull.

Elsewhere across the state, a handful of town halls opened at 12:01 a.m. to accept license applications from couples who had not been joined previously. They must wait 72 hours before they can hold civil union ceremonies -- just like with weddings -- and several planned to exchange vows early Thursday.

(continues)

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/19/nj.civil.unions.ap/index.html

I think this is a good thing for those who choose to live such a lifestyle. Some people think that same sex marriage is a danger to the broader marriage institution but I disagree. They live and work as a couple already. Everything other than a piece of paper and taxes point towards them already being married. Besides, why not let the money funnel from this new source of revenue to the rest of us?

Officials: Iranian patrol boats probe Iraqi waters

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Iranian patrol boats have increased attempts in the last week to assess defenses near Iraqi offshore oil terminals, U.S. military officials said Monday.

The Iranian actions at the northern end of the Persian Gulf have been a subject of operational briefings for U.S. military personnel in recent days, the officials said.

The officials -- who said they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter -- said that the United States does not see the Iranian moves as aggressive or provocative. The assessment is that the probes are part of an Iranian effort to raise its military presence in the gulf. (Watch boats scoot in and out of Iraqi waters )

Officials said that for several months they have seen Iranian flagged vessels attempt to approach oil terminals in the area, but activity rose last week.

On at least two days, Iranian patrol boats crossed into Iraqi waters at the northern end of the Persian Gulf, the officials said.

The boats stayed inside Iraqi waters for several minutes before Iraqi security forces told them to leave. The Iranian boats did not approach the oil terminals.

(continues)

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/02/19/iran.iraq/index.html

You know, you can call my cynical but this seems eerily familiar to the build up of information leading up to the Iraq war. It almost seems as though they are just looking for any reason to start up the jet planes and bomb Iran.

U.N. urged to take action on asteroid threat

SAN FRANCISCO, California (Reuters) -- An asteroid may come uncomfortably close to Earth in 2036 and the United Nations should assume responsibility for a space mission to deflect it, a group of astronauts, engineers and scientists said on Saturday.

Astronomers are monitoring an asteroid named Apophis, which has a 1 in 45,000 chance of striking Earth on April 13, 2036.

Although the odds of an impact by this particular asteroid are low, a recent congressional mandate for NASA to upgrade its tracking of near-Earth asteroids is expected to uncover hundreds, if not thousands of threatening space rocks in the near future, former astronaut Rusty Schweickart said.

"It's not just Apophis we're looking at. Every country is at risk. We need a set of general principles to deal with this issue," Schweickart, a member of the Apollo 9 crew that orbited the earth in March 1969, told an American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in San Francisco.

Schweickart plans to present an update next week to the U.N. Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on plans to develop a blueprint for a global response to an asteroid threat.

(Continues)

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/02/19/asteroid.deflector.reut/index.html

I really don't see why this is very news worthy. The one that is going to get is is the one that we won't see coming. Furthermore, I don't think the UN is the right person to go to for looking at the asteroid threat. They are pretty inept at solving any problem. Why would we put all our lives in their hands when it comes to saving the world?

Labels: News

:: American-N-Canada 7:46 PM [+] ::
...