Wednesday, October 02, 2019

monks and brutal dictators reborn as "Democratic dictatorial heads of state" ?

"when people become angry enough or desperate enough, sometimes they’ll support crazies who would never attract a crowd in normal circumstances."

 corruption  during Boris Yeltsin and  ordinary russians suffering Brought Putin
60+ years  of  Congress rule and corruption brought narendra moDi 
Ditto Najib Razak's corruption is the main reason  malaysians  elected Mahathir

People's democratic dictatorship   ( which is pretty Oxymoronic)
(simplified Chinese: 人民民主专政; traditional Chinese: 人民民主專政; pinyin: Rénmín Mínzhǔ Zhuānzhèng) is a phrase incorporated into the Constitution of the People's Republic of China by Mao Zedong, the then leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC).[1] The concept, and form of government, is similar to that of people's democracy, which was implemented in a number of Central and Eastern European Communist-controlled states under the guidance of the Soviet Union.
The premise of the "People's democratic dictatorship" is that the CPC and state represent and act on behalf of the people, but in the preservation of the dictatorship of the proletariat, possess and may use powers against reactionary forces.[2] Implicit in the concept of the people's democratic dictatorship is the notion that dictatorial control by the party is necessary to prevent the government from collapsing into a "dictatorship of the bourgeoisie", a liberal democracy, which, it is feared, would mean politicians acting in the interest of the bourgeoisie.

 Russia 
Rasputin reborn as Putin
India  Narendra, Swami Vivekananda reborn as  Narendra Modi !
Nigeria  The  first Dictator  Buhari elected  as President  in democratic elections

 malaysia  former PM Mahathir mohamad back in saddle
Burma


How Dictators Come To Power In A Democracy

The rise of a sometimes violent anti-Muslim movement has tarnished Burma’s transition from a military dictatorship toward democracy. But the country’s hard-line nationalists now find themselves isolated.
Members of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) have openly criticized the most prominent group responsible for spreading Islamophobia. And the country’s officially sanctioned council of monks this week declared that the group — the Organization for the Protection of Race and Religion, known by the Burmese-language initials Ma Ba Tha — should be disbanded. Could Burma finally be squaring up to its bullying Buddhists?


Monica Mark in Abuja and David Smith in Lagos

Wed 1 Apr 2015 15.24 EDTFirst published on Wed 1 Apr 2015 14.39 EDT
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Supporters of Muhammadu Buhari
 Supporters of Muhammadu Buhari celebrate his election triumph in Lagos on Wednesday. The former dictator’s campaign centred around his image as a born-again democrat. Photograph: Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images
When Ladi Netimah heard the news that Muhammadu Buhari had won the historic elections in Nigeria this week, she didn’t think about how she had languished in a jail cell for almost four years when his military regime cracked down on human rights in the early 1980s.

Instead, Netimah, one of hundreds jailed by Buhari during his rule as an iron-fisted dictator, was thrilled for her former tormentor.

“I forgave him years and years ago,” said the businesswoman, whose jail sentence was imposed by a secret military tribunal after she broke a law forbidding civil servants from running private businesses. “I think he has the good of Nigeria in his heart. He wanted to change Nigeria so much that he went about it the wrong way the first time because he was young and overly enthusiastic.”

Buhari’s 18-month coup, starting in December 1983, ushered in almost two decades of military rule in Nigeria, each regime more corrupt than the last. But ironically his authoritarian image worked in Buhari’s favour during this year’s democratic campaign, helping him to a landslide victory.

Alongside imprisoning journalists and activists under a series of Orwellian “decrees”, Buhari is best remembered for his “war against indiscipline,” during which he executed drug traffickers, fired civil servants who turned up to work late and ordered soldiers to whip people who didn’t form orderly queues at banks and bus stops.

Nigerians in Kaduna celebrate the victory of their new president.
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 Nigerians in Kaduna celebrate the election result. Muhammadu Buhari defeated Goodluck Jonathan by by 15.4m votes to Jonathan’s 12.9m. Photograph: Jerome Delay/AP
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Despite this, Netimah’s support remains resolute: “In London, Nigerians don’t need somebody to tell them to queue but as soon as they get here, they can’t form an orderly queue. When you hear the name Buhari alone you jump. Maybe that’s what Nigeria needs to become disciplined.”

Others who have come out in support of Buhari include Tunde Thompson, a journalist who was jailed in 1984 under draconian press laws, and Ismail Lawal, whose father was executed by the junta for drug trafficking.


Nigeria's oil pipelines are battleground for brittle democracy
 Read more
But the fact that a 72-year-old former dictator has become the first to unseat an incumbent reveals both how far Africa’s largest democracy has come, and how far it still needs to go.

Buhari has presented himself as a born-again democrat who possesses the experience to steer the country through instability, currency woes and rampant corruption. He comes into power at a time when many Nigerians have watched corruption become pervasive, while the wealth from the country’s 2m barrels-per-day oil industry has rarely trickled down to the masses under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) which has ruled since democracy was established in 1999.

At the headquarters of Buhari’s All Progressives Congress, a giant poster portrays him as a smiling, elderly statesman. Emblazoned across the front is the message: “What an elder sees sitting down, a young man who climbs an iroko tree still doesn’t see.”


Muhammadu Buhari: reformed dictator returns to power in democratic Nigeria
 Read more
Mohammed Idris, among those dancing beneath the beaming poster, nodded as he surveyed the message. “It’s true. He’s the only one who is strong and experienced enough to stamp out [Islamist extremist group] Boko Haram,” he said, a reference to Buhari’s crackdown on Chadian rebels in the 1980s.

Goodluck Jonathan, the first president since a return to civilian rule who had no significant ties to the military, has faced sharp criticism for his handling of the Boko Haram crisis, which has erupted during his five-year tenure as leader.

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Nigeria’s tensions are often painted as existing between the largely Muslim north and Christian-majority south, but a win that blurred those fluid lines points to a maturing democracy.

“Even before, a president from a minority [ethnicity] like Goodluck could never have won unless the whole country came out,” said Reginald Lawan, a security guard in Abuja who spent two days following the results intently on the cracked screen of his mobile phone. “Look at me, I’m a Christian but I voted for [Buhari]. Whether you are a Christian or a Muslim president, you can still provide.”

But nor have ethnic politics been entirely absent.

Rebecca Preye, from Jonathan’s village of Otuoke, recoiled with horror at the idea of voting Buhari. “I can never vote a Muslim – never, never, never! They will impose sharia law and then this country is finished,” she said, producing a bible from her handbag.

Supporters in Kano, northern Nigeria hail the election of the All Progressives Congress party on Monday.
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 Supporters in Kano, northern Nigeria hail the election of the All Progressives Congress party on Monday. Photograph: Ben Curtis/AP
Yet like millions of Nigerians, she showed little enthusiasm for the incumbent either, indicating that Jonathan perhaps lost the election as much as Buhari won it. Voter turnout hovered at around 45% in many of the states which previously threw their weight behind the PDP.

Amachree Oliver queued for more than seven hours to cast her vote in Benue state, which swung from the ruling party to the opposition. “As I was standing there, I was feeling sad because last time I was waiting this long for Jonathan,” Oliver said. “But then I realised God’s plan had been to use Jonathan to ensure a peaceful handover. At least he achieved that much.”

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Bad timing has also played its part. Jonathan inherited the country at a point when global oil markets crashed, badly damaging Nigeria’s oil-exporting economy.

Much is also down to Nigeria’s changing demographics. More than 70% of its 170 million-strong population are under 30, and will not have been born during Buhari’s 18-month rule. Instead, their first real taste of him may have come through his slick social media campaign – an area in which his rivals lagged behind.

Many Nigerians in Kaduna have been basking in Buhari’s win, but Nobel Pprize-winning author Wole Soyinka warned against getting carried away. “I don’t like that the language of a Mmessiah has come,” he said. 
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 Many Nigerians in Kaduna have been basking in Buhari’s win, but Nobel prize-winning author Wole Soyinka warned against getting carried away. ‘I don’t like that the language of a messiah has come,’ he said. Photograph: Jerome Delay/AP
“The PDP just didn’t know how to adapt,” said Folarin Gbadebo-Smith, of the Lagos-based Center for Public Policy Alternatives. “Things were shifting online in a globalised world but they were still reading from the old rule book.”

Some see worrying glimpses of Buhari’s authoritarian nature in his initial refusal to accept the results of the 2011 elections. That led to thousands of his supporters taking to the streets in a week of bloodshed that left more than 800 dead.

Others are alarmed at the almost cult-like reverence that has built up around Buhari.

“I don’t like that the language of a messiah has come. People tend to get carried away, that’s going overboard completely,” Nobel prize-winning author Wole Soyinka told the Guardian. “If Buhari’s coming back, he’s got to recognise that he has a debt to pay.”

Not all those who suffered from Buhari’s heavy-handedness can forget as easily. Yeni Anikulapo-Kuti, the eldest daughter of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, remembers how her father was arrested in 1984 on currency smuggling charges that his family saw as bogus. She was 23 at the time. “I remember that day like it was yesterday,” she said. “I was in tears, I cried, it was a very terrible situation. I remember going all the way to Maiduguri to see him prison but we were not allowed.”

The judge who had sentenced Kuti later went to see him and, according to Yeni, admitted that he had been acting on Buhari’s orders. “I believe it was for political reasons because Fela had previously testified against Buhari.”

Buhari was ousted the following year and Kuti was freed. Yeni, 53, now a TV presenter and co-owner of the New Africa Shrine, a club modelled on Kuti’s spiritual home in Lagos, could not bring herself to vote in the presidential election that saw Buhari returned to power.

“As a true Nigerian I can only hope he will move the country forward. It’s not about personal animosity. I will have to put that to one side, although it will remain there. But let’s hope he does the people proud and they won’t regret voting for him.”

 Nigeria sings new tune with opening of Fela Kuti museum
Monica Mark in Lagos
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She is far from alone in remaining unconvinced by the new leadership. Many veteran politicians have also flip-flopped between the two parties. “For me what would be really positive is for intelligent Nigerians to vote for one of the smaller parties, new faces,” said Ify Ojuoke, a banker in Abuja. “I’m not sure there is much to celebrate in voting a 72-year-old who has kept coming back – one, two, three, four times – to taste power.”

Even among fervent Buhari supporters, the most important gain may be the simple recognition that it is now possible to vote new candidates in – or out.

“Jonathan must go!” shouted one Buhari supporter at the party headquarters, as a crowd danced and sang in celebration on Tuesday night.

“And before he goes, he must return our money,” another woman nearby chimed in.

There was a pause.

“And if anybody tries to steal again, they too must go,” the first supporter said, the faintest note of warning in her voice.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Is anyone surprised? McDonald’s is now accepting job applications through Alexa and Google Assistant

McDonald’s is now accepting job applications through Alexa and Google Assistant.

Not me !
 the  High school dropouts of today can not even  fill out a job application obviously.
hope they can say their names correctly for Alexa  

and Google Assistant.

Why are doctors writing prescriptions for costly drugs when there are less expensive products that are equally effective and Safe?

Why are doctors writing prescriptions for costly drugs when there are less expensive products that are equally effective and Safe?
TO begin With, doctors frequently do not take cost into consideration when prescribing. Even when they do. there is good evidence that for the most part they are unaware of the cost of drugs, either in absolute terms (how much individual drugs cost) or in relative 21.22 terms (What different drugs cost in relation to one another

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

STD hell

A type of patient that was truly a patient from hell was the young, adolescent girl-type that all-too-frequently came into our OB ward for delivery. Most were victims of dysfunctional homes where there was little love and attention given to them, much less any guidance into the matters of sexuality and growing up. lt is a sad fact of our society that young people are allowed to experiment in sexuality long before they are able to make mature decisions about the consequences of that experimentation. And it is not only the baby that is the outcome of such behavior. Many times the outcome is also sexually transmitted diseases and the sequelae that those diseases cause. Not only do some diseases cause suffering, but some (such as HIV and herpes) are incurable and may cause death. The particular case that I want to tell about here is the story of

a fifteen-year-old black girl who, after the experimentation in Sex that she and her boyfriend did, found herself pregnant and totally unable to care for herself. As it turned Out, her parents had been neglectful and abusive to the point that the state intervened and took her out Of her parents' home. This girl was also, I believe, mildly mentally retarded as well as emotionally disturbed. At her age and level of maturity, she was totally incapable of tolerating the physical and hormonal changes in her body associated With pregnancy. Because of her mental State, she was not capable of tolerating any but the most minor changes associated With life and its associated painful circumstances. She came in to the OB ward several times long before she was due to deliver. She came in because she thought she was having contractions or her water bag had broken. On most of these occasions, we found her cornplaints to be unfounded (after several hours Of monitoring her by myself and expbe unfounded (after several hours of monitoring her by myself and experienced fernale nurses). We would then send her horne With instructions to rest and take Benadryl (to calm her down and make her drowsy) and see her obstetrician in a day or two. However, on one occasion she came in With her social worker (the State took care of her) and I found that indeed she was having fairly vigorous early contractions, making it necessary to give her medication to stop them. We generally tried to make sure patients reached the level of thirty -Six weeks' gestation before delivery, making it necessary to give her rnedication to stop them. After consultation With her obstetrician over the phone (they usuatly loved being called at late hours of the night as this was), I determined that it was necessary to give her the drug terbutaline subcutaneously. When I went into the room to advise the patient and her caretaker of this, just the mention of the name of the drug stirred up this patient. She beganabout on the bed, the very definition of hysterical behavior. As it turned Out, this patient was also an asthmatic and had been given terbutaline before, resulting in some untoward Side effects. Apparently, it had made this patient become wildly agitated With its previous administration. Just mentioning it sent her into that state again, reflective of her extreme emotional instability. The social worker attempted to calm her down, saying, "We've talked about this before and you need to relax." But to say that this had no effect was an understatement, because if anything, the patient became more agitated. lt was apparent to me that giving her this drug was not an Option. I then called the obstetrician back (you can imagine how much he loved this) to inform him of this and he advised me to give her some Procardia, a blood pressure medication that has been found to also stop contractions. This worked, and, after several more hours Of Observation, we let her go horne. I was hoping Copyfish With tru


hoping and praying that I was not on duty when this girl came in With true labor, anticipating that the pain and suffering associated With that event would be a horrible thing to deal With in this girl. I guess God was amenable to this prayer, because I wasn't on duty when she came in With real Labor. A young lady resident was on duty, as it turned Out. When I asked her the next day how the delivery went, the resident just groaned and walked away, actions that spoke volumes. Precipitous deliveries were not an uncommon event in Our obstetric ward. A precipitous delivery is defined as delivery of the baby within two hours of arrival in the obstetrics unit. Many were much faster than that. These are very stressful events for the OB staff as well as the doctors because you don't have much time to prepare for them. And since obstetrics is a field where joyous occasions can turn into screami ncies in minutes if not


seconds, we did not like having Little time to get things ready. However, Of all the precipitous deliveries I was involved in, only one had a complication, which was mercifully minor and brief. Usually, a delivery occurring this fast is a comforting sign to me as a doctor that everything is OK With the mother and baby, otherwise it wouldn't occur so quickly. However, that doesn't mean that they are easy. A classic example was the case of the fifteen-year-old white girl who, after her experimentations With her sexuality, discovered herself to be pregnant. Big surprise! Fortunately, her pregnancy progressed pretty normally until she appeared in our obstetrics ward in Labor. At first, I thought that this was just another case Of an immature adolescent in false labor. First pregnancies typically have labor lasting twelve to eighteen hours and this patient had only been having contractions about half an hour before she presented to the OB ward. However, upon checking her cervix, I discovered that


not only was she completely dilated With 100 percent effacement (cervix thinned Out), but the baby's head was well down into her pelvis. These facts meant that delivery was imminent. The hell for us was that the patient was crying inconsolably and begging to have something for pain. At this point in time, I had no doubt that the patient was in severe, unrelenting pain. Unfortunately, With the limited time we had before delivery, there was no time for us to give her an epidural anesthetic, the safest modality. Epidurals are injections into the nerves coming off of the spinal cord that cause the patient to become largely nurnb below the diaphragm. This takes about thirty minutes to do and it was clear that we were going to have a delivery before then, making it a moot point. Other treatments such as narcotics were out of the question—they were not safe for the baby since they would cause the baby to be sedated at a crucial time when it needed to respond aggressively


to Our Stimulation to prevent brain damage. So, white we were getting the emergency delivery kit out and getting the staff ready for imminent delivery, we tried to calm her down by telling her that the pain wouldn't last long (very true). She was screaming bloody murder throughout the delivery, which indeed only took about ten or fifteen minutes. To make it worse for it was apparent that we were going to have to cut an episiotomy into her perineal tissue for the baby to come Out. This procedure always makes me uncomfortable, since I can imagine someone taking a pair of scissors and cutting that part of my anatomy. I know What the textbooks say about it; namely that at that point in Labor, the patient is in so much pain and there is so much pressure on that area that they don't feel it, but I still cringe at the thought of doing it. I did it in this instance and the baby virtually shot out of the woman (girt). Delivery Of the lacenta wasn't nearl as ainful and I finished u n



Delivery Of the placenta wasn't nearly as painful and I finished up by giving a local anesthetic injection into her perineal tissue to sew up the cut I had to make. The patient's screams had subsided and she relaxed and basked in the temporary security of someone else taking care of her baby while she recovered. From my experience With this kind of patient, this part is the easy part, since they have about eighteen years of pain and emotional suffering raising the product of their immature behavior, frequently With little or no help from the male partner and both the mother's and father's families. A delivery that wasn't really precipitous, but certainly put me at risk, happened With one of my patients. As resident doctors, we had private patients of Our own. This was done to teach us how to manage patients from conception to post-parturn (after delivery). We each got a certain number Of patients from the outpatient practice in the family practice clinic. Most of these



women were really adolescents With Medicaid insurance and were single.. Most were very immature and, as in the previous cases cited, were women Who did not plan their pregnancies. Many came frotn broken, abusive, or neglectful homes and had no idea What becoming a mother involved. This was beneficial for us in many ways because it taught us how to manage patients in far less than optimal circumstances. But the downside was that these Women were usually high risk for sexually transmitted diseases, drug and alcohol use, and poor nutrition. I have to say that overall, we generally did a great job of handling these patients from hell. But we had to be very careful because in the process of managing them, we were put at risk of accidentally catching any diseases they had. This could happen in the process of examining them if we got a needle stick from a needle used on them or came into contact With their body fluids in any way. This was relatively early in the


With their body fluids in any way. This was relatively early in the beginning Of the AIDS epidemic, and heterosexual patients were beginning to be a major population catching this dread, deadly disease. This was always in the back of our minds, so we were very careful With "Universal Precautions," a set of procedures by which we protected ourselves With gloves, masks, and extreme care With needles. This was the setting in which I got the patient whose story I am about to tell. This was an eighteen-year-otd black woman Who became unexpectedly pregnant from her unprotected sexual activity. She couldn't tell me how many sexual partners she had had in the past and the father of her baby was long gone, as was sadly and frequently the case. Even With her high-risk behavior, her pregnancy progressed pretty normally. All the tests for sexually transmitted diseases came back ne ative but I knew that could be Copyfish




in these circumstances frequently continued their high-risk sexual behavior even after testing and being told the risks. When she was within a week or two of her due date (inexact in the best of circumstances) she came into the OB ward With contractions about five or Six minutes apart. We placed her in Observation status and, within about one hour, her contractions Were about three minutes apart and clearly showing a pattern that was indicative of true labor. I was on call and since she was my patient, it was clearly my responsibility to take care of her though we had several residents on duty at the time. This was this patient's first baby and I expected the labor to take twelve to eighteen hours, as is typical of first pregnancies. lt was not to be so. After about five or Six hours, the patient was completely dilated and her cervix effaced (thinned Out) completely, indicating it was time to Start the patient pushing. We had given her an epidural anesthetic at about three hours



pushing. We had given her an epidural anesthetic at about three hours into her labor because she was having substantial pain, so she could not feel much by this time. Since I was still a resident, I had to be supervised doing deliveries by a fully qualified family practice doctor. So I called the family practice attending doctor on call and told him he needed to come in to supervise. White I had him on the phone, he asked me to have the patient push one time to see if the baby's head would come down easily. He didn't want to come in and sit around for several hours White we had the patient pushing. When I had the patient push, the baby's head instantly came down to where it was showing through the vagina, What we call "crowning," a sign that delivery is imminent. I conveyed this knowledge to the attending doctor and suggested strongly that he hustle in quickly. He said that he was on his way and I hung up the phone. That is when the problems began in a hurry, as th usuall did. I noticed that the bab 's head was



continuing to Slide out of the woman in spite of the fact that she, at my request, had stopped pushing. I realized that we were going to have a delivery within minutes no matter What I did. So I quickly took off my exam gloves With the intent of putting on the longer sterile gloves we used for deliveries, as well as the gown and mask needed for precautions in these circunstances. As I turned around to the instrument table to grab the gown, gloves, and mask, the elderly, wise black nurse standing behind the table yelled, "Dr. Baker, you don't have time for that! " I quickly turned around to the patient, Who was up in stirrups for delivery. The baby's head was completely out of the woman and I could see the shoulders rapidly following. In that instant, I knew that my only option was to catch the baby barehanded, putting me at risk for whatever diseases this woman was carrying. If I didn't, within seconds the baby's body was going to be completely out and the baby was going to fall


was going to be completely out and the baby was going to fall about two feet and hit a hard wooden floor. This would obviously not be good for the baby's health. I grabbed the baby's head and supported it and the body as it shot out of the patient. I suctioned the baby's mouth, then clamped and cut the umbilical cord and handed the baby off to the nurse. I then had time to get on my gloves and gown before delivering the placenta and finishing up all post-delivery actions. White doing this, I was wondering What I might have caught. We all have minute breaks in Our Skin that can allow bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites to enter. After I was done caring for the patient, the nurse wisely told me that I should wash my hands and arms With alcohol, Betadine (surgical scrub Soap), and regular Soap for at least thirty minutes. After I was through, my arms and hands felt and looked like I had gotten a sunburn. But now, as Paul Harvey would say, came the "rest of the



About Six weeks later, I began having fevers up to 102, feeling sick at my stomach all of the time, and feeling exhausted all the time, even after a full night's sleep. Even doctors can get into denial and for Six more weeks I kept telling myself that it was just a "virus" that would resolve soon. I was trying to squelch the internal fear that it could be the human immunodeficiency virus or some Other dread disease, particularty after that mornentous delivery. After Six weeks of this and working every day With about one hundred hours per week, I began to realize that it wasn't going away and I needed to get evaluated. One reason that I didn't get evaluated before was that I was the head resident on obstetrics, responsible for supervision of Other residents. We were very short of residents and I kept telling myself that the hospital and residency couldn't afford another resident's absence. About that time, another symptom appeared, which gave partial reassurance that it wasn't that dread


appeared, which gave partial reassurance that it wasn't that dread disease. But the symptom indicated What my illness probably was while also giving me something else to fear, though not as bad. My urine began to turn very dark, which is frequently a symptom of hepatitis. Though that was comforting to Some extent, I knew that some forms of hepatitis were not curable and some did lead to death. We had gotten some residents back from Christmas vacation and were fully manned, so I fett that I could indulge my own illness. I went to See one Of the family practice attending doctors and told her my Story. She said the comforting words "Uh, oh," and immediately ordered some lab tests, including liver function tests. The liver function tests came back very high, as expected, but the tests for hepatitis A, B, and C came back negative, creating more questions as to What was causing my hepatitis(hepatitis can be caus Copyfish tests



and lead to death. I took a week off work at the insistence of the attending doctor and, With time to recover instead of using all my energy to work, got well. There was only one clue as to What had caused my hepatitis, which only took my interest one Year later when I began to get the same symptoms, which again lasted Six weeks. This time I couldn't blame a bare-handed delivery for my problems. When I got checked, I had hepatitis again! Blood tests were again unrevealing except for the same atypical lymphocytes in my complete blood count, suggesting infectious mononucleosis- induced hepatitis. A Monospot test for infectious mononucleosis (mono) came up positive, so this time we knew the cause. With the same atypical lymphocytes as the year before, I had to think it was possible that I had had the same thing then, though one infection With that virus usually confers lifetime immunity. lt is also possible that I had an infection With cytomegalovirus the first year, which



I understand can cause the same atypical lymphocytes. But the bottom line was that I was exposed to and may have gotten my first infection from that barehanded delivery from hell. A precipitous delivery that is burned in my memory forever occurred one Saturday or Sunday afternoon when there was absolutely nothing going on in the obstetrics ward. We had no one in labor and the patients and their babies previously delivered were all doing well without any problems. I was sitting at the front desk of the nursing station twiddling my thumbs. The only nurse around the immediate area was sitting about ten feet behind me, also doing nothing important. In these circumstances, I had quickly learned never, but never, to utter the dread words, "lt sure is quiet around here." The nurses were somewhat superstitious about that particular sentence and would immediately start chewing


ordered to immediately get off of the ward. The belief was that, someone having uttered those terrible words, we would get some catastrophic occurrence such as an emergency caesarean section or other incident causing blood pressures and heart rates (ours, of Course) to rise precipitously, along With the risk of a bad outcome. They believed it wholeheartedly and though I didn't harbor such superstitions, I learned fast to keep my mouth shut. This was because those nurses could make my life a living hell if I offended them in any way. But back to the Story at hand. As we were sitting there, I heard the elevator doors at the end Of the hall open, and, half a second later, the most ungodly screaming you could ever imagine. I also heard about three pairs of running feet and the squeaking wheels of a gurney being pushed at near lightning speed down said hall. I leaned over the desk to See What was going on (yeah, like I didn't know!) and Saw three hospital

The purple smoke and cooking soda costing $ 344 !/Omeprazole/sodium — generic Zegerid (Salix) zegerid OTC (Bayer) 20.40 mg packets for susp•; 20 mgn.l g. 40 mgn.l g capsE 20 g capsw 20—40 mg 344.70 16.10'

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) have become a mainstay of therapy not only in the practice of gastroenterology, but also for general medicine and even for the general public. Recently, proton pump inhibitors have been associated with a number of potential complications including impaired vitamin and mineral absorption, altered drug metabolism and increased risk for infections.

All five PPIs on the market are equally effective at equivalent doses; no trials have demonstrated an intrinsic therapeutic advantage 01 the newest PPI, Nexium, over other PPls at equivalent doses. The initial choice 01 agent should therelore depend on cost. In Canada, Ihe PPIs Pariet and Apo-OmeprazoleU represent a reduction in cost of approximately 40% over other PPI drugs. We have used as a comparator a DDD of 20 mg of rabeprazole (Pariet) which is priced almost exactly at the generic Price of omeprazole.


Excessive Medical Spending: Facing the Challenge

By Norman J. Temple, Andrew Thompson, Anwar Khan

 'All PPIs appear to be similarly effective and well tolerated for treatment of peptic ulcer disease and GERD. Most are available generically and over the counter for a fraction of the cost of Nexium or other expensive brand name products"

This was the conclusion  of The Medical letter  in it's June  22 2015 issue.

But still the  'purple pill" myth lingers among  physician and  patient  population and
  Astrazeneca made many millions even after 2015


Omeprazole/sodium — generic 20.40 mg packets for susp•;
Zegerid (Salix) 20 mgn.l g. 40 mgn.l g capsE  $ 344.70
zegerid OTC (Bayer) 20—40 mg 16.10'


 The  book color purple


Purple in Business
In using purple in business applications you need to understand the traits, qualities and mood of the color along with the psychological meaning. The messages the color sends to your customer base can have a major impact on your business success.

Purple suggests wealth and extravagance, fantasy and the world of dreams. It enhances spiritual pursuits and enlightenment.



Physiologically, it heightens people's sense of beauty and their reaction to more creative ideas.

It is often used to denote a high quality or superior product, such as Cadbury's chocolate or some women's cosmetics.

If you are in a service business, use some purple in your marketing to denote your premium service.


Positive Color Meanings in Business:
  • unusual and individual, creative and inventive
  • psychic and intuitive
  • humanitarian, selfless and unlimited
  • mystery, fantasy and the future

Negative Color Meanings in Business:
  • immaturity
  • impractical
  • cynical and aloof, pompous and arrogant
  • fraudulent and corrupt
  • delusions of grandeur and the social climber

Table 1. Oral Proton Pump Inhibitors Drug Some Available Formulations Usual Adult Dosage1,2 Cost3 Dexlansoprazole – Dexilant (Takeda) 30, 60 mg DR caps 30-60 mg once/d $222.10 Esomeprazole magnesium – generic 20, 40 mg DR caps 20-40 mg once/d 204.50 Nexium (AstraZeneca) 20, 40 mg DR caps4 250.90 Nexium 24HR (OTC) (Pfi zer) 22.3 mg DR caps5 16.406 Lansoprazole – generic 15, 30 mg DR caps 15-30 mg once/d 64.60 Prevacid (Takeda) 333.70 Prevacid Solutab (Takeda) 15, 30 mg ODT 333.70 Prevacid 24HR (OTC)7 (Novartis) 15 mg DR caps 17.806 Omeprazole – generic 10, 20, 40 mg DR caps 20-40 mg once/d 16.30 Prilosec (AstraZeneca) 10, 20, 40 mg DR caps4 218.70 Prilosec OTC7 (AstraZeneca/P&G) 20 mg DR tabs 16.806 Omeprazole/sodium bicarbonate8 – generic 20, 40 mg packets for susp9 ; 20-40 mg once/d 344.70 Zegerid (Salix) 20 mg/1.1 g, 40 mg/1.1 g caps10 383.40 Zegerid OTC (Bayer) 20 mg/1.1 g caps10 16.106 Pantoprazole – generic 20, 40 mg DR tabs 40 mg once/d 6.40 Protonix (Pfi zer) 20, 40 mg DR tabs4 274.20 Rabeprazole – generic 20 mg DR tabs 20 mg once/d 52.40 Aciphex (Eisai) 419.70 Aciphex Sprinkle (Eisai) 5, 10 mg DR sprinkle caps11 699.80 DR = delayed-release; OTC = over the counter; ODT = orally disintegrating tablets 1. The lower end of the range is generally used for initial treatment of GERD. Higher or more frequent doses may be needed for patients with erosive esophagitis, peptic ulcer disease, hypersecretory conditions such as Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, or for treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection. 2. PPIs are generally taken 30-60 minutes before the fi rst meal of the day. Taking one before the evening meal or taking the drug twice daily may be more effective for nocturnal acid control. PPIs should generally be swallowed whole and should not be crushed or chewed. Omeprazole/sodium bicarbonate (Zegerid) should be taken on an empty stomach at least 1 hour before a meal. Dexlansoprazole (Dexilant) can be taken with or without food. 3. Approximate WAC for 30 days’ treatment with the lowest usual adult dosage. WAC = wholesaler acquisition cost or manufacturer’s published price to wholesalers; WAC represents a published catalogue or list price and may not represent an actual transactional price. Source: AnalySource® Monthly. June 5, 2015. Reprinted with permission by First Databank, Inc. All rights reserved. ©2015. www.fdbhealth.com/policies/drug-pricing-policy. 4. Also available in delayed-release powder or granules for suspension. 5. Equivalent to 20 mg of esomeprazole. 6. Cost for 28 tablets or capsules. 7. Also available generically. 8. Immediate-release formulation that contains sodium bicarbonate as a buffer; it should be used with caution in patients on a low-sodium diet. 9. Each packet also contains 1680 mg of sodium bicarbonate. 10. Each capsule contains 1.1 g of sodium bicarbonate; therefore, two 20-mg caps are not equivalent to one 40-mg cap. 11. Contents of the capsule should be sprinkled on soft food or liquid and taken within 15 minutes

snitchiest technology/single digital ID card for every Indian.

  First was  PAN card
Then came Adhar card now this guy Amit shah wants a single digital ID card for every Indian.


"I got back to class and sat down again, Ms. Galvez warmly welcoming me back. I unpacked the school's standard-issue ma- chine and got back into classroom mode. The SchoolBooks were the snitchiest technology of them all, logging every keystroke, watching all the network traffic for suspicious keywords, counting every click, keeping track of every fleeting thought you put out over the net. We'd gotten them in my junior year, and it only took a couple months for the shininess to wear off. Once people figured out that these "free" laptops worked for the man—and showed a never-ending parade of obnoxious ads to boot—they suddenly started to feel very heavy and burdensome."

Little Brother

By Cory Doctorow

Thursday, September 19, 2019

"Mr. XXX this is God, I want you to take a bath now and every day from now on!"

There was another patient that I personally did not know but heard a fascinating story about. This patient, as described to me by one of the psych resident doctors, was a schizophrenic Who frequently heard the voice of God talking to him. This is a common theme among schizophrenics, Who frequently have delusions and hallucinations With religious content. lt is one thing to say that God speaks to us (which most of us Christians believe strongly) and yet something completely different to say that you actually hear God's voice (considered a hallucination in psychiatry). This gentleman actually said he heard God's voice. But that wasn't the worst of it. He said that God had told him not to bathe or shower. Initially, this wasn't so much Of problem, but the longer that he was on the ward, the worse the smell got. This was a small unit With locked doors and windows and poor ventilation, so you can understand that it didn't take long before it was apparent that something had to be done. They couldn't just grab hirn, take his clothes off, and bathe him forcefully. Besides the danger of such behavior (to the patient as well as the staff) it just isn't legal. As the Story goes, the psych ward staff debated this problem for a while and came up With a unique and highly creative solution. The ward had an overhead public address system, so they got someone With a deep voice (we all assume that God has deep masculine voice, of course) Who announced over the PA, "Mr.   this is God, I want you to take a bath now and every day from now on!" Guess what? lt worked!