catbirdseat

So this was the guy said by the press to have "compared 911 victims to Nazis"? Before now, I never bothered to go read for myself exactly what it was he said. I just naively assumed that the media was being truthful about what the guy said. Here is the actual essay. Here is the quote, comparing the US attack on Iraq to the Germans in WWII: "It was a performance worthy of the nazis during the early months of their drive into Russia. And it should be borne in mind that Good Germans gleefully cheered that butchery, too. Indeed, support for Hitler suffered no serious erosion among Germany's "innocent civilians" until the defeat at Stalingrad in 1943."

I agree with you Will. Spending $200 Billion in this country seems to make a lot more sense than spending $200 Billion bombing some other country into the Dark Ages. Both have stimulatory effect on the economy. Both increase debt, but money spent domestically has a much larger and longer lasting benefit to the country.

What does "proteo-xenovirus" mean? Proteo means of course, protein, and xeno means foreign. Aren't all viruses foreign? I once read a book, written many years ago about epidemic scourges through the ages and the author's attempts to assign causitive agents to various historical events. Traditionally, the Black Death was thought to be bubonic plague, but quite possibly it might have been a filovirus. The scariest scenario is a filovirus that can spread via the air. All of these outbreaks in Africa were bloodborn, that is victims actually contacted virus particles while treating other victims or by ritual washing of the dead. The monkey outbreak of Ebola depicted in the Hot Zone was scary because there was evidence that that particular virus spread through air. Fortunately for us, although very similar to Ebola Zaire antigenically, it turned out to be not contagious to humans. If such a virus were to co-infect a human with Ebola the genetic material could mix to produce a strain that was both lethal and air borne. Fortuanately, co-infection is a lot less likely for this disease than for say influenza.

Come on Dave, we appreciate your being a good sport. It WAS pretty funny.

That's the strange thing about these viruses. They are so lethal to primates and in fact most mammals that they must be harbored in a very different species to which is not lethal, but no one has yet been able to figure out where it is the virus hides between outbreaks.

It's on the loose in Angola. It's very similar to Ebola virus, except that you actually might survive it, although you might not want to survive if you get it. I just got through reading The Hot Zone. The descriptions of what Marburg does to you just make your skin crawl. Story This is what they wear when scientists work with Level 4 viruses such as filoviruses: What it does to its victims: Don't click here if unless you have a strong stomach.

Minx, you could say we are saving marriages all across America and the World. We're now "on top" in France.

The important thing was that the finger was properly cooked. Can't have undercooked meat. No way.

Well dammit, tell us what it is about the B-52 that you find annoying! I like it better than the ATC because I find it has a smoother action on lowering and rappeling. Let me guess. Because the B-52 is asymmetrical, unlike the ATC, you get annoyed because you keep feeding the rope into the thing backwards. Am I right?

Who's still around? Where's Pandora, Snowbyrd, BreezyD, Loren? Any new people interested? Any of you feel ready to pick up trad leading this year?

Don't get me wrong. I don't have any beef with REI. They have done some great things for the community. For example they donated a lot of money to help refurbish Schurman Rock at Camp Long. They give back to the community

Not a belay plate. Overruled.

Hey, that is great, Goldmyer Hot Springs finally gets a bridge. That will make it accessible no matter how high the water gets.

OMFG, that is hilarious!

In this morning's PI I read a story about the wife of an enlisted man in the Navy who was carrying an anacephalic fetus. For those of you who don't know, an anacephalic fetus usually dies within minutes of birth because it lacks a brain. These pregnancies may go up to a year because the fetus doesn't trigger normal birth at nine months. This woman needed an abortion and the Navy wouldn't pay for it. She sued and won. The government was forced to pay but is appealing. Why is it the government wants so badly to preserve brainless organisms?

How many cup sizes are you shooting for anyway?

Thanks for being the civic minded climber you are.

I must be extraordinarily lucky with regard to Rainier. Five for five, or two for two in winter. I had a partner who was 0 for 6 on winter attempts before we had our successful trip up Ingraham Direct.

You got up Johannesburg? Dude, you have a better memory than I do. Indeed, that was a failure, but I don't think of it that way, because I learned a ton on that attempt.

Whitehorse, as I recall, is one peak with an awful lot of unsuccessful attempts. I'd have to say that I have never had more than one failure on anything. The only unfinished business I have at present is Triumph and Liberty Ridge. I think I need to aim for a higher mark. I am not failing enough.

They have soya in them and soya has isoflavones, such as diadzein and genistein. These are known to possess estrogenic activity. So yes, I suppose that if you ate enough Luna bars your tits would grow. Even guys.

You can safely take 1000% of the RDA for Vitamin C and give yourself expensive piss, but please don't make the mistake of taking 1000% of any of the fat soluble vitamins, especially Vitamin A.

You should have left out the part about the smoking.

It would be good for a caption contest. "Hey, what am I supposed to do with this pointy thing I'm holding?"

Sure looks like it.