Post Sunrise November 13, 2008
It’s a little chilly this morning and the Qatteri Cat is cuddled up next to me, right on my left typing arm, so I am pecking away as best I can. It’s another beautiful day – and, as forecasted, there are small, light, fluffy clouds gathering – and a 20% chance of rain tomorrow. Here is what this morning looks like in Kuwait:
Have a great day, Kuwait!
Thank You Every Day Heroes
You know how I feel – the firefighters and the police risk their lives every day to keep us safe. And you know I love I Can Has Cheezburger.com – so this is the best of both those worlds:
more animals
Alternatives to Statin Drugs
I found this article through Google News at US News and World Report.
I know statins work – many of my friends testify to their having lowered cholesterol through use of statins. But doesn’t it make you nervous that most of the tests proving their efficacy are done by the very drug-merchants who are selling them? For me, it is that way with most medications. I watch people lining up their pills, lowering their blood pressure, lowering their cholesterol, and it makes me very nervous.
My father stayed alive using cortisone. He tried to get off cortisone, but his body was so addicted to it that every time he tried, he suffered horrible pain. By the end of his life, you could barely touch him without injuring his skin, thinned by many years of cortisone usage. We pay a price for the drugs we take – I want to know the price – and the alternatives – before I choose a pill I have to take every day for the rest of my life.
6 Ways to Reduce Inflammation—Without a Statin or a Heart Test
By Deborah Kotz
Posted November 11, 2008
There’s been a lot of hoopla this week over research showing that the cholesterol-lowering drug Crestor lowers the risk of heart attacks and strokes in those with normal cholesterol but high levels of inflammation—measured by a marker called C-reactive protein, or CRP. The Jupiter study, which involved nearly 18,000 people and appears in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, found that people taking the statin Crestor for two to five years cut their risk of having a heart attack or stroke by 50 percent during that period. They also had a lower risk of bypass surgeries and angioplasties.
Experts predict that as a result of the study, many millions of seemingly healthy people will be screened for inflammation using a blood test called high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and that millions of them will be put on statins to combat inflammation. While statins certainly are lifesaving for those with high cholesterol or established heart disease, their benefits are more modest for those at fairly low risk of heart disease: About 0.72 percent of the statin takers in the trial had a heart attack or stroke compared with 1.5 percent of those taking placebos.
So, some experts say, if you have high CRP but are otherwise healthy, “go slow,” and consider all the benefits and risks of statins before you decide to take them. Where that hs-CRP screening test might come in handy is to spur you to make lifestyle changes that will naturally lower excess inflammation—and your heart disease risk. Try these six measures:
1. Stop smoking. Smoking hardens the arteries and could send CRP levels surging. But research shows you can reverse all the damaging effects to your arteries within 10 years of quitting. (For help quitting, you can click here.)
2. Think olive oil, fish, and nuts. Researchers have shown that overweight folks who stick with a Mediterranean-style diet—based on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and olive oil—can lower their levels of inflammation. “An anti-inflammatory diet is about reducing saturated fat and trans fats and eating more foods rich in alpha-linolenic acid—like flaxseed, walnuts, and canola oil—and omega-3 fats, which fight inflammation,” says Evangeline Lausier, a staff physician at Duke Integrative Medicine. On the flip side, scientists have shown that the typical American fast-food diet increases heart attack risk by 30 percent. (Here’s the latest on four healthful diets and on 11 easy ways to load up on omega-3s.)
3. Get active. No one wants to exercise, but it’s a great way to lower inflammation without any side effects associated with medications. An ideal amount? Not too much (which raises inflammation) and not too little. Aim for five days a week of steady exercise (brisk walking, swimming, biking) for 30 to 45 minutes. (You can read up on how to make your workout quick and sweaty.)
4. Shrink your waist size. Take a tape measure and measure your waist, right around the point of your bellybutton. If you’re a woman with a waist measurement of over 35 inches or a man with a waist of over 40 inches, you probably have high inflammation. Whittling a few inches off the waist by reducing your portions and increasing activity can go a long way toward solving that problem. (Here’s a dietary technique that might help you lose weight.)
5. Get enough sleep. A new study out this week shows that elderly people with high blood pressure who sleep less than 7.5 hours a night have dramatically elevated chances of having a stroke or heart attack or suffering sudden cardiac death. Other research has shown that too little sleep (less than six hours) or too much (more than eight hours) results in more inflammation. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says most adults need between seven and eight hours of shut-eye a night. (Not convinced? Consider these 10 reasons not to skimp on sleep.)
6. Reduce stress. High levels of stress hormones can lead to the release of excess inflammatory chemicals, so try each day to pencil in 15 minutes of relaxation—deep breathing, meditation, or a bubble bath that lets you leave the world behind.
Premarital Testing Made Compulsory in Kuwait
From today’s Al Watan
MPs make premarital tests compulsory
KUWAIT: The National Assembly passed a new law on Tuesday that makes preـmarital medical checks compulsory.
The first article of the law stipulates that wouldـbe couples have to undergo medical tests to verify they are free from contagious or hereditary diseases.
In they are free of the diseases outlined in a decree by the minister of health they will get a medical certificate that proves their marriage is safe.
The document is valid for six months only, according to the provisions of the new law.
The second article bans the endorsement of a marriage by any concerned authorities without a valid medical certificate.
If the medical report shows that the possible marriage is unsafe and the wouldـbe couple still insists on getting married, the marriage officer must get a written notice from the couple stating that they are aware of the risks and want to pursue the affair.
The third article of the law stipulates that the minister of health should issue executive statutes for the new legislation which includes the type of medical tests required and the relevant procedures within three months of the new law”s publication in the official gazette.
The fourth article pertains to the privacy of all the information contained in the medical report and stipulates a punishment of up to one year in prison and up to 1,000 Kuwaiti dinars as a fine on anyone who might violate the privacy of such information.
The fifth article stipulates either or both punishments of up to oneـyear in prison and up to KD 1,000 fine on the marriage officer should he violate the provisions of the second article. ـKUNA
Last updated on Wednesday 12/11/2008
Kuwait Sunrise November 12 2008
Yesterday had to be one of the loveliest days I have spent in Kuwait – driving down the highway, car full of friends, wind blowing in our hair – what a great day. It looks to me like we have another beautiful day coming:
At 0630 it was only 59° F / 15°C, which I also see is close to the high temperature expected in Seattle. Whoa! Get out the sweaters!
Goooood Monring, Q8!
Don’t Worry, Be Happy – Keeping Things in Perspective
This was sent to me today by a mentor from long ago. If you have any reason to feel sorry for yourself, you must see this. I dare you to watch it. It really puts things into perspective:
The Feast of St. Martin, and St. Martin’s Goose
I’ve always loved St. Martin’s Day because the children of the villages in Germany gather with laterns and walk the cobbled streets singing a song “Laterne! Laterne! . . . .” There is usually someone dressed in a large red cloak who rides a horse, as St. Martin.
Something else happens on St. Martin’s Day – it is the beginning of goose season! There is only about one month, in Germany, when you can eat this speciality, St. Martin’s Goose. It is baked, served with a very fatty gravy (sounds horrible, but it is delicious), red cabbage and potatoes. You can get a quarter goose, a half goose or you can go as a group and have an entire goose feast. The smell of roasting goose is yummy, and the goose itself, when well prepared, is succulent and tasty.
Here is how to roast a St. Martin’s goose:
Preparation: 1 hour
Cooking: 1/2 a hour by kg
Ingredients (for 6 persons):
– 1 goose of 6kg approximately
– 500 g of chopped pork – 1 egg – 4 shallots
– 1 small stalk of thym
– 200 g of crumb of bread (or gingerbread!)
– salt, pepper, nutmeg, parsley
– 100g of walnuts and chopped hazelnuts
Mix the various ingredients of the practical stuffing. Stuff, and let it gild on all the surface in its fat of goose, in the owen. Put then the goose in the oven and cook in its own juice (half an hour by kg). It came from This Website on European Cultures.
The stuffed goose uses surrounded with purée of chestnuts or with whole chestnuts cooked in a little broth then in the juice of the goose and accompanied with a Riesling of Moselle region.
Here is the story of St. Martin by James Kiefer from the Lectionary.
(I’ve always wondered why St. Martin tore his cloak in half, and didn’t give the whole cloak to the begger, since he probably had on warm clothing underneath.)
MARTIN OF TOURS
BISHOP AND THEOLOGIAN (11 NOV 397)
Martin was born around 330 of pagan parents. His father was a soldier, who enlisted Martin in the army at the age of fifteen. One winter day he saw an ill-clad beggar at the gate of the city of Amiens. Martin had no money to give, but he cut his cloak in half and gave half to the beggar. (Paintings of the scene, such as that by El Greco, show Martin, even without the cloak, more warmly clad than the beggar, which rather misses the point.) In a dream that night, Martin saw Christ wearing the half-cloak. He had for some time considered becoming a Christian, and this ended his wavering. He was promptly baptized. At the end of his next military campaign, he asked to be released from the army, saying: “Hitherto I have faithfully served Caesar. Let me now serve Christ.” He was accused of cowardice, and offered to stand unarmed between the contending armies. He was imprisoned, but released when peace was signed.
He became a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers, a chief opponent in the West of the Arians, who denied the full deity of Christ, and who had the favor of the emperor Constantius. Returning to his parents’ home in Illyricum (Yugoslavia, approximately), he opposed the Arians with such effectiveness that he was publicly scourged and exiled. He was subsequently driven from Milan, and eventually returned to Gaul. There he founded the first monastary in Gaul, which lasted until the French Revolution.
In 371 he was elected bishop of Tours. His was a mainly pagan diocese, but his instruction and personal manner of life prevailed. In one instance, the pagan priests agreed to fell their idol, a large fir tree, if Martin would stand directly in the path of its fall. He did so, and it missed him very narrowly. When an officer of the Imperial Guard arrived with a batch of prisoners who were to be tortured and executed the next day, Martin intervened and secured their release.
In the year 384, the heretic (Gnostic) Priscillian and six companions had been condemned to death by the emperor Maximus. The bishops who had found them guilty in the ecclesiastical court pressed for their execution. Martin contended that the secular power had no authority to punish heresy, and that the excommunication by the bishops was an adequate sentence. In this he was upheld by Ambrose, Bishop of Milan. He refused to leave Treves until the emperor promised to reprieve them. No sooner was his back turned than the bishops persuaded the emperor to break his promise; Priscillian and his followers were executed. This was the first time that heresy was punished by death.
Martin was furious, and excommunicated the bishops responsible. But afterwards, he took them back into communion in exchange for a pardon from Maximus for certain men condemned to death, and for the emperor’s promise to end the persecution of the remaining Priscillianists. He never felt easy in his mind about this concession, and thereafter avoided assmblies of bishops where he might encounter some of those concerned in this affair. He died on or about 11 November 397 (my sources differ) and his shrine at Tours became a sanctuary for those seeking justice.
The Feast of Martin, a soldier who fought bravely and faithfully in the service of an earthly sovereign, and then elisted in the service of Christ, is also the day of the Armistice which marked the end of the First World War. On it we remember those who have risked or lost their lives in what they perceived as the pursuit of justice and peace.
Veteran’s Day Sunrise
This is for you, AdventureMan, your own Veteran’s Day sunrise.
To anyone who has ever served in a nation’s armed forces. We salute you. Today and every day, we honor the service you gave to your country.
If you talk to any Kuwaiti veteran of the Gulf War and Liberation in Kuwait, you will learn that even a very short time in service can be a transformational experience. Those memories are vivid, and last the rest of your life.
Have a great day, Kuwait.
Pomegranate in Quinoa Pilaf
Hot off the press, from the New York Times:
Quinoa Pilaf With Chick Peas, Pomegranate and Spices
By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN
Published: November 7, 2008
Considered by many nutritionists to be a superfood, pomegranate juice is loaded with antioxidants and appears to lower blood pressure. This quinoa pilaf is based on a Turkish pilaf that is traditionally made with rice or bulgur.
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
3/4 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup quinoa, cooked (4 cups cooked quinoa)
1 cup cooked chick peas (canned are fine), rinsed
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
For garnish (optional):
1 cup thickened yogurt
1 small garlic clove, pureed (optional)
1. Heat a large, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat and add the cumin seeds and coriander seeds. Toast in the pan, stirring or shaking the pan, until they begin to smell fragrant, and transfer to a spice mill. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then pulse to crush or coarsely grind. Set aside.
2. Return the frying pan to medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and salt, stir together for about half a minute, and stir in the cumin seeds, and coriander seeds. Add the remaining olive oil and stir in the quinoa, chick peas, and 3 tablespoons of the pomegranate seeds. Stir over medium heat to heat through, several minutes. Taste and adjust salt. Transfer to a platter or wide bowl and decorate with the remaining pomegranate seeds. You can also mold the pilaf into 1/2-cup ramekins or timbales and unmold onto the plate, then decorate with pomegranate seeds.
3. Stir the garlic into the thickened yogurt. Serve the pilaf topped with the yogurt.
Yield: Serves 6
Variation: Some people like to drizzle a few drops of lemon juice over the top of this pilaf.
Advance preparation: This can be made a day ahead and reheated.
Better Watch Out! Traffic ambushes!
Think they will also be watching for mobile phone users? This is from today’s Al Watan
Al Watan staff
KUWAIT: Kuwait City Traffic Department launched a security campaign on Sunday morning against reckless drivers. Under the leadership of First Lieutenant Khalifa AlـSabah, several ambushes were set on the Second Ring Road where 37 citations were issued for drivers for violating traffic laws. A security source informed Al Watan that several ambushes would be set up in different locations in the area during the next few days to eliminate the phenomenon of irresponsible drivers who threaten other motorists and pedestrians” lives.
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Early Voting in Florida
