cedar sprig's blog

Pentobarbital is used for anesthesia and euthanasia. Following reports that it was losing its potency when used on dogs, the FDA looked into the possibility it was entering pet food and allowing dogs to build resistance to it. Well, they found traces of it, sure enough, and now the question is: where did it come from?

 The simplest theory: euthanized pets. While FDA decided in their 2002 report that cats and dogs were not being slipped into Kibbles'n'bits, it is still possible that any animal that has been "put down" will make it into the rendering tanks, and from there to pet food manufacturers. FDA reassures us that the pentobarbital levels present in some pet foods are too low to do have any lasting effect. The drug residue probably comes from euthanized cattle and swine, not household pets. The problem is that FDA does not regulate the pet food industry as rigorously as food meant for human consumption, so what is really in a bag of dog chow could still be aptly renamed, "mystery meat".

The big fish of the ocean are being fished out of existence. How long does it take a big fish to reach its size? In theory it only takes a few years, but fish now in the stores take up to twenty years or more to be as large as the fishers want them. Cod were fished out, and fishers went to chilean sea bass, which takes longer to grow up. Now the bass are gone and orange roughie is the prime fish for gourmands--and orange roughie DO take twenty years to grow to their full size.  Read More »

Big news for everyone who spends time online: The federal government pressured Google to hand over 50,000 web addresses, but the court's decision upheld the right of the browser company to retain the information. Ostensibly the government wanted the information to help in combatting child pornography. However, Judge James Ware ruled in favor of privacy.  Read More »

The world of the internet is a stunning blend of rich information, communication, and immeasurable sludge. Anything you want (as long as it can be transmitted over a cable) is available at the click of a button. As far as written work goes, you can get a paragraph or a novel with equal ease, and nothing is so easily unmoored as a line of text. With that in mind, what is the value of good writing these days?  Read More »

Thermal conversion has not gotten the attention it deserves. For the uninformed, it is a process of applied heat and pressure that breaks down ANYTHING into its basic units, i.e. oil, minerals, and water. They started out with rotting chicken guts from slaughterhouses, but anything with carbons will work. Three years ago Discover magazine published an enthusiastic article about it, but Discover is always enthusiastic and the process didn't attract much attention. No one seemed to notice. Now the first full sized conversion plant is working, after a few glitches, and Discover very kindly published another article on it. Yet once again it's being ignored.  Read More »

From BBC:

When Judge Raouf Abdul Rahman chastised Saddam Hussein for using the trial as a political platform, he replied: "I am the head of state." The judge answered: "You used to be a head of state. You are a defendant now."

Yes, today is Saddam Hussein's trial, and boy is it exciting! The judge has already called it off for a time (or barred it from the media, not quite sure which...), due to Hussein's use of his "statement" to gush support for Iraqi insurgency. Rather than behave as a defendent, Hussein referred to himself as the president of Iraq and announced his opinion that the court was illegitimate. He took advantage of the media coverage and spoke not to the court but to the Iraqi people, who will surely see the footage in which he praises their courage and his own efforts to rule according to his principles.  Read More »

As most of you will have heard, Milosevic of war-crime fame died yesterday in his prison cell. His demise, which comes several months before the end of the trial to convict him of genocide during the Bosnia war (amongst other things), has been attributed to natural causes.

Now, natural causes have long been a notorious killer of key prisoners. But in this case, it's quite possible--indeed, quite probable--that Milosevic died on his own, given his medical condition. He had high blood pressure and a heart condition (according to an article on the BBC news website), in addition to extended illness. Of course, suspicious leads will (hopefully) be considered during the autopsy. Evidently Milosevic claimed he was being poisoned, although that is mainly hearsay from his lawyer. If anyone is culpable, it is as allies of Milosevic complain: the International Criminal Tribunal refused to let him go to Russia to receive medical treatment, indirectly becoming responsible for his death.  Read More »

A newly revised and updated Patriot Act has just been approved by congress today. The original was put into effect following 9/11 and was to expire last month, but an extension through March 10th gave lawmakers opportunity to argue about the new one a little longer. The key word here is "a little longer". The new act, as I understand it, has a sunset clause of 4 years, a point certain senators insisted on. This is a good thing: we like our civil-liberty-infringing laws to have an expiration date!  Read More »