I’ve a horrible idea that this insect I snapped (then splatted) just now may have been a tiger mosquito. It had white and dark splodges on it’s body and legs, though you can’t see that in the pic.
I know they’re endemic in Italy now and spreading to Northern Europe with the warming climate, but blimey, I can do ithout Dengue or West Nile fever on top of everything else.
Bugger. I see screen windows and Deet in my immediate future.
Grass found growing on baby’s lung
Chinese surgeons who operated on a baby girl with breathing problems were amazed to find grass growing on her lung.[…]
Finally, doctors decided to perform open-chest surgery.
“We were surprised to find a 3cm piece of grass growing on the baby’s right lung,” said chief surgeon Li Qun.
Doctors removed the grass, and the baby is now recovering. The parents say the grass is the same type as in their yard at home where the little girl often plays.
Doctors says it’s possible grass seed was blown into the baby’s nose and through her respiratory system to the lung and found suitable growing conditions there. But they’ve never seen such a thing before.
I like it.
Anything that winds up surgeons is a plus in my book, they’re way too up themselves for their and our own good.
This‘ll be good news for my Dutch brother and sister in law, whose combined BMI (Body Mass Index, a measure of obesity) must be about 5, if that. When you look at the processed, deepfried crap that even Dutch vegetarians consume it’s odd they’re all so thin at all. It must be all the cheese.
[…]
The United States has the heaviest body mass index population over 30 on the planet, with 30.6%. With statistics like these, why is it that in America, vegetarians are not given a break when it comes to health insurance?
Uh…. because that would make the insurers less money? But do carry on.
The Netherlands, which has 10% of BMI over 30, is the first country where vegetarians get discount health insurance. This policy, VegePolis, has the motto that people who choose not to eat meat live a healthier lifestyle. The Netherlands is considering health insurance policies for nonsmokers and people who don’t smoke or drink. Niko Koffeman, an animal-rights activist and entrepreneur, believes that people with healthier lifestyles should be able to reap the financial benefits of it. This policy was introduced by Agis Zorgverzekeringen and Stichting PreventiePolis. Besides advantages in health insurance, members get 10% discounts on vegetarian dinners at restaurants affiliated with the Netherland’s vegetarian union. A portion of insurance revenues goes to animal welfare groups. With the healthcare issues in America along with health issues, it looks like Americans need to take note from the Netherlands. Although I’m not fond of the idea of spending 80% of the speaking time of all parties in parliament being dominated by the theme of animal rights to be copied in America, which has a world of other issues, I do believe that this should be a more popular topic, specifically in states like Michigan that find hunting season to be the joy of the year, yet another reason why I hated Marquette, Michigan so much during my undergraduate years.
In the light of significantly higher prices for meat being expected as a result of the damage to fodder crops from the terrible summer weather and the fact that it’s to the point that I’m now on a no fat, no dairy, low wheat, low fibre, low protein, high salt, low potassium diiet and a rise in health insurance premiums is predicted, again, it may be time to look at vegetables in a new light. Plain bread, lean ham sandwiches, boiled sweets and bananas begin to pall after a while anyway. Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a giant steak and a buttered baked potato full of sour cream or a big cheese laden pizza, followed by several chocolate eclairs or even a whole croquembouche or sachertorte.
Can you make sachertorte from tofu?
[By the way I see that this report comes via Associated Content, a syndication service that purports to pay bloggers for content (which Associated Content then owns rights to). The way they use aspiring writers as an ad revenue farm is a story in itself.]
Via The Santa Monica Mercury:
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands—Concertgoers at a festival in the Dutch city of Lichtenvoorde were treated to an unusual sight Friday: A pink hot air balloon 127 feet high, shaped exactly like a condom, drifting lazily across the sky.
The balloon, with the words “Vrij Veilig”—Dutch for “Safe Sex”—was launched by the public health service in the eastern district of Gelre-Ijssel, near the German border.
The director of the health service, known by its Dutch acronym GGD, said the festival was an ideal opportunity to reach young people. More than 80,000 are expected to attend the three-day Zwarte Cross event—a combination motor-cross race and hard rock concert, with Dutch gothic metal band “Within Temptation” headlining.
“This is a playful way of asking for attention to the problem of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and AIDS,” said Laurent de Vries.
Nurses on the concert grounds also handed out educational material and free condoms as part of the campaign, he said.
Flying a giant condom is by no means an unusual event in the Netherlands or in Europe generally; condoms are not the same hotbutton moral issue they are oin America, which is why the US media find it odd.
I expect if say, Planned Parenthood tried it at a US rock concert they’d find themselves picketed by a bunch of Headbangers For Christ and the condom brought down by citizen anti-aircraft fire.