Tom Faranda's Folly

Two editorials on the Gitmo Supreme Court decision

Here are two editorials on the Supremo's decision regarding the terrorist's detention, in publications I respect: the Washington Post and National Review. They come to differing conclusions.

The Post says it's A Victory for Law

The central part of the ruling declares that the special military commissions set up on President Bush's order to try alleged members of al-Qaeda are unlawful. It gives the administration a simple choice. It can proceed with cases under current law, using standard military courts-martial, which provide fuller procedural protections for the accused than do the commissions. Or it can go to Congress for specific authorization to deviate from those rules.

The holding should ensure that trials of al-Qaeda detainees take place under clear rules ratified by Congress. If Congress does its job conscientiously, any departures from normal trial rules should be both demonstrably necessary and narrow. As we have argued before, the administration has legitimate concerns about what rules of evidence should apply in these cases and how to protect sensitive intelligence information. Some accommodations may be necessary. Now, however, balancing these concerns against the accused's rights to a fair trial will not be the sole province of the administration itself but a shared responsibility of the executive and legislative branches. The results will bear the mark of democratic legitimacy: They will be law.

National Review says "An Outrage" The Editors on Hamdan & Supreme Court on National Review Online

Hard as it may be to believe that the Court, without any grounding in either American law or the Geneva Conventions, has effectively signed a treaty with al Qaeda for the protection of its terrorists, there may be a silver lining. The case implicates only trials of enemy combatants, whom the president remains authorized to detain until the end of hostilities — however long that takes. In addition, the Court held that military commissions would be permissible if Congress authorized their precise terms and procedures. Sens. Lindsay Graham and John Kyl, who were the engines behind the Detainee Treatment Act that the Court cashiered, have already indicated they are ready to get to work on this. Arlen Specter also has a proposal. There is no issue more important than national security, and with the 2006 elections beckoning it is essential that Republicans move quickly on legislation. Our elected representatives need to be on record, now, about what rights they would give to Qaeda terrorists in wartime.

Embryonic stem cell research as a dead end?

Full disclosure: I am the recipient of adult stem cell therapy - having had my own stem cells returned to me after high dose chemotherapy to kill lymphma cancer cells. Tom Faranda's Folly: Transplant went well  In fact, my disease and treatment are the prime topic of this weblog.

Here's an extremely interesting interview with an MIT researcher on the subject of embyryonic stem cell research, entitled Harvard's stem cell misstep  http://www.mercatornet.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=310

Some excerpts:

MercatorNet: How soon could human embryonic stem cells be used for cures? Harvard is telling potential donors to its stem cell institute that "in as little as a decade" there will be treatments for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and diabetes. It also suggests that the names of many incurable diseases will be eliminated from our grandchildren's vocabularies. Are these predictions realistic?

Sherley: The question "How soon," is pre-empted by the question: "Could human embryonic stem cells ever be used for cures?" When the errant biological properties of human embryonic stem cells are considered, it is difficult to foresee them ever being used directly as cures in children or adults. This promise was the earliest misleading misinformation from proponents of human embryo research. Because many factors that guide the normal development of embryonic cells are absent in mature tissues, embryonic stem cells placed in adult tissues produce malformed tissues that are cancerous. So, figuring out how to use human embryonic stem cells directly by transplantation into patients is tantamount to solving the cancer problem.

By studying embryonic stem cells derived from human embryos cloned from the cells of individuals with particular chronic diseases, Harvard scientists claim that they will obtain new knowledge about how chronic human diseases develop. It is amazing that such words come out of the mouths of noted developmental biologists who have known for years that simple embryonic stem cell culture is an inadequate model for human development.

MercatorNet: You seem pretty convinced that human embryos are human beings. Can you explain briefly why?

Sherley: My answer is, "What else could they be -- aliens?" Scientists who want to conduct experiments with human embryos are quick to say what human embryos are not. I challenge them to tell the public what human embryos are. There is only one answer to this question, "living human beings."

Supreme Court Gitmo decision

If you are interested in today's Supreme Court decision that the administration overstepped it's authority by authorizing military tribunals to judge the detainees, here's a pretty good analysis of the decision by James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal:

The Supreme Court's decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (link above in HTML or here in PDF) weighs in at 185 pages, and we'll confess we haven't had time to read every word. But here are the major points:

• Although Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the court's primary opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy decided the case. Kennedy joined Stevens and the three other "liberal" justices in some aspects of the case, yielding a 5-3 majority, but declined to join others, producing an inconclusive result on those issues. (Because Chief Justice John Roberts joined the lower-court decision the Supreme Court was overturning, he did not participate in today's ruling but can be assumed to agree with the three dissenters.)
• The Kennedy majority agreed that the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, which grants the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia sole jurisdiction over habeas corpus petitions filed by Guantanamo detainees, does not strip the Supreme Court of jurisdiction in this case, because Hamdan had already filed for the writ when Congress passed the act.
• The Kennedy majority held that the military commission the Pentagon set up to try Hamdan was not authorized by the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
• The Stevens plurality wanted to go further and hold that Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions--which provides that war crimes trials be conducted by "a regularly constituted court"--requires that Hamdan be present at his trial, even if sensitive intelligence is being aired. But Kennedy thought it unnecessary to reach a conclusion on this question.
• The Stevens plurality also wanted to declare the charge against Hamdan--conspiracy--invalid under international law. Kennedy again saw no reason to reach the question.

The court did not decide that unlawful combatants at Guantanamo are entitled to Geneva Convention protections as either civilians or prisoners of war, only that Common Article 3, which governs "conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the [signatories]," applies--though because of Kennedy's demurral, precisely how it applies is an open question.

(In dissent, Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas argued that Common Article 3 does not apply to the conflict with al Qaeda--a position Roberts also took in the lower court's decision [PDF]. Scalia and Thomas, along with Justice Samuel Alito, also take the position that even if Common Article 3 does apply, the commission qualified as "regularly constituted.")

The court also did not hold that the government is under any obligation to release Hamdan. Justice Stevens:

We have assumed . . . the truth of the message implicit in that charge--viz., that Hamdan is a dangerous individual whose beliefs, if acted upon, would cause great harm and even death to innocent civilians, and who would act upon those beliefs if given the opportunity. It bears emphasizing that Hamdan does not challenge, and we do not today address, the Government's power to detain him for the duration of active hostilities in order to prevent such harm.

For now at least, the court has not mandated that terrorist detainees be granted the rights of either ordinary criminal defendants (who cannot be held indefinitely unless charged and convicted) or prisoners of war (who, among other things, cannot be interrogated).

The chief result of this ruling will be to delay the trials of Guantanamo detainees until Congress or the Pentagon establishes a regime of military commissions that meets the court's approval. For those concerned with the duration of terrorists' captivity--a perverse thing to worry about anyway--there's little to cheer here.

And here's a link to Ann Athouse, who is a constitutional law professor in Wisconsin, and has a popular blog: Althouse: Supreme Court invalidates Guantanamo military commissions.

Blonde joke

My friend Ellen Mullin forwarded this to me:

Joe  walked into a sports bar around 9:58 PM. He sat down next to a blonde, Beth, at the bar and stared up at the TV. The 10:00 PM news was coming on. The news crew was covering a story of a man on a ledge of a large building preparing to jump.
 
The Beth looked at Joe and said, "Do you think he'll jump?"
 
Joe says, "You know, I bet he'll jump."
 
The blonde replied, "Well, I bet he won't."
 
Joe placed a $20 bill on the bar and said, "You're on!"
 
Just as the blonde placed her money on the bar, the guy on the ledge did a swan dive off the building, falling to his death.
 
The blonde was very upset, but willingly handed her $20 to Joe, saying, "Fair's fair. Here's your money."
 
Joe replied, "I can't take your money, I saw this earlier on the 5 PM news and so I knew he would jump."

The blonde replied, "I did too; but I didn't think he'd do it again."
 

The real estate market: is it "dead"?

My brother Phil, a real estate and mortgage broker, had an interesting post on his weblog:Red Guy in a Blue State: "Dead"

The title "dead" refers to the real estate market. My brother disagrees.

True, title transfers are down 19% from 2005, but according the to Westchester County Board of REALTORS, 2005 was also a record-breaking year. One piece of chatter among full-time real estate licensees is that the slowdown will weed out the overpopulation of part time agents who have come along for the ride since 2001. In a hot market, even agents with poor skills can pick fruit from the many low hanging branches. In a tougher market, the bigger fish rule the pond. Thinning the agent herd will be a good thing.

Say it ain't so - Butch and Sundance - another legend down the drain

One of my favorite all time movies is "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," with Newman and Redford starring. Some memorable quotes:

• SUNDANCE: What's your idea this time? - BUTCH: Bolivia! - SUNDANCE: What's Bolivia?
• BUTCH: I'll jump first. - SUNDANCE: No. - BUTCH: Okay, you jump first. - SUNDANCE: No, I said... - BUTCH: What'sa matter with you? - SUNDANCE: I can't swim. - BUTCH: Swim?! Are you kidding? The fall'll probably kill you!
• I didn't know you were the Sundance Kid when I said you were cheating. If I draw on you, you'll kill me. - SUNDANCE: There is that possibility.

Legends are only legends, but a suicide pact? This is a real bubble burster:In end, no blaze of glory for Butch and Sundance - World - insider.washingtontimes.com

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid died not in a gunbattle with soldiers but in a suicide pact, according to a new play based on police archives from the Bolivian mining town where the legendary American outlaws met their end.
    The suicide story is already known among serious researchers into the lives of the notorious bank robbers, but comes as a shock to those who know the story only through the award-winning 1969 Western starring Paul Newman as Cassidy and Robert Redford as Sundance.

If you are new to this weblog and looking for information on my lymphoma...

Scroll down, and a bit below my picture you'll see "Categories". The only category is "My lymphoma and related medical stuff". If you click on that, only the lymphoma-related and a few other health-related postings will appear! My other ramblings, family stories, and mediocre jokes will be gone.

Then go to this January 8th posting, Tom Faranda's Folly: Four months of journaling  that gives links to 13 earlier posts. These posts will give you a good picture of my chemo treatment prior to the Sloan Kettering admission with the stem cell transplant. The 13 posts take a total of about 20 minutes to read. Of course, feel free to read the many other posts in the first four months, if you are so inclined.

Then start working chronologically forward from January 8th.

Health update

Actually gym update.

I am feeling better and better in the gym. I think my cardiovascular is getting better, based on the readouts from the cardio machines (bike and ellyptical).

And my arms and chest are developing really big, thick bulging muscles.

Hahahahaha. The above line of course is a joke. But I am improving on the weights. Perhaps back to my old self in a month!

Joe and Tim off and running

The boys started their summer programs today. Joe is in a five week program at Fordham Prep called the HAP, or High Achievement Program. I went down for the orientation this morning with him and it looks pretty interesting. In the morning they're doing reading, math and language arts, and in the afternoon a variety of non-academic activities. Fordham Prep started this program 30 years ago and this year there are over 240 soon-to-be eighth graders participating, including eight from Joe's school. 

The trick of course is going to be getting him to the Prep, which is on the Fordham University Bronx campus. We are going to be car pooling with two other boys, so that fun will be spread around.

Tim has started at Teatown, with their summer nature program. He loves Teatown (well he loves catching frogs, getting soaking wet and filthy...) and will be going four weeks.

Tim will also be using a 3rd to 4th grade "bridge book" for the summer. We've used them the past two summers and they work well. It's structured and disciplined - and "incentivized" by Dad - all of which Tim needs.   

Should the NY Times help Al Queda?

The NY Times publication and disclosure of a totally legal financial monitoring program designed to help thwart terrorists was disgusting. If someone had gone to Osama Bin Laden and disclosed this information to him, he could be tried for treason. But th NY Times gets away with publishing it, Al Queda can read the details in the paper, and that's OK.

I hope one of the congressional intelligence committee's subpoena's the NYT editor (BIll Keller), puts him under oath and gets some answers out of him.

Here's a good explanation of the whole mess. Andrew C. McCarthy on Terrorist Finance Tracking Program on National Review Online

Some excerpts:

The effort, which the government calls the “Terrorist Finance Tracking Program” (TFTP), is entirely legal. There are no conceivable constitutional violations involved. The Supreme Court held in United States v. Miller (1976) that there is no right to privacy in financial-transaction information maintained by third parties. Here, moreover, the focus is narrowed to suspected international terrorists, not Americans, and the financial transactions implicated are international, not domestic. This is not data mining, and it does not involve fishing expeditions into the financial affairs of American citizens. Indeed, few Americans even have information that is captured by the program — though there would be nothing legally offensive even if they did.

And unlike the last vital program the New York Times compromised — the National Security Agency’s Terrorist Surveillance Program, which the same reporters, James Risen and Eric Lichtblau, exposed last December — there is not even a facially plausible concern that the TFTP violates statutory law. The provisions germane here (mainly, the Right to Financial Privacy Act that Congress enacted in 1978 in reaction to Miller) do not even apply to the nerve center at issue, the Society of Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication.

That’s because SWIFT, as it is better known, is not a financial institution at all. It is a consortium, centered not in the U.S. but in Belgium, which simply — albeit importantly — oversees how funds are routed globally. It is a messenger, not a bank. Nevertheless, in an abundance of caution, the government uses administrative subpoenas — which were expressly provided for by Congress in the aforementioned Financial Privacy Act and the Patriot Act — when it seeks SWIFT information. That’s not just legal; it’s hyper-legal.

Nor is there any credible worry that the Bush administration is secretly and dictatorially running roughshod over privacy interests. Prominent members of Congress — including elected officials from both parties who serve on the House and Senate Intelligence Committees — have been briefed on the program since its inception after the 9/11 attacks.

The TFTP was evidently key to the capture of one of the world’s most formidable terrorists. Riduan bin Isamuddin, better known as “Hambali” — the critical link between al Qaeda and its Indonesian affiliate, Jemaah Islamiya, and thus at the center of the 2002 Bali bombing in which 202 people were slaughtered — is now in U.S. custody rather than wreaking more mayhem. He was apprehended in Thailand in 2003, thanks to the program, which identified a previously unknown financial link to him in Southeast Asia.

It was in view of the TFTP’s palpable value in protecting American lives, its obvious legal propriety, and the plain fact that it was being responsibly conducted that the administration pleaded with the newspapers not to reveal it after government officials despicably leaked it. Exposing the program would tell the public nothing about official misconduct. It would accomplish only the educating of al Qaeda — the nation’s enemy in an ongoing war; an enemy well-known to be feverishly plotting new, massive attacks — about how better to evade our defenses. About how better to kill us.

Appealing to the patriotism of these newspapers proved about as promising as appealing to the humanity of the terrorists they so insouciantly edify — the same monsters who, as we saw again only a few days ago with the torture murder of two American soldiers, continue to define depravity down.

The newspapers, of course, said no. Why? What could outweigh the need to protect a valid effort to shield Americans from additional, barbarous attacks? Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times, smugly decreed that the Bush administration’s “access to this vast repository of international financial data” was, in his singularly impeccable judgment, “a matter of public interest.”

And you probably thought George Bush was the imperious one. And that the public’s principal interest was in remaining alive. Wrong again.

The blunt reality here is that there is a war against the war. It is the jihad of privacy fetishists whose self-absorption knows no bounds. Pleas rooted in the well-being of our community hold no sway.

27th anniversary

Brigid and I were married 27 years ago yesterday, in the town of Mandeville, Jamaica, where we both were working as teachers.

By coincidence, our best man, Mick Paine (see joke just below), called yesterday just to catch up.

Our whole wedding, honeymoon thing was pretty funny.  I asked Brigid to marry me right after the Easter break, she said "I'd be delighted", and we were married less than eight week later.

For the whole story, click on the link just below.

Quick joke from England

My friend Mick Paine related this story to me today.

A gentleman goes into his neighborhood pharmacy and says to the pharmacist: "I'd like some arsenic please."

The pharmacist says: "Arsenic - that's a very dangerous medication. Do you have a prescription for it from your doctor?"

the gentleman replies: "No I don't, will a picture of my wife do?"

Heart disease and depression linked

The Washington Post had an interesting article today on the relationship Heart Ailments, Depression Linked. Of course it seems to me that developing any serous illness is likely to increase the depression rate.

The exact links among heart disease, bypass surgery and mood are unknown. One of the few certainties is that depression after surgery is more common in people who had previous episodes of the disorder.

Some experts believe that alterations to the normal circulation and blood pressure during bypass surgery, or small clots that form during the operation, may damage the brain, at least temporarily.

A more likely explanation is that the onset of heart symptoms -- whether or not surgery is involved -- is often a patient's first serious brush with death.

For many, it requires redefining oneself, marks the start of lifelong medicine-taking and makes ordinary activity seem dangerous, at least for a while.

Quick health update

Finally was able to get scheduled to see the Lymphoma Guru, Dr. Zelenetz. I'll be meeting with him on July 13th. If there's a cancellation before the 13th they will see if I can see him before then (appointments are only on Wednesdays and Thursdays).

If Global Warming is affecting you, here's what to do

ABC wants to know. And they aren't joking. Pretty nuttso. ABC News: Global Warming Affecting Your Life? E-Mail Us

Witnessing the impact of global warming in your life?

ABC News wants to hear from you. We're currently producing a report on the increasing changes in our physical environment, and are looking for interesting examples of people coping with the differences in their daily lives. Has your life been directly affected by global warming?

We want to hear and see your stories. Have you noticed changes in your own backyard or hometown? The differences can be large or small — altered blooming schedules, unusual animals that have arrived in your community, higher water levels encroaching on your property.

World Cup soccer joke - at England's expense

I really don't follow soccer, but enjoyed this little ditty sent to me by my friend Paul McGeown of Northern Ireland:

It is just before the England v Brazil match. Ronaldinho goes into the
Brazilian changing room to find all his teammates looking a bit glum.

"What's up?" he asks.

"Well, we're having trouble getting motivated for this game. We know it's
important but it's only England. They're crap and we can't be bothered."

Ronaldinho looks at them and says, "Well, I reckon I can beat them by myself
so you lads go down the pub."

So Ronaldinho goes out to play England by himself and the rest of the
Brazilian team go off for a few jars.

After a few pints they wonder how the game is going, so they get the
landlord to put the teletext on. A big cheer goes up as the screen reads
"Brazil 1 - England 0 (Ronaldinho 10 minutes)". Amazingly he is beating
England  all by himself!

Anyway, a few pints later and the game is forgotten until someone remembers,
"It must be full time now, let's see how he got on."

They put the teletext on.   Result from the Stadium reads "Brazil 1
(Ronaldinho 10 minutes) - England 1(Lampard 89 minutes)." They can't believe
it; he has single-handedly got a draw against England!!  They rush back to
the Stadium to congratulate Ronaldinho. They find him in the dressing room,
still in his gear, sitting with his head in his hands.

He refuses to look at them. "I've let you down, I've let you down."   "Don't
be daft, you got a draw against England, all by yourself. And they only
scored at the very, very end!"

"No, no, I have, I have, I've let you down badly and can't forgive myself
...I got sent off after 12 minutes."

Another Icon has a big birthday -Joe Montana turns 50

I guess if you're a sports fan, this is bigger than McCartney turning 64. JOE MONTANA / FACE OF 49ERS TURNS 50 / Hall of Famer lives with injuries, campaigns against high blood pressure He still looks pretty youthful.

Though some might debate whether Joe Montana is the greatest quarterback in pro football history, there's no question about his age. He's 50.

He has a pain in his neck that is really a pain in the neck.

His left knee is bone-on-bone and recently had to be drained of three vials of blood, which means he can hide but he can't run.

He has nerve damage to one of his eyes that cannot be repaired with laser surgery.

Most troubling, he has high blood pressure.

Welcome to middle age, Joe Montana.

Beagle makes 911 phone call on owners cell phone - and saves his life

Wow! Those beagles are smart. A cute story. A Bite and Bark That Saved a Life

Her owner, Kevin Weaver, 34, was in the throes of a diabetic seizure, lying unconscious on his kitchen floor in Ocoee, Fla., when Belle located his phone and chomped down on the keypad, triggering a call.

The only thing emergency dispatchers heard was barking, but it was enough cause to send help, they reasoned. Weaver, a former flight attendant, woke up hours later in the hospital, weak and disoriented. Belle was there by his side, having finagled a ride in the ambulance.

Today the pint-size canine is taking a plane to Washington -- and not in the cargo hold, mind you -- to be honored. Belle will be the first animal to receive the VITA Wireless Samaritan Award, presented each year by the CTIA Wireless Foundation.

Father's Day

I had an excellent day. Got given an ice cream maker at the family brunch. It's one of those plastic balls where you put the ingredients in, and then roll the ball around for twenty minutes, and voila! ice cream is created.

I got some other nice gifts, some funny cards, and then went off to the gym.

In the late afternoon the four of us went up to Jeanne Marie and Damian Gagnon's house. I took a pass on the pre-dinner hike up through the hills (a good ninety minute walk) since I had the excuse of having been to the gym and was wearing flip-flops. Then we all had barbecued hamburgers and jerk pork shish kabob, with their children (Philip and Kathleen; Nate and Monica are away at school) and Fr. Loyola. And a little wine and beer.

Joe won the croquet match.

A great way to spend the afternoon!

Health update and results of my fitness test

Regarding my low white blood cell count, I spoke with Dr. Kewalramani on Friday. He told me to be sure to set up an appointment with Dr. Zelenetz, my lymphoma guru (Dr. K was the transplant physician so the baton gets passed back to Dr. Zelenetz). Dr. K is not too worried about the blood count, especially since some of the key components of the WBC are within normal limits. But it is time for me to see Zelenetz.

I called his office Friday, but his nurse did not get back to me. Will call again Monday afternoon and try to make a date in the next two weeks. My last dose of Rituxin is supposed to start at the end of July - one three hour session, once a week for four weeks.

I decided to do my little fitness test on Saturday. It's actually not a full fitness test, just a strength test. When I gave up using free weights, about four years ago, and just used the machines, I was worried that this would result in an undetected slide in the strength component of my fitness. So every three weeks or so I'd do a little bench press test - five sets of five repetitions, with about a minute between each set. I would put my feet up flat on the bench (knees bent), so I couldn't "cheat" by using my legs and arching my back to lift the weight.

The amount of weight was always the bar plus two big discs - a total of 135 lbs. Some people may think this is a lot of weight, while others (like the guys I played rugby with) will be rolling around on the floor laughing and saying "I always knew he was a wimp."

Anyway that was the plan. As soon as I started the lifts Saturday I knew there was no way I could do five sets of five reps. So I scaled back to five sets of three reps and completed them all with reasonable form.

As far as my cardiovascular system is concerned, I don't really have a test. But I know my cardio is well off from what it was. I get easily puffed just playing with Tim - if I run 40 yrds I am sucking air. And while I have the ellyptical machine and stationary bike settings when I use them at their old levels, I can tell from the caloric readout that I'm not doing as well as I used to do.

So - I am not back to where I was before my lymphoma erupted. But I am going to keep at it. I will incorporate some bench presses into my weight training, instead of just using the chest press machine. And I'll try doing some interval training on the ellyptical machine - and maybe even some intervals running on the treadmill (unless it starts bothering my knees.) And there's always the rowing machine, which gives you a fantastic workout. I stopped using it about two years ago because I thought it was bothering my back, but maybe I can get away with a couple of short sessions each week.

It was just about a year ago that I started showing symptoms of the nephrotic syndrome which Dr. Zelenetz ultimately said was "a classic manifestation of mantle cell." This time a year ago, I was starting to show edema in my legs ... and didn't realize I had a problem for several more days ...

"When I'm sixty-four"

So Paul (as in McCartney, the Beetle) turns 64 tomorrow (Father's Day). The NY Times has a cute article on him, including the genesis of the song "When I'm Sixty-four", which was on the 1967 album "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band." So Paul McCartney Is 64. Now What? - New York Times

It's a good article which will only be available for free on the NYT website for a week. Anyone who wants a copy, email me or leave a comment and I will email my archived copy.

According to most accounts, Mr. McCartney wrote the lyrics for his father (his mother had died of breast cancer when he was 13) and the song was recorded not long after the elder McCartney turned 64.

"While it may have been done tongue in cheek," said Bruce Spizer, a Beatles biographer, "life began to imitate art."

Mr. McCartney's first wife, Linda, died in 1998 at 56, of breast cancer; they had been married 29 years. "The bliss of being with a lifelong partner, as expressed in 'When I'm Sixty-Four,' was shattered by Linda's tragic death," Mr. Spizer said. "The little things expressed in the song, such as working the garden and going for a Sunday morning drive, were part of his life with Linda."

And a little more:

Mr. McCartney, who recently appeared on the cover of AARP magazine, does not appear to be losing his hair yet, despite the song's augury. He has three grandchildren (not the song's "Vera, Chuck and Dave"). He is also the father of a 2-year-old daughter. And while he may not be living his own lyrical vision, Mr. McCartney seems closer to fulfilling Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" than Pete Townshend's "Hope I die before I get old."

Now a billionaire, he has said he has no plans to retire, either as a rock star or as an animal-rights advocate (although, at 65, he will be entitled to a basic pension from the British government, at least $156 a week, and a free transit pass).

This year, the first baby boomers turned 60. About 2.7 million other Americans observe their 64th birthdays in 2006, including Muhammad Ali, Erica Jong, Larry Flynt, Garrison Keillor, Michael Bloomberg, Harrison Ford, Ted Kaczynski and Barbra Streisand. (Ringo Starr, the only other surviving member of the Fab Four, will be 66 next month; John Lennon was murdered at 40 in 1980; George Harrison died of cancer at 58 in 2001.)

"The slogan back then was 'Never trust anyone over 30,' " recalled Jeff Greenfield, the CNN commentator, who is 63. "We thought people would be dead or in a home by their 60's."

A bull market for the Catholic Church in the southern hemisphere?

The National Catholic Reporter (NCR) is an independent Catholic publication in the U.S. I'm not too keen on NCR, with the significant exception of reporter John Allen's weekly column "The Word from Rome", which is often excellent (and free by email).

This week a large part of his column is devoted to the gorwth of the Church in the southern hemisphere/third world. The Word From Rome June 16, 2006 The whole article is worth reading; here are some excerpts:

The premise is usually that the church is in a crisis, one serious enough to provoke a re-examination of current doctrines or disciplines.

While there's perfectly legitimate debate to be had on each of these questions, the underlying assumption of decline reveals a particularly Western focus. The reality is that worldwide, these are boom times for Catholicism, not bust.

The numbers are indisputable.

In 1900, at the dawn of the 20th century, there were 459 million Catholics in the world, of whom 392 million were found in Europe and North America, and just 67 million scattered across the rest of the planet, principally in Latin America.

In 2000, there were 1.1 billion Catholics in the world, with 380 million in Europe and North America, and almost 800 million in the global South. Roughly half of the Catholics in the world today live in Latin America alone. Given demographic and religious trends, this population realignment in global Christianity will continue. By 2025, only one Catholic in five in the world will be a non-Hispanic Caucasian.

Population growth explains some, but not all, of this expansion. The last half-century has also witnessed a striking wave of adult conversions to Christianity, especially in Africa.

Between 1970 and 1985, to take just one index, some 4,300 people a day were leaving Christian churches in Europe and North America. Over the same period, there were 16,500 conversions to Christianity a day in Africa, yielding an annual growth of some 6 million new African Christians. In Roman Catholicism, more than half of all adult baptisms in the world, generally considered the most reliable indication of conversions, are in Africa alone.

Here's some more:

In other words, the central challenge for world Catholicism at the moment is not decline, but growth, and making sense of the new interactions between faith and culture this growth is generating.

"Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic" has passed into the cultural idiom as a synonym for blithe indifference to an underlying crisis. I would suggest that much conversation in Western Catholicism these days is more akin to arguing over which buggy whips are best, while ignoring the emergence of the car; that is, a completely new world is taking shape, one destined to render many of this era's debates obsolete.

Lastly:

First, religion, like politics, tends to be local. Most Europeans and some North Americans are indeed experiencing decline, and there's a natural tendency to assume this is the universal story.

Second, since Westerners are not responsible for expansion in the developing world, we tend not to notice it. Iraq's baby steps towards democracy have been huge news in the West, largely because it's happening as a result of massive American and British intervention; Mali's emergence as a stable democracy in Western Africa, meanwhile, has not attracted the same attention, in part because the Africans did it almost entirely on their own.

Third, as Lamin Sanneh, a native of Ghana who now teaches at the Yale Divinity School, notes in his 2003 book Whose Religion is Christianity?, the 20th century explosion in Christianity occurred at a time when "conversion" had become a bad word. Thus it has largely flown below the radar.

"Political correctness created a PR vacuum," Sanneh wrote.

A little Friday humor

Last Saturday a young woman semi-streaked the Ireland - New Zealand international match (she left her bikini on). Story and picture are here:  Kiwi woman cashes in on bikini dash - OffTheField - RugbyHeaven

She was fined for disorderly conduct, and then auctioned off her bikini onlne for 10 times the price of the fine.

A 32-year-old truck driver who identified himself as a former boyfriend of Lewis claimed he bought the bikini for her and told a newspaper he wanted the online auction halted, and that if not, the proceeds should go to him.

The man, who did not want to be named in the Waikato Times article, said he also paid for breast enlargements for Lewis.

"Counting the boobs and the bikini," Lewis was baring more than $NZ15,000 worth of presents he had given her, the man said.

Head of Anglican Church speaks out at Queen's 80th birthday

Here's are some interesting comments from the head of the Anglican Church in the UK, Archbishop Rowan Williams. It's from a sermon at a service celebrating the Queen's birthday.Archbishop attacks 'toxic time in which we live' | the Daily Mail

"And in the new century and millennium, what we have to fear is a toxic mixture of religion that has become inhuman, economic power sustained at massive human cost, and the technologies of destruction that can be used by armies and by terrorists alike for impersonal killing.

"You may sometimes hear complaints that in Britain we suffer from being subjects rather than citizens, and that this produces a culture of deference and passivity. But what if our common allegiance to the monarch were in fact something that helped us to be adult citizens?

"The identity of the United Kingdom has had something to do with the development of a critical democracy within the framework of symbol and tradition. At our best, we have found solidarity in a network of relationships and practices quite hard to codify, but variously connected with the personal focus that is the monarch.

"And the British monarch is not an absolute ruler demanding mindless loyalty, but the one who guarantees space for the rest of society to argue and negotiate and change, as mature citizen-societies must, who 'defends our laws' as the National Anthem puts it."

The Queen's birthday was April 21st, but for some reason celebrates officially this Saturday.

If you are new to this weblog and looking for information on my lymphoma...

Scroll down, and a bit below my picture you'll see "Categories". The only category is "My lymphoma and related medical stuff". If you click on that, only the lymphoma-related and a few other health-related postings will appear! My other ramblings, family stories, and mediocre jokes will be gone.

Then go to this January 8th posting, Tom Faranda's Folly: Four months of journaling  that gives links to 13 earlier posts. These posts will give you a good picture of my chemo treatment prior to the Sloan Kettering admission with the stem cell transplant. The 13 posts take a total of about 20 minutes to read. Of course, feel free to read the many other posts in the first four months, if you are so inclined.

Then start working chronologically forward from January 8th.

Health update - CBC results

Well, no change from two weeks ago. the white blood count is 2.0.

I will no doubt get a call from  Dr. Kewalramani in the next day or two.

I haven't mentioned this, but all the post-chemo symptoms that had been a bit bothersome - the cracked and nails with ridges, and the loss of sensation in the tips of my fingers - have know completely disappeared.

Rove beats the rap

As I've mentioned before, "I know the special counsel", Patrck Fitzgerald, Tom Faranda's Folly: I played rugby with Patrick Fitzgerald who has been investigating Karl Rove for three years.

Here's the Washington Post article on Rove being cleared: Karl Rove Won't Be Charged in CIA Leak Case

The pain this will cause among lefty groups is too much to contemplate.

Quick health update

I have my CBC Wednesday morning and here's hoping my white blood count will be heading higher. I will also have my medi-port flushed, since it's been almost six weeks since the last flushing.

I was able to get to the gym for eight consecutiave days, and then missed today because of work pressures. I spent a good part of the day in Connecticut.

The gym has been going well. I think this weekend I'll do my little test to see how far I've come back since getting back to the gym on April 7th.

$106,076.13

The above number is the cost of my stay at Sloan Kettering for my high dose chemo and stem cell autologous transplant. I was admitted january 9th and discharged on Jan. 28th. I got the bill this past Thursday, so it took almost four months for them to sort it out, and get their payment from Aetna.

After making some adjustments (which I can't understand!) the bill to the insurance company was $98,830. Aetna paid $83,041.07, as they only have to pay a discounted amount (by contract with Sloan).

My part of the bill came to $458.93, under the title of "co-insurance amount."

While this bill from Sloan contained clear explanations, others from them are very difficult to figure out. I am the health insurance broker for over 20 businesses. To be blunt, I am an expert. If I have trouble understanding my bills, where does that leave the average person who is introduced to this stuff when they are sick, and have no background in insurance?

Having made that point, in this case the insurance worked the way insurance is supposed to work. I had a potentially catastrophic illness, but the health insurer paid for virtually everything. I believe my gross total bills in the last year approached $200,000, with Aetna's actual cost perhaps 130-140K and my out of pocket a couple of thousand dollars.

Some interesting international rugby results

It is summer tour time for the big northern hemisphere teams, as they play internationals against southern hemisphere national teams.

And this weekend the results were a whitewash for the northern hemisphere. Argentina defeated Wales 27-25. Australia pummeled an under-strength England, 34-3. And Scotland lost to South Africa, 36-16.

The most interesting game was Ireland v. New Zealand. Ireland was the strongest of the touring teams, and lead for much of their game, but ultimately the power of the All Blacks was too much, and New Zealand won, 34-23.

For highlights of the Ireland-New Zealand game, go here.AllBlacks.com Video

New pet arrives

Our guinea pig Vindabel departed this veil of tears a little less than a month ago. Tom Faranda's Folly: Sad news in farandaville as guinea pig leaves us It was sudden. A mini-tragedy, as is the loss of any pet.

So today we got our new guinea pig. She was the most interesting-looking of the bunch at the pet store in Ossining, and we all agreed she was the one for us. Her temporary name is Trinity, since she has three colors and we got her on Trinity Sunday. But it's probably a temporary name as we don't think Trinity is really a name for a little furry creature. She is about a month old.

Here are her baby pictures. And by the way, guinea pigs are good pets - clean, warm and furry, and easy to take care of.

Bloggers assemble in Vegas; why wasn't I invited?

The NY Times this morning had an article on a Blogger Convention out in Las Vegas. Gathering Highlights Power of the Blog - New York Times  The Convention is for political junkies.

Here's the picture in the print version of the paper. For some reason the term "Nerd" keeps popping into my head.

Some excerpts:

There were the bloggers — nearly a thousand of them, many of them familiar names by now — emerging from the shadows of their computers for a three-day blur of workshops, panels and speeches about politics, the power of the Internet and the shortcomings of the Washington media. And right behind them was a parade of prospective Democratic presidential candidates and party leaders, their presence a tribute to just how much the often rowdy voices of the Web have been absorbed into the very political process they frequently disdain, much to the amazement, and perhaps discomfort, of some of the bloggers themselves.

"I see you guys as agents of advocacy — that's why I'm here," said Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, a Democrat and a prospective 2008 presidential candidate, who flew here at the last minute to attend the YearlyKos 2006 Convention. Bloggers, Mr. Richardson said later, "are a major voice in American politics."

They may think of themselves as rebels, separate from mainstream politics and media. But by the end of a day on which the convention halls were shoulder to shoulder with bloggers, Democratic operatives, candidates and Washington reporters, it seemed that bloggers were well on the way to becoming — dare we say it? — part of the American political establishment. Indeed, the convention, the first of what organizers said would become an annual event, seems on the way to becoming as much a part of the Democratic political circuit as the Iowa State Fair.

"It's 2006, and I think we have arrived," Markos Moulitsas, the founder of the Daily Kos and the man for whom the conference was named, announced after being greeted with the kind of reception Elvis, or at least Wayne Newton to a more traditional Las Vegas audience, might have received had he walked into the dowdy ballroom at the Riviera Hotel and Casino. (Mr. Moulitsas was accompanied by a media adviser and bloggers snapped his picture whenever they spotted him.)

"Both parties have failed us," Mr. Moulitsas said. "Republicans have failed us because they can't govern. Democrats have failed because they can't get elected. So now it's our turn."

The ceremony and self-celebration notwithstanding, the actual extent of the blogging community's power is still unclear. For one thing, it was hard to find a single Republican in the crowd here, though organizers insisted that a few had registered. For another, as the presidential campaign of Howard Dean demonstrated in 2004, the excitement and energy of the Web does not necessarily translate into winning at the polls.

Spain to give "fundamental rights" to great apes and chimps?

I love animals but this is a bit much. Spain ponders rights for all the great apes - World - insider.washingtontimes.com

An excerpt:

   The law would eliminate the concept of "ownership" for great apes, instead placing them under the "moral guardianship" of the state, much as is the case for children in care, the severely handicapped and those in comas, said the lawmaker behind the project, Francisco Garrido.
    Great apes held in Spanish zoos would be moved to state-built sanctuaries, unless there was a risk that moving them would harm their emotional welfare, he said.
    The law would also make it a criminal offense to mistreat or kill a great ape, except in cases of self-defense or medical euthanasia. As a first step, Mr. Garrido, a Green member from Seville who sits with the Socialists, will propose a resolution on the rights of great apes before parliament's environment committee at the end of this month. He expects the committee to approve the resolution, which already has received the public support of ministers.
    Mr. Garrido said he was confident that either the government, or the ruling Socialist majority, would introduce a Great Apes Law after the summer recess.
    The Roman Catholic Church has expressed concerns about his resolution.
    The archbishop of Pamplona and Tudela, Fernando Sebastian, has said that only a "ridiculous or distorted society" could propose such a law.
    "We don't give rights to some people -- such as unborn children, human embryos, and we are going to give them to apes," the archbishop said.
    Amnesty International's Spanish branch has also expressed concerns, saying that humans have yet to see their rights fully guaranteed. A senior member of the Spanish opposition Partido Popular, Arturo Esteban, called the proposal an "act of moral poverty."
    The proposal has been front page news since parliament heard testimony from members of the Great Ape Project (GAP), a Seattle-based activist group that campaigns for the creation of a "community of equals" in which humans, chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans would all have three fundamental rights: the right to life, to freedom, and to protection from torture.
    Their "declaration" calls for great apes to be kept locked up only when they are a threat to the community, and then only with a right of appeal to the courts, with representation by a lawyer.

Is Poland the new Ireland?

I must be in a theological / religious state of mind (note the prior post). Here's an interesting article on the phenomenon of an expanding number of seminarians in Poland. They are in demand throughout Europe, with more than 100 of them in the mission land of England! BBC NEWS | Europe | Polish priests fill European gaps They seem to be assuming the role of the Irish.

About a quarter of all young men training to become Roman Catholic priests in Europe are Polish.

And Polish priests are increasingly in demand to plug the gaps in the rest of the continent.

At the seminary in Lublin, in south-eastern Poland, there are 171 young men preparing for the priesthood.

They are among 7,131 from all over the country.

Compare that to traditionally Catholic Spain. Its population is similar to Poland's, but in 2001 it had fewer than 1,800 seminarians.

Nine Mexican martyrs

I picked up on this on Amy Welborn's weblog, Open Book. There's a link to Open Book on my skimpy blogroll to the right of this posting.

For some reason I thought of the thug Zarqawi, proclaimed a "martyr" on the Al Queda website, and his so-called "spiritual advisor" (what was he doing - advising him about Moloch?). And the juxtaposition with these nine young men killed in the Mexican persecutions in the 1920's.  José Anacleto Gónzalez Flores and eight Companions - biography

Friday Funnies

Our friend Laurie Hurley sent me this and it's really funny!   YouTube - Evolution of Dance

Nine months of Journaling

I started this journal on September 8, '05, and today is June 7th, '06, so that's nine months of journaling. This will be the 355th post. Sometime yesterday the 10,000th visit was made to the weblog.

When I began the journal, it was primarily to record my odyssey through treatment and chemotherapy for my lymhoma. And it still is that, even though the number of specific postings on my treatment and current health status have diminished, and the number of other postings has gone up. I suppose the postings reflect my interests, thoughts, and opinions, and perhaps reflect my state of mind(?!?), which all can be considered part of the "odyssey."

About the only things I haven't touched on are sex (much to Brigid's relief, no doubt) and my work (a desire to not have the journal appear as an advert for my services).

Otherwise I've named names of friends and supporters (Without doubt the best part of writing the journal. The amount of support my family and I have received has been unbelievably gratifying.), put up dumb jokes, made inane comments, and posted articles, many of which only I would be interested in. To say nothing of my "latest read" efforts.

And I have greatly appreciated the many people with lymphoma who contacted me, mostly by email. Following their stories has been enlightening and a great help. Tomorrow I am going to write about one person who I've already written about, and who I met with last October.

"The Yankees Win!"

Yesterday Tim was invited by his friend Justin to join his family in a trip to Yankee Stadium to see the Yanks v. Red Sox. So I watched the game on the boob tube, and it was a low-scoring classic, which the Yanks won, 2-1.

The highlight of the game came in the eighth inning when the youngest Yankee, Melky Cabrera, robbed the Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez of a home run. A spectacular play, and it's up on video on the Yanks website. Click here, New York Yankees : The Official Site and then click on the small picture on the right side of the page (your right), showing Cabrera making the catch. Worth seeing. It will only be available a day or two.

CBS news - Terrorist attack imminent?

Here's an uncomfortable report, Another Terrorist Attack Coming Soon?, CBS News: U.S. Officials Believe Recent Incidents Point To An Imminent Threat - CBS News and which offers some credible logic for concern.

In short, Osama bin Laden didn't pay for these plots, recruit for them or even know of them. They were all totally homegrown — even amateurish. But if four, including the one in Canada, have been uncovered in just 11 months, officials fear there are inevitably other plots that have not been and are maturing even now.

The next attack here, officials predict, will bear no resemblance to Sept. 11. The casualty toll will not be that high, the target probably not that big. We may not even recognize it for what it is at first, they say. But it's coming — of that they seem certain.

NY Times on spate of new cancer drugs on the horizon.

The New York Times this morning had an article on the pending blizzard of cancer drugs in the pipeline for the next few years. New Drugs for Cancer Could Soon Flood Market - New York Times

This article will only be available for free on the NYT website for a week. I have archived a copy for anyone who comes across this post after June 13th - just email me for a copy.

An excerpt:

"We're all going to have to have flash cards to remember all the names of these agents in the future," Dr. Hope S. Rugo of the University of California, San Francisco, said after presenting a lecture on sunitinib, axitinib, sorafenib, pazopanib and other similar-acting and similar-sounding drugs.

About 400 cancer drugs from 178 companies are in clinical trials, according to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association. That is twice the number of drugs in trials for illnesses like Alzheimer's disease and depression and nearly three times as many as for heart attack and stroke.

For patients, the flood of drugs is generally good news because it means a better chance of finding one, or a combination, that will work for them. "From the standpoint of the patients there is never too many," said Dr. Robert J. Motzer, a kidney cancer specialist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

Increased competition could also mean that drug companies will put more effort into reducing side effects. In the past, it was considered acceptable for drugs to have noxious side effects because cancer was a fatal disease.

But for the companies, the competition could mean smaller markets for each drug and costlier clinical trials to differentiate a product from its competitors. Competition could also bring down prices, which are now reaching $100,000 a year for some cancer drugs, though overall costs to patients might rise as more drugs are used in combination.

Monday night joke

I respect anyone who can figure out how to get paid 15 million dollars a year just for talking (being "perky"), but this is still a joke.

"Anyone who watches 'Today' knows I've done more hard-hitting interviews than any evening news anchor."                                                                                                                                           - Katie Couric, speaking at the annual convention of CBS news affiliates.                                                                                                                                       

                                                 

Summerfest in Croton

My town of Croton-on-Hudson NY (pop. 7,000) has been having a street fair for close to 20 years (maybe longer). The usual stuff; a nice parade, and plenty of street vendors, local businesses, churches, philanthropic groups, etc, having exhibits and stalls on the street.

Our church, Holy Name of Mary is into the fair in a big way. Besides selling a ton of food, there's kids games and face painting. And big exhibits by the Knights of Columbus (legally, not part of the parish, but closely associated...) and the HNM Respect Life Society (anti-poverty, anti-abortion, anti-war, anti-death penalty, VERY pro-people).

Brigid and I took 112 pictures today, so here's a baker's dozen of them:

Our pastor, Fr. Michael Keane, working the barbecue -

The K of C booth with Dan and Chris before the crowds arrive -

This is the front of the Church. The food set-up is out of the picture to the right and the kids stuff out of the picture to the left  -

And some people shots -

Whose green head is that between Greg and Jim?

The clean-up crew - and you can't clean up without a beer! The lady leaning over the table in jeans is Lori Vlad, who's been chief organizer of Summerfest at HNM for the last two years.

Sean Flynn and his new pet win the picture of the day award -

Week-end is coming, so here's the Friday afternoon joke

A man owned a small farm in upstate New York. The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance claimed he was not paying proper wages to his help and sent an agent out to interview him.

"I need a list of your employees and how much you pay them," demanded the agent.

"Well, there are my hired hands. One has been with me for four years; the other for three. I pay them each $600 a week, plus free room and board. The cook has been here for 18 months, and I pay her $500 a month plus free room and board. Then there's the half-wit that works here about 18 hours a day. He takes home $10 a week and I buy him a bottle of bourbon every Saturday," replied the farmer.

"That's the guy I want to talk to -- the half-wit you're exploiting," said the agent.

The farmer said, "That would be me."

If you are new to this weblog and looking for information on my lymphoma...

Scroll down, and a bit below my picture you'll see "Categories". The only category is "My lymphoma and related medical stuff". If you click on that, only the lymphoma-related and a few other health-related postings will appear! My other ramblings, family stories, and mediocre jokes will be gone.

Then go to this January 8th posting, Tom Faranda's Folly: Four months of journaling  that gives links to 13 earlier posts. These posts will give you a good picture of my chemo treatment prior to the Sloan Kettering admission with the stem cell transplant. The 13 posts take a total of about 20 minutes to read. Of course, feel free to read the many other posts in the first four months, if you are so inclined.

Then start working chronologically forward from January 8th.

Latest read: "Coach"

This book was given to me while I was in Sloan Kettering in January, by Steve Valerio and his wife Jennifer. For a couple of years while I was coaching the North Jersey Rugby Club, Steve was the president of the club. He wrote a really lovely sentiment in the front of the book, for which I am greatly appreciative.

Coach is not the type of book I'd buy for myself, but it was pretty good! I really enjoyed it. There are 25 reminiscences by a variety of people - mostly professional writers and authors - about coaches who deeply influenced them. Of course some of the essays were pretty average - to be expected when there are 25 of them - but some of them were really quite brilliant.

My favorite was by Jane Leavy (never heard of her before reading this book) entitled "Coaching Bob" and it's different from the rest of the essays. In it she describes coaching Bob - a man suffering from AIDS - on how to live his life and face his impending death.

The last three essays were by well-knwn sports writers and commentators Bob Wolff, Ira Berkow, and Bud Collins. All very good.

The fellow who gave me the book, Steve Valerio, is a your typical great guy rugby player. When I started coaching North Jersey, Steve, who was called "Flash" because of his (lack of) speed, was playing wing, the speed position on the rugby field. After a while, having discerned his (lack of) speed, we moved him to wing forward, where he never let us down.