Accidental Bloggertag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-2351552009-11-12T00:01:00-06:00Cerebral Table TalkTypePadUneasy Alliancestag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef012875794937970c2009-11-12T00:01:00-06:002009-11-11T23:20:54-06:00Since Ronald Reagan first began flirting with the religious right, the ultra conservative base of the Republican Party has become steadily more empowered. Although for both Reagan and Bush Sr. lip service to the far right wing was political expediency,...RuchiraThe AMA questions US government policies towards gaystag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0128758781a0970c2009-11-12T00:00:00-06:002009-11-11T23:18:45-06:00The American Medical Association (AMA) has just concluded its bi-annual policy conference in Houston during which the organization addressed public health policies including the cost and management of medical care in America. This year the AMA has come out in...RuchiraAll Sujatha wants for Christmas is a book by Malcom Gladwelltag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a676edf6970b2009-11-11T00:01:00-06:002009-11-10T22:16:48-06:00Here is why.RuchiraMaddy wants patient choice!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a676de6d970b2009-11-11T00:00:00-06:002009-11-11T01:05:31-06:00Babies and cute animals sell products. Congressman John Shadegg of Arizona set out to take that marketing ploy a bit too far, in fact nauseatingly so. During last Saturday's debate on health care reform, he used an infant like a...RuchiraWho Is a Jew in England? (Joe)tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a66b4ce5970b2009-11-09T17:24:56-06:002009-11-09T17:24:56-06:00Potentially misleading subject adapted from the headline of this NYT article. An Orthodox Jewish high school in London is refusing to admit a Jewish student who is not, by Orthodox standards, Jewish, because he is not Jewish. Predictably, there's a...JoeHealth Care Reform -the Cliffs Notes Edition (Sujatha)tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a6625dd8970b2009-11-08T11:00:00-06:002009-11-08T07:53:53-06:00The bill passed yesterday that Pres.Obama was ecstatic enough to personally email me about it at 1:03 am. And here I thought that only Hillary Clinton got 3 am calls. Here is the section by section summary link of the...SujathaAnsel Adams in Color tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef01287562487c970c2009-11-08T00:09:55-06:002009-11-08T16:00:19-06:00During our childhood, for many years and even more hours, my sister and I used to pore over a book of photography that our father had brought home when I was probably six or seven years old and my sister...RuchiraLabel? Diagnosis? Ill-Defined Something? (Joe)tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a6545ec6970b2009-11-04T17:22:48-06:002009-11-04T17:22:48-06:00Interesting NYT article about the movement for the 2012 DSM-V to get rid of "Asperger's syndrome," as well as "pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified," and make everything fall within the autism spectrum. Link.JoeA puzzle on gay marriage (prasad)tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a6a86519970c2009-11-04T12:39:07-06:002009-11-04T12:38:58-06:00Roughly equal parts of the country want gay marriage, civil unions without marriage, and no legal recognition whatsoever. I'm assuming the second category is what 'swings' in marriage votes as in California or Maine. Ad campaigns that cleverly use the...prasad"I am them!" tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a64d6ce5970b2009-11-03T00:01:00-06:002009-11-03T00:38:09-06:00Sounds like something straight out of ancient Hindu philosophy. Well, you realize you are drunk, you are driving and not very well; naturally, it's time to lapse into metaphysics or at the very least, some commendable drunken clarity.RuchiraProving allegiance in hostile times - saving the Lost Battaliontag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a64af4f8970b2009-11-03T00:00:00-06:002009-11-03T00:43:30-06:00A poignant war story, more than six decades old, describes the desperation and anxiety of Japanese Americans during World War II. Citizens of the US, they had to prove their loyalty to their country in those uncertain times of suspicion...RuchiraThe real reason why Pakistan is fragiletag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a69eb9cf970c2009-11-02T00:00:00-06:002009-11-02T10:52:51-06:00Staying on the topic of Pakistan for one more day - this time I bring you a book review by Indian journalist Manoj Joshi. Written by Pakistani born author Farzana Shaikh, the book examines the underlying causes of Pakistan's political...RuchiraA Shifting of Battlefronts? (Sujatha)tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a64494cd970b2009-10-31T16:15:00-05:002009-10-31T16:17:50-05:00Something rather strange was evident from the reports of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit last week to Pakistan. The articles suggest that her visit was not met with garlands and roses, but howls of protest and bitterness. What happened...SujathaGrave Concerns & Paw Prints (a Halloween Post)tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a63c11ea970b2009-10-30T00:00:00-05:002009-10-30T00:00:00-05:00To the English, a grave is like their second home (or castle). Dead Londoners do not want to share graves with the previously dead, even though London is running out of space for the dead. (Why has cremation not caught...RuchiraMad Men in 60 Seconds (prasad)tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a68ae431970c2009-10-29T12:31:17-05:002009-10-29T12:31:17-05:00prasadPutting the caste system on noticetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a689310e970c2009-10-29T00:04:47-05:002009-10-29T00:27:56-05:00The United Nations high commissioner on human rights has decided to target India's caste system. Navi Pillay, the South African judge who became the United Nations high commissioner for human rights last year, is moving to the forefront of a...Ruchira “Religious, superstitious, nonsense” and other harsh words. tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a6890a29970c2009-10-29T00:00:00-05:002009-10-29T00:20:52-05:00As Dean pointed out in this post, "A lot of discussion concerning A.B. over the years has taken place "under the radar," via email between the authors, usually with Ruchira at the hub of the network. We get caught up...RuchiraPeople, Places and Thingstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a627664b970b2009-10-28T00:00:00-05:002009-10-28T00:00:00-05:00When culture influences grammar. (Link: Dean) Everybody knows that a noun is the name of a person, place, or thing. It's one of those undeniable facts of daily life, a fact we seldom question until we meet up with a...Ruchira"Nobel" does not always equal "Noble" tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a6715d20970c2009-10-25T16:12:49-05:002009-10-25T23:04:13-05:00The Nobel Prize is awarded for extraordinary achievement, not for special wisdom or emotional maturity. One of this year's three Nobel laureates in chemistry is Venkatraman Ramakrishnan. Ramakrishnan is the seventh Indian born person to win this honor. Although he...RuchiraReturn; Reinstate; Refundtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a61c7658970b2009-10-24T23:26:17-05:002009-10-24T23:27:39-05:00We have discussed this topic a couple of times here, the last time was not so long ago. What do modern nations owe each other regarding the return of or restitution for art and artifacts (some of them very ancient...RuchiraSome day there will be liberaltarians. But not today (D)tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a66ea3b6970c2009-10-23T09:11:32-05:002009-10-27T13:02:31-05:00To someone who's broadly liberal, but doesn't think so ill of corporations as these people, and on the whole rather approves of free trade and globalization, this Reason article by Kerry Howley should feel like a friendly handshake from across...prasadU.S. Government Does Not Assassinate People (Joe)tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a668778c970c2009-10-21T20:59:02-05:002009-10-21T21:08:02-05:00That would be, rumor has it, illegal. The government does, however, engage in this (see also here). But, you know, a secret C.I.A. Predator drone program in which C.I.A. operatives in Virginia are remotely terminating people who rank highly on...JoeA Diplomatic Diary: Maddening Nigerians, Dishonest Nicaraguans, Lewd Thais, Unimpressive Canadians ...tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a6576483970c2009-10-21T00:01:00-05:002009-10-21T11:44:26-05:00And bloviating bureaucrats! Recently disclosed letters from UK diplomats to their home office in London reveal the contempt and exasperation they harbored for their foreign hosts. To their credit, the supercilious officials sniffed equally impatiently at cocktail parties and the...RuchiraPraising with a forked tonguetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a60bd27d970b2009-10-21T00:00:00-05:002009-10-21T00:00:00-05:00Gotta love the GOP ignoramuses. I mean, what would we be doing here without the endless stream of gaffes, Freudian slips and calculated outrages that emanate from the right wing corridors of power? This one comes from South Carolina: After...RuchiraFour Years of Fun, Frolic and Occasional Furytag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a5f39b32970b2009-10-19T00:00:00-05:002009-10-19T01:08:26-05:00Today Accidental Blogger enters its fifth year. For the past four years my co-bloggers and I have shared our thoughts with each other and our readers, doing our bit to add to the cacophony of the blogosphere, whether or not...RuchiraDon't get battered; don't get pregnant. tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a644f0ae970c2009-10-16T15:03:34-05:002009-10-16T15:03:34-05:00We have all heard about cancer, heart disease, diabetes and even mental illness creating road blocks for people trying to get health insurance. Guess what else can qualify as a "pre-existing condition" for some insurance companies to deny you coverage?...RuchiraWhen good physicists go rogue (D)tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a5ecb695970b2009-10-16T08:18:02-05:002009-10-16T08:17:51-05:00The New York Times has an article about someone who thinks the higgs boson is traveling back in time to stop the Large Hadron Collider (where I do my research) from working. As evidence, we are reminded of project delays,...prasadWhere has he been? tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a5ea0b02970b2009-10-15T15:58:22-05:002009-10-15T15:58:22-05:00An interracial couple has been denied a marriage license by a justice of peace in Louisiana. Keith Bardwell, the man refusing to issue the license, claims he is not a racist but that he is concerned for the well being...RuchiraMidweek Linkery tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a63a1ef2970c2009-10-13T23:40:40-05:002009-10-14T10:30:20-05:00Swine Flu Once Again: This came to me via e-mail - a doctor's guide to protect against the influenza virus, H1N1included. The doctor is Indian born and you will note that his pointers are almost identical to my own advice,...RuchiraThe Texas marriage trap tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c575d53ef0120a5d99b3d970b2009-10-11T17:12:14-05:002009-10-11T17:59:57-05:00Divorce is good for marriage! At least, that is proving to be true for a gay married couple in Texas, as a current court case here illustrates. HOUSTON — A judge in Texas paved the way for a court battle...Ruchira