:: Porkchop Serum ::

:: Saturday, July 19, 2003 ::

UK Scientist in Iraq Dispute Died of Slit Wrist

Here's an interesting story for you both. Something you don't see everyday. I was hoping also, Matt to get your opinion on this having worked with suicidal kids and perhaps having some perspective on the matter as a mental health professional of sorts.

So, the story goes, this guy, a mild mannered scientist in the Blair government succumbs to the pressure, walks out into a wooded area down from his house, and slits his wrists.. I can think of easier ways to kill one's self, especially ways that wouldnt hurt so damn much. The reports also make note of a bottle of Coproxamol found near the body, a pain-killer that is notorious for its widespread use as a way to overdose.

I dont know about you guys, but painless and/or quick looks a lot more attractive (in a suicide sense) than to slice yourself and sit back while you bleed out.

At the risk of fueling the tin-hatters, I submit some observations about the Kelly case. Grain of salt included:

If one looks at a suicide distribution by age, Kelly's suicide puts him way off on the tail (15 cases in 100,000).

According to a German study done last year examining differences in suicide between the old (65-79)and oldest old(80+), Kelly's status as married (no note?) and the fact that he used what is termed an "undetermined" method (self-poisoning, drowning, CO and cutting) makes his suicide even more unusual (men using determined methods rises from 59 to 64 to 72 percent going from middle age to old to oldest old) Not to mention that his method (lumped in the "other group") makes up 20% of all total suicide in England in 1999

Perhaps the surrounding circumstances were severe enough to bring about such an apparently rare and infrequent suicide.Maybe the pressure on Kelly was more intense than has been speculated thus far.

:: sandy 5:15 PM [+] ::
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Ok, i was just checking out the latest to be published blogs on the blogger homepage and they ALL SUCK!!! I mean, mindless blather about their kitty or random John Lennon lyrics. WE ROCK, I tell ya. We got creativity, we have international politics and most importantly.. we have MATT!!! I mean come on, if homeboy had a tiny bit of discipline up his is Medula OblongNutsack, he would RUN the blog-verse. Silly, just Silly. Anyway, let us get back to our regularly scheduled bullshitstorm.

:: sandy 10:28 PM [+] ::
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No catastrophe nearing (although the Patriot act isn't particularly appealing). Just an example.

The concept of a braindrain is definitely real and is taking place all over the world in places like Iran and India where very smart and capable people live but their native lands don't offer the opportunity that America does. Although, there are a great deal of modern world leaders as well as scientists and economists etc etc that go to America or Britain or Europe simply for the education and then return home.


I'm sure there are some countries in the world whose populace would love nothing better than to mount a rebellion. Dictators have become politically saavy over the years and I think this is why you dont see American style revolutions more often. Leaders play one segment of the population off another, keep them poor but not too poor. Listen to some of their complaints but not all. All to the point where people have to worry more about subsistance and their immediate families rather than politics. Technology and weapons proliferation also hampers things. Those in charge have more money than those who arent. They can afford to arm a police force and pay them to arrest and repress. How can a village of hungry farmers compete with a roving band armed with AK's and hopped up on narcotics? And what of the impassioned revolutionaries preaching to the choir of the ills of their leaders? Well, news travels faster these days and its harder to foment a revoluation in private than it used to be. Maybe rebelling against a colonizing force is perhaps easier than attempting to depose the fascist murder who lives in the well guarded mansion on the other side of town. This because, well, he aint going nowhere.

:: sandy 1:47 PM [+] ::
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I believe immigration is the Beller's forte. I wanna hear more about this pastor. Does he want them to come live in the US. Jeez, I would if I were him. Not to say that being a Liberian means that you would identify with this type of behavior but I was leafing through a Time at the Dr's office and came up this. No those are not animal bones hanging from what I guess is a felled tree, some sort of "Welcome to my World" entranceway into a realm of brutality that staggers the mind. Do you have any input, Matt? Killing other people seems like such an adult pastime. Once you fully grasp your own mortality does killing someone become a final option, a last resort. The endgame for rage and desperation. Have these young minds been rendered permanantly broken? Dipped in the acid of murder and pulled from the vats with smoldering voids.

Our two party system is bizarre, no doubt. Unlike other goverments with multiple party coalitions and partnerships, having two parties creates a larger army of devotees for both. Each army will have a vanguard with the most money, the most access and the most quotes in the paper.

You think that people in the rest of the country aren't cynical about politics? I'd say most of the country is downright apathetic.

Your sports analogy almost works for me. Sure I root against the Yankees. You damn straight I was happy they didnt make it to the World Series last year but there is one vital difference between and Orioles fan hating the Yankees and the struggle between the political parties. I can't deny that the Yankees are skilled enough to be there. You look at that team during their streak of World Series Titles and you basically hate them because they're SO GOOD and you wish that your team was good enough to be the best. Same with the Lakers. Shaq and Kobe at their max are truly unstoppable and you almost resent them for being so fortunate to be THAT good.

Democrats believe that Republican policies will damage the country. No one thinks that the Yankees will damage baseball simply by being good. I won't deny that politics exists in MLB but you get my point.

Personally, living near Washington DC means that although one day we might wake up and its 1984, I'll have seen it coming and fought it the best way I know how. If you don't pay attention to what our representatives are doing then you lose the right to complain. What I find most distasteful about politics is that so often, an general deological debate devolves for some into personal attacks. Liberals are spineless, Conservatives are fascists. If you can't debate the issues without insulting someone personally, you do a disserve to your position as a representative of the people.

:: sandy 7:26 PM [+] ::
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Something is stupid with the blogger. I had to republish your posts, Sean, to see them on the actually blog.

Venom? There is no venom? You know that right? Short of some sort of catastrophic double cross in one of our future criminal ventures, I aint got nothin but love. BUT, that does not protect you from a little of the friendly ribbing.

I'm curious about these rats. They must possess human traits to be able to weild power from behind the scenes for so long. BTW, who's the genius that put a retarded rat in charge of the executive branch? Sigh, it's only a matter of time before the pigeons rise.

:: sandy 2:42 PM [+] ::
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ARGHH!! Foul globe of plasma. What has my gordo done to you!? Sunburn is one of the most uncomfortable feelings in the world. Why did i just neglect the ole lotion over my gut. Cuz now it hurty.
Anyway, I would be on here more making fun of the two lackadaisical members of the PS team, but Ive been concentrating all my energy recently on the political crisis brewing in Washington. In a general sense, this is the kind of thing that makes it really cool to live right next door to the capital of the US. Do you guys have any interest or position in this matter? Very interesting.

:: sandy 9:54 AM [+] ::
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