The Errington Thompson Show 9/22/07
(late entry) We have a great show. I interview Bill Scher as we explore a really terrible week for the Democrats.
Remember I’m on iTunes and several other podcasting services.
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Burma Protests
I don’t know much about Burma –or Myanmar–except to say that it is a very repressive country. Buddhist monks and others are currently protesting in Burma for political freedoms. These people appear to be quite brave to protest under such a harsh government.
This link to the BBC offers a number of articles on the current protests and some background to the situation
UAW strikes
This could be big. It could be huge. This is going to dictate the direction of labor in this country for the next 20 years. I’ll have more on this soon.
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From AP:
In the end, the first nationwide strike against General Motors Corp. in 37 years came because the United Auto Workers want something that GM will find difficult to promise: Job security.
UAW officials said the 73,000 UAW members who work at about 80 U.S. facilities for the nation’s largest automaker didn’t strike Monday over what many thought would trip up the talks: A plan to shift the retiree health care burden from the company to the union. They said they also didn’t strike over wages. (more…)
Faster USB
Cool. We get to buy new stuff! As much as conservatives try to tell us that the past was great and we need to get back to tradition, the only tradition that we really have in the US is change. Everything changes. In the computer world everything changes even faster. USB 2.0 has been a standard for over 5 years. Now, Intel has announced that they have grouped with other companies to develop 3.0. Everyone seems to want more bandwidth.
Central Questions—Can A Majority Be Oppressed?
This is part of an occasional series I am running called “Central Questions.”
A question I recently heard asked was, “How can a majority reasonably claimed to be oppressed?”
The question had to do with complaints by some American Christians that they are allegedly being persecuted.
While I do not think that American Christians are abused, there are in fact many ways a majority can be oppressed.
Here are some—
1. A majority in can be oppressed if they live in a colony of another nation.
2. A large segment of a national majority group, such as Hindus designated as lower caste in India, may be oppressed by more privileged groups.
3. The majority of people who are not wealthy may be oppressed by the minority that is wealthy.
4. In cases where women comprise a majority of the population, they may not have the same rights as do men.
5. In Apartheid South Africa, the majority was clearly oppressed.
6. A certain ethnic, religious or racial group may comprise the majority of people in specific city, state, province or region but be oppressed by a national majority.
7. A group of people, such as Christians in China, may be part of the world’s largest religious grouping, even if Christians do not comprise a majority of all the world’s people, and be oppressed within the borders of a specific nation.
Are the Cowboys for real?
After a slow start the Cowboys roll over the Bears. I didn’t think that this game would end like this. I was expecting a 21 - 10 game. Fortunately, that didn’t happen. The Bears stuffed the run. So, the Cowboys began to throw. Tony Romo (22 for 35, 329 yards, 2 TDs and 1 int) began throwing and throwing. Terrell Owens, who everyone is waiting for him to self destruct, played the way I haven’t seen him play for 3 - 4 years. 2 drives of 89 and 91 yards broke the Bears. Rex Grossman had to begin to force the game and he began to throw interceptions (3 ints). His throw into triple coverage which was taken back for a touchdown by Anthony Henry. That was the game.
The surprise was how the Dallas Cowboys go on a roll. The defense clamped down on Grossman. The offense began to roll. The offensive line gave Tony Romo time and when he didn’t have time, he moved fantastically in the pocket. The Bears did throw a lot of different blitz packages. Romo seemed to handle the blitz well. The offensive line had a couple of misreads but they really did a great job. Jason Whitten and Patrick Clayton played well and got open down field.
This week the Cowboys are for real. I’m not ready to start buying SuperBowl tickets or even playoff tickets for that matter. This is a long season. The defense must tighten up. Terrence Newman is back. Hopefully, Greg Ellis will be back soon. In order for me to jump on the Cowboys bandwagon they have to beat the Giants twice and the Redskins twice. They can split with the Eagles (I would prefer an old fashion butt whoopin sweep of the Eagles.) I have jumped on too many Cowboy bandwagons over the last 40 years. (Yep, 40 years. I saw my first Cowboy game in person in 1966 in the old Cotton Bowl. Now, that’s a football memory.)
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Errington C. Thompson, MD, is a surgeon, scholar, fulltime sports fan and part-time political activist. He is active in a number of community projects and initiatives. Through medicine, he strives to improve the physical health of all he treats...
