socrates44 Blog

5 Reasons Women Live Longer Than Men

“Men are biologically and sociologically at a disadvantage from the time they’re conceived to the time they die,” says Marianne Legato, MD, professor emerita of clinical medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and founder and director of the Foundation for Gender-Specific Medicine. Here’s why:

Females are tougher in utero
Two and a half as many boys are conceived as girls, Dr. Legato says, but they’re so much more likely to succumb to prenatal infection or other issues in the womb that by the time they’re born, the ratio is close to one to one. “They’re also slower to develop physically than girls prenatally, which means they’re more likely to die if they are preemies due to underdeveloped lung or brain development,” Dr. Legato explains.

Women are less likely to be daredevils
Unintentional injuries are the third leading cause of death in men, according to the CDC; for women it’s only the sixth. Again, you can blame it on biology: The frontal lobes of the brain—which deal with responsibility and risk calculation—develop much more slowly in males than females, Dr. Legato says.

The result: Guys often take many more risks (which you probably already realize if your small son has taken one too many spins off his bike handlebars). “Almost inevitably, a male will take risks that a woman of his same age wouldn’t take,” Dr. Legato says.

Women succumb to heart disease later
Heart disease is the leading killer of both men and women, but men are more likely to develop it—and die from it—as early as their 30s and 40s. Women, on the other hand, typically develop heart disease 10 years later than men. They’re protected from it until menopause, since their bodies churn out estrogen, which helps keep arteries strong and flexible, says Dr. Legato.

Women have stronger social networks
Friends make good medicine: People with strong social connections have a 50% lower chance of dying than those with few social ties, according to a 2010 study at Brigham Young University. “Most men tend to hold their stress and worries close to their chest, while women tend to reach out and talk to others,” Dr. Legato explains. The one exception: married men, which also explains why so many studies show that they’re likely to be healthier and live longer.

Women take better care of their health
Men are 24% less likely than women to have visited a doctor within the past year and are 22% more likely to skip out on cholesterol testing, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. In fact more than a quarter (28%) of men don’t have a regular physician and about one in five didn’t have health insurance in 2012, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

You can blame it on the so-called John Wayne syndrome: “Men often deny illness; they minimize symptoms because they don’t want to go to a doctor and find out something is wrong,” Dr. Legato notes.

http://news.health.com/2014/10/13/why-do-women-live-longer-than-men/

Post Comment

Mar 2015
in Health
672 views
12 comments
Like this blog

Elephant Poaching

The illegal trade in elephant tusks, fuelled by continuing demand for ivory, drives elephant poaching, where elephants in the wild are ruthlessly shot and their tusks hacked out.

According to the WWF, a new report issued under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) shows that illegal killing of elephants and illegal ivory trade continues to increase.

The report highlights China and Thailand as the two most important raw ivory consuming countries in the world, and indicates that poaching trends can be correlated to increasing affluence in China and tourist arrivals in Thailand.

To me it doesn't matter where the the demand's coming from -- I only wish those who are buying ivory trinkets, ivory jewellery, and other ornamentation carved from elephant tusks could be forced to spend a few hours close to dead elephants that've been shot by poachers and their faces butchered to remove the tusks.

Dead elephant, its tusks hacked out and its hide streaked with vulture droppings, lies in rigor mortis under the African sun after being shot by poachers in Zambia's Lower Zambezi National Park.

Another dead elephant, shot at the same time and its tusks also hacked off by the poachers, lies nearby.
And for what? An ivory trinket or ivory carving (below).

For those living in the West, it's easy to become smug and blame the illegal ivory trade on China, Thailand and other Asian countries.

However, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has found a thriving trade in ivory items after a survey of websites in the UK, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and Germany.

"In just two weeks, our survey found more than 660 items with a total advertising value of almost ?650,000 across a variety of European websites. A shocking 98% of adverts failed to comply with website policies of providing evidence of legality," said Kelvin Alie, director of IFAW's prevention of Illegal Wildlife Trade Programme.

"Europeans must realise that what they see as a pretty trinket for sale online is just one facet of an ongoing war against cruelty and for the protection of biodiversity. In Kenya, and across most African range states, elephants are ruthlessly slaughtered by poachers to fuel the illegal ivory trade," Alie continued.

"Any trade in ivory provides a cover for and encourages elephant poaching and illegal trade in ivory. The war on illegal ivory trade and elephant poaching can only be won by removing elephant ivory not just from international trade, but entirely from the global marketplace, " he said.

In 2007 eBay, under pressure from the International Fund for Animal Welfare, banned all international sales of elephant-ivory products. But sadly that's not the case in my own country, where Bid-or-buy.com, a South African online auction site, still lists hundreds of ivory items for sale.

As those advocating a total ban on ivory sales point out, if ivory had no commercial value, there would be little incentive for anyone to kill elephants for their tusks and one of the major threats to their survival would disappear.

So please don't buy ivory of any kind, and tell your friends and family not to buy ivory, especially when travelling in Thailand or South East Asia.

(To supplement my previous blog, this blog shows graphic images of the carcasses of the slaughtered animals.)

http://www.wildlife-pictures-online.com/elephant-poaching-aftermath.html

(grateful acknowledgement to Scotch Macaskill)

Post Comment

Mar 2015
in Animals
3,809 views
19 comments
Like this blog

Wildlife War

Africa is centre of a ‘wildlife war’ that the world is losing.
A year on since 46 countries signed up to the ‘London declaration’ to eradicate the trade in horn and ivory, rhinos and elephants are still being pushed closer to extinction.

The northern white rhino is heading the way of the dinosaurs. With only five left on Earth – three in Kenya, one in America, and one in the Czech Republic – extinction is now inevitable. It survived for millions of years, but could not survive mankind.

This is just one subspecies, but soon the planet’s remaining 28,500 rhinos could be under threat from the illegal wildlife trade. Worth up to £12bn a year, it has joined drugs, arms and human trafficking as one of the world’s biggest crime rackets. Ground zero in this “wildlife war” is Africa, and the conservationists are losing as animals are slaughtered on an industrial scale to meet demand for horn and ivory in newly affluent Asian countries.

At least 220 chimpanzees, 106 orang-utans, 33 bonobos and 15 gorillas have been lost from the wild over the past 14 months, according to estimates by the Great Apes Survival Partnership. Elephants also remain under siege – at least 20,000 were poached annually from 2011 to 2013, according to the UN – although countries such as Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have fought back with some measure of success over the past year.

Arguably the biggest setback since the London conference has been the failure to arrest, prosecute and convict all but a handful of players in the transnational wildlife mafia. Dr Patrick Bergin, chief executive of the African Wildlife Foundation, said he had attended one recent meeting where there was talk of progress, but “the glaring silence in the room was the lack of successful prosecutions”.

He continued: “We don’t see people going to jail. It’s easy to say we’re putting more dogs at airports or doing more training, but the international community is only going to get serious about this when we see people going to jail. We need to see a preponderance of prosecutions and sentences handed down that sends a message to the traffickers that it’s not worth the risk.”

The concern is shared by Traffic, the wildlife trade monitoring network. Tom Milliken, its rhino programme coordinator, said: “In all of this, the judiciary in many countries is lagging behind the times. A white South African who was reportedly a major player in the trade and his cohorts were arrested, but got out on bail. Organised crime can have the best legal guns in the country and those involved in rhino crime are heavily lawyered up.”

The scale of impunity was vividly illustrated when Bartholomäus Grill, a German journalist with Der Spiegel, went to Mozambique to investigate the supply chain from South Africa through middlemen to the horns’ ultimate buyers in Vietnam, where they fetch up to $65,000 a kilo – more valuable than gold. When he visited the home of a notorious poaching kingpin, Grill was taken hostage by an angry mob and threatened with death. Far from offering help, the local police appeared to be under the kingpin’s thumb.

Politicians in Tanzania say they are aware of the need to tackle poverty. January Makamba, a minister and potential presidential candidate this year, said: “The villages that surround these sanctuaries have to somehow be taken care of in a manner that people do not feel that ‘we have to help poachers to poach so we can make a living’.

Makamba added: “The issues of poaching and logging are issues of governance and poverty. Corruption is the centre of it. You deal with corruption, you are halfway to dealing with the problem of poaching.”

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/21/wildlife-war-lost-in-africa

Post Comment

Mar 2015
in Animals
1,019 views
10 comments
Like this blog

Life and Death

Life and death are two sides of the same coin
Yet we embrace the first and shun the last
But no matter which view of life we join
Death is something that surely will come to pass

So be mindful of this fact in living
And seek to enrich the quality of your life
Think carefully of what you are doing
And always seek to avoid needless strife

If you help others as you go along
The peace of mind from this will be your gain
And as mentioned in the words of the song
Surely your life would not have been in vain

Live your life in such a meaningful way
That gives contentment and satisfaction
So that when your death arrives you can say
My life was truly a mission well done

Post Comment

Mar 2015
in Self-Improvement
1,193 views
8 comments
Like this blog

What Is Reality?

What is reality? Is it strictly the world based on sense-experience as perceived through the medium of the physical senses? How justified is this claim? Socially-accepted concepts of sense-experience reality arise when there is common agreement by society on the interpretation of sense-experience phenomena. Such interpretations may result in the postulation of the so-called scientific laws of nature. Yet, these interpretations are just "interpretations". One never knows when some brilliant person will come along and show that some aspect of our present socially-accepted interpretation of sense-experience phenomena is no longer valid and propose some other interpretation in its place. This indeed is the history of science in which several scientific laws and theories have undergone modification and even rejection in some cases. When can we ever say that we know things as they are? Or perhaps more important, can we really know that we know things as they are? What really is the criterion for reality?

Post Comment

Mar 2015
in Education
701 views
21 comments
Like this blog

Belief in God 1

A young baby can experience intense anxiety in a stressful situation. Such a situation may include being hungry or being uncomfortable in a soiled diaper. Its natural response is to cry, probably expecting that its stressful situation would be relieved by the intervention of its mother or someone else.

I think that very young children are guided to view God as a super parent, especially as a father, who loves them and is there to help and protect them. This is a source of great psychological comfort to the child. Children are encouraged to communicate with God through prayer and to rely on him. At this stage, which I believe most of us have undergone, I do not think children question the existence of God, but simply accept it.

And yet, as we grow older, for a lot of people, this scenario changes drastically. Some abandon this belief in God and declare that they are atheists, agnostics, etc. Others may still hold on to some idea of God, but which is very different from their original view. Some say they are spiritual but not religious. Some remain faithful to their belief, and grow stronger in their faith.

I have always wondered what are the underlying reasons, responsible for these changes.

What do you think?

Post Comment

Feb 2014
in Uncategorized
3,089 views
15 comments
Like this blog

Religious Belief and Psychological Security

Some form of psychological security is vital to enable a person to cope with the uncertainties of life. Different persons may find their security in different things. Many find their security in some form of religious belief. The actual content of the religious belief is secondary. This content may vary among different religions, e.g.. Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, etc., but the act of belief is essential to all of them.
The psychological security of religious belief comes from the act, itself, of believing and not from the particular content of the belief.

No followers of a particular religion can ever present objective proof that they alone are right, based on the content of their religious teaching and belief, and all the others are wrong, despite what their religion may teach, and what they may want to believe. Followers of another religion, with a different belief content, can experience a similar psychological security from following their religion, based on their act of believing, and not on the content of the belief.

In this regard, all religions, whether Christianity, Islam, Hinduism or otherwise, are equal and should be respected as such.

Religious belief is based on faith. Faith itself goes beyond human sense experience. As the Christian bible says in Hebrews 11:1, “...faith is the evidence of things not seen”(in the present). It is also based on expectation as a projection into the future. The same verse also states, “(faith) is the substance of things hoped for...”. There is no way one can establish, here in the present, that what one hopes for, through faith, will actually be realized, despite the intensity of one's belief or faith.
This is illustrated quite effectively in the Lord's Prayer. One prays to God, asking for various things but part of the prayer also states: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. The message here is that whatever you have faith and pray for, regardless of the intensity of your faith, it would only be granted if it is God's will.

All religions, whether Christianity, Islam, Hinduism or otherwise, are equal and should be respected as such.

Post Comment

Feb 2015
in Religion & Spirituality
585 views
4 comments
Like this blog

Vietnam War Veterans PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Di

A very large number of Vietnam veterans haven’t made it all the way home from the war in Southeast Asia. By conservative estimates, at least half a million Vietnam veterans still lead lives plagued by serious, war-related readjustment problems. Such problems crop up in a number of ways, varying from veteran to veteran. Flashbacks to combat… feelings of alienation or anger… depression, loneliness and an inability to get close to others… sometimes drug or alcohol problems… perhaps even suicidal feelings.

In World War II, the United States was very clearly threatened by a uniformed and easily recognizable foe. In Vietnam, it was quite the opposite. It appeared that the whole country was hostile to American forces. The enemy was rarely uniformed, and American troops were often forced to kill women and children combatants. There were no real lines of demarcation, and just about any area was subject to attack. Most American forces had been trained to fight in conventional warfare, in which other human beings are confronted and a block of land is either acquired or lost in the fray. However, in Vietnam, surprise firing devices such as booby traps accounted for a large number of casualties with the human foe rarely sighted. A block of land might be secured but not held.

The only observable outcome was an interminable production of maimed, crippled bodies and countless corpses. Some were so disfigured it was hard to tell if they were Vietnamese or American, but they were all dead.

The civilian population of the World War II era had been treated to movies about the struggles of readjustment for veterans.
The civilian population of the Vietnam era was treated to the horrors of the war on the six o’clock news. They were tired and numb to the whole experience. Some were even fighting mad, and many veterans came home to witness this fact.
Some World War II veterans came home to victory parades. Vietnam veterans returned in defeat and witnessed antiwar marches and protests.

PTSD symptoms experienced by some Vietnam war veterans are:

DEPRESSION

Many have been continually depressed since their experiences in Vietnam. They have the classic symptoms of sleep disturbance, psychomotor retardation, feelings of worthlessness, difficulty in concentrating, etc.

ISOLATION

Combat veterans have few friends. Many veterans who witnessed traumatic experiences complain of feeling like old men in young men’s bodies. They feel isolated and distant from their peers.

RAGE

The veterans’ rage is frightening to them and to others around them. For no apparent reason, many will strike out at whomever is near. Frequently, this includes their wives and children.

SURVIVAL GUILT

When others have died and some have not, the survivors often ask, “How is it that I survived when others more worthy than I did not?

ANXIETY REACTIONS

Some veterans are uncomfortable when standing out in the open. Many are uneasy when sitting with others behind them, often opting to sit up against something solid, such as a wall. The bigger the object is, the better. Many combat veterans are most comfortable when sitting in the corner in a room, where they can see everyone about them.

SLEEP DISTURBANCE AND NIGHTMARES

Few veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorders find the hours immediately before sleep very comfortable. In fact, many will stay awake as long as possible. They will often have a drink or smoke some cannabis to dull any uncomfortable cognition that may enter during this vulnerable time period.

INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS

Traumatic memories of the battlefield and other less affect- laden combat experiences often play a role in the daytime cognitions of combat veterans. Frequently, these veterans report replaying especially problematic combat experiences over and over again.

http://www.suicidewall.com/ptsd-etiology/

Post Comment

Feb 2015
in Society
949 views
20 comments
Like this blog

Missing Years of Jesus

I am aware that, in the Bible, Jesus is mentioned, at the age of twelve, discoursing with the learned men in the temple who were amazed at the wisdom of this young child.(Luke 2:41,46,47)

The next time he appears is to be baptised by John the Baptist at the age of thirty, shortly after which he began his ministry which was for three years.(Luke 3:21,23)

The Bible does mention that after he left the temple, at the age of twelve, he went with his parents to Nazareth and was subject to them. (Luke 2:51).
However, considering the impact of his ministry on the lives of others, and the effect it has on history, this is very inadequate information on what transpired with regard to Jesus, between the ages of twelve to thirty.
What really took place during this period?

Several books have been written by others which seek to fill this gap.
The general concensus seems to be that during that period, Jesus was in the “East”, including India and Tibet.
At the birth of Jesus, the gospels state that “wise men” from the East came to visit him.
If Jesus was in the East during that period, could it be that his teachings, to some extent, were influenced by that “Eastern Wisdom”? Several persons have expressed such a view.

For more information on the subject, do a google search on “lost years of Jesus” which gives several links including the following:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-davids/jesus-lost-years-may-fina_b_179513.html

Several “scriptures” have been written, which refer to Jesus, that are not included in the Bible, e.g. “The Gnostic Gospels”.
Did some of these make reference to Jesus spending time in the East during the period from ages twelve to thirty? Were these deliberately omitted?
Who decided which “scriptures” were to be included and which were not?
What was the rationale for such a decision?

Post Comment

Feb 2015
in Religion & Spirituality
684 views
10 comments
Like this blog

Doping In Sports

Enhancing sporting prowess goes back to the ancient Greeks, who used special diets and concoctions to improve their athletic abilities. In the 19th century, cyclists and other endurance athletes dabbled in molecules like strychnine, caffeine and cocaine. But doping exploded in the 20th century with advances in molecular biology and pharmacology. The Danish cyclist Knud Enemark Jensen died during competition at the 1960 Rome Olympic Games after taking amphetamines.

With the introduction of synthetic anabolic steroids for increasing muscle mass in the 1960s, sporting authorities knew they had to take action. Testing for stimulants began in 1967; in the 1970s, the International Olympics Committee started to test for anabolic steroids.

These days, testing for performance-enhancing substances and techniques is routine and has a unified front. The World Anti-Doping Agency, established in 1999, is an independent foundation of the IOC. It works with intergovernmental organizations, governments, public authorities and other public and private entities to stay at the forefront of the fight against sports doping. WADA has research programs to support investigations into ways molecular biology, biochemistry, analytical chemistry and pharmacology can be applied to fight doping. It also maintains an extensive list of prohibited substances and methods for performance enhancement.

Medicines, designer drugs and biological molecules are popular in the doping world despite the fact that authorities have safeguards in place for most of them. A classic example is erythropoietin, known as EPO. The drug was designed to treat anemia in patients suffering from chronic kidney disease and other illnesses that cause a drop in red blood cell count.
But cheating athletes immediately saw the drug’s potential to increase their blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity during competition. So many cyclists were caught doping with EPO and other drugs during the 1998 Tour de France that the media dubbed that year’s competition the “Tour de Shame.”

Testosterone, an anabolic steroid, is another popular drug for abuse. . Tests for it snagged U.S. sprinter Justin Gatlin, who won gold medals in the 2004 Games, and 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis.

Blood doping is another matter: In a tricky manipulation, cheaters increase their red blood cell counts by taking drugs like EPO during the off-season. They withdraw the hemoglobin-rich blood and refrigerate it. When competition season starts, once the antidoping inspector leaves with blood samples from the athletes for testing, the cheaters transfuse the stored blood back into their bodies and head out to compete loaded with extra hemoglobin. After the competition, they quickly withdraw some blood to bring their red blood cell count back to normal and wait for the antidoping inspector to do the post-competition test.

http://www.asbmb.org/asbmbtoday/asbmbtoday_article.aspx?id=17038&page_id=1

What do you think of doping in sports?

Can it ever be eliminated?

List some doping sport cheats you are aware of and briefly describe their cheating activities.

Thanks for your participation.

Post Comment

Jan 2015
in Sports
1,251 views
6 comments
Like this blog

Was Jesus Rich?

There are many today who are teaching that Jesus was rich.
Among those who teach Jesus and the apostles are rich are Creflo Dollar and Kenneth Hagin. John Avanzini attacks and mocks theologians for teaching that Jesus was poor.

Was Jesus Rich? Lets look at the clear biblical evidence.

Jesus gave up all the riches that are his in heaven to become a man and was born to a poor family (not homeless and destitute). His stepfather was a carpenter. If they had money from the gold given at his birth (as some claim) he would not of had to work.

Archeological excavations of Nazareth from the 1950’s show the village of Jesus' day were occupied by poor agricultural people. As Jesus grew up he worked in the trade of a carpenter, not a trade known for its wealth. How did Jesus become rich with a step-dad who was only a carpenter? There is absolutely no indication anywhere that he was wealthy from his family or from traveling with His disciples.

Neither John the messenger or Jesus dressed as those who show God's blessings today with thousand dollar suits and shoes.
Avanzini says "Jesus had a big house" but it was Peters mothers house in Capernaum that was often used as a base, it was not His.

Matt. 8:19-20: "Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Jesus himself he had no place to lay his head, no permanent home, he constantly traveled. He dressed like everyone else, he even said to forsake this world to inherit his kingdom. His kingdom is not of this world and he made it perfectly clear in His teachings.

Jesus became poor in becoming a servant in position and also in his social life. Zech. 9:9 " Behold, your King is coming to you; he is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey." Even his fulfilling prophecy as a king was in humility of his position. He came as a servant, not a king, but today we have those who want to have crowns recognized for their positions now. Quite the opposite in the Scripture, he who is exalted will be humbled.

We are to follow Jesus' pattern, yet some actually think if Jesus came today he’d have the best clothes, drive a Roll’s and eat steak every night. We better look carefully at the Bible before we choke on what is being dished out.

He was buried in another mans tomb, a rich mans. If he was rich or his family, they would have buried him in his own family tomb. But this again proves that He had no money for this. Neither did his family nor the apostles have the money to by such a burial, it was borrowed, actually donated to be exact. After all it would not be permanent.

Jesus in his ministry had borrowed many things. A manger, He borrowed boats, He borrowed a colt; He borrowed a house for Passover and He was buried in a borrowed tomb.
Jesus sent the disciples out without money ( Mt. 10:9-12) “ Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.” They did not rent a room but depended on others hospitality and the Lord for their provision. The money belt was a small purse that would carry very little coins, they did not have dollar bills then but coins.

(Continued in Comment)

Post Comment

Jan 2015
in Religion & Spirituality
1,423 views
34 comments
Like this blog

Love Is A Decision

"Love is a decision, it is a judgement, it is a promise. If love were only a feeling, there would be no basis for the promise to love each other forever. A feeling comes and it may go. How can I judge that it will stay forever, when my act does not involve judgement and decision."

- Erich Fromm

Post Comment

Jan 2014
in Uncategorized
1,349 views
6 comments
Like this blog

This is a list of socrates44's Blogs. Click here for socrates44's Blog List

online today!socrates44 Blog (144)

5 Reasons Women Live Longer Than Men

Elephant Poaching

Wildlife War

Life and Death

What Is Reality?

Belief in God 1

Religious Belief and Psychological Security

Vietnam War Veterans PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Di

Missing Years of Jesus

Doping In Sports

Was Jesus Rich?

Love Is A Decision

About

Support

Follow Us