photo credit: denn

I’d like to say how amazed I am when I come across these stories, but I can’t. I keep finding stories like this all the time that point out the stupidity of our own species.

Polar Bears have recently been placed on the Endangered Species list. So what happens? The Canadian government (not just some trade organization) has requested that the U.S. change their stance and allow hunting of the bears. Why? It isn’t because rogue polar bears are attacking pets and livestock. They haven’t developed a taste for human flesh. No, the reason the Canadian government wants us to start hunting polar bears again is - to keep the hunter-tourist industry alive. It seems that wealthy Americans are willing to pay big bucks so that they can cover their floor with a polar bear skin rug. Now that hunting them has been banned, Canada’s hunter-tourism industry is experiencing hard times.

Next thing you know, some country will slaughter whales for “scientific research”, and nearly all of the meat will end up in the marketplace. Oh, wait. I think some country already does that.

photo credit: leppre

I subscribe to PRNet, which sends me news clips and press releases relevant to my areas of interest. As an ex-EMT and still certified American Heart Association CPR/AED/First Aid Instructor, I think I know a little bit about CPR.

The first thing the media, and people in general, need to understand is that CPR is a misnomer. CPR stands for Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation. In reality, CPR keeps a person alive until they can receive proper emergency medical care. In all my years as an EMT, I have never witnessed CPR actually reviving a single cardiac patient whose heart had stopped beating. With the exception of drowning victims, or victims of electrical shock, CPR just doesn’t do that. In cardiac patients, CPR keeps the blood and oxygen flowing to the brain and other vital organs until they can be treated in the Emergency Room. So when I read stories like this, I get a bit annoyed.

HEALTH: CPR CAN INCREASE SURVIVAL RATES. DR. BENJAMIN S. ABELLA, nationally renowned CPR and emergency care expert: “Each year, an estimated 166,000 lives are claimed by sudden cardiac arrest, an electronic malfunction that causes rapid and chaotic heart activity. In recent years, several studies have shown that medical professionals were performing poor CPR. Providing objective metrics and educational feedback to medical personnel who perform CPR on a cardiac arrest patient can significantly improve ventilation rate, compression rate and depth of compression, which can lead to higher initial survival rates for cardiac arrest patients.” Abella is available to speak about a recent study on the CPR sensing and recording technology and its clinical and training implications. 

 This ticked me off because it provides inaccurate information and implies that emergency medical personnel aren’t doing a very good job. The fact is, the death of a cardiac arrest patient is most often due to a delay in starting CPR. Many times, 5 or 6 people will call 911 while the rest of the people stand around and gawk. They seem to assume that the EMT/Paramedic will take care of everything once they arrive.

I’m not sure where Dr. Abella got his information, but the American Heart Association has done numerous studies which shows that early CPR, early use of an AED (automatic electronic defibrillator) and rapid response by emergency medical personnel is the number one way to save a cardiac arrest victim. In fact, their studies have shown that traditional CPR with xx number of compressions followed by xx number of rescue breaths is only a little more effective than simply pumping the chest in a bellows-like fashion. In fact, in many areas, 911 dispatchers are trained to tell callers just that. Instead of trying to teach them the formal way of doing CPR over the phone, they tell the caller to put their two interlocked hands over the lower breast bone and to pump as rapidly and as long as they can. Rescue breathing isn’t even encouraged because the bellows action of the chest compressions is what is really important. There is already plenty of oxygen in the bloodstream to keep the victim alive, and the pumping action even allows air to partially refill the lungs between compressions.

So remember folks. Just because someone has an M.D. after their name, it doesn’t mean they are infallible nor an expert. My suspicion is that this news brief was more intended to hype the “CPR sensing and recording technology” he wants to talk about. They had this kind of technology back when I first became an EMT, and it was eventually discontinued because it was too expensive and didn’t do a darn thing to actually save a person’s life. It just gave instructors a tool to measure pass/fail in classroom teaching environments.

The Dr. would have done a better service to the community by simply encouraging everyone to take a CPR/AED class from an American Heart Association certified instructor.

photo credit: Ed Yourdon

It simply amazes me how many letters, emails, and other forms of advertising have been hounding me to spend (or donate) my federal income tax rebate. This must be what it is like when you win the lottery and people you have never met suddenly want to introduce themselves.

We’re only talking about a couple hundred dollars! I realize that the government’s intent is to stimulate the economy by putting more spending money in our pockets. But come on, let’s get realistic. If the government wants to stimulate spending, they should consider dropping the farm subsidizing programs that are paying farmers not to farm - while food prices continue to skyrocket. Just decreasing the cost of food would save people more than a few hundred dollars.

As for me, my rebate is going to bring me a little closer to becoming debt free.

 It appears that the blogosphere, the media, and parents everywhere are “outraged” because of this photograph being taken and used in the June issue of Vanity Fair. It seems that the 15 year old super-star allowed herself to be photographed by Vanity Fair photographer Annie Leibovitz, the FAMOUS photographer. This was done while her father was right there. A blogger by the name of Lin Burress was quoted in an interview as saying, “Parents should be extremely concerned. Very young girls look up to Miley Cyrus as a role model.” Frankly, if I had a young daughter, I would prefer that she look up to Annie Leibovitz as a role model, though I have nothing at all against Miley. 

Come on people! I’ve seen more “naked” 15 year olds in magazine ads and walking around in public. Ooooh… she’s showing her naked back! So what? Has everyone gone crazy out there? There are kids her age dying every day in Iraq, or being slaughtered in Darfur. Police just discovered that some sicko in Austria began raping his own daughter at the age of 11, and has since fathered at least 6 children with her! If parents want something to get upset about, what about these things? Where is everyone’s priorities? For God’s sake, open your eyes and look at the real world!