Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

fair enough seems to me .. you can demolish this conservative reply to that cartoon better than i ..

Mike Lewinski says:

February 12, 2012 at 1:28 am

I suspect that Jason Read doesn’t fully understand parasitism either. For one thing, not all parasites are unrecognized. Many hosts simply lack any suitable defense against parasitism (I’m thinking of the wasps that parasitize hornworms, and phoretic mites that steal rides from flies to pick just two easy examples).

I’m opposed to the characterization of any group of people as parasites, including the ruling class. Such comparisons accomplish stage 3 of genocide (dehumanization).

Nazi propaganda characterized the Jews parasites in order to evoke strong feelings of disgust. Beware of anyone referring to groups of people as parasites.

http://www.fishink.us/?p=2644

What's the unrecognized bit about? .. the ruling class though broader is recognized, does have some meaning and concept of today .. so i don't recognize his "unrecognized" stuff and what's he got against parasites .. i mean there are goods ones ..

The mutualistic microbiome: a population of organisms living inside us can be beneficial to our health
http://health.wikinut.com/The-human-body-s-good-parasites/1fr3-s8j/

How's that for an extreme attack on parasites! .. Lewinski demonizes the good parasites,
class action stuff if they could read .. course Obama is an African, Marxist, Nazi, isn't
he .. i don't know Mr Lewinski at all .. on that one he feels a 'bad parasite' to me ..

List the Good Parasites in the Body

Apr 29, 2012 | By Teresa Bergen


Photo Credit Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images

The word symbiosis means “life together,” and that’s what people have with the organisms that live inside them. Scientists are now looking at the human body as a microbiome, an ecological system like a rain forest which includes parasites, bacteria and viruses. Parasites are usually viewed as negative, but biologists divide them into three categories -- parasitism, commensalism and mutualism. Parasitism means the parasite is benefiting at the expense of the host. Commensalism is when the parasite’s effect is neutral. Mutualism means both host and parasite profit from the arrangement.

Worms and IBD

While gastroenterologist Joel Weinstock was at the University of Iowa in the 1990s, his thoughts turned to the steep rise of inflammatory bowel disease. This condition, unknown before the 20th century, was increasingly common. Weinstock didn’t accept other scientists’ theory that IBD was genetic. He suspected IBD’s rise had to do with the decline of helminths. These parasitic worms have a mutualistic relationship with their human hosts, calming the immune system. This was their evolutionary tradeoff to maintain their home and keep their host and food source healthy.

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The Hygiene Hypothesis

Weinstock wondered if the calming affect of the helminths could be accidentally protecting the body from diseases. The “hygiene theory,” as epidemiologists call it, posits that the downside of improved hygiene is the loss of parasites and bacteria that evolved mutualistic relationships with the human body. Data revealed that the rise in IBD corresponded with hygiene and deworming campaigns. “Hygiene has made our lives better,” Weinstock told the "New York Times." “But in the process of eliminating exposure to the 10 or 20 things that can make us sick, we’re also eliminating exposure to things that make us well.”

Whipworms and Pig Farmers

Pig whipworms, a type of helmith, also came under Weinstock’s scrutiny. Pig farmers are constantly exposed to this parasite, apparently without ill effects. Weinstock experimented with giving whipworm eggs to people with Crohn’s disease, which is similar to IBD. His success in improving people’s conditions got the attention of scientists around the world, leading to studies on treating hay fever, asthma, food allergies and multiple sclerosis with whipworm. European scientists are also studying the effects of a human hookworm called Necator americanus. A Danish study published in 2011 in the online Public Library of Science looked at side effects of consuming whipworm eggs. They found that gastrointestinal distress, diarrhea and flatulence were common for the first 42 days, but then the subjects’ bodies seemed to adjust.

Helicobacter Pylori

Martin Blaser, who runs New York University’s infection disease research lab, studies stomach microbes called Helicobacter pylori. This microbe causes ulcers and stomach cancer and is associated with rural lifestyles, especially in the developing world. But as hygiene and deworming efforts brought the incidence of these afflictions down, esophageal cancer became the fastest growing cancer in developed countries. It seemed that a microbe that caused one cancer protected the body from another type. Blaser won an award from the American Cancer Society and several big promotions for his work. He inspired other scientists to study how microbes could help people who suffer from obesity, anorexia, cancer, multiple sclerosis and asthma. As Blaser told Esquire, "Bottom line, humans and our fellow animals have been colonized by microbes for a very long time, going back a billion years. The microbes that we carry have been selected because they are helpful to us.”

http://www.livestrong.com/article/545271-list-good-parasites-body/

anyway, right or wrong on that, i think his reaction to the
cartoon sucks .. somebody should clue him in, on parasites ..