MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'abu'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:40:57 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159221&cid=t_289691_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F23%2Ftaxi-to-the-darkside%2F * * * ] * * * (BBC Broadcast, 2011) From jigsawproductions: This documentary murder mystery examines the death of an Afghan taxi driver at Bagram Air Base from injuries inflicted by U.S. soldiers. In an unflinching look at the Bush administration’s policy on torture, the filmmaker behind Enron: the Smartest Guys in the Room takes us from a village in Afghanistan to Guantanamo and straight to the White House. In English and Pashtu. Related Situationist posts: “The Situation of Bullying,” “Lessons Learned from the Abu Ghraib Horrors,”  “Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Tenet: ‘Guilty‘,” Divided Loyalties Symposium “Lessons Learned from the Abu Ghraib Horrors,”  “The Justice Department, Milgram, & Torture,” “The Bush Frame: Us vs. Them; Good vs. Evil;... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159221 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 04:01:53 +0100 5159221 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4277848&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1420 We totally got a lie in today. So smug were we that we had everything sorted that the bosses just waved us off the night before – “No need to come in early. Briefing at 10am, enjoy your late breakfast.” And damn but we enjoyed it, lazy and slow with the chance to drink enough orange juice and coffee to float our hangovers. Fluid, caffeine, fat and salt later and Sarge and I are feeling much more chipper. Flopsy, on the other hand, is disgraced, curled up on the bus en route to the track and sleeping when we let him. Juliette, another doctor, hands me an electric shaver with a wicked grin on her face and we run it briefly, touching the handle (not the blade, I’m a dick, not a bastard) to his scalp. The vibration and noise wakes him for long enough to invite me to f.... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4277848 Tue, 21 Dec 2010 16:43:41 +0100 4277848 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4229186&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1362 The whole hotel is buzzing since the majority of the track’s staff are accommodated here. More than half the guests are wearing FIA gear, though some folk take it further than others, wearing overalls, bib and ID at breakfast. It’s a smashing idea, because, granted, the scrambled eggs are very, very hot. And it might be dangerous, and you might need a flame retardant suit, in case you go mental and throw veal bacon over yourself. By the way, have I ever told you about veal bacon? On the DC we get real bacon, which is always lovely, but I think it’s a sort of “what happens in the desert…” thing. In city centre hotels in the Middle East, real pork is not about to happen. And so, they don’t serve pork. They serve veal. And thats great, if what you ... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4229186 Fri, 03 Dec 2010 21:14:20 +0100 4229186 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4229187&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1361 In the same way that meagre rations feel like a feast to a starving man, I feel almost human when my alarm rings less than two hours after going to sleep. I’m out of bed and into the shower, excited about getting started and catching up with the team. We make our way down to breakfast and as I stroll around the bugget I bump into countless familiar faces – Sophia, Sean, Shereen, Rolf, Chris, Lisa, Gus, Nina and others. I eat breakfast with “my guys” from Edinburgh and fret a little over how I’m going to merge these two groups of colleagues and mates. We pile onto buses outside the hotel and head off to the circuit. I should doze en route, but it’s more fun to point out landmarks to folk who’ve never been here before – they gawp at mosques bigger than city blocks and... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4229187 Sat, 27 Nov 2010 15:01:11 +0100 4229187 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4205957&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1361 In the same way that meagre rations feel like a feast to a starving man, I feel almost human when my alarm rings less than two hours after going to sleep. I’m out of bed and into the shower, excited about getting started and catching up with the team. We make our way down to breakfast and as I stroll around the bugget I bump into countless familiar faces - Sophia, Sean, Shereen, Rolf, Chris, Lisa, Gus, Nina and others. I eat breakfast with “my guys” from Edinburgh and fret a little over how I’m going to merge these two groups of colleagues and mates. We pile onto buses outside the hotel and head off to the circuit. I should doze en route, but it’s more fun to point out landmarks to folk who’ve never been here before - they gawp at mosques bigger than city blocks and their earli... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4205957 Sat, 27 Nov 2010 15:01:11 +0100 4205957 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4229188&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1360 This year I was fortunate enough to be asked to bring three more paramedics with me to the F1. I ran names through my head and concluded it would be most appropriate to take three guys who’ve helped me in my career so far. Sarge, Node and Pally. The flight out was calm and uneventful until we found JJ, Juliette and Steve, all docs from last year’s event, who were sat up front in coach drinking a litre of rum to themselves. I introduced my old friends to new friends and we all got merrily rummed up before starting our finial approach. An uneventful landing and I turned on my moible to find an alarming message from Gus – “Hotel dry – if you’ve not passed Duty Free, purchase full allowance.” Pally was dismissive. “It’ll be a joke.” ... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4229188 Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:33:01 +0100 4229188 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4190191&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1360 This year I was fortunate enough to be asked to bring three more paramedics with me to the F1. I ran names through my head and concluded it would be most appropriate to take three guys who’ve helped me in my career so far. Sarge, Node and Pally. The flight out was calm and uneventful until we found JJ, Juliette and Steve, all docs from last year’s event, who were sat up front in coach drinking a litre of rum to themselves. I introduced my old friends to new friends and we all got merrily rummed up before starting our finial approach. An uneventful landing and I turned on my moible to find an alarming message from Gus - “Hotel dry - if you’ve not passed Duty Free, purchase full allowance.” Pally was dismissive. “It’ll be a joke.” “It wo... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4190191 Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:33:01 +0100 4190191 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3611923&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1305 The event finished, the gala over. My flights are two days later, Nina having booked them for Hannah and I as a job lot. The girls are intent on spending a few days luxuriating in a seven star hotel, but my non-doctor wage doesn’t stretch to this. Wayne, one of the SAR boys, offers me a space on his floor alongside Lisa and Craig. We bus it from Abu Dhabi back to Dubai, it’s only when I drain my water bottle that I see how well the aircraft procedures have dug themselves into my psyche. I screw it into a recycylable clump and am about to drop it on the floor when my brain flashes a red warning light “Loose rubbish - FOD!” The effect is reinforced when we pull up at a petrol station and I find myself waiting, subconsciously, for the SAR man to open the side door for me to disemba... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3611923 Sun, 30 May 2010 08:23:35 +0100 3611923 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3585636&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1304 With our traditional party cancelled, we instead chose our last night to have a few cold ones outside the clinic in a calm and sedate manner. Gus and Patch loaded up their cars and the bus with our bags and headed off with Sarah, our nurse, to build Rally Control up at Abu Dhabi. The final day’s racing will conclude there, rather than here, so we have to move the entire jamboree back up to town. The cancellation of the party, however, leaves us with a vast surplus of cold beer and soda to drink. Three heads down with Patch, Gus and Sarah gone and too much hooch to drink on our own we’re pleased when the sweep teams swing by for a jar. Everybody who says hello gets a beer. Visitors, officials. Even patients who come by for dressing changes get discharged with a cold one. One of the ... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3585636 Fri, 21 May 2010 12:45:02 +0100 3585636 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3567918&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1291 Booked on to fly with Craig and Flopsy we’re scunnered by a minor detail - we don’t have an aircraft. We kill the morning sitting in the clinic playing cards until Gus marches into the room and grabs my shoulder. “On me, you’re going to be famous.” Because it turns out that our patients yesterday aren’t just any old racers, they’re VIPs, international dignitaries that are being pursued by their own film crew. I saw them hanging around the hospital last night and, allegedly, they have telephoto footage of us working on-scene. This immediately makes me nervous, we didn’t have enough hands to do things according to the textbook and I express my concerns to Patch. “Whatever you did is a hundred times better than they would have received if... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3567918 Sat, 15 May 2010 21:10:26 +0100 3567918 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3549337&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1289 We start running, pacing ourselves to ensure we’ll have breath once we get there and also taking our time as we pick our way across the soft ground. Every step you run here the sand shifts sideways underneath you, as we crest a small dune I hear Lisa behind me “Careful…” The other side drops down sharply and I lift both feet as I step, landing in the sand at the bottom before scrambling up the other side and making it to the crash. Two patients, both males in their forties. One on the deck and the driver still strapped in behind the wheel. I turn to the former and Lisa makes her way to the car. My man’s curled semifoetal on the floor, alert and oriented and extremely distressed, he tells us they misjudged a dune, climbed too fast and took off, landing heavily on the buggy’... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3549337 Mon, 10 May 2010 15:48:34 +0100 3549337 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3538123&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1282 These are getting a little lengthy - so here’s the first installment, stay tuned for more! Waking up, refreshed from a great night in my new lightweight sleeping bag, I step outside my tent and cross the bivi to the toilet block. While I’m walking I cast about the site and realise that the surroundings have become so familiar they no longer register with me. I tweet “Remind me to tell you about the morning routines” and so here I do. Because long before I’ve woken and risen, the racers are up and about, their support teams having worked through the night to repair and fine tune their vehicles and any damage they may have sustained in the previous day’s racing. We sleep to a backdrop of revving engines and the hiss and spit of welding torches. By the time I’m staggering ... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3538123 Wed, 05 May 2010 19:50:16 +0100 3538123 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3533823&cid=t_289691_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FaagiyR5BCKs%2F By Christopher PrebleAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates—I arrived in Abu Dhabi late last night, and have spent the day in a series of meetings (with one more scheduled for this evening).  The 9-day trip, organized and led by Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, will also take us to Dubai and Riyadh. If the accommodations are even half as nice as our current digs (on a 5-star scale, I’d rate the hotel an “8″) then we’re in for a real treat. (Sorry Doug and Malou). My first impressions of Abu Dhabi generally conform to what I expected based on my very limited knowledge of the place. I last visited here onboard USS Ticonderoga in 1992, but frankly remember very little. A few buildings looked vaguely familiar, but that is about it. I�... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3533823 Tue, 04 May 2010 16:19:46 +0100 3533823 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3515419&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1279 We wake early, soaking up the cool of dawn, just a hint of dew still in the air from the night before. Walking towards the ablutions block I’m met by Ben coming the other way, his face screwed to one side. “Water’s off.” The bowsers that supply the camp with water have, apparently, grossly underestimated the demand that sweaty, hairy arsed rally drivers will place upon their infrastructure. I trot up the steps into the toilet block and immediately regret it. Rarely pristine at the best of times, the loos are piled high with shit, the floor a thickening mixture of piss and sand. Without running water the army of cleaners who normally keep this place operational don’t stand a chance. Lovely. I find a toilet with the smallest molehill of poop inhabiting it and piss around its edges... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3515419 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 21:08:00 +0100 3515419 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3504932&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1263 On our first real day working, checking out of the hotel takes longer than getting breakfast. The staff at reception wrestle with the computer system as the queue grows longer. We take it in turns to hold a position in the line while others run to the breakfast buffet and stuff folded napkins with rolls, pastries and fruit. No packed lunches today, so scavenge enough to keep you going through the day. I snack on the sweet, plump dates and fierce coffee that sit on side tables in reception. Ultimately Craig, Hannah, Wayne,Sophia Ben and I are ready to head over to the F1 circuit to meet our aircraft. We step out of the reception lobby to see one of our two taxis, so carefully ear marked for our use, being hijacked by a young woman in Jackie-Ohs. There is much commotion, Wayne ultimately... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3504932 Mon, 26 Apr 2010 10:20:54 +0100 3504932 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3475847&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1257 With this morning starts the Super Special Stage - a press junket more than anything else. A track has been built locally to allow the journalists and photographers a chance to record the racers, the vehicles and get some dramatic shots of bikes screaming around a dust track, all without leaving the comfortable confines of Abu Dhabi itself. For those of us who are heading out to the event for real, it’s an opportunity to familarise ourselves with seatbelts and neck braces, how to remove a crash helmet, how to trigger the vehicles’ internal fire extinguishers and to remind ourselves of any idiosyncratic racers that may throw up extra complications. Midway through the day we meet for a final brief, lining up in the slim shade of a high wall. I’m quietly pleased to realise I can keep ... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3475847 Fri, 16 Apr 2010 11:03:28 +0100 3475847 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3463621&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1246 Day three begins to shape the week ahead. A brief at 1000 means we’re up earlier, breakfast is a less leisurely affair, you can feel people starting to limber up for work. Conversation is more professional, equipment is swapped and prepared and people start to get comfortable with unfamiliar pieces of kit. This does not end well for Booker who is busy configuring his new GPS when he asks “What elevation are we at right now?” There’s a moment of silence before the table falls apart laughing and Wayne points at the Persian Gulf a few hundred yards behind us. “I think that’s sea level, mate….” After briefing I join Gus, Wayne, Hurls and Booker on a trip to find helicopter landing sites on the hotel’s golf course. Last year we all drove dow... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3463621 Tue, 13 Apr 2010 11:42:50 +0100 3463621 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3475848&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1246 Day three begins to shape the week ahead. A brief at 1000 means we’re up earlier, breakfast is a less leisurely affair, you can feel people starting to limber up for work. Conversation is more professional, equipment is swapped and prepared and people start to get comfortable with unfamiliar pieces of kit. This does not end well for Booker who is busy configuring his new GPS when he asks “What elevation are we at right now?” There’s a moment of silence before the table falls apart laughing and Wayne points at the Persian Gulf a few hundred yards behind us. “I think that’s sea level, mate….” After briefing I join Gus, Wayne, Hurls and Booker on a trip to find helicopter landing sites on the hotel’s golf course. Last year we all drove dow... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3475848 Tue, 13 Apr 2010 11:42:24 +0100 3475848 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3457849&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1245 We RV in the dining room at 10, new members of the team appearing like hungry tape worms at a bowl of milk. Our numbers swell alongside our volume and raucousness. By the time everyone’s arrived we’ve hauled four tables together into a sort of prehospital breakfast long-house arrangement and we’re laughing and joking the length of the balcony. The hotel is very new and so are the staff, it’s a bit of a challenge getting complicated orders delivered to the table. In fact, it’s a bit difficult getting anything delivered to the table, so mercenary raiding parties are organised. I am despatched for “cake” and come back with a plate laden with muffins, danish pastries and donuts. Someone else nashes off to the servers’ table and returns with pots... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3457849 Sat, 10 Apr 2010 19:21:34 +0100 3457849 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3437710&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1244 A short night’s sleep is cut shorter by my packing paranoia and ends up a power nap before I rise at 3am to catch my bus to the airport. I used to be an afficionado of paying for airport parking and still am, when I’m feeling flush. There is nothing like the feeling of walking off your flight and straight into your car to drive home. Sadly, the cheapest quote I could find for my stay in UAE is £60 and I don’t feel prepared to shell out that much, so a night bus it is, bumping and joggling along the West End’s omnipresent roadworks. At the airport, out of nowhere, I bump into a old school chum, Biff and her partner Joe. They’re heading out to the American East Coast and we spend the hour pre-boarding chatting over coffee and, as the slightly schemey barista in the airport cafe pu... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3437710 Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:14:55 +0100 3437710 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3398962&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1243 .flickr-photo { border: solid 4px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } For those of you who are unaware, in eight hours or so I’ll hop on a plane and fly back to Abu Dhabi for the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2010. Long time readers will be aware of the amazing generosity shown by TQ donors who helped me raise funds last year at short notice to equip myself and fly myself out to the UAE to take part in this event as a Search and Rescue Medic. If you haven’t read the stories, you should go do that now. They’re right here, we’ll wait. For the rest of you and particularly for those of you who donated, I thought you might like to see my packing list again - this time with a year’s experience and a further ... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3398962 Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:00:52 +0100 3398962 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3023142&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1198 Race day, the day we’ve all been building up to and, despite the organisational difficulties that have come before, I actually feel reasonably prepared for what we’re about to do. We’re about to help run an F1 Grand Prix. I am still dressed in combats and a teeshirt, the FIA having utterly flunked out in providing me with a pair of fire-proof overalls that I can actually wear. I have a chat with one of the bosses and between the two of us we agree that I’ll work in what I’m wearing and that “If there’s any chance of fire, stay away.” Oh trust me mate, I’m a green-suit, I’m a world champion in keeping myself safe at the possible detriment of others. Also? If I make too much of a fuss about things, I have a nasty feeling I’l... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3023142 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:49:22 +0100 3023142 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3008105&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1196 Day 5 - Right. It’s official. I love my FIV. And I love my standby point. I have an epic view of the first two corners…and the starting grid…and the finish line. There are people over there that have paid a f.ing fortune to have a view like this. I haven’t. Hehehe. Also? My FIV has air conditioning. Sweet, sweet air conditioning. The novelty of the UAE’s heat wore off in the desert in March. It’s very nice, for a time. But out here the concrete and polished surfaces reflect everything, heat, light and sound back at you. Being out on the tarmac is an intense sensory overload. A hot, bright, noisy sensory overload. Inside the FIV are comfy seats, upholstery, Wi-Fi and did I mention the air conditioning? I’m telling you, dude, that A/C got me through the week. The c... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3008105 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:12:27 +0100 3008105 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2995754&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1194 Friday: I wake and congratulate myself on being so terribly organised that I have time for a shower and shave before breakfast and bus. As Tom and I stroll across the OV towards the Mess we’re met by Shereen, Patch’s other half and an almighty organisational force to be reckoned with. “Morning boys, bus leaves in five.” Wha’? No, no, no. Bus leaves in thirty five. That’s the deal. Bus leaves at 0730. That was what they said at the briefing last night. Hang on. I remember Beyonce. And the bus ride home. And the kebab. And getting my boots from Gus. I definitely remember drinking a Heineken that I knew I shouldn’t. And then we went to the briefing. Didn’t we? Oops. Turns out , because we were so horrendously shit at getting on the bus on time yesterday, it’s been decided ... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2995754 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:21:41 +0100 2995754 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2992682&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1193 Wednesday morning and we’re breakfast and bus to the track for our first day of training and familiarisation. The approach to Yas Marina is on a purpose built highway and as we pull up the gate it’s hard not to be impressed by the scale of the place. Most notable is the enormous hotel that straddles the track, its walls covered in thousands of LEDs; a birds eye view of the place unfortunately makes one realise that it’s shaped like a massive winky, but never mind. Only those in helicopters will ever see that. Decanting from the bus, Christina gives us a rapid tour of the clinic. Where the camp is basic, the clinic is salubrious and overflowing with equipment and facilities. For an on-site med centre it entirely exceeds my expectations. Inside a covered drive-through ambulance bay ... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2992682 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:09:54 +0100 2992682 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2977310&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1192 Wednesday 28th Another taxi ride to the airport, this time shared with other hotel guests and organised by reception. Hotel quotes “£6 a head” but by the time I’ve arrived at the airport this has magically risen to £10. “Terminal Free, innit?” says the taxi driver, by way of explanation day light robbery justification. I spend an enjoyable second fantasising about setting him on fire and driving him headfirst into the Terminal building, but quickly remember that this plan has already been done and didn’t end well for anyone involved, least of all John “I won a fight against a man who was burning to death, I’m a national treasure” Smeaton. Instead, I consider calling him a c., do so and enter the airport where I’m wandering about the Etihad check-in area, laughing at ... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2977310 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:14:36 +0100 2977310 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2967303&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1191 After a few days packing, in which I managed to make myself panic about how little was panicking, I’m ready to head back to Abu Dhabi. My bag holds a frighteningly small volume of “hostile” equipment. A single water canteen and a little torch are my only nods to March’s Desert Challenge. I have no sleeping bag or roll-mat, no rehydration salts, no huge bag of OTC medications. My enormous desert boots are still in the wardrobe. I’ve even ironed some of the clothes I’m taking with me. My rucksack has an enormous binderin it, courtesy of the Digitals in which I have printouts of every flight, insurance document and briefing that has come hurtling out of my email at me over the past few weeks. That’s not to mention the four-hole punch I’ve stolen, there to feed the near-ejac... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2967303 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:54:12 +0100 2967303 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2931002&cid=t_289691_101_f&fid=38982&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftraumaqueen.net%2F%3Fp%3D1190 There’s another reason I’ve not been writing here so much. And it’s all down to you guys. Earlier this year, almost entirely down to the kindness of my readers here, I got to fly out to the UAE and work on the Abu-Dhabi Desert Challenge. You can read my stories from that time on the link above. While I was in the UAE, the Chief Medical Officer, Patch, casually mentioned that he was recruiting a team of medics to work on the Formula 1 Grand Prix which was to have its inaugural Emirates competition at a track that was under construction at the time. Buzzing after a week of helicopters in the desert, I made sure Patch was clear that I wanted in and was thrilled when he simply nodded. “Ok.” Just like that? No interview? No application form? Cool. I came home, t... Trauma Queen blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2931002 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:20:31 +0100 2931002 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2398791&cid=t_289691_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F05%2F08%2Fbush-cheney-rumsfeld-and-tenet-guilty-2%2F More than 10,000 people cast their votes during the last year and a half in a virtual voting booth at www.LuciferEffect.com. Their judgments accord with the recent Senate Armed Services bipartisan report that blames Bush officials for detainee abuse. It also finds that the prison guards and interrogators were not the “true culprits.” The vast majority of these voters found all four Bush officials guilty of having created the legal frameworks, laws, and motivational conditions that provided the foundation for the abuses and torture of detainees at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay prisons. The guilty verdicts (for George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and George Tenet) were true regardless of political preference, across all age groups, and whether or not they had read The Lucifer ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2398791 Fri, 08 May 2009 04:01:18 +0100 2398791 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1429395&cid=t_289691_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F05%2F08%2Fnaive-cynicism-abstract%2F This article explores how dispositionism maintains its dominance despite the fact that it misses so much of what actually moves us. It argues that the answer lies in a subordinate dynamic and discourse, naïve cynicism: the basic subconscious mechanism by which dispositionists discredit and dismiss situationist insights and their proponents. Without it, the dominant person schema — dispositionism — would be far more vulnerable to challenge and change, and the more accurate person schema — situationism — would be less easily and effectively attacked. Naïve cynicism is thus critically important to explaining how and why certain legal policies manage to carry the day. (To download a copy, click here.) * * * For a recent Situationist post illustrating naive cynicism at... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1429395 Thu, 08 May 2008 14:00:27 +0100 1429395 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1403043&cid=t_289691_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F04%2F28%2Flessons-learned-from-the-abu-ghraib-horrors%2F On April 28, 2004, four years ago, our nation, and the world, was shocked by the revelation of the abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers. More surprising than the fact of the abuse, for soldiers often abuse their enemies in wartime, was the nature of the “trophy photos.” Both male and female Military Police posed smilingly, giving high fives over a pyramid of naked detainees; dragging some around on dog leashes; and forcing others into sexually degrading poses. An iconic image of torture emerged from the digitally documented depravity which was shown in a helpless prisoner standing on a cardboard box, head hooded, electrodes attached to his fingers, fearing that when his body weakened and he fell off the stress box, he would electrocute himself. Recall that the imme... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1403043 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:01:24 +0100 1403043 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=817635&cid=t_289691_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F08%2F23%2Fkerry-charged-over-tariqs-death%2F Roy Kerry has finally been charged with involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment two years after Abubakar “Tariq” Nadama died as a result of treatment he received at Kerry’s clinic in Portersville, Pennsylvania. Kerry also faces an enquiry into his competency from the state medical authorities and is being sued by [...] (Source: Action For Autism) Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=817635 Thu, 23 Aug 2007 13:01:21 +0100 817635 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=486977&cid=t_289691_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F02%2F05%2Fquestions-for-dr-anju-usman%2F Treating Autism is hosting the two day Autism-Biomedical Conference at the Bournemouth International Centre with funding from the National Lottery this weekend. (Friday 9th  and Saturday 10th February) Regular readers of this blog will not be surprised to learn that I have misgivings about this. Basically the DAN! protocol is being promoted in a big way in England for the first time. This follows on from the success of Action Against Autism in setting up a DAN! clinic in Scotland under the leadership of Lorene Amet following their biomed conference in Edinburgh in October 2005. I have three major objections to DAN! They accept as fact that there is an epidemic of autism caused by environmental toxins. They claim that by using chelation to remove these toxins children can be recover... Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=486977 Mon, 05 Feb 2007 23:27:41 +0100 486977