(no subject)

It just makes me shake my head when I hear the government complaining that the Iraqis are "fighting underhandedly".

You mean, like the colonials did during the Revolutionary War? Funny how unconventional tactics are praised in one scenario and deprecated in another, depending on who you're rooting for.

Personally, I can't blame the Iraqis. We're the ones going over there into their country. They should be expected to defend it, even in ways we "civilized" countries may not agree with.

Hit 'em where it hurts--the pocket

Boycott of American Goods Over Iraq War Gains

No more Coca-Cola or Budweiser, no Marlboro, no American whiskey or even American Express cards -- a growing number of restaurants in Germany are taking everything American off their menus to protest the war in Iraq.

Although the protests are mainly symbolic, waiters in dozens of bars and restaurants in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Bonn and other German cities are telling patrons, "Sorry, Coca-Cola is not available any more due to the current political situation."

The boycotts appear to be part of a nascent worldwide movement. One Web site, www.consumers-against-war.de, calls for boycotts of 27 top American firms from Microsoft to Kodak while another, www.adbusters.org, urges the "millions of people against the war" to "Boycott Brand America."

[...] The German restaurant boycotts of American products started small but spread rapidly after the Iraq war began on Thursday. The conflict has struck a raw nerve in a country that became decidedly anti-war after the devastation of World War II, which it initiated.

"If people all around the world boycott American products it might influence their policies," said Jean-Yves Mabileau, owner of "L'Auberge Francaise" which joined 10 Hamburg restaurants in banning Coca Cola, Philip Morris' Marlboro cigarettes, whiskey and other American goods.

"This started as a light-hearted reaction to Americans dumping French wine in the gutter and renaming 'French Fries' as 'Freedom Fries'," he said. "But it feels good to take a stand against this war. It is just a small gesture, but a good one."

Diners at the Osteria restaurant in Berlin are finding that "things go better without Coke" and are ordering Germany's long overshadowed imitation of "the real thing" -- the slightly sweeter "Afri-Cola" -- to express their outrage.

"We wanted to do something to express our annoyance," Osteria owner Fabio Angile told Reuters. "We want to hit America where it hurts -- in their wallets. None of the customers have complained. On the contrary, most thought it was a great idea."

[...] In the London suburb of Milton Keynes, the Greens party have called on consumers to boycott 330 American products ranging from Mars bars to Gap jeans and American films on DVD and video.

In Zurich, travel agents said some clients who usually take holidays in the United States are changing their destinations.

"Some of the most loyal customers who have been traveling to the United States for years have changed their plans because they don't like what Bush is doing," Lucia Zeller, director of the Travac travel agency, told the Tages Anzeiger newspaper.

the dangers of oral pleasure

Study Looks at How HIV May Spread Through Oral Sex

Laboratory studies of mouth tissue suggest that unprotected oral sex does have the potential to transmit HIV, but an expert said it is still less risky than other routes of transmission.

The results of this study help researchers understand how HIV is transmitted and suggest that even oral tissue that is intact -- without any tears or sores -- can become infected with HIV under the right circumstances.

Dr. Xuan Liu, of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, California and colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles obtained oral tissue samples from over 50 healthy, HIV-negative patients and exposed the tissue to three different types of HIV.

They found that two of the types could infect and reproduce within cells called keratinocytes that line the surface of the mouth, and that these cells can then transfer the infection to adjacent white blood cells.

However, the level of infection in the mouth cells was much lower than that seen in white blood cells -- approximately one-fourth to one-eighth lower.

[...] "HIV is able to get into (keratinocytes), but it reproduces less than it would in blood cells ... because saliva contains an HIV inhibitor," Liu told Reuters Health.

Under certain circumstances, Liu said, keratinocytes are able to release the virus to blood cells, which proliferate much faster than keratinocytes. Thus, the transfer of the infection from keratinocytes to white blood cells may provide a "foothold" for HIV in the body.

[...] Laurence believes the findings indicate there is "no reason for altering safer sex guidelines that have been talked about for over 15 years."

"No exchange of infected bodily fluids is absolutely safe, but kissing has been shown to be of no risk, and oral sex is of much lower risk than the other traditional factors known to spread HIV."