Retaliation Against Japan for Ban on US Beef

I think it's horrible that the US is organizing a way to retaliate against the Japanese just because they refuse to buy possibly infected beef products. Although the US "upholds its commitments to the Japanese," none of these commitments have mad cow associated with it. Any country that does not want to buy beef from the US should not have to. The USDA is not honest with the public on issues concerning mad cow infections so there should be some level of concern for everyone. Although there are early inchoate tests being conducted to definitively diagnosis mad cow disease, much work is still needed. The US should be more concerned about increased control over their cows and the public's health, not threatening other countries for more money.

Mid-September Update

So I'm working like a dog and tired as hell, but doing great regardless, it's funny how that works. After my wonderful time in WA this past weekend I'm off to San Diego tomorrow and then to Vegas. I'm a little nervous about going to SD since I have to really be on top of things and know my shit for this training seminar series so I'll be busy again tomorrow...darn. But it should be a lot of fun since the machine I'll be working with is awesome and can be utilized to test binding affinities of specific antibodies and also opens doors to analyzing the real-time kinetics of conformational changes in fibril assembly in prion disease to investigate amyloid fibril formation and learn more about it's pathway and biophysical properties...hopefully I'll be able to mingle with everyone and build some contacts. What's the best way to do it, over drinks, dinner,..late nights...hmmmm? Hahaha! Oh well, I guess I'll find out. Anyway, I'm totally stoked, wish me luck.