Stem Cell Research

Much has been said one both sides of the issue about whether it is good or bad, or if it is legal or not, yada, yada.

We talked about this at this week's meeting of the Inkwell 4. And we have a few questions. Ok, let me see if I have this right. A fertilized embryo is considered a "person" whether in or out of the womb. And if a pregnant woman wants to have an abortion, the religious right says that is the murder of an unborn child. Right?

So, say my wife and I cannot conceive child and we go to a fertility clinic for help. They take my sperm and her eggs and fertilize them, then they implant the fertilzed eggs into my wife. Say 2 of the 10 fertilized eggs are implanted and the rest are then held to see if the implantation takes effect. Are you with me so far? Let say after a couple of weeks, the implant has taken. Now the unused fertilized eggs are then discarded.

But wait, is that not the killing of an unborn child? How can the destruction of the fertilized eggs be justified? The Religious Right needs to consider this when they start their coming protests on the use of stem cells for medical research.

CHUQ

Turkey--Between Iraq And A Hard Place

The US had a vote on a genocide resolution, Turkey amassed a huge force on the Iraqi border, PKK is defiant and Iraq warns of no cross border movement. The Us has been trying everything to prevent the Turks from acting.

Will The Turks cross the border? That my friends is the $64 question. Turkey is not ignorant! They know that the PKK will have the advantage because of the terrain. Turkey has the advantage in fire power, but it will be uselass if there is no one to use it on. Turkey is in a precarious position, if they cross the border going after the PKK and fail, they will empower the Islamists even more than now. If succeed they will set a precedent of the region and would go further into help destabilize an already unstabled area.

Either way the USA is in a lose-lose scenario. Iraq is in a lose-lose scenario. Then what is up with the war drums from Turkey? That is simple! The genocide thing is going away. Turkey is applying pressure on Iraq and the US to take action against the PKK. They will act if they have to, but would pretty much prefer the others to act and act in Turkey's favor.

Just some thoughts we had at this week's meeting of the Inkwell 3.

CHUQ

Genocide?

Genocide! Genocide! Where is the genocide?

The Senate has passed the Armenian genocide resolution, but it seems to be losing support in the House. The term genocide is a delicate one at best. Turks say it was not, Bush says it was not, Armenians say it was, but what would you expect them to say?

So, sports fans, who is right? Was it genocide? If you say yes, then is Darfur genocide? If you say yes, then what a bout Tibet? HUH, you may ask. In the 1950's China invaded a free country of Tibet and since then has set about killing people, destroying culture and remaking the country into a Chinese province. Is this genocide?

To the Tibetan people it is! But why has not the present and past Administrations not labeled it as so?

Ask yourself, who is the US largest trade partner? Thinking.....thinking.....CHINA? Nothing gets past you guys, does it? If you think that the US will jeopardize that partnership, you are being delusional.

Genocide is a horrible violation of human rights; no matter who does it. But to pick and choose who will be labeled a genocidal state is pathetic. As long as we are talking about it, what about Serbia and the Balkans, all those deaths, were they from a genocide?

My point is, pick a definition of genocide and stick with it, no matter who you offend--genocide is genocide--it should never be a political hot button for discussion--it should be condemned on all fronts.

CHUQ

Racism--Alive And Well

I would bet that you thought that racism was pretty on the wane. Damn! were you mistaken!

Last year a white school bus driver in Louisiana made Afro-American students sit in the back of the bus. Then it was Imus and his mouth. And then nooses show up in Jena. O'Reilly makes his lame ass comments, which by the way, none of the big mouth pieces of the Afro-American community has come out and condemned. On that I would like to know what is up. Why did O'Reilly get a free ride? And later nooses started showing up in North Carolina and now at Columbia University in NYC.

Think about it! this is just in the last 12 months or so. Do you still think racism is not a big deal. It is! If you do not see it you are either blind or part of problem!

Come on! look at the immigration thing; it is lead by fear. Fear that white people will become a minority in the entire country not just in certain parts. The opponents of the immigrants have sold the drain theory to a gullible public. You want more proof? Fine! Recently there was an operation in LA to round up Latin gang members to either deport or inter. It was heavily reported by all TV media. What about the say Russian gangs and thugs that operate in NYC and the Northeast? When was this a story? Could be they are white and blonde hair?

Stop! It is racism and no matter how you trey to paint it, it will still bleed through.

CHUQ

Justification Of War With Iran

JUSTIFICATION OF WAR WITH IRAN

Recently the US administration has spent a bunch of time and effort to reassure the American people that there was no intention of going to war with Iran. Or at least, for the time being there is no desire to act. They, the Administration, say that all options are still on the table, that nothing is being discounted. But they reassure too much for my tastes.

Sens. Kyl and Lieberman have entered a measure into the Senate that would designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. They base this measure on reports from the recent past that the Guard is training and supplying the guerillas in Iraq. But I ask on what do they base this assumption? On the Intel that is given by the President and his entourage? Would that be the same people that gave them the Iraqi WMD information? Are they basing their accusations on the Intel of known and proven lairs? Yes, they are. But in their defense, I am not privy to all the Intel and I may be lacking a critical part of the puzzle, but from all the info I have at my disposal, this is a piece of bovine fecal matter.

Why, do I say that? Sens. Kyl and Lieberman are two of the biggest hawks in Congress and as such will rubber stamp anything Bush cares to talk about at anytime. These two will be used by the President to run the end around through Congress. These two are administration tools for their “cowboy” foreign policy.

Here is part of the wording of the proposal:

"Our military leaders, diplomats, and intelligence reports say that there is clear evidence Iran is exerting negative influence in Iraq," said Kyl. "I believe that the Senate's adoption of this measure sends a message to Iran that the U.S. will not tolerate any interference to progress in Iraq. It is now incumbent upon the State Department to add the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to the list of terrorist organizations."

The wording is very precise and to the point. It sounds innocent enough and if proven to be true, then any terrorist group should be added. But there is a hidden agenda in this measure. In my humble opinion, there is more to this than meets the media’s eye. I sat this because the media has focused on the above portion of the measure and has ignored another.

"It is vital to the national security interests of the United States that the Iranian government not be allowed to prevail in its proxy war against us in Iraq," said Lieberman. "This amendment makes it clear - both to our enemies and our friends - that the United States will not retreat in the face of Iranian terrorism."

The above is the key portion of the measure, in my opinion. Why? It leaves the door open for a future action against Iran. It could possibly be used to justify any and every action taken against the country of Iran.

How could this be done? Intel could be cooked to show that Iran was a threat to the world, which is being done as I speak. It is all about justification, not labeling.

CHUQ

Is Inflation Approaching?

Good question and deserves a good answer. back in the day, when I was in college taking that econ 101, the bane of most average human being, I was amazed at how the "experts" could read a coming disaster.

Alright, let us begin. Gold prices are up, oil futures are up, housing is collapsing faster than a bridge in Minneapolis, food prices up, consumer spending stagnant, income stagnant, so why no recession? all these indicators are poor, at best, but yet the economy is strong. Why?

All economic indicators are used to fuel investments. Investors are optimistic at this time, they are gambling that say 12 months from now all will be good. The government does it's part to stabilize the economy by cutting prime rates and bailing out disintegrating sectors. This is what the investors need to keep pumping money into the system and as long as they do that this economy will appear to be strong and stable.

But on the down side, NO ONE has asked John P. Public what condition the economy is in. There is the true test of how healthy the economy is; if John cannot buy enough food for his family, then this "free market" system is not working.

Nothing I see that pertains to the average Joe tells me this is a healthy environment. The economy is failing, but as long as the wealthy gamble on the lives of normal Americans, there will be no change. Sad that the worker and his family must pay a terrible price for the accumulation of wealth by a few.


CHUQ
04 Oct 07