Stem Cell Success?
Out of South Korea comes a report that a woman paralyzed for 20 years has regained the ability to walk spinal repairs performed using stems . As noted in the article, this was accomplished using an intermediate source of stem cell: umbilical cord blood.
Back on October 14th was the last time I found myself talking about stem cell therapies and ethics, arising primarily from comments and questions raised by Tony Collett (the specific link is found back on the Oct. 14th entry) concerning types and sources of stem cells. That the questions were raised in the wake of the death of Christopher Reeve's death, whose own spine injury ultimately led to his death, cannot be overlooked.
It's important to keep in mind that this umbilical source represents a more differentiated form of stem cell, which is to say that similar to adult stem cells these umbilical cells are less flexible than embryonic stem cells, which are capable of becoming any structure in the h
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Turkeyday Torpor (Pre-nap ramble)
I don't have the slightest regard for pro sports, so football games are a complete non-issue for me on Thanksgiving. If you enjoy it, then go ahead and do so. The only thing I happened across today on tv that's a holiday special event of any interest is the Dinner For Five Thanksgiving Day marathon on IFC . The show's creator and host is Jon Favreau, and each half hour is an edited down block of conversation over a full meal at a restaurant with four people generally in the entertainment business. Aside from (at least it seems) that Kevin Smith was invited more times than I might care for, it's an interesting reach into the people.
All I know is that I have to stay away from the radio for awhile, having gotten my annual fill of Arlo Guthrie...
I hope you're all having a fine Thanksgiving. If you're a Canadian then you ate weeks ago, so now it's our turn.
A little rest, then I have a list of
WooHoo! I'm a bad parent!
A list of the most violent/inappropriate for children and teens (Augh. It let me through fine the first time, but upon checking the link I see that they want people to register for access, and I hate doing that) video games was issued by The National Institute on Media and the Family recently, and I see that #2 on the list is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas , which we've had at home since the release date; much of it isn't to my tastes, but that has much more to do with rap/hip hop culture and "urban" slang than it does with death and destruction. The #4 spot is Halo 2 , which the in-laws have already picked up for the kids, presumably for Christmas. The #1 spot goes to Doom 3 and the #3 to Half Life 2 , both of which are games I have some interest in playing eventually -- not that I get much time to actually play any games...
Here's the complete list from NIMF's own site , though it was taking impossibly long to load. I&#
Intellectual property laws vs. the future: Something has to give
Okay, so the week before last's word that Marvel Entertainment is suing City of Heroes is neither news to anyone who cares, nor is it the end of civilization as we know it, but it is at least in part symptomatic of an increasing conflict between arguably out of control copyright and intellectual property laws attached to immortal corporations and the functioning of a free and innovative society. A parody of the above story provides an extreme angle on the situation. The capsule specifics of the story for those who aren't comics and/or roleplaying shut-ins: City of Heroes is an online roleplaying game where users can use system tools to create original, super-powered characters that serve as their online identities and which can then move about in a virtual world where they can battle alongside and against other players. This lawsuit is layered, looking both at intrinsic similarities between many of the
Will we ever watch The Watchmen ?
Another high-profile director has been attached as director for The Watchmen . Work on a screen adaptation of the 1986 Alan Moore/ Dave Gibbons miniseries has been floating around since 1989 as an "upcoming" project, with a Sam Hamm script from that era likely still floating around on the net. (I know I have a print copy of it stored away somewhere.) Early on it was linked to Terry Gilliam, but has officially and unofficially switched hands over the years. Adapting the dense, 12-issue miniseries into a roughly 2 hour screenplay has often caused me to think it was better off not being made -- far better that it would be optioned for development as a miniseries on HBO or SHOWTIME. Still, as noted in the article, a target of 2006 is currently on the schedule.
Even with majorities in House & Senate the GOP is still up to sneaky congressional tricks
The recent spending bill ramrodded through Congress - ostensibly merely to raise the debt ceiling for government spending so as to allow Bush's crazy train ride into a financial for the U.S. to proceed smoothly into 2005 - in a fashion that's become typical for GOP lawmakers included items slipped in that obviously some hoped wouldn't be noticed. On the side the GOP representatives are claiming credit for is an anti-abortion rider that will allow hospitals receiving federal funds the option of not discussing abortion as an option when counselling patients , a provision that currently applies only to Catholic hospitals. On the more darkly comic side of "how did that get in there?" responses from nearly all GOP lawmakers who'll talk about it is another provision in the same bill that would essentially eliminate the privacy of any individual taxpayer's tax returns
Relaunching Ash?
Word's come today that Sam Raimi will be overseeing, albeit just as producer, a remake of the film that slowly grew to cult status and started him on his climb to becoming the director of both Spider-man films: The Evil Dead . There are rumors that Bruce Campbell will reprise his role as Ash. Given all the years that have passed since the 1981 original and 1987's Evil Dead II , which any who've seen it knows was already a remake of the first film, with a bigger budget and a focus on Campbell's character, who stole all the scenes in the first film, I wonder about the changes they'll decide to make. The original films are so much Bruce Campbell vehicles that it would be a poor move to remake it without him, yet I'm not sure that the 46 year old Campbell is going to be quite as up to the comic abuse he put himself through in the role back when he was in his twenties.
As noted in the article there's not even a director ch
Election 2004 Questions Continue To Be Raised Many of us, including Mark Gibson , have been holding back on reports of alleged fraud in the recent election - much as stated back on the 7th - though we've been passing information back and forth behind the scenes, waiting to see if something busts open. Many of us still feel toasted. Burnt and burnt out. Still, the reports are persisting and there's a danger of our restraint becoming part of a forced hush. The bottom line is that if there are any grounds for these allegations they need to be investigated. A piece in yesterday's Boston Globe reports on the story behind the lack of coverage , unsure how much pressure is coming from political sides and how much from within the mainstream media itself, which in general wishes the blogosphere would just shut up and go back to being part of a compliant audience for the approved news stream. So it is in the spirit of reminding people that for all the talk of the victory for a "
As presented, it doesn't make much sense...
Despite being busy I've been unable to avoid seeing and hearing - and as a result thinking - about the apparent murder of Margaret Hassan in Iraq. It makes virtually no sense unless it's seen to be an act by some group whose agenda is to justify further action against "insurgents" in Iraq. Some of this is ventured in this piece by Robert Fisk, someone who knew Margaret .
The question stands: The killing of a woman who'd lived in Iraq for 30 years, and who for years had spent almost every waking hour trying to get food, medicine and general relief to Iraqis who needed it -- whose agenda does this benefit? Is there a reasonable answer to that that isn't terrifying? (Thanks to Grant S. for passing that one along.)
I'm just busy...
Hence the lack of much activity here. I had more in mind this past weekend (especially items concerning Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's opinion that the judicial nominee committee's sole task is to force the president's nominees through, and that the current filibuster rules should be done away with) but Blogger wasn't having any of it, refusing to let me on. There's no lack of material to comment on - if anything there continues to be too much - but the time's simply not there. Getting closer to the weekend and clearing out some other obligations should do the trick.
Continued thanks to those who've been sending me links, whether they're of a political nature or something even more arcane - to quickly note two. (Thanks, Grant and Mr. Washington , respectively!)
The Incredibles lives up to the hype
I finally got out to see it Sunday evening, having overcome resistance in at least one of my sons. I liked it as much as I'd expected, and Nick was pleasantly surprised.
Fun, briskly-paced, with well-realized characters taken very naturally on the run, the movie doesn't bog down for a moment yet manages to be character-driven throughout. A very human tale of superhumans, it’s neither pretentious nor condescending – neither with respect to the audience nor its subject matter.
Essentially no time is spent with origins, the filmmakers having wisely decided that such would not only bog the film down but was ultimately unnecessary. Despite having secrets from the world, as far as the viewers are concerned the characters have their hearts on their sleeves -- and it works.
While watching it I was struck by how much I hope that the people behind the upcoming Fantastic Four movie find themselves inspired by this one to tune the feel of t
Ralph Nader: Champion of the People
The Democrats may be willing to roll over and accept the vote, but Ralph Nader - with little to gain in any conceivable outcome - is pressing for recounts in states where highly irregular voting patterns were observed . The focus is on Florida, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Ohio.
I may be an agnostic, but at times such as this the first thing that comes to mind is "God bless you, sir."
The bloody now and an important analysis for the future
The invasion of Falluja has been under way for hours now -- much longer if one includes the early bombardment of the city. Here are some pics from Fallujah before the active invasion , mostly from Monday. The troops will sweep the city, there will be widespread destruction and many deaths, but in the end I don't expect it will make much of a difference in making Iraq any safer and ready for elections. Those fighting against the foreign occupation forces and what they perceive as a puppet government will largely simply relocate if they haven't already done so. After all, it isn't as if they're wearing "Insurgent" t-shirts.
Also, back at home, here's an analysis of the emails sent out by the Bush and Kerry campaigns , highlighting what the Bush team did right and the Kerry team did wrong, initially focused on late September with a link at the bottom to a look near the end of the campaign. Meanwhi
Mutant Mayhem (Because I have to step away from politics part of the time, and this is supposed to be an amusing outlet for me.)
Proving once again that fan sites are often more entertaining and than the official ones, here's a snappy presentation of the complete, upcoming Mutant Mayhem Heroclix set . Click on a thumbnail to see a larger version of each image. The top tier are the sets' uniques, the second through third are the rest of the set by number, with a translucent, mail-away Hulk limited edition figure at the end. Having looked at the characters, sculpts and nearly all of the dials I know I want enough of this set to be going after all of it (well, the limited edition pieces remain of little to no interest, but as they're including some of those randomly in boosters it appears I'll likely get away with some of those, too.
The site plays around a little farther down the page, including some alternate play maps. If you're looking for the dial stats
A shift of tactics The tumultuous, resoundingly disappointing week behind us - due to a blend of misinformed voters, single-issue voters, and problems in the voting system (certainly many systemic ones, and perhaps fraud and manipulation) as it stands - have pushed some into silence and some into rash statements. I've been inclined in the post-election days to lean slightly towards the latter by way of endorsements.
Having read a mix of perspectives and analyses over the past several days I've finally come to the conclusion that as we have to take a long view of what's to come we have to simultaneously put pressure to have the problems reformed while being careful not to lose the gains made in political awareness and voter turnout. Remember that even through this flawed process some 56 million votes were cast against George W. Bush. That's all the more important when one considers that he ran as a "War president", a situation that was bound to rally many
Knowing the Enemy 101
I know you're tired. Sick and tired. But when you feel up for it here's some time worth spending:
Read Bush’s Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential (check the library first!)
…or get a DVD of the documentary … (a good video rental spot might have it!)
…or watch the documentary on The Sundance Channel (if you're already paying for it, why not?)... today at 7:30 pm, 1 pm Sunday 11/14, 6:30 am and 5:30 pm Friday 11/19 if it’s part of your cable system. We have it here, and have both the East and West so each of these times is echoed 3 hours later on the next channel up. In fact, as it just finished up on the East Coast version it’ll be on the West Coast one 11:30 – all times mentioned are East Coast ones.
A little look on the bright side...
While I think he could have ditched a couple of these, it's Michael Moore's way to be excessive. New on Novermber 5th (which I mention because he doesn't have a targeted link) here's his "17 Reasons Not to Slit Your Wrists." I've also decided to place a link to the "Kerry Won" piece (referenced directly or indirectly in one of the other entries this week) at nearly the top of my permanent links. I want it to stay visible, not to scroll away. It should be read and it should be remembered.
Trust The Vote?
Just a quick note to say that the question of a stolen election is continuing to resonate. As noted in yesterday's post , people are questioning the disparity between exit polls and final voting numbers, particularly as there are wide margins only in a few states. Here's a piece by Slate from yesterday afternoon, which I missed. Mark Gibson , however, caught it and some other ones in a post last night.
Take a look, spread it around. Questions are raised that require answers. Update: Doing a quick search after Mark Gibson noted it in the comments section, we see that 3,893 extra votes were recorded by one suburban Ohio voting machine . (You might have to provide a Zip code, birth year and gender to see the story.) It's being downplayed because so far no other such stories are coming forth from Ohio, and the type of machine in question wasn't being used elsewhere in the state, but I'll be very interested to see where the totals come out once a
Don't Let the Bastards Spin!
Once again, courtesy of the Daily KOS , are some must-read items.
First is a look at how we cannot let the Bush team's lie go unchallenged that this election constituted a "mandate." Included is the note that this is the largest number of voters to ever vote against an incumbent president.
Next is an attempt to look at the positive side of the situation we're in . Sure, one might alternately need binoculars and a microscope to see it, but it's there.
Finally (for the moment) is another call to stay and fight instead of give up and hide .
The Fear To Come
Thanks to Mark Gibson for pointing out a spot-on and chilling op-ed piece by Maureen Dowd .
The most frightening section is a look at the stances of some of the new members of Congress -- the people who will be part of an even stronger GOP majority and will wield the power to make laws. Our last defense - aside from the valiant struggles of some of the remaining Democrats and independent thinkers who will immediately be charged with "obstructionism" when they try to stick up for us - will be the Supreme Court... which will also be in the hands of Bush to reshape in part:
"Just as Zell Miller was so over the top at the G.O.P. convention that he made Mr. Cheney seem reasonable, so several new members of Congress will make W. seem moderate.
Tom Coburn, the new senator from Oklahoma, has advocated the death penalty for doctors who perform abortions and warned that "the gay agenda" would
undermine the country. He also characterized his
About the vote...
(Have we been swindled by experts?)
I took Wednesday night off, being as burnt out as the rest of you were by the disappointment and momentary sense of futility the previous 24 hours had brought. There was some guilt, as I knew that this was just the time for me to keep my eyes and ears open, but I needed the break.
So it was with some interest that I came across a piece this morning via the Daily KOS concerning problems with the exit polling vs. the tallied votes, with an emphasis on how Ohio and Florida were apparently the only two locations where the exit polls gave John Kerry a strong win, only to be dashed by election results that swung hard in the opposite direction .
Upon hearing the general news the night of November 2nd that the exit polls had skewed towards Kerry but that the votes had tracked in the other direction, being a reasonable and kindly soul my initial thought was that so much emphasis had been placed recently on new young and minority v
"It’s only the end if we let it be."
In general I agree with the message on this morning's Daily KOS , from which the above quote is lifted. As with the author, I hasten to add that that's not a statement tied to the challenge to votes in Ohio, though I, too, believe that making a stand to count the votes is an important one, particularly considering a need to evaluate what went into all of the reports of provisional ballots yesterday. It's important that no ballot cast in good faith be ignored.
Beyond all that, though, the call to focus on what drove us from the start is an important one:
"Why were we in this fight in the first place? Because terrible leaders are doing terrible things to our country and calling this wonderful. Because radical reactionaries are trying to impose their imperialist schemes on whoever they wish and calling this just. Because amoral oligarchs are determined to enhance their slice of the economic pie and calling this the natu
Feh
One friend, in his concluding email of the night, said "I've taken as much coverage as I can bear. Looks like the country is filled with frightened, stupid sheep." Another wrote something considerably longer on his blog . The common thread in both and in my own mind is the disappointment and fear engendered by seeing that so many people voted for an administration and policies that have been so corrosive. So truly thoughtless. As I look at the national maps I see that ABC is still holding back on awarding Wisconsin to anyone, but aside from that their map is the same as that posted by CNN . Iowa, New Mexico and Ohio are left unassigned, and nearly all of the attention is on Ohio and its 20 electoral votes - 8 more than the other two combined - where Bush currently has a nearly 140,000 vote lead.
It should have been a rout. Instead, aside from the near-certainty that we're looking at four more years of this -- it's going to be worse than the first four.
From a distance (No links in this one. I don't want to look at any of it at the moment.) So far as when I last looked such victories as there were seemed scant. Inadequate. At least (here in) Pennsylvania, along with neighboring NJ, DE, etc. have gone for Kerry. Florida appears to be a loss (though CNN was refusing to call it, and as of that last check had the electoral votes at Bush 197 vs Kerry 188) which has me wondering what is going on down there. Ohio is leaning towards Bush, though the Kerry camp's spokespeople were insisting that heavily Democratic areas are yet to hand in their returns.
I had avoided the coverage much of the night and I turned it off again a few minutes ago. If it's bad news I don't need to have it delivered to me slowly over a period of hours. If it's good news I'd rather have it in one, ecstatic hit.
Deciding whether or not I'll be better able to sleep not knowing or knowing bad news is the question for me. Either way I hav
Keeping Watch
444 On Michael Moore's site is a map one can click on to see what voting problems are being encountered in each state. (Thanks to Tony Collett for reminding me of that.)
444 Here's something from Stephen Elliot's blog concerning some Republican shenanigans (The site was overwhelmed earlier due to a link from Fark and may be so again by the time you try. Just in case, I've represented the piece below, and here's a link to the referenced photo .): At The Intersection Of Stupid And Evil Republican Treachery The day started with a trip to Mt. Hermont African Methodist Episcopal
Church. Actually, the day started with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but nobody cares about that now. We drove to the church to catch the sermon and the early voting. They were driving straight from the church to the polling place at the library. The pastor was laying a heavy squeeze on the congregation but most of them had already voted. Only five nice ladies got i
Decision Day
I hit my local polling place shortly after 7 this morning and turned out to be #89 in line, (I looked at the numbered first-stage check-in list) and only had about a 25 minute wait. I didn't ask anyone in line directly about their voting, but the buzz I did hear was encouraging. A great many first time voters were in evidence and those who were talking had variations on a theme of change. The only other common theme was a general sense of relief that it's almost over. This has been a horribly long season, stretching all the way back through the undeniably broken primary process.
I wish I'd brought my camera with me, because the polling location (a local elementary school) was a cry of GOP desperation. It looked as if they'd gathered up as many yard signs as they could and jammed them in front of the building and along the long lane leading from the feed road. There wasn't a Democratic sign to be seen. My impression was that most in line had reacted
Of course it's not a matter of politics. It's a matter of ethics.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife, speaking at Harvard yesterday, praised the US Supreme Court for its move against Bush administration policies at the Guantanamo Bay prison facililities . The Supreme Court decision stated that detainees do have a right of access to the US judicial system to challenge their detention, destroying the administration's policy of denying them any judicial review.
My header line is my response to an unnamed Blair spokesman's comment that the statements made by Cherie Booth, Blair's wife, "...were in no way political opinions."
Meanwhile, in New Mexico...
Some early reports of tricky touch-screen machines . Touch the screen for Kerry... a check appears next to Bush's name. Clear it and do it again... the same. Third time, it worked. And, yes, I will admit that my cynicism is running in high gear, as I lean towards believing the three Rio Rancho residents mentioned later in the article who claimed machines had tried to register their Bush votes as Kerry ones were plants. At least these things appear to be sorting themselves out at least while people are remaining attentive.
Polling challenge update: Ohio
Update on the Ohio situation regarding the GOP wanting to place people at voting locations to challenge voters (this is one of the things talked about yesterday here : Two federal judges on Monday barred political party representatives from challenging voters at polling places throughout Ohio , saying poll workers, not outsiders, should determine voter eligibility. (Thanks, once more, to Tammy for this.) It's a momentary victory, and perhaps a small one in the light of all that's going on out there, but it's something.
Powell: "Insurgents are winning the war."
(Via an alert from Tammy , as seen on The Poor Man blog, and ultimately from a piece on Salon.com one has to watch a commercial before reading if not already a Salon subscriber. Subsequently, I've gone through the ad route - it's for The Daily Show - and I don't see the Powell piece. Hmmm... I'll post this in the meantime and when I get a chance will try to pin this down. Addition: It's better to go direction to the source the Salon writer was using anyway, this article in Newsweek . Thanks again to Tammy for running this down.)
Secretary of State Colin Powell has privately confided to friends in recent weeks that the Iraqi insurgents are winning the war, according to Newsweek . The insurgents have succeeded in infiltrating Iraqi forces "from top to bottom," a senior Iraqi official tells Newsweek in tomorrow’s issue of the magazine, "from decision making to the lower levels."
This i
Republicans for Kerry
Here's a piece from Sunday's The Nation which lays out a case against Bush made by many former supporters: "Even Republicans Fear Bush." Please, give it a look and if you can think of anyone who it might make a difference to, pass it on while there's still time. (Thanks to Grant Schreiber for the heads up.)