Archives for November 2004

Thomas Friedman said:

“We are losing a public relations war in the Muslim world to people sawing the heads off other Muslims.”

Are we looking at this war through Western eyes, because you better believe that our opposition is not. Part of what bothers me about things is the feeling that I have. It is of unrest because so many of the descriptions I about the current state are in black and white terms.

They range from descriptions of Bush and Company as the biggest blundering fools we have seen to the polar opposite in which Bush and Company are geniuses.

So who is handling things, do we have the men of mensa or The Three Stooges.

“AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – A hospital in the Netherlands — the first nation to permit euthanasia — recently proposed guidelines for mercy killings of terminally ill newborns, and then made a startling revelation: It has already begun carrying out such procedures, which include administering a lethal dose of sedatives.”

I am torn about this. I believe in euthanasia in adults, but there is something about infants. It is hard for me to think of children this way, it really breaks my heart.



“The Groningen Protocol, as the hospital’s guidelines have come to be known, would create a legal framework for permitting doctors to actively end the life of newborns deemed to be in similar pain from incurable disease or extreme deformities.

The guideline says euthanasia is acceptable when the child’s medical team and independent doctors agree the pain cannot be eased and there is no prospect for improvement, and when parents think it’s best.

Examples include extremely premature births, where children suffer brain damage from bleeding and convulsions; and diseases where a child could only survive on life support for the rest of its life, such as severe cases of spina bifida and epidermosis bullosa, a rare blistering illness.”

But when you really consider what these children are facing, it is hard not to consider it. It is a highly charged emotional issue. And so much of it comes down to what you consider quality of life. I think that part of what bothers me is the sense and feeling that these poor babies never really had a chance to experience life.

Here is what DovBear would call the money quote:

“However, experts acknowledge that doctors euthanize routinely in the United States and elsewhere, but that the practice is hidden.

“Measures that might marginally extend a child’s life by minutes or hours or days or weeks are stopped. This happens routinely, namely, every day,” said Lance Stell, professor of medical ethics at Davidson College in Davidson, N.C., and staff ethicist at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C. “Everybody knows that it happens, but there’s a lot of hypocrisy. Instead, people talk about things they’re not going to do.”

More than half of all deaths occur under medical supervision, so it’s really about management and method of death, Stell said.”

In the coming weeks we are going to see more news and more opinions about Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. The most recent comments from the Iranians were full of the usual blather about them having peaceful intentions and their desire to demonstrate their cooperation.

“(CNN) — Iran’s top nuclear negotiator said his country’s uranium-enrichment program will only be suspended long enough to complete negotiations with Europe, possibly only a few months — though stressed Iran’s intentions were peaceful.

“We decided to do this voluntarily to create trust,” Hassan Rohani said on Tuesday.

“The period of suspension is only for the purpose of carrying out talks with Europe. This period of time should be logical and should not go on forever.”

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/11/30/iran.nuclear/index.html

Call me crazy, but I am not convinced. I am not convinced that they are halting all work. I am not convinced that they have peaceful intentions and I am not convinced that anything is happening here other than an attempt by the mullahs to buy more time.

And time is something that is slipping away for the rest of us who wish to see the purveyors of terror stopped.

It is a pleasure to be able to avoid the crowded stores.

It was a rough day at the office, but they always are following a holiday. For a while I thought that my desk had a rash, then I realized that the black spots were the places that I had cleared out stacks of paper from.

Don’t mess with my desk. It is organized, I know where papers are stacked and why they are stacked the way that they are. For that matter, be very careful if you mess with my stuff at home or anywhere else. I am territorial and protective of it, don’t know why and don’t really care.

A man wished me a merry christmas and I wished him a happy Chanukah. He said that he didn’t know what I was talking about. I said that it was ok, I didn’t know what he was talking about either. Want to bet that he told his wife about the crazy guy he met today.

Watched Bugs Bunny with my son today. He really liked it and so did I. But I wonder about something. Have you ever noticed that Elmer Fudd has an endless supply of ammunition. Here is something else that bothers me. Whenever Bugs shoves a carrot into Elmer’s gun (ooh, cartoon porn, whoa) and it blows up Elmer’s face turns black.

But in the very next moment his face is white again. What kind of soap does he use and how can I get some for myself.

Ran into more so called freethinkers today. They tried to explain to me that since I do not share their POV about the war and life in general I am brainwashed. Funny, they claim to be freethinkers but because I have a different POV I cannot be.

Have you ever noticed that many bars in small towns always seem to have exotic names. Welcome to the Tiki Tiki Hut in Balston, North Dakota, population 21.

Played ball this evening at the gym and managed to jam my middle finger again. It is a little swollen, but I figure that now I can use it more effectively to express my opinions.

Voices in my head, voices in my head, why do they keep yelling at me. Oops, forgot to turn off the portable CD player.

When I was a senior in high school one of the girls in my English class made a row of us boys squirm. She spent the entire class sucking on a lollipop, it must have fueled the same daydream in all of us. It was the longest 40 minutes I spent doing nothing. Ok, it was not the longest and I managed to get a few things done, but when I read my notes that night I couldn’t make heads or tails of them.

Ran into some old acquaintances who have gone BT. I respect them for their convictions, but it is hard to imagine them in their new lifestyles. Good luck to them.

I guess that showing up in a rainbow colored wig or wearing Groucho Marx glasses would also be frowned upon.