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U.S.
Awaits War on Terrorism
Small
powerful groups of special forces are likely to be involved
as one of the first measures in the Bush war on terrorism.
However,
a large-scale ground war in Afghanistan is possible and another
likely target is Saddam Hussein and his supporters and infrastructure
in Iraq.
The
war may take place over many fronts and the period of time could
be a matter of years.
The war reminds some reporters of Vietnam in the difficulty
to pinpoint a specific objective and a specific endpoint for
the war as terrorism is an element that requires relatively
few people and few resources, so few it may never be possible
to say, definitively, the war has been won or the war is over.
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Stem
Cells: New Horizons, New Challenges
Stem
cells have the potential to develop into replacements for cells
or entire organs lost in many devastating and chronic diseases,
such as Parkinson's disease, diabetes, chronic heart disease,
end-stage kidney disease, liver failure, cancer, spinal cord
injury, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Lou Gehrig's
Disease, and other diseases.
Embryonic
stem cells come from 4 to 5 day old blastocysts. Once removed
from the blastocyst, the cells can be cultured into embryonic
stem cells.
Embryonic
stem cells are absolutely key to understand fundamental events
in embryonic development. One day, that knowledge may be used
to explain birth defects and provide means to correct or prevent
them.
Stem
cells are being researched as a way to deliver genes to specific
tissues in the body for various preventative or curative effects.
Through
research, mostly with mice, stem cells have been directed to
differentiate into transplantable cells (such as neurons, heart
muscle cells, pancreatic islet cells).
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Background
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Religion's
Misguided Missiles
Religion
has been used in an ironic way by the U.S. in its response to
what was in large part a religious-steeped and religious-caused
and religious-excused attack of Islamic fundamentalism upon
the U.S. and the western world.
In
a cleverly written reply to both the attack and the U.S. response,
Richard Dawkins attempts to bring the western world back to
a state of reality regarding the causality of religion in the
attack and the irresponsibility of those who excuse and turn
away from any explanation which points to religion as a fundamental
element in the attack.
'Tis
one more reason, in a very long list of reasons, why I find
Richard Dawkins to be one of humankind's greatest treasures
in these times of pressures to be supportive of religions and
pressures to be silent towards the underlying risks of religions.
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ID
Cards & Evaluation of U.S. Immigration
In
the U.S. Congress, leaders are talking about the possibility
of tight limits on visas to enter the U.S. and a possible system
of using I.D cards to track those who are admitted.
These
measures are being considered with knowledge that 16 of the
19 terrorists who attacked the U.S. entered the U.S. legally.
Visa
applications to enter in the U.S. last year? 8 million, of which
80 percent were
accepted. What made 6.6 million a "right" number to
be accepted last year? What would make 4 million or 8 million
a better "right" number? Is the 6.6 million number
arbitrary and capricious? Why were the 1.4 million rejected?
How
is it decided who visits, who comes and stays, and who cannot
come into the U.S.?
I
know criminals are not welcomed and relatives of current residents
are, but perhaps
the rest revolves around many other issues, including quotas
and economics and others with the heightened tensions in the
middle
east being just one more in a very long list.
Per
the report of the 16 of 19 terrorists entering the U.S. legally,
one might wonder
where did their visas come from and is there a problem in a
specific area?
Per
immigration laws, what are the "right" immigration
levels and what part of present law is perfect, flawed, or modifiable
in a constructive way?
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