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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (94329)	11/6/2008 12:14:12 PM
From: Steve Lokness	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541604

Tim; Funding stem cell research with tax dollars is, to the extent its a change in the level of meddling in social areas at all, an INCREASE in social meddling To a few it is social meddling, to the majority by a lot it is a scientific issue. The bizarre thinking of conservatives to push America towards a third world country in the terms of scientific research on stem cells is nothing short of sad to most people. Not only do we turn over this opportunity to developing countries that don't have our hangups, we also likely miss the opportunity to heal some nasty illnesses. Social meddling like; Shivo, right to die with dignity issues, government meddling in the rights of women, gay rights issues. Don't tell me the republicans didn't want all these things - and would have pushed for Supreme Court judges who would have crammed them down our throats. steve

To: TimF who wrote (94329)	11/6/2008 12:28:40 PM
From: Steve Lokness	Respond to of 541604

Tim; More propaganda fodder for our enemy in Afghanistan; Mistaken U.S. airstrike alleged in Afghanistan Afghan officials and villagers said three dozen people celebrating a wedding were killed in an errant bombing raid this week. By M. KARIM FAIEZ and LAURA KING , Los Angeles Times Last update: November 5, 2008 - 8:18 PM The U.S. military said Wednesday it was investigating a report that a U.S. airstrike hit a wedding party in southern Afghanistan, killing three dozen civilians, and President Hamid Karzai insisted that foreign forces try harder to avoid killing and injuring noncombatants. "We cannot win the fight against terrorism with airstrikes," Karzai told reporters at the presidential palace in Kabul, speaking hours after Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential election. "This is my first demand of the new president of the United States -- to put an end to civilian casualties." The latest report of civilian fatalities in connection with Western military operations came from Kandahar Province, where there is near-constant fighting between foreign forces and the Taliban. Western news agencies quoted people from the remote village of Wech Baghtu as saying that an airstrike on Monday destroyed a residential compound where a wedding was being celebrated, killing 37 people, most of them women and children. Abdul Jalil, 37, a grape farmer whose niece was getting married, told an Associated Press reporter at the scene that U.S. troops and Taliban fighters had clashed about a half-mile from his home and the airstrike followed. He said the attack destroyed his compound and killed 37 people, all of whom had been buried by the time the reporter arrived. Civilian casualties have become an inflammatory issue in Afghanistan, particularly after a sharp dispute between Western military commanders and Afghan officials over a U.S. airstrike on Aug. 22 in western Herat Province. Afghan authorities, backed by the United Nations, said about 90 civilians died in that strike, many of them women and children. U.S. officials initially said five civilians had been killed. But after reinvestigating, the U.S. military acknowledged that 33 civilians were believed to have died in the raid. The initial U.S. denials infuriated many Afghans. Commenting on the latest attack, Cmdr. Jeff Bender, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said: "Though facts are unclear at this point, we take very seriously our responsibility to protect the people of Afghanistan and to avoid circumstances where noncombatant civilians are placed at risk." "If innocent people were killed in this operation, we apologize and express our condolences to the families and the people Afghanistan," he added. Afghan officials said they were not entirely sure what had happened. "I can confirm that civilians have been killed," said Kandahar Gov. Rahmatullah Raufi, according to the Reuters news agency. According to an AP count, U.S. or NATO forces have killed at least 275 Afghan civilians this year, and 590 have died from militant-caused violence. Steve