SPOTD #134

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I've had this half-completed for almost a month. Finally I have time to get it out.

As the first matter of business I would direct you to this post from the SPOTD blog, some great videos of the kids being kids. In the first one Joseph decides to feed Millie her dinner. In the second Millie doesn't know what to decide. It is amazing to watch these kids grow. I also have written some interesting things on the blog and at In Rare Form.

Today's phrase:
I've used this one before, but if it fits, it fits:

Actual:
¡Felíz Navidad y Prospero Año Nuevo!

Phonetic with emphasis on bold syllable:
¡Fay-lease nah-vee-dahd ee prose-pear-oh ahn-yo nway-voe.

Translation:
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Stem Cells
This is a fantastic article about how one man decided to find an alternative to embryonic stem cells for research. He appears to have succeeded.

Buy, buy, buy
There is an interesting new retailer that wants your business:
http://www.buynlarge.com/
Actually, this is a site set up to promote Pixar's new film, Wall-E. I linked to the new trailer in last Saturday's AweVidSat.

Football & Loyalty
This is the time of year for the college and NFL coaching carousel to enter full swing. Bobby Petrino's exit from Atlanta is a key example of when this is handlef poorly.

Beedle
A very rare book was sold bY Sotheby's, with the proceeds going to charity. Read more about it here.

Polar Bears
Are they really that bad off due to climate change?

Trip Quiz
This website promises to provide, based on the results of a quiz, the perfect destination for your next trip.
http://www.besttripchoices.com/
Where will you be going?

Featuritis
What happens when bad features happen to good concepts? An epidemic.

Serving
This is a great article about the serving Miss Utah. She is a combat veteran and serving member of the Utah National Guard. This is a nice article about what kind of person she is.

Link of the Day
This is the link for the 2 minute preview to the next season of Lost. Shortened or not, I'll be watching when it comes back on the area in a few weeks.

All the benefits, none of the problems

It is a sad fact that many who preach tolerance in our society are some of its poorest examples. This is true in the debate over embryonic stem cells. I count myself among the Americans that are uncomfortable with the creation and/or destruction of human embryos for the purposes of research. I have been supportive of the Bush Administration's decision to restrict Federal spending of embryonic stem cells research. Despite the protests of some, the Federal Government has not outlawed such research.

Stem Cell Research is a relatively new science. I am not a scientist, but I know that embryonic research has not yet yielded miracle cures, and may not be any more fruitful than research done on adult stem cells.

The bitter debate over this issue is not a constructive one, so I was very happy to see this article on a new kind of therapy that bypasses the ethical dilemmas posed by embryonic stem cell research (via Instapundit):

Only a few days ago an article in the leading journal Nature brought amazing news. A Japanese team at Kyoto University has discovered how to reprogram skin cells so that they "dedifferentiate" into the equivalent of an embryonic stem cell. From this they can be morphed, theoretically, into any cell in the body, a property called pluripotency. It could be the Holy Grail of stem cell science: a technique that is both feasible and unambiguously ethical.
"Neither eggs nor embryos are necessary. I've never worked with either," says Shinya Yamanaka. The first instalment of his research appeared a year ago -- and was greeted with polite scepticism by his colleagues. At the time they were mesmerised by dreams of cloning embryos and dissecting them for their stem cells.

So far naysayers have nothing to back up their concerns except for vague possibilities. The poltical element makes this a hot issue. That's a shame.

Don't expect supporters of embryonic stem cell research to respond rationally, not in the short term, at least. The other day, Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel told the US House of Representatives as he voted to overturn the Bush policy: "It is ironic that every time we vote on this legislation, all of a sudden there is a major scientific discovery that basically says, 'You don't have to do [embryonic] stem cell research.' "
Connect the dots, Mr Emanuel. Maybe you don't have to.

Too bad Mr. Emanual and his ilk can't greet this development with cheer. It doesn't fit their paradigm. Fortunately it fits mine just right.