Vatican Attacks Science

The Washington Post reports that the Vatican has issued 

its first authoritative statement on reproductive science in more than 20 years, today condemned human cloning, designer babies, embryonic stem cell research that destroys human embryos and a host of techniques widely used to help infertile couples.

Maybe it's just me, but something seems strange about a religious body putting out an "authoritative statement" on science.  Along with condemning human cloning, the Vatican also proscribes embryonic stem cell research and a wide range of infertility treatments.

According to Richard Doerflinger of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, "the church is very closely watching scientific progress and favors that progress but wants ethics to be part of that." That's one way of putting it.  Another way would be that the church wants to tell scientists which parts of science are ethical, and which are not.

Senate Republicans Get Something Right

Congratulations to Senate Republicans, who finally developed a spine and killed the auto industry bailout -- at least for now.  With the large Democratic majority in the House, the Senate is the last line of defense against more bailouts.  I had given up on on the GOP Senate minority after it acquiesed to the horrible, panic-driven $700 billion "rescue" plan.  It's good to see that they aren't going to go along meekly with every government handout,  after some weak protests.

Nuclear Deterrence and Iran

According to an article from Haaretz, the Obama administration will "offer Israel a 'nuclear umbrella' against the threat of a nuclear attack by Iran." This would also include "a new and improved Israeli anti-ballistic missile system." 

I'm already seeing some criticism of this from the right, assuming the story is even true.  I'm not going to join in.  In my opinion, a policy of deterrence is our only realistic option.  Iran is not going to give up its nuclear aspirations, and we simply do not have the political will, let alone any popular support,  for the type of sustained attack on Iran necessary to cripple its nuclear program.  [See my previous post on that subject here.]  As for the Israelis, unless they are prepared to launch a first strike with nuclear weapons, it is difficult to see how they could carry out such an attack either, without U.S. acquiesence & support -- which would cause most of the same sorts of difficulties as a solo U.S. attack.  Given the state of the U.S. economy, the planned withdrawal from Iraq, and the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan, there is simply no support for a war with Iran.  It's not going to happen unless Iran starts one.

I still fear that Obama might be suckered into making some sort of deal with Iran, in which they pretend to give up their nuclear program ala North Korea, and we naively provide them with some sort of quid pro quo.  But I view Obama's focus on deterrence in the case of Iran as a welcome sign of realpolitik.  If true, it will raise my low estimation of his foreign policy acumen by a couple of notches.  

Torture in Germany

In reference to a comment about my earlier post, "Nonsense About Torture," in which I made the argument that torture works, I noticed this account of German police interrogation that occurred in 2002.  While interrogating a kidnapper who had abducted a child, police told him that they “will make you feel pain like you have never felt before.” They followed up this threat of torture by

shaking him so violently that his head bangs against the wall and hitting him in the chest hard enough to leave a bruise over his collarbone.

The kidnapper talked within minutes, telling police that he had killed the boy, and directing them to his body.  The mere threat of torture, combined with a beating, quickly produced accurate information.  Something to keep in mind the next time someone makes a blanket statement that torture doesn't work.

Training Kids to fight Gunmen

MSNBC reports that a Fort Worth, Texas school district is teaching students what to do if a gunman invades their classroom.  The instruction, provided by "Response Options," that employs military trainers,  is teaching kids to attack the intruder:

rush him and hit him with everything they've got — books, pencils, legs and arms.

One of the trainers, British Army reserve Major Robin Browne recommends that 

students and teachers “react immediately to the sight of a gun by picking up anything and everything and throwing it at the head and body of the attacker and making as much noise as possible. Go toward him as fast as we can and bring them down.”

Naturally this training is controversial, but as the father of an eleven year old, I'm in favor of it. If someone comes into the classroom shooting, there's no point sitting there, being a target, and waiting to die.  Unfortunately there aren't too many places to hide in a typical schoolroom. As Maj. Browne says:

“The fact that someone walks into a classroom with a gun does not make them a god. Five or six seventh-grade kids and a 95-pound art teacher can basically challenge, bring down and immobilize a 200-pound man with a gun.”

 

Bailing Out Christmas

The Wall Street Journal reports that 

the Treasury Department is drawing up plans to bail out Christmas. "We have reason to believe," said a person close to the matter, "that without an immediate capital injection, Santa Claus will fail before December 24."

The whole article is pretty funny.

Destroying the "Deregulation" Myth

Blaming the Bush administration's "deregulation" for all or part of the current economic crisis is highly popular on the left -- except that it never happened.  Veronique de Rugy, writing at Reason Online, details the massive expansion of regulation that took place under Bush.  As she points out: 

The Bush team has spent more taxpayer money on issuing and enforcing regulations than any previous administration in U.S. history. Between fiscal year 2001 and fiscal year 2009, outlays on regulatory activities, adjusted for inflation, increased from $26.4 billion to an estimated $42.7 billion, or 62 percent.

A legitimate argument can be made that the right type of regulations were not in place, or that enforcement was lacking in crucial areas, but the idea that Bush was some sort of deregulator is a complete myth.