Amherst, New York (December 12, 2008)—In a move designed to firm up faith-based opposition to embryonic stem cell research and other cutting-edge biomedical technologies, the Vatican has released a 32-page document titled “Dignitas Personae” – meaning “the dignity of a person.” The document condemns a host of procedures considered “immoral” by the Catholic Church, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), the freezing of unfertilized eggs, embryonic stem cell research, and the testing of embryos to help identify those with defects. The Center for Inquiry, a think tank headquartered in Amherst, New York that supports research on bioethical questions, deplores the Vatican’s pronouncement. The Vatican’s position has no justification other than religious doctrine, according to the Center for Inquiry, and may have a serious adverse effect on scientific research and the development of medical therapies.
“I regret the renewed effort by the Vatican to censor—indeed prohibit—research in reproductive science,” said Paul Kurtz, chairman and founder of the Center for Inquiry. “Do we have to wage the Galileo battle again? The Vatican claims that their objections are “moral,” but they are based on a theological doctrine that a formless fertilized egg is a full human being, a position which most scientists reject.” Kurtz says there is a need to defend freedom of scientific research and the positive good that can ensue for countless numbers of infertile couples. “The effort to curtail stem cell research is especially disturbing in the view of the possible beneficent results for improving human health,” he said.
The Vatican has focused on commonplace scientific technologies used in the United States and elsewhere, which the Church believes demean human “dignity,” and bring humans perilously close to “playing God.” The Church continues to hold steadfast to its key theological proclamation that “life begins at conception,” thereby rendering as “illicit” the use of embryos or fertilized eggs in research or otherwise, including IVF for married Catholic couples wishing to conceive.
Dr. Ronald A. Lindsay, president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry (and author of the book Future Bioethics: Overcoming Taboos, Myths, and Dogmas) said that “the Vatican has once again manifested its regrettable preference for religious doctrine over science. Until roughly fourteen days after conception, one cannot even meaningfully refer to the embryo as an individual, let alone the equivalent of an adult human, since both twinning and fusion are possible until that point.” Lindsay added that the Vatican’s rejection of IVF on the ground that it results in the discarding of embryos is especially ironic since from 60 to 80 percent of embryos conceived “naturally” are spontaneously aborted. “If the Vatican wants to prevent embryos from ‘dying,’ then they will have to instruct couples to avoid sex completely.”
“The bottom line,” says Lindsay, “is that the Vatican is telling those who need medical assistance to seek help from theology, not therapy.”
The Center for Inquiry/Transnational is a nonprofit, educational, advocacy, and scientific-research think tank based in Amherst, New York. Their research and educational projects focus on three broad areas: religion, ethics, and society; paranormal and fringe-science claims; and medicine and health. The Center's Web site is www.centerforinquiry.net .
Saturday, 13 December 2008
Thursday, 11 December 2008
December...
Some complain queen sms me and asked me why my blog is pic-less. Argh. Ok so here goes some pictures which I took with my phone for the month of December. To start things off... KYLIE's IN SINGAPORE! Here'sa video I found on youtube. I obviously didn't take it cos I'm not that type that will waste my concert hours holding a mobile phone busy filming. I'm just not that kinda guy.
I was back in NTU for some course and couldnt help it but visit my former dorm. Hall 16 03-36A. MY roomie and I were the first occupants of the room cos the dorm was newly built and we went through quite a bit of trouble just to get the room cos we didn't want the older dirtier blocks (ie. Hall 1, 2...yucks).
The corridor leading to the room from the main gate.
Welcome to hall 16!
Hall 16's golden spoon cafe. Serves over-priced horfun and the likes. Has a very friendly chicken rice aunty.
Was at the World Aids Day Concert @ Fort Canning Green. Of course partly to see my favourite Sun Yan Zi!
This year's theme was about Anti-Discrimination. And rightfully so. Singapore despite being one of the riches nations in the world, is a few million years backwards in terms of social acceptance. It's high time we stop all these discrimination. I rememeber very well my biomed professors saying that the only way to curb the spread of any epidemics is to treat it like any other epidemics. Discrimination and other non-scientific opinions will only impede the progress of any successful public health programs.
OH AND THERE WAS A THEME PARTY THAT WE WENT TO!!!
It was really rare for us to get together especially after our uni days. Joel, Waye, Tristan were my best buddies since JC days. Joel's been flying around so much that I hardly know if he's in Singapore. Waye just changed jobs to work in the prestigious Amex Centurion. Tristan missed the party cos he was in LA and NY. So, there's only the 3 of us.
and the theme is... "SHADES!!!!"
I love theme parties. The last one we had was "Labels or Love", obviously based on the SATC movie. And was organised by yours truly. The idea was simple, either you come with a Label, or you come with your Love! So people brought their gfs and bfs and we had a swell time at one of the suites in Naumi Hotel. Was a pretty good get-together for old friends.
Hey i remember seeing this popular pose among the girls from the hills so I got the guys to do it as well.
I was back in NTU for some course and couldnt help it but visit my former dorm. Hall 16 03-36A. MY roomie and I were the first occupants of the room cos the dorm was newly built and we went through quite a bit of trouble just to get the room cos we didn't want the older dirtier blocks (ie. Hall 1, 2...yucks).
The corridor leading to the room from the main gate.
Welcome to hall 16!
Hall 16's golden spoon cafe. Serves over-priced horfun and the likes. Has a very friendly chicken rice aunty.
Was at the World Aids Day Concert @ Fort Canning Green. Of course partly to see my favourite Sun Yan Zi!
This year's theme was about Anti-Discrimination. And rightfully so. Singapore despite being one of the riches nations in the world, is a few million years backwards in terms of social acceptance. It's high time we stop all these discrimination. I rememeber very well my biomed professors saying that the only way to curb the spread of any epidemics is to treat it like any other epidemics. Discrimination and other non-scientific opinions will only impede the progress of any successful public health programs.
OH AND THERE WAS A THEME PARTY THAT WE WENT TO!!!
It was really rare for us to get together especially after our uni days. Joel, Waye, Tristan were my best buddies since JC days. Joel's been flying around so much that I hardly know if he's in Singapore. Waye just changed jobs to work in the prestigious Amex Centurion. Tristan missed the party cos he was in LA and NY. So, there's only the 3 of us.
and the theme is... "SHADES!!!!"
I love theme parties. The last one we had was "Labels or Love", obviously based on the SATC movie. And was organised by yours truly. The idea was simple, either you come with a Label, or you come with your Love! So people brought their gfs and bfs and we had a swell time at one of the suites in Naumi Hotel. Was a pretty good get-together for old friends.
Hey i remember seeing this popular pose among the girls from the hills so I got the guys to do it as well.
Why I refuse to celebrate christmas.
I made up my mind never ever to celebrate christmas for a very simple reason: I will not celebrate a festival just for the sake of celebrating it. And for that matter, Christmas has grown to be so overtly commercialise that it's almost disgusting. It is only in the business interests of the media and retailers to continue hyping on how christmas is a time of buying and giving. With the economic downturn, businesses are bent to make as much as they can. Afterall, with the year-end bonuses paid, most people have pretty fat wallets for the time being.
Many people think that Christmas is the day where we celebrate the birth of jesus. Let me tell you now that it's is WRONG. Christmas originated from a very different much scorned religion called Paganism.
I was looking for a shorter version for the origins of christmas and here it is:
No one knows what day Jesus Christ was born on. From the biblical description, most historians believe that his birth probably occurred in September, approximately six months after Passover. One thing they agree on is that it is very unlikely that Jesus was born in December, since the bible records shepherds tending their sheep in the fields on that night. This is quite unlikely to have happened during a cold Judean winter. So why do we celebrate Christ’s birthday as Christmas, on December the 25th?
The answer lies in the pagan origins of Christmas. In ancient Babylon, the feast of the Son of Isis (Goddess of Nature) was celebrated on December 25. Raucous partying, gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving were traditions of this feast.
In Rome, the Winter Solstice was celebrated many years before the birth of Christ. The Romans called their winter holiday Saturnalia, honoring Saturn, the God of Agriculture. In January, they observed the Kalends of January, which represented the triumph of life over death. This whole season was called Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. The festival season was marked by much merrymaking. It is in ancient Rome that the tradition of the Mummers was born. The Mummers were groups of costumed singers and dancers who traveled from house to house entertaining their neighbors. From this, the Christmas tradition of caroling was born.
In northern Europe, many other traditions that we now consider part of Christian worship were begun long before the participants had ever heard of Christ. The pagans of northern Europe celebrated the their own winter solstice, known as Yule. Yule was symbolic of the pagan Sun God, Mithras, being born, and was observed on the shortest day of the year. As the Sun God grew and matured, the days became longer and warmer. It was customary to light a candle to encourage Mithras, and the sun, to reappear next year.
Huge Yule logs were burned in honor of the sun. The word Yule itself means “wheel,” the wheel being a pagan symbol for the sun. Mistletoe was considered a sacred plant, and the custom of kissing under the mistletoe began as a fertility ritual. Hollyberries were thought to be a food of the gods.
The tree is the one symbol that unites almost all the northern European winter solstices. Live evergreen trees were often brought into homes during the harsh winters as a reminder to inhabitants that soon their crops would grow again. Evergreen boughs were sometimes carried as totems of good luck and were often present at weddings, representing fertility. The Druids used the tree as a religious symbol, holding their sacred ceremonies while surrounding and worshipping huge trees.
In 350, Pope Julius I declared that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25. There is little doubt that he was trying to make it as painless as possible for pagan Romans (who remained a majority at that time) to convert to Christianity. The new religion went down a bit easier, knowing that their feasts would not be taken away from them.
Christmas (Christ-Mass) as we know it today, most historians agree, began in Germany, though Catholics and Lutherans still disagree about which church celebrated it first. The earliest record of an evergreen being decorated in a Christian celebration was in 1521 in the Alsace region of Germany. A prominent Lutheran minister of the day cried blasphemy: “Better that they should look to the true tree of life, Christ.”
So, rather than saying Merry Christmas, I'd rather say "Happy Holidays".
Many people think that Christmas is the day where we celebrate the birth of jesus. Let me tell you now that it's is WRONG. Christmas originated from a very different much scorned religion called Paganism.
I was looking for a shorter version for the origins of christmas and here it is:
No one knows what day Jesus Christ was born on. From the biblical description, most historians believe that his birth probably occurred in September, approximately six months after Passover. One thing they agree on is that it is very unlikely that Jesus was born in December, since the bible records shepherds tending their sheep in the fields on that night. This is quite unlikely to have happened during a cold Judean winter. So why do we celebrate Christ’s birthday as Christmas, on December the 25th?
The answer lies in the pagan origins of Christmas. In ancient Babylon, the feast of the Son of Isis (Goddess of Nature) was celebrated on December 25. Raucous partying, gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving were traditions of this feast.
In Rome, the Winter Solstice was celebrated many years before the birth of Christ. The Romans called their winter holiday Saturnalia, honoring Saturn, the God of Agriculture. In January, they observed the Kalends of January, which represented the triumph of life over death. This whole season was called Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. The festival season was marked by much merrymaking. It is in ancient Rome that the tradition of the Mummers was born. The Mummers were groups of costumed singers and dancers who traveled from house to house entertaining their neighbors. From this, the Christmas tradition of caroling was born.
In northern Europe, many other traditions that we now consider part of Christian worship were begun long before the participants had ever heard of Christ. The pagans of northern Europe celebrated the their own winter solstice, known as Yule. Yule was symbolic of the pagan Sun God, Mithras, being born, and was observed on the shortest day of the year. As the Sun God grew and matured, the days became longer and warmer. It was customary to light a candle to encourage Mithras, and the sun, to reappear next year.
Huge Yule logs were burned in honor of the sun. The word Yule itself means “wheel,” the wheel being a pagan symbol for the sun. Mistletoe was considered a sacred plant, and the custom of kissing under the mistletoe began as a fertility ritual. Hollyberries were thought to be a food of the gods.
The tree is the one symbol that unites almost all the northern European winter solstices. Live evergreen trees were often brought into homes during the harsh winters as a reminder to inhabitants that soon their crops would grow again. Evergreen boughs were sometimes carried as totems of good luck and were often present at weddings, representing fertility. The Druids used the tree as a religious symbol, holding their sacred ceremonies while surrounding and worshipping huge trees.
In 350, Pope Julius I declared that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25. There is little doubt that he was trying to make it as painless as possible for pagan Romans (who remained a majority at that time) to convert to Christianity. The new religion went down a bit easier, knowing that their feasts would not be taken away from them.
Christmas (Christ-Mass) as we know it today, most historians agree, began in Germany, though Catholics and Lutherans still disagree about which church celebrated it first. The earliest record of an evergreen being decorated in a Christian celebration was in 1521 in the Alsace region of Germany. A prominent Lutheran minister of the day cried blasphemy: “Better that they should look to the true tree of life, Christ.”
So, rather than saying Merry Christmas, I'd rather say "Happy Holidays".
Monday, 8 December 2008
Death
Bobby is a rabbit with brown silky fur given to my mum when dad's friend's daughter didn't want it anymore. He was meant to replace another rabbit that died after we cared for it many years after we rescued it from the streets.
Bobby is a feisty rabbit. I've always thought that he's a rabbit in serious identity crisis. A rabbit who thinks he is a dog. As he is not caged, he basically runs around the whole house on his own. Going to the balcony to sleep in the day time, and then returning home in the kitchen at night. In between that, he'll chase me around the house when I'm busy or watch TV with mum.
Just this morning at 5am+, he was jumping around me while I made my cereal. Then later in the morning around 10+, he refused to come out from behind the bicycle. We carried him out and it seems like his whole body went limp. I kept him company till mum came back from morning marketing. Brought him to Mt Pleasant hospital and while waiting in the ER, he yelped. Once, twice, trice. I told the nurse he's probably dying. I need to see the vet immediately. The kind nurse brought us to the room at the back and listened to his heartbeat which was very weak by then. The doc came in a minute and by that time, his heart had stopped beating.
This is the first time I saw the process of dying happening right before my eyes. Slowly, life was lost from Bobby. Just like that and its taken away. I just hope in his rabbit world, he didn't suffered too much before dying. I went away from the hospital red-eyed and had a deeper understanding of what is Life. Bobby and the silly things he did as a rabbit will forever be missed by our family.
Bobby is a feisty rabbit. I've always thought that he's a rabbit in serious identity crisis. A rabbit who thinks he is a dog. As he is not caged, he basically runs around the whole house on his own. Going to the balcony to sleep in the day time, and then returning home in the kitchen at night. In between that, he'll chase me around the house when I'm busy or watch TV with mum.
Just this morning at 5am+, he was jumping around me while I made my cereal. Then later in the morning around 10+, he refused to come out from behind the bicycle. We carried him out and it seems like his whole body went limp. I kept him company till mum came back from morning marketing. Brought him to Mt Pleasant hospital and while waiting in the ER, he yelped. Once, twice, trice. I told the nurse he's probably dying. I need to see the vet immediately. The kind nurse brought us to the room at the back and listened to his heartbeat which was very weak by then. The doc came in a minute and by that time, his heart had stopped beating.
This is the first time I saw the process of dying happening right before my eyes. Slowly, life was lost from Bobby. Just like that and its taken away. I just hope in his rabbit world, he didn't suffered too much before dying. I went away from the hospital red-eyed and had a deeper understanding of what is Life. Bobby and the silly things he did as a rabbit will forever be missed by our family.
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