Category: In the News

Since reading on Christmas morning that 8 months pregnant Laci Peterson had disappeared, I have followed this story with hope that it might have a happy ending. As the weeks and then months wore on, that seemed highly unlikely. It seemed so horribly tragic to me that this young woman, about to give birth to her first child should vanish without a trace. As I’ve watched the events of the past week unfold I’ve been saddened further and deeply troubled to learn it is likely her husband may have been the one who ended her and her unborn son’s life prematurely. However, that point has not been decided and so I do not feel I should spend too much time dwelling on the question of Scott Peterson’s guilt or innocence.

What was interesting to me was the California prosecutors’ decision to charge the main suspect with a double homocide in this case. Though this is in keeping with California law, it still seemed a boon for the stance that an unborn baby is very much a person and that to end such a life warrants criminal prosecution. Of course, a New Jersey NOW chapter has already come forward to express indignation about said decision. Here is an article from the Daily Record (Mom, Dad, sibs, do you remember this newspaper?) which begins, “The head of the National Organization for Women’s Morris County chapter is opposing a double-murder charge in the Laci Peterson case, saying it could provide ammunition to the pro-life lobby…” Hmmmmm.

Read on, if you like. I think it will be interesting to watch this case unfold, esp as it pertains to the question of life before birth. Our nation continues to contradict itself with its approach to fetal life. It is incomprehensible to me how people can mourn the loss of this little unborn baby boy (which I think is highly appropriate given the extreme tragicness of his death) and yet condone the murder of millions of other little babies who also will never get the chance to meet their mothers and enjoy a life of their own. My prayer is that the case of Baby Connor and his mother Laci will stir some hearts to question what we as a nation allow to happen every day in our midst.

Expressions of hope are starting to emerge from under the shadow of Saddam. I hope we do right for these people. I’ll be honest, I’m not entirely sure what “doing right” means. I’m fairly certain it means not turning the country over to the UN, but beyond that, I’m not sure.

The prime minister of Australia weighs in on Iraq. I found his basic statement of the doctrine of containment as applied to the Cold War, and the reason why it should not be applied today, very effective.

The view, validly held, was that because both sides had weapons of mass destruction, the potential human cost of military action by the West and the Soviet Union at the time of Hungary in 1956, or Czechoslovakia in 1968, would have been infinitely greater than the human cost (bad though it was) in leaving dictatorial Soviet-backed regimes in power there.

Then, the potential cost of doing something was greater than the cost of doing nothing. Now, in the case of Iraq, the potential cost of doing nothing is clearly much greater than the cost of doing something.

If Iraq isn’t effectively disarmed, not only could she use her chemical and biological weapons against her own people again and also other countries, but other rogue states will be encouraged to believe that they too can join the weapons of mass destruction league. Proliferation of chemical, biological and, indeed, nuclear weapons will multiply the likelihood of terrorist groups laying hands on such arms. The consequences for mankind would be horrific.

Here’s an interesting take on the old maxim “know your enemy”. Al Qaeda’s Fantasy Ideology: To understand Sept. 11, think of it as theater, not politics.

Has it really been a month since we blogged? I suppose we have some catching up to do.

For those of you who have followed basketball for more than the past few years, did you ever think you would see a headline like this? Mavericks NBA’s Only Unbeaten Team.

This is just pathetic. Jam Master Jay was shot in the head last night while working in Run DMC’s recording studio. Though I never listened to much Run DMC, their music generally set a better tone than much of the junk produced in the modern rap scene.

A bus carrying kids to a church camp crashed. Four of the children died. Our maid’s son, Tim Kaniatobe, was one of three that had to be airlifted back to Dallas. He’s currently listed in serious condition with two broken legs and numerous facial cuts. The whole mess is terribly sad.

On a separate, less tragic note, we are still awaiting the birth of our third child. Yesterday was his official due date. We’re still waiting. I’m nesting. I suppose I should add that we don’t normally have a maid (though I sure wouldn’t mind if we did), but have secured the services of a wonderful woman for the few months around the impending birth.

It seems Bush did not stumble into the mess with Russia that so many insisted was inevitable. From the Washington Times: President ‘proven right’ on trust in Putin.

When Mr. Bush said he would withdraw unilaterally from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which the United States and the Soviet Union signed in 1972, Democrats warned it would spark a new arms race. Instead, the two leaders tomorrow will sign the Treaty of Moscow, which slashes both nuclear arsenals by two-thirds.

Then there’s the European response to this success, which is highlighted in the Financial Time’s Links with Putin leave Europe out in the cold:

But collectively, America’s European Union allies are in a grumpy mood, not only because of Washington’s growing unilateralist stance on trade, global warming and other foreign policy issues, over which former President Bill Clinton was just as unilateralist.

Rather, it is Washington’s very success with Moscow that is causing the unhappiness.

“The Europeans feel excluded from the partnership that Bush and [President Vladimir] Putin have forged,” said a European ambassador. “Europe has no relations with Putin. It is the personal, bilateral ties, particularly with [German Chancellor Gerhard] Schröder and [UK prime minister Tony] Blair that count, because we have no integrated foreign policy, let alone a policy towards Russia.”

United Press International has a remarkable series analyzing the roots of Western European mis-reporting of the massacre that wasn’t in the Jenin refugee/terrorist camp. Here’s part one, part two, and part three.

This article on underwater oil fields is full of surprises. Here are some quotes:

Deep underwater, and deeper underground, scientists see surprising hints that gas and oil deposits can be replenished, filling up again, sometimes rapidly.

Now, if it is found that gas and oil are coming up in significant amounts, and if the same is occurring in oil fields around the globe, then a lot more fuel than anyone expected could become available eventually. It hints that the world may not, in fact, be running out of petroleum.

The discovery of abundant life where scientists expected a deserted seafloor also suggested that the seeps are a long-duration phenomenon. Indeed, the clams are thought to be about 100 years old, and the tube worms may live as long as 600 years, or more, Kennicutt said.

Roberts added that natural seepage in places like the Gulf of Mexico “far exceeds anything that gets spilled” by oil tankers and other sources.

Analysis of the ancient oil that seems to be coming up from deep below in the Gulf of Mexico suggests that the flow of new oil “is coming from deeper, hotter formations” and is not simply a lateral inflow from the old deposits that surround existing oil fields, she said. The chemical composition of the migrating oil also indicates it is being driven upward and is being altered by highly pressurized gases squeezing up from below.

Quick! Sell your windmill stock!