Sorry about the light posting, lots of meetings this week.

Let’s start with the ridiculous claim by amatuer, wannabe scientists in the media and Congress that lack of federal funds for embryonic stem cell research has hampered progress. That is so much BS. What is hampering progress is the fact that controlling embryonic stem cell differentiation without devastating results (like cancerous cells which is the common result to date) is not simply and will take DECADES to unravel, if we can. The fact is also that people in this area are kidding themselves because they now the best way to own the genes that will correct diseases is to get them from embryos since the law, at this moment, allows for owning a human being prior to a certain stage in life. There is no restriction on private funding for this effort, and there is plenty of money out there. I think the nation spends more on pizza than NASA ($13.5B) every year so money is not the issue. It is all a fantasy akin to looking for a fountain of youth.

It is good to see Israel send in the ground troops to purge Southern Lebannon of Hezbollah and their wepaons. If Israel can deplete Hezbollah’s strength, then an Arab multi-national security force could go in under the direction of the Lebanonese government to finally establish control while the West trains up the Lebanonese security forces. Israel has been there before and knows where to look, which makes their job a bit easier.

Syria and Assad have been exposed as supporters of the terrorists in this battle, something that cannot go unpunished. The fact Israel has bombed trucks carrying Syrian missiles to Lebanon is as clear evidence as your are going to get that Assad is complicent or his country is out of his control.

There are some claims the US has given Israel a week to wrap up. I doubt it. Israel has demanded the release of their citizens and they will not stop until that has happened. And if Hammas and Hezbollah want to continue to get a beating that is fine with most of us in the West. The Muslim world needs to see what we mean when we say ‘serious consequences’. While democracies seem weak and corrupt to the Islamo Fascists, they need to these reality checks to keep them from blundering into destructive decision paths.

Joe Lieberman’s far left challenger Ned Lamont seems to be in trouble, if the NY Times is any indication. The Times discusses today how Lamont is trying to broaden his appeal from being simply anti-Iraq war (sorry, that one is a done deal and we are still in it to win) because apparently that may not be enough to take out Joe. Personally I want to see Joe forced into the independent race and win back his seat as a reminder to the fringes that the center decides who gets elected.

Remember the New York City Tunnel Bombings plot and the man arrested iin Lebanon? No stories have been seen in majore news outlets since authorities had to rush to arrest the key members because of a leak to the news media. There is an interesting post at the Mad Cow News (who knows, I have never heard of the site) that shows the man arrested in Lebanon had family ties to Al Qaeda and a pro-Hezbollah group in Detroit. What is still worrisome is there has been no updates on all those key members who had escaped the initial round up when the story broke two weeks ago.

Hope everyone has a safe day