FROM NOTACOMMIE

This Chaldean Catholic priest died defending our faith. May he rest in peace, and may Christ hear his prayers for Iraq….

(I found this article via Andrew Sullivan).

FROM NOTACOMMIE

That goes without saying. But I think there needs to be a distinction made between childhood predatory sexuality, which is rampant, apparently on the rise, and vastly dangerous, and childhood sex play, which is extremely normal and regular in the development process, even if it is scorned and embarassadly covered up, etc, etc. I’m not saying it’s a good thing: I’m saying it’s a morally neutral thing: childhood sex play (kissing, fondling, genital touching–even up to junior high), between different genders or same-sex, even among siblings is perfectly normal. I’m not saying it should by any means be encouraged (that’s one twisted playdate!) but I am saying that people who think back on those experiences shouldn’t feel guilt or trauma about their actions…they were doing something that’s very normal for any childhood.

This sort of confusion is also unfortunate, because then regular childhood sex play is understood as abuse, or what’s much more nefarious, abuse is understood as childhood sex play. A dramatic age difference, a large power dynamic, or any sexual/physical encoutner that is not fully consensual is abuse, and it should be treated as such.

The trick, though, is how do you “treat” a 14 or 15 year-old-kid who does something like this? Are they “curable”? These are hard questions…

FROM NOTACOMMIE

Joseph Stiglitz is one of those save-the-world idealists who has international business and economics cred, which makes him a real gem. I loved his Globalization and Its Discontents, and here he’s stellar in an interview on Salon about climate change, Bush, aid, and globalization:

To put it succinctly, globalization is the growing together of the world, brought about by lower transport costs, better and cheaper infrastructure, and the tearing down of manmade barriers.

I do, of course, see the positive side of globalization — namely, that it has helped many people in developing countries overcome the sense of being excluded. The Internet is a stage for everyone, and pressure can be generated there. But that’s the theory. I am critical of what in fact are very different consequences for the development of mankind. In reality, social inequality in the world is growing.

FROM NOTACOMMIE

Even Bono is mad.

The G8 takes some heat on its forgotten promises to Africa…

FROM NOTACOMMIE

that fetal stem cells aren’t completely necessary, and that skin cells can do some of the work.

What’s disproven here is the idea that technology is ever a necessary evil. Under a capitalistic, ethical democracy (and such a thing can exist, even if only in theory), certain technology simply should not be allowed, regardless of the ends–this is the same for fetal stem cells as for environmentally destructive technology. We have to trust that human innovation and creativity can overcome the limits that we must, in conscience, impose on ourselves.

FROM NOTACOMMIE

Because too many folks are on Death Row who should not be there, folks. Over 200 saved!

FROM NOTACOMMIE

Hi there everybody. So this one guy blogged all the Hebrew Scriptures…

FROM NOTACOMMIE

So: it’s not just that we need universal insurance…there’s also a medical industrial complex keeping insurance WAY too expensive… Read it here.

FROM NOTACOMMIE

A friend of mine is in med school at Stanford, and he said working at an abortion clinic for a day made him more pro-life than anything he’d ever encountered. They just look like babies, he said. Slate has an interesting article on ultrasound (very old, however).

FROM NOTACOMMIE

The G8’s back, baby.

Russia is the other big deal here, of course, but the US has said that, while climate change is a goal, it’s not going to go along with what Germany tells it to do. This is a bit vague: on one hand, it could just be the US refusing to succumb to power politics from Europe, even if it is for a good cause, but it could also be a sign that we’re still not interested in climate change. I hope it’s simply the former.