Category: Politics

Over There

NPR aired an interview with Steven Bochco, the executive producer of a new show on FX, “Over There“. The interview got me interested enough to want to at least check out the show.

Days later, I’d completely forgotten about the interview, but somehow I stumbled upon the show anyway one night. It was the rerun of the premiere. The show follows the lives of a small combat unit in Iraq. Though none of actors in the series are well known, their acting is fantastic. The show focuses on the human aspects of the war from the perspectives of the soldiers as well as their family members. Al though the show takes no political stance on the war, the intense story telling and “Saving Private Ryan” type filming of combats take the audience on a roller coaster ride they grow more and more attached to the soldiers.

All I have to say is, it sucks to be in a war, combat or anything that involves killing or to be killed. I wonder had George W. Bush been in Vietnam instead of hiding in Texas behind his daddy’s political might, would he have waged the wars as he did?

What a jackass.

Immigrant Overflow?

While some Americans complaint about foreign workers taking jobs they say is rightfully theirs, it is perfectly ok for the medical and health system to be flooded with immigrant nurses and assistants. And I can understand why.

Other than the doctors themselves, virtually every single one of Grace’s nurse has been an immigrant from elsewhere, but more frequently, Philippinos. Considering Philippines used to be a U.S. “territory” (and the fact that English is their official language), perhaps it’s somehow easier for them to be infused into mainstream America.

But strangely, at the labor and delivery department, there were very few immigrant nurses there. I wonder why the discrepancy.

Some nursing institutes advertises a quick nursing or doctor’s assistant degree in less than two years. And with the supposedly severe shortage of nurses in the U.S., it’s said they get their own Green Card process of less than six months (compare that to 3 years for tech workers). And depending on the hours and the nature of the job, they get paid $80k or more a year.

Am I really in the wrong profession? Damn it.

But I still love computers. And I don’t like blood… either seeing, drawing or being drawn… So stuck with being poor and Green Card-less, it is.

Kiss Your Baby, Go to Jail

I can’t help but to think Americans seriously need to use their resources on more important things after reading this article.

Excerpt:

The father and his wife, Teresa, dropped off some photos for processing at a local Eckerd. The role included a shot of Charbel kissing his baby on the tummy. Next thing the parents know, they’re being charged for sexual assault, and their children are wards of the state. It took six months for an investigation to conclude that there was zero abuse in the household, and for custody of their two kids to be restored.

Relax, America…

And to add to this, I’d like to say that corporal punishment shouldn’t be a crime. It has its place in families, especially that of Asian origin. It’s silly to argue that kids who were punished with some spanking will grow up to be abusive and a burden to the society… I mean, crime rate in the United States is among the highest in all of developed countries, isn’t it? Taiwan, Japan and Korea, where corporal punishment has been consistently used as a discipline method, are incredibly safe countries. No “Columbine” there! Maybe gun control (or lack there of) is the problem?

via [BloggingBaby]

Finally, A Republican Senator For Stem Cell Research

Finally, a Republican leadership with a spine and “conscience”. BBC is reporting that Senator Bill Frist is to support the stem cell research bill that was already passed in the House of Representatives.

Maybe there are some good souls in the Republican Party. It’s also interesting to note that Senator Frist was a surgeon himself before trying his luck at politics. So there, Church and State just don’t go well… Science is the way to go.

Stem Cells Mend Spinal Cords

Alright, Michael, I get the idea. Stem cell works; and I believe you even without this article: Stem Cells Mend Spinal Cords from Wired. Convince your Religious Rights and Evangelical White House this and the world will be a better place.

This study shows that stem cells collected from rat embryos can be grown into specialized cells by producing a special chemical called growth factor which helps myelin attach on to nerve fibers for better conductivity of nerve signals.

But this still goes to the core of the question: Do stem cells collected from the umbilical cord blood work just as well?

To Be or Not To Be…

Because of the unique composition of our family, I was intrigued to find out what citizenship possibilities there are for my son.

U.S. Citizenship — this is a given since my son will automatically get a U.S. Citizenship when he’s born within the borders of the United States. United States does not allow dual citizenships with very few exceptions.

Taiwanese Citizenship — this is not a particularly useful citizenship in terms of travel, but it probably beats having a passport from China since Mainland Chinese have an extremely high “disappearance” rate when they travel aboard. But for the sake of comparison, I found out that Taiwanese citizenship is extremely easy to get if either one of the parents is a citizen of Taiwan, which I am. Another downside of having a citizenship from Taiwan, particularly for a male, is Taiwan’s compulsory military service for one year and six months (or extended civilian service option) for all males before the age of 40. Taiwan allows dual citizenships.

Malaysian Citizenship — Malaysia is really a funny country. On paper the government claims it does not discriminate anyone. But in practice, it’s probably one of the most discriminatory countries in Southeast Asia (it’s hard to beat Indonesia in its mistreatment toward Chinese though). In this case, unless a child is born in Malaysia to a Malaysian parent, the father must be Malaysian if the child is born outside of Malaysia. But… what about the right of the mother? Why can’t the mother enjoy the same right for her son if she’s married a non-Malaysian and the child is born outside of Malaysia? That’s one f*cked messed up rule. Messed F*cked up, yes, but consistent with most Muslim-faith based countries I guess. More information can be found here and here. So does Malaysia allow dual citizenships? My knee tells me “no”.

We haven’t had too much pleasant experience with Malaysia and its policies as of lately. Hopefully this will change as Jai, a friend of ours, swears by the government’s efficiency. But for now, Malaysia isn’t giving too many reasons for some people whose children may consider Malaysia as their home. If Malaysia wants to be able to compete more aggressively in this global climate, it has to do more to allow qualified people to be part of its society more indiscriminately.

Just my two cents.

UFO Paranoia?

BBC News is running an audio interview with the infamous hacker, Gary McKinnon. He reportedly hacked 50 computers that belong to the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and various other supposedly heavily guarded Defense Department machines in search for UFOs.

Years ago, another fellow named Bob Lazar claimed to have worked at Area 51 and Los Alamos labs and witnessed much of the secrets McKinnon is now telling the world. I saw a T.V. special on this guy and his stories seemed very plausible. He was able to recite details about the labs that only people who have worked there would know. The U.S. government, on the other hand, says they don’t know any Bob Lazar and everything he says can not be substantiated.

Given how seriously the U.S. government is taking the case, one can only wonder if there’s really something to be suspicious of. And the weird thing is, how come most of the computers McKinnon hacked into had blank administrative passwords? If the Defense Department can’t even do what it takes to secure a few computers, it’s no wonder it’s such a mess with what they are doing in the Middle East these days.

Suckers.

Bill Clinton and His World View

Bill Clinton image A couple of years ago, former U.S. president Bill Clinton delivered an excellent speech at The University of Texas at Austin.

The elegance and sophistication of his speech makes him by far the best public speaker I have seen. Steve Jobs does give great presentations from time to him. But he’s a salesman and that’s what he does best. However, people who attend his presentations usually walk away with reality distortion field affect. Bill Clinton, on the other hand, nails his points with impeccable logics and concisely worded reasons. I can’t see how anybody can debate with him and win.

I tried recording the live streaming of the speech but failed. I am so worried that someday it may not be accessible anymore. But in the meantime, his speech can be accessed from Apple’s site here.

I’d also visit the William J. Clinton Foundation website for transcripts and videos from his other speeches. Very inspirational.