Letters to the Editor
Canuckistan Bob
Published Letters: 778 Editor's Choice: 69
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Oh, and I forgot
[Read the article: Fatal enhancement]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The original research project succeeded admirably in its purpose, which was to track any correlation between breast implants and physical health, particularly cancer. The research pretty conclusively establishes that there is none, that physically, implants are safe. The point of the stuff around suicide etc. to explain a slightly elevated death rate as NOT being connected to all the crap that the litigation industry invented in the 80s & 90s.
The actual headline should have been: "Breast Implants Proven Safe, Not Cause of Cancer," and nothing to do with suicide. That would have been accurate and responsible journalism, silly to expect, I know.
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Catholic Wealth and Power
[Read the article: Worshiping strict statutes of limitation]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It is rather unclear just how rich the Catholic Church is (it doesn't help how secretive they are on the topic). Certainly they have a lot of assets, in terms of land and infrastructure (to say nothing of art, imagine what the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel would be worth), a thousand or two years of existence will do that for you, but since they are occupied by things like cathedrals and convents, you can see how the church would be reluctant to liquidate them.
In terms of cash, well, despite fevered conspiracy mongering by wingnuts like Dan Brown, they certainly they aren't living high off the hog or blowing their dough on hookers and blow on a big scale. Indeed, their operations seem to be run on a very parsimonious basis (I had the bad luck to be sort of employed by them at one time). It really does seem that cash taken from them to give to victims might very well be coming out of the pensions of retired priests and programs for the poor in the third world.
It is also debatable how powerful they really are. Certainly they have enough jam to keep the abortion wars going; but they don't have enough to win. They certainly have evil aspects, like William Donohue's Catholic League; but then they also have Sister Helen Prejean.
So yeah, your apostate eyes may be a bit veiled here. A statute of limitations on criminal charges would, I think be a bad idea, some kinds of crime don't ever stop hurting. And at least there you are punishing the individual who did the deed. Indeed, criminal charges against church figures who protected pedophiles and put children at risk are long overdue (Criminal Endangerment?). But some reasonable limits on the civil lawsuits might be appropriate; sometimes it looks like the process is robbing A to pay B recompense for the sins of C.
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Pretty Poor Showing
[Read the article: Feminist author attacked in India]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Let's see, India has a population of about 160 million muslims and the best they can scare up is a crowd of 100 violent fanatics? Operation Rescue could do better by an order of magnitude on an off day on very short notice. Sure, Islam is a violent, fanatical religion. Scary.
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Stop The Presses
[Read the article: Chaste women + promiscuous men = impossible]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I has just been discovered that both men and women lie about sex. A lot. Lie to themselves and to each other and most especially to researchers.
I am aghast. Shocked, I tell you, shocked. The horror, the horror.
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Truly Despicable
[Read the article: Wife abuse vs. dog abuse]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I am surprised that no one has brought this up: the true despicablness of Vick's "sport" is demonstrated by the fact that the animals have been bred and "trained" (ie abused) to such levels of viciousness that breeders have to use a "rape stand" wherein the female is immobilized, in order to get a mating rather than a murder. This is utterly disgusting. It is even more disgusting that aficionados would cheerfully name it such.
Also, it appears that there had been years of complaints to the authorities before any action was taken; rather reminiscent of the bad old days of wife beating
And anonymice, could we call it what it is: family violence, intimate violence, domestic assault, domestic violence, marital violence, etc etc, instead of the "DV" you all seem to insist on using for some reason? Is it because it doesn't sound as bad when initialized? Or are we all supposed to belong to the same cult you do?
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Hype
[Read the article: Pedophile blogger unfairly targeted?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This is truly disturbing stuff. But I would hope that we have all learnt something over the last 20 years: for instance, we no longer believe (I hope) in large networks of satanic cult child-abuse rings. Sexual abuse of children is a subject sure to inflame and provoke irrationality; but I for one do not believe all the stories and hype we are getting lately. I simply cannot believe that the internet has (like the satanic cults of yore) promoted and developed organized child abuse to significantly higher levels than in the past. I really wonder about all those sex offenders that LA just discovered living too close to parks and playgrounds: did they all abuse children? That many of them, there are really that many incorrigible pedophiles in just one city?
AKASmith is quite right: there is an enormous difference between pedophilia and pederasty (though I admit to not having heard those terms used to make the distinction). Sexual attraction to sexually mature youth seems to be a fairly normal part of the human sexual spectrum. It seems to include both males and females. It also seems to be quite controllable. Sexual attraction to prepubescents seems to be something of a male-exclusive mental illness. An incurable mental illness, and thus with a very high recidivism rate. And a condition that we as a society really do not have the faintest idea what to do about.
And this guy is a pretty good example: what on earth to do?
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It Appears I Hit a Nerve
[Read the article: Wife abuse vs. dog abuse]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hee Hee