Injustice in Indonesia: Free Schapelle Corby!

Yesterday, more or less at midnight (central standard time) I learnt of the verdict in the case of the Aussie girl, Schapelle Corby. For those of you who did not know about the case, Schapelle is a 27 year old woman who went as a tourist to Bali, Indonesia. She was arrested by customes in Indonesia as they discovered marihuana in her luggage (I can't recall if upon her arrival or attempting her return to Australia). Schappelle and her travel mates have declared that the drugs were planted there by others. The case has received a lot of attention around the world because of the credible innocence of Schapelle and also because of the barbaric (and corrupt) judicial system in Indonesia. To know more, please visit the following site: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/generic.aspx?sectionID=1697

For this crime (which she did not commit), Schapelle could be condemend to the death penalty which, in Indonesia, could be death by a firing squad. A lot of people in Austrlia and around the world (like me), try to help her avoid this fate and hopefully get her released from a judicial system in which we do not trust. Unfortunately, the verdict gave us the worst of news as you can read here: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/verdict.html

Schapelle has been given a still unjust verdict. She'll have to spend 20 years in an Indonesian jail. What makes things worse is that there are complaints from her family and all of us, her supporters, because the judges apparently only limited themselves to believing a non credible witness instead of a wide array of other more credible witnesses. Evidence presented by the defense was also ignored (http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Rejected-evidence-might-have-changed-the-result/2005/05/27/1117129897862.html).

Our next step is to continue to support Australia and Schapelle in their attempt to appeal the verdict and repair the injustice. Or, at the very least, we would hope that her human rights during her jail time are respected. We can still do something!

I leave you the following link so you can do your part if you wish to:
http://www.dontshootschapelle.com/

Finally some honesty, Thanks AI

Today was the publishing day for the Amnisty International report on the state of human rights in the world. And, can you believe it:

United States, Principal Violator of Human Rights: AI
http://estadis.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/285095.html (in Spanish)

I had always held this against Amnesty; the fact that they never called the US on their trangressions but now, they've finally done it. Now that the report is out, it is also sad to see that, despite the credibility and lack of bias from this noble organization, the US government categorically denies these accusations. They even called them "ridiculous"! I mean, I think we can all remember Abu Ghraib and we all can infer the things that happen at Guantanamo.

We can only hope that the people of the US - those of them we love because they are intelligent - demand answers from their gouvernment. Demand that they stop acting as if they were the only ones in the world that are "always right" and on the side of "good" and REALLY live up to that standard.

You can read the full report at:
http://www.amnesty.org/

Cloning

Hi everyone

My birthday was a couple of days ago and as I finish celebrating it, I decided to reflect a bit on life. While doing that, I checked up on the news and I found something strangely relevant.

First Human Embryo is Cloned in the United Kingdom
http://www2.eluniversal.com.mx/pls/impreso/noticia_supl.html?id_articulo=21747&tabla=articulos (in Spanish)

Yes, the science of cloning continues to advance, taking large steps. It's worrying that though countries such as the UK and South Korea, Mexico has chosen to remain a country where this new field of science is not explored. I know Mexico isn't exactly a mecca for research but it potentially could be.

What makes of course, this science, controversial is the status of the "embryo" and well, here's my take on that.

It's true that life commences the moment an egg is fertilized by a sperm. But, is that also the same moment where human life begins too? Yes, that first new cell is undoubtedly human but the only real human characteristic it has is the make up of its DNA. The cell doesn't think sense it has no brain, nor does it feel for it has no nerve cells and it can't feel pain for the same reason. It doesn't love sense it has no heart and it doesn't eat nor sleep.

Therefore, what is the problem with using these cells for the good of humans who already live, feel and suffer? "Stem cells" are just that, cells with human DNA but that don't have any other specific function yet. One day, they will become skin or hair cells, maybe even nerve cells.

If the cell can't think or feel... let alone many of the other things us humans do, can it really be considered a human life?