From the monthly archives:

July 2009

Compassion is not an excuse…

by Rod Edwards on July 29, 2009

for trying to bring toy guns and swords onto a plane. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 8 years, you should know better.

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Alcoholic denied liver transplant, dead at 22

by Rod Edwards on July 21, 2009

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A double header on organ transplants: see this post on legalizing organ sales. This article notes the precedent setting case of a 22 year old alcoholic being denied a transplant and left to die – attributed to the severe shortage or available organs in Britain. If organ sales were legal, this fellow would have had his second chance at life: right or wrong?

Do we take pride in our society’s ability to offer second chances? Or wield a harsh and deadly sword call pragmatism?

Huge commentary at Reddit.

More coverage at the Times.

“The NHS Blood and Transplant service said Mr Reinbach’s case highlighted the dilemma faced by doctors because of a shortage of donated organs.”

“He was admitted to a London hospital in May but died after doctors refused to give him a liver transplant amid fears he would not stay sober for six months after the operation.”

“They told him to stop smoking and he did. They told him to stay in bed and he did. All he wanted to do was prove that he was serious, and that he wouldn’t drink again.”

[news.com.au]

Image Credit: Stuart Clarke, Times Online.

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Legalizing organ sales: one way to reduce waiting lists

July 21, 2009

UPDATE: Also see this follow-up post on a 22 year old alcoholic denied a transplant and now dead. Doctors proposing that selling your organs need not be illegal: This article will make you think. It tells the story of a somewhat schizophrenic homeless American man, recruited to sell a kidney in Houston, and along the [...]

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Obama sums it up: when his father, Barack Obama Sr., came to the United States from Kenya, Kenya’s GDP was higher than Korea’s.

July 10, 2009

“Obviously much has happened since then and he wanted to make it clear that the problems that Africans face weren’t just a product of colonialism or past history,” Froman said, “that this partnership — whether it’s over food security or other development ideas — require local governments to take responsibility seriously. This wasn’t a time [...]

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Scary Fundamentalist pegs the Burka Debate

July 10, 2009

Wow – an excellent, well-reasoned post on Burkas, human rights, religious freedom, and politician’s duties on matters of this nature: Edit: I shared Scary’s post on Reddit, which is always seems to stir up good debate. There are many arguments in support of banning the burka that, at first blush, are convincing. The burka is [...]

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Small Government vs. Smart Government: The New Conservatism

July 10, 2009

In a comment I made on yesterday’s “Banning Bottled Water” post, CWTF challenged my thinking on the Nanny State aspects of policy of this nature. In responding, I was finally able to elucidate why I think policy like banning bottled water is inherently conservative: I see something like banning bottled water as “conservative” because it [...]

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Easter Island and Canadian Healthcare Policy

July 9, 2009

The health research world is a-twitter today about the longevity boosting effects of a compound called Rapamycin. Hailing from the soil of Easter Island, Rapamycin significantly extends the lifespan of mice, and may do the same for humans. I imagine happenstance discoveries like this to be the tip of the iceberg for radical longevity therapies. [...]

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Banning Bottled Water: Bundanoon leads the way

July 9, 2009

The small town of Bundanoon, Australia, has set a great policy precedent, banning bottled water within the town. Its not just the policy that’s great, but the way it was made – with the input of local residents and businesses – and they way in which the polic is being integrated at a municipal level [...]

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