Take Action Now!

The British Medical Association (BMA) has their knickers in a twist, and warns that we better act now to defend ourselves against bioterrorism. Or else.

A new report released todayby the BMA paints a bleak picture of the global community’s ability to cope with advances in biological and genetic weapons technology.

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA Head of Science and Ethics, is quoted as saying, “The situation today is arguably worse than it was when we published our last report five years ago. The very existence of international laws to protect us is being questioned, the anthrax attacks in the US in 2001 caused widespread panic and fear, and most worryingly of all, it’s never been easier to develop biological weapons – all you have to do is look on the internet.”

UN Delays Decision on Cloning

Despite pressure from the Bush administration, the UN is showing some backbone and refuses to make a decision that may influence upcoming election results. Sorry guys, but no dice.

Bush and friends have been pressuring the United Nations to pass a “total ban on human cloning,” which would outlaw all human cloning, including the cloning of human embryos for research purposes. Sixty-one countries, including the United States, believe that all scientific research using cells extracted from cloned embryos should be banned immediately, while 24 countries say that cloning for research purposes, if regulated properly, has the potential for advancing health and science.

Great Britain, much to Bush’s dismay I’m sure, sides with the opposition, and the The Royal Society, Britain’s national academy of science, is urging countries to reject the U.S. backed proposal.

Britain’s UN ambassador, was quoted in the L.A. Times as saying, “No country has the right to seek to impose on the rest of the world a ban on therapeutic cloning, when its own legislature won’t impose the ban nationally.”

He added that the U.S. seeks to “impose a single dogmatic and inflexible viewpoint on the rest of the world and overturn decisions which have been legitimately taken by other national governments.” The UK will not take part in a total ban no matter what the UN decides.

The Flu Season Begins

A Manhattan nursing home reports 9 cases of the flu, the first outbreak since the flu vaccine crisis began. According to health officials in Manhattan, 66% of its 46,000 nursing home residents have not had a vaccine because of the shortage.