[Note: The California "Stem Cell" Initiative is one of the worst hoaxes being played on the people of California. Some of the proposed research is admittedly "stem cell research" of the usual kind (i.e., stem cells derived from sexually produced IVF embryos). But some of it is clearly and unambiguously human cloning. Masterminded especially and enthusiastically by California physician-"researcher" Irving Weissman and East coast "researcher" Michael West (ACT), they hit upon trying to convince people that the ONLY thing they were doing is stem "cell" research -- since people seemed to be more tolerant of it than cloning. So they simply redefined the product of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) as JUST "cells" --IF the "purpose" is to do research rather than to implant (aka, "therapeutic cloning"). No organism -- i.e., the human being -- is produced, they claim; gone; disappeared -- yet another in a long string of "pre-embryo substitutes" perpetuated by these big biotech "researchers". Even the cloned human "embryo" or blastocyst is redefined by them as "just a ball of cells". Voila! Just "stem CELL research"; no "cloning" involved! What they also don't tell you is that the immediate product of any cloning is a single-cell ORGANISM. It's a single-cell with a big difference: it is a human BEING, not just a "cell". We all began as single-cell organisms -- we didn't just "evolve", and didn't just grow "pre-formed"! That would be pseudo-science, and has been completely rejected internationally by science since the late 1880's. Weissman engineered the very same hoax as chairman of two National Academy of Sciences' reports on cloning and on stem cell research -- and is attempting to pull the same hoax off at the United Nations. Both Weissman and West have included this hoax in their formal testimonies before Congress. Were they required to take a legally binding oath that what they were about to testify to was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth -- the OBJECTIVE ACCURATE SCIENTIFIC TRUTH? No. Why not? When are these rogue big biotech "researchers" ever going to be held to legal and professional accountability? After it is too late? No wonder these rogue scientists are rapidly loosing their credibility with the American public. -- DNI]
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBLBHOSNXD.html
By Jim Wasserman Associated Press Writer
Published:Aug 8, 2004
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Capping a three-day state convention, California Republicans voted Sunday to oppose a November ballot measure that would provide $3 billion in state bonds for human embryonic stem cell research in California.
Although President Bush has cited ethical issues in arguing against the expansion of such research, party members framed their voice vote largely as a budget issue. They said the state can't afford $3 billion in interest payments that would bring the true cost of Proposition 71 to $6 billion.
"There are people on our committee who support embryonic stem cell research that voted to oppose Proposition 71," said Mike Spence, chair of the party's initiative committee. The committee recommended the "no" vote to more than 600 voting delegates Sunday.
"There's billions in bonds, a new state agency that's unaccountable ... and there's cloning involved," said Spence. He said party members also oppose fund-raising by venture capital firms and biotechnology interests for a measure that would reward them with state grants.
The state's most prominent Republican, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, has taken no position on the stem cell ballot measure. He said in June that he supports stem cell research, but he has also campaigned against the state going deeper into debt.
The measure would distribute $300 million a year for 10 years to California-based research. That far exceeds the $60 million awarded nationally in 2002 by the Bush administration, which has limited federal funding for stem cell research to experiments involving only the 78 cell lines already in existence in 2001.
Not all Republicans followed Sunday's party line, which will be disseminated to Republican clubs and organizations for voter outreach.
"I think it's time the Republican Party take a more humanistic attitude toward this issue," said Dr. James Mertzel, a San Fernando Valley dentist addressing his party colleagues. Mertzel said afterward, "If you had an illness fatal to one of your children, you'd look at anything to find a cure for it."
Scientists believe stem cells, the body's building blocks, can be used to repair organs or treat diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. But because stem cells are typically removed from days-old human embryos that are destroyed when the cells are extracted, many anti-abortion activists oppose such research.
AP-ES-08-08-04 1916EDT
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