How did he get there? Half-ton man sheds 321 lbs. with help of team of doctors

The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Half-ton man sheds 321 lbs. with help of team of doctors

"A man who once weighed more than half a ton has lost 321 pounds under the care of doctors, and he hopes to lose 450 more."

It's going to cost the hospital millions to care for him. How did he get to that point without anyone stepping in to help him? As one chubby friend commented, I never saw a fat man that didn't eat.

He at one time wieighed less, had a mother, grandmother, father, somebody around him that could have said STOP eating or gotten him medical care.

In other words, do family members have any moral obligation to make one get medical help for a health problem which is endangering our lives?

Gothic humor: Brits license human cloning

The Seattle Times: Health: Britain first to license human cloning

Who would you like to clone?

Your long lost twin? The brother you never knew? The baby that died? Your favorite pet? All have just come within the scope of reality thanks to scientists. Amazing! Scary maybe.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the...

What about cloning yourself? Just in case. Think of the possibilities. A self clone could be useful. But watch out if he get to thinking. He might not let you use him for your own purposes. Even a clone could get a mind of his own.

Clone me, I say, but make it dumb clone.

Gotcha

We sailed across the bay to our favorite anchorage late this afternoon. We had great sailing close-hauled with Genoa and mainsail. Once we set the hook from the stern, we set out our fishing rod as I'd been shown last week and sat in the cockpit sipping beer and watching that line. Wow! That guy told it straight.

Our first catch! A tremor and pull left no doubt. We'd just caught our first fish. Below is a picture of the kind of fish we caught. It's called a goat fish in Spain "pez cabra". We caught it with shrimp for bait, and several hooks on a line down to the seabottom, while fishing off the boat cockpit.

At nightfall, we decided to came back home. Just before getting underway, we checked the running lights. It was a good thing because we found we had to change a fuse. Then, we headed back across the bay under motor. The sea swell had subsided while we were anchored making for a beautiful tranquil run back, while admiring the shore lights and the silhouette of the illuminated medieval fortress sitting on the hill above the city.

Basque separatists bomb northern Spain

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: AP - Europe: Basque separatists bomb northern Spain

The ETA Basque terrorist group, officially called so by the U.N and the E.U., reminded us violently once more in summer 2004 that they continue in their armed struggle for independence of the Basque region of Spain. Independence? Revolution? Their dialectic discourse is totally out of time. But that's beside the point.

Since the terrorist massacre bombing in Madrid March 11, they have refrained from bombing activity until now. Perhaps they wish to distance themselves from the Islamic Barbary. We're good just cause terrorists. We don't hurt people, we only attack civil servants and interests of the State, like the tourist industry.

Every year in summertime, they choose a tourist coast town to act. Last summer several bombings occurred in Mediterranean coastal towns. This summer could not go by without them. The commisssion on the March 11th terrorist attack has closed session for the August vacation. For ETA however, it's back to business as usual.

ETA are like dinosaurs living in a high tech society, or sci fi creatures locked in a time warp. They don't understand Franco is dead. His dictatorship and fascist rule linger only as bad dream. Spain just celebrated 25 years of democracy, as a working Federation of Autonomous Regions.

What will life become for ETA members, the day they awaken to the realisation they serve no purpose but terror?

How can they rejoin normal society?

Do they want to be a part of the net generation?

Has the radical lifestyle become a cause in itself?