JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
-
- 秘書及び業務サポート
- 加治金属工業株式会社, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥4.0M / Year
-
- English Instructor (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe)
- Berlitz Japan, Inc. (ベルリッツ・ジャパン株式会社), Kansai
- Salary: ¥125,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month
-
- ALT - Mie Prefecture - Yokkaichi City - June start
- NPO法人グローバル教育推進機構（GLAD), Mie
- Salary: ¥230,000 / Month For a full working month. Some months differ.
0
Betzee
And they are a couple, half of whose children have come from countries where parents have far less control over their fertility than this divorced mother of six who, while in the midst of bankruptcy, decided to expand her family through artificial insemination. That means she has assumed sole financial responsibility for these eight additional children. They will likely need special ed and a host of other services that will be provided by the taxpayer.
The fertility industry needs to be regulated. I say that not because certain aspects of it bother me personally, but because it's not in society's interest to encourage such artificially created families that are far beyond the size Mother Nature would yield.
Posted in: Make that 14: Octuplet mom already had 6 kids
0
Betzee
A while back I read an article by a man whose wife had become pregnant with the aid of reproductive technology such as was used in this case. An ultrasound revealed she was carrying three babies, by that point they may have passed from the embryo stage into a fetus (8 weeks?). Either the parents-to-be decided they only wanted one, or the doctor recommended a selective reduction for medical reasons. So they aborted the two boys and kept the girl on the grounds males are more prone to schizophrenia.
This is not a position I would put myself in. But he did a public service by alerting people to choices they may have to make if they opt for multiple embryo implantation to maximize the odds of one taking. It saves money, and if you're paying out of pocket that may be a consideration, but it opens the door to costs which are far higher in my opinion.
Posted in: Make that 14: Octuplet mom already had 6 kids
0
Betzee
While being devoutly religious may predispose one against abortion, few religions endorse fertility treatment either. If you can't get pregnant the natural way, well that's God's way of tellin' ya it's not meant to be.
If I used Kaiser and my premiums went up because of this multiple birth, well I'd be hoping mad!
Posted in: Make that 14: Octuplet mom already had 6 kids
0
Betzee
The doctors involved are taking refuge in the logic of the free market, "someone comes to me for a service and I provide it, blah, blah, blah."
Though I admire the candor of those who've spoken and written about their own experiences with selective reduction of implanted embryos, I'm personally not comfortable with it. So I would never have myself implanted with more embryos ("superovulated") than I would be able to medically carry and raise as children. Certainly guidelines should regulate this; in the UK the maximum number of implanted embryos is two. Then of course there's the issue of whether someone who already has six children should receive fertility treatment at all, but that's a separate issue.
Posted in: Make that 14: Octuplet mom already had 6 kids
0
Betzee
I don't doubt a combined reliance on family hand-outs and public assistance would enable most parents to muddle through. By contrast, those seeking to adopt, either domestically or internationally, must demonstrate they have the financial means to raise a child and a suitable home to do it, something verified by a social worker.
I wish more expectant parents would make choices in line with the child's best interest rather than simply hiding behind the "she chose life" slogan as if everything else is inconsequential.
Very nice post, Libertas, you sum things up so well.
Posted in: What's your stance on abortion?
0
Betzee
Nor were her children and grandchild conceived in a petri dish. Reproductive technology has raised new issues. Arthur Caplan, the medical ethicist quoted in the article, lives about two blocks from my parents. When I spoke to my mother last night she said, "I saw the media trucks go by and I knew it had to do with that woman in Los Angeles."
They come around on a regular basis as technology enables us to reproduce and prolong life in new ways. By contrast, teen pregnancy has been around since the beginning of time.
Posted in: Make that 14: Octuplet mom already had 6 kids
0
Betzee
It's clear regulating the fertility industry, as is done in most other countries, is in the American public's interest. I would assume the doctors who made the decision to implant eight embryos were looking at it from the publicity angle. Successful delivery would garner them a lot of accolades. The woman herself apparently felt, "The more the better." Never mind multiple births "cause insurance premiums to rise when hospitals cannot get reimbursed for the huge costs such babies incur, and because those with disabilities typically require social services."
Those on the Right need to re-evaluate their grounds to complain that lack of "personal responsibility" is what ails America. This single mother by choice may be able to make some dough selling the rights to photograph her brood, but it's not gonna be enough to see them all to adulthood.
Posted in: Make that 14: Octuplet mom already had 6 kids
0
Betzee
You're most welcome PuffinMuffin.
Posted in: Age before beauty
0
Betzee
This is exactly the situation we confront in cases like this woman in Los Angeles who gave birth to eight babies last week. Like many who avail themselves of fertility treatment, she opted to have as many embryos implanted as possible to maximize the odds one would "embed." Yet this cost-saving approach opens the door to multiple births. Having had a friend go through fertility treatment which health insurance may not cover, I know the average in the USA is 2-3 embryos and it most other countries regulations dictate fewer. If the ultrasound reveals multiple "buns in the oven," well doctors may advise selective reduction in the interests of both the mother and the fetus which is allowed to gestate to term.
Arriving at biological parenthood other than the natural way may entail some tough calls. For some selective reduction is tantamount to murder. These are ethical issues that go far beyond the current debate.
Posted in: What's your stance on abortion?
0
Betzee
I agree. Brad Pitt established his career with Thelma and Louise, and went on to do some incredibly good work. But he's morphed into a movie star, which is where the big bucks are, and his recent films have been typical big budget Hollywood fare.
I would prefer to see Mickey Rourke win for The Wrestler. He's been out of the game for a while, but he's still on top of his game and the Academy likes to reward people like that. The feeling is that Brad Pitt will have other opportunities.
Posted in: Age before beauty
0
Betzee
Now you can't blame me for letting the cat out of the bag since you asked for it, PM. In fact Benjamin Button reverts to an embryo, which precedes fetus. So if that's what floats your boat, well I suggest you see the film.
Posted in: Age before beauty
0
Betzee
To me the information which has come to light regarding the circumstances of the woman who gave birth to octuplents last week in Los Angeles reflects just how absurd the debate over abortion has become:
She filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. She already has six older children. Doctors question why so many embryos were implanted in her, a medical issue which is unrelated to her financial situation. While her mother "acknowledge[d] that supporting a family with 14 children would be difficult, but that her daughter felt like she had little choice. "What do you suggest she should have done?" [her mother] said. "She refused to have them killed."
Is is too much to ask someone to behave responsibility, in this case forgo fertility treatment when she already has six children and are facing bankruptcy????? In the event she is in a position to care for more, well then why not adopt from the pool of needy children who have already been born?
Posted in: What's your stance on abortion?
0
Betzee
Thanks for the pix, the last is certainly a fearsome fellow!
To me, it resembles a children's hospital. I remember once reading a cultural awareness article for advertising execs detailing how "cute" is perceived differently by adults in Asia and the West. For example, it's difficult to imagine too many credit card holders in the West wanting the "Hello Kitty" image emblazoned on that all important piece of plastic. By contrast, it might go over very well in Taiwan.
Posted in: Hello Kitty invades Taiwan maternity ward
0
Betzee
Her mother, I believe, is partly Native American. She certainly doesn't look like her father, Jon Voight.
It must be difficult when you achieve fame and fortune at an early age to keep your feet on the ground. Angelina seems to have found her place. My hat is off to her for forging a life more meaningful than one marked by self-absorbed materialism.
Posted in: Angelina Jolie
0
Betzee
Thanks for a great laugh!
That's because if they aren't, you wouldn't hear about it. In NY State abortion was legal in the 1960s well before Roe v Wade. I grew up about a two hour drive from NY in a community where most families had 3-4 kids. There were miscarriages from time to time. After I reached adulthood my mother told me in some cases the presumption was the couple, not wanting another child, had availed themselves of the "New York option." That was considered their business, which it was.
Posted in: What's your stance on abortion?
0
Betzee
It applies to both green-card holders, like the Cambodians who entered the US as refugees and could have become US citizens before they got in trouble with the law, and those who entered the US without documentation or a visitor's visa and then were convicted of a criminal offense.
Posted in: Homeland secretary wants criminal aliens out of U.S.
0
Betzee
My favorite scene was an anchoring moment where they (Pitt and Cate Blanchett) do the twist in the bedroom of their little home as the Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Posted in: Age before beauty
0
Betzee
There was a story recently of a deported criminal alien who, after serving time for armed robbery, has made a new life for himself with a sort of ironic twist:
It is a little slice of Long Beach, Calif., brought here by a former gang member by way of a federal prison, an immigration jail and then expulsion four years ago from his homeland, the United States, to the homeland of his parents, Cambodia.
The former gang member is Tuy Sobil, 30, who goes by the street name K.K. The boys are Cambodian street children he has taken under his wing as he teaches them the art he brought with him, break dancing, as well as his hard lessons in life...
His journey between identities reached a point of strangeness when he was invited last December to perform with some of his students at a Christmas party at the United States Embassy.
“The American ambassador gave me a handshake and a hug, and asked me one day when his kid is a little older he wanted to put him in my school,” K.K. said.
The ambassador at the time, Joseph A. Mussomeli, recalled the performance as “great fun,” but he said the piquancy of the moment had not been lost on him.
“You are right that there is a certain wonderful irony to him being ‘rejected’ or at least ‘ejected’ from the U.S. and still landing on his feet — or shoulders and head — dancing,” Mr. Mussomeli said in an e-mail message.
“While watching him I was reminded of that great patriotic speech by Bill Murray in ‘Stripes,’ ” he added, “where he talks about Americans as being rejects from all the good, decent countries of the world! K.K. is/was an American in everything except in law — and he has shown this by his creativity, tenacity, and undying optimism.”
Now another irony is in store for K.K. His club has been invited to send dancers to perform in the United States — Cambodian boys who speak no English and have never left their country.
The real American among them, K.K., deported and excluded from the United States for the rest of his life, must stay behind.
His own children are in California with their mother.
Posted in: Homeland secretary wants criminal aliens out of U.S.
0
Betzee
I believe these issues were better explored in the lower budget Synecdoche, New York but Phillip Seymour Hoffman, though a first-rate actor, can't match Brad Pitt in the looks department and is therefore unlikely to get the red carpet treatment on a overseas promotional junket.
Posted in: Age before beauty
0
Betzee
Correction: "Under the agreement, the United States would deport no more than 10 aliens each month to Cambodia."
Those who overstay their visas or whose offense does not extend beyond unauthorized entry are not subject to this deportation rule. You have to have been through the criminal justice system same as a US citizen.
Posted in: Homeland secretary wants criminal aliens out of U.S.