Journal 4-8 Max Bardowell 5-27-08

Alternative Therapies and Medicines

Answer to Last Week's Question: They have been persecuted for the last half millennium, beginning in the Middle Ages with the general fear of witches and continuing well past the Salem witch trials. Thousands were killed and imprisoned under Stalin and Hitler in the 20^th Century, and they are still discriminated today in many countries.

This week we continued our discussion of alternative therapies and medicines. The most recent film we watched concerned "Bee Venom" therapies used to treat Multiple Sclerosis. While these were unorthodox, they are currently being researched for their effectiveness. If they ultimately have a positive effect for someone who is suffering from this debilitating disease, why shouldn't they be allowed? It is unethical to limit society's medical options, however, it is also unethical to allow them to go untested and to not warn the population of the potential dangers. The FDA should regulate alternative medicine just as it does traditional treatments. The same rules apply. If they work and are safe, than they are allowed. If not, than they are rejected. The consumer must be kept safe at all costs. "Regulate" in the context of the involvement of the FDA, in my opinion, has a positive connotation, as I always know that my food and medicine has been proven safe. In fact, if a treatment is effective, the FDA's approval will not only spread awareness, but it will increase public trust of the treatment, thereby insuring that it will reach more struggling patients.

However, the "Bee Venom" therapies, if proven effective, could be an anomaly, as it is more often true that these alternative medicines are simply not effective or they are even harmful to some. The effectiveness of a medical treatment will always improve its legitimacy. However, if one effective trial comes at the price of ten harmful ones, the situation changes. For example, it may be the most potent, effective cancer treatment available in successful trials, but if nine out of every ten patients die in the process, the treatment is no longer viable. Ultimately whether these potentially harmful or effective treatments are regulated it depends on the type of government and economy you have, but in a perfect world, it should not, as governments should always care for their people and should always lookout for their well being. We do not live in a perfect world.

Journal 4-7 Max Bardowell 5-19-08

Secrets of the Psychics

Answer to Last Week's Question: Baer has publicly acknowledged field assignments during his twenty year CIA career in Madras and New Delhi, India; in Beirut, Lebanon; in Dushanbe, Tajikistan; and in Salah al-Din in Kurdish northern Iraq.

The world is filled with magic. Most of it is false; elegant tricks played upon the mind to entertain, to bring some wonder back into a world too grounded in the tedious grinding of reality. But some of our magic is real, based upon the foundations of scientific fact and able to turn the iron laws of nature aside through the hard work of a few courageous men and women. However, many cannot make the distinction. They believe in the trickery, in the conjuring of those who may want to take advantage of them.

According to the recent documentary we watched, Secrets of the Psychics, this phenomenon is much more prevalent in countries such as Russia than it is in the US. There the practices of psychic healing and medicine are common, often serving as replacements to modern medical techniques. I began to wonder if this was not due to America's discomfort with the occult. As a thoroughly religious country (76.4% Christian, 0.4% Atheist in 2001), I believe the reason many Americans refuse to accept the solutions presented by psychic healing, or any version of psychic practices for that matter, could lie in their adherence to their religious beliefs. As psychic practices have been strongly associated with the occult and demonic presences through history, religious Americans have a powerful reaction to exposure to these beliefs (hence the Salem Witch Trails). They cannot experience them, or even know of them in some cases, for an acceptance of them into their society would constitute a breach of religious protocol. Psychics are of the devil, and thus they are shunned. This is different from Russia, a nation where 60% of the population does not practice a religion. They do not share America's religious fervor, and thus they do not share America's cultural repulsion of psychics.

While I do not believe psychics have any command over the supernatural forces they claim to, I do believe they should not be shunned as they are. We are a nation that practices religious freedom. This is their religion, so let them be.

Question: How have psychics or gypsies been persecuted throughout history?

Journal 4-6 Max Bardowell

The Cult of the Suicide Bomber

Answer to Last Week’s Question: Similar to many former Presidents caught in the twilight of their administrations, President Bush has in recent months tried to jump start the arrhythmic peace process between the Israeli and Palestinian factions. President Bush hopes to reiterate his devotion to the development of a dialogue between the two factions during a May 13-18 visit to Israel and other nations in the region.

This week we began watching the documentary The Cult of the Suicide Bomber, written and hosted by ex-CIA case officer Robert Baer. Having read Baer’s book See No Evil, I knew going into the documentary how difficult creating this film must have been for him. He has lost many friends to the bombs of “martyrs”, mainly in Beirut, but elsewhere in the Middle East as well. Still, this gives him a certain credibility, not because he has seen what needs to have been seen and gone where he needed to have gone to make the film, but also because the breadth of his past has readied him for what needs to be said. After reading his book I knew that somewhere beneath the twisted steel and scorched concrete he found the fire to complete his quest: to solve the mystery of the Embassy and Barracks bombings and spread the knowledge he has gained through his profession to those who can make a difference. His connections will help him investigate and bring to light the true motives behind suicide bombings, so that we can understand the ideology and thus better combat its negative effects. I have a great respect for Baer. I have no doubt that he will succeed.

Question: Where did Baer operate as a case officer?

Journal 4-5 Max Bardowell 5-5-08

Promises

Last week we watched the documentary Promises. I think watching the documentary confirmed my ultimate goal of becoming a journalist fluent in Arabic. Not only would I be able to get access to stories an English speaking journalist would not be able to, but I would be able to reconnect with a part of my past I was never really able to explore. My grandfather’s family is from Lebanon, a country as synonymous with the history of the Middle East as Palestine or even, albeit arguably, Jerusalem. It is also a country that conjures up images of civil war, crumbling white towers, and ruined costal cites that had once been known around the world as the last glittering Edens of the Middle East. It is the Lebanon I know. The Lebanon my ancestors knew is no more. My grandfather has only revealed that part of his past, the past we share, in hushed conversations that left me feeling as if my past began not long ago, on the coast of Lebanon, but here in America. For whatever reason, he has smothered that part of his past and neglected to share it with me. I don’t know whether it was motivated out of fear or shame, but I feel as if a connection we could have had has been lost. I don’t fully blame him, as he forged his fortunes in America, but watching Promises only reignited my desire to soon travel to Lebanon and search for those who share my name, my blood.

Question: What is the current state of negotiation between Israel and Palestine?