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Scientists Stunned as Medical Non-Profit Group Abruptly Ends Research Grants (nature.com)
A major US non-profit group focused on improving child health has abruptly terminated US$3 million in research grants -- leaving nearly 40 scientists confused, angry and scrambling to secure new funding. From a report: On 24 July, 37 grant recipients received an e-mail from the March of Dimes Foundation in New York City informing them that their 3-year grants had been cut off, retroactively, starting on 30 June. Many of the researchers were only a year into their projects, and had had just enough time to hire and train staff, purchase supplies and generate preliminary results. Now, several say that they might need to lay off employees, euthanize lab animals and shelve their research projects if they cannot find other funding -- fast. The March of Dimes, which is supported largely by individual donations, made the decision to revoke the grants because of a budget shortfall, says Kelle Moley, the group's chief scientific officer. "I know this is harsh news," Moley says. "As a former grantee, this would be devastating to me as well." That is small consolation to many researchers whom Nature spoke to.
Obviously somebody has discovered a cure for polio and they're about the break the news. We don't need the March of Dimes any more!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
In this somewhat old post on how MOD spends money, it spent $96 million on salaries and benefits. If they really needed to save $3 million, why could that money not have come from there?
Salary and related expenses are 37% of every dollar MOD gets as a donation...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The abruptness suggests that March of Dimes staff is incompetent and couldn't see the shortfall coming, that some major funding source suddenly cut them off, or maybe some insider embezzled a bunch of money. In any case, this doesn't look like a typical, "Gee, we've been having some difficulties raising money" scenario.
March of Dimes for you, March of Millions fro the CEO and cronies.
If you're a giver who wants to help babies--the MOD's ostensible justification for existence--go find the most orthodox church in your area. You know, the one where they believe abortion is straight up murder.
I like it very much how modern day Christians take their notion of what is murder or not from Aristotle, the pagan philosopher who first stated souls are the form of the body, therefore fetuses have souls since conception, therefore abortion is murder, rather than from the Bible, which clearly states the soul enters the body when the person first breathes and that abortion is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine to be paid to the would be father.
Being a pagan myself, I heartily approve of taking a pagan Philosopher's opinions more seriously than whatever is in the Biblical myths. But Aristotle wouldn't be my first choice. His ideas about the soul are very off. Plotinus and Proclus' are better. Be as it may, a paganized Christianity is better than a non-paganized one, and therefore kudos on ignoring what the Bible say on the matter, even though in this case I myself agree with the Bible! (y)
Conservatism: (n.) love of the existing evils. Liberalism: (n.) desire to substitute new evils for the existing ones.
I like it very much when apparent atheistts try to speak for all Christians. In other words, you're making it up.
Not at all. And I'm not an Atheist, I'm a pagan. :-)
You're good at taking things out of context.
No. The Hebrew word we translate as "soul" and "spirit" are "nephesh" for soul, and "ruash" and "neshamah" for spirit, the three of which mean "breathe". Those are the words used in the Old Testament. Similarly, the Greek words used in the New Testament that we translate as "soul" and "spirit" are "psuche" for soul, and "pnoe" and "pneuma" for spirit, the three of which also mean "breathe".
The meaning all thorough the Bible is that soul/spirit are connected to a breathing body. That's the criteria. And anything that isn't breathing has no soul. Including fetuses.
You stopped at the first verse of that group.
No, I didn't. Those verses refer to the death of the would-be mother and/or of the would-be father. The miscarriage caused by the assailant is punished by a fine. It's considered an aggression against the mother, and a loss of property against the father. Search any Biblical dictionary and you'll see this explained in excruciating details.
You agree with the misinterpretation you've created.
No, I agree with the traditional understanding of this topic in multiple cultures. Some take a more careful approach and suggest temperance when it comes to abortion, saying it's better to avoid it than to indulge in it, but very few believed mere conception entailed soul-body linking. In fact, even American evangelicals only began believing this during the 1970's. Before that it was considered by most as a specifically Catholic (and Orthodox) belief, not a proper, general Christian one.
And, guess what? Evangelicals were the correct ones in that debate. Were. Now they aren't anymore.
Conservatism: (n.) love of the existing evils. Liberalism: (n.) desire to substitute new evils for the existing ones.