Part 2 > IRISH NEWS ROUND-UP > http://irlnet.com/rmlist/ > > Thursday/Friday, 13/14 July, 20000 > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > > > >>>>>> Feature: Who will control the gene code? > > BY ROISIN DE ROSA > > > > Dr. John Sulston, who has mapped a third of the human genome (the > gene map of the human body), received an honorary degree from > Trinity College, Dublin, last Friday, 7 July. He also delivered a > public lecture in the university to explain his groundbreaking > work. > > On the screen in the darkened lecture theatre blazed the history > of humanity, from the time when humanity believed itself divine > in the image of his Gods. Then there came the knowledge (with > Galileo, Kepler) that we weren't after all even the centre of the > universe. Darwin told us that we were mere animals. And this > year, scientists can at last tell us that we are machines and > that they know how we get put together. And soon, we will put > them together. We can already improve the ones that got put > together on automatic pilot, carelessly, often thoughtlessly, at > conception. > > Sulston, white-haired, witty, dry, quiet, even cautious, > everyone's caricature of a scientist, got into biochemistry by > default: "I never liked book work. What I actually liked was > being in the lab and playing with the toys. I just played and > played." > > And the toys became computers the size of football pitches, with > 12 terabytes of RAM (that's an awful lot of memory), to deal with > the 22,000 segments of the human genome, each one 150,000 letters > long. These letters, termed ATGC, discovered 50 years ago by > James Watson and Francis Crick, are the chemical components of > DNA, the genetic blueprint for all human life, present in each of > the human body's 75 to 100 trillion cells. "We're writing the > dictionary of the genome, the code of instructions present in > each of these cells," said Sulston. The sequence of letters would > fill 500,000 pages of a telephone directory. > > "Think of the human genome as the book of life," he explained. > "We are about to read the first chapter, as important an > accomplishment as discovering that the Earth goes round the Sun > or that we are descended from apes." > > The philosophical implications are boundless, that man (sometime > in this century) could make his own brain, in theory, at least! > Whatever about these implications, the potential, even over the > coming decade, for medicine and the treatment of many diseases is > huge: cancer, heart disease, Aids, haemophilia, arthritis, > schizophrenia, and a thousand genetic conditions, including > Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis, Down's syndrome, Huntingdon's > Chorea, and cystic fibrosis. Designer drugs, suited to the > patient's particular genome, will be with us in a decade or so - > designer babies in 50 years or so. > > And then, of course, comes the question: who designs them, and > who gets paid for them? > > The lights go back on in the lecture theatre, and from the > brilliance of a shining intellectual achievement, we are back in > the real world and the battle for control. > > In the real world there are two rival projects in a mad race to > map the human genetic code. There is Dr. Sulston, of the > non-profit Human Genome Project (HGP), who is head of an > international team of scientists at the Sanger Centre in > Cambridge, England, financed by public funding and by the Welcome > Foundation Trust. The HGP makes its data on sequencing the genome > public available every evening, free to all, on the internet. > > The other is Dr. Craig Ventner and his Celera Genomics, a private > company founded in May 1998. He plans to put his data on a > commercial database, available only to subscribers. Celera has > already laid claim to 20,000 provisional patent rights, although > the interaction of the genes he has mapped may as yet be quite > unknown. > > Venter's methodology is different. His method of sequencing > genes, called the 'whole shotgun method', maps tiny fragments of > the whole. Without sequencing the whole genome, this method can > identify genes, without necessarily understanding how they work > or their interrelation. > > But as these 'patented genes' come to be found to cause common > inherited diseases, their patented sequencing will represent a > very large revenue stream for Venter and the pharmaceutical > concerns that buy the rights to develop each patent. Wealth > beyond even the dreams of Microsoft's Bill Gates is on offer, as > companies carve themselves monopolies from the code of human > life. > > The first battles have already begun. Researchers recently found > the pathway, or docking site, known as the CCR5 receptor, by > which the AIDS virus enters the human cell. Block this doorway > and potentially you cure a disease that has lethally infected 30 > million people. But the gene CCR5 is owned by Human Genomic > Sciences Inc. (HGS), a former collaborator with Venter, which is > demanding royalties and license fees from every drug company that > wants to work with CCR5. HGS admits it had no idea of the gene's > function in relation to AIDS when it first made application for > the patent. Celera's declared aim is to become the monopoly > source of genomic information. > > Sulston, by contrast, says that "global capitalism is raping the > earth, it's raping us. If it gets complete control of the human > genome, that is very bad news indeed. That is something we should > fight against." He is committed to ensuring that the data remains > in the public domain. > > On 14 March this year, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton made a joint > statement that they would like to see "unencumbered access" to > the human genome. Celera's share price fell from $225 through the > floor to $64, representing a loss of $6.8 billion on the value of > stock issued to raise $1 billion last February. On 27 June, > Clinton and Blair jointly welcomed the mapping of the human > genetic code, as both Celera Genomics and Sulston's HGP jointly > announced their achievement. > > The contradiction in President Clinton's statement "that we are > learning the language in which God created life", is as apparent > as the fiction that Celera and HGP have ended their conflict. The > fate of many human beings resides in the outcome of Sulston's > battle to preserve the gene sequences and their interaction free, > in the public domain. > > Dr. Sulston was asked about the possibilities of his research > giving longevity to human beings. "People," he said, "had had > enough difficulty coming terms with our not being the centre of > the universe. They still do. I don't think I could come to terms > with humans being machines. But I place my trust in coming > generations to solve all these, to us, unanswerable questions > which this knowledge will place in our hands." His enthusiasm for > human beings and their ability to deal with these questions and > his faith that informed discussion will allow them to resolve > these issues, was boundless. > > Hopefully, his vision will prevail. But never has there been a > battle between capital and public ownership that is so vital. The > copyright on 'God's book' is at stake. > > > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > > > >>>>>> Book review: Unfinished Business > > > By Bill Rolston > Beyond the Pale Publications > #12.99 > > > > "We as the victims of state violence were ignored by the state > from the day and hour it happened. We became victims of the state > and... when you become a victim of the state, you become an enemy > of the state and you are treated in that way whether or not you > wanted to be." > > These words, quoted in Bill Rolston's latest book, "Unfinished > Business, State Killings and the Quest for Truth", are the words > of Jim McCabe. Jim's wife, Nora, was fatally injured by a plastic > bullet fired at close range into the back of her head by an RUC > officer in July 1981. > > Nora McCabe was one of 17 people killed in the North of Ireland > by plastic and rubber bullets fired by British soldiers or the > RUC. Tens of hundreds of people have been injured by plastic > bullets, many seriously and some resulting in permanent > disability. > > A young mother of three children, Nora was walking from her in > Linden Street to a local shop on the Falls Road shortly before > 8am. As two RUC Land Rovers drew level with the corner of Linden > Street, one plastic bullet was fired and hit Nora in the back of > her head. She died a day later, having never regained > consciousness. > > Despite the fact that the incident had been inadvertently filmed > by a Canadian television crew, the RUC have never admitted firing > the shot that killed Nora McCabe. In almost 20 years of > campaigning, the closest acknowledgment conceded by the state and > RUC has been that Nora died of injuries "consistent with having > been hit by a plastic bullet". > > The story of Nora's death and the subsequent cover up, recounted > by her husband, is one of a number of accounts presented by > Rolston. "State killings went on throughout the whole of the > conflict," says Rolston, "and were not confined to the high > profile incidents such as Bloody Sunday, or shoot to kill in > North Armagh, and Gibraltar." > > State killings fall into a number of different categories. As in > the case of the three IRA Volunteers killed in Gibraltar, shoot > to kill operations were usually carried out by specifically > trained units. Then there was the excessive use of force in > public order situations, for example the killing of John Downes > during an annual commemoration of internment. > > There were also individual actions by armed members of state > forces, (as in the case of Peter McBride). There was collusion of > state forces with loyalist death squads (as in the case of Pat > Finucane) and state force cover ups of loyalist killings (Seamus > Ludlow) and other culpable actions, including dereliction of > duty, as in the killing of Robert Hamill. > > According to Rolston, the majority of state killings, over 80%, > have been carried out by the British Army. The RUC are > responsible for a further 15%, with the UDR responsible for eight > killings. Almost 90% of all people killed by state forces have > been from the nationalist community. > > Unarmed civilians form the largest category of state killings. Of > all the civilians killed by state forces, only one was armed, > with four more carrying imitation firearms. 86% of civilians > killed by the state were Catholics. > > The second largest category, 37% of all state killings, is that > of republican combatants, many unarmed at the time of their > deaths. The distinction between republican combatants and > nationalist civilians killed by the state is often deliberately > fudged. > > "In media representations, official accounts and unfortunately > also in popular memory, there is often little distinction made > between the various victims of state killings," says Rolston. > "After all, Peter McBride 'had a coffee jar bomb', and Kevin > McGovern 'took up the standard aiming stance for a pistol, > revolver'." > > The state killing of nationalist civilians and the summary > execution of unarmed republicans is often justified by similar > cover stories. Gervaise McKerr 'crashed through a police > roadblock'; Pearse Jordan 'was transporting guns and ammunition > in a car'. > > "Remarkably few loyalist military activists became the victims of > state killings, only 4 percent in all," writes Rolston. "All but > two of the state killings of loyalists occurred before 1975." All > of these claims were subsequently exposed as false. > > The pattern of state violence becomes all the more clear within > the wider context of collusion. State forces have not simply > failed to challenge loyalist violence, they have been actively > involved in directing loyalist violence against those considered > enemies of the state, nationalists and republicans. > > Rolston estimates that state forces have colluded in as many > deaths as they have carried out directly, a further 350 killings. > "Collusion has been a factor in loyalist killings since early in > the conflict," writes Rolston, "but reached a peak in the early > 1990s". Between March 1990 and September 1994, loyalists killed > 185 people; in over 50% of the killings there is evidence of some > form of collusion. > > Rolston argues that the state has constructed two classes of > victim, the deserving and undeserving. Victims of violence > perceived as outside the state were identified as "innocent". > Victims of state violence are mostly depicted as "less than > innocent, or worse, downright culpable." > > Underpinning this was "the unquestioning belief that the state > does not act as a terrorist, does not kill without reason or > justification." There was also the deliberate "misinformation and > manipulation of the media by state forces". > > "The differential treatment of victims has its roots in the three > decades of the war itself," says Rolston. "There was in effect > the social construction of the ideal victim. The two key elements > in that construct were 'innocence' and 'passivity'. > > In other words to qualify as "deserving" a victim had to either > be identified as supporting the state, or shown to have taken no > oppositional stance, by either word or deed. By definition, > almost every victim of state violence is "undeserving". > > "Such was the power of this ideology that it as possible in the > case of state violence to override even the most obvious criteria > of 'innocence'. Thus, it was usually presumed and often stated in > official accounts that children killed by plastic bullets were > involved in, or at least caught up in riots." > > "No matter the period, the perpetrator, the method of killing, > the status of the victim, the post killing experience of > relatives of those killed by state forces is practically > identical," says Rolston. > > Criticising the state's human rights record was usually condemned > on the grounds that it 'played into the hands of the terrorists', > says Rolston. It was even worse for relatives who dared to demand > disclosure or prosecutions. "To agitate was to draw down the > wrath of the state forces on themselves, to become as > marginalised and victimised as those for whom they fought." > > Of the family members interviewed by Rolston, most had never been > officially informed of their relative's death. Others were > informed "in the most callous of ways". After the killing of > eight IRA men at Loughgall, the UDR drove through the local > nationalist estate with a banner reading 'eight nil'. > > For others the first intimation of the death was a raid on their > home. Most often the death was deliberately concealed from the > family by the raiding party. It was only subsequently that > families realised why they had been raided. > > And then there was the harassment. "British soldiers frequently > drove at night to the monument erected to teenage plastic bullet > victim Carol Ann Kelly. 'Wee Irish bitch' was one of the comments > they made. > > "The family of Charles Breslin was subjected to numerous taunts > such as 'Charlie's a Tetley tea bag,' a reference to the fact > that he was shot at least 13 times. Mairead Farrell's boyfriend, > Seamus Finucane, was stopped by the RUC and taunted: 'well you > won't be fucking Mairead anymore'." > > Misrepresentations of the killings in the media were compounded > by deliberate negligence during official investigations. "Loretta > Lynch, a campaigner in the case of Louis Leonard, summed up the > conclusion of many relatives: 'Not only was there no > investigation, but there was a concerted effort not to > investigate." > > Even professionals "who had a right and duty to investigate" were > often thwarted. During the Gibraltar inquest, the crown > pathologist stated that he was not allowed to see ballistic > reports nor even the results of the blood and urine tests he > himself had sent for analysis. > > During the inquest into the death of Charles Breslin, the > solicitor acting on behalf of the family was attacked by the RUC, > who "knocked him to the ground, landed on top of him and pinned > him to the ground using their knee on his neck. And that was in > court." > > The treatment of those killed by the state and their families is > underpinned by a specific myth perpetuated by the British state, > argues Rolston. Within this myth the state portrays itself as a > democracy under siege from a terrorist conspiracy. Thus "no > matter how harsh its actions," the state itself cannot be accused > of terrorism, "because it is merely acting to protect democracy." > > Within this framework the "terrorist" label can be easily > extended "to take in the family and friends of the 'terrorist', > the geographical areas in which they live and any commentators > who refuse to preface their political remarks with a robust > condemnation of 'terrorism'. > > "The culture of denial, ingrained in the very heart of the > state's management of mass, and later armed, opposition in the > North of Ireland quickly percolated through all of the > institutions of the state," says Rolston. > > He begins by recalling a conference organised by Relatives for > Justice in 1998, in which relatives of many people killed by > state forces spoke for the first time. Listening to Cornelius > Rooney, whose nine-year-old son Patrick was shot dead in his own > home by the RUC, Rolston compares his testimony to those of > victims and survivors speaking at South Africa's Truth and > Reconciliation Commission. > > "Unlike the South African case, the venue at which Cornelius > spoke was not a Truth Commission. It had not been set up > formally. It was not chaired by a person of international > standing. There were no state functionaries present... there was > no public acknowledgement that the meeting had even taken place." > > A truth commission, says Rolston, by acknowledging what the state > did and accepting that what was done by the state was wrong, > marks a turning point. "Although it may appear simply a symbolic > device, it is intended to underwrite a new consensus about human > rights. Without such a consensus, there is no assurance that the > future will be any different from the past." > > > > > BY LAURA FRIEL > > > >>>>>> Analysis: Hell raising in Portadown > > BY FERN LANE > > > > In Book One of that great Protestant biblical epic, John Milton's > Paradise Lost, the angel Lucifer, newly cast into hell and > reincarnated as Satan, considers his hopeless condition and then > "with obdurate pride and steadfast hate" tells his cohorts "To do > aught good never will be our task/But ever to do ill our sole > delight", deciding that "To reign is worth ambition though in > hell/Better to reign in hell, than serve in heaven" and resolving > to destroy the inhabitants of the newly-created Eden in bitter > revenge. > > Given current events, a belief that it is better to reign in hell > than to serve in heaven is what the Orange Order is really > displaying when its mobs misappropriate the revolutionary dictum > 'Better to die on your feet than live on your knees'. The Order > and its allies, it would seem, would rather rule the roost in a > sectarian hell and burn the entire Six Counties to the ground in > the process than serve the new political dispensation (although > it is no Eden) as equal partners with their Catholic neighbours. > What we are witnessing is the spectacle of Orangeism, of its own > volition, dying on its feet. > > The idea of Drumcree as the manifestation of a more generalised > Protestant discontent with the peace process has entered into the > political discourse of the Six Counties without any semblance of > analysis of what such 'discontent' is actually based upon or > indeed whether it is valid. In the rush to understand the inner > workings of unionism, Protestantism and then its loyalist > exponents, whose psychotic cruelty knows no bounds, the question > of whether this dissatisfaction has any moral legitimacy > whatsoever has rarely been addressed; it has simply become a lazy > way of explaining away the continuing chaos encouraged by the > Order. The best that most political commentators can come up with > is that the unionist community has had to tolerate the release of > republican prisoners. That the nationalist community has to > suffer the likes of Johnny Adair roaming the streets as part of > the deal is not acknowledged. > > What very few are willing to admit, from Peter Mandelson > downwards, is that the discontent of the Orange Order and their > paramilitary associates - and even many of those middle-class > unionists who affect to sniff in disgust at the antics of their > co-religionists - is based on nothing more than a sense of > outrage. They are irate that those who feel themselves to be > British are now expected to behave in a civilised manner towards > those they see as alien and racially inferior ("a bunch of > monkeys", according to one of the Portadown brethren) and who > they have traditionally excluded, bullied, abused and killed. A > blind refusal to regard others, namely Catholics, as equal is the > sum total of their dismay at the working out of the Good Friday > Agreement, but nevertheless they expect - and, worse, are > receiving from some influential quarters - sympathy for this > inability to come to terms with the affront of seeing fenians in > power. > > Archbishop Robin Eames, for example, wrung his hands and said > that he understands the 'anger' of Orangemen, implying that this > anger, energised by the Drumcree protest, is in itself legitimate > so long as there is no violence. Even his very belated comments > in the Irish Times on Tuesday have only had the effect of > emphasising the Church of Ireland's moral cowardice up until now. > > He could long ago have told Orangemen of the shame and ignominy > they have visited on the name of Protestantism. He could have > disowned all their protests and the justifications behind them > without equivocation or qualification because he knows as well as > anyone else of the unbridled supremacist tendencies which lie > behind the demand to march without consent. He could also have > pointed out the irony of a religious sect, which expends huge > amounts of time and energy accusing Catholics of idolatry and > slavery to their church, being engaged in the flagrant idolatry > of believing that the combination of a strip of orange material > and a piece of tarmac has talismatic powers upon which their very > existence depends. And rather than half-heartedly telling the > Orange Order that their current stance goes against their own > brand of peace-loving, law-abiding christianity - an assertion > not borne out by history - he could instead have told them that > to use highly dubious interpretations of obscure biblical battles > to justify fascist political action and sectarian violence is > only a small step away from the manner in which the Nazis used > Shakespeare to justify their persecution of the Jews. > > Harold Gracey seems to spend his spare time scouring the Old > Testament for references to anybody standing on a hill before > attempting to bend them completely out of shape to serve as > analogies for his own hopeless condition as he surveys the hell > of his making. But the embodiment of this willingness to hand the > mantle of discontent with the political system as well as the > undeserved status of victim to the most recidivist elements > within unionism, are to be found less in a scriptural analysis of > Gracey's demented (and alarmingly ungrammatical) ravings than in > the recent UDA threat to retaliate for completely fictional > 'attacks' by Catholics on Protestant homes. They made it up. They > lied. There was absolutely no basis to their claims. But still, > the threat and the reasoning behind it was carelessly recycled > throughout the media - including on the main BBC news bulletins - > for two days before anybody actually thought to check for facts > behind the fiction. How much longer will the new cliche of > 'Protestant discontent' be repeated before government, church and > media start to acknowledge what really lies behind it? > > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > > > >>>>>> Events in Ireland and Britain > > PUB QUIZ: In support of the Anti-Racism Campaign. 8pm Thursday 13 > July, Teachers' Club, Parnell Square, DUBLIN > > FUNDRAISER: In aid of Youghal Volunteer Fife and Drum Band and > featuring Shenanagins. 8pm Friday 14 July, Harbour Lights Bar, > YOUGHAL, County Cork. Taille #5 > > VOLUNTEER COMMEMORATION: 24th Annual Volunteer Patrick Cannon > commemoration. Assemble 2pm Saturday 15 July, Darndale > Roundabout, DUBLIN and march to Balgriffin Cemetery. Speaker: > Martin Ferris. Any bands wishing to participate should contact > Mark at 8722609 (Buses from city centre: 27,42,43) > > DISBAND THE RUC MOBILISATION: Assemble 2pm Saturday 15 July, Town > Hall, ENNISKILLEN, County Fermanagh. All Welcome. Organised by > Ogra Shinn Fein Six-County Committee > > SF ELECTION FUNDRAISER: Kareoke/Crazy night. 8pm Saturday 22 > July, Green Lizard, Francis Street, DUBLIN. Taille #2.50 > > VOLUNTEER COMMEMORATION: Liam Lynch commemoration. Assemble 3pm > Sunday 23 July, GOATENBRIDGE, County Tipperary. Speaker: Mitchel > McLaughlin > > DAMHSA FAILTE ABHAILE/WELCOME-HOME FUNCTION: For ex-POW Michael > Gallagher. 10pm Friday 28 July, Ostan Loch Altan, GORT A CHOIRCE, > County Donegal. Ceol le Spirit of Freedom > > THE James Larkin RFB will be staging a parade to mark the 4th > anniversary of its founding in 1996. The parade will assemble on > 12.30pm SUNDAY 30 JulyTithebarn Street, LIVERPOOL, England, > following a route around the Vauxhall area. All welcome > > VOLUNTEER COMMEMORATION: Annual Volunteer Sean Russell > commemoration. Assemble Saturday 12 August, Five Lamps, North > Strand, DUBLIN. SF speaker and RFB in attendance > > TOM DELEGATION TO BELFAST: Thursday 10 - Monday 14 August. > Delegation Costs: #45 unwaged; #55 Waged; #80 High waged. The > price includes food & accommodation. It does NOT include travel > costs to Belfast. Troops Out Movement PO Box 1032 Birmingham B12 > 8BZ Tel: 0121 643 7542. Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > OGRA SHINN FEIN Baile Atha Cliath is looking for new members. > Anybody wishing to join or seeking further information is asked > to contact Brian O'Neill at 44 Parnell Square, Dublin 1, Tel: > 8726100 > > A REPUBLICAN drum and flute band is being formed in Kerry and we > are looking for members, particularly young people. Interested? > Contact Gerry @ 087-6423775 or Tralee Sinn Fein @ 066-7129545 > > > > > > c. RM Distribution and others. Articles may be reprinted with credit. > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > RM Distribution > Irish Republican News and Information > http://irlnet.com/rmlist/ > > PO Box 160, Galway, Ireland Phone/Fax: (353)1-6335113 > PO Box 8630, Austin TX 78713, USA mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > > RMD1000715225935p4 >
