Letter to the Leader of Tower Hamlets Council
On Friday one scientist signed Declan’s petition to the UN on research cloning of embryos and stem cells despite me having emailed 242 scientists. And in keeping with the norm, I received an exceedingly low number of out-of-office autoreplies – six; for example, 57 emails to Newcastle Biomedicine Newcastle University yielded only one autoreply. Still, on Wednesday I received two autoreplies out of a total of 271 emails (see previous blog) so presumably this time a larger number of my emails were delivered to inboxes, and not spam boxes (or cyberspace, see blog of 4 September “Obama: Yes to stem cells, funding”). And yesterday afternoon Declan had to email the Leader of Tower Hamlets Council regarding Idea Store Whitechapel, the borough's flagship library, learning and information service, and our on-going difficulties with computer bookings and internet access (the email is presented below).
Since 7 September we have been sleeping tucked away, about twenty paces from the side entrance of a building, down some twelve steps. The company that owns the building works with charities, according to their website, but that didn’t stop a cleaner spraying us with a hose at 4.50am this morning as we were packing to leave. I mentioned in the blog of 7 October “Letter to the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Big Issue” that the loss of our Big Issue pitches from 10 November - The Big Issue is a magazine sold by homeless people throughout the UK on registered street pitches - speaks ominously of the weeks to come; well, it would appear things have only started.
According to a Detroit News editorial, Michigan voters should vote yes on Proposal 2 - amending the state constitution to lift the ban on embryonic stem cell research - on a November ballot because it would overturn “one of the most backward laws on human embryonic stem cell research in the nation”. Currently, it is against the law to destroy a human embryo in Michigan. In effect, this also bans embryonic stem cell research, since the research process entails embryo destruction.
Proposal 2 is a constitutional amendment that allows embryonic stem cell research under certain conditions. These conditions, said the News, include that the embryos subject to research were created for the purpose of fertility treatment, the person seeking the treatment voluntarily opted to donate the embryos for research and that they would be discarded anyway if they were not going to be used for research. The amendment forbids the sale of embryos for stem cell research and keeps in place Michigan's ban on the cloning of a human embryo for both reproductive and research purposes.
The embryonic stem cell research ban, said the News, damages the ability of the University of Michigan, one of the leading stem cell research centers, to conduct cutting-edge embryonic stem cell research and recruit leading researchers to the center. Sean Morrison, head of the University of Michigan's Center for Stem Cell Biology, comments that “under current law it is legal in Michigan's fertility clinics to discard human embryos, but not to use them for medical research to try and help patients” (Detroit News, 2/10).
Right now Michigan is one of only five states to ban the use of discarded embryos for medical research (the others: South Dakota, North Dakota, Louisiana and Arkansas), but not everyone wants to see things change. Opposing the ballot question is Michigan Citizens Against Unrestricted Science and Experimentation, which had raised nearly $595,000 by mid-September, said The Ann Arbor News. It is principally supported by the Michigan Catholic Conference, which contributed $500,000, and Right to Life Michigan, which contributed $76,709. Endorsements include other pro-life and religious organisations, such as Democrats for Life of Michigan and the Family Research Council (Gershman, The Ann Arbor News, 6/10).
According to a new report by the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan (CRCM), opponents of embryonic stem cell research argue that life begins at the moment of conception or fertilisation, making research on ‘living’ embryos unethical. Abortion is often tied to embryonic stem cell research even though there is no direct link between the two. CRCM: “Embryonic stem cells are derived from pre-implantation embryos, not from aborted embryos or fetuses.”
Proposal 2 will feature prominently in our campaign in support of embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning under the section “Science and the Law” – as it does in the blogs of 4 September “Obama: Yes to stem cells, funding” and of 10 July “Smithies explains his support for embryonic stem cell research”. Yet another application of embryonic stem cell research will also feature prominently in the campaign: scientists at Edinburgh University (from which we have several signatories) revealed on Wednesday that they have found a way to overcome “a major hurdle in creating pancreas and liver cells from human embryonic stem cells in the laboratory”, said The Scotsman. Additionally, the Los Angeles Times examines issues surrounding leftover embryos, which I would like to turn into a blog. Of course, that assumes I can get computer time!
This is Declan's email yesterday afternoon to the Leader of Tower Hamlets Council, Councillor Lutfur Rahman (at cllr.lutfur.rahman@towerhamlets.gov.uk), who is also the Leader of the Labour Group:
Subject: Idea Store Whitechapel
Dear Cllr Rahman
I refer further to the attached copy of my most recent correspondence with Mr Ian McNicol, Head of Idea Stores, to whom the former Leader of Tower Hamlets Council, Cllr Denise Jones, referred my original complaint of 21 January regarding Idea Store Whitechapel and the repeated loss of computer bookings and internet access on both my wife's card (card no. D000350314) and my card (card no. D000355837) since 14 November 2007.
In the absence of a response from Mr McNichol with respect to the aforementioned complaint, I wish to further confirm that this afternoon at approximately 2.15pm the computer I had booked from 2.00pm to 5.00pm cut out and, after it automatically came back in another card holder's name, I was told by a member of staff to give the computer up as there was no record of a booking in my name from 2.00pm to 3.00pm. (Computers cannot be accessed without a member's name appearing on the monitor at log-in time. Further, I am emailing this during my second one-hour booking on the same computer from 3.00pm to 4.00pm.)
I reconfirm that since my complaint of 21 January to Cllr Jones, my wife and I have not only experienced repeated loss of computer bookings and internet access, but several other problems to boot. For example:
(i) 1 February: the Principal Idea Store Manager, Mr Sergio Dogliani, wrote to me advising that the restriction by Idea Store Whitechapel of my wife and I to a 3-hour maximum free computer use per day as from 29 January stands, despite that for several previous months we were given "additional time" subject to computer availability and in accordance with the Council's then and current "Idea Stores PC Usage Policy";
(ii) 24 June: at approximately 12.30pm, a member of staff threatened my wife with "security" if she did not give her computer up to another card holder, despite that thirty minutes earlier a member of staff had confirmed in writing that my wife had booked the computer from 11.30am to 2.30pm;
(iii) 3 August: both of the computers my wife and I had booked the previous day contained an identical virus which spread to the two USB drives were are using, rendering my wife's portable programs inoperable and corrupting some of my most valuable data;
(iv) 6 August: at approximately 2.45pm, MIMEsweeper, the filter software used by the Idea Store network, blocked access to my Google Mail account due to "Porn Detected". At 3.10pm I was again able to access the account, after which I was informed by the IT technician that "it may happen again for any length of time".
As I explained in my email letters to you of 4 and 6 August, since 22 October 2007 my wife and I have been using as much of our computer time in Idea Store Whitechapel as possible to contact scientists and academics to invite them to sign my petition to the United Nations on therapeutic cloning and the use of stem cells for research and for the treatment of disease. To date, this petition has been signed by 559 scientists and academics, who include recognised authorities from the world's leading universities and research institutes, as well as 24 Nobel Laureates.
I acknowledge receipt of an email of 7 August 2008 from your Personal Assistant, Ms Rachel Bielby, stating: "Cllr Rahman is now on leave until the end of August. I have asked the office of the Director of Communities, Localities and Culture's office to deal with your correspondence." I can confirm that I have not heard from this office, nor indeed from Tower Hamlets Council.
Please would you acknowledge receipt.
Yours sincerely
Declan Heavey
cc Mr Zoinul Abidin, Manager of Idea Store Whitechapel (by email)
