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Interview With Dr. Carlo Bellieni ROME, OCT. 4, 2005 (Zenit.org).- During its gestation the fetus is "already a member of the family and company for the mother even before being born," says neonatologist Carlo Bellieni. Dr. Bellieni of the Department of Neonatal Intensive Therapy of the University Polyclinic Santa Maria Le Scotte of Siena talked with ZENIT about his research on life-before-birth for his latest book "L'Alba dell'Io" (Dawn of the I), published by Società Editrice Fiorentina. Q: Until the 1980s it was thought that the maternal uterus was a sort of strongbox for the fetus. What has changed since...

What if, some years from now, a latter-day Andres Serrano turns up at the Drawing Center's new home at Ground Zero, with an American flag submerged in a tub of urine — calling it, say, "Piss Flag"? Or with an image of the Twin Towers covered in cow manure? Could such outrageous "art" be banned from the site? If that sounds ridiculous, just think back a few years — to Serrano's "Piss Christ." Or to the Brooklyn Museum's 1999 exhibit, "Sensation" — featuring the Virgin Mary covered in elephant dung. Gov. Pataki — despite his assurances to the contrary Friday,...

  Notes & Comments May 2004    A victory for memory It is said that the first casualty of war is truth. In fact, we believe, memory—that indispensable advocate for historical truth—is the first to go. In war’s cataract, momentary crises gobble up our attention absolutely. Last week’s bombing, yesterday’s atrocity, this morning’s defection make it difficult to keep events in perspective. Add a media that is programmatically hostile to the prosecution of war—as the “mainstream media” is to the war in Iraq—and who can remember how we got where we are? When it comes to Iraq—when it comes...

Channel 2 television broadcast footage tonight of how Israel appeared from outer space, as the country's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, and his six colleagues saw it on the 11th day of their orbit. In the minute-long segment of film, beamed by computer back to NASA, Astronaut David Brown described the view as he pointed the camera and zoomed in on Israel and the Sinai Peninsula. "This is the country where our famous astronaut Ilan Ramon comes from." Then Brown, said pointing the camera at a small patch of blue,"here you can see the Dead Sea." Then he focused on a...