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Subject: International Support for Udall Hello everyone, I would like to add my ten pence worth to the Udall Bill debate, and if my less-than-perfect grasp of the US political system shows, I hope you won't be too hard on me! The key aspect of the American democratic system (and many other democracies) which made the recent campaign possible is the lobbying system, which in essence allows a small group of people to produce a large effect by "making a nuisance of themselves." We know that if we simply relied on our votes in the elections we would fail because we are a minority group, like so many others. The problem which really stopped the wagon when it seemed to be rolling so well was that the whole system can grind to a halt if certain key people are not pursuaded. In this case the names Billirakis and Bliley (sorry about the spelling) spring to mind. If I have understood the reports from the frontline, direct lobbying of these hard cases is simply a waste of time. But there is another way: The simple fact exists that when and if a cure for PD is found, (and assuming that is found by the USA, that cure would be available (No doubt for a price) on a world-wide basis. Properly handled, the goodwill generated by this result could be enormous. Now we are on a totally different playing field - International Politics. I don't know how much the USA gives to foreign countries to (to put it bluntly) promote friendly relationships, but I would bet that it makes the Udall bill 100 million us dollars look like small change. And I am talking about the sort of goodwill that you can't buy with money.. So maybe we overseas members of the list (I don't want to use the word foreigners) should be lobbying the Foreign Secretary or someone similar. If we were soccessful, I suspect that money would not be a problem, when compared to the Internationl budget. Am I talking rubbish ?? Don't spare my feelings - this subject is too important for that. Regards, Brian Collins