First I will start by saying I am VERY naive and not well informed at all about the goings on in other countries, I seldomly watch the news and am not abreast on current affairs at all except what I hear on the radio, and believe me The Wolf doesn’t tell me much!  With that said I will say I was quite bothered with the readings in the Penguin Book this week about “Son Preference”.  In some countries if a girl is detected during a prenatal exam then in most cases the baby is aborted.  Also, a female infanticide is commom is some places with girl infants being killed shortly after a delivery.  Even if these babies live longer than a few days they are terribly neglected, they aren’t fed properly, they don’t receive the attention from their mother or even a physician for that matter.    How can anyone put a “value” on their child any more than another one.  How can this be possible for a mother to do this to their flesh and blood?  I understand that many cultures are not like our own but this is still a human life, where is the bond and love a mother has for their child, girl or boy?  I have to wonder if they do away with all of these baby girls who will be around in 20-30 years to be birthing the next generation of boys for these terrible countries?  Maybe this will put a halt to any growth in population in these horrible countries!  (just my 2 cents on a subject I know very little about!)