Baby by Design

Singularity Hub - A blog about Longevity, Nanotech, Robotics, Genetics, AI, The Brain..:

"The Fertility Institutes recently stunned the fertility community by being the first company to boldly offer couples the opportunity to screen their embryos not only for diseases and gender, but also for completely benign characteristics such as eye color, hair color, and complexion. The Fertility Institutes proudly claims this is just the tip of the iceberg, and plans to offer almost any conceivable customization as science makes them available. Even as couples from across the globe are flocking in droves to pay the company their life’s savings for a custom baby, opponents are vilifying the company for shattering moral and ethical boundaries. Like it or not, the era of designer babies is officially here and there is no going back."

Researchers store data in bacteria DNA

Researchers store data in bacteria DNA - Innovation- msnbc.com:

"FUJISAWA, Japan - These days, data get stored on disks, computer chips, hard drives and good old-fashioned paper. Scientists in Japan see something far smaller and more durable — bacteria. The four characters that represent the genetic coding in DNA work much like digital data. Character combinations can stand for specific letters and symbols — so codes in genomes can be translated, or read, to produce music, text, video and other content. While ink may fade and computers may crash, bacterial information lasts as long as a species stays alive — possibly a mind-boggling million years — according to Professor Masaru Tomita, who heads the team of researchers at Keio University."

Crop Scientists Say Biotechnology Seed Companies Are Thwarting Research - NYTimes.com

Crop Scientists Say Biotechnology Seed Companies Are Thwarting Research - NYTimes.com:

"Biotechnology companies are keeping university scientists from fully researching the effectiveness and environmental impact of the industry’s genetically modified crops, according to an unusual complaint issued by a group of those scientists. Insect-resistant corn varieties are bred to repel rootworms. Enlarge This Image Craig Lassig for The New York Times Ken Ostlie, an entomologist, said Syngenta had withdrawn its permission and a study about corn and rootworms had to stop. ‘No truly independent research can be legally conducted on many critical questions,’ the scientists wrote in a statement submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency. The E.P.A. is seeking public comments for scientific meetings it will hold next week on biotech crops. The statement will probably give support to critics of biotech crops, like environmental groups, who have long complained that the crops have not been studied thoroughly enough and could have unintended health and environmental consequences."

The Final Hour: 65 Trillion - U.S. Financial Obligations Exceed The Entire World's GDP

The Final Hour: 65 Trillion - U.S. Financial Obligations Exceed The Entire World's GDP:

"The total liabilities of the United States government, including future social security and medicare payments that the U.S. government is already committed to pay out, now exceed 65 TRILLION dollars, which is more than the entire GDP of the whole world. According to the 2008 Financial Report of the United States Government, which is an official United States government report, the U.S. actually had a budget deficit of 5.1 trillion dollars in 2008. So why did the Congressional Budget Office report that the federal budget deficit was only 455 billion dollars (which is certainly a total disaster) in 2008?"

Texas Border Patrol - Rising Violence In Mexico

YouTube - Texas Border Patrol - Rising Violence In Mexico:

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There is a war going on down south that you probably don't know about.

How to stitch a wound when away from civilization

How to stitch a wound when away from civilization - by Matthew Soo - Helium:

"If you have ever been out somewhere and received a nice cut it is not fun. It is really not fun when you are out in the middle of no where, like on a fishing trip or out camping. Have no fear though here is a quick 4 step guide to helping you stitch that wound right up."

HCR 0006

A Must Read.

HCR 0006:

"That the Constitution of the United States, having delegated to Congress a power to punish treason, counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States, piracies, and felonies committed on the high seas, and offences against the law of nations, slavery, and no other crimes whatsoever; and it being true as a general principle, and one of the amendments to the Constitution having also declared, that ‘the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people,’ therefore all acts of Congress which assume to create, define, or punish crimes, other than those so enumerated in the Constitution are altogether void, and of no force"

Report: 'Dirty bomb' parts found in slain man's home

Report: 'Dirty bomb' parts found in slain man's home - Bangor Daily News:

"BELFAST, Maine — James G. Cummings, who police say was shot to death by his wife two months ago, allegedly had a cache of radioactive materials in his home suitable for building a ‘dirty bomb.’ "

7 charged as evidence sought on Phelps

7 charged as evidence sought on Phelps - Local / Metro - The State:

"‘The sheriff’s department is deploying resources they are normally reserving for major drug dealers and major criminals,’ said McCulloch, also a former prosecutor."

Govt called to cancel rules listing herbs as hazardous - Nationmultimedia.com

Govt called to cancel rules listing herbs as hazardous - Nationmultimedia.com:

" A group of organic farmers and alternative agricultural activists have called on the government to cancel regulations listing 13 herbal plants as hazardous substances, saying they would destroy local initiative in using the plants as alternative pesticides in place of chemicals. The group also asked the government to withdraw this legislation - an Industry Ministerial regulation and a Draft of Agricultural Ministerial regulation - within 30 days. If there was no response from the government they would gather at Government House to submit their petition and pressure Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, said the group's leader, Thai Health Foundation's director, Veerapong Kriangsinyot. The Industry Ministry - aiming to control pesticide production and commercialisation - announced its new regulation on February 3, listing the 13 plants as 'hazardous substances type 1' under the 1992 Hazardous Substances Act. The plants are: neem, citronella grass, tumeric, ginger, Chinese ginger, African marigold, Siam weed or bitter bush, tea seed cake, chilli, Chinese celery, ringworn bush, glory lily and stemona. They are widely used among farmers as alternatives for expensive and toxic farm chemicals, pesticides and herbicides."

Robbie Gennet: On Role Models and their Bongs

Robbie Gennet: On Role Models and their Bongs:

"'Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica.' - Abraham Lincoln (from a letter written by Lincoln during his presidency to the head of the Hohner Harmonica Company in Germany)"

Pa. judges accused of jailing kids for cash - Crime & courts- msnbc.com

Pa. judges accused of jailing kids for cash - Crime & courts- msnbc.com:

"WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - For years, the juvenile court system in Wilkes-Barre operated like a conveyor belt: Youngsters were brought before judges without a lawyer, given hearings that lasted only a minute or two, and then sent off to juvenile prison for months for minor offenses. The explanation, prosecutors say, was corruption on the bench. In one of the most shocking cases of courtroom graft on record, two Pennsylvania judges have been charged with taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send teenagers to two privately run youth detention centers. "

The Associated Press: NY school officially renamed for President Obama

The Associated Press: NY school officially renamed for President Obama:

"HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) — Students got their wish Wednesday as their school was officially renamed Barack Obama Elementary School. School officials believe it's the first in the nation to be renamed for the 44th president, and they said the idea to change the name of Ludlum Elementary School came from the children themselves. The students wrote essays and held mock debates during the campaign, and paid close attention when Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain met in their final presidential debate at Hofstra University, about a mile from their school on Long Island. 'It really sends a message to children that when they get involved they can make a difference,' said acting school Superintendent Joseph Laria."

Obama administration to clash with corporations over UFO files

Honolulu Exopolitics Examiner: Obama administration to clash with corporations over UFO files:

"President Obama’s January 21 Memoranda to promote Open Government and strengthen the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) are intended to release unnecessarily classified national security files. Among the many millions of classified files to ultimately be released, some will concern UFOs and extraterrestrial life. From these releases, UFO enthusiasts and exopolitical researchers hope to find clues into how government policy has been developed. More importantly, FOIA releases will point to where the bulk of the nation’s UFO files are located. That’s when the Obama administration will run up against corporate control of UFO files and policy."

Honolulu Exopolitics Examiner: Obama’s Chief Technology Officer and the X-Files

Honolulu Exopolitics Examiner: Obama’s Chief Technology Officer and the X-Files:

Ben Rich, former Head of Lockheed Skunk Works explained the situation best: "We already have the means to travel among the stars, but these technologies are locked up in black projects and it would take an act of God to ever get them out to benefit humanity... anything you can imagine we already know how to do."

What’s My Pass? » The Top 500 Worst Passwords of All Time

What’s My Pass? » The Top 500 Worst Passwords of All Time:

"From the moment people started using passwords, it didn’t take long to realize how many people picked the very same passwords over and over. Even the way people misspell words is consistent. In fact, people are so predictable that most hackers make use of lists of common passwords just like these. To give you some insight into how predictable humans are, the following is a list of the 500 most common passwords. If you see your password on this list, please change it immediately. Keep in mind that every password listed here has been used by at least hundreds if not thousands of other people."

GM, Chrysler suing taxpayers with taxpayer money

GM, Chrysler suing taxpayers with taxpayer money - Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money:

"Earlier this week, Obama instructed the EPA to reconsider the case of California’s existing proposal to raise fuel-efficiency standards. The automakers have been fighting California and other states in court for several years. Last week, they pledged to continue that fight - despite the president's instructions and, to a larger extent, his consistent and unequivocal insistence on a ‘green’ auto industry. Except, as it stands now, the automakers are basically using their bailout money -- from taxpayers -- to turn around and sue…the taxpayers themselves. "

Suits Saying Pfizer Experimented on Nigerian Children Are Revived

Suits Saying Pfizer Experimented on Nigerian Children Are Revived - washingtonpost.com:

"A federal appeals court on Friday revived two lawsuits brought against Pfizer by Nigerian families who say the giant drugmaker used their children in an illegal test of an experimental antibiotic. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York ruled that the suits, dismissed earlier by a lower-court judge who said they should have been brought in Nigeria, can now go forward in the U.S. courts. Lawyers said the ruling could set a precedent affecting other American companies accused of wrongdoing overseas. "