In Other News Today.....

[WizardofOz]

Scientists create 'synthetic DNA' capable of evolution

Synthesizing new life forms in the laboratory within reach

Read more

Scientists moved a step closer to synthesizing new life forms in the laboratory after researchers showed that artificial genetic material called XNA can be replicated in the test tube much like real DNA. Researchers at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in the U.K. demonstrated for the first time a way to extract information from the artificial genetic molecules and mass produce copies of them. The finding, published today in the journal Science, shows that DNA and its sister molecule RNA may not be the only chemical structures upon which a living unit can be based. “Life is based on this amazing ability of DNA and RNA to store and propagate information,” said Philipp Holliger, a Medical Research Council molecular biologist and senior author on the study. “We have shown that the basic functions of DNA and RNA can be recapitulated” with new artificial molecules. The scientists invented a lab method for making copies of synthetic DNA. They also developed a way to make XNA fragments that evolve with desired properties. In particular, they created XNA fragments that could bind with great specificity to a molecular target in the HIV virus. The discovery could create a new platform for devising targeted drugs to treat a variety of diseases, researchers said. “This brings us one big step closer to artificial life,” said Gerald Joyce, a biochemist at Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, in a telephone interview. “The heart of what life is, is the replication of genetic information,” he said. Joyce wrote a commentary accompanying the study.

Wow. That is fascinating.

Thoughts on the future impact on this research?

 

[bybee]

Scientists create 'synthetic DNA' capable of evolution

Synthesizing new life forms in the laboratory within reach

Read more

Scientists moved a step closer to synthesizing new life forms in the laboratory after researchers showed that artificial genetic material called XNA can be replicated in the test tube much like real DNA. Researchers at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in the U.K. demonstrated for the first time a way to extract information from the artificial genetic molecules and mass produce copies of them. The finding, published today in the journal Science, shows that DNA and its sister molecule RNA may not be the only chemical structures upon which a living unit can be based. “Life is based on this amazing ability of DNA and RNA to store and propagate information,” said Philipp Holliger, a Medical Research Council molecular biologist and senior author on the study. “We have shown that the basic functions of DNA and RNA can be recapitulated” with new artificial molecules. The scientists invented a lab method for making copies of synthetic DNA. They also developed a way to make XNA fragments that evolve with desired properties. In particular, they created XNA fragments that could bind with great specificity to a molecular target in the HIV virus. The discovery could create a new platform for devising targeted drugs to treat a variety of diseases, researchers said. “This brings us one big step closer to artificial life,” said Gerald Joyce, a biochemist at Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, in a telephone interview. “The heart of what life is, is the replication of genetic information,” he said. Joyce wrote a commentary accompanying the study.

Wow. That is fascinating.

Thoughts on the future impact on this research?

The implications for healing and regeneration are stupendous. Shades of Isaac Asimov"s "Cyborg"!

 

[WizardofOz]

The implications for healing and regeneration are stupendous. Shades of Isaac Asimov"s "Cyborg"!

:thumb: I read the Foundation Trilogy. He was a brilliant scientific mind.

 

[WizardofOz]

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin plans to end medication-induced abortions

Read more:

Citing a new state law that subjects abortion doctors to criminal penalties, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin plans to announce Friday that it is suspending medication-induced abortions. In an exclusive interview, the leaders of Planned Parenthood and the president of the Wisconsin Medical Society told the State Journal that the agency will indefinitely suspend so-called pill abortions beginning Friday when Act 217 takes effect. Planned Parenthood will continue to provide surgical abortions at its clinics in Appleton, Madison and Milwaukee, Planned Parenthood CEO Teri Huyck said. About 25 percent of women who terminate their pregnancies at a Planned Parenthood clinic do so through nonsurgical medication abortions. In 2010, Planned Parenthood provided abortion services to 4,827 women. The new law mandates, among other things, that women undergoing nonsurgical abortions visit the same doctor three times and that doctors ensure through specific steps that the woman is undergoing the procedure voluntarily and without coercion. The state already requires that women provide written consent before having an abortion. The new law requires that if a doctor suspects a woman is being coerced, she must be provided with a telephone and information about domestic-abuse services. Medication abortion involves the ingestion of two drugs within the first nine weeks of pregnancy. The process allows women to undergo abortion privately in their own homes, said Debbie Bonilla, Planned Parenthood's vice president for patient services. Act 217 does not affect emergency contraception, medication that women take within five days of intercourse to prevent, rather than terminate, pregnancy. Proponents of the so-called Coercive and Webcam Abortion Prevention Act say it provides safeguards to ensure that no one is forced to have an abortion. Lawmakers heard stories of women coerced by family members, boyfriends and others into terminating their pregnancies. The law also bans doctors from meeting with women undergoing medication-induced abortions via the Internet, a technique that is in use elsewhere but not Wisconsin. "By ensuring women aborting do so freely and with proper access to a doctor, this bill will undoubtedly save lives," sponsor Sen. Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin, said in a statement released in February after the Senate narrowly passed the bill. The law subjects doctors to Class I felony charges if procedures required under the new law are not followed. Such crimes carry a maximum penalty of a $10,000 fine, 3 1/2 years in prison or both. Huyck called the law "vague" and "problematic." She said the agency will be suspending medication abortions "until we can get more clarity." "It's very difficult for a physician to know when he or she is compliance with the law," Huyck said. Medical Society President Dr. Tosha Wetterneck said the law is an "unprecedented intrusion into the patient-doctor relationship" and requires doctors to follow procedures that are not considered to be the best medical practices. For example, a patient will now be required to return to the same doctor 12 to 18 days after the medications are administered for followup care. If she refuses, or prefers to see her personal physician, the patient would face no penalty but the doctor could be charged, Wetterneck said. The law also bars anyone except the woman and the abortion provider and his or her staff to be in the room when discussing whether the woman voluntarily consents to the procedure. Wetterneck said some patients prefer, or even require, someone else in the room to help them understand the medical information being provided. "We are asking doctors to reduce their quality of care to avoid felony charges," she said.

Will this law save lives? Is it a good idea to bar anyone else but the provider and staff to be in the room? Are women being coerced into getting abortions?

Good law or bad law?

 

[rexlunae]

Planned Parenthood will continue to provide surgical abortions at its clinics in Appleton, Madison and Milwaukee, Planned Parenthood CEO Teri Huyck said. About 25 percent of women who terminate their pregnancies at a Planned Parenthood clinic do so through nonsurgical medication abortions.

So, women can still get abortions, but they will be more expensive and more dangerous. Lovely.

Proponents of the so-called Coercive and Webcam Abortion Prevention Act say it provides safeguards to ensure that no one is forced to have an abortion. Lawmakers heard stories of women coerced by family members, boyfriends and others into terminating their pregnancies.

And these stories justify intruding on the privacy of these women all across the board? Pure stupidity.

"By ensuring women aborting do so freely and with proper access to a doctor, this bill will undoubtedly save lives," sponsor Sen. Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin, said in a statement released in February after the Senate narrowly passed the bill.

Where by "lives", she means fetuses, and she reveals her real goal.

The law subjects doctors to Class I felony charges if procedures required under the new law are not followed. Such crimes carry a maximum penalty of a $10,000 fine, 3 1/2 years in prison or both.

So, we aren't talking about a minor offense here.

Huyck called the law "vague" and "problematic." She said the agency will be suspending medication abortions "until we can get more clarity."

"It's very difficult for a physician to know when he or she is compliance with the law," Huyck said.

Of course, being vague is exactly the point. They don't want it to be possible for doctors to perform abortions with any confidence that they won't be dragged off to jail, so they write laws that are impossible to comply with.

For example, a patient will now be required to return to the same doctor 12 to 18 days after the medications are administered for followup care. If she refuses, or prefers to see her personal physician, the patient would face no penalty but the doctor could be charged, Wetterneck said.

So, in order to comply with the law, a doctor needs to trust that the woman will return for two additional unnecessary visits, with absolutely no incentive to do so. A doctor is literally held criminally responsible for the choices of his or her patients.

The law also bars anyone except the woman and the abortion provider and his or her staff to be in the room when discussing whether the woman voluntarily consents to the procedure.

Wetterneck said some patients prefer, or even require, someone else in the room to help them understand the medical information being provided.

Just more government interference between a woman and her doctor.

Will this law save lives?

No, though it may prevent a few fetuses from being aborted.

Is it a good idea to bar anyone else but the provider and staff to be in the room?

No again. Women can usually figure out how to see a doctor without people they don't want there.

Are women being coerced into getting abortions?

Probably sometimes. But here they're being denied the right to reasonable medical treatment. It's plainly inhumane.

Good law or bad law?

Very bad.

 

[kmoney]

Factory jobs returning to the US

Offshoring manufacturing jobs to China looked like the perfect way to cut costs a decade ago, but now companies that produce everything from computers to car parts are returning to the United States in growing numbers. Labor economists say the country needs to invest in more vocational and technical training programs so millions of jobless factory workers are equipped with the skills to benefit from this trend.
.....
Manufacturing executives cite several factors driving their decision, said BCG senior partner Harold Sirkin. The first is that the cheap Chinese labor that looked so appealing 10 years ago isn't so cheap anymore.
.....

I remember The Berean making that point about Chinese labor costs rising and jobs moving back here as a result.

Some good signs. I hope it continues.

 

[WizardofOz]

Rachel Maddow Demands Dismissal of $50 Million Defamation Lawsuit

Story

According to court papers filed this week in D.C. federal court, the defendants say, "With this lawsuit -- his second -- Dean seeks to move one step closer in his self-described mission to stop the 'radical gay agenda.' The law does not permit him to use the judicial process in this fashion." PHOTOS: Rachel Maddow's Feuds Dean brought a defamation lawsuit in July, arguing that Maddow twisted Dean's words in an effort to undermine Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann. On The Rachel Maddow Show, Dean's comments on his own radio show were clipped to become: "Muslims are calling for the execution for homosexuals in America, this was just released yesterday and it shows you that they themselves are upholding the laws that are even in the Bible, the Judeo Christian God. They seem to be more moral than even the American Christians do. Because these people are livid about enforcing their laws, they know homosexuality is an abomination. And I continually reach out to the homosexual communities on this radio show, and I warn them, which ones love? Here you have Obama condemning it behind the backs of the homosexuals but to their faces he's promoting it. I say this to my gay friends out there the ones that continuously nitpick everything I say. Hollywood is promoting immorality and the God of the Heavens in Jesus names is warning you to flee from the wrath to come, yet you have Muslims calling for your execution. If America won't enforce the laws, God will raise up a foreign enemy to do just that's what you're seeing in America today. Read Leviticus 26 America." Maddow then ran Dean's later disclaimer that he has "never and will never call for the execution of homosexuals," and followed it up with some commentary, but it was enough for a defamation lawsuit -- first filed in state court, then dropped, then filed again in federal court to escape the D.C. Anti-SLAPP Act. For Dean's full quote on his radio show, and a video clip of how Maddow treated it in her show, see our post at the time the first lawsuit was filed. Larry Klayman, the attorney for Bradlee Dean, commented: "Maddow and MSNBC clearly defamed my client. Maddow went way over the line, particularly in her second broadcast by claiming that Dean and Republicans like then-presidential candidate Michele Bachmann are 'bloodthirsty' and want to see more gays and lesbians killed. This was outrageous and harmful and for this, Maddow and MSNBC will be held legally accountable."

More on Bradlee Dean

Promoting gay bashing is one of Dean's favorite past-times. He has stated, in the past, that he supports castration of gays because, he claims, that's what the Founding Fathers wanted. [6] He's also stated on his radio show that gays should be "thrown in jail."[7] He has also stated his opinion that he believes it was homosexuals who were responsible for the holocaust and praised Muslims for executing people for being gay.[8] Dean, himself, has expressed his opinion that he considers executing gay people to be "moral."[9] [edit] The Rachel Maddow Lawsuit In 2011, he filed a lawsuit against liberal pundit Rachel Maddow for defamation for having the gall to report on his gay bashing agenda.[10] It is widely believed that, since numerous other liberal pundits have reported on his hatred of gays and lesbians, his lawsuit was specifically targeted at Maddow because she is an open lesbian. [edit] Minnesota legislature prayer On May 20, 2011, Bradlee Dean was invited by the Minnesota Republican Party to lead the ceremonial prayer at the start of the Minnesota House's legislative session. The day's business had, ironically, been discussion of a proposed amendment to ban gay marriage. However, Dean's prayer (go figure) had turned fiercely partisan and wound up with, amongst other things, wanting only to recognize Christian members of the legislature and him insulting Barack Obama by accusing him of being a Muslim.[11] This led to so much outrage that the Speaker of the House (Kurt Zellers) ordered a complete re-start of the session with a new prayer by the regular House Chaplain. A speech was then given by Democratic Rep. Terry Morrow lambasting the Republicans for allowing the prayer[12] and was followed by an apology by Republican House Speaker Zellers himself.[13]

Is what Maddow said protected free speech? What is Dean even complaining about? Did she mischaracterize his views and wishes?

Maddow V Dean

Maddow or Dean, who is crazier?

 

[Nick M]

John Mark Karr decided since he wasn't a real man, he would go all the way and have surgery to change his appearance. Sick faggot.

He was the one that said he was with JonBenet Ramsey, even though he was home in another state at the time. I was reading updates on the crime, and that little nugget was in there about him...er her.

 

[bybee]

A young soldier who spent time on the front in Iraq reported that with their night vision binoculars they often observed Iraqi soldiers engaged in sex acts with each other and with animals.
The idea that Muslims are against homosexuality is simply a myth to which they play lip service whilst always furthering their agenda of hate against America.

 

[WizardofOz]

Crime or free speech?

Crime or free speech?

Detroit Tigers left fielder Delmon Young apologized to his team and fans Friday, just before getting arraigned on a hate crime harassment charge for a fight at his hotel during which police say he yelled anti-Semitic epithets. Young posted a $5,000 bond at a brief hearing in Manhattan court and was released less than an hour before the Tigers' game against the Yankees. He faces a misdemeanor aggravated harassment charge that entails targeting someone for his or her religious beliefs. If convicted, he could face up to a year in jail. It was not clear whom Young was yelling at, but he got into a tussle with the Chicago group, and a 32-year-old man was tackled and sustained scratches to his elbows, according to police and the criminal complaint. Both Young and the group went inside the hotel, and at some point, police were called, and Young was arrested, police said. Young was first taken to a hospital because he was believed to be intoxicated, police said.

source

Yelling anti-Semitic epithets: crime or free speech?

 

[rexlunae]

A young soldier who spent time on the front in Iraq reported that with their night vision binoculars they often observed Iraqi soldiers engaged in sex acts with each other and with animals.
The idea that Muslims are against homosexuality is simply a myth to which they play lip service whilst always furthering their agenda of hate against America.

That proves next to nothing. Have a look at the map of LGBT rights.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory

Note the striking coincidence of Muslim majorities and criminalization of homosexuality, including in many cases the death penalty.

 

[WizardofOz]

Terry Jones strikes again

US pastor burns Korans to urge Iran clergyman release

A controversial Florida pastor has burned copies of the Koran and a depiction of the prophet Mohammed to protest the imprisonment in Iran of a Christian clergyman Youcef Nadarkhani. The burning, attended by 20 people and streamed live over the Internet, was carried out by pastor Terry Jones' church in Gainesville, Florida on Saturday, The Gainesville Sun said, and video of the burning was uploaded to YouTube by the pastor's supporting group "Stand Up America Now." The Pentagon had urged Jones to reconsider, expressing concern that American soldiers in Afghanistan and elsewhere could be put at greater risk because of the act, according to the newspaper, but Jones insisted to go ahead with the protest in the name of the release of the Christian pastor in Iran. Nadarkhani was arrested in October 2009 and condemned to death under Islamic sharia law for converting to Christianity when he was 19. Now 34, he is a pastor of a small evangelical community called the Church of Iran. Iran's supreme court in July 2011 overturned the death sentence and sent the case back to the court in Nadarkhani's hometown of Rasht, in Gilan province. His retrial took place at the end of September 2011 with no verdict made public. Several Western countries, including the United States, Britain, Germany and France, condemned the death sentence and said they feared it could be carried out soon.

Terry Jones - will his actions help Youcef Nadarkhani in any way? Will his actions put American troops in danger? Should he be allowed to burn the Koran and depictions of Muhammad? Is he an idiot or a "culture warrior"?

 

[WizardofOz]

Arizona bans funding of Planned Parenthood

(CNN) -- Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has signed off on a bill that will prevent abortion providers like Planned Parenthood from receiving public funds in most cases, her office said. "This is a common sense law that tightens existing state regulations and closes loopholes in order to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to fund abortions, whether directly or indirectly," the governor said in a statement. "By signing this measure into law, I stand with the majority of Americans who oppose the use of taxpayer funds for abortion," Brewer said. Kansas, North Carolina and Texas have enacted similar legislation, while Indiana, New Jersey and Wisconsin have used their budget processes to bar funding for abortion providers, according to her office. Before Brewer signed the bill into law, the political arm of Planned Parenthood Arizona slammed the measure, which it says will put the health of thousands at risk.

Should tax dollars be used to fund abortion clinics?

 

[WizardofOz]

Waterboarding didn't help U.S. get bin Laden

Did torture work? This is the question everyone is asking after Osama bin Laden’s death and the revelation that his fate was sealed by the identification of a courier whose nom de guerre emerged from the interrogation of top al Qaeda operatives who were known to have been subjected to waterboarding and similar techniques. In fact, the information about the existence of a courier working for bin Laden was provided by several detainees, not just waterboarded al Qaeda operatives Kalid Sheikh Mohammed and Abu Faraj al-Libi — we had one detainee in Iraq who provided information about a courier in 2006. The key pieces of information, however, were the courier’s real name and location. His family name was first uncovered by CIA assets in Pakistan through other sources. The NSA subsequently figured out his full real name and location from an intercepted phone call. Waterboarding had nothing to do with it. Understanding these cultural nuances is just one critical skill interrogators must have to be effective. The other is an understanding of the social science behind interrogations, which tells us that torture has an extremely negative effect on memory. An interrogator needs timely and accurate intelligence information, not just made-up babble. What torture has proven is exactly what experienced interrogators have said all along: First, when tortured, detainees will give only the minimum amount of information necessary to stop the pain. No interrogator should ever be hoping to extract the least amount of information. Second, under coercion, detainees give misleading information that wastes time and resources — a false nickname, for example. Finally, it’s impossible to know what information the detainee would have disclosed under non-coercive interrogations. But to understand the question “Does torture work?” one must also define “work.” If we include all the long-term negative consequences of torture, that answer becomes very clear. Those consequences include the fact that torture handed al Qaeda its No. 1 recruiting tool, a fact confirmed by the U.S. Department of Defense’s interrogators in Iraq who questioned foreign fighters about why they had come there to fight. (I have first-hand knowledge of this information because I oversaw many of these interrogations and was briefed on the aggregate results.) In addition, future detainees will be unwilling to cooperate from the onset of an interrogation because they view all Americans as torturers. I heard this repeatedly in Iraq, where some detainees accused us of being the same as the guards at Abu Ghraib. The more you think about, the less sense torture makes.

To waterboard or not to waterboard.....

 

[chrysostom]

Walker's recall cash pile looms large

 

[WizardofOz]

Walker's recall cash pile looms large

On Wisconsin!

Can Scott Walker live up to campaign promise of creating 250k new jobs by 2015?

Will "get government out of the way of employers ... who will then help Wisconsin create 250,000 jobs by 2015, and as we create those new jobs, we will be able to add 10,000 new businesses.” The up-and-down pattern of the state's monthly jobs report continued in March 2012. This time, the numbers took a dip, showing Wisconsin lost an estimated 4,300 private sector jobs. Additionally, the state Department of Workforce Development revised up by 2,100 the number of jobs added in February. The new report says that there were 6,100 jobs added in that month. We are using the monthly numbers to measure progress by Gov. Scott Walker on achieving his top campaign promise: The state adding 250,000 private sector jobs by the end of his four-year term. The monthly jobs numbers are preliminary estimates and are compiled by survey data. The new report puts state private-sector employment at 2,329,500, compared with 2,323,600 when Walker took office -- an increase of 5,900 jobs. That leaves the governor with 244,100 jobs left to reach 250,000.

source

 

[WizardofOz]

Israel offered $6 million to Turk raid victims: lawyer

source

A Turkish lawyer said on Thursday that Israel had offered to pay $6 million to victims of Israel's storming of a Gaza-bound Turkish aid flotilla to settle lawsuits against the Israeli military. However, a senior Israeli official who declined to be named said that Israel, having indicated last year that it was prepared to indemnify victims without accepting blame, had not renewed its offer. Turkey and Israel fell out badly in 2010 when Israeli commandos stormed the Mavi Marmara aid ship to enforce a naval blockade of the Palestinian-run Gaza Strip and killed nine Turks in clashes with activists. Ramazan Ariturk, one of several lawyers representing 465 victims and victims' relatives, told Reuters that the Israeli government had made a proposal to him through an intermediary foreign ambassador in Ankara just over one month ago. He said the money would have been paid to a Jewish foundation in Turkey for distribution, and been followed by a statement of "regret" for the raid by the Israeli government. "I told the ambassador I did not think the offer was appropriate or moral and also discussed the issue with the victims and their friends and they also stated that they could not accept this," Ariturk said. The Turkish Foreign Ministry agreed with his decision, saying Israel should have contacted it directly, he said.

Israel prepared to indemnify victims without accepting blame. If Israel was not to blame in any way, why offer $6 million? :idunno:

 

[WizardofOz]

Obama a deficit hawk?

source

"I'm running to pay down our debt in a way that's balanced and responsible. After inheriting a $1 trillion deficit, I signed $2 trillion of spending cuts into law," he told a crowd of donors at the Hyatt Regency. "My opponent won't admit it, but it's starting to appear in places, like real liberal outlets, like the Wall Street Journal: Since I've been president, federal spending has risen at the lowest pace in nearly 60 years. Think about that." Obama was referring to an analysis released this week by Rex Nutting, a reporter for CBS MarketWatch who is also affiliated with the Wall Street Journal. Nutting concluded that Obama has presided over the slowest growth in federal spending in decades. "Government spending under Obama, including his signature stimulus bill, is rising at a 1.4 percent annualized pace - slower than at any time in nearly 60 years," Nutting wrote, citing data from the Congressional Budget Office, Office of Management and Budget and an independent financial firm. "The big surge in federal spending happened in fiscal 2009, before Obama took office. Since then, spending growth has been relatively flat," he wrote. "Over Obama's four budget years, federal spending is on track to rise from $3.52 trillion to $3.58 trillion, an annualized increase of just 0.4 percent. There has been no huge increase in spending under the current president, despite what you hear."

I guess it's a bad sign when Obama is considered a deficit hawk for growing the federal government at a pace last seen 60+ years ago.

Are these numbers good?

 

[WizardofOz]

Man tells police he killed Etan Patz, 6-year-old NYC boy who vanished on way to school in 1979

source

Justice may yet prevail after all this time!

 

[WizardofOz]

Hate speech or free speech?

Hate speech or free speech?