Solving Hunger: Synthetic Biology Points the Way, or Does It???

I just put down a small insert article from the January 12, 2013 edition of Science News. The writer asserts that Solving Hunger by increasing the efficiency of photosynthesis would produce much more “food” from the same plants and same space. And this would in turn relieve the world hunger problem. Really?

No, I don’t think so. Decades of research has shown that increased food production in places where starvation and poor nutrition is a way of life increases the population in proportion to the food produced. In other words: more food = more people. In these times of drought and weather crisis after weather crisis what the world does not need are more people. Let them starve? No, not a good idea either.

My solution is simple: Engineer into the new food supply a birth control mechanism that either reduces fertility in men and/or women or reduces libido in men. No fertility, no babies. No libido, no sex, no babies. Hell, if science can genetically engineer plants to do all they can now, it should be no real challenge to add a dose of something that would potentially save the world from additional overpopulation and self-destruction.

Oh. I forgot. Too Late.

Image: http://openwetware.org/images/thumb/7/74/RSSE2007_ImperialCollege_SyntheticBiology_Prism.jpg/350px-RSSE2007_ImperialCollege_SyntheticBiology_Prism.jpg

Genocide, Again.

 

The United Nations estimates that 60,000 men, women and children have been killed in Syria in the last 22 months. This civil war shows no sign of abating.

Remember when the world said “Never Again” after the Holocaust? And after the Cambodian genocide? And after the Bosnian genocide? And after the Rwanda genocide? And after Kaddafi threatened to exterminate his own people? And after Saddam Hussein gassed thousands of his own people in Kurdistan?

Yeah, I do to. “Never again” my ass. The Syrian government is systematically murdering their own citizens with the entire might of its military. Helicopter gunships; jet planes bombing and strafing; artillery shot into civilian enclaves; tanks rolling over everything in their path. The only thing missing is poison gas. And Syria has tons, yes tons, of the stuff. They have Saran, Mustard, Cyanide and probably a few others. They are reputedly holding stocks of biological agents. And they have shown a chilling willingness to murder their own people.

The rest of the world arms the rebels with guns and a few other tools. Not enough to take on a powerful army and air force. What is needed now, was needed a year ago and will be needed in the future is a total “no fly zone”. That would instantly take a major contributor to the genocide out of the equation. And it would be low cost. But the lack-guts spineless politicians of the free world would rather piss and moan about how bad it is in Syria than take a real stand and following through. Let me be the first to say “Once the genocide is over in Syria, NEVER AGAIN”. If you believe that, you really have your head somewhere the sun doesn’t shine.

(Note: In looking for an image for this article I googled “genocide”. The images are appalling. These along are reason enough to doubt the existence of “God” or any real goodness in mankind. If you don’t believe me, do it and look for your self.”

Image: http://c481901.r1.cf2.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/stop_genocide.jpg

A legend is born in the Forest of Dean

A legend is born in the Forest of Dean on the mystical Welsh border. This is the land of Merlin, and the Forest of Dean claims one of Arthur's caves. On a cold and rainy day we left the cozy breakfast room at the Saracens Head Inn (1)  and took a walk along the flooding Wye river. About two and a half miles to the Arthur's cave and a quarter mile short we turned back. Wrong shoes for climbing and no hiking poles. The ground was wet, muddy and slippery.

On the way back along an old railroad bed I noticed a very large brindle hound walking beside and just behind me. I do mean large. Probably the size of a ridgeback. Muscular with a large square head. The dog was walking between us and the woods. Quiet. Keeping pace. He or she was in my peripheral vision, and when I turned to look directly the dog just was gone. It was clearly there one moment and gone the next, so what is the explanation ? Spirit hound comes to mind. This is an ancient forest where magic still can be felt from time to time, and where the shades of Knights and peasants still roam. This is an old and sacred place and not surprising has many spirits in residence.
I think the hound was a kind of shy gardian, patrolling the paths and keeping naive and unwary strangers from harm.
I could find no tales of a large brindle hound patrolling the paths of the Forest of Dean. There is one now.
1. http://saracensheadinn.co.uk/
Image: http://imgur.com/Ekl7x.jpg

"Woody, I need your opinion."

Full time presence. We need more.

“Woody, I need your opinion. A former TU student posted that they would put a gun in their classroom (hidden) in case of a situation like the Conn. school. I told her, if I had a child in her class, I would have them moved. She felt that my response was uncalled for, due to my education level. Do you have an opinion? Thanks.”

 

A former colleague sent this to me yesterday and I have been thinking about it ever since. What helps is that in the last 24 hours a few analyses of mass shootings have been done, and the results show that there is no increase in them over many past years. It seems that way, I guess, because so many have happened in the last several weeks.
Shooters always seem to pick easy targets that they know will be “soft” (no weapons to shoot back). They don’t rush police stations or banks. Schools, malls, theaters all top the list of targets. Even in “carry concealed” states, most have restrictions on where guns can be carried, and schools are off limits. Shooters are cowards. They are mentally sick. They fit a post-event set of common characteristics but defy the ability of society to profile them in advance and secure the public from them. The latest shooter was reported to be a “Goth”. So are thousands of young people who don’t even dream of killing kids in a school.
How to protect ourselves is the question. I think the answer is probably just be vigilant, have a plan and hope for the best. As for gun carrying, maybe it works and maybe it doesn’t. We will never know how many potential shooters thought about the possible guns on the street and decided they were not ready to die yet. But the ones that go through with the attacks seem mostly ready to die, and often kill themselves. Guns in the hands of civilians probably would not deter them. So what about teachers with guns? What about hiding guns in classrooms and theaters and malls so that shooters can be stopped? I don’t think it would make much difference in choice of targets. Shooters are not the rational folks the rest of us are. I think a better solution for schools and other public places would be to have enhanced security arrangements, highly visible, and a plan for everyone to follow in the event of an attack. For schools, maybe more secure entrances. Not prison grade, but something a bit more than a glass door or no fence around the perimeter. A few roving security guards who are child-friendly but vigilant. Strong doors for rooms that lock at the push of a button in the office. Make “lock-down” a really operative process.
I don’t know about arming the teachers. I have a former student, now a teacher who is a retired military man and former police man. He knows how to shoot and when to stand down. Most of the teachers I have taught probably do not.
I think the teacher mentioned above is wrong about my colleague. Her educational level is really irrelevant to the issue. Her choice as a parent is relevant. Her decision to move a child from one class to another for any reason should be hers alone. And BTW TU teacher, no response that is rational is uncalled for. No opinion should be overlooked. As a teacher you should know that.
Image: http://static.news-gazette.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/lightbox_800_600_scale/images/2011/05/19/20110519-204413-pic-837823817.jpg

Something about God I don't get.

Happy murdered children reach for Jesus

I don’t mean to get into some kind of a pissing contest with my Christian friends, but there is something about the religion or the perception of some of the religion that I just don’t understand. There have been several Christian statements on Facebook since the tragic killing of children and adults in Connecticut, some of which just ask for prayer and others get more pointed. One asserted through a graphic of Jesus holding out his hand to happy children who were killed, but now are with him. Another asserted that the Devil walks the earth and this was his work (or something close to that). Yet another simple asserted that although this was a tragedy it was God’s will.

Let’s take these one at a time.

 Prayer. No problem there except in many Christian sects God is portrayed as having started free will and won’t interfere with human affairs. So what good is done by a prayer to a God who doesn’t listen? In other sects God is seen as directly intervening in human affairs, thus prayer should help. Those Christians can pray and hope that God is listening (he is by definition) and cares enough about the specifics to do something. Many times prayers go unanswered.
Jesus wants children with him and they will be happy for ever. If that is true, why not take them all? Why wait until some madman murders them? Will they be happy if they never grow up? Who wants to spend eternity as a 6 year old? Are their parents suffering for some arcane reason (karma coming down?)? Doesn’t make any sense to me.
The Devil walks the Earth. If the Devil is a fallen angel then he should be subject to God’s will like all the rest of us. So why does God let him roam the earth doing evil things to innocents? Just so Jesus can have them to play with? Why doesn’t God just take him out?
Just God’s will. Ok, I know the assertion that we can never know the mind of God, so we can never know why he would do something completely mean and cruel. I thought God loved us so much that he can’t stand to see us suffer. Really? Cancer? War? Rape? Murder of children? This is love? I don’t get it. Really, I don’t get it. And if all those children, and the thousands of other children killed each year in wars and by diseases and by starvation and by murder are killed because it is God’s will, who wants a God like that?
Which brings me to this point: I certainly don’t want one like that.

Image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQuJLXiH-dUEnEfiCQ9qRE0_TDwhCN8o4O6tcu0554rrUd6CtFEB79-jbhL2jSrOcLZwNCvnXG4wWuFa7yF5vkMXr6rPZrsMdWf_G7Wn7Da_EuYhzju8AULmMfgB7aAwhw2x0Vj8Vrfo/s1600/children+reaching+for+Jesus.jpg

Not a Ball or Ovary in Sight.

 
Fiscal cliff? What a crock! Pure showmanship at work when the SOBs should be at work getting the mess in the country straightened out. Of course we have a massive problem, brought on by decades of neglect of responsible governing. Of course we have huge debts and not enough income. Nobody denies that. But we also have gutless politicians (and have had for decades) always willing to “kick the ball down the road” and instead go for the pork. For themselves of course.
Well boys (and girls) it is time to cut the crap and get it right. Cut spending and raise income. What does it take to get this simple point over? Look at your own situation: you get in debt, either on purpose or accidental and what do you have to do? Cut spending and/or increase income. The “and/or” here is important. If you cannot cut enough spending then you MUST increase income. Get a part-time job. Get a better job. Something to raise income.
So the government should cut spending but cannot cut enough spending to cover the nut. Income must be raised. How? Now that is the question. Close loop holes; raise taxes; increase tariffs; stimulate the economy to increase production/sales/jobs.
I don’t know what they should do, but my gut tells me all of the above and more will be needed before this mess is over. My gut also tells me that the mess will never really be over. My gut also tells me that the rich will make out like the bandits they are and the rest of us will get screwed somehow.
 My gut also tells me that the gutless bastards in Congress don’t have the balls or ovaries to really do it right. Very, very sad.

What is 2014 for???

An old friend reminded me that I haven't posted for a while. No worries. Just got a bit burned out from the election furor. Like everyone else, I thought that the election was over, and my guy as it turned out, won. By a pretty good margin. He ran on a few simple to understand ideas, one of which was to increase the tax rate on the richest Americans. That resonated with many Americans from both parties. In fact polls show that something like 65% of Americans think taxing the richest people at the Clinton era rate is a good idea. Remember the Clinton era? Higher taxes and growth, prosperity and a balanced budget?
So how come the Republicans in the House and Senate act like Romney won? How come they say things like "We are here to do the People's business" and then ignore the people? Even Fox news agrees that more revenue is needed to get back to fiscal safety. And cuts too. And even Fox news agrees that closing "loop holes" won't generate enough money to do the job.
I actually thought the election was over, but it is obviously not over. What remains is to kick out the remaining conservatives who insist on blocking the real will of the people. That is what 2014 is for.

Image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwK5T7Uo8rSNJMXeoQmsBuxBwmYOXcCJ79tZO4YSNqPj5UKcWqITW3md5AFgIFhVeMTXy_3YDFj6jkYbL4T4LhhcTTGeRMuPYKpt3vS6S1B_P4QPs_-N9SWOrnGnanAT0n_fkVFhtauQ/s1600/GOP+Cockroach.JPG

Unprecedented Storm. Surprise?

We can all take a lesson from these guys.

No, not really. The world can expect storms, more powerful storms and more of them as a direct result of climate change. The Northeast got hammered. They had some notice from the National Weather Service but no one could be prepared for this magnitude of disaster in a short time. So we come to the aftermath. There were 8.5 million people without power, now 1.7 million. The mass transit of several states was off or nearly off. Now many are running, albeit with reduced schedules. Houses in coastal areas are gone, damaged beyond repair or somewhere in between. It is a terrible mess, but getting better.

Brings me to the response. A grand combination of public and private organizations has mostly cooperated to maximize help and minimize delay. FEMA was on the ground early and began doing what they do as soon as they could. What they don’t do is restore power or water or sewer or transportation. They provide disaster relief and coordinate disaster relief with private agencies. The Red Cross, Salvation Army (a religious organization that is for disaster relief and against gay marriage), many social organizations, churches, corporations and individual people have all jumped in to help. Relief after a disaster of unprecedented damage should be a National, State, City and Town, Corporation, Religious and Social group activity. So what pisses me off is for someone to take on one of the groups and claim things are going badly because of them. Case in point: FEMA gets blamed for the slow restoration of power when in fact the restoration has been amazingly fast and restoration is being done by private contractors and municipal units. Not the purview of FEMA to fix power lines. Or the City of New York Mayor being blamed for the time it takes to get water out of the subway. There are only so many pumps.

Blame? Oh Yeah. Blame the politicians for being asleep when 30 years ago they were warned that seas would rise and eventually be swept ashore. They were told that storms would get worse and that a more robust defense should be mounted, like sea walls, and a more robust response plan should have been funded. They didn’t and now the Northeast is in the crapper. Let’s pull together and thank all the participants and put the blame squarely where it belongs: Lazy, partisan, uneducated and shallow politicians. Not the ones in office now, the ones who kicked the can down the block 30 years ago.

Image: http://images.politico.com/global/2012/10/121031_obama_christie_ap_605.jpg

Human-Neanderthal Mating.

Neanderthal family from forensic reconstructions

For starters I resent the separation. I just can’t get around what seems obvious that both “humans” as we are called, though there are a lot of “inhumans” out there, and “Neanderthals” share many traits probably including language ability, art, spirituality and others. I read somewhere somebody saying that if you took a Neanderthal, give him a good shave and haircut and  put him in a suit nobody in New York would notice him. I have personally interacted with several people who seemed to have an unusually heavy concentration or expression of Neanderthal genes.
I have also observed human nature both up close and at a distance, and will assert that under a variety of circumstances, human males will mate with just about anything with an orifice. To put it bluntly, if a hunter will screw a dead deer do you actually think he wouldn’t screw a hairy woman?(Look at the second image of reconstructed Neanderthal female. She remind you of someone you know?) Human conflict is rife with tales of “rape and pillage” with emphasis on the rape part. So why would anyone with a brain not think that after humans kicked the crap out of a band of Neanderthals they wouldn’t rape the women left alive? Of course they would. And did. End of story. (And vice versa too I imagine) I have taught this “theory” for decades, all the while the experts have waffled back and forth. Anatomical and genetic evidence has been piling up for decades as well and once again the world has caught up with Woody. About time, too.

Just one of many references: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/345517/title/Human-Neandertal_mating_gets_a_new_date

Image: http://www.daynes.com/en/reconstructions/neanderthal.php
Image: And check this one out. http://www.daynes.com/en/reconstructions/neanderthal-4,1.php

Response to a Friend on Discourse and Disrespect

Believing isn't the point. Being able to explain your beliefs in a way that makes sense is the point. All of us can be swayed by argument (in the philosophical sense) that is well reasoned and clearly presented. My pointing out the discrepancies in some religious statements is a way of presenting a chance for believers to articulate their beliefs. For example, you are clearly not a Muslim, but probably have challenged the idea that Islam is a peaceful religion when all you ever see is violence and death coming from Islamic countries.  For you not to challenge Muslim friends to explain/support the contention that theirs is a peaceful religion would be ignoring a festering reality. The same with Christianity. Challenging beliefs is the best way to strengthen them. Discourse is the best way to clarify your own thoughts as well as persuade others of the value of your opinion. So rather than disrespect, which is never intended in a rational discussion, you should see opportunity to educate. The example I cited from the Old Testament is a good one to start some discussion of the way religious thought has changed over the time since the “good books” were first written. No one with a rational brain would think that a wife should be stoned to death at her father’s door for not being a virgin is acceptable. But they did just that in the old days, and in many fundamentalist countries where Mosaic Law is practiced they still do. And they use the Bible to justify it. So if one asserts that the Ten Commandments are truly the word of God, and should be followed without any thought, then how can one deny the word of God as articulated in Deuteronomy? See? Here is where the discourse comes in. And you know that many Christians claim that with the coming of Christ, the rules of the Old Testament were no longer valid. The question is “which rules?” In an earlier posting I said that I agreed with Scott, not because I thought he was right, but because his argument was well reasoned and based on a premise he held deeply. No disrespect at all. And I have none for you. To answer the other two points in your posting, I think you do not know what my religious beliefs are. They are certainly not Christian or any other named religion, but even I don’t call myself an atheist. I have had a personally fulfilling relationship with an entity you call Jesus for many years, yet think the mysteries and rules attributed to him are mostly man-made and wrong minded. So I take exception to the people who use “him” to support an agenda that is clearly not at all what “he” is about. Your other point is also worth a mention: Christians do impose their religious beliefs on everybody, or at least try to. Many of the laws we have in this Nation, while supposedly secular are Bible based. Look at all the fuss about stem cell research and abortion and teaching creationism in schools. Behind every one of these is the Biblical argument about what “God” said and wants. Well, many people don’t believe in God, and thus should not have to follow those teachings. For example, if a woman believes that life begins at conception, she shouldn’t use an IUD for birth control. Nor should she make another woman become pregnant by making IUDs illegal to use. That is imposing a religious belief on someone else. Same with abortion. Same with stem cell research. Same with creationism. You probably don’t agree. So explain how outlawing abortion is a secular thing and not a religious thing. In other words what is the basis for outlawing abortion that is not based on a religious belief? If you can’t think of a good and rational reason, then you are in favor of imposing a religious belief on a non-believer.

Whew. See what happens when I get up early?  


Image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx6qXC26ZzmFviyMhE9lyJ7hn2ExVCDGxoizzIZBLC84cFcsHggkSF80rv675P7H_dPhpVvFhRR9gRsAeQDk1EMAFdcXmWttMmP0BY2xFzW4qjtJyLTk-AnxYq_biTj9ihtsX7SQ5g9unMnZ6Q/s1600/discourse-into-the-night.jpg