Thursday, December 01, 2005
"The First Law of Holes says "stop digging". It applies, universally, to anyone who's in a hole. And Dr Alan Bollard, Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand certainly is in a hole." This piece from Keith Rankin is a very easily understood analysis of the current (and near future) state of the economy, and as close to essential reading as I have seen recently. He explains clearly the significance of things like the high value of the NZ dollar, and the huge trade balance deficit.
Vatican media have reported on the "horrible and atrocious" conflict that the people of northern Uganda continue to suffer at the hands of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army. In its Sunday edition, L'Osservatore Romano reported on a complaint made Nov. 25 by Dennis McNamara, special U.N. adviser for the displaced in humanitarian crises, on his return from a mission in the African country. In a press conference in Geneva, McNamara confirmed that the atrocities perpetrated by the "olum" -- or "grass," as the LRA rebels are called in the Acholi language -- continue systematically. Such atrocities prolong a situation "which is among the most neglected and serious in the world" and which, in the absence of outside intervention, "could worsen," stated the Vatican's semiofficial newspaper. Among the tragedies are that of the child-soldiers. Since 1986, rebels have forced tens of thousands of boys into combat or slavery. The target of the conflict, led by Joseph Kony and his LRA rebels, is the Kampala government. The price of war in Uganda includes the torture and death of innumerable civilians. The death toll is estimated at more than 120,000.
~ Zenit news service
Why the future doesn't need us. Bill Joy, cofounder and Chief Scientist of Sun Microsystems writes: "Our most powerful 21st-century technologies - robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotech - are threatening to make humans an endangered species. By 2030, we are likely to be able to build machines, in quantity, a million times as powerful as the personal computers of today ... As this enormous computing power is combined with the manipulative advances of the physical sciences and the new, deep understandings in genetics, enormous transformative power is being unleashed. These combinations open up the opportunity to completely redesign the world, for better or worse: The replicating and evolving processes that have been confined to the natural world are about to become realms of human endeavor. In designing software and microprocessors, I have never had the feeling that I was designing an intelligent machine. The software and hardware is so fragile and the capabilities of the machine to "think" so clearly absent that, even as a possibility, this has always seemed very far in the future. But now, with the prospect of human-level computing power in about 30 years, a new idea suggests itself: that I may be working to create tools which will enable the construction of the technology that may replace our species. How do I feel about this? Very uncomfortable. Having struggled my entire career to build reliable software systems, it seems to me more than likely that this future will not work out as well as some people may imagine. My personal experience suggests we tend to overestimate our design abilities. Given the incredible power of these new technologies, shouldn't we be asking how we can best coexist with them? And if our own extinction is a likely, or even possible, outcome of our technological development, shouldn't we proceed with great caution?
A team of French surgeons has broken a new ethical and surgical frontier by carrying out the world's first face transplant on a woman who was savaged by a dog. The 38-year-old patient suffered severe injuries in the attack to her nose, lips and chin. Her damaged face was replaced by a "triangle" of the same features taken from a dead donor.
Adoption law should be liberalised to allow single people and gay couples to engage surrogate mothers, says a major report in the Australian state of Victoria. This is part of a major overhaul of laws on reproductive technology proposed by the Victorian Law Reform Commission. If passed by the state legislature, it will probably influence other states as well.
~ BioEdge newsletter
In a 5-0 decision, the Swedish Supreme Court has acquitted Pastor Ake Green of charges he committed a hate crime by preaching a sermon that condemned homosexuality. Per Karlsson, a member of the Swedish bar and adviser to Pastor Green, says the court cleared the Pentecostal pastor because it chose not to view his sermon as hate speech and because the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, would have likely overturned Green's conviction and 30-day sentence on charges he agitated against a minority group.
There's a new Narnia trailer out (9min in length). See it here.
Vatican media have reported on the "horrible and atrocious" conflict that the people of northern Uganda continue to suffer at the hands of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army. In its Sunday edition, L'Osservatore Romano reported on a complaint made Nov. 25 by Dennis McNamara, special U.N. adviser for the displaced in humanitarian crises, on his return from a mission in the African country. In a press conference in Geneva, McNamara confirmed that the atrocities perpetrated by the "olum" -- or "grass," as the LRA rebels are called in the Acholi language -- continue systematically. Such atrocities prolong a situation "which is among the most neglected and serious in the world" and which, in the absence of outside intervention, "could worsen," stated the Vatican's semiofficial newspaper. Among the tragedies are that of the child-soldiers. Since 1986, rebels have forced tens of thousands of boys into combat or slavery. The target of the conflict, led by Joseph Kony and his LRA rebels, is the Kampala government. The price of war in Uganda includes the torture and death of innumerable civilians. The death toll is estimated at more than 120,000.
~ Zenit news service
Why the future doesn't need us. Bill Joy, cofounder and Chief Scientist of Sun Microsystems writes: "Our most powerful 21st-century technologies - robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotech - are threatening to make humans an endangered species. By 2030, we are likely to be able to build machines, in quantity, a million times as powerful as the personal computers of today ... As this enormous computing power is combined with the manipulative advances of the physical sciences and the new, deep understandings in genetics, enormous transformative power is being unleashed. These combinations open up the opportunity to completely redesign the world, for better or worse: The replicating and evolving processes that have been confined to the natural world are about to become realms of human endeavor. In designing software and microprocessors, I have never had the feeling that I was designing an intelligent machine. The software and hardware is so fragile and the capabilities of the machine to "think" so clearly absent that, even as a possibility, this has always seemed very far in the future. But now, with the prospect of human-level computing power in about 30 years, a new idea suggests itself: that I may be working to create tools which will enable the construction of the technology that may replace our species. How do I feel about this? Very uncomfortable. Having struggled my entire career to build reliable software systems, it seems to me more than likely that this future will not work out as well as some people may imagine. My personal experience suggests we tend to overestimate our design abilities. Given the incredible power of these new technologies, shouldn't we be asking how we can best coexist with them? And if our own extinction is a likely, or even possible, outcome of our technological development, shouldn't we proceed with great caution?
A team of French surgeons has broken a new ethical and surgical frontier by carrying out the world's first face transplant on a woman who was savaged by a dog. The 38-year-old patient suffered severe injuries in the attack to her nose, lips and chin. Her damaged face was replaced by a "triangle" of the same features taken from a dead donor.
Adoption law should be liberalised to allow single people and gay couples to engage surrogate mothers, says a major report in the Australian state of Victoria. This is part of a major overhaul of laws on reproductive technology proposed by the Victorian Law Reform Commission. If passed by the state legislature, it will probably influence other states as well.
~ BioEdge newsletter
In a 5-0 decision, the Swedish Supreme Court has acquitted Pastor Ake Green of charges he committed a hate crime by preaching a sermon that condemned homosexuality. Per Karlsson, a member of the Swedish bar and adviser to Pastor Green, says the court cleared the Pentecostal pastor because it chose not to view his sermon as hate speech and because the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, would have likely overturned Green's conviction and 30-day sentence on charges he agitated against a minority group.
There's a new Narnia trailer out (9min in length). See it here.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
I have just started a new job. Until I see how my day pans out, it is likely that postings to Canary will be a little less frequent. Keep coming back, though.
Air New Zealand and Qantas have declared that men are not safe to be near children. They banned men from sitting next to unaccompanied children on flights, sparking accusations of discrimination.
Australian Treasurer Peter Costello said he plans to delete 2100 pages, or 30 per cent, of tax law in the biggest simplification of the country's tax code. "This is a major reform to Australia's tax legislation, a dramatic improvement to reduce complexity in Australia's tax system," Costello said in Melbourne. The changes will delete obsolete sections of the legislation.
A corruption scandal has forced a vote of no-confidence that has toppled Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority government, triggering an unusual election campaign during the Christmas holidays. Canada's three opposition parties, which control a majority in Parliament, voted against Martin's government, claiming his Liberal Party no longer has the moral authority to lead the nation. The loss means an election for all 308 seats in the lower House of Commons, likely on Jan. 23. Martin and his Cabinet would continue to govern until then.
Tablighi Jamaat, the Islamic missionary group, has announced plans to build a mosque next door to the new Olympic stadium. The London Markaz will be the biggest house of worship in the United Kingdom: it will hold 70,000 people - only 10,000 fewer than the Olympic stadium, and 67,000 more than the largest Christian facility (Liverpool's Anglican cathedral). Tablighi Jamaat plans to raise the necessary £100 million through donations from Britain and "abroad".
Swedish Pastor Ake Green will find out Tuesday whether he is going to jail for publicly preaching against homosexuality in defiance of Swedish law. But the prosecution of the Pentecostal pastor is but one sample of the anti-religious activity currently under way in the Scandinavian nation. The Swedish government has proposed cutting out the religious aspect of independent religious schools in the country, a Swedish online newspaper called The Local has reported. According to the proposal, the curriculum and teaching in religious schools would have to be entirely free of any religion to qualify for government funding. The only roadblock to the plan comes from Sweden's Green Party -- an environmentalist political party which has no relation to Pastor Green. "People should have the option of schools with a confessional standpoint as long as the teaching is impartial," Green Party education spokeswoman Mikaela Valtersson said.
~From Focus on the Family news service
Witchcraft is moving into the mainstream in the Netherlands. A Dutch court has ruled that the costs of witchcraft lessons can be tax-deductible, the Associated Press reported Oct. 31. In England, meanwhile, Portsmouth's Kingston Prison has hired a pagan priest to give spiritual advice to three inmates serving life sentences, the Telegraph reported Nov. 1. The prisoners have converted to paganism and, according to prison rules, are allowed a chaplain in the same way as those with Christian or other religious faiths. Denying them a pagan chaplain would infringe their human rights, said John Robinson, the prison governor. Earlier, on Oct. 17, the London-based Times newspaper reported that pagan priests in all prisons will now be allowed to use wine and wands in ceremonies held in jails.
German experts are questioning the country's law against incest after a judge sentenced Patrick S to two-and-a-half years in prison for his incestuous relationship with his sister, Susan K. The 28-year-old man grew up with foster parents and did not meet his 21-year-old sister until 2000. Since they met, the siblings have had four children. After the first child, Patrick received a suspended sentence. He began serving a 10-month prison sentence in connection with the second and third child shortly after fathering the fourth. Germany's incest law only punishes heterosexual intercourse between close relatives such as siblings or parents and children, which means that infertile siblings would face prosecution, while a sister who was inseminated artificially with the sperm of her brother would not have to stand trial. Saying that the law is based on outdated moral concepts, legal experts have said that Germany should follow the example of other countries, such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal, Turkey, Japan, Argentina and Brazil, where incest is no longer punishable.
~ Deutsche Welle, Nov 13
A UK government agency is launching an inquiry into doctors’ reports that up to 50 babies a year are born alive after botched National Health Service abortions. The investigation, by the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH), comes amid growing unease among clinicians over a legal ambiguity that could see them being charged with infanticide.
The scientist who cloned the world's first human embryo has resigned in disgrace from an international body after admitting that he lied about the source of the eggs used in his experiments. Professor Woo-Suk Hwang of Seoul National University in South Korea apologised for repeatedly denying that some of the eggs had come from junior members of his own research team. He said he was sorry for making misleading statements when questioned about whether the eggs had been procured unethically from young female colleagues.
Without a single exception, responsible stem sell scientists are outspoken foes of reproductive cloning. Nearly every plea for the legalisation of therapeutic cloning or for government funding ends with a sentence insisting that reproductive cloning must be banned because it is unsafe. Many bioethicists, however, take a longer term view and foresee a day when cloning will no longer be unsafe. In that case, they contend, it ought to be treated as a human right. The latest issue of the Journal of Medical Ethics contains the most recent argument. "Cloning combined with certain types of genetic modification can be ethically justifiable when carried out by infertile, lesbian, or gay couples as a means to have children with a genetic relationship to both members of the couple," argues Professor Carson Strong, a bioethicist at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He stresses, however, that access to cloning should not be limited to these cases. He identifies lack of uniqueness as the principal argument against cloning. This difficulty could be overcome by adding and deleting genes in the clone, making it unique and giving it "a nuclear DNA relationship to both members of an infertile couple". The principal reason on which Prof Strong grounds his defence of reproductive cloning is reproductive freedom, provided, of course, that there is no danger of birth defects. Although some writers have argued that cloning is contrary to human dignity, Prof Carson has described this elsewhere as a nearly meaningless concept. "There are serious problems in specifying what the essence of a human is and in achieving a consensus on this matter," he wrote in another journal earlier this year.
~ Journal of Medical Ethics, Nov; Reproductive Biomedicine Online, March
Australian Treasurer Peter Costello said he plans to delete 2100 pages, or 30 per cent, of tax law in the biggest simplification of the country's tax code. "This is a major reform to Australia's tax legislation, a dramatic improvement to reduce complexity in Australia's tax system," Costello said in Melbourne. The changes will delete obsolete sections of the legislation.
A corruption scandal has forced a vote of no-confidence that has toppled Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority government, triggering an unusual election campaign during the Christmas holidays. Canada's three opposition parties, which control a majority in Parliament, voted against Martin's government, claiming his Liberal Party no longer has the moral authority to lead the nation. The loss means an election for all 308 seats in the lower House of Commons, likely on Jan. 23. Martin and his Cabinet would continue to govern until then.
Tablighi Jamaat, the Islamic missionary group, has announced plans to build a mosque next door to the new Olympic stadium. The London Markaz will be the biggest house of worship in the United Kingdom: it will hold 70,000 people - only 10,000 fewer than the Olympic stadium, and 67,000 more than the largest Christian facility (Liverpool's Anglican cathedral). Tablighi Jamaat plans to raise the necessary £100 million through donations from Britain and "abroad".
Swedish Pastor Ake Green will find out Tuesday whether he is going to jail for publicly preaching against homosexuality in defiance of Swedish law. But the prosecution of the Pentecostal pastor is but one sample of the anti-religious activity currently under way in the Scandinavian nation. The Swedish government has proposed cutting out the religious aspect of independent religious schools in the country, a Swedish online newspaper called The Local has reported. According to the proposal, the curriculum and teaching in religious schools would have to be entirely free of any religion to qualify for government funding. The only roadblock to the plan comes from Sweden's Green Party -- an environmentalist political party which has no relation to Pastor Green. "People should have the option of schools with a confessional standpoint as long as the teaching is impartial," Green Party education spokeswoman Mikaela Valtersson said.
~From Focus on the Family news service
Witchcraft is moving into the mainstream in the Netherlands. A Dutch court has ruled that the costs of witchcraft lessons can be tax-deductible, the Associated Press reported Oct. 31. In England, meanwhile, Portsmouth's Kingston Prison has hired a pagan priest to give spiritual advice to three inmates serving life sentences, the Telegraph reported Nov. 1. The prisoners have converted to paganism and, according to prison rules, are allowed a chaplain in the same way as those with Christian or other religious faiths. Denying them a pagan chaplain would infringe their human rights, said John Robinson, the prison governor. Earlier, on Oct. 17, the London-based Times newspaper reported that pagan priests in all prisons will now be allowed to use wine and wands in ceremonies held in jails.
German experts are questioning the country's law against incest after a judge sentenced Patrick S to two-and-a-half years in prison for his incestuous relationship with his sister, Susan K. The 28-year-old man grew up with foster parents and did not meet his 21-year-old sister until 2000. Since they met, the siblings have had four children. After the first child, Patrick received a suspended sentence. He began serving a 10-month prison sentence in connection with the second and third child shortly after fathering the fourth. Germany's incest law only punishes heterosexual intercourse between close relatives such as siblings or parents and children, which means that infertile siblings would face prosecution, while a sister who was inseminated artificially with the sperm of her brother would not have to stand trial. Saying that the law is based on outdated moral concepts, legal experts have said that Germany should follow the example of other countries, such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal, Turkey, Japan, Argentina and Brazil, where incest is no longer punishable.
~ Deutsche Welle, Nov 13
A UK government agency is launching an inquiry into doctors’ reports that up to 50 babies a year are born alive after botched National Health Service abortions. The investigation, by the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH), comes amid growing unease among clinicians over a legal ambiguity that could see them being charged with infanticide.
The scientist who cloned the world's first human embryo has resigned in disgrace from an international body after admitting that he lied about the source of the eggs used in his experiments. Professor Woo-Suk Hwang of Seoul National University in South Korea apologised for repeatedly denying that some of the eggs had come from junior members of his own research team. He said he was sorry for making misleading statements when questioned about whether the eggs had been procured unethically from young female colleagues.
Without a single exception, responsible stem sell scientists are outspoken foes of reproductive cloning. Nearly every plea for the legalisation of therapeutic cloning or for government funding ends with a sentence insisting that reproductive cloning must be banned because it is unsafe. Many bioethicists, however, take a longer term view and foresee a day when cloning will no longer be unsafe. In that case, they contend, it ought to be treated as a human right. The latest issue of the Journal of Medical Ethics contains the most recent argument. "Cloning combined with certain types of genetic modification can be ethically justifiable when carried out by infertile, lesbian, or gay couples as a means to have children with a genetic relationship to both members of the couple," argues Professor Carson Strong, a bioethicist at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He stresses, however, that access to cloning should not be limited to these cases. He identifies lack of uniqueness as the principal argument against cloning. This difficulty could be overcome by adding and deleting genes in the clone, making it unique and giving it "a nuclear DNA relationship to both members of an infertile couple". The principal reason on which Prof Strong grounds his defence of reproductive cloning is reproductive freedom, provided, of course, that there is no danger of birth defects. Although some writers have argued that cloning is contrary to human dignity, Prof Carson has described this elsewhere as a nearly meaningless concept. "There are serious problems in specifying what the essence of a human is and in achieving a consensus on this matter," he wrote in another journal earlier this year.
~ Journal of Medical Ethics, Nov; Reproductive Biomedicine Online, March
