XIAM007 - Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World: 01/20/13

Sunday, 20 January 2013

Wanted: 'Adventurous woman' to give birth to Neanderthal man - Harvard professor seeks mother for cloned cave baby -

A leading geneticist is on the hunt for an 'adventurous woman' to help turn back the hands of time - and give birth to a Neanderthal baby.
George Church, a genetics professor at Harvard Medical School, believes he can bring back the extinct ancestor of modern man after more than 33,000 years.
Contrary to popular belief, Neanderthals were in fact a highly intelligent race and Prof Church believes they could be recreated through modern medicine.
He told German magazine, Der Spiegel: 'I have already managed to attract enough DNA from fossil bones to reconstruct the DNA of the human species largely extinct. Now I need an adventurous female human.
'It depends on a lot of things, but I think it can be done. The reason I would consider it a possibility is that a bunch of technologies are developing faster than ever before.
'In particular, reading and writing DNA is now about a million times faster than seven or eight years ago.
'Another technology that the de-extinction of a Neanderthal would require is human cloning.
'We can clone all kinds of mammals, so it's very likely that we could clone a human. Why shouldn't we be able to do so?"

Prof Church, 58, is a pioneer in synthetic biology, which aims is to create synthetic DNA and organisms in the laboratory.
During the 1980s, he helped initiate the Human Genome Project that created a map of the human genome.

Cloning the caveman: Geneticist Professor George Church
He admits his project may have shades of Frankenstein about it, but he believes recreating Neanderthals would benefit mankind.
Prof Church added: 'Neanderthals might think differently than we do. We know that they had a larger cranial size. They could even be more intelligent than us.
'When the time comes to deal with an epidemic or getting off the planet or whatever, it's conceivable that their way of thinking could be beneficial.
'They could maybe even create a new neo-Neanderthal culture and become a political force. The main goal is to increase diversity. The one thing that is bad for society is low diversity.
'This is true for culture or evolution, for species and also for whole societies. If you become a monoculture, you are at great risk of perishing.
'Therefore the recreation of Neanderthals would be mainly a question of societal risk avoidance.'

Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2265402/Wanted-Adventurous-woman-birth-Neanderthal-man--Harvard-professor-seeks-mother-cloned-cave-baby.html

Developer Offers Plan to Buy Belle Isle for $1 Billion, Secede from Michigan -

If you can’t get your burbclave built in Honduras, maybe Detroit will work? Or Idaho or Texas…

My guess is that the Seasteading guys will fire something up before it happens on land. And when they’re through effing around with half ass solutions (cruise ships???), there’s always Rapture… Or Elysium.

In all seriousness, a Rapture-on-the-Surface in international waters would be the easiest way to go in terms of getting out from under the laws of the various states. Physically dealing with the power of the ocean, which would be working to break the “city” into toothpicks 24/7 is… not going to be easy. But if guys are willing to part with billions of dollars to get something done, who knows?

Via: Motor City Muckraker:

Prominent Republicans in Michigan will gather soon to hear a plan for investors to buy Belle Isle from the city of Detroit for $1 billion and turn the island park into a semi-independent city-state of 35,000 people with its own laws, government and currency.

Never mind that the proposed libertarian experiment, supported by prominent free-enterprise supporters like the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, retired Chrysler President Al Sperlich and Clark Durant, co-founder of Detroit’s Cornerstone Schools, likely will go nowhere.

The sale of Belle Isle requires the approval of Mayor Dave Bing and Detroit City Council and neither would give the proposal a serious look. It’s also very unlikely the island could secede from Michigan

Read more -
http://www.cryptogon.com/?p=33212

Armed School Security Guard Clark Arnold Leaves Gun Unattended In Student Bathroom -

The National Rifle Association sparked controversy in the weeks following Wayne LaPierre's call to place armed guards in every school. LaPierre called such a move "the one thing that would keep people safe," but one that may have backfired for a charter school that took his advice to heart.

While President Barack Obama and gun control supporters have expressed skepticism about staffing schools with armed guards, Chatfield School in Lapeer, Mich. -- like LaPierre -- felt that its students and staff would be safer with such security measures.

So school officials announced last week that they had hired retired county sheriff Clark Arnold to serve as Chatfield's armed security officer.

"It's a tremendous asset to the safety of the students," Chatfield School Director Matt Young told WNEM. "Providing a safe environment and an atmosphere where parents are comfortable, students are comfortable, and feel safe so that they can focus on learning."

But just days later, school officials revealed to The Flint Journal that Arnold had "made a breach in security protocol" by leaving his unloaded gun in a school restroom "for a few moments."

Young declined to comment to The Flint Journal on repercussions for Arnold, citing "personnel" reasons, but said in a statement that additional security measures have been implemented and no students were involved or affected by the incident.

Lapeer County Prosecutor Byron Konschuh tells the paper that Arnold likely will not face criminal charges because no one was harmed in the incident.

Five people were wounded when firearms accidentally went off at gun shows across the United States on Saturday -

Five people were wounded when firearms accidentally went off at gun shows across the United States on Saturday.

The incidents coincided with a day of nation-wide rallies by gun rights advocates who say the right to own firearms is under attack from President Barack Obama’s proposals to reduce gun violence.

In North Carolina, three people including a retired sheriff’s deputy were wounded at a gun show in Raleigh when a 12-gauge shotgun accidentally went off as its owner was taking it out of its case, state officials said.

Gary Lynn Wilson, 36, who was bringing his shotgun to the Dixie Gun and Knife Show hoping to sell it privately, approached the entrance to have it inspected. It went off as he removed it from its case, according to a statement by the state Department of Agriculture, a host of the gun show.

Three patrons were hit with birdshot: a man, a woman and a retired Wake County Sheriff’s deputy who was working at the show. None of the injuries were life-threatening.

In Indianapolis, a 54-year-old man was injured when he accidentally shot himself while leaving the Indy 1500 Gun and Knife show at the state fairgrounds.

Police say Emory Cozee was reloading his .45-calibre semi-automatic when he shot himself in the hand. Loaded personal weapons are not allowed inside the show.

And in nearby Medina, Ohio, a stray bullet at a local gun show left a bystander shot in his arm and leg.

Police Chief Pat Berarducci said a gun dealer was checking out a handgun that he had just bought when he accidentally pulled the trigger. Investigators believe the bullet ricocheted off the floor and struck a man standing nearby.

The wounded man was taken by helicopter to a Cleveland hospital. His condition wasn’t known.

The two incidents coincided with rallies across the country by gun rights advocates who say the right to own firearms is under attack from President Barack Obama’s proposals to reduce gun violence.

Read more -
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1317463--gun-show-participants-wounded-as-weapons-go-off-accidentally