Designer Babies are finally here, thanks to the good folks at The Fertility Institutes. In the latest twist in the march towards designer babies, The Fertility Institutes says they will soon be able to offer couples the ability to screen their embryos for eye color, hair color, and complexion.  The Institute cannot change the DNA [...]

Culture, Freedom, Personal, US | 3 Comments »

During the last ice age, 20,000 years ago, Canada and North America were covered in sheets of ice 3-4 km thick by the Tioga glaciation. When the glaciers began to melt, the meltwater flowed down the river courses which had been buried under the ice. In Montana, the Clarke Fork of the Columbia River drains [...]

Catastrophes, Climate, Science, US | No Comments »

When I saw the AP headline “Boyish US Envoy Becomes Hearthrob in China,” I knew immediately who it was about. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia, Christopher R. Hill – chief nuclear negotiator with North Korea -made a brief visit to Wellington last year, and one of my lecturers arranged a roundtable discussion with [...]

East Asia, US | 6 Comments »

Heh heh. FP Passport: “Miami plans Castro death party” CNN: “When Castro dies, Miami will party like its 1959″ As I’ve said before, the passing of a dictator is an occasion for celebration, but some in the committee are getting a bit defensive: “Basically, the only thing we’re trying to do is have a venue, [...]

US, World | 1 Comment »

MikeE writes about an interesting story brewing in New Hampshire: Ed and Elaine Brown, who don’t believe in income tax and haven’t paid it since 1996, have been convicted of $625,000 worth of tax evasion. Now Ed is vowing to fight police when they come to arrest him – and he is in a position [...]

Politics, US | No Comments »

From the FSDT Top 100 list, via Not PC – I’ll pick out some highlights… Occam’s Razor prize for missing the blindingly obvious “I am a bit troubled. I believe my son has a girlfriend, because she left a dirty magazine with men in it under his bed. My son is only 16 and I [...]

Religion, US | 1 Comment »

The trailer for a documentary film called The Bridge begins with shots of the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge glowing at sunset, birds flying nearby, people driving and walking on the bridge. And then, in one heartstopping moment, someone begins to swing their leg over the side. For The Bridge, a film crew trained cameras on [...]

Suicide, US, World | No Comments »