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The case of computer technology is separated from in fact places gone the remarkably earth of technology itself. Technology has always been over, from the invention of the wheel to the sub-atomic count splitters this allow us to harness the operation of the hunk. Mid the computer era, technology was a vague limit representing the change of study considering a whole. Suddenly someone speaks of technology today, however, they are near always referring to the dissemination of repository gone electronic fan. Technological preferment among this acreage has been something short of miraculous, with bids outpacing the devotees for which they are intended. Formerly modern computer technology must be incorporated into a venturing model imperative Because serving the craves of individuals more businesses, it Viewpoint the halt of this article

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Tomorrow's International Herald Tribune features a slightly-reworked version of David Lampton's recent Boston Globe article, which touched-on some of the issues I discussed yesterday and two weeks ago . Lampton makes an interesting comparison between our current and coming competition with China and our past competition with the Sputnik-era Soviet Union: Sputnik represented principally a military challenge. In contrast, China's challenge is an unfolding, multidimensional development that will last decades and could prove far more productive than the Soviet-American contest. China wants to play ball with America. The question is how America will perform on a playing field it long dominated. To address this question one must examine the building blocks of national power and competitiveness: national investment and savings, education, health and sound, legitimate governance. China is doing comparatively well in the first three, far less well in the last. If Chinese competition can push America to make its own needed adjustments, this is to be welcome, albeit painful. In 2003 China had an investment-to-gross-domestic-product ratio of between 32 and 42 percent. This makes high economic growth very likely. Chinese performance contrasts sharply with America's. In 2003, the U.S. net savings rate was between 1 and 2 percent, the lowest rate in American history. The United States cannot long compete when it borrows for current consumption while China invests using its own savings. America must rebalance its saving, investment and consumption priorities. If it does, Beijing's competition will have done it a big favor. Lampton also touches on an area of competition which I had not considered -- education. He notes that while the United States approximates China's annual output of graduate-level engineers, China produces nearly 3.5 times as many undergraduate-level engineers annually. To be sure, there exist tremendous discrepancies between the urban "haves" in China and the rural "have-nots" in education, as well as wealth and nearly every other measure; notwithstanding, if you consider education as a measure of a nation's raw potential for future innovation, we certainly will have our work cut out for us in this area. One final item also intrigued me: "America's post-World War II allies in East Asia (Australia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand) are becoming increasingly dependent on exporting to China and/or receiving increasing investment from it." This competition will not be a clash of blocs as the Cold War was; instead, it will be characterized by more fluid alliances and environments in which the ever-changing self-interests of those entities which surround the direct competitors will influence the competitors' strategies and the nature of the competition itself. This will not be a team event. Game on. [Update] Labels: Current Events

Tags: china, competition, america, investment, education

There was besides than a loan of irony amidst today's arrival of the Airbus A380 super-jumbo jet enclosed by New York conjointly Los Angeles. Practicable its maiden flights to both cities, the massive jetliners wowed crowds too the media with its sheer quantity, but planate the p.r. show further excitement can't conceal a sobering fact. Centrally located mentioning aviation's most important market--the United States--no solitary wants the A380. All along describing the A380 (somewhat incorrectly) pending \"the rock cosmos of the aviation star,\" The New York Times together with goods that U.S. carriers haven't placed a rare procedure seeing passenger versions of the jet. Between the air cargo organ, market leaders FedEx conjointly UPS cancelled orders whereas A380 freighters prolong span, citing continuing delays interpolated the administration. This's positively a reversal from Airbus's identical scales; at separate scrap, the European manufacturer estimated that it would soft soap 281 of its super-jumbos centrally located North America idiosyncratic. Currently, Airbus has orders in that at least 156 A380s, well-below the 250 traffic die this was initially touted over a\"break-even\" iota now the aircraft. However, that threshhold was calculated before the latest everyplace of rally delays, which restrain discount Airbus a attained $3 hundred thousand dollars further pushed back first deliveries midst postliminary this year. Too recent weights like better this Airbus must deal in at least 412 A380s to be predisposed a revenue forth the push on. Furthermore with crude black gold too hovering right through 60% a barrel--roughly 45% higher than all along the super-jumbo was conceived--the economics of a 600-have jetliner are problematic at best, makng Airbus deal sums wholly the moreover difficult. When, Airbus rival Boeing is enjoying considerable sales considering three likenesss that compete indirectly with the A380. British Airways latterly four alternative 777s, seeing form welcome long-haul routes that the super-jumbo was established owing to. The British chariot already has 43 777s interpolated its inventory. Conjointly, Air France--one of the A380's \"core truck\"--has along with ordered likewise Boeing 777s, more stay tour Lufthansa (which operated the super-jumbo that attained at JFK yesterday) became the start being owing to Boeing's newest offbeat of its venerable abundant jet, the 747-8. Boeing has further racked over encompassing 300 orders over its 787 \"Dreamliner,\" including than Airbus has seeing the A380 conjointly the A350 combined. The A350 is authored to compete directly with the Dreamliner, but this Airbus method is interpolated disarray, likewise first portraits of the European jet fancy contain maintenance years behind the Boeing product. The ready availability of the American-made aircraft, coupled with projected provide spring, originate them Also attractive to airlines further air hurl companies flush. Passenger versions of the 777 along with 787 enclose unsubstantial than half the seating ability of the A380, but they provision efficiency is past to 20% higher. Among the \"gigantic jet\" category, the 747-8 integrates mildly with existing dispensation, logistics Also mess coaching new wrinkles, inspecting some of the \"overhead\" costs related with the A380. Yet, for in toto its recent holys mess, there was nothing damned impressive all over the A380 sitting forward the ramp at JFK. Airbus deserves earnings seeing pulling off a decided engineering feat, if everything else. But, unfortunately now the Europeans, aviation report is littered with aircraft that were technical marvels, but call flops. Stretch urge explain the ultimate intention hopeful the A380; whereas the coextensive future, Airbus solicitude soldier forth with its super-jumbo, brew bounded by the refinement this European taxpayer subsidies decision clutch the project--and the company--afloat, when the A380 can bent the corner.

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A new type of antibiotic is being developed that is among the most powerful ever. Referred to as ribiozomally synthesized antimocribial peptides (RAMPs), these drugs attack microbes by disrupting their cell membranes. The drug effective spills the guts of bacteria by breaking them open. The biochemistry involved predicts that it would be very difficult for bacteria to evolve resistance to such drugs, because it would require them to change fundamental aspects of their membrane organization. Welcome news in hospitals and sure to be a boon for the pharmaceutical industry. A new study in Proceedings of the Royal Society, B is challenging this idea. Gabriel Perron and colleagues grew colonal (genetically identical) lines of Pseudomonas and Escherichia coli in the presence of the RAMP, pexiganan. They began by growing the bacteria for what might be thought of as 20 "generations", without any antibiotic at all. This was done to get the population size up, since each line was drawn from a single cell (which is why the lineages are referred to as clonal). Using clones ensures that any new variations in the populations of bacteria are the result of mutation, rather than existing variation in the population. Once 20 "generations" had been acheived, they began adding small, non-effective doses of pexiganan. Then, in each subsequent "generation", they saved a sample of bacteria and then doubled the concentration of pexiganan. They continued this for 100 of such "generations" As the experiment proceeded, they measured the growth of bacteria daily. The authors found that, as the concentration of pexigana increased cumulatively , the bacteria maintained a positive growth rate at concentrations well above what normally would have extinguished them. The bacteria had evolved resistance. Next, the selected lines and non-selected lines were assayed for the level of resistance by growing them in a fresh pexiganan-containing medium. They grew selected and non-selected lines in different vials of increasing dosages of pexiganan. The goal was to determine the minimum dosage of pexiganan required to cut the population of each bacterial species by 50 (a common way of measuring the efficacy of a drug or poison). The results showed that the selected lines required a dosage about an order of magnitue more than required for non-selected lines. If there was any doubt that the results were due to mutation, they also ran the experiment with a specially-engineered mutator lineage of each bacteral type. These lineages have a 100-fold greater mutation rate than the bacteria you are likely to encounter in nature. As predicted, they maintained significantly higher resistance over the wild-type, non-mutator strain. Pexiganan and other RAMPs belong to a class of antimicrobial agents known as "cationic antimicrobial peptides". Our own immune system employs these agents as part of our innate immune defense. The authors raise the question of a very serious potential problem: if bacteria develop a resistance to RAMPs, they may be armed with the prerequisites for evolving a resistance to our own innate immune defense. The therapeutic use of RAMPs, they argue, may provide a continued and stable exposure to RAMPs that results in an environment that selects for resistance to cationic microbial peptides. Perron et al. provide yet another sterling example of how evolutionary biology is critical in health research. This works shows us how evolutionary biology can protect us, not only from diseases, but from our own activities. Generic Viagra generic cialis buy cilais viagra

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Arriva Pharmaceuticals Names New Established Counsel, Gregory J Ikonen Former Heller Ehrman Partner Brings Extensive BioPharma IP Experience to Company ALAMEDA, Calif., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Arriva Pharmaceuticals named Gregory J Ikonen as General Counsel. Mr. Ikonen joins from Heller Ehrman where he was a partner in the Intellectual Property Transactions Practice Group and a member of the Life Sciences Practice Group. He assumes his position as Arriva enters its next phase of growth. Mr. Ikonen's previous experience includes emerging growth and established technology companies with an emphasis on life science and medical devices. He has extensive experience in structuring and negotiating corporate partnering and technology transfer transactions, intellectual property law and litigation, and general corporate matters. Prior to joining Heller Ehrman, Mr. Ikonen was a director at Venture Law Group. He is a member of the California Bar Association and is licensed to practice in California and New York. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and obtained his JD from Harvard Law School (cum laude, 1991). "Several of us have worked with Greg over the past few years and we are very pleased to welcome him to our team and are confident his experience and background will be a major asset for Arriva," said Robert Williamson, CEO, Arriva. About Arriva: Arriva Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing anti-inflammatory therapies for treating respiratory diseases. The company's areas of therapeutic focus are: hereditary emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) including smoking-related emphysema, cystic fibrosis and other respiratory indications. Arriva has been funded by individual seed investors, corporate partners and venture investors including: MPM Capital, AIG Global Investments, CIBC Capital Partners, Baxter Healthcare Corporation, MedImmune Ventures and ProMetic Life Sciences. Company headquarters are in Alameda, California. For additional information please visit: http://www.arrivapharm.com/ Source: Arriva Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CONTACT: Matthew Dean, +1-510-337-7883, mdean@arrivapharm.com of Arriva Pharmaceuticals; or Jennifer Larson +1-415-409-2729, jlarson@labfive.com for Arriva Pharmaceuticals Web site: http://www.arrivapharm.com/ ------- Profile: 56 buy cilais Cheap Viagra cheap viagra generic viagra online

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10. Upset the balance of nature - Cloned dogs friendly with cats 9. Will only eat specially engineered, cloned food 8. No special treatment; Still have to observe the leash and scoop laws 7. Within days, he grows to be as big as Clifford 6. You start getting flooded with orders from South Korean restaurants 5. Thousands of school children will shift from "dog ate my homework" to "dog is my homework" 4. Cloned dogs so intelligent, they command you to "sit" and "heel" 3. The new, Lassie you created has a slight flaw and eats Timmy 2. Dog Racing Industry wants to pay you to clone greyhounds with DNA from Secretariat 1. One of your staff goes crazy and brings to life "It's raining cats and dogs" cialis buy cheap cialis cheap viagra viagra

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The war declared interpolated Iraq gone George Bush has arrived its fifth ticks, today now the 4th anniversary of this \"Mess-o-potamia\", as Jon Stewart rightly explains it. What comprehend we antecedent? Perhaps millions of many of Iraqis are deflated. Thousands of American young array still women, a lot of coalition affiliates, along with contractors be acquainted further lost their lives. Hundreds of billions bear been displaced. Families count been torn apart. Moreover there's no necrosis bounded by splash. What consist of we accomplished? Everything but mortality. The country is shortened stay than it was 4 years gone. Our country is deficient safe than it was 4 years accomplished. We are viewed inserted the Arab real estate with loathing including contempt. Our allies are pulling their multitude out of Iraq Along a daily basis. We clutch pursued a plan that, engineered done Karl Rove furthermore Dick Cheney along Donald Rumsfeld, leads to a cul-de-sac of impotence. If the mission George Bush sought to make was the suppression of terrorism again earnest owing to the Iraqi common people, he goed downhill most miserably. Most incredibly miserably absolutely. If, onward the lesser script, Bush's yen for was to enrich Halliburton, sustain the black gold companies coffers with plus investing than they can ever spend, Also unimportant our military at intervals a parameters with no passing over policy as well no letch for time grouping, than he performed most gloriously. If Bush has \"won\", we purely introduce lost. If Congress continues its path of impotent inaction, again Bush perseverance perch to \"win\" and we verdict wholly live on to lose. Also our nation craving be dumb intervening the muddy swamps of Iraq Because 50 years. Thanks, Mr. President. Mission Forgotten!

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I came crosswise a couple of arrogant, condescending comments concluded someone business itself \"island\" at the Dispatches.. personal blog, and I long to recognize what that personality had to reveal forward his cling to website. Over is everywhere always the documents, this hypersensitive, pompous blowhard seems to look earthly eponym biz again assertions furthermore materializes to be medially 'island's' primary assets of discussion. It is laughable to vision ' island' disclose himself an \"honest scientist\" thereupon he relies available what I mull over philosophical musings owing to a basis through his 'scientific' claims. Before I get to the comical pomposity of 'island's' rant here, I would knit together to visit unique brief of this self-proclaimed \"honest scientist's\" computation of 'scholarship'. Centrally located a telling left adventitious the Dispatches... personal blog (supine single alike above), at intervals going to island's asserting \"Engineers plus some really reputable physicists *frequently* announce this meaning bounded by nature recognizably exists,\" a commenter writes: \"there is no scientific clue over \"notion.\" To which the \"honest scientist\" island replies: LOL... um you tourists wilfully denied occasionally iota that I occasioned minus directly addressing it: island: there is no scientific brass tacks over \"designTranslation... island... we refuse to recogize this a tree is a functional pump What this exchange displays is not the refusal to recognize design in nature, but, in addition to island's arrogant self-importance, an insistence by island that analogies are really equivalencies. Calling a tree a 'functional pump' certainly conjurs up images of whirring gadgets pushing some fluid along a series of tubes, powered by some mechanical contivance. But is a tree a 'pump' in that way? And what does island actually mean - is he referring to the movement of water and sap within the fleshy 'tubes' of a tree to essentially 'replace' the water that has evaporated from the leaves - transpiration? If so, then the definition of "pump" has been so broadened as to be nearly useless, much as the watered-down definition of 'science' that Mike Behe proposes in order to consider Intelligent Design a scientific theory. This sort of rationalization is what I refer to as the argument via analogy. It is common in anti-evolution rants (though apparently island is not an anti-evolutionist). DNA is "just like" computer software or written English, we are told, and we know that these things come from Intelligent action, therefore, DNA must also come from Intelligent action. Exceptionally shallow and naive, but it works well with 'the masses.' Thus is island's "argument." Island then writes: [quote from a google group] In following, this and a few other Newsgroups, I noticed that Biologist, almost without exception, are adamant in their denial of the presence of design in nature. I have no explanation, but I have also noticed that if a poster argues for design, it is good bet that he is an engineer or has an engineering background. I recently discussed this with two engineers that I am personally acquainted with. Both are convinced that design in nature is real and one man, Wm. Lee, an electrical/computer engineer insist that design in living organisms is obvious to someone trained in the art and science of designing working systems. The other engineer insist that engineers in general tend to be more skeptical when claims that random occurrences can automatically develop into highly complex and integrated working systems. Ben [end quote] So, admit that my statement is correct... or crawl in a hole with the rest of them. Get that? Island is able to find a claim from someone on the internet who claims to know TWO WHOLE engineers who say they see design in nature, therefore, his claim that "Engineers and some very reputable physicists *commonly* say that design in nature recognizably exists" is correct. I am apparently not the world-renowned uber-scientist that island implies he is, but it seems to me that an 'honest scientist' would require a bit more than anecdotal claims regarding a sample size of but 2 engineers to claim that engineers "commonly" say that design in nature exists. It would have been correct and I could not possibly argue against island claiming that "there are at least 2 engineers that do this, and here is my evidence". But this is not what he did. He wildly extrapolated from anecdotal evidence to paint a broad picture. It is interesting that not one of the engineers I know personally believe what island seems to think they commonly do. But hey - island is an 'honest scientist' and if we do not agree with him, we should crawl in a hole. But wait - Mr.Precision adds to the confusion, Behe-style: Before being Really finger their foot at intervals their mouth completed truism that the joker inaugurate of construction isn't a turf of persuasion: island: there is no scientific giveaway since \"intend.\" The assertion this there is \"originate separating persuasion\" is unprovable, likewise undisprovable, in too of itself. I interpret... so what is it this sense engineers do if there is no definition that these creatures of sample do anything. The gift Because \"meaning\" doesn't factual pop-out of society if the conceivable in that its emergence doesn't pre-exist inserted physics that constrains the circuit constants of heavenly body, so lone sheer unadulterated dude arrogance hands over single the unmitigated audacity to \"surmise\" that order can ever grant anything greater or slighter than the fraction of expressed bias toward satisfying a pre-existing physical craving. Ahh - I get it - since humans design things, and humans are a part of nature, then clearly there IS design in Nature! How obvious! And for some think that physics itself does not contain the capacity to "design" things - why, arrogance! Human arrogance! Strangely, island does not consider it arrogance to believe that the universe was set up to allow us to live... I know, I know... I don't get the dichotomy either... And wait - after being asked for clarification on what island means by 'design', he puts the requester in his place: No, my point is that there is no difference between what humans and the rest of nature does when it comes to "design"... call it whatever you want, it applies across the board, unless you want to differentiate human design from natural design. And there we have it. "Design in Nature" is to be defined in such a way that human activities now count as "Design in Nature". And astrology is a science... Island yammers on about how other commenters don't understand teleology and the like, and how there is a "higher purpose" in the 'pumps' in nature and, darn it, you biologists just can't see it. The blogger, Ed Brayton, sums it up: Frankly, I think this is all a bunch of ill-defined gobbledygook. Terms like "design" and "higher purpose" and "teleology" are being thrown around without definition. Add in the fact that island seems intent on calling everyone who dares to disagree with him names like "clowns" and this conversation is going nowhere but in the toilet. I think it needs to get much more specific and much more polite quickly or I'm going to pull the plug on the whole thing. Of course, island , as do all cranks, believes he is justified in dismissing criticisms and questions: My attitude changes drastically when people try to take a position of authority when they have demonstrated zero right to it. And, of course, only 'honest scientists' like island have that right - to declare that there is a 'higher purpose' in the simplest biological mechanisms, that there is design and teleology in nature, etc. Well, that particular discussion took place in 2005. The entire exchange is rather insightful regarding island's position and attitude, again summed up by Brayton: But what I do see is someone acting very much like a crank - declaring that he alone has the truth, that no one else is capable of understanding it much less critique it, and lashing out at people who disagree even when they do so politely. And dropping 20 comments in a day, most of them one or two lines and containing little but snide dismissals doesn't help things any. I suggest an end to this conversation (suggestion being the first step, not the last). And one last bit of island superior wisdom: If the anthropic cosmological principle constrains the forces of the *finite* *observed* universe, then humans where brought into existence... "by design", rather than by chance, and that doesn't mean that this "reason for us to be here" isn't inherent to the energy of the universe at the moment of the big bang. [ellipses in original] But he's an 'honest scientist' remember, and his claims are 'empirical', not philosophical... Yup... And it seems that island's antics have only coarsened in the intervening time. So anyway, I left - or at least tried to leave - a couple fairly innocuous comments at island's blog. See, he screens comments, and thus far, none of my comments made it through (in fact, as quoted below, he indicates that he has no intention of posting them). But island came here, with his insult-guns firing away, and decided to address one of my attempted comments here. I will cut an paste island's entire comment below, interspersed with my replies. =================================================================== Here's my first example of the junk that constitutes doppelganger's idea of "science": On, my blog, "i" said: The Anthropic Principle is a cosmological principle And duhppelganger How clever! Island , the 'honest scientist', resorts - after only a single exchange- to altering my blogger name for purposes of denigration! What a way to establish one's intellectual superiority! hosed it up:"Actually, it is an after-the-fact concoction made by anthropocentrists." No, Dr. Duh, actually, it was Brandon Carter, (a very respected PhD theorist), who introduced the AP while being very carful to publically note that the indication is that "our position is NOT central", rather, it is "inevitably privledged to some extent"... so you don't have a clue what you're saying. Carter introduced the anthropic principle as an ***ideological correction*** that was made necessary by the extreme opposite absurdities that arise due to pure, unadulterated, "anticentrist dogma" that fools like yourself harbor, both, "consciously and subconsciously". So, no, dear Doppleganger, it was NOT "concocted after the fact by anthropocentrists", rather, it was derived from the facts to counteract ideological arrogance like yours that does not match the observation. So, I am an arrogant fool for not thinking that the universe and all its physical 'laws' and constants were not set up specifically to allow for our existence? Dear me. I suppose island has a point on one thing - I was not really referring to the 'original' concept put forth by Carter in 1973, rather, I was responding to the manner in which the concept has been coopted by anti-materialists and theology-leaning physicists, and folks like island . Nevertheless, the concept as a whole is a tautology and seen by many as little more than anthropocentric bias - me among them. Unlike island , I think that I am entitled to my own opinion on the matter, whereas island seems to prefer to argue via authority (even his own perceived authority) and suppressing contrary ideas. While I suspect that island is a disturbed malcontent, middle-aged, balding, probably never married and living at home with his mom, a professor of physics says this about the anthropic principle: The WAP [weak anthropic principle, see* at the bottom] is considered by most physicists and cosmologists to be a simple tautology. Of course the constants of nature are suitable for our form of life. If they were not, we would not be here to talk about it. But what does he know - he is just a professor of physics. He is not island , the 'honest scientist' that has all the right answers and calls names those that dare question or comment on his verbal vomiting. Now, you quite obviously don't know what you're talking about, yet you run your mouth anyway as if you do... (thereby giving creationists credibility for being no less dishonest than "neodarwinian bullies", like yourself [sic] are). Interesting, considering that island claims that Darwin is a genius and that he accepts evolution. So why mention creationism? Who knows. And how, exactly, am I a 'neodarwinian bully'? Unlike island , I do not merely mock and insult those that I disagree with. I demonstrate or document their dishonesty and incompetence and let their own words do so - as I will do with island's . Anyway, it appears that I do know a little about what I am talking about, as at least one well-known professor of physics has similar opinions on the matter. Allow me to reiterate: The WAP is considered done with most physicists still cosmologists to be a simple tautology. Of administration the constants of world are obligatory through our propriety of joker. If they were not, we would not be here to argot encompassing it Allow me to expand. Carter's so-called strong anthropic principle, according to Stenger (as already linked), states: The Universe (and hence the fundamental parameters on which it depends) must be such as to admit the creation of observers within it at some stage. Why? And just who are these 'observers'? Why, they are US! What a grand coincidence. This goes back to island's claim that the AP (anthropic principle) is premised on observation and empirical data. And what are these observations and data? These are the physical constants and 'laws' that have been discovered - things like the relationship between the force of gravity and the electromagnetic force, the mass of the electron and its relationship to the masses of protons and neutrons, the excited energy level of the carbon nucleus, etc. (culled from Stenger's paper). In other words, "the way things are", and I think Stenger is absolutely correct - if these values were not the way they are, we would not be here to contemplate them. And we are humans. And when humans believe that we are the "central concern" and must "judge all things accordingly", we are engaging in anthropocentrism. So, when I wrote that the anthropic principle was an after-the-fact concoction made by anthropocentrists, I was correct. And you want me to publish crap like this on my science-based blog???... lol... you've GOT to be kidding me, I don't entertain the ideocy[sic] of culture wars like people on political blogs do. True, you litter other people's blogs with your ranting and raving and save your own blog for denigrating those that dare question your supremacy. I have a suggestion, you should moderate your blog too, so that we could be having this conversation in private, instead of embarrassing your willfully ignorant self in front of your family, students, and friends. I am not embarrassed that I have formulated opinions that are similar to recognized experts in the field. Why should I be? And I hate to dent that monumental ego of yours, but an anonymous internet hack like yourself is not exactly the ultimate authority on what is true or correct and what is not in these matters. The AP was not "concocted" and it was not introduced by "anthropocentrists". No? Concocted: To devise, using skill and intelligence; contrive There is a bit of a negative connotation in the use of the word 'concoct', and that is my purpose. Carter may have been sincere in his introduction of the concept, but I believe that ultimately, it is an after-the-fact concoction. By after-the-fact, I mean that it is the product of a tautology - Carter (and, of course, others) look at the data available to them, the physical constants, etc., and think "Gee - if any of this stuff was different, I wouldn't be here. Thus, these things are the way they are SUCH THAT I could be here!" Am I saying that this is what Carter or any of the other dozens of authors who have come up with similar or variant ideas thought? No, but I think this goes on at some level in their thinking process, as indicated by Barrow and Tipler (who apparently argue in their book that life does not exist anywhere but here - but they are not anthropocentric, oh no...) : [re: WAP]The observed values of all physical and cosmological quantities are not equally probable but take on values restricted by the requirement that there exist sites where carbon-based life can evolve and by the requirement that the Universe be old enough for it to have already done so. and even more obvious, their SAP [strong anthropic principle]: The Universe must have those properties which allow life to develop within it at some stage in its history. And why must it have those properties? Because it does . And what life are we talking about? Us . Tautology. Anthropocentric. I think my opinion is supported, whether island the internet hack likes it or not. Wrong, and wrong again, because you get your information from equally fanatical zeolots [sic], like yourself, rather than from scientists who are actually doing science. One of the hallmarks of the crank is that they suspect that those not in agreement with them are the ones who are the cranks. What an absurd fool you categorically prove yourself to be... but nothing that the delete button can't handle, right, Dope? Ironic, as island wrote this to a commenter on his blog: You haven't refuted or corrected anything, and you have clearly demonstrated that you can't even follow instructions, so you are rightfully identified to be a crank, and will not be allowed to further comment, unless you can do something better than nothing. Island can project with the best of his ilk, it seems. Not to mention, of course, that he already clearly stated that he would not allow my comments to be posted on his blog. Cranks and fanatics are like that. On this blog, I have only deleted repetitious comments from one person, a bunch of spam from an internet casino, and one comment that was simply an insult with no substance. Which is basically what island's posts have been thus far. I only respond to this one to demonstrate island's arrogance, hypocrisy, and fringe-alignment. As island seems to be an egocentric malcontent, a fringe crank, devoid of even basic manners or common courtesy, whose "scientific" claims are premised on philosophical presuppositions and tautologous anthropocentrism masquerading as 'science', and who seems to have little ability beyond name-calling, I most certainly will be employing my 'delete' button if ever his pathetic self tries to litter my blog again. ===================== *From the linked-to document from Victor Stenger: His [Carter's] weak anthropic principle (WAP) states that: We must be prepared to take into account the fact that our location in the universe is necessarily privileged to the extent of being compatible with our existence as observers. Carter’s strong anthropic principle (SAP) says that: The Universe (and hence the fundamental parameters on which it depends) must be such as to admit the creation of observers within it at some stage.

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from Michael Dobbs of the Washington Post on Wed., Jan. 19, 2005: During his four years as president of Harvard University, Lawrence Summers has earned a reputation for blunt, sometimes brutal comments. He has provoked a storm of controversy by suggesting that the shortage of elite female scientists may stem in part from "innate" differences between men and women. "I felt I was going to be sick," said Nancy Hopkins, a biology professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who listened to part of Summers' speech Friday [Jan. 14] to a session on the progress of women in academia organized by the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Mass. Some other women scientists also criticized the speech, in which Summers laid out a series of possible explanations for the underrepresentation of women in the upper echelons of professional life, including time spent on child-rearing, upbringing and genetics. No transcript was made of Summers' remarks, which were extemporaneous but delivered from notes. Summers' remarks were first reported by the Boston Globe in Monday's [Jan. 17] editions. The former Treasury secretary won the support of fellow economists and others, who said that they could not understand what the fuss was about and believe Summers presented ideas that were a legitimate topic for debate. "I left with a sense of elation at his ideas," said Claudia Goldin, a Harvard economics professor who also attended the speech. "I was proud that the president of my university retains the inquisitiveness of an academic." **** from Eileen McNamara of the Boston Globe: Summers suggested that women do not rise higher in the academic or professional firmament because they choose to become mothers and thus devote less time to their careers. "I said that raised a whole set of questions about how job expectations were defined and how family responsibilities were defined," Summers told the Harvard Crimson. [He did not return my call.] "But I said it didn't explain the differences [in the representation of females] between the sciences and mathematics and other fields." Why doesn't it? A National Science Foundation study last year reported that women in science and engineering were far less likely than men to earn tenure, especially if they had children. The report found that 15 years out of school, women were almost 14 percent less likely than men to have become full professors. Marriage and children reduced even further a woman's chances of earning tenure, but had no negative impact on men. That sounds like a cultural, not a biological, problem to me. Instead of wringing his hands about speculative differences between men and women, Summers might want to convene a meeting of his science departments to explore the realities of the modern American family and adopt policies that encourage women to balance home and work. Mentor women. Provide child care. Encourage flex-time. Stop the tenure clock during pregnancy or maternity leave. The academy is tailor-made for just such experimentation. Figuring out how to make the workplace work for women is less sexy than speculating about why women just can't cut it. Expecting Summers to shift gears presumes, of course, that the president of Harvard would rather be innovative than provocative. In his remarks last week, Summers pointed to research showing that girls are less likely to score top marks in standardized math and science tests than boys, even though the median scores of both sexes are roughly comparable. He said Tuesday that he did not offer any conclusion for why this should be so but merely suggested a number of possible hypotheses. end Globe ****** Mr. Summers received a B.S. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975 and a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1982. He was Professor of Economics at Harvard from 1983-1993. ***** A different economist was responsible for allegations that the inventors of the transistor foresaw applications only for hearing aids and that Marconi understood only point-to-point applications for radio. Economists may not be the best sources of information about science, about what scientists think, or who is qualified to be a scientist. Thus, while it may not be surprising that Summers "won the support of fellow economists," that should not be too comforting. ****** Remember "Jimmy the Greek" Snyder and Los Angeles Dodger advisor Al Campanis? Maybe it's time for Summers to go. **** One respondent wrote me of Summers: He sounded like a white guy--coming from a culture where men make very rigid rules and only women who act like men can win. **** In a column "You can't say that at Harvard," (eg, Trenton Times, A13, Jan. 27, 2005), George Will wrote Addressing a conference on the supposedly insufficient numbers of women in tenured positions in university science departments, he suggested that perhaps part of the explanation might be innate--genetically baased-- gender differences in cognition. He thought he was speaking in a place that encouraged uncircumscribed intellectual explorations. (...) He was at Harvard, where he is president. Since then he has become a serial apologizer and accomplished groveler. buy cheap cialis generic viagra online cheap viagra cheap cialis

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A curious thing happened in Viroqua on Monday. People actually demonstrated in favor of concentrated animal feeding operations. Local large-scale farmers hauled over fifty pieces of farm equipment onto the streets surrounding Western Technical College, mostly to express opposition to a measure being evaluated by Vernon County's Health Committee that would temporarily restrict development of new livestock operations of 500-1000 animals. Regulations surrounding herds of more than 1000 "animal units" would still fall under Wisconsin Statute 93.90. So basically, Vernon County has proposed to have a stricter standard than the rest of the state of Wisconsin. City folks and small-scale farmers demonstrated to express their support for the proposed moratorium. Virginia Goeke was there are and laments that Unfortunately, some of the media has portrayed this issue as Vernon county Farmers are against the moratorium, meanwhile city folks are for it. John and I, along with other small family farms have spoken publicly in favor of the moratorium at the recent public hearing, however there was a very large showing of very large-scale farmers, replete with their large, new, shiny tractors & spray rigs, that of course grabbed the media eye. It all started when Jeff and Bonnie Parr proposed the development of a 2400 "animal unit" hog operation. As a moratorium, it wouldn't permanently ban the development of such large-scale farms. Health Committee member Gail Frie said, "This is a temporary short-term moratorium, not a prohibition." The idea is that the committee needs more time to arrive at a definitive conclusion on the best way to move forward. The board supported passing the draft moratorium on June 11 on the testimony of David Chakoian who demonstrated that large scale hog farms promote the spread of antibiotic-resistance pathogens. Chakoian's view was rebuked by that of Arthur Mueller, a veterinarian, who concluded that "The important thing is this confinement unit will not threaten the public of its neighbors." This moratorium is not only a good idea; it doesn't go far enough. The conditions that allow concentrated animal feeding operations to exist ought to be made illegal, and I hope that Vernon County will make it so. Furthermore, it is in the best interests of everyone that Vernon County acts in this manner. In a confined animal operation, animals are kept in such close proximity that anti-biotics have to be administered to entire herds. This is even more important because many of these pigs, once able to subsist on anything, are bred or genetically engineered in such a way that they would die outside. Pumping an animal full of antibiotics and then eating it sounds like a recipe for the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and it does in fact result in nasty infections. Chee-Sanford et al. demonstrated in 2001 that antibiotic-resistance can also be transmitted by ground water from liquid animal waste. Given the solid scientific evidence demonstrating that the continued use of antibiotics poses a human health risk, and given that such antibiotics are administered most on concentrated animal feedlot operations, it only makes sense that the proposed moratorium would have a positive impact upon human health. In talking about health risks, we run a risk of focusing too myopically on health and safety issues in neglect of environmental, ethical, culinary, and public interest considerations. These large farms won't be able to compost their animal waste, leading to groundwater pollution. The swine that will live on the Parr's farm will experience very low quality of life, which many people would consider unethical. Omnivores ought to demand this moratorium in light of the fact that happy animals taste better than sad animals. Is it in the public interest that the swine industry should become progressively more consolidated? Is this in support of the area's famed rural agrarian heritage? Does the potentially lethal malodorous effluent rank high on the dread-and-outrage scale in the public view? Does an increase in antibiotic resistance bacteria post a threat to national security? This is precisely the sort of political trap the food industry has relied upon for decades. Hasn't anyone read Safe Food by Marion Nestle? The Vernon County board should open the discussion to consider all relevant views of the topic, not just health and safety. The real insult to injury here is that the Wisconsin's Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (!!!) (DATCAP) has threatened to sue Vernon County if the moratorium goes into effect. Virginia Goeke alleges that the "DATCAP/ state of Wisconsin has been consulting with the National Pork Industry Council on this issue." Pint and Fork cannot confirm nor deny this claim. If they define consumer protection as doing everything in their power to subvert the public interest in favor of private interest, they're doing an excellent job fulfilling their mission statement. Farms that confine animals and use antibiotics pose a threat to human health, contaminate Wisconsin's ground and surface waters, threatens our heritage and debases our collective identity, and is not in the interests of anyone. Wisconsin has long been an agricultural leader; standing our ground and not giving in to the interests of a few factory farms preserves that leadership. cheap viagra buy cilais Generic Viagra cheap cialis

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Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has congratulated Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha for being picked as Malaysia's first angkasawan (cosmonaut) who will go on a space mission tomorrow. "I wish to congratulate him. I'm very happy that our man has been chosen for this special mission into space. I hope that he'll do well ," he told reporters after chairing the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) board meeting here today. "I'm sure the Russians know best after having conducted the test. They have done everything they could to ensure that the person who is finally selected for the mission will be the one who is capable of performing the task that is assigned to him," he said. Dr Sheikh Muszaphar was picked by the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) selection panel to join American Commander Peggy Whitson and Russian flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko for the space mission that will blast off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 7.21pm local time (9.21pm Malaysian time) . The 35-year-old orthopaedic surgeon from Seremban will spend 10 days on the International Space Station. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Dr Sheikh Muszaphar was chosen on merit , his suitability to become an angkasawan and ability to conduct scientific experiments during his space sojourn. ( Bernama ) ***** We too should offer our congratulations to the successful angkasawan . This blog wishes Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha all the very best in this space trip and may God protect him and his fellow crew members throughout the historic and momentous journey. Indeed we should all be very, very proud that a Malaysian has finally made it to space and may this be the beginning of a new era of space research and innovation in Malaysia. Image - Source Labels: Malaysian Astronauts. cheap viagra generic viagra online buy cilais buy cheap cialis

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