Free Republic

The following speaks pretty much for itself, and we have provided the entire statement so there is no chance of taking words out of context. The thought that someone who is so ignorant as to believe that automation and technology harms workers–the exact position of the Luddites two centuries ago–could even conceivably become a Senator, let alone President, is truly frightening. Barack Obama on Economics: ‘We’re Going Through a Big Shift’ [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121365641014879041.html?mod=Leader-US] June 17, 2008 …WSJ: You talked about the last eight years and the question of redistribution goes way back … Sen. Obama: Oh, there’s no doubt about it....

TARRYTOWN, NY—Representative Duncan L. Hunter was presented the Hand Tools Institute American Manufacturing Champion award by representatives of the Hand Tools Institute (HTI), a trade association of American hand tool manufacturers. This award is intended to recognize legislators that demonstrate strong support for manufacturing. Representative Hunter is the first recipient of this award. Scott Meyer, president emeritus of HTI presented the award to Congressman Hunter in his offices in Washington, DC. During the presentation, Mr. Myer said, “The board of directors of the Hand Tools Institute voted unanimously to present this award to you, Congressman Hunter, in recognition of your...

THE Conservatives will propose banning plasma screens and other energy-guzzling electrical goods in a report to be unveiled next week. The proposals target white goods like fridges and freezers, as well as TVs, personal computers and DVD players that use too much energy or operate on stand-by. The ideas come from a Conservative group set up by David Cameron to develop policies to protect the environment and although the measures to make household electrical appliances more energy efficient are not binding on Mr Cameron, they are thought likely to be warmly received by the Tory leader. The group will also...

Andrew Paul Gutierrez, a 67-year-old professor of ecosystems science in UC Berkeley's College of Natural Resources, has a word for those who believe human ingenuity and productivity are boundless. He calls them "cornucopians." He thinks cornucopians are misguided and prone to taking big risks that can backfire. That's one of the reasons he is upset that the university where he has spent his entire academic life is joining with oil giant BP in a $500 million, 10-year program to discover how to mass-produce clean, safe transportation fuels -- such as ethanol -- from biomass in an environmentally safe and cost-effective...

Freeways have changed our way of life and given birth to new industries - Fifty years ago from a hospital room, President Dwight Eisenhower changed America with a flick of his wrist, sending it speeding down an on-ramp toward the future of an automobile-oriented society. In signing the bill that created the nation's interstate highway system, Ike not only kick-started a nationwide freeway construction boom. He also fueled the country's then-burgeoning car culture, which helped drive family car vacations, suburban sprawl, long-distance commutes and frontage-road commercial districts laden with fast-food franchises and chain motels. "It was no less than the...

Immortality is within our grasp . . . In Fantastic Voyage, high-tech visionary Ray Kurzweil teams up with life-extension expert Terry Grossman, M.D., to consider the awesome benefits to human health and longevity promised by the leading edge of medical science--and what you can do today to take full advantage of these startling advances. Citing extensive research findings that sound as radical as the most speculative science fiction, Kurzweil and Grossman offer a program designed to slow aging and disease processes to such a degree that you should be in good health and good spirits when the more extreme...

The Stanford University Symbolic Systems Program and the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence announced today the Singularity Summit at Stanford, a one-day event free to the public, to be held Saturday, May 13, 2006 at Stanford Memorial Auditorium, Stanford, California. The event will bring together leading futurists and others to examine the implications of the "Singularity" -- a hypothesized creation of superintelligence as technology accelerates over the coming decades -- to address the profound implications of this radical and controversial scenario. "The Singularity will be a future period during which the pace of technological change will be so rapid, its...

Options for a coming singularity include self-destruction of civilization, a positive singularity, a negative singularity (machines take over), and retreat into tradition. Our urgent goal: find (and avoid) failure modes, using anticipation (thought experiments) and resiliency -- establishing robust systems that can deal with almost any problem as it arises. In order to give you pleasant dreams tonight, let me offer a few possibilities about the days that lie ahead—changes that may occur within the next twenty or so years, roughly a single human generation. Possibilities that are taken seriously by some of today's best minds. Potential transformations of human...

At the onset of the twenty-first century, humanity stands on the verge of the most transforming and the most thrilling period in its history. It will be an era in which the very nature of what it means to be human will be both enriched and challenged, as our species breaks the shackles of its genetic legacy and achieves inconceivable heights of intelligence, material progress, and longevity. For over three decades, the great inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil has been one of the most respected and provocative advocates of the role of technology in our future. In his classic...

“For They That Sow the Wind Shall Reap the Whirlwind” As Hurricane Katrina dismantles Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, it’s worth recalling the central role that Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour played in derailing the Kyoto Protocol and kiboshing President Bush’s iron-clad campaign promise to regulate CO2. ..... Well, the science is clear. This month, a study published in the journal Nature by a renowned MIT climatologist linked the increasing prevalence of destructive hurricanes to human-induced global warming. Now we are all learning what it’s like to reap the whirlwind of fossil fuel dependence which Barbour and his cronies have encouraged. Our destructive...

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Richard Stevens wants to shed some light on the murky origins of breast cancer. The University of Connecticut cancer epidemiologist says there still is no scientific consensus about why the incidence of the disease is so much higher in the developed world. The literature on breast cancer is littered with discredited theories about environmental and lifestyle factors that may contribute to the onset of the disease. "We knew more about the cause of breast cancer 20 years ago than we do today," Stevens said. "What we do know is that it must have something to do with industrialized society." Only...

Biodynamic food is grown out of a spiritual understanding of nature A bakery is fighting plans for a phone mast because it claims radio waves will ruin its "cosmic bread". Artisan Bread say emissions from the antenna will disrupt "subtle forces" which help to make the loaves. The bakery plots planetary movements and uses a special calendar to work out the best time to make the bread. But it is claimed the shop in Whitstable, Kent, would lose its special licence because the mast is too close to the premises. Bakery owner Ingrid Greenfield, who supplies exclusive shops including...

SPACE PRIVATIZATION: ROAD TO CONFLICT? June 21, 2003 By Bruce Gagnon The news brings us the story of "space pioneers" launching privately funded craft into the heavens. A special prize is offered to the first private aerospace corporation who can successfully take a pilot and a "space tourist" into orbit. Is this "privatization" of space a good thing? Is there any reason to be concerned about the trend? Are there any serious questions that should be raised at this historic moment? Three major issues come immediately to mind concerning space privatization. Space as an environment, space law, and profit in...

Recent Scientific Papers on ALH 84001 Explained, with Insightful and Totally Objective Commentaries Ended December 12, 2000 Allan Treiman Lunar and Planetary Institute SEE LINK! THere is too much to post here.

In his recent American Prospect Online article, "Attack of the Metaphors," Matthew Nisbet lucidly explains why even though it shouldn't, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones will inevitably come to shape this nation's ongoing political debate about cloning. George Lucas's take on this technology, Nisbet argues, resonates with themes from Brave New World, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and other influential texts concerned with misuses of science, from The Island of Dr. Moreau to Jurassic Park. Besides Star Wars itself, perhaps the most recent work in this genre is Spider Man, yet another tale of hubris, science run amok, and...