Whos is Big Brother? It's everyone!

I am amazed, really! Almost everyone I know worries about privacy, protecting personal information and identity theft. Almost everyone I know think there are too many cameras monitoring sidewalks and roads. Many think "The Government" is somehow spying on it's citizens and almost everyone I know was absolutely flabbergasted when they heard of the infamous Patriot Act that allowed the US government to monitor phone conversations without any permission from a judge. Ok...privacy is precious...right? RIGHT!

I do not want to look at the Facebook profile of my step-kids because I am too afraid of what I might find....I've seen it too many times. Party pictures posted on a social networking site will entertain your friends for a while but what is on the net can be saved on any computer and, eventually, could be used against you! My question is this...who would be willing to use that info? Very simple answer: your friends, your family, your colleagues, your neighbours, the police, the government....ANYONE could use ANY picture to prevent you from getting that promotion, that new job....and what else?

Recently Michael Phelps commited the mistake of being caught on a camera-phone while smoking some illicit substance. In the paper this morning I saw that picture of Jon Favreau, Obama's star-speechwriter grabbing Hilary Clinton's breast...it was a cardboard Hilary Clinton but it was extremely disrespectful.

These pictures were probably sent via an anonymous email (I am not sure, I did not check that fact...I have lots of marking to do still...) but it seems to me that "THE Government" does not need to spy on us....we already do that for "Them"....Come on people, we cannot change human nature but we can be a bit more careful about stuff we post online....can we?????

If it has anything to do with Obama...it's news!

Amazing! This 45 seconds little video is posted on CNN's website. No sound, it even looks like this video was shot from a camera phone. To make things even sorse, Obama does not really bumps his head, he just found the top of the door on his way in the helicopter. Come on...this is not news! Or is it???

Obama's doodle...

I doodle all the time! Maybe I should watch it...someone might analyse my doodles....interesting anyway!

The Elephant, the Donkey and stem cell research!

It's not always easy to predict who is going to vote for which candidate...even the polls tend to predict a trend that fails to materialize when the the big day comes. This special year where our close neighbours will decide on a new administration, it seems like reasearchers involved in embryonic stem cell science can only vote one way....the Donkey way! As mentionned by Obama himself, embryonic stem cell research could be funded again if he is elected. This is a different view from McCain's who (might have) changed his mind since the California primaries

Here is a sample of what they said recently according to the Science Debate 2008

OBAMA

"I strongly support expanding research on stem cells. I believe that the restrictions that President Bush has placed on funding of human embryonic stem cell research have handcuffed our scientists and hindered our ability to compete with other nations. As president, I will lift the current administration’s ban on federal funding of research on embryonic stem cell lines created after August 9, 2001 through executive order, and I will ensure that all research on stem cells is conducted ethically and with rigorous oversight"

MCCAIN

"While I support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, I believe clear lines should be drawn that reflect a refusal to sacrifice moral values and ethical principles for the sake of scientific progress. Moreover, I believe that recent scientific breakthroughs raise the hope that one day this debate will be rendered academic. I also support funding for other research programs, including amniotic fluid and adult stem cell research which hold much scientific promise and do not involve the use of embryos. I oppose the intentional creation of human embryos for research purposes and I voted to ban the practice of “fetal farming,” making it a federal crime for researchers to use cells or fetal tissue from an embryo created for research purposes."

Here is what McCain said during the California primaries

"I believe that we need to fund this. This is a tough issue for those of us in the pro-life community. I would remind you that these stem cells are either going to be discarded or perpetually frozen.

We need to do what we can to relieve human suffering. It's a tough issue. I support federal funding."

Via: BioTechniques newsletter