The 21^st Century Gene Wars, is your Bloodline ready?

originally published on: http://themedicalblog.net/2014/11/06/dr-samori-swygert-emerging-biotechnology-may-allow-humans-to-have-genes-of-an-animal/

The race for ultimate genetic supremacy has begun. Does your family bloodline and gene pool have what it takes to survive this millennium? The preservation of a supreme generation or the elimination of a “lesser bloodline” is presently at stake.

The scientific and technological worlds have engaged in intercourse and given birth to “biotechnology.” The field of biotechnology is producing revolutionary and groundbreaking discoveries that will forever change mankind as we know today.

Many of us are familiar with Adolf Hitler’s obsession with the ultimate Aryan race, Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species, phrases like “survival of the fittest,” “ethnic cleansing,” “eugenics,” and other biological terminologies.

The A La Carte Baby

The future is here. Gene selection is a reality, and global discourse and discussions are taking place as I type. The Council on Foreign Relations produces a journal titled, Foreign Affairs. This past October issue contained an article by Jamie Metzel titled, “The Genetics Epidemic.”

The author detailed how easy it is now for individuals to select the genes they want for their babies. The choice extends to the baby’s gender, hair color, eye color, and basically anything you desire for your child. This is like creating your dinner from an A La Carte menu.

Advances in genome sequencing allows each gene inside the human body to be decoded, and scientists can literally “swap out” or “interchange” desirable or undesirable genes.

The crux of the matter

Like any argument, there are pros and cons in the debate. There is the initial problem that needs to be solved, and then there are the ramifications or potential unintended results that create new problems.

Globally, there are several genetic disorders that create debilitating physiological conditions. Certain disorders such as: Cystic Fibrosis, Sickle Cell Anemia, Down Syndrome, Huntington’s Disease, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Hemophilia, or Tay-Sachs disease, are more prevalent in some people.

Gene therapy is a field of biotechnology that uses alterations of your genetic code to prevent these conditions and currently to repair the genetic defect that causes these conditions.

This seems favorable and desirable because most parents would love to prevent their offspring from succumbing to conditions like the aforementioned. You simply “swap out” the defect for a correct version of the gene.

However, the blurring of lines and gray areas begin to surface once we can select genes. Why shouldn’t a parent select their child’s eye color, hair length and texture, height, or muscular build? However, it gets deeper than this.

Researchers have decoded the human genome and are now on the new “Brain Project.” This project is currently underway by the government, where scientists are trying to discover all the inner-workings and biological intricacies of the human brain. This includes any and all genes or undiscovered wonders that may code for intelligence or facilitate the ease in which learning and intelligence are developed.

The journal article says that the speed in which this is and has developed is so fast that the science has arrived before any laws can be made to govern and regulate genetic manipulation. I agree with the author in the article. There needs to be a global conference to establish boundaries of genetic manipulation when it has nothing to do with correcting or preventing a genetic disease.

Money Matters

Here’s my position on this matter: What happens if and when they do discover some gene or physiological breakthrough that permits use of 100% of our brain (otherwise unable to use without a manipulation)?   Individuals with access to unlimited amounts of cash and wealth, like 1%’rs, can use this as a method of stratifying humanity on a whole new level. This stratification wouldn’t be based on money, or color, but basically…species of human.

What happens to poverty-stricken families and struggling middle class families that lack the financial power for gene manipulation to compete in the “genetic Olympics”? Do you think it would be fair, equal, and balanced if your child has to compete with some genetically altered super baby? Will your child be outclassed for professional careers, ownership, and sheer dominance of humanity?

The Foreign Affairs article even goes as far as discussing the option to swap out human genes to interchange with other animal genes. So imagine a child with the muscular fibers of a lion or the genetic arrangement for the vision of an eagle.

What are your thoughts? Are you ready? Are we ready?  Should this be legal?

Hit me on Twitter: @docswagg06

Source: 1, 2, 3, 4

Do you know what “SMART DUST” is?

By: Dr. Samori Swygert

Omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), and omnipresent (present everywhere), these three terms are typically used to describe the attributes of God in many faiths and religions. Mankind is rapidly pursuing obtainment of these deity defining terms.

We’ve created the most sophisticated weaponry of mechanical, nuclear, and biological capacities to account for the quest of power. We’ve devised some of the most intricate, complex, and hi-tech methods of transportation from your car to MAC speed jet engines, to drones, to space shuttles that promise to usher humanity to space missions to Mars. This is our effort to demonstrate omnipresence. Lastly, we’ve made everything intelligent or smart: smart phones, smart computers, smart cars, smart refrigerators, smart chips, I-robots, and nano-technology to plead the case for being omniscient (all knowing).

If you’re familiar with my writings you may notice I love keeping up with environmental issues and the advances in technology. I was reading a book on Singularity by Ray Kurzweil, a leading expert in the field of robotics and human interface. He began discussing something called “Smart Dust”. He further explained how this smart dust would be disseminated all over the earth for supreme intelligence.

I began doing some online research about this technological advancement and was blown away by the potential, magnitude and implications of this “smart dust”. Basically smart dust are these tiny particles that are like the size of a grain of rice and are currently being made smaller than that. They possess microcomputers that sense and detect a variety of input. They will sense sound, temperature and climate, altitude, vegetation, terrain, position, molecular composition, motion, and an assortment of things. The capabilities are only limited to the imagination and ingenuity of the designer.

The objective is to spray this material over all cities, embed them in infrastructure, devices, and more with the objective of creating a smart society. This would lead to the monitoring of every square inch of earth. Society can then be measurable, predictable, and ultimately choreographed to the person or group in control of this vast array of knowledge.

I happened to watch the movie Transcendence with Johnny Depp and I see a direct parallel with what they were showing in the movie. I won’t go further to avoid spoiling the plot for you, but it’s a worthwhile film. How would you feel knowing that every single aspect of your life will be officially “bugged”? We are almost there.

I was reading some articles from MIT’s Technology Review and they actually have developed smart dust to be incorporated into the human brain and other body parts.

I’ll let you decide for yourself. Below are some articles and a Youtube video to expand the conversation.

What are your thoughts on this? Are we going to far?  Is this what they’re spraying in the air and we think it’s plane exhaust?

http://youtu.be/GvdGggusRYU

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/05/03/smart.dust.sensors/

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/517091/how-smart-dust-could-spy-on-your-brain/

New Facebook feature can access your phone’s mic

by Dr. Samori Swygert

We’re in an era where cash is king, and information converts to currency and/or control. Every aspect of our life has become inundated with some digital platform. Facebook has developed a new app that allows them to turn on your cellphone’s microphone and record all your background audio.

The app is currently optional, so this feature is not imposed on the Facebook user, you have to opt-in. Facebook has issued public relations claims that they’re not recording and storing the audio data that is used for this new smartphone app. The app currently operates on the IOS and Android smartphone platforms.

Based on an article in Forbes Magazine, the app works by activating your smartphone microphone whenever you post a Facebook update. The sound is encoded, and then matched against a databank of audio files in real-time. This function allows users to see what their friends may be listening to or watching.

According to the article, Facebook believes this also facilitates a tailored and enhanced experience of the user’s music, TV show, and movie preferences. So, if I’m watching “Breaking Bad,” and post a Facebook update (while opted-in on the app), the sound gets recorded, coded, and matched with millions of audio files that Facebook can possibly make recommendations and update my friends about. This is similar to shopping for a book on Amazon. You purchase the book you’ve been searching for, but Amazon will also furnish their recommendations of similar materials. The only difference is Facebook’s feature is done sonically, and is a little more invasive or intrusive. However, you must opt-in.

This sounds like a hit for Facebook, and a home run for “Big Data.” My concerns reside in the fact that this is only the beginning. Companies always revise and update their policies and end-user agreements. It’s pertinent to remember that many companies and digital services share their database with the government. Just over a week ago, the YourBlackWorld team published an article I wrote about a contract that Twitter signed with the Library of Congress. The agreement allows the Library of Congress to archive all Tweets that are posted.

I can easily see the capabilities of this app being exploited by the government in the name of “national security and antiterrorism.” Let’s think about this for a second: Your smartphone has GPS tracking so your physical coordinates can be mapped to your specific location. If there is an app that can turn on your microphone, then surely there’s an app currently unbeknownst to you that can turn on your phone’s camera. This sets the stage for 24/7/365 surveillance.

What’s in a public relations statement?

How do you measure or test the veracity and truthfulness of a public statement from a company? Unless you have developed the software algorithms, and designed the app features personally, you’re really left to believe what companies promise you. Unless you’re in their IT department, and behind the closed-doors of their headquarters, you have no idea what employees are doing with your data. Hell, the government didn’t even know what Snowden was doing with NSA data until he exposed them.

Really think about this: How do you trust any public statement after several banking scandals, Bernie Madoff, Eric Snowden, the NSA, the IRS email scandal, or even a cheating spouse that vowed before God to not cheat? There will always be a flaw in the system when we involve humans to safeguard sensitive data. The human nature is corruptible in the face and opportunity to ascertain power. We’re familiar with the quote, “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The “honor system” will always fail.

My last thoughts on big data

Big data is a double edged sword because it possesses tremendous potential to solve problems. The problem with big data is, “us.” This is the same dilemma with almost any physics or scientific development.

Radioactive elements are ever-present in nature; however, we’ve harnessed them to develop nuclear weapons, but we also use it as a source of energy. We’ve advanced the field of science, and in addition to developing cures, we develop bioengineered bacteria and viruses for germ warfare. This is how I see the progression of big data.

Big data allows profiles to be built about you by people you don’t even know. This allows agencies, institutions, jobs, and other bodies to prejudge, grade, rank, categorize, and label you without considering or factoring everything that makes you, you.

For instance, I could be a college student doing a term paper on methods to combat terrorism. To conduct my research, I have to read several articles about terrorism all over the internet to build the references for my paper. However, because I’ve researched various websites and archives, I might be put on a terrorist watch list, but I’m not a terrorist at all, I’m just a poor college student trying to complete my curriculum criteria.

In conclusion, I think this is a win for Facebook, and another step down a slippery slope of the loss of privacy and civil liberties for the American populace.

Source:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2014/05/22/facebook-wants-to-listen-in-on-what-youre-doing/

http://www.techyville.com/2014/06/news/dr-samori-swygert-your-tweets-are-being-archived-by-the-government/

What happens when drones become weaponized domestically?

by Dr. Samori Swygert

Most Americans are familiar with drones or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). What will happen when drones become weaponized domestically?

This article will address the dangerous possibilities of the manipulation and exploitation of drone technology and the dilemma of science and technology that outpaces legislation and regulation.

Some citizens are unconcerned about drones.  Many feel that drones provide national security. However, drones are like any other device that can be used as a weapon. The final result resides with the person in control of the apparatus.

Here’s an example:

You can put a gun in the hand of a well-trained, ethical police officer and she/he can provide security without a problem. You can take the same gun and put it in the hands of a Virginia Tech student, and he can kill and injure multitudes of innocent citizens. What is the intent and mind state of the operators of these killing apparatuses?

Now that drone technology is out of Pandora’s Box, what are we to do? The government isn’t the only manufacturer of drones, there are private sector manufacturers that construct drones.

To confound the situation, we also have home-made engineers and physicists that build all types of machines and apparatuses within the confines of their abode.

The majority of American inventions were built in an attic, basement, garage, backyard, or private lab. These same inventions are eventually sold to government agencies, corporations, or propel the inventor into successful entrepreneurship.

I forecast that in the near future, backyard inventors will equip home-made drones with guns and other forms of munitions. The moment this occurs, we will witness some of the most unthinkable atrocities across the country.

Exploring the possible implications

Think about how Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, and John Kennedy were assassinated. Imagine an armed weaponized drone that can hover around a specific target unknowingly and discreetly. The drone could be perched at an inaccessible but perfect vantage point for a kill shot, and then remotely guided back to its owner with stealth. Instead of drive-by’s we could start seeing fly-by’s.

Think about how we have Neo-Nazis, KKK, Skinheads, and other racists and anti-Semitic groups across the country. These groups could wage their own sick wars on innocent civilians with personal weaponized drones. They could fly these drones into highly populated African American communities and take out many blacks, and the news would probably say, “They were victims of random acts of gun viοlence, gang wars, innocent by-standers, or drug related shootings,” and people wouldn’t think twice.

Let me make this clear: This could enable a high-tech, modern day “Black Wall Street” or “16^th Street Baptist Church Bombing.” The Black Wall Street bombing was the aerial fire-bombing of a productive African American community in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The 16^th Street Baptist Church bombing in Alabama was a hate crime where four little girls were killed by a racist. The only difference now is that this new technology could allow this to be done by a drone.

You may say I’m pushing the envelope, but let’s extrapolate this to mass school shootings. Imagine a sick individual that has positioned a weaponized drone by schools, offices, or shopping malls, and remotely shoots innocent civilians while at home eating milk and cookies like it’s a video game. Woah! Well we just saw two 12-year-old girls stαb another girl multiple times to please a fictional internet character.

Let’s be logical

I’m just a writer that thinks about situations from several angles other than the one angle presented. The use of drones is presented as a security tool, but there are many other dimensions that are ignored and intentionally dismissed.

Last week, CBS reported that a Seattle woman saw a drone hovering outside her apartment window and viewing her activity. The woman alerted the building staff and they went outside, at that point the owners of the drone quickly packed up their equipment and drove away before local authorities arrived.

According to Politico, this also happened to Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Dianne Feinstien said she walked up to one of the windows in her home and a drone was positioned just inches away from her face. Once that occurred, she began pressing for drone regulation. Now, imagine if that was weaponized.

My thoughts

I think it’s too late now. The technology is here, and you can’t regulate criminals. You can make laws, but a criminal’s philosophy is premised on the disregard for law. How do you regulate and control what people are building in their homes?

My other concern is the government or police’s use of drones domestically. Once you’re on a watchlist, you don’t know if you’re targeted for surveillance and or elimination. There is a no fly-list, but people are unaware of the eligibility criteria that places them on this type of list and other lists. What happens if you’re viewed as a threat or your name is confused with another individual that should be on a watch-list? There are even companies in South Africa that have built drones that fire pepper spray bullets for striking South African miners.

However, there is a drone industry, and industries generate money and tax-based revenue. I’m very cautious about the use of drones. If I can see this and feel reluctance and apprehension, please believe some sicko is probably already plotting and salivating for the right time.

This is not a case of IF but a case of WHEN.  Keep your eyes peeled! Peace!

Here is a Youtube parody clip I made from Watch the throne by Jay-Z and Kanye West:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iEHFRgW-j8Q

Test tube beef: The perversion of science

by Dr. Samori Swygert

In the words of Sam Cooke: “A change is gonna come.”

Scientist are now creating test tube meat for us to eat in the future.  While many of us went to the South by Southwest festival for concerts, scientists and financiers went to conferences.  Yes, at the same festival they had scientific symposiums that contemplated over the future of our food supply and more. Did you get tickets for that part of South by Southwest?

A father and son biotech company known as Forgacs, presented how they can produce edible meat for the global population and create leather for fashion and luxury purposes.

The Forgac’s proposed purpose is that their method of “meat production” is more ecologically friendly and more demographically sustainable. They operate under the postulate and hypothesis that, digestive waste from cows is a direct contributor to excess methane gas production, and thus contributes to the problematic Greenhouse effect. The father/son company also say that breeding and cultivating livestock of cattle contributes to excess water consumption and contamination of water. The last argument they pose is that the world’s population is growing exponentially and the demand for meat is predicted to double in 40 years.

As detailed by CNN, here’s how the test tube meat development process works: They extract a portion of muscle from a steer (a domesticated and castrated male cow), add proteins that “stimulate growth,” place it in an incubator, then on a Petri dish, and then build the layer with a 3D printer to the desired shape and proportion. The company has already raised millions to further their endeavor.

What’s interesting about this is how they articulated their plan.  I say always watch the verbiage in rules, laws, and policies.  This is a quote directly from the article, “There is an empirical question to answer about whether people will accept it as meat, and what criteria we use to define cultured meat as meat.”

This is not innovation, this is simply delicious chemistry, and flavored technology!

This test tube meat development underscores the importance of land ownership and farming.  Ownership of farm and livestock grants a certain amount of comfort, because you are responsible and conscious of your consumption.  This fake nutrition removes any and all safeguards of natural nutrition because you don’t know what they are putting in your food.  Without land and animals, we have no access to produce healthy vegetation and meat, we will have no choice.

The lack of assets will only leave us with an appetite that is fed with this pseudo-foodstuffs.  We always hear about the rates of Autism, infertility, cancer, diabetes, ADHD, Bipolar disorder, cardiovascular disease, obesity, etc., but we don’t think twice about the fraudulent frankfurters, bogus bologna, ham hock hoax, KFC (Kentucky Fried Clone), counterfeit corn, pretend pork, and swindled sweetners.

Many people may not read the Bible, and I understand, but if you’re interested, I encourage you to read a short passage.  The passage is from the book of Daniel 1:8-16.  This talks about how people should refrain from eating the “king’s meat,” and its’ effects on the body.

My people let’s not be gullible and naïve.  Businessmen, scientists, and politicians are up night and day in their think tanks devising plans to control each and every solitary item in the universe that we use.  They will squeeze the last penny from a rock and leave no stone un-turned for the almighty dollar.

Lastly, I encourage you to really pay attention to these Sci-Fi movies when they come out.  They’re giving us a glimpse of what’s to come in the future.  Look at “Minority Report,” the “Matrix,” “They Live,” “Blade Runner,” “Transcendence,” “Hunger Games,” and more.

I spoke with an older Italian man about three years ago, and his conversation stuck with me.  He said “something is coming down the pipeline that people better be ready for, because a culling is underway.”  He told me to watch an old movie titled “SOYLENT GREEN” (release date of 1973) to understand some of what he meant.  I purchased it, and all I can say is “we are moving on schedule.” In the same CNN article about fake beef, a company has already made a drink called “SOYLENT.”  The film “Soylent Green” predicts the world in the year 2022… Peace.

Does Dr. Ben Carson really believe everyone should be microchipped?

By: Dr. Samori Swygert

I was listening to a rebroadcast of Roland Martin’s radio show on WOL Friday morning, and during the show he aired an interview he had with retired Pediatric Neurosurgeon, Dr. Ben Carson.  As a young black male with a career in healthcare, I became enamored with Dr. Carson while in undergrad.

I read his books Gifted Hands, and The Big Picture.  They were very inspirational and thought provoking.  It motivated me because his domestic situation mirrored mine.  My mother raised two young black males in an urban city after my father’s death, and I took a true liking to reading and followed the health sciences path for my career pursuit.

However, since Dr. Carson’s retirement, he’s thrown his hat in the political arena.  He doesn’t like to claim any one particular party, and denounces political labeling, but the majority of his recent appearances side with Republican ideology.  I don’t knock him for his beliefs.  I believe people can respectfully and harmoniously embrace or disagree on ideals.  Many times, vitriolic name-calling forces a person to become more defensive rather than receptive to an alternative perspective.

I also agree with him on some points. For example, he believes our budget needs streamlining because the American deficit is out of control ($17 Trillion dollars).    I highly agree!  He also broke it down numerically so that people could understand the enormity of our debt crisis.  Dr. Carson said if America paid $10 Million dollars everyday toward its’ debt, it would take 4,657 years to pay off $17 trillion dollars (YIKES!!). I calculated it, and he was correct.  That’s a serious problem.  My question is, “What is the most fiscally responsible plan to shorten that time frame, without cutting crucial programs that many Americans need?”

Dr. Ben Carson has a chip on his shoulder

Dr. Carson said something else that shocked me and made the hairs on the back of neck stand, nostrils flare, and raise my eyebrows.  He feels that every American should be “microchipped” with an RFID data microchip. 

His position was from a healthcare perspective.  More and more hospitals, clinics, and healthcare systems are incorporating electronic patient medical records.  This is done to maintain a complete profile that is easily accessible and updated incase a patient goes from one institution to another.

This permits doctors to see what kind of care plans, procedures, medications, tests, and diagnoses have been made previously to avoid duplication, unnecessary diagnostics, and etc. ( e.g. you wouldn’t want extra X-Rays if unwarranted).

Dr. Carson feels that if all our personal health information was encoded and injected into a person, it would decrease the loss of data, identity fraud, and other inconveniences.  Moreover,  other healthcare practitioners feel this facilitates a continuum of information in extreme circumstances.  For instance,  a person may be found unconscious or disoriented and can’t communicate the proper health information to emergency personnel.  Medical staff could just scan the chip and retrieve all pertinent data to provide appropriate medical attention.

However, this is a very edgy conversation with a very slippery slope.  Many people are objectionable to this.  We’ve seen how the misuse and abuse of data can be disastrous.  The whole NSA debacle has really put a bad Orwellian — George Orwell based ,1984, authoritarian surveillance state novel — taste on the palate of many Americans.

We’ve seen how millions of texts, emails, and phone conversations were being secretly monitored.  We’ve heard how the IRS was peering into political party financial activities and how the government has been “allegedly” spying on congressional lawmakers.   There would have been no talk of surveillance reform had it not been for Edward Snowden.

We’ve seen how easy Target has been hacked and their customer database compromised.  We’ve also witnessed the shortfalls of the Obamacare website.  So first and foremost, how and who will guarantee the security of everyone’s data?  How do you guarantee the veracity and integrity of character of individuals that access this data?

Imagine if a hacker accessed your data and changed the blood type on your medical record, and you received the wrong blood transfusion! What if a hacker switched your allergy information and you received medication that you are not supposed to have?  What if a hacker posted false test results like you’re HIV positive, or inputs a diagnosis of cancer, or false X-Rays, or false billing charges??  This could be disastrous, but this can also be done without the chip (as long as they access your electronic medical record).

Lastly, who else will have access to this microchip data?  Could the government mandate it as an addendum, amendment, or prerequisite for healthcare coverage in the future?   How will they analyze and apply the data that’s obtained?  For instance, many jobs use your credit score and SAT scores as employment criteria, and many people don’t know this.

This means that unbeknownst to you, some unknown entity utilized information about you to make life altering decisions based on private criteria that they’re only privileged to.  They haven’t asked you to explain your situation, they’ve just prejudged you.  Furthermore, this can lead to permanent GPS tracking, financial tracking, and a slew of other privacy violations beyond what your cellphone, car black-box, and social media reveal.

The idea of microchipping citizens needs to undergo a thorough cogent analysis and consider the rights and wishes of the American citizens.  If America disregards the wishes of its citizens and mandates this, then we have officially migrated to a true authoritarian dictatorship.

Do you want to be “Lo-jacked”?

Below is a link for Channel 7 Eyewitness news video about microchips for humans:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URTV128IeD8&feature=player_embedded

Smart Guns will shoot out the 2^nd Amendment

By: Doc Swagg

Technology has figured a clever way to maneuver around gun-rights advocates, and manipulate 2^nd Amendment rights.  The United States is turning to tech savvy companies to solve the gun control debate.

Diane Feinstein, Michael Bloomberg, and President Obama are among the most vocal proponents for gun control and gun bans in America.  Their rivals are the NRA and a vast majority of the Tea Party.  The onus of the debate is the threat of violation of 2^nd amendment rights of the citizens, and the skeptical possibility of a tyrannical government against a defenseless populace.

The two factions have a legitimate basis for their arguments.  We’ve seen how schools, movies, temples, and neighborhoods have been victimized by gun violence.  We’ve also seen how Hitler systematically disarmed German citizens as the Nazi party seized control.  We’ve also seen how the lack of firepower or equivalent firepower was responsible for the demise of Native Americans, numerous African nations, and served the perpetuation of slavery.

A cyclical trend has been established each time a mass shooting occurs or gun legislation gets proposed.  People will act shocked, the news will cover it for a week or so, the nation will mourn, a speech will be made by the President, a day of prayer will be established, gun debates ensue, and then gun and ammo sales go through the roof.

Well a game changer is on its way.  Companies have developed various methods to circumvent this redundant dispute.  Several companies are making guns with RFID microchips within the gun that track where the gun is at all times.  Some companies want to use SIM cards like cellphones so they can monitor location from mobile networks, and they can essentially disable your gun remotely.

A company named, TriggerSmart, has developed a system to regulate assault rifles (the big talk around town in America), where they can “block or unblock the trigger of an assault rifle”.  This would be done by messages sent from an aircraft to mobile towers.  So this would be like a drone that sends a “kill switch” message to a tower to disable all assault rifle triggers in a specific area or specific individual.  Currently the company can “retrofit” older rifles or build it into new ones for $150.

There are other strategies.  Designers have developed wristwatches and rings that are embedded with RFID chips that only fire when they match signals encoded within the gun.  The gun also goes into automatic safety lock when the gun is more than 40 centimeters away from the ring or watch.  I think this is good to reduce crimes committed with stolen guns, and decrease accidental deaths from kids playing with guns.

Kodiak Industries has also developed a gun that unlocks for firing when the owner’s fingerprint is verified on the gun.  Kodiak is not alone, they are also competing with a company in Georgia called, Safe Gun Technology.  You also have a company named, Biomac Systems in California that has thrown their hat in the ring.  These companies are also retrofitting guns that were manufactured prior to this new technology.

Some of the advances propose surgically implanting RFID chips into gun owners so they don’t have to worry about theft or loss of a ring or watch.  The batteries inside many of these new guns last about 8 years for now, but like any technology, it will be improved upon.

My thoughts

I think that this was a very, very, very, clever way to work around the 2^nd amendment, because in essence you can have your AR-15 and AK-47 in your physical possession.  You can bear your arms, but in reality you can be disarmed without having your gun physically confiscated.  That is not discussed in the constitution, and this is the tightrope that technology plays on.  This creates an altered scenario outside the verbiage of constitutional interpretation and application.

I think this technology is very creative and innovative.  I do think that it will save many lives.  Imagine how many lives could be saved if there was a kill switch in our neighborhoods, schools, movie theaters, and places of worship.

However, the argument will still resurface.  The question really is, “do I have the right to defend myself with sufficient weaponry to combat any and all threats to my person, belongings and family without interference by government?”

Would America be America today if it lacked the access to firepower to combat the authoritarian rule of the British Empire?  What guarantees that we won’t head toward authoritarian rule?

Lastly, did you know that New Jersey passed a gun law in 2002 that mandates that all guns within the state be Smart Guns or retrofitted once the technology has been approved and okay’d for sale?  This means they’ve been studying this for over a decade, and we are at that point now.

I don’t know what to think, this is a big toss-up.  What are your thoughts on this?

Source:

http://www.economist.com/news/technology-quarterly/21590764-arms-control-new-technologies-make-it-easier-track-small-arms-and-stop-them

http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/New_Jerseys_2002_smart-gun_law_could_take_effect_soon_limit_supply.html

I can print out your DNA, …literally

By: Doc Swagg

The marriage between science and technology gives birth to some very intriguing offspring.  The human race has been in a constant quest to unravel what makes us human.  This quest has led to the groundbreaking discovery of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).  DNA is composed of a specific sequence of amino acids and bases called nucleotides.  We have our own unique DNA that distinguishes us from other life forms, and then we have our specific DNA that makes me different from my best friend.

A new innovation to DNA sequencing is the use of 3D and 4D laser printers.  Advances in science and technology have now made it possible to physically print DNA.  Yes, we can actually print DNA.  Scientist are now using 4D printers to load nucleotides in cartridges the same way that you may load black and colored ink into a Hewlett Packard, Lexmark, or Canon printer cartridges.  The cartridges are definitely a lot more specialized but the concept is the same.

Sophisticated software allows digital sequencing of DNA that reveals the exact DNA pattern of a person OR organism.  The computer then sends the sequence to the printer, and the nucleotides are generated in exact precision by the printer.  The DNA is an actual physical copy of what was digitally generated.

Essentially there are two implications that people MUST consider as this technology gets incorporated into everyday use by individuals that can afford it, and institutions that will routinely use it.

Scenario #1

DNA is very personal and specific.  An individual’s DNA is nature’s social security number.  Our DNA is present in our saliva, hair, skin cells, blood, finger nails, semen, and countless other bodily products.  Think about how DNA has freed individuals from jail and vindicated them from criminal cases.  However, think about how individuals have staged crime scenes like Mark Fuhrman, tampered with evidence, or false rape allegations, and how some women have secretly used a man’s sperm to impregnate themselves.  These illustrate real life schemes that people engaged in to achieve a predetermined nefarious goal.  Now imagine a prosecutor that is hell bent on saving their law record/reputation or police chief that can lose his job on a landmark court case.

The Supreme Court already made it legal to take DNA of anyone arrested and accused of a crime.  The ability to access this DNA database for a person and print their DNA is now possible.  They can then print your DNA and plant it all over the evidence that is being reviewed in a courtroom exhibit.  Imagine if Mark Fuhrman had OJ’s DNA spread all over the crime scene instead of an ill-fitted glove (OJ’s freedom teetered on glove size).  DNA is considered as confirmatory evidence in court, but what if it’s compromised in a situation like I proposed?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/us/supreme-court-says-police-can-take-dna-samples.html?_r=0

You only need willing participants to make this happen, and we know money, sex, power, and racism will corrupt any man-made system.  Think about how Rosewood was destroyed by a lie about a female getting raped.  The enormity and extent of this is tremendous when you examine the possibilities.  Think about where you shed your DNA on a daily basis.  You go to restaurants, parties, social gatherings, gyms, schools, and your DNA is left all over drinking glasses, soda cans, pillows, airplanes, counters, bathrooms, salons, spas, barbershops, work environments,.…… must I go on?

My point is once this technology becomes ubiquitous, every individual is at risk for incrimination, and becomes a potential victim of technology.  Crooked cops and investigators have paid people to lie on witness stands and falsely implicate innocent people.  What if a cop paid your barber a few thousand dollars to keep your hair after a haircut, or your dentist after a cleaning?

Scenario #2

This is the scariest scenario to me because I work in the medical field. I routinely see infections that are resistant to antibiotics, and antiviral drugs.  Let’s think about H1N1, HIV, Polio, or any virus or bacteria.  Once we are able to sequence a virus or bacteria’s DNA/RNA, we can digitally generate it in a software program.  Then we can load the specific nucleotides into the printer and print that particular virus.

We can take genes from other organisms and insert them into other organism, kind of how we are genetically modifying our foods.  This means that we can hypothetically find the gene sequence for what makes a virus airborne, and insert that into HIV, and make HIV airborne.  We then sequence that and print it out, and you can sneeze HIV onto somebody.  This sounds far-fetched but this is exactly what they are doing.  The Journal of Foreign Affairs published an article about this very issue, and international governments cite this as their number one issue of concern.

Journal of Foreign Affairs article (a must read): http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/140156/laurie-garrett/biologys-brave-new-world

Let’s take this one step further. Once a genetic sequence is digitized in software you can email it to someone in another country like a Microsoft Word document right?  Thus this takes biological warfare to another level.  If we can synthesize a lethal virus, digitally sequence it, and then email it across the globe, we have a HUGE problem on our hands.  The recipient of the email in another country only needs a printer with that capability to start a deadly outbreak.

My thoughts

This is extremely serious, and I believe we’ve opened Pandora’s Box.  Our only hindrance is M&M (morals and money).  The scientific community and their financiers can’t allow this to become pervasive, and must have the strictest of moral integrity.  Polio had been eradicated, but scientists in 2002 actually resynthesized the Polio Virus for “scientific research purposes”, and published their methodology (very irresponsible just to gain notoriety).  We now have Polio popping up in Syria, Africa, and all over the Middle East.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/12/us/traces-of-terror-the-science-scientists-create-a-live-polio-virus.html

What are your thoughts on this?  Are we going too far?  I’ve attached some articles for your review and a video on this topic.

Sources

1. Video-  http://vimeo.com/62255149
2. http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenkotler/2012/07/17/holy-genetically-engineered-organisms-batman-synthetic-biology-has-a-banner-month/
3. http://www.forbes.com/sites/singularity/2012/06/25/most-innovative-decade-in-history/