The first genetic “map” of human diversity is published today by scientists who describe it as a landmark achievement that will revolutionise medicine.

More than 200 researchers from six countries have spent three years and more than £80m deconstructing the human genome to discover the precise genetic differences between people. Whereas the human genome – the basic genetic blueprint – showed that everyone shares 99.9 per cent of their genes, it is the 0.1 per cent difference that can hold clues to illnesses such as asthma, diabetes, dementia, heart disease and cancer.

Scientists have completed the first phase of an ambitious project to tease apart these minute differences to begin to explain why some people develop serious diseases while others with a similar lifestyle remain healthy.

The map of human diversity could also be used to identify patients who respond better to certain drugs as well as explaining the evolutionary origins of humankind by shedding light on the ancient migrations of our ancestors from Africa.
independent.co.uk

…Geoengineering is defined as ‘intentional large scale manipulation of the global environment’, e.g. by altering climate with the primary intention of reducing undesired climate change caused by human influences. ‘Geoengineering schemes seek to mitigate the effect of fossil-fuel combustion on the climate without abating fossil fuel use; for example by placing shields in space to reduce the sunlight incident on the Earth.’ (Keith D.W. 1999. Geoengineering, Encyclopedia of Global Change, New York).

In relation to ‘geoengineering’, the ‘Climate Change 2001’ report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirms that it ‘includes the possibility of engineering the earth’s climate system by large-scale manipulation of the global energy balance. It has been estimated, for example, that the mean effect on the earth surface energy balance from a doubling of CO2 could be offset by an increase of 1.5% to 2% in the earth’s albedo, i.e. by reflecting additional incoming solar radiation back into space…. Teller et al. (1997) found that ~107 t of dielectric aerosols of ~100 nm diameter would be sufficient to increase the albedo of the earth by ~1%. They showed that the required mass of a system based on alumina particles would be similar to that of a system based on sulphuric acid aerosol…(They) demonstrate that use of metallic or optically resonant scatterers can, in principle, greatly reduce the required total mass of scattering particles required.”

If, as very many indications suggest, such programmes and such ideas are already under implementation on a very large scale and outside the framework of international law, then they must either be stopped or legalized.

There is no point in ecological organizations disagreeing with them ‘behind closed doors’ and in public confining themselves to objections at the ‘philosophical’ level.
globalresearch.ca

The fundamnetal issue is who owns the intellectual property rights over Tamiflu. The media reports suggest that the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche will make billions.

While the drug is produced by Roche, it was developed by Gilead Sciences Inc.which owns the intellectual property rights. Gilead, which has maintained a low profile, has outsourced the production to Roche.

Donald Rumsfeld was appointed Chairman of Gilead Sciences, Inc. in 1997, a position which he held in the years prior to becoming Secretary of Defense.in the Bush adminstration. Rumsfeld had been on the Board of Directors from the establishment of Gilead in 1987.
globalresearch.ca

Men are lonelier living on their own than women and less likely to appreciate the freedom and lack of compromise it brings, research has shown.
independent.co.uk

Nelson Mandela may not spin webs like Spiderman or dodge bullets like Batman but, for most South Africans, he is far more of a hero. Now, his struggle against white domination is the subject of a series of comic books designed to re-awaken young South Africans to the history of their black population.

When Nic Buchanan decided to tell the tale of his country’s most famous hero, he decided to enlist the help of young animators. The result is a nine-part comic book series based on Nelson Mandela’s life called Madiba Legacy Series, of which one and a half a million copies will be freely distributed in schools and newspapers.
independent.co.uk

Iran’s hardline President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has stirred up a diplomatic storm and risked further isolating his country by saying that Israel should be “wiped off the map”.

Iran’s refusal officially to recognise Israel’s right to exist is a major obstacle to improved relations between Tehran and the West and has fuelled Israeli fears that the Islamic republic is bent on building a nuclear bomb. Yesterday’s diatribe – the first such outburst in many years by an Iranian leader – will have done nothing to assuage fears.

Speaking to 4,000 radical students attending a conference entitled “The World Without Zionism”, the President was greeted by chants of “Death to Israel”.The former member of the fanatical Revolutionary Guards told his audience that “leaders of the Muslim nation who recognise Israel will burn in the flames of anger of their own people”.
independent.co.uk

Although transnational water companies have suffered setbacks in places like Puerto Rico, Bolivia, and Uruguay, they continue with plans to appropriate the region’s hydrological resources-rivers, aquifers, wells, and aqueduct systems. While “privatization” has become a loaded term in the water business, companies prefer a softer discourse, employing concepts such as “decentralization,” “civil society participation,” and “sustainable development.”
guerillanews.com

…Yes, dramatic and painful images of black people packed into a sports arena-turned-shelter have tweaked the consciences of many. But tweaked consciences are notorious for lapsing back into complacency quickly when no political pressure is applied. Lots of well-off white people may have felt bad about what they saw in New Orleans, but such feelings are not morally admirable unless they lead to action that can change things. That means moving from an emotional reaction to a political analysis, and from speculation about whether things might change to a commitment to making things change.

Racism and racialized poverty in the United States are systemic and structural problems. They are not simply the result of confusion on the part of people in power; they are institutionalized. Progress comes when those systems, structures, and institutions change. That requires collective action, not individual fretting.

It’s true that the collective political project of overcoming racism is intertwined with the very personal struggle to overcome our complacency. It’s true that history can provide dramatic moments in which things can change quickly. But it is naïve — to a degree that suggests purposeful ignorance — to believe that a single emotionally charged experience such as viewing the images of racialized suffering in New Orleans will have a long-term effect on systems, structures, or institutions.
commondreams.org

…The Democrats complicity in the Iraq saga goes much deeper than their willful support of Bush’s war resolution in 2002. How soon we forget that back in 1998, President Clinton signed into law the Iraq Liberation Act drafted by the same Republican hawks that helped thrust forth Bush’s own Iraq policy including; Republican staffer Randy Scheunemann, Donald Rumsfeld, former-CIA director R. James Woosley, and Ahmad Chalabi.

As I discuss in greater detail in Left Out!, Clinton’s legislation outlined the US’s ultimate objective for its involvement in Iraq. That is, to remove Saddam and overthrow his government. When Clinton signed his legislation into law in mid-October 1996, Republican Senator Trent Lott sang his praises: “The Clinton administration regularly calls for bipartisanship in foreign policy. I support them when I can. Today, we see a clear example of a policy that has the broadest possible bi-partisan support. I know the Administration understands the depth of our feeling on this issue.”

Despite Lott’s gratitude, Iraq wasn’t just a Republican issue the Democrat’s had also long propagated falsehoods about Saddam’s potential WMD threat.

“If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear,” President Clinton admitted in February of 1998. “We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program.”

In a letter to President Clinton, Democratic Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry among others wrote in October of 1998, “[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq’s refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs.”

The Iraq invasion isn’t just about the Democrats buying into Bush’s propaganda. Despite popular belief, the Dems had not been duped. The illegal invasion of Iraq was a result of a concert of bi-partisan lies that spewed from the US government over many years. The Democrats were and are just as responsible for the bloodthirsty deceptions as the Republicans.
counterpunch.org

CLINTON, N.Y., Oct. 24 (AScribe Newswire) — “The nearly 2,000 Americans killed in combat (1,998 on October 24, 2005) in Iraq since 2003 are more than were lost in Vietnam combat in the first four years of U.S. combat (1961-1965, when just over 1800 died). This total is more than were lost in the last two years of combat (1971-1972, when just over 1600 died),” recounts Maurice Isserman, co-author of “America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s.”

“Today public opinion polls show that the percentage of Americans who believe that it was a mistake for the U.S. to go to war in Iraq is roughly comparable to the number of Americans who believed it was a mistake for the U.S. to go to war in Vietnam in the aftermath of the Tet Offensive in 1968. The principal difference between the anti-war opposition of 2005, and that of 1968, is that in the Vietnam war a significant group of Democratic Party leaders – starting with Senators Morse and Gruening in 1964 and eventually including such figures as Senators Fulbright, McCarthy, Kennedy (Robert and Ted), and McGovern – joined the opposition to the war. This lent legitimacy and influence to the opposition. Today, the Democratic party, with a few brave exceptions, mostly in the House of Representatives, is supportive of or silent about the war,” observes Isserman.

ascribe.org