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Nov. 23rd, 2000 01:11 amArgh... the net went down as I was talking to the apple of my eye. I hope she's around sometime tomorrow... I was cut off in mid sentence.
it's thanksgiving, though. tough call. I hope so. I haven't gone a day without her for over a month now. (I carry her with me wherever I go, anyhow, I suppose. )
while on the topic of food... apples and thanksgiving and all...
Golden Rice in a Grenade-Proof Greenhouse
Wow. A story from the Times today (that's the New York Times -- I'm American) was a great plot hook.
A scientist in Germany who had spent part of his childhood starving on the streets after his parents were killed in WWII develops a strain of rice that can solve the problem of Vitamin A deficiency in much of the developing world. But due to anti-"Frankenfood" protests, the plants are kept locked up.
Can you imagine the different groups who could come into play here? You could have a group trying to smuggle a single seed out to grow a plant and start distributing seeds to poor farmers, out of fear that government regulations would keep it locked up forever; another group trying to destroy the plant, kill the scientist and destroy his notes in order to prevent the spread of genetically engineered crops; and a third group sent by a biotech firm to steal a seed for their own R&D program. The best part, of course, is that the first two groups can both be operating out of very real altruism: while this plant would probably be a boon to millions in the third world, it is also being used as a tool by biotech firms who want world governments to open the door to unregulated bioengineering of crops, most of which would be beneficial only to agribusiness and would carry potential health risks like unexpected allergies, etc.
I just heard that sparklegirl is engaged... congratulations! :)
oh, and for another look at thanksgiving, eebomb reminds us what a wife-killing drug addicted pedophile, who happens to be a great writer thinks about thanksgiving....
it's thanksgiving, though. tough call. I hope so. I haven't gone a day without her for over a month now. (I carry her with me wherever I go, anyhow, I suppose. )
while on the topic of food... apples and thanksgiving and all...
Golden Rice in a Grenade-Proof Greenhouse
Wow. A story from the Times today (that's the New York Times -- I'm American) was a great plot hook.
A scientist in Germany who had spent part of his childhood starving on the streets after his parents were killed in WWII develops a strain of rice that can solve the problem of Vitamin A deficiency in much of the developing world. But due to anti-"Frankenfood" protests, the plants are kept locked up.
Can you imagine the different groups who could come into play here? You could have a group trying to smuggle a single seed out to grow a plant and start distributing seeds to poor farmers, out of fear that government regulations would keep it locked up forever; another group trying to destroy the plant, kill the scientist and destroy his notes in order to prevent the spread of genetically engineered crops; and a third group sent by a biotech firm to steal a seed for their own R&D program. The best part, of course, is that the first two groups can both be operating out of very real altruism: while this plant would probably be a boon to millions in the third world, it is also being used as a tool by biotech firms who want world governments to open the door to unregulated bioengineering of crops, most of which would be beneficial only to agribusiness and would carry potential health risks like unexpected allergies, etc.
I just heard that sparklegirl is engaged... congratulations! :)
oh, and for another look at thanksgiving, eebomb reminds us what a wife-killing drug addicted pedophile, who happens to be a great writer thinks about thanksgiving....
