CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) is a gene splicing tool that can edit certain diseases out of our genes. It’s basically a form of genetic engineering. As such it is a breakthrough in scientific technology and much discussed in scientific and medical circles. Of course it could also be used wrongly, support the ideas on race of someone like Hitler for example. But that’s for another piece. CRISPR has much commercial potential and a lot of money is a stake. While it has not yet been tried in humans, its potential for therapeutic purposes has already led to controversy. The first is ethical, (more…)
Danielle Levy
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“…Before The Storm”
Bono, the lead singer for the band U2 and a known activist, has been true to form. He recently went to the Middle East and East Africa where he visited a number of refugee camps. He came away feeling that the problem is bigger than many countries acknowledge. Not only are many refugees not in camps but reside in the cities of the host countries where they may not have jobs or access to services, the problem is not going away. The idea of a “permanent temporary solution” will not do the job. While he was impressed with the sense of hope he found among refugees, a hope that helped him, he is calling for (more…)
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Felon Voting Rights
Our search for civil rights is far from over, there are still groups for whom such rights are elusive. One, which is a group we don’t often think about, is former felons. In most states they can’t vote after they are released, a phenomenon called felony voter disenfranchisement. Several groups are now involved in working towards reinstating felon’s voting rights, groups such as The Sentencing Project, Campaign to End The New Jim Crow, or the American Friends Service Committee. While there is far from universal agreement about reinstating those rights, there is at present no (more…)