Calls to and from prison inmates are big business. It is now a $1.2 billion-a-year industry dominated by very few companies. In fact it is so lucrative it has caught the interest of private equity firms which now own several of these firms. The private companies which run these phone systems receive commissions, often sizable, from the sheriff’s departments that run Continue reading “Calls From Prisons”
Category: Social Conscience
A Wise Moratorium
Editing the human genome sounds promising, it points to being able to eliminate or alter genetic diseases and do it in a way that can be inherited. Imagine being a parent and the carrier of a disease, wouldn’t you want your child to be protected. But editing the human genome has grave consequences we have not yet identified. For example the same gene editing technique could also foster beauty or intelligence. Ethicists who’ve been aware of these issues for decades, are beginning to tackle the potential problems. Scientists do too. Actually genes have been edited on animals, but not yet on humans, yet it is believed that this could be possible soon. The United States and most European countries already have some safeguards but many countries don’t. Since the technique could change the human genome for future generations and in essence alter the course of evolution, many are concerned. That is why a group of scientists including the inventors of the gene editing technique have written a paper published in Science magazine calling for a worldwide moratorium on its use. George Q. Daley, a stem cell biologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and a member of the group asking for the moratorium succinctly summarized the consequences of the technique,” It raises the most fundamental of issues about how we are going to take the dramatic step of modifying our own germline and in a sense take control of our genetic destiny, which raises enormous peril for humanity.”
It’s comforting that with those scientists who at present know the most about the technique, wisdom is prevailing.
The Face of a Baby
The first baby born in Hungary January 1, 2015, was news and had his picture in the paper. Because Rikardo Racz is Roma, also known as gypsy, the picture attracted the attention of Elod Novak, the deputy leader of a far-right party. He posted a picture of himself with his wife and three children on Facebook decrying the presence of the Romas, with statements such as the fact that to him they were multiplying and will soon make people like him a minority in their own country. The post triggered s torrent of both condemnation and approval and reflected the racism—and anti-racism—currently at work in the country.
Not long before this incident a Roma baby in a village south of Paris was denied burial by the mayor. In this case the mayor of a neighborhood village shocked by the refusal offered a spot in the cemetery of his village.
There’s something foul and pernicious about the use of a baby to vent one’s prejudices. It happened with Roma babies, since Roma are a shunned and unwanted minority and presence in several European countries. No doubt it happens in other countries about the babies of any of the many groups who are discriminated against. When racism shows its face through that of a baby, it’s time to ask ourselves how we would react to the babies of minorities or even to those we hold prejudices against.
Robots And The Future of Work
Sometimes big changes happen imperceptibly, away from the headlines. They happen drop by drop until the proverbial one that makes the bucket overflow. That’s what happening with robots. They’re gaining ground as the society and the labor force in Continue reading “Robots And The Future of Work”