flopkins.com

And why am I so excited about our new President, you ask? Not because of what he will hopefully do to improve the economy, our healthcare, and foreign relations… really, what a nightmare the man has to deal with! I am excited because there will finally be a shift in the stance on science - ie. science is not an adversary or a tool to manipulate for your own purposes, but the opposite - Obama said it best himself:

“… the truth is that promoting science isn’t just about providing resources—it’s about protecting free and open inquiry. It’s about ensuring that facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology. It’s about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it’s inconvenient—especially when it’s inconvenient. Because the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us.”

Then President-elect Obama, on the introduction of the scientists who will be leading his science and technology team. (December 20, 2008)

In related news, folks in SF thought it would be fun to change Bush St. to Obama St. for the day:

More here.

And, if you need more inspiration, Obamicon yourself here. My fav so far:

Okay, so curiosity and procrastination compelled me to click on a google ad in my gmail window… and… well just check it out: www.stemaid.com

Just to get you started, the very first statement they make on their welcome page is the following:

“Stemaid proposes safe, easy and effective Stem Cell Therapies for many conditions, in a perfectly legal environment.”

I dunnos about you, but it seems to me that if you need to justify the legality of your product… you might have a problem.

Ever wonder why the average person is freaked out by stem cells and cloning?! Because of crazy ‘companies’ like this!!!! Don’t believe me yet? Okay, okay, the stuff seems harmless right? The website looks relatively professional, and I’m just trying to figure out why it all just seems ‘off’… when I see this blurb about cloning:

“Almost six years ago, Rael, the well-known spiritual leader of the Raelian Movement, the world’s largest UFO-related organization numbering nearly 70,000 members in almost 100 countries, founded Clonaid, the first company offering to clone human beings. In this book he explains how todays cloning technology is the first step in the quest for eternal life… Click here to download this fascinating book free…”

What?! UFOs? Raelians? Apparently Stemaid has a sister ‘company’ Clonaid, check out their pdf entitled “Yes on Cloning” and the wikipedia entry.

I guess I just haven’t been in touch with how important UFOs are because I’m still finishing my phD…