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Każdy z nas niedługo stanie się nielegalny
Prawo zatrzymania i przeszukania każdego bez podania przyczyn daje brytyjskiej policji art. 44 ustawy antyterrorystycznej, jeśli dana osoba znajdzie się na terenie objętym policyjną akcją prewencyjną. Amatorscy i zawodowi fotografowie skarżą się, że policja traktuje ich jako potencjalnych terrorystów dokonujących rozpoznania terenu przed domniemanym zamachem.
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Policja wydaje polecenie fotografom, by nie robili zdjęć w miejscu, w którym się znajdują i żąda od nich wytłumaczenia się, dlaczego to robią. Dochodzi do rewizji i spisania danych osobowych.
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Wcześniej amator-fotograf Alex Turner został aresztowany po tym, jak w miejscowości Chatham robił zdjęcia sklepu... sprzedającego na wynos frytki.
http://www.tvn24.pl/0,1631850,0,1,grozba-aresztu-za-robienie-zdjec-frytek,wiadomosc.html
Profile DNA aż ośmiu procent Brytyjczyków ma swojej bazie brytyjska policja
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... "normą jest aresztowanie podejrzanych pod byle pretekstem" w celu pobrania od nich próbek DNA.
Brytyjscy politycy opozycyjni i obrońcy praw człowieka uważają, że raport HGC stanowi kolejny dowód na to, iż Wielka Brytania staje się "społeczeństwem pod nadzorem", w którym przechowuje się dane osobowe obywateli i stale kontroluje ich ruchy.
http://www.tvn24.pl/12691,1630275,0,1,dna-brytyjczykow-wymyka-sie-spod-kontroli,wiadomosc.html
Morning Coffee to Watson & Crick discussing *their discovery
Morning Coffee (weening off still)
Last week I discussed James Watson's The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA with my students. This clip is a nice summary of contention. If interested, read the critical edition. A fantastic read of personal glory at the expense of others, some sexism and trash talking. A snippet: http://books.google.com/books?id=bFTcfbQc-TEC&lpg=PA1&dq=double%20helix%20critical%20edition&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q=&f=false http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/specialcollections/coll/pauling/dna/video/1973v.3-lucky.html
genetic privacy & sci fi, a snippet revisited just because its on my mind
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http://www.pgpstudy.org/projectlit/participating/participating7.htm
Home Office climbs down over keeping DNA records on innocent | guardian.co.uk
• Civil liberty campaigners claim victory
• Government promises new provisions in next crime bill
- guardian.co.uk, Monday 19 October 2009 13.44 BST
- Article history
Civil liberty campaigners claimed a victory today after the government announced it is dropping current proposals to retain the DNA profiles of innocent people on the national database.
The Home Office has announced that its plan to keep the DNA profiles of those arrested – but never convicted of a crime – for between six and 12 years depending on the seriousness of the offence has been dropped from the policing and crime bill that is going through parliament.
A European court ruling in December found it was unlawful to keep the DNA details of 850,000 innocent people indefinitely on the national database.
The authors of the research on which Home Office ministers based their plan had disowned the proposals. The Jill Dando Institute for Crime Science said its work should not have been used to decide the six- to 12-year time limits because the work was unfinished.
A Home Office spokesman said they hoped to bring forward "further provisions" on DNA retention in the next policing and crime bill earmarked for the next session of parliament, which opens on 18 November. "We have now completed a public consultation on proposals to ensure the right people are on the database as well as considering when people should come off. Those proposals were grounded in the research and allowed us to respond to the judgment of the European court of human rights both swiftly and effectively.
"The government will take the most expedient route to address the issue as soon as possible in order to comply with the European court's judgment."
It is thought that the government would have faced defeat in the House of Lords this week over its DNA retention package if it had pressed on regardless. Ministers need to get the current policing and crime bill on the statute book before next month's Queen's speech and have started making concessions on the most contentious areas of the legislation in order to do so. Last week proposals to introduce "gasbos" – special injunctions to tackle inner city gang membership – were watered down to get them through the Lords.
Chief constables have already been warned by the Home Office to ignore the European court ruling and carry on adding the DNA profiles of the tens of thousands of people they arrest to the national database. But the further delay in clarifying the legal situation is likely to increase the possibility of a high court legal challenge from individuals who feel their DNA has been unlawfully kept.
Isabella Sankey, Liberty's policy director, said: "Better late than never, the government wakes up to concerns about personal privacy. Its current discredited proposals of stockpiling innocents' intimate details for years on end would have breached article 8 of the human rights convention all over again. Whoever thought that this kind of policy could be dealt with via backdoor regulations needs their head rather than their DNA tested."
Commenting on the government dropping its current plan, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, Chris Huhne said: "It is not surprising that the government has ditched its ill thought out DNA proposals after their savaging by statistical experts.
"It was scandalous to attempt to respond to the European court ruling by circumventing parliament. The government must take this opportunity to end their fudge on DNA. The innocent should be removed from the database immediately – no ifs, no buts."
The announcement comes as the police have won an appeal against an information tribunal ruling that data on old, minor convictions must be deleted from police computers.
The ruling by the court of appeal came in a test case relating to the convictions of five people. Had it gone against the police about 1m convictions probably would have been deleted.
Three judges ruled that retaining information for police operational needs in the fight against crime was far easier to justify than actually disclosing the information to others.
via guardian.co.uk
DNA Study - VIDEO Science of Miracles and the Power of Prayer
"Everything that exists is connected by a subtle web of energy. It responds to human emotion.
"Are miracles possible? Watch this interview with Gregg Braden to find out.
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Dr. Mercola's Comments:"I find it quite exciting that science and spirituality are now coming together.
|
"It is beginning to look like the ancient humans were right about how the universe works—it just took science a while to catch up.
"What Vladimir Poponin proved in his experiments is that your DNA can and does directly affect your physical world. This is what the Law of Attraction proponents have been saying for more than a century. "In the above video, Gregg Braden discusses the first of three experiments about the newly “discovered” web of energy that surrounds and occupies us all. The two other experiments he mentioned are even more compelling and should draw the attention of even the most skeptical minds.
“Find something to be happy about every day, and every hour if possible, moment to moment, even if only for a few minutes. This is the easiest and best protection we can have.”--Gregg Braden
"In those words lies the possibility for true miracles."Reposted from www.mercola.com
The New Informed Consent - wrt PGP
Previously I mentioned I was invited to enroll in Harvard's Personal Genome Project. They take "informed consent very seriously." I am impressed with their frankness. They do not sugar coat anything. They are very clear that there are no known benefits in participation. Being a participant in this study could potentially result in very bad consequences: No privacy, no anonymity, insurance and employment nightmares AND the potential to be framed scifi-style in a criminal act... To all of this I say "YES PLEASE!"
The eligibility entrance exam can take anywhere from 50 to125 minutes to complete, not considering time spent taking the the exam over and over if one needs to: only a perfect score indicates "informed" and "knowledgeable" about rights, risks and benefits as a participant.
Participants are also expected to answer questions on genetic material, gene transmission, gene expression, gene regulation and the potential relevance of genetics knowledge to society. I appreciate this inclusion. Not all scientific studies provide information about the science, let alone care that study participants know about the science they are participating in. A study guide is provided.
some Detail:
As noted, I relinquish hope for privacy:
PGP results will be published on publicly accessible websites. Although the PGP plans to implement standard security measures for the websites, the PGP does not guarantee that your personal data will remain confidential or that you can maintain your anonymity. When you consider that your PGP results will document your genome, hair and eye color, height, facial features, and unique medical conditions, it becomes clear that the PGP must warn participants that promises of anonymity are neither realistic nor ethical.
A flak jacket isn't body armor:
Even when strong security measures are in force, breaches happen. Hackers could gain access to your personal data; computers could get stolen; researchers or participants could unintentionally expose data that reveal more personal information than they intended. In addition, computer forensics experts can sometimes retrieve data that have been deleted from computer hard drives. So, even if you request that all your data be removed from the project databases, it is impossible to confirm that the data were fully removed.
But put on a happy face anyway:
Because of these issues, the PGP [Personal Genome Project] cannot promise permanent confidentiality or anonymity. To participate, you should be comfortable with this fact.
They also take the silver lining off of the Genetics Information Nondiscrimination Act: it doesn't mean much for my future. Just as The Law doesn't do much for me socially:
Another risk associated with personal genomics is that an insurance company could refuse to cover you if your DNA shows that you have a genetic propensity for a disease, or an employer could refuse to hire you because providing health benefits could be too expensive. Genetic discrimination is against the law in the United States since President George W. Bush signed into law the Genetics Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) in May 2008. The law doesn't cover life, disability, or long-term care insurance, however, and has other shortcomings according to some bioethics experts. Plus, it's unrealistic to think that genetic discrimination won't occur, simply because it's against the law.
And then some reminders: (1) the researchers are human (2) machines are not always accurate (3) I am human:
... you should keep in mind that mistakes happen. The sequencing results, or the data that are posted on websites, could contain errors. The psychological impact of errors could be significant. If the project or some third party (possibly erroneously) claims that you have a predisposition to a debilitating disease, you shouldn't overreact. You should consult a physician or a licensed genetic counselor.
I think my favorite part so far is that they will try to make a new, immortal me: Scientists will perform DNA sequencing on the tissue samples and use them to study biological characteristics, DNA, RNA (gene expression), physical traits, and the presence and characteristics of micro-organisms in the specimen sample. Scientists may also attempt to create a living tissue sample known as a cell line. Cell lines provide a renewable supply of your cells and DNA.
Brevity on the genetics portion: to emphasize unintended consequences of gene sequencing, I was to answer how researchers could tell if one of two parents was not a biological parent during routine screening. Oh, also, I messed up on simple math. Or the punnet square. Same diff. Or, I chose the default answer inadvertently. For this I will never know the truth. Still, note for next time: move the arrow away from the "ok" button immediately.
> Passed the exam. Submitted. Now awaiting results. Three possible scenarios: 1. accepted, 2. wait-listed, 3. rejected. Personal Genome Project: http://www.personalgenomes.org/participate.html GINA: http://www.genome.gov/24519851
Richard Powers New Novel About Genetics
In 1991, Richard Powers wrote The Gold Bug Variations, a novel about scientists who discovered the chemical structure of DNA. In 2008, he became one of the first nine people in the world to have his entire genome sequenced, a process that involves mapping out and analyzing some six billion DNA nucleotides.
The experiment helped shape Mr. Power's latest high concept novel, "Generosity." The book centers on a Chicago writing professor who discovers that his student, an Algerian refugee, may have a genetic condition that makes her abnormally happy.
The Wall Street Journal sat down to ask some questions to Mr. Powers.
Mr. Powers chose to write another novel about genetics because so much has changed in the past 18 years when he prior book was released. There is now have a complete map of the human genome.
His novel, "Generosity" is looking ahead at the next steps like the idea of medical treatment versus medical enhancement.
When asked what he learned from sequencing his own genome two years ago as part of an assignment for GQ magazine, he found out that he had 26 genetic variants that greatly increased his risk for cardiovascular problems. He also discovered that he has have 11 variants that increased the risk of Alzheimer's.
"Generosity" has detailed descriptions of genomics lab equipment and some dense technical passages that read like something from a medical journal. For research for his novel, "Generosity," he visited the labs of George Church, who is the father of personal genomics who has a joint appointment at Harvard and M.I.T.
Mr. Powers chose a career in writing in part because of his generalist temperament. He has a wide variety of interests. He likes science because its a place where you can get the big picture. Choosing a career in science may have required him to specialize and narrow his focus too much.
![[PowersGenerosit]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-EO900_Powers_CV_20091001170846.jpg)
Generosity: An Enchancement
By Richard Powers
Farr, Straus and Giroux, 304 pages, $25
