Daily Archives: January 31, 2016

Illuminati Wikipdia, a enciclopdia livre

Posted: January 31, 2016 at 8:42 pm

Illuminati (plural do latim illuminatus, "aquele que iluminado") a denominao de diversos grupos, alguns histricos, outros modernos, reais ou fictcios. Mas comumente, contudo, o termo "Illuminati" tem sido empregado especificamente para referir-se aos Illuminati da Baviera, uma sociedade secreta da era do Iluminismo fundada em 1 de maio de 1776. Nos tempos modernos, tambm usado para se referir a uma suposta organizao conspiratria que controlaria os assuntos dos vrios Estados secretamente, normalmente como verso moderna ou como continuao dos referidos Illuminati bvaros, como sinnimo e crebro por trs dos acontecimentos que levariam ao estabelecimento de uma Nova Ordem Mundial, com os objetivos primrios de unir o mundo sob uma espcie de tirania global.

Dado que "Illuminati" significa literalmente os iluminados em latim, natural que diversos grupos histricos, no relacionados entre si, se tenham autodenominados de Illuminati. Frequentemente, faziam isso alegando possuir textos gnsticos ou outras informaes arcanas (secretas) no disponveis ao grande pblico.[1]

A designao "Illuminati" esteve em uso tambm desde o sculo XIV pelos Irmos do Livre Esprito, e no sculo XV,[2] o ttulo foi assumido por outros entusiastas que argumentavam que a luz da iluminao provinha, no de uma fonte autorizada, mas secreta, de dentro, como resultado de um estado alterado de conscincia, ou iluminismo, que representaria o esclarecimento espiritual e psquico.

Desta forma, durante os perodos moderno e contemporneo, foi designado por "Illuminati" um nmero de grupos (alguns dos quais tm reivindicado o ttulo), mais ou menos marginal e secreto, e muitas vezes em conflito com autoridades religiosas ou polticas; so eles: os Irmos do Livre Esprito, os Illumins, os Martinistas, o Palladium... e, principalmente os Illuminati da Baviera. Embora as doutrinas desses grupos tenham sido variadas e por vezes contraditrias, a confuso entre eles tem sido muitas vezes mantida e levado s teorias de conspirao de uma sociedade secreta atuando atravs da histria.

A Ordem dos Illuminati da Baviera foi fundada na noite de 30 de abril a 1 de Maio de 1776 (vspera da famosa Noite de Santa Valburga) em uma floresta perto de Ingolstadt (Baviera), no sul da Alemanha, onde um pequeno grupo de jovens criou e prometeu cumprir os fins da sociedade. Entre aqueles que estavam naquela noite, sabe-se apenas a identidade de trs: Adam Weishaupt, Max Merz e Anton von Massenhausen. O fato de que no se sabe exatamente quem estava presente naquela noite foi a causa da especulao sobre o nmero de pessoas que criaram a ordem, alguns dizem que eram apenas quatro e outros argumentam que foram treze. Aps a fundao, Adam Weishaupt (que se proclamou a si mesmo o nome simblico de Spartacus) atraiu seus primeiros seguidores, um estudante de Munique chamado Franz Xavier von Zwack e um baro protestante de Hanver chamado Adolph von Knigge (Frater Philon) que j havia sido iniciado na Maonaria e, posteriormente, desenvolveu o Rito dos Illuminati da Baviera, junto com Weishaupt, a quem foi introduzido na loja de Munique: Theodor zum guten Rath.

Graas s habilidades de von Knigge, os Illuminati rapidamente se espalham pela Alemanha, ustria, Hungria, Sua, Frana, Itlia e outras partes da Europa e afiliando personalidades como Herder (Damasus), Goethe (Abaris), Cagliostro, o Conde de Mirabeau (Leonidas) e o lendrio alquimista o Conde de St. Germain, entre outros. Alguns nobres como o duque de Saxe-Weimar e de Saxe-Gotha, os prncipes Ferdinando de Brunswick e Karl de Hesse, Conde de Stolberg e o Baro Karl Theodor von Dalberg, tambm figuraram dentro da iniciao iluminada.

Incentivado pelo seu sucesso em conseguir recrutar um grande nmero de pensadores, filsofos, artistas, polticos, banqueiros, analistas, etc; Adam Weishaupt tomou a deciso de juntar-se a Maonaria por meio de Von Knigge, e ordenou a infiltrao e dominao da mesma.

Em 16 de julho de 1782, numa reunio da maonaria continental realizada no Convento de Wilhelmsbad, os Illuminati tentaram unificar e controlar sob a sua autoridade todos os ramos da Maonaria. Embora tenham conseguido se infiltrar nas lojas em toda a Europa, a Grande Loja de Inglaterra, a Grande Oriente de Frana e os iluminados tesofos de Swedenborg decidiram no apoiar os planos de Weishaupt, contrariando assim algumas das ambies da Ordem.

Devido ao fracasso do movimento, Von Knigge renunciou pensando que seria intil continuar com os planos e foi para Bremen, onde passou seus ltimos anos. Entretanto, Weishaupt recebia a ofensiva dos Maons da Inglaterra e dos Martinistas, a quem denunciou em seus escritos, argumentando que a Grande Loja de Londres em si foi criada em 1717 por pastores protestantes, que no foram iniciados na Maonaria, isto , que foi fundada por profanos sem documentos vlidos ou provas.

Os Illuminati da Baviera foram um movimento de curta durao de autointitulados livre-pensadores, o ramo mais radical do Iluminismo a cujos seguidores foi atribudo o nome de Illuminati (mas que a si mesmos chamavam de perfectibilistas ou "perfeccionistas") foi fundado, a 1 de maio de 1776, pelo professor de lei cannica Adam Weishaupt (1748-1830), e pelo maom baro Adolph von Knigge na cidade de Ingolstadt, Baviera, atual Alemanha. O grupo foi criado com o nome de "Antigos e Iluminados Profetas da Baviera (Ancient and Illuminated Seers of Bavaria, AISB)" ou "Ordem dos Perfeitos", mas tem sido chamado de "Ordem Illuminati", a "Ordem dos Illuminati" e os "Iluminados Bvaros".[3][4][5][6]

Na Baviera, onde o Eleitor Maximiliano Jos III de Wittelsbach foi sucedido em 1777 pelo seu herdeiro Carl Theodor, a organizao no durou muito at ser suprimida pela polcia sob acusaes de conspirao. Em 1784, o governo bvaro baniu todas as sociedades secretas incluindo os Illuminati e os maons. A estrutura dos Illuminati desmoronou logo, mas enquanto existiu, alguns intelectuais influentes se contaram entre os seus membros. Eles eram recrutados principalmente dentre os maons e ex-maons, juravam obedincia a seus superiores e estavam divididos em trs classes principais: a primeira, conhecida como Berrio, compreendia os graus ascendentes ou ofcios de Preparao, Noviciado, Minerval e Illuminatus Minor; a segunda, conhecida como a Maonaria, consistia dos graus ascendentes de Illuminatus Major e Illuminatus dirigens, esse ltimo algumas vezes chamado de Cavaleiro Escocs; a terceira, designada de Mistrios, estava subdividida nos graus de Mistrios Menores (Presbtero e Regente) e Mistrios Maiores (Magus e Rex). Relaes com as lojas manicas foram estabelecidas em Munique e Frisinga, em 1780.

A ordem tinha ramos na maior parte dos pases europeus, mas o nmero total de membros parece nunca ter sido superior a 2000 durante o perodo de dez anos.[4] O esquema teve a sua atrao para os literatos, como Goethe e Herder, e mesmo para os duques reinantes de Gota e Weimar. Rupturas internas precederam o desmoronamento da organizao, que foi efetivado por um dito do governo bvaro em 1785. A ordem foi encerrada em 1788..[4]

Em 22 de junho de 1784, o Eleitor da Baviera, duque Carl Theodor advertiu sobre o perigo representado pelos Illuminati, e aprovou um decreto contra a sociedade bvara.[7] Weishaupt foi demitido de sua ctedra indo para o exlio em Ratisbona, para lider
ar a Ordem no exterior sob a proteo do duque de Saxe. Em 1785, o edital foi confirmado e assim comeou a perseguio e detenes aos membros da sociedade.[8]

Em seguida, o jornalista Johann Joachim Christoph Bode, se torna o lder de fato da Ordem. Em 1787, vai para a Frana, Estrasburgo e depois a Paris,[9] onde se encontrou com membros da Loja de Filaleto.[10] De acordo com o seu "Travel Journal", alguns deles, ento, constituem em segredo o ncleo dos "Philadelphes", uma sociedade semelhante aos Illuminati alemes.

Caados, os Illuminati da Baviera desapareceram completamente do sul da Alemanha, em 1786, aps um portugus chamado Joo ter apanhado cerca de 10, apenas algumas lojas resistiram na Saxnia at 1789. Alguns dos planos dos Illuminati foram revelados por acaso na noite de 10 de julho de 1784, quando um mensageiro de Weishaupt, identificado como o abade Lanz, morreu inesperadamente devido a um raio. Seu corpo foi levado para a Capela de San Emmeran por habitantes do local e entre os seus hbitos foram encontrados documentos importantes que se tratavam de planos secretos para a conquista mundial. A polcia da Baviera investigou os detalhes da conspirao, dando a entender a Francisco I, Sacro Imperador Romano-Germnico, o compl contra todas as monarquias, sobretudo na Frana, onde mais tarde, em 1789, gestaria a chamada Revoluo Francesa e a queda de Lus XVI e Maria Antonieta, seus ltimos monarcas.

Os documentos foram divulgados pelo governo da Baviera, alertando a nobreza e o clero da Europa. No entanto, logo se convenceram de que a conspirao tinha sido destruda devido dissoluo formal dos Illuminati, juntamente com o banimento de Weishaupt e a deteno de muitos de seus adeptos.

Apesar de sua curta durao, os Illuminati da Baviera lanaram uma longa sombra na histria popular, graas aos escritos de seus opositores. Em 1797, o Abade Augustin Barruel publicou o livro Memrias ilustrativas da histria do Jacobinismo, delineando uma teoria envolvendo os Cavaleiros Templrios, os Rosacruzes, os Jacobinos e os Illuminati. Simultnea e independentemente, um maom escocs e professor de Histria Natural, chamado John Robison, comeou a publicar Provas de uma conspirao contra todas as religies e governos da Europa, em 1798. Robinson alegava apresentar evidncias de que uma conspirao dos Illuminati estava dedicada a substituir todas as religies e naes com o humanismo e um governo mundial nico, respectivamente.

Mais recentemente, Antony Cyril Sutton sugeriu que a sociedade secreta Skull and Bones foi fundada como o ramo norte-americano dos Illuminati. Outros pensam que a Scroll and Key tambm tem origem nos Illuminati. Robert Gillete defende que esses Illuminati pretendem, em ltima instncia, estabelecer um governo mundial por meio de assassinatos, corrupo, chantagem, controle dos bancos e outras entidades financeiras, infiltrao nos governos, e causando guerras e revolues, com a finalidade de colocar seus prprios membros em posies cada vez mais altas da hierarquia poltica. Thomas Jefferson reparou na infiltrao da ordem na maonaria, e atribuiu o carter secreto dos Illuminati ao que chamou de a tirania de um dspota e dos sacerdotes.

Ambos parecem concordar que os oponentes dos Illuminati foram os monarcas da Europa e a Igreja. Barruel afirmou que a Revoluo Francesa (1789) foi planejada e controlada pelos Illuminati atravs dos jacobinos, e mais tarde alguns tambm alegaram a responsabilidade deles na Revoluo Russa (1917).

Desde o final do sculo XVIII at meados do sculo XX, muitos pesquisadores tm especulado que os Illuminati sobreviveram sua supresso, por causa de sua infiltrao na Maonaria, e se tornaram o crebro por trs de grandes eventos histricos como a Revoluo Americana,[11] a Revoluo Francesa,[12] a Revoluo Russa,[13] as Guerras Mundiais[13] e os ataques de 11 de setembro de 2001;[14] oAtentado em Boston,o Ataques de novembro 2015 em Paris,Acidente Nuclear de Fukushima. Levando a cabo um plano secreto para subverter as monarquias da Europa e a religio Crist visando a formao de uma Nova Ordem Mundial.

Escritores como Mark Dice,[15]David Icke, Ryan Burke, Jri Lina e Morgan Gricar alm de outros tm argumentado que os Illuminati da Baviera sobreviveram, possivelmente at hoje. Muitas destas teorias prope que os eventos mundiais esto a ser controlados e manipulados por uma sociedade secreta que se autodenomina Illuminati.[16][17] Os tericos afirmam que muitas pessoas notveis foram ou so membros dos Illuminati, incluindo Winston Churchill (que teria alertado a respeito da organizao),[18] a famlia Bush,[19]Barack Obama,[20] a famlia Rothschild,[21][19] a famlia Rockefeller (incluindo David Rockefeller) e Zbigniew Brzezinski, entre outros.[22] O termo "Illuminati" tambm geralmente associado com os membros de instituies e sociedades secretas de inspirao ocultista e / ou globalista: os Skull & Bones, Grupo Mesa Redonda, a Sociedade Fabiana, o Royal Institute of International Affairs, o Council on Foreign Relations, o Bohemian Club, o Clube de Bilderberg, a Comisso Trilateral, o Clube de Roma, a Fundao Carnegie, a Fundao Rockefeller, etc.

Tambm sugerem que os fundadores dos Estados Unidos sendo alguns deles franco-maons estavam influenciados pela corrupo dos Illuminati. Frequentemente o smbolo da pirmide que tudo v no Grande Selo dos Estados Unidos citado como exemplo do olho sempre presente dos Illuminati sobre os americanos.

E tambm citam que usam nas notas a escrita Novus Ordo Seclorum que significa Nova Ordem Secular. Jordan Maxwell, pesquisador dos Iluminati, afirma que 'Novus Ordo Seclorum" pode ser traduzido para "Nova Ordem Mundial".

Pouca evidncia pode ser encontrada para apoiar a hiptese de que o grupo de Weishaupt tenha sobrevivido at o sculo XIX. Contudo, diversos grupos tm usado a fama dos Illuminati desde ento para criar seus prprios ritos, alegando serem os Illuminati, incluindo a Ordo Illuminatorum, Die Alten Erleuchteten Seher Bayerns, The Illuminati Order, e outros."[23][24][25]

Os Aquisitores o nome genrico dado a supostos grupos dissidentes que surgiram com a atuao dos Illuminati no Brasil. Sua origem est quase sempre relacionada renuncia de Jnio Quadros, o presidente que renunciou por no aguentar o peso das "foras terrveis" ("foras ocultas") e a instaurao do Regime Militar em 1964. O nome Aquisitores uma referncia a prosperidade financeira e a atuao de seus membros na economia do pas, especialmente na regio de So Bernardo do Campo, no ABC Paulista durante a prspera fase pela qual passou a regio na dcada de 1970, no movimento metalrgico e na posterior eleio do Presidente Lula.

Durante a ditadura militar, at pouco depois de 1985, os membros brasileiros dos Illuminati supostamente se organizaram em dois grupos opostos e teoricamente independentes dos Illuminati da Baviera. Estes captulos isolados passaram ambos a reivindicar o antigo nome do grupo como sendo os nicos e verdadeiros Aquisitores. Alguns pesquisadores se esforam para ligar todos os escndalos polticos que ocorreram no pas desde a ditadura militar a estes dois grupos e seus jogos de poder.

Porm, os Aquisitores no so reconhecidos como grupo por historiadores acadmicos, e no existem trabalhos acadmicos que confirmem sua existncia. Um exemplo a investigao nos anos 90 sobre a morte do pre
sidente Juscelino Kubitschek ou a investigao iniciada em 2007 no Rio Grande do Sul sobre a morte de Joo Goulart, que oficialmente morreu de doena cardaca, mas teria sido assassinado pela Operao Condor arquitetada pelos Aquisitores. At o momento nenhuma dessas investigaes apresentou provas palpveis, mas a sucesso de eventos alimenta a curiosidade de alguns: Jango, JK e Lacerda, os trs grandes nomes da oposio ao regime militar morreram todos em espao de meses entre o fim de 1976 e incio de 1977.

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First Amendment Activities | United States Courts

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Apply landmark Supreme Court cases to contemporary scenarios related to the five pillars of the First Amendment and your rights to freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for redress of grievances."First Amendment, U.S. Constitution

Cox v. New Hampshire Protests and freedom to assemble

Elonis v. U.S. Facebook and free speech

Engel v. Vitale Prayer in schools and freedom of religion

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier Student newspapers and free speech

Morse v. Frederick School-sponsored events and free speech

Snyder v. Phelps Public concerns, private matters, and free speech

Texas v. Johnson Flag burning and free speech

U.S. v. Alvarez Lies and free speech

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First Amendment Law (U. S. Constitution: The First Amendment)

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This site explores the history and interpretation of the First Amendment of the U. S. Constitution, including the Free Speech Clause, the Establishment Clause, and the Free Exercise Clause. For materials on other topics related to the Constitution, visit Exploring Constitutional Law.

THE FREE SPEECH CLAUSE

Introduction to the Free Speech Clause

What is "Speech"?

The "Clear & Present Danger" Test for Subversive Advocacy

Advocacy of Unlawful Action and the "Incitement Test"

Substantial Overbreadth Doctrine

Prior Restraints

The Press & Fair Trial Issues

Four-Letter Words and Other Indecent Speech

A Free Speech History Lesson: The Trial of Lenny Bruce

Regulation of Hate Speech

Desecrating Flags and Other Attacks on American Symbols

First Amendment Limitations on Civil Law Liability

Does the First Amendment Protect Lies?

Different Tests for Different Media?

Permits and Fees for Marches, Parades, Rallies

Speech Restrictions in the Traditional Public Forum

Time, Place, and Manner Regulations

Speech Restrictions in the Limited Public Forum

Speech Restrictions in the Non-Public Forum

Student Speech Rights

Government-Compelled Speech

Gov't Speech & Conditions on Speech Attached to Gov't Spending

Free Speech Rights of Public Employees

The First Amendment and News Gathering: Access to (and Protection of) Sources

Regulation of Commercial Speech

Campaign Finance Regulation

The Right Not to Associate

What is Obscene?

Regulation of Child Pornography

Adult-Oriented Businesses and the "Secondary Effects" Test

Free Speech and the State Action Requirement

THE RELIGION CLAUSES

Introduction to the Establishment Clause

Prayer in the Public Schools

Vouchers & Other Aid to Religious Schools

The Evolution/Creationism Controversy

Theocracy Issues: Looking for Secular Purposes

Religious Symbols in Public Places

Student-Initiated Religious Speech

The Free Exercise Clause: Rise of the Compelling State Interest Test

The Free Exercise Clause: Narrowing of the Test

To see a course syllabus, jump to: FIRST AMENDMENT LAW SYLLABUS.

SAMPLE EXAM PROBLEMS

(All teachers are welcome to adopt this material for their own courses. DL) THEME SONG

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Annenberg Classroom – First Amendment

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First Amendment - The Text11 Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

11On September 25, 1789, Congress transmitted to the states twelve proposed amendments. Two of these, which involved congressional representation and pay, were not adopted. The remaining ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791.

First Amendment - The Meaning Freedom of Speech and of the Press: The First Amendment allows citizens to express and to be exposed to a wide range of opinions and views. It was intended to ensure a free exchange of ideas even if the ideas are unpopular.

Freedom of speech encompasses not only the spoken and written word, but also all kinds of expression (including non-verbal communications, such as sit-ins, art, photographs, films and advertisements). Under its provisions, the media including television, radio and the Internet is free to distribute a wide range of news, facts, opinions and pictures. The amendment protects not only the speaker, but also the person who receives the information. The right to read, hear, see and obtain different points of view is a First Amendment right as well.

But the right to free speech is not absolute. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the government sometimes may be allowed to limit speech. For example, the government may limit or ban libel (the communication of false statements about a person that may injure his or her reputation), obscenity, fighting words, and words that present a clear and present danger of inciting violence. The government also may regulate speech by limiting the time, place or manner in which it is made. For example the government may require activists to obtain a permit before holding a large protest rally on a public street.

Freedom of Assembly and Right to Petition the Government: The First Amendment also protects the freedom of assembly, which can mean physically gathering with a group of people to picket or protest; or associating with one another in groups for economic, political or religious purposes.

The First Amendment also protects the right not to associate, which means that the government cannot force people to join a group they do not wish to join. A related right is the right to petition the government, including everything from signing a petition to filing a lawsuit.

Freedom of Religion: The First Amendment's free exercise clause allows a person to hold whatever religious beliefs he or she wants, and to exercise that belief by attending religious services, praying in public or in private, proselytizing or wearing religious clothing, such as yarmulkes or headscarves. Also included in the free exercise clause is the right not to believe in any religion, and the right not to participate in religious activities.

Second, the establishment clause prevents the government from creating a church, endorsing religion in general, or favoring one set of religious beliefs over another. As the U.S. Supreme Court decided in 1947 in Everson v. Board of Education of Ewing Township, the establishment clause was intended to erect "a wall of separation between church and state," although the degree to which government should accommodate religion in public life has been debated in numerous Supreme Court decisions since then.

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First Amendment to the United States Constitution – Simple …

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The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is a part of the United States Bill of Rights that protects freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, and right to petition.

The Establishment Clause does not allow the government to support one religion more than any other religion. The government also can not say a religion or a god is true. This is often described as "separation of church and state", where "state" means "the government". It also does not allow the government to establish a national religion. It allows people to debate religion freely without the federal government of the United States getting involved. The clause did not stop the various states from supporting a particular religion, and several states did.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

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First Amendment Day – UNC Center for Media Law and Policy

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Each year, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill celebrates First Amendment Day. This campus-wide, daylong event is designedto both celebrate the First Amendment and explore its role in the lives of Carolinastudents. Students and other members of the university community read from banned books,sing controversial music and discuss the publicuniversitys special role as a marketplace of ideas and the need to be tolerant when others exercise their rights. First AmendmentDay is observed during National Banned Books Week.

First Amendment Day is organized by the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy. The UNC Center for Media Law and Policy is a collaboration between the School of Media and Journalism and the School of Law. Generous funding for the days events is provided by Time Warner Cable.

The seventh annual First Amendment Day was held onSeptember 29, 2015.

Be part of the conversation by tweeting with the hashtag #uncfree

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China banks on gene power firms for precision medicine …

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Home Asia Unhedged China banks on gene power firms for precision medicine

By Asia Unhedged on January 6, 2016 in

(From Caixin Online)

By staff reporter Wang Qionghui

The Chinese government is powering a homegrown precision medicine initiative aimed at improving patient treatment for chronic ailments such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes.

Human genome

Officials have declared precision medicine a customized form of health care based on genome-sequencing technology as one of the nations foremost science and technology projects under the 13th Five-Year Plan for the 2016-20 period.

A document published after a March meeting hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology says the central government plans to spend 20 billion yuan to support precision medicine research by 2030, matching an anticipated 40 billion yuan in private investment. Moreover, the top public health authority, the National Health and Family Planning Commission, is drafting a strategic plan for promoting precision medicines development nationwide.

Companies that expect to benefit from the initiative include Shenzhen-based BGI Genomics Co., Hangzhous Berry Genomics Co. and Beijing Biomarker Technologies. Although young, the genetics services sector in the country is already diversifying, with firms staking claims in specialties such as prenatal care and niche services like disease and cancer detection through genetic testing.

BGI, the nations leader in genome sequencing, is a 16-year-old company that bought U.S. medical equipment maker Complete Genomics in 2012 and last October rolled out its first homegrown genome sequencing machine. Berry, established in 2010, is Chinas second-largest genome sequencer and the developer of non-invasive prenatal testing procedure thats been offered since 2011. Beijing Biomarker, founded in 2009, serves research institutions with genetic analyses and testing services.

The precision medicine movement has also won the attention of Internet and computer companies. In October, the U.S. chip maker Intel Corp. and Chinas e-commerce leader Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. announced a three-way partnership with BGI. The firms said they will collaborate to build a cloud-based online platform allowing clinics to access genetic data and other precision medicine services.

Precision medicine requires sharing an individuals genetic data and comparing it to huge amounts of data from similar patients, said Li Yingrui, chief executive of BGI Tech Solution Co., a subsidiary of BGI. Health specialists then use those comparisons to find differences and similarities to work out precise treatment regimes for individual patients. Read more

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Tags: BGI Genomics, Caixin Online, Chinese 13th five-year plan, Chinese government precision medicine efforts, Chinese human genome companies, Chinese human genome research

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What Is The Singularity And Will You Live To See It?

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If you read any science fiction or futurism, you've probably heard people using the term "singularity" to describe the world of tomorrow. But what exactly does it mean, and where does the idea come from? We answer in today's backgrounder.

What is the singularity?

The term singularity describes the moment when a civilization changes so much that its rules and technologies are incomprehensible to previous generations. Think of it as a point-of-no-return in history.

Most thinkers believe the singularity will be jump-started by extremely rapid technological and scientific changes. These changes will be so fast, and so profound, that every aspect of our society will be transformed, from our bodies and families to our governments and economies.

A good way to understand the singularity is to imagine explaining the internet to somebody living in the year 1200. Your frames of reference would be so different that it would be almost impossible to convey how the internet works, let alone what it means to our society. You are on the other side of what seems like a singularity to our person from the Middle Ages. But from the perspective of a future singularity, we are the medieval ones. Advances in science and technology mean that singularities might happen over periods much shorter than 800 years. And nobody knows for sure what the hell they'll bring.

Talking about the singularity is a paradox, because it is an attempt to imagine something that is by definition unimaginable to people in the present day. But that hasn't stopped hundreds of science fiction writers and futurists from doing it.

Where does the term "singularity" come from?

Science fiction writer Vernor Vinge popularized the idea of the singularity in his 1993 essay "Technological Singularity." There he described the singularity this way:

It is a point where our old models must be discarded and a new reality rules. As we move closer to this point, it will loom vaster and vaster over human affairs till the notion becomes a commonplace. Yet when it finally happens it may still be a great surprise and a greater unknown.

Specifically, Vinge pinned the Singularity to the emergence of artificial intelligence. "We are on the edge of change comparable to the rise of human life on Earth," he wrote. "The precise cause of this change is the imminent creation by technology of entities with greater than human intelligence."

Author Ken MacLeod has a character describe the singularity as "the Rapture for nerds" in his novel The Cassini Division, and the turn of phrase stuck, becoming a popular way to describe the singularity. (Note: MacLeod didn't actually coin this phrase - he says he got the phrase from a satirical essay in an early-1990s issue of Extropy.) Catherynne Valente argued recently for an expansion of the term to include what she calls "personal singularities," moments where a person is altered so much that she becomes unrecognizable to her former self. This definition could include posthuman experiences.

What technologies are likely to cause the next singularity?

As we mentioned earlier, artificial intelligence is the technology that most people believe will usher in the singularity. Authors like Vinge and singulatarian Ray Kurzweil think AI will usher in the singularity for a twofold reason. First, creating a new form of intelligent life will completely change our understanding of ourselves as humans. Second, AI will allow us to develop new technologies so much faster than we could before that our civilization will transform rapidly. A corollary to AI is the development of robots who can work alongside - and beyond - humans.

Another singularity technology is the self-replicating molecular machine, also called autonomous nanobots, "gray goo," and a host of other things. Basically the idea is that if we can build machines that manipulate matter at the atomic level, we can control our world in the most granular way imaginable. And if these machines can work on their own? Who knows what will happen. For a dark vision of this singularity, see Greg Bear's novel Blood Music or Bill Joy's essay "The Future Doesn't Need Us"; for a more optimistic vision, Rudy Rucker's Postsingular.

And finally, a lot of singulatarian thought is devoted to the idea that synthetic biology, genetic engineering, and other life sciences will eventually give us control of the human genome. Two world-altering events would come out of that. One, we could engineer new forms of life and change the course of human evolution in one generation. Two, it's likely that control over our genomes will allow us to tinker with the mechanisms that make us age, thus dramatically increasing our lifespans. Many futurists, from Kurzweil and Steward Brand, to scientists like Aubrey De Gray, have suggested that extreme human longevity (in the hundreds of years) is a crucial part of the singularity.

Have we had a singularity before?

The singularity is usually anticipated as a future transformation, but it can also be used to describe past transformations like the one in our example earlier with the person from 1200. The industrial revolution could be said to represent a singularity, as could the information age.

When will the singularity happen?

In 1992, Vinge predicted that "in 30 years" we would have artificial intelligence. We've still got 12 years to go - it could happen! In his groundbreaking 2000 essay for Wired, "The Future Doesn't Need Us," technologist Joy opined:

The enabling breakthrough to assemblers seems quite likely within the next 20 years. Molecular electronics - the new subfield of nanotechnology where individual molecules are circuit elements - should mature quickly and become enormously lucrative within this decade, causing a large incremental investment in all nanotechnologies.

And in the 2005 book The Singularity Is Near, Ray Kurzweil says the singularity will come "within several decades."

Longevity scientist De Gray says that our biotech is advanced enough that a child born in 2010 might live to be 150, or 500 years old. MIT AI researcher Rodney Brooks writes in his excellent book Flesh and Machines that it's "unlikely that we will be able to simply download our brains into a computer anytime soon." Though Brooks does add:

The lives of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be as unrecognizable to us as our use of information technology in all its forms would be incomprehensible to someone form the dawn of the twentieth century.

So when will the singularity really happen? It depends on your perspective. But it always seem like it's just a few decades off.

Image of gray goo by Giacomo Costa.

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Eugenics in California – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Eugenics in California is a notable part of eugenics in America.

As an early leading force in the field of eugenics, California became the third state in the United States to enact a sterilization law. By 1921, California had accounted for 80% of the sterilizations nationwide. This continued until World War II, after which the number of sterilizations began to decrease, largely due to the fallout of Hitler's eugenics movement.[1] There were about 20,000 forced sterilizations in California between 1909 and 1963.[2]

Records of eugenics practices in California are held at the following agencies and institutions. The records are still protected for confidentiality reasons.

In California, [eugenics] was always linked to the use of land: to agriculture and plant hybridization.[3] Many of the powerful social workers, doctors, psychiatrists, and biologists, sought to hurt many of Californias Mexican, Indian, and Asian populations through the exclusionary laws that those scientists propose. In addition to the conquest to hurt the undesirables in the state, the California Eugenics plan also was a way to save the state money so they could eliminate the money the state spends on welfare and other programs that help the less fortunate.[3] Eugenics takes take three forms in California:

Dolores Madrigal entered the University of Southern Californias medical center on October 12, 1973, in order to give birth to her second child. During her time in labor, she was given a consent form and coerced by doctors into having a tubal ligation, effectively sterilizing her. Madrigal insisted that No one at the medical center informed me that a tubal ligation operation was going to performed on me. No one at the medical center informed me of what a tubal ligation operation consists nor of its permanent effects (Enoch, 5). Rebecca M. Kluchin found while researching the case that Physicians preferred to perform cesarean sections and tubal ligations in tandem to minimize risks associated with infection and anesthesia, as well as to reduce medical costs. It appears that at this hospital physicians who performed emergency cesarean sections sometimes used the opportunity to persuade a woman to accept permanent contraception.[10]

In July 1976 Madrigal sued the University of Southern California medical center, accompanied by Guadalupe Acosta, Estela Benavides, Consuelo Hermosillo, Georgina Hernandez, Maria Hurtado, Maria Figueroa, Rebecca Figueroa, Jovita Rivera, and Helena Orozco. Each of the nine other women who joined the class action lawsuit complained of similar proceedings. Together, these 10 chicanas decided to sue the USC medical center, contending that they had never given their informed consent to have the tubal ligation procedure performed. Karen Benker testified that poor minority women in L.A. County were having too many babies; that it was a strain on society; and that it was good that they be sterilized".[11]

Despite Benkers testimony and other corroborating evidence, Judge Jesse Curtis ruled in favor of the defendants, stating that there had been nothing more than a breakdown in communication between the patients and the doctors (Stern 1135). He went on to say that it was appropriate for an obstetrician to believe that a tubal ligation could help diminish overpopulation as long as they did not attempt to overpower the will of his patients.[11]

In 1909 a eugenics law was passed in California allowing for state institutions to sterilize those deemed unfit or feeble-minded.[12] As one of the leading states in forced sterilization victims, Californias sterilization procedures primarily took place in state mental hospitals. Dr. Leo Stanley was one of the first people to bring the eugenics movement to Californias prisons.

Stanley was San Quentin penitentiarys chief surgeon and was particularly interested in eliminating those deemed unfit for society. His avid eugenic-based surgeries were the first of its kind to been seen in a prison. Taking place between 1930 and 1959, the peak of the eugenics movement, Stanley's surgeries were driven by the idea of purifying criminals. Through testicular surgeries, he believed he could cultivate socially fit individuals by replacing a prisoners testicles with those of a deceased male previously deemed socially fit. His practices spawned early ideologies of white manhood," which stemmed from his belief that he could "help a new, ideal man emerge".[13]

Use of human and even animal testicles made Stanleys procedures highly unsuccessful and all around bizarre. His desire to restore social morality, along with his fascination with the endocrine system, fueled his research. Throughout the time of his procedures, criminals were believed to have something anatomically off that drove them to commit crimes. This belief inspired Stanley to explore the endocrine systems role in the criminology of a person. By persuading inmates that his testicular surgeries would produce favorable results in their sex lives he sterilized more than 600 prisoners by the end of his career.[13] Stanleys prison work concluded upon the start of World War II where he served overseas, only to retire as a eugenic pioneer.

The Human Betterment Foundation (HBF) was established in Pasadena, California in 1928. Led by E.S. Gosney it researched with an aim to foster and aid constructive and educational forces for the protection and betterment of the human family in body, mind, character, and citizenship. In 1929 E.S. Gosney set up the Human Betterment Foundation and gathered twenty-five of the leading scientists, philanthropists, and community leaders to carry out research on the effects of sterilization for thirteen years (Valone). Gosney also used the HBF to distribute the product of his research, Sterilization for Human Betterment which attracted attention from the nearby university, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Robert A. Millikan, a leading faculty member and proponent of Caltech, was looking for potential donors to the university and shared many of Gosneys views in his work decided to join the HBF board.

Lois Gosney Castle and the board of trustees eventually liquidated the foundation and turned the proceeds over to Caltech. Thirteen years after publishing the 1929 report entitled "Sterilization for Human Betterment, the HBF continued to carry out research on the effects of sterilization and undertook widespread distribution of the report to individuals, public libraries, and schools. After the liquidation files were found in 1968, but since they contained personal medical information, they were legally closed to researchers.[14]

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Nsa | New York Post

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NSA: Not tracking phones is a realmistake

November 29, 2015 | 6:13pm

WASHINGTON In the face of threats from ISIS, the National Security Agencys end Sunday to the bulk collection of phone records is a real mistake, according to the chairman...

LONDON Edward Snowden says he has offered to return to the United States and go to jail for leaking details of National Security Agency programs to intercept electronic communications...

September 29, 2015 | 2:28pm

Can you hear me now? That was the very first tweet by Edward Snowden as he finally joined Twitter on Tuesday. Using the handle @Snowden, the 32-year-old NSA whistle-blower racked...

ATLANTA Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush said Tuesday that the government should have broad surveillance powers of Americans and private technology firms should cooperate better with intelligence agencies to...

August 16, 2015 | 11:59am

WASHINGTON Under a decades-old program with the government, telecom giant AT&T in 2003 led the way on a new collection capability that the National Security Agency said amounted to...

Federal and local authorities say no charges will be filed after an investigation of a fatal shooting by National Security Agency police at Fort Meade, Md.

PARIS France summoned the U.S. ambassador to the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday following revelations by WikiLeaks that the U.S. National Security Agency eavesdropped on the past three French presidents....

WikiLeaks published documents late Tuesday it says shows the US National Security Agency eavesdropped on the last three French presidents.

BERLIN German prosecutors on Friday closed their investigation into the alleged tapping of Chancellor Angela Merkels cellphone by the U.S. National Security Agency, saying they have been unable to...

Congress this week cut back the powers of the National Security Agency a first in the post-9/11 world. A far better target wouldve been the Transportation Security Administration. The...

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