Category Archives: Cloning

Two men have appeared in court for fraud offences, after they cloned a bank card belonging to Nadine Dorries MP and attempted to buy over 2,000 worth of luxury clothing online.

The City of London Police launched their investigation in October 2019 after Ms Dorries made a report to Action Fraud of suspicious transactions on her bank statement. The transactions related to a clothing website which Ms Dorries had never visited. She was still in possession of her bank card when the transactions took place, and had granted no one else access to it.

Cory Chin, 24, of Palmerston Road, Walthamstow, was sentenced on Wednesday 24 March 2021 at Westminster Magistrates Court to a 12 month community order. He must also complete 120 hours unpaid work and pay costs of 175.

Korri Mclean, 30, of Rayfield, Epping, appeared before the same judge but was told he would be sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court at a later date, as he committed the offence whilst serving a suspended sentence.

Both men had previously pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation on Wednesday 24 February 2021.

Chin and Mclean conspired to commit fraud, cloning Ms Dorries credit card and ordering a Canada Goose coat on the evening of Wednesday 16 October 2019 at the cost of 958. In the early hours of Thursday 17 October, a second order was placed on the same site for a Moncler jacket worth 1,080. Both of these transactions were flagged as suspicious by the clothing website as it was not possible to verify the email address provided during the order. As a result, both orders were cancelled and no payment was taken.

Officers from the City of London Polices fraud team were able to identify the IP addresses from where both orders were made. The first order was made using an IP address relating to a residential broadband at the home address of Chin. The direct debit for this broadband was also being paid from a bank account in Chins name. The second order was made using an IP address relating to a residential broadband at the home address of Mclean.

Police executed warrants at both properties on 13 November 2019, arresting Chin and seizing four mobile phones. Mclean was not present when the warrant was executed, but he was later arrested on Friday 15 November by Cheshire Constabulary, after they stopped his vehicle in Princess Street, Chester.

Evidence on Chins devices showed 12 calls between him and Mclean on the days of the offences and seven the following day. There was also evidence of the conspiracy on their Snapchat conversation history, including a message from Mclean to Chin on 17 October that said I TOLD YOU NADINE WOULD GET ME SOMETHING.

Detective Constable Warren Joseph, from the City of London Police, said: Todays result is a great example of the whole system coming together to tackle fraud effectively. Through the good work of the banks and the online retail industry to prevent suspicious transactions, the victim in this case is not out of pocket. Despite this, Ms Dorries, correctly, still made a report to Action Fraud, which meant we were able to track down those responsible for the offence and bring them before the courts.

Ms Nadine Dorries MP said: "This kind of sophisticated technology enabled theft can affect anyone and I am so grateful to the police for arresting these criminals."

See more here:

Pair cloned MP's bank card and tried to spend 2,000 online - Wales Online

Instagram Reels is a very well known clone of the famous TikTok app. It lets you create short videos with easy-to-use tools to record and edit. Users can choose to use the in-app music tracks, or use custom audio for their videos. They can also speed up or slow down parts of the video. All in all, it works like TikTok. And now, Facebook has said that it is working on its own version of theReels on the main app.

The information comes from Reuters, which reported that Facebook is testing a feature on Instagram that will allow you to share Reels on your Facebook account.It wrote, the social media giant said it will have its own version of the reels feature on the main app. There is no information on how the feature will work or what would it be called. But going by history, you can expect a clone of the already-cloned feature.

In India, were testing the ability for Instagram creators to choose to have their Reels recommended on Facebook creators can reach new audiences and people can create and discover more entertaining content, a Facebook spokeswoman told Reuters on the latest development.

Instagram first introduced Reels in India soon after the TikTok ban in June last year.The success of TikTok has prompted many social media companies including Instagram and Snapchat to make their own versions of TikTok. Now, Facebook is creating one too!

The company will soon ready its own version of Reels, which is already a version of TikTok. Facebook has been working on expanding the presence of Reels on its variety of apps. Instagram recentlyrolled out Reels on the Instagram Lite App. It allows users to watch the popular short-format videos in the Reels tab.However, it doesnt enable users to create Reels on the app.

Link:

Facebook is busy cloning an already-cloned Instagram feature for its own app - Pocketnow

A small face poked its nose through the bars of a metal cage, curious about the two women whove entered the room at the National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center outside of Fort Collins.

Captive breeding manager Robyn Bortner opened the cage door.

This is mama, Bortner said. Normally if this was a black-footed ferret we could not do anything like were doing now, which is handling her. Its very different for us to work with ferrets that dont want to bite you.

The friendly, domestic ferret shes holding is a surrogate mom to the first cloned endangered species native to North America, which stayed hidden in the nest box.

To get the baby black-footed ferret out of hiding, U.S. Fish and Wildlife veterinarian Della Garelle used a small handling cage and placed her on the scale. She weighs in at 816 grams.

Very good weight for a female black-footed ferret, Bortner said. She has all the usual characteristics of her species which are the classic black feat, a black tip tail. And shes got her black mask.

Elizabeth Ann might look like all the other black-footed ferrets at the center, but she is unique. Shes the clone of a ferret who died in the 1980s.

Its pretty inspiring that people 30 years ago saved those tissues, in case this could happen someday. So dreams do come true, Garelle said.

The bigger dream is to get the black-footed ferret off the endangered species list, Garelle said. To help save this little mammal one of the most endangered animals in North America found in Colorado and several other states, scientists brought Elizabeth Ann into the world.

Biotechnology nonprofit Revive & Restore collaborated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to bring this clone to life.

Elizabeth Ann stands to bring in this huge boost of diversity for the species, said Ben Novak, the nonprofits lead scientist. Today every black-footed ferret is related to each other, somewhere between a sibling and a first cousin.

The black-footed ferret was once thought to be extinct. In the early 1980s, a ranch dog in Wyoming dropped a carcass off on its owners porch. Biologists tracked down where it came from, and eventually captured the last group of wild black-footed ferrets. Only seven of those passed down their DNA.

Today, there are just 500 ferrets in the wild.

Elizabeth Ann was cloned from the tissue of a ferret named Willa. She actually has no living descendants, Novak said. By cloning her, Elizabeth Ann is actually a potential eighth founder for this population.

Habitat loss, disease and the decimation of prairie dog populations a black-footed ferrets primary source of food drove these animals close to extinction. Novak believes Elizabeth Ann embodies a paradigm shift for conservation efforts.

The rest is here:

This Baby Black-Footed Ferret Clone From Colorado Is Hoping To Save Her Species - Colorado Public Radio

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, March 5

The cyber cell of the local police has claimed to have busted a gang involved in financial fraud through cloning of debit cards, after the arrest of three persons recently.

DCP (HQ) Arpit Jain said here today that the accused identified as Mubarik, Arif and Majhar, have been arrested by the cops in connection with an incident that took place a month ago in which the accused got transferred an amount of Rs 3.4 lakh illegally from the account of one Prambhajan Singh of Sector 23 here, after cloning his debit card.

He said while Mubarik hailed from Rajasthan, Arif and Majhar were residents of Ballabgarh and Ferozpur Zirka town of Nuh district. Claiming that the arrested accused had admitted their involvement in at least 20 different cases, he said the amount withdrawn by them in a fraudulent manner was over Rs 20 lakh.

Around 50 debit cards, Rs 1.93 lakh and two schemer devices have been recovered. All accused were remanded to judicial custody.

Read the rest here:

Debit card-cloning gang busted, 3 held - The Tribune India

Scientists have cloned an endangered black-footed ferret.

Elizabeth Ann was born on December 10, 2020, after being duplicated from the genes of another black-footed ferret named Willa, who died in 1988.

Cloning is a process that copies the DNA from one organism to create an exact genetic replica of that same organism.

The same company that cloned Elizabeth Ann also cloned an endangered Przewalski horse, a Mongolian wild horse, from 40-year-old DNA in the summer of 2020. The black-footed ferret is the first U.S. endangered species to be cloned.

Conservationists from the nonprofit Revive & Restore think that cloning could eventually bring back extinct species, but they say that conservation of these species is key.

How can we actually apply some of those advances in science for conservation? Because conservation needs more tools in the toolbox. Thats our whole motivation. Cloning is just one of those tools, said Ryan Phelan, the co-founder and executive director of Revive & Restore.

The rest is here:

Scientists Have Cloned A Black-Footed Ferret - NowThis

A ferret that died more than 30 years ago is getting a second chance at life.

Well, sort of. More precisely, an exact replica of that ferret has been brought to life.

American scientists have cloned an endangered species native to the U.S. called the black-footed ferret.

The clone, named Elizabeth Ann, was made to help the dwindling ferret species survive by increasing something called genetic diversity.

But before we get to that ...

Clones are two living things that have the exact same genes, just like identical twins.

Clones of animals are made in a lab by taking the cells of an adult animal, living or dead, and altering them to change them into the building block type of cells seen in the womb.

In 1996, Dolly the sheep was the first animal to be cloned by a group of researchers in Scotland. (Image credit: Jeff J. Mitchell/Reuters)

These cells are then placed into the womb of an adult female of that animal, called a surrogate mom, to grow the clone.

The surrogate mom then gives birth to the clone.

Elizabeth Anns surrogate mom is a ferret of a different species.

Cloning is controversial, however, as some say that cloning animals may lead scientists to one day clone humans, which could lead to a lot of different problems.

For example, one issue some scientists argue is that the science isn't perfect, and errors in the cloning process could lead to babies with major medical issues or deformities.

Back in 1981, the black-footed ferret species was on the edge of extinction.

Elizabeth Ann drinks milk from her surrogate mother beside her siblings. They are all a different type of ferret species than Elizabeth Ann. (Image credit: USFWS National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center)

To help the species survive, scientists in Wyoming gathered seven ferrets from the few that remained to start a breeding program.

Since then, thousands of ferrets have been reintroduced into the wild, but they all come from the seven original ferrets.

Because the ferrets all come from such a small gene pool, they are missing something called genetic diversity.

Genetic diversity is important for helping animals fight off disease and other dangers that could harm their species.

Elizabeth Ann was cloned using the cells from a ferret that lived more than 30 years ago. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/The Associated Press)

Say youre on a team of seven people trying to take down a dragon.

You each bring unique combat skills, but the dragon breathes fire and none of you know how to overcome the flames.

But if you brought in an eighth person, theres a chance theyve fought fire-breathing dragons before, and their knowledge could mean the difference between life and death.

Elizabeth Ann could be this eighth person.

Her genes come from a ferret named Willa who died in the 1980s and whose cells were frozen in case they might come in handy in the future.

Elizabeth Ann brings a new gene pool into the mix, and Lead researcher Ben Novak said that once she and her kids are introduced into the wild, theyll increase the genetic diversity of the species and make the species better at surviving dangers in the wild.

Lead researcher Ben Novak holds Elizabeth Ann just after she was born in 2020. (Image submitted by Heather Sparks/Revive & Restore)

For now, the technique used to clone Elizabeth Ann could help other endangered species like a Mongolian wild horse that was cloned last summer and born at a Texas facility.

With files from CBCs As It Happens, The Associated Press and Reuters.

See the article here:

This ferrets twin lived more than 30 years ago. How is that possible? - CBC.ca

In February, news broke of the first cloned endangered North American animal, a black-footed ferret named Elizabeth Ann. Her birth is the result of cells cryogenically stored in 1988 from an individual who is now long dead.

What makes Elizabeth Ann special lies in the history of her species. Until the 1980s, black-footed ferrets were assumed to be totally extinct in the wild. Due to conservation efforts, the 1981 population of 18 has increased to about 300. Unfortunately, this victory could only occur through a lot of inbreeding inbreeding that leaves the wild ferrets especially vulnerable to population-destroying disease such as Sylvatic Plague. Conservation advocates hope that breeding Elizabeth Anns offspring and introducing her offspring to the wild will supplement much-needed genetic diversity to the population.

A project of biotechnology nonprofit Revive and Restore (which also focuses on projects such as bringing mammoths back from extinction), Elizabeth Ann has been called inspiring and described as a source of hope for other U.S. endangered species. But can Elizabeth Ann really reverse the course of history for her species and undo the damage that humans have already done? Is it ethical that she was born at all? And does her birth really stand to have such impact on the world as a whole?

Elizabeth Anns birth comes at a time when public mobilization toward our global biodiversity crisis is acute. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has assessed more than 35,000 species to be threatened with extinction approximately 28% of all those assessed. A 2004 study found that 43% of amphibians are threatened, and a large number of conservation organizations have sprung up to combat these trends.

It seems like any solution to the planets biodiversity loss is one worth hearing out. But cloning has always faced an (often unfair) burden of morality, tasked with proving why while opponents rarely have to prove why not.

Luckily, science suggests that we have nothing to fear from cloning itself. The fact that biotechnology will aid this process in species that wouldnt otherwise be able to reproduce asexually should be no stranger than biotechnology aiding fertility in prospective parents or providing therapies for genetic diseases.

A literal definition says that cloning is the act of creating individuals that are genetically identical. Though its understood that sexual reproduction evolved after asexual reproduction and that there must have been a time in Earths history when cloning was all there was to work with its rarely discussed how common cloning is in the natural world. Agriculture in particular makes use of cloning through the process of grafting almost all apples are genetic clones of one another, as are grapes, as are potatoes. Some animals, including Komodo dragons, can clone themselves in a process known as parthenogenesis, in which embryos develop without requiring fertilization by sperm. In this case, unless mutations occur, the daughter is an exact genetic copy of her mother.

The most damning indictment of cloning as conservation is not in the cloning itself, but in the idea that this should be a replacement for preventative conservation efforts, or for collective action toward sustainability and environmental remediation.

Adding new individuals, even those with much-needed genetic diversity to supplement population-scale health, will only treat the symptoms of a world no longer suitable for the black-footed ferret and many other species like it. The factors that have contributed to their decline habitat loss, overhunting, pollution and natural diseases wont magically go away when their numbers increase. Its unclear whether conservation efforts will continue as aggressively (or at all) when the populations appear to soar. The public is famously unnuanced when it comes to superficial descriptors of risk factors for living things.

Perhaps the biggest pitfall to cloning-as-conservation operations, though, may just be that humans are bad at prioritizing what to fix when it comes to the environment. We are biased toward the charisma of the giant panda and the grace of the polar bear even when those species dont contribute much to their respective ecosystems.

The International Union for Conservation of Natures (IUCN) assessment of species is heavily slanted toward vertebrates with over 50,000 assessed. Those invertebrates assessed (just under 25,000) are the ones most obviously beneficial to humans. This is despite that over 90% of all life on Earth are invertebrates and theyre important. Food chains are generally upheld by unglamorous invertebrates. Its these cryptic little nothings of animals which allow for long-term ecosystem stability. Even more than that, its the species that often repulse humanity the spiders, insects and bats that provide the most benefit to the ecosystem.

Elizabeth Ann is adorable, and it is amazing that she could be the first step on the long road to the long-term success of her species. It is truly worth celebrating that she was born. In a perfect reality, the initiative which brought her into this world would be extended to all organisms that need the extra support.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that high-budget and high-profile cloning initiatives will ever be dedicated to benthic bottom-feeders and single-celled photosynthesizers no matter how important they are to the world beyond human aesthetics. And its hard to deny the possibility that maybe the adorable little face of a black-footed ferret had something to do with the decision to help this species in particular.

We should walk away from the news of Elizabeth Anns birth feeling hopeful for the future of the ferrets. We should also continue to think critically about what efforts to conservation will make the most impact long-term and over large geographic area. And of course, we should continue to keep trying to do good by the life with which we share this planet. We arent absolved from responsibility yet.

For comments/questions, tweet @TheWhitOnline.

See the original post here:

Lonsdorf: Can Clones Solve the Biodiversity Crisis? - The Whit Online

DBMR has added a new report titled Global Voice Cloning Market with data Tables for historical and forecast years represented with Charts & Graphs spread through Pages with easy to understand detailed analysis. This also Report has also been compiled to provide various market aspects such as size, share, trends, dynamics, growth, sales, and industry analysis. The competitive analysis taken place in this report include strategic profiling of key market players, their core competencies, their strong and weak points, and competitive landscape of the market which supports businesses illustrate their individual strategies.

Voice cloning market is expected to gain market growth in the forecast period of 2021 to 2028. Data Bridge Market Research analyses the market to reach at an estimated value of USD 4446.08 million and grow at a CAGR of 25.74% in the above-mentioned forecast period. Rising rapid surge in demand for IoT and connected devices drives the voice cloning market.

Get Free Sample PDF @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-voice-cloning-market

Rising number of initiatives in voice cloning projects is the vital factor escalating the market growth, also rising penetration of artificial intelligence and analytics machine learning among information technology (IT) sector, rising preference for artificial intelligent powered voice cloning technology among various organizations and increasing numerous benefits offered by voice cloning software such as, interactive training and learning, speaking text aloud,personaldigital voice assistant, accessibility text to speech, and familiar voice addition in navigation systems are the major factors among others driving the voice cloning market. Moreover, increasing modernization and technological advancements in the software, rising integrating AI technologies with voice cloning solutions and rising personalization in human device interface will further create new opportunities for voice cloning market in the forecasted period of 2021-2028.

This Free report sample includes:

Voice cloning market is segmented on the basis of component, deployment mode, end-use and application. The growth amongst these segments will help you analyse meagre growth segments in the industries, and provide the users with valuable market overview and market insights to help them in making strategic decisions for identification of core market applications.

For More Insights Get FREE Detailed TOC @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-voice-cloning-market

Voice cloning market competitive landscape provides details by competitor. Details included are company overview, company financials, revenue generated, market potential, investment in research and development, new market initiatives, global presence, production sites and facilities, production capacities, company strengths and weaknesses, product launch, product width and breadth, application dominance. The above data points provided are only related to the companies focus related to voice cloning market.

The major players covered in the voice cloning market report are Microsoft, IBM, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates., Nuance Communications, Inc, iSpeech, Inc., ReadSpeaker Holding B.V, CereProc Ltd, Cepstral, Descript, Kata.ai, ALT Creative, Inc., Aristech GmbH, Acapela Group, VocaliD, Inc., CandyVoice, LumenVox, rSpeak Technologies, Smartbox Assistive Technology and Vivotex India Pvt. Ltd. among other domestic and global players. Market share data is available for Global, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America separately. DBMR analysts understand competitive strengths and provide competitive analysis for each competitor separately.

Why Choose DBMR?

Access Full Report Directly @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/checkout/buy/enterprise/global-voice-cloning-market

About Data Bridge Market Research:

Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavours to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process. Data bridge is an aftermath of sheer wisdom and experience which was formulated and framed in the year 2015 in Pune.

Data Bridge Market Research has over 500 analysts working in different industries. We have catered more than 40% of the fortune 500 companies globally and have a network of more than 5000+ clientele around the globe. Data Bridge adepts in creating satisfied clients who reckon upon our services and rely on our hard work with certitude. We are content with our glorious 99.9 % client satisfying rate.

Contact Us:-

Data Bridge Market Research

US: +1 888 387 2818

UK: +44 208 089 1725

Hong Kong: +852 8192 7475

Email:[emailprotected]

Read the original post:

The Latest Global Voice Cloning Market Estimated Value Of USD 4446.08 Million And Grow At A CAGR Of 25.74% forecast period of 2021 to 2028 Microsoft,...

MYSTERY WIRE The worlds largest UFO religion is waiting for the return of humanitys creators, a race of extraterrestrials called the Elohim.

The Ralians call themselves an organization, but are often referred to as a cult, or even a space alien cult. According to the president of the North American Ralians there are around 130,000 members in more than 80 countries. The Ralians are now the subject of the new documentary on VICE called The Prophet and the Space Aliens.

In the video below from December 12, 2008, George Knapp explains who the Ralians are and reports on an incident at McCarran International Airport.

The Ralians say they dont believe in any gods. Rather, they think humans were cloned in a lab by extraterrestrials.

Their prophet Ral, former french journalist and race car driver Claude Vorilhon, had his own alien encounter over 40 years ago and founded a religion devoted, he says, to science, and also to pleasure.

Ralians are sexually liberated, which has likely helped them recruit new members all over the globe.

Theyve also had their share of controversies, including claims years ago that they successfully cloned human babies. Its really important to clarify that the Ralian movement is not cloning, Thomas Kaenzig, president of the U.S. Ralian movement, told Mystery Wire. Ral as leader of the Ralian movement, he initiated the cloning project, but it was handed over to Raelien Brigitte Boisselier in the late 90s and it became independent.

Another of the controversies surrounding the group is the use of the swastika, an ancient symbol of peace that was adopted by the Nazis. The Ralians symbol shows the swastika inside of the star of David.

The symbol is the oldest symbol on Earth, Ral told George Knapp in a 2008 interview in Las Vegas. You have it, you know, in the Tibetan temple, Buddhist temple, Hindu people I can say more than a billion people on Earth, pray in temples where you have a swastika every day. And the very symbol which makes the star of David and swastika is in the Tibetan Book of the dead. So its a very old symbol. And of course, we have nothing to do, it has nothing to do with Nazism.

A central goal for the Ralians is the creation of an embassy near Jerusalem to welcome back the Elohim, a protective race of space aliens.

These beings who are 25,000 years ahead of us, they could come here at any moment, Kaenzig said. But theyre so respectful. And I think through that theres a lot of teaching that is so respectful, and they say, if you want to welcome us, we will come if you dont want to we will not come. They could destroy the planet. They could move around the whole solar system if they want. They could appear anywhere in time. But they say we come if you build an embassy for us, so the embassy is like the sign that humanitys ready because they dont want to impose themselves on us.

Currently, the Ralian North American headquarters is in Las Vegas, which the raelians see as a good fit. There was some talk around 2006 of the group buying a hotel in Las Vegas and converting it to a headquarters, but then the recession hit and those plans were shelved.

When Mystery Wire asked Kaenzig about the new documentary he said overall it was neutral, but pointed out something major he says was missing, I witnessed personally, I was with him for several weeks in Europe and Asia. He filmed I would say, three or four weeks of entire Happiness Academies, the teachings of Ral, which is the main part of the Happiness Academy, he filmed hours and hours and hours, in the documentary, theres zero of that.

It (the documentary) comes through the eyes of somebody who has, you know, its not I wouldnt say against, but he doesnt believe in any religion and comes from this very atheist point of view. And its through his perception there that this whole movie was made. But you know, he lets people speak. And I applaud that.

In the video below from May 27, 2006, George Knapp reports on the Ralians showing up to the adult video convention in Las Vegas.

Below you can watch and read the interview George Knapp had with Ral when he visited Las Vegas in 2008.

George KnappThe reason youre coming to Las Vegas, its an important anniversary.

RalVery important. Its a, I dont know, it doesnt make me younger. But its the 35th birthday, another anniversary in English of our organization, because they also we can say that 35 years, thats a long time,

George Knapp35 years ago is when you had your encounter?

RalYes, and so for 35 years, I am traveling around around the globe to spread this message and from being alone with this message. And now we have 80,000 members in 85 countries

George KnappIn that 35 years, other than this incident that were going to talk about, have you noticed a change in the attitude of other people were not really into about you and your organization?

RalYes, a lot, changed a lot. Depending of whats happening in the world, you know, there was a beginning, everybody was very enthusiastic, because they were focused on the UFO things, and they loved it. And then you realize the message is very revolutionary on many other aspects, not only our contact with the UFO, but what is more important is not so much the contact, but the message, what do they recommend we change in our life, whether to change, but our religion, philosophy, politic, it affects every aspect of our life. And then the strong reaction became a little bit different than just (inaudible), UFO, and then became a little bit more fearful in some place. And then there was a cloning event, if you remember, well, Im sure, we should also change lots of things. And now the cloning and stem cell start to be accepted. So now, I can see now we are living in the most positive time of our organization.

George KnappBut I would imagine that to a lot of people, you are considered dangerous, your ideas are dangerous.

RalAt the beginning, I was not. Then for a while I was then I was not again, the 35 years. And then after the cleaning, very dangerous. And now for I can see the majority of people not dangerous at all.

George KnappLets talk about this incident in Las Vegas. You get off the plane and they and you are told about what happened.

RalNo, I get off the plane and I arrive in like every year for 20 years in Las Vegas and, or my friend waiting for me. And you know, there was I dont know dozens of ralien waiting for me with the little banner will come right like every year. And all of a sudden I see police officers coming and asking the Ralien to leave. So I was very surprised. Not me because I was traveling arriving but the writing and they said we will have they threaten to make some arrests. The officers say we will have to make some arrest if you dont move. I was shocked.

George KnappArrests for what?

RalThats why my question but I couldnt talk to them at risk for what I dont know. I dont know. So just for being maybe they know they have a religious minority. But I thought in America religious, the rights of religious minority are well protected. So I was very, very upset by that. And I asked the national guide of our organization to contact the ACLU and to ask our to speak with our attorney and to prosecute because it I dont think its possible for police to expel from the airport people just because they have their member of religious minority. I dont think its possible in America.

George KnappIt basically boils down to the symbol?

RalI dont think so. I dont think so. That was that was a banner. But you know, the symbol is very small. So there was a banner, welcome Rael. And I think somebody in the management of the airport just doesnt like the Railian, but we have the right to exist.

George KnappTell me about the symbol.

RalThe symbol is the oldest symbol on Earth. You have it, you know, in the Tibetan temple, Buddhist temple Indu people induced, you know, me, I can say more than a billion people on earth, pray in temple where you have a swastika every day. And the very symbol which makes the star of David and swastika is in the Tibetan Book of death. So its a very old symbol. And of course, we have nothing to do with it has nothing to do with Nazism. The opposite because our goal, you know, the most important goal of the Reagan movement is to build an embassy, close to Jerusalem, to welcome Elohim. Elohim being the name that the Jewish people give to God, and they are the creator of life. And so there is absolutely no possible association with Nazis. The opposite of the contrary, we want to help Israel and we are pro Israel.

George KnappThis symbol basically was abducted by the Nazis,

RalOf course. Not the full symbol, just a swastika was was stolen by Adolph Hitler. And there are many explanations about why he did that one of the most interesting is there was the kind of attempt to kill the Kaiser. And the life of the Kaiser was saved by a Buddhist monk. And the Buddhist monk has a swastika. And when the Kaiser says, I want to thank you for saving my life. How can I thank you, we say if you like put on yourself, a swastika and the Kaiser engraved engraved on the sword, a swastika. And Adolph Hitler was a big admirer of the Kaiser, and so decided to accept it and he connected it with his theory, stupid theory about you know, the superior race of indo-European people. And so it fits with this theory. And thats why he stole the symbol.

George KnappEven if you were Nazis, which you are not, you should be able to wear that symbol. Regardless.

RalI know the principle but I cannot even think about that because you have neo Nazis in America, you have a Ku Klux Klan and many groups use that and they win in courts the right to wear the symbol. But we have nothing to do with that. Its the opposite. We are non violent group, peaceful group anti apartheid, anti racist group, anti fighting against anti Semitism. So its completely the opposite only out of you know people meet with with no knowledge, just prejudices. And such why we expect apologies from this management of the Las Vegas airport.

George KnappWell, thats what I wanted to ask next is what what are you asking? What would you like to see happen?

RalPublic apologies, not me. I was not affected at all, but our our members, our followers, you know, being in America, country of religious freedom. In the world, I think coming to the airport, and being told by a police officer, you cannot be that why we cannot tell you that you cannot be that we are waiting, we are waiting for our religious leader. Know, if the Dalai Lama is coming, will you expel them? They say, we cannot tell you, but you have to leave right now. Thats terrible.

George KnappAnd if you dont get an apology, what do you do?

RalWe are we are talking with our attorneys. And we also send the information to the ACLU. And I think we cannot accept that not only for us, but for if you start like that, you know, it started like that in Nazi Germany precisely. And then you can have more terrible things. And I think with the shift from George Bush to Obama, we can hope that America is becoming more respectful and more peaceful. And the Las Vegas Airport Authority is doing exactly the opposite for the first time in 20 years,

George KnappLas Vegas is supposed to welcome everybody.

RalAnd I think with the nowadays economy problem, you need a lot of convention here. We selected Las Vegas to have a convention where people will come from every continent. I mean, if Rylan are not welcome here, we will organize our next convention in another place, but I think the Las Vegas economy needs to let the people be welcoming the airport in a proper manner.

George KnappOne other question: Tell me about the organization how youre doing worldwide. Whats the status?

RalNow? Its so huge. We are now in 93 countries. And we have about 80,000 members. And its developing very quickly, especially, I must say, in Asia, Japan being number one country, but number of Ralien and the dynamism of the members.

George KnappA couple of years ago when you made the announcements about cloning, work, a lot of attention, a lot of negative attention thats calmed down somewhat.

RalAnd as the work continues, of course, but that to avoid that you have to talk to Dr. Boisselier who was charge, as as I always say, in the media, keep on saying that the Ralian cloned the baby, we have nothing to do with the cleaning company. But philosophically, religiously, I am in favor of it. And they support Dr. Boisselier, in (her) enterprise to clone human being. But its absolutely not the Raelian movement. But I have been saying that for I dont remember seven years, and always with just Ralian the group will clone the baby we never do. We we are only a philosophical group, but we support stem cells. So and I know that your new President Barack Obama, I hope we change the law and promote stem cell, which is great, great things to do. And also, we can sell the law, anti abortion, because we also are in favor of abortion, of teaching to children to use a condom, which is much better than teaching them. You know, refraining to have sex is a word for that in English, abstinence, which is just stupid, you can teach to a 15 or 16 years old hormonal volcano, thats what we are when we are 16 abstinence. Wait a minute, this is just beautiful. Poetry doesnt work and show it doesnt work. So condom use condom and I think given convoyed schools for free to protect the children, because if not, we will have 1000s of young people dying from AIDS. And thats, thats very safe. And I think I hope, I think Obama is, is a great president for America will change a lot of things.

George KnappAnd you have one other question with Christmas season coming up

RalYes.

George KnappDo the Raelians recognize this? Are you tolerant or that? I know you in some interviews weve had before you are tolerant, but youre also sharply critical.

RalAt the same time, yes. Because Christmas is supposed to celebrate the birth of Jesus who was a very important Prophet, a very important messenger of the Elohim. But at the same time, he was not a god and at the same time, we recognize Jesus as a messenger of Elohim. But we are faced we dont believe in God. So thats very difficult to understand for some people. We are very religious, but we dont believe in God. And some people say how can you claim your religious if you dont believe in God, best example I can give you is a Buddhist, there is no such thing as a god like the Dalai Lama said on CNN, in the Buddhist. But of course, its a religion with a high level of spirituality. Spirituality is very important for the future, and human beings need desperately, spirituality, but no God. God is killing people. The myth of God is killing people. And spirituality is saving people. You know, in Japan, where may very few people believe in God, they have the highest rate of suicide, because there is less not enough spirituality. So here, I bring the spirituality which is adapted to the new technologies. For me, the most religious thing we have on Earth, it may surprise you, is the internet. Because internet is a religious experience, you know, before where people were going to feel connected to all the planet, churches, temples, not anymore. In Canada, they are making the church which are empty, completely empty supermarket or dancing or discotheque. In Europe they are totally empty, except in some pocket, but France must have the Cheshire empty, no more priest, because young people dont want to become priests. But the need for spirituality is very, very important. So people are a little bit lost. And thats why they did try to feel connected with other people, and where do they go on their computer, on the internet, you feel connected, and Im sure you do it every day to everybody on the planet. So thats why I say the internet is a religious experience, but people dont realize it. All of a sudden you feel a one, no border with all humankind. And thats wonderful. And thats kind of new spirituality that the Raelian movement promotes. Not only that, but stem cell but cloning. Cloning, what is the most important and beautiful part of human cloning? Giving you eternal life. Not anymore (do you) need to go to a church or temple to weird price priests talk about eternal life, eternal life become a scientific fact. Thats beautiful.

See the article here:

UFO cult? The Ralians return to the spotlight in new documentary - Fox 59

It's tough even for the all-powerful Big Tech cabal to dispatch every new competitor like Parler, so sometimes they have to improvise. Facebook has instead chosen to copy the emerging new audio-based social media phenomenon Clubhouse.

A New York Times report cites sources suggesting Facebook is interested in creating a Clubhouse clone. The company is reportedly in the early stages of the development process.

Mark Zuckerberg is evidently an admirer of the app, since he had recently appeared on the app as a guest. The social media czar had hopped onto a Clubhouse show called The Good Time Show to promote his virtual and augmented reality endeavors.

Zuckerberg, meanwhile, is known for copying competitors. Facebook has cloned everything from Snapchat Stories to TikTok's format within Instagram with impunity.

Clubhouse's success has not only piqued the interest of Facebook, but also Twitter.

The microblogging platform isn't usually prone to copying rivals (with some exceptions), but the fact that it's currently testing its own version of Clubhouse dubbed Spaces stands testimony to the former's potential.

On its part, Clubhouse continues to pull in celebrities and CEOs, such as Drake, Elon Musk, and Kevin Hart.

Clubhouse is an invite-only app that's taking the social media space by storm. It uses audio as the primary means of communication, superseding the text and video-based nature of traditional social media.

Users can create clubs catering to various hobbies and topics, in addition to audio chat rooms. The audio-based social media platform claims that conversations aren't stored to bypass privacy concerns.

Clubhouse works as a discussion group with a moderator controlling the flow. Listeners can raise their virtual hands, following which the moderator passes the "mic" to anyone interested in speaking up.

The ceiling for these group interactions have been capped at 5,000 concurrent participants at the moment. This was evident during the mad rush to secure a slot during Musk's recent Clubhouse interaction.

Read the rest here:

Facebook might be in the process of cloning Clubhouse | NewsBytes - NewsBytes