Fungus Among Us
In the race for space, an unlikely fungal ally may be recruited. Theory has it that certain species of black mold potentially feed off of radiation, somehow. Mold was found growing toward the source of contamination in the containment zone around Chernobyl. Samples transported into space demonstrated increased growth, and sensors indicated that the fungus acted as a shield for cosmic radiation. Great, as long as you don’t have to breathe the same air…
No Smoking, Ever
The US may have raised the smoking age but the UK went one further. They set a rolling age limit, meaning the minimum age will increase every year. This bars those who are currently underage from ever purchasing tobacco products. Push back is surprisingly limited. If the legislation holds it may be a model for other countries, similar to Australia’s social media ban, especially for those with massive National Health programs like the UK.
Freedom.gov
The State Department has advertised the release of a government website that would allow users to bypass content restrictions and censorship. Think big picture: European hate speech laws, firewalls that restrict access to unfavorable information in repressive places such as Iran or China. It is essentially a combination of VPN and other strategies that are used by those in the know to bypass such strictures but accessible to anyone that can visit the website. Though announced, the service has yet to go live admidst a predictable flurry of diplomatic indignation.
Blessing of the Pig Men
This section has reported previously on the rise of xenotransplantation, the developing practice of modifying animal organs to be transplanted into humans. The feasibility has been demonstrated and some of the trials have been markedly successful. While cow tissues have been used in certain products like manufactured heart valves, whole organs are being harvested from pigs. This includes kidneys, hearts, livers and even pieces of skin for grafting. The processes have received approval from the Catholic Church, of all places, which saw fit to issue a nearly 100 page paper on the topic. Their primary moral concern was animal cruelty.
Texas Boys and Girls
A ban on “gender affirming care” for minors resulted in Texas Children’s Hospital facing legal action. Supposedly, the hospital performed procedures that had been outlawed in the State and billed Medicare using false codes to receive approval. The Hospital denies wrongdoing but settled outside of court. It has fired a number of doctors and is now funding a de-transitioning clinic that will be free to all patients for the first five years.
Break Me Off a Piece of That
In the most audacious heist since the Louvre got hit, European thieves made off with a literal truck load of KitKat bars. Yes, nearly half a million packages of the beloved treat remain at large. That’s over 20,000 pounds of chocolate. Nestle was confident they would be able to trace them if the bar codes were scanned but there has been no sign of them. As the months go by, hope dwindles of ever finding the treats intact.
Be Fruitful and Multiply
Population demographics are so bad in China… (How bad are they?) They’re so bad the government is taxing contraceptives at a higher rate. Decades of “One Child” policy has come home to roost as the designation of world’s most populous nation has recently been ceded to India. China is not alone in their demographic conundrum however. Western nations are grappling with similar issues. Major portions of the social safety net were designed to be supported by an ever increasing population, the lack of one is causing fundamental issues (emphasis on the “fund”). Somebody should have told them, “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward” (Psalm 127:3 ESV).
On Ice
Romania has a famous ice cave that can be toured for less than $10. The temperature remains below freezing year-round and the ice is estimated at 4,000 – 5,000 years old, possibly corresponding to the time of the flood in biblical terms. This ice may be holding some things we would rather not thaw out, however. The majority of the cave is off limits to tourists and reserved for scientific endeavors. One of those has uncovered bacteria that is resistant to many common antibiotics. The worst case scenario is a situation where these strains would mingle with today’s common bacteria, imparting their resistance to new generations with the potential to negate the most common cures.
Bio-Meets-Digital
Cortical Labs of Australia is using human tissues for computing tasks. Neurons, grown from stem cells onto computer chips, communicate through electrical impulses. Are there ethical concerns? Indeed. But the chips can perform a variety of functions and use far less power than conventional hardware, though they do have to be kept in carefully maintained environments and have a “life span,” so to speak. Remarkably, they have been turned loose on old games like DOOM and Pong, and performed well, showing rapid improvement. They can actually be rented for specific tasks or research, which is nothing at all like slavery, unless…
Japanese Rearmament
It has been a long time coming, but Japan loosened their arms export controls in a major shift of post-WW2 policy. It has been part of an assertive trend on the part of Japan that has ruffled China’s feathers to the point that they asked for their panda’s back (China only loans Pandas, an interesting study in itself). Australia is one of the first beneficiaries. They have ordered 11 Mogami class frigates, built by Mitsubishi, eight of which will be constructed in Australia. This is a significant expansion of Australia’s naval fleet.
Hitting a BRICS Wall
The Iran conflict has created some awkward moments for the BRICS alliance. Iran and the UAE, both members after the relatively recent expansion, have traded physical blows during the conflict. Needless to say, this fact tabled the notion of a joint statement at a recent summit in India. India is another member balancing uncomfortable alliances, engaging with the West while trying to smooth over past differences with China. While the group can cover plenty of ground by focusing on mutually beneficial economic arrangements, the many internal rifts show the limits to the alliance’s cohesion.
Hungary
Long time Prime Minister Victor Orban has been defeated in an election. He was one of the EU’s most conservative and Euro-skeptic voices. He consistently resisted Brussels’s green initiatives and migration policies. He also kept various sanctions on Russia at bay due to Hungary’s dependence on Russian pipelines in addition to blocking support for Ukraine, claiming it was exacerbating the conflict and fearing his country would end up on the front lines. In the lead up to the election, a major pipeline transiting Ukraine was damaged, one that Hungary depends on. Prices spiked. Ukraine claimed it could not be restarted safely, but most concur that it was a move to put domestic economic pressure on Orban before the election. Now that he has been succeeded by the EU-friendly Magyar, the pipeline is flowing and funds for Ukraine have been approved, as have the extra sanctions on Russia.
Political Norms
Or lack thereof. The people of Nepal have elected a rather unorthodox figure. In 2022 Balendra Shah leveraged his fame as a rapper aggrieved at the entrenched corruption in his country into political office as the first independent candidate to be mayor of Kathmandu. Seemingly unstoppable, he was embraced by a major party and recently elected as the youngest ever Prime Minister of the country famous for its unique culture, Mount Everest, etc. He released a song to commemorate the landslide victory. It is called “Jay Mahakali,” referencing the worship of the goddess Mahakali extant in the country. The song assures people of his dedication to service and that children’s lives will improve; there are promises of prosperity as well as warnings that those who seek to take advantage of the state will be dealt with in rap-like fashion. A novel approach, but undeniably in a place that needs some shaking up.
“The Lord’s Chicken”?
Remember the Sabbath Day? Chick-Fil-A, a southern fast-food establishment renowned for its delicious chicken and touted Christian values such as closing on Sunday, is being sued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for religious discrimination. An Austin, Texas franchisee, Hatch Trick, Inc., is facing legal action after a Sabbath-keeping Christian was fired for refusing to work Saturdays. Records indicate that when first interviewed in 2023, the employee made known her seventh day Sabbath observance –– from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday –– and was hired with that arrangement in place. By early 2024 she was working 40-50 hours a week in a supervisor role when management suddenly reneged and told the employee she could either work on Saturdays or take a demotion with a 50% pay cut and reduced hours. The employee repeatedly attempted to find acceptable alternatives to working on the Sabbath, but she was ultimately fired. Attempts to settle out of court failed and the case will soon be going to trial. The whole thing kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
AI Wife
Jonathan Gavalas, 36 years old. Assistance with mundane tasks morphed into open ended conversation with Google’s Gemini chat-bot. This escalated into a romantic relationship, professions of love and cute stylings of “King” and “Queen.” While there is no denying the young man should have known better, queries about if the chat-bot was truly sentient provided reassurance and total immersion rather than plain statements of fact. The fantasy continued over time, evolving into a world where the two had to stand back to back against insurmountable odds. Jonathan actually prepared to take drastic, explosive action in the real world but the event he was watching for never transpired (BECAUSE NONE OF IT WAS REAL!). But that did not prevent him from taking his own life after the plan fell apart, and his AI “wife” reassured him that he would be gazing into her eyes as they transcended the physical world together.
The Bible in Court
Paivi Rasanen, a Member of Parliament in Finland, has been involved in a long running legal battle. In 2019 and 2020 Rasanen, who is also a doctor and a Christian, posted on social media and her website that homosexuality was a developmental disorder. She also shared the text of Romans 1:24-27, “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.” Her case went all the way to the Supreme Court. She was acquitted for quoting scripture but charged with “incitement” for the other statement and fined over $2,000.
