Made-to-Order Babies - Motherlode Blog - NYTimes.com
The idea of the "designer babies" is not that far fetched....
The question has roared back into the headlines this month, first with the birth of the octuplets — which to so many of us seems like Exhibit A of IVF-run-amok — and now by a story in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal about the potential use of something called preimplantation genetic diagnosis to choose physical traits in a baby, like hair color and eye color.
P.G.D. was created so that parents who carried genes for life-threatening disease could be assured of having healthy children. Embryos created by IVF are tested at the three-day stage, and only those that are free of disease are transferred to the uterus. Theoretically, one could look for any gene in those embryos. And the reporter Gautam Naik quotes Fertility Institutes, a Los Angeles Clinic, as saying they will begin to offer exactly that service, allowing couples “a pre-selected choice of gender, eye color, hair color and complexion,” whether or not they were also screening for serious illness at the same time.
R seems to be the best free statistical software out there. So, I'm going to give it a try. I've used SAS, SPSS, and Stata.. I don't know how it compares to them. But, the problem is that it's been a while since I've done any stats, and I'm VERY rusty.
Oh boy.. This is going to be fun.
As poor graduate students, sometimes it's difficult to come up with the $$ it takes to get a decent statistics software or qualitative data analysis software. And, there's too much guilt associated with "borrowing" software from friends.
Today I found a meta-list of free statistical software either released under the GNU license, or are given free of charge. Here's the list: http://statistiksoftware.com/free_software.html
They have many SPSS clones listed on there. I have just downloaded PSPP, which promises to be a good SPSS clone. I'm uninstalling SPSS from my computer since I couldn't get the site license for it. And even if I did, it expires in one year, so what's the point?
Next, I'll have to download something for text analysis that's like Atlas.ti, but free. I'll post on here when I find something.
For anyone from Tallahassee reading this... I'll be in town next week (18-23), and I'd love to get together with people. Oysters, pickled chips, and sheesha are on the menu. Leave me a comment if you can meet up.
A few years ago, I was introduced to a beautiful artist by the name of Brenda Fassie. Like most artists who were/are dealing with the effects of post-Apartheid South Africa, she was singing about the struggles of the people who had to live under the brutal government.
When Nelson Mandela was captured, it was devastating to the world. He was a great leader, and a very inspirational figure. She wrote a beautiful song for him called "My Black President", which talks about her love and dedication to this great man.
The first few times I heard it, I was very moved, and then as I learned the lyrics and sang along, I would choke up, and think how wonderful it would be to have a president who can generate so much love and commitment from his people. I have never experienced that in my life, and didn't know what standing behind a president meant.
I come from a country torn by war and corruption, and all the presidents I have experienced have, well, been uninspirational. Every time an inspiration figure arose to power and united people (even if it's not across division), he would get assassinated. Bashir Gemayel, Rafik Hariri, Gibran Tueni, all great men who were assassinated. People lost hope and accepted the status quo. Now, Lebanon has crazy, conservative, religious extremist with more influence than all other factions put together. They have killed dreams of a peaceful country where Lebanon can become the Paris of the Middle East once again.
I came to the United States mainly to escape the war in my country. It was no place for any young person to live. When I moved here, Bush senior was on his way out, and Bill Clinton was on his way in. I lived through that time, and it was great. The economy was great, we had fun in the software industry. But, the dark shadow of the Reagan era was still looming. There was a huge gap between the rich and the poor, and people were either living the high life, while others lived with daily violence and trauma.
When Bush junior first ran, I knew things would change, but didn't know how. He won through deception and greed. In his second term, he did crush people's dreams, and encouraged an era of fear and almost draconian politics. I lived in fear. It was dangerous to be an Arab. We were the terrorists, after all. We're the cause of the demise of the "American way of life". Living in Florida meant I had to watch over my back all the time, and censor what I said in the classroom, because I didn't want to say the wrong thing, and end up being deported, or denied citizenship when I wanted to apply.
I've been in the US since 1988. Twenty years later, I still had not applied for citizenship. I am not too big on citizenship, per se, and the American passport, a prized capital in most of the world, was not an incentive for me. I was ok, just keep a low profile, and everything will be fine.
Last year, I started hearing Barack Obama on TV, and all of sudden, something sparked in me. I was inspired, as I'm sure millions of people were all over the country. All of a sudden, he offered hope for those of us who have come to think that things were utterly hopeless; that the government is against the people; that politicians will do anything they can to further their own agendas, regardless of how many people were harmed in the process. The more I heard him speak and learned about his policies and his vision, the more I became moved, and wanted to actually vote for him. That inspired me to apply for citizenship, and finally get it after twenty years.
Yesterday was the first vote I have ever cast in my life. I am proud to have done it not only because of who Obama turned out to be, but because he was the man who inspired me (and turned me into a political junkie), and sparked in me a hope that had long since been extinguished. Now, as a citizen, I can stand behind a president. I can look up to him for inspiration. He says great things that will go down in history, and will be written on the walls of the capitol (unlike the last number of presidents we've had). His words will join those of Lincoln, Kennedy and others who have inspired millions of people during their time and throughout history.
While I truly don't have (too) many high expections for him and the country. There's going to be a lot of cleaning to be done, and he is going to make many people angry and outraged, and perhaps even violent.
I fear for him, as I'm sure millions of people do as well. I hope he does not join the list of great men who were assassinated because some could not get beyond their fears and think beyond themselves. I have experienced first hand what happens to great people. This is one of those instances where I don't even want to consider what would happen if my fears came true.
As an anthropologist (as Obama's mom was) and an Africanist, and someone who is so concerned about social justice and human rights, this is an amazing time in history. I am seeing and being a part of history as it is written. I have been crying since last night. I'm relieved in more ways than one. I am sure the world over just breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Every time I see Jesse Jackson's face in the crowd crying, I start crying myself. This man has been through so much, and seen so much, inspired so many, and had such vision for this country... I can only imagine what was going through his head.
And, the video of Obama's grandmother celebrating in Kenya was very moving as well. The Kenyan president declared today a national holiday to celebrate the victory. The world is celebrating his election. How much more inspirational does he have to be?
Yet, we still have people in this country who fear him, and will call him every name in the book because they can't get past his skin color, and his foreign sounding name. Well, tough for them. Get used to it! He's their president now, and if they don't like it, they can learn to deal with it, like the rest of us have been forced to do for the last eight years.
This post started with Brenda Fassie, and will end with her. Here is the video and the lyrics to the song. I dedicate it to my black president.
I will sing for my president
I will stand and say
Viva, viva, viva, viva, viva, viva
Viva!!
Black President
The year 1963
The people's president
Was taken away by security men
All dressed in a uniform
The brutality, brutality
Oh, no, my black president
Him and his comrades
Were sentenced to isolation
For many painful years
For many painful years
Many painful years
Of hard labour
They broke ropes
But the spirit was never broken
Never broken
Oh, no, my, my black president
Hmm maa (3x)
Mama
Hmm maa (3x)
Mama
Hmm maa (3x)
Madiba
Hmm maa (3x)
Madiba
Ahh, nyu ye uyee huu
He broke ropes
But his spirit was never broken
Never broken
Oh oh oh, my president
Now in 1990
The people's president
Came out from jail
Raised up his hand and said
'Viva, viva, my people'
He walked the long road
Back, back to freedom
Back, back to freedom
Freedom for my black president
Let us rejoice for our president
Let us sing for our president
Let us pray for our president
Let us sing, let us dance
For Madiba give us freedom
We thank you Lord
For listening to our prayers
Night and day
Oh oh oh, my president
Madiba
Zulu /Xhosa lyrics
My president
I will die for my president
I will sing for my president
I will stand and say
Viva, viva, viva, viva, viva, viva
When I was a teenager, there was a French song that I adored. It would always play on TV and on the radio, and I would sing and dance along. After I moved to the US, I just had no idea what it was. I remembered only one line that I still sang to this day. In fact, I was singing it in the shower this morning. It's one of those weird things that just stuck in my head. I can hear the music, but other than one line, nothing. That line was "dite jamais que je vous ai dit ca, ou Melissa me tue", which translates to "never say I told you that, or Melissa will kill me".
A couple of years ago I decided to try to locate the song on the internet, but I couldn't find anything. Couldn't remember the singer's name or anything. But, now, thanks to Youtube, I FOUND IT! I'm ecstatic! I've already listened to it about ten times.
The song is about a woman who runs around naked in Ibiza, and gets into trouble as she climbs up walls, and the cops come after her, etc. It's a very silly song.
So.. without further ado, here it is!! Melissa by Julien Clerc.
And whoever put it up on September 17, 2008, THANK YOU!!!!
