China

Scientists in China have previously successfully manufactured mice with two mothers and no father. Now, they have genetically manipulated sperm from two male mice to allow both to father pups. From the New Scientist story: For the first time, mice with two fathers have gone on to have offspring of their own — marking a significant step towards enabling two men to have children to whom they are both genetically related. However, there is still a long way to go before this could be attempted in people. Yanchang Wei at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China achieved the feat by putting two sperm cells together in an egg whose nucleus had been removed. The team then used a method called Read More ›

The “nature rights” movement has really hit the big time. The National Geographic Society — one of the world’s largest and most influential science organizations — is going to pour money into the movement. From the National Geographic website:

Today, the National Geographic Society, in collaboration with The Alfred Kobacker and Elizabeth Trimbach Fund, are proud to announce For Nature. Announcement of the new program comes in anticipation of the celebration of the International Day for Biological Diversity, May 22). For Nature will support National Geographic Explorer Callie Veelenturf’s vision to advance the Rights of Nature movement and provide funding for ten Explorer projects to advance this work.

The Rights of Nature movement seeks to bring rights-based legal protection to threatened and endangered species and habitats. Under the newly-launched For Nature program, this movement will be further catalyzed and expanded with the help of the Society’s global community of researchers and conservationists, storytelling and education expertise, technology and communications support and elevation opportunities to drive the impact of this work and grow the movement for species and habitat protections.

What are the rights of nature? Don’t let the press release fool you. It isn’t just about endangered species, habitats, or ecosystems. Here’s a frequently deployed definition:

President Trump has withdrawn the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) because of its Covid failings, allegations of being soft on China, and the disproportionate share of funding borne by the United States. There is even more wrong in how WHO leaders have wielded their influence. In recent years, the organization has not just been about promoting public-health internationally, but also in using its clout to impose woke cultural agendas on the world — including areas that have traditional moral values — and in seeking to construct an international technocracy. Item: WHO sought to force a radical abortion regime on the world by allowing abortion through the ninth month and curtailing the right of conscience by doctors to Read More ›

Here’s the good news. A massive deposit of lithium has been discovered on the border of Oregon and Nevada. From the OilPrice.com story: A massive new lithium discovery on the border between Oregan [sic] and Nevada could supercharge the country’s white-gold rush. It is estimated that the newly discovered reserves under the ancient McDermitt Caldera holds a whopping 40 million metric tons of lithium. The scale of this deposit is extraordinary, “dwarfing other reserves worldwide.” Just last year, lithium producers were thrilled to find a reserve of 4 million metric tons of lithium in the Smackover Formation, a geologic formation that spans the width of Arkansas. Next to the McDermitt Caldera, that now seems a paltry sum. This deposit could Read More ›

Our betters among the elites are increasingly embracing nature rights and its derivatives. Latest example: An editorial published by the World Economic Forum pushes “forest rights.” The Earth is burning and the fault is — ta-da! — capitalism! From, “Reimagining Capitalism — Giving Forests Legal Rights”: Capitalism, of course has, in many aspects, brought about incredible progress. Industrialization and globalization have propelled advances in life expectancy, education, and social welfare. But does this narrative still hold true? For the first time, GDP diverges from well-being indices in many nations. This exposes a system that not only engineers its own demise, but threatens humanity and the natural environment. Has this unnamed editorialist ever been to China? That anti-capitalist utopia has air Read More ›

For years, members of the Falun Gong, a new religious movement, have accused China of tissue-typing and organ-harvesting their fellow practitioners to boost the country’s black market and further the Chinese Communist Party’s tyrannical suppression of the FG movement. China has denied the accusation repeatedly, but multiple international studies and exposés have substantiated the brutality with strong circumstantial evidence. Now, an escaped Falun Gong member has come forward with direct evidence, claiming that part of his own liver and one lung were harvested while he was a political prisoner in 2004. From the Epoch Times story: A man who had part of his liver forcibly removed in communist China has stepped forward after escaping the country to draw attention to the Chinese regime’s mass killing-for-profit scheme known as forced Read More ›