BBC: Government urged to use Bitcoin-style digital ledgers

Second post in a row about the BBC reporting on blockchain, this time it is about a new report from the UK government which defines guidelines and actions for the future. It is a hefty 88-pages long, and it can be downloaded here.

The Government Office for Science has also released a video with an introduction to the technology, which is in my view a bit shallow and very generic, but good for lay people.

Here is the video:

The original article from the BBC can be found here.

BBC: How blockchain tech could change the way we do business

The BBC has been reporting about the blockchain technology lately, and it’s very interesting to see that for once there are no negative mentions of bitcoin, and most newsbytes reported in this article are quite positive on the use of blockchain technology in the future.

Here is the link to the article:
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35370304

Power Hour with @DrMaxham guest of @AlexEpstein

The latest episode of “Power Hour”, the weekly podcast hosted by Alex Epstein of the Center for Industrial Progress and author of the must-read book “The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels” does not talk about energy, for a change.

The topic discussed with his guest Dr. Amanda Maxham, an author which I had already covered in a previous blog post, is genetic engineer, which is the correct term that we should all be using now that GMO or genetically modified organism has been so badly vilified by those technofobes who are scared about anything new that they do not know much about.

Why would Alex Epstein have Amanda Maxham on his energy show?

There are main reasons I see:

  1. Both Amanda and Alex, and their common friend Don Watkins, have been or are working at the Ayn Rand Institute in California.
  2. The technofobia which is preventing genetically engineered products from the markets where they could be accepted by the consumers has strong parallels with the same trend in the energy sector, particularly in nuclear energy. As a matter of fact, Greenpeace is scaring people off on both GMOs and nuclear energy in much the same way, by using a similar approach based on the “precautionary principle”, something which works very well with the many people who have little or no knowledge on genetic engineer or nuclear energy, as Alex points out in the final part of the interview.

As a type 1 diabetic and technology enthusiast, I have always been very much in favor of genetic engineering because I need to use insulin multiple times every day of my life, and I am extremely thankful that very smart people have used their brain and ingenuity to create a safe and extremely modern product such as genetically engineered insulin.

Over the past 18 years as a type 1 diabetic, I have seen many new types of insulin being researched and introduced on the market, and knowing that they are all based on genetic engineering, makes me want to scream “Thank You!” to all those who have been using their own time to work on such amazing projects.

On a side node, I have discovered Amanda Maxham’s work thru Alex Epstein’s friend and former Ayn Rand Institute colleague Don Watkins, when I discovered that they had been guests on the Yaron Brooks Show in the past. Amanda and Keith Lockitch were hosting the weekly Yaron Brook Show on Earth Day in April 2015. That show is quite fun, and Keith and Amanda covered aspects related to global warming and GMOs, but most importantly for me they referred to an amazing 1970 speech by Ayn Rand when Amanda said that she would give

a hearty Earth Day “thank you” to “the nearest, grimiest, sootiest smokestacks” they can find.

I then did some research and discovered that Ayn Rand used this very term during a speech she did in 1970 titled “The Anti-Industrial Revolution”, a speech which is a must-listen to, as it goes into a lot of details on the roots of modern day environmentalism and the dangers posed to society by the awfully wrong concepts and ideas which are so commonly heard these days by people who know nothing more than propaganda coming from the likes of Greenpeace or the Sierra Club.

As usual, the podcast is very much worth listening to, and can be found here:
http://industrialprogress.com/power-hour-amanda-maxham-on-the-virtues-of-gmos/

@CatoEvents GMOs and the Future of the Global Food Supply and Medical Innovations

Last week The Cato Institute hosted a very interesting event dedicate to genetic engineering, event which I have yet to watch, but I am convinced that it will be a very interesting discussion.

Here is the link to the event:
http://www.cato.org/multimedia/events/gmos-future-global-food-supply-medical-innovations

What Trump and Sanders Said about Oil Prices 4 Years Ago

This post is quite hilarious, given that we are talking about two of the worst populists politicians which are unfortunately always given far too much visibility in the media these days.

Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, two great buffoons who know little to nothing about economy. And there are people who would really like to see them in the White House. Really?

The article is a quick read, and it is a stark reminder that most politicians understand nothing of economics. And they would like to become those in control of economic policies, when elected. Heavens forbid.

http://fee.org/anythingpeaceful/what-trump-and-sanders-said-about-oil-prices-4-years-ago/

The impending failure of the German Energiewende

A nice article which shows how the German government has cornered itself by hastily shutting down an important number of nuclear power plants due to the tsunami scare in Japan (as if Germany is subject to tsunamis, right Ms Merkel?).

It’s interesting to read now Sigmar Gabriel being concerned about economic matters, when all he has done has been to push for more unreliable “green renewables” to come online in Germany. Gabriel now says:

“When we’re talking about the future of coal I would advise being less ideological about it and to focus more on climate goals and the economic consequences”

Funny backtrack, isn’t it? I would not be surprised if the remaining nuclear power plants will be left running, and the one who have been stopped will be brought back online in the future.

Moreover, Gabriel confirms the use I make of the term “unreliables” when referring to the “green renewables” such as wind and solar:

“We need to be aware of what is needed to have a stable energy supply”

Oh well, Herr Gabriel, have you figured it out just now?

Article well worth reading.

http://www.worldenergynews.com/News/germany-warns-against-rushed-coal-exit-639092

Why GMOs Are Good

I have always been convinced about our need for GMOs, both in medicine and in the food and agricultural field. There are many examples of why this is the case in this great presentation from Dr. Amanda Maxham of the Ayn Rand Institute.

In this 45 minutes presentation Dr. Maxham makes very good points on why innovation in genetics and genetically modified organisms is important for us and for our children’s future, knowing full well that you cannot stop the advancement of technology. Very much worth watching.

 

Ayn Rand and The Anti-Industrial Revolution

I have come across, by pure coincidence, a truly remarkable speech by Ayn Rand from 1970, where she had already seen in the future we are living in now.

This lady had amazing powers of observation, and in the initial part of this speech she describes a dystopian world which, for some, is almost like today. Unfortunately.

Truly worth listening to, time will fly very fast, though some bitter taste will remain in your mouth, if you really care for what’s at stake here.

Thanks to Ayr Rand Institute’s Keith Lockitch and Amanda Maxham for the “thank you” to “the nearest, grimiest, sootiest smokestack” they had in this good podcast, also worth listening to. They are responsible for introducing me to this Ayn Rand’s speech, and I am very thankful for this.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yaronbrook/2015/04/22/the-climate-science-article-greenpeace-doesnt-want-you-to-read