The "Triangle" refers to the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill metropolitan area in central North Carolina.
http://www.rtp.org/
As for the classical music station, they're referring to WCPE (http://www.wcpe.org) based in Wake Forest, NC. It's rather new in the Triangle area, but it's already become so popular, that the local NPR station, WUNC, switched from its classical news format to just plain news. It's streaming broadcast really boosted its popularity, and the station has fought hard to win allies to fight the RIAA. Apparently, they've succeeded.
Just to note though, Jesse's retiring this year, and I doubt that his successor, either Elisabeth Dole (R) or Erskin Bowles (D), will have as much clout nor fight as aggressively for it. So if something happens, it's going to have to be done by December.
Actually, most government jobs don't require TS security clearance. When I applied for work back at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Maryland, I found out that only a small percentage of the positions there actually required clearance. Basically, unless you're working for one of the intelligence groups or the nuclear people, then you probably don't need to worry about clearance.
However, this is a dangerous gambit they're playing: they could potentially raise expectations to unrealistic levels, creating a potential backlash when these claims are not met.
A NY Times article last fall talked about how a lot of key stem cell researchers in the scientific community were flooded by calls from people pleading for nonexistant stem-cell based therapies and cures. The scientists had to explain to these people that a lot of the things hyped up by the press simply didn't exist yet; the technology, let alone the infrastructure to develop these cures, simply didn't exist. At best, a lot of the claims wouldn't be realised for at least a decade, if not longer.
Assuming for a moment that ACT's claims are valid, my guess is that they're still years of from being able to produce custom organs for individuals. Potentially, it could take them years to develop this technique.
And in the meantime, the public will likely grow more and more annoyed as the results don't come in, fueling a potential backlash against aggressive stem-cell research. While this won't stop research all together, it may lead to a dramatic reduction in funding that could set back the field even further.
The problem isn't one that can easily be defined as right or wrong.
For one, the people with the money are not all rich businessmen representing massive American and foreign megacorporations. A huge chunk of that money comes from citizen-based interest groups known as PAC's (political action committees). In 2000, the top donor was not a corporation, but a labor union, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, who gave twice as much as Microsoft did that year. It should be noted that labor unions made up 6 of the top 10 contributors (AT&T, Microsoft, Citibank, and Goldman Sachs the other 4). Other notable groups include issue-based coalitions such as the NRA (the pro-firearms lobby). Any radical funding reforms would be extrememly dangerous for PACs in the United States, not just corporations.
And as much as many Americans may bash special interest groups, many of these interests provide a strong collective voice in the political system for large factions within the United States populace. Many of the intellectuals you mention are active, but they decide to play the game and battle their opponents in the political arena.
I'm not saying reform isn't necessary; like any human endeavor, the American system isn't perfect. However, the system does work... you just need to know how to play it. It's a lot more complex and gray than many people percieve it to be.
Perhaps we should take lessons from the NRA... I'm sure collectively, tech workers can scrape together more money than a bunch of guntotin' blue collar workers.
Oh... FYI
http://www.opensecrets.org/2000elect/storysofar/ to pcontribs.asp?Bkdn=Source
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The "Triangle" refers to the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill metropolitan area in central North Carolina.
http://www.rtp.org/
As for the classical music station, they're referring to WCPE (http://www.wcpe.org) based in Wake Forest, NC. It's rather new in the Triangle area, but it's already become so popular, that the local NPR station, WUNC, switched from its classical news format to just plain news. It's streaming broadcast really boosted its popularity, and the station has fought hard to win allies to fight the RIAA. Apparently, they've succeeded.
Just to note though, Jesse's retiring this year, and I doubt that his successor, either Elisabeth Dole (R) or Erskin Bowles (D), will have as much clout nor fight as aggressively for it. So if something happens, it's going to have to be done by December.
Actually, most government jobs don't require TS security clearance. When I applied for work back at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Maryland, I found out that only a small percentage of the positions there actually required clearance. Basically, unless you're working for one of the intelligence groups or the nuclear people, then you probably don't need to worry about clearance.
However, this is a dangerous gambit they're playing: they could potentially raise expectations to unrealistic levels, creating a potential backlash when these claims are not met.
A NY Times article last fall talked about how a lot of key stem cell researchers in the scientific community were flooded by calls from people pleading for nonexistant stem-cell based therapies and cures. The scientists had to explain to these people that a lot of the things hyped up by the press simply didn't exist yet; the technology, let alone the infrastructure to develop these cures, simply didn't exist. At best, a lot of the claims wouldn't be realised for at least a decade, if not longer.
Assuming for a moment that ACT's claims are valid, my guess is that they're still years of from being able to produce custom organs for individuals. Potentially, it could take them years to develop this technique.
And in the meantime, the public will likely grow more and more annoyed as the results don't come in, fueling a potential backlash against aggressive stem-cell research. While this won't stop research all together, it may lead to a dramatic reduction in funding that could set back the field even further.
The problem isn't one that can easily be defined as right or wrong.
/ to pcontribs.asp?Bkdn=Source
For one, the people with the money are not all rich businessmen representing massive American and foreign megacorporations. A huge chunk of that money comes from citizen-based interest groups known as PAC's (political action committees). In 2000, the top donor was not a corporation, but a labor union, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, who gave twice as much as Microsoft did that year. It should be noted that labor unions made up 6 of the top 10 contributors (AT&T, Microsoft, Citibank, and Goldman Sachs the other 4). Other notable groups include issue-based coalitions such as the NRA (the pro-firearms lobby). Any radical funding reforms would be extrememly dangerous for PACs in the United States, not just corporations.
And as much as many Americans may bash special interest groups, many of these interests provide a strong collective voice in the political system for large factions within the United States populace. Many of the intellectuals you mention are active, but they decide to play the game and battle their opponents in the political arena.
I'm not saying reform isn't necessary; like any human endeavor, the American system isn't perfect. However, the system does work... you just need to know how to play it. It's a lot more complex and gray than many people percieve it to be.
Perhaps we should take lessons from the NRA... I'm sure collectively, tech workers can scrape together more money than a bunch of guntotin' blue collar workers.
Oh... FYI
http://www.opensecrets.org/2000elect/storysofar