Friday, January 18, 2019

Lulu - I'm a Tiger


China is the source of so many newsworthy stories that at any given moment it is hard to know where to start an assessment of them. At the moment there are three news oddities which seem uppermost. First there is the taboo shattering gene modification story out of Shenzhen of the twin girls Lulu and Nana. For the first time embryos outside the womb have had their genetic code altered before they were re-implanted and then subject to a normal birth. What of their descendants? So far things seem normal for the twins but is this nonetheless the origins of a new species? If conventional science is so shocked then I suppose refusing the girls the right to give birth themselves would be a solution. Then we hear that for the first time a landing has been made (by the Chinese) on the far side of the moon. A special relay satellite was required to ensure angles of communication for this unique enterprise. India too has big plans for spatial exploits. Whither the USA and Russia? Then there is this worrying diplomatic spat between the USA and China over the arrest of the Huawei executive. Canada was complying with an international arrest warrant issued by the Americans but finds itself the target of Chinese wrath. Ordinary Canadians are now subject to the risk of arbitrary arrest if traveling to the Middle Kingdom according to a travel advisory from Ottawa. Middle Power is getting squeezed by the big kids on the block it would appear. Lulu thought she was a leopard with spots but maybe she is a tiger and none too happy.