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Comment Re:I'm all in favor... (Score 1) 432

On top of that, glyphosphate is one of the least toxic herbacides out there that generally breaks down relatively quickly in the environment.

Sorry, that's just not true. Higher levels of it have been found in the internal organs of chronically ill people.

1. Which is irrelevant to the point that it breaks down faster than most other herbicides.
2. It's also irrelevant to the fact that it really is less toxic as well.
2. Chronically ill people have higher concentrations of lots of things, because they excrete it more slowly. So again, irrelevant.

Comment Re:Everybody hates my opinion on this. (Score 1) 432

We have many, many negative ecological/human impacts that have no known cause, that correspond roughly to the time that various kinds of GMO techniques and species came into use.

By that logic, GMOs cause people to be more accepting of gay marriage. We should do research to find the causes of these things, of course, but there's no reason to pick on whatever random tech/group/idea has an image problem at the moment.

the GMO companies have nicely prevented that, by making it impossible to determine precisely when and where different populations were exposed to different GMO species or techniques.

First, we have the US and Europe.
Second, it isn't any different than any other industry - what was the sulfur content of the oil used to make your keyboard?

If the GMO companies believed their products were safe, they would have proudly labeled them.

First, Monsanto et al do 'proudly' label their products, advertise them, even explain in great detail what all their varieties do - but you aren't buying large quantities of seed, so you don't see it.
Second, as long as people are freaking out about GMOs keeping quiet makes more sense than making yourself a target for anti-GMO activists. You really think it makes financial sense to be the only company with a 'Frankenfood' sticker on their products?

But if I could put a question to you - why this tech? Out of the thousand of fairly new techs that go into billions of products, why this one and not, say, cell phone radiation, hormone analogues in plastic, ...?

Comment Re:Why would I assume it has been settled? (Score 1) 432

I am worried that we will have some low level carcinogen accidentally get incorporated in our GMO wheat supply, and voila we have half the world's population getting stomach cancer decades later.

Why aren't you worried about the same thing happening with "conventionally bred" varieties? Running seed through an X-ray machine will cause huge numbers of all sorts of random mutations (as opposed to a single, controlled insertion), and they don't get tested nearly as thoroughly.

Comment Re:Nonsense. Again. (Score 1) 432

Modern gene splicing is mostly about ensuring farmers must buy seeds annually because they can't simply take the seeds from their crops and replant them

No. For existing varieties it's about lowering costs to the farmer.

they are mostly designed to produce only sterile seeds or worse to produce sterile offspring 2-3 generations down the line

That's from being hybridized, not from being genetically modified.

they are designed to exploit those mechanisms to make competing heirloom strains of crops sterile and gain market share

Citation needed.

Comment Re:So what they need, then... (Score 1) 185

it is remarkably difficult to refute the latter by any means

Of course it is, it's based on inverting the burden of proof. It's trivial (and absurd) to invent something vague and non-detectable, and then shout "You haven't disproved it!!!" to anyone who isn't convinced.

You may as well demand an explanation of broken legs impeding movement if one takes the position that motor movement is controlled by the brain.

That's a perfectly valid request if you have no prior understanding of biology - e.g. it wasn't believed by ancient cultures. We had to do actual research to demonstrate the connection.

the brain is not synonymous with or exhaustive in explaining consciousness

Ok. Exactly what part of consciousness can't possibly be explained by the brain? It may seem rude to put the bar that high, but when the only evidence for X is that "nothing else can explain it", you have to be pretty certain that nothing else can explain it.

Comment Re:Yeah, no... (Score 1) 323

What good does it do me that there is a copy of me with my memories on a different planet? If my consciousness does not go to the copy (and how would it?), it is rather pointless as well as creepy.

At the very least the same benefits as sending a machine (knowledge, pride) or other people (knowing that the future of mankind is more secure, etc).

And from a philosophical perspective it doesn't make sense to think of one of your future selves differently than the other if they're 100% physically identical. i.e. you'd have the exact same situation if you were magically taken to the other planet and a duplicate was made here.

Comment Re:What the f*$# is wrong with us? (Score 1) 1198

Western society has only allowed women to own property ... relatively recently

Right, when you can't send women to prison (often hard-labor) for not paying taxes or debts or sue them for violating a contract it wouldn't make sense to let them get into a position where they could abuse that power. Horrible and stupid, yes, but not exactly one-sided.

Oddly enough, in several countries women gained the right to control their own money while men were still responsible for the taxes on that income. This lead to men serving prison time for not paying taxes on money that they had no legal right to access.

Comment Re:What the f*$# is wrong with us? (Score 1) 1198

"In the 19th century women in the US and Europe regularly had clitoridectomy operations as it was seen as a way of stopping the evils of masturbation-induced madness.

Quite right. But it's hard to call that misogyny when those same people pushed for circumcision and anti-erection devices for the exact same reason, as well as chastity belts, ultra-low-fiber diets, and a whole host of useless, freakish "treatments" for all sorts of non-illnesses. It's even harder to call it misogyny when clitoridectomy (and everything similar) is illegal nearly everywhere (barring rare cancer cases, etc), while circumcision is still not only legal but frequently preformed on healthy children in the US.

Comment Re:Gun nuts (Score 1) 1374

If an ordinance read: "A pack of rabid wolves being situated near our town, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.", would that imply that having rabies is a prerequisite to having this right?

Why do you think that "militia" and "the people" are referring to the same thing? And why does "the people" in every other amendment always mean "people in general" - why does this mention need to be interpreted differently?

Comment Re: Disable player chat (Score 1) 704

Flip it around ; the implication is that women aren't expected to pay because they aren't able to, because they are either incapable of earning money, or not entitled to hold their own finances.

Sure. The male-only draft insults women's ability to fight, and the longer prison sentences men get implies that women aren't mature enough to handle themselves responsibly. Those poor women!

But if we're going that route, why not say that the wage gap (at least whatever part of it might be real) is an insult to men. It implies (and acts as a justification for) the idea that finances are the man's responsibility. It's a cruel reminder of the bad old days when men were thrown into debtor's prison because of debts that their wife owed - how cruel is that?

Comment Re: Disable player chat (Score 1) 704

Homeless women are typically in a LOT more danger than men on the street.

Is that an actual fact, or just something that feels right to you because of your world view?

Because having said all of the above, men and women are NOT the same. They do have SOME differences!?

Ah, modern feminism. Equality when I want it, not when I don't.

Comment Re: Disable player chat (Score 1) 704

People are so used to women getting stuff for free that it's surprising when a woman actually pays for something - and that's one of your top three examples of misogyny?

i.e. One of your bigger complaints in life is: "Other people are expected to support me, and never vice-versa. It's so unfair!"

Thanks, I needed a laugh.

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