Genetically Engineered Chickens, Lifesaver or Natural Disaster?

As the fear of the Avian Flu spreads around the world, scientists are working on developing a genetically engineered chicken that may be resistant to the flu. Presently, almost all poultry in Asia is being slaughtered to control the possible outbreak of this potentially devastating pandemic. Greenpeace and other organizations are against any genetically engineered food. They feel that natural food is the only food to be available. So do we avoid all genetically engineered food and maybe slaughter all chickens in the impoverished Asian nations, cutting off a vital food source and risk mass starvation and flu epidemics, or work to create a modified version of the chicken that can save millions of lives to protect against any possible contamination of nature?

We compare the two viewpoints in this post.

Some Other Stories We Are Working On

As we introduce new blogs over at our The Bloggers sites, we will point out some stories we are very proud of. They should provide an interesting read, and introduce you to topics we do not normally cover on our main site.

Over at the Travel Bloggers, we have a story on how the cost of holiday travel this year will be sky high, excuse the pun, as the combination of airlines reducing seats, fuel costs, and the calendar will make flying very expensive.Click here to read  Low Cost Airfares for Holiday Travel will be few and far between.

At the Real Estate Bloggers, we profile a Japanese woman who came to America at 17, and now is one the of the leaders in the Memphis real estate market. To read about this truly amazing lady, visit A Immigrants Success Story, How Rosemarie Fair built a Real Estate Empire.

Are you looking for a new camera, Sony has introduced a camera that lets you focus by touching the LCD screen in back. This purse camera is great for the casual photographer. Read Sony Announces DSC-N1 has Touch Screen Focusing.

Here is a Cool New Camera

I am looking to get a new camera. This one looks very interesting. It is the The Caplio RR530 – a 5 Megapixel Small Pocket Camera. It is small enough to fit in a pocket but takes a 5 megapixel photo.

I also want to get a new camera that will take a large format picture. But that is for a later date.

Could Iris Scanning be Coming To an Airport Near You

The Orlando International Airport will begin a 90 day test period of optical iris scanning as the latest high tech method to help in the war on terror. According to the report individuals will have both irises scanned to determine their identity and add to the many methods already implemented to help fight in the war on terror.

“This will be an additional layer of information that is enrolled, which will be biometric information,” OIA director of security Brigitte Rivera Goersch said. “Employees irises will be enrolled for the additional layer of security.”

If all goes well it would appear that iris scanning will become permanent and be introduced to airports throughout the United States. Any additional method to protect us from another 9-11 cannot be a bad thing.

Sirius: Offers Podcast Show

According to (AP) Sirius Satellite Radio is going to take advantage of the iPod/podcasting craze and offer a a show that “will feature a daily selection of the increasingly popular do-it-yourself audio programs“.

NEW YORK (AP) – Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. is latching onto the “podcasting” phenomenon, launching a show later this month that will feature a daily selection of the increasingly popular do-it-yourself audio programs.
The move by Sirius comes just days after Viacom Inc.’s Infinity Broadcasting unit said it would convert a struggling talk radio station in San Francisco to an all-podcast format.

The show, which Sirius was expected to formally announce on Monday, will begin broadcasting weekdays on May 13. It will be hosted by Adam Curry, the former MTV personality who helped create the technological tools that allow podcasting to work. The show will be broadcast on Sirius channel 148, a talk-radio station that does carry commercials, unlike Sirius’ all-music channels.

Podcasts are essentially audio files made by amateurs and uploaded to the Internet where they can be shared with other listeners, either at their computers or on portable digital listening devices such as Apple Computer Inc.’s hot-selling iPod – thus the name “podcast,” a combination of “pod” and “broadcast.”

Podcasts are less than a year old but have become popular with the booming use of iPods. They include music and random musings on things like wine, pop culture, politics, hobbies and sports.

Some radio stations have offered podcasts of selected shows to listeners to download, but so far it’s very unusual for radio stations to play podcasts on their air. Infinity claimed its station in San Francisco, KYCY-AM 1550, will be the first to adopt an all-podcast format.

The radio industry, which has already been facing sluggish growth in advertising in recent years, has been watching the booming use of iPods with growing concern.

Hoping to bring more listeners back to radio, industry giant Clear Channel Communications Inc. has been reducing the amount of commercials on its air and Infinity has been investing more in marketing and programming. Infinity parent Viacom took a $10.9 billion charge in February to reflect the declining value of its radio stations.

Sirius is the smaller of the two players in the satellite radio field after XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. Sirius reported this week that it has 1.4 million subscribers, while XM has 3.8 million.

Both are hoping to lure in enough customers paying $12.95 per month to become profitable, though for now both are losing large amounts of money. Both deliver dozens of channels of commercial-free music and many other channels with sports, talk and other programs.