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Genetically Engineering Nature Will Be Way More Complicated Than We Thought – Gizmodo

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

For more than half a century, scientists have dreamed of harnessing an odd quirk of nature selfish genes, which bypass the normal 50/50 laws of inheritance and force their way into offspringto engineer entire species. A few years ago, the advent of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology turned this science fictional concept into a dazzling potential reality, called a gene drive. But after all the hype, and fear of the technologys misuse, scientists are now questioning whether gene drives will work at all.

Gene drive is a molecular technology that forces an edited gene to be passed along into all of an organisms offspring, overriding natures 50/50 inheritance mix. The first human-engineered gene drive was only demonstrated in fruit flies in 2015, but scientists were soon talking about using gene drives to exterminate invasive pests or kill off throngs of malarial mosquitoes.

But soon after,other researchers demonstrated that as an infertility mutation in female mosquitoes was successfully passed on to offspring over many generations, resistance emerged, allowing some mosquitoes to avoid inheriting the mutation. Just as bacteria can develop resistance to antibiotics, wild populations can develop resistance to modifications aimed at destroying them. Gene drive, dead.

Now, in a new paper out Thursday in PLOS Genetics, scientists at Cornell show that, at least in fruit flies, many more flies than expected seemed to possess a natural genetic resistance to gene drive. The paper offers even stronger evidence that engineering large populations of wild species isnt as simple as splicing open a genome and inserting some gene drive DNA.

In New Zealand, the government is mulling using gene drives to wipe out invasive pests. On Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard, one scientist wants to use it to eradicate Lyme disease. In Guam, they want to control tree snakes. But not so fast, scientists are saying.

These resistance rates were so high that a gene drive would not spread in a population, Phillip Messer, a co-author on the study, told Gizmodo. Our take home is that resistance is clearly a bigger problem than we had initially thought. This technology could still work, but its not as simple as the first papers suggested.

The Cornell paper appeared alongside an opinion piece with a headline that suggested a provocative notion: Until now, the conversation about gene drives has existed in a reality-free bubble.

This resistance outcome would easily thwart virtually any intended application of a gene drive, and it poses a serious challenge to the many hoped-for applications of this technology, its authors wrote.

Resistance isnt the only hurdle to putting gene drives to practical use. For one, so far, synthetic gene drives have only been demonstrated to work in insects and yeast. Safety is a big concern. And based on the outcry such science has already seen from environmental groups, its safe to say there will be a fair number of regulatory and political obstacles, too.

But resistance may very well be the biggest problem, and its a problem that has been downplayed until recently.

People are starting to dig more into the nuances of this stuff and were getting into the nitty gritty of what needs to be addressed, Gabriel Zenter, an Indiana University biologist, told Gizmodo.

In the new research, scientists for the first time gave some hint of the mechanisms that may be responsible for resistance. Certain flies, even though they were all members of the same species, just seemed to be better equipped genetically to fight back against a drive. They also found that resistance developed both before fertilization in the germline, and within an embryo. And resistance could crop up within a single generation. This means that were a gene drive deployed in the wild, it is hard to say how effective it would really be.

You dont know whats lurking around in the genome that could influence a gene drive positively or negatively, said Zenter, who was not associated with the study. People didnt anticipate things like the genetic background issue. I think were kind of coming towards a more mature understanding of the hurdles that will need surmounted.

At least a few research groups already are working on a way around those hurdles. In another paper out this year, researchers proposed a way to redesign gene drives in order to work around potential immunity, hypothesizing that a more complex architecture would make it difficult for a mutation to occur in a short period of time. Instead of just including instructions for a gene drive to cut a piece of DNA in one place, their architecture it cuts in multiple places, meaning it would require multiple mutations to overwrite the drive. They also suggested a second method that harnesses a species survival programing, targeting areas of the genome that are essential to a species fitness, and which are less likely to mutate in the first place.

In a pre-print paper, Messers lab has already experimented with the first scenario. It works, but not as well as we had hoped, he said.

In the end, he said, a working gene drive will probably be much more complex than anyone imagines, incorporating several different strategies into the architecture to override resistance.

Charleston Noble, a Harvard Ph.D. candidate studying gene drives, is more optimistic. After all, he points out, mosquito species have shown to be naturally less likely to develop resistance than fruit flies. Not every species might be so tricky to manipulate, and in some cases you may not need to alter an entire population to bring about the desired change.

And Kevin Esvelt, a synthetic biologist at MIT, said the experiments only confirmed what scientists have long known.

These elegant experiments conclusively show that there is no reason to build a gene drive system that only cleaves a single site, he told Gizmodo. Im not so sure it amounts to popping a bubble in the field, or that this is any kind of new reality.

In the realm of synthetic biology, it has become a well-worn cliche that life finds a way. In the end, though, there is something to it. Engineering nature will require more than the flip of a simple genetic switch.

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Genetically Engineering Nature Will Be Way More Complicated Than We Thought - Gizmodo

Should Genetic Engineering Be Used as a Tool for Conservation? – Yale Environment 360

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

Researchers are considering ways to use synthetic biology for such conservation goals as eradicating invasive species or strengthening endangered coral. But environmentalists are worried about the ethical questions and unwanted consequences of this new gene-altering technology.

By RichardConniff July20,2017

The worldwide effort to return islands to their original wildlife, by eradicating rats, pigs, and other invasive species, has been one of the great environmental success stories of our time. Rewilding has succeeded on hundreds of islands, with beleaguered species surging back from imminent extinction, and dwindling bird colonies suddenly blossoming across old nesting grounds.

But these restoration campaigns are often massively expensive and emotionally fraught, with conservationists fearful of accidentally poisoning native wildlife, and animal rights activists having at times fiercely opposed the whole idea. So what if it were possible to rid islands of invasive species without killing a single animal? And at a fraction of the cost of current methods?

Thats the tantalizing but also worrisome promise of synthetic biology, aBrave New Worldsort of technology that applies engineering principles to species and to biological systems. Its genetic engineering, but made easier and more precise by the new gene editing technology called CRISPR, which ecologists could use to splice in a DNA sequence designed to handicap an invasive species, or to help a native species adapt to a changing climate. Gene drive, another new tool, could then spread an introduced trait through a population far more rapidly than conventional Mendelian genetics would predict.

Synthetic biology, also called synbio, is already a multi-billion dollar market, for manufacturing processes in pharmaceuticals, chemicals, biofuels, and agriculture. But many conservationists consider the prospect of using synbio methods as a tool for protecting the natural world deeply alarming. Jane Goodall, David Suzuki, and others havesigned a letterwarning that use of gene drives gives technicians the ability to intervene in evolution, to engineer the fate of an entire species, to dramatically modify ecosystems, and to unleash large-scale environmental changes, in ways never thought possible before. The signers of the letter argue that such a powerful and potentially dangerous technology should not be promoted as a conservation tool.

On the other hand, a team of conservation biologists writing early this year in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution ran off a list of promising applications for synbio in the natural world, in addition to island rewilding:

Kent Redford, a conservation consultant and co-author of that article, argues that conservationists and synbio engineers alike need to overcome what now amounts to mutual ignorance. Conservationists tend to have limited and often outdated knowledge of genetics and molecular biology, he says. In a 2014 article in Oryx, he quoted one conservationist flatly declaring, Those were the courses we flunked. Stanford Universitys Drew Endy, one of the founders of synbio, volunteers in turn that 18 months ago he had never heard of the IUCNthe International Union for Conservation of Natureor its Red List of endangered species. In engineering school, the ignorance gap is terrific, he adds. But its symmetric ignorance.

At a major synbio conference he organized last month in Singapore, Endy invited Redford and eight other conservationists to lead a session on biodiversity, with the aim, he says, of getting engineers building the bioeconomy to think about the natural world ahead of time My hope is that people are no longer merely nave in terms of their industrial disposition.

Likewise, Redford and the co-authors of the article in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, assert that it would be a disservice to the goal of protecting biodiversity if conservationists do not participate in applying the best science and thinkers to these issues. They argue that it is necessary to adapt the culture of conservation biologists to a rapidly-changing realityincluding the effects of climate change and emerging diseases. Twenty-first century conservation philosophy, the co-authors conclude, should embrace concepts of synthetic biology, and both seek and guide appropriate synthetic solutions to aid biodiversity.

The debate over synthetic biodiversity conservation, as theTrends in Ecology and Evolutionauthors term it, had its origins in a2003 paperby Austin Burt, an evolutionary geneticist at Imperial College London. He proposed a dramatically new tool for genetic engineering, based on certain naturally occurring selfish genetic elements, which manage to propagate themselves in as much as 99 percent of the next generation, rather than the usual 50 percent. Burt thought that it might be possible to use these super-Mendelian genes as a Trojan horse, to rapidly distribute altered DNA, and thus to genetically engineer natural populations. It was impractical at the time. Butdevelopmentof CRISPR technology soon brought the idea close to reality, and researchers have since demonstrated the effectiveness of gene drive, as the technique became known, in laboratory experiments on malaria mosquitoes, fruit flies, yeast, and human embryos.

Burt proposed one particularly ominous-sounding application for this new technology: It might be possible under certain conditions, he thought, that a genetic load sufficient to eradicate a population can be imposed in fewer than 20 generations. And this is, in fact, likely to be the first practical application of synthetic biodiversity conservation in the field. Eradicating invasive populationsis of coursethe inevitable first step in island rewilding projects.

The proposed eradication technique is to use the gene drive to deliver DNA that determines the gender of offspring. Because the gene drive propagates itself so thoroughly through subsequent generations, it can quickly cause a population to become almost all male and soon collapse. The result, at least in theory, is the elimination of mice, rats, or other invasive species from an island without anyone having killed anything.

Research to test the practicality of the methodincluding moral, ethical, and legal considerationsis already under way through a research consortium ofnonprofitgroups, universities, and government agencies in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. At North Carolina State University, for instance, researchers have begun working with a laboratory population of invasive mice taken from a coastal island. They need to determine how well a wild population will accept mice that have been altered in the laboratory.

The success of this idea depends heavily,according togene drive researcher Megan Serr, on the genetically modified male mice being studs with the island lady mice Will she want a hybrid male that is part wild, part lab? Beyond that, the research program needs to figure out how many modified mice to introduce to eradicate an invasive population in a habitat of a particular size. Other significant practical challenges will also undoubtedly arise. For instance,a study early this yearin the journalGeneticsconcluded that resistance to CRISPR-modified gene drives should evolve almost inevitably in most natural populations.

Political and environmental resistance is also likely to develop. In an email, MIT evolutionary biologist Kevin Esvelt asserted that CRISPR-based gene drives are not suited for conservation due to the very high risk of spreading beyond the target species orenvironment. Even a gene drive systemintroduced toquickly eradicate an introduced population from an island, he added, still is likely to have over a year to escape or be deliberately transported off-island. If it is capable of spreading elsewhere, that is a major problem.

Even a highly contained field trial on a remote island is probably a decade or so away, said Heath Packard, of Island Conservation, a nonprofit that has been involved in numerous island rewilding projects and is now part of the research consortium. We are committed to a precautionary step-wise approach, with plenty of off-ramps, if it turns out to be too risky or not ethical. But his group notes that 80 percent of known extinctions over the past 500 or so years have occurred on islands, whicharealso home to 40 percent of species now considered at risk of extinction. That makes it important at least to begin to study the potential of synthetic biodiversity conservation.

Even if conservationists ultimately balk at these new technologies, business interests are already bringing synbio into the field for commercial purposes. For instance, a Pennsylvania State University researcher recently figured out how to use CRISPR gene editing to turn off genes that cause supermarket mushrooms to turn brown. The U.S. Department of Agriculturelast year ruledthat these mushrooms would not be subject to regulation as a genetically modified organism because they contain no genes introduced from other species.

With those kinds of changes taking place all around them, conservationists absolutely must engage with the synthetic biology community, says Redford, and if we dont do so it will be at our peril. Synbio, he says, presents conservationists with a huge range of questions that no one is paying attention to yet.

Richard Conniff is a National Magazine Award-winning writer whose articles have appeared in The New York Times, Smithsonian, The Atlantic, National Geographic, and other publications. His latest book is House of Lost Worlds: Dinosaurs, Dynasties, and the Story of Life on Earth. He is a frequent contributor to Yale Environment 360. More about Richard Conniff

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Should Genetic Engineering Be Used as a Tool for Conservation? - Yale Environment 360

DARPA funds $65 million for safer genetic engineering and technology to fight bioterrorism – Next Big Future

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

DARPA created the Safe Genes program to gain a fundamental understanding of how gene editing technologies function; devise means to safely,A responsibly, and predictably harness them for beneficial ends; and address potential health and security concerns related to their accidental or intentional misuse. DARPA announced awards to seven teams that will pursue that mission, led by: The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; Harvard Medical School; Massachusetts General Hospital; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; North Carolina State University; University of California, Berkeley; and University of California, Riverside. DARPA plans to invest $65 million in Safe Genes over the next four years as these teams work to collect empirical data and develop a suite of versatile tools that can be applied independently or in combination to support bio-innovation and combat bio-threats.

UC Berkeleys Jennifer Doudna, who co-invented CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, will investigate whether these gene editing tools might someday be capable of disabling bioterrorism threats, such as novel infectious agents or weapons employing CRISPR itself.

Scientists have also uncovered numerous variants of the Cas9 protein that have potential use in research or medical therapy, plus proteins called anti-CRISPRs that throw a wrench into the Cas machinery and stop gene editing. The UC Berkeley-led collaboration will explore the potential of all of these.

Our focus is not only to make new Cas proteins that are more accurate, but also ones that dont necessarily cut the genome, said Kyle Watters, a postdoctoral researcher in Doudnas lab who is overseeing some of the work. These engineered Cas proteins might instead prevent certain genes from being expressed, for example, so that even though they change fundamental processes in your body, they are not ultimately changing the blueprint of your DNA.

This could involve targeting messenger RNA, the working copy of the gene used to build proteins, or recruiting enzymes to modify the epigenome chemical signals like methyl groups that signal the cell whether to transcribe genes or leave them alone.

The researchers hope to generate new and better tools from these specialized Cas enzymes, develop anti-CRISPR proteins as a kill switch to halt gene editing a sort of fail-safe mechanism and explore new ways of delivering fully functional CRISPR-Cas complexes into live cells.

Gene editing technologies have captured increasing attention from healthcare professionals, policymakers, and community leaders in recent years for their potential to selectively disable cancerous cells in the body, control populations of disease-spreading mosquitos, and defend native flora and fauna against invasive species, among other uses. The potential national security applications and implications of these technologies are equally profound, including protection of troops against infectious disease, mitigation of threats posed by irresponsible or nefarious use of biological technologies, and enhanced development of new resources derived from synthetic biology, such as novel chemicals, materials, and coatings with useful, unique properties.

Achieving such ambitious goals, however, will require more complete knowledge about how gene editors, and derivative technologies including gene drives, function at various physical and temporal scales under different environmental conditions, across multiple generations of an organism. In parallel, demonstrating the ability to precisely control gene edits, turning them on and off under certain conditions or even reversing their effects entirely, will be paramount to translation of these tools to practical applications. By establishing empirical foundations and removing lingering unknowns through laboratory-based demonstrations, the Safe Genes teams will work to substantially minimize the risks inherent in such powerful tools.

The field of gene editing has been advancing at an astounding pace, opening the door to previously impossible genetic solutions but without much emphasis on how to mitigate potential downsides, said Renee Wegrzyn, the Safe Genes program manager. DARPA launched Safe Genes to begin to refine those capabilities by emphasizing safety first for the full range of potential applications, enabling responsible science to proceed by providing tools to prevent and mitigate misuse.

Each of the seven teams will pursue one or more of three technical objectives: develop genetic constructsbiomolecular instructionsthat provide spatial, temporal, and reversible control of genome editors in living systems; devise new drug-based countermeasures that provide prophylactic and treatment options to limit genome editing in organisms and protect genome integrity in populations of organisms; and create a capability to eliminate unwanted engineered genes from systems and restore them to genetic baseline states. Safe Genes research will not involve any releases of organisms into the environment; however, the researchperformed in contained facilitiescould inform potential future applications, including safe, predictable, and reversible gene drives.

During the course of the program, teams will engage with potential stakeholders, including government regulators, to increase the value of the science and to shape experiments around their questions and concerns. Additionally, as an aid to policymakers, the teams will establish models for incorporating stakeholder engagement into future decisions on whether and how to apply such tools.

Part of our challenge and commitment under Safe Genes is to make sense of the ethical implications of gene editing technologies, understanding peoples concerns and directing our research to proactively address them so that stakeholders are equipped with data to inform future choices, Wegrzyn said. As with all powerful capabilities, society can and should weigh the risks and merits of responsibly using such tools. We believe that further research and development can inform that conversation by helping people to understand and shape what is possible, probable, and vulnerable with these technologies. Gene editing is truly a case where you cant easily draw a line between ethics and pure technology developmenttheyre inextricableand were hopeful that the model we establish with Safe Genes will guide future research efforts in this space.

The efforts funded under the Safe Genes program fall into two broad categories: gene drive and genetic remediation technologies, and in vivo therapeutic applications of gene editors in mammals.

* A team led by Dr. Amit Choudhary (Broad Institute/Brigham and Womens Hospital-Renal Division/Harvard Medical School) is developing means to switch on and off genome editing in bacteria, mammals, and insects, including control of gene drives in a mosquito vector for malaria, Anopheles stephensi. The team seeks to build a general platform for the rapid and cost-effective identification of chemicals that will block contemporary and next-generation genome editors. Such chemicals could propel the development of therapeutic applications of genome editors by limiting off-target effects or protect against future biological threats. The team will also construct synthetic genome editors for precision genome engineering. * A Harvard Medical School team led by Dr. George Church seeks to develop systems to safeguard genomes by detecting, preventing, and ultimately reversing mutations that may arise from exposure to radiation. This work will involve creation of novel computational and molecular tools to enable the development of precise editors that can distinguish between highly similar genetic sequences. The team also plans to screen the effectiveness of natural and synthetic drugs to inhibit gene editing activity. * A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) team led by Dr. Keith Joung aims to develop novel, highly sensitive methods to control and measure on-target genome editing activityand limit and measure off-target activityand apply these methods to regulate the activity of mosquito gene drive systems over multiple generations. State-of-the-art technologies for measuring on- and off-target activity require specialized expertise; the MGH team hopes to enable orders of magnitude higher sensitivity than what is available with existing methods and make this process routine and scalable. The team will also develop novel strategies to achieve control over genome editors, including drug-regulated versions of these molecules. The team will take advantage of contained facilities that simulate natural environments to study how drive systems perform in mosquitos under conditions approximating the real world. * A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) team led by Dr. Kevin Esvelt has been selected to pursue modular daisy drive platforms with the potential to safely, efficiently, and reversibly edit local sub-populations of organisms within a geographic region of interest. Daisy drive systems are self-exhausting because they sequentially lose genetic elements until the drive system stops spreading. In one proposed variant, natural selection is anticipated to favor the edited or original version depending on which is in the majority, keeping genetic alterations confined to a specified region and potentially allowing targeted populations of organisms to be restored to wild-type genetics. MIT plans to conduct the majority of its work in nematodes, a simple type of worm that reproduces rapidly, enabling high-throughput testing of different drive configurations and predictive models over multiple generations. The team then aims to adapt this system in the laboratory for up to three key mosquito species relevant to human and animal health, gradually improving performance in mosquitos through an iterative cycle of model, test, and refine. * A North Carolina State University (NCSU) team led by Dr. John Godwin aims to develop and test a mammalian gene drive system in rodents. The teams genetic technique targets population-specific genetic variants found only in particular invasive communities of animals. If successful, the work will expand the tools available to manage invasive species that threaten biodiversity and human food security, and that serve as potential reservoirs of infectious diseases affecting native animal and human populations. The team also plans to develop mathematical models of how drives would function in mice, and then perform testing in contained, simulated natural environments to gauge the robustness, spatial limitation, and reversibility of the drives. * A University of California, Berkeley team led by Dr. Jennifer Doudna will investigate the development of novel, safe gene editing tools for use as antiviral agents in animal models, targeting the Zika and Ebola viruses. The team will also aim to identify anti-CRISPR proteins capable of inhibiting unwanted genome-editing activity, while developing novel strategies for delivery of genome editors and inhibitors. * A University of California, Riverside team led by Dr. Omar Akbari seeks to develop robust and reversible gene drive systems for control of Aedes aegypti mosquito populations, to be tested in contained, simulated natural environments. Preliminary testing will be conducted in high-throughput, rapidly reproducing populations of yeast as a model system. As part of this effort, the team will establish new temporal and environmental, context-dependent molecular strategies programmed to limit gene editor activity, create multiple capabilities to eliminate unwanted gene drives from populations through passive or active reversal, and establish mathematical models to inform design of gene drive systems and establish criteria for remediation strategies. In support of these goals, the team will sample the diversity of wild populations of Ae. aegypti.

The teams intend to refine their research over the course of the program, building initial mathematical models of gene editing systems, testing them in insect and animal models to validate hypotheses, and feeding the results back into the simulations to tune parameters. Teams will also incorporate insights garnered from engagement with regulators and in some cases from local communities considering gene editing applications, and may run additional experiments to collect data that address concerns and could inform future regulatory reviews.

Given the potential of gene editing systems to broadly impact national security, health, and the environment, DARPA is committed to a high level of transparency and engagement in its Safe Genes research. The program will work with independent experts to help DARPA and the teams think through Legal, Ethical, Environmental, Dual-Use, and Responsible innovation (LEEDR) issues. In a separate but related effort, DARPA previously co-funded a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report on gene drives to help initiate the development of a framework for considering the implications of advances in gene editing, and to make recommendations on a responsible way forward.

One aspect of Safe Genes that Im most proud of is that were involving potential stakeholders from the beginning, many of whom are already considering gene editing technologies as options for responding to different health and environmental challenges but who have questions about how solutions involving gene editors would actually work, said Wegrzyn. DARPA sees their involvement in the Safe Genes program as invaluable for developing a model in which consideration of societal impact isnt an afterthought, but instead a foundation on which science advances.

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DARPA funds $65 million for safer genetic engineering and technology to fight bioterrorism - Next Big Future

A Super-algae to Save our Seas – Laboratory Equipment

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

Coral reefs are our most diverse marine habitat. They provide more than $30 billion to the world economy every year and directly support over 500 million people. However, they are vulnerable with climate change impact models predicting that most of our coral reefs will be eradicated within this century if we do not act immediately to protect them.

Rachel Levin, from The University of New South Wales, Australia and her international team of researchers may have found a solution to reduce coral bleaching by genetically engineering the microalgae found in corals, enhancing their stress tolerance to ocean warming.

These microalgae are called Symbiodinium, a genus of primary producers found in coral that are essential for coral reef health and, thereby, critical to ocean productivity. Symbiodinium photosynthesize to produce molecules that feed the corals, which is necessary corals to grow and form coral reefs.

Coral bleaching is caused by changes in ocean temperatures which harm Symbiodinium, leading corals to lose their symbiotic Symbiodinium and therefore starve to death.

Different species of Symbiodinium have large genetic variation and diverse thermal tolerances which effect the bleaching tolerance of corals. In research published in Frontiers in Microbiology, the researchers use sequencing data from Symbiodinium to design genetic engineering strategies for enhancing stress tolerance of Symbiodinium, which may reduce coral bleaching due to rising ocean temperatures.

"Very little is known about Symbiodinium, thus very little information is available to improve coral reef conservation efforts. Symbiodinium is very biologically unusual, which has made it incompatible with well-established genetic engineering methods. We therefore aimed to overcome this roadblock by conducting novel genetic analyses of Symbiodinium to enable much needed research progress," explains Rachel Levin.

The researchers have now highlighted key Symbiodinium genes that could be targeted to prevent coral bleaching.

"Symbiodinium that have been genetically enhanced to maintain their symbiosis with corals under rising ocean temperatures has great potential to reduce coral bleaching globally" they suggest.

However, Levin does warn that this is no easy miracle cure.

"If lab experiments successfully show that genetically engineered Symbiodinium can prevent coral bleaching, these enhanced Symbiodinium would not be immediately released onto coral reefs. Extensive, rigorous studies evaluating any potentially negative impacts would be absolutely necessary before any field-based trials on this technology begin."

In order to progress, other researchers will need to contribute to this research to advance the information currently available.

"We have developed the first, tailored genetic engineering framework to be applied to Symbiodinium. Now this framework must be comprehensively tested and optimized. This is a tall order that will be greatly benefitted by collaborative efforts."

The Futurist: The role of HR in a multi-speed business – Human Resources Online

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

Human resources departments can support their current and future leaders by being sensitive to the needs of a multi-speed business, says Jason White, head of APAC at Mannaz.

The world of business is changing, and the role of HR is changing with it. Digital disruption can bring advancement, but one of the repercussions is an increased level of uncertainty. Although businesses are no strangers to dealing with uncertainty, its the sheer scale and speed of technological development that makes digitalisation such a disruptive force.

That same rate of change means some organisations are yet to understand the potential that digital disruption can bring to their organisation.

Take big data, for example. In certain companies it is something that is left to the IT department to deal with, often without clear objectives in mind. Even though companies are taking digital seriously, many have a lacklustre strategy in place that makes it harder for them to effectively optimise their investment.

Another effect of digital disruption is the burgeoning reality of the multi-speed organisation, in which different parts of the business innovate at different speeds.

The retail banking business is one example. Aspects such as counter services remain practically the same, but enormous strides have been made when it comes to the development and implementation of purely digital products that are in sync with customers smart lives.

Human resources departments can support their current and future leaders by being sensitive to the needs of a multi-speed business. They need to be close to the business to pick up on the signals that precede necessary change. Like any other part of a dynamic fast-evolving company, HR cannot keep doing things the way they have always been done and expect to keep up.

Of course, the challenge lies in not only supporting current leaders through changes, but also identifying and developing the leaders of the future.

The issue that HR and L&D are facing is that because of the current rates of change, they do not know which reality to develop people for.

The solution here is to develop for leadership and learning versatility helping talent develop the skills to quickly adapt, learn, be open to change, and recognise that a decision made two months ago may no longer be relevant today.

Additionally, one of the most valuable assets future leaders can possess is the ability to calm down, be still and be thoughtful. Its here that, when managing across different business models in what might seem like a form of organised chaos, mindfulness can help the leader, and the company, succeed.

The June 2017 issue of Human Resources magazine is a special edition, bringing you interviews with 12 HR leaders, with their predictions on the future of HR.

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The Futurist: The role of HR in a multi-speed business - Human Resources Online

Ethereum Co-Founder Helps Launch New Blockchain Startup – Futurism

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

In Brief Swiss blockchain startup Ambrosus wants to revolutionize the food supply chain by introducing smart contracts to track produce. This new blockchain ecosystem, built on the Ethereum network, was launched on Wednesday.

The food industry is warming up to blockchain, thanks to the likes of Ambrosus. The Swiss startup was founded last year, but officially launched yesterday. An Initial Coin Offering (ICO)will begin in September.

According to Ambrosus website, the companyaims to use cutting-edge technology to improve the food supply chain: Combining high-tech sensors, blockchain protocol, and smart contracts, we are building the worlds first publicly verifiable, community-driven ecosystem to assure [sic] the quality, safety, and origins of food.

The idea is to keep track of produce as it moves from farm to fork, with the blockchain ensuring the integrity of the data. Russias ITcoin is doing something similar for the nations beef products.

Ambrosus is built on the Ethereum blockchain,and Ethereum co-founder Gavin Woods Parity Technologiesis its core technology partner. Paritys co-founder Jutta Steiner joins Wood as a technical advisor for Ambrosus.

Its worth noting that Parity has been in the news itselfrecently. Just yesterday,the company reported a breach that compromised its crypto wallet, leading to the theft of $30 million in ether. The news threatens to cast a shadow on the supposed security of blockchains.

Despite the bad timing of this Parity news, Ambrosus co-founder Angel Versetti appears optimistic about the potential for his companys technology to push Ethereum into a largely untouched industry: The combination of the maturity of the technology and the brainpower and creativity of participating actors provides a unique and clear opportunity to build a bridge between Ethereum and the food sector.

Disclosure: Several members of the Futurism team, including the editors of this piece, are personal investors in a number of cryptocurrency markets. Their personal investment perspectives have no impact on editorial content.

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Ethereum Co-Founder Helps Launch New Blockchain Startup - Futurism

This Crypto Wallet, Devised by a Co-Founder of Ether, Has a Major Breach – Futurism

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

In Brief There has been a major breach in the Parity Ethereum client that may have given access to user's digital wallets. An official statement regarding the extent of the security threat is forthcoming.

Parity the worlds fastest ethereum client just posted an alert on their blog warning of a vulnerability in version 1.5 or later in its wallet software.The alert advises users to immediately move their funds to a secure address.

Users are scrambling to learn the extent of the breach and if their funds were made vulnerable.Coindeskreportsthat, so far, 150,000 ether (worth $30 million) have been reported to the company as stolen.

Parity claims to be the most secure way of interacting with the Ethereum network. The project was originally devised by a co-founder of Ethereum,Gavin Wood.

Decentralized technologies are rapidly emerging as cryptocurrency is increasing in visibility and popularity. Regardless of how much currency was stolen, the optics of such a breach are not good for these emerging technologies. It will be difficult for themto become a new standard if adopters cannot rely on the highly-touted security of the platforms.

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This Crypto Wallet, Devised by a Co-Founder of Ether, Has a Major Breach - Futurism

Elon Musk Just Announced He Has Approval to Build a 29-Minute Hyperloop From NY to DC – Futurism

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

In Brief Elon Musk has announced on Twitter that he has verbal permission to build a Hyperloop connecting New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington - and that in the future he plans to bring the technology to Texas.

Elon Musk has announced via Twitter that he received verbal approval for this planto build an underground Hyperloop between New York and Washington which would also stop at Philadelphia and Baltimore. As a result, one could get from New York to D.C. in just 29 minutes.

Its worth noting that the approval is only verbal at this point. Which means that it isnt set in stone. Musk will likely still have to deal with regulatory concerns, and some red tape. He did note, however, that support would be much appreciated, in the meantime.

Musk also did not reveal who the permission came from or give any details concerning when the project will start and finish although he didlater reveal that he also plans to build a Hyperloop in Texas and the west coast.

Longer term, Musk has expressed a desire to introduce Hyperloop routes worldwide, with projects as large and far-ranging as connecting multiple European citiesand helping to ease Dubais current congestion crisis. Recently, Musks Boring Company completed the first segment of the Hyperloop system in Los Angeles,marking a major milestone in the projects development. This may be a partial reason why the project is now gaining traction in other states.

The Hyperloop seems to already be disrupting the transportation industry due to the incredibly short journey times, positive environmental consequences, and comparatively low cost of the project. As long as governmental support continues, this can only be a good thing.

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Elon Musk Just Announced He Has Approval to Build a 29-Minute Hyperloop From NY to DC - Futurism

Medical Researchers Reverse Brain Damage in Drowning Victim – Futurism

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

In BriefBrain damage caused by drowning and cardiac arrest wasreversed in a toddler who received hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)and normobaric oxygen (sea level oxygen). These treatments activategenes, promoting cell survival and reducing inflammation. Brain Damage Reversed

Doctors recently reported the reversal of brain volume loss in an unresponsive two-year-old cold water drowning victim who had experienced cardiac arrest. After treating the child with hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and normobaric oxygen (oxygen at sea level), she experienced marked improvement and reversal of many symptoms.

After resuscitation, an MRI showed that the child experienced cerebral atrophy with white and gray matter loss and deep gray matter injury. At the time she was discharged from the hospital, she was unable to speak, unresponsive to commands, and she exhibited constant head shaking and squirming.

To prevent permanent degeneration of tissue, Dr. Paul Harch, Director of Hyperbaric Medicine at LSUs School of Medicine, began partial treatment. Fifty-five days post-drowning, the patient began daily short-duration treatment under Dr. Harchs care with 100% normobaric oxygen.

With treatment, the child became more awake and alert and even stopped squirming. She experienced ongoing neurological improvement throughout her treatment period, characterized by laughing, eye tracking, increased movement of arms, grasp with the left hand, movement of hands, partial oral feeding, and short-sequenced speech at pre-drowning levels, albeit with diminished vocabulary.

78 days post-drowning, eight weeks/40 sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy began. At the beginning of every session, the childs neurological improvement was visually apparent. The childs mother said that, except for her coordination, the child was near normal after 10 HBOT sessions, at which point the team re-instituted physical therapy. 162 days post-drowning, following her last HBOT session, the child exhibited near-complete reversal of white matter and cortical atrophy.

The growing brain of a young child is a hormone-rich setting, thriving in an oxygen-rich environment. Both normobaric and hyperbaric oxygen-rich environments activate genes that promote cell survival and reduce inflammation. Increased oxygen with pressure is consistent with the synergy that takes place in the presence of growth hormones and hyperbaric oxygen.

The startling regrowth of tissue in this case occurred because we were able to intervene early in a growing child, before long-term tissue degeneration, Harch stated in press materials. Although its impossible to conclude from this single case if the sequential application of normobaric oxygen then HBOT would be more effective than HBOT alone, in the absence of HBOT therapy, short duration, repetitive normobaric oxygen therapy may be an option until HBOT is available. Such low-risk medical treatment may have a profound effect on recovery of function in similar patients who are neurologically devastated by drowning.

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Medical Researchers Reverse Brain Damage in Drowning Victim - Futurism

OJ Simpson is granted parole after serving 9 years for Vegas robbery – Los Angeles Times

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

He once drew the spotlight because he sought it. He bathed in it because he loved it. He chased the spotlight until it finally chased him back.

O.J. Simpson, the polarizing former football star, seemed to suggest he was ready to recede from the spotlight after succeeding in his quest for freedom after being incarcerated for nine years at a desert prison in northern Nevada.

Simpson, convicted of robbery and kidnapping, was granted parole Thursday a unanimous vote by the four-member Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners reported instantly by national and international media. He could be free as soon as Oct. 1.

His release, too, is unlikely to go unnoticed. The moment Simpson received his fourth and final vote from the Nevada Board of Parole recommending release, he dropped his head, as if to give a quiet cheer of celebration to himself, before responding, Thank you.

He didnt look at his attorney or his daughter Arnelle Simpson, who had argued for his release. Simpson, 70, instead bowed his head again and placed his hands on the simple wooden table, as if in prayer as, once again, his every movement was broadcast to millions of people on national television who were curious to learn his fate.

The board asked him about life outside prison. What might it be like? Can you handle it? The former USC and NFL star running back shrugged it off like a tackler who had taken a bad angle on him. Ive been recognized since I was 19, he said. Ive dealt with it my whole life.

Simpson told the board he wanted to be with his family after missing birthdays and graduations. When it was suggested he might have a webcast or blog once hes out, he shook his head. Not interested.

But there was immense interest in him. Television trucks squeezed into a tight parking lot where the board met in a building in a light industrial park in Carson City. More were encamped about 100 miles northeast outside Lovelock Correctional Facility accessible on a skinny road that had a checkpoint and a sign noting a special event.

On social media, a familiar cry rang out: The Juice is loose.

Prison had separated the Hall of Fame running back from the glitzy lifestyle he once led, Simpson testified at the hearing. He said he hadnt drunk alcohol in nine years and didnt miss it. He has been the commissioner of an 18-team prison softball league. He took a prison computer class not because he was interested in computers, but so he could exchange electronic messages with his four children, because, he said, his kids were less responsive to phone calls.

Libby Hill

Where are they now? A look back at key figures in O.J. Simpson's life.

Where are they now? A look back at key figures in O.J. Simpson's life. (Libby Hill)

Are you humbled by this incarceration? asked Susan Jackson, a parole commissioner.

Oh, yes, sure, Simpson responded. I wish this would have never happened. If I would have made a better judgment back then, none of this would have happened.

Simpson expressed some regret but did not appear overly apologetic. Remorse, however, is not a requirement for parole under Nevada law. The board does not require that an inmate state or indicate that they are remorseful, Board of Parole spokesman David M. Smith said.

During the hearing, Simpson was assured by one of his victims that he already has a ride waiting for him when he gets out.

I feel that its time to give him a second chance; its time for him to go home to his family, his friends, Bruce Fromong, a sports memorabilia dealer and a friend of Simpsons, told the board.

Fromong was threatened and robbed by Simpson and some of his associates in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2007, and his testimony in that case led to Simpsons imprisonment. But, Fromong told the board, if he called me tomorrow and said, Bruce, Im getting out, would you pick me up? Fromong paused, turned to Simpson and addressed him by his nickname: Juice, Id be here tomorrow. I mean that, buddy.

Arnelle Simpson became emotional shortly after beginning her testimony, sometimes stopping to shake her head.

No one really knows how much we have been through, this ordeal the last nine years, she said. She stopped and exhaled deeply, excusing herself before putting her fist up to her mouth to steady herself. My experience with him is that hes like my best friend, my rock.

She added: As a family, we recognize he is not a perfect man. But he has done his best.

Simpson looked upbeat during his first public appearance in years, smiling and nodding to parole commissioners through a video link from the prison.

But while the parole hearing was about his 2008 robbery conviction, many of Simpsons answers to the four commissioners brought back memories of his acquittal in the 1994 slayings of Ron Goldman and Simpsons ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson.

Im in no danger to pull a gun on anybody. Ive never been accused of it, he said. Nobody has ever accused me of pulling any weapon on them.

Goldman and Brown were killed with a knife. Simpson lawyer Malcolm LaVergne noted the killings and how they played no official part in Thursdays proceedings at a televised news conference in Lovelock after the boards decision.

Obviously, there's a 10,000-pound elephant in that room, and I think we were very successful in making sure that that elephant was sleeping and that it was washed and very clean and that it never started to rear its head, LaVergne said.

Simpson, who turned 70 this month, only barely resembles the athletic younger man who was tried and acquitted of murder in 1995.

Through a slight delay, Simpson blinked rapidly and blew out a deep breath at one point as he listened to state parole Chairwoman Connie Bisbee read off the list of charges that landed him a sentence of nine to 33 years.

Mr. Simpson, you are getting the same hearing everyone else gets, Bisbee said, then acknowledged the media firestorm that his hearing has generated one of the few news events to edge President Trump off the national news broadcasts. Thank you, maam, Simpson replied, laughing.

This was Simpsons second parole hearing. His last one, in 2013, resulted in parole on one of the charges stemming from the 2007 robbery and kidnapping.

Simpson said on several occasions that he was a good guy and indicated that he mostly wanted to spend time with his family in Florida and that the state of Nevada might be glad to be rid of him.

No comment, one of the commissioners said to some laughter.

Simpson expressed regret at being involved in the crime, but drew some pushback from commissioners who took issue with his version of events, in which he said he didnt know a gun had been brandished in the hotel room during the robbery.

But Simpson held to his version, repeatedly apologizing and expressing regret for leaving a wedding in Las Vegas to go recover memorabilia he said was his.

I am sorry things turned out the way they did, Simpson said. I had no intent to commit a crime.

At one point, Simpson said he had not made any excuses for what he did during the years hed spent in prison, but in the same sentence, he turned the blame toward the men who had joined him in intimidating the memorabilia dealers.

I never should have allowed these alleged security guys to help me, Simpson said. These guys took over.

Kelcey Caulder

Take a look back at the fascinating and curious life of O.J. Simpson.

Take a look back at the fascinating and curious life of O.J. Simpson. (Kelcey Caulder)

This is what happened to all the important people in O.J. Simpson's life

Experience Los Angeles 2049 at the Blade Runner 2049 Experience, only at Comic-Con.

david.montero@latimes.com

Twitter: @davemontero

matt.pearce@latimes.com

Twitter: @mattdpearce

Montero reported from Carson City, Nev., and Pearce from Los Angeles.

ALSO

Timeline: O.J. Simpson's journey from sports legend to murder suspect to prisoner

'O.J.: Made in America' vanquishes boundaries as it wins the Oscar for documentary feature

As Bill Cosby trial begins, an O.J. Simpson-like constellation of race, celebrity, power and gender converges

UPDATES:

4:25 p.m.: This article was updated with additional context and background information.

11:55 a.m.: This article was updated to report that Simpson was granted parole.

11:45 a.m.: This article was updated with quotes from Bruce Fromong and Arnelle Simpson.

11:10 a.m.: This article was updated with testimony from O.J. Simpson.

10:30 a.m.: This article was updated with details from the hearing.

9:40 a.m.: This article was updated to report who will attend the hearing.

This article was originally published at 3 a.m.

An earlier version of this article identified sports memorabilia dealer Bruce Fromong as Bruce Frumong.

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OJ Simpson is granted parole after serving 9 years for Vegas robbery - Los Angeles Times

Freedom win game, series against Boomers, in matchup up of Frontier League’s two best teams – User-generated content (press release) (registration)

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

After losing an early lead, the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, recovered to win the rubber game of the series over the Schaumburg Boomers, 6-3, with the help of dominant pitching and timely hitting on Thursday night at Boomers Stadium.

Braulio Torres-Perez (1-0) overcame a three-run first inning to turn in a dominant start for the Freedom (36-21), striking out ten batters over seven innings. Jamal Wilson tossed a perfect eighth inning, and Pete Perez earned the save with a flawless ninth.

Andre Mercurio gave Florence a 2-0 lead in the first inning by knocking a double to right field, scoring Taylor Oldham and Jose Brizuela, both of whom had singled.

But the Boomers (37-19) rallied back in the bottom half, as the first five batters reached base safely. Kyle Ruchim doubled and took third on a Josh Gardiner single, and Zack Weigel was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Torres-Perez then walked David Harris to force home a run, and hit Sean Godfrey with a pitch to bring in the tying run. Cosimo Cannella grounded into a double play next, allowing the go-ahead run to score.

The Freedom, however, immediately fought back against Schaumburg starter Michael Wood (1-1). In the top of the second, Andrew Godbold beat out an infield single and advanced to second on an errant snap throw to first base from catcher James Keller. A groundout allowed Godbold to advance to third, and Daniel Fraga legged out another infield single to tie the score at 3-3. Florence took the lead in the third on a Jordan Brower RBI-double.

Brower delivered another run-scoring double in the fifth, and then scored on a base hit by Godbold. Wood was finished after five innings, surrendering six runs (five earned) on 11 hits.

Mercurio and Brower extended their hitting streaks to eight and seven games, respectively. Brizuela and Austin Wobrock also recorded two hits each in the game.

The Freedom will open a three-game series at home against the Lake Erie Crushers on Friday. Cody Gray (7-2) will start for Florence against Lake Erie right-hander Jordan Kurokawa (3-2), with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at UC Health Stadium.

The Florence Freedom are members of the independent Frontier League and play all home games at UC Health Stadium located at 7950 Freedom Way in Florence, KY.The Freedom can be found online at FlorenceFreedom.com, or by phone at 859-594-4487.

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Taking a Catholic View on Academic Freedom – The Cardinal Newman Society

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

Editors Note: The Cardinal Newman Society is releasing several articles marking the 50th anniversary of the devastating Land OLakes Statement, in which several Catholic university leaders declared Catholic universities independent from authority of whatever kind, lay or clerical, external to the academic community itself. In considering the future of Catholic education, its impossible to ignore the past. How did we get here? is a question essential to determining how many American Catholic colleges and universities can overcome their conformity to secular norms for curriculum, campus life, governance, and academic freedom. Ultimately, these articles serve as hope that the mistakes of the past can be corrected and that God will bless the renaissance of faithful Catholic education in the United States that is underway.

This article was originally published in The Enduring Nature of the Catholic University, a collection of essays released by The Cardinal Newman Society in 2009. Father Joseph W. Koterski, S.J., Ph.D., S.T.L. is an associate professor of philosophy at Fordham University in New York and editor-in-chief of International Philosophical Quarterly. He also served two terms as president of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars.

So much about an answer depends on the way one poses the question. In the old story about the two monks who liked to smoke, for instance, it is easy to see why the one who asked if he could pray while smoking received permission, but the one who asked if he could smoke while praying had his request denied.

There is all the difference in the world between asking whether academic freedom is an indispensable condition for intellectual inquiry or is itself the goal. It is surely a crucial condition for real intellectual progress, for we do not know all the answers to our questions. Even figuring out how best to formulate the questions can be a difficult task. The promotion of such freedom is a necessary feature of university life. This is as true of a Catholic institution as of any other. But to think of academic freedom as somehow more than a necessary condition for intellectual progress is to mistake the means for the end. Academic freedom cannot be rightly understood as a permission to advocate for policies that are intrinsically immoral or as an artistic license for the exhibition of what is obscene, for these are not part of the goal. Academic freedom, properly understood, is a sphere for genuine scholarly debate about the truth of things.

Robust and lax views of academic freedom

The effort to take a Catholic view on academic freedom is not to postulate that there is some distinct species of the genus (Catholic academic freedom). Quite the contrarymy suggestion is that a Catholic view on academic freedom provides a model of what academic freedom rightly understood ought to look like anywhere. We should not presume that what passes for academic freedom in the secular sphere is the true model, and that the Catholic view is some quaint, parochial version that unfairly permits special reservations or exclusions. A better understanding of academic freedom makes it possible to see how lax versions of it can obscure a proper understanding of the relation between truth and freedom.

In the academy today there is a tendency to envision academic freedom as utterly unrestricted and to criticize any position that might order freedom to the service of any other interest. But such a highly abstract view of academic freedom risks treating what is important as a condition for scholarly inquiry as if it were independent of higher goals such as academic instruction of students, or docility to inconvenient truths, or service to a particular community that a religiously affiliated university was founded to provide. Freedom in the academy, as anywhere else, ought to be understood in service of something higher. To put it very simply, freedom is not just a matter of freedom from but of freedom for.

The idea of a university

What is essential to the very idea of a university is an interlocking triad of functions: scientific and scholarly research, academic teaching, and a creative cultural life intended to be bear fruit for the larger society and for the body that sponsors the institution. The kind of intellectual formation that students may rightly expect to find at the university level will be more likely to occur when their instructors are personally engaged in research, so that what teachers impart is a personal sense of the quest and not just a set of pre-packaged results. The demands of teaching help keep researchers alert to the meaning of the indefatigable work their disciplines require. By teaching they are regularly challenged to relate their discoveries and frustrations to the whole of knowledge, for their students are studying other things and want to understand connections between the subjects under study, even if full achievement of the unity of all knowledge may remain out of reach.

What the faculty should hope to develop in university students is a love of the quest for truth as well as the skills and disciplines needed to join in that quest. The goal of university education is the development not only of the mind but of the whole person. There ought to be concern to make new discoveries, to impart what is knowable in a given discipline, and to contribute to the development of maturity in body and mind, heart and spirit. To treat academic freedom as if it were some privileged sphere for the expression of personal beliefs in a way that is unrelated to otherand sometimes higherends is to sacrifice certain essential concerns of the university to a mere abstraction.

As an institution within a culture, the university receives benefits that it could not obtain on its own. In turn it owes significant debts to that culture. The service that a university needs to render includes education of a new generation in useful disciplines and moral formation of persons with a sense of the common good, the discovery of approaches and solutions to genuine problems, and the transmission of wisdom, knowledge, and traditions important to the community. Seeing academic freedom in the context of these important relationships makes for a better sense of its true nature. From this expectation of mutual benefits come both the reason for the sacrifices needed to sustain universities and the need for those who are granted the freedom of a university to benefit the community precisely by contributing to all the missions of a university.

The relation of truth and freedom

One might well argue that the relationship of the university to the society is dialectical, like the very relationship between truth and freedom. Freedom is a condition for the possibility of truth, and truth is the goal of freedom. To assert that a relation is dialectical is to say that the terms stand in a kind of complementary relation to one anotherhere it is a relation between an enabling condition and the proper use of that condition. Grasping this dialectical relationship allows us to distinguish authentic forms of freedom from inauthentic forms. However much of a little world of its own the university tends to be, the university is not its own end, but an indispensable means for the progress of research and the transmission of knowledge and wisdom. Understood in light of the specific goals of any institution of higher learning, the freedom typical of university life can be seen to take authentic and inauthentic forms.

Negatively, academic freedom involves an absence of external compulsion. Granted the need to respect such practical concerns as the financial, universities need to resist utilitarian and ideological pressures, such as a quest to give intellectual respectability to positions that are not respectable or to provide sophisticated propaganda for partisan projects. Positively, academic freedom has to be a freedom for truth, that is, a condition suitable for enabling scientific and scholarly progress and for subjecting reasons and arguments to the most compelling scrutiny we can devise.

In more practical terms, a university marked by a true sense of academic freedom ought to be hostile to political correctness in any form. There should be a willingness to engage frankly and deeply even the positions with which a sponsoring institution most profoundly disagrees. Coming to an authentic understanding of the best reasons in the arsenal of ones opponent is, after all, a hallmark of intellectual respectability and a better route for making sure of the validity of ones own position than precluding the discussion of those points. On this point, Catholics have the testimony of none other than Pope Benedict XVI in his address of April 2008, when he urged that the idea of Catholic higher education is not only compatible with academic freedom in the genuine sense of the term but that ensuring appropriate instruction in Catholic doctrine and practice is crucial to advancing academic freedom and to honoring the institutions mission:

In regard to faculty members at Catholic colleges and universities, I wish to reaffirm the great value of academic freedom. In virtue of this freedom you are called to search for the truth wherever careful analysis of evidence leads you. Yet any appeal to the principle of academic freedom in order to justify positions that contradict the faith and teaching of the Church would obstruct or even betray the universitys identity and mission. Divergence from this vision weakens Catholic identity and, far from advancing freedom, inevitably leads to confusion, whether moral, intellectual or spiritual. Teachers and administrators, whether in universities or schools, have the duty and privilege to ensure that students receive instruction in Catholic doctrine and practice. This requires that public witness to the way of Christ, as found in the Gospel and upheld by the Churchs Magisterium, shapes all aspects of an institutions life, both inside and outside the classroom.[1]

In his address Pope Benedict reinforces the notion that Catholic-sponsored institutions would fail in their duty if they did not provide adequate instruction in the religious tradition that supports the school.[2] While an overly abstract understanding of academic freedom is only likely to bring confusion, academic freedom in its proper sense gives precisely the venue needed for the search for truth, wherever the evidence may lead.

Personal commitments and the universitys mission

In practice, I believe that there needs to be toleration for those who do not share a sponsoring institutions outlook, but on the understanding that the specific mission goals of such a university may never be sidelined; rather, it must be given accurate presentation in any academic forum.[3] This position does mean that we ought to resist the demand that every possible outlook be represented at a university; unless a given point of view produces scholars of the first rank, it has no claim to the status expected of a university faculty. Some will urge that it is not permissible to investigate a prospective member of the universitys beliefs, but only the persons professional attainment and intellectual standing. But this also seems excessively abstract. In the effort to enhance the quest for intellectual progress and the teaching mission of a university, there has to be concern not just with the learning typical of a recognized discipline but also with the sort of truths that are associated with a persons philosophy, that is, the insights that are not accessible by the relatively impersonal sort of thinking that is typical of training in a discipline but also those that require personal commitment. These are important concerns about the meaning of human existence, about the natural law that is beyond all jurisprudence, and about the reality of God, however ineffable and mysterious, and they will enter into the life of those who live and work at a university.

University faculty like to think of themselves as independent-minded. In many respects they are, for their training has generated habits of disciplined analysis. But in addition to learning in any area there is often a curious blindness to how little one knows outside the area of ones discipline. The penchant of any professor to be a know-it-all can easily lead to the temptation to use ones post as a bully pulpit for what is no more than an opinion. In our own day, the liberal biases of many graduate and professional schools can dull the awareness that this temptation specially afflicts the chattering classes.

The responsibility to use freedom for pursuing and presenting the truth

In this regard there is an immediate and direct implication of the relation between freedom and responsibility. Members of a university faculty should truly have the freedom to pursue truth according to the methods germane to their disciplines and should be free from interference by those outside the discipline. But it is also important to remember that in their use of this freedom they ought to remain true to the methods of their discipline that qualify them for the privilege of this freedom and that presenting themselves as authorities beyond the areas of their expertise risks misusing that freedom.[4]

Of special interest to Catholic universities, of course, is the academic freedom of theologians and the proper use of this privilege.[5] In this sphere there is need to bear in mind not only the standard considerations about methodology proper to any discipline, but also the specific grounding in the truth of divine revelation and the teachings of the Church for the areas of knowledge that are particularly the concern of theology. The teaching of Catholic theology in a Church-sponsored institution requires an acceptance of the truth of revelation and the teachings of the Church.

In addition to the moral responsibility that individual faculty members must shoulder in this area, there is also a responsibility on the administration of a Catholic university.[6] Such a university must have a staunch commitment both to protect the proper freedom of theologians for their research and to insist that the members of the theology faculty present the teachings of the Church faithfully. The obligation here involves ensuring that the university honor its commitments to its sponsoring tradition and safeguarding the principle that one not exceed the areas of ones professional expertise in teaching, particularly in areas of special sensitivity.

Consider, for example, the problems that can arise in courses on moral theology and ethics, an area where there can be strong personal convictions by faculty members but also an area where the Church has clear teachings. These courses might be courses in general ethics or one of the various specializations (medical ethics, business ethics, professional ethics, etc.). The need to have faculty members teaching within the area of their expertise will require that the university provide teachers suitably trained in Catholic moral theology and disposed to teach such courses in ethics in a way that is consistent with the universitys Catholic identity by being faithful to Catholic doctrine.

Faculty members who are not Catholic theologians or not willing to do this should identify themselves in such a way that will prevent confusion about this matter. Likewise, the obligation not to teach beyond ones area of expertise should preclude faculty members in other departments who are not trained in ethics or moral theology from teaching or promoting varieties of ethics that are inconsistent with the universitys Catholic identity. To say this is in no way to put into doubt that such individuals may well have personal convictions on matters of ethics; in fact, it would be highly appropriate and advisable to organize suitable forums for the discussion of these matters in interdisciplinary circles. But it is not appropriate to have individuals who have never formally studied ethics offering courses identified as courses in ethics or moral values within the course offerings of their various disciplines. For instructors who have not themselves formally studied ethics or moral theology to be offering such courses would be cases of teaching outside the area of their professional expertise and thus to go beyond the privileges accorded to academic freedom properly understood.

Privilege, obligation, and right

When discussing academic freedom, we would do well to speak in terms of privilege and obligation. Academic freedom is a privilege, not a right. The language of right should probably be reserved to the pursuit of truth. Individuals are privileged to come to a university for the purpose of seeking truth, both to participate in its discovery and to play a role in its dissemination. But the human right to pursue truth unconditionally and for its own sake is what governs the privilege and grounds the obligation of those exercising this right to make proper use of it. Getting this relationship right requires keeping sharp ones intellectual conscience and exerting conscious and honest control over ones creative impulses, especially by staying alert to the consequences, immediate and far-reaching, for ones ideas.

There can be failures to observe these proprieties. One might consider, for instance, the sad history of the German universities in the period leading up to the Second World War.[7] Despite the courageous resistance of some of its members, a university can collapse under the attack of a dictator. We need to acknowledge a special responsibility for such a collapse that lies at the feet of those university professors who care too little about the interaction between academic life and its social and political environment. The rationalizations and justifications used for the programs of forcible sterilization and the murder of the mentally ill seem to be recurring in our debates on abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, and euthanasia. The price of freedom is always vigilance and a readiness for sacrifice: in no walk of life may one take ones post for granted and allow oneself not to see what one prefers not to see.

The dialectical tension between truth and freedom is one that academics sometimes do not like to hear about. Although a non-negotiable aspect of the life of a university, academic freedom is not an independent absolute but an absolute that stands in a dialectical relation to truth. Karl Jaspers put the point clearly when writing of those German universities:

Academic freedom can survive only if the scholars invoking it remain aware of its meaning. It does not mean the right to say what one pleases. Truth is much too difficult and great a task that it should be mistaken for the passionate exchange of half-truths spoken in the heat of the moment. It exists only where scholarly ends and a commitment to truth are involved. Practical objectives, educational bias, or political propaganda have no right to invoke academic freedom.[8]

Academic freedom does not refer to the political concept of freedom of speech, let alone to the liberty of pure license in thought, but to the liberty that is the condition for the possibility of truth. In turn, the truth toward which academic work is ordered as its goal justifies the freedom provided at a university and protected by our understanding of a universitys privileges. Academic freedom exempts a faculty member from certain kinds of external constraints so as to enable that person better to honor the obligations of a scholar to intellectual thoroughness, method, and system.

The correlative safeguards for the proper use of that freedom will presumably have to be moral rather than legal. This is often the case with other kinds of authority, for the highest administrators of legal justice are near the summit of law and generally have no higher authority watching over them. We depend upon justice being in the heart of the judge as much as upon the checks and balances of power that are so crucial to our system of government, and yet are ever subject to corruption. The frustrations of academic life (e.g., when one simply has no success in the lab, at the clinic, or in ones research) point out clearly enough that freedom may be the condition for truth, but it is not a guarantee that one will automatically achieve truth merely by hard work or persistence.

In my judgment, the dialectical relation between truth and freedom constitutes a central aspect of academic freedom. That all of a universitys branches of learning work with hypotheses of only relative validity and do not describe the whole of reality itself but only particular aspects in no way alters or denies the goal of truth that belongs to the idea of the university. There remains a need for the guidance in our endeavors that the idea of the unity of knowledge provides. Only the goal of truth pursued in responsible freedom, guided by a sense of the oneness of reality, can sustain our search to know all the particulars as a way of getting at that basic oneness and wholeness. The result of a commitment to this idea will be not just the protection of academic freedom but the maturation of an increasingly authentic idea of freedom in the individual and the community of the university.

[1]. Pope Benedict XVI, Address to Catholic Educators at The Catholic University of America, April 17, 2008.

[2]. For Pope Benedict XVIs views on the duty of Christians to make their views heard on political and civil issues, see his Address to the Roman Curia, December 22, 2008.

[3]. See Benedict XVI, Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions (San Francisco CA: Ignatius Press, 2004).

[4]. See Avery Dulles, S.J., The Teaching Mission of the Church and Academic Freedom, America 162 (1990): 397-402.

[5]. See Georges Chantraine, La vraie et fausse libert du theologie: Un essai (Paris and Brussels: Desclee, 1969). See also Avery Dulles, S.J., The Freedom of Theology, First Things 183 (2008): 19-23.

[6]. See Melanie M. Morey and John Piderit, Catholic Higher Education: A Culture in Crisis (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006); see also Alice Gallin, Negotiating Identity: Catholic Higher Education since 1960 (Notre Dame IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2000).

[7]. See Alice Gallin, Midwives to Nazism: University Professors in Weimar Germany, 1925-1933 (Macon GA: Mercer University Press, 1986).

[8]. Karl Jaspers, The Idea of the University (Boston: Beacon Press, 1959), p. 131.

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Taking a Catholic View on Academic Freedom - The Cardinal Newman Society

Try ‘Freedom’ steak at The Dictator – The Hindu

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

The Hindu

Try 'Freedom' steak at The Dictator
The Hindu
A steak dubbed the 'Grilled Freedom' is just one stand-out dish on the menu of the Tunisian capital's 'Le Dictateur' restaurant, which is not exactly to the taste of officialdom. Six years after the North African country's revolution that sparked the ...

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Try 'Freedom' steak at The Dictator - The Hindu

Celebration of Freedom exhibit hosts Traveling Vietnam Wall – WSAW

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

ROTHSCHILD, Wis. (WSAW) -- Opening ceremonies were held Thursday for the Traveling Vietnam Wall in Rothschild. It's a smaller scale of the Vietnam Wall found in Washington D.C., but it travels the country.

The Wall offers a chance for residents to come and pay tribute to loved ones who lost their lives in the Vietnam War. It was brought here in part due to Wausau Homes, who helped pay for the expenses and is hosting the wall.

The Traveling Wall is owned by veterans, and was created eight years ago. It's made more than 300 appearances and will continue to travel.

On the Wall, there are 1,173 veterans from Wisconsin from 342 towns and cities across the state. Eight of those veterans were from Wausau.

The wall holds special meaning for Vietnam Veterans who lost friends fighting in the war.

"I look back at the 19 guys that I served with that their names are on the wall. But I deeply feel as a grandpa how much of a hole there is in family trees, and how these guys never had the wives, their own children...and so when I get a chance to come to this, I'm humbled. I'm very humbled," said John Willman, a member of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 479.

A local Vietnam Veteran was also presented with a flag from the Man of Honor Society that was flown in Washington D.C.

There is a Fallen Hero Information stand which helps locate where on the Wall a certain name is. The Celebration of Freedom exhibit runs through Sunday and is open to the public 24 hours a day. You can visit the Wall at Wausau Homes, 10805 Old Hwy 51 in Rothschild.

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Celebration of Freedom exhibit hosts Traveling Vietnam Wall - WSAW

Bright: David Ayer on Creative Freedom Outside of Hollywood – Screen Rant

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

Netflix is diving head first into big-budget Hollywood-style filmmaking with their sci-fi action film Bright starring bona fide mega-star Will Smith. According to Bright director David Ayer, though Netflix is willing to put up a studio-sized budget, there are big differences between working with the streaming serviceand working with a traditional Hollywood outfit.

Ayer and Smith previously teamed up for Warner Bros DCEU movie Suicide Squad, a project that went through a lot of studio-mandated reshooting and recutting, resulting in a film that in many peoples eyes was deeply compromised and very disappointing (though it still made over $700 million worldwide at the box office). Without taking a direct shot, Ayer seemed to offer up a criticism of the traditional studio approach to filmmaking exemplified by Warner Bros. while singing the praises of Netflix.

Speaking during the Bright panel Thursday at SDCC, Ayer talked about Hollywoods spreadsheet approach to moviemaking and how at Netflix filmmakers are given money to work with but without the meddling:

It is a credit to Netflix and how they do business. They ask where and how to shoot it and they let me do it. It almost felt like a super, high-budget independent film. That may not land with you guys, but you have to understand that other side. It is the opposite for many filmmakers. Netflix is going to pull a lot of talented people to their side.

Bright actor Will Smith backed up Ayers assessment of the creative freedom afforded by Netflix, but seemed skeptical that their model will be sustainable in the long run:

There is really no difference in shooting except that Netflix will just give you the money and let you go make the movie you want to make. So that may end soon, but it was fantastic. The difference is also that it will be different in the experience of seeing it in the theater versus at your home. It is also a little different in the first days when theater came to film, so it is like that.

Perhaps in the future Netflixs commitment to spending money on big-budget studio-style projects will necessarily lead them to pull in the reins on filmmakers, but for now they are willing to put up the dough and let the creators use it to create. Though that sounds like a great deal for moviemakers, not everyone is so certain that Netflix has the right idea when it comes to production and distribution. Director Christopher Nolan recently attacked Netflix and their pointless distribution model, suggesting that the streaming service should try harder to get their movies into theaters so that audiences can have the big screen experience before the streaming window opens.

Such criticisms notwithstanding, there is clearly a lot of excitement about the Netflix way of doing things, and a lot of people will be watching with eagerness to see if Bright truly delivers the goods as a studio-level action movie. The film has a lot going for it with Smith in the lead role, a proven director like Ayer at the helm and an imaginative-sounding script by Max Landis that combines fantasy, sci-fi and cop movie elements in an interesting way. If this big-budget genre mash-up succeeds, perhaps more filmmakers will flock to Netflix to partake of the creative freedom they are willing to allow along with the cash they are willing to put up.

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Bright: David Ayer on Creative Freedom Outside of Hollywood - Screen Rant

Eugenicist Tennessee judge cuts off jail time if inmates get vasectomies – Washington Examiner

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

A Tennessee judge is redefining what it means for convicts to pay their debt to society: Go under the knife in White County to get a vasectomy or a birth control implant, and prisoners can get 30-days off their sentence. "Hopefully while they're staying here we rehabilitate them so they never come back," Judge Sam Benningfield explained to a local news crew.

But what does sterilization have to do with rehabilitation? Absolutely nothing.

It's cruel, it's unusual, and it literally meets the clinical definition of eugenics.

Down on their luck, 70 inmates (32 women and 38 men) have taken the plea deal. They'll get credit toward their sentence and a permanent reminder courtesy of county government that, because of their crime, they're sub-humans not fit to have a family.

In short, society finds them undesirable and would prefer if they not reproduce. Upon their release, convicts won't be burdened with unwanted children and heck, given enough time, perhaps little White County can weed out criminal imbeciles from the gene pool.

Except no, human nature doesn't work that way and nothing good has come from eugenics. The United States has its own uncomfortable and not too distant history with the practice. A total of 32 states enforced eugenics laws by 1935 and California didn't ban the practice of prison sterilization until 2014.

It's no exaggeration to say that the horrific practice has wiped away generations, snuffing out potential families ? especially from Asian, black, and Hispanic communities.

But in the backwoods of White County, Benningfield is more modest than say, a Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. He's not trying to wipe away three generations of imbeciles. "If you reach two or three people," he explains, "maybe that's two or three kids not being born under the influence of drugs."

Put another way, he seems to believe sterilization solves all problems?no man, no problem.

Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.

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Eugenicist Tennessee judge cuts off jail time if inmates get vasectomies - Washington Examiner

For ‘Cyborg’ Justino, UFC 214 scrap for vacant belt is actually a title … – MMAjunkie.com

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

Cristiane Justino will finally get to close one long, tumultuous chapter of her life at next Saturdays UFC 214, when she meets Tonya Evinger for the UFC womens 145-pound belt.

After putting so much effort into campaigning for the UFC to create the division, Cyborg Justino is happy that its here. And she understands it may be a big deal for her fans. But for the former Invicta FC champ, who hasnt lost an MMA bout since her 2005 pro debut, shes already coming into it a champion.

Actually, the way I see it, this fight to me is a title defense, Justino saidduring an online chat with Brazilian reporters. I didnt lose my belt. I left it vacant. The way I see it, it will be a title defense. In the eyes of some people, its more valuable than the belt I already carried. But, for me, its yet another defense.

Ive always trained and dedicated myself as if I was the No. 1 contender, even already being the champion.

Featuring three championship fights, UFC 214 takes place July 29 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The evenings main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FXX and UFC Fight Pass.

Cyborg says the scrap would have been made more special had it been the UFCs first womens 145-pound title fight. Instead, with Justinosinability tomake a quick enough turnaroundafter the tough cuts for her two 140-pound catchweight bouts, it wasformer bantamweight champ Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamiewho did the honors with a UFC 208 headliner.

De Randamieemerged victorious in that encounter, but what ensued was one of the most bizarrereigns in UFC history. After months of speculation around a hand injury, the champ said she refused to defend the belt against obvious contender Cyborg citing Justinos past doping as a reason. She was stripped of the title.

Cyborg, who in the interim was flagged and acquitted of wrongdoing by USADA, was then scheduled to face fellow former Invicta FC featherweight champ Megan Anderson for the vacant title at UFC 214. But, with Andersons withdrawal citingpressing personal reasons, that didnt pan out either.

Justino (17-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) now welcomes Invicta FCs 135-pound champ Tonya Evinger (19-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC)into the octagon. But, clearly, it wasnt smooth sailing. As such a longtime advocate for the creation of a womens 145-pound division in the UFC, why does she think putting the fights together has been such a challenge?

Cyborg explains and even throws in a jab at Anderson, for good measure.

I think that, since the UFC took so long to create the 145-pound division, most athletes signed with Bellator, Justino said. And thats why the girls in my division with a bigger name are in Bellator. Some are still at Invicta, too and I was supposed to fight one of them in Megan Anderson. But, due to lack of documents, shes not able to fight. And her irresponsibility, too.

Tonya accepted it a month before the fight, saving the event and my chance to fight. Shes from a lower division, but shes a top-10 at 135 pounds. She just never had a chance to fight in the UFC. And shes brave.I respect her for accepting the fight on short-notice. Like it or not, its a great opportunity for her to showcase her work in the UFC and, who knows, open doors for her to fight at 135.

As for the bizarre turn that De Randamies title reign took? Justino believes that at no point did she ever intend to meet Cyborg in the octagon. And that, she says, is part of a larger recent pattern of champions managing to bypass fights with rightful contenders.

Maybe she wanted to go back to her division, get the 135-pound belt, be the first one to get the two belts, Justino said. She acted in bad faith. She knew shed have to fight me to defend the belt.

You see it happening a lot in MMA over the past two or three years, a lot of people who are right there to fight for the belt are being held back. I dont think thats fair. I think if youre the champ, you need to face whomevers prepared to fight for the belt.

For more onUFC 214, check out theUFC Rumorssection of the site.

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For 'Cyborg' Justino, UFC 214 scrap for vacant belt is actually a title ... - MMAjunkie.com

Cris Cyborg believes UFC is also to blame for lack of featherweight contenders – MMA Fighting

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

Cris Cyborg is facing the plan C at UFC 214, but she believes things could have been easier if the promotion had taken a different path in the past.

With Germaine de Randamie refusing to compete, and Megan Anderson dealing with personal issues, Cyborg will now face Invicta FC bantamweight titleholder Tonya Evinger for the vacant UFC featherweight gold on July 29 in Anaheim.

The original plan would have had de Randamie defending the belt she won earlier this year against the Brazilian, but the Dutch fighter preferred to be stripped of the belt than facing Cyborg. Anderson, who won the Invicta FC 145-pound belt that once belonged to the Brazilian, jumped promotions to compete in the Octagon, but ended up being removed days later.

UFC president Dana White has cited many times in the past that lack of female athletes in the featherweight division was one of the reasons why he wouldnt open the weight class in the UFC, and Cyborg would always argued back that, yes, there are enough fighters to build a division.

After having a hard time finding an opponent to face at UFC 214, with the promotion once again bringing a natural bantamweight to face her in the Octagon, is Cyborg still convinced there are enough women at 145 pounds?

"Since it took a long time for the UFC to open the (featherweight) division, most of the athletes signed with Bellator. Thats why the girls with bigger names in the division are at Bellator, Cyborg said during a chat with the media on Tuesday. "But some still are in Invicta. I was going to fight Megan Anderson, but due to lack of (visa) she wont be able to fight and also due to her irresponsibility, she pulled out of the fight a month before."

With Julia Budd (10-2) as the current featherweight champion, Bellator currently has 11 other featherweights in its roster, including Marloes Coenen (23-8), Alexis Dufresne (6-3), Sinead Kavanagh (4-1) and Talita Nogueira (6-0).

Cyborg fought twice under the UFC banner so far, finishing Leslie Smith and Lina Lansberg via TKO in 140-pound catchweight bouts. Undefeated over her last eight fights with five stoppage victories and several title defenses in Invicta FC, Evinger is brave, her opponent says.

"Tonya accepted the fight on a months notice, saving the event and giving me an opportunity to fight, Cyborg said. "Shes coming from the (bantamweight) division, but I think shes a top 10 at 135, she just never had the chance to fight in the UFC. And shes brave. I respect her for fighting me on short notice, and that also gives her a chance to show her work inside the UFC and, who knows, open more doors for her to fight at 135, her original division.

"I believe Tonya is a great opponent, she has a lot of fights and experience, she continued. "I believe she will give me more trouble than Megan Anderson because she has more experience. Well see. I dont like to talk before the fights, inside the Octagon is different. Everybody has a game plan, but the plan changes after the first punch."

And what about de Randamie, Cyborgs original opponent? Ultimately, the Brazilian believes she never had the intention to defend the featherweight belt she won against Holly Holm.

"(The champion) cant turn down a fight if he thinks youre tough, if youre a tough fight. It doesnt matter. If you have the belt, you have to fight anyone, Cyborg said. "Like Dana White said, she knew, even before she entered the Octagon (against Holm) that, if she won, she would have to fight me, so I believe she acted in bad faith, she already went there with this intention of going back to her division if she won the belt and try to become the first (female) athlete to hold two belts.

"I believe that some athletes have fear, but you have to work on that. Athletes cant have fear. Fear of what? Fear of losing? Everybody loses one day. You win and lose. Both fighters cant win in this sport, so you have to leave it in Gods hands. Losing is not the end of the world. Losing is natural, the better prepared athlete will win.

"If youre a fighter, you might lose a battle but you cant lose the war. Thats what fans love, overcoming, bouncing back and winning again. Thats what makes an athlete grow and fans to follow you. You go through hard times without fear of losing because that might happen."

The UFC stripped de Randamie of the belt days after she voiced her idea of not facing Cyborg, so, in the end, Cyborg will battle Evinger for a vacant title in Anaheim. The Brazilian, a former featherweight queen in Strikeforce and Invicta FC, has a different approach to the title fight.

"I see this fight in the UFC as a title defense for me, Cyborg said. "I havent lost my belt. I vacated it. To me, its like a title defense. Some people might see the UFC as something with more value than the one that I held before, but, to me, its another title defense. I train and work hard as if I were always the No. 1 contender for every fight though."

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Cris Cyborg believes UFC is also to blame for lack of featherweight contenders - MMA Fighting

The latest on a potential Cris Cyborg vs. Becky Lynch match – Wrestling News

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

WWE News

Published on July 20, 2017

The Becky Lynch/Cris Cyborg back-and-forth on Twitter seems to be leading to something that has the blessing of WWE. Cyborg has been pushing for a match with Lynch at SummerSlam. I dont know if the match will happen but sources close to Cyborgs camp have indicated that they have come to an agreement with WWE. I reached out to WWE over the weekend and there was no response from their side.

Cyborg and WWE have talked in the past and she is currently under contract to UFC so that is a hurdle that she would jump through. However, as noted in the Wrestling Observer newsletter, UFC does owe WWE because Brock Lesnar was allowed to fight last year while under WWE contract.

Cyborg has had a rocky relationship with UFC but she recently made up with UFC head honcho Dana White. She will fight Tonya Evinger for the vacant womens featherweight championship on 7/29 at UFC 214. I dont know if this will happen but if there really is a deal in place for a match with Lynch, then her UFC 214 post-fight interview (if she wins) could be the right place to officially start the angle with Lynch by formally announcing her plans to try her hand at pro wrestling and laying down the SummerSlam challenge.

More Wrestling News:

News on the next set of NXT TV tapings, SmackDown social media ratings

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The latest on a potential Cris Cyborg vs. Becky Lynch match - Wrestling News

New Jersey Beaches – Boardwalk – AC Beaches and Boardwalk

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Danzig

Sun, sand, towering resort hotels, the bustling Boardwalk, the awe-inspiring Atlantic -- this is one beach party you dont want to miss. The Atlantic City, New Jersey beaches are famous, and rightly so. Everything you could possibly want is right here within walking distance, from shops to five-star restaurants to casinos, attractions and great shows -- all benefits of being one of the few American beaches with boardwalks. What better way to cap a day of shopping, shows and gourmet dining than a pleasant sunset walk on the shore? And should you want to venture into the waves, you can surf, fish, parasail or embark on a relaxing cruise.

Construction on Atlantic Citys world-famous Boardwalk began in 1870, and from then on it has become an America icon. Stroll along the Boardwalk and enjoy ocean views on one side and shopping on the other, ranging from high-end retail to saltwater taffy shops.

Atlantic City Beach and Boardwalk activities include surfing, kayaking, windsurfing and fishing.Explore the many NJ beach activities hereand plan for some summer fun at Atlantic City, New Jersey beaches today!

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New Jersey Beaches - Boardwalk - AC Beaches and Boardwalk

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