Category Archives: Cloning

Scientists have cloned an endangered black-footed ferret.

Elizabeth Ann was born on December 10, 2020, after being duplicated from the genes of another black-footed ferret named Willa, who died in 1988.

Cloning is a process that copies the DNA from one organism to create an exact genetic replica of that same organism.

The same company that cloned Elizabeth Ann also cloned an endangered Przewalski horse, a Mongolian wild horse, from 40-year-old DNA in the summer of 2020. The black-footed ferret is the first U.S. endangered species to be cloned.

Conservationists from the nonprofit Revive & Restore think that cloning could eventually bring back extinct species, but they say that conservation of these species is key.

How can we actually apply some of those advances in science for conservation? Because conservation needs more tools in the toolbox. Thats our whole motivation. Cloning is just one of those tools, said Ryan Phelan, the co-founder and executive director of Revive & Restore.

The rest is here:

Scientists Have Cloned A Black-Footed Ferret - NowThis

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, March 5

The cyber cell of the local police has claimed to have busted a gang involved in financial fraud through cloning of debit cards, after the arrest of three persons recently.

DCP (HQ) Arpit Jain said here today that the accused identified as Mubarik, Arif and Majhar, have been arrested by the cops in connection with an incident that took place a month ago in which the accused got transferred an amount of Rs 3.4 lakh illegally from the account of one Prambhajan Singh of Sector 23 here, after cloning his debit card.

He said while Mubarik hailed from Rajasthan, Arif and Majhar were residents of Ballabgarh and Ferozpur Zirka town of Nuh district. Claiming that the arrested accused had admitted their involvement in at least 20 different cases, he said the amount withdrawn by them in a fraudulent manner was over Rs 20 lakh.

Around 50 debit cards, Rs 1.93 lakh and two schemer devices have been recovered. All accused were remanded to judicial custody.

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Debit card-cloning gang busted, 3 held - The Tribune India

A ferret that died more than 30 years ago is getting a second chance at life.

Well, sort of. More precisely, an exact replica of that ferret has been brought to life.

American scientists have cloned an endangered species native to the U.S. called the black-footed ferret.

The clone, named Elizabeth Ann, was made to help the dwindling ferret species survive by increasing something called genetic diversity.

But before we get to that ...

Clones are two living things that have the exact same genes, just like identical twins.

Clones of animals are made in a lab by taking the cells of an adult animal, living or dead, and altering them to change them into the building block type of cells seen in the womb.

In 1996, Dolly the sheep was the first animal to be cloned by a group of researchers in Scotland. (Image credit: Jeff J. Mitchell/Reuters)

These cells are then placed into the womb of an adult female of that animal, called a surrogate mom, to grow the clone.

The surrogate mom then gives birth to the clone.

Elizabeth Anns surrogate mom is a ferret of a different species.

Cloning is controversial, however, as some say that cloning animals may lead scientists to one day clone humans, which could lead to a lot of different problems.

For example, one issue some scientists argue is that the science isn't perfect, and errors in the cloning process could lead to babies with major medical issues or deformities.

Back in 1981, the black-footed ferret species was on the edge of extinction.

Elizabeth Ann drinks milk from her surrogate mother beside her siblings. They are all a different type of ferret species than Elizabeth Ann. (Image credit: USFWS National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center)

To help the species survive, scientists in Wyoming gathered seven ferrets from the few that remained to start a breeding program.

Since then, thousands of ferrets have been reintroduced into the wild, but they all come from the seven original ferrets.

Because the ferrets all come from such a small gene pool, they are missing something called genetic diversity.

Genetic diversity is important for helping animals fight off disease and other dangers that could harm their species.

Elizabeth Ann was cloned using the cells from a ferret that lived more than 30 years ago. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/The Associated Press)

Say youre on a team of seven people trying to take down a dragon.

You each bring unique combat skills, but the dragon breathes fire and none of you know how to overcome the flames.

But if you brought in an eighth person, theres a chance theyve fought fire-breathing dragons before, and their knowledge could mean the difference between life and death.

Elizabeth Ann could be this eighth person.

Her genes come from a ferret named Willa who died in the 1980s and whose cells were frozen in case they might come in handy in the future.

Elizabeth Ann brings a new gene pool into the mix, and Lead researcher Ben Novak said that once she and her kids are introduced into the wild, theyll increase the genetic diversity of the species and make the species better at surviving dangers in the wild.

Lead researcher Ben Novak holds Elizabeth Ann just after she was born in 2020. (Image submitted by Heather Sparks/Revive & Restore)

For now, the technique used to clone Elizabeth Ann could help other endangered species like a Mongolian wild horse that was cloned last summer and born at a Texas facility.

With files from CBCs As It Happens, The Associated Press and Reuters.

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This ferrets twin lived more than 30 years ago. How is that possible? - CBC.ca

In February, news broke of the first cloned endangered North American animal, a black-footed ferret named Elizabeth Ann. Her birth is the result of cells cryogenically stored in 1988 from an individual who is now long dead.

What makes Elizabeth Ann special lies in the history of her species. Until the 1980s, black-footed ferrets were assumed to be totally extinct in the wild. Due to conservation efforts, the 1981 population of 18 has increased to about 300. Unfortunately, this victory could only occur through a lot of inbreeding inbreeding that leaves the wild ferrets especially vulnerable to population-destroying disease such as Sylvatic Plague. Conservation advocates hope that breeding Elizabeth Anns offspring and introducing her offspring to the wild will supplement much-needed genetic diversity to the population.

A project of biotechnology nonprofit Revive and Restore (which also focuses on projects such as bringing mammoths back from extinction), Elizabeth Ann has been called inspiring and described as a source of hope for other U.S. endangered species. But can Elizabeth Ann really reverse the course of history for her species and undo the damage that humans have already done? Is it ethical that she was born at all? And does her birth really stand to have such impact on the world as a whole?

Elizabeth Anns birth comes at a time when public mobilization toward our global biodiversity crisis is acute. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has assessed more than 35,000 species to be threatened with extinction approximately 28% of all those assessed. A 2004 study found that 43% of amphibians are threatened, and a large number of conservation organizations have sprung up to combat these trends.

It seems like any solution to the planets biodiversity loss is one worth hearing out. But cloning has always faced an (often unfair) burden of morality, tasked with proving why while opponents rarely have to prove why not.

Luckily, science suggests that we have nothing to fear from cloning itself. The fact that biotechnology will aid this process in species that wouldnt otherwise be able to reproduce asexually should be no stranger than biotechnology aiding fertility in prospective parents or providing therapies for genetic diseases.

A literal definition says that cloning is the act of creating individuals that are genetically identical. Though its understood that sexual reproduction evolved after asexual reproduction and that there must have been a time in Earths history when cloning was all there was to work with its rarely discussed how common cloning is in the natural world. Agriculture in particular makes use of cloning through the process of grafting almost all apples are genetic clones of one another, as are grapes, as are potatoes. Some animals, including Komodo dragons, can clone themselves in a process known as parthenogenesis, in which embryos develop without requiring fertilization by sperm. In this case, unless mutations occur, the daughter is an exact genetic copy of her mother.

The most damning indictment of cloning as conservation is not in the cloning itself, but in the idea that this should be a replacement for preventative conservation efforts, or for collective action toward sustainability and environmental remediation.

Adding new individuals, even those with much-needed genetic diversity to supplement population-scale health, will only treat the symptoms of a world no longer suitable for the black-footed ferret and many other species like it. The factors that have contributed to their decline habitat loss, overhunting, pollution and natural diseases wont magically go away when their numbers increase. Its unclear whether conservation efforts will continue as aggressively (or at all) when the populations appear to soar. The public is famously unnuanced when it comes to superficial descriptors of risk factors for living things.

Perhaps the biggest pitfall to cloning-as-conservation operations, though, may just be that humans are bad at prioritizing what to fix when it comes to the environment. We are biased toward the charisma of the giant panda and the grace of the polar bear even when those species dont contribute much to their respective ecosystems.

The International Union for Conservation of Natures (IUCN) assessment of species is heavily slanted toward vertebrates with over 50,000 assessed. Those invertebrates assessed (just under 25,000) are the ones most obviously beneficial to humans. This is despite that over 90% of all life on Earth are invertebrates and theyre important. Food chains are generally upheld by unglamorous invertebrates. Its these cryptic little nothings of animals which allow for long-term ecosystem stability. Even more than that, its the species that often repulse humanity the spiders, insects and bats that provide the most benefit to the ecosystem.

Elizabeth Ann is adorable, and it is amazing that she could be the first step on the long road to the long-term success of her species. It is truly worth celebrating that she was born. In a perfect reality, the initiative which brought her into this world would be extended to all organisms that need the extra support.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that high-budget and high-profile cloning initiatives will ever be dedicated to benthic bottom-feeders and single-celled photosynthesizers no matter how important they are to the world beyond human aesthetics. And its hard to deny the possibility that maybe the adorable little face of a black-footed ferret had something to do with the decision to help this species in particular.

We should walk away from the news of Elizabeth Anns birth feeling hopeful for the future of the ferrets. We should also continue to think critically about what efforts to conservation will make the most impact long-term and over large geographic area. And of course, we should continue to keep trying to do good by the life with which we share this planet. We arent absolved from responsibility yet.

For comments/questions, tweet @TheWhitOnline.

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Lonsdorf: Can Clones Solve the Biodiversity Crisis? - The Whit Online

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The Latest Global Voice Cloning Market Estimated Value Of USD 4446.08 Million And Grow At A CAGR Of 25.74% forecast period of 2021 to 2028 Microsoft,...

MYSTERY WIRE The worlds largest UFO religion is waiting for the return of humanitys creators, a race of extraterrestrials called the Elohim.

The Ralians call themselves an organization, but are often referred to as a cult, or even a space alien cult. According to the president of the North American Ralians there are around 130,000 members in more than 80 countries. The Ralians are now the subject of the new documentary on VICE called The Prophet and the Space Aliens.

In the video below from December 12, 2008, George Knapp explains who the Ralians are and reports on an incident at McCarran International Airport.

The Ralians say they dont believe in any gods. Rather, they think humans were cloned in a lab by extraterrestrials.

Their prophet Ral, former french journalist and race car driver Claude Vorilhon, had his own alien encounter over 40 years ago and founded a religion devoted, he says, to science, and also to pleasure.

Ralians are sexually liberated, which has likely helped them recruit new members all over the globe.

Theyve also had their share of controversies, including claims years ago that they successfully cloned human babies. Its really important to clarify that the Ralian movement is not cloning, Thomas Kaenzig, president of the U.S. Ralian movement, told Mystery Wire. Ral as leader of the Ralian movement, he initiated the cloning project, but it was handed over to Raelien Brigitte Boisselier in the late 90s and it became independent.

Another of the controversies surrounding the group is the use of the swastika, an ancient symbol of peace that was adopted by the Nazis. The Ralians symbol shows the swastika inside of the star of David.

The symbol is the oldest symbol on Earth, Ral told George Knapp in a 2008 interview in Las Vegas. You have it, you know, in the Tibetan temple, Buddhist temple, Hindu people I can say more than a billion people on Earth, pray in temples where you have a swastika every day. And the very symbol which makes the star of David and swastika is in the Tibetan Book of the dead. So its a very old symbol. And of course, we have nothing to do, it has nothing to do with Nazism.

A central goal for the Ralians is the creation of an embassy near Jerusalem to welcome back the Elohim, a protective race of space aliens.

These beings who are 25,000 years ahead of us, they could come here at any moment, Kaenzig said. But theyre so respectful. And I think through that theres a lot of teaching that is so respectful, and they say, if you want to welcome us, we will come if you dont want to we will not come. They could destroy the planet. They could move around the whole solar system if they want. They could appear anywhere in time. But they say we come if you build an embassy for us, so the embassy is like the sign that humanitys ready because they dont want to impose themselves on us.

Currently, the Ralian North American headquarters is in Las Vegas, which the raelians see as a good fit. There was some talk around 2006 of the group buying a hotel in Las Vegas and converting it to a headquarters, but then the recession hit and those plans were shelved.

When Mystery Wire asked Kaenzig about the new documentary he said overall it was neutral, but pointed out something major he says was missing, I witnessed personally, I was with him for several weeks in Europe and Asia. He filmed I would say, three or four weeks of entire Happiness Academies, the teachings of Ral, which is the main part of the Happiness Academy, he filmed hours and hours and hours, in the documentary, theres zero of that.

It (the documentary) comes through the eyes of somebody who has, you know, its not I wouldnt say against, but he doesnt believe in any religion and comes from this very atheist point of view. And its through his perception there that this whole movie was made. But you know, he lets people speak. And I applaud that.

In the video below from May 27, 2006, George Knapp reports on the Ralians showing up to the adult video convention in Las Vegas.

Below you can watch and read the interview George Knapp had with Ral when he visited Las Vegas in 2008.

George KnappThe reason youre coming to Las Vegas, its an important anniversary.

RalVery important. Its a, I dont know, it doesnt make me younger. But its the 35th birthday, another anniversary in English of our organization, because they also we can say that 35 years, thats a long time,

George Knapp35 years ago is when you had your encounter?

RalYes, and so for 35 years, I am traveling around around the globe to spread this message and from being alone with this message. And now we have 80,000 members in 85 countries

George KnappIn that 35 years, other than this incident that were going to talk about, have you noticed a change in the attitude of other people were not really into about you and your organization?

RalYes, a lot, changed a lot. Depending of whats happening in the world, you know, there was a beginning, everybody was very enthusiastic, because they were focused on the UFO things, and they loved it. And then you realize the message is very revolutionary on many other aspects, not only our contact with the UFO, but what is more important is not so much the contact, but the message, what do they recommend we change in our life, whether to change, but our religion, philosophy, politic, it affects every aspect of our life. And then the strong reaction became a little bit different than just (inaudible), UFO, and then became a little bit more fearful in some place. And then there was a cloning event, if you remember, well, Im sure, we should also change lots of things. And now the cloning and stem cell start to be accepted. So now, I can see now we are living in the most positive time of our organization.

George KnappBut I would imagine that to a lot of people, you are considered dangerous, your ideas are dangerous.

RalAt the beginning, I was not. Then for a while I was then I was not again, the 35 years. And then after the cleaning, very dangerous. And now for I can see the majority of people not dangerous at all.

George KnappLets talk about this incident in Las Vegas. You get off the plane and they and you are told about what happened.

RalNo, I get off the plane and I arrive in like every year for 20 years in Las Vegas and, or my friend waiting for me. And you know, there was I dont know dozens of ralien waiting for me with the little banner will come right like every year. And all of a sudden I see police officers coming and asking the Ralien to leave. So I was very surprised. Not me because I was traveling arriving but the writing and they said we will have they threaten to make some arrests. The officers say we will have to make some arrest if you dont move. I was shocked.

George KnappArrests for what?

RalThats why my question but I couldnt talk to them at risk for what I dont know. I dont know. So just for being maybe they know they have a religious minority. But I thought in America religious, the rights of religious minority are well protected. So I was very, very upset by that. And I asked the national guide of our organization to contact the ACLU and to ask our to speak with our attorney and to prosecute because it I dont think its possible for police to expel from the airport people just because they have their member of religious minority. I dont think its possible in America.

George KnappIt basically boils down to the symbol?

RalI dont think so. I dont think so. That was that was a banner. But you know, the symbol is very small. So there was a banner, welcome Rael. And I think somebody in the management of the airport just doesnt like the Railian, but we have the right to exist.

George KnappTell me about the symbol.

RalThe symbol is the oldest symbol on Earth. You have it, you know, in the Tibetan temple, Buddhist temple Indu people induced, you know, me, I can say more than a billion people on earth, pray in temple where you have a swastika every day. And the very symbol which makes the star of David and swastika is in the Tibetan Book of death. So its a very old symbol. And of course, we have nothing to do with it has nothing to do with Nazism. The opposite because our goal, you know, the most important goal of the Reagan movement is to build an embassy, close to Jerusalem, to welcome Elohim. Elohim being the name that the Jewish people give to God, and they are the creator of life. And so there is absolutely no possible association with Nazis. The opposite of the contrary, we want to help Israel and we are pro Israel.

George KnappThis symbol basically was abducted by the Nazis,

RalOf course. Not the full symbol, just a swastika was was stolen by Adolph Hitler. And there are many explanations about why he did that one of the most interesting is there was the kind of attempt to kill the Kaiser. And the life of the Kaiser was saved by a Buddhist monk. And the Buddhist monk has a swastika. And when the Kaiser says, I want to thank you for saving my life. How can I thank you, we say if you like put on yourself, a swastika and the Kaiser engraved engraved on the sword, a swastika. And Adolph Hitler was a big admirer of the Kaiser, and so decided to accept it and he connected it with his theory, stupid theory about you know, the superior race of indo-European people. And so it fits with this theory. And thats why he stole the symbol.

George KnappEven if you were Nazis, which you are not, you should be able to wear that symbol. Regardless.

RalI know the principle but I cannot even think about that because you have neo Nazis in America, you have a Ku Klux Klan and many groups use that and they win in courts the right to wear the symbol. But we have nothing to do with that. Its the opposite. We are non violent group, peaceful group anti apartheid, anti racist group, anti fighting against anti Semitism. So its completely the opposite only out of you know people meet with with no knowledge, just prejudices. And such why we expect apologies from this management of the Las Vegas airport.

George KnappWell, thats what I wanted to ask next is what what are you asking? What would you like to see happen?

RalPublic apologies, not me. I was not affected at all, but our our members, our followers, you know, being in America, country of religious freedom. In the world, I think coming to the airport, and being told by a police officer, you cannot be that why we cannot tell you that you cannot be that we are waiting, we are waiting for our religious leader. Know, if the Dalai Lama is coming, will you expel them? They say, we cannot tell you, but you have to leave right now. Thats terrible.

George KnappAnd if you dont get an apology, what do you do?

RalWe are we are talking with our attorneys. And we also send the information to the ACLU. And I think we cannot accept that not only for us, but for if you start like that, you know, it started like that in Nazi Germany precisely. And then you can have more terrible things. And I think with the shift from George Bush to Obama, we can hope that America is becoming more respectful and more peaceful. And the Las Vegas Airport Authority is doing exactly the opposite for the first time in 20 years,

George KnappLas Vegas is supposed to welcome everybody.

RalAnd I think with the nowadays economy problem, you need a lot of convention here. We selected Las Vegas to have a convention where people will come from every continent. I mean, if Rylan are not welcome here, we will organize our next convention in another place, but I think the Las Vegas economy needs to let the people be welcoming the airport in a proper manner.

George KnappOne other question: Tell me about the organization how youre doing worldwide. Whats the status?

RalNow? Its so huge. We are now in 93 countries. And we have about 80,000 members. And its developing very quickly, especially, I must say, in Asia, Japan being number one country, but number of Ralien and the dynamism of the members.

George KnappA couple of years ago when you made the announcements about cloning, work, a lot of attention, a lot of negative attention thats calmed down somewhat.

RalAnd as the work continues, of course, but that to avoid that you have to talk to Dr. Boisselier who was charge, as as I always say, in the media, keep on saying that the Ralian cloned the baby, we have nothing to do with the cleaning company. But philosophically, religiously, I am in favor of it. And they support Dr. Boisselier, in (her) enterprise to clone human being. But its absolutely not the Raelian movement. But I have been saying that for I dont remember seven years, and always with just Ralian the group will clone the baby we never do. We we are only a philosophical group, but we support stem cells. So and I know that your new President Barack Obama, I hope we change the law and promote stem cell, which is great, great things to do. And also, we can sell the law, anti abortion, because we also are in favor of abortion, of teaching to children to use a condom, which is much better than teaching them. You know, refraining to have sex is a word for that in English, abstinence, which is just stupid, you can teach to a 15 or 16 years old hormonal volcano, thats what we are when we are 16 abstinence. Wait a minute, this is just beautiful. Poetry doesnt work and show it doesnt work. So condom use condom and I think given convoyed schools for free to protect the children, because if not, we will have 1000s of young people dying from AIDS. And thats, thats very safe. And I think I hope, I think Obama is, is a great president for America will change a lot of things.

George KnappAnd you have one other question with Christmas season coming up

RalYes.

George KnappDo the Raelians recognize this? Are you tolerant or that? I know you in some interviews weve had before you are tolerant, but youre also sharply critical.

RalAt the same time, yes. Because Christmas is supposed to celebrate the birth of Jesus who was a very important Prophet, a very important messenger of the Elohim. But at the same time, he was not a god and at the same time, we recognize Jesus as a messenger of Elohim. But we are faced we dont believe in God. So thats very difficult to understand for some people. We are very religious, but we dont believe in God. And some people say how can you claim your religious if you dont believe in God, best example I can give you is a Buddhist, there is no such thing as a god like the Dalai Lama said on CNN, in the Buddhist. But of course, its a religion with a high level of spirituality. Spirituality is very important for the future, and human beings need desperately, spirituality, but no God. God is killing people. The myth of God is killing people. And spirituality is saving people. You know, in Japan, where may very few people believe in God, they have the highest rate of suicide, because there is less not enough spirituality. So here, I bring the spirituality which is adapted to the new technologies. For me, the most religious thing we have on Earth, it may surprise you, is the internet. Because internet is a religious experience, you know, before where people were going to feel connected to all the planet, churches, temples, not anymore. In Canada, they are making the church which are empty, completely empty supermarket or dancing or discotheque. In Europe they are totally empty, except in some pocket, but France must have the Cheshire empty, no more priest, because young people dont want to become priests. But the need for spirituality is very, very important. So people are a little bit lost. And thats why they did try to feel connected with other people, and where do they go on their computer, on the internet, you feel connected, and Im sure you do it every day to everybody on the planet. So thats why I say the internet is a religious experience, but people dont realize it. All of a sudden you feel a one, no border with all humankind. And thats wonderful. And thats kind of new spirituality that the Raelian movement promotes. Not only that, but stem cell but cloning. Cloning, what is the most important and beautiful part of human cloning? Giving you eternal life. Not anymore (do you) need to go to a church or temple to weird price priests talk about eternal life, eternal life become a scientific fact. Thats beautiful.

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UFO cult? The Ralians return to the spotlight in new documentary - Fox 59

It's tough even for the all-powerful Big Tech cabal to dispatch every new competitor like Parler, so sometimes they have to improvise. Facebook has instead chosen to copy the emerging new audio-based social media phenomenon Clubhouse.

A New York Times report cites sources suggesting Facebook is interested in creating a Clubhouse clone. The company is reportedly in the early stages of the development process.

Mark Zuckerberg is evidently an admirer of the app, since he had recently appeared on the app as a guest. The social media czar had hopped onto a Clubhouse show called The Good Time Show to promote his virtual and augmented reality endeavors.

Zuckerberg, meanwhile, is known for copying competitors. Facebook has cloned everything from Snapchat Stories to TikTok's format within Instagram with impunity.

Clubhouse's success has not only piqued the interest of Facebook, but also Twitter.

The microblogging platform isn't usually prone to copying rivals (with some exceptions), but the fact that it's currently testing its own version of Clubhouse dubbed Spaces stands testimony to the former's potential.

On its part, Clubhouse continues to pull in celebrities and CEOs, such as Drake, Elon Musk, and Kevin Hart.

Clubhouse is an invite-only app that's taking the social media space by storm. It uses audio as the primary means of communication, superseding the text and video-based nature of traditional social media.

Users can create clubs catering to various hobbies and topics, in addition to audio chat rooms. The audio-based social media platform claims that conversations aren't stored to bypass privacy concerns.

Clubhouse works as a discussion group with a moderator controlling the flow. Listeners can raise their virtual hands, following which the moderator passes the "mic" to anyone interested in speaking up.

The ceiling for these group interactions have been capped at 5,000 concurrent participants at the moment. This was evident during the mad rush to secure a slot during Musk's recent Clubhouse interaction.

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Facebook might be in the process of cloning Clubhouse | NewsBytes - NewsBytes

A detailed interrogation revealed that cloning machines have also been found in several beer bars in Mumbai as well.

Three people, including a cashier and two waiters from three different bars in Mumbai, have been arrested by police in the city for allegedly cloning debit cards of customers and making fraudulent withdrawals.

Police from Mumbai's Malad area have arrested cashier and two waiters, working in three separate bars in the city. All of them would clone debit and credit cards of customers.

Senior police inspector Dhananjay Ligarde of Malad police station said, "From the accused, we have recovered three cloning machines, 5 duplicate ATM cards, one laptop, pin number of other ATM cards."

According to police, Rakesh Vishwakarma a victim of the card cloning racket in Mumbai bars had filed complaint with Malad police station that someone had withdrawn Rs 1 lakh from his account despite his card being with himself.

The complainant told police that before withdrawal he had visited one beer bar and petrol pump. The cops raided the beer bar in Mumbai and found cloning machine installed in an ATM swap machine.

A detailed interrogation revealed that cloning machines have also been found in several beer bars in Mumbai as well. The cops are now probing how the cloning machines were available in several bars in the city and are trying to trace the mastermind behind the crime.

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Card cloning racket in Mumbai bars busted, probe on to nab mastermind - India Today

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. - Mount Laurel police are advising residents tocheck theirbank statements after neighbors may have had their debit cards cloned and money stolen from their bank accounts, by a man who frequents stores in the area.

Police believe the suspect lives or works nearUnion Mill Road. They say he stole information, then withdrew money from Wawa ATMs in Camden and Burlington counties.

"It is a little scary knowing that somebody is in there, preying on people during these hard times that we have and stealing and taking money," Anthony Duckett said. "Its very upsetting."

The majority of the victims are Mount Laurel residents, according to police. Most of their information was obtained in November 2020.

Public Information Officer Kyle Gardner says half a dozen people filed police reports, but Mount Laurel police worry other neighbors had money stolen without even realizing it.

"There is so much technology out there that obviously can be used for good and bad and in this case, your hard-earned money is being taken by someone who has the technology to do so," Gardner said.

Anyone who may know the identity of this suspect is kindly asked to contact Mount Laurel Police Department at 856-234-8300, the confidential tip line 856-234-1414 Ext. 1599, or email Detective Amaro at lamaro@mountlaurelpd.org.

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Suspect accused of cloning debit cards, withdrawing thousands from ATMs in New Jersey - FOX 29 News Philadelphia

In the Star Wars prequels, the Republic chose to use clones for their army instead of droids, which is a decision that can be traced to George Lucas.

In the Star Wars prequels, the Grand Army of the Republicwas made up entirely of clones, instead of battle droids, and the Republic had good reasons for their decision in that matter. Although clone troopers were some of the best warriors in the galaxy, a droid army would've been easier to produce and command, without a myriad of financial, logistical, and moral issues that accompanied the controversial process of cloning.

The mere idea of a genetically engineered a clone army went against everything the Republic and the Jedi stood for. Millions of living, sentient beings were intentionally created for one purpose: to kill. And then after their mission was over, they were to die off relatively quickly given their accelerated aging.Droids, on the other hand, displayed no such issues. Devoid of emotions, artificial soldiers could follow commands without question and be sacrificed in great numbers without ethical and moral implications. Additionally, a droid army would've easier to make, maintain, and replace.Everything that would go into making a clone army - time, training, shelter, and so forth - wouldn't have been needed for a droid army.

Related:Star Wars: Why The First Order Didn't Use Clone Troopers

Part of the reason the Republic used clones instead of droids can be traced to George Lucas and his idea of nature versus technology in the prequels. In Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, the soulless Trade Federation battle droidscontrastedwith the human and Gungans of Naboo, as well as the planet itself.But it was in the later prequel films the clones became the Republic's defenders. Although they were the heroes, the allusions to the faceless imperial troopers were difficult to ignore. So by allowing the clones to do their dirty work, it was implied the Republic and the Jedi both lost their moral compass and, in turn, contributed to their downfall by succumbing to hubris.

In more practical terms, the Republic had chosen to use the clones because it was convenient. The Clone Army was already ready-to-go when Obi-Wan Kenobi visited Kamino. It was ordered and paid in advance in the name of Republic and had full logistical support; the leaders of the Republic could not abandon such an opportunity, especially with the threat that was facing them. Cloning was expensive, but by using the clone troopers, the Republic could avoid the politically tricky matter of conscription. Since the clones were combat-ready, there was no need for investing time and money into bootcamps or droid-producing factories. Further, after the bloodshed at Naboo, it was hard to imagine Republic citizens being supportive of a droid army.

Unlike the mindless droids, the clones were intelligent soldiers, who were able to think creatively and learn and adapt quickly. Those qualities made them superior to any droid on the battlefield. They were also able to show individuality, as seen in The Clone Wars series. All of these qualities strengthened the bond with their commanders, the Jedi Generals. But little did the Jedi know of the darker side of that close relationship. Their proximity to the Jedi allowed the clones to wipe out their commanders when Order 66was executed. After all, the Republic's use of clones instead of the droids was a part of Darth Sidious grand plan; a Trojan horse that toppled down both the Jedi Order and the Republic. Had the Republic used a droid army instead, Order 66 could have been revealed earlier, during a routine checkup.

When all pros and cons are considered, clones outperformed droids on many levels. There were ethical issues to be considered, but the sudden outbreak of war left the Republic with little choice. With the clone army being readily available, and given their superior qualities, it's easy to understand why both the Republic and the Jedi seized the opportunity. The choice paid off, and it was only at the very end of the war, when Palpatine activated his nefarious plan, that the real role of the clones was revealed. Ironically, their role in erasing the Jedi Order from the Star Wars galaxy is the best testament to the superior military prowess of the clone troopers.

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Star Wars: Why The Republic Used Clones Instead Of Droids - Screen Rant