Squat and Squabble

Conflicting viewpoints on topical subjects

Archives for February 2017

“Fake News” – A Struggle to Survive

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Fake news is all about the money.

Capitalism is “an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.” The pursuit of profit in a free market is a science unto itself, as capitalists aggressively hawk their goods and services to a population of consumers willing to purchase what they have to sell.

Among the long list of goods and services attracting consumer dollars is information. Consumers require information to make informed decisions regarding their health and finances; consumers also desire information about topics or persons that interest them. Wants and needs are the two driving forces that comprise the impetus of human civilization.  And people want, and need, information.
One category of information peddlers is news organizations. It takes money (LOTS of money) to pay salaries, run offices, distribute print products, operate TV networks and to maintain websites and blogs.

News organizations cannot survive without making a profit, and they constantly compete among one another for ever bigger slices of the consumer pie, known in the industry as “market share.” The bottom feeders have always been willing to lie, cheat and steal for a piece of that pie. These days the lying, cheating, and stealing has become much too commonplace, as competition for market share has become keen.

“Fake news” is all about the money.

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Fetal Bovine Serum, and a nice Chianti

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A Bay Area-based startup called Memphis Meats has figured out how to make a real meatball in the lab using beef cells, no livestock required.

As if it wasn’t weird enough that a guy from India, up in northern California, would grow beef muscle in a petri dish –  the business is named “Memphis Meats.”  Riiiight….

The lab-grown meat process goes something like this, according to CEO Uma Valeti.  Find ultra-high quality cows and pigs. Take meat cells from a pork shoulder or other cut of meat. Find the cells capable of self-renewal and cultivate them in a sterile environment. The cells are harvested early for tender cuts of meat, and harvested later for textured cuts.

No one making lab-grown meat, including Memphis Meats, has gotten around the fact that they need to use fetal bovine serum, which comes from unborn calves, to start the cell culture process. That means lab-grown meat, as of now, still requires the use of real animals. But Valeti told the Wall Street Journal that he’ll be able to replace the serum with “something plant-based” in the near future.

(A paid spokesperson, obviously)

“Mama mia! That’s a spicy ball of fetal bovine serum!”

Carly Simon did it better

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Saying that something is “The Best” is usually a subjective opinion.

After Tom Brady won his 5th Super Bowl ring, analysts squabbled over whether or not he was the greatest quarterback of all time. Despite the fact that the subject isn’t statistically debatable, many couldn’t accept that TB12 is the NFL’s “Great One”. It’s interesting that analysts couldn’t see eye to eye, but even more interesting that they used excessively subjective viewpoints to argue their cases. To me, statistics and awards serve a very specific purpose. They’re something tangible that we can either see or feel. They solidify when a given accomplishment has been met, thus straying away from opinion and further into fact. Ultimately, accomplishments can be used as evidence against someone else’s viewpoint, but it’s still difficult to say that something is objectively “The Best” or even better than something else… Unless you’re Donald Trump.

The Donald doesn’t need trophies, factual evidence, or accomplishments within any field to say that he’s “The Best.” Just in case you’re wondering what he’s so much better at, here’s a short clip to let you know. Spoiler Alert: Some of these are YUGE!

Carly Simon
Theme from “The Spy Who Loved Me”

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