Na’im Akbar is acclaimed as one of the leading writers today

He has produced some of the best works of his time. His readers have long appreciated him for his classical interpretation of human morality and several critical thematic concerns of race and society but yet in a most humorous, easy and light hearted representation.Some of his most praised and entertaining works involve the analytical issue of the disgrace of racism and the hideousness of being a slave. Akbar's book, Breaking the chains of psychological slavery, tells his desire to revolutionize social, political traditions.Akbar persuades the reader through a prejudiced vision of his existence, inducing in the reader compassion distress and negative depiction of the white. The writer in his storyline takes the reader on a ride to the past, into a darker and crueler world of his time that disliked, loathed and exploited the men and women with darker skins. He talks about the curse of slavery and its impact on the society, a society that was built around the disgraces of racism and th at only recognized the master and the slave, not the life within.The depiction of the brutalities and the inhumanity of the custom of slavery, in the very first chapter, â€Å"The Psychological Legacy of Slavery†, is remarkable in its own way, criticized as a work more important and brilliant in content compared to the several other works by slave writers.This is mainly because he incorporates several dimensions of the cult of slavery in his narrative, specially throwing light upon the impacts of slavery on the slaves and more importantly on the lifeless bodies who owned them.â€Å"The implication of this is that the mind’s possibilities are limited by its concept of its potential.† † (Akbar 1996) .The slaves were not allowed to own any property. Hence they were grieved and heart broken with their abandonment.Their birth was rather a calamity and they cursed themselves for having been born as slaves. They felt that the master’s house was one of the most hostile places. I agree with the author here as I feel that it was from them that they too learned to be vile and vindictive. Thus the slaves transformed themselves into jealous people with conflagration. However, their innocence and ignorance made them suffer from prejudice.The foremost procedure the author uses in the second chapter is sympathy. He writes about mental slavery and an unknown faith. â€Å"When young Black boys learn that there are no limits to our possibilities on the basketball courts, we create the athletic genius of Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson and in their genius, they recreate the game of basketball.When our young people know that there are no limits to their potential in the world of manufacturing, communication, physics, chemistry or the science of the human mind, then those same young Black minds who create dances on the dance floor or compose music on their bodies with the ‘hand jive’ will recreate these fields of human endeavor with t he same incomparability.† (Akbar 1996)I got an emotion of distress and wanted providential things to happen to the slaves. Unfairness is exposed all the way through the chapter. This new tactic, intoxicated with the velvety diplomacies of pity, care and tolerance, made things even worse for the slaves. In this chapter, Akbar also speaks of the disgraces of racism and the immoralities of slavery with a most light hearted and moderate appeal.This is a major part of the irony that clearly comes to light when observed carefully. â€Å"†You must first be a king of your own personal kingdom. If you can't lead that kingdom on your own two feet, you can't lead a bigger kingdom†(Akbar 1996) Very ironically and rightly, he criticizes the aspects of morality in terms of slavery, racism and other such critical social concerns. I read the author’s depiction of an unknown faith in a slave’s life, as an allegorical representation of the plight of blacks in the Unit ed States even in the post-slavery time.He tactfully   exposes the duplicity of freedom, enfranchisement and equality, demonstrating how racism distorted the oppressors as much as it did those who were oppressed, yet in a most humorous and easy flow. This brilliant use of irony again reveals itself when in a world of moral confusion, in which seemingly good and civilized   white people express no concern what so ever about the injustice and illegitimacies of cruelty towards a black.A marvelous creation of Akbar, the masterpiece best reveals his ironical blending of wit with reality. His personal and conversational style makes the reader involved in his tone and mood. He takes the reader into confidence through his easy and delightful pace.The analytical issue of the disgrace of racism and the hideousness of slavery is beautifully depicted. Akbar’s contention to transform the view of the society is substantiated when he desires to bring out his ideas about racial religious inquisition and emotional perplexity, in the third chapter of the book.I perceive that although Akbar wrote the book several years after the end of the emancipation proclamation and the civil war, America still struggled to emerge out cleanly out of the disgraces of racism and the aftermaths of slavery.When the book was written, although seemingly flowing in a positive direction, race relations were beginning to withstand new strains, trapped now in a cleverer and more civilized white society. These new forces were more social and personal than official. This new form of racism in the south was less institutionalized and monolithic but at the same time was more difficult to resolve or combat.The white society although outlawed slavery and racism, most certainly due to growing ethical, moral and international pressures, was beginning to learn to adopt a more hypocritical, self-defensive reason to hate the newly freed blacks, to keep them away. I feel the author employs a predisposed analysis to manipulate the mind and heart of the reader.The greater the power, the more dangerous is the abuse. The truth in the statement is well proved in the book. Akbar makes his political report in this twentieth-century book that could be relished as an exhilarating but heart grieving story about a black boy. He, very well comments upon the abuse of political power and how the poor and down trodden blacks fall prey to the diplomacy of the whites.The title is a symbol for the evil contained in human souls.   The author reigns high in the field of characterization. His works transact chiefly with the divergence of the intellect and impulse. All of his key works present humans as inherently belligerent and corrupt. It can best be described as a document that predicts the behavior of human mind under the influence of circumstances around him.Hence I do feel that the author takes the reader to a journey back to those years, when the world was a difficult place to life for those whose skins were black. And in doing so, he maintains a supreme calmness in his pace that is garnished with humor and adventure.In today’s highly materialistic society, there is just no place for modesty. Hence the writer in his storyline takes the reader on a ride to the past, into a darker and crueler world of his time that disliked, loathed and exploited the men and women with darker skins. I am mesmerized by the reality that the author brings to light. This not only gestures at the authority, status and power of dictatorship but also accuses the present society where crafty people exploit the innocence of the docile and submissive ones.Bibliography:Akbar Na'im, Breaking the chains of psychological slavery , June 1996, Mind Productions & Associates ,isbn 0935257055

Types of Military Institutions in the U.S Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Types of Military Institutions in the U.S - Essay Example I also knew that we would be sneaking around Howard if we wanted to get rid of anything or he would likely have a coronary then and there. I suppose Marley and Howard were my best friends, met when my husband and I bought the property across the street though we never really became close until Tom moved out. Marley oldest daughter had passed away before I moved in though theirs a son in Pennsylvania who comes a few times a year when his health is good. Marley and Howard both will tell you that their life has been blessed as they’ve known and lived a beautiful life, though it was difficult for some time when Ariel passed on. Marley will wake up some mornings and say soon, little Ariel, soon enough. This morning Howards going to mow the grass as he still calls it though everyone in the neighborhood knows he’s in the swing under the pecan tree and Mat from across the street cuts, glad to get 20 bucks and not a bit bashful about not telling Ms. Marley about it. Just as well since for 5 or 6 years Marley has never mentioned it, instead muttering under her breath that shouldn’t be out cutting the grass at this age, to which he always replies you take care women’s work, let me take care of the men’s work. And that would end the argument, Marley only half arguing anyways to see what Howard would say and it may be just as likely that Howard does the same thing, figuring Marley’s’ seen him in the shade under the pecan tree by now with Mat mowing the yard. It’s gone on for years that way, no harm done. Finally when Howard was outside the house puttering with the yard we could get down to business. Black bags for those we wanted to donate, small boxes for those we wanted to have a appraised, white bags for those the ladies at the church might read, and a laundry basket for magazines that we might want to keep for crafts and we were ready start. Marley started pulling them off the lower shelf’s while I, being ta ller, started up top. We’d wait until we had a nice size stack before going through them. When we had bit to work with we sat down and started plundering. I was thrilled to find over 30 Little Golden Books for children in perfect condition! Marley, you can’t toss these out! Oh No, the church nursery will find a great use for them and I know they will be well appreciated, besides no more babies expected, ya know. I was somewhat hard hearted because I knew they must at one time been read to her children. Might I keep one Marley? She looked surprised and said well yes of course you can your welcome to anything here. I thought you might, don’t let me start crying. We placed all but one in the church bag. Then was Poor Richards Almanac of 1898! What about the church? Surely not worth appraising and they’d love to show it off. I agree and off it went. Next we came to a small set of four signed Frederick Douglas books from 1934; these were very exciting and boxe d them right up to be appraised. Still more common book, bought recently, Stephen King, Danielle Steele, Opera’

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT - Essay Example A business is said to have competitive advantage when it is able to utilize its resources as well as competencies to generate a value-creating strategy that its competitors find difficult to copy for their business (Fitzroy and Hulbert, 2005, p. 201). Competitive advantage is the influential power of a firm that in turn convinces the potential customers to buy its products or choose its services rather than its competitors’. Hill and Jones (2009, p. 74) argued that firm can be said to have attained competitive advantage when its profitability is greater than the average profitability of all companies in the industry and this become ‘sustainable’ when the firm is able to maintain above average profitability over a number of years. Fierce competition among firms resulted in varying levels of performance as individual firms may choose to pursue different objectives and strategies to gain increased profits, sales growth, better market share, and cash flow and so on. S trategy has got significant stance in the competitive business landscape and that has become the cornerstone to achieve competitive advantage. Successful firms are those that demonstrate long-term advantage over its competitors with their ability to do its core business activities better than how its rivals do in the market. As firms are highly focusing on achieving competitive advantage, they are attempting to find the best way to position itself against its rivals by using and implementing business-level strategies. Business-level strategy is the plan of action that managers adopt certain methods and ways to effectively use company’s resources and distinctive competences to gain competitive advantage over its counterparts in the market (Hill and Jones, 2011, p.119). Michael Porter, often credited as father of modern business strategy field, has profoundly impacted modern thoughts of management and business strategies through his works ‘competitive advantage’. H e wrote that competitive advantage is at the heart of any business strategy and it is extremely important for a firm to make a choice about the types of competitive advantage if it seeks to attain competitive advantage (Porter, 2008, p. 12). Michael Porter argued that firms, no matter they operate nationally or internationally, face an issue of strategic choice in relation to generic strategy. The basic generic strategy described by Michael Porter involved competing either on the basis of low-cost strategy or product differentiation strategy. He argued that a company’s position in its concerned industry can be determined by its competitive advantage and its competitive scope (Gilles, 1996, p. 214). He suggested that each of the generic strategies involved a basically distinctive route to achieving competitive advantage and he recommended a choice for type of competitive advantage a firm may consider for the strategic target. Michael Porter illustrated the combination of compe titive advantage and competitive scope through a two-by-two strategy choice matrix as illustrated below. The above depiction of the generic strategy illustrates that cost leadership and differentiation strategies pursue competitive advantage in quite a broader range of industry areas whereas focus strategies tend to vary largely from industry to industry since it represents narrow market segments. Since there are different strategies to achieve competitive advantage and all their routes are different from each other, it is very important that a firm should take a choice among them in order to see and implement the best appropriate strategy for the firm. Michael Porter stressed

Deprived Relationship between U.S. Working Mothers and Their Children Research Paper

Deprived Relationship between U.S. Working Mothers and Their Children - Research Paper Example This makes life a big challenge for them, because they have to manage everything just like stay-at-home moms, and because they cannot let down the expectations that their families have from them. And if they let down, they are considered as failed. They find themselves in constant guilt because they feel that they have not been taking care of their children because of putting their work ahead of them. They have to arrange for childcare, which takes away much of their salaries. They stay stressed. Their husbands do not spare them for not doing house work; and, their children suffer from not having them around them when they need them. This paper tends to discuss what difference lies between children of working mothers and those of stay-at-home moms. The thesis statement is that: the emotional relationship between working mothers in the U.S. and their children is not as good as the relationship between stay-at-home moms and their children. ... Why working mothers cannot leave their jobs is because they have built their careers over the years, and they cannot take the risk of losing the opportunities they have gained with their hard work. They have to return to their jobs because they know that in U.S., even after the establishment of some laws in their favor, like the FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act), employers do not like to give any relaxation to them when they want to spend some time off with their newly born children. So, they have to arrange for childcare and return to work. This makes them spend a good portion of the day away from their children, which diminishes their importance for the little ones, who learn to stay without them and depend on some other caregiver. Child neglect has taken its toll on the relationship between the mother and the child, which expresses itself when the children grow older into their teenage. They become emotionally distant, because they have been physically distant from their mothers. On the other hand, children of stay-at-home moms have their mothers around them 24/7, and they know that they are safe and protected. This brings them emotionally close to their mothers, and the impact is for lifetime. Although a stay-at-home mom cannot contribute in financial responsibilities of the father, yet she manages her home and looks after her children in the most appropriate way, which is something that makes her superior than working mothers in the eyes of her family, and especially her children. Stay-at-home moms bear more loving, caring, and confident children, than working moms. Confidence comes when children know that their mothers are with them, from the time they

Project time managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Project time managment - Essay Example This paper explores the importance of developing a time-phase baseline for project planning, management, and performance evaluation. For a project’s successful implementation and effective monitoring, cost- and time-phased baselines are some of the key approaches often used. Specifically, since most projects have definite periods for completion, a time-phased baseline for project planning and implementation is highly recommended3. Without such a baseline, there would be nothing to measure project progress against, during or after its implementation. Time-phased baseline helps in comparing the projected time value of against the delivered time value. That is, has a project really been completed and used within the anticipated time or has the estimated quantity of project been delivered in the planned time4? A time-phased baseline for project planning and evaluation thus assists in answering the question of whether a project has been started and finished at the expected time5. By being in a position to measure the budgeting of time in a project, stakeholders are better placed to detect and address problems s uch as delays and stoppages for improvements. A time-phased baseline thus helps project stakeholders to evaluate how well a project runs and to measure the accuracy in time estimations6. Additionally, once the accuracy of time estimation has been established, time-phased baseline for project evaluation can be used for similar projects or modified for other related projects. Time-phased baseline thus helps one to assess his/her ability to estimate project cost, labor, time, and overall performance. Importantly, time-phased baseline helps in establishing whether enough time has bee allocated for the different project phases7. That is, any over- and under-estimations of time are dealt with once detected. Finally, time-phased baseline is useful in allocating

Outline Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Outline - Assignment Example He is no more an authoritative director who was supposed to give orders and merely direct subordinates as in the past. Today's fast growing world has new and revolutionary demands for leaders. A leader today has to be a charismatic being who does not shy away from doing work himself, rather enjoys putting valuable effort in the teamwork. Action Learning helps in producing such leaders (Rigg, & Richards, 2006). Paragraph 2: Development of leaders and effective leadership through action learning The practical approach of the Action Learning motivates the leaders to indulge in the work themselves to better perceive the situation. It makes them realize that they cannot win a war by standing on the edge. They will have to step into the arena to understand the demands of particular events and to decide and direct their subordinates accordingly. They will have to observe their own actions, analyze their motives and scrutinize their own experiences in order to find out the ways to improve th eir performances further. Thus, action learning teaches men to use their insight along with their knowledge and intelligence to perform better. And these very attributes have let Action Learning emerged as one of the most influential and valuable tools that is used worldwide for developing leaders nowadays.

Glo Fish Case Essay Example for Free

Glo Fish Case Essay The GloFish was the first genetically modified animal to become available as a pet. It is a natural Zebrafish which has had genetic information from bioluminescent jellyfish added to its DNA. It was originally produced to provide a warning system for pollution but with the addition of further colors its viability for the pet market became clear. It was introduced to the US market in December 2003 by Yorktown Technologies of Austin, Texas. 9 Grapple The grapple is a relatively new fruit which is a genetic cross between an apple and a grape. The fruit combines the size of the apple with the texture of an grape and the flavor of both parent fruits. The grapple was originally designed to provide a much higher vitamin-c dose per fruit for third world aid. The majority of the funding for the fruit came from UNICEF. 8 Graisin The graisin [giant raisin] is a variety of raisin which has been modified to grow to enormous proportions. The graisin was produced by the National Institute of Genetics in Japan due to the Japanese love of large fruit and the recent popularity of western foods such as raisins. The texture and taste is identical to that of its genetically normal parent and it is served raw or thinly sliced in a stir fry. 7 Rubber Cork Tree Cork trees have long been used for producing cork-stoppers for wine though some wine producers have also begun using plastic corks. Wine enthusiasts have not taken to the rubber corks and so, in order to appease the traditionalists and the cost-cutting wine makers, SABIC innovative plastics have developed a tree which is a cross between a rubber tree and a cork tree. The corks taken from the bark of this new tree look like real cork and have the same porous qualities, but has the permanence and flavorlessness of rubber. Ghislain de Mongolfier, current manager and great grandson of the founder of champagne producer Bollinger, said: â€Å"This new cork is the greatest thing to happen to wine since the invention of bubbles†. 6 Umbuku Lizard This creature is the only one on the list which was not designed for a practical reason, but merely to prove that it could be done. Genetic Engineers in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) managed to unlock a dormant â€Å"flying† strand in the DNA of the Umbuku lizard, a very small and rare lizard native to Africa. It is believed that the lizard is a descendent of the Pterodactyl, which lost its ability to fly some millions of years ago. To date only 6 of these flying Umbuku have been produced and they are kept seperate from the natural Umbuku due the risk of cross breeding. 5 Paper Tree The paper tree has been developed to reduce production costs and loss of tree life in the paper manufacturing industry. The recent explosion in popularity of recycled paper products lead a Swiss based company to develop a tree which grows square leaves that, when dried, are already usable as writing paper. In the image above we see a company employee holding a dried leaf beside the trunk of one of the many Paper Trees now grown by the company. 4 Dolion This is probably the most remarkable example of how far science is able to go with modern DNA and cross fertilization techniques; the dolion is a cross between a lion and a dog. In order to produce this incredible rare animal (only 3 dolions exist in laboratories – the photo above is of Rex, the first ever produced), individual strands of DNA from each creature must be combined and re-inserted in to a host egg. This is similar to theliger (lion/tiger crossbreed) with the exception that the liger is able to be produced without prior manipulation of the DNA of either breed of animal. 3 Tiny Piney The Tiny Piney is a miniature pine tree which is a mere 2cm tall when fully grown. It was originally developed to provide a fast growing source for pine-tree smell to be used in the fragrance industry but in very little time its usefulness in other areas became obvious. This tiny pine tree is now hugely popular as an edible plant in Papua New Guinea where it is dipped in a batter made from coconut milk and shellac beetle shells and deep fried. The Tiny Piney (official trademark) has a very subtle pine flavor which is enhanced by the coconut milk. The Tiny Piney is usually eaten as a dessert. 2 Fern Spider The fern spider is unique on this list as it is the only combined plant and animal. At the time of writing this is the only animal that has successfully been crossed with a plant. The spider is a cross between a common Italian Wolf spider (Lycosa tarantula) and the ponga fern (Cyathea dealbata). The purpose of this bizarre crossbreed was to study the survival rates of spiders with built in camouflage versus those without in a series of studies on Natural Selection at Massey University in New Zealand. The results of the study have not been published yet. 1 Lemurat With the growing wealth of China, many rich Chinese women are seeking alternative and exotic pets to show off their money. This has lead to a number of Chinese medical and scientific research companies to compete for this new income source by producing cross breed animals. The most successful (financially) so far has been the Lemur Cat. It is (as the name suggests) a cross between a lemur and a cat. It retains the soft fur of the cat and the coloring, but has the striped tail and yellow eyes commonly found on a lemur. It is more ferocious than the average cat but it is generally no more dangerous than a Chihuahua dog. The scientific name for this new breed is Prolos Fira. This is not an exhaustive list of genetically engineered animals like bovine with massive growth and milk or the alergy free cats and super salmons. Here are probably best examples of how far bio-science can go with DNA technology and genetic re-engineering. The fundamental unit to control different properties of an organism are millions of genes in its DNA. And it is possible to isolate every single gene. Thus any biological property that exists in any living thing in any living world could be brought into any other living thing even of any other world. 1. GloFish Source The GloFish is a patented brand of genetically modified (GM) fluorescent zebrafish with bright red, green, and orange fluorescent color. The original zebrafish from which the GloFish was developed measures three centimeters long and has gold and dark blue stripes. In 1999, Dr. Zhiyuan Gong and his colleagues at the National University of Singapore were working with a gene called green fluorescent protein (GFP), originally extracted from a jellyfish, that naturally produced bright green bioluminescence. They inserted the gene into a zebrafish embryo, allowing it to integrate into the zebrafish’s genome, which caused the fish to be brightly fluorescent under both natural white light and ultraviolet light. Their goal was to develop a fish that could detect pollution by selectively fluorescing in the presence of environmental toxins. It is the first genetically modified animal to become publicly available as a pet. 2. Vacanti Mouse Source The Vacanti mouse was a laboratory mouse that had what looked like a human ear grown on its back. The â€Å"ear† was actually an ear-shaped cartilage structure grown by seeding cow cartilage cells into a biodegradable ear-shaped mold. The earmouse, as it became known as, was created by Dr. Charles Vacanti, at the University of Massachusetts in 1995. Created to demonstrate a method of fabricating cartilage structures for transplantation into human patients, a resorbable polyester fabric was infiltrated with bovine cartilage cells and implanted under the skin of a hairless mouse. The mouse itself was a commonly used strain of immunocompromised mouse, preventing a transplant rejection 3. Sudden-Death Mosquito Source Oxitec which is a British bio-tech company, has created genetically modified mosquitoes, which are programmed for sudden, early death. Oxitec’s technology is a variation of a proven process called â€Å"sterile insect technique† It involves irradiating male insects, causing mutations that make them sterile. When released into the wild, they mate with females passing on lethal genes which either kills the female or at least kills the youngs in her so then she fails to reproduce . Scientists at this British bio tech company said they have evidence that their genetically modified mosquitoes can by this way for sure control the spread of dengue fever. 4. Dolly the Sheep Source Not so cool or disturbing enough but dolly would hit this list for sure since she was the first ever cloned animal which means that she was produced from a single microscopic cell from a single parent (who hadn’t mated of-course). Cloning techniques might be used widely now in some part of worlds for food but dolly remains remarkable in being the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell, using the process of nuclear transfer. Normally off-springs are a result of interaction of sex cells but in case of dolly’s birth, sex cells weren’t involved. She was cloned by Ian Wilmut, Keith Campbell and colleagues at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh in Scotland. She was born on 5 July 1996 and she lived until the age of six. She has been called â€Å"the world’s most famous sheep† by sources including BBC News and Scientific American. To good, dolly was fertile and produced 6 lambs in total. She died in 2003, living about half as long as a typica l sheep. She developed a lung disease common in older sheep. 5. See-Through Frog Source Dissecting animals for science has sparked controversies worldwide, even prompting some companies to create computer simulations as cruelty-free alternatives. For high school students everywhere, this revealing amphibian may be a cut above regular frogs. That’s because the see-through frog does not require dissection to see its organs, blood vessels, and eggs. You can see through the skin how organs grow, how cancer starts and develops. It’s a miracle of genetic engineering and surely a cool mutant gift to students. 6. Jake the Alligator Man Source Jake the Alligator Man is a half-man, half-alligator on display in apparently mummified condition at Marsh’s Free Museum, a tourist trap in Long Beach, Washington. He was discovered in Florida swamp in 1993. He was reported for his escape from captivity, killing of a Miami man, and giving birth. Residents fled the region’s beaches in fear of terrifying monsters lurking the sand dunes. Scientists are controversial about this creature. Some say its a missing link and some say it might be a distant ancestor of man. However some later theories claimed that it was an early secret genetically engineering project gone wrong and wild. Whatever Jake’s true origin be but he surely is a mutant. 7. Ruppy Source Ruppy (short for Ruby Puppy) is a cloned beagle from South Korea who glows red under ultraviolet light. Ruppy was created in 2009 by a group of scientists in South Korea, led by Byeong-Chun Lee. The dog was cloned using viral transfection of fibroblasts cells with a protein that expresses the red fluorescent gene. 8. Land Mines Detecting Plants Source Developed by Copenhagen firm Aresa Biodetection, these genetically modified plants can be handy when it comes to saving the world. Whenever flowers hit nitrogen dioxide (which leaches into the soil from buried land mines), the plant changes color to red. 9. Fuel Excreting Genetically Modified Bugs This isn’t made up nor it’s sci-fi, a researcher at silicon valley has found genetically modified bugs which eat agricultural waste and excrete diesel fuel. [via TimesOnline] 10. Enviropig Source A genetically engineered pig approved for limited production which produces 65 percent less phosphorous in animal waste thus very environmental friendly Enviro-Pig Already created the Enviro-Pig has been genetically engineered with edited DNA from a pig and genetic material from mice. The result is the Enviro-Pig, a pig that is able to break down phosphorus. Normally within a normal pigs biology phosphorus cant be broken down and it comes out in their feces. The feces is used as fertilizer for crops and eventually most of it runs off into streams and rivers. This is where the problems begin as the phosphorus drastically increases algae blooms and destroys habitats for fish. This is why the Enviro-Pig was engineered as very little phosphorus comes out in its feces. Although there is a great ethical and moral dilemma surrounding the creation of animals that dont exist I do think that within a controlled environment that the Enviro-Pig is one that people should consider breeding on a larger scale. There are currently talks to allow the Enviro-Pigs meat to be sold in supermarkets. Despite the picture Ive included (mostly for a laugh) consider that the enviro-Pig doesnt look much different than a normal pig and its meat would have all of the same nutrients and nutritional value as shown in extensive testing of the animal. COWS (with human genes) More recently in 2011 Chinese scientist have been breeding cows genetically engineered with genes from human beings to produce milk that would be the same as human breast milk. Would I support this? I must admit I am not quite sure as we are now mixing human with animal, I suppose where that line is ends is a little blurry on that one. GOATS (that produce silk in their milk?) As unusual as it is this is a reality. A company called Biosteel has genetically engineered goats to produce milk with strong spider web like silk proteins in their milk. These particles are used by the company to make bulletproof vests and anti-ballistic missile systems for military contracts. Glow in the dark pigs Source: Glow in the dark pigs PIGS (that glow in the dark!) In 2006 in Taiwan scientists used genetic material from a jelly fish and implanted it into pig embyros. The result? Pigs that glow bright green in the dark! During the daylight hours these pigs have a tinge of green on their skin, snout and teeth but as soon as night comes they are light very fat fireflies trotting around their pigpen. The pigs whole body including its internal organs and heart glow green. The Taiwan scientists have said that the pigs were created for stem cell research, but why do you need glowing pigs for that? It can be noted that south korean scientists have also created a florescent glowing red dog called Ruppy, which is short for Ruby Puppy. Apes (with human genes) Japanese scientists have implanted human genes into marmosets and are currently using the monkeys to work on a cure for huntingtons disease and strokes in humans. Again is it good to be putting human genetics into animals? Im not sure, as said earlier there has to be a line somewhere, but where? It should also be noted that for a very long time scientists have been replacing the genes in mice (known as knockout mice) to perform these types of tests for cancer, parkinsons and other such diseases.