Selfish Gene, Horny Gene!

   Congressman from Florida (Mark Foley, R) would get a prison sentence based on the laws he himself helped to enact!! Anti child exploitation law that is!!!

From tales (and traces!!) of a Blow job in oval office to governor of New Jersey looking for and engaging in gay sex in pit stops and now a congressman, a crusader for teenage protection against sexual exploitation being caught doing just that, one wonders how low the ”moral high ground” of this country can go?!!!

Where is the outrage from Falwell and Robertson and alike? Hopefully they are not having their own chat session on the Internet!!! At last we may now know what was behind the ferocious hurricane season and god’s wrath last year in Florida!! ( I am talking on behalf of evangelists! )

Here is congressman with username Maf54 chatting to a teenage boy on Internet:

Maf54: You in your boxers, too?
Teen:   Nope, just got home. I had a college interview that went late.
Maf54: Well, strip down and get relaxed.

Another message:

Maf54: What ya wearing?
Teen:  t shirt and shorts
Maf54: Love to slip them off of you.

And this one:

Maf54: Do I make you a little horny?
Teen:   A little.
Maf54: Cool.

Obviously the language gets much more graphic, too graphic to be reported by media! 

Federal authorities say such messages could result in Foley’s prosecution.

You guessed it, a committee is investigating the allegations and the cover up!!

 http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/29/congressman.e.mails/index.html

Ayatollah Sistani on Chess, anal sex and everything in between!

   I am speechless! Here is the web site for Ayatollah Sistani and some Q & A:

Question : Why is chess forbidden?

Answer : It is not permissible, because it is a means for Lahv (debauchery) and gambling. Moreover, when we do not know the reason behind the forbiddenness of an act, we are bound to obey in absolute obedience. There is a reason for it, but we do not know it and when we do not know it, it does not mean that we should not abide by it.

http://www.sistani.org/html/eng/main/index.php?page=4&lang=eng&part=4

Loved the question and even more the answer and specially the logic of it! I have some questions of my own:

On behalf of my scientists friends I’d like to ask: Is “Monte Carlo simulation” permitted?  Is participating in “fear factor” allowed?

Please enlighten me on Bungee jumping, chewing sugar free gum, diet soda, sparkling water, electric tooth brush, use of cellphones while driving, joining myspace.com & blonds in convertibles….

While we are at it, I would love to have your take on this. Anoosheh (you know, Anoosheh Ansari first woman space tourist!) wrote in her blog the other day that since water resources are very limited in space station they recycle their own sweat! Meaning there is a pump that sucks in the moisture and recycles the water!! Not withstanding the enormous issues involved in traveling to space specially for a married Muslim woman without her husband bouncing around few male infidels in weightlessness!! I appreciate your insight on this.

Oh boy, don’t you feel blessed that such an illuminating source is available to us in 21st century. Honestly what would we have done otherwise? Where else to get the answer to these mind bending questions?!!

Democracy or Tyranny? There must be a better third option!

                      

Chumsky vs Snoop Doggy Dog. One man one vote?!!!!

Here are couple of passages from Will Durant’s history of philosophy on Nietzsche’s philosophy: Consequently the road to superhuman must lie in aristocracy. Democracy, “the mania for counting noses” must be eradicated before it’s too late.

Democracy means worship of mediocrity, and the hatred of excellence. It means the impossibility of great men. How could great men submit to the indignities and indecencies of an election?

By no means I intend to advocate Nietzsche’s philosophy but as much as it sounds politically incorrect it’s imprudent to overlook its merits. What he says about elections or “counting noses” holds some truth!!! Even though democracy is much preferred to tyranny of few, I have problem with the notion of “one man one vote”! There must be a better way to enforce people’s right. Specially on matters of grave concern I can not convince myself that a vote by Noam Chomsky is worth same as a vote by Snoop doggy dog!  I also have problem with the “rule of the majority” when we know well that majority of people are irrational and ignorant. Take a look at :

http://undulyinquisitive.wordpress.com/tag/idiots-without-borders/.

Are you sure these are the kind of folks you want to share your decision with and put your destiny in their hands?!! Of course usually people end up electing a group of elite among them who take over the responsibility of legislation, that should diminish my concern to some extent but not in its entirety.

Objective ethics?!

Could we define good and evil without invoking god? Could we define an objective potential and an evolution path for humans as much as a path from a flower seed to one fully in bloom ?

Are there any absolute, objective moral values similar to laws of physics or logic?

It seems pain and suffering are as real as needed to define good and bad and “do” and “don’t”. A star never suffers. An apple does not get hurt by falling from the tree but we humans do suffer physically, mentally and emotionally. So simply to hurt another human being is EVIL.

Do we need more guidance? May be. Consider the case of prostitution. On the surface there is no pain or suffering involved yet it’s considered demeaning and degrading of human dignity.

Even if we succeed in defining the good and evil how do we get the notion of redemption and punishment? What would be the real, objective difference between those wih virtues and those with vices? Beyond social rewards or punishments which incidently has to be defined in terms of pain and pleasure what else distinguishes between them? Has the one with virtues objectively achived higher values? What do we mean by that?

There are certain derives in man that are instinctive for lack of a better term. For example curiousity! Being curious and search for the truth has nothing to do with morality. It’s just in us. If you know the age of the cosmos it does not necessarily make you a better person in moral terms. Or is it? It may make you a more complete human being nonetheless. So how should we define a perfect human?

Too diverse to be intelligent (design)!!

       The sheer magnitude of diversity among living creatures (all kind of shapes and forms and functions) does not bode well with intelligent design!!

Design of so many beasts if anything utterly lacks any purpose so it seems far from intelligence. Just look at all the creatures who live in the oaceans!! Wierd looking, spooky creaatures of enourmus diversity!! Same can be said of pesky insects!! .

A reasonable scenario would be something like a Cellular Automata. Like the “game of life”! Check the game of life by mathematician John Conway:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_Game_of_Life

The cruel succession of rise and fall!

We humans, so as lots of other forms in nature start from simplicity, defy the 2nd law of thermodynamics (Tendency of nature to disorder or increase in entorpy) and grow more complex only to succumb to entropy later on in life, perish and die! Why?

The same can be said of an apple, a human and arguably a star. In humans that is true of body and mind equally. Body and brain grow in size and complexity and then decay. We lose our learning ability, memory, vision etc. Our morals and values seem to be immune to such a decay nonetheless. In other words we don’t seem to lie more often or turn our vitues to vices as we grow older. Don’t we?!

2nd law of thermodynamic gives us “death”. Which law of  physics gives us “life”?

Where the tendency of nature to produce complex, evolved structures comes from?

What is behind the never tiring, futile attempt of nature to defy regin of entropy?! This ofcourse we see predominantly on earth.

Leaders, Genius or Fool?

  Bertrand Russell was a smart mathematician. What he said few decades ago still rings true:

“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.” — B. Russell

Here is my 2 cents:

A good leader needs to have conviction. Conviction is hard to come by unless you are a fool. So leaders are usually fools that apeal to ignorance of masses! I am sure you know of some examples in contemporary politics!!
 

No nonsense guy goes to Wall Street (I) !!

     Yours truly has developed an alergy against bull shit!! Those of you who have worked in Corporate America are well familiar with the role that HR (Human resources) department plays! They are always there to find problems they are never part of the solution. Masters of paper work and bureaucracy.  I am sure you have heard of the expression “Think out of box“. These folks not only can not think out of box, they are “The Box“!!

For most part “Human resources” is a waste of  company’s resources!! They only exist as an interface to the rest of bureaucratic world. You hear a lot form them saying: “No”, “Not”, “Can’t”, “Not able”, “Impossible”, “Not allowed” and pretty much everything else that implies negativity and obstruction. Following is one of my correspondences with one Queen of HR. One of those who has never solved a real problem in life so tend to fabricate stupid ones!I have disguised the identities but text is original.

—–Original Message—–
From:   me
Sent:   Thursday, August 12, 2004 9:50 AM
To:     Shari (HR)
Subject:        RE: outside counsel service ?

Shari,
    I rather you to respond to the email. I need documented material in case I need to talk to people in charge within the firm. I schedule a conference call separately. Please have in mind that I am interested to know things you can do not things you can not do. Day in and day out we are in the business of solving problems on a short notice. As such I don’t have much appreciation to hear about impossibilities and difficulties of getting the job done.

World ended on Sep 12 2006! Or did it?

Idiots, idiots, idiots all over the place!! This planet is full of maniacs. Delusional, schizophrenic, mad people. From zealot followers of main religions to those who practice voodoo religion and now this little sect in Kenya. They predicted end of the world(on Sep 12 2006) like many idiot morons before them only to find their dumb miserable brains to be ticking the day after !!

WHY SO MANY IDIOTS ON THIS PLANET?!!

Here is the news on yahoo about them:

MAUCHE, Kenya (Reuters) – Kenyan followers of a U.S.-based religious sect which predicted the world would end after a September 12 outbreak of nuclear war moved into bunkers on Wednesday despite the failure of their prediction. Dozens of members of the House of Yahweh — dressed in gas masks, gloves and long overcoats — have built a network of underground hideouts in the small highland village of Mauche.

They have stocked the bunkers with dried fermented flour meant to feed them for a year, by which time sinners would have been wiped off the Earth, according to their beliefs.

“Those who have been doubting us will in hours be ashamed and if the effect of the war is not felt here, then let the police arrest us,” Mosheh Sang, leader of the sect in Kenya, told journalists while packing sacks of flour into a bunker.

“We shall stay in the bunkers for a period of one year.”

According to Sang, a nuclear war between the United States and

North Korea only failed to kick off Tuesday as expected due to difference in international time zones.“Members of our sect who are in the U.S. will not be affected as they are protected by Yahweh,” Sang added.According to its web site www.yahweh.com, the group was founded in Abilene, Texas.“September 12…You need to put this date on your bathroom mirror. You also need to make preparations for the dark days ahead, which will affect every person on earth,” the site says.“There is a place of safety but like their unbelief in the Sabbath, the world will not believe this message, neither will they repent of their sins of murder, fornication, or theft. You need to start training now in the ways of Yahweh.”Kenyan authorities have been closely watching sect members to avoid a repeat of the aftermath of an unfulfilled prophecy in Uganda when more than 900 members of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments were burned alive in 2000. Police said they were worried that the bunkers could cave in despite followers of the cult erecting supporting wooden pillars in the six-by-ten foot bunkers. Underground water was seeping into the hideouts which police said would weaken the structures.“Though there is freedom of worship in the country, our fears are that the members could die not from the so-called nuclear war but by the bunkers caving in,” Dominic Karanja, a senior police officer in the area, told reporters.But the cult’s followers said it was Yahweh’s (Hebrew for God) way of providing water for them.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060914/od_nm/kenya_sect_dc_1

Jesus camp! Training Christian Taliban in America!!

  Jesus camp!! Brain laundry for kids! Breeding fanaticism & extremism!! Kids are taught to become dedicated christian soldiers for God’s army. Yet another god’s army!!!! A welcomed development for the disturbed and delusional minds awaiting and hastening the apocalypse, an ominous sign for rest of us!! Watch for yourself (video link below). Here is what they say:

“As I understood, your question to me was ‘Do you feel it’s right for the fundamentalists to indoctrinate their children with their own beliefs?’ I guess fundamentally, yes I do, because every other religion is indoctrinating their kids. I would like to see more churches indoctrinating,” she says.Papantonio responds: “You can tell a child anything … you can make a child into a soldier that carries an AK47.”

Fischer says: “You could call it brainwashing, but I am radical and passionate in teaching children about their responsibility as Christians, as God-fearing people…..”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_EKHK1C2IE

http://www.jesuscampthemovie.com/