Background:
Geert Wilders [29 March 2008] [29 March 2008] [4 May 2008] [11 September 2008] [28 September 2008] [10 June 2009] [3 September 2009] [3 November 2009]
Pin Fortuyn [6 May 2009] [1 July 2009] [21 October 2009] [3 November 2009]
Theo van Gogh [14 February 2008] [17 May 2008] [3 September 2009] [11 September 2008] [10 June 2009] [1 July 2009] [3 November 2009] [5 November 2009]
From the 1906 book The Outbursts of Everett True by A. D. Condo and J. W. Raper. With thanks to Barnacle Press.
“I have decided to fight Islam. Please pay attention to my statement; to fight Islam, not the political Islam, not the militant Islam, not the radical Islam, not the Wahhabi Islam, but Islam itself… Islam has never been misunderstood, Islam is the problem… (Muslims) have to realize that they have only two choices: to change or to be crushed.”
Article continues.
Thank goodness that a Muslim leader has made a public statement against the murder of homosexuals. His statement is so clear that there is no way it could be taken out of context and turned into something wicked. For all the railing against Islam I do, here is a bit of good news.
Mustafa Muhammad is the President of the Islamic Council of Jamaica. Currently in Jamaica the act of buggery can lead to ten years in prison. Mr. Muhammad has recently gone on record saying that he is against the murder of homosexuals. Mr. Muhammad does note that sharia law does demand the murder of homosexuals. He goes on to say “[homosexuality] is illegal and in the Sharia law the punishment is death. If you follow Christianity it is a crime in the sight of God. He destroyed a whole city because of this thing. It is an ungodly practice and I apologize to no one for this.”
But Mr. Muhammad is against the murder of homosexuals. Why? “This can only be done in a country that is being run by Islam.” And right now Jamaica is not being run by Islam.
Let Muslims and multiculturalists everywhere salute Mr. Muhammad’s tolerance.
The television program LOST (first broadcast on the United States channel ABC between 2004-2010) includes a geodesic dome. I do not intend to say much here about the show other than I have enjoyed it tremendously. The sixth and final season of LOST begins in February 2010. This essay will discuss the geodesic domes appearing in LOST.
Article continues.
“Join us for our 11th Annual Valentine’s Invitational! Dozens of artists contribute Valentine themed artwork to benefit a local non-profit. This year’s recipient in the Special Education PTA of Portland (SEPTAP).”
I have been making collages (of the paper, scissors and glue variety) since around 1978. A few have been published in books, a very few have been given to friends, but never have I offered one for sale – until now. An original collage by myself will have the honor of being included in this show. I encourage anyone in the Portland area to attend. Bid early and often to support this most worthy cause.
Thursday, 4 February 2010, 6PM – 9PM
Reading Frenzy
921 SW Oak St.
Portland OR 97205
(503) 274-1449
Mossarium. Portland, Oregon USA. 31 January 2010.
From the 1906 book The Outbursts of Everett True by A. D. Condo and J. W. Raper. With thanks to Barnacle Press.
Wikipedia:
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals that can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine until resuscitation may be possible in the future. Currently, human cryopreservation is not reversible, which means that it is not currently possible to bring people out of cryopreservation alive. The rationale for cryonics is that people who are considered dead by the current legal or medical definitions will not necessarily be dead by future standards – the most stringent standard being the information-theoretic definition of death – and that such people could be brought out of cryopreservation in the future.
Two recent articles at the remarkable lesswrong.com reminded me of cryonics.
Eliezer Yudkowsky, That Magical Click:
Yesterday I spoke of that cryonics gathering I recently attended, where travel by young cryonicists was fully subsidized, leading to extremely different demographics from conventions of self-funded activists. 34% female, half of those in couples, many couples with kids – THAT HAD BEEN SIGNED UP FOR CRYONICS FROM BIRTH LIKE A GODDAMNED SANE CIVILIZATION WOULD REQUIRE – 25% computer industry, 25% scientists, 15% entertainment industry at a rough estimate, and in most ways seeming (for smart people) pretty damned normal. Except for one thing.
During one conversation, I said something about there being no magic in our universe. And an ordinary-seeming woman responded, “But there are still lots of things science doesn’t understand, right?” Sigh. We all know how this conversation is going to go, right? So I wearily replied with my usual, “If I’m ignorant about a phenomenon, that is a fact about my state of mind, not a fact about the phenomenon itself; a blank map does not correspond to a blank territory -” “Oh,” she interrupted excitedly, “so the concept of ‘magic’ isn’t even consistent, then!”
Click.
She got it, just like that.
There is a wonderful episode of the radio program ‘This American Life’ on cryonics titled Mistakes Were Made. + I first encountered cryonics around 1979-1980 in the book Cosmic Trigger by Robert Anton Wilson. Currently I practice passive cryonics. My scattered atoms and memories will not necessarily be considered dead by future standards, with no effort on my part necessary.
The time machine in question is only capable of forward motion.
Fictional films and books about time machines inform the construction of this time machine. If could be after time travel I arrive in a disaster area or a nation under tyranny. The time machine includes the provisions and self-sufficiency skills needed to prosper in those situations. Similarly, how I attend to health now will influence my success after time travel.
Time travel might not be a life or death challenge. I could arrive at a time of relative ease and comfort. Putting a little more money aside now will allow me to enjoy the future with less effort later.
Experiments in time travel are a gamble. So far, every time traveler has reached an outer limit beyond which they cannot pass. My experiments will not be any different, and so I should be attentive and appreciative in the limited band of time available for me to travel in.
How is your time machine going?