Category: Society

Categories
Environment Society

[117] Of anon unleashed

Something about the push for solar power:

Thoughts
by: annonymousposts (38/M/New Mexico) 01/03/03 11:34 pm
Msg: 360 of 362
1 recommendation

While everything has a cost, I think there are some overall misconceptions about the cost/benefit & risk/reward associated with the posts on this board.

To those who think this is nothing but a target for terrorists:
Get a life. For you, they’ve won. You’re scared and paranoid. A power tower in the middle of nowhere Australia is not a prime target, is it? I mean, where’s the collateral damage terrorists would want? The next targets are going to be smaller than WTC and will probably be aimed at large gathering/population centers. Don’t ya think? Seems obvious to me that a tower in Australia would be of little interest to a terrorist.

To those who keep repeating that nuclear and/or hydro power is the way to go:

Where can we store the spent fuel? Huh? We can’t even store the spent fuel we have, much less the millions of tons more that’d be generated by more nuclear plants. And hydro? C’mon. How many more rivers and their ecosystems have to be destroyed before we realize that doesn’t work either. What we need are systems that don’t leave behind any waste. While this system could (farfetched idea coming) cause thermal atmospheric changes if hundreds or thousands of these towers were built, it’s at least a step away from our current wasteful behaviors.

To those who are using this to spew forth a bunch of anti-Arab/Semite/Canadian rhetoric:

Jeez! Hate much?! It is specifically that sort of rhetoric that the hate-mongers want you to spout forth. You are, in fact, fueling their cause by provoking them and exhibiting behavior that allows them to believe Americans are evil. Not to sound to motherly, but for crying out loud, don’t operate any heavy machinery and please, don’t go into the water for thirty minutes, you may get a cramp or something.

To those who are trying to intelligently respond to the issues of renewable energy and its relationship to this proposed structure:
Thanks.

Oh, and please, either learn to spell or learn to type!

Categories
Society

[112] Of altruism and greed

Altruism. It’s a funny word isn’t it?

It is a word that means unselfishness which in turn means doing something without thinking of one’s own benefit. It is a good notion no doubt but I have reasons of not trusting the existence of altruism although I myself have gone through this so-called altruism.

I believe that things happen for at least a reason. War occurs because of greed and prosperity exists because of greed too. Hate is caused by jealousy and love is also, not jealousy but again, greed. With three to one, it is safe to claim that the world is based on greed. Greed is everything.

Take this for an instance – the United States without covering its intention wants to attack Iraq and thank god the world stands in the US way. Russia on the other hand is against any unilateral action against Iraq. Vladimir Putin does this not because he hates the American but instead, it is about money. Iraq owes Russia billions of Rubles, and if the US was allowed to invade the gulf state, Russia thinks Iraq won’t be able to pay up the Russian. The Muslim nations on the other hand are against the US move since they are jealous of US. Plus, seeing the US gaining the riches of the Arab is the last thing they want to see. Therefore, in the end a war based on greed was prevented by greed itself.

Greed’s hand is far reaching. War was prevented by greed and this simply points to another uneasy thinking – peace is also greed. It is only during peace our so-called needs and wants could be satisfied. Needs and wants are economy’s complicated term for greed. When you are in a class, certainly it will be troublesome to hear supply and greed instead of hearing supply and demand.

When we sits in a class especially business related, we are learning Greed 101 or greed 345 in reality. Sure, some of you say I sit in the class to further my knowledge which in turn will benefit the society. Sure, I will respect you for that but somewhere in the way, you will earn fame and money while serving the society. And isn’t that the true goal of us learning? To earn respect, power and money no matter how hard you deny it? See, even when we are doing a virtue, in the end, it is greed along, like Satan in the mask of an angel.

Love is a virtue too but trust me, it is no shorter than greed. Love is a greed of owning someone else, to have the other’s tender and kindness without sharing it with another.

Greed may well perhaps gave birth to socialism and communism. These two ideas are against greed but they themselves reflect the greed and jealousy of the lower class. They are dismayed with the greed of the upper class because they themselves want that richness and power. Therefore, while democracy is the upper and middle class’ greed, communism is the lower class’ greed. (After years of reading nonsense, I still can’t draw a clear line between socialism and communism. I once remember the difference but now, I’ve lost it)

Religions are against greed as far as my knowledge enlightens me. But yet, religions promote love and stuffs that would promise the believers a good health in the afterlife. Of all virtues, altruism in religion’s sense is the closest you could get to the real meaning altruism. Nevertheless, one that practice altruism has the greed for the afterlife. So, no matter how hard the believers say, in a way, being a believer is caused by another kind of greed.

“It’s too bad the world is based on greed.”
– Papa Roach, Between Angels and Insects. 2000

Categories
Society

[110] Of a dinosaur driving a boat

I need to study, need to stop surfing, need to stop wasting time, need to stop blogging.
I can’t study, can’t stop surfing, can’t stop throwing time out of the window, argh!!!

I got this from godslonelyman.blogspot.com

At the end of one of the Jurassic Park sequels, a dinosaur drove a boat and crashed it into B Street Pier in San Diego. Now, I know about how sophisticated and smart the dinosaurs were, but driving a boat? I gotta draw the line somewhere. I’ve never seen a dinosaur drive a boat, and I bet you haven’t, either.

A good example on how Hollywood has insulted the intelligence of the public.

p/s – Wuargh!!! The credits in my account has dropped below USD 1000 for the first time. Wuargh, gotta stop spending but I want that NOMAD!!!

Categories
Liberty Society

[101] Of Life Day

Finally, 100 posts. The exam weeks are commencing! Wish me luck.

On the last day of this year’s November, the world celebrated the Life Day. The name of such event will somehow make some people just celebrate the day without much hesitations. Of course, who won’t celebrate life after all?

On the contrary, Life Day is not about preaching for a good and a fair ways of living for the Human community but instead, it is about abolishing death sentence.

Death sentence is admittedly, might be the worst judgment one might received depending one’s perception in life and it is not a wonder to see some people would love to see the end of this horrid judgment. However, death sentence, in my opinion at least is important to today’s society.

Although I love peace, no one can preserve peace without fighting back when one is pushed against the wall. Although I hate to mention this, it is true that there will be no peace without war. We could see clearly in history, Pax Romana, the golden age of the Muslim’s civilizations, Renaissance and the era of modern world, all the people who lived in those times had to fight to preserve their civilizations. Analogically, crude methods need to be present in Human society as a way to preserve peace. Death sentence is one of these methods.

The death sentence at least sometimes acts as a deterrent to crime. It announces to the world that every action has a consequence, much like Newton’s Law of Motion. If robbing a person would bring on death sentence on the protagonist, certainly the robber would rethink his or her action or at least, I would (that if I am the robber, if).

The sentence could also keep revenge in check. Sometimes, when peace is undone, the only possible way is to execute to peace violator. If somebody murdered someone and he is allowed to live on, vendetta might arise, as the other side that suffered crime will certainly be unhappy to see murderer of their member sitting happily in the Indian Sea under the sunny sun on the beach.

Finally, it is a way to reduce the population of planet Earth. This might sound silly but one way or another it is a fact. One way to put it is to cleanse the world from evil doers.

Therefore, I am glad that I didn’t celebrate Life Day.

erratum – this is the 101st post. 

Categories
Personal Society

[45] Of Belief-o-matic

Do you not see that Allah sends down water from the cloud so the earth becomes green? Surely Allah is Benignant, Aware.

– The Koran, The Pilgrimage (22.63)

And in the earth there are tracts side by side and gardens of grapes and corn and palm trees having one root and (others) having distinct roots– they are watered with one water, and We make some of them excel others in fruit; most surely there are signs in this for a people who understand.

– The Koran, The Thunder (13.4)

The religions, according to Belief-o-matic, that I am related to. Interesting, Judaism gains two of the top three spots. Maybe that because the the similarity Judaism and Islam share.

1. Reform Judaism (100%)
2. Islam (96%)
3. Orthodox Judaism (96%)
4. Sikhism (92%)
5. Baha’i (83%)
6. Liberal Quaker (79%)
7. Unitarian Universalism (73%)
8. Jainism (65%)
9. Liberal Protestant (61%)
10. Orthodox Quaker (60%)
11. Latter-day Saint (Mormon) (57%)
12. Jehovah’s Witness (52%)
13. Neo-Paganism (52%)
14. Secular Humanism (48%)
15. Conservative Protestant (46%)
16. New Age (44%)
17. Hinduism (43%)
18. New Thought (43%)
19. Mahayana Buddhism (42%)
20. Scientology (40%)
21. Eastern Orthodox (37%)
22. Roman Catholic (37%)
23. Seventh Day Adventist (36%)
24. Atheism and Agnosticism (33%)
25. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (31%)
26. Theravada Buddhism (28%)
27. Taoism (24%)

I took the test for the second time through an Agnostic’s eyes but the result was largely the same with Atheism gained significant rungs.

1. Reform Judaism (100%)
2. Islam (92%)
3. Orthodox Judaism (92%)
4. Unitarian Universalism (91%)
5. Liberal Quaker (87%)
6. Sikhism (83%)
7. Latter-day Saint (Mormon) (78%)
8. Liberal Protestant (78%)
9. Secular Humanism (75%)
10. Baha’i (74%)
11. Jainism (72%)
12. Neo-Paganism (71%)
13. Orthodox Quaker (66%)
14. Conservative Protestant (62%)
15. Atheism and Agnosticism (61%)
16. Jehovah’s Witness (61%)
17. New Age (57%)
18. Hinduism (55%)
19. Mahayana Buddhism (55%)
20. Theravada Buddhism (55%)
21. New Thought (52%)
22. Scientology (50%)
23. Seventh Day Adventist (43%)
24. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (40%)
25. Taoism (40%)
26. Eastern Orthodox (37%)
27. Roman Catholic (37%)