05.21.12
The Sensuous Curmudgeon lays it on creationism
http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2012/05/the-sensuous-cu.html
Social Darwinism and Jesus
http://www.philipvickersfithian.com/2012/05/social-darwinism-and-jesus.html
Unexpected
Butterfly
Hubble
Ceramic|
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Mencken week? suspicion meter goes on red alert
http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2012/05/21/mencken-week-day-3/
I was waiting for the new atheists to try and adopt Mencken. Waiting a long time, but finally it happened.
The closet Nietzscheanism of the new atheist movement is well disguised, but the attempt to adopt Mencken shows what’s afoot.
Mencken is one thing as a philosophic orphan and fan of Nietzsche in the early 1900′s when the shock of the new put that philosopher into the icon slot of a cultural fad. But, as Bertrand Russell noted, the innings for that flawed, or wrecked, genius were few.
The problme in any case is that Nietzsche is the both the strongest, yet worst, foundation for atheism, and in a way he unwitting threw it into discredit. Atheism is ancient and a part of the world’s greatest religions, but after Nietzsche it enters into the Darwinian, Social Darwinist, eugenic, fascist, and finally Nazi mode.
It is sign of naivete in the new atheists to try and live in the Nietzschean lineage. In fact, a nasty surprise is in store here: as noted, Nietzsche, in many ways, finished off atheism. It is too loaded with dangerous baggage.
And the whole influence on Nazism is now clear.
In general I am suspicious that the new atheists are a conservative Trojan horse. That should have been clear from the concealed economic ideology in the Dawkins finesse on kin selection.
Time for the left to move beyond atheism (not necessarily to stale theism).
Who Owns Origin Of Life?
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1205/S00152/who-owns-origin-of-life-the-lonsdale-prize.htm: Who Owns Origin Of Life?: The Lonsdale Prize
Monday, 21 May 2012, 4:56 pm
Article: Suzan Mazur
God and morality
The Moral Necessity of a Godless Existence
By TAURIQ MOOSA – BIG THINK
Added: Sunday, 20 May 2012 at 9:24 PM
http://richarddawkins.net/articles/645968-the-moral-necessity-of-a-godless-existence
Confessions of an Atheist Darwin-Doubter
http://www.evolutionnews.org/2012/05/confessions_of059861.html
Training the Blind to ‘See’
Training the Blind to ‘See’ Using New Device to ‘Listen’ to Visual Information
ScienceDaily (May 16, 2012) — A method developed at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for training blind persons to “see” through the use of a sensory substitution device (SSD) has enabled those using the system to actually “read” an eye chart with letter sizes smaller than those used in determining the international standard for blindness.
Songbirds’ Learning Hub in Brain
Songbirds’ Learning Hub in Brain Offers Insight Into Motor Control
ScienceDaily (May 20, 2012) — To learn its signature melody, the male songbird uses a trial-and-error process to mimic the song of its father, singing the tune over and over again, hundreds of times a day, making subtle changes in the pitch of the notes. For the male Bengalese finch, this rigorous training process begins around the age of 40 days and is completed about day 90, just as he becomes sexually mature and ready to use his song to woo females.
C&C/may21
CLIMATE AND CAPITALISM
An ecosocialist journal, edited by Ian Angus
http://climateandcapitalism.com
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What’s new, May 21, 2012 Read the rest of this entry »
#occupyws
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Another Occupy Wall Street Terror Plot: Were the Accused Set up? Gather.com The Occupy Wall Street movement has had more arrests. This time, three men were arrested before they had the opportunity carry out their plan to bomb President Obama's campaign headquarters, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's home and other targets with … See all stories on this topic » |
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45 arrests at NATO meet in Chicago Politico Those arrested included members of Occupy Chicago and Occupy Wall Street, a lawyer and a Getty Image photographer, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Continue Reading Text Size – + reset Four police officers suffered minor injuries in violent … See all stories on this topic » |
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Crowd cheers as protesters freed after arrests Chicago Sun-Times Among the at least 45 arrested Sunday were members of Occupy Chicago and Occupy Wall Street, a lawyer and a Getty Image photographer. However, none of those initially released admitted to be members of the “Black Bloc” anarchist group that was at the … See all stories on this topic » |
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NATO activists set sights on Charlotte The Herald | HeraldOnline.com Protest groups to watch include: • Occupy: A loose-knit network of groups across the country inspired by the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations against government bank bailouts and the behavior of trading firms during the economic recession. See all stories on this topic » |
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Is the Occupy Movement Over? dagblog (blog) I read this last week, and wondered, who of course, could be more impartial about Occupy Wall Street than the WSJ's pollsters? And who, I wonder are they asking? Despite generally favorable coverage from the MSM (something the Tea Party has never had), … See all stories on this topic » |
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Observe Occupy: Watch the tactical evolution of their 'revolution' Police News Chicago is facing the cutting edge of what the Occupy Wall Street Movement call “a revolution.” Politicians must pay attention to the “revolution,” while it behooves law enforcement nation-wide to pay a great deal of attention to the “evolution” of the … See all stories on this topic » |
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Bride's big day marred by Occupy protest Ninemsn A US couple's big day was thrown into disarray when they emerged from church and were confronted with a massive crowd of Occupy Wall Street protesters. Tim and Beth Alberts had just tied the knot in downtown Chicago on Saturday when they found … See all stories on this topic » |
Time to Tax Wall Street!
Published on Sunday, May 20, 2012 by PR Watch
A Sea of Robin Hoods Tell the G8, It’s Time to Tax Wall Street!
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/20-2
How the Ultra-Rich Betray
Published on Monday, May 21, 2012 by Common Dreams
How the Ultra-Rich Betray America
by Paul Buchheit
The betrayals come in many forms. Here are a few of the more outrageous, and destructive, examples:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/21
Veterans Tossing Medals
Published on Monday, May 21, 2012 by The Guardian/UK
US War Veterans Tossing Medals Back at Nato Was a Heroic Act
Nato summit leaders should have been forced to watch the moving protest of the former troops chucking their medals away
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/21-1
Summit Kicked Off with Demonstrations
Published on Monday, May 21, 2012 by Real News Network
NATO Summit Kicked Off with Massive Demonstrations
Thousands of police flood downtown Chicago
http://www.commondreams.org/video/2012/05/21
Drones of Its Own
Published on Monday, May 21, 2012 by Common Dreams
Drones of Its Own: NATO Signs Deal with Northrup Grumman for ‘Global Surveillance Capabilities’
Part of its ‘Allied Ground Surveillance’ system, the five Global Hawk UAVs will cost $1.7 Billion
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/05/21
05.20.12
#NoNATO So Far: Thousands Protest War and Austerity
http://occupywallst.org/article/nato-so-far/
You wouldn’t know it from watching CNN, but thousands of people have gathered this week in Chicago and elsewhere to peacefully express their indignation at a political system dominated by war and austerity. While world leaders gather for the G8 and NATO summits — where they are discussing war plans and addressing their failed financial system with rhetoric alone — Occupiers and our allies are not only holding our own workshops and discussions on the financial crisis, we are taking direct action to create a world that does not need their warfare or austerity. We are building a world without technocrats and political and financial elites, a world based on mutual aid, solidarity, direct democracy, and co-operation. Sometimes festive, sometimes militant, we are in the streets non-violently demanding health care, immigrant justice, ecological sustainability, education funding, and more. But the only thing corporate media wants to talk about is three people accused of making Molotov cocktails at the encouragement of police informants desperate to demonize nonviolent protesters in the public eye. In reality, the only violence this week has been perpetrated by the police themselves.
History, economics and evolution
The publication date for Descent of Man Revisited should have been next week, by which time the book will finally be available in proper fashion in its right version.
I think that the left needs to abandon Darwinism, as soon as possible, and establish itself as a true critic of economic ideology, and social darwinism.
Descent of Man Revisted will be followed by another sequel that addresses some of these issues of the left. But we can see that a much more robust approach to historical analysis is possible, superior to the flawed ‘historical materialism’ which is more of a liability to the left at this point.
The issue is simple: economic histories are not the real drivers of larger history. Thus our liberation from economic domination arrives from this simple realization that history dominates economies, and not the other way around. Free men, freely standing beyond economies, should arrive at the ability to free themselves from the mystifications of economic dynamics.
The context of evolution is the right one for history, not economics, but this ‘evolution’ is not the Darwinian.
Communist gedanken experiment
http://darwiniana.com/2012/05/19/the-need-to-redefine-socialismcommunism/
From yesterday, a useful exercise, at a minimum.
The Organic Watergate
Published on Friday, May 18, 2012 by Common Dreams
The Organic Watergate: Alarming Report Reveals USDA’s Cozy Relationship with Corporate Agribusinesses in ‘Organics’
- Common Dreams staff
Today, the Cornucopia Institute released a report titled The Organic Watergate, revealing widespread corruption in the USDA’s organic food monitoring panel — the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB).
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/05/18-5
At G8 France’s Hollande Pushes Against the Austerity Drive
Published on Sunday, May 20, 2012 by Common Dreams
At G8 France’s Hollande Pushes Against the Austerity Drive
Bipolar G8 Calls for Austerity and Growth
– Common Dreams staff
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/05/20
The G8 negotiations at Camp David ended Saturday with the newly elected French president, François Hollande, turning the tide against austerity pushed by Germany’s Angela Merkel. However, the concluding statement issued by the G8 has contradictory calls for both austerity measures and growth as a way out of the debt crisis.
Demise of Jewish left, and the case of Marx
http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/books/99711/the-end-of-the-jewish-left
The demise of the Jewish left is completely predictable in terms of the analysis of the eonic effect, and the same effect is overtaking many other groups that were given the ‘slingshot’ momentum of the modern transition.
But the results here will be very destructive, as we can see already with truly horrific combinations of smarts and absolute stupidity: Ayn Rand. To unassimilated Jews, I would point to Ayn Rand to scare you into evacuating the whole cultural shebang. Who cares anymore about the whole Jewish number. The world has moved on, save that Jews have the power to keep us from moving on, for a while.
I think the fate of Jewish culture is sealed as it degenerates into the kind of decayed morass all too common in Gentile culture/modernity. But the effect will be worse because it will wreck equality and create a new and carnivorous elite, of the old fashioned type. And the example of Israel is ominous: this horror shows the dangers of trying to evade the future. Face it, Israel was a mistake. Face it.
I think Jewish leftists should see the handwriting on the wall, and learn the lesson shown by Marx: assimilate, or create a hybrid, or, more simply, create something new, on the left, and make sure that it is a universal theme. Ay, there’s the rub: all contributions from Jews end up being Jewish culture. And Jews being smart will tend to dominate culture groups where the theme of equality is first, thus spoiling the effort. What a dreadful situation.
Time to understand that trap, and again consider the way that, despite great intelligence, Jewish contributions are always behind those of Gentiles. The tooth fairy/muses must be avoiding Jews (except in science/business, etc…) because seeding cultural innovations there simply reinforces the divisions of culture.
I think that the evidence from Israel is so depressingly grim, and destined to get worse, that any Jewish leftist would be hightailing it out of Jewish culture, which is an artifical construct of the Axial Age, like a first stage rocket structure.
In any case, the demise of the old Jewish left almost makes me think, ‘good riddance’, and we should hope those leftists would, like Marx, find a new venue that can unlock their talents. Jewish culture will always confine the individual potential to innovate toward the larger oikoumene of culture.
The degeneration of Israel shows the danger, and the saddest thing is the way that this set of Jewish effects is going to wreck American civilization, when the real result should have been a supercharged effect.
Let me hasten to add that I am speaking only to Jewish leftists. Everyone else, goodbye and enjoy being cultural fertiler.
Another Occupy Wall Street Terror Plot: Were the Accused Set up?
http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981344514
King James Bible
UPDATED: Why I want all our children to read the King James Bible
By RICHARD DAWKINS – THE OBSERVER
Added: Saturday, 19 May 2012 at 4:36 PM
http://richarddawkins.net/articles/645958-updated-why-i-want-all-our-children-to-read-the-king-james-bible
UPDATE: Richard will be discussing this live on the BBC World Service at 1.45pm BST (that’s GMT+1) today. Keith Porteous Wood of the National Secular Society will also be taking part in the discussion. You can listen live via this link and if you can’t listen in live, it will be available for a further 7 days on the BBC iPlayer.
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