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Thursday, June 05, 2003
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N. Arthur Coulter explains: It took a billion or more years of evolution to make you what you are—an evolutionary process that is itself unique. Moreover, you are a being of incredible complexity—the design of the human ear or the human eye, for example, is simply magnificent. As for the human brain, it is a supercomputer whose intricacies and powers are far, far in advance of any of the artificial computers, which simply imitate and expand the simplest of those powers. The fact that a computer can do arithmetic much faster than a human brain may be of interest, but the really remarkable fact is that human brains invented arithmetic and designed computers to do it. All this implies that each human being has a unique potential and that it is simply outrageous that everything possible is not done to permit that potential to develop. Yet every society on this planet not only does not do this, but is full of barriers and pressures to prevent it! (06/05/03) | |
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Chris Floyd writes: "This is a blessing of Sept. 11!" exclaimed the president's top adviser, as tanks rolled across the border and paratroopers blackened the sky above the enemy's land -- an outlaw state seething with "terrorists" and run by "international criminals." With embedded media breathlessly narrating the action, the president launched the greatest display of military might the nation had seen in more than a generation, an earth-shaking blitzkrieg that the generals like to call "Shock and Awe." That was the scene in Indonesia last week, as the military force responsible for two of the most horrendous campaigns of genocide in the last 50 years stormed into the rebel province of Aceh, vowing to crush a 27-year-old independence movement in just six months. The Indonesian militarists -- who killed more than 500,000 people (a conservative estimate) in a CIA-assisted coup in 1965, then slaughtered more than 250,000 East Timorese in an American-backed invasion in 1975 (not to mention the mere thousands they and their paramilitary fronts killed in East Timor in the 1990s) -- were back in the saddle and loaded for bear. (06/05/03) | |
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BBC Science -- "Life has become a hell," says 75-year-old Lachaiah, a villager in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, which is suffering one of its worst heat waves in recent memory.  "There is no work for farm hands like me. Even if I dare to come out to look for work, there is no guarantee I will return home alive." More than 1,000 people have died in Andhra Pradesh in the three-week heat wave. Hundreds more have been hospitalised, stretching resources to the limit. In one town, Kottagudem, scientists recorded a temperature of more than 126F (52C) for almost a week. ... Such is the intensity of the heat it has become difficult for people to walk barefoot even indoors. "Everything in the house is becoming very hot," says MA Qayyum, an engineer in Nalgonda. "Things made of plastic are becoming twisted. I am covering the telephone and television set in my home with a wet piece of cloth to save them from any damage," he says. Mr Qayyum later moved his family to Hyderabad as the conditions had become unbearable. ... "This is one of the worst crises facing the state," said Dr Jaiprakash Narayan, who heads the non-governmental organisation Lok Satta. "The temperatures this year have broken all the records of the past 35 years." (06/05/03) | |
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Yes! Magazine -- An Interview: Sarah van Gelder: What is it you are seeing that most Americans are not seeing? Robert Lifton: What I see is a kind of apocalyptic confrontation. I’ve studied apocalyptic violence for a long time. Most recently, I did a study of Aum Shinrikyo, the fanatical Japanese cult [known for releasing poison gas in a Tokyo subway—Eds], and earlier I studied events like Nazi genocide and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and even the Vietnam War. All of these I now realize have apocalyptic dimensions, by which I mean impulses toward vast destruction in the service of renewal and re-creation of the world. And while I’m deeply concerned about the dangers of additional terrorism from Islamic zealots, I’m even more worried about American apocalyptic tendencies. In fact, the two are bound up together because excessive American responses and our effort to control the world inevitably result in more danger of terrorism directed at us. Sarah: What is the appeal of apocalyptic thinking? Robert: The appeal of apocalyptic thinking from any side has to do with something beyond certainty—a kind of mission of purification in the service of ultimate good. Apocalyptic projections satisfy two profound human inclinations: One is a desire for self-improvement—especially ethical and spiritual improvement. The other is a desire for some eternal principle or mission of ultimate good. Both can have a powerful appeal because they promise a kind of immortality bound up with absolute virtue. (06/05/03) | |
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BBC Science -- In a telling indictment of US marine policy, a group of influential Americans say their country has lacked the imagination to care properly for its oceans. ...  Leon Panetta, a former White House chief of staff, said: "For centuries, we have viewed the oceans as beyond our ability to harm and their bounty beyond our ability to deplete. We now know that this is not true... There is consensus that our oceans are in crisis. The good news is that it is not too late to act." The report says Americans "have reached a crossroads" because of overfishing, coastal development, pollution, nutrient runoff, and the ability of alien species to establish themselves off US coasts. ... The commission paints a vivid picture of the plight of the seas surrounding the US. Of the fish populations that have been assessed, it says, 30% are overfished or are being depleted unsustainably. The commissioners say: "Every eight months, nearly 11 million gallons of oil run off our streets and driveways into our waters - the equivalent of the Exxon Valdez oil spill." They quote President Kennedy: "Knowledge of the oceans is more than a matter of curiosity. Our very survival may hinge upon it." (06/05/03) | |
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Yes! Magazine -- Jeff Halper writes: As an Israeli Jew who has traveled frequently to the United States, I believe that Israel and the United States share many features. They are both European-settler states that displaced an indigenous population. They both acted in their countries with a sense of Manifest Destiny, both motivated by the belief that their conquest and colonization were divinely blessed. They are both societies that believe themselves to have a special mission to the rest of humanity (to be “a light unto the nations,” to bring democracy to benighted countries). As the strongest power in the Middle East, Israel places its ability to impose its exclusive claim to the entire Land of Israel (including the Occupied Territories) on its military superiority. The United States, the strongest power in the world, asserts its hegemony over the planet through military force. Especially since September 11, both perceive themselves as besieged fortresses—Fortresses of Fear—alienated from a hostile outside world and threatened by it. Israelis often use the term “Fortress Israel” to describe our country. In the U.S., the image of a fortress is embedded in The Star Spangled Banner. (06/05/03) | |
6:50:28 AM 
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© TrustMark
2003
Timothy Wilken.
Last update:
7/1/2003; 5:51:01 AM.
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