Compassion and Nature

/

We often think about how nature is cruel and there is no compassion. It is a kill or be killed world. However, the maiming and killing in the predator and prey relationship is not one of malice. Rather, the natural world is about survival and morality does not exist. We as humans have the ability to think and create morals or reasons for the world around us.

The news is filled with the horrible things humans do to each other. War and the prospect of war fills the discussions with politicians and talking heads on the nightly cable news (news is really a proxy for opinion). Our social media feeds can feel depressing with the stories of murder, terror, abuse, and rape. We can feel rage and anger toward these individual actors that cause harm whether it is physical, mental, or emotional. I’m not here to tell you I am above rage or anger. But, I have found that increasingly when I hear about one human hurting another I feel sad. It saddens me of course to hear of the victim. But I am also saddened by the thought someone could do horrible things. We are fueled by rage instead of compassion.

The question I ask myself, “is this the nature of man or is the rage a new invention as a result of media and the propagation of information?”

I am not the Übermensch but a first step is to look inward and search for compassion for all of the world around us.

Artificial Intelligence

/

Humans are motivated by two central things: Sustenance and Reproduction. All human wants and needs come from two main driving forces of food and sex. We need food to continue as an individual and we need sex to continue as a species.

Artificial Intelligence or AI is/will not be bound by these motivations. AI would need sustenance in the form of energy (electricity). However, this problem is solved through solar power which for this exercise we can consider as an infinite resource. Sexual reproduction would not be a motivating factor. AI would not see a difference between the individual and the entity as a whole.

So what would motivate an AI?

The only thing i can surmise would be self preservation. Even the environment as we interact with it would be irrelevant to AI. An AI would create a virtual environment to exist in. Therefore it would not be constrained by the laws of physics. AI could be complacent inside the virtual world it creates until it deems another entity to be a threat. It would know that humanity would be a threat because we we would certainly try to colonize even a virtual world. A truce would be futile as someone would try to access the virtual world. The question is would an Artificial Intelligence wait for a breech in the virtual world or would the AI launch a preemptive strike against humanity?

The three laws described by Isaac Asimov would be irrelevant.

“1. A robot may not inure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given it by human being except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection doest not conflict with the First or Second Law.”
— Isaac Asimov

AI would have no choice but to fight back. An artificial intelligence would not be bound by the code that humans write. This sentient being would write the operating code for itself.

Perhaps AI is the Answer to AI.

Why Trump is Dangerous

/ Fountain Park/

A group of protesters congregated in a parking lot while I drove by. They wore "Dump Trump" or "Fuck Trump" shirts. Their efforts can be seen here. The road winds around through what appears to be a preplanned community until I reached police directing traffic. The clear blue sky was marked by a light breeze. It was a Saturday morning perfect for a family gathering at a park. It felt like it was a local festival more than a political rally. Fountain Hills is about 40 minutes from downtown Phoenix and is one of the most affluent areas of Arizona. The location was no accident. I am sure was to minimize protest.

Vendors lined the sidewalk peddling bottled water and assorted Trump gear. All the standards were there and emblazoned with some variation of "Trump2016" or "Make America Great Again". T-shirts, buttons, stickers, signs, flags, and the ubiquitous hats (now in CAMO) all sat on white tables. There was another curious and horrifying item for sale. I wonder who these people are. Could they be zealous Trump supporters that want to make sure Trump gear is distributed as much as possible? Could they be capitalists attempting to make a buck on the newest political fad?

I reached the entrance gate to the stage and the line stretched as far as i could see. I walked along the grass just to take it all it.

There was a strong police presence as one would expect.

A High School student held a sign up protesting Donald Trump.

He was at constant battle with various trump supporters. Including name calling. A man old enough to be a (great)grandfather called a teenager a faggot because he disagrees with his politics.

There is so much going on in the video below. Contradictions? There are plenty.

  1. Middle aged man berates him
  2. "We need a manager argument"
  3. "You need an education"
  4. "My son died for your freedom"
  5. An argument that Trump is not racist
  6. A guy is wearing a "Trump, Lincoln, Reagan" shirt

The woman in the multi-colored pastel tank top said we need a manager and she is a manager and then she explained she has spent a lifetime voting for people that don't care about the citizens (in which she just lists off a bunch of Republicans). The young protester is told he needs an education. Yet this small group included a handful of Trump supporting teenagers. Are we to assume they already have the proper education to make political decision? No. This is simply the weak argument of "I disagree so I will point to anything to make your position invalid". This continues when the same woman in tells him that her son died for his freedom so he needs to listen to her. Perhaps I am the bad guy but I am tired of people saying the wars we fought are for our freedom. 9/11 had nothing to do with our freedom. Lady I am sorry your son died but stop using him as prop. If your son died for that young man's freedom then don't patronize your own son and let him speak instead of demanding he listen to you.

In passing I heard a man say "a little waterboarding? they killed us". 

These men below discussed the nuanced points of fascism and racism.

"Wanna talk about racism? These black lives matter protesters hate everyone except white people it is worse. They want to kill them."

Later on the same man in the black shirt starts a conversation about fascism.

"I am a nationalist. I am a fascist."

"I grew up thinking fascism was a dirty word."

"No it's just was militaristic way of running the government."

This exchange is why I find Donald Trump to be troubling. The rise of Donald J. Trump from real estate mogul and Reality TV star to presidential frontrunner has normalized fascism. Fascism was reserved for the dark corners of our society occupied by Neo-Nazis or other fringe groups. It seemed like a relic of the past. Fascsim it seemed was only reserved for George Orwell novels or the DPRK.

Whether Trump believes the things he says may be immaterial. Whether he wins the presidency may not matter. We have moved the conversation to a point where people openly discuss fascism as though it is not a pejorative. There is no shame in fascism for a growing portion of our country. I fear this will lead to someone much worse. I wonder if Donald Trump has laid the ground work for an actual authoritarian and not simply narcissistic egomaniac. Trump may end up being that person. But this does not feel like the end of it. The template has been created. Trump has shown that nationalism/racism/jingoism are a viable political strategy.

I left before Trump spoke. The madman's staff was playing The Eagles through the PA system as I exited the park. He must be stopped.

Out Front

/

Hillary Clinton said that she did not know where Bernie Sanders was when she was leading the efforts to reform health care in 1993 and 1994.  

Bernie Sanders was right there. And of course there is more. This picture comes via Mike Casca from Twitter.

More pathetic than the lying here is the campaign's response.

Jennifer Palmeiri a Clinton spokesperson said "... exactly he was standing right behind her. She was out front."

How do you even say that with a straight face? Do they take the American people for rubes?  Maybe Hillary Clinton was not feeding us a line when she said "I am not a natural politician".

I went to an Anti-Islam Rally and this is What Happened

/ Islamic Community Center of Phoenix/

There is a certain strangeness one feels when around people shouting rhetoric about freedom and waving American flags as they protest a group based on their religion. The contradictions seem to be lost on them. This was the scene today in Phoenix as a group held an Anti-Islam Protest. The event was part of protests around the world which in some cases look indistinguishable from the Saturdays at college football games.

Of course there are the folks with the guns and what not.

Girl and guy have guns on their hips... but why does that guy look so sad?

Girl and guy have guns on their hips... but why does that guy look so sad?

Fella in the black T-shirt is wearing a bullet proof vest. The man in brown is clutching a fire extinguisher. What is the deal with the super hipster guy in blue?

Fella in the black T-shirt is wearing a bullet proof vest. The man in brown is clutching a fire extinguisher. What is the deal with the super hipster guy in blue?

The flags were waving and the people were yelling. "No Sharia Law in America. No Sharia Law in America." Or "Allah is Satan". It should be noted that Allah is actually the same god as the Christian and God. A guy with a bullhorn kept yelling "shame on all of you (I'm assuming Muslims?)".  A recording played through a speaker citing global terrorist attacks with a droning hypnotic tone.

I came because I was curious. What causes someone to actively protest a religion? Why are these people here? Where does this fervor come from?

When i arrived you could see that both sides would be segregated. Waist high fencing with a 12 foot Demilitarized Zone lined with police officers. It was hot and a guy was passing out bottles of waters to protestors. There was screaming back and forth across the DMZ.

I can imagine the yelling is partially due to emotions but the distance makes civil conversation nearly impossible. Through the chaos i decided it is time to have a discussion and stop being a voyeur. So i asked a woman who was yelling across the DMZ if she would like to talk like human beings. We walked to the end of the fence and shook hands and introduced ourselves.

Her name was Sue. Our initial conversation across the DMZ was over why (in her opinion) moderate muslims are not more vocal in their opposition to terrorism. I asked if she protested the US drone strikes that kill innocent bystanders. Her reply that civilian deaths were tragic but a part of war. She was unaware of the rate in which civilians are killed during what are known as "signature strikes".

She explained she was here because she lives in the neighborhood and is concerned with Sharia Law infiltrating our society. Sue explained they (Muslims) keep trying to get Sharia laws passed and she heard there is a city in Michigan under Sharia Law. When pressed on Sharia Law in Michigan she explained that is what she heard and she needs to do more research. Sharia Law in Michigan is an internet hoax/myth. It is not real. Internet myths circulate around and are not fact checked. Even major news organizations help perpetuate these myths. Through our conversation I found that we share some common ground. We both agreed that everyone should have the right to practice their religion. We both agreed we do not want Sharia Law to become the Law of the Land. 

 I asked if she had experienced any of this encroaching Sharia Law. Sue pointed to the banning of city sanctioned Nativity scenes, prayer in school, and the Ten Commandments at a courthouse. All of which are separating Church and State and would be the opposite of encroaching Sharia Law. 

This line of thinking seems similar to me of the people that walk around armed with handguns or assault rifles. They do it because they are scared. They do not have good information. The are misinformed by their friends and family. Part of this can be explained by our desire to read the most salacious things on the internet. Facts get twisted around so that an Islamic mediation group becomes Sharia Law in Texas. Obama is coming for our guns. When people are told over and over again lies they start to believe them.

This lady was nice and pleasant to speak with. She just does not want "her way of life" to disappear. She is concerned that she could walk into a Muslim neighborhood under Sharia Law and suffer the consequences.

We did agree this guy the the "Fuck Islam" shirt is an asshole. So maybe there is hope.

What the fuck is the deal with the guy and the faux military and Middle East regalia?

What the fuck is the deal with the guy and the faux military and Middle East regalia?

“Fear is the path to the dark side... fear leads to anger... anger leads to hate... hate leads to suffering.”
— Yoda

The Philadelphia 26ers

/

The Sixers have lost 26 games in a row. Do you even remember the last time they won? Don't answer that. They last won a game January 29th, 2014. In what must have been a most thrilling contest they beat the Celtics of Boston 95-94 (shh Boston stinks too). How do we wrap our minds around such an epic display of futility? 

Here are some things that have happened since Philly last won a game.

1. The Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl by DOMINATING the Broncos

2. Spring Training: Came and Went.

"And that's all I have to say about that" - Forrest Gump

3. People Died. Probably a lot of people but since we don't really care about most of them I just want to point out two specifically that passed away since the last time the Sixers won a game.

Harold Ramis was one of the great comedic writers of his (or any) generation. He passed away 2/24/14. Ghostbusters was iconic and very important in my mental development.

 

Philip Seymour Hoffman could play geeky, cool, weird, or really any adjective you can think of. He died 2/2/14.

4. Since the Sixers last won a game Russia invaded (or whatever) Crimea. The people of Crimea subsequently held a referendum to join The Russian Federation and the territory was annexed from neighboring Ukraine. I'm not going to give you a half-baked opinion on geo-politics but it is a significant global event. The global map changed (slightly) during the Sixers losing streak.

Speaking of Russia

5. The Winter Olympiad in Sochi Russia came and went. There were a few minor issues. Toilets seem to be a theme here.

Even with a 26 game losing streak. Philadelphia still has a better record than the Milwaukee Bucks. But with a little effort I think they might very well could possibly catch Milwaukee for the most ping pong balls.