The Minority Report is here 

The Minority Report has arrived into our lives, & by Minority Report, I do not mean a world where 

psychic people, also known as precogs in the movie Minority Report foretell the committing of a crime, thus allowing the authorities to arrest someone before a crime has been committed. However, like the movie, I am talking about people being arrested for thought crime, or more accurately; they are being arrested for speaking their mind. 

The Internet has become a place where people can share ideas, life events, photos, videos, play on-line games together, make friendships, & even fall in love. However, there is a dark side to the net, there are hate sites, predators,  sites that spread viruses & spam, etc. Unfortunately one big side of the net is unfortunately people will often brake social norms within digital social networking sites, within chat rooms, & even chatting or talking to one another in on-line games. On-line, people's annanimity empowers & emboldens them to verbally attack people, to say extremely hateful things that they would never say in public, or to even tear someone apart, threaten them, report someone to authorities as a terrorist, simply because they find their views offensive. 

It is acceptable to voice the opinion you disagree with other religious views, or to even say you don't agree with people's political views, or people being gay. However, threatening, harassing someone, etc, simply because their religious or political views differ from your own, or that they happen to be of a different gender, are older, or of a different sexual orientation. 

Social networks & gaming networks are finally cleaning up there site, as those who use hateful of threatening language are in fact violating their terms of use. Of course they are only doing this due to pressure from users. However, the authorities in their unending efforts to find a terrorist behind every corner, & those users who will yell terrorist at any off collar remark. 

For example, A Texas teen maked a violent joke during video game, and was jailed for months
It started in February when, Justin Carter was playing “League of Legends”, an online, multiplayer fantasy game, when another player wrote a comment calling him insane.“He replied ‘Oh yeah, I’m real messed up in the head, I’m going to go shoot up a school full of kids and eat their still, beating hearts,’ and the next two lines were lol and jk,” Carter’s response, which  was intended as joke was seen by a user in Canada. The woman who saw the post looked up Carter’s Austin address, determined that it was near an elementary school, and called the police. Carter was arrested one month later, and has been in jail until a charitable person recently paid his bail. Authorities charged him with making a terrorist threat. If convicted, he will face eight years in prison.
“These people are serious. They really want my son to go away to jail for a sarcastic comment that he made,” said Carter's father.

Authorities said that recent school shootings like the one in Newtown, Connecticut have caused them to evaluate all potential threats seriously. They said Newtown was still fresh in their minds at the time of Carter’s arrest. An Austin police detective said in a statement “In light of recent situations, statements such as the one Justin made are taken seriously,”. 

Are we supposed to guard everything we say out of fear that, someone else might take it the wrong way, and report us to the authorities, that the authorities will lack the judgement to determine a youthful joke or laps of good judgement, from a real threat of violence or terrorism. I mean, the police could have asked the company that hosted the on-line game to allow them to read the post, if the women didn't give them the full transcript of the post, or they could have interviewed the young man & his family. Instead, the police decided to jump the gun, & this young man has spend several months in jail, where he doesn't belong. 

To me, this situation goes far beyond this young man & what he said, for I wonder if people with as fragile a sensibility or lack of judgement as the woman in Canada will report bloggers, those who create youtube videos, those who post in social media sites like twitter, instagram, Facebook, MySpace, etc. Will those in the GOP & far right use this as a tool to silence the opposition, & to silence the masses, or will those with saner minds keep the Internet a place as a place for the free exchange of ideas, opinions, & freedom of expression.

priests

The biggest lie the church puts forth is, that this is a problem with gay priests. They do this to make it a gay problem, rather than a problem with priests in general. What the church and the media ignore is, far more young girls are being molested by priests than boys. They also ignore the fact that, pedophilia is about control, and that, these criminals go after what they have access to. Society will pay more attention to a man, especially a priest or teacher, when they hang around girls, than when they hang around boys. So, pedophiles tend to do whatever enables them to commit their acts of sexual violence against the innocent. The church can't deny the numbers of gay priests, some are driven to the church out of devotion, other out of guilt. The latter hope to deny their sexuality via devotion, which never works in the end. Many gay priests have been active in the church as alter boys and such, from a vary young age, and they truly desire to continue their service to the church as priests, its a natural progression. So, when they discover their sexuality before or after entering the priesthood, removing them from the church would deny their many years of devotion. The Boy Scouts have the same issue, how can you tell a child most of his life that, you have unconditional love and respect for all segments of society, and when the kid now a teenager realizes their sexuality, deny them that respect once they reach 18. It is the loss of that comradeship and respect that drives many a boy scout to be in denial or to hide in the closet, as due many of those young men who become priest, as they don't want to loose what they have experienced being part of their church growing up. So, there are many layers to this issue, and denying its existence is an operation in futility. Also, as someone pointed out, many of the apostles were married. So, if its good for the apostles of Jesus, it should be good for any priest.

Don't blame Ronald Mc Donald

Its not entirely the fast food industry's fault, consumers need to take the responsibility to read the nutrition charts at fast food restaurants, and/or the ones they provide on-line. I mean, how can you eat a triple or quad stacker at Burger King, A Quarter Pounder stacked with bacon, etc, and not know its unhealthy. Simply by ording a regular hamburger, a small fry, and a small drink, you can cut out a huge amount of calories. You can do more, by swapping a side salad for the fries, and getting water rather than a soda. Try a salad without the dressing, or use the low fat dressing. Even worse than fast food, is most of the food in grocery stores. Its full of hydrogenated vegetable oils, which are linked to strokes, hear attacks, and cardiovascular disease. High fructose corn syrup, which is linked to obesity, and is also found in most processed foods. High salt, sugar, and saturated fat levels also are everywhere. Even many so-called healthy TV dinners have hydrogenated oils, so don't let healthy or smart in the brand name fool you. Also, most luncheon meats, and other processed meats like hot dogs, hams, etc contain phosphates, which are linked to cancer & a shorter lifespan. Many artificial sweeteners also have issues with actually promoting diabetes & obesity. So we must educate ourselves, by not buy products with such ingredients, protesting the use of such ingredients, until the companies will start making food better for us. Studies also show, we get far too few fruits and veggies in our diets. Last but not least, we need to move our bodies, 10,000 steps a day, or 30min of vigorous exercise. Moderate alcohol consumption is also encouraged, and please stop smoking.

Are government leaks always a bad thing?

When members of congress agree that the government has overstepped its boundaries in regards to invading the public's private information, that it is snooping through our digital records, cell phone & telephone conversations, e-mail, web surfing, etc, without due cause just for the sake of possibly finding someone who is off their radar engaged in possible terrorist & or otherwise illegal activity. The big point here is possible, just like all the searches & scans at airports, how much is too much to ask. The government justifies their actions by saying that, they have prevented terrorist acts, but how do we know this, should we take their word for it. How do we know those pushing for such actions aren't the same radical element in politics today who are against non-Christians, Atheists, immigrants, people of color, gays, & countless other groups. In Texas history books in the schools have been rewritten to edit out Jefferson & other historical figures seen as too controversial for our kids. These political leaders want to edit our Television, our radio, certain magazines, & our music & video games, how long before they start editing & or blocking web sites, not for illegal activity, but for controversial content, or that which goes against their political ideals. How long before we become like North Korea & China, where even google searches & other sources of information from the world at large are blocked, or the companies that run the sites are forced to create special edited versions, where specific information is blocked. Some politicians have agreed that, the Wiki-leaks release of government information may have been a good thing, for they feel the government was stepping over its boundaries, & again with the Edward Snowden case, some politicians agree that the government has violated the rights of the general public. As John Steinbeck said, “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power.” I fear this is behind the government's ever encroaching invasion into our digital lives...

Will we all be reduced to ghosts someday?

Digital Escapades

A place to share my experiences with photos, digital video, and other digital media.
Monday, February 14, 2011

There is a great article at
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2048138-1,00.html , its about how in the year 2045, computers and many technologies will supersede humanity, but it also raises the possibility that humans will merge with such technology. The article has me considering human technological hybrids from science fiction, from the Borg of Star Trek, to the cybernetically enhanced people of Neo-Tokyo in the Japanese Anime Ghost in the Shell. I wonder weather we will become a collective, similar to the Borg, but hopefully more benign, or weather we will download our consciousness or ghost into fully cybernetic bodies, as on Ghost in the Shell. Many science fiction movies, tv shows, books, comics, and now on-line stories involve such characters. Some of our troops have artificial limbs, that actually respond to nerve impulses near their missing limb. Work is progressing on microchips embedded in people's brains, that can help them control artificial limbs, personal computers, etc. A blending of nano & genetic technologies could someday heal many injuries, like spinal cord damage, birth defects, genetic disorders, etc. Such technologies might even extend human life spans, and allow us to survive the rigors of long distance space travel. The doom and gloom folks have denounced countless technologies that have benefited humanity, from the automobile, to antibiotics, millions have benefited. People forget that at not too long ago, a child who got a fever was almost assured to die, that polio was rampant, and small pox ravaged much of the world.

People also forget how much automobiles and other motor vehicles enable those on the edge of civilization to reach vital resources, like emergency healthcare, education, etc. Also, the resources of civilization, such as technologies for filtering dirty polluted river or well water, for generating light with portable lamps with micro solar cells, etc. Its not the technology, its the misuse of that technology, and or the overuse of that technology. Its not the combustion engine, its 500 Million of them, and its using gasoline rather than a clean burning bio-fuel. Its not splitting the atom via nuclear fission, its using it for nuclear bombs, and not developing a proper means for disposing or utilizing the waste. In recent years, breeder reactors have been developed, which can utilize nuclear waste as fuel. Our government has be hesitant to use such reactors, because they can be used to make nuclear grade uranium. They are making progress with nuclear fusion, and even with containing anti-matter. The later is decades from even simple reactions, probably in some space based platform, due to the extreme power released by a matter anti-matter reaction, even on a vary small scale. If we someday isolate dark energy/dark matter, it might prove to provide reactions even more energetic than anti-matter.

Humanity has been harnessing technology since the day we began planting crops, rather than just gathering them where they grew. From here humanity developed the science of agriculture, which lead to staying in one place long enough to build permanent housing which lead to architecture, which lead to villages, towns, and then cities. People then needed to get from one of these population centers to the next, which eventually lead to carrying more and more supplies, which lead to the cart. Its true warfare advances technology, which is how we got the chariot, and many other technologies. We have moved past the agricultural revolution, the industrial revolution, the technological revolution, the information revolution, and we are now in what I call the high tech revolution, which the article reflects. All our previous knowledge is being refined and improved upon. In antiquity, humanity knew so little of the world, that all knowledge was simply lumped together. Socrates categorized knowledge into separate categories, such as astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, etc. Today these individual areas have been researched so deeply, that knowledge from one area is bleeding over into other areas. For example bio-engineering, which combines the fields of engineering and biology. They are now even using mushrooms to grow car parts, chicken feathers cooked at 700 degrees to make carbon nano-tubes, and many other technologies from unexpected places. So, why should it be shocking that humans might augment ourselves with technology.

Scientists have been able to spontaneously encourage savant ability in people, by temporarily shutting down parts of the brain and stimulating other parts, using low level electromagnetic fields. So, someday, we may hook ourselves up to an IQ boosting machine, similar to the one seen in the movie, The Forbidden Planet. Maybe such a machine could be used to rewire the brains of Autistic individuals, or those who suffer mental illnesses like schizophrenia, etc. This technique is already in use for severe depression. So as I see it, if computers do begin to excel our abilities, we are best served in using that too our advantage to empower and improve ourselves, than to let ourselves become obsolete.

The Calladus Blog - Fresno Atheist: Nonbelief, Skepticism, Progressive Issues and the Debunking of Pseudoscience

This is a great article, on debunking free energy scams, and it even includes some links on debunking pseudoscience in general. I and many other folks, who are grounded in logic and reason, see such scams as more than a few folks trying to make a quick buck. The fact some major educational cable networks air documentaries, that contain such misinformation deludes our youth's and the general public's ability to determine fact from fiction. Add to this onslaught of misinformation, is the effort by religious zealots, to replace science with religion, and remove evolution from biology classes. Along with our deteriorating educational system, these things are contributing to our youth and therefore, our society falling behind other industrialized nations. Go check it out, go to the links at the bottom of the article, and feel free to leave a comment at his page and or mine. The Calladus Blog - Fresno Atheist: Nonbelief, Skepticism, Progressive Issues and the Debunking of Pseudoscience

Social Networks, and creating collectives.

Although, not 100% instantaneous, due to web traffic, bandwidth, etc, social networks have done the opposite of what, pundits claimed the internet is doing. Rather than separate society, and make individuals feel removed from society, the internet via social networks has created a place, where the most socially inept of us, can fit in, and feel like part of a group. All one need do, is look at Yahoo's egroups, or google's groups, and you will see that, there is a group for virtually any and every segment in our society. From Cat and Dog lover, to Computer nerds and Hackers, to sports fans, and fans of all manner of movies, from Twighlight to Star Wars & Star Trek. These social networks, go far beyond even this level of collectivity. Social networks, like Facebook allow friends, from high school, college, from work, and allows family members to stay in contact, across town, across the country, and across the planet. With web enabled cell phones, this connectivity occurs practicality 24/7 365 days a year.

Refering back to Star Trek, think back to the Personal Access Display Device or PADDs, we first saw the on, the Original Star Trek, as the big black wedge, the yeoman's carried around. Its recognized, that they were an electronic device with a electronic stylus. The PADD's got an update, with the Next Generation, and recived a touch screen. During that short period of time, we began seeing some devices on the market, from Apple's Newton, to Palm's Pilot, more recently, we have seen, the iPod and iTouch. Now, a whole new line of smart phones, that are open source are pushing cellular technology further. The Droid X is a 1Ghz phone, and the up coming
Droid Plus, is a 1.3 Ghz phone. I'm talking processor speed here, not transmission frequency. I am sure, you will soon find phones with 32, 64, and even 128 Giga Byes of internal Ram, and even more external Ram. Smart phones are becoming like mini laptops. There is literally, an app for everything, from editing video and photos, to timing your eggs, lol. With their touch screens, these devices, are every bit as powerful, as what was shown on Star Trek, add a chip for Satellite communications, and you have a real ship to planet communicator, lol.

Advance technology just a decade, and I can see, where people will have completely instantaneous, super high bandwidth access, to our social networks. If someone were to develop, a neural interface that allowed users to interface with each others consciousness, in a sort of social network micro collective of a few hundred, or few thousand users, eventually, it could lead to something on the scale of the Borg. The question is, should we, or should we not? We probably would not become the Borg of Star Trek, we would probably become a true collective, more like the New Collective on Star Trek Voyager, where individuals could plug in, and unplug at will.