Evolutionary Futurism in Stapledon’s ‘Star Maker’

The Star Maker neither loved nor had need of love" (SM 409). This "other end" is that of evolutionary process and creativity aimed toward a perfected future. Whitehead also believes that love is not the ultimate value. He, in fact, criticizes Christianity for its emphasis on love:

It dwells upon the tender elements in the world, which slowly and in quietness operate by love; and it finds purpose in the present immediacy of a kingdom not of this world. Love neither rules, nor is it unmoved; also it is a little oblivious as to morals. It does not look to the future; for it finds its own reward in the immediate present. (PR 520)

Not love, but harmony and peace are the ultimate goals or values in both Stapledon’s and Whitehead’s evolutionary cosmology (AI 367)

The End of the World as We Know It

Figures from an interesting article about work of Nathan Wolfe - Head of the Global Virus Forecasting Initiative.
pages 52 onwards...

CDC =  "£95m for pandemic prevention last year,"

"£120bn spent on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. "

This is a higher than 1200 to 1 ratio. 

Death from terrorist attacks, about 400/yr. 

Death from AIDS about 3.1million/yr., and say 1.8 million/yr. for TB, a million/yr. for malaria = 5.9 million, let's add .1 for the rest, so 6 million/yr. Cause of death ratio: Pandemic Disease / terrorism = 15,000.

Total ratio of funding vs. cause of death = 17 million to 1. That is, the US Gov. spends 17 million USD/yr. to prevent each death from terrorism for each USD it spends to prevent a death from pandemic disease (worldwide).

Nothing like 'self-defense' to make the US citizen safer.

Salvation in the Space Age or How does Astrobiology get more Funding?

Abstract


The concept of salvation and related ideas about the role of intelligent life in the Universe are reviewed, starting with literature from the dawn of the Space Age. We include the Anthropic Principle and the Meduso-anthropic Principle, which is based upon the theory of cosmological natural selection. Recent developments in existential psychology are presented in order to explain these historical developments and to suggest a cultural framework consistent with current knowledge. Acceptance of such a framework is expected to motivate dramatically increased funding for astrobiology and related research fields.


This Podcast can be downloaded from the iTunes Store with iTunes. Search for "NooPod" or "Stodolsky" in the iTunes Store. Use the below method only if that doesn't work. If you need the high-resolution slide set (PDF), follow the link below.


A click on the Title will start Part 1 of the Podcast in your browser, but with a small image. The preferred method is to use a secondary click to download and then play the Podcast in iTunes.


Part 2:


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4147630/Salvation%20in%20the%20Space%20Age2.m4a

The complete high-resolution slide set (PDF) is no longer linked from the podcast. Find it here:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4147630/Salvation%20in%20the%20Space%20Age.pdf

Climate agency going up in flames

A catastrophic heat wave appears to be closing in on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. How hot is it getting in the scientific kitchen where they've been cooking the books and spicing up the stew pots? So hot, apparently, that Andrew Weaver, probably Canada's leading climate scientist, is calling for replacement of IPCC leadership and institutional reform.



The IPCC author who planted that false Himalayan meltdown said the other day "we" did it because "we thought ... it will impact policy makers and politicians and encourage them to take some concrete action."





One Reader commented:
This does show the rats fleeing the sinking ship though, so good news for science on the whole.

James Hansen: Would you buy a used temperature data set from THIS man?

Before we get too worried about NASA’s latest stamping-its-little-feet claims that the world is getting hotter it is it is it IS, let us first remind ourselves why we should trust their temperature records slightly less far than we can spit.

Then let’s have a closer look at the character and motives of the man in charge of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), Dr James Hansen. Last year, he was described by his former course supervisor at NASA, Dr John Theon, as an “activist” and an embarrassment.

Now reader Michael Potts has drawn my attention to yet further evidence of Dr Hansen’s radical, virulently anti-democratic instincts. He has lent his support to an eco-fascist book advising on ways to destroy western industrialisation through propaganda, guile and outright sabotage.

Monogamy: An Evolutionary Perspective

An overview of mating behavior in the animal kingdom and in human cultures is presented. The two best supported theories of reproductive choice are then reviewed: Promiscuity preferences are determined by parental investment in offspring; Short and long-term mating strategies are shown to be responses to survival threats during human evolution. Recent research on sexual desire among monogamous women is reviewed. The function of marriage is considered in light of the latest anthropological evidence. Finally, the rate of life-long marriage in an existing culture practicing informal marriage is noted.


This Podcast can be downloaded from the iTunes Store with iTunes. Search for "NooPod" or "Stodolsky" in the iTunes Store. Use the below method only if that doesn't work. If you need the high-resolution slide set (PDF), follow the link below.

A click on the Title will start the Podcast in your browser, but with a small image. The preferred method is to use a secondary click to download and then play the Podcast in iTunes. The correct file extension is 'm4a'. If you get an 'MP3' extension added when downloading, removing it should make the file play correctly.

The complete high-resolution slide set (PDF) is no longer linked from the first podcast slide. Find it here:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4147630/Monogamy.pdf

Life and death are mutually exclusive states. But....

Polypedilum vanderplanki: an anhydrobiotic insect as a potential tool for space biology 

Abstract

Life and death are mutually exclusive states But some organisms showing no sign of living due to complete desiccation are nevertheless able to resume active life after rehydration This peculiar biological state is referred to as anhydrobiosis Larvae of the sleeping chironomid P vanderplanki living in temporary pools in semi-arid areas on the African continent become completely desiccated upon drought but can revive after water becomes available upon the next rain The anhydrobiotic larvae can stand other extreme conditions such as exposure to 100 r C -270 r C 100 ethanol 7kGy gamma-rays and vacuum As space environment is a typical extreme condition we propose that the sleeping chironomid could be a potential experimental animal for space-related study and indeed such experiments are rightly underway at ISS

Exposing the truth about global warming hysteria

The Mini Ice Age Starts Here (Jan 12, 2010)


The bitter winter afflicting much of the Northern Hemisphere is only the start of a global trend towards cooler weather that is likely to last for 20 or 30 years, say some of the world’s most eminent climate scientists.

Their predictions – based on an analysis of natural cycles in water temperatures in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans – challenge some of the global warming orthodoxy’s most deeply cherished beliefs, such as the claim that the North Pole will be free of ice in summer by 2013.

According to the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre in Colorado, Arctic summer sea ice has increased by 409,000 square miles, or 26 per cent, since 2007 – and even the most committed global warming activists do not dispute this.

The scientists’ predictions also undermine the standard climate computer models, which assert that the warming of the Earth since 1900 has been driven solely by man-made greenhouse gas emissions and will continue as long as carbon dioxide levels rise.

They say that their research shows that much of the warming was caused by oceanic cycles when they were in a ‘warm mode’ as opposed to the present ‘cold mode’.

World's leading terrorist organization

Who violated US law to train Osama bin Laden and his team?

Who failed to pass crucial information about a 9/ll attacker to the FBI in violation of US law?

Shifting Stance on Herbal Medicine by Government and Physicians Benefits Patients

As Dr. Abrams has been known to observe, it’s not surprising that an herbal medicine that’s been safe and effective for 5,000 years is still safe and effective today. But as the evidence piles up in favor of this natural plant product, the pharmaceutical industry is energetically pursuing its own versions of cannabinoid medicines.


Strikingly, the article notes no effect on patient performance on a series of tests used to measure psychomotor or cognitive functioning: “Compared with placebo, neither marijuana nor dronabinol significantly altered performance on any of the tasks.”


Is it appropriate for government to push customers toward expensive pharmaceutical products, when many can get adequate and safe relief from a plant they can grow in their own backyard?

Galactic Ecology

Worried about the "climate crisis"? Then you need to understand "galactic ecology":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKoUwttE0BA&feature=related



Al Gore once again exposed as disingenuous fraud:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbLK4RZDdzI&feature=related