Ecosystem

Reef Death

Leave a comment

“One-third of the 3,863 reefs that make up the Great Barrier Reef — the largest, most extensive reef system in the world — went through a catastrophic die-off after a searing heat wave in 2016, according to a newly published study in the journal Nature. A bleaching event in 2017 devastated even more of that reef, and the cumulative effects have killed an estimated half of the magnificent system in just two years.”

It’s a quote from the article below, a work that fits in the “doom and gloom” category. But unlike articles about Planet X, the “unavoidable catastrophic” eruption of Yellowstone or the reversal of the Earth’s magnetic poles, this is “real doom and gloom”. Corals around the world are dying at an alarming rate. This can lead to sudden, disastrous effects on the ocean ecosystem (and thus, the entire planet).

Even though a small number of coral species benefit from higher heat and acidity tolerance, the significant world-wide drop in coral density will affect oceans in ways that might seriously disrupt, among others, our food supply. It’s hard to predict how this will affect the Earth’s population. Even for those that don’t eat fish (like myself), a shortage of fish will result in increased demand (and price) for all other foodstuffs.

Personally, I quit eating fish long time ago due to the fact that most fish I can find in shops comes from waters where there is a high risk of pollution. It’s going to be a while until I can trust eating anything coming from an ocean where humans have dumped their experiments and industrial residue for centuries:

http://www.businessinsider.com/coral-reefs-great-barrier-reef-dying-from-bleaching-warming-2018-4?r=US&IR=T&IR=T^

Additional reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral#Threats^

[ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/02993-ReefDeath-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Reef Death’ desc=’One-third of the 3,863 reefs that make up the Great Barrier Reef went through a catastrophic die-off after a searing heat wave in 2016.’]

Society

China’s Social Credit System

Leave a comment

Something big was set in motion in China. It’s called the Social Credit System^. It leverages the latest in technology in order to build something akin to a criminal record, except that it’s updated much more frequently (possibly even real-time in certain cases). It doesn’t only cover crime, but pretty much any action that the government can track, online and offline:

http://nordic.businessinsider.com/china-social-credit-system-punishments-and-rewards-explained-2018-4?r=US&IR=T^

As we know, China has an extremely well-developed tracking & censorship apparatus. Through the Social Credit System, even minor social offenses such as jaywalking or smoking outside designated areas can be turned into punishments that can seriously affect one’s life. In the article below you can find a rather shocking video (well, not entirely shocking to me since I suspected this was coming^) about the country’s highly developed video surveillance system:

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-china-is-watching-its-citizens-in-a-modern-surveillance-state-2018-4?r=US&IR=T#9-tracking-peoples-social-media-posts-which-can-be-linked-to-the-users-family-and-location-10^

The punishments that the Chinese have come up with for citizens who stumble into a low social credit are deviously inventive. They can ban people from getting transport tickets, throttle internet speeds or even prevent them from getting certain jobs or education. The question is, how long until similar systems are deployed all over the planet?

https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/social-credit-system/^

As usual with such schemes, there are advantages. It’s safe to assume that such a system can improve social accountability and online behavior (for example, cyberbullying can be tackled more effectively). Unfortunately, since it’s China we’re talking about, the rules for having a good social credit are set by a government that suppresses criticism through any available means.

What’s worse is that most judgements regarding a person’s social credit will be done by software. And since these programs aren’t even remotely intelligent yet^, there will be many mistakes made. I wonder if the Chinese authorities will allocate the appropriate manpower to address appeals by citizens against the decisions made by these algorithms.

This is a risky path that the Chinese are taking. It is also setting a very dangerous precedent for our civilization. It tempts governments today to increasingly rely on surveillance and punishment rather than educating and supporting a person’s healthy development. Free societies will always have an advantage when it comes to innovation. And in the Information Age^, innovation is what creates winning nations.

[ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/02988-ChinaSocialCredit-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’China's Social Credit System’ desc=’China leverages the latest in technology in order to build something akin to a criminal record but doesn't only cover crime, but pretty much any action that the government can track, online and offline.’]

Society

Body Pleasure and the Origins of Violence

Leave a comment

Every year or so, there’s one article/essay that stands out from everything I come across. This is one such work. It shows the correlation between violence and repressed sexuality, lack of affection towards children, sensory deprivation and various forms of social damage. It’s a long read, but you can also read just parts of it and I’d wager you’ll still be enriched by this amazing work:

http://www.violence.de/prescott/bulletin/article.html^

You don’t need to be a psychologist to see how all this makes so much sense. A sick society will produce sick individuals.

If you choose to read only one of my weekly recommendations every 6 months, I would beg you to read this one.

And I’ll do one other thing I do as rarely as possible. And that is to passionately ask you to share this with the world! Thank you!

[ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/02982-BodyPleasureOriginsOfViolence-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Body Pleasure and the Origins of Violence’ desc=’See the correlation between violence and repressed sexuality, lack of affection towards children, sensory deprivation and various forms of social damage.’]

Society

The CLOUD Act – or Another Nail in the Coffin of Privacy

Leave a comment

Finally, thanks to the CLOUD act^ passed earlier this year, American companies have the right to spy for the government of the USA on pretty much anybody that uses American products. The act also indirectly opens the door for other governments that enjoy snooping in their citizens’ private lives. And guess what, major tech companies had no problem turning their back on their customers because (surprise!) the act will save them loads of cash:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/big-tech-cloud-act-surveillance,36730.html^

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Of course, this is all done with ethics and responsibility at the forefront, in the glorious battle against organized crime. Even if I wasn’t sarcastic, this is, after all, yet another weapon in the USA’s cyberwarfare arsenal^. And the walls protecting our private lives have already started to fall^.

That’s one small step for a nation-state, one giant leap backwards for mankind.

Here’s what the Electronic Frontiers Foundation had to say:

“Because of this failure, U.S. and foreign police will have new mechanisms to seize data across the globe. Because of this failure, your private emails, your online chats, your Facebook, Google, Flickr photos, your Snapchat videos, your private lives online, your moments shared digitally between only those you trust, will be open to foreign law enforcement without a warrant and with few restrictions on using and sharing your information. Because of this failure, U.S. laws will be bypassed on U.S. soil.”

[ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/02967-CLOUDAct-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’The CLOUD Act – or Another Nail in the Coffin of Privacy’ desc=’The act also indirectly opens the door for other governments that enjoy snooping in their citizens' private lives.’]

Life Fragments, Parenting

My Wife Became a Mother in Sweden – Part 1 – Withbaby

2 Comments

This belongs to a series of 5 articles dealing with child birth and the medical system in Sweden – from both a man’s perspective but also from a woman’s perspective, thanks to direct input from my wife. The reasons for writing the series are presented on the start/summary page^ where all 5 articles are linked.

Like most parents, I’ll never forget the day when we found out we’re pregnant. Yes, we were pregnant. Throughout this story, I’ll be using several expressions that we’ve coined during my wife’s pregnancy. It was Crina who came up with “we’re pregnant”.

Then, it was me who forged the word withbaby, and you’ll get used to it, because my wife wasn’t pregnant (and this is the last time you’ll read this word here). Crina was withbaby. Language is powerful. Language matters. We don’t use cold, distant words to express giving life to our child.

And if “having been impregnated” sounds too scientific, there are even worse expressions for withbaby in other languages. In our own native Romanian, they call women withbaby “însărcinată”. Ad-litteram, it means “tasked”, as in “having been given a task” (the root is “sarcină”, which means “task”).

On the 21st of May 2016, on Crina’s name day, we found out that we’re withbaby. Men usually start to be called fathers only after the child is born. When Crina learned that she’s withbaby, I already started to think, and talk about myself as a father. The fact that I couldn’t interact much with the baby didn’t make a difference to me. I now see how important that was, because it helped me shift to being a partner for my wife faster than I would have otherwise done.

After my wife confirmed the “yes” result using several pregnancy tests, the first practical thing we had to do was to find a midwife. We went at a nearby state-owned health center and there, we met Erika, who we instantly liked. I thought she had a good approach towards being withbaby: keep your life balance, exercise, don’t lose intimacy, eat healthy. Unfortunately, Erika was quitting, so that was the first and only time we met her there.

Important: In Sweden, everything related to childbirth is free. This includes all routine checkups and treatments, all advice and all appointments. The quality of state-owned health centers is similar to the private ones. In Stockholm, there are a lot of private-owned health centers. They are also paid for by the government, hence the “free-for-all” healthcare. Waiting times to get appointments related to childbirth is usually short (a couple of days).

We wanted to follow our midwife Erika to privately-owned BB Stockholm, but could not get an appointment because she was on extended sick-leave. We therefore transferred to another privately-owned health center called Mamma Mia (with whom we had a rather unpleasant experience about two years ago). They have multiple locations across town, pretty much like their main competitor, BB Stockholm.

Just like the previous time around, our experience with Mamma Mia was rather sour. The midwife was professional and… and that’s it. She was professional. Just like our previous obstetrician appointment there, we were treated like objects on the conveyor belt. I’m exaggerating here in order to highlight the fact that we saw a very clear pattern with Mamma Mia.

The clinic is geared towards getting as much money from the government as possible. They do this by handling as many patients as they can in the shortest possible time. And it shows. Our three appointments there were rushed and lacked any emotion. I am generally a warm and pleasant person and I tried to connect with the midwife but she was like an ice block. We therefore decided to switch to BB Stockholm when my wife was in her 3rd month withbaby.

Important: Needless to say, having a baby is an important event. In order to facilitate a smooth and pleasant journey, it is good to have around you people that you can relate to, people that can give your family not only good quality care but also love. We would have gone through five midwifes if necessary.

Luckily, the 3rd time was a charm in our case. At BB Stockholm we met Solveig, a midwife who was close to retirement age. She was not only very experienced and professional, but also gave us a good feeling every time we went to see her.

Now, a few words about Sweden’s healthcare system. This country has an extremely professional way of documenting everything. In time, this has resulted in a huge amount of data about pretty much any imaginable situation that can occur during childbirth. It’s a two-edged sword, because if you have requests that are outside of their comfort zone (the much-loved procedures), you need to either strongly justify it, or pay the costs by yourself (if the request is even possible).

Such a situation occurred for us because my wife had learned that in our native Romania they perform a special kind of test for something called the Rh factor^. An Rh mismatch^ between mother (if Rh negative) and baby (if Rh positive) can lead to complications. We wanted to have this test done but the obstetrician told us that they will only perform such checks if there are such complications and that she sees no reason to worry yet.

In other words, they were willing to expose us to risk simply because we asked for something that wasn’t in their “to-do list”. What’s worse is that the obstetrician (we were at Mamma Mia at that time) wasn’t even sure if the risk prevention treatment (a shot) for having this blood group mismatch was available in Sweden. We took a leap of faith and left it at that.

Sweden is also totally not crazy about ultrasounds, and with good reason^. In our home country, Romania, they do ultrasounds during almost every checkup and the number of investigatory sessions can go up to more than 10 until birth. In Sweden, they do one (!), and even that one is entirely optional. They recommend two if the woman is older than 35 years old (when the chances for Down syndrome increase). Since Crina was soon turning 34, she was offered two ultrasounds.

During the second ultrasound, we got the impression that the baby wasn’t exactly happy with the procedure (showed signs of agitation). Despite the common view still being that the ultrasound is not harmful, it is invasive. We’re talking here about a high-energy vibration that is used for imaging tissues. The developed human ear can’t pick up ultrasounds, but I am curious about how the hearing range transforms during the development of the ear. In any case, I couldn’t agree more with Sweden on this one.

We didn’t want to know the gender of our child so we asked the examiner to not tell us. We had named our baby WinterKid (since he or she was due in January). To us, the only important thing was that our child is healthy. We also don’t believe in gender stereotypes, so for us preparing for a boy or a girl wasn’t an issue. No bias towards certain toys or colors. The only thing that we couldn’t buy (given that we don’t live in Scotland) was skirts, and that wouldn’t be an issue ‘til long after the child’s birth.

Important: the ultrasound is an invasive procedure. We met midwives in Sweden that were well aware of this fact. Not all doctors are of the same opinion yet, so what I’d like to share is the science behind ultrasound^ and recent discoveries^ about the risks it carries. Ultrasound imaging consists of a high-energy vibration that pierces through tissues in order to produce echoes that the sensor can pick up. We know extremely little about the very fragile mechanisms of cellular development; therefore, it is naturally better to have less interventions.

During our time withbaby, we went on two holidays: Portugal^ and Scotland^. Crina had quite a pleasant time withbaby (her words!). She only had a couple of episodes of morning sickness and was able to do a lot of hiking during both vacations. In Scotland, during the 5th month withbaby, she climbed mount Cairn Gorm^. It’s a medium difficulty hike but I can tell you that all Scots we met were surprised to hear she pulled that one off all by herself (and with a bit of baggage too).

She also managed her diet very well. There are some people that believe that “the mother eats for two”. That’s a dangerous myth^. Please consider replacing that with “the mother should eat twice as healthy”. Years ago, we had switched to eating almost only organic food, but we compromised during holidays and, as the midwives here correctly point out: what’s good for mother is (generally speaking) good for baby. If she had an “unhealthy” craving such as ice-cream, fries, chips or large quantities of biscuits, she would go for it. Although this happened quite rarely, it was perfectly fine because…

One thing all midwives here agree on is the importance of physical exercise during being withbaby. Crina followed this advice well: she went to yoga classes, Pilates, daily walks and exercised at home as well. We know mothers that swim, do weight-lifting and go to the gym.

We loved our time withbaby. We were happier than ever before. I think the reason is not only due to the awareness that a new life had started, but also because of the hormonal changes that undoubtedly affect behavior. And even though women experience the greatest body chemistry changes, some changes occur in the man as well – not sure if due to empathy or to emerging paternal instincts.

We kept a general mood of “we can’t wait to meet you, WinterKid”. And the baby seemed to agree. I could feel movement quite early in his or her development: at the end of the second trimester while we were in a bathtub in Scotland. We both felt that Crina is bearing a cheerful being, eager to meet us, eager to explore the Universe. So, we tried to see the best in the world around us, to greet every day with love in the heart and peace in the mind.

Important: if there is a perfect way to prepare for childbirth, that is living as pleasantly as possible. Of course, there are foods and substances that we know are not good for our health; these are even more dangerous for the fragile growing creature. Still, a woman withbaby who continues her life pretty much as usual is keeping her psyche in a good place, and that, the baby feels. Crina hiked, played, worked, helped me paint a room in our apartment during her 7th month and thus, allowed her body tackle day-to-day life. This generates confidence, and confidence is healthy.

[ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/02796-Miruna-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’My Wife Became a Mother in Sweden – Part 1 – Withbaby’ desc=’Crina was withbaby. We were pregnant. The next chapter had begun.’]

Technology

Swedish Megatunnel to Be Completed in 2026

Leave a comment

Time for a look into some amazing engineering. Sweden’s capital is experiencing increasing traffic difficulties due to both its growth and the growth of other cities in the country. This often generates traffic that exceeds the capacity of the current infrastructure.

Major European road E4 currently passes through Stockholm, where it mixes with the local traffic, leading to unpleasant experiences for everybody involved. But come 2026, vehicles traveling the North-South direction close to the capital will benefit from one of the superstructures of the 21st century:

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/03/can-you-build-an-environmentally-friendly-megatunnel-sweden-thinks-so/^

And since I’m talking Stockholm and tunnels, I can also recommend having a look at how the Swedes are rebuilding the second-largest public transport^ hub in the city. They’re digging the entire bus terminal into a mountain^.

[ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/02962-SwedishMegatunnel-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Swedish Megatunnel to Be Completed in 2026′ desc=’Come 2026, vehicles traveling the North-South direction close to Stockholm will benefit from one of the superstructures of the 21st century.’]

Society

Fairness in the World of Economic Inequality

Leave a comment

We often gasp at the amount of wealth various entrepreneurs have amassed. News about economic inequality^ (sometimes known as income inequality) is quite common lately, and so it should be. Slowly but surely, society’s patience^ is reaching the breaking point^ and when that happens, chaos^ ensues.

It is hard not to be shocked when confronted with the knowledge^ that the accumulated wealth of 42 individuals (no typo, it really is a two-digit number) is greater than that of the poorest half of the world’s population put together. And then there’s that already outdated statistic about the world’s top 1% owning more than the bottom X% (82% as of 2017 and growing).

Is there a reason to rage when these statistics show up? To many, the answer is an obvious “yes”. Indeed, the disparity is staggering, but fury isn’t usually the right attitude to address a problem. There are many factors that contribute to the present state of affairs and we are directly responsible for some of them. Owning up to this is the first step towards improving things.

As I’ll soon show, there are different kinds of “rich and powerful”. Some of these people are highly beneficial for the progress of our species, while others are destroying lives and wrecking our ecosystem, dragging down society by setting the wrong examples.

The problem isn’t with the rich. If we can even call it a problem, it lies with a society that produces individuals who would do anything to accumulate more wealth, fame and power. When such people do not possess neither the skills nor the opportunity to advance, they start breaking the rules. Eventually, they lose touch with constructive social values while trying to satisfy their insatiable hunger. Empathy and ethics go down the drain so there’s no wonder some of these people act in a completely alien way^. The good news is that it is well within our power to modify the social constructs that are at the root of all this.

Greed and recklessness

Examples about the excesses of the rich are very easy to find. Most of these cases concern an increasingly staggering waste of resources: luxury goods of questionable origin, extravagant properties and a way of life that is severely out of balance with the rest of society. Unfortunately, there are even worse excesses than the material ones, such as the exploitation of other people and, to generalize, disrespecting the ecosystem.

Some of these behaviors are not that difficult to understand because they are driven by instinct. Read this earlier article about the rules of the human game^, which describes how instinct drives a wedge between society’s noble goals and the often-greedy personal needs. Fortunately, we’re a highly adaptable species. It’s up to us to change the rules by which we play with.

Take the worst example of a human being you can think of and realize that the way they acted is, for the most part, a consequence of their education and life experience. We were all born innocent. Genetics plays a role too, of course, but especially when it comes to character and life choices, it is mostly society that shapes individuals.

Philanthropy and inspiration

What many people seem to ignore is the fact that most of the wealthy tycoons are talented administrators and gifted visionaries. They are alchemists of skill and opportunity. Many of them have blasted their way through the hard rock of ages to carve a path through which our civilization can advance.

It is not only scientists and philosophers who deserve credit for our progress. More often than not, having the courage to invest in the dreams of another (even if doing so for the purpose of taking over said dreams when they mature) and having the will power to pour one’s entire life to reach a certain goal are qualities that can produce tremendous benefit for society.

So how exactly do the super-rich help us? There are countless examples of charitable acts that have helped our society, going back to the dawn of recorded history. As our philosophy and social ethics developed, charity evolved into philanthropy^ (read the first paragraphs of the linked article to learn about the difference between the two). The number and influence of philanthropists^ make this into a very powerful social force.

One of the best examples is the Nobel Prize^. It shows how one wealthy man’s donation can ripple through time to create one of the most distinguished and inspiring recognitions of achievement a human can receive. Warren Buffet’s Giving Pledge^ is also worth mentioning as a catalyst for such acts. A less clear-cut example is Bill Gates’ wealth, which led to the creation of a foundation whose modus operandi and purposes are slightly questionable^.

We need people like Elon Musk (as controversial^ as he is) and all the other up-and-coming entrepreneurs. Such individuals always had the potential to find new ways through which we can progress. This does not mean that the abuse and unfairness of some magnates should be tolerated and accepted as the status quo.

This is why we have free press (in most of the world), so that we may find out about and openly condemn people demonstrating an unethical, unconstructive behavior. Hopefully, one day they will realize that they’ve strode away from the honorable path. Yes, these things do exist: honor, ethics and wisdom. You won’t see these words too often in the mainstream media because a sort of hopeless pragmatism has infected many writers. They have either given up on their inner idealist, or are on the payroll of the wrong camp.

The social impact of the rich and famous is very important. They can inspire in both directions: towards the betterment of society or towards the obsessive interest with one’s ego. Again, let’s not forget that we are responsible for growing the powerful people of tomorrow.

A new method is required. And here is where the Internet and social media come into play. Today, we can unite in our thoughts regarding the worldwide changes that we desire. Through direct communication and public appeal, our words will slowly make it to the ears of the people at the top of the pyramid. And instead of beheading them or, worse, scaring them into beheading us, we will pass along a message of friendship and understanding. A message that we can start…

Building together

Many activists are so hooked on this idea of “revolution”. They are strung up on violent upheaval and showing their frustration using the fist and the gun. Some people^ knew this was wrong decades ago^. Have we completely forgotten them? Revolution is not what we need. A revolution implies a return to the status quo, but history must stop repeating itself. This can only be accomplished through evolution.

It’s time to decriminalize “utopia”. We need to cut some slack to the few dreamers who believe we can transform our society into something greater. We need to forgive ourselves for our history and understand, once and for all, that our future is our own choice. Our history is not a song stuck on repeat. Only then, will we see the light at the end of the tunnel and can begin pushing ourselves towards it.

And tell me, what wise leader wouldn’t enjoy knowing that he or she has empowered this species to change its course? It’s true that there are not many wise leaders today. They mirror our society, which in turns mirrors an obsolete industrialized educational system.

The wealthy who abuse power only do so because that’s the only way they know how to cope with their inner struggles or how to derive pleasure from their existence. A significant percentage of the world’s population suffers from a disastrous lack of understanding of what happiness really is (among others: it’s not a destination, but a way of traveling through life).

It is up to us to show what life and this world can be. But we won’t ever succeed if all we do is complain until it gets too much and then violence becomes the last resort. Nothing short of a work of art will suffice. And this work of art is the web of knowledge that is right now being spun by thoughts such as these, or these^ or these^. Countless writers in countless ways^ echo the same verdict: the time for change is near.

The way forward is to spread this knowledge. Because those of us that understand what working together truly means are still in the minority, we must be patient, we must wait for our peers to be interested in the alternatives we come up with. The struggles ahead must be overcome together. This is the next test that evolution has laid in front of us.

Discouraging violent response and encouraging calm and rational discussion (this is not incompatible with going out in the streets and voicing our arguments) is the only way we can write a new chapter in this species’ history, without the stains of blood and xeroxed cemeteries that come with the ravaging tides of war.

[ax_meta fbimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/02761-FairnessInTheWorldOfEconomicInequality-Share.jpg’ lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/02761-FairnessInTheWorldOfEconomicInequality-Thumb.jpg’ fbimgw=’1170′ fbimgh=’350′ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Fairness in the World of Economic Inequality’ desc=’People often rage at the amount of wealth various entrepreneurs have amassed. But let's give them some credit and see if we can work together.’]

Society

Walmart Pulls T-Shirts Advocating Murder of Journalists

Leave a comment

In a surprising move, major American retailer Walmart actually decided to remove from its inventory t-shirts that advocated killing journalists. So apparently the USA hasn’t completely gone astray:

https://nypost.com/2017/11/30/walmart-yanks-shirt-threatening-to-kill-journalists/^

Obviously, I was being sarcastic. The USA has gone completely astray.

By “completely”, I mean the outcome of an election. When a democratic country elects to pursue a certain course, then it is a complete commitment. Yes, there may be opposition, but the overall direction has been set – and in the case of the US of A, I believe that the direction is astray.

By “astray”, I mean that while most of society (world-wide) considers murder to be wrong, the USA has managed to devalue life in such a way that murder can be commercialized with incredibly little public backlash. I believe that the lack of a major social response against the retailers, users and companies that produce such merchandise is due to Americans having been desensitized to violence^.

I can’t describe how sad I am to see beautiful, smiling, presumably honest people, congregate and laugh about murdering journalists, the very profession that is supposed to propagate information.

In the USA, Murdering Journalists is now considered a funny topic.
In the USA, murdering journalists is now considered a funny topic. (c) Reuters.

Well, it’s true that now-a-days most “journalists” distort rather than propagate information. Mind the quotes. Those are not really journalists. The true journalist is impartial and just. Unfortunately, ever since the invention of writing, there are those who are not spreaders of truth, but propaganda writers. Crafty wordsmiths that have either chosen or have been fooled into the employ of people whose purpose is to redirect and manipulate (they’re pretty good at fooling others).

Even if the t-shirts would have said “kill all liars”, I still believe that such messages are childish, stuck in an epoch we should move away from. Don’t kill liars; stop producing them^. Don’t kill propaganda; change the message^. Don’t blame manipulators; understand why they exist in the first place^.

[ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/02951-MurderJournalistsHorror-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Walmart Pulls T-Shirts Advocating Murder of Journalists’ desc=’The USA has managed to devalue life in such a way that murder can be commercialized with incredibly little public backlash.’]

Technology

Solar Victory

Leave a comment

Solar-power uptake^ has been doing very well recently due to falling costs^ in producing it. In any contest, there are events that can seal the victory. In the energy contest between fossil and renewable, I believe that Tesla has won a major battle. And it all happens in the country that is the world’s top exporter of the dirtiest fossil fuel (Australia, coal):

https://cleantechnica.com/2018/02/04/tesla-construct-virtual-solar-power-plant-using-50000-homes-south-australia/^

[ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/02944-TeslaAustralia-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Solar Victory’ desc=’In the energy contest between fossil and renewable, I believe that Tesla has won a major battle.’]

Technology

From Minecraft to Crippling the Internet

Leave a comment

Minecraft is innocent enough, right? Many tales of wicked deeds sometimes have an unlikely, harmless beginning. Here is one such tale.

Even though it’s about something that happened way back in 2016 (a cyberattack on the DNS network^ that crippled the Internet for a majority of users in North America), this well-written cyberwar article is totally worth sharing in light of recent privacy and security scandals:

https://www.wired.com/story/mirai-botnet-minecraft-scam-brought-down-the-internet/^

For a more in-depth analysis of cyberwar and what it may entail, check my comprehensive article, Daring to Imagine Cyber Warfare^.

[ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/02940-MinecraftDNSAttack-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’From Minecraft to Crippling the Internet’ desc=’Many tales of wicked deeds sometimes have an unlikely, harmless beginning. Here is one such tale.’]