Friday, January 28, 2011

Sex, Science, Spirituality, and the Sea

Ashley Wells (Wisdom Quarterly)

The Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, Sri Lanka (Flickr.com/Tommyajohansson)

Science? Religion? Headache?
In another Jesus flare-up, Rob Knop posted his personal religious views, and the proverbial shytza hath hit thee fan. The science and spirituality debate is like a bad itch. Problems that result from self-identification stress the self part because, as Chris Rowan points out, the whole discussion is really about how individuals reconcile their personal views with physical reality. We only run into problems when we start trying to pigeon-hole everyone else. Personal beliefs? I do an end-run around the entire issue by avoiding labels as much as possible. Labels create attachment, and being overly tied to a category that doesn't necessarily have the same boundaries from person to person will inevitably lead to conflict. For instance, I like Buddhism. There's a lot of truth to be found in Buddhist philosophy, and I have a lot of respect for it. (Notice I specified Buddhist philosophy as opposed to Buddhist religion). Ironically, I consider myself a Buddhist precisely because I don't. I don't call myself a "Buddhist" because that would require that I form an attachment, which is something that I do not, in good conscience, want to do as a Buddhist. So by refusing to call myself a Buddhist, I become a better one! (Science types everywhere might be rolling their eyes, but I bet American-Buddhists are winking with a smile at the paradox).

HindustanTimes.com (Just Faith)
It’s probably a comment on the need of humans to create an abstraction, heap huge power on it, and then worship it, term it God, make it a religion. It’s an equally harsh but true indictment of the Chinese suppression of this expression. “One of the last great efforts at state-sponsored atheism is a failure,” notes David Briggs in a well-researched piece in Association of Religion Data Archives. “And not just any kind of failure. China has enforced its anti-religion policy through decades of repression, coercion, and persecution, but the lack of success is spectacular, according to a major new study.” If despite all the coercion, 85% of the Chinese people hold some religious beliefs or practice some kind of religion... More>>

SecurityNewsDaily
Looking for sex online? Don’t download a PowerPoint presentation promising lessons on Kama Sutra positions -- or you might just end up with the digital equivalent of a sexually transmitted disease (STD). A new malware campaign is camouflaging its dangerous payload in the guise of a PowerPoint presentation showing 13 explicit Kama Sutra sexual positions, according to the security firm Sophos. With names like “The Frog,” “Wheelbarrow,” and “Lyons Stagecoach,” the PowerPoint is certainly not safe for work. Nor is it safe for your computer. Users whose curiosities are so aroused that they download the sexual slideshow -- titled “Real kamasutra.pps.exe" -- are taken to an actual presentation. So for the moment, things seem to check out. But while they’re viewing the provocative pornographic pics, a backdoor Trojan called “Troj/Bckdr-RFM” is hard at work, automatically and inconspicuously planting malicious software on the victim's system. Next time, read the book. Suckers: a Decade of Successful Internet Scams - Internet Filter Software Review - Security and Privacy Software Reviews

(SP01) The world's biggest garbage dump is a floating one twice the size of the USA.

"Tibet Roulette" - US plays Geopolitical Game with China
F. William Engdahl (Global Research/Cleverzone)
Here's a cartoon a Netizen posted on China’s most popular online forum, tianya.cn. It conveys a clear message: The Dalai Lama is a puppet performing on the political stage, while the US government's CIA manipulates him from behind the scenes.

Washington has obviously decided on an ultra-high risk geopolitical game with Beijing. Fanning the flames of violence in Tibet just at a sensitive time in their relations on the run-up to the Olympics. It’s part of an escalating strategy of destabilization of China which has been initiated by the Bush Administration. It also includes the attempt to ignite an anti-China Saffron Revolution in neighboring Burma, bringing US-led NATO troops into Darfur where China’s oil companies are developing potentially huge oil reserves. It includes counter moves across mineral-rich Africa. And it includes strenuous efforts to turn India into a major new US forward base on the Asian subcontinent to be deployed against China, though evidence to date suggests the Indian government is being very cautious not to upset Chinese relations.


NBC's "Today Show" coverage of the plastic problem in waterways and oceans

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