Online chat with Drs. Yaron Brook and Onkar Ghate on April 23rd!

I'm very pleased to announce an online chat that I have organized with ObjectivismOnline.NET, the Ayn Rand Institute and the #AynRand IRC channel.

On Friday, April 23rd at 5:30 PM (Pacific) Drs. Yaron Brook and Onkar Ghate will be guests of Objectivism Online for a one hour moderated public chat. The purpose of the chat is to meet students interested in Objectivism, The Ayn Rand Institute, or the Objectivist Academic Center, and to answer their questions. Non-students are welcome as well.

Technical Details:
The chat will be hosted at the #AynRand IRC channel on Undernet. It may be joined over the web at www.objectivismonline.net/chat or using any IRC client.

For more, read the official announcement.

(If you would like to help promote the chat, please spread the word around on your own blog. You can link to the official announcement at http://www.objectivismonline.net/blog/archives/000115.html)

New Artists

I would like to take a break from my INFO paper to mention three contemporary artists I recently discovered and can’t get enough of: Jack Vettriano, Robert LaDuke, and M. Kungl. All three have strong art-deco influences and an exaggerated, colorful, and essentialized style that is bursting with joy for life. And of course, all three have been soundly rejected by the art world. If you are looking for new posters/calendars, I highly recommend all three, especially Vettriano. If you are looking for prints/originals, Quent Cordair might be more to your liking. (And my gallery!)

(The unfortunate thing about artists that mainly sell posters is that they are not friendly about allowing high quality images of their work to be shown on the web. If you know of any online galleries by the above, please let me know.)

Very interesting: For Marine snipers, war is up close and personal

An Alternative History

Washington, April 9, 2004. A hush fell over the city as George W. Bush today became the first president of the United States ever to be removed from office by impeachment. Meeting late into the night, the Senate unanimously voted to convict Bush following a trial on his bill of impeachment from the House.

Also see the relevant Filibuster cartoon.

100,000 servers

Some technical details of Google’s infrastructure that made me drool all over the keyboard: The Secret Source of Google's Power. Also see this PDF on the Google File System.

Bush: Moral Retard

A controversial college professor who thinks parents should be able to kill disabled children says though President Bush makes himself out to be a good Christian leader, he has the moral development of a 13-year-old boy. ... A truly Christian leader, he said, would have "turned the other cheek" when the United States was attacked by terrorists Sept. 11, 2001, because the response led to the loss of innocent life.

I presume no explanation is needed for my readers to see the irony of his argument…

Church of Fools

Slashdot: Starting on May 11, and for a duration of three months, you'll be able to go to a virtual church...This experiment is launched by a Christian website, Ship of Fools, and will be named Church of Fools. Even with such a foolish name, the virtual church project has been approved by the church hierarchy.

Appropriate, eh? I wonder: does showing pop-up ads during services defile it?

The Agitator:

Norway is the latest European police state country to go fjord-to-fjord smoke free, though with an interesting twist. Apparently, bar and restaurant owners are subject to fines if their patrons are caught smoking, but same owners do not have the authority to eject patrons for lighting up. And patrons themselves can't be punished for smoking in public.

Another arch-terrorist – dead.

A great day for freedom: Abdel Aziz Rantisi, the new leader of Hamas was taken out yesterday by the IDF. Just a few weeks ago, he proclaimed his love for death and said that "If by Apache or by cardiac arrest, I prefer Apache." Looks like he got his wish! Rantisi is estimated to have personally planned terrorist attacks that killed upwards of 400 and is "one of the most hard-line members of the militant movement who rejects all compromise with Israel and calls for the destruction of the Jewish state." The “international community” has been quick to condemn the killing, and the terrorists are urging bloody vengeance on Israel – and America. Meanwhile, as death-happy as they claim to be, Hamas has not announced a new leader or retaliated for the assassination of their last two – demonstrating once again that the only thing these sick bastards understand is ruthless, uncompromising, and unrelenting force.

'New reality' for Palestinians

Bush:

Palestinian refugees can go to Palestine when the new state is created, he said; Israel is a Jewish state. The major Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are facts on the ground and cannot be wished away. The separation barrier Israel is building between its population centers and those of the Palestinians is OK, as long as it's not forever.

And by the way, Bush added, Sharon -- the Israeli whom Palestinians love to hate more than any other -- is a bold and capable leader, one whose courage they should emulate.

If it wasn't the Palestinian leadership's worst nightmare, it was pretty close.

It is great to see such a firm statement of support by Bush, whose administration has a tendency of expressing their “disapproval” whenever Israel takes out terrorists. (Other than the fact that Israel should not be a secular, not a religious or ethnic state.) The PLO, meanwhile demonstrates its dependence on threatened and actual terrorism for its very existence:

After a morning meeting in Ramallah, they condemned Sharon's proposal to withdraw all Jewish settlements and some military installations from the Gaza Strip as an attempt to turn Gaza into "a big prison."

They also threatened to cancel all their "commitments in the signed accords," an apparent reference to Bush's internationally-endorsed "road map" to Mideast peace, in which they committed to repress terrorist organizations and stop incitement against Israel.

While “a big prison” may be just what is needed, Israel’s current move is an attempt de-engage the Palestinians. Since the PLO’s political and economic power is firmly tied to inciting terrorism against Israel, a successful isolation would spell the end of their dictatorship. Fortunately for them, a wall is not sufficient to stop terrorists – and fortunately for Israel, Sharon is well aware of that.

Objectivist Academic Center Accepting Applications - Deadline April 26

FYI:

The Ayn Rand Institute's Objectivist Academic Center (OAC) is now accepting applications to its undergraduate program for the fall. The April 26 deadline is quickly approaching. So, if you are interested in applying go to www.aynrand.org/academic and complete the online application form.

The OAC's program is a systematic course of study designed to give aspiring intellectuals a thorough grounding in the essentials of Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. It is meant to supplement a standard college education. OAC students are enrolled in only one or two courses per semester. Each course includes graded assignments and exams, and some include one-on-one tutorials with the professor. Classes are Web-based. Therefore, it is possible to attend from anywhere in the world.

For more information, visit the Web site www.aynrand.org/academic or send questions to: .

Cuba’s Forgotten Prisoners

The New York Sun:

The 41-year-old man sits in a filthy 18-by-24-foot cell that he shares with 10 other prisoners. He knows he is fortunate because up to 18 men are routinely squeezed in cells of that size.... The water is rationed and the little that is available is contaminated. His food rations are meager and substandard. He suffers from chronic gastrointestinal conditions, which have worsened since his imprisonment. He now suffers from parasites, high cholesterol, hypertension, and has lost 20 pounds.

Jorge Olivera Castillo is one of the 300 political prisoners inside Cuba's jails, yet the world seems blind to their plight.

There is no international outcry about his living conditions.

No visits from the International Red Cross since 1989.

No congressional delegations or pop-ins from Greek Orthodox patriarchs or Robert Redford, Sean Penn,
Danny Glover, Oliver Stone, or Harry Belafonte.

Nor--even though he is black--any support from the NAACP, whose leader Kweise Mfume visited Cuba in 2002 on a "goodwill mission."

There is no outcry from the National Writer's Union, whose pet prisoner is Mumia Abul Jamal.

Mr. Olivera was arrested on March 18, 2003, during Cuba's greatest crackdown on independent journalists and dissidents, when 75 persons were arrested. This occurred the day after the 59th Session of the United Nations Commission for Human Rights convened in Geneva....

Cuba denies that it holds any prisoners of conscience and says that all inmates described as political prisoners are merely common criminals.

(From Dollar$ and Crosses)

"brink of nuclear war"

North Korea claims that it's at the "brink of nuclear war" with the U.S. All I have to say is.. I wish!

(From Cox & Forkum)

GLOBAL CAPITALISM

If you live anywhere near Bryan/College Station (East Texas), you may be interested in coming to this talk next Wednesday:

Body In Mind

Check out EGO for an interview with Body in Mind founder Dwayne Bell. Dwayne is the creator of the Bell Scale for measuring female beauty. I liked his article (not to mention the photos!) enough to post an add on my site.

Bell also runs SuperBeauty.org, “a group of independent websites united in a modern movement to change the world and improve the human condition through the creation, admiration, understanding, moral defence and political protection of female beauty and sexuality throughout the world.”

First License for Manned Rocket Flight

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced it has issued the world’s first license for a sub-orbital manned rocket flight.

The license was issued April 1 by the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation to Scaled Composites of Mojave, Calif., headed by aviation record-holder Burt Rutan, for a sequence of sub-orbital flights spanning a one-year period.
...
While the highest criteria to issue a license is public safety, applicants must undergo an extensive pre-application process, demonstrate adequate financial responsibility to cover any potential losses, and meet strict environmental requirements.

Does anyone else see something wrong with regulating private space travel to death before the first spaceship is even launched?

FireFly

I saw the first episode of the Firefly DVD series today, and it is absolutely fantastic. A brilliant combination of sci-fi and western, the series was produced by Joss Whedon, the creator the Buffy and Angel series, which I have also grown to like. Unfortunately, Fox canceled the series before the end of the season, so some of these episodes are only available on DVD. While I have only seen one episode, I’m already cursing Fox for killing this awesome series.

Anyway, the plot revolves around a retired sergeant named Mal who owns and captains Serenity, a Firefly-class spaceship. Mal is a businessman first and a gunslinger second who just trying to make a profit carrying quasi-legal cargo and passengers between the “moons” on the edge of civilized space, while staying clear of the authoritarian Alliance government.

(More show info at FireflyFans.net)

New Chat Applet

I’ve decided to replace my server-side Java chat with a PHP/Java applet interface to connect to the #AynRand IRC channel. Actually, it will allow you connect to any IRC server you want.

'The Passion' a Hit Among Arabs

CAIRO, Egypt -- Hanan Nsour, a veiled, 21-year-old Muslim in Jordan, came out of "The Passion of the Christ" in tears and pronounced her verdict: Mel Gibson's crucifixion epic "unmasked the Jews' lies and I hope that everybody, everywhere, turns against the Jews." The Quran, though, says Jesus's crucifixion never happened.

Such are the contradictions that are welling up as the Arab world deals with "The Passion," even as the film draws large audiences in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and other Arab countries that have approved it for screening.

In the Arab world, openly voiced anti-Semitism -- and by extension the warm reception for "The Passion" -- is bound up in the Arab conflict with Israel. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, after watching the film at his compound in the West Bank, was quoted by an aide as likening Jesus' suffering to the Palestinians'.

While this highlights the obvious anti-Semitic potential of the movie, there is a bigger and much more important point: the story is a denunciation of humanity itself.

San Francisco U. Purge Reversed

In a victory for intellectual freedom, Tatiana Menaker’s expulsion from San Francisco State University has been reversed. She was expelled from school after protesting the same Marxist and Anti-Semitic attitude she escaped the USSR from in 1986. You can read her editorial about the anti-Americanism she encountered in academia, and an account of her story at the Students for Academic Freedom website.

Vampire bats on rampage in Brazil

Wow:

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Rabies spread by vampire bats has claimed 13 lives on an Amazon river island, local media reported Saturday.

The deaths occurred over the past 21 days on Portel Island, according to the O Liberal newspaper. The island is about 1,500 miles northeast of Rio de Janeiro.