Random Access Memory (RAM)
Sunday, July 31, 2011
'Love one another as I have loved you.' John 15:12
LOVE ONE ANOTHER
Reading: 1 John 3: 1-12
“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” (John 15.12)
Christ’s command is that we should love one another, which seems such an obvious thing for us to do, and yet even at that we so often fail. It sometimes seems that it’s easier to be judgemental than it is to be loving. People say that they long for Revival, and yet fail to be revived themselves enough to follow Christ’s commandment in this respect. It’s so easy to love the people whom we know and like, but when it comes to loving those who we don’t like we have a problem. Yet Christ’s commandment is that we should love one another in the same manner in which he loves us.
When we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour then we are also called to acknowledge Him as our Lord, and that means following His commandments and following His life-style. In other words, we are to become more like Christ as we mature in the faith.
When we are reconciled to God through Christ we become children of God and fellow heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16/17). This privileged position is open to every believer.
The Christian life is never going to be the ‘easy option’. There are many aspects of it which are easy for us to do, that’s for sure. We can read the Bible, pray, mix with other Christians, do our best to keep the commandments, and so on, but when it comes to facing up to the world in which we live it becomes much harder.
“Love on another as I have loved you”. That’s the Christian thing to do, because that’s what Christ Himself has commanded us to do. In a perfect world it would be so easy! However, we live in the real world, where resentment, anger, grudges and violence often dominate the daily news and impinge on our daily lives. We are told to love people as Christ loves us, and that means loving them sacrificially, not just on the surface. Christ loved us so much that He gave up His life that we might be reconciled to God by believing on Him and acknowledging Him as our Saviour and Lord. The love of Christ is a sacrificial love. It doesn’t come easy.
Every day we hear stories of people not being loved. We hear of people being killed, raped, bullied, terrorised, abused, divorced, sued, and these things happen to everyone, in the home, in the office and in the school, whether or not they are Christians. Even in churches there are examples of hypocritical attitudes, and areas of dissension. When you read the Bible, you’ll quickly find that what happens in the real world also happens in the lives of Christian. People are not getting along with each other as they should. Many are living with hatred, which the Bible equates as murder in their hearts. It seems like our world is overrun with the Cain syndrome. In short, real Christian love is rare. That’s a real problem. We have so few models of real Christian love. We hardly know what real Christian love is all about. Jesus Christ demonstrated and taught what real Christian love is: We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (1 John 3:16). Jesus meant business when he showed us what love is. Mankind broke the rules laid down by God, and Jesus chose to forgive, coming and die in our place. In his sacrifice we see the greatest example of love in action that is possible to see. The Bible teaches us in 1 John 2:2 “He Himself is the propitiation (the satisfaction) for our sins; and not only for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”
Love means allowing for growth through failure, looking towards future potential. Love means not expecting that other people will get it, the first time, and maybe not even the second time or third time. Love means forgiving people and knowing in your heart that people are worth it. Love is understanding that different people are at different stages of their journey, whether it be their journey through life in general or their Christian journey, and understanding that they will often need help along the way. Yet for so many people in and out of the church, their expectation is that real Christian people should get it right the first time. There is no allowance for failure. There’s no room to learn to grow, and this is how we get into trouble. In the absence of real Christian love ― love the way that Christ loves ― the church becomes restricting and graceless. Rules of how people are expected to behave dominate, and every failure, however slight, becomes ammunition to nail the perpetrators to the door. People may be shown the door instead of being welcomed through the door, simply because they don’t seem to fit the expectations of the rule-makers inside. Instead of the church seeking the lost sinner, it tells the sinner to get lost. This is doing things according to the world and not according to the love demonstrated by Christ, despite claiming to follow Him. How easily some people can become as exacting and calculating as the Pharisees, noting every infraction of the law, to the minutest detail.
In such a congregation the real experience of love, acceptance and forgiveness is almost non-existent, with the result that their version of Christianity becomes joyless and devoid of real hope. The example we have in this passage from 1 John is of Cain who murdered his brother because his brother was righteous.
The truth is that because of Christ’s sacrificial love we have the opportunity to be reborn. When we love Christ then we pass from the death of sinfulness into new life in Christ. His is the example that we have and His is the example that we must follow.
We are children of God! What a wonderful love God has bestowed on us that He should call us His children and we call Him our Father. Once we really get our heads around this concept then we start to understand what real love is all about. The love of Christ is a love that takes hold of us entirely, and allows us to share it equally with others, putting the concerns of others before our own for the sake of Christ. Jesus laid down His life for you. Are you prepared to do the same for Him? If you are then you will experience the amazing power that such love releases.
We are told ‘to love in action and in truth.’ Do you love others as Christ loves you? how are you laying down your life for others?
Could it be that we have not really tasted richly of God’s love? A heart that has not tasted the truth of Christ’s passion and the thrill of the prospect of the transformation that will be(3:2), will have little to give to transform what was hatred into love.
Look at others through Christ’s love. Love is always building up another person. Maturity is living with the tension of what people can be and what they are now. “Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” Ephesians 4:2 (NLT). Love has the goal of looking after another’s welfare - by doing something tangible. It’s far more than words. We must see others but see each other as new creations (2 Cor.5:16-17) and not measure them by what the world thinks.
When we can learn to love as Jesus loves us then revival will be seen in us, and from this personal experience of revival can come the desire to spend more time with God in prayer. When we do this, constantly maturing in the faith, then we can pray for revival to break out in our midst, but to see this happen there need to be an even greater change of heart.
Whilst I firmly believe that Revival is a miraculous outpouring by God of His Spirit upon a people, I believe that the Church is responsible to facilitate it in the sense that it is when believers are totally serious about the call for Revival. The church must be in deadly earnest about praying for Revival, and must gather together in prayer as well as praying in private to call upon God to send His Spirit down. It is probable that none of us have seen Revival because we are content with things the way they are. We are content to live without Revival! What is needed now are Christians praying for Revival who are on fire for the Lord. Whilst there may be many who are smouldering I don’t believe that there are enough who are truly on fire. There is a complacency that stands in the way. The riches of the world shine too brightly so that people want to collect them like magpies collecting shiny baubles, and as long as such attractions are dominant then the Lord’s work falls into second place.
So can we hope to see Revival? Can we hope to see our nation rescued from the downward spiral that is gripping it, dragging it deeper and deeper into the pit of despair?
We can when we start to be obedient to all that God demands.
When we:
· Learn to love one another as Christ Himself loves us.
· When we insist on the true gospel being preached in our churches and chapels, and not the watered down, cheapened versions that are so often offered.
· When we value the privileges that come with being the children of God, and honour the responsibilities that accompany them.
· When we are prepared to pray in earnest; prayer that is accompanied by brokenness and pleading before God.
· When we give God the glory that belongs to Him, rather than seeking to take some of it upon ourselves.
Revival comes when people prepare themselves for it, pray earnestly for it and expect it. The first stage in such preparation is being obedient to all that we are commanded to do, and a priority in that is to love one another with a sacrificial love. Not only because we like someone, but even when we find it hard to like them Not because we want them to love us back, but because we want to improve their lives as a result of our loving them. Completely and unconditionally.
When we can do that then not only will our lives be changed but we will see the lives of those around us changed too.
Amen
Saturday, July 30, 2011
A hymn for the Sunday School: 'Little Children'
Little Children 7777
Tune: Jesus Loves Me
Little children pure and sweet,
Worship at the Saviour’s feet;
He looks down at them to say,
Walk My straight and narrow way.
Yes! Jesus loves them!
Yes! Jesus loves them!
Yes! Jesus loves them!
The Bible tells us so.
Jesus seated on the ground,
Called the children, gather round;
Drew them close to be with Him,
Gave them life, pure, free from sin.
Yes! Jesus loves them!
Yes! Jesus loves them!
Yes! Jesus loves them!
The Bible tells us so.
Promised them that He’d be there,
And would hear their every prayer;
He’d supply their every need,
All His little lambs He’d lead.
Yes! Jesus loves them!
Yes! Jesus loves them!
Yes! Jesus loves them!
The Bible tells us so.
© 2011 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh
A Nuclear Power Plant for Nigeria? What a Wonderful World . . .
Nigeria's Federal Government is set to sign an agreement with the Russian Federation for the building of Nigeria's first nuclear power plant. Nigeria is an oil-rich African nation which is looking to diversify its sources of energy and electrical power. Nigeria has been seeking help from Russia for some time in this regard, and Nigeria's leaders are somewhat unhappy with Russia's slow response to their requests.
Modern nuclear power plants are quite safe when properly designed, built, and operated. In Japan's recent deadly natural disaster, well over 20,000 Japanese people lost their lives from a massive earthquake and tsunami, but none died as a result of a serious nuclear power plant shutdown and partial core meltdown. When such rare and unexpected events occur, the right people to cope with the situation must be on hand.
The chart on top shows the IQ distribution curves for four fuzzily defined racial groups: Asian, White, Hispanic, and Black. These curves are approximations based upon the best scientific evidence available. The second chart above shows a global IQ map by nation, again using the best available scientific evidence to produce the chart. In both charts it is clear that blacks and Africans lag behind all other "races" and nations tested. Why is this important in regard to a nuclear power plant in Nigeria? Look at the chart below:
This chart describes the IQ requirements for different types of professions, occupations, and vocations. If a population's IQ mean and IQ distribution curve provides an inadequate number of persons bright enough to become qualified engineers, technicians, scientists, etc, that population on its own will find it very difficult to maintain a high technology infrastructure. In terms of nuclear power plants, the personnel requirements are particularly critical in the cases where things go wrong.
It has been argued that Africans score poorly on IQ test for reasons having nothing to do with underlying intelligence. It is very important to test this hypothesis using the very best scientific tools available. If black and African populations have been judged unfairly in this regard, it is of utmost importance that this injustice be corrected.
Unfortunately, modern politically correct culture only wants to sweep the issue under the rug, and deny its importance entirely -- without performing the proper scientific experiments. That would be most unwise in this age of rapid scientific and technological progress -- when the mishandling of modern technologies could lead to tens or hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths, and other lingering problems.
This series of blog postings from "Race, Genes, and Disparity," discusses a way in which this uncertainty could be settled fairly and scientifically. Objective criteria for testing should be devised and implemented, so that modern societies can face important issues with the information that they need.
The enhancing of human intelligence is becoming a critically important issue for all societies. Nigeria has recently made the cognitive enhancer Vinpocetine available to Nigerians in an effort to bring the "national IQ" up to global standards. Other, more effective methods of increasing IQ are likely to come along in the near future. Even if western nations do not approve such therapies for use by normal persons, it is likely that nations of the third world and emerging world (BRICS etc) will have no such qualms about their use.
Whether the Russians build a nuclear power plant for Nigeria, is up to the Russians and the Nigerians. One might ask whether the Nigerian government will be willing to pay Russian engineers, technicians, electricians, welders, turbine specialists, etc to maintain the power plant indefinitely? If not, who will be minding the nuclear power plant?
The same issue is likely to emerge in other African nations, attempting agreements with Russia, China, India, etc. for the building of advanced technologies which require elite scientific and technological oversight. If the African nation is willing and able to pay for the technology, what business is it to outsiders -- as long as the technology being sold is not nuclear technology or other technology of mass death?
Africa is littered with crumbling and rusting technological projects built by colonial powers and outside interests. They are rusting and crumbling because they were not maintained. The neglect of proper maintenance is typical of the third world environment, and besides suggesting a low cognitive complement, the phenomena of widespread neglect also suggests a low executive function (EF) complement. Low IQ and Low EF: Not a promising combination for the wise development of potentially deadly technologies. Think about it.
It has been argued that Africans score poorly on IQ test for reasons having nothing to do with underlying intelligence. It is very important to test this hypothesis using the very best scientific tools available. If black and African populations have been judged unfairly in this regard, it is of utmost importance that this injustice be corrected.
Unfortunately, modern politically correct culture only wants to sweep the issue under the rug, and deny its importance entirely -- without performing the proper scientific experiments. That would be most unwise in this age of rapid scientific and technological progress -- when the mishandling of modern technologies could lead to tens or hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths, and other lingering problems.
This series of blog postings from "Race, Genes, and Disparity," discusses a way in which this uncertainty could be settled fairly and scientifically. Objective criteria for testing should be devised and implemented, so that modern societies can face important issues with the information that they need.
The enhancing of human intelligence is becoming a critically important issue for all societies. Nigeria has recently made the cognitive enhancer Vinpocetine available to Nigerians in an effort to bring the "national IQ" up to global standards. Other, more effective methods of increasing IQ are likely to come along in the near future. Even if western nations do not approve such therapies for use by normal persons, it is likely that nations of the third world and emerging world (BRICS etc) will have no such qualms about their use.
Whether the Russians build a nuclear power plant for Nigeria, is up to the Russians and the Nigerians. One might ask whether the Nigerian government will be willing to pay Russian engineers, technicians, electricians, welders, turbine specialists, etc to maintain the power plant indefinitely? If not, who will be minding the nuclear power plant?
The same issue is likely to emerge in other African nations, attempting agreements with Russia, China, India, etc. for the building of advanced technologies which require elite scientific and technological oversight. If the African nation is willing and able to pay for the technology, what business is it to outsiders -- as long as the technology being sold is not nuclear technology or other technology of mass death?
Africa is littered with crumbling and rusting technological projects built by colonial powers and outside interests. They are rusting and crumbling because they were not maintained. The neglect of proper maintenance is typical of the third world environment, and besides suggesting a low cognitive complement, the phenomena of widespread neglect also suggests a low executive function (EF) complement. Low IQ and Low EF: Not a promising combination for the wise development of potentially deadly technologies. Think about it.
Amy Winehouse Dead
Amy Winehouse dead and now more between us now. Every one want to know the orignal reason behind Amy Winehouse death. So many people and sources are talking about her drugs addiction and causing it for Amy Winehouse death but there is another story behind the scene which is the same level of her death reason as her drugs addiction was. Here i found some thing intrusting about her death on We3d.net
Was Amy Winehouse’s deathly addiction to drugs fueled by her desperate and elusive search for true love?
Was it really only a coincidence that Amy was dumped by her boyfriend of almost a year, director Reg Traviss, 33, just a month before she died alone in bed after an alleged drug and alcohol binge?
Traviss, 33, a well-regarded British director, who was NOT an addict, supposedly split with the talented chanteuse, 27, after losing hope that he could save her from her addictions, according to Britain’s, Daily Mail newspaper.
Amy Winehouse Dead
Well Amy Winehouse is dead. Assumed she did the ol' O Dizzle. As one of Chappelles alter egos said "Cocaine is a hell of a drug." Maybe it was Rick James... Well I'm not going to look it up for this article because I am completely indifferent. Amy Winehouse is no one to me. I don't care if famous people die, I blog about it to get hits. So... thanks.
At any rate, watch an episode of intervention where someone who succumbs to drugs or alcohol and wasn't a freaking rich never-worked-a-real-job "musician" / socialite / tabloid fodder person, loses everything, goes to rehab and then relapses and dies and tell me how you feel. Now that's sad. Rich people think they deserve to feel awesome on command, good way to do that... drugs. Problem is drugs kill you. So entitlement + money + everyone feeding your ego + moron = dead from over dose. Sorry to her family, and friends (the ones that didn't help her score) they have to suffer because of her decisions and that is also sad.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Teaching a Bunch of Hooligans.
A young female teacher was giving an assignment to her 6th grade class one day. It was a large assignment so she started writing high up on the chalkboard. Suddenly there was a giggle from one of the boys in the class. She quickly turned and asked, "What's so funny, Pat?"
"I just saw one of your garters!"
"Get out of my classroom," she yells, "I don't want to see you for three days!"
The teacher turns back to the chalkboard. Realizing she had forgotten to title the assignment, she reaches to the very top of the chalkboard. Suddenly there is an even louder giggle from another male student. She quickly turns and asks, "What's so funny, Billy?"
"I just saw both of your garters!"
Again, she yells, "Get out of my classroom! This time the punishment is more severe, I don't want to see you for three weeks!"
Embarrassed and frustrated, she drops the eraser when she turns around again. So she bends over to pick it up. This time there is an burst of laughter from another male student. She quickly turns to see Little Johnny leaving the classroom.
"Where do you think you're going?" she asks.
"From what I just saw, my school days are over!"
Have a good laugh!!!
Going to Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of 2,727,300 square kilometres (1,053,000 sq mi) is greater than Western Europe. Kazakhstan is one of the six independent Turkic states. It is neighbored clockwise from the north by Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and also borders on a significant part of the Caspian Sea.
Although Kazakhstan does not share a border with Mongolia, its most easterly point is only 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Mongolia's western tip. The capital was moved in 1997 from Almaty - Kazakhstan's largest city, to Astana. Vast in size, the terrain of Kazakhstan ranges from flatlands, steppes, taigas, rock-canyons, hills, deltas, and snow-capped mountains to deserts. With 16.4 million people - Kazakhstan has the 62nd largest population in the world, though its population density is less than 6 people per square kilometre (15 per sq. mi.).
I had actually been to Kazakhstan before. Here are some random pictures.
This is the Intercontinental Hotel, located in Almaty, Kazakhstan that I stayed in.
Here is in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana.
A traditional Kazakh restaurant.
Kazakh architecture LOL.
Traditional belly dancing.
.... this one's for my friends. Enough said. Haha. Let Johns Hopkins Take You to the Next Level of Body Mods
Keeping up with the Cardassians
Johns Hopkins bio-scientists have developed new biomaterials that will let you shape your face however you want. Here's more:
A new biomaterial may help surgeons rebuild the delicate soft structures of the human face, like the cheeks, after a disease or injury has caused disfigurement. The material, which is half synthetic and half biological, can be injected under the skin as a liquid, massaged into shape, and then permanently "locked" by exposure to light.
...It's a blend of hyaluronic acid—a biological material already used as a soft-tissue implant—and polyethylene glycol, a synthetic material. The blend is a liquid polymer that can be injected—thus avoiding the need for surgery. Once injected, the material can be sculpted into the necessary shape. When exposed to light of specific wavelengths, the messy tangle of polymer chains in the liquid implant rearrange into a stable, crosshatched form, stiffening the implant.... _TechnologyReview
Get the picture? Just mix the material, inject it under the skin, mould it into the shape you want, then shine a light on your work to hold its shape permanently -- or until you want to move on to something new.
The treatment was developed to help repair deformities from facial injuries and congenital conditions. But use your imagination for just a moment, and you will see that a lot more is possible.
This means big changes for patients suffering from facial disfiguration, a highly visible injury that can have social consequences. But that's just the most obvious use. If the material becomes a commercial product, we could see a wealth of potential customers among the extreme body-modification set. After all, the idea of reliably adding semi-permanent Klingon-like bumps to your face with a simple injection (a far less risky and expensive process, perhaps, than full-on plastic surgery) will definitely interest some people. _FastCompany
The Johns Hopkins approach will be used to alter the shape of the face. If you need to permanently change the texture or shade of your surface skin layer, you will need to take a different approach. But for under-the-skin shape changes -- should you wish to keep up with the Cardassians, for example -- the Johns Hopkins approach may be your ticket.
If you are thinking just a bit further out, you might imagine an injectible material made of intelligent gel material -- such as was discussed in yesterday's posting. Facial (or other) implants that can change their shape on the fly, while also acting as brain augments. Breasts, tummies, buttocks, or muscles that can grow larger or smaller, for example. Use your futuristic imagination. Or, if you prefer, you can have a face like the person pictured up top, today.
The World's Most Expensive Car Crash.
When in Monte Carlo, everything is done in style. And that includes crashing your car.
This was the moment when a woman driver caused a £700,000 five-car pile-up as her Bentley collided with a Mercedes, Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin. Disaster struck as the hapless blonde negotiated the traffic around the Place du Casino in her £250,000 Bentley Azure. The driver of a white Mercedes S Class worth £75,000 was the first victim as the 2.7-ton Bentley scraped down the side of it before ploughing into a £143,000 black Ferrari F430.
An Aston Martin Rapide worth £150,000 and an £80,000 Porsche 911 also came a cropper. The driver and her two passengers then suffered the embarrassment of being surrounded by tourists as they were unable to open the doors of the convertible. It is estimated the crash will cost more than £40,000 with the Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin requiring new front wings and bumpers. The Bentley will need the same repairs, plus a new door.
Ruud Poot, editor of European motoring website Autogespot, said: 'You probably couldn't find a worse place in the world to crash your car than outside Monaco's Place du Casino in the middle of the summer.' A staggering £685,000 worth of cars were shunted in a matter of minutes - enough to make the Top Gear boys wince in pain and criticise who caused the incident. But with recent research suggesting women drivers are more likely to be involved in an accident, they could be forgiven for adhering to the stereotypical view.
Fuwahhhh.... =P
7/29/2011 - Magnitude 6.7 Earthquake hits SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS.
Date-Time Friday, July 29, 2011 at 07:42:23 UTC
Friday, July 29, 2011 at 07:42:23 PM at epicenter
Location 23.637°S, 179.805°E
Depth 528 km (328.1 miles)
Region SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS
Distances 365 km (226 miles) SSW of Ndoi Island, Fiji
576 km (357 miles) ESE of Ceva-i-Ra, Fiji
583 km (362 miles) WSW of NUKU`ALOFA, Tonga
1544 km (959 miles) NNE of Auckland, New Zealand
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Sheila Jackson-Lee and Al Green make a spectacle of themselves!
Round 3: House Homeland Security Committee Hearing
“Al Shabaab: Recruitment and Radicalization within the Muslim American Community and the Threat to the Homeland”
by Lisa Piraneo, Director of Government Relations
Yesterday, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter T. King (R-NY) continued to follow through on the promise he made at the start of the 112th Congress—to address the threat of radical Islam in America. Yesterday, he held his third in a series of hearings on Muslim-American radicalization, this one entitled: “Al Shabaab: Recruitment and Radicalization within the Muslim American Community and the Threat to the Homeland.” I attended the hearing so that I could offer you a first-hand report.
As I noted after Chairman King’s second hearing (covering radicalization within the U.S. prison system), we didn’t see the full-blown circus that attended his first discussion on radical Islam. However, I have to say that the behavior of some congressional members of the Committee was appalling. This is a serious subject that demands serious examination, and it is deeply disappointing to watch some of the members of the Committee act with the disrespect they showed yesterday.
The discussion yesterday was based on the result of what Chairman King called a “lengthy investigation the Committee has conducted into the threat the U.S. homeland faces from al-Shabaab, the Somalia affiliate of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda and Anwar al-Aulaqi’s al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).” The report found, among other concerning things, that over 40 Muslim-Americans and 20 Canadians have been recruited and radicalized by al-Shabaab. Click HERE to read the Committee’s full report.
The purpose of yesterday’s hearing by Chairman King was clear: We see a problem developing that has severe implications for our national security; we take this seriously; we need to address it NOW.
The witnesses for this particular hearing had varied but formidable backgrounds:
Mr. Ahmed Hussen – National President, Canadian Somali Congress. Mr. Hussen stated that his group is a “national advocacy organization that advocates on issues of importance to the 200,000 strong Canadian Somali community.” He told the Committee that as a Canadian Muslim he is “proud of his heritage” and thanked Chairman King for holding a hearing on this critical issue as, he said, it helps the Somali community, both in the U.S. and Canada, fight against those who wish to do either nation harm. Further, he said that it is important that the leaders in the Somali-Canadian and Somali-American communities “emphasize integration and the adherence to and respect for American and Canadian values and not those that promote separation, extremism and victimology.” See Mr. Hussen’s full testimony HERE.
Mr. Thomas Joscelyn – Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Mr. Joscelyn noted that a majority of Somali-Americans do not support al-Shabaab, nor its agenda. That said, he believes that there is a serious danger to our nation from al-Shabaab and though there is “great confusion here in the U.S. as to whether or not Shabaab is really a part of al Qaeda’s international terrorist network…my view is that the link is much stronger than some counterterrorism analysts realize.” See Mr. Joscelyn’s full testimony HERE.
Mr. William Anders Folk – Former Assistant United States Attorney, District of Minnesota. Mr. Folk agreed with the other witnesses that al-Shabaab is a serious threat to the United States and that to fight them and their supporters, the U.S. “must engage in a multi-faceted approach that utilizes all of the United States’ abilities, including military, intelligence, law enforcement and diplomatic options. Further, this effort must be carried out in Somalia, the Horn of Africa, and the United States.” See Mr. Folk’s full testimony HERE.
Mr. Tom Smith – Chief of Police, Saint Paul, Minnesota. Chief Smith updated the Committee about efforts taking place in St. Paul to combat al-Shabaab’s impact on the Somali-American community there. During his testimony, he noted another problem with which they are dealing: Somali girls not only in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, but also in Tennessee and other states are being sexually trafficked. See Chief Smith’s full testimony HERE.
The discussion during yesterday’s hearing was a critical one. Again, what was tremendously disappointing to me was the recurring rude and disrespectful behavior (both to the Chairman and the witnesses) by certain Members of the Committee. This has happened at each of Mr. King’s hearings on Islamic radicalization. Though national security should be a non-partisan issue, once again, the perpetrators were all Democrats. To me, it demonstrated a serious problem: how unknowledgeable, disconnected and disinterested some Members of Congress are about a very real and dangerous threat to our nation.
Some examples:
Rep. Shiela Jackson-Lee (D-TX) – as usual, was bent on making a show out of her comments instead of adding substance to the dialogue and learning from the experience of the witnesses. As during prior hearings, she made formal requests that the Chairman instead hold hearings on right-wing extremist organizations, as well as one on Rupert Murdoch. When her comment period expired and the Chairman informed her that it had, she continued speaking over him. It took several attempts of “the gentle lady’s time has expired” to get her to settle down. The cameras were rolling and she knew it.
Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA) – commented that the scope of the Chairman’s series of hearings is discriminatory.
Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) – argued that radicalization is “cross-cultural, cross-religious, and cross-ethnic” and that if we focus on only one group we open ourselves up to “the disdain of others.”
Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) – noted to Chairman King that this was his third hearing on the issue of Islamic radicalization within the U.S. and said “point made. Let’s move on.”
But the most outrageous comments during the hearing, came from Rep. Al Green (D-TX), who does not serve on the Committee but asked (and was granted) time to speak. [NOTE: The Chairman did not grant the same, this time, for Rep. Keith Ellison, another legislative showman, who dramatically broke down in tears during King’s first hearing.] Early in his comments, Mr. Green asked all of the witnesses if they had ever heard of Jihad Jane. When they replied that they had, he continued his line of questioning, asking them what her hair color was, her eye color, her height, and finally, her complexion. He asked the witnesses if acknowledging that she was “as she is called in America, a white woman” took them “out of their comfort zone.” Clearly, he was insinuating that the Chairman and the committee were racist by focusing on Somali-Americans. When Chairman King responded that the questions had absolutely no basis and made no sense to him, Rep. Green shot back, “I didn’t expect it to make sense to you.”
I do think it is worthwhile to watch the full hearing, so you can see how the issue was taken seriously by the witnesses and some Members of Congress, such as Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN), Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX) and Rep. Dan Lundgren (R-CA), as well as those I mention above, who were only interested in distractions. This hearing took place at the courtesy of your tax dollars and you have a right to know what your elected officials are doing on Capitol Hill. You can view the full hearing HERE or by going to the House Homeland Security website HERE and clicking on “Webcast.” If you like what your Member of Congress is doing remember to let him or her know—and the very same if you don’t.
As the Chairman noted in his Opening Statement, which we sent out to our full membership shortly after it was released (click HERE to view it in its entirety) “I will not back down from holding these hearings. I will continue to hold these hearings so long as I am the Chairman of this Committee. I…owe it to all the friends, neighbors, and constituents I lost on September 11th. I will not back down.”
We need to be appreciative of Mr. King’s past and future efforts in the U.S. Congress on identifying and addressing radical Islam within the U.S. Contrary to what some Members of the Committee claim, he never has and never will focus on the peaceful Muslims living in America. This is not about them and, frankly, these hearings will benefit them. These discussions are about identifying and immobilizing those individuals who follow an ideology that is contrary and dangerous to the freedoms afforded by our U.S. Constitution—those who strive to do harm to our nation and our citizens.
Finally, we need to let Chairman King and all other Members of Congress who continue to speak out about this issue know that a grateful nation—certainly including the 170,000 members of ACT! for America—is behind them 100 percent.
As for those Members of Congress who do not take this seriously, who seem intent only on making a mockery of these hearings, they need to hear from their constituents too. They need to be told that they took an oath to defend the Constitution and they need to start taking these discussions about Islamic radicalization seriously.
A Very Smart Dog.
A man decided to go on a safari in Africa. He took his faithful pet dog along for company. One day the dog starts chasing butterflies and before long he discovers that he is lost. So, wandering about he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the obvious intention of having lunch.
The dog thinks, "Boy oh, I'm in deep s**t ." Then he noticed some bones on the ground close by, and immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat.
Just as the leopard is about to leap, the dog exclaims loudly, "Man, that was one delicious leopard. I wonder if there are any more around here?"
Hearing this the leopard halts his attack in mid stride, as a look of terror comes over him, and slinks away into the trees. "Whew", says the leopard. "That was close. That dog nearly had me."
Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So, off he goes. But the dog saw him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figured that something must be up. The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard. The cat is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine."
Now the dog sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back, and thinks," What am I going to do now?" But instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers pretending he hasn't seen them yet. And just when they get close enough to hear, the dog says, "Where's that monkey. I just can never trust him. I sent him off half an hour ago to bring me another leopard, and he's still not back!!"
Grandmama's, Pavilion KL.
Have you ever been to Pavilion and shop, and then crack your head over what to eat? If you're looking for some 'family feel' - you should go and check out this place called Grandmama's - on the 6th floor of Pavilion.
The mango orange smoothie. =)
The awesome nasi bojari.
....n who can say no to the awesome sang har meen? Mmmm....
Grandmama's
6.01.01 & 6.01.02Level 6 Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
We Are All Cyborgs Now: Soft-Material Memristor Brain Augmentation
One of the most-discussed memristor characteristic is its synaptic biomimesis. “State-of-the-art computers have difficulty mimicking the operation of the brain,” [NCSU Professor] Dickey notes. “Memristors, on the other hand, are effective at mimicking synapses. If you were interested in only mimicking brain function, then solid-state memristors would be more practical because they contain many more memory elements and are much more optimized at this point. One of the things distinguishing our work is that the device behaves like a memristor and has other properties similar to the brain. Conventional electronics tend to be rigid, 2-D, moisture-intolerant, and operate using electrons; the brain, in contrast, is soft, 3-D, wet, and operates using ions and in addition to adopting many of these properties, our device is composed of biocompatible hydrogels.” _Physorg
Prof. Orin Velev, Prof. Michael Dickey, and graduate students Hyung-Jun Koo and Ju-Hee So, have devised a new class of easily fabricated memristors based entirely on so-called soft matter – hydrogels doped with polyelectrolytes sandwiched with liquid metal electrodes – that operate using ionic conductance in aqueous systems rather than conventional electron transport.They are still in the very early stages, but the possibility of an implantable soft, biocompatible brain augment is too important to overlook.
...In essence, this suggests that in addition to having the potential to realize memristor-based neuromorphic structures, the polysaccharide hydrogel core of these devices is biocompatible, could possibly be interfaced with live neural and other tissue, and could lead to three-dimensional soft circuits and their in vivo operations.
...Going forward, Dickey continues, “We hope to take advantage of the fact the water-based gels in the device are biocompatible, and could in principle be integrated with biological species, such as cells, enzymes, proteins, and tissues. We also made no attempt to optimize the memory capacity in our prototypes, which is an area for improvement. Finally, we’re working to understand the subtle aspects of the operating mechanism.” _PO
Quite a few different interfacing techniques could be used, but the optical approach would seem to be the least intrusive for tissues such as the brain, which are sensitive to electromaqnetic forces. Optical materials have high bandwidth and may be less likely to be bio-rejected than electrically conductive materials. Some people have discussed optical brain control in the context of optogenetics.
Another fascinating type of bio-to-machine interface is the piezoelectric interface being developed at Georgia Tech. The piezoelectric interface can be operated by exquisitely subtle mechanical movements, such as a muscle fibre twitch. In other words, a thought -- even a subconscious though -- could cause a pattern of muscle twitches which would activate a particular machine command or subroutine via the piezoelectric interface.
The human brain was not evolved for the ultra-long lifetime of a next level human. Cell debris accumulates, DNA repair mechanisms begin to fail, immune systems weaken, hormonal support falls off, etc. Scientists are learning a lot about how normal aging leads to memory loss in even the sharpest minded senior citizens. The intricate network of cellular connections in the brain slowly loses definition and resolving power.
Well-designed brain implants could sense this process occurring and engineer work-arounds to compensate for the changes. Long term solutions would require a rejuvenation treatment to restore -- or improve -- the resolving power of brain networks, but sometimes work-arounds are the best one can do at the time.
Where would you place your soft bio-compatible brain implant? There isn't a lot of room inside the skull itself, but implants could be placed under the scalp in a relatively unobtrusive manner as long as they were not too large. Alternatively, some women might choose to place their augments in the breast area, and some men might choose augments shaped to serve as muscle implants. If the connections to the interface are via optical fibre, the distance from anywhere on the human body to the brain is negligible, in terms of the speed of light. The interface itself would need to be placed close to the brain.
Depending upon its sophistication, an implanted brain augment could come to know how an individual's brain works quite well, over a period of time. Such augments could even learn how to simulate their hosts in a rudimentary way. The possibilities arising from such pseudo-emulation are worth considering, but perhaps not here and now. (See Old Man's War by John Scalzi)
It is important to stress that these NCSU memristors are not at all close to anything that could be used as a brain augment. But it seems to be the goal of the researchers there to develop biocompatible sensors and intelligent interfaces using these materials. It is not a long stretch from there to an implantable computer augmentation for the brain.
Although memristors are often referred to as neuromimetic or synaptomimetic, in the aggregate, memristor computing devices will function nothing like the brain. But they will not need to. They will only need to function like competent and clever computers that provide reliable memory and I/O capability for mental computations, speculations, and interfacing with the outside world -- including the ability to control machines mentally and to communicate remotely with machines and other individuals who have similar augments.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)