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Sex, Death & the Meaning of Life
Part 1: Life After Death
Part 2: Sin
Part 3: The Meaning of Life
Why does an atheist bother to get up in the morning?
That’s the question Richard Dawkins seeks to answer as he continues his exploration of the big questions of life in a world shaking off religious faith.
In a journey that takes him from the casinos of Las Vegas to Buddhist monasteries in the foothills of the Himalayas, Richard Dawkins examines how both religious and non-religious people struggle to find meaning in their lives.
He looks at how our existence is ruled by chance, meeting people whose fate was to be born into extreme poverty in India’s slums and the survivors of a natural disaster in Joplin, Missouri, a city ripped apart in 2011 by a tornado on a random course.
In the face of what appears to be a blindly indifferent universe, Dawkins argues that we each have to forge our own sense of meaning.
He meets the comedian Ricky Gervais, an atheist since the age of seven, for whom meaning comes through doing something creative.
For Dawkins, it is the awe and wonder in scientific enquiry – from the human genome to the quest for the Higgs Boson – that get him up in the morning.
America’s Spies Want Edward Snowden Dead
Edward Snowden has made some dangerous enemies. As the American intelligence community struggles to contain the public damage done by the former National Security Agency contractor’s revelations of mass domestic spying, intelligence operators have continued to seethe in very personal terms against the 30-year-old whistle-blower.
“In a world where I would not be restricted from killing an American, I personally would go and kill him myself,” a current NSA analyst told BuzzFeed. “A lot of people share this sentiment.”
“I would love to put a bullet in his head,” one Pentagon official, a former special forces officer, said bluntly. “I do not take pleasure in taking another human beings life, having to do it in uniform, but he is single-handedly the greatest traitor in American history.”
That violent hostility lies just beneath the surface of the domestic debate over NSA spying is still ongoing. Some members of Congress have hailed Snowden as a whistle-blower, the New York Times has called for clemency, and pundits regularly defend his actions on Sunday talk shows. In intelligence community circles, Snowden is considered a nothing short of a traitor in wartime.
“His name is cursed every day over here,” a defense contractor told BuzzFeed, speaking from an overseas intelligence collections base. “Most everyone I talk to says he needs to be tried and hung, forget the trial and just hang him.”
One Army intelligence officer even offered BuzzFeed a chillingly detailed fantasy.
“I think if we had the chance, we would end it very quickly,” he said. “Just casually walking on the streets of Moscow, coming back from buying his groceries. Going back to his flat and he is casually poked by a passerby. He thinks nothing of it at the time starts to feel a little woozy and thinks it’s a parasite from the local water. He goes home very innocently and next thing you know he dies in the shower.”
There is no indication that the United States has sought to take vengeance on Snowden, who is living in an undisclosed location in Russia without visible security measures, according to a recent Washington Post interview. And the intelligence operators who spoke to BuzzFeed on the condition of anonymity did not say they expected anyone to act on their desire for revenge. But their mood is widespread, people who regularly work with the intelligence community said.
Source: BuzzFeed
See also: Pentagon & NSA Officials Say They Want Snowden Extrajudicially Assassinated
Posted in Espionage & Secret Agencies, Human Rights & Justice
Tagged Edward Snowden, whistleblower
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John Kerry Slams Syria’s Ceasefire Offer
Secretary of State John Kerry makes a statement about Syria at the State Department in Washington
(Charles Dharapak/AP Photo)
John Kerry’s plans for the Geneva 2 peace talks are not about fighting al-Qaeda, but rather about implementing regime change in Syria.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem is pushing a plan for a ceasefire in the disputed northern city of Aleppo, humanitarian aid corridors, as well as a prisoner exchange with rebel opposition factions in the area as an attempt at confidence building.
The proposal has sparked outrage from Secretary of State John Kerry, who believes that the efforts are aimed at stealing his thunder at next week’s Geneva 2 peace talks.
Kerry insisted that the Assad government was engaged in “revisionism” by trying to make Geneva 2 about how to deal with the rise of al-Qaeda across the nation’s north.
Kerry even went on to claim that Assad was secretly “funding and ceding territory” to al-Qaeda to fuel fears of al-Qaeda’s growing control over the country.
He insisted that the Geneva 2 talks will center around the installation of a transitional government to replace Assad, though with no rebels slated to attend there is no reason to expect that to happen.
Source: Antiwar.com
See also: Syria hands over plan for Aleppo ceasefire, readies for prisoner exchange
Devastating Dossier on ‘Abuse’ by UK Forces in Iraq Goes to International Criminal Court
Tony Blair meets troops in Iraq in 2003. A dossier alleging “systematic” war crimes by British forces – sent to Iraq by the former Prime Minister – has been presented to the International Criminal Court (Source: PA)
A devastating 250-page dossier, detailing allegations of beatings, electrocution, mock executions and sexual assault, has been presented to the International Criminal Court, and could result in some of Britain’s leading defence figures facing prosecution for “systematic” war crimes.
The damning dossier, entitled “The Responsibility of UK Officials for War Crimes Involving Systematic Detainee Abuse in Iraq from 2003-2008”, draws on cases of more than 400 Iraqis, representing “thousands of allegations of mistreatment amounting to war crimes of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”.
They range from “hooding” prisoners to burning, electric shocks, threats to kill and “cultural and religious humiliation”. Other forms of alleged abuse include sexual assault, mock executions, threats of rape, death, and torture.
The formal complaint to the ICC, lodged yesterday, is the cumulation of several years’ work by Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) and the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR). It calls for an investigation into the alleged war crimes, under Article 15 of the Rome Statute.
The dossier, seen by The Independent on Sunday, is the most detailed ever submitted to the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor on war crimes allegedly committed by British forces in Iraq. The court has already acknowledged that there was little doubt that war crimes were committed.
Full story: The Independent
Posted in Human Rights & Justice, War & Terror
Tagged Iraq, Tony Blair, UK, war crimes
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Australia FM: Don’t Call Israeli Settlements Illegal under International Law
Australian FM Julie Bishop after she placed a wreath at the fresh grave of Ariel Sharon, January 13. 2013 (screen capture: YouTube)
In candid interview, Julie Bishop expresses skepticism about the peace process, says boycott Israel activists are ‘anti-Semitic’
In an exclusive interview with The Times of Israel, Julie Bishop suggested that, contrary to conventional diplomatic wisdom, the settlements may not be illegal under international law. She refrained from condemning Israeli initiatives to build additional housing units beyond the Green Line or from calling on Israel to freeze such plans, merely saying the fact that settlements were being expanded showed the need for the sides to quickly reach a peace agreement.
“I don’t want to prejudge the fundamental issues in the peace negotiations,” Bishop said. “The issue of settlements is absolutely and utterly fundamental to the negotiations that are under way and I think it’s appropriate that we give those negotiations every chance of succeeding.”
Asked whether she agrees or disagrees with the near-universal view that Israeli settlements anywhere beyond the 1967 lines are illegal under international law, she replied: “I would like to see which international law has declared them illegal.”
The position that settlements breach international law — adopted by the United Nations Security Council, the European Union and many other states and international bodies, but rejected by Israel — is based on an interpretation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Article 49, paragraph 6, states that an occupying power “shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” Violations of the convention are considered war crimes under international law. Israel is a party to the convention and therefore bound by it.
Bishop also condemned what she said was excessive pressure exerted on Israel by Western states and civil society, including the threat of boycotts.
“Israel has to be ever vigilant against such tendencies on the part of the international community,” the minister said. While private organizations were free to boycott whomever they wanted, any Australian body that received state funding should be barred from calling for boycotts, she continued.
She also strongly condemned the global anti-Israel BDS movement: “It’s anti-Semitic. It identifies Israel out of all other nations as being worthy of a boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign? Hypocritical beyond belief.”
Source: The Times of Israel
See also: Ex-Australian FM slams successor for pro-settlement stance
Posted in Human Rights & Justice
Tagged Australia, Israel, Julie Bishop, occupation, Palestine, settlements, Zionism
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Paying Tribute to a Genocidaire
By Professor Francis A. Boyle
The United Nations General Assembly condemned the 1982 Massacre at Sabra and Shatilla as “genocide.” So what the world is witnessing now are innumerable government leaders, politicians, pundits, professors, intellectuals, media figures and the State of Israel pay formal tribute to a genocidaire — one who has committed genocide. Obviously, in their opinion the slogan “Never again!” does not apply to protect the Palestinians.
Source: Counter Currents
See also: Ariel Sharon’s Legacy Includes Massacres of Palestinians and Lebanese
Posted in Videos & Documentaries, War & Terror
Tagged Ariel Sharon, Israel, war criminal, Zionism
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“Drugs Aren’t the Problem”: Neuroscientist Carl Hart on Brain Science & Myths About Addiction
As we continue our conversation on the nationwide shift toward liberalizing drug laws, we are joined by the groundbreaking neuropsychopharmacologist Dr. Carl Hart. He is the first tenured African-American professor in the sciences at Columbia University, where he is an associate professor in the psychology and psychiatry departments. He is also a member of the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse and a research scientist in the Division of Substance Abuse at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. However, long before he entered the hallowed halls of the Ivy League, Hart gained firsthand knowledge about drug usage while growing up in one of Miami’s toughest neighborhoods. He recently wrote a memoir titled “High Price: A Neuroscientist’s Journey of Self-Discovery That Challenges Everything You Know About Drugs and Society.” In the book, he recalls his journey of self-discovery, how he escaped a life of crime and drugs and avoided becoming one of the crack addicts he now studies.
Source: Democracy Now!
Related: Gabor Maté: What is Addiction?
Ariel Sharon’s Legacy Includes Massacres of Palestinians and Lebanese
Also watch Part 2: Sharon Symbolized the Darkest Aspects of Israeli Society and Zionism
See also: Ariel Sharon, whose political career was unhindered by civilian massacres, dies at 85 | The Crimes of Ariel Sharon | Final Words on Sharon by Miko Peled
Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon to Shimon Peres, October 3, 2001, as reported on Kol Yisrael radio:
“Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will do that . . . I want to tell you something very clear: Don’t worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it.”
Posted in Videos & Documentaries, War & Terror
Tagged Ariel Sharon, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Zionism
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Against the Grain 