‘EXISTANCE EXTANT’ my humble attempt to merge cosmology and consciousness in an ode to our relative reality

Existence Extant

 

Once merely a shower

Condensed creation unclouded

Hundred thirty seventh’s power

Foaming structure enshrouded

 

Entropic decision

Magic fractional form

Constructs to precision

Planks of relative norm

 

Hottest heat from sublime

Cooled now coldest of cold

Gritty sand flows of time

Now forever grow old

 

Seen seer of sight

Thinker entire from thought

Born conscious in night

Existence from naught

 

Bubbles of Space-time

Single, multiple, Anthropic

Merging science and rhyme

Finding elusive the topic

 

Your existence is futile

Fresh mint observers of all

Cosmic awareness so fragile

Amid creation seems small

 

Yet these children of stardust

On a pale blue dot

For meaning they lust

Quest matter’s why or why not

 

Philosophical stance

Intellectually derived

Angst, solipsistic dance?

Finally, wisdom arrived

 

        

Tim Kiehl  ©2010

(REPOSTED 2 APR 2021)

 

 

Are we alone? Of course not. Will we ever prove that? Of course …NOT.

Are we alone? Of course not. Will we ever prove that? Of course …NOT.

I propose that the planetary characteristics necessary not only for the evolution of life, but for its ability to persist and so eventually develop complexity and intelligence, are extremely rare. In fact, so rare that even in the almost literally infinite immensity of the known universe and the similar scale of deep time it would be unlikely that humanity would be so fortunately positioned to ever detect such alien life. I think this is the only reasonable explanation of the Fermi Paradox.

I include as an important factor in evaluating a planet’s ability to nurture the possibility of the evolution of life the capture of a large moon early in its formation. A moon large enough that it provides stabilization of the earth’s rotation characteristics such as rate and the “wobble” of axial tilt (or precession), protection from large impacts, tidal effects and so many other vitally important “life friendly” features of our planet that make it so unique. If you multiply the “astronomically” remote possibilities of such rare billiard ball type glancing impact with the perfect “english” to these other probabilities, even in an almost infinite universe, it would be highly improbable (at least in in the Milky Way or any “close” neighboring galaxies, much less near space)  And I’m not even going into the need for a giant planet like Jupiter to be present to stabilize all the other smaller planet’s orbits and clear out the solar system of extinction event debris! These and so many other clearly unique characteristics of our planet and its solar system are too numerous to mention in such a brief essay. Now, with the immensity of the universe and of time, even such rare coincidences and occurrences can’t be unique, and in fact may be relatively numerous, that’s obvious, so there must be other planets that support life, even intelligent life SOMEWHERE IN THE UNIVERSE. But even in the immensity of creation, of almost literally infinite time and space, is it reasonable for humanity to arrogantly assume that it will be in our vicinity?

Putting aside the actual question of the existence of alien life, much less an alien intelligence, what relevant meaning does that same existence have to our civilization IF WE NEVER CONTACT THEM (other than the philosophical implications of the knowledge that we are “not alone”?) If they are out there, are they going to be close enough for their existence to be really meaningful, i.e. for us to be able to detect them, much less communicate any realistic manner? Yes, the same immensity of time and space that makes alien life “somewhere” inevitable also insures that it’s almost literally a certainty that we will NEVER actually have evidence of their existence, much less be in contact. The speed of light constrains our knowledge of the universe to such a small sphere of SPACE TIME that the odds of being close enough to another advanced civilization, in a coincident time frame is almost nil (yes, we can see almost back to the big bang but we can’t really “see” anything far away (in reference to the limitations of causality) that would be useful for communication much less the detection of advanced civilizations. Unless we were almost literally “neighbors” which, as my previous my previous argument explains, are extremely unlikely. Worse yet, as our universe expands, eventually to the point that other galaxies are beyond the “edge” of the know and visible universe, this problem is only exacerbated. Eventually the Milky Way be almost literally alone in the detectable universe. We will be accompanied by the Andromeda galaxy, which is gravitationally bound to our galaxy and so immune to the expansion of space time which only occurs in intergalactic space. This is due to the overwhelming influence of such a large collection of gravitationally bound baryonic matter on dark energy. Actually, in a few billion years we will have collided and become one irregular galaxy, but only after our sun has burned out and destroyed the ear

The most important and very relevant question is that, even if intelligent life is common, unless those civilizations last million or even billions of years, what are the odds that a current civilization exists so close to one another as to be detectable? The Fermi paradox is, like Moore’s law, seemingly an incontrovertible rule and hard to discount. Imagine the universe pictured as a movie as it travels through time to the present. Now, imagine the existence and expansion of an intelligent star traveling civilization as a bright expanding light, a flash in the darkness. First, keep in mind the speed of light and the immense distances. Now, fast forward. What will you see? Bursts of light flashing and expanding everywhere but eventually and inevitably fading away, as if they were antique flashbulbs popping up briefly only to disappear, unseen. As time progresses, others “briefly” brighten and die in uncounted multitudes over millions and billions of years. But NEVER at the same time at the same place! Close your eyes and imagine this as a movie in your mind. How often will these bright bursts of intelligence and expansion last before they fade away. Will they be close enough and also persist long enough for each one to be able detect one another within the limitations of causality? Remember, these flashes expand at the speed of light and the universe is “Billions and Billions” (and even more and more billions) of light years across. And this is a worst case scenario. What if it IS possible to travel faster than light? The expansion of a galactic civilization would be exponentially faster. Get it?

But, the reader may ask, what if these civilizations last millions of years and expand into multiple galaxies? Well, how likely do you think that is? Yes, may there be type 1 civilizations that harness entire Galaxy’s energies, even Galaxy clusters? Possibly. But even galaxy clusters are like grains of sand in the immensity of the universe, and like grains of sand that are miles apart, not conveniently nestled together on a beach. So many people carry the analogy, “There are more stars than there are grains of sand on a beach” too far and tend to ignore the ramifications of the immensity of the universe. This becomes clear when one stretches the but the analogy to the breaking point by the realization that the beach is not the crowded expanse of an oceans beach full of sand. Realize, each of those grains of sand are exploded into space and each grain is separated by immense distances. Enter again the villain, the speed of light, causality. And if you consider the concept of Von Neumann machines as technology that is almost certainly to be developed by any advanced technological civilization, why hasn’t the universe already been “pollinated”? This incontrovertible absence literally ensures that the Fermi Paradox question of “why are they not “already here” even more relevant. Even with the immensity of the universe, the accompanying immensity of time makes it statistically impossible for us to not to be essentially alone.

Are there other worlds with intelligent life and civilizations? Statistically, considering the age and size of the universe, the probably is near unity, or 100%. Will we ever know? The probability of them being close enough to have any meaning or impact on our civilization i.e. for us to detect and communicate with them are close to null, or 0%. For that to occur they would have to be so common that we would already have detected them, the paradox so eloquently proposed by Fermi himself. Several years ago, Dr. Paul Davies, of the Beyond Institute at ASU quoted a study by SETI which revealed that, considering the current progress in detection capabilities, if we do not detect* other civilizations (by radio waves) in the next 20 years, WE NEVER WILL!

To summarize, I think that evolution of alien life would be such an extremely rare event so to be almost impossible for humanity to discover. Considering the facts presented herein, if simple life has occurred in the hostile environment of the universe it is even more unlikely for such life to have survived long enough to become complex, much less to have evolved into an intelligent form. Has this event occurred in this almost literally infinite universe? Undoubtedly. However, for our civilization to be fortunate enough to detect such life or intelligence one must consider that it would also need to exist in close enough proximity to the Earth in space AND in our current time frame. The Fermi paradox seems not to be so paradoxical after all?

Yes, they exist. No, we’ll never know!

*Don’t take this to mean that I think Dr Davies has unequivocally stated that “they” are not out there, it just means that it has been demonstrated statistically that if we (SETI) do not detect them in this time period we’ll never find their radio signals (whether because they’re not there OR nobody out there really uses radio for very long, advancing to better technology.)

     T.A.Kiehl©2016

(REPOSTED 20 APR 2020)

“ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE: Why Our Planet Is Unique” by John Gribbin

Here are some good videos I think support my theory that the “dual planet “Earth/Moon system is a necessity for complex life to evolve, making intelligent life a truly rare event even in such an immensity of our galaxy that it is improbable we will ever detect such.

“The Most Important Collision Ever”  https://youtu.be/pjn4nLUnNCw

“What if there was no Moon” https://youtu.be/QHwLopLUrB8

“Evolution of life without a Moon” https://youtu.be/p-YZAIECTrA

Here is a series of lectures from SETI with more scientific information:

http://www.seti.org/weeky-lecture/rotation-moonless-earth-who-needs-moon

Light Falls

Recently I’ve been feeling very unstable and vulnerable, freaked out by the crush of events,

As I watched “Light Falls” , a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the May 1919 confirmation of General Relativity on PBS

I slowly began to feel a renewed sense of perspective and focus

then…

A glimmer of light appeared on the dark stage, revealing a lone violinist

She begin to play Bach’s Cachonne from his Partrita #2

suddenly, the wash of notes was accompanied by tears of joy flowing down my cheeks.

I cried, knowing that everything will be right with the world

as long as we have Bach ….and Einstein

https://www.pbs.org/video/light-falls-qicfxv/

https://youtu.be/QqA3qQMKueA

Unintended consequences of today’s draconian opioid policy

The writer poses these opinions as a trained toxicologist with a BS degree in both Chemistry and Biology who understands drugs and metabolism and who neither drinks, smokes nor ever abused recreation or misused prescription drugs. Who, as a victim suffering from chronic pain has, for over fifteen years, taken opioids regularly and as prescribed, in intelligently varying dosages as the acute and chronic pain waxed and waned. On many days, as the pain relented, often taking none, and on the worst days taking at the most, 60mg. A typical 30-day prescription often lasting three months. Now denied opioids, even after an auto accident with three broken 3 ribs and probable exacerbation of preexisting shoulder and spinal injuries and damaging joints already ravaged by generalized osteoarthritis. Because of this struggle with chronic pain and injuries and seeking relief through the only thing that has been effective, opioid pain management to be perjuriously and prejudicially labeled as a “drug seeker”. Forever and unjustly, without the due process of a rigorous diagnostic procedure utilizing the guidelines of the DSM IV branded a drug seeking addict and so not only repeatedly denied requests for palliative measures consistently refused any method to redress the error by a formal evaluation by a specialist to confirm the diagnosis and if needed, receive treatment for this phantom addiction. Instead, condemned to be forced to take dangerous and debilitating drugs like Haldol or abandoned into a hopeless, life draining limbo of hellish pain with no choice and no place to escape

Because of today’s media hyped and politicized anti-opioid hysteria, we’ve “thrown the baby out with the bathwater”.  Abandoning chronic pain patients who can now no longer manage their condition has resulted in needless suffering. Many of these with a history of properly managing their medication for literally years with no hint of problems. People with little chance of becoming addicted, who would never dream of substance abuse, forced to enduring unending pain, are now being driven ever closer & closer to suicide. But this suicidal ideation isn’t just depression. Such self-death is more seen rather as euthanasia to end suffering, not as a retreat from life (although pain & depression are synergistic).

Opioids were once passed out like popcorn by over-prescribing DOCTORS initiating a spasm of addictions, expanding opioid misuse. An overzealous, politicalized CDC initiated an impetuous & drastic hysterical to an epidemic already past its peak. Unbiased modern research indicates over-prescription of opioid pain meds is no longer sustaining this “epidemic”, it’s now driven by illicit Fentanyl and heroine. Among other nations, this country stands alone in this heartless vendetta and we as a people must stop this victimization of innocent victims of not only chronic pain, but of outright persecution. We must STOP the rampant and unwarranted punishment, shaming and humiliation of chronic pain patients at the same time that we add injury to insult by denying them the needed relief from their suffering.

This is a problem that has not only been overlooked but exacerbated by a radicalized CDC with the overzealous and reactionary polices & the guidelines they’ve inspired. The CDC must become part of a solution to this problem of overlooked unintended consequences of their actions and find a way to end the mistreatment of the innocent victims of their overreach who are already the victims of the terrible disease of chronic pain. The windfall government funding has been awarded to organizations devoted to the research on negative consequences of could be shared with institutions devoted to finding more effective treatments for chronic pain through improved use of opioids and should include other promising drugs such as Ketamine, etc. which is almost impossible due to the fact that many of these promising new drugs are classified needlessly as Cat 1 drugs with no medical uses. The NSC, CDC and other agencies MUST stop their politicized policies and agenda that has resulted in regulation without oversight or restraint. The same goes for an uncontrolled sensationalized mass media who, in collusion with these reactionary politicians and bureaucrats, are guilty of stoking the fires of hysteria. Let us put an end to discrimination and the widespread dissemination of nonsensical and sometimes patently false information that is not only unsupported by research but most surely stems from pure ideological roots and for which they repeatedly refuse to publish the original research papers or list authors of these studies quoted so prolifically. Congress must stop refusing to hear the testimony of the Pain Advocacy groups that have requested to be allowed to testify in congressional hearings or in drug policy meetings on the false pretense that these organizations are merely paid shills of “Big Pharma”.

The devastating EPIDEMIC OF CHRONIC PAIN grows rapidly, faster even than the already waning opioid “epidemic and is costing the US much more in lives and economic loss than ALL addiction. Worse than economic losses, the unintended consequence of a rising suicide rate overwhelms the dwindling number of opioid overdose deaths (CDC’s DRACONIAN and politicized data collection policies also encourage faulty statistical methods being applied which consistently over count accidental recreational drug overdoses by failing to separate suicidal overdoses and other unintended misuse from these addict’s unfortunate deaths that are almost literally impossible to end by regulation. Legalization and removal pf the stigmatization of these and all drugs make them easier to regulate and help prevent unscrupulous dealers from adulterating already dangerously high recreational dosages with concoctions of lethal amounts of harmful and unknown additives.

 

Timothy A. Kiehl Glendale, AZ                                 June 2018

EPIDEMIC Of CHRONIC PAIN

FROM:            Timothy A, Kiehl

TO:                  Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing, et al.

I have a Chemistry degree and worked in the Arkansas State Crime Lab as a toxicologist. I do not drink or smoke and have NEVER abused recreational drugs or misused prescription drugs. I understand the mode of action and metabolism of drugs, especially of the class I and II categories. As I also suffer from chronic pain and, until recently, had been taking very low doses of periods, intelligently varying my daily dosage as the pain waxed and waned, regularly for the past 15 years. I NEVER took more than 40-60mg even on the worst days. My opioid usage was so low and controlled that it was not unusual me to find my typical 30-day prescription prescriptions lasted over three months. However, recently I have been denied opioid pain medications, even after breaking three ribs and injuring my shoulder after an auto accident, having been mysteriously labeled as a “drug seeker”. I have repeatedly requested that, if I am indeed diagnosed as drug seeking or having a problem with drugs, I be seen and evaluated by a specialist and have been refused time and again. So now I’m stuck here in a limbo of pain, misdiagnosis and fearmongering with nowhere to turn.

I wish ask your organization, Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing and others involved in this “crusade”; what you are doing to ensure that doctors and hospitals do not “throw the baby out with the bathwater” impacting the community of people who suffer chronic pain and no longer have means to manage their condition because of all the extra, needless and unnecessary debilitating pain and suffering. Why do people like I, who have no problem regulating my medication use and have little or no chance of becoming addicted and would never even dream of substance abuse of any kind at any time have their lives overturned and to suffer like this? Indeed, I have actually been driven closer and deeper into suicidal ideation. But not from merely due to suicidal depression. Instead, thinking of self-death as more of a euthanasia to end my suffering than actual suicide because of depression (although the pain and depression are synergistic).

It is my belief that an overzealous politically motivated CDC has initiated an impetuous, drastic and extreme over reaction to an epidemic that has already started to subside and which most research indicates is not being caused by over-prescribing opioid pain medication AT THE PRESENT TIME. Yes, ten years ago opioids where passed out like popcorn and that irresponsible over-prescribing definitely did initiate a spasm of new addictions cases that lead to the opioid crisis. But that time has passed and I think we all need to step back and be sure we are not continuing to spiral in an out of control overreaction and hurting people needlessly.

I hope this will shed some light on a problem that I feel has so far not only been overlooked but exacerbated by these radical and far-reaching guides and the policies they have inspired. Please respond with your thoughts and suggestions and become part of a solution to this part of the problem.

We all need to work together to end this unnecessary and devastatingly real EPIDEMIC OF CHRONIC PAIN before the unintended consequence of higher suicide rates overwhelm the already dwindling number of deaths by opioid overdose (many of which were probably NOT addiction related but rather SUICIDES CAUSED by this DRACONIAN drug policy).

Timothy A. Kiehl Glendale, AZ June 2018

NO MORE FUKUSHIMAS? (if we build salt cooled nuclear reactors, the best technology for clean power generation, for generations to come)

NO MORE FUKUSHIMAS? (if we build salt cooled nuclear reactors, the best technology for clean power generation, for generations to come)

 I’ve been trying to inform all my “Nuclear? NO!” acquaintances for years and the general public that the High Pressure Water (HPW) reactors which are 1950’s military technology and currently used in nuclear power plants are the problem. Those are the danger, NOT the concept of nuclear power itself. These obsolete and dangerous water cooled reactors were developed for the Navy’s nuclear submarines and since the military had deep pockets this was the ONLY reactor design technology given enough funds to be developed. But it’s easy to do while being inherently dangerous. Fast and cheap to implement but dangerous, exactly what the military would prefer for a weapons system crewed by soldiers, NOT qualifications for a civilian power plant. All other design research funding, already meager, was finally quashed by Nixon. This is why such a flawed technology was adopted for Power Stations, Not because it was the best design, or even safe. Think of your car radiator, it’s high pressure steam and what happens if there’s leak? STEAM? BOOM! That’s what happened a Fukushima. The liquid salt cooled reactor was originally designed, wait for it, for a nuclear powered aircraft. If not for the USAF this technology would probably never even been investigated. Here’s a nice documentary exposing “JUST THE FACTS”.

 One of the great benefits of this solid salt cooled type of reactor is that IF there was a leak in the liquid salt cooling lines there or if the salt tubes cracked, they would NOT be under pressure and spew radioactive contamination, The salt is melted by the intense 2,000 degree heat so it flows like water allowing it to transfer heat. So the cooling “fluid” would literally FREEZE while still at the temperature of the steam used in our “modern” obsolete reactors, and so a leak or rupture would be self-repairing as the salt solidifies, plugging any holes. NO STEAM? NO EXPLOSION! (and no “Fukushima”). Also, the reaction is self-limiting, if it leaks, and so a leak would “freeze” at well above room temperate (it’s SALT remember?), cooling the reactor and ending the fission reaction.

 These reactors also can have the fuel mixed in with the salt and so NO FUEL RODS are needed (the most expensive and dangerous part of HPW reactors). It also uses Thorium which is catalyzed by neutrons to finally decay into Uranium which then become the actual fuel as it undergoes fission to create heat and power. AND this “mixed” fuel load burns almost all the uranium fuel, unlike the solid ceramic Uranium fuel rods in High Pressure water reactors. These “spent” fuel rods are why HPW reactors produce so much dangerous radioactive waste. Also, Thorium is more plentiful and safer that using Uranium for fuel AND cannot be made into a fission bomb unlike Plutonium and Uranium.

PLEASE take the time to LEARN ABOUT SAFE AND NON POLLUTING NUCLEAR POWER ALTERNATIVES!

 Don’t be and “knee jerk”, uninformed “anti-reactor reactor”. Unlike those ignorant celebrities and fools in the anti-vaccination crowd, LEARN the facts before you run off protesting every type of nuclear power and let us move to safe nonpolluting nuclear power.

 What about Fusion? Fusion is a dream that is for the far future. Once, in a candid conversation I had with a fusion engineer, he revealed that a the actual fusion power plant itself would become totally radioactive after only 20 years exposure to the intense radiation, the metal parts all becoming brittle and the entire plant becoming unusable, a thousand ton monstrosity of radioactive steel and concrete that can’t be demolished or moved and will last hundreds of thousands of years into the future. 

“World’s First Nuclear Salt Reactor” a BBC Science Documentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3gYDo_38Bo

TAKiehl ©2016

“Should We Label GMOs?” – a conversation in commentary

https://youtu.be/sz0Id-SdZrI

Truth about needless GMO food labeling video ”Should We Label GMOs?”

selected  commentary  posted below a Youtube video on GMO food labeling controversy                         

(comment from first unidentified Youtube user) You don’t have the right to know “what’s in your food” because a GMO isn’t an ingredient it’s a breeding method that’s all that is. labeling only panders only to fear mongering campaigns heavily funded by the organic industry via. the Organic Consumers Association and other organizations that harass bio-tech scientists and science communicators. GMOs are mostly used as sweeteners, livestock, and bio fuels meaning you wanting to push GM out of the market only means prices will go up at the store will go up and that grossly effect the poor in a negative way.

Liberals typically like to mock their conservative counterparts on the issues of evolution and climate change but don’t do so on themselves when it comes to the issue of vaccines, nuclear energy, and GMOs.

Tim Kiehl +Atheist Jewish Messiah WOW! That’s the pot calling the kettle black! You mock those stupid “liberals” for mocking those stupid climate change deniers that claim that Man was given dominion over earth by god and only wait for the Apocalypse. A “conservative” political position heavily funded by oil companies who pander only to fear mongering”, not “liberal” among those freaks.

You also misrepresent facts and paint with a broad brush erroneously in naming “liberals” as the people who politicize science denial and hold back progress What a LAUGH! There are very few political progressives (those dirty “liberals”) that are vaccine deniers either, that’s more a Palin and Bachman position.

You are also extremely misinformed in your characterization of how and where GMO’s are used. And before you judge me as a “liberal” idiot, I’m a chemist and think GMO’s will be one of the ways to feed our growing population. Monsanto has abused the use of GMO technology with their roundup ready crops and monopolistic marketing tactics, helping to give GMO a bad reputation. They have fought in courts to destroy small farmers who don’t use their products.

So who’s the one politicizing the issue here? You show yourself to be a smug prejudiced hypocrite.

And last, who in the hell are YOU to tell others what their “rights” are? You’ve demonstrated to this reader your own ignorance and prejudice.

I don’t mock you, I call you out!

(comment from first unidentified Youtube user) +Tim Kiehl you cannot have a right to know what’s in your food when a GMO isn’t an ingredient just like you don’t have the right to know what you are consuming is kosher. Many of those who argue against GMOs and vaccines use largely anti-corporatists language something that would only be used by a self-admitted liberal.

(comment from first unidentified Youtube user) +Tim Kiehl GMOs are largely used as cash crops dude stuff as in corn, soy, canola, and cotton that is used as in sweeteners, animal feed, and biofuels is a fact.

(comment from first unidentified Youtube user) +Tim Kiehl you got a few facts wrong esp. on Monsanto so maybe you double check your facts

Tim Kiehl +Atheist Jewish Messiah Nothing I said was incorrect, and while you do have a few facts right you are woefully incomplete in your overall analysis, lacking information, and showing your prejudicial political attitude that seriously weakens and corrupts your position, i. e; you are full of shit, GMO rice feeds most of China at this moment, unless you consider them as animals LOL why don’t you do your own research into Monsanto and their monopolistic practices. I worked as a professional chemist and have experience industry experience. While in bulk acreage most of the GMO crop is as you describe, you ignore the fact that the use of GMO has spread well into food crops as well, as you would know if you were more well informed and less ideological. You also ignore that the modifications to the crops you have mentioned, BY MONSANTO, are almost all related to ROUNDUP resistance so as to enforce their monopolistic agenda to destroy small farms and competition.

Your dismissive argument is also irrelevant as the foods people erroneously fear and want labeled are actual foodstuffs and not the crops you mention. Even if these other GMO crops are not industrially farmed in such large acreage, they are still important food crops that people will directly consume. Yes, it IS ignorance that breeds their fear, but NOT politics. It’s ideology that drives conservative positions like climate change denial and anti-vaccination campaigns, etc., (and your “knee jerk support of any corporate propaganda) ideology PLUS ignorance, that’s what is the driver behind your lauded non-liberal associates I have noticed that almost all of your posts here are mostly full of ad hominim attacks and political diatribes, i. e. You also have a big mouth.

Tim Kiehl +Atheist Jewish Messiah But even ignoring your ignorance and ideological slant, who the hell are you to tell other people whether they have a right to “know what’s in their food”, as a matter of fact the FDA say they do, they’re merely requesting that information include if it is a GMO, Even if they are misinformed, or even willfully ignorant and wrong, THEY HAVE THAT RIGHT. Are you a dictator, or just an right wing authoritarian corporate puppet?

(comment from first unidentified Youtube user) +Tim Kiehl politics does play into lot of the GMO politics it’s a anti corporatists agenda, seriously go to any March against Monsanto rally, go to any article on the internet about GMOs or vaccines and it’s littered with anti corporatists left wing bullshit. this labeling effort is one made up by the organic industry like the Organic Consumers Assoc. to push GM out of the market. I think you don’t get when I tell you don’t have a right to know what’s in your food created by transgenic breeding method and not an ingredient. GMOs can’t be “in” your food because it’s not an ingredients. if you want to talk monopolies on biotech than blame the heavy regulation need to push them to the market and the progressive wave against biotech. when I mention GMOs being used mostly as cash crops I’m speaking of the North America

(comment from first unidentified Youtube user) +Tim Kiehl its cute you think I’m right wing I’d actually see myself as political fluid

(comment from first unidentified Youtube user) +Tim Kiehl I have only have a big mouth to have a more bigger kiss to give you

(comment from second unidentified Youtube user) +Atheist Jewish Messiah Hahahaha ove this chain. You’re right, AJM, that the FDA don’t yet give you a right to know the breeding method of your food – but they have done that in Vermont, so I guess the rights you have are all up to the Government!

You’re also right about the organic industry – who make more money than Monsanto, and profit from giving GMOs a bad name. I’d love to a video on that one day…

GMOs is the one issue where many liberals (not all) do show a bit of hypocrisy. It’s disappointing, but science denial can be found in most ideologies. Whenever people believe an ideological viewpoint over science, problems arise.

Tim Kiehl +Atheist Jewish Messiah Yes, I did notice you seem to have a fluid diarrhea of the mouth, possibly a simpleton (oops, I meant SYMPTOM LOL) of shit for brains.

Seriously, if you want to attempt an honest argument you need to know more.

Like the fact that the CONSTITUTION doesn’t say our rights are derived FROM the gov’t, it says these rights are inherent as part of the dignity of any human being (an enlightenment age deistic idea of our founders lost in the US today), The gov’t just protects those rights from being appropriated or denied by special interest groups like corporations that put profit before the general welfare. And yes, you DO HAVE THE RIGHT to ask even stupid questions like “how is my food breed?” even if your concerns stems from ignorance. Instead of ridicule …educate (like I’m attempting here, well a “little” ridicule is fun LOL. You also might learn as a side issue that about the horrendous way or modern industrial farms provide us meat eat meat from animals treated with unnecessary (except as a way to increase profits) and even casual brutality. Do I eat meat, fuck yes? Do I now know enough now that I want regulations increased, even if meat costs more? YES ! Education is the key, NOT denial of consumers’ right to ask or know what they consume and what costs real or imagined in ignorance to their health or the environment.

Anyone like you who defends “corporate capitalism” as a good system IS AN IGNORANT UNTHINKING PROPAGANDIZED CORPORATE TOOL (AND FOOL) for corporations that rape the environment and do not include the cost of the damage they do (like emptied water aquifers, toxic dumps and destroyed ecosystems, even climate change) and do not figure that cost into their operating expenses are stealing from you and me. They are stealing the cost to society and future generations, they just take these resources provided by the land (owned by the citizens of the US and in trust for us by gov’t) free and leave the shit for others to clean up. And refuse to pay taxes that CREATED THE INFRASTRUCTURE of roads etc. they use FREE OF CHARGE, ignoring the wear and tear and deterioration they cause.

Or worse, banks who had lobbyists that influenced gov’t to take down regulations that protected the public from their parasitic manipulations of money, while not producing anything of value (they just move money back and forth and take a fee for every meaningless “transaction”, bleeding the economy dry and

causing the recession) If an average Joe perpetrated financial fraud at these levels he’d be in jail doing hard time. The average citizens work and save and CREATE VALUE but these new unregulated banks take those savings (illegal before deregulation), allowing them to use OUR money to take new and terrible instruments of speculation and illegal deals, then lose their shirts and have tax payers bail them out.

And by keeping wages low and making education expensive they also force us to take on credit debt at rates as high as 20-30% just to keep our living standards up to inflation with nor real gains in worker pay even though the American worker is more productive.(another thing that was once illegal as usury) And they distract us by pushing “consumerism” dangling toys to make us want more and more. Sigmund Freud’s son was one of the creators of that idea. But they control the strings of gov’t. today. And confuse fools like you by saying “big gov’t and regulations are the cause of our problems”. The fucking wolves now guarding the sheep ..us, now that they have convinced us foolish sheep we don’t need no stinkin shepherds telling us what to do! LOL But when too many poor slobs started going bankrupt, they CREATED NEW REGULATIONS to make it more difficult to get out of this predacious debt. And don’t get me started on predatory lending and the financial abuse of the working poor!

Read Adam Smith Wealth of Nations (about 800 pages in it gets REAL good LOL) and notice he agrees that capitalism is inherently dangerous with built in flaws that need to be regulated for the good of society. He was just too naive, thinking that rich capitalist would also be moral citizen patriots and not put their profit before the good of their society, silly man. But then, by making corporations “people” they set loose these immortal sociopaths that were neither true citizens with human morality nor patriots, just emotionless machinations searching only for the bottom line short term profits. Unfortunately most of his ideas have been twisted into malicious distortions by pro corp. economists right wing ideologues like Alan Greenspan who wanted to give corporations unlimited power without gov’t oversite)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism Read this and learn something about the CORPORATE WELFARE STATE that exists today, which is NOT capitalism)

https://www.facebook.com/RBReich Robert Reich has simple video lessons even you might understand.

Either get educated and stop sucking the teat of corporate propaganda and THINK for yourself, grow up and have a mature understanding, ..or just shut up PLEASE stop mouthing right wing brain washing as if it were full of “Truthiness” LOL like a Golem puppet!

After you’ve done your homework I’ll be willing to have an INTELLIGENT discussion with you, it’s possible you MIGHT have enough intelligence to overcome your brainwashing and intellectual failures up ’till now. Hell, you’ve seemed to break your religious dogma and become an atheist, go the rest of the way. Atheists used to be called FREETHINKERS, try that hat on for size. Noam Chomsky’s another good source, but you’re probably not ready for him. (actually, my son convinced me to take Chomsky seriously and after some resistance (yes, I was pigheaded at first too LOL I was freed of a life of propaganda)

Read about consumerism, the fight for worker right s in the 30’s and “implied consent”. There are some GREAT recent documentaries on PBS about this period. We have forgot what these brave “socialists” fought and died for. And mourn for all the gains they made for us that we’ve foolishly given away in fear and greed. To tell you the honest truth, I USED TO BE YOU when I was an ill-informed arrogant youth, but I actually started researching and thinking and WOW “Good be praised” the blinder were sundered and I saw the light LOL ( a play on words, I’m an anti-theist atheist for the last 40 years)

Tim Kiehl  GMO rice has helped end blindness due to Vitamin A deficiency in China by designing rice that MAKES VITAMIN A! It also will grow in more saline conditions and so can feed more pole on marginal lands. It’s the only way we’ll feed all the people in the world. An unlike some “all natural” food fanatics I’ve talked to believe, it’s not necessary for them to die off so we can all grow organic kale. (Yes, I’ve been told that these “extra” people should die off so we can have a sustainable world. However, These same people do not volunteer to be euthanized themselves “for the needs of the many” LOL) The only thing WONG about GMO foods is the way that corporations like Monsanto manipulate plants to promote their monopoly in the seed and pesticide markets and their aggressive attacks on small farms who don’t want their products. As usual, it’s NOT the science that’s harmful, it’s the unethical corporations who misuse it for their selfish profit. Unfortunately, Monsanto’s misdeeds are publicized and then conflated with people ignorant of the science and fear “mutant vegetable that glow in the dark” (pretty neat idea, if those damn Garbanzo beans glowed “danger red” it’ll be easier to avoid eating them, yuck LOL) And to those who want to politicize the issue and blame “liberals” as the people who are fear mongering and holding back scientific progress out of ignorance, I challenge them to look in their own closet full of all those ignorant Climate change deniers, hardly a liberal among that group.

(comment from second unidentified Youtube user) ScIQ+Tim Kiehl “The only thing WONG about GMO foods is the way that corporations like Monsanto manipulate plants to promote their monopoly in the seed and pesticide markets and their aggressive attacks on small farms who don’t want their products. As usual, it’s NOT the science that’s harmful, it’s the unethical corporations who misuse it for their selfish profit.” Could not have said it any better myself. 100% agree with you Tim! – Jayde

Tim Kiehl +ScIQ Thanks Jayde, Check out my latest attempts to educate this judgmental right wing corporate puppet regarding the errors of his propagandist diatribe and the scapegoating of “liberals” Tim

(comment from third unidentified Youtube user) Here is the problem with Anti-GMO idiots – they simply do not posses the scientific knowledge necessary to make the decisions they are attempting to make. It’s no different than some hayseed spouting off gibberish about vaccines or “big pharma sells treatments instead of cures”. Yes, we are going to “cure” cell division…oh wait, that would kill the patients. GMOs are just a new way of accomplishing an old end – instead of natural evolution, a/k/a random chance which is selected over time, we engineer desired traits into an organism. “You are playing gawd!” Yes, that one is true. “How do you know the genes you select/insert into the organism will not have undesired consequences? How do you know the existing variants found in all living things are not already having those effects? Do you honestly believe we perform rigorous testing of every years corp? Labelling GMO products enables FALSE choices, idiots will make claims that are factually incorrect, or worse yet false.

Tim Kiehl Harmony Alexandria then they need to be educated, not ridiculed.

(comment from third unidentified Youtube user) +Tim Kiehl  I do not bother educating idiots, that’s what science educators try to do. I’m very simple, you either want the technology that will give you an advantage(or keep you alive) or you do not. If you do not, meh someone else will take it and you will be left behind(or dead), see problem solved.

(comment from third unidentified Youtube user) +Harmony Alexandria We’re actually doing a video on exactly this point HA. Everyone wants to hate on biotech firms… until they get sick. Then they love the treatment. Yes many biotech firms are unethical, (MANY!) (VERY UNETHICAL!) but you can’t hate on a whole industry unless you have a viable alternative.

 

 

May 7, 2016

 

 

Sam Harris: Science can answer moral questions

Sam Harris just appeared on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show to discuss his new book on this subject, “The Moral Landscape” (Daily Show episodes can be viewed at:  http://www.thedailyshow.com/)

sorry, this is just a blurry cell phone pix

PS: I recently went to a book signing and got an autographed copy, which he inscribed “To the Nth horseman, Sam Harris” (Harris is known, along with Hitchens, Dawkins and Dennet as one of the “four horsemen”)

He also gave a short presentation similar to the one given at TED that can be seen at this link;.

YouTube – Sam Harris: Science can answer moral questions

smoking gun of intelligent design in creation

 

After visiting this website:

(click on the image to visit it yourself …and be CHANGED!!)

…and after considering this photograph as irrefutable evidence as well as incontrovertible proof that the hand of a cosmic designer must have been involved in creating our most basic components (such as the DNA pictured here), I am seriously considering becoming ordained as a minister in the Pastafarian* Church.

•              (update 2012: I have recently ordained myself as an appointed representative of Pastafarianism as I was inspired to do by the revealed wisdom of the FSM Himself, may his appendages be forever moist)

All hail to “His Noodliness” the Flying Spaghetti Monster* in all his glory, Amen!

* FSM or “Flying Spaghetti Monster” and the “Pastafarian” church are both parts of a farcical religion created by students at Stanford University as a parody. (When they weren’t at a frat party getting plastered, obviously! LOL). Since it’s inception it hasspread widely among skeptical inquirers, freethinkers and “techy” types.
When I was an engineer in the microelectronics industry I even saw this likeness;etched microscopically into the silicon of a microchip used to make computer circuit. His mysterious hand (limp, of course) is everywhere!

Talking about YouTube – Michael Specter: The danger of science denial

 

YouTube – Michael Specter: The danger of science denial