Saving the "Humanism" in Transhumanism

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Should a person become a transhumanist before he is a humanist or is he to become a humanist first before becoming a transhumanist ? A well crafted question but one that deserves serious thought as to it's purpose !

If you ask me, I would say that we are becoming transhumanists at a faster rate rather than the other way ! Humanism, ethics and other associated emotionally charged wellness packages have taken a back seat. The front row seats to the brave new world is filled with recombinant genes, neural interfaces and supremely destructive weaponry. Thanks to virtual worlds and virtual conferences, we no longer have to travel long distances and feel the physical comfort of a handshake or a comprade's embrace. We can just as well sit in our recliners and keep getting obese on high energy GMO foods while we blog, chat and even tweet our way into the future. Soon, you need not be bothered with the racing of the heart when confronting a live human being in a vile argument. You might as well throw a few disgusting emoticons from the comfort of your home, office or even your car !

It is more of the same regret being addressed again. Technology is replacing raw physical presence in the matter of human relationships. I cite all these usual complaints since I feel transhumanism in it's original definition is slowly fading away. Let's see how Wikipaedia defines transhumanism and humanism :

TRANSHUMANISM :
"Transhumanism is an international intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use of science and technology to improve human mental and physical characteristics and capacities. The movement regards aspects of the human condition, such as disability, suffering, disease, aging, and involuntary death as unnecessary and undesirable. Transhumanists look to biotechnologies and other emerging technologies for these purposes. Dangers, as well as benefits, are also of concern to the transhumanist movement".

HUMANISM :
"Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, or practice that focuses on human values and concerns".

I feel both definitions somehow have drifted apart instead of a favourable fusion. When I first became exposed to the transhumanist gravy train, I thought the advanced technologies being addressed or promoted would be for the betterment of all human civilization. However, as each year passes into the next great revolution, the transhumanist movement is increasingly becoming a passive observer in face of the rapid acceleration of technology. In fact, I guess the singularity movement has played it safe by stating that the wolf would come and it would come so fast that it would eat you up before you had time to react..the wolf being the singularity.

Before transhumanism, there was only Bioethics. It still exists in the form of committees and legislations. However, the acceleration is so rapid that there is now absolutely no time to say we should proceed with caution. The one thing I can find comfort in is the fact that someone somewhere would have coined a word, a movement and even a well balanced definition for this condition.

We are losing the battle to a safe utopia for all of us. We are losing track of what it means to be "us" anymore. Our fascination with social networking websites and self proclamations with "status messages" has replaced live conversations. We project our personas with the aid of cellular phones, portable music players onto a vast multitude of like minded personas which really have no bearing beyond their pixelated existence. All of these are only stimulants of the senses without permanent purpose.

At best, we can say that we have effectively become "slaves" to the technology we create. The technology that is created is still inaccesible to the large majority of humanity. Even more disturbing is the fact that the technology being created is rapidly being owned not by governments but by corporations which reaffirm the fears initially expressed by dystopian movies. We may not place much importance to the impacts of technology on our environment, but with every cough and toxic exposure, we do pay the price and will continue to do so.

This far, I have addressed very briefly the incredible promises of transhumanism and how distant it really is from humanism. Technological acceleration need not be regulated or curbed. However, it would be better if it headed in a direction where everybody benefited instead of a minority of developed nations. All humans have the right to become transhumans. If not, then the transhumanist movement is no longer humanist. It is something else for which I am sure a new word will be framed.

So what is the solution ? The easiest solution is to come back to ground reality. While it may be fanciful to imagine that we are living in a matrix like world and are dissociated from all of our peers; it would only take one simple power cut or an EMP pulse to sever all of the technologies to which we are so desperately tied up for self expression. While it is important to embrace technology and the Cyborg fantasy, it is even more important to realize the value of our individual "self" . Let us atleast from now, try to understand the real value of emergent technologies to the whole of humanity instead of hedonistically experiencing them. Think about it.

Carol Browner Takes Questions and Creates More

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Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Policy Carol Browner takes your questions about the Deepwater BP Oil Spill and the Federal response to the disaster.

Carol Browner looks like she’s barely holding it together for this little “take your questions” session that they held online on Friday.

Her answer to the question on why they are still allowing the use of the dispersant is classic:  It’s still being used because it’s on the list of EPA approved dispersants.  Even though it’s banned in England.  So it’s being used because it’s approved.  BP thinks its perfectly OK to use it here, even if it does rot your flesh, and give you cancer and make appendages turn black and fall off; or whatever  else Corexit does.  It’s not healthy stuff.

Until recently the EPA was not releasing Corexit’s ingredients to the public, but last Friday they made public a list of, supposedly,  all of the ingredients on their website.  Until Friday, some of the chemicals in Corexit were still a protected trade secret.  That means that BP was granted the right to experiment with its chemicals on people and wildlife, while keeping those ingredients secret.  If one of the clean-up workers had to be treated by an emergency doctor, the doctor did not even know what chemicals caused the damage to the patient. How can doctors treat people when they don’t even know what possible toxins they are trying to counteract?  From Greenwire:

Three ingredients of the two Corexit formulas were already available on material safety data sheets that outline the human health risks of using the dispersants in the workplace. Corexit 9527, used in lesser quantities during the earlier days of the spill response, is designated a chronic and acute health hazard by EPA. The 9527 formula contains 2-butoxyethanol, pinpointed as the cause of lingering health problems experienced by cleanup workers after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, and propylene glycol, a commonly used solvent.

Corexit 9500, described by Pajor as the “sole product” Nalco has manufactured for the Gulf since late April, contains propylene glycol and light petroleum distillates, a type of chemical refined from crude oil. Nalco had previously declined to identify the third hazardous substance in the 9500 formula, but EPA’s website reveals it to be dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate, a detergent and common ingredient in laxatives.

We’re supposed to believe that only the “safer” Corexit has been used since April?  Neither BP nor the EPA has been even remotely honest with the public, as we are just now finding out.  Apparently, the EPA had the list of ingredients of Corexit from the beginning and withheld it from the beginning.

If they didn’t, that means they approved of the use of a dispersant without even knowing all the ingredients in it.  How could they do that?

Obama’s  new “science-driven” EPA thinks this poison is perfectly fine to dump in the ocean, [...]

Libertarian Republican linked by Washington Post

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From the Editor:

We are grateful to Dave Weigel, conservative movement columnist for the Washington Post for linking LibertarianRepublican.net in an article on New Hampshire's hot congressional contest.

How the Family Research Council convinced a GOP candidate in N.H. to 'evolve'

Manchester, N.H. mayor Frank Guinta is one of the GOP candidates most likely to flip a House seat -- I'm unaware of a poll that shows Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) leading him. But I've heard some critics of Guinta wonder how, exactly, he won the endorsement of the Family Research Council, even if he does hold a clear advantage among GOP primary voters. In the early part of his career, Guinta was more libertarian, voting against parental consent for abortion and endorsing Rudy Giuliani for president.

"Guinta came into the race with a libertarian streak," acknowleged Connie Mackey, president of FRC Action PAC.

Weigel linked to our article from February, on Guinta at "voting against parental consent." The article was titled "Libertarian-leaning GOPer has comfortable lead over incumbent Dem for Congress." Weigel actually quoted a commenter in our comments section on Guinta's voting record.

Read the full column at WaPo. And you can enjoy Dave's weekly column at the same link. We urge our readers to add it to your Favorite's bar.

George Pataki, a modern-day Paul Revere warning against Socialist takeover

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Former Republican Governor of New York George Pataka is traveling the country warning Americans of the socialist takeover of health care.

From NewsMax:

Pataki said:

“In just six short weeks, 125,000 Americans from every walk of life and every corner of our country have signed the Revere America petition to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

Chaired by Pataki, Revere America is dedicated to advancing common sense public policies rooted in our traditions of freedom and free markets that will once again make America secure and prosperous for generations to come.

Revere America’s national petition drive to collect one million signatures of like-minded Americans who want to repeal and replace ObamaCare was launched in Boston on April 18th – the 235th Anniversary of Paul Revere’s Ride and has since traveled coast to coast with more stops planned in the weeks and months ahead.

Pataki is already a hero of sorts to libertarian-leaning Republicans for having suggested as Governor in the late 1990s, that the drug war was a failures, and alternative means of sentencing needed to be utilized for small-time drug offenders.

revereamerica.org

Poll Shocker!! Ehrlich now tied with O’Malley in Maryland

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Breaking from Rasmussen this morning...

Republicans may add an unexpected pick-up in the Governors races. Rasmussen reports:

Just like in 2006, the rematch between Republican Bob Ehrlich and Maryland Democratic Governor Martin O’Malley is proving to be a close one, at least early on. The two men are now tied, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state.

O'Malley earns 45% of the vote, as does his GOP opponent whom he took the governorship away from in the previous contest. Five percent (5%) prefer some other candidate, and another five percent (5%) are undecided.

O'Malley had been leading Ehrlich as much as 49 to 43%.

Note - O'Malley, a fierce liberal champion and former longtime chief staffer for Barbara Mikulski, as Baltimore Mayor compared President George W. Bush to a "9/11 Terrorist," for "severe budget cuts to state and local governments." Ehrlich is best known to libertarian Republicans as a supporting legalization of medicinal use of marijuana first as a Congressman, then later as Governor.

Photo of Gov. Ehrlich and Lt. Governor Michael Steele

Carly and Barbara Boxer’s hair

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Carly Fiorna is getting raked over the coals already by some in the liberal media, for a post-nomination mis-speak caught on an open mic.

From CNN:

Waiting to be interviewed by affiliate KXTV Wednesday morning, Fiorina is clearly heard taking a dig at her rival for the California Senate seat, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California.

"God, what is that hair?" a laughing Fiorina said, while quoting a friend who had recently seen Boxer on television. "So yesterday."

(H/t Memeo)

Sarah Palin’s bust size: Why all the fuss?

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by Clifford Thies

The blagosphere, both right and left, is abuzz with titulation concerning Sarah's girls, following her appearance at Belmont race track, to root for a horse named "First Dude".

Sarah, ever the fashionista, was dressed in a tee, sunglasses and a sporty cap. Accompanied by her amazingly handsome husband (the real First Dude), limo driver and entourage, she made quite a splash. Beauty, charm and power, all "in the moment," what a package!

The left-blagosphere was aghast. Especially by one photo that showed Sarah's vuluptuous figure in a very flattering way. Comparing her curves in that photo to her curves in others, they asked, Is Sarah enhanced?

Not that cosmetic surgery would be a bad thing for, say, Speaker of the House Nancy "Michael Jackson" Pelosi.

But, no, my dear left-socialist friends, Sarah's not enhanced. It's called a bra. Remember those things you burned during the 1960s? Bras are used by women with curves to keep the girls in place, and fashionistas have a range of bras appropriate to the occassion. Sports bras that flatten and bras that you wear to better fill out a tee, and there are others. Hence, the different profiles.

As for us Libertarian Republicans, we see in Sarah Palin an affirmation of our values: a person who is happy to be who she is and who uses her mind to express herself, to be productive and to enjoy life.

(H/t Memeo)

NASA Plans for Large Scale Failure, Power Grid is “Particularly Vulnerable to Bad Space Weather”

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For many it’s either tin foil conspiracy theory or an action packed Hollywood Armageddon flick. For the National Aeronautics and Space Administration it’s a serious threat, with the potential to wipe out the technologically driven lives we’ve become so used to.

Our sun is approaching a period of high turbulence, referred to as the solar maximum, with many scientists suggesting a peak in activity around 2013. The cycle occurs every 11 years, and the next time around it is predicted to be one of the weakest in decades. However, some contrary opinions hold that the next solar maximum may be stronger than we expect, citing a 26,000 year galactic alignment cycle, scheduled to occur on or around 2012, eerily coinciding with the end of the Mayan calendar.

One organization that isn’t taking any chances is NASA. As the sun begins to awaken, scientists are keeping a close eye on space weather:

“The sun is waking up from a deep slumber, and in the next few years we expect to see much higher levels of solar activity. At the same time, our technological society has developed an unprecedented sensitivity to solar storms. The intersection of these two issues is what we’re getting together to discuss.”

The National Academy of Sciences framed the problem two years ago in a landmark report entitled “Severe Space Weather Events—Societal and Economic Impacts.” It noted how people of the 21st-century rely on high-tech systems for the basics of daily life. Smart power grids, GPS navigation, air travel, financial services and emergency radio communications can all be knocked out by intense solar activity. A century-class solar storm, the Academy warned, could cause twenty times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina.

A 132-page NASA funded report titled Severe Space Weather Events—Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts, suggests that the right magnitude storm could be devastating:

The problem begins with the electric power grid. “Electric power is modern society’s cornerstone technology on which virtually all other infrastructures and services depend,” the report notes. Yet it is particularly vulnerable to bad space weather. Ground currents induced during geomagnetic storms can actually melt the copper windings of transformers at the heart of many power distribution systems. Sprawling power lines act like antennas, picking up the currents and spreading the problem over a wide area. The most famous geomagnetic power outage happened during a space storm in March 1989 when six million people in Quebec lost power for 9 hours.

According to the report, power grids may be more vulnerable than ever. The problem is interconnectedness. In recent years, utilities have joined grids together to allow long-distance transmission of low-cost power to areas of sudden demand. On a hot summer day in California, for instance, people in Los Angeles might be running their air conditioners on power routed from Oregon. It makes economic sense—but not necessarily geomagnetic sense. Interconnectedness makes the system susceptible to wide-ranging “cascade failures.”

To estimate the scale of such a failure, report co-author John Kappenmann of the Metatech Corporation looked at the great geomagnetic storm of May 1921, which produced ground currents as much as ten times stronger than the 1989 Quebec storm, and modeled its effect on the modern power grid. He found more than 350 transformers at risk of permanent damage and 130 million people without power. The loss of electricity would ripple across the social infrastructure with “water distribution affected within several hours; perishable foods and medications lost in 12-24 hours; loss of heating/air conditioning, sewage disposal, phone service, fuel re-supply and so on.”

“The concept of interdependency,” the report notes, “is evident in the unavailability of water due to long-term outage of electric power–and the inability to restart an electric generator without water on site.”

What if the May 1921 superstorm occurred today? A US map of vulnerable transformers with areas of probable system collapse encircled. A state-by-state map of transformer vulnerability is also available: click here.

The potential for major disruptions to our lives and our modern day just-in-time delivery systems could lead to total chaos in affected areas:

“A contemporary repetition of the Carrington Event would cause … extensive social and economic disruptions,” the report warns. Power outages would be accompanied by radio blackouts and satellite malfunctions; telecommunications, GPS navigation, banking and finance, and transportation would all be affected. Some problems would correct themselves with the fading of the storm: radio and GPS transmissions could come back online fairly quickly. Other problems would be lasting: a burnt-out multi-ton transformer, for instance, can take weeks or months to repair. The total economic impact in the first year alone could reach $2 trillion, some 20 times greater than the costs of a Hurricane Katrina or, to use a timelier example, a few TARPs.

Had the report(s) come from a random SHTF Planning and Preparedness site, we could understand skepticism from the general public. But, since the warnings are coming from NASA, we suggest that citizens interested in preserving their well being, safety and security take note.

While the Quebec incident was a short-term, nine hour down-grid scenario, the US power grid is very much susceptible to a cascading, domino effect across our electrical infrastructures. As suggested by NASA, this would not be limited to your inability to watch television or turn on the lights, but could be much more widespread, affecting critical utility and transportation systems that deliver our food and fuel.

It is quite reasonable to suggest that any significant adverse solar weather event could lead to mass chaos across the entire country as people scramble to acquire necessities like food, water, medicine and secure shelter.

And if the response from our federal, state and local government officials is anything like Hurricane Katrina or the BP oil spill, an event of such magnitude may take weeks, perhaps months to mitigate.

Author: Mac Slavo
Date: June 7th, 2010
Visit the Author's Website: http://www.SHTFplan.com/