Daily Archives: April 3, 2014

Policy Analysis – Nozickian Libertarianism – Video

Posted: April 3, 2014 at 8:41 pm


Policy Analysis - Nozickian Libertarianism
An introduction to policy analysis from a Nozickian Libertarian framework.

By: Lucas Engelhardt

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Introduction to Libertarian Transhumanism – Video

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Introduction to Libertarian Transhumanism
This is an introduction to the idea of Libertarian Transhumanism.

By: The Libertarian Transhumanist

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Science Minute 5 Transhuman Soldiers And Synthetic Genes – Video

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Science Minute 5 Transhuman Soldiers And Synthetic Genes
In this Science Minute the pentagon wants transhuman soldiers and synthetic genetic codes. This webcast is uncensored. The Fortean Slip Facebook Group Page h...

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Plato at the Googleplex, by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein

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Plato wouldnt disagree that philosophy is, in fact, a way of life attractive to, and perhaps available only to, the happy few. Running throughout Goldsteins long and highly original book are various arguments about what she calls the Ethos of the Extraordinary. Do some of us matter while others of us dont? To the early Greeks, the achievement of kleos, meaning glory or renown, was the chief aim of life. To be talked about, honored and remembered this was the only immortality to be had.

By the time of Plato (fourth century B.C.), this cult of celebrity had been transformed and deepened, indeed interiorized through the notion of arete, usually translated as virtue. Arete essentially is the health of the soul. As Goldstein explains, each time you lie, even if youre not caught, you become a little more of this ugly thing: a liar. Character is always in the making, with each morally valanced action, whether right or wrong, affecting our characters, the people who we are. You become the person who could commit such an act, and how you are known in the world is irrelevant to this state of being. In the end, who we are inside matters more than what others think of us.

Have I got this right? Its hard to say. Plato himself, as Goldstein reminds us, never laid out in treatise form any of his convictions. Instead, he actually staged the free play of ideas as plays, his Dialogues spotlighting the snub-nosed and ugly Socrates, but sometimes introducing such notable co-stars as the award-winning dramatist Aristophanes and Athenian bad boy and major heartthrob Alcibiades. In Platos work, these real-life characters, and many others, elegantly argue about everything from the nature of love (Symposium and Phaedrus) to the nature of good government (The Republic).

A novelist as a well as a philosopher, Goldstein pays homage to that ancient dramatic tradition by introducing Plato into several modern-day dialogues. Be warned: Readers expecting a sober presentation of ancient philosophy may be in for a shock when Plato, on book tour, visits the headquarters of Google, then later participates in a debate about child-rearing at New Yorks 92nd Street Y, assists a modern-day advice columnist as she answers questions about fraught relationships and is interviewed on a cable news program. Do these scenarios sound cutesy and even slightly condescending? I thought so at first, but Goldstein brings them off with panache, especially Plato at the 92nd Street Y.

The setup is this: Facetious newspaper columnist Zachary Burns is moderating a discussion on How to Raise an Exceptional Child with three bestselling writers: Mitzi Munitz, author of Esteeming Your Child: How the Best-Intentioned Parents Violate, Mutilate and Desecrate Their Children; Sophie Zee, author of The Warrior Mothers Guide to Producing Off-the-Charts Children; and Plato, author of The Republic. After clarifying that his last panelist prefers not to be called doctor or professor, Burns proceeds with his introduction:

Plato it is then! Plato has long been hailed as one of the most creative and influential thinkers in the history of Western thought. Indeed, some have argued that all of philosophy consists of footnotes to Plato, which is high praise indeed. He was born in Athens, Greece, a city where he has spent the bulk of his life and where he informally studied as a young man under the famous philosopher Socrates. . . .

In the free-for-all debate that follows, Munitz argues that the young should be encouraged to follow their own bent and to become who they truly are. To the psychoanalyst, Zees desire to raise an exceptional child is a desire to sacrifice the integrity of the child, to transform human beings into monkeys trained to please their parents. Zee quickly counters that strict discipline, with rewards and punishments, ultimately leads to a childs empowerment, and to a better, richer adult life later on.

And what is Platos view? Here, Goldstein presents in miniature largely using the philosophers own words parts of the educational system laid out in The Republic. Plato recognizes that children possess varying capabilities and temperaments. A teacher is charged with bringing his or her student into contact with the beauty that answers to that students type of character and mind. He notes that his guardians the ascetic elite whose lives are devoted to overseeing the ideal state must exhibit as children, besides intelligence, Zees spiritedness and Munitzs love of truth.

Throughout the fierce give-and-take, all the participants come off surprisingly well (Zach Burns not so much). Indeed, Im not sure that Munitz doesnt outsoar the Greek philosopher. But then this whole chapter possesses the sparkle and vivacity of a Bernard Shaw play. As Plato says, The best thinking is always playful.

That said, Goldstein does offer solid, more straightforward chapters about various aspects of Platonic philosophy. She analyzes love in a section that retells the complicated relationship between Socrates and Alcibiades; discusses the opposing claims of reason and intuition in our understanding of the world; provides several different interpretations of Platos parable of the cave; and, finally, speculates about whether Plato actually believed in immortality. In this last instance, she emphasizes that a kind of transhuman transcendence is possible by identifying ones whole self with the harmony and timeless, mathematical beauty of the cosmos. This rather Spinozist pantheism should come as no surprise since Goldstein has written an earlier book on Spinoza, to many the greatest philosophical mind since Plato.

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Crysis 3 Post-Human Warrior Episode 3 – Video

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Crysis 3 Post-Human Warrior Episode 3
Another part at which i died on my first play-through of the game.

By: JackPunter2012

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A tribute to Irene Fernandez

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Human Rights Watch mourns the passing of the passionate and dedicated human rights activist Irene Fernandez. She died of heart failure on 31 March 2014, at age 67.

Irene Fernandez

Irene Fernandezs fiery commitment to seek justice for people whose rights have been trampled was legendary, not just in Malaysia but throughout Asia, said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. Many of us at Human Rights Watch have worked with Irene over many years, and we are profoundly saddened by this loss both personally and for the human rights community.

A prominent advocate for the rights of migrants and women in Malaysia for decades, Fernandez helped found the Kuala Lumpur-based rights organisation Tenaganita (Womens Force) in 1991. Tenaganita provides legal services and conducts advocacy on behalf of migrant victims of abuse, trafficking victims, refugees, and asylum seekers. In recognition of her tireless work and leadership, Human Rights Watch in 1996 honoured Fernandez with its human rights monitor award.

Fernandez was harassed repeatedly by the Malaysian government for her activism. In 1995 Tenaganita released a report documenting beatings and sexual violence against detainees by prison guards, and inadequate food and water in Malaysias immigration detention camps. Fernandez was arrested in March 1996 and charged with malicious publication of false news under the draconian Printing Presses and Publications Act of 1984.

After seven years of trial, she was found guilty in 2003 and sentenced to a year in prison. She was released on bail pending her appeal, but the government used her conviction to bar her from running for parliament in the 2004 elections. The conviction was finally overturned in November 2008, ending the 13-year case.

She was also a member of the organising committee of the recently concluded Peoples Tribunal on Malaysias 13th general election.

Fernandez had received numerous other awards, including the Amnesty International Award in 1998; the International PEN Award in 2000; the Jonathan Mann Award in 2004; and the Right Livelihood Award in 2005.

Once you met Irene, you could never forget her, said Mickey Spiegel, senior Asia adviser at Human Rights Watch. She was an inspiration, a teacher, a role model to many of us. Her passing marks the end of an era.

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Shoppes at Northway resale shop raises funds to fight human trafficking.

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Human trafficking.No one wants to think of it happening in their backyard, but it does in Pittsburgh, and even in the North Hills. One Pine woman wants to do something about it.

Elizabeth Echevarria has founded Living in Liberty, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting human trafficking. To help fund her efforts, she recently opened Repurposed, a resale shop for clothing and home accessories in the Shoppes at Northway.

The idea for her organization took root eight years ago when she lived in Northern Virginia. There a visitor to her church opened Mrs. Echevarrias eyes to the problem.

She talked about her work in rescuing children in India from brothels. I thought, What can I do about this? she said.Along with other members of her church, Mrs. Echevarria was planning on a mission trip to India, when her husband received a job offer in the Pittsburgh area.

I obviously put it on the back burner, she said.

Six years ago, the family relocated to Pine and Mrs. Echevarria said the idea was still in the back of her mind, but with the activities in settling her family in a new area, things were put on hold. Then she decided to pursue ministry studies through her church, Allison Park Church in Hampton.

Mrs. Echevarria finished her studies, but instead of becoming a minister, she looked for a way use her ministry skills. As the mother of six, the thought of young children in slavery and prostitution wouldnt go away.

Having worked in nonprofits, Mrs. Echevarria thought about starting her own organization to combat human trafficking and in February 2012, she founded Living in Liberty.

Enlisting friends and fellow church members, Mrs. Echevarria started to raise money to open a safe house where they could help women to escape the way they were living and start a new life. In August, they opened a safe house that can shelter four women. It was the first of its kind in the Greater Pittsburgh area.

They can live there for a year and have access to all sorts of services. We really hope to help them change their lives, she said.

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Homecare Homebase ICD-10 Implementation On Schedule to Meet HHS Compliance Date

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Dallas, TX (PRWEB) April 03, 2014

Homecare Homebase, a leading provider of healthcare software serving the technology needs of the fast growing post-acute care industry including homecare, hospice and private duty, announced today they continue on track to meet the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ICD-10 compliance deadline of October 1, 2014. This announcement comes on the heels of President Obama signing the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 that prevents the Secretary of Health & Human Services from adopting ICD-10 code sets prior to October 1, 2015.

Homecare Homebase has a long history of implementing HHS and CMS mandated changes well in advance of compliance deadlines. The company implemented the 2013 CMS Medicare reimbursement changes months in advance of its compliance date to ensure its customers were not only prepared, but could also gauge the effects of the reimbursement changes prior to the compliance date.

For over 10 years, Homecare Homebase has been dedicated to providing homecare and hospice agencies with a best-of-breed healthcare information system that is fast, flexible and customizable to their unique operational requirements. Developed by industry veterans, Homecare Homebase offers a comprehensive, integrated, cloud-based software solution that continues to stay ahead of the curve, as well as the competition, allowing customers to not only manage their business more effectively, but ultimately provide their patients with the best possible outcomes.

The delay is especially frustrating for home health agencies that have worked diligently to meet the HSS deadline, said Tom Maxwell, Chief Strategy Office for Homecare Homebase. Homecare Homebase will integrate the new ICD-10 codes by the original deadline, giving our customers the advantage to plan for the impact on their agency.

About Homecare Homebase

Homecare Homebase, based in Dallas, Texas, is a leading healthcare software company serving the technology needs of the fast growing post-acute care industry including homecare, hospice and private duty. Homecare has receive the prestigious Best In KLAS for Homecare award for three consecutive years in the Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Services report. Homecare Homebase offers a comprehensive integrated cloud-based software solution to improve the clinical, operational and financial success of homecare and hospice agencies. Homecare Homebase enables real-time, wireless information exchange and communication between office staff, field staff and physicians; automates workflow processes; enables accurate billing through numerous integrated checks and balances; and, provides powerful management reporting via a back-office data analysis tool that ties together all agency operational information. Founded by industry veterans in 1999, every aspect of the Homecare Homebase system was developed to be user-friendly, flexible and customizable to specific agency needs. For more information, visit http://www.hchb.com or follow us on Twitter @HCHB_Connect.

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Why Town Futurist? – Video

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Why Town Futurist?
Live and direct with one of Town Futurist Sessions founders, SunRu Carter. Video by TownTroniks, Karen Marie Spencer Wilkinson Like Us on FaceBook https://...

By: Town Futurist

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FUTANT – FUTURIST Promo – Video

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FUTANT - FUTURIST Promo
Download full cd at http://www.comarecordz.com FUTANT - FUTURIST Released March 31, 2014 00x and Lux make up Futant, which has released over a dozen records ...

By: FUTANTCOLLECTIVE

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