Cellphone Therapy?

So I was reading this article: http://www.webmd.com/news/20061023/do-cell-phones-affect-sperm-quality

and it dawned on me just how serious this issue could actually become... If there is a proven link, imagine the ethical debate on cellphone usage as a method of population control! This is straight out of Children of Men people!

This then led me to start thinking about WHY it affects sperm count. Is it because of the radiation levels emitted by the device? Or is it because of the low tone frequency (more on frequency transmission therapy) that is being lodged straight into our brains. Or perhaps its a mixture of BOTH, since its known that radiation has perverse effects on various frequencies and vibrations. It could act as a conductor for the vibrations thats entering our brains.

Then it got me thinking, if science has already been able to create vibration therapy machines (see here and here) imagine if this technology was built into our cellphones.

The cellphone would emit just enough radiation to increase the conduit of vibration entering the brain (all scientists know thus far is that it would wreak havoc on the physiology of the body), coupled with a programmed vibration that is undetectable to the human ear or eye, but controlled from a central location. Moods could be altered, aggression could be subdued, ADD could become more of a norm than ever, and worse, complex bodily functions including our ability to heal ourselves, react to immunities, etc could be greatly altered.

The upside was that if harvested this could prove a cancer fighting mechanism, and a way to replace pill poppers. The downside, is a reality far worse than Huxley's a Brave New World. (thinking about the SOMAcell).

Of course my mutterings are extreme muses of a technology not even yet thought of. (Or has it? This site claims that cellphones were created by the Department of Defense!)

With the rapid expanse of technology throughout the world, why isn't anyone stopping and saying "Hey, could this be harmful?" Or are we too busy giving charity to ICTs that will change the lives of urban peasants in the worlds poorest countries? I hate Catch 22's.

Either way, be mindful of what consumers are shoving down your throat. (Mp3 Cellphones = hours and hours of radiation exposure!) And support research in this field! It is our right to know if we are screwing over our future!

The information I have linked to is more than enough information to scare me. I hope it scares you too.

A Pakistani Ambivalence

It always strikes me as interesting how two sides of a debate can become so polarized that the issues seem, in retrospect, to slip through the tracks of defending positions.

A black ribbon or a green ribbon? Do you oppose Musharef? Or do you support emergency rule? Fence riding has long been seen as the easy way out from taking a stand, but in light of current situations, either side you choose, you lose.

I oppose Musharef, not because he called emergency rule, but because Pakistan is in this situation in the first place. Musharef has failed to create a democratic environment for transition, failed civil society, failed the rule of law, and failed to establish stability in a country marred with ethnic, tribal and religious oppositions. So by all rights, he should go right? - Wrong.

Musharef cannot simply pack his bags and leave, the country, its nuclear programme, its whole advancement of institutional frameworks would undoubtedly fall into the wrong hands and Pakistan would see far more violence then we see right now with martial law enacted for protection of the constitution. In the short term, the country needs Musharef, and needs him to act quickly to deliver on his promises. In the long term however, Musharef must go, he must leave and allow the people to come to power. Don’t be fooled, Musharef will not usher in a democratic transition, he has been unable to do so for the past 9 years.

Here falls the double edged sword. Musharef is single handedly tearing down all the institutions he so proudly fought to put in place since his coup in 1999. So either way, the country has some tough times ahead of it in order to rebuild.

My advice to Mushy is to deliver on what he promises – return stability in the north and help stamp out extremism from the source, and release the political opposition. It is really all that he can do for the country now. As for the biased judiciary, in a western nation, they would be upheld as defenders of the law (which IS there job) by denying Musharef his custom constitutional powers, however the responsibility faulters when the country is in a state of turmoil as it is.

As for the people of Pakistan? This whole situation is a blessing in disguise, if the people want Pakistan to return to them, then it is them that must fight. By the looks of things, apathy is slowly breaking away and people are waking up to the situation in their country. Benny Bhutto will not lead this country to better days. The corruption of her past opportunistic approach to the restoration of democracy is has far too many holes. The first of which being her desire to get a constitutional acceptance to run for a 3^rd term, when the constitution states she may only run twice. Secondly, her purging of legalities facing her past corruption charges. If she wants to restore democracy so bad, then she should give up her position as lifelong chair of the PPP, and stand for trial for her sins. Let the institution she so badly wants to establish be the deciding factor of her fate.

Now is the time for the Unseen Hero's to emerge: those men and women taking to the streets, raising awarness through Cyber-protests, and organizing the masses, for what they believe is a Pakistan with a future. Yes it is you, Unseen Hero that must now stand and take back this country. You are its only hope.

If.

If - by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master,
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

by Rudyard Kipling

uncomfortable

Peace of mind is lacking these days,

There was a time when thoughts would invade my head, charging out of reflective waters of my past. Mellowing my soul and ebbing the tides of woe.

With the brightening dawn, I would cleanse my mind and body
with trident hot waters showering upon me. Locking away any rays of light,
the darkness trapped my thoughts inside. As the beads trumpeted down,
Stabbing my fears away. A thick lather would do the rest. One wipe away.

These days, however, the tides do not come to bay. The light lurches in uninvited, unlocking my fears to bare amok. The beads trickle like shy school children sheepishly venturing out, fear-stricken. The trumpets sound of leaky pipes, clogged with despair. My soul knows not where to rest, for it has been abandoned, imprisoned with doubt. The lather is temporary, for the world outside my swiss-bubble invites a dreaded heat. The only beads are formed of my own odors, they too seek refuge.

My nights are spent searching for sanctuary, a modest peace. A temporary hum of laughter or pleasure. My soul is nowhere to be found, hidden, and coy from the consequential woes endemic to my world. I hope to create. But hope is dim these days. Can't even count to anything, my vision is near sighted. Spectacles purchased of second-hand black market. Unreliable and still.

Response to: Designing a new Religion

Im going to start my own religion too

Virtuism.. oh wait someone already did.. well ill turn it into an ORGANIZED religion!

thats right, we pray to the God of the Agenda, the organizer, we believe in the pillars of cleanliness, punctuality, priorities and to do lists.

Stephen Covey is our prophet.

we bring leather bound agendas to every meeting in ritual.

We turn off our cell phones while in meetings, not do so is a SIN and punishable

Sins are repented by attending personal effectiveness and life goal setting seminars established at our various stationary shops.

To not repent is to welcome the sin of randomness and destruction into ones life. To be unorganized is to be unreliable, unclean, not-punctual and narrow minded (shortsighted in some scholarly works). These are the 4 cardinal sins of this organized religion.

We host regular charity events where the community gathers all their recycled paper and we make new agendas out of them. Its great, and the kids love it because we serve lemonade.

oh yes, and no organized religion is complete without a creation story!

It all began with the birth of a Man,Hilroy, who lookethed upon his mother-dear's sweat beaded face, then over at his father who took a small stone and marked a dashmark before hurtling the newborn into a pile of other babies playing and googoo ga-ing.

That monumental moment filled the baby Hilroy with joy and so he grew up to know his identify because his father had kept track of all the babies he had. Such organization inspired the boy so much that he set out to give purpose and meaning to all things, so he set out on a journey all over the world counting animals, stones, and organizing them on a piece of parchment. Then on the 365th day he landed where he began his journey and decided to call it a year. Thus time was born.

the rest is history!

(NB. there has been some recent evidence indicating that the first born man was in fact a women named Hilary, however this is still in speculation)

End.

Designing a new religion

From Edward De Bono: Designing a new religion

We analyse a situation and identify standard elements. We then understand
the situation and also know what to do about it.

Although individuals might practise it, the Western culture of thinking is
lacking in design. Architects, graphic designers and fashion designers might
practise design, but it is not part of general education. This is a very
serious fault in education.

My latest book is called 'H+ A New Religion?' (published by Vermilion Press
in London, part of Random House). This is a religion in the sense that
Buddhism is a religion. There is no new god-system or other-world structure.

H+ can be used in conjunction with any existing religion or belief system:
Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, etc.

Many religions are about 'sins' and the things you should not do. Today that
aspect is adequately taken care of, both by the law and existing religious
systems.

So H+ is about 'positive action'. So instead of 'sins' there are 'pons'
(derived from 'positive sins'). These are small acts to help others or to
help the world.

Each person sets a small agenda of pons to carry out each day, etc.

H+ stands for Humour, Happiness, Health, Help, Hope and Human.

It all started with a realisation that no existing religion emphasises
humour as such. Yet humour is a key lubricant of life. Humour illustrates
the possibility of switching perceptions and seeing things in a different
way, etc, etc.

Traditionally new religions are revealed to suitable people in some mystical
process. This is very different from design.

The parameters of design might be: simple to understand; simple to operate;
satisfying; leading to increased self-esteem; leading to achievement;
helpful to the world; helpful to other people; easy to spread.

You can sit in a corner with the right attitudes, committing no sins, and
you will get to heaven. In itself that does not help the world very much.
There is usually not enough focus on action

Google humour

Google humour... heh

Guess Sen. Johnson has a lot to say...

Life is a Reason Published!

My good friend Ahmed has published his first book, Life is a Reason!


Book Description
Matthew, like many other 9 year old boys is full of questions, but with no one to answer them. His life is completely changed when his older brother James dies after attmepting to rescue their sister from being raped. Now with no role model or life guide, he is left to find his own answers.

This is the synopsys found on Amazon

Can't wait to get my signed copy ;)

didnt think id find time for this...

For some reason I did not think I would have had time to reflect on my new years resolutions.
But today I got a 'blast from the past' as they say.

It all came flowing back to me when a friend wanted some advice on running a DAMU screening.

The realization hit that I have been living in a mirage of responsibility.
I have been living what I shoul dbe doing. Not what I want to be doing.

I want to be meeting diverse change agents
I want to be standing in front of audiences sharing my stories
I want to build my NGOs foundation
I want to learn about other initiatives and build networks and contacts
I want to write
I want to read
I want to listen to passionate people telling me what they believe they can achieve
I want to love again
I want to capture art and beautiful things
I want to climb a mountain
I want to meditate
I want to see the smile on a face of someone lit on fire with the passion to make change
I want to be feel like I am being a good person

This is what I want in 2007. It may not be lined with ambitous goals like going to the gym, or taking up a new hobby. No. For me, the details will happen, its the experiences and the character I want to become in 2007 that pushes me.

Happy New Years World,

May 2007 challenge you,
may it drive you to the limits of your potential,
and may it remind you why you walk the path you chose to walk.