Shroud of Turin

      It's Easter and as expected the Shroud of Turin takes on considerable interest at this time. Many people believe that this artifact is the actual burial cloth of Jesus.  Why?  This linen cloth bears the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. Since first observed in 1898 by amateur photographer Secondo Pia in the Turin Cathedral, scientists, theologians, historians and researchers have been debating the origins and nature of mysterious image. The Catholic Church has neither formally endorsed nor rejected the shroud.

Cyber Attack on South Korea

       The cyber attacks this week that caused large-scale disruptions on several banks and media outlets in South Korea were most likely carried out by previously known vulnerabilities and exploits.  John Pescatore, director of emerging security trends at the SANS Institute in Bethesda, Md said,"It really doesn't matter if the attacker is a nation-state or a cybercriminal or a hacktivist or a bored teenage kid, you have to make sure you are at least at the due-diligence level for the well-known critical security controls. If you close the well-known vulnerabilities, you can stop any attacker using those techniques."
    Security firm Avast Software noted in a blog that its analysis showed the attackers appear to have exploited a previously known Internet Explorer vulnerability to infiltrate computers at the affected banks.
     Security firm Sophos added that the malware used in the attack was not particularly sophisticated and has been around for nearly a year.
     Symantec published initial findings about the attacks on South Korean banks and local broadcasting organizations and discovered the malware contained a module for wiping remote Linux machines in addition to Windows 7 and Windows XP computers.
     The simple lesson for the average computer user in all of this is: keep operating software up-to-date using the latest update version.
For more info read: http://www.csoonline.com/article/730576/south-korea-cyberattacks-hold-lessons-for-u.s.?source=CSONLE_nlt_update_2013-03-21

What Science Really Says About the Soul

Even when no evidence exists for a phenomenon, people will manufacture what to them is evidence to correspond to their religious beliefs.  No amount of actual evidence to the contrary will dissuade them. Read article by Stephen Cave with reference documentation at  http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/13-03-20/

      Nathalie was hemorrhaging badly. She felt weak, cold, and the pain in her abdomen was excruciating. A nurse ran out to fetch the doctor, but by the time they arrived she knew she was slipping away. The doctor was shouting instructions when quite suddenly the pain stopped. She felt free—and found herself floating above the drama, looking down at the bustle of activity around her now still body.

     “We’ve lost her,” she heard the doctor say, but Nathalie was already moving on and upwards, into a tunnel of light. She first felt a pang of anxiety at leaving her husband and children, but it was soon overwhelmed by a feeling of profound peace; a feeling that it would all be okay. At the end of the tunnel, a figure of pure radiance was waiting with arms wide open.

     This, or something like it, is how millions imagine what it will be like to die. In 2009, over 70 percent of Americans said they believe that they, like Nathalie, have a soul that will survive the end of their body. That figure may well now be higher after the phenomenal success of two recent books describing vivid near death experiences: one from an innocent—the four year old Todd Burpo—the other from the opposite: a Harvard scientist and former skeptic, neurosurgeon Dr. Eben Alexander. Both argue that when their brains stopped working, their souls floated off to experience a better place.

Iraq War Anniversary

Have we learned from the most immoral event in American history (as many historians are now claiming).  I doubt it.  This war was SOLD to American public and to its allies by a criminal administration. It doesn’t take much effort to sell Americans on idiocy, such as Obamacare is bad for them, that Obama’s is spending more than Bush, and that the government can continue with its “handouts” without serious financial repercussions.

Duped on Iraq War, has press learned?

By Paul Waldman, Special to CNN, March 19, 2013

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/19/opinion/waldman-media-iraq/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Paul Waldman: Rumsfeld remarks in push for Iraq War were classic doublespeak
• He says reporters, who are supposed to be quick studies in new areas, were credulous
• He says savvy Bush administration easily duped press into selling case for war
• Waldman: All news media guilty but hope is that they learned from, won't repeat mistake

Statistics

I received the following statistics from Barry Karr of the Skeptical Inquirer (SI) in a solicitation.  He claimed that a recent public opinion poll found:

• 52% believe that it is possible for a house to be haunted.
• 36% believe in black cats bringing good/bad luck
• 55% definitely believe in religious miracles
• 23% have witnesses a miraculous physical healing
• 16% have received a miraculous healing
• 46% are creationists
• 57% believe people can be possessed by demons.

The problem for me is the "poll" and the participants are not identified.  Such absence of verifiable evidence hardly builds my confidence in these claims.  SI would not accept such careless reporting on pseudo-science topics and should hold to this higher standard for itself.

On this Ship We'll ALL Sink

      The chances for a sane solution to our economic demise are virtually non-existent.  Both parties in our dysfunctional government are so deeply entrenched in their ideologies and so well protected in their efficiently gerrymandered districts that little can change.  We are now on course for financial disaster that will make the hyped-up sequester seem like a mild spring thunderstorm.
      It is very unfortunate because a super-majority of Americans and legislators know exactly what needs to be done. Yes, the Tea Party are boorishly selfish idiots, but they are equally matched by less visible boorishly lazy elements on the left who expect someone else to pay for their irresponsible lifestyles. Both sides cling to their misguided beliefs with such religious fervor that they doom those that try to be reasonable.

The Ubiquitous Email of Impending Doom

      One thing that circulates the internet faster than Superman and a speeding bullet is a warning of impending doom And the dire consequences to us if we don’t share it with all of friends and family.  Without any fact checking, we broadcast it to our address book.  Here is my thanks.       Oh yes, I received the following in an internet email. 

As we progress into 2013, I want to thank you all for your educational e-mails over the past year. I am totally screwed up now and have little chance of recovery.

Cognitive Dissonance Rules

      Dissonance is aroused when people are confronted with information that is inconsistent with their beliefs. If the dissonance is not reduced by changing one's belief, the dissonance can result in restoring consonance through misperception, rejection or refutation of the information, seeking support from others who share the beliefs, and attempting to persuade others. Sound familiar?

Cyber-Security Myths

Favorite Dept of Defense Security Myth: Governments create the most powerful cyber-attacks

John Pescatore, director of emerging security trends at SANS, says most government attacks are simply re-using criminal-owned attack resources, and the U.S. Department of Defense likes to hype the threat from nation states to boost its budget. [Ref]

The Sequestration Impass

The idea Wash can't cut <3% from a 3plus trillion $ budget Is ludicrous! Trick of listing worst cuts oldest budget game in book. Jack Welch ‏@jack_welch

      I worked under Jack Welch while at GE. Routinely, he would mandate 5% or greater across the board cuts.  We insisted our operations were efficient and had no room to cut.  BUT, we cut by prioritizing our work, eliminating the least necessary, and readjusting work loads.

Physics and Atheism

      Recently, physics and religion questions directed to this blog rekindled our thoughts about some of the theories in physics that few in the general public are aware of.  Some of the mathematical journeys, such as M-theory, multi-universes, or cyclical universes, lead physicists down roads that in the past were frequented only by the religious.
      Nevertheless, when the religious attempt to use physics to justify their beliefs that opens the debate to non-religious to use the same physics to discredit those beliefs.
      This link is an interview with Victor Stenger a physics and best-selling authors in which he states

Religion and atheism weren’t matters which I thought a lot about,” he explains. “It wasn’t until the eighties that that changed. That’s when it really started to annoy me how science, and in particular physics, was being abused by religious people.

Our link reproduces this interview which appeared the the June 15, 2011 issue of Skeptic Magazine.

Extacting that Idea or Solution

Anyone who has ever struggled to find a solution to a problem or to come up with new ideas often finds them in the least likely places or in the using the least direct approach, such as listening to an unrelated TED talk.  The concept is to free one's mind to search without restrictions.

Stimulate with TED

      I must admit, I have become a TED Talk junkie.  I especially like the opportunity to hear interviews with the presenters on the NPR TED Radio Hour.  It is thought provoking and insightful.

      One of the special interest of this website is Critical Thought and why people hold certain beliefs, even when they may be totally irrational and not based on anything but faith alone.  Supportive of belief systems are the creation of ideas.

      Two of this week’s NPR presentations  don’t answer these quandaries, but can get one examining personal perspectives and biases.  The topic was Where do Ideas Come From?  Borrowing from NPR,

Exit Tax

      States like California, Illinois, and New York are bleeding tax payers. High wealth people and corporations are finding the financial policies of these states intolerable and potentially destructive.  In retaliation and fear of the inevitability such exodus, legislators in these states have proposed Exit Taxes (click here for an example).  The argument is that these people/ corporations were "enabled by these states" and the states have an financial investment in that success and consequently are entitled to a dividend.
      This topic has become part of the recent discussion in a Debate Club which we facilitate.  One of the participants offered,

Unfunded Pensions and More

      Recently, a California resident and retiree sent us a note about seriously unfunded and over-subscribed pension funds in California and Illinois.  Normally, we would not include a response on this website, but the seriously bad financial state of America demands that we make as many people as possible aware of the severity of the problem.  As a starter, to get up to speed, just google pension funds in Illinois or California.  In my comments to him I just poured more gasoline on this already out-of-control fire.

Another Example of Religious Hate Speech

On February 8, 2013 I received an email note titled A Tragedy that Needs to be Known. (click to read the chain mail note). It claims

This is a brutal example of how far the struggle between muslims and christians in Nigeria has reached. Muslims are determined to impose their 'religion' all over Africa as well as in other continents.....  

My reaction to the person sending me the note was

Developing a Respect for Alterrnate Viewpoints

I recently participated in a religious dialogue with a friend.  He maintained an unusual high degree of objectivity. He asked to share the dialogue.  So, I am violating my following principles:

You’re welcome to share my views, recognizing that I chose to take the attitude of a Tibetan monk.  If people “climb the mountain” and come asking I’ll answer, but I will not become a missionary.  Missionaries frequently do more harm than good.

His religious attitude is remarkably rare and open-minded. Most people become extremely defensive and assume the posture of the TWO of the Three Wise Monkeys.

He said his goal was,

The Constant Battle - Crackpot claims, Paranoid Conspiracy & Malicious Lies

      With viral email claims, not just skepticism but “outright cynicism is justified.  Despite clear evidence to debunk some of these claims, and the far-removed-from-reality assertions in others, they still make the rounds. Many not only twist the facts but also peddle pure fabrications, urging recipients to forward these “shocking” revelations to all their friends. Yet despite all good common sense, people do pass along these malicious attempts to deceive. Why?

• Desire to accept information that conforms with one’s beliefs and to reject facts that don’t.
• Most people are so locked into a particular world view that they tend to reject any information, no matter how well supported, that contradicts their cherished assumptions.

      We have summarized what FactCheck.org calls the most egregious and most asked-about viral claims of 2012. http://factcheck.org/2012/12/viral-spiral-2012/
      Much of what FactCheck received lambasts the president or Democrats. Maybe that’s to be expected for whomever occupies the White House, but FactCheck can’t give a definitive reason for why the viral chatter is more conservative in nature.

Obama Says we Don't have a Spending Problem

All the conservative news outlets and the blogs have picked up on an alleged comment made by Obama to Boehner during their debt negotiations.  Boehner reports that Obama told him that America does not have a spending problem.  This claim has considerable traction because an overwhelming number of Americans believe government has a spending problem as reported in a December 2012 Fox News Poll.

Giving Obama the benefit of the doubt, I thought I would check out the facts.  The following graph shows revenues verses spending of the federal government.

Climate Change FUD

      In his second inaugural address, President Obama promised to "respond to the threat of climate change." One of the concerns he used to justify the urgent nature of the threat— "devastating impact of raging fires."
      In theory a warmer and drier climate should lead to more fires, but is not what is happening.  Nothing is wrong with the theory. It is just other mitigating factors are acting to offset this potential.
      A publication, Long-term perspective on wildfires in the western USA, in the August 2012 Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Science found

Since the late 1800s , human activities and the ecological effects of recent high fire activity caused a large, abrupt decline in burning similar to the LIA fire decline. Consequently, there is now a forest “fire deficit” in the western United States attributable to the combined effects of human activities, ecological, and climate changes. Large fires in the late 20th and 21st century fires have begun to address the fire deficit, but it is continuing to grow.

Clearly the threat of devastating forest fires does not define an urgency.