Blog de Agersomnia // Agersomnia's Blog

Mexico: the millions of poor acclaim our president! (Sarcasm)

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 23:14:00 +0000

aix million people came under poverty line just this year in Mexico.

I'm currently writing from the bus, in the road from Cuernavaca to Mexico City. I'm listening to the radio, to Carmen Aristegui, one of the best out there as a journalist in our country.
Just a few minutes before they anounced that because of the economic crisis that has ocurred in the recent times there are 6 million people who got to live in misery and that were better before.

This is where I get to say: My country is f***ed up. There is no question about it. Why the government insists that everything is OK and that all is cool?
There is a schism between reality and our President's world. With the last one, it was called Foxilandia (Foxiland), 'cause he said he could solve things in fifteen minutes and other stuff of similar kind. Now with this dude in charge, there is more poverty, less jobs, worker's unions are being attacked, and the environment is taken care of only marginally. Welcome to Fecal-land, where everything that does not belong to the ruling powers turn into shit.

Catholic Church extorts Patrick Kennedy

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:26:00 +0000

I wanted so much to read a title like that, that I couldn't stop myself from writing it myself.

This comes from an article in the Providence Journal, thanks not for the last time to Pharyngula and PZ Myers.

Kennedy said that

“The bishop instructed me not to take Communion and said that he has instructed the diocesan priests not to give me Communion,”

Why is this happening? Because Kennedy is pro-choice, and the Catholic Church wishes to impose a not-so-democratic ruling over a "free" nation based on their narrow views, instead of leaving the punishment to the "God" they say they worship so much, because "He" is so full of "benevolence."

Educar para vivir, o educar contra las drogas?

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:40:00 +0000

En contraste entre ambos tipos de educación mencionados en el título para muchos no puede parecer importante: ambas tienen el propósito de que la gente, en especial los niños y los jóvenes, se alejen de las drogas y tengan vidas mas sanas. La diferencia es fundamentalmente por el enfoque, y por la capacidad de tener éxito en lo que buscan.

La educación tradicional comienza típicamente, por enumerar las diferentes drogas que se vende ahí afuera, cómo se consume cada una, luego describe sus efectos negativos y positivos, y termina narrando historias de horror de diferentes jóvenes o de famosos que han perdido sus vidas por las drogas o que estuvieron a punto de perderlas y se salvaron al dejarlas.

¿Cuál es el problema? que es perfecta para que las personas que no escuchan lo que no les gusta, y que están desesperados por probar cosas prohibidas, se eduquen en qué droga sale mas barata, cuál es mas accesible, y cuál tiene el efecto mas interesante para probar. Un tipo de gente que podría... sólo tal vez... hacer eso... ¿no serán los adolescentes?

Esa es la razón por la cual la forma presente de dar educación a los jóvenes no es sobre drogas. Es sobre cómo evitar la necesidad de consumirlas, la formación y el aprovechamiento de las redes sociales de apoyo, el desarrollo de otras actividades más saludables, como el deporte o el arte. El objetivo no es enseñarles sobre las drogas, es formar jóvenes que no las necesiten.

Y aun cuando los planes educativos de este tema a nivel nacional han ido actualizándose con el tiempo, hay mucha gente que cree que como se hacían las cosas está bien. Y siguen así.

Un ejemplo de este tipo de persona el imbécil que hablaba por el radio hoy martes a entre 8 y 10 de la mañana por el 93.3 de FM (en Cuernavaca, Morelos). Tengo pendiente averiguar el nombre de dicha persona, del programa y ver cómo comunicarme con ellos, pues de otra manera me quedaré con el pendiente. Porque digo, a los imbéciles hay que decirles cuando hacen estupideces.

Pero quiero que quede claro por que porqué le digo imbécil. No es por estar con una falsa idea de cómo educar sobre drogas (aunque gastó no sé cuanto tiempo explicando los efectos positivos y negativos de la cocaína). Sino porque demostró ser consistentemente mal informado, y estuvo desinformando activamente. Y si hacía eso sin saber, es imbécil. Si lo hace a sabiendas, es un hijo de p.... malparido.

El hombre dijo, equivocadamente, que los Incas usaban hojas de coca por sus efectos que no diferenció de los de la cocaína, siendo que no son los mismos, o de otra manera la Coca-Cola no llevaría "coca" en su nombre. La planta de coca sirve de estimulante, pero el contexto cultural, la religión de los Incas, hacía que el uso estuviese limitado a ciertos contextos rituales. No era problema para ellos las adicciones, hasta que su cultura fue abolida, aplastada y arruinada por el cristianismo. O mas específicamente, por la Iglesia Católica.

El otro problema de este cuate fue hablar sobre la medicina homeopática como una alternativa que involucra tratar a la persona entera, casi como si incluyera algún tipo de psicoterapia. El problema es que no se ha podido probar que la homeopatía funcione. Y los principios en los cuales se basan a nivel teórico carecen totalmente de sentido: si el agua o al alcohol tienen "memoria", y con una gota de una sustancia, un litro de agua puede "copiar" las propiedades de esa gotita de medicina, y luego pueden diluir más ese litro, al grado de que tal vez un litro de agua tenga una molécula de la sustancia original... y se supone que eso funciona.

Bien, si la medicina homeopática funciona, significa que si yo dejo una gota de veneno (digamos, cicuta, que es la que usaban los romanos) en un tinaco de 500 o más litros, toda el agua sería mortal. Y sin embargo, eso no ocurre en realidad. Igual el agua de pozos profundos de muchas ciudades como Bangladesh y como San Luis Potosí, al estar ligeramente contaminadas con arsénico, sería fatal para cualquier persona.

Illegal Raid Over Twitter Postings (from Pharyngula)

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:37:00 +0000

I sure have less readers than PZ Myers, but I bet I have some that are at least different...

So if I can do a little to take this story to more people, I'll do it.

(Edit: Also from Pharyngula, people get life in jail for torture, when they are civilians. If they are soldiers, they get away with a nothing, or with a medal).

Wired magazine has a story on the CNN website about the federal government raiding the home of a writer and seizing enormous amounts of "evidence" for the crime of twittering during the G-20 protests in Pittsburgh.
An anarchist social worker raided by the feds wants his computers, manuscripts and pick axes back. He argues that authorities violated the U.S. Constitution and the rights of his mentally ill clients while searching for evidence that he broke an anti-rioting law on Twitter.
In a guns-drawn raid on October 1, FBI agents and police seized boxes of dubious "evidence" from the Queens, New York, home of Elliott Madison. A U.S. District Judge in Brooklyn has set a Monday deadline to rule on the legality of the search, and in the meantime has ordered the government to refrain from examining the material taken in the 6 a.m. search.
Here's why they raided his house:

Madison, who counsels more than 100 severely mentally ill patients in New York, seems to have first drawn attention from the authorities at September's G-20 gathering of world leaders in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There he was arrested on September 24 at a motel room for allegedly listening to a police scanner and relaying information on Twitter to help protesters avoid heavily-armed cops -- an activity the State Department lauded when it happened in Iran.
A week later, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, armed with a search warrant and backed by a federal grand jury investigation, raided Madison's house, which he shares with his wife of 13 years and several roommates. The squad seized his computers, camera memory cards, books, air-filtration masks, bumper stickers and political posters -- all purportedly evidence that the 41-year old social worker had broken a federal anti-rioting law that carries up to five years in prison.
But a closer look at the court documents leaves the unmistakable impression that Elliott Madison is yet another casualty of the government's nasty, post-9/11 habit of considering political dissidents as threats to national security.
Madison, his wife and his lawyer Martin Stolar say the search violates the Constitution's protections against general searches and prosecution for political speech. The police also seized mobile phones, citizen emergency kits, manuscripts, posters and even the couple's marriage license...
If Madison were an Iranian using Twitter to coordinate government protests, he'd likely be considered a hero in the West. Instead, the self-identified anarchist -- who volunteered in Louisiana after Katrina -- is now facing up to five years in prison for each count a grand jury cares to indict him on.
Interestingly, they are charged with violations of the same law that was used against the Chicago 7 during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Those convictions were all thrown out.

Un muppet sería mejor economista

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 17:07:00 +0000

Y sin embargo, en mi tierra tenemos pedazos de carne dirigiendo la "recuperación" de nuestro país.

Hay pérdidas de empleo, y quieren incrementar impuestos al consumo generalizados que afectan a los más pobres.

Hay empresas que evaden el fisco pero aumentan impuestos sobre los ingresos que afectan a los profesionistas y no solo a empresas e industrias.

Y la justificación es un impuesto de "combate" a la pobreza, cuando la pobreza no es una persona ni una entidad. Es un concepto abstracto que representa, en la práctica, la falta de una redistribución adecuada de la riqueza... O sea, el que unos pocos ganan casi todo y los demás mueran de hambre. Y es que prefieren tirar un poco de dinero en programas existentes de "combate a la pobreza", en lugar de cambiar la forma en la que se distribuye la riqueza (cobrando más a los que más tienen, y creando medidas verdaderamente de ayuda y protección a los pobres (que no es lo mismo que "combatir a la pobreza" (como seguros de desempleo, sistema de salud gratuito con fondos suficientes, fondo de creación de viviendas, bancos de alimentos, pagar a los mas pobres por que estudien educación básica y técnica, etcétera).

¿Qué diablos pasa con este país? el Fecal no pudo ser peor presidente salvo usando el ejército en las ciudades... ¡Esperen! ¡Ya lo hizo! Ahora sólo le falta atacar a civiles.

Overview: What's on my Browser right now?

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:55:00 +0000

Let's say for a moment than listing what is there on our internet browser tabs can help some people get an idea on where's our mind currently. In a way, it tells us about what are we looking for.

Well.. here we go with my Firefox tabs right now:
Is Brain Damage a good Alibi for Violent Behavior? That's a video on Youtube intresting, brief, and to the point.

10-year-old bride forced back to her 80-year-old husband. A note on Austin Cline's Atheist Blog. Very scary, and a source of anger.

Protecting the powerful is a feature, not a bug. Courtesy of Bad Science, the blog from Ben Goldacre who also writes for the British newspaper The Guardian. This article is also scary and worriesome, as most stuff from Goldacre: It's all about the absurd libel laws in Britain, and their extraterritorial influence.

There is also a very funny cartoon about babies and lobsters at Hemant Mehta's Friendly Atheist blog. A great blog, often a mixture of light and heavy topics.

PZ Myers, the Flail of the Faithful and the Polls, is talking at Pharyngula about the worries of fundamentalist and Christians, and how they are not so bad. For us. Sadly for me, I can't comment on Pharyngula right now.

Congregation Embraces Transgender Minister, reads the headline over ABCNews. A Methodist minister gave his congregation the sermon of his life. And they're still his congretation. If only most folks were like that...

Also, from The Guardian. A piece from a dumbass who is mad with the banning on tobacco. Poor dude does not understand the real health impact of smoking near others, nor the fact that in public health there is a point where democracy is not an option, and you have to suck-it-up.

And well, excluding my own DevArt page (because adding it here is like self-advertising myself), that's all there is in my blog right now. Quite varied, I hope...

For my Mage parties, new and old.

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:06:00 +0000

This video is quite... exceptional. I hope you get a grasp of at least a tenth of what they say (that's about what I got from it on my first watch).

It is all about the nature of the universe.

El infierno pa'l pueblo, y el dinero pa'l... pa'l gobierno?

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 04:46:00 +0000

¡Felicidades! ¡Bienvenidos a Carstenlandia, la Tierra de los Pobres! Donde puede pagar más por vivir peor.

Vivimos en un país esquizofrénico. No me quedan más explicaciones...

Subir impuestos a todos los bienes y servicios, aun cuando sea 2%, involucra aumentar el precio en alimentos y medicinas. En un país donde el salario mínimo está entre los 51 y los 55 pesos por día... está jodido. Y si dicen (dicen, no he sacado yo la cuenta) que la cansta básica anda por ahí de 900 pesos al mes... Aún peor. ¿La idea es que "ahorre" cien pesos el trabajador de salario mínimo? Y eso es con los precios ideales, ojo. Y ahí no está contemplado el costo de la vivienda, de cajón. Idioteces.

Parece que vamos a hacer más pobres. Supongo que piensan venderlos de una manera u otra: Si hay gente que no puede pagar alimentos y vivienda, ahora habrán más. Y si había gente que apenas pagaba ambas cosas, ahora no podrán pagarlo.

(Y no soy el único que lo dice)

Blogging from the road

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:13:00 +0000

Very well. I'm currently in the road from Cuernavaca to Mexico City, as I often am. there is a lot of fog around the road, which means people should be worried about things going bad with far easier than they do in a sunny day.

It also means that the road looks exceptionally beautiful, as only the rows of trees and a small strip of green grass can be seen at either side, and then all is white. It would have some sort of mystical feel to it, were it not for the "rancheras" the driver put on the stereo.

Crap. I'm complaining about bad music in a beautiful scenery, and the scenery then changes with wires and small, grey houses. We're entering the ring of urban poverty around Mexico City. It expands for several kilometers, diluiting the bright green of life with a dull gray of concrete and blocks. Thousands of families that do not have the resources to have a decent living, much less a pretty home, live and die here everyday. There is next to nobody to tell the world the history of their lives, much less to help them better the living conditions they have.

I can understand why people might just look here and think "how ugly does this look". But I cannot understand why those people wouldn't be able to see beyond aesthetics and into ethics, and realize that sometimes people does not have a choice on how or where to live. Or that it is not enough to have strong convictions, a lot of effort or faith in some god or other to make things better.

Sometimes it is needed some luck. Sometimes the goodwill of others. And yet sometimes, there is probably nothing anyone can do on an individual basis, and only big groups of people (and then the right people) can have a decision on the fate of very large numbers of people.

People die of starvation in Mexico, one of the biggest producers of food in the world. We have a lack of clean water that will make people use non-sanitized water in the southern region, where water is most abundant, and in the north, we simply don't have enough water even if we do have the way to make it drinkable and to send it to everyone.

We already got into Mexico City properly. Soon I'll stop writing for today. For now, I see hundreds of cars in the road, as it is currently the time when people get to their offices. And now I have to think: Do we really need to use that many vehicles? Is there no way to make a rational use of vehicles, and of working hours?

Are there no jobs that could start earlier, or later, to keep the streets and avenues a bit faster, with less cars and trucks at peak hours and a more continuous usage all day? And besides... it shouldn't be too difficult for companies to make use of collective transportation for their workers. Just like schools in Mexico City must do now (by law), big manufacturing plants, or large offices could be forced to use collective transportation for their workforce, or at least for a percentage of it. Maybe It's just some hallucinogen cuality of being awake and writing for a blog since so early, but it's something I just thought about.

It was 7:35 am when we got into the City. Let's see how long it takes to reach Taxqueña, the terminal where I get off the bus. Right now it's 7:55...

In any case, I'm putting the laptop on my backpack. Whenever I post this, I'll include the time I arrived Taxqueña here: 8:05am

Radio, News and Jazz at work

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:41:00 +0000

If I don't make much sense, tell me so. I'm sleepy.

Some people talk their workdays away, chatting every once in a while to stay awake and make time go by, but for that you need first and foremost smart workmates, the kind that can sustain an intelligent conversation for more than 15 minutes in a row. If you don't, then you require workmates that are funny, which makes the time at work more fun an bearable (specially in tedious workplaces, or when your job is too repetitive). If neither smart nor fun people can be found around, then most people resort to music. Ipods have made a lot in way to better the posibilities of people to stay focused on their job ahead and to forget about tedious workplaces or cube companions, even if they are only the heirs of a tradition started by brick-sized walkmans, portable radios, and later, the discman.

Right now, I'm sort of near the cutting edge but not quite so. I'm using my cell phone as a portable radio. Yes! with 4GB of music stored in the microSD memory of my Sony MusicXpress cell phone, I would rather listen to the radio most of the day: there was simply something missing, like a lack of interaction with human beings or something like that (not that everyone was a complete waste at the office, but you can't show too openly that you don't have a minimum faith in other people's humanity). Rather than hearing music I love and hold dear, I prefered to start my day with a radio news program by Carmen Aristegui, then follow with a science program called El Explicador (The Explainer), and then a healthy dose of light news, entertainment and jokes in a show called "Tal Cual" (translating that is difficult, but is close to "As Is"). In total, some 5 hours of continuous radio listening at MVS Noticias, a single radio station. Sometimes I listen the second newshow, sometimes I don't. Either way, later in the day, I listen to Horizonte (107.9 FM) a station that promises news AND Jazz. And casually, that's what I'm listening to right now, with great pleasure.

Later, at 6pm, I listen (when I can) to El Weso, at W Radio. The only program I'll ever listen from that radio station, for a story too long to talk about right now.

So... just like that, I spend more time listening to radio than working, and most probably, more than I spend talking with human beings, or sleeping. TV? who needs that?!

About the wedding, part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 18:49:00 +0000

All right. I promised to write something about the wedding, so here I am.
Maybe because I'm partially paranoid, or maybe the lack of an habit.

The date was July 25th. It was sunny all day long, and I was able to sleep until 11 o'clock in the morning. That was a very good thing indeed, as I arrived San Luis Potosi at 5am the day before, and as the civil union took place that day, I was zombie-like through the Friday.

The Westin Hotel, at San Luis, is a great place. It has beautiful gardens, a pond with those elegant, orange fishes, and a wonderful pool. It is decorated with amazing colonial-baroque architecture, and services the sort of a first class hotel. The room I got had sandals, a video game-included TV set with PPV on demand, a water jet bathtub with bubble bath and all that stuff, a shaving kit, a sewing kit, a dental kit... Did I mention that the room-service menu has lasagne in there?

All of my family stayed there, as it was in the same hotel that the party would take place, and just 3 blocks away was the church for the ceremony, so it was very practical for everyone.

I most thank specially those that came in representation of many friends at the same time, as Areteseeker did (in the name of many who couldn't make it from one of my former gaming parties), Vampiro (also as representing quite a few friends and gamers), and Elena (from Psychology school). Thank you, everyone!

I got married!!

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:13:00 +0000

Indeed!

This is not so big news that all Hell will break loose, but at least of me its the biggest news around right now. And I'm very very happy about it.

You know, I never use other name than my pen name (Agersomnia), and this time I will kind of... not use it.

You see, there was an article published about the wedding at El Pulso, a local newspaper at San Luis Potosí, where the wedding took place. It even has a pretty picture there. But... they kind of... became creative. Well, it's not my name.

And that's the short story for today. I'm still getting on track with work, so I'll post short for now. Thank you for staying tuned!

Any abortion = Automatic excommunication

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 08:29:00 +0000

I have thought for quite a while that the present Pope at the Catholic Church sucks a lot.

Now I have a firmer ground why to believe that: Everyone helping in an abortion gets an automatic excommunion from the Church. Niiice...

I should ask, for starters: Does that includes religious personnel in clandestine abortions? Because I know of a certain number of crypts with dead bodies of childen at monasteries and other religious houses.

And then: Does that mean only 18 years and older, 7 years and on (start of the "age of reason"), after first communion, or when?

The Catholic Church (and Pope Benedict XVI) were presented with a public relations powder keg last March when news broke that a nine-year-old Brazilian girl underwent an abortion after she'd been raped and impregnated with twins by her stepfather. Catholics from Sao Paolo to Paris were outraged after the swift public declaration by the local archbishop, Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, that the girl's family, as well as the doctors who performed the abortion, were automatically excommunicated. Monsignor Rino Fisichella, a solidly traditionalist Rome prelate considered close to Benedict, tried to soften the Church's approach on the Brazilian case by writing in the Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano that the girl "should have been defended, hugged and held tenderly to help her feel that we were all on her side." Two weeks ago, the Vatican announced that Sobrinho, who had been serving past retirement, was stepping down. And that's where the Church stood. Until now.

In a tucked away "clarification" published on page 7 of a recent edition of L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican produced a document that unequivocally confirmed automatic excommunication for anyone involved in an abortion — even in such a situation as dire as the Brazilian case. It settles any questions about the absolute nature of Church doctrine on the matter of abortion — but could potentially reignite the PR firestorm.

Church conservatives have steadfastly defended Sobrinho, who had rejected Fisichella's criticism of insensitivity and said that he was simply stating Catholic doctrine in response to reporters' questions. The L'Osservatore Romano document makes it more than likely that the Pope Benedict has felt it necessary to publicly defend the Brazilian prelate's hard line as well, ordering up the recent to clear up of the "confusion" created by Fisichella's article.

The brief document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the orthodoxy office that Benedict personally led before becoming Pope, defends Sobrinho's "pastoral delicacy" and leaves no wiggle room on the standing of the family and doctors who carried out the abortion. "Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life," reads the statement, which widely cites past Vatican documents. "The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society."

While the doctrinal stance breaks no new ground, the question now, like in March, is a matter of emphasis. Why, months after the difficult issue had largely faded from view, did the Pope feel compelled to return to a case that can leave the Church looking cold-hearted? A senior Vatican official says the Pope was forced to back up the Brazilian bishop. "[Sobrinho] was furious," says the official. "There was the impression that the local bishop had been subjected to immediate scrutiny by the Holy See."

But beyond the constant tug-of-war between Rome and local dioceses, there is a more important principle at stake. "We have laws, we have a discipline, we have a doctrine of the faith," the official says. "This is not just theory. And you can't start backpedaling just because the real-life situation carries a certain human weight." Benedict makes it ever more clear that his strict approach to doctrine will remain a central pillar to his papacy, bad publicity be damned.

a veces... quisiera ser periodista...

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:23:00 +0000

Quisiera ser periodista para poder escribir libremente y 12 horas al día, mínimo, sobre las desgracias y pesadillas que recorren el ancho mundo y en particular mi pobre país.

Quisiera poder hacer demandas de verdad, de hechos, y demostrar con pruebas las terribles mentiras que nos dicen son la realidad:

Tenemos un país lleno de violencia: de las autoridades contra el pueblo, de los políticos contra otros políticos, de las masas contra las leyes irracionales e injustas, y de los criminales contra todos los demás.

Tenemos un país lleno de traficantes, políticos sucios y deshonestos, televisoras perniciosas y enfermizas, escuelas que no siempre educan en lo que dicen que hacen y duramente lo hacen sobre la vida.

No podemos seguir así. No se puede llegar muy lejos sin cambiar de raíz las circunstancias que tenemos... y sin embargo, corremos el mismo o peor riesgo del que Cuba ha tenido estos últimos 50 años como país enemigo de los E.U.A. no. 1. Porque no solo estamos cerca, sino a su lado. Y porque no tenemos las condiciones de ofrecer resistencia.

Que la historia no tenga piedad alguna con nuestros líderes blandos de agallas o de sesos.

Que el tiempo muestre pronto la caída de los mas rabiosos imperialistas, y que se vea el surgimiento de una clase nueva de colaboración internacional, basada en la ética humanista y no en la conquista de los débiles.

Ojalá aquellos que dicen luchar por la verdad lo hagan. Que los que dicen buscar que los secretos no permanezcan ocultos respondan. Y que la profesión del periodista se reivindique en su necesario papel regulador de la opinión pública ante las atrocidades --todas, y no sólo las políticamente correctas-- que cometen los tiranos --todos, y no solo los públicamente reconocidos como tales--.

What is Success?

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:50:00 +0000

What is Success?
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.

-- probably inaccurately attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson

Fifty years of US terrorism against Cuba

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:11:00 +0000

The true responsibility for international terrorism
Fifty years of US terrorism against Cuba
by Salim Lamrani*

In his intervention during the round table on the rise of international terrorism, on the occasion of the Axis for Peace 2005 conference, Salim Lamrani took record of the US’s secret actions against Cuba. He shows, in an undisputable manner, that Washington – currently and for long time – practices international terrorism although it pretends to fight it.

15 December 2005
The case of Cuba has an exceptional and unique character in the history of international terrorism. Since 1959 to this day, Cuba has been a victim of an intense terrorism campaign that has included sabotage, armed invasions, the threat of nuclear war, extremely severe economic sanctions and implacable diplomatic, political and media aggression. [1].

International Terrorism and Economic Sabotage

US official documents that have been recently been declassified show that, between October 1960 and April 1961, the CIA smuggled in 75 tons of explosives into Cuba during 30 clandestine air operations, and infiltrated 45 tons of weapons and explosives during 31 sea incursions. Also during that short seven-month time span, the CIA carried out 110 attacks with dynamite, planted 200 bombs, derailed six trains and burned 150 factories and 800 plantations.

Between 1959 and 1997, the United States carried out 5,780 terrorist actions against Cuba – 804 of them considered as terrorist attacks of significant magnitude, including 78 bombings against the civil population that caused thousands of victims.

Terrorist attacks against Cuba have cost 3,478 lives and have left 2,099 people permanently disabled. Between 1959 and 2003, there were 61 hijackings of planes or boats. Between 1961 and 1996, there were 58 attacks from the sea against 67 economic targets and the population.

The CIA has directed and supported over 4,000 individuals in 299 paramilitary groups. They are responsible for 549 murders and thousands of people wounded.

In 1971, after a biological attack, half a million pigs had to be killed to prevent the spreading of swine fever. In 1981, the introduction of dengue fever caused 344,203 victims killing 158 of whom 101 were children. On July 6th, 1982, 11,400 cases were registered in one day alone.

Most of these aggressions were prepared in Florida by the CIA-trained and financed extreme right wing of Cuban origin.

Impunity for Terrorists

Luis Posada Carriles [2], considered by the FBI as “the worst terrorist of the hemisphere”, enjoys total impunity. He is currently under the protection of the Bush Administration, although he is responsible for many terrorist attacks. Venezuela continues demanding his extradition. Posada Carriles is the author of the bloody terrorist attack perpetrated off the coast of Barbados against a Cuban civil airliner in October 1976 that cost 73 lives. Orlando Bosch, another notorious terrorist, is also responsible for dozens of terrorist attacks. On June 23rd, 1989, the US Justice Department stated in a report that Bosch’s presence in the United States was inadmissible. Shortly afterwards, after he was severely condemned for having committed terrorist actions, Bosch was granted an amnesty by Bush Sr. Today, he walks the streets of Miami and even appears in television and radio programs declaring that he is still preparing attacks against Cuba.

The Case of the Five

On June 16-17, 1998, the Cuban government invited two important FBI officials to give them numerous documents proving the dangerousness of 40 people deeply involved in terrorist activities who live in Florida. To this day, in spite of having enough evidence, the US authorities have done nothing in regards to these people.

Three months later, on September 12, 1998, the FBI arrested five Cuban: René González Sehweret, Ramón Labañino Salazar, Fernando González Llort, Antonio Guerrero Rodríguez and Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, who, risking their own lives, had managed to prevent the carrying out of almost 170 terrorist attacks against Cuba by warning the Cuban government in advance.

An Iniquitous Trial

The Five were accused of espionage. However, they did not receive any formal notification of the accusation until four days after their arrest and after an aggressive media campaign had been launched condemning them before the judicial process had even started.

On September 14, 1998, the Grand Jury of Florida accused them of having infiltrated terrorist groups. Later, as it was an untenable charge from the legal point of view, the Jury changed its methods and accused the Five of 26 charges, the most serious of which was the first one (18 usc 371) that involved them of conspiracy to commit crimes against the United States. The second charge is about espionage. The third one accuses Gerardo Hernández of voluntary homicide, linking him to the events on February 24th, 1996, when a plane with four members of the terrorist organization Brothers to the Rescue was shot down after having violated the Cuban airspace on several occasions. The prosecutor could not present any evidence to support these three charges. The other 23 had to do with minor offenses including the use of false documentation and not being registered as agents of a foreign power. These accusations were not rejected by the defense.

Since the day they were arrested until February 3rd, 2000, that is, for 17 long months, the Five were kept in solitary confinement, without any communication with other inmates or with the outside.

Faced by the impossibility of proving that the Five had committed any act of espionage, the government accused them of conspiracy to commit espionage.

A Biased Court

During the trial, the prosecutor invoked the law of procedure for classified information that allows evidence to remain secret and not to make it available for the defense, even when it is being used against the defendants. Aware that the accusation was inconsistent, the attorney repeated three times, with disproportionate vehemence, that the Five had come to Miami “to destroy the United States”.

The arguments proving that the Five had not committed espionage were not presented by the defense but by high-ranking US military officials: Rear Admiral Eugene Carroll, of the US Navy; Major General Edwards Breed Atkinson, of the US Army; and Lieutenant General James R. Clapper, of the US Air Force.

In order to justify the charge of conspiracy to commit espionage, the government used the fact that Antonio Guerrero worked in a metal workshop in the Army’s training base of Boca Chica. The defense questioned the high-ranking military official:

Question for Rear Admiral Eugene Carroll about Boca Chica: “What information about the tactics and training of the US Navy could be useful for the Cuban Army?”
Answer: “To my knowledge, none”.

Questions for General Atkinson: “Are there any differences between our relations with the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union, and our relation with Cuba?”
Answer: “Yes, there are differences.”
Question: “What are these differences?”
Answer: “The Cubans are not a threat for us.” (Let us remember the attorney’s hysteria: “They came to destroy the United States”).
Question: “What is the relation between the fear of being attacked and the search for information?”
Answer: “I believe they use their intelligence services to find out if we are really getting ready to attack them.”
Question: “When you examined the documents, did you find any document classified as secret?”
Answer: “No.”
Question: “Did you find instructions ordering the agents to look for documents that could harm the United States?”
Answer: “No.”

Questions for General Clapper: “Would you agree on saying that having access to public information is not an act of espionage?”
Answer: “Yes.”
Question: “Would you, with your experience in intelligence matters, describe Cuba as a military threat for the United States?”
Answer: “Absolutely not. Cuba does not represent a threat.”
Question: “Did you find any evidence indicating that Gerardo Hernández was trying to obtain secret information?”
Answer: “No, not that I remember.”

Nonexistent Evidence

As for Gerardo Hernández, accused of murder, the prosecutor acknowledged that “considering the evidence presented during the process, proving Gerardo Hernández’s involvement constitutes an insurmountable obstacle for the United States”. However, the jury found Gerardo Hernández guilty of murder, although the prosecutor himself had expressed his incapacity to prove that charge. There is no precedent for this behavior in the history of US justice. The Five were condemned to long sentences in spite of the fact that none of the charges against them was proven. Actually, it was a political trial.

Extremely Long Sentences

Gerardo Hernández Nordelo was sentenced to two life terms plus 15 years. Ramón Labañino Salazar was sentenced to a life term plus 18 years in prison. Antonio Guerrero Rodríguez was sentenced to a life term plus 10 years. These three people would have to die in prison and then be born again in order to fulfill their sentences, except for Gerardo Hernández who would need three lives to be at peace with US justice. As for Fernando Hernández Llort and René González Sehwert they were sentenced to 19 and 15 years, respectively. In all, the Five were sentenced to four life terms plus 77 years.

Numerous Legal Violations Were Committed During the Process

The legal violations committed against the Five are numerous:

They had no immediate access to a lawyer after their arrest.
They had to wait more than two days before they had a legal representation.
They were interrogated for many hours without the presence of their defense attorneys.
They were kept in isolation cells for 17 months, a violation of penitentiary regulations that stipulate that the isolation regime should be applied only for murders and for a maximum of 60 days.
Some 20,000 pages of evidence presented against them were kept secret.
They were not able to have contacts with their attorneys to prepare their defense.
Several witnesses for the prosecution were threatened that they could be accused of being accomplices if they revealed any information to the defense.
The process took place in Miami, in spite of the extremely politicized environment that exists in that city when it comes to any Cuba-related issue.
Before the trial started, an aggressive propaganda campaign was launched accusing the Five of espionage. According to a survey carried out at that time, 79% of the people admitted to be biased against the defendants.
The members of the jury were threatened with death if they acquitted the defendants, as was shown in several articles in the local press [3].
They jury proved to be biased. It comprised of 12 members. The president of the jury had declared that he was against “Fidel Castro’s dictatorship”. The other 11 had similar opinions.

Protected Terrorist Groups

In addition to being a political action against Cuba, the trial aimed at protecting terrorist organizations, as shown by the surrealist statements made by Judge Joan A. Lenard. The prosecutor proposed to René González, sentenced to 15 years for having infiltrated terrorist groups, that if he gave false testimony against his compatriots he would be freed. But he categorically refused to do that. The judge expressed her “concern that this defendant, after completing his sentence, could resume his activities”. The judge then added to the 15-year sentence a “special additional condition in order to prevent him from associating with terrorist individuals or groups, members of organizations that advocate violence, figures of organized crime or to visit specific places frequented by them”. The court explicitly recognized that Miami is a haven for “terrorist individuals or groups” and that nothing is done in that respect, although President Bush has declared a “war on terror”.

Overturned Sentences and Arbitrary Detentions

In April and May 2003, the defense began the appeal process before the Court of Atlanta. In May 27, 2005, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions declared that the detention of the Five was arbitrary and that it violated international law. On August 9, 2005, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta annulled the trial held in Miami but, since then, the Five have remained not only unjustly but also illegally in prison.

Cases of Moral and Psychological Torture

Several forms of moral and psychological torture have taken place against the families of the Five. Olga Salanueva, wife of René González, and her daughter Ivette, have never been able to visit him in prison. Adriana Pérez O’Connor, wife of Gerardo Hernández, has not been able to visit her husband. These women have not been able to see their husbands for almost eight years. The treatment given to Adriana is a real case of psychological torture. In June 25, 2002, after five years of waiting, she was granted a visa to visit her husband, who was then in prison in Los Angeles. However, upon her arrival in the United States, Adriana was arrested by the FBI, interrogated for 11 hours and expelled to Cuba.

In order to defend this injustice, the US government has declared that Olga Salanueva and Adriana Pérez cannot be granted visas because they represent a threat to US national security. Even young Ivette, who is eight years old, who still doesn’t know her father, represents a serious threat for the US national security, according to the State Department.

In order to obstruct the Five’s consular visits, they have been placed in prisons located in the five corners of the country: Gerardo Hernández, in California; Antonio Guerrero, in Colorado; Fernando González, in Wisconsin; Ramón Labañino, in Texas, and René González, in South Carolina.

US Legislation and International Law are Trampled On

The trial against the Five violates the Constitution of the United States, the Regulations of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Declaration on the Protection against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Penalties, the Vienna Convention on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on Children’s Rights, the UN Minimum Rules on the Treatment of Prisoners and the American Convention on Human Rights.

The Double Standards of the International Media

Washington gives shelter in the US to terrorist groups that carry out an aggressive war against the Cuban Revolution. These fascist groups act openly and with total impunity as the White House has historically supported them. The episode of Luis Posada Carriles, who has been in the United States since last March, in spite of the fact that US courts banned his presence there due to his terrorist activities, has again exposed the lie of the “war on terror”.

However, the double standards that the United States uses in its “war on terror”, which is only a subterfuge that hides its hegemonic aspirations, is also extended to the international media that accept, endorse and implement the doctrine of the “good terrorist and bad terrorist”. Thus, the international media acts as an accomplice of the global maneuver and in fact confirms the US’s imperialist plans.

This media plot is obvious. How is it possible that, at the peak of the “war on terror”, information transnationals do not talk about the case of Cuba, a country that has been, and still is, the victim of the longest and most fierce terrorist campaign in modern history?

In the name of what ideological amnesia has the international media, after the September 11 attacks, abstained from mentioning the bloody terrorist attack perpetrated on October 6, 1976, against a Cuban airliner off the coast of Barbados considering that it was one of the first cases of air terrorism attacks in history? How come, when the United is sheltering and protecting Luis Posada Carriles, international media prefers to give ample coverage to a meeting of a small group of Cuban “dissidents”, paid and controlled by Washington as shown by documents from the US State Department?

The media treatment of the terrorism issue confirms not only the current double talk but also the lie of the “war on terror”. If the “war on terror” had any foundation, the international media would denounce the aggressive terrorist campaign that all US administrations have carried out against the Cuban people since 1959. The censure of terrorism against Cuba, apparently the most sophisticated, clearly illustrates the duplicity of western media.

The proven selectivity of these media only further highlights the doctrinal atmosphere that prevails in editorial departments around the world. The scandal of the five Cuban citizens incarcerated in the United States is an example. If western societies were intellectually free, they would denounce the cruel and inhuman treatment given to the Five. However, this legal scandal has been completely ignored by the mainstream media.

The news has to go through an ideological filter that shows how deeply rooted are the basics of authoritarianism in the structures of the international media. Actually, the media, that is supposed to be a reliable source of information, is only an instrument to control thoughts and ideas as it systematically rules out important debates such as the foundation and the legitimacy of a terrorist war waged against a nation that decided to choose the path of independence and self-determination. The basic issues, such as Cuba’s right to defend itself against constant aggressions, are simply ignored.

The French media took indecency to its limit describing Luis Posada Carriles as an “anti-Castro militant”, “accused of terrorism” or, what is the height of hypocrisy, an “ex-terrorist”. Is that what terrorist crimes prescribe? Nobody denounced this semantic crime, which shows that doctrinal barriers work perfectly. What would happen if Osama Bin Laden were described as an “anti-Bush militant”, “accused of terrorism”, or an “ex terrorist”? The scandal that such words would cause would only equal the complicity of the media in the case of Posada Carriles.

In a certain way, the mainstream media are accomplices of terrorism considering that, for them, the attacks against Cuba are not important. Whenever possible, crimes committed in the name of an anti-revolutionary aversion are kept silent. And when it is impossible to keep on hiding them, they are minimized and the culprits are acquitted by the media with total impunity, as is shown by their description of the worst terrorist in the western hemisphere.

In a tacit way, the media accepts justifying certain violent behavior and denouncing what they describe as arbitrary terrorism. It all depends on who the victim is: if it is European or American, then the culprits are criminals without a God or law; if the victim is a Cuban, the culprits become people “accused of terrorism”, “anti-Castro militants” or “ex-terrorists”. Public opinion is the main target of this media tyranny.

The ideological framework established within the media censures the real reasons. Thus, the media, the property of big economic and financial groups, shows signs of despotism that represent a danger for the future of humanity.

Salim Lamrani

Salim Lamrani is a professor at Paris Descartes University and Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée University and French journalist, specialist on relations between Cuba and the US. He has just published Doble Moral. Cuba, la Unión Europea y los derechos humanos, [Double Standards. Cuba, the European Union and Human Rights]; (Hondarribia: Editorial Hiru, 2008).

This author's articles
To send a message

[1] By the same author and on the same subject, see: Salim Lamrani (edited by), Superpower Principles: U.S. Terrorism against Cuba (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 2005); Salim Lamrani Washington contre Cuba: un demi-siècle de terrorisme et l’affaire des Cinq (Pantin: Le Temps des Cerises, 2005); Salim Lamrani (editor), La guerra contra el terrorismo y el caso de los Cinco (Barcelona: El Viejo Topo, 2005); Salim Lamrani (compiler), Terrorismo de Estados Unidos contra Cuba. El caso de los Cinco (La Habana: Editorial José Martí, 2005).

[2] “Les confessions de Luis Posada Carriles», Voltaire, June 14, 2005.

[3] El Nuevo Herald, “Afraid of being jurors in trial of spies”, December 2, 2000

I'm tired

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:48:00 +0000

Im tired. really tired.

I have so many things to say, so little time.

I'd wish to post something this weekend...

More than 820 million people in the world suffer from hunger; and 790 million of them live in the Third World.
Fidel Castro

Home - English and Spanish

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 23:03:00 +0000

La película HOME es un documental especial.
The movie HOME is a very special documentary.

les dejo el enlace a la versión en español aquí.
I'll leave the link to english version here.

(SPANISH) De la descripción de la película:

Estamos viviendo un periodo crucial. Los científicos nos dicen que solo tenemos 10 años para cambiar nuestros modos de vida, evitar de agotar los recursos naturales y impedir una evolución catastrófica del clima de la Tierra.
Cada uno de nosotros debe participar en el esfuerzo colectivo, y es para sensibilizar al mayor número de personas que realizé la película HOME.
Para que esta película sea difundida lo más ampliamente posible, tenía que ser gratuita. Un mecenas, el grupo PPR, permitió que lo sea. Europacorp que lo distribuye, se comprometió en no tener ningún beneficio porque HOME no tiene ningún interés comercial.
Me gustaría que esta película se convierta en vuestra pelicula. Compártelo. Y actúa.

(ENGLISH)

We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth's climate.
The stakes are high for us and our children. Everyone should take part in the effort, and HOME has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being.
For this purpose, HOME needs to be free. A patron, the PPR Group, made this possible. EuropaCorp, the distributor, also pledged not to make any profit because Home is a non-profit film.
HOME has been made for you : share it! And act for the planet.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Research can be madness

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:38:00 +0000

Es una locura.

Eliminar objetivos de una investigación es algo que normalmente no ocurre, salvo si sobre la marcha se observa que hay cosas que andan raro o no funcionan. Se necesita justificar muy bien, y se debe tener cuidado sobre todo en si el cambio afecta o no a los sujetos, por ejemplo.

Cuando va mas de 1 año de estudio y van por la N (no la primera) enmienda al protocolo y no tienen manual de procedimientos adecuado... como que algo hace ruido.

El problema es precisamente cuando el estudio lleva más dce un año... y se quiere eliminar un objetivo enterito y no solo modificar un poco el estudio.

Pero bueno...

Shit happens.

2600 páginas de abusos cometidos por la Iglesia, solo en Irlanda

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Thu, 21 May 2009 23:19:00 +0000

2mil testimonios reunidos en 5 tomos para el informe final.
35mil niños abusados en 30 años.
Palizas rituales, abuso sexual, mala alimentación, tortura psicológica y protección a los abusadores. Y un trato con el gobierno para poner un límite a los gastos por demandas... El mismo líder actual de la Iglesia en Irlanda dice que era abuso "endémico", y que se siente "avergonzado".
¿Avergonzado? ¡Al demonio! Que renuncien los que sigan en su cargo, y que inicien juicios seculares contra todos, independientemente de la edad. Si es necesario, que cierren la Iglesia para pagar por los daños.

Y es que a pesar del detalle del informe creado por la Comisión Investigadora de los Abusos a los Niños, no se detallan los nombres de los culpables.

Gracias al inigualable PZ Meyers por poner esta noticia sobre la mesa, que en México difícilmente sería mencionada en primera plana.

Written on a plane... posted on land.

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Thu, 21 May 2009 23:17:00 +0000

It's so much fun when I'm aboard a plane that is about to take off, and people make the sign of the cross, as if a god would be so kind to really take care of them and their lives.

Nobody just wishes for a good pilot. Nobody asks how many hours has he been working before taking off with the present flight, or if he slept well yesterday night. Also, there is no one to question the quality of the technical mainteneance of the plane, or the frecuency of it. There's hardly anyone who will ask him or herself if the people at the control tower is in a good mood, drank their coffee cup in the morning much less if those same people are having problems with their lives that causes them to be distraught.

And so, nobody seems to really mind the reality. Or they do?

At first I believe they don't.

But then I feel most people is uncappable of critical thinking because they lack the skills to really analize a problem. And as people often do when they care about something, but lack the proper knowledge, or the adecuate language to translate worries into a more articulated statement, they only have the tools at their disposition.

In this case, the concept of God taking care of them. That could be more or less the religious version of "wishing luck", of having "good vibes", etc.

Woah. I'm falling asleep while writing here, sitting on a plane. I better put this away. I haven't slept well this week.

Al diablo con los políticos mexicanos

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:00 +0000

Estoy de muy mal humor, tanto que quiero quejarme aunque sea brevemente. Un comentario en Friendly Atheist se convirtió en post de mi blog. Bien.

Tal parece que grupos de derecha cerrada (cerrada de mentalidades, carentes de oxígeno en su neocorteza cerebral) tuvieron la gran idea de pasar leyes en contra de su población, en contra del sentido común y en contra de las resoluciones de la Suprema Corte de Justicia del país.
Si, en contra de los principios decididos por la Suprema Corte.

Al día de hoy, once estados de esta simulación de país llamado México han pasado leyes que hacen del aborto en todas sus formas algo ilegal y punible con la prisión. Incluso por malformaciones, incluso por encima de violaciones a las mujeres. El amigo imaginario de un grupo de peleles es incapaz de parar el crimen, pero si apoya el sufrimiento psicológico y emocional de inocentes. ¡Fabuloso! Que se vayan con su amigo imaginario y su moral enfermiza a otra parte.

11 días después de la legislación estatal, 26 municipios de Guanajuato ya habían aprobado la ley a nivel local. ¡Carajo! ¡Eso no ocurre con leyes importantes, como reformas a la educación, ni con los fondos para desastres! Pero en ese agujero llamado Guanajuato, ya dijeron que sí.

In Puebla y Guanajuato son de los primeros donde la "resistencia" en congresos y organizaciones civiles tratan de parar las leyes. ¿No podemos mandar a los legisladores al bote, por contradecir la Suprema Corte?

¿Mas razones para querer salir de este pozo?

To hell with everyone who voted for these laws.

To Hell with our politicians!

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:30:00 +0000

I'm sorry to be in bad humor, Hemant, but it seems in my country it will continue the tradition to make laws against common sense, human rights, or (now) our Supreme Court rulings.

It's been 11 State that have passed laws that make abortion illegal and penalized in all cases, even when those laws are against the Supreme Court ruling!

And it doesn't matter if you search for it either in spanish or english, there's barely a mention about it on the news.

As an example, after only 11 days had passed since the new law was accepted by the State's congress at Guanajuato, 26 local governments accepted the law.

In Puebla and Guanajuato there are already attempts by opposition parties to stop these laws, but we'll have to wait and see what happens.

For all I know, the media buzz about influenza seems to have been very useful to some conservative parties to make their own laws without people minding too much.

To hell with everyone who voted for these laws.

I'm poor, then I'm depressed.

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:39:00 +0000

To continue over with the blue and sad mood of yesterday...

maybe I'm sad and brooding because I have lost a lot of money, and my boss hasn't paid me yet.

I just read this article on Science Blogs that says just that: with money in mind and hand problems are easier to go through. And without money or money loss, everything hurts more.

Knowing it doesn't help much, but I've always wanted to understand how stuff works, my mind included.

And yes, it seems money does matter, above and beyond the material value.

Zhou found that the excluded players felt more distressed than the accepted ones, but those who counted money beforehand were relatively unaffected. They were also more likely to "feel strong". Getting their fingers on some bills apparently buffered their self-esteem from a social blow.
The same applied to physical pain.(...)

Say that again? Even to physical pain... Yes. That means people putting their hands willingly under hot water in the name of science. Psychologists are just a bunch of sick bastards. Oh, wait. I'm a psychologist!

(...)Zhou went on to show that the thought of losing money actually increases the pain of rejection or hot water.

Zhou asked 108 students to write down either what they had spent money on over the last month, or the recent weather. After a round of Cyberball, those who noted their outgoings were more distressed at being kept from the ball than those who had weather on their minds. A similar thing happened when 96 students performed the same financial tallying, and tried their fingers at the hot water.

I'm still not sure why I'm writing this: if it is because of my caustic sense of humor, or something else.

Anyway, the origial scietific paper is: Zhou, X., Vohs, K., & Baumeister, R. (2009). The Symbolic Power of Money: Reminders of Money Alter Social Distress and Physical Pain Psychological Science DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02353.x

Found at Not Rocket Science

Never again

noreply@blogger.com (Agersomnia) — Mon, 11 May 2009 01:26:00 +0000

Why is it so hard and difficult sometimes to go on with life?

It sometimes feels as if the whole idea of living should be an unendig series of conflicts, problems, and sad moments, as a kind of monsoon where happiness comes to only a drop at a time.

The fraggin world could go dancing and laughing to hell, I would be verry sad indeed, but I could go on.

But harming my future wife and present girlfriend? I can't stand it.

There will be a bloodbath if ever anyone touches her again. I swear.