Anonymous targets Australian Government over Internet Censorship

by | Sep 9, 2009 | activism, Culture Jamming

(via Anonymous targets Australian Government over Internet Censorship.)

Unlike Duncan, I *am* in favour of this action. Surely when basic rights such as freedom of speech are being threatened, the public have a right and indeed a responsibility to fight back against oppression with whatever non-violent means are at their disposal? How is this any different to blockading Parliament House in protest? It seems to be it’s just the digital form of a traditional protest.

etiko high tops

by | Sep 6, 2009 | capitalism

My Chuck Taylors are falling apart at the seams and since Converse were bought out by Nike a few years ago (which makes them evil), I wanted to make sure I bought some shoes that are made by a Fair Trade manufacturer and that are also eco-friendly. Morgs at Urban Grind recommended Etiko and that’s good enough for me. So I picked up some Etiko high tops today. From Etiko’s site:

Produced in Pakistan by the same licensed Fairtrade manufacturer who produces our Certified Fairtrade Etiko sports balls, these sneakers are based on a classic design. They also feature a rubber sole which has been certified sustainable by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) …..making the sneakers ethically and environmentally sound. A fair trade premium ensures that the workers who actually produced the sneakers are paid a living wage and are entitled to benefits and conditions which are a rarity in the footwear and garment industries in most developing nations. A trust account that we contribute to helps fund a health care program for the workers and their families as well as a micro credit program for any one that wants to set up their own small business.

I originally went to Bliss Ecowear in Paddington to get them but they ended up being almost TWICE as expensive as they were at Happy High Herbs in New Farm. What’s that, the Paddo yuppy tax?


GDay World 392 – Guest: Mike Snyder on Evolution vs Creationism

by | Sep 4, 2009 | Christianity, Podcast, science, science vs religion

Today my guest is Mike Snyder (@mambomike282), a listener of the show who owns a security firm in Washington state. As a Christian, he wanted to challenge me on the subject of evolution and religion, and so we went for it. 🙂

 

The Podcast Network is supported by:

neo.org – a social network with a purpose – to transform the world by enabling people to transform themselves

and

our first TPN Patron – Tony Kynaston.

 

Max Planck Scientists Agree With Me That Free Will Is An Illusion

by | Sep 4, 2009 | free will, science

I’ve been trying to explain to people for 20 years that free will is an illusion. I’ve covered the subject on a few podcasts, including this one and this one with Dr Susan Blackmore. I even mad a simple flowchart explaining why it must be an illusion. Now, finally, some neuroscientists have agreed with me.

According to Wired:

Long before you’re consciously aware of making a decision, your mind has already made it. If that’s the case, do people actually make decisions? Or is every choice — even the choice to prepare for future choices — an unthinking, mechanistic procedure over which an illusory self-awareness is laid? Those questions are raised by a study conducted by Max Planck Institute neuroscientists and published Sunday in Nature Neuroscience. Test subjects chose whether to push a button with their right or left hand; seven seconds before they experienced making the choice, their brain activity already predicted their final decisions.

(via Cameron Collie via Is Free Will an Illusion? | Wired Science | Wired.com)

You may say “who cares?” Well you should. It’s incredibly important to understand. It’s easily as important as understanding that the Earth orbits the Sun and not the other way around. It will change your life. At least, that’s been my experience and the experience of lots of people I know.