Category: General

DEMOCRATIC POLL: ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’?

I'm a man of substance, debates concerning style bore me to death. 
 Since debates on 
style vis-a-vis substance seem to prevail in this place, 
at present--I thought I'd settle things once and for all in a free, 
fair and democratic fashion.
Therefore I'm giving everyone a chance to vote in this poll.  
You may use the comment boxes to make speeches in favour or 
against one of the two positions.  Polls close at midnight GMT.
Long live the classic in-or-out referendum!

Whacko of the Week

David Benatar, author of: “Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence.” One of Benatar’s arguments:

To bring into existence someone who will suffer is to harm that person, but to bring into existence someone who will have a good life is not to benefit him or her. Few of us would think it right to inflict severe suffering on an innocent child, even if that were the only way in which we could bring many other children into the world. Yet everyone will suffer to some extent, and if our species continues to reproduce, we can be sure that some future children will suffer severely. Hence continued reproduction will harm some children severely, and benefit none.

Quoted in this article in the NYT, which also contains this:

Here is a thought experiment to test our attitudes to this view. Most thoughtful people are extremely concerned about climate change. Some stop eating meat, or flying abroad on vacation, in order to reduce their carbon footprint. But the people who will be most severely harmed by climate change have not yet been conceived. If there were to be no future generations, there would be much less for us to feel to guilty about.

Note the artful ‘Most thoughtful people,’ in other words, people who share my views.

The Beginning Of The End of MyT

Let me start off by saying that MyTelegraph isn’t just a great idea–it’s a brilliant one.  The idea of people of all backgrounds coming together to share ideas in an open forum is something I delighted at–the concept of which, remains a source of delight.  But sadly her demos have become too great in respect of numbers and too small in respect of any modicum of intelligence–lest decency to facilitate much meaningful debate.  Because of this, the Academy hath descended to the ethos of the gutter–and at times worse.

Free speech is a brilliant thing and as a free speech absolutist it’s not for me to tell the Telegraph how to police their fledgling child nor is it for me to dictate what her members can say.  I can however offer my opinion, and seeing as this place was built on the crumbling masonry of the frustrations of that other place–why not do it here?   Continue reading “The Beginning Of The End of MyT”

The Moral War–The Ethical Struggle

The World Wars, wars whose sheer physical devastation and toll on civilian populations was without historical precedent, forced many to take pause and ask how bellicosity can be reconciled with morality.  The answer is twofold—but these two segments are indeed exclusive of one another .

If one is to accept a universal morality, no one would ever make war at all, as all would be in agreement on what morality has been violated, and rather

than plunge into war, one would simply execute anyone who dare speak out against the universal morality, in the same  way in which  a common murderer amongst a medieval village would be quickly found and instantly killed.  History has, however, demonstrated this to not only not be the case now, but indeed, never  to have been the case throughout history.  So much for a catholic morality.

Continue reading “The Moral War–The Ethical Struggle”

Disaster for Scotland

‘Well since we’ve got this rain delay at the Auchinleck and District Ladies’ Bowling League relegation play-off semi-finals, we’ll just nip over to our Radio Jockland commentator, Jock Scunner, to see if anything is happening at that game in South Africa. Aye weel, Jock?’

‘Aye weel, Weir! You join us with 30 seconds to go in extra time, after which it will be penalties when we will, hopefully, get the usual happy ending. We’ve got a lengthy injury delay at the moment, with Crouch receiving treatment for altitude sickness. Given that Soccer City Stadium is over 5,700 feet above sea level, it was always going to be a mistake to play the skinnymalink in the first place, in my opinion – there can’t be much oxygen up there even for for his big neb.

Still, it gives me some time to describe the scene. Away to my right I can see the massed ranks of the magnificent Brazilian fans. Happy, flag-waving, samba-loving extroverts dancing the time away in true carnival style as they await the victory which any true football fan would wish them. Continue reading “Disaster for Scotland”