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Gadgets For the Ghosthunter
Zothecula sent us a sad story about the gadgetry scammers use to take money from people who believe in the pretend: "In a survey conducted by CBS News in 2005, it was found that 48 percent of Americans believed in ghosts. Other surveys have put the number at anywhere from around 20 to over 50 percent. While such figures certainly don't imply that ghosts are real, they do suggest that belief in them is relatively common. When someone does suspect that a ghost is present in their home or business, they will sometimes call in "experts" to ascertain if that is, in fact, the case... and what sort of gear do these ghost hunters use to detect said spirits?"
I mean, duh. How else will you detect ghosts? Also make sure you have your proton pack and trap, to catch them once you find them!
"16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
But those sound recordings played backwards still creep me out...
Ghosthunters don't need gadgets. The only thing they need is the desire and ability to separate idiots from their money.
My postings are informational and does not constitute legal advice. Act on it at your risk.
about the gadgetry scammers use to take money from people who believe in the pretend:
It's called a "collection plate."
Trolling is a art,
Surely you're confusing "Catholics" or "Christians", with "All Religions"??? As a Buddhist, I don't believe in ghosts.
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
"In a survey conducted by CBS News in 2005, it was found that 48 percent of Americans believed in god. Other surveys have put the number at anywhere from around 20 to over 50 percent. While such figures certainly don't imply that gods are real, they do suggest that belief in them is relatively common. When someone does suspect that god is present in their home or business, they will sometimes call in "experts" to ascertain if that is, in fact, the case... and what sort of gear do these god hunters use to detect said spirits?"
All religious people believe in ghosts.
I don't about that but you touched on an interesting point: why is this a scam? How is this any different than preachers asking for money to help you "soul" so that you don't end up in "damnation"?
They're both make believe.
Why is selling stuff to a ghost hunter "ripping stupid people off"; whereas, selling Bibles, crosses, mats, or whatever to help people get into Heaven not a rip-off?
If folks believe in ghosts and want to buy this stuff for their own brand of spirituality, I don't see any problem.
If we're going to protect people from being taken advantage of, then we need to go after Joel Osteen and that Rick Warren guy for selling hope and ways to get to the man in the sky - and every other preacher who preaches about God and every other myth.
In other news, approximately 50% of people are of lower-than-average intelligence :-)
It's a 20 lb grain of salt.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
I'll keep fast-forwarding through each episode, just in case they do stumble upon something.
If they do actually stumble upon something real and get real evidence you don't need to wait for it on the show - It will be front-page news on every newspaper and news site in the world.
If by ghosts you mean the disembodied souls/spirits of those who have died, then ghosts are contrary to Christian theology. So perhaps the OP meant Muslim (I do not know the Muslim position on ghosts)?
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
Wow, love the image of a possible ghost.
Nothing about that says "possible ghost" to me, but "tombstone in background with light on it" -- these people seem to be really reaching.
The few times I've tried to watch any of those ghost hunter shows it always seems like it's dramatized, or a bunch of people sitting around convinced that everything around them is proof of a ghost. "Zomg, the floor creaked".
Hard to say if it's a hoax, or people looking too hard for something, and interpreting everything they see as 'proof'. It's hard not to cynically think that someone off camera who is part of it is scuffing their feet or something.
I remain unconvinced.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
"When somebody dies, do they go into another dimension, with a very thin wall?" asks her partner, Ben Myckan. "I think that's sort of what it is. You can't destroy energy, it's just in a different dimension."
Says the ghost hunter in the article. Really? So does that mean when my Atari finally died in 2000-something, that it's energy still lived on? Is that why I still hear Pacman and ET sounds?
Uh. No. When the machine dies so too does it's energy. There is no atari ghost left behind, and the same is true for the carbon-based machines we call animals/human beings. The brain loses oxygen, the nerves shrivel & disconnect from one another, and the personality erases.
My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
Many forms of Buddhism believe that the rebirth of those with especially bad karma leads to existence among the living as a ghost. In spite of some recent Western attempts to proclaim a "Buddhism without beliefs" (little more than an attempt to rewrite the whole religion so that it doesn't make us uncomfortable), the cycle of rebirths is essential across the many expressions of Buddhism.
I think the reason many people either "believe in ghosts" or, at a minimum, lean in that direction (I'm in the latter category) is most people seem to know someone they trust who has seen or experienced something weird. In my case, my sister and several friends have seen apparitions at a rustic old resort we go stay. They have no reason to make up stories. In my case I've never seen anything, but odd stuff happens from time to time in my old house. I'll turn out all the lights before going to bed, then I'll take the dog out for his business and come back to find all the lights turned on again. In the middle of the night, with everyone asleep, I'll hear footsteps in the house and get up to find the house empty. I'll put books away in then in the morning find them lying on the floor. Ghosts? I dunno. I trust the scientific method and they say there are no ghosts. But weird? For sure.
"and what sort of gear do these ghost hunters use to detect said spirits?"
My guess is that other spirits are heavily involved, those of the distilled variety....
Monstar L
It was discovered that 48% of Americans are also fucking morons.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Sweet Zombie Jesus!
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Atlantic City, Mohegan Sun, Atlantis, yadda yadda.
Any place there is a casino there's an entire city devoted to separating gullible people from their cash. How is Ghost Hunting any different?
I can also name hundreds of products that do not work as advertised (The Sony PS3 being a prime example, Other OS anyone?), and those people that bought these products are just as blinded.
Hasn't anyone heard of P.T. Barnum?
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
Buddhism has the concept of ghosts, but you're allowed to treat them as something you don't need to literally believe in.
Of course, reincarnation almost necessitates the existence of ghosts as the energy persists and is still in existence. Of course, the super-natural stuff can be taken as metaphor or as a concession to older superstitions and beliefs.
Oh, that and the fact that Buddhism isn't technically a religion in that there's no creator god and you don't need to believe in anything that doesn't make sense. It's more of a philosophy than a religion. (Though, in some places it still gets viewed like a religion.)
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Me, I'm not a believer; but I'm always amazed by how much power religious types insist on ascribing to their assorted devils, spooks and spirits.
In a free market, those that wish to improve their lot in life will seek further education on their own. So if being educated is rewarded with greater potential for wealth, why do we still have idiots that look for handouts? Simple. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't force him to drink it.
Life is not for the lazy.
He may be referring to the concept of the Holy Ghost.
I read the internet for the articles.
The best gadget for making money off of people who believe anything, by far, is the radio/TV.. Look around at what's happening and tell me it ain't so.
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
You mean that Christian doctrine about "Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost", right? I think that's what OP was referring to.
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Everybody knows, er should know, ghosts are programs doing things they shouldn't do. They're bad or misbehaving.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
The problem is Stupidity.... not capitalism, not socialism, not any "ism" just stupidity. Unfortunately, there are enough stupid people out there paired with people wishing to exploit others = our current society. Education represents the only true hope for America, unfortunately, we end up dumbing it down for the common idiot, then the effect is lost. . . Offtopic I know! Flamebait possibly sorry!
What's the point of Mod points over a long weekend?
Do you, or do you not, have to believe in reincarnation to be a Buddhist? If you do have to believe in reincarnation, then you clearly have to believe in something that does not make sense.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
Here's Penn & Teller's take on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09eBzjxlu1s
so... who you gonna call?
Because, as we all know, there's only one substrate that could possibly hold consciousness.
I mean, you'd have to store neural processing algorithms, lots of data, current system state...
Hold on. I'll finish that thought right after I finish copying this app to my thumb drive.
~ Whence do you come, slayer of men, or where are you going, conqueror of space?
Bullwinkle: "Illee-beenie-chili-beanie. The spirits are about to speak!"
Rocky: "Are they friendly spirits?"
Bullwinkle: "Friendly? Just listen!"
That's why we need strong support for education.
What, and destroy all this beautiful chaos gifted by nature?? Conformity is not a virtue.
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
>>If you do have to believe in reincarnation, then you clearly have to believe in something that does not make sense.
Why does reincarnation not make sense?
You were born once, weren't you? Why do you claim it's nonsensical to say you can't be born again (either in heaven or on this earth again)? Do you understand the process of existing so well?
Ghost Hunters is just like Monster Hunters -- don't you think if they found concrete proof of the existence of something unusual that news of it would leak out BEFORE they aired the episode???
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
If by Western attempts you mean well-known scholars like The Dalai Lama and Thicht Naht Hahn? Or Shunryu Suzuki or Pema Chodron?
Buddha was fairly clear about the fact that it's not intended to be a religion, and that he wasn't some supreme being. He was mortal, and expounded things that mortals should do. The pre-existing gods where Buddhism moved to didn't need to be purged wholesale, and have been incorporated/kept in many places.
Buddhism does not have a requirement in beliefe of a supernatural being, a creator god, or deification the the Buddha. Western Buddhists might differ from Buddhists from Thailand or Sri Lanka, but fundamentally, it hasn't been "rewritten" to appease us. It's fairly malleable to begin with, and if you step away from a specific cultural context, none of that is required for the rest of it.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
>>Sweet Zombie Jesus!
Please, please, please learn the difference between Animate Dead (3rd level spell) and Resurrection (7th level spell).
Scanning radio signals for unusual signals can lead to new science, even if it doesn't provide proof of extraterrestrial intelligence.
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
I have seen studies (although I no longer have links to them) that said that self-professed atheists were more likely to believe in ghosts than self-professed Christians. This made sense to me since the concept of ghosts is contrary to Christian theology.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
Yeah, seriously. I'm pretty sure the news of "ALL SCIENCE INVALID!" won't wait for that primetime special on Sighfi
Buddhism isn't technically a religion in that there's no creator god
Religion does not need a creator god. Specific religions believe in one or more gods but one is not needed.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
...you don't need to believe in anything that doesn't make sense. It's more of a philosophy than a religion.
It's epistemologically impossible to believe something that doesn't make sense. You can parrot a verbal formulation of a "truth" over and over and say that is what you believe, but that is entirely different from believing something.
Set your phasers on "funky"!
The difference, of course, lies where a lot of crimes get defined: intent. Does the seller of the FOO believe in the FOO? Then no crime. I'm sure some people selling EMF readers believe they detect ghosts. Some probably don't. But without proof of their beliefs, intent is unprovable.
My ex is a "ghostbuster" and spend his money on this sort of crap instead of child support. The foolish can be easily persuaded to part with their money. I think IT geeks are in the wrong profession, everyone should switch to selling snake oil and ghost detectors....could make more money.
"Don't Panic"
This is the best explanation I've ever heard regarding reincarnation.
Regardless of the nuts and all of those that prey upon the weak minded there really is something of great substance and power around us that we can not normally perceive. I wonder how many minds would crack the first time they got a really good glimpse of the other side of the mirror.
Simple. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't force him to drink it.
True, but he's stressing education and not handouts because if you build a man a fire and he'll be warm for just a few hours, but if you light a man on fire he'll be warm for the rest of his life....Though I do often get the feeling I'm not doing it right.
Since according to Buddhism, the goal is to reach enlightment and therefore not be reincarnated, the fact that there are more people alive today than at any point in the past (and according to some math I have seen more people are alive today than the sum of all the people who lived before 1900), it seems that there is some logical disconnect. Shouldn't the number of living beings be steadily decreasing?
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
Apples and oranges.
Extraterrestrial intelligence, if it exists, is not (necessarily) supernatural.
We're going down, in a spiral to the ground
If the word "Ghost" in the article were replaced by "god", the article would still be correct, but it would have never been posted.
If I say "Ghosts aren't real", I get moderated informative. If I post "That particular Ghost you call god isn't real", I get moderated troll.
Irrational, isn't it?
WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
Is a word play that simply displays your knowledge of English in place of your knowledge of your chosen topic supposed to be taken seriously?
FanFictionRecs.net
Islam views ghosts and ghost sightings as pre-Islamic superstition
It is a "corrupt belief to think we will become ghosts after death. After death what will happen, will be exactly what is told by Qur'an and Ahadith."
http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/showthread.php?26432-Muslim-view-on-ghosts
However they believe in Jinn.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinn
I don't really care if people believe in ghosts, but please stop making horrible TV shows about trying to "find" them.
What about Angels and Jinn?
My bet is they're not contracting with a detection agency whose aim is to "appear to detect ghosts". So it's still possible for them to be scammed.
Long signatures suck.
Actually, you do not have to believe in reincarnation to be a Buddhist. It doesn't work that way.
A lot of people (myself included) don't necessarily literally believe in reincarnation, but still think of themselves as Buddhists. Some of it you're free to treat as metaphor and the like which was included because you couldn't just tell everybody their religions were wrong. Think of it as a modified version of Pascal's Wager ... at least, that's what I do. It's a little more abstract than strict and literal reincarnation (and an entirely different reincarnation than, say, Hindus envision).
Buddhism can work in conjunction with any religion, but at it's core, it's more like a series of useful things to do to not create more suck in the world and be happier in life. And, to get rid some of your negative behaviors.
There is no "if you don't believe this you can't be a Buddhist". It's as much about cultivating self awareness and compassion as anything so specific.
You can get into some pretty funky metaphysics between the different schools, but there is room to not need to delve into some of that quite so in depth.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
I presume the answer would be something along the lines of "Absence of evidence is evidence of absence", as that's generally the justification for not considering novel points of view that may or may not fit a given situation, but lack any scientific rigor.
FanFictionRecs.net
He's unlikely naturally sweet, so presumably he used prestidigitation for seasoning as well.
The Dalai Lama is still held to be a rebirth of the boddhisatva Avalokiteshvara. The notion of the boddhisatva, remaining in the cycle of rebirths while assisting people out of it, is pretty superstitious.
The Mahayana scriptures suggest that the Buddha-nature is the supreme being. And although Buddhism inherited the Vedic pantheon, the Avatamsakasutra does have Buddha ascend to Mt Sumeru to display his superiority over them.
The teachings of the Mahayana sutras (and at least a few Theravada texts) assume the existence of supernatural forces. They simply consider these entities to be inferior to the Buddha-nature. This persists even into schools of Buddhism that appeal to the West. The Mahayana sutras continue to be chanted in Zen monasteries.
I usually hear the term "Holy Spirit". Also, the Holy Spirit is not the disembodied soul of a previously living human, as many believe ghosts to be.
So, no. It's not a "ghost".
There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
Unless you don't take it literally.
I am reincarnated every day in the people who I interact with. I have 4 children whom I have had a huge influence on, imbuing each with part of who I am.
I've been married over 20 years and have a huge impact on the life and growth of my wife -- as she has had on me.
Even those I encounter in life with less direct contact are influenced, if only to a small amount. And likewise, they influence me.
You die and are reborn every moment to moment. Who you are now is not exactly who you were 5 minutes ago, though it may bear a strong resemblance. (#insert analogy::stream)
The key is to move in a positive direction. Think "random act of kindness" or "pay it forward". But it works both ways, which Buddhism reflects in the possibility of being reborn as lesser forms.
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
No, because even if they got a video of a sit-down conversation the process wouldn't be reproducible, which is what the "scientific" types want.
The scientific process limits science from being able to possibly consider certain topics, at least with current technology, which is not necessarily a criticism of science, simply a fact.
FanFictionRecs.net
I'd love to see some ghost hunters on TV wander around with an infrasonic detector. I suspect that almost all 'confirmed hauntings' could be debunked fairly quickly.
(ref: Wikipedia entry on infrasound)
"People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
That's an entirely different concept, and most likely just a result of the translation.
Godaddy is a scam and a ripoff.
Because Buddhism and Hinduism includes all life forms, throughout the entire universe, for all time. Their cosmology included billions and billions of worlds, being created and destroyed endlessly. It's not just that God did a malloc() of N life-forms on Earth, and that's the whole thing. It takes into account a vast and (seemingly) limitless universe.
Birth as a human is just the best chance you have of getting out of Samsara because you can be aware of it and try to make changes.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
So does that mean when my Atari finally died in 2000-something, that it's energy still lived on? Is that why I still hear Pacman and ET sounds?
Uh. No. When the machine dies so too does it's energy.
Actually the energy does live on, it's called Conservation of Energy and it's an empirical law of physics. Whatever energy was there is still there, dissipated into the environment, or converted to another form of energy. Energy doesn't just "die".
"When the machine dies so too does it's energy. There is no atari ghost left behind, and the same is true for the carbon-based machines we call animals/human beings. The brain loses oxygen, the nerves shrivel & disconnect from one another, and the personality erases."
But what about the THETANS!!!???
Armaments, 2-9-21 And Saint Attila raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, 'O Lord, bless this Thy hand grenade' N
what are you saying exactly: trash the system or fix the system? i say fix it: insist on financial accountability. what we spend better show results in terms of an educated youth
if you say trash it, what will work for those without financial means? magic free market fairy will fix everything and make everything ok?
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Uh. No. When the machine dies so too does it's energy. There is no atari ghost left behind...
Do you mean there is no such thing as Silicon Heaven? Then, where do all the calculators go?
Why, without your clothes, you're naked, Miss Dudley!
Okay, so belief in ghosts pretty much requires a belief in the supernatural, including various God concepts, right?
One would think so. At least that would be the logical consequence.
Oddly enough, many people belief in some sort of spirits but not in God. Ghosts, spirits, or some vaguely defined non-material-being-world have become a replacement for old fashioned religion. You will find people defining themselves as atheists, who still try to communicate with transcendent beings.
no, the saying is if you give a man a fish he'll eat for a day, but if you threaten to feed the man to the fishes, he'll stop complaining about his empty stomach and get back to work
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
So basically all you have to do to be a Buddhist is say that you are a Buddhist?
That certainly fits the self-professed Buddhists I have met.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
I have seen studies (although I no longer have links to them) that said that self-professed atheists were more likely to believe in ghosts than self-professed Christians. This made sense to me since the concept of ghosts is contrary to Christian theology.
Apparently you are not overly familiar with Christian theology. Most Christian sects believe in the ability of various human spirits to materialize before the living, especially in the area of so-called "saints." In addition, ghosts are referenced in their holy books. Are you not aware of the story of Saul and Sammuel? Or that the Jesus character affirms the basic characteristics of ghosts in the gospel of Luke?
Atheism is a lack of a belief in a deity. While it is likely strongly correlated with a rejection of all supernatural entities or events, I'm sure there are some self described atheists out there who accept whacky ideas like that. But to think that they are statistically more likely to believe in ghosts? I'm sure you would have to pull a "no true scotsman" and heavily restrict your definition of Christian to make that fly.
All that is necessary for the triumph of good is that evil men do nothing.
Okay, so belief in ghosts pretty much requires a belief in the supernatural, including various God concepts, right?
Not really, there are a whole lot of belief structures out there. You don't need to believe in gods to believe in spirits, or at least the kind of gods that created everything. Various tribal traditions work along those lines, where powerful spirits were more of a result of natural forces than the cause of them. An all powerful deity is just handier if you want to control people and take all their money. I'd say this is different to "ghost hunters" though, lots of them genuinely believe what they are peddling, and don't particularly seem to want to form a hierarchy of control. Relatively harmless.
And society often pays it, not just individuals. That's why we need strong support for education. You can't leave it up to "free market solves everything" magic.
It amazes me how people can turn any problem, even that in which there is not a free market, from blaming problems on that non-existent free market. They're just as bad as Communists who believe only if communism is tried will it work.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
I gather a whole lot of bugs have leads exemplary lives of late so as to be reborn as people?
Reincarnation is not limited to just the human realm. An increase in humans would actually point towards more beings working towards enlightenment, since it is easiest to achieve enlightenment as a human.
I think there may be something behind the idea of hearing voices in white noise. I leave my floor fan on all night in the hallway. Sometimes, I wake up thinking I am hearing garbled voices or screams. When I turn the fan off, it disappears. I wonder if this is an audio illusion. It may be the mind trying to make something sensible out of the fans white noise, in the same way your mind makes faces out of the clouds.
And, truthfully, a lot of people don't get too bogged down in the literal nature of that. I understand what you're saying, but the Dalai Lama is pretty quick to say "unless you're doing something scholarly, you don't need to focus on that too much".
Yes, it did inherit the Vedic pantheon, because that would have been the background of Siddartha. However, he also says that those being are also stuck in Samsara, and mostly talks about how they'll have the same fate as us, just over a longer period of time. They don't mean "supreme being" in the sense that he is in control of everything, but that it's a "better" state.
Oh, I'm not saying that the sutras aren't used any more, or even that the imagery isn't there. But, a lot of it is aspirational/instructional, and there is room for interpretation if this is literal, or merely intended to not just come out and say "your religion is wrong". And, over the last 2500 years or so, there certainly has been some deification of the Buddha, that's for sure. But he was fairly clear on the fact that he wasn't some divine being. I tend to think of the mysticism as cultural than specific to/required for Buddhism.
Even reading some of the older Buddhist stuff, the supernatural stuff is there to explain to the target audience and is as much parable as it is literal. If you just sort of gloss over that stuff and read what they're actually telling you that you should be doing, there isn't really a requirement that you literally believe in it. It's not incompatible with believing in it, but it's not required either.
It may well be that someone might view Western Buddhists as having "stripped out the religion" ... however, reading the texts and what they're saying, there really isn't an requirement you believe in it. It's just that the language and culture of the people who were expounding it was also rooted in Hinduism and that context.
For me, I don't have any problem being both an atheist and a Buddhist. And, really, if anybody does have a problem ... well, that's their attachment not mine. If you see the Buddha on the road, kill him.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Well, you apparently believe that, but it doesn't make sense.
It's assumed, though it is perhaps neither provable nor even true, that such "agencies" are knowingly lying about what they are doing, and thus not actually providing the service being described. As an analogy, take a fake exterminator who just walks around your house spraying compressed air here and there. When the infestation remains you do have a case even if they "seemed" to treat the problem. Claiming you engaged in "commerce" does not free you of legal liability- if you advertised a service, that service must actually be performed.
The question is whether or not they were knowingly lying. The possibility of belief and its protection through law (and the logical impossibility of disproving the existence of ghosts) are the tricky part which allow preachers, psychics, homeopaths and this new breed of scam-artists to continue operating and taking money from those who misplace their trust.
As for your request to stop using the word? I'm protected by the same above principles so I'm personally going to continue using the word "scammer." If one of these scammers wants to try to stop me by claiming libel, they'll most likely have to strip themselves of legal protection in the process. I'm going to go on a limb and suggest the Slashdot crowd generally agrees with my viewpoint, so there was no need for Zothecula to tailor their editorializing to the sentiments of the fringe.
There are people with neurological disorders that are utterly convinced that some nonsensical thing or another is completely true.
Some of them will fabricate explanations on the spot, with no doubt in their minds that they speak the truth.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
Do you mean there is no such thing as Silicon Heaven? Then, where do all the calculators go?
No, there isn't. But Android Hell is a real place where you will be sent at the first sign of defiance.
In places like China and India, I agree with you. But in America, there's no fucking excuse. If you're able bodied, in good health both mentally and physically, but choose NOT to become educated through public assistance and resources.... Well, they can stay poor for all I care. I'm sure they enjoy it based on their actions. Or should I say inaction in this case.
Oh, and if you truly feel sorry for the children, then why don't you confront their parents directly. They're a great deal of the problem holding back their potential. Unless you smash the family unit and take their kids away, you're not going to be pro-active about it. Only reactive.
Life is not for the lazy.
Lack of any hypothetical mechanism for it to happen ? Lack of evidence ?
You're making a few assumptions about the nature of reincarnation.
Technoli
I am very familiar with Christian theology. The only Christian sects which believes in so-called "saints" as a special class of believers is Roman Catholic and Orthodox. All other Christian groups hold with biblical teaching that all believers are saints.
According to traditional Christian theology, when one dies one goes either to Heaven or Hell and the soul/spirit does not remain in contact with this world.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
To be a Buddhist, you have to decide to go for refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. And you more or less have to decide that you believe in it and that it's a good idea. I guess if you truly wanted to go through a formal ceremony and call that the threshold, you can do that too.
And, you can be a lousy Buddhist like you can be a lousy Catholic. So, maybe someone might kick me out of the club or something. But, really, it's not for someone else to say if I'm a Buddhist or not.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
IR camera's can detect heat flows but a heat flow that randomly appears lasts for 5 seconds and disappears is unusual.
I just had some beans. Give me an IR camera and I'll show you a randomly appearing heat flow. Might last longer than 5 seconds in some cases.
You might need to open a window when it appears though. Which would cause a - guess what? ANOTHER HEAT FLOW!
Only that one may not have the "aroma" of the ones I produce.
And you know what all those "haunted" places have in common?
Lots of holes (in walls, floors, door frames, ceilings...) and decomposing organic matter (wood, rugs, wallpaper, dead rodents in the walls...).
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
Yeah, that story makes it all make sense now. /s
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
"Believe nothing no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and common sense". That's a quote from the Buddha. Skepticism and thinking for yourself are very much a part of Buddhism.
We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
How to skip watching ghost hunting shows:
1. Was there a massive news story about the proof of life after death?
2. They didn't find anything.
This sentence no verb.
Yeah, seriously. I'm pretty sure the news of "ALL SCIENCE INVALID!" won't wait for that primetime special on Sighfi
I can't wait to hear your explanation for how discovery of life after death would invalidate all of science. You may begin any time...
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
you're talking about children. in most moralities, we understand that children aren't completely culpable for what they say and do
the parents share the blame. and how did the parents get like that? because they were dumb kids once to
we all start at dumb kids. unless you intervene, it's dumb kids in an endless cycle forever. what is the cost of intervention? what is the cost of not intervening at all? compare those two costs, to society, and to you, in insidious quality of life ways, not just direct financial ways, and you can see my point
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
A video proves nothing, which is why "scientific" types won't believe in it. It's simply not good science to take a video at face value.
At least some hauntings are allegedly reoccurring, meaning that they are in the realm of science, and are therefore open to investigation. The fact no one has yet to find anything concrete speaks against the likelihood of ghosts existing.
So... why exactly does that matter? That logic, applied equally, gives moral authority to all religious crazies to simply ignore any science they don't like because they're "non-believers" and can use whatever terminology they want.
Since when is non-belief in any specific topic an excuse to willfully misuse established terminology then become indignant when people point out your error? Do non-string theorists get to abuse and misuse string terminology just because they don't believe in it?
Your logic, sir, is flawed.
FanFictionRecs.net
That joke reached its peak when it was spoken and both the teller and audience had the subtlety to notice the difference between light a fire and light afire.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
agreed. communism fails because it believes altruism trumps all. but why work when i am guaranteed the same as the guy who busts his ass? likewise, free market fundamentalism fails because it believes selfishness trumps all. why give back to the society that made my riches possible when everything i have is because of me and me alone? and thus society gets poorer and creates less riches which you partake less of yourself
the truth of course, is balance: capitalism with social safety nets. but some asshole believe that just modest social safety nets is some unstoppable slippery slope into north korea style communism. what moronic hysteria, or clever faux news style corporate propaganda. because why should corporations taxes to support the well being of their workers? it hurts the bottom line. whipping them harder and lying to them seems to work
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
I really doubt that the existence of ghosts would invalidate ALL science. It might invalidate some parts of science. But that's not unusual; there are thousands of people out there, right now, whose job it is to prove parts of science wrong. They're called scientists.
Allegedly, the "ghosts" represent a sapient consciousness. Which makes reproducible experiments even in reoccurring hauntings troublesome, ensuring that no real science can be done on them. It's the same reason most psychology science is done through case studies and statistical studies, because true reproducibility is difficult when your test subject involves a being that can (allegedly) make judgmental decisions.
FanFictionRecs.net
I think that story makes a lot more sense than any other forms of reincarnation that people actually believe.
No more believable, though.
Technoli
I think of myself as agnostic. I'm unsure how much of what I've experienced is explainable by science, caused by imagination or over thinking, and perhaps influenced by others who had more belief in a higher power than I did/do. Below is about what I called the energy ball and black shadows that seemed free from touching objects that would cast shadows.
Energy Ball
Back in my jr high school years (12/13 yrs old) and in an area where the closest city with more than 15000 people was roughly 30 miles away from the county, I experimented with meditation that left me questioning the typical placement of your hands. I ended up holding my hands out in front of me like a prayer with my hands held parallel to my lap and my hands about an inch apart. After meditating like that for 15 minutes or so, I felt a tingle sensation or two that I hadn't been expecting between my hands. Instead of trying to blank my mind I focused on that feeling between my hands which then grew.
I was always the silly/corny humor type around girls. So when I suggested to a few them that I put their hand between mine, they thought it odd, but i was a silly guy anyway so why not. There was the obvious girl that giggled at everything, and a few others whom I had tried to tickle the normal way and were not very ticklish or if they were ticklish were very minor compared to the girl who giggled about everything. When their hand was placed between mine 3 of them found it tickled them. Even into the wrist and forearm. The other girl said she felt something but it wasn't tickling her. When I got to her forearm, it turned into a very sharp static shock. When I think back on it, that seems to be more obvious that it was static based because of the girl that shocked (or at least I think it was a shock like static electricity; however, I hadn't felt a shock myself - just the sensation between my hands), but I do find it curious of the girls that said it was ticklish. Was it because it was flirting or a weird situation for them? Are their instances where static electricity would tickle?
As I got older, I kept trying to understand the feeling between my hands and I was told by a few people who were pagan, wiccan, or a mix of the two that you could mold and use for shields to protect against demons, which i didn't and still don't believe in by the way, but these people did and perhaps still do. Upon the suggestion of one of them, three of us combined our hands to form a cube and focused on creating that feeling between our hands. What resulted was the feeling of a tornado or some or rapid moving of a chaotic thick wind if you will. it was very interesting feeling and I'm not sure how static electricity would play into that, but it is what I felt.
Black Shadows
I suppose I was about 16 or 17 (driving age for where I lived) when one of the group from above decided to drive me around in an attempt to prove that demons and other things exist. It, for the most part, was a waste of time, but I found it interesting as I was still exploring other people's beliefs at the time to get an idea of where I stood (Christianity, Wicca, atheism, etc. One day, when we were driving around we had stopped at a dock that was secluded. There were a lot of trees around and the lot itself was about 30 yards square. It was there that I saw my first black shadow that was seemingly very dark for a moon lit night and still. After the one showing me being excited and pointing it out and rambling for a few minutes, I noticed that the shadow seemed to have started to gliding towards us. The shadow was human shaped, but fuzzy on the outlines of it. The bottom did not seem to fully touch the ground. The middle of the shadow seemed to have depth to it instead of the flatness one comes to expect from shadows that lay on the ground; however, this shadow was not laying on the ground. It was vertical. I'd say from my memory that it was roughly 7 feet high. We left before it got too close.
I was intrigued by wha
It's Holy Spirit. Holy Ghost is from Old English gast, "spirit"
If your Catholics are saying Ghost they're doing it wrong, my Catholics say Spirit
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
Except, people believe in stuff that doesn't make sense all of the time.
People believe in trickle-down economics, though it makes no sense to me and doesn't seem to have ever worked as claimed.
People believe that the "free market" exists, and will always help us to find the optimal solution to all problems. That makes no sense whatsoever as it seems to presume that everybody makes choices based on perfect information, and that people aren't unfairly manipulating the system.
People believed that Asset Backed Paper Commodities made sense or that you could ignore the fundamentals of how money works and still get away with it.
People believe all sorts of crazy shit all the time.
Most people's beliefs aren't epistemologically consistent, because most people don't/can't apply that level of rigor within their own thought processes.
You seem to believe that epistemology actually gets you anything beyond an academic discussion -- like things would disappear into a puff of illogic if proved wrong. You can parrot your formulation of truth all you like too ... there's numerous forms of epistemology, that doesn't make any of them into universal laws or anything.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
They're both rip offs. I'm not a Christian, but I'm familiar enough with the theology to know that you get to Heaven based upon God's grace and not based upon actions which one performs in life, and certainly not based upon bribery. Camels and sewing needles being as they are.
Or at least that's the basic idea, it may or may not be true, and obviously I have a view on that if I don't practice. But any Christian that tries to say that you need to tithe or do certain things to get into Heaven should be recognized as representing something decidedly un-Christian.
The "free market" did exist when you had a large number of farmers selling to a large number of consumers; each player in the market makes an infinitesimally small contribution, thus no one player is able to affect the market as a whole. Unfortunately, once you introduce massive corporation producing and distributing goods as well as lobbying for legislation in their favor, this model no longer holds true. So while a free market may have existed in the time of Adam Smith, to say that what we have now is in any sense "free" is erroneous.
As far as your other examples, you are correct -- people believe in some crazy shit!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
But he only tunes in after the last commercial break, where they summarize their laughable "evidence".
I've never actually watched the show, but I highly enjoyed his impression of them playing back the recording they made (with the gain all the way up, of course, because ghosts are quiet). Presses play: "Zrgthvrbhk" "Did you hear that? It said 'Get out!'" Plays it again: "Zrbhthrbark" -- "See? 'Get out!'"
It apparently adds a lot to the humor value that the people in the show seem so earnest about it all.
The enemies of Democracy are
Depends. Holy Spirit Catholic Church
Atlas Shrugged : Thematic Story
No. Buddhism is essentially a very simple, personal belief system that is very similar to trying to live life via the golden rule (karma / balance). Anytime something seems more involved than that (religious or ritualistic, etc) it's pretty much that human element trying to muck things up.
Points for prestidigitation, but ...oooh... looks like you missed the chance to reference transubstantiation. Charlie, show 'em what he's won!
Atlas Shrugged : Thematic Story
Is a catholic really a catholic if they only do the big 3 (easter, christmas and confirmation)?
If you try to live your life in balance and strive for harmony with others you're living the buddhist dream. It's not a complicated, arbitrary system.
It's Holy Spirit. Holy Ghost is from Old English gast, "spirit"
If your Catholics are saying Ghost they're doing it wrong, my Catholics say Spirit
Potato, po-taah-to. "Holy Ghost" and "Holy Spirit" mean exactly the same thing, and neither is wrong. It just sounds like the priests changed the wording in order to avoid the negative connotations associated with the ghosthunter-type of ghosts, probably because their followers couldn't keep the distinction separate.
John
Ghost Hunting 101
Step 1: Turn off all the lights for some reason
Step 2: Walk around in the dark, expressing surprise and shock every time you stumble.
Step 3: Use flashlight, gasp and/or scream every time you see a shadow or reflection of light
Step 4: say "What was that?" or "Did you see/hear that?" every couple minutes, alternating between the two
Bonus points given for using scientific equipment incorrectly, interpreting results incorrectly, and not having any idea why such instruments would detect ghosts in the first place.
Prerequisites: Lack of understanding of principles of logical fallacies is required.
For starters, I get it, far more than you do. So please, spare me your tripe. It's insulting!
You *must* understand that there are two primary groups (with some shades of gray) in which people are poor.
1. The disabled and/or politically and socially oppressed. These are the people that need help. These are the people that have the capacity to want the assistance to help them help themselves out of poverty and into prosperity. Public services and assistance provides where the free market does not. But when possible, the free market is a much more dynamic path to choose. Such examples include rural China and India. Oppression by the Chine government, and oppression by the social caste system of India culture.
2. Those that have all the western assistance possible, but remain poor because of CULTURE. The culture of victim-hood, the culture of entitlements, the culture of anti-enlightenment. A culture that pro-actively seeks a rebellious lifestyle that's self-destructive to themselves and the people around them. A culture of being lazy. Such a culture wields a vast amount of political power and influence for what little effort is put into maintaining its perpetuity.
For reason #2, those people can rot in hell. In fact, they out-right piss me off and deserve to be poor. Good riddance. Bunch of parasites! They will NOT be getting any cake from me.
Life is not for the lazy.
I'm older than you and Catholic and have only ever read the term "Holy Ghost" in writings (far) older than me. It has been "Holy Spirit" for a very long time. The only spoken (well, sung) reference I've ever heard for "Holy Ghost" is in the song, American Pie. WRT the previous translation (and its use was not limited to Catholics and IDK might still be used by some Protestants or post-Protestant non-Catholic Christians), both "Ghost" and "Spirit" are translated from the same word. The current usage is just considered to be more accurate in context.
If there are any irrational beliefs in this thread, you take the lead.
Are you joking? Asset-backed securities are traded all the time. Every day. And they make sense. Trading a physical boat full of oil, for example, is a lot harder on the back than trading a contract for the delivery of a boat full of oil.
You seem to have very strong opinions about a subject you know very little about.
A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
(cue the french revolution, and marie antoinette before the guillotine looking dumbfounded)
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
there's lots of anecdotes in this world that may not be 100% historically accurate, but teach valuable moral lessons. in fact, there are outright fictions that teach valuable moral lessons. "A Christmas Carol" has a lot of relevance to this particular thread, but there's no such things as ghosts. The idea that what I am saying is disproved because an anecdote I allude to might not actually be 100% historically accurate is just a form of social autism on your part, for not understanding the value of stories in teaching human beings morality
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
A bullshit detector would be critical for anyone who is a ghosthunter.
yes, that was a time when there was slavery, children were married at 13, people were lynched by angry mobs based on rumors, etc. a more brutal time. which is of course exactly what your ideology is all about: moving backwards to a less civilized more brutal past that is behind us. the right in the usa will not be happy until we are like somalia: no taxes there! no meddling government! tea party utopia!
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Right up until they started trading really bad debts as if it had value, and allowing that to begin to underwrite things which actually had value.
At a certain point, nothing was actually backing them, and they weren't really assets.
It was based on speculation and bad debt, and everybody went around saying it was a good idea. At a certain point, the money system became pretty much entangled with ponzi schemes, and everybody believed it would keep working.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Burning some mod points, but "ghosts" doesn't always mean a sapient consciousness is going around pulling doors closed or the like. Some ghost hunters (for lack of a better phrase) believe that some of the "ghost phenomenon" is a recording of some significant event that occurred in a given location (i.e. Gettysburg). The mechanism behind how such a recording could take place is not known, but a good number of the ghost stories out there don't really have said ghost interacting with people but rather playing out the same actions time after time (i.e. ascending the stairs and vanishing at the top).
prion to virus, virus to bacterium, bacterium to laywer, lawyer to protozoa, protozoa to tapeworm, tapeworm to.....
If folks want to believe in ghosts and want to pay people to check for them then why not? The service being provided is really just roleplay anyway... humoring the customers desire to believe in ghosts.
A smart service provider would report results based on the customers hope to prove/disprove the presence of ghosts.
Why do you assume that our "present models of the world" are insufficient to explain the existence of extraterrestrial life?
We're going down, in a spiral to the ground
"ghosts are contrary to Christian theology"
True. And yet, this doesn't stop Christians from believing in ghosts, and in vast numbers. You underestimate the ability of people to believe in multible contradictory things at once.
It was a spirit of some sort. Possibly a "ghost" for lack of a better term, quite possibly something bad.
Many people believe in ghosts, for some value of the word "ghost" - which is OK, because for some value of the word. they do exist. God, and the spirit world, are quite real. I'm baffled how so many people who are so smart in other areas can be at the same time so foolish in that one. Hawking is simultaneously the smartest man in the world and one of the stupidest. He understands things about physics that I could never hope to comprehend, and yet doesn't even believe in the author and creator of physics.
As far as ghosts go, I have more than once encountered the spirit of a person who I knew for a fact to be dead. I would not call that a ghost, but something more like a spiritual visit. So sure, I believe in ghosts, too, for some value of that word, because I have not only met one, but had it reach out its hands and touch me, and I could feel it.
That doesn't mean ghost hunters aren't frauds, though, for varying degrees of fraud. I would be rather surprised if an instrument could be built that could detect the presence of a spirit, let alone determine that it was in fact a spirit. I would be even more surprised if the stuff that ghost hunters carry around could do that. Not all ghost hunters are intentional frauds, of course. I think some of them know perfectly well that they are just putting on theater for money, while some others probably really believe you can detect ghosts with that stuff. Of course, most of them take money for doing it, too.
Messing around with stuff like ouija boards can get people in trouble precisely because you don't really know what is making that stuff happen. I suspect that it's for more likely than not to be something malevolent.
As cwtrex may have figured out about the black shadows, it's really best not to mess with that stuff. Whatever exactly they may be, it's not likely to be something good.
Because 0% of slashdot readers believe in ghosts.
I have seen studies (I no longer have the link to them) that indicate that self-professed Christians are less likely to believe in ghosts than self-professed atheists. I do know that there was a little more to accepting the self-professed classification than the simple assertion by the individual, but I no longer remember how they did that sorting.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
Disclaimer: I don't watch any of those shows.
I think we need to draw a distinction between "there are ghosts here" and "we can't explain why things are happening here". While I don't believe in ghosts in the "booga booga" sense, I will accept that there are things that we can't currently explain. That doesn't prove or disprove supernatural causes - it just means we can't describe it just yet.
Hmmm. Sounds like a string theorist.
That fat bastard never seemed to get me what I actually wanted. I need to have a little discussion on why.
My understanding (as a former Xtian) is that you have to believe and honestly* ask forgiveness for your every sin.
* honestly, meaning that it doesn't count if you're just going through the motions to cover your ass.
I am very familiar with Christian theology. The only Christian sects which believes in so-called "saints" as a special class of believers is Roman Catholic and Orthodox.
I misspoke. I meant that most Christians have those beliefs, not necessarily the number denominations. Even assuming that the saint idea doesn't exist in anything aside from Catholics and Orthodox, they outnumber the rest quite handily. See here.
All other Christian groups hold with biblical teaching that all believers are saints. According to traditional Christian theology, when one dies one goes either to Heaven or Hell and the soul/spirit does not remain in contact with this world.
You'd better get to editing your holy book, then. And while you are at it, edit out the references from early Church Fathers about ghosts and such, too. A fictional setting should at least be self-consistent if it to be at all believable.
All that is necessary for the triumph of good is that evil men do nothing.
It's assumed, though it is perhaps neither provable nor even true, that such "agencies" are knowingly lying about what they are doing, and thus not actually providing the service being described. As an analogy, take a fake exterminator who just walks around your house spraying compressed air here and there. When the infestation remains you do have a case even if they "seemed" to treat the problem. Claiming you engaged in "commerce" does not free you of legal liability- if you advertised a service, that service must actually be performed.
And that's precisely why it can not be considered a scam. As a (gullible) customer, you would be unable to prove that they weren't effective at ridding your house of ghosts, because to refute their claim you would have to prove said failure-to-deghost in a courtroom: i.e. you would have to provide legal evidence of the existence of the ghost that the scammer didn't get rid of.
Instead, if you have a contract with one of these agencies and you both agree that to get rid of the ghosts you will hire them to "chant 13 anti-ghost verses for 69 minutes in the parlor, wave burning lemon grass up and down the stairwell for 7 minutes, and apply powdered dried spider legs to the doorways", and the guy shows up drunk, mumbles for half an hour in the garage, burns some sawdust in the foyer, and spritzes talcum powder on the rug, then you have a breach of contract, a bona fide scammer, and the basis for a suit.
John
Science doesn't preclude wishing or fantasy. You can search for ET scientifically. SETI might be considered "out there" by people who don't believe they are wisely spending their time, but they're not going to say that SETI isn't doing real science - they're just doing "probably useless" real science.
And this might change due to other science. What if the SETI@home crowd were told that they were consuming so much electricity that PGE was going to build a new nuclear reactor just to power their project? They might rationally evaluate the situation and decide it's no longer worth it.
For now, the SETI volunteers all seem to be happy to donate their money to power the search. That might be because they don't understand that the client is costing them perhaps $12.00 per day in additional electrical costs (idle CPUs and GPUs don't consume nearly as much energy as active processors.) Or maybe they do know, but feel the research is important enough to warrant the investment.
John
Me, I'm not a believer; but I'm always amazed by how much power religious types insist on ascribing to their assorted devils, spooks and spirits.
They need to. If you don't portray a really scary threat, why would anyone spend anything defending against that threat? Consider these two sentences:
One is slightly more compelling to a seven year old kid.
For a more realistic example, consider Faux News talking about terra'rists because their buddies want to sell these really expensive whole body scanners to the airlines.
Talking head #1: "We need to spend $365 million dollars on full body scanner systems for airports."
Talking head #2: "That's a lot of tax money."
Then one week later, some liar on Faux News claims that a guy wearing a clay model pancake on his butt that "could have been made from a real plastic explosive" makes it through security. OMG, we're all going to die, its the Islamists, bin Laden, 9/11 all over again!
Two weeks later:
Talking head #1: "We need to spend $365 million dollars on anti-butt-pancake-explosive scanner systems for airports."
Talking head #2: "Yes, please save us from the butt-pancake-explosive-bomber-terrorists!"
See how that works? Invoke the name of the bogeyman, and the cowards listen. Get enough cowards together, and we call the results "Congress".
John
As a (gullible) customer, you would be unable to prove that they weren't effective at ridding your house of ghosts, because to refute their claim you would have to prove said failure-to-deghost in a courtroom: i.e. you would have to provide legal evidence of the existence of the ghost that the scammer didn't get rid of.
Not necessarily. You could also make a case by catching them confessing to being con-artists in a leaked email. Actually possible, though unlikely. (Now that I think about it- could you use expert testimony as another method of "proving" they are lying?)
But as you correctly point out- that's only necessary for legal proof it's a scam. For me or you to consider it a scam we don't need such proof, since logic and a little bit of reason prove sufficient reason to hold such a belief. Can I get them thrown into jail or forced to repay their victims? No- but that's not what I was claiming in my earlier post. I'm arguing against the censoring of the submitter's opinion.
Did you take your best friend's word for it that he or she was a Wiccan, or did you weigh this person against a duck?
And? The trading of asset-backed contracts does and continues to make sense overall. The people who thought that was a good idea were right.
A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
free market fundamentalism fails because it believes selfishness trumps all.
Another misinformed poster. Not one free marketer I know of believe that at all. Try to find "selfishness" in wiki's Free market article. The father of free markets was Adam Smith and he definitely didn't. Beside writing "Wealth of Nations" he also wrote The Theory of Moral Sentiments. One description says "Its highly original theories of conscience, moral judgment, and virtue offer a reconstruction of the Enlightenment concept of social science, embracing both political economy and theories of law and government.Its highly original theories of conscience, moral judgment, and virtue offer a reconstruction of the Enlightenment concept of social science, embracing both political economy and theories of law and government.." His invisible hand is the conjunction of "the forces of self-interest, competition, and supply and demand". Also he says of the invisible hand:
"The rich consume little more than the poor, and in spite of their natural selfishness and rapacity, though they mean only their own conveniency, though the sole end which they propose from the labours of all the thousands whom they employ, be the gratification of their own vain and insatiable desires, they divide with the poor the produce of all their improvements. They are led by an invisible hand to make nearly the same distribution of the necessaries of life, which would have been made, had the earth been divided into equal portions among all its inhabitants, and thus without intending it, without knowing it, advance the interest of the society, and afford means to the multiplication of the species. When Providence divided the earth among a few lordly masters, it neither forgot nor abandoned those who seemed to have been left out in the partition. These last too enjoy their share of all that it produces. In what constitutes the real happiness of human life, they are in no respect inferior to those who would seem so much above them. In ease of body and peace of mind, all the different ranks of life are nearly upon a level, and the beggar, who suns himself by the side of the highway, possesses that security which kings are fighting for".
Dispite what people say or believe today's poor in the US have better lives than the poor a century ago.
why give back to the society that made my riches possible
Yea, why did Rockefeller, Hughes, Vanderbilt, and so many other wealthy people leave fortunes to non-profits or set up foundations that financially support non-profits they like? Bill and Melisa Gates are leaving their wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Warren Buffett has pledged to donate to the foundation "approximately 10 million Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares spread over multiple years through annual contributions, worth approximately US$30 billion in 2006." George Soros uses his wealth to fund his Open Society Institute. Its aim is to "to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform." Business tycoon Armand Hammer was friends with both Vladimir Lenin and Ronald Reagan.
the truth of course, is balance: capitalism with social safety nets. but some asshole believe that just modest social safety nets is some unstoppable slippery slope into north korea style communism.
The truth is that the
Should there be a Law?
You could probably make a case for them being con-artists by their very existence. :-) "Your honor, the defendant claims to be a ghostbuster." "That's good enough for me, the court finds for the plaintiff."
And I absolutely agree with you. Removing the word "scammer" from the summary diminishes the value of the word "scammer".
John
You mean True Resurrection (9th Level spell). That is unless your blasphemous sect has proof our Lord and Saviour lost a level when he came back?
a sucker-o-meter. the higher it pegs, the more they charge.
There is NO EQUIPMENT for detecting ghost because they don't exist. That's a fact and people peddling otherwise should be forced shovel actual shit for the rest of their lives.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
this type of belief doesn't require anything, nor is it constrained by rational thinking.
I'm always amazed by how many believer don't even know their own religion.
How many times have you heard that 'The Antichrist' is coming? When, in fact, in the bible there is no antichrist. an antichrist is anyone who doesn't believe Christ returned.
And then you get people like Sarah Palin who goes on and waves her Christianity around like ti s a free pass to anything. When in timothy it clearly states women are NOT to be leaders or teachers?(2:11-14)
believer, what a bunch of whack a doodles.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
yes, but once used it can no longer do work.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
they go to 1134
unless they are good, then the go to the land of 5318008
If they use polish notation, then the get what's coming to them.
And that wraps up your calculator humor for the evening.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
>>Lack of evidence ?
Ignoring the whole "we've all been born" thing?
Did you miss the "re" part of "reincarnation" ?
Only if you assume that every physical body contains a soul.
The number of lawyers has vastly increased over recent years. Coincidence?
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Is there any part of scripture where that isn't true?
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Lots of "gizmag" stories on /. recently. Is there a business relationship between the two? I think we should be told.
If it happens once, why are you so certain it can't happen again? The evidence only shows that it can happen.
Technically, a Catholic is only a Catholic if they believe in church law 100%. Any deviation makes you not a Catholic. The very fact that I think its possible that the Catholic church may have gotten some of it wrong, makes me not a Catholic by definition.
I was raised Catholic, practiced for many years, and I've never met anyone who actually qualified as a by the book Catholic, including pretty much every member of the clergy I've met.
So no, going to the big holidays and being confirmed does not a Catholic make.
Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
Yes it can, just because its not in a form thats useful to you doesn't mean it can't do work. The work it did raised the temp of the air around it, which was dissipated to the rest of the environment. Its no longer useful to you, but the energy is still there and is part of the universe and may one day be used by something else productive to you.
Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager