Simulated Reality

From Are We Living In The Matrix?:

This page examines the theory that our universe is in fact a simulated universe which is running on a massively powerful computer programmed by some advanced civilisation. Though the world feels "real" to us, we might be merely logic states in an advanced computer. As improbable as this might sound, the theory has gained a lot of attention recently due to a similar idea in the film The Matrix, and the idea is even attracting the attention of several physicists.

However, as we shall now see, the particular situation depicted in The Matrix would seem to be a very unlikely description of our reality:

1) The "Brain-in-a-Vat" Scenario

The idea that we might be living in a simulated world is so fascinating because it is impossible to disprove the theory that we are living in a simulated universe. In order to see how difficult it is to disprove, consider the Brain-in-a-Vat Argument. The Brain-in-a-Vat Argument considers the situation whereby a person's brain has been removed from their body and is floating in a life-sustaining fluid. The brain is connected by wires to a computer which provides the brain with exactly the same impulses as the brain would normally receive, the computer effectively creating a "virtual reality". The person with the disembodied brain would continue to have perfectly normal conscious experiences without these being related to objects or events in the real world. It would be impossible for the person to discover the reality of their simulated world.

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Musical Innerlube: Rage Against the Machine - Street Fighting Man

'The only way to bring peace now is to bring the system down'

From Anarchists for Peace by William T. Hathaway, Dissident Voice

It costs 50 million dollars to kill each Taliban, but when dead he becomes a martyred hero to recruit new replacements, so the numbers of Taliban are increasing. In Iraq the terror our invasion unleashed still rages unabated, with hired mercenaries and local soldiers unable to stop it, as our troops before them were unable to. Yet we continue the fighting, and Obama the peace candidate has morphed into a war president. We are trapped in endless war.

To break out of this death trap, anarchists have turned to radical tactics. They've moved beyond demonstrations and petitions into direct action, defying the government's laws and impeding its capacity for mass murder. Some of them have become domestic insurgents, helping soldiers to desert, destroying computer systems, trashing recruiting offices, burning military equipment, and sabotaging defense contractors. As criminals for peace, they are defying the Patriot Act and working underground in secret cells to undermine the US military empire. They are convinced the only way to bring peace now is to bring the system down.

They tell their first-person experiences in a new book, Radical Peace: People Refusing War, just published by Trine Day. Noam Chomsky called it, "A book that captures such complexities and depths of human existence, even apart from the immediate message."

The book profiles several saboteurs. Trucker is the code name of a man who burns military vehicles. He sees his sabotage as nonviolent because it doesn't harm human beings, only things.

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Rights NGO claims that Israeli planes carrying crowd dispersal weapons have arrived in Egypt

From the Middle East Monitor:

The International Network for Rights and Development has claimed that Israeli logistical support has been sent to Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak to help his regime confront demonstrations demanding that he steps down as head of state. According to reports by the non-governmental organisation, three Israeli planes landed at Cairo's Mina International Airport on Saturday carrying hazardous equipment for use in dispersing and suppressing large crowds.

In the statement circulated by the International Network, it was disclosed that Egyptian security forces received the complete cargoes on three Israeli planes which were, it is claimed, carrying an abundant supply of internationally proscribed gas to disperse unwanted crowds. If the reports are accurate, this suggests that the Egyptian regime is preparing for the worse in defence of its position, despite the country sinking into chaos.

On Sunday 30 January, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Israeli government ministers in a public statement saying: "Our efforts aim at the continued maintenance of stability and security in the region… and I remind you that peace between the Israeli establishment and Egypt has endured for over three decades… we currently strive to guarantee the continuity of these relations." Netanyahu added, "We are following the events unfolding in Egypt and the region with vigilance… and it is incumbent at this time that we show responsibility, self-restraint and maximum consideration for the situation… in the hope that the peaceful relations between the Israeli establishment and Egypt continue…"

The Israeli prime minister urged Israeli government ministers to refrain from making any additional statements to the media.

Ayn Rand took government assistance while decrying others who did the same

From Boing Boing:

Noted speed freak, serial-killer fangirl, and Tea Party hero Ayn Rand was also a kleptoparasite, sneakily gobbling up taxpayer funds under an assumed name [note: it might have been her legal name] to pay for her medical treatments after she got lung cancer.

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