The Hideous Horrors of the "Hero"

(-: Happy Halloween :-)

Isn't he scary?

Pope Pushes Psychoanalysis for Priests

After almost 2,000 years, the Roman Catholic Church has learned little about why it is a magnet for homosexual priests; and the fact that heterosexual members engage in intercourse, even rape of young women, to satisfy a sexual appetite that has long been suppressed until it explodes in illicit ecstasy. The sudden transformation of a well respected and highly regarded priest into a sexual beast is noted as a result of a mentally deranged mind. But it is never attributed to celibacy. The church believes the mental condition of the mind to control sexual urges can be found in those worthy to serve God.

The Pope has approved the new guideline for the screening of future priests by providing psychological tests to weed out those that have "psychological defects, deep-seated homosexual tendencies, uncertain sexual identity, excessive rigidity of character, and strong affective tendencies". It bars seminarians who see celibacy as a heavy burden that it "compromises their affective and relational equilibrium". Priests selected must have a "positive and stable sense of their masculine identity".

Catholics are made to understand that celibacy is a reflection of life in heaven, but it makes them go through hell first. It is actually based on guilt originating from false religious beliefs developed to control people. There is clearly no biblical basis for this practice and it may be used for concealing deeper fears of intimacy. The qualifications for future priests sought by the Church are those that are detached from any sexuality. How they can have a stable and positive sense of masculine identity without expressing their manhood, or at least their human masculine emotions, is a tall order. There may be no priests qualified over the long term for such demands. Applicants may pass and be celibate for some time, but it cannot hold for the long haul, and the same problems will emerge.

Priests have been allowed to have wives and concubines before the middle ages, until Pope Pelagius I made new priests agree offspring could not inherit church property; Pope Gregory followed by declaring all sons of priests illegitimate; Pope Benedict VIII banned marriages and concubines for priests; and Pope Innocent II voided all marriages, and for all new priests to divorce their wives. It had nothing to do with morality, it was all about money and the protection of Church property. Even Peter the Apostle was married. Celibacy is physically unnatural and can result in several physical and mental problems. When even masturbation is denied under this vow, the body cannot be used for what it was intended. Prostate blockage and painful wet dreams are the most common reactions of the body to this unnatural imposition.

Jesus was a practitioner of natural law, and He wouldn't impose an act so unnatural among his followeres and members of His Church. The entire celibacy issue was the result of middle age Gnostic influence that preached falsely that the body and its needs are dirty and unspiritual. To be serving God in a spiritual sense, natural sexuality must be avoided. This is the basis for the "derangement" of priests. If a priest is stable upon ordination, the years of sexual avoidance will certainly result in intense mental imbalance - borne of need and guilt - until he can no longer ignore the explosive release of this natural hunger. Having an illicit heterosexual relationship is the least of his sins. Pedophilia and rape are the most grevious; but resorting to homosexual relationships for a straight priest is an option. This starvation for sex of male priests is the very reason why the Church is a magnet for homosexuals.

So, rather than providing all these tests which will not remove the problem at some future date, the Church has two options: to require all priests to be castrated; or allow them to marry. Otherwise, the problem of priests with their sexual drives will be a recurring one. Should priests be allowed to marry, the Church should also follow the Anglican example of ordaining women priests. Then, having a couple who are both priests would produce a holier generation. While they're at it, why not make the seminaries co-educational, so they can start early on the Heavenly experience here on earth? By the time of their ordination - when they are launched to serve God - they would have gotten used to the mantra they recite at the coed seminary: "Oh God, I'm coming"!

Haaaarrrrwwwwk...Twoooooph...Ting!

Gigabyte Gamble of Global Giants

A challenge has been mounted by the technology giants against the economic giants on the global digital battlefield, in the name of online free speech protection, privacy of communication, and against governmental intrusion. Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft have joined forces to enforce a Code of Conduct that would govern the Global Network. How this will be received by countries alluded to in the enactment of the code; or how it will resist powerful political pressure at the local level by partners of the business behemoths, has not been detailed. Enacting a code is one thing, enforcing it is another.

The signing of the Global Code of Conduct attempts to end internet censorship and other forms of government witch hunts and interference. It seeks to limit what data should be shared with authorities where the integrity of free speech may be threatened. Human rights groups have hailed this as a recognition of the need for a collective response and more aggressive stand versus unwarranted demands on user privacy and restrictions on free speech. Google had been accused of agreeing to filter searches for such topics as democracy or Tiananmen; Microsoft had been pilloried for blocking the blog of a media practitioner who posted on the management purge at the Beijing News Daily; while Yahoo's disclosure of personal information led to the 10 year jail sentence of reporter Shi Tao.

Their alliance under the Code provides a certain clout for the implementation of its provisions. It seems that, as Jerry Yang of Yahoo puts it, their actions match their values. The tech giants are gambling on the fact that internet users in China are the youth , students, and young professionals - the generation that will sustain the country's powerful growth. The massive number of users is being staked against China's political will to interfere and protect what they feel is their secret. China's non-acceptance will create discord and distance between the government and people, putting their future in jeopardy. But China's acceptance will not be a victory for the alliance either, they will simply enforce their willful interference clandestinely, by pressuring or threatening the local partner quietly into submission. Having declared their acceptance of the Code to the world, coercion would then be rampant. Any disclosure of these threats can be claimed as an "isolated case".

The millions of users in China may also be used by the authorities against the alliance. Can these three giants afford to lose such a massive market? Also, what if China puts up a similar operation as they have that will serve their country's needs - reaching out beyond the urban areas where these giants operate? After sometime, they could terminate the operations of 2 of these tech companies with the one remaining becoming vulnerable to pressure. The Code's absence of an implementation mechanism weakens its resolve to accomplish what it claims it will. Perhaps they have realized it is unenforceable, and merely went through the motions to assuage human rights groups. There are strong indications that this alliance is merely a gesture that will cast these tech companies in a good light, after the bad image generated by past actions. Nothing more.

The fact that China seems to be singled out is also disturbing. Other countries are equally guilty of interference such as Russia, Serbia, Nigeria, and most of all the United States. It was the USA that removed privacy of communication as part of its intelligence gathering efforts for the War on Terror. That whole package of lies to spy on its own people has more cases that warrants investigation than China. On the other hand this whole alliance on the Code of Conduct is also being used to preempt whatever regulatory oversight may be initiated by a likely Obama government, because of how they assisted the trampling of America's civil rights in support of the War on Terror.

It's just so uncharacteristic for these companies to initiate actions that will damage their relationships with their major markets. Secondly, it does not make sense for them to dive into ideological issues that would virtually be imposing a political philosophy on a sovereign country, regardless of how universally righteous that philosophy is. Their business in service, not politics. This Code is a dangerous gamble if they are truly serious.

In the political battlefield, the tech companies are mice by comparison. Three mice that roar, even in blended three part harmony, cannot be that powerful in the real world. Against an army of more than a hundred million, all they can do is squeak!

Haaarrrrwwwk...Twooooooph...Ting!

Tragedy of the Toilet Trapped Train Rider

There are people whose misfortunes lead them to the conclusion that "life sucks", or that "life stinks". There are those who suffer the unbearable shame of being in situations that find them in crappy circumstances, in an environment that's full of excrement. But for one 26 year old Frenchman who took a train ride from La Rochelle to Paris, it is all of these. Getting inside the on-board toilet and having his hand sucked and trapped inside the toilet bowl is not a daily occurrence of bad luck, but a rare incident of hilarity.

The Frenchman was not identified, to prevent further embarrassment to him. His hand was trapped when he reached for his mobile phone which fell into the toilet bowl, and was subsequently scooped up by the toilet's suction system. The high speed TGV train had to stop for two hours to allow responding firemen to rescue the filthy Frenchman from the seemingly monster toilet, by cutting through the train's pipework. The man was carried away by the Emergency services with his hand still jammed in the toilet seat. It is a tragedy to see such a promising young man get stuck in a shit hole.

The instinctive reaction of picking up a dropped mobile phone, and/or an inadequate knowledge about how powerful the suction systems of on-board trains are, led to this humiliating result. On the other hand, a phone dropped in water with the power on will be short circuited, and therefore ruined. He probably hoped he could pick it up fast enough to prevent its ruin. The question remains as to why he had his mobile phone in his hand as he entered the on-board toilet, knowing that he will need both hands, one more than the other, to get his task done. The answer may be very simple, he failed to pocket his phone immediately after "answering the call of nature".

Haaarrrrrwwwwk...Twooooooph...Ting!

Palin's Pricey Persona

The finished product that is the GOP Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, was manufactured under a most lavish image building plan that would make paupers of many of the women she hopes to identify with, or those she hopes would want to identify with her. The knowledge that money donated by Republican supporters was used to glamorize and clothe the "Hockey Mom" did not sit well with many of them; and the whopping $150,000 spent for her image was the last thread for some to abandon the party and switch to the democrats.

But it wasn't just the clothes. It included the attitude, the delivery, and the scripts she was made to memorize that went well with the frozen fresh look from the snows of Alaska. The crash course she took at the John McCain Institute of instant political candidates included a "cutesy" wink meant to go with her expensive spectacles. Palin was given a persona that was intended to win women and youth votes for the battle scarred POW. She was therefore encased in stylish and expensive Neiman Marcus apparel which would put her target audience in abject poverty and turn them into bag ladies wearing pricey clothing if they went along with it.

The idea that hard earned money was spent to transform a pitt bull into a poodle with lipstick raised a howl from the party base. McCain and Palin were compelled to say that the snazzy outfits would be donated to charity. But knowing the Republicans, they wouldn't want to see such fortunes go to waste to be used and abused by the poor, whom they so gleefulully impoverish. It wouldn't be surprising to see these garments auctioned on E-Bay with the added value of having been worn by the darling of the GOP. If she wins, it will go up in value; if she loses it will drop like the sub-prime mortgage. And what pervert could resist wearing her used undergarments or fantasizing about what was once on it? That alone could fetch a high price. It should be auctioned soon to add to their campaign funds. These could sell higher than $150,000.

Amidst all these makeovers, Palin is still being used as an attack dog, stopping short of calling Obama a communist. She kept repeating the word "socialist", and described situations where Obama's governance would make all decisions for individual Americans, including personal ones, which was not socialist by any stretch but actually a picture of communist practice. Yet it was McCain who made all the decisions for her, including what to say, how to deliver, what to wear, how to smile...all personal ones; making McCain the communist rather than the Democratic candidate by her own standards.

The fashion does not fit the statements. There are only two occassions left for Palin to express her fashion statement: One is election day itself where her attire may be eagerly awaited. To show that they put "America First", she could wear a white gown made of cashmere and silk, cut like the statue of Liberty, topped by a crown and a torch to light the way for the voters to go with the GOP candidates. It will be the second time she will wear this gown as she would have worn it four days earlier. But in lieu of a torch she would bear a wooden cross; and in place of a crown, she would have the same material as her gown cut into a pointed hood that will cover her entire head - with holes for the eyes and nose. An apt fashion statement for Halloween.

Haaaarrrrrwwwwwk...Twoooooooph...Ting!

Screened, Scanned and Stripped for Security

The European Commission is moving to get to know all visitors and travelers in and out of the continent in a very intimate manner - beyond what travelers would consider a transient acquaintance - by viewing every inch of their visitors' anatomy in all their naked glory. What used to be the exclusive province of some perverted minds of the human race, those who figuratively undress people by their lecherous looks at curves and bulges of other individuals, will soon become the official greeting method at airports in the continent.

The plan put forward by the European Commission involves scanners that will virtually strip search each passenger regardless of the layers of clothes they are wearing, and flash their entire body on a screen only in their birthday suit. The proponents argue that the images produced could be modified to eliminate positive identification, but the images produced nonetheless leaves very little to the imagination. The airport security and staff would therefore know every curve of a passenger's body way beyond what these passengers would want. Issues on human rights, data protection and personal dignity are being thrown out the window.

A number of countries have cautioned against the plan, calling it ill-conceived and without a thorough assessment of its impact on fundamental rights nor human health - regardless if it is cost efficient. Even the plan to draw up a rule book for how these devices will be used is a mere justification for an unjustified and invasive procedure. What's worse is that some of these devices are already being used in a number of airports. What if hackers mount an attack on these systems and then post all those naked bodies on the internet? Even if the images were altered, hackers would know how to enhance the image to elicit the true identity of the individual, and soon these photos will be used like paper dolls being plastered with different types of clothing perhaps for commercial value, or worse for prurient purposes. A new class of paparrazzi will emerge from these band of hackers who can single out celebrities and politicians.

This plan, if not modified or carefully studied, would put George Orwell to shame for being less invasive and less security conscious. And unless travelers to and from Europe have a predilection for nudist colonies and would like to mingle with more of their cohabitants in a more formal or "dressed manner", traffic to the continent would be greatly reduced. Perhaps the plan should be used for government functionaries, officials and their wives first, to set an example - Carla Bruni Sarkozy is certainly no stranger to nudity. Perhaps the world will be witness to what makes Gordon Brown resolute, or what makes George Bush ramble incoherently.

The other point is that it may be applied to the elderly only as a test, since no enhancement of the images could possibly be used commercially nor for prurient intentions. It wouldn't be very enticing. As the famed comedienne Phillis Diller once said "the best contraceptive for the elderly is nudity".

Haaaarrrrwwwwk...Twooooooph...Ting!

The Social Skills of Surgeons

There has to be a respite from politics. What used to be referred to as the art of the possible has become the art of the incredible; and the mountain of half truths, embellishments and overstated claims have become exhausting and downright disgusting. The revelation that Joe the Plumber was a Resident of Arizona in 2001, is a delinquent taxpayer, whose former address is at Keating Street and in the same building where a terrorist resided at the time he was there, and who isn't really a plumber; is troubling enough to consider this man a Republican plant precisely placed to discredit the Democratic candidate. What lengths would politics go to just to win? There seems to be no limit.

There's a story being spread via e-mail which concerns 5 surgeons who attended a Medical Conference, and who found themselves sharing a table during one of the breaks. They started discussing who the best patients to operate on were.

The first surgeon from New York City said: "I'd like to see Accountants on my operating table. When you open them up, everything inside is numbered".





The second from Chicago responds: "Yes, but you should try electricians, everything inside them is color coded".






The third surgeon from Houston remarked: No, I really think librarians are the best, everything inside them is in alphabetical order".










The fourth surgeon from Los Angeles chimes in: "You know, I really like construction workers. Those guys understand when you have a few parts left over".






But the fifth surgeon from Washington DC shut them all up when he observed: "You're all wrong! Politicians are the easiest to operate on. There's no guts, no heart, no brain, no balls, and no spine; and the head and the butt are interchangeable!

Haaaarrrrrwwwwwk...Twoooooooph...Ting!

Happy Weekend Everyone!