Ratzinger divides, Maiani unites January 17, 2008
Posted by dorigo in news, personal, physics, politics, religion, science.16 comments
I was amused, and happy, to read Jeff -a professor of Physics, a friend, a commenter here, and usually one in disagreement with me- feeling the wind that has been blowing in Italian affairs since I don’t know when: a wind of political appeasement with the Vatican. The same wind that many of us denounce when italian laws having to do with secular issues are shaped on the directives of the Vatican. Here is Jeff’s comment, which he left on the thread following the post about the failed speech of Ratzinger at La Sapienza:
Well
I heard that Luciano Maiani was one of the 67 physicists that signed the letter against inviting the Pope. Luciano was recently nominated to become the head of the CNR, an italian national research entity, a wonderful choice. I admire him greatly.It turns out that because of his signing the infamous letter he is risking not being confirmed to head the CNR. If this does turn out to be the case then Italy really is in deep shit! I think the 67 were wrong to start this (once the Pope was invited) but the worst thing that could happen is they they be punished for doing so! If the very VERY good Maiani does get sacked for his signing the letter then I AM CHANGING SIDES!
Mind you that I do NOT think hat someone of the Church picked up a phone and pressured for him to be sacked. It is more depressing than that. I think the idiots that make these decision are boneless morons that just play with the wind. The wind now goes that the Pope should have be respected and hence these morons, JUST TO SUCK UP, and puff up their medaless chests think it is best to sack Maiani. Simply disgusting
I fear I am profoundly fed up with Italy and italians (stufo)
Jeff
Jeff, take a ticket, there’s a long queue - we’ve been there since a while ago!
As for Maiani, it goes without saying that I totally agree. And mind you, the 67 who signed the letter were only those that could - the letter was private, and according to Andrea Frova (who signed it) the number of subscribers could have been ten times larger if they had waited for a while longer, since people joined in after the letter was sent. So full many a Maiani is there, although of course he is one of the most brilliant.
Summarized for you - the aborted speech of Pope Ratzinger January 17, 2008
Posted by dorigo in news, religion, science.7 comments
Among all the comments that have appeared on the thread of the previous post on the querelle over Ratzinger’s failed speech at the Rome University “La Sapienza”, there are a few that deserve to be highlighted.
It is the case of the following, by DB. He is answering a previous comment about the speech that Ratzinger sent to the University.
[...] By contrast I found the Pope’s speech easy to understand but quite confused and very tedious. If he had stripped out all the name-dropping and waffle he might have said:
“Universities were set up to initially to apply reason to help Christians further clarify the nature of truth as revealed in their scriptures. It was a purifying force that, in the early stages helped support monotheism while retaining and developing the riches of Greek philosophy.
Nowadays, universities spend their time on secular pursuits such as the natural sciences and humanities, and even philosophy is in danger of becoming completely separated from theology, pursuing reason for its own sake. All this has brought mankind great benefits but maybe that won’t last. Universities need to rediscover their roots and apply reason to understanding the spiritual nature of man.”Unfortunately for Benedict, universities invested very heavily in theology in the past and ended up with the Scholastics, so they are likely to stick with what works. This is why his argument is rambling and confused, he explains how universities have achieved their modern success - by turning their backs on religion, and tells them that is probably a mistake!. Nice one, Benedict. [...]
I also note that nowhere did the Pope speak of the death penalty, as his Vatican spin-doctors had claimed, but, as predicted, attacked, in his usual smooth and slick style, the secular values at the heart of modern universities.
If I were you [...], I wouldn’t bother reading his speech again. Remember that you never need more than a quarter of your brain for religion, because it’s designed to short-circuit the reasoning part of your brain so you’ll be more docile and socially compliant. Think of it as a bunch of fairytales designed to placate those who psychologically can’t cope with personal extinction and to keep poor ignorant workers from asking why they are poor and ignorant. All the fancy stuff added by Benedict is just there to give an illusion of intellectual respectability.
We all have better things to do.
Indeed. So thank you, DB, for clarifying the pope’s babble for us.
Cruise on Scientology: how full of s* can you be ? January 17, 2008
Posted by dorigo in humor, news, religion, science.15 comments
Being a devout follower of the church of South Park, I know the ins and outs of Scientology pretty well. And I am aware of the fact that one of its leaders, Tom Cruise, is a person seriously in need of help. So the video clip I saw today, an excerpt of an interview where he speaks of what a scientologist can do to save the rest of us, did not overly impress me . However, I was indeed impressed by the man: looking at him in the eyes when he utters his claims allows one to realize that if we ever built a full-o-s*tometer, we’d have to consider him before setting the range, because on that one count Cruise can’t be surpassed.
Here is a transcript of a piece of his interview:
“I think it is a privilege to call oneself a scientologist, and it is something one has to earn, and…because a scientologist does. Because he or she has the ability to create new and better realities and improve conditions. I think scientology means looking at somebody you know and know absolutely that you can help him.
We are the authorities on getting people out of drugs. We’re the authorities of the mind. We are the authorities of improving conditions. Criminals: we can rehabilitate criminals. Way to happiness: we can bring peace and we can unite cultures. Traveling the world and meeting the people that I’ve met, now, talking with these leaders, in various fields… They want help, and they are depending on people who know, and who can be effective and do it. And that’s us.
It is the time now. Now, is the time! Ok ?”
He really sets the scale. I propose the Cruise as a unit of measurement for full-of-s*tness. It is something quite large, like a Farad or a Coulomb, if you know what I mean. Ordinary, lesser men and women, will be measured in micro-Cruises and nano-Cruises. It is quite convenient as a unit of measurement also because Tom Cruise is still young and its f.o.s. value is quite constant in time, so we will have a reference point for a long time.
(NB: the video was removed by YouTube, but it often reappears here and there… Search it for yourself if you’re in for a laugh!)
