From twin lovers to an Inquisition.

By , on 12 November, 2004

Two stories here for your interests:

Twins sharing a lover create a paternity puzzle

Good News: Woman acknowledged sleeping with guy
Bad News: Woman also slept with the guy’s identical twin at time of conception

With identical twins having similar DNA, “there’s a high risk that it is impossible to determine who the father is,” Mr. Justice Paul Jolin noted in a recent ruling.

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Have any of you tried this European RPG game that seems made for this site? It is called Kult: Heretic Kingdoms

It is set in “a world where God is dead and religion heresy, you are cast as a young female inquisitor, working to stamp out the last remnants of religion… your actions will lead you to one of six different endings depending on where you decide your loyalties lie. Will you crush religion underfoot, or become its saviour? Only you can decide.”

Only problem is that it is an “Action RPG.” I can only take so many of those click fest.

6 comments   Stupidity in Action, Video Games   ,  

A post on the Hobbit, Evolution, Religion and the Devil… with a tinge of cannibalism.

By , on 29 October, 2004

A short while ago a new species of human (Homo floresiensis) was discovered on the island of Flores. And it is believed that this species existed as recently as 12,000 years ago. This article on the BBC News website raises really interesting questions: If such a species is still alive somewhere in some corner, what would be the ramifications? Because of its size it has been nicknamed the Hobbit.

1) Would this species be treated as a human or an advanced chimp?
If for example this species possess the power of language then there is a strong probability that it will be treated as a form of human. And if so…

2) Would this “Hobbit” be the evolutionary crown jewel?
That would show that humans belong in the animal kingdom and that humans are really not that unique.

3) Other interesting points raised are:
If you kill a Hobbit it would be murder and if you experimented on one it would be torture. If you eat one it would be cannibalism.
Or what if the Hobbit has a form of religion or maybe just a ritual for burial? Then, I wonder, can a human marry a Hobbit?

4) And finally to quote the article:
“In theory, the existence of Mini-Man should destroy religion, but I can already hear the fanatics claiming that he has been put on earth by the Devil simply to test our faith.”

10 comments   Science    

Privacy: Heat detecting equipment attached to plane for police surveillance.

By , on 29 October, 2004

Here is something of interest for those with concerns about privacy:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20041029.wscoc1029/BNStory/National/
http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/csc-scc/en/com/2004/html/04-10-29.3.wpd.html

This is a decision from Canada relating to the use of heat detecting equipment and whether or not such action runs afoul of the right to privacy and violates the reasonable expectation of privacy.

Basically the equipment is fixed to a plane and it flies across the area taking heat signatures and then it compares the signature to what is the normal heat signature. I could not remember if it was this case or another one where basically what the police did was to obtain electricity usage and from there compare it to a normal residence to determine whether there was growth of drugs in the house. Apparently drugs requires one to use a lot of energy up to 4x the normal and as a result produces quite a bit of heat.

The judgment included this line “FLIR technology at this stage of its development is both non-intrusive in its operations and mundane in the data it is capable of producing,” which suggests that this decision may not stand in future circumstances. Of course a funny result would occur if a new technology is found to be intrusive. Therefore police might have to use older technology to engage in surveillance.

Given that the court did say that the “The nature of the intrusiveness is subtle, but almost Orwellian in its theoretical capacity,” one question is: How far of intrusiveness is required before the balance tips from protection to privacy?

Personally, I believe that I often come down on the side of greater surveillance powers and capabilities.

8 comments   Politics, Privacy   ,  
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