Human race will 'split into two different species'

The human race will one day split into two separate species, an attractive, intelligent ruling elite and an underclass of dim-witted, ugly goblin-like creatures, according to a top scientist.

100,000 years into the future, sexual selection could mean that two distinct breeds of human will have developed.

The alarming prediction comes from evolutionary theorist Oliver Curry from the London School of Economics, who says that the human race will have reached its physical peak by the year 3000.


These humans will be between 6ft and 7ft tall and they will live up to 120 years.

"Physical features will be driven by indicators of health, youth and fertility that men and women have evolved to look for in potential mates," says the report, which suggests that advances in cosmetic surgery and other body modifying techniques will effectively homogenise our appearance.

Men will have symmetrical facial features, deeper voices and bigger penises, according to Curry in a report commissioned for men's satellite TV channel Bravo.

Women will all have glossy hair, smooth hairless skin, large eyes and pert breasts, according to Curry.

Racial differences will be a thing of the past as interbreeding produces a single coffee-coloured skin tone.

The future for our descendants isn't all long life, perfect bodies and chiselled features, however.

While humans will reach their peak in 1000 years' time, 10,000 years later our reliance on technology will have begun to dramatically change our appearance.

Medicine will weaken our immune system and we will begin to appear more child-like.

Dr Curry said: "The report suggests that the future of man will be a story of the good, the bad and the ugly.

"While science and technology have the potential to create an ideal habitat for humanity over the next millennium, there is the possibility of a monumental genetic hangover over the subsequent millennia due to an over-reliance on technology reducing our natural capacity to resist disease, or our evolved ability to get along with each other.

"After that, things could get ugly, with the possible emergence of genetic 'haves' and 'have-nots'."

Dr Curry's theory may strike a chord with readers who have read H G Wells' classic novel The Time Machine, in particular his descriptions of the Eloi and the Morlock races.

In the 1895 book, the human race has evolved into two distinct species, the highly intelligent and wealthy Eloi and the frightening, animalistic Morlock who are destined to work underground to keep the Eloi happy.
via dailymail

Random Thoughts on Our Tax System

SkepticalObservor

By now, it’s a truism that our tax system is too complicated, and our taxes are too high. Of course, as it is Spring, most of us focus upon state and federal income taxes.

Let us focus, then, on a few brief points about our wonderful system by which the federal government bleeds us of 24% of our national income.

First, let’s consider the Marriage Tax. This is the penalty in additional taxes that many us pay because we choose to get married, rather than just shacking up. Just for grins, after I filed my federal income tax, I figured out the Young family marriage penalty for 1998, the depressing amount of approximately $2000.

Anyone out there still fantasize that our tax system isn’t “anti-family”?

Well, wait one minute. The marriage penalty was abolished by the Bush tax cuts in the first term of the Bush Administration. But don't get too used to that long-needed and sensible reform. It's coming back if Democrats in Congress have their way, as it is scheduled to expire in just a few years. It's hardly surprising that a political party that has "gone Brokeback" and doesn't even understand the word "marriage" would penalize its practitioners.

Next, let’s consider wage withholding. Wage withholding is the date rape drug of the tax system, in the words of a Libertarian group on Michigan. Understanding that something never seen is rarely missed, the Federal government started in World War II to require employers to withhold a certain amount of our income from each paycheck, so that we never see the money. Some are so taken in by this fraud that they look forward to 15 April as the day when they receive a windfall, rather than recover (interest-free) the loan they’ve made to the federal government.

Thus, much like the effects of the date-rape drug, we don’t notice how much we’ve been scr..., er, victimized.

The Problems of Pro-Trespassing Libertarians

Is the title of a great piece at the Paleo blog:

Today we live in a society with an ever large and growing Leviathan State. So much of private property is being stipulated to government control and dictation. Instead of people having the natural freedom to discriminate in any way, government forces people to be with those that they do not wish to be with (by various non-discrimination laws). Government produces forced integration. When someone must be forced to be with someone they do not wish to be, predictably resentment and conflict will result.

Government's existence depends on being a giant mega-parasite. It cannot live any other way. Its food does not come about through voluntary transactions, but by outright (involuntary) theft. To grow it needs more hosts that it can attach itself to. In the eyes of the government, to be healthy it needs a larger number of hosts. The greater the number of hosts the better. This is exactly why the state likes open borders! Any self-respecting libertarian should pause and reflect on this. A pretty good bet is that when government likes something, whatever that may be, then it is virtually assured that it is something that people should not like! It is the reason why this issue has gone almost unnoticed until recent years. Government has stood silent.

Citizens have gotten angry. Arizona past Prop 200 in 2004. It denies illegal immigrants access to voting and welfare. The support Prop 200 was overwhelming. But practically every single politician was against Prop 200. While a vast majority of the residents of Arizona opposed illegals having the "right" to vote and receive welfare, the politicians were only too happy to have illegals both voting and receiving welfare. Should that be a surprise? No. Democracy is all to happy to expand itself to illegals. It wants more hosts. (And because the government is democratic it also needs to expand its open entry system.) The only reason now some politicians are talking about this issue is because the public has felt the effects of immigrants they do not want to be around. There is no other reason.

For government to expand it also needs to break down and isolate the individual. Government needs to own the roads and large amounts of land. In order for it to tax someone it needs access to him. This results in "government's" property in bordering all privately owned property. This lowers people's ability to keep away people they do not wish to associate with. Once people are encircled with government from all sides, anyone can walk right into your property. This includes foreigners. Instead of being able to set up barriers to prevent unwanteds, government almost completely destroys the ability for people to do this.

read

Bush tours Latin America to isolate Chavez...

The US President will visit Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico in March.

US President George W. Bush will tour Latin America in March, in an attempt to curb the influence of his Socialist Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, and to neutralize recent Iranian efforts to improve ties in the region. Bush’s visit crowns months of a US diplomatic offensive aiming to isolate the ongoing Socialist Revolution in Caracas by developing ties with South America’s giant, Brazil.

Bush is expected to visit Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia to show agreement following years of divergences in Washington’s southern flank. According to analysts, t he ultimate goal is to stop Chavez' plans to turn the Common Market of the South into a Latin American body where political anti-US stances prevail over plain economic integration.
http://english.pravda.ru/world/americas/01-03-2007/87882-bush_latin-0

Internet Gambling - THE END?

Online gambling giants Party Gaming and 888 Holdings - which do roughly three-quarters and one-half of their business, respectively, in the U.S. - have already announced that they will stop accepting business from U.S.-based customers once the President signs the bill into law. Sportingbet has announced that it will no longer pursue a merger with World Gaming.

The act has caused large hysteria throughout the gambling industry?

H.R.4411 - The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006

Recently, the House of Representatives passed a bill (H.R. 4411-The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006) to prevent the use of certain payment instruments, credit cards, and fund transfers for unlawful Internet gambling. This bill ammends the 1961 Wire Act that bans telephone sports wagering except for state-sanctioned horse racing and lotteries.

It also would direct the Department of the Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Federal Reserve) to issue regulations outlining policies and procedures that could be used by financial institutions to identify and block gambling-related transactions that are transmitted through their payment systems. Compliance with those prohibitions and regulations would be enforced by various federal agencies as well as state governments, and violations would be subject to new civil remedies and criminal penalties. Finally, the bill would require the Secretary of the Treasury to report annually to the Congress on any international deliberations regarding Internet gambling.

"States have always had the right to approve and regulate gambling within their borders," bill sponsor Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) said. "This bill makes Internet gambling illegal except where regulated by the states."

Democrats complained the "carve outs" for online horse racing and lotteries underscored the "hypocrisy" of the legislation.

"Millions of Americans will continue to gamble with offshore sites," Shell[e]y Berkley (D-Nev.) said.

"This bill makes (gambling) illegal simply because they do it online. It's ridiculous to think this will stop online gaming."

This legislation will come into force upon President Bush's signature, which is expected to be provided in the near future, and made into law 270 days thereafter.

Maybe just - Legalize it. Regulate it. Tax it.

APOLOGY

I must apologize for my continued absence, but it's not my fault. It's her fault. I'm off again for a romantic weekend get-a-way. Hopefully I will be more active upon returning.

JUST WAR THEORY

Doesn't just war theory completely fall apart if you don't belive in the legitimacy of government? I was thinking about this while reading a David Gordon book review here. Show me a legitimate government and then we can talk about just war.

By the way, David Gordon is an absolute treasure. I can't tell you how much I enjoy reading his reviews and following his citations into other works. I wish he'd put together an entire list of books to read (with his reviews attached, of course) -- like an Educated Mind book or something -- and I think I'd bet set for a lifetime of self-education.

IRAQ AND CONSERVATIVE IDIOTS

Call me crazy but I thought the US military went to Iraq to get rid the country of WMDs? Now we are told this:

Our goal in Iraq is a simple one. We want to help the country stand on its feet, provide for its own security and give its citizens a chance to vote for the government of their own choosing (something the Iraqi people have been doing with diligence and enthusiasm, I might add). When these goals are achieved, we want to fulfill one more. We want to withdraw.

A simple one! As far as I'm concerned the post just gets worse form there.

POLITICS AND DATING

A gentleman doesn't discuss politics at dinner.

ON SOLDIERS

"If my soldiers started thinking, not a single soldier would remain in my army." -- Frederick II

PATRIOTISM is not a virtue. Nor is it sufficient reason to kill other human beings.

Property, Not Prices

Bob Murphy nails it:

To pick a more "economic" example, it is not true that laborers always sell their services to the highest bidder. Someone may give up the stressful (yet highly paid) life of corporate law and opt to be a librarian.

As these examples illustrate, the function of market prices is not to dictate how resources are deployed, but rather to let the owners make an informed decision. If there is a tremendous housing shortage, then the rising rental rates will let the parents know just how much someone else would like to use their child's room. And the best trial lawyer in the world will probably not end up as a librarian, because of the outrageous salary he or she would be turning down. Again, the market price of his or her services signals how much others value them.

MARCUS AURELIUS

MARCUS AURELIUS:

The vulgar confine their admiration chiefly to things of an elementary order, which exist by virtue of mere inorganic cohesion or processes of nature: things of timber and stone, for example, or groves of figs and vines and olives. Minds of a somewhat higher degree of enlightenment are attracted by things that have animation, such as flocks and herds. A further step in refinment leads to admiration of the rational soul: rational, however, not yet in the sense of being part of the universal. Reason, but simply as posssessing certain skills in handicraft or other such talents -- or even merely as owning large numbers of slaves. But the man who values a soul that is rational and universal and social no longer cares for anything else, but aims solely at keeping the temper of his own soul and all its activities rational and social, and works together with his fellows to this end.