Liberal view of Government.

[MSimon]

I suspect he has no idea what the significance of that flexibility was, or how it is distinguished from the other advanced monotheistic societies.

Until the fall of the Byzantine Empire, Islam was a notable promoter of empirical enquiry and the scientific method. Its contribution to Optics, Algebra, Astronomy and Medicine is well known.

Until al-Ghazali, who was several centuries BEFORE the Fall of Constantinople.

I have studied this and agree. "The Will of Allah" is not about occasional intervention and "miracles". It is about continual intervention in every minute detail.

Why look for causes when "Allah wills it" is sufficient?

[alexjrgreen]

Actually the concentration camp was an American invention. Used against the Indians. The Austrian Corporal claimed the American invention as his inspiration.

Good research.

British internment of Boers in Second Boer War: 1899 - 1902;

American internment of Cherokees and others: 1830s;

Russian internment of Bar Confederation Poles in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth: 1770s.

[Diogenes]

My understanding is that a Vector is only a direction. For example, { 1,0,0} represents a unit vector in the Positive X dimension.

Yes, a vector is a direction. That metaphor is not working to well, IMHO.

Please! A vector is a direction and a length. One was described mathmatically which you then correctly called a UNIT vector, i.e., a vector of length 1. But vectors can be any length; any direction.

You are of course correct. During the time I was doing 3D programing it became so commonplace for me to regard a vector as a Direction I mostly ignored it's scalar value. There were only a few cases where a vector was used exactly the way it was created. More often than not, I had to unitize it and then multiply it by a scalar. A cross product, most of the time results in a vector that is not a unit vector and you then have to convert it to a unit vector.(to create a "normal.")

It still doesn't describe it's origin in world coordinates. That must be specified. I suppose {0,0,0} could be implied, but {0,0,0} in model coordinates may be something entirely different in World coordinates.

[Diogenes]

Well, you know when you help the ones in need a little bit, it does improve the society as a whole.

Yes. And I'm in favor of that kind of help. If it is done voluntarily.

I think you misunderstand the nature of the problem. Enforced extractions ALWAYS decrease the productivity of the system. One of the reasons is that you then need rules and enforcers. And the rules don't always match the requirements of a given situation. Nor is enforcement equally applied.

So to work the system has to be corrupt. The Soviets found this out. And corruption is a HUGE disincentive.

And rules beget rules. Until the system strangles itself.

It is a wonder that so few Euros took any lessons from the collapse of the Soviet Union. The main difference between the Soviets and the Euros that I can see is that the Euros are going down the tubes at a somewhat slower pace. And the Americans? Same problem at a slower pace than the Euros.

We Americans do have one small advantage. Only about 40% believe in the Euro/Soviet solution.

We have another advantage. The mindset of a people that has always been fiercely independent. We have no history of Kings, so the notion that we will simply obey the diktats from above is a foolish one indeed.

[alexjrgreen]

Until al-Ghazali, who was several centuries BEFORE the Fall of Constantinople.

I have studied this and agree. "The Will of Allah" is not about occasional intervention and "miracles". It is about continual intervention in every minute detail.

Why look for causes when "Allah wills it" is sufficient?

According to Ibn 'Arabi (1165 - 1240) the universe is recreated in every moment with the inbreath and outbreath of Allah. Not so different from modern ideas of Quantum time, or the notion that the universe is the crest of a ripple expanding outwards from the Big Bang.

Arabic science didn't end with Al Ghazali, as the examples I gave easily demonstrate.

[Diogenes]

You were talking to Texans? Oh, that explains it.

Help me real quick, where was your last president from again?

He was ostensibly from Texas, but I think his mindset was from Connecticut. There was too much of his Father in his decisions. From my perspective, it is the Texas part of his mind set that actually got things right. I don't think the decision to invade Iraq was a mistake. Given the information available at the time, it was the sensible thing to do. However, the way he managed the post invasion period was down right stupid.

Seriously though, I lived and worked there (with interruptions) for a total of almost a year while my company was contracted by a texan company...

Not all Texans are loudmouthed and Childish. Most of them are quite sensible. However, they have so many that are loud mouthed and childish, that when you hear an American acting loud mouthed and childish, there's a good bet he's from Texas.

On a side note, one of my Favorite bumper stickers is:

"I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could!"

Futher I think it is a necissity for everyone to have as broad an education as possible. I know that this is contrary to the thinking in the US, but that is also why European immigrants usually have a rather easy time in the US. A too specialized education results in what we call "Fach Idiot" (someone who knows nothing beyond his speciality).

This type of person reminds me of something Ronald Reagan said: "That's so foolish only an intellectual could believe it."

[alexjrgreen]

However, the way he managed the post invasion period was down right stupid.

We are paying a very heavy price for the mismanagement -- that's the kindest word I can give you -- of Donald Rumsfeld, of this war. The price is very, very heavy and I regret it enormously. I think that Donald Rumsfeld will go down in history as one of the worst secretaries of defense in history.

John McCain, 19 Feb 2007

[Diogenes]

However, the way he managed the post invasion period was down right stupid.

We are paying a very heavy price for the mismanagement -- that's the kindest word I can give you -- of Donald Rumsfeld, of this war. The price is very, very heavy and I regret it enormously. I think that Donald Rumsfeld will go down in history as one of the worst secretaries of defense in history.

John McCain, 19 Feb 2007

Paul Bremer deserves much of the Blame, but Ultimately George W. Bush is responsible. I cannot believe that the extremely foolish decisions made by Paul Bremer could have occurred without White House approval.

[Skipjack]

You are of course correct. During the time I was doing 3D programing it became so commonplace for me to regard a vector as a Direction I mostly ignored it's scalar value. There were only a few cases where a vector was used exactly the way it was created. More often than not, I had to unitize it and then multiply it by a scalar. A cross product, most of the time results in a vector that is not a unit vector and you then have to convert it to a unit vector.(to create a "normal.")

It still doesn't describe it's origin in world coordinates. That must be specified. I suppose {0,0,0} could be implied, but {0,0,0} in model coordinates may be something entirely different in World coordinates.

Of course we both know these things. However, it is not relevant for the metaphor. I understood your metaphor and was trying to spin it further with my idea. That just did not work to well.
Anyway, what I meant was that it depends on where you are standing whether you regard someone left or right of you.
Well that is unless you are on the most extreme end one way or the other, but then you are most likely wrong anyway.

Actually the concentration camp was an American invention. Used against the Indians. The Austrian Corporal claimed the American invention as his inspiration.

Ok, maybe I got that wrong. I am pretty sure that it was Churchill who was the first to call them "concentration camps". I am kinda tired today so I might be mixing things up.

Here in America we do an excellent job educating our best and brightest.

Sure, your best and brightest have an excellent education, if they are rich enough to afford it.
I do think though that our average has a pretty decent education, better than the education of your average.

[Skipjack]

Where did all the Euro Socialists come from?

Where did all the US Intelligent Design believers come from?

[TallDave]

Where did all the Euro Socialists come from?

Where did all the US Intelligent Design believers come from?

It's called "freedom of religion." You guys had ovens for Jews. I don't think you're in position to criticize us on that one.

I do think though that our average has a pretty decent education, better than the education of your average.

It's funny, everyone pulls ahead of the U.S. in junior and high school, but then suddenly post high school Americans become the most productive workforce in the world. Capitalism is the best teacher.

My family was firmly middle class, my wife's family was close to Third World. We both work in very well-paid technical positions.

[TallDave]

However, the way he managed the post invasion period was down right stupid.

The disastrous light footprint strategy was no more or less than the conventional wisdom of the time. Everyone thought the Iraqis could self-govern and that our major responsibility was not to be too overbearing (hence the great effort to, for instance, allow Iraqis to write their own Constitution rather than imposing one as we did in Germany and Japan). As it turned out, the pathology of the Baathists had so eroded basic civility and liberal institutions that ethnosectarian thugs quickly emerged as the new power centers.

Nevertheless, the Petraeus "population first" strategy and the evolving competence of the U.S.-trained Iraqi Army eventually turned things around and now Iraq is the closest thing to a major Arab liberal democracy the region has ever seen, a staggering achievement at relatively small cost by historical standards. Life is better for Iraqis by virtually every measure of liberty and prosperity.

And Iraq has wide implications. People in Iran are noticing that Iraq has real elections. The Syrian border tribes are becoming more defiant towards Damascus (46 years of "emergency powers?" really?). The new Iraqi government doesn't seem interested in fomenting or funding Palestinian violence.

[MSimon]

Until al-Ghazali, who was several centuries BEFORE the Fall of Constantinople.

I have studied this and agree. "The Will of Allah" is not about occasional intervention and "miracles". It is about continual intervention in every minute detail.

Why look for causes when "Allah wills it" is sufficient?

According to Ibn 'Arabi (1165 - 1240) the universe is recreated in every moment with the inbreath and outbreath of Allah. Not so different from modern ideas of Quantum time, or the notion that the universe is the crest of a ripple expanding outwards from the Big Bang.

Arabic science didn't end with Al Ghazali, as the examples I gave easily demonstrate.

Here is a post I did on the subject:

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/200 ... berty.html

BTW the difference between "the Will Of Allah" and quantum mechanics is measurement. And of course the reason Islam never attempted to measure the Will of Allah is that it is immeasurable - by definition.

[MSimon]

Sure, your best and brightest have an excellent education, if they are rich enough to afford it.

It is actually pretty egalitarian. My kids got a class AAA education and during the time my kids were in school I was as poor as a church mouse due to some reverses.

#2 Son got a full ride at the University of Chicago (unofficial school motto - "If I had wanted an 'A' I'd have gone to Harvard"). #1 daughter is getting educated at the University of Illinois (George Miley's home) on scholarship. #3 son is getting a lot of help at Northern Illinois University (a very fine engineering school).

America has a pretty good system for scouting talent and investing in it.

The less talent you have the worse the education. Which is not too bad. No point in putting resources where they will not profit you.

And there is also ghetto culture to contend with. Look up "acting white". Some kids don't want an education.

[MSimon]

Where did all the Euro Socialists come from?

Where did all the US Intelligent Design believers come from?

Bad thinking.

I must say though that the ID folks have done much less harm than the Socialists.