Aardvark

He sounds like an eminently sensible man. Often resussitation of elderly, terminatially ill people is simply a matter of an undignified prolongment of pain and suffering. There is a huge difference between killing someone and allowing them to die. Eventually we all have to die, hopefully we will be able to do it with a modicum of dignity, not being hooked up to machines and blasted with electric shocks after it has ceased to have any meaning.

As an aside, the dark ages are so know because we know so little about them, the documentary record is highly fragmented. They are not known as the dark ages because they were a time of technological decline. This a common misunderstanding. The 'barbarians' who conquered the Western Roman empire rapidly adapted the old Roman civilisation and developed it further. Many new technologies were developed during the Dark ages. An interesting example is that of the Gothic barbarian invaders of Northern Italy. Within one generation they were putting up public buildings of a greater beauty and sophisication than the previous Romans. The beautiful mosiacs in Ravenna, often mistakenly attributed to the Byzantines, were in fact the product of these dark age barbarians. Art the quality of which is still dazzling with the ability to touch peoples hearts centuries later.

In what way would cheap goods create communism? Lower cost of living isn't the same as communism, just because goods become cheap for me to buy doesn't alter the fact that i still have to work for a living, cheap Chinese goods don't cut my rent or utility bills. That just sounds naive.

Personally, i hope they are both happy. Two people love each other and want to marry. Good for them. Why do so many people feel entitled to pass judgement?

Done a quick FYI in the Sudan thread.

Timetraveller, for more than 20 years the Muslim north of Sudan has tried to impose Sharia law on the entire country. In response the Animist and Christian South tried to break away. This has resulted in a bloody, brutal conflict of ethnic cleansing. The north has the advantage of superior weaponary and has used such tactics as atteacking villages with helicopters to drive all inhabitants out of a region before sending in troops to 'clear up'. Slavery has been clearly established. with northern troops abducting captured women. This is an officially approved tactic to both reward soldiers and spread fear in the Southerners. The North has also engaged in blockading the South, using hunger as a weapon of war. The more people who die or are driven away the weaker the South becomes. However, recently the two main rebel groups in the South have joined forces and the Northern government has been forced into a ceasefire. The Southern rebels are now atempting to rebuild some semblance of civilisation. They have no tools, equipment, money and little food. Bascially they are starting from ground zero with many thousands of desperate refugees, burnt villages and mines scattered randomnly across the country. All this whilst a shaky ceasefire holds with no guarantee that it will last. All this has been completely ignored by everyone. If people had any rational system of evaluting need than there might be some sort of relief for the displaced refugees in Southern Sudan. Maybe some pressure would have been brought on the Sudanese government not to deliberately target civilians. This has been happening for decades. Why does no one know about it? Why does no one care?

I find baked clay tablets to be an excellent method of long term info storage.

This is an important point of principal. If someone is insane, ie not aware of the consequences of their actions, they should not be treated in the same way as someone would is aware of what they are doing (whatever urges or impulses are driving them). It's important to seperate the two catergories. Mad and bad are different.

I think we are in agreement over in broad principle. It's the detail of the implications we are thrashing out. From personal experience i'd say the answer is definitely yes. Some people (quite a lot of people) seem to lack any capacity for meaningful empathy. Here we are in complete agreement. Basically, my positon is that to explain is not to excuse. We are responsible for our actions regardless of our biological impulses, as sentient creatures we must learn to acknowledge and control these impulses, but never use them as excuses. We are independent moral agents with full responsibility for our own actions.

There may be scaremongering, but the fact remains that social security on a 'pay as you go' is not sustainable. As the general population ages there will be fewer workers supporting more retired people. The sensible course is to build up investments in advance. Therefore the current system does need reform. If anyone has any constructive alternatives to Bushes proposals i'd be very interested to hear them.

People mention the atrocities in Darfur, Western Sudan. What about the atrocities committed in Southern Sudan for the past 20 years? Whay have those been forgotten?

As technology becomes more complex humans rely on greater specialisation. It becomes impossible for one person to be an expert in a broad field so individuals narrow the areas of expertise. There is no particular reason to think that things will become forgotten. With the information storage techiques any information forgotten will simply be retrievable from records.

Of course they know. But the only reason they would have to act is public pressure. And the public will only care if they see pictures on the TV. The area is too far away and uncomfortable for journalists so that's not going to happen. If there were some 4 star hotels in the area then there would be a major international relief effort there right now.

I absolutely agree. It seems like if somethings not in the media it doesn't exist. Iraq and the Tsunami are reported heavily in the media so everyone worries about them, but when you mention that thousands of people are suffering and dying right now in Sudan no one seems to give a damn. There are no pictures on TV so therefore these people don't exist. Just how shallow can the human race get?

Just because someone can't help the fact that they are evil doesn't alter the fact that they are evil. I think it is perfectly reasonable to consider that aspects of behaviour are heritable and not to consider that as an excuse. If you commit an act of evil it doesn't really matter why you do it, that doesn't alter the reality of your action in any way. We should be careful not to confuse insanity, the inability to understand the meaning or consequences of action, with impulses to unacceptable behaviour. There is a significant difference of principal. An evil person knows what they are doing is wrong, they just 'can't help themselves'. In short, i agree with your basic premise, some killers kill because it is in their nature. It's just that i don't see that as an excuse. I think people who commit serious crimes should be punished seriously, whatever their nature. I do not however support capital punishment.

Telomeres are obviously crucial, but i think aging is more complex. There are other factors to the decay of the human body over time such as mutation accumulation.

The Associated Press is a collective organisation owned by the US daily newspapers.

Are you refering to the reports that Saddam Hussien was trying to buy yellowcake from Niger for his nuclear weapons programme? If you are, then it is accepted that these reports were false.

Great white sharks are estimated to have a lifespan of around 30 to 40 years. Crocodiles are know for their longevity, but they do grow old and die eventually. It seems that some reptiles do have long lifespans, for instance turtles are well known for living longer than humans. Why this might be i don't know but it might be worth some study for pointers on human longevity.