But why is sex so bad? In my book sex is something people do voluntarily. If the sex is involuntary then it’s violence. But the prudery and moral grandstanding around sex is always about the voluntary kind.

It’s like when Bill Clinton got put on the ropes for his oral sex adventures with Monica. The whole nation was up in arms that the President of the USA would deign to give in to such base urges. But what was all the hoopla about? After all, wasn’t this sex activity voluntary?

On the other hand, no one complains when the President of the USA initiates war (without Congressional approval) – like in Iraq – which ends up killing thousands of innocents.

War is good. Sex is bad.

It also reminds me of how John Lennon was “hated” for his promotion of love/sex and condemnation of war. “Give peace a chance” he and Yoko chanted – but apparently it was too much for some people, and he was murdered.

A society which condemns sex, but praises war, is a sick society for sure.

Consensual sex has no victims, and it’s no one’s business but those involved. War, on the other hand, creates nothing but victims – and is honored and sanctified by those on high.

I was reminded of this moral inversion when reading an article by Johnny Punish – Teacher Student Sex Puts American Culture on Trial - which looks at the trial of former Ohio high school teacher, Stacy Schuler, and ponders over the weird morality that would so severely punish someone for what was clearly a voluntary arrangement, while letting off those who promote war and violence scott free.

To me, Steve Jobs represents everything that is magnificent about man – his creativity, his drive, his energy and his ability to inspire others, not to mention his very real contribution to the global communication revolution that is ongoing.

But it’s more personal than that.

Back in 1986 I was a struggling musician looking for a new way forward, and when I first came across the Apple Macintosh computer, and its companion laser printer, I was inspired to take an entirely different direction in life. You see, that particular “revolution” was known as “desktop publishing” – the ability to create copy and artwork right on a computer and have it printed out exactly as created – without the need for traditional typesetting.

That revolution enabled me to build an entirely new business based on a magazine – which I created in-house, using my beloved Mac and laser printer. And that original business success propelled me forward to where I am today.

What I know for sure is, the inspiration that led to my first business idea was entirely due to the emergence of the technology to make it possible – the Mac.

Since then I have continuously used Macs in my various businesses, and without the technological foresight and innovation brought to market by Steve Jobs, I cannot see how I would have ended up where I am now.

For that I owe Steve Jobs a debt of gratitude, and he will always remain a hero of mine.

Addendum: The video below is an unaired version of Apple’s famous 1997 “Think Different” ad – narrated by Steve Jobs himself.

The measure of the man …

Barrack Obama, Benjamin Netanyahu, or Mahmoud Abbas?

I’ve read the full transcripts of each of their speeches to the UN – and have arrived at the following conclusion:

Obama – the strawman

Netanyahu – the conman

Abbas – the statesman

I watched the TV news and saw individuals and gangs brazenly smashing shop windows and helping themselves to whatever they wanted. I tried to get inside their heads, to try and understand what could possibly motivate them to do such outrageous things.

And what about the violence? What can account for this open display of disregard for law and order, commonly accepted morality, and general decency?

Lots of people are offering lots of explanations – from the so-called left and right wings of society. “Criminals” or “victims”? Depends on your political viewpoint it seems. But I see something much more obvious – at least to me.

Those who ran the streets taking whatever they wanted were doing no more than they have been taught to do by the system.

The state is an institution that survives by looting and violence. If it’s okay for the state to take money forcibly from your pocket, in order to pay the rent of someone who has no money – why not let the hapless renter steal the money directly from you instead? And if it’s okay for the state to steal your hard-earned money to pay a financial benefit to those without – so they can buy the latest iPad, computer or LED TV – why not just let them steal such things from the shop directly?

Same with violence. If we are all taught that differences must be dealt with by violence – as in inter-state relations (read wars and more wars), then why be shocked when people take violence into their own hands to get what they want? After all, this is what we have all be taught since we were young.

Looting and violence are built into the system. And what’s truly surprising about the UK’s recent bout of it, is that the whole population didn’t join in! After all, we’ve all been educated in the same brainwashing centres (schools), and all been immersed in the same cultural soup of lack of respect for life and property.

No, the big surprise of these riots was that most ordinary people did NOT join in – and somehow, against all the odds, held themselves to a higher morality than those who govern them.

The shape of things to come? Silver Shield certainly thinks so in his essay:

5 Reasons Why American Riots Will Be The Worst in The World