Einstein, God and Controversy

Albert Einstein’s death was in 1955. Yet, decades after, there are occasions where his works or letters are in the news; and stirs controversy. In an Einstein letter that will be auctioned, the Nobel Prize physicist states:

“…Einstein writes “the word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.”

Born to a Jewish family in Germany in 1879, he also adds that “for me, the Jewish religion like all other religions is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions.”"

link: Belief in God a ‘product of human weaknesses’: Einstein letter

The controversy that the letters stirs certainly would appeal to Einstein’s sense of humour.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/

[tag]albert einstein, religion, letter, controversy, humour[/tag]

Compounding the Myanmar Disaster

The military rulers of Myanmar seem to be determined to keep out the world and allow their fellow citizens to suffer. Allowed to contunue, another wave of disaster and death will follow the cyclone catastrophe:

“YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Police barred foreign aid workers from reaching cyclone survivors in hard-hit areas Tuesday, while emergency food shipments backed up at the main airport for Myanmar’s biggest city.

Relief workers reported some storm survivors were being given spoiled or poor-quality food rather than nutrition-rich biscuits sent by international donors, adding to fears that the ruling military junta in the Southeast Asian country could be misappropriating assistance.”

link: Myanmar police block aid workers, food piles up

Clearly, this is a ‘crime against humanity’. With each passing day, the death toll mounts. The international community cannot delay.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/

[tag]cyclone relief, crimes against humanity, military junta, relief workers[/tag]

Jordan Farmar: A Coaching Dilemma

Phil Jackson, the head coach of the L.A. Lakers, has a point guard problem. The problem is what to do with Jordan Farmar, his backup for Derek Fisher. Jordan Farmar has not been able to score in Game Three nor in Game Four, against the Utah Jazz. The series swings back to a critical Game Five in Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 14. It seems that Phil Jackson has three options:

• Option One: Bench Jordan Farmar and not play him. Jordan Farmar has been in an offensive slump and he has been unable to stop Deron Williams. The down side of benching this young player is what it does to his confidence. Will it have long term consequences?
• Option Two: Play Jordan Farmar and see if he has learned anything from the previous four games in this series. Jordan Farmar has the speed to keep up with Deron Williams but he lacks the upper body strength. Can Jordan Farmar compensate for this lack for strength and match the physical play of Utah? The struggle that Jordan Farmar has had in this series is obvious. The Utah coaching staff will be looking to exploit it even more in Game Five. Does Phil Jackson risk his young point guard being thoroughly exposed? What will that do to Jordan Farmar’s confidence?
• Option Three: Play Jordan Farmar and key the defense to stop Deron Williams. This may mean sending a double-team to stop the Utah point guard. The risk is that the rotation of the defense has to be quick enough so that the helper for Jordan Farmar in turn receives help. It means being active and precisely aggressive on defense. Jordan Farmar will have to funnel Deron Williams into the help traffic and trust that the help will come. And on the offensive end, Phil Jackson has to trust that a Jordan Farmar shot will find the netting and that will change the mentality of the current offensive slump.

This is the type of decision for which Phil Jackson is paid millions of dollars to make. It is drama. It is the mental part of the game that goes beyond just athletic ability. - And here is where basketball fans do some ‘back seat driving’ and speculate. I would play Jordan Farmar. He is part of the what has brought the team this far. Let’s see if he has the ‘championship stuff’. There is one sure way to find out - and that is by playing him - and trusting him.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster

Vista Losing Corporate Business

Microsoft is losing corporate business. The business sector is reluctant to upgrade to the Vista operating system:

“…General Motors may take a detour around Vista, the latest computer operating system from Microsoft. The automaker has encountered so many speed bumps getting Vista to work on its machines that it may just wait for the next version of Windows, due in 2010 or 2011.

“We’re considering bypassing Vista and going straight to Windows 7,” says GM’s Chief Systems & Technology Officer Fred Killeen.”

link: Corporate America’s rejection of Vista

Not only is this a blow to the profit picture, it is a stinging statement of non confidence. The long term damage to Microsoft comes when corporate America starts to look for alternatives.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster