News from the Believers: Venereal Disease

After what happened to Akin when he spoke about "legitimate" rape, you'd think the followers of Miriam Godwinson would be a bit more careful when speaking to members of other factions. But you would be wrong.

A state senator (not an epidemiologist) from Tennessee,  Stacey Campfield, recently mused on the nature of the AIDS virus recently: “It was one guy screwing a monkey, if I recall correctly, and then having sex with men. It was an airline pilot, if I recall."

He then went on to claim that it is "not completely, but virtually" impossible for heterosexuals to contract the AIDS virus.

Miriam Godwinson would applaud her fellow faction member for underscoring the safety of the world provided that humans remember and abide by the proper rules.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/26/gop-lawmaker-virtually-impossible-to-get-aids-through-heterosexual-sex/

News from the University: Arctic Apples

Scientists have developed fruit that will never spoil.

The inventor behind the project "believes that the Arctic Apple is completely safe for human consumption, and that it doesn’t pose a threat to other growers."

Prokhor Zakharov would be pleased.

http://www.fastcoexist.com/1680290/meet-the-company-that-wants-to-make-your-fruit-perfect-and-genetically-engineered

News from the Believers: Todd Akin

Todd Akin, a candidate for a senate seat in Missouri, recently made shocking but not surprising comments a few days ago, suggesting that women who are raped "legitimately" rarely conceive pregnancies. Apparently he was influenced by physicians in the pro-life movement who believe that the female body will not allow a fertilized egg to implant in the uterus if the sexual act was unpleasant. This would be nice if it were true. Did Akin mean to imply that women who conceive from forced entries secretly wanted the children and enjoyed the rape?

Miriam Godwinson would congratulate Akin for his faith in a providentially designed universe.

The Onion had quite a bit of sardonic fun with Akin's claim.

"Pregnant Woman Relieved To Learn Her Rape Was Illegitimate"
"I Misspoke—What I Meant To Say Is 'I Am Dumb As Dog Shit And I Am A Terrible Human Being'"
"Republicans Condemn Akin's Comments As Blemish On Party's Otherwise Spotless Women's Rights Record"

News from the Hive: Chinese Pools

Apparently, Chinese swimming pools are very popular but also very dirty. According to this story, 90% of the water in one Chinese pool was either feces or urine. That number seems implausibly high to me, but the pools are certainly crowded. Chairman Yang would celebrate the unity of the people as they visit their own recycling tanks.

http://www.amusingplanet.com/2012/08/chinese-swimming-pools-most-crowded-and.html

Introduction

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is one of the most enjoyable strategy games ever produced. It combines the famously engrossing gameplay of the Civilization series with a very compelling plot, incorporating a living and proactive natural setting and late-20th century ideological conflicts. At the beginning of the game, players choose one to play as one of seven factions, rather than as a "nation" like Rome or Russia, and each of these factions has an ideological imperative. They are as follows:

Gaia's Stepdaughters - Airy Biocentrism; an exaggerated version of a Green activism from Australia
The Human Hive - Brutal Collectivism; an exaggerated version of Chinese communism
University of Planet - Amoral Technologism; an exaggerated version of Russian scientific utopianism
Morgan Industries - Ruthless Free Marketeering; an accurate version of Ayn Rand's Objectivism
The Spartan Federation - Belligerent Militarism; an exaggerated version of American survivalism
Lord's Believers - Intransigent Religiosity; an exaggerated version of American fundamentalism
Peacekeeping Forces - Soft-headed pacifism; an exaggerated version of Chamberlain's methods

Each of these factions has "natural" enemies and allies. The Peacekeepers and the Spartans are simply never going to get along, so you're likely to gain an enemy from your first turn. However, other factions are more or less compatible, depending upon the player's choices.

What is truly intriguing is the degree to which the factions are all alive today and active in the world. Indeed, the American Republican Party of 2012 is something of a coalition of Morgan Industries, the Spartan Federation, and the Lord's Believers, while the American Democratic Party is an amalgam of Gaia's Stepdaughers, University of Planet, and the Peacekeeping Forces.

I started this blog to document when one of the factions does or says something that appears in the news.