I Look Forward To

Why terror has won the war on America, and not the other way around.

I’m temporarily breaking off my blog-hiatus to say this:

Although this is ordinarily a blog about the future, I today want to step out of that realm and use this forum to discuss a topic that is on everybody’s mind.

An unarmed man and his son were executed without a trial, on Monday. His house was invaded in the morning hours by men armed with automatic weapons. They killed the father and the son, and shot his wife, who was trying to protect her husband, in the leg. The armed men then left with the body and eventually dropped it into the ocean. Upon learning this news, a whole country joined in on an unbridled celebration.

Way to earn that Nobel Peace Prize, Obama.

The day America celebrated murder, was the day Bin Laden won. It took him more than a decade, and it cost him his life, but he did not mind that. Martyrdom was what he always wanted anyway. This guy lived to die.

Osama won. He never said he wanted to kill all Americans. He wanted America to bankrupt itself, which it has done, economically and morally.

The assassination, rather than capture and trial (as is customary in free countries ruled by law), combined with the ensuing gloat-fest on the streets of America, is an insult to the values this country pretends to defend.

In one sweeping motion, the US simultaneously infringed on Pakistan’s sovereignty, violated its own and international law, the human rights and a plethora of treaties and conventions to which the country subscribes.

Osama bin Laden should have received due process, not for his sake, but for America’s. Instead, the US is perpetuating a cycle of hate, and Americans are becoming what they claim to detest. Do you remember seeing Iranians on TV celebrating in the streets after 9/11? I bet that made you pretty angry.

How quickly we forget when the shoe is on the other foot.

The assassination was celebrated across the nation as the country’s proudest moment since 9/11. It’s not a good sign if America's greatest achievement in the last ten years is that it has shot someone in the head.

Everyone of course remembers the tragic events of September 11th. 10 years, trillions of tax dollars and 6,000 servicemen later, America killed one guy. Bravo.

So now what? Did we win the war on terror? Will they close Guantanamo? Will they leave Afghanistan? Will Al-Qaeda say “Well, I guess they won” and go home? Of course not. I'd be glad to celebrate the death of terrorism, but not the death of one man. It’s funny how America thinks it can measure its safety in corpses. It’s time the US asks itself what motivated all this terrorism in the first place.

Executing people without giving them a fair trial? I used to think that was a characteristic of despots like Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong Il and Stalin.

It doesn't matter how many times you say God bless America. Murder is still murder.

 

5 Life Logging Devices – No Moment Left Uncaptured

As consumer electronics prices continue their steady decline, we see the contours of a future in which our entire lives can be easily and cheaply recorded for posterity: Where you left your keys, who said what in that argument and how many cups of coffee you had in the last month are all things we’ll be able to access easily. Here is an overview of where life-logging technology is today, and where it’s taking us next.

Can we end war by 2050? - A discussion with Matt Ridley and Phil Bowermaster

Ever since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the number of armed conflicts around the world has been steadily declining, and continues to do so. Is warfare really part of human nature or will it vanish in the future because circumstances allow it? Author Matt Ridley and Phil Bowermaster elaborate.

Four Brain Controlled Devices – The Coming Mind Power Wave

In the near future, you'll be able to drive a car, send email or play video games using nothing but your thoughts. The number of doors which a well functioning brain-computer interface could open are nearly limitless. Here is but a small selection of areas where it is being applied right now.

3D Printing’s Near Future – Download New Shoes and Print them out at Home

3D printing technology is maturing and on the verge of radically changing the rules for what, how and where everything is made, as manufacturing literally comes home.

How 3D printing works

Let’s say you’re an engineer. You’ve made a design of a bridge with your CAD software, and you wonder how it will hold up in real life. There was a time when you’d have to cut and glue and paint your own prototypes, but with a 3D printer you just click a button and wait.

Picture an inkjet that not only moves horizontally, but also vertically. The 3D printer builds layer upon layer of, for instance, plaster dust, and fuses it together with a laser or tiny drops of glue. Gradually, the object takes form, and after a couple of hours you’ve got yourself a prototype.

Food in the future – Cleaner, cheaper and healthier

Nutrition will take on new dimensions in the future, that much is certain. But in which particular ways will we change what and how we eat? Here’s a quick look at some ideas that may revolutionize food, if we’ll only let them.

China to have the world's largest megacity (42 million inhabitants) in 2017.

City planners in southern China have laid out an ambitious plan to merge together the nine cities that lie around the Pearl River Delta.

The "Turn The Pearl River Delta Into One" scheme will create a 16,000 sq mile urban area that is 26 times larger geographically than Greater London, or twice the size of Wales, over the course of the next 6 years.

Things happen fast in China.

Read on.

The Eradication of Illness – 10 Diseases We’ll Cure in the Next 20 Years

Together with David Pearce and Phil Bowermaster I’ve been brainstorming about which diseases medicine looks set to tackle over the coming two decades. Thanks to gene manipulation, stem cell research and nanotechnology, many of today’s most murderous maladies face brutal annihilation at the merciless hands of medical science.

A Peek into the Future of the TV – Flexible “Roll-up” Screens, Holograms and Contact Lens TVs

As with almost every other piece of consumer electronics, the television technology is on an accelerating track of development. The way we watch TV and movies will change beyond recognition in the coming decade. Here are some of the breakthroughs in store.

Ebook Launch: 9 Things to Look Forward to in 2030

Friends,

Today I am pleased to launch my new e-guide 9 Things to Look Forward to in 2030. I am very excited to share this with you - free of charge.

What will your life be like in 2030? Will you fly or drive to work? Will you take holidays in space? How long will you live? How will cities look? Is your girlfriend made in a factory?

The book introduces nine aspects of life in 2030 that we can look forward to, as well as interviews with Aubrey de Grey, George Dvorsky, Michael Anissimov, Phil Bowermaster, Aaron Saenz and David Pearce.

The guide also includes two bonus chapters:  

The Single Most Significant Technological Development in the Next 20 Years

and

8 Ways in Which the Human Condition is Improving.

To get your copy of 9 Things to Look Forward to in 2030, simply fill in your email address here and I'll send it to you.

I hope you enjoy this, and feel free to share it with anyone.

Best wishes,

Christian