I was about to write an upbeat post about Stephen Hawking joining the Boycott Israel movement based on early reports:
http://news.yahoo.com/even-stephen-hawkings-joining-fight-palestinian-freedom-024837547.html
but within a matter of hours it seems he has been pressured to back down and instead cite health reasons for not attending:
http://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/stephen-hawking-boycotts-top-israeli-conference-083504255.html
Let’s see what happens next.
Prof. Hawking, as a fan of yours when I was in school, I sincerely hope you can be remembered in history not just as a cosmologist but as someone who stood up against Jewish tyranny. If you openly boycott Israel, you will inspire many young cosmologists to get involved who might not have otherwise done so. Cosmologists tend to be solid thinkers, and if only a fraction of them could become anti-Zionists, it would help raise the intellectual calibre of the discussion (which has suffered decline for many years ever since the old-guard conspiracy sleuths were deliberately inundated with racist idiots as part of the Zionist countermeasure to exposure).
_____
UPDATE
Hawking’s boycott decision has been positively confirmed! Yay!
“I accepted the invitation to the Presidential Conference with the intention that this would not only allow me to express my opinion on the prospects for a Peace Settlement but also because it would allow me to lecture on the West Bank. However, I have received a number of emails from Palestinian academics. They are unanimous that I should respect the boycott. In view of this, I must withdraw from the conference. Had I attended, I would have stated my opinion that the policy of the present Israeli government is likely to lead to disaster.” - Stephen Hawking
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/08/a-brief-history-of-stephen-hawking-s-boycott.html
This will definitely help anti-Zionism in Britain as a whole, so it’s not like we are counting on Scotland only - there is hope in England and Wales too!
By the way, for newcomers, here is the list of brands to boycott:
In my opinion Hawking and his ilk are predominantly perpetuating the Jew and their spiritless beliefs. Hawking and Dawkins are cut from the same cloth.
Very few intellectuals and scientists would renounce the Jew, since humans are essentially greedy and wouldn’t give up their fame and wealth and their chosen science’s future funding.
Hawking is doing this, but I think he is doing it unintentionally. I think his views on religion fall far short of the truth, but this does not invalidate his scientific ideas, which I value and am glad he has developed. I too was a fan of him when I was in school!
And I wouldn’t say ‘humans’ are essentially greedy, since we are trying to promote the ideal of a heroic, non-greedy human being (which has actually existed throughout history in small numbers.) The main idea of the site is to try to change human nature or recognise multiple versions of human nature and promote one over the others, not put everyone in the same category and accept that this is the way it is.
‘we are trying to promote the ideal of a heroic, non-greedy human being (which has actually existed throughout history in small numbers.’
Exactly. Not all humans, just most of them. I think selfishness is essentially and Jew/Gentile trait and this is reflected in every creed, race, culture. Very few humans are selfless and will do what is right even in the temptations of easy capital, sex and fame.
As a fan of Hawking’s scientific ideas, I am glad to see that he is personally taking a stand against Israeli violence. Certainly someone as intelligent as Hawking has the ability to see the flaws and corrupt attitudes in the Israeli government. I found this statement from the conference chairman Israel Maimon disturbing:
“The use of an academic boycott against Israel is outrageous and improper, particularly for those to whom the spirit of liberty is the basis of the human and academic mission. Israel is a democracy in which everyone can express their opinion, whatever it may be. A boycott decision is incompatible with open democratic discourse,” Maimon fumed.
So according to Maimon, boycotting, which is a form of protest, is incompatible with democratic discourse? Eh, I think Hawking’s discourse seems pretty clear to me.
Anthony: What are your reasons for Hawking to be making a bold anti-Israel statement unintentional? He may not be a man of religion, but that does not mean that an atheist cannot stand up against slavery and racism.
From how I read the articles, I don’t think Hawking is doing anything unintentionally. I think that there was an attempt made by him, or his spokespeople to save face, which was the reason behind the health issue claim.
Also, I have always taken Hawking’s view of religion to be inspiring and food for thought. It is important to rethink old beliefs that call for the enslavement of the human mind and retard the ability to question our existence or our place within the Universe. How can you find answers if you don’t pose questions that challenge assumptions or current beliefs? His search for truth is above all what I admire.
I sincerely hope that his alignment with Israel is his stance of opposition to the atrocities being committed by Zionists and that the above information from the articles is correct. It will be interesting to see if he has anything more to say on the subject.
I didn’t mean that Stephen Hawking’s anti-Israel statements are unintentional, Phoenix. I was replying to what Mandrake said - ‘Hawking and his ilk are predominantly perpetuating the Jew and their spiritless beliefs’. Sorry - I can see that was ambiguous.
I agree with you that we should question old beliefs, and am not against Atheism (absence in the belief of God), although I think there is a good chance that there is a God. I’m against materialism and scientism, which Hawking believes in. But I would still rather side with him over a fundamentalist Christian or a Salafist!
Ahh rereading that now I get what you were saying Anthony! Thanks for clarifying. And I can see now why, mandrake, you made the comment that you did. The rest was just me thinking aloud, which happens.
Personally I find myself drawn to Buddhism and some of the teachings of Jesus. It is difficult to explain why, but I suppose the ideas of great sacrifice, simple living, inner peace, and responsibility of ones actions appeal to me. I do not know if there is a God, but my own idea of God is one of an eternal force that contains, and is composed of all things. Above all, ridding oneself of negative thoughts, emotions, and actions (like selfishness) is impossible to do if we remain swallowed up in a Jewish run Capitalist society.
Because, a society imposed by those ideas feeds of of it self, in a way. Capitalism gives people a crutch to hoard and consume, and feeds on innate selfish desires of many people. How many belongings do we need before we have enough? How much money!? How many ‘precious’ gems? How many shoes, t-shirts, cigarettes, drinks, tattoos, lovers etc. before we are Finally satisfied? Never enough. A stone of the earth, despite its sparkle, has no value. It has no voice to say ‘I am worth this much in potatoes, in money, in the blood of your children’ Whatever. It has no labor behind it, and it is the symbol of self destruction, the diamond…
Forgive my ramblings, just expressing some thoughts.
@ Phoenix
I’ve studied Buddhism for many years. Extensively so. I was raised on gnostic Christianity. One thing I’ve taken from my years of learning is that there’s more to learn.
“Love all living things whose humble task is not opposed in any way to yours, to ours: men with simple hearts, honest, without vanity and malice, and all the animals, because they are beautiful, without exception and without exception indifferent to whatever “idea” there may be.” Savitri Devi
@Phoenix: Yes - even in the gospels we can see that Jesus said some great things. It’s just been mixed in with trash. I spent much of my life hating Christianity because of the version of it I was brought up on and thinking that it was a scam to make people passive and obedient, but I eventually considered that there could be some truth in it and it had been mixed with lies, so I read the gospels and developed my own theories. Jesus says some great things in the gospels, but people who did want to turn Christianity into a corrupting influence and force for social control have mixed it with bile. And much of the New testament is just trash. I even took a copy of the New Testament and ripped out everything after the gospels and threw it in the bin. The words of Jesus are probably best recorded in works like this: http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/gthlamb.html
I think Christianity is compatible with Buddhism. There are theories that Jesus spent time in India studying things like Buddhism during the years that aren’t recorded in the Bible.
You’re right about accumulation. Many people just want more. They aren’t bothered that there is no goal or purpose to accumulating things. It’s interesting that you should mention diamonds. There is evidence that diamonds are actually very common, but the companies controlling their trade have conspired to convince people they are rare so they can sell them at high prices. http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/frontline-the-diamond-empire/
“There are theories that Jesus spent time in India studying things like Buddhism during the years that aren’t recorded in the Bible.”
Mauryan missionaries had also reached Egypt before Jesus’ time, so any study of Buddhism that Jesus undertook could have occurred much closer to home.
At the same time, I consider it entirely feasible for Jesus, being the philosophical genius he was, to have independently derived Gnostic Christianity without knowledge of Buddhism.
But (and this is the point that never gets mentioned enough), if Jesus had studied Buddhism, it was likely that he would have been studying a version of it closer to Siddhartha’s original teachings than the Buddhism we know today. It is dangerous to assume that Buddhism has not been corrupted since its own founding, in fact Siddhartha himself warned that corruption of Buddhism following his death would be almost certain.
I don’t think Jesus studied Buddhism. The core tenets of both religions - Eternal soul vs no soul, a creator God as a pose to dependent origination.
Eternal soul vs. no soul:
Jesus said, “Blessed is the lion which becomes man when consumed by man; and cursed is the man whom the lion consumes, and the lion becomes man.” (GT 7)
If they ask you, ‘What is the sign of your father in you?’, say to them, ‘It is movement and repose.’” (GT 50)
Jesus said, “Whoever has come to understand the world has found (only) a corpse, and whoever has found a corpse is superior to the world.” (GT 56)
He said to them, “While it is alive, he will not eat it [the lamb], but only when he has killed it and it has become a corpse.”
They said to him, “He cannot do so otherwise.”
He said to them, “You too, look for a place for yourself within repose, lest you become a corpse and be eaten.” (GT 60)
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You can hear it, but do not know where it’s coming from or where it is going. so it is with everyone born of the spirit. (John 3:8)
http://www.activistpost.com/2013/05/us-business-owners-can-be-fined-and.html?m=1
Yup.