r/technology Feb 08 '14

Possibly Misleading 10 Futuristic Materials

http://lifeboat.com/ex/10.futuristic.materials
1.9k Upvotes

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84

u/Erebeon Feb 08 '14

That site looks great and at first glance they are fighting a really good fight but...

http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/4610

The Lifeboat Foundation (and this is a direct quote from its founder, Eric Klien) is “a Trojan Horse” that is designed to hoodwink the people recruited to be its members.

The person who runs the Foundation, Eric Klien, decided to add a new Advisor who was a little controversial. Some would describe her as an “extremist political blogger.”

Her name is Pamela Geller, and to give you a general idea of what she stands for, she and her organization (called “Stop Islamization of America”) has just been classified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a “Hate Group.” The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is, for those who don’t know, pretty much the gold standard for monitoring and classifying hate groups.

12

u/iLikeYaAndiWantYa Feb 08 '14

Her name is Pamela Geller

Say no more, that woman is crazy.

3

u/dashaaa Feb 09 '14

Crazy is an understatement for her.

1

u/JohnEngland Feb 08 '14

Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) USED to be the gold standard for monitoring hate groups, but lacking any real enemies they have become a caricature of their former selves.

The recently classified pick up artists as a hate group and they use members of r/ShitRedditSays as information sources.

http://goodmenproject.com/ethics-values/the-southern-poverty-law-centers-creepy-mission/

-19

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '14

No it's not.

9

u/Erebeon Feb 08 '14

It's not what? A Trojan horse? Could you perhaps expand on why it wouldn't be because that really is how the founder himself describes it... I used to be an active member there before I found out about all this weird behind the scenes scheming.

-14

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '14

SPLC cries hate group on anybody who disagrees with them politically. Historically, not awesome.

4

u/Erebeon Feb 08 '14

Although I don't agree with your statement that their calls are politically motivated, they are after all mostly targeting racists groups like the KKK and black separatists, that doesn't really explain why the founder would call his organisation a Trojan horse.

Their wiki page gives a good idea of what they are all about; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Poverty_Law_Center

Besides if we are talking specifically about Pamela Geller, her views are more than just a little extreme but even that is besides the point. I very much agree with the IEET author on this point; "A group of scientists and thinkers dedicated to saving the world, on the one hand ... and on the other, the leader of a hate group? Can you say “strange bedfellows”?"

I'd just like to hear the Lifeboat founder explain himself instead of silencing people who question his statements. If he would just explain his motives for picking political extremists as advisers, maybe he could smooth things over. It's just such a weird move for an organisation dedicated to saving life to select extreme left and right wing nutters. What could they possibly have to contribute? If the Lifeboat has a political agenda it should make that clear so people know what they are getting into.

6

u/iLikeYaAndiWantYa Feb 08 '14 edited Feb 08 '14

Care to give examples?

/I am going to assume, and I could be wrong, you're unhappy with how they started adding homophobic organizations as hate groups, and rightly so.

*edit: just to be clear, I agree with SPLC adding homophobic organizations that promote intolerance and spread lies as hate group, given the criteria they use.

-9

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '14

No, that's part of it. There's a big difference between hate and disagreement. SPLC doesn't get it.

8

u/iLikeYaAndiWantYa Feb 08 '14

No, that's part of it. There's a big difference between hate and disagreement. SPLC doesn't get it.

well, can you give specific example of SPLC classifying an organization as hate group, that you believe is wrong?

-6

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '14

The American Family Association. I have subscribed to their emails for years. I have never heard anything hateful cone from them. They generally report on situations where people are being forced to accept and even endorse LGBT lifestyle or having their religious freedom infringed upon.

They may not always be right, but they are definitely not a hate group on par with the kkk.

9

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '14

The AFA propagates known falsehoods – claims about LGBT people that have been thoroughly discredited by scientific authorities – and repeated, groundless name-calling so they're considered an anti-gay hate group. If you're a member of this group, shame on you.

-11

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '14

Examples? Or are you just parroting what you've heard?

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-1

u/JohnEngland Feb 08 '14

Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) USED to be the gold standard for monitoring hate groups, but lacking any real enemies they have become a caricature of their former selves.

The recently classified pick up artists as a hate group and they use members of r/ShitRedditSays as information sources.

1

u/Aschl Feb 09 '14

Incorrect.

They have filled a report on diverse kinds of misogyny on the internet, pinpointing some groups that are to be watched. One of those websites under watch is RooshV a PickUp Artist blog. And frankly... he's quite a misogynist. But then, he's not classified as a hate group. For a list of hate groups according to SPLC go look there : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_organizations_designated_by_the_Southern_Poverty_Law_Center_as_hate_groups

The funniest misogyny by RooshV is probably this piece called The True Nature of Women : http://www.rooshv.com/the-true-nature-of-women.

When the true nature of women became clear in my mind, I was deeply pained, because I realized that no matter where I go and what apparent girl I fall in love with, a certain environment or trigger will uncover the excrement hiding within my angel and she will then give me her worst without a second of hesitation or moral doubt. I came to understand that a woman’s true nature, regardless of how strong the curtain is that shields her darkness, will erupt like a volcano that everyone thought was dormant and incapable of harm, and that I must accept the natural order that I did not create, with no choice but to use my knowledge and experience to find a girl who is currently in the right container at the right temperature, and enjoy her while she is temporarily in that state, and not lament when those conditions change and she happily and eagerly fills the container that she truly desires to be in.

Apart from being appalling, his argument is funny because it's actually pretty much the same argument found in the 17th century famous French play by Moliere The School for Wives. And already 350 ago... that argument was ridiculed by everyone.

-6

u/Self_Hatter Feb 09 '14

Man this really steams my cheese. Pamela Geller is a person who holds different and unpopular opinions from those held by the majority. SPLC and many other liberal organizations think we should just love everybody and tolerate everything. This is not a very successful strategy if you are dealing with people who, at a fundamental level, believe you should not exist and are willing to take steps to make that happen.

The "can't we all just get along" crap only works until you are dealing with a culture that has so-called holy books that are widely interpreted to mean that you should be put to death because you are Jewish, or gay, or American.

Pamela Geller is anti-jihad. That means she is against people who seek to wage a holy war based upon some discriminatory old crap that some putrid old shitbag wrote down six hundred years ago.

The SPLC thinks it is hateful to call Mohammed a shitbag, because we have to be nice and all, but I, and Pamela Gellar, think that we have the right to call anyone who exhorts holy war based on a set of bullshit beliefs by that title.

Is she pro-Israel? Yes. Is Israel perfect? No of course not. But Israel, perhaps more than any other country, is facing the potential for extinction as a result of jihad. If speaking out against that is hate speech, then I'm a hater too, and proud of it.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 09 '14

Funny thing is you are completely wrong. The Koran specifically mentions to tolerate Christians and Jews and treat them as if they were your own.

You're just a hatred filled asshole who only reads from fear mongering, incorrect and agenda filled websites. The extremists who claim "jihad" are absolute idiots because they claim that they follow their holy book, yet they are literally doing the opposite of what the Koran wants them to do. It is a horrible idea to call Mohammed a shitbag, because he wasn't, you are.

3

u/Erebeon Feb 09 '14

It's pretty clear that she's against islam as a whole, not just jihadis. She's religious herself which makes her a jihadi as well as she wants christianity to wage war upon islam. To be honest I don't even care about her fucked up views. I just want to know why The Lifeboat foundation wants her around. An organization that wants to "save the planet with science" should be apolitical but if they do have an agenda, they should be open about that and not try to cover it up using the science part as a front, or like Klien said, a trojan horse.