inkbluesky

Corinthians 13:12 (New International Version), Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

Uncle Sam Wants Your Brain

Drugs that make soldiers want to fight. Robots linked directly to their controllers’ brains. Lie-detecting scans administered to terrorist suspects as they cross U.S. borders.

These are just a few of the military uses imagined for cognitive science — and if it’s not yet certain whether the technologies will work, the military is certainly taking them very seriously.

The ability to read minds is still in the infant terrible stages, but studies have already been done using MRI scanning. Make it portable and reliable and we’re on our way to really knowing others better if not ourselves. Better thinking through chemistry. So inevitable. Everyone might want to be slim and attractive, but everyone also wishes they were smarter. Screw keyboards, they’re to computing what the water wheel was to grinding corn flower – so bring on the brain slash machine interfacing. I want to jump on the jacked in pill popping wonderland of tomorrow, but how do you keep government out of the formula. If you decide that the new improved you is a little disorienting, like in hardly recognizing who you are anymore can you hop out of the rabbit hole. Once out will you be wiser for the experience or the human equivalent of a junkyard Chevy.

what’s left

Study Tallies Corporations Not Paying Income Tax to which a spokesperson from something called the Tax Foundation responds,

The vast majority of the large corporations that did not pay taxes had net losses, he said, and thus no income on which to pay taxes. “The notion that there is a large pool of untaxed corporate profits is incorrect.”

What’s that called when you ask someone a question and they give the answer they want to give, but doesn’t really answer the question. 82 Big U.S. Corporations Paid No Tax in One or More Bush Years ( this was a pdf, copy the title into Google and it should be the first hit)

Eighty-two of America’s largest and most profitable corporations paid no federal income tax in at least one year during the first three years of the George W. Bush administration

Is it possible for companies such as Microsoft that generate revenue in the billions to pay little or no taxes. Yes it is. What about other large corporations that also generate large revenues. Because of deductions, write offs and loopholes many very profitable corporations not only don’t pay much in the way of taxes, but even get tax credits. State and local corporate taxes are another issue, but U.S. federal average corporate tax rate of 39.3 may seem high ( Senator Obama and Congressman Charles Rangel have proposed an approx.five percent cut – might as well since the corps aren’t paying anyway) is not the real tax that is paid. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has found that the U.S. has more corporate tax loopholes then any other member nation. If taxes are a burden to your corporation, the Feds aren’t your problem, you need to hire a CFO with a little more savvy. I wonder if the Tax Foundation comes to corporate tax issues with some deeply ingrained notions based on their social and economic status. Founding members include Alfred P. Sloan, General Motors Corporation, chairman, Donaldson Brown, General Motors Corporation financial vice president, William S. Farish, Standard Oil Company, President and Lewis H. Brown, President of the Johns-Manville Corporation.

thank you john for that timely reminder.