So say we all including Nto

Nto has been watching Battlestar Galactica on DVD and enjoys the thinly disguised commentary on the human condition in general. Although Nto has a lot of catching up to do on this series before credibly commenting on it, Nto sees a clear message that Cylons are not totally bad and Humans are not totally good. There is also a clear message that if Cylons are just machines, then maybe that is a way of understanding Humans as well. Conversely, if Humans are more than just machines then what exactly are the Cylons missing. Sharon was human until she was discovered to be Cylon, and then she lost that magic ingredient in the eyes of all but a small number of people.

This leads Nto to comment on his own previous post. There must be more to the cause of modern economic Imperialism than just a little greed. There must be a lot of greed and likely a lot of questing for power behind it as well. Nto finds it hard to believe that any people can be intrinsically bad but that they often behave badly for reasons that have a biological or psychological source. If we could understand these sources and do something about mitigating the damage, we might have hope in evolving to the race embodying the ideals we would like to think of as Human.

Nto and Ism

Nto has always been idealistic. Idealism can be dangerous because it ruffles feathers of powerful people who prefer not to see the truth. Idealism can lead to extreme ideas that challenge the status quo. However, youth is idealism and idealism is guardian of freedom, of peace, and of a world that the human race can continue to inhabit.

Nto has just completed reading "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins. It was an eye-opener. Nto wondered at many things in the world that have happened in the past 30 years and has been tempted by various conspiracy theories to explain many un-explainable events. This book paints the picture about how a little greed here and there, a lot of comfortable thinking reinforced by lack of critical thought, and an endless pool of desperate people can lead to a modern version of Empire that is vilified throughout the world just as the 13 colonies vilified British Imperialism in the 18th century.

This book was recommended by John C Dvorak on last week's This Week in Tech. He told me to read it. He told all listeners to read it. He has courage. We all need courage. We have to care about the world we live in, the people who live in it. We have to care about each other. Democracy must be more than just a label. Freedom cannot just be for the powerful.

Nto doesn't want to rant but if two more people decide that things must be changed because of these words in combination with John Perkins' words and become a little more idealistic as a result, then Nto will be very happy. Nto likes happy.

Who am Nto?

Nto is a web identity easier to find than many names such as John or Mary or Smith or Johnson. A search on most combinations of common first names and common or not so common last names lead to a plethora of hits that correspond to identities other than the one sought.

Nto's particular problem is that his real name matches that of a common hotel chain that is franchised and has a separate website for each of its many many locations around the world. Nto has often been asked, as though he never heard it before, about how the hotel business is going. The best response is usually to feign a lack of knowledge of this chain; amazingly, people are often taken in by this ploy.

Nto Zubod is a name selected from several randomly generated names and has the characteristic that it almost looks real but not real enough that in May 2007 there are any hits on ntozubod for a Google search.

Nto is similar to a real Finnish first name Unto; Nto actually had a relative by that name. Zubod is similar to a more common last name Zubrod although he prefers to think of it as a reference to Waypoint ZUBOD 35° 39' 11N 109° 3' 41W located near what the Navajo nation consider the centre of the Earth, namely, Window Rock.

Martello Towers

Nto took a number of pictures of Martello towers in Kingston. These represent fortifications designed to repel invasion of this city in the middle of the 19th century. They quickly became obsolete because of the advance in military technology and were never used. However, they remain as a symbol of a bygone era.

Nto has been contemplating the first chapter of Ulysses which takes place in a Martello tower outside of Dublin. Stephen Dedalus has guilt feelings over the death of his mother that are brought out by Buck Mulligan's sharp words:

"–The aunt thinks you killed your mother, he said. That’s why she won’t let me have anything to do with you.

–Someone killed her, Stephen said gloomily.

–You could have knelt down, damn it, Kinch, when your dying mother asked you, Buck Mulligan said. I’m hyperborean as much as you. But to think of your mother begging you with her last breath to kneel down and pray for her. And you refused. There is something sinister in you ..."

Nto enjoys the words of the great Joyce and the symbolic strength of these six towers.