THE DIOGENES REPORT
The Wit, Wisdom & Wituperation 
of Emanuel L. Strunin
“a few steps ahead of the curve”
September 2004, VOL. IV, # 29
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FREEDOM AND DETERMINISISM REVISTED AGAIN

For a long time I have been intrigued with the idea that man (and woman) are significantly more emotion drive than they are driven intellectually. A corollary of this concept is that our controlling emotions are pretty much genetic and hard wired. I presented supporting data for the concept based on brain studies and historical information in Vol. IV, #21 of The Diogenes Report. 

Now, I would like to present some additional backup for the genetic/hard wired influence on our behavior. A New York Times article of July 27, 2004 described research from a number of sources on the common desire for revenge when we feel we have been wronged. The article states: “Vindictive, perhaps, but also fundamentally protective. Revenge may be frowned upon, viewed as morally destitute, papered over with platitudes about living well. But the urge to extract a pound of flesh, researchers find, is primed in the genes.”

“Acts of personal vengeance reflect a biologically rooted sense of justice, they say, that functions in the brain something like appetite. Alternately voracious and manageable, it can inspire socially beneficial acts of retaliation and punishment as well as damaging ones. The emerging picture helps explain why many who think they are above taking revenge find themselves doing nasty, despicable things, and how unconscious biases pervert what is at bottom a socially functional instinct.”

Although I recognized the emotional truth that the revenge America took and, continues to inflict, on the perpetrators of 9/11 and their supporters is justified, the above comments provide intellectual underpinnings for the socially functional attributes for our actions. To complete this context, I detect support for declaring that the folks who are wailing that it was wrong to avenge 9/11 are emotionally and psychologically maladjusted human beings.

The article quotes a University of Miami psychologist: “The best way to understand revenge is not as some disease or moral failing or crime but as a deeply human and sometimes very functional behavior. Revenge can be a very good deterrent to bad behavior, and bring feelings of completeness and fulfillment.” America’s revenge has not gone far enough to deter bad behavior on the part of the Muslims. Israeli revenge always falls short of being an effective deterrent for the Arabs.

Through the use of brain-wave technology, neuroscientists have discovered that when people are affronted they show a burst of activity in the left prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that is also active when people prepare to satisfy a hunger and other cravings. This increased activity in one of the oldest parts of the brain, the scientists claim, seems to reflect not the sensation of being angry so much as the preparation to express it, the readiness to hit back.

Diogenes recognizes that human beings, in some cases, can modify or mitigate this primal urge but that doing so does not readily reflect the needs of society for keeping aggressors in line. So let us not imagine that the ‘bleeding heart’ philosophy is necessarily the humane approach.


THINK ABOUT THIS

Excerpt from “The Debate of Getting Out of Gaza”
by Max Singer

The United States, sitting behind the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, believes it cannot protect itself from terrorism if terrorist organizations have safe havens in Afghanistan or Iraq. Does Israel believe it can protect itself with a fence if Palestinian terrorist organizations have safe havens in Gaza and the West Bank? Separation is very desirable; the question is whether it is feasible as a security strategy. Will Israel not have to retain a presence on both sides of the security fence to protect itself - as it purportedly plans to do in the West Bank? In such a case, it may not be wise to strengthen the Palestinian ability to keep Israel out, or to pretend to be separated from Gaza when Israel must continue to be very much involved.

* * * * *

How would disengagement from Gaza affect Palestinian military motivation in the future? In the global war on terrorism, withdrawals - whether justified or not - have factually been tied to an escalation of terrorism. Al-Qaeda itself was founded in 1988-89 on the heels of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. An organization that helped defeat a superpower, the Soviet Union, believed after its success that it could launch a global jihad and replicate the Islamic conquests of the seventh century. Israel's Lebanon withdrawal in 2000 has been linked with the Palestinian decision to launch its September 2000 campaign of violence. What may be perceived in the West as a smart strategic move is often perceived in the East as weakness.

* * * * *

Pictures of Arabs moving into Israeli-built community centers, schools, and swimming pools in Gaza will be broadcast throughout the Muslim world and will likely add to a sense of momentum in the Muslim fight against "the Crusaders." This is likely to encourage many Muslims to join the bandwagon of Palestinian efforts to remove the Jews from the Middle East. After decades of defeat, they will be seen as finally getting somewhere and gaining real achievements. Undoubtedly, the Palestinian cause will get a real boost from an Israeli retreat.



NAMES
Names that fit and names that don’t.

Whether this name fits or not depends on your concept of the name Romeo.
According to a news item in the Stamford Advocate (8/24/04), Woodolph Romeo, 25, of Elmont, NY was charged with forcing teen-aged girls to be prostitutes, assault, rape and several other criminal acts. If convicted, he could be imprisoned for 35 years. In answer to the call: “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo,” his answer might well be: “Joliet, cell block 7, cell #23.” 

The gentleman in question was arrested for being the head of a group that issued fake drivers licenses through a Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles employee. The potential terrorism implications have placed the ringleader in, as they say, deep doodoo. Appropriately, his name is Emanuel “Manny” Dodoo. (From the Stamford Advocate.) 

Also from the Stamford Advocate came the news of the arrest of Phubinerjit Sandhu who was charged with second-degree assault and second-degree breach of peace. I’ll be the breach of peace charge came from not telling the police how to spell his name.



HEADLINES AND COMMENTS
Headlines from the world’s press. Comments by Diogenes.

Demographic ‘Bomb’ May Only Go ‘Pop’
The Arabs won’t outbreed the Jews, so forget about making concessions on the population basis. The previous predictions of the demographers have petered out (pardon the colloquialism).

Alleged Drug Gang Leader Arrested
This guy really resembles the governor of Tampico State. 
What do you know; he is the governor of Tampico!

U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rise 10,000 To 343,000
George W. Bush: ‘Forget about the economy, let’s talk about Viet Nam.’

Hoping To Ease Road Congestion At National Parks, Officials Offer Tips
Go someplace else and I’ll slip you a couple of bucks.

Telephone Therapy Seen As Easing Depression
Lay down on the switchboard and I’ll make you feel better about yourself.

K-9 Unit Receives Safety Vests In Time For Convention
Those doggies look so cute in their vesties.

Student Gets Prison Time For Bringing Gun To School
They’re picking on entrepreneurs. This student said that she only went to school to sell drugs and she needed the loaded gun to protect herself.

G. Bush: I Am Not Going To Come In Second
How does he feel about third?

More Americans Living In Poverty
Our economy has turned the corner. Oops!

Deer Management Alternatives Reviewed By County Alliance
Try this one: “Not tonight deer.”

Three Republican Jokers, See, Walk Into A…
There’s Bush and there’s Cheney but who is the third guy?

Sensing Kerry Weakness, Bush Reaches Out Aggressively To Jews
He promises to outsource all goy jobs to Israel.

White House Floating Ideas On Reforms To Intelligence
From now on all intelligence tests will be graded on a curve.

Greenspan Urges Boomer Pensions Trimmed
1. Has he volunteered to take cut?
2. Someone should trim his penision with an axe. Did I make a spelling mistake?

City Officials Trained To Detect Terror
If they get wind of a Federal Grand Jury investigating corruption in their city, 
they can feel the terror in their bones.

Two Men Arrested In Alleged Plot To Bomb NYC Subway Station
We plan to bomb the A train… that goes to Sugar Hill… and to Karachi,
We’ll get off at Abu Omar Street, 
That’s where the cats meet.
Then to the mosque square,
To pick up our bombs there.
We’ll smoke hashish the rest of the day,
And listen to tapes of Sidney Bechet.
Except for five breaks that we must have to pray.
And maybe we’ll blow up the E, F, and J.

Powell Cancels A Visit To Athens To Attend Closing Of Olympics
Poor Colon, he couldn’t pass the drug test.

The Candidate Picked By The Kremlin Seems To Be The Voters' Choice In Chechnya
Ok Mr. Putin, it’s safe to pull your soldiers out of the voting booths, now.

N.Y. Times Minimizes Arab Terror, Claiming "Relative Quiet" For Six Months - Despite 420 Attacks
Obviously, there were too many attacks for the Sulzbergers to fit into ‘all the news.’

Office Is Case Study For Solving ‘Sick Building’ Woes
Does the ‘sick building’ have to get a referral from its original architect before a specialist in indoor air quality can be called in?

Israeli AG Mazuz Terms Post-Retreat Defense Plan "War Crime"
He is a prime example of an Israeli Government official who should be fired, tried, convicted, stoned and have his body hung at the gates of Gaza City, and not be cut-down at sunset for this and other crimes against the Jews!

Kennedy Cousin Disputes Assault Allegations
He has a foolproof defense: when a Kennedy does it it’s not an assault.

Dorothy Hamill To Appear At Convention
Do they expect her to break the ice?

Secret Service Arrests Yale Student Near Cheney’s Booth At Convention 
Did they arrest him because he is a straight A student and they didn’t want to make the President look bad?

PM Sharon: "We Will Fight Palestinian Terror With All Our Forces
The “fat man” thunders; the Arabs laugh.

16 Die In Two Bus Bombings In Israel 
How many empty buildings will the IAF bomb in response?

Militants Kidnap French Journalists Over Policy
The Muslims want their girls in France to only stop wearing headscarves designed by Isaac Mizrahi 

P.A. Condemns Bombings In English; Praises Them In Arabic
Since I haven’t mastered Arabic, I’ll say this in English: Fuck the Arabs.

European Union Funding Diverted To Terrorism And Incitement
Those Europeans are so universal in their outlook that they’re not only promoting Jew-hate at home, they’re paying the Arabs to take it to a higher level.

27 Fires Linked To Oil Changes In Honda CR-V
You burn victims do not sue Honda because it will raise the cost of manufacturing automobiles,

Clinton Suffers Pains In Chest: Bypass Surgery Is Scheduled
This is not a Republican worry: you need to have a heart.

144,000 Jobs Were Added In August, A Bit Of An Up tick
An improvement over June, this time 5 Wal-Mart stores in Arkansas accounted for all of the new jobs.

Literary Treasures Lost In Fire At German Library
While important 16th-18th Century manuscripts were lost, the good news is that three librarians braved the inferno to save the first draft of Mein Kampf.

Hard To Swallow: Clients Lament Close Of Polish Restaurant On Wall Street
It was a typical Polish restaurant. Each waitress had an apple in her mouth.

Contemporary Closets Of Connecticut (ad headline)
More gays choose Contemporary Closets to come out of than any other brand.



QUOTES I LIKE
Diogenes considers them clever, not that he necessarily agrees with them.

One of the most flagrant examples of grade inflation in the Ivy League was George W. Bush’s “C” average at Yale.
     - Diogenes

They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq. Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it's worked for over 200 years and heck, we're not using it anymore.
    - Anonymous

Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.
      - Emily Post

There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is in having lots to do and not doing it.
     - Mary Little

Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long or hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival.
     - Winston Churchill

New York was the city where I had my first experience with freedom of choice. A man came up to me and said, “Your money or your life!”
     - Yakov Smirnoff

From his long enslavement, the Jew has retained an extreme distrustfulness. And yet, his ever precarious state leads him to show enthusiasm for all those who tell him they will lead him into the Promised Land.
     - Bernard Lazare

It’s bizarre, however, that the Jews showed little enthusiasm for the man—Moses-- who was really going to lead them into the Promised Land.
     - Diogenes

Doctor: Hmm.. You don’t see this ailment very often outside of the law-enforcement profession.
Cosmo: Holy smokes doc…what do I have?
Doctor: Donut elbow.
     - SHOE (comic strip)

Because we were not allowed to move freely in Russia, we used to approach our vacation time with a different attitude. We would brag about places we couldn’t go A typical vacation discussion sounded something like this: Alexi: I can’t go to Miami this year!
Nikolai: Miami? You call that a vacation? I can’t go to Paris!
     - Yakov Smirnoff

I really wouldn't be surprised if you can't remember a thing about the 2000 Republican convention in Philadelphia…It opened with a Hispanic girl singing the national anthem. Then there was a video of a black Baptist minister preaching from the pulpit of his church, and there was a Mexican dancer with a big sombrero. Chaka Khan sang a rousing finale. I remember joking that with all the whites in the audience and all the minority performers onstage, the whole thing looked like a Utah Jazz basketball game.
     - David Brooks

This kind of politics (the swiftboat controversy) smacks more of the dirty tricks we saw under presidents Richard M. Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson. It is not coincidental that one of the key players now attacking Kerry, John O’Neill, was originally recruited for the same purpose by the Nixon dirty tricks team some three decades ago.
    - David Gergen

We are all against this national and moral crime (“disengagement”), and are totally opposed to the idea of giving over flowering parts of the Land of Israel to the Arabs who will simply turn it into desert once again. 
     - Gila Finkelstein

Sir Rodney: The king fired his speechwriter.
Wizard: Why?
Sir Rodney: He recommended a pause, for applause, after ‘in conclusion.’
     - WIZARD OF ID (comic strip)

What do the high price of gasoline and the high price of cigarettes have in common? They each make Americans healthier by forcing us to walk instead of driving and to give up smoking.
     - Anonymous


READERS’ COMMENTS

We are back from our South American tours and found anti-Americanism due to the Bush Administration policies so strong in Argentina and Brazil and among other tourists that we were in greater danger. It will take a generation to change that wave due to the current administration.
- - - - - - - - - - 

Diogenes’ Response

I hope you told all of those people, particularly the Nazis and Muslim terrorists in Argentina, not to ask Uncle Sam for more money when they are in trouble again.




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