What's In A Name

AITOOW doesn't understand why no one has picked up on the following red flag about the older Boston Bomber? It struck me right away. Is his name a regional spelling of Tamburlaine? Read the following if you don't know who that was -

"Tamberlaine (timur bin Taraghay Barlas, literally "the limper") is remembered as one of the most bloody conquerors of all time.. Born in 1336 at Kesh, today Shar-i-Sahz, founder of the Timurid dynasty, from which the Mogol dynasty in India is descended, with his army of Tartars and Mongals Tamberlaine managed to conquer a territory extending from China to the heart of Asia Minor. The building of his empire started when, having assasinated his cousin and ally on early military campaigns, Husain, he was proclaimed Grand Emir of the realm of Transoxiana, which surrendered to him 10th April 1370. Among his first conquests was the kingdom of Corasmia, then Mogholistan. The invasion of Persia was protracted until 1380. Tamberlaine levied men and, taking advantage of the current social conflicts dividing the country, decimated the population and besieged the cities of Mesopotamia , Armenia, and Georgia. It is legendary how he constructed watch-towers at the entrance to conquered cities with the heads of those who attempted to resist him. Tamberlaine's ferocity is exceeded only by that of Gengis Khan from whom he claimed to be descended. Meanwhile with the richest booty he beautified Samakand, his city. At the same time, he embarked on a pitiless war against the Khan dell'Orda of gold, Tuqtamish, leading to the conquest of Khwarizm, of Azerbaijan, the Crimea and Ciscaucasia. In the first half of the Fourteenth century it was the turn of India and Syria of the Mamelukes. Thousands of artisans were deported in chains from their cities to Samakand. Bagdad in Mesopotamia was reduced to ruins in 1404."

If he was named after this guy then it says something about his upbringing. Was he trying to emulate his namesake? Just asking. It could mean something.

Also, if he was interviewed by the FBI, why was his father so adamant that he was innocent and shocked about it? Why did the uncle not mention this in his initial new conference? It has come out that he knew about it and had arguments with his nephew about it. Fishy. And lastly, another shout out to that religion of peace - Islam. Do they even know that one of the initial transcribers of Mohammed's words (Koran) quit when Mohammed told him to "just make up" sections the treatise.

Color Me Bad

AITOOW thinks that racism isn't as indefensible as it is made out to be? For it to carry the universal stigma it carries, it would have to be wrong in all cases. It would always have to be unpredictive. As it is, it may be statistically useful. What percentage of the time must it (racism) give good data for it to be rational/acceptable? 100%? That seems to be the standard. The "I would rather let all criminals go rather than imprison one innocent man" argument. What other forecasting methods provide that level or accuracy? None. So something less than 100% has to be the standard. That alone gives racism a place at the table. It can't be whole handedly disavowed.

If you are trying to "profile" any suspect group (or any collection of data) then lowering the risk component is good. And to make it more rational than not, it would have to eliminate over 50% of the variables. Now considering our country is split about 50-50 over most issues, can we conclude that most should be suspicious of conflicting/competing agendas? That means we should predict that half the people we meet are a threat to our existence (or the way we choose to exist). A rational person (playing the odds) would therefore see all people (races) as a statistically relevant threat. Or at least as much of a threat as not (which seems very relevant) . If we assume there is an equal distribution among the races, then suspicion/prejudice is the already the smarter policy (to naivete). And given that it is probable that equal distribution is indeed NOT a constant (different groups probably think much differently), the odds of a different group being aligned with your values are probably lower still. Much lower. So from a purely rational/statistical perspective, racism is not only not a bad thing it is a very good thing. The fact that it is so easily visible makes it even more so. I'm not sure how close it gets us to being 100% sure in the opposite direction, but, it it makes it better than a coin flip. All the treatises on statistics say that that is what you need to look for. Racism is mathematically justifiable.

2 4 6 8. Who Do We Emasculate?

AITOOW thinks cheerleaders are superfluous and discouraging? What man wants a woman nagging to him to "come on" while he's in the middle of work? It's sanctioned cuckolding. It's not inspirational. Save that brow beating for your husband.

Isn't it also great that ABC doesn't air the football championship game on free tv, yet, CBS can air the basketball championship game?

Analyzing All USA Basketball Team

AITOOW loves that we are so interested (in earnest) to some of the dimmest/least evolved people in our society? The following is courtesy of five high school basketball players deemed worthy by USA Today to have a whole page unto themselves. Let's do a little dime store psycho-analysis and see what assumptions we can make about their current and future development from their responses.

Andrew Wiggins. Favorite Song - "...that song that Cityphil made about ME." Red Flag. Favorite Teacher - the ART teacher and the GYM teacher. Sounds like Dean's list. Most used app - INSTAGRAM. Self absorption. Good Read - a book in which the character "gets back into REGULAR time" (from the future). Sounds like that prep school was demanding. I predict he is and will become a bigger head case. Too dumb and self obsessed to reach his potential.

Julius Randle - Underrated Virtue - "...RESPECT. ... You would be SURPRISED how that impresses people." No we wouldn't. Only a person brought up poorly would. Plus it sounds like you've figured out that you can manipulate people by pretending to be polite. Insincere/duplicitous. Best Advice - "To USE basketball and NOT let basketball use ME". It's probably sensible, but in a system in which the employers try and grind out of much as possible from the help, it's a red flag (for them). You have to be too dumb to realize this or too insecure and need to push yourself towards greatness to gain acceptance to become an achiever. I say he is too smart for his own good to become a success. He will always be trying to give the least amount to his overlords. He will win this battle, but, never win the battle against himself (to find out how good he can be). The result is he will good but not great at anything he does. And he will probably always feel underappreciated. expect 15 and 10 maxs and contract hold outs and long contract discussions in the papers and fake injuries and drama.

Aaron Harrison - Favorite Teacher - "...English. ...She really CARES to help me understand things. she...understand the subject and NOT JUST make sure they're brainwashed". Cares to help me? Not just make sure? This is his favorite subject. Not too much between the ears. May have a chance. Too little info.

Jalil Okafor - Over Rated - "... no days OFF is overrated". He may be right, but, it could indicate a laziness or hard headedness that may not bode well in his chosen field. Working on - "Being more dominant on the DEFENSIVE end." Now you can make this claim about almost all ball players now, but, it does indicate a potential unwillingness to work for advancement and a ceiling to his growth. Then again, it is an admission that denotes honesty and an ability to see himself objectively and critically. His other answers suggest he has the right emotional and mental make up. Plus he's only a junior. Let's see if he picks a good school like Southern Cal or Duke.

Jabari Parker - Vs dad in hoops - "...last time we played was in SECOND grade." Daddy issue? Not an uncommon one. Did daddy split? Need more info to see if it manifests as a source of rage (hates authority) or a motivator (need to win his love). Daddy was a player so the psychological damage could have a multiplier effect. Winning state - "....excitement and RELIEF..." Sounds like he finds basketball (and the expectations) to be stressful. He might not be a killer. His other answers were pretty satisfying. I predict success. Probably not an a-hole like Kobe or MJ, but, could reach LeBron-type degree of mental toughness. A little shaky for some of his career (front and back ends), but, solid enough in the prime years or in a situation that coddles him.

Bone To Pick

AITOOW thinks KFC is only bringing out boneless chicken because it wants you to eat more corn based, chicken flavored spam? It's not about convenience. They just don't want to be the last people purchasing/serving real (even if roided up and pathetic) chickens. In a similar vein, Boston Market's ribs were disgusting. The must salt brine them to extend the shelf life. They were really salty and chewy and luke warm. Plus they are an insult at $11 for three ribs and their sides. Real barbeque places charge that much for a half slab and that's like paying prime retail. A total swing and miss. It's like the sushi the sell you at the supermarket that costs as much as at a restaurant. Idiotic. BM. You are closer to a BM than you are to a real restaurant. The only thing you could ever do was chicken and I'd rather get a whole bird at the supermarket for what you charge for a quarter. BM = IBS.

O-bomber

AITOOW wonders if the president will redact his pejorative comments on the Patriot's Day bombing if he finds out it was planted by The Weather Underground or was detonated to advance the civil rights agenda? Has anyone asked his good friend Bill Ayer's what he thinks of the action? When will the calls for background checks and limits on pipes and nails begin?

Other things I was reminded of while watching the coverage - Money spent on prevention is a palliative. Cops have no clue (blow up dropped back packs), jump to conclusions (arrest a poor Saudi kid), only succeed if the public hands them evidence (cell phone video) or the criminal gives up or they experience dumb luck or arrest a patsy. Broadcast networks will milk this for all it's worth. They will also create some goofy graphic and theme song to market it. Newscasters will act like the cops they get their info from. Experts will speculate that every possibility is plausible because they don't (and couldn't) have any information at all. Politicians will use the opportunity to push forward their agenda items. People will accuse the most familiar perpetrators with crime because they don't know of many/any others.

It was a little weird that no one talked up the tax angle. It was one of two or three (hatred of US by outsiders, copy cat crime, hatred of paying taxes/hatred of US by insiders) plausible story lines. See if they involve the Iranians in it. Then we know it was a ploy to bomb them.

Ask And You Shall Receive

AITOOW think men stop asking questions when they receive the answer that satisfies them while women don't stop asking questions until they receive an answer they don't like? I believe the explanation may have to do with how we punish children. If a man is punished, the punishment sticks. If he takes any action to extricate himself from his punishment he is ignored or punished further. When a woman is punished, she plays on peoples sympathies and the punishment is either reduced or eliminated. Her actions allow her to associate attention, love, acceptance, gifts with (initially) negative events. She begins to seek out misery. Add to that that it also serves as an eye for an eye guilt ameliorant. Any bad acts she has committed or anticipates committing on the cross examinee can now be forgiven (in her own mind) if she uncovers a bad act committed against her. A guy (probably also encouraged by ego and a desire for peace and happiness) will just accept any answer that doesn't punish him (cause him discomfort).