Zoltan Istvan is in the running for President of the United States. You may not have heard of him, but if elected, he hopes to put an end to death. All of it. (Yes, seriously).
There are people right now walking around with artificial hearts – something that many people believed would not happen for another decade (or even longer). There are quadriplegics no longer bound to a wheelchair, but walk with exoskeleton technology. There are hundreds of thousands of people with brain implants that help them with various ailments. In short, recent technological breakthroughs like these open up the possibility for humans to enhance themselves and their health—and perhaps to even become immortal (someday).
As you can imagine, such radical developments demand strong, intelligent and science-focused political leadership. That is why Zoltan Istvan, of the Transhumanist Party, says that he is running for U.S. President this year, as the #ScienceCandidate.
He thinks that, by encouraging America to embrace science and technology, we could transform our lives and the planet by overcoming poverty, aging, and even death…and all in the coming generation.
A 6-min interview on transhumanism with The Young Turks from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia:
TYT’s Jimmy Dore spoke with Zoltan Istvan, the Transhumanist candidate for President of the United States. Istvan touched on the importance of scientific advancement in American politics, and discussed the unique aspects of the Transhumanist Party.
A new story out on my time at the RNC from Orange County’s main paper. I’ll be at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on Monday night and Tuesday day. Please join me and help spread #transhumanism! Some free Transhumanist Party t-shirts available (email me if you can make it: [email protected]) http://www.ocregister.com/articles/need-723287-says-income.html #ScienceCandidate #Election2016 #POTUS #TechVote
In Cleveland this week, I met the presidential candidate who’s looking farther into the future than any other.
I settled in at Chipotle’s with my chicken burrito and there he was, with two friends, sitting next to me.
After introductions, he got the conversation rolling by talking about the need to invest more in science and technology, paying for it by reducing defense spending.
To make sure he kept my attention, he moved quickly to his call for a Universal Basic Income. That’s a continuing government payment for everyone in the country, working or not.
I was at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland yesterday representing transhumanism with Transhumanist Party supporters. So were many protesters. This is a humurous write up in one of Florida’s largest papers by a well known comedy writer.
Dave Barry is in Cleveland for the Republican National Convention, and he has met a presidential candidate from the Transhumanist Party named Zoltan Istvan, who wants to put robotic bits in our bodies.
It’s not just religious terrorism that is killing people. A religious anti-science culture—which most of us live amongst—also cuts short everyone’s lives. People simply don’t care much about longevity if they believe in an afterlife.
All around the world, religious terror is striking and threatening us. Whether in France, Istanbul, London, or the USA, the threat is now constant. We can fight it all we want. We can send out our troops; we can chip refugees; we can try to monitor terrorist’s every move. We can even improve trauma medicine to deal with extreme violence they bring us. But none of this solves the underlying issue: Abrahamic religions like Christianity and Islam are fundamentally violent philosophies with violent Gods. Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and others have all reiterated essentially the same thing.
Koran (3:56): As to those who reject faith, I will punish them with terrible agony in this world and in the Hereafter, nor will they have anyone to help.
Koran (8:12): I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.
The final chapter in CNET’s historic “crowdsourced” sci-fi novel is out. You can read the whole thing here. Transhumanism is a large part of it (and a fictional version of my being President is in it too). This book was written by the participating public. This was a huge plus for the Transhumanist movement, as it meant transhumanism appeared many times on CNET as chapters were released (CNET is the world’s leading tech site in traffic):
In the finale of CNET’s historic crowdsourced sci-fi novel, the war on Earth is over, but the story of the multiverse may just be getting started.
Makes me wonder how much money was spent on this technical masterpiece.
WARSAW—Officials blamed technical failure—not a cyberattack—for the recent outages of two websites affiliated with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
NATO’s cybersecurity experts were on heightened alert for cyberattacks during the alliance’s biennial summit, which has seen the organization’s top leaders gather in the Polish capital this week.
The main websites of the U.S.-based Allied Transformation Command and Germany-based NATO School, a subordinate unit to the transformation command, were down for several hours Thursday.
According to The Clarion Project, a political information bureau that warns westerners of the growing threat from radical Islam, ISIS has published a ‘kill list’ that includes the names, addresses and emails of 15,000 Americans.
So far, this is interesting news, but it is not really new. I found ISIS, Hezbollah and Al-Qaida kill lists going back at least 8 years. This 2012 bulletin complains that NBC would not release the names contained on a kill list.
A kill list is newsworthy, and the Clarion article is interesting—but the article has more “facts” with which the publisher wishes to generate mob frenzy…
It echos a report by Circa News that the FBI has decided to not inform citizens that they are on the ISIS kill list.
In a clear effort to whip up and direct audience indignation, it asks readers to take a one-question poll. Which answer would you choose?
I have a right to know if I am on an ISIS kill list
I do not need to know if my name is on the ISIS kill list. The FBI can protect me without my knowing
Let’s ignore, for a moment, that the editorial comment appended to answer #2 involves a misleading assumption (i.e. that your safety is related to inclusion on the list and that you need or would be the focus of FBI protection). Even before this cheap tactical mis-direction, I am frustrated with the sleazy promotional and shock tactics of The Clarion Project (formerly, stopradicalislam.org).
Muslim Imam, orders the destruction of Christian churches
This a pity—because the Clarion Project also creates and distributes valuable educational literature. For a few years, they were the credible standard in defining and issuing warnings about the dangers of radical Islam—especially as it is seeded and spread from within. The Clarion Project also produces terrific “wake-up” videos and documentary evidence about life under Sharia law and the shocking intolerance, misogyny and disrespect for human rights that characterize ISIS. It highlights the brutal tactics that emerge when regional governments are controlled by religious zealots. Like any repressive dictatorship, ISIS rules through fear instilled by bands of roaming thugs and by turning everyone into snitches.*
But the Kill List Poll points to a growing trend at Clarion. Four years ago, I objected to Meira Svirsky’s inflammatory report that criticizes a DOJ official for refusing to answer a complex and subtle question with a Yes-or-No response. The Clarion Project has a critical and noble goal. But pushing the emotional hot buttons of an audience by over simplifying or vilifying subtleties undermines the entire organization. In the end, it only demonstrates that they are bullies. And just like Donald Trump, bullying plays only to mobs. It is no the way to win hearts and minds.
My Answer to the Poll
I do not need to know if my name is on the ISIS kill list
Rationale
Both ISIS leaders and radical clerics have repeatedly declared that *all* Americans, American allies, Jews and non-believers may be killed on the spot or taken as sex slaves to pleasure suicide bombers and Jihadist soldiers. They state that doing this fulfills Jihad and prophecy and is sanctioned by the Holy Qur’an. With this in mind, I the choice of poll responses is political, selfish and offensive. It assumes that readers are idiots…
The multiple choice answers are incomplete and misleading. Of course, Americans have a right to know if they are on a kill list—and, in fact, we already know We are all on that list!
About Radical Islam
The warning bell at the heart of Clarion journalism is an alarm that must be heard—very loudly. Radical Islam is a cancer and not just figuratively. It exhibits all earmarks of a spreading cancer that invades and attaches itself to its neighbors while building offensive outposts far from the region that it started. It has not yet been contained and excised. It presents a significant ongoing threat to our safety, our health and our wealth.
—Philip Raymond is a Lifeboat board member and columnist. He hosted The Bitcoin Event and is co-chair of the Cryptocurrency Standards Association
* I could illustrate my point with photos of men being burned in a cage, the abduction of preteen school girls from their homes (they were give to soldiers), a child slitting the throat of captives, or a women having her nose cut off because she was raped by a stranger. After all, in the twisted world of radical Islam, anyone who is different, unique gay, Christian, or not in agreement with the local Imam are to be tortured and killed.
But I can similarly point to even this comparatively mild video. It shows a Turkish music store under attack last week (June 2016), because a group of thugs suspects that the band signing autographs represents secular hedonism—or that that fans must be consuming alcohol during Ramadan.
So far, this is interesting news, but it is not really new. I found ISIS, Hezbollah and Al-Qaida kill lists going back at least 8 years. 
They state that doing this fulfills Jihad and prophecy and is sanctioned by the Holy Qur’an. With this in mind, I the choice of poll responses is political, selfish and offensive. It assumes that readers are idiots…