The visions of the future found in anime – Japanese animated movies that usually have a science fiction or fantasy theme – are compelling and often disturbing. Movies such as Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed present a world that seems all too likely, one that is inspired by a combination Japanese culture, high population densities and technological innovation.

A frequent theme is the engineering of humans and the creation of humanlike machines, leading to philosophical questions of human identity and what makes humans human. Genetically engineered people, cyborgs (humans who are part machine), androids (humanlike robots) and robots are the classic sci-fi anime characters.

This is not the realm of pure imagination, however. The science fiction of yesterday is the science fact of today. We already have the technological capability to clone human beings and the moral and ethical questions this raises are being asked, and answered (though not all answers are convincing). The uber robotically-assisted abilities of anime cyborgs seem fantastic, but there is a clear technological progression from current artificial limbs and organs. I’ll give a more compelling example shortly.

As in Western movies, the depiction of women in anime is dualistic. On the one hand, anime frequently features strong female lead characters, such as the heroes of both the movies I mentioned. On the other hand, submissive female characters are also common, and sexual themes that seem to be mainly for the benefit of male audiences (such as unconvincing lesbianism) also crop up.

Motoko Kusanagi, hero of Ghost in the Shell

In the science fiction anime world, submissive female characters are often not even human. The plot of Innocence, the sequel to Ghost in the Shell, revolves around androids that are called “gynoids” – super realistic female robots who are created specifically for sex by criminal organizations. Compassionately portrayed as having human emotions and consciousness, the gynoids exist as sexual slaves without rights, a situation that forces the movie’s characters to once again examine the question of human identity.

Life imitates art. The BBC reports today that Professor Hiroshi Ishiguru of Osaka University has created the “most human-looking robot yet devised”. Given the previous paragraphs, it should come as no surprise to you that this robot is “female”. According to the report:

She can flutter her eyelids and move her hands like a human. She even appears to breathe.

Professor Hiroshi Ishiguru of Osaka University says one day robots could fool us into believing they are human.

Professor Ishiguru and his creation

The questions posed by science-fiction anime – and some that are not, like “Is it cheating if it was with a robot?” – are going to need answering perhaps sooner than we thought. Joking aside, is it ethical to develop lifelike human robots intended for sex? Should robotic prostitution be legal?

Perhaps Professor Ishiguru is a humanist who envisions his robots used as attractive answering machines or automated vacuum cleaners, but when he says “I have developed many robots before, but I soon realised the importance of its appearance”, I find myself wondering if perhaps he is also a fan of his country’s famous movies. That soft plastic skin…she’ll never tell…

Regardless of his personal motivations, there are certainly those who would pay dearly for such services. After all, men pay every day for the opportunity to risk disease and legal prosecution in pursuit of guilty pleasure. What would lifelike “female” robots who are sexually functional, legal for that purpose and guaranteed disease-free be worth to a corporation? We may soon find out.

After discussing Homolkamania in the media here a while ago, I couldn’t resist posting this. It’s a site dedicated to tracking her down and publishing her address:

www.whereiskarla.com

The site is intended to make the public “feel safer and more connected”. Did it work for you?

The draft version of Iraq’s constitution is supposed to be complete on August 15, when it will be submitted to the Iraqi National Assembly (their parliament) so they can set the final wording before holding another general election. What is taking shape is not the basis of the Westernized democracy that the US had hoped for. Instead, the drafters of the constitution seem set on making Islamic law (Sharia) the basis of Iraqi law and government. The draft says “Islam is the official religion of the state and is the main source of legislation” and makes it illegal for any law to be passed that conflicts with Islam.

This has Iraq’s women especially worried, because, as reported by the Los Angeles Times:

A draft version of the constitution would make fundamental changes in the legal rights of Iraqi women, undoing decades of progressive treatment and likely sharply reducing the number of women in the National Assembly.

Currently, women hold 31% of the seats in the National Assembly, and under the Transitional Administrative Law that set up the assembly, they must hold at least 25% of the seats.

However, the draft would remove the 25% requirement after two more terms of the assembly, almost certainly resulting in a significant reduction of seats held by women.

It appears as though the rights Iraq’s women enjoyed are being removed. That has Iraqi women’s groups worried, and for good reason: Sharia allows for such procedures as divorcing your wife by stating your intention to do so three times, for example. Women have no such easy recourse, but must instead go through an elaborate process.

The draft constitution would also “permanently grant the Shiite Grand Ayatollah Sistani and future top Shiite religious authorities official authority to help guide the government”, according to Democracy Now, allowing top clerics to overrule secular legislation. This idea shifts the country closer to Iran, a theocracy run by Shi’ite Muslims where clerics hold the real power in the country. Shi’ites also make up the majority of Iraq’s population.

Drop the Q, add an N, great, another Iran. At this rate the US will have to invade the country every 10 or 15 years, just to set ‘em straight. Maybe they can just keep the military down there and go back-and-forth across the border between the two countries. Topple a dictator and install a theocratic regime, cross the border, topple a theocratic regime and install a dictator, then rinse and repeat. Great job, GW!

At times I have been criticized for my skepticism and my preference for science and secular humanism over religion and superstition. Well, some folks out in the Yukon think they saw Sasquatch a few days ago. This time, the creature apparently left behind more than just a grainy photograph and some earnest stories from half-literates: a tuft of hair.

That lends itself to DNA testing and that’s what’s happening right now. The DNA testing is supposed to be done later this week. So I’m going to go on record and make a prediction: it wasn’t Sasquatch and DNA testing is going to prove it. If I’m wrong, I promise to end each thing I write with “But I was wrong about Sasquatch” for at least a month.

I came across two interesting articles this morning. Both are about terrorism – the first, related to the bombings of the Egyptian resort this weekend, the second, related to the bombings in London. What’s interesting about the articles is that each provides some insight that goes beyond the usual rhetoric in examining the possible motives of the people who may have been involved in each attack.

The first article, appearing in the National Post, examines the Bedouin tribespeople who inhabit the deserts of Sinai where the bombed resort, Sharm el Sheikh, lies, on the shores of the Red Sea. Displaced from their land, deprived of their traditional rights and looked down upon by the Egypt’s city dwellers, the Bedouin communities “present ripe pickings for jihadists”, the article says.

The second article, appearing on Counterpunch and likely reprinted from The Independent, is by one of my favourite journalists, Robert Fisk, whose book Pity the Nation I have reviewed on this site. He writes about the disconnect some Muslim men living in Western countries experience between their religion and the temptations (from their religion’s perspective) they are exposed to – and sometimes succumb to:

So in Britain – and even the Muslims who were born in the country often grow up in traditional families – there can be a fierce dichotomy between their lives and that of the society around them. The freedoms of Britain – social as well as political – can be very attractive. Knowing that its elected government sends its soldiers to invade Iraq and kill quite a lot of Muslims at the same time might turn the “dichotomy” into something far more dangerous.

It’s articles like these that are necessary for us to understand the complex nature of the situation we are faced with today. It seems apparent that 9/11 was just the beginning. The Western response to that tragedy has made the situation much worse and it’s likely that we are now entering a prolonged period of violence and instability, fuelled by extremists on both sides – Bin Laden on one end of the see-saw, Bush on the other, each using the other to propel themselves to positions of influence and win the hearts of their hoped-for constituencies. The only way out will be to understand the way we got in. Articles like these help.