GlobaLove Think Tank

earth and water

2012-01-29T11:11:00.003-06:00

300

Detournement

2012-01-29T09:11:00.000-06:00

? ? ?

The Philadelphia Experiment

2012-01-28T14:45:00.000-06:00

Philadelphia Experiment

sacred geometry

2012-01-27T03:33:00.000-06:00

The Flower of Life is the modern name given to a geometrical figure composed of multiple evenly-spaced, overlapping circles. They are arranged to form a flower-like pattern with a sixfold symmetry, similar to a hexagon. The center of each circle is on the circumference of six surrounding circles of the same diameter.

It is considered by some to be a symbol of sacred geometry, said to contain ancient, religious value depicting the fundamental forms of space and time. In this sense, it is a visual expression of the connections life weaves through all sentient beings, and it is believed to contain a type of Akashic Record of basic information of all living things.

There are many spiritual beliefs associated with the Flower of Life; for example, depictions of the five Platonic Solids are found within the symbol of Metatron's Cube, which may be derived from the Flower of Life pattern. These platonic solids are geometrical forms which are said to act as a template from which all life springs.

According to Drunvalo Melchizedek, in the Judeo-Christian tradition, the stages which construct the Seed of Life are said to represent the six days of Creation, in which Elohim created life; Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 23:12, 31:16-17, Isaiah 56:6-8. Within these stages, among other things, are the symbols of the Vesica Piscis, an ancient religious symbol, and Borromean rings, which represents the Holy Trinity. (read more)

Flower Of Life Crop Circle

Master of Lightning

2012-01-26T14:49:00.000-06:00

bloggers' rights

2012-01-25T14:21:00.005-06:00

One of EFF's goals is to give you a basic roadmap to the legal issues you may confront as a blogger to let you know you have rights and to encourage you to blog freely with the knowledge that your legitimate speech is protected.

To that end we have created the Legal Guide for Bloggers a collection of blogger-specific FAQs addressing everything from fair use to defamation law to workplace whistle-blowing.

In addition EFF continues to battle for bloggers' rights in the courtroom:

Bloggers can be journalists (and journalists can be bloggers). We're battling for legal and institutional recognition that if you engage in journalism you're a journalist with all of the attendant rights privileges and protections. (See Apple v. Does.)

Bloggers are entitled to free speech. We're working to shield you from frivolous or abusive threats and lawsuits. Internet bullies shouldn't use copyright libel or other claims to chill your legitimate speech. (See OPG v. Diebold.)

Bloggers have the right to political speech. We're working with a number of other public-interest organizations to ensure that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) doesn't gag bloggers' election-related speech. We argue that the FEC should adopt a presumption against the regulation of election-related speech by individuals on the Internet and interpret the existing media exemption to apply to online media outlets that provide news reporting and commentary regarding an election -- including blogs. (See our joint comments to the FEC [PDF 332K].)

Bloggers have the right to stay anonymous. We're continuing our battle to protect and preserve your constitutional right to anonymous speech online including providing a guide to help you with strategies for keeping your identity private when you blog. (See How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else).)

Bloggers have freedom from liability for hosting speech the same way other web hosts do. We're working to strengthen Section 230 liability protections under the Communications Decency Act (CDA) while spreading the word that bloggers are entitled to them. (See Barrett v. Rosenthal.)

(read more)

nikola tesla/otis carr/ralph ring/john hutchison

2012-01-24T21:11:00.005-06:00

Zero Point

Casimir Effect

21st century

2012-01-24T09:43:00.004-06:00

Well, I dreamed I saw the knights in armor coming / Saying something about a queen / There were peasants singing and drummers drumming / And the archer split the tree / There was a fanfare blowing to the sun / That was floating on the breeze / Look at Mother Nature on the run / In the twenty first century

The beach by west indian girl

the journey

2012-01-23T11:11:00.002-06:00

The Eye Ear Brain Machine

2012-01-23T04:24:00.000-06:00

Cool new website http://eyeearbrain.webs.com/

EYE EAR BRAIN

Daily inspiration for spooky music, cult film and weird ideas...

Listening to the Debates of Republican Contenders for the Presidential Nomination

2012-01-22T16:01:00.002-06:00

Ever since the first black man was elected to the highestpolitical office in the country, he has been subjected to a remarkable degreeof political hyperbole and vitriolic attacks designed to impugn not only hispolicies, but his character as well. These attacks originate not only from prejudiced and highly ignorantindividuals and the right wing media, capitalizing on this kind of hatred, butalso by his opponents in Congress. Theyhave continually portrayed him as an enemy and essentially inimical toso-called “American values.” Using thiskind of language, they have attempted to thwart his efforts in everyconceivable manner often using political blackmail. In this way, many of the endemic problemsthat face American society have been left to fester.

The real character of the opposition has been madeabundantly clear by the nature of the debates now being aired as the aspirantsto the Presidential office from the Republican Party challenge theiradversaries for the nomination. Thelanguage of these debates have been mean-spirited, ugly, unflattering andfilled with vilest of accusations and rhetoric designed to appeal to ignoranceand bigotry. Those among the aspiringgroup who have chosen to use reasoned argument to make their respective caseshave been effectively silenced as the front runners attempt to appeal to whathas become the radical, right wing base of the Republican Party.

It is a troubling time in which many people live in fear andapprehension regarding their future as a direct result of the onslaught of theso-called “Great Recession.” It is atsuch times that reasoned judgment and a cooperative effort to face and resolveacute national problems are the attributes most required.

I am not looking forward to many months of polemicallanguage filled with hateful speech that is destined to fill the airways untilthe November elections. What we do notneed as a people is the further polarization that will be the inevitableoutcome of this kind of dialog. Furthermore,it would be most distressing if one of the underlying reasons for thisintensely negative environment is, in reality, racial hatred and bigotry.

Barbie Arrested !!!

2012-01-22T11:59:00.011-06:00

TEHRAN, Iran - Police have closed down dozens of toy shops for selling Barbie dolls in Iran, part of a decades-long crackdown against "manifestations of Western culture," the semiofficial Mehr news agency reported Friday.

Barbie dolls are sold wearing swimsuits and miniskirts in a society where women must wear headscarves in public, and men and women are not allowed to swim together.

A ban on the sale of the Barbies, designed to look like young Western women, was imposed in the mid-1990s. In its latest report, Mehr quoted an unidentified police official as saying authorities confiscated the dolls from Tehran stores in a "new phase" of the campaign.

In 2008, the Iranian judiciary warned against the "destructive" cultural and social consequences and "danger" of importing Barbie dolls and other Western toys. Even so, Iranian markets have been full of them. One-third of Iran's population of 75 million is under 15. (read more)

lights in the sky

2012-01-21T12:12:00.006-06:00

dome of the rock

I just wanna make love to you

2012-01-21T10:10:00.007-06:00

Etta James (born Jamesetta Hawkins; January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012) was an American singer whose style spanned a variety of music genres including blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, gospel and jazz. Starting her career in the mid 1950s, she gained fame with hits such as "Dance With Me, Henry", "At Last", "Tell Mama", and "I'd Rather Go Blind" for which she claimed she wrote the lyrics. She faced a number of personal problems, including drug addiction, before making a musical resurgence in the late 1980s with the album The Seven Year Itch.

She is regarded as having bridged the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and is the winner of six Grammys and 17 Blues Music Awards. She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in both 1999 and 2008. Rolling Stone ranked James number 22 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and number 62 on the list of the 100 Greatest Artists.

James encountered a string of legal problems during the early 1970s due to her heroin addiction. She was continuously in and out of rehabilitation centers, including the Tarzana Rehabilitation Center, in Los Angeles, California. Her husband Artis Mills, whom she married in 1969, accepted responsibility when they were both arrested for heroin possession and served a 10-year prison sentence.

Etta James had once been considered one of the most overlooked blues and R&B musicians in American music history. It wasn't until the early 1990s when James began receiving major industry awards from the Grammys and the Blues Foundation that she began to receive wide recognition. In 2011 James was voted one the Best Singers On Earth by viewers to Btoe, the multimedia Web site founded by Colin Larkin, creator of the Encyclopedia of Popular Music. (read more)

I just wanna make love to you

new swirled order

2012-01-20T11:11:00.001-06:00

New Swirled Order

what will it take ?

2012-01-19T10:03:00.004-06:00

thrivemovement.com

watch thrive now

sorry, but this website has been

2012-01-18T13:30:00.006-06:00

"The revolution will not be televised."

the outer limits

2012-01-18T13:21:00.002-06:00

google blackout

2012-01-18T13:19:00.005-06:00

Millions of Americans oppose SOPA and PIPA because these bills would censor the Internet and slow economic growth in the U.S.

Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business. Millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs already oppose SOPA and PIPA.

The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please let them know how you feel. Sign this petition urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late.

the question of contact

2012-01-18T11:33:00.001-06:00

overlords of the ufo 1976

Wikipedia blackout protesting Piracy Act

2012-01-17T12:49:00.004-06:00

2012 Wikipedia blackout

The January 18 blackout page
(as proposed by User:Pretzels on January 16)

The 2012 English Wikipedia blackout is a proposed blackout of the English Wikipedia for 24 hours on 18 January 2012. In place of articles, the site would show only a message opposing the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA).

TAKE ACTION

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is a dangerous bill that would give the Department of Justice and big content unprecedented power to censor the Internet. There's a critical hearing this week about the bill, part of big content's effort to steamroll the bill through Congress, which means we have no time to lose. SOPA's supporters are desperate to get this bill through quickly by convincing Congress there's no real opposition to it. We know better, but we need to make our voices heard loud and clear.

> Take Action | Electronic Frontier Foundation

This proposal was made by the English Wikipedia community after a month of discussions on the project in various polls and requests for comment. The date was chosen to coincide with similar action by other websites, such as Reddit, and will run for 24 hours starting at 05:00 UTC on 18 January. The Wikimedia Foundation published a letter of support for the action later that day.

more > 2012 Wikipedia blackout - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Press releases/English Wikipedia to go dark - Wikimedia Foundation

San Francisco -- January 16, 2012 -- On January 18, 2012, in an unprecedented decision, the Wikipedia community has chosen to blackout the English version of Wikipedia for 24 hours, in protest against proposed legislation in the United States — the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and PROTECTIP (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate. If passed, this legislation will harm the free and open Internet and bring about new tools for censorship of international websites inside the United States.

“Today Wikipedians from around the world have spoken about their opposition to this destructive legislation," said Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia. "This is an extraordinary action for our community to take - and while we regret having to prevent the world from having access to Wikipedia for even a second, we simply cannot ignore the fact that SOPA and PIPA endanger free speech both in the United States and abroad, and set a frightening precedent of Internet censorship for the world."

> more

English Wikipedia anti-SOPA blackout - Wikimedia Foundation

To: English Wikipedia Readers and Community
From: Sue Gardner, Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director
Date: January 16, 2012

Today, the Wikipedia community announced its decision to black out the English-language Wikipedia for 24 hours, worldwide, beginning at 05:00 UTC on Wednesday, January 18 (you can read the statement from the Wikimedia Foundation here). The blackout is a protest against proposed legislation in the United States — the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate — that, if passed, would seriously damage the free and open Internet, including Wikipedia.

This will be the first time the English Wikipedia has ever staged a public protest of this nature, and it’s a decision that wasn’t lightly made. Here’s how it’s been described by the three Wikipedia administrators who formally facilitated the community’s discussion. From the public statement, signed by User:NuclearWarfare, User:Risker and User:Billinghurst:

It is the opinion of the English Wikipedia community that both of these bills, if passed, would be devastating to the free and open web.

Over the course of the past 72 hours, over 1800 Wikipedians have joined together to discuss proposed actions that the community might wish to take against SOPA and PIPA. This is by far the largest level of participation in a community discussion ever seen on Wikipedia, which illustrates the level of concern that Wikipedians feel about this proposed legislation. The overwhelming majority of participants support community action to encourage greater public action in response to these two bills. Of the proposals considered by Wikipedians, those that would result in a “blackout” of the English Wikipedia, in concert with similar blackouts on other websites opposed to SOPA and PIPA, received the strongest support.

On careful review of this discussion, the closing administrators note the broad-based support for action from Wikipedians around the world, not just from within the United States. The primary objection to a global blackout came from those who preferred that the blackout be limited to readers from the United States, with the rest of the world seeing a simple banner notice instead. We also noted that roughly 55% of those supporting a blackout preferred that it be a global one, with many pointing to concerns about similar legislation in other nations.

In making this decision, Wikipedians will be criticized for seeming to abandon neutrality to take a political position. That’s a real, legitimate issue. We want people to trust Wikipedia, not worry that it is trying to propagandize them.

But although Wikipedia’s articles are neutral, its existence is not. As Wikimedia Foundation board member Kat Walsh wrote on one of our mailing lists recently,

We depend on a legal infrastructure that makes it possible for us to operate. And we depend on a legal infrastructure that also allows other sites to host user-contributed material, both information and expression. For the most part, Wikimedia projects are organizing and summarizing and collecting the world’s knowledge. We’re putting it in context, and showing people how to make to sense of it.

But that knowledge has to be published somewhere for anyone to find and use it. Where it can be censored without due process, it hurts the speaker, the public, and Wikimedia. Where you can only speak if you have sufficient resources to fight legal challenges, or if your views are pre-approved by someone who does, the same narrow set of ideas already popular will continue to be all anyone has meaningful access to.

The decision to shut down the English Wikipedia wasn’t made by me; it was made by editors, through a consensus decision-making process. But I support it.

Like Kat and the rest of the Wikimedia Foundation Board, I have increasingly begun to think of Wikipedia’s public voice, and the goodwill people have for Wikipedia, as a resource that wants to be used for the benefit of the public. Readers trust Wikipedia because they know that despite its faults, Wikipedia’s heart is in the right place. It’s not aiming to monetize their eyeballs or make them believe some particular thing, or sell them a product. Wikipedia has no hidden agenda: it just wants to be helpful.

That’s less true of other sites. Most are commercially motivated: their purpose is to make money. That doesn’t mean they don’t have a desire to make the world a better place — many do! — but it does mean that their positions and actions need to be understood in the context of conflicting interests.

My hope is that when Wikipedia shuts down on January 18, people will understand that we’re doing it for our readers. We support everyone’s right to freedom of thought and freedom of expression. We think everyone should have access to educational material on a wide range of subjects, even if they can’t pay for it. We believe in a free and open Internet where information can be shared without impediment. We believe that new proposed laws like SOPA and PIPA, and other similar laws under discussion inside and outside the United States — don’t advance the interests of the general public. You can read a very good list of reasons to oppose SOPA and PIPA here, from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Why is this a global action, rather than US-only? And why now, if some American legislators appear to be in tactical retreat on SOPA?

The reality is that we don’t think SOPA is going away, and PIPA is still quite active. Moreover, SOPA and PIPA are just indicators of a much broader problem. All around the world, we're seeing the development of legislation intended to fight online piracy, and regulate the Internet in other ways, that hurt online freedoms. Our concern extends beyond SOPA and PIPA: they are just part of the problem. We want the Internet to remain free and open, everywhere, for everyone.

Make your voice heard!

On January 18, we hope you’ll agree with us, and will do what you can to make your own voice heard.

Sue Gardner,
Executive Director, Wikimedia Foundation

Stop Online Piracy Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), also known as House Bill 3261 or H.R. 3261, is a bill that was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on October 26, 2011, by House Judiciary Committee Chair Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) and a bipartisan group of 12 initial co-sponsors. The bill, if made law, would expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement and copyright holders to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods.[2] Presented to the House Judiciary Committee, it builds on the similar PRO-IP Act of 2008 and the corresponding Senate bill, the PROTECT IP Act.

> more

TAKE ACTION

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is a dangerous bill that would give the Department of Justice and big content unprecedented power to censor the Internet. There's a critical hearing this week about the bill, part of big content's effort to steamroll the bill through Congress, which means we have no time to lose. SOPA's supporters are desperate to get this bill through quickly by convincing Congress there's no real opposition to it. We know better, but we need to make our voices heard loud and clear.
> Take Action | Electronic Frontier Foundation

see also

• what next: From Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales

"If everyone reading this donated $5, we would only have to fundraise for one day a year. But not everyone can or will donate. And that's fine. Each year just enough people decide to give.

"This year, please consider making a donation of $5, $20, $50 or whatever you can to protect and sustain Wikipedia."

kindness is never wasted

2012-01-16T12:03:00.005-06:00

"Forgiveness is not an occasional act,

it is a permanent attitude."

Ustad Allah Rakha | Tabla

2012-01-16T11:00:00.000-06:00

Ustad Allah Rakha

Ravi Shankar, Alla Rakha - Tabla Solo in Jhaptal

"Alla Rakha is the Einstein, the Picasso; he is the highest form of rhythmic development on this planet."

Once in a great while, there emerges a musician who, through his genius, injects that certain spark necessary to elevate an instrument to another level of expression and appreciation.

For tabla, Ustad Allarakha was such an artist, having brought his instrument a stature and respect never before enjoyed. A disciple of Mian Kader Baksh, the great guru of the Punjab gharana, Ustad Allarakha was, in his lifetime, the most celebrated exponent of this style.
Sandeep Sagar: Abbaji - Ustad Allah Rakha

Leading American percussionists in Rock n' Roll, such as the Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart, admired him and studied his technique, benefiting greatly even from single meetings. Hart, a published authority on percussion in world music, said "Alla Rakha is the Einstein, the Picasso; he is the highest form of rhythmic development on this planet." Alla Rakha also collaborated with jazz drummer Buddy Rich, on their 1968 album Rich à la Rakha. Ustad Alla Rakha Khan was awarded the Padma Shri in 1977 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1982.

Alla Rakha - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

more > what next: Ustad Allah Rakha & Zakir Hussain | Tabla

the truth shall set you free

2012-01-16T10:02:00.003-06:00

Occupy Wall Street | Unity Day | Occupy Courts

2012-01-15T20:08:00.002-06:00

Unity Day

Members of the African-American faith community have joined forces with Occupy Wall Street to launch a new campaign for economic justice inspired by the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Faithful to its philosophical origin, the "Occupy the Dream" coalition has called for a National Day of Action to Occupy the Federal Reserve tomorrow to focus attention on the gross injustice visited upon the 99% by the financial elite. Clergy members and Occupiers in over 16 cities will come together in Austin, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, DC, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Richmond, San Francisco, St. Louis, Wilmington, and beyond. In Manhattan, we will gather tomorrow (Jan. 16th) from 10am to 1pm at 33 Liberty Street (NY, NY 10045)...

more > Occupy Wall Street | NYC Protest for World Revolution

#J20: Occupy The Courts Nationwide, San Francisco to Occupy Wall Street West

via Occupy Portland:
This is a national day of action (January 20,2011) just one day before the second anniversary of the infamous Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which held that corporations (as people entitled to the rights of the U.S. Constitution) can spend unregulated and undisclosed sums of money in order to influence elections. [There are] over 80 rallies at federal courthouses around the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.

Occupy Wall Street | NYC Protest for World Revolution

nasa warning

2012-01-15T10:28:00.004-06:00

playing with matches

2012-01-15T09:30:00.010-06:00

cherry pie

2012-01-14T11:11:00.003-06:00

death dealer

2012-01-13T10:52:00.004-06:00

Frank Frazetta

the mystery of coral castle

2012-01-13T09:50:00.002-06:00

The Breakfast Meeting: The Spielberg Exception and Who's Illin'? - NYTimes.com

2012-01-12T14:20:00.000-06:00

The Breakfast Meeting: The Spielberg Exception and Who's Illin'? - NYTimes.com:

'via Blog this'

Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici

2012-01-12T10:30:00.005-06:00

"By the power of Truth,

I, while living,

have conquered the Universe."

Ideas are bulletproof.

heretic is a word

2012-01-12T09:11:00.001-06:00

Doublespeak Lives

2012-01-11T18:23:00.003-06:00

Doublespeak does live. It is vibrant and alive. It permeates every conceivable level ofsociety. Much is spoken about theprosperity of our society. This is voicedagainst a backdrop of cities where thousands roam the asphalt and concrete landscapehomeless and desperate and the hungry queue up at food banks for the basiccommodities. Prosperity is alluded towith a deep and abiding reverence. Thecondominium and estate dwellers carry this notion with them like anall-embracing mantra. Yet, they are buta small minority, while the overwhelming majority struggle to either survive ormaintain a level of economic well-being that is ever at the brink of bankruptcyand destitution.

The spokesman for superiority of this society refer toa nation with the greatest health care system in the world, while fifty millionindividuals lack basic health insurance a realtiy that translates into the factthat they are denied adequate access to health care of any kind. This reality is dutifully ignored though itis a very substantial fact. These numbersare simply subtracted from consideration or concern. Those whose health is exquisitely cared for arethe affluent, exactly the ones who vociferously applaud the quality of thesystem as it exists. The rest stand tolose any financial stability they may enjoy if they should get seriouslyill. For them the health care system isfine, if they remain healthy. Gettingill is another matter entirely. And yet,we hold up this marvelously inequitable system as a model for the entire worldto emulate.

We are a people that love our children so well and socompletely that one-quarter of all children in the country live inpoverty. We claim to care for thewell-being of our future generations, yet we ignore their plight, provide themwith little if any relief from their misery and yet condone their free accessto and use of all manner of deadly firearms. When those adolescents who happen to be disturbed (which is not terriblyunusual for that stage of life) and use weapons that are so readily available,the society shows its concern about the welfare of children, by demandingretribution and, would, if allowed, place ten year olds on death row. No connection is made between the level ofdeadly violence in the society and the accessibility of firearms. Children who are raised deprived of thosebasic amenities we speak so highly about, and who live lives of desperationare, of course, expected to behave both wisely and well. If they, however, behave badly, then thewrath of society falls heavily upon them. The nation takes no responsibility for these outcomes. This is not merely hypocrisy, for hypocrisyis a disguise and obfuscation of truth. It is, in fact, a purposeful distortion of reality. Doublespeak is far more insidious for itproudly proclaims harmony when all around there is imbalance.

Racism is an area where Doublespeak truly shines. In a country that only one hundred and fiftyyears ago condoned the outright ownership of other human beings and totalexploitation of their labor, and only forty years ago denied black people equalaccess to restaurants, restrooms, housing, employment, and every conceivablebasic amenity, today speaks of itself as color blind. This is the very same culture that condonedthe lynching of black men for the innocuous act of merely looking at whitewomen. Somehow, we have magically curedourselves of this barbarism. Yetstrangely enough, most of the menial labor in the society, most of theunskilled menial jobs are performed by people of color. An inordinate proportion of the population ofprisons is represented by black males. Theinner cities are segregated and the schools and social services that serveminorities are abysmal. In spite ofthese obvious realities, affirmative action is ridiculed and blacks are expectedto compete on an equal basis with the more privileged sectors of whitesociety. It is a pretend game of suchstaggering proportions as to be almost comic, if the ramifications were not so horrific.

The War on Drugs continues. There is apparently no end to the police,weapons and prison resources available to interdict the flow of drugs andpunish users, mostly represented by the poor. This strategy is carried out in spite of the obvious awareness that theproblem lies with demand. These drugsessentially serve as an escape mechanism for those who live in conditions thatare deplorable and seemingly hopeless. Yet the beat goes on.

Doublespeak lives. The media are intimately involved in the “art” of Doublespeak. They are its champions, admirers and ultimatepractitioners. They report and emphasizesensational stories as so-called newsworthy events being sure to exaggeratetheir emotional content without making any reference to their context orhistorical perspective. They play the deviousgame of political distraction with consummate skill. The media, essentially owned and controlled bycorporate conglomerates, for the most part parrot the views and interests ofthe powerful, for, that is the group, after all, that controls the directionand actions of the society at large. Itis no surprise that this group would benefit immensely from molding the viewsand aspirations of the general population.

Doublespeak lives on in the area of armaments. It is quite interesting that the UnitedStates - the nation that holds the greatest nuclear arsenal and the onlysovereignty that unleashed nuclear weapons on human beings - is the samecountry that always appears so appalled and outraged when less powerful statesmove to arm themselves in the same way. This nation also happens to be the greatest arms seller in the communityof nations. For that reason, it profitsmaterially from the violent conflicts that erupt in much of the impoverishedworld. It is the distinct quality of Doublespeakthat remarkable contradictions between pronouncements and reality are neveracknowledged and vociferously denied when referred to. It is the hallmark of Doublespeak that povertybecomes prosperity, empty becomes full and night becomes day.

The greatest masters of Doublespeak and all itsexquisite nuances are not so much the politicians as the foreign policyexperts, for they can make ignorance seem like enlightenment, can make a tyrantseem like a prince of democracy and most importantly make evil seem somehowmagically good. There are many splendidexamples of this. The State of Israel thathas forces of occupation throughout its neighboring region and rules the“territories” by shear brute force and state terror calls itself a democracyand is even referred to as a democracy by other nations. Of course the question may come to mind,“Democracy for whom?” The Palestinianrefugees whose squalid camps are surrounded by armed troops certainly do notlive under a democratic umbrella.

Israel is a nation that uses the same tactics thatapartheid South Africa once used to deny the basic civil rights and freedoms ofthe majority black population by herding them into so-called “homelands.” This is a nation that blows up and demolisheshomes of Arabs to make way for Jewish settlers and shoots young boys who havethe audacity to throw rocks at the forces of occupation that constantly harassand contain them. This is a nation thatuses fascist methods to maintain so-called order. Ironically, the Israelis emulate thestrategies and policies of those whose demonic behavior they insist the worldmust never forget. Yet, somehow, miraculouslyIsrael is a democracy to be admired and celebrated. Doublespeak lives.

There are many past examples of leaders of nations whohave received lavish praise for their industry and labors in spite of theiractual behavior towards the populations that were subjected to their rule. The Shah of Iran, Batista of Cuba, Samoza ofNicaragua, The French in Indochina, Suharto of Indonesia, Marcos of thePhilippines are the names of just a few. These were the agents who served both themselves and Western Capitalistsexceedingly well at the expense of their own people. Nonetheless, they were to be praised for theirleadership and statecraft. Their evilpropensities were forged into good works and farsighted and enlightened policies.

Part of the masterful agenda of Doublespeak is the creationof an almost continual need for enemies. As both a distraction from societal ills and as a means of finding acohesive focus for the entire culture, an enemy or enemies of the State seem tobe required. If they do not truly exist,which is often the case, they can be readily fabricated thanks in large measureto the genius of the media. Whenever thetrue economic interests of the powerful corporate interests are threatened orthe rise of a popular movement questions the supremacy of the capitalistphilosophy, it is then that enemies are called upon . The propaganda machinery of governmenttogether with their cohorts in the media focus their attention on moldingpublic opinion in the direction of that newest enemy or enemies of theState. The newest term in the formidablevocabulary of Doublespeak is the so-called “Terrorist State.” At such times, the overweening priorities ofnational interest is invoked, although it is rather inconceivable to imaginehow a third world power can pose a significant threat against the world’s onlysuperpower. Doublespeak lives.

Since Doublespeak calls upon and relies upon theimmense resources of the State, it is an essential tool for the implementationof the agenda of the powerful. It isonly through education and organized resistance that this practice can beexposed, undermined and defeated. Doublespeaklives because the people feed upon it. Doublespeakthrives on ignorance and apathy. Doublespeaklives because the truth is not demanded. Sick is not well, empty is not full, evil is not goodness.

you were meant to be here

2012-01-11T16:01:00.005-06:00

James Forrestal

2012-01-11T13:55:00.001-06:00

James Vincent Forrestal (February 15, 1892 – May 22, 1949) was the last Cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense.

Forrestal was a supporter of naval battle groups centered on aircraft carriers. In 1954, the world's first supercarrier was named USS Forrestal in his honor, as is the headquarters of the United States Department of Energy. He is also the namesake of the Forrestal Lecture Series at the United States Naval Academy, which brings prominent military and civilian leaders to speak to the Brigade of Midshipmen, and of the James Forrestal Campus of Princeton University in Plainsboro Township, New Jersey.

Forrestal observed a famously punishing work schedule in the last years of his life, and rumors had circulated in the press as to his health. President Truman's decision to dismiss him as Secretary of Defense on March 31, 1949 is said to have caused him to suffer a "nervous breakdown", a charge denied by Forrestal's brother. Forrestal was hospitalized on April 2, 1949. On May 22, 1949 he was found dead on the roof of a covered walkway below the window of a kitchen across the hall from his 16th floor room at the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC, commonly known as the Bethesda Naval Hospital), a bathrobe sash knotted tightly around his neck. This happened on the day Forrestal was to be discharged from the hospital. The news media reported that he had committed suicide, and the local coroner and U.S. Navy officials agreed. The circumstances of the death were reviewed, however, by a committee convened by Rear Admiral Morton D. Willcutts, the head of NNMC (1948–1951). The committee released only a brief list of conclusions several months after it had completed its work. The conclusions noted only that Forrestal "died following a fall" and that the fall caused his death. The board did not speculate as to what might have caused the fall.

The committee's full report was not released until 2004. In a review of the board's evidence and findings—solicited by the Navy and kept secret with the report until 2004—Chairman of the American Psychiatric Association Dr. Winfred Overholser concluded that Forrestal "came to his death by suicide while in a state of mental depression," but the report's own conclusions were seen to have been accurately reported 55 years earlier, that is simply that Forrestal died from the fall. Debate over the exact circumstances of Forrestal's unusual death continues today, with some critics citing the U.S. government's withholding of the official report and autopsy results as well as possible signs of struggle in evidence photos as indicating foul play.

There were unsubstantiated reports in the press of paranoia and of involuntary commitment to the hospital, as well as suspicions about the detailed circumstances of his death, which have fed a variety of conspiracy theories as well as legitimate questions. For example, among the discrepancies between the report and the accounts given in the principal Forrestal biographies are that the transcription of the poem by Sophocles appears to David Martin, author of the six-part series Who Killed James Forrestal? to have been written in a hand other than Forrestal's. If Forrestal's, according to some intelligence sources, then he could not scribble the word "nightingale" in the poem because it was the code name of the Ukrainian Nazi elite unit Nachtigall Brigade which Forrestal had helped to smuggle to the United States to supplant Kim Philby's failed ABN (Anti Bolshevik Nationals), an MI6 Soviet émigré fascist group. There was also broken glass found on Forrestal's bed, a fact that had not been previously reported. Theories as to who might have murdered Forrestal range from Soviet agents, to U.S. government operatives sent to silence him for his knowledge of UFOs. (read more)

The Death of James Forrestal

corporate fascism rules american government

2012-01-10T15:10:00.005-06:00

V

2012-01-10T13:38:00.007-06:00

"People should not be afraid of their governments.

Governments should be afraid of their people."

(dominoes)

they're coming my friends

2012-01-10T11:11:00.000-06:00

Open Theatre on the Behance Network

2012-01-09T11:39:00.001-06:00

Open Theatre on the Behance Network

prisoner

2012-01-08T19:54:00.014-06:00

War, it's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt.

Decapitation of prisoner in Korean War.

Margaret Bourke-White

Freestyle Over-Dead By Design - Canibus.mp3

2012-01-08T18:51:00.001-06:00

Freestyle Over-Dead By Design - Canibus.mp3 by Leonid Basin

descent into madness

2012-01-08T11:49:00.007-06:00

If you don't already know, there is a controversial bill President Obama signed into law on New Year's Eve. Provisions within the NDAA allow for the indefinite detention of American citizens on US soil, without access to a trial or attorney. It's a disgrace to the founding fathers, to our nation's rule of law, and to every soldier who has given his or her life to protect our way of life. Many, even liberal Democrats, are now calling for Obama's impeachment, and the recall of Congressional leaders who crammed this bill through.
(read more) (aclu blog) (NDAA)

st. james infirmary blues

2012-01-07T10:38:00.002-06:00

absence

2012-01-06T10:49:00.009-06:00

In the absence of light,

darkness prevails.

whats up: Nukespeak is a classic! | Karl Grossman

2012-01-05T16:01:00.004-06:00

Nukespeak is a classic!

Award-winning investigative journalist Karl Grossman interviews Nukespeak co-author Rory O’Connor on Grossman’s nationally-aired TV program, Enviro-Close-Up. Grossman has been a journalist for more than 40 years, and is a professor of journalism at the State University of New York/College at Old Westbury. He is also the chief investigative reporter for WVVH-TV.

Grossman said he was happy to be talking about the 30th anniversary updated edition of Nukespeak: “Of the books written about nuclear technology through the years, Nukespeak is a classic. The new edition of Nukespeak has been updated — with four new chapters — and added to its title is: The Selling of Nuclear Technology from the Manhattan Project to Fukushima. It tells how nuclear promoters have been — and continue — using Orwellian language to try to hide the truth about the deadly dangers of nuclear technology.”

more > whats up: Nukespeak is a classic! | Karl Grossman

EnviroVideo presents Enviro Close-UP with Karl Grossman on blip.tv
A EnviroVideo produces environmental and social justice programs for television - including interview and news shows, specials, and documentaries. The underlying premise of EnviroVideo is that there are critical environmental issues at hand that can best be communicated to large numbers of people through the media most favored for news and information - television and the Internet. And if there is broad public awareness, pressing environmental matters can be dealt with and action taken to truly resolve them.

NO NUKES | RE-TOOL NOW
whats up: RC'S NUCLEAR BLOG

the eternal now

2012-01-04T16:38:00.002-06:00

The End of the Iraq War

2012-01-03T20:07:00.000-06:00

The Iraq War is officially at an end – the troops have comehome. Is there any intention on the partof government and its people to seriously assess the significance of thisprolonged conflict and to ascertain whether the enormous cost inflicted both onourselves and our alleged enemies was worth it? I think not; similar to the aftermath of theVietnam War, it will quickly be forgotten by those who did not directlyparticipate in it. Political pundits andthose running for office will, of course, distort the reality of this war inwhatever way necessary to achieve personal satisfaction and gain.

In fact, nothing of lasting importance has been achieved inspite of the one trillion dollar drain on the national treasury; the more thanfour thousand American lives lost and the tens of thousands grievously injuredAmericans and the death of what well may be one million Iraqis. Quite to the contrary, sectarian rivalrieshave been greatly exacerbated and the physical infrastructure of the countryhas still not been restored to the state they were in prior to the First GulfWar – electricity and reliably clean drinking water are still not readilyavailable to the Iraqi population, for example.

The Iraq War represents, in my mind, a reprehensible andfailed attempt to establish economic hegemony in the region. It is true that the energy and weaponsindustries may have profited immensely from the conflict, but these areephemeral gains. The depravedindifference to human life that this unprovoked and brutal war on the people ofIraq represents has not only diminished the financial and human resources ofthe United States, but also, has wrecked havoc on the moral character of thenation. It is another senseless waralong with the wretched litany of past conflicts perpetrated againstessentially defenseless peoples around the globe.

Is there no end to what the American people will tolerate inregards to the militaristic behavior of our nation towards other governmentsand their citizens? There is now aboutone and one-half million men and women who have served in Iraq andAfghanistan. They have been badly usedand exploited by those in power who remain remote from any possibility of harm. What kind of treatment should they expect tofind on their return home? The evidenceis clear in regards to the answer to this question – they can expect littlehelp or understanding. They are, infact, expected to suffer in silence.

If we, as a people, do not look honestly and withunflinching clarity at our own behavior, we are doomed to repeat it.

moving forward

2012-01-02T21:11:00.000-06:00

end time

2012-01-01T23:12:00.005-06:00

2012 (MMXII) is a leap year that started on a Sunday in the Gregorian calendar, and it is the current year. It is the 2012th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 12th year of the 3rd millennium and of the 21st century, and the 3rd of the 2010s.

The United Nations General Assembly designated 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives, highlighting the contribution of cooperatives to socio-economic development, in particular recognizing their impact on poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration; it is also designated as the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All.

It has also been designated Alan Turing Year, commemorating the mathematician, computer pioneer, and code-breaker on the centennial of Turing's birth.

There are a variety of popular beliefs about the year 2012. These beliefs range from the spiritually transformative to the apocalyptic, and center upon various interpretations of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. Contemporary scientists have disputed the apocalyptic versions.

The 2012 phenomenon comprises a range of eschatological beliefs according to which cataclysmic or transformative events will occur on December 21, 2012. This date is regarded as the end-date of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. Various astronomical alignments and numerological formulae have been proposed as pertaining to this date, though none have been accepted by mainstream scholarship.

A New Age interpretation of this transition is that this date marks the start of time in which Earth and its inhabitants may undergo a positive physical or spiritual transformation, and that 2012 may mark the beginning of a new era. Others suggest that the 2012 date marks the end of the world or a similar catastrophe. Scenarios suggested for the end of the world include the arrival of the next solar maximum, or Earth's collision with a black hole, passing asteroid or a planet called "Nibiru". (read more)

Rough Freestyle 1

2012-01-01T20:04:00.002-06:00

Rough Freestyle 1

war is over

2011-12-31T20:29:00.002-06:00

dawn of man

2011-12-31T20:00:00.004-06:00

We haven't made much progress.

high strangeness

2011-12-30T18:30:00.005-06:00

It's no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction.
Fiction has to make sense...Mark Twain.

level one

2011-12-29T15:45:00.003-06:00

There are only

two levels above death,

...acceptance and sharing.

the cost of war

2011-12-28T09:11:00.001-06:00

(cost of war)

Nymphs and Satyr

2011-12-27T20:31:00.006-06:00

Nymphs and Satyr
William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1873

Nymphs and Satyr (Nymphes et Satires) is a painting, oil on canvas, created by artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau in 1873.

Nymphs and Satyr was exhibited in Paris in 1873, a year before the Impressionists mounted their first exhibition, in a style radically different from that of Bouguereau.

Sterling Clark discovered the painting near the end of the 19th century, displayed in the bar of the Hoffman House Hotel, New York City. Clark rediscovered the piece in storage at the Hoffman during the 1930s, acquiring the piece in 1943. The piece is currently on display at the Clark Art Institute located in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Set in a secluded pond, the painting depicts a cluster of bathing nymphs who have captured a lascivious satyr spying on them; four are tugging him toward a dunking, and one of them is using only one hand, the other beckoning other nymphs, in the background, to join the fun.

the spectacle

2011-12-26T08:37:00.005-06:00

(society of the spectacle: original film)

Romans 12

2011-12-25T10:03:00.004-06:00

19 Revenge not yourselves, my dearly beloved; but give place unto wrath, for it is written: Revenge is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.

20 But if thy enemy be hungry, give him to eat; if he thirst, give him to drink. For, doing this, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.

21 Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good.

the milky way

2011-12-24T11:11:00.002-06:00

You Are Here...

at last

2011-12-23T11:33:00.000-06:00

i love you

2011-12-22T11:11:00.001-06:00

I know what I saw

2011-12-22T10:01:00.000-06:00

eye of death

2011-12-21T14:22:00.003-06:00

"Eye" 1946

"We are all confronted with

death whether we like it or not."

M.C. Escher

crystal palace

2011-12-21T14:08:00.001-06:00

The Best Congress Money Can Buy

2011-12-21T13:37:00.002-06:00

This is getting scary: whatever happened to representative government by the people? If corporations are people (thanks supreme court) how can we even hope to compete with their goals and aims, and money?

It is looking more and more like democracy is a failed system, taken over by gross profits and advertising.
I for one am glad I won't be on this planet much longer -- at least in this form . . .

a billion tears

2011-12-20T23:22:00.002-06:00

stupid

2011-12-20T23:19:00.001-06:00

wag the dog

2011-12-20T23:11:00.003-06:00

wag the dog trailer

Dharma Flix & Dharma Punx

2011-12-20T22:52:00.000-06:00

Dharma Flix

Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead... only try to realize the truth. What is the truth? There is no spoon.

DharmaFlix is a collaborative effort to list, review, rate, and provide clips of films with Buddhist Dharma content for the benefit of all.

DharmaFlix.com Main Page - DharmaflixWiki

What is Dharma? - DharmaflixWiki

Your world and everything in it, including you, is a simulacrum, illusory like a dream, a video game, or the Matrix. It arises from that which is called by many many names, but "your awakened mind" will work as well as any.

When your awakened mind illumines itself in the full glare of its own light, and penetrates the purported solidity of the material world, there is enlightenment, and the path is walked. Speaking Dharma, hearing Dharma, does not make it clear for you, so it is said that the Dharma cannot be spoken. Also, upon realization of Dharma, all statements are immediately seen to be part of the illusory world. Can there be a true statement in a dream?

Films seem real because we suspend our disbelief in them. Likewise, we live out our lives with our disbelief suspended in the 3-D illusory world we call "Reality". This is called "ignorance". Dharmaflix has films which may, if we remain aware, help us to regain our suspicion of Reality. When this suspicion of Reality, through meditation, becomes experience of the illusoriness of Reality, there is Dharma.

Dharma Punx

This is the story of a young man and a generation of angry youths who rebelled against their parents and the unfulfilled promise of the sixties.

As with many self-destructive kids, Noah Levine's search for meaning led him first to punk rock, drugs, drinking, and dissatisfaction. But the search didn't end there. Having clearly seen the uselessness of drugs and violence, Noah looked for positive ways to channel his rebellion against what he saw as the lies of society...

dharmapunx.com

picasso's minotaur

2011-12-20T05:51:00.011-06:00

Minotaur caressing a sleeping woman (June 1933)

"Art is a lie

that makes us realize the truth."

Pablo Picasso

my blue bra: egyptian army beating protester

2011-12-19T11:11:00.006-06:00

history mystery

2011-12-18T10:12:00.010-06:00

WHERE did humankind come from?

If you’re going to ask Zecharia Sitchin, be ready for a “Planet of the Apes” scenario: spaceships and hieroglyphics, genetic mutations and mutinous space aliens in gold mines.

It sounds like science fiction, but Mr. Sitchin is sure this is how it all went down hundreds of thousands of years ago in Mesopotamia. Humans were genetically engineered by extraterrestrials, he said, pointing to ancient texts to prove it.

In Mr. Sitchin’s Upper West Side kitchen, evolution and creationism collide. He is an apparently sane, sharp, University of London-educated 89-year-old who has spent his life arguing that people evolved with a little genetic intervention from ancient astronauts who came to Earth.

Born in Russia and raised in Israel, Mr. Sitchin studied economics in London and worked as a journalist and editor in Israel before moving to New York in 1952. Here, he was an executive at a shipping company and, with his wife of 66 years (she died in 2007), raised two daughters. He spent his free time studying, leading archaeological tours to ancient sites and spreading his unusual gospel.

Starting in childhood, he has studied ancient Hebrew, Akkadian and Sumerian, the language of the ancient Mesopotamians, who brought you geometry, astronomy, the chariot and the lunar calendar. And in the etchings of Sumerian pre-cuneiform script — the oldest example of writing — are stories of creation and the cosmos that most consider myth and allegory, but that Mr. Sitchin takes literally. (nytimes.com) (sitchin.com)

Fahrenheit 911

2011-12-17T13:14:00.002-06:00

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-17T08:54:00.001-06:00

Next year is the last, according to some interpretation of my ancestor's calendar in Chiapas/Guatemala.

Live every year as if it was the last one.

Dear Christopher Hitchens, we will all get there as you just did.

The Universe will go on, with or without us!

Almost Gone | Bradley Manning

2011-12-16T22:07:00.003-06:00

Almost Gone by Graham Nash and James Raymond
A companion video for "Almost Gone" -- a new song by legendary singer-songwriter Graham Nash and musician James Raymond (son of David Crosby) -- is being released today in support of accused U.S. Army whistleblower Bradley Manning. The free download is available on Nash's website (www.grahamnash.com) and the Bradley Manning Support Network site www.bradleymanning.org...

see also > what next: Bradley Manning | Wikileaks

spinning in space

2011-12-16T11:33:00.001-06:00

time

2011-12-16T11:26:00.002-06:00

vortex ring

2011-12-16T10:21:00.001-06:00

stratosphere

2011-12-16T10:06:00.000-06:00

Stratolaunch Systems is a space transportation venture specializing in air launch to orbit, with its corporate headquarters located in Huntsville, Alabama. It was founded in 2011 by Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen and Scaled Composites founder Burt Rutan, who had previously collaborated on the creation of SpaceShipOne. The newly envisioned launch system will use similar components to that of Virgin Galactic though it will be made for orbital launch instead of sub-orbital. The start up will build a mobile launch system with three primary components; a carrier aircraft to be built by Scaled Composites, a multi-stage launch vehicle built by Space Exploration Technologies, and a mating and integration system to be built by Dynetics.

Allen and Rutan stated that the carrier aircraft would have a wingspan of 385 feet (117 m), making it the largest wingspan of a aircraft ever to fly, and will weigh in at over 1,200,000 pounds (540,000 kg). The aircraft will be powered by 6 × 46,000-66,500lb thrust range Turbine Engines planned to be sourced from a Boeing 747 engines and other components from the 400-series.

A Falcon-derivative two-stage liquid-fueled air-launched launch vehicle will be developed by SpaceX. The launch vehicle will have a launch mass of approximately 220,000 kilograms (490,000 lb) and will have the goal of inserting a 6,100 kilograms (13,000 lb) payload into low Earth orbit. (read more) (video clip) (stratolaunch)

what do you make of this ?

2011-12-15T08:55:00.000-06:00

a turn around

2011-12-14T07:11:00.000-06:00

A revolution (from the Latin revolutio, "a turn around") is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time. Aristotle described two types of political revolution:

1.Complete change from one constitution to another.

2.Modification of an existing constitution.

Revolutions have occurred through human history and vary widely in terms of methods, duration, and motivating ideology. Their results include major changes in culture, economy, and socio-political institutions.

Scholarly debates about what does and does not constitute a revolution center around several issues. Early studies of revolutions primarily analyzed events in European history from a psychological perspective, but more modern examinations include global events and incorporate perspectives from several social sciences, including sociology and political science. Several generations of scholarly thought on revolutions have generated many competing theories and contributed much to the current understanding of this complex phenomenon.

There are many different typologies of revolutions in social science and literature. For example, classical scholar Alexis de Tocqueville differentiated between 1) political revolutions 2) sudden and violent revolutions that seek not only to establish a new political system but to transform an entire society and 3) slow but sweeping transformations of the entire society that take several generations to bring about (ex. religion). One of several different Marxist typologies divides revolutions into pre-capitalist, early bourgeois, bourgeois, bourgeois-democratic, early proletarian, and socialist revolutions.

Charles Tilly, a modern scholar of revolutions, differentiated between a coup, a top-down seizure of power, a civil war, a revolt and a "great revolution" (revolutions that transform economic and social structures as well as political institutions, such as the French Revolution of 1789, Russian Revolution of 1917, or Islamic Revolution of Iran).

Other types of revolution, created for other typologies, include the social revolutions; proletarian or communist revolutions inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace capitalism with communism); failed or abortive revolutions (revolutions that fail to secure power after temporary victories or large-scale mobilization) or violent vs. nonviolent revolutions.

The term "revolution" has also been used to denote great changes outside the political sphere. Such revolutions are usually recognized as having transformed in society, culture, philosophy and technology much more than political systems; they are often known as social revolutions. Some can be global, while others are limited to single countries. One of the classic examples of the usage of the word revolution in such context is the industrial revolution (note that such revolutions also fit the "slow revolution" definition of Tocqueville). (read more)

peace not apartheid

2011-12-13T07:02:00.001-06:00

newt

2011-12-13T05:20:00.005-06:00

GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich says poor kids should start working at jobs as early as elementary school. “Child laws,” Gingrich said, “are truly stupid.”

Where would he begin? “Most of these schools ought to get rid of the unionized janitors,” the former House speaker said, “have one master janitor and pay local students to take care of the school.” Liberals have criticized that idea for insulting janitors and reinstating child exploitation.

One can challenge the factuality of Gingrich’s premise that “really poor children in really poor neighborhoods have no habits of working and have nobody around them who works” and disfavor employment “unless it’s illegal.” Three-fourths of America’s poor work. Given the critical lack of jobs in inner cities and isolated rural areas, it’s difficult to argue that the real problem is poor people’s —or their children’s — lassitude or penchant for crime. (politico.com)

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich thrust himself into controversy on Friday by declaring that the Palestinians are an "invented" people who want to destroy Israel.

The former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives predictably sided with Israel in its decades-old dispute with the Palestinians but took it a step further in an interview with the Jewish Channel.

Gingrich differed with official U.S. policy that respects the Palestinians as a people deserving of their own state based on negotiations with Israel.

"Remember, there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire" until the early 20th century, Gingrich said.

"I think that we've had an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs, and who were historically part of the Arab community. And they had a chance to go many places, and for a variety of political reasons we have sustained this war against Israel now since the 1940s, and it's tragic," he said.

Gingrich said he would be willing to consider granting clemency to Jonathan Jay Pollard, who has been serving a life prison term since 1987 for passing U.S. secrets to Israel. Successive U.S. presidents have refused Israeli entreaties to free him. (haaretz.com)

How To Start A Revolution

2011-12-13T00:28:00.000-06:00

Gene Sharp - How to Start a Revolution Trailer from Gene Sharp on Vimeo.

How To Start A Revolution | a film by Ruaridh Arrow

" is a portrait of how one man’s thinking has contributed to the liberation of millions of oppressed people living under some of the most brutal dictatorships in the world and how his work in direct action and civil disobedience continues to be used today to topple dictators using the sheer force of nonviolent people power."

How to Start a Revolution on Current TV -
Current TV can be found on most cable and satellite providers. More info is available on their website http://current.com/ - click here for schedule.

The 99 Percent: 'Vanguard'

2011-12-12T23:37:00.003-06:00

In "The 99 Percent," Vanguard correspondent Christof Putzel moves into Zuccotti Park to explore the Occupy Wall Street movement from the inside. Produced by Craig and Brent Renaud.

The 99 Percent: 'Vanguard' Trailer | Vanguard Video

"Vanguard" is Current TV's no-limits documentary series whose award-winning correspondents put themselves in extraordinary situations to immerse viewers in global issues that have a large social significance. Unlike sound-bite driven reporting, the show's correspondents, Adam Yamaguchi, Christof Putzel and Mariana van Zeller, serve as trusted guides who take viewers on in-depth real life adventures in pursuit of some of the world's most important stories.

Current TV Schedule | Current TV: Official Site

the visitors

2011-12-12T10:47:00.004-06:00

Purity of Holy Water

2011-12-11T22:53:00.001-06:00

Purity of Holy Water

Fela

2011-12-11T16:53:00.001-06:00

Fela Anikulapo Kuti (15 October 1938 — 2 August 1997), or simply Fela, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.

Nigeria - African Music Legends -
Fela Kuti in Concert 1 - YouTube

...In 1984, Muhammadu Buhari's government, of which Kuti was a vocal opponent, jailed him on a charge of currency smuggling which Amnesty International and others denounced as politically motivated. His case was taken up by several human-rights groups, and after 20 months, he was released from prison by General Ibrahim Babangida. On his release he divorced his twelve remaining wives, saying that "marriage brings jealousy and selfishness." Once again, Fela continued to release albums with Egypt '80, made a number of successful tours of the United States and Europe and also continued to be politically active. In 1986, Fela performed in Giants Stadium in New Jersey as part of the Amnesty International Conspiracy of Hope concert, sharing the bill with Bono, Carlos Santana, and The Neville Brothers. In 1989, Fela and Egypt '80 released the anti-apartheid Beasts of No Nation album that depicts on its cover U.S. President Ronald Reagan, UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and South African Prime Minister Pieter Willem Botha...

...His album output slowed in the 1990s, and eventually he stopped releasing albums altogether. In 1993 he and four members of the Afrika '70 organization were arrested for murder. The battle against military corruption in Nigeria was taking its toll, especially during the rise of dictator Sani Abacha. Rumors were also spreading that he was suffering from an illness for which he was refusing treatment. On 3 August 1997, Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, already a prominent AIDS activist and former Minister of Health, stunned the nation by announcing his younger brother's death a day earlier from Kaposi's sarcoma which was brought on by AIDS. More than a million people attended Fela's funeral at the site of the old Shrine compound. A new Africa Shrine has opened since Fela's death in a different section of Lagos under the supervision of his son Femi Kuti...

Fela Kuti - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Wicker Man

2011-12-11T16:22:00.003-06:00

The Wicker Man is a 1973 British film, combining thriller, horror and musical genres, directed by Robin Hardy and written by Anthony Shaffer. The film stars Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Britt Ekland. Paul Giovanni composed the soundtrack. The film is now considered a cult classic.

The Wicker Man - Trailer

Inspired by the basic scenario of David Pinner's 1967 novel The Ritual, the story centres on the visit of Police Sergeant Neil Howie to the isolated island of Summerisle, in search of a missing girl the locals claim never existed. Howie is a devout Christian, and is appalled by a religion loosely inspired by Celtic paganism practised by the inhabitants of the island.

The Wicker Man is generally well regarded by critics and film enthusiasts. Film magazine Cinefantastique described it as "The Citizen Kane of Horror Movies", and during 2004 the magazine Total Film named The Wicker Man the sixth greatest British film of all time. It also won the 1978 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film. A scene from this film was #45 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.

In his 2010 BBC documentary series A History of Horror, writer and actor Mark Gatiss referred to the film as a prime example of a short-lived sub-genre he called "folk horror", grouping it with 1968's Witchfinder General and 1971's Blood on Satan's Claw.

The Wicker Man (1973 film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Willow's Song

Zen - Movie about Dogen

2011-12-11T15:33:00.002-06:00

Banmei Takahashi's "Zen"

based on the life of Japanese Zen Master Dogen
(19 January 1200 – 22 September 1253).

道元禅師
• Dōgen Zenji (also Dōgen Kigen 道元希玄, or Eihei Dōgen 永平道元, or Koso Joyo Daishi) (19 January 1200 – 22 September 1253) was a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher born in Kyōto, and the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan after travelling to China and training under the Chinese Caodong lineage there. Dōgen is known for his extensive writing including the Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma or Shōbōgenzō, a collection of ninety-five fascicles concerning Buddhist practice and enlightenment.

Zen (2009) Part 1

Zen - Movie about Dogen - DharmaflixWiki

....Banmei Takahashi's "Zen" is that rare serious film about this form of Buddhism, which has had a huge cultural influence but is little understood — let alone practiced — by ordinary Japanese. Perhaps it's a sign that, after decades of a single-minded focus on materialism, the culture is returning to its spiritual roots; or that one Baby Boomer director (Takahashi is 60) is getting religious in his old age.

Zen (2009) Part 2

Zen Beginner: Zen Movie Review: Zen

...Despite some moments of CG silliness the movie does manage to provide good dramatic pacing considering the amount to time in the movie that's dedicated to Zazen (admittedly not the most compelling thing to watch), the major events of Dogen's life are all covered, up to his death. The movie portrays him dying in Zazen as the monks continue to sit the rest of the period out of dedication to his practice. This portrayal diverges from the historical account but it's emblematic of the way a Zen master is supposed to die: either standing or sitting in perfect samadhi.

Overall Zen is entertaining and contains enough of a historical outline of Dogen's life that it's a worthwhile movie. I give it four out of five enso's.

love is the answer

2011-12-11T10:02:00.001-06:00

The Birth of Venus

2011-12-10T11:41:00.008-06:00

The Birth of Venus 1879
William-Adolphe Bouguereau

William-Adolphe Bouguereau (November 30, 1825 – August 19, 1905) was a French academic painter. William Bouguereau (French pronunciation: [vijɑ̃ buɡəʁo]) was a traditionalist; in his realistic genre paintings he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of Classical subjects, with an emphasis on the female human body.

Bouguereau was a staunch traditionalist whose realistic genre paintings and mythological themes were modern interpretations of Classical subjects—both pagan and Christian—with a heavy concentration on the female human body. The idealized world of his paintings, and his almost photo-realistic style, brought to life goddesses, nymphs, bathers, shepherdesses, and madonnas in a way that appealed to wealthy art patrons of the era.

Bouguereau employed traditional methods of working up a painting, including detailed pencil studies and oil sketches, and his careful method resulted in a pleasing and accurate rendering of the human form. His painting of skin, hands, and feet was particularly admired. He also used some of the religious and erotic symbolism of the Old Masters, such as the “broken pitcher” which connoted lost innocence. (read more)

make mine freedom

2011-12-10T10:07:00.000-06:00

Harry Morgan

2011-12-09T23:39:00.001-06:00

Harry Morgan (born Harry Bratsberg, often spelled Harry Bratsburg; April 10, 1915 – December 7, 2011) was an American actor. He was widely known for his roles as Pete Porter in both December Bride (1954–1959) and Pete and Gladys (1960–1962), Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet (1967–1970), Amos Coogan on Hec Ramsey (1972–1974), and Colonel Sherman T. Potter in M*A*S*H (1975–1983) and AfterMASH (1983-1984). Additionally, Morgan appeared in more than 100 films.

Morgan's first appearance on M*A*S*H was in the show's third season (1974–1975), when he played eccentric Major General Bartford Hamilton Steele in "The General Flipped at Dawn", which originally aired on September 10, 1974.

The following season, Morgan joined the cast of M*A*S*H as Colonel Sherman T. Potter. Morgan replaced McLean Stevenson, who had left the show at the end of the previous season. Col. Potter is a career army officer who is tough, yet good-humored and caring -- a father figure to the people under his command.

In 1980, Morgan won an Emmy award for his performance on M*A*S*H. When asked if he was a better actor after working with the show's talented cast, Morgan responded, "I don't know about that, but it's made me a better human being."

CENSORED 2012

2011-12-09T01:08:00.007-06:00

"The News That Didn’t Make the News"

CENSORED 2012 –
In this volume, there are 500 pages of real news you can use, plus ample analysis that eradicates civil paralysis, and antidotes to our current Truth Emergency that will strengthen societal media literacy.

The mission of Project Censored is to teach students and the public about the role of a free press in a free society – and to tell the News That Didn’t Make the News and Why

Between 700 and 1000 stories are submitted to Project Censored each year from journalists, scholars, librarians, and concerned citizens around the world.

With the help of more than 200 Sonoma State University faculty, students, and community members, Project Censored reviews the story submissions for coverage, content, reliability of sources and national significance. The university community selects 25 stories to submit to the Project Censored panel of judges who then rank them in order of importance. Current or previous national judges include: Noam Chomsky, Susan Faludi, George Gerbner, Sut Jhally, Frances Moore Lappe, Michael Parenti, Herbert I. Schiller, Barbara Seaman, Erna Smith, Mike Wallace and Howard Zinn. All 25 stories are featured in the yearbook, Censored: The News That Didn’t Make the News.

see > Top 25 Of 2012 ("Censored 2012: Stories of 2010-2011")

and STORE: Censored 2012
The Sourcebook for the Media Revolution, The Top Censored Stories and Media Analysis of 2010-2011 by Mickey Huff and Project Censored.

Project Censored is administered through the SSU Sociology Department with financial support from the SSU Instructionally Related Activity Fund, School of Social Science, Media Freedom Foundation Inc. and donations from thousands of supporters around the country.

see also > Top 25 Archive
Independent News Sources
Featured Articles
Censored Notebook

organ grinder

2011-12-08T23:59:00.001-06:00

whats up: China Syndrome | No cold shutdown possible at Fukushima

2011-12-08T16:06:00.003-06:00

there can and will be
no cold shutdown
of the Fukushima plant

Is there a China Syndrome at Fukushima?

December, 2011: Paul Gunter, Beyond Nuclear joins Thom Hartmann. The crisis at Fukushima continues. Over the weekend - the crippled Japanese nuclear plant spewed even more highly radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean - roughly 45,000 liters in all. According to a French nuclear research institute - since the Fukushima nuclear crisis began in March - the plant has leaked more radioactive material into the ocean than has ever happened before in the history of the planet. And he claims that after more than 8 months since an earthquake and tsunami triggered this crisis - it's inevitable that nuclear fuel has leaked into the groundwater - meaning the "China Syndrome" is officially upon us. He also warned that if underground water gets overheated - it could trigger a hydrovolcanic explosion. So what does all this mean? Time to ditch nuclear power - the most expensive and dangerous form of energy on Earth.

Beyond Nuclear - Home

Fukushima’s Cold Shutdown Condition | Nukespeak

“I just checked in to see what condition my condition is in.”

One of the truly scary but perversely enjoyable characteristics of nuclear developers is their penchant for making it up as they go along – and then creating new Nukespeak words and concepts to describe what they’re up to as they do.

The latest example concerns the situation at Japan’s still-dangerous Fukushima Daiichi plant and comes to us via the Nuclear Energy Institute and its “Ask an Expert” question-and-answer page:

Question: What is “cold shutdown?”

TEPCO understood this important nuance to achieving “cold shutdown” early on this year when it developed its initial recovery plans and developed a new term, “cold shutdown condition,” which applies to how they are bringing the reactors to stable condition.

more > whats up: China Syndrome | No cold shutdown possible at Fukushima | whats up (RC'S NUCLEAR BLOG)

NO NUKES | RE-TOOL NOW

sex

2011-12-08T11:26:00.005-06:00

Alfred Charles Kinsey (June 23, 1894 – August 25, 1956) was an American biologist and professor of entomology and zoology, who in 1947 founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, as well as producing the Kinsey Reports and the Kinsey scale. Kinsey's research on human sexuality, foundational to the modern field of sexology, provoked controversy in the 1940s and 1950s. His work has profoundly influenced social and cultural values in the United States and many other countries. (read more)

The Kinsey Reports are two books on human sexual behavior, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953), by Dr. Alfred Kinsey, Wardell Pomeroy and others and published by Saunders. Kinsey was a zoologist at Indiana University and the founder of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction (more widely known as the Kinsey Institute).

The Sexual Behavior in the Human Female was based on personal interviews with nearly 6,000 women. Kinsey analyzed data on the frequency with which women participate in various types of sexual activity and looked at how factors such as age, social-economic status and religious adherence influence sexual behavior. Comparisons are made of female and male sexual activities. Kinsey's evidence suggested that women were less sexually active than men in all aspects of sexual life but that they were still more sexual than traditional views allowed. By the time the book on female sexuality was published, it appeared that Kinsey seemed to feel that women and men are more alike in the biology of their sexuality than he had previously thought, and that both men's and women's sexuality seemed shaped, not merely repressed, by social and cultural forces.

The publications astounded the general public and were immediately controversial and sensational. The findings caused shock and outrage, both because they challenged conventional beliefs about sexuality and because they discussed subjects that had previously been taboo. (read more)

70 years ago today

2011-12-07T22:10:00.002-06:00