Thursday, December 31, 2009

A Forgotten Cure for Cancer?

The quest for a Cancer cure appears to be never-ending. Sometimes, it almost appears that the profit driven drug market does not really want a cure. For instance, take the case of Dichloroacetic Acid. This is a drug that was developed to fight Lactic Intolerance in children, but did not fare well with the kids it was intended for. It proved too toxic for the medical benefits obtained.

The very properties that kept it from being used to treat Lactic Intolerance, appears to give it some darn good Cancer fighting qualities. Cancer cells, being mutations, do not derive their cellular power from respiration. These cells derive their energy to stay alive from a process of glycolysis, or the synthesis of simple sugars, due to the hypoxia related to being a tumorous mass. Normal cells have a self destruct mechanism that will kill them off if they become damaged, but Cancer cells do not have this. As a result, they keep growing unchecked, eventually consuming the host body.

Dichloroacetic acid has been shown to restored this self-destruct function to Cancer cells. This has not been scientifically tested on humans, but has been verified through animal testing. It appears to show great promise. However, there is one problem...

Dichloroacetic acid is a non-patentable compound, making it less-profitable for a drug company to produce. Herein lies the issue; To this date, all testing of this drug has recieved ZERO support from the drug industry. All testing has been done by physicians who have used donated funding. The drug manufactures seeming quite content, are letting this possible cure slip out of grasp.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Russia Announces Mission to Deflect Earth Killer Asteroid

In a surprise announcement, the Russian Space Agency says it is sending a mission to the asteroid named Apophis, which is suspected to be on a collision course for Earth. This asteroid measures over 1000 feet in diameter, and is on a path which will carry it very close to Earth in the year 2029. It is expected to get a gravitational push, which will place it on a collison course for the Earth in 2036. If it strikes Earth, it will likely kill hundreds of thousands and devastate an entire region of the planet.

The US Space Agency, NASA, has downplayed the risk this asteroid poses in the last few years. The Russians, however, are intent on making sure no risk of striking the Earth remains. They feel it is better to spend the money now and develop a system to defend against threatening space objects, than to wait until a devastating planet strike occurs.

Read more hear on PhysOrg...

Friday, December 25, 2009

Rosemary Ainslee and Her Dark Energy Circuit

Dark Energy is making news again. This time it is from South African inventor Rosemary Ainslee. Mrs. Ainslee has invented an electrical circuit that produces more power than it takes to run it.

Claims of this nature are nothing new, and indeed, the science world has yet to take it seriously, but this time it appears to be different. It has been reproduced in a laboratory setting several times now, and none of her theories or suppositions have been discredited in any way. The only glitch being a paper she turned in to the I.E.E.E. who would not accept it for a technical error concerning a part she used.

This is very different than the standard fringe science/free energy inventions as made in the past. Mrs. Ainslee claims the device uses oscillations in a certain type of electrical component (a MOSFET, I believe) to generate the extra energy. I don't understand it totally, but it seems like she makes it overdrive itself into a self generating state in a manner it was not designed to do. The manufactures, of course, have no idea that it could be used in this way.

Following in the footsteps of the great Nikola Tesla, Mrs. Ainslee believes that by doing this, she can tap into the fundamental dark energy that lies within the particles that make up all matter.

Here is a more in detail article...

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Help Phoenix Marie


Help this poor girl. Through no fault of her own, our medical system is failing her, and she cannot keep up. Phoenix Marie was a very well known figure and artist in the early Goth scene.



The Face of Evil...


Not that I am evil in the normal sense, but here is a picture of me and my main ride, for those who are curious. I guess I can now prove I am a real person.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Steve Kaplan and the Vampire Research Center


Since such romantic pablum as Twilight is so popular right now, I figure it is time for a commentary on REAL vampires...

Modern Society tells us that Vampires are mythical fiction, the stuff of Dracula tales and obscure Slavic superstition. His research unknown to most of the world, Dr. Steve Kaplan has been researching whether these legends are true since 1972. He founded the Vampire Research Center in that year, travelled the world interviewing suspected vampires, and investigated vampiric activity.

He has investigated and interviewed literally thousands of people, and has identified 650 persons who he considers to be REAL vampires in North America, and shed light on a strange medical affliction called Porphyria. This affliction causes a physical need to ingest human blood. Based on his 20+ years of research, he believes the Vampire myth is based partly in fact.

Over the course of the years, Dr. Kaplan has identified several social groups claiming to be vampires, and a few who do not claim it, but still fit the description. He says the overwhelming majority of persons who claim vampirism are simply people drawn to the heavily gothic, romanticised image of the vampire. These folks are what he considers to be vampire "wannabees". These folks usually dress like a stereotypical vampire, and more or less play the part. For them, it is the fetish of taking on the image of the seductive undead which is most appealing.

The next step up is what he calls the "Yuppie" vampires. These are people who trade sexual favors for blood. They have a literal need for blood. They have been documented doing such things as drinking the blood drained from meat cartons at the supermarket. Most have a compulsion, and harbor feelings of guilt and shame for what they do.

Dr. Kaplan says he has found out of the many people who physically drink blood, a small number have a physical need to consume blood in addition to their regular diet. He calls these people Conservative Vampires, because they dress inconspicusouly and look average. They hide their vampirism, and feel irritable, depressed, weak, or aggressive if they do not get enough blood in their diet. This is the mark of Porphyria.

The third and final group he describes are the Blood Killers. People who act on their impulses and seek out victims to kill and drain of their blood. He has worked with Police organizations and interviewed killers responsible for these acts. It can be dangerous work. He was almost been killed on several occasions performing his investigations. As a result, he changed his interview methods where he never met anyone face to face.


Dr. Steve Kaplan died in June of 1995.

Here is his Wikipedia entry...

Sunday, December 20, 2009

The Final Death of Punk Rock

I am an old guy, let me get that out of the way.

I was around for, and part of what has now become the earlier years of Punk Rock. I still sort of keep up with what passes for Punk these days, but what passes for it is not always what it really is. There are some great, truly underground bands out there, but by and large, Punk has become another marketing term. It has been reduced to a catch phrase to hang on the Jonas Brothers, or to silk screen on Mrs. Montana's shirt.

In the early 90's, Grunge brought a breath of fresh air into the Punk/Hardcore scene, but it too was doomed to die. This was a great period in music history, however by the latter part of the decade, it was clear that music was becoming a vast desert of identical sounding musicians driven by corporate marketing. Most of the real "punks" drifted off into things like Rockabilly and swing, which many have always considered to be closer to their roots anyway, or just dropped out.

These days, myself, and others like me are well into our middle age. The subcultural impulse remains to be part of a group, and many have transitioned into things like Hot Rod culture, and other pseudo-grown up endeavors. There are still some vestiges of true underground left, but most of this is related to the Rockabilly, Darkwave or Gothic/Industrial subculture, which most of the youth don't seem to care for as a whole. It seems like only the old farts and more Avant Garde are interested in it. The old Punk network is dead for all intent and purposes. In the old days, It was possible to go to ANY city, and find a place to crash with the local punks. Not so any longer. They are just as likely to be looking for a place to crash themselves, if you can find them.

In the beginning, we were what we were because we simply were not like everyone else. It did not matter what you wore, because you were just "different" fundamentally. The best analogy is to compare the Hell's Angels to the current crop of chopper wannabes. Growing up, I knew people who were literally so different from regular people they had no category for them. The catch all category was "punk". The world had literally never seen anything like us. We had no support, and did it all by ourselves.

In the early 21st century, we are finding ourselves in the midst of a youth culture that does not seem to care about the things that got us so steamed up back in the early days. Normally, you have to pass the torch in a relay, but in this case, the torch appears to have been dropped. When a 'tween star like Avril Lavigne can pass for a punk, there really is no purpose any longer. For the price of short drive and some green from Mom, you can go to the nearest "punk rock" retail store and buy whatever you need to fit in. I find it both disturbing and slightly entertaining that they still market this word "Punk" in the 21st century.

Gone are the days of the Punk Squat, the deparavity and taboo busting. The breaking of rules for the sheer joy of rule breaking. Style seems to have won over substance.

Alas, it seems my generation is destined to go the way of the Hippy.

I found an interesting article about this and the development of retail "punk" stores like Hot Topic. These stores have helped accelerate the demise of this culture, unbeknown to many who patronize them.

You can read it here...

I am done griping like an old man. You can move along now...

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Electrical Power from Quantum Dark Energy

This company, Blacklight Power, claims they have discovered a method to harness electrical power from supposed universal "Dark Energy". They claim they have discovered new particles called Hydrinos, and a way to extract electricity from the stored quantum energy of low energy hydrogen. This, naturally, has been disputed by the rest of the science world. But the fact remains, they are still in existence, and have gained energy contracts to supply the power grid using their methods.

Only time will tell whether they are legit or not. Their Board of Directors does include several prominent scientists and a past director for the Dept. of Energy.

Maybe they are on to something?

Inventor Discovers Telepathy Link in Lab...

This just in from Skeptico...

Dr. Micheal Persinger, a researcher from Laurentian University in Canada, has demonstrated telepathy under controlled laboratory conditions. Mr. Persinger, the inventor of the so called "god helmet", has shown that the brain can be stimulated with a magnetic field, and information can be passed in this manner. He set up two test subjects under identical magnetic stimulation fields, in remote locations. They then flashed a light in one subjects eyes, and measured a direct response from the remote test subject showing that it affected him without him actually being present.

Though he doubts the scientific community will recognize his efforts, he believes this proves the theory of Quantum Entanglements and other atomic conundrums such as Action at a Distance. He believes the scientific world is notoriously narrowminded when it comes to ideas which break the boundaries of what is currently accepted.

You can see more about it here... (including an interview and podcast!)

Monday, December 14, 2009

The Economics of Disaster Capitalism

A new economic theory is making it's rounds in some circles. It is based on the observation that the capitalist foundation of our system has learned to profit from disaster and strife. Not only have corporate interests learned to profit by selling things, it is said they also use the "Shock and Awe" period after disasters, catastrophes, and wars to push through unpopular laws and legislation that puts their interests ahead of the populations of those areas affected. Examples of which, as has happened in many South American countries, are complete deregulation of the economic system so that the existing system lay in ruins and they hold all the money-making cards. The public is left in the poorhouse, with a huge gap between rich and poor, and no social services to speak of. Sound familiar?

The Communist dictator Stalin (not really anyone we should listen to, mind you) seems to have been a very astute observer in this case. He once remarked about this when discussing Capitalism during the war years, though no one really understood what he meant, at least until now.

He said "The development of world capitalism does not follow a steady and even course forward, but proceeds through crisis and catastrophes."

Ten years ago, this would not have been given much thought. After having been at war in Iraq and Afghanistan for nearly this long, with no seeming end in sight, these theories are being looked at much harder.

Writer Naomi Klein has a book out about it, called interestingly enough, The Shock Doctrine.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Witch Hunter Sues for Damages

And now, more news from the Witch Hunts...

The Center for Inquiry, an organization which is trying to stop the With Hunt craze that has enveloped Western Africa, is being sued for $1.3 billion by Nigeria's most notorious witch hunter. The Witch Hunter claims CFI is infringing on their constitutional right to do such things as burn children.

The situation over there is truly desperate. This just highlights how bad it really is, when the population stands behind truly hideous things in the name of morality, and can sue to continue to legally commit atrocities against helpless children.

Read more here...

Excerpts from the War on Christmas...

As if things can't get any stranger, a Redding, CA woman wants to force schoolchildren to sing Christmas caroles. Funny how people who claim to be for freedom seem to enjoy forcing their will upon others.

See more here...

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Slavery or Suicide?

It seems a large percentage of low wage migrant female maids have been noted as having committed suicide in the Middle East. Most of these "suicides" were by hanging or falling off a building. This story has striking parallels to the deaths of other workers in other regions of the world, such as the bodies that regularly wash up on the shores of Thailand, which are suspected to be from the shrimping industry.

The rise of Globalism has created a vast network of cheap labor (eg, Slavery), where the people who get caught up in the industry get paid a very small pittance, but cannot escape or fight back in any way. Those who do end up dead.


A blog about the deaths of these particular women has been set-up here...

Strange Goings on at the Large Hadron Collider

The newest and largest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider, was created to search for the Higgs-Boson particle. This particle is the last particle predicted by our current understanding of particle physics that has not been directly observed, and is believed responsible for such things as giving "mass" to other objects, and holding the universe together like "glue". It has been named the "God Particle" by the press.

Well, it seems the "God Particle" does not want to be found. Several physicists have half joking made the claim that it appears the Large Hadron Collider is being sabotaged from the future. A series of unusual accidents or unfortunate events has brought every particle accelorator ever built to study the Higgs-Boson to a screeching halt. They say it is almost like waves from the future rippling back and snuffing out the attempts to find this particle.

By the way, did I say the search for this particle in itself is highly controversial, and the possible results from finding this particle include such niceties as the total destruction of the Earth...

Maybe the "God Particle" knows what will happen when they find it and is trying to save us?

Here is an informative article about it from the mainstream media.

Yet More Electric Nonsense?

Here is a page I found by a physicist who offers a counter view to the Electric Universe theory. All food for thought. Some problems found in the accepted view of things and the Electric Universe are outlined very well. I suspect the real answer lies in the middle someplace, between the opposing viewpoints.

Read about it here.

Here is another page with some interesting info, though not all is about the Electric Universe Theory.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

The Mysterious Talking Board

We all know about the boards marketed by various gaming companies, claiming to be useful for contacting the spirits. The most famous of which, being the always controversial Ouija board.

Boards for this purpose have been around in one form or another for a very long time, going way back to Ancient Greece. The board as we know it today, was patented by a guy named Fuld, back in the latter 19th century. It was a refinement of several different contraptions used by mediums during the height of the Spiritualist movement, when Seances were all the vogue. He actually ripped it off from another manufacturer, who was too short-sighted to get a patent.

At any rate, these boards have remained popular throughout the years, and they are still commonly available. Whether they work for you or not, they are a part of our pop culture history. Some are veritable works of art.

You can see more about them, including a wonderful gallery of board images, at
The Talking Board Museum.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Was the Grand Canyon Made by Electricity?


Since I have a fairly curious nature, my interest has been drawn to a series of articles regarding the possibility that everything we currently understand about the Universe is fundamentally flawed. Part of this is the controversial notion that everything in the Universe is primarily an electrical manifestation, including the stars and the planets. This is known as the Plasma Universe hypothesis.

To a person well versed in the ancient mysteries, it is no surprise. Many mystery traditions teach that us that at our core level of being, we and the world around us, are basically manifestations of energy. That modern science is making observations which seem to validate the teachings is disturbing to some, especially scientists, who deep down do not like to see their views of the world change, regardless of what the observations show them. I find it entertaining, and yet sad in a way. For every step we take to lose ourselves of the ignorance of the dark ages, we seem to take two steps back and cling to our past assumptions as a blind faith.

If science has shown us anything, it is that our world is a dynamic entity. It is ever-changing and forms no real plan. Anything is possible; wait two minutes and what you thought was correct will soon be proven wrong.

Case in point; The Grand Canyon. How did it form. It seems to be a case of simple erosion. If this is true, where did the material go? There should be an equally large river delta down river of this thing. Not only that, but geologically speaking, the river is younger than the plateau it flows through. In order for it to erode the plateau the canyon is cut from, the river would have had to flow uphill. It seems to point to the fact that the canyon came first, and then the river showed up afterward. This very argument was posed in a symposium in June of 2000.

One of the proposed methods by which the Grand Canyon was created will be familiar to anyone who understands the Electric Universe hypothesis. It has been proposed that the Grand Canyon, and several other mega structures, both on the Earth and elsewhere, were made by electrical arcing. It is not such a crazy idea when you compare it with other anomalous structures, like Valles Marineris on Mars, that seem to have been made in a similar fashion. The structures themselves seem to resemble the pitting and gouging caused by an arc welder on the surface of a piece of flat metal. Mars is literally covered with anomalies like this, and so is the Moon. What if Earth has other structures like this, and we just can't see them due to erosion?

What is truly unknown is how or why electrical arcing of this magnitude would take place, though it seems to fit in with the Plasma Universe hypothesis. The scary thought is what if it happens again?

There are many areas on Earth where it seems geology was shaped on a vast scale by anomalous cataclysms. There are many things in this solar system we are just learning to understand. However, in order to truly understand, we may be forced to abandon some things held dear concerning our perception of reality. Science is all about perception, is it not?

Here is a really old but interesting article about it on Holoscience...

Here is another article at Electric Cosmos...

Saturday, November 21, 2009

The Human Fat Trade

I know everybody has probably heard about this by now, but it is too strange to pass up. Police in Lima, Peru have charged a group of people with abducting and killing people for their body fat, to sell to cosmetics companies. It seems they have been very busy at this, and their murders span nearly 3 decades. The police supposedly busted a warehouse of sorts, where they would hang their victim's quartered bodies with a small fire underneath, and collect the fat in tubes as it slowly dripped out.

I wonder how many products have been using this stuff?

Here is an article about it...

Friday, November 13, 2009

The Strange Tale of The Children's Crusade

An interesting, but disputed, tale from Medieval Europe is the story of the Children's Crusade. Every person who takes world history has at least heard the name, but most do not really know what really happened. Neither do the historians.

In the year 1212, it is said a small boy named Stephen, approached the King of France saying he had been told by Christ to lead a crusade of children to Palestine and reclaim the Holy Lands. The King was not interested, but the boy attracted a large following with his claims that the seas would part and they would walk to Palestine and peacefully convert the Moslems. Children came from all over France and followed him in a vast procession to Marseilles, where God was to part the seas. None of the crowd was said to be older than 12 years of age, and none of them had any supplies or food. They subsisted on hand-outs from strangers, and many were said to have starved or dropped dead by the roadside along the way.

When they reached Marseilles, they quickly went to the sea, expecting it to part for them. It did not, and the group became disenchanted, with a lot of the children attempting to wander home again, but most getting lost. A small group of merchants offers to take them to Palestine by ship, not wanting to see God's will fail. This group of children leaves across the sea by ship, and is never heard from again. Unknown to the French public, the children were really shipped to Palestine and sold as slaves by the unscrupulous merchants. The rest staggered home, dying from exhaustion and starvation.

Although quite a gloomy tale on it's own, it gets even stranger. A German tale, very similar to this one picks up at this point. There are some minor differences, but it is still a tale of children traveling (through Italy this time), and crossing the sea in ships to never be heard from again. The German children were said to be slightly older, and there were also vagabonds and prostitutes in their company. Prostitutes?

Modern research is shedding new light on these old tales. These stories may not represent an actual event, but a mythical telling of the story of the plight of the poor during this time period. These two stories borrow heavily from each other, and in many cases were written by historians up to 30 years past the time it was said to have occurred. Most of these stories were written in Latin, by Catholic historians. They called the children pueri, which has been inferred to mean children, but really is closer to "country boy", sort of like an early slang form of "hick". This, no doubt, has confused the story even more.

During this period (the 1200's), the economic conditions were such that many poor country families, or pueri, had to sell their land in order to avoid debt. This left them without means, and wandering the countryside with their children in tow. Many of them starved, or died on the road during their wanderings. It became so bad, there were many thousands of them, especially in France. It is surmised by modern historians, that the early Catholic Church ingrained this into stories of the crusade, whether knowingly or not, to generate public support for the crusades.

What this means, is that this strange and mythic tale of tragedy, is at it's core a tale of the plight of the forgotten rural poor in Medieval Europe. The tales of demise and the dangers faced by the children in the crusade stories, were the very same dangers faced by the rural poor. Even the tales of slavery, of which it was common at the time as Frankish slaves were highly sought after in Moslem countries.

These tales appear to be another case of history being hidden underneath the veil of mythology and legend, which is not really what it appears to be.

Here is a link to a traditional account of this tale...

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Our Electric Sun?

For many years, science has taught us that the atomic fires which fuel our Sun are caused by a combination of processes which are largely physical in nature. Our nearest star was thought to have formed from a large, condensed mass of instellar gas and dust. The mass and weight of this material was theorized to cause heating and eventually sparked nuclear fusion creating the multi-million year candle we now see as the Sun. In many circles, this is seen as undisputed fact.

A new theory is making the rounds in the physics world. This theory is based upon recent observations which are coming to light with new technologies, like the NASA IBEX spacecraft. This theory threatens to up-end the world of physics as it is now known. The theory being proposed is that our star-filled universe operates in a completely different manner than previously assumed. This new proposal states most observable phenomona, like stars, operate through a combination of electricity and magnetism. Our Sun, according to the theory, is powered externally by the flow of Galactic Electromagnetic Energy.

As strange as it seems, there is actual physical evidence for this new theory. The IBEX spacecraft has observed a winding, ribbon-like stream in the Sun's Heliosphere, which should not be there according to the standard solar model. It was originally detected by both Voyager spacecraft. It stands as evidence that our Sun is encased within a plasma shell much like the "magnetic bottles" used to control Nuclear Fusion. Other evidence is shown by the nature of the Sun's Corona, a structure which is an anomaly in the standard fusion model. A new face of science is slowly beginning to unfold.

If the Universe is run by electricity, then many longstanding scientific assumptions must be re-thought. It could change the way we view Physics permanently.

Here is a link to a website about this and several other controversial scientific issues. It is a bit technical, but makes for an interesting read.

Here is a better link, which goes into greater detail about the process.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

The New Age Army: First Earth Battalion

Back in 1979, in the days of Uri Geller and the coming out of various occult-ish groups which are now well established, the US Army commissioned a study for an army unit that would incorporate these new ideas. The aim of which was to create a "supersoldier" of sorts. They realized that our world of technology and fundamental psychology were beginning to collide, and wished to take full advantage of everything the human condition had to offer.

Ideas such as Collective Consciousness, and spreading memes were just beginning to take root. This new Army Corps was envisioned to be mostly psychological but with training to allow attack and defense in the event that it was needed. The footsoldiers of this group were to be called "Warrior Monks", since they were envisioned to be filling the same sort of role that groups like the Shaolin Monks filled in ancient China.

In the 1980's, two Special Forces A-Teams consisting of 25 men were commissioned to test these basic principles. They were led by a man named Colonel John Alexander, who eventually went on to Las Alamos to formulate research into non-lethal combat technology. These two teams were trained in various things considered very unorthodox for the military at the time. These things included biofeedback, martial arts (Aikido), and mind-body psychology.

The First Earth Battalion was never officially formed by the US Army, however, many of the techniques that were researched have found their way into daily operations and planning. The techniques of playing loud rock music as a form of Psy Warfare, and televising warfare developed from here, as did unusual concepts such as Remote Viewing, and Mind Control. The US Governments forays into these areas are pretty well known.

The battalion may not have ever been formed, but its unorthodox concepts are still influencing military planning to this day.

Here is a link to a portion of the Journal of Non-Lethal Combatives about it...

Exoplanet House of Horrors

Posted by Guy Pirro on 10/30/2009 5:00 PM


Astronomers may be closer than ever to discovering a planet that’s habitable like our own, but along the way they’ve discovered some very scary exoplanets – places where conditions are far too harsh for life as we know it to exist. Joshua Rodriguez and NASA have rounded up some of the most frightening, deadly exoplanets -- places that make even the scariest haunted house on Earth pale in comparison.

Radiation Bath, Anyone?

The exoplanets PSR B1257+12 b, c, and d were among the first discovered, and also happen to be three of the weirdest. The entire system is a graveyard, remnants of what used to be a normal, functional solar system before the star blew apart in a giant explosion known as a supernova.

The massive shockwave from the supernova stripped away any atmosphere or living creatures that might have once lived on these planets, leaving behind ghostly, rocky shells, dead planets orbiting the corpse of an extinct star.

Except that PSR B1257+12 isn’t all dead - the remaining core from the old star has become a zombie star called a pulsar. Literally spinning in its grave, PSR B1257+12 makes a full rotation every 6.22 milliseconds and emits an intense beam of radiation that can be detected from Earth. The star’s unfortunate planets are thus bathed in deadly radiation on a regular basis, making sure that this system remains a cosmic no-man’s land.

A Mighty Wind

The sound of howling wind is a must for any Earth-based haunted house, but weather conditions on HD 189733 b make it a very dangerous place to go trick-or-treating.

At first glance, HD 189733 b looks like the typical “hot Jupiter” – a huge gas planet perched dangerously close to a burning-hot star, with daytime temperatures around a balmy 1,770 degrees Fahrenheit. HD 189733 b is “tidally locked” in its orbit, meaning that the same side of the planet always faces its star.

But when scientists measured the planet’s nighttime temperature, they were shocked to find that it was only 500 degrees cooler. How does the back side of the planet stay so warm?

The answer is wind: insanely fast, dangerous wind that whisks heat from day-side to night-side at a speed of 4,500 mph, nearly six times the speed of sound. In fact, astronomers estimate that wind speeds might top out at 22,000 mph, conditions that make hurricanes on Earth look like a breezy day at the beach.

Needless to say, kite-flying on HD 189733 b is not recommended – unless you’re flying one from the cockpit of a fighter jet.

Boil, Boil, Toil and Trouble

The planet HD 209458 b has a few things in common with Earth: water vapor, methane, and carbon dioxide in its atmosphere, key ingredients for life on our planet. Don’t be fooled, though, because this planet is a roiling cauldron of almost unimaginable heat.

Even the hottest summer days on Earth don’t get as dangerous as the conditions on HD 209458 b, a planet that orbits so close to its host star that its atmosphere is literally boiling off, ripped away from the planet as it whips around on its breakneck 3.5-day orbit. The gas that escapes from HD 209458 b forms a tail about 124,000 miles (200,000 km) long.

Scientists have found many planets like HD 209458 b – huge gas giants that orbit hazardously close to their stars and have hellishly hot, poisonous atmospheres. Sometimes, planets like these can be in danger of being swallowed whole by their host stars, as may be the case for the doomed world WASP-18b.

As far as planets go, WASP-18b is on death’s doorstep. There’s a good chance that it will be torn apart completely within the next million years, when it finally spirals too close to its star. Scientists will know within 10 years whether or not WASP-18b is on a funeral march towards its untimely demise.

All Alone and Very, Very Cold

While most of the exoplanets found so far are hellishly hot, OGLE-2005-BLG-390L b has the distinction of being the coldest exoplanet yet discovered.

The planet takes about 10 Earth years to orbit its tiny dwarf star, and it’s a chilly trip; the average temperature on OGLE-2005-BLG-390L b is 50 Kelvin, or minus 370 degrees Fahrenheit. A good costume for trick-or-treating on this frigid planet would be a toasty self-heating spacesuit, an oxygen supply, ice skates and plenty of hot cocoa.

Of course, don’t expect to find many houses with candy here, because despite the fact that it’s just a few times bigger than Earth, OGLE-2005-BLG-390L b is an uninhabitable ice ball stuck in a perpetual winter freeze. Even the coldest Halloween night in Antarctica is a balmy paradise compared to this frosty world.


For more information:

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/exoplanetHouseOfHorrors.html

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Mystery Object Spotted in Earth Orbit

A large object was spotted in a hyberbolic orbit around the Earth on the 27th of October. Scientists are unsure of what it could be, but is in a decaying orbit. It is speculated to be some sort of booster left over from the early days of space exploration. One other possibilty is intriguing, however. The possibility that it is a second natural satellite. There have been scattered reports over the years about unusual objects and possible moons in orbit around the Earth. Most of these reports have been unverified, and the objects seen only once. It is most likely a space booster from Apollo, but it is fun to imagine otherwise.

Here is the report on Space Weather

And more can be found here on AstroGuyz

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Religious Analogies to Past Girlfriends...

I really like this post from OpenBuddha.com...

I had a long visit over coffee with Jonathan this evening. In the course of the conversation, I alluded to my involvement with the Ordo Templi Orientis and compared it to a girlfriend being told it was time to go. This analogy kind of rolled on its own and seems worth following up on…

So, religious paths as ex-girlfriends… We’ve all been there after all.

Thelema and the OTO
The freaky ex-girlfriend who likes her sex kinky, her parties wild, and her drugs. She goes clubbing, dresses all in black, and has the razor scars on the wrists to show that she’s serious. She has a lot of interesting ideas but draws the wrong sort of crowd because of her reputation when she was young. These days she’s more likely to want to go to mass and do a bake sale but the expectations of youth are hard to live down and she secretly revels in it.

I’m sorry, Dear, but it’s time to go. The times were good but I just can’t keep up with you anymore. You’ve changed or maybe I have. Besides, for all of your crazy college days and weird stories, you’re pretty conventional these days, aren’t you? It’s all work, work, work.

Wicca
Wicca is like that hippie chick you liked in college. She’s all about the Goddess, womyn power (I wouldn’t understand because I have an outie, not an innie), and not shaving her pits. She’s sweet and she likes to dance and get freaky in the woods but there isn’t a lot of there there…if you know what I mean. I mean, dancing naked around a bonfire reeking of pouchouli is fun and all but the conversations never go anywhere. She complains about your “kablahblah” and rolls her eyes while mumbling about patriarchal power schemes. She can’t stop talking about Roman Catholicism and how wrong she was for you…in fact, she seems pretty obsessed with her sometimes.

Asatru
The most conventional girl that you could ever date. Kind of plain but with that long blonde hair and incredible…assets… She likes to cook, drink beer, and sit in front of the fire. All in all, a relatively “normal” girl…and that’s the problem. It is like you’re dating your second-cousin or the girl next door… She seems to have a bit of a drinking problem as well and is always bitching about your ex, Wicca, but sometimes they don’t seem that far apart. Of course, your normal girl next door doesn’t have those friends with the shaved heads who mutter about racial purity, stare strangely at your gay friends, and like to play dress up with swords and tunics but that is a little embarrassing detail that doesn’t come up too often (unless you look).

Roman Catholicism
Like Asatru, she’s a conventional girl. She has a large family but they’re a bit domineering, especially her dad. It’s all about rules, rules, rules. She’d really like to have more fun but she always feels so guilty about it afterwards. Of course, she dresses really well (talk about clothes!), sings, and puts on a great performance. She isn’t afraid to get into it but she hasn’t been the same since the 60’s when she started doing everything in English and using a guitar for accompaniment. It’s pretty clear that The Passion is her favorite movie, which is pretty disturbing given the S&M content but she says it is all about love after all…


To this list, I would like to add one more...

Chaoism
We have all dated her. She is the girl who likes to do outrageous things. Whether getting naked to order pizza, or talking shit and getting you stomped by thugs - nothing is off limits. She both excites you and terrifies you at the same time. And many times you pay in blood by the trouble she creates. But while she is all these things, she can also be beautifully honest, and does not hide anything. She experiences life like she lives on a rollercoaster, and wants EVERYONE to be there too. It is all about the experience. You can hang with her too, if you can last that long.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Siren of the French Broad

Among the rocks east of Asheville, North Carolina, lives the Lorelei of the French Broad River. This stream—the Tselica of the Indians—contains in its upper reaches many pools where the rapid water whirls and deepens, and where the traveller likes to pause in the heats of afternoon and drink and bathe. Here, from the time when the Cherokees occupied the country, has lived the siren, and if one who is weary and downcast sits beside the stream or utters a wish to rest in it, he becomes conscious of a soft and exquisite music blending with the plash of the wave.

Looking down in surprise he sees—at first faintly, then with distinctness—the form of a beautiful woman, with hair streaming like moss and dark eyes looking into his, luring him with a power he cannot resist. His breath grows short, his gaze is fixed, mechanically he rises, steps to the brink, and lurches forward into the river. The arms that catch him are slimy and cold as serpents; the face that stares into his is a grinning skull. A loud, chattering laugh rings through the wilderness, and all is still again.

Another excerpt from Myths and Legends...

Friday, October 23, 2009

The Fight for American Indian Voting Rights

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Thu Oct 22, 2009 at 08:58:14 AM PDT

During the first part of the twentieth century, American Indians were granted citizenship by Congressional action on several different occasions. While citizenship is often felt to be associated with the right to vote, this has not always been the case with regard to Indians. The right to vote is a right which has been traditionally controlled by the states. The states had tended to view Indian voting and Indian citizenship as two separate items. While the struggle by African Americans to obtain the right to vote is fairly well known, the struggle by American Indians to obtain this right is less well known.

In North Carolina, there was some confusion over whether or not the 1924 act giving citizenship to Indians applied to the Cherokee. In response, Congress passed another act in 1928 which specifically granted citizenship to the North Carolina Cherokee. However, Eastern Cherokee leader Henry M. Owl was denied the right to register to vote in 1930. The registrar refused to register Indians because they were not citizens. In response, Congress passed another act once again reaffirming citizenship for the Eastern Cherokee. Local newspapers protested Congressional interference with local affairs and county registrars continued to deny Cherokees the vote until after World War II. North Carolina denied Indians the right to vote claiming that Indians were illiterate. The superintendent of the Cherokee Agency reported: "We have had Indian graduates of Carlisle, Haskell, and other schools in stances much better educated than the registrar himself, turned down because they did not read or write to his satisfaction."

In 1946, North Carolina county registrars refused to register Eastern Cherokee war veterans to vote. The Cherokee appealed the decision to the governor and attorney general, but nothing was done.

In Arizona two Pima Indians attempted to vote in 1928. The Arizona Supreme Court in Porter v. Hall concluded that Indians were not entitled to vote because they were "wards of the government" and persons "under guardianship" were prohibited from voting by the state constitution. The Arizona Attorney General’s office ruled in 1944 that Indians who were living outside the reservation and who were subject to state laws and state taxation were not eligible to vote.

Some states passed legislation to disenfranchise Indians. In an effort to deny Indians the right to vote, the Montana state constitution was amended in 1932 to permit only taxpayers to vote. Since Indians on reservations did not pay some local taxes, they could not become voters. The Montana state legislature in 1937 passed a law requiring all deputy voter registrars to be qualified, taxpaying residents of their precincts. Since Indians living on reservations were exempt from some local taxes, this requirement excluded almost all Indians from serving as deputy registrars. It thus denied Montana’s Indians access to voter registration in their own precincts.

A 1937 report by the Solicitor General found that several states denied Indians the right to vote. In response to the inquiry by the Solicitor General, Colorado’s attorney general replied: "It is our opinion that until Congress enfranchises the Indian, he will not have the right to vote." Word of the 1924 citizenship act had apparently not yet reached Colorado. Indians were not allowed to serve on juries in Colorado until 1956 and tribal members on reservations were not allowed to vote until 1970.

The Solicitor General also found that four states—Idaho, New Mexico, Maine, and Washington—denied Indians the right to vote because of the phrase "Indians not taxed" in Article 1 of the Constitution.

Utah denied Indians the vote because Indians on reservations were not actually residents of Utah but were residents of their own nations. Indians were thus considered non-residents and hence not eligible to vote. In 1957, the Utah state legislature finally repealed the legislation that prevented Indians living on reservations from voting.

Many historians cite 1948 as the year in which Indians finally won the right to vote. Court rulings in Arizona and New Mexico affirmed that Indians have the right to vote. The Court ruling in New Mexico was started when Miguel Trujillo, Sr. (Laguna), a teacher, attempted to register to vote and was refused by the recorder of Valencia County. In the ruling, the Court found that New Mexico had discriminated against Indians by denying them the vote, especially since they paid all state and federal taxes except for private property taxes on the reservations.

In Arizona, Frank Harrison and Harry Austin, both Mohave-Apache at the Fort McDowell Indian Reservation, attempted to register to vote and were not allowed to register. In Harrison v. Laveen the Arizona Supreme Court overturned the earlier Porter v. Hall decision and agreed with the plaintiffs that their Arizona and United States constitutional rights had been violated.

In Maine, Indians were finally given the right to vote in 1953 when the state accepted the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act.

During the past fifty years, the focus has shifted from obtaining the right to vote, to getting Indians elected to local, state, and federal offices. States and local governments in the western states have responded by diluting the Indian vote through redistricting plans. The fight to get American Indian votes actually counted has been documented by the ACLU in a recent report.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

SPOOKS OF THE HIAWASSEE

Here is another gem from MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF OUR OWN LAND...

The hills about the head of the Hiawassee are filled with "harnts," among them many animal ghosts, that ravage about the country from sheer viciousness. The people of the region, illiterate and superstitious, have unquestioning faith in them. They tell you about the headless bull and black dog of the valley of the Chatata, the white stag of the Sequahatchie, and the bleeding horse of the Great Smoky Mountains—the last three being portents of illness, death, or misfortune to those who see them.

Other ghosts are those of men. Near the upper Hiawassee is a cave where a pile of human skulls was found by a man who had put up his cabin near the entrance. For some reason, which he says he never understood, this farmer gathered up the old, bleached bones and dumped them into his shed. Quite possibly he did not dare to confess that he wanted them for fertilizers or to burn them for his poultry.

Night fell dark and still, with a waning moon rising over the mountains—as calm a night as ever one slept through. Along toward the middle of it a sound like the coming of a cyclone brought the farmer out of his bed. He ran to the window to see if the house were to be uprooted, but the forest was still, with a strange, oppressive stillness—not a twig moving, not a cloud veiling the stars, not an insect chirping. Filled with a vague fear, he tried to waken his wife, but she was like one in a state of catalepsy.

Again the sound was heard, and now he saw, without, a shadowy band circling about his house like leaves whirled on the wind. It seemed to be made of human shapes, with tossing arms—this circling band—and the sound was that of many voices, each faint and hollow, by itself, but loud in aggregate. He who was watching realized then that the wraiths of the dead whose skulls he had purloined from their place of sepulture were out in lament and protest. He went on his knees at once and prayed with vigor until morning. As soon as it was light enough to see his way he replaced the skulls, and was not troubled by the "haunts" again. All the gold in America, said he, would not tempt him to remove any more bones from the cave-tombs of the unknown dead.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Suspended Animation?

A scientist named Mark Roth, thinks he has come up with a way to suspend life without killing it.

Mr. Roth has been researching ways to suspend the life process, with the intention of using it to save lives. He has surmised that the lack of oxygen is not what kills, it is the process caused by the low oxygen level which does the damage. He has developed a method where he uses Hydrogen Sulfide in controlled doses to suspend the life process. He then introduces oxygen to revive the subject at a later time. Initially, he started out with small creatures, like flies, and has progressed to re-animating rats. He says the possibility of using this method on humans is likely, but he is not ready for human testing yet.

He developed this method of suspending life as a result of losing his daughter to medical problems. It became a sort of quest for him, and he ended up being funded by DARPA to develop it into a way to suspend the life of a wounded soldier on the way to a battlefield aid station. It is likely to be useful for other things too. Once this technology is perfected, it is not a far stretch to imagine it being used for space travel, or other issues where time could be a limiting factor. We may also see banks of humans placed in stasis awaiting medical procedures that currently cannot be performed, for all intents and purposes dead, but able to be revived with the introduction of the proper mix of oxygen.

See his laboratory website here...

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Will Humanity Evolve into Artificial Life?

As humanity continues down the road of evolution, what is next for our race? For thousands of years, man has lived at sort of a stable level of development, with little about his condition truly changing. Life in an early Iron Age society not being a whole lot far removed from some of the later versions of civilisation. At one point, not very long ago, it was possible for a man to read ALL the written knowledge ever transcribed by man. With the introduction of Industrialism, this all changed.

Within a hundred years, we had many wonderous inventions and a wealth of knowledge available. The knowledge is self generating. When we discover or develop one thing, it leads to advancement in many other areas as well. It has fast reached a point where it is truly impossible for the human mind to comprehend all of the knowledge which has been acquired as a whole. There is just far too much. Man has reached a point where he needs to evolve to the next level just to keep pace.

Some scientists, like Stephen Hawking, say that genetics and DNA science is the key. They say that we should be seriously looking at stimulating the next step in evolution, although at this point, we can remain in control of the process through our technological development. Whether this next step will be totally genetic and biological, or some type of electromechanical enhancement remains to be seen.

One can envision a world population with network enhancements to allow for direct reception of things like the Internet, so as to maintain and enhance our mind through distributed knowledge. Once a process like this begins, biological enhancements for other percieved deficiencies will not be far behind. Maybe we will see development of things like articially enhanced legs for athletes, and enhanced vision for pilots, etc. At what point will it end?

The classic Cyberpunk anime, Ghost in the Shell, took on this very topic. In this story, the main character was a female secret agent with a cybernetically enhanced body. The only truly human part remaining, was the brain itself. In a case like this, is the organism still really a human?

The world is changing, and the conditions affecting our evolution are, in fact, evolving themselves. What will become of humanity in 500 years is anybody's guess.

See what Stephen Hawking has to say about it on the Daily Galaxy.

Wireless Charging for your Electric Car

A German manufacturer has applied for a patent for a wireless charging system for the next generation of electric cars. This charging system will be mounted in the roadway, and charge your electric car via electromagnetism while you drive. Similar systems have been tested by the US Defense Department, and it is a known and tested method of powering vehicles of this type. This is, however, the first commercial application of this technology.

It is expected to revolutionize the acceptance of the electric car.

I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Read about it at gas2.org.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Robots Evolving Much Faster than Predicted...

Robots and Robot Tech is starting to evolve at a rate that parallels the evolution of biological intelligence.

During the Cambrian explosion, when biological life really started to get going, nervous systems would double in size every 15 million years. Not to be outdone, artificial intelligence is now doubling in complexity every few years. Robot and artificial intelligence is now at a level near the range of lower vertebrates. They are expected to be at a level equal to human complexity within 50 years.

Hans Moravec, robot pioneer and founder of Carnegie Mellon' Robotic Institute says development is proceeding at an unheard of pace. He fully expects that by mid-century, no task mental or physical will be beyond the ability of a robot to perform. He also expects robots and artificial life to develop basic mental cognition very soon. This development is taking place so fast, no plans are in place for possible repercussions.

What will we do when the robots we make decide they are better than us?

Another question being posed is what will become of humanity in the face of this type of technology? Will humanity be able to "escape" from it's biological body and become a sort of advanced robot, with enhanced lifespan and abilities?

Here is a link to a larger and better written article on this subject...

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Rules of World Domination

Don't remember where I found these...

The rules:

Be certain, not right
Claim to be an expert: it makes people’s brains hurt
No expertise, no problem
One simple idea may be one too many
Get prizes for being outrageous
There’s a success hiding in every failure
Don’t remember your failures. No one else will

Friday, October 2, 2009

The Flynn Effect

A curious phenomenon has been noted regarding children and IQ tests. The average scores of IQ tests administered to children have been rising over time. It is currently unknown if this rise is due to greater intelligence on the part of the children or some other social factor at work. The world's children are gaining an average of 3 IQ points per decade. It is known as the Flynn Effect.

It was expected that the rise in IQ points would coincide with school related knowledge, such as arithmetic or vocabulary. However, the opposite appears to be taking place. The noted rise in points affects General Intelligence Factor questions, and it is predominately skewed in the lower end.

Every few years, the standard IQ tests are "re-normalized" that is, the point value is recomputed to ensure the tests stay at a consistent level. As these tests are normalized, they appear to be inching upwards, driven by the rise in the lower end IQ scores. It is surmised that if a group of children in the year 1932 were to take a modern IQ test, they would be considered borderline mentally retarded.

The media rich environment kids live in today has been proposed by some to be a cause of this effect, but other factors appear to have an influence too. One of these influences is the possibility that with increased schooling and test taking, children are learning to take tests and pass them without truly comprehending the knowledge. It has been observed that a child, if given the same test to re-take, will score an average of 5 points better on the follow-on exam. The scientist who first noted this effect, James Flynn, has proposed these tests are not actually testing meaningful intelligence or knowledge, and are simply keying in on increased mental analysis or processing. This being the result of the rapidly changing tech heavy modern environment.

A disturbing note, is that this seeming Flynn Effect, appears to have stopped progressing, as many of the younger generations tested do not show the expected improved point scores. What this "Flynn Effect" is actually showing us is not currently know.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

State Flags as they Really Should Be...


We all know that state flags are supposed to represent the values of the state they are from. Here is a collection of state flags if they were really honest...

See it here at HolyTaco.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Goths in Hot Weather...

I am not sure whether to laugh or cry at some of these people...

http://www.gothsinhotweather.com/

I remember my punk rock days, and have always had a bit of a dark cyberpunk streak, but there is a time and place for everything. Latex gets really sticky when it is 110 outside.

Oh well, all in good fun. Enjoy!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

The Fading Tradition of Bottle Trees


As a child in the South, I can remember many a neighbors' yard adorned with a tree with Blue Bottles instead of leaves. I never thought much of it until much later, after they seem to have disappeared from the American landscape.

The concept of these long forgotten icons of Southern Culture is actually very, very old. It dates back to the days when glass bottles were first invented, back in the early Iron Age. People developed a folk tradition that evil spirits could be trapped in these bottles. It is this tradition that started the whole Genii in a bottle belief as well. It was most prevalent in Africa, but also to a lesser extent in Europe. The European form mostly took shape as the "Witch's Balls" currently found in many gardens (e.g. gazing balls). It was thought the trapped spirit would be contained in the bottle during the night, and would be destroyed by sunlight when the sun came up.

These quaint bottles were a fixture of Southern life in America until about forty years ago. They were very common to find in most regions of the South, the tradition having been brought by the slaves and their descendants. Seen by many to be part of the charm of the South, they are rapidly disappearing as the Old Ways are being overtaken by Ipods, Cell Phones, and our culture of immediate consumer gratification.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Punk Rock Saturday: Miss Derringer


I have a new fascination. Liz McGrath and her band, Miss Derringer. Her art kicks butt, but so does the band. Where else can you hear goth-rockabilly-death-retro surf music in this day of bands that seem to sound the same. Anyone who knows me knows I have a HUGE soft spot for this kind of stuff.

Enjoy. This video is not the best, but I LOVE the song!

Check out her art at http://www.elizabethmcgrath.com/

Ebu Gogo - What were they?

On the island of Flores, in Indonesia, there are many stories and tales of a small race of squat human-like cave dwelling creatures, much like the Irish leprechaun or fairies. They had similar nasty habits, such as baby-snatching and stealing food and crops. Many stories exist where small children have been stolen by them, only to have the children escape by trickery. In many ways, they seem to draw a parallel to the stories of the Irish "little people", and may represent a folk memory of the native inhabitants displaced by the current residents long ago. This is also what is suspected by many to be taking place in the Irish folk tales.

There is something else at hand. Not only do the stories exist, giving clues to a possible mysterious race of small people, but they have also found anomalous skeletal remains on this island that seem to support these stories, at least in theory.

Homo Floresiensis, or Flores Man, was found on this island in a cave in 2003. Flores Man, or "the Hobbit" as it has been nicknamed, was a diminutive subspecies of human standing only about 3 feet tall. This alternative human species was still alive 10,000 years ago, when all other human species except for modern man had long died out. The cause of their demise was said to be a nearby volcanic cataclysm.

Whether the Flores Man is the same as the Ebu Gogo, we will never know. The local stories all say the Ebu Gogo were hunted out of existence by the island's current human population, but they give a much more recent date - as recent as the 19th century.

Is it possible this ancient human ancestor survived into the world of modern man? Does he survive to this day, deep in the largely unexplored Indonesian jungle?

Thursday, September 24, 2009

The Greatest Space Travellers - Germs?

In the 1960's, the great superpowers were engaged in a costly "space race", trying to beat each other to the moon. Much has been made of the cost of this space race, compared to the actual scientific discoveries made once we beat the Russian's, and finally reached the moon. The list of discoveries is vast, but most relate to technology we created to reach our desolate neighbor in space. The question remains; What is the most important discovery we found on the Moon?

The answer to this question might lie in a very overlooked piece of Lunar trivia. One of the early Lunar probes, Surveyor 3, carried traces of the bacterium Streptococcus mitis to the moon on it's metallic skin. Several years later, the astronaughts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean found these bacteria to be alive and well, living in the vacuum of space on the remains of this space probe. These bacteria lived in the vacuum and radiation environment of space for about 940 days, with no food or water. They are the only known living things to have ever done this.

At the time, it was considered a simple contamination problem, and was swept under the carpet. The implications of a common ordinary microbe such as Streptococcus being able to live in the environment of outer space for extended periods is momentus. It means that our ideas of what life requires to survive need to be re-examined. It also opens up the possibility that our Earth has been "contaminated" by life from beyond at some point in time, influencing the genetics of life on Earth.

Maybe microbes and viruses, which now appear to be able to tolerate the rigors of the outer space environment, are commonplace, and blown about the universe much like the solar wind from our Sun. If this is true, then they are truly the greatest space traveller we shall ever see.

Here is a dated article on the topic, (but still a good read)...

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Pagan Census Revisited...

Twenty years ago, a census was undertaken to determine the number and demographic of our non-christian/Jewish/Islamic citizens. It gave an interesting view of the rise of modern Paganism in the 1990's. Researcher and author, Helen Berger, has decided it is time to revisit this census to see how we now stand.

You can participate here...

Monday, September 14, 2009

Cop Severely Beats Woman and Gets Re-hired...



Way back in 2007, this Shreveport police officer was questioning a 38 year old woman in a video taped interrogation room. He stops the interview, walks over to the camera, and shuts it off. The camera then comes back on, and the woman is lying on the floor in a pool of blood. It is obvious what happened, and the officer gets fired. Now flash forward a few years... due to a "technicality", the officer is to be re-instated with full back pay. His Police Officer Civil Rights were apperantly violated during the investigation.

Remind me to never go to Shreveport, Louisiana.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

I Robot...

If you wish to feel what it would be like when we are assimilated by our future robotic overlords, you can rent a powered robotic exoskeleton in Tokyo for only $2300 dollars a month. The exoskeleton is controlled by electrical pickups that sense impulses across the skin, and the suit is powered by a rechargeable battery.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Pirates - The Creators of Democracy?

A tidbit of history, unknown to the average American, is that Blackbeard and Benjamin Franklin may have deserve equal credit for much of our Democratic value system. Pirates shared the same beliefs, principles, and organizational structure that America later developed.

The Pirate Assembly was very much like Congress. Many of the checks and balances later placed into our system appear to have started with their system. Everyone was entitled to a vote, and the Captain served more like a President, than a domineering tyrant. Everyone was entitled to due process, and compensation if wronged. Nobody was forced to do anything against their will, unless they violated their written law. It was very much a democratic enterprise, with personal freedom and freedom from oppression valued above all.

These men were drawn from the ranks of people oppressed by the Britain or Spain, either by slavery, unfair taxes, or worse. They were, by and large, just men seeking to fight against their oppressors, and may have been more like revolutionaries than cut-throats. Hollywood has painted a far different picture.

Most were ordinary people. Many were ex-slaves, American Indians, or sailors pressed into duty. It was their only way to make an impact against their oppressors. Pirates played a role in several pivotal battles in American history. Even as late as the War of 1812, and the Civil War, their effects were being felt. America would have lost the battle of New Orleans and Britain would have gained a foothold in the South had it not been for Pirates making up the bulk of the American troops.

Another point to consider... If not for the Pirates, Spain would have gained more territory and eventually taken over from Britain. Then the United States, as we know it, might never have been born.

Here is an interesting link about Blackbeard and Democracy...

Here is what PhysOrg has to say about it...

Here is an article over Piracy and Anarchism...

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Punk Rock Saturday: Black Flag

For your viewing pleasure... One of my favorites.


Why don't we have this sort of thing anymore? Where is punk rock when you need it? Real freaking punk at it's finest!

Even the crappy video is punk fucking rock!

These younger generations are missing out. I am sad for them.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Save Money, Shop Where Wal-Mart Shops...

The following article was originally posted on Huffington Post:
While many American retailers are just one lackluster back-to-school season away from disaster, the malingering recession has been very good to some retail manufacturers—especially in China.
American shoppers at Wal-Mart have made investors in Hong Kong very wealthy. By one estimate, in 2006 every Wal-Mart store in the United States caused the loss of about 77 American jobs due to Wal-Mart’s trade deficit with China. Without knowing it, millions of American consumers have been shopping at Fung-Mart.
A Chinese global conglomerate little known in this county has been ‘living better’ off of Wal-Mart’s sales. Li & Fung is not a household word in Kansas or Arizona—but it’s one of the main beneficiaries behind the Wal-Mart sales numbers. Described as the biggest supplier of clothes and toys to companies like Wal-Mart, Target and Kohl’s, Li & Fung has been one of the fireworks of the Hang Seng Index, and its stock has more than doubled this year.
Li & Fung describes itself as “one of the premier global consumer products export trading companies managing the supply chain for high-volume, time-sensitive consumer goods including garments, fashion accessories, toys, sporting goods, promotional merchandise, handicrafts, shoes, travel goods and household items.” Its products are sourced through a network of offices in nearly 40 countries for customers in the US, Europe, Asia and the Southern Hemisphere.”
Read the rest of this story ...

The Greatest Child's Book Ever...

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Robotic Mold

Scientists at the University of the West of England are currently engaged in a project to develop robots from mold. Yes, you heard that right. Mold. Like on a piece of bread. These guys don't seem to think it is as odd as I do. They call them Plasmabots.

Here is a link...

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Save Tara from Destruction

Those of us of Irish heritage are familiar with the ancient site of Tara, located near Lienster in Ireland. It is the mythical Hill Fort home of Queen Medb, the Tuatha de Danann, and the location of the seat of power for the Irish High King. It has been the seat of power for Ireland since the megalithic days. It is also threatened with destruction.

Tara Hill is part of a larger complex of hill forts forming a ring around the site. A new motorway bypass, the M3, is under contruction and scheduled to pass within 1 mile of Tara Hill. Further development is planned, and Tara Hill is considered to be in the top 15 of the most endangered world treasures by the Smithsonian Institution.

Please help save Irish Heritage by signing the online petition listed below...

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/UN-Must-Save-Tara

1 Million signatures are needed to spur the UN to take action. The deadline is Dec 31, 2009.

Baby Snatchers

La Belle Dame would be proud...

It seems there are adoption centers set up to separate mothers from new babies as a form of punishment.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090914/joyce

So She's Burning a Candle, eh?

For you Trivia Buffs. Found on the web.

Enjoy...

How to Interpret Hoodoo and Santo Candles

The candle explodes.....
There are two different ways to interpret this. If it is a protection or reversing candle it means that the candle protected something from attacking you and/or a lot of negative energy has been directed towards you. If the candle is being used to dominate or cause conflict to someone, it means that the person is being protected spiritually. If this is the case ,you are to light another candle of the same type to break their protection to allow the spell to work correctly.

Candle does not burn.....
If the candle is a prosperity or protection candle, this means that other type of spiritual cleansing must be done before the beginning of this spell to remove the negativity of the environment before proceeding. If the candle is being used for domination of to inflict harm then another type of spell must be used.

The candle has a high flame.....
The spell is going to be effective and work fast. If for prosperity or protection,the environment is clear of negativity. If for domination and harm, you will most likely see quick results as they do not have spiritual protection.

The candle has a low flame.....
In regards to prosperity & luck,cleanse your environment. In regards to domination and harm, they are resisting due to a strong spirit and it will be awhile before you see results. It is suggested that you try another spell in combination with the present one to see faster results.

The candle burns the glass totally black.....
If after the candle burns down the entire glass is black, it is thought to mean that negativity or witchcraft has been directed towards you. Cleansing your environment and lighting a reversing candle should do the trick. If this happens when burning a candle to dominate or harm someone they suggest stopping because it may possibly turned back on you.

The candle burns the top half of the glass black.....
If only the top part of the glass burns black this means that the spell was initially met with negativity before it began to work.

The candle burns the bottom half of the glass back.....
If it is a candle for prosperity or luck,negativity was sent your way and the candle detected it. If used to dominate or harm, the spirit of the person was alerted and reversed the spell.

The candle burns only on one side.....
This means that the spell will only be part way effective. This means that the wrong candle or candle dressing was used.

The glass cracks.....
If being used for self-protection,this means that the candle broke the negativity in the enviroment. This can also mean witchcraft or the presence of secret enemies. If being used to dominate ,it means the protection of the individual was broken.

The candle flame crackles.....
If for self-protection it means that someone is talking about you and has bad intentions directed towards you. If being used to harm, it means the individual is thinking about you.

If the candle has more than one flame.....
The center or main flame represents you. If being used for protection each one other than the center one represents an enemy. If being used to dominate, it means that the person is being helped by other people.

The candle flickers.....
When a candle flame flickers,this signifies the presence of spirits.

The entire top of the candle including the wick is on fire.....
This means that the spell is being fought off by guardian spirits but more than likely,the spell will be successful.

The candle flame goes out during the spell.....
If the spell is for protection this means that while the job was being performed, witchcraft was directed your way and your spirits were unable to fight it off. If directed towards another ,their spirits were able to fight the attack off & have alarmed the individual. Another type of spell must be performed.

Can a candle be extinguished & then lit again later?
Only a candle being used to bring prosperity or success to an individual may be extinguished before it has completely burned. If being used to dominate or harm someone,the candle flame must never be put out or the spell will not work. The guardian spirits of the other individual will then have time to prepare and reverse it back on to you.

How do you put a candle flame out?
Placing a plate over the flame thus allowing the flame to extinguish itself naturally or use a candle snuffer.

What if a candle is extinguished and then relights itself?
This means that your guardian spirits do not want you to turn the candle off because they are detecting something good or bad for you. If the candle is turned off they cannot assist you effectively.

What if a 7 day candle burn out before seven days?
This means that the spell is working fast and another candle must be lit immediately. Money is coming in regards to prosperity spells,a lot of negativity in regards to reversing spells and in spells of harm, that the individuals spirit is fighting it off but it will soon be successful.

What will make a candle spell work more effectively?
Using the appropriate incense,oils, herbal bath, salts,powders etc....

Punk Rock Saturday

Here is a little punk cutie from 1984 to enjoy on your Saturday night...

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Consumerism as a Religion

I found this interesting little blurb on Axis of Logic...

Consumerism as a Religion

In the United States, materialism is the religion and shopping malls are the churches - all 46,000 of them. Consumerism is the liturgy and the prayer is the longing for more things. The worshippers earn the money and pay the bills when they come due. Finance capital makes the whole enterprise possible.

As a religion, consumerism teaches the gospel of material value, individual freedom and personal anonymity in our cities and towns. In the countryside, the holy writ teaches us that agrarian traditions, customs and cultural norms are heresy. Everywhere, it discourages intra-familial relationships, social cohesion, support systems and community. It teaches the righteousness of competition with one another and that working together, dependence on others, meeting one another's needs, and sharing our possessions are sins to be overcome. Skeptics are shunned and their heresies condemned. Marketing strategies and advertising techniques are employed to bring unbelievers into the fold - even the little ones.

Marketing Strategies: Consumerism lies at the heart of capitalism, both for its own survival and also as an instrument that targets traditional values in any culture. The capitalist system depends upon an ever expanding market for an increasing number of products in the global corporate empire. It relies on production of new products, no matter how trivial and on sophisticated marketing machinery necessary to penetrate new markets.

The capitalist machine develops methods to sell people what they do not need and often do not really want. An old fashioned maxim in invention, production and sales marketing was once "meet a need, don't create one". Over the years, marketing techniques have been developed to convert "wants" into "must have" and desires into essentials. Cellular telephones serve as an example. Everyone in the family, including children "need" a cellular telephone and if parents object the phone is sold as a security item for keeping contact with the child who may have an emergency. A cheap cell phone gave way to one with a camera and an MP3 player which now gives way to a "Blackberry" with enhanced computer capabilities. A myriad of other products come to mind, burdening family incomes, creating family conflicts and undermining cultural norms and values. If it were not for this power to corrupt, strong non-material values would reverse an expanding market.


There is much more, and it is an interesting read...

Thursday, August 27, 2009

God is on Trial in Philadelphia

He is apparently on trial for fleeing the scene of an accident, or something like it. And he seems to have been found guilty.

Read on at CityPaper.net

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Huge Pre-Stonehenge Complex Found

This news is a bit dated, but it bears repeating. A huge complex far older than Stonehenge (which is nearby), has been spotted from the air. It is said these are the oldest structures ever found in Britain. Until now, it was assumed every large archeological site in Britain had been found. This new find shatters that assumption.

The site is estimated to be at least 6000 years old, and consists of large Barrows or burial mounds. The last time a complete Barrow was excavated by science was in the 1950's.

Here is what National Geographic says about it...

Antichrist Superstar

For those of you who still believe in ancient religions and prophecies, we have entered a new era. The Antichrist has been identified and it is this man...
At least he and 2 million other people think so. He is Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda. And he is quite popular in Latin America. Hmmm, Do we believe him or not?

He really needs a pitchfork or a big tail. He looks like a used car salesman to me.

Here is a page about him...

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Punching Through the F Ring...


This was seen by the Cassini spacecraft as it imaged the rings of Saturn. Not sure what it is, but it seems to be moving very fast and making quite a wake. Any guesses?


KFC Goes for the Gold!

In the midst of our ever burgeoning waistlines, KFC has decided that more is better. They are test marketing a burger which replaces bread with two pieces of fried chicken. It is rumored to have more fat, salt, and calories than most other burgers offered by the competition. It is called the "Double Down".

Read more here...

Monday, August 24, 2009

Malaysian Model Faces Caning for Drinking a Beer

A 32 year old Fashion Model in Singapore faces six strokes of the cane for drinking a beer. In the continuing Intolerancy Show perpetuated by the Islamic Fundamentalists (seconded only by the Christians), the Sharia law of Malaysia require her to be caned for consuming alcohol. The funny thing is that for Infidels, the law does not apply. They can drink all the beer they want in Singapore.

Read more here...

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Soviets Attempted Human/Chimp Hybrid

I found this little gem off of Poor Mojo's Newswire...

Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov was the first to actually attempt to create a human-ape hybrid. As early as 1910 he had given a presentation to the World Congress of Zoologists in Graz, Austria in which he described the possibility of obtaining such a hybrid through artificial insemination.
In 1924, while working at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, Ivanov obtained permission from the Institute's directors to use its experimental primate station in Kindia, French Guinea, for such an experiment. Ivanov attempted to gain backing for his project from the Soviet government.


... Ivanov's proposal finally sparked the interest of Nikolai Petrovich Gorbunov, the head of the Department of Scientific Institutions. In September 1925 Gorbunov helped allocate US$10,000 to the Academy of Sciences for Ivanov's human-ape hybridization experiments in Africa.
In March 1926 Ivanov arrived at the Kindia facility, but stayed only a month without success. The Kindia site, it turned out, had no sexually mature chimpanzees. He returned to France where he arranged through correspondence with French Guinea's colonial governor to set up experiments at the botanical gardens in Conakry.

... On February 28, 1927, Ivanov artificially inseminated two female chimpanzees with human sperm. On June 25, he injected a third chimpanzee with human sperm. The Ivanovs left Africa in July with thirteen chimps, including the three used in his experiments. They already knew before leaving that the first two chimpanzees had failed to become pregnant. The third died in France, and was also found not to have been pregnant. The remaining chimps were sent to a new primate station at Sukhumi.

Although Ivanov attempted to organize the insemination of human females with chimpanzee sperm in Guinea, these plans met with resistance from the French colonial government and there is no evidence such an experiment was arranged there.

Upon his return to the Soviet Union in 1927, Ivanov began an effort to organize hybridization experiments at Sukhumi using ape sperm and human females. Eventually in 1929, through the help of Gorbunov, he obtained the support of the Society of Materialist Biologists, a group associated with the
Communist Academy. In the spring of 1929 the Society set up a commission to plan Ivanov's experiments at Sukhumi. They decided that at least five volunteer women would be needed for the project. However, in June 1929, before any inseminations had taken place, Ivanov learned that the only postpubescent male ape remaining at Sukhumi (an orangutan) had died. A new set of chimps would not arrive at Sukhumi until the summer of 1930.

These rumored Russian experiments are not the only ones. There have been many rumored instances of human/ape interbreeding. The most famous of these was Oliver, the man/ape who could speak sign language and preferred human females over female chimpanzees. He was never scientifically proven to be an ape hybrid, but he was not like the other chimpanzees.

The whole basis of hyridizing humans and chimps is because we share over 95% of our DNA sequence, and 99% of gene coding with them. It is technically feasible to create chimeras such as Chumans, or Humanzees. It would seem mankind has not learned the lessons taught us by the Planet of the Apes movie series. I guess we will have to learn the hard way.