Voice of the Raven

The Dunking of Grace Sherwood

2011-02-14T04:41:00.000Z

Grace Sherwood, also known as the Witch of Princess Anne County, lived in Virginia in the early 1700's. Not much is known of her, what is known comes from the scattered remnants of court room records and local folklore.

Mrs. Sherwood was a widowed land-holding woman, most likely of mixed African descent, who lived along Bansnett's Creek near the Chesapeake region of Virginia. Her story begins with a trial in which she accused a local man, Luke Hill, of trespass, assault, and battery. She won the trial, and collected damages, but Mr. Hill accused her of witchcraft in retaliation, leading to another trial in which she was the main attraction. Folklore makes it difficult to determine whether there is any validity to his accusations, but spite is obviously what motivated him.

During this whole debacle, the local authorities were apprehensive about even trying her at all and tended to delay and stall the process. She was examined twice for Witch's Marks while the courts argued over jurisdiction and sent her case back and forth. To top it off, an all woman jury could not be found who could preside in her trial, leading to postponement of the final date. She was allowed to undergo trial by ordeal as an option. Her ordeal was to be "Ducked" in water, to determine guilt or innocence. Innocence being determined in this case by the innocent party sinking to the bottom, and God miraculously saving the accused because of their pure and innocent heart. Anything else was deemed a sign of guilt.

The local authorities really wanted no part of this, other than to make it go away. They even went so far as to provide boats for her rescue, and to schedule it on a day where the weather would not make her ill from the exposure to cold. On July 10th, 1706 the day finally came. They took her to the appointed place (now called Witch's Duck, on Chesapeake Bay) and tossed her in. Doing what any sane able bodied American would do, Mrs. Sherwood swam back to shore, sealing her guilt in the court's eyes.

Unlike most trials of this nature, Mrs. Sherwood was not sentenced to death. She ended up spending some time in the local jail, how much we do not know, since the court records end with her sentencing. It is known that her land was legally passed to others many years later, so it is assumed by most historians that she did not serve much time in jail and was soon released. Maybe there was validity to the accusations, as she seemed to get off rather light compared to most victims of the Witch Trials. Archeological records have even turned up "witch's bottles" in the area where she was suspected to live, leading to further speculations. A vivid psuedo-historical folklore has sprung up since her death, and she has become an almost mythical figure in the obscure history of the Chesapeake Region.

Her case also highlights the fact that most trials for witchcraft in the early American Colonies, centered around widowed land-holders, and in most places the legal system had no real desire to pursue it.

The picture above is a piece of artwork by Joshua Shaw, illustrating the place where her "ducking" took place.

Tyranny of Stupidity...

2011-02-13T18:23:00.001Z

With the seating of a new Congress, all eyes are upon their plans for the future. Here are a few gems that show what we are in for. Here is my take on real bills currently up for consideration...

1. Georgia Bill Would Ban Drivers' Licenses - These evil things are apparently oppressive, or something like that.

2. Forcing Science Teachers to 'Question' Evolution - Since Driver's Licenses are government oppression, having the government force science teachers to question science must be freedom.

3. Let's Use Tax Dollars to Finance Anti-Government Militias! - Um, what can I say? Sounds like a GREAT use of tax dollars to me. Not like we could actually do something useful with the money.

4. Let's Pay China's Central Bank and Default on Grandma and Grandpa - This debt ceiling thing is just ugly, but in the end, this will certainly kill the US and leave us totally broke.

5. Bill Criminalizing Health-Care Reform - Because helping people should be illegal, and you should go to jail for trying it.

6. Slew of Birther Bills - Long form birth certficate now required - Oops! your state doesn't issue one - Sorry can't hold office.

7. Arizona's Let's Re-Litigate the Civil War Act - OK, didn't we resolve this in 1865? No matter how many times we talk about it people, your plantation lifestyle is not coming back - not even in the desert.

8. Two-Tiered Citizenship - Because America needs a designated underclass, or a caste sytem... or maybe both.

9. Health-Care Mandates Are Unconstitutional, So Let's Force Everyone to Buy Guns - Can't have everybody going around and helping each other, better to just shoot them and get it over with quickly. It also cheaper than providing health care.

10. The 'Don't Call Those Sluts Victims!' Act - Because rape is such an ugly word...we should just ignore it.

11. The 'Make Sure Doctors Don't Ask Patients Too Many Questions' Act - Freedom means we can't have doctor's asking personal questions to crazy people, like "do you have a gun"?

This article was paraphrased from this one at Alternet.

Anarchist Politics and the Spanish Inquisition...

2011-02-08T06:34:00.000Z

Everyone knows about the witch trials in Europe and New England, but less is known about the trials conducted by the Spanish in early America. Unknown to most Americans, the Inquistors plied their trade in this country just as well as they did in the Old World, only most of it was directed at the native inhabitants they found. The underlying reasons were very different, however, with much of it rooted in destroying militant politics intent on stopping the Spanish Conquest.

The Native Americans equated the priesthood and missionaries with disease, since they were often the first Europeans they encountered. As such, the early contacts were marked by many of the American Indians seeing the priests and missionaries as sorcerors carrying a great plague. This led to endless struggles and violence when these folks encountered each other.

After the plagues ran their course, the tables were turned. The Spanish, in particular, elevated fears of Witchcraft by selectively singling out individuals who proved difficult to control, or were inciting rebellion amongst the native population. Indeed, the Catholic church was actually less concerned with spell casting and other sordid spiritual matters as long as loyalty to the Spain and the Catholic Church was maintaned. Those they accused as witches were not just rebelling against God's order, they were usually militantly encouraging and leading the others to armed rebellion as well.

In 1679, the Franciscans of New Mexico conducted a witch-hunt, leading to the destruction of sacred Kivas and violent attacks on the natives as they performed their ancient rituals. The next year, the Pueblo indians could stand no more, and rose in rebellion. The Pueblo Revolt as it is now known, drove the Spanish out of New Mexico for many, many years. They were led by an accused "witch" known as Pope` who had been one of the 47 accused of witchcraft in the preceding witch-hunt. He had been whipped for his part in trying to curse the Spanish and "steal their hearts".

This pattern is seen over and over in regions conquered by Spain, in their subjugation of the indigenious people found there. These people accused as "Witches" are analogous to the later political "Anarchist", seeking freedom from his oppressor for himself and his people. The act of "witchcraft" as termed by the Spanish, was an act of of political and religious defiance. In many cases, they really were what they were accused of, and were militantly trying to overthrow the Spanish and restore their older shamanic ways. This pattern was echoed to a lesser degree in the Old World, with their purges against the Jewish, Basques, and others.

On Being Sane in Insane Places

2011-02-06T03:48:00.000Z

The Rosenhan Experiment was performed in 1973. It was a test to determine if "sanity" can be objectively determined by observation. The results had a lasting impact on proper diagnosis of mental illness, however, the implications go much deeper. Is insanity something that we can determine by observation or comparison with others?

The test was conducted in two parts, one in which healthy "false patients" told medical personnel they had experienced hallucinations and were admitted to 12 different psych hospitals. Part two involved having select staff at a different set of hospitals pick which patients they thought were fake, but no patients were actually sent. The general hospital staff were not told these experiments were being conducted in either Part 1 or Part 2.

None of the fake patients had any history of mental illness, they all were given the same medical complaint - vague auditory hallucinations, with no other symptoms. These patients were then instructed to act "normally" saying they felt fine and no longer heard the hallucinations. The average stay was 19 days, with some staying as long as 52 days until the staff decided they were "well" enough for release. The dehumanizing and labeling process took over from actual treatment and observation, and these "fake" patients ended up staying much longer than expected. Most of these fake patients were released with the stigma of "Schitzophrenia in Remission", though nothing was ever observed and it was all simply based upon hearsay.

Part 2 was not any better - out of 193 actual patients, 41 were reported to be fakes, and another 42 were suspected to be fake.

"I told friends, I told my family, 'I can get out when I can get out. That's all. I'll be there for a couple of days and I'll get out.' Nobody knew I'd be there for two months … The only way out was to point out that they're [the psychiatrists] correct. They had said I was insane, 'I am insane; but I am getting better.' That was an affirmation of their view of me." — David Rosenhan

A famous quote from the study concludes "It is clear that we cannot distinguish the sane from the insane in psychiatric hospitals"

Antonio Longoria's Death Ray

2011-01-27T05:47:00.000Z

Did his Death Ray really work? We will never know... in a fit of foolishness he destroyed it for the benefit of mankind leading to the permanent revocation of his mad scientist license.

Miami Dade Police to be first in US to deploy UAV drones...

2011-01-16T22:39:00.000Z

Miami Dade is scheduled to be the first US city to deploy Unmanned Aerial Vehicle drones for Police surveillance. Pending FAA approval, they will soon be using the Honeywell T-Hawk drone in support of police duties.

See more here...
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=3151

The Dark Jedi in American Politics...

2011-01-03T00:00:00.000Z

The I do not support ther goals or plans in any way, I can respect them for their insidious understanding of the human psychology. Truly one of the greatest Psy-Ops ever conducted...

A group of billionaires organized by Koch Industries came together and designed the initiative.
Spokespeople were planted in the mainstream media to suggest that it was time for a revolution reminiscent of the founding days of our country.
A massive media platform, including Fox News and conservative radio, spread the meme to every corner of the country.
Seed funding was provided to organize the first rallies, all the while painting it as a "grassroots movement."
Narratives that had been planted by conservative think tanks throughout the last forty years were evoked as "traditional values."
Real concerns by people suffering under corporate corruption were tapped to evoke strong anger and fear.
People came out in droves to support Tea Party candidates who were actually in cahoots with their corporate benefactors.

I congratulate them for lofting the understanding of our mind far into the realm that was once considered magick - However, I fear it is a bridge that once crossed, Humanity can never return again.

Outline from Truth-Out.

In Case You Have Forgotten - How to Recognize Fascism...

2010-12-31T05:11:00.003Z

Since knowing the signs of Fascism in all of its forms seems to be a major problem in the USA, I post these guidelines...

14 POINTS OF FASCISM

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism
From the prominent displays of flags and bunting to the ubiquitous lapel pins, the fervor to show patriotic nationalism, both on the part of the regime itself and of citizens caught up in its frenzy, was always obvious. Catchy slogans, pride in the military, and demands for unity were common themes in expressing this nationalism. It was usually coupled with a suspicion of things foreign that often bordered on xenophobia.

2. Disdain for the importance of human rights

The regimes themselves viewed human rights as of little value and a hindrance to realizing the objectives of the ruling elite. Through clever use of propaganda, the population was brought to accept these human rights abuses by marginalizing, even demonizing, those being targeted. When abuse was egregious, the tactic was to use secrecy, denial, and disinformation.

3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause

The most significant common thread among these regimes was the use of scapegoating as a means to divert the people’s attention from other problems, to shift blame for failures, and to channel frustration in controlled directions. The methods of choice—relentless propaganda and disinformation—were usually effective. Often the regimes would incite “spontaneous” acts against the target scapegoats, usually communists, socialists, liberals, Jews, ethnic and racial minorities, traditional national enemies, members of other religions, secularists, homosexuals, and “terrorists.” Active opponents of these regimes were inevitably labeled as terrorists and dealt with accordingly.

4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism

Ruling elites always identified closely with the military and the industrial infrastructure that supported it. A disproportionate share of national resources was allocated to the military, even when domestic needs were acute. The military was seen as an expression of nationalism, and was used whenever possible to assert national goals, intimidate other nations, and increase the power and prestige of the ruling elite.

5. Rampant sexism

Beyond the simple fact that the political elite and the national culture were male-dominated, these regimes inevitably viewed women as second-class citizens. They were adamantly anti-abortion and also homophobic. These attitudes were usually codified in Draconian laws that enjoyed strong support by the orthodox religion of the country, thus lending the regime cover for its abuses.

6. A controlled mass media

Under some of the regimes, the mass media were under strict direct control and could be relied upon never to stray from the party line. Other regimes exercised more subtle power to ensure media orthodoxy. Methods included the control of licensing and access to resources, economic pressure, appeals to patriotism, and implied threats. The leaders of the mass media were often politically compatible with the power elite. The result was usually success in keeping the general public unaware of the regimes’ excesses.

7. Obsession with national security

Inevitably, a national security apparatus was under direct control of the ruling elite. It was usually an instrument of oppression, operating in secret and beyond any constraints. Its actions were justified under the rubric of protecting “national security,” and questioning its activities was portrayed as unpatriotic or even treasonous.

8. Religion and ruling elite tied together

Unlike communist regimes, the fascist and protofascist regimes were never proclaimed as godless by their opponents. In fact, most of the regimes attached themselves to the predominant religion of the country and chose to portray themselves as militant defenders of that religion. The fact that the ruling elite’s behavior was incompatible with the precepts of the religion was generally swept under the rug. Propaganda kept up the illusion that the ruling elites were defenders of the faith and opponents of the “godless.” A perception was manufactured that opposing the power elite was tantamount to an attack on religion.

9. Power of corporations protected

Although the personal life of ordinary citizens was under strict control, the ability of large corporations to operate in relative freedom was not compromised. The ruling elite saw the corporate structure as a way to not only ensure military production (in developed states), but also as an additional means of social control. Members of the economic elite were often pampered by the political elite to ensure a continued mutuality of interests, especially in the repression of “have-not” citizens.

10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated

Since organized labor was seen as the one power center that could challenge the political hegemony of the ruling elite and its corporate allies, it was inevitably crushed or made powerless. The poor formed an underclass, viewed with suspicion or outright contempt. Under some regimes, being poor was considered akin to a vice.

11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts
Intellectuals and the inherent freedom of ideas and expression associated with them were anathema to these regimes. Intellectual and academic freedom were considered subversive to national security and the patriotic ideal. Universities were tightly controlled; politically unreliable faculty harassed or eliminated. Unorthodox ideas or expressions of dissent were strongly attacked, silenced, or crushed. To these regimes, art and literature should serve the national interest or they had no right to exist.

12. Obsession with crime and punishment

Most of these regimes maintained Draconian systems of criminal justice with huge prison populations. The police were often glorified and had almost unchecked power, leading to rampant abuse. “Normal” and political crime were often merged into trumped-up criminal charges and sometimes used against political opponents of the regime. Fear, and hatred, of criminals or “traitors” was often promoted among the population as an excuse for more police power.

13. Rampant cronyism and corruption

Those in business circles and close to the power elite often used their position to enrich themselves. This corruption worked both ways; the power elite would receive financial gifts and property from the economic elite, who in turn would gain the benefit of government favoritism. Members of the power elite were in a position to obtain vast wealth from other sources as well: for example, by stealing national resources. With the national security apparatus under control and the media muzzled, this corruption was largely unconstrained and not well understood by the general population.

14. Fraudulent elections

Elections in the form of plebiscites or public opinion polls were usually bogus. When actual elections with candidates were held, they would usually be perverted by the power elite to get the desired result. Common methods included maintaining control of the election machinery, intimidating and disenfranchising opposition voters, destroying or disallowing legal votes, and, as a last resort, turning to a judiciary beholden to the power elite.

As freedom loving Americans, we should take a look around and see which groups match these descriptions. It may not be who you think!

Many thanks to Ellen...

I Really Like This Statement...

2010-12-26T04:17:00.000Z

How we educate our young is nothing short of a disaster. We don’t educate most kids – we ‘store’ them when parents are off working off debts.
from this article: http://khanneasuntzu.wordpress.com/2010/12/23/response/

The rest of the post is dead on too!

Quantum Experiments Appear to Disprove Objective Reality

2010-12-22T04:59:00.004Z

The mysterious world of Quantum Physics has gotten even more mysterious. A series of experiments, called the EPR Experiments, have been underway to test the boundaries of our percieved reality. Specifically, an item called "Bell's Theorem", which deals with the underlying "connectedness" of of all particles of matter in our universe.

If Isaac Newton and Einstein were correct, particles of matter should not be able to influence each other without being in contact, however the observed results of these experiments has shown this not to be the case. Time and time again the experiments have the same result; each experiment being consecutively larger and taking on a significantly bigger chunk of our reality. What this means is that there is either some unusual and mysterious force acting across Space/Time, forcing the experiments to have the same result, or our concepts objective of reality are totally wrong. Maybe they have found the "Quantum Waveform" on which it is theorized everything rides?

Here is a link to a scientific paper on this subject.

And another just released about the latest experiment.

What Type of Political structure Really Makes Up the large Corporations?

2010-12-20T04:04:00.000Z

Found this on-line at http://laughingfish.blogspot.com/

Considering the largest corporations as analogous to a nation state reveals the following properties:

1. The right to vote does not exist except for share holders (analogous to land owners) and even there voting power is in proportion to ownership.
2. All power issues from a central committee.
3. There is no balancing division of power. There is no fourth estate. There are no juries and innocence is not presumed.
4. Failure to submit to any order may result in instant exile.
5. There is no freedom of speech.
6. There is no right of association. Even romance between men and women is often forbidden without approval.
7. The economy is centrally planned.
8. There is pervasive surveillance of movement and electronic communication.
9. The society is heavily regulated, to the degree many employees are told when, where and how many times a day they can go to the toilet.
10. There is little transparency and something like the Freedom of Information Act is unimaginable.
11. Internal opposition groups, such as unions, are blackbanned, surveilled and/or marginalized whenever and wherever possible.

A Point to be Remembered...

2010-12-12T04:53:00.000Z

The democratization of knowledge is essential to the advancement of any civilization. Without it, certain portions of the society may advance, those with the access to the knowledge, but, for that civilization to truly achieve extreme sophistication, it cannot abandon any of its members to a second class status.

-Author unknown

10 Steps to Zen

2010-12-09T22:29:00.000Z

Here are ten steps you can take to achieve inner peace and happiness; and you don't even have to be a Buddhist to do it...

1. Slow down, take it easy

2. Breathe right; deep into your diaphram

3. Less materialism, more spiritualism; get rid of the clutter and live simple

4. Less TV, more doing; reading, writing, singing or dancing

5. Less work more play (perhaps the hardest step of all)

6. Don't worry about things you can't change or the future; live more in the here and now

7. Less effort, more focus; do what is needed to be done, not what you feel like doing

8. Less driving; do more walking, jogging or cycling

9. Less intake, more output; less consuming, more creating, inventing and doing

10. Eat right; less garbage more nourish
Re-printed from Daily Zen in a Nut-shell

Ten Ways We can Starve the Wall Street Beast and Prosper...

2010-11-28T21:17:00.002Z

In this age of Wealth Hoarding by the upper 5% percent of our society, here are a few things you can do to fight back and still prosper in-spite of increasing corporate domination of our civilization's asset's. Don't be a pawn in their game...

1. Shorten Your Home Mortgage: Less of your income will flow into their financially engineered Interest machine.

2. Think Local: Support the local economy, not Wall Street and the Mega-Corps.

3. Start a Business: A small side business like U-Pick fruits and veggies, or cheap child-care, just in case the Pink Slip comes...

4. Invest Wisely: Thoroughly research your 401K and Retirement accounts.

5. Check Out Credit Union Membership: Dump the banks, they are not on your side...

6. Don’t Use Credit Cards from Corporations That Abuse You: All of the following have one thing in common: Home Depot, Exxon Mobil, Shell, Macy’s, Sears, Zales. They all extend credit to their customers on a Citigroup credit card. Forty million customers are helping to prop up Citigroup and its anti-consumer, anti-citizen practices by using these cards

7. Brand Attacks: Chances are high that your local storeowners don’t have a PAC and lobbyists on K Street working against your interests? Reward them with your business and starve the S&P 500 firms until they get the message.

8. Return the Courts to Workers: Many of the largest corporations force workers to sign away their rights to the Nation’s courts as a condition of employment. It’s called mandatory arbitration and it’s an unfair process that is rigged to favor the corporation. If you interview for a new job, ask if the company has such a policy and walk away if they do.

9. Complain: Don’t let shady practices go undetected. Write a detailed report and file it with the appropriate body: local district attorney, state attorney general’s office, consumer protection groups; and write a letter to the editor to the local paper.

10. Just Say No: To frontal nudity photographs/skin radiation/genitalia groping; all just to board a plane. Don’t fly. You will be standing up for civil rights and starving Wall Street. Body scanner companies trade on Wall Street and the banksters are hoping domestic surveillance is their new cash cow.

And above all, realize that ALL current political party's are tainted by corporate control.

If everyone followed these steps, we can change our system on an individual basis. Just be prepared, if you do, because you will soon be assualted by hordes of well meaning but deluded people telling you how un-American you are for standing up for your rights. Have faith, and be persistent... Don't let the drones wear you down.

This article is a summary of the info contained at AlterNet

Ten Rules for Dealing with Police.

2010-11-17T18:56:00.001Z

Your Constitutional Rights only apply if you know and assert them.

The ten rules are...

1. Always be calm and cool: a bad attitude guarantees a bad outcome.
2. Remain silent: what you don't say can't hurt you.
3. You have the right to refuse searches: saying no to searches can't be held against you.
4. Don't get tricked: remember, police are allowed to lie to you.
5. Determine if you're free to go: police need evidence to detain you.
6. Don't expose yourself: doing dumb stuff in public makes you an easy target.
7. Don't run: they'll catch you and make you regret it.
8. Never touch a cop: aggressive actions will only earn you a more aggressive response.
9. Report misconduct: be a good witness.
10. You don't have to let them in: police need a warrant to enter your home.

Portions of post reprinted from the following...
http://www.alternet.org/rights/148860/10_ways_to_outfox_cops_that_are_abusing_their_powers_to_trick_you/?page=2

Quote of the Day...

2010-11-11T05:40:00.001Z

I am God, and all other gods are my imagery. I gave birth to myself. I am millions of forms ex-creating; eternal; and nothing exists except through me; yet I am not them— they serve me.
- A.O. Spare

How "Harvest" Festivals are More Pagan than Halloween...

2010-10-28T22:23:00.000Z

It is time again for the Great American Tradition of Halloween. Unknown to most, many of our customs from this popular holiday are actually very modern in origin. The parties, Trick or Treating, and outlandish costumes are a wholly modern invention, created to keep children off the streets and out of trouble.

In the past, especially the 19th Century, it was customary for delinquents to go out and cause havoc by burning down buildings and performing a whole host of other frowned upon activities. It finally reached a point where it could not be tolerated any longer, and the custom of Trick or Treating, and throwing lavish Halloween and Costume Parties began, to keep the children out of trouble. It was also a plan to teach new Halloween traditions to the littlest ones and prevent future generations of delinquency.

This Holiday does fall upon the same date as the old European, (mostly Irish) festival of the end of the harvest season called Samhain. In the Dark Ages, The Roman Catholic Church aimed to replace Samhain with a succession of church approved holidays falling on roughly the same date. It was all part of a plan by the church to gradually integrate the past pagan practices into the new order of things the church brought about after the fall of Rome.

This has been carried on, into modern times, though this time by mostly Protestant religious organizations, the Catholic Church having long ago won the battle when most of Europe was converted to Christianity. Many of these more modern organizations have taken aim at what they believe to be ancient traditions, but which in reality are actually very modern inventions aimed at correcting social problems. They typically hold "Harvest" festivals, seeking to rid the season of it's supposedly pagan image.

The irony of this comes from the fact that the "Harvest" festival is actually more in line with the pagan Samhain holiday than the modern inventions of trick or treating, and spooky costumes. The old holiday was a celebration of the final harvest and the coming of Winter, the season when all the farm plants die off. The farm animals were also slaughtered for winter food supplies. It also marked the end of the old Irish year, who followed a different cycle than our current Romanic system. So in a way, the new alternative to Halloween, the Harvest Festival, is actually much closer to the original than the current modern practices of spooks and hobgoblins.

The irony. The more you try to escape from it, the more it is the same. My advice...

Just have fun and enjoy it! It is the best holiday around!

This Should not be Happening...

2010-10-23T16:23:00.000Z

Socialist Europe appears to be winning the personal wealth game as we slip into a Mexican style economy.

Humanity's Dangerous Delusion of It's Own Importance

2010-10-22T19:32:00.005Z

"Evolution progresses to complexity and intelligence, and Homo Sapien's are the star on the Christmas Tree of life". Unfortunately, the facts point in a different direction.

Humanity has long labored under the mystical delusion that life developed from simple mindless organisms and evolved into complex, intelligent, and spiritual forms. This anthropocentric view of the Universe, while it justifies much of Mankind's actions, behavior patterns and cultural identities, is not supported when the origin of life is looked at in a scientific and objective manner.

Much of Humanity believes that we are the reason the Universe exists at all, paying no heed to the facts of the matter whatsoever. This "identity" being the remnants of a cultural meme spread many generations ago during the domain of religious dominance, before the development of true and accurate scientific methods.

There are several crucial facts that this hierarchical "Christmas tree" view of our own self-importance ignores. All life consists of reproducing cells driven by a simple chemical code representing genetic material, and has arisen from a common bacterial ancestor. In essence, all life is of bacterial origin, as recent developments in exo-biology has shown us.

Life is a process by which bacterial based lifeforms have deviated from their original bacterial base to gain access to untapped resources. When viewed objectively, it does not represent a progression upwards towards more complexity and intelligence. It is simply a deviation sideways, away from the bacterial base. Instead of a "Christmas Tree" we are left with the shape of a tree growing against the wall in the shade.

As the center or base becomes overshadowed and dark, the limbs must spread further to reach the light. Instead of a pyramid shaped tree where we Humans are the utmost pinnacle, we are left with a flat-topped tree sprouting from a wall, where humans are on tip of the longest, thinnest branch furthest from the shaded trunk.

All life is driven by the simple needs to reproduce genetic materials, and to tap new resources for survival. This new view of the tree of life is a reflection of this; everything else being extras in the grand scheme of things, created by the complexities of tapping the resources needed to spread the genetic code.

Truly a Most Amazing Evil...

2010-10-17T04:38:00.001Z

The creepily amazing world of Walter Potter and his grotesque taxidermy collection. This 19th century Taxidermist is the man who invented the original card-playing dogs on velvet, only he didn't paint them.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/oct/08/walter-potter-exhibition-museum-everything

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Potter

One is left wondering where he got all those kittens?

Look out below!

2010-09-29T05:40:00.000Z

Yes, those are nets for falling bodies. It seems these Chinese workers can't stop flinging themselves out of the windows.

El Museo de las Momias

2010-09-27T02:14:00.004Z

Here is another stop on my vacation list - The Museum of the Mummies, in Guanajuato, MX. How come so many places I would like to see are in Mexico? Maybe it is simply because that is where all the creepy stuff goes to hide from the rest of the planet.

It seems they had a cholera epidemic way back in 1833, and the residents - who were mostly poor, could not afford to pay the grave tax. Instead of burying them, the state put them in this museum. So not only is it a creepy place, it is also a monument to man's inherrent inhumanity.

Truly a place of nightmares...

The POW Who Sneaked into Auschwitz

2010-09-23T05:10:00.000Z

One of the more obscure stories from the Holocaust era remains the unusual case of British airman Denis Avey. His story did not surface until 2003, when he was invited to speak on a BBC program about War pensions. It was on this show that he decided to let out his long guarded secret, having finally come to terms with what he saw.

His remarkable tale began early in the war, in North Africa operating behind the German front lines as an SOE commando. He was captured and put on a ship, which was torpedoed as it transported him to his POW camp. He escaped the sinking and survived a nearby depth charge attack, eventually landing on the shores of Greece only to be captured again many months later. Just the story of his evasion, capture, escape, and re-capture place him in the category of an extraordinary soldier, but his actions after he became a POW are truly outstanding.

He was taken to a very small POW camp adjoining the infamous Nazi Death Camp known as Auschwitz. His barracks was near a work camp where the Jewish prisoners were used as slave labor building the I. G. Farbin Buna plant, as their life was slowly and methodically drained away by the industrialized death machine. Being POW's, they were protected from the evils of the Hitler's Final Solution by the Geneva Convention regulations. Their conditions, while not good, were much better than the conditions the Jewish prisoners faced. These POW's enjoyed a sideline seat for events that were largely unknown to the rest of the world until the war's end.

Being an outstanding Commando, Denis Avey naturally wanted to know more about what he saw than what his small window on the Holocaust showed him. Having heard tales of atrocities, he resolved himself to find out what was really happening in the sprawling Death Camp beside them. He befriended a Jewish man, named Mr. Lobethall, who passed them daily on his trip to work at the factory site. Eventually, he convinced the man to change uniforms with him, and take his place among the British POW's. Avey then sneaked back into Auschwitz with the Jewish workers as they returned from their daily labor. His Wehrmacht guards did not pay much attention; they did not expect anyone to actually try and sneak into the larger SS Death Camp.

The fact that he did this is remarkable in itself. What is outstanding is that he did it more than once, his ultimate goal to work his way deeper and find the rumoured gas chambers. Living a double life, he lived and worked amongst the condemmed Jews, facing summary execution or gassing if caught. He was determined find the truth and bring it to the rest of the world's attention.

He never did find the gas chambers, but he did manage to help save the life of Mr. Lobethal, whose time with the POW's allowed him to recover from the tortures of the Auschwitz. Avey also gave him better shoes and food, which helped him survive and escape during the final death march as the Russians over-ran the region in the last days of the war.

Denis Avey saw many thing which haunted him for the rest of his life. He saw daily executions and beatings. He saw mass starvation, epidemics, and endured the screams of Jewish prisoners as they lay dying in their barracks at night. He watched as three million people were slowly worked to their graves in the factories surrounding Auschwitz. He described his experience as walking into a "Hell on Earth".

After he was freed and returned to his regiment, he attempted to tell his Lieutenant, who reacted with indifference. Disgusted by the reaction, he decided not to speak about it again and told no one, not even his family.

At least, not until that fateful interview on BBC 65 years later.

Here is his Wikipedia page.

Another Stop on My Vacation List... Overtoun Bridge

2010-09-12T17:08:00.001Z

This mysterious Scottish bridge is famous for it's strange effect on the canine species. It seems they want to jump off of it to their deaths on the rocks below, for some unknown reason.

At least 50 dogs are known to have done this. It is also said that a man once tossed his baby off of it after claiming it was the Anti-Christ. Later, he threw himself as well.

At any rate, it makes a fine stop on my little vacation plan.

Mysterious Spirit of the Past Haunts the Dalai Lama

2010-09-05T06:31:00.000Z

In 1976, the current Dalai Lama made a startling announcement banning his followers from seeking propitiation of a certain Buddhist deity, namely the one called Dorjé Shukden. While relatively unknown to Westerners, this has created a rift in the Tibetan community, most of whom are in exile around the world as a result of the Chinese take-over of Tibet many years ago. The reasoning behind this announcement was to prevent the very thing it seems to have created, Sectarian division within the ranks of his Tibetan community at large. While most of this does not play on the radar of most Americans, there is an interesting and mysterious story behind it that spans centuries and reaches far into the last vestiges of the Mongol Empire.

This story started in Tibet during the chaos and upheaval of early 1600's Tibet, during a civil war in which the Mongols ended up winning. The 4th Dalai Lama had died shortly before and a search for a successor had been outlawed by the winning side. This search was undertaken in secret, and two small boys were located who seemed to fit the requirements to serve as the re-incarnated leader.

One of these boys, Drakpa Gyeltsen, seemed to encompass more of the previous leader's nature than the other. However, he was not picked, but later he did assume the role of another famous individual within the monastic world, but held no leadership authority. The other child became the famous Fifth Dalai Lama, known for uniting the Buddhist Monasteries, and driving the Mongol Empire out of Tibet.

In time, Drakpa Gyeltsen proved himself a much more capable and charismatic leader, rivalling the fame and power of the Dalai Lama, who eventually saw him as a threat. Many of Drakpa Gyeltsen's followers believed him to be the true Dalai Lama, and tensions rose accordingly. As tensions rose, so did the threats and harrassment.

Drakpa Gyeltsen challenged the Dalai Lama to a verbal debate one day, and walked away the winner, taking with him a small ceremonial cloth he won as a wager in the debate. He was later found dead with this cloth stuffed down his throat. Several different stories exist, and nobody really knows what truly happened.

A few of these stories involve a combination of political intrigue, jealousy, and a link to a large family inheritance. Most of the other's imply that the monk, sick of constant harrassment and assassination attempts, killed himself as part of a strange revenge ritual he perpetrated upon his enemies. The real truth will probably never be known, having been lost to the winds of history.

What is known is that soon after his death, the Dalai Lama and his court began to complain of visitations by an aggressive spirit or ghost. They believed it to be the spirit of the deceased monk, returned to exact revenge from beyond the grave. Several exorcisms were attempted, including one where the exorcist allowed himself to be possessed by the spirit and threw himself into a bonfire. As none of the these attempts were sucessful, the Dalai Lama assumed the spirit he was dealing with was no mere ghost. He later proclaimed that he had made peace with the spirit and identified it as Dorjé Shukden, saying it was to be the new protector deity of their sect.

In the intervening years, this spirit became a central figure in the "Yellowhat" sect that the Dalai Lama is a part of, eventually becoming one of the "wrathful" deities that protects the Dharma and keeps the teachings pure. In fact, stories abound of the violent end met by many of those within the Yellowhat's when their Dharmic practices became tainted by teachings from other sects. As a "worldly" deity, Dorje Shukden is said to be able to influence events and possess individuals to enable his intentions to see fruition, and to protect the Gelugpa(Yellowhat) sect. He seems a rather dangerous entity for such a peaceful and pacifist religious order.

Now, jump ahead to the early 21st Century, if you will. In Dharmasala, the seat of the Tibetan government in exile, at least three ritualistic murders have taken place involving individuals with a high standing in the Buddhist Gelugpa "Yellowhats" organization. Who commited these crimes has never been solved. Many within the sect speculate that this entity was involved in some way, and the true killers will never be found.

While this story embodies much myth and legend, it also leaves a lot of mystery in the process. The future of the Tibetan Government in exile, and even that of the Dalai Lama himself reads like a Shakesperean curse. Even the Dalai Lama himself admits he will probably be the last of his line. Is it possible that this monk from the 1600's is still exacting his revenge upon the descendants of those who killed him?

The Original Commandments of Ancient Egypt

2010-08-27T22:04:00.004Z

Unknown to most people, the biblical commandments were in existence long before Moses came around.

I love posting about forgotten ancient knowledge, so here are the original 42 Commandments of Ma'at. These were later shortened to 10 commandments, I guess we don't have to worry about the other 32 anymore. They must have gotten in the way...

THE 42 COMMANDMENTS OF ANCIENT EGYPT

I. Thou shalt not kill, nor bid anyone kill.
II. Thou shalt not commit adultery or rape.
III. Thou shalt not avenge thyself nor burn with rage.
IV.Thou shalt not cause terror.
V. Thou shalt not assault anyone nor cause anyone pain.
VI. Thou shalt not cause misery.
VII. Thou shalt not do any harm to man or to animals.
VIII. Thou shalt not cause the shedding of tears.
IX. Thou shalt not wrong the people nor bear them any evil intent.
X. Thou shalt not steal nor take that which does not belong to you.
XI. Thou shalt not take more than thy fair share of food.
XII. Thou shalt not damage the crops, the fields, or the trees.
XIII. Thou shalt not deprive anyone of what is rightfully theirs.
XIV. Thou shalt not bear false witness, nor support false allegations.
XV. Thou shalt not lie, nor speak falsely to the hurt of another.
XVI. Thou shalt not use fiery words nor stir up any strife.
XVII. Thou shalt not speak or act deceitfully to the hurt of another.
XVIII. Thou shalt not speak scornfully against others.
XIX. Thou shalt not eavesdrop.
XX. Thou shalt not ignore the truth or words of righteousness.
XXI. Thou shalt not judge anyone hastily or harshly.
XXII. Thou shalt not disrespect sacred places.
XXIII. Thou shalt cause no wrong to be done to any workers or prisoners.
XXIV. Thou shalt not be angry without good reason.
XXV. Thou shalt not hinder the flow of running water.
XXVI. Thou shalt not waste the running water.
XXVII. Thou shalt not pollute the water or the land.
XXVIII. Thou shalt not take God's name in vain.
XXIX. Thou shalt not despise nor anger God.
XXX. Thou shalt not steal from God.
XXXI. Thou shalt not give excessive offerings nor less than what is due.
XXXII. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods.
XXXIII. Thou shalt not steal from nor disrespect the dead.
XXXIV. Thou shalt remember and observe the appointed holy days.
XXXV. Thou shalt not hold back the offerings due God.
XXXVI. Thou shalt not interfere with sacred rites.
XXXVII. Thou shalt not slaughter with evil intent any sacred animals.
XXXVIII. Thou shalt not act with guile or insolence.
XXXIX. Thou shalt not be unduly proud nor act with arrogance.
XXXX. Thou shalt not magnify your condition beyond what is appropriate.
XXXXI. Thou shalt do no less than your daily obligations require.
XXXXII. Thou shalt obey the law and commit no treason.

The 42 Principles of Ma'at, the Goddess who personified the ideals of Truth and Righteousness, were known to all the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians believed that when they died, their souls would be judged by these principles. Moses and the Israelites, who were originally Egyptians, would have been familiar with these principles, but after wandering for forty years they seem to have only remembered 8 of them.

Moses added three new non-secular commandments; the one about not honoring the other gods, the honoring of their parents, and the one that included their neighbor's wives and slaves as coveted chattel. It is also interesting which commandmentments they chose to keep and which they discarded (for example, Rape).

The remarkable thing about the principles of Ma'at is not only how much more advanced they are in comparison with the Hebrew Commandments, but how most of them are strikingly relevant to this day.

The Global UN Conspiracy or How the Anti-Christ Gave Me a Schwinn...

2010-08-06T02:15:00.002Z

Back in the old days (read; Reagan Era), most Americans knew very little about conspiracies and conspiracy theory. They were freaky stories promulgated by the militantly anti-government Right or religious Fundies you saw on classic UHF TV with names like the "700 Club". Most dealt with the rise of a single world government, founded mostly upon mis-interpretations from various unrelated Bible verses. Much of it was not even reliable enough to even be used the great journalistic bastions of integrity, such as "The National Enquirer, or "Weekly World News".

In those days, It was largely limited to the guys in the wooden shotgun shacks and the people dancin' with snakes.

After the rise of the internet and immediate mass media, many of these crazy and unprovable theories have been embraced by the left as well. All of this has led to the rise of a conspiracy culture within our society, which is currently being played up by various political groups. We have seen an unprecedented rise of a period where large segments of the population are actively preparing for the "end of the world" in a nearly Cold War fashion. Political scientists warn this public hysteria could have severe effects upon our culture and political landscape. It can have such dire effects as increased instances of Domestic Terrorism, or the sparking of a Third Political Party which can upset the existing poltical structure and destabilize our existing government, allowing for a political coup de' tat.

Here is a small selection of some of these theories, which mostly originated from a small series of books written by a relatively obscure American religious fundamentalist author at the beginning of the Reagan Era, having been pushed on the American public by such esteemed groups as the John Birch Society, and notable figures such as Pat Robertson, and Senator McCarthy. What started out as a mostly Biblical armageddon fantasy now includes such apolitical oddities as UFO's, and Bigfoot all combined in one big globalist UN plot...

1. The Moon Landing was a hoax.

2. All scientists are trying to foist the false theory of Evolution on the public at the behest of Satan.

3. AIDS was created by the CIA and deliberately spread by the WHO via polio inoculations in Africa, to reduce the world population.

4. Global warming is a hoax created by the UN and politically funded scientists/environmentalists, aided by Al Gore and many others to put cap and trade in place for monetary gain.

5. 9/11 was staged by the US Government.

6. The Pentagon was not hit by an aircraft on 9/11, but a US missile.

7. Bush et al. knew about the 9/11 attacks in advance. and let them happen.

8. The leaders of the US, Mexico, and Canada are conspiring to merge all three countries into the North American Union and adopt the Amero as a common currency, for... some reason.

9. FEMA is on the brink of dissolving the US government and shipping all of the country's undesireables to concentration camps for slaughter or deprogramming.

10. The United Nations is secretly bringing white UN military vehicles into the USA to overthrow the Government.

11. The swine flu outbreak of 2009 was engineered by the American government, with the eventual aim of declaring martial law, herding everyone into FEMA concentration camps, and forcibly vaccinating people with the virus in order to deliberately depopulate the Earth so that the masterminds of the New World Order can take control.

12. A vast number of American institutions are working together to "turn America into an amoral, humanist country, ripe for merger into a one-world socialist state". At least according to the book Mind Siege.

13. Jesus was actually married to Mary Magdalene...

14. The Masons secretly run everything.

15. The Royal Family of England, along with the Bushes, the Clintons, and many other rich, prestigious families, are actually man-eating shapeshifting lizard-people from the fourth dimension.

16. Barack Obama is a secret closet Muslim from Hawaii who was synthesized in Kenya for the purpose of ______ (fill in the blank).

17. Holocaust denial.

18. The Capitol Of Nebraska building is the ritual center for Satanic rites, the proof for this including the number of penises that can be discovered in the art work.

19. The Jews secretly run everything (the international Jewish conspiracy).

20. That all modern secret societies are branches of a single, ancient society called the "Brotherhood of the Snake."

I could go on, but it would literally fill this blog from end to end. And I haven't even mentioned the Communist bicycles being supplied by the UN to Colorado to corrupt American Values and make us a Socialist nation.

Many thanks to Rationalwiki.org for the itemized list of conspiracies.

CancerGate and the Controversy of Medical Marijauna

2010-07-28T15:39:00.001Z

I am normally not interested in a story relating to things such as cannabis rights, but the idea that our government, in collusion with the multinational pharmaceutical industry is suppressing life saving drugs is revolting to me. Rumors have been spreading amongst underground circles of the discovery in Madrid, Spain, that THC kills cancer cells.

In fact, a Canadian named Rick Simpson has been teaching people how to extract the oil from hemp to use as a medicine specifically for cancer treatment. What he advocates is not the wanton use of it to smoke and space out, but a controlled use in a manner in which the hallucinatory effects are mostly not present. Likewise, it has been found to have very little physical effects.

The only reason it seems for the government to deny this use to the general public is to force people to buy expensive and mostly counter-productive drugs from the big drug companies. However, I am no expert in this subject, so judge what you will at your own risk. I suspect the truth lies somewhere in the middle, and that in fact, information has been suppressed from the public due to political posturing, fear, and capitalistic exploitation.

His story is posted here on Youtube. (Be warned, it is 58 minutes long).

Here is a link to a story of an older study about the possible positive effects of hemp on lung cancer.

Here is a re-print of the story that started CancerGate, many years ago.

Blackmarket Human Organs

2010-07-27T05:23:00.001Z

With the rise in witchcraft persecutions in Africa comes word of something else just as troubling. A growing black market in human organs has appeared. These organs are harvested, not for their value as transplants, but for their value in traditional "folk" remedies.

Genitals and Heads Removed While Alive

The Mozambique Human Rights League states that the problem is widespread across Southern Africa, with ritual killings and disappearances commonplace. Border-crossers are found with alarming regularity to be carrying bags containing human organs and body parts; genitals and heads being preferred items. It is said many of those who are killed have the organs cut-off while they are still living. An even more alarming trend, is that much of it comes from children. Matshidisho Ntsiuoa, a researcher for Child Welfare in Bloemfontein, South Africa, tells a story of a woman who was given a belt of children's fingers and penises to wear in order to help ease her pregnancy. She paid a very high fee to the Witch Doctor for this "treatment".

The true numbers may never be known, as Africa harbors vast quantities of orphans from the twin plagues of constant warfare, and AIDS. Many of these children end their very short existence far away from the watchful eyes of the local authorities, who in many cases, may actually be complicit in this vile trade.

Law is no Help

The strange thing about this problem is that in many African countries, the possession of body parts alone is not a crime. Unless the law can prove that the person possessing the body parts is also the killer, no law has been broken. Prosecutions are very rare in this most unusual crime.

On a side note, many of the legitimate traditional African folk healers are trying to distance themselves from this growing trend. The core of the problem is the outrageous profits this trade can bring to the charlatans while they prey on the ignorance of others.

You can see some case histories here: Trafficking Body Parts

Old is New Again... in Space?

2010-07-23T03:09:00.005Z

Lately NASA has been reviving some very old concepts to get us back in the space race, along with a few new ones, like privatization. What portents does this seeming step backward show for the future of our space program?

A core concept is a return to expendable launch vehicles, similar to what was used in the 1960's, only run by private industry. Private industry, while fully capable, has not got a track record of "going out on a limb" for new concepts. They tend to use tried and true methods, leaving the more experimental stuff to others. What the result of this will be is anyone's guess.

Our space program has been stymied for nearly 25 years with a system (the shuttle) that was massively expensive and overly complex. This system was owned by the government, yes, but it was operated by contractors (private industry). The end result was a lack of innovation and no development of advanced programs to replace it, as it basically became a corporate money funnel and drained the life out of other research projects that could have replaced it.

I have posted a link to a very interesting document that shows some of the alternative concepts we could be developing, several of which the technology exists today and are far cheaper than orbital multi-staged rockets. They just need some development, much of which has been sadly lacking.

Some of these concepts are very interesting and show great promise, such as laser-powered lightships, and blast-wave accelerators. The laser lightship concept has actually flown, though on a small scale. With a little development, we could be in business on a far cheaper level than we currently see. However, I would not expect private industry to sink much into these new concepts, as they are unproven money-makers.

Anyway, if you don't mind a little technical reading in places, this document is very interesting and outlines many very strangely exotic systems actually envisioned by NASA and the US Air Force. Everything from magnetic railguns to cascading orbital launch fountains are detailed, some more exotic than the wildest sci-fi authors dreams. One common element pervades, however; They are all very close to our technological level to accomplish, and quite possibly achievable if the money and resources can be found to support them.

UFO nuts take heed; the section about RF powered lenticular craft is very interesting and they are well within our current tech levels to build - makes one wonder now doesn't it...

Here is the link - You must have Adobe Reader to open it.

What Does Evolution Have in Store for us?

2010-06-13T04:54:00.001Z

Scientists the world over say we have reached the tipping point in climate change. This means that the climate has reached a self-generating feedback cycle, and change cannot be stopped. It is doubtful that the affects can be lessened by mankind either. We are locked in the rollercoaster and it is about to take-off. However, there are other things afoot for humanity too. Things less well known.

As the climate changes, so does man's technology. We are quickly reaching a point in bio-engineering where we can create and change things on a DNA level., and will soon be able to literally grow custom designed organic parts and life forms. As our bio engineering advances, so to does our knowledge of computers and artficial intelligence. Recent advances in light manipulation have opened the door to Quantum Computing, a technology that was unheard of 20 years ago.

Inevitably, these technologies will mesh. When this occurs, what is to become of simple humanity? Is this our fate, to redesign ourselves to stay a step ahead of our changing climate and worsening conditions on Earth?

The Strangeness of Bees...

2010-06-07T04:55:00.001Z

For thousands of years, man has held a very close relationship with the honeybee. It is the only known insect that can be "tamed" or domesticated by man. Over the years, many strange beliefs and customs have developed due to this close relationship.

It was believed, in order to maximize their output and keep the bees happy and productive, they had to be included as part of the family. Any event, no matter how large or small, must be "told to the bees". Anything traumatic that might disrupt the harmony of the hive, like a birth, or death in the family, required special measures to be taken. A funeral called for the placement of a piece of Funeral Cake and wine in the hive after they were informed of the sad news. This event also called for giving the bees a formal handwritten invitation to the funeral, lest they take offense and decide to stop making honey, or die out completely.

The bees themself, were seen as the epitomy of a harmonious family relationship, and served as role models for mankind. They have been seen by many cultures as being the reincarnated spirits of past ancestors, and the vessels of long dead souls as they travel to re-birth. They have mystical ties to a plethora of ancient deities, one of the oldest being the ancient Egyptian goddess Ma'at, who symbolised universal harmony and justice. She is often portrayed wearing a necklace shaped like a honeybee. The honey was also used in the Egyptian Embalming rituals. In ancient Greece, the meade from their honey was called the "Nectar of the Gods" and used in strange rituals to the god Dionysis. And in Rome, the goddess Mellona was said to be the incarnation of the hive spirit.

Whatever they may be to us, they have become an integral part of our survival. In these days of "gassing the hive" honey production, where the entire hive is killed off at the end of the production cycle, is it any wonder that we have been affected by such niceties as Colony Collapse Disorder and that bee numbers are now dwindling.

Man's relationship with this insect has shown that we both share the same fate. As they go, so do we.

Prescott Bush and The Plot to Overthrow FDR

2010-06-05T03:34:00.013Z

Some little historical gems just don't want to stay hidden, as much as those in high places want them to. These same stories also have a tendency to be relevant to current events, even though they happened many, many years ago. This myth about the Bush family is one of them.

Here is how it goes...

The great Bush family, an icon in American politics, had a bit of a problem at one time. Back in the early 1930's, shortly after the Stock Market crash and resulting depression, Capitalist America was struggling to survive (in those days Capitalism was not a done deal for the US). Around the world, the Earth was witnessing the rise of Fascism, while it seemed that Capitalism was going broke.

As the story goes, the mega-capitalists of the era got together for a solution. Some of the names involved are familiar to Americans today; Maxwell House, Bird's Eye, Heinz, Goodtea, and George Bush's grandfather - Prescott Bush. Seeing the rise of Hitler and Mussolini, they imagined a partnership of their grand corporations and and government working together in a Fascist syndicate to secure their profits. They saw the resulting loss of freedoms and the American Way of Life as a nescessary evil to survive and prosper and as a way to end the Great Depression. It is said they were financed in this great venture by the same folks who put Hitler into power.

One thing stood in their way - Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was a firm believer that government should be taking care of it's people, and would never stand for the changes these corporations intended to usher in. With his ideas and policies (such as "the New Deal"), he had to be eliminated.

Retired Marine General Smedley Butler, was allegedly enlisted to stir-up veterans and the American Legion to influence them to rise up against Washington. This is not such a big deal nowadays, but in 1932 The American Legion was a much different organization. They had a history of being used to strong-arm strikers and various other groups which stood against the corporate power brokers of the time, and were prone to start riots. In 1932, that is exactly what they did. Douglas MacArthur used his calvary troops to quell the riot.

Butler's reward for these activities - he would lead the resulting Fascist dictatorship. The leader of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, James Van Zandt, was also asked to participate, but to his credit he declined.

Eventually, Congress caught wind of all these going's on, and Butler was called to testify. Everyone else involved seems to have escaped completely unscathed. Part of the myth says this is because Roosevelt, wishing for his New Deal to be passed, made a deal with Butler's corporate backers.

Did any of this really happen?

All we know for sure is that Butler had to testify in Congress about his activities. The American Legion was never the same again. Butler was discredited and dropped from public view. Prescott Bush has proven ties with the Nazis during this era, and there are records of him laundering their money. We can also see the results in our economic world, with the rise of the mega-corporations - entities with no limit to their actions in the name of profit with the backing of the Federal government. Maybe the Coup de Tat actually took place, but it occurred in the back rooms of Washington and the halls of Wall Street. We will never know.

The US Ambassador to Germany during this period, William Dodd, had this to say about the whole situation:

"A clique of U.S. industrialists is hell-bent to bring a fascist state to supplant our democratic government and is working closely with the fascist regime in Germany and Italy. I have had plenty of opportunity in my post in Berlin to witness how close some of our American ruling families are to the Nazi regime.... A prominent executive of one of the largest corporations, told me point blank that he would be ready to take definite action to bring fascism into America if President Roosevelt continued his progressive policies. Certain American industrialists had a great deal to do with bringing fascist regimes into being in both Germany and Italy. They extended aid to help Fascism occupy the seat of power, and they are helping to keep it there. Propagandists for fascist groups try to dismiss the fascist scare. We should be aware of the symptoms. When industrialists ignore laws designed for social and economic progress they will seek recourse to a fascist state when the institutions of our government compel them to comply with the provisions."

Here is another, albeit, better written article on this subject...

And one more article, just for good reference...

Lunar Power Plant in the Works...

2010-06-03T05:06:00.000Z

Japanese firm wants to transform the Moon into a giant solar power plant
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Shimizu Corporation, a Japanese construction firm, has recently proposed a plan to harness solar energy on a larger scale than almost any previously proposed concept. Their ambitious plan involves building a belt of solar cells around the Moon’s 6,800-mile (11,000-kilometer) equator, converting the electricity to powerful microwaves and lasers to be beamed at Earth, and finally converting the beams back to electricity at terrestrial power stations. The Luna Ring concept, the company says, could meet the entire world's energy needs.

This is Interesting - The World Sunlight Map...

2010-06-01T02:31:00.000Z

I will figure out something to do with this some-day.

The World Sunlight Map

Intelligent Design Does Exist and God Has Nothing to do with it...

2010-05-30T05:43:00.001Z

Several days ago, largely un-noticed by the world in general due the the massive oil fuck-up by corporations gone wild (sounds like a video idea, does it not), an announcement was made which could change life on Earth forever. What portents it heralds, we know not.

The announcement to which I refer is the creation of a totally new scientific field, ushered in by an important achievement that gives us unheard of new abilities. This new field is the field of Synthetic Biology, and the achievement to which I refer is the creation of a synthetic life form. Much like a micro-sized Frankenstein, a couple of scientists inserted a completely man-made DNA sequence into a hollowed-out cell membrane, which then began to reproduce becoming the first human-created life form.

This is groundbreaking in many ways. Quite shockingly, the impact of this has been missed by many who should be concerned about the future it foretells, and what it means to many longstanding cultural and religious dogmas. In an era when many religious people are concerned about protecting unborn fetuses, what does this mean to their arguments? Is a synthetic life form somehow not alive? Can synthetic life, taken to it's highest form, have a soul? How come man can create life when only God should be able to do this? Does that mean there is no God?

I am truly shocked the religious zealots in our midst have not latched onto this. In 50 years, this is going to be huge and will completely invalidate much of their belief paradigm. Man will have taken the role of creator.

Before we start worrying about Tyrell Corporation taking over our little anarcho-capitalist dystopia, let's discuss a little about what this little scientific achievement can develop into. That future we all imagined with big clanking metal robots... It's all gone. Nope. No Star Wars. In the future, the real robots will be grown in a test tube using designer DNA. Biologically designed custom life-forms for every task. Computers and digital electronics not needed.

If you need a worker that is 3 feet tall with long fingers to get into that hard to get spot, now you are in luck, because Wal-Mart will have them. If you need workers who can perform back-breaking labor in extreme heat, well, they will sell them too. And when you have this ability, where does it end? When does life end and robot slave begin? The comparisons with Blade Runner and Gattaca have already begun, and rightly so.

Very soon, humans will be living in a far different world than we can currently imagine. With the rise of artificial intelligence and quantum computing, coupled with the ability to create designer life at will, how will humanity retain it's humanity? Imagine if you will, a post-climate change world, where humans have redesigned life to survive the hostile conditions.When this day comes, will we still be true humans? What about this new world filled with synthetic creatures, created by us, the new human gods?

Reference: Scientific Abstract about Synthetic Biology

Live at the Napa Insane Asylum, It's the Cramps...

2010-05-25T05:01:00.000Z

The has to be the coolest thing to ever happen in Rock and Roll. Screw the Beatles! The most insane band ever, actually played at a real funny farm. It is a wonder the doctor's let them leave when they finished playing. To my knowledge, this is the only time Punk Rock has been used by doctors for therapeutic purposes. The doc's actually invited them to play. How cool is that for 1978!

The Cramps have always been my all time favorite band, this just seals the deal. With the death of Lux Interior, last year, Rock and Roll truly died. With any luck, he will rise from the grave and slay the evil Jonas Brothers and all that other crap that infects the radio in these sad times.

The Uncanny Dragon's Blood Tree

2010-05-06T04:34:00.001Z

Most of you have probably seen the little packs of incense sold in shops under the name Dragon's Blood. I have always wondered what exactly it was.

This stuff comes from the Dragon's Blood tree, found in the Socotra Archipelago. It is a tree that is surrounded by many myths, that has the unique quality of bleeding red sap. It has been used medicinally for centuries, mostly for respiratory disorders and diarrhea. For a short while, it was also used as a toothpaste, though I imagine it made quite a sight, as it is also a very potent dye.

It is most widely known as being one of the ritualistic plants used for magical purposes, mostly in American Southern Hoodoo, and New Orleans Voodoo. It was used to make Dragon's Blood Ink, a special type of ink used for drawing seals and talisman's. It is also a traditional component of the famous Mojo Hand.

The unique island from which it comes, is classed as a UN World Heritage Site, and the biodiversity found there is largely untouched by man. Lately, an influx of tourists has caused a bit of a decline in this unusual plant, and scientists fear for it's future when climate change really hits, as it is found nowhere else in the world.

The Last American Witch Hunts...

2010-04-26T06:10:00.004Z

We have all heard of the history of the Salem Witch Trials, but unknown to most Americans, witch hunts took place in other regions of our country. In 1756, during a period far later than the Salem Hunts, the Spanish Inquistition conducted a little known witch hunt in the New Mexico town of Abiquiu. It is unusual in the fact that it occurred during a period in which the power of the Spanish Inquisition was starting to decline, and was largely unconcerned with trivialities such as Witchcraft.

The Abiquiu area was due a new priest, and shortly Franciscan Juan Jose Toledo arrived from Spain to fill the duties. When he arrived, he was aghast to find the local indians still practicing their native dances and traditions. He felt it to be a form of Devil Worship, and questioned how well they had been converted to Catholicism. The Priest then ordered an end to their festivals and pagan dances.

He then claimed someone, or something was attacking him magically, causing him illness and duress. These claims prompted investigation by local government officials. It was not long before the local residents and indians were accusing each other of various witchcraft related crimes. These officials decided to eliminate all cultural traces, and destroyed rock art and pictographs in the area that had been there for centuries, along with forbidding many traditional customs practiced by the locals.

Shortly after the accusations, several local women claimed to become possessed by demons. Father Toledo carried out excorisms on these women hoping to eliminate the problem. Instead, it spiraled hopelessly out of control as more claims of demon posession, and accusations of witchcraft came pouring in. Eventually, the Regional Governor, caught wind of the affair. Growing tired of the whole sordid ordeal, he sent many of those involved to face the Spanish Inquisition in Mexico City.

Several of the accused languished and died in jail. Many others faced punishments ranging from public humiliation, to flogging, but no one was executed for the crime of using witchcraft. Contrary to public opinion, it was actually very rare for an accused witch to be executed by the Spanish Inquisition. To their credit, claims of witchcraft were normally considered to be flights of fancy or mere superstition without much merit, though the Inquisition persecuted Jews and Muslims without mercy.

This was the last known case of Witch Hysteria in the continental US.

Dr. Wertham and the Seduction of the Innocent

2010-04-18T05:31:00.001Z

Many years ago, American morality was challenged by a great evil. This great immorality threatened to destroy and corrupt the values of an entire generation, and the generations after them. What was this evil so foul that the US government tried to abolish it in order to save our youth from it's immoral influence?

Comic books. They were scared of Comic Books.

In 1954, Dr. Fredric Wertham published a heavily skewed research paper about the corrupting influence of comic books on American youth. It was named "The Seduction of the Innocent", and in the days of pre-Rock-n-Roll America - it was earth shattering.

Dr. Wertham thought all comic books were the root of delinquency and sexual perversion. He also thought that those who produced and sold them were undermining our society. He propagated this all the way to the US Senate, where the proceedings became another McCarthy Era witch hunt, ending with many comic book producers being blacklisted as Communists, and many comic companies going bankrupt.

The industry was required to regulate itself from corrupting influences, or face abolishment entirely. They created an organiztion called the Comic Code Authority, sort of like an early form of rating system used in the movie industry. Every comic sold had to carry a stamp indicating it met the approval of this organization, called the CCA, and did not convey any content deemed morally objectionable.

Many comic enthusiasts believe that this was the death of the golden age of American comic books. Prior to this period, it was possible to find comics about everything from romance, to politics, and even graphic horror. After this code came about, all there was to be found was sanitized comic superheroes, and funny animals, like Daffy Duck. The young adult market share, who had been the primary purchasers (not children) was gone, never to return. Most of the creativity and glamour of the early comics were gone too. The genre of Horror comics, which had been very large before the code was instituted, almost disappeared completely.

The survivors of this onslaught found a new way to get around these rules. If they released their comic as a magazine, then they were not bound by the restrictions placed on comic books. This is the origin of such American classics as Mad Magazine, and other similar publications.

It is ironic that several years after this occurred, American morals were challenged and changed forever by the Rock and Roll revolution. By that time, change was unstoppable.

.

Meteoras - Another stop on my travel list.

2010-04-11T16:53:00.001Z

In medieval Greece, the monks of the ancient Byzantine Empire found themselves under attack by pirates and other undesirables. They built the monastaries of Meteoras to counter this threat. They are a series of fortified monastaries built on the tops of mountains and rocks, some thousands of feet up with no way to reach them but rope or ladder. These monks have lived in the cracks, caves, and hollows of these rocky abodes for hundreds of years, outlasting the Empire that created them. They are still occupied to this day.

Photo by IHarsten.

Mr. Peuckert's Flying Ointment

2010-04-10T04:33:00.002Z

"...Folklorist Will-Erich Peuckert of Göttingen, for example, mixed an ointment made up of belladonna, henbane and Datura from a seventeenth-century formula and rubbed it on his forehead and armpits, bidding his colleagues to do likewise. They all fell into a twenty-four sleep. "We had wild dreams. Faces danced before my eyes which were at first terrible. Then I suddenly had the sensation of flying for miles through the air. The flight was repeatedly interrupted by great falls. Finally, in the last phase, an image of an orgiastic feast with grotesque sensual excess," Peuckert reported. Harner emphasises the importance of the greased broomstick or similar flying implement, which he suggests served as "an applicator for the atropine-containing plant to the sensitive vaginal membranes as well as providing the suggestion of riding on a steed, a typical illusion of the witches' ride to the Sabbat."

- excerpt from The Long Trip: A Pre-history of Psychedelia by Paul Devereux.

Will-Erich Peuckert was an unusual man. He lived in Germany during the rise of Adolph Hitler, rising to fame for his books on the lore of European superstitions, magic, and long forgotten folk knowledge. Not very well known in America, he is something of a legend across the big pond. He biggest claim to fame is the extreme detail he paid to the subject matter he dwelled upon.

His literary work and his personality were intertwined to a point not normally seen in the literary world. He knew his subject matter so well, it is said it was almost as if he were writing about himself. His true specialty was the little known realm of herbs and ancient magical formulas. So much so, that he famously tried a few out upon himself, as most notably the ancient Witches' Flying Ointment. Supposedly, he was one of the first to propose the idea that early witches used a psychedelic concoction on their broomstick for the famed flights to the Devil's Sabbat mentioned in the histories of the old European witch trials.

Alas, Mr. Peuckert had a rough time with the Nazis. He wrote books denouncing Nazism, and cleverly masqueraded them within literary works seemingly about other subjects. His books were eventually banned and subjected to burning by the ruling Nazi order. His vast collection of over 35,000 historical and rare manuscripts were destroyed, a loss of staggering proportions to the understanding of ancient history and customs. He ended up fleeing Germany in 1945, with his wife and young son.

His troubles were not over by a long shot. He lost his wife and son, both in separate accidents, and eventually lost his ability to read and write too. In the end, he could only use one finger on his aged and useless hands. A sad end for such a literary, political, and historical genius.

The Rise of Conspiracy Culture

2010-04-04T02:33:00.003Z

This is probably going to anger a few of you out there...

A strange thing is taking place in modern American culture. What used to be considered opposing fringe beliefs are now becoming one mainstream subculture. Grand theories of UFO's, Illuminati conspiracies, and Apocalyptic Christian visions of our doom are are combining into a giant stew brought on by the rise of our information society. Nothing appears to be too outlandish, or beyond belief, no matter how unusual or wild it sounds.

The Perfect Media to Spread the Meme

A culture has developed, seeking to profit from the linking of all these theories into one great Conspiracy Subculture. Whether these myths and legends are propagated for political reasons, or simply to sell the latest book, conspiracies are for sale. It is sold to the masses who yearn for something unusual or different, or who need to believe in something other than the little slice of the world they have been given. The public loves gossip, and that is exactly what much of it is.

There are real conspiracies in this world, that is true, but most of these are overshadowed by the craziness. For example, much is made of shadowy organizations like the "Illuminati", shaping our world, but very little thought is put into the real organizations or corporations who, in the name of profit, have designed the very world and lifestyle most of us live. It is easy to talk about a conspiracy to make us all slaves, when by some accounts, we already fit the definition. Nor does this wild conspiracy talk threaten the existing industrial/economic structure, which is the true law of the land, politics simply being the entertainment division.

The rise of this culture has culminated in a strange mixing of these beliefs into something that almost resembles a pseudo religion, which is starting to be ingrained in mainstream culture. You are more likely to find someone that believes in a UFO conspiracy, a Magic Bullet, or a Satanic plot to enslave us all, than someone who does not these days. Part of this observed effect is the passing on of these wild theories from one generation to the next, and amplifying it with the instant media culture found on the Internet. Our mass media culture starves for sensationalistic and unusual content. The Internet, 24 hour news, and Radio Talk shows are the perfect media to spread these viral views, as no opposing viewpoints are normally presented. A general lack of skepticism prevails according to which cultural filter the media is directed from.

Undermining Science and Education

This subculture has the potential to undermine true efforts to understand what is truly going on in our world. It is quickly reaching the point where true scientific knowledge is being lumped into this new subculture. This can be seen with the ongoing arguments against evolution vs Christian Creationists, or with subjects such as climate change. We are seeing right wing fears of Secret Societies and Apocalypse, blending with belief the paranormal, and the end result is a degradation of true education and scientific knowledge.

Anyone or anything that does not fit the accepted norm has the potential to be lumped into this fringe; in this case, healthy skepticism appears to be the casualty. Viral Ideas and Memes are at play in our culture beyond what has ever been seen before in human culture, all amplified by the continual evolution of our information technology and media.

Don't get me wrong, If you are into this sort of thing I hold nothing against you. I like a good conspiracy or UFO story as much as anyone else, but we are quickly reaching reaching some sort of tipping point and it is starting to affect our cultural history and collective beliefs. How this will affect the world 50 years from now is anyone's guess. (unless you are a 2012'er in which case you probably believe we will all be dead anyway).

Some of the content of this blog smacks of this conspiracy culture, but I try to ground it in somewhat of a scientific background. It is mostly just creepy, dark, or strange. I avoid the truly outlandish or unproveable stuff.

Maybe it is all just a big conspiracy to discredit all of us freaks and mutants...

Does the US Military Have a Shuttle Replacement?

2010-04-04T01:31:00.000Z

With the recent changes announced by our president, many in this country are worried about the future of America's involvement in space. Unknown to much of the public, the US Military has a space program that is alive and well. While NASA re-organizes and concentrates on the CEV, the military has silently developed it's own line of space vehicles. These vehicles differ wildly from the traditional shuttle, being mostly unmanned, and for the most part, sort of mysterious. No experts in the aerospace field can currently agree on what they are truly intended to do or what function they are to perform.

According to PhysOrg, one is due to be launched in late April...

Bolivian Death Road

2010-03-29T03:54:00.000Z

Another stop on my places to see list, though I am not sure I really want to travel on it, is the Yungas Highway in Bolivia. This 10 foot wide, one lane highway is rated as the most dangerous in the world. It traverses the side of the Andes on it's way to La Paz, Bolivia. It has a 3000 foot drop on one side and no guardrails, plus it is extrememly steep in places. All of these factors combine to give this highway a very high death toll, as cars and trucks routinely careen off the edge into the jungles below.

I would love to go and see this just for it's sheer scale and the danger it represents, but getting me to drive on it might be a hard proposition. This is man against nature at it's most basic a raw level.

By the way, it has become fashionable to mountain bike down this road, and a cottage industry that caters to foreign mountain bikers has sprung up. It is not in any means safe, as many of these same mountain bikers have plunged to their screaming death from the sheer face of the cliffs as they have overshot turns, or fallen down unseen holes hidden by jungle foliage.

The Lightning Field

2010-03-25T03:35:00.000Z

Continuing my list of places I would really like to visit, the next entry is the "Lightning Field" located near Quemado, NM.

The Lightning Field, 1977, by the American sculptor Walter De Maria, is a work of Land Art situated in a remote area of the high desert of western New Mexico. It is comprised of 400 polished stainless steel poles installed in a grid array measuring one mile by one kilometer. The poles -- two inches in diameter and averaging 20 feet and 7½ inches in height -- are spaced 220 feet apart and have solid pointed tips that define a horizontal plane. A sculpture to be walked in as well as viewed, The Lightning Field is intended to be experienced over an extended period of time.

The have a cabin available, and vistors are welcome with reservations. New Mexico, if not the lightning capital of the world, is very high up on the list. The effects of lightning can be much more spectacular due to the dryness and elevation.

The Lost Island of Dolls

2010-03-23T03:09:00.000Z

There is a place in Mexico, the likes of which is not seen anyplace else in the world. It is named Isla De Las Munecas. It is a small island, near Mexico City, which is totally populated by creepy children's dolls and doll parts. These dolls were placed there 50 years ago by a hermit named Don Julian, who lived on the island.

Don Julian created this spooky place as a shrine to a little girl who is said to have drowned in a near-by canal. The locals say her ghost haunts the island, and he collected the dolls to calm her unquiet soul. For over 50 years he collected them, placing them in spooky little shrines, and stringing their parts from trees.

Here is the really weird part...

He later died by drowning in the same canal as the little girl.

I Like This Girls' Attitude...

2010-03-15T01:07:00.000Z

Why knit little mittens and baby socks when you can knit a Dissected frog? But wait, there's more! She also knits rat's and other sundry creatures showing you their inside parts.

Go see her Etsy site if you are twisted...

Support your Local Vampires

2010-03-14T21:53:00.000Z

Do your part, join the American Vampire League.

The Mysterious Dark Flow

2010-03-11T03:47:00.000Z

Cosmologists researching microwave background radiation have stumbled upon a mystery. Their observations have detected a mysterious flow drawing all of our surrounding galaxies and galaxy clusters towards a single region of space. It almost appears as if a massive unseen object is slowly pulling everything towards it. It has long been suspected, but the super-massive scale has made studying it very complicated.

As usual, astro-physicists are at a loss to explain it. There is a growing faction that believes the recently discovered void or hole observed in the universe, has something to do with it. This "Dark Flow" has also created a stir amongst Cosmologists, since it appears to throw the suppositions of many accepted theories into doubt.

Anti-Matter Found in Lightning Bolts

2010-03-09T05:14:00.000Z

I love lightning. It is one of the coolest things nature does...

While studying flashes of Gamma Rays in earth's atmospheric storms, the Fermi Space Telescope has detected the telltale signature of Anti-Matter in lightning. This is puzzling to most physicists, who are at a loss to explain the process which creates it. Most suspect it has to do with a new view of quantum storm dynamics being proposed, that basically implies that thunderstorms are a giant natural Linear Accelerator.

They also say, that with every flash, the anti-matter slowly nibbles away the Earth's atmosphere.

The Mystery of Candido Godoi

2010-03-01T03:13:00.000Z

In the South American country of Brazil, near the Argentinian border, there lies a small town with a deep mystery. This small town, known for it German inhabitants, is famous for it's mysteriously high numbers of twins. The rate of twin birth is twice what is found elsewhere, and half of these births result in an identical pair.

There are many theories as to why this occurs. One of the more common is that it is the result of "Founder's Effect" due to the small, not very diverse human population encountered there. Most of the people are descendants of people who cam from the same localized region of Germany. However, there is another more sinister theory at play.

Another competing theory proposes that the "Angel of Death" Joseph Mengele once plied his trade here while hiding after the war. Mengele was obsessed with twins and their genetics while performing his twisted experimentation in the Nazi Death Camps. It is possible, and even likely that he continued his genetic research to create a master race while in hiding, though in a much more restricted manner than was done in the Camps. It is known that while on the run from prosecution, Mengele hid in these remote regions of South America.

What is the true cause may never be truly known, as nothing can be totally ruled out. Scientists are a bit skeptical of the Mengele theory, as some have claimed the records indicate a higher than normal twin birth rate before he visited this area. Other historians, most notably, Jorge Camarasa have noted a distinct rise in the birth rate of twins from this area cooinciding with the year 1963 when Mengele arrived in this area.

At any rate, the whole premise of a remote town full of pasty faced identical twins is a bit disturbing, whatever the reason.

Red Queen Theory

2010-02-27T03:49:00.000Z

It has long been assumed that changes in evolution take place due environmental factors. That is, when environmental conditions change, evolution will adapt an organism to allow it to survive. Researchers at the University of Liverpool have announced this may not be the case at all. They point to results from their genetic research that seem to indicate that inter-species competition plays a much stronger role.

The theory, first proposed as the "Red Queen Theory", formulates that most evolutionary changes are a result of a sort of "tit for tat" result of combative interactions with other organisms. Small but relatively rapid changes occur due to competition for survival in their environment. It suggests that all creatures are in a constant race for survival, evolving new ways to counter threats to their existence over time.

The "Red Queen Theory" is named after a passage in the Lewis Carrol story, Through the Looking Glass in which the Red Queen tells Alice "it takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place".

This theory plays more into our currently accepted notions of Chaos Theory than the earlier view of Evolutionary Change, and can also be applied to other evolutionary systems as well, for example international arms races.

I will let you Google this one yourself if you want to know more...

Child Beaten to Death By Religious Kooks...

2010-02-25T03:03:00.004Z

Kevin and Elizabeth Schatz adopted six children from poverty struck Liberia, so they could have a better life in the US. Too bad that better life included being beaten to death for something as minor as mis-pronouncing a word.

These children had the misfortune of being adopted by a family of followers of Tennessee evangelist Micheal Pearl. A basic tenet of his church is to beat your children to make them more obedient and faithful servants of God. They are so serious about it, his church published a written guide to doing it, and even recommends using a particular 1/4 inch plastic plumbing supply line.

Allegedly, these two held their children down, in the name of God, and beat them with a plastic pipe for hours causing massive injuries. Their 7 year old died. Another child of theirs, age 11, is in critical condition for the same reason. All of this started over a word the Liberian children could not pronounce...

It's God's will they say.

Here is the story on True Crime Report...

Here is a horrid story about their "Child Training" methods...

Climate Change Caused Mass Extinctions, not Asteroids?

2010-02-23T05:39:00.000Z

A group of Climate Scientists and Earth Scientists are now proposing a theory that sudden climatic change, not asteroid collision, has been responsible for most of the mas extinction events which have occured throughout history. They are basing this off the partly off the geological record, and what is known to have occurred during the early periods of life on Earth.

Whether right or wrong, it is a fact that mass extinctions have occurred due to climate change. The extinction event at the end of the Permian period is a prime example, where a combination of glacial melt and volcanism is thought to have initiated the climatic change.

So, the question is, are we next? Are we condemned to repeat the past?

Read more about Earth's extinction events here...

More about Climate Change and the Extinction cycle can be found here...

Yellowstone's Plumbing Exposed

2010-02-18T04:13:00.001Z

Researchers have confirmed that the source of the Yellowstone Super-volcano (which makes up the entire National Park, basically) comes from the Earth's Mantle more than 500 miles down. This is unheard of in the world of Volcanism, and shows that the caldera upon which Yellowstone Park sits, is basically a giant plug leading to the core of the Earth. Most Volcanoes are not supplied directly from the Mantle or the Core.

When this blows, it is going to be big...

Yellowstone's Plumbing Exposed

Harpooned; New Game let's you Play as Jap Whale Researcher

2010-02-14T17:59:00.004Z

Now, you too can pretend to play a Japanese whale researcher harpooning whales for hamburger meat in new video game. Cruising the oceans in your great blue whaling ship with RESEARCH painted on it, you can slaughter endless hordes of evil whales to make your meat supply quota. Just stay away from those pesky eco-terrorists out to stop you...

You can download it here Harpooned.org

The Enigma of the Cygnus Bubble

2010-02-05T03:16:00.000Z

In the constellation Cygnus, a recently discovered anomaly has shed new light on an old scientific controversey. This eerie bubble like nebula has ignited speculation about the possibility of discovering "Dyson" spheres, constructed by alien civilizations. A Dyson Sphere is a construct made to encase a planet, solar system, or region of space inside a sphere-like structure. There are many reasons to construct a body such as this, but most have to do with harnessing solar energy. The idea for these spheres was first formulated by physicist Freeman Dyson, who they are named after. The sphere itself could be constructed from nearly anything, from pulverised asteroids, to dust, to molecular plasma energy depending upon its purpose.

This odd looking nebula, was discovered about two years ago by an amateur astronomer. It is so new, it does not even have a name yet. The strikingly odd thing about it, is that it is in a region of space that is well known by professional astronomers, and is large enough it should have been detected in past surveys. No one really has an explanation for what it is, though it looks vaguely like a "planetary" nebula. However, it also shows traits not related to this type of nebula, making it a bit of an enigma to science.

Sixteen candidate objects for consideration as alien Dyson Spheres are currently known. This object is one of them.

Here is another article on The Daily Galaxy...

Voodoo, Missionaries, and the Haitian Earthquake...

2010-02-03T04:12:00.000Z

As if Haiti did not have enough problems before the catastrophic earthquake. The recent events in this poor country are helping to widen a growing rift between Christianity and the local Voodoo adherents. While true Voodou is a strange combination of Roman Catholicism and ancient beliefs from Africa, the mass influx of protestant missionaries has heightened stress levels amongst the locals. True to its roots, Roman Catholicism has traditionally been very tolerant of syncretism with local spiritual beliefs and customs. Ever mindful of their shrinking worldwide Catholic population, these practices have been considered native customs and have not been outright banned by the Vatican.

In a world like Haiti, where most of the population steadfastly believes the world's events are shaped by the unseen spirit world, the influx of Protestant missionaries is creating hardship and widening the gap between the Protestant world and their own. While seemingly well intentioned, many of the largely Protestant aid organizations are well known for promoting views that the Haitian lifestyle comes from the "Devil", as evidence by Pat Robertson's notorious comments on the subject.

These very same organizations are also being accused of withholding aid from Voodoo practioners. Max Beauvoir, who is sort of like the Haitian Voodoo Pope, has claimed these Evangelical aid organizations are the very same who stand in the way of helping his people. He also claims these organizations are doing other things unrelated to aid, like spreading the idea that the earthquake was "divine retribution" via the mass media.

Some in the Haitian populace view the missionaries as simply taking advantage of their predicament. They see the missionaries as using the fact that Haiti is in trouble, as being their ticket for mass conversion of the Haitian people. We are seeing the results of this in the recent arrests of the Baptist missionaries under Human Trafficking charges. On the other hand, the Haitian belief structure is also being challenged. The population has a very fatalistic view of the world, and the fall of their spiritual icons and wholesale devastation of their land is sure to sow the seeds of pestilence.

We will surely see a Haiti which emerges from the ruins, far less trusting of the outside world than it previously was. This region is doomed to be a powder-keg for many years to come.

Phoenix Marie Update...

2010-01-30T03:58:00.004Z

As the ongoing effort to raise money for Mrs. Marie continues, some updates are called for. She can say it better than I, so here it is in it's entirety...

Hello, this is Phoenix.
I wanted to let you know that the URL for the fund-raising page has been changed. It is now found here:
http://hachimanwebdesign.com/phoenixmarie.html

We were attacked by a disgruntled artist and have gained legal representation as a result, and also Jody Elliot is no longer associated with the fundraiser and her photo sale is expired now. There are also updates on myspace coming, and that is here:
http://www.myspace.com/phoenixmarieparis

Kambriel is holding a special sale this week only on her ONE OF A KIND page for me as well, here is an ad for that:
http://marie-paris.livejournal.com/

Funny, looking to the right, your haunted trashcan, lol, I am haunted tearoom all over the net. ;0 Thank you so much for posting this, someone just randomly came across it and sent me your link to update, I didn't know about it, so I am really touched, bless you!

Please send email to myspace with contact info and I will update when my haunted tearoom gallery and website is filled and the blog is up and running.

Bless again,
Phoenix
xxx

Tis' a shame to let a girl like this go to waste... Help her out!

My Favorite Speech, or Whatever You Want to Call It...

2010-01-27T05:57:00.002Z

"Forget the politicians. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice ... you don’t.

You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own, and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls.

They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying ... lobbying, to get what they want ... Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but I’ll tell you what they don’t want ... they don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that ... that doesn’t help them. That’s against their interests. That’s right. They don’t want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table and think about how badly they’re getting **** by a system that threw them overboard 30 fuckin' years ago. They don’t want that.

You know what they want? They want obedient workers ... Obedient workers, people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork. And just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shittier jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime and vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it, and now they’re coming for your Social Security money. They want your fuckin' retirement money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street, and you know something? They’ll get it ... they’ll get it all from you sooner or later cause they own this fuckin' place.

It’s a big club and you ain't in it. You and I are not in The big club. By the way, it’s the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe. All day long beating you over the head with their media telling you what to believe, what to think and what to buy.

The table has tilted folks. The game is rigged and nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care. Good honest hard-working people ... white collar, blue collar it doesn’t matter what color shirt you have on. Good honest hard-working people continue, these are people of modest means ... continue to elect these rich cocksuckers who don’t give a **** about you. They don’t give a **** about you ... they don’t give a **** about you. They don’t care about you at all ... at all ... at all, and nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care.

That’s what the owners count on. The fact that Americans will probably remain willfully ignorant of the big red, white and blue dick that’s being jammed up their **** everyday, because the owners of this country know the truth. It’s called the American Dream cause you have to be asleep to believe it..."
— George Carlin

Secret Bible Code on US Military Weapons?

2010-01-20T05:47:00.003Z

A company which supplies rifle sights to the US Military has been found to be coding secret Bible verses onto soldiers weapons. These rifle sights, used in Iraq and Afghanistan, have bible verse references coded into the stamped serial number. By following these references, it leads back to specific verses from Revelations, and other books of the bible.

Anything that could be construed as proselytizing or favoring any religion by the US military in a war zone is against military rules. This is intended to prevent religious overtones in their operations and eleminate the appearance of being "crusaders" for any religion, thus removing fuel for implications of religious warfare.

The company, founded by a devout Christian, denies any wrong-doing.

What I want to know is this... Why would a devout Christian found a company which supplies articles for weapons of war?

Here is a story on ABC news concerning this topic...

Bad-Ass!

2010-01-16T01:56:00.003Z

I found this interesting website while surfing the web to read about Jack Churchill, the ultimate bad-ass. It is interesting, check it out...

Badass of the Week

The Man Who Poisoned The Earth?

2010-01-12T03:26:00.009Z

Sometimes, it is said a single person can be the thing that makes a difference. This difference may not always be for the better. Thomas Midgley Jr. was an American chemist who mostly worked during the period of the 1920's to the 1930's. He is most famous for his chemical contributions to the consumer lifestyle we take for granted today.

Without Mr. Midgley, we would have no common everyday items such as CFC aerosol spray cans, freon, leaded gasoline, or any of a thousand different ozone depleting chemical combinations. Nor would we have had any chemicals with the words "Tetra-Ethyl" in front of them. (My favorite is "Tetra-Ethyl Death"). Yes, without him, we would not have free-floating lead in the air, or the chemical stew found along country roads and in lakes, now slowly making it's way into the human gene pool.

It has been said, Mr. Midgley has been the one single organism in history that has had the greatest impact on our environment and atmosphere. Though the world was blinded by the exploits of science at the time, they should have seen it coming. While he was developing his Ethyl gasoline compound, the workers at the manufacturing plant were struck by a series of hallucinations, illness, insanity, and death. Mr. Midgley was himself poisoned by lead, forcing him to take a year off work to recouperate.

His inventions eventually killed him. He contracted Polio and was confined to bed, using a system of ropes and pulleys he devised to help lift him. He became entangled and died in 1940.

He remains part of the infernal order of inventors and techo-wizards, whose seemingly magical inventions have doomed the world to an uncertain future.

Soccer Anyone?

2010-01-12T02:35:00.007Z

This article is somewhat off-topic, but morbidly fascinating. Over the New Year's holiday, among the many murders in Juarez, what is developing into the next front on the war against terror, a man's body was found. This man was found, his body cut into seven pieces, and his face removed and stitched onto a soccer ball. This ball was found near the City Hall. The event was most likely done while he was STILL ALIVE.

A creepier demise could not be thought up by Hitchcock.

A very macabre beginning to the new year for us in living in border regions. We can only hope the US does not see more of this violence spill across. Much of it already has, but it is conveniently ignored by the mass media and is seen as being a strictly Mexican problem.

The Real Death Star?

2010-01-09T18:52:00.003Z

Scientists are in disagreement over the threat a local star presents to our solar system. They do, however, agree that it will very likely explode in the near future. This star, T Pyxidis, is a pair of stars in close orbit, called a Binary Star. One of this pair, is a White Dwarf, and is siphoning off material from the larger star at a cataclysmic rate.

It is widely accepted that this smaller star is at or near what is known as the Chandrasekhar Limit. This limit is the absolute maximum of matter the small dwarf star can hold without collapsing under it's own gravity. When this star collapses, it will form a Supernova, and destroy everything in the vicinity in a blinding explosion that will light up the sky.

The trouble is some scientists feel we are within the danger zone for this explosion. It is located 3200 light years from Earth, but if the explosion is poweful enough, it could strip away elements of our upper atmosphere, such as our Ozone Layer, on the side facing the explosion. This can lead to a reaction within the atmosphere, wherein all life eventually fails on the Earth's surface.

The scientific community is in disagreement over the danger presented by this small star. But one thing is for certain, when it goes, it will be the show of a lifetime (possibly ALL lifetimes!).

Here is a Popular Science article on this issue...

New Blasphemy Law Takes Effect in Ireland...

2010-01-01T22:05:00.004Z

In a striking return to Conservative (e.g. medieval) Values, Ireland has signed into Law new requirements making it illegal to say blasphemous or derogatory comments about religion. Violators can be fined up to 25,000 Euros. This includes speech, articles, comments, parodies, satires and any other form of communicative media.

This is an unusual development in a country that has been noted for it recent progress in liberal arts and science.

Here is what ABC News has to say...

Man Dies in Fire Pit Roasting Pig

2010-01-01T16:07:00.003Z

As a weird beginning to the New Year, an Arizona man dies in his fire pit as he is roasting a pig for a New Year's party. Authorities suspect he may have been drinking, and somehow slipped into the three foot pit. He was unable to climb out due to the heat, and slowly roasted to death. By the time his family heard his cries, it was too late. They are understandably, quite distraught.

Here is a news story on it...

A Forgotten Cure for Cancer?

2009-12-31T05:39:00.004Z

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.

Russia Announces Mission to Deflect Earth Killer Asteroid

2009-12-30T17:08:00.005Z

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...

Rosemary Ainslee and Her Dark Energy Circuit

2009-12-25T00:20:00.004Z

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...

Help Phoenix Marie

2009-12-24T19:59:00.002Z

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.

http://helpphoenix.teapoweredphoto.com/

The Face of Evil...

2009-12-24T00:28:00.001Z

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.

Steve Kaplan and the Vampire Research Center

2009-12-23T04:23:00.004Z

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...

The Final Death of Punk Rock

2009-12-20T22:46:00.012Z

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...

Electrical Power from Quantum Dark Energy

2009-12-19T04:11:00.002Z

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...

2009-12-19T03:42:00.002Z

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!)

The Economics of Disaster Capitalism

2009-12-14T04:10:00.003Z

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.

Witch Hunter Sues for Damages

2009-12-11T03:58:00.004Z

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...

2009-12-11T03:48:00.003Z

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...

Slavery or Suicide?

2009-12-05T04:50:00.004Z

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

2009-12-05T04:26:00.005Z

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?

2009-12-05T04:15:00.005Z

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.

The Mysterious Talking Board

2009-12-03T05:47:00.006Z

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.

Was the Grand Canyon Made by Electricity?

2009-11-24T06:33:00.006Z

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...

The Human Fat Trade

2009-11-21T03:45:00.002Z

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...

The Strange Tale of The Children's Crusade

2009-11-13T03:37:00.008Z

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...

Our Electric Sun?

2009-11-08T23:19:00.003Z

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.

You know you have too much time on your hands...

2009-11-05T04:06:00.002Z

If you go here.

The New Age Army: First Earth Battalion

2009-10-31T18:36:00.002Z

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

2009-10-31T03:16:00.002Z

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

Mystery Object Spotted in Earth Orbit

2009-10-29T22:22:00.004Z

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

Religious Analogies to Past Girlfriends...

2009-10-28T03:25:00.006Z

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.

Siren of the French Broad

2009-10-26T00:12:00.001Z

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...

The Fight for American Indian Voting Rights

2009-10-23T19:05:00.000Z

by Ojibwa

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.

Ojibwa's diary :: ::

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.

SPOOKS OF THE HIAWASSEE

2009-10-21T05:09:00.001Z

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.

Suspended Animation?

2009-10-15T23:02:00.003Z

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...

Will Humanity Evolve into Artificial Life?

2009-10-11T16:38:00.004Z

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

2009-10-11T15:46:00.004Z

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.

Robots Evolving Much Faster than Predicted...

2009-10-10T05:38:00.005Z

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...