Saturday, March 13, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Wait; What?
Obama health bill gets boost from budget office. From RawStory: "The non-partisan CBO said in its updated assessment that the Senate bill would cost 875 billion dollars over 10 years and reduce projected budget deficits by 118 billion dollars." Obama's Socialist Kenyan Nazis must have scared them with threats of "Death Panels."
Prepare For What May Be The Largest Food Recall In North American History
From Friends Eat: (My emphasis in red..)
"A large batch of the flavor enhancer known as hydrolyzed vegetable protein or HVP, supplied by Basic Food Flavors, a North Las Vegas food ingredient company, was found to be laced with salmonella. Thus far, over one hundred products containing the ingredient have been recalled in both the U.S. and Canada. The company produces about 20 million pounds of the food additive annually.
Michael Hansen, a senior scientist at Consumers Union, the advocacy group that publishes Consumer Reports magazine, told Bloomberg that this case may trigger the recall of as many as 10,000 products. To be sure, HVP is used in virtually everything that is packaged or canned — 10,000 products may be a conservative estimate."
This is the logical consequence of neutering government regulation. Conservatives scream that regulations (and Regulators) interfere with free markets, they're "Big Government," they're "Big Brother," or whatever talking points they can pull out of their ass at any given moment, but This Instance is why Government Regulation is necessary: Regulations are implemented and enforced for the safety and well being of you, your loved ones, your neighbors, and society at large. Actions have consequences, and a Lack of Action also has consequences! You can scream about "Big Government" all you want, but really, don't you want someone vigilantly inspecting the factories that produce the food you eat to make sure it's safe?
And if you'd like a more Conservative, economic oriented argument for regulation: How much will this Massive bundle of shit end up costing the hundreds of companies that are involved? The potential lawsuits, the wasted product, the money lost, the irreparable damage to reputations.. All that money wasted because Conservatives think that corporations can police themselves. Great job. Really. Great fuckin' job.
"A large batch of the flavor enhancer known as hydrolyzed vegetable protein or HVP, supplied by Basic Food Flavors, a North Las Vegas food ingredient company, was found to be laced with salmonella. Thus far, over one hundred products containing the ingredient have been recalled in both the U.S. and Canada. The company produces about 20 million pounds of the food additive annually.
Michael Hansen, a senior scientist at Consumers Union, the advocacy group that publishes Consumer Reports magazine, told Bloomberg that this case may trigger the recall of as many as 10,000 products. To be sure, HVP is used in virtually everything that is packaged or canned — 10,000 products may be a conservative estimate."
This is the logical consequence of neutering government regulation. Conservatives scream that regulations (and Regulators) interfere with free markets, they're "Big Government," they're "Big Brother," or whatever talking points they can pull out of their ass at any given moment, but This Instance is why Government Regulation is necessary: Regulations are implemented and enforced for the safety and well being of you, your loved ones, your neighbors, and society at large. Actions have consequences, and a Lack of Action also has consequences! You can scream about "Big Government" all you want, but really, don't you want someone vigilantly inspecting the factories that produce the food you eat to make sure it's safe?
And if you'd like a more Conservative, economic oriented argument for regulation: How much will this Massive bundle of shit end up costing the hundreds of companies that are involved? The potential lawsuits, the wasted product, the money lost, the irreparable damage to reputations.. All that money wasted because Conservatives think that corporations can police themselves. Great job. Really. Great fuckin' job.
Someone's Unhappy In Greece?
Greece rocked by riots as up to 60,000 people take to streets to protest against government. OK, maybe a few people aren't happy, but it can't be too important, or our Media would cover it, right? Or is Congressman McGropey too big of a story to cover that warrants dismissal of an entire country's economic and governmental breakdown? And really, that couldn't happen here, could it?
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Lost's Final Season
Lost, in its final season, is (so far) incredibly satisfying on a variety of levels. It still provokes as many questions as it seems to answer, but the overall narrative does seem to be building towards a final, cataclysmic Ending, all the while, weaving new insights into established characters while continuing to introduce Supernatural(as an umbrella term) devices to drive this complex juggernaut of storytelling into an area heretofore unknown within the medium of television. I am so pleased, and continually amazed that this incredible metaphysical juggling act becomes more accomplished, more cohesive, and more difficult as the series winds down. There will be no easy answers on the road to the ultimate conclusion this series has begun..
I am a Johnny-Come-Lately to the program, losing interest during season one and not returning until the end of season four. When the series concludes, I cannot wait to watch the entire story from the beginning. I now will have the advantage of knowing the creator's clarity of intent, to see how tightly they constructed those episodes that, as of now, are lost to my full understanding of the series' genius. What resonates with me is not the dialogue, not the action (for the most part), and not the characters, as much as the Concepts the series presents. Some highlights include:
*Energy Vortexes that effect the "normal functions" of reality (Plane crashes, anyone?)
*The entire show as "ritual," a shamanistic journey exposing one to "The Big Picture" through revelations of smaller, interconnected secrets leading to an evolution of Perspective.
*An "accurate" portrayal of Time Travel within the realm of Quantum Mechanics. From Popular Mechanics: "The time travel on Lost isn't necessarily good science, but it basically adheres to theoretical physics: All of the wormholes and temporal mayhem can be traced back to the "exotic particles" buried deep in the island. Bursts of electromagnetism can be used to detect and access the island. And even casual exposure to the exotic particles can be as serious as other brushes with radiation, causing unborn babies to die. It might be pseudoscience, but time travel on Lost feels like the product of quantifiable, observable natural phenomena."
*Time as a multi directional, multidimensional experience. Season Six revolves around the concept of sideways time, that, not only did the plane not crash, but Time had been altered many years before, and that the characters' lives still had interaction with each other, but in a different context than the experience of the island.
*The concept of Edgar Cayce's story of Group Karma, that (to paraphrase)everyone you've ever met in this life you have known before, in some other form. The characters this season don't have the bond of the island, but are inevitably attracted to each other through other situations in order to resolve past actions between them.
*The concept of a spiritual, but not religious, chance at Redemption, or the equal possibility of spiraling into Oblivion. This season, this concept has been mirrored in both time frames (Ben and Sayid are the best examples..).
*Souls as characters, or souls changing "disguise." The Man in Black was both Shepard's father and now John Locke, after both had died. The concept of an Evil Tempting Force is ancient, yet removed of religious implications, feels "modern," or at least, "timeless."
*Multiple possibilities of "Pre-destination." There are six candidates for the "stewardship" of the island. They have all been led.. guided.. to the island. One's destiny is set; unless it is not.
Where is all this headed? Can most of these concepts find a suitable resolution? Can J.J. Abrams balance the abstractions with a conrete climax to satisfy 50 percent of his audience? I hope so. This series, this explosion of right brain activity masquerading as "entertainment," is so close to perfection, it is already a success. The final question regarding Lost, I guess, is this: How much further can it, will it go, will it take us all, before it's all over?
I am a Johnny-Come-Lately to the program, losing interest during season one and not returning until the end of season four. When the series concludes, I cannot wait to watch the entire story from the beginning. I now will have the advantage of knowing the creator's clarity of intent, to see how tightly they constructed those episodes that, as of now, are lost to my full understanding of the series' genius. What resonates with me is not the dialogue, not the action (for the most part), and not the characters, as much as the Concepts the series presents. Some highlights include:
*Energy Vortexes that effect the "normal functions" of reality (Plane crashes, anyone?)
*The entire show as "ritual," a shamanistic journey exposing one to "The Big Picture" through revelations of smaller, interconnected secrets leading to an evolution of Perspective.
*An "accurate" portrayal of Time Travel within the realm of Quantum Mechanics. From Popular Mechanics: "The time travel on Lost isn't necessarily good science, but it basically adheres to theoretical physics: All of the wormholes and temporal mayhem can be traced back to the "exotic particles" buried deep in the island. Bursts of electromagnetism can be used to detect and access the island. And even casual exposure to the exotic particles can be as serious as other brushes with radiation, causing unborn babies to die. It might be pseudoscience, but time travel on Lost feels like the product of quantifiable, observable natural phenomena."
*Time as a multi directional, multidimensional experience. Season Six revolves around the concept of sideways time, that, not only did the plane not crash, but Time had been altered many years before, and that the characters' lives still had interaction with each other, but in a different context than the experience of the island.
*The concept of Edgar Cayce's story of Group Karma, that (to paraphrase)everyone you've ever met in this life you have known before, in some other form. The characters this season don't have the bond of the island, but are inevitably attracted to each other through other situations in order to resolve past actions between them.
*The concept of a spiritual, but not religious, chance at Redemption, or the equal possibility of spiraling into Oblivion. This season, this concept has been mirrored in both time frames (Ben and Sayid are the best examples..).
*Souls as characters, or souls changing "disguise." The Man in Black was both Shepard's father and now John Locke, after both had died. The concept of an Evil Tempting Force is ancient, yet removed of religious implications, feels "modern," or at least, "timeless."
*Multiple possibilities of "Pre-destination." There are six candidates for the "stewardship" of the island. They have all been led.. guided.. to the island. One's destiny is set; unless it is not.
Where is all this headed? Can most of these concepts find a suitable resolution? Can J.J. Abrams balance the abstractions with a conrete climax to satisfy 50 percent of his audience? I hope so. This series, this explosion of right brain activity masquerading as "entertainment," is so close to perfection, it is already a success. The final question regarding Lost, I guess, is this: How much further can it, will it go, will it take us all, before it's all over?
Strange Alien Planets and the Possibility of Life
From Space.com via AboveTopSecret.. The ATS link is the best, as the poster has taken the time to post each image on the main post, as opposed to having to click the "next" link, as formatted in the Space.com article. Of course, no one knows how close these descriptions really are, but the conjecture is fascinating, yeah?
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Sinister Sites – Astana, Khazakhstan
From VigilantCitizen:
"Astana is the first capital being built in the 21st century and it perfectly represents where the world is headed. It is truly one man’s vision: Nursultan Nazarbayev, the president of Kazakhstan (yes Borat’s country, I know). Backed by billions of petrodollars, the city is being built from scratch in a remote and deserted area of the Asian steppes. The result is astonishing: a futuristic occult capital, embracing the New World Order while celebrating the most ancient religion known to man: Sun Worship. The city is still a huge construction site, but the buildings that are already completed already sum up Nazarbayev’s occult vision."
Whether or not you believe the rationale for the article, it is odd that Astana is at once amazingly fabulous and obviously remote. This video(totally awesome slide show/tour set to some really major Eurasian hiphop) has certain wide shots from the edge of the city where, just past the buildings, there is nothing. Nothing. Wikipedia also takes note of the city's absence of.. suburbs, nearby towns, more than 10 people per square kilometer(That is, of course, with the exception of the city itself..)..
"To some Kazakhs, the move remains controversial. Critics cite the city's isolated location in the center of the Kazakh steppe and the forbidding climate in winter.[7] Financially, some resent the massive expenditure of public funds to build the new government complexes, as well as the continuing cost of airfare and hotel expenses for the many government workers who still live in Almaty.[8]"
The location, the massive construction, the futuristic, geometric fabulous-ness of it all, seems so.. over the top, that, just by its being, gives credence to Vigilant Citizen's claim. True or not, this under-construction Ultra-Land of ancient religion, mathematics, and esoteric symbolism, is a sight to behold. If its existence is actually benign, check out the cityscape for an idea of what 21st Century cities will look like and how they will function.. And if not, well, I guess we'll all be seeing some major worldwide ceremonies broadcast from there, live, via satellite.
"Astana is the first capital being built in the 21st century and it perfectly represents where the world is headed. It is truly one man’s vision: Nursultan Nazarbayev, the president of Kazakhstan (yes Borat’s country, I know). Backed by billions of petrodollars, the city is being built from scratch in a remote and deserted area of the Asian steppes. The result is astonishing: a futuristic occult capital, embracing the New World Order while celebrating the most ancient religion known to man: Sun Worship. The city is still a huge construction site, but the buildings that are already completed already sum up Nazarbayev’s occult vision."
Whether or not you believe the rationale for the article, it is odd that Astana is at once amazingly fabulous and obviously remote. This video(totally awesome slide show/tour set to some really major Eurasian hiphop) has certain wide shots from the edge of the city where, just past the buildings, there is nothing. Nothing. Wikipedia also takes note of the city's absence of.. suburbs, nearby towns, more than 10 people per square kilometer(That is, of course, with the exception of the city itself..)..
"To some Kazakhs, the move remains controversial. Critics cite the city's isolated location in the center of the Kazakh steppe and the forbidding climate in winter.[7] Financially, some resent the massive expenditure of public funds to build the new government complexes, as well as the continuing cost of airfare and hotel expenses for the many government workers who still live in Almaty.[8]"
The location, the massive construction, the futuristic, geometric fabulous-ness of it all, seems so.. over the top, that, just by its being, gives credence to Vigilant Citizen's claim. True or not, this under-construction Ultra-Land of ancient religion, mathematics, and esoteric symbolism, is a sight to behold. If its existence is actually benign, check out the cityscape for an idea of what 21st Century cities will look like and how they will function.. And if not, well, I guess we'll all be seeing some major worldwide ceremonies broadcast from there, live, via satellite.
"Moon Matrix" Double Shot
Ever wonder what goes on on the moon when the man isn't busy making cheese? According to David Icke (pronounced "Ike."), it's "a gigantic ‘spacecraft’ (probably a hollowed-out 'planetoid') – which is home to the extraterrestrial group that has been manipulating humanity for aeons.
He describes what he calls the ‘Moon Matrix’, a fake reality broadcast from the Moon which is decoded by the human body/mind in much the same way as portrayed in the Matrix movie trilogy. The Moon Matrix has ‘hacked’ into the human ‘body-computer’ system, he says, and it is feeding us a manipulated sense of self and the world 24/7."
Not one to shy away from controversy, David Icke has both passionate supporters and detractors, and no doubt, this latest theory will continue to polarize opinion. I have had more than several passing thoughts of "reality as matrix" before, and after reading the blurb for his book and this strange, overlapping post that showed up about the same time, there is something at the outermost boundaries of my Reason that resonates with this concept. The world is changing, but more importantly, people's perception of the world is changing faster than anytime in my lifetime. I have no idea where we are heading: Green Utopia, Brave New World, New World Order, Idiocracy, 2012: Apocalypse, or, possibly a blend of this Moon Matrix as cover for McKenna's self transforming machine elves, or Castaneda's dreams as key to the Universe.
Like I said, I'm not sure where we're headed, but events seem to be accelerating, and the Veil of the Future will be lifted soon, and we'll all know which of these theories was most remotely accurate, and who the Prophets actually were..
He describes what he calls the ‘Moon Matrix’, a fake reality broadcast from the Moon which is decoded by the human body/mind in much the same way as portrayed in the Matrix movie trilogy. The Moon Matrix has ‘hacked’ into the human ‘body-computer’ system, he says, and it is feeding us a manipulated sense of self and the world 24/7."
Not one to shy away from controversy, David Icke has both passionate supporters and detractors, and no doubt, this latest theory will continue to polarize opinion. I have had more than several passing thoughts of "reality as matrix" before, and after reading the blurb for his book and this strange, overlapping post that showed up about the same time, there is something at the outermost boundaries of my Reason that resonates with this concept. The world is changing, but more importantly, people's perception of the world is changing faster than anytime in my lifetime. I have no idea where we are heading: Green Utopia, Brave New World, New World Order, Idiocracy, 2012: Apocalypse, or, possibly a blend of this Moon Matrix as cover for McKenna's self transforming machine elves, or Castaneda's dreams as key to the Universe.
Like I said, I'm not sure where we're headed, but events seem to be accelerating, and the Veil of the Future will be lifted soon, and we'll all know which of these theories was most remotely accurate, and who the Prophets actually were..
Hearing Anything About This In The Main Stream?
From Xymphora: "Hillary just finished the most disastrous (Me: He has two separate links here) Latin American tour by an American official since Nixon in 1958 (coupled with the disaster of her trip to Pakistan, Hil makes Condi look like the world's greatest diplomat). No matter how awful Obama is, just remember how much worse it could have been with Hil:" (Emphasis mine)
"The Honduras crisis has been managed to a successful conclusion."
"The Honduras crisis has been managed to a successful conclusion."
Monday, March 8, 2010
Iceland To Bankers: F You-avik!
"I voted "No" because there are no legal obligations for Icelandic taxpayers to compensate the British and the Dutch for debts incurred by private companies beyond their worth. At least the losses caused by the flaws in the international banking regulatory system should be shared equally per head of the three populations. We want fairness, not blackmail."
Sölvi Eysteinsson, Reykjavik
"I voted "No" to express my opinion that we should not cover the debts. I feel that citizens should not pay for the financial mistakes of companies."
Óskar Freyr Hinriksson, Reykjavik
No need for a recount, either. The vote was 98% to 2%.
Sölvi Eysteinsson, Reykjavik
"I voted "No" to express my opinion that we should not cover the debts. I feel that citizens should not pay for the financial mistakes of companies."
Óskar Freyr Hinriksson, Reykjavik
No need for a recount, either. The vote was 98% to 2%.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
R.I.P. Mark Linkous a.k.a. Sparklehorse
Mark Linkous took his own life Saturday evening. For years, apparently, he straddled the line between creation and self destruction, reflecting that struggle in his musical tone, but not necessarily in his lyrics. Linkous made the perfect mood music for empty, darkened rooms, and his talents will be missed.
Link to Sparklehorse "Please Don't Take My Sunshine Away."
Link to Sparklehorse "Please Don't Take My Sunshine Away."
Future Plate Tectonics
Great article from Dark Roasted Blend on how crustal plates are where they are now, and where they're headed.. Be sure to click the links detailing projections for the next seven billion years or so..
Just Another Day In The Florida Keys..
"As authorities nationwide warn motorists of the dangers of driving while texting, Florida Keys law enforcement officers add a new caution: Don't try to shave your privates, either.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers say a two-vehicle crash Tuesday at Mile Marker 21 on Cudjoe Key was caused by a 37-year-old woman driver who was shaving her bikini area while her ex-husband took the wheel from the passenger seat."
This is a scary road and a lot of bad wrecks are caused by dumb stuff like this," Dunick said. "It is unbelievable. I'm really starting to believe this stuff only happens in the Keys."
I'm sure that locals weren't too impressed, as they've heard worse; probably this week.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers say a two-vehicle crash Tuesday at Mile Marker 21 on Cudjoe Key was caused by a 37-year-old woman driver who was shaving her bikini area while her ex-husband took the wheel from the passenger seat."
This is a scary road and a lot of bad wrecks are caused by dumb stuff like this," Dunick said. "It is unbelievable. I'm really starting to believe this stuff only happens in the Keys."
I'm sure that locals weren't too impressed, as they've heard worse; probably this week.
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