Saturday, January 7, 2012

Usually. . .

. . . the usual. Or will it be?


(from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45834574/ns/technology_and_science-space/)

By Charles Q. Choi
". . . On Dec. 21, 2012, many doomsday believers fear the apocalypse — anything from a rogue planet smashing into us to our world spinning end over end. However, the world should expect nothing more next year than the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, NASA says. Many people point to the end of the Mayan Long Count calendar on Dec. 21, 2012 as evidence of the coming apocalypse, but astronomers have been quick to stress that there is nothing to be concerned about.  According to the ancient Mayan calendar, next year's winter solstice marks the end of a 144,000-day cycle. This cycle, which begins at the mythical Maya creation date, has already been repeated 12 times. The 13th will end in 2012, capping a full 5,200-year Mayan cycle of creation.  This date has long been shrouded in mystery, with many claiming that it will bring destruction to our planet. [End of the World? Top Doomsday Fears

Rogue planet Nibiru? One fear is that a rogue planet that has been dubbed "Nibiru" or "Planet X" is supposedly aimed at Earth. Self-proclaimed Nibiru expert Nancy Lieder, who says she is in contact with the aliens from Zeta Reticuli, first said Nibiru would cause widespread disaster in May 2003, only to change it to There is, however, no evidence that Nibiru is real. "Nibiru is ridiculous because it doesn't exist — it never existed as anything other than a figment of the imagination by pseudo-scientists who don't seem bothered by a complete lack of evidence," astronomer Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object program office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., told SPACE.com.

There is no basis for the claim that it might be lurking behind the sun, as it could not have hidden from observation until now, Yeomans said. If such a planet was headed toward Earth by Dec. 21, 2012, it would already be visible to the naked eye.

Cosmic alignments? There are also concerns that planets or stars might line up in ways that will transform Earth. For instance, some theorists claim that from our point of view, the sun will cross in front of the plane of our galaxy on Dec. 21. However, the sun already does this twice a year, Yeomans said. In fact, the sun will eventually cross the plane of our galaxy. However, the sun is about 67 light-years from the galactic plane, so it should take several million years to do so, Yeomans said. Even then, when our solar system finally does cross the plane, nothing special will occur, he added. [10 Failed Doomsday Predictions]

Some also claim that gravitational effects from planets lining up with each other will somehow affect Earth. However, there is no planetary alignment due on Dec. 21, 2012, "and if there were, it wouldn't cause any problems," Yeomans said. 

 



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Friday, January 6, 2012

Rocky with no Bull. . .

. . . -winkle;  or any other kind of Bull for that matter. . .



(from http://www.examiner.com/human-rights-in-national/obama-signs-ndaa-anderson-s-new-justice-party-challenges)

 ". . . First thing on January 1, around 6:45 a.m. AT, Rocky Anderson, head of High Road for Human Rights, under his Twitter name, "PresidentRocky," Tweeted, "What's now clear from #NDAA is that authoritarianism is bipartisan, a position a free society must regard intolerable. Answer? Justice Party".

Anderson's High Roads for Human Rights works to abolish the death penalty, torture, other prison abuse, racism and a host of other United States human rights violations that he calls "outrageous." An hour earlier on Sunday, urging Americans to continue uniting, Anderson, the former mayor of Salt Lake City, Tweeted, "Media has been virtually without coverage of the formation of Justice Party & our campaign". . .

. . . Anderson's call for unity through the Justice Party to overturn the present regime that violates human rights is in motion, same as globally, highlighted by the special Russia Today report Saturday, showing uprisings for rights amid induced fear and terror forced by present regimes.

ACLU stated after the president signed the bill into law that nobody, in the United States or elsewhere, should have to live in fear of the government renditioning them, as the act codifies: "We are extremely disappointed that President Obama signed this bill even though his administration is already claiming overly-broad detention authority in court. Any hope that the Obama administration would roll back those claims dimmed today.  Thankfully we have three branches of government, and the final word on the scope of detention authority belongs to the Supreme Court, which has yet to rule on the scope of detention authority. But Congress and the president also have a role to play in cleaning up the mess they have created because no American citizen or anyone else should live in fear of this or any future president misusing the NDAA’s detention authority. According to Anderson, statutes passed by Congress are happening because of the corrupting influences and the military-industrial-complex has a stranglehold on American.

Almost one year ago, Dupré reported on Anderson's human rights defending including his opposition to the nation having been lied into war: "Anderson has proven his ability as a change agent through his intelligence, wisdom and compassion. He attracted praise and scorn in August 2005 when, after accepting an invitation from the Veterans of Foreign Wars to participate in a visit by President Bush, he sent an e-mail to local advocacy leaders calling for "the biggest demonstration [Utah] has ever seen" to protest Bush's appearance at Veterans of Foreign Wars' National Convention at the Salt Palace.

"Speaking to a gathering at a rally at Pioneer Park in downtown Salt Lake City, Anderson justified his protest against Bush, asserting that the "nation was lied into a war." According to Anderson, since then and even more so since the NDAA FY2012 scandal, people from each political party and an array of major organizations are supporting a third party, the Justice Party and him. "We have the democratization now like never before," says Anderson, referring to social networks and the Occupy movement. "There's never been the economic disparity we have today. People are feeling it. "People are watching Facebook and Twitter to learn what's happening," he told Thom Hartmann. "This party is about changing the system, getting the corrupting money out of it so we can change policy."

Anderson asserted, "We cannot let the fear of spoiling the race of the lesser of two evils to bring about the major transformation our country and we need.". . ."

 



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Thursday, January 5, 2012

It was the best of times . . .

. . . A Tale of Two Brothers


It was the best of rides.  It was the worst of rides.  One brother, who taking abode on the far distant coast of the country from where up he grew, decided to gather his various possessions, which up until this date, had been stored mightily by his family in a personal storage facility in the latter mentioned locale.  The other brother, of a combination of sheer kindness and selfish adventure, agreed to accompany the first in ye olde Penske van with aforementioned possessions, on the trip by road to the adopted home of the first brother.  So off they went.

The second brother’s primarily-desired adventure was to visit the gravesite of Alferd Packer, a convicted cannibal and Civil War participant. The first brother did not share equally the enthusiasm of the first in this adventure and went to no great lengths to portray any.  In fact, he did not want to deviate from the straightest route home to make this stop at all.  But the second brother would not be swayed, and was kind and humorous in his discourse about the desired adventure, so much so that the first brother could not openly object to the deviation.

Upon arrival, and well ahead of what would have been assumed to be an average rate of such travel by such means, the two brothers arrived at the burial site of Mr. Packer.  Heretofore the first bother took it upon himself to write to his father.  His dispatch read as below:

“So we’re here.  Spencer doesn’t know where the grave is and the cemetery is covered in goose shit.”




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Wednesday, January 4, 2012

It's a new experience. . .

 . . . a new sensation.  It's a feeling I never, or at least rarely, even considered.   I'm not talking about mushrooms or any type of ingestible substance.  I'm talking about saying goodbye to two of your children who are driving ACROSS THE COUNTRY!!
You prepare for it, both by packing and psyching yourself into acceptance.  But when the day of departure finally arrives, you find that you're never prepared quite enough.  


Very strange sensation, to say the least.  (As I write, they may be in Ohio.)



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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Freedom . . .


. . . involves making decisions. . . 

 
(from A JOSEPH CAMPBELL COMPANION
© 1991 The Joseph Campbell Foundation

". . . Actually, there were times when I almost thought - almost thought - 'Jeez, I wish someone would tell me what I HAD to do,' that kind of thing.  Freedom involves making decisions,  and each decision is a destiny decision.  It's very difficult to find in the outside world something that matches what the system inside you is yearning for.  My feeling now is that I had a perfect life:  what I needed came along just when I needed it.  What I needed then was a life without a job for five years.  It was fundamental.

As Schopenhauer says, when you look back on your life, it looks as though it were a plot, but when you are into it, it's a mess: just one surprise after another.  Then, later, you see it was perfect.  So, I have a theory that if you are on your own path things are going to come to you.  Since it's your own path, and no one has ever been on it before, there's no precedent, so everything that happens is a surprise and is timely. . . "





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Monday, January 2, 2012

Makes one feel powerless. . .

. . . doesn't it? 
". . . CNN reports Barack Obama "reluctantly signed a defense authorization bill, saying he was concerned about some in Congress who want to restrict options used by counterterrorism officials." Even before the bill was signed by Obama, there were mixed feelings on NDAA. The bill only has a 2 percent approval rating on a poll conducted by OpenCongress.com. Only 8 people support the bill out of 395 voters. Another poll, of 397 people, conducted by PopVox gives the bill a 9 percent approval rating. One of the more controversial aspects of the bill involves the ability for the president to detain United States' citizens. According to The International Business Times, "The bill affirms and codifies the U.S. President's authority to indefinitely detain in military custody anyone, including U.S. citizens, suspected of terrorism or supporting terrorists." In a statement released after the signing of the bill, Obama says, "I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens. Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a Nation." Even though Obama signed the bill he does not agree with everything that's included in the bill. "I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists," Obama said. CBS news reports, "If Mr. Obama violates any of the provisions in the bill, Congress could challenge the White House in court, which would have the final say in any dispute." The $662 billion bill also includes tough sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program and allocates money for the military. NDAA was sponsored by Howard McKeon Republican Representative from California. The bill was introduced on April 13th.





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Sunday, January 1, 2012

Real fusion. . .

 . . . (from http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p168988). . .


 One of the few producers to pursue a real fusion of jazz and house music, Frenchman Ludovic Navarre began recording in the early '90s using various aliases (Subsystem, Modus Vivendi, Deepside) for a range of French imprints. St. Germain debuted in 1994 for Laurent Garnier's F Communications label and Navarre released his first album, Boulevard, in 1996. Featuring trumpeter Pascal Ohse, the album worked as a hybrid of American R&B and jazz with the growing French house scene exemplified by Garnier, la Funk Mob, and Dimitri From Paris. Tourist took the concept further with Navarre working post-production on a fuller complement of musicians and earned release on Blue Note. Navarre has also remixed such varying artists as Björk, Pierre Henry, and the Suburban Knight.




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