Archive for February, 2009
Hollywood Tells on Itself with the Movies that They Release: Our Top Five Picks
Now if you were ever was or still are one of those “critical thinking” people who are look in the mirror or say to yourself what is it all about meaning “life” then this following book is a MUST read believe me…
I cannot even begin to explain how it already has changed the way I look at life completely … everything about life … it explains so much that resonates with my soul that it is undeniable of course most people are not critical thinkers because if they were this word this reality as we know it would be completely different.
What Would a Black Hole Really Look Like?
Annalee Newitz, io9.com: Black holes are mysterious cosmic structures partly because they radiate in regions of the spectrum invisible to the human eye. But artists still strive to depict their violent, intense lives. We’ve got a gallery.
Black holes are objects with such incredible mass and strong gravitational fields that visible light can’t escape them. Often, astronomers can perceive black holes because they are sucking gas from neighboring stars, and then spitting energy back out in the invisible, super-hot x-ray region of the spectrum. While we understand black holes far better than we did even a decade ago, there is still no conclusive theory that explains why black holes exist or how, exactly, they function.
Their mystery is part of what makes them such a tantalizing subject of science illustration — as well as science fiction film and art.
You, Too, Can Be A ‘Terrorist’
Kurt Hofmann, Examiner:
I looked at proposals to empower the Attorney General to unilaterally block U.S. citizens from buying firearms, merely by “determining” that they might be terrorists. No conviction, no indictment, no formal charges necessary. In fact, the AG would have the power to make the accusation, and any grounds on which it is based, secret, so there could be no fighting the “terrorist” designation. One does not need to be particularly concerned about gun rights to be outraged by such a blatant attack on the concept of innocence pending proof of guilt — the cornerstone of our justice system.
“But,” you might say, “I’m a law-abiding citizen, who does nothing to draw the attention of federal authorities — why should I worry about the kinds of people who might be accused of terrorist links.
To answer that, let’s take a look at another bill that was introduced during the last Congress,…
U.S. Judges Involved in Human Trafficking
On Thursday, 12 February 2009, “judge, Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., and a colleague, Michael T. Conahan, appeared in federal court in Scranton, Pa., to plead guilty to wire fraud and income tax fraud for taking more than $2.6 million in kickbacks to send teenagers to two privately run youth detention centers run by PA Child Care and a sister company, Western PA Child Care.”…
These judges sold 5,000 children in five years for $2.6 million. This means that on average they sold approximately three children per day for $520 each for a net profit of $1,560 per day. These are the numbers that have been revealed so far…
Amazing isn’t it? Child trafficking in the United States of America by a criminal organization which included two judges and numerous other people who may or may not be charged in the future. The only thing we know so far is that the first…
Five Things You Didn’t Know About Wal-Mart
Ross Bonander: The first Wal-Mart opened in Arkansas in 1962, and the company flourished, thanks to the retail imagination and cutthroat practices of founder Sam Walton. Over four decades later, Wal-Mart is a global behemoth, regularly seeing annual sales in excess of $300 billion, and employing more people — 1.9 million, according to business research company Hoover’s Inc. — than any other private employer in the world. If Wal-Mart were its own country, its population would exceed 75 other countries as the 146th most populated nation on Earth.
Love it or hate it, here are five things you didn’t know about Wal-Mart; your friendly neighborhood retail monstrosity.
1. Every week, over one-third of the U.S. population visits a Wal-Mart
In a country of over 300 million, that comes to an astonishing 100 million Wal-Mart customers per week (127 million if you believe the figure given on the corporate website). Of course, this does…
Screw Valentines Day, Get S.A.D.!
Ok, so I’m not a fan of Valentines Day as you can tell. I don’t see why I have to go out of my way, on the say so of Clinton’s Cards, to treat my lady-friend to a box of chocolates and a meal. Are we not meant to do this anyway? Why do we need a specified day to do so?
Anyway, to keep us all grounded, and to bring Valentines Day down a peg or two, SAD (The Society for the Advancement of Despair) have prepared some amazing motivational videos for you…yes…you!
Screw Valentines! Get S.A.D.
http://sittingnow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/valentine.jpg
Ok, so I’m not a fan of Valentines Day as you can tell. I don’t see why I have to go out of my way, on the say so of Clinton’s Cards, to treat my lady-friend to a box of chocolates and a meal. Are we not meant to do this anyway? Why do we need a specified day to do so?
Anyway, to keep us all grounded, and to bring Valentines Day down a peg or two, SAD (The Society for the Advancement of Despair) have prepared some amazing motivational videos for you…yes…you!
Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Republican ‘War on Science’ — Not A War, Just Politics
Astrophysicist and author Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Bush administration’s record on funding for science:
Alan Moore: February 2009 Previews Interview
PREVIEWS: What can you tell us about The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen III #1 — Century: 1910?
Alan Moore: It’s a departure from the previous books, the first of three which will comprise the first volume. The overall title of the volume is Century, and the first part which will be out in March is called “What Keeps Mankind Alive.” We kick off in 1910 where we have, as usual, characters and situations drawn from the literature of that era. We’re relying heavily on Bertolt Brecht’s Threepenny Opera, which was set originally in 1910.
We’re also working in references to films made in or around that period, including Lulu, the film by Pabst, which features the delectable Louise Brooks, so someone that looks a bit like Louise Brooks turns up briefly.
We’re referring to some of the odder Jack the Ripper films in the story, working those into the general narrative.
…
More Strange Moon Facts
After months of research and digging up information about our mysterious satellite the moon, I am once again reminded how important it is to keep an open mind at all times. Just when I thought I had a pretty good idea about the moon, its history and its relation to Earth, my research and the relentless work of many other nosey scientists dishes up a real feast of information to consume in small, digestible bite-size chunks.
The first chairman of NASA’s Lunar Exploration Committee, Robert Jastrow, said that “the moon is the Rosetta stone of the planets.” Let’s hope it allows us to decipher as much of our human history as the Rosetta stone did for Egyptology. And so far, it certainly seem that it can.
I urge you to set aside all you ever thought you knew about this planetary satellite and allow yourself to imagine the most bizarre set of possibilities. As…
What Really Happened on the Moon? Astronauts Reveal Encounters with ETs and UFOs
After reaching the Holy Grail of space exploration, NASA suddenly and unexpectedly stopped all moon missions after Apollo 17. Why?
While most westerners have in some ways been shielded from UFO stories by the major media groups over the past several decades, the people in the USSR have been far more exposed to these ideas. To the average Russian, UFO and alien stories are not strange at all.
Russian television dedicated much of its airtime to programs surrounding sightings and abductions and other interaction with so-called aliens. It is therefore not surprising that there are more recorded sightings of UFOs and aliens in the old USSR (Russia and its new brothers) than any other country.
Concentration Camps in America: Change Really is Coming…
Footage of a FEMA camp in the US. This is available on Google video too, but because a few people simply still don’t “get it” when they watch the footage from the Indiana Grove camp, let me spell it out with this one:
Marijuana vs. Anti-Depressants for PTSD: Marijuana Wins Hands Down
Dr. Phillip Leveque: I was asked by a healthcare professional at the Portland VA Hospital if I would help PTSD Veteran Victims to get permits to use legalized medical marijuana. I already had some Veteran patients from WWII, Korea and Vietnam.
The doctors and other healthcare professionals had heard from a sprinkling of Nam Vets that marijuana provided good relief PTSD and probably other battle related problems including pain from gunshots, mine blasts and almost anything else.
I told her yes and within two weeks I had more than 50 Nam Vets requesting my help. As part of their medical history I asked what previous medicines they had been given or prescribed. I was astonished to review the lists. There were two main types: strong pain killers like Oxycontin and Morphine and every related pain killer.
Apparently many of these were given just to knock out the patients. These drugs are called narcotics…
Mexico City Mayor Offers Free Viagra to Poor Men Over 60
MARC LACEY, NY Times: Flashing a boyish grin, the silver-haired septuagenarian fidgeted nervously. His voice dropped to a whisper. A reddish hue enveloped his face. All this because he was asked how the latest social program to be offered by Mexico City’s government was affecting his home life.
“Things have changed,” Angel Posadas Sandoval, 74, finally confessed, not going into specifics but nonetheless making himself abundantly clear. He was talking, however obliquely, about the free Viagra the government is giving away to poor men age 60 and above.
With midterm elections looming in July, Mayor Marcelo Ebrard has been rather creative in his attempts to make life more livable for the people of this sprawling metropolis, which finds itself clogged with traffic, overwhelmed by smog, prowled by criminals and reeling from the global financial crisis.
Kinky Sex Is on the Rise, Therapists Say
Sexual Fetishes, Sadomasochism, Bondage, Swinging, Even Bestiality: Is it the Internet?
SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES, ABC News: Eroticism is in the eye of the beholder. In Japan, some women turn to electrically charged squid for sexual satisfaction. In the American world of masochism, one man begged to be tied on a spit and roasted over sizzling coals. His counterpart, a latex-loving dominatrix, reached ecstasy merely watching his pain.
What is abnormal may not necessarily be unnatural, according to sexologists who study the outer limits of the human psyche.
And, increasingly, as seen in a plethora of new books and films — not to mention thousands of sites on the Internet — kinky sex is getting more attention. “To badly paraphrase Alfred Kinsey, [who pioneered sex research in the 1940s and 50s, filming couples in flagrante in his Indiana attic], ‘the only unnatural sex act is the one you can’t perform,’” said Robert Dunlap, a…
Evidence of DNA Manipulation in Our Distant Past?
The Human Genome Project has dished up some real surprises to scientists. The first surprise was the vast percentage of the human DNA that is inactive. It is estimated that at least 97% of our DNA is in actual fact a waste of space, as it does not contain any active genes that actually carry the code for any of our physical makeup. Then within the genes there are Introns — parts that do not carry any code; and Exons &mdash sections that carry some sort of genetic code. The full length of our DNA is made up of some 20 000 genes that have now been identified.
Cocaine Cheaper Than Beer and Wine in the UK
James Kirkup, Telegraph: The Home Office has admitted that the street price of both cocaine and heroin has fallen by nearly half in the last ten years, making the most dangerous illegal drugs cheaper than they have ever been. Based on reports from police forces, the Home Office said that cocaine is now being sold for as little as £20 a gram in some parts of the country.
The most common price for the drug is £40 per gram. Home Office figures for 1998 show the average price was £77. A gram of heroin can now be bought for as little as £25, with the average price somewhere between £40 and £50 per gram. In 1998, the average was £74.
The Home Office figures are based on data collected from police forces and the Serious Organised Crime Agency. According to DrugScope, a charity that provides research and advice on drugs policy, gram…
Republicans? Democrats? Who Keeps Screwing Us Over?
Cenk Uygur, Huffington Post: I shouldn’t be surprised by now. But I still was when I read the article this morning in the Washington Post explaining that the cap on executive pay has been removed from the stimulus bill. I knew what Congress was doing yesterday by bringing the Wall Street executives in and scolding them in public was a dog and pony show. But I had not realized how profoundly full of shit these politicians are.
They make a big display of yelling at the CEOs and then the very next day they quietly remove any cap on their compensation. These people are not on our side. This is why so many Americans are so damn frustrated. Everyone in power appears to be bought and paid for. There is a circle of people in DC and NY that keep passing the money around to one another and then come and collect…
Darwin, Marx and the Phoenix
Das Bedanya Comrade Obama!
Or shall we say: Conservatives of the world, unite!
