Archive for December, 2010
‘White Christmas’ Songwriter Actually Hated Christmas
The following article is an excerpt of “The Music’s Debt to Nonbelievers” by Dan Barker, one of 41 articles from the Disinformation anthology I edited, Everything You Know About God Is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Religion. For more on Dan Barker, check out the Freedom From Religion Foundation (ffrf.org).
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Irving Berlin (1888–1989)
How many patriotic Americans know that “God Bless America” was written by a man who did not believe in God? Or that it was intended as an anti-war anthem?
Irving Berlin is by any measure the greatest composer of popular American music, with hundreds of enduring hits, such as “White Christmas,” “Anything You Can Do,” “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” “I Love a Piano,” “Always,” “Blue Skies,” “Let’s Have Another Cup of Coffee,” “Cheek to Cheek,” “Marie,” “Play a Simple Melody,” “A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody,” and “Easter Parade.”
Born in 1888 into a Russian-Jewish family who came to New York City in 1893 to escape religious persecution, he quickly shed his religious roots and fell in love with America. “Patriotism was Irving Berlin’s true religion,” notes biographer Laurence Bergreen.
“Though he is not a religious person,” his daughter Mary Ellin Barrett writes in her family memoir, “doesn’t even keep up appearances of being an observant Jew, he does not forget who his people are.” Irving and his nominally Catholic wife, Ellin, were married in an unannounced secular ceremony at the Municipal Building, not a church or synagogue…
Ricky Gervais Explains Why He Is An Atheist
Photo: Caroline Bonarde Ucci (CC)
Perfectly timed for Christmas and all those other winter solstice religious celebrations, British comedian Ricky Gervais tells us why religion is rubbish, in the Wall Street Journal (you might also want to review his responses to readers’ questions):
Why don’t you believe in God? I get that question all the time. I always try to give a sensitive, reasoned answer. This is usually awkward, time consuming and pointless. People who believe in God don’t need proof of his existence, and they certainly don’t want evidence to the contrary.
They are happy with their belief. They even say things like “it’s true to me” and “it’s faith.” I still give my logical answer because I feel that not being honest would be patronizing and impolite. It is ironic therefore that “I don’t believe in God because there is absolutely no scientific evidence for his existence and from what I’ve heard…
French Town Overrun By 2012 Apocalypse Cult
Having produced the film 2012: Science or Superstition, I’m often asked where I plan to be on December 21, 2012, which as almost all disinformation readers surely know, marks the end of the current cycle of the Mayan Long Count Calendar. Truth be told I have no special plans, but perhaps Bugarach in southwest France is as good a choice as any, and it’s only a few minutes from Henry Lincoln and Rennes-le-Château, whom I’ve been wanting to visit ever since we released Exploring the Da Vinci Code: Henry Lincoln’s Guide to Rennes-le-Château. MyFoxNY/Newscore reports:
Armageddon-fearing pilgrims were flocking to a village deep in the southern French hills after a countdown was started to the end of the world, which stood Thursday at a mere 729 days to go.
Bugarach, population 189, in the Aude region, southwestern France. Photo: ArnoLagrange (CC)
Followers of the Mayan calendar believe the mountain in the Corbieres hills overlooking the…
Alien with Size 440 Shoe Among New Zealand’s Recently Declassified UFO Sightings
New Zealand’s military has made public hundreds of documents dating back to 1954 of UFOs, include drawings of flying saucers and alleged samples of alien writing. My favorite so far has been reported in the Telegraph:
A man who in 1995 met the giant alien with size 440 shoes says the being told him that on dying humans ascend as hydrogen atoms. “You will remain in hydrogen form for 150 years. Then it will change to sodium.”
Looking forward to my post-death atomic experience. Turning into hydrogen sounds pretty cool but I don’t know how I feel about sodium.
Arguments Against The Police State at Guantanamo Bay
[disinformation ed.'s note: The Washington Post reports that "Obama administration officials are drafting an executive order that would set up a review process for detainees held indefinitely at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba." In a region where both American and Cuban law ceases to exist, does this order follow the procedures set forth in President Obama's May 2009 speech about detainees who would be held indefinitely at that military prison? With that in mind, we thought we'd remind our readers of Russ Kick's "12 Arguments Against the Police State at Guantanamo Bay" in his Book of Lists: Subversive Facts and Hidden Information in Rapid-Fire Format (2004)]:
The 660 or so people being held at the naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have never been tried or even charged with crimes. They can be held for the rest of their lives at the whim of the government, and the military has floated the possibility of executing some of them. In an effort to remedy this disgraceful destruction of rights and the law, the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a petition seeking habeas corpus, which would force the government to Constitutionally process the prisoners (i.e., quick and speedy trials, jury of peers, right to confront accusers, etc.).
A district court refused, buying the feds’ ridiculous argument that because the US military base is located on the island of Cuba, it isn’t subject to US law, though it also is most definitely not subject to Cuban law. Following this line of argument, no law applies there, making it an autonomous zone, as devised by Hakim Bey, or an interzone, from the works of William Burroughs. I’m sure that the men and women stationed at Guantanamo Bay would be surprised to know that they can apparently steal, rape, and kill with impunity. Go ahead, snort coke off your commanding officer’s desk. It’s all right, because US law doesn’t apply…
WikiLeaks Revelation: Iraq Security Firms Operate ‘Mafia’ to Inflate Prices
From the Guardian:
Halliburton’s senior executive in Iraq accused private security companies of operating a “mafia” to artifically inflate their “outrageous prices”, according to a US cable.
Written by a senior diplomat in the US’s Basra office, the confidential document discloses the tensions between private security firms, oil companies and the Iraqi government as coalition forces withdraw from protecting foreign business interests.
John Naland, head of the provincial reconstruction team in Basra, wrote in January this year that several oil company representatives complained of “unwarranted high prices” given an improving security situation since 2008.
“Halliburton Iraq country manager decried a ‘mafia’ of these companies and their ‘outrageous’ prices, and said that they also exaggerate the security threat.
“Apart from the high costs for routine trips, he claimed that Halliburton often receives what he says are ‘questionable’ reports of vulnerability of employees to kidnapping and ransom. He said that he recently saw an internal memo from their…
Billion-Dollar Black Ops
Of all entertainment offerings, only Avatar has reached $1 billion in sales faster than the mega-popular first-person shooter video game Call of Duty: Black Ops. For those yet to be initiated, here’s the official trailer, followed by the revenue report in the New York Post:
The entertainment industry has a new billion-dollar baby.
Activision Blizzard announced yesterday its “Call of Duty: Black Ops” video game has racked up $1 billion in sales after just 42 days on the market.
WikiLeaks Gets … Leaked?
Assange has only released around 2,000 of the U.S. embassy cables WikiLeaks obtained but now a Norwegian paper is claiming access to the 250,000 cable motherload. If this is true, prepare for all hell to break loose. Devin Dwyer reports on ABC News:
Norway’s main business newspaper reported Wednesday that the Aftenposten news service has obtained unfettered and unauthorized access to the entire cache of secret government documents held exclusively by Wikileaks and its founder, Julian Assange.
If true, Aftenposten would be the only international news organization to have direct possession of the entire trove of U.S. diplomatic cables and military records believed to have been originally leaked by U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning.
The paper does not reveal who leaked the documents from inside Wikileaks’ operations.
“I have no comments on how we have secured access to the documents. We never give our sources, even in this case,” Aftenposten news editor Ole Erik Almlid…
FBI Expands ‘Witch Hunt’ Against Antiwar Activists
"War 2" by Carlos Latuff
Charles Davis reports:
The FBI on Tuesday added four more names to the list of antiwar activists subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury as part of an investigation into whether members of the peace movement provided “material support” for terrorism. In all, 23 people have been subpoenaed since September 24, when the FBI raided the offices and homes of prominent activists in Chicago and Minneapolis. None has been charged with a crime. Several have also refused to testify in what they say is a witch hunt aimed more at intimidating those who dare speak out against U.S. foreign policy than uncovering actual ties to terrorists.
And they’re probably right.
Thanks to a Supreme Court ruling this past June, the definition of “material support” for terrorism is now so broad as to include any sort of “advice” to a State Department-designated terrorist group, even if that advice is “stop engaging…
CIA Responds To WikiLeaks: WTF
I have to hand it to CNN, this is a great headline to an amusing story:
It’s no secret that WikiLeaks’ cable document dumps have caused ripples of concerns and speculation about how well the United States can keep secrets – its own and those of other countries.
It’s been embarrassing to both U.S. diplomats and foreign leaders mentioned in the cables, but there haven’t been any bombshells from the small percentage of documents released so far. The CIA, known for its ability to keep secrets, is taking no chances of being pulled further into the fray. The CIA has only been mentioned a few times in the cables, and has not been hit nearly as hard as other agencies and diplomats, but it does not appear willing to wait on the sidelines.
And it has an answer for WikiLeaks: WTF. Seriously.
In a move that couldn’t be more ironic, and made for headlines…
Britain Considers Ban On Student Protesting
“I would urge those who turn up for protests to think about the impact this could have on their future careers.”
Over the past month, British students have repeatedly taken to the streets in large and raucous marches to protest huge increases in higher education tuition. In response, the government may now outlaw student demonstrations. Clearly, the message is that young people are not supposed to be civically engaged, the Telegraph reports:
Police may ban anti-Government marches through central London to prevent further disorder and strain on officer numbers.
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, said that outlawing the demonstrations was an option for the authorities but conceded it could anger protesters further.
He admitted he was “very worried” about the effect on law and order in town centers and suburbs caused by large numbers of officers being sent to the center of the capital.
Despite widespread criticism over the policing of the protests, and…
States Plan Taxes To Comprise Up To 21% Of E-Book Price
Kindle 2. Photo: Jon 'ShakataGaNai' Davis (CC)
Those of us hooked on $9.99 ebooks had better get used to the idea of paying more in 2011. Not only are publishers and authors realizing that they are not making enough money to stay in business at that price point, but now state governments want in on the fast-growing sales. SmartMoney reports:
Taxes on e-book downloads to an e-reader, like the iPad, Kindle or Nook, could add up to 21% of the total price, assuming multiple states apply taxes to the same transaction, according to MyWireless.org , a nonprofit consumer advocacy group.
Roughly 9 million e-reader users download books. (On average, that’s three e-books a month at an average of $9 per book, according to Marketing and Research Resources and CEA, respectively.) These consumers are increasingly at risk of being taxed on those purchases by their home state and by the state where the book is published,…
Is Your Videogame Console Watching You?
Microsoft’s new Kinect gaming console has been a success in the weeks following its November unveiling – sales are expected to top 5 million units by the end of the year. However, privacy advocates are concerned about the machine’s built-in camera, equipped with motion-sensing and facial-recognition technology. Xbox’s CFO implied that Microsoft would use Kinect to gather data on its users, the Wall Street Journal notes. It begs the question: Are your videogames watching you?
Microsoft Corp. officials are considering using the camera on their new Kinect videogame system to target ads to people watching the games.
Dennis Durkin, who serves as chief operating officer and chief financial officer for Microsoft’s Xbox video game business, told investors Thursday that Kinect – which allows users to play video games without so much as a joystick – presents business opportunities for targeted game marketing and advertising.
Kinect is a camera peripheral that plugs into the Xbox…
Climate Change and the 4000 BCE Origins of Child Abuse, Sex-Repression, Warfare and Social Violence
Matriarchy.info reviews Dr. James DeMeo’s book SAHARASIA: The 4000 BCE Origins of Child Abuse, Sex-Repression, Warfare and Social Violence, In the Deserts of the Old World:
A new geographical study on the ancient historical origins of human violence and warfare, drawing upon global archaeological and anthropological evidence, has just been published presenting substantial proof that our ancient ancestors were non-violent, and far more social and loving than are most humans today – moreover, the study points to a dramatic climate change in the Old World, the drying up of the vast Sahara and Asian Deserts, with attending famine, starvation and forced migrations which pushed the earliest humans into violent social patterns, a trauma from which we have not yet recovered in over 6000 years.
The study and book, titled SAHARASIA: The 4000 BCE Origins of Child Abuse, Sex-Repression, Warfare and Social Violence, In the Deserts of the Old World, by retired professor James…
Low Magick
The Infinite and the Beyond — Podcast: Episode #018 — Low Magick
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In the latest episode of The Infinite and the Beyond, we welcome back author Lon Milo DuQuette and talk about the rerelease of his Tarot of Ceremonial Magick and his new book Low Magick: It’s all in your head… You just have no idea how big your head is and we touch upon some of what he mentions in it; like his discomfort with the ideas of low and high magick, his concept of The Great G, pop goes Ganesha, and the celebrating of Christmas as a non-Christian.
We discuss my appearance on Beyond the Threshold with Gary Blackheart that occurred back in November. Gary took me beyond the threshold we discussed some touchy and often difficult issues that I have mentioned in the past on this podcast. I elaborate on my crisis of faith and come to some refreshing conclusions…
Beefheart Doc Salutes the Captain
Me and mine were all saddened last week with the news of the passing of one of the true great originals of American popular music – Captain Beefheart.
The man who was born into this world as Don Van Vliet died on December 17th from complications resulting from his long battle with MS.
Vliet’s music combined an elemental distillation of American Blues with the psychedelic sensibilities of the ’60’s and a fervor for avant garde composition. The result was captivating, invigorating and infuriating at turns – and sometimes all at once. Along with various incarnations of his Magic Band, the Captain cut a path that few have followed, though many – including Tom Waits – owe large debts to his influence. For the last several decades the Captain hung up his harmonica to concentrate on visual art, becoming a respected abstract painter.
Having sifted through a number of eulogies and tributes, here are some…
Fox News: Elie Wiesel is ‘Holocaust Winner’
This is one hell of a typo (it occurs around the 0:50 mark). Jon Bershad writes on Mediaite:
Wow. We all make mistakes and typos. There will probably be at least one in this post alone. However, some typos are worse than others. This is one of those typos. Last week, Fox & Friends had on Elie Wiesel to talk about human rights injustices. However, eagle-eyed viewer Young Manhattanite was rewatching the clip online and noticed that they accidentally combined “Holocaust Survivor” and “Nobel Prize Winner” in the chyron so as to identify Weisel as a “Holocaust Winner.” Again, wow.
Did Societies Evolve To Be Corrupt?
Good question. Alasdair Wilkins asks on io9.com:
Corruption is as old as human history. For as long as people have organized themselves into groups with powerful leaders, those leaders have sometimes abused their power. But evolutionary biologists say corruption might actually be holding societies together.
That’s the theory put forward by evolutionary biologists Francisco Ubeda and Edgar Duenez. The pair used game theory to figure out why people cooperate to form a society even though the ones in charge are corrupt. The model they developed assumes that government officials and law enforcers — in other words, the individuals responsible for punishing noncooperators — can get away with a certain amount of noncooperation themselves in the form of corruption, and that they can sidestep most punishments when caught being corrupt.
Their findings make a lot of intuitive sense — most people will continue to cooperate to keep their society together, in part because they…
