Thoughts on the History of Civilization	Mar 11, 3:06pm
by: Sgath
topic: Philosophy
Our species evolved as hunter gatherers. During the last ice age, human beings were forced into a smaller habitable area namely in Mesopotamia, leading to population crisis, where there were not enough resources for everyone. Our species was forced to adapt. This lead to agriculture. Since less people were involved in gathering food, people found new ways to operate in societies. Soon there were blacksmiths and potters, tailors and soldiers. The lack of need to be directly involved in food acquisition lead to an increasingly complex array of social functions. What happened as a result was the information available to transfer exploded in volume, where blacksmiths taught blacksmiths, soldiers taught soldiers, tailors taught tailors, leading to a need for essential information to be recorded, usually involved with trade. So came math, and writing. Then as more information was recorded, more adaptations formed around the new information. It has in a way lead to a sort of external evolution of mutating behaviours, as societies adapt to the new sum of external information available, allowing cultures to shift their behaviours as their acquired information changes. This has lead to vast changes in the structure of societies, leading to urbanization, industrialization, and the fracturing and competing of philosophies over how to organize and govern them. But this has never meant progress, only change. External evolution has actually lead to the degradation of humanity's habitat, and may ultimately lead to its destruction, so to say the changes that have taken place in our behaviours are progress is misleading, and false. Some things about modern behaviours benefit the species, some serve to its detriment. In the same way, our hunter gathering brothers and sisters adapt to their environments in the same rational fashion. But without the need of agriculture, social functions often have no need to become increasingly stratified since an environmental balance serves the culture's longevity, and there is limited need to adapt to degrading resources through war, trade, and technology. One of the major problems of modern civilization as we call it is that while our external evolution allows us to adapt to the sum of ideas of a society and therefore change our behaviour in more complex ways, they sometimes serve us very poorly in the real world, as creeds, codes and ideals fail to satisfy the real situation, and often lead to imbalances both environmentally and socially. Countless examples exist in history, as ideologies battle each other, empires collapse, opposing ideologies endanger the entirety of life on the planet and often result in severe destruction. They may yet destroy the planet. "It is not the strongest of the species that survive, but the one most responsive to change" - Charles Darwin. Whereas hunter gathers have adapted perfectly to their environment, unfortunately they have also been incapable of necessary change often and are destroyed by more aggressive cultures, not because of lack of strength, as Darwin points out, but because of lack of ability to change. So while modern civilization may seem to be more 'developed' or 'progressed' that is not the case at all, there are merely specific differences in behavioural adaptations, as humans have a remarkable capacity for changing their behaviour due to complicated communications skills. If by progress we define human capacity for survival, modern behavioural adaptations may very well lead to the end of life on Earth, and therefore cannot be identified in any way as progress. But neither can we say hunter gatherer civilizations are more progressed than modern civilizations simply because of better environmental adaptation, since they are often destroyed by failure to adapt to conquerers. I hope this gives us a better appreciation for the diversity of human behaviour, and that we can rationally reject notions of progress and merely be satisfied to identify the benefits and disadvantages of individual behaviours in individual societies.
[reply] [3 comments]

The New Conformity	Mar 2, 3:44am
by: quirky_one
topic: Philosophy
Not long ago, the businessman was an admired symbol of success. Today conforming nonconformists cut him down to size. The businessman is a loser, an anonymous cog. He has not reclaimed his identity, announced his specialness. As the rising tide of nonconforming conformity crests into a tidal wave, the roles that once symbolized respectability and normalcy (e.g., the corporate player) become targets of ridicule. As a result, almost everyone is an aspiring celeb, remixologist, or rock star biding time on the tradingroom floor. They are announcing themselves to the world as individuals dedicated to the establishment of their own fleeting narratives and recorded legacies. By regulary pursuing activities that function primarily as channels to proclaim difference, mixing ongoing performance with their everyday responsibilities and deliberately seeking a place for themselves in the global mass culture - intentionally signalling their specialness. The obsessive marketing of one's "individuality" as celebrity can be found all over the world. Jean-Marie Messier was dubbed "France's first rock star CEO" by Fortune. He wrote a book called J6M.COM where he tells us in this modest tome,"Never having to answer to a higher authority, that is what guided me. I have been lucky. At each turn in my career, I have succeeded in increasing my independence." Not long ago such crass egotism and dismissal of the idea that there might be a higher authority thatn the successful CEO would have been shocking. But in the age of new conformity, he's just very special. Reality TV further spreads the ideology of new conformity. Everyone could and should sperate themselves from the crowd, be more themselves. Losers are those who are content to stick to the crowd. Winners are those who reinvent themselves to stand out. Reality TV pulls us even further into the dreamy world of externalized perpetual performance and internal normalcy that is the hallmark of the new confromity. The message is clear: With a little tweaking, you, too can be a more and better you.
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American Empire: A Coup D'etat	Jan 27, 2:45pm
by: Sgath
topic: Current Events
""I see in the near future a crisis approaching. It unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. The money power preys upon the nation in times of peace and conspires against it in times of adversity. It is more despotic than a monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy. It denounces, as public enemies, all who question its methods or throw light upon its crimes. I have two great enemies, the Southern Army in front of me & the financial institutions at the rear, the latter is my greatest foe. Corporations have been enthroned, and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in the hands of a few, and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war. God grant that my suspicions may prove groundless." -Abraham Lincoln From watching events unfold over the last 10 years or so, it is clear that corporations have become increasingly involved in the politics of the United States. They lobby, bribe, and buy votes. Individual lobby groups have become more powerful than any senate committee or individual elected representative. Corporations shape foreign policy, and they crush any attempts to limit their power. This began long ago. Roosevelt was wary of their increasing power. As World War II was coming to an end America stood as the economic power house of the world, and set out to reap the benefits of its new found influence with its businesses and investors. Leaders staged coups, intervened militarily and sanctioned assassinations in several foreign countries to protect corporate assets acquired through means that makes mobsters look like children at play. When Eisenhower left office his final speech was a grave warning against the power of the corporate military industrial complex. America continued to intervene in countries to protect its influence and power from the will of foreign peoples by funding and installing dictators in any country where supporting U.S. interests was in question. It is clear that the policies of Reagan and Thatcher have failed. Corporations need regulation, but it has been stripped away for more profit. And now, every fundamental institution has been corrupted to the core by the influence of an unelected group of oligarchs. The Senate and Congress have been bought and paid for. Nothing can pass in either branch that does not meet the approval of any corporations affected, and billions of dollars will be spent to ensure this. No more evident is this than in the current health care debate, though debate should be a word used lightly as the money power uses its puppets to strike against the public good in the name of continued profit. Corporations even convince the public against the public good. They have hired demagogues and pose as News organizations to spread the myths of their greatness and good will. While the solution is clear to solving the countries problems, the businesses refuse to take part in the public good, even if it means the collapse of the nation's prestige, and the failure of its national interests. I believe that the latest Supreme court Ruling: That is the last separation of corporations from the democratic processes of the U.S. Republic, has been stripped away in a 5-4 vote by the Supreme Court last week. Corporations now have the legal right and authority to spend whatever money they please to influence an election. With the Congress and the Senate already in their pocket, now they may even control the elections themselves. This is nothing less than a coup d'etat against the Republic, and the last remaining obstacle that made democracy still meaningful in America. I believe America is no longer a Republic, nor is it democratic. It is a corporate oligarchy, and it's population is destined for a long, degrading ride to poverty, while its corporate institutions will stand with the wealth of all the generations of labour of slaves and foreign peoples, of miners and factory workers, of all the people who sweat and toiled: the rulers will stand on a hill with their wealth and a hallow laugh in the shadow of a broken city. And that city will be shining with rot and decay. "" The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to the point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group or any controlling private power. " -Franklin D. Roosevelt.
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Human for Humanity's Sake	Jan 5, 1:54am
by: Sgath
topic: Essays
This is something I wrote nearly 5 years ago, which I am posting to give you some food for thought. What is life? An atheist would likely describe it in terms of reproduction, eating, adaptation, pleasure, and survival. A philosopher might consider it the soul, or the power that guides the unity of matter in an organism. There are as many working definitions as there are interpretations as to what makes life tick, and what makes the human life what it is. What if humanity, through technological means, suddenly ascended its biological limitations and achieved immortality? What drastic changes would shake the Earth with thisnew concept of life? The prospect of transferring consciousness from carbon to silicon-based machines is not a new one; it has been the buzz of science fiction for decades. As Hans Moravec, a research professor at the Robotics Institute of CMU suggested, “it will soon be possible to download human consciousness into a computer”(Moravec 1988). Given the explosion of computer technology in the last four decades, it should be inevitable within this millennium for humanity’s need to survive to be quenched absolutely. Though the idea of getting an infinite amount of time in which to live and grow can seem tempting, it would prove disastrous to all life on this planet. Important people would be the first to benefit, and step into the confines of a cold, calculating machine. In practice, leaders that can live forever can lead forever. Terrorists that can live forever, can terrorize forever. Life on Earth is not ready to live forever. If humanity could truly step beyond its body into a new mechanical one, would it lose anything? Indeed, the human body, even the brain itself is mechanical, guided and powered by electrical impulses, but is that all there is? Leaving behind the human brain may mean leaving behind the human soul, only to be born again in unpredictable and potentially lifeless ways. Without death, how can human beings even be alive? Everything living dies. In a world without all the drab, pain, and drama of human experience, how could life yearn towards spirituality or art, when it is fuelled by these things? The human mind has far too much to lose, to explore unknown environments. Imagine a world where Adolf Hitler won World War Two. Now imagine a world in the not too distant future, where a man such as Hitler, having conquered the Earth and subduing all resistance, is immortal. He resides somewhere in a computer, perhaps issuing orders to his armies, perhaps leading them in some monstrous machine. There are back up copies of his consciousness in case some desperate ‘terrorist’ force should manage to destroy his metallic body. This man can theoretically rule the entire planet with an iron fist for an amount of time not even imaginable to ancient Rome. There is no argument that by transferring human consciousness into a machine, humanity could preserve its best thinkers, its greatest saints, and its most brilliant artists. However, in a real life application, it is more likely politicians would have themselves immortalized, not to mention the social conflicts that could arise between humans and ‘ascended’ humans, or “posthumans” as Hayles more accurately put it(qtd. in Christmas and Mcgee 2003). Not only the best, but the worst of humanity would be preserved. This would eliminate the ability for change, and improvement. Since the very first atomic bomb, the destructive potential of mankind has been blatantly apparent. Humanity has always had a tendency to use its technological discoveries for destructive purposes. Indeed, devices such as RADAR and the internet were first used for military purposes. Technology always increases the most under the threat of war such as the first splitting of the atom. If the human mind were ready to transfer itself into a computer, it would be mature enough and advanced enough not to use its technology towards destructive purposes. It would take centuries for the maturity of humankind to reach the maturity of its technology, and considering the rate at which technology is improving, this is not likely to change. Einstein once said, “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity”(qtd. in Quote Garden 2005). Humanity is not ready to move to another level of existence, when it has not reached the potential of the level it is at. Whatever it is that makes the human experience unique, it is certainly greatly influenced by the human brain. It contains the mind, shelters it, and helps define it through the movements therein. If the mind were transferred into another container, another shelter, or suddenly another set of movements, the mind would not be the same. It would merely become some computer spitting out all the things the mind had once learned, but lacking whatever essence, whatever soul that mind contained. This religious perspective obviously includes assumptions such as the brain not being just a computer that spits out things. In the case that it is not, humans would be throwing away their very souls as they know them in trade for a flavourless existence. When the opportunity arises, humanity should turn its back on forsaking itself. It has plenty of time to grow, improve, and evolve far beyond any imagination. It does not need clumsy technology to lock it in a static, unchanging state. To attempt to answer the question of what life is, the most dominant common characteristic between all living things is that all of them die. There is no worm, rodent, or whale that does meet its death. There is no organism that is not decaying as it grows; entropy affects all things. Human consciousness inside a computer does not need to corrode, it can be transferred to a new disk, or a new hard drive from which to remain static and stale. Since the very basic principles of life such as death are not a part of this ‘conscious’ existence, how can it even be considered alive? It does not fit the most common definitions. Philosophically it may be alive; it may be the guiding force behind the computer it inhabits, but still it will not die. Without this common trait with humans, this new robotic human would be drastically different. Without pain, could a being appreciate pleasure? Without the value of death, could a being appreciate the value of life? From a mind transferred into a computer, there may come a life form that disregards any sense of morality. Indeed, it may have no qualms in killing other beings that get in its way simply because it does not appreciate the value of that life. If humans give up their sense of value towards life, what is the point in wanting to live forever? As far as is currently known, the concepts of beauty and the creation of art are strictly human things. Could conscious machines have a concept of art, or would it simply rate it on written aesthetic principles? The love of mystery and knowledge in mankind is a unique thing. There is no telling how the concept of beauty and art would change with a brain no longer guided by its conscious and unconscious workings or its right and left hemispheres. Art comes from some chaotic mixture of chemicals, or some madly firing synapses that scratch and glide along neurons at an insane speed, with insights that are even more insane. In the confines of a silicon computer, with a silicon brain, would there be the same chaos that pulls humanity towards beauty and art? As Nietzsche, the nihilistic German philosopher once said “One must have chaos in one’s soul to give birth to a dancing star”(Nietzsche ch.5). What dancing stars can humanity create without the chaos of the organic brain? What beauty can humanity see, without a soul to say ‘I have seen it all before, and it touches me like the fire in the cosmos’? Humankind must not give up that chaotic state in which miracles of comprehension are created, for they may never be created once trapped in an eternal state of computation made of cold, hard metal. It is only a matter of time before humans discover a mode in which to transfer their minds across the organic veil of mammalian life into a silicon machine. The brain has already been discovered to closely resemble modern computers. When the option of such a transfer becomes available, humanity must be clear in its wishes to grow and evolve before it immaturely seals its fate in metal. It must be ready for such a transfer. It will not likely be ready until a very long time after the actual discovery of the technology. Given an unlimited amount of time in a mechanized reality, politicians could brutally rule indefinitely. It is hard to imagine how a logical, thinking, fallible organism could dream of a system of mind that is limited by no deadline. Without death, humans are little more than monsters, shadows of beings that once loved and lived and shiver against stone walls. Minds in silicon would be mere ghosts of the organic world in which they once lived. Without the tragedy of transience, beauty and art seems to be something totally incomprehensible, and entirely lost. Considering all of these things, any human that still wants to be immortal under the explored terms has no appreciation of what makes him or her a human being. That is what humanity needs, a little more appreciation, and a few less hasty decisions.
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BODY RITUAL AMONG THE NACIREMA	Oct 10, 4:52pm
by: Ellen
topic: Essays
Horace Miner From Horace Miner, "Body Ritual among the Nacirema." Reproduced by permission of the American Anthropological Association from The American Anthropologist, vol. 58 (1956), pp. 503-507. ________________________________________ Most cultures exhibit a particular configuration or style. A single value or pattern of perceiving the world often leaves its stamp on several institutions in the society. Examples are "machismo" in Spanish-influenced cultures, "face" in Japanese culture, and "pollution by females" in some highland New Guinea cultures. Here Horace Miner demonstrates that "attitudes about the body" have a pervasive influence on many institutions in Nacireman society. The anthropologist has become so familiar with the diversity of ways in which different peoples behave in similar situations that he is not apt to be surprised by even the most exotic customs. In fact, if all of the logically possible combinations of behavior have not been found somewhere in the world, he is apt to suspect that they must be present in some yet undescribed tribe. This point has, in fact, been expressed with respect to clan organization by Murdock. In this light, the magical beliefs and practices of the Nacirema present such unusual aspects that it seems desirable to describe them as an example of the extremes to which human behavior can go. Professor Linton first brought the ritual of the Nacirema to the attention of anthropologists twenty years ago, but the culture of this people is still very poorly understood. They are a North American group living in the territory between the Canadian Creel the Yaqui and Tarahumare of Mexico, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles. Little is known of their origin, although tradition states that they came from the east.... Nacirema culture is characterized by a highly developed market economy which as evolved in a rich natural habitat. While much of the people's time is devoted to economic pursuits, a large part of the fruits of these labors and a considerable portion of the day are spent in ritual activity. The focus of this activity is the human body, the appearance and health of which loom as a dominant concern in the ethos of the people. While such a concern is certainly not unusual, its ceremonial aspects and associated philosophy are unique. The fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease. Incarcerated in such a body, man's only hope is to avert these characteristics through the use of the powerful influences of ritual and ceremony. Every household has one or more shrines devoted to this purpose. The more powerful individuals in the society have several shrines in their houses and, in fact, the opulence of a house is often referred to in terms of the number of such ritual centers it possesses. Most houses are of wattle and daub construction, but the shrine rooms of the more wealthy are walled with stone. Poorer families imitate the rich by applying pottery plaques to their shrine walls. While each family has at least one such shrine, the rituals associated with it are not family ceremonies but are private and secret. The rites are normally only discussed with children, and then only during the period when they are being initiated into these mysteries. I was able, however, to establish sufficient rapport with the natives to examine these shrines and to have the rituals described to me. The focal point of the shrine is a box or chest which is built into the wall. In this chest are kept the many charms and magical potions without which no native believes he could live. These preparations are secured from a variety of specialized practitioners. The most powerful of these are the medicine men, whose assistance must be rewarded with substantial gifts. However, the medicine men do not provide the curative potions for their clients, but decide what the ingredients should be and then write them down in an ancient and secret language. This writing is understood only by the medicine men and by the herbalists who, for another gift, provide the required charm. The charm is not disposed of after it has served its purpose, but is placed in the charmbox of the household shrine. As these magical materials are specific for certain ills, and the real or imagined maladies of the people are many, the charm-box is usually full to overflowing. The magical packets are so numerous that people forget what their purposes were and fear to use them again. While the natives are very vague on this point, we can only assume that the idea in retaining all the old magical materials is that their presence in the charm-box, before which the body rituals are conducted, will in some way protect the worshipper. Beneath the charm-box is a small font. Each day every member of the family, in succession, enters the shrine room, bows his head before the charm-box, mingles different sorts of holy water in the font, and proceeds with a brief rite of ablution. The holy waters are secured from the Water Temple of the community, where the priests conduct elaborate ceremonies to make the liquid ritually pure. In the hierarchy of magical practitioners, and below the medicine men in prestige, are specialists whose designation is best translated "holy-mouth-men." The Nacirema have an almost pathological horror of and fascination with the mouth, the condition of which is believed to have a supernatural influence on all social relationships. Were it not for the rituals of the mouth, they believe that their teeth would fall out, their gums bleed, their jaws shrink, their friends desert them, and their lovers reject them. They also believe that a strong relationship exists between oral and moral characteristics. For example, there is a ritual ablution of the mouth for children which is supposed to improve their moral fiber. The daily body ritual performed by everyone includes a mouth-rite. Despite the fact that these people are so punctilious about care of the mouth, this rite involves a practice which strikes the uninitiated stranger as revolting. It was reported to me that the ritual consists of inserting a small bundle of hog hairs into the mouth, along with certain magical powders, and then moving the bundle in a highly formalized series of gestures. In addition to the private mouth-rite, the people seek out a holy-mouth-man once or twice a year. These practitioners have an impressive set of paraphernalia, consisting of a variety of augers, awls, probes, and prods. The use of these objects in the exorcism of the evils of the mouth involves almost unbelievable ritual torture of the client. The holy-mouth-man open the clients mouth and, using the above mentioned tools, enlarges any holes which decay may have created in the teeth. Magical materials are put into these holes. If there age no naturally occurring holes in the teeth, large sections of one or more teeth are gouged out so that the supernatural substance can be applied. In the client's view, the purpose of these ministrations is to arrest decay and to draw friends. The extremely sacred and traditional character of the rite is evident in the fact that the natives return to the holy--mouth-men year after year, despite the fact that their teeth continue to decay. It is to be hoped that, when a thorough study of the Nacirema is made, there will be careful inquiry into the personality structure of these people. One has but to watch the gleam in the eye of a holy- mouth-man, as he jabs an awl into an exposed nerve, to suspect that a certain amount of sadism is involved. If this can be established, a very interesting pattern emerges, for most of the population shows definite masochistic tendencies. It was to these that Professor Linton referred in discussing a distinctive part of the daily body ritual which is performed only by men. This part of the rite involves scraping and lacerating the surface of the face with a sharp instrument. Special women's rites are performed only four times during each lunar month, but what they lack in frequency is made up in barbarity. As part of this ceremony, women bake their heads in small ovens for about an hour. The theoretically interesting point is that what seems to be a preponderantly masochistic people have developed sadistic specialists. The medicine men have an imposing temple, or latipso, in every community of any size. The more elaborate ceremonies required to treat very sick patients can only be performed at this temple. These ceremonies involve not only the thaumaturge but a permanent group of vestal maidens who move sedately about the temple chambers in distinctive costume and head- dress. The latipso ceremonies are so harsh that it is phenomenal that a fair proportion of the really sick natives who enter the temple The concept of culture ever recover. Small children whose indoctrination is still incomplete have been known to resist attempts to take them to the temple because "that is where you go to die." Despite this fact, sick adults are not only willing but eager to undergo the protracted ritual purification, if they can afford to do so. No matter how ill the supplicant or how grave the emergency, the guardians of many temples will not admit a client if he cannot give a rich gift to the custodian. Even after one has gained admission and survived the ceremonies, the guardians will not permit the neophyte to leave until he makes still another gift. The supplicant entering the temple is first stripped of all his or her clothes. In everyday life the Nacirema avoids exposure of his body and its natural functions. Bathing and excretory acts are performed only in the secrecy of the household shrine, where they are ritualized as part of the body-rites. Psychological shock results from the fact that body secrecy is suddenly lost upon entry into the latipso. A man, whose own wife has never seen him in an excretory act, suddenly finds himself naked and assisted by a vestal maiden while he performs his natural functions into a sacred vessel. This sort of ceremonial treatment is necessitated by the fact that the excreta are used by a diviner to ascertain the course and nature of the client's sickness. Female clients, on the other hand, find their naked bodies are subjected to the scrutiny, manipulation and prodding of the medicine men. Few supplicants in the temple are well enough to do anything but lie on their hard beds. The daily ceremonies, like the rites of the holy-mouth-men, involve discomfort and torture. With ritual precision, the vestals awaken their miserable charges each dawn and roll them about on their beds of pain while performing ablutions, in the formal movements of which the maidens are highly trained. At other times they insert magic wands in the supplicant's mouth or force him to eat substances which are supposed to be healing. From time to time the medicine men come to their clients and jab magically treated needles into their flesh. The fact that these temple ceremonies may not cure, and may even kill the neophyte, in no way decreases the people's faith in the medicine men. There remains one other kind of practitioner, known as a "listener." This witchdoctor has the power to exorcise the devils that lodge in the heads of people who have been bewitched. The Nacirema believe that parents bewitch their own children. Mothers are particularly suspected of putting a curse on children while teaching them the secret body rituals. The counter-magic of the witchdoctor is unusual in its lack of ritual. The patient simply tells the "listener" all his troubles and fears, beginning with the earliest difficulties he can remember. The memory displayed by the Nacirerna in these exorcism sessions is truly remarkable. It is not uncommon for the patient to bemoan the rejection he felt upon being weaned as a babe, and a few individuals even see their troubles going back to the traumatic effects of their own birth. In conclusion, mention must be made of certain practices which have their base in native esthetics but which depend upon the pervasive aversion to the natural body and its functions. There are ritual fasts to make fat people thin and ceremonial feasts to make thin people fat. Still other rites are used to make women's breasts larger if they are small, and smaller if they are large. General dissatisfaction with breast shape is symbolized in the fact that the ideal form is virtually outside the range of human variation. A few women afflicted with almost inhuman hyper-mamrnary development are so idolized that they make a handsome living by simply going from village to village and permitting the natives to stare at them for a fee. Reference has already been made to the fact that excretory functions are ritualized, routinized, and relegated to secrecy. Natural reproductive functions are similarly distorted. Intercourse is taboo as a topic and scheduled as an act. Efforts are made to avoid pregnancy by the use of magical materials or by limiting intercourse to certain phases of the moon. Conception is actually very infrequent. When pregnant, women dress so as to hide their condition. Parturition takes place in secret, without friends or relatives to assist, and the majority of women do not nurse their infants. Our review of the ritual life of the Nacirema has certainly shown them to be a magic-ridden people. It is hard to understand how they have managed to exist so long under the burdens which they have imposed upon themselves. But even such exotic customs as these take on real meaning when they are viewed with the insight provided by Malinowski when he wrote: "Looking from far and above, from our high places of safety in the developed civilization, it is easy to see all the crudity and irrelevance of magic. But without its power and guidance early man could not have mastered his practical difficulties as he has done, nor could man have advanced to the higher stages of civilization." References Linton, Ralph. 1936. The Study of Man. New York: D. Appleton-Century. Malinowski, Bronislaw. 1948. Magic, Science, and Religion. Glencoe, Ill.: The Free Press. Murdock, George P. 1949. Social Structure. New York: Macmillan.
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Love?	Sep 14, 4:13pm
by: baroque
topic: Various
Love has often been universally misunderstood. A pivotal reason for this is the vague definition that most people attach to the word. Many people even create their own definition in order to suit a specific situation as well as a specific emotion that's felt. In fact, hasty generalizations don't even apply to how people view love. Philosophers and psychologists alike have been attempting to understand and portray love to its barest foundations, as well as artists, musicians, poets, and even authors. As a result, many theories, pictures, songs, poems, and stories have emerged from the chaos that is love. Many of these avenues of expression depict viewpoints that many people agree with. Adversely, many perverse love expressions are ridiculed. With a broad spectrum of personal views, love is potentially the most confused concept in the English language. There is a vast plethora of theories involving love. According to psychologist Zick Rubin, love is made of three elements: attachment, caring, and intimacy. Rubin defines attachment as the need to be cared for and to be with the other person, caring is valuing the other person's happiness and needs as much as your own, and intimacy is sharing private thoughts, feelings, and desires with the other person. Using this basis of thought, Rubin developed a question set for “liking” and “loving” that was administered to 198 undergraduate students in order to single out 13 specific questions in each category for a test. These questions were used to define the complexity of love in people who take the test. Psychologist Elaine Hatfield's theory, love is made of two types: compassionate love and passionate love. Compassionate love is comprised of mutual respect, trust, and affection. Passionate love deals with the physical aspect involving intense feelings and sexual attraction. Building off the compassionate/passionate love idea is the Triangular Theory of Love. Psychologist Robert Sternberg suggested that there are three components to love: intimacy, passion, and commitment. However, unlike Rubin and Hatfield, Sternberg twisted his theory up by stating that each of his components could be mixed together. To illustrate, intimacy and commitment formed a compassionate love, while passion and intimacy formed passionate love. Sternberg also believed that all three components could be combined at once to form consummate love. This final form of love is not only the strongest, but also the rarest. To conclude, the final type of a love descriptor is from a book titled “The Colors of Love” by John Lee. In the book, Lee hypothesized that love is akin to the primary and secondary colors. Instead of colors though, there are styles of love: Eros, Ludos, and Storge. Eros is loving an ideal person, Ludos is love as a game, and Storge is love is a friendship. Of course, each of those, when combined with another, forms a secondary style of love. Mania (Eros + Ludos) is an obsessive love, Pragma (Ludos + Storge) is a realistic and practical love, while Agape (Eros + Storge) is a selfless love. Many other prevalent theories describe love; some theories are practical while others aren't. Despite the psychological viewpoint on love, is it possible that every moment of love you've ever experienced is based on a combination of two chemicals in your brain? Scientists have been studying prairie voles, one of only 3% of species that appear to be monogamous. The uniqueness of the prairie vole, apart from their monogamy, is that they have a very closely related genetic make up as the montane vole, over 99%. The montane vole, however, is not monogamous. During sex, the prairie vole releases two chemicals called vasopressin and oxytocin. The montane vole doesn't release these two chemicals. In fact, the montane vole, even when injected with vasopressin and oxytocin, still show signs of one-night-stand sex proving that there are no receptors in a montane vole's brain. The question still remains whether or not a human brain works the same as a vole's brain. The interaction between vasopressin and oxytocin in a human's brain is still not fully understood. Dopamine is excreted to excite a person when they think about someone they love followed by serotonin to calm people down in order to trust. Once trust has begun, the oxytocin kicks in and takes effect. The oxytocin creates a feeling of connection to the person you're with. Finally, vasopressin is released. Vasopressin has the effect of tying the emotions you have to memories. By combining these chemicals in different quantities, among other chemicals in the body such as, but not limited to, phenyl ethylamine, and norepinephrine, different behavioral patterns come into focus. Although there are apparent fall outs and anomalies to each of these descriptions, the true basis for love has not yet been fully understood. Regardless of the facts, there will always be romantics out there who will be steadfast in their beliefs about love, even if scientists pin it down to a particular chemical reaction. People will still marvel at the portrayals of love displayed by artists, musicians, poets, and even authors. Expressions of love will forever hold a place in the hearts of many individuals.
[reply] [134 comments]

Charlie Sheen's 20 Minutes With President Barack Obama	Sep 14, 4:13pm
by: summon_of_water_and_of_ice_terrinja
topic: Current Events
Hey Guys. I was just browsing around the internet and Youtube and I came across something that caught my eye. Mr. Charlie Sheen made a video about 9/11 that raised alot of questions with the United States population. I wont go in to the details but you can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyKR2-A0KPU I thought it was really interesting. He made some valid and interesting points about 9/11/2001. He wants to have a sit down chat with President Barack Obama. They finally said yes and gave him 20 minutes. This is the conversation between Mr. Sheen and President Barack Obama. Charlie Sheen – Good afternoon Mr. President, thank you so much for taking time out of your demanding schedule. President Barack Obama – My pleasure, the content of your request seemed like something I should carve out a few minutes for. CS – I should point out that I voted for you, as your promises of hope and change, transparency and accountability, as well as putting government back into the hands of the American people, struck an emotional chord in me that I hadn’t felt in quite some time, perhaps ever. PBO – And I appreciate that Charlie. Big fan of the show, by the way. CS – Sir, I can’t imagine when you might find the time to actually watch my show given the measure of what you inherited. PBO – I have it Tivo’d on Air Force One. Nice break from the traveling press corps. (He glances at his watch) not to be abrupt or to rush you, but you have 19 minutes left. CS – I’ll take that as an invitation to cut to the chase. PBO – I’m all ears. Or so I’ve been told. CS – Sir, in the very near future we will be experiencing our first 9/11 anniversary with you as Commander in Chief. PBO – Yes. A very solemn day for our Nation. A day of reflection and yet a day of historical consciousness as well. CS – Very much so sir, very much so indeed…. Now; In researching your position regarding the events of 9/11 and the subsequent investigation that followed, am I correct to understand that you fully support and endorse the findings of the commission report otherwise known as the ‘official story’? PBO – Do I have any reason not to? Given that most of us are presumably in touch with similar evidence. CS – I really wish that were the case, sir. Are you aware, Mr. President, of the recent stunning revelations that sixty percent of the 9/11 commissioners have publicly stated that the government agreed not to tell the truth about 9/11 and that the Pentagon was engaged in deliberate deception about their response to the attack? PBO – I am aware of certain “in fighting” during the course of their very thorough and tireless investigative process. CS – Mr. President, it’s hard to label this type of friction as “in fighting” or make the irresponsible leap to “thorough,” when the evidence I insist you examine regarding 6 of the 10 members are statements of fact. (At this point one of Obama’s senior aides approaches the President and whispers into his ear. Obama glances quickly at his watch and nods as the aide resumes his post at the doorway, directly behind me.) PBO – No disrespect Mr. Sheen, but I have to ask; what is it that you seem to be implying with the initial direction of this discussion? CS – I am not implying anything Mr. President. I am here to present the facts and see what you plan to do with them. PBO – Let me guess; your ‘facts,’ allegedly supporting these claims are in the folders you brought with you? CS – Good guess Mr. President. (I hand the first folder of documents to the President) CS – Again sir, these are not my opinions or assumptions, this is all a matter of public record, reported through mainstream media, painstakingly fact checked and verified. (the President glances into the folder I handed him) CS – You’ll notice sir on page one of the dossier dated August of ‘06 from the Washington Post, the statements of John Farmer, senior council to the 9/11 commission, his quote stating, “I was shocked how different the truth was from the way it was described.” PBO – (as he glances down at the report, almost inaudible) …. um hmm…. CS – He goes on to further state “The [NORAD Air Defense] tapes told a radically different story from what had been told to us and the public for two years….” (the President continues to view the documents) CS – On pages two and three, sir, are the statements, as well, from commission co-chairmen Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, commissioners Bob Kerrey, Timothy Roemer and John Lehman, as well as the statements of commissioner Max Cleland, an ex-Senator from Georgia , who resigned, stating: “It is a national scandal. This investigation is now compromised. One of these days we will have to get the full story because the 9/11 issue is so important to America. But this White House wants to cover it up.” He also described President Bush’s desire to delay the process as not to damage the ‘04 re-election bid. They suspected deception to the point where they considered referring the matter to the Justice Department for criminal investigation. Mr. President, this information alone is unequivocally grounds for a new investigation! PBO – Mistakes were clearly made but we as a people and as a country need to move forward. It is obviously in our best interest as a democratic society to focus our efforts and our resources on the future of this great nation and our ability to protect the American people and our allies from this type of terrorism in the coming years. CS – Sir, how can we focus on the future when THE COMMISSION ITSELF is on record stating that they still do not know the truth?? PBO – Even if what you state, might in some capacity, begin to approach an open discussion or balanced debate, I can’t speak for, or about the decisions certain commission members made during an extremely difficult period. Perhaps you should be interviewing them instead of me. Wait, don’t tell me; I was easier to track down than they were? CS – Not exactly sir, but let’s be honest. You’re the President of the United States, the leader of the free world, the buck stops with you. 9/11 has been the pretext for the systematic dismantling of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Your administration is reading from the same playbook that the Bush administration foisted on America through documented secrecy and deception. PBO – Mr. Sheen, I’m having a difficult time sitting here and listening to you draw distorted parallels between the Bush/Cheney regime and mine. CS – Mr. President the parallels are not distorted just because you say they are. Let’s stick to the facts. You promised to abolish the Patriot Act and then voted to re-authorize it. You pledged to end warrantless wire tapping against the American people and now energetically defend it. You decried the practice of rendition and now continue it. You promised over and over again on the campaign trail, that you would end the practice of indefinite detention and instead, you have expanded it to permanent detention of “detainees” without trial. This far exceeds the outrages of the former administration. Call me crazy Mr. President, but is this not your record? PBO – Mr. Sheen, my staff and I authorized this interview based on your request to discuss 9/11 and deliver some additional information you’re convinced I’d not previously reviewed. Call me crazy, But it appears as though you’ve blindly wandered off topic. CS – Sir, the examples I just illustrated are a direct result of 9/11. PBO – And I’m telling you that we must move forward, we must endure through these dangerous and politically challenging years ahead. CS – Mr. President, we cannot move forward with a bottomless warren of unanswered questions surrounding that day and its aftermath. PBO – I read the official report. Every word every page. Perhaps you should do the same. CS – I have sir, and so have thousands of family members of the victims, and guess what; they have the same questions I do and probably a lot more. I didn’t lose a loved one on that horrific day Mr. President and neither did you. But since then I, along with millions of other Americans lost something we held true and dear for most of our lives in this great country of ours; we lost our hope. PBO – And I’d like to believe that I am here to restore that hope. To restore confidence in your leaders, in the system that the voting public chose through a peaceful transfer of power. (An odd moment of silence between us. Precious time ticking away). CS – Mr. President, are you aware of the number of days it took to begin the investigation into JFK’s assassination? PBO – If memory serves I believe it was two weeks. CS – Close. Seventeen days to be exact. Are you aware sir, how long it took to begin the investigation into Pearl Harbor? PBO – I would say again about….two weeks. CS – Close again sir, eleven days to be exact. Are you aware Mr. President how long it took to begin the investigation into 9/11? PBO – I know it must have seemed like a very long time for all the grieving families. CS – It was a very long time Mr. President – four hundred and forty days. Roughly 14 months. Does it bother you Mr. President that it only took FIVE HOURS for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld after the initial attack to recommend and endorse a full scale offensive against Iraq? PBO – I am not aware of any such purported claim. CS – I have the proof Mr. President, along with scores of documents and facts I’d like you to take a look at. Here. (I hand him another file – much thicker than the first) PBO – I see you came prepared Charlie. CS – No other way to show up Mr. President. When in doubt over prepare I always say. PBO – Now you sound like the First Lady. CS – That’s quite a compliment sir. PBO – As you wish. Please continue. CS – Sir, I’d like to direct your attention to the stack of documents in the folder I just handed you. The first in from the top is entitled “ Operation Northwoods“, a declassified Pentagon plan to stage terror attacks on US soil, to be blamed on Cuba as a pretext for war. PBO – And I’d like to direct your attention to the fact that the principle draftsman of this improbable blueprint was quickly denied a second term as Joint Chiefs chairman and sent packing to a European NATO garrison. Thank God his otherworldly ambitions never saw the light of day. CS – I wouldn’t be so certain about that Mr. President. PBO – I could easily say the same to you Charlie. (the President checks his watch) featured stories Twenty Minutes with the President soylent green featured stories Twenty Minutes with the President Charlie Sheen writing 20 Minutes with the President. Photo by Alex Jones. CS – The next document reads “Declassified staged provocations.” Now, Honestly Mr. President I wish I was making this stuff up. I’m certain you are familiar with the USS Maine Incident, the sinking of the Lusitania, which we all now know brought us into WW1, and of course the most famous, the Gulf of Tonkin incident. PBO – Of course I am familiar with these historical events and I’m aware that there’s a measure of controversy surrounding them. But to be quite frank with you, this is all ancient history. CS – Mr. President, it has been often said; “Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.” And I concede to you sir, these events are the past. PBO – A vastly different world young man, shouldering a radically disparate state of universal affairs. CS – No argument sir, I’m merely inviting you to acknowledge some credibility to the pattern or the theme. Case in point; the next document in your folder. It was published by the think-tank, Project For a New American Century and it’s entitled “ Rebuilding Americas Defenses“, and was written by Dick Cheney and Jeb Bush. To quote from the document sir – (the President interrupts) PBO – “Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event – like a new Pearl Harbor.” CS – Touche, sir. Your thoughts on this statement Mr. President? PBO – I would call this a blatant case of misjudgment fueled by an unfortunate milieu of assumption. For some, the uninformed denial of coincidence. CS – Interesting angle sir. Nevertheless, Vice President Cheney didn’t stop there. In early 2008, Pulitzer prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh and MSNBC, both reported that Cheney had proposed to the Pentagon an outrageous plan to have the U.S. Navy create fake Iranian patrol boats, to be manned by Navy Seals, who would then stage an attack on US destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz. This event was to be blamed on Iran and used as a pretext for war. Does any of this information worry you Mr. President? Should we just ignore it, until these realities can be dismissed years from now by our children, as ancient history as well? PBO – Of course this information worries me, yet it’s not nearly as worrisome as you sitting here today suspiciously implying that 9/11 was somehow allowed to happen or even orchestrated from the inside. CS – Mr. President I am not suspiciously implying anything. I am merely exposing the documents and asking the questions that nobody in power will even look at or acknowledge. And as I stated earlier, I voted for you, I believed in your message of hope and change. Mr. President I have come to you specifically hoping for a change. A change in the perception that our government has not yet made itself open and accountable to the people. These are your words Mr. President not mine. The lives of thousands were brutally cut short and those left behind to suffer their infinite pain are with me today Mr. President. They are with me in spirit and flesh, and the message we carry will not be silenced anymore by media fueled mantras insisting how they are supposed to feel. Deciding for them, for 8 long years, what can be thought, what can be said, what can be asked. PBO – And I appreciate your passion, I appreciate your conviction. In spite of your concerns, in spite of what your data might or might not reveal, what you and the families must understand and accept is that we are doing everything we can to protect you. CS – Mr. President , I realize were very short on time, so please allow me to run down a list of bullet points that might illuminate some reasons why we don’t embrace the warm hug of Federal protection. PBO – We’ve come this far. Fire away. CS – Please keep in mind Mr. President everything I’m about to say is documented as fact and part of the public record. The information you are holding in your hands chronicles and verifies each and every point. PBO – You have five minutes left. The floor is yours. Brief me. CS – Thank you Mr. President. Okay, first; On the FBI’s most wanted list Osama Bin Laden is not charged with the crimes of 911. When I called the FBI to ask them why this was the case, they replied: “There’s not enough evidence to link Bin Laden to the crime scene,” I later discovered he had never even been indicted by the D.O.J. CS – Number 2; FBI translator Sibel Edmonds, was dismissed and gagged by the D.O.J. after she revealed that the government had foreknowledge of plans to attack American cities using planes as bombs as early as April 2001. In July of ‘09, Mrs. Edmonds broke the Federal gag order and went public to reveal that Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda and the Taliban were all working for and with the C.I.A. up until the day of 9/11. CS – Number 3; The following is a quote from Mayor Giuliani during an interview on 9/11 with Peter Jennings for ABC News. “I went down to the scene and we set up headquarters at 75 Barkley Street, which was right there with the Police Commissioner, the Fire Commissioner, the Head of Emergency Management, and we were operating out of there when we were told that the World Trade Center was going to collapse. And it did collapse before we could actually get out of the building, so we were trapped in the building for 10, 15 minutes, and finally found an exit and got out, walked north, and took a lot of people with us.” WHO TOLD HIM THIS??? To this day, the answer to this question remains unanswered, completely ignored and emphatically DENIED by Mayor Giuliani on several public occasions. CS – Number 4; In April 2004, USA Today reported, “In the two years before the Sept. 11 attacks, the North American Aerospace Defense Command conducted exercises simulating what the White House says was unimaginable at the time: hijacked airliners used as weapons to crash into targets and cause mass casualties.” One of the targets was the World Trade Center. CS – Number 5; On September 12th 2007, CNN’s ‘Anderson Cooper 360′, reported that the mysterious “white plane” spotted and videotaped by multiple media outlets, flying in restricted airspace over the White House shortly before 10am on the morning of 9/11, was in fact the Air Force’s E-4B, a specially modified Boeing 747 with a communications pod behind the cockpit; otherwise known as “The Doomsday Plane”. Though fully aware of the event, the 9/11 Commission did not deem the appearance of the military plane to be of any interest and did not include it in the final 9/11 Commission report. CS – Number 6; Three F-16s assigned to Andrews Air Force Base, ten miles from Washington, DC, are conducting training exercises in North Carolina 207 miles away as the first plane crashes into the WTC. Even at significantly less than their top speed of 1500 mph, they could still have defended the skies over Washington well before 9am, more than 37 minutes before Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon, however, they did not return until after 9:55am. Andrews AFB had no armed fighters on alert and ready to take off on the morning of 9/11. CS – Number 7; WTC Building 7. Watch the video of its collapse. CS – Number 8; Flight 93 is fourth plane to crash on 9/11 at 10:03am. V.P. Cheney only gives shoot down order at 10:10-10:20am and this is not communicated to NORAD until 28 minutes after Flight 93 has crashed. Fueling further suspicion on this front is the fact that three months before the attacks of 9/11, Dick Cheney usurped control of NORAD, and therefore he, and no one else on planet Earth, had the power to call for military sorties on the hijacked airliners on 9/11. He did not exercise that power. Three months after 9/11, he relinquished command of NORAD and returned it to military operation. * A d v e r t i s e m e n t * efoods CS – Number 9; Scores of main stream news outlets reported that the F.B.I. conducted an investigation of at least FIVE of the 9/11 hijackers being trained at U.S. military flight schools. Those investigations are now sealed and need to be declassified. CS – Number 10; In 2004, New York firefighters Mike Bellone and Nicholas DeMasi went public to say they had found the black boxes at the World Trade Center, but were told to keep their mouths shut by FBI agents. Nicholas DeMasi said that he escorted federal agents on an all-terrain vehicle in October 2001 and helped them locate the devices, a story backed up by rescue volunteer Mike Bellone. As the Philadelphia Daily News reported at the time, “Their story raises the question of whether there was a some type of cover-up at Ground Zero.” CS – Number 11 – Hundreds of eye witnesses including first responders, fire captains, news reporters, and police, all described multiple explosions in both towers before and during the collapse. CS – Number 12; An astounding video uncovered from the archives shows BBC News correspondent Jane Standley reporting on the collapse of WTC Building 7 over twenty minutes before it fell at 5:20pm on the afternoon of 9/11. Tapes from earlier BBC broadcasts show news anchors discussing the collapse of WTC 7 a full 26 minutes in advance. The BBC at first claimed that their tapes from 9/11 had been “lost” before admitting that they made the “error” of reporting the collapse of WTC 7 before it happened without adequately explaining how they could have obtained advance knowledge of the event. In addition, over an hour before the collapse of WTC 7, at 4:10pm, CNN’s Aaron Brown reported that the building “has either collapsed, or is collapsing.” CS – Number 13; Solicitor General Ted Olson’s claim that his wife Barbara Olsen called him twice from Flight 77, describing hijackers with box cutters, was a central plank of the official 9/11 story. However, the credibility of the story was completely undermined after Olsen kept changing his story about whether his wife used her cell phone or the airplane phone. The technology to enable cell phone calls from high-altitude airline flights was not created until 2004. American Airlines confirmed that Flight 77 was a Boeing 757 and that this plane did not have airplane phones on board. According to the FBI, Barbara Olsen attempted to call her husband only once and the call failed to connect, therefore Olsen must have been lying when he claimed he had spoken to his wife from Flight 77. CS – Number 14; The size of a Boeing 757 is approximately 125ft in width and yet images of the impact zone at the Pentagon supposedly caused by the crash merely show a hole no more than 16ft in diameter. The engines of the 757 would have punctured a hole bigger than this, never mind the whole plane. Images before the partial collapse of the impact zone show little real impact damage and a sparse debris field completely inconsistent with the crash of a large jetliner, especially when contrasted with other images showing airplane crashes into buildings. CS – Number 15; What is the meaning behind the following quote attributed to Dick Cheney which came to light during the 9/11 Commission hearings? The passage is taken from testimony given by then Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta. During the time that the airplane was coming in to the Pentagon, there was a young man who would come in and say to the Vice President, “The plane is 50 miles out.” “The plane is 30 miles out.” And when it got down to “the plane is 10 miles out,” the young man also said to the Vice President, “Do the orders still stand?” And the Vice President turned and whipped his neck around and said, “Of course the orders still stand. Have you heard anything to the contrary?” As the plane was not shot down, in addition to the fact that armed fighter jets were nowhere near the plane and the Pentagon defensive system was not activated, are we to take it that the orders were to let the plane find its target? CS – Number 16; In May 2003, the Miami Herald reported how the Bush administration was refusing to release a 900-page congressional report on 9/11 because it wanted to “avoid enshrining embarrassing details in the report,” particularly regarding pre-9/11 warnings as well as the fact that the hijackers were trained at U.S. flight schools. CS – Number 17; Top Pentagon officials cancelled their scheduled flights for September 11th on September 10th. San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, following a security warning, cancelled a flight into New York that was scheduled for the morning of 9/11. CS – Number 18; The technology to enable cell phone calls from high-altitude airline flights was not created until 2004, and even by that point it was only in the trial phase. Calls from cell phones which formed an integral part of the official government version of events were technologically impossible at the time. CS – Number 19: On April 29, 2004, President Bush and V.P. Cheney would only meet with the commission under specific clandestine conditions. They insisted on testifying together and not under oath. They also demanded that their testimony be treated as a matter of “state secret.” To date, nothing they spoke of that day exists in the public domain. CS – And finally Mr. President – Number 20; A few days after the attack, several newspapers as well as the FBI reported that a paper passport had been found in the ruins of the WTC. In August 2004, CNN reported that 9/11 hijacker Ziad Jarrah’s visa was found in the remains of Flight 93 which went down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. At least a third of the WTC victim’s bodies were vaporized and many of the victims of the Pentagon incident were burned beyond recognition. And yet visas and paper passports which identify the perpetrators and back up the official version of events miraculously survive explosions and fires that we are told melted steel buildings. (The Senior aide appears again beside the President whispering in his ear. He then quickly moves off). PBO – Well Charlie I can’t say this hasn’t been interesting. As I said earlier you’ve showed up today focused and organized. Regardless how I feel about the material you’ve presented, I must commend your dedication and zeal. However, our time here is up. (the President rises from his chair , I do the same). CS – Mr. President! One more second! (The President starts towards the door – I follow him quickly step for step). CS – Mr. President, I implore you based on the evidence you now possess, to use your Executive Power. Prove to us all Sir, that you do, in fact, care. Create a truly comprehensive and open Congressional investigation of 9/11 and its aftermath. The families deserve the truth, the American people and the rest of the free world deserve the truth. Mr. President - (He pauses. We shake hands). CS – Make sure you’re on the right side of history. (The President breaks the handshake). PBO – I am on the right side of history. Thank you Charlie, my staff and I will be in touch. (I watch as he strides gracefully out of the room, the truth I provided him held firmly by his side; in the hand of providence.) the information I have provided can also be viewed here: http://www.infowars.com/twenty-minutes-with-the-president/ Thank you for your time everyone and have a nice night
[reply] [18 comments]

Poetry and Short Story Contests	Sep 12, 2:09am
by: Sgath
topic: Current Events
Short Story Contest by Klarth Calling all writers! Do you toil endless hours crafting works of prose? Do you want to share your work with others in a constructive environment that fosters healthy discussion? Well, look no further, the Literature Forum is proud to welcome you into its ranks! And what's more, you have a chance to win a full year's supply of Andromeda premium Membership. Andromeda, you say? What's that? If you don't know, then I'd bet you'd like to, and if you do, I'd bet you want more. So check out our Short Story Contest, which is accepting entries until September 30th. As usual, all the relevant information can be found here. Good luck, and good reading! New Poetry Contest! After the success of the first contest and the amount of contestants that took part, I've decided to start another! Prizes include 30 days andromeda time for the winner and 10 days for the runner up. If you didn't get a chance to take part last time, or you didn't win, well now is your chance! Drop by the Poetry Forum and check it out. Recent Poetry Contest Winners 1st Place - Ozymandias We burn like paper cranes in the stale furnace of ennui head on fire with the kudzu cancer blues we enter in droves into the belly of the sea for lack of a better death to pursue call me sick call me unprepared call me a prophet in need of repair call me the architect lost in his plans call me a fool honey, call me the lamb just call me what I am we lock ourselves away in space-age melanoma boxes in mute scorn of the star that gifted us with vision and wealth we cry for release just like a monsoon in a matchbox then stagger to the grave for a handshake and a toast to our health take me to heaven man, take me to hell take me to the mountain where the angels fell take me to tomorrow so I won't be so blue take me away honey, take me in you we grovel before wise men and we grow drunk on their words though they ain't said nothing that the coyote ain't done we're marked for death before we've even begun smote by the moon and burning in the heat of the sun 2nd Place - Illmortal's "If I were you" If I were you Then I would gladly loan to me a dollar or two So I could eat And maybe get just one good night of sleep But I'm not And I'm stranded like a castaway in this town And you seem so unwilling to help a fellow when he's down If I were you That's what I'd do If I were you I wouldn't be out on these streets the whole night through Yeah I'd have a job And a pretty wife that I could come home to But I don't And I have twenty cents left to my name And you're the only one left here that I have to blame If I were you That's what I'd do Sir it's not my way to take from you the things I haven't earned I wish I could go back and heed the lessons I have learned But I can't So you'll gladly put your money in this sack Yes sir this thing is loaded And I have the hammer back If I were you That's what I'd do 3rd Place - Satchell's "Exercise in Beauty" There exists in this world a serene beauty that arrives without leaving. Awoken just as you are, spread as far as your eye lashes may reach. A singing in the woodwork- A chime in the wind- A flicker in the tongue- The magic of this world, twisted and fractured, curled and laced between the seams of life. Steam filtered between the gaps, between truth and fable. Back-light and full of luster, the clouds whispered, "Gunpowder muskrat." "Excuse me?" He said.
[reply] [5 comments]

The man that is LaVeyan Satanists	Sep 3, 1:56pm
by: Syn
topic: Essays
On Walpurgisnacht of 1966, Anton Szandor LaVey began the Church of Satan. Beforehand, he had given lectures from his home, the infamous Black House, charging two dollars for admittance. He formed a "Magic Circle" with his closest associates, with ceremonial magic. It was suggested to LaVey that he had enough material to start an organized religion. The Church of Satan attracted a great deal of publicity. Its use of nude women as altars, and performances of a Satanic wedding and funeral service, brought it much attention. Anton LaVey shaved his head and wore a white clerical collar, sometimes even wearing horns to complete the image of the Devil incarnate. His flamboyant personality attracted many followers and admirers. In 1969, LaVey published The Satanic Bible, which, even to this day, remains the most authoritative literature on the subject of LaVeyan Satanism, outlining the basic concepts, philosophy and rituals of the religion. A companion book, The Satanic Rituals, published in 1972, presents an array of rituals associated with Satanism throughout the ages, but not necessarily central to the Church's belief system. LaVey also released other literature to further expand on the ideology, namely The Satanic Witch (previously published as The Compleat Witch), and 2 essay anthologies: The Devil's Notebook and Satan Speaks! Since its inception, many individuals sought to recreate LaVey's success by founding new organizations claiming the throne of "true" Satanism, but most were short-lived and ceased to exist altogether. Some, however, have gained remarkable success, allegedly due to the founders' previously strong relations with the Church of Satan. The reasons for the breakaway from LaVey's church were cited as being a difference in ideology, or commercialization of the institution, thus seeking to recreate its previous underground and elitist status. One notable example is the formation of the Temple of Set in 1975 by former Church of Satan member Michael Aquino, who cites disagreement over LaVey's atheism. Aquino believed in a living deity, whom he called Set. The other major organization affiliated with LaVeyan ideology is the First Satanic Church, founded in 1999 by Anton LaVey's daughter, Karla LaVey. She argues that, after her father's death, the church moved away from his original modus operandi, and shifted towards a commercial money making machine. Thus, the First Satanic Church is considered a re-founding of the original one. Today, the Church of Satan is still viewed as the de facto representation of LaVeyan Satanism in the public eye, and fresh publications are released, applying Satanic philosophies to topics of contemporary interest.
[reply] [110 comments]

Free Prizes! A Cooking Contest and a Poetry Contest	Aug 31, 12:49am
by: Sgath
topic: Current Events
Cooking Contest: As connected as we are, most people don't really get to experience foods outside of our own region. Sure, everyone has food network, but that's only one vision of what food is. I propose a contest. Show us a food near and dear to you. Redefine our idea of food. Challenge our preconceptions of what constitutes a sandwich. Now is your chance to rock someone's world. The winner will be chosen by popular vote, and will recieve 30 days of Andromeda time for their account, and their entry will be posted in the DS Cooking Show. The food section is running a contest ending Sunday, September 6th. Post a recipe and the method for making it Here. It can have pictures, or videos, or anything inbetween. All that i ask is that you take the opportunity to show me what you like, and how to make it. How you do that is up to you. Full rules and more can be found at the link above. Poetry Contest Do you dream of being a famous poet someday? Do you write tirelessly through the night attempting the convey a fleeting image of the beauty and ceaseless drama of life and our surroundings? The Dead Poets Society forum is having a poetry contest, so come and show off your skills as a poet! Prizes include 30 days of Andromeda time for your Darkstarlings account, and the runner up receives 10 days. Winners will have their poems featured on the forum as contest winners. To check out the details and to submit your poem, click here.
[reply] [7 comments]

Happy Holidays...	Dec 25, 11:12am
by: eon
Happy Holidays to all! Have fun, be safe and all of that good stuff.
[reply] [22 comments]

New Comment Notifications by Email	Oct 2, 10:10pm
by: eon
A new feature has been added which will make it a little easier to keep track of your DS account without having to log in: Comment notifications by email. Here's the skinny on how it works: If you have logged out or have been idle for more than 15 minutes and receive a new comment on DS, an email will be sent to your registered email address letting you know about it. You will only receive emails about individual comments sent directly to you. This means you won't be pestered about things like broadcast messages, group invites, etc.. As a measure against potential abuse (or just too much email), no more than one email will be sent to you per 30 minute period. Extra emails will just be dropped (they won't queue up or anything like that). Each email you receive will give you an updated list of all members who have sent you unread comments. This behavior is enabled by default. However, if you do not wish to receive email notices, it is easy to disable. Just go to your Control Panel and then scroll down the page to the 'Email Notices' section. Change the setting to 'Off' and you won't be sent any more notices. I hope you find this useful and . . . Enjoy.
[reply] [23 comments]

New Site Theme	Aug 18, 1:38pm
by: eon
Thanks to a.better.kiss for our first original site theme, "Grey Deco". To try it out, go to 'Control Panel' and on the 'Edit Profile' page look under the 'Site Theme' selections for 'Grey Deco'. If you decide to use it, be sure and drop by a.better.kiss's profile and say thanks. If you'd like to design your own site theme, see the previous news post!
[reply] [29 comments]

Remodel DS to Your Own Liking	Jul 16, 5:05pm
by: eon
I have added a utility which will allow you to completely re-write the site theme to your liking. This means that in addition to the default site themes located under Control Panel -> Edit Profile, it is now possible for you to code your very own site theme to give the entire site any look that you would like. To access the utility, go to Control Panel -> Look and Feel. If you scroll down to the bottom of this page, you will find a new section titled, Site Theme. Please read the short instructions which appear there, they will help you in getting started. Everything should be pretty much self explanatory beyond that. If anyone comes up with site themes they're proud of, I'd like to hear about it. I'll be looking at the custom site themes submitted by our members in search of the best ones so that they can be added to the default theme choices for everyone to use. This way, maybe we'll all have some more interesting themes to choose from in the near future! Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions, and be sure to point any of your friends who are good at layout work in the direction of this article. Enjoy...
[reply] [19 comments]

More Better Email.	Jul 3, 4:41pm
by: eon
Email service for Andromeda members has been migrated to a new platform and a couple of new email features are now available: 1. POP3 email access. It is now possible to check your @darkstarlings.com email account from any POP3 client, such as Outlook Express or Thunderbird. This also means that you can add your DS email account to another mail service such as GMail or Live so you can automatically check your DS email when you log into those services. To view your POP3 setup info, go to Control Panel -> Email. 2. New email notifications. You will now receive a notice when new email arrives in your DS email account. The notice will appear in the same place where you see notices for new comments, new picture comments, new blog comments, etc. The old email platform, located here will remain until July 20th. Sometime on or after that date, the old email service will be removed, so if you have any old important emails there, please make copies as soon as possible. If you don't have a DS email account but would like one, you'll need to sign up for Andromeda access, which includes an email account along with lots of other perks. Click here to find out more. Enjoy.
[reply] [7 comments]

Site IM	May 16, 2:40am
by: eon
Site wide IM is now operational. You will find 'Send IM' links in various places throughout the site. If a member is available to receive an IM, you will see their link. For instance, on any profile page, if the member is online, look next to their "online" message for an IM link. Another place to look is in search results (online members, friends lists, regular searches, etc.). All preferences related to IM are located at: Control Panel -> IM Settings It should be pretty self explanatory if you try it out. I haven't decided for certain on this solution (that is, IM services provided by UserPlane) but I've tested it enough on my own that I figured I'd go ahead and launch it and see what you guys think. The major drawback would be the ads and some of the glitchy behavior (which I'm working on as much as possible). Anyhoo, give it a spin . . .
[reply] [15 comments]

Comment Locking	Mar 8, 6:47pm
by: eon
On your profile comments, you will notice a new option grouped with all of the others: [lock] If you click 'lock' then you will be unable to delete the comment until you unlock it (by clicking the handy 'unlock' link which will appear). Pretty simple. This will prevent you from accidentally deleting important comments that you want to save. This will come in especially handy if you like to periodically clean out all of your comments via 'Edit Your Comments' -> 'Delete All Comments'. It might also be interesting to note that this will prevent others from deleting comments that they have left you, as only the recipient of a comment is able to lock/unlock. That is all.
[reply] [14 comments]

New Post Icons	Jan 17, 12:55am
by: eon
A small but useful update has been added to both the forums and groups. Now, when viewing threads, you will notice that an icon appears to the left of each thread indicating what type of thread it is. (Poll, Video, Locked, Pinned, Regular Post, etc.) These icons will change color depending upon whether or not there are any new posts in the thread which you have not yet viewed. If there are new posts waiting for you, the icon will be bright. If you've already read all of the posts in a thread, the icon will appear to be darker. This should make it easier to skim forums and groups and see what threads you need to catch up on. Enjoy...
[reply] [6 comments]

Have yourselves a good one.	Dec 24, 8:05pm
by: eon
I think I would be remiss as a webmaster if I did not wish the entire site a wonderful and joyous holiday season. And since I live in unmitigated, abject terror of the possibility of being remiss: Have yourselves a wonderful and joyous holiday season. I hope your Christmas is the best fucking Christmas ever and that your New Year ain't too shabby either. All I ask is that you find yourself a mistletoe to share with someone or just do something really nice and unexpected for someone for whom you might otherwise not. One or the other, it's your choice. ILUGUIZE, be good and be safe.
[reply] [28 comments]

A few small things.	Nov 23, 1:46pm
by: eon
Just a few small updates to the site today: 1. Image uploading. a. It is now possible to upload an image from a URL. For example, if there is a picture you have already uploaded to photobucket or some other site, you will now find a place where you can enter the address and it will be copied over to your gallery on DarkStarlings. This saves you the step of having to download and then re-upload images that you find on the web. b. Previously, there was a 2 MB limit on the file size of the images that you could upload. In consideration of growing file sizes (and lazy people) I have upped the limitation to 5 MB. Note, this will have no effect on the final image which appears in your gallery. This simply makes it easier for you to upload images if you have large file sizes. (Normally, you'd need to resize or compress a large image before uploading, now you may be able to upload it directly.) 2. Friends. a. You will now receive a notice in your comments when someone has added you to their friends list. In the notice, if you have not already added that person to your own list, you will have links to easily add them back or (if they're really gross and ugly) to remove yourself from their list. b. When browsing your "friends of" list (the list showing people who have added you to their friends list), you will now have a convenient link to add people back if you haven't already done so. This will make it easy to quickly scan for people who have added you, who you haven't added back and allow you to easily add them or remove yourself from their list. As always, watch out for any creepy-crawlies and enjoy...
[reply] [9 comments]