Ancient Greek Astronomical Machine

This discovery shows an incredible amount of advanced mathematics belonged to someone over 2,000 years ago. Very cool story.

Scientists have finally demystified the incredible workings of a 2,000-year-old astronomical calculator built by ancient Greeks.

A new analysis of the Antikythera Mechanism [image], a clock-like machine consisting of more than 30 precise, hand-cut bronze gears, show it to be more advanced than previously thought—so much so that nothing comparable was built for another thousand years.

Read More of this Article

Gaia Scientist Predicts...

...that we are just holding off the inevitable at this point. Global temperatures, he says, could raise as much as 8 degrees Celsius and that the best we can do is buy ourselves time...because the damage has been done, the gears of the giant mechanism are already in motion in make it happen.

The Gaia theory, from what little I have heard about it, looks at the entire earth as one living organism which can and does regulate itself.

This would be the counterpoint on the other end of the spectrum from the Global Warming Science skepticism that I posted several weeks ago.

The earth has a fever that could boost temperatures by 8 degrees Celsius making large parts of the surface uninhabitable and threatening billions of peoples' lives, a controversial climate scientist said on Tuesday.

James Lovelock, who angered climate scientists with his Gaia theory of a living planet and then alienated environmentalists by backing nuclear power, said a traumatized earth might only be able to support less than a tenth of it's 6 billion people.

"We are not all doomed. An awful lot of people will die, but I don't see the species dying out," he told a news conference. "A hot earth couldn't support much over 500 million."

"Almost all of the systems that have been looked at are in positive feedback ... and soon those effects will be larger than any of the effects of carbon dioxide emissions from industry and so on around the world," he added.

Scientists say that global warming due to carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels for power and transport could boost average temperatures by up to 6C by the end of the century causing floods, famines and violent storms.

But they also say that tough action now to cut carbon emissions could stop atmospheric concentrations of CO2 hitting 450 parts per million -- equivalent to a temperature rise of 2C from pre-industrial levels -- and save the planet.

Lovelock said temperature rises of up to 8C were already built in and while efforts to curb it were morally commendable, they were wasted.

"It is a bit like if your kidneys fail you can go on dialysis -- and who would refuse dialysis if death is the alternative. We should think of it in that context," he said.

"But remember that all they are doing is buying us time, no more. The problems go on," he added.

Full Article Here

Newt Gingrich says Freedom of Speech Helps the Terrorists

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich yesterday said the country will be forced to reexamine freedom of speech to meet the threat of terrorism.

Gingrich, speaking at a Manchester awards banquet, said a "different set of rules" may be needed to reduce terrorists' ability to use the Internet and free speech to recruit and get out their message.

"We need to get ahead of the curve before we actually lose a city, which I think could happen in the next decade," said Gingrich, a Republican who helped engineer the GOP's takeover of Congress in 1994.

Full Article Here

Yeah, Free Speech Bad! Oh wait, isn't that what we are supposedly fighting terrorists over?...um, Freedom? yeah, whatever...

No Peter Jackson "Hobbit" :(

In the news today is the tragic tale of how New Line has screwed their cash cow by wrankling Peter Jackson (who brought in 3bl with the first three movies). Now they are in court because Jackson believes they underpaid him, and because that is not resolved New Line is looking for someone else to film both the Hobbit and a LoR Prequel.

Frankly, cutting Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson out to the picture just cut the bottom line on potential profits for New Line. This is most likely not going to be a popular move with the fan base, IMO.

Read on...

Peter Jackson says he will not be directing a movie based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel "The Hobbit" or a planned prequel to "The Lord of the Rings."

In a letter posted on Theonering.com., Jackson and partner Fran Walsh said an executive from New Line Cinema had called to tell them the studio was moving ahead with "The Hobbit" without him.

"Last week, Mark Ordesky called Ken (Kamins, Jackson's manager) and told him that New Line would no longer be requiring our services on `The Hobbit' and the LOTR `prequel,'" the 45-year-old New Zealand director wrote.

"This was a courtesy call to let us know that the studio was now actively looking to hire another filmmaker for both projects," he said.

Robert Pini, a New York-based representative for New Line Cinema, said Tuesday the studio had no comment.

New Line Cinema holds the rights to produce "The Hobbit" and Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer has the rights to distribute it.

Jackson, who shepherded Tolkien's Middle-earth saga to the screen in a series of three films, won a best-director Oscar for 2003's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." The trilogy also includes 2002's "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and 2001's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring."

A spokesman for Wingnut Films, Jackson's production company in Wellington, who spoke on his standard condition that he not be named, confirmed Tuesday the letter was genuine.

The announcement came amid an ongoing dispute between Wingnut Films and New Line Cinema over the amount Jackson was paid for "The Fellowship of the Ring," including DVD payments.

While Jackson hasn't said how much he believes he was underpaid, The New York Times last year quoted his lawyers as saying it was as much as $100 million. He is suing New Line Cinema over the shortfall.

The Dominion Post newspaper quoted Jackson as saying that because he and Walsh didn't want to discuss upcoming movies "until the lawsuit is resolved, the studio is going to have to hire another director."

"We are very sorry our involvement with `The Hobbit' has ended this way," the pair added.

Plans for Jackson to make a $128 million movie version of the sci-fi video game "Halo" were also scrapped this month after backers 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures pulled out.

Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy grossed nearly $3 billion at box offices worldwide.

Article was found here

Peter Jackson on the Net: http://tbhl.theonering.net/

Dear One Ringers,

As you know, there's been a lot of speculation about The Hobbit. We are often asked about when or if this film will ever be made. We have always responded that we would be very interested in making the film - if it were offered to us to make.

You may also be aware that Wingnut Films has bought a lawsuit against New Line, which resulted from an audit we undertook on part of the income of The Fellowship of the Ring. Our attitude with the lawsuit has always been that since it's largely based on differences of opinion about certain accounting practices, we would like an independent body - whether it be a judge, a jury, or a mediator, to look at the issues and make an unbiased ruling. We are happy to accept whatever that ruling is. In our minds, it's not much more complex than that and that's exactly why film contracts include right-to-audit clauses.

However, we have always said that we do not want to discuss The Hobbit with New Line until the lawsuit over New Line's accounting practices is resolved. This is simple common sense - you cannot be in a relationship with a film studio, making a complex, expensive movie and dealing with all the pressures and responsibilities that come with the job, while an unresolved lawsuit exists.

We have also said that we do not want to tie settlement of the lawsuit to making a film of The Hobbit. In other words, we would have to agree to make The Hobbit as a condition of New Line settling our lawsuit. In our minds this is not the right reason to make a film and if a film of The Hobbit went ahead on this basis, it would be doomed. Deciding to make a movie should come from the heart - it's not a matter of business convenience. When you agree to make a film, you're taking on a massive commitment and you need to be driven by an absolute passion to want to get the story on screen. It's that passion, and passion alone, that gives the movie its imagination and heart. To us it is not a cold-blooded business decision.

A couple of months ago there was a flurry of Hobbit news in the media. MGM, who own a portion of the film rights in The Hobbit, publicly stated they wanted to make the film with us. It was a little weird at the time because nobody from New Line had ever spoken to us about making a film of The Hobbit and the media had some fun with that. Within a week or two of those stories, our Manager Ken Kamins got a call from the co-president of New Line Cinema, Michael Lynne, who in essence told Ken that the way to settle the lawsuit was to get a commitment from us to make the Hobbit, because "that's how these things are done". Michael Lynne said we would stand to make much more money if we tied the lawsuit and the movie deal together and this may well be true, but it's still the worst reason in the world to agree to make a film.

Several years ago, Mark Ordesky told us that New Line have rights to make not just The Hobbit but a second "LOTR prequel", covering the events leading up to those depicted in LOTR. Since then, we've always assumed that we would be asked to make The Hobbit and possibly this second film, back to back, as we did the original movies. We assumed that our lawsuit with the studio would come to a natural conclusion and we would then be free to discuss our ideas with the studio, get excited and jump on board. We've assumed that we would possibly get started on development and design next year, whilst filming The Lovely Bones. We even had a meeting planned with MGM executives to talk through our schedule.

However last week, Mark Ordesky called Ken and told him that New Line would no longer be requiring our services on the Hobbit and the LOTR 'prequel'. This was a courtesy call to let us know that the studio was now actively looking to hire another filmmaker for both projects.

Ordesky said that New Line has a limited time option on the film rights they have obtained from Saul Zaentz (this has never been conveyed to us before), and because we won't discuss making the movies until the lawsuit is resolved, the studio is going to have to hire another director.

Given that New Line are committed to this course of action, we felt at the very least, we owed you, the fans, a straightforward account of events as they have unfolded for us.

We have always had the greatest support from The Ringers and we are very sorry our involvement with The Hobbit has been ended in this way. Our journey into Tolkien's world started with a phone call from Ken Kamins to Harvey Weinstein in Nov 1995 and ended with a phone call from Mark Ordesky to Ken in Nov 2006. It has been a great 11 years.

This outcome is not what we anticipated or wanted, but neither do we see any positive value in bitterness and rancor. We now have no choice but to let the idea of a film of The Hobbit go and move forward with other projects.

We send our very best wishes to whomever has the privilege of making The Hobbit and look forward to seeing the film on the big screen.

Warmest regards to you all, and thanks for your incredible support over the years.

We got to go there - but not back again ...

Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh

Peace "Movement" -- or Orgasm for Peace

Two peace activists have planned a massive anti-war demonstration for the first day of winter.

But they don't want you marching in the streets. They'd much rather you just stay home.

The Global Orgasm for Peace was conceived by Donna Sheehan, 76, and Paul Reffell, 55, whose immodest goal is for everyone in the world to have an orgasm Dec. 22 while focusing on world peace.

"The orgasm gives out an incredible feeling of peace during it and after it," Reffell said Sunday. "Your mind is like a blank. It's like a meditative state. And mass meditations have been shown to make a change."

Full Article

Website: http://www.globalorgasm.org.

Where are You on Iran?

Do you think they are building towards nuclear weapons?

Do you think they should be able to have a civilian nuclear power plant?

If there was proof of a secret weapons program, what would you say then?

If there is no evidence of a weapons program, what would you say then?

On the Left...on Iran

And, to show the other side (in our times of stark polarity) here is a story in today's news that is inspired by prolific writer Seymour Hersh of the New Yorker and he continues to piss off the white house with yet another article.

Article Origin Here

Hersh's Story

The White House dismissed a classified
CIA draft assessment that found no conclusive evidence of a secret Iranian nuclear weapons program, The New Yorker magazine reported.

The article by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh said the CIA's analysis was based on technical intelligence collected by satellites and on other evidence like measurements of the radioactivity of water samples.

"The CIA found no conclusive evidence, as yet, of a secret Iranian nuclear weapons program running parallel to the civilian operations that
Iran has declared to the
International Atomic Energy Agency," according to the article.

"A current senior intelligence official confirmed the existence of the CIA analysis, and told me that the White House had been hostile to it," it said.

The United States has accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian energy program.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino did not respond directly to Hersh's assertions, but said the article was another "error-filled piece" in a "series of inaccuracy-riddled articles about the Bush administration."

"The White House is not going to dignify the work of an author who has viciously degraded our troops, and whose articles consistently rely on outright falsehoods to justify his own radical views," she said on Monday.

The article, in the current issue of the magazine, discussed how Vice President
Dick Cheney believed the Bush administration would deal with Iran if the Republicans lost control of Congress -- as they did in the November 7 election.

"If the Democrats won on November 7th, the vice president said, that victory would not stop the administration from pursuing a military option with Iran," Hersh wrote, citing an unidentified source familiar with the discussion.

On the Right...on Iran

In the LA Times there is an article by Joshua Muravchik that calls, no sues, for aggression upon Iran now. The following is an excerpt and a link to his article.

Entire Article Here

Bomb Iran

Diplomacy is doing nothing to stop the Iranian nuclear threat; a show of force is the only answer.

By Joshua Muravchik, JOSHUA MURAVCHIK is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
November 19, 2006

WE MUST bomb Iran.

It has been four years since that country's secret nuclear program was brought to light, and the path of diplomacy and sanctions has led nowhere.

First, we agreed to our allies' requests that we offer Tehran a string of concessions, which it spurned. Then, Britain, France and Germany wanted to impose a batch of extremely weak sanctions. For instance, Iranians known to be involved in nuclear activities would have been barred from foreign travel — except for humanitarian or religious reasons — and outside countries would have been required to refrain from aiding some, but not all, Iranian nuclear projects.

But even this was too much for the U.N. Security Council. Russia promptly announced that these sanctions were much too strong. "We cannot support measures … aimed at isolating Iran," declared Foreign Minister Sergei V. Lavrov.

It is now clear that neither Moscow nor Beijing will ever agree to tough sanctions. What's more, even if they were to do so, it would not stop Iran, which is a country on a mission. As President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad put it: "Thanks to the blood of the martyrs, a new Islamic revolution has arisen…. The era of oppression, hegemonic regimes and tyranny and injustice has reached its end…. The wave of the Islamic revolution will soon reach the entire world." There is simply no possibility that Iran's clerical rulers will trade this ecstatic vision for a mess of Western pottage in the form of economic bribes or penalties.

So if sanctions won't work, what's left? The overthrow of the current Iranian regime might offer a silver bullet, but with hard-liners firmly in the saddle in Tehran, any such prospect seems even more remote today than it did a decade ago, when students were demonstrating and reformers were ascendant. Meanwhile, the completion of Iran's bomb grows nearer every day.

Houston Police Trample Janitors with Horses

It looks like organized labor might want to organize a bridge club instead of standing up for their rights...

Houston Police seemingly used horses to subdue janitors who were peacefully protesting. Here is an excerpt from one of the protest organizers.

It reminds me of the first hand accounts of people rounded up during WTO in Seattle, regardless of whether they were marching legally, protesting, or just spectators.

We sat down in the intersection and the horses came immediately. It was really violent. They arrested us, and when we got to jail, we were pretty beat up. Not all of us got the medical attention we needed. The worst was a protester named Julia, who is severely diabetic. We kept telling the guards about her condition but they only gave her a piece of candy. During roll call, she started to complain about light-headedness. Finally she just collapsed unconscious on the floor. It was like she just dropped dead. The guard saw it but just kept going through the roll. Susan ran over there and took her pulse while the other inmates were yelling for help, saying we need to call somebody. The medical team strolled over, taking their own sweet time. She was unconscious for like 4 or 5 minutes.

They really tried to break us down. The first night they put the temperature so high that a woman--one of the other inmates--had a seizure. The second night they made it freezing and took away many of our blankets. We didn't have access to the cots so we had to sleep on a concrete floor. When we would finally fall asleep the guards would come and yell `Are you Anna Denise Solís? Are you so and so?' One of the protesters had a fractured wrist from the horses. She had a cast on and when she would fall asleep the guard would kick the cast to wake her up. She was in a lot of pain.

The guards would tell us: `This is what you get for protesting.' One of them said, `Who gives a shit about janitors making 5 dollars an hour? Lots of people make that much.' The other inmates--there were a lot of prostitutes in there--said that they had never seen the jail this bad. The guards told them: `We're trying to teach the protesters a lesson.' Nobody was getting out of jail because the processing was so slow. They would tell the prostitutes that everything is the protesters' fault. They were trying to turn everybody against each other.

I felt like I was in some Third World jail, not in America. One of the guards called us `whores' and if we talked back, we didn't get any lunch. We didn't even have the basic necessities. It felt like a police state, like marshal law, nobody had rights. Some of us had been arrested in other cities, and it was never this bad before.

They tried to break us down, to dehumanize us. But we were stronger. We made friends with the other inmates and we organized them. The prostitutes felt a lot of solidarity with us. All of us together told stories, and played games like telephone and charades. We even did stand-up comedy monologues about what was happening to us and we all laughed. One woman--a woman of deep faith--gave a sermon that was both funny and deadly serious. We showed them that we weren't afraid. We did it all together. Now we're ready to fight on for basic American rights like the freedom of speech and the right to protest. --Anna Denise Solís, Lead Organizer, SEIU Local 1877, San José, CA.

Slow the Aging Process? Increase your Stamina?

Recent research into a substance found in red wine and other foods has produced startling results in lab mice which include longer life spans, double their normal endurance, and therefore also the ability to stave off extra weight while eating high caloric diets.

Although this is just the beginning of the research, and even though there are more questions to be answered before once could conclusively say it would work for humans and is safe for humans that has not stopped over half the researchers and some of their family members from taking the drug themselves.

Full Article

Would you like a Tazer with that library book?

The latest in a recent spate of cellphone videos documenting questionable arrest tactics surfaced Wednesday, this one showing a UCLA police officer using a Taser to stun a student who allegedly refused to leave the campus library.

Grainy video of the Tuesday night incident at UCLA's Powell Library was broadcast Wednesday on TV news and the Internet, prompting a review of the officers' actions and outrage among students at the Westwood campus.

The footage showed the student, Mostafa Tabatabainejad, falling to the ground and crying out in pain as officers stunned him.

Rest of Article here...

CNN to New Rep. -elect Keith Ellison

CNN Headline News' Glen Beck interviewed the Representative elect Keith Ellison earlier this week. Two things I find interesting here.

First, Keith Ellison is the first Muslim ever elected to the House.

Second, Glen Beck's statement right out of the gate. Does anyone with an ounce of education buy into this stuff? And how are Muslims any different from other religions? Read on and you will note a few statements that well...are stupid. And at least one where could insert any other major institutionalized religions' name where Muslim is used.

What percentage of the population do you think actually is concerned with this question below?

And, is this just an echo of talking points meant to paint Democratic wins as a win for the 'enemy'? the drum of war on terror continues to beat strongly.

I know the media shouts it, but I really wonder what the disparity is between what the public thinks and what is served up to them (which doesn't appear unbiased at all).

CNN's Beck to first-ever Muslim congressman: "[W]hat I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies' "

From the November 14 edition of CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck:

(Video Link to clip from Media Matters)

BECK: History was made last Tuesday when Democrat Keith Ellison got elected to Congress, representing the great state of Minnesota. Well, not really unusual that Minnesota would elect a Democrat. What is noteworthy is that Keith is the first Muslim in history to be elected to the House of Representatives. He joins us now.

Congratulations, sir.

ELLISON: How you doing, Glenn? Glad to be here.

BECK: Thank you. I will tell you, may I -- may we have five minutes here where we're just politically incorrect and I play the cards face up on the table?

ELLISON: Go there.

BECK: OK. No offense, and I know Muslims. I like Muslims. I've been to mosques. I really don't believe that Islam is a religion of evil. I -- you know, I think it's being hijacked, quite frankly.

With that being said, you are a Democrat. You are saying, "Let's cut and run." And I have to tell you, I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, "Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies."

And I know you're not. I'm not accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way.

ELLISON: Well, let me tell you, the people of the Fifth Congressional District know that I have a deep love and affection for my country. There's no one who is more patriotic than I am. And so, you know, I don't need to -- need to prove my patriotic stripes.

BECK: I understand that. And I'm not asking you to. I'm wondering if you see that. You come from a district that is heavily immigrant with Somalians. And I think it's wonderful, honestly, I think it is really a good sign that you are a -- you could be an icon to show Europe, this is the way you integrate into a country. I think the Somalians coming out and voting is a very good thing. With that --

ELLISON: I'd agree with you.

A Faux Follow Up

I came across this blog post by Bob Geiger on this alleged internal letter at Fox and decided to post it as a follow up on yesterday's topic.

And to think, we thought routine misleading stories and repeatedly identifying Republican pedophile Congressman Mark Foley as a Democrat was bad. Now we get the elusive documentary evidence that GOP propaganda machine Fox News truly does decide what news they want to produce before events even occur.

The Huffington Post has somehow managed to get hold of an internal Fox News memo, written by the guy in charge of their news operation and detailing his instructions to be on the lookout for any shred of information that could be used to tie Democrats to those attacking our troops in Iraq.

"The elections and Rumsfeld's resignation were a [sic] major event but not the end of the world," read the instructional memo from Fox's Vice President for News, John Moody, the day Democrats won the House and the Senate.

Now, the first thing you would naturally ask yourself is why in the world would an executive at a "fair and balanced" news organization, have to assure news staff that one party triumphing on election day is "not the end of the world."

But it gets better.

"The war on terror goes on without interruption," writes Moody, to his Republican operatives, dressing up as journalists. "And let's be on the lookout for any statements from the Iraqi insurgents, who must be thrilled at the prospect of a Dem-controlled Congress."

I'm sure around the water cooler later that day he also promised a bonus to the first staffer who could seamlessly Photoshop a picture of insurgents dancing in the streets, while waving giant posters of Claire McCaskill, Jim Webb and Sherrod Brown.

But, as our friends at Newshounds report, it didn't take the "reporters" at FOX News long to start acting on Moody's directive.

On that very day, "Live Desk" anchor Martha MacCallum went with the theme. While doing an interview with guest Erick Stakelbeck, lead terror analyst for the Christian Broadcasting Network -- because, of course, where else would you go for a political analyst than the Christian Broadcasting Network? -- she asked "what does the Democratic leadership mean for the war on terror?"

MacCallum followed that with an observation directly in line with Moody's script.

"Some reports of cheering in the streets on the behalf of the supporters of the insurgency in Iraq, that they're very pleased with the way things are going here and also with the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld," she said, referring to the sweeping Democratic victory and the Defense Secretary's resignation.

Naturally, MacCallum provided no evidence or sourcing behind the contention that bad guys were dancing in the streets of Baghdad because Democrats won.

Which kind of made me think back to that University of Maryland poll done a few years ago that basically gauged how dumbed-down some Americans were based on what they used as their primary news source.

You won't find any surprises in the October, 2003 poll conducted by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland, that detailed which news networks had the least-informed viewers on the war in Iraq.

(Double Click the image for larger view)


They asked poll respondents about weapons of mass destruction being found in Iraq and about alleged links between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda. And here's the least shocking thing you'll hear today: The most ignorant people surveyed said they use Fox News as their primary news source.

I think that the average Fox News viewer also believed in 2004 that John Kerry had weekly strategy meetings with Osama bin Laden and that the International Astronomical Union's recent downgrading of Pluto, represented a liberal attack on the loveable cartoon dog.

And our most recent evidence would suggest that Fox News has gotten even worse in the three years since this poll was done.

And we're not manufacturing news -- Fox gives us evidence to back up that assertion each and every day.

You can read more from Bob at BobGeiger.com.

Non Partisan News?

I just saw this over at HuffPo....

...and found it interesting enough to see what others thought about it.

It is an alleged copy of an internal memorandum at Fox by the vice prez of News..

(if this isn't large enough to read go Here or just Double Click the image)

Astro, Skepticism, and Open Minds

Here is a little Q & A session with one of my favorite Astrologers, Mr. Rob Brezny. I enjoyed hearing his answers, particularly where they concern how to be open to wonder & mystery, the unexplained, and also holding on to skepticism and mundane answers for things.

To be stuck in an extreme is to be blind to what is possible beyond a single ideology or viewpoint. So I offer up this Q&A from Rob as piece on remembering to be a Free Thinker, and on being able to set aside our own beliefs to be open to what might be the truth we were never aware could even be a possibility.

Enjoy

Q & A

QUESTION. How can an intelligent, educated person possibly believe
astrology has any merit?

ROB. Many of the debunkers who're responsible for trying to discredit
astrology have done no research on the subject. They haven't read smart
astrological philosophers like Dane Rudhyar, don't know that seminal
astronomer Johannes Kepler was a skilled astrologer, and aren't aware
that eminent psychologist C.G. Jung cast horoscopes and believed that
"astrology represents the summation of all the psychological knowledge
of antiquity." The closest approach the fraudulent "skeptics" usually
make to the ancient art is to glance at a tabloid horoscope column. To match
their carelessness, I might make a drive-by of a strip mall and declare
that the profession of architecture is shallow and debased.

That's one reason why these ill-informed "skeptics" spread so many
ignorant lies. For instance, they say that astrologers think the stars
and planets emit invisible beams that affect people's lives. The truth is,
most Western astrologers don't believe any such thing.


QUESTION. Because you pack your column with doses of humor and wild
imagery, some people think you don't take astrology seriously.

ROB. On the contrary, I think this proves how much respect I have for
astrology--I mean REAL astrology. Not astrology as a superstitious
belief system that generates boring predictions in dead language about trivial
events that only our neurotic egos are obsessed with; but rather
astrology as a mytho-poetic symbol system that expands your
imagination about the big cycles of your life, liberates you from the
literalistic trance that the daily grind tends to trap you in, and
opens you up to the understanding that you're much more beautiful and full of
potential than you've been taught to believe.


QUESTION. You have said that you believe in astrology "about 80
percent." What's up with the other 20 percent?

ROB. I use the same 80-20 approach with every belief system I love and
benefit from: science, psychology, feminism, and various religious
traditions like Buddhism and Christianity and paganism. I take what's
useful from each, but am not so deluded as to think that any single
system is the holy grail that the physicists call the "Theory of
Everything." Unconditional, unskeptical faith is the path of the
fanatic and fundamentalist, and I aspire to be a rowdy philosophical anarchist,
aflame with objectivity and committed to the truth that the truth is always
mutating.


QUESTION. But don't you risk playing the same role the tabloid
astrologers do: enticing people to take on a superstitious approach to
life and seducing them into believing their fate is determined by
supernatural forces beyond the influence of their willpower?

ROB. I call what I do predicting the present, not forecasting the
future. My goal is to awaken my readers to the hidden agendas, unconscious forces,
and long-term cycles at work in their lives so that they can respond to
the totality of what's happening instead of to mere appearances. I want
to be a friendly shocker who helps unleash their imaginations, giving
them the power to create their destinies with the same liberated fertility
that great artists summon to forge their masterpieces.


QUESTION. How do you write your column? Do you use actual astrological
data, or just go into a trance and let your imagination run wild?

ROB. I draw up a weekly chart for the sun, moon, and major aspects of
each sign. It's the framework within which I improvise. The artistic
part of the work is harder to pin down. One of my guiding principles, though,
is to treat each sign's horoscope as a personal love letter--to speak as
intimately about the mysteries of the moment as if I were addressing a
close friend.

Where do my inspirations come from? Dreams, letters from readers,
overheard conversations, meditation, lots of reading in a wide variety
of texts both sacred and profane, and the intensive cultivation of my own
receptivity. I also rely on fact-finding missions I call whirlygigs.
During these, I steep myself with the intention of attracting lessons I don't
know I need, then meander through the world at random, going places I've
never been and striking up conversations with strangers with whom I
apparently have nothing in common.


QUESTION. You confuse me in the way that you praise rational thought
and the scientific method, yet reserve the right to believe in
astrology, angels, miracles, and other woo-woo.

ROB. Thousands of amazing, inexplicable, and even supernatural events
occur every day. And yet most are unreported by the media. The few that
are cited are ridiculed. Why? Here's one possible reason: The people
most likely to believe in wonders and marvels are superstitious, uneducated,
and prone to having a blind, literalist faith in their religions'
myths. Those who are least likely to believe in wonders and marvels are skilled at
analytical thought, well-educated, and yet prone to having a blind,
literalist faith in the ideology of materialism, which dogmatically
asserts that the universe consists entirely of things that can be perceived by
the five human senses or detected by instruments that scientists have thus
far invented.

The media is largely composed of people from the second group. It's
virtually impossible for them to admit to the possibility of events
that elude the rational mind's explanations, let alone experience them. If
anyone from this group manages to escape peer pressure and cultivate a
receptivity to the miraculous, it's because they have successfully
fought against being demoralized by the unsophisticated way wonders and
marvels are framed by the first group.

I try to be immune to the double-barreled ignorance. When I behold
astonishing synchronicities and numinous breakthroughs that seem to
violate natural law, I'm willing to consider the possibility that my
understanding of natural law is too narrow. And yet I also refrain from
lapsing into irrational gullibility; I actively seek mundane
explanations for apparent miracles.


QUESTION. Can you sum up your approach to seeing the world?

ROB. My outlook combines the rigorous objectivity of a scientist, the
"beginner's mind" of Zen Buddhism, and the compassionate friendliness
of the Dalai Lama. I blend a scrupulously dispassionate curiosity with a
skepticism driven by expansiveness, not spleen.

To pull this off, I have to be willing to regularly suspend my theories
about the way the world works. I accept with good humor the possibility that
what I've learned in the past may not be a reliable guide to
understanding the fresh phenomenon that's right in front of me. I'm suspicious of my
biases, even the rational and benevolent ones. I open my heart as I
strip away the interpretations that my emotions might be inclined to impose.

"Before we can receive the unbiased truth about anything," wrote my
teacher Ann Davies, "we have to be ready to ignore what we would like
to be true."

At the same time, I don't want to turn into a hard-ass, poker-faced
robot. I keep my feelings moist and receptive. I remember my natural affection
for all of creation. I enjoy the power of tender sympathy as it drives
me to probe for the unimaginable revelations of every new moment. "Before
we can receive the entire truth about anything," said Ann Davies, "we
have to love it."

Rob Brezny

Naysayers and Global Warming Skeptics

On the whole, the vast majority of climatologists and those doing direct scientific research into climate and climate change agree on some vary basic very significant points.

However, there are the few who actively disagree. Do they have merit? where do you fall on the topic?

Here is the Wiki on the Global Warming Skeptics...

This page lists scientists who have expressed doubt regarding the scientific opinion on global warming. The consensus has been summarized by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as follows:

1. The global average surface temperature has risen 0.6 ± 0.2°C since the late 19th century, and 0.17°C per decade in the last 30 years.
2. "Most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities", in particular emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane.
3. If greenhouse gas emissions continue, the warming will continue and indeed accelerate, with temperatures increasing by 1.4°C to 5.8°C between 1990 and 2100, causing sea level rise and increasing extreme weather events like hurricanes. On balance, the impacts of global warming will be significantly negative.

These main points are held by the majority of climate scientists and those doing research in closely related fields; however, there are also a small number of scientists who actively disagree.

GOP says Rumsfeld is stepping down

Get the Scoop Here

Blue Wave Washes Over US

Democrats Sweep the House and Take Away Majority in Senate...with a possible majority of 51

...all I know is I liked the Libertarian candidate (Guthrie)...

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is reporting the following:

Montana Vote Situation: Jon Tester leads Conrad Burns by approximately 1,700 votes (as of 11am EDT) and counting. In Silver Bow County (Butte), a Democratic stronghold, votes are still being counted but Tester is winning there with 66% of the vote. We expect to gain the majority of these uncounted votes and to add to Tester's margin.

Montana Process: When the counting phase is completed, a canvass will verify the vote tallies. That process could take as long as 48 hours, and must begin within three days and end within seven. Unless the canvass shows the margin to be within ¼ of 1%, there is no recount. As the loser, Burns would have to request the recount. When the votes are all counted, we expect to be outside that recount margin.

Virginia Vote Situation: Jim Webb is up by approximately 8,000 votes and once the provisional ballots are counted, we expect Webb's margin to increase. (Please note that VA absentees were included in the tallies from last night.)

Virginia Process: A canvass is underway to verify the results and we expect that process to finish within a day or so. To be in recount, the margin needs to be less than 1% and Allen (as the loser) would have to request it. Because of Virginia voting laws, the margin would have to be much tighter than it currently is to see any change in the outcome. Given the current margins, that is highly, highly unlikely.

Voter Suppression

Senator Allen's campaign is linked to Voter Suppression

Listen here..

Oh, now I'm convinced....

Is this the level to which we have sunk? now Fox is trying to convince the public that torture is not so bad by having a correspondent go through a mock version of it.

The big difference here? he knows he is not going to die. And, cameras are rolling. And, he isn't being held secretly so if he dies no one knows about it, and...

Bread Basket Case

What if the Midwest stopped trying to feed the world and started focusing on itself?

Full Article

In Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," a sailor contemplates the paradox of thirst amid a literal sea of water. "Water, water everywhere," he famously laments, "nor any drop to drink."

Rural Midwesterners can likely identify with that iconic seaman. Cornfields stretch to the horizon, but the harvest won't end up on anyone's plate -- at least not directly. To provide useful calories for people, that corn is used to fatten animals on feedlots, or milled and processed into sweeteners, starches, and flours.

Like other U.S. citizens, Farm Belt residents increasingly turn to the supermarket, and thus the vast and far-flung industrial networks that supply it, for their sustenance. The region's corn returns to its residents in the form of corn-syrup-sweetened Coca-Cola and corn-fed McDonald's burgers.

If this odd arrangement actually generated wealth in the region, it might make some sense. But farming is such an economically disastrous endeavor in the Midwest that it's a wonder anyone still does it.

Teach a Man to Fish and...er...oh, forget it I guess...

Better get to bio-engineering land fish for the bar-b-q....

An international group of ecologists and economists warned yesterday that the world will run out of seafood by 2048 if steep declines in marine species continue at current rates, based on a four-year study of catch data and the effects of fisheries collapses.

The paper, published in the journal Science, concludes that overfishing, pollution and other environmental factors are wiping out important species around the globe, hampering the ocean's ability to produce seafood, filter nutrients and resist the spread of disease.

"We really see the end of the line now," said lead author Boris Worm, a marine biologist at Canada's Dalhousie University. "It's within our lifetime. Our children will see a world without seafood if we don't change things."

straight to the source: The Washington Post, Juliet Eilperin, 02 Nov 2006

straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Marla Cone, 02 Nov 2006

straight to the source: Reuters, Deborah Zabarenko, 02 Nov 2006

straight to the source: USA Today, Elizabeth Weise, 02 Nov 2006

Samsung...makers of Personal Home Defense...

I guess MP3 players isn't the only thing that Samsung is building these days.

Here is there latest, for only $200,000.

Robot sentinella
Uploaded by Alice_in_Wonderland

The Case for Bad Science....

(thanks to Steve for find)

A look at climate numbers from a different perspective..

..worth your time.

The Stern report last week predicted dire economic and social effects of unchecked global warming. In what many will see as a highly controversial polemic, Christopher Monckton disputes the 'facts' of this impending apocalypse and accuses the UN and its scientists of distorting the truth

Full Article

If you said yes at any point, it's not a rape

...finally, a ruling we can all agree upon...

or NOT

Can you believe this ???

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- An appellate court said Maryland's rape law is clear -- no doesn't mean no when it follows a yes and intercourse has begun. A three-judge panel of the Court of Special Appeals Monday threw out a rape conviction saying that a trial judge in Montgomery County erred when he refused to answer the jury's question on that very point. The appeals court said that when the jury asked the trial judge if a woman could withdraw her consent after the start of sex, the jury should have been told she could not. The ruling said the law is not ambiguous and is a tenet of common-law.

Jessica at feministing.org says:

So ladies, once it's in, it's in. Ain't nothing you can do about it. Changed your mind? Suck it up. He's hurting you? Oh, sorry--should have thought of that before. After all, it's not like your body is yours or anything. Jeez.

Mid-term Election fun from Daily Show

a funny clip here on some of the closer races going on...

Stewart and Colbert

I read the excerpt from the new Rolling Stone's article on these two yuksters...

If you like these cats, you can find the web version of it here

Voter Supression, Dirty Politics, or Just Plain Buying Opinion Fair and Square?

..You decide..and please leave your opinion and reasoning below...

Is it wrong to play psychological warfare with the Voting Process? We have already seen campaigns designed to keep legal hispanic immigrants from voting in California...

...is this the same thing? is smear just good tactics, or dirty politics?



In a Tense Election Year, Push Polls Flourish

In increasingly tight races around the country, voters are receiving telephone "push poll" calls, a classic dirty trick designed to suppress turnout on election day. One calling firm in particular, with White House ties and an impressive ability to fire off millions of automated calls per day, is benefiting from the strategy.

Gabriel Joseph III, president of the robo calling company FreeEats.com, may be the king of the push poll, in which real-sounding questions with ludicrous premises are asked to plant negative ideas in voters' minds. His company, which is better known under its business alias ccAdvertising, has impressive Republican ties: According to a recent piece in Mother Jones, the group has, on at least one occasion, drawn on its White House ties to get business. And its founder, Donald Hodel, is a veteran of the Reagan administration and a former president of Focus on the Family.

Full Article

Monthly Astro Report

from one of my favorites, Yasmin Boland



Hi All
The evening of November 15 brings the once-a-year meeting between the planet of love, Venus and the planet of luck, Jupiter - this means the night is truly packed with romantic potential ... Enjoy!

Meanwhile, the really big news of the month is that Jupiter changes signs - after spending a year in Scorpio, he moves into his 'home sign' Sagittarius. Jupiter is all about luck, expansion, optimism and risks. To find out how his move will affect you, just read your forecast for the month. Good luck!
Yasmin x

NOVEMBER MOON REPORT
Full Moon in Taurus on November 5 at 12.58pm GMT This is a deeply sexy Full Moon full of potential for anyone who wants to go further, deeper, longer into their sensual nature. (Do it sober for best results!)

New Moon in Scorpio on November 22 at 5.13am GMT It's a lucky New Moon. If at first you haven't succeeded, today (and the next three days) is the time to try, try again. And again.
Click here to convert those to your time zones.

STAND OUT DATES FOR US ALL IN OCTOBER
November 2 - turnarounds re love possible ...
November 7 - smell a rat? Run a mile! ...
November 9 - high energy ...
November 11 - watch your temper ...
November 15 - lovely mushy moments possible ...
November 18 - Mercury goes direct and communications become less crazy ...
November 24 - Jupiter into Sagittarius � where did you just get luckier? Find out in your forecast ...
November 28 - kiss and make up

A MONTH TO
Honour your dark side but get back in touch with your light side ... Give an ex a second and last chance ... Learn to love without smothering ...

Check Out Your Sign for November Here