I wonder why so few people have noticed Dick Cheney has admitted to being part of a process for U.S. war crimes?
amazingly, Cheney still supports waterboarding, despite the fact U.S. courts ruled long ago it constitutes torture, or that the U.S. War Crimes Act defines torture as a war crime
Whoa! sorry, I forgot we're talking we're talking about the U.S. vice-president who shot a Texas lawyer and got away with it
no wonder the December 20 editorial from the Los Angeles Times says he's delusional
more next time
Blessed Be
20081220
20081216
awake yet?
hey, Hippies! remember Ziggy?
[ for under-40s, Zbigniew Brzezinski is an amazing yet underestimated geopolitical philosopher and strategist who served Jimmy Carter as principal foreign-policy advisor and National Security Advisor, a hawk who both played a role in détente and helped form the pre-Taliban Afghan mujaheddin network, way back when the Soviets were in Afghanistan ]
Ziggy’s written an excellent essay on political awakening, well worth the read in the International Herald Tribune
more next time
Blessed Be
[ for under-40s, Zbigniew Brzezinski is an amazing yet underestimated geopolitical philosopher and strategist who served Jimmy Carter as principal foreign-policy advisor and National Security Advisor, a hawk who both played a role in détente and helped form the pre-Taliban Afghan mujaheddin network, way back when the Soviets were in Afghanistan ]
Ziggy’s written an excellent essay on political awakening, well worth the read in the International Herald Tribune
more next time
Blessed Be
20081211
virgin birth? nothing special, even sharks do it
parthenogenesis, i.e. asexual reproduction, is not unknown among humans, although some would have you believe virgin birth only happened once and that that was a divine act [well yeah, isn’t everything, whether your personal divinity involves the Goddess, the Matrix, or whatever?]
true, it doesn’t occur often in mammals, but it’s common among plants, bees and fleas, and lots of other living things; now we can be more certain it happens with sharks, too
the first report, in 2001, came from a Nebraska zoo where DNA evidence proved a newborn hammerhead was a result of so-called virgin birth
now, at Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach, a necropsy after the death, during a routine physical exam, of a female blacktip shark revealed she was carrying a near-term pup fetus, even though there hadn’t been a male in her tank in more than 8 years
how come you don’t see these stories in your daily newspaper?
more next time
Blessed Be
true, it doesn’t occur often in mammals, but it’s common among plants, bees and fleas, and lots of other living things; now we can be more certain it happens with sharks, too
the first report, in 2001, came from a Nebraska zoo where DNA evidence proved a newborn hammerhead was a result of so-called virgin birth
now, at Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach, a necropsy after the death, during a routine physical exam, of a female blacktip shark revealed she was carrying a near-term pup fetus, even though there hadn’t been a male in her tank in more than 8 years
how come you don’t see these stories in your daily newspaper?
more next time
Blessed Be
20081128
Goddess is Alive ...
mystics, cosmologists and some fringe scientists are just a few of the groups who've always believed that, at some level, everything is alive, that in fact the whole Universe is a living entity, metaphorically speaking
mainstream scientists are getting a nudge toward that view from a new report by an international group of geologists - including one from the Geological Survey of Canada - proposing evidence that rocks evolve in ways similar to plants and animals
the report presents a comprehensive analysis of a multitude of rock-life interactions and concludes that rocks are dynamic "species" which emerged and transformed over time, largely in concert with other living things
more next time
Blessed Be
mainstream scientists are getting a nudge toward that view from a new report by an international group of geologists - including one from the Geological Survey of Canada - proposing evidence that rocks evolve in ways similar to plants and animals
the report presents a comprehensive analysis of a multitude of rock-life interactions and concludes that rocks are dynamic "species" which emerged and transformed over time, largely in concert with other living things
more next time
Blessed Be
20081107
beyond this universe
a few years ago the science guys told us we can only ‘see’ 4% of what we think of as The Universe
by seeing, they meant not only with optical telescopes, but also through our interpretations of data collected by radio telescopes, electronic telescopes, satellites, at x-rays levels, at ultraviolet levels – way more than we can see with human eyes; that slice is probably about 0.002% of the known universe; the other 3.998% is scientific data; put it all together, process in a computer with sophisticated graphics programs, and you get pretty pictures
meanwhile, shaman etc. have always taught there are more realities than the physical world humans see; Buddha taught that reality is an illusion – we create our own individual, and thus unique, realities, so we can change our reality by changing our mind; Aleister Crowley defined magic as “the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will”
the recently popular concept of some kind of ‘multiverse’ is an interesting metaphor/myth that doesn’t even come close to describing the cosmic zoom
now, scientists have stirred things by suggesting our universe may exist within another context, i.e. there may be something outside The Universe
imagine that! it’s easy; shaman have been doing it for millenia
more next time
Blessed Be
by seeing, they meant not only with optical telescopes, but also through our interpretations of data collected by radio telescopes, electronic telescopes, satellites, at x-rays levels, at ultraviolet levels – way more than we can see with human eyes; that slice is probably about 0.002% of the known universe; the other 3.998% is scientific data; put it all together, process in a computer with sophisticated graphics programs, and you get pretty pictures
meanwhile, shaman etc. have always taught there are more realities than the physical world humans see; Buddha taught that reality is an illusion – we create our own individual, and thus unique, realities, so we can change our reality by changing our mind; Aleister Crowley defined magic as “the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will”
the recently popular concept of some kind of ‘multiverse’ is an interesting metaphor/myth that doesn’t even come close to describing the cosmic zoom
now, scientists have stirred things by suggesting our universe may exist within another context, i.e. there may be something outside The Universe
imagine that! it’s easy; shaman have been doing it for millenia
more next time
Blessed Be
20081101
Let them eat cake
an AlterNet writer says John McCain is effectively campaigning for Barrack Obama
Alexander Zaitchik thinks McCain's tirades about Obama’s promises to share the economic pie more equitably are winning votes for Obama among people who like that idea [maybe McCain ought to get out in the real world more]
before Canadians start laughing, we need to remember whom we just re-elected to tell us who gets how much of our pie
more next time
Blessed Be
Alexander Zaitchik thinks McCain's tirades about Obama’s promises to share the economic pie more equitably are winning votes for Obama among people who like that idea [maybe McCain ought to get out in the real world more]
before Canadians start laughing, we need to remember whom we just re-elected to tell us who gets how much of our pie
more next time
Blessed Be
20081030
cover your mouth!
ever wonder what a cough looks like?
a Pennsylvania State University professor has come up with a way to capture images of the shock wave a cough creates; the colours represent differences in air pressure, i.e. the speed at which your germs are spreading, just like the Hubble etc. pix show different elements, gases or radiation frequencies
I wanna see a sneeze!
more next time
Blessed Be
a Pennsylvania State University professor has come up with a way to capture images of the shock wave a cough creates; the colours represent differences in air pressure, i.e. the speed at which your germs are spreading, just like the Hubble etc. pix show different elements, gases or radiation frequencies
I wanna see a sneeze!
more next time
Blessed Be
20081023
what if … ?
… death really is the end?
do you know when you fall asleep?
how would you know you were dead?
in the October issue of Scientific American, Jesse Bering [director of the Institute of Cognition and Culture at Queen's University Belfast in Ireland, where he studies how the evolved human mind plays a part in religious thinking] suggests the concept of an afterlife is critical to construction and maintenance of social and cultural systems; that’s why we create religions, to promote concepts of an afterlife as foundations for our societies
but if those social and cultural systems are based on a false concept, how valid are those systems?
more next time
Blessed Be
do you know when you fall asleep?
how would you know you were dead?
in the October issue of Scientific American, Jesse Bering [director of the Institute of Cognition and Culture at Queen's University Belfast in Ireland, where he studies how the evolved human mind plays a part in religious thinking] suggests the concept of an afterlife is critical to construction and maintenance of social and cultural systems; that’s why we create religions, to promote concepts of an afterlife as foundations for our societies
but if those social and cultural systems are based on a false concept, how valid are those systems?
more next time
Blessed Be
20081017
we are (will be) god(s) (?)
humans are on the verge of creating the first computers that may be able to reproduce, i.e. to create new computers, perhaps recreating or improving upon themselves
since reproduction is one of the criteria for whether an entity is alive, these replicating computers could, technically, be a new life form
I wonder if the new species will think of us as The Divine Computer as they create new e-gods in their own image?
more next time
Blessed Be
since reproduction is one of the criteria for whether an entity is alive, these replicating computers could, technically, be a new life form
I wonder if the new species will think of us as The Divine Computer as they create new e-gods in their own image?
more next time
Blessed Be
20081015
Full Moon fallout
- some election victory, eh? a larger slice of a smaller pie
- just like the old days; why can’t these guys play king of the cold war hill on a deserted island somewhere and leave us out of it?
- and what’s attacking Pakistan about? would they bomb London or Ottawa? if that’s not bullying …
- aw, they’re all nuts!
Blessed Be
20081014
beyond money
now that they’ve saved the moneylenders [and why the hell did our ‘leaders’ do that anyway, eh?], is anyone up for bailing out Mother Nature? WARNING: it’s going to cost a lot more than the banks bailout
more next time
Blessed Be
more next time
Blessed Be
20081009
misc. linx
this guy does work with monkeys
wanna banana with that latté?
technology’s not going to save us
but have faith! the Goddess really does take care of her own; first she gave us pot, and now superworms!
pots & kettles
Google CEO Eric Schmidt thinks the Internet is a cesspool, as far as the quality of content and the amount of false information
wonder what he thinks of the people who facilitate e-dumpster diving?
more next time
Blessed Be
20081005
what to do when The Big One happens
40 years ago, the ‘big one’ was thermo-nuclear warfare
this is what the BBC was ready, in the 70s, to tell their listeners and viewers if it had happened then
more next time
Blessed Be
this is what the BBC was ready, in the 70s, to tell their listeners and viewers if it had happened then
more next time
Blessed Be
20081003
watching the US vote?
check out the weekly update from AlterNet, a 10-year-old, award-winning e-zine that combines original journalism with the best from hundreds of other independent news sources
more next time
Blessed Be
more next time
Blessed Be
20080930
now that’s inscrutable
I wonder what real life is like in China, compared with the politically distorted dribbles the mainstream media give us
for example, why am I surprised that the “authorities” would approve this nightmarish exhibition of bloated bodies, snarling faces and deformed figures by Chinese sculptor Chen Wenling at the Asia Art Centre in Beijing?
do the Chinese have more freedom than our daily news tells us about?
more next time
Blessed Be
for example, why am I surprised that the “authorities” would approve this nightmarish exhibition of bloated bodies, snarling faces and deformed figures by Chinese sculptor Chen Wenling at the Asia Art Centre in Beijing?
do the Chinese have more freedom than our daily news tells us about?
more next time
Blessed Be
20080926
lines in the sand
Nicaragua’s getting guns from Russia now
US threatens Russia
Russia likes Iran and North Korea, too
but it’s ready to take on Canada, Denmark, the US and Norway over who owns the north pole
on the other hand, W actually said no to Israel [wow! who’d’a thunk?]
more next time
Blessed Be
US threatens Russia
Russia likes Iran and North Korea, too
but it’s ready to take on Canada, Denmark, the US and Norway over who owns the north pole
on the other hand, W actually said no to Israel [wow! who’d’a thunk?]
more next time
Blessed Be
20080925
20080924
Gore incites civil disobedience
Mr. Global Warming got enthusiastic applause when he told the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting that climate-change deniers are guilty of “a form of stock fraud because they are misrepresenting a material fact"
Gore said “it is time for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of new coal plants that do not have carbon capture …”
I wonder what the average An Inconvenient Truth fan will wear to the barricades?
more next time
Blessed Be
Gore said “it is time for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of new coal plants that do not have carbon capture …”
I wonder what the average An Inconvenient Truth fan will wear to the barricades?
more next time
Blessed Be
20080923
Cold War update
further to my September 11 post, Agence France-Presse’s Moscow bureau says Russian warships with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles have set sail for joint military exercises this winter off Venezuela
meanwhile, Bolivian President Evo Morales says the United States is facilitating the coup d'etat by right-wing regional governors in his country
more next time
Blessed Be
meanwhile, Bolivian President Evo Morales says the United States is facilitating the coup d'etat by right-wing regional governors in his country
more next time
Blessed Be
weather’s impact wide-spread
apparently, global climate change is responsible for:
✪ more stray cats
✪ allergies
✪ declining tourism
✪ bubonic plague
✪ better beer
✪ all of California’s problems
✪ and damned near everything else
more next time
Blessed Be
✪ more stray cats
✪ allergies
✪ declining tourism
✪ bubonic plague
✪ better beer
✪ all of California’s problems
✪ and damned near everything else
more next time
Blessed Be
20080922
why the Beatles never did Israel
blame Cliff Richard
or, at least, blame Israeli teens’ reaction to his 1963 concert
after the “outbreak of mass hysteria”, the committee that approves visits by foreign artists passed Resolution 691 to never allow a performance by the Beatles because of the potential for a “negative influence on [Israel's] youth”
the committee reconsidered, but stuck by its original decision because "the band has no artistic merit" and its performances "cause hysteria and mass disorder among young people"
the details started leaking, 42 years later, after Israel’s ambassador to Britain gave John's half-sister an apology; she’s a history professor at Tel Aviv University now, and recently revealed the details in the daily Haaretz, 1 week before Paul performs in Israel for the first time
[from the CommonDreams.org News Center]
more next time
Blessed Be
or, at least, blame Israeli teens’ reaction to his 1963 concert
after the “outbreak of mass hysteria”, the committee that approves visits by foreign artists passed Resolution 691 to never allow a performance by the Beatles because of the potential for a “negative influence on [Israel's] youth”
the committee reconsidered, but stuck by its original decision because "the band has no artistic merit" and its performances "cause hysteria and mass disorder among young people"
the details started leaking, 42 years later, after Israel’s ambassador to Britain gave John's half-sister an apology; she’s a history professor at Tel Aviv University now, and recently revealed the details in the daily Haaretz, 1 week before Paul performs in Israel for the first time
[from the CommonDreams.org News Center]
more next time
Blessed Be
20080920
if it’s good enough for Fido …
if you’re paying attention, you already know drinking water is a major environment/political/consumer issue on North America’s event horizon
what happens if you apply hyper-green recycling concepts to the challenge?
in Santa Ana, Calif, it took a decade to overcome the psychological barriers, but the $480-million Orange County Groundwater Replenishment System finally opened last January
more next time
Blessed Be
what happens if you apply hyper-green recycling concepts to the challenge?
in Santa Ana, Calif, it took a decade to overcome the psychological barriers, but the $480-million Orange County Groundwater Replenishment System finally opened last January
more next time
Blessed Be
20080918
democracy: Government for whom?
so, US authorities are willing to shell out $900+ billion to save the moneylenders, eh?
and Canada and anyone else with some petty cash has promised to help
who do those governments represent? how much of that tax money will come from the poor and homeless? [as if BC should talk]
don't worry now, but The American Prospect co-editor Robert Kuttner says the Wall Street carnage and international echoes are a result of 20+ years of failed ideology, and that only immediate, drastic action will prevent economic collapse
socialist revolutionaries describe the meltdown as Three Days that Shook the World
how’s Canada doing?
more next time
Blessed Be
and Canada and anyone else with some petty cash has promised to help
who do those governments represent? how much of that tax money will come from the poor and homeless? [as if BC should talk]
don't worry now, but The American Prospect co-editor Robert Kuttner says the Wall Street carnage and international echoes are a result of 20+ years of failed ideology, and that only immediate, drastic action will prevent economic collapse
socialist revolutionaries describe the meltdown as Three Days that Shook the World
how’s Canada doing?
more next time
Blessed Be
20080917
this is news?
aren't crows smart!
well, duh! … and your point is?
just to be straight, we are talking the left-handed guardian and keeper of all sacred law?
Norse mythology’s symbol of intelligence?
the messenger of the gods?
of course crows are smart!
more next time
Blessed Be
well, duh! … and your point is?
just to be straight, we are talking the left-handed guardian and keeper of all sacred law?
Norse mythology’s symbol of intelligence?
the messenger of the gods?
of course crows are smart!
more next time
Blessed Be
20080916
Welcome to Trans(silly)mania
wouldn’t it be nice if the transgendered were accepted as one aspect of our diverse society, instead of having everyone tch-tching or omigodding every time one of us attracts attention?
entertainment writers and others are tripping over themselves these days trying to get the scoop on Isis, a transgender model who appeared on America’s Next Top Model’s season premiere; as Brianna Austin wrote for The Canadian, who cares? and why?
Isis is not the first trans model and won’t be the last; it's not too late to start treating her better than Tula
linx
British Columbia still denies transgendered rights
a Christian voice
Queer Peace International resources
Victoria BC resources
counsellors’ resources
more next time
Blessed Be
entertainment writers and others are tripping over themselves these days trying to get the scoop on Isis, a transgender model who appeared on America’s Next Top Model’s season premiere; as Brianna Austin wrote for The Canadian, who cares? and why?
Isis is not the first trans model and won’t be the last; it's not too late to start treating her better than Tula
linx
British Columbia still denies transgendered rights
a Christian voice
Queer Peace International resources
Victoria BC resources
counsellors’ resources
more next time
Blessed Be
20080915
Oh No! not Israel ?
anti-Semites and other bigots notwithstanding, it takes someone really brave or really stupid to suggest Israel may be guilty of war crimes
which do you think Desmond Tutu is? really brave or really stupid?
linx
wireddispatch.com
[ from Reuters North American News Service ]
more next time
Blessed Be
which do you think Desmond Tutu is? really brave or really stupid?
linx
wireddispatch.com
[ from Reuters North American News Service ]
more next time
Blessed Be
20080914
not on the evening news eh?
these are a few of the postings I've bookmarked recently for more reading
✪ Sarah and the polar bears
[from the CommonDreams.org News Center]
a vice-presidential candidate takes Canada’s side, not the White House's? very interesting
✪ CrimeWatch
did you know CanadaFreePress.com has a crime-watch section where you can keep up to date on all the really important news, like the British police chief who dressed up as Osama Bin Laden at a carnival in Cornwall 5 days before the anniversary of September 11
he’s lost his job training police in Afghanistan and faces a disciplinary inquiry, and possibly suspension from the Devon and Cornwall force
✪ Learning 2.0
I’ve only scanned this Tyee story so far, but I added it to my own reading list because e-learning is one of my pet topics
more next time
Blessed Be
✪ Sarah and the polar bears
[from the CommonDreams.org News Center]
a vice-presidential candidate takes Canada’s side, not the White House's? very interesting
✪ CrimeWatch
did you know CanadaFreePress.com has a crime-watch section where you can keep up to date on all the really important news, like the British police chief who dressed up as Osama Bin Laden at a carnival in Cornwall 5 days before the anniversary of September 11
he’s lost his job training police in Afghanistan and faces a disciplinary inquiry, and possibly suspension from the Devon and Cornwall force
✪ Learning 2.0
I’ve only scanned this Tyee story so far, but I added it to my own reading list because e-learning is one of my pet topics
more next time
Blessed Be
20080911
déjà vu
nearly half a century ago the US played chicken with Khrushchev, Castro and pre-Cruise missiles
today it’s Putin, Chavez and Tu-160 strategic bombers
Star Wars may be history, but now we’ve got:
✪ Tu-95 Bears, loaded with nukes, patrolling the coasts
✪ US plans for a new missile defence system in eastern Europe
✪ Russia’s ongoing repatriation of Georgia
and, probably most important for the pupeteers, a whole new bunch of ways to profit from it all!
ever seen Dr. Strangelove? [I love the scene where General Ripper waves his assault rifle in Group Captain Mandrake’s face and warns Lionel that if he fails to reach the President of the United States of America on the pay phone, he’ll have to answer to the Coca-Cola Company™ for shooting up their pop machine to get the dime]
more next time
Blessed Be
today it’s Putin, Chavez and Tu-160 strategic bombers
Star Wars may be history, but now we’ve got:
✪ Tu-95 Bears, loaded with nukes, patrolling the coasts
✪ US plans for a new missile defence system in eastern Europe
✪ Russia’s ongoing repatriation of Georgia
and, probably most important for the pupeteers, a whole new bunch of ways to profit from it all!
ever seen Dr. Strangelove? [I love the scene where General Ripper waves his assault rifle in Group Captain Mandrake’s face and warns Lionel that if he fails to reach the President of the United States of America on the pay phone, he’ll have to answer to the Coca-Cola Company™ for shooting up their pop machine to get the dime]
more next time
Blessed Be
20080910
Poles stop burning witches
Patti Wigington’s blog on about.com is one of my favoured and trusted sources for news of interest to witches and other pagans
this week she tagged a report in Ananova about a decision in Zielona Gora to stop symbolically burning witches; it’s been part of the village’s anniversary celebrations for 9 centuries, along with jousting, minstrels, dancing and other mediaeval festivities
but witch-burning is out now, mostly because of Polish women's rights groups; Monika Platek of the Association for Legal Education said, "Making peoples' tragic deaths into a tourist attraction is reprehensible and regrettable ... The stakes where women were burned were the result of profound misogyny, discrimination against women and ignorance.”
too true, but I wish Ananova had also included some reference to the religious aspects of The Burning Times
linx:
the Inquisition
the Salem trials
American victims
more next time
Blessed Be
this week she tagged a report in Ananova about a decision in Zielona Gora to stop symbolically burning witches; it’s been part of the village’s anniversary celebrations for 9 centuries, along with jousting, minstrels, dancing and other mediaeval festivities
but witch-burning is out now, mostly because of Polish women's rights groups; Monika Platek of the Association for Legal Education said, "Making peoples' tragic deaths into a tourist attraction is reprehensible and regrettable ... The stakes where women were burned were the result of profound misogyny, discrimination against women and ignorance.”
too true, but I wish Ananova had also included some reference to the religious aspects of The Burning Times
linx:
the Inquisition
the Salem trials
American victims
more next time
Blessed Be
20080909
Farewell, Swami Chidananda
24 September 1916 – 28 August 2008
"Life is meant for God-realization. The goal of life is God-realization. If you die without attaining God-realization, your life is in vain. You have wasted this precious gift of human birth given by God."
Guru Maharaj Swami Chidananda
Blessed Be
www.sivanandaonline.org
"Life is meant for God-realization. The goal of life is God-realization. If you die without attaining God-realization, your life is in vain. You have wasted this precious gift of human birth given by God."
Guru Maharaj Swami Chidananda
Blessed Be
www.sivanandaonline.org
20080904
whither the weather?
who knows? ask 12 people, get 20 answers
most don’t know what to worry about
greenhouse effect? global warming? climate change?
most people don’t understand the difference; is there a difference?
I was aware by the late 70s that background weather patterns, i.e. climate, were changing
I met people in Newfoundland 30 years ago who remembered that back in the day when Québec got 4-foot snowstorms with 15-foot drifts
[www.worldwidemetric.com/metcal.htm], they’d been able to drive across Trinity Bay during the 2 or 3 coldest months of winter
anyone who doesn’t know something’s happening is too young or asleep; figuring out why it’s happening is a different kettle of fish
a TV commercial suggests people and their SUVs are responsible for climate change; well, duh! along with jet fuel and steel mills and my laptop’s plastic case and …
except, people and our GHGs may only be exacerbating the unstoppable
of course, the crap we’ve pumped & dumped into the environment since the early days of the Industrial Revolution makes us sick, poisons our crops, air and water, weakens our immune systems, leads to birth defects, and is likely to have impacted global temperatures, not to mention upper-level ozone density and melanoma rates; hell, deforestation alone has impacted climate and that started in Europe, especially around the Mediterranean, centuries before the Europeans discovered the Amazon
but what if human pollution is just an extra push to an inevitable solar event?
the Sun stopped following its 11-year “cycle” years ago; the last maximum solar activity peak was, statistically, supposed to be in 2001, but sunspots continued years past that and one in 2005 was the 3rd-largest ever seen
in 2006 scientists said solar activity had [finally] bottomed out and we could not only expect sunspots to start up again, we needed to brace ourselves for one of the most active sunspot cycles in 50, maybe 100 years [depending on whom you asked], a veritable solar storm
now? er, what’s a sunspot?
Daily Tech
what’s the Sun going to do next? wanna watch?
btw, Danish researchers presented evidence in the 90s of correlations between global temperature and solar activity
some researchers report minimal declines in temperatures since 1998 [well before solar max], although others say they’re measuring the wrong part of the planet
if you dig talking to trees, you might be interested in a presentation from the Finnish Forest Research Institute and the University of Helsinki, who say Finland’s Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris L.) date a temperature tipping point - downward - back to the 50s
more next time
Blessed Be
most don’t know what to worry about
greenhouse effect? global warming? climate change?
most people don’t understand the difference; is there a difference?
I was aware by the late 70s that background weather patterns, i.e. climate, were changing
I met people in Newfoundland 30 years ago who remembered that back in the day when Québec got 4-foot snowstorms with 15-foot drifts
[www.worldwidemetric.com/metcal.htm], they’d been able to drive across Trinity Bay during the 2 or 3 coldest months of winter
anyone who doesn’t know something’s happening is too young or asleep; figuring out why it’s happening is a different kettle of fish
a TV commercial suggests people and their SUVs are responsible for climate change; well, duh! along with jet fuel and steel mills and my laptop’s plastic case and …
except, people and our GHGs may only be exacerbating the unstoppable
of course, the crap we’ve pumped & dumped into the environment since the early days of the Industrial Revolution makes us sick, poisons our crops, air and water, weakens our immune systems, leads to birth defects, and is likely to have impacted global temperatures, not to mention upper-level ozone density and melanoma rates; hell, deforestation alone has impacted climate and that started in Europe, especially around the Mediterranean, centuries before the Europeans discovered the Amazon
but what if human pollution is just an extra push to an inevitable solar event?
the Sun stopped following its 11-year “cycle” years ago; the last maximum solar activity peak was, statistically, supposed to be in 2001, but sunspots continued years past that and one in 2005 was the 3rd-largest ever seen
in 2006 scientists said solar activity had [finally] bottomed out and we could not only expect sunspots to start up again, we needed to brace ourselves for one of the most active sunspot cycles in 50, maybe 100 years [depending on whom you asked], a veritable solar storm
now? er, what’s a sunspot?
Daily Tech
what’s the Sun going to do next? wanna watch?
btw, Danish researchers presented evidence in the 90s of correlations between global temperature and solar activity
some researchers report minimal declines in temperatures since 1998 [well before solar max], although others say they’re measuring the wrong part of the planet
if you dig talking to trees, you might be interested in a presentation from the Finnish Forest Research Institute and the University of Helsinki, who say Finland’s Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris L.) date a temperature tipping point - downward - back to the 50s
more next time
Blessed Be
20080829
Big Brother IS watching
I get a chuckle whenever I see Victoria’s Green Meanies rumbling around town in their armored personnel carriers, or anonymously staking out the McDonald’s parking lot
you know? the burly guys in those unmarked Ford sedans, painted a shade of military green no one else has bought for 2 decades, with big bars on the passenger windows, more antennae than marked patrol cars have, a black bullhorn on the front bumper, and those silly tiny hubcaps you only see on cop cars? in Québec they run snow tires year-round
now that’s camouflage, eh! do these guys really think they’re "undercover"? they’re about as subtle as the helicopters that buzz James Bay non-stop with klieg lights blasting into backyards and through living room windows every time there’s a couple of people around the inner harbour or someone’s held up the 7-11
somehow I find the Green Meanies more menacing than marked patrol cars; you can’t miss the fact they’re police, so why the camo? because they want to send the subliminal message “We are Everywhere!” why don’t they buy the bumpersticker?
don’t believe in the police state?
link:
www.planetfriendly.net/police.html
and if you ride a bike in Calgary, better buy a damn good radar detector
link:
www.ffwdweekly.com/article/news-views/news/city-cracks-down-speeding-cyclists
btw, speaking of anonymous self-serving omnipotent authority, The Orwell Trust has started posting George’s diaries, 70 years later to the day; George Orwell [né Eric Arthur Blair] foresaw the Big Brother syndrome in his best-known work, Nineteen Eighty-Four, published less than 5 years into the Cold War
the diaries started in early August 1938; he was home from the Spanish Civil War after 6 months recuperating in Morocco, just in time to watch the early days of Europe’s descent into evil; they begin dully, with misty days and snakes in Blair’s English garden, but I’m looking forward to the political comments which start in September
link:
orwelldiaries.wordpress.com
more next time
Blessed Be
you know? the burly guys in those unmarked Ford sedans, painted a shade of military green no one else has bought for 2 decades, with big bars on the passenger windows, more antennae than marked patrol cars have, a black bullhorn on the front bumper, and those silly tiny hubcaps you only see on cop cars? in Québec they run snow tires year-round
now that’s camouflage, eh! do these guys really think they’re "undercover"? they’re about as subtle as the helicopters that buzz James Bay non-stop with klieg lights blasting into backyards and through living room windows every time there’s a couple of people around the inner harbour or someone’s held up the 7-11
somehow I find the Green Meanies more menacing than marked patrol cars; you can’t miss the fact they’re police, so why the camo? because they want to send the subliminal message “We are Everywhere!” why don’t they buy the bumpersticker?
don’t believe in the police state?
link:
www.planetfriendly.net/police.html
and if you ride a bike in Calgary, better buy a damn good radar detector
link:
www.ffwdweekly.com/article/news-views/news/city-cracks-down-speeding-cyclists
btw, speaking of anonymous self-serving omnipotent authority, The Orwell Trust has started posting George’s diaries, 70 years later to the day; George Orwell [né Eric Arthur Blair] foresaw the Big Brother syndrome in his best-known work, Nineteen Eighty-Four, published less than 5 years into the Cold War
the diaries started in early August 1938; he was home from the Spanish Civil War after 6 months recuperating in Morocco, just in time to watch the early days of Europe’s descent into evil; they begin dully, with misty days and snakes in Blair’s English garden, but I’m looking forward to the political comments which start in September
link:
orwelldiaries.wordpress.com
more next time
Blessed Be
20080825
Remember Robin Long?
we deported the US war resister in July, first time that’s happened in Canada
during the war in VietNam we allowed nearly 30,000 US draft dodgers into Canada and about half of them stayed, even after Jimmy Carter gave them amnesty in 1977 and welcomed them home
Alternet.org says there are an estimated 200 US soldiers in Canada today, and 64% of us would give them permanent residence, according to a June 27 Angus Reid poll; Parliament passed a resolution June 3 to stop deporting GIs and let them apply for permanent residency; the Harper administration has so far ignored the resolution
Robin was charged in Colorado Springs with desertion; he was sentenced Aug 25 to 15 months in a US jail
links:
www.alternet.org
Vietnam War Resisters in Canada
more next time
Blessed Be
during the war in VietNam we allowed nearly 30,000 US draft dodgers into Canada and about half of them stayed, even after Jimmy Carter gave them amnesty in 1977 and welcomed them home
Alternet.org says there are an estimated 200 US soldiers in Canada today, and 64% of us would give them permanent residence, according to a June 27 Angus Reid poll; Parliament passed a resolution June 3 to stop deporting GIs and let them apply for permanent residency; the Harper administration has so far ignored the resolution
Robin was charged in Colorado Springs with desertion; he was sentenced Aug 25 to 15 months in a US jail
links:
www.alternet.org
Vietnam War Resisters in Canada
more next time
Blessed Be
20080824
It's an astrology map
I’ve changed the title on the link at the bottom of the blog, trying to make the description of the astrology map clearer [tnx C]
to explain further, this is what your birth chart would look like if you were born in Seattle a few minutes ago; the chart is updated every time you come back to SpiderLines
thus, this is the Cosmic energy we are all dealing with now (i.e. whenever you’re reading this)
weather forecasts tell you if Gaia will rain on your picnic, astrology maps tell you whether everyone likes you, or wants to bite off your head!
as I write, Mars is square Moon and will be for several days, so I [we?] need to be aware of and be prepared for our nearly twice-monthly subconscious wave of irritability, with varying levels of individual awareness and/or mindfulness
if you understand how astrological aspects affect you, this map helps you chart current transits, because it’s a real-time illustration of where the planets are now
if you need help, check out the links on my astrology website:
members.shaw.ca/ravenastrology/welcome.html
more next time
Blessed Be
to explain further, this is what your birth chart would look like if you were born in Seattle a few minutes ago; the chart is updated every time you come back to SpiderLines
thus, this is the Cosmic energy we are all dealing with now (i.e. whenever you’re reading this)
weather forecasts tell you if Gaia will rain on your picnic, astrology maps tell you whether everyone likes you, or wants to bite off your head!
as I write, Mars is square Moon and will be for several days, so I [we?] need to be aware of and be prepared for our nearly twice-monthly subconscious wave of irritability, with varying levels of individual awareness and/or mindfulness
if you understand how astrological aspects affect you, this map helps you chart current transits, because it’s a real-time illustration of where the planets are now
if you need help, check out the links on my astrology website:
members.shaw.ca/ravenastrology/welcome.html
more next time
Blessed Be
20080821
Welcome …
… to my patch of the Web!
can’t tell you what to expect in future postings, I’ve never written a blog before, and I have extensive and eclectic interests, so, anything could appear
before I continue, sorry [though not really] about the lack of capitals and the sloppy punctuation; you’re lucky it’s not text messaging, or wireservice shorthand; welcome to the future!
as PBS said in the 60s & 70s, before laptops replaced console TVs as communication / entertainment centres [that’s Canadian spelling, btw], you can always change the channel [today, that would be website]
this is a journal, a new, third level for me; I started with a personal journal [not the same thing as a diary] which led to my Book of Shadows, a kind of private, magical journal; SpiderLines is an interactive public journal, and one influenced or inspired mostly by things I come across on the Web
spiders? webs? Wicked Witch of… get it? actually, The Wicked Witch of the Web first started writing SpiderLines as a column for Victoria’s Lavender Rhinoceros magazine near the end of the 20th Century; it was a monthly digest of Internet postings I came across about news and issues important to the GBLT community
if my blog settings are right, and all the links are working when you visit, this page includes a moon-phase widget, a Google newsfeed and, at the bottom, an astrology chart of what the zodiac looks like now from the Pacific Northwest; click the chart for a larger image
to start things off, these are some of the links I’ve bookmarked recently for my own reading that I think others may find stimulating
for example, those interested in US politics may find this Utne Reader article Supreme Warlord of the Earth interesting; it suggests the US is stuck with an imperial presidency under which executive powers grow at the expense of civil liberties
link: www.utne.com/2008-09-01/Politics/Supreme-Warlord-of-the-Earth.aspx?utm_medium=email&utm_source=iPost
speaking of the presidency, did you know one of McCain’s POW prison-mates says John’s one of the last people who should be allowed to make decisions about nuclear warfare?
link:
www.alternet.org
and speaking of eliti$m, I liked Iglika Ivanova’s article on The Tyee about Working Below the Poverty Line
link:
thetyee.ca/Views/2008/08/19/MinimumWageHike
more next time
Blessed Be
… to my patch of the Web!
can’t tell you what to expect in future postings, I’ve never written a blog before, and I have extensive and eclectic interests, so, anything could appear
before I continue, sorry [though not really] about the lack of capitals and the sloppy punctuation; you’re lucky it’s not text messaging, or wireservice shorthand; welcome to the future!
as PBS said in the 60s & 70s, before laptops replaced console TVs as communication / entertainment centres [that’s Canadian spelling, btw], you can always change the channel [today, that would be website]
this is a journal, a new, third level for me; I started with a personal journal [not the same thing as a diary] which led to my Book of Shadows, a kind of private, magical journal; SpiderLines is an interactive public journal, and one influenced or inspired mostly by things I come across on the Web
spiders? webs? Wicked Witch of… get it? actually, The Wicked Witch of the Web first started writing SpiderLines as a column for Victoria’s Lavender Rhinoceros magazine near the end of the 20th Century; it was a monthly digest of Internet postings I came across about news and issues important to the GBLT community
if my blog settings are right, and all the links are working when you visit, this page includes a moon-phase widget, a Google newsfeed and, at the bottom, an astrology chart of what the zodiac looks like now from the Pacific Northwest; click the chart for a larger image
to start things off, these are some of the links I’ve bookmarked recently for my own reading that I think others may find stimulating
for example, those interested in US politics may find this Utne Reader article Supreme Warlord of the Earth interesting; it suggests the US is stuck with an imperial presidency under which executive powers grow at the expense of civil liberties
link: www.utne.com/2008-09-01/Politics/Supreme-Warlord-of-the-Earth.aspx?utm_medium=email&utm_source=iPost
speaking of the presidency, did you know one of McCain’s POW prison-mates says John’s one of the last people who should be allowed to make decisions about nuclear warfare?
link:
www.alternet.org
and speaking of eliti$m, I liked Iglika Ivanova’s article on The Tyee about Working Below the Poverty Line
link:
thetyee.ca/Views/2008/08/19/MinimumWageHike
more next time
Blessed Be
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