02.25.11
Posted in General at 1:40 pm by nemo
The Road to 9/11: Wealth, Empire, and the Future of America [Paperback]
Peter Dale Scott
Krugman’s piece today on the ‘shock doctrine’ is very important, and his reference to the case of Iraq in the shock doctrine phase of ‘neoliberal social rape’ is important to recall, understand.
It is certainly right to promote non-violoent protest, but you certainly don’t want to live through what the Iraqisl lived through under Bush/Bremer. Americans are responsible for allowing that, although certainly they were deceived. The case of the great Iraq neoliberal rape was/is disgusting.
You are certainly being deceived in the same way now.
The book above gives some background.
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Posted in General at 1:13 pm by nemo
Krugman on The Shock Doctrine
Krugman’s article today on Klein’s book is important, and I certainly suspected as much the moment the great recession started. That is, to what degree has the phenomenon of the recession been manipulated to seem like a downturn, when it is many ways an artificial outcome.
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Posted in General at 1:11 pm by nemo
http://history-and-evolution.com/whee4th/chap7_1.htm
The biggest obstacle to understanding the mystery of historical evolution seen in, and behind, the Old Testament, is the false concept of ‘god’ that overtake what was originally being depicted.
A Higher Power Acting Through History It is almost egregious to throw our data into the grabbag of ‘self-organization’. The eonic effect fills us with a sense of an almost ominous presence, of a mysterious process or action operating throughout history as a higher power. We see fine-tuning down to the level of poetic meters and even the whole genre Greek tragedy that might leave us floundering in design arguments. We need to realize that divinity would not act in this way. Conventional theism/atheism will not help us understand this situation.
In fact we have rediscovered, perhaps, the elemental sense of universal history first intuited by the Isrealites, pointing beyond god idols to IHVH, before that degenerated into monotheism. We have lost that tradition, and need to steer well clear of it. We cannot under any circumstance bring ‘god ideas’ to our depiction, at the risk of corrupting our clarity with the confusions of false design arguments. That would truly wreck our account. The same can be said of the sterile atheism based on the metaphyscis of Darwinian natural selection. The depiction of ‘evolution’ using systems analysis keeps our account honest.
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Posted in General at 1:09 pm by nemo
The ambiguity of ‘revolution’
The trap in much thinking about revolution lies in the way that successful revolutions lie inside the so-called eonic sequence.
The ambiguity of ‘revolution’ We can see that as we exit the eonic sequence we will be driven to either go into decline or conceive some substitute for the eonic transitions visible behind us. The concoctions of spurious revolutionary theory in Marx and Engels are the perfect example. With a better sense of the vastness of the eonic dynamic we can remain less naïve about the transformation of whole civilization. The eonic effect shows us ‘revolutions’ done right!
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Posted in General at 1:05 pm by nemo
Cycle, System Return:
The Axial Age
The evolution of separate streams in parallel is about a light year away from the dumb oversimplifications of Darwinism
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Posted in Evolution at 1:03 pm by nemo
The Tower of Babel
The question of the evolution of language is the checkmate for Darwinism.
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Posted in General at 1:02 pm by nemo
http://history-and-evolution.com/whee4th/chap3_3_1.htm: The Great Explosion
Our method shows us the dangers of speculation without data at the level of centuries for minimum five thousand year intervals. We are not going to speculate here, but since Darwin did speculate and thought natural selection (the issue of sexual selection apart) is the key, we can equally well wonder if earlier evolution resembled the eonic effect.
The eonic pattern shows the ability to focalize rapid evolutionary change in isolated geographical regions, and to stage distributed evolution from that source. Further this ‘evolution of some kind’ is primed to ‘evolve’ all the factors of culture comprehensively. This seeding process can, within several centuries, ratchet flagship populations to a new stage of culture on the spot. The nudging eras of fast change are followed up several millennia later with successor periods
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Posted in General at 1:00 pm by nemo
Because evolution must straddle facts and values, the question of a science of such is highly problematical.
Is a science of evolution possible? This provocative question should stand as a warning that the question of evolution probably won’t reduce to the category of science in the usual sense. We should support the project of empirical research, as science, in the exploration of the facts of evolution in deep time, but mindful that the limits of observation and the intersection with the domain of values demands an extended definition of science (such as, indeed, was pioneered by the philosopher Kant.
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Posted in General at 12:58 pm by nemo
Decoding Modernity:
In Search of Evolution
Seeing the enigmatic rise of the modern starting in the sixteenth century in terms of ‘evolution’ can unlock its secrets, which are covered over in a watered down secularism.
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Posted in you've got mail at 12:55 pm by nemo
Shock Doctrine, U.S.A.
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: February 24, 2011
Here’s a thought: maybe Madison, Wis., isn’t Cairo after all. Maybe it’s Baghdad — specifically, Baghdad in 2003, when the Bush administration put Iraq under the rule of officials chosen for loyalty and political reliability rather than experience and competence.
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
As many readers may recall, the results were spectacular — in a bad way. Instead of focusing on the urgent problems of a shattered economy and society, which would soon descend into a murderous civil war, those Bush appointees were obsessed with imposing a conservative ideological vision. Indeed, with looters still prowling the streets of Baghdad, L. Paul Bremer, the American viceroy, told a Washington Post reporter that one of his top priorities was to “corporatize and privatize state-owned enterprises” — Mr. Bremer’s words, not the reporter’s — and to “wean people from the idea the state supports everything.”
Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in In the News at 12:54 pm by nemo
Don’t Sit on the Sidelines — This Saturday, Be Part of the Uprising Sweeping the Country from Wisconsin to Your Home Town
A huge coalition of progressive groups have organized rallies across the country to stand up against harsh budget cuts and tax cheats, and protect the middle class.
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Posted in Evolution, Science & Religion at 12:47 pm by nemo
http://www.evolutionnews.org/2011/02/darwin_v_design_conference_com044321.html
During the past decade, an increasing number of so-called “new atheists” have argued that human beings and the rest of nature are the products of chance and necessity rather than intelligent design. These “new atheists” typically base their ideas on Darwinian evolution, arguing that Darwin proved that nature is the product of a blind and unguided evolutionary process.
The dilemma of ‘design vs Darwinism’ is false, and an attempt to exploit the weakness of Darwinism for theological trojan horse tactics.
The real issue is Darwinism vs a real theory of evolution
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Posted in General at 12:45 pm by nemo
Nerve Bundles in Visual Cortex of the Brain in Blind People May Process Sense of TouchScienceDaily (Feb. 25, 2011) — The Stripe of Gennari develops even in those who are blind from birth and does not degenerate, despite a lack of visual input. This was discovered by Robert Trampel and colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences using magnetic resonance imaging. This bundle of nerve fibers, which is approximately 0.3 mm thick, is not exclusively responsible for optic information.
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Posted in global warming at 12:43 pm by nemo
Ancient Catastrophic Drought Leads to Question: How Severe Can Climate Change Become?
ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2011) — How severe can climate change become in a warming world? Worse than anything we’ve seen in written history, according to results of a study recently appearing in the journal Science.
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Posted in you've got mail at 12:42 pm by nemo
Discovery of Oldest Northern North American Human Remains Provides New Insights Into Ice-Age CultureScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2011) — Scientists have discovered the cremated skeleton of a Paleoindian child in the remains of an 11,500-year-old house in central Alaska. The findings reveal a slice of domestic life that has been missing from the record of the region’s early people, who were among the first to colonize the Americas.
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Posted in General at 12:40 pm by nemo
New Stretchable Solar Cells Will Power Artificial Electronic ‘Super Skin’ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2011) — “Super skin” is what Stanford researcher Zhenan Bao wants to create. She’s already developed a flexible sensor that is so sensitive to pressure it can feel a fly touch down. Now she’s working to add the ability to detect chemicals and sense various kinds of biological molecules. She’s also making the skin self-powering, using polymer solar cells to generate electricity. And the new solar cells are not just flexible, but stretchable — they can be stretched up to 30 percent beyond their original length and snap back without any damage or loss of power.
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Posted in you've got mail at 12:38 pm by nemo
Published on Friday, February 25, 2011 by CommonDreams.org The Plutocrat’s Coup d’Etat, Their Republican Allies and Their Democratic Enablers
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/02/25-1
by John Atcheson
For thirty years, now, Republicans have been yammering about small government, deficits, the glories of the free market, and the incompetence and wastefulness of government.
It’s all been a big lie, part of a well funded and cleverly executed coup d’etat, designed to enable the ultra rich and corporations to literally take power out of the hands of government and money out of the pockets of individual citizens.
Democrats have either actively participated in the coup or watched in near silence. The press has been passively playing the part of a mute stenographer. The basis of this coup is simple – money has become the lingua franca of political power, eclipsing the vote.
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Posted in you've got mail at 12:35 pm by nemo
CLIMATE AND CAPITALISM
An online journal focusing on capitalism, climate change, and the
ecosocialist alternative.
http://climateandcapitalism.com
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/CandC-FaceBook
++++++++++++++ Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in you've got mail at 12:34 pm by nemo
Andy Worthington: The Year of Revolution: The “War on Tyranny” Replaces the “War on Terror”
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/02/24
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Posted in you've got mail at 12:33 pm by nemo
Wisconsin Struggle, This Is What Democracy Looks Like!
http://www.commondreams.org/video/2011/02/24
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Posted in you've got mail at 12:32 pm by nemo
Ben Manski & Kabzuag Vaj: Making a Bigger Movement in Wisconsin
http://www.commondreams.org/video/2011/02/24-0
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Posted in you've got mail at 12:32 pm by nemo
Dirty Air Triggers More Heart Attacks Than Cocaine
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/24-5
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Posted in you've got mail at 12:31 pm by nemo
Nations Braced for ‘Hacklash’ as Assange Verdict Looms
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/24-0
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Posted in you've got mail at 12:31 pm by nemo
Libya: Obama Says US Considering “Full Range of Options”
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/24-2
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Posted in you've got mail at 12:29 pm by nemo
Lobbyists: Obama White House Hides Meetings Off-Site
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/24-1
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Posted in you've got mail at 12:29 pm by nemo
Assange Can Be Extradited; Could Face US Death Penalty
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/24
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Posted in you've got mail at 12:27 pm by nemo
RG mail
http://nirrosen.tumblr.com/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
The Unstoppable Revolutionary Power of al Jazeera
*By Nir Rosen*
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Posted in you've got mail at 12:25 pm by nemo
ISLAMOPHOBIA: The Ideological Campaign Against Muslims
http://www.claritypress.com/Sheehi.html*
*SYNOPSIS**
**
**Islamophobia: The Ideological Campaign Against Muslims* examines the rise
of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab sentiments in the West following the end of the Cold War through
GW Bush’s War on Terror to the Age of Obama. Using “Operation Desert Storm” as a watershed
moment, Stephen Sheehi examines the increased mainstreaming of Muslim-bating rhetoric and
explicitly racist legislation, police surveillance, witch-trials and discriminatory policies
towards Muslims in North America and abroad.
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