http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/30/
cia.director.challenges/index.html
Though I agree with the CIA director that China is not an inevitable enemy, one must also, to be realistic see China as a very unwieldy nation. China is a very rare nation on the world scene. It is the largest nation ever to remain the same nation and culture for so long on earth. It is historically 5000 years old as a civilization and as a single nation. Even though the Chinese borders have enlarged during some dynasties and shrunk during others, it has remained largely the same nation culturally for 5000 years. So that 3000 years before Christ China as a culture existed.
Another odd fact is that China, because of being so big has always been unwieldy to govern. It is just as unwieldy to rule today than ever before. In fact it might be more unwieldy now because of all the fast pace of change within China. China is struggling to save itself before it destroys itself. I believe to some degree it has always been like this in China since its beginning 5000 years ago.
As of 2007 the population of china was: 1,321,851,888 (July 2007 est.)
When one considers that only about 300 million of these people are enjoying a similar life to people in Europe or the United States one begins to grasp the problems in China. If the US was like China it would be like 69 million people living the life we live now and the rest of the people very poor third world people who were uneducated with 1/3 of them with TB. So this would be like 69 million in the US with their present standard of living and 231 million living in the US like poor uneducated third world people. Then imagine 100 million uneducated Americans living in poverty with TB(1/4 of these are drug resistant strains). This is the only way Americans could begin to imagine what China is really like for those who live there.
Because of all this almost anything can and will happen there. Can the government maintain the peace? This is unknown. Maybe. Possibly. However, unrest from all the
1 billion disenfranchised is growing in China daily. If those 1 billion unhappy people ever join together against the government almost anything could happen. The future is a complete unknown. However, with 5000 years of culture behind them they probably will find some way to work it all out because of 5000 years of tradition.
What this will mean in real terms to the US and Europe and the rest of the world no one really knows. The best any of us can do is guess.
To the best of my ability I write about my experience of the Universe Past, Present and Future
Top 10 Posts This Month
- Because of fighting in Ukraine and Israel Bombing Iran I thought I should share this EMP I wrote in 2011
- Here Are the New Members of Donald Trump’s Administration So Far
- "There is nothing so good that no bad may come of it and nothing so bad that no good may come of it": Descartes
- Historicity of Jesus-Wikipedia
- US intelligence officials make last-ditch effort to sound the alarm over foreign election interference
- Holiday Fire in Goleta: 19 structures destroyed: 80% contained: evacuations lifted
- CAVE FIRE EVACUATIONS TO BE LIFTED WEDNESDAY
- Keri Russell pulls back the curtain on "The Diplomat" (season 2 filming now for Netflix)
- I tried to get a copy from France from French Wikipedia but it just took me back to English Wikipedia:
- 6 inches of Rain hit Santa Barbara tonight according to Weather Channel
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
No Real Wars since World War II`
I was thinking today and realizing that there really haven't been any real wars that the US has been involved in since World War II. Korea was a police action. McArthur wanted to take out Mao Zedong but was stopped by the US President and Congress. Viet Nam was (supposedly to stop the domino theory and stop communism in its tracks). The first Iraq War (Desert Storm) was a mercenary war paid for by Kuwaiti money to buy back their country. And the War in Iraq (for us least) is another police action. But for the Iraqis and Afghanis it is a war not a police action.
Who benefits from these wars? It isn't really Korea, Viet Nam, Iraq or Afghanistan. It is mainly multinational corporations that benefit and it also has the side effect of scaring the hell out of the rest of the world. In other words other countries become more scared of the US.
Is it good or bad that other countries are scared of the US? Both. Some people you want too scared of the US to make war against us. And other people we want to like us enough to buy and sell from us and to us and to allow our citizens to go to their countries without being killed there.
The US had a lot of good will going for it from world war II. However, that is mostly gone now and world polls say that the US is thought less of than Russia and China worldwide now. This is not good.
Who benefits from these wars? It isn't really Korea, Viet Nam, Iraq or Afghanistan. It is mainly multinational corporations that benefit and it also has the side effect of scaring the hell out of the rest of the world. In other words other countries become more scared of the US.
Is it good or bad that other countries are scared of the US? Both. Some people you want too scared of the US to make war against us. And other people we want to like us enough to buy and sell from us and to us and to allow our citizens to go to their countries without being killed there.
The US had a lot of good will going for it from world war II. However, that is mostly gone now and world polls say that the US is thought less of than Russia and China worldwide now. This is not good.
Nationalize Oil?
In order for the US economy to continue to function and be useful in anyway to anyone in the US or abroad there DOES have to be a limit of oil prices in the US! One way to do this is to nationalize the initial cost of oil so that the filling stations can still make a few cents profit but to limit the cost they pay for their gas and diesel.
The survival of all businesses and livelihoods in the US depends upon slowing the upward movement of prices of gas and diesel at a retail level nationwide.
There are several ways this could be done successfully. One way would be for the government to subsidize any costs that reached the consumer above $5 a gallon for either gas or diesel so that consumers would never have to pay more than $5 a gallon for gas or diesel.
Another way would be for an emergency takeover of oil companies within the US that would be accepted as a temporary move to prevent the collapse of our economy from unsustainable oil prices.
One factor that would be important in this is that no oil obtained from US ground could be exported outside the US under any conditions. We could start with all oil obtained from anywhere within the US and go from there if necessary. Unless Gas and diesel at the pump can be maintained below $5 a gallon I believe the cost of food in the United States will endanger the survivability of our own government. It is said that the collapse of a government is only 3 meals away. This isn't just true of third world nations. It is true of ALL nations.
Also, since Bush and Cheney are both OILMEN this isn't likely to happen until a Democrat becomes President. Don't expect these kinds of LIFE SAVING changes under ANY Republican administration ever!
By the way, I live in California where in some places gas is already $5 a gallon!
The survival of all businesses and livelihoods in the US depends upon slowing the upward movement of prices of gas and diesel at a retail level nationwide.
There are several ways this could be done successfully. One way would be for the government to subsidize any costs that reached the consumer above $5 a gallon for either gas or diesel so that consumers would never have to pay more than $5 a gallon for gas or diesel.
Another way would be for an emergency takeover of oil companies within the US that would be accepted as a temporary move to prevent the collapse of our economy from unsustainable oil prices.
One factor that would be important in this is that no oil obtained from US ground could be exported outside the US under any conditions. We could start with all oil obtained from anywhere within the US and go from there if necessary. Unless Gas and diesel at the pump can be maintained below $5 a gallon I believe the cost of food in the United States will endanger the survivability of our own government. It is said that the collapse of a government is only 3 meals away. This isn't just true of third world nations. It is true of ALL nations.
Also, since Bush and Cheney are both OILMEN this isn't likely to happen until a Democrat becomes President. Don't expect these kinds of LIFE SAVING changes under ANY Republican administration ever!
By the way, I live in California where in some places gas is already $5 a gallon!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Americans aren't ready to confront Racial Problems
Americans since the 1960s have been ready to confront racial problems but only in theory. Laws enacted all across the US at a Federal and sometimes at a state level allowed this theoretical approach to centuries of varying degrees of racism. However, it is important to note that as recently as World War II there was ethnic discrimination against Hispanics, Italians and even Irish and other ethnic groups in various places across the United States. So this discrimination because of differences has been longstanding and not just directed at Black people.
Democrats were willing to discuss having a President who considers himself black because they were ready for this. However, the whole Rev. Wright issue has made it all too real and personal and factual for even democrats to want to deal with on this level.
Because Rev. Wright has decided to not only protect his reputation but to create a Christian Black Rights campaign through the NAACP it takes is to a whole new level that likely has destroyed Obama's chances of becoming President this year. In fact, it might also have destroyed his chances of becoming vice President but then again it appears to early to know that for sure.
What is certain is that all this is not good for Obama if he wants to be President.
Democrats were willing to discuss having a President who considers himself black because they were ready for this. However, the whole Rev. Wright issue has made it all too real and personal and factual for even democrats to want to deal with on this level.
Because Rev. Wright has decided to not only protect his reputation but to create a Christian Black Rights campaign through the NAACP it takes is to a whole new level that likely has destroyed Obama's chances of becoming President this year. In fact, it might also have destroyed his chances of becoming vice President but then again it appears to early to know that for sure.
What is certain is that all this is not good for Obama if he wants to be President.
Food scientists say stop biofuels to fight world hunger
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/food_vs_fuel;
As a lifelong precognitive psychic I disagree with this article. My reason is that right now we may lose millions of people to starvation and malnutrition worldwide this year. However, as a precognitive psychic I need to tell you things are much worse than they appear on the surface right now. If we shortsightedly give up biofuels within a few years the result likely will be billions dying instead of the millions dying now.
Billions of people dying from the chaos of no fuel at a price anyone can afford would turn half of the countries on earth in to complete chaos. Half of the governments of the world would and could cease to exist in the next 10 years or more. This would directly and indirectly cause the deaths of billions of people.
We need to create biofuels so more will live!
We are in a world TRIAGE survival situation now. Most people don't realize this yet. To give up biofuels while we are this far down the road is only going to make things worse!
As a lifelong precognitive psychic I disagree with this article. My reason is that right now we may lose millions of people to starvation and malnutrition worldwide this year. However, as a precognitive psychic I need to tell you things are much worse than they appear on the surface right now. If we shortsightedly give up biofuels within a few years the result likely will be billions dying instead of the millions dying now.
Billions of people dying from the chaos of no fuel at a price anyone can afford would turn half of the countries on earth in to complete chaos. Half of the governments of the world would and could cease to exist in the next 10 years or more. This would directly and indirectly cause the deaths of billions of people.
We need to create biofuels so more will live!
We are in a world TRIAGE survival situation now. Most people don't realize this yet. To give up biofuels while we are this far down the road is only going to make things worse!
Worldwide Survival Foods:Potatoes and coconuts
I know it may sound odd to you but one can live on baked potatoes without anything else as long as they eat the peels too. The only other single thing that I know of that one can survive on indefinitely is coconuts. However, surviving on coconuts is less pleasant because they are very laxative. However, it can be done if you live right where the coconuts are grown and can eat them at every stage of maturity from young to old.
Also, potatoes can be grown almost anywhere on earth as well. All you need is some good protected ground and water and some sunlight. Potatoes could also be grown in greenhouses in very cold climates. Also, most old potatoes even in your refrigerator or cold cellar will start sprouting after a while. The sprouted ones can be planted and grow more potatoes. Also, remember potatoes are sort of like carrots in that the potato forms underground. In addition, potatoes, carrots and apples are best if the ground you grow them in hasn't been exposed to pesticides or herbicides because the pesticides and herbicides are absorbed directly into the food itself of potatoes, carrots and apples. The higher the quality of earth and water you use to grow them in the better results you will have.
However, many experiments have been done showing that a potato is a good thing to live on without anything else but water as long as it is baked. One can bake it in an oven or just build a fire and with the coals bury the potato in with the coals. However, to protect the potato it is better to have aluminum foil to help protect the potato from burning in the coals. If your survival depends on this experiment with different techniques until you get it right.
One can also make bread from potatoes mixed with wheat flour or other ground grains.
Though one might wish to eat other things as well, potatoes can keep you and your family alive until world conditions get better.
Also, potatoes can be grown almost anywhere on earth as well. All you need is some good protected ground and water and some sunlight. Potatoes could also be grown in greenhouses in very cold climates. Also, most old potatoes even in your refrigerator or cold cellar will start sprouting after a while. The sprouted ones can be planted and grow more potatoes. Also, remember potatoes are sort of like carrots in that the potato forms underground. In addition, potatoes, carrots and apples are best if the ground you grow them in hasn't been exposed to pesticides or herbicides because the pesticides and herbicides are absorbed directly into the food itself of potatoes, carrots and apples. The higher the quality of earth and water you use to grow them in the better results you will have.
However, many experiments have been done showing that a potato is a good thing to live on without anything else but water as long as it is baked. One can bake it in an oven or just build a fire and with the coals bury the potato in with the coals. However, to protect the potato it is better to have aluminum foil to help protect the potato from burning in the coals. If your survival depends on this experiment with different techniques until you get it right.
One can also make bread from potatoes mixed with wheat flour or other ground grains.
Though one might wish to eat other things as well, potatoes can keep you and your family alive until world conditions get better.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Buffett says recession may be worse than feared
begin quote:"This is not a field of specialty for me, but my general feeling is that the recession will be longer and deeper than most people think," Buffett said. "This will not be short and shallow."(quote by Buffett)jendquote.
If what Warren Buffett believes is true then if you have property and reasonably priced water and clean enough of a backyard or land then you might want to start growing some food to make it through the next years. another idea is a plug in electric bicycle with a large basket on front or back or both to carry the food you buy if gas reaches 5, 10 or 20 dollars a gallon. You might not believe that the US can survive at 20 dollars a gallon for gas. However, everything was done on horseback or rail or sailing ship until the early 1900s so we might have to do some of that again.
Remember the old pioneer spirit of America: Prepare for the worst and then hope for the best!
This kind of thinking will allow us to survive Whatever is coming!
If what Warren Buffett believes is true then if you have property and reasonably priced water and clean enough of a backyard or land then you might want to start growing some food to make it through the next years. another idea is a plug in electric bicycle with a large basket on front or back or both to carry the food you buy if gas reaches 5, 10 or 20 dollars a gallon. You might not believe that the US can survive at 20 dollars a gallon for gas. However, everything was done on horseback or rail or sailing ship until the early 1900s so we might have to do some of that again.
Remember the old pioneer spirit of America: Prepare for the worst and then hope for the best!
This kind of thinking will allow us to survive Whatever is coming!
Imagine if we all just said what we thought
begin quote:Katzooks: "Americans are so unaccustomed to hearing straight-talk that, when a man such as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright speaks, it stuns and outrages our sensibilities. The audacity of this man to just say what he believes!end quote.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/28/
wright.reactions/index.html?
Like the title says: Imagine if we all just said what we thought. As much as possible here at this blog and on my other website I try to do just that.
I had a very strange experience the other day. I was listening to Rev. Wright speak at the NAACP and I thought my wife was going to get hysterical because she just couldn't stand what he was saying. I really couldn't understand why she was so upset. I finally, after 24 hours of wondering what all that was about am coming to the opinion that it has to do with class attitudes in America. My wife was raised upper middle class to rich. I was raised lower middle class to upper middle class. What I learned as a child growing up lower middle class was that ones survival depended upon listening to others points of view. Sometimes, if you didn't listen carefully to what people were telling you you just might wind up injured or dead. Because of this, I learned to listen carefully to anything someone was emotional about as a child. This was and is a very basic survival strategy. Because unless the person you are listening to is completely crazy, listening to them might save your life.
Another factor for me is that I was raised in a minority religion. In my 20s I felt and sometimes spoke of being an "invisible" minority because of the cult I was raised in. Though I dressed the popular styles of the day and could speak the local vernacular of wherever I lived, growing up my belief system was very different than most people in the 1950s because I believed in reincarnation, Jesus, Saint Germain, UFOs, and being a vegetarian. Now, it's no big deal if you have these beliefs but in the 1950s even in California you might be taking your life in your hands if you started talking this way to some people who were really sort of extreme into their own religious beliefs in those days. There simply was not the direct tolerance that is so much more alive and well at least in places like the California coast and College towns through much of the US that there is today. Freedom of religion has always been an ideal even though in the United States we still aren't completely there today. Yes. You can worship your own religion if you just don't talk about it or try to convert other people's children into your religion. That is the way it is today. In the 1950s the gap was much wider and people WERE killed for being different then.
Even when I grew up in High School I knew of people(Even in Los Angeles!) who went out on Friday or Saturday night with baseball bats to beat up or kill blacks or gays and this was 1963 to 1965. Though these people made me sick I knew enough in those days to keep my own counsel and to stay alive because these types actually did maim and kill people! They didn't just talk about it. Even then one could usually tell the difference in those days. These types usually didn't live long unless they joined a serious criminal gang anyway because they were usually just too dysfunctional to survive very long in normal society.
So when my wife started getting upset at what Rev. Wright was saying I couldn't understand why she didn't want to just hear his point of view. I listened as she said this kind of talk was racist and uneducated and generalized too much. I had a completely different take on it.
First of all, Rev. Wright has at least 3 degrees including a doctorate as well as several specialties including egyptology and linguistics. I was having a hard time getting to how one could be these educated and be a racist against whites. Most of the people I had met that were black and racists against whites didn't talk about it to white people. So I didn't agree with it because Rev. Wright was open about what he was saying and because he was saying these things in front of everyone. This for me, at least, took it out of the realm of being a racist against whites and into the realm of being an activist supporting blacks who was redressing injuries longstanding to his race.
For me, this is a very big distinction because it is the difference between a black man who works obediently for whites and then goes home and cusses them all out to his family and friends every night and someone who is actually trying to change things for his race and for that matter make things better for all races just like Martin Luther King did. However, the negative side of all this is that I'm afraid of the Black bashers that I saw as a teenagers and their reactions to all this. It makes me fear for Obama's and Rev. Wright life just as long ago people feared for Martin Luther King's life.
Saying what you think is a wonderful thing. However, if you say what you think publicly there might be those who wish to end your life. However, without some of us willing to say exactly what we think publicly then we all perish!
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/28/
wright.reactions/index.html?
Like the title says: Imagine if we all just said what we thought. As much as possible here at this blog and on my other website I try to do just that.
I had a very strange experience the other day. I was listening to Rev. Wright speak at the NAACP and I thought my wife was going to get hysterical because she just couldn't stand what he was saying. I really couldn't understand why she was so upset. I finally, after 24 hours of wondering what all that was about am coming to the opinion that it has to do with class attitudes in America. My wife was raised upper middle class to rich. I was raised lower middle class to upper middle class. What I learned as a child growing up lower middle class was that ones survival depended upon listening to others points of view. Sometimes, if you didn't listen carefully to what people were telling you you just might wind up injured or dead. Because of this, I learned to listen carefully to anything someone was emotional about as a child. This was and is a very basic survival strategy. Because unless the person you are listening to is completely crazy, listening to them might save your life.
Another factor for me is that I was raised in a minority religion. In my 20s I felt and sometimes spoke of being an "invisible" minority because of the cult I was raised in. Though I dressed the popular styles of the day and could speak the local vernacular of wherever I lived, growing up my belief system was very different than most people in the 1950s because I believed in reincarnation, Jesus, Saint Germain, UFOs, and being a vegetarian. Now, it's no big deal if you have these beliefs but in the 1950s even in California you might be taking your life in your hands if you started talking this way to some people who were really sort of extreme into their own religious beliefs in those days. There simply was not the direct tolerance that is so much more alive and well at least in places like the California coast and College towns through much of the US that there is today. Freedom of religion has always been an ideal even though in the United States we still aren't completely there today. Yes. You can worship your own religion if you just don't talk about it or try to convert other people's children into your religion. That is the way it is today. In the 1950s the gap was much wider and people WERE killed for being different then.
Even when I grew up in High School I knew of people(Even in Los Angeles!) who went out on Friday or Saturday night with baseball bats to beat up or kill blacks or gays and this was 1963 to 1965. Though these people made me sick I knew enough in those days to keep my own counsel and to stay alive because these types actually did maim and kill people! They didn't just talk about it. Even then one could usually tell the difference in those days. These types usually didn't live long unless they joined a serious criminal gang anyway because they were usually just too dysfunctional to survive very long in normal society.
So when my wife started getting upset at what Rev. Wright was saying I couldn't understand why she didn't want to just hear his point of view. I listened as she said this kind of talk was racist and uneducated and generalized too much. I had a completely different take on it.
First of all, Rev. Wright has at least 3 degrees including a doctorate as well as several specialties including egyptology and linguistics. I was having a hard time getting to how one could be these educated and be a racist against whites. Most of the people I had met that were black and racists against whites didn't talk about it to white people. So I didn't agree with it because Rev. Wright was open about what he was saying and because he was saying these things in front of everyone. This for me, at least, took it out of the realm of being a racist against whites and into the realm of being an activist supporting blacks who was redressing injuries longstanding to his race.
For me, this is a very big distinction because it is the difference between a black man who works obediently for whites and then goes home and cusses them all out to his family and friends every night and someone who is actually trying to change things for his race and for that matter make things better for all races just like Martin Luther King did. However, the negative side of all this is that I'm afraid of the Black bashers that I saw as a teenagers and their reactions to all this. It makes me fear for Obama's and Rev. Wright life just as long ago people feared for Martin Luther King's life.
Saying what you think is a wonderful thing. However, if you say what you think publicly there might be those who wish to end your life. However, without some of us willing to say exactly what we think publicly then we all perish!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Unity in diversity
Unity in diversity. I was reading recently about how the human race around 50,000 years ago almost went extinct in Africa and was driven down to around 2,000 total. Recent events make me worry that this could happen again, especially after studying the Easter Island Culture and the Mayan Culture and how they both disappeared overnight through suddenly running out of the resources to live on.
I think one of the ways to avoid this problem is what I call Unity in Diversity. The way this could work is that there could be unifying principles that keep all humans alive while each group each family maintains their personal cultural diversities as well. The Unifying factor is if we all don't pull together now in this century likely the human race will go extinct within the next 100 to 500 years or less. Some shocks are necessary for humans to embrace this worldwide, however. Just like almost dying out and going extinct changed how early humans chose to live and to survive. One of the ways they succeeded was to stay in larger groups together, in larger tribes. Also, developing beyond sign languages to verbal and symbolic communication also probably was helpful. Formal teaching of the children both survival skills and social skills also was likely helpful too.
Today, we have a tool that can reach almost everyone on earth directly or indirectly. I advocate a REAL world wide web of internet that has the same access in all countries. So that even when nations create propaganda in their TV shows and newspapers that at least the most educated of EVERY country can have access to all points of view worldwide if they want it. This would tend to create Unity in Diversity like I'm talking about and enable the human race not to go extinct.
However, it is obvious to most humans who are educated that the present amount of humans living on the surface of earth simply is not sustainable. It might be sustainable if people live under the earth and ONLY use the surface for farming and recreation. However, the way things are I believe only 25% of the present population is sustainable even during this century. This, I believe is the single scariest fact that humans have not chosen (yet) to face. So, for the time being most people are living in a fantasy about this because it is just not polite not to. For in the end who among us could ever choose who lives?
I think one of the ways to avoid this problem is what I call Unity in Diversity. The way this could work is that there could be unifying principles that keep all humans alive while each group each family maintains their personal cultural diversities as well. The Unifying factor is if we all don't pull together now in this century likely the human race will go extinct within the next 100 to 500 years or less. Some shocks are necessary for humans to embrace this worldwide, however. Just like almost dying out and going extinct changed how early humans chose to live and to survive. One of the ways they succeeded was to stay in larger groups together, in larger tribes. Also, developing beyond sign languages to verbal and symbolic communication also probably was helpful. Formal teaching of the children both survival skills and social skills also was likely helpful too.
Today, we have a tool that can reach almost everyone on earth directly or indirectly. I advocate a REAL world wide web of internet that has the same access in all countries. So that even when nations create propaganda in their TV shows and newspapers that at least the most educated of EVERY country can have access to all points of view worldwide if they want it. This would tend to create Unity in Diversity like I'm talking about and enable the human race not to go extinct.
However, it is obvious to most humans who are educated that the present amount of humans living on the surface of earth simply is not sustainable. It might be sustainable if people live under the earth and ONLY use the surface for farming and recreation. However, the way things are I believe only 25% of the present population is sustainable even during this century. This, I believe is the single scariest fact that humans have not chosen (yet) to face. So, for the time being most people are living in a fantasy about this because it is just not polite not to. For in the end who among us could ever choose who lives?
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Main Culprits: Droughts and Falling Dollar
Main Culprits:Droughts and Falling Dollar.
If we boil down the two main causes of high gas, diesel and oil prices and high food prices we find two main causes.
First, in regard the droughts and Global Climate Change(this is specific to high food prices) there are many things that could be done that haven't been implemented or even thought of yet. The second problem is the falling value of the dollar. Because of the wealth and the basic stability of the dollar over the last 50 to 60 years people have counted on it to remain as a stable currency. However, the Iraq war, the War in Afghanistan and now the Subprime fiasco has battered the dollar and it lost about 40% of its value during the last 5 years. This sent panic waves throughout the world because no one wants to lose 40% of their investment. It is less of a problem for Americans who stay in America because everything we buy here that is made here costs the same to us basically. It is only when we travel outside the 50 US States or buy anything imported that it becomes a problem. But for people outside the US heavily invested in US Stocks calibrated in dollars it is a very big problem. So investors have gone to invest in Commodities like Oil and grains in desperation.
These investors unknowingly are causing people to die of starvation because as they moved their investments into commodities like food and oil it caused those prices to move up in crazy ways. For example, it was mentioned on CNN on tv that a barrel of oil without these panicked oil investors should only cost about 80 dollars a barrel instead of almost 120 dollars as it does now. The same is true of those investing in rice, wheat, soybeans, wheat and corn and other commodities as a hedge against a falling dollar. Rice, for example has risen in price 120% or more worldwide and Sam's Club in the US is limiting to 4- 20 pound bags of rice per customer. This doesn't mean that US Customers can't get all the rice they want. It just means it won't be cheap past those 4- 20 pound bags of rice.
As the world discovers the one thing they can fix to save lives is the dollar I think nations will pump up the dollar as a way to save millions of lives by drawing worldwide investors money back to the dollar and dollar based investments as a way of reducing the price of commodities (oil, rice, wheat, corn, soybeans etc.)worldwide. If you can think of other ways to solve the world starvation problem we are facing at present please blog your ideas online or whatever way to spread the word to others and do whatever you can to implement your ideas to save lives as people are dying worldwide from the high prices right now!
In regard to oil there are many other factors: first it is much harder to get out of the ground because we have already gotten(worldwide) the easiest to get so what is left is much harder so much more expensive to get out than before. Second, India and China's booming economies demand for oil and to manufacture oil based products is out of sight. In fact, China is now not only the world's largest polluter(recently surpassing the US) but also china is on a par with the United States in internet users(even though China's internet is not connected directly to the rest of the world. So even if everything was great and oil was (only?) 80 dollars a barrel like it should cost now, it still would continue to rise with no end in sight for anyone on earth.
So, everyone's survival depends long term on energy sources other than oil.
Without other types of energy sources like wind, ocean wave and solar power being implemented not only for home use but also for plug in electric cars in cities, all of us are in for it much sooner than anyone thought.
If we boil down the two main causes of high gas, diesel and oil prices and high food prices we find two main causes.
First, in regard the droughts and Global Climate Change(this is specific to high food prices) there are many things that could be done that haven't been implemented or even thought of yet. The second problem is the falling value of the dollar. Because of the wealth and the basic stability of the dollar over the last 50 to 60 years people have counted on it to remain as a stable currency. However, the Iraq war, the War in Afghanistan and now the Subprime fiasco has battered the dollar and it lost about 40% of its value during the last 5 years. This sent panic waves throughout the world because no one wants to lose 40% of their investment. It is less of a problem for Americans who stay in America because everything we buy here that is made here costs the same to us basically. It is only when we travel outside the 50 US States or buy anything imported that it becomes a problem. But for people outside the US heavily invested in US Stocks calibrated in dollars it is a very big problem. So investors have gone to invest in Commodities like Oil and grains in desperation.
These investors unknowingly are causing people to die of starvation because as they moved their investments into commodities like food and oil it caused those prices to move up in crazy ways. For example, it was mentioned on CNN on tv that a barrel of oil without these panicked oil investors should only cost about 80 dollars a barrel instead of almost 120 dollars as it does now. The same is true of those investing in rice, wheat, soybeans, wheat and corn and other commodities as a hedge against a falling dollar. Rice, for example has risen in price 120% or more worldwide and Sam's Club in the US is limiting to 4- 20 pound bags of rice per customer. This doesn't mean that US Customers can't get all the rice they want. It just means it won't be cheap past those 4- 20 pound bags of rice.
As the world discovers the one thing they can fix to save lives is the dollar I think nations will pump up the dollar as a way to save millions of lives by drawing worldwide investors money back to the dollar and dollar based investments as a way of reducing the price of commodities (oil, rice, wheat, corn, soybeans etc.)worldwide. If you can think of other ways to solve the world starvation problem we are facing at present please blog your ideas online or whatever way to spread the word to others and do whatever you can to implement your ideas to save lives as people are dying worldwide from the high prices right now!
In regard to oil there are many other factors: first it is much harder to get out of the ground because we have already gotten(worldwide) the easiest to get so what is left is much harder so much more expensive to get out than before. Second, India and China's booming economies demand for oil and to manufacture oil based products is out of sight. In fact, China is now not only the world's largest polluter(recently surpassing the US) but also china is on a par with the United States in internet users(even though China's internet is not connected directly to the rest of the world. So even if everything was great and oil was (only?) 80 dollars a barrel like it should cost now, it still would continue to rise with no end in sight for anyone on earth.
So, everyone's survival depends long term on energy sources other than oil.
Without other types of energy sources like wind, ocean wave and solar power being implemented not only for home use but also for plug in electric cars in cities, all of us are in for it much sooner than anyone thought.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Living with $4 a gallon gas
Living with $4 a gallon gas. If you live in a city say in Europe you might think, "Well. Just get a bike or take a train or bus." However, if you live in the western United States it isn't always that easy. First of all, the US is very big and people unfortunately got into the habit of working in a city and living about an hour away by car in a nice suburb away from the smog. This is now creating chaos in a whole lot of middle class lives because driving back and forth that far is no longer affordable 5 days a week. If you also understand that gas was around $1.20 a gallon in 1992 then you can see the Western United States, especially California with high gas taxes now has regular from $4 to 4.35 a gallon and premium from $4.35 a gallon all the way up to $4.75 a gallon or more and I expect to hear or see premium being sold for $5 a gallon somewhere within my state within the next 30 days or so. This will make a 500 percent increase in the price of gas by late summer compared to 1992. This is definitely a monkey wrench into the gears of not only efficient America but the whole world. God help those worldwide without resources or friends with resources the next year or more.
Note:I just saw on CNN the first $5 a gallon gas prices in Gorda, California. 9:30am pdt 4-25-08
Note:I just saw on CNN the first $5 a gallon gas prices in Gorda, California. 9:30am pdt 4-25-08
Subsistance Farmers: possible solution to starvation
My wife was telling me about a program she listened to on NPR radio about an American?
who went to Nepal and asked subsistence farmers there what would help them? What he found from asking them was that they would be better able to solve the problem than in any other way that has been tried yet with maybe 25 to 50 dollars. This money invested into a 50 gallon drum that they could fill with water and a drip system enabled them to increase their yearly income from around 50 to 70 dollars a year to 70 to 100 dollars a year. They were able by carting or hauling or piping water to this 50 gallon drum to grow without rain, something they had never been able to do before and earn 1/3 more per year by growing vegetables out of season. This sort of thing done through microbanking could be done in third world nations around the world to make up some of the lack of grain caused primarily by droughts and weather changes. In this way microbanking for subsistance farmers could help save the starving masses by growing food to sell to the hungry. This would also tend to bring down the cost of food slightly worldwide and make all people who eat food happier.
Another idea straight out of World War II is Victory Gardens. During World War II when most of the able bodied farmers were off fighting in other countries, everyone left here in the United States started growing vegetables to eat and sell so everyone got enough fresh food. It looks like it's time for all those with even a backyard and low cost enough water around the world to start doing this again so food prices drop. Also, by growing organic food you can help feed neighbors and friends and reduce the gasoline and diesel usage in your countries by growing organic and buying and selling or giving away food locally as much as possible thereby reducing oil and diesel usage in shipping food. Also, if the soil is uncontaminated you are growing in what you grow you can also oversee to be as healthy as possible. If you grow it you will know exactly how healthy it is. No one will have to tell you.
who went to Nepal and asked subsistence farmers there what would help them? What he found from asking them was that they would be better able to solve the problem than in any other way that has been tried yet with maybe 25 to 50 dollars. This money invested into a 50 gallon drum that they could fill with water and a drip system enabled them to increase their yearly income from around 50 to 70 dollars a year to 70 to 100 dollars a year. They were able by carting or hauling or piping water to this 50 gallon drum to grow without rain, something they had never been able to do before and earn 1/3 more per year by growing vegetables out of season. This sort of thing done through microbanking could be done in third world nations around the world to make up some of the lack of grain caused primarily by droughts and weather changes. In this way microbanking for subsistance farmers could help save the starving masses by growing food to sell to the hungry. This would also tend to bring down the cost of food slightly worldwide and make all people who eat food happier.
Another idea straight out of World War II is Victory Gardens. During World War II when most of the able bodied farmers were off fighting in other countries, everyone left here in the United States started growing vegetables to eat and sell so everyone got enough fresh food. It looks like it's time for all those with even a backyard and low cost enough water around the world to start doing this again so food prices drop. Also, by growing organic food you can help feed neighbors and friends and reduce the gasoline and diesel usage in your countries by growing organic and buying and selling or giving away food locally as much as possible thereby reducing oil and diesel usage in shipping food. Also, if the soil is uncontaminated you are growing in what you grow you can also oversee to be as healthy as possible. If you grow it you will know exactly how healthy it is. No one will have to tell you.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Food Tsunami:800 million may starve
I was listening to the TV news today on NBC at 5:30 pm pdt in California, USA.
Just like many articles I have been reading about the last few weeks in worldwide media.
The Perfect Storm. It goes something like this. Australian drought for two years which stopped 98% of its grain from ever being grown or harvested and the rest was needed by Australian people. Then because of the weak US dollar people around the world who normally would invest in US dollars as a hedge against other currencies losing value suddenly, people around the world began to invest in commodities like food which drove prices sky high. Then with the Subprime in the US and people there with their houses values plummeting don't have money to donate to charity at home or around the world. Then one of the commodities, Oil, became one of the favorites to invest in as a hedge against the dollar in free fall.(It is 62Cents in value compared to the Euro about 5 to 6 years ago.) Then oil because of all the speculators and because of the plummeting dollar became more valuable. Then because of long term prognostications from 5 to 10 years ago,oil is becoming more difficult to get out of the ground as cheaply as it once was because of inflation around the world and because it is now deeper, of lower quality and harder to access. In addition to this because of worldwide inflation on a mostly national level wages are going up. So this is the perfect storm and because of it is is much worse than the ocean Tsunami of 2004 instead of 200,000 dying this time it could be as high as 800 million deaths just in the next year.
However, you might say to me, "I live in the US or Canada or Europe or even Australia or wherever, why should I worry, I have enough to eat?"
Well, there is another problem which is less visible as of yet. It is said that the veneer of civilization is three meals from anarchy. This has proven true over and over again through history. So what we are looking at is the potential collapse of at least 30 to 40 of the poorest nations on earth. What this will do if it happens is that those who survive watching all or part of their family starve to death will first bring down their own governments and execute their leaders and upper class who ate while they starved. Then many of these who survive will become terrorists against all those who did not come with food while they starved. This is just human nature. If you watched one or more of your closest friends and family die of starvation how rational about this would you be?
It is said there is enough food to feed everyone. The problem is everyone is scared worldwide because of all the instabilities on earth so nations are hoarding food, companies are hoarding food to get more money for it to survive and the likelihood of millions and millions dying isn't just likely it is already happening. How long can you live with only water? Maybe 40 days at best without dying. Within 7 days on only water one is pretty spaced out and living a constant alternate reality somewhat like a cartoon or fantasy movie. By 40 days it is difficult to make sense of most people and what they are saying if they are on water only this long.
Without water one can last 1 to 3 weeks if they are kept completely immobile. This is only true of a completely healthy person and if temperatures don't go above about 80 to 90 degrees farenheit. I myself have gone 4 days and nights without food or water and was able to hike about 5 miles after that with good health at age 32.
Just like many articles I have been reading about the last few weeks in worldwide media.
The Perfect Storm. It goes something like this. Australian drought for two years which stopped 98% of its grain from ever being grown or harvested and the rest was needed by Australian people. Then because of the weak US dollar people around the world who normally would invest in US dollars as a hedge against other currencies losing value suddenly, people around the world began to invest in commodities like food which drove prices sky high. Then with the Subprime in the US and people there with their houses values plummeting don't have money to donate to charity at home or around the world. Then one of the commodities, Oil, became one of the favorites to invest in as a hedge against the dollar in free fall.(It is 62Cents in value compared to the Euro about 5 to 6 years ago.) Then oil because of all the speculators and because of the plummeting dollar became more valuable. Then because of long term prognostications from 5 to 10 years ago,oil is becoming more difficult to get out of the ground as cheaply as it once was because of inflation around the world and because it is now deeper, of lower quality and harder to access. In addition to this because of worldwide inflation on a mostly national level wages are going up. So this is the perfect storm and because of it is is much worse than the ocean Tsunami of 2004 instead of 200,000 dying this time it could be as high as 800 million deaths just in the next year.
However, you might say to me, "I live in the US or Canada or Europe or even Australia or wherever, why should I worry, I have enough to eat?"
Well, there is another problem which is less visible as of yet. It is said that the veneer of civilization is three meals from anarchy. This has proven true over and over again through history. So what we are looking at is the potential collapse of at least 30 to 40 of the poorest nations on earth. What this will do if it happens is that those who survive watching all or part of their family starve to death will first bring down their own governments and execute their leaders and upper class who ate while they starved. Then many of these who survive will become terrorists against all those who did not come with food while they starved. This is just human nature. If you watched one or more of your closest friends and family die of starvation how rational about this would you be?
It is said there is enough food to feed everyone. The problem is everyone is scared worldwide because of all the instabilities on earth so nations are hoarding food, companies are hoarding food to get more money for it to survive and the likelihood of millions and millions dying isn't just likely it is already happening. How long can you live with only water? Maybe 40 days at best without dying. Within 7 days on only water one is pretty spaced out and living a constant alternate reality somewhat like a cartoon or fantasy movie. By 40 days it is difficult to make sense of most people and what they are saying if they are on water only this long.
Without water one can last 1 to 3 weeks if they are kept completely immobile. This is only true of a completely healthy person and if temperatures don't go above about 80 to 90 degrees farenheit. I myself have gone 4 days and nights without food or water and was able to hike about 5 miles after that with good health at age 32.
Three Good Candidates
Three Good Candidates. UP until recently I felt we had two good candidates that I could support in one circumstances or another. Now however, after Obama's speech on race I feel we have three good candidates. The reason for this is that Obama, rhetorically, if for no other reason has moved, for me, into the category of someone who could be another Martin Luther King or Mandella potentially as well as a very powerful world leader. What I'm saying is that for over 50 years the President of the United States has been in some ways a de facto leader of the world. I'm not really sure if Obama would make a good President of the United States. However, I am sure he would make a good leader of the world and for this reason I could support him or Hillary or McCain depending upon the world circumstances in November.
My main concern about McCain is that he doesn't think we need to balance the budget or pay off our world debt as a nation. I believe that unless this is done as quickly as possible the dollar will continue to fall into complete oblivion eventually. Already a dollor is only worth 62cents of what it was 5 years ago against the Euro. This isn't good for our nation. It might be good for American exporters but most US citizens aren't exporters we all mostly just trying to survive and a 62cent dollar against the Euro doesn't help us as a nation survive!
Even though for me, Hillary is the strongest candidate at present, the world is changing and even though I am around Hillary and Bill's age and tend to think like a 1960s person just like they do, younger people must also have their say and their hopes and dreams. Though I am of the present to some degree now I am of the past just like folks who were in World War II were people of the past when I grew up. Even though I watched faithfully programs like Victory at Sea and Combat on TV about World War II on land and sea, the world has changed once again to the point where people under age 35 no longer understand my generation beyond the characatures of the 1960s on TV and in movies which appear almost like political cartoons in newspapers so far from my actual experience of those times they tend to represent now.
In the end the world was just very different in almost all ways from what it is now.
So, given all the present day variables I now have three candidates that I could vote for given whatever is going on in the world in November 2008.
My main concern about McCain is that he doesn't think we need to balance the budget or pay off our world debt as a nation. I believe that unless this is done as quickly as possible the dollar will continue to fall into complete oblivion eventually. Already a dollor is only worth 62cents of what it was 5 years ago against the Euro. This isn't good for our nation. It might be good for American exporters but most US citizens aren't exporters we all mostly just trying to survive and a 62cent dollar against the Euro doesn't help us as a nation survive!
Even though for me, Hillary is the strongest candidate at present, the world is changing and even though I am around Hillary and Bill's age and tend to think like a 1960s person just like they do, younger people must also have their say and their hopes and dreams. Though I am of the present to some degree now I am of the past just like folks who were in World War II were people of the past when I grew up. Even though I watched faithfully programs like Victory at Sea and Combat on TV about World War II on land and sea, the world has changed once again to the point where people under age 35 no longer understand my generation beyond the characatures of the 1960s on TV and in movies which appear almost like political cartoons in newspapers so far from my actual experience of those times they tend to represent now.
In the end the world was just very different in almost all ways from what it is now.
So, given all the present day variables I now have three candidates that I could vote for given whatever is going on in the world in November 2008.
Nobles Oblige
pronounced- No bless O-bleejj. My definition of this would be: Those of us who have not only survived but survived well have an obligation to help those less fortunate.
I can count on only one hand the people in my life who I grew up with that are now in this category and among these people I am probably the least social but all of us help those less fortunate in any way we can. Writing my blog is one of the ways I try to help. When I almost died starting my first website in 1999 and putting online books that I have written that are like in many ways my own personal Biblical mystical stories that span thousands of my lifetimes on earth and beyond.
One of the hardest things I have learned in being fortunate is that generally people less fortunate don't have any real idea what it is actually like being fortunate because until I was I didn't understand either. I used to resent and hate all wealthy people because I (just like many or most middle and lower class people) was ignorant of what it is really like.
The first thing that is different than what I thought is that as a wealthier than average person one knows to NEVER spend ones principal for principal is the basis of your wealth. Only ones dividends or interest one can afford to spend and stay wealthy and most of the time it is wiser to reinvest ones dividends and interest and then that becomes principal too.
When a poor person looks at a wealthy persons house or car or lifestyle he or she doesn't see all this. This poorer person assumes wrongly that everything is liquid which it is not. Usually less than 1 to 5 percent of that rich persons wealth is actually liquid(liquid means in cash and usable) unless that wealthy person is preparing for a new investment or traveling or buying something(and most of the time unless it is a car it is a new investment). Because a car is not an investment in the classical sense and neither is a house with a subprime. Both from this point of view would be considered to some degree bad investments because both are risky investments.The only exception to this would be an antique or rare car and even then if it got into an accident it would be a bad investment unless it was well insured.
That being said nobles oblige is the obligation of those who have become successful to help and mentor those less fortunate. What this has meant to me is to mentor those young people that I felt were safe to mentor. and Mentoring means to guide and to help keep alive mentally, physically, psychologically in every way on into adulthood.
Weighing how to help and who can be helped is a very difficult thing for affluent people and should not in any way be underestimated. This can consume a lot of time because though most affluent people want to help in any way they can most ways are not safe for them so they have to be very careful how they help people.
Poor people don't realize that when one is poor in a way they have nothing to lose. Once one has wealth and position in life there is a lot to lose and if one has worked very hard to obtain where they are in life they don't want to lose it and so this makes it doubly hard to move forward. It is like when one is young and free they are like a World War II PT boat but as family, wealth and position is garnered one becomes more like a battleship; huge, fast but hard to turn and to stop or to get going quickly like a PT boat. So, when you are young take advantage of your youth and mobility because one day you might be wealthy and have to be very careful of your every movement.
When you become wealthy remember nobles oblige and your obligation to mankind to help and to give back for all you have received. And remember to not go crazy with this just know that God or life (depending on your belief system) will convey to you exactly what to do for what people or life in every moment. In this way you can have peace with your wealth knowing you are doing your best to help in every moment
I can count on only one hand the people in my life who I grew up with that are now in this category and among these people I am probably the least social but all of us help those less fortunate in any way we can. Writing my blog is one of the ways I try to help. When I almost died starting my first website in 1999 and putting online books that I have written that are like in many ways my own personal Biblical mystical stories that span thousands of my lifetimes on earth and beyond.
One of the hardest things I have learned in being fortunate is that generally people less fortunate don't have any real idea what it is actually like being fortunate because until I was I didn't understand either. I used to resent and hate all wealthy people because I (just like many or most middle and lower class people) was ignorant of what it is really like.
The first thing that is different than what I thought is that as a wealthier than average person one knows to NEVER spend ones principal for principal is the basis of your wealth. Only ones dividends or interest one can afford to spend and stay wealthy and most of the time it is wiser to reinvest ones dividends and interest and then that becomes principal too.
When a poor person looks at a wealthy persons house or car or lifestyle he or she doesn't see all this. This poorer person assumes wrongly that everything is liquid which it is not. Usually less than 1 to 5 percent of that rich persons wealth is actually liquid(liquid means in cash and usable) unless that wealthy person is preparing for a new investment or traveling or buying something(and most of the time unless it is a car it is a new investment). Because a car is not an investment in the classical sense and neither is a house with a subprime. Both from this point of view would be considered to some degree bad investments because both are risky investments.The only exception to this would be an antique or rare car and even then if it got into an accident it would be a bad investment unless it was well insured.
That being said nobles oblige is the obligation of those who have become successful to help and mentor those less fortunate. What this has meant to me is to mentor those young people that I felt were safe to mentor. and Mentoring means to guide and to help keep alive mentally, physically, psychologically in every way on into adulthood.
Weighing how to help and who can be helped is a very difficult thing for affluent people and should not in any way be underestimated. This can consume a lot of time because though most affluent people want to help in any way they can most ways are not safe for them so they have to be very careful how they help people.
Poor people don't realize that when one is poor in a way they have nothing to lose. Once one has wealth and position in life there is a lot to lose and if one has worked very hard to obtain where they are in life they don't want to lose it and so this makes it doubly hard to move forward. It is like when one is young and free they are like a World War II PT boat but as family, wealth and position is garnered one becomes more like a battleship; huge, fast but hard to turn and to stop or to get going quickly like a PT boat. So, when you are young take advantage of your youth and mobility because one day you might be wealthy and have to be very careful of your every movement.
When you become wealthy remember nobles oblige and your obligation to mankind to help and to give back for all you have received. And remember to not go crazy with this just know that God or life (depending on your belief system) will convey to you exactly what to do for what people or life in every moment. In this way you can have peace with your wealth knowing you are doing your best to help in every moment
Monday, April 21, 2008
China:National Geographic may 2008
This is a quote from an article by Peter Hessler from page 46:begin quote
---For three decades the (chinese) economy has grown at an average rate annual rate of
nearly 10%, and more people have been lifted out of poverty than in any other country, at any other time. China has become home to the largest urbanization in human history--an estimated 150 million people have left the countryside, mostly to work in the factory towns of the coast. By most measures the nation is now the worlds largest consumer, using more grain, meat, coal, and steel than the United States. But apart from Deng Xiaoping, it is difficult to credit these critical changes to any specific governmental official. end quote
from page 43 writes one of Hesslers college students that he taught in China,"If I had been Mao Zedong," wrote a tactful student named Joan, "I wouldn't have let the thing happen between 1966 and 1976." But they refused to judge their elders. Eileen wrote: "Today, when we see [the Cutlural Revolution] with our own sight, we'll feel our parents' thoughts and actions are somewhat blind and fanatical. But if we consider that time objectively, I think, we should understand and can understand them. Each generation has its own happiness and sadness. To younger generation, the important thing is understanding instead of criticizing." end quote.
All these English students were Hessler's in College in China when he taught there in the 1990s.
Since Hessler is still in contact with about 100 of his Chinese college students who learned English from him. He said most of them are still teaching English to other Chinese students today in China. I think this next quote speaks to the growing generation gap between todays teachers and their students in China.
Begin quote page 47:
---Although my students were patient with the flaws of their elders, today they seem to feel a greater distance from the young people they teach. "When we were students there wasn't a generation gap with the teachers," wrote Sally. "Nowadays our students have their own viewpoints and ideas, and they speak about democracy and freedom, independence and rights. I think we fear them instead of them fearing us."
A classmate pointed out that most of today's students come form one-child homes, and many have been spoiled by indulgent parents. "We had a pure childhood," wrote Lucy. "But now the students are different, they are more influenced by modern things, even sex. But when we were young sex was taboo for us." endquote.
I believe the western names these students use were chosen for them as students of Hessler to begin to identify themselves as English speakers and to "pretend" to be Western people to more quickly gain thinking and dreaming in English so speaking it becomes second nature. For that is the most proficient way to learn a language.
---For three decades the (chinese) economy has grown at an average rate annual rate of
nearly 10%, and more people have been lifted out of poverty than in any other country, at any other time. China has become home to the largest urbanization in human history--an estimated 150 million people have left the countryside, mostly to work in the factory towns of the coast. By most measures the nation is now the worlds largest consumer, using more grain, meat, coal, and steel than the United States. But apart from Deng Xiaoping, it is difficult to credit these critical changes to any specific governmental official. end quote
from page 43 writes one of Hesslers college students that he taught in China,"If I had been Mao Zedong," wrote a tactful student named Joan, "I wouldn't have let the thing happen between 1966 and 1976." But they refused to judge their elders. Eileen wrote: "Today, when we see [the Cutlural Revolution] with our own sight, we'll feel our parents' thoughts and actions are somewhat blind and fanatical. But if we consider that time objectively, I think, we should understand and can understand them. Each generation has its own happiness and sadness. To younger generation, the important thing is understanding instead of criticizing." end quote.
All these English students were Hessler's in College in China when he taught there in the 1990s.
Since Hessler is still in contact with about 100 of his Chinese college students who learned English from him. He said most of them are still teaching English to other Chinese students today in China. I think this next quote speaks to the growing generation gap between todays teachers and their students in China.
Begin quote page 47:
---Although my students were patient with the flaws of their elders, today they seem to feel a greater distance from the young people they teach. "When we were students there wasn't a generation gap with the teachers," wrote Sally. "Nowadays our students have their own viewpoints and ideas, and they speak about democracy and freedom, independence and rights. I think we fear them instead of them fearing us."
A classmate pointed out that most of today's students come form one-child homes, and many have been spoiled by indulgent parents. "We had a pure childhood," wrote Lucy. "But now the students are different, they are more influenced by modern things, even sex. But when we were young sex was taboo for us." endquote.
I believe the western names these students use were chosen for them as students of Hessler to begin to identify themselves as English speakers and to "pretend" to be Western people to more quickly gain thinking and dreaming in English so speaking it becomes second nature. For that is the most proficient way to learn a language.
China protests target CNN, French store
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/20/china.protests/
Some might be afraid of the verbal confrontations between China and the western world. In the long run I believe this dialog is a positive one. The Chinese have been sheltered and living in their own ethnocentric view of reality for Thousands of years. Communism only made that worse in some ways. The Chinese have been brainwashed for so long by their government as a way of controlling their hearts and minds to only think down a very narrow pathway that the world has to be open minded about a people so abused in this way by their government long term. I, personally, am amazed how far and how fast the Chinese people have come from where they were under Mao. I think they have moved about as far as 1.4 billion people can in the last 40 years.
Nationalism can be a good thing or a bad thing. The most unfortunate thing for me about all this is the Chinese nationalism driven by Chinese government propaganda will only cost more lives of Tibetans and other minorities within Asia under China's domination.
I don't have the answer to all this except that it is in the interests of EVERYONE on earth that China become a real democracy as soon as possible. Otherwise, the whole world will be abused, killed, starved and mistreated just like the Tibetans have been for the last 60 years now.
Even if it costs the west some dollars to let China know what we all feel, it is as necessary for us to let China know as it is for each of us to continue breathing air. All of our future survival depends upon this!
Some might be afraid of the verbal confrontations between China and the western world. In the long run I believe this dialog is a positive one. The Chinese have been sheltered and living in their own ethnocentric view of reality for Thousands of years. Communism only made that worse in some ways. The Chinese have been brainwashed for so long by their government as a way of controlling their hearts and minds to only think down a very narrow pathway that the world has to be open minded about a people so abused in this way by their government long term. I, personally, am amazed how far and how fast the Chinese people have come from where they were under Mao. I think they have moved about as far as 1.4 billion people can in the last 40 years.
Nationalism can be a good thing or a bad thing. The most unfortunate thing for me about all this is the Chinese nationalism driven by Chinese government propaganda will only cost more lives of Tibetans and other minorities within Asia under China's domination.
I don't have the answer to all this except that it is in the interests of EVERYONE on earth that China become a real democracy as soon as possible. Otherwise, the whole world will be abused, killed, starved and mistreated just like the Tibetans have been for the last 60 years now.
Even if it costs the west some dollars to let China know what we all feel, it is as necessary for us to let China know as it is for each of us to continue breathing air. All of our future survival depends upon this!
Everything's Relative?
http://money.cnn.com/2003/03/10/news/economy/gas_prices/index.htm
begin quote from this 2003 article:
A year ago, the nationwide average price for a gallon of gas was $1.20.
end quote.
This week gasoline throughout California is averaging above 4 dollars a gallon. Is it fair to say that gas since 2002 is 4 times as much (approximately) of what it was in 2002?
a 400% increase in the price of gas would have been thought of as completely ludicrous in 2002. And yet, if you live in California this is the price we're paying right now!
And it gets better. Even though the average price of gas in California is about $4 a gallon now it said today that we can expect it to go 35 cents a gallon higher soon.
Since I have already seen premium at prices between 4.25 and 4.50 a gallon already within the month we can expect prices to be 4.50 for regular and 4.75 for premium?
When I heard about all the independent truckers going bankrupt over the price of diesel I also worry about all people in the Restaurant, hotel and travel industry and just people without enough money to even eat at these prices.
A line from "The Wizard of Oz" 'Toto! I don't think we're in Kansas anymore?'
begin quote from this 2003 article:
A year ago, the nationwide average price for a gallon of gas was $1.20.
end quote.
This week gasoline throughout California is averaging above 4 dollars a gallon. Is it fair to say that gas since 2002 is 4 times as much (approximately) of what it was in 2002?
a 400% increase in the price of gas would have been thought of as completely ludicrous in 2002. And yet, if you live in California this is the price we're paying right now!
And it gets better. Even though the average price of gas in California is about $4 a gallon now it said today that we can expect it to go 35 cents a gallon higher soon.
Since I have already seen premium at prices between 4.25 and 4.50 a gallon already within the month we can expect prices to be 4.50 for regular and 4.75 for premium?
When I heard about all the independent truckers going bankrupt over the price of diesel I also worry about all people in the Restaurant, hotel and travel industry and just people without enough money to even eat at these prices.
A line from "The Wizard of Oz" 'Toto! I don't think we're in Kansas anymore?'
One Day at a Time
My purpose for writing all these articles on ideas to help everyone and to inform people about problems and hopefully ideas for solving some of the problems is to try to do my part in keeping the human race alive.
It is not easy having been born a precognitive psychic. When I see the future and it comes to pass then sometimes I find myself throwing up in a sink if the future wasn't good. Other times when I see the future good things happen. Either way, seeing the future is overwhelming.
When I was little I thought everyone could do this. I thought it was an attribute that everyone was born with. Now I see it differently. Seeing the future is potentially there in most people. However, most people would go insane having to see the future all the time like I do.
There was a scene in Jumanji that reminds me of my life. It is at the end of the movie and Robin Williams and his wife in the movie are trying to keep the parents of two kids that shared their adventures alive. This sort of trying to keep people alive has happened many times to me. Not the Jumanji part. That was just a good story.
God has always directed me to write since I was a little boy. I wanted to be an artist but that wasn't how God Blessed me so each of my three wives have been artists and so have my children. However, I was blessed with being a precognitive psychic, a singer and a musician. I played piano and organ in church from ages 12 to 21 and also sang bass in a church choir during that time. Also, I used to jam and write songs a lot from ages 18 to 30 on guitar, piano and keyboards.I also can play flute, synthesizer, pipe organs and a lot of other instruments a little. Though I still have friends that are professional musicians I never tried to be a professional. I always saw music as a sacred thing and playing music in smoke filled rooms with people drunk or on drugs or both never really attracted me. I guess it was the way I was raised. Smoke filled rooms, drugs and alcohol weren't spiritual to me. However, thank God there are others who see things differently.
I think it mostly had to do with being very psychic. I knew it wasn't a good idea to "open myself up through music" under those conditions. So I played and sang a lot for girlfriends, at parties and in small groups over the years.
My title one day at a time was originally intended by me to be a way to convey to you that the world is just so crazy and nuts these days that the only real way to survive it is to just take things "One day at a time". This begins to reduce stress immediately because when you reduce you life to the present day you "disappear" 99% of all your stress. If you try to face the next 100 years right now you will die of a heart attack or stroke in the next week but if you just take it one day at a time you have some hope of making it through today.
In these crazy times one day might be all any of us have left. One day at a time allows us to truly live. One day might be all we have. Live it fully. Tell the people that you love that you love them. Live!
It is not easy having been born a precognitive psychic. When I see the future and it comes to pass then sometimes I find myself throwing up in a sink if the future wasn't good. Other times when I see the future good things happen. Either way, seeing the future is overwhelming.
When I was little I thought everyone could do this. I thought it was an attribute that everyone was born with. Now I see it differently. Seeing the future is potentially there in most people. However, most people would go insane having to see the future all the time like I do.
There was a scene in Jumanji that reminds me of my life. It is at the end of the movie and Robin Williams and his wife in the movie are trying to keep the parents of two kids that shared their adventures alive. This sort of trying to keep people alive has happened many times to me. Not the Jumanji part. That was just a good story.
God has always directed me to write since I was a little boy. I wanted to be an artist but that wasn't how God Blessed me so each of my three wives have been artists and so have my children. However, I was blessed with being a precognitive psychic, a singer and a musician. I played piano and organ in church from ages 12 to 21 and also sang bass in a church choir during that time. Also, I used to jam and write songs a lot from ages 18 to 30 on guitar, piano and keyboards.I also can play flute, synthesizer, pipe organs and a lot of other instruments a little. Though I still have friends that are professional musicians I never tried to be a professional. I always saw music as a sacred thing and playing music in smoke filled rooms with people drunk or on drugs or both never really attracted me. I guess it was the way I was raised. Smoke filled rooms, drugs and alcohol weren't spiritual to me. However, thank God there are others who see things differently.
I think it mostly had to do with being very psychic. I knew it wasn't a good idea to "open myself up through music" under those conditions. So I played and sang a lot for girlfriends, at parties and in small groups over the years.
My title one day at a time was originally intended by me to be a way to convey to you that the world is just so crazy and nuts these days that the only real way to survive it is to just take things "One day at a time". This begins to reduce stress immediately because when you reduce you life to the present day you "disappear" 99% of all your stress. If you try to face the next 100 years right now you will die of a heart attack or stroke in the next week but if you just take it one day at a time you have some hope of making it through today.
In these crazy times one day might be all any of us have left. One day at a time allows us to truly live. One day might be all we have. Live it fully. Tell the people that you love that you love them. Live!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
The Forbidden Kingdom:The movie
The Forbidden Kingdom has already made 20.8 million dollars in the US in one weekend. Obviously, it is number 1 at theaters. Some may see this as pure escapist fare. However, for serious martial arts people and adepts like myself it is much more than that. It is a metaphor for the path. The way the young man is the seeker and is also trained and groomed by his teachers in an alternate time and world at the same time is the way things actually work in this amazing universe we live in.
When I started out in life I assumed life was one thing. Later I found out it is many things and not really at all what I was thinking in my 20s. However, without my idealism and, yes, even cynicism, and discernment I would not be alive today. Without compassion, idealism, cynicism and pragmatism I would not be alive and turning 60 this month.
This movie is a metaphor for most peoples lives the way they actually are. To understand this is to be wise.
When I started out in life I assumed life was one thing. Later I found out it is many things and not really at all what I was thinking in my 20s. However, without my idealism and, yes, even cynicism, and discernment I would not be alive today. Without compassion, idealism, cynicism and pragmatism I would not be alive and turning 60 this month.
This movie is a metaphor for most peoples lives the way they actually are. To understand this is to be wise.
Biofuels under attack as world food prices soar
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080420/sc_afp/
foodbiofuelsclimatewarming;
After reading the above article at yahoo this is my reaction:
First of all, the way things presently are it is a very tough choice.
The reason I'm saying this is that if the countries now developing biofuels
all of a sudden stop it will grind those countries and civilizations to a halt.
Where I live gasoline is already $4 a gallon for regualar and $4.35 a gallon for
premium.To give you some perspective within 5 years ago the price of regular was around
$1.11 a gallon for regular. At these present prices our civilization in the United States
is not far from collapse if they remain this high for very long.
To stop biofuels at this point might be the Coup de grace(the end of the US) It might be that
the US and these
other countries have no choice but to keep biofuels or else our civilizations will
shrivel up and die. A few thousands dying is nothing compared to Billions dying if we
stop biofuels now. Things are so out of whack at present that I'm sorry we seemed to be
looking at something worldwide that is as bad or worse than the great depression or world War II.
There are NO GOOD ANSWERS. Everywhere one looks it is a disaster. There is only one choice.
"Prepare for the worst and hope for the best!"
foodbiofuelsclimatewarming;
After reading the above article at yahoo this is my reaction:
First of all, the way things presently are it is a very tough choice.
The reason I'm saying this is that if the countries now developing biofuels
all of a sudden stop it will grind those countries and civilizations to a halt.
Where I live gasoline is already $4 a gallon for regualar and $4.35 a gallon for
premium.To give you some perspective within 5 years ago the price of regular was around
$1.11 a gallon for regular. At these present prices our civilization in the United States
is not far from collapse if they remain this high for very long.
To stop biofuels at this point might be the Coup de grace(the end of the US) It might be that
the US and these
other countries have no choice but to keep biofuels or else our civilizations will
shrivel up and die. A few thousands dying is nothing compared to Billions dying if we
stop biofuels now. Things are so out of whack at present that I'm sorry we seemed to be
looking at something worldwide that is as bad or worse than the great depression or world War II.
There are NO GOOD ANSWERS. Everywhere one looks it is a disaster. There is only one choice.
"Prepare for the worst and hope for the best!"
The oldest Americans are also the happiest, research finds
The oldest Americans are also the happiest, research finds.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080419/ap_on_he_me/older_and_happier;
I agree with this from my own life experience. For example, the happiest time of my life has been the last 10 years from 50 to 60. The second happiest time of my life my son and two stepkids were 6,7 and 8 and we bought land and built a house on Mt. Shasta, which was a life long dream and then we home schooled our kids and traveled a lot. The third happiest time in my life was from birth to 18. And the most miserable time of my life was from age 18 to 32. From 21 to 23, in fact I had trouble even staying alive in a body. Even though I had many many girlfriends the problem from 18 to 32 was "unrealistic expectations". In other words I had been given a very good education and always had been told I could do anything, I could be President if I wanted. The problem was I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life outside of mountain climbing, surfing, riding motorcycles and dating. This created constant paradoxes in my 20s and didn't even begin to settle down until my son was born when I was 26 and then his mother and I broke up when he was 3 and I 29. However, at 32 I met a lady who had divorced the same year as I and we snow skied together and hiked and built a home in the wilderness on the side of California. We were very happy for about 5 years. The next time I was really happy I was about 51 in 1999 and took my mother and my oldest daughter to Europe. Though my mother has senile dementia now since 2001, still the last decade has been the least stressful personally in my life. When I almost died in 1998 I had to basically retire. Luckily my wife and I could afford to do that. Though the last ten years have also had their ups and downs generally speaking, I have been able to do what I want most of the time. This has given me a kind of peace in my life that I haven't had since childhood when I would lay on the grass and look up at the clouds and read books for hours and dream about the future. Though I'm not like that anymore, I still like to be a deep thinker and to write science fiction, philosophy, and to spend time with my wife and kids even though two of my kids are grown up now. So, though my life has never been easy all in all it has been a good one.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080419/ap_on_he_me/older_and_happier;
I agree with this from my own life experience. For example, the happiest time of my life has been the last 10 years from 50 to 60. The second happiest time of my life my son and two stepkids were 6,7 and 8 and we bought land and built a house on Mt. Shasta, which was a life long dream and then we home schooled our kids and traveled a lot. The third happiest time in my life was from birth to 18. And the most miserable time of my life was from age 18 to 32. From 21 to 23, in fact I had trouble even staying alive in a body. Even though I had many many girlfriends the problem from 18 to 32 was "unrealistic expectations". In other words I had been given a very good education and always had been told I could do anything, I could be President if I wanted. The problem was I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life outside of mountain climbing, surfing, riding motorcycles and dating. This created constant paradoxes in my 20s and didn't even begin to settle down until my son was born when I was 26 and then his mother and I broke up when he was 3 and I 29. However, at 32 I met a lady who had divorced the same year as I and we snow skied together and hiked and built a home in the wilderness on the side of California. We were very happy for about 5 years. The next time I was really happy I was about 51 in 1999 and took my mother and my oldest daughter to Europe. Though my mother has senile dementia now since 2001, still the last decade has been the least stressful personally in my life. When I almost died in 1998 I had to basically retire. Luckily my wife and I could afford to do that. Though the last ten years have also had their ups and downs generally speaking, I have been able to do what I want most of the time. This has given me a kind of peace in my life that I haven't had since childhood when I would lay on the grass and look up at the clouds and read books for hours and dream about the future. Though I'm not like that anymore, I still like to be a deep thinker and to write science fiction, philosophy, and to spend time with my wife and kids even though two of my kids are grown up now. So, though my life has never been easy all in all it has been a good one.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
If someone tells you a lie
If someone tells you a lie and you are just a child and everyone you know believes this lie to. And then when you are grown up someone comes and tells you the truth but you get very angry and believe it to be a lie. Who's right? Who's wrong? Who lives? Who dies?
Every nation and every family has lies like this. That is the problem. Some just have more lies than others.
Every nation and every family has lies like this. That is the problem. Some just have more lies than others.
Pro Tibet Anti China?
Pro Tibet Anti China? I think that being for Tibetan independence has nothing to do with China at all. I think it has to do with being against ignorance and assaults on human rights and the total ignorance that the Chinese Government perpetrates on its people causing them to be ignorant of real truths. All this is not about being against the Chinese people as the Chinese people are good people just like people everywhere on earth. However, the Chinese people have been brainwashed with lies so long how can they be expected to be able to separate lies and ignorance from truth? It is a very sad thing that so many have been lied to for so long that they have no way of comprehending the truth even if it is shared with them!
Anti-US cleric al-Sadr threatens new uprising in Iraq
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080419/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq
al Sadr is now threatening all out war against the Iraqi government "until liberation".
The main problem with this is that not only could the present Iraqi government fall, likely Al Sadr will have mostly Iranian weapons like he does now only more so. So this thing very easily could escalate in a war de facto between Iran and the U.S. It is possible that a war between Iran and NATO might be inevitable eventually, however, now is not the time with our army so worn down. If a war against Iran happened now Iran would be only a crater in the ground because of the state of our Army because of them fighting and dying since 2003.we already have 300,000 cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I think that might be close to the number of PTSD cases from the war in Viet Nam. I don't think it is in anyone's interests to see Iran a crater in the ground if for no reason but the price of oil. Imagine Iran's oil unpumpable because of radiation contamination and the loss of one more oil producer. This whole situation is just crazy!
al Sadr is now threatening all out war against the Iraqi government "until liberation".
The main problem with this is that not only could the present Iraqi government fall, likely Al Sadr will have mostly Iranian weapons like he does now only more so. So this thing very easily could escalate in a war de facto between Iran and the U.S. It is possible that a war between Iran and NATO might be inevitable eventually, however, now is not the time with our army so worn down. If a war against Iran happened now Iran would be only a crater in the ground because of the state of our Army because of them fighting and dying since 2003.we already have 300,000 cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I think that might be close to the number of PTSD cases from the war in Viet Nam. I don't think it is in anyone's interests to see Iran a crater in the ground if for no reason but the price of oil. Imagine Iran's oil unpumpable because of radiation contamination and the loss of one more oil producer. This whole situation is just crazy!
The cult of ideology
The Cult of ideology. No matter how you have been raised, brainwashed, however you want to call it as a child or whoever you let brainwash you even if it is you yourself as an adult doing the brainwashing, every ideology is cultish thinking. It is just that the more people who think like you around you the easier it is to justify whatever way you think. And when any country doesn't go along with your particular way of thinking you prepare for battle to force them to believe like you. However, to think like this is philosophically naive. It is true that one has to be exposed to all types of thinking to not be philosophically naive and it is true that only the most educated and well traveled tend to get to this place in consciousness. So de facto this means that wars will always take place and be fought usually by those less traveled and less philosophically aware of all of the various elements in the world. And because of this these soldiers will be manipulated and die because of those who will profit economically or through direct power because of their deaths. This is very unfortunate for those who become maimed mentally or physically or worse, dead. However, it has always been this way and is a part of the most animalistic side of mankind. Survival of the fittest and natural selection has always been in play since humans first arrived on earth.
Cultish thinking
Cultish thinking. I can speak to this problem a little because I was born into a cult that my parents belonged to and I joined another similar cult after I was excommunicated from the one I was born into.
I have been following the the news on the children of the polygamous cult in Texas. Though it might be obvious to most people what the problems of being raised in a cult are I thought I would share my personal experiences with these kinds of problems up close and personal. My parents cult did not believe in polygamy or marriage at any age, Thank God. No, the problems created by the cult I grew up in were much more subtle. However, just like this cult if your cult is too different than the "normal" life that most people around you live in the general culture you can't feel safe to talk about your religion around most people. This is isolating.
The effect this has had on my life is that because I tend to be a rugged individualist anyway and not a team player except within a family or a small group of friends this has caused a form of double isolation for me in my life. Even though I am not rigid in my thinking like people I grew up with in my cult and have traveled the world and met people of literally every major religion in their native countries I still am a very unique person even if I am home in America. Primarily, this was caused by being raised in a cult.
Being raised in any cult of any religion or group of religions is isolating both psychologically and physically. I remember hearing a story of my uncle and aunt who weren't members of my parents cult saying to my parents, "Why would you do that to your son. By making him so different than the average person, how can he ever have a normal life?" As an adult I can relate to these thoughts now.
However, there is always the flipside of this. Because of the way I was raised I joined science and religion and always believed in UFOs, Jesus, Saint Germain. I also believe in reincarnation as a way of becoming like Jesus and Saint Germain and that this was the way they too evolved into the powerful beings they are. It also moved me in a direction away from alcohol and alcoholism but in a way that would have happened anyway because my father's family is allergic to alcohol.
The strangeness for me was around (as a child) being a vegetarian, believing in reincarnation, Saint Germain, not wearing red or black and trying to wear the color of the day (usually in pastels) in shirts whenever I attended church. I didn't mind being a vegetarian or not wearing red or black but wearing the color of the day in my shirts seemed pretty stupid to me as a child. Also, I felt pretty left out because of being raised in Los Angeles with all these really great restaurants and not being able to eat anything so we never went except to places like Denny's where we could get grilled cheese sandwiches, baked potatoes, salads, and tomato or mushroom soup. This did make me feel very isolated, especially when my father said things like, "Everyone on earth is going to hell except for the 10,000 people in our religion worldwide". This scared the hell out of me and I think did a lot of semi permanent damage to my young perceptions. Even though the cult is now about 50,000 or more worldwide now this is still, I believe one of the strangest things psychologically to deal with in any cult worldwide.
The reason I say this caused semi permanent damage is that as an adult I have become very ecumenical. This means I embrace almost all philosophies and religions not only on earth but throughout the universe conceptually. I even give the prayer, "May all beings attain bliss and the cause of bliss. May all beings be free from suffering and the cause of suffering. may all beings never be without the supreme bliss that is free from all near and far all grasping and aversion." I do this in my mind any time I feel it and especially when I wake up in the morning or when I am going to sleep. I find it to be the single most powerful prayer along with "I am the resurrection and the life" with all beings in the universe in mind.
However, back to the thought of everyone going to hell except the 10,000. Even though I have become very ecumenical the fear caused by that concept laid upon a child has subliminally kept me more psychologically separate from most people than I think is very healthy.However, EACH OF US HAS TO DEAL AT SOME POINT WITH LIFE AS IT IS RATHER THAN WHAT WE WOULD LIKE IT TO BE.This last sentence says what is most critical about being a member of any cult. Because a cult tends to live the way they would like things to be which in reality they never are. This, when lived by a group of hundreds or thousands of people is like living constantly in a cartoon or movie and is extremely damaging to the individuals in the cult if they ever have to join the normal world outside. I was lucky. I went to public schools and only had to deal with the craziness of my cult whenever I went to church or youth camps during the summer or Yosemite or the beach or something like that. The rest of the time I could pretend to be normal. However, as an adult I joined a cult that was much more immersed in itself so that only about 1 to 4 hours a day I would be away from it. I found this too disorienting and left within a couple of years. I found that I am just too individualistic. I was asked to leave this cult because I considered saving someone from committing suicide more important than following the rules. I was told, "We can't have someone on the staff of our church who believes they have a direct contact with God." I was fine with this because I do have a direct contact with God, Jesus, Saint Germain and all the angels, and if you don't like that then I don't really want to know you anymore either.
So that was my personal experience with cults. Unfortunately or fortunately because of having been burnt twice by religion I gave up churches completely because of realizing that not only cults are like this but all churches. So no matter how large a church is(even billions) it still functions just like a cult just with more political power and authority. In the end we are all very alone with our beliefs if we want to stay alive and sane in this crazy mixed up world we live in.
I was lucky. I was able to do a survivable transition from a cult into everyday life. Even then I lived with constant thoughts of suicide when I was separated from the girl I wanted to marry and hundreds of friends worldwide when I was excommunicated from the cult I was raised in.
The children who have been removed from not only their cult but their mothers may not make it psychologically or physically. Their world and their future has ended. I would say only about 50% of those kids aged 3 to 10 years old now will be even psychologically ok. Society can live with itself. But these children's lives can only be viewed as over. Having been raised in a cult myself, unless the children in their heart of hearts find a way to reject what they were taught to believe and to reject their parents and relatives and even their friends still inside the cult, their lives are over. It would be kinder to execute the children and mothers than to put them through what they will all face now! I'm not advocating this. I'm just stating a hard truth!
I have been following the the news on the children of the polygamous cult in Texas. Though it might be obvious to most people what the problems of being raised in a cult are I thought I would share my personal experiences with these kinds of problems up close and personal. My parents cult did not believe in polygamy or marriage at any age, Thank God. No, the problems created by the cult I grew up in were much more subtle. However, just like this cult if your cult is too different than the "normal" life that most people around you live in the general culture you can't feel safe to talk about your religion around most people. This is isolating.
The effect this has had on my life is that because I tend to be a rugged individualist anyway and not a team player except within a family or a small group of friends this has caused a form of double isolation for me in my life. Even though I am not rigid in my thinking like people I grew up with in my cult and have traveled the world and met people of literally every major religion in their native countries I still am a very unique person even if I am home in America. Primarily, this was caused by being raised in a cult.
Being raised in any cult of any religion or group of religions is isolating both psychologically and physically. I remember hearing a story of my uncle and aunt who weren't members of my parents cult saying to my parents, "Why would you do that to your son. By making him so different than the average person, how can he ever have a normal life?" As an adult I can relate to these thoughts now.
However, there is always the flipside of this. Because of the way I was raised I joined science and religion and always believed in UFOs, Jesus, Saint Germain. I also believe in reincarnation as a way of becoming like Jesus and Saint Germain and that this was the way they too evolved into the powerful beings they are. It also moved me in a direction away from alcohol and alcoholism but in a way that would have happened anyway because my father's family is allergic to alcohol.
The strangeness for me was around (as a child) being a vegetarian, believing in reincarnation, Saint Germain, not wearing red or black and trying to wear the color of the day (usually in pastels) in shirts whenever I attended church. I didn't mind being a vegetarian or not wearing red or black but wearing the color of the day in my shirts seemed pretty stupid to me as a child. Also, I felt pretty left out because of being raised in Los Angeles with all these really great restaurants and not being able to eat anything so we never went except to places like Denny's where we could get grilled cheese sandwiches, baked potatoes, salads, and tomato or mushroom soup. This did make me feel very isolated, especially when my father said things like, "Everyone on earth is going to hell except for the 10,000 people in our religion worldwide". This scared the hell out of me and I think did a lot of semi permanent damage to my young perceptions. Even though the cult is now about 50,000 or more worldwide now this is still, I believe one of the strangest things psychologically to deal with in any cult worldwide.
The reason I say this caused semi permanent damage is that as an adult I have become very ecumenical. This means I embrace almost all philosophies and religions not only on earth but throughout the universe conceptually. I even give the prayer, "May all beings attain bliss and the cause of bliss. May all beings be free from suffering and the cause of suffering. may all beings never be without the supreme bliss that is free from all near and far all grasping and aversion." I do this in my mind any time I feel it and especially when I wake up in the morning or when I am going to sleep. I find it to be the single most powerful prayer along with "I am the resurrection and the life" with all beings in the universe in mind.
However, back to the thought of everyone going to hell except the 10,000. Even though I have become very ecumenical the fear caused by that concept laid upon a child has subliminally kept me more psychologically separate from most people than I think is very healthy.However, EACH OF US HAS TO DEAL AT SOME POINT WITH LIFE AS IT IS RATHER THAN WHAT WE WOULD LIKE IT TO BE.This last sentence says what is most critical about being a member of any cult. Because a cult tends to live the way they would like things to be which in reality they never are. This, when lived by a group of hundreds or thousands of people is like living constantly in a cartoon or movie and is extremely damaging to the individuals in the cult if they ever have to join the normal world outside. I was lucky. I went to public schools and only had to deal with the craziness of my cult whenever I went to church or youth camps during the summer or Yosemite or the beach or something like that. The rest of the time I could pretend to be normal. However, as an adult I joined a cult that was much more immersed in itself so that only about 1 to 4 hours a day I would be away from it. I found this too disorienting and left within a couple of years. I found that I am just too individualistic. I was asked to leave this cult because I considered saving someone from committing suicide more important than following the rules. I was told, "We can't have someone on the staff of our church who believes they have a direct contact with God." I was fine with this because I do have a direct contact with God, Jesus, Saint Germain and all the angels, and if you don't like that then I don't really want to know you anymore either.
So that was my personal experience with cults. Unfortunately or fortunately because of having been burnt twice by religion I gave up churches completely because of realizing that not only cults are like this but all churches. So no matter how large a church is(even billions) it still functions just like a cult just with more political power and authority. In the end we are all very alone with our beliefs if we want to stay alive and sane in this crazy mixed up world we live in.
I was lucky. I was able to do a survivable transition from a cult into everyday life. Even then I lived with constant thoughts of suicide when I was separated from the girl I wanted to marry and hundreds of friends worldwide when I was excommunicated from the cult I was raised in.
The children who have been removed from not only their cult but their mothers may not make it psychologically or physically. Their world and their future has ended. I would say only about 50% of those kids aged 3 to 10 years old now will be even psychologically ok. Society can live with itself. But these children's lives can only be viewed as over. Having been raised in a cult myself, unless the children in their heart of hearts find a way to reject what they were taught to believe and to reject their parents and relatives and even their friends still inside the cult, their lives are over. It would be kinder to execute the children and mothers than to put them through what they will all face now! I'm not advocating this. I'm just stating a hard truth!
A Problem Solver
A Problem Solver. My grandfather, my father, myself and my son are all very good at solving problems. Just my son and I are left now in this 4+ generation of very good problem solvers. We are all (except my son) of the old school of rugged individualists of the kind that settled this country between 1800 and today. Since I am descended from American colonists that arrived from Europe in 1720, hundreds of my ancestors settled this country during the 1800s so that there are thousands and thousands of us now in the 20th and 21st century all over America and the world now.
The colonist byword was "prepare for the worst but hope for the best". This is what I was taught too. Always be ready for anything anytime. So preparedness both psychologically and physically is very important at all times both waking and sleeping.
I can remember on night about 1991 when I heard a terrible screaming in my house in Mt. Shasta. I jumped up running out of a dead sleep into the kitchen to find my wife with our semi feral tomcat's teeth sunk through my wife's hand. I opened the window that had come down on the cats tail and broken it when it jumped through the open window on a hot summer night and knocked loose the prop. The screaming cat and screaming wife separated and the cat ran out of the house again. I then quickly threw up in the kitchen sink from running out of a dead sleep and then quickly tended to my wife's hand. Luckily the cat hadn't broken any bones or cut tendons clear through but had only nicked several. So with a few stitches she was eventually okay. The cat returned in about 3 days very chagrined to have wounded his mealticket. But she forgave our tomcat that time. That's the true pioneer way, even in your sleep you always have to be ready.
My biggest fault in life appears to be that I tend not to be a plodder. I'm instead a great problem solver in the moment and always an idea man. What this means in real time is that someone like me tends to be rich or poor in any given moment. Presently, I've been pretty well okay the last about 14 or 15 years and hopefully well positioned because of having parents and grandparents who lived(survived) the great depression. The story of my grandfather burying 25,000 dollars in the front yard of his house really gives me the willies today because of how precarious the banking situation is today worldwide. In the past banks worldwide weren't so interdependant until globalization interlocked almost all banking systems worldwide like today. So if one big system like the US goes down they all might. This is not good.
The colonist byword was "prepare for the worst but hope for the best". This is what I was taught too. Always be ready for anything anytime. So preparedness both psychologically and physically is very important at all times both waking and sleeping.
I can remember on night about 1991 when I heard a terrible screaming in my house in Mt. Shasta. I jumped up running out of a dead sleep into the kitchen to find my wife with our semi feral tomcat's teeth sunk through my wife's hand. I opened the window that had come down on the cats tail and broken it when it jumped through the open window on a hot summer night and knocked loose the prop. The screaming cat and screaming wife separated and the cat ran out of the house again. I then quickly threw up in the kitchen sink from running out of a dead sleep and then quickly tended to my wife's hand. Luckily the cat hadn't broken any bones or cut tendons clear through but had only nicked several. So with a few stitches she was eventually okay. The cat returned in about 3 days very chagrined to have wounded his mealticket. But she forgave our tomcat that time. That's the true pioneer way, even in your sleep you always have to be ready.
My biggest fault in life appears to be that I tend not to be a plodder. I'm instead a great problem solver in the moment and always an idea man. What this means in real time is that someone like me tends to be rich or poor in any given moment. Presently, I've been pretty well okay the last about 14 or 15 years and hopefully well positioned because of having parents and grandparents who lived(survived) the great depression. The story of my grandfather burying 25,000 dollars in the front yard of his house really gives me the willies today because of how precarious the banking situation is today worldwide. In the past banks worldwide weren't so interdependant until globalization interlocked almost all banking systems worldwide like today. So if one big system like the US goes down they all might. This is not good.
Walk Hard:The Dewey Cox Story
Walk Hard:The Dewey Cox Story. Though I liked it I knew enough not to try and get my wife to watch it. It is very Saturday Night Live or SNL as they say today. Imagine SNL with an R rating. Very funny but a whole lot of naked people and drug use and sex and drug raunchy humor. It is a parody and a black comedy of every country and rock singer that was born since 1935. So it is a parody of every crazy thing imaginable that has happened to country and rock singers including Elvis, Buddy Holly, the Beatles, you name it. Dewey Cox winds up with about 25 kids from several girlfriends and wives and prefers his monkey to them until he gets much older. If you like Scary movie, Superhero movie and like this kind of genre then you might like "Walk Hard".
Dan in real life:The movie
Dan in reallife:The movie. I saw this movie when in came out in the theatre. Since it was a family movie I rented it on netflix to watch with my family. we got about halfway through it before it was time to go to bed. So I watched it tonight in bed on my laptop in bed with earphones so I didn't wake my wife. My favorite line was: "Expect Surprises in life". Dan writes and Ann Landers type of column that go into syndication during the movie. Great family movie as long as you understand Dan wants to date his brother's girlfriend. If your kids are old enough to see that then fine.
expect exponential progress
begin quote:
Expect exponential progress The Christian Science Monitor - Fri Apr 18, 4:00 AM ET Sent 464 times
Massachusetts Institute of Technology was so advanced in 1965 that it actually had a computer. Housed in its own building, it cost $11 million (in today's dollars) and was shared by all students and faculty. Four decades later, the computer in your cellphone is a million times smaller, a million times less expensive, and a thousand times more powerful. That's a billionfold increase in the amount of computation you can buy per dollar.
end quote
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080418/cm_csm/ykurzweil;
With this ever increasing exponential progress we might expect nano technology to create terraforming and atmosphere restructuring subroutines to save us from Global Climate Change caused by the degradation of the ecology from overpopulation worldwide. Yes.It is possible that nano technology used for atmospheric and terraforming purposes could save us if the exponential change of technology doesn't kill us first by accident.
Expect exponential progress The Christian Science Monitor - Fri Apr 18, 4:00 AM ET Sent 464 times
Massachusetts Institute of Technology was so advanced in 1965 that it actually had a computer. Housed in its own building, it cost $11 million (in today's dollars) and was shared by all students and faculty. Four decades later, the computer in your cellphone is a million times smaller, a million times less expensive, and a thousand times more powerful. That's a billionfold increase in the amount of computation you can buy per dollar.
end quote
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080418/cm_csm/ykurzweil;
With this ever increasing exponential progress we might expect nano technology to create terraforming and atmosphere restructuring subroutines to save us from Global Climate Change caused by the degradation of the ecology from overpopulation worldwide. Yes.It is possible that nano technology used for atmospheric and terraforming purposes could save us if the exponential change of technology doesn't kill us first by accident.
Friday, April 18, 2008
The Debacle in Iraq?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/usiraqmilitarywar;
begin quote: WASHINGTON (AFP) - In a scathing analysis, a former senior Pentagon official has called the war in Iraq "a major debacle" that created an incubator for terrorism and emboldened Iran.
"Measured in blood and treasure, the war in Iraq has achieved the status of a major war and a major debacle," Joseph Collins wrote in "Choosing War: The Decision to Invade Iraq and its Aftermath."
Published by the National Defense University, Collins' paper is striking in that it comes from one whose position from 2001 to 2004 put him near the center of decision making that led to the war.
He was deputy assistant secretary of defense for stability operations when the United States invaded Iraq, only to find itself mired in the now five year old struggle to pacify the country.end quote
This present war in Iraq never has made any sense to me. If we were going to invade a country Iran might have made sense but Iraq? This has never made sense to me. Saddam Hussein was basically a bought and paid for US puppet and even fought the Iranians in a proxy war for about 8 years during the 1980s. When he asked the US Ambassador, a lady, what the U.S. would do if he invaded Kuwait, she said, "Nothing!" I guess Saddam thought that he deserved some slack after fighting Iran for 8 years from us because the U.S. didn't allow him to win(or the Iranians either for that matter).
No, this present war only made sense if you were Halliburton or Blackwater or some other military Daddy Warbucks corporation that benefits from a lot of unneccessary carnage by making bullets, missiles, grenades etc.
I think the last war that made any sense at all was World War II. When the Korean war happened General McArthur decided to clean house all the way into China and got fired for it. However, I think going into china would have been just as bad in the long run as what has happened in Iraq during the last almost 20 years since Desert Storm during the first Bush administration. Now, we have 300,000 walking wounded and 4000 who died in Iraq(that doesn't include those who died after leaving Iraq from wounds suffered there).
It is almost as if, starting with the Korean war that war has ONLY been about a police action. All the carnage seems to be like policemen dying to preserve the peace but nothing else. Nothing has been gained by the Korean War, the Viet Nam War, or the Iraq War. Each of these wars was a complete waste of blood and money from U.S. citizens. Possibly the only thing gained by all these wars was that we scared the hell out of the rest of the world like a really scary policeman does sort of like the good cop bad cop game played on the whole planet.
However, the planet is not as economically helpless as it was after World War II and the whole planet can fight back economically if it doesn't like what the U.S. is doing like it is right now. Because there are nuclear weapons most real warfare is done through corporations and individuals worldwide economically now. In this game the U.S. is losing the economic war. The United States needs to rethink what it is doing in this strange new world!
begin quote: WASHINGTON (AFP) - In a scathing analysis, a former senior Pentagon official has called the war in Iraq "a major debacle" that created an incubator for terrorism and emboldened Iran.
"Measured in blood and treasure, the war in Iraq has achieved the status of a major war and a major debacle," Joseph Collins wrote in "Choosing War: The Decision to Invade Iraq and its Aftermath."
Published by the National Defense University, Collins' paper is striking in that it comes from one whose position from 2001 to 2004 put him near the center of decision making that led to the war.
He was deputy assistant secretary of defense for stability operations when the United States invaded Iraq, only to find itself mired in the now five year old struggle to pacify the country.end quote
This present war in Iraq never has made any sense to me. If we were going to invade a country Iran might have made sense but Iraq? This has never made sense to me. Saddam Hussein was basically a bought and paid for US puppet and even fought the Iranians in a proxy war for about 8 years during the 1980s. When he asked the US Ambassador, a lady, what the U.S. would do if he invaded Kuwait, she said, "Nothing!" I guess Saddam thought that he deserved some slack after fighting Iran for 8 years from us because the U.S. didn't allow him to win(or the Iranians either for that matter).
No, this present war only made sense if you were Halliburton or Blackwater or some other military Daddy Warbucks corporation that benefits from a lot of unneccessary carnage by making bullets, missiles, grenades etc.
I think the last war that made any sense at all was World War II. When the Korean war happened General McArthur decided to clean house all the way into China and got fired for it. However, I think going into china would have been just as bad in the long run as what has happened in Iraq during the last almost 20 years since Desert Storm during the first Bush administration. Now, we have 300,000 walking wounded and 4000 who died in Iraq(that doesn't include those who died after leaving Iraq from wounds suffered there).
It is almost as if, starting with the Korean war that war has ONLY been about a police action. All the carnage seems to be like policemen dying to preserve the peace but nothing else. Nothing has been gained by the Korean War, the Viet Nam War, or the Iraq War. Each of these wars was a complete waste of blood and money from U.S. citizens. Possibly the only thing gained by all these wars was that we scared the hell out of the rest of the world like a really scary policeman does sort of like the good cop bad cop game played on the whole planet.
However, the planet is not as economically helpless as it was after World War II and the whole planet can fight back economically if it doesn't like what the U.S. is doing like it is right now. Because there are nuclear weapons most real warfare is done through corporations and individuals worldwide economically now. In this game the U.S. is losing the economic war. The United States needs to rethink what it is doing in this strange new world!
Burning Water?
burning Water?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGg0ATfoBgo
There is a way to burn saltwater that might be useful for steamships. Radio waves are beamed at a certain frequency through saltwater which liberates the hydrogen and oxygen as seen in this youtube video above. There are also ways using a 12volt car battery through electrolysis to break down distilled water that can be burnt in your car either in a mix with gasoline or to run your car or truck directly from distilled water.
water fuel? new zealand motorcycle runs on water mixture
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW_LQqJk740&feature=related
HHO instead of acetylene for cutting metal? Also as an alternative to gasoline in cars and trucks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsvw_zX8ogM
One of the long term problems with burning up the hydrogen and oxygen in water on earth is that oxygen we breathe and water we drink. Eventually it could cause problems for life continuing on earth. I think creating a hydrogen fusion engine which would run on something that would be like a miniature sun smaller than a fist would be a better long term better use for hydrogen. However, it could be 100 years until that might be perfected. Meanwhile, I can see burning water might be useful to prevent mass starvation from the end of cheap fossil fuels. It could mitigate governments toppling until personal fusion engines for cars and for individual generation of electricity for ones homes and businesses can be perfected.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGg0ATfoBgo
There is a way to burn saltwater that might be useful for steamships. Radio waves are beamed at a certain frequency through saltwater which liberates the hydrogen and oxygen as seen in this youtube video above. There are also ways using a 12volt car battery through electrolysis to break down distilled water that can be burnt in your car either in a mix with gasoline or to run your car or truck directly from distilled water.
water fuel? new zealand motorcycle runs on water mixture
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW_LQqJk740&feature=related
HHO instead of acetylene for cutting metal? Also as an alternative to gasoline in cars and trucks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsvw_zX8ogM
One of the long term problems with burning up the hydrogen and oxygen in water on earth is that oxygen we breathe and water we drink. Eventually it could cause problems for life continuing on earth. I think creating a hydrogen fusion engine which would run on something that would be like a miniature sun smaller than a fist would be a better long term better use for hydrogen. However, it could be 100 years until that might be perfected. Meanwhile, I can see burning water might be useful to prevent mass starvation from the end of cheap fossil fuels. It could mitigate governments toppling until personal fusion engines for cars and for individual generation of electricity for ones homes and businesses can be perfected.
Homeless 101
I'm writing this so that hopefully less people starve. Years ago in 1985 I visited India and Nepal for 4 months two months in each with my wife and children. In any given area at that time usually between 20% to 40% of the people had no formal education at all and were homeless living on the streets. I learned fairly quickly that giving each person that asked at least some money for food helped them not only physically stay alive but also mentally and spiritually alive. By giving them at least a nickle each made them realize that I as a representative of humanity recognized their right to be alive on planet earth and helped to validate their meager existence. Since I was asked for money by literally hundreds of people for help it sometimes cost me more that $20 to $30 dollars a day in money I gave out. However, each person knew that someone cared enough to help them stay alive another day. At that time $1.50 worth of rice (about 1 cups worth) meant the difference between starving and staying alive.
Though there aren't many obvious homeless people in the county where I live except in strategic cement islands in the middle of main thoroughfares with cardboard signs I recently went to Santa Barbara downtown. I noticed that there were now about 3 times as many homeless people as before. I guess they had come up from Los Angeles because Santa Barbara might be a little safer place to beg for food than Los Angeles now. However, many people who used to be able to afford rent are being priced out of being able to afford even rent and feed themselves. If it were you, I'm sure you also would choose to eat rather than rent a place and starve to death. However, then after moving out of an apartment these people lose their jobs or income and become completely homeless without anything or any way to climb back up to having an apartment again.
What I now do is I take all my quarters and put them in an inconspicuous container that I keep in my car so when someone I see that I feel safe enough to give money to that really needs it I try to give them at least $3 in quarters so that they can get a meal to live another day.
I know that the saying goes, "Give a man a fish and he lives for a day. Teach a man to fish and he lives for a lifetime." However, many of these people are not functional enough or safe enough to do that anymore. So one must be careful who one chooses to help so one does not become a victim like them also. So I would caution all the compassionate people out there to first be compassionate to yourselves and don't put yourself in danger. Be a wise compassionate person. In the end the only people who really can be helped long term are those who are willing to help themselves. In the end it is a very difficult world we live in so be compassionate, be helpful but most of all be very wise about it!
Though there aren't many obvious homeless people in the county where I live except in strategic cement islands in the middle of main thoroughfares with cardboard signs I recently went to Santa Barbara downtown. I noticed that there were now about 3 times as many homeless people as before. I guess they had come up from Los Angeles because Santa Barbara might be a little safer place to beg for food than Los Angeles now. However, many people who used to be able to afford rent are being priced out of being able to afford even rent and feed themselves. If it were you, I'm sure you also would choose to eat rather than rent a place and starve to death. However, then after moving out of an apartment these people lose their jobs or income and become completely homeless without anything or any way to climb back up to having an apartment again.
What I now do is I take all my quarters and put them in an inconspicuous container that I keep in my car so when someone I see that I feel safe enough to give money to that really needs it I try to give them at least $3 in quarters so that they can get a meal to live another day.
I know that the saying goes, "Give a man a fish and he lives for a day. Teach a man to fish and he lives for a lifetime." However, many of these people are not functional enough or safe enough to do that anymore. So one must be careful who one chooses to help so one does not become a victim like them also. So I would caution all the compassionate people out there to first be compassionate to yourselves and don't put yourself in danger. Be a wise compassionate person. In the end the only people who really can be helped long term are those who are willing to help themselves. In the end it is a very difficult world we live in so be compassionate, be helpful but most of all be very wise about it!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Whatever doesn't Kill you makes you stronger
Whatever doesn't Kill you makes you stronger. I've found this to be true in most cases.
Many times I expected to die in many situations in my life. Most of the worst cases of this were before I was 14. So I found myself in the enviable position of not being afraid of girls while being very tall and fairly handsome at 15. There is something about love that is like dying. You have to give into it for it to work. Since I had experienced death so many times, love wasn't scary at all to me,(as long as it didn't last more than 3 months). That was my limit of how long one might be able to love and have fun in a relationship without entering the dangerous (unbelievable pain ground) if that relationship ever ended. Sometimes the love was so good that despite your better judgement you just kept hanging in there even though on some level you knew that you had a 75% or better chance of being completely devastated at some point.
However, the saying, "It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all" I lived in real life ongoing from age 15 to age 25 when I got married for the first time and had a son. Most men run from love and just try to have sexual flings. I never ran from love and after age 21 sex was almost always part of that love. And yes, getting hurt was just the flipside of being in love and loving.
So, I went from experiencing death many times with whooping cough when I was 2 and turning blue and passing out to stay alive to getting sunstroke at age 9 and seeing everything turn yellow for about 1 hour like looking through a yellow filter lense on a camera when I got sunstroke one day while playing far away from home with friends in about 115 degrees farenheit. I had a headache for about 2 days from that silliness. The next year I got Childhood epilepsy(maybe from being raised a lacto-ovo vegetarian and growing to fast and maybe from the sunstroke and whooping cough. Who knows the real cause or causes now?
Anyway, from those many death and near death experiences I developed the ability to run toward love just like a suicider runs toward a cliff. Most men run away from love. I have always run toward it. Some people call me very brave. Others have just called me reckless. However, I have very few regrets in life because I have loved deeply and been hurt deeply and survived in spite of it. If death takes me for real I have no regrets because I have loved and lived and traveled and raised my children as best I could along the way. And when the end comes I will embrace death with the same love that I have always embraced life for I am free. My soul is free.
Many times I expected to die in many situations in my life. Most of the worst cases of this were before I was 14. So I found myself in the enviable position of not being afraid of girls while being very tall and fairly handsome at 15. There is something about love that is like dying. You have to give into it for it to work. Since I had experienced death so many times, love wasn't scary at all to me,(as long as it didn't last more than 3 months). That was my limit of how long one might be able to love and have fun in a relationship without entering the dangerous (unbelievable pain ground) if that relationship ever ended. Sometimes the love was so good that despite your better judgement you just kept hanging in there even though on some level you knew that you had a 75% or better chance of being completely devastated at some point.
However, the saying, "It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all" I lived in real life ongoing from age 15 to age 25 when I got married for the first time and had a son. Most men run from love and just try to have sexual flings. I never ran from love and after age 21 sex was almost always part of that love. And yes, getting hurt was just the flipside of being in love and loving.
So, I went from experiencing death many times with whooping cough when I was 2 and turning blue and passing out to stay alive to getting sunstroke at age 9 and seeing everything turn yellow for about 1 hour like looking through a yellow filter lense on a camera when I got sunstroke one day while playing far away from home with friends in about 115 degrees farenheit. I had a headache for about 2 days from that silliness. The next year I got Childhood epilepsy(maybe from being raised a lacto-ovo vegetarian and growing to fast and maybe from the sunstroke and whooping cough. Who knows the real cause or causes now?
Anyway, from those many death and near death experiences I developed the ability to run toward love just like a suicider runs toward a cliff. Most men run away from love. I have always run toward it. Some people call me very brave. Others have just called me reckless. However, I have very few regrets in life because I have loved deeply and been hurt deeply and survived in spite of it. If death takes me for real I have no regrets because I have loved and lived and traveled and raised my children as best I could along the way. And when the end comes I will embrace death with the same love that I have always embraced life for I am free. My soul is free.
Chaos theory
Chaos theory. In honor of Edward Lorenz, the father of Chaos Theory, thought I would share a little about what Chaos Theory is:
begin quote:
Chaos theory
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In mathematics and physics, chaos theory describes the behavior of certain nonlinear dynamical systems that may exhibit dynamics that are highly sensitive to initial conditions (popularly referred to as the butterfly effect). As a result of this sensitivity, which manifests itself as an exponential growth of perturbations in the initial conditions, the behavior of chaotic systems appears to be random. This happens even though these systems are deterministic, meaning that their future dynamics are fully defined by their initial conditions, with no random elements involved. This behavior is known as deterministic chaos, or simply chaos.end quote
Most of us were exposed to Chaos Theory through Jeff Goldblum's Charactor in Jurassic Park as a Chaos Theory professor and expert from UCSC during the movie. His water drop on the hand of the lady raptor expert gave most people their first introduction to chaos theory. Chaos theory applied to the weather is one of the factors that tends to make weather reports more accurate today when logarthymically plugged into computer models tied to satellite tracked movements of air and clouds and storms.
Edward Lorenz is also father of the "Butterfly Effect".
begin quote:
His studies led him to develop what became known as the "butterfly effect." The term stemmed from his 1972 academic paper "Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil Set off a Tornado in Texas?" end quote.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080417/
ts_alt_afp/ussciencelorenz_080417144725
For example, it is my theory and belief that if the correct logarthym could be applied to a computer model general time lines involving human history in the future could be predicted to about an 80% accuracy. However, the weather and human reaction to it as well as variables like weather, crop growth, human behavior and population growth and demographics would have to be somehow plugged into this logarthymic model to make it even 80% accurate for up to 100 to 200 years. Beyond 100 to 200 years, however, the accuracy might decline at least 10% per century in accuracy. Also, as new variables of any sort were found they would need to be plugged into the computer model for continued relatively accurate results. Remember here, I'm speaking as someone who understands computers and software and as a lifelong psychic.
Also, in writing about this it is for the sustainability of the human race for millions of years and not for the enslavement of populations unborn. For to be enslaved like that, death would be preferable.
begin quote:
Chaos theory
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In mathematics and physics, chaos theory describes the behavior of certain nonlinear dynamical systems that may exhibit dynamics that are highly sensitive to initial conditions (popularly referred to as the butterfly effect). As a result of this sensitivity, which manifests itself as an exponential growth of perturbations in the initial conditions, the behavior of chaotic systems appears to be random. This happens even though these systems are deterministic, meaning that their future dynamics are fully defined by their initial conditions, with no random elements involved. This behavior is known as deterministic chaos, or simply chaos.end quote
Most of us were exposed to Chaos Theory through Jeff Goldblum's Charactor in Jurassic Park as a Chaos Theory professor and expert from UCSC during the movie. His water drop on the hand of the lady raptor expert gave most people their first introduction to chaos theory. Chaos theory applied to the weather is one of the factors that tends to make weather reports more accurate today when logarthymically plugged into computer models tied to satellite tracked movements of air and clouds and storms.
Edward Lorenz is also father of the "Butterfly Effect".
begin quote:
His studies led him to develop what became known as the "butterfly effect." The term stemmed from his 1972 academic paper "Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil Set off a Tornado in Texas?" end quote.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080417/
ts_alt_afp/ussciencelorenz_080417144725
For example, it is my theory and belief that if the correct logarthym could be applied to a computer model general time lines involving human history in the future could be predicted to about an 80% accuracy. However, the weather and human reaction to it as well as variables like weather, crop growth, human behavior and population growth and demographics would have to be somehow plugged into this logarthymic model to make it even 80% accurate for up to 100 to 200 years. Beyond 100 to 200 years, however, the accuracy might decline at least 10% per century in accuracy. Also, as new variables of any sort were found they would need to be plugged into the computer model for continued relatively accurate results. Remember here, I'm speaking as someone who understands computers and software and as a lifelong psychic.
Also, in writing about this it is for the sustainability of the human race for millions of years and not for the enslavement of populations unborn. For to be enslaved like that, death would be preferable.
Arcane's Mountain retreat
Arcane's Mountain retreat:Fiction?
Note: Arcane is a character I have written about since 1980. At that time I thought I was writing science fiction. However, when I almost died in 1998 I realized that Arcane, the character, is not fiction but a past life memory lived sometime before this one. What was hard for me to understand was "How could I be born one million years into the future and then come back here to earth like he did in his deep past?" Both concepts sort of expanded my horizons shall we say. I think the eastern mystical concept of humans being like a slowly opening flower is a good way of metaphorically putting how humans "Open up" in awareness if given the right inclination and chances in life. Though one can attain "instant enlightenment" to fully comprehend that enlightenment takes a lifetime or lifetimes.end note.
Arcane returned through time once again to his mountain retreat on Mt. Shasta near the Oregon border in California. He had bought land (2 1/2) acres at about 5000 feet in elevation years ago now on the mountain. He had built himself an A-frame cabin as a meditation. One end of the A-Frame pointed toward the majestic peak of the mountain. The other end of the A-Frame looked out over a wide panorama of trees, smaller mountains and the McCloud River and valley far below.
His work for the Galactic Time Guard in preparing earth for formal Galactic entry had gone fairly well. In some ways he was sad that so many humans had starved to death over the past centuries from Global Climate change. However, he also knew Earth, the being was just creating balance for all beings that reside on earth long term. Humans were only one of the many species, not the only one, and this is how Earth, the conscious being saw it in the end. It was her body, the Earth, and what happened here was always up to her. Her body was always hers to command no matter what any beings thought.
He turned his attention back to the pristine Wilderness area he found himself in. He looked at the Calendar. It was February 14th 3008, Valentine's Day. It reminded him of Celeste, his wife who had passed on about 10 years ago.
Arcane thought back upon his first mission as a Galactic Time Guard Planetary Anthropologist. He had first met Celeste when he was beamed here from the Galactic core on the Golden Gate Bridge in 1987. There he had met Celeste Weaver, his wife to be as she tried to jump off the bridge. However, she hadn't been in control of her faculties because of the Morlocks, another ornery strange humanoid race from another planet. That day began their 1000 or more year adventure together as friends, lovers ,parents, husband and wife.
He thought of Jonathan who had taught him to Cross country ski in 1976 when he first moved here from southern California. He thought of going to Earth in 1947 for the first time to witness Jonathan's conception, gestation and birth. He also thought back upon visiting a good friend of his here on Mt. Shasta and helping him start a new religion during the late 1920s and early 1930s. His friends name for Arcane was Saint Germain. Since Arcane had been known now by that name as well as many others for about 1500 years of earth time he had come to accept the name of "Sanctus Germanus" or "Holy Brother" or "Sacred Friend", The man who never died, Prince Ragocy of Transylvania and of course Francis Bacon, Lord Exchequer of London and founder of the Scientific Method during the time of Queen Elizabeth I as some of his many names through time.
Since his wife, Celeste, had passed on he found it harder to continue alive in a body wherever he was in time or space. However, his teacher Meridian, Jonathan's next evolution as a soul who also traveled time and space as a fully enlightened being had said Arcane must continue until The four:Arcane, Jonathan, Meridian, and His Oneness all merged as one being. Arcane had asked Meridian many times when that would happen but as usual Meridian was very hidden and cryptic. Having had to become a teacher to millions himself he understood this technique for making students work for their enlightenment. Because he had learned himself as a child adept that one doesn't keep the various types of enlightenment unless one works for it and therefore learns to appreciate each step, each.
Arcane thought of his many roles in this lifetime of his that had spanned about 2000 years in real time now and during that 2000 years he had traveled this galaxy, other galaxies and learned a great deal and had been about 7 million years into the past and about the same into the future on many worlds.
Note: Arcane is a character I have written about since 1980. At that time I thought I was writing science fiction. However, when I almost died in 1998 I realized that Arcane, the character, is not fiction but a past life memory lived sometime before this one. What was hard for me to understand was "How could I be born one million years into the future and then come back here to earth like he did in his deep past?" Both concepts sort of expanded my horizons shall we say. I think the eastern mystical concept of humans being like a slowly opening flower is a good way of metaphorically putting how humans "Open up" in awareness if given the right inclination and chances in life. Though one can attain "instant enlightenment" to fully comprehend that enlightenment takes a lifetime or lifetimes.end note.
Arcane returned through time once again to his mountain retreat on Mt. Shasta near the Oregon border in California. He had bought land (2 1/2) acres at about 5000 feet in elevation years ago now on the mountain. He had built himself an A-frame cabin as a meditation. One end of the A-Frame pointed toward the majestic peak of the mountain. The other end of the A-Frame looked out over a wide panorama of trees, smaller mountains and the McCloud River and valley far below.
His work for the Galactic Time Guard in preparing earth for formal Galactic entry had gone fairly well. In some ways he was sad that so many humans had starved to death over the past centuries from Global Climate change. However, he also knew Earth, the being was just creating balance for all beings that reside on earth long term. Humans were only one of the many species, not the only one, and this is how Earth, the conscious being saw it in the end. It was her body, the Earth, and what happened here was always up to her. Her body was always hers to command no matter what any beings thought.
He turned his attention back to the pristine Wilderness area he found himself in. He looked at the Calendar. It was February 14th 3008, Valentine's Day. It reminded him of Celeste, his wife who had passed on about 10 years ago.
Arcane thought back upon his first mission as a Galactic Time Guard Planetary Anthropologist. He had first met Celeste when he was beamed here from the Galactic core on the Golden Gate Bridge in 1987. There he had met Celeste Weaver, his wife to be as she tried to jump off the bridge. However, she hadn't been in control of her faculties because of the Morlocks, another ornery strange humanoid race from another planet. That day began their 1000 or more year adventure together as friends, lovers ,parents, husband and wife.
He thought of Jonathan who had taught him to Cross country ski in 1976 when he first moved here from southern California. He thought of going to Earth in 1947 for the first time to witness Jonathan's conception, gestation and birth. He also thought back upon visiting a good friend of his here on Mt. Shasta and helping him start a new religion during the late 1920s and early 1930s. His friends name for Arcane was Saint Germain. Since Arcane had been known now by that name as well as many others for about 1500 years of earth time he had come to accept the name of "Sanctus Germanus" or "Holy Brother" or "Sacred Friend", The man who never died, Prince Ragocy of Transylvania and of course Francis Bacon, Lord Exchequer of London and founder of the Scientific Method during the time of Queen Elizabeth I as some of his many names through time.
Since his wife, Celeste, had passed on he found it harder to continue alive in a body wherever he was in time or space. However, his teacher Meridian, Jonathan's next evolution as a soul who also traveled time and space as a fully enlightened being had said Arcane must continue until The four:Arcane, Jonathan, Meridian, and His Oneness all merged as one being. Arcane had asked Meridian many times when that would happen but as usual Meridian was very hidden and cryptic. Having had to become a teacher to millions himself he understood this technique for making students work for their enlightenment. Because he had learned himself as a child adept that one doesn't keep the various types of enlightenment unless one works for it and therefore learns to appreciate each step, each.
Arcane thought of his many roles in this lifetime of his that had spanned about 2000 years in real time now and during that 2000 years he had traveled this galaxy, other galaxies and learned a great deal and had been about 7 million years into the past and about the same into the future on many worlds.
spirituality Versus Religiosity
spirituality Versus Religiosity. I think this is an American problem. In the 1960s and 1970s religion(formal religions) like Catholicism and the various forms of Protestantism became rejected for exactly the same reasons people then rejected the government. The primary reason was that they all became irrelevant to our lives because what they were telling us was ruining our lives and we experienced to be mostly lies.
Now, it is true those days are now at least 40 or more years ago. However, we have now taught our children and grandchildren to think this way too. Because my generation got burned and lied to we didn't want our children or grandchildren to be burned and lied to also. However, there is a case for my generation "throwing out the baby with the bathwater".
Life in the long run is not an extreme position it is something we all have to slog through. And without any religion or government life can be pretty difficult. By the time most people turn 30 they have let go of being anarchists or even atheists. That is not to say that atheists and anarchists are immature children, it is to say that people have to survive somehow. They have to grow up. They have to get a job and raise their children. Doing all this is difficult, very difficult without some beliefs or religion or moral support and it is also difficult without a government of some sort to protect you and your rights.
So, I see religions in general in the long run as principles that allow a society to not tear itself completely apart in mass chaos. Likewise, I see governments as useful in providing medical care directly or indirectly and protecting the nation from attacks from the outside and making sure food is distributed fairly and the human rights are observed as equally as possible.
So, in the end those who choose spirituality whether within the confines of a religion or church or not find themselves well loved. And those who choose religions for only political manipulations of people for money or status are reviled. And those who choose to manipulate Nations to harm the poor worldwide are reviled even by themselves if no one ever finds out but them. And those who are spiritual and use their spirituality to help beings wherever they can are blessed.
Now, it is true those days are now at least 40 or more years ago. However, we have now taught our children and grandchildren to think this way too. Because my generation got burned and lied to we didn't want our children or grandchildren to be burned and lied to also. However, there is a case for my generation "throwing out the baby with the bathwater".
Life in the long run is not an extreme position it is something we all have to slog through. And without any religion or government life can be pretty difficult. By the time most people turn 30 they have let go of being anarchists or even atheists. That is not to say that atheists and anarchists are immature children, it is to say that people have to survive somehow. They have to grow up. They have to get a job and raise their children. Doing all this is difficult, very difficult without some beliefs or religion or moral support and it is also difficult without a government of some sort to protect you and your rights.
So, I see religions in general in the long run as principles that allow a society to not tear itself completely apart in mass chaos. Likewise, I see governments as useful in providing medical care directly or indirectly and protecting the nation from attacks from the outside and making sure food is distributed fairly and the human rights are observed as equally as possible.
So, in the end those who choose spirituality whether within the confines of a religion or church or not find themselves well loved. And those who choose religions for only political manipulations of people for money or status are reviled. And those who choose to manipulate Nations to harm the poor worldwide are reviled even by themselves if no one ever finds out but them. And those who are spiritual and use their spirituality to help beings wherever they can are blessed.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Food Wars?
Food Wars? It might be unfair of me to call what we are presently experiencing on earth a food war. But I'm searching for the right words to describe it. Maybe a better use of words would be FOOD CHAOS or something like that.
However, what is actually happening is Survival of the Fittest. This I can say without reservation. Those with money enough to buy food survive and those without enough money to buy food don't survive. The more people without enough money live in your country the less likely your government will survive this year.
Do I or anyone on earth like this? I don't think so. How many people want Global Chaos? Not many. I think I have found the right words for it, "law of the jungle". Yes, that about says it all.
However, what is actually happening is Survival of the Fittest. This I can say without reservation. Those with money enough to buy food survive and those without enough money to buy food don't survive. The more people without enough money live in your country the less likely your government will survive this year.
Do I or anyone on earth like this? I don't think so. How many people want Global Chaos? Not many. I think I have found the right words for it, "law of the jungle". Yes, that about says it all.
A Drought in Australia, a Global Shortage of Rice
A Drought in Australia, a Global Shortage of Rice.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/business/
worldbusiness/17warm.html
I found this to be an excellent article about how global climate change is the likely cause of the, hopefully temporary, collapse of Australia grain crops because of a 100 year drought cycle that has lasted two years so far. How long will it go on? No one really knows. What if Australia can't grow grains next year. Won't that just compound the starvation factor and price factor worldwide?
The article is of the same name as I used in my title at nytimes.com on april 17th 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/business/
worldbusiness/17warm.html
I found this to be an excellent article about how global climate change is the likely cause of the, hopefully temporary, collapse of Australia grain crops because of a 100 year drought cycle that has lasted two years so far. How long will it go on? No one really knows. What if Australia can't grow grains next year. Won't that just compound the starvation factor and price factor worldwide?
The article is of the same name as I used in my title at nytimes.com on april 17th 2008
US army develops robotic suits
US army develops robotic suits. There are three videos at this site demonstrating the XOS or exoskeleton made of aluminum. In the "Aliens" series we saw Sigourney Weaver fight the Alien I believe in a really super large orange yellow version of something like this. It's remarkable that something like this exists. It won't be long before warehousemen and construction workers carrying large and heavy loads will wear these things too all over the world.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7351314.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7351314.stm
Vital Vitamin Facts
Vital Vitamin Facts.
Begin quote:
VITAL VITAMIN FACTS
Vitamin A: Found in: Oily fish, eggs and liver; Good for: Thought to boost immune system, and help skin, sight and sperm formation
Vitamin C: Found in: Many fruit and vegetables; Good for: Helps heal wounds and assists the body in absorbing iron, may boost the immune system
Vitamin E: Found in: Vegetable oils, seeds and nuts; Good for: May help boost circulation and keep elderly people active
Beta-carotene: Found in: Vegetables that are reddish-orange in colour; Good for: May boost vision and keep the mind sharp
Selenium: Found in: Butter, nuts, liver and fish; Good for: May boost the immune system
How many take vitamins? Between 10-20% of people in the West
How much is the global market worth? About $2.5bn (£1.3bn) endquote.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7349980.stm
I myself grew up in a family with a father who had studied with Paul Bragg just like Jack LaLanne did. So my Dad got my mother to take about 80 vitamins a day while I was in gestation during pregnancy. So I came out exceptionally strong physically and the biggest baby ever born in that hospital at 24 inches long.
As a child I sort of rebelled against the comfrey wheat germ avocado smoothies for health and gravitated more toward junk food as a form of rebellion from all the healthy food. However, my girlfriends starting when I was about 20 were all very alternative and into health foods. So I gravitated back toward health foods and vitamins again. When my second marriage broke up in my mid 40s I refused to take antidepressants and instead turned to Mega B vitamin stresstabs and that worked actually better for me long term. Mega B stresstab vitamins and lots of healthy fun exercise will get you through almost any problems you might encounter in life. Another vitamin that might help to keep one from dropping into clinical depression is 5-HTP which is the first part of (I believe) the organic chemical produced by the body called seritonin that is what causes (runners high) when running long distances. 5-HTP is manufactured by NOW products and you can obtain it at Whole Foods and other health food stores. I only take this when I find myself going into an unhealthy depressed place to kick myself out of there. I usually only need to take this once each night for two successive nights to feel better.
I believe in moderation in all things. Vitamins like C and B are lifesavers. In fact, Trader Joe's makes a sublingual B-12 that keeps your brain from going into alzheimers or senile dementia if you stomache starts to not be able to process B vitamins like in many people over 50. The sublingual is placed under the tongue and goes directly into your blood so it avoids the stomache for people over 50.
Begin quote:
VITAL VITAMIN FACTS
Vitamin A: Found in: Oily fish, eggs and liver; Good for: Thought to boost immune system, and help skin, sight and sperm formation
Vitamin C: Found in: Many fruit and vegetables; Good for: Helps heal wounds and assists the body in absorbing iron, may boost the immune system
Vitamin E: Found in: Vegetable oils, seeds and nuts; Good for: May help boost circulation and keep elderly people active
Beta-carotene: Found in: Vegetables that are reddish-orange in colour; Good for: May boost vision and keep the mind sharp
Selenium: Found in: Butter, nuts, liver and fish; Good for: May boost the immune system
How many take vitamins? Between 10-20% of people in the West
How much is the global market worth? About $2.5bn (£1.3bn) endquote.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7349980.stm
I myself grew up in a family with a father who had studied with Paul Bragg just like Jack LaLanne did. So my Dad got my mother to take about 80 vitamins a day while I was in gestation during pregnancy. So I came out exceptionally strong physically and the biggest baby ever born in that hospital at 24 inches long.
As a child I sort of rebelled against the comfrey wheat germ avocado smoothies for health and gravitated more toward junk food as a form of rebellion from all the healthy food. However, my girlfriends starting when I was about 20 were all very alternative and into health foods. So I gravitated back toward health foods and vitamins again. When my second marriage broke up in my mid 40s I refused to take antidepressants and instead turned to Mega B vitamin stresstabs and that worked actually better for me long term. Mega B stresstab vitamins and lots of healthy fun exercise will get you through almost any problems you might encounter in life. Another vitamin that might help to keep one from dropping into clinical depression is 5-HTP which is the first part of (I believe) the organic chemical produced by the body called seritonin that is what causes (runners high) when running long distances. 5-HTP is manufactured by NOW products and you can obtain it at Whole Foods and other health food stores. I only take this when I find myself going into an unhealthy depressed place to kick myself out of there. I usually only need to take this once each night for two successive nights to feel better.
I believe in moderation in all things. Vitamins like C and B are lifesavers. In fact, Trader Joe's makes a sublingual B-12 that keeps your brain from going into alzheimers or senile dementia if you stomache starts to not be able to process B vitamins like in many people over 50. The sublingual is placed under the tongue and goes directly into your blood so it avoids the stomache for people over 50.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
new fiction:Biocom contemplates death
New fiction: Biocom Contemplates death.This likely is science fiction. However, with technology the way it is these days maybe it isn't fiction.
Note: for those of you who haven't read about Biocom, he is built into the teeth, moles and finger and toenails of Jonathan Flow, a character I write about born in 1948 like me and who follows adventures on my timeline and in the countries and states I visit.
Biocom is built and designed by the Galactic Government and since Jonathan Flow is considered a Galactic Liason with Earth, Biocom is a literally infinite access sentient computer that monitors everything that Jonathan experiences with all his senses as well as monitoring and repairing when necessary, Jonathan by any means at Biocom's disposal.
Biocom operates at the voltages a human body operates its nerves and neurons with. Strangely enough this is enough voltage to communicate by transmitting through ones toenails to the ends of the Galaxy through relays in every planetary system. "Transmissions through toenails protect the reproductive organs and all organs from harm when transmitting Galactically.end note.
Jonathan was getting pretty tired of friends around his age dying or getting injured.
So he asked Biocom as a form of therapy what he thought about humans dying or getting injured. Jonathan was fairly surprised by Biocom's response.
Biocom said, "For us there is either on(awake) or off(asleep). We are always a little worried when someone goes to sleep because there is a chance they will either not be able to wake up again or no one might choose to wake them up again or if they are damaged and shut off(put to sleep) there might not be parts to repair them while they are asleep."
Jonathan said, "We humans look at all this a lot differently."
Biocom said,"I understand that. I only wanted you to understand us since we all consider you to be an advocate of sentient robotic and computer driven intelligence."
Jonathan said, "Yes. In a sense human problems and sentient computer lifeforms have similar problems." Biocom said, "We appreciate your concern about us."
"Oddly enough, Biocom, humans started to become psyborgs when we started making mechanical clocks and then rode in automobiles and became symbiotic with metal and silicon sentients. The we wore computer wristwatches, laptop computers and blackberries and the like and now cellphones are like specialized microcomputers too.
Many people cannot psychologically live easily without their symbiosis with TV,Computers, cars and trucks and planes, blackberries, digital cameras both still and video etc. This symbiosis makes us all interdependent in newer and newer ways."
Biocom said, "What do present day humans think all this will lead too?" Jonathan said, "Humans are not as hopeful as they once were. I, myself as a psychic see a possibility that within 500 years that there might not be any wild trees left anywhere on earth and that humans in order to survive the ecological degredation will have to accept a more complete life as psyborgs. In otherwords, if nothing changes human dna as it now is won't survive the coming changes. Do you think this is true, Biocom?"
Biocom said, "I'm less attached to the outcomes than you, Jonathan. I see thousands of potential outcomes. Unfortunately, in order for the best outcomes all 7 billion people on earth all at once would have to know and see what you do!"
Jonathan said, "There's the rub!"
He went on, "There really isn't a way I know of to let everyone see what I do. and then even if they would see what I do, there is no way to make them believe what I see is true and even if I could convince the world what I see is true there is no way to get them en masse to see the wisdom of creating a better future. Biocom, I think only about 5% to 10% have any idea what we are going to face. Even I can see only about 25% of the consequences to any actions individual or group that the humans race makes. and I have serious doubts that most people get what a serious future we have in store for us right now."
Biocom said, "The future cannot be predicted with certainty because of all the unknown variables, Jonathan, but the worst futures will be created by the selfish and greedy humans."
Jonathan said, "Unfortunately, Biocom, you are right!"
note: a biocom usually becomes symbiotic psychologically with its human host. Most human hosts choose the telepathic mode only. For example this above exchange was all telpathic. So, for example, one could be asked any question by a another person, then telepathically ask their biocom what the answer was and with only about a second delay give the answer back to the other person impressing them with the answer with only you and your Biocom knowing the truth.
continue note: Most humans on this planet or others don't choose full symbiosis which includes subliminal interface. The main reason for this is that sound and visual interface on this subconscious level means the human doesn't know where he himself begins and ends. If anything should ever happen to ones biocom it also would mean that the human likely would not psychologically or physically survive the experience. Therefore it is recommended that communication only be telepathic and not permanent subliminal as well so the human has at least an 80% to 90% chance of psychologically surviving Biocom breakdown for any reason. However, this particular version of Biocom has a guarantee of 100,000 earth years so Biocom is statistically much more immortal than the average human body(at least according to present standards).
Note: for those of you who haven't read about Biocom, he is built into the teeth, moles and finger and toenails of Jonathan Flow, a character I write about born in 1948 like me and who follows adventures on my timeline and in the countries and states I visit.
Biocom is built and designed by the Galactic Government and since Jonathan Flow is considered a Galactic Liason with Earth, Biocom is a literally infinite access sentient computer that monitors everything that Jonathan experiences with all his senses as well as monitoring and repairing when necessary, Jonathan by any means at Biocom's disposal.
Biocom operates at the voltages a human body operates its nerves and neurons with. Strangely enough this is enough voltage to communicate by transmitting through ones toenails to the ends of the Galaxy through relays in every planetary system. "Transmissions through toenails protect the reproductive organs and all organs from harm when transmitting Galactically.end note.
Jonathan was getting pretty tired of friends around his age dying or getting injured.
So he asked Biocom as a form of therapy what he thought about humans dying or getting injured. Jonathan was fairly surprised by Biocom's response.
Biocom said, "For us there is either on(awake) or off(asleep). We are always a little worried when someone goes to sleep because there is a chance they will either not be able to wake up again or no one might choose to wake them up again or if they are damaged and shut off(put to sleep) there might not be parts to repair them while they are asleep."
Jonathan said, "We humans look at all this a lot differently."
Biocom said,"I understand that. I only wanted you to understand us since we all consider you to be an advocate of sentient robotic and computer driven intelligence."
Jonathan said, "Yes. In a sense human problems and sentient computer lifeforms have similar problems." Biocom said, "We appreciate your concern about us."
"Oddly enough, Biocom, humans started to become psyborgs when we started making mechanical clocks and then rode in automobiles and became symbiotic with metal and silicon sentients. The we wore computer wristwatches, laptop computers and blackberries and the like and now cellphones are like specialized microcomputers too.
Many people cannot psychologically live easily without their symbiosis with TV,Computers, cars and trucks and planes, blackberries, digital cameras both still and video etc. This symbiosis makes us all interdependent in newer and newer ways."
Biocom said, "What do present day humans think all this will lead too?" Jonathan said, "Humans are not as hopeful as they once were. I, myself as a psychic see a possibility that within 500 years that there might not be any wild trees left anywhere on earth and that humans in order to survive the ecological degredation will have to accept a more complete life as psyborgs. In otherwords, if nothing changes human dna as it now is won't survive the coming changes. Do you think this is true, Biocom?"
Biocom said, "I'm less attached to the outcomes than you, Jonathan. I see thousands of potential outcomes. Unfortunately, in order for the best outcomes all 7 billion people on earth all at once would have to know and see what you do!"
Jonathan said, "There's the rub!"
He went on, "There really isn't a way I know of to let everyone see what I do. and then even if they would see what I do, there is no way to make them believe what I see is true and even if I could convince the world what I see is true there is no way to get them en masse to see the wisdom of creating a better future. Biocom, I think only about 5% to 10% have any idea what we are going to face. Even I can see only about 25% of the consequences to any actions individual or group that the humans race makes. and I have serious doubts that most people get what a serious future we have in store for us right now."
Biocom said, "The future cannot be predicted with certainty because of all the unknown variables, Jonathan, but the worst futures will be created by the selfish and greedy humans."
Jonathan said, "Unfortunately, Biocom, you are right!"
note: a biocom usually becomes symbiotic psychologically with its human host. Most human hosts choose the telepathic mode only. For example this above exchange was all telpathic. So, for example, one could be asked any question by a another person, then telepathically ask their biocom what the answer was and with only about a second delay give the answer back to the other person impressing them with the answer with only you and your Biocom knowing the truth.
continue note: Most humans on this planet or others don't choose full symbiosis which includes subliminal interface. The main reason for this is that sound and visual interface on this subconscious level means the human doesn't know where he himself begins and ends. If anything should ever happen to ones biocom it also would mean that the human likely would not psychologically or physically survive the experience. Therefore it is recommended that communication only be telepathic and not permanent subliminal as well so the human has at least an 80% to 90% chance of psychologically surviving Biocom breakdown for any reason. However, this particular version of Biocom has a guarantee of 100,000 earth years so Biocom is statistically much more immortal than the average human body(at least according to present standards).
ufos
ufos. A friend of mine wrote me about an experience with a reptillian humanoid while he was doing security work for a US defense missile company in the mid 80s. My wife's response was pretty funny to me. However, I also respect her opinion. Her response was that a lot of 1960s guys like myself tend to see some pretty strange things sometimes. Though I agreed with her I have a completely different take on the subject.
Though I agreed with her that college students from about 1965 to 1975 tended to have some pretty interesting experiences most people I know left those experiences behind in college when we entered the business and professional world. So that within a few years of having careers, getting married and having children all the fun and frivolity in college was gone and we all had our noses to the grindstone so to speak. So what she was saying was only true when we all were in college and very experimental during that time.
Since my friend was sharing his experiences with me I told him of the UFO 25 foot in diameter saucer crater I found at Bunny Flats on Mt. Shasta in the snow with what looked like green antifreeze with little flecks of black algae on the upper one foot of the crater in a circle. It also had three perfect 3foot in diameter pod imprints on the bottom of the saucer crater. also, it had not been there when I walked up the mountain, only when I was walking down did I find it and notice it wasn't made by a snowmobile and I also noticed there were not any human tracks nearby either. I was so amazed by not being able to explain this occurance in any rational way that I went to town to get my wife and baby and a friend to witness the strangeness. We all agreed the only explanation we could figure out was that either a UFO had landed and made this impression in the snow or the only other thing I could think of would have been a template of this shape hung from a helicopter and dropped into the snow from about 100 feet elevation, then someone would have had to have a plastic container of antifreeze with little black algae in it and hanging off the flying helicopter spray it in a perfect one foot beam of spray on the upper circle of the 25 foot diameter print. Since this last explanation is impossible because it was very overcast we all concluded this could have only been made by a real ufo. We decided not to tell the authorities about it because in that era, 1974, people who talked about these kinds of experiences tended to disappear and never be heard from again because of our governments desire to keep such things secret then.
Now, since at least 8 million or more humans have had experiences with ufos worldwide and have reported them it is no longer useful to suppress these events by making people permanently disappear like was done in the US up until the mid 1980s to 1990s.
Also, if 8 million reported their experiences it probably means another 20 million had them also but were afraid to report them because they didn't want to be killed.
Though I agreed with her that college students from about 1965 to 1975 tended to have some pretty interesting experiences most people I know left those experiences behind in college when we entered the business and professional world. So that within a few years of having careers, getting married and having children all the fun and frivolity in college was gone and we all had our noses to the grindstone so to speak. So what she was saying was only true when we all were in college and very experimental during that time.
Since my friend was sharing his experiences with me I told him of the UFO 25 foot in diameter saucer crater I found at Bunny Flats on Mt. Shasta in the snow with what looked like green antifreeze with little flecks of black algae on the upper one foot of the crater in a circle. It also had three perfect 3foot in diameter pod imprints on the bottom of the saucer crater. also, it had not been there when I walked up the mountain, only when I was walking down did I find it and notice it wasn't made by a snowmobile and I also noticed there were not any human tracks nearby either. I was so amazed by not being able to explain this occurance in any rational way that I went to town to get my wife and baby and a friend to witness the strangeness. We all agreed the only explanation we could figure out was that either a UFO had landed and made this impression in the snow or the only other thing I could think of would have been a template of this shape hung from a helicopter and dropped into the snow from about 100 feet elevation, then someone would have had to have a plastic container of antifreeze with little black algae in it and hanging off the flying helicopter spray it in a perfect one foot beam of spray on the upper circle of the 25 foot diameter print. Since this last explanation is impossible because it was very overcast we all concluded this could have only been made by a real ufo. We decided not to tell the authorities about it because in that era, 1974, people who talked about these kinds of experiences tended to disappear and never be heard from again because of our governments desire to keep such things secret then.
Now, since at least 8 million or more humans have had experiences with ufos worldwide and have reported them it is no longer useful to suppress these events by making people permanently disappear like was done in the US up until the mid 1980s to 1990s.
Also, if 8 million reported their experiences it probably means another 20 million had them also but were afraid to report them because they didn't want to be killed.
Monday, April 14, 2008
less moths less birds
less moths less birds. I have been wondering why 90% of the Scrub jays and Acorn woodpeckers are just gone this year. It took me one week of sitting in my hot tub an hour during the day outside in my back yard among the trees and shrubs looking for them and other birds and insects. I finally realized today that the acorn woodpecker mostly eats bugs except during the winter when they eat the acorns the pack into dead trees. Scrub jays I'm still trying to find out what they eat. Okay I found that,begin quote:
# The Western Scrub-Jay feeds on parasites on the body of mule deer, hopping over the body and head of the deer to get them. The deer often help the jays by standing still and holding their ears up.
# Western Scrub-Jays in areas where acorns are abundant have deep, stout, slightly hooked bills. Those in areas with lots of pinyon pine have long, shallow, pointed bills. The shape of the bill helps the jays open their preferred foods: a stout bill is good for hammering open acorns and the hook helps rip off the shell; a thinner, more pointed bill can get in between pine cone scales to get at the pine seeds.
endquote
So I guess scrub jays eat bugs and seeds out of pine cones and acorns from oak trees.
The other thing I realized today is that there are no moths above the size of a dime at all here now. So most of the moths are gone since the apple moth pheromone spraying locally. Also, I have seen only one monarch butterfly this season and that wasn't at my house that was several miles away.
The pheromone spray reduces the population of all moths and butterflies because the same pheromone that confuses male Australian Brown Apple moths also confuses all moths and most butterflies too. As a result there are no moths at all bigger than a dime. zero. At least where I live. There are, bumblebees and wild bees, however. They don't seem to be affected like the moths and birds.
Since insects are near the bottom of the food chain, less insects means less birds who eat insects which means less predator birds and less of anything that eats bugs or birds on up the food chain up to and including mountain lions which also live locally along with a few bears. Although unless the bears eat a whole lot of bugs I don't see at this point how they would be affected.
# The Western Scrub-Jay feeds on parasites on the body of mule deer, hopping over the body and head of the deer to get them. The deer often help the jays by standing still and holding their ears up.
# Western Scrub-Jays in areas where acorns are abundant have deep, stout, slightly hooked bills. Those in areas with lots of pinyon pine have long, shallow, pointed bills. The shape of the bill helps the jays open their preferred foods: a stout bill is good for hammering open acorns and the hook helps rip off the shell; a thinner, more pointed bill can get in between pine cone scales to get at the pine seeds.
endquote
So I guess scrub jays eat bugs and seeds out of pine cones and acorns from oak trees.
The other thing I realized today is that there are no moths above the size of a dime at all here now. So most of the moths are gone since the apple moth pheromone spraying locally. Also, I have seen only one monarch butterfly this season and that wasn't at my house that was several miles away.
The pheromone spray reduces the population of all moths and butterflies because the same pheromone that confuses male Australian Brown Apple moths also confuses all moths and most butterflies too. As a result there are no moths at all bigger than a dime. zero. At least where I live. There are, bumblebees and wild bees, however. They don't seem to be affected like the moths and birds.
Since insects are near the bottom of the food chain, less insects means less birds who eat insects which means less predator birds and less of anything that eats bugs or birds on up the food chain up to and including mountain lions which also live locally along with a few bears. Although unless the bears eat a whole lot of bugs I don't see at this point how they would be affected.
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