As the World Burns

In Copenhagen, the so-called leaders of the World (193 countries were represented) have shown once more the simple truth in an old song. I've been unable to find out who wrote this, but it has been performed by Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Vaya Con Dios and others. The refrain in question is

Your mind is on vacation and your mouth is working overtime

It's very fitting for the non-binding agreement two weeks of mouthing and mincing words have led to.

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Voltaire (1694–1778) was quite thorough in his treatment of the Catholic church, and yet these priests are still with us today, blessing things indiscriminately and fondling altar-boys, because the average churchgoer never had any use for Voltaire.



This quote is © Copyright 2007, by Dmitry Orlov, and can be found here.
For some entertainingly intelligent reading, concerning many things, see Dmitry's blog: Club Orlov

The Real Enemy !?

"In searching for a common enemy against whom we can unite, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like, would fit the bill. In their totality and their interactions these phenomena do constitute a common threat which must be confronted by everyone together. But in designating these dangers as the enemy, we fall into the trap, which we have already warned readers about, namely mistaking symptoms for causes. All these dangers are caused by human intervention in natural processes, and it is only through changed attitudes and behavior that they can be overcome. The real enemy then is humanity itself."

Quote on page 75 of The First Global Revolution, A Report by the Council of the Club of Rome. September 1991. An online version of the book is here.

The text below indicates what the book is about – and please do remember that it was written almost 20 years ago!! As far as I can see … nobody learned from it and none of the problems it described have been solved.

In the 1970s, the Club of Rome launched the book The Limits to Growth. Essential reading for all those concerned about the future of the planet, the book was translated into 37 languages. Now, President Emeritus Alexander King and Secretary General Bertrand Schneider review global problems 20 years on, offering both a warning and an approach to a possible solution to world problems. Topics covered by this book include the need for the world to convert from a military to a civil economy, the recognition of the disastrous short-term effects of exploitation by First World countries of Third World poverty and need, and the containment of global warming: the need to reduce global emissions of carbon dioxide, to encourage reforestation, to conserve traditional forms of energy and develop alternatives.

Yet the authors of the statement The real enemy then is humanity itself have also fallen into a trap, just like they warned their readers not to do. By designating all of humanity as the enemy (of the planet and life as we know it), they have failed to point out that the real enemy is not every single individual - herding sheep or planting rice - but those among humanity who are motivated by a perverted greed and the obscene belief that the planet, the Earth, is theirs to control and to manipulate. The real enemy - if truth be told - are the multinational corporations and conglomerates who relentlessly follow the Bible in it's assertion that the planet is something we own - rather than be part of. Says the Old Testament in Genesis: Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.

Well, the Earth is full and subdued, fish and birds are disappearing due to dominion, an every living thing that moves upon the earth is in dire danger to die of the poisons that fed the greed of the the people who run Bayer, Baxter, Monsanto, Shell ... to name but a few.

And although the Bible continues (Genesis) by saying: God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good - it doesn't look that good once one opens one's eyes to the full extent; they way they were meant to be used.

Photograph: Copyright © CCRCC

Today is just so ... Yesterday

Even if you should not know the name Intel, chances are great that your computer (if it's a Windows PC) does run on a central processor chip made by the company of that name.

They have a logo saying that Today is So Yesterday, and - given that - they are looking at tomorrow: the brilliant future that's completely different not only from yesterday but also from today ... which is yesterday, anyway!

And it seems they have great plans for you ... implanting a chip in your brain so you can e.mail and twitter right from the source. No need for mouse or keyboard, no more remote control for your TV-DVD-HD Info-tainment Center - you'll do it all as if by telepathy.

What they don't say, of course, is that a chip in your brain also brings us to the ultimate stage of the Big Brother 1984 Orwellian Nightmare ... Dig It?

Is your cat chipped? Your dog? Just for safety and security, so you can find them if they get lost?
Well, you're next!

Can't believe that? Read this article on Computer World.
Short Summary: io9 - We Come from the Future

DNA Shows Neanderthals and Humans Did Mate and Mingle

For ages, humans and their scientists have denied that Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens have interbred - yet my own intuition always kept signalling: They Did!

Said intuition based itself mainly on the fact that looking around myself while traveling six times around the world, I kept seeing people and faces that looked very Neanderthal - myself included. Even more funny, I was born just a few kilometers away from the geographical Neanderthal, and I went there - in my youth - quite often to visit the Neanderthal Museum.

And now, with the latest research by Professor Svante Paabo, it looks like that the white-skinned and red-haired Neanderthals did welcome their counterparts who arrived from Africa. It was a mistake, of course, because the meeting resulted - apart from sex - in the extinction of Homo neanderthalensis; except for the mixed breed of kids resulting from the unions.

Detailed info in Times OnLine article (October 25, 2009)
Image Source: Chattahbox - no further credits available.

Zen in the Art of Make-Up

Found a beautiful video at The Guardian, which shows and talks about the incredible artwork by make-up artist Alex Box.

The two images you see here have been taken from that video. They are - naturally - copyright of the artist and/or photographer, but I want to show them here so you have an expectation of what you'll see - if you share my enthusiasm.
Alex Box, at least as far as make-up goes (I don't know anything about her than what's in the video), is clearly someone who thinks outside the box - and that quality is something I surely do appreciate.

It's certainly not the type of make-up I see people use in the village I live in, but I'd sure appreciate to see faces like these in reality.

Related Book: Alex Box - The Make Up Artist
Photography: Copyright © Rankin

Yoni - What Does it Mean? On Google and Bling?

First of all, Yoni is a term borrowed from India's ancient language, Sanskrit or devanagari ("divine language"). It can be translated by several English concepts ("origin", "source", "womb", "female genitals") and is the most respectful word available for naming what our modern languages refer to as vulva, pussy or cunt; or other equivalents.

The term Yoni heralds from a culture and religion in which women have long been regarded and honored as the embodiment of divine female energy - the goddess known as Shakti - and where the female genitals are seen as a sacred symbol of the Great Goddess.

Because Tantrics and others worship the Divine in the form of a Goddess, the term yoni has also acquired other, more cosmic meanings, becoming a symbol of the Universal Womb, the Matrix of Generation and Source of All.

Second, and most unfortunate for a) people interested in the Yoni and b) many male Israeli's, Yoni is the short version for men named Jonatan. It's a grievance to them, and it's a grievance to all of those who'd like the term YONI in a search on Google or Bling to only bring up information about the Sanskrit YONI.

Well, here's a kind of temporary solution. Search for yoni woman, yoni massage, yoni portraits, yoni art or yoni sanskrit - and you'll find way more relevant pages than by searching for yoni alone.

Image: Copyright © Christina Camphausen. For more about her work, check out this blog.

The Art of Discrimination

Nowadays, the term discrimination is most often seen as something wrong, negative, chauvinist ... you name it. It's a pity that this has happened, because discrimination is - in fact - one of the most important forms of thinking and intuiting. To be able to discriminate is not only important in perceiving the world more or less correctly, it is actually needed for our very survival.

One is, for example, well advised to discriminate between eating food that is nutritious and healthy - and stuff that poses as food while it actually consists of garbage, plastic and poisons. One also does well to discriminate between vampire-like people who zap one's energy by being both selfish and stupid, and others who aid one's development, honestly share opinions and insights, offer respect and friendship; perhaps even agape of some kind.

However, intelligent discrimination does need nurturing, training, education ... it is almost as difficult as it is for the young girl in this photograph to climb those stairs in the equatorial heat; carrying water to her home in the village on top.

With the following quote, I like to provide an example of how difficult discrimination can be, but also how important for our perception of what is called reality.

Try to make up your mind whether or not the following resembles fiction rather than reality, is misguided conspiracy fantasy or honest assessment of a situation by a daring mind.

"(He) had had too many dealings with the idiots on Capitol Hill to feel anything but contempt for them. Those whose arteries weren't already sufficiently hardened to cut off oxygen to their brains were so venal they never managed to get their snouts out the river of graft that year after year granted them certain return to their privileged sinecures."

And let me remind you that it says Capitol Hill only because the author of this is an American - if another name suits you better, please do exchange it when thinking about this.

Photograph: Village on Nias (Indonesia). Copyright © CCRCC
Quote: Eric Lustbader. Black Blade. London, 1997 (page 613)