The State of the World -- A Bernie Bro's Perspective

I planned on having professionals repair the computers but got sick, then everyone got sick, so.  I'm going to lay-out some shit regarding the current state of affairs below, but need to get a few things out of the way first:

• Everything the Nazis did was "legal."
• Organized Crime (including State-Sponsored actors), as well as small-fry hackers, absolutely love the wiseguy-named "EARN IT" bill which criminalizes the very act of securing your own privacy online, and protecting your personal information and data.  Organized Crime loves everything Florida Senator, Marco Rubio, and US Attorney General, William Barr, do.
• Speaking of AG Barr, I'd like to speak directly to AG William Barr: No matter how quickly you commit War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity, they remain War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.
• There is little difference between the two political parties: Both serve corporations (Big Business), ISrael (Big Oil), and the Rich (Big Donors).  That one party commits Sedition "For God and Country" while the other commits Treason "For the Children" makes no difference.
• They are both absolutely Wrong about literally everything, all the time:
  
  They banned cartoon tigers, cookie wizards, and magically delicious leprechauns from selling sugar-laden cereals to children -- and forced those companies to lower the sugar content in those cereals -- then, suddenly, all the children became so obese that we are being told to give-up our civil liberties "For the (fat, fucking, not my) Children."  How does that even happen?
  
  They took all the effective, over-the-counter cold/flu and sinus medications off the market to enrich the insurance companies keep your porky, little bastards from robo-tripping and cooking-up dope (which they're still doing), and now we're facing a global, viral pandemic in the midst of both an opioid epidemic and a nationwide meth epidemic.
  
  We are now fighting a "War" on a viral infection (For God and Country) brought upon in part by a decades-long "War on Drugs" (For the Children) -- both of which we're losing, just like every other War they've forced upon us and others.
  
  The only real War these monsters are engaged in is a War on We, the People.
• The plural of virus is viri.  If you don't know that, you aren't qualified to give medical advice nor discuss the subject.
• The financial markets -- aka, Wall Street -- are not The Economy, Stupid *.  Catering to shareholders at the expense of end-users, customers, and labor is why they needed a Coronavirus to blame for the economic crash everyone knew was coming.  More on this below.
• The helicopter money they are "giving" us is not only money they stole in the first place, it's going to pay bills and buy essential needs: They aren't "bailing-out Main Street," they're bailing-out our creditors, landlords, and retail outlets.  The responsible, rational, approach would be Debt Forgiveness, not further devaluing the Dollar by printing more money just for the sake of going through the motions.  More on this below.
• The Supreme Court's decision to nullify the Insanity Defense is to be ignored; none of those (alleged) "people" are doctors, so none of them are qualified to make such decisions.  In fact, it's illegal to pose as a doctor and dispense medical advice, so they can all be held (indefinitely and without bail) and charged accordingly.
  
  This just in: Under the "Who Needs a Trial" law, they have been found Guilty and received the maximum sentence.  They are bonafide dipshits, as I lay out in longform below (someone please read this to them) and (hopefully) in future posts.
• The state governors who forbade abortions during this crisis are Guilty of spreading the COVID-19 virus and, thus, Terrorism, as decreed by the DOJ.  Women who need abortions will simply travel to neighboring states that abide by The Rule of Law to get them, possibly infecting others and/or contracting the virus themselves along the way.  Arrest and detain those "public servants" immediately, and indefinitely.

With that out of the way, let's get down to brass tacks:

I blame the Democratic National Committee for both the 2020 financial crisis and the US' COVID-19 pandemic.  The DNC's Malfeasance and High Treason in fixing the 2016 Presidential Election (and blaming it on Russia, and toxic masculinity, and White Nationalists, and Wikileaks, and...) robbed us of a Bernie Sanders Presidency which would have resulted in the bolstering of the very infrastructure we have so desperately required for so long and now, in the time of our greatest need, lack.

Despite his many missteps, a President Clinton/Biden would have done almost everything Trump has.  The only difference is that Big Media would have covered it up for Clinton/Biden  -- the way they are covering-up the illegal detainment, torture, and attempted murder of Julian Assange and his associates.

The DNC is Guilty -- who needs a trial? -- of these, and many other, High Crimes and Misdemeanors and that's that.

Bernie Sander's platform contained literally every, single thing the corporate shareholders government is being forced to do now:

• Provide Americans healthcare, not health insurance, and enough funding to ensure medical outlets are open, accessible, and prepared -- as well as giving some consideration to the continued improvement of the care provided.  This benefits the health and welfare of the common citizen on Main Street and "trickles-up" to higher-class citizens.  This also contributes to National Security in many ways, as we are seeing now.
  
  The COVID-19 outbreak perfectly illustrates how privatizing medicine and health services -- specifically on behalf of the insurance and pharmaceutical companies -- is a detriment to our society and Economy Stupid, as well as one of the greatest risks to our National Security.  You win wars not by killing but by injuring, thus not only removing units from the battlefield but also overwhelming the opposition's medical staff and depleting their resources and reserves.  It's difficult to believe that these masters in the Art of War would be unaware of this basic, ancient, and time-tested tactic.
  
  Denying us access to affordable healthcare and medical supplies is akin to sending soldiers to the battlefield without ammo or armor -- something these nitwits have done several times before, I'll note -- and leaves great swaths of citizens vulnerable to pestilence and disease.  A viral, fungal, or bacterial outbreak of the magnitude COVID-19 appears to be can literally destroy our nation in no time, despite the fact that it is almost entirely preventable.

• Secure, repair, and maintain the roadways, networks, and government structures -- including private industries and holdings that contribute to the health, security, well-being, and advancement of the nation.  This is the "But Mah Roads" clause Tea-Partiers and similar, Far-Right-wing hardliners oppose so vehemently (preferring privatized, toll roadways maintained by private companies -- if they want to maintain them -- which could deny travelers access, perform search and seizures, and do whatever else they want, without legal recourse).  This includes the Internet, in that "Information Superhighway" sense, as well as public transportation.
  
  People have a right to access basic goods and services needed to not only survive, but to reach our potential.  And reaching our individual potential strengthens the collective in countless ways, as does being capable of taking "personal responsibility" for our individual health, wealth, and security.
  
  I have a lot to say on "personal responsibility" -- that cynical, wiseguy expression these cretinous leeches throw around so casually (their use of which is ironic as shit) -- but it's too much to include in this document.  Suffice to say it is a textbook example of gaslighting.
  
  However, as to the point above, the dirty hippy saying, "Imagine if they started a War and no one showed up," can become literal truth if we lack access to affordable and reliable transportation and communications.

• Raise the minimum wage to a Living Wage so the Commoner Man can afford to buy rent a house neglected shed on Main Street, eat over-processed food, drink polluted water, and consume energy created by fossil fuels for no other reason than to enrich coal barons, oil barons, and shareholders the US government.
  
  This contributes to the security of the nation by eliminating high-risk situations, such as homelessness, starvation, and poverty, which are breeding grounds for populism, extremism, infection and disease, and social strife -- especially between economic classes.  These situations can quickly lead to mass unrest, conflict, plague, and uprisings.

• Raise Federal Taxes on corporations, the rich, and the ultra-rich, which is literally just the abolition of "Corporate Welfare."  With all of the propaganda linking COVID-19 to WWII these days, let's remember the rate at which these social classes "heroes" were taxed back then.  "We're all in this together," remember?  If you hate Socialism so much, pay your fucking taxes!

• Establish, and maintain, peaceful Diplomatic ties with foreign countries.  (This is the one what gets people like us murdered.)  This reinforces National Security by promoting friendly relations instead of inviting War, Terrorist attacks, and antagonistic political strife.  It also promotes a healthy Economy, Stupid.
• Abolish Globalist Industrial schemes such as the TPP and NAFTA.  This helps to secure the nation by forcing corporations to pay employees a Living Wage and provide benefits such as medical insurance, and boosts the Economy Stupid by both providing jobs to US citizens and keeping the manufacturing and distribution sectors in our country alive.
• Enforce Anti-Trust laws, and [re-]enact and enforce regulations on banks, telecoms, and other industries that are necessary to our country, and that have clearly abused their positions thanks to deregulation and lack of oversight.
• Separation of Church and State.  Because God does not speak to these people nor do they speak for God.  Not to mention the fact that all religious texts clearly and openly oppose these warmongers' every, continued action -- most of which are covered in the Top Ten Biggest Sins on Earth (which is not a BuzzFeed listicle)!
• Fuck ISrael.  Because ISrael is a War Crime.
• Fuck Saudi Arabia.  Because the Saudis are War Criminals and despots.

Okay, so some of those may have been paraphrased or... whatever, but those are largely Bernie's tenets as set forth in his original, 2016 campaign.  Of course, had he been elected President (he was -- who needs an "Election?"), he wouldn't have been able to enact everything he campaigned on -- no politician ever does, and the Establishment is determined to sabotage Sanders' Presidency just as they did Carter's, just as they sabotaged Sanders' campaigns -- but, had even a few of those things happened, we would be better prepared for the "Perfect Storm" of crises we face today.

And, although these crises were inevitable over the course of time, we face them today, concurrently, as the direct result of these peoples' reckless, irresponsible, and criminal behavior:

• The rampant corruption of corporate welfare and deregulation.
• The embezzlement of every tax dollar by the Military Industrial Security Complex.
• The defunding of necessary medical services, Arts and Cultural programs, and other social outreach services.
• The replacement of facts with "feelings," like social identity and religious faith.
• The privatization of everything to circumvent the Law.
• The Pavlovian pandering to corporations and the rich.
• Forcing billions of people, worldwide, into austerity and hundreds of millions to flee their homes (also an ancient War tactic, by the way)...

I could go on and on, and hope to in future posts (if this blog is still here, my account hasn't been terminated, and/or I haven't been institutionalized, detained indefinitely, or murdered), but I've made my point.

These things are necessary to the Commonwealth, and not just for some hazy, "Greater Good" which never seems to materialize no matter how much We, the People, sacrifice.  Progress is a synonym for Advancement, and our progress as a collective, as well as individuals, is being intentionally impeded -- mostly for the political, financial, and material gains of monopolistic corporations, but also to make it easier for these special interests, not to properly govern us (they're incapable) but, to contain us and prevent us from organizing effectively to demand both Liberty and accountability.

National Security is not only about putting WMD in the hands of violent, unrepentant psychopaths and calling them "heroes" and "freedom fighters;" a healthy, financially stable, well-educated populace with access to affordable goods and services to which every human is entitled is better prepared to weather the storms, both literal and figurative, life throws our way.

This also empowers us to pursue greater things, resulting in greater contributions to society, humanity, and the world, and fosters pride in ourselves and our communities, which motivates us without devolving into mindless Nationalism, Populism, and religious and sociopolitical extremism.

None of this is good for career politicians or War Criminals, I freely grant, but, at this moment -- and in the coming weeks and months (and possibly, though hopefully not, years) -- our nation and way of life is directly threatened by assailants and factors that cannot be combated by kinetic means or direct confrontation. 

We are not just dead in the water due to internal crises, we are sitting ducks for the myriad enemies these moronic, militaristic, fundamentalist fucks have created of our every neighbor -- friend and foe, alike -- as well as any other natural disaster that may, and will, occur.  And we will be told that the only way out of this complete, systemic failure is to rely on the State (see below).  Talk about grim!

We don't need government intervention -- including "socialist programs" like welfare and Social Security -- when we are capable of defending, and providing for, ourselves.  And, were these [s]elected officials to do their jobs and enforce laws and legislation already on the books, these special interest groups -- including monopolistic corporations and quasi-governmental agencies, such as the Military Industrial Security Complex (MISC, as they are referred to in $6tn "relief" bills) -- would not be able to prevent us from doing so.

This is how Nationalized Socialism operates: Using violence and terrorism (including sweeping surveillance and "Lawfare"), the military controls all of the holdings (monopoly) -- the Capital, the Labor, and all resulting goods and services -- and dispenses needs to the populace as it decrees.  The [Police] State controls all communications, all transportation and roadways, all labor (all of which is forced) -- everything -- and only those who kowtow to the State's demands are allowed to go about their way (which is also heavily monitored and limited). 

No matter who pulls the strings -- billionaires/elites, corporations, governmental/military agencies, dictators, et. al. -- no matter the poli-sci label applied -- Communism, Marxism, Authoritarianism, et. al. -- this is how Nationalized Socialism operates.

With a full $0.90 of every tax dollar going to the blasphemy known as the Military Industrial Security Complex, such an abject failure in National Security as we are experiencing is only ironic to the uninformed. 

It's so complete a failure in National Security which just so happens to coincide with a long-predicted economic crash (due to well-reported High Crimes and Malfeasance in the Political and Financial sectors), and the DOJ and Republican state Governors moved so quickly to take advantage of it while moving so slowly to stop it, that it's no surprise misinformation and "conspiracy theories" have arisen. 

After all, stationing active military units in civilian quadrants and imbuing them with law enforcement powers is very literally the very literal definition of "Martial Law;" that's literally what Martial Law literally is. 

Literally.

Our "leaders" are failures in every sense of the word: Morally repugnant, politically ignorant, mentally deficient, ethically bankrupt, socially repulsive, dangerous, violent, greedy, petty, petulant, narcissistic, criminal.  Their policies are disastrous, their every thought an affront to any worthy god, their every word an innocent's epitaph.

Personal responsibility starts with them and they must lead by example, not by empty rhetoric, propaganda, force, or force majeure.

There is all but nothing they can do at this point to right their innumerable wrongs, and they deserve absolutely no credit for the last-minute Band-Aids they're slapping on the sucking chest wounds they've inflicted on their constituents, their allies, this nation, and those who refuse to lick their jack boots.

They deserve only contempt.  And a raft of Criminal charges.

But no trials. 

Who needs them?

---
* "It's the Economy, Stupid" is a phrase thrown about by those in the financial sector to explain and excuse basically everything, but especially bad things for "Main Street," such as Austerity measures.

© The Weirding, 2020

The Hollow Earth Theory, or Symmes' Hole

Symmes' Concentric Circles of Hollow Earth

After several posts debating the merits of such theories being connected to Admiral Byrd, I stumbled upon the modern origin of the Hollow Earth Theory or, as it was once called, Symmes' Hole:

John Cleves Symmes, Jr. was a military provisioner and veteran of the War of 1812 who latched onto a popular notion of the era regarding concentric circles and an inner earth.  It appears that these ideas, both in the theoretical and literal, existed prior to Symmes -- Johannes Kepler in 1618, Edmund Halley in 1692, and even Cotton Mather referenced an Inner Earth of concentric circles -- but he somehow came upon the concept independently, perhaps during the War, as Symmes was not a classically educated man likely to have read the likes of Kepler and Halley.

Symmes' Circular Number 1, published on April 10, 1818, begins, "I declare that the earth is hollow and habitable within; containing a number of concentric spheres, one within the other..."  He goes on to give rather precise coordinates to the entrance of this fantastical world before requesting funding for an expedition to validate his claims.  He went on to write many more circulars before taking his theory on the road, speaking to any audience that would have him.

Symmes' Hollow Earth Theory inspired many of his contemporaries, including Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne -- both of whom wrote stories regarding a Hollow Earth -- as well as Edgar Rice Burroughs, and others.  In fact, the public became so intrigued that Congress was forced to vote on the matter in 1822.  James McBride, a supporter, published Symmes's Theory of Concentric Spheres in 1826, bringing the Hollow Earth Theory even more mainstream notice.  Though the expedition was turned down -- many times, actually -- John Symmes' Hole Theory deeply impacted popular culture, resulting in countless sci-fi/fantasy classics of both the 19^th and 20^th -Century.

© The Weirding, 2017

The Technological Possibilities of Ghosts

Have you ever wondered if ghosts are just imagery, in the same sense that you see film cells when the projector starts skipping or is slowed down, or the way the monitor flickers when it's going out?

This is not an original thought; I'd actually been thinking about something similar (because I was having monitor issues) when I saw a meme in a ghost-hunting group positing much the same question, and I returned to the idea of veridical imagery -- the concept that some things are somehow "recorded" in time, and set to playback on certain anniversaries, whenever triggered by events, emotions, memories, or something else in this reality (or at random).

It may suggest multiple realities or dimensions but, if true, we could be reflections of veridical imagery ourselves -- even as we're alive!  Perhaps something that happened in our past lives was emotional or spiritual enough in nature to have made it off the cutting-room floor and is playing in perpetuity even as we discuss it?

This could explain all manner of things, from Green Children to The Lost City of Alaska, and could be electromagnetic in nature (but it certainly doesn't have to be).  There have been, and will continue to be, things that simply escape our knowledge and ability to comprehend.  This could be one of those things -- but, with the advancement of technology clipping along at such a pace, knowing more about these things might be just around the corner.

© The Weirding, 2014-2015

Nearly Half of Americans Believe in Ghosts

According to a poll conducted by HuffPost/YouGov in 2012, 45% of Americans believe in ghosts.  A 2009 poll conducted by CBS showed roughly the same results, as well as that 78% of those polled believed in some form of life after death.  

In the HuffPost/YouGov poll, 1000 people were questioned, with 64% saying they believed in life after death.  Nearly 60% said they had never experienced a ghostly encounter, and 43% said they do not believe ghosts can harm the living.

© C Harris Lynn, 2012

Time-Travel Proven Impossible

Researchers from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology measured the speed of a single photon, the smallest unit of light, and claim that it cannot move faster than the speed of light (in a vacuum). Not only does this prove Einstein's assertion that nothing can move faster than the speed of light, it also eliminates the possibility of time-travel.

Published in the U.S. journal, Physical Review Letters, the study concluded that "an effect cannot occur before its cause" -- a rule we all learned in grade school (or should have).

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

A Heartless Society

It is not a new thing. I have voiced my opinions on the matter many times here and elsewhere. But this article from Times Online goes into quite a bit of detail as to just how far our litigious society has gone and what it has cost us. This is why I often post stories which reflect poorly on law enforcement and legal authority (though far from the only reason!).

The truth is that ours is a prison-based society where we are constantly reminded of the potential punishments we face should we choose to do wrong and no rewards are offered for doing right. This oppressive environment has a damning, and self-perpetuating, effect. Like all oppression, it leads to a breakdown in reasoning and an outlash of emotion - in short, rebellion. This is, in large part, the psychology behind recidivism.

If one feels there is nothing to gain from doing the right thing and - worse yet - is likely to be punished regardless, fear, frustration, and anger take hold. This heightened emotional state becomes so common that one builds-up a tolerance to it, becoming perpetually "on-edge." It becomes harder to make rational decisions and, eventually, one gives-in and consciously decides to do wrong, specifically as an act of rebellion.

In an age of road rage and "reality TV," xenophobia has become the common the norm - yet it is a heightened emotional state; we are living in a state of fear and anxiety, which promotes irrational thought. As some crimes are committed in "the heat of the moment" and are sometimes defensible in like manner, the bar is being pushed ever higher: formerly, someone suffering xenophobic thought processes might be argued to be insane (even temporarily); as this has become the prevalent mindset of society - as the individual's tolerance is expected to have been built-up as a matter of society's acceptance of it - we are being expected to "take responsibility" for irrational decisions we admittedly cannot defend - decisions we never would have made, had we not been in a constant state of near-panic to begin with!

More and more, we hear people saying, "I don't know what happened; I don't know why I did it; I just couldn't take it anymore; I just snapped." In fact, there is a show on American cable with that very title! And it deals specifically with female criminals, who comprise about 7% of all murderers... which is up somewhat from previous eras.

Maybe I'm just supposing on a hypothesis here, but more and more, the effects of this heightened state of agitation, as a sociological mindset norm, are being seen... and ours is a poorer society because of it.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

A Very Jetsons Future

So I'm watching the Eureka marathon on the Sci-Fi Channel today (season premiere Tuesday!) and I looked up to see Carter and some guy having a serious discussion in a vehicle as they raced to wherever it is they were going. True to its tongue-in-cheek nature, the tone is somber and tense, the dialogue heavy... then they pan-out to show the two of them going maybe 15mph in an ugly, completely utilitarian, battery-powered vehicle.

Of course it was meant to inject a little humor into the moment, but it was also meant to reinforce the futuristic, intellectual basis of the series. After all, battery-powered vehicles -- while they go neither far nor fast -- are imminently "green" technology, cheaper and more efficient, and definitely have their place in automotive advancement. While they may not be the "wave of future transportation," they are definitely one step in its advancement.

So, are we facing a Jetsons-inspired future?

I have to admit, it seems plausible.

Of course, I am referring to the animation style of the classic cartoon -- where the technology was incredibly personal, compact, and... "cute." Of course, these various technologies will be highly personalized and once the core technology is stabilized, corporations will immediately fall all over one another in their attempts to create the "coolest" designs, etc. But at the bottom of it all, incredibly compact, efficient technology is definitely where we are headed.

And though that's all fine and good, I urge you to look up an episode or some stills from the classic cartoon and think about those hybrid cars while you do!

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Biblical Aliens

I don't touch deeply on my own, personal religious beliefs very often here because they do not necessarily have a place in most of the discussions. Further, while I do have some deeply-held religious beliefs, when dealing in these areas, they are often used against you, so I find it best to largely leave my personal feelings on such matters aside.

Having said all of this, when I come across bizarrely ignorant articles (with which the Internet is so wonderfully rife), I feel a need to point them out for the nonsensical bunk they are. Such is the case with this article by "Babu Ranganathan" ¹ from The Conservative Voice.

I won't bother destroying each and every "point" Ba-Ba-booey here makes because anyone who can actually make it through more than a handful of paragraphs is doing better than I, but I do want to take aim at the author, itself:

This is a subversive work meant to "empower" zealous, Right-Wing "Christians" while simultaneously denigrating their beliefs. "Babu" translates best into "an Indian who writes English, often disparagingly" (see link for source). "Ranganathan" probably corresponds to the Indian scholar ² who developed Colon classification. 

More curiously, a Dr. Rama Ranganathan is a researcher of evolutionary theory... from Texas. Whether or not this is the same guy who wrote the article is unclear but, if it is, he should be deeply ashamed of himself! (For the record, I sincerely doubt the two have anything in common, except the name.)

This is a "hoax" article... or this guy had a seriously bad day and still has some real soul-searching to do to rectify his faith with his beliefs. And science, and the rest of the world, and...

How alien life fits into God's Plan and Creationism is a sticking point for many Christians -- and one I can appreciate -- though it need not be. After all, according to Judaeo-Christian Mythology, the Bible (and the supporting Canon) was written by men generally accepted to have been in the throes of Divine Inspiration, which others call the Holy Spirit, and Man is fallible (this, of course, being the very basis of the Christian faith and the entire point of the story of the Garden of Eden!); these men would be largely unconcerned with what we, today, call "alien life." In fact, had they witnessed such, they likely would have thought it/them to be angels, demons, or some other embodiment of the religious/mythological figures and personae in which they believed.

Men writing in Biblical Times would -- according to what we think we know today -- have had no more reason to include alien life forms in their religion, mythology, or various disciplines and bodies of knowledge than we have of including lifeforms, shapes, colors, dimensions, or anything else with which our own knowledge of science does not account for. In fact, while there is some evidence that certain cultures had access to aerial vehicles (notably balloons), popular theory holds that men of ancient times had no means of becoming productively airborne, so whatever would lead them to think of intelligent life up there? (Read on!)

Yet this all comes with a caveat:

According to many, the Bible does mention UFOs -- in many forms. The Book of Enoch, excised from the Bible for numerous reasons, is seen by some as evidence of an alien abduction. According to the excellent The Bible UFO Connection ³, there are at least 362 references to what can be construed as UFOs or aliens in the accepted version of the King James Bible. In fact, the most probable translation of the word, "Heaven" is sky -- that's why people point up when they refer to it!

Of course, most of this is conjecture -- yet not of the faith-based variety; what has been accepted as The Word of God came from many languages ⁴ and has been translated many times throughout the ages. In fact, therein lay the argument against the concept of Hell itself (as "sheol" can also be translated as "death" and the Bible makes it fairly clear that those who die without Salvation are doomed to forever be without God, not burning in lakes of fire nor anything so cinematically horrific). The corruption of the source material, through both translation across many languages as well as transcriber error (the handwritten documents were made by translators and scribes until the advent of the printing press, ca. the 15^th-Century), as well as many changes made by the Church, the Court, and countless other factions, means we will probably never know what "God's Word" -- that which was to be recorded and dispersed by the faithful of his flock -- ever was!

But, neither the existence of alien life nor cryptozoological finds preclude the Word of God, the Bible, nor Christianity. And unchecked zealotry of the weirdest kind, as exemplified in the aforementioned "article," should be dismissed out-of-hand for the Bible-beating nonsense it really is.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

 ---
¹ Site folded (go figure!).  Here are the original links: https://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/33469.html and https://www.theconservativevoice.com/profile/2651/Babu-Ranganathan.html.
² Link removed and I don't have the time to search for its equivalent or a cached source (2019): https://www.iskouk.org/kokonov2007.htm
³ I include the link here for posterity but advise against visiting the site, as it apparently has a fake certificate (signed by "postmaster @ example_.com!"): https://www.bibleufo.com/subjects.htm
⁴ Again with the bad certificate.  Included only because these warnings may be due to a DNS (or some other) issue on my end -- I would not visit this site due to potential security risks: https://www.ldolphin.org/babel.html

Justifiable Anger

If you are wondering why I have been so angry with the Middle East lately, then I'm slightly shocked.

No, not really, because that's making me almost as angry as the blatant atrocities and human rights violations Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the like have been committing. I am sick and tired of hearing how those in power in these places are the "exceptions" and how the majority disagree with them, because that is a flat-out lie.

It took more than a handful of people to riot against Danish cartoons which led directly to the death of nearly a dozen people, as well as the firebombings of churches, places of business, and private citizens' homes. There were more than a few people dancing in the streets and firing automatic guns in the air whenever news of American or Allied deaths were reported in the ongoing coverage of the "war." Those in power are not the only ones who openly support such barbaric laws as the stoning deaths of those accused of adultery and other sex-related crimes.

The overwhelming minority in these countries are supposedly the only ones who routinely abuse their women, though these same women are not allowed out of doors without burkas and will be beaten if they dare to do so... by the minority of extremists which include entire towns. The minority of these "extremists" just so happen to live in these very countries and I am sick and tired of hearing how they are the extreme minority!

Don't accuse me of hatemongering or stereotyping when every terrorist who hijacked a plane since about 1980 just so happened to be from the Middle East! When I am having to sell my great, little car that gets 35mpg because I cannot afford gas! When there are people around the world rioting for food because grocers have had to jack the prices up to outlandish rates to offset the shipping costs! (And, according to NPR, prices are going up as much as 20-25% more in coming months!)

I'm no left-wing radical and I'm far from a right-wing fascist; what I am is a normal, regular American who is sick and tired of being exhausted because I have no one to blame for something I know damned well someone else is responsible for! The simple fact of the matter is that these particular Middle Eastern countries have chosen this culture and lifestyle and, while I feel for those who disagree with it, they are the extreme minority.

And, I am sick and tired of having to approach these awful stories with a jaded, guarded, "don't lump them all in together" outlook when I know better -- and no amount of whitewashing, revision, or false humility is going to convince me otherwise!

If it offends you, that's fine, I would love to hear your (hopefully intelligent) comments. But, if you cannot understand my position on this matter, then I really don't think we have anything to discuss.

Anyway, back to the weird and inexplicable.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Capuchin Monk Rocks Devil Music

A Capuchin Monk is the lead singer for a heavy metal band which has just released its second album.

Brother Cesare Bonizzi, called Brother Metal, has a healthy attitude toward what many have traditionally referred to as "the Devil's music."  He says he was overwhelmed by the energy of it when he attended a Metallica concert some 15 years back.  Last year, he played the Gods of Metal tour alongside Judas Priest, Slayer, and Iron Maiden.

The lead guitarist of his band said he was skeptical of playing with Brother Metal at first, but found his voice carries a depth and poignance many "youngsters" lack.  Brother Metal's lyrics touch upon real life issues including the basics (sex and drugs and rock and roll).  While he touches upon faith and religion, he strives to keep them separate.  He insists he is not there to proselytize and makes a point of separating faith from organized religion.

Brother Cesare wears his traditional robe onstage, which often brings at least one audience member to ask, as Brother Metal says, "What the fuck?"

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

The Importance of What Has Come Before

This excellent, if lengthy, article from the BBC details the restoration of what remains of the ancient art of Bamiyan.

In 2001, the Taleban destroyed the ancient Buddha statues which had guarded the Silk Road and its travelers since Roman Times. Lucky for the rest of us, much of the art inside the caves surrounding what remains still exists and a team of artists and historians from around the world are attempting to restore them.

The interesting thing (aside from the fact that they have discovered the paints used contain oils, which means the technique did not originate in Europe during the Renaissance) is that they are basing much of their work on a guidebook to Afghanistan, written by one Nancy Dupree, a world traveler.

I often bring you stories which are, at best, tangentially-related to the Unknown. I have said time and again that the intention of The OddBlog is to be an actual resource - not a guide - to the paranormal. Since the very definition of what we are dealing with here is beyond our ken, we truly do not know what is, or will become, applicable to the research.

Yes, many of the stories are here just for amusement, but even in these we are given some insight into such fields as Psychology and Sociology... and, too often, the effects of drugs/alcohol on the human mind. All of these disciplines are very close to the fields of Parapsychology, Ufology, and Cryptozoology - the three, major fields to which this department is dedicated - and you really never know when something you absorbed (read, saw, heard, experienced, et.al.) will be that bridging point that will lead you to conclusion(s) - or at least bring you closer.

Let me illustrate this - brilliantly, in my estimation - with a reminder of this little gem:

If there are any regular readers still around from last summer, they may recall when TAPS investigated the Hellfire Caves and caught an EVP they could not identify. Serendipitously, I had been reading a rather old library book entitled A Dictionary of Ghost Lore, in which an entry for "bogies" appeared. I believe I identified what was said in the EVP caught specifically based on that entry! This led to a revived discussion of ghastly categorizations - something I consider extremely important for the Parapsychological discipline for obvious reasons.

I am excited that our little pixel-park is finally starting to receive a little more attention as late and would love if more of you would comment with your own thoughts on the subjects - and I do not mean to belittle your intelligence by beating a dead horse - but The OddBlog was always developed to be a full-fledged resource for researchers of the paranormal and the Unknown, and while we stray from the topics somewhat frequently, this is part of the reason I work on the tags so often.

So any suggestions, additions, or anything else anyone has to offer are always welcome and greatly appreciated. No matter how "outlandish" it may seem, no matter how "outdated," you never know when that information may become crucial, nor why.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Online Abortions?

More and more women from countries and areas which do not allow abortions are turning to the Web to find help. And a significant portion of those end up in hospitals.

According to an article from the BBC, many girls in countries and other areas where abortion is illegal are purchasing drugs from what amount to activist websites. While less than 10% are actually taking the drugs they purchase, over 10% of those who do need medical treatment afterward, either because the drug failed to complete the abortion or due to excessive bleeding.

A poll of 200 such women revealed the majority were grateful for having been able to abort this way, while just over 30% said they felt stressed, but the experience was bearable.

While anti-abortion activists consider the sites offering these treatments dangerous, the article makes the case by including testimony from various women whose personal stories provide a positive backdrop. One such woman has a medical condition which precludes her from childbirth; pregnancy could be deadly for her. She was in Thailand when she discovered she was pregnant and tried several disreputable sites before finding Women on the Web, and noted the medicines came in unmarked bottles without instructions. WoW stayed in constant communications with her via e0mail, and the pills arrived with complete instructions and doctor's orders.

While some organizations and individuals credit WoW as being reputable, they note that it is encouraging women in some areas to break the law. Anti-abortion activists said this was a 'further trivialization of the unborn child.'

The Weirding's position on the matter is simple: people who are against abortion should have to provide a safe home and environment for every child they "save," as well as health care, clothing, food, and extended education.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Child's Party Sparks Discrimination Suit

A child in Sweden handed-out birthday party invitations in his class, but neglected two of them. Now the boy and his party invitations are at the center of a discrimination battle which is making international headlines.

The 8-year old boy refused two of his classmates invites because one had not invited him to his birthday party previously, and he and the other child had had a falling-out. When the teacher noticed this, she confiscated all of the invitations. According to the school, if the invitations are passed-out on school property, discrimination is not allowed.

The boy's father has issued complaints to the school's ombudsman.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

30k Celebrate Solstice at Stonehenge

Some 30,000 people were at Stonehenge over the weekend to welcome the summer solstice.

Many bearing religious leanings were accompanied by those who simply wanted to enjoy the festivities. The turnout was the highest in five years. It was rainy and overcast (but it's England), but the crowd stayed around for the sunrise. All-told, the event was a peaceful one, with only 17 arrests for various public order offenses.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

The Great American Think-Off

Sponsored by the New York Mills Regional Culture Center and held in Minneapolis, The Great American Think-Off gives regular Americans the chance to weigh-in on tough, philosophical questions of the day. This year's topic was "Does immigration strengthen or threaten America?"

Craig Allen of West Lynne, OR, won the gold medal this year, by convincingly arguing that the current immigration system is "broken," leading to an influx of illegal immigrants which poses a threat to America.

Of the runners-up, one agreed with the winner's position while the others argued the fallacious old saw that illegal immigrants bring cultural diversity, which strengthens our country. Ironically, one of the latter was from Nashville, TN.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Don't Leave Your Non-Christian Loved Ones Behind!

The You Have Been Left Behind website allows Christians who have been called home by the Rapture to send e-mails and documents to their loved ones after they are gone.

Seriously.

The system is set to trigger several days after three out of five members fail to logon. The members are scattered throughout the US so a natural disaster or outage cannot trigger the system.

For $40.00 annually, you get two boxes: One encrypted and one unencrypted. You can send encrypted mail to up to 12 "lost souls," and unencrypted documents to up to 50 "damned and doomed" fools Left Behind.

In case you are a member, please: You were right, so don't rub it in! Just go the hell away!

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

UPDATE:  The site has apparently been changed, so the link has been removed. - 2018

A Little Wistful Rambling

This is going to be a bit... something - I don't know what until it's done, but I know it's kind of silly. I just wanted to put this down because it has been on my mind a lot lately.

I am watching Back to the Future (great flick) and recently saw a documentary featuring the Bad Brains, and both have positive messages which have to do with one's mindset or outlook. In the movie, the message is "you can do anything if you put your mind to it." The Bad Brains generally espouse the philosophy that if one keeps a positive outlook, positive things will happen.

Now I applaud the efforts of both and want to believe in this philosophy, but is there really any merit to it at all?

I have often tried to have a positive outlook, but the truth is that I am a pretty cynical young man. Cynicism aside, I like to think of myself as more pragmatic. Maybe bitterly pragmatic is a better way to put it, but it's a pragmatic outlook moreso than "negative." But my outlook has never really helped me, so I would love to change it.

However, my outlook has often prepared me for disappointment. Not to say these things were inevitable or anything like that, just that, had I maintained a positive outlook, I believe several things in my life would have come as greater, more crushing, blows than they did because they would have been largely unexpected.

Like I said, there's nothing new to any of this and it isn't some personal revelation - just something on which I've been musing a lot lately and wanted to open up for discussion. It doesn't just affect me; the current state of the world is pretty bleak, so I'm wondering if an overall change in outlook would do all of us any good. Obviously, I am not going to chuck it all and become some sort of "Have a Nice Day" guru or start preaching the values of a happy mentality to the world at-large, but I am interested in hearing what others think.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Off-Duty Cops Still Abuse Authority

As we constantly report on police officers' abuse of authority and power here and elsewhere, I wanted to mention last night's segment on ABC's 20/20.

They had videotape from several sources which clearly showed off-duty police officers over-indulging in alcohol and attempting to drive. On at least two occasions, the police officers used their occupation to get them out of trouble. In one of those cases, when the tape made its way into the hands of the media, the cop was suspended from duty, but not charged with a DUI or drunk and disorderly.

Corruption can take many forms, but the most common is an abuse of power. It has been a long-standing tradition in America for police officers to be above the law. Like corporations, police officers do not have to obey the law, which is precisely what has led to the overwhelming corruption of all police officers and forces throughout the land. This, in turn, has led to rampant distrust of the government, which has led to a rise in "alternative" networks (gangs and politically-motivated organizations), which has led to a rise in violent crime.

Day after day, we are confronted with video of police officers committing heinous crimes for which we citizens would be convicted, fined heavily, imprisoned, and more. Sometimes these convictions lead to further complications, such as loss of employment and/or housing, marriage and relationship problems, and more. Cops don't have to worry about any of this, yet it is often reported that they are underpaid.

Well, just like corruption, benefits take many forms. Cops get insurance, pensions, bonuses, and are exempt from the law. When you add this to the millions of dollars per year in illegally-gotten gains they collect, American police officers are some of the most well-paid workers in the world!

My suggestion is to drop their pay, put them on food stamps and offer them free housing in governmental projects. It's a simple Socialist move that will save we taxpayers millions of dollars a year while increasing the amount of cash-on-hand cops have to spend on other things - like hookers and dope. Of course, they rarely spend much on those things because they get them for free.

Further, since they have continually proven they are cowboys with "loose cannons," cops should be completely disarmed, excepting the SWAT and riot squads. Target practice should still be encouraged because they may need to be issued weapons at certain times.

If you have some better solutions, I'll gladly listen, but something has to be done. These bullies' actions affect so many more aside from them and their victims. Not only the victims' families and friends, not only their co-workers and customers, but society in general. As the video linked to above shows, Tennessee state trooper, Randy Moss' arrest led to the release of 29 people, including illegal aliens who were not deported. The amount of taxes spent on those illegal aliens, as well as the revenue lost on the convictions, as well as the resources squandered in missed work for defendants - this arrest of a single corrupt officer cost the state of Tennessee millions.

This is no longer a philosophical argument; cops cannot be trusted and they can always be counted on to abuse their power and authority. They are a danger to the people they were hired to protect and unless some action is taken - unless something new is tried - the situation will only get worse. We can understand why cops are abusive, violent thugs, but we should not excuse them.

American police forces have become just another street gang innocent citizens fear and unless they are held responsible for their own actions just as we are - until the law is applied equilaterally - things will only get worse. With soaring gas and food costs, the chance of spontaneous rioting is greater than ever.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Combination Therapy

As the description notes, we try to bring you information covering a variety of topics, mainly dealing with the paranormal and Supernatural. But we also inform you of developments in the more traditional fields of science, religion, and related matters - what the mainstream accepts as "real" science.

Lately, there have been several reports dealing with the applications of therapy and treatments largely considered metaphysical in nature - such as meditation, "positive thinking," Native Remedies, and the like. These are not really called "alternative medicine," since that really applies largely to herbal and dietary supplements that are reputed to have certain medical properties, but are not prescribed by doctors and have rarely been tested by science; the mainstream sees these practices as being part of larger structures of religion or philosophy - such as meditation to Buddhism.

For a very long time - sometimes hundreds, even thousands, of years - many of these practices have been regarded as healthful by practitioners and believers, but skeptics always drop their big hammer of "conclusive evidence" to dismiss these claims. And mainstream society often uses the skeptics' straw man "Prove It" nonsense to relegate these ideas to the area of "fringe science" or complete nonsense. It's a real catch-22, because the skeptics demand "scientific proof," but work so hard to damage the credibility of the practices that no "serious scientist" will agree to research these fields, so no scientific data is ever collected that could possibly, one day, "prove" these theories.

Luckily, prevailing attitudes toward a lot of these areas is changing, and more and more scientists and doctors have embraced the study of these fields. And while I applaud their efforts and wish them to continue their work, when dealing with medical issues, I strongly suggest you take the little positive evidence you have and run with it!

When it comes to drugs, doctors embrace the least positive results to move forward with testing; when it comes to things like meditation or transference of feelings, they are extremely conservative as to their findings and applications of them. Why not separate the milder cases and create a control and testing group from them to further the collection of empirical data, but go ahead and use the techniques unabashedly on more severe cases?

For example, A has been diagnosed with cancer, but is in a very early stage and has shown a lot of improvement with traditional medicine and therapy, so place him in the research category. B is in a later stage of cancer and is struggling with his medication, so get him to writing about his condition, meditating daily - the whole nine! Why be so conservative with these treatments when there are absolutely no drawbacks to them - especially when we are so quick to prescribe new drugs that can have deadly side-effects!? And I don't mean here and there, or if the patient consents, and so forth: make it an integral part of the overall treatment and dive into it headlong!

If there is even the slightest amount of evidence that these things can be beneficial, then we owe it to patients to try anything we can to alleviate their suffering and help them get better! Put all this "is it real or not" shit behind us and do what's right!

And, yes, I know that some doctors/centers do this, and some doctors/centers believe this, but why don't they all? Again, they are more than willing to prescribe new drugs and drug-related treatments that were developed only a year ago, but wary to suggest "fringe science" or "New Age" practices that have been around for eons! Why?

Why!?

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Euthanasia Debate Comes to French Forefront

A French woman who suffered from an incurable cancer which developed a painful and disfiguring tumor on her face is dead. But not of natural causes.

When a court refused her plea for euthanasia, she appealed to a television audience. After medical testing, authorities released a statement saying only that she did not die from natural causes; they did not say what had killed her. In fact, the examining doctor stated that there was no immediate cause of death.

The tumor in her nose had robbed her of her senses of smell, sight, and taste, and left her in continual agony. It had disfigured her head and face to the point that children screamed and ran from her. She pleaded to be allowed to die -- to be allowed to end her pain, suffering, and humiliation -- but was refused her dignity by the Puritanical laws of French society.

Death is simply another stage of life, as we are constantly reminded -- so why is it that, when the only possible option for helping someone is to give them that release, so many create such a problem? Obviously, there are people with debilitating psychological problems who wish to die -- and we should probably do what we can to disabuse them of that notion and stop them -- but cases such as this are an entirely different matter.

We go out of our way to overmedicate people who feel "down" or "just not right" with medications they have to take on a regular basis and must be weened off of (when possible), yet we subject those in chronic pain to batteries of tests and constant medical evaluations to ensure they do not become "addicted" to drugs they absolutely need to survive with any Quality of Life.

The fact here is that, as in most medical cases: You don't make money healing people; you make money "treating" them.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008