Of course, we are speaking in generalities here.
Topic: by Lenny
-----------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Malec [mailto:root@scottmalec.info]
Sent: Sunday, November 28, 2004 2:28 PM
To: Lenny
Subject: Re: reinventing capitalism

Yes, yes to the moon, then to the stars. Ra ra. Horay, horay. Sounds like more crapitalist, social darwinist propaganda to me. Passion, but no compassion.

In short, I am the butt of this thinking, on the verge of extinction. I am aware of it of the boot coming down upon me, so cannot and will not praise my oppressor, the Man.

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-----Original Message-----
From: Lenny [mailto:lennyflatley@thefantastics.net]
Sent: Sunday, November 28, 2004 2:37 PM
To: 'root@scottmalec.info'
Subject: RE: reinventing capitalism

Bloom has an important POV -- he sees things (inc. human culture, humanity itself, the world) systemically. I wonder how he feels about PEOPLE.

Regardie, Buddha, Occultists and mystics understand human consciousness (and the flawed nature of being a humanimal) and how to personally transcend it but offer no answers as to the real world dilemma (so, you've become Jesus H. Christ... then what about the rest of us, buddy?)

What is needed is a synthesis.

Of course, I am speaking in generalities here.

Ireland: Shannon Banchees Invade Airport & Make Shrine for US/Coalition & Iraqi Dead
Topic: war in Iraq
          

10,000+ US Soldiers travel through Shannon Airport
to Iraq every month - a majority of US Dead probably
traveled through Shannon, in violation of the Irish
Constitution and will of the Irish people

audio: MP3 at 26.2 mebibytes

read the Indymedia Ireland feature at http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=67254

more info about the Dublin Catholic Worker at http://geocities.com/dublincatholicworker

also see http://PloughsharesIreland.org

William S. Burroughs.

Thanks for Indians to provide a
modicum of challenge and
danger.

from A Thanksgiving Prayer, Burroughs (1986)

Human (bio) evolution walks hand in hand with behavioral/societal evolution.
Topic: Evolution
It appears that wealth was shuttled massively toward those who specialized in the perpetuation and regeneration of large‑scale social dynamics. Priests, for example, are specialists in social cohesion. The work of anthropologist Mary Douglas hints that religious rituals may be practice for the routines which pin together a society. Rituals inculcate obedience to authority, and act as calisthenics for the sort of simultaneous, coordinated activities--complete with selfless sacrifice-which make massive social structures tick... try thinking of it this way: civility is a set of habits, habits of cooperation and habits of self-restraint. To attain these civilized disciplines, one needs a strong prefrontal cortex-home of the executive functions that rein our more chaotic impulses in. One also needs practice-practice repeated nearly every day. Regular rehearsal keeps the habits of self-control vigorously alive. Religious rituals are calisthenics for the habits indispensable to large-scale social enterprise.

-- Howard Bloom, "Instant Evolution"

Intelligent Design vs. Common Sense.
Topic: by Lenny
Intelligent Design breaks from Creationism in the sense that classically Creationism sets some very narrow parameters for the origin of humanity -- the earth is only 6000 years old, it was created in seven days (including lunch breaks), etc -- while ID seems to be more inclusive of the science of evolution.

ID is being pushed because it can bill itself as "science" even though it's very core is religious. Instead of being agnostic it requires belief in something ultimately unprovable (God). This is the trojan horse where the religious sneak God into the classroom.




Evolution is almost universally accepted by science, yet 48% of Americans believe in Creationism.

Read More...

the slight chimps of Dover
Topic: Evolution
"DOVER, PA -- In the boldest strike against the teaching of evolution in more than a decade, the school board of this one-stoplight farming town has tilted its textbooks against virtually the entire scientific establishment - and brought home a lesson from this month's presidential election.

"By mandating that ninth-grade biology teachers include "intelligent design" in their instruction, board members set a precedent last month. Never before has a school district decided to offer intelligent design, which suggests that only the action of a higher intelligence can explain the complexities of evolution. Moreover, say observers, it is a sign of what's to come."

Christian Science Monitor article here.

Meet The New COs.
Topic: war in Iraq
"There is a strong, innate predisposition against killing," Hinzman says, "and the military breaks that down." In target practice, he recalls, we "started out with black circle targets. Then the circles grew shoulders and then the shoulders turned into torsos. Pretty soon they were human beings."

Hinzman can pinpoint the moment he realized he "made the wrong career decision."

"About five weeks into basic training, we were on our way to the chow hall shouting 'trained to kill, kill we will.' We were threatened with push-ups because we were not showing enough enthusiasm."

from the Progressive: here.

Life's A Gas
Now Playing: "I Am Seeing UFOs" by Dee Dee and Joey
Topic: Evolution

"Some creators announce their inventions with grand eclat. God proclaimed, "Fiat lux," and then flooded his new universe with brightness. Others bring forth great discoveries in a modest guise, as did Charles Darwin in defining his new mechanism of evolutionary causality in 1859: 'I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term Natural Selection.'"

"Darwin himself strongly emphasized the multifactorial nature of evolutionary change and warned against too exclusive a reliance on natural selection, by placing the following statement in a maximally conspicuous place at the very end of his introduction: 'I am convinced that Natural Selection has been the most important, but not the exclusive, means of modification.'"

-- The Evolution Of Life by Stephen Jay Gould

"The human position is no longer tenable." - William S. Burroughs

"Did I get here on a rocket... did I come from another planet? I am seeing UFOs and I guess it's because I had a hard time out with you last night." -- Dee Dee Ramone

Tea With Jimmy.
Topic: esoterica


The Led Zeppelin show depends heavily on volume, repetition and drums. It bears some resemblance to the trance music found in Morocco, which is magical in origin and purpose--that is, concerned with the evocation and control of spiritual forces. In Morocco, musicians are also magicians. Gnaoua music is used to drive out evil spirits. The music of Joujouka evokes the God Pan, Pan God of Panic, representing the real magical forces that sweep away the spurious. It is to be remembered that the origin of all the arts--music, painting and writing--is magical and evocative; and that magic is always used to obtain some definite result. In the Led Zeppelin concert, the result aimed at would seem to be the creation of energy in the performers and in the audience. For such magic to succeed, it must tap the sources of magical energy, and this can be dangerous. William S. Burroughs, "The Jimmy and Bill Show," June 1975.

Infoshop's PICTURE OF THE WEEK
Topic: the Medium is the Massage



Greenpeace activists wearing costumes throw plastic bottles in front of Coca-Cola Company plant in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2004 to protest against contamination. Greenpeace supporters called on the company to find ways to better dispose of the plastic bottles it uses for bottling, saying the discarded bottles contribute to trash build-up in the Argentine capital.(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Infoshop.org Picture Of The Week archive.