Holiday Wishes 2009

The Scene: Helicopter flying low over the parking lot, live turkeys plummeting to the ground.
Les Nessman: "Oh the humanity!!"
Mr. Carlson: "As god as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly" (WKRP classic episode available at HULU.com)


So Thanksgiving has just passed and even though it's not a high holiday for this vegetarian I suppose it would be appropriate to talk a little about for what I'm thankful. Of course I am thankful for all the typical sentimental things like family, friends and fine health, but I'd like to also express an often left out and more antithetical perspective. I'm also thankful for all the adversity in life.

Not that I am currently experiencing a lot of adversity at the moment. In fact, I could stand a little more, but all in good time. Adversity isn't on a wish list either, but I can appreciate it because without it life would be stagnant. The difficult situations we face are what help us to grow and without them we wouldn't amount to much.

According to Buddhist theology there are Heavenly realms, Hellish Realms and the Human realm (none of which are eternal). The Buddha explained that the Human realm is the optimum because the conditions are greatest for developing insight into the true nature of all things. In the Hellish realms one is in too much distress to see beyond ones own pain. In the Heavenly realms one is too happy in pleasure to question life. So the Human existence is uniquely special, it's one where real spiritual work can be done, one where true wisdom can be attained.


There is a Buddhist story which points out the precious nature and rarity of human existence with its great balance of pleasure and pain. He said that all beings have had innumerable lives. So many, that the drops in the oceans are less than the number of tears one being has shed over the loss of loved ones throughout its incarnations. Throughout these incarnations the occurrence of a human birth is akin to the likelihood of a blind man in a rowboat with a rope noose actually catching an sea turtle which comes to the surface only once every hundred years!

So the moral of the story is simply to be thankful to be alive with all the ups and downs. And try and learn a thing or two along the way.

Now on to Xmas.

I have all I want or need materially. I have no interest in Black Friday or Cyber Monday, whatever that is. All I really want materially is continued food, water and shelter and at the moment I'm good on those accounts. I am trying to learn a thing or two so I do have a few books on my wish list, but other than that, money would be better spent on someone else. Unless Santa has in his bag a gift certificate for a scenic "Instant Karma Juice" crop dusting flight over D.C. and Wall Street! Oh please, please, I've been good, really I have, please Santa! Actually, Santa you can skip the gift certificate for the flight in the crop duster. Simply lighten your load of the "Instant Karma Juice" on your fly by over those areas. Pull that off and I'll never doubt your existence again. Thanks in advance, you're the best!

This year what I really want for Xmas is to be "Good". If I can accomplish that and maintain it I figure everything else will fall into place. This idea came up the other day and it kind of fits in with things here. We all tell children that they have to be good or Santa won't bring them presents. That's bribery at best and blackmail if we are honest with ourselves, pure and simple. This would not be necessary if we taught children to think critically about being good. I'm not saying we are all negligent in this, but it could always bear a little more scrutiny.

Ask a child what he wants to be when he grows up and 50 million to 1 you'll never hear, "I want to be good." Now you might say that an answer like that is too philosophically sophisticated for children, but I'd would vehemently disagree. In fact, I'd call bullshit!

We constantly tell children to be good, we want them to be good, they are fully capable of understanding what "good" is if we take the time to explain it thoroughly and yet we often sell them short. Instead, we are so proud when they respond to the question with, "I want to be a fireman, or police officer, or doctor". None of which they have any actual comprehension of nor will they in any likelihood actually become any of those idyllic proletariat models.

Imagine fully explaining that a fireman can be burned to death or killed by smoke. That a police officer is in mortal danger daily (and will be forced to circumvent inalienable rights for government profit, but I digress). That doctors are surrounded by communicable diseases, death and nasty internal yucky parts which often don't stay completely internal. Now imagine really explaining the merits of "goodness" so that they truly understand intellectually to a degree which allows them to go out and experiment with "good" experientially. Now imagine asking the question again about what they want to be and I bet the 50 million to 1 odds drop dramatically. In addition, they don't have to wait until they grow up! If they can accomplish that and maintain it, I figure everything else will fall into place...

Of course, if one is to be a skilled teacher one has to know his subject thoroughly. So the question arises, "What is good?" Good question ;)

Before I get down off this soapbox I'd like to offer the following teaching from the Buddha to his son Rahula when he was seven years old. (I have condensed it for brevity's sake)

"What do you think, Rahula: What is a mirror for?"


"For reflection, sir."


"In the same way, Rahula, bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions are to be done with repeated reflection.



"Whenever you want to do a bodily action, verbal action or mental action you should reflect on it: 'This action I want to do — would it lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Would it be an unskillful action, with painful consequences, painful results?' If, on reflection, you know that it would lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both; it would be an unskillful action with painful consequences, painful results, then any action of that sort is absolutely unfit for you to do. But if on reflection you know that it would not cause affliction... it would be a skillful action with pleasant consequences, pleasant results, then any action of that sort is fit for you to do.



"While you are doing a bodily action, verbal action or mental action you should reflect on it: 'This action I am doing — is it leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Is it an unskillful action, with painful consequences, painful results?' If, on reflection, you know that it is leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both... you should give it up. But if on reflection you know that it is not... you may continue with it.



"Having done a bodily action, verbal action or mental action you should reflect on it: 'This action I have done — did it lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Was it an unskillful action, with painful consequences, painful results?' If, on reflection, you know that it led to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both; it was an unskillful action with painful consequences, painful results, then you should confess it, reveal it, lay it open to the Teacher or to a knowledgeable companion in the holy life. Having confessed it... you should exercise restraint in the future. But if on reflection you know that it did not lead to affliction... it was a skillful action with pleasant consequences, pleasant results, then you should stay mentally refreshed & joyful, training day & night in skillful mental qualities.



"Rahula, all those brahmans & contemplatives in the course of the past, present and future who purified their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions, did it through repeated reflection on their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions in just this way.


Excerpt from: Ambalatthika-rahulovada Sutta

May all transcend suffering and have happy holidays!

The Moon and Bust!

So I stayed up to watch the live feed (4:30am) on NASA TV Friday morning when the Centaur Booster rocket crashed into the moon followed by the LCROSS Spacecraft.I'm sorry to report that it was a dissapointing waste of time.

Other than a video of the Moon getting larger and larger as the crafts approached the moon there was absolutely NOTHING to see.(Nasa reports that one of the instruments picked up 1 or 2 pixels of evidence of a flash.One might question what exactly was the nature of the flash.)

They were attempting to kick up debris miles into the air to spy for evidence of water. Or at least that's their cover story.Recently three other spacecraft have already confirmed water on the moon. Conspiracy buffs will say that since other countries are taking a lot of interest into visiting the moon these days, that our government
thought it was time to destroy our secret moon base and any evidence of it.So we already know there is water on the moon, but a moon base is another matter.

It turns out that I'm not the only one who is a little baffled by the lack of a show that night.
According to SpaceWeather.com - "NASA scientists are grappling with a mystery. Where did the debris go?....the debris plumes that were supposed to issue from the impacts failed to materialize." Further on they are careful to point out that the experiment isn't a failure. On the contrary, they say, "by offering up the unexpected, LCROSS is teaching us something new about the lunar surface and the products of lunar impacts. That makes it, by definition, a successful experiment. All that remains is to figure out what the new information is."
I guess the glass is always full.

My first thought was that maybe the Moon really is made of cheese and the spacecrafts simply "cut the cheese" and went right in and perhaps out the other side. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it? That would be some new information for sure. It would sure update the old information which told us that the Moon is solid, rocky and dusty. Which of course can't possibly be true if this experiment was a "success". I fail to see how objects traveling at 4000 mph impacting into that supposed surface would not produce the expected debris cloud. Or at least a small dust cloud!

So I think the next logical question is, "Was this experiment a success at all?" As I mentioned, the video feed did show the moon appearing to get larger as it approached, but after watching it I was struck by the fact that we didn't appear to actually see what you would expect to see as something smashes into something else. Visualize what the bug sees before it hits the windsheild. Or what you see just before you walk into a wall. In other words, there was no "Oh shit!" moment. There was just anticipation until the feed was "lost".

Did the spacecrafts actually make it to the surface or not? If seeing is believing, I'd have to put my money on "Not". Even if we take NASA's (Never A Straight Answer) word that they did pick up a "flash" there is nothing to say that the "flash" took place on the surface and not in the air (uh, er, I mean space). You see where I'm going with this? Perhaps there really is someone or something up there who has a similar propensity to privacy and staying in one piece. Maybe cousins of the Martians who have often toyed with the toys we have sent there.

I don't know. It does make for some entertaining conversation though. Actually, I don't really care. Except that things just aren't adding up and I don't think they should just be swept under the rug. I would like to state for record though, that I am definitely not in favor of bombing things on this rock or any others in the universe!

Stange Days, strange days indeed! But enough about Me and the Moon. What do you think about Me and the Moon?

UFO Halo

Did you see the story from Moscow:” “UFO halo” in the sky baffles Muscovites””?

http://www.rt.com/Top_News/2009-10-08/ufo-halo-sky-baffles.html

It’s being dismissed as a “purely optical effect” and scientists are to begin working on an explanation for it. I’m not holding my breath. One thing is for certain, it’s not simply an “optical effect”. Everything has a cause and this halo is no exception. Is it electromagnetic forces (terrestrial or extraterrestrial craft), possibly residual effects from a rocket launch or natural forces at work? I don’t know, but it seems to me that natural wind vortexes are out of the question although nature has a way of surprising us. I don’t think it’s quite time for disclosure (of terrestrial or extraterrestrial craft) capable of producing it so I don’t think we will hear that as the conclusion. My bet is that they will go with the rocket explanation, as lame and easily debunked as it would be. Or, most likely, the story will just fade away……

Maybe our friends think that the crop circles aren’t getting the attention they deserve so they are moving into a new medium with greater visibility. That would be something! I’d like to see a bunch of “crop crushers” get up in the early morning and pull that off!

On a personal note: Davey and I have got the house to myself as Mark and Julie are back in NJ for a wedding. Mark and I got together and jammed with a couple of guys last weekend and it went well so that’s promising. I’m also having the guys from my old college band (Stop Dead) over on Saturday for a reunion jam.

And in Strange Space News: At 4:30 a.m. Pacific time NASA will be “bombing” the moon. They are supposedly looking for water. I know the mission has been underway for some time now, but it seemed like an odd idea to begin with and now since 3 other sources have recently already confirmed water up there, it doesn’t make any sense at all. It’s interesting that we hadn’t found water before. Were our instruments faulty or did it just appear in the last 40 years!? My guess is that someone on the moon base left a tap running by mistake.

So I’ll be up early this morning looking at the moon with binoculars to witness our entry into our first Galactic War. NASA TV will also be broadcasting their Shock ‘N Awe!
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

I wonder if Vegas is running odds on something (someone?) causing a mission malfunction which prevents the impact from occurring.

If you are up watching this, keep an eye out for strange cloud evidence of UFO’s and if you know anyone from the moon, please pass on my apologies. :p

Wild Wild West

It's 3:30am in the sleepy little town of Cardiff by the Sea. Nothing is stirring, not even a mouse. Or are they?

Outside, on the front lawn, the sound of a cats battle cry is heard. Cats will be cats. As it goes on for a few seconds I lift up window shade to check out the skirmish. Out of my periphary I see a tan tabby on the lawn, but no adversary. Its hissing and screeching searing my ears. Then immediately the cat is flying through the air and lands, presumably on its feet, a few feet away. More terrifying shreiking from the pussy. As my eyes focus and my pupils constrict I make out the outline of its adversary.

I'm confused. I'm unable to grasp right away what it is I'm seeing. Understandably, my brain is looking for another cat. Tonight reality is throwing my brain for a loop. Undeniably, the cat's opponent is not another cat. The predator towers over the cat, brown coloring in the moonlight, long legs, long snout, long perked up ears. The cat makes no move to escape. Calmly, exuding confidence and seemingly with all the time in the world the predator snatches the cat in its mouth. Violently shaking it's head back and forth a few times before dropping the cat to the ground.

Simultaneously, I notice the the absence of hair raising screeching from the cat and my brain finally catches up with the scene before my eyes. Through the open window I lower my mouth and let out a hiss to alert the predator to my presence and scare it off. It looks quizzingly towards me. Although it's too dark too see and I'm not that talented of a mind reader I imagine the look on its face is saying "What are you doing up at this hour?".

Not sticking around for my answer it takes the cat in its mouth and high tails it down the block. I'm left somewhat shocked at what I just saw and with the question, "What was that predator?". Dog, fox, coyote, or maybe I'm dreaming and it's the dog from Resident Evil!? So I get out of bed and begin the internet search. I'm pretty confident now that I'm not having a Resident Evil dream (I can't imagine that dream not being dominated with visions of Milla Jovovich) so I rule out the Resident Evil dog, although in the dark there was a uncanny resemblance I couldn't quite shake.

In the end, I have settled on the Canis Latrans, The Coyote. In any case, I would think twice before letting your small pets (or children) out at night in Southern California. Wild Wild West indeed!

In other news: The Congressional Budget Office will release the summer update to the Budget and Economic Outlook on Tuesday August 25th. No matter how they cook the books it won't be good news, unless its a complete work of fiction. I mention this because there is a lot chatter about an upcoming bank holiday. I doubt this will be the trigger. Then again the actual trigger could come at any time. Such as the DOW taking another big dive which I believe is on track to happen soon, probably 6-8 weeks, tops. Or another big bank failure such as the five failures announced this week including Colonial Bank with 346 branches (6th largest failure in US history). That is 3,433 bank failures in a little over a year. The point is it's a smart move to have cash, food and water stocked up. If you are skeptical about the afore mentioned points, then how about something more concrete like Hurricane Bill for you eastcoasters or an earthquake for you west coasters or a tornado for you midwesters, etc, etc. You get the point.

Be prepared. Be Safe.

Hello everyone,

On August 5 at 7pm at the La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas CA.. the documentary "Hanging FIve" will premiere.

Hanging Five is a film that follows five artists who all happen to be surfers. The film documents their work and looks

at different aspects of their lives and how those experiences have impacted their work. The film also looks at

why the surf culture embraces and supports the arts.

Trailer: http://www.vimeo.com/4079670

The artists include:

Andy Davis, Tyler Warren, Julie Goldstein, Alex Knost, Wolfgang Bloch

Director/ Producer: Christopher Cutri

Thank you for your continuing support!! Hope to see you there.

Nothing Much.

Hey all. I don't have much to write, but since a picture is worth a thousand words I guess I'm off the hook. Check out Facebook for 100,000 words worth of pictures (Album=Colors of Cardiff).

I was just strolling around town taking shots of the Flora and misc. I used my Canon S3 for the first set and the Meditation Garden pictures were taken with a Canon Rebel XTi with a Tamron 28-80mm Lens. Not that you care. If you happen to be a camera buff and would like to know the particulars for the photos (f stop, ISO, shutter speed, etc.) Tough! I've got all the time in the world on my hands, but not that much :)

I'm not sure if the Rebel seems to shoot undersaturated or it was just the lighting, my lack of skill with the camera, or all of the above. So I did some tweaking with Vista's Photo Gallery.

Other News: Surf is flat :( But the weather is gorgeous and warmer. The Solana Beach Triathalon is this weekend. I was going to enter, but then I came to my senses. Instead I'll just cheer Julie on.

I was put forward for a position on a 150 footer in New England, but I haven't heard anything so I guess that's that.

So long for now....

Well, we made it through the San Diego “May Gray” and so far “June Gloom” has been driven back by the sun, but the wind has been up and the surf mostly down. I’ve been on the same program of biking, running and occasionally surfing. Mark and Julie had a party last Saturday for Davey’s birthday. He is now two or 14 in dog years. He had a good time hanging with his dog buddies and receiving a new stock of dog toys. It’s funny how many Jersey people have transplanted here. I’d say 90% of the attendees were Jersey Ex-pats.

I’ll be back in Jersey for cousin Leigh’s wedding from the 13th through the 20th. So if you are around I’ll see you then…..

Cardiff by the Sea and Me

I am somewhat familiar with the city, but not so much with North County since much of my time was spent south in La Jolla, Blacks, Mission and Imperial Beach or Mexico. Now that Mexico is off limits between the drug wars and the virus war it’s a good thing that Cardiff by the Sea is north of these stomping grounds as it edges up toward Orange County. It also may be one of the best kept secrets in Southern California.

Nestled between Solana Beach, Encinitas, the Pacific Ocean and I-5, Cardiff by the Sea is an active small town environment and friendly beyond belief. In many ways it’s typically Southern Californian with a constant flow of surfers, bicyclers, walkers, joggers, campers and moms baby strolling. Of course, you are never far from a yoga class or authentic Mexican food whether you prefer the fast and cheap kind or the upscale variety. One word of caution though, cougars are thriving and everywhere. Beware!

The most striking difference to be found here is the completely oppressive “niceness” of everyone here. Seriously, good luck trying to enjoy a good “bad mood”. You cannot pass someone without a “Hey, how are you?”, “Hi!” or at least a smile. Even while you are walking past on the sidewalk while they are parking their car.

“The Shanty” is the local pub which I’ve been frequenting to watch the NHL Playoffs and enjoy a pint or two of Stones Ale. Definitely the kind of place where everyone knows your name or in a case like mine, they politely make sure to find it out quickly.

Sometimes in California you can experience some animosity towards east coasters. But that is not the case here, that just wouldn’t be nice! It seems that once you’ve gotten here, you are here and it’s like you have always been here. Typical conversation: “Hi, my name is Betty, what’s yours?” “Nice to meet you Charles. Welcome to Cardiff. My brother is getting married this weekend. You should come!”

I have to admit the weather has been a little dicey, but maybe I’m being a bit too picky. After all, I did arrive from Ft. Lauderdale so I’m not used to the occasional chilly mid 50 degree temperatures which have been alternating with the beautiful shorts and t-shirt weather which begs you to be outside all day. The ocean temperature seems to be little chillier than usual for this time of the year, but there are waves more days than not, actually most. And that beats the flat warm water conditions of Ft. Lauderdale as well as the thick wetsuits, hood, booties and gloves conditions of NJ any day in my book.

I would however be remiss if I failed to disclose that I did have one bad run in with an ornery San Diegan. It seems that a certain Californian Stingray wasn’t so happy to make my acquaintance and zapped me on my ankle as I was getting out of the water after a surf. It felt like a crab bite, but having spotted one of his buddies in the water and noticing the numbness setting in by the time I got to the parking lot it was pretty easy to put two and two together. There were no serious complications I’m happy to report, but for the next 2-3 hours I did experience a significant amount of discomfort.

It felt similar to someone bruising my ankle bone with a Reggie Jackson special, heating up the surrounding skin to a nice reheating temperature of 200 degrees and piercing the center with a knife to check if the core was cooked yet. A long way off from Crocodile hunter Steve Irwin’s fate and not exactly “put me out of my misery” status, but enough to cause small involuntary moans to escape even while telling myself to stop being such a wimp! So remember, don’t mess with the stingrays!

Last week I got to catch up with some old friends. The old college band mates met up in Newport’s beautiful Crystal Cove where Tiger Woods and Mick Jaggar allegedly have homes. We enjoyed a nice few hours at the pool and Jacuzzi followed by a good diner while reminiscing on old times and trying to hash out exactly what is going wrong with the world. For an added bit of nostalgia we reviewed some audio and video of the band which I was happy to learn had not, as I thought, been lost to the ether.

The next day I was back up in Newport to meet with my ex, Nicole. After getting through some hellacious weekend traffic we partook of some excellent table side prepared fresh guacamole at El Toritos Grille and then stopped in on Balboa island for a treat at Balboa bar. Vanilla ice cream dipped in thick chocolate and rolled in rainbow sprinkles and crushed oreo cookies. So rich I thought for a moment I wouldn’t be able to finish it. But that moment passed.

Later in the week Mark and I headed up to Orange County for the Nike 6.0 Trestles Pro contest. Typically you need an Abacus to count the number of heads in the water at this world famous spot, but we got lucky and surfed some fun ones practically alone. All the while with a front row seat of the pros showing why they get paid to surf.

After that is was back to the monotonous rut of lazily waking up and heading for a surf, going to the meditation gardens, taking “Davey” for a walk or some other stressful type of activity. San Diego sucks. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Iron Mountain

I’ve been doing a lot of research lately on the internet. I’ve also been experiencing a bit of synchronicity lately. In the course of my research I came across a reference to a document called the “Iron Mountain Report”. So I googled it, found it and book marked it for later perusal.

Well, this afternoon I walked out of D&D, looked up after taking a sip of coffee and saw on the side of a truck plastered right in front of me: www.IronMountain.com. An advertisement for some Data company I think. The context of the situation was irrelevant. I decided to move up in priority my reading of the Iron Mountain Report.

What is the "Iron Mountain" report of the 1960's? Well it's either a hoax or an authentic (and disturbing) report on the viability of a world peace model versus world war model which was offered to the U.S. government and may or may not have had significant influence.

The report can be found here: http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/iron_mountain_full.htm

For some general background information have a look at this Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Report_From_Iron_Mountain



In this age of information one must not be blind to the art of "dis-information". It is often difficult or damn near impossible to ascertain the real from unreal, the truth from lies, and the fact from fiction. So to my mind it is prudent to examine all the information available and rely on one's personal acumen to determine to the best of one's ability the most practical model of truth, based on one's relative understanding of how things relate.

Whether or not the Iron Mountain Report is a hoax or not, one thing seems apparent to me. Its contents caught the attention and admiration of those running the show. The mentality within the report can be seen as the norm in practice. Whether or not it is a hoax, an honest attempt to objectively investigate a world peace model, or simply propaganda it is in my opinion disturbing and dangerous. Not because it was written or published, but that documents like this exist "under the radar" so to speak without much of a chance for the public to weigh in.

Perception is reality. One’s man’s rubbish is another's treasure. One man’s hoax is another’s belief. So without debating its authenticity one has to admit that to some extent the document has some intrinsic power (It's motivated me to write on it and fueled debate for countless others). I believe this document is at best extremely short-sided. Or to be more blunt, extremely ignorant!

Maybe it was a sign of the times. Spiritual consciousness was only in its infancy when it was written so maybe some slack should be cut for the group’s lack of understanding. For their inability to take in to account the inherent human ability to adapt and transcend social and economic difficulties. Especially those difficulties created by inherently flawed social and economic systems perpetrated by the same government entities that introduced them in the first place and now seemingly want to investigate changing things, but somehow can't fathom putting the genie back in the box! Blind should not lead the blind. Spiritually inept people should not try to solve problems created by spiritual ineptitude.

If you want to think outside of the box to discover a solution you need to step out of the box!

Here is a quote and an example of what the view from inside the box looks like:

"It is uncertain, at this time, whether peace will ever be possible. It is far more questionable, by the objective standard of continued social survival rather than that of emotional pacifism, that it would be desirable even if it were demonstrably attainable. The war system, for all its subjective repugnance to important sections of "public opinion" has demonstrated its effectiveness since the beginning of recorded history; it has provided the basis for the development of many impressively durable civilizations, including that which is dominant today."

Antiquated thought patterns perpetuating itself. This group which self declaringly operated from
"1) military-style objectivity;
2) avoidance of preconceived value assumptions;
3) inclusion of all relevant areas of theory and data."
failed miserably on all three accounts.

There is only one sentence in the entire document which shows even a glimpse of wisdom and it reads: "It by no means stretches the imagination to visualize comparable developments which may compromise the efficacy of war as, for example, an economic controller or as an organizer of social allegiance." However, it is extremely disappointing that they were not the least bit able to "stretch their imagination to visualize" the fact the difficulties in progression to peace that they foresaw require an existential approach. Then again maybe that wasn't their intent.

Below is an excerpt explaining what they believe are integral contributions of war to society and therefore what must be fulfilled by any replacement Peace system. Bear in mind that it was their conclusion that the probability of the Peace alternative being successful was too low at their time and quite possibly for all time. (My comments in green)


THE FUNCTIONS OF WAR

The visible, military function of war requires no elucidation; it is not only obvious but also irrelevant to a transition to the condition of peace, in which it will by definition be superfluous. It is also subsidiary in social significance to the implied, nonmilitary functions of war; those critical to transition can be summarized in five principal groupings.

1. ECONOMIC. War has provided both ancient and modern societies with a dependable system for stabilizing and controlling national economies. No alternate method of control has yet been tested in a complex modern economy that has shown itself remotely comparable in scope or effectiveness.

This premise is flawed on two accounts:
1) It assumes the "complex modern economy" works and is worth keeping intact. Evidence to the contrary is self evident today, but even back then it was apparent that the economic system was flawed and had an expiration date (at least to those who created/allowed it to be created).
(Don't even get me started)>http://www.davidicke.com/content/view/18696/48/

2) It assumes or denies the possibility of an Economy which is inherently stable and doesn't require national controlling mechanisms.


2. POLITICAL. The permanent possibility of war is the foundation for stable government; it supplies the basis for general acceptance of political authority. It has enabled societies to maintain necessary class distinctions, and it has ensured the subordination of the citizen to the state, by virtue of the residual war powers inherent in the concept of nationhood. No modern political ruling group has successfully controlled its constituency after failing to sustain the continuing credibility of an external threat of war.

I don't want to insult anyone's intelligence so my first reaction is not even to bother commenting on this, but just in case I later publish this rant under the title: "Getting a Clue- For Dummies" I'll say this:
1) If war is the foundation of government, F*ck government!!!!
2) If you have an innate need to submit to authority get into S&M! At least get some fun out of it!
3) Class distinctions aren't necessary anymore than racism, sexism or any other "ism"!
4) "subordination of the citizen..." Well, I agree with this one. I wake up every morning earnestly contemplating how I can subordinate myself to the state comprised of greedy, morally corrupt, ignorant psychotic maniacs of the world. It makes me happy. NOT!
5) The last sentence of the paragraph is Gold. If you are not happy with the "ruling group", simply Reject War!

3. SOCIOLOGICAL. War, through the medium of military institutions, has uniquely served societies, throughout the course of known history, as an indispensible controller of dangerous social dissidence and destructive antisocial tendencies. As the most formidable of threats to life itself, and as the only one susceptible to mitigation by social organization alone, it has played another equally fundamental role: the war system has provided the machinery through which the motivational forces governing human behavior have been translated into binding social allegiance. It has thus ensured the degree of social cohesion necessary to the viability of nations. No other institution, or groups of institutions, in modern societies, has successfully served these functions.

So they are saying:
1)The only solution for dealing with those of us who are disgruntled enough to act out in violence is to make them slaves in the military machine and every once in awhile provide the opportunity for them to kill themselves and their counterparts in other nations. It couldn't be that the crazy world the war mongers create and manipulate is inherently responsible for these "dissidents' " malcontent! Nope, war is the answer, not the problem. Oh, and please don't look up the meaning of Orwellian Doublespeak.

Side note: 1b.) Although not apparent from this excerpt, one problem the group has with conventional war is that it is inefficient with regard to evolutionary growth since the "genetically strong" are sacrificed. In other words, they paradoxically believe that it is beneficial to the species to have these people in existence, but not in society!

2) "motivational forces governing human behavior have been translated into binding social allegiance"- In other words, we trick you into behaving the way we want by creating false patriotism.
3) "ensured the degree of social cohesion necessary to the viability of nations" - In other words, they have been very good so far at controlling the cattle and really can't be bothered with putting that in jeopardy or seeking an alternative. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
4) "No other institution,....has successfully served these functions" In other words, these functions are necessary, no discussion. They choose not to explore alternatives, no discussion. They are right. Screw you, Screw you, SCREW YOU!

How about instead of war we just expand the mixed martial art competitions? If you want to hurt someone then go play with others that want to hurt someone. Have Fun, enjoy, have release. And sell a hell of a lot of tickets too.


4. ECOLOGICAL. War has been the principal evolutionary device for maintaining a satisfactory ecological balance between gross human population and supplies available for its survival. It is unique to the human species.

1) What is also unique to the human species is rationality!

2) The basic urge for procreation is:

a. the instinctual want/need of survival and it is greatly dependent on fear. ie. "we need as many people as possible for the species to survive"

b. the need to express unconditional love. Greatly dependent on fear of others, we have an inability to unconditionally love everyone and because this creates a blockage for a necessary human outlet we create something that doesn't cause fear and provides an outlet for unconditional love, babies. ie. "If we could love all unconditionally we would have more of an outlet and less of a need to create new ones.

c. to a lesser extent ego. ie. Me vs. You, Us vs. Them. More often than not at this point in evolution the ego causes more harm than good. Create a society which doesn't bolster the defensive actions of ego and you create a place in which the ego will rest and not impose its influence unnecessarily and negatively on society. ie. If one already understands their interconnectedness to others one is less likely to feel the need to have children to "carry on our name" or "continue our bloodline" etc.

3) "war has been the principal evolutionary device" "principal evolutionary device"?!?! Are they saying amoebas battled other amoebas and as a result became viruses. Fish warred with other fish to transmute to lizards. Neanderthal threw sticks at Homo Erectus and this spawned Homo Sapien. Did I miss the discovery of fossil remains showing the evolution of man into missile? This is absurd! Evolution is supposed to be marked by transitions which foster efficiency in a species. Did you guys even consider education and condoms? Maybe something voluntary?


In Summary: If you remove fear from people’s lives and soften the ego's grip by fostering the truth of oneness there will be room for rational planning. We could attack the root cause of overpopulation. Not immorally wipe out the effect of that cause! Better to prevent the disease than treat it.


5. CULTURAL AND SCIENTIFIC. War-orientation has determined the basic standards of value in the creative arts, and has provided the fundamental motivational source of scientific and technological progress. The concepts that the arts express values independent of their own forms and that the successful pursuit of knowledge has intrinsic social value have long been accepted in modern societies; the development of the arts and sciences during this period has been corollary to the parallel development of weaponry.

Faulty Logic, pure and simple.
Premise: "A" happens and at the same time "B" happens.
Conclusion: Therefore if "A" is missing, "B" won't happen.
A 13 year old can see through this one.

Yes, technological progress in weaponry necessitates technological progress in general. And it's obvious that if money is being poured into weaponry then general technological progress will benefit. But it would benefit all that much more if the money wasn't diverted to weaponry, but instead directly into benign technology.

The idea that war somehow is a required impetus for Art is insane. Artists will depict what they experience. If they experience war they will be heavily influenced by war. If they experience something positive well..... say no more.

I think perhaps that the writers of this Iron Mountain Report were simply addicted to violent art. That would most simply explain their conclusions. Or maybe they were Illuminati. Or maybe they were mentally deficient. Or maybe it was propaganda. Or maybe it was smoke and mirrors. Or maybe it was a hoax.

What do you think?

For All Eyes Only!

Wake up, We’re having a nightmare!

Not much to say other than raise the vibration and rise above what is happening.


David Icke Lecture: School’s in, pay attention.
http://www.edgemediatv.com/article001_icke.html

Two movies: Zeitgeist and The Addendum
http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/

Article on the new definition of transparency.
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=51769357478&h=xgTzp&u=oUdEv

Project Camelot: the X-files are alive and well.
http://www.projectcamelot.org/

Please inform yourselves and share. And don’t get depressed. The spirit can not be taken. Only given!

Hurry up and wait!

I voted for Obama. Normally I try and vote for the lesser of two evils. This time around there was excitement and hope that we actually had a chance to elect someone who would fight the entrenched elitist power conglomerate in the best interest of all those outside of the Free Masons and Illuminati.

Were we naive? It appears so. It only took about 3 weeks for good to get trampled like an ant! Whether or not the “Stimulus Bill” is good or bad, effective or ineffective, etc is not something I wish to address here and now. In fact I would argue that informed debate is not possible!

This bill which Obama earnestly cracked the whip behind to get congress to pass and have it on his desk today for signing is still sitting on his desk while he is having a romantic getaway with Michele. (http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=62252292447&h=ku7hQ&u=RykzL )

Based on the rhetoric I would have expected to turn on the TV today or peruse any internet website and be bombarded with stories about the signing of this “Stimulus Bill”. Instead the biggest story of the day is Hilary’s trip to Asia! Not a word on the bill.

So if Obama had no intention is enacting this bill today why such a hurry to have congress pass it on Friday!? Why was congress (and the public) forced, coerced, tricked into passing this bill without even having time to read the final version!? It’s a rhetorical question! Mainly so Obama could enjoy “President’s Weekend” relaxed by the knowledge that he had pulled off another ruse of epic proportions. Same shit, different day!

Very disappointing! Blame goes to this new executive branch as well as this legislative branch. Only fools sign contracts without reading them. Transparency? I don’t think so!

GM is Evil!

GM is EVIL!!

Not you GM (Glenn Miller), nor General Motors (They are another fish to fry) and not even General Mills. I’m referring to “Genetically Modified” foods and organisms. Oh wait, actually yes, General Mills is evil also. Why? Because they support and use “genetically modified” foods (GM) and don’t feel the need to label this and give the consumer a choice over what they ingest.

There is a big behind the scenes war going on and I’d like to bring your attention to it because if people don’t wake up the greedy power hungry corporations will win this war. This is a war that could quickly affect every man, woman and child on Earth. A loss of which will make it impossible and illegal to grow your own food. If you choose to eat you will be at the mercy of a corporation which has the patent for that particularly GM food. If you don’t choose to eat then you can kindly ignore this problem.

Pro’s and Cons of GM
Cons:
1) These GM foods will be illegal to grow without patent rights.
2) These GM foods will not grow naturally. They require the magic formula of fertilizers.
3) These GM foods can cross pollinate and decimate forever our natural crops. Once this happens there is no turning back.
4) These GM foods have been shown to have side effects. Including: Toxicity, anti-nutritional, allergenic and carcinogenic.
5) The FDA is not equipped or interested in protecting us from GM foods mainly as result of the public being unaware.

Pros:
1) Money and Power. Lots of it. These GM producers patent and control our food supply thus wielding unacceptable power and monetary control over us. Obviously a Pro for them, but just another Con for the people!

What can we do? Vote with your dollars. Don’t buy GM foods. Write to suppliers using GM and let them know that you are no longer going to buy their products. Write to your local, state and federal representatives voicing your concern and letting them know that meddling with our food supply is unconscionable.

Although I’ve been studying this issue now for minutes, hundreds of minutes, my credentials on the subject may leave something to be desired so if my expertise on the subject isn’t convincing I invite you to research the subject for yourself. Below are some helpful links which may provide a good start.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=gm+food - many videos on the subject.

After watching the videos I’m sure you are ready to learn a bit more and get involved.

http://thecampaign.org/ - nice site with info. And on their “Action Alert” page they provide links to various entities recommended to voice your concern with.

http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/Home/index.cfm - another site with lectures and a link to a petition to Obama.

http://www.responsibletechnology.org/GMFree/TakeAction/MandatoryLabelingPetitiontoObama/index.cfm - another site with info including this very handy guide to avoiding GM products.

http://www.responsibletechnology.org/DocumentFiles/144.pdf -Shopping guide to avoid GM foods.

You are what you eat. And right now you are eating GM products and organisms which have never before been in our diets! Do something about it or suffer the consequences. It’s up to you!

Global Distress

>So I was up for a job this week against one other guy for the Mate position on a 131 ft. yacht. The size of the boat puts it out of reach for me as Captain, but would have been good experience for me on the way up to my 500 ton license. They loved us both, but in the end he had one more important certification and won out. Since it was my longest interview ever, over an hour, it wasn’t the outcome I was expecting, but at least I know why it panned out that way and can do something about it. And I am. For the rest of this month I will be in school to get my G.M.D.S.S. certification. Otherwise known as the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System it’s all about radio and satellite communications and has nothing to do with the current economic Global Distress!

It’s something I should have technically had while skippering in the Mediterranean. In fact, it was on my list of things to do ASAP since I expected to have problems as a result of not having it. However, while I was over there I simply didn’t have a chance to get it and surprisingly none of the authorities called me on it. If they did I probably could have gotten a temporary exemption since the reality is that it’s one of those things that they require, but really doesn’t come into play for most smaller yachts.

So after this last week and the prospect of heading back to the Mediterranean next season it’s really something that I should scratch off my list. A pretty easy decision even though I had secured a one month salaried gig. So instead of making money this month, I’ll spend some. Or invest in myself if you will. Sort of like folding with a decent hand so that later in the game I’ll be in a good position to take the bigger kitty.

It’s also a requirement for the next career step I will eventually take to reach Officer Of the Watch (OOW). OOW is necessary in order to work as an officer on the large yachts (150-250 ft.). Believe it or not a 100 ft. yacht isn’t that big! I don’t have any real interest of captaining anything over 150 ft, but for anything over 110 ft. (my current limit, more or less) it will be necessary to work as a Mate or 1^st Officer in order to eventually Skipper a larger yacht.

Relatively speaking maritime courses are really quick. Usually a week or two as opposed to a semester. However when you take into account the work schedule most yachties are on it really can be a problem to schedule these courses. Typically you’ll get 3-4 weeks vacation a year, but do you really want to spend that holiday time in school for boating when you are burned out from boating and really need time away from the whole scene. Most don’t and opt for a frivolous hedonistic time in some exotic locale. I know, boo hoo! I’m not making a very good case, but the reality is that to take courses, often people have to forgo a whole season of work to get it accomplished.

So it will be good to get this two week course out of the way. After that I’ll have two 1 week courses and one more 2 week course to complete. Then a week of prepatory class for the oral exams and whamo, certified OOW! The real trick is to get on a boat that finds it in its own interest to facilitate your continued education and makes it possible to do it. Particularly since although each upgrade only takes a few weeks of classes the cost equates to a semester or more at a decent college.

After that will be “Chief Mate 3000 ton”. Another 3 weeks of classes and a trip across the Atlantic will grant you this distinguished title and allow you to be second in charge on any yacht in the world. Then another year of service, 6 weeks of classes capped off with another oral exam and you too can be a 500 Ton Captain.

Ironically I can see myself going through all that only to wind up back on a 120-130 ft. yacht! Oh well.

OK. Enough of the yachting syllabuses. Yesterday I helped prepare a new Palmer Johnson 123 ft. (M/Y Ocean Drive) yacht for showing to a potential buyer. Today we took the sheik out on a trial run. As a captain now I really want to try and avoid washing boats myself, I would rather have a crew to do it for me. However, since today I got to drive a 17 million dollar yacht, I guess I can’t complain too much! The president of the company was also on board and he was happy with the way things went. So that is an introduction that can’t hurt. Good thing I didn’t crash! ;)

So I’m dusting off my highlighter pen and getting back to hitting the books. Try to stay warm up there!