Nighttime images help track disease from the sky
According to this article, Nigeria used satellite images of city lights to correlate population movements to epidemic outbreaks. After the harvest season, there is a small population boom in the cities as migrant agricultural workers look for off-season employment. The close proximity of people combined with insufficient sanitation promotes the spread of diseases such as the measles. Interesting stuff.
It made me wonder about God's three feasts of ascent (Unleavened Bread/Passover, Shavuot/Pentecost, and Sukkot/Tabernacles) where essentially the same thing happens. Three times each year, the entire nation (or at least representative men from each house) is supposed to gather in Jerusalem. Ancient Israel had superior hygienic practices than most of the rest of the ancient world, but that many people suddenly crammed into a much smaller space is sure to facilitate the sharing of germs.
That's not necessarily a bad thing.
The men pick up the viruses and whatnot in Jerusalem and bring them back home and spread it around at the farm. If the mitzvot (commandments) concerning cleanliness were strictly observed the chances of a serious outbreak were minimized, yet the whole community could be exposed to and inoculated against new strains of disease.
The Feasts of Ascent might have served a secondary purpose as national pox parties.
Vital History Lessons in Video
Vital lessons from history:
Israel and Palestine
Liberia
Israel and Palestine
- For pre-1948 history: The Israel Palestine Conflict, parts 1-4
- For post-1948 history: Israel-Palestine Conflict in 11 Minutes. I don't think this video is entirely accurate and definitely not balanced, but it's the closest thing I could find. There are numerous videos on Youtube on this subject, but most of them are blatantly false.
Liberia
- The depths of human depravity. Don't be fooled into thinking it's caused by geography or climate or colonialist exploitation or anything of the sort. The Vice Guide to Liberia, parts 1-8
Ron Paul Is Right About FEMA
I started smelling smoke on Sunday. Texas is in the midst of its worst drought in recorded history, fires are raging all over the state, and the federal government has told the volunteer firefighters to go home: We have it all under control.
Thousands of scorched acres and hundreds of burned homes say otherwise.
What they say loud and clear is that Ron Paul is right about FEMA and the federal government's mismanagement of, well, everything.
I realize that it wasn't FEMA who sent those firefighters home. It was the U.S. Forestry Service, the same bunch who is letting firefighting planes sit idle on the ground. It's all the same, though. Federal alphabet soup bureaucracies who invariably do more harm than good.
Thousands of scorched acres and hundreds of burned homes say otherwise.
What they say loud and clear is that Ron Paul is right about FEMA and the federal government's mismanagement of, well, everything.
I realize that it wasn't FEMA who sent those firefighters home. It was the U.S. Forestry Service, the same bunch who is letting firefighting planes sit idle on the ground. It's all the same, though. Federal alphabet soup bureaucracies who invariably do more harm than good.
The Statist Opponents of Ron Paul
A staunch opponent of Ron Paul in the comments at salon.com wrote,
All rights come from the government, which is created by the governed to supply them with those rights. There is no such thing as "individual rights".Since there are no individual rights, this parasite won't mind if we decide he shouldn't be allowed to vote, hold any office, teach, have children, or be in charge of anything, anywhere, anytime. Since the purpose of government is to give us batteries our rights, then it only makes sense to deny any rights to those who would use government to deny them to the rest of us.
Theory of Evolution by Natural Stupidity
Poisonous giant rat makes for hairy predator
"What is quite clear in this animal is that it is hardwired to find the poison, it is hardwired to chew it and it is hardwired to apply it to the small area of hairs," Kingdon said. The animals apply the poisonous spit only to the specialized hairs on a small strip along its back. When threatened, the rat arches its back and uses specially adapted muscles to slick back its hair and expose the strip of poison."Hardwired," he said. A distant ancestor of these rats happened to evolve an immunity to this tree's poison. Then one of its descendants happened to evolve a compulsion to eat the bark of the arrow-poison plant. Then a later descendant happened to evolve special hairs on its back that can store the poison.
"There is no other hair that is known to science that is remotely structured like these hairs," Kingdon said.Well, that explains the "Evolutionary marvel" section heading. Evolution is bound to produce all kinds of fully formed, functional, and completely novel features with nothing remotely similar in other closely-related species. Isn't evolution clever!? What is quite clear in this story is that evolution by random mutation and natural selection (and genetic drift, gene flow, and whatever other supposedly purposeless processes one might choose to add) is the least likely mechanism for the development of remarkable features like this one. Listen, kids. X-Men is fantasy. It is not even science fiction, let alone science. Even if a mutation might rarely allow an organism to survive longer than its peers in very specific and abnormal circumstances, mutations are almost always immediately debilitating and always make an organism generally less fit. Accumulated mutations kill. The symbiotic relationship between the African crested rat and the arrow-poison plant was designed. Engineered. Hardwired. It exists because someone wanted it to exist, and not because it just "happened."
Poisonous giant rat makes for hairy predator
How To Destroy a Nation
- Destroy the economy
- Debase the currency
- Destroy the family
- Foment racial tension
- Create class envy
- Exacerbate religious disagreement
- Invite mass immigration
- Sabotage the productive class
- Turn average citizens into criminals
- Make arbitrary laws and applications
- Denigrate traditions
- Maleducate children
- Overextend militarily
- De-legitimize the government
- Foment constant fear
- Fail to prepare for adversity
- Sow disinformation
- Institute universal suffrage
- Create masses of government dependents
- Create large numbers of unemployed veterans
Did I miss anything?
On Apocalyptic Predictions
Someday I'll get around to a real study of eschatology, and I'll let the world know what I think. In the meantime, I'll quote Paul. This is to every would-be prophet proclaiming this or that day as the day:
The name of God is blasphemed among the nations because of you.
Lies, Statistics, Politics
In my memory, Republican administrations have frequently lied and tried to cover up their shenanigans with alibis, paper trails, and planted evidence. Democrat administrations have frequently lied and then tried to cover up their shenanigans with bigger lies and a little ridicule and name calling. Clinton was a master of the Big Lie, which is a lie so big and blatant that people believe it because they can't believe anyone would really tell it. I'm beginning to think the R's have too much faith in the American people because this tactic has worked remarkably well for the D's.
Obama (or whoever is speaking for and through him) has shown himself to be much worse than Clinton, but without Willie's charm. The campaign promises, the certification of live birth, the birth certificate, the killing of Osama bin Laben...all so absurdly transparent that I find myself admiring the newscasters who can repeat the lies with a straight face. This administration is like the 3 year old with chocolate smeared across her face and hands denying she ever touched the cookie jar. We may never know the real truth about any of those things, but we can be absolutely certain that it won't come out of this white house.
Who's the biggest loser? The astoundingly incompetent cabal running the country? Or the schlemiels who continue to support it?
Obama (or whoever is speaking for and through him) has shown himself to be much worse than Clinton, but without Willie's charm. The campaign promises, the certification of live birth, the birth certificate, the killing of Osama bin Laben...all so absurdly transparent that I find myself admiring the newscasters who can repeat the lies with a straight face. This administration is like the 3 year old with chocolate smeared across her face and hands denying she ever touched the cookie jar. We may never know the real truth about any of those things, but we can be absolutely certain that it won't come out of this white house.
Who's the biggest loser? The astoundingly incompetent cabal running the country? Or the schlemiels who continue to support it?
The Caesars' Game
I've been listening Mike Duncan's The History of Rome padcast and have just made it to the ascension of Caligula. Having read most of Vox Day's comments on male hierarchy, I couldn't help but consider the early Caesars in that light. I have only a passing familiarity with these characters, so this is based only on Duncan's podcast and high school history classes.
Here are the ranks as Vox enumerates them:
Julius Caesar was a Natural, a born Alpha. He was charismatic, reckless, brash, and stunningly successful in war, politics, and womanizing. People adored him or abhorred him, but everyone respected him.
Augustus Caesar (aka Octavius, etc.) was not an Alpha. As a young man, he was intelligent and thoughtful but sickly and possibly even a coward. Men didn't gravitate toward him or respect him. At best he was a Beta, but it's possible he was a Delta or even on the border of Gamma. Fortunately for him, he spent much of his teenage years at the side of Uncle Julius, absorbing some of his character and methods. By the time Julius died he had become a Beta, and over the following decade he transformed himself into an Alpha. His more timid roots kept him from becoming a complete clone of Julius, however. He didn't rule or conquer with the reckless abandon of his uncle, but remained a thoughtful and careful administrator. He relied very heavily on his even more intelligent capable advisor, Agrippa, whom I would call a strong Alpha if it weren't for his continual preference to remain in Augustus' shadow.
Tiberius began life as a Delta. He never wanted to be a leader, let alone an emperor. Circumstances forced him to adopt the behavior of an Alpha, but he always hated the role. The conflict between who he wanted to be and who he felt he was forced to be eventually broke him. He died an Omega.
Caligula could have been another Julius. He was born an Alpha, but he was twisted into Omega behavior under the murderous, perverted tutelage of his adopted grandfather.
Draw what conclusions you will. I strongly believe that men can become something to which they were not born. That can be a good thing or a bad thing.
Here are the ranks as Vox enumerates them:
- Alpha - Natural leaders. Confident, charismatic, and dominant. Usually run the show wherever they go.
- Beta - Natural semi-leaders. Confident, but maybe not as charismatic. They have to work at it and frequently play second-fiddle.
- Delta - The rank and file. Mostly passive. Stable, hard-working "family" men.
- Gamma - Weak, scared, passive-aggressive loners. Sycophants and complainers. They get little respect and usually don't deserve it.
- Omega - Creepy losers. Sociopaths.
- Sigma - Confident, charismatic, dominant men who don't naturally incline toward leading anything or even necessarily participating.
Julius Caesar was a Natural, a born Alpha. He was charismatic, reckless, brash, and stunningly successful in war, politics, and womanizing. People adored him or abhorred him, but everyone respected him.
Augustus Caesar (aka Octavius, etc.) was not an Alpha. As a young man, he was intelligent and thoughtful but sickly and possibly even a coward. Men didn't gravitate toward him or respect him. At best he was a Beta, but it's possible he was a Delta or even on the border of Gamma. Fortunately for him, he spent much of his teenage years at the side of Uncle Julius, absorbing some of his character and methods. By the time Julius died he had become a Beta, and over the following decade he transformed himself into an Alpha. His more timid roots kept him from becoming a complete clone of Julius, however. He didn't rule or conquer with the reckless abandon of his uncle, but remained a thoughtful and careful administrator. He relied very heavily on his even more intelligent capable advisor, Agrippa, whom I would call a strong Alpha if it weren't for his continual preference to remain in Augustus' shadow.
Tiberius began life as a Delta. He never wanted to be a leader, let alone an emperor. Circumstances forced him to adopt the behavior of an Alpha, but he always hated the role. The conflict between who he wanted to be and who he felt he was forced to be eventually broke him. He died an Omega.
Caligula could have been another Julius. He was born an Alpha, but he was twisted into Omega behavior under the murderous, perverted tutelage of his adopted grandfather.
Draw what conclusions you will. I strongly believe that men can become something to which they were not born. That can be a good thing or a bad thing.
A Good Article for Women
Tracy McMillan lets women off a little too easy on a few points, but overall, she wrote a good article for the Huffington Post. Here's a summary:
- You're a bitch
- You're shallow
- You're a slut
- You're a liar
- You're selfish
- You're not good enough
The bottom line is that marriage is just a long-term opportunity to practice loving someone even when they don't deserve it. Because most of the time, your messy, farting, macaroni-and-cheese eating man will not be doing what you want him to. But as you give him love anyway -- because you have made up your mind to transform yourself into a person who is practicing being kind, deep, virtuous, truthful, giving, and most of all, accepting of your own dear self -- you will find that you will experience the very thing you wanted all along:
Love.
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