Topics

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iP1GlMCOzYSi8kbAUY1lLDdqc4vAD9A70MDO0

Mexico decriminalizes small-scale drug possession

By MARK STEVENSON (AP) – 50 minutes ago

MEXICO CITY — Mexico enacted a controversial law Thursday decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs while encouraging free government treatment for drug dependency.

The law sets out maximum "personal use" amounts for drugs, also including LSD and methamphetamine. People detained with those quantities will no longer face criminal prosecution when the law goes into effect Friday.

Anyone caught with drug amounts under the personal-use limit will be encouraged to seek treatment, and for those caught a third time treatment is mandatory — although the law does not specify penalties for noncompliance.

Mexican authorities said the change just recognized the long-standing practice here of not prosecuting people caught with small amounts of drugs that they could reasonably claim were for personal use, while setting rules and limits.

Under previous law, possession of any amount of drugs was punishable by stiff jail sentences, but there was leeway for addicts caught with smaller amounts. In practice, nobody was prosecuted and sentenced to jail for small-time possession, said Bernardo Espino del Castillo, the coordinator of state offices for the attorney general's office.

"We couldn't charge somebody who was in possession of a dose of a drug, there was no way ... because the person would claim they were an addict," he added.

"This person obviously couldn't be charged, not yesterday, not the day before, not a year ago, but the bad thing was that it was left up to the discretion of the detective, and it could open the door to corruption or extortion."

In the past, police sometimes hauled suspects to police stations and demanded bribes, threatening long jail sentences if people did not pay.

"This is not legalization, this is regulating the issue and giving citizens greater legal certainty ... for a practice that was already in place," Espino del Castillo said.

In 2006, the U.S. government publicly criticized a similar bill. Then President Vicente Fox sent that law — which did not have a mandatory treatment provision — back to Congress for reconsideration.

The maximum amount of marijuana considered to be for "personal use" under the new law is 5 grams — the equivalent of about four joints. The limit is a half gram for cocaine, the equivalent of about 4 "lines." For other drugs, the limits are 50 milligrams of heroin, 40 milligrams for methamphetamine and 0.015 milligrams for LSD.

The law was approved by Congress before it recessed in late April, and President Felipe Calderon, who is leading a major offensive against drug cartels, waited most of the summer before enacting it.

Calderon's original proposal would have required first-time detainees to complete treatment or face jail time. But the lower house of Congress, where Calderon's party was short of a majority, weakened the bill.

Mexico has emphasized the need to differentiate drug addicts and casual users from the violent traffickers whose turf battles have contributed to the deaths of more than 11,000 people during Calderon's term. In the face of growing domestic drug use, Mexico has increased its focus on prevention and drug treatment.

Sen. Pablo Gomez of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party praised the legislation: "This law achieves the decriminalization of drugs, and in exchange offers government recovery treatment for addicts."

Previously, possession of any amount of drugs was punishable by stiff jail sentences, with some leeway for those considered addicts and caught with smaller amounts. But in practice, relatively few people were prosecuted and sentenced to jail for small-time possession.

While the United States openly expressed concern about the 2006 law, this time around it has been more circumspect.

Asked about the new law in July, U.S. drug czar Gil Kerlikowske said he would adopt a "wait-and-see attitude."

"If the sanction becomes completely nonexistent I think that would be a concern, but I actually didn't read quite that level of de facto (decriminalization) in the law," said Kerlikowske, who heads the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy.

[Scientists in Japan microscopically confirmed islam is the correct religion:]

Scientists in Japan microscopically confirmed islam is the correct religion:
http://www.daily.pk/scientists-in-japan-microscopically-confirmed-islam-is-the-correct-religion-7703/

Written by Farooq Hussain  General  Jul 31, 2009

Please study and embrace islam to win Paradise. As you can see in this wonderful video from Egyptian national TV studio the seated scientist from Japan presented his findings of the effect of the holy Quran islam and the islamic prayer call (the athan) on water molecules under electron microscopy. The egyptian scientist B.sc.Ms.Ph.D explained the water molecules took beautifull shapes everytime they are exposed to air vibrations from reading the holy Quran or saying the word islam or the muslim call to prayer the athan. The scientist added because water constitute 70% of our body this makes us happy and explains the feeling of happiness after people embrace islam and worship Allah. Please watch read the holy Quran and embrace islam.  Pakistan Daily Press News Agency (www.Daily.pk)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpWRdsp0pXk

Oh, it gets better.....

Focus on the Family getting out of the fixing-gays biz:
http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2009/08/focus_on_the_family_getting_ou.php

Man indicted for simulated sex – with car:
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S1082880.shtml?cat=520

Woman sets self on fire, walks around Miami mall:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hJ-4DjJswsaofEbYxnwbjkU7_9wwD9A28OEO4

Today's idiots-attack-accused-witches story involves not one, but two separate incidents of courageous mobs lynching old people:
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/regional/-/1070/639494/-/7l6u05/-/

And if that didn't make you go, "OK, who jump-started the Apocalypse?" then how about this dude who won a Nobel Prize for making a short film of people fucking in an MRI machine using the MRI picture data:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/mri-of-sexual-intercourse

http://nallforgovernor.blogspot.com/2009/08/georgia-lawmaker-wants-to-kill-your.html

http://blog.norml.org/2009/08/12/georgia-lawmaker-calls-for-caning-executing-marijuana-offenders/

http://forums.whyweprotest.net/899997-post46/

(last paragraph in the "How Did The Campaign Against Scientology Start?" section)

You're a Menace, Roger!  


We don't get many hits on http://countercultsearch.com/, but that was one of them.

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2009/07/jo-marchant-consultant-from-sw.html

July 29, 2009 12:59 PM
World's first computer may be even older than thought
antik1.jpgJo Marchant, consultant

From Swiss Army knives to iPhones, it seems we just love fancy gadgets with as many different functions as possible. And judging from the ancient Greek Antikythera mechanism, the desire to impress with the latest multipurpose must-have item goes back at least 2000 years.

This mysterious box of tricks was a portable clockwork computer, dating from the first or second century BC. Operated by turning a handle on the side, it modelled the movements of the Sun, Moon and planets through the sky, sported a local calendar, star calendar and Moon-phase display, and could even predict eclipses and track the timing of the Olympic games.

... [MOAR]...

They backdated it due to a recent translation of one of the regional Games that went into the Olympic scheduler that this Blackberry^BC had equipped. Also, go see the updated animation. As someone with 3d training, working out that quality from x-ray scans was srsly impressive.

[is merely a way to garner sympathy and could encourage jury nullification.]

Some interesting stories I've run across recently:

Judge won't let Franklin Township man cite medical need for marijuana
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/judge_wont_let_franklin_townsh.html

The interesting thing about this story is the blatant language demonizing Jury Nullification

Deputy Attorney General Russell Curley filed a motion in April asking Reed to bar defense attorney James Wronko from asserting personal use as a defense and from referencing Wilson's medical condition at trial.

The criminal case is progressing as the state Legislature contemplates the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. If it passes, New Jersey would become the 14th state to legalize medical marijuana.

During today's hearing, Reed cited the bill but said the establishment of medical marijuana for personal use as a state policy or as a defense to criminal liability is a matter for the Legislature to decide and not for a court to create.

In his brief, Curley echoed the argument he raised in March.

"A person who maintains or operates a controlled dangerous substance production facility for planting, propagating, cultivating, growing or harvesting marijuana is, in fact, guilty of maintaining or operating a controlled dangerous substance production facility, regardless of whether the marijuana is produced for distribution or personal use," he wrote.

During the hearing, Curley said allowing information about multiple sclerosis is merely a way to garner sympathy and could encourage jury nullification. Jurors might opt to acquit Wilson, believing he had a reason to break the law.

.........

Reed said the personal-use defense does not negate the elements of the production facility or manufacturing offenses. He also said introducing evidence of Wilson's disease "would create a powerful emotional argument in favor of jury nullification because it gives defendant a sympathetic reason for breaking the law."

Reed said he is mindful of the danger in becoming a "judicial legislator."

"When judges appropriate legislative pronouncements and executive prerogatives, they demean those branches of government, and diminish the stature of the courts," Reed wrote. "If medical marijuana use is to be recognized as an exemption to our criminal law, the legislative process must produce that result. This court will not do so."

Oh, and these are some cool stories:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nycity-news-service/sudans-female-genital-mut_b_246333.html

Midwives and Henna artists in Sudan have developed a henna code to signal to the midwife that the mother is against genital mutilation, and not to perform it. This avoid scrutiny from the community.

http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2009/07/06/the-difference-is-as-plain-as-the-ear-on-your-face/

Audiophiles can tell the difference in sound quality between various files, but not based on the actual sound quality. They use the FILE LABEL.

Hey everyone. I noticed that we have quite a few gamers 'round these parts. I'm not sure who has seen this stuff and who hasn't, so here we go.

Gaming is a fun, social activity, and I personally like to analyze it (while _not_ playing) to see how the whole shebang works. I see merit in this the same way the PD community sees merit in analyzing and changing ingrained thought processes, to make it a better, more fun, more challenging activity.

One of the main Models of "what actually happens between us monkeys while gaming" is called The Big Model [wikipedia link to follow]. I see this as a very well thought out model, and one that can be applied to your own gaming activities with some surprising results.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Model

The most hotly contested aspect of the Big Model is Creative Agenda, so before you go and read through the wiki article, lets take a moment to examine that. Here's a really helpful visualization from the article:

The Big Model attempts to contextualize the many different aspects of the role-playing game hobby in a set of meaningful, hierarchical relationships by organizing these phenomena into four nested 'boxes'. The contents of each inner box are considered to be within the aegis of the outer box. A "skewer" that thrusts through the set of boxes identifies creative agenda.

Now, in the forum that this model came together (The Forge @ www.indie-rpgs.com) they identified a set of 3 basic creative agendas that the group (and the individuals) can hold as primary motivation. This grouping, called GNS, is a hotly debated subject and source of much drama and wank. So, at this point, this GNS issue is the last thing I want to talk about here. The point tho, is that when you sit down with a group of friends to play you have an Agenda for what type of fun you want. This Agenda, when shared, leads to moments of fun happening more often. When the people at the table have wildly differing Agendas then this leads to dysfunction and drama. What we call each person's Agenda doesn't matter at this point, the point is to be on board with each other.

OK! Now, having said that, go and read the wikipedia article. This is the model we'll be working with in this thread, and it will lead to some surprising things for some people, I think.

Later today, I'm also going to be introducing a podcast blog that has started to examine the various techniques and tips that this model has spawned (they guy who runs it is a Discordian I haven't run across before last night), and also interviews some of the core people who have developed the Big Model and the games and techniques that the model has led to.

Hopefully this will be useful to the gamer population of PD.

http://www.muckflash.com/?p=440



hasa, TB -5 June 2009- Tibetan scholars researching Buddhist texts from the 14th century were startled recently when a new interpretation of a puzzling religious text by revered Buddhist theologian and thinker Tsongkhapa (1357–1419) revealed a stark style and message never before seen in the Buddhist world. After over 35 years of study, scholars have determined that a document found 100 years ago by British explorers, but only recently authenticated as an original work by Tsongkhapa, contains a singular message: "Sack Up."

mantra-book-ad_57

The text, written in painstakingly detailed calligraphy on fine vellum, is a series of repeating characters over 50 pages long, with 20 separately inked illustrations. Despite the text's elaborate details, the multi-national research team studying the document at Tibet University in Lhasa determined that the entire piece contains only variations of the same six characters - ༀབཛྲསཏྭཧཱུཾ

Translated literally, the characters are an imperative, "Tense the Man Within," but after cross referencing the text with contemporary examples from elsewhere in the Buddhist world, the research team determined the the phrase was a well-known colloquialism common in the elite intellectual and ruling classes of 15th century South Asia: "life orbs up." Correcting for language drift and context, however, the research team concluded that he most logical modern equivalent is "sack up."

Dr. Jan Fullreich, professor of Sino-Tibetan Studies at the University of Stuttgart and leader of the research team, says that the disconnect between the figurative language and the literal translation isn't surprising. "All languages drift over time to create new lexical constructions and meanings. So much so that idiomatic expressions are often incomprehensible after only a generation or two," he said. "In this case, the text of Tsongkhapa means, in the parlance of his time, to 'grow a pair.'"

Some Buddhist scholars are less certain about the findings. Dr. Gennifer Broem, Chief Administrator of the Tse Chen Ling Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies in San Francisco, insists that such an interpretation would run counter to the tenets of Tsongkhapa's sect of Dgelugspa Buddhism, whose contemporary leaders include the Dalai Lama. "Dgelugspa does not condone the self centered aggression in phrases like 'sack up,' whatever that may mean to any generation," she said. "Peace and selfless enlightenment demand detachment from any concept of egotistical posturing. It's unthinkable that Tsongkhapa would consider such a thing."

Dr. Fullreich was nonetheless resolute. "The first thing anybody, much less a Buddhist monk, should realize is that life is hard, and things aren't always what you expect," he said.

http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=7288

People who make print magazines! I would like to be told about your magazines now. Any kind of PRINT magazine is fair game, though obviously I'm most interested in people starting up their own, people publishing through POD, people trying something new, etc etc.

STEAMPUNK Magazine counts, because it has a print component as well as the free download.

Speed ye to Whitechapel, to this thread, to tell me about your magazines. Don't use the comments section here. Ta.

----------------------

Somebody want to jump on this?

[Marketing.]

Marketing.



I'm going to repeat that. Marketing.

At the base level, it is buying and selling goods. This is not the concept that I want your-all's feedback on. The opening to the wikipedia article captures the common general meaning now in use:

Marketing is an integrated communications-based process through which individuals and communities discover that existing and newly-identified needs and wants may be satisfied by the products and services of others.

Now, what I want from you all is your first, instinctual, gut-level opinion about Marketing. Start a stream-of-consciousness narrative. Get as verbose or as vehement as you need.




*Yes, this is going somewhere, but I need your spontaneous opinions in order to put it into context.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7998931.stm

An Amazonian ant has dispensed with sex and developed into an all-female species, researchers have found.

The ants reproduce via cloning - the queen ants copy themselves to produce genetically identical daughters.

This species - the first ever to be shown to reproduce entirely without sex - cultivates a garden of fungus, which also reproduces asexually.

MOAR: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7998931.stm

I've got it all setup in my Google Calendar, any suggestions for Art?

Cramulus, anything you've been working on that you want to see in a calendar.

[An Amazon tribe converts the missionary]

An Amazon tribe converts the missionary

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20090412-ENTERTAIN-904120305

[Researchers identify brain activity related to phantom limbs]

I'm using this thread to store weblinks and snippets that would make great filler for Intermittens articles (or Verwirrung, for that matter.. what heappend to the new homepage?).

linkfrenzy.livejournal.com

"when i was in college, my sociology professor gave what i consider to be the perfect example of what challenging assumptions is all about. "the norm," he said, "is one penis per urinal. to challenge that, all you have to say is 'move over.'"

http://woodburner.livejournal.com/479322.html

Google search: number of horns on a unicorn, number of horns on a unicorn in googols, number of horns on a unicorn barn in teaspoons per light year..

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/science/sciencenews/5118283/Bacon-sandwich-really-does-cure-a-hangover.html

A bacon sandwich really does cure a hangover - by boosting the level of amines which clear the head, scientists have found.

http://www.examiner.com/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m3d29-Researchers-identify-brain-activity-related-to-phantom-limbs

Researchers identify brain activity related to phantom limbs
While not technically strange weekend news, the concept of phantom limbs has always been a bit weird to me.  As someone who has only ever experienced phantom cell phone rings (and been thoroughly creeped out by them), the idea of experiencing the feeling of an entire limb that is no longer in existence causes a good case of what my mother refers to as "The Whams" (an upgrade from the willies).

Phantom limbs are not restricted to amputations.  Some stroke victims who suffered paralysis of one half of the body also confide that they feel movement associated with their immobile limbs.  And it is not restricted to merely ­­feeling the presence of the limb.  "In some unusual cases...patients have reported seeing their phantom limb or feeling objects or body parts with it, which indicates that multiple areas of the brain may be involved in SPLs [supernumerary phantom limb]." [EurekAlert]

Researchers in Switzerland think they had identified the regions of the brain responsible for creating phantom limbs and the senses that go along with them. Scientists studied a stroke victim who claimed that the phantom limb of her now-paralyzed left arm could do a number of things a normal limb could do, including "scratch an itch on her head, with an actual sense of relief." [EurekAlert]  fMRI was used to observe the woman using and imagining to use her functional right hand, imagining using her paralyzed left hand, and imagining to use her SPL.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7976606.stm

How scratching can stop an itch
Scientists have shown scratching helps relieve an itch as it blocks activity in some spinal cord nerve cells that transmit the sensation to the brain. However, the effect only seems to occur during itchiness itself - scratching at other times makes no difference.

That's it for now. Commentary will be helpful and probably shape any articles that come out of this thread.

From: http://community.livejournal.com/metaquotes/7087386.html

lavieenvin and her brother deal with an unwelcome invader:

0010:
My brother Derrick announces that there is a cockroach in the loo. He trapped it by shutting the door.

0011:
I realise that I'm going to be the first one in the loo tomorrow. I am highly unhappy.

0012:
Emergency powwow to ascertain course of action. Derrick, being The Man, has got out the Baygon and short mop and is tricked out in long sleeve hoodie and pants. Am made to promise not to take photos on pain of death. Derrick makes first attempt.

0013:
Derrick has barricaded us both into my room. Helmet bag sacrificed to cover crack under door. Cockroach 1, Humans, 0.

0014:
Plan B. We both go out.

0014:
Back in room. Have determined that roach flies.

0015:
Cockroach has assumed position near toothbrushes. Spraying is now impossible. It seems the enemy is one crafty bugger. Bugger. Heh.

0016:
Managed to bang shower door loudly enough with short mop to make roach move to Prime Spraying Position. Had small altercation over who was to wield Baygon. Argument "It's going to FLY at my HEAD," was made, as was rejoinder "Don't you DARE use me as a shield when that happens."

0016:
Ranks falling apart. Amidst anger and chaos, a leader emerged: mother stuck head out of her room and shouted at us to shut up.

0017:
Calvary arrived! Maid was called.

0018:
At first sign of roach scuttling out of corner, Derrick and I scampered back into room and locked door. Helmet bag was called to action once again.

0019:
Uncomfortable silence. War rages on outside. Yelps, whaps, bangs on door, and Baygon sprays are heard.

0020:
Derrick: "I must say, wearing that sweater and holding that broom really made me feel like a man."

0021:
Discussion on toothpaste and toothbrushes which Derrick rescued. Nutritional value of toothpaste decided to be negligible. Rations low.

0023:
Prolonged lack of sound emanating from outside. Possibility of War Ended And Everybody Knew But Us-type situation growing.

0023:
Derrick: "Mom?"
Me: "Moooom?"
Derrick: "Mooom? Moooooom? There's nowhere to sleep and she snores."

0024:
Awkward silence.

0025:
Derrick: "I still really need to pee."

http://www.nhm.uio.no/pliosaurus/english/

The most significant Jurassic discovery made in the Arctic
T-REX OF THE OCEAN
Scientists have discovered one of the largest marine predators ever found

Press release: It has been announced in Oslo today that an international team of paleontologists have unearthed the partial skull of a 50 ft marine reptile on the remote Arctic archipelago of Svalbard . Dubbed 'Predator X', the marine reptile is a new species of pliosaur, an apex predator that patrolled the Jurassic oceans 147 million years ago. The skull, 'the jewel in the crown for paleontologists', was excavated from the Arctic permafrost during a 2-week field expedition in June 2008, led by Dr. Jørn Hurum from the Natural History Museum, University of Oslo. He was joined by eleven other expedition members, including Dr. Patrick Druckenmiller, a world authority on marine reptiles from the University of Alaska Museum of the North.

The scientists first hit the headlines in August 2007, when they excavated the skeleton of another pliosaur specimen in the same locality. On the last day of the 2007 expedition, Dr. Hurum spotted large bones in the earth. The team placed a marker, took a GPS reading and returned the following summer to excavate. Little did they realize that this new fossil would be even bigger and more significant than the pliosaur they had discovered the year before.

New scientific research reveals that Predator X was approximately 50ft long, weighed in at 45 tons and packed an amazing 33,000lb bite. Its anatomy, physiology and hunting strategy all point to it being the ultimate predator - the most dangerous creature to patrol the Earth's oceans.

Following its excavation in August, several months of cleaning and studying the specimen have revealed...

    * The size of the skull was confirmed by the discovery of the bassioccipital condyle, a spherical bone present in all mammals and reptiles that connects the base of the skull to the vertebral column. The robust bone was preserved extremely well, allowing comparison with other species and animals. Dr. Hurum explained, 'The condyle we have found measures 6 inches in diameter, the largest condyle of any known pliosaur species. By comparison, the condyle of a T-Rex measures just 3 inches across - Predator X's skull was at least double the size.' Along with the skull, the team retrieved 20,000 fragments of the pliosaur's skeleton, which are being stabilized and glued together by a dedicated team of students and volunteers at the Natural History Museum, University of Oslo.

    * To determine how Predator X used its four huge flippers to pursue and kill its prey, Dr. Hurum called in specialist help from biologist Frank Fish at West Chester University , PA , mechanical engineer Laurens Howle at Duke University , NC and biologist John Long at Vassar College , NY . By calculating the hydrodynamic properties of the flippers using a wind tunnel, Frank and Laurens were able to calculate that Predator X could generate enough power from only 2 flippers to move through the water - the question was, why did it have four?

    * Further tests were conducted by John Long at Vassar College with four-flippered robot 'Madeleine.' Firstly they used the data already gathered to calculate Predator X's weight for the first time - at 45 tons. The following experiments revealed that when using four flippers, Predator X may have been able to accelerate faster, at the cost of high energy consumption. These results suggest that Predator X could have used its front 2 flippers for cruising, but employed all four flippers when it hunted to accelerate towards its unsuspecting prey.

    * Dr. Patrick Druckenmiller from the University of Alaska Museum CT scanned a pliosaur skull, loaned from the Natural History Museum in London . This was a unique opportunity to analyze its brain shape and development for clues about Predator X's hunting capabilities and locomotion. Due to the density and size of the pliosaur skull Patrick had to use an industrial CT scanner. The scan produced a graphical representation of a pliosaur brain, adding valuable data to a completely new field of pliosaur research, and demonstrating that the pliosaur had a small, elongated brain but one that was perfectly specialized for a killing machine. The shape and (proportional) size of the brain bears a resembles to another apex predator: the great white shark.

    * At St Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park in Florida , Dr. Hurum assisted evolutionary biologist Dr. Greg Erickson from Florida State University in calculating the bite force of this colossal creature. The jaws held in place a set of trihedral teeth, each measuring 12 inches, which clamped down on prey with an estimated 33,000lbs of bite force. The calculation is one of the largest bite forces ever calculated for any creature. Predator X would have had a bite a bite force was more than ten times the bite force of any animal alive today and four times the bite force of a T- Rex.

All the scientific results will be published in a full scientific paper later this year.
The documentary

Predator X is a documentary produced by Atlantic Productions that followed the expedition uncovering the pliosaur in Svalbard and the scientists throughout their research. It will be screened on History in the USA in March, Britain, Norway and across Europe later this year and distributed by BBC Worldwide.

[Hungry shrimp eat climate change experiment]

Hungry shrimp eat climate change experiment

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16842-hungry-shrimp-eat-climate-change-experiment.html

It is another nail in the coffin of using ocean fertilisation to cool the planet. Early results from the latest field experiment suggest the technique will fail.

"I think we are seeing the last gasps of ocean iron fertilisation as a carbon storage strategy," says Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution at Stanford University.

Earlier this month, the controversial Indian-German Lohafex expedition fertilised 300 square kilometres of the Southern Atlantic with six tonnes of dissolved iron. The iron triggered a bloom of phytoplankton, which doubled their biomass within two weeks by taking in carbon dioxide from the seawater. Dead bloom particles were then expected to sink to the ocean bed, dragging carbon along with them.

Instead, the bloom attracted a swarm of hungry copepods. The tiny crustaceans graze on phytoplankton, which keeps the carbon in the food chain and prevents it from being stored in the ocean sink. Researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research reported that the copepods were in turn eaten by larger crustaceans called amphipods, which serve as food for squid and fin whales.

MORE

A line of cocaine is now cheaper than a pint of lager or a glass of wine, or so the telegraph.co.uk claims. The average price of a pint of lager is around £2.75, although some pub chains have reacted to the credit crunch by cutting the price of a pint as low as 99p. A glass of wine typically costs £3.50.

In 2003, 6,813 kg of cocaine was seized by police and customs officers in England and Wales. In 2006/07, it was 3,191kg. The last time cocaine seizures were smaller was 1999.

The most common price for the drug is £40 per gram. Home Office figures for 1998 show the average price was £77. Based on reports from police forces, the Home Office said that cocaine is now being sold for as little as £20 a gram in some parts of the country. A gram of heroin can now be bought for as little as £25, with the average price somewhere between £40 and £50 per gram. In 1998, the average was £74.

The Home Office figures are based on data collected from police forces and the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

The politician is one who addresses the Black Swans for his community, a line of cocaine can cost as little as £1, with an average price per line of between £2 and £4.

James Brokenshire, the Conservative shadow home affairs minister, called the figures "startling."

He said: "These startling figures show the reality of drug use in Britain. Price falls of this nature indicate that the supply of hard drugs into this country has jumped. It's a serious indictment of Labour's failure to combat drug crime and stem the flow of drugs onto our streets."

A successful one knows to find the biggest Black Swan in the room and accuse his opponent of not keeping it on a leash while it shits all over his shoes, mangles his children's fingers, and tries to mount his fluffy little dog.

Less cocaine is being intercepted on Britain's borders. The Home Office figures last year showed that the total weight of cocaine seized actually fell by 15 per cent a year, and it has halved in five years.



This Black Swan is called "All Prohibition Drug Policies fail, but no-one is willing to verbalize it."

Remixx source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/4602051/Cocaine-cheaper-than-lager-and-wine-as-drug-price-falls-by-half.html

[Final arguments in trial against 12-year-old girl mistaken for hooker]

DrJon runs a seperate LJ account called Linkfrenzy to collect and pass on interesting links/paper/news articles/etc.

Here's a few from his last roundup:

Final arguments in trial against 12-year-old girl mistaken for hooker
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/02/09/final-arguments-in-t.html
The Houston Press reports that final arguments are being held in the criminal assault trial against Dymond Milburn who was 12 years old when four Galveston police officers (David Roark, Justin Popovich, Sean Stewart, and Sgt. Gilbert Gomez) allegedly beat her up with a flashlight and threatened to shoot her puppy, while she was in her yard attending to tripped circuit breaker.

(We're the Police: Prepare to be served and protected.--DrJon)

Jail for photographing police?
http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=836675
The relationship between photographers and police could worsen next month when new laws are introduced that allow for the arrest - and imprisonment - of anyone who takes pictures of officers 'likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism'... 'Who is to say that police officers won't abuse these powers,' asks freelance photographer Justin Tallis, who was threatened by an officer last week.

Staring into the abyss
http://www.metafilter.com/79012/Staring-into-the-abyss
...Rep. Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania, chair of the Capital Markets Subcommittee, discusses a "tremendous draw-down of money market accounts in the United States, to the tune of $550 billion dollars" that occurred in the matter of an hour or two in September 2008... "It would have been the end of our political system and our economic systems as we know it."

Eight people arrested in connection to Phelps bong picture
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/stories/2009/02/10/michael_phelps_picture.html
The Richland County Sheriff?s Department arrested seven of the suspects for possession of marijuana and the eighth for dealing, according to the station. One arrest included the suspected owner of the bong--who was allegedly trying to sell the pipe on eBay for $100,000.

(Fuckers... -Telarus)

Study clears cannabis of schizophrenia rap
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/06/cannabis_psychosis_study/
No greater risk than general non-tokers

(Reading this now. -Telarus)

Hippies, Mind Control and the death of Jimi Hendrix
http://tinyurl.com/d226hc
The "peaceful revolution" of the flower children could not work because it was, as we know now, nothing more than a giant lab experiment...

(Warning.. very interesting article that's been GoogleTranslated ,so some of the syntax is waaaay off. -Telarus)

Entangled particles face sudden death
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/02/02/2478343.htm
Teleportation and quantum encryption could be a more distant reality with the discovery that entanglement can unexpectedly disappear.

Oldest Animal Fossils Discovered
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/02/earliestanimal.html
Oman. SedimentFossil traces found in an oil field on the Arabian Peninsula are the oldest evidence yet of animals, pushing back the known origins of higher life to more than 635 million years ago...

Is this the largest invasive species in the world? Hippos in Colombia
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/colombia-hippos.html
The original four founded a herd that now numbers 19, and no one knows what to do with them. They are becoming a pest as they roam the local countryside at night looking for food - One was recently shot by a local farmer some 3 miles away. The hacienda is not securely fenced and the park management does not have the funds to erect a suitable fence, or to feed the animals...

(This may be good for the Weirdness Intermittens Issue. -Telarus)

Trench coats for men: how to wear them
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article5653872.ece
The classic trench is a coat for heroes, from Humphrey Bogart to David Tennant. And there are plenty of cool options...

Student uses technology to find stolen Xbox
http://tinyurl.com/68ha8u
A Missouri State student was able to recover his stolen Xbox 360 by use of the console's wireless technology, the student said. The console unit's wireless controller was still registered to the specific console, allowing the stolen merchandise to be tracked down.

Cue the Ewoks: Star Wars Hits the Stage
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b74477_Cue_the_Ewoks_Star_Wars_Hits_the_Stage.html
A long time from now, in a galaxy far, far away...the Star Wars money machine will still be cranking. Not content with seven feature films or myriad TV spinoffs ranging from the current Clone Wars cartoon series to the dreaded Star Wars Holiday Special, the Jedi masterminds are readying a stage show. George Lucas has signed off on Star Wars: A Musical Journey, a two-hour live musical event featuring a Stormtrooper kick line and singing Wookiees John Williams' Oscar-winning score...

Surprising stories behind 20 Muppet characters
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/02/10/mf.muppet.favorites.stories/index.html
Like a lot of people, I grew up on Sesame Street and the Muppets. But did you ever stop to wonder where they came from?

and "ELMO'S AN ARM!"
http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=5583
I was on Sesame Street as a child. No one told me beforehand that puppets weren't real...

The Happiness Hypothesis

http://happinesshypothesis.com/chapters.html

I'm reading Chapter One for my English125 class @ school. This dude seems to get the BIP metaphor, using his own symbolism. Chapter One is a good read and actually mirrors a lot of the topics in such models as RAW/Leary's 8 circuit model. As a bonus, he actually drawn on recent medical research to describe various functions and divisions within the brain, and how they effect the mind/emotions.

Bonus: Good, but brief, overview of the Buddha Mind (I.E. the Gut/Hara and how it interfaces with the brain). Also good discussion on how the left/right brain division actually affects cognition (shades of the Thinker and the Prover).

Anyone else run across this? Opinions?

[hinged flatbed scanner]

Hey everybody. My Maya instructor this term has required us to keep Work in Progress threads over @ forums.cgsociety.org. I'll be posting over there as zenarchistswordsman, but I'll be using this  thread to compose my posts for over there (it is an international CG community).

I have to model a 'household object' in Maya, due by tuesday, photorealistic CG renders.






Now I have to figure out how this wicked knife of my girl's will fit in the hinged flatbed scanner. Will report back as long as I don't break anything.

This was a find on LJ that DrJon tipped me off to:

Illustrations by Edward Gorey.

http://community.livejournal.com/found_objects/3699822.html

[Saint Hung Mung]

Quoted from DrJon's LiveJournal:




Today* is Mungday, the Holyday of the Apostle Hung Mung, the Patron Saint of Chaos, and the 5th Day (Setting Orange) of the Season of Chaos (the first season in the Discordian Year) in this, the YOLD 3175. Hooray!

* For given values of *today*. Mung Day falls on 5th January Gregorian. Please read this post when your timezone accords. Love from the Future.

Hung Mung is a Sage of Ancient China and Official Discordian Missionary to the Heathen Chinese. He who originally devised THE SACRED CHAO. Patron of the Season of Chaos.

On the teachings and imitations of

Saint Hung Mung

Setting Orange Chaos 5, 3169 Anno Lumina

On Setting Orange Chaos 5 (January 5th), Discordians set aside the day to remember and commune with Saint Hung Mung, whose name means Primal Chaos, sage of Ancient China, inventor of the Sacred Chao, Official Missionary to the Heathens, leader of Operation Mindfuck and patron of the season of Chaos.

This is the season of Chaos, the ancient universe as earliest humans saw it, where anything and everything is REAL. Apostle Hung Mung came out of this mindset and planted the seeds of the Taoist religion, whose followers don't apply their force to the universe, but instead allow the universe to guide their force.

Hung Mung appears in the writings of old Chaung Tzu, where he responds to the inquiries of Great Knowledge by by laughing and slapping his knee and shouting, "I don't know! I don't know!" His name 鴻蒙 means "silly goose" in Chinese, and the Planet Eris was discovered on Mung Day, 3171... HAIL ERIS!!!

Great Knowledge was traveling east, carried along upon the wings of a whirlwind. Suddenly he met Hung Mung, who was jumping around, slapping his thighs and hopping like a bird. Great Knowledge saw this and stopped dead, standing still in respect, and said, 'Elderly man, who are you? What are you doing?'

Hung Mung continued to slap his thighs and hop like a bird, then replied, 'Enjoying myself!

Great Knowledge said, 'I would like to ask a question.'

Hung Mung looked at Great Knowledge and said, 'That's a shame!'

Great Knowledge said, 'The very breath of Heaven is no longer in harmony. Earth's very breath is ensnared, the six breaths do not mix, the four seasons do not follow each other. Now I want to combine the six breaths in order to bring life to all things. How do I do this?'

Hung Mung slapped his thighs, hopped around and said, 'I don't know, I don't know!'

Great Knowledge could go no further with his questioning. But three years later, traveling east, he passed the wilderness of Sung and came upon Hung Mung again. Great Knowledge, very pleased, rushed towards him, stood before him and said, 'Heaven, have you forgotten me? Heaven, have you forgotten me?' Bowing his head twice, he asked for teaching from Hung Mung.

Hung Mung said, 'Wandering everywhere, without a clue why. Wildly impulsive, without a clue where. I wander around in this odd fashion, I see that nothing comes without reason. What can I know?'

Great Knowledge replied, 'I also seem carried on by an aimless influence, and yet the people follow me wherever I go. I cannot help their doing so. But now as they thus imitate me, I wish to hear a word from you.'

Hung Mung said, 'Ah! your mind needs to be nourished. Do you only take the position of doing nothing, and things will of themselves become transformed. Neglect your body; cast out from you your power of hearing and sight; forget what you have in common with things; cultivate a grand similarity with the chaos of the plastic ether; unloose your mind; set your spirit free; be still as if you had no soul. Of all the multitude of things every one returns to its root. Every one returns to its root, and does not know that it is doing so. They all are as in the state of chaos, and during all their existence they do not leave it. They do not ask its name; they do not seek to spy out their nature; and thus it is that things come to life of themselves.'

Not claiming to know anything, Primal Chaos reveals everything to informed curiosity - though not usually in a very orderly format. In becoming acquainted with this sage who knows nothing and does not care that he does not know anything, we can learn enough to accomplish nearly anything.

The Excellence of Apostle Hung Mung

Super-secret initiation ritual

For peace and inner clarity, the shaping of new worlds, Psychological Joy-Virus production and mysticomagical distribution (be you Jedi or Christian, Taoist or Discordian, or even Atheist Communist), discuss all matters philosophical, theological or poetic you may wish to expand your knowledge about, and go about with your bizarre arcane rituals, consciousness research and spiritual leisure-groups.

Begin by finding a place to meditate. This can be anywhere, but works best when you are in a crowded, noisy place. It is important that you learn to be able to close off your conscious mind from external distractions. Subway platforms, busy sidewalks, public parks, county fairs, etc. are all viable. Sit on the ground with your legs crossed. Be sure to wear either loose, comfortable clothing or, as Hung Mung himself did, nothing at all. Place your fingers in your ears, and squeeze your eyes closed. Begin by rocking your torso back and forth, while breathing deeply. Eventually, you will want to move your torso in a circle, to mimic the spinning of the Sacred Chao. In a loud voice, intone this mantra: Oh waa taa foo laa om. Repeat this mantra while focusing on your breathing and your rocking about. Ignore everything going on around you. When you can meditate in this way, you will be enlighted.

St. Mung and the Discordians

I confess that there is nothing to teach: no religion, no science, no body of information which will lead your mind back to reality. Today I speak in this fashion, tomorrow in another, but always the Way is beyond words and beyond mind. Simply be aware of the oneness of things.

--the Apostle Hung Mung

The Discordian Calendar is dated from the year of the Illumination of Hung Mung. Cabbages are the sworn enemies of the Discordians because of Hung Mung. Long ago, in the season of Chaos, the Apostle Hung Mung met a Cabbage passing along the road to Timbuktu. The Cabbage said some very rude things about Hung Mung's mother. Hung Mung became very angry at the Cabbage, and said some very rude things right back. From these humble beginnings was the eternal enmity between Discordians and Cabbages born.

Discordians also say you can get a look at Hung Mung by getting stoned and tuning your television to a channel that is not broadcasting. His dancing image will become more and more visible the harder you look for it. And having no sponsors, Hung Mung - they say - is never interrupted by commercials. Zenarchists are skeptical of that much.

Hung Mung's element is Orange, and he is often willing to intercede in situations where a dearth of Orange is causing discomfort (such as waiting in line at the DMV or the realization that one is growing old and fat), but he will generally spend more time grousing than helping in any productive way.

By inventing the Sacred Chao and promptly getting ripped off by the Taoists, Hung Mung inadvertently started the fine Discordian tradition of ripping others off intellectually wherever possible. The whole Principia Discordia itself is Kopyrighted "All Rights Reversed", as is this page, as are most Discordian writings. This is because we believe that a truly Good Idea lives a life of its own, and doggedly claiming it as one's personal property is piggish. Besides, it's also a lot easier to steal crap from other people than to make it up all by yourself.

--------------------------------------------------------
I'm going to try to find another version of the quoted Hung Mung parable to compare wordings. For example, when Hung Mung says soul, the original invariably was Prana/Ki/Chi/Breath or similar. Will post commentary in Zenarchist Swordsmen thread.

Posing as a Bidder, Utah Student Disrupts Government Auction of 150,000 Acres of Wilderness for Oil & Gas Drilling

http://i3.democracynow.org/2008/12/22/posing_as_a_bidder_utah_student

In a national broadcast exclusive, University of Utah student Tim DeChristopher explains how he "bought" 22,000 acres of land in an attempt to save the property from drilling. The sale had been strongly opposed by many environmental groups. Stephen Bloch of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance said, "This is the fire sale, the Bush administration's last great gift to the oil and gas industry."

Transcript at the link.

I'm going to use this thread to store short Zen and Zenarchist written pieces. Feel free to contribute or comment.

If your mind is fixed on a certain spot,
it will be seized by that spot, and
no activities can be performed efficiently.
Not to fix your mind anywhere is essential.
Not fixed anywhere, the mind is everywhere.
The Original Mind is like water which flows freely,
whereas the deluded mind is like ice.
There is a passage in the Diamond Sutra that says:
"The mind should operate without abiding anywhere."

- Takuan (1573-1645)

I have experienced the reality of this while swordfighting. If I focus on one thing (arc of opponents blade, or his center-of-gravity-wieght-shifting, or my stance) the mind starts to get hyperfixated on that 'point' and starts editing out sense data (my peripherial vision dims, my hearing edits out ambient sound, etc). this has a serious negative effect when you're trying to stop someone from cutting off a limb or killing you.

This is also the concept that makes television so insidiously addictive.

http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/081202-body-swapping.html

Scientists now have manipulated people's perceptions to make them think they have swapped bodies with another human or even a "humanoid body," experiencing the sensations that the other would feel and giving the illusion of being inside the other's body.
...
In real life, the cognitive neuroscientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet succeeded in making subjects perceive the bodies of mannequins and other people as their own. The illusion also worked even when the two people differed in appearance or were of different sexes. It also worked whether the subject was immobile or was making voluntary movements. However, it was not possible to fool the subjects into identifying with a non-humanoid object, such as a chair or a large block.

A year ago, scientists achieved the illusion of an out-of-body experience in subjects, using virtual reality. The new research manipulates the brain even further — out of itself and into another body.

http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/081202-body-swapping.html

Signs of Weather Seen on Dwarf Planet

Strange weather on the icy dwarf planet Eris could be causing changes that scientists are now seeing at the methane-ice surface of this distant object in our solar system.

Eris is the largest known solar-system object beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is larger than Pluto, with a diameter of ranging somewhere between about 1,490 miles and 1,860 miles (2,400 km and 3,000 km).

A team of researchers examined data on Eris collected from the MMT Observatory in Arizona. They specifically looked at concentrations of methane ice based on light-reflection and absorption information.

Their results show possibly nitrogen ice mixed in with the methane ice covering Eris' surface. And the relative amount of nitrogen ice increases with depth into the ice, they found.

...[Continued at the Article]...

[Jainism does not include a belief in an omnipotent supreme being or creator, but rather in an eternal universe governed by natural laws, and the interplay of its attributes (gunas) of matter (dravya).]

This is a post I made to the LJ Convert_Me Community in September of 2006. I got only 3 responses (they much prefer christian/atheist bashing drama over there it seems). I posted it to a couple of Discordian LJ communities, so you may have already seen it. I'm posting it here because I want it stored in a place I can remember. Comments are cool, or kill me.

This is the first of five posts on the 5 Apostles of Discordia. IF I get to the other four, you'll be lucky. In this first post, I have chosen to focus on SRI SYADASTI. Patron of the Season of Confusion(see link for the Discordian Calender), we celebrate His Holy-Day on the 5th day of Confusion (May 31st, Gregorian), he also serves as patron to "Psychedelic-type Discoridians", or, more correctly, when the Discordian decides to act psychedelically. Page 00040 of the Princicpia Discordia notes that: Sri Syadasti should not be confused with Blessed St. Gulik the Stoned, who is not the same person but is the same Apostle.

Sri Syadasti's full name appears as: SRI SYADASTI SYADAVAKTAVYA SYADASTI SYANNASTI SYADASTI CAVAKTAVYASCA SYADASTI SYANNASTI SYADAVATAVYASCA SYADASTI SYANNASTI SYADAVAKTAVYASCA. The Principia notes that this is Sanskrit, but then lists his genealogy as an Indian Pundit and Prince, born of the Peyotl Tribe, son of Gentle Chief Sun Flower Seed and the squaw Merry Jane. This blurring of the term "indian" to both include the land commonly known as India, and Native-American "Indians", and also, with the dual references to Peyotl (Peyote, a Native American sacrament), and MerryJane(Cannabis; i.e. Cannabis Indica, a sacrament commonly used by holy sects in India), seems apropos for the Patron of Confusion and Psychedelia. This may also explain his quantum-identification with St. Gulik the Stoned (a Roach).

Sri Syadasti's name, in Sanskrit, means: All affirmations are true in some sense, false in some sense, meaningless in some sense, true and false in some sense, true and meaningless in some sense, false and meaningless in some sense, and true and false and meaningless in some sense.

To really understand the significance of Sri Syadasti's Holy Name, one has to trace the religious and linguistic roots of the meaning of his name. Once one does this, it becomes obvious that one of the writers of the Principia was either initiated into the mysteries of , or was very, very familiar with the theological arguments of, JAINISM. Let us take a quick moment to review Jainism. From Wikipedia's article:
   

Jainism (pronounced in English as /ˈdʒeɪ.nɪzm̩/), traditionally known as Jain Dharma, is a religion and philosophy originating in ancient India. Now a minority in modern India with growing communities in the United States, Western Europe, Africa, the Far East and elsewhere, Jains have continued to sustain the ancient Shraman or ascetic tradition.

    Jainism has significantly influenced the religious, ethical, political and economic spheres in India for about three millennia. Jainism stresses spiritual independence and equality of all life with a particular emphasis on non-violence. Self-control (vrata) is the means by which Jains attain Keval Gyan and eventually moksha(illumination), or realization of the soul's true nature.
    ...
    Jainism believes that all souls are equal because they all possess the potential of being liberated and attaining Moksha. Here Jainism is categorically different from Hinduism and many other religions which hold the superiority of God. In Jainism, the Tirthankars, and the Siddhas have attained Moksha and only because of this are they the role-models to be followed.

    Jainism teaches that every human is responsible for his/her actions and all living beings have an eternal soul, jīva. It insists that we live, think and act respectfully and honor the spiritual nature of all life. Jains view God as the unchanging traits of the pure soul of each living being, chiefly described as Infinite Knowledge, Perception, Consciousness, and Happiness (Anant Gyän, Anant Darshan, Anant Chäritra, and Anant Sukh). Jainism does not include a belief in an omnipotent supreme being or creator, but rather in an eternal universe governed by natural laws, and the interplay of its attributes (gunas) of matter (dravya).

The Law of Fives also appears quite frequently in Jainism, as they believe that reality consists of two eternal principles, jiva and ajiva. Jiva consists of infinite identical spiritual units (life); while ajiva (non-jiva) is matter in any form or condition: time, space, matter, energy, and movement. These five, together with Jiva, are known as the Six Substances (see the "Five"-fingered Hand of Eris). Both jiva and ajiva are considered eternal; they are never born or created for the first time and will never cease to exist. They also believe that any form of ajiva may become any other form (i.e that matter and energy are basically similar, and matter may change into engery, etc).That these "modern-sounding" theories show up in a religion thousands of years old doesn't seem that surprising, considering the emphasis that Jainism places on examining an eternal universe governed by natural laws.

    "Tis an ill wind that blows no minds!" -Sri Syadasti

Sri Syadasti's name is actually the total summation of the Jaina theory of "Syadvada" or the Doctrine of Condtional Dialecitc, with follows from the philosophy of "Nayavada" or the Doctrine of Partial Truth. These both combine to form Anekantavada, or the Doctrine of Non-Onesidedness ('Ekanta' means one-sidedness. 'An' indicates negation, and Vada means Theory or Doctrine). One finds this conception of reality explained in the parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant. Anekantvada prompts us to consider others views or beliefs. One should not reject a view simply because it uses a different perspective. We should consider the fact there may be truth in other's views too. No philosophy should insist that they have the only true perspective.

To understand Syadvada we should first give an overview of Nayavada. "Naya" in sanskrit mean "logic", "to lead", or "a singular view-point". A naya is a stand point from which we make a statement, form an opinion or pass a judgment. The theory of Nayadava states that no object investigated can be totally known, as that take omnipotence, a trait that no consciousness in this reality has. Each manifested consciousness must acquire knowledge through the physical senses. It also states that one can describe the object investigated in an infinite number of ways. So, when describing the knowledge gained through the senses, you can never leave the observer out of the description of the act of observation, or to put it another way, you must always state the "point of view" you use when speaking about anything. The parallels to the theories of quantum physics should prove obvious.

Nayavada breaks the types of statements that we can make into seven categories, which I will attempt to explain here. When considered alone these nayas lead to logical fallacies, of which there are specific names in Sanskrit for the fallacy of looking at just one of these Nayas. The most appropriate approach should be to examine things from various stand-points in order to gain a wider understanding and knowledge.

       1. Naigama Naya: (Nagima means "end product" or "result") This refers to the general purpose or the common description of an activity that is present in the activity throughout. Tattvartha-sara' gives an illustration of a person who carries water, rice and fuel and who, when asked what he was doing, says he is cooking. This reply is given in view of the result which he intends to achieve though at the exact time when the question is put to him he is not actually cooking. His reply is correct from the point of view of Naigama Naya, though technically it is not exactly correct, because he is not actually cooking at the time when he replies. The general purpose for which we work controls the total series of our activities. If some one passes his judgment on basis of that general purpose, he asserts Naigama Naya, i.e., the teleological view-point.

          Another sense in which this Naya is used is generic-cum-specific. A thing has both generic and specific qualities, but when we comprehend that thing without making a distinction between these two it is called a Naigama view point. Shri S. N. Dausgupta explains this as:

          "This looking at things from loose commonsense view in which we do not consider them from the point of view of their most general characteristic as 'being' or as any of their specific characteristics, but simply as they appear at the first sight, is technically called Naigama standpoint. This empirical view probably proceeds on the assumption that a thing possesses the most general as well as the most special qualities, and hence we may lay stress on any one of these at any time and ignore the other ones. This is the point of view from which, according to the Jainas, the Nyaya and Vaisesika schools interpret experience."

          According to Jaina view the approach of emphasizing only general or special qualities of reality and not both is fallacious as it fails to give a comprehensive idea of a thing. The fallacy is called as 'Naigamabhasa'.

       2. Samgraha Naya: (Samgraha means bringing together, assembling, grasping, the closed fist, or clenching the fist) It is when we take a class point of view, looking at the overall common features of a thing that it shares with the rest of its class, without considering its specific or individual features. In this viewpoint, several things which are essentially similar and which are not incompatible are considered together. Thus class-based viewpoint considers an entire class or group. For example, the word 'citizen' is used for all men and women living in a country without any regard to their gender, color, ethnicity, employment, etc. Similarly, the word 'entity' refers to living as well as non-living entities. Such descriptions are objects of class-based viewpoint. Particulars of Reality, according to Jainas are as real as its main substance(class) and sole emphasis on any one of them leads to a fallacious approach which is called Sangrahabhasa.

       3. Vyavahara Naya: (Vyavahara means doing , performing , action , practice , conduct , behaviour) An analytic viewpoint. This viewpoint examines a certain object or situation based on conventional (popular) ideas. In reference to the above example, classifying the citizens such as doctors, lawyers, businessmen, engineers and teachers separately, is the object of analytic viewpoint. In the case of entities, the analytic viewpoint may consider living and non-living entities separately. When we consider the specific or striking features or characteristics of a thing out of our experience or habit, without considering the general characteristics it shares with the things of its class. For example when we preoccupy ourselves with certain striking features in a person ignoring the features that he has in common with the rest of human species or his other distinct features as an individual, out of sheer habit or our previous experience in such matters, we are taking the stand of vyavharanaya. If we look a thing from this standpoint, we try to judge it from its specific properties ignoring the generic qualities which are mainly responsible for giving birth to the specific qualities. This amounts to the assertion of empirical at the cost of universal and gives importance to practical experience in life. It is the materialistic view as entertained by Carvakas. The fallacy is called Vyavaharabhasa.

       4. Rjusutra Naya: (Rju means straight, simple, Sutra means "to sew", or connected with threads, lines, strings, to think) The viewpoint of momentariness. This viewpoint focuses only on the present state or form of the object. All things in the universe undergo transformations continuously. The first three viewpoints do not focus on these transformations. However, the viewpoint of momentariness recognizes the fact that transformations occur in the object, but it considers only the state of the object that exists at the present time. For example, a gold coin was turned into a ring from which a necklace can be made later. The viewpoint of momentariness will consider the present mode only, that is, of the ring. It is still narrower than Vyavahara in its outlook, because it not only emphasizes all the specific qualities but only those specific qualities which appear in a thing at a particular moment, ignoring their existent specific qualities of the past and future. The approach of the Buddhists is of this type. To ignore the specific qualities of past and future and to emphasize on only continuing characterstics of Reality is the fallacy involved here (Rjusutrabhasa).

       5. Sabda Naya:(Sabda means "in a formula", literally, "the knowledge in the sound") The viewpoint of terminology. This viewpoint differentiates between terms and names on the basis of their meanings. It is when we strictly go according to the meaning of a word, without acknowledging the fact that the same word may have other meanings or other words may have the same meaning. It accepts that all synonyms connote the same object. All languages have synonyms suggesting the same thing. The words 'INDRA', 'SHAKRA' and 'PURANDARA', which are used to describe the lord of heavenly beings, present an example of the viewpoint of terminology. The same person is indicated by the synonyms. But if these words are used to establish complete identity between them, the distinct qualities which are indicated by them are obliterated and this results in the fallacy called 'Sabdanayabhasa'.

       6. Samabhirudha Naya: (Samabhi means "to go towards, to address", Rudha means "conventional, popular") Etymological viewpoint. As the name implies, this viewpoint examines the various terms according to their roots. In the above example of the lord of heavenly beings, the viewpoint of derivatives distinguishes between the meanings of 'INDRA', 'SHAKRA' and 'PURANDAR'; 'INDRA' means prosperous, 'SHAKRA' means powerful and 'PURANDAR' means destroyer of fortresses. In another example when sexual instinct and activity are seen in the relationship between a man and a woman, a person following this naya would not call it the relaion of love, but the relation of passion. If carried to the fallacious extent this standpoint may destroy the original identity pointed to by the synonyms.

       7. Evambhuta Naya: (Evambhuta means "of such a quality or nature") The viewpoint of manifestation. Based on this viewpoint, a person (or an object) is considered to be what the name (term) implies only when he (it) is functioning according to the exact meaning of the term. For instance Indra can be described as 'Purandara' only when he is acting as the destroyer of fortresses. A doctor is called a surgeon only when he is operating on a patient. If carried to a fallacious extent this standpoint may assert that a surgeon is no longer acting as a doctor when performing surgery, but only as a surgeon.

    The seven viewpoints are employed to gradually obtain detailed information on the object under examination. The first four are called import-related viewpoints (ARTH NAYAs) because they deal with the object of knowledge, while the last three, word-related viewpoints (SHABD NAYAs) because they pertain to terms and their meanings. The seven viewpoints are also grouped in a different manner. The first three are entity-based (DRAVYAARTHIK, Dravya means "a substance, thing, object", Arthik means "meaning, implicit reality") viewpoints as they focus on the substantive aspect, while the last four are transformation-based (PARYAYAARTHIK, Paryayaa means "change, alteration, revolution, turning") viewpoints because they deal with modifications.

Continued in next post.

Discordian Holydays are times for disparate and diffuse local Erisian communities to congregate and fuck shit up. (Mostly, themselves.) Flash mobs of humans who spend a majority of their lives trying to attune to Chaos tend to make REALLY WEIRD SHIT happen.



It's the 5th of Aftermath. Merry Fucking MalaDay.

I know for a fact that at least 3 Discordians will be here at Johnny Brainwash's place. I'll give a running count later in the evening. We may even set a fucking record.








Sticking Apart is More Fun when you Do It Together.

This is a high-res still from an animation project that I'm rendering with Maya and Mental Ray. 1024*786 sized for wallpaper conveinience. The animation is packed with one-line meme-bombs, and will be relesed during/after Esozone.




Oh, yah, I do 3D shit. I sometimes barter for it.

Namaste,
-Telarus, KSC