Meme versus Evolution

	The term meme was coined by biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book, The Selfish Gene, which explored the principles of Darwinism. Charles Darwin's insight is simple, yet often misunderstood. It is this. If organisms vary, if only some of them can survive, and if whatever helped them survive is passed to their offspring, then the offspring will be better adapted than their parents were. In this way the organisms become designed, by the blind processes of copying and selection, for the environment in which they live. As Dawkins puts it, if you have variation, selection and heredity, then you must have evolution. Darwin did not have the benefit of our modern concept of an algorithm, nor our tendency to look at everything from fundamental physical processes to life itself in terms of information (see "I is the law", New Scientist, 30 January1999, p. 24). Yet he saw how this mindless procedure could produce design without a designer. It was the American philosopher Daniel Dennett who dubbed the process "the evolutionary algorithm". At its heart is the information that is copied, or the replicator. In biological evolution, the replicators are genes, but there is no reason why there should not be other evolutionary systems, with other replicators. This was Dawkins's point--that Darwin's insight was too important to confine it solely to biology--and he wanted another example. So he invented the meme. Everything you have learnt by copying it from someone else is a meme. This includes your habit of driving on the left or right, eating beans on toast, wearing jeans or going on holiday. You would do none of these things if someone else hadn't done them, or something very like them, before you did. Imitation, unlike other forms of learning, is a kind of copying or replication. Other animals can be masters of learning, as when squirrels remember their hundreds of food stores, or cats and dogs build extensive mental maps. But this is learning by association, or trial and error. Only by imitation are the fruits of the learning passed on from one animal to the next--and humans are unrivalled when it comes to copying one another. But are memes replicators? In other words, do they fit into the evolutionary algorithm of variation, selection and heredity? I say the answer is yes. Memes are "inherited" when we copy someone else's action, when we pass on an idea or a story, when a book is printed, or when a radio programme is broadcast. Memes vary because human imitation is far from perfect, and the vagaries of memory mean that every time we retell a story we change some little detail, or forget some minor point. Finally, there is memetic selection. Think of how many things you hear in a day, and how few you pass on to anyone else. Think of how many scientific ideas you have read in this magazine, and how few you will remember. To understand what makes a meme successful, let's take a "meme's eye view". <snip>---end of excerpt--- SUSAN BLACKMORE is a lecturer in psychology at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Her new book, The Meme Machine, is published by Oxford University Press and will be reviewed next week From New Scientist, 13 March 1999 Copyright New Scientist, RBI Limited 1999 http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/journalism/NSmeme%201999.htm
	A meme is merely --begin excerpt--- "self-replication information [which] leaps infectiously from mind to mind like (what we now know as) computer viruses. Whether or not we use the name 'meme' for these mind viruses, the theory needs to be taken seriously. If rejected, it must be rejected for good reasons. One of those who have taken it very seriously is Susan Blackmore, in her admirable book, _The Meme Machine_. ... From 1976 onwards, I always thought religious provided the prime examples of memes and meme complexes (or 'memeplexes'). In _Viruses of the Mind_ [a chapter in _A Devil's Chaplain_] I developed this theme of religions as mind parasites, and also the analogy with computer viruses. It first appeared in an edited book of responses to the thinking of Daniel Dennett, a philosopher of science whom scientists like because he bothers to read science. My choice of topic acknowledged Dennett's fertile development of the meme concept in _Consciously Explained_ and _Darwin's Dangerous Idea._." ---end of excerpt--- _A Devil's Chaplain_, Dawkins, 2003
	Hermaphrodite After Susan gave birth to a baby, her doctor stood solemnly at her bedside."I have something I must tell you about your baby." Alarmed, Susan demanded: "What's wrong?" "Your baby is a hermaphrodite." "What's that?" It means your baby has both male and female parts." "Oh my Gosh that's wonderful!" Susan exclaimed. "You mean it has a penis and a brain?"

serenity hoax researched

serenity hoax researched
another strange email from Mark's endless supply of twisted data:

	Momentum is building in our government to create the "framework" for a North American Union that would undermine our nation's sovereignty, open our borders, and share our Social Security with people who never paid into it as well as terrorists. [that is not actually the way SSA operates, and...] I just signed an important citizen petition opposing these latest efforts. Please go here to sign: http://www.grassfire.org/89/petition.asp?PID=14641732&NID=1 Thanks!
	WorldNetDaily is linked from that grassfire petition above to this page: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58052 and despite being another bad source of news, it does carry a credible account of the commonly censored North American Union and the Amero... Its great to see fundamentalists being exposed to some of the actual treachery in the Govt that's always pandering to their fringe issues.
	SPECIAL OFFER WorldNetDaily Exclusive Creation occurred 6,010 years ago Oct. 23, says historian Get history book that traced actual date of creation --WND
	the dark ages mentality of the above ad aligns with the faith healing via mail-order pills... the ad is excerpted and examined below...  SPECIAL OFFER Press Release – New natural lithium pill fights mood disorders No prescription is needed! Read thousands of testimonials here! --Sensational.com [saved a copy of the page since some names researched below were not shortened in this version] Okay there are too many pointless testimonials, but not 'Thousands' yet somehow the pseudo-medicine is sold with a DISCLAIMER ONLY ON THE trial-ordering page, with that legal DISCLAIMER not being displayed upon the testimonials page [link on line below] and it is printed in a barely visible pale grey color. Oops? The statements on this web site have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

http://www.sensational.com/serenitypill2.htm?b=5703

	70% down page "My name is Arlene Scoby and I have been bi-polar all my life. I was first diagnosed with manic-depression in 1968. I was hospitalized and given many prescription medications. I was taking at least 17different prescriptions over a 6 week period of time. I was 21 years old at the time. I am 55 now. What a horrible experience it was for me. I gained 50 pounds and felt like a blimp. From then on I was treated with antidepressants and sleeping pills etc. In 1987 I was again put in a mental facility and had to stay for at least 3 months. I started seeing a psychiatrist which gave me lithium in prescription form. I have been on that since until I saw your e-mail about serenity. I ask my family doctor, Dr. Feister, who was thrilled with natural lithium plus orotate. He recommended weaning myself off lithium carbonate which I did. I started serenity on May 16th my younger sister's birthday. I have so much energy I am losing weight. I want to thank you. I feel like I have been let out of prison. I wish it had come sooner in my life but at least now I am off of the prescription lithium forever." Arlene Scoby, Findlay, Ohio. http://www.google.com/search?&q=%22Arlene+Scoby%22%2C+Findlay%2C+Ohio.&btnG=Search no other web presence is apparent
	75% down page I’m just finishing up my first bottle of Serenity and I just wanted to let you know how absolutely thrilled I am with this product. I’m 53 and I’ve suffered from chronic depression for nearly 30 years and your product has brought me the kind of relief I’ve been seeking, but could never find until Serenity came along. I was truly amazed at how quickly it started working – practically from the very first day – and how consistent its therapeutic effect on my depression has been. This is a wonderful, wonderful product and I hope that other women like me will put their skepticism aside and try Serenity. I don’t ever plan to be without it! Thank you for introducing me to this miracle!" Dorian Charles, Avenel, NJ http://www.google.com/search?q=Dorian+Charles%2C+Avenel%2C+NJ [wishlist at amazon but nothing else] "I have been treated with conventional anti depressants for years now. They always took me "out of the dumps" but I never felt the spirits lift...just felt less hopeless. My current therapist did some testing and said that although the Temporal Lobe causes of my depression were being addressed nicely,the Limbic portion had never been addressed. She suggested several drugs but added that a naturally occurring element like lithium might be most appropriate. I saw your ad and ordered Serenity. In ten days we saw a significant change in my affect and my mood swings seemed in good control. Thank you for giving me my life back. I can concentrate,enjoy a book again and remember things that got lost in my mood swings before. Serenity is all you said it would be and more." Karen L. Galbreath [nothing else/maybe a swimmer in 1998]
	http://www.google.com/search?&q=%22John+Scoville%22%2C+Fairbanks%2C+Alaska&btnG=Search impossible to know if same person; not much there http://www.google.com/search?&q=%22Beth+Lichtenfels%22%2C+Indiana%2C+PA&btnG=Search results= 2 for serenity, and 2 for also writing for thePortionPlate.com helped her immensely
	http://www.google.com/search?q=Janaire+New+York+City [maybe a LinkedIn member/retail indusrty ] http://www.google.com/search?&q=%22Kirk+Issaquah%22%2C+WA&btnG=Search http://www.google.com/search?&q=%22Leigh+C.+Pierce%22&btnG=Search [not=Kentucky Chi Omega advisor]
	http://www.google.com/search?q=Lucille+Greco%2C+Berkley%2C+MA& http://www.google.com/search?q=Deborah+Cortino%2C+Suisun+City%2C+CA
	Serenity™ is the all-natural, mineral form of Lithium. It is effective, safe, non-toxic, non-addictive and has no side effects! See what current customers say about Serenity™. http://www.feelserenity.com/

		http://www.crazymeds.org/lithiumorotate.htm Comments: You see this stuff advertised on every mental health site and every mental health search you look at.  The question always comes up, "It has no side effects, should I try it?" Well, don't pin your hopes on that "no side effects" stuff so quickly.  If it were so good, why wasn't it used sooner, especially since Dr. Nieper's work was published over 30 years ago? Because a subsequent study, again in rats not people, found that lithium orotate is even harder on your kidneys that lithium carbonate is!  Yow!  Lithium carbonate is hard enough on your plumbing, I'd hate to think what this crap would do to you.  The study concluded, "It seems inadvisable to use lithium orotate for the treatment of patients."  This was a follow-up to the study that showed you did get more lithium orotate in a rat's brain than you did with lithium carbonate.  But to get anywhere near a therapeutic dosage of lithium levels for bipolar disorder your kidneys would be in full revolt apparently. .../...
		http://www.bipolarworld.net/Phelps/ph_2003/ph887.htm .../... Until then, we have only a testimonial that appears on a site which sells lithium for $35 when the carbonate generic is about $5.  The site also notes that the orotate version has not been investigated by the FDA, and that the statements on the site are -- dig this -- "not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease".  That's a pretty amazing disclaimer to follow the very direct claims to treat and cure symptoms which appear right above it.  So, you see I'm having a little trouble with the trust factor.  This is made even worse by the idea that this site sells lithium for use without any lab measures of lithium level.  I'd bet the product comes with some warning about "don't use any more than three per day" or something like that, and that each pill has so little lithium in it that Dr. Knieper and company don't have to worry about getting anybody anywhere near lithium toxicity.   To really appreciate the irony of this situation, you'd have to know the story of how a doctor named Cade discovered lithium's effects in 1950 in Australia, but then the later discovery as well that lithium could kill people -- leading to a dramatic set-back in the use of lithium that lasted years.  And here we are seeing somebody peddling lithium for use without any supervision.  Stunning.   If you try the ABA routine above, let me know what you discover.  Thanks.  Dr. Phelps

http://www.crazymeds.org/ssri.html
Don't mix l-tryptophan / 5-HTP / Tryptan with SSRIs, multiple reuptake inhibitors or Remeron (mirtazapine). Just don't. Unless your doctor tells you to, of course. That's your doctor and not anyone else. Otherwise you're seriously screwing with your serotonin levels and wildly unpredictable results may occur, including the potentially fatal serotonin syndrome. That's right, you could die from the advice some hippie at Ye Olde Vitamin Shoppe gives you about taking 5-HTP along with your Prozac. Amino acids are powerful things, so long as what's in the capsule is what was promised on the label. Anyway, l-tryptophan converts to 5-HTP, which converts to serotonin.

Deliberate Incompetence nears Insanity

Deliberate Incompetence nears Insanity
Bush is Mad! 
Invoke the 25th Amendment  

Speaking at a fundraiser in NJ on December 1, 2003, Bush claimed he  eliminated Weapons of Mass Destruction from Iraq - weapons that were never found!

On July 14, 2003, George W. Bush  answered a question from a  Washington Post reporter about the Niger uranium hoax by saying:  

"The fundamental question is, did Saddam Hussein have a weapons program? And the answer is, absolutely. And we gave him a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn't let them in. And, therefore, after a reasonable request, we decided to remove him from power..."

How can Bush say Saddam "wouldn't let [UN inspectors] in" when everyone in the world knows this is not true?

Bush's statement - delivered with utter seriousness with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at his side  - cannot be excused as a misstatement. The United States of America went to war in Iraq - at a cost in lives of over 2,000 U.S. soldiers, over 25,000 Iraqi civilians, unknown thousands of Iraqi soldiers, and over $200 billion U.S. taxpayer dollars - after four full months (11-18-02 through 3-19-03) of inspections by UN experts led by Hans Blix (UNMOVIC) and Mohamed El Baradei (IAEA). 

The exhaustive efforts of the inspectors were the top news stories throughout the world from beginning to end. George W. Bush commented on them repeatedly and in detail, and he defied the UN by invading Iraq because he insisted the inspections had failed.

If George W. Bush now believes Saddam "wouldn't let [UN inspectors] in," then it is self-evident that he has simply lost touch with reality. In plain English, Bush has gone mad.

This is not the first time Bush has exhibited symptoms of insanity. On Dec. 4, 2001 and Jan. 5, 2002, Bush told audiences he saw the first plane hit the World Trade Center on TV before he entered the classroom. But he couldn't have seen it; nobody saw it live on TV.

On 6-24-03, Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper quoted Bush as telling Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas:

"God told me to strike at al Qaeda and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did..."

And on 7-3-03, Bush urged Iraqi fighters who want to kill Americans to "bring them on" - a reckless remark that endangered the lives of American soldiers.

The  25th Amendment  to the Constitution of the United States was adopted in 1967 to deal with any situation in which the President became "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."

The 25th Amendment allows the President to declare himself incapacitated, or allows the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet to do so. It was formally invoked for the first time on  June 29, 2002 by George W. Bush himself, when he underwent a 2-hour colonoscopy. Moreover, fans of TV's "West Wing" know that President Jeb Bartlett invoked the 25th Amendment in the last episode of the season  so he could deal with the violent kidnaping of his daughter Zoey.

We, the undersigned, believe George W. Bush is demonstrably insane. Since the Nation continues to be at war, with soldiers fighting and dying each day in Iraq, we call upon him to once again invoke the 25th Amendment. If he fails to do so, we call upon Dick Cheney and the Cabinet to do so for the sake of the Nation.

http://elandslide.org/elandslide/petition.cfm?campaign=madgeorge
sign the petition

Zio Censorship & Intimidation SOP

Zio Censorship & Intimidation SOP

Succinctly illustrated here                    ==> http://freedomrider.blogspot.com/

Tutu's Speech FYI      Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Tutu's Speech

Here is a transcript of Tutu's 2002 speech that put pro-Israeli pants in a collective twist. The University of St. Thomas cited it as the reason for giving Tutu the bum's rush. They claim that he "compared the state of Israel to Hitler." I don't think he said that at all. Judge for yourself.

Thanks to Alternet for the text and Jewish Voice for Peace for the context.

// posted by Freedom Rider

Desmond Tutu Labeled Anti-Semite, Banned from Speaking
Archbishop Desmond Tutu is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He is respected by people all over the world, but not in St. Paul, Minnesota. Tutu was invited to speak by the University of St. Thomas' Justice and Peace Studies program. When the local Jewish Community Relations Council objected, he was disinvited.

Tutu has quite rightly equated Israel's occupation of Palestine with South African apartheid. Now he is being punished. The Zionist Organization of America has pressured colleges to make Tutu persona non grata on their campuses.

Please write to the university president, Fr. Dennis Dease, DJDEASE@stthomas.edu and the Executive Director of the local JCRC, Steve Hunegs, Steve@MinnDakJCRC.org and tell them how you feel about censorship of critics of Israel.
Hat tip to Norman Finkelstein for this news.

// posted by Freedom Rider

 

Wish I'd Said That
"As a Jew who experienced real anti-Semitism as a child, I'm deeply disturbed that a man like Tutu could be labeled anti-Semitic and silenced like this. I deeply resent the Israeli lobby trying to silence any criticism of its policy. It does a great disservice to Israel and to all Jews."
Marv Davidov, University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)

// posted by Freedom Rider @ 8:51:00 PMhttp://freedomrider.blogspot.com/

Lousy Leaders & How to Get Rid of Them

Monday, 8 October 2007, 10:19 pm
Opinion: Michael Collins
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0710/S00107.htm

Michael Collins: The Money Party (2)

Why We Get Such Lousy Leaders and How to Get Rid of Them

By Michael Collins
Scoop Independent News
Washington, D.C.

Hey, hold on there! Who says we have lousy leaders? Just about everybody. Between 40% and 60% of voting age citizens stay away form the polls in just about every election. In 2004, there were 221 million voting age citizens and 44 % of them, 98 million people, chose not to vote. Of the 226 million potential voters in 2006, a whopping 62%, 141 million people, stayed home.

When you ask why they chose not to vote, the common answer is “it makes no difference, they’re all a bunch of crooks.” If “no difference” were a candidate, he or she would win every election.

Why don’t we hear more about this huge voting block, “no difference?” Because an open discussion of the year in and year out refusal of half of those 18 and older to participate throws cold water on the legitimacy of every president and elected representative that we have.

No matter who they are, the elected consistently lack the endorsement of around half the population that stayed home plus somewhat less than half of those who voted since those voters chose another candidate. The right to govern is consistently granted by around 25% of the voting age citizens in presidential elections and 20% or less in off year elections.

It’s obvious. The Money Party doesn’t want us to vote. Its members, those few individuals and corporations who control most of the wealth, fund, elect, and control candidates who act in ways that cause people to say: “Forget about it. There’s no difference between any of them, they’re all a bunch of crooks.”

Let’s take a look at what happened after the 2006 elections.

We have a president and a co-president who are on record as saying that they don’t care what we think and a Congress that gave these politically deaf, dangerous men the same authority to attack Iran that was given to attack Iraq. Come on down Bush-Cheney, here’s your blank check for a brand new war!

What a strange elixir power is, a drug that apparently intoxicates and transforms those elected as they’re sworn into federal office. We, “the little people,” matter not to the few who cruise the corridors of power.

Leaders who fail to respond to the obvious sentiment of the public are lousy leaders, plain and simple. Their inadequacy is even more obvious when they fail to do much of anything that benefits the general public, all the while adding to the incomes of the corporations and individual donors who placed them in power. Even as the corporate media continue to prop up the government by down playing the real news, the general public knows that they have a tyrant at the top and enablers in supporting roles.

Citizens made to feel helpless are the essential ingredient needed to maintain the sham governments we get, the lousy leaders who shamelessly ignore the general welfare while diligently filling the public trough for their patrons in The Money Party.

Citizens who become outraged when lied to are the essential ingredient needed to retire the money party and take control of their own destinies.

What can we do about this?

How about this? Make them all sign an employment contract. We’ve forgotten that they’re our “public servants.” Let’s get everybody voting, including the powerful “no difference” block.

********

A Contract with the Citizens United States of America

Required for every elected official without exception.

In order to serve in public office, I _____________________ agree to the following:

1) I will provide a designated independent auditing agency with a list that includes: all of my campaign contributors; all of my present and past business associates; all of my relatives and close friends; and anyone or any entity (company, union, etc.) that might approach me with a proposal for legislation, regulation, or other action that would result in the use of my influence and position for their benefit. I will continuously update this list and I agree that it will be made public.

2) I agree that any specific action I take requested by and for the benefit of any of the named individuals and entities or others is an instance of undue influence and betrayal of the public trust. Further, I agree that taking a job with or taking direct or indirect payment from any of those listed after leaving office is an instance of undue influence and betrayal of the public trust.

3) I will provide an itemized detail of any and all communication of any type that involves those listed in clause one or those who should have been listed as determined by the independent auditing agency should it be requested. I agree that all of these records will be made public.

4) I authorize any of those involved in any investigation to turn over any records concerning me if questions arise about undue influence due to my relationship with them. I also agree to fully open my records and staff, paid and unpaid, to interrogation by the auditing agency. I will not interfere in this process in any way whatsoever. I understand that any interference by me in the investigation is also an instance of undue influence and betrayal of the public trust.

5) If the independent auditing agency determines that I should be tried for “undue influence and betrayal of the public trust,” I agree that I will stand trial before a randomly selected, representative body of citizens and abide by their decision on my guilt of innocence. I further agree that this trial will last no more than one business day, eight hours, and that it will be televised on C-Span and any other network that chooses to air all or part of it.

6) I agree that I will resign and never seek public office again if the citizen panel determines that I am guilty of undue influence and betrayal of the public trust. I will also pay whatever fine is determined by the citizen jury. If the offense occurs after I leave office, I agree to an immediate period of two continuous years of service overseas in the Peace Corps and that I will never again seek public office and pay the fine levied. I further agree that I will not appeal the decision to any outside authority after the citizens make their decision.

This I swear:

____________________________________
Candidate for Public Office / Office Holder

********

This is just common sense. Elected office is a critically important trust. Those who serve have a major impact on all citizens. We all have to sign some sort of employment contract or work under rules that are, in essence, a contract. Why not the same deal for those who seek the honor of serving in elected office? Why not put them to the test when they say “we vote our conscience and not the interests of our contributors”? Why not make them truly accountable to us? How many insincere politicians would sign up for this type of scrutiny? How many would survive it?

Put the people back in charge through real accountability on the part of elected officials and provide clear consequences for undue influence that betrays the public trust.

ENDS

Image Credit: 2politicaljunkiies.blogspot.com

Previously: The Money Party (1). The Essence of our Political Troubles

Note: The Republic of Venice had a similar contract (promissione) for their leaders. It was a very serious pledge since a violation meant the leader would be banished from Venice, by far the wealthiest, most advanced, and tolerant nation-state for several hundred years. It worked and most everybody did very well most of the time which is why Venice was called The Most Serene Republic.

Permission to reprint this article in whole or part with a link to the original article in Scoop Independent News and attribution of authorship to Michael Collins.

Globalization means Ghettoization 2 from BAR

Globalization means Ghettoization 2 from BAR
http://www.blackagendareport.com/
Cincinnati’s in a World of Trouble, But All the Rulers Want is a New Jail

Wednesday, 10 October 2007

by Dan La Botz Six years ago, Cincinnati's Black neighborhoods exploded in revolt against a system that shot down unarmed youth in the streets, denied them jobs, and sought to cleanse the poor from whole sections of the city - a state of affairs that is replicated across the width and breadth of urban America. In typical fashion, city fathers promised to do some soul-searching, to right the wrongs that they themselves had created. But in the end, both "conservative" and "liberal" leaders settled on one project to cure what ails the city: a new jail with room for 800 additional inmates. The Cincinnati saga reveals the moral and political bankruptcy of Democrat-Republican machinations, choreographed dances that end with Blacks and poor people worse off than before.

Read more...

 

Technology Widens the Rich-Poor Gap

Wednesday, 10 October 2007

by Philip Emeagwali               The Euro-Americans, who amassed wealth beyond their wildest dreams through violent plunder of the rest of the world's human and natural resources, continue the process through control of technology. Rather than a source of wealth for developing nations such as Nigeria, "oil has become the bane of our existence," says the author. The dominant powers of the planet maintain their positions through technological wealth, which allows them to extract both the resources of mineral-rich nations and charge a 40-percent technology "tax" to carry away the loot. The U.S. is the greatest beneficiary of this technological imbalance, empowering it to "accomplish a virtual economic colonization" of much of the rest of the planet.

Read more...

http://www.blackagendareport.com/
http://www.blackcommentator.com/links.html

three bad links from archive: subtle typo -or not-

November 24 2005  zzBob Woodward and the Media Liars
http://www.blackcommentator.com/160/160_freedom_rider_woodward.html

November 3, 2005  Bush & the Pirates on Trial
http://www.blackcommentator.com/157/157_freedom_rider_pirates_on_trial.html

September 22, 2005  Where Was Dick Cheney During Katrina?
correct link here:  http://www.blackcommentator.com/151/151_freedom_rider_cheney_katrina.html

Ten Reasons to Impeach George Bush and Dick Cheney

Ten Reasons to Impeach George Bush and Dick Cheney

http://www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/88  [holy cow - these are understated]

I ask Congress to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney for the following reasons:

1. Violating the United Nations Charter by launching an illegal "War of Aggression" against Iraq without cause, using fraud to sell the war to Congress and the public, misusing government funds to begin bombing without Congressional authorization, and subjecting our military personnel to unnecessary harm, debilitating injuries, and deaths.

2. Violating U.S. and international law by authorizing the torture of thousands of captives, resulting in dozens of deaths, and keeping prisoners hidden from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

3. Violating the Constitution by arbitrarily detaining Americans, legal residents, and non-Americans, without due process, without charge, and without access to counsel.

4. Violating the Geneva Conventions by targeting civilians, journalists, hospitals, and ambulances, and using illegal weapons, including white phosphorous, depleted uranium, and a new type of napalm.

5. Violating U.S. law and the Constitution through widespread wiretapping of the phone calls and emails of Americans without a warrant.

6. Violating the Constitution by using "signing statements" to defy hundreds of laws passed by Congress.

7. Violating U.S. and state law by obstructing honest elections in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006.

8. Violating U.S. law by using paid propaganda and disinformation, selectively and misleadingly leaking classified information, and exposing the identity of a covert CIA operative working on sensitive WMD proliferation for political retribution.

9. Subverting the Constitution and abusing Presidential power by asserting a "Unitary Executive Theory" giving unlimited powers to the President, by obstructing efforts by Congress and the Courts to review and restrict Presidential actions, and by promoting and signing legislation negating the Bill of Rights and the Writ of Habeas Corpus.

10. Gross negligence in failing to assist New Orleans residents after Hurricane Katrina, in ignoring urgent warnings of an Al Qaeda attack prior to Sept. 11, 2001, and in increasing air pollution causing global warming.

send the petition to your comatose congress-critters at
http://www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/88

Camp Wellstone

Camp Wellstone came into Lansing this past weekend and I had the pleasure of attending the Citizen Activist Track. The sessions started Friday night and continued through Sunday afternoon. I decided to attend this track in hopes of honing some skills; sustaining momentum after the election cycle, developing leaders from a talent pool and lobbying techniques. To my great pleasure all three subjects were covered very well!

[more] FARLEFTFIELD: Camp Wellstone

AFA Caught in Another Lying Smear Campaign]

AFA Caught in Another Lying Smear Campaign
Beyond Absurd, its a flagrant smear campaign. Egads! I suggest you eliminate your contact with AFA. 

so very much of what you send is just extremist propaganda - and you are
so deeply involved in a cult that you don't even recall what conventional Christianity is based upon.
I am saying that with much respect, and with evidence which is undeniable -- your emails versus a real Bible before Cyrus Scofield's apostasy Zionized it.  Hey, for two-years I've examined that genocidal hoax.

this IS very interesting, even to me.  There ARE tremendous restrictions
on what the SEC [and other regulators] will permit in an ad.
It would be obnoxious for several companies to claim to be
'Christian' when in fact their business was run the same as everyone else.
Don't you agree it would be BLASPHEMOUS to claim that
God wanted you to pick Acme investments?  Don't you think that is the POINT here?
Buying investments (or a car or even cosmetics) is always about the relationship
between the salesperson and the consumer.  Even what the seller tells a customer
is constrained by regulators.  THIS is a fascinating story, but I'll wager you its
all about 'Compliance' regulations and not discrimination against Jesus or Moses or Mohamed


Story was posted 3 days ago;  Look what Mark would find if he spent 2 minutes: ==>    http://www.google.com/search?q=afa+morningstar
FYI: It is blatantly illegal to promise or predict 'double your bottom line'!
http://www.faithfinancialplanners.com/ad/

	Digg - American Family Assoc. Denies Lying, Says Morningstar Is ... The goons who run AFA are in full spin mode after being caught lying about an ad they said was rejected by Morningstar Financial because it had a Christian ... digg.com/politics/American_Family_Assoc_Denies_Lying_Says_Morningstar_Is_Anti_Christian
	Pensito Review » AFA Caught in Another Lying Smear Campaign The AFA’s email alert claimed that Morningstar asked a company called Faith Financial Planners to “eliminate the Christian undertones from their ad,” ... www.pensitoreview.com/2007/10/04/afa-caught-in-another-lying-smear-campaign/ - 51k - Oct. 4, 2007,  .../....  I went to the Morningstar site and I had a devil of a time finding an advertisement. And here’s where you can find the advert for Faith Financial.    I went to the Faith Financial Web site and to tell you the truth it looks to me like some kind of Christian multilevel marketing pyramid scheme. Judge for yourself by going here.
	http://www.pensitoreview.com/2007/10/04/afa-we-didnt-lie-and-morningstar-still-hates-christians/ I would like to remind the AFA of several scripture they seem to forget, so conveniently. Luke 20:25 “And He said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.” (KJV) Matthew 6:24 “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (money)”. (KJV)  Comment by Lydia | Oct. 5, 2007, 2:41 pm |

mark wrote:  [the words in ORANGE are quite ignorant and untrue - AFAIK!! ]

From: AFA ActionAlert
Sent: Monday, October 1, 2007 8:52 PM
Subject: Christian Advertising Rejected!

Tim Wildmon President

?

Morningstar, One of the Largest Financial Information Companies, Rejects Ad that References "Christian" Anti-Christian bias has become the norm in Hollywood and the media in recent years, and now there is evidence of this bigotry growing in the financial services industry, as well. We have learned that our friends at Faith Financial Planners were denied a paid advertisement on the website of Morningstar unless they removed the "Christian" content from their advertisement. Morningstar -- one of the largest providers of financial information on mutual funds, stocks, and portfolios for individual investors and institutions in the world -- told Faith Financial that the company had to "change the message completely and eliminate the Christian undertones." This is a clear example of bigotry just because Faith Financial represents a Christian message about values and investing. Faith Financial is a company that, through one of its subsidiaries, provides information for Christians to use in reflecting their values in their investments. The information alerts values-based investors to those companies that are involved in pornography, abortion, the homosexual agenda, etc. Faith Financial's website is faithfinancialplanners.com. Faith Financial is based in the Nashville, Tennessee area. In an unprecedented move, after a contract had been signed by both parties, an ad sales agent for Morningstar informed Faith Financial that Morningstar had reversed its decision to accept the ad and decided that Faith Financial must censor the "Christian undertones" in order for the ad to be acceptable. American Family Association is asking you to let the leadership at Morningstar know that this kind of Christian bigotry is unacceptable. You can send a message to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joe Mansueto. Click here to Take Action! Sincerely, Tim Wildmon, President American Family Association P.S. Please forward this e-mail message to your family and friends!

OneNewsNow.com Your latest news from a Christian perspective. onenewsnow.com American Family Filter Strong, Internet filtering software and porn blocking technology. afafilter.com

American Family Association |P O Drawer 2440?|?Tupelo, MS 38803?|?1-662-844-5036 Copyright ?2007 All Rights Reserved

God Bless, Edd B.

Free Radicals by Eileen Fleming

Free Radicals by Eileen Fleming
http://www.opednews.com/articles/life_a_eileen_f_071002_free_radicals.htm

October 6, 2007 at 15:14:21 Free Radicals by Eileen Fleming http://www.opednews.com

It was on the second Saturday in September, 2007, while in Arlington, Virginia, at George Mason University attending the 6th annual US Campaign to end the Israeli Occupation of Palestine, that I first heard someone say when they were asked their organizational affiliations, reply, "I am here as a free radical." Free radical, Keren Batiyov, is also a poet, writer, a nonviolent activist with ISM/International Solidarity, and a Russian history maven. Keren was born and bred in a fundamentalist Christian home, but at the age of 40 connected with her Jewish roots and converted Jesus from God back into his originally understood role of divine prophet; and a prophet can best be understood as one who points out impending doom and provokes people to remember God. However, for many years the existence of free radicals was dismissed as non-existent or just a curiosity. This view has changed; and currently the role of free radicals in many unexplained disease phenomena such as rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's, hypertension, heart disease, liver cell injury and cancers, is being met with growing enthusiasm by scientists and physicians alike, who seek to not just treat symptoms, but heal. Free Radicals live short intense lives are highly reactive with most molecules and that includes DNA. Thus; Free Radicals can potentially alter one's very core. Free Radicals are all on a mission to enter into another molecule in order to complete themselves by uniting with another cells electron. This action sets up a chain reaction that once begun, will cascade and result in changing a living cell. I wondered if perhaps Jesus could be considered a free radical too.  Jesus was never a Christian; in fact that term was not even coined until the days of Paul. Although no Christian, Jesus was a social justice, radical revolutionary Palestinian devout Jewish Road Warrior who challenged the job security of the Temple Priests by teaching the people they did not need to pay the priests for ritual baths or sacrificing livestock to be OK with God-for God LOVED them just as they were; sinners, outcasts, diseased, cripples, poor, oppressed widows, orphans, refugees and prisoners all enduring under Roman Occupation. What got Jesus crucified was disturbing the status quo of the ROF/Roman Occupying Forces by teaching such subversive concepts that Caesar only had power because God allowed it and that God was on the side of the sinners, outcasts, diseased, cripples, poor, oppressed widows, orphans, refugees and prisoners all enduring under Roman Occupation.   The early followers and lovers of Jesus were called members of THE WAY; being THE WAY he taught one must be to be his sister and brother; which is that one is to do the WILL of the Father. It was the Hebrew prophet Micah who reminded the people, "What does God require? He has told you o'man! Be just, be merciful, and walk humbly with your Lord." -Micah 6:8 2,000 years ago the cross had NO symbolic religious meaning. When Jesus said: "Pick up your cross and follow me" he was issuing a political statement. 2,000 years ago the main road to Jerusalem was filled with crucified rebels, dissidents, outlaws, outcasts and any other sinner, outcast, diseased, cripple, poor, oppressed person who disturbed the status quo of the elite ROF.    Keren said, "I associate Free Radicals-in the political sense-with Anarchism and a rejection of hierarchy and establishment authority. As a free radical I choose to work with groups whose goals are justice and peace.   "My graduate work was in Russian History, I was focused on the abuse of human rights, primarily as it affected the Jewish communities under the Russian Czars and the Soviet Union. I had spent three summers in Israel on archaeological excavations and after I finished my MA the rabbi at the Hillel Foundation asked me to be his Administrative Assistant, a position I held for two years. About 12 years later, I intuited I wasn't hearing the entire story about Israel and the Palestinians - neither from my Jewish community, nor from the US media. It was then that I set out on a journey to read as much as I could on the subject. The more I read the more horrified and angry I became, and the more I began to speak out. I was working for a Jewish organization at the time,...essentially, the Jewish lobbying agency for Pennsylvanians. I was told by my executive director, after a letter to the editor that was published in the local Jewish newspaper in which I called Israel to account for its human rights abuses that I could either shut up or lose my job. "Because I had no other job to go to and no resources to fall back on I remained in that job another year. I was careful about what I said, and where I said it, if I thought there was a member of the establishment Jewish community present. I maintained my activism by writing letters to editors of papers out of town, giving money to justice organizations, and reading my poetry at poetry readings. It was during that time that I also encountered the writings of Jewish Liberation Theologian, Marc Ellis. I was so taken by his writing – he said everything that I was thinking only much more eloquently and his thoughts were much more developed.   "Marc Ellis coined the term "Constantinian Judaism" and is a Jewish Liberation Theologian – what he thinks and writes is drawn from the prophets – in other words, the prophetic tradition of Judaism – the tradition that says that you stand for and with the oppressed, whoever and wherever they are. What Christian Liberation Theology says that Jesus taught – a preferential option for the poor and oppressed, Jewish Liberation Theology draw the same teaching from the prophets.   This year Keren has stood up with the women from Machsom Watch/Checkpoint Watch and with ISM/International Solidarity Movement; both nonviolent resistance groups against the Israeli Occupation of Palestine.   In January 2001, Machsom Watch was birthed in response to the Al Aqsa Intifada when repeated reports in the press were published regarding human rights abuses of Palestinians crossing at army and border police checkpoints. The excessive Israeli response to the Palestinians responding to Ariel Sharon's provocative walk upon the Dome of The Rock, led to increasingly prolonged closures and sieges of villages and towns in the West Bank, which then provided the stimulus and the motivation for what at first seemed an impossible mission, but was accepted by three women – Ronnee Jaeger, a long time activist with experience of human rights work in Guatemala and Mexico, Adi Kuntsman a feminist scholar who emigrated from the former Soviet Union in 1990 and veteran activist Yehudit Keshet, an orthodox Jewess – the founders of Machsom Watch. Today over 400 radical sisters have united in solidarity to monitor the behavior of Israeli soldiers and police at the checkpoints and they interact and speak out when ever they see an infringement upon the human and civil rights of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. Machsom Watch women are all Israeli and most are mature, professional women whose persistent nonviolent presence at the checkpoints are a form of direct challenge and civil disobedience against the injustices of the Military Occupation of Palestine, which has entered its 40th year.    Keren and I have both been questioned regarding our eye witness reports from occupied territory. We both have been accused of being 'used' by Palestinians. Keren remarked, "As if I am not capable of clear and independent thought and assessment! As if what I saw and experienced was not valid or were "merely" aberrations. As if the Israeli soldiers were only "acting" in a play produced by Palestinians! Here is a [partial] report written by women from Machsom Watch, three of the four I know from going with them to the checkpoints." Huwara Checkpoint, Saturday September 29, 2007 Observers: Vivi Suri, (photos), Tamar Goldschmidt, Hava Halevi, Aya Baker Kaniuk (reporting)   Saturday, the Ramadan month of fasting. The checkpoint is as it always is. Cruel and mean. The soldiers, as all soldiers are. Young, cruel and racist. Their minds poisoned in the name of their parents and country and needs of the herd, to check and curb people's movement… I shall tell especially one thing of this ugly and depressing afternoon, so similar and different and yet similar to everything that typifies occupation and oppression and incarceration and abuse as a method and a goal in itself. In the denial of life, enclosing people in enclaves amongst which there are checkpoints and roads for Jews only, there are these junctions, checkpoints, 'passages' which attract various venders to try and sell things. Mostly these are people with different vocations who have been prevented from practicing their trade by the ever-worsening rules of separation and oppression. People who are trying to provide for their families, usually large ones, and earn a pittance. For the terrible economic situation does not enable them to charge much. No one can afford much. Still, in spite of everything, people sometimes do need a cup of coffee or some humus or diapers. And at the exit points from the checkpoints, before they board taxis on their way anywhere, they sometimes buy something. It's good for the venders, of course, and good for the taxi drivers who usually have to wait around for hours, and good for the passers-by who have also been waiting for hours to be allowed through. What is wrong with this? Precisely for this reason, namely that this is a last meager resort to earn and provide some relief for the passers-by, and the possibility for drivers to relax over a cup of coffee once in a while - this is just the reason to inflict harm precisely upon this miserable population. After all, if any of them were suspect in the eyes of the Occupation, they would long since be arrested and investigated. But they are not. They must not earn a living. This is the rule of Occupation. And the means…It has become routine. It is not a whim, not a single incident perpetrated by some cruel individual soldier. It is policy. To prevent the vendors from making a living. Why? Because they are needy. That is the reason.  At points of need, the Jewish imagination is mobilized for prevention. Thus, too, the DCO (district coordination office), the very place that is supposed to provide answers to people under occupation, that acknowledges its duty to maintain the lives of occupied civilians, be driven by "relatively humane" and humanitarian motives, even in a state of war. It is the very center and brain of the prevention system [and] of its sinister nature and terrifying stranglehold. And it is the very center for recruitment of collaborators. Through the cynical use of sweeping, targeted prevention, and the fact that it is the only venue where Palestinians are allowed to appeal to for their everyday needs, the DCO has turned into the perfect place to demand of people to betray their own, in order to obtain even the slightest minimum. The greater the need, the greater the possibility to pressure them. The DCO offices are synonymous with the GSS - General Security Service. That is where it sits. These are the inquisitors in a "humane" guise. Humaneness is only the non-essential language. What could be more sophisticated? If a person wants to apply for a permit to build a house, he must turn to the DCO, and of course not receive such a permit because he is Palestinian. That is the root of it all. But then his address is already known so his house can be demolished as soon as it goes up. And if someone is ill with cancer and wants to go to another town where he is not allowed to go by the laws of separation, all the better. Ample reason to ask of him one thing or the other. And then he will pass. For prevention is methodical control and pressure which has not a thing to do with security. It is the distilled embodiment of evil. The army's "humanitarian" hotline is the DCO. The place that constitutes one of the centers of oppression, or organizing apartheid, of administering the destruction of Palestinian society - is the one and only place to which they are to turn. It is so cynical and sophisticated and so very awful. In Huwara…they live in dire poverty. However impoverished everyone is, there are the poorer poor, and such is this family of seven children, originally from the Jenin area. The main bread-earners are the eldest son, 16-year old Nizar, and 12-year old Mu'atasssem. The livelihood of the entire family rests on the shoulders of these two children. They earn no more than 50 shekel a day, usually less than 20. If the two children earn nothing, then there is nothing to buy food with. Little terror squads of one-two-three soldiers venture out to hunt down the vendors. These children usually sell tea and coffee. That's it. They have already been beaten before. Soldiers have spilt their sugar and water and coffee on the ground. Every soldier and his own special fancy... …There are those who beat, and those who keep silent, and those who are detained in the concrete cell for hours or placed in the sun on purpose or just yelled at that if they don't get the hell out their wares will end up on the ground, and those who listen to their I-Pod as though there is no world around them. I don't usually harbor feelings of vengeance. It is not my nature. Not even against the bad guys. But I do admit that at times I need for all of them, down to the last one, everyone partaking in this sinister regime, all these young executioners, "our soldiers", to be denied entry when they will be boarding the plane on their way to the standard post-army treks in India and South America. And that no university will ever admit whoever took part in this sinister war against another people only because it is another people. At least this.   Saturday was such a day. We did not see anyone get shot, nor beaten, nor shackled. There were only young men with helmets and guns who prevented people from moving in their land and home for their everyday needs, from going to school or the doctor or the garage to visiting their elderly sister; only if they fit today's passage criteria. And even so, not everyone.   What criteria can be worthy to not allow someone to breathe, to live, to raise children, to eat? Why can a person who dwells elsewhere not be allowed to visit his father who lives here? Why?  Very simply, for hurt is the purpose and not the symptom. And so that at the juncture points of permit applications needed for the most trivial, minimal thing, it will be possible to recruit collaborators. The first and foremost method of destroying life texture is to poison people's ability to trust each other. Under such dreadful conditions of pressure, the likelihood that a neighbor or friend has been pushed into acting against his people is enormous. It is also human. And thus, you can no longer let go with one another, for who knows, perhaps the other has already received his permit and more than anything that arouses suspicion...   And he, the one who receives his permit, is sometimes more suspect than everyone else, for how did he do it? What did he tell the 'captain'? Who knows... And so even receiving permits is problematic, and without them nothing is possible... A few days ago the brothers sold diapers, for during the Ramadan fast there is no demand for coffee. Again, Nizar and Mu'atassem. Soldier Israel took the bag of diapers and hit 16-year old, epileptic Nizar on the head. Then soldier Alex took skinny little Mu'atassem and said, I'll cut off your head and tongue. They spent four and a half hours in the holding cell, standing for there is no room to sit. Today the mother was on her way back from Nablus and happened to be there just as her sons' cart was being kicked over. Soldier Israel and another. Three cartons, each containing 72 glasses made of glass. It's Ramadan so they're not selling food or beverages. Everything fell and broke. All the money was gone. She came running, crying, gripped the soldier, and one of the soldiers threatened her face with his M-16, the other pushed her from the side with his rifle butt, and she said to him: "Shoot me. Death's better", and they continued pushing her with their rifle butts, and she took the children and went off, and they did not shoot her…   These children are not the only children vendors at Huwara checkpoint whom the Israeli army brutes harass. There are also adults. We have written about them again and again. For as I said, this is what the soldiers were sent here to do. And do with zest. Some have dashed the vendors' bread on the ground into the dirt. Poured out cooled drinks. Not all soldiers beat them. Some only say, "Git! Split! Get out of here!" Some draw a line in the dirt and say, 'Don't cross this line!" Some kick. And some do it with their rifle butts. On that day at the checkpoint some people were detained in the concrete cell because their name bingo-ed on the computer list. Some tried to bypass and some were "cheeky", meaning they did not look submissively at the ground while being checked. Some were caught leaning "too long" on the concrete side ledge. ...this Saturday shift, as any other day, is that the soldiers of the Israeli army stood there according to their nature and the instructions of the day and abused the Palestinian people because [they are] Palestinian.  http://www.machsomwatch.org "What does God require? He has told you o'man! Be just, be merciful, and walk humbly with your Lord." -Micah 6:8 Keren and Mark Ellis are among the many world renowned speakers who will be at Baylor University October 11-14, 2007 for a Liberation Theology Conference http://www.baylor.edu/jewish_studies/index.php?id=42919

http://www.wearewideawake.org

Eileen is the Reporter and Editor of 
wearewideawake.org

Producer of "30 Minutes with Vanunu" and Author of  "Keep Hope Alive" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory" 

She has been to Israel Palestine five times since June 2005.

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