 Muse in the Morning |
 Twisting Pathways
|
July 16, 2009 archive
Jul 16 2009
Muse in the Morning
Jul 16 2009
Warp Drive: The Possibilities, the Impossibilites, and the Urgent Necessity 20090717
“Warp” Drive has been bandied about often in science fiction, to good or bad results. In a nutshell, warp drive means that a vessel can travel faster than the speed of light, sometimes much faster.
This of course is silliness, or creative license. Or is it? Let us examine it from both a scientific aspect and a philosophical one.
Jul 16 2009
My Little Town 20090715. Introduction
This is a historical documentary about the town in which up I grew. Everyone has memories of people near them, but I lived in a town that the population placard said, driving into the town, Population 326.
It was, and is, in extreme west central Arkansas, just south of Fort Smith, and under a mile from the Oklahoma border. I was born in the hospital in Fort Smith, and came live in Hackett, Arkansas. It is on the map.
This is a test post. I there is no interest, I will terminate this series immediately and have no hard feelings towards anyone. I believe that it is important because even people who have grown up in the circumstances that I did can get over racism. I have decided to use descriptions rather than names to describe folks who I knew because their relative in many cases are still living there, and I do not want to cause them any embarrassment.
Jul 16 2009
Meanwhile in Afghanistan…
A large U.S. military offensive is underway. Here is one example of what our troops face. The Guardian has what the newspaper is calling the First ever image of IED roadside explosion in Afghanistan.
The photo by Manpreet Romana shows a U.S. Marine running for safety moments after an IED blast. The roadside bomb explosion was photographed in the Garmsir district of Helmand province.
 |
“The huge cloud of smoke and dirt in the picture, taken yesterday in the southern Helmand province, obscures the bodies of two other U.S. marines killed by the improvised explosive device (IED).”
Jul 16 2009
Scorched-Earth Farming Foolishness
When companies can successfully pass the accountability buck to avoid responsibility, then the harm from their conduct is not remedied by a real solution. Rules developed by the large agri-business are being used to regulate small farms in a manner that is often contrary to science, organic standards and the natural benefits of ecosystems.
Scientists don’t know how the killer E. coli pathogen migrated from cattle to leafy greens like lettuce, but reforms are underway in California that may soon spread nationwide. The industry drafted rules not based on science to provide “food safety” from lethal and injurious food-borne bacteria. Instead of accountability for large factory farms and food processing companies, biologically diverse farming methods for organic crops are being dumped even though “evidence suggests that industrial agriculture may be the bigger culprit.”
All of this is done in the name of a quick fix to avoid losing more money rather than finding a sustainable solution that does not make things worse.
Jul 16 2009
NYCCAN Press Conference at City Hall
Today I attended the press conference that NYCCAN (NYC Coalition for Accountability Now) held on the steps of City Hall in Manhattan. Press were there from 1010 WINS, WOR, NY1 and WFUV. I don’t know if what we had to say will make it past the phlanx of mainstream media editors, but we’ll see.
NYCCAN has collected 68,000 signatures from the citizenry of New York City on a petition to request a new, impartial and scientific investigation of the events on 9/11. The petition has been presented to the City Council and it is very likely to be approved for addition to the November 3rd ballot. If you are a resident of New York City, it is not too late to add your signature to the petition. If you are someone who lost a family member or friend; a first responder who assisted at the sites; or a survivor of the attacks you can also sign a different petition to show your support for a new investigation.
As a survivor of the attacks with an unique perspective on the whole thing due to my military background, I was one of the people asked to present a statement to the press. It’s below the fold for those who care.
The 9/11 Truth movement has picked up an enormous amount of steam and is becoming more legitimized due to a peer-reviewed paper that was published in April by an international team of scientists which reveals that nanothermite particles were found in four different samples of dust from the World Trade Center. In this interview for Russia Today, one of the team members, Danish chemistry professor Niels Harrit, explains what was found and the questions this raises about the credibility of the official story.
In parallel with NYCCAN, Richard Gage of Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, is presenting this evidence at the National Convention of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in Washington DC this week. He and other members of AE911Truth have also brought this testimony to members of Congress.
NYCCAN and AE911Truth are not wild-eyed conspiracy theorists. The objective is to point out the fallacies and gaping holes in the logic of the official story, and to demand an application of the scientific method to answer the many questions that never have been answered concerning 9/11.
Given the sheer amount of prevarication and dishonorable behavior the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have engendered, it is only common sense to also closely scrutinize the events of 9/11 which served as the impetus for these invasions. The focus of NYCCAN is on asking questions in a scientific and methodical fashion and obtaining the answers to those questions. Their ultimate goal is to establish a new commission with subpoena power and the ability to place people under oath.
Many activists here and elsewhere are concerned with the long list of war crimes committed by the Bush administration: torture of prisoners of war; abductions, renditions, “disappearances” and “suicides”; warrantless wiretapping and illegal surveillance; the deliberate outing of a CIA agent; no-bid contracts; legal contractor loopholes that allow them to get away with rape and murder; the CIA flooding our streets with heroin and cocaine and illegal handguns in order to foster the artificial continued need for a police state; the extortionate cost of prioritizing military and “security” objectives at the expense of our growing numbers of homeless, jobless, sick and hungry people; the list could go on but I am sure the reader gets the point.
Should it come to light that it was a conscious subversion of our intelligence community which contributed to the deaths of innocent civilians and noncombatants on 9/11/01; last I noticed that too is a war crime according to the Geneva Convention, and it would be that war crime which led to many of the others. The people responsible for this war crime MUST be brought to justice if we are to restore full faith in the ability of our government to truly protect it’s citizens.
From a personal perspective, working with NYCCAN is difficult, although this is hardly a reflection on the friendly, eminently sane and compassionate people I met today. While I am a pretty tough cookie, 9/11 was not a walk in the park. It’s not easy to deal with the memories and the emotions. It really is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. However I am mindful that I am not alone in what I have to face as I work for this goal, and it is as much a duty to those who share my burden and to the country I originally oathed myself to serve as anything I ever had to do during my enlistment.
Those of you who are in a position and of a mind to do so, I hope that you will join me in support of NYCCAN.
My statement to the press follows.
- 1
- 2