Torture by Sensory Deprivation

The first part of Naomi Klein's book, The Shock Doctrine, is about the sophisticated ways sensory deprivation is being used by intelligence establishments of the US and other governments to break the will of suspected terrorists.  Solitary confinement has long been used as a way to discipline prisoners.  Klein makes a very good case that such treatment constitutes cruel and improper punishment. 

It was recently reported that one method used against Muslim prisoners in Guantanamo is to put them in a small room, lights on 24 hours a day, no contact with outside stimulation, except for a constant, loud barrage of Sesame Street on a TV screen in the room. No clock.  total isolation except for guards who make sure the prisoner is unable to sleep.   

Once in my life, I had a brief scrape with forced isolation. It was part of an initiation ritual while in college. At night, I was put in a room, lights on, no clock, and told not to sleep. Doesn't sound much like torture does it.  Here's what I know from that experience. At least for me, isolation is mentally torturous. An extended period of that kind of treatment would be cruel and unusual punishment.

Probably, in some cases, that brand of coercion is justified.  It's not the kind of thing I would want to be the decider on.

There is a young man, an Army private named Bradley Manning, who has been accused of releasing  information classified by the government to the media through an organization called Wikileaks.  I don't know whether Manning is guilty or not. It doesn't seem, based on the kind of information that was released and who it was released to, that this is a case of someone trying to harm his country. In fact, a strong case can be made suggesting just the opposite.  In the United States of America, a person is considered innocent until proven guilty. Everything I have read indicates that Manning is being subjected to constant isolation.  I know that's cruel. As a people, we are better than that.

Andromeda to hit head on with Milky Way Galaxy

Some headline, huh?  Two astronomical, galactic scale objects are on a collision course. Fortunately for those of us here in the moment, it isn't predicted to happen for another four billion years.  

It's really quite amazing that astronomers are able to recognize and put a timeline on such a colossal scale scenario.  Somehow, using data collected by the HubbleTelescope orbiting our Earth, they figured this out. Oh, by the way, our earth, our Sun, our solar system are part of the milky way galaxy.  So, look out earthlings living four billion years from now. You've been warned.

Here is the link to the article about this phenomenal bit of scientific gymnastics.

http://phys.org/news/2012-05-hubble-milky-destined-head-on-collision.html

The Turin Erotic Papyrus

Imagine a three thousand year old sex magazine. In effect, that's what you get with The Turin Erotic Papyrus. In was discovered in the 19th century in Deir el-Medina, an Egyptian village that once housed the artisans responsible for the great pyramids in the Valley of the Kings.

Turin Papyrus

Located now in the Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy, it measures roughly 8.5 feet by 10 inches. Because of its poor condition, it took years of painstaking work to reveal its contents.

Reconstruction  of the original Turin Erotic papyrus

Little else exists that reflects on the sexuality of the ancient Egyptians.   What the Turin Erotic Papyrus reveals is open to interpretation. It seems clear that the Egyptians of 3,000 years ago were as enamoured with sex as most of us are in contemporary times.  Further proof that we are hardwired to be interested in and find joy in that very fundamental part of our existence.

The link to the Turin Papyrus webpage is  http://www.perankhgroup.com/the_turin_papyrus.htm

Twelve Year Old Takes Bankers to the Woodshed

Just saw this video on the net.  It's 12 year old Victoria Grant speaking to a gathering of the Public Banking Association of America.  She makes a compelling case that bankers, in collusion with government regulators, need to be put back under a strict regulatory regimen.   Pretty powerful stuff, particularly when it comes from a child.

Here is the link to Victoria's presentation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx5Sc3vWefE&feature=youtu.be

Diver Saves Puffer Fish from Hook

This is a story of compassion and courage. Somehow, this diver came cross this puffer fish with a very large hook stuck in its mouth.   For several minutes, the diver gingerly works to calm the fish and grip it so he can remove the hook.  The diver is barehanded, a very dicey proposition considering that puffer fish flesh contains a poison called tetrodotoxin that is 1200 times more powerful than cyanide. One fish has enough toxin to kill thirty humans, and there is no known antidote.

Here is the link to the story....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYJBm-AcpHk

Whitewater on the Kern

About three hours drive northeast of Los Angeles is the Kern River.  In Spring and early summer, the melting mountain snowpack leaves the Kern swollen,  white, and boiling swift. I had the good fortune of joining friends three times on rafting adventures on the kern river.

I'm the one up front with mouth agape under blue cap.  Does it look like I'm having fun?

Elisabet Sahtouris

Elisabet Sahtouris is an evolutionary biologist. She wrote a couple of great books, From Chaos to Cosmos  and From Stardust to Us. They trace  human existence from the 'Big Bang' into contemporary times.  

Elisabet Sahtouris's  take on where humanity is headed is pragmatic and not terribly optimistic.

Elisabet Sahtouris

I had the good fortune of visiting with her on the phone once.  This was when my book,  The Hydrogen Age was coming out.  Elisabet wrote a much appreciated blurb for the liner notes for that book.

When I spoke with Elisabet, I asked if she thought there was any chance that human civilization could extract itself from the wicked tailspin it seems to be in. 

In essence what she told me was this... 'Even if humanity as we know it,  destroys itself entirely,  it's much less likely that all of the earth's plants and animals  will die as well. At least some will survive, and in the cosmological time frame - a hundred thousand; a million; ten million years from now - the planet will be fine. New lifeforms will evolve; new forms of intelligence will emerge,  and maybe they will learn from the planetary scale miscalculations that are pressing contemporary human culture to the brink.'

Elisabet Sahtouris is a very wise person. Her vision for the future is sobering, but it makes a lot of sense.  One thing is certain.  If we do end up wrecking the biosphere, extinguishing ourselves in the process, we will have only ourselves to blame.

Here is a link to Elisabet Sahtouris's very engaging webpage  http://www.sahtouris.com/