Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin

Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death! - Patrick Henry

"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen." - Samuel Adams

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power (of money) should be taken away from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs." - Thomas Jefferson

These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated. - Thomas Paine

I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared. To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and in our comforts, in our labor and in our amusements. If we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy. - Thomas Jefferson

"A nation of well informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the region of ignorance that tyranny begins." - Benjamin Franklin

For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and provide for it.Patrick Henry

Hyper Color

Facial Personality

Let's play spot the Black Sheep!

I am blessed.

I'm the 773,071,647 richest person on earth! Discover how rich you are! >>

I'm in the TOP 12.88% richest people in the world!

RICHER THAN YOU THINK? How do you feel about that? A bit richer we hope. Richer and ready to give some of your newly found wealth to those who need it most.

$8 could buy you 15 organic apples OR 25 fruit trees for farmers in Honduras to grow and sell fruit at their local market.

$30 could buy you an ER DVD Boxset OR a First Aid kit for a village in Haiti.

$73 could buy you a new mobile phone OR a new mobile health clinic to care for AIDS orphans in Uganda.

$2400 could buy you a second generation High Definition TV OR schooling for an entire generation of school children in an Angolan village.

DID YOU KNOW..? Three billion people live on less than $2 per day while 1.3 billion get by on less than $1 per day. Seventy percent of those living on less than $1 per day are women.

Your Birthdate: June 21

You're a restless rebel with an unpredictable nature. Bright but unbridled, you tend to seek out wild experiences over new ideas. People are frustrated by your great potential, but you love your unconventional life. You're a heartbreaker. People get attached to you, and then you're gone. Your strength: Your thirst for adventure Your weakness: Not taking time for slow pleasures Your power color: Hot pink Your power symbol: Figure eight Your power month: March

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

You Were Born Under:

Your most comfortable inside your head - and often daydream the day away. You have an artistic temperament that makes you seem creative to some, eccentric to others. You avoid conflict at all costs, and you have a difficult time with relationships. Attractive and with good manners, you tend to shine in social situations. You are most compatible with a Pig or Rabbit.

What Year Were You Born Under?

Your Love Type: INFP

The Idealist In love, you crave a long term, harmonious relationship. For you, sex doesn't come quickly - it takes time for you to open up. Overall, you are supportive, nurturing, and expressive. However, you tend to be shy and protective of your personal space. Best matches: ENFJ and ESFJ

What's Your Love Type?

You Are 5: The Investigator

You're independent - and a logical analytical thinker. You love learning and ideas... and know things no one else does. Bored by small talk, you refuse to participate in boring conversations. You are open minded. A visionary. You understand the world and may change it. At Your Best: You are sharp, inventive, and creative. You have the skills to lead the world. At Your Worst: You are reclusive, weird, and a bit paranoid. Your Fixation: Greed Your Primary Fear: Being useless or incompetent Your Primary Desire: Being competent and needed Other Number 5's: Bill Gates, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Bjork, and Stephen Hawking.

What Number Are You?

Domino's Scientists Test Limits Of What Humans Will Eat!

Domino's Scientists Test Limits Of What Humans Will Eat

i love what the newscaster says at the end
"the equivalent of five americans were killed in afghanistan today"

(it's a parody...the Onion News Network)

methodical madness lol

He may be mad, but there's method in his madness. There nearly always is method in madness. It's what drives men mad, being methodical.
- GK Chesterton

Tariq's brother has some of his artwork up to buy!

Check it out and tell your friends! Please, buy something if you can! Even a magnet or 2 would help and show support for his art.

Also, he just had a show.
"Monday, July 2, 2007
Art Opening Reception w/B.J. Rathur
Finely detailed pen ink drawing, reminiscent of Inuit totem symbols contrast with more expansive colorful acrylic pieces. This colorful contemporary art invites the viewer to play with imagination to discover the artist’s hidden imagery and meaning."

Congrats BJ! :)

Beale Street Highlights

I pulled some of the better shots and made a highlight set on Flickr. Click the title ^ and you should be there :)

You Have A Type B+ Personality

You're a pro at going with the flow You love to kick back and take in everything life has to offer A total joy to be around, people crave your stability. While you're totally laid back, you can have bouts of hyperactivity. Get into a project you love, and you won't stop until it's done You're passionate - just selective about your passions

Do You Have a Type A Personality?

The Book of Noah ~starring Pat Cox

The Book of Noah-Trailer


Pat Cox

Can also see Pat in 'Eat'
Eat (new trailer)


and

'100 Lives'

System of a Down with Lyrics & Commentary ~ there is a lot more to SOAD than you might think!

Because it is way past time for this post! I have made plenty of music posts, but for some reason I've not posted anything about the band and music that I listen to most. Sometimes it's like that, the things that are TRULY important to us are the things that we keep private. Well it's time to change that. Going all the way back to Toxicity, from 2001. It is the one CD that I can't live without. It really is how I start (and usually end) my day. I'm not saying that the other music I listen to isn't important and meaningful, it's just that in the end it all tends to come back to these songs.

SOAD Toxicity ~ Science
Making two possibilities a reality
prediting the future of things we all know
fighting off the diseased programming
of centuries, centuries, centuries, centuries
Science fails to recognise the single most
potent element of human existence
letting the reigns go to the unfolding
is faith, faith, faith, faith
Science has failed our world
science has failed our mother earth
Spirit-moves-through-all-things x6

Letting the reigns go to the unfolding
is faith, faith, faith, faith
letting the reigns go to the unfolding
is faith, faith, faith, faith
Science has failed our world
Science has failed our mother earth
Spirit-moves-through-all-things x12

Science has failed our mother earth

(I'm ALL for science, but it certainly isn't everything. If you look at everything with just the eyes of science you are missing the point! Faith does not and should not exclude science either. Science is an amazing and important tool. They are not mutually exclusive, you can have both ;)



SOAD Toxicity ~ Prison Song
They're trying to build a prison x2

Following the rights movement
You clamped on with your iron fists
Drugs became conveniently
Available for all the kids
Following the rights movement
You clamped on with your iron fists
Drugs became conveniently
Available for all the kids

I buy my crack, my smack, my bitch right here in hollywood

(nearly 2 million americans are
incarcerated in the prison system
prison system of the US)

They're trying to build a prison x3
(For you and me to live in!)
Another prison system x3
(For you and me!)

Minor drug offenders fill your prisons
you don't even flinch
all our taxes paying for your wars
against the new non-rich
Minor drug offenders fill your prisons
you don't even flinch
all our taxes paying for your wars
against the new non-rich

I buy my crack, my smack, my bitch right here in hollywood

The percentage of americans in the prison system
prison system, has doubled since 1985

They're trying to build a prison x3
(For you and me to live in!)
Another prison system x3
For you and I, For you and I, For you and I.
They're trying to build a prison x3
For you and me
Oh baby, you and me.

All research and successful drug policy show
that treatment should be increased
And law enforcement decreased
While abolishing mandatory minimun sentences
All research and successful drug policy show
that treatment should be increased
And law enforcement decreased
While abolishing mandatory minimun sentences

Utilising drugs to pay for secret wars around the world
drugs are now your global policy now you police the globe

I buy my crack, my smack, my bitch right here in hollywood

Drug money is used to rig elections
and train brutal corporate sponsored dictators
around the world

They're trying to build a prison x4
(For you and me to live in!)
Another prison system x3
(For you and me!)
For you and I, for you and I, for you and I
For you and I
They're trying to build a prison x3
for you and me
oh baby, you and me

(It's scary but it's true, land of the free, has more people in prison per head of population than anywhere else in the world, By FAR! It has 751 people in prison or jail for every 100,000 in population. (If you count only adults, one in 100 Americans is locked up.)

The only other major industrialized nation that even comes close is Russia, with 627 prisoners for every 100,000 people. The others have much lower rates. England’s rate is 151; Germany’s is 88; and Japan’s is 63.

The median among all nations is about 125, roughly a sixth of the American rate.

Citizens and Residents of the United States are more likely to be incarcerated than people anywhere else in the world, including China, Russia and the Middle East. American prisons and jails are notoriously unsafe, overcrowded and underfunded.

Myths have a way of hiding what we don't want to see.

Americans, for example, are quick to charge Third World dictators with abusive prison policies. But prison incarceration rates tell a different story.

Recent reports show that 45 of the 50 democratically elected state governments in the U.S., including Florida, imprison their citizens at a faster pace than any of the foreign governments headed by dictators.

Rulers in Libya, Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia, China and Pakistan made Parade magazine's 2005 world's worst dictators list. And the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, located in Oakland, Calif., has issued a report titled, "U.S. Rates of Incarceration: A Global Perspective," showing the incarceration rates for these five dictatorships - the number of persons in prison for every 100,000 population - ranging from a low of 57 in Pakistan to a high of 207 in Libya.

By comparison, prison policies made in Tallahassee locked up 499 state citizens for every 100,000 population in 2005. In other words, Florida imprisons its people at a rate more than two times faster than Muammar al-Qaddafi's Libya and eight times faster than Pakistan under Gen. Pervez Musharraf. If inmates held in local jails in Florida were added, the spread would be even wider.

Only five states - Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Minnesota and North Dakota - have prison incarceration rates less harsh than Libya's. All other states enforce prison policies that put dictators around the world to shame, including more than 600 inmates per 100,000 population in Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas.

Read here, here here, here and here for more information.



SOAD TOxicity ~ Forest
Walk with me my little child
To the forest of denial
speak with me my only mind
walk with me until the time
and make the forest turn to wine
you take the legend for a fall
you saw the product
why can't you see that you are my child
why don't you know that you are my mind
tell everyone in the world, that I'm you
take this promise to the end of you
walk with me my little friend
Take this promise to the end
Speak with me my only mind
Walk with me until the end
And make the forest turn to sand
you take the legend for a fall
you saw the product
why can't you see that you are my child
why don't you know that you are my mind
tell everyone in the world, that I'm you
take this promise to the end of you
Take this promise for a ride
you saw the forest, now come inside
You took the legend for it's fall
you saw the product of it all
no televisions in the air
no circumcisions on the chair
You made the weapons for us all
just look at us now
why can't you see that you are my child
why don't you know that you are my mind
tell everyone in the world, that I'm you
take this promise to the end of you

(God is trying to explain to us that we are not just people but that we are created in his image, we are His children (pieces of Him). Why is that so hard to see? In other words, we are all ONE, everything is connected, it's that simple.)


SOAD Toxicity ~ Deer Dance
Round, round
Circumventing circuses
lamenting in protest
to visible police
prescence sponsored fear
batallions of riot police
with rubber bullet kisses
baton courtesy
service with a smile

Beyond the staples center you can see america
with it's tired poor avenging disgrace
peaceful loving youth against the brutality
of plastic existence

(chrous)
pushing little children
with their fully automatics
they like to push the weak around
pushing little children
with their fully automatics
they like to push the weak around

round, round
A rush of words
pleading to disperse
upon your naked walls, alive
A political call
the fall guy accord
we can't afford to be neutral on a moving train

Beyond the staples center you can see america
with it's tired poor avenging disgrace
peaceful loving youth against the brutality
of plastic existence

(chrous)

A deer dance, invitation to peace
war staring you in the face, dressed in black
with a helmet, fierce
trained and appropriate for the malcontents
for the disproportioned malcontents.
The little boy smiled, it'll all be well
The little boy smiled, it'll all be well

(chrous)

Push the weak around(3x)
They like to push the weak around.

It's about peaceful protests and ordinary citizens that are violently treated by police/riot police/military, etc. Not so amazingly, it's another direct consequence of the 'war on drugs'.

The only terrorist most Americans will ever encounter is a policeman with a badge, nightstick, mace and Taser. A Google search for "police brutality videos" turns up 2,210,000 entries. Some entries are foreign and some are probably duplications, but the number is so large that a person could do nothing but watch police brutality videos for the rest of his life. A search on "You Tube" alone turned up 2,280 police brutality videos. PrisonPlanet has a selection of the most outrageous recent cases.

Police brutality has crossed the line from using excessive force against a resisting Rodney King to unprovoked gratuitous violence against persons offering no resistance, such as the elderly, women, students, and elected officials. Americans are not safe anywhere from police. Police attack Americans in university libraries, in public meetings, and in their own homes.

"In recent years American police forces have called out SWAT teams 40,000 or more times annually.

Last year, did you read in your newspaper or hear on TV news of 110 hostage or terrorist events each day? No. What then were the SWAT teams doing? They were serving routine warrants to people who posed no danger to the police or to the public.

Occasionally Washington think tanks produce reports that are not special pleading for donors. One such report is Radley Balko’s "Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America" (Cato Institute, 2006).

This 100-page report is extremely important and should have been published as a book. SWAT teams (Special Weapons and Tactics) were once rare and used only for very dangerous situations, often involving hostages held by armed criminals. Today SWAT teams are deployed for routine police duties. In the US today, 75-80% of SWAT deployments are for warrant service.

In a high percentage of the cases, the SWAT teams forcefully enter the wrong address, resulting in death, injury, and trauma to perfectly innocent people. Occasionally, highly keyed-up police kill one another in the confusion caused by their stun grenades."

It is also in a bigger picture sort of way about how the USA pushes the rest of the world around. {Bush’s "war on terror" quickly became Bush’s war on Iraqi civilians. So far over one million Iraqi civilians have lost their lives because of Bush’s invasion, and four million have been displaced. Iraq’s infrastructure is in ruins. Disease is rampart. Normal life has disappeared.} It is saying that law enforcement and the goverment would not be able to get away with the brutality if we all spoke out against it. What we're doing instead(sitting back and complaning a bit, while shopping and maintaining our plastic existence) isn't helping anything. "We can't afford to be neutral on a moving train".

It really is music with an important message. You may not like how it's done, you might not be able to listen to it, but you can't deny how important these messages are. Spread the word!

XKCD ~The Blag of the webcomic

Read the XKCD Blag too!!

Great stuff!

1:37am

To go along with the last post

pwnage!

This Isn't a Joke but I wish it was! ~ Consevapedia~ I am bringing this awful, horrible, mind-numbingly ignorant site to your attention because of this article from Bad Science. It is really a thing of beauty and must be read completely to fully savor all of the nuances and PWNAGE! (WIRED's article about Conservapedia is great; What would Jesus Wiki?)

"All time classic creationist pwnage
June 24th, 2008 by Ben Goldacre in bad science

Richard Lenski is a biologist who recently found evidence for the emergence of new traits among E.coli bacteria, in a fascinating experiment which he has described in a paper in PNAS. His results look a bit like evolution. You will note that his paper includes the original data.

Andrew Schlafly is a startlingly predictable right wing christian activist who runs Conservapedia. I highly recommend a look around there if you’ve not already had the pleasure, because even the people who run Conservapedia find it hard to tell whether the edits are being made by god-fearing americans or naughty satirists.

Schlafly read Lenski. He got angry. He demanded the original data. It was pointed out to him that the original data was in the paper. He demanded the original data again. With menaces.

The following exchange is mirrored humbly and verbatim in case of disappearance. It represents pwnage on a scale most of us can only dream of."

It continues on with the full letters from the exchange between Mr Andrew Schlafly (right-wing conservative nutjob) and Mr Richard Lenski (respected scientist, educator and one of my new heroes). Please, do yourself a favor and read them!!!