Bitcoin Price Live and Bitcoin Chart, BTC Value, BTC to USD, News

THE TEAM

Bitcoin was created by an anonymous name called Satoshi Nakamoto Other notable names rumored to be part of the team include

The practical uses of Bitcoin

If you have the required hardware, you can mine bitcoin even if you are not a miner. There are different ways one can mine bitcoin such as cloud mining, mining pool, etc. For cloud mining, all you need to do is to connect to the datacenter and start mining. The good thing about this is that you can mine from anywhere and you dont need a physical hardware to mine.

For mining pool, all you need to do is to join a mining group, and if that team solves a computational problem, blocks are added to the blockchain, they get the reward and you get a share of it based on your contribution.

PoW algorithm-SHA-256 is used for mining. Which utilizes a lot of computational power.

Bitcoin mining saps energy, costly, uses more power and also the reward delays. For mining, run software, get your wallet ready and be the first to solve a cryptographic problem and you get your reward after the new blocks have been added to the blockchain.Mining is said to be successful when all the transactions are recorded in the blockchain and the new blocks are added to the blockchain.

Notes for investors

Die-hard Bitcoin supporters believe that bitcoin is the future; we are just scratching the surface.Considering the continuous rise of bitcoin in the market capitalization, it is one investment every investor needs to take advantage of it.

The current market capitalization of bitcoin stands at an all-time high of $109 billion. As at January 2016, bitcoin was traded at I BTC for $970 but today is being traded at $6,600 for 1 BTC.

From the statistics presented above, it that bitcoin is one investment, you will never regret embarking on. It keeps recording an impressive results daily in the cryptocurrency market.

MUST READ!

Cryptocurrency investment is speculative, and it involves unquantifiable risks the market is full of uncertainty, susceptible to attack and capital loss, and sensitive to secondary issues, time may do not permit to mention here.Seek advice before investing.

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Bitcoin Price Live and Bitcoin Chart, BTC Value, BTC to USD, News

Caribbean Map / Map of the Caribbean – Worldatlas.com

The Caribbean, long referred to as theWest Indies, includes more than 7,000 islands; of those, 13 are independent island countries (shown in red on the map), and some are dependencies or overseas territories of other nations.

In addition, that large number includes islets (very small rocky islands); cay's (small, low islands composed largely of coral or sand) and a few inhabited reefs: See Belize.

In geographical terms the Caribbean area includes the Caribbean Sea and all of the islands located to the southeast of the Gulf of Mexico, east of Central America and Mexico, and to the north of South America. Some of its counted cay's, islands, islets and inhabited reefs front the handful of countries that border the region.

TheBahamas and Turks and Caicos are not considered a part of the Caribbean, however, we show them here because of their cultural, geographical and political associations with the Greater Antilles and other Caribbean Islands.

At the beginning of the 15th century the population of the Caribbean was estimated to be nearly 900,000 indigenous people immediately before European contact.

Then in 1492, Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer began his exploration of the Caribbean, becoming the firstEuropean to venture into the area.

After reportedly landing in the eastern Bahamas, Columbus named these islands theIndies, because he thought he had finally reached Asia (and the East Indies).

Numerous explorers followed in his path, then tens of thousands of settlers arrived from the Americas, China, European countries and India. Included in that mix were religious outcasts and a small army of pirates.

Across the Caribbean, slaves fromAfrica were imported in great numbers to work the sugar and tobacco plantations.

By then the indigenous populations of the islands were in severe decline as exposure to disease and brutal genocide wiped out much of their number.

Great military powers continually fought for control of the islands, and finally, a blended mix of African andEuropean cultures and languages transformed this large group of islands and its peoples into one of the premier tourist destinations on the planet.

Long called theWest Indies, the overall area is now commonly referred to as the Caribbean, a name that became popular after World War II.

Over the last few decades legions of travelers have journeyed to the Caribbean to enjoy the amenities. They frequently arrive in cruise ships that sail in and out, from ports in Florida and Puerto Rico.

Overall the Caribbean is a magical place of palm trees, white sand beaches, turquoise waters and sunshine, all blessed with a climate that consistently offers a much-needed break for those stuck in the cold weather doldrums of the north.

If you haven't been, you should, and if you've been here more than once, you will come again, as these islands, these beach-ringed, jungle-covered rocks are home to thousands of historical surprises and activities galore.

So come wiggle you toes in the sand, and eat and sleep under the stars in the Caribbean.You won't be disappointed.

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Caribbean Map / Map of the Caribbean - Worldatlas.com

Cheap Caribbean – Cheap Beach Vacations

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By destination Antigua Aruba Bahamas - Abaco - via Marsh Harbour Airport (MHH) Bahamas - Abaco - via Treasure Cay Airport (TCB) Bahamas - Grand Bahama Island Bahamas - Nassau Bahamas - Nassau and Paradise Island Bahamas - Paradise Island Bahamas - Treasure Cay Barbados Belize Bermuda Cartagena Cayman Islands Costa Rica-Arenal Volcano/Monteverde Area Costa Rica-Guanacaste Beach Region Costa Rica-Puntarenas/Jaco/Manuel Antonio Areas Costa Rica-San Jose City Costa Rica-Tambor/Mal Pais Curacao Dominican Republic - La Romana Dominican Republic - Puerto Plata Dominican Republic - Punta Cana Dominican Republic - Samana Dominican Republic - Samana via Samana Airport Grenada Jamaica Mexico - Cancun Mexico - Cancun and Riviera Maya Mexico - Cozumel Mexico - Huatulco Mexico - Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo Mexico - Los Cabos Mexico - Manzanillo Mexico - Mazatlan Mexico - Puerto Vallarta Mexico - Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit Mexico - Riviera Maya Mexico - Riviera Nayarit Panama Puerto Rico Puerto Rico - Vieques St. Kitts St. Lucia St. Maarten/St. Martin Turks & Caicos USVI St. Croix USVI St. John and St. Thomas USVI St. Thomas

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Caribbean | Define Caribbean at Dictionary.com

[ kar-uh-bee-uhn, kuh-rib-ee- ]SHOW IPA

/ krbin, krbi- /PHONETIC RESPELLING

EXAMPLES|

a Carib.

Dictionary.com UnabridgedBased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Random House, Inc. 2019

The founder of Pan Am, Juan Trippe, knew how business was done in the Caribbean.

It then forms the divide between the Cauca and Atrato valleys, and terminates near the Caribbean coast.

A tiny bit of land about one hundred miles west of Dominica in the middle of the Caribbean.

"I'll just think back a few lines and remember this little Caribbean slip-up," he laughed.

River navigation could not have been more quiet than were these nights on the blue Caribbean Sea.

At this time the enemy held the route to the Caribbean, and Walker's first orders were to dislodge him.

SEE MORE EXAMPLESSEE FEWER EXAMPLES

Caribbean

/ (krbin, US krbn) /

of, or relating to, the Caribbean Sea and its islands

of, or relating to, the Carib or any of their languages

the Caribbean the states and islands of the Caribbean Sea, including the West Indies, when considered as a geopolitical region

a member of any of the peoples inhabiting the islands of the Caribbean Sea, such as a West Indian or a Carib

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Caribbean

from Carib, indigenous people's name for themselves, + -ean.

Online Etymology Dictionary, 2010 Douglas Harper

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Caribbean | Define Caribbean at Dictionary.com

Caribbean Sea – Wikipedia

A sea of the Atlantic Ocean bounded by North, Central, and South America

The Caribbean Sea (Spanish: Mar Caribe; French: Mer des Carabes; Dutch: Carabische Zee) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and south west, to the north by the Greater Antilles starting with Cuba, to the east by the Lesser Antilles, and to the south by the north coast of South America.

The entire area of the Caribbean Sea, the numerous islands of the West Indies, and adjacent coasts, are collectively known as the Caribbean. The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest seas and has an area of about 2,754,000km2 (1,063,000sqmi).[1][2] The sea's deepest point is the Cayman Trough, between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, at 7,686m (25,217ft) below sea level. The Caribbean coastline has many gulfs and bays: the Gulf of Gonve, Gulf of Venezuela, Gulf of Darin, Golfo de los Mosquitos, Gulf of Paria and Gulf of Honduras.

The Caribbean Sea has the world's second biggest barrier reef, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. It runs 1,000km (620mi) along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras.[3]

The name "Caribbean" derives from the Caribs, one of the region's dominant Native American groups at the time of European contact during the late 15th century. After Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas in 1492, the Spanish term Antillas applied to the lands; stemming from this, "Sea of the Antilles" became a common alternative name for "Caribbean Sea" in various European languages. During the first century of development, Spanish dominance in the region remained undisputed.

From the 16th century, Europeans visiting the Caribbean region identified the "South Sea" (the Pacific Ocean, to the south of the isthmus of Panama) as opposed to the "North Sea" (the Caribbean Sea, to the north of the same isthmus).[4]

The Caribbean Sea had been unknown to the populations of Eurasia until 1492, when Christopher Columbus sailed into Caribbean waters on a quest to find a sea route to Asia. At that time the Western Hemisphere in general was unknown to most Europeans, although it had been discovered between the years 800 and 1000 by the vikings. Following the discovery of the islands by Columbus, the area was quickly colonized by several Western cultures (initially Spain, then later England, the Dutch Republic, France, Courland and Denmark). Following the colonization of the Caribbean islands, the Caribbean Sea became a busy area for European-based marine trading and transports, and this commerce eventually attracted pirates such as Samuel Bellamy and Blackbeard.

As of 2015[update] the area is home to 22 island territories and borders 12 continental countries.

The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Caribbean Sea as follows:[5]

Note that, although Barbados is an island on the same continental shelf, it is considered to be in the Atlantic Ocean rather than the Caribbean Sea.

The Caribbean Sea is an oceanic sea largely situated on the Caribbean Plate. The Caribbean Sea is separated from the ocean by several island arcs of various ages. The youngest stretches from the Lesser Antilles to the Virgin Islands to the north east of Trinidad and Tobago off the coast of Venezuela. This arc was formed by the collision of the South American Plate with the Caribbean Plate and includes active and extinct volcanoes such as Mount Pelee, the Quill (volcano) on Sint Eustatius in the Caribbean Netherlands and Morne Trois Pitons on Dominica. The larger islands in the northern part of the sea Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico lie on an older island arc.

The geological age of the Caribbean Sea is estimated to be between 160 and 180million years and was formed by a horizontal fracture that split the supercontinent called Pangea in the Mesozoic Era.[6] It is assumed the proto-caribbean basin existed in the Devonian period. In the early Carboniferous movement of Gondwana to the north and its convergence with the Euramerica basin decreased in size. The next stage of the Caribbean Sea's formation began in the Triassic. Powerful rifting led to the formation of narrow troughs, stretching from modern Newfoundland to the west coast of the Gulf of Mexico which formed siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. In the early Jurassic due to powerful marine transgression, water broke into the present area of the Gulf of Mexico creating a vast shallow pool. The emergence of deep basins in the Caribbean occurred during the Middle Jurassic rifting. The emergence of these basins marked the beginning of the Atlantic Ocean and contributed to the destruction of Pangaea at the end of the late Jurassic. During the Cretaceous the Caribbean acquired the shape close to that seen today. In the early Paleogene due to Marine regression the Caribbean became separated from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean by the land of Cuba and Haiti. The Caribbean remained like this for most of the Cenozoic until the Holocene when rising water levels of the oceans restored communication with the Atlantic Ocean.

The Caribbean's floor is composed of sub-oceanic sediments of deep red clay in the deep basins and troughs. On continental slopes and ridges calcareous silts are found. Clay minerals likely having been deposited by the mainland river Orinoco and the Magdalena River. Deposits on the bottom of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico have a thickness of about 1km (0.62mi). Upper sedimentary layers relate to the period from the Mesozoic to the Cenozoic (250million years ago to present) and the lower layers from the Paleozoic to the Mesozoic.

The Caribbean sea floor is divided into five basins separated from each other by underwater ridges and mountain ranges. Atlantic Ocean water enters the Caribbean through the Anegada Passage lying between the Lesser Antilles and Virgin Islands and the Windward Passage located between Cuba and Haiti. The Yucatn Channel between Mexico and Cuba links the Gulf of Mexico with the Caribbean. The deepest points of the sea lie in Cayman Trough with depths reaching approximately 7,686m (25,220ft). Despite this, the Caribbean Sea is considered a relatively shallow sea in comparison to other bodies of water.

The pressure of the South American Plate to the east of the Caribbean causes the region of the Lesser Antilles to have high volcanic activity. There was a very serious eruption of Mount Pele in 1902 which caused many casualties.

The Caribbean sea floor is also home to two oceanic trenches: the Cayman Trench and Puerto Rico Trench, which put the area at a high risk of earthquakes. Underwater earthquakes pose a threat of generating tsunamis which could have a devastating effect on the Caribbean islands. Scientific data reveals that over the last 500 years the area has seen a dozen earthquakes above 7.5 magnitude.[9] Most recently, a 7.1 earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010.

The hydrology of the sea has a high level of homogeneity. Annual variations in monthly average water temperatures at the surface do not exceed 3C (5.4F). Over the past fifty years the Caribbean has gone through three stages: cooling until 1974; a cold phase with peaks during 19741976 and 19841986 then; a warming phase with an increase in temperature of 0.6C (1.1F) per year. Virtually all temperature extremes were associated with the phenomena of El Nio and La Nia. The salinity of seawater is about 3.6% and its density is 1,023.51,024.0kg/m3 (63.9063.93lb/cuft). The surface water colour is blue-green to green.

The Caribbean's depth in its wider basins and deep water temperatures are similar to those of the Atlantic. Atlantic deep water is thought to spill into the Caribbean and contribute to the general deep water of its sea.[10] The surface water (30 m; 100 feet) acts as an extension of the northern Atlantic as the Guiana Current and part of the North Equatorial Current enter the sea on the east. On the western side of the sea the trade winds influence a northerly current which causes an upwelling and a rich fishery near Yucatn.[11]

The Caribbean is home to about 9% of the world's coral reefs covering about 50,000km2 (19,000sqmi), most of which are located off the Caribbean Islands and the Central American coast.[12] Among them stands out the Belize Barrier Reef with an area of 963km2 (372sqmi) which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. It forms part of the Great Mayan Reef also known as the MBRS and being over 1,000km (600mi) in length is the world's second longest. It runs along the Caribbean coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras.

During the past ten years,[when?] unusually warm Caribbean waters have been increasingly threatening Caribbean coral reefs. Coral reefs support some of the most diverse marine habitats in the world, but they are fragile ecosystems. When tropical waters become unusually warm for extended periods of time, microscopic plants called zooxanthellae, which are symbiotic partners living within the coral polyp tissues, die off. These plants provide food for the corals, and give them their color. The result of the death and dispersal of these tiny plants is called coral bleaching, and can lead to the devastation of large areas of reef. Over 42% of corals are completely bleached and 95% are experiencing some type of whitening.[13] Historically the Caribbean is thought to contain 14% of the world's coral reefs.[14]

The habitats supported by the reefs are critical to such tourist activities as fishing and diving, and provide an annual economic value to Caribbean nations of US$3.14.6billion. Continued destruction of the reefs could severely damage the region's economy.[15] A Protocol of the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region came in effect in 1986 to protect the various endangered marine life of the Caribbean through forbidding human activities that would advance the continued destruction of such marine life in various areas. Currently this protocol has been ratified by 15 countries.[16] Also, several charitable organisations have been formed to preserve the Caribbean marine life, such as Caribbean Conservation Corporation which seeks to study and protect sea turtles while educating others about them.[17]

In connection with the foregoing, the Institute of Marine Sciences and Limnology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, conducted a regional study, funded by the Department of Technical Cooperation of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in which specialists from 11 Latin American countries (Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic, Venezuela plus Jamaica) participated. The findings indicate that heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic, and lead, have been identified in the coastal zone of the Caribbean Sea. Analysis of toxic metals and hydrocarbons is based on the investigation of coastal sediments that have accumulated less than 50 meters deep during the last hundred and fifty years. The project results were presented in Vienna in the forum "Water Matters", and the 2011 General Conference of said multilateral organization.[18]

The climate of the Caribbean is driven by the low latitude and tropical ocean currents that run through it. The principle ocean current is the North Equatorial Current, which enters the region from the tropical Atlantic. The climate of the area is tropical, varying from tropical rainforest in some areas to tropical savanna in others. There are also some locations that are arid climates with considerable drought in some years.

Rainfall varies with elevation, size and water currents (cool upwelling keep the ABC islands arid). Warm, moist trade winds blow consistently from the east, creating both rain forest and semi arid climates across the region. The tropical rainforest climates include lowland areas near the Caribbean Sea from Costa Rica north to Belize, as well as the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, while the more seasonal dry tropical savanna climates are found in Cuba, northern Venezuela, and southern Yucatn, Mexico. Arid climates are found along the extreme southern coast of Venezuela out to the islands including Aruba and Curacao, as well as the northern tip of Yucatn[20]

Tropical cyclones are a threat to the nations that rim the Caribbean Sea. While landfalls are infrequent, the resulting loss of life and property damage makes them significant hazard to life in the Caribbean. Tropical cyclones that impact the Caribbean often develop off the West coast of Africa and make their way west across the Atlantic Ocean toward the Caribbean, while other storms develop in the Caribbean itself. The Caribbean hurricane season as a whole lasts from June through November, with the majority of hurricanes occurring during August and September. On average around 9 tropical storms form each year, with 5 reaching hurricane strength. According to the National Hurricane Center 385 hurricanes occurred in the Caribbean between 1494 and 1900.

The region has a high level of biodiversity and many species are endemic to the Caribbean.

The vegetation of the region is mostly tropical but differences in topography, soil and climatic conditions increase species diversity. Where there are porous limestone terraced islands these are generally poor in nutrients. It is estimated that 13,000 species of plants grow in the Caribbean of which 6,500 are endemic. For example, guaiac wood (Guaiacum officinale), the flower of which is the national flower of Jamaica and the Bayahibe rose (Pereskia quisqueyana) which is the national flower of the Dominican Republic and the ceiba which is the national tree of both Puerto Rico and Guatemala. The mahogany is the national tree of the Dominican Republic and Belize. The caimito (Chrysophyllum cainito) grows throughout the Caribbean. In coastal zones there are coconut palms and in lagoons and estuaries are found thick areas of black mangrove and red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle).

In shallow water flora and fauna is concentrated around coral reefs where there is little variation in water temperature, purity and salinity. Leeward side of lagoons provide areas of growth for sea grasses. Turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) is common in the Caribbean as is manatee grass (Syringodium filiforme) which can grow together as well as in fields of single species at depths up to 20m (66ft). Another type shoal grass (Halodule wrightii) grows on sand and mud surfaces at depths of up to 5m (16ft). In brackish water of harbours and estuaries at depths less than 2.5m (8ft 2in) widgeongrass (Ruppia maritima) grows. Representatives of three species belonging to the genus Halophila, (Halophila baillonii, Halophila engelmannii and Halophila decipiens) are found at depths of up to 30m (98ft) except for Halophila engelmani which does not grow below 5m (16ft) and is confined to the Bahamas, Florida, the Greater Antilles and the western part of the Caribbean. Halophila baillonii has been found only in the Lesser Antilles.[21]

Marine biota in the region have representatives of both the Indian and Pacific oceans which were caught in the Caribbean before the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama four million years ago.[22] In the Caribbean Sea there are around 1,000 documented species of fish, including sharks (bull shark, tiger shark, silky shark and Caribbean reef shark), flying fish, giant oceanic manta ray, angel fish, spotfin butterflyfish, parrotfish, Atlantic Goliath grouper, tarpon and moray eels. Throughout the Caribbean there is industrial catching of lobster and sardines (off the coast of Yucatn Peninsula).

There are 90 species of mammals in the Caribbean including sperm whales, humpback whales and dolphins. The island of Jamaica is home to seals and manatees. The Caribbean monk seal which lived in the Caribbean is considered extinct. The solenodon is endangered.

There are 500 species of reptiles (94% of which are endemic). Islands are inhabited by some endemic species such as rock iguanas and American crocodile. The blue iguana, endemic to the island of Grand Cayman, is endangered. The green iguana is invasive to Grand Cayman. The Mona ground iguana which inhabits the island of Mona, Puerto Rico, is endangered. The rhinoceros iguana from the island of Hispaniola which is shared between Haiti and the Dominican Republic is also endangered. The region has several types of sea turtle (loggerhead, green turtle, hawksbill, leatherback turtle, Atlantic ridley and olive ridley). Some species are threatened with extinction.[23] Their populations have been greatly reduced since the 17th century the number of green turtles has declined from 91million to 300,000 and hawksbill turtles from 11million to less than 30,000 by 2006.[24]

All 170 species of amphibians that live in the region are endemic. The habitats of almost all members of the toad family, poison dart frogs, tree frogs and leptodactylidae (a type of frog) are limited to only one island.[25] The Golden coqui is in serious threat of extinction.

In the Caribbean 600 species of birds have been recorded of which 163 are endemic such as the tody, Fernandina's flicker and palmchat. The American yellow warbler is found in many areas as is the green heron. Of the endemic species 48 are threatened with extinction including the Puerto Rican amazon, yellow-breasted crake and the Zapata wren. According to Birdlife International in 2006 in Cuba 29 species of bird are in danger of extinction and two species officially extinct.[26] The black-fronted piping guan is endangered as is the plain pigeon. The Antilles along with Central America lie in the flight path of migrating birds from North America so the size of populations is subject to seasonal fluctuations. In the forests are found parrots, bananaquit and toucans. Over the open sea can be seen frigatebirds and tropicbirds.

The Caribbean region has seen a significant increase in human activity since the colonization period. The sea is one of the largest oil production areas in the world, producing approximately 170million tons[clarification needed] per year.[27] The area also generates a large fishing industry for the surrounding countries, accounting for 500,000 tonnes (490,000 long tons; 550,000 short tons) of fish a year.[28]

Human activity in the area also accounts for a significant amount of pollution, The Pan American Health Organization estimated in 1993 that only about 10% of the sewage from the Central American and Caribbean Island countries is properly treated before being released into the sea.[27]

The Caribbean region supports a large tourism industry. The Caribbean Tourism Organization calculates that about 12million people a year visit the area, including (in 19911992) about 8million cruise ship tourists. Tourism based upon scuba diving and snorkeling on coral reefs of many Caribbean islands makes a major contribution to their economies.[29]

The Caribbean is the setting for countless literary efforts often related to piracy acts and swashbuckling, set during the 17th and 18th centuries. One memorable work of pulp fiction has in its title a geographic feature unique in its way to the islands: Fear Cay, the eleventh Doc Savage adventure by Lester Dent. Many James Bond adventures were set there. It is also well known as the location of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, featuring Port Royal. Peter Matthiessen's Far Tortuga (1975) chronicles the adventures of a turtling crew in the late 1960s.

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Molecular Medicine Conference 2019 | Molecular Diagnostics …

Scientific Sessions Track 1: Molecular Medicine

Molecular medicine is a broad field which deals with the development of diseases at a molecular level and identifies fundamental molecular and genetic errors of disease and to develop molecular interventions to correct them. Molecular structures and mechanisms are described by Physical, chemical, biological, bioinformatics and medical techniques. Disease pathogenesis at the molecular or physiological level may lead to the design of specific tools for disease diagnosis, treatment, or prevention.

By understanding the genes, proteins, and other cellular molecules work molecular medicine develops ways to diagnose and treat disease. Molecular Medicine develops knowledge and skills in cellular and molecular biology.

Molecular diagnostics is a collection of techniques used to analyse an individual's genetic code and to identify biological markers in the genome and proteome. Molecular diagnostics apply molecular biology to see how cell express their genes to medical testing. For any successful application of gene therapy or biologic response modifiers, molecular diagnostics offers a great tool. Molecular diagnostics now provides most laboratory tests in infectious diseases, genetics, and an increasing number in oncology. Molecular diagnostics analyse a person's health at a molecular level by detecting specific sequences in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or ribonucleic acid (RNA) that may be related to disease

Molecular genetics employs methods of both molecular biology and genetics to study the structure, function and interactions among genes at a molecular level.

The study of chromosomes and gene expression of an organism can give an accurate and deep understanding of heredity, genetic variation, and mutations. Molecular Genetics and Genomics cover all areas on the latest research innovations, population genetics, gene function and expression and molecular genetics. Molecular genetics is concerned with the study of your favourite gene, genomics is concerned with studying all the genes. Molecular genomics is a critical component of the expanding database linking alterations of DNA and RNA with the disease, disease prognosis and therapeutic response.

Molecular oncology refers to the chemistry of cancer and tumours at the molecular scale and their development and application on molecularly targeted therapies.

Molecular Oncology studies especially the genetic alterations and their implications. Molecular Oncology focuses on new discoveries, approaches, as well as technical developments in basic, clinical and discovery-driven cancer research. It mainly focuses on advances in the understanding of disease processes leading to human tumour development. Molecular Oncology establishes novel concepts of clear clinical significance in diagnosis, prognosis and prevention strategies.

A biomarker is used as an indicator of the biological state. In routine clinical use Oncology biomarkers actually, make their way. A biological marker points to the presence of a disease, a physiological change, response to treatment, or a psychological condition.

Molecular biomarkers are used for various purposes including disease diagnosis and prognosis and assessment of treatment response. Over the last decade, there has been a significant increase in the number of drug labels containing information on molecular biomarkers. In most of the chronic diseases, biomarkers can confirm a difficult diagnosis or even make it possible in the first place.

Molecular biology is the study of biological activity between biomolecules in the various systems of a cell. It also includes the interactions between DNA, RNA, proteins and their biosynthesis as well as the regulation of these interactions.

Cellular and Molecular Biology majorly study the processes that occur within and between the body's cells. This includes genes, the way cells carry nutrients throughout the body, and how diseases attack healthy cells. The process of replication, transcription and translation of the genetic material are studied under Molecular biology. Cellular biology study cells, including their function, systems, structure and interactions with living organisms. These typically work in medical fields and are often focused on the treatment of disease.

Molecular pathology is the study of molecules within organs, tissues or bodily fluids. Molecular pathology is commonly used in the diagnosis of bone, soft tissue tumours, cancer and infectious diseases. The purpose of molecular pathology is to understand the mechanisms of disease by identifying molecular and pathway alterations. It is considered the heart of modern diagnostics and translational research. Molecular pathology studies and diagnose disease through the examination of genetic and molecular abnormalities. Molecular pathology and biomarkers are used to study molecular and genomic abnormalities in tissues for diagnostic and prognostic purposes. Molecular diagnosis is useful and sometimes necessary as an adjunct for diagnosis especially in morphologically or clinically unusual lesions.

Living things all are alike at the cellular and molecular level. The fundamental similarities between living organisms are explained by evolutionary theory. Major topics in molecular evolution concern the rates and impacts of single nucleotide changes, origins of new genes, the evolution of development, and ways that evolutionary forces influence genomic and phenotypic changes. Some of the key advances are quantitative estimates of both the diversity in populations and of evolutionary relationships, as well as improvements in theoretical understanding. There is an improved understanding of the function of proteins and much better models of the common patterns of development.

Advances in cell and molecular biology studies have revolutionized the diagnosis and treatment of many different diseases. It is considered as a modern Biotechnology concerned with understanding the Genetic Diagnosis, Molecular Diagnosis, Molecular Forensics.

People at the present day are facing serious global challenges in healthcare from emerging and re-emerging diseases. The availability of new sequencing methods, microarrays, microfluidics, biosensors, and biomarker assays has made a shift toward developing diagnostic platforms, which stimulates growth in the field regarding diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment, leading to improved outcomes and greater cost savings.

Much research is being done in foetal whole exome sequencing and is beginning to play a large role in miscarriage testing. With all this research and screening, clinicians and genetic counsellors need to keep abreast of these changes and guidelines in order to effectively care for patients.

The genetic cause of foetal abnormalities detected on ultrasound imaging and in high-risk families can be significantly identified and improved in Foetal diagnostic exome sequencing. Testing based on isolation of foetal cells from maternal blood would provide an attractive alternative to testing of cell-free DNA. An updated implementation of these different approaches will make lively discussion and insight into this field and is headed ways for researchers, test providers, clinicians and clinics to take these developments into consideration.

Point-of-care testing is medical diagnostic testing at the time and place of patient care. In Recent years there are tremendous advances in POCD due to innovations lab-on-a-chip technologies, and complementary technologies. Critical advances in POCD provides directions for future research. Point-of-care allows physicians and medical staff to accurately achieve real-time, lab-quality diagnostic results within minutes rather than hours. The global Point of Care diagnostic tests renders immediate results providing improved patient care in rural areas too. This factor has significantly impacted the market growth.

Clinical diagnostics is defined as diagnosis and treatment of human disease. Clinical diagnostics for a disease can be done by patient's complaints based on signs, symptoms and medical history rather than on laboratory examination or medical imaging. Clinical diagnostics is considered as an ever-changing field of medicine and research. In recent years Clinical diagnostics has become more exciting as advances in new techniques aid in fulfilling the potential of personalized medicine. Clinical research determines the safety and effectiveness of medications, devices, diagnostic products and treatments.

A monoclonal antibody (mAb) is originally produced by a single B-cell. Biosimilars are a lot complicated than small-molecule medicine and generics. In the past few years, monoclonal antibody drugs have dominated the world's largest biopharmaceutical drug sales, and in the coming years, monoclonal antibody drugs will continue to be the main force. Considering the huge profit margins and potential market, the monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics is the hot territory many pharmaceutical companies chases. This session will summarize the market in terms of therapeutic applications, type, and structure of mAbs, dominant companies, manufacturing locations, and emerging markets. These requirements would lead to greater development in the process and tighter quality controls during the production of biosimilar mAbs.

Infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic organisms such as viruses, bacteria, or fungus. Normally harmless but under certain conditions, they can be fatal and can cause death too. They can be spread from one person to another directly or indirectly. Infectious diseases are caused by infection-causing organisms that use the human body for surviving, reproducing and colonizing. These organisms are known as pathogens.

Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections;

Antiviral agents treat viral infections;

and

Antifungal agents treat fungal infections.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionised the study of genomics and molecular biology by allowing us to sequence DNA and RNA much more quickly and cheaply than the previously used Sanger sequencing. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) relies on capillary electrophoresis. NGS although with shorter read lengths and less accuracy reduces the time that genome sequencing projects took with Sanger methods.

Thousands to millions of DNA molecules can be sequenced simultaneously by using Powerful Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) platform. By offering a high throughput option NGS is revolutionizing in fields such as personalized medicine, genetic diseases, and clinical diagnostics.

Immunogenicity is the ability of a particular substance induce a humoral and/or cell-mediated immune responses. An immune response can be potentially elicited by administering any substance into the human body.

Products which increase the potential of anti-drug antibodies include :

Therapeutic antibodies, enzyme therapies, peptides and combination products.

An immune response may also impact a drugs safety and efficacy. Assays should be designed in such a way that they provide sufficient sensitivity and are free from potential risks to the target patient population. By designing assays with these factors, it is possible to gather data about the strength and type of immune response that a drug may produce in humans.

Metagenomics is the study of genetic material recovered from environmental samples. Metagenomics could be an asset of analysis techniques comprising several connected approaches and ways. We tend to anticipate that metagenomics can complement and stimulate analysis on people and their genomes.

Metagenomics represents a brand-new approach in exceedingly genomic analysis. Metagenomic libraries can be screened for novel physiological, metabolic, and genetic options. Though long and labour-intensive, metagenomics is the most powerful environmental approach that provides prospects to get novel genes and novel biomolecules through the expression of genes from an uncultivated and unknown bacterium in a recipient host cell. Metagenomic information ought to contain DNA sequences for all the genes within the microorganism community

Cell therapies and regenerative medication boost the health of patients by repairing, replacing, or by creating broken cells within the body. Some elements of our bodies will repair themselves quite well when injured, while others dont repair in any respect. We cant develop an entire leg or arm; however, some animals will develop or regenerate whole body elements. Stem cells (SC) offer totally different. Despite the promise of embryonic stem cells, in several cases, adult or perhaps vertebrate stem cells give a lot of fascinating approach for clinical applications. Clinical applications in regenerative medication have increased tremendously throughout the last ten years. Regenerative medication revolutionizes the method to improve the health and quality of life by restoring, maintaining or enhancing tissue and functions of organs.

Clinical chemistry is usually involved with analysis of bodily fluids for diagnostic and therapeutic functions. It's an applied style of organic chemistry. There are currently several blood tests and clinical tests with intensive diagnostic capabilities. These are performed on any bodily fluid or plasma. The foremost common specimens tested in clinical chemistry are blood and Serum. Many various tests exist to check glucose, electrolytes, enzymes, hormones, lipids (fats), and proteins. By running tests on these samples, physicians will confirm patient conditions and potential diseases, and recommend a counselled treatment up. Clinical chemistry procedures create precise diagnoses, offer effective treatment choices and monitor a patients response to treatment.

Pharmacogenomics is the study of the gene effect on a persons response to medication. This comparatively new field combines pharmacological medicine and genetics to develop effective, safe medications and doses that may be tailored to a persons genetic makeup. Several medications presently accessible do not work a similar manner for everybody. Adverse drug reactions are a unit of big trouble for hospitalizations. With the data gained from the HGP, researchers are learning variations in genes have an effect on the bodys response to medications.

The field of pharmacogenomics continues to be in its infancy. Its use is presently quite restricted, however new approaches are in clinical trials. In future, pharmacogenomics can permit the tailored medication to treat health issues, as well as disorders, Alzheimer sickness, cancer, HIV/AIDS, and asthma.

DNA sequencing is the method of sequencing the base pairs of a DNA (As, Ts, Cs, and Gs). Sequencing a whole organisms DNA is a huge task. It needs breaking the DNA into several smaller items, sequencing the items, and collection of these sequences into one long "consensus."

These bases give the information on genotype and also the phenotype. Nucleotides aren't the sole determinants of phenotypes but are essential to their information. Every individual and organism feature a specific ester base sequence. DNA sequencing additionally underpins pharmacogenomics. This can be a comparatively new field that is leading to an individualized medication. Over a hundred and forty medication approved by the FDA currently by pharmacogenomic data in their labelling.

Translational medicine is defined as an interdisciplinary branch of the biomedical field. By using a highly collaborative approach Translational medicine is growing in biomedical research discipline and aims to expedite the discovery of new diagnostic tools and treatments. Within public health, translational medicine is focused on ensuring proven strategies for disease treatment and prevention. Translational medicine aims to improve human health and longevity by determining the relevance to human disease of novel discoveries in the biological sciences. Translational medicine is enhancing the efficiency of biomedical discovery and application. There are many compelling reasons to find cost-effective solutions to health care delivery.

Integrative Molecular Medicine covers novel findings in molecular, biological, and biomedicine research. The broad spectrum of Integrative Molecular Medicine includes rare and common disorders from diagnosis to treatment.

Molecular drugs strive to know traditional body functioning and illness pathological process at the molecular level which can enable researchers and physician-scientists to use that information within the style of specific molecular tools for illness identification, treatment, and prognosis. Integrative Molecular drugs (imMed) offers a scientific setting, which mixes basic and clinical analysis and offers a broad vary of advanced opportunities.

Medical doctors, patients, and health care providers consider the prevention of genetic diseases as an essential tool to improve the general health status of the population and the proportion of people suffering from genetics and genomics disease will increase by 65.2% by 2025. The top institutions researching in the related studies have been funded with 100 Billion Dollar worldwide. According to recent statistics, genetic diseases worldwide will double between 2012 and 2025. The market value of Molecular Medicine is $24 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach more than $100 billion by 2025.

Molecular Diagnostics Equipment market is influencing the

Molecular Diagnostics Equipment market is growing in -

witnessed growth in the -

followed by Molecular Diagnostics Equipment market in -

and the Middle East and Africa -

In 2015, the global molecular diagnostics market size was valued at USD 6,451.5 million and is anticipated to grow. In 2018, infectious diseases account for the largest share of the global molecular diagnostics market. Greater accuracy, portability, cost-effectiveness and Technological advancements enable molecular diagnostics to significantly drive the market.

Over the forecast period, the rising prevalence of infectious diseases and hospital-acquired infections are expected to drive market growth. Rise in cardiovascular, neurological, and genetic disorders is also expected to fuel market growth. Governments and different organizations Increase in funding for clinical studies in the molecular diagnosis space boost the market growth.

The hospitals and academic laboratories segment are expected to account for the largest share of the market in 2018.

The growth of the UAE diagnostic market can be attributed to the high prevalence of chronic and infectious diseases. WHO estimates of all deaths worldwide Chronic diseases account for approximately 60 %. Chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases are responsible for 12%, 40%, 5%, and 5% of mortality in the United Arab Emirates. There has been a paradigm shift from traditional diagnostics to a new generation diagnostic, that works at the gene level. The inclusion of Advanced technologies such as genetic testing, molecular diagnostics, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and next-generation sequencing (NGS) made it possible.

The major market players in the UAE molecular diagnostics market are :

The competition among manufacturers is increasing, with the increasing number of companies.

Genomics 2018

ME Conferenceshosted10thInternational Conference on Genomics & Molecular BiologyduringMay 21-23, 2018atBarcelona, Spainbased on the theme Advanced Approaches In Genomics and Molecular Biology.

Active participation and generous response was received from the Organizing Committee Members, scientists, researchers, as well as experts from Non-government organizations, and students from diverse groups who made this conference as one of the most successful and productive events in 2018 fromME Conferences.

The conference was marked with several workshops, multiple sessions, Keynote presentations, panel discussions and Poster sessions. We received active participation from scientists, young and brilliant researchers, business delegates and talented student communities representing more than 35 countries, who have driven this event into the path of success.

The conference was initiated with a warm welcome note by Honorable guests and the Keynote forum.The proceedings went through interactive sessions and panel discussions headed byhonorable ModeratorDr.Laila Alves Nahum, Ren Rachou Research Center, Brazilfor the conference.

The conference proceedings were carried out through various Scientific-sessions and plenary lectures, of which the following Speakers were highlighted asKeynote speakers:

Single point mutation of a gene creates mirror-image animals in freshwater gastropod:Reiko Kuroda, Tokyo University of Science, Japan

Evolutionary genomics to improve functional prediction of parasite genes and proteins:Laila Alves Nahum, Ren Rachou Research Center, Brazil

Big data in noncoding RNA and precision medicine:Runsheng Chen, Institute of Biophysics - CAS, China

Treatment of landfi ll leachate via advanced biological treatment technology:Ling Tau Chuan, University of Malaya, Malaysia

Biophysical signaling, systems biology and carcinogenesis:Sarah S Knox, West Virginia University School of Public Health USA

How does nucleoid complexity affect cell dimensions during the division process in bacillary bacteria: Arieh Zaritsky, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

ME Conferenceshas taken the privilege of felicitating Genomics-2018 Organizing Committee, Keynote Speakers who supported for the success of this event.ME Conferences, on behalf of the Organizing Committee, congratulates the Best Poster awardees for their outstanding performance in the field of Genomics & Pharmacogenomics and appreciates all the participants who put their efforts in poster presentations and sincerely wishes them success in future endeavors.

Poster Judging was done byDr.Arieh Zaritsky, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

We are also obliged to various delegate experts, company representatives and other eminent personalities who supported the conference by facilitating active discussion forums. We sincerely thank theOrganizing Committee Membersfor their gracious presence, support, and assistance towards the success of Genomics-2018.

With the unique feedback from the conference,ME Conferenceswould like to announce the commencement of the "4th International Conference on Molecular Medicine and Diagnostics"duringJuly 15-16, 2019 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

For More details visit:https://molecularmedicine.conferenceseries.com/

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Rare diseases, which affect over 350million people worldwide and frequently go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for years, suffer from sparse and dispersed medical knowledge leading to even rarer approved and effective therapeutic options for patients. A vast, unmet need for research and investment to advance diagnostic capabilities and therapeutic development must be confronted, despite the myriad of challenges faced. Several fundamental shifts are changing the landscape of rare diseases research and development, particularly with the application and extension of results to common diseases and the advancement of personalized medicine initiatives. Collaborative strategies that pool resources and knowledge are vital, including team science, research networks, novel funding models, shared knowledge platforms, and innovative regulatory frameworks. Importantly, patients are also increasingly involved as research partners and funders, pushing for open science and transparency, and breaking down data silos and geographical borders, often enabled by online platforms accessible from across the globe. The International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC), established in 2011, has been working diligently to unify stakeholders (e.g., funding bodies, companies, umbrella patient advocacy groups, researchers, and experts) to seek and drive solutions that aim to accelerate diagnosis and therapeutic development for rare diseases worldwide. Further and future advances will depend on continued collaborations and cooperation among stakeholders, working hand in hand with patients, and exponentially improving research and development efficiency. Critically, engagement with stakeholders from underrepresented populations and lessdeveloped countries must be prioritized, to enable all people living with a rare disease to receive an accurate diagnosis, care, and therapy.

Rare diseases: further and future advances for diagnostic capabilities and therapeutic development will depend on continued collaborations and cooperation among stakeholders, working handinhand with patients, and exponentially improving research and development efficiency.

EMBO Mol Med (2019) e10486

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Trance: Explore Trance Music at Beatport

JOOF Editions, Vol. 5

Stas Drive, Facade, Basil O'Glue, ANNA, Roby M Rage, Oliver Prime, Dimuth K, Dmitry Molosh, D-Formation, Martin Roth, Matan Caspi, Paul Thomas, White-Akre, Gai Barone, Main Leaf, Anton MAKe, Pacco, Rudy B, Tomek, Jobe, Feemarx, Alessandro Spaiani, Quivver, John 00 Fleming , Tim Penner, Rick Pier O'Neil, Sebastian Busto, Alex O'Rion, Parallel Universe, Analog Jungs, Black 8, Arrab, Forty Cats, Stan Kolev, Tone Depth, Jerome Isma-Ae, Alastor, Airwave, Miika Kuisma, EEEMUS, Alex Morelli, Jon Hopkins, Antimatter, MVMB, Trilingo, Sisko Electrofanatik, Klaark, Cetera, Robert Elster, Oliver Lieb, Antrim, Kamilo Sanclemente, Paula OS, Juan Pablo Torrez, Aly & Fila, Ferry Corsten, GRAZZE, Sam Heyman, Ziger, Bluum, Andre Sobota, Aneesh Gera, Fuenka, Andretta, Stereo Underground, SeaLine, Raisell, Michael A, Deep Fog, Cream (PL), Phil Martyn, The Stupid Experts, Be Morais, Dowden, Acumen, Theo Fraga, AWKA, Ezequiel Arias, Ivanshee, Beswerda, Ayer Astura, Dead Panther, Revolutionary Blocks, Jan Johnston, Celvee, Charlotte Petitte, FOLUAL, Barra Uno, GlowPlan, Tannura, David Forbes, Hal Stucker, Mark Found

JOOF Recordings

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Trance: Explore Trance Music at Beatport

Trance music – Wikipedia

Trance is a genre of electronic music[7] that emerged from the British new-age music scene and the early 1990s German techno and hardcore scenes.[2][3] At the same time trance music was developing in Europe, the genre was also gathering a following in the Indian state of Goa.[10]

Trance music is characterized by a tempo lying between 110150 bpm (BPM),[6] repeating melodic phrases[6] and a musical form that distinctly builds tension and elements throughout a track often culminating in 1 to 2 "peaks" or "drops".[6] Although trance is a genre of its own, it liberally incorporates influences from other musical styles such as techno,[4][2] house,[1][2] pop,[4] chill-out,[4] classical music,[4][5] tech house, ambient and film music.[5]

A trance is a state of hypnotism and heightened consciousness.[11] This is portrayed in trance music by the mixing of layers with distinctly foreshadowed build-up and release. A common characteristic of trance music is a mid-song climax followed by a soft breakdown disposing of beats and percussion entirely,[4][6] leaving the melody or atmospherics to stand alone for an extended period before gradually building up again. Trance tracks are often lengthy to allow for such progression and commonly have sufficiently sparse opening and closing sections to facilitate mixing by DJs.[4][6]

Trance is mostly instrumental, although vocals can be mixed in: typically they are performed by mezzo-soprano to soprano female soloists, often without a traditional verse/chorus structure. Structured vocal form in trance music forms the basis of the vocal trance subgenre, which has been described as "grand, soaring, and operatic" and "ethereal female leads floating amongst the synths". However, male singers, such as Jonathan Mendelsohn, are also featured.[12][13]

The "Trance" name may refer to an induced emotional feeling, high, euphoria, chills, or uplifting rush that listeners claim to experience, or it may indicate an actual trance-like state the earliest forms of this music attempted to emulate in the 1990s before the genre's focus changed.

Another possible antecedent is Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima's electronic soundtracks for the Streets of Rage series of video games from 1991 to 1994.[14][15][16] It was promoted by the well-known UK club-night "Megatripolis" (London, at Heaven on Thursdays) whose scene catapulted it to international fame.[verification needed]

Examples of early trance releases include but are not limited to KLF's 1988 release 'What Time Is Love' (Pure Trance 1),[17] German duo Jam & Spoon's 1992 12" Single remix of the 1990 song "The Age Of Love",[1] and German duo Dance 2 Trance's 1990 track "We Came in Peace".[6]

The writer Bom Coen traces the roots of trance to Paul van Dyk's 1993 remix of Humate's "Love Stimulation".[1] However, Van Dyk's trance origins can be traced further back to his work with Visions of Shiva, being the first tracks he released[18] In subsequent years, one genre, vocal trance, arose as the combination of progressive elements and pop music,[4] and the development of another subgenre, epic trance, finds some of its origins in classical music,[4] with film music also being influential.[5]

Trance was arguably at its commercial peak in the second part of 1990s and early 2000s.[19][20]

Classic trance employs a 4/4 time signature,[6] a tempo of 125 to 150 BPM,[6] and 32 beat phrases and is somewhat faster than house music.[21] A kick drum is usually placed on every downbeat and a regular open hi-hat is often placed on the upbeat or every 1/8th division of the bar.[6] Extra percussive elements are usually added, and major transitions, builds or climaxes are often foreshadowed by lengthy "snare rolls"a quick succession of snare drum hits that build in velocity, frequency, and volume towards the end of a measure or phrase.[6]

Rapid arpeggios and minor keys are common features of Trance, the latter being almost universal. Trance tracks often use one central "hook", or melody, which runs through almost the entire song, repeating at intervals anywhere between 2 beats and 32 bars, in addition to harmonies and motifs in different timbres from the central melody.[6] Instruments are added or removed every 4, 8, 16, or 32 bars.[6]

In the section before the breakdown, the lead motif is often introduced in a sliced up and simplified form,[6] to give the audience a "taste" of what they will hear after the breakdown.[6] Then later, the final climax is usually "a culmination of the first part of the track mixed with the main melodic reprise".[6]

As is the case with many dance music tracks, trance tracks are usually built with sparser intros ("mix-ins") and outros ("mix-outs") in order to enable DJs to blend them together immediately.[4][6]

More recent forms of trance music incorporate other styles and elements of electronic music such as electro and progressive house into its production. It emphasizes harsher basslines and drum beats which decrease the importance of offbeats and focus primarily on a four on the floor stylistic house drum pattern. The bpm of more recent styles tends to be on par with house music at 120 to 135 beats per minute. However, unlike house music, recent forms of trance stay true to their melodic breakdowns and longer transitions.[22]

Trance music is broken into a number of subgenres including acid trance, classic trance, hard trance, progressive trance,[4] and uplifting trance.[4] Uplifting trance is also known as "anthem trance", "epic trance",[4] "commercial trance", "stadium trance", or "euphoric trance",[6] and has been strongly influenced by classical music in the 1990s[4] and 2000s by leading artists such as Ferry Corsten, Armin Van Buuren, Tisto, Push, Rank 1 and at present with the development of the subgenre "orchestral uplifting trance" or "uplifting trance with symphonic orchestra" by such artists as Andy Blueman, Ciro Visone, Soundlift, Arctic Moon, and Sergey Nevone & Simon O'Shine, among others. Closely related to Uplifting Trance is Euro-trance, which has become a general term for a wide variety of highly commercialized European dance music. Several subgenres are crossovers with other major genres of electronic music. For instance, Tech trance is a mixture of trance and techno, and Vocal trance "combines [trance's] progressive elements with pop music".[4] The dream trance genre originated in the mid-1990s, with its popularity then led by Robert Miles.

AllMusic states on progressive trance: "the progressive wing of the trance crowd led directly to a more commercial, chart-oriented sound, since trance had never enjoyed much chart action in the first place. Emphasizing the smoother sound of Eurodance or house (and occasionally more reminiscent of Jean-Michel Jarre than Basement Jaxx), Progressive Trance became the sound of the world's dance floors by the end of the millennium. Critics ridiculed its focus on predictable breakdowns and relative lack of skill to beat-mix, but progressive trance was caned by the hottest DJ."[23]

The following is an incomplete list of dance music festivals that showcase trance music.

Notes: Sunburn was not the first festival/event to specialize in India in trance music. Much earlier pioneers of Goa parties[2] held events as early as the late 80's and through all of the 1990s[7]

Electronic Music festivals in the Netherlands are mainly organized by four companies ALDA Events, ID&T, UDC and Q-dance:

Electronic music festivals in the United States feature various electronic music genres such as trance, house, techno, electro, dubstep, and drum and bass:

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Trance music - Wikipedia

nihilism | Definition & History | Britannica.com

Nihilism, (from Latin nihil, nothing), originally a philosophy of moral and epistemological skepticism that arose in 19th-century Russia during the early years of the reign of Tsar Alexander II. The term was famously used by Friedrich Nietzsche to describe the disintegration of traditional morality in Western society. In the 20th century, nihilism encompassed a variety of philosophical and aesthetic stances that, in one sense or another, denied the existence of genuine moral truths or values, rejected the possibility of knowledge or communication, and asserted the ultimate meaninglessness or purposelessness of life or of the universe.

The term is an old one, applied to certain heretics in the Middle Ages. In Russian literature, nihilism was probably first used by N.I. Nadezhdin, in an 1829 article in the Messenger of Europe, in which he applied it to Aleksandr Pushkin. Nadezhdin, as did V.V. Bervi in 1858, equated nihilism with skepticism. Mikhail Nikiforovich Katkov, a well-known conservative journalist who interpreted nihilism as synonymous with revolution, presented it as a social menace because of its negation of all moral principles.

It was Ivan Turgenev, in his celebrated novel Fathers and Sons (1862), who popularized the term through the figure of Bazarov the nihilist. Eventually, the nihilists of the 1860s and 70s came to be regarded as disheveled, untidy, unruly, ragged men who rebelled against tradition and social order. The philosophy of nihilism then began to be associated erroneously with the regicide of Alexander II (1881) and the political terror that was employed by those active at the time in clandestine organizations opposed to absolutism.

If to the conservative elements the nihilists were the curse of the time, to the liberals such as N.G. Chernyshevsky they represented a mere transitory factor in the development of national thoughta stage in the struggle for individual freedomand a true spirit of the rebellious young generation. In his novel What Is to Be Done? (1863), Chernyshevsky endeavoured to detect positive aspects in the nihilist philosophy. Similarly, in his Memoirs, Prince Peter Kropotkin, the leading Russian anarchist, defined nihilism as the symbol of struggle against all forms of tyranny, hypocrisy, and artificiality and for individual freedom.

Fundamentally, 19th-century nihilism represented a philosophy of negation of all forms of aestheticism; it advocated utilitarianism and scientific rationalism. Classical philosophical systems were rejected entirely. Nihilism represented a crude form of positivism and materialism, a revolt against the established social order; it negated all authority exercised by the state, by the church, or by the family. It based its belief on nothing but scientific truth; science would be the solution of all social problems. All evils, nihilists believed, derived from a single sourceignorancewhich science alone would overcome.

The thinking of 19th-century nihilists was profoundly influenced by philosophers, scientists, and historians such as Ludwig Feuerbach, Charles Darwin, Henry Buckle, and Herbert Spencer. Since nihilists denied the duality of human beings as a combination of body and soul, of spiritual and material substance, they came into violent conflict with ecclesiastical authorities. Since nihilists questioned the doctrine of the divine right of kings, they came into similar conflict with secular authorities. Since they scorned all social bonds and family authority, the conflict between parents and children became equally immanent, and it is this theme that is best reflected in Turgenevs novel.

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Nihilism – Philosophy – AllAboutPhilosophy.org

Nihilism Abandoning Values and KnowledgeNihilism derives its name from the Latin root nihil, meaning nothing, that which does not exist. This same root is found in the verb annihilate -- to bring to nothing, to destroy completely. Nihilism is the belief which:

Nihilism A Meaningless WorldShakespeares Macbeth eloquently summarizes existential nihilism's perspective, disdaining life:

Nihilism Beyond NothingnessNihilism--choosing to believe in Nothingness--involves a high price. An individual may choose to feel rather than think, exert their will to power than pray, give thanks, or obey God. After an impressive career of literary and philosophical creativity, Friedrich Nietzsche lost all control of his mental faculties. Upon seeing a horse mistreated, he began sobbing uncontrollably and collapsed into a catatonic state. Nietzsche died August 25, 1900, diagnosed as utterly insane. While saying Yes to life but No to God, the Prophet of Nihilism missed both.

Beyond the nothingness of nihilism, there is One who is greater than unbelief; One who touched humanity (1 John 5:20) and assures us that our lives are not meaningless (Acts 17:24-28).

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Nihilism - Philosophy - AllAboutPhilosophy.org

Nihilism – Wikiquote

Nihilism (pronounced: /na.lzm/ or /ni.lzm/; from the Latin nihil, nothing) refers to sets of beliefs which negate one or more apparently meaningful aspects of Reality. Some are forms of existential nihilism, which argue that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value. Moral nihilists assert that morality does not inherently exist, and that any established moral values are abstractly contrived. More extreme forms can insist that knowledge is not possible, and that truth, beauty or reality do not actually exist. The term nihilism often relates to anomie in indicating general moods of despair at a perceived pointlessness of existence which can develop with beliefs that there are no necessary norms, rules, or laws.

Nihilists are not kind; They believe in nothing. The Stranger is not kind, He drifts where the wind catches him.

Nihilists are like a bellows Empty, yet full of hot air, The more they threaten, the more cowardly they seem; The Stranger also rambles and loses his train of thought But tells a purty good story.

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Nihilism - Wikiquote

Nihilism | Psychology Wiki | FANDOM powered by Wikia

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Nihilism is a philosophical position which argues that the world, and especially human existence, is without objective meaning, purpose, comprehensible truth, or essential value. Nihilists generally assert some or all of the following: there is no reasonable proof of the existence of a higher ruler or creator, a "true morality" is unknown, and secular ethics are impossible; therefore, life has no truth, and no action is known to be preferable to any other.[1]

Nihilism is often more a charge leveled against a particular idea, movement, or group, than it is an actual philosophical position to which someone overtly subscribes. Movements such as Dadaism as well as Futurism[2] and deconstructionism,[3] among others, have been described by commentators as "nihilist" at various times in various contexts. Often this means or is meant to imply that the beliefs of the accuser are more substantial or truthful, whereas the beliefs of the accused are nihilistic, and thereby comparatively amount to nothing.

Nihilism is also a characteristic that has been ascribed to time periods: for example, Baudrillard and others have called postmodernity a nihilistic epoch,[4] and some Christian theologians and figures of authority have asserted that modernity[3] and postmodernity[5] represent the rejection of God, and therefore are nihilistic.

Prominent philosophers who have written on the subject of nihilism include Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger. Nietzsche described Christianity as a nihilistic religion because it evaded the challenge of finding meaning in earthly life, creating instead a spiritual projection where mortality and suffering were removed instead of transcended. He believed nihilism resulted from the "death of God", and insisted that it was something to be overcome, by returning meaning to a monistic reality. (He sought instead a "pragmatic idealism," in contrast to the prominent influence of Schopenhauer's "cosmic idealism.") Heidegger argued that the term "nihilism has a very specific meaning. What remains unquestioned and forgotten in metaphysics is being; and hence, it is nihilistic,"[6] and that nihilism rested on the reduction of Being to "mere value."[How to reference and link to summary or text]

The term comes from the Latin nihil, meaning "nothing". The Oxford English Dictionary gives 1817 as its earliest use in English, and Alain Rey's Dictionnaire historique de la langue franaise (revised edition 1995) gives 1787 as the first use of the word in French, nothing that nihiliste was used in 1761, though in a religious sense of 'heretic' that is now obsolete. Rey also argues that the Russian equivalent nighilizm () that appeared in 1829 was an impulse to the penetration of the term into modern language.

The Latin indefinite pronoun nihili ('nothing') is a reduced form of nihilum, a term that derives from ne-hilom, an emphatic form of the negation ne by means of hilum, meaning 'the slightest amount' and of uncertain origin. [citation needed]

Though the term nihilism was first popularized by Ivan Turgenev (see below), it was first introduced into philosophical discourse by Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi (17431819), who used the term to characterize rationalism, and in particular Immanuel Kant's "critical" philosophy in order to carry out a reductio ad absurdum according to which all rationalism (philosophy as criticism) reduces to nihilism, and thus it should be avoided and replaced with a return to some type of faith and revelation. (See also fideism.)

Friedrich Nietzsche's later work displays a preoccupation with nihilism. Book One of the posthumous collection The Will to Power (a highly selective arrangement of jottings from various notebooks and from an incomplete project begun by Nietzsche himself, then posthumously edited and released by his sister, Elisabeth Frster-Nietzsche) is entitled "European Nihilism" which he calls "the problem of the nineteenth century." [citation needed] Nietzsche characterized nihilism as emptying the world and especially human existence of meaning, purpose, comprehensible truth, or essential value. He hints that nihilism can become a false belief, when it leads individuals to discard any hope of meaning in the world and thus to invent some compensatory alternate measure of significance.

Though some deride it as nihilistic, postmodernism can be contrasted with the above formulation of nihilism in that the most common type of nihilism tends toward defeatism or fatalism, while postmodern philosophers tend to find strength and reason for celebration in the varied and unique human relationships it explores.

In a very different vein than just given, contemporary analytic philosophers have been engaged in a very active discussion over the past few years about what is called mereological nihilism. This is the position that objects with parts do not exist, and only basic building blocks without parts exist (e.g., electrons, quarks), and thus the world we see and experience full of objects with parts is a product of human misperception. Jeffrey Grupp of Purdue University [7], argues for a doctrine of mereological nihilism, maintaining that there are no objects whatsoever which have parts. Grupp argues that nihilism is the standard position of many ancient atomists, such as Democritus of ancient Greece, Dharmakirti of ancient India, that it is the position held by Kant in his transcendental idealism, and that it is the position actually found in quantum observational physics.[8]The other contemporary mereological nihilists are not atomists (instead they advocate a slightly diferent theory, called simples), such as the mereological nihilists Trenton Merricks of the University of Virginia, and Peter van Inwagen of Notre Dame.

In the world of ethics, nihilist or nihilistic is often used as a derogatory term referring to a complete rejection of all systems of authority, morality, and social custom, or one who purportedly makes such a rejection. Either through the rejection of previously accepted bases of belief or through extreme relativism or skepticism, the nihilist is construed as one who believes that none of these claims to power are valid. Nihilism not only dismisses received moral values, but rejects 'morality' outright, viewing it as baseless.

Postmodern thought is colored by the perception of a degeneration of systems of epistemology and ethics into extreme relativism, especially evident in the writings of Jean-Franois Lyotard and Jacques Derrida. These philosophers tend to deny the very grounds on which Western cultures have based their 'truths': absolute knowledge and meaning, the accumulation of positive knowledge, historical progress, and the ideals of humanism and the Enlightenment. Though it is often described as a fundamentally nihilist philosophy, before entering a brief discussion on postmodern thought it is important to note that nihilism itself is open to postmodern criticism: nihilism is a claim to a universal truth, exactly what postmodernism rejects.

Lyotard argues that, rather than relying on an objective truth or method to prove their claims, philosophers legitimize their truths by reference to a story about the world which is inseparable from the age and system the stories belong to. Lyotard calls them meta-narratives. He then goes on to define the postmodern condition as one characterized by a rejection both of these meta-narratives and of the process of legitimization by meta-narratives.

"In lieu of meta-narratives we have created new language-games in order to legitimize our claims which rely on changing relationships and mutable truths, none of which is privileged over the other to speak to ultimate truth." It is this unstable concept of truth and meaning that leads one close to nihilism, though in the same move that plunges toward meaninglessness, Lyotard suspends his philosophy just above its surface.

Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra

While few philosophers would claim to be nihilists, nihilism is most often associated with Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche defined the term as any philosophy that, rejecting the real world around us and physical existence along with it, results in an apathy toward life and a poisoning of the human soul and opposed it vehemently. He describes it as "the will to nothingness" or, more specifically:

Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, section 585, Walter Kaufmann

In this sense it is the philosophical equivalent to the Russian political movement mentioned above: the irrational leap beyond skepticism the desire to destroy meaning, knowledge, and value. To him, it was irrational because the human soul thrives on value. Nihilism, then, was in a sense like suicide and mass murder all at once. He saw this philosophy as present in Christianity (which he describes as slave morality), Buddhism, morality, asceticism and any excessively skeptical philosophy.

Nietzsche is referred to as a nihilist in part because he famously announced "God is dead!" What he meant by this oft-repeated statement has been the subject of much heated debate, because Nietzsche simply declared this position in his Thus Spoke Zarathustra without actually arguing for it. Some argue that Nietzsche meant not that God has died in a literal sense, or even necessarily that God doesn't exist, but that we don't believe in God anymore, that even those of us who profess faith in God don't really believe. God is dead, then, in the sense that his existence is now irrelevant to the bulk of humanity. "And we," he says in The Gay Science, "have killed him."

Alternately, some have interpreted Nietzsche's comment to be a statement of faith that the world has no rational order. Nietzsche also believed that, even though Christian morality is nihilistic, without God humanity is left with no epistemological or moral base from which we can derive absolute beliefs. Thus, even though nihilism has been a threat in the past, through Christianity, Platonism, and various political movements that aim toward a distant utopian future, and any other philosophy that devalues human life and the world around us (and any philosophy that devalues the world around us by privileging some other or future world necessarily devalues human life), Nietzsche tells us it is also a threat for humanity's future. This warning can also be taken as a polemic against 19th and 20th century scientism.

Nietzsche advocated a remedy for nihilism's destructive effects and a hope for humanity's future in the form of the bermensch, a position especially apparent in his works Thus Spoke Zarathustra and The Antichrist. The bermensch is an exercise of action and life: one must give value to their existence by behaving as if one's very existence were a work of art. Nietzsche believed that the bermensch "exercise" would be a necessity for human survival in the post-religious era.

Another part of Nietzsche's remedy for nihilism is a revaluation of morals he hoped that we are able to discard the old morality of equality and servitude and adopt a new code, turning Judeo-Christian morality on its head. Excess, carelessness, callousness, and sin, then, are not the damning acts of a person with no regard for his salvation, nor that which plummets a society toward decadence and decline, but the signifier of a soul already withering and the sign that a society is in decline. The only true sin to Nietzsche is that which is against a human nature aimed at the expression and venting of one's power over oneself. Virtue, likewise, is not to act according to what has been commanded, but to contribute to all that betters a human soul.

Nietzsche attempts to reintroduce what he calls a master morality, which values personal excellence over forced compassion and creative acts of will over the herd instinct, a moral outlook he attributes to the ancient Greeks. The Christian moral ideals developed in opposition to this master morality, he says, as the reversal of the value system of the elite social class due to the oppressed class' resentment of their Roman masters. Nietzsche, however, did not believe that humans should adopt master morality as the be-all-end-all code of behavior - he believed that the revaluation of morals would correct the inconsistencies in both master and slave morality - but simply that master morality was preferable to slave morality, although this is debatable. Walter Kaufmann, for one, disagrees that Nietzsche actually preferred master morality to slave morality. He certainly gives slave morality a much harder time, but this is partly because he believes that slave morality is modern society's more imminent danger. The Antichrist had been meant as the first book in a four-book series, "Toward a Re-Evaluation of All Morals", which might have made his views more explicit, but Nietzsche did not survive to write the later three books.

Nihilism is often described as a belief in the nonexistence of truth. In its more extreme forms, such a belief is difficult to justify, because it contains a variation on the liar paradox: if it is true that truth does not exist, the statement "truth does not exist" is itself a truth, therefore showing itself to be inconsistent. A formally identical criticism has been leveled against relativism and the verifiability theory of meaning of logical positivism.

A more sophisticated interpretation of the claim might be that while truth may exist, it is inaccessible in practice, but this leaves open the problem of how the nihilist has accessed it. It may be a reasonable reply that the nihilist has not accessed truth directly, but has come to the conclusion, based on past experience, that truth is ultimately unattainable within the confines of human circumstance. Thus, since nihilists believe they have learned that truth cannot be attained in this life, they look upon the activities of those rigorously seeking truth as futile. However, this interpretation is open to the same criticism as above, since, barring mystical revelation, the only way the "truth" of nihilism can have been learned is from within the confines of human experience. An attempt at reconciliation may be made in the following way:

There have been various movements in art, such as surrealism and cubism, which have been criticized for touching on nihilism, and others like Dada which have embraced it openly. More generally, modern art has been criticized as nihilistic due to its often non-representative nature, as happened with the Nazi party's Degenerate art exhibit.

Nihilistic themes can be found in literature and music as well. This is especially true of contemporary music and literature, where the uncertainty following what some perceive as the demise of modernism is explored in detail.

The term Dada was first used during World War I, an event that precipitated the movement, which lasted from approximately 1916 to 1923. The Dada Movement began in the old town of Zrich, Switzerland known as the "Niederdorf" or "Niederdrfli," which is now sporadically inhabited by dadaist squatters. The Dadaists claimed that Dada was not an art movement, but an anti-art movement, sometimes using found objects in a manner similar to found poetry and labeling them art, thus undermining ideas of what art is and what it can be. The "anti-art" drive is thought of to have stemmed from a post-war emptiness that lacked passion or meaning in life. Sometimes Dadaists paid attention to aesthetic guidelines only so they could be avoided, attempting to render their works devoid of meaning and aesthetic value. This tendency toward devaluation of art has led many to claim that Dada was essentially a nihilist movement; a destruction without creation. War and destruction had washed away peoples' mindset of creation and aesthetic.

Because they attempted to undermine the way art was viewed in the 20th century, the dadaists chose to name their movement after a baby phrase to show the way their anti-art was shaking everything up. Several myths regarding the invention of the name "Dada" exist, including that it was a form of mockery against Tzara, who is widely viewed as the father of the movement (in Russian "da, da" is "yes, yes", a name that still offers no indication of the art that bears it).Tristan Tzara (see Samuel Rosenstock), Jewish poet (born in Romania; moved to France) who was one of the co-founders of the Dada movement (1896-1963).

Although the word nihilism is of recent historical vintage, the attitude it represents is not, as is seen in a famous passage near the end of Shakespeare's Macbeth though Macbeth is not speaking of universal collapse or expansion but the brute and more immediate fact of human death:

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more; it is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

William Shakespeare , Macbeth Act 5, Scene 5

In nineteenth-century culture, nihilism was given wide currency by the Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev in his novel Fathers and Sons (1862) to describe the views of an emerging radical Russian intelligentsia. These consisted primarily of upper-class students who had grown disillusioned with the slow pace of reformism. The primary spokesman for this new philosophy was D. I. Pisarev (1840-1868) who articulated a program of Revolutionary Utilitarianism and advocated violence as a tool for social change. Pisarev was cast as Bazarov in Fathers and Sons much to his own delight; he proudly embraced his new status as a fictionalized hero and villain. [citation needed]

After its popularization in the character of Bazarov, the word quickly became a catch-all term of derision for younger, more radical generations, and continues in this vein to modern times. [citation needed] It is often used to indicate a group or philosophy the speaker intends to characterize as having no moral sensibility, no belief in truth, beauty, love, or whatever else the speaker and his presumed audience values, and no regard for the current social conventions.

In Germinal (1885), by mile Zola, the nihilist character Souvarine dramatizes the danger of nihilism when, in a climactic scene, he sabotages a coal mine and causes a catastrophic accident, then slips away. Souvarine's lack of belief, frequently expressed, is a foil to the optimistic socialism that fuels the coal miners' revolt. [citation needed]

In Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, the protagonist Rodion Raskolnikov embraces a nihilist sort of utilitarianism. Dostoevsky ultimately points out the emptiness of nihilism with the epilogue of the novel. [citation needed] In fact, many of Dostoevsky's novels dealt with nihilism. Another major example of nihilism is found in The Possessed (or The Devils), in which Kirilov sees no solution to nihilism but suicide and ultimately kills himself. The main protagonist, Stavrogin, finally sees Kirilov's dilemma and follows suit at the end of the book with his own elaborate suicide. [citation needed]

The works of Albert Camus can be read as a sustained engagement with nihilism. [citation needed] Camus was highly influenced by the works and thoughts of Dostoevsky, even writing his own play based on Dostoevsky's novel, "The Devils". [citation needed]Yukio Mishima is another example of engagement with nihilism. [citation needed]Louis-Ferdinand Celine wrote several novels of a strongly nihilist bent, most notably Journey to the End of the Night. [citation needed]

The works of Samuel Beckett, especially the play Waiting for Godot, exhibit elements of nihilism. This play has subsequently been made into a cinematic film which visually deals with the more pessimistic and cynical aspects of nihilism. [citation needed]

In contemporary literature, themes of nihilism can also be found in many of Kurt Vonnegut's books. [citation needed] Robert Stone, additionally, is a contemporary American novelist who has often thematized nihilism in his work. In A Flag for Sunrise (1981), for example, the anthropologist Holliwell is a protagonist struggling against his own nihilistic tendencies. [citation needed] Another American author who is commonly believed to deal with themes of nihilism is Chuck Palahniuk. In his 1996 novel Fight Club, for example, the ultimate goal of the book's 'project mayhem' is the destruction of modern civilization in order to rebuild humanity. [citation needed] Palahniuk, however, claims that he does not deliberately focus on the subject. [citation needed] Nathan Tyree's Novel, Mr. Overby is Falling, is another current example of nihilism in literature. In that book the main character longs for the destruction of all society, so that the world can be cleansed of evil. [citation needed] Nihilism is also a common theme in the worldview and writings of horror author Thomas Ligotti, as well as Bret Easton Ellis[9][10].

Continued here:

Nihilism | Psychology Wiki | FANDOM powered by Wikia

The Necessity of Atheism – Wikipedia

"The Necessity of Atheism" is an essay on atheism by the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, printed in 1811 by Charles and William Phillips in Worthing while Shelley was a student at University College, Oxford.

An enigmatically signed copy of the short tract was sent to all the heads of Oxford colleges at the University. At that time the content was so shocking to the authorities that he was rusticated for contumacy in his refusing to deny authorship, together with his friend and fellow student, Thomas Jefferson Hogg, who may have been co-author. A revised and expanded version of the text was included as one of the notes to Shelley's poem Queen Mab in 1813, and some reprints with the title The Necessity of Atheism are based on this rather than the 1811 pamphlet.[1]

The tract starts with the following rationale of the author's goals:

As a love of truth is the only motive which actuates the Author of this little tract, he earnestly entreats that those of his readers who may discover any deficiency in his reasoning, or may be in possession of proofs which his mind could never obtain, would offer them, together with their objections to the Public, as briefly, as methodically, as plainly as he has taken the liberty of doing.

Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Necessity of Atheism

Shelley made a number of claims in Necessity, including that one's beliefs are involuntary, and, therefore, that atheists do not choose to be so and should not be persecuted. Towards the end of the pamphlet he writes: "the mind cannot believe in the existence of a God."[2] Shelley signed the pamphlet, Thro' deficiency of proof, AN ATHEIST,[2] which gives an idea of the empiricist nature of Shelley's beliefs. According to Berman, Shelley also believed himself to have "refuted all the possible types of arguments for God's existence,"[3] but Shelley himself encouraged readers to offer proofs if they possess them.

Opinion is divided upon the characterisation of Shelley's beliefs, at the time of the writing of Necessity. At the very beginning of his note on the line "There is no God" in Canto VII of Queen Mab, published just two years later and based on Necessity, Shelley qualifies his definition of atheism:

There Is No God. This negation must be understood solely to affect a creative Deity. The hypothesis of a pervading Spirit co-eternal with the universe remains unshaken.

Percy Bysshe Shelley, Queen Mab, Canto VII, Note 13

Shelley also quotes the Dutch pantheist Baruch Spinoza later in the Note,[4] but there is no explicit statement of pantheistic views.

Shelley scholar Carlos Baker states that "the title of his college pamphlet should have been The Necessity of Agnosticism rather than The Necessity of Atheism,"[5] while historian David Berman argues that Shelley was an atheist, both because he characterised himself as such, and because "he denies the existence of God in both published works and private letters"[3] during the same period.

Although The Necessity of Atheism is often attributed solely to Shelley, historian of atheism David Berman says that Shelley "was probably assisted by his friend T.J. Hogg".[6]

The original pamphlet was described by Percy Vaughan as "a single foolscap sheet folded in octavo, consisting of half-title (with blank reverse), title page... (with blank reverse), Advertisement (with blank reverse), and text occupying pages 7-13. At the foot of page 13 is the imprint, "Phillips, Printers, Worthing," and the reverse of the page is blank. A blank leaf completes the sheet." [7]

The pamphlet was first published on 13 or 14 February 1811.[8][9]Very few copies of the original 16-page 1811 pamphlet survive, as most were destroyed after publication. Only six are known to exist in libraries today (Nicolas Walter knew of five in 1998;[10] a sixth was discovered at Edinburgh University in 2015[11]):

The first reprint of the 1811 pamphlet appeared in a collection of Shelley's work and used the copy now in the Bodleian Library:

The second reprint used the copy now in the British Library:

Subsequent reprints include:

Read the original:

The Necessity of Atheism - Wikipedia

Common Sense Atheism Atheism is just the beginning. Now …

by Luke Muehlhauser on June 2, 2014 in News

Im blogging again, atLukeMuehlhauser.com.

Its RSS feed liveshere.

The most substantial post there so far is The Riddle of Being or Nothingness.

by Luke Muehlhauser on July 12, 2012 in News

This is probably the last post on CommonSenseAtheism.com, which is now merely an archive of posts.

In July 2012 I launched WorldviewNaturalism.com. Its a small, simple site an ideal place to send your friends when you want to introduce them to naturalism.

You can track my writings around the web via my personal websites news page (RSS). I mostly write on Less Wrong and the MIRI blog.

Common Sense Atheismhas closed its doors. Comments are turned off and there will be no new posts.

I will keep the debates page updated, so feel free to notify me of new debates.

The site will remain online as an archive. See the Contents page for a quick view of the sites main attractions.

You can keep up with my work on a variety of websites at lukeprog.com, which has an RSS feed that will alert you to my new works when they are published. If nothing else, youll want to subscribe to that feed so you are notified when WorldviewNaturalism.com goes live. You can also follow my Twitter page.

by Luke Muehlhauser on January 28, 2012 in News

Common Sense Atheismis closing its doors.

Its been a great ride, and my interests have now turned elsewhere.

Ill keep comments open for about a week, and then comments on the site will be closed, but this site will remain online as an archive. I also plan to keep the debates page updated.

by Luke Muehlhauser on January 23, 2012 in News

Allow me to indulge in some anticipation

What are you most eagerly anticipating?

Link:

Common Sense Atheism Atheism is just the beginning. Now ...

NATO – HISTORY

Contents

In 1949, the prospect of further Communist expansion prompted the United States and 11 other Western nations to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Soviet Union and its affiliated Communist nations in Eastern Europe founded a rival alliance, the Warsaw Pact, in 1955. The alignment of nearly every European nation into one of the two opposing camps formalized the political division of the European continent that had taken place since World War II (1939-45). This alignment provided the framework for the military standoff that continued throughout the Cold War (1945-91).

Conflict between the Western nations (including the United States, Great Britain, France and other countries) and the Communist Eastern bloc (led by the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics or USSR) began almost as soon as the guns fell silent at the end of World War II (1939-45). The USSR oversaw the installation of pro-Soviet governments in many of the areas it had taken from the Nazis during the war. In response, the U.S. and its Western allies sought ways to prevent further expansion of Communist influence on the European continent. In 1947, U.S. leaders introduced the Marshall Plan, a diplomatic initiative that provided aid to friendly nations to help them rebuild their war-damaged infrastructures and economies.

Did you know? NATO continued its existence beyond the Cold War era and gained new member nations in Eastern Europe during the late 1990s. That development was not well received by leaders of the Russian Federation and became a source of post-Cold War tension between the East and the West.

Events of the following year prompted American leaders to adopt a more militaristic stance toward the Soviets. In February 1948, a coup sponsored by the Soviet Union overthrew the democratic government of Czechoslovakia and brought that nation firmly into the Communist camp. Within a few days, U.S. leaders agreed to join discussions aimed at forming a joint security agreement with their European allies. The process gained new urgency in June of that year, when the USSR cut off ground access to Berlin, forcing the U.S., Britain and France to airlift supplies to their sectors of the German city, which had been partitioned between the Western Allies and the Soviets following World War II.

The discussions between the Western nations concluded on April 4, 1949, when the foreign ministers of 12 countries in North America and Western Europe gathered in Washington, D.C., to sign the North Atlantic Treaty. It was primarily a security pact, with Article 5 stating that a military attack against any of the signatories would be considered an attack against them all. When U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson (1893-1971) put his signature on the document, it reflected an important change in American foreign policy. For the first time since the 1700s, the U.S. had formally tied its security to that of nations in Europethe continent that had served as the flash point for both world wars.

The original membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) consisted of Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the United States. NATO formed the backbone of the Wests military bulwark against the USSR and its allies for the next 40 years, with its membership growing larger over the course of the Cold War era. Greece and Turkey were admitted in 1952, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) in 1955 and Spain in 1982. Unhappy with its role in the organization, France opted to withdraw from military participation in NATO in 1966 and did not return until 1995.

The formation of the Warsaw Pact was in some ways a response to the creation of NATO, although it did not occur until six years after the Western alliance came into being. It was more directly inspired by the rearming of West Germany and its admission into NATO in 1955. In the aftermath of World War I and World War II, Soviet leaders felt very apprehensive about Germany once again becoming a military powera concern that was shared by many European nations on both sides of the Cold War divide.

In the mid-1950s, however, the U.S. and a number of other NATO members began to advocate making West Germany part of the alliance and allowing it to form an army under tight restrictions. The Soviets warned that such a provocative action would force them to make new security arrangements in their own sphere of influence, and they were true to their word. West Germany formally joined NATO on May 5, 1955, and the Warsaw Pact was signed less than two weeks later, on May 14. Joining the USSR in the alliance were Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Hungary, Poland and Romania. This lineup remained constant until the Cold War ended with the dismantling of all the Communist governments in Eastern Europe in 1989 and 1990.

Like NATO, the Warsaw Pact focused on the objective of creating a coordinated defense among its member nations in order to deter an enemy attack. There was also an internal security component to the agreement that proved useful to the USSR. The alliance provided a mechanism for the Soviets to exercise even tighter control over the other Communist states in Eastern Europe and deter pact members from seeking greater autonomy. When Soviet leaders found it necessary to use military force to put down revolts in Hungary in 1956 and in Czechoslovakia in 1968, for example, they presented the action as being carried out by the Warsaw Pact rather than by the USSR alone.

Link:

NATO - HISTORY

Theistic Satanism – Wikipedia

Theistic Satanism or spiritual Satanism is an umbrella term for religious beliefs that consider Satan as an objectively existing supernatural being or force worthy of supplication, with whom individuals may contact, convene and even praise, rather than him being just an archetype, symbol or idea as in LaVeyan Satanism.[2][3] The individual belief systems under this umbrella are practiced by loosely affiliated or independent groups and cabals. Another characteristic of Theistic Satanism is the use of ceremonial magic.[4]

The history of theistic Satanism, as an existing spiritual path practiced by people, is obscured by a number of groups accused of being devil-worshippers who asserted that they were not, such as in the witch trials in Early Modern Europe. Most actual theistic Satanist religions exist in relatively new models and ideologies, many of which claim to be independent of the Abrahamic religions.[5]

The internet has increased awareness of different beliefs among Satanists, and has led to more diverse groups, but Satanism has always been a pluralistic and decentralised religion.[6] Scholars outside Satanism have sought to study it by categorizing forms of it according to whether they are theistic or atheistic,[7] and referred to the practice of working with a literal Satan as theistic or "traditional" Satanism.[2] It is generally a prerequisite to being considered a theistic Satanist that the Satanist accept a theological and metaphysical canon involving one or more god(s) who are either Satan in the strictest, Abrahamic sense, or a concept of Satan that incorporates gods from other religions (usually pre-Christian), such as Ahriman or Enki.[8]

Many theistic Satanists believe their own individualized concept based on pieces of all these diverse conceptions of Satan, according to their inclination and spiritual guidance, rather than only believe in one suggested interpretation. Some may choose to live out the myths and stereotypes, but Christianity is not always the primary frame of reference for theistic Satanists.[9] Their religion may be based on dark pagan, left hand path, black magic, and occult traditions. Theistic Satanists who base their faith on Christian ideas about Satan may be referred to as reverse Christians by other Satanists, often in a pejorative fashion.[10] However, those labeled by some as reverse Christians may see their concept of Satan as undiluted or sanitized. They worship a stricter interpretation of Satan: that of the Satan featured in the Christian Bible.[11] This is not, however, shared by a majority of theistic Satanists. Wiccans may consider most Satanism to be reverse Christianity,[12] and the head of the atheistic Church of Satan, Peter H. Gilmore, considers devil worship to be a Christian heresy, that is, a divergent form of Christianity.[13] The diversity of individual beliefs within theistic Satanism, while being a cause for intense debates within the religion, is also often seen as a reflection of Satan, who encourages individualism.[14]

In Luciferianism, Michael W. Ford, author and founder of The Order of Phosphorus, Black Order of the Dragon and later co-founder of the Assembly of Light Bearers, presents both a Theistic and Atheistic approach to Luciferianism, all centered in the foundation of the 11 Luciferian Points of Power,[15] the core of the philosophy. Theistic Luciferianism is considered a individualistic, personal spirituality which is established via initiation and validation of the Adversarial philosophy. Luciferians, if Theistic, do not accept the submission of 'worship' yet rather a unique and subjective type of Apotheosis via the energies of perceived deities, spirits and demons.

A notable group that outwardly considers themselves to be traditional Satanists is the Order of Nine Angles.[16] This group became controversial and was mentioned in the press and in books, because they promoted human sacrifice.[17] The O9A believes that Satan is one of two 'acausal' eternal beings, the other one being Baphomet, and that Satan is male and Baphomet is female.

A group with very different ideology to the ONA is the Satanic Reds, whose Satanism has a communist element.[18] However, they are not theistic Satanist in the manner of believing in Satan as a god with a personality, but believe in dark deism,[19] the belief that Satan is a presence in nature. The First Church of Satan believe the philosophy propounded by Anton LaVey himself was deism or panentheism but is propounded as atheism by the leaders of the Church of Satan in order to distance themselves from what they see as pseudo-Satanists.[20]

One other group is the Temple of the Black Light, formerly known as the Misanthropic Luciferian Order prior to 2007. The group espouses a philosophy known as Chaosophy. Chaosophy asserts that the world that we live in, and the universe that it lives in, all exists within the realm known as Cosmos. Cosmos is made of three spatial dimensions and one linear time dimension. Cosmos rarely ever changes and is a materialistic realm. Another realm that exists is known as Chaos. Chaos exists outside of the Cosmos and is made of infinite dimensions and unlike the Cosmos, it is always changing. Members of the TotBL believe that the realm of Chaos is ruled over by 11 dark gods, the highest of them being Satan, and all of said gods are considered manifestations of a higher being. This higher being is known as Azerate, the Dragon Mother, and is all of the 11 gods united as one. The TotBL believes that Azerate will resurrect one day and destroy the Cosmos and let Chaos consume everything. The group has been connected to the Swedish black/death metal band Dissection, particularly its front man Jon Ndtveidt.[4] Ndtveidt was introduced to the group at an early stage.[21] The lyrics on the band's third album, Reinkaos, are all about beliefs of the Temple of the Black Light.[22] Ndtveidt committed suicide in 2006.[23][24]

Theistic Luciferian groups are particularly inspired by Lucifer (from the Latin for bearer of light), who they may or may not equate with Satan. While some theologians believe the Son of the Dawn, Lucifer, and other names were actually used to refer to contemporary political figures, such as a Babylonian King, rather than a single spiritual entity[25][26] (although on the surface the Bible explicitly refers to the King of Tyrus), those that believe it refers to Satan infer that by implication it also applies to the fall of Satan.[27]

Some writers equate the veneration of Set by the Temple of Set to theistic Satanism.[2] However, the Temple of Set do not identify as theistic Satanists. They believe the Egyptian deity Set is the real Dark Lord behind the name Satan, of whom Satan is just a caricature. Their practices primarily center on self-development. Within the temple of Set, the Black Flame is the individual's god-like core which is a kindred spirit to Set, and they seek to develop. In theistic Satanism, the Black Flame is knowledge which was given to humanity by Satan, who is a being independent of the Satanist himself[28] and which he can dispense to the Satanist who seeks knowledge.[29]

Some groups are mistaken by scholars for Theistic Satanists, such as the First Church of Satan.[29] However, the founder of the FCoS considers what he calls "devil-worship" to often be a symptom of psychosis.[30] Other groups such as the 600 Club,[6] are accepting of all types of Satanist, as are the Sinagogue of Satan, which aims for the ultimate destruction of religions, paradoxically including itself, and encourages not self-indulgence, but self-expression balanced by social responsibility.[31][32][33]

The diversity of beliefs amongst Satanists, and the theistic nature of some Satanists, was seen in a survey in 1995. Some spoke of seeing Satan not as someone dangerous to those who seek or worship him, but as someone that could be approached as a friend. Some refer to him as Father, though some other theistic Satanists consider that to be confused or excessively subservient.[34] Satan is also portrayed as a father to his daughter, Sin, by Milton in Paradise Lost.

Seeking knowledge is seen by some theistic Satanists as being important to Satan, due to Satan being equated with the serpent in Genesis, which encouraged mankind to partake of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.[35] Some perceive Satan as Eliphas Levi's conception of Baphomet a hermaphroditic bestower of knowledge (gnosis). Some Satanic groups, such as Luciferians, also seek to gain greater gnosis.[4] Some of such Satanists, such as the former Ophite Cultus Satanas, equate Yahweh with the demiurge of Gnosticism, and Satan with the transcendent being beyond.[4]

Self-development is important to theistic Satanists. This is due to the Satanists' idea of Satan, who is seen to encourage individuality and freedom of thought, and the quest to raise one's self up despite resistance, through means such as magic and initiative. They believe Satan wants a more equal relationship with his followers than the Abrahamic God does with his. From a theistic Satanist perspective, the Abrahamic religions (chiefly Christianity) do not define good or evil in terms of benefit or harm to humanity, but rather on the submission to or rebellion against God.[36] Some Satanists seek to remove any means by which they are controlled or repressed by others and forced to follow the herd, and reject non-governmental authoritarianism.[37]

As Satan in the Old Testament tests people, theistic Satanists may believe that Satan sends them tests in life in order to develop them as individuals. They value taking responsibility for oneself. Despite the emphasis on self-development, some theistic Satanists believe that there is a will of Satan for the world and for their own lives. They may promise to help bring about the will of Satan,[38] and seek to gain insight about it through prayer, study, or magic. In the Bible, a being called 'the prince of this world' is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 4:4, which Christians typically equate with Satan.[39] Some Satanists therefore think that Satan can help them meet their worldly needs and desires if they pray or work magic. They would also have to do what they could in everyday life to achieve their goals, however.

Theistic Satanists may try not to project an image that reflects negatively on their religion as a whole and reinforces stereotypes, such as promoting Nazism, abuse, or crime.[37] However, some groups, such as the Order of Nine Angles, criticize the emphasis on promoting a good image for Satanism; the ONA described LaVeyan Satanism as "weak, deluded and American form of 'sham-Satanic groups, the poseurs'",[40] and ONA member Stephen Brown claimed that "the Temple of Set seems intent only on creating a 'good public impression', with promoting an 'image'".[41] The order emphasises that its way "is and is meant to be dangerous"[42] and "[g]enuine Satanists are dangerous people to know; associating with them is a risk".[43] Similarly, the Temple of the Black Light has criticized the Church of Satan, and has stated that the Temple of Set is "trying to make Setianism and the ruler of darkness, Set, into something accepted and harmless, this way attempting to become a 'big' religion, accepted and acknowledged by the rest of the Judaeo-Christian society".[4] The TotBL rejects Christianity, Judaism and Islam as "the opposite of everything that strengthens the spirit and is only good for killing what little that is beautiful, noble and honorable in this filthy world".[4]

There is argument among Satanists over animal sacrifice, with most groups seeing it as both unnecessary and putting Satanism in a bad light, and distancing themselves from the few groups that practice it[which?], such as the Temple of the Black Light.[44]

Theistic Satanism often involves a religious commitment, rather than being simply an occult practice based on dabbling or transient enjoyment of the rituals and magic involved.[45][46] Practitioners may choose to perform a self-dedication rite, although there are arguments over whether it is best to do this at the beginning of their time as a theistic Satanist, or once they have been practicing for some time.[47]

The worship of Satan was a frequent charge against those charged in the witch trials in Early Modern Europe and other witch-hunts such as the Salem witch trials. Worship of Satan was claimed to take place at the Witches' Sabbath.[48] The charge of Satan worship has also been made against groups or individuals regarded with suspicion, such as the Knights Templar, or minority religions.[49] In the case of the Knights Templar, the Templars' writings mentioned the word 'Baphomet', which was a French corruption of the name 'Mohammed' (the prophet of the people who the Templars fought against), and that 'Baphomet' was falsely portrayed as a demon by the people who accused the Templars.

It is not known to what extent accusations of groups worshiping Satan in the time of the witch trials identified people who did consider themselves Satanists, rather than being the result of religious superstition or mass hysteria, or charges made against individuals suffering from mental illness. Confessions are unreliable, particularly as they were usually obtained under torture.[50] However, scholar Jeffrey Burton Russell, Professor Emeritus of the University of California at Santa Barbara, has made extensive arguments in his book Witchcraft in the Middle Ages[51] that not all witch trial records can be dismissed and that there is in fact evidence linking witchcraft to gnostic heresies. Russell comes to this conclusion after having studied the source documents themselves. Individuals involved in the Affair of the Poisons were accused of Satanism and witchcraft.

Historically, Satanist was a pejorative term for those with opinions that differed from predominant religious or moral beliefs.[52] Paul Tuitean believes the idea of acts of reverse Christianity was created by the Inquisition,[53] but George Bataille believes that inversions of Christian rituals such as the Mass may have existed prior to the descriptions of them which were obtained through the witchcraft trials.[54]

In the 18th century various kinds of popular Satanic literature began to be produced in France, including some well-known grimoires with instructions for making a pact with the Devil. Most notable are the Grimorium Verum and The Grand Grimoire. The Marquis de Sade describes defiling crucifixes and other holy objects, and in his novel Justine he gives a fictional account of the Black Mass,[55] although Ronald Hayman has said Sade's need for blasphemy was an emotional reaction and rebellion from which Sademoved on, seeking to develop a more reasoned atheistic philosophy.[56]In the 19th century, Eliphas Levi published his French books of the occult, and in 1855 produced his well-known drawing of the Baphomet which continues to be used by some Satanists today. That Baphomet drawing is the basis of the sigil of Baphomet, which was first adopted by the non-theistic Satanist group called the Church of Satan.[57]

Finally, in 1891, Joris-Karl Huysmans published his Satanic novel, L-bas, which included a detailed description of a Black Mass which he may have known firsthand was being performed in Paris at the time,[58] or the account may have been based on the masses carried out by tienne Guibourg, rather than by Huysmans attending himself.[59] Quotations from Huysmans' Black Mass are also used in some Satanic rituals to this day, since it is one of the few sources that purports to describe the words used in a Black Mass. The type of Satanism described in L-bas suggests that prayers are said to the Devil, hosts are stolen from the Catholic Church, and sexual acts are combined with Roman Catholic altar objects and rituals, to produce a variety of Satanism which exalts the Devil and degrades the God of Christianity by inverting Roman Catholic rites. George Bataille claims that Huysman's description of the Black Mass is indisputably authentic.[54] Not all theistic Satanists today routinely perform the Black Mass, possibly because the Mass is not a part of modern evangelical Christianity in Protestant countries[60] and so not such an unintentional influence on Satanist practices in those countries.

The earliest verifiable theistic Satanist group was a small group called the Ophite Cultus Satanas, which was created in Ohio in 1948. The Ophite Cultus Satanas was inspired by the ancient Ophite sect of Gnosticism, and the Horned God of Wicca. The group was dependent upon its founder and leader, and therefore dissolved after his death in 1975.

Michael Aquino published a rare 1970 text of a Church of Satan Black Mass, the Missa Solemnis, in his book The Church of Satan,[61] and Anton LaVey included a different Church of Satan Black Mass, the Messe Noire, in his 1972 book The Satanic Rituals. LaVey's books on Satanism, which began in the 1960s, were for a long time the few available which advertised themselves as being Satanic, although others detailed the history of witchcraft and Satanism, such as The Black Arts by Richard Cavendish published in 1967 and the classic French work Satanism and Witchcraft, by Jules Michelet. Anton LaVey specifically denounced "devil worshippers" and the idea of praying to Satan.

Although non-theistic LaVey Satanism had been popular since the publication of The Satanic Bible in 1969, theistic Satanism did not start to gain any popularity until the emergence of the Order of Nine Angles in western England, and its publication of The Black Book of Satan in 1984.[62] The next theistic Satanist group to be created was the Misanthropic Luciferian Order, which was created in Sweden in 1995. The MLO incorporated elements from the Order of Nine Angles, the Illuminates of Thanateros and Qliphothic Kabbalah.

As a moral panic in the 1980s and the 1990s, there were multiple allegations of sexual abuse and/or sacrifice of children or non-consenting adults in the context of Satanic rituals in what has come to be known as the Satanic Panic.[63] Allegations included the existence of large networks of organized Satanists involved in illegal activities such as murder, child pornography and prostitution. In the United States, the Kern County child abuse cases, McMartin preschool trial and the West Memphis cases were widely reported. One case took place in Jordan, Minnesota, in which children made allegations of the manufacture of child pornography, ritualistic animal sacrifice, coprophagia, urophagia and infanticide, at which point the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was alerted. Twenty-four adults were arrested and charged with acts of sexual abuse, child pornography and other crimes claimed to be related to Satanic ritual abuse; three went to trial, two were acquitted and one convicted. Supreme Court Justice Scalia noted in a discussion of the case that "[t]here is no doubt that some sexual abuse took place in Jordan; but there is no reason to believe it was as widespread as charged", and cited the repeated, coercive techniques used by the investigators as damaging to the investigation.[64]

These iconic cases were launched after children were repeatedly and coercively interrogated by social workers, resulting in false allegations of child sexual abuse. No evidence was ever found to support any of the allegations of Satanism or ritual abuse, but the panic resulted in numerous wrongful prosecutions.[citation needed]

John Allee, the creator of the LaVeyan website called First Church of Satan,[65] equates some of the "violent fringe" of Satanism with "Devil worshipers" and "reverse Christians". He believes they possibly suffer from a form of psychosis.[66] Between 1992 and 1996, some militant neo-pagans who were participants in the Norwegian black metal scene, such as Varg Vikernes,[67] committed over fifty arsons of Christian churches in and around Oslo as a retaliatory action against Christianity in Norway, but such church-burnings were widely attributed to Satanists.[68]

Some studies of crimes have also looked at the theological perspective of those who commit religious or ritualized crime.[69] Criminals who explain their crimes by claiming to be Satanists have been said by sociologists to be "pseudo-Satanists",[45] and attempts to link Satanism to crime have been seen by theistic Satanists as scaremongering.[70]

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Psoriasis – MedicineNet

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Psoriasis - MedicineNet

Psoriasis | Psoriatic Arthritis | MedlinePlus

Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes itchy or sore patches of thick, red skin with silvery scales. You usually get the patches on your elbows, knees, scalp, back, face, palms and feet, but they can show up on other parts of your body. Some people who have psoriasis also get a form of arthritis called psoriatic arthritis.

A problem with your immune system causes psoriasis. In a process called cell turnover, skin cells that grow deep in your skin rise to the surface. Normally, this takes a month. In psoriasis, it happens in just days because your cells rise too fast.

Psoriasis can be hard to diagnose because it can look like other skin diseases. Your doctor might need to look at a small skin sample under a microscope.

Psoriasis can last a long time, even a lifetime. Symptoms come and go. Things that make them worse include

Psoriasis usually occurs in adults. It sometimes runs in families. Treatments include creams, medicines, and light therapy.

NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

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Psoriasis | Psoriatic Arthritis | MedlinePlus