Pirates Of The High Seas Fest | Columbus Day Weekend

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Friday, October 6 (Pier Park)

5:00pm Festival Village & Little Pirates Fun Zone Open (Dave & Buster's Parking Area)

5:30pm Children's Parade (Begins/Ends at The Back Porch)

6:15pm Opening Ceremonies & Treasure Drop (Center Stage)

6:30pm Second Line Parade (South to North, ends at Celebration Stage)

7:00pm Live Music: Fais Do-Do Cajun Dance Music (Celebration Stage)

8:30pm Fireworks (Russell-Fields Pier)

6:30am Pirates of the High Seas Fest 5k Run/Walk (Frank Brown Park - Register here)

12:00pm Festival Village & Little Pirates Fun Zone Open (Dave & Buster's Parking Area)

12:00pm Live Music: Ukulele Orchestra of St. Andrews (Celebration Stage)

1:30pm Commodore Mayhem Magic Show (Celebration Stage)

2:30pm Pirate Invasion (Pier Stage)

3:30pm Live Music: Tom Mason & the Blue Buccaneers (Celebration Stage)

5:00pm Main Parade (Powell Adams Road/Pier Park Route)

7:00pm Live Music: Landsharks (Celebration Stage)

8:30pm Fireworks (Russell-Fields Pier)

12:00pm Festival Village Opens (Capt. Anderson's Marina Parking Area, 5550 N. Lagoon Drive)

12:00pm Kids Fishing Clinic (Marina Dock) *ends at 2:00pm

12:00pm Live Music: Tom Mason & the Blue Buccaneers (Main Stage) *ends at 2:00pm

1:15pm Storytelling: The Legend of Dominique Youx (Main Stage)

2:00pm Pirate Battle-Flotilla Drives out the Pirates (Grand Lagoon/Marinas) *ends at 3:00pm

3:15pm Treasure Hunt Announcement (Main Stage)

3:15pm Commodore Mayhem Magic Show (Capt. Anderson's Stage) *ends at 4:15pm

5:00pm Pirate Pet Parade (Capt. Anderson's Stage)

6:00pm Heat and the Zydeco Gents

7:15pm Fireworks (Grand Lagoon)

5551 North Lagoon Drive, Panama City Beach, FL 32408

Please park at the Capt. Anderson's Marina to enjoy the Pirates Fest activities on Sunday

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Pirates Of The High Seas Fest | Columbus Day Weekend

Cyberpunk Wikipdia, a enciclopdia livre

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Cyberpunk (de Cyber(netic) + punk) ou Cibernarquismo[1] um subgnero de fico cientfica, conhecido por seu enfoque de "Alta tecnologia e baixa qualidade de vida" ("High tech, Low life") e toma seu nome da combinao de ciberntica e punk.[2] Mescla cincia avanada, como as tecnologias de informao e a ciberntica junto com algum grau de desintegrao ou mudana radical na ordem social.[3] De acordo com Lawrence Person: "Os personagens do cyberpunk clssico so seres marginalizados, distanciados, solitrios, que vivem margem da sociedade, geralmente em futuros distpicos onde a vida diria impactada pela rpida mudana tecnolgica, uma atmosfera de informao computadorizada ambgua e a modificao invasiva do corpo humano."

Segundo William Gibson, em seu livro Neuromancer, o indivduo cyberpunk uma espcie de "pichador virtual" que se utiliza de seu conhecimento acima da mdia dos usurios para realizar protestos contra a sistemtica vigente das grandes corporaes, sob a forma de vandalismo com cunho depreciativo, a fim de infligir-lhes prejuzos sem, contudo, auferir qualquer ganho pessoal com tais atos.

O termo "Cyberpunk" tambm significa uma subcultura que focada na Cybercultura e se destaca pela preferencia por msica psicodlica e de gneros de fuso entre punk rock e msica eletrnica e por adereos de moda futuristas.

O estilo cyberpunk descreve o lado niilista e underground da sociedade digital que comeou a se desenvolver nas ltimas duas dcadas do sculo XX. Um mundo cyberpunk distpico chamado de anttese das vises utpicas de mundos de fico cientfica de meados do sculo XX, como tipificadas pelo mundo de Jornada nas Estrelas (Star Trek), embora incorporando algumas dessas utopias, principalmente na questo da separao entre corpo e mente, muito discutida na filosofia cartesiana.

Na literatura cyberpunk, muito da ao se ambienta virtualmente, no ciberespao - a fronteira evidente entre o real e o virtual fica embaada. Uma caracterstica tpica (ainda que no universal) desse gnero uma ligao direta entre o crebro humano e sistemas de computador.

O mundo cyberpunk um lugar sinistro, sombrio, com computadores ligados em rede que dominam todos os aspectos da vida cotidiana. Empresas multinacionais gigantes substituram o Estado como centros de poder. A batalha do excludo alienado contra um sistema totalitrio um tema comum na fico cientfica; entretanto, na FC convencional tais sistemas tendem a ser estreis, ordenados, e controlados pelo Estado. Em contraste a isso, no cyberpunk, mostram-se as entranhas da corporatocracia, e a batalha sisfica entre seu poder por renegados desiludidos.

As histrias cyberpunk so vistas como representaes ficcionais do presente a partir de uma extrapolao e especulao das tecnologias de comunicao, como por exemplo, a internet.

O argumento da escrita cyberpunk se centra em um conflito entre hackers, inteligncias artificiais, e megacorporaes, tendentes a serem postos dentro da Terra num futuro prximo, em oposio do futuro distante panorama de encontros galcticos em romances como a Fundao de Isaac Asimov ou Dune de Frank Herbert. As vises deste futuro tendem a ser distopias ps-industriais, mas esto normalmente marcadas por um fomento cultural extraordinrio e o uso de tecnologias em mbitos nunca antecipados por seus criadores ("A rua encontra suas prprias aplicaes pras coisas"). A atmosfera do gnero em sua maioria faz eco no cine negro e se utiliza pouco neste gnero tcnicas de romances policiais.[4] Entre os primeiros expoentes do gnero cyberpunk se encontran William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Pat Cadigan, Rudy Rucker e John Shirley. As influncias do Cyberpunk se estenderam por outros gneros literrios, e so visveis, por exemplo, em traos da obra de Stephen King, como no livro O Concorrente, onde o mundo um cenrio Cyberpunk prximo temporalmente. O termo Cyberpunk se cunhou nos anos 80 e continua sendo atual.

Diferente da fico cientfica da New Wave, que importou as tcnicas e as preocupaes estilsticas que j existiam na literatura e na cultura, o cyberpunk se originou na fico cientfica primeiro, antes de incrementar a tendncia dominante de sua exposio. No comeo e meio dos anos 80, o cyberpunk se converteu num tema de moda nos crculos acadmicos, onde comeou a ser objeto de investigao do ps-modernismo. Neste mesmo perodo, o gnero ingressou a Hollywood e se converteu em um dos estilos da fico cientfica do segmento do cinema. Muitos filmes influentes tais como Blade Runner[4] e a trilogia de Matrix se podem ver como consequncias proeminentes dos estilos e dos temas do gnero. Os jogos de computador, os jogos de tabuleiro e os jogos de RPG, tais como Shadowrun, ou o apropriadamente nomeado Cyberpunk 2020, oferecem a mido roteiros que esto fortemente influenciados pelos filmes e a literatura cyberpunk. Iniciando os anos 90, algumas tendncias da moda e a msica foram etiquetadas como tal.

Enquanto que uma grande variedade de escritores comeou a trabalhar com conceitos do cyberpunk, novos sub-gneros emergiram, que se centravam na tecnologia e seus efeitos sociais de uma maneira diferente. Os exemplos incluem o steampunk, iniciado por Tim Powers, Kevin Wayne Jeter e James Blaylock, e o biopunk (ou alternativamente ribofunk), no qual Paul Di Filippo proeminente. Adicionalmente algumas pessoas consideram trabalhos tais como A era do Diamante de Neal Stephenson como o incio da categoria ps-cyberpunk.

Assim o escritor Bruce Sterling explica o que cyberpunk:

"Qualquer coisa que se possa fazer a um rato pode-se fazer a um humano. E podemos fazer quase tudo aos ratos. duro pensar assim, mas a verdade. E no vai desaparecer se cobrirmos os olhos. Isto cyberpunk."[5]

Em algumas obras do gnero, grande parte da ao se desenrola on line, no ciberespao, de modo que a linha que separa o real e o virtual fica borrada.

A narrativa cyberpunk muitas vezes ambientada em paisagens urbanizadas, artificiais, e a imagem das "luzes da cidade, afastando-se" foi usado por Gibson como uma das primeiras metforas do gnero, para o ciberespao e a realidade virtual.[9] As paisagens urbanas de Hong Kong [10] e Xangai [11] foram influncias importantes no ambiente urbano, na atmosfera e nas caractersticas de muitos trabalhos ciberpunk, como Blade Runner e Shadowrun. Em Blade Runner, Ridley Scott imaginou uma Los Angeles cyberpunk, como "Hong Kong num dia bem ruim".[12] As ruas de Ghost in the Shell>What is Ghost in the Shell. Cyberpunk 2021 tambm tiveram Hong Kong como fonte de inspirao. Segundo seu diretor, Mamoru Oshii, as ruas estranhas e caticas de Hong Kong, onde "o antigo e o novo coexistem numa relao confusa", adaptam-se bem ao tema do filme.[10] A Cidade murada de Kowloon, em Hong Kong, particularmente notvel por sua desorganizada hiper-urbanizao e degradao em termos do planejamento urbano tradicional, uma perfeita fonte de inspirao para paisagens ciberpunk.

Os protagonistas da literatura cyberpunk geralmente so hackers moldados frequentemente na ideia de heri solitrio que combate a injustia: cowboy, ronin, etc. Normalmente so pessoas desprivilegiadas, colocadas em situaes extraordinrias, que mais se adaptam ao perfil de cientistas brilhantes buscando avanos ou aventura do que aos de verdadeiros heris, (uma comparao conveniente pode ser a ambiguidade moral do personagem de Clint Eastwood na Trilogia dos dlares).

Um dos personagens prottipo do gnero cyberpunk Case, do romance Neuromancer de William Gibson. Case um cowboy do pc, um hacker brilhante, que trai seus scios do crime organizado. Roubado de seu talento por leso que o deixa incapaz de atuar como hacker, fruto de uma vingana por parte de seus scios criminosos, Case recebe uma inesperada e nica oportunidade na vida de ser curado com assistncia mdica avanada, contudo, em troca de sua participao em outra empresa criminosa com uma nova equipe. Como Case, muitos protagonistas cyberpunk so manipulados, postos em situaes onde tm pouca ou nenhuma opo, e ainda que eles podem ver-se nisto, no necessariamente chegam a estar mais longe do que previamente estavam. Estes anti-heris criminosos, prias, visionrios, desertores e inadaptados no experimentam o caminho de heri de Campbell como um protagonista da epopia homrica ou um romance de Alexandre Dumas. Eles em troca, traem memria o investigador privado do romance policial, que poderia solucionar os casos mais complexos, mas nunca receber uma recompensa justa. Esta nfase sobre os inadaptados e descontentes - que Thomas Pynchon chama o "pretrito" e Frank Zappa o "esquecimento da Grande Sociedade" - o componente "punk" do cyberpunk.

A literatura cyberpunk usada constantemente como uma metfora para as preocupaes atuais sobre os efeitos e o controle das grandes corporaes sobre as pessoas, a corrupo nos governos, a alienao e a vigilncia tecnolgica. O cyberpunk pode ser entendido como uma inquietude e um chamado ao. Isto sempre expressa um sentido de rebelio, sugerindo que poder-se-ia descrev-lo como um tipo de fico cientfica contracultural. Nas palavras do autor e crtico David Brin,

David Brin. The Transparent Society, 1998

As histrias cyberpunk so consideradas s vezes como prognsticos fictcios da evoluo da Internet. O mundo virtual aparece sempre sob vrios nomes, incluindo "Cyberespao", "a Rede" e "a Matriz". Nesse contexto importante observar que as primeiras descries de uma rede global de comunicaes vieram muito antes que a World Wide Web se incorporasse ao conhecimento popular, ainda que no antes de escritores tradicionais da fico cientfica, como Arthur Charles Clarke, e alguns crticos sociais, como James Burke, comearem a prever que tais redes seriam formadas.

O editor de fico cientfica Gardner Dozois geralmente conhecido como a pessoa que popularizou o uso do termo cyberpunk como um tipo de literatura. O escritor Bruce Bethke cunhou o termo em 1980 para seu conto "Cyberpunk", ainda que a histria no se publicou at novembro de 1983, em Amazing Science Fiction Stories, Volume 57, Nmero 4.

O termo foi rapidamente acolhido como uma etiqueta aplicada aos trabalhos de William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, John Shirley, Rudy Rucker, Michael Swanwick, Pat Cadigan, Lewis Shiner, Richard Kadrey e outros. Destes Sterling iniciou o movimento, liderando a ideologia, graas a seu fanzine Cheap Truth.

Os elementos cyberpunk esto presentes nos Hyperion Cantos de Dan Simmons; o planeta Lusus possui muitas caractersticas do mundo distpico de Neuromance e os nveis cibernticos da vida e a existncia da inteligncia artificial tem bvias influncias dos trabalhos de Gibson.

William Gibson com seu Neuromancer, provavelmente o mais famoso escritor conectado com o termo. O estilo enftico, a fascinao com a superfcie e a aparncia e sensao de futuro, e a atmosfera j tradicional na fico vista como a ruptura e s vezes como o trabalho arquetpico do cyberpunk. Neuromancer foi agraciado com os prmios Hugo, Nbula e Philip K. Dick. De acordo com o arquivo do jargo A total ignorncia de Gibson sobre computadores a cultura hacker atual o permitiram especular sobre o RPG dos computadores e hackers no futuro de modo que ambas so desde ento irritativamente ingnuas e tremendamente estimulantes.

Cedo o cyberpunk foi aclamado como uma ruptura radical dos padres da fico cientfica e uma nova manifestao de vitalidade, mas pouco tempo depois, surgiram muitos crticos para mudar seu status a movimento revolucionrio. Estes crticos dizem que a fico cientfica new wave dos anos 60 era muito mais inovadora quanto ao estilo e tcnicas narrativas. Alm disso, enquanto o narrador de Neuromancer pde ter uma voz inusual para fico cientfica, se podem encontrar muitos outros exemplos anteriores a este: a voz narrativa de Gibson, por exemplo se assemelha do atualssimo Raymond Chandler em seu romance The Big Sleep (1939). Outros consideram que os rasgos considerados nicos do cyberpunk, de fato se podem encontrar em trabalhos mais antigos de outros escritores, dos que podemos citar James Graham Ballard, Philip K. Dick, Harlan Ellison, Stanislaw Lem, Samuel Delany e inclusive William Burroughs.[13] Por exemplo os trabalhos de Philip K. Dick contm temas recorrentes de decaimento social, inteligncia artificial, paranoia e linhas ocultas entre a realidade e uma espcie de realidade virtual; o filme Blade Runner est baseado num destes livros Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.[14] Humanos vinculados com maquinas so o cimento do romance "Wolfbane de Frederik Pohl" , "Cyril M. Kornbluth (1959)" , "Creatures of Light and Darkness" de Roger Zelazny (1986).

Em 1994 o acadmico Brian Stonehill insinuou que o romance "Gravity's Rainbow" de Thomas Pynchon: no s insulta seno que plagia aos precursores do cyberespao.[15] Outros importantes predecessores incluem dois romances muito celebrados de Alfred Bester, The Demolished Man e The Stars My Destination,[16] assim como a novela True Names de Vernor Vinge.[17]

O escritor de fico cientfica David Brin descreve o cyberpunk como a campanha de promoo gratuita mais fina empreendida a nome da fico cientfica. Este pode no haver atrado aos verdadeiros punks , mas este atraiu a muitos novos leitores, e isto disps a classe de movimento que a literatura ps-modernista buscava comentar.(Uma ilustrao disto o "A Cyborg Manifesto" de Donna Haraway, uma tentativa de construir um mito poltico usando cyborgs como metforas da realidade social contempornea). O cyberpunk fez mais atrativa a fico cientfica pros acadmicos, argumenta Brin, alm disso, fez a fico cientfica mais lucrativa para Hollywood e as artes visuais em geral. Ainda quando sua importncia retrica e queixas de perseguio da parte dos aficcionados cyberpunk era irritante no pior e cmico no melhor dos casos, Brin declara que Os rebeldes puseram as cosas de pernas pro ar, lhes temos uma dvida []. Mas, ele pergunta Foram eles originais?.

O futuro cyberpunk inspirou a muitos escritores profissionais que no se encontravam entre os cyberpunks originais ao incorporar ideias cyberpunk em seus prprios trabalhos, tais como Walter Jon Williams com "Hardwired" e "Voice of the Whirlwind", e George Alec Effinger com sua obra "When Gravity Fails". Enquanto novos escritores e artistas comearam a experimentar com ideias cyberpunk, novas variedades de fico emergiram, s vezes manejando o mesmo nvel de crtica que as histrias do cyberpunk original. Lawrence Person escreveu em um ensaio publicado no frum de Internet Slashdot:

O ensaio de Person advoga usando o termo ps-cyberpunk para etiquetar os novos trabalhos que estes escritores produzem. Nesta viso, as histrias tpicas do ps-cyberpunk continuam enfocando-se numa atmosfera de dados ubqua de informao computarizada e o aumento ciberntico no corpo humano, mas sem assumir a distopa. Bons exemplos podem ser "A era do diamante" de Neal Stephenson ou "Transmetropolitan" de Warren Ellis e Darick Robertson. Como todas as categorias includas na fico cientfica, os limites do ps-cyberpunk so suscetveis de mudar ou serem mal definidos. Para complicar o assunto, h um mercado contnuo de romances cyberpunk puros fortemente influenciados pelo trabalho precoce de Gibson, tal como "Carbono Alterado" de Richard Morgan.

O filme Blade Runner (1982), adaptado do livro "Sonham os andrides com ovelhas eltricas?" de Philip Kindred Dick, se centra em uma distopia futura na qual seres manufaturados chamados replicantes so usados como escravos em colnias do espao, na Terra presa de vrios caadores de recompensas, os quais se encarregam de aposent-los (mat-los). Ainda que Blade Runner no foi um xito em seu lanamento, encontrou um grande nicho no mercado de aluguel de filmes. Posto que o filme omite os elementos religiosos e msticos do livro de Dick (e.g, caixas de empatia e Wilbur Mercer) cai mais estritamente dentro do gnero cyberpunk que a obra. William Gibson revelaria depois que a primeira vez que viu o filme, se havia surpreendido muito de como a aparncia deste filme era similar a sua viso quando estava trabalhando em Neuromancer.

Segundo o mencionado anteriormente, a srie de TV "Max Headroom" tambm expandiu o cyberpunk, qui com um xito mais popular que os primeiros trabalhos escritos do gnero.

O nmero de filmes deste gnero, ou pelo menos de um de seus elementos h crescido constantemente desde Blade Runner. Vrios dos trabalhos de Philip Kindred Dick se ho adaptado telona, com elementos cyberpunk chegando a ser tipicamente dominantes, os exemplos incluem Screamers (1996), Minority Report (2002), Paycheck (2003) e A Scanner Darkly (2006). Mas infelizmente pro argumento original, o filme Johnny Mnemonic (1995) foi um fracasso, comercialmente e para crtica. Os fs de Gibson reclamam que o argumento se desviou substancialmente do trabalho original, ainda quando o mesmo Gibson escreveu o roteiro final.

O diretor Darren Aronofsky direciona sua obra-prima (1998) em uma Nova York atual, mas construiu o livreto com influncias da esttica cyberpunk. De acordo com comentrios do DVD, ele fez esta produo usando deliberadamente mquinas antigas (como o diskete de 5- de polegada), imitando o estilo tecnolgico de "Brazil" (1985), para criar una sensao cyberpunk. Aronofsky descreve o Chinatown, onde se dirige o filme, como a vizinhana cyberpunk depois de Nova York.

A srie Robocop se ajusta mais ao futuro prximo onde h pelo menos uma corporao, Omni Produtos de Consumo, que uma empresa toda-poderosa na cidade de Detroit. At o fim do mundo (1991) mostra outro exemplo onde o cyberpunk o tema de fundo, e uma estratgia de argumento, para v-la de outro modo e dirigir o personagem da histria. Gattaca (1997) dirigida por Andrew Niccol um filme negro futurista cujo empapado modo distpico provem um bom exemplo do biopunk.

A srie Matrix, que iniciou em 1999 com "The Matrix" (conformada tambm por Matrix Reloaded, Matrix Revolutions e Animatrix) usam uma ampla variedade de elementos cyberpunk.

Mais atualmente, com temas que tambm englobam elemenos do universo cyberpunk, temos o filme Ghost in the Shell, lanado em 2017.

O estilo cyberpunk e o desenho futurista so encontrados tambm com uma vasta exposio no anime e no mang, incluindo "Akira" (1 referente anime do gnero), "Cowboy Bebop", "Gunnm - Battle Angel", "Bubblegum Crisis", "Ergo Proxy", "Armitage III", "Blame!", e outros mangs da mesma srie o "Noise" e "Biomega", "Silent Mbius", "Serial Experiments Lain", "Texhnolyze", Psycho-Pass ,"Eat-Man" "Boogiepop Phamtom" e "Ghost in the Shell", sendo esta ltima a que mais tem influenciado a juventude contempornea japonesa que vive com uma relativa proximidade ambientao da srie, que mostra um Japo com tecnologias de ponta e que adverte sobre os riscos que pode causar isto ante uma possvel perda de identidade humana.

O anime tambm h proporcionado exemplos do sub-gnero steampunk, particularmente em muitos dos trabalhos de Hayao Miyazaki, em "Full Metal Alchemist", e tambm notavelmente em "Last Exile", de 2003, criado pelo estdio "GONZO" e dirigido por Koichi Chigira, que oferece uma curiosa mescla de sociedade vitoriana e batalhas futursticas entre naves areas. Tambm notvel "Steamboy" (2004) dirigido por Katsuhiro Otomo e mais recentemente "Ergo Proxy" produzida por Manglobe.

O termo msica cyberpunk pode referir-se a duas categorias pouco superpostas, como denotar a ampla gama dos trabalhos musicais que os filmes cyberpunk utilizam como trilha sonora. Estes trabalhos variam em gnero desde a msica clssica e o jazz usados em Blade Runner, e que por outra parte evoca o ambiente do cine negro- e a msica eletrnica. Tipicamente os filmes fazem uso do eletrnico, msica industrial, futurepop, rock alternativo, rock gtico, chiptunes e intelligent dance music para criar a sensao apropriada. O mesmo princpio aplica aos videogames. Naturalmente, enquanto os trabalhos escritos no esto associados a trilhas sonoras com tanta frequncia como os filmes, a aluso a trabalhos musicais usada pro mesmo efeito. Por exemplo o romance grfico "Kling Klang Klatch" (1992), uma fantasia obscura sobre um mundo de brinquedos vivos, onde um urso de pelcia amargado tem uma atrao pelo acar e uma paixo pelo jazz.

O Nine Inch Nails, por exemplo, criou toda uma atmosfera futurstica e apocalptica no seu lbum conceito Year Zero, que revela um mundo totalmente desmoronado pelo capitalismo, onde a pobreza, a censura e o militarismo impera. No contexto da histria tambm se destaca um grupo de "guerrilheiros hackers" que fazem parte de uma resistncia artstica, conspirando contra o governo com sabotagens virtuais, atravs de fruns e websites fictcios. Outro grupo musical, Atari Teenage Riot, tambm ficou conhecido por ser uma banda de anarco-punk totalmente eletrnica, incitando o terrorismo potico, o ativismo e a revoluo.

A msica cyberpunk tambm descreve os trabalhos associados com a tendncia da moda que emergiu do desenvolvimento da fico cientfica. O livro "Future Shock" de Alvin Toffler desenhou influncias tanto pro grupo techno de Detroit Cybortron, que surgiu nos incios de 1980, como pros pioneiros europeus do synthpop Kraftwerk, produzindo canes que evocam um claro modo distpico. Nos anos 90, a cultura popular comeou a incluir um movimento na msica e na moda que chamaram tambm cyberpunk e que chegou a ser particularmente associada com as sub-culturas rave e techno. Com o novo milnio chegou um novo movimento de bandas que faziam msica de porttil. Punks e invasores sem lar se armaram com equipe digital e fundiram a tecnologia com sons de rua. A sub-cultura hacker documentada em lugares como o arquivo da gria contempla este movimento com sentimentos encontrados, desde os autoproclamados cyberpunks que esto frequentemente inclinados ate o couro negro e o cromo os quais falam entusiasmados de tecnologia em lugar de aprender ou ver-se envolvidos nisto. (A atitude no substitui a capacidade, entrada do Arquivo).

Certos gneros musicais como o "drum and bass" foram diretamente influenciados pelo cyberpunk, inclusive gerando um subgnero completo chamado neurofunk.

Os games frequentemente usam o cyberpunk como fonte de inspirao, alguns destes como Blade Runner ou Enter the Matrix, so baseados nos filmes do gnero, enquanto outros como Deus Ex e System Shock, Final Fantasy VII, Snatcher e as sries de Metal Gear so trabalhos originais.

Existem vrios jogos de RPG de mesa chamados Cyberpunk: Cyberpunk 2013, Cyberpunk 2020 e Cyberpunk V.3 de Talsorian Games[18] e GURPS Cyberpunk, publicado por Steve Jackson Games como um mdulo do sistema GURPS. Cyberpunk 2020 foi desenhado com o argumento dos escritos de William Gibson em mente, e at certo ponto com sua aprovao, diferente da aproximao (qui mais criativa) feita pela FASA na produo do jogo Shadowrun.[19] Ambos jogos se ambientam num futuro prximo, num mundo onde a ciberntica proeminente. Netrunner um jogo de cartas colecionveis introduzido em 1996, baseado no jogo de RPG Cyberpunk 2020; foi lanado junto a um popular jogo de realidade virtual chamado Webrunner, que permite aos jogadores ingressar ao mainframe duma perversa organizao futurista.[1] Em adio Iron Crown Enterprises lanou o RPG chamado Cyberspace, agora fora de edio.

Em 1990, em uma inusual unio entre a realidade e a fico do cyberpunk, o Servio Secreto dos EUA chegou s instalaes de Steve Jackson Games e confiscaram todos seus PCs baixo a Operaao Sundevil, que foi um massivo golpe aos hackers e crackers de PC. Isto se deveu a que supostamente o livro de GURPS Cyberpunk poderia ser usado para preparar crimes via PC.[20] Esta, por efeito, no foi a principal razo para blitz, mas trs o evento j foi muito tarde para corrigir a impresso do pblico. Mais tarde Steve Jackson Games ganhou o processo contra o Servio Secreto, ajudados pela Electronic Frontier Foundation, de mente mais ampla. Este evento alcanou algo de notoriedade, o que se estendeu tambm ao livro. Todas as edies publicadas de GURPS Cyberpunk contm, uma citao na capa que diz O livro que foi confiscado pelo Servio Secreto dos EUA!. Em seu interior o livro exibe um resumo da blitz e suas consequncias.

2004 trouxe numerosas publicaes novas de RPGs cyberpunk, destaque entre elas Ex Machina, um jogo mais cinematogrfico com 4 cenrios completos e focado em atualizar o lado divertido do gnero a temas correntes dentro da fico cyberpunk. Estas mudanas incluem um maior ngulo poltico, transferindo o alinhamento do gnero e inclusive incorporando temas trans-humanos. 2006 viu a largamente esperada publicao de Cyberpunk V.3 de Talsorian Games, a sequela de Cyberpunk 2020, mas muitos a viram mais como uma edio trans-humanista ou ps-cyberpunk que realmente cyberpunk.

Os jogos de RPG tambm ho produzido uma das mais originais tomadas do gnero na forma das sries de jogos Shadowrun de 1989. Aqui, o cenrio um distpico futuro prximo; Mas tambm incorpora elementos da fantasia e literatura, como magia, espritos, duendes e drages. As facetas cyberpunk de Shadowrun foram modeladas em grande parte baseadas nos escritos de William Gibson, e a FASA, que o publicaram originalmente, ho sido acusados por alguns de copiar o trabalho de Gibson sem sequer mencionar sua influncia. Gibson, enquanto tanto, h mostrado seu desagrado pela incluso de elementos de fantasia dentro dos cenrios que ele ajudou a desenvolver. Mas Shadowrun h introduzido muitos ao gnero, e segue sendo popular entre os jogadores.

O jogo de RPG Torg, publicado por West End Games tambm incluiu uma variante do cenrio (ou cosmos) cyberpunk chamado Cyberpapacy. Este cenrio foi inicialmente uma distopia religiosa medieval que repentinamente sofreu um surgimento tecnolgico. Em vez de corporaes e governos corruptos, o Cyberpapacy foi dominado pelo Falso Papado de Avignon. Em lugar da Internet, os hackers navegam pela GodNet, uma red comum de computadores com simbolismo religioso, lar de anjos, demnios e outras figuras bblicas. Outro cosmos a parte do jogo Torg foi Nippon Tech, o qual incorporava outros aspectos do cyberpunk como corporaes dominantes com assassinos profissionais, mas no inclui redes de computadores como parte fundamental do cenrio.

O cyberpunk tambm h sido usado em jogos de aventura para computadores, destacam o agora freeware Beneath a Steel Sky, publicado por Revolution Software, Neuromancer, publicado por Interplay em 1988, Bloodnet, publicado por MicroProse em 1993 e Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller, por Gametek em 1994, o jogo Dystopia (2008) para PC, jogo de ao e aventura Neuromancer est baseado diretamente no romance, incluindo Chiba City, alguns dos personagens, hacking de bases de dados e plataformas cyberespaciais.

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Cyberpunk Wikipdia, a enciclopdia livre

Future Nanotechnology

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Nanotechnology will one day be used extensively in the field of medicine. Varying from replicating cells to analyzing broken bones to cleaning up nasty biological hazards, medicine will be greatly enhanced by all of the wonderful things that nanotechnology is capable of doing. In this article, we will thoroughly go over each of the aspects that nanotechnology will play on the medical industry and how it will help both the doctor and you, the patient. Let us begin.

Making VaccinesNanotechnology will greatly speed up the process of creating vaccines. Take the swine flu vaccines, for example. The reason that it takes so long to come up with a perfect vaccine (even though most vaccines on the market are no where near perfect) is because scientists must be able to take samples of medicines that they think will work and then mix them with the actual virus to see if it neutralizes the virus in a living subject. All of this is mostly trial and error and can take a long time. After that, doctors then have to see what types of negative effects it has on the host (thats the patient) so they know how to counteract the side effects or at least know what theyre dealing with. Nanotechnology will be able to make this all go a lot faster because, being so tiny, you could theoretically load thousands of nanites with thousands of different vaccines and inject them into the host all at once and see if any of them work. If it does work, you could then narrow down your results by trying the same experiment on a new subject and only using half of the original vaccines. If it still works, then you can keep narrowing it down; if it doesnt work, then you know that the vaccine you want is in the second experiment and you could then use the same process to narrow down those vaccines instead.

Cleaning Up ContaminationNanotechnology will also be a big help for cleaning up chemical wastes and other types of biological hazards that may spill into a residential area. Nanotechnology will be able to work quickly by scurrying throughout the area (whether thats on ground, air, water, or in a living subject; or even all at the same time!) and analyzing everything it comes across to decide whether that object is contaminated or not. If it decides that an object is contaminated then it can quickly separate the toxins from the object and surrounding area or simply inject anti-toxins onto the affected area. In the case of living subjects, nanotechnology will be able to continuously provide the person or animal with oxygen, monitor their vital signs, deliver anti-toxins, and constantly update the health of that body.

Biological AnalysisNanotechnology will one day be able to scurry throughout our bodies via the circulatory system (traveling through our blood) and monitor every single vital sign that exists. Nanites will be able to address whether theres any broken bones, torn muscle tissue, irregularities, monitor metabolism levels, monitor cholesterol levels, make sure that the organs are functioning properly, and any other type of requirement for a healthy body. If you thought that one of those cameras they stick down your throat (or rectum!) was a sign of advanced medical breakthroughs, think again! Nanites will be able to monitor your every need and alert the doctor of any problems with anything in your body. Its like thousands of tiny, little cameras zooming around your blood stream at all hours. Rest assured, nanotechnology on its way to save the day!

RegenerationNanotechnology may also be able to aid and even perfect the act of regenerating cells. In case you dont know, regeneration is the process of bringing a person back to life. Today, there are many different problems with doing so but nanotechnology may be able to fix most if not all of them. One of the biggest problems is due to the crystalization of frozen cells but nanotechnology may be able to warm those cells and even remake some of them so that the person doesnt biologically fall apart when theyre revived. Nanotechnology may be able to also simply cure cell damage as soon as we die which means we wouldnt even have to be frozen first.

CancerWith over ten million Americans alone with some form of cancer or another, people are eagerly searching for remedies and treatment options. Nanotechnology may very well be the answer to the long search weve been hoping for. Below are two different methods of curing cancer due to nanotechnology:

OdotsOdots are gold nanites that are able to track down cancer cells in the body and identify them so that doctors can now know exactly where all cancer cells are in the body without even having to use one of those awful rectal cameras.

NanoparticlesNanoparticles will be able to inject chemotherapy directly into cancer cells themselves with very minimal damage to the surrounding cells. Today, chemotherapy leaves a cancer victim extremely weak and nearly dead; tomorrow, chemotherapy will be a quick, painless procedure and youll only feel the positive effects of the treatment. Hurray for nanotechnology!

NanoshellsNanoshells work similarly to nanoparticles but instead of injecting the cancer cells with chemotherapy, they will simply use the heat from infrared light. You may be surprised but scientists have discovered that when these nanites are irradiated by xrays, they produce electrons that destroy the cancer cells without harming much of the surrounding area. That means no more chemotherapy and no more sickness! Nanoshells will make cancer seem easier than the common cold.

Heal Broken BonesIn order to heal broken bones, companies are developing what is commonly known as nanotubes in order to provide bones with a proper structure in order for them to grow back in the way that they are supposed to. Coupled with other medicines, we may one day even be able to grow entire bones back within a very short period of time whethers thats a few days or a few weeks is anybodys guess, but it still beats todays methods.

BiomarkersA biomarker will bea form of nanotechnology that is able to attach itself to various diseased cells inside of the body in order for a doctor to be able to analyze it and treat the person accordingly. In todays world, many diseases go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, leading to even more complications. With this new technology, however, we will be able to save many more lives simply by being more informed.

Faster Wound HealingA company called Z-Medica is producing medical gauze that contains special nanotechnology known as nanoparticles. These nanoparticles will be loaded with a drug called aluminosilicate, which helps blood clot faster in open wounds. Knife wound victims today have a fair chance of dying depending on how deep the cut is, where it is, and how fast that person is treated. In tomorrows world, however, people may carry this type of gauze on them at all times and could easily bandage themselves up in a jiffy and they will be ok until they can receive proper emergency treatment.

I hope this article has shone some light into your world concerning the various ways that nanotechnology will aid and revolutionize the medical industry. In the future, we wont be so stressed out about medical conditions or even would-be fatal injuries that todays medicine simply cant help. In the world of tomorrow, we will be safer and more aware of and against the dangers surrounding us.

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Future Nanotechnology

Using Psychedelics to Increase Performance and Reprogram …

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In a previous post, we discussed the value of nootropics as a tool in the neurohackers toolbox. They can help get us dialed in with laser focus and get things done. They can aid with concentration, learning, and memory. But productivity isnt the only context for the human experience, and it would be sad if we shaped ourselves solely for the purpose of being more effective cogs in a machine. Neurohacking is just as interested in getting better at asking why and what as in building capacity around how.

Enter, psychedelics, empathogens, entheogens and plant medicines. Though many of these chemicals are currently schedule-1 drugs in many countries, humans have been using them for thousands of years for healing, self-inquiry and visioning into the nature of reality. In fact, some propose that the evolution of human consciousness itself was catalyzed by the use of mind-expanding substances discovered or concocted by early man. If neurohacking is about upgrading the hardware our consciousness runs on, we would be remiss not to mention these technologies of altered states.

The rose tinted days of tune in, turn on are long past. Contemporary Neurohackers are exploring these chemicals for everything from accelerated learning to healing major trauma, reprogramming underlying associations that lead to habitual behavioral or thought patterns, shadow work, paradigm engineering, and, of course, the continued exploration of the nature of reality itself.

Below are some introductions to the ways these substances are being used in the neurohacking community.

But first, check out this short video by Jason Silva introducing MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) and the concept of programming the psychedelic experience for therapeutic purposes.

Microdosing and Performance Enhancement

Defined as being both both sub-hallucinogenic and sub-perceptual, microdoses of psychedelics are being used by some neurohackers as part of a weekly routine to access higher levels of creativity, increased focus, and improvements in stamina, response time, and physical acuity.

Silicon Valley entrepreneurs looking for a creative edge, as well as extreme sports enthusiasts wanting to enhance athletic prowess, have reported experiencing these benefits without feeling negatively altered. Users have also reported success with microdosing to alleviate depression, cluster headaches, smoking cessation, and ADD/ADHD.

Dr. James Fadiman, Ph.D., is one of the leading researchers in microdosing today. After collecting and reviewing user reports since 2010, hes found that the overwhelming majority of people have reported overall enhancement of well-being, emotional balance, and spiritual awareness. His research to date has been synthesized in The Psychedelic Explorers Guide, which provides guidelines for experimenting with microdosing. While further research is sorely needed, the potential is there for microdosing to become an alternative to addictive prescription antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications and mood stabilizers.

Psychedelics and Reframing the Past

Some of the foundational work done on the psychotherapeutic benefits of psychedelics for trauma healing comes from Stanislov Grof. He pioneered LSD-assisted psychotherapy in the 60s, showing how the appropriate conjunction of therapy with psychedelics could accelerate the rate of healing. He did a lot of early neurohacking experimentation as well, like using strobe light entrainment and psychedelics together to induce mystical experiences.

One version of therapy he developed concerns reframing work on past psychological traumas. Neuroscience has shown us that we dont remember original data or events so much as we remember the way we remember it. And every time we recall something from the past, we actually change the memory. The idea of reframing is to take advantage of this fact and to deliberately go in and change the way we remember some event.

Visualize some event from your past, go into the feeling of that moment, and then visualize yourself doing it differently. For example, standing up for yourself when you hadnt, saying no, etc. The more intensely you can recollect the event and the more real your visualization, the more powerfully you can rewire your brain. Psychedelics can dramatically increase the intensity of your recollection - can bring the event right back into the present and give you authorship over how you want to respond to those events. You cant change an event from the past - but you can change the meaning of that event for your present.

Empathogens and Changing Habits

For better and worse, one of the principle tools of the mind is habituation. As we proceed through life, our brain is constantly compressing complex behaviours and relationships into simple habits that require little to no conscious thought. This is true whether those habits and unconscious associations are healthy and desirable or not. If some event in your past connected feelings of embarrassment, shame or disgust to some thing or situation, you will find yourself hard-wired to avoid that thing or situation - even if you consciously want to go there.

Using empathogens, we can deliberately rewire these associations. By taking a chemical that combines neuroplasticity with pleasure and then thinking about or engaging with things you have negative associations with, you can permanently change your associative state.

One of the places this was pioneered was MDMA-assisted shadow work. A person recalls an event in their past that makes them feel some strong negative emotion every time it comes to mind. They take MDMA, an empathogen that decreases aversion/fear responses and increases emotional openness and empathy, and can experience the memory with a different understanding. The next time they remember that event, they find that they simply dont feel the same way, and that some psychological and emotional damage has been healed. This technique is so powerful that MAPS has demonstrated that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is perhaps the best current treatment for the deep trauma of PTSD.

But this kind of hack isnt just for deep trauma. Thoughtful Neurohackers have used it to edit habits as prosaic as procrastination and fear of public speaking. Always procrastinate around cleaning your house? Terrified of public speaking? It is currently possible (and someday it might be legal) to choose to take an empathogen, associate the resulting highly positive state with cleaning or speaking, and permanently reduce or eliminate the anxiety you used to associate with that activity.

Entheogens and Spiritual Experience

Of course, no discussion of these chemicals would be complete without discussing their use for exploring the divine within. After all, these are the substances that have been used in religious contexts by shamans for thousands of years. Here is Jason Silva again, on Entering Godmode.

There is no reason to be shy here. Profound spiritual experiences are, well, profound and life-altering and, as a consequence, have played a rather important role in human history. Yet, for a number of reasons, we have largely left them unexamined or languishing in woo-land. Neurohackers know, however, that psilocybin mushrooms can reliably bring people to the single most spiritually significant experience in their lifetimes and some of them are using these technologies to dive purposefully into the big questions.

N,N-DMT for example is being used in studies of philosophy of mind and phenomenology. We know that, independent of their histories or backgrounds, many people who take N,N-DMT report similar, particular subjective experiences. What does this say about the nature of the brain? What might it say about the nature of the mind? Or perhaps of reality itself? We dont know, but these are ancient philosophical questions that can be examined from a very different perspective using mind altering substances.

Conclusion

Psychedelics are powerful tools for transformation, and when used appropriately, can be powerful tools for good. But if youve been reading all of this skeptically and noting all of the potential for harm - accidental or purposeful - that these powerful chemicals can deliver, you are right. These are extremely potent tools and are not to be taken lightly. Weve all heard the horror stories of bad trips, where things get too intense and without the right guidance or help, bad things happen. With great power comes great responsibility.

Unfortunately, for five decades society has chosen to try to avoid, ignore and repress these tools - rather than learn how to use them responsibly. Things are starting to turn around, but we are still waiting for society to catch up and for more rigorous (and legal) research to be allowed to happen.In the meantime, here are some organizations and individuals doing great work in understanding how to safely and effectively use these tools in conjunction with psychotherapies to probe ones patterns, heal traumas and overcome fears that prevent us from getting the most out of our short time in this life.

Resources

Early psychonauts (sailors of the soul)

Organizations & People

Events

Media

Podcasts

Forums

Threads on Microdosing

Blogs

Books

Book Publishers

Psychedelic Press - @PsypressUK

Articles

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Using Psychedelics to Increase Performance and Reprogram ...

What is Neurohacking? – Home – Neurohacker Collective

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The term hacker has its origins in computer programming subcultures from the 60s, and was used to describe people who wanted to take on hard problems in a spirit of playful exploration and a resistance to unearned authority. Although the methods, means and intentions of hackers varied widely, all seemed to share a unique ethos that mixed a deep commitment to individual autonomy and agency with an equally deep commitment to collaboration and co-creation.

Over time, the concept of hacking has traveled far from its origins, finding its way into a number of domains like Biohacking, Consciousness Hacking, Flow Hacking and Life Hacking. Each is a kind of hacking because each shares this hackers ethos and a commitment to using it to find the most effective ways to optimize the human experience.

We call the common thread that links these hacking communities together, empowered responsibility. This notion expresses the dual recognition that we are no longer able to rely on external authorities to take care of us (in any domain) but through a combination of ubiquitous information, individual experimentation and open collaboration, we are increasingly empowered to take responsibility for ourselves.

In the Biohacking community, the spirit of empowered responsibility drives the process of optimizing ones biological health and performance. Biohackers learn from each other how they can modify their nutrition, exercise, sleep, movement, and mindset to achieve the specific kind of well-being that they individually desire.

The Consciousness Hacking community takes empowered responsibility in using technology as a catalyst for psychological, emotional and spiritual flourishing. They utilize mindfulness techniques and biofeedback tools for self-exploration, taking personal responsibility for their conscious experience in this most individual of journeys.

Emerging from within and alongside these movements, we are observing the coalescence of a new and important domain: Neurohacking.

Whereas biohacking concentrates on the body, and consciousness hacking explores the inner experience, neurohacking is somewhere in the middle, focusing on the mind-brain interface - the intersection of neurology and consciousness. Specifically, neurohacking involves applying science and technology to influence the brain and body in order to optimize subjective experience.

The desired outcomes of neurohacking cover everything from focused productivity, to expanded creativity, more restful sleep, reduced anxiety, enhanced empathy, and anything else that contributes to the psychological well-being and emotional health of whole, thriving human beings.

The technologies of neurohacking run the gamut from chemical technologies like nootropics and entheogens, probiotics to support the gut-brain connection, bioelectrical technologies like neurofeedback and transcranial stimulation, photic therapies like low level laser therapy and all the way to embodied practices like somatics and meditation. So long as there is a scientifically accessible biological mechanism for effecting subjective experience, it belongs in the domain of neurohacking.

Of course, like all emergent phenomena, neurohacking didnt just come from nowhere. For years there have been many movements and communities out there, playing in and pioneering some aspect of the neurohacking space.

Some of these domains include:

We propose that it is now timely and useful to perceive the commonality among these different movements and communities as shared aspects of Neurohacking. And in an effort to make these commonalities more visible and legible to each other, in the upcoming weeks we will take a deeper dive into each, highlight some notable people and projects in each space and explore the frontiers of the community from the point of view of Neurohacking.

In our next post, we will begin this exploration with the domain of Nootropics.

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What is Neurohacking? - Home - Neurohacker Collective

Evolution – Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Evolution is a scientific theory used by biologists. It explains how living things change over a long time, and how they have come to be the way they are.[1]

Earth is very old.[2][3] By studying the layers of rock that make up Earth's crust, scientists can find out about its past. This kind of research is called historical geology.

It is known that living things have changed over time, because their remains can be seen in the rocks. These remains are called 'fossils'. This proves that the animals and plants of today are different from those of long ago. The older the fossils, the bigger the differences from modern forms.[4] How has this come about? Evolution has taken place. That evolution has taken place is a fact, because it is overwhelmingly supported by many lines of evidence.[5][6][7] At the same time, evolutionary questions are still being actively researched by biologists.

Comparison of DNA sequences allows organisms to be grouped by how similar their sequences are. In 2010 an analysis compared sequences to phylogenetic trees, and supported the idea of common descent. There is now "strong quantitative support, by a formal test",[8] for the unity of life.[9]

The theory of evolution is the basis of modern biology. Theodosius Dobzhansky, a well-known evolutionary biologist, has said: "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution".[10]

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The evidence for evolution is given in a number of books.[11][12][13][14] Some of this evidence is discussed here.

The realization that some rocks contain fossils was a very important event in natural history. There are three parts to this story:

The most convincing evidence for the occurrence of evolution is the discovery of extinct organisms in older geological strata... The older the strata are...the more different the fossil will be from living representatives... that is to be expected if the fauna and flora of the earlier strata had gradually evolved into their descendants.

Ernst Mayr [1]p13

The evolution of the horse family (Equidae) is a good example of the way that evolution works. The oldest fossil of a horse is about 52 million years old. It was a small animal with five toes on the front feet and four on the hind feet. At that time, there were more forests in the world than today. This horse lived in woodland, eating leaves, nuts and fruit with its simple teeth. It was only about as big as a fox.[19]

About 30 million years ago the world started to become cooler and drier. Forests shrank; grassland expanded, and horses changed. They ate grass, they grew larger, and they ran faster because they had to escape faster predators. Because grass wears teeth out, horses with longer-lasting teeth had an advantage.

For most of this long period of time, there were a number of horse types (genera). Now, however, only one genus exists: the modern horse, Equus. It has teeth which grow all its life, hooves on single toes, great long legs for running, and the animal is big and strong enough to survive in the open plain.[19] Horses lived in western Canada until 12,000 years ago,[20] but all horses in North America became extinct about 11,000 years ago. The causes of this extinction are not yet clear. Climate change and over-hunting by humans are suggested.

So, scientists can see that changes have happened. They have happened slowly over a long time. How these changes have come about is explained by the theory of evolution.

This is a topic which fascinated both Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace.[21][22][23] When new species occur, usually by the splitting of older species, this takes place in one place in the world. Once it is established, a new species may spread to some places and not others.

Australasia has been separated from other continents for many millions of years. In the main part of the continent, Australia, 83% of mammals, 89% of reptiles, 90% of fish and insects and 93% of amphibians are endemic.[24] Its native mammals are mostly marsupials like kangaroos, bandicoots, and quolls.[25] By contrast, marsupials are today totally absent from Africa and form a small portion of the mammalian fauna of South America, where opossums, shrew opossums, and the monito del monte occur (see the Great American Interchange).

The only living representatives of primitive egg-laying mammals (monotremes) are the echidnas and the platypus. They are only found in Australasia, which includes Tasmania, New Guinea, and Kangaroo Island. These monotremes are totally absent in the rest of the world.[26] On the other hand, Australia is missing many groups of placental mammals that are common on other continents (carnivora, artiodactyls, shrews, squirrels, lagomorphs), although it does have indigenous bats and rodents, which arrived later.[27]

The evolutionary story is that placental mammals evolved in Eurasia, and wiped out the marsupials and monotremes wherever they spread. They did not reach Australasia until more recently. That is the simple reason why Australia has most of the world's marsupials and all the world's monotremes.

In about 6,500sqmi (17,000km2), the Hawaiian Islands have the most diverse collection of Drosophila flies in the world, living from rainforests to mountain meadows. About 800 Hawaiian drosophilid species are known.

Genetic evidence shows that all the native drosophilid species in Hawaii have descended from a single ancestral species that colonized the islands, about 20 million years ago. The subsequent adaptive radiation was spurred by a lack of competition and a wide variety of vacant niches. Although it would be possible for a single pregnant female to colonise an island, it is more likely to have been a group from the same species.[28][29][30][31]

The combination of continental drift and evolution can explain what is found in the fossil record. Glossopteris is an extinct species of seed fern plants from the Permian period on the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana.[32]

Glossopteris fossils are found in Permian strata in southeast South America, southeast Africa, all of Madagascar, northern India, all of Australia, all of New Zealand, and scattered on the southern and northern edges of Antarctica.

During the Permian, these continents were connected as Gondwana. This is known from magnetic striping in the rocks, other fossil distributions, and glacial scratches pointing away from the temperate climate of the South Pole during the Permian.[13]p103[33]

When biologists look at living things, they see that animals and plants belong to groups which have something in common. Charles Darwin explained that this followed naturally if "we admit the common parentage of allied forms, together with their modification through variation and natural selection".[21]p402[11]p456

For example, all insects are related. They share a basic body plan, whose development is controlled by master regulatory genes.[34] They have six legs; they have hard parts on the outside of the body (an exoskeleton); they have eyes formed of many separate chambers, and so on. Biologists explain this with evolution. All insects are the descendants of a group of animals who lived a long time ago. They still keep the basic plan (six legs and so on) but the details change. They look different now because they changed in different ways: this is evolution.[35]

It was Darwin who first suggested that all life on Earth had a single origin, and from that beginning "endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved".[11]p490[21] Evidence from molecular biology in recent years has supported the idea that all life is related by common descent.[36]

Strong evidence for common descent comes from vestigial structures.[21]p397 The useless wings of flightless beetles are sealed under fused wing covers. This can be simply explained by their descent from ancestral beetles which had wings that worked.[14]p49

Rudimentary body parts, those that are smaller and simpler in structure than corresponding parts in ancestral species, are called vestigial organs. Those organs are functional in the ancestral species but are now either nonfunctional or re-adapted to a new function. Examples are the pelvic girdles of whales, halteres (hind wings) of flies, wings of flightless birds, and the leaves of some xerophytes (e.g. cactus) and parasitic plants (e.g. dodder).

However, vestigial structures may have their original function replaced with another. For example, the halteres in flies help balance the insect while in flight, and the wings of ostriches are used in mating rituals, and in aggressive display. The ear ossicles in mammals are former bones of the lower jaw.

In 1893, Robert Wiedersheim published a book on human anatomy and its relevance to man's evolutionary history. This book contained a list of 86 human organs that he considered vestigial.[37] This list included examples such as the appendix and the 3rd molar teeth (wisdom teeth).

The strong grip of a baby is another example.[38] It is a vestigial reflex, a remnant of the past when pre-human babies clung to their mothers' hair as the mothers swung through the trees. This is borne out by the babies' feet, which curl up when it is sitting down (primate babies grip with the feet as well). All primates except modern man have thick body hair to which an infant can cling, unlike modern humans. The grasp reflex allows the mother to escape danger by climbing a tree using both hands and feet.[13][39]

Vestigial organs often have some selection against them. The original organs took resources, sometimes huge resources. If they no longer have a function, reducing their size improves fitness. And there is direct evidence of selection. Some cave crustacea reproduce more successfully with smaller eyes than do those with larger eyes. This may be because the nervous tissue dealing with sight now becomes available to handle other sensory input.[40]p310

From the eighteenth century it was known that embryos of different species were much more similar than the adults. In particular, some parts of embryos reflect their evolutionary past. For example, the embryos of land vertebrates develop gill slits like fish embryos. Of course, this is only a temporary stage, which gives rise to many structures in the neck of reptiles, birds and mammals. The proto-gill slits are part of a complicated system of development: that is why they persisted.[34]

Another example are the embryonic teeth of baleen whales.[41] They are later lost. The baleen filter is developed from different tissue, called keratin. Early fossil baleen whales did actually have teeth as well as the baleen.[42]

A good example is the barnacle. It took many centuries before natural historians discovered that barnacles were crustacea. Their adults look so unlike other crustacea, but their larvae are very similar to those of other crustacea.[43]

Charles Darwin lived in a world where animal husbandry and domesticated crops were vitally important. In both cases farmers selected for breeding individuals with special properties, and prevented the breeding of individuals with less desirable characteristics. The eighteenth and early nineteenth century saw a growth in scientific agriculture, and artificial breeding was part of this.

Darwin discussed artificial selection as a model for natural selection in the 1859 first edition of his work On the Origin of Species, in Chapter IV: Natural selection:

Nikolai Vavilov showed that rye, originally a weed, came to be a crop plant by unintentional selection. Rye is a tougher plant than wheat: it survives in harsher conditions. Having become a crop like the wheat, rye was able to become a crop plant in harsh areas, such as hills and mountains.[45][46]

There is no real difference in the genetic processes underlying artificial and natural selection, and the concept of artificial selection was used by Charles Darwin as an illustration of the wider process of natural selection. There are practical differences. Experimental studies of artificial selection show that "the rate of evolution in selection experiments is at least two orders of magnitude (that is 100 times) greater than any rate seen in nature or the fossil record".[47]p157

Some have thought that artificial selection could not produce new species. It now seems that it can.

New species have been created by domesticated animal husbandry, but the details are not known or not clear. For example, domestic sheep were created by hybridisation, and no longer produce viable offspring with Ovis orientalis, one species from which they are descended.[48] Domestic cattle, on the other hand, can be considered the same species as several varieties of wild ox, gaur, yak, etc., as they readily produce fertile offspring with them.[49]

The best-documented new species came from laboratory experiments in the late 1980s. William Rice and G.W. Salt bred fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, using a maze with three different choices of habitat such as light/dark and wet/dry. Each generation was put into the maze, and the groups of flies that came out of two of the eight exits were set apart to breed with each other in their respective groups.

After thirty-five generations, the two groups and their offspring were isolated reproductively because of their strong habitat preferences: they mated only within the areas they preferred, and so did not mate with flies that preferred the other areas.[50][51]

Diane Dodd was also able to show how reproductive isolation can develop from mating preferences in Drosophila pseudoobscura fruit flies after only eight generations using different food types, starch and maltose.[52]

Dodd's experiment has been easy for others to repeat. It has also been done with other fruit flies and foods.[53]

Some biologists say that evolution has happened when a trait that is caused by genetics becomes more or less common in a group of organisms.[54] Others call it evolution when new species appear.

Changes can happen quickly in the smaller, simpler organisms. For example, many bacteria that cause disease can no longer be killed with some of the antibiotic medicines. These medicines have only been in use about eighty years, and at first worked extremely well. The bacteria have evolved so that they are no longer affected by antibiotics anymore.[55] The drugs killed off all the bacteria except a few which had some resistance. These few resistant bacteria produced the next generation.

The Colorado beetle is famous for its ability to resist pesticides. Over the last 50 years it has become resistant to 52 chemical compounds used in insecticides, including cyanide.[56] This is natural selection speeded up by the artificial conditions. However, not every population is resistant to every chemical.[57] The populations only become resistant to chemicals used in their area.

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Ethics – Wikipedia

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Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct.[1] The term ethics derives from Ancient Greek (ethikos), from (ethos), meaning 'habit, custom'. The branch of philosophy axiology comprises the sub-branches of ethics and aesthetics, each concerned with values.[2]

Ethics seeks to resolve questions of human morality by defining concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime. As a field of intellectual enquiry, moral philosophy also is related to the fields of moral psychology, descriptive ethics, and value theory.

Three major areas of study within ethics recognized today are:[1]

Rushworth Kidder states that "standard definitions of ethics have typically included such phrases as 'the science of the ideal human character' or 'the science of moral duty'".[3] Richard William Paul and Linda Elder define ethics as "a set of concepts and principles that guide us in determining what behavior helps or harms sentient creatures".[4] The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy states that the word "ethics" is "commonly used interchangeably with 'morality'... and sometimes it is used more narrowly to mean the moral principles of a particular tradition, group or individual."[5] Paul and Elder state that most people confuse ethics with behaving in accordance with social conventions, religious beliefs and the law and don't treat ethics as a stand-alone concept.[4]

The word ethics in English refers to several things.[6] It can refer to philosophical ethics or moral philosophya project that attempts to use reason to answer various kinds of ethical questions. As the English philosopher Bernard Williams writes, attempting to explain moral philosophy: "What makes an inquiry a philosophical one is reflective generality and a style of argument that claims to be rationally persuasive."[7] Williams describes the content of this area of inquiry as addressing the very broad question, "how one should live".[8] Ethics can also refer to a common human ability to think about ethical problems that is not particular to philosophy. As bioethicist Larry Churchill has written: "Ethics, understood as the capacity to think critically about moral values and direct our actions in terms of such values, is a generic human capacity."[9] Ethics can also be used to describe a particular person's own idiosyncratic principles or habits.[10] For example: "Joe has strange ethics."

The English word "ethics" is derived from an Ancient Greek word, thikos, which means "relating to one's character". The Ancient Greek adjective thikos is itself derived from another Greek word, the noun thos meaning "character, disposition".[11]

Meta-ethics asks how we understand, know about, and what we mean when we talk about what is right and what is wrong.[12] An ethical question fixed on some particular practical questionsuch as, "Should I eat this particular piece of chocolate cake?"cannot be a meta-ethical question. A meta-ethical question is abstract and relates to a wide range of more specific practical questions. For example, "Is it ever possible to have secure knowledge of what is right and wrong?" would be a meta-ethical question.

Meta-ethics has always accompanied philosophical ethics. For example, Aristotle implies that less precise knowledge is possible in ethics than in other spheres of inquiry, and he regards ethical knowledge as depending upon habit and acculturation in a way that makes it distinctive from other kinds of knowledge. Meta-ethics is also important in G.E. Moore's Principia Ethica from 1903. In it he first wrote about what he called the naturalistic fallacy. Moore was seen to reject naturalism in ethics, in his Open Question Argument. This made thinkers look again at second order questions about ethics. Earlier, the Scottish philosopher David Hume had put forward a similar view on the difference between facts and values.

Studies of how we know in ethics divide into cognitivism and non-cognitivism; this is quite akin to the thing called descriptive and non descriptive . Non-cognitivism is the claim that when we judge something as right or wrong, this is neither true nor false. We may, for example, be only expressing our emotional feelings about these things.[13] Cognitivism can then be seen as the claim that when we talk about right and wrong, we are talking about matters of fact.

The ontology of ethics is about value-bearing things or properties, i.e. the kind of things or stuff referred to by ethical propositions. Non-descriptivists and non-cognitivists believe that ethics does not need a specific ontology since ethical propositions do not refer. This is known as an anti-realist position. Realists, on the other hand, must explain what kind of entities, properties or states are relevant for ethics, how they have value, and why they guide and motivate our actions.[14]

Normative ethics is the study of ethical action. It is the branch of ethics that investigates the set of questions that arise when considering how one ought to act, morally speaking. Normative ethics is distinct from meta-ethics because normative ethics examines standards for the rightness and wrongness of actions, while meta-ethics studies the meaning of moral language and the metaphysics of moral facts.[12] Normative ethics is also distinct from descriptive ethics, as the latter is an empirical investigation of people's moral beliefs. To put it another way, descriptive ethics would be concerned with determining what proportion of people believe that killing is always wrong, while normative ethics is concerned with whether it is correct to hold such a belief. Hence, normative ethics is sometimes called prescriptive, rather than descriptive. However, on certain versions of the meta-ethical view called moral realism, moral facts are both descriptive and prescriptive at the same time.[15]

Traditionally, normative ethics (also known as moral theory) was the study of what makes actions right and wrong. These theories offered an overarching moral principle one could appeal to in resolving difficult moral decisions.

At the turn of the 20th century, moral theories became more complex and were no longer concerned solely with rightness and wrongness, but were interested in many different kinds of moral status. During the middle of the century, the study of normative ethics declined as meta-ethics grew in prominence. This focus on meta-ethics was in part caused by an intense linguistic focus in analytic philosophy and by the popularity of logical positivism.

In 1971, John Rawls published A Theory of Justice, noteworthy in its pursuit of moral arguments and eschewing of meta-ethics.

Virtue ethics describes the character of a moral agent as a driving force for ethical behavior, and it is used to describe the ethics of Socrates, Aristotle, and other early Greek philosophers. Socrates (469399 BC) was one of the first Greek philosophers to encourage both scholars and the common citizen to turn their attention from the outside world to the condition of humankind. In this view, knowledge bearing on human life was placed highest, while all other knowledge was secondary. Self-knowledge was considered necessary for success and inherently an essential good. A self-aware person will act completely within his capabilities to his pinnacle, while an ignorant person will flounder and encounter difficulty. To Socrates, a person must become aware of every fact (and its context) relevant to his existence, if he wishes to attain self-knowledge. He posited that people will naturally do what is good if they know what is right. Evil or bad actions are the results of ignorance. If a criminal was truly aware of the intellectual and spiritual consequences of his or her actions, he or she would neither commit nor even consider committing those actions. Any person who knows what is truly right will automatically do it, according to Socrates. While he correlated knowledge with virtue, he similarly equated virtue with joy. The truly wise man will know what is right, do what is good, and therefore be happy.[16]:3233

Aristotle (384323BC) posited an ethical system that may be termed "virtuous". In Aristotle's view, when a person acts in accordance with virtue this person will do good and be content. Unhappiness and frustration are caused by doing wrong, leading to failed goals and a poor life. Therefore, it is imperative for people to act in accordance with virtue, which is only attainable by the practice of the virtues in order to be content and complete. Happiness was held to be the ultimate goal. All other things, such as civic life or wealth, were only made worthwhile and of benefit when employed in the practice of the virtues. The practice of the virtues is the surest path to happiness.

Aristotle asserted that the soul of man had three natures: body (physical/metabolism), animal (emotional/appetite), and rational (mental/conceptual). Physical nature can be assuaged through exercise and care; emotional nature through indulgence of instinct and urges; and mental nature through human reason and developed potential. Rational development was considered the most important, as essential to philosophical self-awareness and as uniquely human. Moderation was encouraged, with the extremes seen as degraded and immoral. For example, courage is the moderate virtue between the extremes of cowardice and recklessness. Man should not simply live, but live well with conduct governed by virtue. This is regarded as difficult, as virtue denotes doing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, for the right reason.

The Stoic philosopher Epictetus posited that the greatest good was contentment and serenity. Peace of mind, or Apatheia, was of the highest value; self-mastery over one's desires and emotions leads to spiritual peace. The "unconquerable will" is central to this philosophy. The individual's will should be independent and inviolate. Allowing a person to disturb the mental equilibrium is, in essence, offering yourself in slavery. If a person is free to anger you at will, you have no control over your internal world, and therefore no freedom. Freedom from material attachments is also necessary. If a thing breaks, the person should not be upset, but realize it was a thing that could break. Similarly, if someone should die, those close to them should hold to their serenity because the loved one was made of flesh and blood destined to death. Stoic philosophy says to accept things that cannot be changed, resigning oneself to the existence and enduring in a rational fashion. Death is not feared. People do not "lose" their life, but instead "return", for they are returning to God (who initially gave what the person is as a person). Epictetus said difficult problems in life should not be avoided, but rather embraced. They are spiritual exercises needed for the health of the spirit, just as physical exercise is required for the health of the body. He also stated that sex and sexual desire are to be avoided as the greatest threat to the integrity and equilibrium of a man's mind. Abstinence is highly desirable. Epictetus said remaining abstinent in the face of temptation was a victory for which a man could be proud.[16]:3841

Modern virtue ethics was popularized during the late 20th century in large part as a response to G. E. M. Anscombe's "Modern Moral Philosophy". Anscombe argues that consequentialist and deontological ethics are only feasible as universal theories if the two schools ground themselves in divine law. As a deeply devoted Christian herself, Anscombe proposed that either those who do not give ethical credence to notions of divine law take up virtue ethics, which does not necessitate universal laws as agents themselves are investigated for virtue or vice and held up to "universal standards", or that those who wish to be utilitarian or consequentialist ground their theories in religious conviction.[17] Alasdair MacIntyre, who wrote the book After Virtue, was a key contributor and proponent of modern virtue ethics, although MacIntyre supports a relativistic account of virtue based on cultural norms, not objective standards.[17] Martha Nussbaum, a contemporary virtue ethicist, objects to MacIntyre's relativism, among that of others, and responds to relativist objections to form an objective account in her work "Non-Relative Virtues: An Aristotelian Approach".[18] However, Nussbaum's accusation of relativism appears to be a misreading. In Whose Justice, Whose Rationality?, MacIntyre's ambition of taking a rational path beyond relativism was quite clear when he stated "rival claims made by different traditions [] are to be evaluated [] without relativism" (p.354) because indeed "rational debate between and rational choice among rival traditions is possible (p.352). Complete Conduct Principles for the 21st Century[19] blended the Eastern virtue ethics and the Western virtue ethics, with some modifications to suit the 21st Century, and formed a part of contemporary virtue ethics.[19]

Hedonism posits that the principal ethic is maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain. There are several schools of Hedonist thought ranging from those advocating the indulgence of even momentary desires to those teaching a pursuit of spiritual bliss. In their consideration of consequences, they range from those advocating self-gratification regardless of the pain and expense to others, to those stating that the most ethical pursuit maximizes pleasure and happiness for the most people.[16]:37

Founded by Aristippus of Cyrene, Cyrenaics supported immediate gratification or pleasure. "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die." Even fleeting desires should be indulged, for fear the opportunity should be forever lost. There was little to no concern with the future, the present dominating in the pursuit of immediate pleasure. Cyrenaic hedonism encouraged the pursuit of enjoyment and indulgence without hesitation, believing pleasure to be the only good.[16]:37

Epicurean ethics is a hedonist form of virtue ethics. Epicurus "...presented a sustained argument that pleasure, correctly understood, will coincide with virtue."[20] He rejected the extremism of the Cyrenaics, believing some pleasures and indulgences to be detrimental to human beings. Epicureans observed that indiscriminate indulgence sometimes resulted in negative consequences. Some experiences were therefore rejected out of hand, and some unpleasant experiences endured in the present to ensure a better life in the future. To Epicurus, the summum bonum, or greatest good, was prudence, exercised through moderation and caution. Excessive indulgence can be destructive to pleasure and can even lead to pain. For example, eating one food too often makes a person lose a taste for it. Eating too much food at once leads to discomfort and ill-health. Pain and fear were to be avoided. Living was essentially good, barring pain and illness. Death was not to be feared. Fear was considered the source of most unhappiness. Conquering the fear of death would naturally lead to a happier life. Epicurus reasoned if there were an afterlife and immortality, the fear of death was irrational. If there was no life after death, then the person would not be alive to suffer, fear or worry; he would be non-existent in death. It is irrational to fret over circumstances that do not exist, such as one's state of death in the absence of an afterlife.[16]:3738

State consequentialism, also known as Mohist consequentialism,[21] is an ethical theory that evaluates the moral worth of an action based on how much it contributes to the basic goods of a state.[21] The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy describes Mohist consequentialism, dating back to the 5th century BC, as "a remarkably sophisticated version based on a plurality of intrinsic goods taken as constitutive of human welfare".[22] Unlike utilitarianism, which views pleasure as a moral good, "the basic goods in Mohist consequentialist thinking are... order, material wealth, and increase in population".[23] During Mozi's era, war and famines were common, and population growth was seen as a moral necessity for a harmonious society. The "material wealth" of Mohist consequentialism refers to basic needs like shelter and clothing, and the "order" of Mohist consequentialism refers to Mozi's stance against warfare and violence, which he viewed as pointless and a threat to social stability.[24]

Stanford sinologist David Shepherd Nivison, in The Cambridge History of Ancient China, writes that the moral goods of Mohism "are interrelated: more basic wealth, then more reproduction; more people, then more production and wealth... if people have plenty, they would be good, filial, kind, and so on unproblematically."[23] The Mohists believed that morality is based on "promoting the benefit of all under heaven and eliminating harm to all under heaven". In contrast to Bentham's views, state consequentialism is not utilitarian because it is not hedonistic or individualistic. The importance of outcomes that are good for the community outweigh the importance of individual pleasure and pain.[25]

Consequentialism refers to moral theories that hold the consequences of a particular action form the basis for any valid moral judgment about that action (or create a structure for judgment, see rule consequentialism). Thus, from a consequentialist standpoint, a morally right action is one that produces a good outcome, or consequence. This view is often expressed as the aphorism "The ends justify the means".

The term "consequentialism" was coined by G. E. M. Anscombe in her essay "Modern Moral Philosophy" in 1958, to describe what she saw as the central error of certain moral theories, such as those propounded by Mill and Sidgwick.[26] Since then, the term has become common in English-language ethical theory.

The defining feature of consequentialist moral theories is the weight given to the consequences in evaluating the rightness and wrongness of actions.[27] In consequentialist theories, the consequences of an action or rule generally outweigh other considerations. Apart from this basic outline, there is little else that can be unequivocally said about consequentialism as such. However, there are some questions that many consequentialist theories address:

One way to divide various consequentialisms is by the many types of consequences that are taken to matter most, that is, which consequences count as good states of affairs. According to utilitarianism, a good action is one that results in an increase and positive effect, and the best action is one that results in that effect for the greatest number. Closely related is eudaimonic consequentialism, according to which a full, flourishing life, which may or may not be the same as enjoying a great deal of pleasure, is the ultimate aim. Similarly, one might adopt an aesthetic consequentialism, in which the ultimate aim is to produce beauty. However, one might fix on non-psychological goods as the relevant effect. Thus, one might pursue an increase in material equality or political liberty instead of something like the more ephemeral "pleasure". Other theories adopt a package of several goods, all to be promoted equally. Whether a particular consequentialist theory focuses on a single good or many, conflicts and tensions between different good states of affairs are to be expected and must be adjudicated.

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that argues the proper course of action is one that maximizes a positive effect, such as "happiness", "welfare", or the ability to live according to personal preferences.[28] Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill are influential proponents of this school of thought. In A Fragment on Government Bentham says 'it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong' and describes this as a fundamental axiom. In An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation he talks of 'the principle of utility' but later prefers "the greatest happiness principle".[29][30]

Utilitarianism is the paradigmatic example of a consequentialist moral theory. This form of utilitarianism holds that the morally correct action is the one that produces the best outcome for all people affected by the action. John Stuart Mill, in his exposition of utilitarianism, proposed a hierarchy of pleasures, meaning that the pursuit of certain kinds of pleasure is more highly valued than the pursuit of other pleasures.[31] Other noteworthy proponents of utilitarianism are neuroscientist Sam Harris, author of The Moral Landscape, and moral philosopher Peter Singer, author of, amongst other works, Practical Ethics.

There are two types of utilitarianism, act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. In act utilitarianism, the principle of utility applies directly to each alternative act in a situation of choice. The right act is the one that brings about the best results (or the least amount of bad results). In rule utilitarianism, the principle of utility determines the validity of rules of conduct (moral principles). A rule like promise-keeping is established by looking at the consequences of a world in which people break promises at will and a world in which promises are binding. Right and wrong are the following or breaking of rules that are sanctioned by their utilitarian value.[32]

Deontological ethics or deontology (from Greek , deon, "obligation, duty"; and -, -logia) is an approach to ethics that determines goodness or rightness from examining acts, or the rules and duties that the person doing the act strove to fulfill.[33] This is in contrast to consequentialism, in which rightness is based on the consequences of an act, and not the act by itself. In deontology, an act may be considered right even if the act produces a bad consequence,[34] if it follows the rule that "one should do unto others as they would have done unto them",[35] and even if the person who does the act lacks virtue and had a bad intention in doing the act.[citation needed] According to deontology, people have a duty to act in a way that does those things that are inherently good as acts ("truth-telling" for example), or follow an objectively obligatory rule (as in rule utilitarianism). For deontologists, the ends or consequences of people's actions are not important in and of themselves, and people's intentions are not important in and of themselves.

Immanuel Kant's theory of ethics is considered deontological for several different reasons.[36][37] First, Kant argues that to act in the morally right way, people must act from duty (deon).[38] Second, Kant argued that it was not the consequences of actions that make them right or wrong but the motives (maxime) of the person who carries out the action. Kant's argument that to act in the morally right way, one must act from duty, begins with an argument that the highest good must be both good in itself, and good without qualification.[39] Something is 'good in itself' when it is intrinsically good, and 'good without qualification' when the addition of that thing never makes a situation ethically worse. Kant then argues that those things that are usually thought to be good, such as intelligence, perseverance and pleasure, fail to be either intrinsically good or good without qualification. Pleasure, for example, appears to not be good without qualification, because when people take pleasure in watching someone suffer, they make the situation ethically worse. He concludes that there is only one thing that is truly good:

Nothing in the worldindeed nothing even beyond the worldcan possibly be conceived which could be called good without qualification except a good will.[39]

Associated with the pragmatists, Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and especially John Dewey, pragmatic ethics holds that moral correctness evolves similarly to scientific knowledge: socially over the course of many lifetimes. Thus, we should prioritize social reform over attempts to account for consequences, individual virtue or duty (although these may be worthwhile attempts, if social reform is provided for).[40]

Care ethics contrasts with more well-known ethical models, such as consequentialist theories (e.g. utilitarianism) and deontological theories (e.g., Kantian ethics) in that it seeks to incorporate traditionally feminized virtues and values thatproponents of care ethics contendare absent in such traditional models of ethics. These values include the importance of empathetic relationships and compassion.

Care-focused feminism is a branch of feminist thought, informed primarily by ethics of care as developed by Carol Gilligan and Nel Noddings.[41] This body of theory is critical of how caring is socially assigned to women, and consequently devalued. They write, Care-focused feminists regard womens capacity for care as a human strength, that should be taught to and expected of men as well as women. Noddings proposes that ethical caring has the potential to be a more concrete evaluative model of moral dilemma than an ethic of justice.[42] Noddings care-focused feminism requires practical application of relational ethics, predicated on an ethic of care.[43]

Role ethics is an ethical theory based on family roles.[44] Unlike virtue ethics, role ethics is not individualistic. Morality is derived from a person's relationship with their community.[45] Confucian ethics is an example of role ethics[44] though this is not straightforwardly uncontested.[46] Confucian roles center around the concept of filial piety or xiao, a respect for family members.[47] According to Roger Ames and Henry Rosemont, "Confucian normativity is defined by living one's family roles to maximum effect." Morality is determined through a person's fulfillment of a role, such as that of a parent or a child. Confucian roles are not rational, and originate through the xin, or human emotions.[45]

Anarchist ethics is an ethical theory based on the studies of anarchist thinkers. The biggest contributor to the anarchist ethics is the Russian zoologist, geographer, economist, and political activist Peter Kropotkin.

Starting from the premise that the goal of ethical philosophy should be to help humans adapt and thrive in evolutionary terms, Kropotkin's ethical framework uses biology and anthropology as a basis in order to scientifically establish what will best enable a given social order to thrive biologically and socially and advocates certain behavioural practices to enhance humanity's capacity for freedom and well-being, namely practices which emphasise solidarity, equality, and justice.

Kropotkin argues that ethics itself is evolutionary, and is inherited as a sort of a social instinct through cultural history, and by so, he rejects any religious and transcendental explanation of morality. The origin of ethical feeling in both animals and humans can be found, he claims, in the natural fact of "sociality" (mutualistic symbiosis), which humans can then combine with the instinct for justice (i.e. equality) and then with the practice of reason to construct a non-supernatural and anarchistic system of ethics.[48] Kropotkin suggests that the principle of equality at the core of anarchism is the same as the Golden rule:

This principle of treating others as one wishes to be treated oneself, what is it but the very same principle as equality, the fundamental principle of anarchism? And how can any one manage to believe himself an anarchist unless he practices it? We do not wish to be ruled. And by this very fact, do we not declare that we ourselves wish to rule nobody? We do not wish to be deceived, we wish always to be told nothing but the truth. And by this very fact, do we not declare that we ourselves do not wish to deceive anybody, that we promise to always tell the truth, nothing but the truth, the whole truth? We do not wish to have the fruits of our labor stolen from us. And by that very fact, do we not declare that we respect the fruits of others' labor? By what right indeed can we demand that we should be treated in one fashion, reserving it to ourselves to treat others in a fashion entirely different? Our sense of equality revolts at such an idea.[49]

The 20th century saw a remarkable expansion and evolution of critical theory, following on earlier Marxist Theory efforts to locate individuals within larger structural frameworks of ideology and action.

Antihumanists such as Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault and structuralists such as Roland Barthes challenged the possibilities of individual agency and the coherence of the notion of the 'individual' itself. This was a on the basis that personal identity was, at least in part, a social construction. As critical theory developed in the later 20th century, post-structuralism sought to problematize human relationships to knowledge and 'objective' reality. Jacques Derrida argued that access to meaning and the 'real' was always deferred, and sought to demonstrate via recourse to the linguistic realm that "there is no outside-text/non-text" ("il n'y a pas de hors-texte" is often mistranslated as "there is nothing outside the text"); at the same time, Jean Baudrillard theorised that signs and symbols or simulacra mask reality (and eventually the absence of reality itself), particularly in the consumer world.

Post-structuralism and postmodernism argue that ethics must study the complex and relational conditions of actions. A simple alignment of ideas of right and particular acts is not possible. There will always be an ethical remainder that cannot be taken into account or often even recognized. Such theorists find narrative (or, following Nietzsche and Foucault, genealogy) to be a helpful tool for understanding ethics because narrative is always about particular lived experiences in all their complexity rather than the assignment of an idea or norm to separate and individual actions.

Zygmunt Bauman says postmodernity is best described as modernity without illusion, the illusion being the belief that humanity can be repaired by some ethic principle. Postmodernity can be seen in this light as accepting the messy nature of humanity as unchangeable.

David Couzens Hoy states that Emmanuel Levinas's writings on the face of the Other and Derrida's meditations on the relevance of death to ethics are signs of the "ethical turn" in Continental philosophy that occurred in the 1980s and 1990s. Hoy describes post-critique ethics as the "obligations that present themselves as necessarily to be fulfilled but are neither forced on one or are enforceable" (2004, p.103).

Hoy's post-critique model uses the term ethical resistance. Examples of this would be an individual's resistance to consumerism in a retreat to a simpler but perhaps harder lifestyle, or an individual's resistance to a terminal illness. Hoy describes Levinas's account as "not the attempt to use power against itself, or to mobilize sectors of the population to exert their political power; the ethical resistance is instead the resistance of the powerless"(2004, p.8).

Hoy concludes that

The ethical resistance of the powerless others to our capacity to exert power over them is therefore what imposes unenforceable obligations on us. The obligations are unenforceable precisely because of the other's lack of power. That actions are at once obligatory and at the same time unenforceable is what put them in the category of the ethical. Obligations that were enforced would, by the virtue of the force behind them, not be freely undertaken and would not be in the realm of the ethical. (2004, p. 184)

Applied ethics is a discipline of philosophy that attempts to apply ethical theory to real-life situations. The discipline has many specialized fields, such as engineering ethics, bioethics, geoethics, public service ethics and business ethics.

Applied ethics is used in some aspects of determining public policy, as well as by individuals facing difficult decisions. The sort of questions addressed by applied ethics include: "Is getting an abortion immoral?" "Is euthanasia immoral?" "Is affirmative action right or wrong?" "What are human rights, and how do we determine them?" "Do animals have rights as well?" and "Do individuals have the right of self-determination?"[12]

A more specific question could be: "If someone else can make better out of his/her life than I can, is it then moral to sacrifice myself for them if needed?" Without these questions, there is no clear fulcrum on which to balance law, politics, and the practice of arbitrationin fact, no common assumptions of all participantsso the ability to formulate the questions are prior to rights balancing. But not all questions studied in applied ethics concern public policy. For example, making ethical judgments regarding questions such as, "Is lying always wrong?" and, "If not, when is it permissible?" is prior to any etiquette.

People, in general, are more comfortable with dichotomies (two opposites). However, in ethics, the issues are most often multifaceted and the best-proposed actions address many different areas concurrently. In ethical decisions, the answer is almost never a "yes or no", "right or wrong" statement. Many buttons are pushed so that the overall condition is improved and not to the benefit of any particular faction.

Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy. It also includes the study of the more commonplace questions of values ("the ethics of the ordinary") that arise in primary care and other branches of medicine.

Bioethics also needs to address emerging biotechnologies that affect basic biology and future humans. These developments include cloning, gene therapy, human genetic engineering, astroethics and life in space,[50] and manipulation of basic biology through altered DNA, RNA and proteins, e.g. "three parent baby, where baby is born from genetically modified embryos, would have DNA from a mother, a father and from a female donor.[51] Correspondingly, new bioethics also need to address life at its core. For example, biotic ethics value organic gene/protein life itself and seek to propagate it.[52] With such life-centered principles, ethics may secure a cosmological future for life.[53]

Business ethics (also corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment, including fields like medical ethics. Business ethics represents the practices that any individual or group exhibits within an organization that can negatively or positively affect the businesses core values. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations.

Business ethics has both normative and descriptive dimensions. As a corporate practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. Academics attempting to understand business behavior employ descriptive methods. The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflect the interaction of profit-maximizing behavior with non-economic concerns. Interest in business ethics accelerated dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s, both within major corporations and within academia. For example, today most major corporations promote their commitment to non-economic values under headings such as ethics codes and social responsibility charters. Adam Smith said, "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices."[54] Governments use laws and regulations to point business behavior in what they perceive to be beneficial directions. Ethics implicitly regulates areas and details of behavior that lie beyond governmental control.[55] The emergence of large corporations with limited relationships and sensitivity to the communities in which they operate accelerated the development of formal ethics regimes.[56][57]

In Moral Machines: Teaching Robots Right from Wrong, Wendell Wallach and Colin Allen conclude that issues in machine ethics will likely drive advancement in understanding of human ethics by forcing us to address gaps in modern normative theory and by providing a platform for experimental investigation.[58] The effort to actually program a machine or artificial agent to behave as though instilled with a sense of ethics requires new specificity in our normative theories, especially regarding aspects customarily considered common-sense. For example, machines, unlike humans, can support a wide selection of learning algorithms, and controversy has arisen over the relative ethical merits of these options. This may reopen classic debates of normative ethics framed in new (highly technical) terms.

Military ethics are concerned with questions regarding the application of force and the ethos of the soldier and are often understood as applied professional ethics.[59] Just war theory is generally seen to set the background terms of military ethics. However individual countries and traditions have different fields of attention.[60]

Military ethics involves multiple subareas, including the following among others:

Political ethics (also known as political morality or public ethics) is the practice of making moral judgements about political action and political agents.[61]

Public sector ethics is a set of principles that guide public officials in their service to their constituents, including their decision-making on behalf of their constituents. Fundamental to the concept of public sector ethics is the notion that decisions and actions are based on what best serves the public's interests, as opposed to the official's personal interests (including financial interests) or self-serving political interests.[62]

Publication ethics is the set of principles that guide the writing and publishing process for all professional publications. To follow these principles, authors must verify that the publication does not contain plagiarism or publication bias.[63] As a way to avoid misconduct in research these principles can also apply to experiments that are referenced or analyzed in publications by ensuring the data is recorded honestly and accurately.[64]

Plagiarism is the failure to give credit to another authors work or ideas, when it is used in the publication.[65] It is the obligation of the editor of the journal to ensure the article does not contain any plagiarism before it is published.[66] If a publication that has already been published is proven to contain plagiarism, the editor of the journal can retract the article.[67]

Publication bias occurs when the publication is one-sided or "prejudiced against results".[68] In best practice, an author should try to include information from all parties involved, or affected by the topic. If an author is prejudiced against certain results, than it can "lead to erroneous conclusions being drawn".[69]

Misconduct in research can occur when an experimenter falsifies results.[70] Falsely recorded information occurs when the researcher "fakes" information or data, which was not used when conducting the actual experiment.[70] By faking the data, the researcher can alter the results from the experiment to better fit the hypothesis they originally predicted. When conducting medical research, it is important to honor the healthcare rights of a patient by protecting their anonymity in the publication.[63] Respect for autonomy is the principle that decision-making should allow individuals to be autonomous; they should be able to make decisions that apply to their own lives. This means that individuals should have control of their lives. Justice is the principle that decision-makers must focus on actions that are fair to those affected. Ethical decisions need to be consistent with the ethical theory. There are cases where the management has made decisions that seem to be unfair to the employees, shareholders, and other stakeholders (Solomon, 1992, pp49). Such decisions are unethical.

Relational ethics are related to an ethics of care.[71]:6263 They are used in qualitative research, especially ethnography and autoethnography. Researchers who employ relational ethics value and respect the connection between themselves and the people they study, and "...between researchers and the communities in which they live and work." (Ellis, 2007, p.4).[72] Relational ethics also help researchers understand difficult issues such as conducting research on intimate others that have died and developing friendships with their participants.[73][74] Relational ethics in close personal relationships form a central concept of contextual therapy.

Animal ethics is a term used in academia to describe human-animal relationships and how animals ought to be treated. The subject matter includes animal rights, animal welfare, animal law, speciesism, animal cognition, wildlife conservation, the moral status of nonhuman animals, the concept of nonhuman personhood, human exceptionalism, the history of animal use, and theories of justice.

Moral psychology is a field of study that began as an issue in philosophy and that is now properly considered part of the discipline of psychology. Some use the term "moral psychology" relatively narrowly to refer to the study of moral development.[75] However, others tend to use the term more broadly to include any topics at the intersection of ethics and psychology (and philosophy of mind).[76] Such topics are ones that involve the mind and are relevant to moral issues. Some of the main topics of the field are moral responsibility, moral development, moral character (especially as related to virtue ethics), altruism, psychological egoism, moral luck, and moral disagreement.[77]

Evolutionary ethics concerns approaches to ethics (morality) based on the role of evolution in shaping human psychology and behavior. Such approaches may be based in scientific fields such as evolutionary psychology or sociobiology, with a focus on understanding and explaining observed ethical preferences and choices.[78]

Descriptive ethics is on the less philosophical end of the spectrum since it seeks to gather particular information about how people live and draw general conclusions based on observed patterns. Abstract and theoretical questions that are more clearly philosophicalsuch as, "Is ethical knowledge possible?"are not central to descriptive ethics. Descriptive ethics offers a value-free approach to ethics, which defines it as a social science rather than a humanity. Its examination of ethics doesn't start with a preconceived theory but rather investigates observations of actual choices made by moral agents in practice. Some philosophers rely on descriptive ethics and choices made and unchallenged by a society or culture to derive categories, which typically vary by context. This can lead to situational ethics and situated ethics. These philosophers often view aesthetics, etiquette, and arbitration as more fundamental, percolating "bottom up" to imply the existence of, rather than explicitly prescribe, theories of value or of conduct. The study of descriptive ethics may include examinations of the following:

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6 facts about psychedelic drugs that will totally blow …

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Despite the fact that the U.S. government deems many hallucinogenic or psychedelic substances to be dangerous, classifying them as Schedule I drugs with no currently accepted medical use, various scientists have dared to study their effects. What theyve found over the years paints a startling, promising and powerful picture of potentially game-changing medicines.The governments "war on drugs" policies severely limit research on psychedelics. Before scientists can complete any federally sanctioned studies, they have to jump through an expensive tangle of hoops and red tape. Restrictions aside, over the years researchers have collected a database of research showing that many psychedelics have an unprecedented potential to treat cancers, addictions and psychological traumas, among other things.Here are some of the coolest things scientists have discovered about psychedelics over the years.1. LSD can mitigate end-of-life anxiety.Theresultsof the first clinical study of the therapeutic use of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) in humans in more than 40 years werepublishedin the peer-reviewed Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease in March. They show that LSD can promote statistically significant reductions in anxiety for people coming to terms with their own impending demise.Swiss psychiatrist Peter Gasser and his colleagues conducted the double-blind, placebo-controlled study, sponsored by the non-profit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). They tracked 12 people who were near the end of life as they attended LSD-assisted psychotherapy sessions. Inhis report, Gasser concluded that the study subjects anxiety "went down and stayed down."2. Psilocybin, aka magic mushrooms, actually calms, rather than stimulates, certain brain functions.The common conception is that psychedelics do something extra to cause their effectsincrease activity, add hallucinations, promote awareness, etc. Astudythat examined brain scans of people under the influence of psilocybin found that it reduces activity in certain areas of the brain. That reduction of activity leads to the drug's effect on cognition and memory. Psychedelics, and psilocybin in particular, might actually be eliminating what could be called the extra "noise" in the brain.3. The drug MDMA (akaecstasy, orMolly) promotes release of the hormone oxytocin, which could help treat severe anxieties like PTSD and social anxiety resulting from autism.Before the federal government classified it as a Schedule I substance, therapists experimented with MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxyrnethimphetarnine) beginning in the 1970s to help reduce moderate depression and anxiety among their adult patients. After widespread recreational use in the rave scene caught the attention of authorities, MDMA was criminalized in 1985. However, research primarily supported by the MAPS has continued to turn up positive results for the drugs potential therapeutic use. Variousclinical trialsand statistical research have confirmed that MDMA can successfully treat post-traumatic stress in military veterans and others. Oneexampleis the clinical trial led by Michael Mithoefer, which used MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to treat chronic PTSD.A 2009 study offers a plausible explanation for MDMAs effectiveness treating PTSD. The double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of 15 healthy individuals confirmed that MDMA causes the brain to release oxytocin, which is the human hormone linked to feelings of love and compassion.MAPS recently received government approval to launch anew studyexamining MDMAs potential for treating social anxiety in autistic adults. Based on the known effects ofMDMA, as well as individual reports, thisexploratory studywill focus on enhancing functional skills and quality of life inautistic adultswithsocial anxiety.4. Psilocybin could kill smoking addiction. Psychiatry professor Matthew Johnson, who works at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, presented the preliminaryresultsof a pilot feasibility study looking at the ability of psilocybin to treat smoking addiction at the 2013 Psychedelic Science conference in Oakland, Calif. For the study, five cigarette-addicted participants underwent placebo-controlled psilocybin treatment with a psychiatrist. All five completely quit smoking after their first psilocybin session. At all followup visits, which occurred up to one year later for the first four participants, it was biologically confirmed that the participants had abstained from cigarettes.5. Ayahuasca can treat drug addictionand possibly much more.Ayahuasca is a brew prepared with the Banisteriopsis caapi vine, originally used for spiritual and healing purposes in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. The vine is usually mixed with leaves containing the psychedelic compound DMT.Gabor Mate, a medical doctor from Vancouver who is a prominent ayahuasca researcher,contendsthat therapy assisted by psychedelics, and ayahuasca in particular, can untangle complex, unconscious psychological stresses. He claims these stresses underlie and contribute to all chronic medical conditions, from cancer and addiction to depression and multiple sclerosis.Theresultsof the first North American observational study on the safety and long-term effectiveness of ayahuasca treatment for addiction and dependence were published in June 2013 in the journal Current Drug Abuse Reviews. All of the participants in the study reported positive and lasting changes, and the study found statistically significant improvements for scales assessing hopefulness, empowerment, mindfulness, and quality of life meaning and outlook subscales. Self-reported alcohol, tobacco and cocaine use declined, although cannabis and opiate use did not. The reported reductions in problematic cocaine use were also statistically significant.6. DMT occurs naturally in the human body, and taking it could simulate death.The drugDMT(diemethyltryptamine), which causes hallucinogenic experiences, is made up of a chemical compound that already occurs within the human bodyendogenously(as well as in a number of plants). This means our brains are naturally set up to process the drug because it has receptors that exist specifically to do so. Cannabis is another illegal drug that occursendogenously.Someresearchbased on near-death experiences points to the fact that the brain releases DMT during death. Some researchers have also conjectured that DMT is released during other intense experiences, including orgasm.

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Alternative Medicine Chapter 1: Like Some Other Bedtime …

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Alternative Medicine

a Harry Potter fanfic by canoncansodoff

Summary: Harry is struck down by a nasty curse a moment after he became The Boy-Who-Won that requires some non-traditional treatment, tenderly administered by a trio of young witches willing to share in more than just his physical therapy.

Ship: Harry/Hermione/Padma/Parvati

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

oo00OO00oo

Chapter One

The-Boy-Who-Won woke with a blinding headache and a full bladder.

"He-ll-pp?" he rasped.

"Oh, Harry...you're awake...how wonderful!"

The young wizard tried to turn towards the the familiar voice, but found himself immobilized from the neck down. Putting his own condition aside from the moment, he focused on what mattered most...the sight of his bushy-haired best friend dressed in muggle shorts and a t-shirt, stretching out from a kip on a rattan sofa.

"Her...Hermione, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Harry...thanks to you, of course," Hermione replied. "I'm so happy that you're...so what do you need? What can I get you?"

"Erm...some answers would be nice, but first I need to use the loo."

Hermione's focus shot involuntarily down towards Harry's crotch.

"Oh, well...go ahead."

"What?"

"Go ahead and take care of your business, Harry."

"What? Erm...How?"

"Oh, sorry, I forgot," Hermione replied sheepishly. "You've got a partial paralysis charm applied to aid your healing, so you're wearing a magical bedpan."

Harry groaned. He'd run into this situation more times than he'd care to recall whist under Madame Pomfrey's care.

"Would it be easier for me to leave the room?" Hermione asked.

With a sigh, Harry replied, "No...I mean...it's not like we haven't been in this situation before, and there is a sheet covering me, right?"

"Right now there is."

"Right now?" Harry asked with concern. "Does that mean there have been times when I haven't been covered with bed linens?"

"Not that you know," Hermione replied with a giggle, as she made for the door. "I'll go get the Healer."

With a giggle. Since when did Hermione giggle?

Harry shook his head relaxed control of his bladder. The therapeutic version of the paralysis charm allowed for that sort of thing, of course... wouldn't do to have heart muscles frozen and other bodily functions interrupted by magic. The resulting stream of yellow spray was instantly banished as it left his body by a device that actually looked like and functioned more like a magical nappie than a magical bedpan.

His business finished, Harry tried to recall how he got to be where he was. No great surprise that he was in hospital...he had met Voldemort on the field of battle for one final confrontation. He remembered slipping in the Accio spell amidst all of the heavy-duty curses...the spell that Voldemort missed, until it sent him sailing through the air towards the sharpened tip of the Sword of Gryffindor held in Harry's off-hand.

The last thing Harry remembered about the battle was planting his foot on the Dark Lord's chest, in an effort to pull the blade from his nemesis' impaled heart.

Not getting any further in his recollections, Harry took in his present environs. They were, quite surprisingly, new to him...located neither within the Hogwarts Infirmary or St. Mungo's. The headache made looking about the room painful, but that didn't keep him from using his other senses. Neither Hogwarts or St. Mungo's could have provided a private room with an opened window that allowed a warm gentle breeze to carry exotic scents and the sound of crashing surf.

Particularly in January.

Confirmation of these clues came when Hermione returned with a Healer. There were, of course, Healers of South Asian descent working in St. Mungo's, but none that dressed in saris, or worked in hospitals whose rooms overlooked a tropical beach.

The smiling elderly witch cast a spell that adjusted Harry's bed so that he was sitting upright. She then asked, "How are you feeling, Mr. Potter?"

Harry snorted, and looked down at his uncovered torso. He was shocked to see arms that were little more than twisted bits of flesh on bone, but focused on the immediate question.

"About all I can feel is a throbbing headache."

"Let me address that issue, then, before I perform my examination."

She walked to the opened door and called out a request using a melodious foreign language.

Harry made the most of his limited muscular control and arched his eyebrows towards his hairline when two young witches responded to the call.

"Padma? Parvati?"

The sari-wearing witches smiled as they approached Harry's bedside. Padma reached out and touched Harry's shoulder while her twin sister angled a straw tip into his mouth. The headache potion that the young wizard sipped through that straw was both effective and delicious.

"Now I know for sure that I'm not in Britain," Harry stated.

"Why is that, Harry?" asked Padma.

"There isn't a medicinal potion in the British Isles that tastes that good."

"Well you would know, having had need for most of them," Hermione replied. She stood on the bedside opposite of the the Patil twins, and mimicked Padma's shoulder touch.

"So where, exactly... "

"You are a honored guest of the Kovalam Arya Vaidya Sala," the Healer replied.

"India, then?"

The older witch nodded. "Kerala State, close to Thiruvananthapuram City."

"Thiru-vana..."

"Easier to call it Trivandrum," Padma suggested with a smile.

"But how?"

Hermione and the twins tried explained while the Healer undertook a series of diagnostic charms.

"You see, Harry...just after you killed Voldemort, you got hit with a nasty hex."

"What kind...who?"

"Dolohov," Hermione replied. "And it was some type of withering curse that affected all of your extremities."

"A withering curse...on my extrem...you mean just my arms and legs, right?"

All three witches giggled.

"Yes, Harry...just your arms and legs," Padma offered.

Parvati lifted up the side of Harry's sheet and said, "Maybe I should double-check, just to be certain?"

The Gryffindor witch's efforts were thwarted when the Healer slapped her hand away from the bed and scolded her in Malayalam.

Padma's scolding was in English.

"Haven't you've checked out that appendage enough times since he's been here?"

"No, actually."

Harry blushed, and asked, "Erm...so how long..."

"Close to twenty centimeters, I would think."

"Parvati!" her sister exclaimed.

Harry's blush grew. "I meant to ask how long I've been in hospital."

"Three days here," Hermione replied, casting a disproving look towards her dorm mate. "Another three days at St. Mungo's before that."

"So why here?" Harry asked. When the Healer glanced up from her wand work, Harry got nervous. "Not that there's anything wrong with here...or that I don't appreciate it..."

"No worries, Mr. Potter," the healer replied with a smile.

"St. Mungo's was a zoo," explained Hermione. "We couldn't keep the press away, and the Ministry seemed more interested in taking credit than providing security."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"And then there was the issue of care," Padma added. "Neither Madame Pomfrey nor the healers at St. Mungo's could control the withering, so they had you under a stasis spell."

"So..."

"So we were with you that last day," Parvati stated. "I actually saw the spell cast on you...and it sort of reminded me of some of the more gruesome bedtime stories that our father told us."

"Gruesome bedtime stories?" Harry asked.

"Well, not that gruesome," interjected Padma. "Sagas about battles between Indian wizards and the Nagas...that sort of thing. One of the stories involved a handsome wizard prince that was struck by a withering curse similar to yours."

"Really?" asked Harry.

Padma nodded. "So Parvati and I told our parents, who contacted our Auntie, here..."

"Auntie?" Harry asked. He turned his head towards the healer. "So you're their Aunt?"

The witch smiled and nodded her head. "Great Aunt, actually. I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself...Healer Patil, at your service."

"Aunt and Uncle run this Ayurvedic Hospital," explained Parvati. "They were more than willing to help, as was the Indian magical ministry, so..."

"So we kidnapped you from St. Mungo's and brought you here," Hermione said nervously. "Hope that you don't mind."

Harry snorted, and the room was quiet as he considered his response.

On the one hand, his hands (and, presumably legs) were useless to him. But on the other hand, he was alive, and Voldemort was dead. He frankly hadn't expected to survive the final battle, so he decided then and there to consider his glass half-full.

And that meant making the most of present circumstances.

"Let me see...instead of being held in stasis at St. Mungo's with a horde of pesky reporters and animagus beetles hovering over me, I wake up to a lovely room by the beach, attended by four of the loveliest healers a patient to could hope for."

"Oh, Mr. Potter, such a flirt!" Healer Patil chided. The smile on her face and twinkle in her eye softened the admonishment. There was, in contrast, nothing sort about the deep blush on the other witches' faces.

"So," Harry continued. "I've got something in common with another bedtime story hero, huh?"

"Oh, Harry...stop!"

"What?" Harry said with a grin. "Maybe if I can't stop all of the fan-girl attention, I should embrace it? Ginny always tried to measure me against the stories she was told."

Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Yes, go ahead, by all means...embrace the horde of fan-girls. I'm sure that they'd be willing to reciprocate."

"Nah," Harry said with a roguish grin. "I'd rather stay here and be embraced by you lot."

"Really?" asked Parvati.

"Sure, why not?" Harry replied brightly. "Of course, I might have problems doing any kind of embracing for a while."

"I think we could work on that," offered Hermione.

"So tell me more about this magical prince that shared my misfortune," asked Harry. "Did he get healed and live happily ever after with a harem?"

"Harry!" chided Hermione.

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Alternative Medicine Chapter 1: Like Some Other Bedtime ...

The World Of Quantum Physics: EVERYTHING Is Energy – In5D …

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by John Assaraf,

Nobel Prize winning physicists have proven beyond doubt that the physical world is one large sea of energy that flashes into and out of being in milliseconds, over and over again.

This is the world of Quantum Physics.

They have proven that thoughts are what put together and hold together this ever-changing energy field into the objects that we see.

So why do we see a person instead of a flashing cluster of energy?

A movie is a collection of about 24 frames a second. Each frame is separated by a gap. However, because of the speed at which one frame replaces another, our eyes get cheated into thinking that we see a continuous and moving picture.

A TV tube is simply a tube with heaps of electrons hitting the screen in a certain way, creating the illusion of form and motion.

This is what all objects are anyway. You have 5 physical senses (sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste).

Each of these senses has a specific spectrum (for example, a dog hears a different range of sound than you do; a snake sees a different spectrum of light than you do; and so on).

In other words, your set of senses perceives the sea of energy from a certain limited standpoint and makes up an image from that.

It is not complete, nor is it accurate. It is just an interpretation.

All of our interpretations are solely based on the internal map of reality that we have, and not the real truth. Our map is a result of our personal lifes collective experiences.

Our thoughts are linked to this invisible energy and they determine what the energy forms. Your thoughts literally shift the universe on a particle-by-particle basis to create your physical life.

Look around you.

Everything you see in our physical world started as an idea, an idea that grew as it was shared and expressed, until it grew enough into a physical object through a number of steps.

You literally become what you think about most.

Your life becomes what you have imagined and believed in most.

The world is literally your mirror, enabling you to experience in the physical plane what you hold as your truth until you change it.

Quantum physics shows us that the world is not the hard and unchangeable thing it may appear to be. Instead, it is a very fluid place continuously built up using our individual and collective thoughts.

What we think is true is really an illusion, almost like a magic trick.

Fortunately we have begun to uncover the illusion and most importantly, how to change it.

Nine systems comprise the human body including Circulatory, Digestive, Endocrine, Muscular, Nervous, Reproductive, Respiratory, Skeletal, and Urinary.

Tissues and organs.

Cells.

Molecules.

Atoms.

Sub-atomic particles.

Energy!

You and I are pure energy-light in its most beautiful and intelligent configuration. Energy that is constantly changing beneath the surface and you control it all with your powerful mind.

If you could see yourself under a powerful electron microscope and conduct other experiments on yourself, you would see that you are made up of a cluster of ever-changing energy in the form of electrons, neutrons, photons and so on.

So is everything else around you. Quantum physics tells us that it is the act of observing an object that causes it to be there where and how we observe it.

An object does not exist independently of its observer! So, as you can see, your observation, your attention to something, and your intention, literally creates that thing.

This is scientific and proven.

Your world is made of spirit, mind and body.

Each of those three, spirit, mind and body, has a function that is unique to it and not shared with the other. What you see with your eyes and experience with your body is the physical world, which we shall call Body. Body is an effect, created by a cause.

This cause is Thought.

Body cannot create. It can only experience and be experienced that is its unique function.

Thought cannot experience it can only make up, create and interpret. It needs a world of relativity (the physical world, Body) to experience itself.

Spirit is All That Is, that which gives Life to Thought and Body.

Body has no power to create, although it gives the illusion of power to do so. This illusion is the cause of much frustration. Body is purely an effect and has no power to cause or create.

The key with all of this information is how do you learn to see the universe differently than you do now so that you can manifest everything you truly desire.

Tags: electrons, energy, EVERYTHING Is Energy, illusion, magic, particles, Physics, quantum physics, The World Of Quantum Physics, The World Of Quantum Physics: EVERYTHING Is Energy

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Litecoin Courting TenX and Korbit – Just a Month after …

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Just a month after LitePays untimely collapse, Litecoin has teamed up with a well-known wallet platform and a large South Korean cryptocurrency exchange.

Despite the disappointment of LitePays demise, TenX have announced Litecoin (LTC) support in on its wallet platform while South Koreas second biggest exchange Korbit launched Litecoin trading on 18 April.

It comes as a timely boon for the cryptocurrency and the Litecoin Foundation, which had been eagerly anticipating and supporting the development of LitePay - before it ceased operations without its product being launched in March.

TenX launched LTC on its wallet platforms without an official announcement last week, to ease the pressure on its systems while it finalized live testing.

Furthermore, TenX have stepped up and hope to provide a card service for Litecoin, one of the features LitePay had promised during its failed development:

We are also excited to announce a new partnership; we have reached out to, and are working with the Litecoin Foundation to introduce a co-branded card for which more information will be available soon. We hope to become the preferred payment platform for fans and owners of Litecoin.

Korbits support of Litecoin coincides with a slight uptrend in value since a recent low at the start of April. As per Coinmarketcap data, Litecoin is trading at $140.36.

Litecoin founder Charlie Lee celebrated the move on Twitter, highlighting the fact that hed try to get Korbit to support the cryptocurrency years ago:

LitePay promised to give users the ability to accept payments in Litecoin which facilitated an instantaneous conversion to fiat currency which could then be deposited to a conventional bank account in over 38 countries.

Furthermore LitePay was touting a 1 percent transaction fee, which it claimed would beat conventional credit card rates.

Souce: LitePay/Twitter

Unfortunately, none of this ever materialized, as Litecoin Foundation director of operations Keith Yong confirmed the news on March 26 that he had stopped development and would be selling the company.

Yong expressed his dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in an official announcement on the website.

The launch of the project was met with cautious optimism late in 2017 with an ambitious launch date set for Feb. 26 which has since come and gone.

For the public, things came undone when Litepay CEO Kenneth Asare opened himself to an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit on March 17. What hed probably planned to be a candid public engagement for the project spelled the beginning of the end.

Seasoned cryptocurrency community members, made up of well-informed developers and the likes, tore into Asare as he struggled to answer a slew of questions about the project.

Particular sore points were a lack of transparency on the team, the privacy policy being copied from Coinbase as well as the fact that Asare would not share developer documentation.

One user, cdm9002 labelled Asares website a scam and challenged the LitePay CEO to convince him that his project was real.

Another user pointed out that the original privacy policy on the LitePay website was a verbatim copy from the Coinbase website, before this was amended:

I stand corrected. They changed their privacy policy. Up until very recently, it was a copy/paste from Coinbase but they replaced "Coinbase" with "LitePay".

For the Litecoin Foundation, alarm bells started ringing when the LitePay CEO asked for further funding for the project. Failing to disclose how initial funding had been spent, the NPO refused to assist with further investment according to Yong:

Prior to that, the foundation had approached Kenneth regarding his less than transparent nature with the company and to express our, and the communitys, concerns regarding his recent Reddit AMA.

It was at this time that Kenneth asked the foundation for more funds to continue operations. The foundation refused any further funding as he was unable to provide a satisfactory picture of where the money had been spent and refused to go into exact details about the company and show objective evidence to back up his statements.

Litecoin founder Charlie Lee also took to Twitter, apologising to the Litecoin and wider cryptocurrency community:

Cointelegraph reached out to Lee for comment, but the Litecoin founder declined to give any further thoughts on the matter.

There has been no official announcement outlining why Asare decided to pack up shop - but these factors seemed to have played a role:

While its not clear how much money Asare raised for the development of LitePay in total, Litecoin Foundation director Xinxi Wang is understood to have invested $50.000 into the project:

As Wang suggests, the monetary losses are far outweighed by the damage to Asares career in the wake of LitePays failure.

Given that the developer squandered the capital investment from Wang and the Litecoin Foundation, they werent about to keep handing out further investments.

While Charlie Lee said that a lack of due diligence was negligent on their part, Wang explained on Twitter that he felt Asares entrepreneurial track record gave the project credibility:

In Asares AMA session on Reddit, he claimed to have studied law before owning and operating a number of businesses in the late decade. This included an education infrastructure company that built a type of School Management System, a Construction Defect Claims Management company as well as a Collaborative Learning Social Network.

Litepays demise is no less saddening than any other business that has failed to live up to expectations but a slight consolation is the fact that it doesnt seem to have been an outright scam.

The project was not funding by an initial coin offering (ICO) which means plucky investors were saved from Asares abrupt decision to pack up shop.

Its a far cry from a number of ICOs that have ended up scamming people out of a lot money.

As ICORatings Brian Keen points out in a recent column on Cointelegraph, there have been a number of outrageous exit scams that have left investors out of pocket.

The likes of Plexcoin and its owner Dominic Lacroix set the bar pretty high in terms of how far some fraudsters are willing to go to steal from unsuspecting investors.

In that case, Lacroix nearly ran off with $15 mln, before the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stepped in and froze the accounts of the company. Lacroix ended up in prison before he could run off with the millions hed raised during the ICO.

Litepays downfall could be more closely attributed to the end of Ethereums Decentralized Autnomous Organisation (DAO) project in 2017.

The brainchild of Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, the DAO project promised to create a revolutionary funding model for Decentralised Apps (DApps) on the Ethereum blockchain. The project was launched and raised $150 mln in Eth tokens.

However, shortly after its launch, hackers found an exploit in the code and stole $60 mln worth of ETH from the project. The theft prompted an investigation by the SEC - which ruled DAO tokens were in fact securities and had to abide by federal laws.

What was hailed as a revolutionary fundraising project for Ethereum DApps all but ended there and then, not unlike LitePay.

Both projects were highly anticipated by the wider cryptocurrency community and their unceremonious endings gave a stark reminder of how difficult life is on the precipice of technological advancement.

While LitePay floats away into the ether, TenX have thrust to the fore and could well be the next champion for Litecoin support.

Theyve already launched LTC support on their Android and iOS platforms. Theyre also planning to launch a TenX/Litecoin card. Tried and tested, TenX could step up to the plate and do what Litepay couldnt - only time will show.

Meanwhile Litecoin trading launched on Korbit is a boon for the cryptocurrency. South Korea is a cryptocurrency trading hub, and the appetite for virtual currencies is still voracious. Finally garnering support in South Korea could have positive ramifications for LTC.

A third party may be joining the fray, as online crypto-friendly currency account service Wirex hinted on Twitter that Litecoin support is being developed.

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Mining Calculator Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash and Monero

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Mining Calculator Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash and Monero

Cryptocurrency Market Surges to $365 Billion, Start of a …

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Throughout this week, as CCN reported, the cryptocurrency market has been eyeing a move towards the $350 billion region. Earlier today, on April 20, strong performances of major cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and Ethereum have led the valuation of the cryptocurrency market to surge to $365 billion.

Throughout 2018, amidst extreme volatility and recovery, investors inclined towards bitcoin as the safe haven asset. With the deepest liquidity and largest volume in the global market, bitcoin was able to sustain some stability while many cryptocurrencies recorded a free fall. Most assets declined by more than 80 percent from their all-time highs and struggled to record gains against bitcoin.

Over the past seven days, alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins) and other major cryptocurrencies have consistently reported gains against the most dominant cryptocurrency in the market. The daily trading volume of the global cryptocurrency market crossed the $20 billion mark for the first time in April and the valuation of the market achieved a new monthly high.

In March and early April, investors were skeptical towards investing in cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin and Ethereum because they were uncertain about the short-term future of the cryptocurrency market. While altcoins tend to have intensified movements on the upside, it also has larger movements on the downside, and investors thought the risk was not worth taking.

Traders have started to take more risk than before by investing in cryptocurrencies like Ripple, Zilliqa, Nano, OmiseGo and others. As the volumes of altcoins across major exchanges surged, altcoins began to outperform bitcoin on a weekly basis, and it is possible that ERC20 tokens outperform major cryptocurrencies on a monthly basis by the end of April.

The next major target for the cryptocurrency market is the $400 billion mark and by surpassing that threshold, the cryptocurrency market would achieve a two-month high. At this juncture, it is safe to conclude that bitcoin has bottomed out at $6,000 and the market has begun a rapid recovery to its previous levels.

If the bitcoin price breaks the $9,500 level in the short-term, ideally within the next week, it is entirely possible that the cryptocurrency market surpasses $400 billion within April, in the next 10 days.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) of bitcoin is in the 57 range and is signifying a neutral zone. Bitcoin is neither oversold or overbought based on current levels, as demonstrated by two momentum oscillators RSI and Williams Percent Range.

Both simple and exponential moving averages are indicating buy signals for bitcoin, as it continues to gain strong momentum. From this point, traders are expecting the bitcoin price to cross $8,500 and potentially make its way into the $9 billion region.

Non-ERC20 tokens like Ripple and Verge were the best performers on April 20, with solid 20 percent gains. Both Ripple and Verge have performed strong against bitcoin throughout April and they are continuing to build momentum against bitcoin and Ethereum.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

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Cryptocurrency Market Surges to $365 Billion, Start of a ...

What Is Cryptocurrency? – dummies

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By Tiana Laurence

Part of Blockchain For Dummies Cheat Sheet

Cryptocurrencies, sometimes called virtual currencies, digital money/cash, or tokens, are not really like U.S. dollars or British pounds. They live online and are not backed by a government. Theyre backed by their respective networks. Technically speaking, cryptocurrencies are restricted entries in a database. Specific conditions must be met to change these entries. Created with cryptography, the entries are secured with math, not people.

Restricted entries are published into a database, but its a special type of database that is shared by a peer-to-peer network. For example, when you send some Bitcoin to your friend Cara, youre creating and sending a restricted entry into the Bitcoin network. The network makes sure that you havent not the same entry twice; it does this with no central server or authority. Following the same example, the network is making sure that you didnt try to send your friend Cara and your other friend Alice the same Bitcoin.

The peer-to-peer network solves the double-spend problem (you sending the same Bitcoin to two people) in most cases by having every peer have a complete record of the history of all the entries made within the network. The entire history gives the balance of every account including yours. The innovation of cryptocurrency is to achieve agreement on what the history is without a central server or authority.

Entries are the representation of cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrencies are generated by the network in most cases to incentivize the peers, also known as nodes and miners, to work to secure the network and check entries. Each network has a unique way of generating them and distributing them to the peers.

Bitcoin, for example, rewards peers (known as miners on the Bitcoin network) for solving the next block. A block is a group or entries. The solving is finding a hash that connects the new block with the old one. This is where the term blockchain came from. The block is the group of entries, and the chain is the hash. Hashes are a type of cryptologic puzzle. Think of them as Sudoku puzzles that the peers compete to connect the blocks.

Every cryptocurrency is a little different, but most of them share these basic characteristics:

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What Is Cryptocurrency? - dummies

Ascension: Deckbuilding Game on the App Store

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After thousands of hours of play, I'm kind of surprised I never wrote a review for Ascension. I've played it practically every week since launch. With that said I still see new combinations and tricks, so yeah, I think it's a deep game. Generally I play solo offline versus three computers and get great enjoyment out of infinite turn combos. It's a great way to wind down after work for thirty minutes or so at a time and still is my favorite game. As an aside, the others I play regularly are TES Legends and (lately) Star Empires.

As others have noted, the game slows down if too many cards are in play. It gets real hard to navigate back to what you want to copy. I used to cycle entirely through the draw deck but that's harder these days with the slowdown. The AI has also gotten a bit stupider in recent years, and kind of co-op by feeding the last computer player. The AI will also think awhile if it has a lot of constructs in play but it is nowhere near as long as it used to be. But the app itself is very stable and gameplay progresses very quickly until a lot of cards are in play (50+ overkill in one turn).

But it's rare to find a perfect game or app and these minor quibbles are nothing compared to all the fun I've gotten out of this game over the years. Well worth the money and hoping for another expansion soon.

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Ascension: Deckbuilding Game on the App Store

Ascension – Ascension Glossary

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Ascension, also known as Spiritual Awakening, is a simultaneous increase of Expanding Consciousness that occurs when our spiritual-energetic bodies connect into our physical bodies. Generally, the catalyst for spiritual Awakening is discovered through the process of progressive Kundalini activation that starts in the base of our spine and moves the intelligent energies up the spine and into the Crown. As a human being undergoes the Awakening process, which can progress gradually over many years, that person shifts into perceptions of higher consciousness, which can include increased awareness of energy in the environment, perceiving multidimensional realities, sensing extradimensional entities and feeling a direct communion with God and the interconnected energy that exists between all things.

Ascension is a change in Spectrum of Frequency through Kundalini awakening and a change in the focus of our Consciousness. Ascension is about moving our Consciousness from one reality to another. Since reality is a dimension, what we are undertaking is essentially a full dimensional shift. To go through this shift we must adjust our way of thinking and being to that which is in alignment with our soul purpose and true divine essence.

Ascension is the complex quantum mechanics governing the movement of consciousness through time and space. Consciousness is energy, as well as, energy is intelligent consciousness. When energy shifts, so does our consciousness. Time and space as we have known on planet earth is changing, and we are moving into a future timeline. Through gradual exposure to frequency activation of various stellar bodies, the planet is transformed into higher dimensional and frequency planes of existence. One can consider the multidimensional model of our reality through the study of the Universal Time Matrix and the Universal Tree of Life. The shift of frequency forces all of the planetary inhabitants to shift into the newly exposed planetary frequencies and adapt to the accumulative impact of the shifting energies. All humans have a unique Blueprint and pace to keep aligned with the planetary frequencies. Some will adapt to these frequencies while embodied on planet, while others may not. The choice lies with each of us and is directly our responsibility. We can participate or not with our personal evolution process. All that is required from the Ascension process is participation at the level you are able and that attention and focus is placed on one's heart with a desire to know the true self.

As we develop Self Awareness which is the knowledge of the Self, we are developing the right relationship to the Self, and thus we can better develop our relationship with God Source. We cannot know the highest expression of our nature, until we know the deepest inner contents of our own being. Self study is self mastery and is the pathway to expanding Consciousness and awakening Kundalini.

See Where Can I Start?

The Ascension Stages are about the bringing of layers of light, the Kundalini force existing within the levels of our spiritual bodies (our Multidimensional God Selves) by descending these layers into matter and anchoring them into the physical plane of reality. Simultaneously, Ascension is a shift in energetic Spectrum of Frequency patterns held in a dimensional space which, when absorbed and activated into the layers of the planetary and human bio-energetic field, activates its DNA Silicate Matrix template instruction set. This catalyzes a chain of events that creates a complete transformation and transmutation of various patterns and programs held in the energetic templates of the Human Souls journey within a cycle of evolutionary time. When activated, these patterns begin to shift, re-emerge and clear from the layers of experiences coded into every cell and memory pattern held as an energetic vibration within the bodies. This part of the biological ascension process may manifest physical, mental and emotional Ascension Symptoms as well as the spiritual crisis of the Dark Night of the Soul.

The 5D Ascension is the original evolutionary schema or Ascension Plan for the planet Earth at the end of the 2012 Timelines or at the end of the Ascension Cycle, or the end of an Age of Humanity. This original plan was aborted by the Krystal Star Guardians, and in my knowledge, I was shifted from my original Ascension mission in 2004 to learn how to best work for the Guardian Aurora teams who were active building Krystal Star hosting architecture for planet earth. In 2005 I was made aware the original plan was aborted and councils disbanded and reassembled to work on the new mission upgrades, called Ascension Plan B.

The elemental re-encryption process of this Avatar of Ascension (AOA) project as a part of the Aurora Guardian Families is an adjustment that actually changes the coordinates of your birth blueprint and its genetic imprint on the flesh. When we incarnated into 3D we had to accept huge miasmic package that is attached to the collective human race mental bodies on this planet. These are called Negative Forms or Shadow or Phantom Sun bodies. These phantom bodies are what connect humans to the timeline of the (911 Timelines), Armageddon Software or the negative alien agenda NAA. The transduction sequence is the definition of when the God Spark connects to the core manifestation body (12 Tree Grid) which projects out the elemental physical manifest body Three Layers of Ego. As we know a major project of the AOA Aurora is to re-encrypt the elemental structure of our bodies, as well as anchor the architecture to build the unity source code platform. This changes the false 911 Timelines architecture and is what the work of this ES community is in laying the template of the Law of One (LOO) in the GSF Ascension Timeline. This timeline exists in the Aurora time continuum. See Aurora Re-encryptions.[1]

4 Planetary Rounds = 1 Planetary Cycles = 1 Astrological Age = Aeon = 26,000 (26,566) years = precession of Earths axis of rotation with respect to inertial space.At the end of every cycle, we become aligned to the galactic core; Stargate portals open (See Planetary Gates, and we are eligible to proceed with an Ascension timeline.

Refers to the precession of Earth's axis of rotation with respect to inertial space. A complete precession cycle (One Astrological Age) covers a period of approximately 25,765 years, the so called Great Platonic Year, during which time the equinox regresses over a full 360. The precessional movement also is the determining factor in the length of an Astrological Age or Aeon. (Note that there are 12 Zodiac Archetypes that are each of the 12 Astrological Ages. We are moving from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius.) The Precession of the Equinoxes is caused by the differential between the gravitational forces of the Sun and Moon on the Earth.

What is Ascension?

Virtues

Spirits of Christ

Father Arc

Mother Arc

Krystal Star

KA RA YA SA TA AA LA (KRYSTAL)

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Ascension - Ascension Glossary

What is Ascension? – Energetic Synthesis

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This is a basic Primer to review the basic meaning and mechanics of the "Ascension" and discuss the various awakening symptoms that we as humans may encounter in our consciousness evolution process. I have many articles and tools on the website that will help support your awareness to investigate and explore the impacts this has upon human beings, our planet and all of consciousness. It is important to develop strong discernment of the energetic signatures that we interact with, while learning how to distinguish personal resonance to help guide you forward, so only take in what feels right for your personal journey and discard the rest.

Humanity is undergoing a consciousness shift which requires a re-education of valuesand change of priorities in lifestyle, of which much of this information on this website is a guideline to support those awakening and being guided towards stewardship or leadership in order to help others move through the transitional impacts this creates on the planet. It is also important to share this information with others in order to not feel a sense of isolation and fear from a myriad of possible unusual consciousness experiences that can result from the integration of our higher light-energy bodies that happens during our Ascension process. My desire to share this information comes from my very personal and frightening physical awakening process that dismantled my entire reality and ego in a very short period of time. During intense spiritual awakening phases in which we undergo ego dismantling, is called the Dark Night of the Soul. I share my experiences with anyone who may need this information as I have had many unusual, mystical manifestations appear in my life since my spontaneous kundalini release many years ago. Those of us undergoing the first wave of awakening will be Ascension Guides for the balance of humanity who have not yet experienced a direct spiritual awakening or extra-dimensional contact. This website is dedicated to the Starseeds, and those endeavoring to evolve as Guardian Stewards in order to help participate and build the required consciousness structures this planet and humanity will require in the coming Age.

It is important to share this information in order to not feel a sense of isolation and fear from a myriad of possible unusual consciousnessexperiences that can result from the integration of our higher light-energy bodies that happens during the Planetary Ascension cycle. My desire to share this information comes from my very personal and frightening physical awakening process that dismantled my entire reality and ego in a very short period of time. It made functioning in life in the 3D reality extremely painful, isolating and difficult to navigate. I share my experiences with anyone who may need this information to develop better discernment, as I had many unusual, mystical and unexplainable manifestations appear in my life since my spontaneous kundalini release many years ago. As I had no guru, teacher or mentor to explain it to me, my personality/ego was terrified that I was losing my mind along with my identity in the life I had known up to that point. Who does one call upon during mutidimensional awakening experiences and when sick with the kundalini flu? Who on Earth do you talk to when you are introduced to other interdimensional beings of every shade of light, grey and darkness and then begin to perceive an organized spiritual hierarchy of otherworldly human and non human entities? Why are some of these dark entities attacking people that are awakening? Further, I had many physical ailments show up during these times when the spiritual light force was greatly increased and activated from within me to build my aura. At the time, I was most blessed and had teams of Angels (Light Beings) and Extradimensional Ascended Masters around me, I was emotionally devastated and physically ill, as my state was exacerbated from my lack of comprehension of what was transpiring in my consciousness body. No one told me that spiritual awakening and rising kundalini forces can not only be devastating, but that there are many dark forces on the earth that will start targeting you for energetic harrassment to stop your forward progress.

Now I want to share my direct awakening experiences to assist anyone who may need this information so that having this knowledge can eradicate the fear of facing the unknown mysteries lying within. Once we go into and are spiritually initiated into these mysteries of God, there is no turning back. During these times since the planet is accelerating so quickly into higher frequency patterns, many more people will experience spontaneous awakening and consciousness altering experiences, that may feel to be scary without proper context. Many of these people will not be in spiritual or metaphysical settings when this consciousness shift occurs to them, it will be the office professional, the banker, the average person in the level of the current mass consciousness. Spiritual awakening is not a disease to be labeled by the medical community so people are medicated, it is a natural biological process for expanding human consciousness. The ultimate liberation of our Soul-Spirit comes through this blessing and humans must embrace and prepare themselves for this consciousness change that will forever alter the way we perceive and interact with reality. This process is the divine destiny of all humankind and our beautiful planet that is the heart principle of the Universe. We are in an accelerated consciousness evolution timeline and it is time to prepare. Many people have been suppressed and mind controlled to reject the spiritual-energetic reality of which the planet and humanity is undergoing and facing now. The Controllers do not want Planetary Ascension information given nor many other topics for disclosure given to the masses as common knowledge, because they can control and herd people easier when they are scared and dumbed down. Those awakening now are the forerunners and the Mapmakers of the future planetary changes to shift the timelines. In order to be effective and clear, self mastery over mental and emotional states, as well as having proper evolutionary context, and an awareness of the hidden extraterrestrial agendas, is required for Integrated Spiritual Ascension and future Stewardship roles.

The Mechanics of the Shift

First, let us review the meaning of "Ascension" and why we, as humans, will experience physical, emotional and mental symptoms and changes.

Currently we are in a phase transition of expansion into the realms of experiencing higher consciousness as multidimensional human beings living on this planet. During this phase of the Ascension cycle, we as human beings will experience many varied physical symptoms as we shift our cells into higher frequency patterns.

Ascension is about the bringing of layers of light, the force existing within the levels of our spiritual bodies (our Multidimensional God Selves) by descending these layers into matter and anchoring them into the physical plane of reality. Simultaneously, Ascension is a shift in energetic frequency patterns held in a dimensional space which, when absorbed and activated into the layers of the planetary and human bio-energetic field, activates its DNA template instruction set. This catalyzes a chain of events that creates a complete transformation and transmutation of various patterns and programs held in the energetic templates of the Human Souls journey within a cycle of evolutionary time. When activated, these patterns begin to shift, re-emerge and clear from the layers of experiences coded into every cell and memory pattern held as an energetic vibration within the bodies.

The Ascension process is about moving the consciousness from one reality to another and the awareness of possible multiple realities existing simultaneously. Since a reality is a dimension, what we are undertaking is, in essence, a complete dimensional shift. A dimensional reality is held in place by a complex layer of coded energetic grids to create the illusion of time and space for the consciousness to perceive and to participate in its own experience within the broadband widths of that particular range of frequency. As the dimensional grids shift its frequency and its magnetic attributes change, all things existing within that broadband reality will also shift and change in a myriad of ways. The natural laws governing that time and space as we know them will change. This also means the perception of our spatial awareness, our relationship to time and space will also change rather dramatically.

Thus, to go through this shift one must prepare and adjust one's way of thinking and being to that which is in alignment with the soul purpose and true divine essence. Surrender and Acceptance are two main characteristics we will need to allow to permeate through us to facilitate an easier time. In order to shift the old behaviors and thought patterns not serving the soul purpose, we will become aware of the beliefs and behaviors that exist as imbalances within us and we must take the appropriate steps to integrate or clear them. This process will bring our deepest fears, beliefs of limitation and old pain patterns to the surface through events that trigger them into our awareness so that we can consciously acknowledge, resolve and heal them. Some of these issues are ancestral or inherited in their nature and may feel rather odd yet familiar when they are is brought to your awareness. It is important to remember that we are not only clearing our own individual mind grid, but also the karmic mind implications and collective (un)consciousness implications on this planet from the last evolutionary cycle. This way you can reframe the circumstance in your mind to be that which is impersonal and detached from identifying with the specific issue that has risen to the surface to be cleared within your bodies. Appreciate and acknowledge your light being for accepting the assignment for this clearing rather than claiming it as belonging to you. By doing this repeatedly, we clear our emotional and energy bodies of the long held traumas, beliefs and fears that have impeded our ability to experience our true being and bring more joy into our lives. Once the emotional body is resolved and cleared of an old pain or trauma, the physical body then is enabled to clear its equivalent of that block.

All of this happens simultaneously within all of the layers of the bio-energetic field when each healing is cleared. In effect, it is a full clearing and release of these painful events held as patterns in the bodies from the souls record and cellular memory. And that is pretty awe inspiring when you realize how this will impact the human experience as we move forward!

Also, as these painful patterns are removed from the soul record, the clearing recodes our DNA so it can hold more light, thus sustaining our new frequency and a state of increasing higher consciousness and multidimensionality. As we hold this greater light and advanced genetic package in our bio-energy field, it enables others, through the principle of resonance, to vibrate at the increased frequency rate and activate their own inner potential and divine inheritance towards Ascension.

Emotional clearing is the main process we will experience and be acutely aware of as we shift through the Ascension. Since emotional pain and imbalances are responsible for our states of "dis-ease" many of us will experience illness or physical releases of pain clearing from our bodies. Some of this clearing is for your karmic, genetic or ancestral soul lineage. Some of us, as lightworkers, have chosen to clear states of imbalances for the collective or for a specific group and will feel this movement of energy transmute through us, as our energetic being is acting as a cosmic filtration system for the greater whole.

The goal of this information is to inform you of these dynamics that we are currently experiencing, and as the energies accelerate to prepare you even further by clearly discussing the various possible physical symptoms from a position of having a neutral association. Utilizing what works for you personally by cultivating intuitive discernment with an informed awareness is the intended support of offering this discussion.

This is to not alarm you, but is used as a tool to keep you informed in order to be self accountable and self sovereign in all of your upcoming choices. We will not be given anything we cannot handle. Much of this can be avoided by being self-aware and taking the time to heal through emotional clearing and listening to your body when it requests other healing techniques. Spirit has given us many tools for our Ascension toolkit to assist and support our evolution in the easiest possible way. Ask for assistance with a pure heart and it will be given!

Transmutational Symptoms

During theAscensionprocess as we accrete frequency and light we may undergo a variety of ascension symptoms, physical, mental, emotional or spiritual-energetic.

These transmutational symptoms can be extreme. The12D Shieldis helpful to harmonize the body through many ascension symptoms. Many of the ascension symptoms are vague to describe and inexpressible in linear thought and language. When people go to doctors, they are being told to take drugs or they are being instructed to seek professional psychological help.This site is not professing to be giving any medical advice. It may be beneficial for some of us to seek out medical or psychological treatment during our process. We must follow our own inner guidance on how to proceed with what is occurring within our physical and energy body systems at this unprecedented time of acceleration.

Certain symptoms are now becoming more apparent and when we know this as a process and that many others are feeling the same things, a certain serenity can be brought into the mind. Many can rest in the knowledge that they are being transformed in ways that may feel extremely hard on the physical body.

Some of the most common symptoms reported include:

Also, our bodies often experience a rush of heat and energy bursts that are not comfortable. Our bodies are being shifted in thermodynamic ways and with so much light entering the fields of the body, some of the "symptoms" we experience are actually preventing our physical vehicles from bursting with the intensity of light. We may experience a "triad" sleep pattern (waking up every 3 hours) or interrupted sleep as we are being recalibrated and worked on energetically at night. This adds to our being restless and tired in the morning.

Remember to be gentle with your hearts and being and only allow others within your boundaries of inner sanctum that treat you the same. This can be an extremely vulnerable time emotionally. We need to release the fear of asking for help and investing in ourselves to feel balanced and healthy. Massage, Bodywork, Hydration, Supplementation, Energy Work, Spiritual Counsel

If I could impart anything to our it would be to emphasize how humans are so deeply loved and appreciated by God's Spirit, The Krystal Star and Law of One Light Hierarchies, The Planetary Logos, from all those of whom we serve as One. The impact of our collective consciousness work during this evolutionary time cycle to shift future timelines is generally beyond the comprehension of the human mind.

As we move forward only those of you that can feel the inner resonance are aware if you are apart of the soul groups of Starseeds and Indigos that agreed to be the Light stewardship and Ascension Guides for the changing reality structure. Humans are expanding consciousness to become increasingly multidimensional, and being in Love is only one part of the human equation. Clearing ego and emotional wounds, learning to discern ego from higher self intelligence, as well as reclaiming and healing spiritual light-bodies, and evicting Imposter Spirit parasites, is a part of having an accurate assessment of the requirements of our changing earth. Our earth needs new ethical guidance and humanitarian stewardship. The Galactic community, those in communication with enlightened intelligence fields and higher dimensions, are the first ascending waves to meet those challenges of building structures that support humanity as multidimensional spiritual beings. Our community is the repository of building and supporting the integrated ascension path, as well as cultivating self leadership in order to lead and support humanity through personal example.

Lightworkers, Starseeds, Gridworkers and Ascension Stewards,Thank you and with deep gratitude for all of your amazing work!

Stay in the luminosity of your Avatar heart and Christos-Sophia path! We are here to reunite the Holy Mother and Holy Father and reclaim the Christos Diamond Sun body for all!

Lisa Renee, http://www.EnergeticSynthesis.com

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What is Ascension? - Energetic Synthesis

Why Is Freedom of Speech Important? | Reference.com

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In areas of the world where freedom of speech is not protected, citizens are afraid to speak out against their government, even when it acts illegally, for fear of being locked away in a cell for life. According to the University of Virginia, historically, men, women and even some children were put to death for daring to speak out against a tyrannical monarch, an unjust parliament or legislature or even a powerful corporation.

Fortunately, in the first amendment in the Bill of Rights guarantees a person the freedom to speak and express himself however he wishes, just so long that his actions do not infringe on the rights of another person. Even in the American Colonies, prohibitions on free speech were rampant. Virginia had a law in its charter that would grant the death penalty for anyone who "blasphemed God's holy name."

According to Justia.com, one of the most overlooked part of the guarantee of free speech is the fact that it causes sweeping change in ways that the government itself can never quite accomplish. Justice Thurgood Marshall stated, "above all else, the First Amendment means that government has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter, or its content."

The change is gay marriage laws is one example of how the actions of a free society lobbying, protesting, distributing fliers and debating caused sweeping changes in public perception and the law in a relatively small amount of time. Without freedom of speech, the voices of this minority would have never been heard.

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Why Is Freedom of Speech Important? | Reference.com

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Republic of MinervaMicronationMotto: Land of the Rising AtollStatusDefunct (now part of Tonga)[1]Membership42Date of foundation19 January 1972LeadershipPresident Morris C Davis, 1972-1973, 1982Organisational structureRepublicLanguageEnglishPurported currencyMinerva Dollar

The Minerva Reefs (Tongan: Ongo Teleki), briefly de-facto independent in 1972 as the Republic of Minerva, are a group of two submerged atolls located in the Pacific Ocean south of Fiji and Tonga. The reefs were named after the whaleship Minerva, was wrecked on what became known as South Minerva after setting out from Sydney in 1829. Many other ships would follow, for example the Strathcona, which was sailing north soon after completion in Auckland in 1914. In both cases most of the crew saved themselves in whaleboats or rafts and reached the Lau Islands in Fiji. Of some other ships, however, no survivors are known.

[2][3]A yacht anchored at South Minerva. The surf that indicates the reef can just be seen in the backgroundBoth North and South Minerva Reefs are used as anchorages by yachts traveling between New Zealand and Tonga or Fiji. While waiting for favourable weather for the approximately 800-mile passage to New Zealand, excellent scuba diving, snorkelling, fishing and clamming can be enjoyed. North Minerva (Tongan: Teleki Tokelau) offers the more protected anchorage, with a single, easily negotiated, west-facing pass that offers access to the large, calm lagoon with extensive sandy areas. South Minerva (Tongan: Teleki Tonga) is in shape similar to an infinity symbol, with its eastern lobe partially open to the ocean on the northern side. Due to the lower reef and large entrance, the anchorage at South Minerva can be rough at high tide if a swell is running. The lagoon also contains numerous coral heads that must be avoided. While presenting an attractive area to wait out harsh weather occurring farther south, the Minerva reefs are not a good place to be when the weather is bad locally. This does not occur often, but it is important to maintain awareness of the situation and put to sea if necessary.

Scuba diving the outside wall drop-offs at the Minerva Reefs is spectacular due to the superb water clarity and extensive coral, fish and other marine life. There are few suspended particles and the visibility is normally in excess of 100 feet due to there being no dry land at high tide. Of particular note are the numerous fan coral formations near the pass at North Minerva and the shark bowl area located by the narrow dinghy pass on the western lobe of South Minerva. The inside of the lagoon at South Minerva is also home to numerous giant clams. Divers at Minerva must be entirely self-sufficient, with their own compressor, and should also be aware that the nearest assistance is a multiple-day boat ride away in Tonga. Due to the vertical drop off and water clarity, divers must watch their depth carefully.

[4][5]Landing on Minerva, years after the confrontation.[6][7]More people walking on Minerva.It is not known when the reefs were first discovered but had been marked on charts as "Nicholson's Shoal" since the late 1820s. Capt H. M. Denham of the HMS Herald surveyed the reefs in 1854 and renamed them after the Australian whaler Minerva which collided with South Minerva Reef on 9 September 1829.[1]

[8][9]The obverse of the 35 Minerva Dollar coin[10][11]The reverse of the 1973 35 Minerva Dollar coinThe Republic of Minerva was a micronation consisting of the Minerva Reefs. It was one of the few modern attempts at creating a sovereign micronation on the reclaimed land of an artificial island in 1972. The architect was Las Vegas real estate millionaire and political activist Michael Oliver, who went on to other similar attempts in the following decade. Lithuanian-born Oliver formed a syndicate, the Ocean Life Research Foundation, which allegedly had some $100,000,000 for the project and had offices in New York and London. They anticipated a libertarian society with "no taxation, welfare, subsidies, or any form of economic interventionism." In addition to tourism and fishing, the economy of the new nation would include light industry and other commerce. According to Glen Raphael, "The chief reason that the Minerva project failed was that the libertarians who were involved did not want to fight for their territory."[2] According to Reason, Minerva has been "more or less reclaimed by the sea".[3]

In 1971, barges loaded with sand arrived from Australia, bringing the reef level above the water and allowing construction of a small tower and flag. The Republic of Minerva issued a declaration of independence on 19 January 1972, in letters to neighboring countries and even created their own currency. In February 1972, Morris C. Davis was elected as Provisional President of the Republic of Minerva.

The declaration of independence, however, was greeted with great suspicion by other countries in the area. A conference of the neighboring states (Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji, Nauru, Samoa, and territory of Cook Islands) met on 24 February 1972 at which Tonga made a claim over the Minerva Reefs and the rest of the states recognized its claim.

On 15 June 1972, the following proclamation was published in a Tongan government gazette:PROCLAMATION

A Tongan expedition was sent to enforce the claim.[when?] The Republic of Minerva flag was lowered.

Tongas claim was recognized by the South Pacific Forum in September 1972. Meanwhile, Provisional President Davis was fired by founder Michael Oliver and the project collapsed in confusion. Nevertheless, Minerva was referred to in O. T. Nelson's post-apocalyptic children's novel The Girl Who Owned a City, published in 1975, as an example of an invented utopia that the book's protagonists could try to emulate.

In 1982, a group of Americans led again by Morris C. Bud Davis tried to occupy the reefs, but were forced off by Tongan troops after three weeks. In recent years several groups have allegedly sought to re-establish Minerva. No known claimant group since 1982 has made any attempt to take possession of the Minerva Reefs.

In November 2005, Fiji lodged a complaint with the International Seabed Authority concerning Tonga's maritime waters claims surrounding Minerva. Tonga has lodged a counter claim. The Minerva "principality" group also claims to have lodged a counter claim.

In 2005, Fiji has made it clear that they do not recognize any maritime water claims by Tonga to the Minerva Reefs under the UNCLOS agreements. In November 2005, Fiji lodged a complaint with the International Seabed Authority concerning territorial claim over Minerva. Tonga lodged a counter claim, and the Principality of Minerva micronation claimed to have lodged a counter claim. In 2010 the Fijian Navy destroyed navigation lights at the entrance to the lagoon. In late May 2011, they again destroyed navigational equipment installed by Tongans. In early June 2011, two Royal Tongan Navy ships were sent to the Reef to replace the equipment, and to reassert Tonga's claim to the territory. Fijian Navy ships in the vicinity reportedly withdrew as the Tongans approached, leading New Zealand's One News to comment that a military conflict between the two countries had narrowly been averted.[4][5]

[12][13]Minerva ReefsArea: North Reef diameter about 5.6 km (3.5 mi), South Reef diameter of about 4.8 km (3.0 mi). Terrain: two (atolls) on dormant volcanic seamounts.

Both Minerva Reefs are about 435 km (270 mi) southwest of the Tongatapu Group. The atolls are on a common submarine platform from 549 to 1097 meters (1800 to 3600 feet) below the surface of the sea. North Minerva is circular in shape and has a diameter of about 5.6 km (3.5 mi). There is a small sand bar around the atoll, awash at high tide, with a small entrance into the flat lagoon with a somewhat deep harbor. South Minerva is parted into The East Reef and the West Reef, both circular with a diameter of about 4.8 km (3.0 mi). Around both reefs are two small sandy cays, vegetated by low scrub and some trees[dubious discuss]. Several iron towers and platforms are reported to have stood on the atolls, along with an unused light tower on South Minerva, erected by the Americans during World War II.[citation needed]. Geologically, Minervan Reef is of a limestone base formed from uplifted coral formations elevated by now-dormant volcanic activity.

The climate is basically subtropical with a distinct warm period (DecemberApril), during which the temperatures rise above 32C (90F), and a cooler period (MayNovember), with temperatures rarely rising above 27C (80F). The temperature increases from 23C to 27C (74F to 80F), and the annual rainfall is from 170 to 297 centimeters (67-117 in.) as one moves from Cardea in the south to the more northerly islands closer to the Equator. The mean daily humidity is 80%.

[14][15]Sailboat wreck on North Minerva reefThe Tuaikaepau ('Slow But Sure'), a Tongan vessel on its way to New Zealand, became famous when it struck the reefs on 7 July 1962. (This 15 m wooden vessel was built in 1902 at the same yard as the Strathcona). The crew and passengers survived by living in the remains of a Japanese freighter. There they remained for 3 months in miserable circumstances and several of them died. Finally Captain Tvita Fifita decided to get help. Without tools, he built a small boat from the wood left over from his ship. With this raft, named Malolelei ('Good Day'), he and a few of the stronger crew members sailed to Fiji in one week.

The reefs gained further notoriety in January 1972 in the Republic of Minerva 'incident'. Subsequently, on 24 February, Tonga laid claim to the Minerva Reefs and annexed them on 15 June the same year. The move was recognised by the South Pacific Forum in September

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Donald Trump: Latest News, Top Stories & Analysis – POLITICO

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U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley isnt having it.

Not for the first time, President Donald Trump and one of his Cabinet members appear to be somewhat at odds. And in the past this traffic has gone one way. The former South Carolina governor is different, though, POLITICOs Eliana Johnson and Burgess Everett report.

In the span of 24 hours Haley has done what none of her colleagues in Trumps Cabinet have before: successfully telegraphed to her boss that she will not quietly suffer his public humiliations.

Haley had initially absorbed blame from White House aides who said she created confusion by speaking on national television about new sanctions against Russia sanctions which Trump ultimately decided to wait on. But within hours of White House economic aide Larry Kudlow saying that Haley perhaps had momentary confusion about the plan on sanctions, Haley fired back. She unleashed a withering reply With all due respect, I dont get confused and Kudlow had phoned her to apologize.

The White House and, perhaps as importantly, Trump, have stayed silent on the topic since then.

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Donald Trump: Latest News, Top Stories & Analysis - POLITICO