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The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech… Just Watch What You Say …

Posted on February 14, 2018 by Danzig

The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say! is the third studio album by American rapper Ice-T. The album was released on October 10, 1989, by Sire Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album has an uncharacteristically gritty sound, featuring some of the darkest musical tracks that Ice-T ever released.

The album was released after Ice-T was encountering censorship problems on tour. In The Ice Opinion: Who Gives a Fuck? the rapper states that "People had already told me what I could not say onstage in Columbus, Georgia. You couldn't say anything they called a 'swear' word. You couldn't touch yourself. They were using the same tactics they used on everyone from Elvis and Jim Morrison to 2 Live Crew".[5]

The album's cover, featuring a B-boy with a shotgun shoved in his mouth, and two pistols pressed against each side of his head, reflected Ice-T's experiences with the concept of freedom of speech. "The concept of that picture is, 'Go ahead and say what you want. But here comes the government and here come the parents, and they are ready to destroy you when you open your mouth'".[5]

"The Iceberg" alternates between typical violent metaphor, outlandish boasts, and comical sexual situations involving other members of Ice's Rhyme Syndicate. "Lethal Weapon" tells listeners that the mind is the most powerful weapon:

"You Played Yourself" advises listeners to be smart and not let themselves "be played". "Peel Their Caps Back" is about committing a drive-by to avenge a slain friend. Unlike other songs where violence is a metaphor for the rapper's ability to defeat other rappers lyrically, this song is a stark depiction of what could lead to such an event. However, it contains two surprising elements: in the end, the main character is killed, and the whole event is written off by the media as just another gang killing.

In "The Girl Tried to Kill Me", Ice-T raps about an encounter with a dominatrix:

"Black and Decker" starts off with Rhyme Syndicate members complaining about the media's portrayal of their work as meaningless violence. Ice wonders aloud what it would sound like if you drilled into someone's head with a powerdrill. After some gory sound effects, Ice says "Probably sound like that." "Hit the Deck" offers sincere advice to wannabe-MCs:

"This One's for Me" offers Ice's take on the rap scene and music industry. "The Hunted Child" is a first-person account of a scared young gang-banger on the run. The busy, multi-layered composition, with its scratched sirens and staccato drums, samples Public Enemy's "Bring the Noise".[6]

"What Ya Wanna Do" is a 9-minute party song featuring several members of the Syndicate, including a young Everlast, who became famous as a member of House of Pain. "Freedom of Speech" was one of the first raps to focus on the First Amendment and in particular attacked Tipper Gore's PMRC with unmistakable venom:

The album ends with in "My Word Is Bond", featuring Syndicate members telling one exaggerated story after another against a looped sample of Slick Rick saying "Stop lying" from his song "La Di Da Di".[7]

Sample credits

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The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say ...

Cyberpunk 2077 – IGN

Posted on February 14, 2018 by Danzig

Cyberpunk 2077 is based on renowned pen-and-paper-RPG designer Mike Pondsmith's Cyberpunk system and created by CD Projekt (the acclaimed development group behind the hit RPG The Witcher.) Players are thrown into the dark future of the year 2077 and into a world where advanced technologies have become both the salvation and the curse of humanity. A multi-threaded, nonlinear story designed for mature players takes place in the sprawling metropolis of Night City and its surroundings. Along the way, visit places well known from Cyberpunk 2020, including a combat zone completely taken over by gangs, the legendary Afterlife joint and the nostalgic Forlorn Hope.

Freedom of action and diversity in gameplay is delivered thanks to the sandbox nature of the game and mechanics inspired by the Cyberpunk pen-and-paper system, fine tuned to meet the requirements of a modern RPG. Players experience the world through their own unique characters chosen from different classes -- be they blood-thirsty mercenaries or cunning hackers that they will equip with vast selection of cybernetic implants and deadly weapons. Gameplay will pump adrenaline through players' veins and be consistent with the celebrated Cyberpunk spirit -- rebellion, style, edge, uncertainty. And of course, a cyberpunk reality cannot be deprived of murderous steel -- guns, rifles, implants, dozens of gadgets and other varied pieces of equipment needed to survive on the streets of Night City.

NOTE: This game has been officially announced as a title in production and is likely planned for release on the PC platform, but it has not yet been officially announced for any specific system. Please check back for official info.

Astronomy On Tap Science is even better with beer!

Posted on February 14, 2018 by ev1

Scientists, educators, writers, artists & more reveal how they explore the universe at a bar near you!

This Months EventsRecent PostsPhoto Gallery

Each FREE event features accessible, engaging science presentations on topics ranging from planets to black holes to galaxies to the beginning of the Universe. Presenters are from local research and educational institutions. In NYC these include AMNH, Columbia, CUNY, NYU, Princeton, Yale, Rutgers, and more. Most events have games and prizes to test and reward your new-found knowledge, and you could even win Neil Tysons Trash Treasures (TM)! There is always lots of time to ask questions and interact with the presenters and other scientists who inevitably tag along for the beer.

Astronomy on Tap was created in NYC by Meg Schwamb, now a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Academia Sinica (Taiwan). NYC events are currently organized by Emily Rice, an astronomer and professor at the College of Staten Island, and Brian Levine, astrophysics educator at the American Museum of Natural History.

Astronomy on Tap satellite locations are active in Austin, Seattle, New Haven (CT), Lansing (MI), Tucson, Ann Arbor (MI), Washington, D.C., Chicago, Santa Barbara, Palo Alto, Urbana (IL), Los Angeles, (and are in development in several more other cities), and fly-by events have occurred in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Taipei. Events have also taken place in Columbus (OH), Santiago, Chile, and Rochester (NY).

Our lovely logo is by the multi-talented planetary astronomer Dr. Alex Parker.

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To find out about our events, follow us on Twitter @astronomyontap, Facebook, or sign up below for our email newsletter.

Theory of Knowledge Rationalism

Posted on February 13, 2018 by ev1

Rationalism holds, in contrast to empiricism, that it is reason, not experience, that is most important for our acquisition of knowledge. There are three distinct types of knowledge that the rationalist might put forward as supporting his view and undermining that of the empiricist.

First, the rationalist might argue that we possess at least some innate knowledge. We are not born, as the empiricist John Locke thought, with minds like blanks slates onto which experience writes items of knowledge. Rather, even before we experience the world there are some things that we know. We at least possess some basic instincts; arguably, we also possess some innate concepts, such as a faculty for language.

Second, the rationalist might argue that there are some truths that, though not known innately, can be worked out independent of experience of the world. These might be truths of logic or mathematics, or ethical truths. We can know the law of the excluded middle, answers to sums, and the difference between right and wrong, without having to base that knowledge in experience.

Third, the rationalist might argue that there are some truths that, though grounded in part in experience, cannot be derived from experience alone. Aesthetic truths, and truths about causation, for instance, seem to many to be of this kind. Two people may observe the same object, yet reach contradictory views as to its beauty or ugliness. This shows that aesthetic qualities are not presented to us by our senses, but rather are overlaid onto experience by reason. Similarly, we do not observe causation, we merely see one event followed by another; it is the mind, not the world, that provides us with the idea that the former event causes the latter.

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Theory of Knowledge Rationalism

Empiricism versus Rationalism – Mesa Community College

Posted on February 13, 2018 by jessica

Empiricism v. rationalism

THE EMPIRICISTS: Empiricists share the view that there is no such thing as innate knowledge, and that instead knowledge is derived from experience (either sensed via the five senses or reasoned via the brain or mind). Locke, Berkeley, and Hume are empiricists (though they have very different views about metaphysics).

The rationalists: Rationalists share the view that there is innate knowledge; they differ in that they choose different objects of innate knowledge. Plato is a rationalist because he thinks that we have innate knowledge of the Forms [mathematical objects and concepts (triangles, equality, largeness), moral concepts (goodness, beauty, virtue, piety), and possibly color he doesnt ever explicitly state that there are Forms of colors]; Descartes thinks that the idea of God, or perfection and infinity, and knowledge of my own existence is innate; G.W. Leibniz thinks that logical principles are innate; and Noam Chomsky thinks that the ability to use language (e.g., language rules) is innate.

Empiricism (In favor of Empiricism, against Rationalism):

1. Empiricism is Simpler: Compared to Empiricism, Rationalism has one more entity that exists: Innate knowledge. According to the Empiricist, the innate knowledge is unobservable and inefficacious; that is, it does not do anything. The knowledge may sit there, never being used. Using Ockhams Razor (= when deciding between competing theories that explain the same phenomena, the simpler theory is better),1 Empiricism is the better theory.

2. Colors: How would you know what the color blue looks like if you were born blind? The only way to come to have the idea of blue is to experience it with your senses. (This objection only works possibly against Plato; see the introduction above again to see why this objection would not faze Descartes, Leibniz, or Chomsky.)

3. Imagination and Experience: How can we get the idea of perfect triangularity? We can extrapolate from our experience with crooked, sensible triangles and use our imagination to straighten out what is crooked and see what perfect triangularity is.

4. Rationalists have been Wrong about Their Innate Knowledge: Some medieval rationalists claimed that the notion of a vacuum was rationally absurd and hence it was impossible for one to exist. However, we have shown that it is possible.2 Reason is not the only way to discover the truth about a matter.

5. The Advance of Science: Much of science is founded on empiricist principles, and would not have advanced without it. If we base our conclusions about the world on empiricism, we can change our theories and improve upon them and see our mistakes. A rationalist seems to have to say that weve discovered innate knowledge and then be embarrassed if he or she is ever wrong (see examples such as the vacuum, above).

6. All Rationalists do Not Agree about Innate Knowledge: Rationalists claim that there is innate knowledge that gives us fundamental truths about reality, but even among rationalists (e.g., Plato, who believes in reincarnation and Forms and Descartes, who does not believe in either but does believe in a soul), there is disagreement about the nature of reality, the self, etc. Howcan this be, if there is innate knowledge of these things?

Rationalism (In favor of Rationalism, against Empiricism):

1. Math and Logic are Innate: Doesnt it seem that mathematical and logical truths are true not because of our five senses, but because of reasons ability to connect ideas?

2. Morality is Innate: How do we get a sense of what right and wrong are with our five senses? Since we cannot experience things like justice, human rights, moral duties, moral good and evil with our five senses, what can the empiricists ethical theory like? Hume (an empiricist) says morality is based solely on emotions; Locke says experience can provide us with data to show what is morally right and wrong, but does it seem that way to you?

3. Verifying Empiricism: Locke (an empiricist) says that our experiences tell us about the nature of reality, but how can we ever check our experience with what reality really is, in order to know that? Rationalistsdo not think we can, so we have to rely on reason.

4. Poverty of Stimulus Problem: Three year olds use language in ways that they are not explicitly taught. Forexample, they form original sentences from words that they havent heard put together in precisely that way before. Also, they start to understand grammatical rules before they even know what a noun or a verb is. If we can only say what weve heard said by others, how can three year olds speak as well as they do? This is known as the poverty of stimulus problem. You may think that Rationalism is strange, but it does a better job of explaining this problem than Empiricism. One way of choosing which of two theories is better (in addition to or instead of Ockhams Razor see Empiricism point #1 above) is asking, Which theory explains the phenomena better?1

5. Empiricism Undermines Creativity? According to Empiricism, you can combine things, separate them, and nothing else. With Rationalism, we come to experience with ready-made tools for creativity. E.g., Plato would say that were in touch with abstract, immutable realities, which provide lots of material with which to create.

6. Controllable Humans? According to Empiricism, human beings can be controlled and manipulated exceptionally easily. If we are nothing other than what we experience, then we should be able to be made to do whatever were taught. Rationalism has it that there is an invariable core (call it human nature) that refuses to be manipulated, which is what makes us unique.

Notes:

1 I hasten to add that Ockham's Razor is simply a rule of thumb, and that I would recommend that the reader track down an excellent paper by Elliot Sober, entitled, "Let's Razor Ockham's Razor," wherein he demonstrates that if one uses Ockham's razor in a certain case of evolutionary biology, one will choose the wrong theory to explain the phenomena, because the situation is more complex than it may seem. I am persuaded by this argument and think we should not use Ockham's razor; I have it here because people seem to like using it, but hopefully they will be persuaded by Dr. Sober's argument as I am.2 I have recently seen an episode of "Through the Wormhole" with God, I mean, Morgan Freeman, and scientists have apparently discovered that, even in a vaccum, there are some sort of subatomic particles there, so there is no such thing as nothing, or that even nothing is something.

2013 by David J. Yount

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Empiricism versus Rationalism - Mesa Community College

Egoism | Learning to Give

Posted on February 13, 2018 by jessica

Dee Ann Sherwood

Definition

Ego means self; egoism can be thought of as self-ism. Egoism is a theory, in ethics, that human beings act or should act in their own interests and desires. Egoism is opposed to altruism, which asserts that human beings should act in ways that help others. Egoism is frequently associated with the early Greek hedonists, whose aim was pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain (The Columbia Encyclopedia 2002).

The assertion that people act in a purely egoist manner has several problems. Taken in the most literal sense, egoism can easily be proven false. People may be motivated by a myriad of feelings such as anger, fear, love, compassion, pride, a sense of justice, or a desire for knowledge. The theory assumes some ambiguity and fuses intentions and consequences. For example, a cigarette smoker acts on his desire to smoke; smoking causes health problems that are not in one's best interest. Oftentimes, one's desires can lead to behaviors and consequences that are not in one's best interest, though the initial action may have provided pleasure or avoided pain.

Modern psychologists have been challenged to reconcile the two seemingly mutually exclusive theories of altruism and egoism with the concept of an evolving self, a self that is enriched by a widening sphere of investments in others (Kegan 1982). Similarly, Maslow's actualized self is one whose more basic needs (ie., food, water, safety, belonging, esteem, and respect) have been met, propelling the self toward higher development and a concern for others.

Historic Roots

The concept of egoism is rooted in the tradition of Greek hedonism. The ancient Greek philosopher, Epicurus (342-270 B.C.E.) asserted that our life's aim should be fulfilling our moral obligation to pursue pleasure and avoid pain. In a letter to Menoeceus, he wrote:

We recognize pleasure as the first good innate in us, and from pleasure we begin every act of choice and avoidance, and to pleasure we return again, using the feeling as a standard by which we judge every good. (The Internet Encyclopedia 2002)

Epicurus denounced the pursuit of pleasure when seeking it produced pain. Rather, he thought that the less desires a person had, the easier it would be to find happiness. Yet, in the Middle Ages, Christian theologians "denounced Epicurean hedonism, which they believed was inconsistent with the Christian emphasis on avoiding sin, doing God's will, and developing the Christian values of faith, hope, and charity" (Ibid.).

Thomas More, in his Utopia (1516), revived interest in seeking pleasure, by claiming that God gives us desires for pleasure and He wants us to be happy. Over the years, philosophers and, more recently, psychologists have grappled with the issue of human motivation. Many people are familiar with the Freudian ego, the part of our mind that mediates impulses and desires (Wallach and Wallach 1983). Freud's theory is distinct from the forms of egoism discussed in this paper. For Freud, human behavior results from subconscious sexual desires.

Importance

Common sense and folk psychology assumes that people tend to act in their own interests. Today's culture reflects an interest in self-improvement, self-esteem, and self-gratification. The "X-generation" has also been called the "Me-generation," as rampant consumerism focuses young people on immediate gratification and reflects no example of community responsibility or consideration for others. In fact, the American market economy is founded on the assumption that self-interested, competing parties will produce the greatest good.

Yet, interestingly, our culture provides examples of both self- and other-centered paradigms. There are countless examples of people who act in the interests of others, sacrificing their own comfort and safety, to help fellow human beings, living creatures, or the physical environment. The acts of kindness, rescuing, generosity, self-sacrifice, and advocacy cover the spectrum of needs. Fire-fighters risked their lives, indeed some died, in the September 11, 2001, tragedy in the United States. In addition, a wave of financial gifts to victims and their families followed, as well as volunteers ready to help at the Ground Zero and Pentagon sites of devastation. Mother Teresa tended to the needs of the poor and sick in India - washing, feeding, bathing, and loving the least valued people in Calcutta's society. Princess Diana Spencer used her fame and status to advocate for the banning of land mines; she donated her clothing to raise funds for several social causes.

Ties to the Philanthropic Sector

Theories of egoism attempt to explain human motivation; understanding what motivates one toward serving the interests of others is key to understanding giving and philanthropic activity. The American spirit of giving has been expressed in concrete ways over the past two hundred years. "Major universities have been founded, hospital and medical centers have been built, and social change agencies have come into being" (Russo 1991, 1). Philanthropic gifts of time, talent, and treasure may result from complex motivations (ranging from the feeling of satisfaction that one has helped another to the tax-deduction gained from a financial contribution).

What is important to consider is that it does not have to be an either/or kind of proposition. People's behavior is not purely egoist or purely altruist. Actions can result from a blend of altruistic and egoist motives. Indeed our own American tradition has evolved from this apparent contradiction - we believe in individualism and serving the interests of self, and we have a tremendous history of giving to others in need.

Key Related Ideas

Ethics is a field of philosophy that is concerned with morality, recommending right and wrong behavior. Egoism is a philosophical theory in ethics, which has at least three subtypes, descriptive egoism, normative egoism and conditional egoism.

Descriptive egoism, also known as psychological egoism, contends that people always act in self-serving ways, though they may try to disguise their selfish motives. Normative egoism, also termed ethical egoism, claims people should act in self-serving ways because it is morally right. Modern philosophers have added a third, conditional egoism, which asserts that egoism is morally right and acceptable if it leads to morally acceptable ends; self-motivated actions can be considered morally acceptable, if they lead to the betterment of society and the public as a whole (The Internet Encyclopedia 2002).

Adam Smith, in Wealth of Nations, offers an example of conditional egoism. Borrowing ideas from Mandeville's, Fable of the Bees, Smith wrote:

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect dinner, but from their regard to their own self-interest. We address ourselves not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages. (Ibid.)

Important People Related to the Topic

Thomas More (1478 - 1536) was a Renaissance philosopher. His Utopia, sanctioned pleasure on the religious grounds that "the chief part of a person's happiness consists of pleasure," God's wish is for human beings to experience pleasure and find happiness (Ibid.).

During the same era, Thomas Hobbes (1588 - 1679) was born in Westport and educated at Oxford. In Leviathan, a political, philosophical, and ethical piece, Hobbes writes that life is "nasty, brutish, and short" and, therefore, people should above all value and pursue their own interests, under the sovereign authority of God (Ibid.).

During a time of great social upheaval and intellectual debate, that included a civil war and the execution of Charles I, David Hume (1711 - 1776) was forced to flee England (Baird 2000). Hume explored the moral theme of happiness and pleasure, in his renowned, A Treatise on Human Nature. Hume attended Oxford at the age of fourteen and thought that schooling was a waste of time. His position was controversial and brought him into conflict with Aristotelian authorities at Oxford.

Hume's Scottish friend, Adam Smith (1723 - 1790), expanded an application of egoism to include the economic sphere. The Wealth of Nations came to be regarded as the foundation for classical economics. In it, Smith asserts that if market forces were allowed to operate, unfettered by government interference, "an invisible hand" would guide the interests of the public and society at large would be served (The New American 1989). Recent years have seen a renewed interest in the work of German philosopher Max Stirner (1806 - 1856). In The Ego and His Own, Stirner asserts that "the individual must find his entire satisfaction in his own life" (Fleischman 1971, 14). For Stirner, the unique man is the center of the world; his will, in relation to his property, is an expression of his subjective interests. Stirner exalted self above the State, the law, and God (Honderich 1995).

Related Nonprofit Organizations

The Adam Smith Institute is "dedicated to introducing choice and competition, in extending the influence of markets, and giving ordinary people the chance to help frame their future by their choices, and in redesigning public services in ways that inject innovation and customer responsiveness into their delivery"

(The Adam Smith Institute 2002). Established in 1977, this British organization claims to have led the way in the development and evaluation of public policy.

The Values Institute, directed by Dr. Lawrence Hinman of the University of San Diego, is dedicated to the exploration and analysis of values, including egoism, as an ethical theory. Hinman purposes a four-quadrant framework, of opposing continua (representing degrees of altruistic and egoistic motivations) in order to understand human motivation and behavior.

Related Web Sites

The Adam Smith Institute Web site contains information with text and photos, related to the pursuit of self-interest in the American market economy, at http://www.adamsmith.org/.

The Ethics Update Web site, at http://ethics.sandiego.edu/ was founded in 1994, by Dr. Lawrence Hinman. It was designed to "provide updates on current literature, both popular and professional, that relates to ethics," primarily for faculty and students.

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy contains text and links to information on egoism, at http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/.

The Values Institute Web site, at http://ethics.sandiego.edu/values/index.html, contains links to egoism information with text and photos. The Institute is "dedicated to thoughtful discussion of difficult moral issues."

Bibliography and Internet Sources

The Adam Smith Institute. [updated 1 October 2002; cited 8 October 2002]. Available from http://www.adamsmith.org.

Baird, Forrest. Philosophic Classics, Vol. III. New York: Prentice Hall, 2000.

The Columbia Encyclopedia, sixth ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002.

The Ethics Update. Psychological Egoism. [updated 7 October 2002; cited 12 October 2002]. Available from http://ethics.sandiego.edu/index.html.

Fleischman, Eugene. The Role of the Individual in Pre-Revolutionary Society: Stirner, Marx, and Hegel. London: Cambridge University Press, 1971.

Honderich, Ted, ed. The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford University Press, 1995. ISBN: 0198661320.

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Hedonism. [cited 29 September 2002]. Available from http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/h/hedonism.

Kegan, Robert. The Evolving Self. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1982.

The New American Desk Encyclopedia. New York: Concord Reference Books, 1989.

Russo, Henry A. Achieving Excellence in Fund Raising. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1991. ISBN: 1555423876.

Wallach, Michael, and Wallach, Lise. Psychology's Sanction for Selfishness. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman Company, 1983.

This paper was developed by a student taking a Philanthropic Studies course taught at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. It is offered by Learning To Give and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

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Egoism | Learning to Give

Cyberpunk 2077 release date, trailer and news Reader

Posted on February 13, 2018 by Danzig

Update: With the announcement that consumer tickets will soon be on sale, the hype for E3 2018 has now started to build. Who will be there? What will they bring? Well, thanks to the scrolling banner of show participants on the official E3 website, we know one developer that definitely will be there CD Projekt Red.

Now, whether or not they'll bring Cyberpunk 2077 to the show is another matter entirely. It could be that the developer is planning to show more of Gwent before its final release this year.

However, the developer took Gwent to several events in 2017, so it could be that 2018 is Cyberpunk's time to shine. That said, showing of one game doesn't necessarily cancel out the chance to feature another. It could very well be that CD Projekt Red takes Gwent to the show floor for fans to try for themselves, while Cyberpunk gets its next highly-anticipated trailer and behind closed doors testing.

Certainly after some recent Twitter activity and a report from GRYOnline, fans are understandably hopeful that Cyberpunk 2077 will appear in some form or another at E3 2018.

Original article continues below

Following on from the wild success of The Witcher 3 isnt going to be easy but with Cyberpunk 2077, we think CD Projekt Red might have a pretty good shot at it. In this new IP theyre moving from the gritty, high fantasy world of the Continent to the gritty, science fiction word of a neon cyberpunk metropolis.

This game looks like its going to offer a significant aesthetic refresh from The Witcher 3, but hopefully without abandoning everything we loved about it in terms of gameplay, themes and tone. Of course, at the moment we dont know all that much about Cyberpunk 2077.

The internet is crawling with news and rumors, though, so weve collected everything that's been said about the game here for your convenience and we'll be constantly updating this page as more details emerge.

After an extremely short title reveal trailer, in 2013 we were treated to a more than two minute long teaser trailer although it didn't reveal much about what will be in the actual game.

It did, however, capture Cyberpunk's futuristic setting incredibly well and let us know that when it comes we can expect something dark, dangerous and visually stunning. At the end it also looks like we get a look at the Braindance technology discussed further down.

In the games official teaser trailer its stated that the game will be coming when its ready. But for now it appears that CD Projekt Red is hoping that will be sometime in early 2019.

In an investor call in early 2016 it was suggested that Cyberpunk 2077 would be released before June 2019. It was also said in this call that CD Projekt Red is planning to release two new triple A RPGs before 2021.

It was later clarified in forums that Cyberpunk 2077 would be the first of these games to arrive and work on the second would not start before Cyberpunk 2077 was finished.

Considering The Witcher 3 took around three and a half years to develop, a 2019 release doesnt seem unmanageable for the studio.

As well as a deadline theyve no doubt set for themselves, the studio also has a deadline from the Polish government.

In December of last year they were given a grant of more than $5 million from the government to research new game techniques related to multiplayer, animation and city creation. The sizable sum came with a project deadline attached and if it does relate to Cyberpunk 2077 itll mean the game really does have to be released in 2019. The government said so, which ironically isnt particularly Cyberpunk.

In a recent financial presentation, CD Projekt Red has revealed that at the moment Cyberpunk 2077 is under "intensive development" and that there are more than 300 developers actively working on it. For context, there are currently 100 developers working across Gwent and the Witcher 3's 4K patch at the moment.

There was no more information on the game's progress during the presentation but the company's President and joint CEO Adam Kiciski said there would be "a moment in time" when he and the developers will be able to show off what they've achieved.

Plans for E3

It's been a while since Cyberpunk 2077 has appeared at a big gaming show. However, recent rumors suggest the game could make an appearance at E3 2018.

After there were stirrings of life on the official Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter account we have to admit we wondered if that was all we were going to get for the year. But hopes are being raised thanks to recent reports from leading Polish games site GRYOnline.

According to GRYOnline, two separate sources have said that Cyberpunk 2077 will have a public trailer at E3 2018 and that there'll also be a playable demo behind closed doors for press.

There is precedent for CD Projekt Red taking this approach; in 2013 the developer showed off a trailer for The Witcher 3 while showing press a demo behind closed doors. The game was then released two years later.

Whether or not these rumors are true has not been confirmed by CD Projekt Red, but GRYOnline is a credible site. At this point we'll just have to wait and see, but the recent stirrings of life on the game's Twitter account are at least another good sign from the developer itself.

At the very least, CD Projekt's Red's presence at E3 2018 has been confirmed by the appearance of its logo in the show's official participant banner. Whether or not it's bringing Cyberpunk 2077 news to the show, however, remains unconfirmed.

Signs of life on Twitter

For a while now it's been all quiet on the Cyberpunk 2077 front. Well, it was until January 10 when the game's official Twitter account made a noise for the first time in more than four years.

What did this momentous tweet say? Well, see for yourself below.

Yes, that's the first tweet since December 2013. So we have no more information, but we do know there are signs of life in that Twitter accounts which suggests this could be the year we find out a little more about this highly anticipated game. Because surely the 2077 in the title isn't actually a release date.

Its going to be bigger than The Witcher 3

It would have been a pretty safe guess to say that Cyberpunk 2077 is going to be a big game, but in an interview with MCV in 2015 visual effects artist Jose Teixeira said its going to be far, far bigger than anything the studio has ever done.

In fact, he said that The Witcher 3 was being treated as a learning experience and that they could do better. To do better, the studio has doubled in size with studio head Adam Badowski saying that after The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077 needs to be even better, even bigger, even more revolutionary than what had originally been planned.

Youll be travelling on more advanced tech than boats and horses

So, we know the game map is going to be intimidatingly big. How will we get around it, then? Well fortunately, moving out of the high fantasy realm gives CD Projekt Red a little more freedom when it comes to creating vehicles.

Dont expect horses and basic boats here a job listing for a Senior Vehicle Artist for the studio said theyd be expected to work on incredibly complex vehicles, planes, bikes, robots and mechanics.

Itll have a big single player story

We dont imagine well shock many people when we say this but Cyberpunk 2077 will take place in the year 2077.

Specifically CD Projekt Red has confirmed itll be set in a place called Night City. Night Citys streets will be huge, filthy, and invested with drug problems. As youd expect from the Cyberpunk genre, therell be a huge wealth gap, where the rich and corporations preside over poverty-stricken citizens, many of whom are driven into gangs.

Desperate for escape, many of the poor residents of Night City turn to an addictive escape known as Braindance which for just a few hours allows them to feel physically and mentally like theyre someone (anyone) else.

According to CD Projekt Red theyre digital recordings of a persons experience. The viewer can stream a braindance directly into his neural system via special brain augmentations, called a BD player. Braindances allow the viewer to experience all brain processes registered, including emotions, muscle movements and all stimuli perceived by the recording person.

Braindance experiences that place you in the lives of the rich and glamorous are naturally sold by corporations. However, much darker and illegal Braindances that can turn those using them into bloodthirsty killers are also distributed on the black market.

In this incredibly dark world youll play a young man thats been raised in the lowest section of society but wants to make something of himself and rise out of the gutter. Like most Cyberpunk protagonists we imagine hell be something of an anti-hero and find himself embroiled in the criminal underworld, manipulated and forced into difficult situations. How Braindances will be used by or on the protagonist is unclear.

The game will be an RPG like The Witcher 3 and videogame character progression will fit in well to Cyberpunks world of physical and mental augmentations.

Its based on the Cyberpunk board games, the creator of which, Mike Pondsmith, has been working closely with the development team to ensure it stays true to the source material and doesnt lose the Cyberpunk at its core.

This contrasts with the studio's relationship with the author of the Witcher novels, Andrzej Sapkowski, who has always been ambivalent about the games.

But there will be multiplayer elements

It was confirmed years ago that the game would have multiplayer elements but what exactly theyll be is unclear. It was said, though, that the game would mainly focus on single player.

Considering some of the grant CD Projekt Red received from the Polish government was to go towards creating new techniques that included multiplayer experiences were expecting something exciting and refreshing.

There will be online

As well as multiplayer, CD Projekt's CEO has confirmed that there will also be online elements to the game. In an interview with Polish tech site Strefa Inwestorow Kiciski stated that Online is necessary, or very recommended if you wish to achieve a long-term success. At some point, we have mentioned that there will be a certain online element related to Cyberpunk.

In the same interview the CEO said that the team wanted to experiment in fields that weren't explored in The Witcher and that "were interested in Cyberpunk being commercially even more significant.

Whether or not the online elements will feed into the multiplayer is unclear.

But there won't be microstransactions

Following the above interview for Strefa Inwestorow in which CD Projekt's CEO confirmed there would be online elements in the game fans began to fear that there would be an abundance of microstransactions involved.

The studio has since tweeted to quell these fears, stating that Cyberpunk 2077 will be "nothing less than" the Witcher 3, adding that players will "get what [they] pay for" with "no hidden catch."

It appears that while many studios are feeling the need to move to a service model to ensure their titles make money, CD Projekt is staying committed to the story-driven single player experience with Cyberpunk 2077, one which served them very well with The Witcher.

Combat inspired by the original tabletop RPG

We know that the designer of the tabletop RPG Cybperunk on which Cyberpunk 2077 is based is heavily involved in the creation of the game. We hope his involvement extends to the game's combat because the combat system he created in his own game was fairly revolutionary for the tabletop genre.

Rather than involving drawn out and long turns, it was fast, brutal, gritty and overall perfectly suited to the spirit of Cyberpunk.

A big part of Cyberpunk combat involves upgrading your body with new abilities and robotics which would be perfectly in line with a video game character development system like those created by CD Projekt Red.

In Pondsmith's game bodily enhancement has to be carefully considered it's a balancing act where every benefit has a drawback. When a player makes robotic additions to themselves they reduce their humanity and empathy leading to an uncontrollable state of cyberpsychosis. This has the potential to be a really interesting system if it's adapted for the game and could be used in a similar manner to excessive consumption of combat-enhancing potions in The Witcher.

Keep checking back here for all the latest Cyberpunk 2077 news

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The 5 Most Cyberpunk Stories of 2017 Present Punk

Posted on February 13, 2018 by jessica

2017 was a year of stories. Every week, it seemed, carried a new political scandal, and 2018 doesnt seem on track to do much better. The 24 hour news cycle can be overbearing at times, to say the least, and 2017 brought that overflow of information to new heights.

If youre faith in humanity was lowered in 2017, dont worry. Were here to make it even worse.

#1: Amazon Stuff

Were not going to be unfair and give Amazon two spots on this listtheyll be getting plenty of coverage here anyway. We do have two main things well talk about here. The first:

#1 Exhibit A: Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos becomes the richest man at the world at $100 billion.

The title says it all. The crazy thing is, in the last few months Amazons stock has surged even moreand now Bezos is valued at closer to $120 billion as of February 2018.

Heres Exhibit B: All the cities racing to the bottom to get Amazons second headquarters.

For those who dont know, basically Amazon announced a little while ago that they are searching for a city to host a second headquarters (the first being in Seattle).

You can dig around for more articles, because a lot of people are talking about it. This opinion piece from Current Affairs explains it pretty well. Here are some excerpts from the Seattle Times list we linked to in heading:

Chicago has offered to let Amazon pocket $1.32 billion in income taxes paid by its own workers. This is truly perverse. Called a personal income-tax diversion, the workers must still pay the full taxes, but instead of the state getting the money to use for schools, roads or whatever, Amazon would get to keep it all instead.

But the most far-reaching offer is from Fresno, California. That city of half a million isnt offering any tax breaks. Instead it has a novel plan to give Amazon special authority over how the companys taxes are spent.

Some updates have happened since 2017 of coursenow theyve narrowed it down to a list of 20 cities (a list that includes our nations capitolwoohoo!).

#2: Erik Prince and his proposals to the white house

Many dont know that Erik Prince, the billionaire founder of Blackwater (which is the largest private army and is now named Academi) is also the brother of our current Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. Think of it this way: she wants to privatize education, and he wants to privatize the military.

His most outlandish proposal though, has been to give Trump a private spy ring to counter deep state enemies.This is absolutely horrifying. Now let me be clearthis deep state stuff isnt a right wing conspiracy. Of course theres a deep state. And yes, elements of them almost certainly do not like Trump, who they see as an outsider to their establishment. That doesnt make the Trump administration good though, and giving this white house a bunch of mercenary spies that operate around the world doesnt sound too great. In fact, this proposal is absolutely terrifyingthe American intelligence apparatus already has so little oversight, and having a mercenary spy network that answers only to the president and Mike Pompeo is practically fascist. This is a step toward cyberpunks corporate fascist future for sure.

#3: Saudi Arabia becoming the first nation to grant a robot citizenship

The actual granting of citizenship to a robot isnt too bad in my opinion. Cyberpunk, futuristic, but not inherently wrong (though I can certainly see the fear some may have).

What makes this dystopic is the fact that Saudi Arabia granted a female robot citizenship. At the same time that half its population are practically sub-citizens, and at the same time that it starves the entire nation of Yemen.

#4: So Paulos Mayors Allimento Program

In October 2017, So Paulos mayor was pushing for a program called Allimentobasically, the idea was to feed the poor recycled food pellets. If it doesnt sound so badlook at it.

Cmon. The dystopian aesthetic is unrealthis is as cyberpunk as it gets. You can watch an official promotional video on YouTube here. It doesnt look much better in motion.

#5: Zuck the Fucks Tour of Puerto Rico

Im sure youve heard of this. Rest assured, there have been plenty of other horrifying cyberpunk stories from 2017, but the stark image of one of our Big Tech overlords touring around a destroyed San Juanvirtuallywas beyond words.

Honorary Mention: Scott Walker agreeing to let Foxconn build a factory in Wisconsin

Once upon a time, we were sad about the de-industrialization of the United States. Fear not, faithful workers! Scott Walker approved a $3 billion deal in September of 2017 to let Foxconn, the manufacturing giant that has anti-suicide nets around its factories in China, open a factory in Wisconsin.

If you dont remember, a few years back some folks were angry about their iPhones being made by sweatshop workers. More specifically, people were alarmed by a series of suicides among the workers. Foxconn has had some bad press lately because some of their ungrateful workers committed suicidehence Foxconns use of nets outside some of their factories in Shenzhen, so if a worker tries to commit suicide, theyll be saved by the company! And you know, once upon a time the Economist said the suicide rate of Foxconn workers was lower than the suicide rates of China or the United Statesso really, its not that bad!

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Cyberpunk 2077 release date, trailer and news scenz kuch …

Posted on February 13, 2018 by ev1

Now, whether or not they'll bring Cyberpunk 2077 to the show is another matter entirely. It could be that the developer is planning to show more of Gwent before its final release this year.

Certainly after some recent Twitter activity and a report from GRYOnline, fans are understandably hopeful that Cyberpunk 2077 will appear in some form or another at E3 2018.

Original article continues below

After an extremely short title reveal trailer, in 2013 we were treated to a more than two minute long teaser trailer although it didn't reveal much about what will be in the actual game.

In the games official teaser trailer its stated that the game will be coming when its ready. But for now it appears that CD Projekt Red is hoping that will be sometime in early 2019.

It was later clarified in forums that Cyberpunk 2077 would be the first of these games to arrive and work on the second would not start before Cyberpunk 2077 was finished.

Considering The Witcher 3 took around three and a half years to develop, a 2019 release doesnt seem unmanageable for the studio.

As well as a deadline theyve no doubt set for themselves, the studio also has a deadline from the Polish government.

Plans for E3

It's been a while since Cyberpunk 2077 has appeared at a big gaming show. However, recent rumors suggest the game could make an appearance at E3 2018.

According to GRYOnline, two separate sources have said that Cyberpunk 2077 will have a public trailer at E3 2018 and that there'll also be a playable demo behind closed doors for press.

Signs of life on Twitter

For a while now it's been all quiet on the Cyberpunk 2077 front. Well, it was until January 10 when the game's official Twitter account made a noise for the first time in more than four years.

What did this momentous tweet say? Well, see for yourself below.

Its going to be bigger than The Witcher 3

Youll be travelling on more advanced tech than boats and horses

Dont expect horses and basic boats here a job listing for a Senior Vehicle Artist for the studio said theyd be expected to work on incredibly complex vehicles, planes, bikes, robots and mechanics.

Itll have a big single player story

We dont imagine well shock many people when we say this but Cyberpunk 2077 will take place in the year 2077.

The game will be an RPG like The Witcher 3 and videogame character progression will fit in well to Cyberpunks world of physical and mental augmentations.

This contrasts with the studio's relationship with the author of the Witcher novels, Andrzej Sapkowski, who has always been ambivalent about the games.

But there will be multiplayer elements

It was confirmed years ago that the game would have multiplayer elements but what exactly theyll be is unclear. It was said, though, that the game would mainly focus on single player.

There will be online

In the same interview the CEO said that the team wanted to experiment in fields that weren't explored in The Witcher and that "were interested in Cyberpunk being commercially even more significant.

Whether or not the online elements will feed into the multiplayer is unclear.

But there won't be microstransactions

The studio has since tweeted to quell these fears, stating that Cyberpunk 2077 will be "nothing less than" the Witcher 3, adding that players will "get what [they] pay for" with "no hidden catch."

Combat inspired by the original tabletop RPG

Rather than involving drawn out and long turns, it was fast, brutal, gritty and overall perfectly suited to the spirit of Cyberpunk.

Keep checking back here for all the latest Cyberpunk 2077 news

from TechRadar All the latest technology news http://ift.tt/2tlTYfW

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Cyberpunk Demon Girl – blenderartists.org

Posted on February 13, 2018 by ev1

Here's something I've been working with...but doing it alone without feedback make me feel unsure of direction I'm taking... I am nearly finished with the character, so I feel like this is the right time for asking. I can make last changes necessary before I finalize it I would appreciate you guys' feedback and critiques....So I beg of you...

SHOW ME DE WAY MY BRUDDAS!!!!!!!!

Bios: The Demoness' name is Rosemary Clarke-(Known as Code name Dea to the Government), and was abandoned in human world since she was merely 4 years young. Later captured by the government, and experimented/ grown by the hands of scientists. The government saw huge potential of her magical abilities and started field testing her in actual war. Seeing the actual war, and death of people by her power, she refuses to kill anymore and goes against the military order.After that event, the government and the military decides to put a leash on her to control her, and performed specific procedures to suppress her emotions. However, she manages to escape. With free of her emotions wildly thrashing inside, she cries for hours hiding inside a city sewer. She is now lost, with no mission, no directives, she aimlessly ventures through the city's shadow, hiding from the watchful eyes of the government.As she wanders, she discovers a strange building that seemed out of the place. Made of wood instead of metal, and completely separated from the grid. She decides to take residence there.She soon learns that this is an old church, and meets an old pastor who takes her to his care.With him, she gets to meet and know with many people, some even of her age. She tries to look tough, and unbreakable, but learns how is it like to have a family and friends.But alas, she soon learns that she cannot run away from blood on her hands, as she now has to kill to protect.Name: Rosemary ClarkeAge: 9Height: 130cm Weight: 22kgCharacteristic: Brave, extremely intelligent, and often cold. However every emotional inside, and cares for another deeply.Goal: Help orphans like her, Find her FamilyLike: Animals, Key Chain Dolls, Specifically Strawberry Pop Tarts, Family/ watching other family reunion after a service. Children of her age, Pastor ClarkeHate: Insulting/ reminding her of her orphanage, killingSkills- Magic: Material Manipulation, Atomic Manipulation, Nigh-Omnipotence, Space Manipulation, Energy Manipulation. (but her powers are controlled by the government through a collar on her neck)- Tech: Hacking, Full understanding of contemporary physics/biology/chemistry, Cloaking- Combat: Expert Sniper, Commando, Squad Leader, Expert close combatant, Expert hand to hand combat, flight, extreme weight threshold, extreme stamina, extreme speedEquipment:

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Furi Review | Switch Player

Posted on February 13, 2018 by jessica

In-Furi-atingly god.

If there is something that you can say about indie games, is that they take risks. Whilst AAA games tend to follow popular market tendencies, indies aim to niches. Instead of creating a more casual, easy-to-go experience, which can be equally enjoyed by any type of gamer, they often opt for hardcore, soul-crushing gameplay. Fitting perfectly with this description, Furi may not be a game for everyone. It delivers solid non-stop action with an intriguing narrative but only for those who manage to endure its almost unfair difficulty.

Taking place in a cyberpunk phantasy world, portrayed with a pleasant and distinct 3D art style, you control a samurai-like figure that others call Stranger. The narrative starts in a very cryptic way when a man with a rabbit mask releases you from imprisonment and tells you to kill your jailers and claim your freedom. This is all you need to know to engage in combat against many bosses in a mixture of a high-octane hack n slash combat and hard-to-evade bullet-hell barrages.

Like that, Furi takes form as a kind of boss rush intercalated with narrative bits. Fighting moments are presented from a third-person perspective, with unique battles, as bosses dont only have different visuals, but each one of them demands a specific way to deal with its many attack patterns. You can press Y to attack with your sword and the right stick to shoot with your pistol, and every boss is segmented in moments in which theyll have different stances sometimes demanding for close or ranged combat.

On the main difficulty option, bosses have from four to six life-bars, and theyll get progressively more complex and challenging as the fight goes on. Fortunately, youre equally capable of dealing with them, as you have not only a short distance blink (that can be activated by pressing B), but also the option to parry physical attacks with A. Learning the right moment to use these tools from your arsenal is crucial to every single fight, as enemies wont hesitate to crush you at a blink moment. Due to this, Furi has a kind of trial-and-error philosophy, which can lead to some real frustration, especially on more demanding battles, where the difficulty has some annoying spikes.

Between each boss fight, youll experience a narrative portion that, oddly, goes by like a walking simulator. Theres even an option to enable auto-walking, but, even though these sections dont sound like the most compelling thing to play, they work to build tension for the next fight. Youll learn about the lore of your next enemy, how tough he/she may be, and even about the world itself. What helps to make these moments memorable is how Furis astonishingly good soundtrack enhances its atmosphere, raising the tension. Mostly composed of electronic music, theres always a calm but ominous synthesizer that gets more and more full-bodied until it drops the bass, and the fight begins.

Be it due to its pulsating atmosphere, or its unbalanced difficulty, Furi is a game that constantly puts you on edge. It is a beast of its kind, that delivers an experience different from anything else. It was a blast to try again, to get better, and to finally beat what seemed to be an unconquerable challenge. I must admit, though, that it isnt a game for everybody. If you get frustrated easily, there may be better options for you.

Summary

At some times, Furi seems to cross the line of what you consider a fun and fair challenge. Even so, it creates a restless atmosphere with its intriguing narrative, electrified soundtrack and mixture of hack n slash and bullet hell boss-rush gameplay.

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Manoush – Wikipedia

Posted on February 13, 2018 by Danzig

Manoush is an actress and singer of French Manouche-Sinti heritage on her mother's side. Her father is German-American

Manoush was born Manoush Nicole Barandaj in May 1971[1] in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer as the third child of a mother of french Manouche Sinti and Albanian Ashkali gypsy origin and a German-American father. She was raised in Haarlem, Noord-Holland, Cologne, Germany and Biel, Switzerland. At the age of 18, Manoush began modelling, but her career stopped short at age 20 after a car accident left scars on her stomach and legs.[1] She immigrated to the United States a couple of years ago[when?].

She pursued film in 1997. In 2000, was offered the role of the nymphomaniac" in Jean-Pierre Jeunets Amlie, which opened many doors in the film and TV industry for Manoush, as well as establishing her as the bad girl in the roles she played.[1] Manoush often gets credit as an action and horror actress or as a professional for roles which can be intense and difficult to play.[2] In 2004 she played fighter Carda in Angel of Death 2, closely followed by films such as Timo Roses The Legend of Moonlight Mountain (2005), Marian Doras Cannibal (2006), Timo Roses Barricade (2007), and Andrey Iskanovs Philosophy of a Knife (2008).[1] She won Best Supporting Actress in 2011 at the PollyGrind Film Festival in Las Vegas for her role as Olga in The Super.

She started out as a cyberpunk singer. Besides her acting and writing career, she worked as a singer of the band Cyanide Savior alongside her husband, Chris Vazquez.

In 2016 and 2017 she recorded 2 tracks with 80ies UK band Bronski Beat and US producer Man Parrish

She married her long-time boyfriend Chris Vasquez in 2006, both live in New York, US.

4. ^http://www.carpazine.com/manoush.html Carpazine interview

5. ^http://severed-cinema.com/marian-dora/beauty-is-the-beast-an-interview-with-manoush

6. ^http://punkglobe.com/manoushinterview1112.php

7. ^http://blogcritics.org/interview-with-actress-and-horror-icon/

9. ^http://www.sinti-roma.at/manoush/

10. ^http://sofahelden.com/index/artikel/Slog-110-Manoush-und-ihre-Rollen/7518

11. ^http://www.filmbizarro.com/manoush.php

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Manoush - Wikipedia

What is Net-Centric Warfare? | Daniel K. Buntovnik

Posted on February 13, 2018 by Danzig

By Daniel K. Buntovnik, 6November 2016

This piece addresses dilemmas facing opponents of war and imperialismin the 2016 U.S. presidential race, the future of war-profiteering, eumemicist racism, the alt-right rehashing of neo-Nazi occultism, and Net-Centric Warfare as black magic.

Although the ruling class of the United States of America bends over backwards to display its cleavage into so-called Republican and Democratic factions, this apparent split is, to a significant degree, exaggerated. Every day, conscious and unconscious agents of plutocratic, oligarchical dictatorship are working hard to drum up minor differences between the political parties of the bourgeoisie. This encourages us to spend a disproportionate amount of our time focusing on the disagreements between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton and their parties, disengaging from the reality of their joint pursual of key political objectives.

The deeper the illusion of Democratic-Republican cleavage is driven into the citizenrys consciousness, the more the popularity contest in which the masses are quadrennially enticed to (indirectly) participate is lent legitimacy. The suggestion that this contest represents a real opportunity to take part in the national policy-making process is enhanced by the impression of cleavage, while elevated awareness of bipartisan fusion and unity across the bourgeois political spectrum threatens to foment disenchantment and revolt, because it leads to the conclusion that American elections offers little in the way of actual choice.

The scope of the great false dilemma goes beyond what is commonly understood by the term two-party system. This is because U.S. presidential electoral politics have, in the 21st century, actually developed into a four-party system, composed of two Big League parties and two Little League parties. The Little League parties, by virtue of each one functioning as a fallback or an auxiliary to its Big League counterpart, serve as a farcical opposition force to what is generally understood by the term two-party system (i.e. the two Big League parties). Presently the Little League two-party system is composed of (1) the Green Party, absorbing disaffected ex-Democrats such as Jill Stein and the Gaddafist Cynthia McKinney as well as syphoning off resources from opportunistic Marxian micro-sects, and (2) the Libertarian Party, absorbing disaffected ex-Republicans such as Gary Johnson and Ron Paul (in whose case we see the revolving door between Libertarians and the GOP). Other third parties are relegated to competing with each other as well as with the Greens and Libertarians to gain access to the Little League two-party system.

Both the Libertarian and Green parties attempt to harness the storm of anti-war sentiment, but fail to adequately address imperialist war as an integral function of the capitalist system. Both pledge to put an end to what Gary Johnson calls the imperialistic foreign policy of the U.S.A., which Jill Stein says is turning our republic into a bankrupt empire. Notice how for these peewee politicians, U.S. foreign policy is not imperialist, but imperialisticimplying that it merely resembles imperialism; and nevermind the multi-century policy of invading and annexing foreign nationshalf of Mexico, Hawaii, the Philippines, just to name a fewthis doesnt have anything to do with why the U.S.A. is a wealthy country today; the wars and drone attacks of the 21st century are only in the process of transforming the country into a bankrupt empire but were not there yet! The Little League political players qualify their anti-imperialist posturing with significant caveats; the figurative fine print of Johnsons program lets us know that he still wants to build a strong military, and Stein meanwhile pledges to continue spending as much as $298.5 billion per year on public sector U.S. militarism. Thats still $83 billion more than the country with the second highest military budget in the world, the Peoples Republic of China [X].

Some attempt to paint an image of the Green Party as an attractive political center for revolutionary socialism and peace, but the Green Party and its micro-sect surrogates are oriented towards accommodating right-wing nationalist theory. Their objective is to co-opt supporters of Hillary Clintons Democratic socialist ex-competitor, Bernie Sanders, whose campaigns central theme was about saving capitalism for the many, not the few with a national political revolution, the very notion of which stands in antagonistic contradiction to the act of abolishing capitalism through transnational social revolution (for a variety of reasons, some of which I explored here). Rather than criticizing the trustbuster thrust of Robert Reich inspired slogans like political revolution against the billionaire class, the Greens and their surrogates facilitate assimilation of the fantasy implicit in these slogans, that of a salvageable capitalism based around restored small business competitivity and regulationnot expropriationof the big corporations (labelled democratic socialism), along with continued deportations and borders, a fantasy which is rendered explicit upon closer examination of the discourse of individuals like Jill Stein, Bernie Sanders, and Robert Reich.

If Jill Stein, the theoretically electable candidate in this years Electoral College with the most far-reaching proposals for U.S. militarism reduction, became the president of the United States and implemented her reforms, the U.S. war machine would likely be slightly weaker than it is now (although it would probably remain quite powerful, given Jill Steins pledge to provide it with an approximate yearly budget surpassing that of any other nation), but this would only be worthwhile if in the process of implementing these reforms, awareness of the need to ultimately abolish the basis of war (capitalism and hegemony of the bourgeois state) grew and the movement centered around this awareness became stronger. Otherwise the next president could simply reverse the course, and its not inconceivable that the Pentagon would find some sly way to circumvent those hypothetical budget cuts or perhaps even orchestrate a coup. However, given that Stein has virtually no chance to become president, why should anyone lend support to anti-war individuals and groups who do not plainly articulate abolition of capitalismthe precluder of peace in modern timesthrough social revolution as their ultimate goal? Are we really so cynical to believe that people are too stupid to understand the basic demands of socialism? Tax the rich, sure, but dont become a stooge of the richplenty of them ultimately wouldnt mind paying higher taxes if it meant saving even a bit of their privilege. The would-be revolutionarys entryistic support, even if critical, for the reformist political center degenerates into de facto agitation for reformism, promoting non-abolitionist consciousness, which cannot be reconciled with abolitionist consciousness. The anti-war movement would be strongerwould existif it was centered around the objective of ending the basis of war, not around the idealistic embrace of leaders like Jill Stein, who vows to maintain the U.S. position of global supremacy in military financing, or Bernie Sanders, who views each imperialist war through an atomizing lens so that he can pick and choose which ones to support (such as the ones in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Syria to which he gave and gives thumbs up).

Given this reality and the hopelessness of leveraging the electoral process towards anti-war ends, the voter who would like to contribute to the stopping of imperialist war and militarist aggression only has one realistic option: throw away her vote. A protest vote for one of the fifth party candidates existing outside of the Big and Little League two-party systems (aka the four-party system) who may propose the actual abolition of capitalism and imperialist warfare is essentially equivalent to writing-in flip tha system and can be considered the most desirable fashion of throwing away ones vote. The vote can be considered thrown away, because these candidates are denied even the hypothetical possibility of election by the nature of the system. But they are still a leg up over abstention because at least in certain cases they may be tallied and recorded, contributing to statistics which may stand as a testament to present levels of vanguard working class consciousness for generations to come, and at the very least there is a chance that, even if the write-in vote is not counted, it may appear as an unsettling anomaly to the one tasked with disregarding it. In that regard, and following the line of thought advanced by Eugene Debs on the desirability of not getting what one wants as opposed to getting what one doesnt want, these hopeless votes are not thrown away but serve a kind of a purpose; they communicate anti-war sentiment.

Votes which can truly be considered thrown away are those cast tactically based in the doctrine of lesser evilism, in which case a vote for one of the peewees of the Little two parties registers simultaneous disaffiliation and affiliation with one of the Big two parties insofar as a Green vote is a disaffected Democratic vote and a Libertarian vote is a disaffected Republican vote. Then there are those who consider it better to vote for a Big evil (as opposed to the Little lesser evil), so long as its not the greatest Big evil. Perhaps the most twisted are those who believe it best to institute the most backward, reactionary, fascistic government possible, in the hope that this will be more likely to stir up revolt than a somewhat less murderous and oppressive bourgeois dictatorship, which is a dubious proposition to say the least. All these votes are thrown away, from the perspective of the anti-war voter, because they contribute to the perpetuation of mass criminal state violence and signal the voters consent to this, whether it be reluctant or enthusiastic.

A key point of unity in the political programs of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is their mutual promise to engage in war-profiteering once elected. To be sure, although there is a general consensus among the U.S. ruling class about the need to wage war for profit, there are indeed nuances between Clinton and Trumps visions for the future of war-profiteering, rooted in a real cleavage of the U.S. bourgeoisie. While Trump has taken up the cause of the backwards and regressive old stock white supremacist and nativist bourgeoisie by advocating protectionism, trade tariffs, and the mass deportation of Mexicans as a sort of neo-Indian removal policy, Clinton represents the progressive faction of the bourgeoisie which embraces a new stock-inclusive white supremacy wherein the impression of cosmopolitanism is fostered by augmenting fluidity between manners of othering and ascribing social inferiority (i.e. by supplementing racism with civicism and culturism, allowing for the development of a black bourgeoisie), and the progressive extension of the governments conception of whiteness as it is nowadays defined by institutions such as the Census Bureau and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which essentially occurs in two waves: first, the extension of whiteness in the 19th and early 20th centuries to the descendants of non-Anglo Saxon Germanic peoples and shortly thereafter to non-Germanic peoples of Christian Europe, followed by extension of whiteness in the late 20th and early 21st centuries which de-emphasized the alignment between Christianity and whiteness and began to include peoples of certain parts of Asia and Africa, the Balkans, Iberia, and Latin America as white persons.

The language deployed by the Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton campaigns in the political platforms presented on their official websites is a 21st century confirmation of the assertion made long ago by high-ranking U.S. militarist turned anti-war dissident Smedley D. Butler that War is a racket. Although both campaigns frame their proposals for financial investment in war not as direct investment into warfare itself, but as investments in weapons manufacturing and war waging capabilities (i.e. the military industrial complex), both nevertheless take for granted that war is, was, and should continue to be a profitable business. Perhaps both presidential candidates have a sense that the public at large would find the proposal to perpetrate mass violence and terminate countless human lives in exchange for the accumulation of wealth distasteful if not presented delicately, cloaked as a call to invest in the mere machinery of war. However, this tactic is transparent; the call to invest in the tools and technologies of war is in fact inseparable from the call to invest in war itself, for these investments would be obsolete if there was no war in which to deploy them. And insofar as these weapons systems, war waging capabilities, and an empowered military industrial complex are said to function as a deterrent to hot war, they escalate the renewed cold war between great power factions, resulting in proxy-type wars.

Consider the following definitions from OxfordDictionaries.com before we examine the candidates programs more closely:

First, Donald Trumps official presidential campaign website (donaldjtrump.com), informs us that Trumps vision is to:

Invest in a serious missile defense system to meet growing threats by modernizing our Navys cruisers and procuring additional, modern destroyers to counter the ballistic missile threat from Iran and North Korea.

The only profit this investment will bring to anyone other than defense contractors is the metaphorical wages paid to cover the psychological cost of irrational paranoia over the ballistic missile threat [to people in North America] from Iran and North Korea, countries whose militarism is largely a reaction to U.S. jingoism in the first place. Of course, we should also all know by now that defense is really a militarist dog whistle for war: the so-called United States Department of Defense was more accurately and less Newspeak-ishly called the Department of War between 1789 and 1947. Hence why, for Trumps PR team, the way to invest [] in [] defense is by procuring [] destroyers!

The fact that Trump openly calls for (primarily poor non-U.S. citizen) human lives to be sacrificed for the purpose of (primarily rich white American) financial gain should not even come as a surprise, given the blatantly imperialist statements he and his associates like Rudolph Giuliani have made, such as:

In the old days, when we won a war, to the victor belonged the spoils. Instead, all we got from Iraqand our adventures in the Middle Eastwas death, destruction and tremendous financial loss. Donald Trump [X]

While Hillary Clinton does employ the same lexical register of financial speculation to proudly raise the call for war-profiteering just as loudly and just as clearly as Donald Trump, her teams investment pitch is nuanced by the form of innovation it advocates. The Klinton-Kaine Kampaign website (hillaryclinton.com) promises us that, as president, Hillary will:

Invest in innovation and capabilities that will allow us to prepare for and fight 21st-century threats. That includes leveraging our information advantage through whats called net-centric warfare capabilities and preparing for asymmetric threats.

Clintons P.R. team has spiced up the war-for-profit pitch by plugging in a reference to what seems to be one of the latest militarist buzz phrases: net-centric warfare. A Wikipedia article on the term defines it as a doctrine or theory developed by the U.S. baby killer establishment in the 1990s which seeks to translate an information advantage, enabled in part by information technology, into a competitive advantage through the robust computer networking of well informed geographically dispersed forces.

In Network Centric Warfare: Developing and Leveraging Information Superiority (2000), David Alberts, John Garstka and Frederick Stein describe Network Centric Warfare as the best term developed to date to describe the way [U.S. militarists] will organize and fight in the Information Age.

The intuitive connection between networks, information, cyberspace, and global media is indicative of the fact that militarist buzzwords like net-centric warfare, information warfare, and cyberwarfare are essentially all iterations of the same thought process. Thus Hillary Clintons call to invest in Net-Centric Warfare in 2016 echoes her words to Congress in 2011, when she lamented (in a global context wherein non-American media networks such as Al Jazeera, RT, Sputnik, CCTV, and teleSUR were gaining traction in the Anglosphere as well as a stronger foothold in other regions) that We are in an information war, and were losing that war. Thus Hillarys campaign pledge cannot be seen as an addendum thoughtlessly tacked on to the platform so as to pander to the pro-military crowd, but a longstanding sign of her approach to imperial affairs.

In Network Centric Operations: Background and Oversight Issues for Congress (2007), Clay Wilson explains that Network Centric [Warfare] relies on computer equipment and networked communications technology to provide a shared awareness of the battle space [sic] for U.S. forces.

One might well imagine some Defense clerks producing a flashy video of U.S. Army/Marine Corps baby killers consulting their smartwatches in between murdering savage Near Oriental men to post statuses on each others timelines about where the remainder of the unarmed men are seeking asylum from these brainwashed SS-worshipping death squads and livestreaming satellite images as they operate a genocidal dragnet across a dusty and generic Fallujah-esque town (perhaps filmed on the set of Homeland), their wounded comrades meanwhile being treated by medical androids remote controlled by ethically-compromised doctors on another continent, to sell this concept to bloodthirsty sociopaths in Washington D.C. The U.S. military would probably prefer that when the public hears the term net-centric warfare, it would imagine something like this, happening far away, directed at un-American others, and keeping America safebut leveraging our information advantage has much broader implications.

One indication that the scope of this project goes well beyond the battlespaces of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen is the fact that the term net-centric warfare is regarded as being synonymous with that of net-centric operations (Wilson, 2007). This supplanting of warfare by operations, like the supplanting of battlefield by battlespace, signals an important shift in the way U.S. militarists perceive the nature of conflict in the 21st century, sometimes referred to as the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA). The supplanting of the term warfare with that of operations marks a symbolic step towards the normalization of the state of perpetual warfare and the rendering ubiquitous of military operations outside their traditional spheres which have become reality under the so-called War on Terror.

This shifting emphasis in bourgeois military theory (from warfare to operations) can be traced back to the emergence of the asymmetric warfare paradigm (also alluded to by Clinton, cf. asymmetric threats) which began to gain currency towards the end of the genocidal U.S. war in Vietnam as baffled U.S. militarists struggled to fathom how their country had allowed them to be defeated (see Why Big Nations Lose Small Wars [1975]). The architects of the U.S. genocide in Vietnam expressed dismay at their defeat because they felt there had not objectively been sufficient loss or degradation of U.S. military machinery or manpower to warrant defeat; instead they identified the erosion of the subjective political will to continue fighting among the U.S. populace as the cause of their defeat. This view can be summed up in the rhetorical question of one U.S. militarist: Was the United States defeated in the jungles of Vietnam, or was it defeated in the streets of American cities? [Aquino, p. 6].

Similarly observing that [the Vietnam War] was fought as much, if not more, in the living rooms of America as in the living jungles of Southeast Asia, the U.S. militarist authors of Network Centric Warfare: Developing and Leveraging Information Superiority resolve that the battlespace of the future [] will no longer be private or remote [Alberts, p. 63]. But because the political costs of using [lethal weapons] against domestic anti-war dissidents and peace activists are likely to far outweigh their effects, the crushing of domestic civilian and non-state actor threats to the will to sustain U.S. militarist campaigns of genocide abroad (the national will to victory [Aquino, p. 4]) is primarily viewed as being a job for methods like Information Warfare, Military Information Support Operations (MISO) (also known as Psychological Operations [PSYOP]), Operations Other Than War (OOTW) [Alberts, p. 59], and Effects-Based Operations (EBO) [Smith, p. 1], although thats by no means to say that they dont consider the brazen use of lethal force against U.S. citizens out of the question [X]. The same authors note that in some instances of so-called Operations Other Than War the line between war and peace and between friend, foe, and neutral is blurred beyond recognition and that Information Operations blur the boundaries between civilian and military, having the potential to totally redefine the nature of warfare [Alberts, p. 59].

The doctrine of net-centric warfare thus encapsulates the idea that anyone who does anything to oppose the U.S. war machine must be regarded as a foe of the state, including those who do so in totally non-violent ways such as:

The end of the Cold War in the early 1990s helped to further entrench the paradigm of asymmetric warfare, as the subsequent Soviet/Russian geopolitical recession undid the relative symmetricality of what had previously been seen as a bipolar global battlespace. Nowadays the U.S. military behemoth swallows up a whopping 37% of global military spending, more than China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, the U.K., India, France, and Japan combined, perpetuating the asymmetry between U.S. militarism and all other centers of militarism, competitors and partners included. This trend is tempered however by certain developments, such as the so-called Sino-Russian rapprochement and the recent expansion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a geopolitical counterweight to U.S. military dominance and a vehicle for the joint operations of Russian and Chinese capitalists and militarists eager to further develop their own brands of imperialism.

Nevertheless, despite the Klinton Kaine Kampaigns programmatic inclination towards the discourse of warfare (i.e. its selection of the term net-centric warfare as opposed to net-centric operations) and its characterization of Russia as a foreign adversarial power, the displacement of warfare by operations as the dominant theoretical framework of U.S. baby killer circles is unlikely to be reversed because the threat of massive nuclear annihilation encourages the reframing of 21st century conflict between similarly matched great power blocs as symmetrical operations. The current U.S.-Russian cyber or information war, although these refer to operations other than war in the traditional sense, may be considered a symmetric situation or perhaps even a situation of U.S. inferiority. For example, despite having an inferior budget, the number of Russian intelligence operatives in the U.S. is said to be at least three times superior to the number of U.S. ones in Russia [X]. Hillary Clinton and U.S. militarists broad conceptualization of warfare, redefined and expanded to include a variety of operations which were heretofore held to be operations other than war, should be read as an attempt to accelerate the militarization of domestic policing, expand proxy wars, and work around the limitations imposed by mutually assured destruction, not as an imminent push to engage Russia with nuclear warheads, as the peewee two-party system bourgeois candidate Jill Stein has argued in her alarmist pro-Trump lesser evilist discourse [X].

In a country with few immediate signs of threat to the national will to victory in the form of mass movements, perhaps just as critical as directly suppressing dissident voices, if not more so, is the manufacturing of consent which seems to assure that a minimal amount of dissent hardly pops up in the first place. We know that the U.S. and global public is targeted by the military and intelligence forces en masse through operations such as the Message Force Multipliers program, which sought to achieve information dominance by saturating U.S. television with war-mongering talking heads around the time of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Another example of this kind of operation is the Pentagon spending half a billion dollars on the production of fake Al-Qaeda videos that portrayed the insurgent group in a negative light. Thats almost an entire fiscal year of U.S. military funds spent on some videosbut how could we even know what the real U.S. ritual human sacrifice budget is when U.S. militarists cant account for $6.5 trillion in funds [X]? Surely the fact that U.S. militarists do not release such information is part of some asinine strategy on their part to leverage [their] information advantage over us information scroungers who are not privy to those classified true facts. A President Jill Stein might well leave us with a military caste who can only not account for $3.25 trillion!

One expression of Effects-Based Operations (which a U.S. militarist named Smith defines as military operations directed at shaping the behavior of foes, friends, and neutrals in peace, crisis, and war) is the emergent military strategy of meme warfare or memetic engineering [X, X, X]. Modelled on an analogy to genetics (the science of biological heredity) first posited by raging anti-Muslim bigot Richard Dawkins of the Islamophobic New Atheist set, memetics (the science[?] of cultural heredity [as well as intra-generational cultural transmission]) supposes the existence of the meme as a unit of information in a mind whose existence influences events such that more copies of itself get created in other minds [Brodie, p. 11]. Another theorist describes memetic engineering as the conscious construction of information packages which are likely to replicate themselves across a network of minds [X]. The prevalence of memes is thought to be a consequence of our evolved capacity to imitate [X]. Meme warfare proposes the weaponization of mimesisdelivering ideas to targets (enemies, friends, and neutrals) in such a way that they assimilate those ideas which in turn induce behaviors that facilitate the meeting of the weapon-handlers objectives.

We can anticipate that the project of creating a memetically engineered (or psychocivilized) society entails the desirability of control and influence over information distribution networks as well as control and influence over the production of knowledge and information, helping to explain the drive of U.S. militarists to forcibly penetrate media and academia, like the horrific and snarling incubi which these demonic rape culture perpetuating militarists are.

Closely related to the concept to memetic engineering is eumemics. Like eugenicists, advocates of eumemics believe that populations can be improved by the manipulation and control of scientists, though in this case it is the pathologization of devalued thoughts (dubbed mind viruses), not biological traits, which prevails. Nevertheless, memeticists do hypothesize that memes drove biological selection as well as genes [McNamara].

The transition from eugenics to eumemics nevertheless proceeds relatively seamlessly from the perspective of so-called race science, for the neo-Nazi movements embrace of anti-Semitic American fascist Francis Parker Yockeys critique of materialistic scientism reveals a perspective on race which leads quickly to the supplantation of eugenics by eumemics.

In The Scientific-Technical World-Outlook (a chapter from his 1948 book Imperium), Yockey argues that [by 1850] science was on the road which was to cultuminate in [] frank admission of the subjectivity of physical concepts, that the very study of matter itself revealed the profound knowledge [] that matter is only the envelope of the soul, and that the transition from 19th century materialism to the new spirituality of the 20th century was thus not a battle, but an inevitable development. For Yockey, the neo-Nazi worldview is not based on science or materialism, although these are seen as useful in the service of [] unlimited will-to-power. The Nazi blowhard concludes that the Idea [of a strong Western Culture that creates Races and is the higher Reality] is primary, though superiority in weapons [furnished by techno-scientific methodology] is essential. Neo-Nazism thus attempts to remedy the fact that the racial basis of German Nazism was objectively pseudoscientific by dislocating race from this framework and repackaging it as a transcendent subjectivity, beyond science and pseudoscience. This outlook may be rooted in the adoption of an asymmetric model of warfare by Nazi strategists in the post-war years, in which case Operation Paperclip signals the beginning of the supplantation of warfare by operations.

In another chapter of Imperium on the Subjective Meaning of Race, the fascist Yockey argues that race is [] what a man feels and that this [feeling] influences, whether immediately or eventually, what he does. Race is not, according to Yockey, the way one talks, looks, gestures, walks, it is not a matter of stock, color, anatomy, skeletal structure, or anything else objective. He further elaborates that every race [] expresses a certain idea [] and its idea is bound to be attractive to some individuals outside it, and that every healthy, ascendant race accepts recruits who come in on its terms and who have the proper feeling. This notion of the true meaning of race being a subjective feeling, existing independently of objective scientific study, is expressed by government policy in cases such as United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind (1923), in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that the law must uphold a popular, but unscientific conception of the so-called white race [X]. Popular and governmental conceptions did evolve thereafter, but remain unscientific. Perhaps it is this subjectivity that permits anomalous individuals such as Leo Felton, an African-American man, to become accepted as leaders in White Power prison gangs [X], and others, such as Barack Obama, to become legatees of the worlds leading white supremacist institutions.

The so-called Alt-Right movement, an innovative reiteration anti-Semitic, white supremacist, and Nazi bullshit for the Information Age which has emerged as one of the most vocal factions of Donald Trump supporters, places a heavy emphasis on memes and the memetic model of cultural evolution [X, X]. One Alt-right-wing 8chan forum set up last year calls itself The Bureau of Memetic Warfare and greets visitors with a Black Sun banner. It would almost be edgy if U.S. militarists had not already proposed a Meme Warfare Center a decade sooner [Prosser].

Seeming to fulfill the late comic George Carlins prediction that when fascism comes to America, it will not be in brown and black shirts, it will not be with jack-boots; it will be Nike sneakers and Smiley shirts, The Daily Stormer, an Alt-Right website, notes that a movement which meets all of the [Southern Poverty Law Center]s definitions of Neo-Nazi White Supremacism using a cartoon frog to represent itself takes on a subversive power to bypass historical stereotypes of such movements, and thus present the ideas themselves in a fun way without the baggage of Schindlers List [sic] and American History X [sic]. They are talking about the so-called Pepe, a cartoon frog and internet-centric meme which even the Klinton Kaine Kampaign has addressed [X].

The same neo-Nazi website notes that the Alt-Right is in the process of forming an actual religious doctrine around the god Kek, who is believed to be the spiritual root of meme magick [X]. Alt-Right occultists have actually come to believe that the net-centric meme Pepe the Frog is a hierophany of the Ancient Egyptian god called Kek, who was depicted as a frog or theriocephalous frog-man [X].

Of course, some Alt-Right irony bros will inevitably fall back on the plausible deniability tactic when it suits them, and claim that internet meme-cum-hierophany discourse is pure satire done simply for the lulz; however, it is obvious from white nationalist texts like Esoteric Kekism, or Kek as a Bodhisattva of Racial Enlightenment that there is a genuine desire on the part of the so-called Alt-Right to engage in the time-honored fascist pastime of blatant cultural misappropriation of Eastern religious traditions so as to try to rehash yet again the aestheticized pseudo-mystique of an esoteric neo-Nazism, pioneered by classics like Maximine Julia Portas (Savitri Devi). Plausible deniability of the sincerity of Alt-Right discourse is stoked by public figures such as Milo Yiannopoulos, who has emerged as a cultural broker between the mainstream world and the largely web-bound (net-centric) movement. In a March 2016 Breitbart piece, Yiannopoulos argued that the reactionary/misogynistic/racist memes produced by the movement are merely meant to poke fun at political correctness, but the other representatives of the Alt-Right have vehemently scoffed at the idea that no one in the Alt-Right actually believes anything that they are saying, and simply say it as part of some obscure joke [X, X]. Meanwhile, there are others on the Alt-Right who are less chagrined by the fact that a gay Jewish man (Yiannopoulos) has become their unofficial spokesperson, basically seeing him as a useful idiot who is contributing to the rightward shift in the Overton Window [X].

Right-wing occultists are likely to the view those who ironically or jokingly spread the Cult of Kek and meme magick memes in a similar light, as the former use it to recruit devotees and initiates to their race-hate occultist worldview (see, for example, the Alt-Rightist recommendation made in the hypertext of the previous link that readers familiarize themselves with the work of British occultists Phil Hine and Peter J. Carroll to begin understanding meme magick as a form of chaos magick). Chaos magick is in turn considered to be a form of Satanism by prominent proponents of Satanism. For example, Anton Long (alleged alias of David Myatt, a proponent of neo-Nazi Satanism) writes in Toward Understanding Satanism (a classic Order of Nine Angles text) that, standard definitions of Satanism [] encompass, and so may describe [] the type of esotericism propounded by advocates of chaos magick and others who assert such things as reality is what I make it or what others have made it, or perceived it to be, so that Reality is a matter is perspective [sic] and thus demons/gods/religions/techniques beliefs can be usefully used without believing in them [X]. Hine is extensively cited as an authority in the book Contemporary Religious Satanism: A Critical Anthology (2009) [X] and Carroll has associated with activists in the British neo-Nazi movement via his involvement in the magazine Chaos International [X, X]. Additionally, in a subsection of The Occult World (2014) entitled Contemporary Occult War, religions studies professor Christopher Partridge relates that the interest of Carroll (described here as the founder of of chaos magic) in waging a purely politicized occult war in the form of a conspiracist libertarian condemnation of the European Union should be contextually understood in relation to the sinister family of traditions derived from the [(explicit concern) with esoteric conflict against Jewish influences of the] Order of Nine Angles (the previously mentioned neo-Nazi/Satanic group which developed out of English Wicca in the late 1960s or early 70s) [Partridge, pp. 632-3].

Another self-described Satanic grouping, with documented ties to U.S. militarism and whose original High Priests contributions to the theoretical framework of U.S. militarist operations in the 1980s prefigure the emergence of Net-Centric Warfare in the 1990s in ways explored below, is the Temple of Set. This occultist religious sect was founded in 1975 by the U.S. militarist Michael Aquino, a PSYOPs officer during the U.S. genocide-war in Vietnam, after he left his position as a high-ranking member of Anton LaVeys Church of Satan. In addition to reported disillusionment with LaVeys proposal to sell positions in the Church of Satan to those willing to pay big bucks, the split may have arisen in part from what Aquino saw as the Church of Satans equivocal stance on the question of whether Satan was real or symbolic. The Temple of Set, Aquino writes in Black Magic (1975-2010), resolved this dilemma [] by asserting the actual existence of Satan (as Set the original, pre-Judaeo/Christian entity) [X]. Aquinos collapsing of Christianity into Judaism and expression of desire to bypass its framework by displacing the figure of Satan with that of Set can be seen as an iteration of the same anti-Semitic concern with esoteric conflict against Jewish influences described by Partridge (2014). The anti-Semitic leitmotiv of Western esotericists can be traced back even further, to foundational figures of the contemporary occultist worldview such as Aleister Crowley, who lamented that The Jew has eaten his way into everything. The caricature of Semitic thought, Christianity, rotted Roman virtue through introducing the moral subterfuge of vicarious atonement [X]. In many ways modern proponents of magick in the West are heavily indebted to blatant cultural misappropriation which was facilitated by European colonialism. (For examples of the way in which contemporary Western esotericism and occultism cannot be contextually separated from their basis in Orientalism and cultural misappropriation, see the pivotal role played by European, especially British, colonialism in opening up mystical countries like Egypt and India to raging anti-Semitic white supremacists such as Aleister Crowley, Helena Blavatsky, and C. W. Leadbeater).

Like the newly founded occult-oriented neo-Nazi Cult of Kek, the Temple of Set was also based on cultural misappropriation of Ancient Egyptian/Kemetic mythology. The Egyptian gods Set and Kek share a number of similarities. Both have been called gods of chaos. Ancient Egypt Online notes that Set was a storm god associated with strange and frightening events including eclipses and that his glyph appears in the Egyptian words for turmoil, confusion, [] storm and rage [X]. The same source indicates that Kek (or Kuk) represented darkness, obscurity and night and that this darkness was the chaotic darkness which existed before the creation of the world [and] although he was a god of the darkness, he was also associated with the dawn and given the epithet, the bringer-in of the light [X]. It is further noted that Kek was also associated with Sobek, depicted as a theriocephalous crocodile-man who was said to be the son of Setwho also took the form of a crocodile [X].

Net-Centric Warfare theorists posit the existence of three domains relevant to the warfighter:

The quasi-religious underpinnings of this three-domain model of the battlespace need to be rendered explicit to understand, in the following section, Net-Centric Warfare as a reflection of the darker side of modern Western esoteric thought. We would also do well to take into consideration and keep in mind the argument of religions scholar Mircea Eliade that, contrary to what may still be considered conventional wisdom by some, religion does not necessarily imply belief in God, gods, or ghosts, but refers to the experience of the sacred, and consequently, is related to ideas of being, meaning, and truth [X].

Though the doctrine of the domains of Net-Centric Warfare is presented as trinitarian in form, in essence it replicates the Cartesian dualist meme; it is the bifurcation of the battlespace into physical and cognitive fronts, echoing long-posited binary oppositions between the body and mind, the material and the spiritual, which is fundamental to Net-Centric Warfare theory. Information is an intermediary between these two poles because it inhabits consciousness (where it is processed), but it can also be materialized into the external world via systems of communication (e.g. a book contains information which derives from the cognitive domain but exists in the physical domain). The information domain is thus not autonomous, but exists only in the relation to, and as an aspect of, the physical and cognitive domains. (The question of the nature of the information domain and its relation to the central dichotomy between tangible (external/physical) and intangible (internal/cognitive) which we find in the discourse of Net-Centric Warfare can also be located in the field of memetics, in the debate between memeticists of internalist and externalist persuasions [X]). The information domain is therefore secondary to the fundamental dynamic of Net-Centric Warfare, which is concerned with the ability to influence a targets feeling or cognitive state so as to affect what he or she does in the world, thus altering the physical state of the battlefield. Net-Centric Warfare utilizes objective means (such as physical control of external information flows) to target subjective phenomena (e.g., morale, the will to victory, the will to resist, and the will-to-power). This is why information dominance is in fact a euphemism for cognitive dominance.

Returning to the notion of the sacred as the defining element of religion, we see that Net-Centric Warfare is in essence a theological expression of U.S. militarism in the way that it recognizes the mind itself as sacred. The Cartesian split between spirit and matter observed in U.S. militarist doctrine is imbued with the analogue which Mircea Eliade called the sacred-profane polarity and analysis of the discourse on Net-Centric Warfare (and similar militarist buzzwords) reveals numerous traits consistent with a type of religious thought. Elaborating on this dichotomy between sacrality and profanity which he argued was key to understanding the constitution of religious thought, Eliade put forth in The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion (1959) that:

[In] all pre-modern societies, the sacred is equivalent to a power, and, in the last analysis, to reality. The sacred is saturated with being. [] The polarity sacred-profane is often expressed as an opposition between real and unreal or pseudoreal. [] Thus it is easy to understand that religious man deeply desires to be, to participate in reality, to be saturated with power [X, pp. 12-13].

By inaugurating the pursual of general dominance in the cognitive domain as the ultimate key to victory in any war, the cognitive apparatuses of not only enemy combatants and their host populations, but also those of the U.S. military protagonists civilian co-nationals became consecrated as sites of battle. For U.S. militarists, the lesson drawn from their defeat in Vietnam was that domination of the battlefields physical domain amounts to an unreal victory if the enemy is still able to leverage information superiority and prevail in the cognitive domain. The consequence of being made acutely aware of the possibility of defeat in spite of superior physical force was the invigoration of a militarist discourse around the menace of asymmetric threats. To pursue an old-fashioned warfighting strategy that did not adequately take the nature of asymmetric threats into account became sacrilege. Focusing too narrowly on the physical, material domain (unreal) at the expense of having a sense of concern for the cognitive, spiritual domain (real) became a form of profanity in the militarist mind, a vulgarization of what it means to pursue victory, a kind of false idol worship. The newfound reality of the all-encompassing nature of war, its delineation so blurred that it was no longer distinguishable from peace, no longer fought exclusively on the traditional battlefield but across a vaster battlespace that penetrates inside the hearts and minds of foes, friends, and neutrals in peace, crisis, and war was the new theology of Militarism. War was profane; operations became sacred.

U.S. militarist Michael Aquino, the self-proclaimed Setian Satanist who ran PSYOPs in Vietnam in the early part of his career, called this shift from the battlefield of the physical domain to the battlespace of the cognitive one MindWar. In a 1980 military research paper co-written with another U.S. militarist named Paul Vallely (now a Fox News senior military analysti.e. Message Force Multiplier) and entitled From PSYOP to MindWar: The Psychology of Victory Aquino (and Vallely, although Aquinos voice seems to dominate the text) explain how, in their view, victory on the physical battlefield is only assured by militarist domination of the cognitive battlespace. One source claims that although the paper never appeared in its intended publication outlet (Military Review), it was nevertheless widely circulated among military planners, and [] distributed by Aquinos Temple of Set [X]. Implying that commanders should be more concerned with the conquest of minds than with tangible victories, Aquino writes:

The MindWar scenario must be preeminent in the mind of the commander and must be the principal factor in his every field decision. Otherwise he sacrifices measures which actually contribute to winning the war to measures of immediate, tangible satisfaction.

It seems clear that Aquinos articulation of the need for U.S. militarism to switch gears from traditional war to sublime MindWar developed in tandem with his involvement in the Satanic cult scene. In one of his more esoteric ramblings, Aquino notes that,

Perhaps the most important contribution of the original Church of Satan (1966-1975CE) was its focus upon and glorification of the psyche, even though its original ambition was to downplay that concept in favor of mere fleshly gratification [X].

This critique was likely formed, if these precise words were not themselves written, around the time of his break with the Church of Satan to form the Temple of Set in 1975, five years before writing the MindWar paper. With the help of a thesaurus, his criticism of the Church of Satans undue emphasis on fleshly gratification became that directed at the U.S. military for its undue emphasis on tangible satisfaction (i.e. the physical domain). Moreover, his appreciation of the Church of Satans focus upon and glorification of the psyche forms the entire basis of the MindWar doctrine, with its focus upon and glorification of the cognitive domain.

Aquino argues that MindWar only operates in nonlethal, noninjurious, and nondestructive ways and that it essentially amounts to [overwhelming] your enemy with argument. This is apparently as simple as [seizing] control of all the means by which [the enemy] government and populace process information to make up their minds, and [adjusting] it so that those minds are made up as you desire. But Aquino also makes it clear that, in the MindWar scenario, the U.S. populace is approached by its would-be militarist overlords as an enemy. While at first painting Americans who called for the defeat of the U.S. effort to commit genocide in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia as victims fallen to the lies of enemy propaganda, Aquino goes on to imply that MindWar must attack and ultimately destroy the will of anti-war citizens because their opposition to the jingoistic national will to victory of the U.S. is merely a sign of their weakness and vulnerability to enemy psychological operations, arguing:

[The main PSYOP/MindWar effort] must originate at the national level. It must strengthen our national will to victory and it must attack and ultimately destroy that of our enemy. It both causes and is affected by physical combat, but it is a type of war which is fought on a far more subtle basis as well in the minds of the national populations involved.

[]

MindWar must target all participants if it is to be effective. It must not only weaken the enemy; it must strengthen the United States. It strengthens the United States by denying enemy propaganda access to our people, and by explaining and emphasizing to our people the rationale for our national interest in a specific war.

Of course, to accept MindWar as noninjurious and nondestructive, we would have to ignore the destruction and injury such a practice perpetrates against freedom of thought, freedom of information, and freedom of expression. We would also have to ignore that, given the fact that in most cases and for obvious reasons (e.g. bumbling U.S. militarists inability to even speak enemy languages) it is more feasible for U.S. militarists to strengthen the U.S. national will to victory with programs like the Message Force Multipliers than it is for them to destroy the will of the peoples of Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries to resist U.S. military occupations and bombing campaigns, MindWar perpetuates lethal operations and augments the death toll by keeping the U.S. populace compliant with the war effort and consistently failing to keep enemy populations submissive to occupation forces and unresentful of U.S. bombing campaigns. In what seems a telling Freudian slip, Aquino recently uttered, MindWar [] was an attempt to [] stress out the conscious parts of the human mind, to sort of [] create a mind slave [X].

Aquinos twisted conception of truth is also revealing of the fact that we are dealing with a religious concept when we talk about Net-Centric Warfare and MindWar. Arguing that legal restrictions on PSYOPs which forbid them from being deployed against the U.S. public are wrongheaded, Aquino writes:

Under existing United States law, PSYOP units may not target American citizens. That prohibition is based upon the presumption that propaganda is necessarily a lie or at least a misleading half-truth, and that the government has no right to lie to the people. The Propaganda Ministry of Goebbels must not be a part of the American way of life.

Quite right, and so it must be axiomatic of MindWar that it always speaks the truth. Its power lies in its ability to focus recipients attention on the truth of the future as well as that of the present. MindWar thus involves the stated promise of the truth that the United States has resolved to make real if it is not already so.

Here we arrive at the eschatological aspect of U.S. militarist doctrine; it deals with the end of days or the end of an age. By laying claim to knowledge of future events, to the power to preordain or predestine the ultimate outcome of any given U.S. military endeavor (which will invariably be victory), Aquino invokes what Afrofuturism scholars dub the futures industry, a synthesis of the scientific and corporate activity [of big science and big business] into a relatively coherent narrative which is then [disseminated] throughout the world [by global media] in this way exercising control over the future through the art of prediction and the imperial production of futurist narratives [Eshun, Yaszek]. Investment in the futures industry is evidenced by the work of think-tanks such as the Project for the New American Century, and the impetus towards an eschatological approach is demonstrated by U.S. policy-maker initiatives to transform the War on Terror into a New Thirty Years War. The interest of the bourgeois futures industry in occultism may also derive from the latters conceptualization of aeonics (the magical manipulation of psycho-historical forces [Partridge, p. 632]) or aeonic magick (i.e. the kind of magic concerned with producing large-scale [civilizational] changes [altering the destiny of millions of peoples] over [] centuries [X]).

The first words had a magical aspect to them, and the modern word still retains much of the powerful magicality of the primitive utterance. With words, one person can render another happy or push them to despair, and its with the help of words that the professor transmits her knowledge to students, that an orator leads his audience to predetermined conclusions, affecting their decisions. Words provoke emotions and constitute the general means by which human beings reciprocally influence one another.

Sigmund Freud, in Introduction la psychanalyse (1916) [Freud, p. 11]

In light of the exposition of the religiosity implied by Net-Centric Warfare theory and its constituent concepts (including but not limited to: the physical/information/cognitive domains, meme warfare, information warfare, operations other than war, and psychological operations), as well as the occultism of its state actor pioneers (Aquino/the Temple of Set) and non-state actor practitioners (the Alt-Right/the Cult of Kek), it is reasonable to expect that further unpacking Net-Centric Warfare in the context of its esoteric underpinnings will help to demystify its actual workings. As a consequence of seeking an answer to the question What is Net-Centric Warfare?, we have been been confronted by the pioneers and practitioners of it with the concept of magic[k] and a variety of types of it, including: meme magick, chaos magick, black magick, and aeonic magick.

When we talk about black magic in particular, it is possible understand a number of different things. It is commonly understood that black magic is the evil kind, while white magic is the good kind; the person whose words render another happy does white magic and the one who pushes another to despair does black magic. Black magic and white magic are also said to correspond to the terms Left Hand Path and Right-Hand Path. Some have argued that good and evil are relative to the perspective of the individual, the cultural or class grouping, and that for this reason black magic cannot be equated with evil, nor can white magic be equated with good. The Temple of Sets Michael Aquino would be an example of someone who falls into this camp, in that, although his religious worldview is indebted to a profound degree to early modern occultists such as Aleister Crowley and Helena Blavatsky, he does not seem to like the fact that they used the terms black magic and white magic simply to identify their moral biases (in the sense that they upheld the convention that black stands for that which is immoral and white stands for that which is moral). For Aquino, black magic (or the left-hand path) does not imply any moral or ethical stance, since according to him, it refers to one of two approaches to magic in general rather than to the ends to which [it is] applied [X, p. 61]. However, given what we know about Aquinos almost five decades of prominence on the Satanic cult scene, we cannot take his theory of morally ambiguous black magic as a pure abstraction; consideration of his actual life and career, which we have already seen was dedicated not just to serving, but also enhancing the efficacy of, the genocidal enterprise of U.S. militarism, might be taken as an indication of this particular approachs predisposition to being used towards unethical ends.

A closer examination of Aquinos discourse in Black Magic (1975-2010) reveals that his attempt to dissociate the concept of black magic from its common definition (evil) is mired in contradictions. Here Aquino argues that the ideal member of his Satanic cult is initially amoral but that the cult does argue for a high personal ethical standard which is based on a Platonic love of and dedication to virtue for its own sake not on social or religious-ideological conditioning, threats, or enticements [Aquino, p. 4]. Elsewhere in Black Magic, however, Aquino does express clear concern about safeguarding what he calls the ethical reputation of the Temple [p. 40], noting that, Only if [a Satanist is] known to be a strictly ethical individual will [his or her] freedom from social norms be tolerated. Otherwise [he or she] will be ostracized and probably persecuted by society [p. 94]. Contradicting his initial claim that the Temples argument for its members high ethical standards is not based on social or religious-ideological conditioning, threats, or enticements, Aquino admonishes his followers that ritually sacrificing any life-form will result in the offenders immediate expulsion [from the cult] and referral to law enforcement or animal protection authorities [p. 119]. Aquino again contradicts his initial claim of the cults recognition of the supremacy of the individual Satanists personal ethical standard over social conditioning when he elaborates on the formula by which the Satanist is to avoid persecution/cultivate an ethical reputation: he is to determine not only whether [a particular black magic working] will be ethical in his eyes, but also ethical according to the cultural mind-sets of all other parties to the working [p. 106]. We see thus that the Temple of Sets concern about projecting out an ethical reputation as a law-abiding, non-human/animal (or even plant) sacrificing cult into the world functions as a defense mechanism, its ethical reputation being a mere shell to protect its actual mission, which is to create an unsafe space (since Aquino asserts that black magic is dangerous) for freedom from social norms and the social morality [p. 112] of intrusive subjective universes (Aquinos term) of other psyches, to the extent that such freedom and occult deviancy can be cultivated without provoking ostracization and persecution by the wider society.

Aquinos concern with dissociating black magic from its connotation of evil cannot be understood without apprehending his view that good/evil values are merely appropriate for the profane masses, who cant and dont want to understand anything more precise [p. 106]. Aquinos attempt to dissociate black magic from its connotation of evil mirrors the way in which his conception of the net-centric MindWar doctrine was intimately tied up with the desire to dissociate U.S. militarism (particularly in Southeast Asia) from its connotations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Turning the basic question of what is good and what is bad into a mystical equation serves to transform that which is unethical (imperialist war, use of black magic to manipulate the profane masses into compliance with the former by painting it as good from the perspective of their class-blind/class-collaborative national interests) into that which is ethical. Publicly identifying oneself as a Satanist and establishing a cult institution with the exoteric faade of an ethical reputation rather than keeping ones wacko beliefs to oneself would seem to serve the purpose of, not only empowering oneself and gaining social influence (to the extent that one can accrue cult members and rise in the military industrial hierarchy), but also transforming the lay publics perception of Satanists into its oppositei.e. from equating Satanism with evil and unethical practices to equating it with decent, ethical people who dont really want to hurt anyone.

What does make the term black magic problematic is not its moral connotation by itself, but this in combination with its racial one. We must be skeptical when accusations of black magic are levelled in order to smear that which is genuinely good. For example, televangelist Pat Robertson has infamously called Haitians cursed in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake of 2010 for [swearing] a pact with the devil [X], in reference to the sacrificial Voodoo ritual performed in the Kayiman woods which is said to have initiated the slave rebellion against French rule, which was a revolution whose basis was the super-exploited and racialized enslaved proletariat of the island. From the perspective of international scientific socialist and transmodern decolonial communist ethics, the Haitian revolution was much more ethical than anything the Temple of Set ever dideven if we are to accept that the former did involve animal sacrifice and the latter wouldnt hurt a flybecause it was revolutionary and promoted freedom while the latter was/is a cesspit of fascist U.S. militarist reaction. Certain African and Afro-diasporic artists have appropriated terms commonly associated with Satanism in Western thought such as black magic and black mass to affect decolonization. For example, in the music video to the song Black Magic Woman, the Ghanaian singer Azizaa plays up the notion of black magic and some of its tropes in a way that is feminist and coloniality-confronting. It is dubious however to suppose that the path of revolutionary or afrofuturist black magicians such as Dutty Boukman or Sun Ra is one and the same as that taken by imperial militarist or fascist black magicians such as Michael Aquino or David Myatt/Anton Long. Their paths could not be more opposite. Furthermore, two people cannot follow the same path and arrive at different ends, unless they started at different ends, and in that case ones left-hand would be the others right.

Although it is genuinely possible to detourne black magic from connotations of evil as certain artists have succeeded in doing, we will nevertheless put aside the problematic black is wack, white is right racial baggage of the black magic/white magic distinction from this point forth and use the term black magic in the traditional sense of pertaining to that which is evil, as we move now to analyse bourgeois Net-Centric Warfare as it relates to the black magic worldview of its U.S. militarist, neo-Nazi, Satanist, and bigoted Eurocentrist neo-pagan pioneers and practitioners.

* * *

Many of the constituent concepts of the theory of Net-Centric Warfare can be read as analogues to those which are elaborated upon by self-proclaimed Satanic organizations. To illustrate these striking parallels, which show how the idea of black magic as it is understood/explained by Satanic groups meshes almost perfectly with that of Net-Centric Warfare, a three-column table is presented below. The first two columns in the table present the terminology used by the Satanic cults known as the Temple of Set and the Order of Nine Angles. According to religions professor Connell Monette, these are two out of the three western esoteric groups that are openly aligned with the Left Hand Path (i.e. black magic) [X], the other being the Church of Satan (founded by Anton LaVey in 1966 as the first above ground, openly Satanic organization). Monettes claim is likely inaccurate (see other groups such as the Satanic Temple, Brotherhood of Satan, etc.though some of these may treat the figure of Satan as symbolic), but these are certainly what we might call the big three.

As previously alluded to, the Temple of Set split off from the Church of Satan in 1975 when many of its members became disillusioned with LaVeyan Satanism and can thus be seen as its successor, so LaVeys cult has been omitted from the table. The Order of Nine Angles, meanwhile, is also said to have formed sometime in the 1960s or 1970s in Shropshire, England but takes a more underground approach. Its number of adherents is rumored to range anywhere from a handful of people or even a single individual using numerous aliases (David Myatt) all the way to anywhere from 300 to 2,000 people spread throughout the world [Monette, 2014]. Both the Temple of Set and the Order of Nine Angles proclaim themselves to be genuine Satanists, with Aquino stating that the Temple upholds the actual existence of Satan and Myatt stating that the Order represents traditional Satanism. There are some signs that the Order of Nine Angles was influenced or took inspiration from the Church of Satan; e.g. its name is said to have been appropriated from a text called Ceremony of Nine Angles written by Aquino in 1971 when he was a member of the Church of Satan (although the Order claims its name comes from an aspect of esoteric tradition which existed before [1966][X]) and the pen name of the Orders primary theorist (Anton Long) also seems to have been pastiched from the name of Anton LaVey, former head of the Church of Satan.

One of the most fundamental differences between the Temple of Set and the Order of Nine Angles is their approach to public relations. While the Temple, as we have seen, is concerned about maintaining an ethical reputation and not portraying itself as evil, the Order actively tries to cultivate an evil reputation. It does this in part by defending human sacrifice as part of traditional Satanism. To become a full-fledged Adept of the Order, one is expected to partake in what it calls human culling to [remove] the worthless and thus [improve] the stock. Monette mentions that ONA members are said to have joined police and military forces in seeking out opportunities to kill people and the Order also claims that in 2011, several images were circulated on the internet of someone in NATO-issued combat fatigues with a NATO-issued weapon and nextto an O9A sigil [in Afghanistan] [X].

In The Satanic Letters of Stephen Brown: Vol. Iwhich detail written correspondence between the Order of Nine Angles and the Temple of Set from 1990 to 1992 (in addition to ONA letters to third parties)the ONA criticizes Aquinos group for instructing its members to disaffiliate from and disavow connections to Satanic groups and individuals advocating human sacrifice (e.g. the Order of Nine Angles) and pedophilia (e.g. the Ordo Templi Baph-metis and its magazine Abraxas, which were both under the thumb of a member of the Temple of Set named James Martin). Here the ONA derides Aquino and the Temple of Set as inauthentic Satanists, insufficiently loyal to the genuine tenets of traditional Satanism because their policy of public disaffiliation with persons openly calling for sexual abuse and murder constitutes a code of ethics which members must adhere to. In a true Satanic organization, the ONA argues, there is nothing that is restricted or forbidden.

However, it can also be remarked that the ONAs literature is similar to that of Aquinos in that it is riddled with internal contradictions. While human sacrifice and sexual abuse are necessarily permitted under the premise of nothing is forbidden, the ONA literature on culling nevertheless mentions that victims [of human sacrifice] can never be children and voluntary sacrifices are always male, thus positing restrictions on the practice [X, pp. 12, 14]. The fact that the ONA generally posits human sacrifice within a eugenics type framework (by virtue of likening it to culling) also contradicts the claim that the organization embraces evil, given that the supposed goal here is to improve the human race and do it good by transforming it into a more highly evolved god-race which Myatt calls Homo Galactica. The claim of no restrictions on individual members of the Satanic cult also disappears when the ONA literature notes that a group wishing to conduct such a sacrifice with magickal intent must first obtain permission from the Grand Master or Grand Lady Master [ibid., p. 12].

We also find in the Satanic Letters that in about 1986 or 1987 Aquino was a sent a copy of a magazine called Ganymede which had a reputation in the UK for promoting pedastry and paedophilia because Martin had written an article in the magazine which was [] along those lines. After members of the Setian priesthood were ordered by Aquino to interview James Martin, he resigned from the Temple. (This would have been right at the beginning or middle of the Presidio of San Francisco military base sex scandal in which Aquino was accused of sexually abusing dozens of children.) Additionally, it is explicitly revealed that at least one member of the Temple of Set, identified as John [REDACTED] later known by the alias Richard Saunders or Bro Richard of Shropshire, had a working relationship with the Order of Nine Angles via the Brotherhood of Balder (an organization in which he held dual membership [] whilst a Priest of Set). The Satanic Letters implicitly suggest a working relationship between the ONA and another (then) member of the Temple of Set, the New Zealand neo-Nazi Kerry Bolton, because in the Letters ONA member Stephen Brown (probably David Myatt) is forwarded a copy of and replies to an intra-Temple of Set letter between Bolton and a U.K.-based David Austen within a few weeks of it being sent.

Examine below each row from left to right as you observe the parallels between Satanic cult and U.S. militarist jargons.

Net-Centric Warfare as Black Magic:

Similarities in Conceptualization Between Occult Groups and the U.S. Military

Satanic cult jargon

sacred/esoteric

U.S. militarist jargon

profane/exoteric

Temple of Set

Net-Centric Warfare

The Abyss (1)

of the acausal world

Michael Aquino, Black Magic (1975-2010).

Jacob Christiansen Senholt, The Sinister Tradition (2009).

Anton Long, The Error of Egoism (2011).

Order of Nine Angles, Naos (1989).Connell Monette, Ch. 3: The Order of Nine Angles (2014).

Edward Smith, Effects Based Operations (2002).

David Alberts et al., Understanding Information Age Warfare (2001).

As we can see in the table, the dynamics of Net-Centric Warfare are very much akin to those of black magic.

Firstly, the framework within which the psychological manipulation/black magic is posited to occur is similar. The elaboration of a trinity of domains in Net-Centric Warfare theory corresponds to a trinity of universes, worlds, or realms which are elaborated upon in the literature of the modern Satanic movement. Recall that the Net-Centric Warfare trinity of domains is in actuality a Cartesian duality between the physical domain and the cognitive domain. This dualism is paralleled by the Satanic cults, which call these two domains the objective universe or the causal world and the subjective universe or the acausal world. Like Net-Centric Warfare, they also posit some kind of mechanism for the transcendence of these two poles, the two fundamental domains/universes/worlds. In the case of Net-Centric Warfare, this intermediary is the information domain, while the Temple of Set refers to a Magical Link between the physical domain and the cognitive domain, and the Order of Nine Angles meanwhile calls this interstice the gate, nexion, or, alternatively, The Abyssa Crowleyan trope which has worked its way into the Satanic discourses of late-stage capitalism, along with the related idiomatic phrase to cross the abyss.

Excerpt from:

What is Net-Centric Warfare? | Daniel K. Buntovnik

Rethinking the War on Drugs | Human Rights Watch

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Danzig

On February 2, 2014, Alda Castilho, a 27-year-old military police officer died after suspected drug traffickers opened fire on her squad in a shantytown in Rio de Janeiro. Her death was in vain, her mother, Maria Rosalina da Silva, told us last month.

A 17-year-old Brazilian drug gang member poses with a gun atop a hill overlooking a slum inSalvador, Bahia State on April 11, 2013.

Castillo was one of the almost 60,000 homicide victims in Brazil in 2014. It is unknown how many were the victims of drug traffickers. In Niteri, So Gonalo and Itabora, three cities within Rio de Janeiros metropolitan area, about 400 of the 480 homicides in 2014 were drug-related, estimates Fbio Barucke, the Civil Polices chief of homicide investigations in that region.

Brazils approach to criminalizing drug production and distribution has fueled the growth of criminal organizations and weakened the rule of law.

The war on drugs is the main driver of police operations in shantytowns, which often end in death. Brazils police killed more than 3,000 people in 2014, according to official data. While the police routinely say these deaths resulted from shootouts with criminals, Human Rights Watch has documented dozens of cases in the last decade in the states of Rio de Janeiro and So Paulo in which the evidence strongly suggests they were extrajudicial executions. In some instances in Rio de Janeiro, according to prosecutors and police officers Human Rights Watch interviewed, corrupt police officers involved with drug traffickers committed the killings.

Apart from contributing to the spike in homicides and the strengthening of deadly gangs, Brazils war on drugs has also failed to achieve its objectives. Drugs are more plentiful now and stronger than in the 1970s, when the United States began pushing the rest of the world to fight the illegal drug trade.

Police officials described to us the futility of anti-drug operations. Military Police Major Roberto Valente, for example, told us that if they capture a low-level operative, such as a lookout, his gang will give him a gun and promote him once he leaves prison.

Often, top traffickers simply continue their trade from prison. If the police kill them, they are likely to be replaced before the body is stiff.

Having suffered so much in the name of fighting drugs, Brazil should encourage a new approach during the UNs Special Session on this issue, which starts today in New York. It is time to decriminalize possession of drugs for personal use and to take a look at legalizing drugs.

Opponents of decriminalization argue that it will increase drug use, but the experiences of other countries do not support that assertion. In Portugal, which decriminalized possession of drugs for personal use 15 years ago, the number of people dependent on drugs decreased, as did HIV transmission among drug users and incarceration rates.

Some countries are trying out the legalization of production, distribution and use of marijuana, the most commonly used illegal drug. Early evidence suggests this may cut into the profits of drug traffickers without firing a single bullet. Brazil should consider doing the same.

A new approach to drugs may save the country millions of reals that could be used for drug treatment and the prevention of violence. Most important, it could save thousands of lives every year. It is time to put an end to the current senseless policy.

More here:

Rethinking the War on Drugs | Human Rights Watch

Bitcoin vs. Bitcoin Cash: What’s the Difference …

Posted on February 12, 2018 by jessica

Since its inception, there have been questions surrounding Bitcoins ability to scale effectively. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that exists within a network of computers, within the blockchain. This is revolutionary ledger-recording technology. It makes ledgers far more difficult to manipulate for a couple of reasons: The reality of what has transpired is verified by majority rule, not by an individual actor. And this network is decentralized; it exists on computers all over the world.

The problem with this technology is that its slow. Like, really slow, especially in comparison to banks that deal with credit card transactions. Visa processes 150 million transactions per day, averaging out to roughly 1,700 transactions per second. And their capability far surpasses that, at 24,000 transactions per second.

How many transactions can the Bitcoin network process per second? Seven. Transactions take about 10 minutes to process. And as the network of Bitcoin users grows, waiting times will get longer, because there are more transactions to process without a change in the underlying technology that processes them.

The latest debates around Bitcoins technology have been concerned with this central problem of scaling and increasing the speed of the transaction verification process. There are two major solutions to this problem, either to make the amount of data that need to be verified in each block smaller, making transactions faster and cheaper or to make the blocks of data bigger, so that more information can be processed at one time.

(Read: Bitcoin Transactions vs. Credit Card Transactions)

In mid July 2017, mining pools and companies representing roughly 80% to 90% of Bitcoin computing power voted to incorporate a technology known as a segregated witness, called SegWit2x. SegWit2x makes the amount of data that needs to be verified in each block smaller, by removing signature data from the block of data that needs to be processed in each transaction, and having it attached in an extended block. Signature data has been estimated to account for up to 65% of data processed in each block, so this is not an insignificant technological shift. Talk of doubling the size of blocksfrom1mbto2mb in November has ramped up, and is expected. Thiswould also go some ways in improving Bitcoins scalability. In mid-October, Bitcoin scientistsfrom Bitcoin Unlimited revealed they had mined the world's first 1GB block, 1,000 times bigger than the normal size.

Bitcoin Cash is a different story. Bitcoin Cash was started by Bitcoin miners and developers equally concerned with the future of the cryptocurrency, and its ability to scale effectively. These individuals had their reservations about the adoption of a segregated witness technology, though. They felt as though SegWit2x did not address the fundamental problem of scalability in a meaningful way, nor did it follow the roadmap initially outlined by Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous party that first proposed the blockchain technology behind cryptocurrency. Furthermore, the process of introducing SegWit2x as the road forward was anything but transparent, and there were concerns that its introduction undermined the decentralization and democratization of the currency.

On August 1st, some miners and developers initiated what is known as a hard fork, effectively creating a new currency: Bitcoin Cash. Bitcoin Cash has implemented an increased block size of 8mb, to accelerate the verification process, with an adjustable level of difficulty to ensure the chains survival and transaction verification speed, regardless of the number of miners supporting it. This has raised concerns about the security of Bitcoin Cash.

(For more on cryptocurrency, read: Does Crypto Have Intrinsic Value? It Depends)

This development could mean any number of things for the future of cryptocurrency. The situation is very fluid, and market valuations are both constantly calibrating and volatile. Its going to be difficult to get a clear picture until Bitcoin Cash has been running for a while (or fails),the impact of Bitcoin's segregated witness technology isassessed,and the size of Bitcoin's blocks are doubled.

In a blog post earlier this week titled The Crypto Currency Debate: Future of Money or Speculative Hype?, dean of valuation and NYU Stern Professor Aswath Damordan said that the future of cryptocurrency as a currency, as opposed to a speculative asset as it is so often treated, depends on cryptocurrency developers thinking of their technology as a transaction medium and acting accordingly. Both of these moves seem to be aimed at improving cryptocurrency technology as a medium of exchange.

Improving cryptocurrency as a transaction medium will depend on maintaining the high level of security that Bitcoin has always ensured, while also improving transaction speeds. Bitcoin will continue to be highly secure, but how much its transaction speeds will improve is unclear. Bitcoin Cash, once its difficulty has adjusted, could have transactions processing in two minutes and 30 seconds. The security of the Bitcoin Cash blockchain, though, is unclear.

It will also depend on miners and users vision for the currency. If Bitcoin really does undermine the decentralized nature of the network, and the democratic possibilities of the blockchain technology, people may look elsewhere for a cryptocurrency with more exciting potential. (For more insights on how the market has changed since the fork, read: What's BitcoinCash and Where the Heck Did it Come From?)

Anarchy and Libertarianism? An Anarchist’s Ethnography

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Danzig

In my introduction to this blog I am trying to write about my research and ethnography about the topic of Anarchy, looking at different aspects of what it means for me. Recently I have been reading a few on-line articles and this has led me to do some follow-up on-line searches. One of these searches (via Google) was looking at the differences between Anarchy and Libertarianism.

I have often seen these 2 words in connection with each other. To be honest Libertarianism is a new one on me, I have not come across it that much before and I have never looked closely into it when I had. So I started to read about it, but where to begin?

I searched these topics on-line and Google, in its wisdom, offers alternative research titles. These search titles kept on coming, until the research became a topic in itself.

I am a little confused by it all, what I thought was a simple philosophy has turned into a confusing mix-mash of titles each with its own philosophies and alternatives. In one way it is good, but in another way it is confusing. Each philosophy is a division of the main topic; and what I am also finding out, whilst doing my on-line research, is that these philosophies are dividing the fundamental topic of either anarchy or libertarianism. Divide and rule, yet again (In another blog I will give a negative example of this, negative division).

Dividing and contradicting one another might be healthy in academic circles, for an armchair philosopher, but if it is to mean anything then it has to be experimented with and tested in the field. And has that been made any easier by having contradictions everywhere? You might reply that debate is healthy. I agree, as a debate. But sometimes I feel it is easier to stand in front of the riot squad with my stone, as at least you know your enemy, it is clearer right?

To build a system or a community on an anarchist or libertarian philosophy surely there should be some clear guidelines on which to build the foundations, even if it is simple step 1, 2, 3,? Because I cannot see it happening that much, in a practical sense.

Ethnographers have tested philosophies, that were created outside of the environment they were to be tested in, but they have to be tested practically as well, and this process should be documented and re-applied depending on the results. Philosophies changed to suit new practical data, it is a circle right? It is a continuous process, evaluating and reassessing, change and trying the results again and again until the theory fits the practice.

How many of these philosophers actually gone out and tested the theories they write about, the same way as the 19th century anarchists did?

Although I find these topics interesting in themselves, it will take some time to research them all. I hope to do that, as it is broadening my vision of what anarchy and libertarianism is all about.

Here is the list of research topics that Google threw at me after my initial question, they are in no particular order. I have put the reference links in (.)

Question What is the difference between Anarchy and Libertarianism?

Googles replies:

An anarchist is an extreme libertarian, like a socialist is an extreme democrat, and a fascist is an extreme republican. Its like the difference between a lover and a rapist. Theyre both in the same place but one uses violence to get there. Libertarians believe in free markets, private property, and capitalism.(Libertarian or Anarchist? Chaos Park. http://www.chaospark.com/politics/reid12.htm)

What is a libertarian anarchist?Libertarian anarchism may refer to: Anarchism, a political philosophy that advocates stateless societies, usually considered a radical left-wing ideology. Anarcho-capitalism, a political philosophy that advocates the elimination of the state in favor of individual sovereignty, private property, and open markets.(Libertarian anarchism Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_anarchism)

Minarchism is a libertarian political philosophy which advocates for a particular variety of minimal state that acts only to enforce a universal framework of natural and legal rights essential to the functioning of a free marketplace in economy and culture, and operating through a limited government societally managed 10 Feb 2017(What is MINARCHISM? What does MINARCHISM mean? YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bVjYEq-C5g)

What is a libertarian left?Libertarian socialism (sometimes called social anarchism, left-libertarianism and socialist libertarianism) is a group of anti-authoritarian political philosophies inside the socialist movement that rejects socialism as centralized state ownership and control of the economy, and sometimes the state itself.(Left-libertarianism Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-libertarianism)

What is the night watchman state?Noun. night watchman state (plural night watchman states) (political philosophy) A form of government where the governments responsibilities are so minimal that they cannot be reduced much further without becoming a form of anarchy.(night watchman state Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/night_watchman_state)

What is an anarcho capitalist?Anarcho-capitalism. Anarcho-capitalism (also known as libertarian anarchy or market anarchism or free market anarchism) is a libertarian and individualist anarchist political philosophy that advocates the elimination of the state in favor of individual sovereignty in a free market.(Anarcho-capitalism Mises Wiki, the global repository of classical.https://wiki.mises.org/wiki/Anarcho-capitalism)

What are the views of a libertarian?Libertarianism (Latin: libertas, freedom) is a collection of political philosophies and movements that uphold liberty as a core principle. Libertarians seek to maximize political freedom and autonomy, emphasizing freedom of choice, voluntary association, individual judgment, and self-ownership.(Libertarianism Wikipedia.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism)

What is the meaning of minimal state?Minimal state refers to a state with the least possible amount of powers. It is a term used in political philosophy where the states duties are so minimal that they cannot be reduced much further without becoming a form of anarchy.(Minimal State Law and Legal Definition | USLegal, Inc.https://definitions.uslegal.com/m/minimal-state/)

What is the nap Ancap?The non-aggression principle (or NAP; also called the non-aggression axiom, the anti-coercion, zero aggression principle or non-initiation of force) is an ethical stance which asserts that aggression is inherently illegitimate.(Non-aggression principle Wikipedia.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-aggression_principle)

What does it mean to be in the Libertarian Party?It is the only political organization which respects you as a unique and responsible individual. Our slogan is that we are The Party of Principle, because we stand firmly on our principles. Libertarians strongly oppose any government interference into their personal, family, and business decisions.(About the Libertarian Party | Libertarian Party. https://www.lp.org/about/)

What is an anarcho communist?Anarcho-communism (also known as anarchist communism, free communism, libertarian communism and communist anarchism) is a theory of anarchism which advocates the abolition of the state, capitalism, wage labour and private property (while retaining respect for personal property) and in favor of common ownership of the (Anarcho-communism Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-communism)

What is an Agorism?Agorism is a revolutionary left-libertarian political philosophy that advocates the goal of bringing about a society in which all relations between people are voluntary exchanges by means of counter-economics. Counter-economics is the sum of all non-aggressive human action which is forbidden by the state.5 Jul 2013(Whats the difference between Agorism and Anarcho-Capitalism? https://www.reddit.com/r/Agorism//whats_the_difference_between_agorism_and/)

What is an anarcho collective?Collectivist anarchism (also known as anarcho-collectivism) is a revolutionary anarchist doctrine that advocates the abolition of both the state and private ownership of the means of production. It instead envisions the means of production being owned collectively and controlled and managed by the producers themselves.(Collectivist anarchism Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collectivist_anarchism)

What is an anarcho primitivism?Anarcho-primitivism is an anarchist critique of the origins and progress of civilization. According to anarcho-primitivism, the shift from hunter-gatherer to agricultural subsistence gave rise to social stratification, coercion, alienation, and population growth.(Anarcho-primitivism Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-primitivism)

What is counter economics?Counter-economics is a term originally used by Samuel Edward Konkin III and J. Neil Schulman, libertarian activists and theorists. Konkin defined it as the study or practice of all peaceful human action which is forbidden by the State.(Counter-economics Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-economics)

What is anarcho transhumanism?Anarcho-Transhumanism is the recognition that social liberty is inherently bound up with material liberty, and that freedom is ultimately a matter of expanding our capacity and opportunities to engage with the world around us.6 Jan 2012(What Is Anarcho-Transhumanism? | Human Iterations. https://humaniterations.net/2012/01/06/what-is-anarcho-transhumanism/)

What is an anarcho syndicalist commune?Anarcho-syndicalism (also referred to as revolutionary syndicalism) is a theory of anarchism which views revolutionary industrial unionism or syndicalism as a method for workers in capitalist society to gain control of an economy and, with that control, influence broader society.(Anarcho-syndicalism Wikipedia.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-syndicalism)

Is Chomsky an anarchist?Noam Chomsky most often self-identifies as a libertarian socialist (which is, generally speaking, a code-word for some sort of left-anarchist), and has at other times identified himself as an anarchist.10 Jan 2013(Is Noam Chomsky an anarchist or libertarian ? Anarchy101 Q&A. anarchy101.org/4310/is-noam-chomsky-an-anarchist-or-libertarian)

What is a green anarchist?Green anarchism (or eco-anarchism) is a school of thought within anarchism which puts a particular emphasis on environmental issues. In the late 19th century there emerged anarcho-naturism as the fusion of anarchism and naturist philosophies within individualist anarchist circles in France, Spain, Cuba, and Portugal.(Green anarchism Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_anarchism)

What does primitivism?a recurrent theory or belief, as in philosophy or art, that the qualities of primitive or chronologically early cultures are superior to those of contemporary civilization. 2. the state of being primitive : the primitivism of the Stone Age peoples. 3.(Primitivism | Define Primitivism at Dictionary.com. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/primitivism)

What is individualist anarchism?The Individualist Anarchists were a diverse group of anti-authoritarian reformers and radicals who regarded individual sovereignty and free market competition as the answer to the social and economic problems of the day.(The Individualist Anarchist. http://www.individualistanarchist.com/)

What is egoist anarchy?Egoist anarchism is a school of anarchist thought that originated in the philosophy of Max Stirner, a nineteenth-century Hegelian philosopher whose name appears with familiar regularity in historically orientated surveys of anarchist thought as one of the earliest and best-known exponents of individualist anarchism.(Egoist anarchism Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egoist_anarchism)

What is an anarcho socialist?Social anarchism (sometimes referred to as socialist anarchism) is a non-state form of socialism and is considered to be the branch of anarchism which sees individual freedom as being dependent upon mutual aid. It emerged in the late 19th century as a distinction from individualist anarchism.(Social anarchism Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_anarchism)

What is a libertarian socialist?Libertarian socialism (or socialist libertarianism) is a group of anti-authoritarian political philosophies inside the socialist movement that rejects socialism as centralized state ownership and control of the economy, as well as the state itself.(Libertarian socialism Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_socialism)

What is anarchist theory?Anarchism is a political philosophy that advocates self-governed societies based on voluntary institutions. Anarchism holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful.(Anarchism Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism)

What is eco anarchy?Eco-anarchism ecoanarchism, i.e. green and environmental anarchism, is anarchism taking into account sufficiently the ecological perspective and questions facing mankind socially, i.e. political and economical broadly defined, and ecology taking into account sufficiently the anarchist approach.(The Ecoanarchist Manifesto | The Anarchist Library. https://theanarchistlibrary.org//green-anarchist-international-association-the-ecoanarchi…)

And finally.not not least, this is a wiki page dedicated to the different anarchistic philosophies.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist_schools_of_thought)

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I have been interested Anarchy on a personal level since a teenager (1980s). It has structured my life without knowing it; and I feel it has influenced who I am and what I have become. This blog is trying to understand new and old trends of anarchy as I come across them; it is not about learning facts but digesting discourses and seeing how I can include them in my life...a practical approach. The internet has introduced me to a variety of anarchist philosophies, where as in the 1980s there was a "lack of information" in comparison. As I find new philosophies I will try and write my opinion, it is a D.I.Y. approach and not scientific."Business Controlled" is the name I have given my musical solo projects since my teenage years. I am a busker and musician.View all posts by Business Controlled

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Anarchy and Libertarianism? An Anarchist's Ethnography

Des Moines, IA HVAC & Plumber | Golden Rule Plumbing, Heating …

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Danzig

Golden Rule Plumbing, Heating & Cooling has proudly served Des Moines, IA and the rest of the Des Moines area for more than two decades. We attribute our success to our firm belief that the customer always comes first no matter what. When you contact us for plumbing services, repairs for your air conditioning or heating system, or a new installation for a water heater (and these are only a few of our many services), you can count on work from skilled professionals who use the best current technology to see that every job is done rightand done right the first time.

Our services cover an immense range of types of work: plumbing, drain and sewer line cleaning, HVAC services, geothermal installation and repair, plus plumbing and HVAC for commercial buildings and properties. We back up our work with a 100% satisfaction guarantee, and our upfront pricing ensures that youll always know the cost before we start any job. You can reach us 24 hours a day when you need emergency services.

We offer a full range of residential plumbing services in Des Moines, IA. This includes everything from a simple drain unclogging to a large wholehouse repiping. Your household plumbing is vital for everyday convenience and comfort, and youll only want to trust plumbers with the experience necessary to ensure an excellent job each time. We have the plumbing professionals who can deliver!

Des Moines experiences extremes in weather over the year, so its imperative that homes have heating and air conditioning systems able to handle the temperature swings. When you rely on an HVAC contractor with more than 20 years of experience in Des Moines, you can relax knowing that whatever heating and AC services you require will be done right. We install a wide variety of systems, as well as provide repairs, replacements, and maintenance.

We take pride that one of our specialties is work with geothermal systems. You might think using geothermal heating and cooling is out of reach for your house, but our experienced professionals would love to show you otherwise! We want to help more homes enjoy the energysaving and environmentallyfriendly benefits of using geothermal power. Our team installs, replaces, maintains, and repairs geothermal heat pumps in the area. Call to find out more.

When plumbing problems occur at a business, its a bigger emergency than when they occur in a residential building. Many people depend on the plumbing, and the bottom line can be affected if the trouble isnt solved fast. Golden Rule Plumbing, Heating & Cooling offers commercial plumbing work in Des Moines, IA to repair any problem, and we also install and maintain commercial plumbing equipment. We have you covered for commercial HVAC services as well!

Our motto is"We Obey the Rules to Live By!".

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Des Moines, IA HVAC & Plumber | Golden Rule Plumbing, Heating ...

Automation – Cloud process & workflow automation …

Posted on February 11, 2018 by Danzig

Simplify cloud management with process automation

Automate all of those frequent, time-consuming, and error-prone cloud management tasks. Azure Automation helps you focus on work that adds business value. By reducing errors and boosting efficiency, it also helps to lower your operational costs.

In Automation, Windows PowerShell scripts and workflowsknown as runbookshelp you work smarter by handling the creation, deployment, monitoring, and maintenance of Azure resources and partner applications. The Azure Automation Runbook Gallery puts samples, utilities, and scenario runbooks at your fingertips, so that you can get up and running quickly with your automation tasks. Use the Runbook Gallery to browse and import runbooks to your Automation account without leaving the Azure portal

Automation runbooks work with the Web Apps feature of Azure App Service, Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Storage, Azure SQL Database, and other popular Azure services. Use them with any service that offers public Internet APIs. Easy-to-read dashboard charts and log records make runbooks easier to monitor.

By efficiently handling processes that span tools, systems, and department silos, Automation lets you deliver services faster and more consistently. Its highly reliable and you can create checkpoints to resume your workflow after unexpected errors, crashes, and network issues.

Author and manage PowerShell configurations, import configuration resources, and generate node configurations, all in the cloud. Use Azure Configuration Management to monitor and automatically update machine configuration across physical and virtual machines, Windows or Linux, in the cloud or on-premises.

What Pepe The Frog’s Death Can Teach Us About … – NPR.org

Posted on February 11, 2018 by jessica

Andrew Knight holds a sign of Pepe the frog, an alt-right icon, during a rally in Berkeley, Calif., on April 27. Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Andrew Knight holds a sign of Pepe the frog, an alt-right icon, during a rally in Berkeley, Calif., on April 27.

With barely an Internet whimper, Pepe the Frog, the anthropomorphic cartoon character turned symbol of hate, was put down by his creator, Matt Furie, over the weekend, in a single-page comic strip. The final images were of Pepe dead in a casket, with three former roommates paying tribute by pouring some liquor on Pepe's face and drinking the rest.

The demise of Pepe who had become a symbol of the alt-right, neo-Nazis and white nationalists was as sad as it was unlikely. Pepe, from the start, was supposed to be a good guy. But in the story of his rise and fall, some universal truths about the nature of modern Internet can be found.

But first, let's look back at just how Pepe came to be.

When Furie created the character in 2005 and later featured him in the comic Boy's Club, he was just trying to make a chill bro who happened to be an animal. "He's a 20-something post-college roommate," Furie told NPR. "He's an anthropomorphic frog that lives with a party wolf, a bear-like creature, and then kind of a muppety, dog-like creature ... in a one-room apartment. And [they] kinda just party together and pull pranks on one another and hug each other and that kind of thing."

Furie said the characters were loosely based on his life, "living with a bunch of guys," and that "Pepe the Frog's more of just the Everyman. He likes to take naps and smoke weed, play video games."

Pepe really took off with one particular comic strip, depicting the frog pulling his pants down all the way to his ankles to urinate. After one of his roommates called him out, Pepe replied, "Feels good man." A star was born.

Denouncement as endorsement

And then, that same star was coopted, stolen by a 4chan fringe. In an effort described to the Daily Beast as a push to "reclaim Pepe from normies," a dedicated group of 4chan users began to tie Pepe to white nationalism beginning around 2015. "We basically mixed Pepe in with Nazi propaganda, etc. We built that association," one user told Daily Beast reporter Olivia Nuzzi.

And during the 2016 election, that fringe ended up successfully tying Pepe to Donald Trump.

"Eventually, a popular meme of the smug frog with Donald Trump's hair started circulating online and then eventually got retweeted by the Donald Trump campaign," said Matthew Schimkowitz, an editor at Know Your Meme. "When that happened, the meaning of Pepe as kind of a white nationalist or alt-right symbol kind of exploded. It was considered by many to be a tactic of dog-whistling from the Trump campaign to that sect of white nationalists online, and it became a new symbol for white nationalists maybe not online. It essentially amplified that specific meaning of Pepe."

But what happened next was telling. Donald Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton, publicly denounced Pepe, and that only strengthened Pepe's connection to white nationalists, proving that a lot of times online, denouncing something can function as an amplifier.

"I didn't notice anything until there was a Hillary [Clinton] explainer," Furie said.

Schimkowitz added: "Because such high-profile people perhaps the two most famous people on the planet were saying in so much that Pepe is a symbol of the alt-right, that became the kind of meaning for the meme entirely. It's what we call here the Pepe effect. When everyone starts using a meme to mean one specific thing, that essentially becomes the meaning of it."

Furie fought hard to change it. He wrote an essay in Time magazine, to reclaim Pepe. There was a Save Pepe campaign, complete with links to a Save Pepe online shop on Furie's Tumblr. Furie even partnered with the Anti-Defamation League to get Pepe back from white nationalists. Clearly, none of this worked.

"These trolls, or whatever you wanna call them, they're kinda like the loudest voice on the Internet," Furie told NPR, a few days before he killed off Pepe.

Strangely enough, Furie said he made the comic that killed Pepe off just a few weeks after the election, even though it just published online this past weekend. Furie said he had thought about killing Pepe long before the alt-right stole him.

"Honestly, I thought about killing off Pepe just simply when he became a meme, before it was even associated with hate speech," Furie told NPR. "When an artist loses control of their creation, it's never that great." But he said he's not sad about the trajectory of Pepe's life.

Kermit vs. Pepe

The demise of Pepe the frog is particularly sad when compared to the fate of the Internet's other famous amphibian: Kermit. That Muppet character has blossomed over the last year as a tea-sipping, real-talk-providing voice of humor and reason, with a good heart. Perhaps part of why Kermit lived while Pepe died is that Kermit was defined in the culture long before the Internet.

From the start, Jim Henson made him lovable. Not so with Pepe. This frog wasn't etched in the public consciousness before the alt-right got a hold of him. "It basically says that things without very specific meaning can be changed pretty much in an instant," Schimkowitz said. "If a word isn't clearly defined, it can then kind of morph. Memes kind of work the same way."

Schimkowitz compares Kermit the Frog to Superman, in that both characters have definitions that existed long before the Internet, personas that will likely never change, and might face backlash if anyone tried. "In the last couple of Superman movies, there's been a lot of outcry about how dark they made the character," he said. "He wasn't necessarily saving anybody, which is pretty much the opposite of what everybody knows about Superman.

"Superman wasn't doing Superman," Schimkowitz said. "Kermit has that, too. People are so familiar with these characters, that they're not just going to suddenly forget their entire lifetime with them and accept something new."

And that's where Pepe failed, if his takeover by the alt-right could be considered his fault. The frog white nationalists wanted him to be was a stronger character than the one Furie did. And if that's the case, the worst version probably always wins.

Even now, the alt-right seems to be having its way with another symbol: the "OK" hand gesture, though the jury's still out on whether it's becoming a hate sign, or just being used to troll mainstream news outlets.

Either way, chances are, given enough time, it too will morph into something bad, not something better. The moral arc of the Internet is long, but it usually bends towards awful.

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What Pepe The Frog's Death Can Teach Us About ... - NPR.org

Best Supplements For Your Brain: 4 Nootropics That Work Like …

Posted on February 11, 2018 by jessica

What a fun-looking word: nootropics. It refers to any type of compound or food that has the ability to improve your mental abilities, including your memory, ability to focus, motivation, or even mood. While the general category most definitely includes smart drugs, neuro-enhancing supplements fit the bill as well. Daily, neuroscientists are acquiring a more nuanced understanding of the brain, the result being many new pharmaceutical drugs which target exact regions of the brain are in the works. The very same knowledge, though, might reveal how particular supplements might do an equally good job of improving brain function over the long haul.

Why go for prescription-strength when you can get the same by shopping the vitamin aisle?

In that spirit, heres a list of dietary supplements you could investigate for their potential use as a nootropic. Remember: Do your research and ask a doctors advice before popping any pill, natural or not. More importantly, not all dietary supplements are created equal, with some brands including additives you may not want (or are allergic to), so its important to vet any unfamiliar manufacturers.

Creatine is an old favorite among gym rats, who use it to enhance their sports performance, but over the past decade or so, the supplements neuro-enhancing abilities have been demonstrated as well. In one placebo-controlled study, researchers tested the hypothesis that 5 grams a day for a six-week period would enhance intelligence test scores while also improving memory. They enlisted the help of 45 young adult, vegetarian subjects and found the supplement had a significant positive effect on both working memory and intelligence, particularly with regard to tasks that require speed of processing. Though they tested vegetarians, the researchers would expect to see a beneficial effect of creatine supplementation on brain performance in most omnivores apart from those who consume very high amounts of meat.

Theanine (or more commonly L-theanine) is found in green tea and mushrooms and also sold as a dietary supplement in the United States. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration has granted it GRAS status (generally recognized as safe). According to various scientific studies, theanine has been found to affect the levels of some neurotransmitters, to prevent beta-amyloid-induced brain dysfunction, and to protect against stroke. L-theanine is even said to improve sleep quality in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In terms of potential nootropic uses, several small studies indicate a combination of L-theanine and caffeine can improve cognitive performance, particular in the areas of focus and alertness. Apparently, though, the effects may not be long-lasting.

Passionflower is derived from the above ground parts of the plant. Primarily, people take it for its anti-anxiety effects, which have been proven in smaller scientific studies though not yet confirmed in large scale studies. Some other people use it to treat insomnia as well as neuralgia and withdrawal symptoms while coming off opiates or benzodiazepines. In patients undergoing surgery as well as those about to be treated by a dentist, passionflower has been effectively used to reduce apprehension.

DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish and seaweed, can improve your memory while protecting against certain psychiatric disorders. Various surveys of people with major depression indicate they have depleted levels of omega-3 fatty acids and one large study found depressive symptoms were significantly higher among infrequent fish consumers. However, no study has ever proven omega-3 fatty acid supplementation effective in relieving major, moderate, or even mild depression. That said, some data suggest it is a safe preventive measure and may reduce the risk of progression of certain psychiatric disorders. While one review of scientific studies found that DHA supplements significantly improves cognitive development in infants though does not improve cognitive performance in children, adults, or the elderly another review shows it can protect against mild cognitive impairment, dementia, and the risk and progression of Alzheimer's disease in the elderly.

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Best Supplements For Your Brain: 4 Nootropics That Work Like ...

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