US

Fear Mongering: The Media on the Government Shutdown

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Fear mongering isn’t just done by cultists and tyrants. Although many of the dictators of today and days past did have it down to a T, our media happens to be one of the best fear mongering machines around. How about the North Korea debacle of recent times? It was the only subject on the news, only to be dismissed again by the masses and forgotten until the news took another recent shot at it. And Syria? We have only been following news on Syria when there are horrendous events happening leading up to what seems to be an intervention initiated by the US. Fear mongering is central to every major subject covered by the media.

Related Article: Imminent Western Intervention in Syria

No wonder our government doesn’t tell us everything; we would be in a constant state of hysteria, running around and threatening each other to protect our family and property. Let’s say, for instance, that beyond the fear mongering hype we knew there was to be a global crash of all computer systems and all the data was to be reset because we were dawning on a new millennium. Oh right, the panic of Y2K. Oh HOOO!!! What if we knew precisely when the world was going to end? Ahh.. December 21, 2012. Boy did that rattle the cages.

Related Article: NOT Another 9-11 Article

Fear mongering is omnipresent in all facets of our lives. Maybe I can spin it another way to get you riled up [after all I am representing a media of sorts, and boy do we like to spin things (tops, pizzas, balls, mouse scrollers, clocks, globes)]. The media is making the government shutdown seem more severe than it needs to be. Let us explore a couple of facts about our government:

How about the fact that there have been 18 government shutdowns since 1976! Take a good look at that list of reasons why the government shut down. Most of them are political disputes that couldn’t be solved so they took the battle to the people, showing their supporters how they stood by their policies and wouldn’t budge. No possible fear mongering there.

How about the fact that neither you nor I were influenced by the shutdown? Nothing actually happened (to us and our daily lives) when the government took a break. In fact our government probably saved a whole lot of money during the shutdown.

Another fact is that Obamacare is in high demand, causing its own shut down of government websites resulting in a blindsided president? Wasn’t Obamacare at the root of the problem of politicians disagreeing in the first place? And yet here it is slowly starting to function and in extreme demand. If you’re going to practice fear mongering, start screaming about the failure of the Obamacare website.

Lastly, it is a fact that the stock market didn’t crash due to the shutdown, people didn’t withdraw all their funds to cause a high volatility in the market place, and investors just kept on investing. So much for all that fear that was being tossed around.. but the government shutdown did happen, and it may happen again if budget problems aren’t solved.

Related Article: TVs, Brains, and Zombies Oh My!

All the while the people of this great country will stand by and listen to live broadcasts in order to be the first to know of any revolts or uprisings taking place. And for what? To be prepared damnit! If the media practices fear mongering and says the situation is severe then we should go buy water and food supplies for the next couple of months, go get a gun to protect ourselves (not that we shouldn’t anyway), and of course find ways to secure our wealth and protect our property! All this for something that is purely word of mouth. If only the game “telephone” was this effective at getting a point across.

Oh misery! What is the point? I am not saying we should be oblivious to world events. In fact it is important that we embrace world events such as the recent protests in Egypt over governmental control, instead of blindly accepting the fear mongering that is fed to us. However, we often forget that a great deal of media is formed on opinion, and the stronger opinions always jump out at us more than the calm, forgetful opinions and facts. Maybe it is time to turn off the news? Maybe it is time to forget about the 9 o’clock updates of recent events on channel 9, 7 , 5, 2, etc. The saying “ignorance is bliss” perfectly pertains to the media and its relentless fear mongering.

Cheers to being ignorant of the media and its senseless fear mongering!

 

 

Research:

Government Shutdown in the United States

PRY: The danger of dismissing North Korea’s nuclear threat

North Korea on high alert, threatens US ships with “horrible disaster”

Y2K Bug Britannica

December 21 2012

Government shutdown? Panic on the markets? Buy stocks.

Obamacare website problems blindsided the President

ObamaCare Facts

 

Wondergressive: Clouds of Western Intervention Loom over Syria

Wondergressive: Imminent Western Intervention in Syria

Wondergressive: NOT Another 9-11 Article

Wondergressive: World Protests: Can You Hear Me Now?

Wondergressive: TVs, Brains, and Zombies Oh My!

More Money More Problems? A Look at Global Debt

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Notorious B.I.G. has the answer to our debt problems. Mo Money Mo Problems.

With recent government shut downs people have been questioning whether or not our debt will ever be solved. Our debt is in the trillions, 16,747,478,675,335.18, as of writing this article, to be exact. Yes, well so what? I have over 100k (property, car, etc.) worth of debt myself and if you extrapolate and assume all the other 300+ million residents of the US average 100k debt, that would yield over $30 trillion of personal debt. In other words, the country owes less to the world then we personally owe to others and to our country. This point may be moot but it is interesting to note before we delve into much more grave notions as we explore debt and money issues.

It is true that we are in debt, but what about the rest of the world? According to nationaldebtclocks.org our world debt clock is over 51 trillion!  As grandstanding and involved as the US is in world economy and politics, we also account for roughly 30% of the debt of the world. We aren’t the only ones who are in debt however, and with the constant printing of money in the United States, I believe it to be a question of when, not if, the dollar will eventually fail.

Related Article: Money Designed to Fail

Some significant debts of countries other than the US:

  • Germany runs around 2 trillion Euros
  • Italy 2 trillion Euros
  • UK is at 1 trillion Pounds
  • China is at 14 trillion yen
  • Russia is at 6 trillion rubles

With conversions in mind, that puts those 5 big countries at roughly 2 trillion dollars each in debt compared to our 16 trillion. Ouch, we are hurting, but man we do everything big in this country… Point being, we are all in trouble, some more-so than others, and shutting down governments won’t provide more than a temporary, tiny fix to the looming destructive problem.

As our government continuously battles itself on whether or not they should raise the debt ceiling, other things come to mind. One being, will there ever be any profit ceiling? Constantly being in debt, will we ever pay back what we owe? Will our debt to GDP ratio ever flip? With our debt to GDP ratio constantly rising, will our era see the fall of the dollar as the assumed world’s currency?

Related Article: United States’ Taxes, Spending, and Graphs

What would my resolution be?

The lot of you would totally disagree and that’s OK, because that is exactly what should happen. I would call for a complete and total world wide nullification of debt. Every single penny owed to every other country for any said product or good completely erased. A reboot, per say. Yes, you may all be shuddering at the thought but bear with me. After this reboot, instate one single currency to be shared throughout the world/or return to strictly goods traded for other goods method (ie. time of labor traded for food, etc.), empower the UN to become a true police power in the world, and finally focus on what is, in my opinion, important: space exploration and expansion. Keep individual governments, keep individual religions and differences, keep traditions and everything else that makes a country great, but allow for the UN to do more. I know what you’re thinking. That’s crazy talk. Countries won’t agree, leaders will argue, there will be war. Of course they won’t agree, of course there will be resistance, and of course greed will get in the way. But as we stand, the options are very limited. All this of course is with the United States’ well being in mind; countries such as China and Russia, with their shift away from the dollar, would certainly wish for the fall of the superpower rather than complete equality amongst countries. This is the most realistic peace I could think of, even if it were to be temporary, we have to start somewhere.

Related Article: Biggest Wastes of Money

Just a thought. Cheers to Money!

 

Research:

Wikipedia: Mo Money Mo Problems

Reuters: US government shut downs could lead to debt limit superstorms

US Current Debt

National Debt Clocks

Wondergressive: Money Designed to Fail

Wondergressive: United States’ Taxes, Spending, and Graphs

Wondergressive: Biggest Wastes of Money

The Art of Cyber Warfare: United States vs. China

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cyber warfare image

Cyber warfare may be how all battles of the future are fought. http://www.occupycorporatism.com/

Cyber warfare is becoming about as common as an oil lobbyist’s smug grin, and in cyber warfare, hacking is the weapon of choice. Hacking has become the norm as our world continues to move forward technologically. Now, in 2013, we are already seeing big names like Apple, Facebook, and Sony admitting to being hacked. A recent survey conducted in 2011 on the security of companies shed lights on some shocking truths:

Ninety percent of organizations in our study have had at least one breach. When asked to consider cash outlays, internal labor, overhead, revenue losses and other expenses related to the security breach, 41 percent of respondents report that it was 500,000 or more.

If security breaches due to hacking is happening regularly to companies, what happens if the attacks are on a larger scale? We turn now to nations hacking other nations, and the waging of cyber warfare between super powers.

USA’s Bald Eagle and the Chinese Red Dragon find themselves pitted against each other. The brawl is not physical but rather fought along the porn riddled strands of the world wide web. China is and has been a superpower not only in sheer population numbers but also in political power, technological advancements, business ventures, and military standing. Billions of dollars could have potentially been stolen through this exchange of superpowers waging cyber warfare on each other.

cyber warfare chica usa

When it comes to cyber warfare only one things matters: which hacker has the highest GWAM?http://www.theguardian.com/

Apart from billions of dollars being at stake, different depictions in various texts about China’s influence paired with our growing debt to China all point toward a potential future where most of the world is speaking Mandarin Chinese. Maybe being under Chinese rule wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Or maybe this public knowledge of our nations engaged in cyber warfare will strengthen ties between the Bald Eagle and the Dragon and they will give birth to the first super powered scaly griffon. Maybe it is a good thing that the hacking is occurring. It may be helping to improve security and prepare for even more dangerous hack attempts. Unfortunately, all this talk of potential crippling cyber warfare is only maybes in the end.

On a brighter note we are moving closer to a cyber infused world where technology and nature are becoming entwined. Even with all these hack attempts the internet isn’t all that bad! It is almost an all-in-one source of the totality of human knowledge. It aids in the creation of useful and beneficial things for people. And soon, hopefully, it’ll be free for all! Until then, lets hope that this disturbing news of cyber warfare will evnetually lead to a world of free information rather than a nuclear outbreak!

 

Sources:

https://wondergressive.com/category/technology/

http://www.juniper.net/us/en/local/pdf/additional-resources/ponemon-perceptions-network-security.pdf

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/19/tech/web/apple-hacked/index.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57569713/facebook-says-it-was-hacked-last-month/

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57539756-1/sonys-playstation-3-experiences-its-biggest-hack-yet/

http://world.time.com/2013/02/19/china-calls-u-s-hacking-allegations-groundless/

http://nation.time.com/2013/02/19/u-s-ready-to-strike-back-against-china-cyberattacks/

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1576831-9,00.html

http://www.zdnet.com/china-hits-back-at-hacking-claims-us-is-our-top-cyber-attacker-7000011543/

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1893554082/qid=970215310/sr=2-1/104-0533761-1644734

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/moneymatters/ss/How-Much-US-Debt-Does-China-Own.htm

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1978756,00.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffin

http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/reassessing-the-hack

https://wondergressive.com/2013/02/11/the-singularity-is-nigh-upon-us-2/

https://wondergressive.com/2013/02/18/open-access-journals/

https://wondergressive.com/2012/09/01/15-year-old-invents-a-3-cent-cancer-test-using-google/

https://wondergressive.com/2013/02/04/free-internet-help-yourself/

http://world.time.com/2013/02/12/north-korea-confirms-successful-nuclear-test/

Solar Salamander

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The spotted salamander, or Ambystoma maculatum, makes its home throughout the Eastern United States and Southern Canada. Unlike other salamanders, the spotted salamander is part of an incredible partnership that overrides the whole food-chain thingy; it has a bright partnership with the sun.

To be more precise, the solar power salamander relies on sun-harnessing algae within its eggs. As the young salamanders develop within an egg they release waste materials which the algae feeds on.  The algae in turn photosynthesizes sunlight, releasing oxygen and glucose which aids an embryo in its development.   In this way, the algae and salamanders engage in a highly beneficial, symbiotic relationship.  The algae live a carefree life chilling with an unborn salamander, while the unborn salamander gets its own perpetual energy power supply as a roommate.

The scientific realm has known about, or at least hypothesized about solar powered salamanders since before the 20th century.  Biologist Henry Orr had speculated on the abnormal relationship between the algae and salamanders after observing single celled algae colonizing salamander eggs within hours of them being laid in shallow waters.  Over 100 years later, scientists have proof that this particular salamander is truly radiant.

Spotted salamanders aren’t the only non-plant species that use photosynthesis to live and grow. In fact:

Many other animals, from sponges to sea slugs pull the same trick. Corals are animals but have algae living in them that use sunlight to make sugar. One species of hornet can convert sunlight into electricity. There are also suggestions that aphids can harness sunlight, although most biologists are unconvinced.

 

The spotted salamander is the first vertebrate scientists have discovered to directly depend on photosynthesis for nourishment.  It might be the photosynthesis of another life form, but it is still a direct form of photosynthetic exploitation and dependency.

I wonder if one day we’ll power our cities, homes, and personal devices with stores of algae. Remind me of the skin suits from a story by Stephen Baxter, “The Ghost Pit.”

 

Sources:

http://eol.org/pages/1048181/overview

http://jeb.biologists.org/content/216/3/452

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23090-zoologger-the-first-solarpowered-vertebrate.html

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1931088?uid=3739320&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21102050285923

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20827901.100-light-diet-animals-that-eat-sunshine.html

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16124-solarpowered-sea-slug-harnesses-stolen-plant-genes.html

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19709-zoologger-the-solarpowered-electric-hornet.html

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22195-aphids-may-be-first-photosynthesising-animal.html

http://www.asimovs.com/_issue_0206/pit.shtml