Lion of Panjshir

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Tue, 21 May 2013 17:10:37 -0400

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Thu, 16 May 2013 11:37:12 -0400

"There were 74 schools that showed a return of $1 million or more on the investment in an education,..."

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:36:07 -0400

“There were 74 schools that showed a return of $1 million or more on the investment in an education, while 30 schools had a negative return on investment—meaning the cost of attending was more than what the students would make up with increased wages, even over a 30-year period.”

- Is college worth it? It depends on where you go. (via pacificstand)

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Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:22:57 -0400

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Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:19:50 -0400

updownsmilefrown: Napalm bombs explode in fields south of...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:19:39 -0400

updownsmilefrown:

Napalm bombs explode in fields south of Saigon, 1965.

"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly,..."

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:18:31 -0400

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.”

- Marcus Aurelius (via amon-isis)

18-15n-77-30w: Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave” Socrates: ...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:17:12 -0400

18-15n-77-30w:

Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave”

Socrates: “Why do people think philosophy is bullshit? Let me put it this way - imagine you’re in a cave, all chained up so you can’t turn your body at all, and all you get to look at is this one wall. Some assholes behind you are making shadow puppets using the light from a fire and making echo noises and that’s all you or anyone else chained up has seen or heard all your life. Sounds terrible, right? Except it’s all you’ve ever known, shadows and echoes, and that’s your whole world - there’s no way you could know that, really, you’re watching a slightly-improved M. Night Shyamalan film.

“In fact, you get pretty good at understanding how the patterns in the show work, and everyone else chained up is like, ‘Holy shit bro, how did you know that that tree was going to fall on that guy?’ and you’re like, ‘It’s because I fucking pay attention and I’m smart as shit.’ You’re the smartest of the chained, and they all revere you.”

Glaucon: “But Socrates, a tree didn’t really hit a guy. It’s all shadows.”

Socrates: “No shit, Glaucon, but you don’t know that. You think the shadows are real things. Everyone does. Now shut up and let me finish.

“So eventually, someone comes and unchains you and drags you out of the cave. At first you’d say, ‘Seriously, what the fuck is going on?!’ Well, actually, at first you’d say, ‘HOLY SHIT MY EYES’ and you’d want to go back to the safe, familiar shadows. But even once your eyes worked you wouldn’t believe them, because everything you ever thought was real is gone. You’d look at a tree, and say ‘That’s not a tree. I know trees. And you, sir, are no tree. THAT DOWN THERE is a tree.’ But you’re wrong. Down there is a shadow of a tree.

“Slowly, as your eyes got better, you’d see more and more shit. Eventually, you’d see the sun, and realize that it’s the source of all light. You can’t see shit without the sun. And eventually, you’d figure it out. Something would click in your brain: ‘oh, shit, that IS a tree. Fuck me. So… nothing in the cave was real? I feel like such an asshole.’ But it’s not your fault, so don’t be so hard on yourself.

“Finally you’d want to go down and tell everyone about everything you’ve discovered. Except, and here’s the hilarious part, they think you’ve gone fucking crazy. You’d say, ‘Guys, real trees are green!’ and they’d say, ‘What the fuck is green? THAT is a tree over there.’ And you’d squint and look at the wall, but you know you’re fucked because now you’re used to having sunlight, and now you can’t see shit. So they’d laugh at you, and agree that wherever it was that you went, no one should go there because it turns people into dickheads.

“Philosophy, same thing. The soul ascends and apprehends the forms, the nature of everything, and eventually the very Idea of Good that gives light to everything else. And then the philosopher has to go back to the cave and try to explain it to people who don’t even know what Green is, to say nothing of the Good. But the philosopher didn’t make up the Good, it was always there, and the only way to really make sense of it is to uncover it for yourself. You can’t force knowledge into a dumbass any more than you can force sight into a blind man.

“So if you want to learn, be prepared for a difficult journey, and be prepared to make some mistakes. That’s okay, it’s all part of the process. True knowledge must be obtained the hard way, and some people just don’t want to see the light.”

updownsmilefrown: President Dwight David Eisenhower lies in...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:12:33 -0400

updownsmilefrown:

President Dwight David Eisenhower lies in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, 1969

by Bob Gomel

azspot: Steve Benson

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:05:08 -0400

azspot:

Steve Benson

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Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:37:11 -0400

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Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:37:05 -0400

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Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:34:48 -0400

Pierced Nipples & Dimples: This is trouble

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:33:31 -0400

Pierced Nipples & Dimples: This is trouble:

piercednipplesndimples:

You call me perfect.
Amazing.
Gorgeous.
When I say I want you, you reply “I need you.”
You hold my face when we kiss.
You kiss my shoulder when I’m driving
My wants are your needs, you say.
You make my heart race and my mind want things
It won’t be
This is temporary
You know it and I…

thepeoplesrecord: Nestlé chairman denies that water is an...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:22:20 -0400

thepeoplesrecord:

Nestlé chairman denies that water is an essential human right
April 22, 2013

The current Chairman and former CEO of Nestlé, the largest producer of food products in the world, believes that the answer to global water issues is privatization. This statement is on record from the wonderful company that has peddled junk food in the Amazon, has invested money to thwart the labeling of GMO-filled products, has a disturbing health and ethics record for its infant formula, and has deployed a cyber army to monitor Internet criticism and shape discussions in social media.

This is apparently the company we should trust to manage our water, despite the record of large bottling companies like Nestlé having a track record of creating shortages:

Large multinational beverage companies are usually given water-well privileges (and even tax breaks) over citizens because they create jobs, which is apparently more important to the local governments than water rights to other taxpaying citizens. These companies such as Coca Cola and Nestlé (which bottles suburban Michigan well-water and calls it Poland Spring) suck up millions of gallons of water, leaving the public to suffer with any shortages. (source)

But Chairman, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, believes that “access to water is not a public right.” Nor is it a human right. So if privatization is the answer, is this the company in which the public should place its trust?

Here is just one example, among many, of his company’s concern for the public thus far:

In the small Pakistani community of Bhati Dilwan, a former village councilor says children are being sickened by filthy water. Who’s to blame? He says it’s bottled water-maker Nestlé, which dug a deep well that is depriving locals of potable water. “The water is not only very dirty, but the water level sank from 100 to 300 to 400 feet,” Dilwan says. (source)

Why? Because if the community had fresh water piped in, it would deprive Nestlé of its lucrative market in water bottled under the Pure Life brand.

In the subtitled video below, from several years back, Brabeck discusses his views on water, as well as some interesting comments concerning his view of Nature — that it is “pitiless” — and, of course, the obligatory statement that organic food is bad and GM is great. In fact, according to Brabeck, you are essentially an extremist to hold views opposite to his own. His statements are important to review as we continue to see the world around us become reshaped into a more mechanized environment in order to stave off that pitiless Nature to which he refers.

The conclusion to this segment is perhaps the most revealing about Brabeck’s worldview, as he highlights a clip of one of his factory operations. Evidently, the saviour-like role of the Nestlé Group in ensuring the health of the global population should be graciously welcomed. Are you convinced?

Source

"Afghan President Hamid Karzai has spent years denouncing the United States as we have continued to..."

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:21:02 -0400

“Afghan President Hamid Karzai has spent years denouncing the United States as we have continued to pour hundreds of billions into this country (and his corrupt family and government). Now, Karzai has called on China to come in and guarantee security in the country as he continues to call on the United States to get out. Despite these consistent attacks on the U.S. and Americans as “demons”, the Obama Administration continues to put our soldiers in harms way and spend money that is badly needed at home in this country. So, while the Administration is cutting back on FAA towers and slowing air travel, we will continue to spend wildly in a country seeking to replace us with China. Brilliant.”

- As U.S. Continues To Spend Fortune In Afghanistan, Karzai Turns To China (via azspot)

theatlantic: In Focus: Sichuan Earthquake Recovery Last...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:20:00 -0400

theatlantic:

In Focus: Sichuan Earthquake Recovery

Last Saturday, a destructive earthquake struck China’s Sichuan province, near the epicenter of the devastating 2008 earthquake, damaging thousands of structures and triggering landslides in the mountainous region. As of yesterday, the death toll stood at more than 200, with nearly 12,000 injured, 23 still missing, and tens of thousands made homeless. The quake was measured at magnitude 7.0 by China’s earthquake administration and magnitude of 6.6 by the U.S. Geological Survey. Rescue teams and government aid personnel have struggled to reach the affected area, as many roads were damaged.

See more. [Images: AP, Reuters, Getty]

veganmovement2012: Plant based whole foods diet is extreme

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:13:22 -0400

veganmovement2012:

Plant based whole foods diet is extreme

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Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:12:17 -0400

vacants: bixels (by no penny for them)

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:05:25 -0400

vacants:

bixels (by no penny for them)