an exercise in miscellany

Archive for February, 2011|Monthly archive page

Skin-walker

In wild card, words & phrases on February 28, 2011 at 3:43 pm

In some Native American legends, a skin-walker is a person with the supernatural ability to turn into any animal he or she desires, though they first must be wearing a pelt of that particular animal, to be able to transform. Similar lore can be found in cultures throughout the world and is often referred to as shape-shifting by anthropologists.

via Skin-walker

Grey Goo

In technology & innovatons, wild card on February 25, 2011 at 8:36 am

Grey goo is a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all matter on Earth while building more of themselves, a scenario known as ecophagy or eating the environment.

Self-replicating machines of the macroscopic variety were originally described by mathematician John von Neumann, and are sometimes referred to as von Neumann machines. The term grey goo was coined by nanotechnology pioneer Eric Drexler in his 1986 book Engines of Creation, stating that “we cannot afford certain types of accidents.”  In 2004 he stated “I wish I had never used the term ‘grey goo’.

via Grey goo – Wikipedia

The Secrets of the Federal Reserve

In books on February 22, 2011 at 6:21 pm

SECRETS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE  The London Connection
By  Eustace Mullins

Dedicated to two of the finest scholars of the twentieth century
George Stimpson  and  Ezra Pound
Who generously gave of their vast knowledge to a young writer to guide him in a field which he could not have managed alone.

Eustace Mullins’ Acknowledgments:  I wish to thank my former fellow members of the staff of the Library of Congress whose very kind assistance, cooperation and suggestions made the early versions of this book possible. I also wish to thank the staffs of the Newberry Library, Chicago, the New York City Public Library, the Alderman Library of the University of Virginia, and the McCormick Library of Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, for their invaluable assistance in the completion of thirty years of further research for this definitive work on the Federal Reserve System.

Operation Snow White

In operations and projects on February 18, 2011 at 8:02 pm

Operation Snow White was the Church of Scientology’s name for a conspiracy during the 1970s to purge unfavorable records about Scientology and its founder L. Ron Hubbard. This project included a series of infiltrations and thefts from 136 government agencies, foreign embassies and consulates, as well as private organizations critical of Scientology, carried out by Church members, in more than 30 countries;  the single largest infiltration of the United States government in history with up to 5,000 covert agents. This was also the operation that exposed ‘Operation Freakout‘, because this was the case that initiated the US government investigation of the Church. Under this program, Scientology operatives committed infiltration, wiretapping, and theft of documents in government offices, most notably those of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Eleven highly-placed Church executives, including Mary Sue Hubbard wife of founder L. Ron Hubbard and second-in-command of the organization, pleaded guilty or were convicted in federal court of obstructing justice, burglary of government offices, and theft of documents and government property.

via Operation Snow White – Wikipedia

American Civil Rights Timeline

In history on February 18, 2011 at 7:48 pm
Civil Rights in America spanned more than the years 1945 to 1968. However, it was during these years that fundamentally important events took place regarding civil rights and they were to gain a place in history. The Montgomery Bus Boycott, the incident at Little Rock High School, Martin Luther King, the bombing of the church in Birmingham, Black Power, the work done by presidents Truman and Johnson in particular and the civil rights acts all occurred after 1945 and proved vital in the advances made by the civil rights movements.
1942 Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) established.
1946 The Supreme Court declared segregation on buses that crossed state borders was illegal.President Truman established a Committee on Civil Rights.
1948 Discrimination in the armed forces was banned.
1952 This was the first year since 1881 without a lynching.
1954 The Supreme Court declared segregation in schools to be unconstitutional.The last all-black units in the armed forces were disbanded.
1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott began after the arrest of Rosa Parks.
1957 Dr Martin Luther King became President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.The Little Rock High School clash occurs and Eisenhower had to use Federal troops to enforce the law. 

Civil Rights Act passed.

1960 First student sit-ins against segregation at lunch counters occurs.SNCC formed – Student Nonviolent Co-ordinating Committee. 

Elijah Muhammad called for the creation of a separate state for blacks.

1961 The arrest of the Freedom Riders in the South.
1962 James Meredith’s attempt to attend Mississippi University was only successful as a result of Federal troops being used.
1963 NAACP leader – Medgar Evers – was assassinated.250,000 civil rights protesters marched in Washington 

Four black children were killed in the Birmingham church bombing – the arrested white man was charged with the unlawful possession of dynamite but not murder. Only some years later were the guilty brought to trial for murder.

1964 Riots in Harlem (New York), Chicago, Rochester + Philadelphia.A Civil Rights Act was passed by Congress. 

Dr. Martin Luther King was awarded the Noble Peace Prize.

1965 Malcolm X was assassinated.A civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery was lead by Dr Martin Luther King. 

A Voting Rights Act was passed which in theory made it illegal for anyone to restrict the right of anybody to vote.

A violent riot in Watts, Los Angeles, left 34 dead.

1966 The idea of Black Power was introduced by Stokely Carmichael.
1967 State laws forbidding inter-racial marriage were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.Thurgood Marshall became the first Black American to be appointed to the Supreme Court by Texan president Lyndon Johnson.
1968 Martin Luther King was assassinated. The man convicted of his murder – James Earl Ray – was sentenced to 99 years prison but he denied having anything to do with the murder.At the Mexico Olympics, a Black Power protest was made at the medal ceremony for the men’s 400 meters by Tommy Smith and John Carlos.