blogOptica

The Anthrax Scare and the Governments' Media (Did ABC know their sources were lying?)

The mainstream media has been co-opted by the government to such an extraordinary extent over the past seven years, and appear to be concealing the facts of so many state sponsored arguments, they should be called 'the Governments' Media'.

ABC News prepared a TV special in the Fall of 2001 about the anonymous ongoing anthrax attacks taking place at that time. Blindly reporting the Bush/Cheney administration's official line that the attacks were from Iraq. In that context, in retrospect now, ABC News appears especially complicit in reporting administration generated lies as facts.

The credibility of mainstream media, in general, and the integrity of the self-image of the American people are the issues at stake, not merely ABCs' corporate hubris. It is a news organizations' patriotic duty to inform the U.S. populace if their sources are lying. The facts will be judged by the passage of time. Today there is massive public doubt concerning the veracity and honesty of both a media and a government awash in a tsunami of obvious self-contradictory disinformation.

Dishonesty has been the modus operandi of the Bush/Cheney administration, et al., from the first day of their election. Amounting to end-to-end lies revealed by nothing less than their own conflicted facts supported by nothing other than smug arrogance. Their hands caught repeatedly in the cookie jar are soiled beyond any possible cleansing. Dirtied by this offence, so too now by apparent collusion, is ABC.

'Facts', so-called, but clearly nothing but grossly misrepresented leaks and outright misinformation, are the order of the day. This continuous stream of lies glaringly obvious to the entire world if not to ourselves, demands a special prosecutor's attention and a thorough investigation of ABC--and other media outlets as well, (are you listening Fox News?)--their sources, and their complicity with the prime movers in the Bush/Cheney administration.

The content of the 'news' presented during the anthrax attacks, (unfortunately not limited to this case), is nothing but propagandistic insemination by a rapist government and the force feeding of lies to a commercially sponsored, integrity starved, enfeebled media. What a horrible legacy to leave for our country. The continuing pretense of this faux news ultimately will bring nothing but dishonor to all involved--you and I are included here. Should we question authority? Hah!

How dare we--We The People--even consider the possibility that our 'journalists', our media, could be held in-place by extortion or, worse, bribed by our own government.

How dare we question! How dare YOU, commercially driven media, dismiss our inquiries! Big media, you have allowed your own victimization. Shall I enumerate your castration one-by-one, YOUR Yellow Journalism, YOUR sell out...whoa, that would be more than a pair, THAT would be legion!

Remember that archaic contract you signed onto, the one where being a citizen of THIS country entitled you to certain rights? You know the one: the Constitution...our birthright. Do you now instead of legitimacy prefer to be known as the governments' bastard child?

ABC come clean, for yourselves, for us. Make the honorable decision willingly, professionally, regarding the sources for the anthrax story of 2001. If you cannot muster the courage now, events over time will. 

Be afraid, be very afraid. 

GHD/RHN

Following Glenn Greenwald's www.SALON.com blog, 'Journalists, their lying sources, and the anthrax investigation', August 3, 2008, http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/03/journalism/index.html�also, http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=31&aid=148199

Was there an aluminum cladding problem with the World Trade Center towers?

As I mentioned in my earlier post, (see July 18, 2008 post), in 1971 I was a design development draftsman working at Yamasaki's architectural office in Troy, Michigan...forty years ago now. I was honored to be working for such a distinguished firm bursting at the seams with talent and creativity. I am still proud to have been part of that team. It was an exciting time.

One of the assignments I had at that time was to detail the study drawings for the aluminum cladding system for one of the other projects* awarded the firm after the WTC. These projects shared many of the fenestration design features used on the WTC. The elaborate aluminum cladding system, (elaborate because it performed a three-dimensional seal between the glazing, spandrels and other finish materials that expanded at different rates based on thermal variables, while still providing weather integrity and effective moisture drainage). It was an elaborate detail, yet functionally effective and beautiful at the same time.

In retrospect, I remember questioning the direct connection detail of aluminum to steel, and aluminum to concrete, that was, apparently going to be used on these new projects. This was a detail that flew in the face of everything I knew about the reaction that occurs between disparate metals, like steel and aluminum. That is, an electro-galvanic reaction which will corrode and ultimately compromise the strength of the connection over time as oxidation takes place. I asked several of the senior architects and even brought it to the attention of the department head. My questions were not answered, really, and If I recall correctly, I was told that it would not be a problem because it had been tested in other structures and was a non-issue. Perhaps, ultimately, the aluminum-to-steel connection detail was not used on the project I was working on--I never saw the shop drawings or inspected the actual field connection. Nevertheless, I left the firm a few months after that, (not for that reason but for other personal reasons--I wanted to travel the U.S.).

Direct connection of aluminum to steel was probably used on the WTC towers to the best of my knowledge, and that connection's corrosive potential, among other problems, as I understand it, (having read the report in a variety of articles), was undoubtedly, some of the reasons the Port Authority, the City of New York, and the future developer, Larry Silverstein, wanted the buildings demolished. The WTC buildings were full of asbestos, (typical for construction at the time), and, looking back critically at the designs were obsolete structures in many other ways, not the least of which, was that they did not conform to the city's strict building and life safety codes applicable in our time. Of course, there was no way economical way the interested parties could renovate or, because of the toxicity of materials, demolish the structures. In fact, to renovate in accordance with standards in effect today would have cost more than the original project.

Although innovative designs, the WTC towers were 'white elephants' almost right after they opened. Space was difficult to lease, when it could be leased at all, it was at a loss, the plaza design caused a 'wind tunnel' effect that was most unpleasant to pedestrians entering the buildings at ground level...just a ton of problems. So I guess, ultimately 9/11 solved a lot of problems for some.

Aluminum to steel connection without a separating insulative barrier at the connection is bad fabrication design...it is still used, however, in many industries, automotive, signage, construction, and many others without the slightest hesitation.

*Century Plaza Hotel, Century City, Los Angeles, CA, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Richmond, VA

R Henry Nigl

Why the World Trade Center Tower's floors could not 'pancake' collapse as we have been told.

The typical floor structural configuration for the World Trade Center Towers spanned from the exterior wall columns to where the inner columns and a welded cage of steel formed support for the elevator shafts, stair towers, air shafts and mechanical systems, as well as, transferring floor and roof loads to the reinforced concrete foundation/footing structure sitting on bedrock some 70' below grade. Leasable floor areas typically terminated at the service core, where individual floor sections began again according to the floor plan layout. Yes, the individual floors acted as a unified structural 'diaphragm' to stiffen the structure laterally, but the steel composition of each floor was constructed in smaller units of open web trusses spanning between steel reinforced concrete�beams and topped with a steel deck and lightweight concrete. Thus, each floor was NOT a monolithic slab and structural system spanning across each tower from one exterior wall to the other three, as we are led to believe.

Each floor, in fact, terminating at the contiguous inner structural service core, resembled a square 'donut', with the core area being the 'donut hole', so to speak. Failure of floor structural support in any quadrant of the building plan, or even in any half, thus, would have failed asymmetrically. And at the time of failure would not, could not, have 'pancaked' symmetrically as the misleading NIST and commission reports indicate (diagrams shown in these reports are graphically out of scale, and do not accurately represent the building's massive, in fact, over designed, internal structure).

Original WTC Construction Drawings: http://911research.wtc7.net/wtc/evidence/plans/table.html

Floor Plan, 35th to 40th Floors, http://911research.wtc7.net/wtc/evidence/plans/doc/pac1TowerA/A-A-58_0.png

Building Sections http://911research.wtc7.net/wtc/evidence/plans/doc/tvmast/CD_ARCH/A-A-177_0.png

How do I know this? What is my personal technical reference? From 1970 to 1972 I was a young design development draftsman for the firm of Minoru Yamasaki Associates, the design architectural firm for the WTC. I was part of the team that detailed the complex aluminum cladding fenestration details for similar building and also worked, in part, on detailing the WTC Executive Floor interior paneling and updating the WTC plans to reflect various 'as-built' construction changes. Based on actual project experience, I was, and am, quite familiar with the structural system at work on the towers, both at a technical and intuitive level.

From many videos it is clear that the initial devastating floor overloading was uneven, and then, suddenly, floor by floor, the destruction became uniform as the buildings seemingly demolished themselves. I would have expected a random destructive overload to cause only a portion of the building floors to fail at a time. This did not happen. The failure, thus, appears controlled and suspicious.

For the floors to 'pancake' uniformly, the first floor to fail would require all perimeter connections to fail almost simultaneously on each floor. The towers could not possibly have collapsed in this way as we have been told in the official reports. One floor, coincident, on top of another to start a demolition-like sequence, without powerful external forces at work, forces other than the plane crash--and the relatively low temperature jet fuel fires which burned away quickly--would not lead to a symmetrical, uniform collapse of all the floors. What other external forces could there be? Explosives? It is my view, knowing what I know, that the WTC towers were intentionally demolished.

R H Nigl July 18, 2008

rhnigl@exoptica.com

N.B. Where are the structural drawings? They still have not surfaced available for public review. I know they are available, there must be many copies in archives. Certainly the Port Authority, the City of New York, the architects and the steel shop fabricator's have copies.

Neo-Convicts?

Belatedly, several years ago now, I finally took time to review video footage of the tragedies of September 11, 2001, and read the 9/11 Commission's report--a task that had been painful and which I had put off far too long. After this re-exposure, I was shocked to find I had many more questions than answers. My new found doubt was troublesome to say the least. 

On the videos I saw--with my own eyes, my own mind, my own experience, that building WTC7 (the Solomon Bros. building) was almost certainly a controlled demolition. Shock, awe and disgust! This is obvious now. You and I would have to be brain dead not to see that this huge steel structure had obviously been demolished intentionally. The preparation for this type of demolition would have taken weeks by crews of trained professionals. Logically, and in physical reality, that destruction could not have been done any other way. WTC7 was destroyed by a process that required knowledge in advance that the attack was imminent.

I was depressed for months realizing my own inertia and blindness after the fact. I should have known better; for in the early 1970's I worked for Minoru Yamasaki Associates--the architectural firm that designed the WTC towers. I had first-hand technical knowledge of the structures and systems that were destroyed on that fateful day. I had also submitted a proposal for the WTC Memorial Competition and was familiar with the site's condition and the awful piles of debris after the destruction, at least as far as documented by still photos on the internet. In retrospect, it is now obvious not only to me but hundreds of thousands of others, professionals and laymen alike, that neither the Towers nor WTC7 could have been reduced to the rubble seen in the still photos without additional explosives. Enough explosive--not just a few 'wired' floors but many, many devices, installed down to the subterranean levels--able to bring down the buildings in seconds. 

I should have comprehended the truth from day one. I suppose I did subconsciously, after all what I had seen flew in the face of reason and years of personal experience and training in architecture and construction. I trusted the offical explanations.

Ultimately I realized that the explanations handed to us, under the pretense of 'patriotism', were not only partial and inaccurate, but outright false--technically and physically impossible. Worse of all, I realized that the majority of our citizenry did not question the official line or the dubious presentations. I was shattered. My trust in our country's leadership, and the values they espoused, values I had held close to my heart all my life, were destroyed. The 'official line' was a lie.

Our leaders and media willfully lied to us over the mass execution of thousands of our own citizens orchestrated by rogue members of own government and greedy commercial interests who would sell out America for political power and personal financial gain with acts of treason carried out right before our eyes. I am convinced 9/11 was nothing less than manifold treason implemented by none other than our own appointed leaders.

The planes of 9/11 flew into the face of the buildings--the WTC and the Pentagon--but, also flew into the face of sanity of our country and severely weakened the underpinnings of American society. We have not forgotten. We will be repairing the damage and the scars for years to come long after the buildings have been replaced.

Those within our own country who are responsible for the heinous acts of 9/11 must be identified and brought to justice...You know who you are, and so do we.

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time." 

Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (1809 - 1865)

RHNL

rhnl@exoptica.com

9/11 - One Day

One day a person will step forward and will tell all they know about 9/11 despite the threats and fear.

The betting on airline stocks to fall; the restructuring of property insurance on buildings unmovable by almost any force; yet, in the name of real estate greed, and false patriotism, totally demolished by 'coincidence', and horror of horrors, the event of attacks by saboteurs unknown, or better yet, known; the building's destruction okayed by almost all; the saboteur's cause compromised--if this plan should work, and it will, why not, it has before--and if intelligence need be intentionally warped to cover the planner's plan, so what? No, not here, not in my country. I think we all said that, and many with blinders in place, still do.

One day a person will step forward and say "I was there" when devices were planted to control giant aircraft remotely, I was there weeks in advance and vowed to secrecy as wired explosives were planted floor by floor, (the money was considerable), and even more, I was onboard flying overhead, for I guided the aircraft to their targets, one by one. I was there that day.

And now my voice within complains. One day I will step forward, you'll see.

So, we, as a nation, complacent, without an enemy, need war to balance complacency? Now we have 'terror', an enemy worthy of sacrificing our assets. Of course terror exists, but now we know, so does treason. And the airliners hit their assigned targets, save one (except that is a cruel, inaccurate turn of words). All evidence has since been destroyed, steel and black box serial numbers--except for me--concealed or secreted away, cloaked behind the catchall description: 'National Security', and yet, somehow we suspect the prime movers, perhaps intuitively we know, but, really, do not want to know.

Even if as patriots our freedom, our liberty, is lost, ripped from us step-by-step with an act designed to do just that, we press on in ignorance. Our government, our industries, our media knows, but does not tell. Those who read, to us what is, news today do so by script. It is not in their audience poll to account for this, this, terrible act. NO! Our leaders are fair, they are honest, they are balanced. We are only the messengers, do not shoot us! One day a person will step forward, bravely and perhaps lose their life as thousands upon thousands already have for simply saying, "I was there."

Our country's flag has been turned upside down, and the faith in our leaders, all of them, decimated. There are real culprits here, guilty of nothing less than treason. If their vileness is found true, by a jury of their peers--you and me--should they be convicted, will we as a people, blindfold them, stand them before a cold, hard, concrete wall, hands tied behind their backs, criminals all, before a firing squad of seven? And as the commander executes the order, "FIRE", will the rifles report with only blanks to shock and awe them, or will the lying, hypocritical, power hungry, treasonous bastard be summarily marched off to spend the remainder of their days in solitary confinement and disgrace?

And that, is one day when we all will be 'there' again, for we, as a great nation allowed this travesty to happen.

Then, we will see. One day.

G. H. Diel 02/05/2007

"We live in a dirty and dangerous world. There are some things the general public does not need to know and shouldn't. I believe democracy flourishes when the government can take legitimate steps to keep its secrets, and when the press can decide whether to print what it knows." Katherine Graham, Washington Post publisher and CFR member.

2085 - A Future, A Fiction

EIGHTEEN THOUGHTS ON FUTURE EVENTS AND TECHNOLGY, 2001 - 2085
A Fiction, by G.H. DIEL

1. Personal/Public high speed transportation becomes widespread.
2. Terrorist evolved governments spread like Communism in earlier century, but most still are Fascist-based founded on religious ideologies, ultimately, all fail.
3. Several world metropolitan areas, including US centers, bombed by terrorists-with nuclear devices.
4. Nuclear Bombing of South American and Middle East
5. A single device -- a 'universal recorder' containing highly detailed personal records permeates the world permitting unlimited access to private and governmental records, making 'private' information available to all, levels playing field for most governments and their populations.
6. International manned bases on the Moon, Mars and manned solar system probes.
7. Coastal areas of world flooded; countries that can afford it, protect territory with massive dikes.
8. 'Transparency' fabrics become consumer products allowing individuals to move around in public, invisibly.
9. Obesity and 'physical' defects eliminated genetically and with stem-cell derivatives, as are many traditional diseases: diabetes, organ disease, and most cancers
10. Synthetic body parts become commonly available.
11. Famine and arid areas still a problem, as are pockets of homelessness and poverty - same as now (early 21st century). Fresh water replaces oil as the most valuable global natural resource.
12. Earth's population declines, dramatically.
13. Rich have--poor still do not, but social programs and governments do improve, social consciousness sees gains globally, though description of the type of government and economic systems to not fit into traditional niches.
14. Human 'ethos' and moral understanding changes slowly; pretty much same as in early 21st century.
15. Religion still focuses on the 'human' spirit, though it is still intangible--a single device may usurp this, providing recognition of a 'tangible' human soul.
16. Synthetic, 'designer beings', created in varying parts, genetic altered, mechanical/electrical/organic parts replacement.
17. Life expectancy, infinite: electronic/organic memory interface and genetic replication of organs and DNA, that is, 'cloning', extends memory, forever.
18. It becomes common knowledge, based on scientific and theological research, that 'life' is nothing other than memories--also, the definition of 'time' changes as it is proven that there is no 'past', that there is no 'present', only the future.

Thanks,

GHD (Search "G H Diel)

What is, what is not.

First, read this: http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/cargocul.htm?

Dear Dr. Feynman, on my list of five heros who have imprinted their thoughts on me, you are one of them (I know he's dead); however, I disagree with the thrust of your presentation here (though you touch on the point I am about to make, your reference in the talk regarding 'South Sea Islanders').

Cutting to the chase: Science and 'not science' are all part of the 'soup' of reality, ultimately, all a kind of 'trial and error' approach to understanding why we are here and what we are doing (it works for us, no 'science' needed') ... this interpretation of our l'lives' applies to the least intelligent among us, as well as the most intelligent.

'Reality', not science, not religion, not societal/popular fads, is what we, day-to-day, deal with.

Science is a wonderful tool, umm, say, like a wrench. For the job at hand it could be the correct tool, or not ... ie., is it metric or American standard? Who knows until the 'tool', science, perhaps, or, for that matter, any alternative is tested and applied ("I put my hand on the burner ... Yikes! It's hot!" ... "I see 'God' in my dreams ... He/She is greater than me ... Yikes! I am humbled!" We really have no other choice do we? 'Science', or, everthing else.)

Either explanation of an experience/reality can be miscontrued when communicated. Who 'ya gonna trust?

After eighty-four years on this Earth, I, for one, trust no one experience of reality ... and, yet, everyones.

GHD     (Google, "G H Diel")

Your reality.

Okay, I'm a writer and my interest is in alternative forms of reality, like, dreams. I put myths and extraterrestrial experiences right there on my list with 'alternative forms'. True or not, it's interesting to me. These experiences, no matter how contrary to my daily reality, are not science fiction, they are real, albeit, often intangible. I don't know much about other's experiences with reality, but I know about mine, both waking, and dreaming. Each is grist for creating my stories.

One interest has been the 'what if'' scenario that tomorrow the world found out that everything we have been told about our history, our religions (and faith, of course), and our understanding of our cultures and societal norms, was proven lies, or at least a false 'reality'. What then? Where would you stand in the context of this revelation? You tell me.

But here's some fodder for thought: The Catholic Church take, 'An analysis of extraterrestrials consistent with the Catholic Church's understanding of theology',  http://ovni.free.fr/religion.htm

And, also a series of intriguing interviews by investigative reporter Linda Moulton Howe (her website is http://www.earthfiles.com/, the following links are from a 'Coast to Coast' broadcast). Moulton Howe's interview took place June 27, 2006, here are the links for the videos, the complete series:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxF3cn5UZQ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO_cAlcy-5Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4SmHbNRJr8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nub6BD-dxuA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PS7qSe8AYo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ-mvsVsAwI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWmhi8GBZAE

I do not believe these testimonials at face value, there is enough of a skeptic in me to question ... everything. But, my question, as posed above, in other words: How would a revelation of this impact, say, as announced by the President of the United States and other leaders of governments and religions around the world ... proven as unavoidable fact, a lie ... change, not me, but, you?

I mean, if we cannot deal well with aliens from other countries, or people of different superficial characteristics of skin, size and religious/political belief, that is, 'different' from our own belief systems, is there any hope for us?

Bye, and thanks,

Google, G. H. Diel

Obama? Tuvok? Tuvok? Obama? Damn!

Everytime I watch Tim Russ in the role of 'Tuvok' on 'Star Trek, Voyager, I can't help noticing the similarity between his character, and Barack Obama ... and vice versa. Obama? Tuvok? Tuvok? Obama?

Obama here: http://www.britannica.com/eb/art-101288/Barack-Obama?articleTypeId=1

Tuvok here: http://www.vidiot.com/st-voy/images/VoyagerRuss3.jpg

And, here's a cartoon: http://exoptica.com/blogoptics.html

See what I mean? It's like an 'ear worm', you, know an unwanted and unstoppable bad song that plays over and over in your head. Except maybe this is more, kind of like an eye 'worm' thing. It's a mental comparison that just keeps popping up and won't go away ... hmm, looking again at the pics above, maybe it is an 'ear' thing, after all.

Thank god, only Hillary is the only other 'real' opponent in the running for the Democrats, otherwise, if 'Tuvok' had tossed his hat in, too (I don't think Tuvok ever wore a hat), but, I, for one, would be hard pressed to know the person I was really voting for. Obama? Hillary? Tuvok? Vulcan? Damn! Barack and Tuvok, they are so much alike, appearance-wise, almost in a 'shape-shifting' way. But of course, that is not the case, this is not fiction, this is reality. Barack and Hillary are vastly different. True? One an actor and musician and once-upon-a-time alien (on TV), one a once-upon-a-time lawyer and politican, and the other ... also, a once-upon-a-time lawyer and politican. No shape shifting there.

I hope the comparisions above won't change your vote. I'm pretty certain Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are not aliens. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Bye, and thanks.

Goggle: G H Diel

And here's an ambiguous anti-campaign button message to infuriate your friends and enemies no matter who they are (for sale, of course--but cheap)

Human or Giraffe?

Why is there only one existing species of modern man and woman?

Have we artifically classified ourselves as somehow so unique, and thus, separated ourselves from the rest of 'biologica', in a convoluted way that does not define 'human' as common to this world'? If not, then why only one extant 'human'?   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_taxonomy  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human

Humans and great apes, gorillas, and chimpanzees, nearest 'like kinds' living on this planet, cannot naturally interbreed, thus, regarding biological speciation, are recognized as different species. That's pretty easy. But, apparently, even giraffes, for instance, come in specific 'flavors'. Science calls this process, 'speciation'. 

In everyday usage, a species is often defined as a (group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring," and, that is good enough (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species). Science, of course, has been thinking about this for a long time and has subdivided the definition ever more finely.

About those giraffes: http://funtasticus.com/20080130/giraffe-baby/ (I've thrown this into the mix just for the ‘cuteness’ factor for your entertainment. Compare the human vs giraffe eyeball, size, yikes!). It seems now, however, because of a recent taxonomy reclassifcation, six, or, maybe even up to eleven species of giraffes are roaming around. http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2007/12/giraffe_species.php 

So, giraffes, who, as a group, to me at least, look pretty much alike, and, are, in fact, not a single specie, at all, (which, no doubt, must make Friday night happy hour at the local giraffe pub, pretty frustrating). Good thing this is not part of the human condition.

If, as Albert Einstein liked to refer to God: 'The old one', created this huge amount of diversity in the biological world, so many, very similar, ''species', exist, why not us? Of course there have been other 'hominid' and human species in our prehistoric past climbing through the tree of evolution, whatever. But, oddly onnly one remains--for us--but not for the rest of the creatures on 'Noah's Ark'.

Why?

Again begging the question: Why, now, in our time, is there still only 'one' living human specie?

Your thoughts always welcome.

G H Diel

www.ghdiel@exoptica.com

We just do not agree on this topic.

RHN: I did not write this, it's a quote, of sorts: 'When men began to multiply on earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of heaven saw how beautiful the daughters of man were, and so they took for their wives as many of them as they chose. Then the Lord said: My spirit shall not remain in man forever, since he is but flesh. His days shall comprise one hundred and twenty years. At that time the Nephilim appeared on earth, after the sons of heaven had intercourse with the daughters of man, who bore them sons. They were the heroes of old, the men of renown. Genesis 6:1'

GHD: That all sounds like an 'alien encounter' episode.

RHN: Oh yeah, well, it's pretty 'alien' to me, too. I am fairly certain, however, recognizing the basic, yet, common, profoundly beautiful nature of sexuality (not at all 'alien' to most of us), that ages ago, humankind, and, supposedly, scifi-wise, myriad other interest groups (see above), did ‘it’,  mostly like we do, and for the same reasons.

So, she, woman, positions herself, and he, man -- almost semi-mindless, controlled 99% by hormones, empties himself within seconds, then heads out to meet with his fellow ‘seducers’ around the pulled-Mastodon barbecue fire pit, where, all present, after adequate rounds of grog and serious bragging about their ‘sexual prowess‘, fall quickly asleep -- snoring loudly.

And yet another Cro-Magnon is being genetically assembled in the womb, no doubt, evolving into ‘modern man’.

Without the presence of men, the women, most importantly, took care of the family, and themselves. Men, thus, became dependent on women. We agree here, do we not?

GHD: Now wait a minute, RH, societies are way more complex than that. It's not all sexually oriented. Humans are above self gratification, but for females, and ultimately females in power today, the concept's subtle.

RHN: Your point is?

GHD: Let’s go back, say, around 8,000 years, BCE, to Mesolithic Ireland (now called … Ireland), to a small community of about 150 people living on the banks of a winding, icy cold, glacier melt river, which, obviously due to global warming, no longer exists. This hardy pre-Celtic tribe called themselves the ‘Uppadownafoots’ (roughly translated from rock inscriptions). Today, this group is known to professional anthropologists, worldwide, as the ‘River Dance People’, (okay, okay, I’m taking a few liberties here).

Anyhow, the women of this extraordinary tribe were extremely beautiful: jet black hair, wide-set, big blue eyes, long black eyelashes, pouty lips, ample (in fact, more than ample) breasts, long legs, fair, flawless skin -- like peaches and cream, and the in-bred desire to raise large families. The men of the tribe, to a man, had flaming red hair and freckles all over, but otherwise, were really, really, well endowed. They also had, ‘attitude’.

When the men went out hunting (in truth, scavenging the remains of animal kills and fighting other ‘hunting‘ males for the spoils), the women of the tribe were left to their own means. This, is where the dildo comes in, (no pun here).

RHN: Yeah, right. Dildos.

GHD: No, really. Check this out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alun/29080210/

RHN: And, so, women got the upper hand over the men, so to speak.

GHD: Men were really not needed for the sexual act anymore, only for their genetic material -- even back then women suspected there was a connection between becoming pregnant and sex and what their babies would look like. Mostly, they trusted their own genetic contribution, instictively. But this instinct was only a side issue, initially, self gratification was not the point, ultimately, coition, focused on appearance and personality traits, prevailed. But they quickly perceived that they could achieve most of what they needed, without men.

As for the men? They had no clue that this 'absentee' process was, in fact, the beginning of 'politics' as we know it today. In other words, bargaining for position based on what candidates for success 'look like', became common knowledge for both sexes.

RHN: I suppose men then started to ‘buy’ women’s votes with promises of bigger and better dildos to get their 'genes' in the pool? The male offers could make the difference in the group's collective vote. GH, you’re full of it.

GHD: Well, I don’t know about that scenario, back then, of course, that interpretation of 'group' mentality (that's a modern thing), did not exist, but, you have to admit both men and women, even today, are whipped into a lather by the ‘appearance’ of a candidate ... we call it ‘charisma’.

RHN: True, nobody really votes for ‘values’ or ‘ideals’ anymore, maybe, never did, votes seem based on superfical attributes, and mostly physical, at that. But, I think your analogy between self-gratification and the political process is a stretch. Well, time will tell. As for me? I’m voting for Kucinich.

GHD: Pass the OJ, Henry.

G. H. Diel (GHD), and R. Henry Nigl (RHN), are uncle and nephew, respectively, separated by twenty years. GHD is a writer, RHN, an artist. They can be reached at ghdiel@exoptica.com and rhnigl@exoptica.com, or leave a comment here.

You 'freakin' reptile, you.

I suppose, right now, you are thinking: 'Exactly how can reptilian creatures, apparently with  extraordinary powers, control us, you know sentient beings that we are'?  I am too, (but, so is this guy. Check this: David Icke). 

I suppose, hypothetically, at very least, I could constuct a simplistic debunker answer and wax and wane vitriolic -- especially the part, the where, and how -- that allow these, the existence of any mythical 'being', and in the common argument, allow creatures to 'conceal' themselves -- but, I won't. Instead, I suggest, natural components of our physiological being, in other words 'reality' and myth, which, as we know easily lends itself to this interpretation, even without becoming science fiction: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbic_system, or science.

So, here, I am suggesting we all got ’lizard’ in us. And, it seems, in popular culture, ‘media’ if you will, only our leaders excel in letting loose some of those icy traits for us all to see, at least, this explanation doesn’t require an explanation regarding cold bloodedness, we all know it, this trait, all too well.

We don’t have to wait until ‘they, (the cold blooded ones’, everyone but ‘me’ of course), peel off their skin to reveal the reptilian inside. Look closely, however, it could be 'you' ... we just don't know.

From what we share in common, as humans, we also ‘know’ this, instinctively: ‘They‘, and maybe, any other 'entity' we can possibly conceive, other thant 'us', including those ‘reptiles’ of David Icke -- and by my definition, ourselves, and, the harsh judgements of our beliefs (oh, the judgemental and penalizing 'god'), which is the basis of our 'being', our 'reasoning' -- is a part of us from which we cannot disconnect ... and, think about it, it is a pretty 'alien' concept at that, and, maybe even 'reptilian' ... you see, it ain't 'alien' at all, it's us.

G H Diel

Face it.

I'm pretty certain this never happened ... but, then again ... well, you be the judge.

http://exoptica.com/wtc_cheney1.avi

G H Diel

Alone.

Alone, really alone.

Our senses merge to define reality, but, our senses also can be misdirected. Held in solitary confinement without sensory experience, as some war prisoners have been, and then, the body revolts. The ultimate result: you will say anything to get out.

My personal exploration of ‘reality’ continues in spite of the possible alternatives, including, 'getting out'. Over the course of my life I have sometimes hallucinated, mostly, because I am a so-called, lucid dreamer. That is, my personal dream states and my waking state sometime overlap, actually, quite frequently. I experience these states without much trepidation because I am aware of what is happening. I hear my wife’s voice calling my name, I ‘see’ my wife walking into the room, my twenty-year old son walks into the house and calls out ‘Dad’? And, I have experienced apparitions of persons unknown that seem to jump out of the walls when I am in this half-awake state -- still not frightening, but, in a sensory sense, somewhat stimulating. But, still, hallucinations. When I experience the presence of my family members, I know the house is empty, save for me, but I still accept the halucination as part of my reality. A false 'reality'? Maybe. But I have learned to love these experiences. As a writer they are nothing less than a continuation of dreams and welcome fodder for story lines.

But, that is nothing, apparently, to the unwelcome effects of solitary confinement. We, are not wired for lack of experiential input. And, then, I’m thinking: what about those in permanent comas? What is their 'reality'? Set that thought aside for the moment. So, you find yourself in the 'black' nothingness of mere solitary confinement.

For reference, here’s a link to a BBC article regarding solitary confinement and sensory deprivation: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7199769.stm?source=rss

The point I am making is this: So many religions, and now, especially in the arcane terminology of quantum mechanics, especially physics, reality is defined as an illusion, (there are myriad examples if you goggle ’reality’ -- here is one description found in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality). So, what is reality? 

That the 'definitions' of reality lead one to doubt the substance of daily experience, and that, may or may not be a good thing, well, maybe not for you, but it is for me.

My point: ‘reality’ is your only substantial life experience, the senses: touch, sight, hearing, smell; and your emotions, fear, hate, love, and everything else you feel; also, that intangible inner awareness of life, of being, found everyday awake, but, also in dreams, and maybe can also found in meditation and supernatural experience, as well, how does that experience relate to the 'false' reality of alternative states, like dreams and hallucinations? What is your definition of reality, and, to defind it, by contrast, your sense of 'aloneness'?

Personally, it’s all ‘reality’ to me, whether my senses are hallucinations, or, ‘deprived‘, or, alone, or not.

G. H. Diel   ghdiel@exoptica.com

Planet Serpo, Deep Sea Aliens and the Pirahãs

A most interesting part of a previous post regarding an alleged expedition of a group of Earth-Human’s extended visit to an extraterrestrial planet, so-called, ‘Serpo’, is the author's detailed descriptions of the inhabitant's odd language. A language that seems to be constructed of a rather singing-like, almost whistling, tonal structure. If invented as a fiction, kudos to the author. This kind of detail is somewhat unique in scifi, but, to my mind, makes for a more plausible suspension of disbelief for the reader, an essential component of the genre.

In the third part of my trilogy, 'Beth, A Story of Travel and Colonization, The Tranlator's Journal', (shameless plug here), I created a unique ‘alien’ language not unlike that described in the expedition member’s diaries, a language made up of the sounds of ‘nature. I have no idea the genesis of the concept of the language in my story -- 'like the sound of wind moving through a forest' -- came from, but, in retrospect, and somewhat to my surprise, it’s there, complete and fairly detailed, but, still, pure fiction.

I have, for most of the time of my adult intellectual and introspective life, believed that Earth to be a wonderful test bed consisting of empirical ‘proofs’ of everything that exists in the universe. In other words, this is world represents 'the' example of ultimate reality, we just have not descovered everything yet.

Not a strange enough concept for your personal concept of reality? Consider these: ‘Dark matter’ so recently defined by cosmologists, if it permeates every where, 'it' should also be here, on Earth, right around the corner, doesn't seem to be the case, however. No, want more? Can do. How about the interior of our sun, or any sun for that matter, plasmas, or thermonuclear explosions, not here on Earth? Wrong. In a lab somewhere, right here on this planet plasmas exist at unbelievably high temperatures, or, a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean, in our all too recent past, thermonuclear reactions ... just like the sun. Want to see alien species? Take a dive to the deepest depth’s of the oceans -- life forms cannot get much stranger than this (though they do), right here on Earth. Anti-gravity? Just 250 miles straight up, and you're floating.

The reference link to this point is the recent article in Spiegel Online - International, about the culture and language of Brazil's Pirahãs tribes.

The language of this people has no, or a very limited, concept of numbers -- not even counting -- and, apparently no art, a difficult time remembering anything past, including no ‘creation myth‘ (common to most cultures), in fact, no stories are told, at all. The Pirahãs seems to be a culture that exists purely in the ‘now’, (see Julian Barbour’s book, ‘The End of Time’.

To further complicate alighment with our culture and language, the Pirahãs tribe's language exists without subordinate clauses, much to the chagrin of linguists like Noam Chomsky. Thus, quoted from the article in Spiegle: "Instead of saying, "When I have finished eating, I would like to speak with you," the Pirahãs say, "I finish eating, I speak with you."

Sounds like a few of my relatives at Thanksgiving dinner. It’s a pretty alien world around here, and probably 'out there', but also, right here on Earth.

If you seek answers, look about you. It is all there...right here.

G. H. Diel ghdiel@exoptica.com

Imbued

Check out this video of John Mayer's guitar work first: http://youtube.com/watch?v=4ruic_HgQ6U and, if you think art is a learned thing after years and years of experience, watch this: http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/88017/detail/

The making of art, especially that component with which we are most familiar, perhaps minimally and only in a 'popular' sense, we call 'performance' -- but, still within this context, it is 'art' by my definition.

True art is not so much about having exceptional physical ability -- well, of course there is dance and acting -- but, instead, timing. 'Timing' is the essence.

Art in all its incarnations is about timing, in other words, choices. As an artist you make decisions in an endless stream, one decision upon another, culminating in the best conglomerate (it's much more subtle than that in reality)). And, within this process, beauty ‘becomes’ -- that 'becoming' is something with which we are all familiar: the pleasant stroking of our senses, a 'stroking', struggling to reach an orgasmic level, yeah, just like sex, or individualistically, masturbation -- we've all done it -- that's art.

What John Mayer and the eight year old in the video share, and are doing, seemingly 'mechanically', but beautiful nevertheless, is something pretty much any accomplished flat and five-finger picker of a stringed instrument can do, and, step-by-step, emulate. The difference? The personal choices regarding timing, and then, of course, the overlay of the lyrics (that's what George Martin, for instance, did so well). It comes with the territory, you are born with it, or not.

The artist here is manipulating 'time' to conform to his personal sense of movement, that is, his personal ’time’, imbued within his own, unique, DNA, and he is sharing!

And, that, that is art -- ultimately, it is the manipulation of time.

So there, we are masters of our realm ... from birth.

R. H. Nigl http://www.exoptica.com/nigl/nigl.html

Project Serpo: Creepy-scary, just plain false ... or?

I’m not much of a true believer. According to conventional wisdom some things seem immutably true, death, taxes, etc. Yet, even science, history, human intelligence and emotion, governments, and world permeating religions, the Earth itself, all are susceptible to change and continuing re-takes of our understanding.

I'm also not a hardcore skeptic ... I want to believe, and I will suspend disbelief to wallow in possibilities. I don’t take naturally to worshiping things, or kings, or wealth, or influence, or 'gods' unknown -- or believing in sketchy facts. All that said, I am not going to be too surprised, if, one strange day, a provable exception happens to come along. In the mean time, probably just like you, I’ll go along believing in everyday 'reality', unevenly distributed between our beginning and end, birth and death, as our inevitable tumultuous state of existence. But, as a writer I’m always on the look out for that exception, it makes great source material.

Sometimes what a person says, how they phrase a question or a response, suggests something new is coming along, sometimes suggesting truth even when attempting to conceal an outright lie. I believe we are hard wired to tell the difference between truth and lies, and often, what a single person, or a small group of people can accomplish in the face of falshoods astonishes me for its revelation of the beautiful compassion, resourcefulness and creativity of human nature. As I age, though, those moments seem to become more rare, but, fundamentally my trust in humankind remains intact, 'trust', is pretty much all we have when making decisions.

Here is something that caught my eye the other day while searching the internet (I may have read about it earlier, but had set it aside, or this may have been the first time I read it, I don't remember), in any event, it may be true or not. If only a fractional part is true, it would be an astounding event. The quantity of factual accuracy, in this case, does not matter so much for me as the document's strangely plausible details, even if a fiction, or, fabrications and hoax, if you are a debunker, or, conspiracy to conceal, if you are a true believer. One wag responded that the story was not even very good science fiction. I beg to differ, this story is very good at many levels, and mostly, at 'thumbing its nose' at both intransient science and formulistic fiction.

Project Serpo

‘Project Serpo’, the 'secret' reports released on the internet by an 'anonymous' source sometime in 2006, describe human contact with extraterrestrials allegedly occurring in 1947 at a crash site in New Mexico of an ET space craft and the recovery of one of the occupants, alive, and the subsequent exchange program between humans and the ETs (called EBE‘s -- Extraterrestrial Biological Entities, in the documents).

From Wikipedia:

"The first mention of a 'Project Serpo' was in a UFO email list maintained by enthusiast Victor Martinez. Various versions of the conspiracy theory circulated, and were later detailed on a website(serpo.info, now serpo.org). According to the most common version of the story, an alien survived a crash near Roswell, New Mexico, in the later 1940s ... This alien was detained but treated well by American military forces, contacted its home planet and eventually repatriated. The story continues by claiming that this led to the establishment of some sort of relationship between the American government and the people of its home world – said to be a planet of the binary star system Zeta Reticuli. Zeta Reticuli has a history in ufology, having been claimed as the home system of an alien race called the Greys(despite repeated debunking by noted UFO skeptics). The story finally claims that twelve American military personnel visited the planet between 1965 and 1978 and that all of the party have since died, from 'after effects of high radiation levels from the two suns." 

A portrayal of a transcript of President Ronald Reagan being briefed on the event in 1981 (http://www.serpo.org/release27a.php), if fabricated, is amazing, if only in its detail; and if true, is just plain creepy-scary.

More to the point of my comments here, are selected, so-called, 'diary' entries of some of the members of the group of military personnel sent for the extended stay on the planet, called SERPO (or some name that sounded like that when spoken by its inhabitants).

As a story-teller of special interest to me is the 'TEAM COMMANDER'S JOURNAL', and various other team member accounts, while on the 'alien' planet. There are 29 page links on the home site Serpo.org, at the top and bottom of the pages. Links 6-19 are fascinating in their detailing of the strange culture we found there (or perhaps, more accurately, in keeping with the spirit of the story -- Earth, where 'they' found us). If you have time read the whole thing.

If the entire account is a fabrication, the descriptions of the alien planet, its technology and a cursory description of it's culture, geology, dual sun solar system, and even its un-earthlike laws of physics, is almost too real in its detail forcing 'unreality'. Stereotypical science fiction storys are not written with detail like this. In this context, this is better reading than any science fiction I've seen in a long time.

If any part of the document is true, well, that's a whole other story -- you could make a movie of it.

G H Diel                                                                                                                 http://www.exoptica.com/diel

Big head, credible communication, but not necessarily truth.

Have you noticed how many actors, religious leaders, news anchors and yes, even successful ... politicians, seem to have disproportionately large heads (that is, disproportionate to their body size), and wide set, largish eyes? And if they are not genetically blessed with the ideal ratios make up for it with ‘poofed-up’ hair? Why is this, and is it an indicator of success? Can we pick successful communicators based on 'proportion of head to body size'?

Here's someone who considered this notion regarding starlets, notably Audrey Hepburn, http://www.communicatrix.com/category/art, and here's a more farcical video example http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1768884

Technically, a video producer might intuitively select the biggest talking head to body ratio because hand held camera shots from below a podium, as the upper torso recedes in perspective may make the speaker look like a pin head. So, aesthetically, intuitively, video producers strive for balance.

Are 'big heads' simply more photogenic, thus more believable?

Taking a huge leap of logic. using the 'head to body proportion' index suggested above, is it possible to pick our next president. By the same token, your thoughts on former presidents, Clinton, Reagan, Bush Sr., Carter, Ford, Nixon -- and my god, LBJ -- and our present President ... a no brainer.

Your thoughts welcome.

RHN (R Henry Nigl)

GHD (G H Diel)

Merry Christmas

I don't say this lightly.

I believe the profound message of Christmas is simple: Love. That is, love one another as you love yourself (here, insert your concept of 'love', apply it to yourself' then to others).

Express this message however you wish; but fundamentally, love, not its opposite, is the essence of our being.

Merry Christmas,

Love, RHN / GHD

Seeing Red

Forwarded at the request of Mr. Neil Simon, then forwarded to us by Luiza Brown:

If the Red shirt thing is new to you, read below.

Last week, while traveling to Chicago on business, I noticed a Marine sergeant traveling with a folded flag, but did not put two and two together.

After we boarded our flight, I turned to the sergeant, who'd been invited to sit in First Class (across from me), and inquired if he was heading home

No, he responded.

Heading out I asked?

No. I'm escorting a soldier home.

Going to pick him up?

No. He is with me right now. He was killed in Iraq ; I'm taking him home to his family.

The realization of what he had been asked to do hit me like a punch to the gut. It was an honor for him. He told me that, although he didn't know the soldier, he had delivered the news of his passing to the soldier's family and felt as if he knew them after many conversations in so few days.

I turned back to him, extended my hand, and said, Thank you. Thank you for doing what you do so my family and I can do what we do.

Upon landing in Chicago the pilot stopped short of the gate and made the following announcement over the intercom.

'Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to note that we have had the honor of having Sergeant Steeley of the United States Marine Corps join us on this flight. He is escorting a fallen comrade back home to his family. I ask that you please remain in your seats when we open the forward door to allow Sergeant Steeley to deplane and receive his fellow soldier. We will then turn off the seat belt sign.

Without a sound, all went as requested. I noticed the sergeant saluting the casket as it was brought off the plane, and his action made me realize that I am proud to be an American.

So here's a public Thank You to our military Men and Women for what you do so we can live the way we do.

Red Fridays.

Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the “silent majority.' We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or overbearing.

Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday -- and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that .. Every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear something red.

By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers. If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, coworkers, friends, and family, it will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once 'silent' majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on.

The first thing a soldier says when asked 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is. 'We need your support and your prayers. 'Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example, and wear something red every Friday.