E. Benjamin Skinner writes on how simple one can purchase a child from Haiti where 300,000 children are in domestic bondage:Children in batey la esperanza, a camp for forced labour and slaves on sugar plantations in the Dominican Republic
Standing in New York City, you are five hours away from being able to negotiate the sale, in broad daylight, of a healthy boy or girl. He or she can be used for anything, though sex and domestic labor are most common. Before you go, let’s be clear on what you are buying. A slave is a human being forced to work through fraud or threat of violence for no pay beyond subsistence. Agreed? Good. keep reading...
Why couldn't it just catch him? A shoe in the face, a huge Muslim insult hurled at George W. Bush at a Baghdad news conference.
"This is a farewell kiss, you dog," he yelled in Arabic as he threw his shoes. "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."
...And now Tikrit, Iraq unveils a fiberglass and copper statue sculpted by Baghdad-based artist Laith al-Amari. He described it as a tribute to the pride of the Iraqi people.
A living symbol of this declaration Aung San Suu Kyi is Burma’s democratically elected Prime minister. A military government has ruled Burma since 1962. The opposition party won the last general elections in 1990. But military leaders never recognized the results of that race and instead have kept her under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years.
Practical number crunching over at Reality sandwich. What would be an equal share of world resources?
David Ulansay writes: Ever since I was a child, I have been searching for a certain number: namely, the figure for the annual Gross World Product (GWP). The GWP is the value of all goods and services produced each year by the entire human species, and the reason I was searching for this number as a child is that I wanted to take it and divide it by the number of people in the world, so that I would know what each human being was actually entitled to if the world's resources were divided fairly and equitably. keep reading ...
Test your conspiracy theory knowledge over at telegraph.co.uk with the 30 most prevailing theories in history...
21. Pearl Harbor was allowed to happen - Theorists believe that President Franklin Roosevelt provoked the Japanese attack on the US naval base in Hawaii in December 1942, knew about it in advance and covered up his failure to warn his fleet commanders. He apparently needed the attack to provoke Hitler into declaring war on the US because the American public and Congress were overwhelmingly against entering the war in Europe. Theorists believe that the US was warned by the governments of Britain, the Netherlands, Australia, Peru, Korea and the Soviet Union that a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was coming and that, furthermore, the Americans had intercepted and broken all the important Japanese codes in the run up to the attack. Read in full...
If we are to end the war against the self, the struggle to be good, and the war against nature that goes along with it, we must instead trust nature. First and foremost that means to trust our own nature: our built-in guidance system of pain and pleasure, aversion and desire. To do so runs counter to several thousand years of conditioning, so we may be excused if it takes a bit of time to learn the new habit of self-trust.
Charles Eisenstein serves up his second half of reality sandwich, didnt you read part one?
Our desires pull us toward wholeness. In wholeness is bliss. Neither health nor virtue nor spirituality will come in defiance of pleasure and desire. The pleasure of meeting our desires and fulfilling our needs is not some trick of the universe designed to divert us from our path. Desire is the path. Read in full...
A very cool article from Michael Garfield over at Reality Sandwich about advancing sound technology. From Audio spotlight that projects sound to one location like a beam of light, to mind reading headsets and their many applications.
The way we listen to music today is not going to last. A bevy of new technologies is set to radically change our relationship to auditory media. Novel speaker materials, remarkable advances in recording equipment, and pioneering mind-machine interfaces have perched our culture on the verge of a world we might scarcely recognize: where music can be played back on any surface; where headphones have been replaced by custom, isolated, open-air audioscapes; and where we don't even need mouths to sing or hands to play our instruments. For your consideration, I present the following major innovations – each of which, sooner or later, will force us to reconsider how we think about communication. Keep reading...
Boston Dynamics releases a new video of its Big Dog (the worlds most advanced quadruped robot) moving over different terrain. Jaw dropping to say the least...
We all sense the possibility of a more beautiful state of being, a more joyful state of being for ourselves and the world... Let's be really really practical, and ask, "How can I stop expressing negativity?" "How can I stick with my exercise program?" "How can I find the courage to live my ideals?" "How can I stop caving in to my boss?" If none of these are relevant to you, think of one of your own habits of speech, action, or thought that causes pain, and which has resisted your most determined efforts to alter.... Let me give you an example. A motorist cuts in front of me. Here are two of the stories that offer themselves for my attention: (1) "How could she? Learn to drive, lady. The nerve of some people. I'd certainly never do that. People are always cutting in front of me, and not just in traffic. They are so selfish. Why isn't it ever my turn? I'm always so considerate, and look what I get? Nothing. No one even notices..." (2) "That lady must be in a hurry! I'm glad I was able to slow down and let her in. I bet a lot of people get mad at her. Maybe she's so tired she didn't even notice me. Luckily the universe can accommodate our mistakes."... If you want to change the way you think, speak, and act, you can only do so by recreating your self. You cannot enforce behavioral changes through will, nor through the program of threat and incentive that we mistake for will. read in full...
An interesting essay on self analysis, reminder that we must pay more attention to our thoughts where our experience begins.
Using photos of often snapped subjects (like Notre Dame) scraped from around the Web, Photosynth creates breathtaking multidimensional spaces with zoom and navigation features that outstrip all expectation. Its architect, Blaise Aguera y Arcas, shows it off in this standing-ovation demo. TED conference 2007
The source of most if not all our woes, revealed: Connecting the dots through 3000 years of revisionist human history, spanning from the time of the pharaohs, all the way up to the present dynasties creating the New World Order, in their quest to perfect the enslavement of mankind. From pirates to banksters, to the ruling elite who run the world's finances, the media and cover both side of nearly every conflict or war: the world may make more sense after watching this. Film: "Ring of Power - Empire of the City"
Films like this have a way of disappearing from Youtube, especially when in so many parts, so you may want to cop the 4 DVD set. Produced Directed by Grace Powers of Amenstop productions. Learn more at helpfreetheearth.com. Try a slightly older google version here Ring of Power Part one, Ring of Power Part 2.
David Wong, Cracked.com: Brainwashing doesn't take any sci-fi gadgetry or Manchurian Candidate hypnotism bullshit. There are all sorts of tried-and-true techniques that anyone can use to bypass the thinking part of your brain and flip a switch deep inside that says "OBEY." #6. Chanting Slogans
Every cult leader, drill sergeant, self-help guru and politician knows that if you want to quiet all of those pesky doubting thoughts in a crowd, get them to chant a repetitive phrase or slogan. Those are referred to as thought-stopping techniques, because for better or worse, they do exactly that.
Why It Works: The "Analytical" part of your brain and the "Repetitive Task" part tend to operate in separate rooms. But you didn't need an expert to tell you that. You know you can't solve a complex logic puzzle if I force you to scream the chorus to that Chumbawamba song over and over again while you're doing it. Try it. read more...
Kruger National park, South Africa, a herd of buffalo at a watering hole get jammed up between 2 crocodiles and a pride of lions. Establish species dominance! establish species dominance!
In a move that many should have seen coming, hip-hop mogul Shawn Carter signaled the corporate takeover of Jay-Z Inc. when he sold the remainder of the franchise to concert promoter Live Nation. After years of building up the brand called Jay-Z, Carter is doing what any smart investor would do at this point: cashing in.....To acquire Jay-Z, Live Nation ponied up a pay package worth $150 million—It’s highest to date. The terms of the deal include $5 million a year for five years to cover overhead for Roc Nation, plus $25 million for any investments or acquisitions. Carter will also receive an initial payment and general advance totaling $50 million, $10 million an album for a minimum of 3 albums, and $20 million for some licensing and publishing rights. Read more... I'm not a businessman I'm a Business man!
The Multicultural salutes Jamaica's seven National Heroes - Nanny of the Maroons, Sam Sharpe, Paul Bogle, George William Gordon, Marcus Garvey, Alexander Bustamente, and Norman Manley. Get familiar
Animated snippets from 2007 release, directed by Chris Atkins
"A documentary about the prolific nature of the statutes that Blair (AKA Bliar)'s government have introduced over the past decade, that not only contradict what Blair promised the British People in his campaign for the Premiership at the 1997 election, but more worryingly, contravene our human rights and our civil liberties. this film is both hilarious and terrifying" Helen Clifton.
Perhaps you'd be interested to read about the Governments 'Big brother' plan to log calls and emails of all persons in Britain.
In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel tape deck, snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview about peace. 38 years later, Jerry has produced a film about it. Using the original interview recording as the soundtrack, director Josh Raskin has woven a visual narrative which tenderly romances Lennon's every word in a cascading flood of multipronged animation.
Raskin marries the terrifyingly genius pen work of James Braithwaite with masterful digital illustration by Alex Kurina, resulting in a spell-binding vessel for Lennon's boundless wit, and timeless message.
privatize the profits, socialize the risk! Michael Moore says let them "bail themselves out!"
The Corbett Report has created a new video explaining why people should be angry about more than just the proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street. One reason, of course, is the $2.3 trillion missing from the Pentagon the day before 9/11, when the Pentagon's Budget Analyst Office was destroyed. Watch the video below:
On December 21st, 2012, the "Long Count" of the ancient Mayan Calendar comes to an abrupt end, finishing off a grand cycle that spans 5,125 years. Some believe it portends an apocalyptic End Times of earth-shattering cataclysms; others disagree, claiming the date as the start of a new era of enlightenment and advanced human consciousness.
The rising popular interest in the 2012 date is a phenomenon in itself, and may indicate a growing awareness that major changes are rapidly taking place in the world. With natural disasters occurring more frequently, and especially in the face of a deepening financial crisis, it appears quite possible that we are heading for turbulent times in the next four years. But alongside these dark scenarios, many are also experiencing profound synchronicities and heightened intuitions, suggesting a powerful shift rising up in the human psyche.
Is the 2012 transformation merely an archeological myth? Or is it a scientific reality, manifesting before our eyes? The new documentary film 2012: Science or Superstition explores these questions, probing deep into the facts and philosophies behind the approaching Mayan climax. Released by The Disinformation Company, the film lives up to the label's reputation for objective, challenging inquiry. A broad range of scholars and authors are featured in exclusive interviews, including Graham Hancock, John Major Jenkins, Alberto Villoldo, astronomer Anthony Aveni, and Daniel Pinchbeck. The film is slated to hit the screens later this year – on December 21st, to be exact.
Charles Eisenstein, Reality sandwich:I think we all sense that we are nearing the end of an era. On the most superficial level, it is the era of unregulated casino-style financial manipulation that is ending. But the current efforts of the political elites to fix the crisis at this level will only reveal its deeper dimensions. In fact, the crisis goes "all the way to the bottom." It arises from the very nature of money and property in the world today, and it will persist and continue to intensify until money itself is transformed. A process centuries in the making is in its final stages of unfoldment. read more...
Connected all are we; in our inhibited and ego blocked levels of consciousness to the super conscious; in our alien DNA to Mitochondrial Eve; and now our many electronic devices to the internet.
Advancing technology across culture, building constantly on the platforms of desk-top publishing and e commerce; soon we can all write, record, produce, publish and distribute from anywhere, everywhere, anytime, all the time. What will we do with that? Share? Embrace each other? Confront history? Tell the truth? Save the world? Entertain? Educate? Evolve?
Being so saturated by this wired world of information overload…we are forgetful. When established institutions unearth themselves in corruption, hidden agendas, scandal, and conspiracy in front our very eyes we are paralyzed. As mainstream news media becomes biased and just as credible as every other tabloid and blogger in the bloggersphere we become skeptical. With so many sources mainstream and otherwise, we should be less gullible and more inquisitive. Amongst all the commercialization and watering down of creativity for mass production we just want the fresh, the cool, the entertaining, the truth; to be aware and more cultured.
This is me putting things in perspective … Welcome to The Multicultural.blogspot, a memory dump of all things I’d hate to forget and feel a need to share. Perhaps at the very least I can clear enough memory to process data, spark a debate, stretch my writing muscles, or know what to do with loose change.
The MC
Now that we've found the internet, what are we gonna do with it?
Youtube, an anthropological introduction, presented by Michael Wesch at the Library of Congress, June 23rd 2008
Mystikal Pleads Not Guilty to Rape Charges
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Earlier this year Louisiana rapper Mystikal was accused of raping a fan at
a Shreveport casino [click here if you missed that].
Mystical pleads not guilt...
Children in batey la esperanza, a camp for forced labour and slaves on sugar plantations in the Dominican Republic 
