YouTube sensation Stefan Molyneux is making what he calls a “final plea for peace” and hoping president Donald Trump will take heed. Although the rhetoric from both the US and Russia appears to be heading us all towards a war, Molyneux is asking the power-hungry politicians to take a step back before they destroy all of us.
War will affect regular human beings in a far more serious capacity than it will the elite and wealthy globalists. Perhaps that’s why there is such a push to start a massive conflict that will lead to deaths of many. But Molyneux is pleading for peace in his latest YouTube video.
He begins his plea by detailing the horrific losses his family has already suffered because of war. He also says he’s lucky that he wasn’t drafted in a useless war. He said maybe it was fate and maybe he was spared for a reason.
“Maybe that reason is now,” says Molyneux. “We can afford war no more. War was one thing when it was twenty men and clubs. War was another thing when it was a few hundred soldiers whacking at each other with swords in a field. War was one thing when it was 1000 archers raining death…in fields far from the general population. War, in the west, is unaffordable. It is unconscionable and it will end not just us, but everything and everyone.”
And to those who say “its just Syria” Molyneux would like to remind you that there are people who wish to be free and live to see more days in Syria too and they are nonetheless human beings like the rest of us. Even Russian president Vladimir Putin said recently “the world is becoming more chaotic. Nevertheless, we hope common sense will eventually prevail.”
“War is not what it was,” Molyneux says later in his video. “War is live. War cannot be filtered. War cannot be turned into a pastel painting of a guy on horse riding up a hill with a sword in his hand. War can no longer be mythologized. War is the brutal individualistic disassembling of human beings to have a right to survive.”
In the West, as Molyneux explains, we only see a sanitized version of war because America is so often the violent aggressor. And if Trump attacks Syria, it will be as it has been: America will prove itself the aggressor in this newest war. And those who are against the senseless slaughter of others sit back helplessly because there’s nothing we can do to stop it. But Molyneux tries. He makes a plea directly to president Donald Trump for peace.
“I say this you: Donald J. Trump. I hate the fact that it comes down to one man, but you are the commander in chief…such a burden should never rest on any one person’s shoulders. Or any 1000 people’s shoulders for that matter. But right now, given the way things are, it comes down to one man and that man is you. And you, and you alone, have the power to say ‘yes’ to the war or ‘no’ to the war…what does matter is that the people who voted for you handed you the kind of trust and sacrifice that has not been seen in the modern world…they have lost credibility to give YOU the power to STOP THESE WARS!”
Molyneux powerful delivers a plea for peace on behalf of all of us.
The first nationwide “Thanksgiving” holiday was proclaimed by inaugural president George Washington on Thursday, November 26, 1789, as a day of “Public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and significant favors of Almighty God.”
Whether mankind’s life exists through a forethought gift of a Divine Creator or by the random chance of two rocks colliding (though I would like to know from where the rocks came and what caused their motion), individual intelligent life does exist, and as all reading these words possess this beneficiary state of being that was beyond our own choosing, which is the central condition through which all prosperity comes, then it is this intrinsic form of existing as a living being that must form the foundation our most humble state of thankfulness. That is to say, life itself is the central reason for gratitude, to be given either to an inanimate universe (that somehow formed life without being alive itself) or to an Almighty Creator, whose mind and abilities are beyond the comprehension of mankind, just as the workings of an airplane are to a canine, to whom a lack of understanding of its intricacies does not negate the Truth of its forethoughtdesign.
Regardless of its origin, the Believer and the atheist alike have reason to be grateful for the gift of life, for without it, nothing else would matter. Even if an Eternal Being were the cause of it, and no afterlife was granted following mortality, we would still be obliged to give thanks for the hours and days we received, completely unmerited. This is why, when I do express thanks for the many undeserved blessings of existence, my Number One acknowledgement is for life itself, even if there were no afterlife following its conclusion.
As I do observe and acknowledge the design in all of nature, as did Einstein, Newton, Galileo, Copernicus, and DaVinci, as the insides of our very beings display complete intentional order and purpose, and suggesting that lower forms of life created higher forms of life is as completely contrary, just as a first grader developing algebra would be, the next level of thankfulness that my heart ascends to is the hope and promise of Eternal Life. When the cartoon character robot “Bender” from the program “Futurama” found out that he only had one million years to live, he famously said, “Anything less than immortality is a complete waste of time.” He is profoundly right. Even if mortal man could live a million years, the time would eventually come to an end, along with all the memories thereof. Sad.
Part of being a Believer in a Divine Creator is the understanding from the ancient scriptures, as well as from secular history (which actually corroborate each other fully, with exception only to the “Creation” account, which one either accepts on Faith or questions in doubt), both of which tell the account of mankind falling from being loving and peaceful in nature to hateful and warlike. (Even atheists agree with this.) As such, for those who believe in a Creator rather than an “accident” (the latter likely for a desire of unaccountable self-rule). Believers understand that a plan was enacted to reverse this deadly trend, by the Creator personally visiting His creation, demonstrating the Way of Life that was lost through contagious self-centeredness. By adhering to this Divine Doctrine, the sinful nature of man is restored, the byproduct of which is Eternal Life. Thereby, my Number Two expression of thankfulness, is to the Messiah for sacrificing His heavenly comforts to take on the lowly form of a homeless man, to reverse the poison of hatred with love, and through Himalone, one may take hold of the only acquisition worth anything, that of Everlasting Life, because . . . “Anything less than immortality is a complete waste of time.”
Number Three in my list of Thankfulness is the Messiah’s Church and my local Inspirational Pastor, which is a gymnasium, and who is a coach, for my striving soul. The Savior plainly said, “Those who hold to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13) Quitting smoking once is not enough to overcome lung cancer. One must fight and stayquitforall time in order to be cancer free. In the same way, getting “Saved” is not enough to enter eternal life. One must stay saved in order to take hold of the victory. (See Hebrews 10:26-29 & Romans 6:1-23) The Scripturally Sound Church trains the soul for continual maturity and keeps the soul in the Saving Grace of God. Without this discipline and likeminded fellowship, the spiritual athlete will drift into unhealthy worldly habits that will entrap them again into the very enslaving sins from which they just got saved. (See 2nd Peter 2:1-22)
Number Four: My Darling Wife; Partner in Life; Partner in The Faith. My friend and inspiration in life.
Number Five: My home and income. While only 425 square feet and less than $1000 a month from Social Security, it is clean and orderly, in a great neighborhood, has affordable income based rent, and utilities are included! The modest stipend from the government allows me to invest my most finite time into inspirational writing such as this, developing “Dream” projects to help others, and removes me from the debilitating and soul-crushing “Rat Race.” I make less money now than I ever have, and I am happier now than I have ever been.
Number Six: The Sleuth Journal and their operators Wendy & Matthew. They work tirelessly to bring the Truth to those who seek it in a world filled with lies, granting me the opportunity to share my perspective in this shared quest.
Number Seven: My supporters and contributors, the chief among whom are Simon and John, as well as this short list of those who “put their money where their mouth is” in our quest for Truth through regular Pay Pal Donations . . .
Brett – Andy – James – Ralph – Joseph – Patricia – Graham – Adam – Romerico – Chris – Robert – Russ – Donald – Golden – Alain – Einar – Allan – Andrew – Patrik – Snowman
Thank you ALL
I will discuss all this, and much more, in this week’s episode of Conspiracy Corner News.
Bart Sibrel is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com
When you want to Shop on Amazon, please come back to this page and Click on the Large Button above to visit the Amazon Homepage, or Copy and Paste the following url into your Browser’s Bookmarks as “Amazon” to Save for Future Shopping Use (http://amzn.to/2bvcs9I).
The first nationwide “Thanksgiving” holiday was proclaimed by inaugural president George Washington on Thursday, November 26, 1789, as a day of “Public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and significant favors of Almighty God.”
Whether mankind’s life exists through a forethought gift of a Divine Creator or by the random chance of two rocks colliding (though I would like to know from where the rocks came and what caused their motion), individual intelligent life does exist, and as all reading these words possess this beneficiary state of being that was beyond our own choosing, which is the central condition through which all prosperity comes, then it is this intrinsic form of existing as a living being that must form the foundation our most humble state of thankfulness. That is to say, life itself is the central reason for gratitude, to be given either to an inanimate universe (that somehow formed life without being alive itself) or to an Almighty Creator, whose mind and abilities are beyond the comprehension of mankind, just as the workings of an airplane are to a canine, to whom a lack of understanding of its intricacies does not negate the Truth of its forethoughtdesign.
Regardless of its origin, the Believer and the atheist alike have reason to be grateful for the gift of life, for without it, nothing else would matter. Even if an Eternal Being were the cause of it, and no afterlife was granted following mortality, we would still be obliged to give thanks for the hours and days we received, completely unmerited. This is why, when I do express thanks for the many undeserved blessings of existence, my Number One acknowledgement is for life itself, even if there were no afterlife following its conclusion.
As I do observe and acknowledge the design in all of nature, as did Einstein, Newton, Galileo, Copernicus, and DaVinci, as the insides of our very beings display complete intentional order and purpose, and suggesting that lower forms of life created higher forms of life is as completely contrary, just as a first grader developing algebra would be, the next level of thankfulness that my heart ascends to is the hope and promise of Eternal Life. When the cartoon character robot “Bender” from the program “Futurama” found out that he only had one million years to live, he famously said, “Anything less than immortality is a complete waste of time.” He is profoundly right. Even if mortal man could live a million years, the time would eventually come to an end, along with all the memories thereof. Sad.
Part of being a Believer in a Divine Creator is the understanding from the ancient scriptures, as well as from secular history (which actually corroborate each other fully, with exception only to the “Creation” account, which one either accepts on Faith or questions in doubt), both of which tell the account of mankind falling from being loving and peaceful in nature to hateful and warlike. (Even atheists agree with this.) As such, for those who believe in a Creator rather than an “accident” (the latter likely for a desire of unaccountable self-rule). Believers understand that a plan was enacted to reverse this deadly trend, by the Creator personally visiting His creation, demonstrating the Way of Life that was lost through contagious self-centeredness. By adhering to this Divine Doctrine, the sinful nature of man is restored, the byproduct of which is Eternal Life. Thereby, my Number Two expression of thankfulness, is to the Messiah for sacrificing His heavenly comforts to take on the lowly form of a homeless man, to reverse the poison of hatred with love, and through Himalone, one may take hold of the only acquisition worth anything, that of Everlasting Life, because . . . “Anything less than immortality is a complete waste of time.”
Number Three in my list of Thankfulness is the Messiah’s Church and my local Inspirational Pastor, which is a gymnasium, and who is a coach, for my striving soul. The Savior plainly said, “Those who hold to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13) Quitting smoking once is not enough to overcome lung cancer. One must fight and stayquitforall time in order to be cancer free. In the same way, getting “Saved” is not enough to enter eternal life. One must stay saved in order to take hold of the victory. (See Hebrews 10:26-29 & Romans 6:1-23) The Scripturally Sound Church trains the soul for continual maturity and keeps the soul in the Saving Grace of God. Without this discipline and likeminded fellowship, the spiritual athlete will drift into unhealthy worldly habits that will entrap them again into the very enslaving sins from which they just got saved. (See 2nd Peter 2:1-22)
Number Four: My Darling Wife; Partner in Life; Partner in The Faith. My friend and inspiration in life.
Number Five: My home and income. While only 425 square feet and less than $1000 a month from Social Security, it is clean and orderly, in a great neighborhood, has affordable income based rent, and utilities are included! The modest stipend from the government allows me to invest my most finite time into inspirational writing such as this, developing “Dream” projects to help others, and removes me from the debilitating and soul-crushing “Rat Race.” I make less money now than I ever have, and I am happier now than I have ever been.
Number Six: The Sleuth Journal and their operators Wendy & Matthew. They work tirelessly to bring the Truth to those who seek it in a world filled with lies, granting me the opportunity to share my perspective in this shared quest.
Number Seven: My supporters and contributors, the chief among whom are Simon and John, as well as this short list of those who “put their money where their mouth is” in our quest for Truth through regular Pay Pal Donations . . .
Brett – Andy – James – Ralph – Joseph – Patricia – Graham – Adam – Romerico – Chris – Robert – Russ – Donald – Golden – Alain – Einar – Allan – Andrew – Patrik – Snowman
Thank you ALL
I will discuss all this, and much more, in this week’s episode of Conspiracy Corner News.
Bart Sibrel is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com
When you want to Shop on Amazon, please come back to this page and Click on the Large Button above to visit the Amazon Homepage, or Copy and Paste the following url into your Browser’s Bookmarks as “Amazon” to Save for Future Shopping Use (http://amzn.to/2bvcs9I).
A mere 11 light-years away from our Solar System, a newly discovered exoplanet is the second-closest we’ve ever found that’s temperate enough to potentially host and sustain life. The Earth-sized exoplanet was just discovered and scientists are already searching for signs of life.
Ross 128 b orbits the inactive red dwarf star, Ross 128, in the system’s “Goldilocks zone.” This zone is known as the area in perfect distance from a star to support life. The planet is also probably rocky, not gaseous; and it’s at a distance from its star that means the temperature could be hospitable to life as we know it.
It was found using the European Southern Observatory’s High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) in Chile – the most precise instrument of its kind. And it took researchers a long time to nail down. “We started to observe this star in July 2005,” astronomer Nicola Astudillo-Defru of Geneva Observatory told ScienceAlert. “Since 2013, our monitoring started to be more intense, and only after acquiring 157 observations was the signal of the planet strong enough to be detected.”
The researchers were able to discover the planet using the radial velocity method of planet detection. This method differs from the transit method we usually hear about but it shows this technique still has a whole lot of potential for finding new exoplanets.
Here’s what we know about Ross 128 b so far. It’s 1.35 times the mass of Earth. This means it’s most likely a rocky planet since – as far as we know at least, gas planets tend to be giants.
That’s the other point in favour of Ross 128 b being a rocky planet: it’s relatively close to its host star. In fact, it’s 20 times closer to its star than Earth is to the Sun, and completes an entire orbit in 9.9 days.
Why isn’t it too hot for life? Ross 128 is a cool, faint red dwarf. It emits less radiation than our yellow Sun, so Ross 128 b receives only about 1.38 times more irradiation than Earth. Its equilibrium temperature is estimated to be between -60 and 20 degrees Celsius (-76 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit). –Science Alert
Ross 128 also has fewer flares than most red dwarfs, such as Proxima Centauri, which has its own exoplanet, Proxima Centauri b. Conditions on Ross 128 b are expected to be much more stable than those on Proxima Centauri b.
We started to observe this star in July 2005. Since 2013, our monitoring started to be more intense, and only after acquiring 157 observations was the signal of the planet strong enough to be detected.”
What we don’t know yet is whether Ross 128 b has an atmosphere – that is something that is best determined by the transit method. But the Extremely Large Telescope, currently under construction and due to see first light in 2024, will be powerful enough to image the planet directly, and hopefully, detect the biomarkers that indicate life.
“We have some ideas about which biomarkers to search for. Of course, it is only based on what we know on Earth,” Astudillo-Defru explained.
Has anyone else noticed the need that ‘artists” have to be more and more outrageous lately? It seems like many people can’t be happy unless they are finding greater ways to shock and repulse others. This seems to especially apply to the art community. They say that “art reflects life” and if that is the case, we are really in a dark place.
I’ll give you some stomach-turning examples in a moment, but let me first bring this back to a child-rearing theory I have.
When you have children, you always want to make them happy and give them privileges and opportunities you may not have had. But if you make the mistake of constantly having to outdo yourself, you’ll end up with a greedy monster on your hands. If every Christmas must outdo the last to make a child happy, if every family vacation has to be bigger and better, if every birthday party has to be more outrageous, you’ll find that the recipient of all this bounty is less happy than other people. They’ll always be searching for that excitement and frankly, it’s just not how life works.
Bigger and better is not a sustainable life model. Eventually, the money will run out or the excitement factor will have to be so extreme that it won’t really be that much fun anymore. Everything after a certain point is just a letdown, and the person seeking that rush will often turn to more extreme and unhealthy choices to try and find a state of happiness that will always be brief and elusive.
So, that brings me back to our current societal situation.
I wrote a few weeks back about the signs of the end of an empire, and ever since then, I keep stumbling across more and more examples of this. This isn’t one for reading aloud around the family table. Assuming you do things like that with blog content.
Whose life does this art reflect?
Regular art that’s just pretty to look at will no longer make you famous, it seems. Gone are the days of Renoir and Matisse. To get your five minutes of fame, your medium must be something outrageous, stomach-turning, and/or revolting.
Maybe I just don’t understand art, but here are some examples of artistic expressions and crafts with a homemade touch that I’m not going to be purchasing anytime soon:
Speaking of vagina-related art, this woman stuffed yarn in her hoo-haw then knitted a superlong scarf from the yarn. Even when she was menstruating. And, she did it live and received massive acclaim for her artistry. She stated with surprise, “Intriguingly, most of the negative commentary came from people who presented as women…”
This woman painted a fetus with her menstrual blood over 9 months. “My concept with this elimination of the ovum, through the menstrual blood I gave birth to an artwork during these nine months and actually I created a “start of the end”.”
What is this obsession with bodily fluids all about? FYI, it’s illegal to buy it on eBay. In case, for some reason this article inspired you to make your Christmas list.
We silly plebes just don’t understand art
Who can forget the horrifying “art” that came into the public eye during the Wikileaks days of the last election? While folks are making poop statues of President Trump, they’d be advised to remember the revolting “Spirit Cooking” performance art that came to light in the Podesta emails. This was mockingly defended by NYMag as a silly overreaction by the anti-Clinton faction.
Tony Podesta, who is now in a whole bunch of legal trouble, has some horrifyingly pedophiliac artwork in his collection that people seem to be willing to justify as well. See for yourself, but be warned, this stuff is terribly disturbing.
There were also hints of cannibalism with some “performance art” dinner parties. Thankfully, we have outlets like Art-Net News to tell us how silly we are to find it disturbing to watch people digging into a cake that looks like a woman and to see sickening photos of young children in occult situations.
This isn’t new but it seems to be a lot more common now.
Also in the 80s, a guy named Robert Mapplethorpe got an art show that contained photos which could only be considered child pornography. ““For pedophile homosexuals, there [is] a shot of a nude little boy, about eight, proudly displaying his penis.” The photograph in question was Jesse McBride which, along with a portrait by Mapplethorpe of a young girl staring into the camera with her genitals incidentally exposed.” (source) As well, his art contained very graphic sadomasochistic content.
So, this has been going on for a long time but seems far more prominent of late.
Doesn’t it make you wonder, with vast trepidation, what could possibly be next?
How will the art community possibly take things even further than they are now? I shudder to think what outrageous acts and photos will be the next thing to be celebrated for their genius. It is said that “art reflects life.” Let that sink in – the stuff above is a reflection of the people who created it.
But in most of America, the part that rejected Hillary Clinton and her ilk and is deplored by the people who love this “art”, is busy living a life that must seem boring to the flashy folks of the art world. While they snicker at us, though, we are able to find happiness in simplicity. Going for a walk in the woods, the satisfaction of raising vegetables in our backyard, encouraging our kids to be athletes and scholars – give me that over poop paintings, vagina scarves, and cannibalism any day of the week.
These poor souls will continue to seek their rush that resides ever further into depravity. They’ll push the limits further and further. At some point, they won’t be able to turn back. Maybe they’re already there.
You probably hear this now-cliché question all the time: “If money was no object, what would you be doing with your life?” But hearing a question multiple times doesn’t make it any less valid. There is a profound truth underlying these words which it seems many of us have come to belittle or outright ignore, and yet the implications of truly internalizing their meaning are huge.
You may be a young, excited individual coming into the workforce or you may be part of an older generation who has been in the workforce for a while, wondering, “How did I get here?” Or perhaps you are someone who already loves what you do. In any case, I truly think that regularly asking yourself what it is you would love to do with your time if money was no longer an object can be a powerful tool. So why don’t we go ahead and do some self-analysis? But first, let’s listen to what Alan Watts has to say about the topic, as I think it will really get us into the right mindset for this task.
The Exercise
This exercise is a pretty simple one, just like the question it addresses. When answering these questions, it is important to go beyond some of the things we are kinda taught are the things to strive for. For example, letting go of our ideas about ‘success,’ money, material goods, fame, etc. and instead looking at it like Alan says – if money didn’t matter and I could do anything right now… what would it be?
Don’t worry about the whole career or job thing right now, just begin with what you like. Then think about what you feel you can contribute to the world, whether it be to just one person or a whole community (or the entire globe!). Educating others, contribution to a project, and bringing joy to others are all examples of ways you could contribute to the world.
Then grab a piece of paper and write:
“What do I enjoy doing? What makes me tick or gets me excited?”
“What would my ideal day look like if I could do what I wanted to do?”
“What is my ideal job? What does it look like?”
“What are my favorite hobbies or things to do?”
Once you start answering some of these more basic questions, we dive into things like:
“Why do I like these things I enjoy doing?”
“What about them are interesting to me?”
What this does is gets you thinking about yourself and the things that you enjoy. More importantly, it gets you thinking about why you enjoy them. This is key, because it helps you to isolate the elements of those activities that are important to you. You can then use that knowledge to find or incorporate those things into many different tasks or jobs. Because sometimes you really should ‘sweat the small stuff.’ Sometimes it’s those little details which make a job really great, or really awful.
In the end it’s all about participating in activities that bring you joy and ignite your passion, even if it’s only for a few hours a week. The key is trying not to get too stressed about the process either. Worrying that you can’t find your passion or your purpose is not going to help you find it. Have fun and be playful with it. The answer may also change a year from now or 5 years from now. It is human nature to change and to grow, and our passions and interests may change as we do.
Do you want to bring more happiness into your life?
We know instinctively that meaning and purpose are necessary in order to live a fulfilling life, with those of us in a career we love often held in high regard. But regardless of how passionate you may be about your career, we all need a hobby – an interest outside of work that we truly love to do. The benefits of purpose and hobbies, however, go beyond quality of life.
Japanese culture has a concept calledikigai, which roughly translates to “purpose in life.” Ikigai has traditionally been associated with health and longevity. One study on over 4000 adults set out to determine if this theory was true.
All participants were over 65, with:
More than 1800 identified as at high risk of death
More than 1200 at high risk of losing ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs)
More than 1100 at risk of losing their ability to perform instrumental ADLs.
Data from February 2011 to November 2014 was used, which can be a long time when it comes to age-related disability. Compared to people who had both hobbies and an ikigai, having neither of these was associated with double the risk of mortality, close to triple the risk of losing ADL abilities, and almost double the risk of losing IADL abilities!
Therefore, hobbies andikigai were linked to increased longevity and healthy life expectancy in older adults.
This was not the only study that found a link between purpose in life and longevity. Another study on 6000 adults with a 14-year follow-up time found that people who initially reported a strong purpose in life had a 15% lower risk of dying from any cause.
Other research found that those who described clear goals and purpose lived both longer and better than those who did not. In fact, other “Blue Zone” cultures (areas with a high prevalence of centenarians) besides the Okinawans of Japan value purpose, with the Nicoyan (Costa Rica) people calling it plan de vida.
So how can you find your own iikigai, or plan de vida, if you haven’t already? A great way to start is by doing an internal inventory.
Take a piece of paper, and for 20-30 minutes think of all your ideals, principles, standards, and morals, then think of your physical, mental, and emotional talents, strengths, and abilities.
It can take a while, maybe even a couple of attempts, to get an idea of what you really want, but you know you’re getting close if anything brings out a strong emotional reaction. And then…put your skills into action!
It’s also important to build relationships with people who can help you achieve your goals. Overall, longevity is for everyone, and it turns out that some of the best ways to extend your life also improve its quality.
This year, the oldest of the Baby Boomers are turning 70. But these late-decades of life aren’t what it used to be. With celebrities such as Cher (who turned 71 this year) no longer holding a monopoly over looking and acting younger. The UK’s Oxford Institute of Population Aging even recommends that people in their 70’s and 80’s be called “active adults” instead of “old.”
Even the Daily Mailhas added to the discussion, with a few writers who are, well, rewriting what it means to be over 70.
First up is Angela Neustatter, who at 73 looks years younger than you’d expect. She attributes her youthfulness to yoga, Pilates, a house full of stairs, sex, and stepping back from emotional conflict. Angela does and wears what she wants, even mini skirts and leggings!
Angela Neustatter
Lesley Pearse also appears to be in her 50’s at the age of 72. Her “normal” involves parties, swimming, and scrambling around her cliff-top garden.
Lesley Pearse
Jan Leeming is still a BBC newsreader at the age of 75. As part of the first generation of women to have lifelong careers, she doesn’t see the point of retiring or giving up travel or physical activity.
Jan Leeming
Jo Foley is also very grateful for a life of freedom, so unlike her mother’s generation. She describes the new and improved “normal” as: “In our 70s we shop at Zara, drink pisco sours, take slow boats along the Mekong and talk to ourselves without contradiction.” Jo then adds, “Did we ever think to thank our parents,” referring to the restricted life of marriage, children, staying home and growing old that she saw in previous generations.
Jo Foley
Older age groups growing younger are nothing new, however. Dr Martin Connolly, Freemason’s Professor of Geriatric Medicine at Auckland University, says that 90-somethings today are the same in terms of health and fitness as 70-somethings at the end of World War One. He describes meeting someone over 90 as “rare” thirty years ago, but common now. And despite his position, he struggles to pinpoint the age of someone over 90 by looking at them, even though he has an easy time of doing the same for someone under 90.
This may be because researchers have found that aging appears to stop at around 90 in humans (with a range of 80-100), and at different ages in other animals. It’s hard to get your head around, but we do have our own mechanisms of fighting key drivers of aging such as oxidative stress and inflammation, and the aim of this research is to keep those mechanisms strong.
Overall, these days, we don’t have as much to fear or put up with as we once thought, as times are changing in ways we didn’t previously expect.
Usually when we hear about life expectancy rising and death rates falling, the good news is accompanied by handwringing about living in a “greying world” and a supposedly increasing proportion of people who must depend on others for health reasons. But times are changing, as life at certain age groups is not what it was even one generation ago.
Who would have thought that this could be a 51 year old woman’s life: teaching yoga at a hip hotel and club; sharing clothes and yoga challenges with her 19 year old daughter; and is in love with travelling? Such is the life of Polly Kemp, and it’s becoming increasingly common.
Polly says that when she hears the term middle-aged, “I have to stop and think, ‘Is this meant to be me?’ I don’t polish silver or plan menus, and I’m not interested in housework. I am also spontaneous and I don’t think that’s a quality traditionally associated with middle age."”
Even the author of the article adds that 40 years ago, she would have pictured her 53 year old self as having much shorter, greyer hair, and wearing “frocks and face powder” instead of jeans and CC cream.
Polly, here with daughter Iggy, embraces an age-defying lifestyle CREDIT: RICK PUSHINSKY
It Isn’t Just These 2 Women, Either
In a survey of over 500 women performed by the UK Telegraph:
96% of women over 40 do not consider themselves to be “middle-aged”
90% said they had a younger attitude than their mothers at the same age
84% used products and services aimed at younger women
Almost 66% said they felt as vibrant and young as they ever had.
Unfortunately, the media hasn’t caught up to these changes, choosing to hold onto the old ways. Women over 40, 50, 60, and sometimes even older are no longer confining their lives to, as the Telegraph describes, “lawnmowers and Rotary Clubs, cheese and wine parties, elastic waists, river cruises and walking tours of Madeira.”
I myself could not imagine my friends of those ages living in such a restricted way!
The “ageless generation”, also referred to as “perennials,” is also gaining ground in a literal sense. As far back as 1939, British statisticians Major Greenwood and J.O. Irwin found that aging seems to stop at around 90! Even they were confused, stating that: “At first sight this must seem a preposterous speculation.”
Not only did their findings seem counterintuitive, but 1939 was also a bad year to attempt making scientific history because of other world events. Much more recently, Michael Rose has done more research on the matter, with even data from other species showing that there is a point where aging stops if you live long enough – at about 90 for humans, but at different times for other animals.
If you’re a longevity enthusiast, I’ve got some news for you. After all of these years, aging itself is on its way to be officially classified as a disease. Of course, it’s taken decades of improving life expectancy and survival rates due to better living standards and lifestyles, but it is most likely worth the wait.
Why?
This could mean that antiaging will be taken more seriously by the health industry and society as a whole, including insurance companies. It may also raise the value of prevention, instead of just waiting for health problems to appear or reach a certain level of severity before treatment.
So, What Happened Exactly?
Two years ago, researchers managed to convince the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve a human lifespan study of metformin, which is currently used for blood sugar control. But it may end up being the first drug approved specifically to ‘treat’ aging.
The study, known as the TAME Study (Targeting Aging With Metformin) started up in 2016, aiming to enroll 3,000 people aged 70-80 and study the effects of metformin over 5-7 years. Everyone must be at risk of or have one or more of the following: cancer, heart disease, or dementia. If metformin can delay or prevent these and delay death, the next step is to test it in younger people.
But why Metformin?
High blood sugar and insulin resistance are key factors in aging and other complex, chronic illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. But this is not the only way that metformin could fight aging. Metformin works by acting on an enzyme called AMPK (adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase), which regulates how cells process energy.
AMPK boosts metabolism, which may aid weight loss by burning more sugar and fat; it improves blood flow and body composition; it aids cell detoxification and renewal; and it has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory effects.
On the other hand, unaddressed aging results in slowing metabolism and weight gain; muscle loss; poor circulation and detoxification, and a vicious cycle of inflammation.
Is Metformin Really the Best Solution to Aging?
Unfortunately, no. Aging is a complex ‘disease’ involving chronic inflammation, so health and longevity promoting strategies that target the whole person are likely to be far more effective. As it is multifactorial, focusing on one aspect of it is probably not the best strategy, as other complex, chronic diseases do not respond to this method.
Metformin is not without side effects, either. It has a black box warning for the rare-but-dangerous side effect of lactic acidosis, which is especially problematic in reduced kidney function. It may also be pro-inflammatory and increase production of beta-amyloid protein, which gets tangled in brain tissue as it accumulates and causes the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. If you want to use pharmaceutical drugs, aspirin is an anti-inflammatory AMPK activator.
So What Can We Do to Fight Aging?
There are natural antiaging therapies which also activate AMPK, without the side effects.
Intermittent fasting, where food intake is confined to 8-12 hours of the day, has been shown to promote longevity and fight age-related diseases.
Exercise not only keeps the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems strong, but also activates AMPK, especially in high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
Cold water immersion, especially after exercise, also enhances AMPK.
There are also herbal remedies that can activate AMPK, such as Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Southern Ginseng). One human study involving diabetic patients found that this herb reduced haemoglobin A1c ten-fold, which measures the rate of glycation (a very pro-aging process). It also decreased insulin resistance by three-fold and did not cause dangerously low blood sugar. It has been used as a pro-longevity herb in some Chinese circles for hundreds of years, but only now do we know exactly how it works and how to best use it.
Until now, long-distance space travel has always been exclusively found in sci-fi books and flicks. I say “until now” because U.S. researchers have successfully reanimated cryogenically frozen life, in the form of frozen zebra fish embryos – something scientists have been trying to do for 60 years. [1]
If you want to live forever – or you just want to see if we’re finally driving flying cars in 2030 – it might be possible with cryogenic freezing.
The problem was always trying to defrost the organism. Frozen water expands, causing ice to burst cells from the inside out. Scientists have long considered replacing the body’s fluids with antifreeze. For decades now, there have been antifreeze-filled zebra fish embryos snap-frozen to -196C in liquid nitrogen, just waiting for researchers to figure out how to bring them back to life.
“The large size of the yolk still impedes rapid cooling and warming, thereby yielding lethal ice crystal formation during cryopreservation.”
The researchers had hoped that using a millisecond-long flash of heat from a laser would raise temperatures fast enough and evenly enough to avoid ice crystal formation, but the experiment failed. They needed to find a way to get ahead of the ice formation.
US researchers have successfully reanimated zebra fish embryos after ‘deep freezing’ them in a cryogenic suspension process. Source: ACS NanoSource:Supplied
Instead, the zebra fish embryos were revived using an additive to the original antifreeze: gold nano-rods. The tiny metal fragments successfully conducted the laser’s heat quickly and more evenly.
Researchers refilled the zebra fish embryos with the revamped antifreeze, kept them at -196C for a few minutes, and then used the laser to rapidly defrost them.
The researchers write:
“This rapid warming process led to the outrunning of ice formation, which can damage the embryos.”
About 10% of the embryos sprang back to life and continued to develop for 24 hours. [2]
To be Used on Humans? Space Travel?
The rather simple technology could one day allow people to travel through time or to “doze off” until a cure can be found for whatever disease it is they suffer from.
Source: The Sun
And yes, it could even be used for long-distance space travel. If astronauts could be could be placed in a state of suspended animation, they would require less food and water, and other basic facilities. In turn, the craft would be lighter, faster, and the travelers might avoid going insane from living together in such tight quarters for such a long time. [3]
It’s going to a long time until humans can be frozen and revived (and being pumped full of antifreeze doesn’t seem too nice), but if landing on the moon was one giant leap for mankind, consider this a good trampoline bounce. The question is, how many people would risk it?
Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.
There’s a body of research — treatments, cures, procedures — that are afforded by wealthy elites, quietly worked on in private labs and little talked about in the media.
While this seems like the plot from a Twilight Zone episode, like all good Twilight Zone episodes, it’s much more science fact than science fiction.
Will having more wealth actually make you happier? According to a number of studies an addition to your income isn’t only unlikely to make you happier, but it can make those around you less happy, and you for the fear of losing it.
To explain, we must first look at a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research. Two economists, David Blanchflower of Dartmouth and Andrew Oswald of Warwick, set out to document the relation that age has to overall happiness. What they found was that as income tends to increase steadily over time, happiness follows a U-shape pattern, dipping to its lowest point at around age 45, then quickly climbing up thereafter.
A large-scale survey from the General Social Survey, which included around 20,000 men and 25,000 women of 16 years and older supports these findings. After asking Americans to rank their happiness on a 3 point scale ranging from “very happy” to “pretty happy” to “not too happy”, they found a resulting average of 2.2, or just over “pretty happy”. The Eurobaromoter, after conducting a similar survey on close to 400,000 men and women in 11 European countries from 1975 to 1998 found that the average self-assessed happiness score across Europe is 3 out of 4.
After further investigation, Oswald and Blanchflower found that the age of any given person in the developing world is more powerful in determining overall happiness than a halving or doubling of income. Also, they found that people of every gender and income have become enormously less happy throughout the past century. The difference in levels of happiness between those born in the 1960’s vs the 1920’s is the same effect as a tenfold difference in income, despite the fact that the younger generation is far more prosperous.
“I thought, if I could make 10 million dollars then it must be too easy. In fact, I honestly thought, everyone else had probably already made 11 million dollars. So then I felt poor again. I now needed 100 million dollars to be happy.” ~James Altucher
What could explain this sharp decrease in happiness over time? Well, one of the largest societal changes that occurred throughout the 20th century was the onset of a mass consumerist culture. Before the roaring 1920’s, life was much simpler and people didn’t have strong desires for material things beyond the basics to live a fulfilling life like we do today.
On a scientific level, the ultimate reward for the purchase of a new watch, car, or other status symbol is a short-term release in dopamine which triggers a brief period of personal satisfaction. This is why we feel good after buying new things and it’s where the term “retail therapy” comes from. However, the happiness one gets from material worth is short-lived. After time, the buyer will revert back to their original demeanor, while obtaining a sense of comfort and security from those new things they bought.
From this perspective, it begins to make sense why prosperous people in the developing world are some of the most prone to depression; they become afraid of losing what they have which their peers don’t. In fact, those on the opposite end are shown to have the reverse effect and often become more depressed when around those with greater wealth. Contrary to popular belief that areas of high poverty produce higher homicide rates, it is actually those with the highest income disparity.
“Riches leave a man always as much and sometimes more exposed than before to anxiety, to fear and to sorrow.” ~Adam Smith
A confidential memo from the United Nations, sent shortly after Trump moved into the White House, made an "urgent appeal" to the Trump administration that a repeal of Obamacare could violate international law. Oh yeah, and it would also be racist as well. Unfortunately, this is not hyperbole.
The letter was written by Dainius Puras whose official title is:
“Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health"
Unfortunately, that also is not hyperbole...that is his real, official title as signed on the letter below.
Apparently the letter was originated after Puras received some "information", undoubtedly from the Obama administration, suggesting that a repeal of Obamacare would leave 30 million people without any access to healthcare and doomed to a sudden, painful death.
"I would like to bring to the attention of your Government information I have received concerning the possibility to repeal core elements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with negative impacts on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health in the United States, in particular those with moderate or low income and in situations of poverty or social exclusion."
“Recent reports have assessed the negative impact that this reform may have on the right to health of almost 30 million people in the U.S."
"In this context, I would like to draw the attention of your Government to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR has become a source and expression of international customary law and all States, including the United States of America, are obliged to protect and guarantee the rights enshrined therein."
Why do we suddenly feel like Brandt in regards to Puras" revelation of "certain information, man."
Then, just when you think Puras" letter couldn"t get any more ridiculous, you get to the part where he suggests that anything short of universal, taxpayer-funded healthcare is just racist.
"In this connection, I would like to refer your Government to article 5 (e) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Form of Racial Discrimination, ratified by the United States of America in 1994. Under this article, States parties undertake to guarantee the right of everyone to a number of economic, social and cultural right, without distinction as to race, colour, or national ethnic origin."
Of course, taking the most loose interpretation of the guidelines above, as we"re sure Puras does, we would speculate that roughly 100% of the countries in the world are in violation of "international law."
And don"t even get us started on the irony of this letter in light of the fact that the UN, in it"s infinite wisdom, has just appointed Saudi Arabia to the "UN Women"s Commission." As one person noted, "electing Saudi Arabia to protect women"s rights is like making an arsonist into the town fire chief."
Finally, while we would never argue "international law" with Puras, as he"s clearly an expert in the irrelevant, we would offer the following observation from the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
You see, Mr. Puras, in the United States we don"t "guarantee" people free shit, we simply guarantee them the right to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"...notice, we don"t "guarantee" everyone "Happiness" or healthcare or a free Ferrari on their 16th birthday...what we do guarantee is a stable environment where all people can "pursue" those things on their own if they so choose.
The first nationwide “Thanksgiving” holiday was proclaimed by inaugural president George Washington on Thursday, November 26, 1789, as a day of “Public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and significant favors of Almighty God.”
Whether mankind’s life exists through a forethought gift of a Divine Creator or by the random chance of two rocks colliding (though I would like to know from where the rocks came and what caused their motion), individual intelligent life does exist, and as all reading these words possess this beneficiary state of being that was beyond our own choosing, which is the central condition through which all prosperity comes, then it is this intrinsic form of existing as a living being that must form the foundation our most humble state of thankfulness. That is to say, life itself is the central reason for gratitude, to be given either to an inanimate universe (that somehow formed life without being alive itself) or to an Almighty Creator, whose mind and abilities are beyond the comprehension of mankind, just as the workings of an airplane are to a canine, to whom a lack of understanding of its intricacies does not negate the Truth of its forethoughtdesign.
Regardless of its origin, the Believer and the atheist alike have reason to be grateful for the gift of life, for without it, nothing else would matter. Even if an Eternal Being were the cause of it, and no afterlife was granted following mortality, we would still be obliged to give thanks for the hours and days we received, completely unmerited. This is why, when I do express thanks for the many undeserved blessings of existence, my Number One acknowledgement is for life itself, even if there were no afterlife following its conclusion.
As I do observe and acknowledge the design in all of nature, as did Einstein, Newton, Galileo, Copernicus, and DaVinci, as the insides of our very beings display complete intentional order and purpose, and suggesting that lower forms of life created higher forms of life is as completely contrary, just as a first grader developing algebra would be, the next level of thankfulness that my heart ascends to is the hope and promise of Eternal Life. When the cartoon character robot “Bender” from the program “Futurama” found out that he only had one million years to live, he famously said, “Anything less than immortality is a complete waste of time.” He is profoundly right. Even if mortal man could live a million years, the time would eventually come to an end, along with all the memories thereof. Sad.
Part of being a Believer in a Divine Creator is the understanding from the ancient scriptures, as well as from secular history (which actually corroborate each other fully, with exception only to the “Creation” account, which one either accepts on Faith or questions in doubt), both of which tell the account of mankind falling from being loving and peaceful in nature to hateful and warlike. (Even atheists agree with this.) As such, for those who believe in a Creator rather than an “accident” (the latter likely for a desire of unaccountable self-rule). Believers understand that a plan was enacted to reverse this deadly trend, by the Creator personally visiting His creation, demonstrating the Way of Life that was lost through contagious self-centeredness. By adhering to this Divine Doctrine, the sinful nature of man is restored, the byproduct of which is Eternal Life. Thereby, my Number Two expression of thankfulness, is to the Messiah for sacrificing His heavenly comforts to take on the lowly form of a homeless man, to reverse the poison of hatred with love, and through Himalone, one may take hold of the only acquisition worth anything, that of Everlasting Life, because . . . “Anything less than immortality is a complete waste of time.”
Number Three in my list of Thankfulness is the Messiah’s Church and my local Inspirational Pastor, which is a gymnasium, and who is a coach, for my striving soul. The Savior plainly said, “Those who hold to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13) Quitting smoking once is not enough to overcome lung cancer. One must fight and stayquitforall time in order to be cancer free. In the same way, getting “Saved” is not enough to enter eternal life. One must stay saved in order to take hold of the victory. (See Hebrews 10:26-29 & Romans 6:1-23) The Scripturally Sound Church trains the soul for continual maturity and keeps the soul in the Saving Grace of God. Without this discipline and likeminded fellowship, the spiritual athlete will drift into unhealthy worldly habits that will entrap them again into the very enslaving sins from which they just got saved. (See 2nd Peter 2:1-22)
Number Four: My Darling Wife; Partner in Life; Partner in The Faith. My friend and inspiration in life.
Number Five: My home and income. While only 425 square feet and less than $1000 a month from Social Security, it is clean and orderly, in a great neighborhood, has affordable income based rent, and utilities are included! The modest stipend from the government allows me to invest my most finite time into inspirational writing such as this, developing “Dream” projects to help others, and removes me from the debilitating and soul-crushing “Rat Race.” I make less money now than I ever have, and I am happier now than I have ever been.
Number Six: The Sleuth Journal and their operators Wendy & Matthew. They work tirelessly to bring the Truth to those who seek it in a world filled with lies, granting me the opportunity to share my perspective in this shared quest.
Number Seven: My supporters and contributors, the chief among whom are Simon and John, as well as this short list of those who “put their money where their mouth is” in our quest for Truth through regular Pay Pal Donations . . .
Brett – Andy – James – Ralph – Joseph – Patricia – Graham – Adam – Romerico – Chris – Robert – Russ – Donald – Golden – Alain – Einar – Allan – Andrew – Patrik – Snowman
Thank you ALL
I will discuss all this, and much more, in this week’s episode of Conspiracy Corner News.
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Angela Neustatter
Lesley Pearse
Jan Leeming
Jo Foley
Polly, here with daughter Iggy, embraces an age-defying lifestyle CREDIT: RICK PUSHINSKY
