Consciousness: The Bridge Between Science and Religion

A brief article about the reconciliation of two of the most significant, seemingly diametrically opposed approaches to understanding reality in our times. Religious dogmatism held back the development of our understanding of the physical world for centuries – is scientific dogmatic thinking stopping us from truly understanding the nature of consciousness?

Via Waking Times:

Science and religion often seem poles apart–and in many ways they are. But I believe the two can, and will eventually, be united, and their meeting point will be human consciousness.

That we are conscious beings is the most obvious fact of our existence. Indeed, all we ever know are the thoughts, images, and feelings arising in our consciousness. Yet as far as Western science is concerned, there is nothing more difficult to explain. Why should the complex processing of information in the brain lead to an inner personal experience? Why doesn’t it all go on in the dark, without any awareness? Why do we have any inner life at all?

Let’s Fight Big Pharma’s Crusade to Turn Eccentricity Into Illness

Eventually, only the natural conformists won’t be on medication.

Via Wired:

Editor’s Note: The controversial fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM-5 (a.k.a. the manual formerly known as “DSM-V”) was just released – after a 14-year revision process to update its criteria for defining mental disorders. This opinion is from the former taskforce chairman and leader of previous DSM editions.

Nature takes the long view, mankind the short. Nature picks diversity; we pick standardization. We are homogenizing our crops and homogenizing our people. And Big Pharma seems intent on pursuing a parallel attempt to create its own brand of human monoculture.

A Better Tomorrow II and Hard Boiled

It’s Friday night, so here’s a double bill of hyper-stylized, slow motion gunplay from one-time master of action cinema, John Woo (until he moved to Hollywood, where things generally went downhill pretty quickly). What’s always entertaining about Woo’s early Hong Kong cinema is how he manages to squeeze so much melodrama into the story – they might be silly plots but it’s good to see characters with some emotions – as they fill each other with bullets and blow shit up …

Draw My Life

Woolwich and Terror: We Must Resist Having Our Enemies Constructed For Us

Woolwich and Terror: We Must Resist Having Our Enemies Constructed For Us. Potent words.

Woolwich murder definitely bringing out the best in everyone

I was going to write an article about this but this pretty much sums it up. The EDL are a bit like the Nazi Brownshirts, aren’t they?

Via News Thump:

The sickening terrorism attack on a soldier in Woolwich has really brought out the caring, tolerant and inclusive sides of society, according to reports this morning.

With numerous calls to ‘send em back’, ‘bomb the hell out of wherever they come from’ or ‘let the people on the street deal with them’, British society is celebrating one of its finest hours.

English Defence League member Steve Matthews told us, “When I heard the news I was sickened, but then I began sporting a huge erection when I realised how this will give me an opportunity to spout my vile opinions.”

Boards of Canada – Reach for the Dead