Free Public Lecture and Reception: British Author Anthony Peake at the Landmark Roosevelt Hotel

Free Public Lecture and Reception: British Author Anthony Peake at the Landmark Roosevelt Hotel

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Quantum Consciousness and the Recurring Self: Cheating the Ferryman Comes to Midtown

For more information on the upcoming August event,  see:

http://anthonypeakeinnewyorkcity.eventbrite.com/

and http://ndelecture.eventbrite.com/

Peake :  A divided self which cheats death.

Michael Jackson's celebrity suicide | Salon Arts & Entertainment

This piece by Bill Wyman says it all,  says it the best,  leaves no stone unturned:


Michael Jackson's celebrity suicide | Salon Arts & Entertainment

Jackson : Death Comes at 50 in LA

The LA Times has reported that Michael Jackson's death at age 50 is confirmed.  Another end of an era passing...."Resurgem"   He began as a member of the Jackson 5 when he was all but 11 years old, but it was his solo career,  particularly in the '80s,  with the dawn of MTV and Thriller, which seared him into the memories of Generation X and "Jones"  ( those of us who were born circa 1960).   Let people say what they may about the allegations of indecency with minors;  he was a master performer and musical genius,  and one of a kind. 

Slavery and the Health Care Crisis

Firedoglake » Slavery and the Health Care Crisis

So Obama is Still Sneaking the Occassional Cigarette....From ABC news

With press demanding to know from the President if he still smokes, and if current tobacco industry legislation will effect him,  I wonder why he does not take the opportunity to admit that smoking cannot be legislated,  anymore than prohibition was just or effective regarding alcohol consumption.  Howe and Strauss had even brought up the possibility,  in their study of American historical saeculum and its future potential ( "The Fourth Turning")  of a turning away from current hard-nosed Boomer attitudes and toward X and millennial robustness.

And with the way MSNBC's Chuck Todd went after Obama on Iran tonight,  I think Obama may just chain smoke.....

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/06/reluctantly-president-obama-admits-he-still-smokes-but-is-95-cured.html

Father's Day When the Father is Dead

Today was Father's Day Sunday in the U.S.  I lost my own father when I was a teenager,  and my son lost his,  at the same age. Our fathers were both 52 at death.  We were both 18.   Today we were both without our fathers,  and I was thinking of my son's father,  my husband,  who vanished  in 2006:  He was cut down in his prime.

Death is not a popular subject in these times.  To ponder dead fathers on Father's Day runs counter to the retail ads where it's "all about Dad".  But I do recall a feeling of delight I had in my early 20s,  when  coming upon a passage in The Journals of Soren Kierkegaard,  in which he mused on his own dead father.  "I am saved by one dead"  said the melancholy Dane,  "but I cannot imagine being saved by one living. . .  And so I am happy in my unhappiness.".  That is akin to my own stance,  past and present.   Secret communion with the dead is anti-postmodern.  Its thinking  belongs to the age of the Romantic.  It is transcendent in a sense that America lost with the Civil War era:  No Emersonian sentiments mar our current cultural landscape.

Yet there is something Daemonic in the classical sense, in looking away from the glare,  and down into the depths.  Hamlet was obsessed with his dead father:  In this sense,  Denmark "became a prison":  No longer could the young prince find delight in the realm of sunlight:  "I have been too much in the sun",  he told the new King.    Through the dead father,  Hamlet found new well springs for his being.  The dead keep us rooted in wholeness.  I miss my husband,  but he is not lost to me in the most profound sense.  Happy Father's Day,  Andy.

Exposing a Swindler: The Truth About a Pathological Liar | Joana Morais

This disturbing piece from the blog of Joana Morais, about journalist Duarte Levy, raises a host of questions regarding sock puppetry, its causes, its complications, and its danger to true investigative reporting. I had admired a lot of the pieces by Duarte, and I believe he appears in Goncalo Amaral's own documentary. For those of us who have harbored reasonable suspicions about the McCann case, it is another example of how the truth seekers need to be watched.

At the same time that I have much respect for the following 2 pieces,  and for their authors' respective integrity,  I am not rushing to judgment on Duarte.   Pieces by his pseudonym Simon de Bruxelles appear on the Times Online and are well-written and accurate. The use of  pseudonyms by writers is time honored,   and a generally approved practice.   In the Internet age,  even moreso:  One of the most excellent psychological blogs I belong to has a self professed pseudonym as web master.   As far as the other disturbing allegations about Duarte ,  I think they stand.


Exposing a Swindler: The Truth About a Pathological Liar | Joana Morais

Another fine piece by Textusa:  Mr. Duarte Levy: An Opinion

Knox Testifies in Perugia

Amanda%20Knox%20took%20%27full%20advantage%27%20of%20chance%20to%20testify%2C%20her%20father%20says

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Obama's Defense of Marriage No Surprise

I have just read the piece by Earl Ofari Hutchinson in OpEd News entitled, "Obama's Defense of Marriage Shouldn't Surprise or Anger Anyone". I agree. Obama made clear on the campaign trail, that while he did support civil unions, he did not condone changing the traditional definition of marriage as a union of one man and woman. Obama has been honest and consistent in both his traditional view of marriage and his support of gay rights. He is not the hypocrite; and that some gay marriage advocates now accuse him of flip flopping is underhanded and mean-spirited. The link to Hutchinson's piece:
OpEdNews » OpEdNews

Anthony Peake, British Author and "AfterLife" Theorist in NYC Aug 3

                                                (placard design,  lay out:  Ruth Ahlgren)

Mon. Aug. 3  6-9 PM
Roosevelt Hotel
45 E 45 St & Madison Av NY
2nd floor,  Conference Mezzanine
Broadway Suite 
Anthony Peake,  British Author and Theorist 
"The Secret Self and its Gift to Us at Death"
Lecture and Discussion 
Free Admission  Reception for the Author
Book Sale and Signing 

Don't Cede More Economic Authority to Unaccountable Fed

Don't Cede More Economic Authority to Unaccountable Fed

Rural Democrats differ with Barack Obama - Lisa Lerer and Jonathan Martin - POLITICO.com

Rural Democrats differ with Barack Obama - Lisa Lerer and Jonathan Martin - POLITICO.com

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Anthony Peake Events

Mon. Aug 3  6-9 p.m.  Roosevelt Hotel
45 East 45 St and Madison Av,  Midtown Manhattan
Lecture,  Discussion,  Author Book Sale and Signing
Free Admission;  Public Reception for the Author
Open Bar and Buffet


Tues Aug 4 4-6 p.m.
Hartmann Lounge in the Mansion
Fairleigh Dickinson University, 
Madison NJ
Meet the Author 
Book Signing
Coffee and Cake 


contact:  smk.gnosismedia@gmail.com

Another Republican Sends Racist Obama Email | NewsOne

From the I Ching:
There is food in the cauldron
My enemy is envious
but he cannot harm me...

Another Republican Sends Racist Obama Email | NewsOne

Canada joins chorus of protest over Iran election, violence

Canada joins chorus of protest over Iran election, violence

Obama Must Walk a Fine Line on the Spread of Democracy

I found an interesting post this morning,  which echoed my own thoughts.  President Obama should be admired for his subtlety,  his lack of inspiration ( in the good sense,  thinking here of British empiricist David Hume's maxim that,  "inspired men are dangerous").  But he must at the same time not allow this stance to become soft or spineless.  The link:  http://volokh.com/posts/1245043630.shtml

Muammar Ghadaffi Leader of African Union

The African Union,  comprised of some 53 states,   is now led by the "mad dog of the Middle East",  Colonel Muammar Ghadaffi of Libya.  Examiner  journalist Sam Brown has warned that this "does not bode well"  in terms of an area which is "riding the...wave"  of rising democratization.  Ghadaffi has a long history of being anti-democratic,  in both words and deeds.  If mad actions a mad man make,  then there is indeed cause for some worry.   Ghadaffi has referred to President Barack Obama as "Kenyan"  and "our brother".  One wonders what if any changes will come from the interaction of President Obama and the President of the African Union.

Relevance? The Prosecution and Amanda Knox

Image via Wikipedia

OK. But why is the prosecution asking useless questions such as : How long had she known her boyfriend before she consented to sex with him? (A: One day, I fell for him right away.) Why are they pointing out that she was wild at a party in Seattle, before she went to Perugia? Why are they asking about sex toys? What does any of this prove regarding the murder of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher? The prosecution had better have more than this to offer the jury....IMHO, it makes them look as though they have a weak case against Knox.


I had drugs and sex, Knox tells court - Europe- msnbc.com

Wikipedia and US Politics

Wikipedia is nothing if not clarifying. Yikes:

clipped from personaldemocracy.com Wikipedia Resolves New York State Senate Fight You'd be forgiven if you're a non-New Yorker and you find what's been happening in the New York State Senate this week confusing. Even from close up, it's super confusing. Who, exactly, is running the place? Unclear. The recently-revamped State Senate website still lists Democrat Malcolm Smith as Senate Majority Leader, while the courts are today wrestling with who is actually in control up there in Albany. There's one place, though, where clarity reigns:  Wikipedia. The entry for Majority Leader of the New York State Senate reads: "The current Majority Leader is Dean Skelos, who replaced Malcolm Smith on June 8, 2009, when Democrats Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada, Jr., joined the 30 Republican members of the State Senate to change the leadership." That line was changed by user "Co096392" at 8:50pm, June 8th, just after the struggle over power went down -- and hasn't been touched since.