The Million dollars was my life-savings earmarked for prime the pump money for my biotech start-up. I am the Gerald Armstrong the owner of Gen Cells Cures…Gen Cells Cures is focused on private medical research for the individual. Searching for cures for incurable diseases and aging. Of course, with the best scientific technologies on the planet! With President Bush trying to ride the middle of the road on stem cell research and his rejection of therapeutic cloning. I packed my bags and went offshore. A great place to go, but leave your money at home. I transferred the money to a carribean island and the local banker stole every last penny.

The local government gave me back the money, but in their currency then devalued the currency almost 100% and I walked away almost flat broke. The banker also robbed 2.2 billion dollars of the local folks money. He bought himself out of the scandel and is enjoying my million along with the other billions he robbed and his new helocopters and yahts in his home-country! I am pretty sure he will show up on the Forbes billionaire list next year. Not a bad business…Robbing banks, if you have the conscience for it! Don’t worry about the country, the International Monetary Fund stepped in to replace the stolen money, no questions asked. The American Embassy screamed for justice in the scandel but to no avail.

After the electric company cut my lights for non-payment I lost all of my cell lines and had to shut down the lab. Chris Reeve had expressed an interest in helping me get back on track before his untimely passing. I had to give up my small scale philanthropy of giving food to the poor people that I had met on the island. My favorite individual charity was a young lady and her three children whose husband had died of cancer in his early 60’s. She and her children are on the street. I have discontinued her support because I don’t have the $200 monthly it takes for her food and housing costs. I have contacted several billionaires for help in opening my doors again (the biotech and my food charity) while at the same time looking for their future cures. I was turned down flat by the Annenberg’s from Pennsylvania, Jeff Skoll, Pierre and Pam Omidyar and Carl and Eloise Pohlad from Minnesota. James and Virginia Stowers never answered my letter. I was hoping for maybe some hand me down michroscopes from their biotech.

Hey but Jim Pattison the owner of “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not” from Canada is considering us, and Kirk Kerkorian appreciated it, and Richard Branson is keeping us in mind in the event that he needs our services, however, Richard Branson probably has some of the best genes that any one could ever want …living life like a teenager at 54 with all of his famous stunts. I wouldn’t be surprised if he lives to be over 100 years old without Gen Cells Cure’s help. But a little help from Gen Cells Cures medical scientists could guarantee that he sees 100 plus! Plus! But let’s wait to see what Donald has to say about the idea…That is Donald trump. So far not one penny is back in the Gen Cells Cures coffers.

Article by Gerald Armstrong- scientist0707@yahoo.com Gerald is the owner of Gen Cells Cures- http://www.msnusers.com/cures
Visit his site for information on cures for incurable diseases and aging.

You have my permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

Gerald Armstrong the owner of the biotech Gen Cells Cures focused on cures fore incurable diseases

Environmental Pollution

1. Damage to The Ozone Layer Causes Radiation Pollution

The hole in the ozone layer above the North Pole is becoming larger, allowing large volumes of ultraviolet radiation to fall directly on the Earth’s surface, causing destruction and harm to humanity, and resulting in skin cancer and other bodily ailments. At the same time, it reduces the rate at which green plants photosynthesise, thereby reducing oxygen content in the atmosphere.

This has extreme negative effects on the Earth. Health organisations all over the world are continuously researching on ways of reducing such harmful effects on humanity. In a direct attempt to address the issue, many are actively looking into the effects of radiation, and taking measures to rectify the situation, such as through modifying the coolant compartments in automobiles and refrigerators, and setting up new guidelines for certain products.

2.Acid Rain

The emission of pollutants and toxic gases into the atmosphere has resulted in chemical reactions, which cause acid rain. Acid rain damages the environment by, for example, corroding the metals we use in car doors and buildings. It also harms human health; the first sign of prolonged exposure to acid rain is the onset of skin ailments.

3.Agro-Chemicals

Many of the agricultural products, which we consume regularly, are sprayed with chemical pesticides that are harmful to humans. Some of these products may reach the consumer before an interval of time that is necessary for them to be safe and fit for human consumption. Consumers may unwittingly purchase these quick-to-the-market agricultural products, still tainted with chemicals, and expose their family to the harmful effects of these pesticides. Prolonged accumulation of these chemicals can cause irreversible damage to our health.

4. The Contamination of Western Medicine

Frequently, we see a new phenomenon. Whether is it among a family member or in the office, as soon as someone catches a cold or cough, it will inevitably spread quickly to someone else. Besides the highly contagious nature of the virus, the body’s low resistance to viruses also plays a part. The abusive use of antibiotics has resulted in viruses’ resistance to medicines as well as deterioration of the human body’s immunity system. The rates of contagious diseases are thus on the rise.

Air Pollution

Rapid worldwide industrialisation has increased the daily emission of toxic waste and gases. Vehicle exhaust fumes and dust are increasingly trapped in our environment and this is exacerbated in densely populated cities where smog blankets and traps polluted air.

Tobacoo Smoke（Public Places）

The harmful effects of nicotine found in tobacco smoke are well documented. Passive smokers who are exposed to tobacco smoke in public places can also suffer from the same ill effects as smokers themselves – lung diseases, damages to our brain cells, heart problems, strokes, poor blood circulation and high blood pressure are some of the more well known illnesses associated with tobacco smoke.

Indoor Air Pollution

On average, we spend 80% of our time indoors. The high cost of living and pressure for space have resulted in smaller living areas, with a higher tendency of congestion and poorer ventilation. Coupled with an enclosed indoor environment, these living conditions often come with pollutants such as cigarette smoke, dust, fungi and spores, droppings from dust mites, chemicals from photocopying machines and construction materials (glue, paint) and smoke from cooking. Sustained exposure to these elements can cause cancer, respiratory ailments such as asthma, hypersensitive rhinitis, hypersensitive dermatitis, and deterioration of the immune system.

1. Cooking Smoke (Kitchen and Restaurant)

Research reveals that cooking a meal is equivalent to smoking six cigarettes. Although the proportion of women in China who smoke is small, the mortality rate of these women who suffer from pulmonary diseases is high. Epidemiologists suggest that there is a strong correlationship between this and the inhalation of smoke and oily fumes while cooking.

2. Recycling of Accumulated Carbon Dioxide (Office and Bedroom)

Prolonged inhalation of carbon dioxide in an enclosed or badly ventilated office can result in fatigue and lack of concentration among office workers. Fatigue felt after a long journey in the car is also similarly caused by poor circulation of air where there is insufficient oxygen to replace the carbon dioxide.

3. Bacteria and Fungus Found Living In Air Conditioners (Office Buildings, Hospitals, Homes, etc)

It is essential to clean the filters of all air-conditioning systems regularly, be it centralised or single units. Filth in the units will lead to the growth of micro-organisms which will flow into the room through the inlet duct when the air-conditioner is switched on. Many cases of asthma today is closely related to allergy to these micro-organisms.

4. Air Pollution by Chenical Substances (Home, Office)

The scents and odours of household products like insecticides, detergents, deodorisers, mosquito coils, hair gels, hair sprays, glue, correction fluid, calcium carbonate, etc, are sometimes unhealthy. They may even be cancer-causing.

The Change in Lifestyle

1. Changes In Diet

In the modern diet, chemical additives occupy nearly 65% of all daily food content. In addition, fashionable trends in fast food resulted in people taking in excessive animal fats and food with high cholesterol contents. Such changes in eating habits resulted in people consuming too much unhealthy products and thus health is affected.

2. Lack of Exercise

Oxygen is important to the body. With exercise, oxygen will help to strengthen cardiac and lung functions. Exercise will also help to burn excess fats and reduces intravascular LDL ( low density lipoprotein cholesterol) to prevent arteriosclerosis. Exercising will benefit the health but when done excessively, it will result in hypoxia and overproduction of free radicals causing physiological imbalance.

3. Mental Stress

Changes in the present living environment: reductions in natural greens making way for the metropolis jungle, inter-personal relationships becoming increasingly superficial. As life’s pressures build up, so does stress in the workplace. The world of feelings and EQ succumb to imbalance. Many modern people suffer from the sickness of melancholy and this constitutes another concern of living in the modern society.

The Origin of Virus and Allergy

Man’s endless devastation to Mother Nature has resulted in severe environmental pollutions, and nature is reacting. The constant mutation of bacteria and virus variations, coupled with the bustle of world trade, has lent favor to virus broadcast. With developments in aviation and frequent travel, viruses are being disseminated at lightning speed across the globe. Strange illness abound, the pace of medical research cannot keep up with the unexpected speed of viral mutation. Plagues continue to endanger lives of humans and livestock. Life on earth is seriously threatened.

In addition, while most allergies do not endanger life, they can cause a person to live unhealthily or become unhappy. An example is dust allergy. Asia has the world’s highest incidences of asthma, 90% of such cases arises due to dust allergy. The common symptoms of dust allergy include: habitual early morning sneezes, running nose, blocked nose, cough, rhinitis, asthma, allergic conjunctivitis and uncommon dermatitis.

The above-mentioned issues constitute factors that threaten the survival of humanity, cause deterioration of health and increase mental stress, leading to unhealthy and unhappy lives.

Nur Syahid, a Natural Aromatherapist, specializes in Bio-Tech Aromatherapy including oxygen therapy, ozone therapy, health aromatherapy. Comments, Share and more info E-mail to : Healthybelair@yahoo.com

A true love story

“So, was it an eyes-meet-across-the-room-thing and you knew you were destined for each other instantly?” I asked my Mom. “No,” she laughed, “it was a swinging-door-thing and once we met, then we knew it was destiny.”

It was 1946 when my parents met in postwar Oldenburg, Germany while working for British Intelligence. Dad (a.k.a. Peter Russell) had survived WW II after being in many challenging battles. He was a “frightfully English chap” who grew up in the south of England. Mom (Blanche Moore - a.k.a. Pat Russell) had experienced the war in a different way. One of the many bombing raids on Belfast, Northern Ireland had demolished her family home.

It only took Dad one week after he saw Mom going through the now infamous swinging door into the Intelligence Offices, to make sure he was introduced to her. Once they met, they were inseparable and spent many hours dancing at the Officers Club in Oldenburg. Mom and Dad were known for being fabulous ballroom dancers and other dance participants would frequently stand aside and watch them together as they swirled around the dance floor, eyes locked on one another.. Dad was a lean, good-looking man of 6′ and he was handsome in his British Intelligence Uniform. Mom was and still is a petite 5′ 2" pretty Irish woman with twinkly eyes and a penchant for laughing a lot.

As they danced together, Dad would sing (in German):

“Do you remember the precious time when we came together for life, My heart sang a little melody for you day and night. Do you remember that beautiful time?

Even though youth will fade, songs of love will always stay. Should fate ever darken your happiness, My song will always light it up for you.”

They were the first British couple to be married in Oldenburg after the war. They were transferred to the village of Brake on the Weser River in Germany as a husband/wife team with British Intelligence specializing in political and counter intelligence. Dad had a network of agents under his supervision. He and his agents contributed to the break up of the Communist party in that area of Germany. “Peter and Pat’s” cover for being in post war Germany was the interrogation of returning prisoners of war from Russia.

But at night their real work would begin. Dad would direct and rendezvous with various agents in the field. Another agent, would cautiously make his way back to Mom with stolen documents. This home rendezvous would usually happen after midnight with Mom waiting nervously for the agent to arrive. She would then translate and type the information immediately, so that it could be sent to the head office of British Intelligence in London, England. It was a tense and nerve wracking time.

“Do you hear my secret calling Open up your sweet loving heart, When you have longingly thought of me tonight. Then I will be with you in your dream Let me look at you once again Show me your much loved face Then turn off the light My heart will not forget you Please go to sleep”

Dad died in 1989 in Salmon Arm, seven years after retiring as a Special Agent for the Canadian National Railroad Police in Prince George. As well as being named Citizen of the Year in 1972, he was also the recipient of the Governor General’s award for his contribution to the youth of that city.

In the years since his death, Mom had searched for their special song. She wrote to CBC radio, and she had asked people she met who were of German descent if they had heard of the song. She was nearly ready to give up until eight months ago. She was in “Styles on Mane” in Vernon having her hair done, when a gentleman came in to have his hair cut. As he had a German accent, Mom asked him if he had heard of the song. He said he hadn’t, but promised to look into it for her. (His name is Julius and he is the neighbour and good friend of the owner of the shop, Cynthia Robertson)

One month later, Mom went to her weekly hair appointment. As she sat down, Cynthia turned to her friend Julius who was in the shop and said, “Julius, I forgot to turn on the radio today. Would you turn it on for me please?”

Soon the beautiful words of the song “Do You Hear My Secret Calling” were being played throughout the salon. Julius Topf had contacted friends in Germany and with the help of a popular newspaper columnist the song had been found on a CD of hit songs from 1934 to 1943. Mom was completely overwhelmed with happiness when she heard the song again after 50 years.

My parents shared the special kind of intense and enduring love alluded to in this lovely song. It was their heart song. Now she can close her eyes as she listens to the music and from her memory bank, imagine that she is back on the dance floor, being tenderly held in the arms of her beloved as he sang to her.

“Just as autumn and spring will always be, So will sorrow and joy forever change the earth. Every hour of sadness is followed by a day of sunshine, Every parting is followed by a new embrace. Storms in life will pass as long as we will understand each other. When your heart fills with sorrow, quietly sing my song again.”

Carole Fawcett is a published free lance writer and owner of a stress management and laughter therapy business. http://www.afunnybusiness.ca She is the founder and trainer of therapeutic clowns in the beautiful Okanagan Valley, in B.C., Canada

I had become too sick to live in America.

Even with private insurance, even with Medicare, we couldn’t keep up with our medical bills. So we found a country where we could, and we left.

Picture this: A childless, middle-aged couple both gainfully employed, both college educated, living a frugal but happy life, and the husband gets sick with an incurable chronic illness. The sick husband has to quit work because the illness is very serious. But, not to worry, after four long years and a legal battle, he gets on Social Security Disability and therefore qualifies for Medicare. There is also the added security of the wife’s health insurance to cover the expensive prescriptions and everything else Medicare doesn‘t. Everything will be fine because they are insured, and they will continue to live a happy yet frugal life in spite of the chronic illness. Or will they?

In the fall of 2002, my wife and I found ourselves in the position of not being able to afford my illness. I was afflicted with an incurable illness called Fibromyalgia Syndrome, a pain, and fatigue disorder that eventually leaves most of those afflicted unable to work. The decrease in my income plus the 10 prescriptions I took (not counting the drugs my wife had to take) to try to help control my illness’s symptoms were breaking us financially. Though we were insured, we could no longer afford to fund my illness. The co-pays, deductibles, and non-covered expenses were eating away at our financial security, bite after bite.

We found a sort of bitter consolation in the fact that we were not alone in our plight. It turns out that more than 50% of bankruptcies filed in 2001 were medically related and were middle-class homeowners who not only had an income but also health insurance. The prevailing myth that most bankruptcies are related to credit card debt is not true. Less than 1% of filed bankruptcies are due to credit card debt.

Researchers found that in those surveyed, 1.9 to 2.2 million U.S. residents filed a “medical bankruptcy.” The average person filing for bankruptcy during the 2001 period spent $13,460 on co-payments, deductibles, and uncovered services even though they had private insurance.

"Our study is frightening. Unless you’re Bill Gates, you’re just one serious illness away from bankruptcy. Most of the medically bankrupt were average Americans who happened to get sick. Health insurance offered little protection,” said Dr. David Himmelstein, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who led the study.

Another one of the study’s authors, Elizabeth Warren, said, “It doesn’t take a medical catastrophe to create a financial catastrophe. A larger share of American workers are going to have insurance that’s like a paper umbrella. It looks good, and it might even protect you in a sprinkle, but it melts away in a downpour.”

In the fall of 2002, we began to feel the sprinkle on our paper umbrella turn into an unstoppable downpour. We had to do something before the full brunt of the downpour tore the paper umbrella to shreds and our lives along with it. We began to look to other alternatives to purchase our prescription drugs and found them. Little did we suspect how our search for more affordable prescriptions would not only find us financial relief but also end up changing our lives.

We heard rumors that prescriptions drugs were cheaper in Canada and Mexico. Our research showed this was indeed true. But this, to be honest, was a scary proposition. I also read that the U.S. government was trying to shut down many of the web sites through which you could order these drugs. That’s all I needed–get arrested for smuggling drugs through the U.S. Mail Service! Many Americans who live in border towns simply cross the border to get a prescription filled at substantially lower prices with no hassles. Moving to a border town was not what we wanted to do. But what did catch my eye was that in Mexico not only were the prices of prescription drugs–the same ones I took in the U.S.–cheaper but so was just about everything else!

Digging deeper we discovered there was a large population of American expatriates already living in Mexico, around 500,000, taking advantage of affordable and reliable medical care plus a significantly lower cost of living. This was a stunning revelation to us. Moving to Mexico hadn’t been a remote possibility; now it appeared to be salvation.

Our reality began on August 1, 2003, when we stepped off the plane in Leon, Guanajuato, to begin our new lives in a small, colonial town (the capital city of the state) called Guanajuato.

We stepped into a new reality where everything; prescription drugs, housing, utilities, food, transportation, entertainment, is 25-75% less than it is in America. My Social Security Disability income more than adequately covers our expenses here in Guanajuato, Mexico. An example is that I can buy all my needed prescriptions for less than the co-pay I forked over for one drug in the United States! I get a month of Prozac for less than $16.00 usd. Same drugs, only affordable! Can you believe that?

Moving to Mexico–an alternative for everyone? I doubt it. But it is working for us on so many levels that we have no plans anytime soon to return to the land of our birth.

The solution? I don’t know. What I do know is that we, and many other Americans, cannot sit idly by waiting for our elected officials to work it out. We had to taken action–drastic as it was. That paper umbrella won’t last long!

Doug Bower is a freelance writer and book author. His most recent writing credits include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle, and The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Transitions Abroad. He lives with his wife in Guanajuato, Mexico.

His new book Mexican Living: Blogging it from a Third World Country can be seen at http://www.lulu.com/content/126241

With western eyes we tend to view a tribal mask as a piece of fantastic sculpture. It is a decorative object to be displayed and enjoyed as a work of art. A piece of art that allows us to touch the world of the other, which we vaguely understand. Yet for the people who created it, it is a living object that possesses specific powers.

If you have ever visited a museum or gallery displaying ethnic or tribal art you may have asked yourself why are these shapes and forms used? What is this for? What kind of occasions called for these fabulous objects? Why and how was it made?

As I have studied mask I have realised that there are many answers to these questions. Each mask has its own story. Each mask is unique. Yet within that uniqueness there are commonalties. Interestingly the common aspects cross continental boundaries.

Why is a new mask needed?

In the aboriginal traditions the need for a new mask could vary greatly.

It could be

to honour an ancestor

to satisfy a request from the spirit world

for a new initiate

an old mask had served its usefulness

commissioned by a shaman for a specific purpose.

To mention a few.

How is the mask commissioned and created?

Once a need for a mask is recognised the commission can be made. A mask maker will have other roles in the practice of his carving and wood working construction skills. In some cultures all created objects were given a ritual and sacred element. The carves will know the traditional forms yet will also have artistic integrity. A new mask will be an expression of his skills, traditional knowledge and the link with the spirit world.

First a tree must be chosen. The forest has many trees. Which one is the true tree to be used? The diviner is asked for help. Using his knowledge of ancient traditions he enters the forest and begins to tune in to the wavelengths of the trees. He is guided towards the perfect tree. He knows this is the one.

The diviner introduces the tree to the carver. A ritual links the carver and the tree. A cut is made into the tree. The carver drinks from the sap. He absorbs some of the tree’s spirit, man and the tree become one.

The first cuts for the mask are made into the living wood. The mask is sketched out, roughly hewn in a basic form. As the mask is revealed by the artist it is taken from the tree and finished in a closed workshop or secret place in the forest. Often a mask is carved in secret. To have the mask seen before it is complete breaks its magic, its power. Only when the mask is inhabited by the spirit, animal guide or ancestor is it whole and complete.

The mask has a life. It is not a dead object so long as it is in use. If the mask is not used it becomes less powerful as the spirit will leave as it is no longer being called upon for useful work.

An African elder visiting a London museum observed that the masks were dead. Here in this museum the masks had lost their power as they had lost the links to the spirit world. As exhibits the magic had gone from the mask the spirits returned to the spirit world.

The other aspect that is always worth remembering is that the mask is only one part of the of the whole effect. A costume is needed to support the mask, as is the music, the drumming, chants and songs, dances and of course the other participants. All combine to invoke the ceremony whether it be to celebrate coming of age, harvest or other important event.

Masks have great power to absorb our attention. Not all masks are created within a spiritual tradition yet the basic process of disguise takes us, at times into another mental dimension.

©Ian Bracegirdle 2005 http://www.mask-and-more-masks.com

http://mask-and-more-masks.com You may use this article freely on condition that you include this copyright line and URL and that people who subsequently use this article follow the same conditions. Thank you for accepting these conditions.

Ian Bracegirdle 2004 1 Elderberry Close East Morton BD20 5WA UK 01535 692207 http://mask-and-more-masks.com

Teacher, Course Leader, Mask maker. Ian has studied and taught masks making and information for several years. He sees masks as a link back to our cultural origins.

No words in this universe are enough to describe him, superstar, living legend, and the face of Indian cinema. Amitabh Bachchan today is an icon to reckon with, both nationally and internationally. He has become a household name today on the lips of young and old alike. The very mention of his name spells magic. One must surely appreciate the hardwork and dedication that was shown by him to capture the film world. Success always follows hard work. Has vastu played any role in his success ?. Yes, looking at the juhu residence of Amitabh Bachchan any vastu expert can will answer positive. Vaastu Shastra cannot be directly linked with prosperity. It only suggests ways in which one can live in tune with the laws of nature, so that you can be healthy and peaceful and work efficiently.

1. Entrance: Entrance of Amitabh Bachchan bunglow is located at the North-East Corner of the bunglow. According to vastu North-East is a prime location for the prosperity and success. The treatises like “Vishwakarma Prakash” attribute special importance to the North-East direction (Ishanya Angle) in the selection and architectural map of the plot or construction of the house. This direction is regarded as highly surcharged with divine energies. Person becomes more healthy, wealthy & famous in such houses.

2. Roads: A house or plot with road to the north or to the east is a excellent position as per vastu. His house is very lucky to get the auspicious cosmic rays from North as well as east. This is another important vastu favouring tenets to the Amitabh Bachchan house. According to Vaastu, the most favourable and beneficial main entrances in the house or business premises are those in the North East, East or North direction. The suns rays, being a rich source of vitamin D are vital for the sustenance of life on earth; and the rays early in the morning from the east emitting more light and less heat are the best. Doors and windows in the east would allow the suns ultra violet rays to penetrate into the house, bestowing their benefits to the inmates of the house. It is auspicious to have more open space in the east or north of the house or plot. The plot or house having road on the east-north directions is better place to gain prosperity.

3. Fire: Direction that lies midway between the east and the south is known as Agneya (south-east). Agni (fire) is the lord of this direction. He is the preserver and defender of every being. The southeast is the home of the fire element. Because of the interconnectedness of two elements –water & fire, fire features should only be placed in the southeast corner of any building or property. This includes kitchens, fireplaces or transformer. The electric transformer in his house is located in the south east corner which is another important factor in making his house vastu friendly. A warm Agneya direction makes a man healthy. Agni also provides person with comfort, peace, prosperity and progeny.

Vastu – global acceptance

Vastu is the oldest and most complete system of architecture in the world. The reason for its recent interest in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Australia is that people are demanding a better quality of life. There’s a greater awareness now that our physical environment does affect the quality of our life. Western people are now more attracted towards the spiritual and ancient sciences of eastern countries. There are simple Vastu corrections that people can do to any structure, anywhere in the world, that will bring improvements in their lives.

Vastu is gaining acceptance all over the world by business houses and individuals. We predict it will be the hot trend all over the world in coming time. There are so many books are published all over the world, which shows the growing popularity of vastu science.

Nitin Parmar
Vastu Consultant
http://www.vastuplus.com

Can We Pass The Test?

American Citizenship

I’m the daughter of an American soldier and with that comes pride of my American heritage, and love and pride for our country. I have thought of myself as being a patriot, which I am. But I have found out to my dismay, that we as Americans have not gone to any length to know enough about our country.

I feel very lucky that I was born here.

Online there is a citizenship test, similar to the test that those from other countries are required to take. I took the test and made a score of 6 out of a possible 11. I regarded that as a low score but the test said not that bad.

I was disappointed in myself, a daughter of a ww2 vet, who knew so little about my country.

It amazes me that those from other countries would sacrifice so much, their families and those they love to come to a country so different from their own.

They have to live in America five years, obtain good employment, and there are those that even marry American citizens to obtain citizenship to our country.

Many of them learn our language and have countless obstacles to overcome to stay in our country and obtain a citizenship that I have taken so easily for granted.

It makes me more grateful that I was born here, and it has opened my eyes that I need to be more informed about how country.

Bio Of Judy Arline Puckett

I am currently residing in Monroe, La.
I begin writing at the age of 11, and I’m 54 now.
I am the mother of three and the grandmother of five.
I love creative writing, poetry, digital art, art, photography, jazz, and blues music.
I write poetry and lyrics on every topic. War, peace, love, heartache, religion, and abortion, which I oppose.
I hope to write meaningful and worthwhile words that will touch hearts and make a difference in life.

"A poet is the voice for those who are without words." - Judy Arline Puckett

Are we human because of unique traits and attributes not shared with either animal or machine? The definition of "human" is circular: we are human by virtue of the properties that make us human (i.e., distinct from animal and machine). It is a definition by negation: that which separates us from animal and machine is our "human-ness".

We are human because we are not animal, nor machine. But such thinking has been rendered progressively less tenable by the advent of evolutionary and neo-evolutionary theories which postulate a continuum in nature between animals and Man.

Our uniqueness is partly quantitative and partly qualitative. Many animals are capable of cognitively manipulating symbols and using tools. Few are as adept at it as we are. These are easily quantifiable differences - two of many.

Qualitative differences are a lot more difficult to substantiate. In the absence of privileged access to the animal mind, we cannot and don’t know if animals feel guilt, for instance. Do animals love? Do they have a concept of sin? What about object permanence, meaning, reasoning, self-awareness, critical thinking? Individuality? Emotions? Empathy? Is artificial intelligence (AI) an oxymoron? A machine that passes the Turing Test may well be described as "human". But is it really? And if it is not - why isn’t it?

Literature is full of stories of monsters - Frankenstein, the Golem - and androids or anthropoids. Their behaviour is more "humane" than the humans around them. This, perhaps, is what really sets humans apart: their behavioural unpredictability. It is yielded by the interaction between Mankind’s underlying immutable genetically-determined nature - and Man’s kaleidoscopically changing environments.

The Constructivists even claim that Human Nature is a mere cultural artefact. Sociobiologists, on the other hand, are determinists. They believe that human nature - being the inevitable and inexorable outcome of our bestial ancestry - cannot be the subject of moral judgment.

An improved Turing Test would look for baffling and erratic patterns of misbehaviour to identify humans. Pico della Mirandola wrote in "Oration on the Dignity of Man" that Man was born without a form and can mould and transform - actually, create - himself at will. Existence precedes essence, said the Existentialists centuries later.

The one defining human characteristic may be our awareness of our mortality. The automatically triggered, "fight or flight", battle for survival is common to all living things (and to appropriately programmed machines). Not so the catalytic effects of imminent death. These are uniquely human. The appreciation of the fleeting translates into aesthetics, the uniqueness of our ephemeral life breeds morality, and the scarcity of time gives rise to ambition and creativity.

In an infinite life, everything materializes at one time or another, so the concept of choice is spurious. The realization of our finiteness forces us to choose among alternatives. This act of selection is predicated upon the existence of "free will". Animals and machines are thought to be devoid of choice, slaves to their genetic or human programming.

Yet, all these answers to the question: "What does it mean to be human" - are lacking.

The set of attributes we designate as human is subject to profound alteration. Drugs, neuroscience, introspection, and experience all cause irreversible changes in these traits and characteristics. The accumulation of these changes can lead, in principle, to the emergence of new properties, or to the abolition of old ones.

Animals and machines are not supposed to possess free will or exercise it. What, then, about fusions of machines and humans (bionics)? At which point does a human turn into a machine? And why should we assume that free will ceases to exist at that - rather arbitrary - point?

Introspection - the ability to construct self-referential and recursive models of the world - is supposed to be a uniquely human quality. What about introspective machines? Surely, say the critics, such machines are PROGRAMMED to introspect, as opposed to humans. To qualify as introspection, it must be WILLED, they continue. Yet, if introspection is willed - WHO wills it? Self-willed introspection leads to infinite regression and formal logical paradoxes.

Moreover, the notion - if not the formal concept - of "human" rests on many hidden assumptions and conventions.

Political correctness notwithstanding - why presume that men and women (or different races) are identically human? Aristotle thought they were not. A lot separates males from females - genetically (both genotype and phenotype) and environmentally (culturally). What is common to these two sub-species that makes them both "human"?

Can we conceive of a human without body (i.e., a Platonian Form, or soul)? Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas think not. A soul has no existence separate from the body. A machine-supported energy field with mental states similar to ours today - would it be considered human? What about someone in a state of coma - is he or she (or it) fully human?

Is a new born baby human - or, at least, fully human - and, if so, in which sense? What about a future human race - whose features would be unrecognizable to us? Machine-based intelligence - would it be thought of as human? If yes, when would it be considered human?

In all these deliberations, we may be confusing "human" with "person". The former is a private case of the latter. Locke’s person is a moral agent, a being responsible for its actions. It is constituted by the continuity of its mental states accessible to introspection.

Locke’s is a functional definition. It readily accommodates non-human persons (machines, energy matrices) if the functional conditions are satisfied. Thus, an android which meets the prescribed requirements is more human than a brain dead person.

Descartes’ objection that one cannot specify conditions of singularity and identity over time for disembodied souls is right only if we assume that such "souls" possess no energy. A bodiless intelligent energy matrix which maintains its form and identity over time is conceivable. Certain AI and genetic software programs already do it.

Strawson is Cartesian and Kantian in his definition of a "person" as a "primitive". Both the corporeal predicates and those pertaining to mental states apply equally, simultaneously, and inseparably to all the individuals of that type of entity. Human beings are one such entity. Some, like Wiggins, limit the list of possible persons to animals - but this is far from rigorously necessary and is unduly restrictive.

The truth is probably in a synthesis:

A person is any type of fundamental and irreducible entity whose typical physical individuals (i.e., members) are capable of continuously experiencing a range of states of consciousness and permanently having a list of psychological attributes.

This definition allows for non-animal persons and recognizes the personhood of a brain damaged human ("capable of experiencing"). It also incorporates Locke’s view of humans as possessing an ontological status similar to "clubs" or "nations" - their personal identity consists of a variety of interconnected psychological continuities.

About The Author

Sam Vaknin is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He is a columnist for Central Europe Review, PopMatters, and eBookWeb , a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent, and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory Bellaonline, and Suite101 .

Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

Visit Sam’s Web site at http://samvak.tripod.com

palma@unet.com.mk

Humanity - the sole endeavor of sanctity in every man, the moribund symphony serenading in all perceptions, the extinct deference suggestive of life—humanity. Something already sold to that trait of the individual defined as war.

War is never introduced but is in the presence of man as in birth, it is left to man to either seek its vice or pertain himself to the fountainhead of life – humanity. Self is the greatest, yet the most malicious proposition of existence introduced to man. We are men - of flesh, blood and avarice. The flesh is of self, the blood is for self and the voracious avarice is self. And just to promote this very self – the audacious euthanasia steps forth onto the threshold of existence.

We are mortals, mortals to whom the commandments of life are to tread only on those roads that commence and conclude in us. We encroach the realms of life and intervene the capricious horizons with prospects that are concerned only for the likes of the me and the I. In us lies the yearning that teaches the ever-dubious laws of life - To live for self, to cheat for self, to slaughter for self and self-alone. Fidelity to ourselves, deference for our existence and a narcissist approach to life is the only erudition, we actually do attain. We lead ourselves by the hand in a world of darkness following a path paved not for any man to trudge upon and claiming all that which wasn’t destined to us because in a world where men seek the visions of greatness they stand blinded to the paths taken to immortality.

We want to rule this human because for us this human is senile, meager and impotent. We want to slay the living because we believe that the human is a race that runs the world but in itself is even dubious of its own existence. Our adamant urge to never be one of the many, our defiance of all truths of veracity and our ideals to annihilate the existent verity made us what we are today – men.

But what about the man? Not men. But the man. The destitute man with his insipid life, monotonous definitions of every concept ideal to living and the man to whom dawn is as impertinent as dusk. What about him? He will writhe, suffer and die. For where only the profound, the sublime, the infallible, the potent – the men survive the magnitude of the man is and shall ever be just demise.

We lie ensnared in this division of the humanitarian and the capitalist side of the human soul, where one end is engrossed in the emancipation of existence, the other prepares the elixir to cure the plague that runs the world — human. They say the end is approaching, cloaked, disguised, incognito, yet encroaching, this might sound incredibly sickening but I believe that this is not the end, only the beginning of a beginning.

About The Author

I’m a desperate author sincerely trying hard to get puiblished and i really hope that if i’m found worthy of it, i will be provided an oppurtunity.

Silver is the most common of the Precious Metals. It’s working qualities are very similar to gold. Pure silver, which is seldom used for jewelry because it is too soft. Silver weighs about half as much as gold and has greater flexibility. Though silver is not as malleable as gold it can achieve a more brilliant polish. In fact, silver shines above all other metals in this respect.

Silver has been used for many centuries, going back to ancient times, but because it tarnishes and decomposes; it has not survived as well as gold. Periodically, however, silver enjoys great popularity as it does currently.

As far as the price goes, silver generally lags behind gold by about four or five times. The price of silver jewelry follows the price of gold jewelry, however, so as gold rises, silver inevitably does too.

The words silver or sterling silver describe a product that contains 92.5% silver. Silver products sometimes may be marked 925, which means that 925 parts per thousand are pure silver. Some jewelry may be described as silver plate: a layer of silver is bonded to a base metal. The mark coin silver is used for compounds that contain 90% silver.

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