Minor update to Occult Origins of the Counterculture

I just changed this passage because it didn't accurately convey everything I was trying to express:


Another decentralized religion that rose in opposition to the Roman aristocracy was the earliest phase of Christianity. The militant pacifism of Jesus existed in striking contrast to both the imperialistic virtues of Rome and the genocidal mandates of Jehovah. These ideas should not be interpreted as a passive acquiescence to injustice but instead as an act of moral force, whereby those who had been compelled to obedience through a societal paradigm which recognized strength as the only law took on a new role by leading and transforming the nature of their communities. Some of the first Christians were female priests who led congregations in private homes, a practice that directly opposed the values of Roman society which saw women as primarily breeding stock. In Mathew 5:9, Jesus said “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Taken from the the context of a time period defined by war, slavery and gross social injustice, this statement is profoundly transgressive in a sense that is difficult to appreciate coming from the perspective of a modern person living in a democratic society. Where "survival of the fittest" is the rule of the law, women and children will necessarily take on a subordinate role sheerly by virtue of their lesser physical strength alone. This principle also applies to indigenous communities which obviously have not had the military strength to defend themselves against centralized nation states even when unavoidable attempts at self defense have been made. Unfortunately, the philosophy of early Christians that "the meek will inherit the earth" was later horribly corrupted as the Christian Church went on to murder and enslave countless numbers of indigenous communities while enshrining social inequity as the mandate of God himself. more:

Senate Votes To Let Military Detain Americans Indefinitely and Without Trial

source:Huffington Post

WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted Tuesday to keep a controversial provision to let the military detain terrorism suspects on U.S. soil and hold them indefinitely without trial -- prompting White House officials to reissue a veto threat.

The measure, part of the massive National Defense Authorization Act, was also opposed by civil libertarians on the left and right. But 16 Democrats and an independent joined with Republicans to defeat an amendment by Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) that would have killed the provision, voting it down with 61 against, and 37 for it.

"I'm very, very, concerned about having U.S. citizens sent to Guantanamo Bay for indefinite detention," said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), one of the Senate's most conservative members.

Paul's top complaint is that a terrorism suspect would get just one hearing where the military could assert that the person is a suspected terrorist -- and then they could be locked up for life, without ever formally being charged. The only safety valve is a waiver from the secretary of defense.

"It's not enough just to be alleged to be a terrorist," Paul said, echoing the views of the American Civil Liberties Union. "That's part of what due process is -- deciding, are you a terrorist? I think it's important that we not allow U.S. citizens to be taken."

Democrats who were also concerned about liberties compared the military policing of Americans to the detention of Americans in internment camps during World War II.

"Congress is essentially authorizing the indefinite imprisonment of American citizens, without charge," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who offered another amendment -- which has not yet gotten a vote -- that she said would correct the problem. "We are not a nation that locks up its citizens without charge."

Backers of military detention of Americans -- a measure crafted by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) -- came out swinging against Udall's amendment on the Senate floor earlier Tuesday.

"The enemy is all over the world. Here at home. And when people take up arms against the United States and [are] captured within the United States, why should we not be able to use our military and intelligence community to question that person as to what they know about enemy activity?" Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said.

"They should not be read their Miranda Rights. They should not be given a lawyer," Graham said. "They should be held humanely in military custody and interrogated about why they joined al Qaeda and what they were going to do to all of us." more:

RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan claims history of hypnotic programming and memory implantation

source:CNN

Sirhan Sirhan, convicted of the 1968 assassination of presidential candidate Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, should be freed from prison or granted a new trial based on "formidable evidence" asserting his innocence and "horrendous violations" of his rights, defense attorneys said in federal court papers filed this week.

In a U.S. District Court brief, Sirhan's lawyers also say that an expert analysis of recently uncovered evidence shows two guns were fired in the assassination and that Sirhan's revolver was not the gun that shot Kennedy.

The attorneys further assert that Sirhan was hypno-programmed to be a diversion for the real assassin and allege that Sirhan would be easily blamed for the assassination because he is an Arab. Sirhan, 67, is a Christian Palestinian born in Jerusalem whose parents brought him and his siblings to America in the 1950s.

Sirhan "was an involuntary participant in the crimes being committed because he was subjected to sophisticated hypno programming and memory implantation techniques which rendered him unable to consciously control his thoughts and actions at the time the crimes were being committed," court papers said....

Court papers filed by Sirhan's attorneys say the state "refuses to acknowledge that hypno programming/mind control is not fiction but reality and has been used for years by the U.S. military, Central Intelligence Agency and other covert organizations.


"Though the practices of hypno programming/mind control is hardly new, the public has been shielded from the darker side of the practice. The average person is unaware that hypnosis can and is used to induct antisocial conduct in humans," Sirhan's court filings say. more...

Johann Sebastian Bach: St John Passion

This version is much better than the one I posted before, which places far too much emphasis on individual singers at the expense of the choir and unlike any other interpretation I've heard. Yet another reason to be picky about the composer before making a purchase.

A few recent drawings....

I've hesitated about posting the first pic because there may be site visitors with a history in cult ritual abuse, and it certainly isn't my intention to cause offense to those people. However, I hope people can view my art with the understanding that the majority of people interested in the occult are not out there sacrificing babies or abusing people, even though the more insiduous occult organizations do exist. Most of the people who've contacted me about their own history with these organizations came from a background of what could be described as "alternative" spirituality, aka occultism. And by no means are any of those people supportive of the practices of groups involved in predatory paradigms. Ultimately, giving anyone, and most especially those who seek to profit from others' misery, a monopoly on spiritual or religious practice is counterproductive in so many ways. Hope that clarifies things a bit.

Handel--Messiah

I'm one of those obnoxious people who starts playing Christmas music the day after Halloween.