dirt the movie!

[Microbeman]

MM, I don't believe that religion or Christianity has a monopoly on morality by any means, but by that same token, don't judge a belief system or religion based on morals of some of it's followers.

I tried that. I was actually raised in an extremely religious atmosphere, was exposed to many churches, etc. I knew personally the founders of several very well known international Christian organizations. I don't wish to mention them here but they are some of the big ones. When I mentioned my experience with the charity work it was not a few bad apples but overwhelming numbers.

 

[guest2012y]

You can witness evolution in your grow room if you pay attention......especially the chemi guys......like they pay attention to the long term effects of chemical usage. (Hint...insects)

 

[Microbeman]

Secret;

Evolution does not count on a prior variation of a species being extinct for the evolving species to be in place. Where does that come from?

Now I understand why you think it is silly.

 

[Microbeman]

Law of gravity?

http://theory.uwinnipeg.ca/mod_tech/node60.html

 

[guest2012y]

Heavy shit MM........literally. My observation of short term "evolution" has involved the effect of insecticides on spider mites. The ones that survive the first generation of "bombings" go on to pass that resistance to the next generation and so on and so on until they become monsters that are resistant to the original insecticide. May not be true evolution,but it's very close to the beginning of that first step to evolve into a life form in an environment that was inhospitable to the previous generations. Eventually they become Supermites that get on your clothes and hitch rides to your buddies grow room to wipe it the fuck out.....because he tries the very thing you did several generations ago and it fails.
Haven't used insecticides for about 15 or more years just in case you were wondering.

 

[SecretGardener]

Heavy shit MM........literally. My observation of short term "evolution" has involved the effect of insecticides on spider mites. The ones that survive the first generation of "bombings" go on to pass that resistance to the next generation and so on and so on until they become monsters that are resistant to the original insecticide. May not be true evolution,but it's very close to the beginning of that first step to evolve into a life form in an environment that was inhospitable to the previous generations. Eventually they become Supermites that get on your clothes and hitch rides to your buddies grow room to wipe it the fuck out.....because he tries the very thing you did several generations ago and it fails.
Haven't used insecticides for about 15 or more years just in case you were wondering.

That is micro-evolution you are witnessing. Now if you sprayed those mites with some chemical which mutated their DNA and it was able to reproduce and make offspring that is classified as a new species, then you've witnessed macro-evolution.

 

[SecretGardener]

Evolution does not count on a prior variation of a species being extinct for the evolving species to be in place. Where does that come from?

Now I understand why you think it is silly.

I don't think evolution is silly, just macro-evolution. I should have been more clear...

Either way wouldn't the prior variation of a species soon just be out competed by the better survivor and eventually go extinct? This is my thinking and someone may think different but again, you cannot actually witness it so...who knows.

I agree to disagree with you guys on this subject. This conversation can and will go on forever and I've already taken this post away from its original purpose, for that I apologize.

In my defense I like to bring these topics up because I feel that I live in such a close minded area (the bible belt south) that I really do enjoy talking with you guys. You help bring new perspectives into my thinking, although I will always believe we were designed.

 

[NUG-JUG]

...So the indian farmers who are being taken advantage of is not wrong it just means they are not surviving as well right? So fuck 'em and kill em all lets take their land and do what we want? You see this is the ENTIRE PROBLEM WITH EARTH. We need God.

Whoa whoa whoa..this is a SOCIAL DARWINISM...Many scientists, and biologist are very liberal in their political beliefs....While understanding 'survival of the fittest' we can still help those who are less fortunate.God is not my moral barometer. Why do monkeys who have never swam jump in to save another monkey? Morality is in our genes for survival. Over time the most cruel individuals were weeded out of the clan or banished..This led to genes choosing mostly empathy and kindness for survival. I've had arguments with religious types over macro\micro evolution. You can't accept one without accepting the other imo.

 

[MrFista]

Evolution has been done in a lab in vitro with cultures of e coli over thousands and thousands of generations (couple of decades of human time). New species evolved.

I was raised a christian, Mum was a missionary, I believed, and it was a crock. I believed for decades and I'm no fool, such is the power of imprinting religion on children. It took a BOATLOAD of evidence to convince me of the truth, evolution is the truth.

Without 'God' I felt pretty lost, I was used to relying on this imaginary friend and now that I'd convinced myself religion was ridiculous... I had no one to talk to and egg on my face.

That's where reading existentialists helped. I needed a purpose in life worthy of supporting a life.

For some raising a family fills this void, or art, business or sport achievement, whatever it is that makes you feel 'in the zone' when you are doing it, that's likely your calling right there.

There are various human needs and religion fills them - belonging (child of God, part of church), contributing (serving Gods purpose) validation (peer support via churches, encouragement in your religious pursuits), understanding the world around us (God made us, he's very mysterious therefore don't be asking too many hard questions we mere mortals are too stupid to comprehend his greatness and complexity), coping with mortality (there is a place God has for us...)

There's a lot of reasons why religion persists, none of them are factual evidence of God, they all concern the nature of man and psychological tools with which to assuage and manipulate humankind.

Imagine only one religion, the poor warmongers would be hard pressed to sell us on 'evil threats' then wouldn't they, they'd have to start race wars instead.

Was George W really talking to God? Give me a break. Religious people make bad political promises too.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

don't judge a belief system or religion based on morals of some of it's followers.

That admonition kinda sounds like you're talking about the political parties in the US.

CC

 

[lemonskunk]

Wow this thread really got off topic, I don't understand how it got all over the place, but I'll play along...

On morality: "Anatomically modern humans originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago, reaching full behavioral modernity around 50,000 years ago"-Wikipedia.

Simply put, we are wired to live in the environment that existed 50,000 years ago. The rise of cities with large populations only started 13,000 years ago, before that, we were in small tribes of hunter-gatherers. My point is that we as humans are wired to live in small, family-like tribes in which everyone pulled their weight for the greater good of the tribe, which would ultimately guarantee their survival. This would be the reason to evolve emotions that guide us to be "moral", so everyone gets along and helps each other, so everyone gets to live. I speculate that by living in larger and larger "tribes" we are overwhelming our obsolete cave man wiring, and we see a decline in morality and a rise in the every man for himself mentality. This sounds kind of nutty, I know, but I will use an experiment conducted by psychologist John Calhoun using rats to help illustrate my point...

"In July 1968 four pairs of mice were introduced into the Utopian universe. The universe was a 9-foot (2.7 m) square metal pen with 54-inch-high (1.4 m) sides. Each side had four groups of four vertical, wire mesh “tunnels”. The “tunnels” gave access to nesting boxes, food hoppers, and water dispensers. There was no shortage of food or water or nesting material. There were no predators. The only adversity was the limit on space.

Initially the population grew rapidly, doubling every 55 days. The population reached 620 by day 315, after which the population growth dropped markedly. The last surviving birth was on day 600. This period between day 315 and day 600 saw a breakdown in social structure and in normal social behavior. Among the aberrations in behavior were the following: expulsion of young before weaning was complete, wounding of young, inability of dominant males to maintain the defense of their territory and females, aggressive behavior of females, passivity of non-dominant males with increased attacks on each other which were not defended against. After day 600 the social breakdown continued and the population declined toward extinction. The conclusions drawn from this experiment were that when all available space is taken and all social roles filled, competition and the stresses experienced by the individuals will result in a total breakdown in complex social behaviors, ultimately resulting in the demise of the population."-Wikipedia

Earth's population in millions: 10,000 BC-1, 5,000 BC-15, 1 AD-200, 1,000 AD-310, 1750 AD-791, 1850 AD- 1,262, 1950 AD-2,519, 2000 AD-6,070...see a pattern anyone? With the rise of agriculture we started to get our shit together in the sense that a person could produce more food than they needed, and could support others who, with their new-found free time became (using Jerod Diamond's term) non-food producing specialists. We have become much like the rats who have found all their needs fulfilled and have multiplied in a very similar pattern...one has to wonder what the tipping point will be as far as population before we share a fate similar to the rats in the experiment.

About Dirt:the Movie, I loved it. Food, Inc too. Check out King Corn, Blue Gold:World Water Wars, A Crude Awakening and Fuel.

 

[DARC MIND]

Poison on the Platter
yum GM foods

Poison on the Platter, is an eye-opening film, made by Mahesh Bhatt and Ajay Kanchan, illustrating how all of our lives are gonna be (adversely) affected by genetically modified foods.

It is no more a farmer’s issue alone, it’s a matter of the consumers’ right to food safety. You and I wouldn’t even be able to separate/choose a normal Brinjal from/over a GM one, if Bt Brinjal – a GM crop produced by the mighty agri-MNC Monsanto – is let through by our corrupt regulatory body.

Let’s put up strong resistance, demanding a ban on GM food/crops for 5 years, until they are proven safe for human consumption by independent, long-term studies.

enjoy

 

[DARC MIND]

dont no if it was linked but if not here we go
food inc
&
patent for a pig:the big buisness of genetics

The American biotechnology firm, Monsanto, has applied for a patent for pig breeding in 160 countries. The patent is for specific parts of the genetic material of pigs which Monsanto’s genetic researchers have decoded. If this patent is granted, pig breeding would be possible with the approval of the company.

Farmers and breeders are naturally alarmed because these genes have long existed in the great majority of their pigs. Using DNA tests they can prove that there is no new invention in the patent applications but that, instead, granting this patent would be to allow a part of nature to fall into the hands of a single company.

Monsanto’s influence on the patent offices is huge. If the patent is approved, money will have to be paid to Monsanto for every pig in the world carrying this genetic marker. This has long been the case for certain feedstuffs, such as genetically modified maize. Many farmers in the US have already become dependent on the company.

It is not merely a question of money, however, but also a question of the risk posed to consumers. In America, as in Europe, cases of infertility in animals fed with genetically modified maize are becoming increasingly common. No-one yet knows what effects such products are having on humans. (Excerpt from enhancetv.com.au)

enjoy Fista!

 

[med_breeder]

been lookin for this vid, for a good minute
thought id share
http://documentaryheaven.com/dirt-the-movie/
hope it works for u all

I have only watched a few , minutes.

Thank you so much for posting this Darc Mind.

 

[DARC MIND]

earthlings

earthlings

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/earthlings/
enjoy,finally got to it ctguy

 

[CT Guy]

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/earthlings/
enjoy,finally got to it ctguy

Intense, huh? A girl showed it to me on a first date, as if things weren't awkward enough...

 

[3rdEye]

Intense, huh? A girl showed it to me on a first date, as if things weren't awkward enough...

so.. um.. wow... you know.. watching those puppy mill and fur farm videos got me all worked up... you still wanna?

Getting ready to watch it again with some friends tonight. Great links thanks everyone

 

[guest2012y]

Anyone seen "The age of stupid"?
You can find it on Netflix.....

 

[DARC MIND]

zombie alligators

zombie alligators

zombie alligators
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TemOZO2evQ&feature=BF&list=PL90605C519C841E42&index=1
just saw this and thought id share

The documentary series examining freak occurrences in the natural world continues. This programme focuses on a bizarre chain of events in Lake Griffin, Florida, which turned a once peaceful wilderness into a scene reminiscent of a horror film. Over a period of years, a number of Griffin’s resident alligators were turning up dead, but scientists were baffled as to the cause.

In May 1997, the bloated bodies of a number of adult alligators were discovered on the shoreline of Lake Griffin in central Florida. “There were times when I would go into the lake and find ten alligators within half a mile,” recalls local fisherman Skip Goerner. The reports of these strange deaths caught the attention of the Florida state’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), who sent a team to look into the mystery. Leading the investigation was wildlife biologist Allan Woodward who immediately suspected the work of poachers. However, the corpses told a different story –they bore no signs of attack by man and, most shockingly of all, some of the motionless animals were not even dead.

In order to discover the cause of these events, the FWC team began to study the behaviour of the alligators before they died. What the scientists found was that the animals were struggling to move properly and keep their heads above water, with many alligators spending much of their time floating listlessly in the lake or lying motionless on the banks. “We noticed alligators that showed poor equilibrium,” says Woodward. But why would these amphibious creatures who have survived for millions of years suddenly be unable to survive in their natural environment?

Pathologist Dr Scott Terrell conducted thorough autopsies on the alligators, but he could find no clues as to the cause of death. “What we were seeing were adult, healthy animals,” he recalls. “We weren’t finding much.”

Since the dead bodies were offering no evidence, the scientists returned to the lake and went in search of a living ‘zombie’ alligator. Soon, they had caught one such animal –an unusually easy manoeuvre since the alligator was incapable of putting up a fight. A sample of blood was taken from the animal and sent to Mark Merchant –a professor of biochemistry at McNeese State University. But Merchant could find no sign of any illnes. In fact, he attempted to infect the blood with a number of deadly viruses, including E. coli, salmonella and HIV, but each time the incredibly resistant blood fought off the infection.

Having drawn another blank, the scientists returned to their living specimen. “Some of the signs we saw did suggest some neurological problems,” says Woodward. “That became our next suspect.” Tests showed that the animal responded in a slow and unpredictable way to electrical stimulation, suggesting that the problem did lie somewhere in the nervous system –but it was still not clear where. Dr Terrell suspected that the key to the mystery lay in the alligator’s brain –an organ weighing just eight grammes. He sent tissue samples for tests and soon discovered that many of the neurons in the animal’s brain had died. “There were areas of the tissue that were almost ghost-like,” he says.

This brain damage explained all the symptoms common among the alligators, including disorientation, loss of balance, nerve damage and drowning –it seemed that for some reason, portions of these alligators’ brains were dying while they were still alive. However, despite their breakthrough, the scientists were still no closer to finding the culprit for the animal deaths.

The FWC suspected that man’s activites were responsible and began to focus on the change in water quality caused by increased agricultural activity on the banks of the river. However, it was not until a chance meeting with a man called Dr Dale Honeyfield at a scientific conference in Maryland that Woodward and his team would finally get to the bottom of the case (& prove the FWC speculations). Could something as simple as a vitamin deficiency be responsible for such a strange turn of events?

 

[Microbeman]

I'm trying to locate full play documentaries on the web for free about the use of organic growing forced on Cuba when Russia withdrew financial support. One is produced by CBC/David Suzuki and called 'The Accidental Revolution'. I believe there is another by PBS and the name might be 'The Inevitable Revolution'