The Nightly Quill

While the number of the world’s billionaires grew from 793 in 2006 to 946 this year, major mass uprisings became commonplace occurrences in China and India.

In India, which has the highest number of billionaires (36) in Asia with total wealth of $191 billion USD, Prime Minister Singh declared that the greatest single threat to ‘India’s security’ were the Maoist led guerrilla armies and mass movements in the poorest parts of the country. In China, with 20 billionaires with $29.4 billion USD net worth, the new rulers, confronting nearly a hundred thousand reported riots and protests, have increased the number of armed special anti-riot militia a hundred fold, and increased spending for the rural poor by $10 billion USD in the hopes of lessening the monstrous class inequalities and heading off a mass upheaval.

The total wealth of this global ruling class grew 35% year to year topping $3.5 trillion USD, while income levels for the lower 55% of the world’s 6-billion-strong population declined or stagnated. Put another way, one hundred millionth of the world’s population (1/100,000,000) owns more than over 3 billion people. Over half of the current billionaires (523) came from just 3 countries: the US (415), Germany (55) and Russia (53). The 35% increase in wealth mostly came from speculation on equity markets, real estate and commodity trading, rather than from technical innovations, investments in job-creating industries or social services.

Among the newest, youngest and fastest-growing group of billionaires, the Russian oligarchy stands out for its most rapacious beginnings. Over two-thirds (67%) of the current Russian billionaire oligarchs began their concentration of wealth in their mid to early twenties. During the infamous decade of the 1990’s under the quasi-dictatorial rule of Boris Yeltsin and his US-directed economic advisers, Anatoly Chubais and Yegor Gaidar the entire Russian economy was put up for sale for a ‘political price’, which was far below its real value. Without exception, the transfers of property were achieved through gangster tactics – assassinations, massive theft, and seizure of state resources, illicit stock manipulation and buyouts. The future billionaires stripped the Russian state of over a trillion dollars worth of factories, transport, oil, gas, iron, coal and other formerly state-owned resources.

Contrary to European and US publicists, on the Right and Left, very few of the top former Communist leaders are found among the current Russian billionaire oligarchy. Secondly, contrary to the spin-masters’ claims of ‘communist inefficiencies’, the former Soviet Union developed mines, factories, energy enterprises were profitable and competitive, before they were taken over by the new oligarchs. This is evident in the massive private wealth that was accumulated in less than a decade by these gangster-businessmen.

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In a time where all is designed to be controlled, the elementary force of our very existence brings an undeniable fusion for a magic moment.

Once upon a time, deep in the forests of Burgundy, a man was haunted by a vision. He dreamed of building a castle, with turrets, great walls and a moat. Some people wondered if he was mad. This was, after all, 1996. And yet Michel Guyot set out to build his castle the hard way — the medieval way. With only hammers and chisels to carve the stones. With only horses to cart the rock. Without power tools.

Ten years later, Guedelon castle is about one-third finished, with imposing sandstone walls that rise up out of the red Burgundy soil. It’s a living history lesson and a successful tourism project: Last year, 245,000 visitors admired the work of Guedelon’s stonecutters, carpenters, potters, rope-makers and blacksmiths. The 50 paid craftsmen, plus volunteers, wear tunics and use rustic tools. Except for the occasional hardhat or pair of safety goggles, there’s little to remind visitors that this is not the 13th century, but the 21st.

On a recent visit to Guedelon, I watched in awe as a man climbed into a wooden contraption that looked like a huge hamster wheel. He ran frantically, spinning the wheel and activating a pulley system that lifted a load of stones atop a tower. When he was done, our tour group broke into applause, and poor Jean-Paul climbed off the wheel, huffing and puffing and fanning his tunic. It was all so … medieval.

Guyot, an archaeology buff, mounted the project after restoring a castle in nearby Saint-Fargeau. Building a castle from scratch was a childhood dream — a sandcastle on a huge scale. “I told myself that acts of folly are the only things that one doesn’t regret in life,” Guyot said. “With projects like this, you just have to go for them, full-speed ahead.” Read the rest of this entry »

This is a video of me reciting the books of the Bible (Old and New Testaments) the Book of Mormon, the 50 US States, the alphabet backwards, and all 43 United States Presidents in just under 60 seconds.(!)

This is something I’ve been doing for quite a while. This version has its origins as early as 1985, when I learned a 50 states song in 3rd Grade. I added pieces to it until about 1993, when this thing reached its current version. I have timed myself as quickly as 53 seconds, but this video has minimal errors and is fairly understandable.

Hopefully, no one is offended because I include religious-oriented items in the list.

Also, for any who may be curious about my appearance, no, my right eye isn’t the result of an injury; I was born with ptosis, which causes the eyelid to droop. While my vision is limited in that eye, I’m not blind.

Here’s a transcript of the list:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Samuel, Kings, Kings, Chronicles, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habbakuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, First and Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Phillipians, Colossians, First and Second Thessalonians, Timothy, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, Peter, Peter, John, John, John, Jude, Revelation, First and Second Nephi, Jacob, Enos, Jarom, Omni, Words of Mormon, Mosiah, Alma, Helaman, Third and Fourth Nephi, Mormon, Ether, Moroni, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Z, Y, X, W, V, U, T, S, R, Q, P, O, N, M, L, K, J, I, H, G, F, E, D, C, B, A, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert C. Hoover, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry S Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush. (Thank you).

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The Max Headroom Pirating Incident occurred on Sunday November 22, 1987 and is an example of broadcast signal intrusion. The first occurrence of the signal hijack occurred during WGN-TV’s 9:00 News. During Bears Highlights in the Sports report the signal was interrupted by a video of a person wearing a Max Headroom mask in front of a swaying sheet of corrugated metal. There was no audio. The hijack was stopped after only 20 seconds when WGN switched transmission from the Sears Tower to the John Hancock Center. The incident left sports reporter Dan Roan flustered.

Later that night around 11:15pm during a broadcast of the Doctor Who episode Horror of Fang Rock on WTTW, the signal was hijacked by the same person.
Here is the actual video as it took place:

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“I heard a story about a goose that was friends with a dog, and both seemed to think they were human. I heard that the goose flew in formation with a guy’s boat, and when it was tired, rode on the boat, right next to the dog. I don’t think I’d ever heard anything more unlikely… a goose, friends with a dog… weird! But intriguing. I figured we’d go do the story. Mark Anderson and I headed out… four hours away from the station. We weren’t aware until much later that the story sparked a big discussion among our administrators about how perhaps we were devoting a little too much time to “a feature,” when it’s the hard news story that we need to concentrate on. I think when they saw what we came up with, they figured it would be OK to commit this much time to “a feature.” By Ken Speake, KARE 11 News. http://www.kare11.com/news/specials/s…

Mary and Ray Smith can’t make heads or tails of a new presidential dollar coin they found last week. It doesn’t have either. A week after the revelation that some of the coins slipped out of the U.S. Mint without “In God We Trust” stamped on the edge, the Smiths said Tuesday they found one with nothing stamped on either flat side.

It does have “In God We Trust” on the edge. What’s missing is the image of George Washington on the front and the Statue of Liberty on the back. Instead, the Smiths’ coin is just smooth, shiny metal. “We’re just so excited,” Mary Smith told The Associated Press. “I’m just dumbfounded that we actually found something significant.”

Mint spokesman Michael White said officials had not confirmed the Smiths’ find. But Ron Guth, a coin authenticator with Professional Coin Grading Service of Newport Beach, Calif., said after examining it he is certain the coin is authentic. “It’s really pretty rare,” Guth said. “It somehow slipped through several steps and inspections.”

The couple, who live in Fort Collins north of Denver and collect coins, bought two rolls of the presidential dollars March 7 after hearing about the earlier mistake. Mary Smith said she thought they might find a “Godless” dollar of their own.

The faceless dollar could be worth thousands of dollars, maybe more, Guth said. The value will depend on how many similar misprints are found, but the Smiths’ will always be worth more because it will be the first one independently authenticated, he said.

The first “Godless” coins went into circulation Feb. 15.

The Mint struck 300 million presidential coins, about half in Philadelphia and half in Denver. The Smiths’ coin bears a D, meaning it was produced by the Denver Mint. The “Godless” coins were all believed to have come from the Philadelphia Mint.

The Smiths said that when they get their coin back from Guth, they’ll stick it in a bank vault for at least a while.
Link - www.newsday.com

Eye opening video on the pace of the expansion of knowledge and information.

At www.newyorkcitywalk.com Caleb Smith documents his trek through New York City. It took a little over 4 years and about 700 miles, but in the end he had walked every street in Manhatten. Many of his friends congratulated him as he crossed the finish line at the corner of Broadway and 33rd St. on December, 19th 2004.

Read more about this incredible feat (including photos and maps) and Caleb’s new projects at his website www.newyorkcitywalk.com

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Christopher Michael Langan (born c. 1957) is an American autodidact whose IQ was reported by 20/20 and other media sources to have been measured at 195. Billed as possibly “the smartest man in America”, he rose to prominence in 1999 while working as a bouncer on Long Island. Langan is author of the Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe or CTMU (pronounced “cat-mew”), which he describes as “essentially a theory of the relationship between mind and reality”.

Part 1 of 3:

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