Saturday, June 30, 2012

Brainwashing America, Pentagon-style!

http://rt.com/usa/news/darpa-fast-pentagon-narrative-151/

The Pentagon’s DARPA agency is trying to figure out how propaganda works on the people.

The Pentagon is about to crank the propaganda machine up to 11. According to a new report, the Department of Defense is attempting to find out what makes a person easily influenced in hopes of swaying them towards supporting their own causes.

In a report published this week by Wired.com’s Danger Room, they reveal that Pentagon researchers working in its DARPA division has begun work on a program called Narrative Networks. Under this initiative, scientists in the high-techh Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency are scanning brain patterns and other body functions to see how stories shape the minds of audiences, and who is most vulnerable to be swayed by persuasion. From there, the DoD can counter brainwashed terrorists with an agenda of their own.

Or, perhaps, brainwash anyone they chose.

“The government is already trying to control the message, so why not have the science to do it in a systematic way?”a researcher close to the project told the Danger Room.

A neuroscience researcher involved in the project adds that scientists are specifically looking into how story-telling shapes the minds of listeners so that they can identify who is most vulnerable to the recruiting tactics of terrorists. In its first stages, the Narrative Networks projects aims to “explore the function narratives serve in the process of political radicalization and how they can influence a person or group’s choice of means (such as indiscriminant violence) to achieve political ends.” And to figure this out, they will be investigating the role that social media has on peoples’ thinking process.

Do you “like” your friend’s Facebook post? DARPA wants to know why. Soon after, they hope, you’ll be giving them the thumbs up yourself.

In the second face, Danger Room reports, researchers will be constructing hardware and software to analyze how people perceive stories, going as far as to use non-detectable sensors to monitor internal and external reactions.

Sound space age? It’s coming sooner than you think.

Last week RT reported that the Department of Homeland Security has already begun work on an operation called the FAST project, in which they’ve monitored the psychophysiological measurements of test subjects’ breathing, blink patterns and speech rhythms in order to pin-point security threats based solely on biological functions.

Did reading this make you uneasy? The government wants to know (and they already might).

Original Page: http://theunhivedmind.com/wordpress/?p=6900

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Illuminati Signal New Mind Control Technology

by THEUNHIVEDMIND, theunhivedmind.com
December 16th 2011

http://www.henrymakow.com/methods_of_illuminati_mind_con.html

Inception should have been called “Insertion.” The movie shows the application of behaviour-changing thought insertion.

The Illuminati goal is to enslave us. Mind control is their chosen method.
In case education and the media aren’t enough…

“The announcement, in the mainstream media, of the “precursor” form of this technology is meant to prepare the population for what is yet to come: personality alteration, via thought-inducing technology.”

by Aspen
(henrymakow.com)

A month ago Dr. Makow published a precursor to this article which made the claim that “The Illuminati have the means to introduce thoughts, to influence nighttime dreams, and to produce visual projections seemingly in real time space. They have sponsored brain-pattern science because the ability to produce a controlling mental signal is the final key to controlling humanity.”

“The operating principle of this mind-control technology is a ‘sixth sense’ — the electromagnetic brain field. The scientific assessment is that this field is responsive — therefore, control is possible.”

Recently, a Daily Mail article has appeared: “‘Downloading’ new skills into our brains like characters on The Matrix set to become a reality, say scientists”

The article states:

“Learning a martial art, how to fly a plane or how to speak a new language without even being awake is set to become a reality, say researchers. Scientists at Boston University and ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan, believe that in the future learning a new skill might involve nothing more than sitting in front of a computer screen and waiting for it to ‘upload’.

“They have been studying how a functional magnetic resonance machine (FMRI) can ‘induce’ knowledge in someone through their visual cortex by sending signals that change their brain activity pattern.

“This process is called Decoded Neurofeedback, or ‘DecNef’.

“No medication is needed and the subject doesn’t even have to be awake, he or she simply has their brain activity changed to a ‘target’ pattern, which could be anything from that of a star footballer to a master chess player.

“Lead author Takeo Watanabe from the University of Boston said: ‘Adult early visual areas are sufficiently plastic to cause visual perceptual learning.’

“In the The Matrix trilogy the characters learn new skills by having a computer physically plugged into their brains and new skills directly uploaded. The day when we are able to do something similar is not too far away, say the researchers.”

My original article stated that a more sophisticated version of this technology is already in use. That was an educated guess. Profound “deep research” conducted in Illuminati-controlled labs is fed back, in seeping fashion, into the comparatively limp (and relatively under-funded) realm of mainstream academia, enough to produce hints and shades of advancements which are already well into their second- and third-tier stages of development. By this means, both society and the academic world are prepped to accept what is to come.

Meanwhile, it’s of no passing significance that the authors of this article chose to refer to The Matrix. The Matrix is a film that was written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers. Notably, the Wachowski Brothers likewise scripted the consummate Illuminati film, V for Vendetta. Both films featured a key Illuminati acting tool, Hugo Weaving.

The application of this specific sort of mind control technology was described in yet another film, Inception, which was written and directed by Christopher Nolan. The film is significant for demonstrating thought insertion.

In the movie, a team of mind-invaders introduce a thought into a subject’s mind, at a level profound enough to produce life changes.

From the script:

SAITO
If you can steal an idea from someone’s mind,
why can’t you plant one there instead?

COBB
This isn’t the usual corporate espionage, Mr. Saito.
This is inception.
The seed of the idea we plant will grow in this man’s mind.
It’ll change him. It might even come to define him.

In order successfully to invade the subject’s mind, the environment, behavioral patterns (habits), and psychological structure first undergo scrutiny.

As I wrote, in my original article, “Targeted individuals’ minds are monitored in order to establish a schedule of attention patterns, i.e. habits. Everyone thinks about a few things often. This is the entry point. Once a mental and emotional map of repetitive thought has been drawn, the initial stage of influence can begin.”

Once the mind is invaded, the charade of the invasion must be maintained.

My article stated, “Intrusive thought control must be hidden. The introduction of ideas, the presentation of influential imagery, and emotional influence of behavioral choices, must all be concealed.”

COBB (CONT’D)
This is where you come in. You build the world of the dream. We take the
subject into that dream, and let him fill it with his subconscious.

ARIADNE
But are you trying to fool him that the dream is actually real life?

COBB (nods)
While we’re in there, we don’t want him to realize he’s dreaming.

ARIADNE
How could I ever get enough detail to convince him that it’s real?

COBB
Our dreams feel real while we’re in them. It’s only when we wake up we realize things were strange.

ARTHUR
That’s why the military developed dream sharing — a training program
where soldiers could strangle, stab and shoot each other, then wake up.

CONSCIOUS CONVERSION IS THE GOAL

Invasion of the mind is not enough. A convincingly real dream setting is not enough. The mind must accept the reason for the setting.

As I wrote, “It is not sufficient only to introduce new thoughts, notions, and impulses which enable deep control. The receiver must eventually be willing to accept them and follow them at the conscious level. Individuals being influenced by mind control themselves perform the psychological choices which hide the external control. This is kit and key to the success of the process. Rebellion against the process would be a risk.”

From the script:

COBB
Now, the subconscious motivates through emotion, not reason,
so we have to translate the idea into an emotional concept.

EAMES
It’s not just about depth. You need the simplest version of the idea-
the one that will grow naturally in the subject’s mind. Subtle art.
That’s the only way to make it stick. It has to seem self- generated.

(end of quote)

In all of this, we can detect a discussion concerning actual mind control technology currently at work. The Illuminati HAVE the technology to induce thoughts and — especially — to influence dreams.

The schematics of human thought, and tactics of invasion, have been well-mapped. Human thought is already being directly altered, mostly in select cases, but also more broadly in lighter ways, using this technology.

The announcement, in the mainstream media, of the “precursor” form of this technology is meant to prepare the population for what is yet to come: personality alteration, via thought-inducing technology.

The “depressed” will come forth to be healed. The “criminal” will come forth to be fixed. The “spiritually empty” will come forth to be opened. “Gay” and “straight” will become bisexual.

You ain’t seen nothing yet.

Original Page: http://theunhivedmind.com/wordpress/?p=16851

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Staying Human in Movement to Mobile - Digital Education - Education Week

Staying Human in Movement to Mobile

by Ian Quillen, blogs.edweek.org
November 29th 2011 12:40 PM

What exactly should "mobile learning" mean?

Although it could refer to the portable capability of the device—a tablet, a smartphone, or even a laptop or netbook—Cameron Evans, the national and chief technology officer of U.S. education for Microsoft Corp., said it's actually more about the humans using those devices.

"When you're the person that's mobile, your experience has to follow you across a multitude of devices and modalities," Evans said here at a morning address at the SIIA Ed-Tech Business Forum in New York. "If you like things more than people, this is the wrong conversation."

In addressing an array of trends—such as the bring-your-own-device movement, the implementation of digital textbooks, and the crusade to bring more gaming into education—Evans encouraged the audience to think about their human consequences.

With the bring-your-own-device movement, Evans cautioned that pushing students to purchase their own educational devices would lessen school and district purchasing power as it relates to securing educational discounts, making it more expensive for schools to provide machines for students who don't own their own devices.

As for digitizing textbooks, Evans said, devices need to improve resolution to be as easily readable for human readers as bound materials. Moreover, he said more thought needs to be given to how printed texts are currently used—not just as single resources read from front to back, but as part of a collection you might spread upon the floor at varying pages when studying for an exam.

"It's a very shortsighted prospect to think just because we take a printed page and make a digital analog to think we've improved anything," Evans said.

Original Page: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2011/11/staying_human_in_movement_to_m.html

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Intel Unveils New, $200 Tablet for Education - Digital Education - Educatio

Intel Unveils New, $200 Tablet for Education

by Katie Ash, blogs.edweek.org
April 13th 2012 12:48 PM

Intel has announced the launch of its 7-inch tablet encased in rugged plastic, created specifically for use in the education market. The tablets, called Intel studybooks, are expected to cost less than $200 each, says Kapil Wadhera, the general manager of Intel's education market platforms group, according to the Wall Street Journal's tech blog Digits. That price is less than half the starting price of a new iPad (which starts at $499).

Its durability and low price is reminiscent of the "$100" laptop, created by the organization One Laptop Per Child. In the end, prices for the laptops grew beyond the $100 price point when the product was released in 2007, but the organization recently introduced a low-cost tablet in January expected to be priced at $100 or less.

The studybook comes with front and rear cameras (which can be turned into microscopes for science experiments with a special lens), a microphone, and an LCD touch screen. The tablet is designed to withstand falls from student desks and is water and dust resistant. According to Christopher Dawson from the ZDNet Education blog, who was able to demo the product, the base model will come with 4 GB of storage and Wi-Fi capabilities, with the option to upgrade to a 3G network, Gorilla Glass, or more storage (for an increased but yet-undisclosed price). The device will run either the Android or Windows operating systems.

In addition, the studybook is compatible with Intel's network of education service providers, software providers, and digital content called the Intel Learning Series. And according to Christopher Dawson's blog post, e-textbook provider Kno will be providing e-reading software for the devices as well as K-12 content.

There's no word on when exactly the tablets will hit the market, so it's unclear whether schools will embrace the studybook as a viable alternative to the hugely successful iPad anytime soon. But the studybook definitely has the iPad beat in at least one category—price—which is hard to ignore for some cash-strapped districts.

Original Page: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2012/04/intel_unveils_new_200_tablet_f.html

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How to eat on $33 a week - Food stamp challenge

How to eat on $33 a week

by Rory Freedm, foxnews.com
June 22nd 2012

The week started with a blur—parties, events, benefits—and grocery shopping. Only this week was different, because my food budget shrank to $33. I was taking the food stamp challenge.

Several celebrities and members of Congress have taken similar challenges to simulate the experience of more than 46 million Americans who are now served by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. These are the people who have just $4.50 a day to spend on food. They are also twice as likely to have type 2 diabetes.

As a health advocate and foodie, I wanted to prove that you can eat well and eat healthy on a budget. Was it a challenge? Yes. Was it possible? Totally.

I focused on high-fiber, nutrient-rich foods: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. I bought whole-grain pasta, brown rice, oatmeal, carrots, kale, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, apples, mangoes, pears, nectarines, bananas, black beans, white beans, pinto beans, chickpeas, and organic peanut butter. I skipped indulgences like vegan ice cream, prepared items, and packaged foods. I made a list in advance and I didn’t make any impulse purchases at the store (except for one small jar of tomato sauce for $1.59).

It was close to midnight when I went grocery shopping for my food stamp challenge. I was tired and my brain was foggy. I was nervous when I got to the cashier that I hadn’t paid careful enough attention to the tally and that I’d go over and have to put something back. I couldn’t remember a single time when I had to be this mindful of how much I spent on groceries. It really opened my eyes to what so many people must go through every day.

Since it was so late at night, the store only had one checkout lane open, and there was now a line behind me. I told the cashier I only had $33, and imagined the walk of shame I’d have to make if I’d gone over. My total: $28.88. I was under by $4! (I went back into the store and bought more mangoes at $1 a piece.)

Since SNAP is a supplemental program, I used some of the food I already had at home, like bread, jelly, garlic, rice milk, olive oil, and vinegar. For breakfasts I rotated between oatmeal with peanut butter and jelly and a banana, a fresh fruit salad, or smoothies made with either a banana, peanut butter, and rice milk, or a banana, a nectarine, and rice milk. Lunches and dinners were simple, but nourishing—I made every variation I could think of with the beans, rice, pasta, and veggies.

I had salads, bean salads, beans and rice, stir fries, pasta with red sauce, pasta with broccoli, kale, garlic, and white beans. I snacked on mangoes, pears, and apples with peanut butter.

Since going vegan, my taste buds have changed so much and healthy food tastes really good to me. So my grocery list and meal plan for the week weren’t that different than what I usually do. But I can imagine how hard this would be for Americans who are addicted to junk food, like chips, soda, and sugar. Or for Americans who are addicted to meat and cheese, which are high in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol, and low in fiber and nutrients.

I’ve partnered with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine to push for a revamped SNAP program to promote healthy basics like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes. This way people could go into their local corner stores and get an apple instead of a Red Bull. They could opt for foods that help fight type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and other costly diseases.

You don’t have to try limiting your grocery budget to $33 a week to understand the relation between poor eating habits and poor health. Two out of three Americans are overweight or obese, and more than 100 million have diabetes or prediabetes. Childhood obesity rates have tripled over the last 30 years—one in three children is now overweight or obese.

I hope my challenge can be used to promote simple, nourishing foods for any budget.

Original Page: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/06/22/skinny-bitch-author-rory-freedman-takes-vegan-food-stamp-challenge

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Home Alone? Don’t Tell the Neighbors

by KJ DELL'ANTONIA, parenting.blogs.nytimes.com
June 28th 2012

Advice

Quandary Considered

Every Friday, we pose a question to the Motherlode community. The next week, we pull together the best responses. Got a quandary? E-mail KJ ».

Wow.

If I did let my children stay home alone — and given some of the comments on this quandary I think I will preserve a discreet silence on the subject — I think I’d be mighty careful who I told about it, and not just out of concern for their safety. Last week I asked, apropos of a number of questions and comments on the topic, “When Is a Child Old Enough to Stay Home Alone?”

I noted an available guideline: the National SafeKids Campaign recommends that no child be left at home alone before the age of 12 — and added that I was a latchkey child at 6 or 7, and loved it.

Most readers had thoughtfully evaluated the question, like M and SP:

My kids are 8 and 10, will be 9 and and 11 in the fall. I plan for them to stay home by themselves after school once a week next year. They did it couple of times this spring, and are very happy about it. … I believe the biggest danger to kids if they are hovered over and then suddenly dropped on their own. It’s an issue whether they are 7 or 17 and going to college. So I teach independence step by step, starting by my husband and me taking a walk on our block with kids at home. Literally 5 min with our house in sight. Then 15 min walk around the block. You got the picture.

I have 3 kids – 11, 8 and 6. I leave the three of them at home for up to an hour during the day while I run errands nearby. They have a phone and know how to reach me/neighbors/911. I call them periodically to check in. I will leave the 8 and 6 year old home alone while I run my oldest to school (10 mins roundtrip). I never leave the 6 year old home alone. When I leave them, I let them watch TV. We are not big TV watchers so this is a big treat. I am quite sure they don’t even blink, no less move, while I am away. They know and are regularly quizzed about the safety rules. I am entirely comfortable with this.

In fact, as I read over the comments, most readers expressed something similar: an 8-year-old for a few minutes, maybe, depending on the 8-year-old; a 10-year-old, probably; a 12-year-old, yes, but leaving them at night or in charge of siblings varied from child to child, neighborhood to neighborhood and parent to parent. (I’m kind of intrigued by the sibling question: at one point is a sibling an added burden, and at what point additional support?) Many of us remembered the standards being much more relaxed when we were young, and Abbi says the norms in Israel, at least, are also looser:

Here in Israel it’s perfectly normal to leave 7 year olds alone for at least 20 minutes, to pick up other kids from school/day care. I leave my 8 year old alone for at least an hour to shop or do other errands. She knows how to call me if she needs help, she knows not to touch anything dangerous in the kitchen and stays put. … It works for us, and 12 and 13 sounds a bit ridiculous.

But the tone of the comments, and the resulting mini-debates, was defensive—because those who disagreed disagreed vehemently. Possibly my favorite comment came from OR, who really captured one element of the problem:

We had an explosive argument about this at my house, when my husband left my 8 year old home alone for 10 minutes during a rainstorm to walk the dog around the block. He was never more than an 1/4 mile away at any point, but techinically my son was “home alone”. I realized that I didn’t feel unease at the thought of my son in the house alone, but rather what others would think if they found out.

What others would think if they found out. Among all the measured responses were those few that sounded the alarm: Todd Fox, who wondered what would happen if the child who was dependent on the cell phone to get help was “incapacitated and unable to call,” and shamed another parent for leaving a child with a fever to run another child to school, and Sheri Noga, who outraged many with a flat-out declaration that “a child’s mind is simply not developed or mature enough [before age 12] to cope with possible emergencies. An emergency can occur in any period of time – even a 10 min. trip to the store. Leaving a 10-year-old in charge of a 7-year-old is not only unwise, it is unsafe and irresponsible.”

She added, in response to those who said they’d worked with their children on what to do in an emergency: “Children often do not exercise rehearsed behaviors when in an actual situation.”

It’s those hard and fast proclamations (“unsafe and irresponsible”) that leave parents who do give their children responsibility, which of necessity entails taking some risks, hesitating to talk about their choices. As others pointed out, an emergency could arise with you at home, too—in fact, you could be the emergency: witness the 9-year-old boy who called 911 when his mother had a heart attack last December.

But on some level, we’re all afraid of becoming the “home alone” version of the Bozeman, Mont., mother who was prosecuted for child endangerment for dropping her children off at the local mall with her 12-year-old daughter in charge. No tragedy ensued, but many were as convinced of her bad judgment as some readers are that no child of 7, — or 8, 9, 10 or 11 —can safely be left unattended at any time.

You can probably tell from the tone of this wrap-up that I disagree with drawing a black age line between capable and not. I remain with those who consider the circumstance and the child before making a call regarding how and when children should be left alone. And I note that, if we’re going to panic about all the statistically unlikely tragedies that could befall a child at home without adult supervision, the number one killer of children in the United States is indeed accidents — but the most likely accident to snatch your child away from you will happen while he or she is in the back seat of your car. Think they’re really safer there than at home, watching “Good Luck Charlie?” Think again.

As hard as it to face as a parent, we can’t keep our children “safe” from everything. We can give them the opportunities we think are appropriate to learn to take care of themselves — and the least we can do for one another is to assume we’re giving it our best, even if our idea of “safe” differs from yours.

Original Page: http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/28/home-alone-dont-tell-the-neighbors/

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50 Best iPad Apps for STEM Education

by Staff Writers, onlineuniversities.com
May 30th 2012

Despite early doubts, the iPad has proven to be an incredibly valuable tool for education, both in the classroom and in homes around America. By offering students, from elementary school all the way up to the university level, the chance to do some hands-on learning, exploring, and sometimes even educational gaming, the device makes education fun and exciting, something that isn’t always easy to do.

With schools falling behind in math and science education and companies unable to find enough qualified professionals to fill jobs in science and technology fields, pushing STEM education is more important than ever. Educators and parents can help get kids interested and perhaps even hooked on STEM no matter their age with the help of the iPad and the myriad great educational applications it offers. Here, we share some of the best applications for STEM education, and with selections that work for students of all ages and abilities, you’re bound to find something that’s the perfect companion to any STEM lesson.

General

These applications address STEM more generally or act as amazing tools and reference guides for learning.

Mythbusters HD:
Fans of the Mythbusters TV show can get even more myth-busting action with this iPad app, filled with videos, games, and much more.
Science Illustrated:
Get access to the great stories in Science Illustrated when you get this app, paired with a subscription to the magazine. Stories range from green tech to biology to anthropology, hitting on just about everything else in between, too.
VideoScience:
Dan Menelly, a science teacher at the UN International School, provides the short videos at the center of this app, teaching students about all kinds of scientific concepts.
Khan Academy:
Practice math, science, and computer science skills by watching the videos and completing the activities offered through the always-free Khan Academy.
Seismograph:
Get a quick lesson in earthquakes by checking out this seismograph application that can help you to measure any vibration, shaking, or movement.
iLab: Timer HD:
The ideal accompaniment to any lab work, this timer lets you easily time experiments with accuracy and record your results.
Wolfram Alpha:
Wolfram Alpha is the ideal reference tool for problems in mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, engineering, astronomy, biology, computer science, and much more.
Science Glossary:
Look up the names of famous scientists, scientific terms, and other essential information in this free reference application for iPhone and iPad.
PLoS Reader:
Through the PLoS Reader app, learners can access articles from the seven academic journals published by the Public Library of Science.
Exploriments:
Exploriments is all about providing students with fun, simulation-based learning units on science topics. Through their apps, students can learn about topics like motion, fluids, electrostatics, force, and electricity.
Science 360:
The National Science Foundation provides this app, filled with science and engineering images, videos, and news from around the world.