Science of Everything in Life

Cannabis and Coke

2005-10-30T08:25:00.000-08:00

Peace,
Here are two great books on two 'illegal' drugs. Educate yourself.

Cannabis: A History by Martin Booth

FROM THE PUBLISHER
"In this study, Martin Booth crafts a tale of medical advance, religious enlightenment, political subterfuge, and human rights, of law enforcement and custom officers, cunning smugglers, street pushers, gang warfare, writers, artists, musicians, and happy-go-lucky hippies and potheads." Booth chronicles the fascinating and often mystifying process through which cannabis, a relatively harmless substance, became outlawed throughout the Western world, and the devastating effect such legislation has on the global economy. Above all, he demonstrates how the case for decriminalization remains one of the twenty-first century's hottest topics.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
Booth, author of a sweeping history of opium, now offers a global history of cannabis, especially its production and uses as hashish and marijuana. In doing so, he tracks the plant's biological, pharmaceutical, medicinal, religious, cultural, literary, social, and regulatory history from ancient China and India, through the Middle East and Africa, into Europe and the Americas, and finally to middle-class American suburbs, Amsterdam coffee shops, and recording studios everywhere today. Cannabis has proved a versatile and variable plant, spreading on the trade winds and through commerce, conquest, and countercultures. Booth does much to debunk the many myths surrounding cannabis and the onus as a supposed stimulant for violent, antisocial, Communist, and other disruptive behavior with which antidrug forces sought to link it, instead pointing out its often beneficial effects in art, literature, music, and pain relief and its benign effect on human relations. Booth tips his hand for the decriminalization of marijuana but otherwise gives a remarkably "cool" account of a plant that people round the world, to paraphrase the Beatles, had to get into their lives. Get this book instead.--Randall M. Miller, Saint Joseph's Univ., Philadelphia Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
An investigation of the culture of hemp, the most widely distributed hallucinogenic on Earth. The cannabis industry is huge, certainly. It is a major crop worldwide, surpassing, for example, logging in British Columbia. It is farmed in basements everywhere. Hemp regularly makes the happy trek from Tangier and Nepal, Kabul and Amsterdam, Jamaica, Bombay and Brooklyn in the forms of marijuana and hashish. Hemp can be used for food, fuel, and fiber, but novelist Booth's (A Very Private Gentleman, Jan. 2004, etc.) wide-ranging report concentrates on the fun many derived from Mary Jane and hash. It can be traced back in the day of our Neolithic forbears, the classical civilizations of Greece, Rome, and China. Indians and Arabs used cannabis in one form or another and the eating or smoking of it blossomed in England and America. Thomas Wedgwood tried it and Louisa May Alcott featured the stuff in a story. It was used, notes Booth, by Satchmo, Malcolm X, Bob Marley, Keith Richards, Robert Crumb, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and many, many others, including the fictional Dr. Fu Manchu. Difficulties increased a couple of generations ago with the onslaughts of head federal narc Harry J. Anslinger. The 20th-century war on drugs seems to be a loser, possibly because usage does not seem to be all that harmful. While he doesn't deny some possibly allied ill effects (like crashes involving a stoned "train driver" and a high pilot), Booth tells of the scientific exaggerations repeated by the press without basis: "The war on cannabis is being fought from a concern not for public health or order . . . but for public morality." Before reaching that conclusion, the indefatigable author presents much of theliterature, mythology, horticultural science, pharmacology, political and social history, the uses and misuses of the vegetation so friendly to mankind as balm and analgesic. Along with Eric Schlosser's Reefer Madness (2003), this could become a staple at neighborhood head shops. Readable and comprehensive, loaded as fudge: the only hash book you'll ever need.

Cocaine: An Unauthorized Biography by Dominic Streatfeild

FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review from Discover Great New Writers
Last year, Discover selected a biography of a talented but unlikely champion: a racehorse. Seabiscuit charmed readers everywhere and continues to ride bestseller lists in its paperback incarnation. This season we've again made a discovery that readers might, at first glance, think peculiar: an "unauthorized biography" of a powdery white substance. No, not salt, that's been done before. No, not snow -- at least not as it's properly defined. Our unusual choice is Dominic Streatfeild's biography of a substance that continues to enchant many and leaves a wake of casualties wherever it goes -- cocaine.
A London-based documentary film producer, Streatfeild interviewed nearly 150 subjects to assemble his compendium, including scientists, traffickers, academics, crackheads, and customs and drug enforcement agents. While others have tackled various aspects of drug use and the role cocaine has played in the growth of cartels and crime rings, no one has previously explored cocaine and its history so comprehensively or engagingly. From Freud and Conan Doyle to Richard Pryor and Pablo Escobar, Streatfeild has drawn a skilled and controversial portrait of a substance whose botanical origins reach back 40 centuries to the pre-Incan tribes who first discovered it. On the cocaine trail, in a voice wholly his own, Streatfeild details the evolution of cocaine use and addiction, the rise of crack and crack-related violence, and more. Unafraid to tackle stereotypes, Streatfeild's history is sure to raise some hackles. But then, would you expect anything else on a subject that has crossed so many different lines? (Summer 2002 Selection)
FROM THE PUBLISHER
On May 16, 1499, Amerigo Vespucci set sail for the New World. Three months later, having navigated his way along the coastline of Brazil, he washed up on an idyllic desert island fifteen leagues from the mainland. There he was appalled to discover a tribe of hideous Indians, their mouths stuffed full of leaves "like beasts." The leaves were coca, the source of the drug cocaine.
Five hundred years later, the effects of the discovery are still felt. In 1999, South America produced 613,400 tons of coca, with a potential yield of 765 tons of cocaine. Last year a United Nations report estimated that the global cocaine trade generated $92 billion per year - $20 billion more than the combined revenues of Microsoft, Kellogg's, and McDonald's.
SYNOPSIS
Over the course of two years, London-based documentary film maker and writer Streatfeild interviewed some 150 traffickers, scientists, academics, journalists, officials of the US customs and drug agencies; he talked to people in the US, Bolivia, Columbia, and Peru. His book is an engaging account of the drugs' history and ongoing impact. This is a paperbound reprint of a 2001 book. Distributed in the US by Palgrave. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Boil off Streatfeild's informal tone a mix of self-deprecation and gonzo-journalist swagger and what's left is a fascinating and richly detailed story of the world's most notorious drug and an illicit $92-billion-a-year industry. Streatfeild, a British documentary film producer, visits its every outpost, from Bronx crack houses and Amazonian coca plantations to Bolivian prisons and the compounds of South American drug lords. He launches the story with a history of the coca leaf and its prominent place in both ancient and contemporary consciousness, tackling race, poverty, class, violence, mythology and xenophobia as seen through the prism of cocaine. There are countless strands to the story, and Streatfeild follows every one: the rise of the Colombian cartels, government collusion with traffickers, the crack phenomenon, media hype, the U.S. war on drugs and the legalization debate. The author lights up the myriad figures who feature in cocaine's history: Columbus, Freud, Pablo Escobar, Manuel Noriega, George Jung, even Richard Pryor and the late basketball star Len Bias. He picks the brains of botanists and economists, lawmen and guerrillas, addicts and kingpins, and travels extensively throughout the Americas. The main drawback: Streatfeild's insistence that the reader be privy to superfluous research details such as fizzled leads, false starts, wrong turns and boring authors. In the end, though, Streatfeild delivers a straight tale about a world where nothing is as it seems. (June) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
Originally published in Great Britain in 2001, this book by documentary film producer Streatfeild offers a fast but uneven ride through the history of cocaine. Streatfeild combines interviews with drug dealers, users, scientists, law officers, and others involved in the commerce and culture of cocaine with readings of various popular and scientific accounts. He tracks the adaptations and spread of cocaine from its earliest religious and medicinal uses among people in the Andes to its modern incarnations as both part of the "hip" culture and as a supposed cause of criminality in the form of "crack cocaine." Streatfeild also shows how much cocaine figured in American policy in Panama, Mexico, and the Iran-Contra episode and how it affects the Colombian civil war today. But he disrupts his work with a highly personalized narrative that constantly interrupts his argument and undercuts his credibility with errors in fact, overstatements, and uncritical readings of limited sources. The result is a riff rather than a rumination on an important subject. Absent any other work of similar scope, Cocaine is worth acquiring but with a warning label that it's not all it's cracked up to be. Randall M. Miller, Saint Joseph's Univ., Philadelphia Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Bling Bling: Hip Hop's Crown Jewles

2005-10-22T15:42:00.000-07:00

Bling Bling: Hip Hop's Crown Jewels by Minya Oh

FROM THE PUBLISHER
When it comes to the world of hip-hop, nothing shines brighter than glorious bling. A fascinating look in words and pictures at the stars of hip-hop and their fabulous jewelry.
Welcome to the rarified world of hip-hop royalty, where mega-stars from Jay-Z to J. Lo flash brilliant rocks to signify status and express personal style. In Bling Bling, writer and radio show host Minya Oh takes readers deep inside this star-studded world, exploring the wild appetite for flashy adornment that typifies the contemporary rap scene. See how the other half sparkles in this fascinating photo-filled book devoted to the history and culture of rappers and their jewelry from the last 25 years. Run DMC, Slick Rick, Ludacris, and Puff Daddy are just some of the rap legends who show and tell, as the author travels from East Coast to West to discover the world's most fabulous accoutrements and the stories behind them.
Hip-hop culture has become, simply, pop culture. Fans who can't get enough of the flamboyant personalities and lifestyles will embrace Bling Bling. If you're still not yet sure what "bling bling" means, don't fret-you can look it up in the Oxford English Dictionary, where the ubiquitous slang phrase is now included.
Minya Oh is a longtime entertainment writer and editor who has contributed to The Source, Vibe, XXL, Glamour, and MTV. She also penned VH1's The Fabulous Life of Hip-Hop Superstars. Minya appears on a morning radio show on Hot 97, the number one rated hip-hop station in the country, as well as on VH1's top-rated variety show Best Week Ever. She lives in New York City.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Peace,
This is a great book. I have to cosign it. What it does is trace the element of jewelry in Hip Hop. It’s great because it has personal testimonies from everyone! It goes from before and through the Golden Age of Hip-Hop, has a great section on leather medallions, and flips into the current platinum ‘ice age’.

What makes this book great is because it is not an academic presentation of the subject. Hearing each MC speak on the meaning of said jewelry to them moves it beyond a simple reflection on ‘materialism’.

Peace

Buddhism

2005-09-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

Peace
Within the paradigm of the Nation of Gods and Earths we hold two views of ‘Buddhism’ that differs from the WESTERN mainstream:

-We hold that what is now known as Buddhism has been corrupted to become a religion focused on the person of the Buddha (which is a title) known as Siddautha. In its original form it is primarily a way of life.

-We hold that Buddhism PREDATED Hinduism. Though this is not a popular notion in the West it is a notion that is often presented in the East

With the above being said these are two great books that address each topic. The second book I had to order straight from India.
> Buddhism without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening

ANNOTATION
This concise and beautiful book demystifies Buddhism by explaining, without jargon or obscure terminology, what awakening is and how to practice it. What Buddha taught, says Stephen Batchelor, is not something to believe in but something to do...something that can be practiced every day.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Those with an interest in Buddhism will welcome this new book by Stephen Batchelor, former monk and author of Alone With Others and The Awakening of the West. But those who are just discovering this increasingly popular practice will have much to gain as well-for Buddhism Without Beliefs serves as a solid, straightforward introduction that demystifies Buddhism and explains simply and plainly how its practice can enrich our lives. Avoiding jargon and theory, Batchelor concentrates on the concrete, making Buddhism accessible and compelling and showing how anyone can embark on this path-regardless of their religious background.
FROM THE CRITICS
Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi
[A]n intelligent and eloquent attempt to...define the parameters for a style of "dharma practice" appropriate to the new situation....In my viewwhat we require is a clear articulation of the essential principles taught by the Buddha himself in all their breadth and profundity.The challenge...is to express these principles in a living language that addresses the deep crises of our time. —Journal of Buddhist Ethics
Publishers Weekly
Batchelor's latest concise volume explores the practical fundamentals of Buddhism and how they can be relevant to both religious and secular-minded Westerners. Batchelor makes several controversial, but thoughtfully argued, points central to his "existential, therapeutic" and agnostic interpretation of Buddhism: that Buddhism is not strictly a religion, since it does not adhere to a belief in God; that the Buddha did not consider himself a mystic or savior, but a healer; and that Buddhismis less a "belief system" than a personal "course of action" that naturally instills morality, compassion and inner peace in the practitioner. Though he is a former monk in both the Zen and Tibetan traditions, Batchelor is now associated with a nondenominational Buddhist community in England. He deliberately eschews elitist, monastic Buddhist traditions, which often make enlightenment appear all but impossible to attain. Throughout, simple meditation exercises acquaint readers with Buddhist principles that illuminate "the nature of the human dilemma and a way to its resolution."

> Buddhism : The Religion of Mohenjodaro and Harappa Cities/Swapan Kumar Biswas. 1999, 390 p.,
Contents: 1. Discovery of India. 2. Buddhism hijacked by Hinduism. 3. Indian Assura civilization before the Aryan intruders. 4. Siddhartha initiated by a former Buddha. 5. Former Buddhas and archaeological evidences. 6. The Maiden Crusade and destruction of Buddhism. 7. Revival of Buddhism by Shakya Singha Gautama. 8. Philosophy of Gautama Buddha. 9. The schools of Indian philosophy Pre Aryan. 10. Internationalisation of Buddhism by Asoka the Great. 11. Decline and fall of Buddhism in India. 12. Revival of Buddhism in modern age. Index.
"This unique work is abound with information and original thought about the roots of ethnic, cultural and religious history of the people of India. It is a book on the history of Buddhism, the religion of millenniums. Buddhism of unknown antiquity, Buddhism of the present day and Buddhism of the future world has been narrated in the book. The author has made a deep research on the religion of India during the period of Mohenjodaro-Harappa metropolis. Swami Vivekananda's point that the nomad Aryans invaded India has been very convincingly established in the book with required and sound evidences. During 1600 to 1500 B.C. the Aryans destroyed not only the opulent urban centers and highly advanced economic structure of ancient civilization of the Indian Assura race but also annihilated the religion of Pre-Vedic period, which was correspondingly rich to the material development of the contemporary society." (jacket)

For a Recovering Christian

2005-09-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

Peace,
A good friend of mine is a ‘recovering Christian’. He isn’t totally sold on the concept that the Blackman is God yet he is not really seeing a reality where there is a mystery god. As such he asked me to give him a list of books that would enlighten him to various aspects of Christianity that doesn’t make the evening news..lol.

Being that I came out of Christianity into the Knowledge of myself I have traveled that path that he is traveling. When you deal with older people there is a lot more ‘deprogramming’ that has to happen vs. that which has to be done with the youth. So I gave him a long list…lol. Here is a list that is a good primer:

Bible
(I can’t tell you how many Christians whom I have run into who HAVEN’T even read their own religious text. Read it from cover to cover and THAT is the most effective means of deprogramming there is. You can get these bibles that are set up so that you read the whole entire bible in a year.)

The Dark Side of Christian History
The X-Rated Bible
The Gnostic Bible
The Kebra Nagast
Battle for God
Psycho Bible
The Passover Plot
Holy Blood, Holy Grail
Messianic Legacy
World’s Crucified Saviors
Templar Revelation
Any book Elaine Paigels
Nag Hammadi Librairy
Holy Reich
The Dummies guide to Christianity
The Dummies guide to the Reformation
The Dummies guide to Catholicism
The Dummies Guide to Protestantism
Christianity an Egyptian Religion

That is a basic primer to get the ball rolling.

John Hardy Hawkins

2005-08-07T13:31:00.001-07:00

The Queen's Slave Trader: John Hawkyns, Elizabeth I, and the Trafficking in Human Souls by Nick Hazlewood

FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Throughout history, blame for the introduction of slavery to America has been squarely placed upon the male slave traders who ravaged African villages, the merchants who auctioned off humans as if they were cattle, and the male slave owners who ruthlessly beat both the spirits and the bodies of their helpless victims. There is, however, above all these men, another person who has seemingly been able to avoid the blame that is due her." "The origins of the English slave trade - the result of which is often described as America's shame - can actually be traced back to a woman, England's Queen Elizabeth I." "In The Queen's Slave Trade, historian Nick Hazlewood examines one of the roots of slavery that until now has been overlooked. It was not just the money-hungry Dutch businessmen who traded lives for gold, forever changing the course of American and world history, but the Virgin Queen, praised for her love of music, art, and literature, who put hundreds of African men, women, and children onto American soil." "During the 1560s, on direct orders from Her Majesty, John Hawkyns set sail from England. His destination: West Africa. His mission: to capture humans. At the time, Elizabeth was encouraging a Renaissance in her kingdom. Yet, being the intelligent monarch that she was, the queen knew her country's economy could not finance the dreams she had for it. An early entrepreneur, she saw an open market before her and sent one of her most trusted naval commanders, Hawkyns, to ensure a steady stream of wealth to sustain all the beauty that was her passion." "Like his fellow Englishmen, Hawkyns believed the African people's dark skin stood for evil, filth, barbarity - the complete opposite of the English notion of beauty, a lily white complexion and a virtuous soul, as exemplified by the queen. To him it was simple. If the white English were civilized and pure, the dark Africans must be savage. It was a moral license for Hawkyns to capture Africans." John Hawkyns was
SYNOPSIS
Journalist Hazlewood examines the career of a man who made the English the winners in the fight with the Spanish and Portuguese over the slave trade out of western Africa. Hazlewood also examines the reasons why Elizabeth I set Hawkyns up in trade, which included funding her preoccupation with high (and expensive) culture, acquiring wealth and power through empire, promoting Protestantism, and securing the gratitude of the rising merchant class. In his narrative Hazlewood examines the contexts that allowed the slave trade to commence and continue in England, including the reasons for the historical rivalry with other imperialist nations, religious precepts and conflicts, and internal political struggles that could only be resolved by cash generated by the sale of people in chains. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Peace,
This is a well written book on John Hawkins. Though we Knowledge that the Porteguese, Spanish and Dutch were instrumental in the slave trade John Hawkins is important as it is primarialy the English ideology (from Protestanism, to language, etc.) that took root in the Wilderness of North America.

John Hardy Hawkins

2005-08-07T13:31:00.000-07:00

Reallionaire...A real hustler

2005-07-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

Peace,
This review is from playahata.com

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Reallionaire: Nine Steps to Becoming Rich from the Inside Out

Category: Biography, Motivational

Author: Farrah Gray, With Fran Harris

Publisher: Health Communications, Incorporated

ISBN: 0757302246

Length: 282 pages

Release Date: January 2005

Synopsis: A remarkable teenager who went from public assistance to a million dollar net worth shares his story and offers 9 key principles to success. Farrah Gray is no ordinary teenager. He wears a suit and tie; he has an office on Wall Street and another one in Los Angeles . . . and he sold his first business at the age of 14 for more than a million dollars. He invested that money in a partnership with Inner City Broadcasting, one of the most prominent African-American owned businesses in the country, and now is heading the re-launch of their signature magazine, InnerCity. According to People magazine, Farrah is the only African-American teenager to rise from public assistance to a business mogul without being in entertainment or having a family connection. Reallionaire tells Farrah's extraordinary and touching story. When he was just six, Farrah's mother became seriously ill, prompting his decision to provide for this family, and he spent the first $50 he ever made taking them for a real sit-down dinner. At the age of eight, he founded his first business club. By fourteen, with a million dollars in his pocket, Farrah was well on his way to business success. Each stage of Farrah's progress is marked by one of the principles of success he learned along the way, creating not just an extraordinary story but also a step-by-step primer for others to create success in their own lives with honor; charity and compassion. In the tradition of great motivators and leaders, this is both an instructional book and a story to inspire others to live life to the fullest. And readers don't have to be interested in business to enjoy it. In fact, Farrah is a role model for everyone-just think of him as a Les Brown for the 21st century.

Bruce Banner Says: Overall: B+

It’s funny that every time you turn around you hear brothers talking about “I’m a Hustler, I‘m Hustling, I‘m grinding, I am on my grind,” and all these adjectives about how entrepreneurial they are. It seems that they are yelling about their ability to do many things to get money legal or illegal on the radio and in everyday conversation but those really hustling and doing it legitimately are often ignored in the same communities.

I find such is the case with Farrah Gray, who became a millionaire at just 14 years old. He started hustling at age 6 after his mother became ill. The young venture capitalist is now seasoned at 20-years-old. Farrah's hustles or business ventures range from 1-Stop Mail Boxes & More, pre-paid phone cards 4 kids, Farr-Out Foods, the Teenscope interactive teen talk show, a comedy show on the Las Vegas Strip, the NE2W Fund to support young entrepreneurs, and InnerCity magazine, a joint venture with Inner City Broadcasting, Inc. The kid has his hand in everything. People from all walks of life can and should know about him. He was just an average kid from very humble beginnings and I think all can relate to him. This book is the perfect graduation present for a child graduating high school.

He can teach a lot of people about business and his business acumen is right up there with the richest people and even surpasses many of them, particularly celebrity entertainers. He actually understands how to make money in most any field. He doesn’t have celebrity status, he doesn’t dunk or sing. Entertainers and athletes have the luxury of being able to leverage their celebrity and celebrity status through PR firms to get endorsement money for games, commercial products, movies, etc but that is not really "hustling”.

He might have always had a little something extra as business woman Wendy Day of Rap Coalition says, “Most Kids his age are like, ‘Let's go to the mall.' Farrah is like let’s build a mall.” What he has done its worthy of praise and according to People magazine, Farrah is the only African-American teenager to rise from public assistance to a business mogul without being in entertainment or having a family connection of wealth.” That’s a double edged sword because while it shows how much he has accomplished it shows a contrast of how the African American community in general waste the majority of their genius dealing with entertainment activity.

On the other hand Farrah realized early on that his chances at success were much better if he chose a path outside of entertainment. He stopped watching a lot of TV and began watching the people around him and reading books. He had lots of support from his mother and his father who although he didn’t live with them was part of his life.

Farrah is a role model. He has seemingly handled his success well and hasn’t become supped up although he would have reason to after rubbing elbows with President Clinton, Michael Milken, H. Wayne Huizenga, Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, and many other business and political leaders. But this kid is real inside and out in fact the title of his Book Reallionaire is a word he coined which means Rich In spirit and in financial terms.

The spiritual component that he incorporates into his book makes it a joy to read and you can appreciate what he has done because the balance is so obvious. Farrah uniquely presents his book as a motivational resource and an instructional book with 9 Philosophical Chapters on business

His story will definitely inspire other kids and parents despite whether or not they enjoy business. It’s written in a very simple and easy to read format. If you are not already filthy rich, then you will likely find this to be a good, light read but don't expect to be a millionaire because you read it, or more importantly, if you are working for somebody else.

The Alchemist

2005-07-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

The Alchemist: A Fable about Following Your Dream by Paulo Coelho

FROM OUR EDITORS
With the help of several enchanted strangers, an Andalusian shepherd boy learns to listen to himself.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. With over a million and a half copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has already established itself as a modern classic, universally admired. Paulo Coelho's charming fable, now available in English for the first time, will enchant and inspire an even wider audience of readers for generations to come. The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist. The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams.

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I like alot of the author's writings. He has a simple sort of writing that dosen't cloud up what he is working to say. This book is all about showing the importance of utilizing experience to get to Understanding. Those who refuse to experience life end up making life a mystery.

Peace

1984

2005-07-22T21:23:00.000-07:00

1984

FROM THE PUBLISHER
George Orwell's prophetic, nightmarish vision of "Negative Utopia" is timelier than ever-and its warnings more powerful.
Author Biography:

SYNOPSIS
Winston Smith is a low-ranking member of the ruling Party in London, in the nation of Oceania. Everywhere Winston goes, even his own home, the Party watches him through telescreens; everywhere he looks he sees the face of the Party's seemingly omniscient leader, a figure known only as Big Brother. The Party controls everything in Oceania, even the people's history and language. Currently, the Party is forcing the implementation of an invented language called Newspeak, which attempts to prevent political rebellion by eliminating all words related to it. Even thinking rebellious thoughts is illegal. Such thoughtcrime is, in fact, the worst of all crimes.
As the novel opens, Winston feels frustrated by the oppression and rigid control of the Party, which prohibits free thought, sex, and any expression of individuality. Winston dislikes the party and has illegally purchased a diary in which to write his criminal thoughts. He has also become fixated on a powerful Party member named O'Brien, whom Winston believes is a secret member of the Brotherhood—the mysterious, legendary group that works to overthrow the Party.

Winston works in the Ministry of Truth, where he alters historical records to fit the needs of the Party. He notices a coworker, a beautiful dark-haired girl, staring at him, and worries that she is an informant who will turn him in for his thoughtcrime. He is troubled by the Party's control of history: the Party claims that Oceania has always been allied with Eastasia in a war against Eurasia, but Winston seems to recall a time when this was not true. The Party also claims that Emmanuel Goldstein, the alleged leader of the Brotherhood, is the most dangerous man alive, but this does not seem plausible to Winston. Winston spends his evenings wandering through the poorest neighborhoods in London, where the proletarians, or proles, live squalid lives, relatively free of Party monitoring.

One day, Winston receives a note from the dark-haired girl that reads "I love you." She tells him her name, Julia, and they begin a covert affair, always on the lookout for signs of Party monitoring. Eventually they rent a room above the secondhand store in the prole district where Winston bought the diary. This relationship lasts for some time. Winston is sure that they will be caught and punished sooner or later (the fatalistic Winston knows that he has been doomed since he wrote his first diary entry), while Julia is more pragmatic and optimistic. As Winston's affair with Julia progresses, his hatred for the Party grows more and more intense. At last, he receives the message that he has been waiting for: O'Brien wants to see him.

Winston and Julia travel to O'Brien's luxurious apartment. As a member of the powerful Inner Party (Winston belongs to the Outer Party), O'Brien leads a life of luxury that Winston can only imagine. O'Brien confirms to Winston and Julia that, like them, he hates the Party, and says that he works against it as a member of the Brotherhood. He indoctrinates Winston and Julia into the Brotherhood, and gives Winston a copy of Emmanuel Goldstein's book, the manifesto of the Brotherhood. Winston reads the book—an amalgam of several forms of class-based twentieth-century social theory—to Julia in the room above the store. Suddenly, soldiers barge in and seize them. Mr. Charrington, the proprietor of the store, is revealed as having been a member of the Thought Police all along.

Torn away from Julia and taken to a place called the Ministry of Love, Winston finds that O'Brien, too, is a Party spy who simply pretended to be a member of the Brotherhood in order to trap Winston into committing an open act of rebellion against the Party. O'Brien spends months torturing and brainwashing Winston, who struggles to resist. At last, O'Brien sends him to the dreaded Room 101, the final destination for anyone who opposes the Party. Here, O'Brien tells Winston that he will be forced to confront his worst fear. Throughout the novel, Winston has had recurring nightmares about rats; O'Brien now straps a cage full of rats onto Winston's head and prepares to allow the rats to eat his face. Winston snaps, pleading with O'Brien to do it to Julia, not to him.

Giving up Julia is what O'Brien wanted from Winston all along. His spirit broken, Winston is released to the outside world. He meets Julia, but no longer feels anything for her. He has accepted the Party entirely and has learned to love Big Brother.

Copyright 1999-2001 SparkNotes LLC

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Peace,
1984 is the sh#t! I read it in 1984 when I was a youth. I didn't really grasp it. As I grew I watched the movie and I read it again. I started to soak in a lot and see some analogies in reality as I stepped up my observation. It is relevant nowadays. It is a fresh critique of the current 'war', government structures, totalitarian governments, and the control of language to control the brain i.e. 'wisdom knowledge'.

Gold star to the one who can guess the Plus Degree that the year 1984 plays a critical role in.

As a Man Thinketh

2005-07-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

Peace,
All summations of books, if not stated otherwise, come from http://www.bn.com. I won't be giving a review of each book. Each book posted though will be one that I have read, am planning to read, or is relevant to the science of everything in life.

As a Man Thinketh by James Allen

FROM OUR EDITORS
Allen, a 19th-century Englishman, was convinced that positive thinking produced health, wealth and a sense of well-being. His argument is clear and timeless: within each of us is the spiritual power to overcome the troubles of everyday life. 5" x 7 1/4".
ANNOTATION
Illustrating a timeless Biblical principle, this book lays the groundwork for the power of positive thinking.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Allen's practical philosophy of successful living has awakened millions to the discovery and perception of the truth that "they themselves are makers of themselves". Building on the Bible verse. "As a man thinketh, so he is", Allen insists that it is within the power of each person to form his own character and create his own happiness.

This is one of those classics that expounds on the mind, the brain, mental power, and manifestation of thought. If you substract the 'mystery god' concept you will find a nice piece on personal responsibility, self reliance and self actualization. It is one of the closest things that I have seen to 'christian buddhism'. I suggest this book to new borns in the Nation all of the time.

Five Percenter Rap

2005-07-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

book_cover
Originally uploaded by ALifeAllah.

Peace,
I’ve been promising for a while to do a review of Five Percenter Rap: God Hop's Music, Message, And Black Muslim Mission by Felicia M. Miyikawa. I’ve just been slow gassing. Bro Omi even beat me to the punch. With all that said let me drop the all eye seeing perspective on this book. I got a long list of grievances so here we go:

-As I’ve said in a previous post scholars be treating us from an anthropological stand point. It is as though they are studying a ‘dead’ civilization. As such they continue to not let us speak for ourselves. In the bibliography there are no issues of ‘Behold the Sun of Man’ , ‘The Word’, or ‘The Five Percenter’ which are all Nation periodicals. She hasn’t watched one video of our Nation’s events even though anyone can get access to them. She hasn’t spoken to any of our elders (who actually walked with Allah the Father) such as 1st Born ABG#7, Abu Shaheed (who left the temple with Allah and has a show on public access in Power Born ), 1st Born Al Jamil, or any of the 1st Born of Medina. All of the above are easily accessable. The time of prophets and messengers is over. If you want to speak about the Gods then go to the GODS.

-She uses the excuse that she is ‘white’ to explain why she couldn’t have complete access. She basically states that white people have no access to the Nation. It sounds as though she is repeating something she ‘heard’. If she had researched any she would have found Azreal, the first white five percenter who was taught by Allah in Mattewan. Though she has the book ‘The Mayor’s Man’ in her possession she failed to realized that Barry Gottwiter was a white man who had access to the Nation. Even nowadays, Michael Muhammad Knight, a white muslim, just showed up at our events and asked questions. In his articles you can see that he spoke to many of the
1st Born, Abu Shaheed, and I even saw him speaking to Knowledge Allah (one of the authors of our anthem, the Enlightener whom Felicia stated was written by Brand Nubian..wtf??!!!) during the Show and Prove. It looks as though she didn’t even try.

-Speaking on the ‘not trying’ level. I saw no mention of her ever visiting or calling the school nor attended a Parliament or Show and Prove.

-I spoke of this in another one of my post yet I’ll reiterate it again. She kept calling him Clarence 13X. From a scholarly point of view that is weak. He was only Clarence 13X when he was in the temple. The time of his life that is important to her study is when he was amongst the youth from 64-69 i.e. when he revealed himself as ALLAH. It doesn’t matter what her ‘theological beliefs’ are if she is writing as a SCHOLAR. She should refer to him by his NAME. She has no problem referring to any of the ‘rappers’ by their ‘MC’ names. When you read books on Father Divine his birth name is only given in the intro. When you read books on the Popes their birth names are only given in the intro.

-She states that ‘there is no standard’ to judge who is God or not; even amongst the Gods. Yet she goes on to then write a whole book on the ‘influence of the Gods in Hip Hop’. That’s like saying you don’t know what a ‘dog’ is (and you are going to do a report on dogs) and you have a mixture of dogs, cats, horses, etc… You then start recording the ‘behavior’ of the mixture with ‘hairballs’, ‘eating hay’ , etc. Then you say that dogs spit hairballs, eat hay, etc.. There has always been a way to detect a true and living God. Maybe she just should’ve ASKED THE GODS AND EARTHS or CALLED THE SCHOOL or READ OUR LITERATURE. The Nation has ALWAYS been critical of “MCS” who came in the name of Allah. Also, she has no reference for how deeply involved a person was in the Nation. So there are some who may have just ‘changed their name’ yet she referencing them as though they are the Nation spokesperson.

-She doesn’t bring new information to the table. She regurgitates a lot of the information that is out there already in the Free Cipher. She didn’t even interview any of the Gods or Earths in her book. She states that she is ‘just putting the information out there’ and THAT is a dangerous thing. What she ends up doing is repeating the same disinformation from some of the articles AGAIN. For instance, she refers to Allah as Clarence Jowers Smith in one portion. THAT is disinformation that could’ve been cleared up if she had done ANY research to her sources. She would’ve seen that one of his wives maiden name was JOWERS i.e. THAT Clarence was his SON. This is the source of disinformation about his ‘record’ in that they mixed up his son’s record with his own.

-She also it appears just ‘makes up information’ like when she states that the Gods were probably trained the martial arts because they were former members of the NOI and would’ve gone through FOI training. The 1st Born DIDN’T come from the NOI, they were youth on the street. That was the whole point of what Allah did. Only a few left the temple with him (such as Abu Shaheed and later Eubeka and Rajab) yet the youth who he taught weren’t in the temple.

-Says she is aware of our lessons yet confuses the NOI Actual Facts with ours (which have 11 original and 2 add on facts). So when she is drawing up what a certain lyric’s relationship to the lessons are she states that the weight of the planet Earth is in the Actual Facts #19 or something. It ISN’T in our Actual Facts at all. It is only in the 6th degree of the 1-40.

-She stated doctrines associated with NOI started with Fard. Actually Fard NEVER stated anything started with him. In fact NOI doctrine states that MFM went and got all of the information from colleges, libraries, people, etc.

-She made a statement that the Nation is ambivalent about marriage under the government. Uh, no, the Nation is clear on that. Our National spokesman Dumar Wa’de has written a reflection on not marrying under the government as well as Allah B.
-She stated that the rise of conscious rap and Five Percenter rap should be credited part to Farrakhan. Uh, why should Five Percenter rap be credited to Farrakhan??

-She fell back on automatically saying that the Moorish Science Temple is the precursor to the NOI without proving anything. In fact, the foundation is a lot more complex then that. One of the best essays written on it is by Ernest Allen Jr.
entitled “ Identity and Destiny: The Formative Views of the Moorish Science Temple and the Nation of Islam”
in Muslims on the Americanization Path?

That’s everything in a nutshell. It is an ‘interesting book’ yet the research is sub par. She could’ve just asked the Gods, checked out our various media sources, and checked the validity of our sources.

Peace

104 Miles

2005-07-10T20:55:00.000-07:00

Peace

I take all book knowledge and use it to benefit myself.
Allah the Father

One thing about the Nation in my experience is that it has always been pro-literate. I’ve seen brothers who could not read learn these degrees from mouth to ear (by oral transmission) and then be encouraged to go and learn how to read and write. I have always been impressed by how learning this Knowledge inspired a person to what to LEARN in general. That is something that the public school system has had trouble with amongst children nowadays.

When I was learning 120 all the Gods who I was around ALWAYS had a new book in hand. “Yo God, have you read (insert random title) ?!!!” Black Isa my brother was into ‘criminology’ books such as the Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim. Other Gods were into the hard sciences. Others had some plus degrees that they had to hip me to. I personally loved history books and science fiction.

Ironically, while being well read in school was being frowned upon by the ‘in crowd’ as ‘nerdish’, reading amongst the Gods who ran the streets was a sign of intellect. It was a sign of POSITIVE sign of intellect.

Peace

Peace

2005-07-05T00:14:00.000-07:00

Peace,
For those whom are checking this blog I won't be blogging alot. I will basically just give updates as to the new links that I have added to the links list.

Peace