http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com Find breaking news, multimedia, reviews and opinion on Washington, science, religion, music, movies, travel, books and more One of the most well known American Abstract Expressionist and Pop artist, Robert Rauschenberg died on Monday at his home on Captiva Island in Florida at the age of 82. He will be best remembered for his love of the ordinary materials which make up our lives in the 20th and 21st centuries once saying, "you begin with the possibilities of the material." Rauschenberg first gained recognition with his famous "Combines" during the 1950s in which he explored using these found ordinary materials in conjunction with a form of loose expressionist painting, changing the context and meaning of his findings. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=68 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=68 In the excitement of Barack Obama's extraordinary campaign, have we forgotten where we have come from and how many have been left behind? Has this all been a fanciful dream where we all live in an American utopia where racism no longer exists and all men really are created equal? Thinking back on our recent past, it is not hard to see the deep rooted issue of race in America very close behind us. In states like West Virginia where isolation has prohibited progress from taking it's course, where people have stayed on an island as the world evolved around it, racism has not slowly died away but rather allowed to live on in the minds of those still living in the past. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=67 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=67 A letter to be auctioned this month spells out the great 20th century scientist Albert Einstein's thoughts regarding religion in unequivocal terms. The letter written to friend and philosopher Eric Gutkind describes the bible as a childish superstition and the word god "nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses". The letter written one year before his death in 1955 details a clear and mature view regarding his personal feelings towards religion and god. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=66 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=66 The Chicago Tribune's Eric Zorn has reported on an outrageous exchange at a General Assembly before the House State Government Administration Committee between atheist activist Rob Sherman and Illinois Representative Monique Davis (D). Sherman was present to protest state tax money being donated to the Pilgrim Baptist Church in Chicago correctly asserting that the act was unconstitutional. Sherman remained calm during the testimony when Davis launched into an attack against atheism and non-believers. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=65 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=65 The alternative rock group Morphine made a name for themselves on public and college radio during the mid-nineties with their self described "low-rock". The three piece formed in Cambridge Massachusetts in 1989 and derived it's sound with an unusual combination of instruments. Lead singer Mark Sandman combined his baritone, crooner voice with a custom two string bass guitar which he played with a slide. Dana Colley, the bands co-founder primary played the baritone saxophone, sometimes combined with a soprano or tenor sax which he played simultaneously. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=64 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=64 Howard Zinn, best known as the author of the bestseller A People's History of the United States has reshaped American history revealing a designed imperialism in his new book A People's History of American Empire. Zinn was a 2nd lieutenant bombardier during the second world war but became increasing disturbed by the killing of German and French civilian deaths and of course the Japanese deaths of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=63 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=63 What if a army had a ray gun that caused the victim to experience artificial fever and sickness? What if that gun had the ability to beam voices into the opponents head? It seems this would be a valuable tool on the battle field, and a recently declassified U.S. Army reports that our military had similar feelings. The report detailed "maturing non-lethal technologies" for the purpose of crowd control and other applications using microwaves, lasers and sound. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=62 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=62 During the presidential election of 2000, Karl Rove drove a wedge into American society, pushing conservatives and progressives into their respective corners and leaving those in the middle wondering what the hell happened. Tapping into the 80 million strong Evangelical movement for its base, conservatism took on a more divisive, more publicized stand on social ideas like flag burning, Roe v Wade and gay marriage, leaving many progressives wondering why the once Libertarian Republicans had moved into issues once reserved for the individual. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=61 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=61 The nine-month ceasefire in Iraq has ended with the decision by Prime Minister at Nouri al-Maliki to send 15,000 troops and policemen into Basra. The violence which broke out when the troops clashed with Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army has spread to the "streets in Kut, Hilla, Amara, Kerbala, Nasiriyah, and Diwaniya, as well as into Sadr City in Baghdad, where militiamen have been raining rockets and mortars on the Green Zone". http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=60 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=60 Carl Sagan once theorized about the evolutionary benefits religion has in our species. He made up a chemical that made us feel religious which he called "Theophorin" and speculated on it's selective advantage. Theophorin gives us an "intense feeling of awe and humility before a power vastly greater then ourselves" and in doing so establishes a social dominance hierarchy that ensures stability and morality. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=59 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=59 The British Antarctic Survey have captured satellite and ground images of the collapse of a large area of the Wilkins Ice Shelf in Antarctica. It is estimated that the shelf has been there for hundreds if not thousands of years and was the size of seven Manhattans. The scientists monitoring the area blame Global Warming for the collapse and further melting of the pole. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=58 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=58 I've just finished watching Frontline: Bush's war and alot of the material within is repeats of some of their other incredible documentaries such as extraordinary rendition, and Cheney's Law. Let's just say that as always, for the common man, watching this should make you furious. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=57 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=57 Modeled after the salamander's ability to re-grow limbs, researchers are now trying to regenerate body parts to treat amputations and major wounds. Salamanders are the most complex life form known to regenerate limbs, and it can do so, over and over again well into it's adult life. Although the early stages of the healing process in humans are similar to a salamanders, the process changes in and our wounds become a scar instead using our common ability to reactivate this capability during our embryonic state. If a way to manipulate the healing process is discovered, if would be possible to harness this capability. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=56 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=56 Excellent documentary short about how the McCarthy era's irrational hysteria ended with the help of famed CBS newscaster and journalist Edward R. Murrow. His show, See It Now, brought a level headed, rational response to McCarthyism's misinformation and accusations which had descended into a witch hunt on the level of the Salem Witch Trials. The episode "used footage of McCarthy speeches to portray him as dishonest, reckless and abusive toward witnesses and prominent Americans(wiki)". By the time McCarthy responded, his countrymen had already begun to turn against him. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=55 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=55 In June of 2007, the award-winning Prague guerrilla artist collection, known as Ztohoven, seamlessly edited a live weather-cam broadcast to appear as though a nuclear bomb had been dropped onto the countryside at the foothills of the Krkonose Mountains. Though Czechoslovakia has a cultural tradition for hoaxing and pranking, the group known may still face 3 years in jail for "scaremongering and spreading false information". http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=54 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=54 If we talk strictly numbers of casualties as a means to measure the success of the conflict in Iraq, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, the "Surge" is working. In fact, right now is the lowest U.S. casualty rate since the war started. The lowest ever. This fact does not mean that our citizens are not dying everyday. So far during the month of March, 20 soldiers have been killed, 29 in February and 40 in January. These statistical trend also fares well for the Iraqi Security Forces. They have been experiencing the same kind of gradual decline in causalities, down to 674 troops down from 1,674 last August. This is real progress, no one can deny the statistical weight these numbers bare on the debate. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=53 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=53 On March 13th, Barack Obama's political future became threatened by his long time Pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ. Wright's comments about America spread across the internet requiring Obama to condemn the sermon and speak out against racial divisive banter in context to America's long history of racism in a speech he delivered at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=52 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=52 Five years and one trillion dollars later, where do we stand? A broken military, and emboldened Iran, a resurgent Al Qaeda, a destabilized Afghanistan, a collapsing domestic economy and a completely dysfunctional Iraq. We have paid for the "surge" and built a wall between warring factions in Iraq with the blood of our children and sacrificed the economic standing of our citizens for an illegal war meant to give a massive share of oil to Western oil companies from the third largest reserves in the world. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=51 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=51 Scientists in North Dakota have unearthed the entire carcass of a Edmontosaurus, a duck-billed Dinosaur, complete with fossilized skin. The 65 million year old creature is only the fourth mummified dinosaur ever found. Researchers have been tirelessly removing the mummy from its sandstone incasement using the world's largest CT scanner, a machine used to examine space shuttle parts. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=50 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=50 Anyone familiar with futurist and theoretical physicist Michio Kaku knows his ability as an educator to communicate difficult concepts through books, radio and television which inspire a lasting wonder about our universe. In his latest book entitled; Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel, Michio considers scientific approaches to science fiction's most fantastic and impossible creations. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=49 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=49 The right wing campaign has turned it's sites against this new foe, one filled with the promise of uniting Americans with hope and not fear. They spread lies that he is a Muslim, that he was sworn into office on the Koran, refuses to say the pledge of allegiance and is the Anti-Christ. All of these accusations are verifiably false. Any person who does not see this country as a nation dependent on a well informed citizenry for the institution to run properly, does not know their history. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=48 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=48 When we begin to consider just how vast the problem of Global Warming is and how deeply it will effect us, it quickly becomes overwhelming and seemingly an impossible task to overcome. From the burning of the Rain Forests and wasteful energy policies, to water supply shortages and the melting of the poles, we find trillion dollar institutions set up which block any sort of progress to begin to solve this problem. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=47 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=47 The New Life Church in Colorado is one of the largest Evangelical mega-churches in America. It has had it's share of high profile tradegies, one of which being the outing of the outspoken homosexual bigot and homosexual crystal meth user Pastor Ted Haggart. On December 9th, 2007, Matthew Murray went on a deadly rampage in the New Life Church. Before his shooting spree which killed two members of the church, Murray wrote a disturbing and confused letter to God. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=46 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=46 It is said that the Religious Right began it's career in politics with Reagan in the early eighties. Thirty years later, American has seen the crest of its wave peak and is watching the movement, which once was such a dominating force, retreat from the superstitious nether-world from whence it came. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=45 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=45 By using elections to illuminate a specimen, electron microscopes can magnify 1000 times the resolution of microscopes that use light. The shorter wavelength of an electron beam provides far superior image resolution to the much longer light photon. This showcase of images on eAmazings.com show "10 must see election micrograph images". http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=44 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=44 Like art, most great inventions take their inspiration from nature. The Air Ray by Festo is a modern version of this relationship, pushing the boundaries of blending an evolutionary masterpiece of nature with state of the art technology. It is unclear if the air craft serves any specific purpose other then for experimental purposes. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=43 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=43 Here is the short list of John McCain's discrepancies and apparent flip flipping since he's taken interest in the presidency. Cynics may be thinking, "This is what all politicians do" or "All politicians lie, where's the story in that?". While that may be true by most accounts, THIS politician definitely does it. Here's what he said and here is the proof. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=42 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=42 Phun is a desktop application for Windows meant as a playground and learning tool for users eager to be creative and learn physics concepts. Draw, paint, clone, erase, then set your scene against the forces of gravity, speed, "bounciness", density and air friction. Phun was created by Emil Ernerfeldt as his Masters Thesis at Umea University in 2007. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=41 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=41 Traditionally percussion and various musical instruments have been the calling card of culture, time and civilization. What then does a 3d instrument presented as linear 3d video say about where we are as a culture? Whatever the answer, you have to admit this is quite an impressive instrument. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=40 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=40 One of the stars in a binary system roughly 8,000 light years away is in the final stages of an evolution preceding a supernova. A binary system is a solar system with two stars in orbit around a center of mass. From Earth, the binary system known as WR 104 appears as a large spiral with a "tail" roughly 19 billion miles long. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=39 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=39 As the Arctic ice melts due to increased temperatures brought on by Global Warming, new trade routes will open and the world will gain access to massive natural resources. The area covered by ice has shrunk by more then one million square miles, fifty percent of its mass fifty years ago. Some have anxiously asserted their legal rights to this area, submitting claims to the United Nations to divide the region. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=38 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=38 Robin Wilson from "The Chronicle of Higher Education" recently wrote on an interesting topic concerning the "Divergent life choices [that] may explain the dearth of right-wing scholars" in today's academia. The long standing liberal bias in U.S. Universities is a well known and often accepted paradigm. But why is this? http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=37 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=37 Proving ignorance and intolerance shows no preference between race or religion, Knesset Member Shlomo Benizri says the earthquake last week in Israel was the result of homosexual activity. The earthquake registering 5.3 on the Richter scale, "lasted for 19 seconds and shook structures in many major towns and cities". Apparently some in the community fail to see the irony in a Jew, scape-goating an entire minority with a fallible belief or political agenda. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=36 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=36 The Intelligent Design movement has popped up yet again, this time manifesting itself not as a religious or science issue, but rather a matter of the First Amendment. In this attempt to keep the movement afloat, Ben Stein is bringing his message of anti-Darwinism to the big screen with his new movie Expelled. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=35 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=35 It was not long ago that everyone assumed Iraq would be a central issue during the Primaries and on into the General Election. This issue has been mostly pushed aside during the Primaries. Favored instead have been more domestic issues like universal healthcare, the supposed recession, free trade, experience, the horse race itself and the Obama phenomenon. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=34 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=34 The good people of Murfreesboro, Tennessee have received a message about their Congressman Steve Cohen by a circulated flier. According to Rev. George Brooks (phone number 615-494-9056), the Congressman and every one of his fellow Jews hate Jesus. Defending the message, Rev. Brooks distributed the flier because the district is "about 90-something percent black". http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=33 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=33 US researchers are developing swarms of robots that use electromagnetic forces to cling together and form any programmable shape. Although still a distant propect, Seth Goldstein and his team at the Carnegie Mellon University are currently using computer models and groups of traditional robotics. Even these more primitive versions use electromatic forces to communicate and maneuver. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=32 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=32 The evidence is clear that God hates the Boy Scouts for its policy of discrimination against gays, and is smiting them for discriminating against his creation. The article is a heavily researched account of the events that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God hates the Boy Scouts. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=31 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=31 This documentary-style history of Mormonism beliefs illustrates how bizarre a faith based world view is when looked at objectively. Although well informed, the video was put together by a xenophobic Christian group as a scare tactic against Mormonism. It spotlights the origin of African American racism in the Mormon community and the relationship between Jesus and the Devil. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=30 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=30 In exercising our single civic duty as American citizens to shop, we produce an amazing amount of waste. The fact is, we live on a finite planet which sustains the lives of every human who has ever lived and will ever live, making our waste and its final destination a huge problem. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=29 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=29 In the footsteps of the great social critics and comedians like Lenny Bruce, George Carlin and Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks brought truth and wisdom veiled in comedy to an unexpecting crowd. Hicks unleashed such venom and emotion into his satire, he would often leave the audience stunned, shocked and hysterical. They were never quite ready for what he had to say and the passionate way he said it. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=28 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=28 The spike in population growth along with the growing demand of corn-based ethanol fuel has driven researchers on a quest to discover the genetic sequence of corn in order to reinvent the crop for 21st century demands. Corn is only the third plant to ever to have it's DNA sequenced saying much about it's critical supply in the United States. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=27 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=27 In this piece on AIGA, Firstborn's Craig A Elimeliah attempts to define Art and Design and show their fundamental differences. It states that these differences become less defined when an Artist takes up the "style" or method of an Artist from the past making the product a less unique individual expression and thus contradicts the "whole definition of art" and as a bi-product, the Artist becomes a Designer. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=26 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=26 A new study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life shows that Americans are either switching the faiths of their upbringing, or dropping out altogether. The once mighty Protestant nation now holds only 51 percent of the majority as non-denominational churches gain members. The most striking findings the survey reveals is the falling confidence in religion altogether. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=25 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=25 Ask someone why they don't like Hillary and they'll likely stutter for 15 seconds and say, "I just don't trust her". Rational and irrational reasoning seem to not be playing a role at all in the judgement of Hillary, rather an unreason. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=24 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=24 As if from the Resident Evil or Halo series, the AA-12 automatic shotgun gives us a glimpse into the future of military ground force weaponry. It's easy to imagine, looking at these games, what the future will bring in terms of the wars of the 21st century and beyond. Will it be the Missile Pod, the hand-held rocket launch with homing capabilities, of Halo 3? http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=23 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=23 Debunking the long-standing view that the Milky Way Galaxy is 6,000 light years across, a team of scientists at the University of Sydney has discovered that distance is quite a bit larger. Shortly after reevaluating the data that scientists have traditionally used to measure the width of our galaxy, they were able to determine the distance closer to a staggering 12,000 light years across! http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=22 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=22 It is now estimated that 10 to 20 percent of Americans now consider themselves Agnostic or Atheist. The increasing outspokenness of non believers may be attributable to the surge of influence Christians and other religious groups have been playing in American politics. Others attribute the growth to those Americans who have been struggling with Faith and a broader exposure and expectance of Atheism as a world view. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=21 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=21 Moveon.org is asking it's members to sign a pledge to let the Democrat party decide between Obama and Clinton democratically. This means that the election would be decided only by the popular vote and that the Superdelegates should stay out it. With the race being as close as it is, it's likely that neither would have enough Delegates to decide the election. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=20 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=20 Bill Viola is has been blazing the trail with the medium of video art for the past 35 years. He has been instrumental in establishing video as a contemporary art form and in doing so has expanding the reach of technology in modern art. His work spans from sculpture and installation to movies and theater. His work has been shown around the work and he is considered both most as a major figure of his generation. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=19 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=19 According to Paul Roberts of Counterpunch, the real purpose of "the surge" was to distract the American people from a different tactic, paying the Sunnis not to attack Americans. The Bush Administration has been claiming for many years now that we are defending Iraqis from terrorists "and other extremists". http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=18 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=18 Anyone who has ever taken the time to actually read the bible and not get the information second hand or interpreted for them has probably noticed something. The Bible is chalk full of bizarre stories. The Bible stories are riddled with murder, vanity and intolerance, but some are simply absurd. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=17 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=17 In April 2007 Ohio Congressmen Dennis Kucinich introduced articles of impeachment against President Bush or Vice President Cheney. The proposal has been sitting on shelf ever since. House Democrats remain sharply divided on going forward with the proceedings, citing time and distraction away from issues that effect the American People. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=16 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=16 The extent of pollution in Russia following the collapse of the Soviet Economy now threatens millions of Russian citizens. Eighty four of Russia's largest cities exude ten times the accepted levels which threatens the air, crops and water. Health issues in adults and children such as respiratory problems are at least fifty percent higher then the surrounding, less urban areas. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=15 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=15 The Good News Magazine is a Christian periodical promoting the literal interpretation of the bible. In the article entitled "Help Your Child Refute Evolution", they have created a list of five tips for Christian parents concerned with how to handle their children being taught the theory of evolution in their schools. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=14 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=14 In the outer rim of our solar system, between Nepture and the beginning of the Kuiper Belt, might exist a new planet, the mythical Planet X. The history of the existence of this planet is fairly rocky. Continuously proved and disproved, Planet X has become a Holy Grail of sorts to astronomers. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=13 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=13 Author of the new book "What's So Great About Christianity", Dinesh D'Souza has been recently debating the "New Atheists" in colleges across the country. The theism verses anti-theism debates have become more and more ubiquitous online and D'Souza has emerged as one of the most formidable opponents for the Anti-Theists. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=12 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=12 A new study on New Scientist suggests that our Republican-ness or Democrat-ness may be predetermined in our genes. As science continues to chisel away at the romantic idea of free will, the campaign for the presidency is underway. T-shirts and bumper stickers, stump speeches and glowing websites do nothing but reinforce ideas to an existing audience. If you want to see the Republican or Democrat agenda pushed forward, procreate. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=11 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=11 Traditionally, most people vote on a combination of character traits and the issues and solutions the candidate supports. It is simply human nature to have a stronger personal connection to one person over another and vote on those emotional instincts. Using emotions alone to make decisions about your future is a reasonable way forward into an unknown future. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=10 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=10 The BBC/Horizon series has produced this hour long look at the battle between Evolution and Intelligent Design. From it's earlier days as Creationism, Intelligent Design has continued to wage its campaign for the right to teach ID in U.S. schools. The campaign calls upon scientists longing either in search of fame or justification of their world views in a mostly secular scientific community. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=9 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=9 New study on the damage the Caribbean Coral Reef has suffered due to man-made Climate Climate change and pollution. Four billion in services such at tourism and fishing lost due to mass eco damage. Full article by James Randerson available on The Guardian. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=8 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=8 Annie Leornard presents a short, digestable overview of the marketplace from a sometimes fact-based, sometimes progressive point of view. Although this presentation is an over simplified version of the marketplace, and sometimes unfair portrayal of the purpose of corporations, a good number of facts are hopefully startling and alarming enough to create a foundation of discussion concerning the realities of a "linear system on a finite planet". http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=7 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=world&id=7 The Evangelical movement is strong in America. One in three Americans now consider themselves Evangelical. They boast forty thousand attendees at converted convention centers across the nation where they prescribe a form of self help and spirituality. Most attendees have a passion for defending their beliefs, expressing a healthy degree of nationalism and a mistrust of state education and science. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=6 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=religion&id=6 When I was growing up, freestyle skateboarding was really lame and no one wanted to be associated with it. There were however, a select few who marched on pogo-ing and hand-standing their skateboards into the future. There was one freestyler who always stood out, even in the Bones Bridage days. Rodney Mullen was more then just a freestyle skateboarder. He was always one step ahead of everyone else and easily gained the respect of the kids too cool for freestyle. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=5 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=5 "Such a picture, may be worth having". Carl Sagan thought it would be a good idea if the voyager turned around on it's way out of the solar system to take an photograph of the Earth. The image appears as only few pixels and reminds us that everything that has ever lived in our planet throughout history, happened on this tiny speck of light in a secluded suburb of the universe. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=4 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=science&id=4 I can hardly lay claim to the genesis of this argument, but I did think at the time that there was something to it, especially as it pertained to "objective," or "representational" or "realist" painting. No surprise then that this particular group of artists demonstrated nothing short of antipathy for me, not to mention anger and dismissal for the argument. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=3 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=3 Among the many steps leading a true Democracy to a complete fascist society is the alliance between large corporate entities and the government as well as the governments' ability to spy on it's own people "legally" ILLEGALLY. Whatever happened to we The People? http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=2 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=us&id=2 For my money Duchamp is one of the most important artists of the modern era, one of the funniest, and most certainly one of the most misunderstood (followed closely by Pollock and Warhol). Regardless of the fact that his legend has generated a raft of reductivist, mindless art babble, there's no question that the man's work is indispensable. http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=1 http://www.wearesurvivalmachines.com/story.php?subject=arts&id=1