Syria - Be Very Afraid

BRT doesn't discuss politics to any great extent but when it comes to Syria and the potential for catastrophic disaster by committing unilateral military action against a country who poses no threat to the US requires that something must be said and Putin does this in very direct fashion by demanding absolute proof as to who actually gassed the Syrian civilians on August 21, 2013. Additionally, Putin's response is also a wake up call to Obama as this unnecessary and very dangerous gamesmanship he is playing regarding Russia, who's vital national interest is irrevocably connected to Syria, is not Libya, Iraq or Afghanistan by any stretch of the imagination. 

MOSCOW - Russia will be sending an anti-submarine ship and a missile cruiser to the Mediterranean "over the next few days" as the West prepares for possible strikes against Syria, the Interfax news agency says.

To get a perspective of why Syria is a tar baby from hell, click here.
Click here to see how the Great Game is being played in Syria.
Click here to see how Syrian intel is being messaged.
Last but not least, click here for a point by point rebuttal to the government's push for war.

Addendum: Impeachment: Congress Fires Opening Shot Across Obama’s Bow.

Text from letter of Rep. Scott Regall (R, VA) to Pres. Obama
Signed by 116 Reps, including 18 Democrats

“We strongly urge you to consult and receive authorization from Congress before ordering the use of U.S. military force in Syria. Your responsibility to do so is prescribed in the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973.

“While the Founders wisely gave the Office of the President the authority to act in emergencies, they foresaw the need to ensure public debate – and the active engagement of Congress – prior to committing U.S. military assets. Engaging our military in Syria when no direct threat to the United States exists and without prior congressional authorization would violate the separation of powers that is clearly delineated in the Constitution.”

Samsara - A Film for the Ages

Two years ago, BRT showed the preview of Samsara, an absolutely astounding film 

depicting the state of humanity circa 2011. Here is another.

52.6

$52.6 billion = the amount of money spent by our government to spy on us. 

Not bad for a years's worth of work (2013) if you ask me. 

Snowden strikes again.

Chanticleer

What is quality? Can it be quantified, can it be defined or is it a notion requiring one to have the prerequisite intelligence, education and empathy to truly understand this most elusive concept known as quality. To this end, Chanticleer represents quality, quality in terms of how gardens should connect with nature, something organic, beautiful and inviting to experience, something this video hopefully captured during a walk through this truly enchanted place. Enjoy.

To learn more about quality, Robert Pirsig's Lila is a good place to start.

Quantum Computers Explained

Quantum computers, the tech that not only presages hardware faster then one can possibly imagine is also a tech able to mirror reality itself. Check out PHD's terrific piece showing how these insane systems work. You will be amazed.

A never-ending horror show

Fukushima, the nuclear disaster from hell, is 

escalating once again.

Kyodo reports that 300 tons of radioactive water have leaked from a 1,000 ton tank at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. That led Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority to consider raising the incident from a Level 1 nuclear event to a Level 3 (a “serious incident” with radioactive exposure 10 times the limit for workers) on the International Nuclear Event Scale, the first time an incident has been serious enough to be reported on the INES scale. The most extreme nuclear events on the scale are considered Level 7, a level only reached by Fukushima in 2011 and Chernobyl.

To see how this disaster happened requires only a glimpse into the enormous power of the tsunami that overwhelmed one of the largest nuclear facilities in the world. With this in mind, check out the latest news regarding contaminated water and how it's spilling into the Pacific, a situation not good by any stretch of the imagination.

The Cupboard's Getting Empty

Overshoot (signal), when a signal exceeds its steady state value

Overshoot (population), when a population exceeds the environment's carrying capacity

Overshoot (aviation), an aborted landing

Overshoot (microwave communication), unintended reception of microwave signals

Overshoot (migration), when migratory birds end up further than intended

Now that we know what overshoot means, we can now examine the ecological limits of planet earth.

While economies, populations and resource demands grow, the size of Earth remains the same. Since the 1970s, when global ecological overshoot became a reality, we have been drawing down the biosphere's principal rather than living off its annual interest. To support our demands on nature, we have been liquidating resource stocks and allowing carbon dioxide to accumulate in the atmosphere.

Ecological overshoot is possible only for a limited time before ecosystems begin to degrade and possibly collapse. Impacts of ecological overspending are apparent already in water shortages, desertification, soil erosion, reduced cropland productivity, overgrazing, deforestation, rapid species extinction, fisheries collapse and global climate change.

Sound familiar? Overshoot Day has been advancing approximately three days a year yet is it? When BRT posted Overshoot on Sunday, September 25, 2011, the day was September 27. It's now August 20 so the 3 days per year estimate has been past by and then some. From this perspective, it seems mankind is committing slow motion suicide by plundering the planet for profit and keeping the status quo in power at all costs, something disastrous from the get go but we already know that, right?

Check out the video below, needless to say, it makes one think about what the hell are we doing to the place "we call home."

Addendum: Check out Climate Change 2007 to learn why this data should alarm every thinking person on the planet regarding what the future portends if we do nothing about it.

Persistence

Persistence and patience are the two essentials nature's creatures live by in making a living in an unforgiving yet beautiful place called reality. Enjoy and...check out the convergent evolution of the hawk-moth and hummers. Interesting to say the least.

HC & IT - Where complexity rules

Yours truly is working on a project with direct relevance to healthcare, the incredibly complex and inefficient system America is burdened with, something IT, if properly applied, can help but only if a restart is done at fundamental levels to move HC into the 21st century where competition rules and the software in question is open sourced and able to scale, using the net as prime enabler. This terrific graphic shows the inherent complexity of healthcare and how IT intersects with it. Check it out, it's worth the time it takes to view this graphic in depth in order to better understand a system needing a reset and then some.

Seen below is the info-graphic depicting how Big Data intersects with HC. Worthwhile to the max.

It Can Wait

A must see about why Texting can kill. Werner Herzog's heartfelt and powerful documentary should be mandatory viewing in high schools and college to get young drivers wise to the fact Texting can kill.