The Peugeot 505 STI that my parents picked up and used in Europe ... now belongs to my sister in LA...

http://jalopnik.com/cars/jalopnik-goes-car-hunting/reliant-scimitar-and-friends-271804.php

Peugeot 505 STI

Staying with France (for the moment), above is a Peugeot 505 STI. We

like this car for a number of reasons other than its country of origin.

First of all, this car is someone's daily driver. That's 20 cool-car

points alone. Second of all, for a car released in 1978 it looks

incredibly modern. Only the massive bumpers, tacked on for the US

market give it away as being designed while Jimmy Carter was in office.

Also, it very well might be a diesel. That's another 20 cool-car

points. As far as we could tell, all it needs is a new sunroof.

Peugeot 505 STI

Found this old posting of mine at

http://lists.village.virginia.edu/lists_archive/Humanist/v10/0439.html

Date: Thu, 27 Mar 97 08:21:08 -0800

From: "Niels P. Mayer"

Subject: NRR Re: BRITS: Wise to Wired and Death on Libraries (fwd)

Willard -- I think you hit the nail right through the saviour's hand on this one. I've been thinking about Wired (US) in exactly the same way ever since they sold out to the major US media conglomerates (e.g. Time/Warner). (This happened around the time that most of my friends&acquaintances left Wired for other careers, so it's not like i'm dissing my friends.) Fortunately, you were able to sum up the problems with Wired in a much more poignant fashion than I. I see Wired as being the computer-wanker's version of Playboy magazine, wowing us with the digerati's version of the silicone breast implant, and making us long for the day when we could have the cohones and cash to have a bit of digital perfection implanted in our own bodies, or at least humming nearby as we plug-in to download the latest groupthink. As if we should denigrate/ignore the results of millions of years of evolution and heap praises on the shoddy engineering that got squeezed in between cappucino's and marketing meetings at Intel and Microsoft.

Actually, the comparison to Playboy is a bit unfair, since, beyond the airbrushing, implants and exploits, that magazine has at least had some groundbreaking reportage on issues of freedom/politics/repression in our society. Wired, meanwhile has this sick attitude that the benefits of the crypto-libertarian utopia should be bestowed only upon those Wired enough to be on the invite-list for all the cool corporate/media parties at big national computer conferences... everyone else can rot.

That's why I'd rather be "Tired" than "Wired". It's good toilet reading, or airplane-reading for when I'm too braindead from business travel to read something with real content. It would be wonderful if there was a "humanist" centered version of Wired -- an "Utne Reader" for the digitally inclined.

I personally get a lot more out of reading the Communications of the ACM, ACM SIGCHI, ACM SIGGRAPH, or IEEE Computer or even Byte. This is where the real futurism lies. At least those magazines/journals have the substance and rigor to *TEACH* the populace about the cutting edge, rather than just namedropping and constantly reminding us about how lowly and falling-behind we are compared to the inner-circle of really-cool/hip people that comprise Wired and it's wankerati following.

Anybody know a newer map like this? (below). This is 10 years old! For one, it needs to be updated for "The Lone Star tick" which seems to transmit another Lyme variant STARI (southern tick associated rash illness)

which incidentally won't show up at all on any Lyme test -- it's a different borrelia... and of course, they don't even mention the oddball south and central american ticks that are vectored by birds worldwide. In brazil, for example there's "Lyme Imitator Disease" which doesn't even appear to be caused by a borrelia spirochete at all, but rather a completely different unrecognized bacteria. The interest in Amblyomma spread is that it is also the main tick species used for biowarfare. Regular lyme ticks  are lazy... amblyomma go out and seek a blood meal and are agressive in doing so... perhaps they specialize in finding sleeping animals and humans? Amblyomma's are being found in all the WRONG places, like on Long Island. Of course, bird-vectoring is less likely for that, than the more obvious issue -- the reason why Lyme happened in Lyme Connecticut and became epidemic in the USA... is due to it's proximity to Plum Island biowarfare research facility, where there's documented use of the Amblyomma as vector for diseases.

But for now, this map will do:

So where did you get bit? What kind of tick, and what diseases did you get?

The "chemical imbalance" that idiot doctors speak of when they wantonly prescribe psychotropics, is actually caused by brain inflammation or from auto-immune reactions (which produce excess oxidative stress and inflammation). Their stupidity is evident because almost all popular psychotropics claim "the mechanism of action is unknown" ... aka we haven't the slightest clue how this works... it just seems to quiet down the monkeys and prisoners...



Part of the "mechanism of action unknown" coverup is to dodge the fact that the medicines they're prescribing for their misdiagnosis of brain-illness actually have antibiotic properties, which, after a month or so, suddenly are claimed to "kick in."  How many antidepressants take 2-3 weeks to

actually start working... are they actually doing what they claim to do and slowly building up serotonin and alleviating a chemical inbalance, or are they killing off bacteria, reducing inflammation, and providing eventual relief after 2-3 weeks. Furthermore, some of those psychotropics have an immediate reaction which is a worsening of symptoms. Is that perhaps not a herxheimer reaction to antibiotic properties of the psychotropics they're misprescribing for you?



So that's my explanation for the rather circuitous lie behind the handwaving psychiatric notion of "chemical inbalance." This dodge allows them to continue to misdiagnose a broad swath of the population (most Lyme, Morgellons, CFS, MS, ALS patients first visits to doctors -- when symptoms are just beginning -- are always rebuffed by "all in the head" diagnoses like "somatization disorder" etc.) It's not until their health reaches a crisis point that they get taken seriously... and at that point, since

mainstream doctors refuse to believe in chronic lyme or other chronic infections, it will take years, and a lot of luck, and doctors, before such a patient gets appropriate care.



The notion of "chemical inbalance" has no place in modern "evidence based medicine" unless experimental studies can establish a normal level of brain chemicals in people, and then clinically show that the people they treat with psychotropics have an improvement in these chemical levels. This is never done. At best, patients are monitored to see that enough of the chemical is in their blood, but no questions are asked as to whether the chemical is actually accomplishing what it has been prescribed for. Ultimately, this "big lie" is a way for doctors to punt on the real business of medicine -- correct diagnosis -- in difficult cases, they drop their pretense of "evidence based medicine" and use one of the handwaving diagnoses present in the DSM-IV. These diagnoses are literally handwaving, as the criteria for their inclusion in the next years' DSM-IV is a hand-vote at an annual APA meeting.

So next time your HMO doctor tries to give you a psychotropic in response to a legitimate health concern, be sure to remind them of their organization's adherence to evidence based medicine standards, and ask them what particular double-blinded, large, evidence-based trials have been conducted which would allow a doctor to conclude that a psychotropic is appropriate medication for an infection? This is particularly relevant to sufferers of Lyme disease, because by the new corrupt IDSA diagnosis and treatment guidelines for lyme, chronic lyme doesn't exist, and any symptoms after the recommended 1 month of antibiotic treatment is "post lyme syndrome" -- which is to be specifically treated with psychotropics and not antibiotics, according to the Infectious Disease Society of America.

Fortunately, there are Lyme doctors who don't ascribe to the IDSA's corrupt guidelines. They understand and treat for the myriad lyme symptoms, and will use antibiotics for treatment until all symptoms are gone, without an artificial time limit that ignores the patients' natural immunity and genetic variants of borrelia that may be resistant to antibiotics. For some particularly useful information on how Lyme disease causes myriad brain dysfunction, see http://www.canlyme.com/cog.html http://www.pensitoreview.com/2007/08/08/bushs-doctors-kept-lyme-disease-secret-for-a-year-is-the-condition-why-his-mind-is-degenerating/

 In addition to Lyme, delusional or psychotic behavior can arise from a reaction to parasitic infection.  A popular antipsychotic used to treat such misdiagnoses is Orap, Diphenybutyl-piperazine.  Piperazines are primarily antiparasitics and insectisides, commonly given to farm pigs as dewormers. Apparently, some bright scientist noticed that pesticides calmed the psychos and noticed they got better. But they didn't follow up or test to see if the "psychos" they treat are actually infected by parasites, which are known to cause brain dysfunction. There's plenty of documented endocrine and immune-system disruptions that parasites cause on purpose in order to prevent the body from defending itself against infection. This is where the "chemical" part of the "chemical imbalance" comes from... It's not produced by your body at all... it's basically from worms taking a crap all over your insides....



If your going to "cure" someone with medicine, you should at least know why the medicine is working. Psychiatrists don't know... they don't want to know because they'll realize how utterly full of shit they are once they start asking questions.



Meanwhile, Chronic Fatigue is clearly linked to a parasite -- Cryptostrongylus pulmoni -- over a decade ago... Others have discovered the clinically significant presence of HHV-6 and when treated with

valgancyclovir, their symptoms improve.

And yet, today, many CFS/fibromyalgia patients are STILL being given antipsychotics or antidepressants for treatment, instead of using a proper antiparasiticor antiviral to kill or control the infection. (Which if they even suggest parasites to an HMO doctor, they'll end up on the short-list for psychotropics first -- because they'll be diagnosed with "delusional parasitosis" just for mentioning parasites to the doctor, and it's unlikely they'll even be properly tested for parasites, or even see somone that knows the first thing about parasites)....



http://www.co-cure.org/sydney1.htm



Likewise, there's been recent reports saying that "statins" actually have antibiotic properties. (

http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ICAACMeeting/mr/6755 ). Statins are another class of "mechanism of action unknown" drugs that are handwaved, and totally overprescribed after running a few rudimentary tests and ignoring the potential for chronic infection. The reality is that patients would be much better off with a long-course of antibiotics (much cheaper too... the antibiotics have long been off-patent and often cost less than $10.00/month.) But where's the kickbacks to big-pharma pushing newfangled statins in curing infection? (killing chronic chlamydia pneumoniae infection that results in high cholesterol, clogged arteries, high blood pressure, and myriad other problems -- http://www.cpnhelp.org/?q=node/121 .) Especially because once you start statins, you have to take them for life or you get a heart attack. It's simply good business to get people addicted to drugs they have to take for life.



Heart attack is exactly what happened to Al Gore after he stopped his statins... of course, if this "mechanism of action" unknown drug is actually working as suppressive antibiotic against chronic infection, then of course stopping would lead to reinfection. Seems like this isn't just speculation on my part: http://www.cpnhelp.org/effects_of_simvastatin_on



In other words statins "unknown mechanism of action" that is usually handwaved as "reducing cholesterol" without saying how or why is actually an antiinflammatory and antibiotic effect, where inflammation is caused by ... INFECTION... CHRONIC INFECTION, aka Chlamydia Pneumoniae, which almost everybody has. And all the studies approved by the FDA on statins, use the most bone-headed of "evidence basded medicine" that doesn't look past the massive assumptions made in designing the trials... they all COMPLETELY IGNORE chronic infection and just concentrate on "stupid numbers"... second and third-order effects like lipid levels and cholesterol levels. And then this PURE BULLSHIT is reported back as "science" and cast in stone in the practices of millions of doctors.

Welcome to modern medicine, corrupted by it's own privatization into a new age of government-approved hucksters,quacks and profiteers. And creating huge aftermarket of alternative medicine quacks who trail after the AMA's lies like seagulls after a fishing boat. just incase one of the "fish" gets sick of the bullshit and decides to jump out...

According to http://morgellons.org/geography.htm  "Although California represents 12% of the US population, 24% of all families in the U.S. who have registered with the Morgellons Research Foundation reside in California"

Northern California "red dot" epicenter -- is *exactly* where i used to live, and where there was a constant invasion of mosquitos from Glen Park Creek and underground aquifers from the hills.

Southern California's "red zone" appears to be associated with waterways and wetlands near Huntington Beach:

Meanwhile, back at the suburban californian ranch-home http://www.lawestvector.org/black_flies.htm appear to be a problem one of the Morgellons-endemic regions, Los Angeles:

Black Flies

Black flies are small, dark flies with a humped back that can give a painful bite. Unlike a mosquito (which  sucks up blood through a proboscis), black flies slash the skin and lap up the pooled blood.  Their  larvae (left) and pupae (below) usually attach themselves to rocks and vegetation in flowing streams.  They belong in the order Diptera (Flies), to the family Simuliidae .

Black flies are feared in many regions because of the relentless and intolerable nature of their attacks, not only on man, but on livestock, poultry, and wildlife. Attacks can not only provoke severe reactions in many bitten individuals, but often have serious social and economic effects.



The experience of being continually bitten, unable to step outside from countless bites, is a demoralizer with few equals, and if the flies are not deterred with repellents or controlled by insecticides they can badly disrupt any commercial or recreational outdoor pursuit in black fly areas.

[...]  black flies are also carriers of the filarial disease Onchocerciasis, commonly referred to as River Blindness. A blackfly carrying larvae of Onchocerca volvulus bites a victim and transmits the infection. The larvae grow into groups of string-like worms that live wrapped up in a bump under the skin. Adult female worms produce thousands of tiny microfilariae for approximately 8-12 years. Unlike the adults, the microfilariae migrate throughout the victim's skin, causing skin disfigurement and intense itching. The worms can cause permanent damage when they reach the eyes, impairing sight and finally causing blindness. When another blackfly bites the victim and then bites an uninfected person, it begins the cycle of infection again.

 

Since 1990, the District has implemented a year-round integrated treatment program to control the black fly problem in areas of the Santa Monica Mountains (see photo right - technician repelling down a 200 ft. cliff face into blackfly treatment area). This bothersome fly can be a great nuisance in Malibu, especially around the Malibu Creek/Cold Creek area.   In 1994 and 1995, golfers, hikers, and picnickers at Griffith Park in Los Angeles County were attacked by blackflies. The vicious attacks by the blackflies substantially decreased visits to Griffith Park.

New Heart Device Allows Cheney To Experience Love

October 3, 2007 |

Issue 43•40

WASHINGTON, DC—Recovering

from minor heart surgery Sunday, Vice President Dick Cheney stunned

both the medical and political establishments when he mysteriously

began to experience love for the first time in his life, sources

reported Tuesday.

Enlarge Image

A replaced defibrillator is having unexpected effects on the vice president, as this photo taken Monday reveals.

Guan Yin is the bodhisattva of compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists, usually as a female. She is also known as the Chinese Bodhisattva of Compassion. She could have chosen to vaporize into enlightenment, but decided to stay on earth to help those who suffer.

In Japanese, Guanyin is pronounced Kannon (観音) or more formally Kanzeon (観世音); the spelling Kwannon, based on a pre-modern pronunciation, is sometimes seen. "Cannon" cameras are named after her. In Korean, this incarnation of Buddha is called Gwan-eum or Gwanse-eum, In Thai, the name is called Kuan Eim (กวนอิม) or Prah Mae Kuan Eim (พระแม่กวนอิม),and in Vietnamese, the name is Quan Âm or Quan

Thế Âm Bồ Tát. It is generally accepted that Guanyin originated as the Sanskrit Avalokiteśvara (अवलोकितेश्वर), which is her male form.

Guan Yin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the Chen Dynasty empress whose Buddhist nun name was "Guanyin", see Empress Shen Wuhua.

Depiction

Guanyin is the Chinese name for the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.

However, folk traditions in China and other East Asian countries have

added many distinctive characteristics and legends. Avalokiteśvara was

originally depicted as Buddha when he was still a prince, and therefore

wears chest-revealing clothing and may even sport a moustache. However,

in China, Guanyin is usually depicted as a woman. Additionally, some

people believe that Guanyin is neither man nor woman.

In China, Guanyin is usually shown in a white flowing robe, and

usually wearing necklaces of Indian/Chinese royalty. In the right hand

is a water jar containing pure water, and in the left, a willow branch. The crown usually depicts the image of Amitabha Buddha, Guan Yin's spiritual teacher before she became a Bodhisattva.

In some Buddhist temples and monasteries, Guanyin images are

occasionally depicted as a young man dressed in Northern Song Buddhist

robes sitting gracefully. He is usually depicted looking or glancing

down, symbolising that Guanyin continues to watch over the world.

Guanyin of the Southern Sea, Chinese Late 1500s,Nantoyōsō Collection, Japan

There are also regional variations of Guan Yin depictions. In the Fukien

region of China, for example, a popular depiction of Guan Yin is as a

maiden dressed in Tang dynasty style clothing carrying a fish basket. A

popular image of Guan Yin as both Guan Yin of the South Sea and Guan

Yin With a Fish Basket can be seen in late 1500s Chinese encyclopedias

and in prints that accompany the novel Golden Lotus.

In Chinese art, Guan Yin is often depicted either alone, standing

atop a dragon, accompanied by a bird, flanked by two children, or

flanked by two warriors. The two children are her acolytes who came to

her when she was meditating at Mount Putuo. The girl is called Long Nü and the boy Shan Tsai. The two warriors are the historical character Guan Yu who comes from the Three Kingdoms period and the mythological character Wei Tuo

who features in the Chinese classic Canonisation of the Gods. The

Buddhist tradition also displays Guan Yin, or other buddhas and

bodhisattvas, flanked with the two said warriors, but as bodhisattvas

who protect the temple and the faith itself.

[edit] Veneration

Guanyin Shan (Kuan Yin Mountain) in Dongguan, China

In Chinese Buddhist iconography, Guan Yin is often depicted as

meditating or sitting alongside one of the Buddhas and usually

accompanied by another bodhisattva. Which buddha or bodhisattva usually

depends upon which school it represents. In the Pure Land school, for

example, Guan Yin is frequently depicted as standing alongside Amitabha

Buddha and bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta. Temples that revere the bodhisattva Ksitigarbha usually depict him meditating alongside the Buddha and Guan Yin.

Along with Buddhism, Guanyin's veneration was introduced into China as early as the 1st century CE, and reached Japan by way of Korea soon after Buddhism was first introduced into the country in the mid-7th century.

More recently in Europe and America, a new wave of believers are

spreading a devotional cult beyond buddhism, taoism and folk

traditional beliefs. Guan Yin is not only a bodhisattva or a goddess

but a focus of devotion by some Eastern New Age movements.

[edit] Guanyin's representation

Representations of the bodhisattva in China prior to the Song Dynasty (960-1279)

were masculine in appearance. Images which later displayed attributes

of both genders are believed to be in accordance with the Lotus Sutra,

where Avalokitesvara has the supernatural power of assuming any form

required to relieve suffering, and also has the power to grant children

(possibly relating to the fact that in this Sutra -unlike in others-

both men and women are believed to have ability to achieve

enlightment). Because this bodhisattva is considered the

personification of compassion and kindness, a mother-goddess and patron

of mothers and seamen, the representation in China was further

interpreted in an all-female form around the 12th century. In the

modern period, Guan Yin is most often represented as a beautiful,

white-robed woman, a depiction which derives from the earlier Pandaravasini form.

[edit] Legends

This wooden statue of Quan Âm Nghìn Mắt Nghìn Tay (Quan Am with 1000 eyes and 1000 hands) was fashioned in 1656 in Bac Ninh Province, northern Vietnam. It is now located in the History Museum in Hanoi.

[