Accepting the first ever YouTube Visionary Award via taped message, Queen Rania Al Abdullah spoofed the famous Top 10 format from David Letterman to explain why she launched her channel.
10. Because I didn't have enough friends on Facebook.
9. Because anything Queen Elizabeth can do, I can do better.
8. Because I was tired of people thinking that Jordan was just a basketball player.
7. Because Barack Obama said, "Yes we can!" so I thought "So can I." And by the way, congratulations America.
6. Because my original idea of "Where the hell is her majesty?" had already been taken.
5. Because I wouldn't have got past an audition in front of Simon Cowell.
4. Because I couldn't get a camel on a skateboard.
3. Because what you know about Arabs shouldn't just come from Jack Bauer.
2. Because if Madonna can get millions of hits cleaning the floor ...
1. Because suspicion, intolerance and mistrust are driving us apart.
Queen Rania is a very hip monarch, obviously. After the humorous Top 10 List, she does get down to a more serious riff.
"And that's why I wanted to kick start a conversion on the world's largest community because we're stronger when we listen and smarter when we share.
And that's what I love about YouTube -- the way it encourages us to be active participants in that conversation -- making our voices heard, giving us the power to broadcast ourselves, increasing knowledge of each other, breaking down the barriers between us, clip by clip.
So let's use that power. I'm not claiming a video can change the world, but maybe it can help us change some minds, and that's where real progress starts."
Hat tips to Professor Juan Cole for posting the video on his blog, Informed Comment. He also includes the recent two-part video interview of Queen Rania by Fareed Zakaria on CNN (part 1, part 2).
After listening to the last eight years of Bushworld neocon propaganda and the politics of fear and division, Queen Rania's message of tolerance and moderation is a forward-looking breath of fresh air from a head of state.
Let's hope that the recent attack in Mumbai doesn't cause a return to the Bush/Cheney mindset. The corporate news media will undoubtedly hype up the fear for ratings (advertising revenue) but let's keep things in perspective.
CNN, for example, ran a piece highlighting several recent terror attacks and suggested that the new threat will be Europeans with easy access to the United States. Look, terrorism isn't new. Terrorism in Europe isn't new. Despite the manufactured hype, the sky is not falling.
The deaths and injuries in Mumbai are tragic, of course. At the same time, about 100 people die and 15,000 people are hospitalized in the U.S. each year from peanuts. Politicians aren't asking us to support a new War on Peanuts.
NASA STS-126 mission astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshin-Piper made international news when she lost her tool bag while out on EVA to repair the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ). Personally, I just enjoy hearing broadcasters trying their best to pronounce her name correctly.
The STS-126 mission has been extended one day in order to complete repairs and continue the extreme home improvements on the International Space Station. Space Shuttle Endeavor is now scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, November 30th, at 1:18 p.m. EST. You can watch that on NASA TV.
Did you know that in addition to a new YouTube channel (ReelNASA), NASA has countless hours of video footage and educational programs? One section of the NASA website I just discovered recently, NASA eClips, is part of NASA's Digital Learning Network and Project 2061. Project 2061 is a program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to help all Americans become literate in science, mathematics and technology.
I just watched an episode of NASA 360, a light and lively program series produced for the general public. Click on one of the category links above to check out the playlists for each category. You can watch any video streaming in your web browser.
<snark> Some of you may want to start with the Grade K-5 category and work your way up. </snark> Yeah ... I could not resist that one. Happy Thanksgiving.
Sadly, I'm not much of a dancer, nor do I plan to learn any moves anytime soon. I don't enjoy singing very often, at least not when others can hear it. I do enjoy listening to nearly all genres of music, though. Drum and Bass, Dance Club, House, Techno and Rave almost make me want to dance wildly in public. I found these two fave songs from The Prodigy and thought I'd share their YouTube videos with you.
I've watched "Zeitgeist, the movie" three times in the past few days in order to better wrap my mind around what the film makers were trying to communicate. The movie is divided into three parts and each part is worthy of its own detailed conspiracy theory research.
The tagline for this film is "What does Christianity, 9/11 and the Federal Reserve all have in common?" I believe the three seemingly different parts can be thematically tied together into one larger concept: how are you controlled, individually or as a member of a larger society, by whom, and why?
Part 1 - The Greatest Story Ever Told
Christianity, as it is historically portrayed, regarded and practiced in our modern society is a lie. It is a myth. Christians who abjectly believe what their neighborhood preacher is selling them are being told lies, likely by a man with a mail-order diploma in theology.
It is not in the interest of the preacher man to tell you about the astrological and pagan origins of Christianity. It is in his interest to tell you to simply believe what he tells you that your Bible says. Have faith.
The Judao-Christian Bible is a highly plagiarized version of earlier Sun god myths from other cultures, but most strikingly similar to the Egyptian religious myths of Horus. Jesus was the pagan sun god of the Gnostic Christian sect.
Over the next dozens of centuries, Christianity was simply politicized for societal control. Respect those in authority over you. We are the law givers. God annoited us to rule over you. Believe what we tell you. Have faith.
The first forty minutes of Zeitgeist may cause you to question your faith. Knowing the true origins and subsequent history of your religious beliefs should be a good thing though, right?
The official 9/11 myth handed down from the leaders in the U.S. government and our corporate news media goes like this:
19 hijackers, directed by Osama bin Laden, took over four commercial jets with box cutters, and while avoiding the air defense system (NORAD), hit 75% of their targets. In turn, World Trade Centers 1, 2, and 7 collapsed in pancake fashion, while the plane that hit the Pentagon vaporized upon impact, as did the plane that crashed in Shanksville. The 911 Commission found that there were no warnings for this act of terrorism, while multiple government failures prevented adequate defense.
Now, there isn't time and space for me to address each point that the Zeitgeist movie highlights. In fact, there are entire websites devoted to examining every minute detail and omission of the 911 Commission report. Google "911 truth" and pick a detail to research further. I may pick out one or two details in the future for a conspiracy theory topic, but not today.
All major wars in post-industrial era in the United States were initiated by a manufactured or allowed incident, or false flag operation, to mobilize public opinion and allow the government to become engaged in a war. The historical evidence is there.
For those of you who do not understand the reference for the title of Part 3, check the wiki for the plot of the film "The Wizard of Oz." The men behind the curtain in this case are the international bankers that control central banks and specifically, the federal reserve banking system.
Zeitgeist goes through the history of central banking and the banking families like Rockefeller, Morgan, Marburg, and Rothschild -- and the creation of the U.S. Federal Reserve System in 1913. It also teaches you about how the system is used.
What is money? When I described this part of the movie to a friend recently, he said, "Well, U.S. dollars are backed by all the gold in Fort Knox" In fact, that is not true. The U.S. went off the "gold standard" during the administration of president Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.
Ever notice the cyclical frequency of economic boom and bust, war and peace? It seems that every generation of ruling elites needs to make their money from the blood and profit of wars, oftentimes making money on both sides of the given conflict.
Even between U.S. wars, people can make money from death. For those of you old enough to remember the Reagan administration, you might recall how Reagan/Bush had a fondness for covert ops in the Middle East, South and Central America.
So what does all this mean? Why is this happening? A little alternate education is the beginning. You'll have to watch the end of the movie for the answers.
Also, "Zeitgeist Addendum" was just recently released. It is an update. It touches on the control mechanisms from Parts 1 and 2, but it explains the central banking model and fractional banking more fully.
Addendum also explains the alternative to the economies of scarcity, division, fear and control. It also gives you five things you can do, right now, to start to shed the manipulated reality. Addendum has more Matrix motifs at the end. I'll save further thoughts about that for next week.
NASA is scheduled to launch space shuttle Endeavor for the STS-126 mission tonight at 7:55 P.M. EST. You can watch it live on NASA TV.
Personally, I plan to cart out to a nearby golf course, cast my eyes to the south-east and watch Endeavor blast off into the night sky. It's an impressive sight to behold ... unless there is too much cloud cover. Shuttle launch control has a 30% no-go chance due to possible negative weather conditions.
STS-126 mission is impressive
Endeavor will dock with the International Space Station and deliver needed equipment and supplies to increase the ISS capability to host more ISS expedition members. The STS-126 crew will also EVA (spacewalk) to repair the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) which allows the huge ISS solar arrays to track the sun to provide maximum energy to the station.
Previous missions have built the ISS out. Node 2, Columbus, and KIbo modules added the basic livable space to the station. Now, the STS-126 crew will install the needed equipment into that new space.
"It's the most jam-packed logistics module we have ever carried up there. We're taking a three-bedroom, one-bathroom house and turning it into a five-bedroom, two-bathroom house with a gym."
One of the most impressive pieces of equipment (besides the spare space toilet) is the Environment Control and Life Support System (ECLSS). The ECLSS recycles all the liquid waste water on the ISS that normally gets dumped.
Although it may sound distasteful to some of you, this system basically captures moisture in the air from crew members breathing and their urine in the waste system. It then purifies all of it into drinkable water.
After installation, the ECLSS will go through a number of tests before anyone drinks the water produced by it. Recycling water and not wasting it is an important step toward long term space exploration goals, such as going to Mars.
[quote of the moment] If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them. – Henry David Thoreau
