Allspace in a Notshall

Found this interesting article on Reality Sandwich today talking about Terence McKenna and his lectures on his DMT trips.  It’s a fascinating read, but due to some of the author’s conclusions, I’ll have to read the article a few more times.

Here’s a controversial excerpt, bolds are mine:

I find Terence’s reflections on his DMT experiences to be valuable and insightful for a very different reason. When analyzed from the perspective of what I call the “Entheological Paradigm,” Terence’s experiences do not present us with an intrepid explorer discovering new realms. Rather, we are presented with a clear picture of an individual who is unable to recognize himself in the mirror of tryptamine consciousness. In short, Terence’s experiences boil down to one fundamental truth: They are the experiences of someone who is consuming very powerful entheogens, yet is failing to recognize the projections and creations of his own ego while in that state. From the perspective of unitary consciousness, Terence appears to have never managed to transcend his ego and therefore appears to have failed to realize the genuinely true potential of the entheogenic medicines he ingested.

When this perspective is understood, it becomes immediately clear that virtually all of what Terence has to say about DMT experiences are projections of his own ego. Terence has not explored some other realm or brought back valuable information for other would-be explorers, as he imagined himself doing. Instead, he explored the confused projections of his own ego and never achieved anything close to clarity about those experiences. Ultimately, Terence brought us deep and abiding confusion, and his confusion has subsequently been eagerly and whole-heartedly embraced by countless others in the entheogenic community. For the information that Terence brought back to us to be of any real use at all, it will be as a clear example of the mechanics of ego-projection, self-imposed confusion and reification of ideational realities. In my estimation, Terence shows us the complete opposite of DMT’s true potential. By understanding how this is so, we can begin to develop a clearer picture of what DMT is genuinely good for, and what it is not.

It’s actually a rather scathing view on McKenna, but I will say that it’s nice to see the flip side of opinions on McKenna. Personally, I’m a huge fan of his and have collected and listened to, multiple times, any and all video and audio materials I could get my hands on. But I also like to think that I’m open-minded enough to see how other people might not view what he had to say in the same light that I do.

Anyway, give it a read, especially if you’re a fan…

Found this on Disinfo via the Daily Mail today:

Americans who suggest Barack Obama should rot in hell are apparently deadly serious.

Nearly a quarter of Republicans believe the Democrat president ‘may be the Antichrist‘, according to a survey.

An even greater number compared him to Hitler.

More than half of the Republicans quizzed by Harris Poll, 57 per cent, believed the president was secretly Muslim, something he has consistently denied.

And 67 per cent of Republicans who responded believed Obama was a socialist, despite his central leanings.

The startling results came as lawyers representing 14 U.S. states filed lawsuits yesterday challenging an overhaul of the country’s $2.5trillion healthcare system, minutes after President Barack Obama signed the landmark legislation.

These people need to leave government service as quickly as possible. And I’m not talking about a nice retirement here either…

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This is a huge step in the legalization campaign.  According to the LA Times,

An initiative to legalize marijuana and allow it to be sold and taxed will appear on the November ballot, state election officials announced Wednesday, triggering what will probably be a much-watched campaign that once again puts California on the forefront of the nation’s debate over whether to soften drug laws.

Continue reading the article here.

If this were to happen, what kind of ramifications does this have nationwide?   And how would it conflict with Federal drug policy?  Do you think it would force the Federal government to change it’s own laws?  It could get very interesting at the end of this year.   Hopefully Colorado follows suit.

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Interesting article I found on NPR today.  It talks about how porn maestros have played a very influential role in the development of the Internet and its technologies.  Quotes below:

Think back to the early days of the Internet, Coopersmith says. “You had to have the hookup, you had to have the computer, you had to have the willingness to experiment a fair amount. And the people who do this tend to be young men, especially in their 20s and 30s, and this also happens to be a prime audience for pornography.”

Of course, that’s only taking into account pornographic Web sites — the Internet has also provided a private venue for sexual discussion and education. Violet Blue is a sex columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, writes for several online publications, and blogs and hosts a popular podcast called “Open Source Sex.”

“The Internet has been sexualized even before it was the Internet,” she says. Back in the days of bulletin board systems, some people would exchange what was known as “ASCII porn.”

Video technology is a place where adult sites have been especially innovative, integrating live video streams into browser windows with early “jpeg push” video. They continue to be on the cutting edge; Peter Acworth, who founded the very NSFW site kink.com, remembers a few years ago when customers were demanding live HD streams, but he couldn’t find an acceptable off-the-shelf solution.

“So we put together our own technology to be able to do so,” Acworth says. “You know, you go to CNN or anywhere else on the Web, the video you see is going to be significantly lower bandwidth.”

Very interesting read. Check it out.

From the Marijuana Policy Project:

March 11, 2010

WASHINGTON, DC — With numerous states facing significant budget shortages, legislators and voters across the country this month have been giving overwhelming support to measures that would reduce the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana to a civil fine.

Yesterday in New Hampshire, the state House voted 214-137 to pass H.B. 1653, a bill that would reduce the penalty for possession of up to a quarter-ounce of marijuana with a civil fine of up to $200.

In Hawaii, the state Senate voted 22 to 3 on March 2 to pass SB 2450, a bill that would eliminate criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and replace them with a civil fine of up to $300 for a first offense and $500 for a subsequent offense.

And in Vermont, 72% of voters in Montpelier approved a non-binding ordinance asking the state legislature “to pass a bill to replace criminal penalties with a civil fine for adults who possess a small amount of marijuana.”

“Taken together, these developments demonstrate how an increasing number of voters and lawmakers across the country no longer support the notion that otherwise law-abiding citizens should be arrested, slapped with a criminal record and possibly thrown behind bars, simply for choosing to use a substance that is safer than alcohol,” said Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project. “We know from efforts in other states that decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana allows police to focus on more serious crimes and also produces a net financial gain through saved law-enforcement costs and the revenue generated by civil fines. Lawmakers everywhere should take heed of these examples, especially in these troubled economic times.”

Currently 12 states have laws that reduce the penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana to a civil fine. A decriminalization bill in Rhode Island is co-sponsored by 48% of House members.

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