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110,000 Throughout Ireland Protested Against 64 Billion Euro Bank Debt - Were You There?
Have you ever noticed how often the number 64 appears in headlines and on posters. We in Ireland have a 64 Billion Euro debt, or so we are told. It is interesting to note that "The $64,000 Question" was an American game show broadcast from 1955–1958, which became embroiled in the scandals involving TV quiz shows of the day.
The organisers of today's protest march claimed that over 110,000 people took part in the demonstrations.but according to local media and police estimates the total country wide turnout was about 50,000.
The largest event took place in Dublin and according to local police about 25,000 took part while the organisers claim that at least 60,000 took part (maybe 64,000 took part). Today an experienced journalist explained to me that the police count the number of legs and divide by two and the protest organisers count the number of legs and divide by one (BTW that's a joke).
To be honest I do not know if anyone is even trying to be accurate but the following statement was issued by the ITCU:
9 Feb 2013
More than 110,000 people took part in demonstrations across the country today, in protest at the country’s continued bank debt burden.
The protests were organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and took place in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Sligo.
Over 60,000 took part in the Dublin protest, while at least 15,000 turned out in Cork, 13,000 in Waterford, 10,000 in Limerick, 7,000 in Sligo and 5,000 I Galway.
Congress General Secretary David Begg told protestors at a rally in Dublin’s Merrion Square that bank debt problem had not been solved by the recent deal.
He vowed Congress would continue its bank debt campaign until the link between private bank debt and national debt was clearly broken.
Stewart Brand, Ryan Phelan, and Walter Isaacson respond to Sylvia Earle's question from the front row.
Photo credit - Jay Heritage Center
Where can one go to learn about "Living in the New Normal" and protecting our ever increasingly fragile environment? For the Jay Heritage Center, that destination was Colorado and the 2012 Aspen Environmental Forum presented by the Aspen Institute (AI) and the National Geographic Society.
E. O. "Ed" Wilson, Pulitzer Prize winner, Harvard biologist and author of "The Social Conquest of the Earth" kicked off the opening session on Friday, June 22nd. His lively conversation with AI's Executive Vice President of Policy and Public Partners, Elliot Gerson, drew an attentive audience that included scientific colleagues like renowned oceanographer Sylvia Earle. Wilson touched on everything from inspiring young people to study nature through his new biology textbook app "Life on Earth" with its Pixar-quality images to his own current efforts to protect biodiversity through establishing wildlife corridors: "American flora and fauna need room to expand." Beyond online access, Wilson was adamant "You've got to get the kid out in the woods, in the natural environment, as much as you can." Looking back on his own childhood, he declared that every child goes through a "bug period" and confessed that when he was young he viewed entomologists as "demi-gods." That passionate advice is harnessed in his latest book project, previewed in his "Letter to a Young Scientist."
When we asked him to weigh in on threats endangering our native species today, Wilson enumerated the following primary factors which can be remembered by the acronym HIPPO (Habitat destruction, Invasive species, Population, Pollution, Overharvesting). He was emphatic - if we continue at the present rate of eliminating species, half of them will be gone by the end of the century.
Other superb presentations featured Department of the Interior Deputy Secretary David Hayes, Osvel Hinojosa-Huerta, Director of the Water and Wetlands Program of Pronatura Noroeste, and Jonathan Overpeck, Director of the Institute of the Environment at the University of Arizona. With the news of the Colorado wildfires very much on everyone's mind, these 3 individuals candidly balanced the continued threat of severe droughts and unpredictable water shortages in the coming years with optimistic news of collaborative initiatives to reclaim and redirect water in new ways that benefit people and the natural environment.
Overpeck shaped the discourse clearly and forcefully with an overview of the Colorado River Basin which is home to 40 million people. Some of the fastest growing states in our country are in this region along with many Native Nations. The 7 states dependent upon the river's flow include California (southern), Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Water here is already over-allocated or inequitably apportioned and unfortunately it is impossible to model the epic droughts that are almost certain to hit us in the next century. But what was most heartening to hear was the positive exchange between Hayes and Hinojosa-Huerta discussing the innovative avenues the US and Mexican governments are exploring now to conserve water for cities and habitats, creating models that eventually may be used coast to coast.
The conference was 4 days long and there were also sessions to explore the environmental impact of natural gas development; groups for brainstorming about solutions for cleaning up marine debris in our oceans; news and healthy debate about the creation of a 3.5 million acre wildlife preserve and open prairie in Montana; and opportunities to hear directly from the DOI Deputy Secretary Hayes about climate event preparedness and safeguarding our most vulnerable American places like the Everglades. All of these discussions had universal resonance with an audience that hailed from almost every state. We left inspired to spread the news to live more sustainably in our own home towns wherever we are because the "new normal" seems here to stay.
Learn more about The Aspen Environmental Forum at:
Learn how we are doing our part to promote environmental education in Rye, New York at:
Jay Heritage Center
210 Boston Post Road
Rye, NY 10580
(914) 698-9275
Email: jayheritagecenter@gmail.com
Follow and like us on:
Twitter @jayheritage
Facebook www.facebook.com/jayheritagecenter
Pinterest www.pinterest.com/jaycenter
YouTube www.youtube.com/channel/UChWImnsJrBAi2Xzjn8vR54w
www.instagram.com/jayheritagecenter/
A National Historic Landmark since 1993
Member of the African American Heritage Trail of Westchester County since 2004
Member of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area since 2009
On NY State's Path Through History (2013)
Script:
U.P. Breaking News: K. I. Sawyer Latest KC-135 Emergency Landing/Raising Safety Concerns
The following exclusive information was not reported yet by Upper Peninsula TV stations and other media.
Many safety questions remain and a military plane is officially grounded after an emergency in the skies over Marquette County, Michigan on Tues. July 8, 2014
The emergency landing of a KC-135 refueling tanker is the latest in a series of similar hydraulic incidents involving the aging fleet of Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing, Upper Peninsula Breaking News has learned.
Veteran Investigative Reporter Greg Peterson has the story:
upperpeninsulabreakingnews.wordpress.com/2014/07/09/u-p-b...
-----
Essentially a flying gas station – this Air National Guard KC-135 is grounded – following an emergency that has happened at least 5 times in the past two years to KC 135 refueling tankers from the 128th Air Refueling Wing in Milwaukee.
That's right – at least 5 times in the past two years – a KC-135 from the 128th has developed hydraulic problems resulting in emergency landings at airports around the Midwest.
The tankers are all about 50 years old.
In fact in June 2013, a reporter for Milwaukee Television station WISN TV-12 investigated a rash of KC-135 emergency landings after hydraulic warning.
Upper Peninsula Breaking News called the 128th's public affairs office to verify this important safety problem.
With overcast skies, the three-member crew of this KC-135 declared a hydraulic emergency:
Chief Don Hutchens, Forsyth Township Volunteer Fire Department:
Emergency officials from across Marquette County responded to the plane's call for help – fearing it might crash while landing – which would have been catastrophic.
The KC -135 was among several planes from the 128th Refueling Wing that have been practicing touch and goes on K.I. Sawyer's long runways.
Now the Marquette County Airport, the once vibrant K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base was a Strategic Air Command base – constantly on alert - with bomber crews ready to fly in moments.
This reporter has had the pleasure of riding on two KC-135 Refueling Tankers – as show in this photo when I worked at WLUC TV-6 in Marquette.
We refueled F-16 Jets over Lake Huron.
Then this reporter became one of only a handful of civilians to ride aboard a B-52 Bomber – this while I did features stories for the Mining Journal newspaper.
I was given this official coin of the Sawyer bomber wing and a patch – after as 12-hour flight that included Fourth of July Parades and an airshow in Grand Rapids.
This reporter hopes the officials at Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing get to the bottom of this hydraulic issues before there is a tragedy – as the large number of emergencies on this flying gas station is scary to all involved.
Greg Peterson, Upper Peninsula Breaking News
Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing
Public Affairs Office
414-944-8715
128 HQ/Public Affairs
mailto:128HQ.PublicAffairs@ang.af.mil
Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing on Facebook
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/128th_Air_Refueling_Wing
Forsyth Township Volunteer Fire Department; Forsyth Township Police department
www.forsythtwpmi.org/FT%20POLICE%20DEPT.htm
Local News Coverage
abc10up.com/air-national-guard-plane-makes-emergency-land...
www.upmatters.com/story/d/story/news/15079/3fYz_NNJ0kmTs-...
www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=1067608
WISN TV-12 Investigation in June 2013:
Emergency landing prompts questions about KC-135 safety
Hydraulic problems lead to 4th in-flight emergency
June 19, 2013
www.wisn.com/news/south-east-wisconsin/milwaukee/emergenc...
www.wisn.com/news/south-east-wisconsin/milwaukee/emergenc...
www.wisn.com/news/south-east-wisconsin/milwaukee/emergenc...
Military plane makes emergency landing in Indiana
www.wisn.com/news/south-east-wisconsin/milwaukee/Military...
A plane from Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing of the Wisconsin Air National Guard is grounded and undergoing repairs after an in-flight emergency Tuesday.
For the fourth time in two months a KC-135 from Milwaukee makes an emergency landing, this time in Indiana.
The flight crew lost control of the hydraulic system and made an emergency landing in Indiana.
It's the fourth in-flight emergency in recent weeks involving four KC-135 refueling tankers.
Each of the planes is about 50 years old, which has some wondering if the aging aircraft are as safe as they should be.
Upper Peninsula Breaking News
U.P. Breaking News
Gmail:
UpperPeninsulaBreakingNews@gmail.com
Wordpress:
upperpeninsulabreakingnews.wordpress.com
youtube:
www.youtube.com/UPBreakingNews
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tocLjvEslBA
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/UpperPeninsulaBreakingNews
Twitter:
Greg Peterson
@UPBreakingNews
flickr
The scam works like this:
A person, usually woman, begins corresponding with a stranger online. Let's call the first person Myrtle Crumpet. The stranger claims to be a "UN Doctor" or "UN Peacekeeper" from the USA (or Canada) and is working in Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen or some other hotspot. They have a very Western-sounding name: Dr. Michael Smith. Captain William Jones. Myrtle really likes Dr. Smith or Captain Jones - whatever. The pictures he shares show that he is very handsome. He's single, or divorced. He tells her that he's not allowed to use video chat, for security reasons, he can communicate only with text. He also can't make a video and share it with her for security reasons or because his camera is broken. He's being very brave wherever he is - he might even have started a little NGO on the side, to help local people outside of his job. But he's so lonely, and he tells Myrtle that her messages give him hope, and he may even say he's falling in love with her. But he needs a few thousand dollars to take an "emergency" vacation, because the UN is late with his paycheck and he can't pay the fee right now. Or he needs a few thousand dollars to help a very sick child, and there is a rich donor who is going to help, but that rich donor is just a bit tied up now. He asks Myrtle if she could wire the money - he will ABSOLUTELY pay it back. And he may even have a text message or voice-only conference call with her to marry her, and send her certifications that Dr. SMith or Captain Jones and Myrtle are now husband and wife, and he will fly to her SOON, just as soon as she sends that money!
But this man isn't real. He's a scammer. He is not a doctor nor a captain, he's not in Iraq or Syria or wherever he claims to be, he's not with the UN, and he and Myrtle are NOT married. He's spun this tale in order to get her to send him money - money she will never, ever see again.
Above is a screen capture of questions on Quora from people trying to find out if the person they are corresponding with that says he's a doctor in Syria or a UN Peace Keeper in Iraq is real. It shows just how pervasive this scam is. Also see my related photos - images sent to me by a woman in the Philippines who was almost taken in by such a scammer. She's in the Philippines. She found me on Quora, because I am constantly answering questions there to try to keep people from being taken in.
Question Mark. Aus der Serie „Satzzeichen“ 2014
Rotierende Skulptur aus Lianen Findling, fluoriszierendes Klebeband, schwarze Totenkopf Büchse und Schwarz Licht
Skulptur, Objekt, Video, Installation, Fotografie
Markus Wintersberger 2014
Question asked by Cornie Huizenga, Secretary General SLoCaT Partnership during the Side Event: Enabling Change: The German Partnership for Sustainable Mobility, taking place during the 2014 Annual Summit of the International Transport Forum “Transport for a Changing World” on 22 May 2014 in Leipzig, Germany.
Victoria Nuland, Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, answers a question selected from the Department’s official Turkish Twitter feed, @ABDTurk, on January 27, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]
Instructors from the Northern Warfare Training Center stand ready to answer questions at an Arctic 10-man tent demonstration, during the three-day Cold Regions Military Mountaineering Collaborative Event at Northern Warfare Training Center's Black Rapids Training Site, Alaska. Feb. 9-12, 2015. The purpose of this event is to strengthen cooperation, share ideas and improve capabilities with our international partners in cold-weather and mountainous regions. Military members from 12 nations are participating in this event, including Canada, Australia, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Japan, Mongolia, Nepal and United Kingdom, as well as various units and service components from across the United States. (Photo by Sgt. Sean Callahan, U.S. Army Alaska Public Affairs)
Part of the lovely Art Deco De La Warr Pavillion, I thought this view of the spiral staircase made it look like a large question mark. Taken with a Canon EOS 300D. Ref: D169-049
Script:
U.P. Breaking News: K. I. Sawyer Latest KC-135 Emergency Landing/Raising Safety Concerns
The following exclusive information was not reported yet by Upper Peninsula TV stations and other media.
Many safety questions remain and a military plane is officially grounded after an emergency in the skies over Marquette County, Michigan on Tues. July 8, 2014
The emergency landing of a KC-135 refueling tanker is the latest in a series of similar hydraulic incidents involving the aging fleet of Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing, Upper Peninsula Breaking News has learned.
Veteran Investigative Reporter Greg Peterson has the story:
upperpeninsulabreakingnews.wordpress.com/2014/07/09/u-p-b...
-----
Essentially a flying gas station – this Air National Guard KC-135 is grounded – following an emergency that has happened at least 5 times in the past two years to KC 135 refueling tankers from the 128th Air Refueling Wing in Milwaukee.
That's right – at least 5 times in the past two years – a KC-135 from the 128th has developed hydraulic problems resulting in emergency landings at airports around the Midwest.
The tankers are all about 50 years old.
In fact in June 2013, a reporter for Milwaukee Television station WISN TV-12 investigated a rash of KC-135 emergency landings after hydraulic warning.
Upper Peninsula Breaking News called the 128th's public affairs office to verify this important safety problem.
With overcast skies, the three-member crew of this KC-135 declared a hydraulic emergency:
Chief Don Hutchens, Forsyth Township Volunteer Fire Department:
Emergency officials from across Marquette County responded to the plane's call for help – fearing it might crash while landing – which would have been catastrophic.
The KC -135 was among several planes from the 128th Refueling Wing that have been practicing touch and goes on K.I. Sawyer's long runways.
Now the Marquette County Airport, the once vibrant K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base was a Strategic Air Command base – constantly on alert - with bomber crews ready to fly in moments.
This reporter has had the pleasure of riding on two KC-135 Refueling Tankers – as show in this photo when I worked at WLUC TV-6 in Marquette.
We refueled F-16 Jets over Lake Huron.
Then this reporter became one of only a handful of civilians to ride aboard a B-52 Bomber – this while I did features stories for the Mining Journal newspaper.
I was given this official coin of the Sawyer bomber wing and a patch – after as 12-hour flight that included Fourth of July Parades and an airshow in Grand Rapids.
This reporter hopes the officials at Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing get to the bottom of this hydraulic issues before there is a tragedy – as the large number of emergencies on this flying gas station is scary to all involved.
Greg Peterson, Upper Peninsula Breaking News
Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing
Public Affairs Office
414-944-8715
128 HQ/Public Affairs
mailto:128HQ.PublicAffairs@ang.af.mil
Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing on Facebook
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/128th_Air_Refueling_Wing
Forsyth Township Volunteer Fire Department; Forsyth Township Police department
www.forsythtwpmi.org/FT%20POLICE%20DEPT.htm
Local News Coverage
abc10up.com/air-national-guard-plane-makes-emergency-land...
www.upmatters.com/story/d/story/news/15079/3fYz_NNJ0kmTs-...
www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=1067608
WISN TV-12 Investigation in June 2013:
Emergency landing prompts questions about KC-135 safety
Hydraulic problems lead to 4th in-flight emergency
June 19, 2013
www.wisn.com/news/south-east-wisconsin/milwaukee/emergenc...
www.wisn.com/news/south-east-wisconsin/milwaukee/emergenc...
www.wisn.com/news/south-east-wisconsin/milwaukee/emergenc...
Military plane makes emergency landing in Indiana
www.wisn.com/news/south-east-wisconsin/milwaukee/Military...
A plane from Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing of the Wisconsin Air National Guard is grounded and undergoing repairs after an in-flight emergency Tuesday.
For the fourth time in two months a KC-135 from Milwaukee makes an emergency landing, this time in Indiana.
The flight crew lost control of the hydraulic system and made an emergency landing in Indiana.
It's the fourth in-flight emergency in recent weeks involving four KC-135 refueling tankers.
Each of the planes is about 50 years old, which has some wondering if the aging aircraft are as safe as they should be.
Upper Peninsula Breaking News
U.P. Breaking News
Gmail:
UpperPeninsulaBreakingNews@gmail.com
Wordpress:
upperpeninsulabreakingnews.wordpress.com
youtube:
www.youtube.com/UPBreakingNews
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tocLjvEslBA
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/UpperPeninsulaBreakingNews
Twitter:
Greg Peterson
@UPBreakingNews
flickr
"Question Mark" is a new sculpture created by Rosario Marquardt and Roberto Behar and funded through a gift from the Madison Public Library Foundation. Photo by library staff.
Question Mark. Aus der Serie „Satzzeichen“ 2014
Rotierende Skulptur aus Lianen Findling, fluoriszierendes Klebeband, schwarze Totenkopf Büchse und Schwarz Licht
Skulptur, Objekt, Video, Installation, Fotografie
Markus Wintersberger 2014
Question, what's in a number? Answer, guts and determination!
AVIVA ENGLAND ATHLETICS U23 & U20 CHAMPIONSHIPS & World Trials 2010. Taken at the Bedford International Athletics Stadium on Sunday 20th June 2010.
shot: my sister, Andi, edit: me
-.-
"Ki figyel rám
Ha a térdem fáj
A szívem megszakad
A bordám kiáll
Ha csúnya az orrom
A hangom se szép
És önmagamból is elég, elég
Ki figyel rám
Ha ijeszt a rém
Hogy a holnap
Akár a lépcső, kemény
S csak ülök és nézek
És fázik a kezem
És várok; tán ez a szerelem..."
(Zorán)
/
bad English translation:
"Who'll take care of me
If my knee hurts
My heart is broken
My rib protrudes
My nose is ugly
My voise isn't nice
And I've had enough of me, enough
Who'll take care of me
If the monster scares
That tomorrow is
As a stair, hard
And I just sit and watch
An my hand feels cold
And waiting - maybe that' love..."
I often feel like the one on the left, especially when it comes to putting together an Ikea dresser.
The Concept:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy & paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.
The Questions:
1. What is your first name? Rachel
2. What is your favorite food? Homemade Pasta
3. What high school did you go to? Colchester Christian Academy
4. What is your favorite color? Lilac
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Darren Hayes
6. Favorite drink? Whiskey
7. Dream vacation? Ancient Egypt
8. Favorite dessert? Dark Chocolate
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Mother & Artist
10. What do you love most in life? God & People
11. One Word to describe you: Curious
12. Your Flickr name: SeaOrchid
----------------------------
1. Rachel, 2. Homemade Pasta, 3. St Botolphs, Colchester, 4. For Sam, 5. Darren Hayes - Insatiable, 6. Whiskey Sour, 7. Idyllic, 8. Dark Chocolate, Raspberry Cake & Chocolate-Ginger Mousse, 9. Mother Earth - Unknown Artist, 10. `169 | High.., 11. Stay away from me weirdo !!, 12. Saying Goodbye
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.
Most people know this, but: photos are not mine, of course. Meant for tribute/inspiration/linkage purposes only.
Question Mark. Aus der Serie „Satzzeichen“ 2014
Rotierende Skulptur aus Lianen Findling, fluoriszierendes Klebeband, schwarze Totenkopf Büchse und Schwarz Licht
Skulptur, Objekt, Video, Installation, Fotografie
Markus Wintersberger 2014
Male Agapostemon's almost all have this same pattern, Metallicy green on the head and thorax and then striped yellow and black on the abdomen. Females uniformly don't have yellow anywhere. Why is good question as this male yellowness syndrome runs throughout the bee kingdom, cutting across families. Thistle Droege did the photoshoping and Wayne Boo the photography.
~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~
All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.
Photography Information: Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash in Styrofoam Cooler, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200
The murmuring of bees has ceased;
But murmuring of some
Posterior, prophetic,
Has simultaneous come,--
The lower metres of the year,
When nature's laugh is done,--
The Revelations of the book
Whose Genesis is June.
-Emily Dickinson
Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:
Basic USGSBIML set up:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-_yvIsucOY
USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdmx_8zqvN4
PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:
ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf
Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:
plus.google.com/events/c5569losvskrv2nu606ltof8odo
or
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c15neFttoU
Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:
Contact information:
Sam Droege
sdroege@usgs.gov
301 497 5840
What Is Theosophy?
The Secrets of The Universe Laid Bare By The Accumulated Wisdom Of The Ages
The question “What is Theosophy?” must have risen to the lips of some thousands of persons during the last three or four years, if the world is anything like what it used to be, and it is only reasonable to suppose that in nearly as many instances as the question has been put the answer has not been forthcoming, or, at least, that no satisfactory solution has been proffered. From the vastness of the subject and its utter newness to Western minds this state of things is not very much to be wondered at, but apart from that, the extreme difficulty of giving anything approaching an intelligible explanation of the word to minds permeated with WEstern ideas and moulded by Western thought and associations is so great as to render the task well nigh hopeless. Theosophy was unknown to Western intelligence – except in the form of the wildest and most improbable narratives, and those of the most fragmentary character – till some 14 years since, when Madame H. P. Blavatsky, a Russian lady who had spent the greater part of her previous life picking up strange stores of still strangers knowledge among the speculative peoples of the far East, settled in New York, and commenced the diffusion of her ideas in regard to her occult knowledge. Her most active disciple was a Colonel Olcott, in conjunction with whom the Theosophical Society was formed for objects stated below. A singular fact came out in reference to this very singular organization not very long ago; it appears that Madame Blavatsky, the president-founder, is practically the Theosophical Society one and indivisible, for while the members may be expelled to any extent, the president-founder cannot be removed, the consequence being that notwithstanding the possible loss of every single member, the society can never suffer annihilation as long as Madame Blavatsky lives, the wishes of the rest of the organization to the contrary. Theosophy has apparently produced the first and only society which it is impossible to suppress or abolish. Madame Blavatsky is now located in London, where her teachings have been met with more amusement than reverence, but the president-founder appears proof against any amount of that kind of “argument,” and disposes of it as being of as little value as the wanton smoke-curls of the weed she loves so well. Among the orthodox and the indifference – who may be placed upon pretty much the same plane as far as honest inquiry is concerned – theosophy has made no convert, but in the ranks of the ever-increasing class of speculative thinkers who have been forced to abandon the old traditional creeds the “new” gospel has received a large number of earnest followers, perhaps the most noticeable being Mrs. Annie Besant, whose succession to theosophical ranks proves – if it proves anything – that there is “something in it” worthy of investigation. In America, where the cult has taken a firmer root, the theosophists claim Edison, the great electrician, as one of their disciples, and his certificate of membership is enrolled among the society’s archives.
The subject was laid before the Croydon Socratic Society on Tuesday night, at their usual meeting at West Croydon, by no less an authority than Mr. Herbert Burrows, who, in addition to being a highly-valued friend of the society and a fellow socialistic worker with Mrs. Besant, is also an enthusiastic theosophist and a brilliant young thinker in more than one branch. The Socratics are a more than ordinarily hard-headed body, but it was plain to see that on Tuesday evening there was a lack of sympathy with the subject that boded trouble ahead, as the sequel showed. Mr. Burrows first spoke of the difficulties of handling a subject which comprehended the concentrated knowledge of the East extending over a period of possibly 20,000 years in about forty minutes, and expressed the opinion that he was quite prepared to find at the concussion fo the lecture that his hearers only matter of doubt was as to whether he was a fool or a madman, or a combination of both. He then passed on the deal with the question in the way most suited to the assembly, namely, from it scientific aspect, and remarked that theosophy was utterly and entirely opposed to the Darwinian theory, and that it dealt with the more recondite forces and laws of nature in respect of which Western investigators were as ignorant as Newton’s child upon the seashore, aye, and more so, because, to speak figuratively, they had not even the knowledge to pick up the stones. Wisely keeping clear of the phenomenal portion of his subject – for theosophical wonder-working, even if it were possible to him, would be no more convincing of the truth of theosophy than the working of a material miracle was proof of any sort of moral truth – he explained in passing that theosophy claimed to be the underlying truth of which all the great and varied religious systems were but the exoteric side, and that the Theosophical Society had been founded to accomplish three objects, (1) To be the nucleus of a universal brotherhood; (2) To promote the study of Aryan and other Eastern literatures, religions, and sciences; and (3) To investigate unexplained laws of nature and the physical powers latent in man. Now, Western science failed to accomplish the latter object in some very essential particulars, and that principally because its investigations were conducted on imperfect lines, while theosophy, working upon an entirely different lines, not only agreed with the conclusions of the Western scientist, but could find a passage beyond the dead wall which blocked the path of all our scientists at a certain point, and beyond which wall no single Western investigator had yet been able to penetrate. What was the reason of this? Possibly because Western scientists started on too limited a basis. Personally he had long ago been led to the conclusion – from the study of Huxlye’s treaties on protoplasm forces, and from Professor Huxley’s own showing the material physical sciences of the body proved rather a barrier than an assistance to the study of the powers of nature. For example, when a note of music was struck it was accompanied by numbers of other miner sounds which it was impossible for the ear to distinguish because of its inherent of its inherent defects, while at the same time the existence of the minor notes had been demonstrated ad nauseam. A defect of this kind must prove an obstacle to true investigation because of its misleading results. If that were the case man practically knew nothing at all about the forces which were behind those of which we do know or fancy we know something. This naturally led to the conclusion that if our senses were only refined and acute enough it would be possible to perceive and understand the unseen forces of nature. On the other hand, the scientists of the West, everyone of them, however profound their investigations, were met at one point in their inquiries by a dead wall which they found it impossible to pass, in a very large class of phenomena, which they found to be absolutely inexplainable by their modern science.
Theosophy boasted that it could pass this wall by reason of the storehouse of actual mental knowledge, not mere theory only, which had been stored in the minds of a few men in India and of late years in Tibet, and handed on from one to the other for thousands of years. These men were investigators themselves, and they made a secret of their knowledge for obvious reasons, because by virtue of their knowledge there were few of the processes of nature that were secret to them; they asserted that they could explain phenomena whose solution was regarded as hopeless, and that simply and entirely by their knowledge of the laws of nature. In these things they owned no supernatural influences – there is no personal god in theosophy, which is purely pantheistic – but could give a rational explanation from the phenomena of nature, according to the laws of nature, though doubtless not according to the laws of Western scientists, and by this means they claimed to obtain a clue to both the spiritual and physical nature of man. The western scientist, up to a certain point, could state how certain phenomena were manifested, but the theosophist went further, and could tell why these things were. Science was absolutely unable to explain phenomena such as hypnotism, clairvoyance, and mesmerism to anything like an adequate extent and while he knew the majority of people dismissed these things as a result of trickery and fraud, they were nevertheless established facts, and rapidly establishing themselves as practical agents of surgical treatment. Apart from that theosophy could give a clear and adequate reason why for these things, and until people could give a better explanation it was both foolish and unphilosophic for people to deny that theosophy could do so.
Mr. Burrows then divided into an intensely interesting disquisition with regard to the numerous laws of nature whose existence and demonstration is known to our modern scientists, but which have entirely baffled them in their efforts to comprehend and tabulate the same. For instance, by means of a definite arrangement of a violin, a turning for, a strong light, and a sort of sheet suspended after the style of a “magic lantern” sheet, it was found that a note of music possesses distinct and unmistakable colours, which vary with different notes. Another instrument, the pendulagram, demonstrates that a musical note possess force. The apparatus is constructed upon vibrating principles, and is fitted with a universal-jointed pen. Upon a certain note being struck certain spiral curves are recorded by the pen. Strike another not, and a different class of spirals is produced; strike the first not again, and the spirals are produced similar to those registered on the first occasion. Now, why are these spiral? That is what theosophy alone can tell, and the man who has this knowledge can practically control the forces of nature! The materialist failed to surmount the wall that stopped him, and why? Partly because he failed to recognize that there was no rigid line of demarcation between the spiritual and the material part of man. Judging by the state of clairvoyance, when the physical material senses of man were in a certain sense paralysed, the intelligent, spiritual, mental faculties of man were sharpened. Man dealt in two worlds, the outward visible world, and the inward invisible world. The latter could only come into play when the other was deadened, or, in other words, purified and refined of the presence of the material outer world. Taking another line, he showed that the theosophist and the Western scientist, by widely differing methods, agreed, step by step, that under the whole nature lay some widely-diffused basic force, and that while the Western could only tell the relation between things – as in the molecular theory – the theosophist could explain the essence of the things themselves, or rather, could get behind the relation of the things and explain why they were so related. This method, produced to its natural conclusion, must lead up to the explanation of the spiritual nature of man, and thus theosophy was seen to comprehend the great truths that underlie all the great religions of the world.
At this stage the speaker left the relatively-scientific part of the question – which is at once its explanation and its raison d’eire – and passed on to deal with the teachings of theosophy, which is much more easy to follow. The very name is a clue, for “theosophy” (knowledge of or about God – the term God being universally accepted, not in the sense of a personal anthromorphic God, but as including the whole of both the known and the unknown) implies knowledge or wisdom respecting the absolute. It is sometimes also called the wisdom-religion because it professes to have had from time immemorial the knowledge of all the laws governing the spiritual, the moral, and the material. The reason why this knowledge has not been imparted to all is obvious – a man with such knowledge would have the lives and interests of his fellows who were not equally enlightened entirely at his disposal. The existence of three abnormal powers has been recognised, as a matter of fact, in plain, practical, prosy Germany, where stringent laws have already been passed against the exercise of hypnotic powers – such as those demonstrated by the Rev. Arthur Tooth at Woodside the other day – by unqualified persons. It is easily seen that if such laws are necessary to restrain the persons who do not fully comprehend the feeble powers they undoubtedly possess, the necessity would be vastly greater in the case of persons who have exhaustive knowledge of far greater powers. Hence in the interests of the race, the theosophists say, the knowledge is jealousy guarded in a few minds, although it is acquirable by anyone who will go through the long and tedious mental, physical, and spiritual training necessary to that end, for theosophists hold that the knowledge they possess can only be obtained by the careful refinement of the spiritual entity from the obscurations of the material physical, a process involving purity of word, thought, idea, and action. It is claimed that the theosophist has ascertained by actual experience that man, instead of consisting simply of body, soul, and spirit, is a septenary, or seven-partite being. The first division is the physical body, which acts as the vehicle for all the other principles; then there is the vital principle common to all animals; and the next is the astral, or the double or phantom body. Theosophists believe that the adept (a person who has attained to the higher knowledge) can separate his higher spiritual principle from the physical, and travel whither he will in the guise of the astral body, leaving the physical in a state of trance. The fourth, which forms the last of what is called the lower principles, is the seat of the animal desires and passions. Teh three higher principles consist (1) of the mind or intelligence (which has two aspects, one towards the lower and one towards the higher) ; (2) the spiritual soul, which forms the vehicle for (3) the spirit itself. Now, with regard to this “spirit” may be introduced one of the vital principles of theosophy. It is believed as an actual fact that the spirit in man is the only real and permanent part of his being, the rest of his nature being variously compounded, nad consequently always resolving into other compounds. The spirit of every man is said to spark fo the Divine Whole, whence it comes by cyclic or evolutionary procedure through every form of matter till it reaches its highest form – self-consciousness – in man. From the human enthrallment the spirit, according to its efforts while in that condition, passes at the death of the body towards the higher (i.e. towards re-absorption in the Divine Whole), or else downwards into the lower forms of matter, thence to “work out its own salvation,” or return to self-consciousness in the human. In its upward course the divine spark is u undergoing repeated incarnations through the vegetable, mineral, animal, and human states ; in each of these it is latent, but it is only manifest in man. The spirit retains its individuality during the whole progress from its origin to its reunion to the Divine, and exists successively in various races and planets.
The discussion that ensued beggars description from the fact that nearly everybody who spoke seemed to have failed to grasp the bearings of the subject. This was only natural under the circumstances – the explanation of a single page of a theosophical “educational” tract is sufficient to make a man’s hair curl if he has not been initiated – but the lecturer dealt lightly with his critics in his reply. The latter, by the way, did not commence till nearly 11 o’clock, and was principally devoted to the removal of misconceptions. From a quantity of propagandist leaflets – on of which (“Karma as a Cure for Trouble”) strangely reminded one of a patent medicine puff – it was seen that the practical side of theosophy is of no little importance from teh social point of view. One of the essentials to spiritual development is “the entire eradication of selfishness in all forms, and the cultivation of broad, generous sympathy in and effor for the good of others,” and another stipulates for “the careful performance of every duty belonging to one’s station in life, without desire for reward, leaving results for Divine law.” Apart from this, theosophy professes to explain the contrast and unisions of the world’s faiths and the common foundations underlying them all ; the existence of evil, suffering, and sorrow; social and individual inequalities, contrasts, and antithesis; accidents, misfortunes, and untimely deaths; the failure of conventional religions to greatly extend their areas, reform abuses, reorganize society, expand to the idea of brotherhood, abate discontent, diminish crime, elevate humanity, and adequately realise in individual lives the ideal they professedly uphold. These form only a small portion of the large order theosophists are ready to fill, but if they can only get believers in their strange tremendous system to go heartily in for spiritual development on the lines mentioned above, there are plenty of folks in this world who will be glad to find a place for them.