Author: admin

How the Epstein Case Explains the Rise of Conspiracy Theorists

Nightmarish allegations against the well-connected financier show why so many Americans let their imagination run wild when it comes to elite corruption.

The more we learn about the allegations against the reclusive billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, the more he seems like a figment of the online fever swamps. The wealthy financier arrested last week for underage sex trafficking is accused of operating an international sex ring that could implicate high-powered men across business, politics, and Hollywood. Every nightmarish detail of his story—from the creepily decorated mansion to the flights on “the Lolita Express” to the stays on “Orgy Island”—sounds like it was conjured by conspiracy theorists.

Just this morning, President Donald Trump told reporters that Alex Acosta was stepping down as Secretary of Labor amid mounting outrage over the sweetheart deal he gave Epstein years ago as a federal prosecutor. The resignation will surely draw more attention to what Epstein got away with over the years—and who helped him.

It should not come as a surprise that some of America’s most outspoken conspiracists have spent the days since Epstein’s arrest taking victory laps.

LINK: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/07/epstein-conspiracy-theories/593605/

And here’s a counterpoint view:

https://youtu.be/ZflAp7OKvOs

Nabisco’s X-Rated Toy Scandal of 1971

No one at Nabisco’s corporate headquarters in New York City had any idea why members of the National Organization for Women were lined upoutside. It was the fall of 1971, and the manufacturer best known for their Oreo and Chips Ahoy! snacks had not made any obviously sexist advertisements or taken any particular political stance. They sold cookies.

Then they read the signs: “Sick toys for children make for a sick society.”

That May, Nabisco had attempted to diversify by purchasing Aurora Company, the West Hempstead, New York model kit maker best known for their plastic kits of Frankenstein’s monster, the Wolf Man, and other horror film icons. The cheap plastic toys came in pieces and could be glued together and painted.

Unknown to Nabisco, Aurora had recently branched out and begun offering entire model kit dioramas. Instead of a single figure, consumers could buy detailed “sets” for their monsters to interact with. There was a guillotine, a razor-sharp pendulum, and a laboratory; a female protagonist, referred to in the copy as “the Victim,” was scantily-clad and ready to be dismembered, beheaded, or trapped in a spiked cage. Kids could also opt to have Vampirella, the top-heavy villain licensed from Warren Publishing, operate the winch and pulley while her plastic captive was shackled to a table.

Each kit also contained a comic, which instructed builders on how to assemble the torture scenes for maximum enjoyment. A narrator named Dr. Deadly seemed to opine on the appeal of the Victim once she was fully assembled. “Now that you’ve gotten her all together, I think I like the other way. In pieces … yesssss.”

In addition to Fig Newtons, Nabisco realized it had also been peddling tiny torture racks.

LINK: http://mentalfloss.com/article/84257/nabiscos-x-rated-toy-scandal-1971

ANCIENT TREE WITH RECORD OF EARTH’S MAGNETIC FIELD REVERSAL IN ITS RINGS DISCOVERED

The kauri tree unearthed during the expansion of the Ngāwhā Generation geothermal power plant. NELSON PARKER

Earth’s magnetic field is thought to be generated by the iron in the planet’s core. As it moves around, it produces electric currents that extend far into space. The magnetic field acts as a barrier, protecting Earth from the solar wind. This is a stream of charged particles from the Sun that could strip away the ozone layer if it were to impact the atmosphere.

When the magnetic field reverses—or attempts to—it gets weaker, leading to more radiation from the Sun getting through. Previously, scientists have linked extinction events to magnetic field reversals.

LINK: https://www.newsweek.com/ancient-tree-discovered-earths-magnetic-field-1447570

Zen terror

Master Nissho Inoue and his band of assassins teach some uncomfortable truths about terrorism, for those who will hear

Brian Victoria

is a senior research fellow at the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, a recognised independent centre of the University of Oxford. He is also a Buddhist priest in the Soto Zen sect. He is author of Zen War Stories (2003) and Zen at War (2006). His upcoming publication is entitled Zen Terror in Prewar Japan: Portrait of an Assassin (2019).

LINK: https://aeon.co/essays/the-lessons-of-nissho-inoue-and-his-cell-of-zen-terrorists