Soft Killing The American People Using Toxic Food, Toxic Water And Toxic Vaccines

Soft Killing The American People Using Toxic Food, Toxic Water And Toxic Vaccines
Dec 30, 2013 | The Truth | Michael Synder

Have you noticed that there has been an absolute explosion in the number of people developing chronic illnesses, heart disease, diabetes and cancer?  If you are like most Americans, you probably have quite a few family members and friends that are seriously ill right now.  Sadly, most Americans have absolutely no idea why this is happening.  Most of them just assume that all of this sickness is just “normal”.  But that is not the case at all.  The truth is that we are slowly killing ourselves by what we eat, by what we drink and by what we allow to be injected into our bodies.  The vast majority of people out there have never even heard about the dangers posed by aspartame, fluoride, genetically-modified food, pesticides, high fructose corn syrup, pharmaceutical drugs, cell phones and toxic vaccines.  Most of them have no idea that our food is toxic, our water is toxic and our vaccines are toxic.  Right now, it is estimated that approximately 70,000 chemicals are being used for commercial purposes, and as a result of our “modern lifestyles” we are literally being endlessly bombarded with toxins.  This has resulted in a massive tsunami of death, disease and chronic illness in America.  But very few people actually understand what is being done to all of us.  The following are just a few of the ways that the “soft killing” of the American people is taking place…

Toxic Food

Do you believe that “you are what you eat”?

Well, have you ever considered what the animals that you eat are being fed?

If you are like most Americans, you will probably eat beef several times this week.  But most Americans have no idea that our cows are being fed sawdust, chicken poop, candy, crab guts, limestone and dead cows that have been ground up on a regular basis.

Of course this is not true of all beef that you purchase at the grocery store.

But how do you tell which is which?  And if you go for the lowest price beef, there is a greater chance that you are getting beef from cows that have literally been fed garbage.

And of course it isn’t just cows that are being fed poop.  The truth is that there is a tremendous amount of it in many of our food products.  If you doubt this, just check out this article: “There Is A Staggering Amount Of Feces In Our Food“.

Sometimes, it is the ingredients that are actually listed on the side of the box that are the most dangerous.  Take aspartame for example.  Once upon a time, it was listed as a biochemical warfare agent by the Pentagon.  But now it is in thousands of food products in our grocery stores.

So is it safe for us to eat?  According to an article on Mercola.com, it has a long track record of causing adverse reactions and the government refuses to do anything about it…

Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious including seizures and death.  A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include: Headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain.

According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse effects of aspartame, the following chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting of aspartame:  Brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, parkinson’s disease, alzheimer’s, mental retardation, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia, and diabetes.

Toxic Water

Do you know what is in the water that you drink?

If not, perhaps you should do some investigating.  According to one recent survey, our drinking water is absolutely littered with dangerous contaminants…

Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that an astounding one-third of U.S. water systems contain traces of at least 18 unregulated and potentially hazardous contaminants, many of which are linked to causing endocrine disruption and cancer.

Based on a nationwide survey of 25 unnamed water utilities, scientists found traces of the herbicide metolachlor, for instance, a pesticide commonly applied to conventional corn, soy, cotton, safflower, potato and other crops, as well as the heavy metal strontium, which is linked to causing bone problems. Other chemicals identified include so-called perfluorinated compounds like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which numerous scientific studies have found can cause thyroid disease and various types of cancer.

After reading all this, you may never look at water the same way again.

Do you remember Erin Brockovich?  Well, according to the Washington Post the carcinogen that she was so concerned about has been found in the drinking water of most U.S. cities…

An environmental group that analyzed the drinking water in 35 cities across the United States, including Bethesda and Washington, found that most contained hexavalent chromium, a probable carcinogen that was made famous by the film “Erin Brockovich.”

Lovely, eh?

Not only is there hexavalent chromium in our drinking water, the reality of the matter is that there are thousands of other chemicals and prescription drugs in our water supply as a Time Magazine article from a while back detailed…

All told, there are about 3,000 prescription pharmaceuticals in use in the U.S. and thousands more over-the-counter drugs, not to mention creams and ointments we smear on and then shower off. “Between cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and other sources,” says John Spatz, commissioner of Chicago’s department of water management, “there are 80,000 potential combinations of chemicals.” It’s impossible to keep our drinking supply safe from a gusher like that.

And I haven’t even gotten to fluoride yet, which is purposely being put into the water supplies of most U.S. cities.

So precisely how dangerous is fluoride?  Well, the Fluoride Dangers blog puts it this way….

Even small amounts of fluoride consumed from tap water can damage your bones, teeth, brain, disrupt your thyroid function, lower IQ and/or cause cancer, according to evidence revealed in a groundbreaking 2006 National Research Council (NRC) fluoride report produced by a panel of experts who reviewed hundreds of published fluoride studies.

That certainly does not sound good.

So is fluoride in the water that you are drinking?

Perhaps you should find out.

The Natural Health and Longevity Resource Center has published a list of ten of the most significant health problems that scientific studies have shown that fluoride causes…

1. Fluoride exposure disrupts the synthesis of collagen and leads to the breakdown of collagen in bone, tendon, muscle, skin, cartilage, lungs, kidney and trachea.
2. Fluoride stimulates granule formation and oxygen consumption in white blood cells, but inhibits these processes when the white blood cell is challenged by a foreign agent in the blood.
3. Fluoride depletes the energy reserves and the ability of white blood cells to properly destroy foreign agents by the process of phagocytosis. As little as 0.2 ppm fluoride stimulates superoxide production in resting white blood cells, virtually abolishing phagocytosis. Even micro-molar amounts of fluoride, below 1 ppm, may seriously depress the ability of white blood cells to destroy pathogenic agents.
4. Fluoride confuses the immune system and causes it to attack the body’s own tissues, and increases the tumor growth rate in cancer prone individuals.
5. Fluoride inhibits antibody formation in the blood.
6. Fluoride depresses thyroid activity.
7. Fluorides have a disruptive effect on various tissues in the body.
8. Fluoride promotes development of bone cancer.
9. Fluorides cause premature aging of the human body.
10. Fluoride ingestion from mouth rinses and dentifrices in children is extremely hazardous to biological development, life span and general health.

For much, much more on this, please watch a documentary entitled “An Inconvenient Tooth” that you can find on YouTube right here.

Toxic Vaccines

Are the vaccines that you are allowing the doctors to inject into your children safe?

Today, in some areas of the country more than 30 vaccines are being given to young children before the age of 3.

30 vaccines.

That is absolute madness.

They are overloading the systems of these young babies with massive amounts of toxins and the results are predictable.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of children in the United States with autism has risen by 78 percent over the past decade.

I have personally read hundreds of testimonies of mothers losing their babies right after being vaccinated and children developing autism right after being vaccinated.  Yet the medical community continues to vigorously deny the connection.

But without a doubt, the evidence is mounting.  The following is an excerpt from a Huffington Post article about the danger of vaccines…

It’s a fact that many children with ASD regressed following normal development just as they were receiving multiple vaccines at regular doctor visits. Health officials say the timing is entirely coincidental.

Regression usually occurs between 12 and 24 months, though one study found that some children show signs of autism as early as six months, but never before that age.

By six months of age, most U.S. children have received about 18 inoculations containing 24 vaccines against nine diseases. Over the next two years or so, they will receive another nine shots containing 14 vaccines against 12 diseases.

So whether a child regresses at six months, or 18 months, the tragedy happens during a period of intensive vaccination. In many cases, parents report that the child had an abnormal reaction after being vaccinated (seizures, spiking-fevers, diarrhea, lethargy, high-pitched screaming and/or other symptoms).

Of course there will be many angry comments following this article denying that any of this is true.

And many of those making these comments will not even know what thimerosal is or why countries all over the planet have banned thimerosal from their vaccines.  The following comes from an article by Dawn Prate….

“In 1977, a Russian study found that adults exposed to ethylmercury, the form of mercury in thimerosal, suffered brain damage years later. Studies on thimerosal poisoning also describe tubular necrosis and nervous system injury, including obtundation, coma and death. As a result of these findings, Russia banned thimerosal from children’s vaccines in 1980. Denmark, Austria, Japan, Great Britain and all the Scandinavian countries have also banned the preservative”

So why is thimerosal not banned in the United States?

That is a very, very good question.

Unfortunately, in most states the authorities have doubled down on their efforts to force people to take these dangerous vaccines.  In fact, a pregnant nurse in Pennsylvania was just fired for refusing to take a flu vaccine.

It is time that the American people heard the truth.  You can find dozens of vaccine horror stories right here.  Do your own research and come to your own conclusions.  Don’t just blindly accept whatever the mainstream media tells you to believe.

And I don’t even have the space in this article to get into the study that showed a 40 percent increased risk of brain tumors from using cell phones, the connection between Wi-Fi and cancer, the chemtrails being sprayed all over the planet, or the incredible danger that genetically-modified food represents.

Without a doubt, an entire book could be written on how we are all being systematically poisoned.
So what do you think?

Is there anything that you would like to add to this discussion?

Please feel free to share your thoughts by posting a comment below…

Radiation? Seals, Sea Lions, Polar Bears, Bald Eagles, Sea Stars, Turtles, King and Sockeye Salmon, Herring, Anchovies and Sardines In The Western Part of North America All Suffering Mysterious Diseases At the Same Time

© Veterans Today

Radiation? Seals, Sea Lions, Polar Bears, Bald Eagles, Sea Stars, Turtles, King and Sockeye Salmon, Herring, Anchovies and Sardines In The Western Part of North America All Suffering Mysterious Diseases At the Same Time
Dec 31, 2013 | Washington's Blog

Is Fukushima Decimating Wildlife in the Western Portion of North America?

We’ve previous documented that seals, sea lions, polar bears, sea stars, turtles, sockeye salmon, herring, anchovies and sardines on the West Coast of North America are all suffering mysterious diseases … which are killing many.

We’ve asked whether this is related to massive releases of radiation from Fukushima. Update.

Sadly, we can now add other wildlife to the list.

EneNews reports:

Los Angeles Times, Dec. 29, 2013: Bald eagles are dying in Utah — 20 in the past few weeks alone — and nobody can figure out why. [...] Many suffered from seizures, head tremors and paralysis [...] Many of the eagles were brought to the mammoth Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah [...] Within 48 hours, most were dead. [...] State wildlife specialists are baffled. For weeks, officials have sent birds for necropsies [...] At first, the agency’s disease scientists guessed the illness could be encephalitis, which is caused by the West Nile virus, but later ruled out that possibility. [...] Officials suggest the die-off is possibly connected to the deaths of thousands of eared grebes that began in Utah in November. [...] Officials still don’t know why the shore birds became sick. [...] Officials at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center have their own theories. Some point to radiation from Japan after the 2011 meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. [...] A call from Idaho shed new light: A wildlife official said bald eagles there were also getting sick, suggesting the birds were arriving in Utah already in bad health.

Buz Marthaler, Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah co-founder: “It’s just hard to have your national bird in your arms, going through seizures in a way it can’t control — when you can see it’s pain but don’t know what’s happening to it. As a human being, you just have problems with that. And when you lose one, it just grabs your heart. [...] In an average year, we might get one or two, but we’ve received nine so far, and five of those have died. The other four are still in our care. [...] We aren’t ruling out anything.”

***

Washington Post, Dec. 30, 2013: [...] “This is really concerning to us,” says [Leslie McFarlane, the wildlife disease program coordinator for the state’s Division of Wildlife Resources]. She has been program coordinator for 10 years and describes the recent deaths as “very unusual.” [...] The symptoms noted in the recent spate of deaths—and the broad geographical area in which they have cropped up—are what has officials concerned.
Listen to the public news service report here

In a second article, EneNews notes:

Juneau Empire, Dec. 29, 2013: [...] the king [chinook] salmon — has fallen from its throne. [...] Alaska has seen unprecedented declines in recent years [...] scientists like Joe Orsi and Jim Murphy, both fisheries research biologists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, are digging deeper into [...] the cause of the startling downward trend. [...]

When asked about the potential impact Fukushima may be having on king salmon stocks in the Gulf of Alaska and elsewhere in the state, Orsi would not comment. “I’ve been told to refer you to the (Environmental Protection Agency),” he said, “Because I’m not an expert on the topic.” Calls and emails to the EPA were not returned in time and digging on the federal agency’s site revealed no current information on radiation from the Fukushima disaster. The last posted monitoring results occurred in June of 2011.

Unfortunately, the American and Japanese governments are doing everything they can to cover up the severity of the Fukushima disaster.  Indeed, anytime government or big corporations screw up, the government works to cover it up … instead of actually fixing the problem. And see this.
EneNews continues:

Bellingham Herald, Dec. 5, 2013: “[...] we see from test fisheries that the Chinook numbers returning to the Fraser River system were at a record low,” explained Ken Balcomb, executive director and principal investigator for The Center for Research and a science advisor to the whale watch association. [...] [An] alarming decrease of an important identified food resource [...]

Islander Sound, Dec. 25, 2013: [A] dismal return of Chinook salmon to the Fraser River.
Salmon Fishing in British Columbia, Canada: There are two major salmon runs of Chinook that are targeted by anglers; the Fraser river [and] Harrison River.

December 2013: Previously unpublished map from gov’t scientists shows Fukushima plume already at Alaska coast (PHOTO)

November 2013: CBC Headline: Radiation from Fukushima arrives on Alaska coast — University scientists concerned — “Is the food supply safe?… I don’t think anyone can really answer that”

September 2013: US Gov’t: Alaska island “appears to show impacts from Fukushima” — “Significant cesium isotope signature” detected — Scientists anticipate more marine life to be impacted as ocean plume arrives (VIDEO)

Artificial Fruit Soda Creates Cancer Causing By-Product...and Looks Like Piss

© TruthStream Media

Artificial Fruit Soda Creates Cancer Causing By-Product...and Looks Like Piss
Dec 30, 2013 | TRUTHstreammedia

On top of the high fructose corn syrup, this imitation fruit beverage risks a known reaction of citric acid and sodium benzoate to create the carcinogen benzene right in the bottle (and the plastic makes it worse).

The soda companies and the FDA knew in 1990; the public found out in 2006 that these ingredients were creating a public health hazard no one wants to address.



From the American Chemical Society in 1993 - Benzene production from decarboxylation of benzoic acid in the presence of ascorbic acid and a transition-metal catalyst
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/j...

From 2008 Belgian study - Benzene formation from Sodium/Potassium Benzoate and Citric Acid is worsened by plastic bottle packaging
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/j...

2008: Diet Coke to drop additive in DNA damage fear
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic...

Sodium Benzoate, Artificial Colors & ADHD/Hyperactivity in Children: Key Southampton Study from 2007- Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

13-year-old inventor cracks the secret of trees to revolutionize solar energy

© Natural News

13-year-old inventor cracks the secret of trees to revolutionize solar energy
Dec 29, 2013 | Natural News | L. J. Devon

A 13-year-old boy named Aidan Dwyer has an idea that can vastly improve solar energy technology. His idea is so revolutionary that it might make flat panel solar designs extinct.

Aidan discovered a spiral mathematical formula in trees based on the Fibonacci sequence. When he recognized this design in the placement of tree branches, he began applying the secret knowledge to solar panel designs. His discovery could maximize solar panel sunlight collection in new, efficient ways.

Discovering a pattern in tree trunks 

On a winter hiking trip, Aidan noticed something unique about tree branches. After collecting photographs of various trees, he began to see a pattern among the random display of branches and leaves. Aidan realized that the overall branch pattern of trees resembled a spiral. Furthermore, he found a mathematical pattern behind the spiral of branches. To investigate further, he began building test models.

Using the Fibonacci sequence to maximize sunlight collection

Upon investigating, Aidan discovered a pattern based on a number sequence invented by medieval mathematician Fibonacci. Fibonacci discovered a pattern when experimenting with a math puzzle. Through solving a problem about the rate at which rabbits reproduce over time, Fibonacci invented a sequence of numbers. Fibonacci invented a mathematical pattern, starting with zero and one. By adding two numbers to the series together, the new sum became the next number in the sequence. This sequence starts out with the numbers 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 and 21.

This Fibonacci sequence and its ratios appear in nature, in many forms of life. According to Aidan, examples of this pattern can be found in the seeds of a sunflower, systems of the human body and even galaxies in space.

Aidan found that tree trunks contain similar patterns based on the Fibonacci sequence.

According to Aidan, "Tree branches follow a Fibonacci formula." He reports that, in an oak tree, branches are arranged in a two to five sequence. "Five branches spiral around the trunk two times to reach the same starting point on the trunk," he reports.

The patterns that he found also include the elm tree, which follows a one to two pattern, and the beech tree, which follows a one to three pattern. He found a three to eight pattern in the willow tree and a five to one pattern in the branch arrangement of almond trees.

Using the spiral pattern for maximum efficiency in solar panel technology

In trying to understand the meaning behind the pattern, Aidan hypothesized that the main goal of the leaves is to collect maximum sunlight for photosynthesis.

To test this hypothesis, Aidan created mini tree models with sunlight-collecting solar panels. He arranged the mini panels in a spiral pattern based on the Fibonacci sequence design he observed in the trees.

Logging data on voltage and current, Aidan ran tests on the spiral design and on a flat panel design for several months. Click here to view his models.

He found out that the Fibonacci solar panel design was extremely more efficient than flat panel designs. The spiral patterns collect, on average, 20 percent more open current voltage and absorbs 2.5 more hours of sunlight per day.

Even more exciting were his results during the winter solstice when the sun is at its lowest point in the sky. During this time, the Fibonacci design collected 50 percent more sunlight than flat panel designs!

"My results suggest that the Fibonacci pattern can improve solar panel arrays in several ways. It collects more sunlight when the sun is at a low angle in the sky. This is useful during winter months and in extreme latitudes," Aidan explained.

He mentioned other benefits of the spiral design, saying that it will take up less room in urban areas, where space is limited. He also believes that the design would not collect as much rain and snow and be more weather-resistant than rooftop flat panel designs.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.minds.com

http://science.naturalnews.com

Americans see dirty truth of energy addiction thru oil boom

© RT America

Americans see dirty truth of energy addiction thru oil boom
Dec 29, 2013 | RT America

The US has a long history of keeping industrial activity far away from middle- and upper-class neighborhoods, but that is changing because of our oil boom. Though many like to tout the positive sides to fracking and horizontal drilling - increased energy independence, economic boost, and more jobs - people who live near the new drilling sites are starting to see the big downsides to drilling, up close and personal. And it ain't so pretty. The Resident (aka Lori Harfenist) discusses. Follow The Resident at http://www.twitter.com/TheResident

Garbage Warrior - Full Length Documentary

Garbage Warrior - Full Length Documentary
Mar 10, 2013 | Jeff Gothro

Editor's note: This is a fascination and must watch documentary on how innovation is easily destroyed by the Empire, and the continuing battle for repairing the living logos. With the establishment, we are reminded of the Vogans, the strange characters in Douglas Adams's "Hitchhikers's Guide to the Galaxy," who are caught up in their own triplicated paperwork, very ugly looking, and extremely stupid.


About Garbage Warrior

What do beer cans, car tires and water bottles have in common? Not much unless you're renegade architect Michael Reynolds, in which case they are tools of choice for producing thermal mass and energy-independent housing. For 30 years New Mexico-based Reynolds and his green disciples have devoted their time to advancing the art of "Earthship Biotecture" by building self-sufficient, off-the-grid communities where design and function converge in eco-harmony. However, these experimental structures that defy state standards create conflict between Reynolds and the authorities, who are backed by big business. Frustrated by antiquated legislation, Reynolds lobbies for the right to create a sustainable living test site. While politicians hum and ha, Mother Nature strikes, leaving communities devastated by tsunamis and hurricanes. Reynolds and his crew seize the opportunity to lend their pioneering skills to those who need it most. Shot over three years and in four countries, Garbage Warrior is a timely portrait of a determined visionary, a hero of the 21st century.

West Coast Warning: Video Proof Fukushima Radiation Hits California

West Coast Warning: Video Proof Fukushima Radiation Hits California
Dec 28, 2013 | Before its News

In this latest video from Dahboo7 he adds his voice to a warning given to to all of those living on the West Coast of America, you are now at risk due to Fukushima radiation. Dahboo shares some of the health risks that Americans may now now face due to Fukushima.

 

According to the Global Research Report, recent tests in California have unearthed contaminated blue-fin tuna in nearby coastal waters.  It is believed that the contaminated water has finally reached the western coastline due to the growth of radioactive iodine levels which are now 200 times what they were two years ago.  In addition, the caesium-137 level has also gone up along the California, Oregon and Washington coasts, discovered in local mushrooms and berries.  Residents have also noted that the number of bird deaths has risen.  In Alaska, the sockeye salmon population has declined apparently due to radionuclides as well.

Noam Chomsky: We’re no longer a functioning democracy, we’re really a plutocracy

Noam Chomsky: We’re no longer a functioning democracy, we’re really a plutocracy
Dec 28, 2013 | Raw Story | Travis Gettys

The world faces two potentially existential threats, according to the linguist and political philosopher Noam Chomsky.

“There are two major dark shadows that hover over everything, and they’re getting more and more serious,” Chomsky said. “The one is the continuing threat of nuclear war that has not ended. It’s very serious, and another is the crisis of ecological, environmental catastrophe, which is getting more and more serious.”

Chomsky appeared Friday on the last episode of NPR’s “Smiley and West” program to discuss his education, his views on current affairs and how he manages to spread his message without much help from the mainstream media.

He told the hosts that the world was racing toward an environmental disaster with potentially lethal consequence, which the world’s most developed nations were doing nothing to prevent – and in fact were speeding up the process.

“If there ever is future historians, they’re going to look back at this period of history with some astonishment,” Chomsky said. “The danger, the threat, is evident to anyone who has eyes open and pays attention at all to the scientific literature, and there are attempts to retard it, there are also at the other end attempts to accelerate the disaster, and if you look who’s involved it’s pretty shocking.”

Chomsky noted efforts to halt environmental damage by indigenous people in countries all over the world – from Canada’s First Nations to tribal people in Latin America and India to aboriginal people in Australia—but the nation’s richest, most advanced and most powerful countries, such as the United States, were doing nothing to forestall disaster.

“When people here talk enthusiastically about a hundred years of energy independence, what they’re saying is, ‘Let’s try to get every drop of fossil fuel out of the ground so as to accelerate the disaster that we’re racing towards,’” Chomsky said. “These are problems that overlie all of the domestic problems of oppression, of poverty, of attacks on the education system (and) massive inequality, huge unemployment.”

He blamed the “financialization” of the U.S. economy for income inequality and unemployment, saying that banks that were “too big to fail” skimmed enormous wealth from the market.

“In fact, there was a recent (International Monetary Fund) study that estimated that virtually all the profits of the big banks can be traced back to this government insurance policy, and in general they’re quite harmful, I think, quite harmful to the economy,” Chomsky said.

Those harmful effects can be easily observed by looking at unemployment numbers and stock market gains, he said.

“There are tens of millions of people unemployed, looking for work, wanting to work (and) there are huge resources available,” Chomsky said. “Corporate profits are going through the roof, there’s endless amounts of work to be done – just drive through a city and see all sorts of things that have to be done – infrastructure is collapsing, the schools have to be revived. We have a situation in which huge numbers of people want to work, there are plenty, huge resources available, an enormous amount to be done, and the system is so rotten they can’t put them together.”
 
The reason for this is simple, Chomsky said.

“There is plenty of profit being made by those who pretty much dominate and control the system,” he said. “We’ve moved from the days where there was some kind of functioning democracy. It’s by now really a plutocracy.”

Chomsky strongly disagreed with Smiley and West that he had been marginalized for his views, saying that he regretfully turned down dozens of invitations to speak on a daily basis because he was otherwise engaged.
He also disagreed that a platform in the mainstream media was necessary to influence the debate.

“If you take a look at the progressive changes that have taken place in the country, say, just in the last 50 years – the civil rights movement, the antiwar movement, opposition to aggression, the women’s movement, the environmental movement and so on – they’re not led by any debate in the media,” Chomsky said. “No, they were led by popular organizations, by activists on the ground.”

He recalled the earliest days of the antiwar movement, in the early 1960s, when he spoke in living rooms and church basements to just a handful of other activists and they were harassed – even in liberal Boston – by the authorities and media.

But that movement eventually grew and helped hasten the end of the Vietnam War, and Chomsky said it’s grown and become so mainstream that antiwar activists can limit wars before they even begin.

He said President Ronald Reagan was unable to launch a full-scale war in Central America during the 1980s because of the antiwar movement, and he bitterly disputed the idea that antiwar activists had no impact on the Iraq War.

“I don’t agree; it had a big effect,” Chomsky said. “It sharply limited the means that were available to the government to try to carry out the invasion and subdue the population. In fact, it’s one reason why the U.S. ended up really defeated in Iraq, seriously had to give up all of its war aims. The major victor in Iraq turns out to be Iran.”

Despite these limitations, he said the Iraq War had been one of the new millennium’s worst atrocities and had provoked a violent schism between Sunni and Shiite Muslims that had sparked regional conflicts throughout the Middle East.

“The United States is now involved in a global terror campaign largely against the tribal people of the world, mostly Muslim tribes, and it’s all over. The intention is to go on and on,” Chomsky said. “These are all terrible consequences, but nevertheless they’re not as bad as they would be if there weren’t public opposition.”

The Landfill Harmonic Orchestra

The Landfill Harmonic Orchestra
Dec 27, 2013 | Information Clearing House

The world sends us garbage.

We send back music.

Rescue of icebound Antarctic ship faces setback

In this image provided by Australasian Antarctic
Expedition/Footloose Fotography the Russian ship
MV Akademik Shokalskiy is trapped in thick Antarctic
ice 1,500 nautical miles south of Hobart, Australia,
Friday, Dec. 27, 2013. The research ship, with 74
scientists, tourists and crew on board, has been on
a research expedition to Antarctica, when it got
stuck Tuesday after a blizzard's whipping winds
pushed the sea ice around the ship, freezing it in
place. (AP Photo/Australasian Antarctic
Expedition/Footloose Fotography, Andrew Peacock)

Rescue of icebound Antarctic ship faces setback
Dec 28, 2013 | Phys.org

A Chinese icebreaker that was en route to rescue a ship trapped in Antarctic ice was forced to turn back on Saturday after being unable to push its way through the heavy sea ice.

The Snow Dragon icebreaker came within 7 miles (11 kilometers) of the Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy, which has been stuck since Christmas Eve, but had to retreat after the ice became too thick, said expedition spokesman Alvin Stone.

The Akademik Shokalskiy, which has been on a research expedition to Antarctica, got stuck Tuesday after a blizzard's whipping winds pushed the sea ice around the ship, freezing it in place. The ship wasn't in danger of sinking, and there are weeks' worth of supplies for the 74 scientists, tourists and crew on board, but the vessel cannot move.

Three icebreakers, including the Snow Dragon, have been trying to reach the ship since Wednesday. France's L'Astrolabe made it to the edge of the sea ice surrounding the ship on Saturday, but called off its mission after it, too, failed to break through, said Lisa Martin, spokeswoman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is coordinating the rescue.

Read more..

Quantum Craziness | Space News

© Thunderbolts.info

Quantum Craziness | Space News
Dec 27, 2013 | ThunderboltsProject

A new paper published by an MIT physicist claims to theoretically prove that so-called "quantum entanglement" -- two particles seemingly occupying more than one state simultaneously -- gives rise to a wormhole that allows particles to communicate through a "gravitational tunnel". This theory follows from a paper published earlier this year, which suggests two black holes that become entangled and then are pulled apart create a wormhole, connecting the black holes. The reasoning in these papers is purely mathematical. Wal Thornhill examines this theoretical approach.


Original URL:http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/yo...

Dr. Neil Turok, the Director of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics:

Theoretical physics is at a crossroads right now...In a sense we've entered a very deep crisis. You may have heard of some of these models...There've been grand unified models, there've been super-symmetric models, super-string models, loop quantum gravity models... Well, nature turns out to be simpler than all of these models.

If you ask most theorists working on particle physics, they're in a state of confusion. The extensions of the standard model, like grand unified theories, they were supposed to simplify it. But in fact they made it more complicated. The number of parameters in the standard model is about 18. The number in grand unified theories is typically 100. In super-symmetric theories, the minimum is 120. And as you may have heard, string theory seems to predict 10 to the power of 1,000 different possible laws of physics. It's called the multiverse. It's the ultimate catastrophe: that theoretical physics has led to this crazy situation where the physicists are utterly confused and seem not to have any predictions at all...

Source: https://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/w...

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McDonald’s Tells Employees Not To Eat Its Own Food, Then Shuts Website

McDonald’s Tells Employees Not To Eat Its Own Food, Then Shuts Website
Dec 26, 2013 | Disinformation

No one in their right mind would consider eating at McDonald’s to be beneficial to one’s health, but it was still surprising that the corporate food monolith would advise its own employees to avoid its processed junk “food.” It seems that someone in management just worked that out, as the employee website has rapidly been shuttered. Jenn Harris at the LA Times has the story (pre-site shutdown):

McDonald’s wants its employees to know that fast food is unhealthy. The company famous for its Big Mac hamburgers and fries has language on its resource site McDonalds.Mynurturelife.com advising workers that instead of eating fast food, they should look for healthier options.

McDonald’s is currently investigating the posts on the website, which were written by a third party vendor called Adam. The posts were still live on the site at the time of publication.
 

Under a section of the website titled “fast food tips,” a picture of a fast food meal of fries, a burger and a soft drink are labeled “unhealthy choice” and a picture of a meal of a submarine sandwich, salad and a water are labeled as “healthier choice.”

There are no submarine sandwiches on the McDonald’s menu. And the red container of fries bears an uncanny resemblance to the McDonald’s red containers of fries…

[continues at the LA Times]

Feeding Frenzy: Sixty people attacked by ferocious piranhas on Christmas Day

Feeding Frenzy: Sixty people attacked by ferocious piranhas on Christmas Day
Dec 26, 2013 | Agence France-Presse

Piranhas on a Christmas Day feeding frenzy injured some 60 people in the Argentine city of Rosario, officials said Thursday.

Those injured in the attack Wednesday by the ferocious fish included a girl who lost part of a finger, Health Undersecretary Gabriela Quintanilla told reporters.

Quintanilla said the attack occurred Wednesday off the coast of Rosario, some 310 kilometers (200 miles) north of Buenos Aires.

A medical official, Gustavo Centurion, said the attack which began at mid-morning on Christmas Day was “very aggressive.”

“There were some people that the fish literally had torn bits of flesh from,” he said.

The region has been hit by a heat wave with temperatures soaring to some 38 degrees Celsius (more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit) prompting thousands to seek relief in the waters of the Parana River, which is packed with carnivorous fish.

Officials said the unusually warm weather also was apparently responsible for the fish congregating on the river’s surface before the attack.

Scientists retracing the footsteps of 1911 Antarctic expedition trapped in ice

Raw Story: Scientists retracing the footsteps of 1911 Antarctic expedition trapped in ice
Dec 25, 2013 | By Alok Jha, The Guardian

Icebreaker ships go to help MV Akademik Shokalskiy after captain issues distress call

A team of scientists and members of the public who have been retracing the footsteps of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE) of 1911 have become trapped in heavy ice a few miles from the coast of Antarctica.

Passengers aboard the ship, the MV Akademik Shokalskiy, were informed on Christmas morning that the captain had issued a distress call to the Maritime Service Authority based in Falmouth in the UK earlier in the day. Three nearby icebreaker ships have been notified of the Shokalskiy’s situation and are on their way to help.

The nearest ship, the Chinese Xue Long (Snow Dragon), will take just over a day to reach the Shokalskiy’s position, around 1,500 nautical miles from Hobart in Tasmania. A French ship called the Astrolabe, and sent out from the nearest Antarctic base, Dumont D’Urville, could arrive around the same time. The furthest ship, also on its way, is the Australian icebreaker, Aurora Australis.

“The ship is no danger,” said Chris Turney. “We’re currently in heavy ice and we need help to get out. It’s frustrating – we’re only two miles from open water. Everyone is well on board and morale is high. We’ve had a fantastic Christmas and the science programme has been continuing while we’re stuck in position. The results looking really exciting. We’re very fortunate the Chinese are in the area, passing relatively close by.”

The Snow Dragon is a 166-metre-long icebreaker, cruising towards the Shokalskiy at 14.5 knots.

The Russian-built Shokalskiy left the port of Bluff in New Zealand on 8 December with 48 passengers and 20 crew members to follow in the footsteps of the great Antarctic explorer and scientist Douglas Mawson. Led by the climate scientist Chris Turney of the University of New South Wales, the ship has been sailing through the Southern Ocean, repeating and extending many of Mawson’s wildlife and weather observations in order to build a picture of how this part of the world has changed in the past 100 years.

The expedition had already reached the fast ice off Commonwealth Bay, carrying out measurements of the Southern Ocean along the way. A small team of scientists and conservationists also reached Mawson’s Huts at Cape Denison on Thursday last week, 40 miles (65km) across the ice from where the ship was anchored. The expedition was heading east on Tuesday to spend a day at the Mertz glacier when it became trapped among thick ice floes near Stillwell Island, off Cape de la Motte.

A spokeswoman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is co-ordinating the rescue, said: “It’s in quite a remote part of the world. But we have everyone safe. The vessel isn’t in any immediate danger.”

Passengers were kept updated throughout the day about the ship’s situation. When the ship is free from the ice, expected by the weekend, this modern incarnation of the AAE will continue on to the Southern Ocean and will return to Bluff via a stop on Macquarie Island to carry out a short programme of wildlife, oceanography and climate research.

“We can’t wait to get to Macquarie Island,” said Turney. “It was a cornerstone of the original AAE and we’re keen to finish the research programme there.”

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media 2013

Watch a snapshot of Frank Hurley’s footage of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition from 1911 to 1914:

A Solar Boom So Successful, It’s Been Halted

A Solar Boom So Successful, It’s Been Halted
Dec 21, 2013 | Cryptagon

Greed and incompetence at power companies are running up against the unstoppable force of distributed power generation.

Not long to go now.

Germans laugh at this, by the way.

Flashback 2011: Residential Energy Storage with Underground Flywheels

—

Update 2013: Velkess: New Residential Scale Flywheel Design

Via: Scientific American:

William Walker and his wife, Mi Chong, wanted to join what’s seen as a solar revolution in Hawaii. Shortly after buying their Oahu home earlier this year, they plunked down $35,000 for a rooftop photovoltaic system.

The couple looked forward to joining neighbors who had added panels, to cutting their $250 monthly power bills and to knowing they were helping the environment.

Their plans shifted the day after the PV panels went up in early October. The Walkers learned from a neighbor about a major change in the local utility’s solar policy. It led to those 18 panels sitting dormant nearly three months later.

Hawaiian Electric Co., or HECO, in September told solar contractors on Oahu that the island’s solar boom is creating problems. On many circuits, the utility said, there’s so much solar energy that it poses a threat to the system and a safety issue. Studies are needed on whether grid upgrades are necessary. If they are, residents adding solar must foot the bill. And starting immediately, contractors and residents would need permission to connect most small rooftop systems to the grid.

The new HECO policy was included deep in the text of emails the Walkers’ solar contractor had sent, but it escaped their notice before installation. They’re now paying $300 per month on a loan for the panels, plus the $250 electric bill.

“It goes from frustration to outrage,” William Walker, 33, said of his reaction. “We hear the excuses that HECO provides, that they put out there at least as far as the justification. There’s really not a lot of substantiation. My belief is it’s purely profit-motivated, to keep people away from PV and keep them on the grid.”

Hundreds of thousands lose power as temperatures plummet - Ice freezes on tree branches an inch thick

An inch or so of ice clings to a tree branch
in Centerville, near Jonesboro, in
Washington County on Monday.
image source

Hundreds of thousands lose power as temperatures plummet
Dec 24, 2013 | Ice Age Now

About 380,000 homes and businesses across Michigan, New York, Vermont and Maine were still without power early this morning, utilities firms said.

And the worst of it is, that it is numbingly cold!

Temperatures in parts of Michigan — where some 250,000 of the outages took place — have plummeted to 0 to 10 degrees F (-18 to -12C), said Kevin Roth, lead meteorologist from The Weather Channel,

Confounding the restoration efforts is a thick coating of ice still remaining on trees, continuing to pull down lines as limbs crack from the weight.

“Stand outside for a minute and all you can hear are crashing trees, falling branches and sirens,” Sharon Kiley Mack, executive director of the Machias, Maine, Chamber of Commerce, wrote in a Facebook post, the Bangor Daily News reported.

The same storm knocked out power to another 450,000 customers in Canada.

It looks almost certain that some people will be left without heat and light until as late as Sunday.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/24/22032672-winter-weather-temperatures-plummet-thousands-face-christmas-without-power?lite%3

http://bangordailynews.com/2013/12/23/news/state/some-mainers-may-not-have-power-until-friday-as-utility-crews-fight-losing-battle-against-ice/

Massacre of the Innocents: Big Government In The Year 0

image
"Click to view larger image"

Big Government In The Year 0
Dec 24, 2013 | Real Science

Two thousand years ago, big government felt threatened by an infant, and ordered the massacre of all male babies in Bethlehem.

Over the past 100 years, big government has killed 100 million additional civilians.

Progressives see big government as the solution to all problems.

Strongest Jet Stream Ever Recorded To Bring Two Super Storms To United Kingdom Region This Week With Possible Tornadoes In Ireland

Strongest Jet Stream Ever Recorded To Bring Two Super Storms To United Kingdom Region This Week With Possible Tornadoes In Ireland
Dec 23, 2013 | Before Its News

A massive storm system is moving out of the United States today, which went through Canada yesterday … carries with it the strongest jet stream now ever recorded that will cause two super storms in the United Kingdom region this week.

As if engineered, this never before seen jet stream of 275 mph in the upper levels is exiting Canada. This jet stream will move across the Northern Atlantic and deepen a surface low that is only 1004mb at this moment. This jet stream will act as a vacuum, sucking the air from the center of the storm and dropping the pressure within it to an impressive 930mb low. This is a pressure fall over over 50mb by Monday evening to Tuesday morning for the United Kingdom region. It will cause problems, with the initial concern will be the amount of rain for Wales, Central and Southern England where over 50mm of rainfall will fall. Double that over the hills. The rain will fall on already saturated ground which will lead to flooding.

Very windy on Monday with the system, about 70 mph gusts likely in the South. On Christmas Eve expect 70-80 mph wind gusts in Northern Ireland and Western Scotland … with heavy snow in the Scottish Mountains. Weakening winds across Northern Scotland on Christmas day with winds relaxing … for the most part it looks nice on Christmas.

But we’re not done yet. This powerful jet will deepen yet another low pressure system on Friday and this warm front will sweep across Ireland with tornadic dynamics. It’s very likely that with this surface low being much further south than the first one that shear and warm air advection through Ireland will cause a tornado scenario there so be exceptionally alert.

Source: http://www.theweatherspace.com/2013/12/22/strongest-jet-stream-ever-recorded-to-bring-two-super-storms-to-united-kingdom-region-this-week-with-possible-tornadoes-in-ireland/

‘Perfect storm’ of foul weather kills 9 across US

Reuters / Darren Hauck

‘Perfect storm’ of foul weather kills 9 across US
Dec 23, 2013 | RT

Heavy snowfalls, ice storms, ruinous tornadoes and flash floods are creating havoc during the holiday season across the US. At least nine people died in a deluge of bad weather that caused massive flight delays and knocked out power.

"This is a particularly strong storm with very warm, near record-breaking temperatures in the East and very cold air in the Midwest, and that contrast is the sort of conditions that are favorable for not only winter weather but also tornadoes," National Weather Service meteorologist Ed Danaher said in College Park, Maryland.

At least nine people were reported killed in storms, according to AP. Among the victims are five people who died in flooding caused by storms in Kentucky and a woman killed in a tornado in Arkansas. Three deaths were also reported in Oklahoma.

Over 440,000 homes and businesses were deprived of power due to snow and ice in Michigan (300,000), upstate New York and northern New England (100,000). It could be several days before power is fully restored to many households.

More than 700 airline flights were canceled Sunday evening, and more than 11,000 delayed, reports aviation tracking website FlightAware.com. Meanwhile, major international airports in Philadelphia, New York City and Chicago delayed many flights because of wind and poor air conditions, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Reuters / Darren Hauck

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had already declared a winter ice storm emergency as ice accumulated over the weekend, coated tree limbs and power lines.

In Arkansas, a heavy tornado with strong winds struck the state Saturday, damaging several homes and downing power lines. One woman died in the storm and five were injured.

Central Plains, including Kansas and Nebraska, were hit with colder-than-usual temperatures. Ice and snow in Oklahoma caused three traffic deaths on slippery roads.

On Saturday, a series of thunderstorms stretched from southern Louisiana to Indiana, causing rivers and creeks to swell, flooding roads and spawning winds strong enough to force cars and trucks off of highways. Heavy rains, damaging winds and lightning continued in Georgia, South Carolina and up the East Coast.

Reuters / Darren Hauck

However, while the Great Lakes, New England, South and the Midwest were hit by ice, high winds and flooding, the mid-Atlantic saw record-breaking warm temperatures because of a mass of hot, muggy air from the South.

Temperatures of 21 degrees Celsius were recorded in New York's Central Park. High temperatures were also recorded in Atlantic City, New Jersey, (20 degrees C) and Philadelphia (19 degrees C).

Washington DC had highs of 22 degrees C, "about 5 degrees warmer than normal," NWS meteorologist Bruce Sullivan said.

"This storm is bringing a little bit of everything, from rain, flooding and wind, to ice and snow in some areas," Sullivan said. "What is really extraordinary about this system, though, is the warm air."

In neighboring Canada, huge winter storms swept across the country, too, damaging power lines and causing mayhem for travelers.

Reuters / Darren Hauck

Dangerous Levels of Radioactivity Found at Fracking Waste Site

image

Dangerous Levels of Radioactivity Found at Fracking Waste Site
Dec 22, 2013 | Project Censored

For the first time scientists have documented dangerous levels of radioactivity and salinity at a shale gas waste disposal site. Samples taken downstream from the Joseph Brine Treatment Facility in Pennsylvania revealed radium levels 200 times greater than samples taken upstream. This level of radioactivity is above regulated levels, which normally would be approached only at licensed radioactive disposal facilities. The study conducted by scientists at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment is the first to use isotope hydrology to connect shale gas waste, treatment sites and discharge into drinking water supplies. The water discharge tested in the study was from the Blacklick Creek, which feeds into a water source for western Pennsylvania cities including Pittsburgh. The biggest danger is the threat of a slow bio-accumulation of radium, which would eventually end up in fish and be a biological disaster.

The study also revealed saline levels 200 times greater than the regulated limit, which isn’t immediately harmful, but it shows that the waste from the shale is not being properly treated and disposed.

Shale gas production is exempt form the Clean Water Act, and the industry has pledged to self-monitor its waste production in order to avoid regulation. A study with U.S. Geological Survey scientists found no evidence of drinking water contamination related to shale gas production in Arkansas, evidence indicating how unequal regulation of production and waste disposal methods are across the country.

A previous study, published earlier this year by the same scientists at Duke, revealed higher methane, ethane, and propane concentrations in drinking water near shale gas drilling. The methane concentrations found were 6 times higher and ethane concentrations were 23 times higher at homes within a kilometer of a shale gas well; propane was detected in 10 of the 141 wells tested. This was the first study to offer direct evidence of ethane and propane contamination of drinking water wells from shale drilling.

Sources:

Felicity Carus, “Dangerous Levels of Radioactivity Found at Fracking Waste Site in Pennsylvania,” The Guardian, October 2, 2013, http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/02/dangerous-radioactivity-fracking-waste-pennsylvania.

Nathaniel R. Warner, Cidney A. Christie, Robert B. Jackson, and Avner Vengosh, “Impacts of Shale Gas Wastewater Disposal on Water Quality in Western Pennsylvania,” Environmental Science Technology, October 2, 2013, http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es402165b.

Robert Jackson and Avner Vengosh, “Higher Levels of Stray Gas Found in Water Wells Near Shale Gas Sites” Robert Jackson, Duke Environment, June 24, 2013, http://nicholas.duke.edu/news/higher-levels-stray-gases-found-water-wells-near-shale-gas-sites.

Robert Jackson, Avner Vengosh, et al., “Increased Stray Gas Abundance in a Subset of Drinking Water Wells Near Marcellus Shale Gas Extraction,” Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences, June 24, 2013, in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences, http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1221635110.

Student Researchers: Jack Peck, Jorawar Brar and Lillian Reed (DePauw University)

Faculty Evaluators: James Mills and Kevin Howley (DePauw University)

Were the pyramids built INSIDE OUT? Engineer claims ancient Egyptians built burial chamber first and then worked outwards

A Newport engineer claims the long-held theory
that the Egyptians used outer ramps to construct the
pyramids is 'impossible'. He believes that the Egyptians
built an inner core of zigzagging stairs, using smaller,
lighter blocks while the larger outer casing stones
were placed on the outside using scaffolding

Were the pyramids built INSIDE OUT? Engineer claims ancient Egyptians built burial chamber first and then worked outwards
Dec 19, 2013 | DailyMail Online | Victoria Woollaston

For centuries it's been thought that the ancient Egyptians built their huge pyramids by hauling heavy granite blocks up specially crafted ramps.

Yet Newport engineer Peter James has branded this ‘impossible’, claiming the ramps would need to have been a quarter of a mile long or else they would have been too steep to carry the large blocks up.

He believes, instead, that the Egyptians built an inner core of zigzagging ramps, using smaller, lighter blocks while the larger outer casing stones were placed on the outside using scaffolding.

This means the pyramid was built up in layers and the top would have been built using scaffolding on the outside.

Peter James and his company Cintec are experts in construction and have been restoring the Egyptian pyramids for the past 18 years.

Mr James told the MailOnline: ‘Looking at the pyramids from a builder’s point of view, and not an archaeologist’s, it’s clear that the current theories are nonsense.

‘Just look at the numbers. Under the current theories, to lay 2 million blocks, the Egyptians would had to have laid a large block once every three minutes.

HOW WERE THE PYRAMIDS BUILT: CONFLICTING THEORIES

For centuries archaeologies believed that the ancient Egyptians built the huge pyramids by hauling heavy granite blocks up specially crafted ramps.

Under this theory, to lay 2 million blocks, the Egyptians would had to have laid a large block once every three minutes and it would have taken 100,000 people.

Newport engineer Peter James has branded this ‘impossible’ claiming the ramps would need to have been a quarter of a mile long or else they would have been too steep to carry the large blocks up.

He believes, instead, that the Egyptians built an inner core of zigzagging ramps, using smaller, lighter blocks while the larger outer casing stones were placed on the outside using scaffolding.

They would have set out the four corners a pyramid, like the four corners of a house. They then would have built four access points in the centre of the pyramid.

Next they would have established where the burial chamber would need to be built, and that would have been built using granite.

Starting from the walls of the burial chamber, the Egyptians could then build ramps using the lighter, smaller rocks in zigzags (pictured above left) around the structure, placing these rocks on top of each other as they went in order to build the pyramid up in layers.

The heavy blocks could then be either pulled up these ramps on sledges, or placed on the outside using scaffolding made from timber and lashings.

This theory builds on the work of French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin who, in 2007, similarly claimed that the pyramids were built from the inside out.

He suggested the ramps would have been built in the centre of the pyramid, or in a spiral 30 to 50ft beneath the outer skin (pictured centre and right).

The scaffolding used by the Egyptians would have been made from timber and lashings and James knows this would have been successful because he used these materials when repairing the pyramids.

The theory is also supported by the maze-like inner structures of the pyramids.
This is the Grand Gallery of the Great Pyramid of Giza

The theory is also supported by the
maze-like inner structures of the
pyramids. This is the Grand Gallery
of the Great Pyramid of Giza

‘Heavy blocks could then be either pulled up these ramps on sledges, or placed on the outside using scaffolding made from timber and lashings.’

James continued that once the rest of the pyramid was built, the top blocks would had to have been placed from the outside, but would fit together like ‘Lego.’

He also said that he was sure of this theory because when studying the structures he noticed that none of the blocks on the later pyramids were bigger than 30 or 40cm thick.

According to Mr James, as the different pyramids were built from the Step pyramid to the Bent and Red pyramid and finally to the True pyramids, it was clear that the Egyptians were innovators.

‘Really these pyramids show a lot of innovation of how [the Egyptians] overcame problems, and how they resolved them in the next pyramid.'

He was inspired by this alternative theory when he was asked to look again at the Step pyramid after the burial chamber had collapsed.

‘People believe the Egyptians built this as a stairway to the heavens and to the gods, but it’s more simple than that. 

On timber and lashing scaffolding, the Egyptians would not have wanted to go higher than 10 metres at a time, so they built 10 metres, took a step inwards and built another 10 metres. It’s not symbolic, it’s practical.'

Whichever method was used, on these different pyramids, it would still have been a substantial job.

The Great Pyramid of Giza, for example, is believed to have been 481ft tall when it was built but has sunk slightly and is now around 455ft tall. The base is said to cover 756ft.

Originally, Giza, pictured, and other pyramids would have been covered
by casing stones. This would have given them a smooth outer
surface, yet this is missing from the current structure and all that
remains is the underlying core. James believes the larger stones
would have crumbled because of 4,000 years of heat exposure

MYSTERY OF THE OUTER CASTINGS

Originally, Giza and other pyramids would
have been covered by casing stones. This
would have given it a smooth outer surface,
yet this is missing from the current
structure and all that remains is the underlying
core.‘Some locals claim that these
stones were stolen, but I can’t see
anyone wanting to climb that high to
do that,’ said Peter James.
‘Archaeologists claim that the pyramid
casing fell off, especially on the bent
pyramid, because of the
foundations. But it’s not that either.
Not at all.‘It’s a simple temperature
problem. The outer blocks heat up to
40 and 50 degrees during the day
and at night it cools to 4 or 5 degrees.
‘When limestone heats up, it expands
and it never goes back to where it starts.
This would have caused the casing and
the structure to warp and bend meaning
the problem was all over the pyramid,
so it couldn’t be foundations.

Originally, Giza and other pyramids would have been covered by casing stones. This would have given it a smooth outer surface, yet these are missing from the current structure and all that remains is the underlying core.

‘Some locals claim that these stones were stolen, but I can’t see anyone wanting to climb that high to do that,’ continued James.

‘Archaeologists claim that the pyramid casing fell off, especially on the bent pyramid, because of the foundations. But it’s not that either. Not at all.

‘It’s a simple temperature problem. The outer blocks heat up to 40 and 50 degrees during the day and at night it cools to 4 or 5 degrees.

‘When limestone heats up, it expands and it never goes back to where it starts. This would have caused the casing and the structure to warp and bend meaning the problem was all over the pyramid, so it couldn’t be foundations.

'And after 4,000 years, that’s a lot of expanding and movement. There’s a builder’s story to be told here. Not an academic one.’

The reason Egyptian chose the pyramid shape is believed to stem back to the Egyptian sun god Ra.

Ra was said to have created himself from a pyramid-shaped mound of earth before he created all other gods. 

The shape is also thought to be symbolic of the sun’s rays and they were usually placed on the western side of the Nile so the pharaoh’s soul could join the sun as set. 

James’ theory supports that suggested by French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin in 2007. Like James, Houdin began working on the riddle and quickly found flaws in the two existing theories.

He claimed the ramp must have been a spiral 30-50ft beneath the outer skin.
He added that his theory could be proved by radars and heat detecting cameras as the ramp had to remain inside the finished structure.

The two theories mean that that 4,000 people could have built the pyramid using the techniques outlined - rather than previous estimates of around 100,000.

Read more:

• Cintec Worldwide