ITS Tactical

Up in Smoke Over the next few days, I told the story many times. And what struck me was how differently people reacted to it. "I don’t believe him," my ex told me a few days later. (And why was I talking to my ex about this anyway? Smart women! Foolish choices!) "But that’s why I do believe him," I said. He thought about this. "That’s possible." He didn’t know what to say about that. "Do you think he worked at Lehman Brothers?" "They have transactional lawyers?" Of course. My friend Dara made a point about why he’d lost the money. "Yes! An investment banker I know just shook his head when I told him. "Do you believe him?" He nodded. I asked everyone I spoke to that week what their opinion was. "So the economy hits home," my friend Bryan joked a few days later. I laughed, but I felt kinda crummy. So I feel bad for Billy (which is not his real name, by the way). A few minutes after I sent that dumb-ass text, I wrote him another one: "i’m sorry to hear that," it read. ©2008 Sarah Hepola and Nerve.com

Progressives and the Ron Paul fallacies As I’ve written about before, America’s election season degrades mainstream political discourse even beyond its usual lowly state. The worst attributes of our political culture — obsession with trivialities, the dominance of horserace “reporting,” and mindless partisan loyalties — become more pronounced than ever. Meanwhile, the actually consequential acts of the U.S. Government and the permanent power factions that control it — covert endless wars, consolidation of unchecked power, the rapid growth of the Surveillance State and the secrecy regime, massive inequalities in the legal system, continuous transfers of wealth from the disappearing middle class to large corporate conglomerates — drone on with even less attention paid than usual. Because most of those policies are fully bipartisan in nature, the election season — in which only issues that bestow partisan advantage receive attention — places them even further outside the realm of mainstream debate and scrutiny. Due Process

International tektek.org > GaiaOnline Tools and Resources * Mungo Says Bah * Bushcraft Blog Tantra, Martial Arts, and The Metaphysics of Pain | People of Shambhala “Pain is one of the keys to unlock man’s innermost being as well as the world,” wrote Ernst Junger. “Whenever one approaches the points where man proves himself to be equal or superior to pain, one gains access to the sources of his power and the secret hidden behind his dominion. Tell me your relation to pain, and I will tell you who you are!” The sensation of pain is perhaps the most sobering and foundationally disconcerting human experience. The voice of pain functions as a powerful catalyst for growth and transformation within the deeper systems of martial arts / tantra expressing itself on the physical and psychological terrain of the corporeal, the “landscape of the body”. To destroy the opponent in front of you—annihilation of things that stand in the way of peace, justice and humanity….and to destroy your own impulses caused by the instincts of self-preservation. Bruce Lee (left) and Yukio Mishima (right). Mishima’s poetic revelations echo much of the deeper ideals of tantra.

Ron Paul Profile - Ron Paul Quotes on Tea Party, President, 2012 Originally published in the May 2011 issue Now it's time to go backstage. Down the narrow space between the back wall and the high blue curtain, washed by the white noise of eleven thousand overcaffeinated believers waiting in a huge ballroom filled to standing room, plus two overflow ballrooms where the man's message will be received on giant screens. Here's the door to the small drab room where assorted politicians wait to audition to be the future of America. And here's Ron Paul, smiling and holding out his hand. "Nice to see ya," he says. "You seem a little busy." "Yeah, we're just about to get ready here." On the other side of the cinder-block wall and high blue curtain, voices cry out one and two and then a sudden chorus, Ron Paul, Ron Paul, End the Fed, Ron Paul! Now he sits back down, pulling a padded office chair up to a round linoleum table. He smiles like that when he explains why he's never found it hard to be on the short end of a 1-to-434 vote. See, it's not about him.

GORUCK — Military-Grade Gear Curbly | DIY Design Community 8 Ways Soldiers Overcome Fear - Military Tricks to Overcome and Conquer Your Fear Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a dumbass. I should probably explain that. Sure, he was a stellar president, but he also said some pretty stupid things. But when you're an elite soldier, you actually have to live up to that quote. Wikimedia Commons 1. Worried about that presentation you have to give to the boss? Don't worry. SEALs rid fear from their minds by practicing an upcoming mission until they feel naturally confident about it—until that unknown becomes, well, a little more known. Legendary Pictures/DC Comics/Syncopy 2. Army Rangers and Navy SEALs agree: one of the most effective ways to deal with fear is to laugh about it. There's evidence to back this up, too. 3. Your heart is beating out of your chest, your knees are Jell-O, and sweat is pouring off your face. By inhaling for four seconds and exhaling for four seconds, SEALs are able to calm down the nervous system and regain control of their own biological response to fear. Public Domain 4. Fear is like shitty booze. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Under Status Quo, Deficit Would Decline, Budget Office Says The deficit will be $1.1 trillion in the current fiscal year, about $200 billion less than in 2011, and will fall sharply in the next three years as a result of tax increases and spending cuts required by existing law, the agency said in its annual report on the budget and economic outlook. However, it said, that same combination of higher taxes and caps on spending will crimp economic growth. As a result, it said, the unemployment rate, which was 8.5 percent in December, will climb to 8.9 percent in the last quarter of this year, which includes Election Day, and will rise to 9.2 percent in the final quarter of 2013. “We have not had a period of such persistently high unemployment since the Depression,” said Douglas W. Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office. Mr. Assuming no change in current law, the budget office said, the economy — measured by the gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation — will grow 2 percent this year and just 1.1 percent in 2013. Mr. Mr.

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Scrap in Progress 5 Morning Habits that can Turn your Life Around “Your sacred space is where you can find yourself over and over again.” ~ Joseph Campbell Over the years I have realised that a good start to your morning sets the tone for the whole day. Am sure your mornings are busy, you have to rush to work, go for that 10 am meeting, get kids ready to school, pack their tiffins and so on. I have listed some of the habits I have been following for some time, which has made a positive impact on my life. 1) Nothing like Morning Yoga “The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life.” ~ BKS Iyengar Yoga is not just an exercise or a regular workout for the body, it touches all aspects of your health – from your physical body, to the emotional, mental and spiritual well being. A 20-minute practice of Surya Namaskar or few easy asanas or working on your chakras can build your productivity for the day. 3) Herbal Brew to Beat the Blues A cup of lemongrass tea keeps me charged for a long time.