February | 2012 | HOLOGRAM

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the ALEPH

I arrive now at the ineffable core of my story. And here begins my despair as a writer. All language is a set of symbols whose use among its speakers assumes a shared past. How, then, can I translate into words the limitless Aleph, which my floundering mind can scarcely encompass? Mystics, faced with the same problem, fall back on symbols: to signify the godhead, one Persian speaks of a bird that somehow is all birds; Alanus de Insulis, of a sphere whose center is everywhere and circumference is nowhere; Ezekiel, of a four-faced angel who at one and the same time moves east and west, north and south. Continue Reading →

#SOPA reaction

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NASA debunks 2012 apocalypse with new FAQ

We all know that the world is going to end in December 2012 because a giant solar eruption is going to swallow the Earth. Or is it supposed to be the implosion of the Yellowstone Caldera? Reversal of the global poles? Does anybody even care about how the Earth will end if we are all doomed anyway?

Apparently, yes. NASA has set up a Frequently Asked Questions page on its website to answer questions pertaining to the end of existence. According to NASA, there is no scientific evidence that the world is going to end in 2012. Contrary to popular beliefs, put your trust in science and do not set up the foundations for that underground bunker just yet.

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Lethal viruses could leap continents in bushmeat trade

The illegal bushmeat trade not only threatens the survival of endangered species in Africa, but could also lead to outbreaks of deadly human diseases in North America and Europe.

A pilot study of bushmeat seized at US airports has found ape and monkey parts infected with retroviruses and herpesviruses. None of these viruses were known killers, but this small study has just scratched the surface of a trade that is known to be large.

“Seventy-five per cent of emerging diseases move to humans from wildlife, either directly or through our livestock,” says Kristine Smith, a wildlife veterinarian with the EcoHealth Alliance in New York City who led the study. The bushmeat trade could provide a hidden conduit for disease transmission, the researchers say.

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