The Greatest Holocaust Part 2

Previously on Ginsengaddict, I ranted about a Government conspiracy to withhold the closest thing to a miracle the world has ever known.

Every year, in the United States ALONE, arounf half a million people die of cancer. Cannabis, a plant which is listed as a Schedule 1 drug, and thus illegal in.. just about everywhere, contains multiple chemicals, such as Cannabidiol, which destroy cancer cells.

Last time I said this, I got so pissed off that I forgot my sources and basically told you all to go look it up for yourselves. Well, while that is not a bad idea, it is bad journalism. So, instead it of doing that, watch this short documentary and another video which explain everything: Government involvement, medical evidence, personal testimony by people whose lives have been saved by cannabis.

There you go. I know I said the original reason cannabis was banned was because of profit motive, while these videos list racism as the main reason. It could be both, the cotton industry certainly benefited from the lack of competition from hemp. In any case, the evidence is there: Cannabis is anti-carcinogenic. It cures cancer.

Cannabis must be made legal - I don't just mean decriminalized, I mean the Governments of the world should completely change their stances on this issue. Millions of tax dollars are wasted while people die needlessly. This atrocity must stop.

The Greatest Holocaust

(Disclaimer: my emotional state fluctuated a lot while writing this. As such, it'll seem a bit random at times, but bear with me, it does get to the point.)

So, I know this was originally started as a media blog. At first, I had hoped to avoid going political, but I have a lot of rage over this particular issue at a lot of different people. I have no other venue to express these frustrations in any meaningful way, so I'll do it here.

First of all, a bit about my political philosophy. I am mostly leftwing and consider myself a progressive. My main interest is basic humanity; any policy that is in service of basic humanity is what I support, be it leftwing or rightwing. To give you an impression of a leftwing policy and a rightwing policy that I support, I am against Capital Punishment and for Reduced Regulation of Firearms.

For the purposes of this article, I want to discuss my views on Cannabis, and trust me, we will get to that. But first, let me illustrate my feelings on the two policies I mentioned above. I believe "life" is an intrinsic, unalienable right, and to take life under any circumstances is contrary to law, even as punishment for taking a life. As such, Capital Punishment is obvious, an Eye for an eye doesn't work, because you commit the same crime as the person you are punishing. Reduced Regulation on the other hand is not as obvious, but that is not the purpose of this entry, so I'll explain it another time. Point is, whatever services the right to life = good.

So, my feelings on Cannabis? It should be completely legal and taxable. Possession should not be a jail-able offence for any amount, sale should be taxable, production should be subsidized to reduce cost and siphon money away from foreign druglords. Yes, you read that right. Cannabis should be legal, for any purpose whatsoever, medicinal AND recreational, and ancillary (hemp fabrics, etc). Cannabis is illegal for entirely political reasons, but worse yet, it's status as an illicit substance is gravely detrimental to humanity and has led to many deaths. There is a reason this entry refers to a holocaust, and I will get to that soon.

Here's some history for you. Prior to the early 1900's, Cannabis was historically used as a medicinal herb and a cure for cancer. Yes, that's right, it's the original chemotherapy, but without the side-effects. During the early 1900's, the Unites States underwent major economic change with the industrial revolution with men like Carnegie and Rockefeller ruling various industries. One of these industries was the textile industry, which produced fabrics to make clothes and other things that are made from fabric. Little-known fact, Marijuana can be used to produce hemp, a very robust fabric that is actually cheaper and easier to produce than cotton, and it was being used to do just that at the time.

However, the people in government at the time OWNED the cotton industry. As a means of pushing out their competitors, they made the source of hemp fabrics illegal to produce, therefore creating a monopoly on the textile industry, subsidizing millions for cotton production, getting rich. In other words, it was NOT Cannabis's narcotic properties that made it illegal, it was a political strategy to eliminate an industrial opponent, entirely for PROFIT.

Cannabis's narcotic properties were fairly well-known, but didn't really come into the mainstream until the 1950's with the hippie movement. Hippies get characterized as sex-crazy stoners with no jobs who spend their days doing drugs, listening to The Beatles and wasting their lives. Do not be fooled, this is another entirely political impression. I can't speak for Hippies in the 50's and 60's since I wasn't there, but many current day Hippies I've met are hard-working people with a common peaceful worldview. Many are also sex-crazy stoners with no jobs who spend their days doing drugs, listening to Psi-Trance and wasting their lives - you get people like this in every group.

Anyways, with the Hippie movement, Cannabis became mainstream. Do you know what else was going on in the 50's and 60's? The Cold War! And what was one of the groups advocating peace? Hippies! Again, an entirely political impression, created by the government, to discredit a political opponent. The Hippie movement was smeared, and anything they did was considered an "afront to American freedom" or whatever bullshit the party made up, and recreational Cannabis use became a societal taboo.

But do you know what else was smoked throughout the century? Tobacco! Yes, the humble cigarette, despite being a smokable product, was not considered illegal. Why? I could answer, but I'm already on a tangent as it is. Story for another time. Point is, they cause cancer, and that was starting to become known.

In 1975, a study was conducted on the health risks of marijuana (I am unable to find it). They were expecting to find an increased risk of cancer from the use of Marijuana. What they actually found was something extraordinary. Like any inhalation of smoke, particulate matter getting caught in your lungs can lead to lung cancer and any number of health conditions, such as emphysema. This is why I do not smoke. HOWEVER, they also found that the active ingredient in Marijuana, THC, and another chemical produced by the plant called Cannabidiol, or CBD, actually reverse the effects of cancer.

You read that right: Cannabis. Cures. Cancer.

And now we come to the reason this is the greatest holocaust. The top three murderers in history are, in order from highest to lowest: Mao Zedong, Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin.

Mao's death toll: 36 million

Hitler's death toll: 21 million

Stalin's death toll: 12 million

Grand Total: 68 million lives, given the available estimates.

I did some research and found this website: http://www.townsendletter.com/AugSept2010/cancerprogram0810.html

It has a list of people who died from cancer during the years between 1975 and 2006, a period of 31 years, starting with the year the study was conducted which found that Cannabis is anti-carcinogenic.

Here is the list:

Year	Cancer Mortality (age-adjusted)	Population – US (July 1)	Number of People Who Died from Cancer
	(1)	(2)	(3)
1975	199.1	215,973,000	430,002
1976	202.3	218,035,000	441,085
1977	203.0	220,239,000	447,085
1978	204.4	222,585,000	454,964
1979	204.5	225,055,000	460,237
1980	207.0	227,726,000	471,393
1981	206.4	229,966,000	474,650
1982	208.3	232,188,000	483,648
1983	209.2	234,307,000	490,170
1984	210.9	236,348,000	498,458
1985	211.3	238,466,000	503,879
1986	211.8	240,651,000	509,699
1987	211.9	242,804,000	514,502
1988	212.6	245,021,000	520,915
1989	214.3	247,342,000	530,054
1990	214.9	250,132,000	537,534
1991	215.1	253,493,000	545,263
1992	213.7	256,894,000	548,982
1993	213.4	260,255,000	555,384
1994	211.7	263,436,000	557,694
1995	209.9	266,557,000	559,503
1996	207.0	269,667,000	558,211
1997	203.6	272,912,000	555,649
1998	200.8	276,115,000	554,439
1999	200.7	279,295,000	560,545
2000	198.7	282,385,000	561,099
2001	195.9	285,267,000	558,838
2002	193.7	288,028,000	557,910
2003	190.1	290,704,000	552,628
2004	185.9	293,310,000	545,263
2005	184.2	295,994,000	545,221
2006	181.1	298,766,000	541,065

Nearly half-a-million people. Every. Single. Year.... Dead.

Grand total: 13,760,560 - 13 million people, killed by cancer, not counting the lives lost after 2006, or prior to 1975, or lives lost outside the United States. And that number is still growing, even though those lives could have been saved if Cannabis had been legal.

This is a holocaust that is being pushed under the rug by politicians around the world. Hypocritical rightwing monsters point to the holocausts of Stalin and Mao, and how Communism is the worst thing ever because people die under that system, and yet 13 million people have been killed by Capitalism and politics. Companies like Pfizer and Bayer, who have the power to see Cannabis made into a real cure, aren't interested because they won't make a profit. Doctors and health organizations are powerless to utilize these findings, which have since been corroborated by hundreds of further studies (don't take my word for it, go and fucking look this up!), because in most places, Cannabis is a Stage One substance and illegal to possess, even for medicinal purposes.

But even ignoring this: Cannabis itself is innocent. No one has ever, EVER, overdosed on THC. It might be possible, but it's never been done. However, other "legal" drugs, such as Aspirin, Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, opiates such as Codeine and Morphine, Tobacco and Alcohol all have massive death counts, either by direct use (overdose) or ancillary causes (impaired ability leading to fatality). But Cannabis has a death toll of "Zero" - so, the dumbass argument that it's illegal because it's "dangerous" is unfounded.

Do you know how many millions of dollars of tax-payer money is wasted every year by putting people in jail for having Marijuana on their person? Neither do I, because the amount is so massive, and yet the offense is so ridiculously minor. Hey, police forces! Stop wasting your time and our money and go and fight REAL crime!

And I have to stop this here, because I am so fucking pissed off. Point is, Cannabis is good. It can save lives. It can help the economy. It should not be illegal for any reason. I am grossly angered by politicians trying to keep Cannabis and it's life-saving properties out of reach of dying people. And if you aren't also, go and do the research. It's not hard to find. Fucking educate yourself!

Thank you for reading.

Good Television - BBC's Merlin

What makes a show good?

Is it how it makes you feel when the episode is over? Is it what the episode says about humanity or society? Are the best episodes the ones that make you laugh? Or the ones that make you cry? Or the ones that make you think?

I honestly don't know. TV is way more difficult to pin down than film, which is by nature a microcosm of a story told in less than three hours, whereas TV is episodes of stories told in 30 minute chunks over a period of years. The options for TV storytelling are far more numerous, and just about anything can be done with any premise. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Like I said, it's hard to pin down why a show is good.

I recently started watching the BBC show 'Merlin'. I had seen the pilot back in 2009 and my first reaction was one of abject horror and dismay. "What the hell?" I thought, seeing Arthur as this bully jock and Merlin as a hopeless dork, and that absolutely annoying "oooh thank you, thank you, thankyou!!" line. Among other things, sexual tension between Morgana and Arthur? In the legends, they were cousins! Gross! Then again, in the legends, Guinivere was an actual princess, not a servant, so there's plenty that got butchered. Probably the worst offense was to have Merlin be younger than Arthur.

Nevertheless, I watched the second episode and found that to be another dumb show with more ridiculous elements, and a villain with less motivation than the first episode. At least Mary Collins wanted to kill Arthur to get at Uther for killing her son, Knight Valiant was evil for the sake of being evil! So, I gave up on the show.

Recently, at the behest of a friend, I watched an episode from late in the first season, 'The Labyrinth of Gedref'. At first, I thought "ok, unicorns? This show isn't even trying..." But, this is where I shut up and figured out why this show works. Merlin may be the title character, but the show is not about Merlin, it's about Merlin's relationship with Arthur. What intrigued me about this episode was something I had not seen in the previous two encounters - Arthur showed himself willing to die for Merlin - this is the key element of why this show works and why I decided to give it another chance. Have now seen every episode, and I can safely say that it found it's footing by the middle of the second season. What was once a mash-up of random retcons of Arthurian legend became an epic tale about a man destined to rule and a man destined to council the ruler. Their vitriolic friendship which belies a willingness to die for each other is the soul of this show, and the number one reason it is worth your time.

Recommended episodes:

* 'The Poisoned Chalice'

* 'Excalibur'

* 'The Labyrinth of Gedref'

* 'Beauty and the Beast' (this one is something of a guilty pleasure)

* 'Sins of the Father'

* 'Lady of the Lake'

* 'Sweet Dreams'

* 'Gwaine'

* 'The Changeling'

* 'Queen of Hearts'

* 'The Coming of Arthur'

All episodes are available here: http://merlin-streaming.blogspot.com/

The Role of Media

*wipes the dust off*

It certainly has been a while since I graced this humble blog. I hadn't forgotten it, just lost the motivation to write. I admit, I am something of an attention whore - I want to know people are reading this and also for those who read it to express their opinions and discuss. It wasn't happening, so I kinda gave up. Of course, I remember a lot of what I posted here gave me a certain sense of joy - I think that came from orating about something I am deeply passionate about: storytelling.

The role of media in society is two-fold. The first responsibility of media is to enrich it's audience. This can mean a number of things: to entertain, to educate, to inform, to inspire, to instill righteous anger at adversity or to calm a riot of stupidity... or even simply, just tell a good story.

Everything from the radio to the internet enriches your life in some way, be it receiving an important email to playing your favorite song, to keeping you up-to-date with traffic conditions or spending a number of hours on youtube or tvtropes. The definition of "enrich" in this case may seem all-encompassing, but in some way, media must make your life better. This is the primary responsibility of any form of media.

The second responsibility of media, which is not as important as the first but still a vital aspect, is to evolve. To advance. To grow and change and renew itself. This can mean anything from a revolution in a specific medium (IMAX cinema, digital radio, HD video, 5.1 surround sound) to inventing completely news mediums entirely (the gutenberg press, the telegraph, the radio, the telephone, the television, the VHS tape, the DVD, the internet, the smart phone). If one looks closely, you'll see that every major advance in civilization was accompanied by a revolution in mass media. Media is responsible for the fall of McCarthyism (via television), the fall of the dictatorship of the Catholic Church (via the printing press), the end of William Randolph Hurst (through cinema) and most recently contributed to the fall of the regimes in Egypt and Libya (through the internet). Never before in history has journalism been as free as it is today - thanks to the internet and the convergence of all media, information is quite literally available at your fingertips. Never before have media makers had as much power as they do right now - governments must contend with bad publicity and uprising if they were ever to threaten to censor the media.

It may sound as though I'm prattling on about a philosophy that I made up. And true, I've never heard this school of thought anywhere else, it's completely original to me. But, I live in a world where stories are told each and every day. I hope one day to be a storyteller myself. And I hold the tools I will be using to tell those stories to the highest standard and in the highest regard.

I'm inviting anyone who reads this to discuss ways in which media enriches your life, or ways in which media can evolve. It interests me, so please don't be timid - speak your mind. For the first time in history, you won't be burnt at the stake for doing so (thanks to media).

YouReviewers Awards (this entry is an assignment for Uni)

Prior to the 2010 Academy Awards, members of the public had expressed disillusion with the Academy and their approach to film. In general, the films that received awards were very limited to "classical style" or films that followed a strict set of guidelines. As a rather telling point in history, the film Tron, despite being revolutionary in its special effects, was snubbed by the Academy for "cheating," because for the Academy, computerized effects were beyond them; never mind that Oscars for Best Special Effects are only ever awarded to films for CGI nowadays.

With this public disillusion, plus the fact that in 2009, the year of the 2008 Academy Awards, The Dark Knight was not nominated for Best Picture, causing outrage among fans, amateur critics who regularly post video reviews of films decided to band together and create their own awards show, allowing members of the Youtube community to vote on different categories, rather than have the films picked at random by a group of old farts who don't recognize innovation in cinema.

This became known as the Youreviewers Awards. Originally conceived by Youtubers, JeremyJahns and Schmoesknow, the concept proved extremely popular and upwards of 30 other amateur critics joined in. The event even received celebrity endorsements and appearances.

The show was divided into four episodes appearing over the course of a few days, with episodes One and Three appearing on the JeremyJahns channel and Two and Four appearing on the Schmoesknow channel. Each episode featured amusing commentary by both Jeremy and the Schmoes and several awards announced by other youtube critics in their own style. The first episode was released on the 23th of February, with the last one released on the 26th of February.

The awards showcased the diversity and sheer number of youtube critics and celebrated the youtube community. Celebrity guest Katee Sackhoff commented on her admiration for the community for their initiative in executing the awards.

As expected, the results of the Youreviewers Awards differed greatly from the Academy Awards. Where The Kings Speech won the Oscar for Best Picture, the Youtube community voted for Inception. In fact, Inception received a majority of the awards it was nominated for.

Following is a list of the awards and which films won.

From Part 1:

• Most Underrated Film: Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World
• Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted: The Social Network
• Best Animated Film: Toy Story 3

From Part 2:

• Best Visual Effects: Inception
• Best Soundtrack: Hans Zimmer for Inception

From Part 3:

• Best Breakthrough Actor: Andrew Garfield for The Social Network
• Best Breakthrough Actress: Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit
• Best Supporting Actress: Haille Steinfeld for True Grit
• Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale for The Fighter

From Part 4:

• Best Actor: James Franco for 127 Hours
• Best Actress: Natalie Portman for Black Swan
• Best Director: Christopher Nolan for Inception
• Best Picture: Inception

References:

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP0w0P56oR8
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT06mpzCB-4
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YPNLuSchPs
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljDqL-BFat4