The Psychology of Climate Change Denial

Even as the science of global warming gets stronger, fewer Americans believe it’s real. In some ways, it’s nearly as jarring a disconnect as enduring disbelief in evolution or carbon dating. And according to Kari Marie Norgaard, a Whitman University sociologist who’s studied public attitudes towards climate science, we’re in denial.

“Our response to disturbing information is very complex. We negotiate it. We don’t just take it in and respond in a rational way,” said Norgaard.

~Something that's even more annoying than the present half assed dribble of LJ e-mail notifications is that I'm actually in a fairly good mood for the first time in months and my creativity is alive and well, but I'm too 'tepid' from this supplements things to get any real work done. I get excited and then just 'fade'. Very frustrating....

~Mikey is feeling like crap. And, no, this is not some ZOMG! 'new catastrophe' or 'my Issues are up' post. Much more prosaic than that: Vitacost fucked up.

We ordered a batch of supplements last Tuesday with the expectation that they'd arrive by Friday at the latest. We were pretty low because we ordered nothing in November to save up for the Property Tax payment.

But in their whatfuckingever wisdom, Vitacost sat on the order because the one single 'luxury' item – Mount Hagen coffee – was not in stock, even though the website said it was.

Sooooo, the order didn't go out until yesterday, and that only after Le-Le harassed them and canceled the coffee.

But now I am out of several key supplements, have been so for a few days, and I'm feeling like shit. I'll survive. As always. And I'm feeling like shit....

That is all.

"The basic facts are incontrovertible. What do they think happens when we put 90 million tons up there every day? Is there some magic wand they can wave on it and presto! - physics is overturned and carbon dioxide doesn't trap heat anymore? And when we see all these things happening on the Earth itself, what in the hell do they think is causing it?"

From Courthouse News Service
Tuesday, December 01, 2009

LOS ANGELES (CN) - A man claims the Church of Scientology forced him to work as a "virtual slave" for 16 years at jobs ranging from washing pots and pans to restoring old films produced by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. John Lindstein says he was kept "busy, poor, tired, and uninformed" by Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige at the church's ranch in Hemet, and feared that "things would get even worse if he did not work as ordered."

Lindstein's Superior Court complaint alleges human trafficking and violations of hour and wage laws at the church's "Gold Ranch" compound near Hemet, a semirural area east-southeast of Los Angeles.

Lindstein says that from 1990 until 2006, starting when he was just 8 years old, he "performed this work as a virtual slave, working 16 to 24 hours days with no sleep, no time off and no personal freedom" at Gold Base, a mysterious and once-secret headquarters that "resembles a prison camp," with razor wire, security guard patrols, surveillance posts and three roll calls each day.

By age 16, Lindstein says, he was working for Golden Era Productions, Scientology's film production company, restoring Hubbard's films from the 1970s. He says he often worked 24-hour days at the "tedious, frame-by-frame work that would normally cost more than $400,000 per movie to accomplish at industry rates."

Lindstein and his crew of five were paid $50 per week, he says.

Lindstein says Miscavige and others "intentionally, consciously and wrongfully made a tactical decision to ignore labor laws, take [their] chances with a compliant and intimidated work force, and hope that the running of the statute of limitations would in the long run save [them] millions of dollars."

Lindstein says that Miscavige "runs the Scientology enterprise with an iron fist, according to his own rules, and enjoys the lifestyle and job benefits of royalty while those at the bottom of the food chain live like slaves and inmates."

Those who tried to escape from Gold Ranch and were caught were assigned to the "Rehabilitation Project Force," in which workers faced "a brutal regime of manual labor, have no freedom of movement and are subjected to almost total deprivations of personal liberties," according to the complaint.

Church of Scientology spokeswoman Karin Pouw said the church would not comment on the allegations.

"The complaint filed by John Lindstein against the Church of Scientology International and others has not been served," Pouw said. "We do not comment on cases to which we are not a party."

In his complaint, Lindstein says he was eventually "pushed to his breaking point and he found a way out."

He says he has since been "declared an enemy of Scientology, given a large illegal bill for his purported scientology training, and cut off from friends and family who are still under the control of the Scientology enterprise."

Lindstein wants the church to pay him at least minimum wage for his years of work. He is represented by Barry Von Sickle of Roseville, Calif.

"Any religion that requires its ordinary non-clerical practitioners to wear a uniform is inherently fascistic."

Hipsters, Hasidic Jews Fight Over Bike Lanes In Williamsburg

In response to last week's removal of bike lanes in the traditionally Hasidic neighborhood in Brooklyn, a group of local bike riders took it upon themselves to repaint the lane lines running down Bedford Avenue...

Last year the religious group complained to the community board that many of the young, female cyclists who rode through the neighborhood were "hotties," who "ride in shorts and skirts," both of which are against their dress code.