All posts by Axonn Echysttas

Mentatul.
Politics, Recommendations

To Be or Not to Be an Activist

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Being an activist has never been easy. Even in the 21st century, the death sentence for speaking the wrong words can be delivered unexpectedly by those that happen to disagree for whatever reason. This happens despite millennia of social development, now culminating with a sharp rise in our ability to exercise the right for free speech thanks to the Internet.

Last month, just before UK’s referendum on whether or not they should stay in the European Union, a member of parliament was killed, probably because she was holding peaceful views in a country that is increasingly dominated by hate. Jo Cox was stabbed, shot, and then stabbed again, in a horrifying illustration of how the wrong politics and education have mutilated our society:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Jo_Cox^

And, almost four months ago, Berta Cáceres, an activist that was militating for the rights of indigenous people was shot and killed in Honduras.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/03/americas/honduras-activist-berta-caceres-killed/^

No, being an activist has never been easy. Yet, some amazing people have not been deterred by the fatal risks. I am humbled and honored to know that I have lived among such courageous beings. These two women, along with countless others sisters and brothers throughout history, have led us out of savagery and hate.

I dream of a day when any man or woman can express their thoughts without fear of death. Even more, I dream of a day when everybody will care about what these driven individuals have to say. The most important thing that I believe we should all be aware of is that it is within our power to change our society’s course. Don’t let this blood be spilled without a change. Don’t let any more blood be spilled…

Updated 2016-07-20: today the news came out that another “inconvenient” person was murdered, this time in Ukraine. Rest in peace, Pavel Sheremet^.

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Weekly Song

Pink Floyd – Marooned

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Imagine a deserted beach. Imagine the blue waves, imagine a white sky, imagine a lonely guitar with emerald chords, imagine a ruby piano. Imagine seagulls gliding in the air, no effort at all, just waltzing in wind’s embrace. If there’s anything that can be said about this song is that it’s the spark that lights the fire of our imagination. Deep inside the mind, there’s a pyre made up of the thoughts that sometimes suffocate the purity of our soul. So let it burn, let unknowing innocence spread its wings, let go…

YouTube (MUST SEE VIDEO):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7YMI39sObY^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

http://open.spotify.com/track/3SOAyMhaukOvGS9PMvoQ1b^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

http://www.deezer.com/track/117584458^

This Weekly Song entry has been brought from the FaceBook archive of Weekly Song^. This project was originally started through a FaceBook page, about 13 months prior to launching Mentatul. Slowly but surely, the entire FaceBook archive will be brought here.

When I first posted this melody on the Weekly Song FaceBook page, it was during the sad events that saw Russia take over the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. Then, I linked the following article, together with a plea for Russians to take notice at the tragedy unfolding in the other two break-away Ukrainian territories of Donetsk and Luhansk. What you can see below is how the Donetsk airport ended up looking like after the fighting (included is a photograph of how the airport looked before it was turned into a ruin).

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-crisis/once-gleaming-donetsk-airport-ukraine-now-battered-husk-n314241^

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Inspirational, Recommendations

This Guy Talked to God

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At long last, finally there’s somebody in our current generation that managed to talk to God! It’s been some time since this last happened, but judging by what this person wrote, he may belong to a new generation of prophets. Or maybe he’s just a good writer. Here, judge for yourself:

http://www.fullmoon.nu/articles/art.php?id=tal^

There’s quite a lot of interesting reading on that philosopher’s website.

And in case his website ever goes down, I’ve saved the PDF and the text. You can find them at the links below:

www.mentatul.com/axup/Harry Stottle – Talking to God.docx^

www.mentatul.com/axup/Harry Stottle – Talking to God.pdf^

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Weekly Song

Solstafir – Fjara

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In the mood for some excellent metal music? This song’s multidimensional beauty never ceases to amaze. With every passing second, we are rising, step by step, towards the divine nature of art. The choir with which the song ends is one of the most evocative I’ve ever heard. Splendid instrumentation and structure complete the masterpiece.

You can listen to the song for free, in good quality, on BandCamp, which is one of the best websites when it comes to supporting artists. You can also purchase the song (or album) from this same location. And in case you’re wondering, yes, I did purchase Solstafir’s album :).

https://solstafir.bandcamp.com/track/fjara^

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FZH1dxeM4o^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/4dtMFhx3OgRpQZXbOhxXoM^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

http://www.deezer.com/track/61602107^

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Recommendations, Technology

All Your Computers Are Belong to Us

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In recent years, Intel has moved towards integrating some pretty nifty remote administration features into its CPUs. While this may be a good idea for certain enterprises, it may quickly turn into a nightmare as soon as exploits and vulnerabilities are found. And guess what^?

Software has bugs. Hey, it happens, everybody makes mistakes. But in this case, the mistakes can’t be corrected in time (before an attacker exploits them). That’s because, in typical monopolist corporation fashion, Intel is obscuring the process by not allowing the security community to analyze whatever code the company decides to shove into our machines. The same argument stands true regarding any proprietary code, especially Microsoft’s Windows, which after 20 years of fixes is still the most vulnerable mainstream operating system.

The following article describes the problem pretty well:

http://hackaday.com/2016/01/22/the-trouble-with-intels-management-engine/^

It’s probably only a matter of time until a clever attacker will compromise the company’s buggy code. Of course, Intel will eventually patch its security holes, but given that the company’s CPUs are used across the world in some pretty sensitive contexts, there’s no telling how much damage such attacks can cause.

As for us mortals, we are at risk of having our privacy compromised even by petty criminals. This is because there’s a large window of opportunity between the time when a security hole is found and the time that Intel moves to fix it for less prioritized customers.

And don’t even get me started on how governments across the world can (and probably will) force Intel’s hand into giving over political dissidents on a silver platter. Privacy? What privacy?

If you want to learn more, here’s another article on the same topic:

http://boingboing.net/2016/06/15/intel-x86-processors-ship-with.html^

I wrote this hot on the heels of a Dissected News piece about Cyber-Warfare^. There’s additional interesting information to be found there.

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Weekly Song

Inofaith – Nocturne

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This melody is a testament to the work of artists in general, and one artist in particular. The spoken lyrics underline the connection between art, love and the human drive to create universes. The relaxing and enjoyable music turns this into a highly-inspiring experience. And somehow, it always makes me move my body.

“Most of my ideas come out of complete silence.
My work, is a direct reflection of my personality.
Work to me, you know it’s, it’s who I am.
I think what’s hard, is, going against the current,
…trying to be something else… you know.

You have to love the process.
Be good at what you do.
There’s no substitution, for hard work
There’s not a better feeling in the world 🙂

You need to take that time for yourself, to realize why you’re here.
You’re here to create!

What happens to good artists is that,
when you create art, from the need to be loved…
…you do your best.

Silence is very important.
Most of my ideas come out of complete silence.
We all need to allow, the silence.
There’s so much noise.

It’s important for people to create their own worlds.
You have this world in which you live in.
But I think that we should be creating a sub-world to protect us.”

You can listen to the song for free, in good quality, on BandCamp, which is one of the best websites when it comes to supporting artists. You can also purchase the song (or album) from this same location.

https://inofaith.bandcamp.com/track/nocturne^

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUO6tMTPWbI^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/3fNxE3Hg47056GbOjZ58uu^

[ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/00755-InofaithDawnIsLate-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Inofaith – Nocturne’ desc=’The spoken lyrics underline the connection between art, love and the human drive to create universes.’]

Ecosystem, Recommendations

The Overview Effect

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When we become aware of our planet’s fragility and beauty, a cognitive shift in awareness occurs. This short but emotional presentation shows what a few of those that went through the difficult training required to travel away from Earth have to say about The Overview Effect:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHMIfOecrlo^

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Weekly Song

Geomatic – Aftab E Siyah

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Geomatic delivers dark electronic music of supreme quality. I’m slowly running out of good things to say about this project. Mysterious, groovy, sparsely populated by strange echoes from another universe, this song is highly representative of Geomatic’s art. Pump up the volume, lay back and hit “LAUNCH!”

You can listen to the song for free, in good quality, on BandCamp, which is one of the best websites when it comes to supporting artists. You can also purchase the song (or album) from this same location. And in case you’re wondering, yes, I did purchase Geomatic’s album :).

https://tympanikaudio.bandcamp.com/track/aftab-e-siyah^

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLj38djpCR8^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/7Gt4dNlsc8LCZqbPdLlrrF^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

http://www.deezer.com/track/68375288^

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Recommendations, Technology

How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds

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Let’s have a look at a very interesting article that shows how the choices we have in our daily life are limited and controlled. It’s written by a Design Ethicist at Google:

https://medium.com/swlh/how-technology-hijacks-peoples-minds-from-a-magician-and-google-s-design-ethicist-56d62ef5edf3^

In a nutshell, the article explains how our choices are constrained by poor design or clever manipulation techniques that aim to hide those options that are not favorable to certain commercial interests. Being aware that this happens is important knowledge. A quick fix is to always dig deeper and try to look beyond “what’s on the menu”.

Update: in 2017 I wrote a more detailed article^ on this same subject.

[ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/00748-HowTechnologyHijacksMinds-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’How Technology Hijacks People's Minds’ desc=’A very interesting article that shows how the choices we have in our daily life are limited and controlled.’]

Weekly Song

El Huervo – Rest

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It starts gently enough. A minute later, the second movement kicks in and any seasoned listener knows that they’re in for a good ride. It ebbs and flows, playing our imagination’s chords. It teases us for a while and then, a bit more than half-way through, it comes. Spitting fire and awesome low frequencies, the song’s third movement is what the artist was preparing us for all along. Enjoy the trip!

You can listen to the song for free, in good quality, on BandCamp, which is one of the best websites when it comes to supporting artists. You can also purchase the song (or album) from this same location.

https://elhuervo.bandcamp.com/track/rest^

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7XsHItaDhY^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/14pON73BJCCrUCziLfwjpj^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

http://www.deezer.com/track/21228881^

[ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/00746-ElHuervoDontLayWaste-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’El Huervo – Rest’ desc=’Spitting fire and awesome low frequencies, the song’s third movement is what the artist was preparing us for all along.’]