>>20096270 (lb)
> Maybe I should go. I think I will.
>>20096250 (lb)
>Hasn't been the first time thought I could extend trust in this place just to have the rug pulled.
>>20096278 (lb)
>Y'all, everyone, even Q, can kiss my ass.
phuck cats. kek!
https://aureliomadrid.wordpress.com/2012/09/23/t-gondii-bastet-and-actor-network-theory/
That the opportunistic parasite Toxoplasma-gondii, the ancient Egyptian cat goddess Bastet, and the ideas that inform Bruno Latour’s Actor-network theory (ANT) all exist independently are not contested subjects. That they are unified has yet to be examined. The goal of this paper will be to situate these three seemingly disparate phenomena into an interactive web of possibilities that will prove useful for the disciplines of science, social science, mythology, philosophy, and other fields of study. Our first step will be to examine Kevin T. Lafferty’s research on the eco-science of toxoplasmosis[1] in human agents and its cultural outcomes. Lafferty’s work will lay the ground for a complimentary analysis of an ancient Egyptian dynamic that encouraged the (then unknown) proliferation of the parasite into the people’s daily and spiritual life of upper and lower Egypt within the religio/mythic power symbolized in the guise of the female cat deity Bastet[2]. We will then conclude by demonstrating how the microbial and mythic agents (yes, toxoplasma-gondii is considered a non-human agent with agency, along with cats, humans, and Bastet etc.) will be placed into a non-hierarchical perspective of ANT by way of Bruno Latour’s work concerning science, people, microbes, technology (mummification) which is an un-stratified way of understanding the relationships between all the actors/actants involved.
In a 2006 paper Lafferty proposes the idea that the parasite Toxoplasma-gondii has influenced human culture. Lafferty quotes J.P. Webster explaining that the parasite promotes the risk behavior of affected rodents “T. gondii appears to manipulate rodent behavior in sophisticated ways that would increase transmission to domestic cats” (2749). The infected rodents are said to engage in high risk activities so as to get caught and eaten by the cat, thus positioning the parasite in the body of its desired carrier. Felines are the ideal host for the parasite, but humans can become infected due to their proximity to cats as house pets, companions, and domestic pest control. “The reproductive phase of this protozoan lives in the cells that line the intestine of a feline. [And can] infect [other] cats or encyst in the brain and other tissues of a wide range of warm-blooded vertebrates, including humans” (J.K.A. Beverly qtd. in Lafferty 2749). Once the parasite has infected a person, traceable personality traits are said to take place with noted variance between the genders, “For instance, in infected women, intelligence, superego strength […] and affectothymia[3] […] are higher, while infected men have lower intelligence, superego strength and novelty-seeking […]; both infected men and women have higher levels of guilt-proneness […]” (Flegr [sic] and Hrdy [sic], qtd. in Lafferty 2749). Because T. gondii affects men and women in these gender specific ways, using the cultural research of Hofstede & McCrae, Lafferty ‘predicts’ the outcome of “…higher aggregate neuroticism[4]. Aspects of human culture associated with neuroticism are male control, materialism, rules and structure [and] that T. gondii could increase the cultural dimensions of ‘masculine’ sex roles and uncertainty avoidance” (2551).
Lioness_Bast_cosmetic_jar_83d40m_tut_burial_artifact
Alabaster jar topped with a lioness, representing the goddess Bastet ca. 1323 B.C.E.
All of Lafferty’s observations are pointing in a general direction: microbial agency. Before we incorporate that into Actor-network theory, let us refer to a number of studies that demonstrate the unlikely connection between T. gondii and the worship/mummification of cats in ancient Egypt.
p1
On the topics of Toxoplasmosis and schizophrenia, the Stanley Medical Research Institute writes in their online article “All about Cats and T. gondii Transmission” about the “…major example of cats being regarded as pets […] in ancient Egypt […] a local cult worshipping a cat goddess (Bastet) became widespread. Cats were highly valued and often mummified when they died” (¶5). This obvious link to ancient Egyptian cat deification and to the goddess Bastet is not unique. Mark Greener also postulates a similar argument with his independent research on T. gondii and its ancient roots (again including its link to schizophrenia), where he writes “Bastet might have evolved from the Middle Eastern Neolithic cat cult into a protective goddess, reflecting the cat’s critical role protecting from rodents the grain vital to the society’s survival” (¶13). It is common knowledge that Egyptian priests preformed the necessary mummification of cats to accompany and assist the pet’s owner in the afterlife. What is not widely known is that the deceased cats were mummified with the same meticulous care and attention to detail as their human counterparts (Owen 2004). It was due to this proximity to the animal’s entrails—hence its waste products—that the priests would have easily contracted toxoplasmosis. There was not any awareness of microbial infection, and because of this there was not a concern for sanitary conditions by which to handle the human and animal corpses. Ancient Egyptian priests enjoyed a place of societal prestige (Porphyry ¶8). This social position enabled the infected priests to promulgate the belief that cats were to be revered, this lead to the outright worship of the feline goddess Bastet. This confirms Lafferty’s findings, whereby T. gondii infiltrates itself in a materialistic, male-dominated cultural pattern. This also affirms Lafferty’s connection with the more stable and affable traits that are manifested in females when they become infected. Bastet was primarily known for her protective qualities. The importance of Bastet in ancient Egypt cannot be underestimated (BBC). It is only till now, in the 21stcentury, that we can finally bridge the gap and silence some of the mysteries behind the extreme reverence of cats to the time of the Egyptian pharaohs with this key symbiotic microbial/human relationship.
With all of this under consideration, let us finally position these findings within Actor-network theory (ANT). ANT was popularized by the French sociologist, philosopher Bruno Latour with Michel Callon in the 1980s (Crawford 1). As Crawford defines ANT, we are reminded of a critical feature
…the agency of nonhumans (machines, animals, texts, and hybrids, among others), [and] the ANT network is conceived as a heterogeneous amalgamation of textual, conceptual, social, and technical actors. The ‘volitional actor’ for ANT, termed actant, is any agent, collective or individual, that can associate or disassociate with other agents (1).
p2
This point is central to our argument because it positions the nonhuman T. gondii as an actor/actant on the same interactive level as the human and societal actors/actants. Latour in his book The Pasteurization of Francewrites at length on microbes as agents, for instance he writes “We have to add the action of microbes” (35), and he later underscores this with “…the action of the microbe redefined not only society but also the nature of the whole caboodle” (38). Since Latour also positions ANT within a semiotic structure he privileges relationships within the network “There is no external referent. Referents are always internal to the forces that use them as touchstones” (166). The network of actors and actants becomes an entity we’re not used to recognizing, because we typically think that the only actor worthy of our attention is human. What this could mean in terms of ANT and T. gondii is implicated in the way T. gondii is usually thought to have conscious agency. When we refer to the way T. gondii seems to be ‘controlling’ its host we are situating it within a network whereby the human, cat, or mouse become victim to the parasite’s ‘will’. In a strict scientific understanding, T. gondii is merely affecting the physiology and neurology of the infected host. But once we recognize that agency need not be only about the volitional, we can then allow for the simple and complex ways micobes, humans and culture reverberate with unstratified connectivity. Crawford helps to define ANT by showing that it’s non-essentialist (1). To this concept Latour writes “…we should not decide a-priori what the state of forces will be beforehand, or what will count as a force” (155). The same can also be said for the weaknesses (155). What this means is that we cannot (with ANT) suggest that one actor’s role is essentially stronger or weaker that the other—ANT insists on a level playing field with no winners and losers. One actor is not more important than another. “Nothing is, by itself, either reducible or irreducible to anything else” (Latour 158).
Suddenly our prayers are answered. Reality becomes fiction and vice-versa. Our fetid microbial actor T.gondii becomes an ancient deity, mice are less risk averse, cats are coddled, men become domineering, and women’s superego is pronounced. But, now the most pressing question to ask is: in this non/fictional network who plays who?
Aurelio Madrid
Works Cited
BBC. “Temple to Cat God Found in Egypt.” BBC. (2010). Web. Retrieved on 18 September 2012.
Crawford, Cassandra S. “Actor-network Theory.” Ritzer-Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Web. Retrieved on 19 September 2012.
Greener, Mark. “Of Rats and Cats and Suicide, Toxoplasmosis Gondii.” Fortean Times. (2007). Web. Retrieved on 15 September 2012.
Lafferty, Kevin D. “Can the Common Brain Parasite, Toxoplasma Gondii, Influence Human Culture?” Proceedings B of the Royal Society. (2006). PDF. Web. Retrieved on 15 September 2012.
Latour, Bruno. The Pasteurization of France. Trans. Alan Sheridan and John Law. Cambridge, MA: Harvard U. Press. (1988). Print.
Owen, James. “Egyptian Animals Were Mummified Same Way as Humans.” National Geographic. (2004) Web. Retrieved on 18 September 2012.
Porphyry. “On abstinence from animal food (1823) Book 4.” Trans. Thomas Taylor. Early Church Fathers – Additional Texts. (n.d.). Web. Retrieved on 18 September 2012.
Stanley Medical Research Institute. “All about Cats and T. gondii Transmission.” The Stanley Medical Research Institute. (2008). Web. Retrieved on 15 September 2012.
[1] Toxoplasma-gondii infection.
[2] Ancient Egyptian feline goddess.
[3] “warm, outgoing, attentive to others, kindly, easy-going, participating and likes people” (Lafferty, 2749).
[4] group, societal, and/or cultural neurosis.
3 of3
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/spacecom-full-operational-capability-colorado/
US SPACECOM Achieves Full Operational Capability—in Colorado
U.S. Space Command declared full operational capability Dec. 15, four years after the nation’s 11th combatant command was established—and before it has a permanent home base.
“Thanks to the disciplined initiative of our people and the support of our joint, combined, and partnered team, I can confidently say we have reached full operational capability,” SPACECOM commander Army Gen. James Dickinson told his headquarters team during a command town hall at its home station on Peterson Space Force Base, Colo.
After an in-depth evaluation, including affirming the command’s ability to function under what Dickinson called “our worst day, when we are needed the most,” the command concluded it can now operate under any scenario, according to a release.
The declaration comes as Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, continues to fight to relocate SPACECOM to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala., just north of Rogers’ home turf and Alabama’s 3rd congressional district.
Now that SPACECOM has reached FOC, however, Colorado lawmakers can argue against moving from its provisional headquarters because doing so would set the command back in terms of readiness. Compromise language in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act states that a new command headquarters cannot be built until government watchdogs investigate President Joe Biden’s decision to keep SPACECOM in Colorado, which reversed a decision made by former President Donald Trump in his final weeks in office.
“Maintaining the headquarters at its current location ensures no risk of disruption to Space Command’s mission and personnel, and avoids a transition that could impact readiness at a critical time given the challenges we continue to face,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson told Air & Space Forces Magazine in July.
SPACECOM declared initial operational capability (IOC) in August 2021. Full operational capability is a significant advance, which includes:
Accomplishing the Unified Command Plan mission alongside global campaigning, exercising, and responding to crises
Employing the personnel with all necessary skills across the full span of military, civilian, and contractor personnel
Possessing the infrastructure necessary to support command and control across all mission and business functions
Having all necessary command processes and functions in place
Being able to set the conditions and requirements for the future fight
Dickinson said challenges have only grown in space, primarily from America’s chief adversaries.
“As the command has matured, challenges to a safe, secure, stable, and sustainable space domain have significantly increased,” Dickinson said. “Both the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation are fielding counterspace capabilities designed to hold U.S., allied, and partner space assets at risk. And North Korea and Iran are in the early stages of developing their space enterprise.”
U.S. Space Command was established in the fall of 2019 as a geographic—or “astrographic,” in SPACECOM’s new terminology—combatant command, responsible for military operations 100 kilometers above sea level and beyond. Just months later, the U.S. Space Force was established as an independent military branch to organize, train, and equip space forces in support of all 11 combatant commands.
SPACECOM validated its headquarters staff’s ability to function as a “ready, joint force” in a joint exercise with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the command said. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III approved the command’s operational plan, another critical step in its development.
“As the complexity of the domain grows, so must our capability to deliver operational and strategic effects to our nation and preserve the safety and stability of the domain,” said Dickinson, who remains atop the command while waiting for Space Force Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, nominated to succeed him, to be confirmed as the four-star combatant commander. That nomination is among nearly a dozen still on hold due to another Alabama politician, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who has held up military promotions for months in an attempt to force the Pentagon to reverse a policy that provides time off and travel expenses for military members based in locations where certain reproductive health services are not available, such as abortions.
The declaration of full operational capability “does not mean the command will stop developing capability or capacity,” SPACECOM said in its announcement. “The command, like all others, will require additional resources to keep pace with competitors and evolving threats.”
https://twitter.com/LPJerusalem/status/1736057252086268025
then they would be enemies of truth, total revelation, and liberation of the minds of the human collective. So anons are called anons for a reason, and they can be called secret keeping 'patriots' standing in our way.
8da1da
WHO is one of 17 specialized subagencies of the UN. If countries did not want this, they would exit their UN member treaty. Alas, NOT ONE nation has…
all in the same gang
https://www.un.org/en/about-us/specialized-agencies
The UN Charter stipulates that each primary organ of the United Nations can establish various specialized agencies to fulfill its duties.[127] Specialized agencies are autonomous organizations working with the United Nations and each other through the co-ordinating machinery of the Economic and Social Council. Each was integrated into the UN system through an agreement with the UN under UN Charter article 57.
>>20097052
Matthew 16:23
Wait until the Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil war pops off. There will be MANY more comin'.
Viral colonization from micro to macro scale… and the macro is still to come