Sunday, March 9, 2014

Here’s How You Can Watch a Live Stream of Edward Snowden’s Virtual Appearance at SXSW Monday.

The Texas Tribune will be offering a live stream of Edward Snowden’s conversation with ACLU Chief Technologist Christopher Soghoian on Monday. Here’s the link to the stream.Bookmark it and plan to watch Monday, March 10, 12:00 PM EDT.
Surveillance and online privacy look to be one of the biggest topics of conversation at the 2014 SXSW Interactive Festival. The number of sessions on this topic reflect the importance of this issue to the digital creatives who converge in Austin each March. As organizers, SXSW agrees that a healthy debate with regards to the limits of surveillance is vital to the future of the online ecosystem.
On Monday, March 10 at 11:00 am, join us for a conversation between Edward Snowden and Christopher Soghoian, the principal technologist of the American Civil Liberties Union. The conversation will be focused on the impact of the NSA’s spying efforts on the technology community, and the ways in which technology can help to protect us from mass surveillance. Hear directly from Snowden about his beliefs on what the tech community can and must do to secure the private data of the billions of people who rely on the tools and services that we build.
This session will be moderated by Ben Wizner, who is director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy & Technology Project and Edward Snowden’s legal advisor. Audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions.

Source: Disinformation

18 Incredible Images Of The Hindu Festival Maha Shivaratri (PICTURES)

These glorious images show the Hindu festival Maha Shivaratri in full swing.
The hugely colourful event celebrates the Hindu god Shiva, believed to be the lord of cosmic destruction and dance.
Around 700,000 devout Hindus from India and Nepal were expected to travel to Kathmandu to attend the two-day festivities, which began on 27 February, the 14th night of the new moon during the Hindu lunar month of Phalguna.
An Indian Hindu devotee holds a human skull during a procession for Maha Shivaratri, dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Shiva, in Allahabad on February 27, 2014. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting to Lord Shiva, the god of destruction. AFP PHOTO/SANJAY KANOJIA
An Indian Hindu devotee holds a python during a procession for Maha Shivaratri, dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Shiva, in Allahabad on February 27, 2014. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting to Lord Shiva, the god of destruction. AFP PHOTO/SANJAY KANOJIA
An Indian Hindu devotee holds a human bone in his mouth during a procession for Maha Shivaratri, dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Shiva, in Allahabad on February 27, 2014. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting to Lord Shiva, the god of destruction. AFP PHOTO/SANJAY KANOJIA
A sand sculpture of Hindu god Lord Shiva, made by Allahabad University students, is pictured on the eve of Maha Shivaratri festival at Sangam in Allahabad on February 26, 2014. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting to worship Lord Shiva, the lord of destruction. AFP PHOTO/SANJAY KANOJIA
A Hindu Sadhu (holy man) poses for a photograph during the Maha Shivaratri festival at the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu on February 27, 2014. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting. Hundreds of sadhus have arrived in Pashupatinath to take part in the Maha Shivaratri festival. AFP PHOTO/Prakash MATHEMA
A Hindu Sadhu (holy man) smokes marijuana from a clay pipe as a holy offering for Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of creation and destruction, during the Maha Shivaratri festival at the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu on February 27, 2014. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting. Hundreds of sadhus have arrived in Pashupatinath to take part in the Maha Shivaratri festival. AFP PHOTO/Prakash MATHEMA
An Indian Hindu devotee holds a human skull and bone during a procession for Maha Shivaratri, dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Shiva, in Allahabad on February 27, 2014. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting to Lord Shiva, the god of destruction. AFP PHOTO/SANJAY KANOJIA
A Hindu Sadhu (holy man) paints coloured paste onto his face during the Maha Shivaratri festival at the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu on February 27, 2014. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting. Hundreds of sadhus have arrived in Pashupatinath to take part in the Maha Shivaratri festival. AFP PHOTO/Prakash MATHEMA
An Indian boy dressed as Mahatma Gandhi begs for alms from Hindu devotees during the Maha Shivaratri festival outside the Keesaragutta Temple on the outskirts of Hyderabad on February 27, 2014. The festival of Maha Shivaratri is marked by Hindus by fasting and offering prayers in a night long vigil. AFP PHOTO/Noah SEELAM
An Indian Hindu devotee looks on during a procession for Maha Shivaratri, dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Shiva, in Allahabad on February 27, 2014. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting to Lord Shiva, the god of destruction. AFP PHOTO/SANJAY KANOJIA
Indian children sit on an ornamental Ganesha head during a procession for Maha Shivaratri, dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Shiva, in Allahabad on February 27, 2014. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting to Lord Shiva, the god of destruction. AFP PHOTO/SANJAY KANOJIA
An Indian Hindu devotee holds a python during a procession for Maha Shivaratri, dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Shiva, in Allahabad on February 27, 2014. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting to Lord Shiva, the god of destruction. AFP PHOTO/SANJAY KANOJIA
Indian Hindu devotees perform a mock cremation ritual during a procession for Maha Shivaratri, dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Shiva, in Allahabad on February 27, 2014. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting to Lord Shiva, the god of destruction. AFP PHOTO/SANJAY KANOJIA
Indian Hindu devotees perform a mock cremation ritual during a procession for Maha Shivaratri, dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Shiva, in Allahabad on February 27, 2014. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting to Lord Shiva, the god of destruction. AFP PHOTO/SANJAY KANOJIA
Indian Hindu devotees perform a mock cremation ritual during a procession for Maha Shivaratri, dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Shiva, in Allahabad on February 27, 2014. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting to Lord Shiva, the god of destruction. AFP PHOTO/SANJAY KANOJIA
An Indian Sadhu (Hindu Holy man) smokes marijuna during Maha Shivaratri at Chadmani Shiva temple in Siliguri on February 27, 2014. The festival of Maha Shivaratri is marked by Hindus by fasting and offering prayers in a night long vigil. AFP PHOTO /Diptendu DUTTA
Indian Hindu devotees offer prayers during the Maha Shivaratri festival dedicated to the Hindu God Lord Shiva, at a temple in Amritsar on February 27, 2014. The festival of Maha Shivaratri is marked by Hindus through fasting and offering prayers in a night long vigil. AFP PHOTO/ NARINDER NANU
An Indian man dressed as Hindu god Kali begs for alms from Hindu devotees on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri at Chadmani Shiva temple in Siliguri on February 27, 2014. The festival of Maha Shivaratri is marked by Hindus by fasting and offering prayers in a night long vigil. AFP PHOTO /Diptendu DUTTA
Source: The Huffington Post

Beatles Guitarist George Harrison 'Lit Up the Room' When He Died.

Surprisingly, reports of the 'dying light' are not rare. Neuropsychiatrist Peter Fenwick was amazed to find in a survey of palliative carers thatone in every three reported accounts of “a radiant light that envelops the dying person, and may spread throughout the room and involve the carer”. In a similar Dutch study, the numbers were even more staggering: more than half of all carers reported observations of this light!
Another, high-profile example of the 'dying light'. Olivia Harrison, wife of former Beatles guitarist George Harrison, gave this account of his passing for the Martin Scorcese-directed documentary about his life, George Harrison: Living in the Material World (0:26 mark):


There was a profound experience that happened when he left his body. It was visible. Let’s just say, you wouldn’t need to light the room, if you were trying to film it. He just…lit the room.
Olivia Harrison's testimony sounds very similar to Peter Fenwick's description, “a radiant light that envelops the dying person, and may spread throughout the room", and seems befitting of the passing of a man who was very interested in mysticism, consciousness, and being personally prepared for our own death. As Harrison himself put it on one of the songs on his 1970 solo album All Things Must Pass, "nothing in this life that I've been trying, could equal or surpass the art of dying".
You can read more reports of the 'dying light', and other fascinating end-of-life experiences, in Stop Worrying! There Probably is an Afterlife (available in Paperback andKindle eBook editions).
Source Daily Grail