Truth For A Change
8.06.2006
  Truth For A Change with Joe Friendly
Truth For A Change with Joe Friendly
When President Fidel Castro announced on July 31, 2006 that he felt so weakened by illness and overwork that he was going to step down, at least temporarily, it occurred to me that what I had written in 1973 in my not well published manuscript, The Birthdate Phenomenon, would be of considerable importance to him. [In the 70's I published myself in Xerox of 300 copies, submitting a copy to my alma mater Caltech's library, for example, and trying to sell it in Berkeley, California in a couple bookstores, but giving away lots of copies.]

In particular, I had discovered that people tend to over-react on the day 2 weeks before their birthday and also the day 2 weeks before their half birthday, feeling a surprising weakness indicating a permanent deterioration of their physical and/or mental condition. Typically 2 weeks later the symptoms abate and in retrospect it is apparent there was over-reaction.

I have taken the preliminary steps to get this writing to the attention to Fidel and will keep you informed of my progress. My big wish is for Fidel to publicly announce that he has discovered this new Copernicus in the US and introduce me and my writings to the world, including my birthday theory and my plan for peaceful, but total revolution. Just the idea of his reading out loud my plan for revolution would be a huge step in that direction, the idea that for the people to be able to really control their economic system they should be owners of the corporations, and that they should wake up to the fact that our foreign policy has not been promoting democracy and freedom but the opposite.

The book I had chosen in my plan for revolution, for the entire US public to read to wake up, Killing Hope by William Blum, was similar to the choice of Osama Bin Laden announced January 2006 for waking up the American people, by the same author, Rogue Nation. Turns out Osama and me share the same birthday, March 10. William Blum's is March 6. Here is the 1973 article:

The Birthdate Phenomenon: Applications (page 145 of 1974 book manuscript)

An Important Discovery

Here's a simple but extremely important and useful discovery to come of studying the Birthdate Phenomenon.

IT TURNS OUT that people tend to go through a surprising period of unusual weakness, confusion, and anxiety for about a two week period right before their half-birthdate, that is, about two weeks before the point six months from their birthdate. There is also to be noted a similar period of weakness and anxiety right before the birthdate.

Without being aware of this birthdate effect people, and their doctors, tend to over-react to the puzzling symptoms, fearing that the sudden and inexplicable downturn in physical and/or mental.state signals some ominous deterioration of the body or mind. Often there is feared the beginnings of a nervous breakdown or other mental disorder.

It is common in such instances for the individual to be hospitalized or committed
to a mental institution. An example is Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau’s wife entering a mental hospital at the beginning of September 1973 because of sudden attacks of unexplainable anxiety just about two weeks before her birthdate and then released about two weeks after her birthday. Another example was the concern in China and the rest of the world in mid-December 1973 that Chairman Mao (December 26) was dying which turned out to be a false alarm.

Typically, the symptoms disappear by the birthdate or half-birthdate whether treated or not. So being aware of the birthdate effect can be quite helpful both to the individual and doctors and psychologists. Especially in cases of anxiety, once the individual is assured it will pass in two weeks the treatment need only be to take it easy for the two weeks, get plenty of sleep and rest, and to see lots of entertaining movies.

Now, to be complete, there may be some serious physical breakdown in the period of weakness and vulnerability that does require treatment, but even where surgery is required as, for example, to open a constricted artery, it is often decided to wait a couple weeks for the patient to get stronger so as to better endure the trauma of surgery.

I have come across several hundred cases of this surprising period of anxiety and confusion. Typically, in asking people their birthdate I will recognize a recently passed half-birthdate and ask if the individual went through a rough time of mental anguish, say, three or four weeks ago. “Oh yes, I sure did, it was strange, how did you know that?" is a very common kind of reply.

Exactly why there is this effect I can only speculate. Since we are dealing with a sine wave phenomenon, we would expect the effect greatest and most observable at the
180 degree and 360 degree points, corresponding to the half-birthdate and birthdate.

By analogy to other physical systems involving sine curves, the two week periods immediately before these points correspond to times of maximum dissonance, like the grating disharmony of playing two musical notes right next to each other.
Finally, I would point out that with our country in many ways having come to move backwards, things getting worse each day rather than better, and people reaching into the past for memories of better times rather than reaching into the future with plans and hope, I've begun to observe cases of weakness immediately after the birthday and half-birthdate. The cure is to get our country moving forward again, of course.

* * * * *
End of Article

In the 33 years since that writing, I have come to see this phenomenal period of weakness 2 weeks before the birthday and half-birthday a very large number of times, confirming what I had written way back. I would explain it a little better now, that there is apparently a 28-day sinusoidal biorhythm with birthday as the point between the below zero half of the sine wave and the positive half. That makes the point 2 weeks before the birthday the beginning of the descent into negativity, and 7 days later the lowest point. Birthday thus marks the ascent into positive, with the highest point 7 days later. Sorry I don't have a diagram to show you. That would make it so much easier for lots of folks to understand what I am trying to explain.

So, time will tell whether Fidel is actually provided with the above words to consider in deciding whether he over-reacted and is now feeling so much better that he can resume his presidential duties, or at least embark on some ambitious new path like promoting revolution in the US and appreciation of birthday's importance worldwide.
 
2.21.2006
  Was I too hard on Harold? The birthday theory
Watching today the Conversation with Harold Channer and me I felt uncomfortable about how hard I came down on him. I was reacting to an inner sense that his questioning was destructive, distracting, and needlessly doubtful plus having heard from so many people complaining about his interruptions and longwinded rambling. So I did let him know I wasn't happy with his style of interruption. But I think I wont over the top calling him names.

I have had several very long conversations with Harold about his interrupting and last night I had another long conversation with him at his place about his interviewing and conversation skills. When I complained that he resorted to the same pet phrases with each guest, like "blowing in the wind" and "history is a nightmare" and Fukiyama's end of history, I was surprised with his defending it that it was new to each guest. But it is not new to your audience I came back with, only to hear him say that he didn't care what his audience felt about it. That took me aback bigtime! Producers are supposed to care about that, I felt. But Harold felt some justification like artists that don't try to please anyone but themselves, and by just focussing on that they produce great art. Harold also alluded, last night, to his approach to conversation as like the spontaneous improvisation of jamming in jazz. To that I said that improvisation required genuine spontaneity and not rehashing old riffs, old pet phrases, old shtick. After the show Harold telephoned to say he wanted me to email him my birthday trip to study, which I am about to do.
At my request Harold passed the phone eventually to his partner Margie and she told me she felt that I gave him a needed kick in the butt about his interrupting, that just about all his guests do after doing a show with him.

Here is what I am going to send him, but without the diagrams which I can't pick up with a cut and paste, so I will have to urge you to go to
http://friendly.home.pipeline.com/birthday.html for the complete version


A Theory for the Significance of Birthday by Joseph Friendly


Birthday is too important to leave to the archaic premises of astrology.

Birthday is important because the sun is so important in our environment

and timing and order of experiences are so crucial in human neural development.

It is argued here that birthday provides us a very useful compass to sort human

natures like the Periodic Table sorts the chemical elements with rows and columns,

a solar compass to help us get our bearings in the confusing human universe, the

basis of a new psychology and a new approach to philosophy.



[ Please go to http://friendly.home.pipeline.com/birthday.html]


The envelope of energy that we receive day by day in the course of a year from the sun varies as a huge sine cycle, one cycle per year, with a range of amplitude, all positive, from about 150 calories per square centimeter per day in December to about 800 or more calories per day in June, the maximum ranging from about 700 to 900 calories depending on latitude.

Individuals of different birthdays, which amount to different phase angles of
the annual solar energy sine wave, will experience systematically different looking 3-month and 12-month environmental profiles with respect to the sun.

Birthday is important not because of what happens on the day of birth, but

because day of birth happens to be a mathematically profound index of systematically

different environmental patterns with respect to the sun when our neural systems are

known to develop their individual forms of organization, integration.


Either the human nervous system has evolved to respond to these

systematically different solar environmental patterns which correspond to a basic

mathematical dimension: phase on the annual solar energy sine envelope, or it has

not! I claim, "Of course it has!" in the tradition of Copernicus urging us to

center upon the sun for understanding what's going on.


Most animals have particular times of year that they are born characteristic

of their species. Their characteristic personalities can be seen as a result, in

large part, of each species experiencing particular environmental patterns as it

develops its neural organization. What makes human nature mysterious are human

females having about 12-13 eggs ripening throughout the span of each year and

conceptions and births occurring throughout each year.


The argument here is to see this as a system evolved to maximize the variety

of ways of organizing human neural systems: A full variety of ways of dealing with

situations and making sense.


What is the likely physiological mechanism for the birthday effect?

According to a review article (1997) in the Journal of Biorhythms by TA Wehr of the

NIH Dept of Clinical Psychobiology,

“The human retinohypothalamic-pineal (RHP) axis
is capable of detecting changes in the length of night
and in producing the melatonin message
which other animals use to trigger seasonal changes. …
It is not yet known whether or how human systems respond
to the seasonal melatonin message.”


As for whether human systems respond, from my observing for 40 years

birthday effects in adults including extensive contact with thousands of customers

in my You Can Help Manhattan moving company ---at some point learning their

birthdays--- talking at length about their own love life and their parents’ marriages

and how they got along with siblings and bosses, friends, etc., along with talking

about their traits and such other things as their politics, tastes, interests,

beliefs, it seems apparent there exist out there patterns of traits in the birthday

spectrum which astrological generalizations about character undertake to allude to.

As for how human systems respond, that is, what mechanism relates melatonin

signaling to character differences, from my observing differences in the adult, what

is apparent is there are systematic differences in neural programming architecture

of the very systems responsible for overall integration and organization.

Also, not only length of night as sensed by the RHP axis, but direct solar

energy levels sensed by the skin and other organs and the indirect effects of

seasonality, in the natural and even social environment, may also be the stimulation

we respond to, to differentially program us in early human development how to deal

with the variety of situational differences in life.

For the differential programming I suggest we look to the brainstem and its

flowering top the Hypothalamus and Thalamus, which have the role of together acting

like a computer’s CPU: Central Processing Unit, processing our neural information

from the body’s senses and organs and from senses in the head among the various

neural organs and back to the body’s muscles, nerves, and various organs.

In other words, what we think of as the workings of the brain is popularly

attributed to the cortex, but the cortex seems to function more like computer memory

than central processor. The surprising point here is that the Thalamus and

Hypothalamus are positioned to optimally present themselves to the sun: the

thalamus with its 2 petals or wing-like structures on either side of the pineal

gland in the path of light through the eye region, and the hypothalamus in closest

proximity to the pineal, right behind it, as if Evolution were providing opportunity

beyond only RHP melatonin signaling for solar energy variation over time to directly

affect neural processing parameters.

Apparently, Nature's plan for the human species was for a methodically

universal variety of neural programming according to birthday: A full variety of

different human natures, different approaches to reality, viewpoints, to evolve in

competition and cooperation with each other.

Birthday turns out to be the long sought key to untying that knot known as

the mystery of Human Nature by revealing that human nature is actually a circular

birthday spectrum of different human natures. The circle is not mere metaphor. The

circular geometry well approximates actual biological forces by corresponding to

phase angle on the annual solar energy sine wave experienced by the individual as

result of birthday.

Each part of the whole circle, each birthday group, should best be studied

individually as a particular form of human nature with its own physiology, its own

forms of neural integration and ways of making sense.

Angular relationships among the various birthday groups on the circle turn

out to provide useful basis for generalization. From the 40 years’ observation I

have concluded people with birthdays 6 months apart generally tend to appreciate

each other and this is the best combination for friendships, partnerships, and

marriage, while people of birthdays 3 months apart tend to contradict and annoy one

another.

Astrology has come to the same conclusion, but introduces additional

variables in terms of celestial events like motions of the planets and moon that

create contradictions among generalizations serving the function of fudge factors to

provide excuses when sun sign generalizations alone happen to fail.

I have concluded birthdays of parents is an important second order variable

for refining birthday generalization.

Compared with other factors science has studied in the human domain, the

huge annual solar energy cycle is in a class all its own, with such a huge

variation, over 400%, that phase on this cycle ---which amounts to birthday--- can

be considered a very strong force in individual development.

Significant birthday differences have been reported occasionally in the

scientific literature. My own survey of about 5000 with a specially designed

questionnaire demonstrated birthday differences in response to such questions as,


Do you like to argue?
Are you a good card player?
Do you have much of a temper?
Are you more idealist than realist?

What has been lacking is a plausible theory consistent with contemporary science

for how birthday might play such a role in human development. There is so much data

in terms of birthday that can be analyzed once the usefulness is contemplated.

Eventually we may learn of the birthdate effect as a whole people, together, by

watching on TV several people of the same birthday, their similarities and

differences pointed out by expert questioning.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Frequently asked questions:
1. What about other latitudes, like the Southern Hemisphere?
Answer: For what surprisingly little land actually there is in the Southern Hemisphere’s Temperate Zone it would be necessary to make a 6 month shift in birthday generalizations to match solar environments and birthday characteristics observable in the Northern Temperate Zone.
This provides a valuable opportunity to test the theory here proposed, whether there is observable this 6 month shift of birthday traits. For Equatorial and Arctic latitudes there would be predicted different human characteristics.

2. Isn’t time of conception important?
Answer: We are dealing with a system of human differentiation that has evolved with both birthtime and time of conception playing a role. I have no data by way of observations to suggest what effect an early or late birth makes compared with a normal gestation period. The isolation in modern hospitals from the natural environment, particularly that pre-maturely born neonates experience for a month or more seems unfortunate and cries for correction.

3. How does this fit in with biorhythms?
Answer: I have definitely observed individuals experience a time of problematic relation to their environment such as vulnerability to illness and accident, a general tiredness, even a tendency to conflict with associates, in the period 2 weeks before the birthday and 2 weeks before the point 6 months from the birthday, which is most extreme on the first day of these 2-week periods.
This contrasts with how biorhythms are figured, neglecting entrainment of birthday with current year which is argued here, and simply counting 23, 28, and 32 day periods all the way back to time of birth.

Joseph Friendly
joefriendly@earthlink.net
 
2.11.2006
  Truth For A Change with Joe Friendly
Party time Sunday at 106th Street Park?
I didn't mention a time when I put at the end of Friday's program, Feb 10, an invitation for a Sunday party February 12 for viewers of Truth For A Change at the park on Broadway and 106th Street and now several inches of snow are predicted! I'll be there from noon to 4, more or less, to meet anyone who takes me up on the offer.

Any comments on Friday's show with Sharin? A friendly revolution?

Give me a call at 212 864 2828 and we'll see what else we can come up with to meet and talk.
 
1.29.2006
  Singer's name for Palestine Needs Her Freedom: Lucie Murphy
In the post about filling in the last 13 minutes with a song, I didn't have the singer's name. She did such a wonderful job I wanted her to get full credit.

Lucie Murphy

"Palestine Needs Her Freedom!",

You can download her song as sung at the Palestine Demonstration of March 2002 in Washington at the link noted, sinkers.org.
RealAudio, 03min 25sec
.wav file, 4.3MB
 
  How did viewers like Thursday Jan 26 informal arguing about Palestine?
I thought I broke new ground with the Thursday Jan 26 program, devoting about 45 minutes to what seemed like just a couple people arguing about the Palestinians' right of return to land seized by Israel. I was so impressed with the Palestinian student of International Affairs, Rhanda (spelling?), her committment to dialogue and reasoning that I felt it deserved an airing. With the 13 minutes remaining I was able to find in my archives a lovely song about Palestine needing our love in which the singer gets the church audience to sing along, and then a report from some Jewish people returning from a visit with Palestinians testifying to how well they were treated, even after their Jewishness was pointed up.

I am curious how the program went over with viewers, but the program the next day, with Belafonte, Ratner, and Ritter, was the major salvo against the Bush administration outrage in Iraq that I feel was really worth getting excited about.
 
1.22.2006
  Bush Crimes Against Humanity
I had the honor of capturing on video the entire weekend event entitled, the Final Session of the 2005-2006 International Commission of Inquiry On Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Adminstration of the United States, January 20-22. (I also captured the entire first session in October 2005, sharing what I shot with DemocracyNow! and airing highlights on Truth For A Change, mainly Denis Halliday, Ann Wright, Ray McGovern, and Camilo Mejia. There is planned for February 2, 2006 a presentation of the Commission verdict in Washington.

On Friday, January 27, 2006 I presented on Truth For A Change virtually in their entirety the talks by Harry Belafonte and Michael Ratner and the testimony of Scott Ritter examined by Ray McGovern, with some Larry Everest and Clark Kissinger appearing briefly. I felt it was such a strong combination that it should be distributed as widely as possible. I have contacted BushCommission.org urging their helping with distribution, and will be giving them a DVD Monday for them to begin with at least putting it up on their site for download and sale.

Monday's TFAC will have Chris Fox and Daphne Wysham on Bush's irresponsible response to the Global Warming crisis. Tuesday will be Dahr Jamail on the destructiveness of US occupation of Iraq and Jeremy Scahill on targeting journalists there. Wednesday will be Tom Goldtooth testimony on polution of tribal lands and Alan Berkman testimony on Bush policy making AIDS treatment unaffordable around the world. Thursday will be testimony by former general Janice Karpinsky and Padilla's lawyer Donna Newman. Resuming the week after that will be for Monday, Barbara Olshansky on torture.


Here is the program of the event: FRIDAY EVENING, January 20, 5:30 - 9 pm, Riverside Church, 91 Claremont Avenue

5:30 - 6:15 pm
Introduction
C. Clark Kissinger, Not in Our Name
Harry Belefonte provided an overview of the evil empire
Michael Ratner, president, Center for Constitutional Rights

Introduction of the Judges:
Adjoa Aiyetoro, Professor of Law, University of Arkansas
Dennis Brutus, former prisoner, Robbens Island, South Africa, poet, Professor, University of Pittsburgh
Abdeen Jabara, former President, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Ajamu Sankofa, Executive Director, Physicians for Social Responsibility-NY
Ann Wright, former US diplomat and retired US Army Reserve Colonel

6:15-6:45 Alan Berkman on AIDS and Global Health (He had to give his presentation on Friday rather than as part of the Saturday program that took up this issue because of personal committments.)
6:45 - 9 pm
Wars of Aggression
Scott Ritter, former UN weapons inspector. Ritter's testimony taken by former CIA analyst Ray McGovern - on Bush WMD claims
Lindsey German, Convenor, UK Stop the War Coalition
Dahr Jamail, independent journalist, reported on Fallujah massacre
Jeremy Scahill, The Nation, reported on targetting of journalists
David Swanson, AfterDowningStreet.org - on the Downing Street memo
Larry Everest, author, "Oil, Power & Empire: Iraq and the U.S. Global Agenda"
Video footage documenting commission of war crimes during occupation


SATURDAY, January 21, 10:30 am - 6 pm, Riverside Church, 91 Claremont Avenue

10:30 am - 12:30 pm
Destruction of the Global Environment
Ted Glick, Climate Crisis Coalition
Also Chris Fox, Chairman, Department of Environmental Science & Technology, Community College of Baltimore County -spoke on world scientific community's concensus on global warming.
Tom Goldtooth, Indigenous Environmental Network, on degradation of tribal environments
Daphne Wysham, Institute for Policy Studies, Sustainable Energy & Economy Network
Josh Tulkin, environmental scientist - on relationship between Katrina and global warming

1:30 Award to Craig Murray for his courage by Ray McGovern
1:40 - 5:30 pm
Torture, Rendition, Illegal Detention, and Murder
Barbara Olshansky, Center for Constitutional Rights, lawyer for Guantanamo prisoners - on the background of detention
Eric Lerner, New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee
Donna Newman, attorney for Jose Padilla
Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, former commander Abu Ghraib prison - on Bush Administration responsibility for the torture, examined by Marjorie Cohn, President-elect of National Lawyers Guild
Craig Murray, former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan - on use of torture





SUNDAY, January 22, 1 - 5 pm, Columbia University Law School, 116th & Amsterdam Avenue

1:15 pm
Attacks on Global Public Health and Reproductive Rights
William Smith, Vice President for Public Policy, Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States
Prof. Ida Susser, of Columbia University, School of Public Health, on the impact on women of Bush administration's policies
Dr. Thomas Fasy, Associate Professor of Pathology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
[more witnesses TBA]

3:15 pm
Katrina
Chokwe Lumumba, lawyer and human rights activist
Carl Dix, National Spokesperson, Revolutionary Communist Party
D. McBride, who was left to drown in a New Orleans prisoner when Katrina struck
Expert (TBA) on the state of levies in New Orleans
Expert (TBA) on "redevelopment" of New Orleans
 
6.08.2004
  video catalogue description and price
name subject mins price
martin luther king archived material
scott ritter and the 911 families at riverside church
mrs.mariani speaks about her law suit and king george
 
Startling examples of speeches and commentary about US government wrongdoing typically kept from the public by corporate media. An ongoing hour-long video series cablecast Monday thru Friday mornings at 9:30-10:30 am over Manhattan Neighborhood Network Channel 34 and streaming at www.mnn.org and selecting Channel 34

ARCHIVES
June 2004 / January 2006 / February 2006 / August 2006 /


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