Speedlinking 8/25/06

~ Image of the day comes from cankersoar at deviantART.

And with that, another cycle of speedlinks is underway.

~ The Zero Boss offers his insights on losing weight -- these are pretty useful tips, so if you're in the market for a new, smaller you, take a look.

~ ebuddha at Integral Practice takes a look at The Green Lantern Theory: Personal Change is a Matter of Will - Is this Accurate? As someone who works with people wanting to change their lives, I can attest that simply willing the change will get most people about as far as willing a rain storm on a clear summer day. If you don't deal with the emotional blocks to change, no amount of willpower will fix anything. Further, if you don't address the subpersonalities responsible for the behavior you want to change, you'll also not get very far for very long. "Change" is a complex issue that far exceeds the force of willpower.

~ Nagarjuna at Naked Reflections is reviewing Tony Robbins' Unlimited Power chapter by chapter, and he has the first one up now.

~ Paul Salamone wants you to listen to some old Sonic Youth. He's right.

~ Umguy at ideological putty thinks you should listen to some M Ward. I'll look for it.

~ Corey W. deVos, posting on Ken Wilber's blog, advocates an integral approach to combatting AIDS/HIV in Africa. There aren't any real solutions here, just a sales pitch for the KW version of integral thinking.

~ Tuff Ghost at vomiting confetti offers a response to Ray Harris's article on integral jurisprudence from yesterday.

~ Another helping of del.icio.us links from P2P Foundation.

~ And now, for some comic relief, I offer Ann Coulter's most recent column. Here's a fun quote in which she attacks the Dems:

To wit, they're claiming there is no connection between the war on terror and the war in Iraq , and while they're all for the war against terror -- absolutely in favor of that war -- they are adamantly opposed to the Iraq war.

It's so easy to dismantle her arguments. Rational people, including more and more Republicans, are opposed to the Iraq War because it has created more terrorists and a greater threat to American security than ever existed before we invaded Iraq. War in Iraq derails the "war on terror."

And there are a great many of us who see the "war on terror" as it is currently being waged as about as productive and successful as the "war on drugs." Terror attacks around the world have been increasing each year of this new war.

See how fun that was? Now why doesn't the MSM do the same damn thing?

~ Harper's takes a look at the force-feeding of detainees in Guantánamo Bay who wanted to wage a hunger strike to protest their being held without rights or charges.

~ Edward O. Wilson, writing in the New Republic, makes an impassioned plea for a new Christian environmentalism. [Free registration required.] Here is a power-quote:

Do these differences in worldview separate us in all things? They do not. You and I and every other human being strive for the same imperatives of security, freedom of choice, personal dignity, and a cause to believe in that is larger than ourselves. Let us see, then, if we can meet on the near side of metaphysics in order to deal with the real world we share. You have the power to help solve a great problem about which I care deeply. I hope you have the same concern. I suggest that we set aside our differences in order to save the Creation. The defense of living nature is a universal value. It doesn't rise from, nor does it promote, any religious or ideological dogma. Rather, it serves without discrimination the interests of all humanity. Pastor, we need your help. The Creation--living nature--is in deep trouble.

~ In the realm of good news, a federal judge has rejected a Bush plan to log Sequoia National Park, home to two-thirds of the world's largest trees.

~ Alas, poor Pluto is no longer a planet.

~ According to Forbes, Milwaukee is America's drunkest city. The rest of the top five, in order: Minneapolis-St. Paul, Columbus, Ohio; Boston; and Austin, Texas.

~ Frank Visser comments on his association with the rabid anti-integral blogger Geoff Falk, and links to a new parody piece on Wilber that Falk has posted. Falk serves his purpose, but he is so anti-Wilber and anti-integral that he loses any stature he might gain with his criticism due to his emotional hatred of all things Wilber. I'm telling ya, there must be a woman involved.

Okay then, make that last because I will be away from my computer for most of the day.

Tags: Frank Visser, Ken Wilber, Geoff Falk, drunk cities, Pluto, Sequoia National Park, Edqard O Wilson, Christian environmentalism, hunger strike, detainees, Ann Coulter, integral jurisprudence, speedliking, AIDS/HIV, Africa, M Ward, Sonic Youth, Tony Robbins, willpower, change, losing weight, deviantART