House Republicans & the US of A

 

I am embarrassed for the Republican Party, now that 2023 is here and the GOP has the majority in the House...

What is going on in the House is no different that the former GONG SHOW on TV...

I wouldn't vote for a REPUBLICAN now if you paid me...

On the other side of the coin, I wouldn't vote for a Democrat either after listening to all their lies and what they have done since Biden became President.

This country's leadership SUCKS...

• We deserve to become a 3rd rate nation
• We deserve piss poor education and educator
• We deserve crime and violence in our cities
• We deserve an increase in drug addiction
• We deserve immigrants to ruin our quality of life

I am so glad that I am retired and 75...  Cannot wait to see what the next generation does after experiencing what this one is doing...

There won't be anything left but Billionaires and IDIOTS...   and, people like me.

Pond Fish

 

Colossus

 

Checking Boxes

 

African American Artist - Kara Walker

Kara Elizabeth Walker (born November 26, 1969) is an American contemporary painter, silhouettist, print-maker, installation artist, filmmaker, and professor who explores race, gender, sexuality, violence, and identity in her work. She is best known for her room-size tableaux of black cut-paper silhouettes. Walker was awarded a MacArthur fellowship in 1997, at the age of 28, becoming one of the youngest ever recipients of the award.  She has been the Tepper Chair in Visual Arts at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University since 2015.

Walker is regarded as among the most prominent and acclaimed Black American artists working today.

Walker was born in 1969 in Stockton, California.  Her father, Larry Walker, was a painter and professor.  Her mother Gwendolyn was an administrative assistant.  A 2007 review in the New York Times described her early life as calm, noting that "nothing about [Walker's] very early life would seem to have predestined her for this task. Born in 1969, she grew up in an integrated California suburb, part of a generation for whom the uplift and fervor of the civil rights movement and the want-it-now anger of Black Power were yesterday's news." 

When Walker was 13, her father accepted a position at Georgia State University. They settled in the city of Stone Mountain.  The move was a culture shock for the young artist. In sharp contrast with the multi-cultural environment of coastal California, Stone Mountain still held Ku Klux Klan rallies. At her new high school, Walker recalls, "I was called a 'nigger,' told I looked like a monkey, accused (I didn't know it was an accusation) of being a 'Yankee.'" 

Walker received her BFA from the Atlanta College of Art in 1991 and her MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1994.  Walker found herself uncomfortable and afraid to address race within her art during her early college years, worrying it would be received as "typical" or "obvious"; however, she began introducing race into her art while attending Rhode Island School of Design for her Master's.

Walker recalls reflecting on her father's influence: "One of my earliest memories involves sitting on my dad's lap in his studio in the garage of our house and watching him draw. I remember thinking: 'I want to do that, too,' and I pretty much decided then and there at age 2½ or 3 that I was an artist just like Dad."

Setting Aside ONE THIRD of our Planet for Nature

It's being called a last chance for nature - 100 countries backing calls to protect 30% of the planet.  The aim is to reach this goal by 2030 and conserve forests and other vital ecosystems in order to restore the natural world.  The "30x30" target is the key ambition of the UN biodiversity summit, COP 15

But as the talks in Montreal, Canada, move into their final days, there is division over this and many other targets.  Biodiversity refers to all living things, from polar bears to plankton, and the way they fit together to sustain life on Earth.

Scientists have warned that with forests and grasslands being lost at unprecedented rates and oceans under pressure from pollution and over-fishing, humans are pushing the Earth beyond safe limits. This includes increasing the risk of diseases, like SARs CoV-2, Ebola and HIV, spilling over from wild animals into human populations.

Under the proposed agreement, countries would sign up to targets to expand protected areas, such as nature reserves. It draws inspiration from the so-called "father of biodiversity", the biologist Edward O Wilson, who called for half of Earth to be protected.

But there is debate over how much land and sea to include, and some scientists fear the targets may be diluted.  READ MORE...

Existential Threats of Truth and Reality

We see TRUTH as something that is relatively easy to understand in that, one either tells the truth or one lies...  but, it is not that easy when one is not saying anything.

For example, when one media outlet reports that there are illegal immigrants coming across our southern borders and another media outlet does not report that at all...  which one is telling the truth?

Just because something is reported does not make it true, nor does not reporting something make it true either...

So what then in TRUTH?

Is my truth just my reality and belongs to no one else or is reality shared?  And how many people must share that reality in order for it to be perceived as truth?

Here is another example...

What about the theoretical?

Some physicists believe that everything is composed of very tiny vibrating filaments of energy called strings, but they cannot be seen...  it is just a theory.

Where is the truth in this and is that truth enough to create a reality?

Yet another example...

We live in the present truth of time.  What is happening right now.  But, a second after that reality of time, it is gone.  

• Where did it go to?  
• Did it really exist?  
• Was it real?  
• Is that time reality our truth?

Some say that truth is whatever that is written down by those who won the war.  And, while that makes sense...  it may not be that truthful...  for example...  do you think that the history of slavery would be written any differently if it had been written by slaves instead of slave owners?

Of course it would...

So, is our slavery history not correct and if so, then it is not truthful...  and the reality of slavery is fundamentally different than we think its reality has been portrayed.

This is a serious existential threat...  to our future as well as our present...  however, it does not really impact the past as the past has already happened and cannot be replayed...  replaying the past is not the same as retelling the past.

Who is responsible for accurately conveying the TRUTH that ultimately creates our REALITY?

Pipebots to Stop Leaks

Around three billion litres of water are lost through leaks across hundreds of thousands of miles of water pipe in England and Wales daily, says water industry economic regulator Ofwat.  Engineers have now developed miniature robots to patrol the pipe network, check for faults and prevent leaks.  They say maintaining the network will be "impossible" without robotics.  Water industry body Water UK told BBC News that companies were already "investing billions" in leakage.

But a recent Ofwat report pointed to a lack of investment by water companies. It named several that it said were "letting down customers and the environment" by not spending enough on improvements. Water UK responded saying that leakage was at "its lowest level since privatisation".

Leaks are a widespread and complicated problem: Across the UK, hundreds of thousands of kilometres of pipe - of varying age and in varying condition - supply millions of properties with water.

Colin Day from Essex and Suffolk Water said: "In [this region] alone, we look after more than 8,500km (5,282 miles) of pipe and only about half the leaks in those pipes are visible, which means it's complicated to pinpoint where [the rest] are."

Wasted water has been a particularly sensitive issue this year. According to Water UK, three companies - South East Water, South West Water, and Yorkshire Water - still have localised hosepipe bans in place following the summer drought. And, amid the cost of living crisis, Ofwat estimates 20% of customers in England and Wales struggle to pay their water bill.  In the last year, though, according to Ofwat, companies have reduced leakage by an average of about 6%.

The industry has committed to a government target of halving the amount of water lost by 2050. Water UK accepted that progress needed to "accelerate". "We're adopting the latest technology, including special in-pipe cameras; satellite imaging; thermal drone technology, high-tech probes, and artificial intelligence," it told BBC News.  READ MORE...

Relativism

Relativism, roughly put, is the view that truth and falsity, right and wrong, standards of reasoning, and procedures of justification are products of differing conventions and frameworks of assessment and that their authority is confined to the context giving rise to them. More precisely, “relativism” covers views which maintain that—at a high level of abstraction—at least some class of things have the properties they have (e.g., beautiful, morally good, epistemically justified) not simpliciter, but only relative to a given framework of assessment (e.g., local cultural norms, individual standards), and correspondingly, that the truth of claims attributing these properties holds only once the relevant framework of assessment is specified or supplied. Relativists characteristically insist, furthermore, that if something is only relatively so, then there can be no framework-independent vantage point from which the matter of whether the thing in question is so can be established. 

So, what does this mean to us?

It means that we can never achieve the pursuit of equality and equity since this perception of relativism is prevelent in our society.  This is going to be hard for some of us to understand and/or accept.  Logically, we can see that everyone is not the same regarding their height, beauty, athletic or musical ability, and intelligence...  This makes sense to us...  to some degree.  BUT PERCEPTION is not as easily accepted.  And, when one marries perception and personality, then it becomes even more difficult to accept becasuse we do not associate either one of those terms with behavior or ccommunications.

Therein lies our problem.

• What causes someone to become seen as a genius?
• What causes someone to be a doer instead of a thinker?
• What causes someone to be a leader rather than a follower?

While we can never be definitive on answering those questions as there so so many factors that could contribute to the influence, we do accept that perception and personality are some of those influences.

• What motivates a thinker is different than a doer...
• What motivates a genius is different than what motivates a non-genius...
• What motivate a leader is different than what motivates a follower...

Not only is this logical but it is also common sense.

How many people do you know that have no or little common sense?

If you are like me, there are many...

TO ME...  THIS IS THE FOUDATION OF RELATIVISM...    think about that...

How long will it last if we try to FORCE EVERYONE to accept EQUALITY and EQUITY which is exactly what the liberals, progressives, and blacks want us to do...

What I find really interesting is that blacks only represent 12% of the US population whereas whites represent 60% five times greater...

These different percentages are a perfect example of relativism...  all we have to do is look at the way we were raised and the stories that we share with our children...  and, even more important is the way whites and black worship...

I was raised in the South, NC specifically, and my upbringing and history lessons were different than those who were raised in the North...  this alone causes relativism...

Two Turtles

 

Orca

 

Venezuela and Socialism

In the 1950s, Venezuela was the fourth wealthiest country in the world. Today, Venezuela is poorer than it was prior to the 1920s, its infrastructure is deteriorating, and its economy has been shrinking since the turn of the century. Hyperinflation (out of control price increases) has left the currency worthless and made it almost impossible for Venezuelans to afford basic necessities. Millions have fled the country’s inhospitable conditions. 

How did the country go from having a GDP on par with that of the United States, New Zealand, and Switzerland to having almost 90% of the population living in poverty?

Introduction
This brief takes a closer look at Venezuela’s past and present social, political, and economic circumstances, the role socialist policies played, and how this relates to conversations within our own government. Understanding the history of such an evolution is an important way to keep similar tendencies from reaching other shores, including our own.

Case Studies: On the Ground in Venezuela
In what was once Latin America’s richest nation, over 75% of Venezuelans are living in extreme poverty. According to a September 2021 report from the National Survey of Living Conditions, created in 2014 to make up for the absence of official data, the percentage of Venezuelans living in extreme poverty rose from 67.7% to 76.6%. This is a reversal of the improvement in previous years after the government started cash transfers and relaxed price controls. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the crisis in Venezuela that had already been ongoing for years; before the pandemic, the UN World Food Programme estimated one-third of Venezuelans struggled to get enough food to meet the minimum nutritional requirements.

The U.S. State Department announced in September 2021 that it was sending $247 million in humanitarian assistance and $89 million in economic and development assistance to aid “Venezuelans in their home country and Venezuelan refugees, migrants, and their host communities in the region.” This includes $120 million from the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration; and $216 million through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), bringing total U.S. humanitarian, economic, development, and health assistance for the Venezuela crisis to more than $1.9 billion since 2017. 

This includes:

Food assistance;
Emergency shelter;
Access to health care, water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies;
COVID-19 support;
Protection for vulnerable groups including women, children, and indigenous people;
Assistance to democratic actors within Venezuela;
Integration support for communities that host Venezuelan refugees and migrants, “including development programs to expand access to education, vocational opportunities, and public services.”

As of early 2022, more than 7 million Venezuelans in Venezuela are in critical need, and almost 6 million have fled to 17 countries across the region.  READ MORE...

Venezuela and OPEC

Venezuela has played a crucial role in OPEC’s history

Vienna, Austria, 14 September 2021--Article by HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, OPEC Secretary General, on the occasion of the Organization’s 61st Anniversary.

The fourteenth of September is a date of profound significance for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). It was on this day in 1960 that the five Founding Fathers of OPEC, Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo of Venezuela; Abdullah al-Tariki of Saudi Arabia; Dr Tala’at al-Shaibani of Iraq; Dr Fuad Rouhani of Iran; and Ahmed Sayed Omar of Kuwait gathered together in the Al-Shaab Hall in Baghdad and brought the Organization into being.

It is a tremendous source of pride for me, as Secretary General that I can commemorate this year’s ‘OPEC Day’ on an official visit to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. As a Founder Member, Venezuela has played a crucial role in the Organization’s formation and its subsequent successes throughout its history. On behalf of the entire OPEC Family, I would like to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to the Government and people of Venezuela who have done so much to make OPEC the distinguished Organization that it is today.

Following the establishment of OPEC, Pérez Alfonzo said: “We are now united. We are making history.” These words proved extremely prescient. Pérez Alfonzo had midwifed the birth of our Organization through his strong partnership with Abdullah al-Tariki of Saudi Arabia. Pérez Alfonso was ably supported at this time by another distinguished contributor to OPEC’s successful history, Dr. Alirio Parra. Subsequent generations of distinguished public servants took up the baton passed to them and have served our Organization with distinction in various capacities.

One of the most significant events in the history of the Organization was the Second Summit of Heads of State and Government of OPEC Member Countries, held in Caracas, Venezuela, 27–28 September 2000. The Second Solemn Declaration responded to new developments in the energy industry brought on with the dawning of a new millennium. This included addressing environmental issues, broadening the concept of economic development to embrace the key component of stability and at the same time placing a heavy stress on eradicating energy poverty.  READ MORE...

Facts About Venezuela

Venezuela, officially known as the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a South American country that has over 31 million people, stunning scenery and nice tropical weather that makes swimming in the Caribbean Sea a year-round activity for many Venezuelans and tourists. Sounds great, right? Let’s learn more about this charming region through these 10 fun facts about Venezuela and discover a land full of spectacular wildlife and delicious cacao.

Venezuela is home to the world’s largest rodent.

The Capybara, also known as Chigüire, is the largest rodent of the world and native to the Venezuelan savannas. Capybaras are friendly herbivore animals that graze mainly on grasses, fruit and tree bark. They are excellent swimmers and can remain underwater for up to five minutes and uses this ability to escape from predators. These animals are frequently hunted for their meat and pelts, being the Pisillo de Chigüire one of Venezuela’s traditional dishes, served especially during Easter celebrations.  READ MORE...

Tourist Attractions in Venezuela

Venezuela is a country of beautiful landscapes and surprising sights, from the coast to the mountain tops. Magnificent waterfalls tumble off table top mountains, and coastal towns and offshore islands offer pleasant escapes and soft-sand beaches.

Inland, the Andes Mountains, soaring to over 16,000 feet, provide a stunning backdrop to colorful and lively cities, and the Orinoco Delta is teeming with wildlife. Caracas, the capital and largest city in the country, offers its own type of adventure, with a number of cultural sites and surrounding attractions.

The best places to visit are not always the easiest to reach, and Venezuela is no exception. Some of these destinations are well off the beaten path. For inspirational ideas, see our list of the top tourist attractions in Venezuela.

1. Angel Falls (see photo above)

TO READ ABOUT THE OTHER ATTRACTIONS, CLICK HERE...

All About Venezuela

Venezuela, country located at the northern end of South America. It occupies a roughly triangular area that is larger than the combined areas of France and Germany. 

Venezuela is bounded by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Guyana to the east, Brazil to the south, and Colombia to the southwest and west. The national capital, Caracas, is Venezuela’s primary centre of industry, commerce, education, and tourism.

Venezuela administers a number of Caribbean islands and archipelagos, among which are Margarita Island, La Blanquilla, La Tortuga, Los Roques, and Los Monjes. 

Since the early 19th century Venezuela has claimed jurisdiction over Guyanese territory west of the Essequibo River totaling some 53,000 square miles (137,000 square km)—nearly two-thirds of the land area of Guyana. Venezuela also has had a long dispute with Colombia over the delimitation of maritime boundaries in the Gulf of Venezuela and around the archipelago of Los Monjes.

A physiographically diverse country, Venezuela incorporates the northern Andean mountain chains and interior highlands, the main portions of the Orinoco River basin with its expansive Llanos (plains), Lake Maracaibo, which is the largest lake in South America, and the spectacular Angel Falls, the world’s highest waterfall. The republic’s development pattern has been unique among Latin American countries in terms of the speed, sequence, and timing of economic and demographic growth. 

In the 20th century Venezuela was transformed from a relatively poor agrarian society to a rapidly urbanizing one, a condition made possible by exploiting huge petroleum reserves. These changes, however, were accompanied by imbalances among the country’s regions and socioeconomic groups, and Venezuela’s cities swelled because of a massive and largely uncontrolled migration from rural areas, as well as mass immigration, much of it illegal, from Colombia and other neighbours.  READ MORE...

Clown Show

 

Roller Skating

 

Loving Dog

Not In Your Atlas

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