Wednesday, February 1
"Rule" "Freedom" "Reason"
MY THEORY of democracy is very simple and easy for everybody to understand. But its fundamental problem is so different from the age-old theory of democracy which everybody takes for granted that it seems that this difference has not been grasped, just because of the simplicity of the theory. It avoids high-sounding, abstract words like “rule”, “freedom” and “reason”. I do believe in freedom and reason, but I do not think that one can construct a simple, practical and fruitful theory in these terms. They are too abstract, and too prone to be misused; and, of course, nothing whatever can be gained by their definition.
Rule - a set of explicit or understood regulations or principles governing conduct within a particular activity or sphere.
Freedom - the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.
Reason - the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.
Herein lies the problem that Popper was trying to address... these three words: rule, freedom, and reason have specific definitions according the the dictionaries that I looked at... but each of these definitions will be PERCEIVED differently by people for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons are:
- Influence of parent or guardian
- Geographic location
- Religious influences
- Adolescent environment
- Educators
- Heritage
- Ethnicity
- Gender
For instance, a generally accepted and valid personality questionaire is the MBTI and according to this indicator, my personality type is an INTJ... INTJ's are only found in 1% of the general population... which means not only are we rare, but we have a different perception of life and of words than most everybody else...
In other words, I understand these three words differently than you understand them.
- Rule means something different to me than it does to you
- Freedom means something different to me than it does to you
- Reason means something different to me than it does to you
THEREFORE...
I see Democracy differently than you do... which means that Popper was correct in his analysis that these three words UNDERMINE THE SUCCESS OF A DEMOCRACY... and, what that means is that it is very difficult to implement a Democracy due to all the different perceptions of how our societies should be...
AND WHAT THIS MEANS is... How do you control the masses?
US In War With China Predicted for 2025
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, fighter jets of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) conduct a joint combat training exercises around the Taiwan Island on Aug. 7, 2022. (Gong Yulong/Xinhua via AP)
A four-star Air Force General on Friday predicted in a memo to his officers that the U.S. will be at war with China by 2025 and advised his commanders to prepare, a report by NBC News said.
Gen. Mike Minihan, head of Air Mobility Command, in a memo to all air wing commanders and other Air Force operational commanders said, "I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me [we] will fight in 2025."
Minihan said he believes war with China is imminent in the next two years due to the upcoming 2024 elections in the U.S. and Taiwan, which he claimed will "distract" Washington and Taipei and enable China to make a move on the island.
The general said a "a fortified, ready, integrated, and agile Joint Force Maneuver Team ready to fight and win inside the first island chain" needs to be established to prepare for the looming fight.
Minihan directed his Air Force commanders to report back by Feb. 28 on steps they will take to prepare for the war against China.
He also said all personnel should ensure their records and emergency contact information are up-to-date and to "consider their personal affairs and whether a visit should be scheduled with their servicing base legal office to ensure they are legally ready and prepared."
The general reportedly urged his fighting forces to "run deliberately, not recklessly," but said they need to accept some risk in training. READ MORE...
Gen. Mike Minihan, head of Air Mobility Command, in a memo to all air wing commanders and other Air Force operational commanders said, "I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me [we] will fight in 2025."
Minihan said he believes war with China is imminent in the next two years due to the upcoming 2024 elections in the U.S. and Taiwan, which he claimed will "distract" Washington and Taipei and enable China to make a move on the island.
The general said a "a fortified, ready, integrated, and agile Joint Force Maneuver Team ready to fight and win inside the first island chain" needs to be established to prepare for the looming fight.
Minihan directed his Air Force commanders to report back by Feb. 28 on steps they will take to prepare for the war against China.
He also said all personnel should ensure their records and emergency contact information are up-to-date and to "consider their personal affairs and whether a visit should be scheduled with their servicing base legal office to ensure they are legally ready and prepared."
The general reportedly urged his fighting forces to "run deliberately, not recklessly," but said they need to accept some risk in training. READ MORE...
Tuesday, January 31
Islamophobia Influencies Democracies
Protesters hold copies of the Quran as they demonstrate in front of the Consulate General of Sweden after Rasmus Paludan, leader of Danish far-right political party Hard Line, burned a copy of the Quran near the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, in Istanbul, Turkey, January 22, 2023. [Umit Bektas/Reuters]
Earlier this week in the Hague, in an act that made America’s right-wing politicians look like paragons of religious tolerance, Edwin Wagensveid, the Dutch leader of the far-fight Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West (PEGIDA) group, publicly desecrated a copy of Islam’s holy book and published a video of the hateful act on social media. This followed an incident over the weekend in which Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right party Stram Kurs (Hard Line), burned a Quran near the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.
Signalling that the incidents in Sweden and the Netherlands are part of a coordinated campaign of hate speech, as he tore and crumpled a page from the Quran, Wagensveld said, “Soon, there will be registrations for similar actions in several cities”. “Time to answer disrespect from Islam with disrespect,” he added,
On cue, and as the provocateurs intended, protests erupted across the Muslim-majority world. Western leaders then responded by lecturing Muslims on the subtleties of free speech and “respect” for diverse opinions.
Beyond this familiar pattern of Islamophobic provocation-Muslim rage-Western condescension, do such acts of provocation targeting vulnerable minorities have any effect on the societies in which they occur? Should non-Muslims living in Western societies care if a holy book they don’t believe in is used in a hateful publicity stunt?
Yes, they should. Because the propagation of Islamophobia makes democracies less free and less safe – not only for Muslims, but for everyone.
I lead research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), a Washington, DC-based non-partisan think tank that provides research and education about US Muslims and the policies that affect them. READ MORE...
Signalling that the incidents in Sweden and the Netherlands are part of a coordinated campaign of hate speech, as he tore and crumpled a page from the Quran, Wagensveld said, “Soon, there will be registrations for similar actions in several cities”. “Time to answer disrespect from Islam with disrespect,” he added,
On cue, and as the provocateurs intended, protests erupted across the Muslim-majority world. Western leaders then responded by lecturing Muslims on the subtleties of free speech and “respect” for diverse opinions.
Beyond this familiar pattern of Islamophobic provocation-Muslim rage-Western condescension, do such acts of provocation targeting vulnerable minorities have any effect on the societies in which they occur? Should non-Muslims living in Western societies care if a holy book they don’t believe in is used in a hateful publicity stunt?
Yes, they should. Because the propagation of Islamophobia makes democracies less free and less safe – not only for Muslims, but for everyone.
I lead research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), a Washington, DC-based non-partisan think tank that provides research and education about US Muslims and the policies that affect them. READ MORE...
Tyre Nichols Versus George Floyd
Putting a knee on someone's neck and killing them unintentionally is WRONG.
Standing around watching this and doing nothing to stop it, is also wrong.
Kicking the perpetrator repeatedly in the chest and face and killing them unintentionally is WRONG.
Standing around watching and doing nothing, or participating in the activity is also WRONG.
HOWEVER...
These two events while similar are still MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE...
Why do I say this?
George Floyd was killed by basically ONE WHITE COP.
Tyre Nichols was killed by FIVE BLACK COPS.
The George Floyd KILLING opened the door for the black community to show their DISGUST of the white community, and make sure that everyone knew that the USA was not just racist but predicated upon WHITE SUPREMACY...
The George Floyd killing opened the door to BLM, CRT, and the WOKE movement not just in a certain area but throughout the entire United States... as if it was one huge gigantic, well orchested movement... not just targeting white people but focusing on Donald Trump as the one who precipitated the entire event by his twitter comments and opinionly expressed opinions in the media.
The George Floyd killing opened the door to BLACK VIOLENCE all across the USA as a way of showing all Americans that the BLACKS were sick and tired of WHITE CONTROL.
NOW LET'S LOOK AT THE TYRE NICHOLS MURDER...
BLACK COPS not white cops
FIVE BLACK COPS versus only 1 white cop while others watched
NO OUTRAGE towards black community that caused this
NO NATION WIDE PROTEST OF VIOLENCE
NO CONDEMNATION of the black community
NO COMMENTS about structural racism in America
NO APOLOGIES about comments targeting white supremacy
NO APOLOGIES to Donald Trump or to those who supported him
East TN has an expression... what goes around comes around... and, I believe that this is exactly what happened here... The blacks were looking for an excuse to rise up and go against their theoretical white supressors and used George Floyd as an excuse and a launching pad for what they had been wanting to do for decades...
And now, that theory... that movement... that desire... has turned back around on them and bitten them in the ASS...
ALL THEIR RHETORIC ABOUT WHITE SUPREMACY IS BULLSHIT...
It was back then and it is now, today...
These 5 black cops killing another black man, proves there white supremacy theory to be a LIE...
BLACKS ARE JUST AS EVIL AS WHITES WHEN IT COMES THE CRIME AND BLACKS AND CORRUPT POWER BY LAW ENFORCEMENT...
It is not a WHITE ISSUE... ladies and gentlemen, IT IS A LAW ENFORCEMENT issue...
WAKE UP AMERICA...
The Drug War is a Game
Jose Irizarry, a once-standout DEA agent sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison for conspiring to launder money with a Colombian cartel, speaks during an interview the night before going to a federal detention center, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. After years of portraying Irizarry as a rogue agent who acted alone, U.S. Justice Department investigators have made an abrupt shift, following his confessional roadmap to question as many as two-dozen current and former DEA agents and prosecutors accused of turning a blind eye to his flagrant abuses and sometimes joining in.
(AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — José Irizarry accepts that he’s known as the most corrupt agent in U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration history, admitting he “became another man” in conspiring with Colombian cartels to build a lavish lifestyle of expensive sportscars, Tiffany jewels and paramours around the world.
But as he used his final hours of freedom to tell his story to The Associated Press, Irizarry says he won’t go down for this alone, accusing some long-trusted DEA colleagues of joining him in skimming millions of dollars from drug money laundering stings to fund a decade’s worth of luxury overseas travel, fine dining, top seats at sporting events and frat house-style debauchery.
The way Irizarry tells it, dozens of other federal agents, prosecutors, informants and in some cases cartel smugglers themselves were all in on the three-continent joyride known as “Team America” that chose cities for money laundering pick-ups mostly for party purposes or to coincide with Real Madrid soccer or Rafael Nadal tennis matches. That included stops along the way in VIP rooms of Caribbean strip joints, Amsterdam’s red-light district and aboard a Colombian yacht that launched with plenty of booze and more than a dozen prostitutes.
“We had free access to do whatever we wanted,” the 48-year-old Irizarry told the AP in a series of interviews before beginning a 12-year federal prison sentence. “We would generate money pick-ups in places we wanted to go. And once we got there it was about drinking and girls.”
All this revelry was rooted, Irizarry said, in a crushing realization among DEA agents around the world that there’s nothing they can do to make a dent in the drug war anyway. Only nominal concern was given to actually building cases or stemming a record flow of illegal cocaine and opioids into the United States that has driven more than 100,000 drug overdose deaths a year.
“You can’t win an unwinnable war. DEA knows this and the agents know this,” Irizarry said. “There’s so much dope leaving Colombia. And there’s so much money. We know we’re not making a difference.”
“The drug war is a game. ... It was a very fun game that we were playing.” READ MORE...
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — José Irizarry accepts that he’s known as the most corrupt agent in U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration history, admitting he “became another man” in conspiring with Colombian cartels to build a lavish lifestyle of expensive sportscars, Tiffany jewels and paramours around the world.
But as he used his final hours of freedom to tell his story to The Associated Press, Irizarry says he won’t go down for this alone, accusing some long-trusted DEA colleagues of joining him in skimming millions of dollars from drug money laundering stings to fund a decade’s worth of luxury overseas travel, fine dining, top seats at sporting events and frat house-style debauchery.
The way Irizarry tells it, dozens of other federal agents, prosecutors, informants and in some cases cartel smugglers themselves were all in on the three-continent joyride known as “Team America” that chose cities for money laundering pick-ups mostly for party purposes or to coincide with Real Madrid soccer or Rafael Nadal tennis matches. That included stops along the way in VIP rooms of Caribbean strip joints, Amsterdam’s red-light district and aboard a Colombian yacht that launched with plenty of booze and more than a dozen prostitutes.
“We had free access to do whatever we wanted,” the 48-year-old Irizarry told the AP in a series of interviews before beginning a 12-year federal prison sentence. “We would generate money pick-ups in places we wanted to go. And once we got there it was about drinking and girls.”
All this revelry was rooted, Irizarry said, in a crushing realization among DEA agents around the world that there’s nothing they can do to make a dent in the drug war anyway. Only nominal concern was given to actually building cases or stemming a record flow of illegal cocaine and opioids into the United States that has driven more than 100,000 drug overdose deaths a year.
“You can’t win an unwinnable war. DEA knows this and the agents know this,” Irizarry said. “There’s so much dope leaving Colombia. And there’s so much money. We know we’re not making a difference.”
“The drug war is a game. ... It was a very fun game that we were playing.” READ MORE...
Monday, January 30
What Everyone Wants to Know
"The happiest people do not have the best of everything.
They just make the best of everything they have."
They just make the best of everything they have."
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