Thursday, October 14, 2021

Links — 14 Oct 2021

Axios [mansplaining syndrome?]
Sotomayor: SCOTUS oral arguments changed in part because female justices were interrupted
Erin Doherty

Vineyard of the Saker [stupidity, or overweening hubris that goes before a fall? See "Nemesis"]
Russians are in total awe at the suicidal stupidity of the West
The Saker

Defend Democracy
Crazy: US sends the organizer of the Kiev coup [Victoria Nuland] to speak with Russians!

Sputnik International
US Asks Russia to Remove Missiles ‘Violating’ Treaty Which Washington Unilaterally Scrapped

Putin: Traditional Values ​Remain Russia's Key Moral Pillar Despite Criticism

Russia Observer
RUSSIAN FEDERATION SITREP 14 OCTOBER 2021
Patrick Armstrong, retired analyst and diplomat (2008) serving in the Canadian Department of National Defence specializing in the USSR/Russia from 1984 and a Counsellor in the Canadian Embassy in Moscow in 1993-1996.

Oilprice
Russia: Oil And Gas Aren't Going Anywhere In The Coming Decades
Charles Kennedy

U.S. Households To Spend 50% More On Energy Bills This Winter
Tsvetana Paraskova

Moon of Alabama
Thoughts On Three Issues - Putin On Europe's Gas Crisis, Iran Talks, Lebanon Shooting

Common Dreams [corruption watch]
Manchin Has Received $1.5 Million From Corporate Interests Attacking Biden Agenda: Report
Jake Johnson

AlterNet [buying justice]
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse: This Supreme Court was built by dark money
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse

ECNS
China to open up wider: Xi
Xinhua (Chinese state media)

TASS
US making big mistake when using dollar as sanction instrument - Putin

Zero Hedge
Putin Praises Crypto As Possible 'Weaponized' Dollar Replacement
Tyler Durden

30 comments:

Peter Pan said...

4 mangled links.

Tom Hickey said...

Hmmm. Checked as I posted, after I posted, and again using another browser. I'm stumped.

Fixed now.

mi said...

Tom, have you ever thought about creating a Reddit account and sharing these links on anarchism subreddit?

Tom Hickey said...

Tom, have you ever thought about creating a Reddit account and sharing these links on anarchism subreddit?

Actually, the thought crossed my mind some time ago to do a blog on geopolitics, geostrategy, and global economics in terms of the world system, which is my chief interest in social, political and economic philosophy. I do share some of my thoughts on this here.

But at 82 I am pulling back rather than expanding. I am presently in the middle of co-founding another non-profit, finishing up a couple of books in my field (perennial wisdom), and keeping up on the world scene, which is the source of the links I post here. I am also keeping up with my study of Sanskrit, which has been a many year hobby, since much of the perennial wisdom literature is in Sanskrit. Oh, and I meditate everyday too as well as read in perennial wisdom, about which I post a daily quote. So I have a pretty full schedule.

While it would be fun doing that kind of blog, no time, especially to deal with comments. As some probably have noticed, I have cut back on commenting here, mostly because I have already said what needs to be said about these topics and I view repeating myself as a waste of time.

Andrew Anderson said...

So Tom, being 82, what's your life after death plans? Re-incarceration?

Or does the "perennial wisdom" only apply to this short life?

Tom Hickey said...

what's your life after death plans? Re-incarceration?

There are two possibilities in the model to which I subscribe. The first is liberation, that is, no more births and deaths, and reincarnation, if one has not finished the job. I am not going to explain details of this model here. Those interested can read Meher Baba's God Speaks, free to download in PDF.

Being older has no impact on this. I began investigating this sort of thing in the early 60s, when I was in my early twenties and became interested in so-called mysticism initially through Christian mysticism.

I noticed that there were mystics in all wisdom traditions and religions and I looked for a common thread, which I found is known as "perennial wisdom," perennial philosophy and philosophia perennis. Aldous Huxley wrote a popular introduction to it called The Perennial Philosophy. It's available for download at archive.orghere.

Perennial wisdom is trending now, since spirituality is being seen as universal and separate from the normative, institutional religions.

Matt Franko said...

To me your state of consciousness is a bit beyond what is typical of this current eon…

Paul called this current eon “Man’s Day” and “the present wicked eon”…

Peter Pan said...

Reddit is a reincarnation of Hell on Earth. Give it a wide berth, gentlemen.

Matt Franko said...

But I would point out that mankind’s dialogic Philosophy is a big characteristic of “Man’s Day”…

Paul wrote “vain were they made in their dialogues”… the vanity can prevent you from making proper adjustments… one can tend to dogmatically stick to their thesis…

Matt Franko said...

Don’t want to admit they were wrong… vanity..

Peter Pan said...

Are you willing to admit your art degree obsession is a form of vanity?

Tom Hickey said...

@jrbarch


Andrew Anderson said...

While reincarnation might possibly exist until one is human, after that it's:

It is given to man once to die and after that judgement. Hebrews 9:27

Matt Franko said...

“Are you willing to admit your art degree obsession is a form of vanity?“

No…. I’m just pointing out that they are technically unqualified… and that their method of training leaves them unable to yield to truth…

Matt Franko said...

How is it that being trained to put a lot of your time and work in to create a hypothesis (under-thesis) then test that hypothesis and if it fails, immediately discard that hypothesis and all the work and effort that you just put into it driven by “vanity”?

Then compare that to these otherwise trained who put a lot of time and work in to create a thesis and then never test it but rather just dogmatically advocate for their thesis against all other's and that’s not (as Paul explains in Romans 1) driven by vanity?

Matt Franko said...

In their academe they are trained to never admit they’re wrong… and it’s driven by vanity…

Peter Pan said...

I'll give you a thesis:

1. Peter Principle
The Peter principle is a concept in management developed by Laurence J. Peter, which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to their "maximum level of incompetence": employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a level at which they are no longer competent, as skills in one job do not necessarily translate to another.

Would the PP not apply to the public sector?

2. Accountability.
When a bureaucrat fucks up (e.g. withdrawal from Afghanistan) and they're not held accountable, do you suppose that encourages competence?


3. There is an inverse relationship between accountability and hierarchy. The higher your rank, the lower your accountability. Ergo, the greater your incompetence.

Peter Pan said...

Vanity is a pet theory that one pushes, just because one is enamored by it.

Peter Pan said...

In their academe they are trained to never admit they’re wrong… and it’s driven by vanity…

In politics, a leader must never admit they are wrong. Similar to a baboon troupe, where the alpha male must never show weakness.

As for academia, it no longer serves its function.

Matt Franko said...

There are two sides in the academe…

Matt Franko said...

Since 1860…

Matt Franko said...

Romans 1:21

Ahmed Fares said...

For now we see through a glass, darkly... — 1 Corinthians 13:12 (KJV)

Matt Franko said...

The good thing is the dialogic side of the academe is in (albeit slow) decline…

Ahmed Fares said...

Where is Suhá to a man blind from birth who in his confusion has forgotten what he seeks? Nay, thy vain hopes have duped thee, —Ibn Al-Farid

Suha, now called Alcor:

Alcor is a binary star system in the constellation of Ursa Major. It is the fainter companion of Mizar, the two stars forming a naked eye double in the handle of the Big Dipper (or Plough) asterism in Ursa Major. The two both lie about 83 light-years away from the Sun, as measured by the Hipparcos astrometry satellite.

Alcor has the Flamsteed designation 80 Ursae Majoris. Alcor was originally Arabic al-Suhā, meaning either the ‘forgotten’ or ‘neglected’ one; notable as a faintly perceptible companion of Mizar.


Arabs used it as an eye test:

Vision testing in ancient times was as important as it is today. The predominant vision testing in some cultures was the recognition and identification of constellations and celestial bodies of the night sky. A common ancient naked eye test used the double star of the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major or the Big Bear. The second star from the end of the handle of the Big Dipper is an optical double star. The ability to perceive this separation of these two stars, Mizar and Alcor, was considered a test of good vision and was called the “test” or presently the Arab Eye Test. This article is the first report of the correlation of this ancient eye test to the 20/20 line in the current Snellen visual acuity test. This article describes the astronomy, origin, history, and the practicality of this test and how it correlates with the present day Snellen visual acuity test. —Survey of Ophthalmology

Another quote:

Mizar and Alcor are two stars forming a naked eye double in the handle of the Big Dipper (or Plough) asterism in the constellation of Ursa Major. Mizar is the second star from the end of the Big Dipper's handle, and Alcor its fainter companion. The traditional name Mizar derives from the Arabic miʼzar meaning 'apron; wrapper, covering, cover'.

The ability to resolve Mizar and Alcor with the naked eye is often quoted as a test of eyesight, although even people with quite poor eyesight can see the two stars. Arabic literature says that only those with the sharpest eyesight can see the companion of Mizar.
Mizar and Alcor

Anyway, the Sufi poet here is saying that if you think you see clearly in this world, you're like a man born blind that claims he can see Suha.

Matt Franko said...

Ahmed there is alot of figurative stuff which ideally is not to be taken literally…

Matt Franko said...

Pete what say you?

You have no response… none …. you can’t respond…

These Art degree trained dialogic people are the dregs of the earth..

We would probably be traveling all around the universe if not for them…

Should we euthanize them?

That option should be on the table…

Matt Franko said...

Here:

https://www.bradford-delong.com/2015/03/weekend-reading-john-maynard-keynes-on-the-euthanasia-of-the-rentier.html
P
We should similarly consider euthanizing the dialogic assholes…

We would be better off materially if we we would off all these people… round them up maybe gas them?

We would get ahead materially for sure if we could disappear these people …

It wouldn’t be “ethnic cleansing” it would be “moron cleansing!”

Should we put this on the table?

Peter Pan said...

Response to what?
Academia doesn't do its job, and the public service is filled with incompetents.
The type of degree is irrelevant. You have people with credentials that don't match the function being performed.

Peter Pan said...

No more public money for academic studies that contribute nothing to society.