Chaos and the Anti-Thread

[Emil El Zapato]

Life is deadly, didn't you know? At least you're the one still alive. ;)

True dat, but I think I know who wins ultimately... :)

[Wind]

bt2IrMThdLw

[Emil El Zapato]

Just heard a friend died...He was part of a small circle of drunken buddies. He always claimed to be a distant relative of 'Johnny Appleseed' Jonathan 'Appleseed' Chapman...He loved Boones farm apple wine. I'm sure alcohol killed him though his obit says very little:

Obituary

Charles Eugene "Gene" Chapman of Emporia died on Sunday, November 19, 2023, at his home.

Gene was born on March 23, 1953, in Emporia, Kansas, the son of Ralph Alden and Esther Marie Andrews Chapman.

Surviving family members include brother, Jack A Chapman of Emporia, sister, Rosalie Fowler of Emporia.

Gene worked for Dolly Madison in the Maintenance Department.

A private burial will be held at Maplewood Memorial Lawn Cemetery. Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home oversees the arrangements.

[Aianawa]

Memories be well with you. Blessings

[Emil El Zapato]

Hey Wind,

I've been reading the book by that NDE guy Tolman...It is a remarkable story as is the 'spiritual' content. I'm going to add it to my daughter's Christmas list. I think everyone could gain a lot from it. One of the strong points in it is about the nature of the 'bad religion'. Non-traditional is the nature of it. It is comprised by people under the influence of 'beings' that bring down 'spiritual vibrations'. To see how strong Trump is in the U.S. makes me queasy. The book says to not let hate or fear drag you down. Further it says that we have the power of creation, both literally and through the will of the spirit. That in itself is a frightening concept (it always has been to me). We truly have to be aware and attuned to what we wish for. Long live the spirit and let it guide us down the lighted path. (Ask and ye shall receive).

[Wind]

Further it says that we have the power of creation, both literally and through the will of the spirit. That in itself is a frightening concept (it always has been to me).

That's true, but why is it scary to you?

[Emil El Zapato]

That's true, but why is it scary to you?

My mind is full of free floating random 'disaster scenarios'. It is important what we wish 'below our level of conscious awareness'. Perhaps not though, With luck we by nature have a 'positive' unconscious to rely on.

[Wind]

It is important what we wish 'below our level of conscious awareness'. Perhaps not though, With luck we by nature have a 'positive' unconscious to rely on.

Thankfully on this level of existence manifestation is not instant. Also if something is not meant to be, it won't be. However, as it was said faith can move mountains. Or that is to say what we believe is to be our reality. A lot of our subconscious beliefs, our programming, were created in childhood. That's why parents have such a massive responsibility, although the environment does play it it's part too. And our individual tendencies combined with all of that. By altering the beliefs we have the possibility of altering the reality of we live in, although it is a collective shared dream-reality which has it's own rules too, including karmic causations so it's not easy always, but it is possible.

BS_gLFOrjMw

[Wind]

bDzLJMkjF7Y

[Emil El Zapato]

bDzLJMkjF7Y

nice!

[Wind]

-CbBgcpz3b0

[Wind]

This helped me to understand some of the cultural insanity in America. USA is a disharmonic society.

WBJg3hjRAZg

[Emil El Zapato]

This helped me to understand some of the cultural insanity in America. USA is a disharmonic society.

WBJg3hjRAZg

It's another thing that I don't believe is real, it is a phony meme from the usual suspects. The REAL truth is that ALL politics is identity based. It is the nature of the human animal. I've been reading a history of China beginning in the near Paleolithic. Starting around the -1/1 century, Confucius followers introduced the notion of what the above guy is ascribing to late European thought. I guess for the west what he says is true. It is interesting the way they ascribed value to the social order: 1. The Educated, 2. Soldiers weren't people, Merchants sucked even worse. Bureaucrats were good and necessary to maintain order and fairness. Morality, but not spirituality were important to the followers of Confucius. Another strong school of thought that co-existed were the Taoists. Moral and spiritual but spiritual education was considered an inherently futile exercise.

The irony of those foundations is the fact it made it easy for the Chinese society to become communal, social, and group oriented. In other words ... communists. Unfortunately, human nonetheless.

Ryan Chapman

Ryan Chapman is an American YouTuber who calls himself a "[t]hinker of general human concerns."[1] He has made a video explaining how wokeness comes fundamentally from the ideas of Karl Marx as well as a video explaining what Critical Race Theory is.

[Emil El Zapato]

One of the things that exemplifies the double-bind thinking trap that the right can't extricate itself from is their dilemma in Gaza. They limit the space that Palestinians have to live for totally selfish reasons but the result is that many more of the Israeli soldiers will die due to the tightly packed living conditions of Hamas. What a bunch of douchebags!

[Aragorn]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsKGD8dQBYw

[Emil El Zapato]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsKGD8dQBYw

Some crazy and cool stuff...I liked the lamp fan...very practical and useful

[Emil El Zapato]

I wish the Eastern philosophers would gather around. Below is noted what explains my 'natural' approach to spiritual involvement and it obviates the need to 'explain' or justify my 'easy' approach to 'enlightenment'. I don't know what induced my impetus to do life this way, whether it was instinct, intuition, or just my inclination to 'be...lazy'. But it is the latter school of thought that I drifted into:

"The Confucianism that these scholars presented was the Neo-Confucianism of Chu Hsi of Sung time. This Neo-Confuciansim had from the outset contained a cleavage between two trends, one stressing the principle of reason, the other that of intuition. Chu Hsi had distinguished between the principle of Heaven and human desire and believed that through investigation of the principles of things and the study of classics, man would overcome selfishness and partiality and by means of such self-cultivation identify with the moral mind of the universe. The school of intuition, in contrast, emphasized the unity of the human mind with the mind of the universe, a unity that had to be recognized not through prolonged and distracting study but through the realization of an innate knowledge of the good. This School of the Mind or Intuition found a strong representative in Ming time in the philosopher and statesman Wan Yang-ming (1472-1529), who added to the concepts of the unity of the universal moral law a third concept of the unity of knowledge and action, which to Wan Yang-ming could not be separated. To him "knowledge is the crystallization of the will to act and action is the task of carrying out knowledge; knowledge is the beginning of action and action is the completion of knowledge."

Though the Ming examination system applied a rather stereotyped interpretation of Chu Hsi's principle of reason, Wang Yang-ming's teaching gained widespread response in the private academies, contributing to the division between government and scholarship. Both schools of thought joined in the fight for renewing Confucian ethics among the scholar-elite and reestablishing official integrity in government. There are parallels in Buddhist schools of thought."

[Wind]

See anything wrong with this picture?

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[Emil El Zapato]

See anything wrong with this picture?

EdqxBNgnmxU

yeah, I see a lot of something wrong with that picture...I would call that the economic 'hard problem'. To redistribute wealth last occurred in the U.S. over a century ago under President Roosevelt. To do the same today seems almost inconceivable because of poor white conservatives. Propaganda has them convinced that they might be poor now but the 'American Way' ensures they will not be later. It is a complete fantasy but they continue generation to generation supporting the uber-wealthy. How ignorant is that?

[Wind]

Wealth of five richest men doubles since 2020 as five billion people made poorer in "decade of division" (https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/wealth-five-richest-men-doubles-2020-five-billion-people-made-poorer-decade-division)


Fortunes of five richest men have shot up by 114 percent since 2020.


Oxfam predicts the world could have its first-ever trillionaire in just a decade while it would take more than two centuries to end poverty.


A billionaire is running or the principal shareholder of 7 out of 10 of the world’s biggest corporations.


148 top corporations made $1.8 trillion in profits, 52 percent up on 3-year average, and dished out huge payouts to rich shareholders while hundreds of millions faced cuts in real-term pay.


Oxfam urges a new era of public action, including public services, corporate regulation, breaking up monopolies and enacting permanent wealth and excess profit taxes.

The world’s five richest men have more than doubled their fortunes from $405 billion to $869 billion since 2020 —at a rate of $14 million per hour— while nearly five billion people have been made poorer, reveals a new Oxfam report on inequality and global corporate power. If current trends continue, the world will have its first trillionaire within a decade but poverty won’t be eradicated for another 229 years.

“Inequality Inc.”, published today as business elites gather in the Swiss resort town of Davos, reveals that seven out of ten of the world’s biggest corporations have a billionaire as CEO or principal shareholder. These corporations are worth $10.2 trillion, equivalent to more than the combined GDPs of all countries in Africa and Latin America.

“We’re witnessing the beginnings of a decade of division, with billions of people shouldering the economic shockwaves of pandemic, inflation and war, while billionaires’ fortunes boom. This inequality is no accident; the billionaire class is ensuring corporations deliver more wealth to them at the expense of everyone else,” said Oxfam International interim Executive Director Amitabh Behar.

“Runaway corporate and monopoly power is an inequality-generating machine: through squeezing workers, dodging tax, privatizing the state, and spurring climate breakdown, corporations are funneling endless wealth to their ultra-rich owners. But they’re also funneling power, undermining our democracies and our rights. No corporation or individual should have this much power over our economies and our lives —to be clear, nobody should have a billion dollars”.

The past three years’ supercharged surge in extreme wealth has solidified while global poverty remains mired at pre-pandemic levels. Billionaires are $3.3 trillion richer than in 2020, and their wealth has grown three times faster than the rate of inflation.

Despite representing just 21 percent of the global population, rich countries in the Global North own 69 percent of global wealth and are home to 74 percent of the world’s billionaire wealth.


Share ownership overwhelmingly benefits the richest. The top 1 percent own 43 percent of all global financial assets. They hold 48 percent of financial wealth in the Middle East, 50 percent in Asia and 47 percent in Europe.
Mirroring the fortunes of the super-rich, large firms are set to smash their annual profit records in 2023. 148 of the world’s biggest corporations together raked in $1.8 trillion in total net profits in the year to June 2023, a 52 percent jump compared to average net profits in 2018-2021. Their windfall profits surged to nearly $700 billion. The report finds that for every $100 of profit made by 96 major corporations between July 2022 and June 2023, $82 was paid out to rich shareholders.

Bernard Arnault is the world’s second richest man who presides over luxury goods empire LVMH, which has been fined by France‘s anti-trust body. He also owns France’s biggest media outlet, Les Échos, as well as Le Parisien.


Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, holds a “near-monopoly” on cement in Nigeria. His empire’s expansion into oil has raised concerns about a new private monopoly.


Jeff Bezos’s fortune of $167.4 billion increased by $32.7 billion since the beginning of the decade. The US government has sued Amazon, the source of Bezos’ fortune, for wielding its “monopoly power” to hike prices, degrade service for shoppers and stifle competition.
“Monopolies harm innovation and crush workers and smaller businesses. The world hasn’t forgotten how pharma monopolies deprived millions of people of COVID-19 vaccines, creating a racist vaccine apartheid, while minting a new club of billionaires,” said Behar.

People worldwide are working harder and longer hours, often for poverty wages in precarious and unsafe jobs. The wages of nearly 800 million workers have failed to keep up with inflation and they have lost $1.5 trillion over the last two years, equivalent to nearly a month (25 days) of lost wages for each worker.

New Oxfam analysis of World Benchmarking Alliance data on more than 1,600 of the largest corporations worldwide shows that 0.4 percent of them are publicly committed to paying workers a living wage and support a living wage in their value chains. It would take 1,200 years for a woman working in the health and social sector to earn what the average CEO in the biggest 100 Fortune companies earns in a year.

Oxfam's report also shows how a "war on taxation" by corporations has seen the effective corporate tax rate fall by roughly a third in recent decades, while corporations have relentlessly privatized the public sector and segregated services like education and water.

“We have the evidence. We know the history. Public power can rein in runaway corporate power and inequality —shaping the market to be fairer and free from billionaire control. Governments must intervene to break up monopolies, empower workers, tax these massive corporate profits and, crucially, invest in a new era of public goods and services,” said Behar.

“Every corporation has a responsibility to act but very few are. Governments must step up. There is action that lawmakers can learn from, from US anti-monopoly government enforcers suing Amazon in a landmark case, to the European Commission wanting Google to break up its online advertising business, and Africa’s historic fight to reshape international tax rules.”

Oxfam is calling on governments to rapidly and radically reduce the gap between the super-rich and the rest of society by:

Revitalizing the state. A dynamic and effective state is the best bulwark against extreme corporate power. Governments should ensure universal provision of healthcare and education, and explore publicly-delivered goods and public options in sectors from energy to transportation.


Reining in corporate power, including by breaking up monopolies and democratizing patent rules. This also means legislating for living wages, capping CEO pay, and new taxes on the super-rich and corporations, including permanent wealth and excess profit taxes. Oxfam estimates that a wealth tax on the world’s millionaires and billionaires could generate $1.8 trillion a year.


Reinventing business. Competitive and profitable businesses don’t have to be shackled by shareholder greed. Democratically-owned businesses better equalize the proceeds of business. If just 10 percent of US businesses were employee-owned, this could double the wealth share of the poorest half of the US population, including doubling the average wealth of Black households.

[Wind]

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"But America, as I look at you from afar, I wonder whether your moral and spiritual progress has been commensurate with your scientific progress. Your poet Thoreau used to talk about improved means to an unimproved end. How often this is true. You have allowed the material means by which you live to outdistance the spiritual ends for which you live. You have allowed your mentality to outrun your morality. You have allowed your civilization to outdistance your culture, and through your scientific genius you have made of the world a neighborhood. But through your moral and spiritual genius, you have failed to make of it a brotherhood. And so, America, I would urge you to bring your moral advances in line with your scientific advances.

I am impelled to write you concerning the responsibilities laid upon you to live as Christians in the midst of an unchristian world. This is what I had to do. This is what every Christian has to do. But I understand that there are many Christians in America who give their ultimate allegiance to man-made systems and customs. They are afraid to be different. Their great concern is to be accepted socially. They live by some such principle as this: “Everybody is doing it, so it must be all right.” Morality is merely group consensus. In your modern sociological lingo, the mores are accepted as the right ways. You have unconsciously come to believe that right is discovered by taking a sort of Gallup Poll of the majority opinion, and how many are giving their ultimate allegiance to this way.

I understand that you have an economic system in America known as capitalism, and through this economic system you have been able to do wonders. You have become the richest nation in the world, and you have built up the greatest system of production that history has ever known. All of this is marvelous. But Americans, there is the danger that you will misuse your capitalism. I still contend that money can be the root of all evil. It can cause one to live a life of gross materialism, and I'm afraid that many among you are more concerned about making a living than making a life. You are prone to judge the success of your professions by the index of your salary and the size of the wheel base on your automobile rather than the quality of your service to humanity.

The misuse of capitalism can also lead to tragic exploitation. This has so often happened in your nation. They tell me that one-tenth of one percent of the population controls more than forty percent of the wealth. Oh, America, how often have you taken necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes? If you are to be truly a Christian nation, you must solve this problem. Now, you cannot solve the problem by turning to communism, for communism is based on an ethical relativism and a metaphysical materialism that no Christian can accept. But you can work within the framework of democracy to bring about a better distribution of wealth. You can use your powerful economic resources to wipe poverty from the face of the earth. God never intended for a group of people to live in superfluous, inordinate wealth while others live in abject, deadening poverty. God intends for all of His children to have the basic necessities of life, and He has left in this universe enough and to spare for that purpose. So I call upon you to bridge the gulf between abject poverty and superfluous wealth.

Yes, America, you may give your goods to feed the poor. You may give great gift to charity. You may tower high in philanthropy, but if you have not love, it means nothing. You may even give your body to be burned and die the death of a martyr. And your spilled blood may be a symbol of honor for generations yet unborn, and thousands may praise you as history's supreme hero. But even so if you have not love, your blood was spilled in vain. You must come to see that it is possible for a man to be self-centered in his self-denial and self-righteous in his self-sacrifice. He may be generous in order to feed his ego and pious in order to feed his pride. Man has a tragic capacity to relegate a heightening virtue to a tragic vice. Without love, benevolence becomes egotism and martyrdom becomes spiritual pride."

[Emil El Zapato]

Disclaimer: This is from a highly biased to the-left source, but it is intelligent and not just spouting leftist platitudes. Further, I don't think anyone who resides here is subject to TDS right or left but perhaps in the event a PA'er may stumble over here by accident it will capture their attention and start the ride to freedom for them and set aright the notion that America is a democratic society, not an authoritarian 3rd world country.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trCKkjFBSTM&t=426s

[Gio]

The above video is very compelling ...



Democracy is on Life Support in America.


And the GOP wants to pull the plug.

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP. oUlGpqdYrSMHpBpfMtIVQAHaEx%26pid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=77f5dd2aac2bb4feb9ad7522753b4992227883235e8817 61592651a84fab3789&ipo=images

[Emil El Zapato]

I'm not posting this to be obnoxious or pull chains. This is just another perspective, not sure but I think it might be sourced in Eastern Europe:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i21La3zW7Vg&t=175s

[Emil El Zapato]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2ngS2Ewhqk

[Gio]

And speaking of chaos ...


"Furious Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg slams Trump for 'putting American and European soldiers at risk' after president told rally he would let Russia 'do whatever the hell they want' to member states that 'don't pay their dues'" ... (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13071287/Nato-trump-Stoltenberg-russia-pay-invade.html)

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/11/15/81124437-13071287-image-m-2_1707664404950.jpg

[Emil El Zapato]

And speaking of chaos ...


"Furious Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg slams Trump for 'putting American and European soldiers at risk' after president told rally he would let Russia 'do whatever the hell they want' to member states that 'don't pay their dues'" ... (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13071287/Nato-trump-Stoltenberg-russia-pay-invade.html)

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/11/15/81124437-13071287-image-m-2_1707664404950.jpg

He might have told the truth for the first time in his life when he made that statement... :)

[Wind]

He might have told the truth for the first time in his life when he made that statement... :)

You mean Trump?

[Emil El Zapato]

Hi Wind,

yes, for sure...

Do you feel a kinship with other Scandinavians? Even if only the Swedish Blondes. Apparently the funniest joke I ever told one of my conservative friends that as far as I knew I was half German-Irish, he told that to anyone we ever ran into.

And that was before my genetics showed up as between 3-5 percent Swedish... :) Seems like I remember seeing one report that said 8-9% but that can't possibly be correct, my faltering old man's brain doing its thing. :)

[Emil El Zapato]

What’s happening at the U.S.-Mexico border in 7 charts
BY JOHN GRAMLICH AND ALISSA SCHELLER

The U.S. Border Patrol reported more than 1.6 million encounters with migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border in the 2021 fiscal year, more than quadruple the number of the prior fiscal year and the highest annual total on record.

The number of encounters had fallen to just over 400,000 in fiscal 2020 as the coronavirus outbreak slowed migration across much of the world. But encounters at the southwest border rebounded sharply in fiscal 2021 and ultimately eclipsed the previous annual high recorded in fiscal 2000, according to recently published data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the federal agency that encompasses the Border Patrol.

Migrant encounters refer to two distinct kinds of events: expulsions, in which migrants are immediately expelled to their home country or last country of transit, and apprehensions, in which migrants are detained in the United States, at least temporarily.

Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, most encounters have resulted in expulsion from the U.S., unlike before the pandemic, when the vast majority ended in apprehension instead. The Trump administration began expelling migrants in March 2020 under a public health order aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19. The Biden administration has continued to expel migrants under the same order.

Below is a closer look at the shifting dynamics at the southwest border, based on the recent CBP statistics. Most of these statistics refer to federal fiscal years, which run from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, as opposed to calendar years. It’s also important to note that encounters refer to events, not people, and that some migrants are encountered more than once.

How we did this

Southwest border encounters increased to their highest recorded level in fiscal 2021. The Border Patrol reported 1,659,206 encounters with migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border last fiscal year, narrowly exceeding the prior highs of 1,643,679 in 2000 and 1,615,844 in 1986.

The large number of encounters in fiscal 2021 dwarfed the total during the last major wave of migration at the southwest border, which occurred in fiscal 2019. The Border Patrol recorded 851,508 encounters that year.

A line graph showing that migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border reached their highest level on record in 2021

https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/FT_21.11.01_MexicoBorder_1a.png


While the number of encounters was the highest on record last fiscal year, the number of individuals encountered was considerably lower. That’s because more than a quarter of all migrant encounters at U.S. borders in both fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2020 (27% and 26%, respectively) involved repeat crossers, according to CBP statistics. By comparison, the proportion of repeat border crossers was much lower in the 2019 fiscal year (7%), before the Border Patrol began regularly expelling migrants during the coronavirus outbreak. (These recidivism statistics include encounters at all U.S. borders. While separate statistics for only the U.S.-Mexico border are not available, encounters at the southwest border have accounted for more than 97% of total encounters in recent years.)

A line graph showing that more than 1 million southwest border encounters in 2021 involved people from countries other than Mexico

https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/FT_21.11.01_MexicoBorder_2.png

A record number of encounters in fiscal 2021 involved people from countries other than Mexico. Mexico was the single most common origin country for migrants encountered at the border in fiscal 2021. The Border Patrol reported 608,037 encounters with Mexican nationals last year, accounting for 37% of the total. The remaining 1,051,169 encounters, or 63%, involved people from countries other than Mexico – by far the highest total for non-Mexican nationals in CBP records dating back to 2000.

Most of the encounters with non-Mexicans in fiscal 2021 involved people from the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. There were 308,931 encounters with people from Honduras last fiscal year (representing 19% of all encounters), 279,033 with people from Guatemala (17%) and 95,930 with people from El Salvador (6%). The Northern Triangle region has been a major source of migration at the U.S-Mexico border in recent years.

Encounters soared in fiscal 2021 for some countries that have not historically been common sources of migration at the U.S.-Mexico border. The number of encounters involving people from Ecuador, for example, increased more than eightfold, from 11,861 in fiscal 2020 to 95,692 in fiscal 2021. There were also stark increases in encounters involving people from Brazil (from 6,946 to 56,735), Nicaragua (from 2,123 to 49,841), Venezuela (from 1,227 to 47,752), Haiti (from 4,395 to 45,532) and Cuba (from 9,822 to 38,139).

A line graph showing that encounters with migrants from some countries rose dramatically in 2021

https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/FT_21.11.01_MexicoBorder_3.png

Economic, social and political instability in some of these countries likely played a role in the spike in encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border last fiscal year. In Ecuador, widespread economic problems and the COVID-19 pandemic have led many migrants to make the journey north. Haiti, meanwhile, has faced a number of challenges in recent years, ranging from natural disasters to the assassination of its president in July.

Related: Biden administration widens scope of Temporary Protected Status for immigrants

The increase in encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border didn’t just involve people from Latin America or the Caribbean region. The number of encounters involving people from Romania rose from 266 in fiscal 2020 to 4,029 in fiscal 2021, while the number involving people from Turkey increased from 67 to 1,366.

A line graph showing that border encounters with single adults, families and unaccompanied children all increased in 2021

https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/FT_21.11.01_MexicoBorder_4.png

Migrant encounters increased across demographic groups in fiscal 2021, but single adults continued to account for the large majority. Encounters with unaccompanied children rose from 30,557 in fiscal 2020 to 144,834 in fiscal 2021, while encounters with people traveling in families increased from 52,230 to 451,087.

By far the largest number and share of encounters involved single adults. There were 1,063,285 encounters with single adults in fiscal 2021, up from 317,864 the year before. More than six-in-ten encounters (64%) involved single adults, though that was down from 79% in fiscal 2020.

Migrant encounters more than doubled in every sector along the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal 2021. The largest numerical increase occurred in the Rio Grande Valley sector, where there were 549,077 encounters last fiscal year, up from 90,206 the year before. But the largest proportional increase occurred in the Yuma sector, where encounters increased thirteenfold, from 8,804 in fiscal 2020 to 114,488 in fiscal 2021.

A map showing that migrant encounters more than doubled in all nine southwest border sectors in 2021

https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/FT_21.11.01_MexicoBorder_5a.png

Since the coronavirus outbreak began, most migrant encounters have resulted in expulsion from the U.S., rather than apprehension within the country. In March 2020, the administration of former President Donald Trump invoked Title 42, a public health order allowing the Border Patrol to expel migrants immediately to control the domestic spread of the coronavirus. President Joe Biden’s administration has continued to expel migrants under Title 42, though to a lesser extent than the Trump administration.

A bar chart showing that most migrant encounters during COVID-19 have ended in expulsion, but less so in recent months

https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/FT_21.11.01_MexicoBorder_6.png

About two-thirds (66%) of all migrant encounters ended in expulsion between April 2020, the first full month after Title 42 was invoked, and September 2021, the end of the 2021 fiscal year. The remaining 34% resulted in apprehension. But the share of encounters resulting in expulsion has decreased under the Biden administration. In September 2021, 54% of encounters ended in expulsion, down from 74% in February 2021, the first full month after Biden took office.

A chart showing that southwest border encounters have often peaked in March, but pattern has changed since 2013

https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/FT_21.11.01_MexicoBorder_7.png

Seasonal migration patterns have changed in recent years. Since 2000, border encounters have typically peaked in the spring – most often in March – before declining during the hot summer months, when migration journeys become more perilous. But the pattern has changed since 2013, with the annual peak occurring in months other than March. July was the peak month in fiscal 2021, with the number of encounters (200,658) far exceeding the total recorded in March (169,216), even though temperatures in July are typically much higher.

[Emil El Zapato]

My very own hummer page:


https://gameknot.com/pic/1613789773/u/brewinski.jpg

[Wind]

Hi Wind,

Do you feel a kinship with other Scandinavians? Even if only the Swedish Blondes.

Well, not really. At least not in terms of ethnicity. I feel kinship with few people, I can relate to some better than to others.

[Emil El Zapato]

Well, not really. At least not in terms of ethnicity. I feel kinship with few people, I can relate to some better than to others.

I was just curious, I think I would as I assume there is a genetic/ethnic connection. But that might be more of an American thing...influenced by the 'bad' gene.

[Wind]

I was just curious, I think I would as I assume there is a genetic/ethnic connection. But that might be more of an American thing...influenced by the 'bad' gene.

Well you have to understand my perspective. All I really see is souls. Of course DNA and ethnic ancestry connection is a thing too.

[Emil El Zapato]

Well you have to understand my perspective. All I really see is souls. Of course DNA and ethnic ancestry connection is a thing too.

I understand...that's cool.

[Wind]

I understand...that's cool.

Talking about ancestry, my grandmother passed away last night.

She had Alzheimer's though so it was mostly a relief for her too.

Now all of my grandparents have crossed to the other side.

[Emil El Zapato]

Talking about ancestry, my grandmother passed away last night.

She had Alzheimer's though so it was mostly a relief for her too.

Now all of my grandparents have crossed to the other side.

wow, sorry to hear that Wind...well, the old platitude is true, she is in a much better place now. I hope it is an easy transition for all your family.

[Wind]

well, the old platitude is true, she is in a much better place now. I hope it is an easy transition for all your family.

It's true, she is in a better place. Thankfully it's not that difficult transition, but it is of course change in life indeed.

[Fred Steeves]

Sorry for your loss Riku. No more grandparents now, that's a sad milestone in life we pass if/when we live long enough. Funny thing, even though we're usually long well established into adulthood by then, when the last parent moves on to other things, is when there's the little tingle of awareness that "now I'm truly alone out here in this world. It's all me from here on out, thanks for helping me set sail". That's how it was for me anyway, being a typical human.

But yeah, back to your grandmother, it is definitely easier when they themselves are ready to go, and have been long suffering. The end of that final breath must be quite the relief/release for those long suffering. She's at peace now. In a better place now as you say.

[Wind]

Thanks. Yes, the topic of change or death stops us to ponder about life even more. I have always had my view about it, but in recent years it has shifted even more. This would be more of a loss for my father, but even he had sort of accepted that his mother was (mentally) gone years ago. Memories of course might pop up and people process things like this in different ways. She was closest of the grandparents to me too, the other ones were more distant and I never even got to meet my other grandmother as she died young.

Now my parents find themselves in being the elders as grandparents too and and within a couple of decades I find myself in the same spot where my parents are now, quite possibly without the addition of having children though unlike with it is with my brother. It is kinda funny how life goes as you witness the progress of generations. As the French say: "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose", the more it changes, the more it's the same thing and wheel turns around and around forever and forever more. Truly nothing new under the sun.

[Emil El Zapato]

And you know, I can never get it right!

https://forum.manjaro.org/uploads/default/original/3X/0/5/0511b19aae7981104904df1d0ea2947254b0e6cf.jpeg

[Emil El Zapato]

I'll bet you didn't know: The origin of the iconic Route 66 in the United States.

https://media.wazimo.com/images/01aa3deec40595eff375d8ec5d5fd1940e89b028543ff24121 5fb04407e5859e.jpeg

A total of 66 camels were imported from the Middle East to Camp Verde in Texas. During the American Civil War,
these camels were captured and sold to the circus, while others managed to run away to the desert.
No one is sure what happened to these humped beasts, especially after the last reported sighting in 1941.

[Aragorn]

A total of 66 camels were imported from the Middle East to Camp Verde in Texas. During the American Civil War,
these camels were captured and sold to the circus, while others managed to run away to the desert. No one is sure what happened to these humped beasts, especially after the last reported sighting in 1941.

They were captured by Native Americans, who shaved off the camels' fur and smoked it. :p



https://static.turbosquid.com/Preview/2016/04/08__05_39_33/ClosedCigarettesCamel3dmodel01.jpg4b74db18-c7d4-4dff-9fae-598c6c3ddc83Zoom.jpg

[Emil El Zapato]

They were captured by Native Americans, who shaved off the camels' fur and smoked it. :p



https://static.turbosquid.com/Preview/2016/04/08__05_39_33/ClosedCigarettesCamel3dmodel01.jpg4b74db18-c7d4-4dff-9fae-598c6c3ddc83Zoom.jpg

lol, Native Americans get no respect. I used to smoke those AND I always walked a mile to get them, of course. b.t.w. The camels or the fur?

[Aragorn]

A total of 66 camels were imported from the Middle East to Camp Verde in Texas. During the American Civil War,
these camels were captured and sold to the circus, while others managed to run away to the desert. No one is sure what happened to these humped beasts, especially after the last reported sighting in 1941.

They were captured by Native Americans, who shaved off the camels' fur and smoked it. :p

lol, Native Americans get no respect.

Hey man, I smoke Lucky Strikes. :p


I used to smoke those AND I always walked a mile to get them, of course. b.t.w. The camels or the fur?

I honestly don't know what they put in there. :) A friend of mine used to smoke them, and he used to joke that it was pubic hair. :p

To be honest, I never really liked Camels. The cigarette brand, that is, although I also find the animals themselves rather gross, and especially when they start frothing. :vom:

[Emil El Zapato]

Hey man, I smoke Lucky Strikes. :p



I honestly don't know what they put in there. :) A friend of mine used to smoke them, and he used to joke that it was pubic hair. :p

To be honest, I never really liked Camels. The cigarette brand, that is, although I also find the animals themselves rather gross, and especially when they start frothing. :vom:

lol, yeah, really weird animals... Lucky Strikes, a proud old brand. Later I always smoked Marlboro Red until they got so expensive...then I went for the blends (Marlboro)

[Emil El Zapato]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khXMVPpxdxg&t=591s

[Emil El Zapato]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGaXeT_myxc

[Wind]

tYnm58omZi0

[Emil El Zapato]

I don't know if you have heard about this one...I love the smell of napalm in the morning...this is the day for scaremongering:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKVTrWxD0Ok

[Wind]

I don't know if you have heard about this one...I love the smell of napalm in the morning...this is the day for scaremongering:

I have heard of the three days of darkness a long time ago and somehow the dates always have shifted.

-XagZt80bTs

[Emil El Zapato]

I have heard of the three days of darkness a long time ago and somehow the dates always have shifted.

-XagZt80bTs

lol, i noticed that myself but the upcoming date was the first time I remember hearing about it. Padre Pio is a powerful Saint for my money...

[Aragorn]

Padre Pio is a powerful Saint for my money...

There is some evidence that his stigmata were either faked by using carbolic acid crystals — there are records of him acquiring such crystals — and/or that they were psychosomatic manifestations of a condition known as neurotic necrosis. You can look it up on Wikipedia if you like.

Either way, the whole "Pray to me."/"Worship me with stretched-out arms."/"Prostrate yourselves before me, so that I will protect you."-bullshit all screams religious insanity to me, perfectly in line with Catholic dogma and doctrine. There is nothing up or out there in the universe that both demands to be worshiped and deserves it.

The only things worth worshiping are values, such as love, honor, honesty, justice, integrity, sacrifice, sanctity, purity, nobleness, compassion, et al. Not people or (purported) deities. And if some entity demands worship, then it's by definition a parasite that feeds on said worship.

[Emil El Zapato]

There is some evidence that his stigmata were either faked by using carbolic acid crystals — there are records of him acquiring such crystals — and/or that they were psychosomatic manifestations of a condition known as neurotic necrosis. You can look it up on Wikipedia if you like.

Either way, the whole "Pray to me."/"Worship me with stretched-out arms."/"Prostrate yourselves before me, so that I will protect you."-bullshit all screams religious insanity to me, perfectly in line with Catholic dogma and doctrine. There is nothing up or out there in the universe that both demands to be worshiped and deserves it.

The only things worth worshiping are values, such as love, honor, honesty, justice, integrity, sacrifice, sanctity, purity, nobleness, compassion, et al. Not people or (purported) deities. And if some entity demands worship, then it's by definition a parasite that feeds on said worship.

I don't buy the neurotic necrosis. And yes, that is religious insanity. Which is why I have never done it, there is no place for it in the cosmos, and just overdone humanity.

[Emil El Zapato]

What should be obvious to any observer of the Ukraine-Putin conflict is that Ukraine is not going to bend, they will die to the last man first...that once upon a time was called owning a heroic heart. peace conference/no peace conference. Wrong again, there is only a feint at peace talks to buy time for all the autocratic politicians in the U.S. to get the beating they deserve and agree to supply aid.

[Wind]

Ukrainians indeed have been more than heroic against the invaders. It's just unfortunate that they've been used as pawns. Also Russians have been killing Ukrainian prisoners of war recently too and Ukrainians have been responding in kind. Violence breeds more violence.

[Emil El Zapato]

Ukrainians indeed have been more than heroic against the invaders. It's just unfortunate that they've been used as pawns. Also Russians have been killing Ukrainian prisoners of war recently too and Ukrainians have been responding in kind. Violence breeds more violence.

Pawns may not be as powerful, but they are on the board and giving it what they got, just like all the other pieces, including the King.

[Emil El Zapato]

I have a 'former stepson' who works at this plant in Amarillo Texas. I've been in and around this area for many years. My younger brother worked in this panhandle area for quite a few years.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12VC2W4PQGU

[Gio]

There is some evidence that his stigmata were either faked by using carbolic acid crystals — there are records of him acquiring such crystals — and/or that they were psychosomatic manifestations of a condition known as neurotic necrosis. You can look it up on Wikipedia if you like.

Either way, the whole "Pray to me."/"Worship me with stretched-out arms."/"Prostrate yourselves before me, so that I will protect you."-bullshit all screams religious insanity to me, perfectly in line with Catholic dogma and doctrine. There is nothing up or out there in the universe that both demands to be worshiped and deserves it.

The only things worth worshiping are values, such as love, honor, honesty, justice, integrity, sacrifice, sanctity, purity, nobleness, compassion, et al. Not people or (purported) deities. And if some entity demands worship, then it's by definition a parasite that feeds on said worship.


I don't buy the neurotic necrosis. And yes, that is religious insanity. Which is why I have never done it, there is no place for it in the cosmos, and just overdone humanity.

IMO

From my own derived perspective into this phenomena, I tend to believe the condition is manifested through a combined physiological/psychologically highly stressed personage, through an often (time) blissful devotional religious lifestyle ... Wanting and striving to emulate their fixation of faithfulness. Simply self induced, I sense there is much about the human condition - science will eventually discover, if we are allowed and survive.

[Gio]

I have a 'former stepson' who works at this plant in Amarillo Texas. I've been in and around this area for many years. My younger brother worked in this panhandle area for quite a few years.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12VC2W4PQGU

These trending current weather conditional fires are becoming the new norm ... Australia in recent years has also suffered such, it's all very dangerous and quite scary indeed.

[Wind]

Words that are still so relevant and perhaps they will always be.

124xCHfVUk4

[Emil El Zapato]

This however is a 3rd historian that wrote on the history of Mexico. I would not expect anything positive from this source: Turns out he's a local guy:

https://uh.edu/uhdistance/louis/faculty/photos/hart.jpg

Dr. Hart is one of the nation's foremost scholars of Mexican history. For more than thirty years Hart has explored multiple aspects of the Mexican Revolution, Mexican and Mexican-American labor, and the working class of Mexico. Hart received his Ph.D. from The University of California, Los Angeles, and has taught at the University of Houston since 1978. He has been the recipient of the Faculty Excellence Award and held the positions of interim and associate chair of History at the University of Houston.

Dr. Hart has lectured in Mexico and was a distinguished visiting professor at Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia in Mexico City. He has won numerous book awards such as the Harvey Johnson Prize and the Hubert Herring Prize all for best book on Latin America. He has also received an honorary life membership for Distinguished Scholarship from the Southwestern Council for Latin American Studies.

Teaching:

Dr. Hart’s undergraduate courses include Americans in Mexico Since 1865 and Modern Mexico from 1810 to the Present. He teaches graduate courses in Mexican historiography and a variety of research seminars in Mexican history. He has been the advisor on numerous thesis and dissertation committees and developed, in conjunction with Professor Thomas O’Brien the graduate programs in Mexican and Latin American History.

Research:

Hart is the author of more than five books and dozens of articles in the American and Latin American press and scholarly journals. He is currently doing research for his forthcoming book The Silver of the Sierra Madre: “Boss Shepherd” and the People of the Canyons.

Selected Publications:

Empire and Revolution: The Americans in Mexico Since the Civil War (The University of California Press, 2002).
Revolutionary Mexico: The Coming and Process of the Mexican Revolution (The University of California Press, 1987).
El Mexico revolucionario: gestacion Y proceso de la revolucion mexicana, (Alianza Editorialo Mexicana, 1990).
Border Crossings: Mexican and Mexican-American Workers, (Scholarly Resources, 1998).
Anarchism and the Mexican Working Class, 1860-1931 (University Press of Texas, 1976).
El aharquismo y la clase o brera mexicana, 1860-1931, (Siglo XXI, 1980).

[Emil El Zapato]

This is his historian collaborator:

Making the Americas: The United States and Latin America from the Age of Revolutions to the Era of Globalization
By
Thomas F. O'Brien


Americans' belief in their economic, political, and cultural superiority launched them on a mission to transform Latin America which has evolved into a global process of Americanization. From corporate and philanthropic initiatives to military interventions, Americans motivated by self-interest and idealism sought to reshape Latin America and gave birth to the American-driven process of globalization.

[Emil El Zapato]

This is why I have a real problem with Weinstein, he's a right-winger and thus prone to fantasize about reality.

He states that an 81-year old man has a 5% probability of dying on any given day.

This is the reality and if I've haven't misunderstood his credentials, he, at least, considers himself a brilliant physicist who presumably can do math even if only probability analysis.

"The SSA also provides a life expectancy calculator, which says that a male born in 1942 who is still alive today (at 80) can expect to live another 8.4 years. That means that if Biden were to win his reelection bid, he would, on average, finish the term with a couple of years to spare." And life expectancy due to Presidential health care is Wayyyyy above what is typical for Americans.

[Wind]

ViKMEg57qx8

[Emil El Zapato]

That guy does present a balanced perspective...I like his stuff and accepting his points as valid is not difficult.

yeah, that's messed up...

[Emil El Zapato]

ViKMEg57qx8

There is a solution to the problem but it would involve setting up an 'elite' form of financial protection for the political inhabitants that would eliminate the conflicts of interest. But, in time, the rank-and-file would forget why the system was set up and then the bitching and the degradation would begin again.

[Emil El Zapato]

https://www.worldvision.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/D324-0558-58-1140x759.jpg

It's always horrific and never unprecedented.

April 1994, the genocide against the Tutsi erupted in Rwanda, with neighbors turning on neighbors and family turning on family. Over 800,000 people — up to 1 million on some accounts — were brutally slaughtered in just 100 days, leaving the once-beautiful country in ruins. This tragedy left many wondering how the people of Rwanda could ever overcome such hatred and horror.

Against all odds, Rwanda has made remarkable strides in the years since, showing resilience and determination. Despite the lasting scars, Rwanda’s journey of healing, reconciliation, and development stands as an inspiring testament to the unyielding spirit of its people.

What is genocide?
Genocide, the planned mass killing of a racial, ethnic, or religious group, is considered the worst crime against humanity. The term originated retrospectively after the Holocaust of World War II, when millions of European Jews were systematically killed.

What happened during the 1994 Rwandan genocide? Who are Hutus and Tutsis?
From April through June 1994, more than 800,000 Rwandans were brutally slaughtered by fellow citizens in a state-led genocide targeting the Tutsi ethnic group. About 75% of the Tutsi population died in the mass killings.

Ethnic Tutsis, who raise cattle, and Hutus, who are predominately farmers, had longstanding tensions under colonial rule. Although Hutus were in the majority, Tutsis generally commanded greater wealth and social position.

1932 (Belgian rule): Belgium introduced identity cards distinguishing Hutus, Tutsis, and the Twa people, marking a turning point in the relationship between the ethnic groups in Rwanda.
1959: A Hutu uprising led to civil war, ending Tutsi domination.
1962: Rwanda gained independence from Belgium. By this time, 120,000 Rwandans, mostly Tutsis, had fled the country, and Hutu leaders took control of Rwanda.
Late 1980s: Rwandan exile groups made political and military moves to repatriate.
1993: Peacemaking attempts by the United Nations and regional African governments failed.
April 6, 1994: A rocket attack killed Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira, both Hutus, as they were returning from peace negotiations together on an airplane.
Immediately after the attack: 100 days of mass killings of the Tutsis ensued.

What were the conditions in Rwanda after the mass killings stopped?
Families were decimated, and the mass killings caused physical and psychological damage to survivors. The genocide devastated the country, destroying homes and communities. Up to 2 million people, including many Hutu perpetrators, fled the country. A million people were displaced within the country. Among the survivors, 75,000 were children who lost one or both parents.

Antoine Rutasiyire, former World Vision staff, played a vital role in establishing operations in Rwanda after the 1994 genocide. Motivated by his personal tragedy — his father’s death during the genocide — he dedicated his life to the church and the rebuilding of Rwanda. As a pastor, theologian, renowned author, and international speaker, he brought his expertise to serve as Rwanda’s National Unity and Reconciliation Commission vice president from 2002 to 2011. With pride, he reflects on the remarkable journey of World Vision in Rwanda, saying, “Everywhere I go, I see World Vision.”

How did World Vision respond to the needs in Rwanda following the genocide?
World Vision began working in Rwanda in 1994, providing life-giving emergency aid, helping resettle displaced people, and caring for many children who had lost their parents. We also facilitated peace and reconciliation that helped lay the foundation on which many lives, families, and communities are being rebuilt today.

World Vision started a reconciliation and peacebuilding program that trained all staff to become agents of healing.

The reconciliation process follows a specific model that endures today — a two-week program of sharing intensely personal memories of the genocide, learning new tools to manage deeply painful emotions, and considering a path to forgiveness.

The training had three components: bereavement, dealing with emotions, and forgiveness. Those who had participated in the genocide were brought face to face with, or wrote letters to, the people who had been victims.

We replicated the approach throughout the country, and the new government embraced it. Although it was often met with resistance at first and sometimes took years to change hearts, it worked in case after case.

What challenges do Rwandans face today?
Rwanda has made significant progress in rebuilding and developing since the 1994 genocide. However, the small and landlocked country of nearly 14 million people faces many challenges today, including inflation and high unemployment rates. Despite its impressive economic growth over the past decade, more than half of Rwandans live below the poverty line.

Children in blue school uniforms wash their hands at a water source equipped with multiple faucets.
In Kageyo in Gicumbi District, Rwanda, pupils at Groupe Scolaire Muhondo wash their hands at a handwashing station constructed by World Vision in 2021. Previously, the school relied on rainwater, which was often dirty and unavailable in the drier months. However, since World Vision equipped the school with a consistent and reliable clean water supply, this burden has been lifted. The school’s headmaster, Elie Habumuremyi, highlights a notable increase in attendance among its 2,075 pupils. (©2023 World Vision/photo by Jon Warren)

How is World Vision helping improve children’s lives in Rwanda?
Our commitment to serve Rwandans began in 1994, when we delivered vital aid and support to nearly 3 million people affected by the devastating genocide against the Tutsi. Since then, we have expanded our presence and impact across the country.

Today, our dedicated team of over 300 staff members operates across all 30 districts in Rwanda, reaching more than 1.8 million people, including 850,000 children, through 24 program areas nationwide. In 2022, we equipped children, families, and communities for brighter futures in these areas:

Child protection and education:
Our Unlock Literacy programs positively impacted over 165,000 children, providing education opportunities and helping improve reading skills among primary school children. These programs also helped protect children from violence.

Child sponsorship:
We have supported more than 72,000 registered children in Rwanda through our sponsorship programs. Our approach focuses on economic empowerment, health, education, and spiritual growth, transforming entire communities.

Faith and development:
Through programs like the Let the Children Come Project, we collaborated with 13 Christian partners to nurture the spiritual development of children and families. We also established the Children’s Ministry Inter-Church Network, which has created a community for Sunday/Sabbath school workers to share experiences, address needs, and advocate collectively.
Resilience and livelihoods: We supported 69,000 households in improving their economic conditions, ultimately leading to greater financial security and stability. We continue to offer training in improved farming methods, supply better seeds and tools, help set up savings groups and training, and create job opportunities beyond traditional farming.
Water, sanitation, and hygiene: World Vision works closely with the Rwandan government and local communities to ensure access to clean water and promote sanitation and hygiene behavior. In 2022, we helped over 300,000 people gain access to household handwashing facilities.

Alice, 9, a sponsored child in the village of Musura in Rwanda, now has lasting access to clean water through water points provided by World Vision. (©2022 World Vision)
What is the impact of World Vision’s clean water initiatives in Rwanda?

In 2018, World Vision and our partners made a commitment to reach everyone, everywhere we worked in Rwanda — 1 million people — with access to clean water within five years. Earlier in 2023, we celebrated reaching the one-millionth person. We are finishing the work of ensuring universal water access in all 39 sectors where we work, an achievement that’s expected by the end of 2023, as planned.

With our essential work in Rwanda nearing completion, our attention now turns to Zambia and Honduras. Supported by our generous partners and donors, we aim to “finish the job” and fulfill our commitment of providing clean water access in all project areas in Zambia by 2025 and in Honduras by 2027.

[Emil El Zapato]

Political snapshot of Portugal

Between the early 1900s and NATO membership, Portugal endured: a revolution that deposed the monarchy; a republic; and then the beginning of an authoritarian regime called the Estado Novo led by António de Oliveira Salazar. Salazar was the 100th Prime Minister of Portugal and ruled between July 1932 and September 1968. In the 1960s, the colonial war started in Africa. The Carnation Revolution in 1974 put an end to this war and reinstated democracy in Portugal.

TURNING THE PAGE

The Carnation Revolution on 25 April 1974 overthrew the Estado Novo regime and led Portugal toward a democratic government. Changes were operated on all fronts: social, economic and political, and the country withdrew from its colonies. The colonial war that had started in Angola in 1961 had put a strain on Portugal’s relations with NATO and the international community. The new provisional government, starting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mário Soares, reaffirmed their allegiance to NATO. Different factions had differing opinions as to what the fate of the country should be and how that would influence the country’s membership of NATO. Portugal remained, however, committed to the North Atlantic Alliance.

By the mid-1970s, the country reinforced its level of participation and was making greater contributions to the Alliance’s objectives. It invested in new military equipment and purchased, for instance, modern frigates and reconnaissance aircraft so that the armed forces could increase surveillance and control over a large sector of the eastern Atlantic. Portugal’s integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions was reinforced when it joined the European Economic Community in 1986, triggering yet again renewed interest in the country’s participation in the North Atlantic Alliance.

[Wind]

On America, it's politics (https://youtu.be/06fCDiu9HiA) and religion. I doubt that solely the Catholic Church can be blamed for the current state of affairs, but Christianity has been so grossly misunderstood there. Here's a good commentary I saw about it. How can the original teachings, and forget about the rest of the Bible, the core teachings of Jesus about loving thy neighbour have been so greatly misunderstood? Fire and brimstone my ass. The evangelical megachurches (https://www.grunge.com/596092/the-dark-side-of-megachurches/) lead by toxic leadership, promoting toxic values and selfishness. What do you call that, utter insanity?


America was founded by people seeking religious "freedom", or the right to practice their religion no matter how extreme. Practicing that religion often involved imposing your religion on other people and not respecting other religions, even other branches of Christianity.

There is also a strong anti-intellectual streak in American thought that goes back centuries... that might help explain how seemingly contradictory beliefs can be held so strongly.

In he past quarter century, there’s been a huge push across conservative media to shift the narrative into the idea of self-reliance in the form of the wealth gospel in Christian radio. The idea is that God wants people to be successful and it’s in His Plan to make money.

Perhaps truth lies in what Asimov said; "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." God bless America they say and I say may God help us all.

https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-every-civilization-carries-the-seeds-of-its-own-destruction-and-the-same-cycle-shows-mark-twain-86-6-0634.jpg

y5ecvBaqHBk

[Emil El Zapato]

On America, it's politics (https://youtu.be/06fCDiu9HiA) and religion. I doubt that solely the Catholic Church can be blamed for the current state of affairs, but Christianity has been so grossly misunderstood there. Here's a good commentary I saw about it. How can the original teachings, and forget about the rest of the Bible, the core teachings of Jesus about loving thy neighbour have been so greatly misunderstood? Fire and brimstone my ass. The evangelical megachurches (https://www.grunge.com/596092/the-dark-side-of-megachurches/) lead by toxic leadership, promoting toxic values and selfishness. What do you call that, utter insanity?

Perhaps truth lies in what Asimov said; "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." God bless America they say and I say may God help us all.

Hi Wind, that is totally on the mark and it is weird...I've seen it up front and close. Working class people with an 'agrarian' perspective do not need 'lurning'. It's ludicrous and killing America. It is the essence of what I was alluding to when referencing the uneducated peons of Mexico. It is different, those people 'wanted' education. It's like what Cheech Marin sang, "Mexicans love education, we take Spanish classes and get B's" and he was absolutely correct. :)

Many years ago I read that Christianity was held responsible for materialism in the West and I never really understood it. The evangelicals have made it abundantly clear.

[Emil El Zapato]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGZZ2QHprHw

Robert Goddard Was the Father of American Rocketry. But Did He Have Much Impact?
Questioning a pioneer’s legacy.

Frank H. Winter

May 8, 2018
https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/l-Z2CklvraYmGuY6LwqyJweKVBE=/1000x750/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/1d/8b/1d8b6277-a197-4642-bc94-06703eee1e8b/goddard_gpn-2000-001336.jpg
Robert Goddard around 1936, when he first published the results of his pioneering liquid-fuel rocket experiments.

Americans are justifiably proud of Robert H. Goddard, the Massachusetts professor who built and flew the world’s first liquid-fuel rocket in 1926. Goddard spent his entire life perfecting the invention he knew could one day be made to fly into space and even reach the Moon. Although he didn’t live long enough to see that dream come true (he died in 1945), German development of the liquid-fueled V-2 rocket during World War II—using the same principles—led directly to the giant Saturn V that launched NASA’s Apollo astronauts. Chronologically, anyway, Goddard can be said to have led the way to spaceflight.

But after examining this premise closely over the past few years in the course of doing research for a book on Goddard's technical accomplishments, I’ve come to a different conclusion. Because Goddard was an exceptionally secretive man, his work had less of an impact than a timeline of milestones in rocketry would suggest.

How secretive was he? Not only did Goddard make his handyman helpers sign oaths that they would never, on risk of being fired, reveal details of the work they did for him, he kept the facts of his first liquid-fuel flight from the public for a full decade. It was only in his second rocket publication, “Liquid-Propellant Rocket Development,” published by the Smithsonian in 1936, that he mentioned this flight. His first publication in 1919, “A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes,” dealt only with solid-fuel rockets, although he did dare to include the description of a hypothetical, unmanned, multi-stage rocket that might be able to go to the Moon. The worldwide publicity surrounding this idea, with many critics poking fun at Goddard and calling him the “Moon professor,” only made him more guarded in his work. (Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky had written about the possibilities of spaceflight earlier, in 1903, but due to language and other problems, his ideas were not known in the West until the mid-1920s.)

In the same year “Liquid-Propellant Rocket Development” was published (which, incidentally, provided no engineering details), the German army’s sprawling rocket research center at Peenemünde opened. Under the technical direction of a young Wernher von Braun, the center went on to develop what later became known as the V-2 missile, but originally was designated the A-4. That weapon first saw action in September 1944, primarily against London. The following March, a few months before he died, Goddard was able to examine captured V-2 parts. From then on, he strongly suggested that the Germans had stolen his ideas.

https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/YzaFAO_iZuRdH4778LojFH-OSPU=/fit-in/1072x0/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/5b/5d/5b5d9111-a963-4a38-9411-13f0bb514de6/goddard_si-73-1278.jpg
Goddard examining the engine of a V-2 rocket in April 1945.

Careful study of the V-2 shows, however, that the German and American rockets could not have been more different. Goddard’s largest rocket was meant only to travel vertically into the upper atmosphere, and was built to be as light as possible. The V-2 was designed for horizontal flight over long distances, and was meant to deliver its ton of explosives as a super weapon. Unlike Goddard’s small projects, the creation of the V-2 required hundreds if not thousands of scientists, engineers, and technicians, representing all kinds of disciplines, from aerodynamics to materials science and thermodynamics. The creators of the V-2 also worked in utmost secrecy. And at no point did they need to copy anything from Goddard.

In fact, the German army project had started in 1929, first with solid-fuel rockets, then, by 1931, with potentially far more powerful—and controllable—liquid-fuel rockets. By the time the Smithsonian published Goddard’s monograph in 1936, the Germans already had attained a great deal of experience with liquid-fuel rockets. Two years earlier, the experimental A-2 had already eclipsed Goddard’s inventions in terms of both thrust and altitude. The A-2 had a thrust of about 600 pounds and was able to reach 2.3 miles altitude on its second flight in 1936. As of 1934, Goddard’s highest flight (four years earlier) had reached just 2,000 feet.

We now know that Goddard’s 1930s rockets—as remarkable as they were for being built by one man with a few helpers—were no match for the German army’s accomplishments. His highest thrust ever was 985 pounds, reached in January 1941, while his highest altitude was some 9,000 ft (up to 1.7 miles) set in March 1937. By 1941, the German A-5 (an interim model for testing aerodynamics, guidance and other technology for the A-4), had a thrust of 3,305 pounds and reached 7.5 miles altitude. The A-4 (V-2) itself was powered by an engine that produced about 55,000 pounds of thrust, and had a range of 200 to 225 miles.

Aside from these impressive numbers, the A-4’s mission was quite different from that of Goddard’s rockets. Its complex, three-axis gyro guidance system was designed to steer the missile toward its long-range target, whereas in Goddard’s rockets, the gyro system was built strictly to stabilize the rocket during vertical research flights.

Finally, it’s now clear that Goddard and the German team both worked in Top Secret, completely independent of each other. So it’s more than a stretch to say that Goddard’s work led to the NASA Moon landings. After the war, U.S. rocket technology evolved from Germany’s work on the V-2, not from the New England professor’s experiments. As brilliant as Goddard’s achievements were, his rocketry had no real impact, during the war or afterward, on his field. His greatest influence may have been in helping introduce to the public the idea of the “space rocket” more than two decades earlier.

[Wind]

X41OzNHQc3w

[Emil El Zapato]

Poster of the day award goes to the most compelling simulated nuke explosion in a city:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBodrWwJb5M

[Wind]

Nucular, ahem, nuclear explosions are both terrifying and amazing. Doomsday weapons.

Did you watch Oppenheimer? It was praised, but I heard it was boring and the bomb sucked.

[Emil El Zapato]

Nucular, ahem, nuclear explosions are both terrifying and amazing. Doomsday weapons.

Did you watch Oppenheimer? It was praised, but I heard it was boring and the bomb sucked.

Agree on both counts...I'm surprised they made such a big deal out of it, number one, number two I have always been under the impression that Oppenheimer wasn't a superior scientist but a good project manager... I dunno? :noidea:

[Emil El Zapato]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G00LGFtpfiA

[Emil El Zapato]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QgXIFzQi0Y&t=315s

This reminds me of Trump...Is this his goal?

[Emil El Zapato]

I posted this because I thought Gio's post was pretty fascinating. It can be removed if requested... I give my permission... :)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeF_Xcc1Dfw

[Emil El Zapato]

Where are all the howler monkeys...I need people to convert to reality otherwise there is no point!

[Emil El Zapato]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwAVl0Rsc0Q

[Emil El Zapato]

I dare you!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PH_IMMxT4E

[Emil El Zapato]

Psychic Feet, huh...that's interesting.

A few years ago I lost a cat, either stolen or just preferred a new home (I made that poor cat suffer with spaying, not my choice had I had one) and she didn't care much for her adopted brother. If I had known about finding lost animals by taking one's shoes off, I would have at least tried it. So I just did, nothing happened but maybe it will come to me in a dream. I just noticed my cat sniffing around the yard where I had walked. He didn't seem too alarmed despite the fact that I haven't showered in a few days.

[Emil El Zapato]

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge held veteran investigative reporter Catherine Herridge in civil contempt on Thursday for refusing to divulge her source for a series of Fox News stories about a Chinese American scientist who was investigated by the FBI but never charged.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington imposed a fine of $800 per day until Herridge reveals her source, but the fine will not go into effect immediately to give her time to appeal.

Cooper wrote that he “recognizes the paramount importance of a free press in our society” and the critical role of confidential sources in investigative journalism. But the judge said the court “also has its own role to play in upholding the law and safeguarding judicial authority.”

“Herridge and many of her colleagues in the journalism community may disagree with that decision and prefer that a different balance be struck, but she is not permitted to flout a federal court’s order with impunity,” wrote Cooper, who was nominated to the bench by former President Barack Obama.

[Emil El Zapato]

Now we have real problems. Shortly before the Ukrainian invasion Putin and his chief invasion architect took a vacation to Siberia, ostensibly to be ‘real’ men. When there they met a Siberian Shama who foretold that Putin would reunite Russian (me).

Luke Harding - Invasion

Two months before Russia’s invasion, I met with Olexiy Haran, a professor of comparative politics at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy. He was a smart, engaging person, overworked during this latest political crisis, and casually dressed in a tracksuit. It wasn’t the first time I had interviewed him. Back in 2014, soon after the Maidan revolution, which had driven President Yanukovych from office, we had met at his apartment in a high-rise building in Kyiv’s northern suburbs.

Haran, a member of the Maidan’s organizing committee, showed off the orange helmet, gas mask, and hammer he had taken with him to protests. (He didn’t use the hammer.) He characterized the events that heady winter and spring as a “national liberation and anti-corruption movement.” Yanukovych had dumped an integration agreement with the European Union in favor of a deal with Moscow. He behaved “like a Russian puppet,” Haran said.

At the time, the professor was upset with some Western liberal opinions. Left-wing Harvard academics had written to him, he said, repeating Kremlin talking points. They had solemnly informed him–the organizer on the spot—that the Maidan was a “coup” carried out by Ukrainian fascists and the CIA. “We are talking about traditional Russian propaganda.” He told me with exasperation.

In an open letter, Haran and other experts on post-Soviet Ukrainian nationalism pointed to the heterogeneous nature of the 2013-2014 antigovernment movement. Some of those who took part were nationalists, it was true. But others were liberals, socialists, and libertarians. The first protester to die was Jewish—a sixty-one-year-old builder and grandfather from western Ukraine.

The protests, Haran recalled, were initially peaceful. The had turned violent because of escalating police brutality and murder. Overstating the role of far-right actors ultimately served “Russian imperialism,” he said. A few days after our conversation, Putin annexed Crimea in what Haran call a “pseudo referendum.”

[Emil El Zapato]

The Snowden Files by Luke Harding – review
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/2/11/1392133222198/edward-snowden-banner-011.jpg?width=620&dpr=1&s=none

There are two big mysteries at the heart of the Edward Snowden story. First, why did he do it? That is, why did he do it: here was a relatively nondescript, unassuming twentysomething, with no apparent political backing, popping up out of nowhere to take on the world's most powerful security organisation. By incurring the wrath of the US government Snowden knew he was risking a lifetime in jail. Even the journalists who worked closely with him were confounded by his bravado, or naivety, or perhaps both.

Second, how did he do it? Snowden wanted the world to know about the newfound and mindboggling capacity of the NSA and its international partners to hoover up private information, allowing them to snoop on almost anything or anyone. Snowden nicknamed this surveillance operation the "Panopticon", after Jeremy Bentham's all-knowing, all-seeing prison system. Yet that same organisation failed to notice when Snowden, a mid-level contractor, made off with its own darkest secrets, seemingly blind to the most glaring security threats in its midst. What was going on?

Luke Harding's breathless page-turner, which reads more like a spy thriller than a piece of dry political analysis, does its best to answer these questions. Harding gives us Snowden's backstory, which is not as straightforward as it might appear. Yes, he was a pretty regular guy, good with computers, interested in girls, a bit flaky perhaps and something of a drifter, but no more than the average. Trawling the extensive record of Snowden's online activities, where he posted for more than a decade on every subject under the sun as "TheTrueHOOHAA", Harding suggests he might have been a bit of a Walter Mitty. But isn't that the point of the internet age, that it makes Walter Mittys of all of us? What's striking is not so much the range of Snowden's fantasies as the depth of his political commitment. He emerges as a committed Republican, a libertarian, a huge fan of Ron Paul, a gun lover and believer in national security with a tendency to suggest that anyone who thinks otherwise deserves to be shot.

This produces some startling moments. Writing in 2009 after the New York Times has leaked secret information about covert US action against Iran's nuclear programme, "TheTrueHOOHAA" rages against whistleblowers, WikiLeaks and anyone who would betray their country for the sake of airy-fairy liberal principles. "Those people should be shot in the balls," he writes. But the real clue to his motivation comes later in the same exchange, when he wails: "Obama just appointed a fucking POLITICIAN to run the CIA." (The politician in question was Leon Panetta, who had once been Bill Clinton's chief of staff.) As a libertarian, what really gets Snowden's goat is the thought of government getting its tentacles into everything. He has no problem with spying and secrecy in their place (in Iran, for instance). What terrifies him is the idea that no one is setting limits to it all. Like many supporters of Ron Paul, Snowden would like to go back to the gold standard, because he thinks letting politicians print money is a recipe for inflation and ultimate global ruin. He sees the politicisation of surveillance as part of the same pattern: evidence of a system spinning crazily out of control.
Despite dropping out of college and a failed interlude in the army (he broke both legs in a training accident), Snowden's tech skills eventually got him good defence jobs, first at the CIA, then at the NSA, and finally at a private firm, Booz Allen Hamilton, which serviced the NSA's computer systems. At some point he went from loyalist to whistleblower – Obama's election seems to have tipped him over the edge. While Democrats were complaining about government overreach during the Bush years, Snowden was able to hope that regime change in the White House would signal a return to proper oversight. But when Obama morphed from a critic of the security state in opposition to its number one enabler in government, Snowden concluded that any safeguards were gone. In his eyes the entire US government was now operating outside its constitutional remit. What alarmed him about the NSA's activities was that no one was in charge: this had become a system that was, as he put it to journalist Glenn Greenwald, "automatically ingesting" vast amounts of human communications, indiscriminately, blindly, idiotically. It was a monster, and it was taking over the world.
In a way, Snowden's own experiences confirmed that he was right. The monster was so big and so unwieldy that it didn't notice what was going on. It was as if it had no time for old-fashioned security checks in the brave new world of big data. One of the most astonishing revelations in Harding's book is that Snowden had already blotted his copybook at the CIA, where a row with a superior had him marked down as unreliable. But when he transferred to the NSA, no one thought to pass on the personnel file, so they employed him without checking his backstory (perhaps they simply looked at "TheTrueHOOHAA" posts and decided, mistakenly, that he was one of them). At Booz, Snowden was able to scrape vast amounts of data off the NSA computers, using what now appears to have been relatively old-fashioned technology, without anyone detecting what he was up to.

Among his trawl was a series of internal PowerPoint presentations in which the NSA outlined its new capabilities and its eager readiness to use them. There are two ways to read these. One is that they are evidence of an organisation that now has terrifying technological reach, able to cross all borders and access any information it chooses, often co-opting the tech industry along the way (Google, Facebook and other titans of Silicon Valley found themselves implicated in what was going on, to their horror). The other is that, like many PowerPoint presentations, they contain a fair amount of boastful corporate bullshit. "The Mission Never Sleeps" is the ironic heading of one of the files that Snowden stole. Snowden is probably right that what's really scary is the thought of so much power being in the hands of people with so little idea of what it means. When it turned out that the NSA had been bugging Angela Merkel's phone, with disastrous political consequences, no one could say what the point had been. As John McCain told Der Spiegel, the only plausible explanation is that "they did it because they could".

Once Snowden broke cover in Hong Kong the surveillance state lumbered into action. The authorities hadn't been much good at detecting what he was up to, but now they were determined to limit the damage. They weren't much good at that either. The second half of Harding's book describes, in sometimes hilarious detail, the cack-handed attempts of various security services to put on the frighteners. In America, journalists and editors were alternately brow-beaten and threatened by various high-up officials. In Britain, in the most bizarre episode of all, two heavies from GCHQ supervised the destruction of the Guardian's hard-drives that were thought to contain the illicit files. Greenwald's partner was detained and searched under anti-terrorism laws by British police officers at Heathrow, who were on the hunt for more Snowden material. The Americans persuaded the French to bar the plane of Bolivian president Evo Morales from their airspace, on the suspicion that he had smuggled Snowden himself aboard (Snowden was by now holed up in a Moscow airport).

None of it worked. The material, once it had escaped into the public domain, could hardly be put back in the bottle: no amount of smashed up machinery can stop the spread of information (the NSA people, who devote much of their time to breaking encryption codes, might be expected to know that). Snowden was eventually granted temporary asylum in Russia, the very last thing the Americans wanted. Still, the spooks must be allowed to play their silly games. Harding writes that in the immediate aftermath of Snowden's revelations, construction crews appeared during the night outside the offices of the Guardian and the homes of its reporters, "taxi drivers" got mysteriously lost, "window cleaners" began loitering outside meeting rooms. Those trying to report the story found their lives inconvenienced – and occasionally they got a little scared – but it hardly put them off what they were doing. You could call it the Chris Christie rule of politics: it's easier to start traffic jams than it is to prevent them, but that doesn't help anyone.

Harding slightly overdoes the plucky journalists versus the overweening state: his is an insider's account that suffers from the vice of all such accounts in bigging up the experience of the people who were actually in the room. You had to be there. What they were doing was extremely important, but some of the excitement of being at the heart of world events reads overegged on the page. Also, for a writer telling a story whose details depend on understanding how tech works, he sometimes seems hazy on the basics: Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the web, is described more than once as "the inventor of the internet", which is bit like calling Henry Ford the man who invented roads (the web is a system of documents accessed via the internet). Still, this is a riveting read and it unravels the mystery better than anything that's been published so far.

Yet by following the conventions of the political thriller – with its heroes and villains, its nods to John le Carré and All the President's Men – Harding perhaps does his tale a disservice. What is so astonishing about the secrets that Snowden revealed is how much in the dark everyone turns out to be. No one really understands what it all means. The pace of technological change and its extraordinary reach mean that a lot of this stuff is entirely new: this isn't Nixon's world any longer but it's not Deep Throat's either. Snowden is a quirky figure – a distinctive product of the American right, in ways that some of his European champions on the left ought to find uncomfortable – but he is also a thoughtful one. He is correct in thinking that something has fundamentally changed in our relationship to power. He would like to turn the clock back to the late 18th century when the American constitution said what it meant and meant what it said – the "originalist" dream. That's not going to happen. It's not even clear that we can turn the clock back to the late 20th century. This is a new world and a scary one.

In Britain the political debate about how we are going to regulate this new world has barely got going. In the US (and even more in so Germany) Snowden's revelations have kickstarted an angry discussion about how to tame the monster. Though it's unlikely to be enough to satisfy Snowden, some members of the US Congress have begun to bare their teeth. But here in the UK we still have politicians such as Sir Malcolm Rifkind, a standard-order product of the late 20th-century British establishment, assuring us that his parliamentary intelligence committee has got GCHQ under wraps. It doesn't. Rifkind has instinctively closed ranks with people whose capacity to abuse their powers he can barely comprehend. This week Ed Miliband included the need to take on the security services as part of his agenda to confront "unaccountable power". It will be a long haul.

[Emil El Zapato]

https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1nIbiG.img?w=768&h=511&m=6&x=289&y=126&s=194&d=194

There is a silly rumor going around the world (mostly on right-wing sites, of course) that is suggesting the United States would allow Poland to host American nukes! That is about as likely as the U.S. inviting Putin over to the Pentagon to study all of its classified documents.

[Emil El Zapato]

The video does a good job at explaining things, but I would like to add that in practice, there isn't much of a difference anymore between N-VA and Vlaams Belang, because due to the cordon sanitaire, many members of Vlaams Belang have simply switched over to N-VA, which is a decisively authoritarian party — they're actually more authoritarian than Vlaams Belang would be if it had been allowed into a coalition. Also, Bart De Wever, the leader of the N-VA party and currently also the incumbent mayor of Antwerp, is a very cynical and disdainful man. In practice, Vlaams Belang are the loud rioters, while N-VA is far more insidious, because it's cold and calculated, and they are (still) allowed in government.

On another note, the Flemish socialist party — now called Vooruit, which means "ahead" — isn't really socialist, and hasn't been socialist anymore in quite a long time. They are social-democrats — somewhat slightly to the left of the US Democrats. And the only party that actually makes some sense these days and isn't afraid of exposing and attacking the moral corruption in the whole political caste system here — which covers all parties — is the Marxist PVDA. I don't agree with all of their proposals, but at present time, I do agree with most of them, and as the presenter in that video said, they are also the only remaining unitarian party in Belgium — all other parties have already long ago split up into regional parties with a separate sister party on the other side of the language border.

Being a responsible anarchist at heart and distrusting every political party, I will probably be voting blank/invalid again on the 9th of June — and I really wish they would finally abolish the obligation to go and vote, but alas, they've now made it even worse, because now even 16-year-olds already have to go and vote, whereas it used to be compulsory as of the age of 18 — but I am hoping PVDA will garner a lot of success, because somebody has to tackle the moral corruption of the political caste here, and if anyone can, then it's these guys.

You can move this post to my favorite and by far the most brilliant thread if you like: Chaos and the AntiThread

So, what do you think of these guys?

Democratic Socialists : Heads of government
Salvador Allende, President of Chile (1970–1973)[1][2][3]
Jacobo Árbenz, President of Guatemala (1951–1954)[4]
Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1945–1951)[5][6][7]
Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile (2006–2010; 2014–2018)[citation needed]
David Ben-Gurion, Prime Minister of Israel (1948–1954; 1955–1963)[8][9]
Léon Blum, Prime Minister of France (1936–1937; 1938)[10]
Willy Brandt, Chancellor of Germany (1969–1974)[11][12]
Álvaro Colom, President of Guatemala (2008–2012)[11]
Alexander Dubček, leader of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1968–1969)[13]
Peter Fraser, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1940–1949)[14]
Mauricio Funes, President of El Salvador (2009–2014)[15]
Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet leader (1985–1991)[16][17]
António Guterres, Prime-Minister of Portugal (1995 - 2002) and Secretary General of the United Nations (2016–present)
Cheddi Jagan, President of Guyana (1992–1997)[18]
Norman Kirk, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1972–1974)[19]
Fernando Lugo, President of Paraguay (2008–2012)[15]
Ramsay MacDonald, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1924; 1929–1935)[20]
Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa (1994–1999)[21][22]
Michael Manley, Prime Minister of Jamaica (1972–1980)[23]
François Mitterrand, President of France (1981–1995)[24][25]
Evo Morales, President of Bolivia (2006–2019)[15]
José Mujica, President of Uruguay (2010–2015)[15]
Walter Nash, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1957–1960)[26]
Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India (1947–1964)[27][28]
Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua (1985–1990; 2007–present)[15]
Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden (1969–1976; 1982–1986)[11][13]
José Ramos-Horta, President of East Timor (2007–2012)[29]
Giuseppe Saragat, President of Italy (1964–1971)[30]
Michael Joseph Savage, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1935–1940)[31]
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil (2003–2011, 2023–present)[11]
Sutan Sjahrir, Prime Minister of Indonesia (1945–1947)[32]
Mário Soares, Founder and Leader of the Socialist Party (1973–1986), Prime-Minister of Portugal (1976–1978; 1983–1986) and President of the Portuguese Republic (1986–1996)
Kalevi Sorsa, Prime Minister of Finland (1972–1975; 1977–1979; 1982–1987)[33]
Alexis Tsipras, Prime Minister of Greece (2015–2019)[34]
Tabaré Vázquez, President of Uruguay (2005–2010; 2015–2020)[11]
Chris Watson, Prime Minister of Australia (1904)[35]
Harold Wilson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1964–1970; 1974–1976)[5][36]
Lionel Jospin, Prime Minister of France (1997–2002)

[Aragorn]

You can move this post to my favorite and by far the most brilliant thread if you like: Chaos and the AntiThread

So, what do you think of these guys?

Democratic Socialists : Heads of government
Salvador Allende, President of Chile (1970–1973)[1][2][3]
Jacobo Árbenz, President of Guatemala (1951–1954)[4]
Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1945–1951)[5][6][7]
Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile (2006–2010; 2014–2018)[citation needed]
David Ben-Gurion, Prime Minister of Israel (1948–1954; 1955–1963)[8][9]
Léon Blum, Prime Minister of France (1936–1937; 1938)[10]
Willy Brandt, Chancellor of Germany (1969–1974)[11][12]
Álvaro Colom, President of Guatemala (2008–2012)[11]
Alexander Dubček, leader of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1968–1969)[13]
Peter Fraser, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1940–1949)[14]
Mauricio Funes, President of El Salvador (2009–2014)[15]
Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet leader (1985–1991)[16][17]
António Guterres, Prime-Minister of Portugal (1995 - 2002) and Secretary General of the United Nations (2016–present)
Cheddi Jagan, President of Guyana (1992–1997)[18]
Norman Kirk, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1972–1974)[19]
Fernando Lugo, President of Paraguay (2008–2012)[15]
Ramsay MacDonald, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1924; 1929–1935)[20]
Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa (1994–1999)[21][22]
Michael Manley, Prime Minister of Jamaica (1972–1980)[23]
François Mitterrand, President of France (1981–1995)[24][25]
Evo Morales, President of Bolivia (2006–2019)[15]
José Mujica, President of Uruguay (2010–2015)[15]
Walter Nash, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1957–1960)[26]
Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India (1947–1964)[27][28]
Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua (1985–1990; 2007–present)[15]
Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden (1969–1976; 1982–1986)[11][13]
José Ramos-Horta, President of East Timor (2007–2012)[29]
Giuseppe Saragat, President of Italy (1964–1971)[30]
Michael Joseph Savage, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1935–1940)[31]
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil (2003–2011, 2023–present)[11]
Sutan Sjahrir, Prime Minister of Indonesia (1945–1947)[32]
Mário Soares, Founder and Leader of the Socialist Party (1973–1986), Prime-Minister of Portugal (1976–1978; 1983–1986) and President of the Portuguese Republic (1986–1996)
Kalevi Sorsa, Prime Minister of Finland (1972–1975; 1977–1979; 1982–1987)[33]
Alexis Tsipras, Prime Minister of Greece (2015–2019)[34]
Tabaré Vázquez, President of Uruguay (2005–2010; 2015–2020)[11]
Chris Watson, Prime Minister of Australia (1904)[35]
Harold Wilson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1964–1970; 1974–1976)[5][36]
Lionel Jospin, Prime Minister of France (1997–2002)

You've got to be kidding me, right? Do you honestly think I've got nothing better to do than cast an opinion on a list of 38 individual politicians from all over history and all over the world? :rolleyes:

:facepalm:

[Emil El Zapato]

You've got to be kidding me, right? Do you honestly think I've got nothing better to do than cast an opinion on a list of 38 individual politicians from all over history and all over the world? :rolleyes:

:facepalm:

I thought you would just glance and make a quick assessment. I recognize some of them and if you had just picked one and gave an opinion I would have done the same thing but ok...you can delete it.

[Fred Steeves]

Uh oh…

[Wind]

Damn idiots.

tPgE9dkcEmg

[Aragorn]

Damn idiots.

tPgE9dkcEmg


I was at Stonehenge in 1981. It's a magical place, for sure. :unsure:

[Wind]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Anti-capitalism_color%E2%80%94_Restored.png/800px-Anti-capitalism_color%E2%80%94_Restored.png

[Emil El Zapato]

Amen!

[Octopus Garden]

Exactly!

[Emil El Zapato]

This one is just for you Fred, this guy is a typical non-American hater:

Much of what Chomsky says (so far) is accurate enough. A lot of it hinges on what the American ptb allow for their citizens. And, of course, there are those that will always exploit regardless of the results. Blue has stood for the best things that America claims as their social backbone, the Red, not so much...maybe couldn't even call it Red, 'conservative' might be a closer appellation. For starter's Clinton's home state was a notoriously red state (Arkansas) and sometimes it is difficult to separate that internal monologue from what one is trying to represent. Same with the poseur Vance, but his inner monologue is not truly 'Appalachian', it is asshole.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRLLRzmbk6g

[Gio]

Uh oh…


“Control is the source of strategic power.”
— Noam Chomsky




https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia1.giphy.com%2Fmedia%2FOpSB5d vAhrDmo%2Fgiphy.gif&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=72d4fee6b2c06722ed9450c4302ccf7e66500708b512f0 cf86698bac4c655134&ipo=images

Freedom Is Free

Chicano Batman

4:04 min.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkEmnrUzFFE

[Emil El Zapato]

I realized how representative that song is... :)

[Emil El Zapato]

My daughter said that the baby had been stabbed several times in the back, the wounds cleaned and then the mother dressed the child and then subsequently threw the child from a 2nd story hotel balcony and the baby survived until reaching the hospital. It was truly horrific. First time I had heard my daughter shaken by an experience, but was congratulated for conducting a professional EMS service.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa-RVy6XwoY&list=RDNSAa-RVy6XwoY&start_radio=1

My daughter said this is the most disturbing thing she has experienced. The mother looks East European.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJmU3DMCemg&list=RDNSAa-RVy6XwoY&index=8

[Emil El Zapato]

Two images posted by my niece that lives a few miles from me, in 'countryside' Texas, home of the Ron Paul clan. In case anyone is wondering...yeah, she white.

https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/465847540_9473744915973289_4493633267921406591_n.j pg?stp=dst-jpg_p526x296&_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=833d8c&_nc_ohc=chBFhKV-eZ0Q7kNvgGRsG2l&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&_nc_gid=A7c6cR1CE9Fa873iDXH3rIH&oh=00_AYD2L5Uk6QI3poYJ1ctsibyvkqre7_QZ-3tEOTfxa3z5rQ&oe=6732D1DB

https://scontent-dfw5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/465599745_9472879796059801_1446186579734039835_n.j pg?stp=dst-jpg_s640x640&_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=833d8c&_nc_ohc=vKeR4fam5RoQ7kNvgFEHMKJ&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.xx&_nc_gid=A7c6cR1CE9Fa873iDXH3rIH&oh=00_AYBX30S3Vn_z26sUTwVZF_TxFJOKIAFKv0i5iLzwsmM-hA&oe=6732E08A

[Wind]

Ever heard of this guy?

NzBQf5lf_pE

[Emil El Zapato]

Ever heard of this guy?

NzBQf5lf_pE

I remembered the name, but not that he was a psychologist. I do agree with him completely though...

[Wind]

oYxnrNkYx-U

[Emil El Zapato]

The latest on my competitive niece:

https://scontent-dfw5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/461486642_18458786554047174_8099833043741036005_n. jpg?_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=7QHrirPUz5kQ7kNvgEqhrZJ&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.xx&_nc_gid=AP9ZtvxYoxACkBtTqSP0axV&oh=00_AYDB_8ggua9TEbg_cgAv14m87RTwFpW1LD03piWDST-uiQ&oe=6748DEDD

[Emil El Zapato]

oYxnrNkYx-U

yeah, Reagan was the False Profit.

[Wind]

The latest on my competitive niece:

https://scontent-dfw5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/461486642_18458786554047174_8099833043741036005_n. jpg?_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=7QHrirPUz5kQ7kNvgEqhrZJ&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.xx&_nc_gid=AP9ZtvxYoxACkBtTqSP0axV&oh=00_AYDB_8ggua9TEbg_cgAv14m87RTwFpW1LD03piWDST-uiQ&oe=6748DEDD

Got a number?

[Emil El Zapato]

Got a number?

lol, I can get it for you...California.