Saturday, September 09, 2017

Saturday- 9-9-17

SATURDAY 9-9-17

NPR [1] Sad that Irma didn’t kill family https://youtu.be/giHY7ID4KhM 

NPR [2] Please flee! You might lose power? https://youtu.be/XnKK4TyNhMQ 

Laptops n musings- https://youtu.be/03UjisKGrHI 
I actually taught some Philosophy on this one- so I added the zip-

No Bull- https://youtu.be/g6RkAI5zuWk [Vaccines and Autism- is there a connection?- If so- why would they mock the science?- see links below]

Caller Times racially profiles White Catholics- https://youtu.be/WsskpEYgAk4 

I’ll add this last one right before I post- there were 2 news articles that prompted me.
One- you see in the title of the video- here’s the link-

The other was another local law enforcement official was going to plead the 5th- not as a defendant- but as the lead investigator in a criminal case- http://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2017/09/08/two-cases-dismissed-against-former-corpus-christi-law-firm-operator/645783001/ 

So- 2 more charges were dropped against the defendant.

A cop also did this about 6 months ago. Law enforcement officials- pleading the 5th- to protect themselves from criminal liability- this is not normal- and these men stay on the job- continuing to put the public at risk- from their ongoing actions- which by their own admission- is criminal.

 I guess that would be a good way to end it- yes- and don’t forget Nick Jimenez and the caller times have just racially profiled White Christians- and were proud to show their racists color- thanks for the good Job!

NEW- I really did not want to talk anymore about hurricanes to be honest- but this is more about media narrative than anything else.

As I have watched/listened to the news the past few days- I saw that their coverage on hurricane Irma was indeed overblown.

How can I say that?

The media reported- in dreadful terms ‘Irma is one of the most deadly hurricanes ever recorded- even seismologists have picked it up on equipment they use to detect earthquakes’!

Now- Did they say this?
Yes.

Are they telling the truth?
Yes- and no.

The truth is- Irma has been detected on quote ‘earthquake machines’.
Then how are they deceiving people?

‘earthquake machines’ have been detecting hurricanes for many years.
This is not an uncommon thing at all.

But the media did not tell you that tidbit.

That's what we call ‘fake news’- They shape the story in that way.

When I was listening to NPR news- I actually heard the disappointment in the voices of the media- that a man from Puerto Rico- and his family- were not killed by Irma.

I can not give you the exact text- but believe me- if you heard the report you could tell.
Then they interviewed a man from Florida- who decided to ride out the storm.

The NPR moderator was disappointed that the man has not fled- in utter panic!
He even said ‘well- you might lose power’.

It was the tone of disappointment in the moderators voice- that told you the media want the public in absolute panic- so Irma- and the others- will be seen as a new threat that the U.S. has never faced before-

And yes- this threat- is a direct result of Global Warming.

I am not a global warming denier- though there is much more to the science than simply co2 levels.

 But why would the media be disappointed that the damage predicted- as Irma has passed thru some areas- was not as bad as they said?

Why would the media give the public the impression that Irma is the only hurricane ever picked up by ‘earthquake machines’?

Irma is a bad storm- and it has indeed caused damage- and there will be more to come.
I ‘predict’ that Florida will not suffer the damage that the media has been hoping for all week.

Irma will pass thru Florida- there will be flooding- but the media are representing it as a Cat 5 will hit the state-
And go thru the entire length of Florida-

And maintain winds of a killer the likes of which we have never seen before- all the way thru the entire state.

That's not going to happen- unless Irma rides off the coast [East or West]- it will lose strength upon landfall.
The winds will cause damage-

But it will not be one of the worst killers ever in the history of man.
And sad to say- some in the media will have a sense of disappointment in their voices- when they have to report on those- who survived.

I talk about other media narratives- that deal with life and death issues-
How some have grasped on to the term ‘existential threat’
Like it means something different than ‘Threat’ -

Actually- it does not-
And yes- I cover the father of modern existentialism on the videos-
And do a brief background of the philosophy of existentialism-

Not to show you how smart I am-
But to show you how uninformed the media is- on just about everything.

I also talked about how political correctness has mocked the links between autism and vaccines- [no Bull video]

Yes- there was at one time a real question- but when it entered the political arena- it fell victim to the mocking of those who have actually done research on it- here’s just one link- https://www.focusforhealth.org/autism-and-vaccine-debate/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjqmVhf6Y1gIVBqZpCh3T3A4QEAAYASAAEgL6VvD_BwE

[More links below]

PAST POSTS [These are past teachings I did that relate in some way to today’s videos- I actually wanted to say ‘I mentioned Soren Kierkegaard on the video’- but my spell check does not recognize him- so I just copied the name from my past teaching- below. Yes- the spell check for WPS- which I use- and is advertised as free open office ware- if you don’t buy the paid version- will actually not recognize normal words in a dictionary- if you spell any word- and get one letter off- like for example ‘Political’ - the spell check will replace it with something like ‘rubberize’- I’m not kidding- they do this with all the words you might spell wrong- by even one letter. That’s fine- I mentioned it today- but it’s like they personaly [options they just gave me for misspelling personally are- every other word you might consider- except the word PERSONALLY] hack your PC because you won’t by the paid version- I’m in the process of getting regular office- but be warned- if you use WPS- they will come after you!


 SOCRATES [Yes- I mention Soren in this past teaching]
Socrates was born around 469-470 BCE.
He is famous for introducing a way of learning that engaged the students in a dialogue- the question would be put on the table- and thru rigorous debate- you would come to an understanding thru the process of questioning.

This is referred to as the Socratic Method.
Socrates came on the scene during the famous Spartan wars.

The other day I watched the movie 300- which depicts the battle between the city state of Athens against the city/state of Sparta.
As you know- the Athenians suffered a great defeat at the hands of the Spartans.
The Spartans were outmanned by the Athenians- but their motto was ‘come back with your shields- or on them’.

They were a true warrior nation- trained to fight from their youth- and this defeat sent the people of Athens into a time of disillusionment.

They questioned the power of their gods- and a sort of malaise fell over Athens after the defeat.

This was when Socrates entered the fray- when the people had many questions about life.

He was called the Gadfly of Athens- a title that would also be given to the 19th century Danish father of existentialism- Soren Kierkegaard.

They were called Gadfly’s- because they were like flies that would pester you- and elicit a response.

The leadership of Athens saw Socrates as one that was stirring up the youth of his day- and creating discontent among the populace.

He rejected the many god’s of the day- but did have a belief in a single deity- he- like the Christians 4 centuries later- would be accused of atheism- because of his rejection of multiple god’s.

He was sentenced to death in 399 BCE- and his form of execution was drinking Hemlock.

His most famous student- Plato- spoke with him before his death.

Many were surprised at how willingly Socrates faced his demise- and this willingness had a great impact on those who witnessed it.

Socrates never wrote anything- but most of what we do know about him comes from the writing of others- most notably from Plato’s Dialogues.
Plato wrote down what Socrates taught- In his writings we see Socrates engaging in this method with various people- thus the name of Plato’s works- Dialogues.

There is a debate about how much of what was written about him was actually true- Plato did add his own ideas into these debates- and the controversy about this is so strong that we actually have a name for it- the ‘Socratic Problem’.
During the time of the disillusionment of the Athenians- there were a group of philosophers known as the Sophists.

The word comes from Sophia- meaning wisdom.

Philosophy itself means The Love of Wisdom.
In our day the words Sophomore- Sophistry and Sophisticated are derived from this root word.

The Sophists were the original Pragmatists.

Pragmatism is a form of belief that says ‘do what works- regardless of the ethical implications’.
We will get to Pragmatism at the end of this whole series on Philosophy.

But for now- we see the division between what Socrates taught- and the Sophists.

Socrates did indeed teach a form of Ethics- which contrasted with the Sophists.
He said that the pursuit of virtue was better than the pursuit of wealth- much like the words of Jesus ‘what does it profit a man if he gain the world- and lose his soul’.

His most famous saying is ‘The unexamined life is not worth living’.

He emphasized the importance of mind over body- which inspired Plato’s philosophy of dividing reality into 2 separate realms- the world of senses and the world of ideas.

Socrates actually challenged the Democratic process- he believed it better for the wise men- the Philosopher Kings- to run the show.
Athens did have a form of Democracy at the time- and because of the rise of the Sophists- and the itinerant teachers- you had sort of an election process- much like in our day- where those who would attain office were those who spoke the best- and made the best public argument.

We elect judges and stuff in our day- and even presidents- not because they are the most capable- but because they ran the best campaign.

So- in a way I agree with Socrates- at times I think we need a better process of electing those to higher office- then the one we have now.

It’s important to note that even though we started this study with Thales- and in the study of Western philosophy it’s commonly understood to have started with Thales.

Yet- Socrates seems to be the Father of philosophy in many ways.
He probably has had the most influence in the field philosophy- and the 2 great philosophers that we’ll get to next come right out from the heels of Socrates [Plato and Aristotle].

Why is this important to note?
As we progress in this study- and get closer to the 19th/20th century philosophers- we will see a trend- away from the idea that there are actually any ethical values- moral virtues- or ‘right or wrong’.

These philosophers dabbled with the idea that values themselves are the cause of man’s problems [Freud].

So- keep in mind- one of the main streams of thought in the early stages of philosophy was that values were indeed the main thing- Socrates challenged the Sophists of his day- he said that moral virtue was very important- that to live life with the values of courage- honesty- self-denial- these were the things that made men good- noble.

The bible says ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’ ‘those that seek the Lord understand all things’.

Christian tradition would agree with Socrates in many ways- Jesus showed us that the virtue of service to others- to love your fellow man- to honor God- that these were indeed the heart of the matter.

Socrates feared the loss of virtue in society- that if we simply lived for the present time- with no higher values [a form of hedonism] then the foundations of society will erode.
He also believed that it was good to question things- not to simply believe a thing for the sake of believing.

Over time- thru debate and the discourse of other people- he believed you would get to the truth.

The bible says ‘in the multitude of counselors there is safety’.

Yeah- as people have a conversation- as they dialogue- often times they themselves come up with the answer to the question.

The apostle Paul penned the letter to young Timothy- he said ‘preach the word- in doing this you will save yourself- and those that hear you’.

Yeah- when you engage- and even try and teach others- this will have an effect on you too- the actual act of engaging- of teaching- often brings more insight to the one doing the communicating- then the ones who hear.

Yeah- I like Socrates- he believed in what he taught- he drank the Hemlock- knowing full well that his life would pass- but he had belief- faith- that after death man would pass over into another realm- a much better one.

No- he was not ‘Christian’ in the traditional sense of the word- but he was about as close as you could get- for his time.
Links/articles to stuff I talked about today-


 Clinton, as a presidential candidate in 2008, wrote in response to a candidate questionnaire: “I am committed to make investments to find the causes of autism, including possible environmental causes like vaccines. . . . We don’t know what, if any, kind of link there is between vaccines and autism — but we should find out.” Here’s the article- https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/vaccine-debate-presents-a-political-minefield--as-hillary-clinton-can-attest/2015/02/03/1fa7fc4c-abc7-11e4-ad71-7b9eba0f87d6_story.html?utm_term=.5e18d5b25b0d 




Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Thanks- John.#


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