"Fabulous
Win for Anti-Fracking Movement as Another Major Pipeline Bites the
Dust," by Jon Queally, staff writer, Common Dreams,
April 23, 2016
Go New York! :-))
Larry
Go New York! :-))
Larry
sent 4/24/16 a bit of hope "Landmark Ruling Will Finally Allow Victims to Hold CIA 'Torturers to Account'"
I am just home from singing my lungs out again at church, which is
what they pay me for. Just kidding, no they don't pay me, they just
beg me to be there. That's enough.
Anyway, this is wonderful news for this beautiful sunny Sunday. This is about time, a tiny ray of hope for my country!
"Landmark Ruling Will Finally Allow Victims to Hold CIA 'Torturers to Account'," by Deirdre Fulton, staff writer, Common Dreams, April 22, 2016
related:
sent 4/10/16 PLEASE TAKE THIS VIRAL because....The Banality of Evil: drones, private militias, the CIA, and us.
love to all,
Larry
Anyway, this is wonderful news for this beautiful sunny Sunday. This is about time, a tiny ray of hope for my country!
"Landmark Ruling Will Finally Allow Victims to Hold CIA 'Torturers to Account'," by Deirdre Fulton, staff writer, Common Dreams, April 22, 2016
related:
sent 4/10/16 PLEASE TAKE THIS VIRAL because....The Banality of Evil: drones, private militias, the CIA, and us.
love to all,
Larry
sent 4/21/16 Please take this viral because... "After drones: the indelible mark of America's remote control warfare"
"After
drones: the indelible mark of America's remote control warfare,"
by Spencer Ackerman, The Guardian, April 21, 2016.
Please take this viral because we need help and telling the truth helps.
As you are very probably aware, The Guardian is a huge London-based UK and US newspaper and news site. Is this really the America that we want the world to see? We are not going to change our image as an evil imperialistic country by lying about it. The serious question is whether or not there is something we can do to change our ways in reality. It is largely a struggle over America's role in the global economy and whether or not we as a civilized--some of us anyway, hopefully most of us aside from the so-called social media on the Internet--nation can take control of our own actions.
see also:
sent 4/16/16 STOP "The Hell After ISIS"
sent 4/16/16 George Monbiot--an important read--Neoliberalism – the ideology at the root of all our problems
sent 4/14/16 must see (video >15 min): "The Israel Lobby's Growing Assault on Free Speech" and most especially also the related links to other previous messages that this one contains including sent 4/10/16 PLEASE TAKE THIS VIRAL because....The Banality of Evil: drones, private militias, the CIA, and us.
love,
Larry
P.S. Please take this viral because we need help and telling the truth helps.
--
Brother Larry/Attorney Scott archives (Larry at Blogspot) "undisclosed recipients" email message archive, no logging in, no public comments
One way or another, raise yourself up I say; get over fear. If you are not doing it you can do it. Other people are doing it. We can learn from them, I find.
Please take this viral because we need help and telling the truth helps.
As you are very probably aware, The Guardian is a huge London-based UK and US newspaper and news site. Is this really the America that we want the world to see? We are not going to change our image as an evil imperialistic country by lying about it. The serious question is whether or not there is something we can do to change our ways in reality. It is largely a struggle over America's role in the global economy and whether or not we as a civilized--some of us anyway, hopefully most of us aside from the so-called social media on the Internet--nation can take control of our own actions.
see also:
sent 4/16/16 STOP "The Hell After ISIS"
sent 4/16/16 George Monbiot--an important read--Neoliberalism – the ideology at the root of all our problems
sent 4/14/16 must see (video >15 min): "The Israel Lobby's Growing Assault on Free Speech" and most especially also the related links to other previous messages that this one contains including sent 4/10/16 PLEASE TAKE THIS VIRAL because....The Banality of Evil: drones, private militias, the CIA, and us.
love,
Larry
P.S. Please take this viral because we need help and telling the truth helps.
--
Brother Larry/Attorney Scott archives (Larry at Blogspot) "undisclosed recipients" email message archive, no logging in, no public comments
One way or another, raise yourself up I say; get over fear. If you are not doing it you can do it. Other people are doing it. We can learn from them, I find.
sent 4/17/16 "LISTEN UP, TRUMP OPPONENTS!"
I personally do not find myself in the company of political
supporters of Donald Trump, so my opportunity to engage in listening
to Mr. Trump's supporters in person is limited to none. If you are
in a different situation then you might find this to be very
constructive.
Besides me, there were two people involved in this. One is the main author, Kai Degner. The other is "Tom," who worked at excerpting and annotating. I am keeping him anonymous for now.
Please make no use of this for any profit.
love, Larry
-----------------------
Besides me, there were two people involved in this. One is the main author, Kai Degner. The other is "Tom," who worked at excerpting and annotating. I am keeping him anonymous for now.
Please make no use of this for any profit.
love, Larry
-----------------------
LISTEN UP, TRUMP OPPONENTS!
Excerpts [by "Tom"] from
Listen: How to Trump Trump and Make America Greater Than Ever
March 15, 2016
by Kai Degner
Listen: How to Trump Trump and Make America Greater Than Ever
March 15, 2016
by Kai Degner
“The solution to uncivil discourse is not civil
discourse.”
“[We hear that] uncivil dialogue must stop, i.e.
we must commit to a more civil discourse. There are calls almost
hourly for civil discourse, and tamping down the rhetoric, for
fear it will boil over.… Civil discourse, for many, means, ‘Speak
politely.’…
Another term that is very close to ‘civil
discourse,’ [is] ‘political correctness.’ [But for Trump
supporters] political correctness, i.e. speaking politely, is not
perceived as a solution to anything. It’s experienced as the very
essence of the problem in America…. [It] is in the way of getting
real, getting down to business, getting to solutions, getting
things done, and, of course, making America great again….
Speaking is an attempt by people to be relevant,
to contribute, to participate. People aren’t just speaking words
and simple opinions, they’re attempting to manifest who they
believe themselves to be at that moment. Speech is how people show
they are alive. Speech is self-identify, speech is Self. Freedom
of speech is freedom, period. Thus, when someone’s speech is
frustrated, offensive, rough, demeaning, angry, or fearful, it’s
also something else: it’s honest and authentic….
[Asking] frustrated Trump supporters … to chose
different words, lower their volume, or be less emotional is
really asking them to restrict who they are….
[Many of us fear] the Melting Pot of America
feels like it’s getting ready to boil over, or maybe worse. [But
here’s] the problem: calling for civil discourse to stop the
threat of uncivil discourse is like putting a lid on top of the
pot to stop it from boiling. Every call for civil discourse is
more pressure applied to the lid. Every person calling for civil
discourse is increasing the pressure on the lid. The Melting Pot
is full of millions of Trump supporters who need to let off steam
and there are millions of Trump opponents standing on the lid. The
lid is not helping – it’s making it worse.
Not only are Trump opponents increasing the
pressure with calls for civil discourse, many are stoking the fire
under the pot itself. These people, whether calling for civility
or not, are (however politely) blaming, persuading, arguing with,
and proving wrong Trump and his supporters. Some explain Trump
supporters are stupid, uneducated, racist, scared, and not really
Christians. Justified or not, this language is denying Trump
supporters their self-identity, even their dignity…. The blaming
and judging is adding heat under the melting pot, while the calls
for civil discourse are pushing down on the lid. The result is
predictable, isn’t it? And the result is ironically and tragically
counter-productive: the Melting Pot of America violently explodes
– exactly what Trump opponents want to avoid….
What is the action we can take that relieves the
pressure and heat? In short, how do we, as Trump opponents, lift
the lid of the Melting Pot of America before it explodes? If
talking isn’t the solution, what do we do?
We listen….
Listening to someone can make them feel alive and
valued. Trump’s rhetoric is effective… [because he makes] people
feel heard, understood, and empathized with. In short, Trump’s
words demonstrate he listens and understands and respects his
supporters. His listening is literally giving them life. He’s
making it easy, with his simple language, for people to articulate
themselves with the cumbersome tool of speech….[1]
Freedom of speech requires listeners…. People who
want to empower fellow citizens and make America great don’t need
to think of the right thing to say, they need to think about the
right way to listen. People only have three options when they are
not listened to and get sick of trying polite speaking: shut down
and disengage, get louder and more dramatic, or get violent….
Perhaps the pressure and heat in the Melting Pot
of America is built up because know-it-all, smug, self-righteous
liberals are too smart, too uncomfortable, and too arrogant to sit
down with a Trump supporter, crack open a Budweiser, and shut the
fuck up for 15 minutes….
I define listening as what it takes to make the
speaker feel understood and respected. This sounds simple, but it
is actually incredibly complicated. Think listening is easy? Check
out this list of traits for an effective listener:
• Listener is receptive to the speaker and has an
(unbiased) open mind…
• Listener asks questions to clarify…
• Listener indicates to the speaker that the
listener understands and is listening
• Listener has an unlimited (sufficiently large)
amount of time and is available to listen
• Listener is patient and/or provides a
comfortable, open, and encouraging atmosphere…
• Listener concentrates and/or pays attention
while listening…
• Listener understands speaker’s feelings or
emotions
• Listener summarizes, restates and/or
paraphrases the speaker
• Listener is not distracted while listening….
• Listener does not interrupt….
• Listener is not tired while listening….
• Listener is free from internal distractions
such as wandering thoughts
• Listener encourages speaker to speak freely
• Listener is relaxed and comfortable while
listening
• Listener understands and takes into account the
speakers perspective (personal or cultural) or point of view….
[Note from Tom: I edited this list down to about half
its original length to make it more digestible. See the original article to read the whole original list.]
This is the kind of deep listening I mean when I
say listening can lift the lid off the overheating melting pot.
This is the listening that can create new possibilities. This type
of listening has the potential to leave people respected,
understood, whole, and alive. Literally, because this type of
listening can let a person more fully express their Self, this
deep listening can acknowledge them in a way which polite talk and
censorship never will be able to….
Trump opponents should sit down and listen to
Trump supporters… We should listen as long as it takes. We should
listen as much as it takes. We should work through our justified
sense of violated dignity, and practice listening anyway. We must
get over ourselves and show the respect we want. We must be the
change we want to see – or hear. By “we”, I may give a pass to
people whose dignity has so been violated by Trump’s rhetoric that
they cannot yet stand to listen to a Trump supporter. I don’t
blame them. By “we”, I mean individuals who have the capacity and
ability to get over the violation of their dignity. I mean people,
and also mean organizations….
BECAUSE I do not agree with Trump and don’t want
to see him elected, I’m going to do my best to do something that
might actually work: practice listening anyway, and invite,
motivate, and support as many others as I can to do the same. [2]
[1] [Note from Tom: There’s another
aspect of this I recently realized. When a candidate “speaks our
language” we think that they see the world the way we see the
world, and that what they’ll do when we elect them is what we
would do if we were chosen and were really able to do the job.
That makes it a good idea to vote for them.]
[2] [Note from Tom: Some people will say,
“But that won’t stop these people from voting for Trump!” That
may or may not be true, but when was the last time you convinced
someone to not vote for Trump by arguing with them? The way you
beat opposing candidate(s) is to do better organizing for the
candidate(s) you favor. The purpose of listening is different:
It detoxifies the political environment and drains the energies
that threaten violence and feed demagogues in the first place.]
sent 4/16/16 STOP "The Hell After ISIS"
Subject: STOP "The Hell After ISIS"
We did this\/ before we did this.
"The Hell After ISIS," by Anand Gopal, The Atlantic, May 2016.
That is one heck of a story about a family over time. I learned a lot from it that I did not know before. Facts, I mean. Seriously.
I have a serious proposal. Instead of committing the worst sin of all and trying to bamboozle ourselves and the rest of the world as to our motives, why don't "we" just go ahead and kill them and steal their resources outright. The rest of the world knows anyway that that is what we are really doing. After all, my family is my first concern, honestly, we have global warming, diminishing resources, and our own overpopulation to deal with. What else are we supposed to do anyway?
Well we could just stop. But how much fun would that be? If we are not going to stop then why should we not be honest? That might be fun, actually. Seriously.
What about the remnants of Christianity you say? Well what about them?
love,
Larry
--
Brother Larry/Attorney Scott archives (Larry at Blogspot) "undisclosed recipients" email message archive, no logging in, no public comments
One way or another, raise yourself up I say; get over fear. If you are not doing it you can do it. Other people are doing it. We can learn from them, I find.
We did this\/ before we did this.
"The Hell After ISIS," by Anand Gopal, The Atlantic, May 2016.
That is one heck of a story about a family over time. I learned a lot from it that I did not know before. Facts, I mean. Seriously.
I have a serious proposal. Instead of committing the worst sin of all and trying to bamboozle ourselves and the rest of the world as to our motives, why don't "we" just go ahead and kill them and steal their resources outright. The rest of the world knows anyway that that is what we are really doing. After all, my family is my first concern, honestly, we have global warming, diminishing resources, and our own overpopulation to deal with. What else are we supposed to do anyway?
Well we could just stop. But how much fun would that be? If we are not going to stop then why should we not be honest? That might be fun, actually. Seriously.
What about the remnants of Christianity you say? Well what about them?
love,
Larry
--
Brother Larry/Attorney Scott archives (Larry at Blogspot) "undisclosed recipients" email message archive, no logging in, no public comments
One way or another, raise yourself up I say; get over fear. If you are not doing it you can do it. Other people are doing it. We can learn from them, I find.
sent 4/16/16 George Monbiot--an important read--Neoliberalism – the ideology at the root of all our problems
This incorporates things that you know about from listening to me in
years past--the Chicago School of Economics, Regan, The Shock Doctrine,
etc.--and brings the story up to date.
An important read--"Neoliberalism – the ideology at the root of all our problems," by George Monbiot (Wikipedia link), The Guardian, April 15, 2016
Related:
p/o sent 1/9/16: "[1857 to present with a big hint for the future] How Big Oil Conquered the World [MUST-SEE DOCUMENTARY]" December 30, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfzsPG7H_pU&feature=youtu.be
(1hr 17min 35sec)
Please keep well in mind taking care of yourself and any children around you, showing your smile and facing reality without hatred.
Larry
An important read--"Neoliberalism – the ideology at the root of all our problems," by George Monbiot (Wikipedia link), The Guardian, April 15, 2016
Related:
p/o sent 1/9/16: "[1857 to present with a big hint for the future] How Big Oil Conquered the World [MUST-SEE DOCUMENTARY]" December 30, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfzsPG7H_pU&feature=youtu.be
(1hr 17min 35sec)
Please keep well in mind taking care of yourself and any children around you, showing your smile and facing reality without hatred.
Larry
sent 4/15/16 London. "Vindication: Protesters Who 'Put Arms Trade on Trial' Acquitted," April 15, 2016
One more good thing just happened in the world. London.
"Vindication: Protesters Who 'Put Arms Trade on Trial' Acquitted,"
by Andrea Germanos, staff writer, Common Dreams, April 15,
2016.
love,
Larry
love,
Larry
sent 9/8/09 new book: Republican Gomorrah
Subject: new book: Republican Gomorrah: Republican Gomorrah: Inside
the Movement that Shattered the Party by Max Blumenthal (September
1, 2009).
One of my sisters referred me to this piece from Democracy Now radio and television for September 4, 2009. It is an interview with Max Blumenthal, who embedded himself for six years with Christian Right organizations and then wrote his book based on his experiences during those six years. Bill Moyers had a different focus, but you will not find it very difficult to integrate some of Max Blumenthal's experiences and insights with some things Bill Moyers said in much less depth in the clip I linked to in my email just previous to this one.
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/9/4/republican_gomorrah_inside_the_movement_that
<...>
The Amazon.com link below goes to the page for Mr. Blumenthal's book, where you can read the descriptions from various booksellers, read some or all of the rapidly accumulating customer reviews, and/or buy the book. One self-described lifelong Republican from rural Texas said, "As a life-long Republican, I expected to have much to disagree with in Blumenthal's latest book. I was surprised to find him so accurate on many issues..."
http://www.amazon.com/Republican-Gomorrah-Inside-Movement-Shattered/dp/1568583982
The Christian Right, as the core of the Republican party currently--to the embarrassment of some longtime Republicans--generate hatred and meanness way out of proportion to their numbers. This book tells us much about how that came about--the creation of a group of people with a certain shared type of personality--and how it works. To me that hatred and meanness is a challenge to confront in some sensible way. I am not sure that Max Blumenthal's research and insights really help me [with my problem], but they are educational.
Larry
One of my sisters referred me to this piece from Democracy Now radio and television for September 4, 2009. It is an interview with Max Blumenthal, who embedded himself for six years with Christian Right organizations and then wrote his book based on his experiences during those six years. Bill Moyers had a different focus, but you will not find it very difficult to integrate some of Max Blumenthal's experiences and insights with some things Bill Moyers said in much less depth in the clip I linked to in my email just previous to this one.
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/9/4/republican_gomorrah_inside_the_movement_that
<...>
The Amazon.com link below goes to the page for Mr. Blumenthal's book, where you can read the descriptions from various booksellers, read some or all of the rapidly accumulating customer reviews, and/or buy the book. One self-described lifelong Republican from rural Texas said, "As a life-long Republican, I expected to have much to disagree with in Blumenthal's latest book. I was surprised to find him so accurate on many issues..."
http://www.amazon.com/Republican-Gomorrah-Inside-Movement-Shattered/dp/1568583982
The Christian Right, as the core of the Republican party currently--to the embarrassment of some longtime Republicans--generate hatred and meanness way out of proportion to their numbers. This book tells us much about how that came about--the creation of a group of people with a certain shared type of personality--and how it works. To me that hatred and meanness is a challenge to confront in some sensible way. I am not sure that Max Blumenthal's research and insights really help me [with my problem], but they are educational.
Larry
sent 4/14/16 must see (video >15 min): "The Israel Lobby's Growing Assault on Free Speech"
must see (video >15 min): "The Israel
Lobby's Growing Assault on Free Speech" (YouTube) April 11,
2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPo7T5-4Aa4
Please watch this all the way through for the sake of keeping these related things all put together in your mind. Max Blumenthal is very good even though he looks a bit young to me.
The fact that Israel is so much in control of our lives here bothers me so that I am thinking of doing more to push the BDS movement than I have been doing.
related:
sent 4/14/16 "Is the 1% Really the Problem?"
sent 4/10/16 PLEASE TAKE THIS VIRAL because....The Banality of Evil: drones, private militias, the CIA, and us.
sent 3/20/16 (4 related biggies) BDS; "Sanders Stands Alone as Only Candidate Skipping [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference]"
p/o sent 3/2216.... "Critics Aghast at 'Disgusting Speech' Clinton Just Gave to AIPAC: Democratic presidential candidate speech praises 'everything that is bad about Israeli policy and U.S. imperialism,'" by Lauren McCauley, staff writer, Common Dreams, March 21, 2016. Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on the first day, more weapons and more war guided by the Israeli government, and not a word about Palestine.
Larry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPo7T5-4Aa4
Please watch this all the way through for the sake of keeping these related things all put together in your mind. Max Blumenthal is very good even though he looks a bit young to me.
The fact that Israel is so much in control of our lives here bothers me so that I am thinking of doing more to push the BDS movement than I have been doing.
related:
sent 4/14/16 "Is the 1% Really the Problem?"
sent 4/10/16 PLEASE TAKE THIS VIRAL because....The Banality of Evil: drones, private militias, the CIA, and us.
sent 3/20/16 (4 related biggies) BDS; "Sanders Stands Alone as Only Candidate Skipping [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference]"
p/o sent 3/2216.... "Critics Aghast at 'Disgusting Speech' Clinton Just Gave to AIPAC: Democratic presidential candidate speech praises 'everything that is bad about Israeli policy and U.S. imperialism,'" by Lauren McCauley, staff writer, Common Dreams, March 21, 2016. Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on the first day, more weapons and more war guided by the Israeli government, and not a word about Palestine.
Larry
sent 4/14/16 "Is the 1% Really the Problem?"
"Is the
1% Really the Problem? Unpack the numbers on America's highest
earners and there's a stark division between the well-off and the
dangerously affluent," by Lynn Stuart Parramore, AlterNet,
April 11, 2016
That one is significant. I remember talking about the topic several years ago when I was mentioning that law school buddy of mine who went on to become a billionaire, a proud member of the 0.1 percent. Interestingly, he claimed in a conversation with me just a few years ago that he has, or had, no influence to speak of, that he just "keeps his head down."
Larry
That one is significant. I remember talking about the topic several years ago when I was mentioning that law school buddy of mine who went on to become a billionaire, a proud member of the 0.1 percent. Interestingly, he claimed in a conversation with me just a few years ago that he has, or had, no influence to speak of, that he just "keeps his head down."
Larry
sent 4/10/16 PLEASE TAKE THIS VIRAL because....The Banality of Evil: drones, private militias, the CIA, and us.
Subject: The Banality of Evil: drones, private militias, the CIA,
and us. PLEASE TAKE THIS VIRAL because....it does matter.
Warning: This is not about the holocaust. It is about us Americans.
Recent correspondence inspired me to review some articles that speak of very famous book, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (1963, 1965, 2006), by Hannah Arendt. See the two links below but not just yet please.
One big thing she explained is that Adolf Eichmann (Wikipedia link) was not anti-Semitic. He was just doing the job that he had been assigned. He was very pleased with himself for never actually having killed anyone himself. He just had a major hand in setting up the structure, the logistics, for the killings.
These days, Zionist Jews and Christians keep on reminding the world of the holocaust of 75 years ago or so, seemingly to justify the evils for which they advocate: "See, it was done to us. So it must be ok for us to do it to whomever we feel like doing it to." That event of 75+ years ago was the background topic of Hannah Arendt's famous book. But it is only the background topic. The real topic is the banality of evil.
Please, as you review these two very interesting pieces of writing linked below, get your mind away from the holocaust and onto the present day activities of the United States government together with its spiritual brothers, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Please translate her words, her thoughts, into a discussion of the now-everyday banal topics of drone warfare, private militias, torture, and the other special activities of the Special Forces, activities that are hidden from view, poorly hidden. It is quite certain that Hannah Arendt (Wikipedia link), for one, would have said that because we know about those things and do not lift a finger to stop them, we are part of them.
It has been decided that the German Jews were people, really. The huge numbers of people that our U.S. government has been killing, of the same order of magnitude, surely, are people too. Do please think about that statement and decide to go along with it! How could you not. How could you let any innate tendency toward tribalism control you that much.
For one thing, how could any American think for an instant of voting for a war hawk. Please do not answer that. Just don't do it. Please. Think!
The two articles:
1. http://www.openculture.com/2013/01/hannah_arendts_original_articles_on_the_banality_of_evil_in_the_inew_yorkeri_archive.html
2. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7278.htm
------------------------------------
related recent messages. Some of these contain links to other relevant and seriously significant previous messages. If you are too busy right now then perhaps you have a way of marking this to come back to later, perhaps more than once even.
And PLEASE do not allow these messages to limit your thinking to just "politics." I see that one could say that I have avoided making any dangerous suggestions, and I probably have. That does not limit you from the possibility of thinking up some dangerous suggestions on your own
sent 4/2/16 afraid of terrorists? "3 False Assumptions About Muslims in the Age of ISIS"; 1966 Texas massacre
sent 3/20/16 (4 related biggies) BDS; "Sanders Stands Alone as Only Candidate Skipping [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference]"
sent 3/22/16 join a conference call tonight or tomorrow night: PLEASE TAKE THIS VIRAL (2 videos) Senator Sanders speaks to AIPAC from Utah; the horror of Hillary Clinton's speech to AIPAC
sent 3/24/16 The scariest thing about Brussels is [some people's] reaction to it
sent 3/15/16 "We" did this: "Voices from Syria: 'This camp is a paradise compared to life back home'"
sent 1/14/15 "Sterling Trial Opens in Security-State Matrix"
"Why Trump's Endorsements Should Scare Your Pants Off: Collaborators like Ben Carson are just as dangerous as fanatics," by Matt Taibbi, The Rolling Stone, March 11, 2016.
Larry
P.S. PLEASE TAKE THIS VIRAL because....it does matter.
Warning: This is not about the holocaust. It is about us Americans.
Recent correspondence inspired me to review some articles that speak of very famous book, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (1963, 1965, 2006), by Hannah Arendt. See the two links below but not just yet please.
One big thing she explained is that Adolf Eichmann (Wikipedia link) was not anti-Semitic. He was just doing the job that he had been assigned. He was very pleased with himself for never actually having killed anyone himself. He just had a major hand in setting up the structure, the logistics, for the killings.
These days, Zionist Jews and Christians keep on reminding the world of the holocaust of 75 years ago or so, seemingly to justify the evils for which they advocate: "See, it was done to us. So it must be ok for us to do it to whomever we feel like doing it to." That event of 75+ years ago was the background topic of Hannah Arendt's famous book. But it is only the background topic. The real topic is the banality of evil.
Please, as you review these two very interesting pieces of writing linked below, get your mind away from the holocaust and onto the present day activities of the United States government together with its spiritual brothers, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Please translate her words, her thoughts, into a discussion of the now-everyday banal topics of drone warfare, private militias, torture, and the other special activities of the Special Forces, activities that are hidden from view, poorly hidden. It is quite certain that Hannah Arendt (Wikipedia link), for one, would have said that because we know about those things and do not lift a finger to stop them, we are part of them.
It has been decided that the German Jews were people, really. The huge numbers of people that our U.S. government has been killing, of the same order of magnitude, surely, are people too. Do please think about that statement and decide to go along with it! How could you not. How could you let any innate tendency toward tribalism control you that much.
For one thing, how could any American think for an instant of voting for a war hawk. Please do not answer that. Just don't do it. Please. Think!
The two articles:
1. http://www.openculture.com/2013/01/hannah_arendts_original_articles_on_the_banality_of_evil_in_the_inew_yorkeri_archive.html
2. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7278.htm
------------------------------------
related recent messages. Some of these contain links to other relevant and seriously significant previous messages. If you are too busy right now then perhaps you have a way of marking this to come back to later, perhaps more than once even.
And PLEASE do not allow these messages to limit your thinking to just "politics." I see that one could say that I have avoided making any dangerous suggestions, and I probably have. That does not limit you from the possibility of thinking up some dangerous suggestions on your own
sent 4/2/16 afraid of terrorists? "3 False Assumptions About Muslims in the Age of ISIS"; 1966 Texas massacre
sent 3/20/16 (4 related biggies) BDS; "Sanders Stands Alone as Only Candidate Skipping [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference]"
sent 3/22/16 join a conference call tonight or tomorrow night: PLEASE TAKE THIS VIRAL (2 videos) Senator Sanders speaks to AIPAC from Utah; the horror of Hillary Clinton's speech to AIPAC
sent 3/24/16 The scariest thing about Brussels is [some people's] reaction to it
sent 3/15/16 "We" did this: "Voices from Syria: 'This camp is a paradise compared to life back home'"
sent 1/14/15 "Sterling Trial Opens in Security-State Matrix"
"Why Trump's Endorsements Should Scare Your Pants Off: Collaborators like Ben Carson are just as dangerous as fanatics," by Matt Taibbi, The Rolling Stone, March 11, 2016.
Larry
P.S. PLEASE TAKE THIS VIRAL because....it does matter.
sent 4/9/16 "How To Erase a Person,The Blind Intersection of Race and Gender"
A darker skinned woman dealing with the real hurt of hearing, "When
I look at you I see a person. I don't see your color." Very clear,
interesting, and meaningful. Let us not make the mistake of making
things worse by saying that to anyone.
"How To Erase a Person,The Blind Intersection of Race and Gender," by Inez Torres Davis, Sojourners, January 13, 2016.
And while we're at it, mentioned there also, let us recognize that the lives of women may have different complexities as well.
Larry
--
Brother Larry/Attorney Scott archives (Larry at Blogspot) "undisclosed recipients" email message archive, no logging in, no public comments
One way or another, raise yourself up I say; get over fear. If you are not doing it you can do it. Other people are doing it. We can learn from them, I find.
"How To Erase a Person,The Blind Intersection of Race and Gender," by Inez Torres Davis, Sojourners, January 13, 2016.
And while we're at it, mentioned there also, let us recognize that the lives of women may have different complexities as well.
Larry
--
Brother Larry/Attorney Scott archives (Larry at Blogspot) "undisclosed recipients" email message archive, no logging in, no public comments
One way or another, raise yourself up I say; get over fear. If you are not doing it you can do it. Other people are doing it. We can learn from them, I find.
4/9/16 BIG correction sent 4/8/16 "The super-rich live in a parallel world. Here's how we bring them back to reality"; "The Panama Papers prove it: America can afford a universal basic income"
My apologies to those
who trust me to know whereof I speak before I speak. I believe that what I sent on 4/8 (see below) was the second major mistake I have made, or maybe the third
if one counts the notion of maybe voting for Donald Trump. I
made the first one several years ago and got called on it
hard. What was it? Never mind. I did tell you once! :-7
It appears that the "Panama papers" may NOT show that much by way of taxes due under existing rules. The job of the big and expensive international law firms such as Mossack Fonseca is to keep their clients within the laws. According to this, they have mostly succeeded. So on the whole huge disclosure just adds detail. It might embarrass some who wanted their doings kept secret even though their doings are legal, but that may be about it. The details might interest you.
"Panama Papers: The Real Scandal Is What's Legal," by Brooke Harrington, The Atlantic, April 6, 2016.
Changing the laws is a different issue, one that will probably not go very far. Politicians may not get motivated to rock the boat. Even if laws were changed, they would not be likely to be applied retroactively. So, sorry, I have to suggest not counting on suddenly getting rich from the collection of rich people's overdue tax payments.
Larry
------sent 4/8/16, 6:42 pm with error----------
If you are one who happens to enjoy the notion of continuing to hate socialists, you can be comforted. These two rather detailed articles are not about raisinganyone's
taxes. These
are about collecting taxes that are due--overdue--from certain
individuals under existing rules.
"The super-rich live in a parallel world. Here's how we bring them back to reality"; , by Suzanne McGee, The Guardian, April 7, 2016.
"The Panama Papers prove it: America can afford a universal basic income," by Colin Holtz, The Guardian, April 8, 2016.
Then "we" get to worry about
what to do with it all. You might have some ideas. lol
Larry
It appears that the "Panama papers" may NOT show that much by way of taxes due under existing rules. The job of the big and expensive international law firms such as Mossack Fonseca is to keep their clients within the laws. According to this, they have mostly succeeded. So on the whole huge disclosure just adds detail. It might embarrass some who wanted their doings kept secret even though their doings are legal, but that may be about it. The details might interest you.
"Panama Papers: The Real Scandal Is What's Legal," by Brooke Harrington, The Atlantic, April 6, 2016.
Changing the laws is a different issue, one that will probably not go very far. Politicians may not get motivated to rock the boat. Even if laws were changed, they would not be likely to be applied retroactively. So, sorry, I have to suggest not counting on suddenly getting rich from the collection of rich people's overdue tax payments.
Larry
------sent 4/8/16, 6:42 pm with error----------
If you are one who happens to enjoy the notion of continuing to hate socialists, you can be comforted. These two rather detailed articles are not about raising
"The super-rich live in a parallel world. Here's how we bring them back to reality"; , by Suzanne McGee, The Guardian, April 7, 2016.
"The Panama Papers prove it: America can afford a universal basic income," by Colin Holtz, The Guardian, April 8, 2016.
Larry
sent 4/5/166 Extra! Extra! "Why we're hardwired to hate uncertainty: A new study shows that uncertainty is even more stressful than knowing something bad is definitely going to happen. But you can learn to live with it"
If you feel as though this new sophisticated study did not find
anything that you did not already know, fine. Now it's official.
:-)
"Why we're hardwired to hate uncertainty: A new study shows that uncertainty is even more stressful than knowing something bad is definitely going to happen. But you can learn to live with it."
"...So tuning your radar to uncertainty is adaptive....."
---------------------------------
Having read to and through the last paragraph at the bottom of the article, not repeated here, I say, "But! That does not mean that we have no control if we want to maintain some control!" :-)
Larry
"Why we're hardwired to hate uncertainty: A new study shows that uncertainty is even more stressful than knowing something bad is definitely going to happen. But you can learn to live with it."
"...So tuning your radar to uncertainty is adaptive....."
---------------------------------
Having read to and through the last paragraph at the bottom of the article, not repeated here, I say, "But! That does not mean that we have no control if we want to maintain some control!" :-)
Larry
sent 4/2/16 afraid of terrorists? "3 False Assumptions About Muslims in the Age of ISIS"; 1966 Texas massacre
I cannot help but be aware that there are many Americans who have
been and who continue to be bamboozled into being afraid of
terrorists.
1. "3 False Assumptions About Muslims in the Age of ISIS," by Todd Green, Sojourners, March 28, 2016
"......In terms of mass shootings, 134 people in the U.S. died from these in 2015 alone, compared to 69 people who have been killed by Muslim extremists in the 14 years since 9/11. The years since 9/11 have also witnessed more than 220,000 murders, a number that dwarfs the number of deaths at the hands of Muslim extremists...... [emphasis added LAS]"
There's more. It is worse than silly to be afraid of Muslims at this point. Being afraid of Muslims has bad consequences. Repeating link: "3 False Assumptions About Muslims in the Age of ISIS," by Todd Green, Sojourners, March 28, 2016
2. For context, this is a story about a massacre that was committed by a true and blue American--an Eagle Scout--50 years ago. He killed 17 innocent Americans and injured 31 others, without even having had a Muslim bone in his body! "The Reckoning," by Pamela Colloff, Texas Monthly, March 2016. See also the excellent Charles Whitman Wikipedia page link.
My point is that it makes NO sense, given the facts, to waste a thought on being afraid of "terrorists"!
love,
Larry
Related:
sent 3/31/16 (16 min) Glenn Greenwald: Cruz, Trump, Clinton "Playing into the Hands" of ISIL After Brussels Bombings
sent 1/2/16 Good news that matters to you for 2016: There is no real terrorist or Muslim threat
referenced March 23, 2016: "Fox News 'Brainwashed' So Many Dads: 'People Are Being Bamboozled on a Massive Scale,'" by Gary M. Kramer, Salon, March 21, 2016.
--
Brother Larry/Attorney Scott archives (Larry at Blogspot) "undisclosed recipients" email message archive, no logging in, no public comments
One way or another, raise yourself up I say; get over fear. If you are not doing it you can do it. Other people are doing it. We can learn from them, I find.
1. "3 False Assumptions About Muslims in the Age of ISIS," by Todd Green, Sojourners, March 28, 2016
"......In terms of mass shootings, 134 people in the U.S. died from these in 2015 alone, compared to 69 people who have been killed by Muslim extremists in the 14 years since 9/11. The years since 9/11 have also witnessed more than 220,000 murders, a number that dwarfs the number of deaths at the hands of Muslim extremists...... [emphasis added LAS]"
There's more. It is worse than silly to be afraid of Muslims at this point. Being afraid of Muslims has bad consequences. Repeating link: "3 False Assumptions About Muslims in the Age of ISIS," by Todd Green, Sojourners, March 28, 2016
2. For context, this is a story about a massacre that was committed by a true and blue American--an Eagle Scout--50 years ago. He killed 17 innocent Americans and injured 31 others, without even having had a Muslim bone in his body! "The Reckoning," by Pamela Colloff, Texas Monthly, March 2016. See also the excellent Charles Whitman Wikipedia page link.
My point is that it makes NO sense, given the facts, to waste a thought on being afraid of "terrorists"!
love,
Larry
Related:
sent 3/31/16 (16 min) Glenn Greenwald: Cruz, Trump, Clinton "Playing into the Hands" of ISIL After Brussels Bombings
sent 1/2/16 Good news that matters to you for 2016: There is no real terrorist or Muslim threat
referenced March 23, 2016: "Fox News 'Brainwashed' So Many Dads: 'People Are Being Bamboozled on a Massive Scale,'" by Gary M. Kramer, Salon, March 21, 2016.
--
Brother Larry/Attorney Scott archives (Larry at Blogspot) "undisclosed recipients" email message archive, no logging in, no public comments
One way or another, raise yourself up I say; get over fear. If you are not doing it you can do it. Other people are doing it. We can learn from them, I find.
sent 3/31/16 2min 51 sec [Affective] empathy is immoral Yale Professor Paul Bloom Re: (16 min) Glenn Greenwald: Cruz, Trump, Clinton "Playing into the Hands" of ISIL After Brussels Bombings
The best 2 minutes 51
seconds, off the direct topic of politics! Against Empathy,
or Empathy is immoral!!!
http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/474588/why-empathy-is-a-bad-thing/
I have been having a rather lengthy dialog by email with a friend of mine, about the above video by Cognitive Psychology Professor Paul Bloom. You might be aware that cognitive psychology is very much included in my fields of formal and extracurricular study. Sent 2/14/14. Sent 10/14/14.
".....Others have posited that taking on the perspectives of others (cognitive empathy) allows these individuals to better empathize with victims without as much discomfort, whereas sharing the emotions of the victims (emotional empathy) can cause emotional distress, helplessness, victim-blaming, and ultimately to avoidance rather than helping......" [emphasis added-LS]. From sent 12/16/2014.
Either way, what I said to that friend just now is totally relevant to what Glenn Greenwald had to say in the Democracy Now! section linked below.
---sent earlier this afternoon----------
sent 3/31/16 (16 min) Glenn Greenwald: Cruz, Trump, Clinton "Playing into the Hands" of ISIL After Brussels Bombings
http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/474588/why-empathy-is-a-bad-thing/
I have been having a rather lengthy dialog by email with a friend of mine, about the above video by Cognitive Psychology Professor Paul Bloom. You might be aware that cognitive psychology is very much included in my fields of formal and extracurricular study. Sent 2/14/14. Sent 10/14/14.
".....Others have posited that taking on the perspectives of others (cognitive empathy) allows these individuals to better empathize with victims without as much discomfort, whereas sharing the emotions of the victims (emotional empathy) can cause emotional distress, helplessness, victim-blaming, and ultimately to avoidance rather than helping......" [emphasis added-LS]. From sent 12/16/2014.
Either way, what I said to that friend just now is totally relevant to what Glenn Greenwald had to say in the Democracy Now! section linked below.
"You might or might not realize, just from reading this [repeating the full message sent earlier repeated again below] without even clicking links necessarily, the relevance to what Professor Paul Bloom said about affective empathy, in this case specifically the crazy emotional contagion of fear of terrorists. You might want to look, and I think that you will be able to see the relevance, fear being yet another contagious emotion in addition to neediness with helplessness[--that can lead us to turn away], and anger[--that can lead to gang or mob mentality]. Catching any of those emotional contagions, among others, can lead to stupidity. I think that now may be the right time for me to send out that Paul Bloom video.
---sent earlier this afternoon----------
sent 3/31/16 (16 min) Glenn Greenwald: Cruz, Trump, Clinton "Playing into the Hands" of ISIL After Brussels Bombings
sent 3/31/16 updated 10/23/16 2min 51 sec [Affective] empathy is immoral Yale Professor Paul Bloom: [affective] empathy is immoral Re: (16 min) Glenn Greenwald: Cruz, Trump, Clinton "Playing into the Hands" of ISIL After Brussels Bombings
10/23/16 note: I only just noticed that I had previously failed to include here the followup that I sent on 3/31/16 to an earlier message of that same day. Both are included in this archive post now. The later of the two is at the top, next. LAS
---sent 3/31/16--------
The best 2 minutes 51 seconds, off the direct topic of politics! Against Empathy, or Empathy is immoral!!!
http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/474588/why-empathy-is-a-bad-thing/
I have been having a rather lengthy dialog by email with a friend of mine, about the above video by Cognitive Psychology Professor Paul Bloom. You might be aware that cognitive psychology is very much included in my fields of formal and extracurricular study. Sent 2/14/14. Sent 10/14/14.
".....Others have posited that taking on the perspectives of others (cognitive empathy) allows these individuals to better empathize with victims without as much discomfort, whereas sharing the emotions of the victims (emotional empathy) can cause emotional distress, helplessness, victim-blaming, and ultimately to avoidance rather than helping......" [emphasis added-LS]. From sent 12/16/2014.
Either way, what I said to that friend just now is totally relevant to what Glenn Greenwald had to say in the Democracy Now! section linked below.
Glenn Greenwald is amazing and right on as always. Some American politicians, including Senator Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz, Donald Trump, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are overreacting and doing and proposing things that are and would be severely detrimental to our lives. It is as if we were to look at the number of automobile accidents and decide that speed limits should be lowered even more. We risk having some suicide bombings as the price of freedom, our privacy, just as we risk some automobile accidents as the price of automobile travel. They are calculated risks.
"Glenn Greenwald: Cruz, Trump, Clinton "Playing into the Hands" of ISIL After Brussels Bombings," Democracy Now, March 24, 2016 (16 min)
Related:
sent 3/24/16 The scariest thing about Brussels is [some people's] reaction to it
sent 3/21/16 1min50sec YouTube-Tulsi Gabbard; "War, Peace, and Bernie Sanders," by Robert Koehler
sent 3/20/16 (4 related biggies) BDS; "Sanders Stands Alone as Only Candidate Skipping [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference]"
sent 3/15/16 "We" did this: "Voices from Syria: 'This camp is a paradise compared to life back home'"
Let us in America not give up either our automobile travel or our freedom to take on as our primary role in life the effort to expand Israel's borders to the size of the Promised Land in Bible times, to include Jordan, Syria, part of Iraq, part of Egypt, and part of Saudi Arabia. http://www.christianzionism.org/biblesays/sizer04.pdf Really! Let's not! But I believe that that is in the background a lot in the actions of our federal government, including but not limited to the U.S. military, the armaments industries, the National Security Agency, the various agencies within the umbrella referred to as Homeland Security, and the Central Intelligence Agency, because of the powerful role that the Israel Lobby plays, second only to the AARP. I kid you not. There is huge--unimaginably huge--money involved. Perhaps it is possible for us to get in its way, perhaps not. Perhaps if we can establish some other priorities we might slow it down slightly. They bamboozle us into thinking that education and health care for Americans cost a lot. Those two things are actually relatively tiny compared to the spending that is directed by the Israel Lobby.
love to all,
Larry
---sent 3/31/16--------
The best 2 minutes 51 seconds, off the direct topic of politics! Against Empathy, or Empathy is immoral!!!
http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/474588/why-empathy-is-a-bad-thing/
I have been having a rather lengthy dialog by email with a friend of mine, about the above video by Cognitive Psychology Professor Paul Bloom. You might be aware that cognitive psychology is very much included in my fields of formal and extracurricular study. Sent 2/14/14. Sent 10/14/14.
".....Others have posited that taking on the perspectives of others (cognitive empathy) allows these individuals to better empathize with victims without as much discomfort, whereas sharing the emotions of the victims (emotional empathy) can cause emotional distress, helplessness, victim-blaming, and ultimately to avoidance rather than helping......" [emphasis added-LS]. From sent 12/16/2014.
Either way, what I said to that friend just now is totally relevant to what Glenn Greenwald had to say in the Democracy Now! section linked below.
"You might or might not realize, just from reading this [repeating the full message sent earlier repeated again below] without even clicking links necessarily, the relevance to what Professor Paul Bloom said about affective empathy, in this case specifically the crazy emotional contagion of fear of terrorists. You might want to look, and I think that you will be able to see the relevance, fear being yet another contagious emotion in addition to neediness with helplessness[--that can lead us to turn away], and anger[--that can lead to gang or mob mentality]. Catching any of those emotional contagions, among others, can lead to stupidity. I think that now may be the right time for me to send out that Paul Bloom video.---sent earlier in the afternoon 3/31/16 ---
Glenn Greenwald is amazing and right on as always. Some American politicians, including Senator Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz, Donald Trump, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are overreacting and doing and proposing things that are and would be severely detrimental to our lives. It is as if we were to look at the number of automobile accidents and decide that speed limits should be lowered even more. We risk having some suicide bombings as the price of freedom, our privacy, just as we risk some automobile accidents as the price of automobile travel. They are calculated risks.
"Glenn Greenwald: Cruz, Trump, Clinton "Playing into the Hands" of ISIL After Brussels Bombings," Democracy Now, March 24, 2016 (16 min)
Related:
sent 3/24/16 The scariest thing about Brussels is [some people's] reaction to it
sent 3/21/16 1min50sec YouTube-Tulsi Gabbard; "War, Peace, and Bernie Sanders," by Robert Koehler
sent 3/20/16 (4 related biggies) BDS; "Sanders Stands Alone as Only Candidate Skipping [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference]"
sent 3/15/16 "We" did this: "Voices from Syria: 'This camp is a paradise compared to life back home'"
Let us in America not give up either our automobile travel or our freedom to take on as our primary role in life the effort to expand Israel's borders to the size of the Promised Land in Bible times, to include Jordan, Syria, part of Iraq, part of Egypt, and part of Saudi Arabia. http://www.christianzionism.org/biblesays/sizer04.pdf Really! Let's not! But I believe that that is in the background a lot in the actions of our federal government, including but not limited to the U.S. military, the armaments industries, the National Security Agency, the various agencies within the umbrella referred to as Homeland Security, and the Central Intelligence Agency, because of the powerful role that the Israel Lobby plays, second only to the AARP. I kid you not. There is huge--unimaginably huge--money involved. Perhaps it is possible for us to get in its way, perhaps not. Perhaps if we can establish some other priorities we might slow it down slightly. They bamboozle us into thinking that education and health care for Americans cost a lot. Those two things are actually relatively tiny compared to the spending that is directed by the Israel Lobby.
love to all,
Larry
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)