Even the NYTimes has noticed:
so what does this mean for the global balance of power? One opinion discussed here but I haven't listend to the whole thing yet.
why is this important? Because China will have to cope with the cultural changes it brings
And it is not just Christianity that is changing culture: As I point out often, the Americanization is going on all over the world, causing cultural change for the better or the worse, and this is true for Africa and much of Asia.
FINEST KIND CLINIC AND FISHMARKET.... Discussing medicine, culture, and the joys of cooking Pansit.
Monday, July 31, 2017
Shoe related post of the day
How to make sandals.
I find his videos fascinating because they actually do start from scratch. But of course, they seem to be in the NE USA area.
here, our traditional Barkya are rarely seen: Instead folks either wear cheap "flip flops" from China, or locally made fashion Tsinelas...
that undercuts local products (a problem with a lot of local industries: an underpriced currancy and low wages allow China to undercut prices that bankrupts local industry.. a problem with our sandals and our rice... and also a growing problem in parts of Africa)
So what is the answer? You go for high end products (such as our organic brown rice, or in the case of sandals, fancy well made designer sandals).
our town produces many styles to sell, and we have a tsinelas festival every year.
I find his videos fascinating because they actually do start from scratch. But of course, they seem to be in the NE USA area.
here, our traditional Barkya are rarely seen: Instead folks either wear cheap "flip flops" from China, or locally made fashion Tsinelas...
that undercuts local products (a problem with a lot of local industries: an underpriced currancy and low wages allow China to undercut prices that bankrupts local industry.. a problem with our sandals and our rice... and also a growing problem in parts of Africa)
So what is the answer? You go for high end products (such as our organic brown rice, or in the case of sandals, fancy well made designer sandals).
our town produces many styles to sell, and we have a tsinelas festival every year.
Stories that make you go "HUH?"
there are an estimated 100 billion inhabitable earth like planets in the Milky way.
in case you want to leave.
------------------------
Dilbert says Trumpie boy has gone from being Hitler to being incompetent, something he predicted six months ago.
He predicts the next meme is well, he is competent but we don't like his policies.
--------------------
Lots of Washington scandals: Roger Simon lists those that need to be checked out.
the Obama administration snooping into American citizens is a huge scandal.
Of course, we are being conditioned to accept no privacy as the norm. Am I the only one who thinks the movie The Circle is propaganda? Ironically, much of the "advantage" they tout of non privacy used to be stuff that your family and neighborhood took care of in the not so distant pass...I mean, why doesn't she visit her parents instead of going on line and snooping on them?
--------------------
The "Transgender meme ignores physiology. Yes, an ex Seal can become a "woman", but one doubts that she would have passed the training with that lack of muscle mass produced by testosterone.
Indeed, when a trans tennis player wanted to compete with women 20 years ago, and women objected saying she had an unfair advantage, this was the argument the officials used to approve her in competition.
more technical details here.
the main problem is not accepting a psychologically stable, post transition person (with an individual waiver) but in making the military pay for the transition, which has many physical and psychological problems during the transition, which can take several years and could interfere with the ability to serve.
Of course, one could say the same thing about pregnancy, one of the dirty little secrets of the new unisex army... luckily most soldiers are not in combat positions so this can be worked around.
But the problem no one wants to discuss is the agenda behind this: i.e. it had more to do with social engineering than with military readiness
Obama pushed the agenda as a way of indoctrinating the rest of the troops to "accept" the radical Feminist gender theory that are behind the transgender push... ideas that are incompatible with science and religion (even Pope Francis objects to this) and could discourage many competent soldiers with a faith background from not entering, or even leaving the military due to it's toxic environment.
And attention NYTimes: Private Manning, who wrote your editorial, was a convicted traitor who endangered the other troops in Iraq.
Why the press doesn't notice these things I will never know...
Not everyone can join the military: if you need medications you need a waiver, such as for those with asthma. Other medications needed are not allowed This includes medicines for ADHD and hypertension. The reason? If there is a war, you might not be able to get your medicine.
medical article here.
The Dirty little secret of modern warfare: yes, even "support services" who are supposed to be behind lines and non combatants could easily find themselves fighting. That is why even cooks and nurses and docs like myself had to pass PT tests and go to the rifle range to shoot. (although I finally got a waiver to allow me not to use a firearm or shoot a rifle for religious reasons).
in case you want to leave.
------------------------
Dilbert says Trumpie boy has gone from being Hitler to being incompetent, something he predicted six months ago.
He predicts the next meme is well, he is competent but we don't like his policies.
--------------------
Lots of Washington scandals: Roger Simon lists those that need to be checked out.
the Obama administration snooping into American citizens is a huge scandal.
Of course, we are being conditioned to accept no privacy as the norm. Am I the only one who thinks the movie The Circle is propaganda? Ironically, much of the "advantage" they tout of non privacy used to be stuff that your family and neighborhood took care of in the not so distant pass...I mean, why doesn't she visit her parents instead of going on line and snooping on them?
--------------------
The "Transgender meme ignores physiology. Yes, an ex Seal can become a "woman", but one doubts that she would have passed the training with that lack of muscle mass produced by testosterone.
Indeed, when a trans tennis player wanted to compete with women 20 years ago, and women objected saying she had an unfair advantage, this was the argument the officials used to approve her in competition.
Because of the hormones she took, she lost 30 percent of her muscle mass and 40 pounds, taking her down to a weight of 142.
more technical details here.
the main problem is not accepting a psychologically stable, post transition person (with an individual waiver) but in making the military pay for the transition, which has many physical and psychological problems during the transition, which can take several years and could interfere with the ability to serve.
Of course, one could say the same thing about pregnancy, one of the dirty little secrets of the new unisex army... luckily most soldiers are not in combat positions so this can be worked around.
But the problem no one wants to discuss is the agenda behind this: i.e. it had more to do with social engineering than with military readiness
Obama pushed the agenda as a way of indoctrinating the rest of the troops to "accept" the radical Feminist gender theory that are behind the transgender push... ideas that are incompatible with science and religion (even Pope Francis objects to this) and could discourage many competent soldiers with a faith background from not entering, or even leaving the military due to it's toxic environment.
And attention NYTimes: Private Manning, who wrote your editorial, was a convicted traitor who endangered the other troops in Iraq.
Why the press doesn't notice these things I will never know...
Not everyone can join the military: if you need medications you need a waiver, such as for those with asthma. Other medications needed are not allowed This includes medicines for ADHD and hypertension. The reason? If there is a war, you might not be able to get your medicine.
medical article here.
The Dirty little secret of modern warfare: yes, even "support services" who are supposed to be behind lines and non combatants could easily find themselves fighting. That is why even cooks and nurses and docs like myself had to pass PT tests and go to the rifle range to shoot. (although I finally got a waiver to allow me not to use a firearm or shoot a rifle for religious reasons).
Look to the sky
David Reneke discusses this year's Perseid meteor shower, which is due next week.
I've seen it in the past but in the midst of monsoon season, we might have cloudy skies. And of course, since we live downtown, the lights make the stars hard to see.. the best view is when we have a nighttime brownout.
No, I am not complaining about lights, which make us safe.
The alternative name for this is "St Lawrence's tears"And yes, as his feast day (and our barangay fiesta) is next week...
and yes, there is a famous Italian movieThe Night of the Shooting Stars (1982) La notte di San Lorenzo (original title) that refers to the meteor shower: referting to the Italian belief that your wishes would come true if you wished on a falling star on St Lawrence day. I once made the mistake of watching it, but was horrified. The theme was that the war was ending so everyone was busy trying to kill their enemies before the war stopped them. Yuck.
this article in a Richman paper describes one of the more vivid episodes of a meteor shower about 200 years ago.
as for St Lawrence, the original one, was a Roman deacon who took care of the poor and ended up martyred by roasting him on a grid (trying to get him to tell them where the lovely money he gave out to the poor was hidden). That makes him the patron saint of BBQ... Smithsonian article here.
I've seen it in the past but in the midst of monsoon season, we might have cloudy skies. And of course, since we live downtown, the lights make the stars hard to see.. the best view is when we have a nighttime brownout.
No, I am not complaining about lights, which make us safe.
The alternative name for this is "St Lawrence's tears"And yes, as his feast day (and our barangay fiesta) is next week...
and yes, there is a famous Italian movieThe Night of the Shooting Stars (1982) La notte di San Lorenzo (original title) that refers to the meteor shower: referting to the Italian belief that your wishes would come true if you wished on a falling star on St Lawrence day. I once made the mistake of watching it, but was horrified. The theme was that the war was ending so everyone was busy trying to kill their enemies before the war stopped them. Yuck.
this article in a Richman paper describes one of the more vivid episodes of a meteor shower about 200 years ago.
as for St Lawrence, the original one, was a Roman deacon who took care of the poor and ended up martyred by roasting him on a grid (trying to get him to tell them where the lovely money he gave out to the poor was hidden). That makes him the patron saint of BBQ... Smithsonian article here.
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Yes, I'm feeling snarky and non PC today
Stuff around the net plus comments:
Yeah Reminds me of all the activist type students when I was in college. I had to study to keep up my grades and for my scholarship, and work part time. They had money to go all over and protest...
from SenseOfEventsBlog.
-------------------------------
From Instapundit:
---------------
FirstKnownWhenLost has a lovely essay on the dream of moving to an isolated quaint cottage and finding peace and quiet.
Yes, I have such dreams too, but then I realize I have already moved to a small town in a tropical paradise, and have more peace and quiet than I know what to do with...
Dreaming of a quaint cottage ignores the reality behind the life, unless of course, you have servants, modern electricity, appliances, and running water.
Go back to the good old days when you had to carry in all the water you use, wash and iron your own clothing and bedsheets etc. in a pan
not to mention, cook fresh food from scratch on a woodstove
and of course, put up with all sorts of little critters flying or running across your floor.
yes, it is lovely, as long as the roof doesn't leak, the plumbing works, the internet is on line, the electricity is working, the airconditioner is available, the cook doesn't have her day off, and of course as long as there are no earthquakes, floods, or typhoons.
--------------------
and here is a lovely article about England's beautiful countryside.
his is also a dream, but again I realize that those who dream about living in Downton Abbey forget our ancestors were the ones who would be scrubbing the floors or doing the laundry ...
and of course, even in the Downton Abbey series, the family had problems: one daughter died in childbirth, a visitor died of the Spanish flu, and of course Matthew died in a car wreck at 20 miles an hour (no seatbelts or air bags, and no ambulances to take you to a trauma center).
--------------------------
and don't forget the wonderful fashions of yesteryear: Corsets, bustles, hoop skirts etc.
Or if you go back further in history:
Wikipedia on Ruffs:
it makes you appreciate the modern fashion of wearing jeans and a teeshirt.
---------------------------------
finally: Duterte's war on drugs is working:
Local syndicates have moved to Indonesia to ship their drugs all over the world
Indonesian president is now telling his cops to shoot to kill too...
but it won't work until they get the bosses and start arresting the bank presidents who launder drug money and politicians who take bribes to look the other way.
---------------------------
 |
| http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=9496 |
from SenseOfEventsBlog.
-------------------------------
IT’S ALL ABOUT POWER — A SIGNAL THAT THEY CAN FORCE YOU TO WASTE YOUR TIME ON B.S. Engineers baffled by ‘microaggression’ workshop at conference.
From Instapundit:
---------------
FirstKnownWhenLost has a lovely essay on the dream of moving to an isolated quaint cottage and finding peace and quiet.
Yes, I have such dreams too, but then I realize I have already moved to a small town in a tropical paradise, and have more peace and quiet than I know what to do with...
Dreaming of a quaint cottage ignores the reality behind the life, unless of course, you have servants, modern electricity, appliances, and running water.
Go back to the good old days when you had to carry in all the water you use, wash and iron your own clothing and bedsheets etc. in a pan
not to mention, cook fresh food from scratch on a woodstove
and of course, put up with all sorts of little critters flying or running across your floor.
yes, it is lovely, as long as the roof doesn't leak, the plumbing works, the internet is on line, the electricity is working, the airconditioner is available, the cook doesn't have her day off, and of course as long as there are no earthquakes, floods, or typhoons.
--------------------
and here is a lovely article about England's beautiful countryside.
his is also a dream, but again I realize that those who dream about living in Downton Abbey forget our ancestors were the ones who would be scrubbing the floors or doing the laundry ...
and of course, even in the Downton Abbey series, the family had problems: one daughter died in childbirth, a visitor died of the Spanish flu, and of course Matthew died in a car wreck at 20 miles an hour (no seatbelts or air bags, and no ambulances to take you to a trauma center).
--------------------------
and don't forget the wonderful fashions of yesteryear: Corsets, bustles, hoop skirts etc.
Or if you go back further in history:
Wikipedia on Ruffs:
it makes you appreciate the modern fashion of wearing jeans and a teeshirt.
---------------------------------
finally: Duterte's war on drugs is working:
Local syndicates have moved to Indonesia to ship their drugs all over the world
Waseso said he believed that 72 international drug syndicates were operating in Indonesia.
The drugs chief said Indonesia would not replicate the bloody war on drugs in the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte, in which hundreds have been killed, though he praised its aims.
“I never say that we have to follow the Philippines. We have our own laws,” said Waseso. “I have to say, though, that Duterte’s policy shows he is taking care of his citizens.”
Waseso said there was evidence of syndicates re-directing shipments of methamphetamine, known as “shabu” in Southeast Asia, towards Indonesia because of the crackdown in the Philippines.
Indonesian president is now telling his cops to shoot to kill too...
but it won't work until they get the bosses and start arresting the bank presidents who launder drug money and politicians who take bribes to look the other way.
---------------------------
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Rare earth metals in batteries: Made in the USA?
This is a follow up to the video I posted below about rare earth metals.
China has been going around buying up resources to rare earth metals, but other countries are starting to fight back.
Because this is a vital industry.
So PhysOrg notes that scientists are devising batteries on local materials.....
China has been going around buying up resources to rare earth metals, but other countries are starting to fight back.
Because this is a vital industry.
So PhysOrg notes that scientists are devising batteries on local materials.....
... in the global rare-earth metals market, the provenance is extraordinary— U.S.-mined ores, domestically processed, and domestically manufactured into magnets.
And that's important, because rare-earth magnets are used in a wide and ever-increasing number of modern technologies, and the ability to produce them domestically could have broad positive impact on national economy and security.
Family news
the storm has turned into a typhoon, but is missing the Philippines... we have had heavy rains for the last few days.
this morning the new (and shoddy plastic) pipe that has a spigot for our laundry broke off. I got a showe trying to find a plug until the help came over from the other side to turn off the main water line to the kitchen.
Ah the wonderfulness of shoddy cheap pipes.
Here, you have to know where the pipes come from but of course you have no guarantee unless you go to a high end dealer: Even when they cost a lot often they are counterfeit or substandard.
this morning the new (and shoddy plastic) pipe that has a spigot for our laundry broke off. I got a showe trying to find a plug until the help came over from the other side to turn off the main water line to the kitchen.
Ah the wonderfulness of shoddy cheap pipes.
Here, you have to know where the pipes come from but of course you have no guarantee unless you go to a high end dealer: Even when they cost a lot often they are counterfeit or substandard.
To your health!
Scientists in Singapore have developed Probiotic beer:
destroy your liver while boosting your immune system...
headsup DaveBarry
destroy your liver while boosting your immune system...
headsup DaveBarry
Miscellaneous links:: Sound effects, rare earth metals, and what the silk road means to history
TYWKIWIDBI blog has this link on Dunkirk's sound effects.
--------------
quick, before the copyright cops find it's there: an audiobook on the silk road.
the argument is that history should be seen as a whole. Given that the IndoEuropeans, the Huns, the Mongols etc all came from the steppes, that is a good argument.
a good series of lectures on this can be found here:
-------------------
much of the old silk road was under the USSR and is now independent. China is taking advantage of this, and plans to change the world's economies.
of course, to get a monopoly on the sea routes, they have to take over the West Philippine sea... something made possible by President Obama's wishywashy defense of the Philippines against this aggression against us and the sea lanes, and of course, his criticizm of Duterte and denial of weapons that we needed for our cops to fight both druggies and ISIS..
However, China has been stopped by the Persians and the Arabs in the past:
the Battle of Talas in 751 AD.
-----------------------
stock market hint: Invests in super elements.
--------------
quick, before the copyright cops find it's there: an audiobook on the silk road.
the argument is that history should be seen as a whole. Given that the IndoEuropeans, the Huns, the Mongols etc all came from the steppes, that is a good argument.
a good series of lectures on this can be found here:
-------------------
much of the old silk road was under the USSR and is now independent. China is taking advantage of this, and plans to change the world's economies.
of course, to get a monopoly on the sea routes, they have to take over the West Philippine sea... something made possible by President Obama's wishywashy defense of the Philippines against this aggression against us and the sea lanes, and of course, his criticizm of Duterte and denial of weapons that we needed for our cops to fight both druggies and ISIS..
However, China has been stopped by the Persians and the Arabs in the past:
the Battle of Talas in 751 AD.
-----------------------
stock market hint: Invests in super elements.
Zapping your iphone?
For later reading: Is the US starting to use their secret microwave and other "electricity bombs"?
Or maybe not.
but years ago we heard about research on microwave and other electronic weapons.
could microwaves make your iPhone explode?
and since most newer cars have a computerized carburator, it means they could be stopped.
headsup Instapundit
The new report emerged on July 7, 2017, when Jenan Moussa, a “roving reporter Arabic Al Aan TV,” an Arabic-language satellite television network with its headquarters in the United Arab Emirates, wrote on Twitter that members of the U.S.-supported Syrian Democratic Forces told her American warplanes sometimes dropped an “electricity bomb.” The SDF fighters added that when the weapon went off, anyone carrying metallic items would “burn.”
Or maybe not.
What if the weapon described by fighters to Moussa was actually focused microwave beam, highly localized electromagnetic pulse munition, or even some sort of pinpoint cyber attack? Maybe the SDF fighters saw the aftermath of any one of these types strikes and assumed the metal parts had burned up because they were the target of such weapon rather than just secondary effect from its use. Or maybe people's cell phones are catching fire or exploding and it isn't clear why, which is hardly an unheard of concept.
The idea of a weapon that could fit on an unmanned aircraft and stop cars using a pulse of energy or ignite cellphones at the flip of a switch would definitely be a desirable new capability if engineers could get it to work.
Don't ask me: I'm a doctor not an engineer.but years ago we heard about research on microwave and other electronic weapons.
could microwaves make your iPhone explode?
and since most newer cars have a computerized carburator, it means they could be stopped.
headsup Instapundit
Friday, July 28, 2017
Charlie Gard and miracles
A lot of the sad fight about this poor child is about "quality of life" and if he should get his tiny chance to live.(aka QALY, quality of life years.
Those saying: Let the kid die in peace are not evil, but saying: look sometimes miracles don't happen.
But you know, a lot of those saying: Fight till the end are also overlooking a problem. Many think (or pretend to think) that the end point will be a normal boy, and many point to anecdotal stories of such survivals leading to normal children.
But this implies that a child is worthy only if he or she is "normal", or will be completely cured. In other words, their argument suggests they agree with the QALY folks: that they see the end point as a normal child, overlooking that maybe the child involved would never be "normal". Does that mean his life is not worth fighting for?
can we see the value of a life who is not perfect?
One of my cousins had a bedridden child who never grew beyond babyhood. She cared for her for 38 years, with the help of her large family.
Yet in some ways she was "lucky": the child was easy to care for, as are many children with Down's syndrome.
But what about those with behavior problems, including severe types of autism? These children are hard to care for, especially after they hit puberty. The film "Rainman" was a very good example of caring for such a person, but even there, he was high IQ: Most are not.
No, I have no easy answers. There are no easy answers.
there is only love.
Those saying: Let the kid die in peace are not evil, but saying: look sometimes miracles don't happen.
But you know, a lot of those saying: Fight till the end are also overlooking a problem. Many think (or pretend to think) that the end point will be a normal boy, and many point to anecdotal stories of such survivals leading to normal children.
But this implies that a child is worthy only if he or she is "normal", or will be completely cured. In other words, their argument suggests they agree with the QALY folks: that they see the end point as a normal child, overlooking that maybe the child involved would never be "normal". Does that mean his life is not worth fighting for?
can we see the value of a life who is not perfect?
One of my cousins had a bedridden child who never grew beyond babyhood. She cared for her for 38 years, with the help of her large family.
Yet in some ways she was "lucky": the child was easy to care for, as are many children with Down's syndrome.
But what about those with behavior problems, including severe types of autism? These children are hard to care for, especially after they hit puberty. The film "Rainman" was a very good example of caring for such a person, but even there, he was high IQ: Most are not.
No, I have no easy answers. There are no easy answers.
there is only love.
Dunkirk
If you are waiting to see Dunkirk (which hasn't reached us yet), you can watch the story elsewhere.
the modern movies tend to be "gritty", but the real story of Dunkirk is that it has morphed into myth: That when confronted with two choices, surrender or death, the British chose neither and devised a way to survive.
of course, if you are into chickflix, one of the subplots of the film Mrs Miniver showed her husband going off to war on his small boat to rescue those at Dunkirk...(while she grabs the gun and captures a downed German pilot). Archive.org has clips of that film.
then there is the story of the Snow Goose:
the modern movies tend to be "gritty", but the real story of Dunkirk is that it has morphed into myth: That when confronted with two choices, surrender or death, the British chose neither and devised a way to survive.
Bring in the drones
SP reports on with a drone dome using lasers.
Drone Dome uses a high powered laser that can destroy or disable most UAVs 2,000 meters or more distant. Drone Dome uses a radar that can detect most small UAVs at ranges of up to 30 kilometers at altitudes of 10 meters (30 feet) to 10,000 meters.
Drone Dome is not a radical development but part of a trend. Since 2010 Israeli firms have developed a growing number of AUD (Anti UAV Defense) systems largely because Israel is a nation that is most often threatened by hostile use of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) particularly small commercial ones increasingly used by Islamic terrorists and criminal gangs.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Headlines below the fold
SP report on China: putting spyware on phones, their Turkish minority problem and getting rid of corruption.
-------------------
NotDeadYet: remembering the victims of the Sagamihara massacre:
-----------------
BBC: an IT debacle in Sweden that is affecting their government.
and all their drivers' data was stolen. DUH.
Now if only someone could follow up on China's stealing of my federal personnel file information...
and in the meanwhile what is going on with the Hillary operative who hired Pakistani IT guys for congress? The FBI arrested him for trying to flee the country after sending a lot of money there, and confiscated his (smashed) hard drives a couple of days ago, but I an only find articles on it in right wing sites.
Islamophobia of course, says his lawyer.
Which is why only Amazon has the guts to do a TV show about ISIS' atrocities.
of course, Amazon is so Non PC that they hired
Jeremy Clarkson...
headsup Instapundit who notes a lot of US TV shows have become part of the (Democratic) "resistance"...
Oh well: Back to K dramas.
-----------------------------
BBC article on the Basque language.
more HERE.
-------------------
goodbye Flash.
--------------------
Homicide of women analyzed by the CDC... since often the offender was never married to them, it is now labeled "IPV": Intimate partner abuse, which explains about half of these murders. And 15% were pregnant.
I read elsewhere that churches were being pressured to reteach men not to abuse their wives, but the article noted that actually most of the abusers rarely went to church, and as I noted, often they weren't married... but I have referred some couples to their bishop or clergyman for counseling, rather than to a lay counselor (whose sympathy to complaints can be interpreted by the abusing party that they were right to correct their partner in this way).
for awhile, we docs were told to ask all our women patients about abuse, but this backfired when (white or immigrant) doctors asked the question and the (black or AmerIndian) patients interpreted this as implying prejudice against their ethnicity.
they also report on China's push to steal Indian land China's workers in Pakistan and their new silk road project, and if you read down to the bottom, they summarize China's aggression in the West Philippine sea.
So far in 2017 0ver 201,000 government officials have been punished for corruption. That is on track to match the number punished for all of 2016. What is most encouraging is that many more very senior officials are being hit and hit hard with jail time and confiscation of what they stole.
-------------------
NotDeadYet: remembering the victims of the Sagamihara massacre:
One year ago, 19 disabled people were brutally stabbed to death by a young man who justified his murderous attack by saying disabled people “live like animals, not humans” and that “it’s better that disabled disappear...
-----------------
BBC: an IT debacle in Sweden that is affecting their government.
In 2015, the agency Transportstyrelsen awarded its IT maintenance contract to IBM, which then gave the work to subcontractors in the Czech Republic and Serbia...
and all their drivers' data was stolen. DUH.
Now if only someone could follow up on China's stealing of my federal personnel file information...
and in the meanwhile what is going on with the Hillary operative who hired Pakistani IT guys for congress? The FBI arrested him for trying to flee the country after sending a lot of money there, and confiscated his (smashed) hard drives a couple of days ago, but I an only find articles on it in right wing sites.
Islamophobia of course, says his lawyer.
Which is why only Amazon has the guts to do a TV show about ISIS' atrocities.
of course, Amazon is so Non PC that they hired
Jeremy Clarkson...
headsup Instapundit who notes a lot of US TV shows have become part of the (Democratic) "resistance"...
Oh well: Back to K dramas.
-----------------------------
BBC article on the Basque language.
more HERE.
-------------------
goodbye Flash.
--------------------
Homicide of women analyzed by the CDC... since often the offender was never married to them, it is now labeled "IPV": Intimate partner abuse, which explains about half of these murders. And 15% were pregnant.
I read elsewhere that churches were being pressured to reteach men not to abuse their wives, but the article noted that actually most of the abusers rarely went to church, and as I noted, often they weren't married... but I have referred some couples to their bishop or clergyman for counseling, rather than to a lay counselor (whose sympathy to complaints can be interpreted by the abusing party that they were right to correct their partner in this way).
for awhile, we docs were told to ask all our women patients about abuse, but this backfired when (white or immigrant) doctors asked the question and the (black or AmerIndian) patients interpreted this as implying prejudice against their ethnicity.
Family news
We have had heavy rain for the last two days: A storm is going through the Visayas. This is good for our rice, if we don't get too much and end up with a flood.
Ruby is getting all her shots so she can get into high school. Since her father didn't want her to get her vaccinations as a child she was behind in them, and hadn't gotten some of them at all. (she got some of them when Joy took her on the sly after Lolo and I pressured her to do so).
So now she has sore arms but otherwise is okay, even though one of the shots was for typhoid, which made me sick when I got it for medical school. I think it is a newer vaccine with fewer side effects.
She also had a positive TB skin test: she did have BCG vaccine but this was larger than expected from that vaccine. Her chest x ray is negative, so that means she had been in contact with TB but didn't get infected, so now she has to go on INH for three months just in case there are a few dormant germs in her system. (When I took INH I had to take it a year... they found you don't need to take it that long).
They bought a pizza for supper, so I am in heaven. We now have an Italian restaurant/pizza place at the mall, and you can buy warmed over cardboard pizza in the palenke.
We also can buy Chinese, Sushi, Siomai, Turkish pita sandwiches, etc. at various places around town: all of which are new.
I am reminded of Tolkien's snide remark that when the Americans take over the world, that you won't have to travel any more. The spread of American culture, from TV to food to cellphones to jeans/tee shirt is all over nowadays.
Yes, some of it is now "Chinese" (or Korean drama), but you know, even the Chinese modern movies (and music videos) show American type cities and clothing and often American capitalistic yuppie culture... at least the historical K dramas still have Confucian values. And the Philippine dramas and commercials often show the importance of the family ties to a person's life, instead of a plot where they "follow their own dreams" and discard their families.
Ruby is getting all her shots so she can get into high school. Since her father didn't want her to get her vaccinations as a child she was behind in them, and hadn't gotten some of them at all. (she got some of them when Joy took her on the sly after Lolo and I pressured her to do so).
So now she has sore arms but otherwise is okay, even though one of the shots was for typhoid, which made me sick when I got it for medical school. I think it is a newer vaccine with fewer side effects.
She also had a positive TB skin test: she did have BCG vaccine but this was larger than expected from that vaccine. Her chest x ray is negative, so that means she had been in contact with TB but didn't get infected, so now she has to go on INH for three months just in case there are a few dormant germs in her system. (When I took INH I had to take it a year... they found you don't need to take it that long).
They bought a pizza for supper, so I am in heaven. We now have an Italian restaurant/pizza place at the mall, and you can buy warmed over cardboard pizza in the palenke.
We also can buy Chinese, Sushi, Siomai, Turkish pita sandwiches, etc. at various places around town: all of which are new.
I am reminded of Tolkien's snide remark that when the Americans take over the world, that you won't have to travel any more. The spread of American culture, from TV to food to cellphones to jeans/tee shirt is all over nowadays.
Yes, some of it is now "Chinese" (or Korean drama), but you know, even the Chinese modern movies (and music videos) show American type cities and clothing and often American capitalistic yuppie culture... at least the historical K dramas still have Confucian values. And the Philippine dramas and commercials often show the importance of the family ties to a person's life, instead of a plot where they "follow their own dreams" and discard their families.
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
The Mark of the beast
Yes, putting microchips into people is back in the news: This time it is about mandated by a company.
My take: They put it in the web between the thumb and hand, which makes me worry about scar tissue and pain. Why not put it in the upper arm, like we do with implantable contraceptives (or on the back, as is one with valuable dogs).
and coming soon: GPS on the chips.
The good news? If you refuse the chip for religious reasons, the courts will back you (at least they did in this case).
since I'm Catholic, I can't claim that, but what about if you are just paranoid about letting anyone, including criminals, to be able to hack your private information from the chip just by using a scanner?
I men, if criminals can steal information from chips from you credit card chip, why do you think that a chip in your hand would be any safe?
Here is how one pro chip guy justifies their chipping of employees:
well, it's easy to fake fingerprint scans etc. and retinal scans are not good if you have diabetic retinopathy or cataracts. But folks seem to think technology is an easy answer to stop criminals, never mind that the same technology could be used to control ordinary citizens. (the Bible quote on the mark of the beast says without it you won't be able to buy or sell... guess they were paranoid back then too).
dirty little secret: If they can figure a way to steal, they will, and they can outsmart the good guys to do so:
My take: They put it in the web between the thumb and hand, which makes me worry about scar tissue and pain. Why not put it in the upper arm, like we do with implantable contraceptives (or on the back, as is one with valuable dogs).
and coming soon: GPS on the chips.
The good news? If you refuse the chip for religious reasons, the courts will back you (at least they did in this case).
since I'm Catholic, I can't claim that, but what about if you are just paranoid about letting anyone, including criminals, to be able to hack your private information from the chip just by using a scanner?
I men, if criminals can steal information from chips from you credit card chip, why do you think that a chip in your hand would be any safe?
Here is how one pro chip guy justifies their chipping of employees:
"To protect high-end secure data, you use more sophisticated techniques," Sean Darks, chief executive of the Cincinnati-based company, said. He compared chip implants to retina scans or fingerprinting. "There's a reader outside the door; you walk up to the reader, put your arm under it, and it opens the door."
well, it's easy to fake fingerprint scans etc. and retinal scans are not good if you have diabetic retinopathy or cataracts. But folks seem to think technology is an easy answer to stop criminals, never mind that the same technology could be used to control ordinary citizens. (the Bible quote on the mark of the beast says without it you won't be able to buy or sell... guess they were paranoid back then too).
dirty little secret: If they can figure a way to steal, they will, and they can outsmart the good guys to do so:
New Living Translation"The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light.
Russia Russia Russia? The real danger is China fellahs
China is busy harassing the US for keeping the sea lanes open...
Obama not only looked the other way when China first kept our fishermen out of the shoals, then continued to pressure us when China dredged up the sea bed, destroying the environment, to build their artificial islands... He even told the Philippines not to defend our fishermen or the environment when China started their takeover.
True, the courts ruled in favor of the Philippines, but without someone willing to enforce international law, it is a meaningless piece of paper.
the Philippines is the weakest link, but not the only one standing in their way.
they are harassing VietNam for seeking oil in their own coastal areas... and VietNam hates China, since they were once a colony of China and theoretically China could try to reassert their ancient sovereignty...
China is also busy threatening India in the Himalayas, where they slowly built roads and moved the military into these empty areas, and now claim India is threatening them...DUH.
And don't even look at their Indian ocean ports.
ah, but CNN is Russia Russia Russia all the time...
Maybe when they have to evacuate the embassy in Manila they'll pay attention?
The press seems to be ignoring this bigly, since to defend the Philippines it would mean supporting both Trumpie boy and Duterte.
Duterte gave his "State of the Nation" address yesterday, and all the usual leftists and their paid flunkies were out demonstrating against Martial law.
But the good news is that a "facebook poll" (i.e. the elite) gave him over 50 percent approval rating... I suspect the tricycle driver/farmer poll will be higher.
Duterte is still mad at the US for "punishing" him for his drug war, preventing our police from getting weapons that they now need to fight off ISIS...(However, China supplied them... so now they wonder why Duterte is making nice with China? and they are helping our anti drug war) and of course the US MSM only gives him publicity when his candor makes a good headline.
The US press bias is worse than the local papers, because although the local papers criticize him they do not ridicule the Philippines per se.., so their news is not one sided like much of the US press.
The local papers even notice the lovely lady who is a hero on CNN for defending "civil rights" might deserve to be in jail...
No, China is not popular here in the provinces, but half the Manila elite oligarchy has Chinese ancestors...and they essentially run our economy, and they know how to cooperate with our politicians.
Duterte remains popular, and crime went down in our area.
so who do you believe? The MSM or your lying eyes?
Dilbert says while you were looking the other way, Trump is on the verge of winning bigly on health care.
No, I'm not following the story, since, as I said, CNN seems to be "Russia russia russia" all the time in their coverage.
and I'm avoiding facebook because of the political battles from both sides that exaggerate and demonize those they disagree with.
Who was it that said: Come let us reason together?
That was LBJ quoting Isaiah, and he (a southern rednck bigot) not JFK who got the Civil rights bill passed in 1964...
and I'm old enough to remember he was hated, not just by Republicans but by the elites in the Democratic party for being uncouth and by the "anti war left" who were in the pay of the USSR...
History redux.
Freedom of navigation operations work best when they’re routine in nature and don’t make news. They serve to help the US establish the facts in the water, but in the South China Sea, those facts all indicate Chinese control.
When Chinese military jets fly armed over head, when Chinese navy ships patrol the waters, and when Chinese construction crews lay down the framework for a network of military bases in the South China Sea, the US’s allies in the region notice.
An increased US Navy presence in the area won’t turn back time and unpave runways, but it could send a message to allies that the US has their back and won’t back away from checking Beijing.
Obama not only looked the other way when China first kept our fishermen out of the shoals, then continued to pressure us when China dredged up the sea bed, destroying the environment, to build their artificial islands... He even told the Philippines not to defend our fishermen or the environment when China started their takeover.
True, the courts ruled in favor of the Philippines, but without someone willing to enforce international law, it is a meaningless piece of paper.
the Philippines is the weakest link, but not the only one standing in their way.
they are harassing VietNam for seeking oil in their own coastal areas... and VietNam hates China, since they were once a colony of China and theoretically China could try to reassert their ancient sovereignty...
China is also busy threatening India in the Himalayas, where they slowly built roads and moved the military into these empty areas, and now claim India is threatening them...DUH.
And don't even look at their Indian ocean ports.
ah, but CNN is Russia Russia Russia all the time...
Maybe when they have to evacuate the embassy in Manila they'll pay attention?
The press seems to be ignoring this bigly, since to defend the Philippines it would mean supporting both Trumpie boy and Duterte.
Duterte gave his "State of the Nation" address yesterday, and all the usual leftists and their paid flunkies were out demonstrating against Martial law.
But the good news is that a "facebook poll" (i.e. the elite) gave him over 50 percent approval rating... I suspect the tricycle driver/farmer poll will be higher.
Duterte is still mad at the US for "punishing" him for his drug war, preventing our police from getting weapons that they now need to fight off ISIS...(However, China supplied them... so now they wonder why Duterte is making nice with China? and they are helping our anti drug war) and of course the US MSM only gives him publicity when his candor makes a good headline.
The US press bias is worse than the local papers, because although the local papers criticize him they do not ridicule the Philippines per se.., so their news is not one sided like much of the US press.
The local papers even notice the lovely lady who is a hero on CNN for defending "civil rights" might deserve to be in jail...
No, China is not popular here in the provinces, but half the Manila elite oligarchy has Chinese ancestors...and they essentially run our economy, and they know how to cooperate with our politicians.
Duterte remains popular, and crime went down in our area.
so who do you believe? The MSM or your lying eyes?
Dilbert says while you were looking the other way, Trump is on the verge of winning bigly on health care.
No, I'm not following the story, since, as I said, CNN seems to be "Russia russia russia" all the time in their coverage.
and I'm avoiding facebook because of the political battles from both sides that exaggerate and demonize those they disagree with.
Who was it that said: Come let us reason together?
That was LBJ quoting Isaiah, and he (a southern rednck bigot) not JFK who got the Civil rights bill passed in 1964...
and I'm old enough to remember he was hated, not just by Republicans but by the elites in the Democratic party for being uncouth and by the "anti war left" who were in the pay of the USSR...
History redux.
Refugees flee, bringing disease and chaos
Refugees fleeing famine, chaos, and an oppressive political regime en masse. They went to countries where locals objected to their presence. They were considered undesirable aliens who would never assimilate because they were illiterate spoke a different language, and practiced a strange religion...
they traveled on unsafe ships, which they called "coffin ships" because of the high mortality.
if this sounds familiar, maybe it's because it is your own history.
Irish History Podcast has a series on this.
they traveled on unsafe ships, which they called "coffin ships" because of the high mortality.
if this sounds familiar, maybe it's because it is your own history.
Irish History Podcast has a series on this.
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Sigh
Charlie ard is probably going to die since his brain is damaged so badly that stopping his disease won't make much difference.
But another case is now in the news: Judge might revoke the death certificate for Jathi, who recovered enough from brain dead that she is doing well... except of course well means still in a coma, but not brain dead according to today's definition.
there are a lot of modern treatments seeking to reverse severe brain damage, from hyperbaric oxygen to stem cells.
But when one works with children, it is hard to make a decent prognosis, since the brain does regenerate a bit, or lets the non damaged part of the brain take over what needs to be done.
But another case is now in the news: Judge might revoke the death certificate for Jathi, who recovered enough from brain dead that she is doing well... except of course well means still in a coma, but not brain dead according to today's definition.
there are a lot of modern treatments seeking to reverse severe brain damage, from hyperbaric oxygen to stem cells.
But when one works with children, it is hard to make a decent prognosis, since the brain does regenerate a bit, or lets the non damaged part of the brain take over what needs to be done.
Monday, July 24, 2017
Louis XIV part two
Internet archives has two of Warnie Lewis' books on Lous XIV for your reading pleasure
LINK
LINK
yes this is the brother of CSLewis, but his books are fairly easy to read: I read the first book years before I was aware that they were related (Lewis is of course a common name).
You can also find Durant's history series there. This is the link for the Age of Napoleon...the rest you can google yourself.
I had the entire set (bought used) but only brought three of them with me, because of their weight in hardback.
Lous XIV made Versailles to keep his nobles busy (So they wouldn't go to war as they did in the Fronde). But his son, Louis XV, was the real libertine... alas Louis XVI was young and naive and weak, so inherited the sins of his predecessors:
and this explains why there was a revolution, in song:
LINK
LINK
yes this is the brother of CSLewis, but his books are fairly easy to read: I read the first book years before I was aware that they were related (Lewis is of course a common name).
You can also find Durant's history series there. This is the link for the Age of Napoleon...the rest you can google yourself.
I had the entire set (bought used) but only brought three of them with me, because of their weight in hardback.
Lous XIV made Versailles to keep his nobles busy (So they wouldn't go to war as they did in the Fronde). But his son, Louis XV, was the real libertine... alas Louis XVI was young and naive and weak, so inherited the sins of his predecessors:
and this explains why there was a revolution, in song:
CSI Paris 1648
--
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a retelling of "the affair of the poisoners" in the time of Louis XIV...
I don't know if this has been part of the plot of the TV series Versailles, which hasn't reached here yet, but it is a major subplot in the Angelique series of books, which I read years ago, but lost the (used paperbacks) I owned when my storage cabinet flooded.
- ------------
a retelling of "the affair of the poisoners" in the time of Louis XIV...
I don't know if this has been part of the plot of the TV series Versailles, which hasn't reached here yet, but it is a major subplot in the Angelique series of books, which I read years ago, but lost the (used paperbacks) I owned when my storage cabinet flooded.
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Saturday, July 22, 2017
Lecture of the week
I often criticize the rabid fundamentalists of the green religion (as I similarly criticize the radical fundamentalists of the left and right of Catholicism).
But that doesn't mean I hate everything about it: I mean, I live a green lifestyle (eat locally, eat organic rice that we grow, live frugally).
So here is a talk about the love of nature:
But that doesn't mean I hate everything about it: I mean, I live a green lifestyle (eat locally, eat organic rice that we grow, live frugally).
So here is a talk about the love of nature:
Philippine news
SP has a long summary about the clan feud behind the siege in the south, along with explanations why urban warfare is so hard...I like the headline: Not a refuge but a eathtrap.
there are reports that nearby countries report their crazies have connections with our problems, and even help them. Hopefully they will learn to stay home where it is safer.
in the meanwhile, there is supposed to be a cigarette smoking ban for health reasons. Sounds like the foreign NGO's are here. HELLO: tobacco causes health problems.
SHABU and marijuana only kills your soul, families and society, and is deeply connected to corruption and crime. Priorities please.
The main problem here is corruption. But most of the elite are related to each other, and family comes first. And most of the elite follow the agenda of overseas elites.The locals have little say in the matter, but never mind. So Duterte is hated by the international elite but loved by ordinary folks, who are the victims of the druggies and of the corrupt politicians.
It's like the local Catholic church's emphasis on green issues. Tagle is running for pope, so must go along with this absurdity...
Lots of pressure by outsiders for us to clean up first world issues while ignoring the problems in front of their nose.
another day, another bank heist.
there are reports that nearby countries report their crazies have connections with our problems, and even help them. Hopefully they will learn to stay home where it is safer.
in the meanwhile, there is supposed to be a cigarette smoking ban for health reasons. Sounds like the foreign NGO's are here. HELLO: tobacco causes health problems.
SHABU and marijuana only kills your soul, families and society, and is deeply connected to corruption and crime. Priorities please.
The main problem here is corruption. But most of the elite are related to each other, and family comes first. And most of the elite follow the agenda of overseas elites.The locals have little say in the matter, but never mind. So Duterte is hated by the international elite but loved by ordinary folks, who are the victims of the druggies and of the corrupt politicians.
It's like the local Catholic church's emphasis on green issues. Tagle is running for pope, so must go along with this absurdity...
Lots of pressure by outsiders for us to clean up first world issues while ignoring the problems in front of their nose.
another day, another bank heist.
Friday, July 21, 2017
sometimes hospice is a good option
you can say no to aggressive medical care.
John McCain has a glioblastoma, and the press is saying, hey there is treatment so don't give up the fight.
even though the dirty little secret is that the survival rate is low and the treatment is lousy.
I often criticize "QALY" criteria that deny treatment to the elderly or handicapped, figuring they are better off dead, but there is a good argument that people with weak bodies from age or handicaps might get a lot more side effects and less benefits from aggressive therapy.
This is an individual choice:
Yes when Joy's sister got malignant melanoma with metastases, I got her in a trial for experimental immunotherapy in Manila, (which didn't work, by the way). But she was only 45. Ditto for my "young" 60 year old brother in the US, whose cancer was put into a six year remission with a drug that was still in the trial mode when he started taking it.
But at age 80, the body is older, and many organs have vulnerabilities.
In many cases, hospice care is a good alternative.
Which is why my husband refused chemo for his Chronic leukemia: it might have put him into remission but he already had heart and kidney problems from his high blood pressure so the books noted that in such patients it was considered "optional".
Comfort care at home was his choice, and he died in his own bed, with family present.
Of course, this does have a downside: Lack of hospice care. One of Lolo's cousins had a lot of pain for a fractured hip that was treated with bedrest (no money for the expensive prosthesis needed due to osteoporosis, and he had medical problems that made surgery dangerous). He died after a few months anyway, but after a lot of suffering despite good home care by his niece and her son.
And we see a lot of stroke patients limping around town with post CVA footdrop... a lot of strokes and heart attacks due to high blood pressure because they can't afford the medicine for this...
There are free clinics, but often people don't go, and medicine alas is not free.
John McCain has a glioblastoma, and the press is saying, hey there is treatment so don't give up the fight.
even though the dirty little secret is that the survival rate is low and the treatment is lousy.
I often criticize "QALY" criteria that deny treatment to the elderly or handicapped, figuring they are better off dead, but there is a good argument that people with weak bodies from age or handicaps might get a lot more side effects and less benefits from aggressive therapy.
This is an individual choice:
Yes when Joy's sister got malignant melanoma with metastases, I got her in a trial for experimental immunotherapy in Manila, (which didn't work, by the way). But she was only 45. Ditto for my "young" 60 year old brother in the US, whose cancer was put into a six year remission with a drug that was still in the trial mode when he started taking it.
But at age 80, the body is older, and many organs have vulnerabilities.
In many cases, hospice care is a good alternative.
Which is why my husband refused chemo for his Chronic leukemia: it might have put him into remission but he already had heart and kidney problems from his high blood pressure so the books noted that in such patients it was considered "optional".
Comfort care at home was his choice, and he died in his own bed, with family present.
Of course, this does have a downside: Lack of hospice care. One of Lolo's cousins had a lot of pain for a fractured hip that was treated with bedrest (no money for the expensive prosthesis needed due to osteoporosis, and he had medical problems that made surgery dangerous). He died after a few months anyway, but after a lot of suffering despite good home care by his niece and her son.
And we see a lot of stroke patients limping around town with post CVA footdrop... a lot of strokes and heart attacks due to high blood pressure because they can't afford the medicine for this...
There are free clinics, but often people don't go, and medicine alas is not free.
War Stories below the fold
StrategyPage on the difficulties of urban warfare, and how ISIS manipulates the SJW and the press.
Something to remember when you read headlines accusing the Philippine soldiers of killing innocent civilians.
although I suspect they might "accidentally" kill some not so innocent folks pretending to be civilians...
-------------------------
Also from SP: It took Colombia 20 years to essentially shut down their Marxist insurgents. The economy is booming.
a short background note:
A lot of the FARC guys who turned themselves in will get amnesty: However, like my son's birth sister's common law husband, who came in from the cold after a previous amnesty 20+ years ago, some of them may be found dead after being shot by unknown perpetrator (i.e. private payback).
The murder rate in Colombia is high, despite gun control.
Because of this, like here in the Philippines, most of the middle class folks have illegal guns hidden in their homes for self defense... Lolo used to hide his WWII submachine gun in the closet (and no, I don't know where it is: He gave it away after his first stroke).
The problem of civilians using guns for self defense is that if you are not trained to shoot automatically, you hesitate and end up dead.
The SP article notes that the drug gangs are still a big problem in Colombia, and the economic collapse of Venezuela is not helping things along.
nor are the ecowarrior types:
------------------
The clueless are complaining that there is a lack of "people of colour" in the new movie Dunkirk.
And my step son asked why this French beach had a "British" name. It's not British but Flemish...
This is an example of "out of the box" thinking: The Germans assumed they would either surrender or be killed, but the Brits found a third way to get them out, using civilian boats.
----------------------
I am not up to date with what'sup in Syria, but AustinBay at Instapundit links to this article on Military Times as a headsup.
one does hope the Kurds will be allowed their much desired independence after all of this.
One big roadblock was Turkey (who worries it might give their Kurdish minorities ideas) but given recent news from Turkey, I say "putang ina" to them.
--------------
Speaking of "putang ina": US congress folks want to stop allowing the Philippines to get weapons for their cops and military to punish them for the drug war.
The dirty little secret is that China is supplying them now.
Our town's local news report gives an example of what's going on in corruption and murder...not all the murders are "drug related" you know.
the problem is that the strict "libel" laws means that the press can't print the rumors of why someone was killed.(i.e. criminals murdering during a robbery, private hits, including payback for a wrong done to someone, or a politician killing his rival, or if it is drug criminals killing snitches, or if it is cops dispensing "justice")
-----------------
We are seeing this use of human shields in the fight in the southern Philippines, so we are reading articles like this one.
One major operational goal stressed by Iraq officers was minimizing civilian casualties. ISIS fighters use civilians as "human shields" to deter coalition attacks on their positions. The thugs who commit this war crime always accuse their adversaries of targeting the civilians. ISIS also makes routine use of mosques as battle positions and supply depots. That complicates offensive operations where the attackers are trying to minimize the destruction.
Something to remember when you read headlines accusing the Philippine soldiers of killing innocent civilians.
although I suspect they might "accidentally" kill some not so innocent folks pretending to be civilians...
-------------------------
Also from SP: It took Colombia 20 years to essentially shut down their Marxist insurgents. The economy is booming.
a short background note:
A lot of the FARC guys who turned themselves in will get amnesty: However, like my son's birth sister's common law husband, who came in from the cold after a previous amnesty 20+ years ago, some of them may be found dead after being shot by unknown perpetrator (i.e. private payback).
The murder rate in Colombia is high, despite gun control.
Because of this, like here in the Philippines, most of the middle class folks have illegal guns hidden in their homes for self defense... Lolo used to hide his WWII submachine gun in the closet (and no, I don't know where it is: He gave it away after his first stroke).
The problem of civilians using guns for self defense is that if you are not trained to shoot automatically, you hesitate and end up dead.
The SP article notes that the drug gangs are still a big problem in Colombia, and the economic collapse of Venezuela is not helping things along.
nor are the ecowarrior types:
and then there is this dirty little secret: they worry more about farmers getting cancer than farmers being enslaved to work for drug dealers.
Accusations that the herbicide (Roundup) used to kill coca plants causes cancer has led to growing protests in rural areas and the government halted the spraying, even though there was no proof to back up the accusations.
The farmers often don't have much choice (grow the stuff or die, or try to flee).
------------------
The clueless are complaining that there is a lack of "people of colour" in the new movie Dunkirk.
And my step son asked why this French beach had a "British" name. It's not British but Flemish...
This is an example of "out of the box" thinking: The Germans assumed they would either surrender or be killed, but the Brits found a third way to get them out, using civilian boats.
----------------------
I am not up to date with what'sup in Syria, but AustinBay at Instapundit links to this article on Military Times as a headsup.
... the videos of U.S. armored vehicles headed towards the embattled city of Raqqa calls into question the type of aid being delivered to the Kurdish allies and its adequacy to liberate the city from ISIS fighters.
one does hope the Kurds will be allowed their much desired independence after all of this.
One big roadblock was Turkey (who worries it might give their Kurdish minorities ideas) but given recent news from Turkey, I say "putang ina" to them.
--------------
Speaking of "putang ina": US congress folks want to stop allowing the Philippines to get weapons for their cops and military to punish them for the drug war.
The dirty little secret is that China is supplying them now.
Our town's local news report gives an example of what's going on in corruption and murder...not all the murders are "drug related" you know.
the problem is that the strict "libel" laws means that the press can't print the rumors of why someone was killed.(i.e. criminals murdering during a robbery, private hits, including payback for a wrong done to someone, or a politician killing his rival, or if it is drug criminals killing snitches, or if it is cops dispensing "justice")
-----------------
China vs Google
I ran across this article about how the Baidu map app in China guided a dying student to a private hospitals.
hmm... does this mean someone gave someone a little gift under the table to change the app's advice?
Well, like Google, they auction off key words used in searches.
Baidu map apps are the Chinese language equivalent to Google maps, the they are trying to take over the world from google.
Wikipedia article on Baidu
Newsweek article discusses
the irony is that Google is kept out of China, but hey, China can not only get their own monopolies going but arrange with others to spread their form of technology everywhere.
China’s largest mobile map service has expanded its coverage to Europe and the rest of the world in a partnership with Here, a mapping company formerly known as Nokia Maps, in a move that could challenge the global dominance of Google Maps as the most popular online map. Beijing-based search giant Baidu, sometimes referred to as the Google of China, will launch Baidu Maps in more than 150 countries, providing services for 99 percent of the world’s population. Here was rebranded in 2015 after it was sold to a consortium of German car manufacturers that included Audi and BMW.
Can you say "monopoly" or "illegal trading practices" people?
But they do have competition, from AliBaba, the "ebay/amazon" company of China.
the t article notes that some people in China are switching to Ali Baba's Gaode map app.
----------------------
Also what caught my eye was that there are actually private hospitals in Socialist China. Hmmm...
Putian group of hospitals are described in this article.
they started with a Chinese medical practitioner who found treatment for scabies, and gradually expanded in a very capitalistic fashion.
The private hospitals founded by Putian residents do share some characteristics. They tend to target treatments that have higher margins and that can be performed at relatively lower risk. Fertility treatment, plastic surgery and dental care are popular. More importantly, these sectors aren’t normally included under the national medical insurance system, so patients tend to choose private hospitals that specialise in these categories.
According to Bain, the consultancy, China’s healthcare industry will more than triple to $900 billion by 2020 from $275 billion four years ago. The central government also wants more private capital in the sector to increase the supply of medical services.
Private hospitals could also help with the reform of public hospitals by increasing competition. In April, the State Council gave private hospitals the right to set prices for treatments that had previously been government-controlled.
something to remember when you read about the wonderfulness of single party payer medical plans run by the government.
Peace in our time!
Because it worked so well in 1938:
what is more worrisome is that this is a military think type essay
and then the US wonders why Duterte makes anti American remarks.
China needs to take over this open water sea lane so that they can block the sea routes to Japan and Korea... and they are now trying to take over a shallow area to the EAST of Luzon, with the idea they will eventually take over all of the Philippines.
The elites probably would be okay with this (as many of them were when Japan tries the same thing... one of the dirty little secrets of WWII).
But the last time China tried it, they failed.
And unlike the Philippines, VietNam and probably even Indonesia will fight back.
--------------
heh. All they want is Peace peace peace!
EXPERTS WARY THAT U.S. COULD TRADE CHINESE SOUTH CHINA SEA CONTROL FOR NORTH KOREA DENUCLEARIZATION: I say this cynical trade and sell-out won’t happen but somebody sure needs to write about that. (HINT: It’s Option 3.) (Bumped from earlier this morning, but now with additional hint.)
HINT 2: Read the North Korea options essay (second link). This trade won’t happen. However, there are people in southeast Asia who are scared it might. It is a course of action option– a very bad one. However, I think it’s a deal Beijing’s imperialists believe is possible, which says something about Beijing’s imperialists.
and then the US wonders why Duterte makes anti American remarks.
China needs to take over this open water sea lane so that they can block the sea routes to Japan and Korea... and they are now trying to take over a shallow area to the EAST of Luzon, with the idea they will eventually take over all of the Philippines.
The elites probably would be okay with this (as many of them were when Japan tries the same thing... one of the dirty little secrets of WWII).
But the last time China tried it, they failed.
And unlike the Philippines, VietNam and probably even Indonesia will fight back.
--------------
heh. All they want is Peace peace peace!
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Stories below the fold
The Aftermath of the Battle of Mosul will include a lot of payback to locals who "helped" the terrormasters.
and many western volunteer who get away could return home and bring their murderous skills with them.
and what will happen if the Kurdish referendum in Sept votes for independence?
read the whole thing. A complicated mess (and it has been that way since at least 1500 BC).
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Hanta virus: It's Back.
We had an outbreak awhile back when I was working in New Mexico... luckilywe didn't have any on "the res" but at least two cases in nearby communities meant it was around.
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ComicCon: A place to recruit for support for the space program.
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Dogs vs Wolves: It's in the genes.
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Chinese scientists just teleported a photon into space.
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Did you know the Chinese censors facebook? There was an attempt by Facebook to cooperate with their censorship.
I bring this up because one of Ruby's highschool kid chat rooms on facebook includes a Chinese student who got back on somehow... she said it was hard to get connected, but no details...
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The Yin Yang of religion
When I made the comment about the "neurotic nun" who saw the "Sacred Heart" being used to stop the emphasis on rules in a Catholic revival in France, I was not criticizing neurotic nuns.
I refer to James' The Varieties of Religious experience (Wikipedia summary):
Ancient religion was often a ritual by priests (in ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia) to keep the Gods from smashing you. There was also a "live a just life" aspect (see Egyptian pyramid texts) if you wanted to go to heaven. This is a "lateral" experience, where religion was about rules and justice (which is good, unless you are the poor peasant who gets punished for minor infractions against the establishment).
But the reaction to this burden by those seeking God/enlightenment was often neurosis, because they can't follow all those rules... the personal experience let them get a personal relationship to the deity/enlightenment as more important than ritual (see the Gita, Buddha, or your local Pentecostal church) and often leads to a peacefulness in life, loss of neurotic worries, and a personal kindness that is a balm to everyone they meet.
Of course, this can also lead to excess zeal one one hand, or a "I'm spiritual not religious" experience, where the personal high of knowing God has nothing to do with helping others.
But as a whole it can lead to social reform from below, either a renewal of society or a complete breakdown of the social order. This is not just European: The history of Buddhhist thought in China and Japan show similar infuences.
The emphasis on mercy renews the neurotic and is a godsend to the poor, who often are too weak to follow the rules (or break them out of need). But this weakens the idea of "rule of law", so it can also send out the idea to the sociopath types that rules are allowed to be broken with impunity.
Put name of your favorite sociopathic politician (or religious leader) in blank.
So te Yin and Yang of religion is going on in the Catholic church, with the Pope on the side of Mercy at a time when some of us think he should be pushing the idea of law like the Old Testament prophets who condemn not only divorce but bribery and corruption and cruelty toward the poor.
Micha, call your office...
I refer to James' The Varieties of Religious experience (Wikipedia summary):
Why, yes. This is true, whether you are talking about St Margaret Mary, St Faustina, Martin Luther, or the Buddha.
He believed that religious experiences can have "morbid origins"[4] in brain pathology and can be irrational but nevertheless are largely positive. Unlike the bad ideas that people have under the influence of a high fever, after a religious experience the ideas and insights usually remain and are often valued for the rest of the person's life.[5]
Ancient religion was often a ritual by priests (in ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia) to keep the Gods from smashing you. There was also a "live a just life" aspect (see Egyptian pyramid texts) if you wanted to go to heaven. This is a "lateral" experience, where religion was about rules and justice (which is good, unless you are the poor peasant who gets punished for minor infractions against the establishment).
But the reaction to this burden by those seeking God/enlightenment was often neurosis, because they can't follow all those rules... the personal experience let them get a personal relationship to the deity/enlightenment as more important than ritual (see the Gita, Buddha, or your local Pentecostal church) and often leads to a peacefulness in life, loss of neurotic worries, and a personal kindness that is a balm to everyone they meet.
Of course, this can also lead to excess zeal one one hand, or a "I'm spiritual not religious" experience, where the personal high of knowing God has nothing to do with helping others.
But as a whole it can lead to social reform from below, either a renewal of society or a complete breakdown of the social order. This is not just European: The history of Buddhhist thought in China and Japan show similar infuences.
The emphasis on mercy renews the neurotic and is a godsend to the poor, who often are too weak to follow the rules (or break them out of need). But this weakens the idea of "rule of law", so it can also send out the idea to the sociopath types that rules are allowed to be broken with impunity.
Put name of your favorite sociopathic politician (or religious leader) in blank.
So te Yin and Yang of religion is going on in the Catholic church, with the Pope on the side of Mercy at a time when some of us think he should be pushing the idea of law like the Old Testament prophets who condemn not only divorce but bribery and corruption and cruelty toward the poor.
Micha, call your office...
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Vatican Conspiracy theories (or don't mess with the Indian)
in the Francis wars against pious folks, even Pope Benedict pushed back on what is going on, reminding folks that Jesus doesn't abandon the church and not to worry if the ship of peter is foundering a bit.
this is not new in Catholicism: Reminds me of the Jansenist vs the Jesuit battle in medieval France. Moral folks like Pascal backed the Calvinistic inspired strict Catholic movement, but the Jesuits hit back with a convenient vision by a neurotic nun: that of the "Sacred Heart" that stressed mercy. (one side effect of this was the moral laxity about sex and luxury that led to the French revolution, but never mind).
Sound familiar?
We see a redux now, where the real enemies are not those killing babies or old folks, schtupping altar boys, or looting hospital funds to furnish your apartment, but those who live by the rules and just want to be left alone to practice their faith.
So Francis' minions struck back against the "religious right" last week in a screed that reminds me of the straw man accusation in thhe Democratic two minute hate against religion that I see posted on facebook.
How bad was it? Well, GetReligion called it "Son of Da Vinci Code" and notes that CNN covered it as politics, not morals. Well, duh.
As for the right wing Catholic blogosphere: never mind. Most are frothing at the mouth.
However, a thoughtful reply was made by America's Pottawatomie bishop: Bishop Chaput, who was sent to Philly to cleanup the mess by popular "uncle Tony" who looked the other way when stuff was going on.
Chaput is media savvy, and smart: How smart? Well, once the NYTimes misquoted him, and he pushed back by posting the transcript of what he actually said.
So here is his weekly column:
first he points out that this is a "straw man" argument.
read the whole thing.
Yes, religion is not PC in todays' world, but if the catholic church falls apart, or is taken over to serve the NWO, it will have a big impact on politics.
So what do we ordinary folks do? We have our rosaries, and we say them...
Sounds silly, no?
Fernando Marcos call your office...
this is not new in Catholicism: Reminds me of the Jansenist vs the Jesuit battle in medieval France. Moral folks like Pascal backed the Calvinistic inspired strict Catholic movement, but the Jesuits hit back with a convenient vision by a neurotic nun: that of the "Sacred Heart" that stressed mercy. (one side effect of this was the moral laxity about sex and luxury that led to the French revolution, but never mind).
Sound familiar?
We see a redux now, where the real enemies are not those killing babies or old folks, schtupping altar boys, or looting hospital funds to furnish your apartment, but those who live by the rules and just want to be left alone to practice their faith.
So Francis' minions struck back against the "religious right" last week in a screed that reminds me of the straw man accusation in thhe Democratic two minute hate against religion that I see posted on facebook.
How bad was it? Well, GetReligion called it "Son of Da Vinci Code" and notes that CNN covered it as politics, not morals. Well, duh.
As for the right wing Catholic blogosphere: never mind. Most are frothing at the mouth.
However, a thoughtful reply was made by America's Pottawatomie bishop: Bishop Chaput, who was sent to Philly to cleanup the mess by popular "uncle Tony" who looked the other way when stuff was going on.
Chaput is media savvy, and smart: How smart? Well, once the NYTimes misquoted him, and he pushed back by posting the transcript of what he actually said.
So here is his weekly column:
first he points out that this is a "straw man" argument.
he then points out that it ignores that taking one stance (prolife, e.g. Republican friendly) doesn't mean one cannot take another religious stance (immigration and poverty, e.g. Democrat friendly).
The article in question, La Civiltà Cattolica’s “Evangelical Fundamentalism and Catholic Integralism in the USA: A Surprising Ecumenism,” is an exercise in dumbing down and inadequately presenting the nature of Catholic/evangelical cooperation on religious freedom and other key issues
Catholics and other Christians who see themselves as progressive tend to be wary of the religious liberty debate. Some distrust it as a smokescreen for conservative politics. Some see it as a distraction from other urgent issues. Some are made uneasy by the cooperation of many Catholics and evangelicals, as well as Mormons and many Orthodox, to push back against abortion on demand, to defend marriage and the family, and to resist LGBT efforts to weaken religious freedom protections through coercive SOGI (sexual orientation/gender identity) “anti-discrimination” laws. But working for religious freedom has never precluded service to the poor. The opposite is true. In America, the liberty of religious communities has always been a seedbed of social action and ministry to those in need.
read the whole thing.
Yes, religion is not PC in todays' world, but if the catholic church falls apart, or is taken over to serve the NWO, it will have a big impact on politics.
So what do we ordinary folks do? We have our rosaries, and we say them...
Sounds silly, no?
Fernando Marcos call your office...
China, Russia, and the new "silk road"
If you scroll down StrategyPage's essay on Russia you will find a discussion of how China is economically trying to take over the southern former Soviet Union states and even eastern Siberia.
read the whole thing.
There is also a mention how low gas and oil prices are slowing the Russian economy.
Yes, fracking in the US (and excess pumping by the Saudis) is keeping the price of oil low, and a great boon for ordinary people in poor countries.
But it is bad for places like Russia, and also Iran: SP essay here where the (Obama) treaty with Iran hasn't helped as much as they thought it would, because of low oil prices.
oh, by the way, that essay note that Turkey is busy building a wall on it's borders with both Syria and Iran:
this isn't the only country building a wall for security:
India is building one too to stop terrorism in Kashmir.
Historially, but Rome and China built walls to stop barbarian invasions and to regulate business with these outsiders.
Both did not work in the long run, because they only work if the government reinforcing the wall is strong. But there is a joke that Rome fell because China built a wall so the Huns decided to move westward instead of southward. Not quite true, but it shows that even in 400 AD that the world was interconnected (not to mention the various plagues that came in from the east.
How much of Islam's and the Arab's success was due to the depopulation from Justinian's plague?
So today's big worry on Drudge is that scientists have managed to manufacture horsepox from DNA segments bought legally. Whoops. Of course the problem with germ warfare is that it blows back and would kill one's own folks.
unless, of course, it is done by the same crazies who want depopulation to save mother Gaia (as in various conspiracy movies from Inferno to Kingsman).
but that's another conspiracy theory for another day...
read the whole thing.
There is also a mention how low gas and oil prices are slowing the Russian economy.
Yes, fracking in the US (and excess pumping by the Saudis) is keeping the price of oil low, and a great boon for ordinary people in poor countries.
But it is bad for places like Russia, and also Iran: SP essay here where the (Obama) treaty with Iran hasn't helped as much as they thought it would, because of low oil prices.
oh, by the way, that essay note that Turkey is busy building a wall on it's borders with both Syria and Iran:
The wall is meant to make illegal crossings more difficult and easier to detect. The wall is directed at smugglers, illegal migrants and Islamic terrorists.
this isn't the only country building a wall for security:
India is building one too to stop terrorism in Kashmir.
Historially, but Rome and China built walls to stop barbarian invasions and to regulate business with these outsiders.
Both did not work in the long run, because they only work if the government reinforcing the wall is strong. But there is a joke that Rome fell because China built a wall so the Huns decided to move westward instead of southward. Not quite true, but it shows that even in 400 AD that the world was interconnected (not to mention the various plagues that came in from the east.
How much of Islam's and the Arab's success was due to the depopulation from Justinian's plague?
So today's big worry on Drudge is that scientists have managed to manufacture horsepox from DNA segments bought legally. Whoops. Of course the problem with germ warfare is that it blows back and would kill one's own folks.
unless, of course, it is done by the same crazies who want depopulation to save mother Gaia (as in various conspiracy movies from Inferno to Kingsman).
but that's another conspiracy theory for another day...
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
A wrinkle in time
LIN for audiobook by chapter... it seems to be a fan read book, but hey, it's free...
and here is the author discussing her fantasy writing.
actually, she also writes adult fiction and wonderful essays about life and family and writing. I have several of her books including some from her "crosswicks journal" series.
A wonderful and thoughtful book on caring for a parent with Alzheimer's disease is The Summer of the Great Grandmother.
and here is the author discussing her fantasy writing.
actually, she also writes adult fiction and wonderful essays about life and family and writing. I have several of her books including some from her "crosswicks journal" series.
A wonderful and thoughtful book on caring for a parent with Alzheimer's disease is The Summer of the Great Grandmother.
Oprah, Angels, and L'Engle
the real question is if this will morph to a "new age" fuzziness or be true to it's universal themes of good vs evil...
like Tolkien, the Christian themes in the book are not obvious and actually are universal, but without the idea that there is evil and it can seduce even good people (in the book, her younger brother, who is smart but not wise) the book turns into mush.
... in the book, Mrs Who is an angel (as was Gandalf)... She tells Meg of the struggle against darkness, and mentions many heroes on earth who fought the darkness, including (but not only) Jesus (which should make the fundies nuts, but is actually Biblical since all who fight evil and do good deeds are on the good side of the fight). Like Stephen King's The Stand, it is up to ordinary folks to chose which side they should join.
the previous remake as a Disney channel movie was boring.
The multiracial casting is interesting and doesn't change the story, except that it might put a racial aspect into why Meg is an outsider, and a stubborn geek not fitting in at school... in the book, Meg was told that her best weapon would be her faults, i.e. inability to conform and stubbornness... and indeed the reason she can overcome the super brain because she is stubborn.
Sort of like the stubborn Michael Caine character in the Iprcress file...
Say it isn't so Pooh
Drudge links to a story that Winnie the Pooh is now a symbol for Chinese dissadents and jokesters who ridicule their beloved leaders. (/s).
The blocking of Winnie the Pooh might seem like a bizarre move by the Chinese authorities but it is part of a struggle to restrict clever bloggers from getting around their country's censorship. When is a set of wrist watches not just a set of wrist watches? When is a river crab not just a river crab? Inside the Great Firewall of China of course.
the article discusses the way that locals try to get around government censorship and the Great Firewall of China.
a typical way to ridicule the government is to show Winne and friends in a similar pose:
The article describes the crackdown as part of Xi's grab of power and attempts to crack down on corruption. Well, good luck to that, but why do I suspect that a sardonic teenager will be more likely to be the victim than a crooked billionaire?
and if you live in China and upload to "the Cloud", American companies like Apple and Amazon have data centers in that country.
but Chinese who do this don't have to fear that their government will spy on them, insists Apple:
Even though it's working with a government-owned company, Apple sought to reassure customers in China that the arrangement won't compromise their privacy. "As our customers know, Apple has strong data privacy and security protections in place and no backdoors will be created into any of our systems," the company said in a statement. What's more, Apple says it will hold to the security keys protecting the data that people routinely back up in iCloud accounts.Right. One rival computer security expert is quoted as saying it's like letting the fox into the henhouse.
Cyberwars have been going on for quite awhile, but the press hasn't noticed.
Now, if we could only get the US government to take it's own computer information that seriously... I had my Federal personnel file hacked (presumably by Chinese hackers) two years ago, along with a couple million other employees. And we won't even mention Hillary's emails...
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more HERE about how Chinese dissadents and joksters use puns and symbols to annoy the censors, including the R rated pun of "Grass mud horse"....
Monday, July 17, 2017
Migrant workers from Africa (part two of a series)
This is part two of the MigrantRights series about recruiting migrant workers in Africa (Uganda).
a lot of the worker are untrained, and many are abused. The gov't tried to stop recruitment of maids but people went anyway.
I wonder if the African maids are being recruited because the wages of Filipina maids has gone up?
Women are especially vulnerable to abuse: Pinay maids report they enjoy working with families in the Middle east because the families are religious and have a lot in common (albeit the religions are different). Filipino history has many Muslim/Arab roots in it's culture, and we have a long history of village women working as maids before marriage, and they are part of the family.
But African culture is different:
Read the whole thing. The lack of opportunities in Africa are one reason that half a million African "migrants" are trying to get into Europe.
and of course it's not just Uganda and the Middle East: Ten percent of Zimbabwe's population have migrated elsewhere to send money back to support their families thanks to Mugabe's kleptocratic socialism. Many have gone to South Africa, causing resentment there, since many have more education than locals and are willing to work for lower wages. So it's not just "racism".
Summary:Africa needs jobs.
a lot of the worker are untrained, and many are abused. The gov't tried to stop recruitment of maids but people went anyway.
I wonder if the African maids are being recruited because the wages of Filipina maids has gone up?
Women are especially vulnerable to abuse: Pinay maids report they enjoy working with families in the Middle east because the families are religious and have a lot in common (albeit the religions are different). Filipino history has many Muslim/Arab roots in it's culture, and we have a long history of village women working as maids before marriage, and they are part of the family.
But African culture is different:
Acclimatising to life in the Gulf continues to be a big problem for Ugandans, who are used to a rather vibrant, community-based lifestyle. Proper pre-departure training will align expectations with reality.
Read the whole thing. The lack of opportunities in Africa are one reason that half a million African "migrants" are trying to get into Europe.
and of course it's not just Uganda and the Middle East: Ten percent of Zimbabwe's population have migrated elsewhere to send money back to support their families thanks to Mugabe's kleptocratic socialism. Many have gone to South Africa, causing resentment there, since many have more education than locals and are willing to work for lower wages. So it's not just "racism".
Summary:Africa needs jobs.
Ottoman genetics (podcast)
Ottoman history podcast discusses the genetics of Turkey and the ottoman empire. mp3
I haven't listened to it yet but the area should show a complicated genetic pattern.
I haven't listened to it yet but the area should show a complicated genetic pattern.
Sunday, July 16, 2017
Chinese stories below the fold
China is spreading all over the world.
With little attention in the US press, and when it is noticed it usually written about as military or geopolitical power play rival of the US.
Well, it has lots of implications: China's new "silk road" initiative for example is discussed here at StrategyPage: OBER: One belt one road.
another story missed is the huge internal migration of rural Chinese into the cities, causing displacement and family eruption and cultural changes similar to those in countries where large numbers of their people migrate overseas to work (e.g. the Philippines, where ten percent of our people are OFW)
The good news: People are no longer poor.
The bad news: Some remain poor (usually this is cited by ati globalists, ignoring that they aren't any more poor than they were in the past, but there are fewer of them).
But the really bad news is that families are disrupted.
From an article at ProjectPartner
and another uncovered story: The young urban professionals are turning to religion.
Here is a discussion by the editor of the UKEconomist:
And with Chinese working all over the world, it means some of them will "spread the faith".
From the SP article cited above:
when you read how there are no longer Christians in the Middle east in articles: Remember, they mean locals who belong to traditional Christian churches.
But there are quite a few Christians from other countries working there, and some of them have been trained to share their faith.
So will the "one belt one road" initiative lead to a secular tyranny under the Chinese communists, and/or a war of civilizations, or will there Peter Berger's prediction that the result will be religious toleration and an open society?
China does have a history of this, and the Penn Museum has a series of lectures discussing how the silk road led to the spread and mixing of ideas, including those of many religions,
and later, when a murderous conqueror reunited the kingdoms of the old silk road, Nestorian Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam met and lived with each other side by side under the benevolent dictatorship of Genghis Khan...
Developing.
With little attention in the US press, and when it is noticed it usually written about as military or geopolitical power play rival of the US.
Well, it has lots of implications: China's new "silk road" initiative for example is discussed here at StrategyPage: OBER: One belt one road.
China needs international trade and Obor is the Chinese plan to control as much of it as possible. This is essential for a prosperous economy because without that the communists are in big trouble. Obor means China owning or otherwise controlling as many of the new roads, railways, ports, pipelines and sea routes as possible. China is investing nearly $200 billion in Obor construction. This includes land routes through Central Asia to Europe and the Middle East, another through the Himalaya Mountains to the Indian Ocean (soon to be under new management if China has its way) and new land connections into Southeast Asia.
The key to China’s new sea routes is asserting ownership of the South China Sea.
another story missed is the huge internal migration of rural Chinese into the cities, causing displacement and family eruption and cultural changes similar to those in countries where large numbers of their people migrate overseas to work (e.g. the Philippines, where ten percent of our people are OFW)
The good news: People are no longer poor.
The bad news: Some remain poor (usually this is cited by ati globalists, ignoring that they aren't any more poor than they were in the past, but there are fewer of them).
But the really bad news is that families are disrupted.
From an article at ProjectPartner
While some families move to the city together, are forced to separate ... Usually the husband will leave in search of work. He’ll visit once or twice a year, if possible, and bring money back to support the family. Even when this works out as planned, it’s leaves the women and grandparents to farm and take care of the children. In many cases, both parents leave and are unable to return. The creates a generation of children left behind.
and another uncovered story: The young urban professionals are turning to religion.
Here is a discussion by the editor of the UKEconomist:
And with Chinese working all over the world, it means some of them will "spread the faith".
From the SP article cited above:
In southwest Pakistan ISIL revealed that they had kidnapped the Chinese couple that was taken on May 24th. The two Chinese were then murdered for being non-Moslem. Pakistan later found that the two were actually Christian missionaries who entered Pakistan without revealing their intentions.
when you read how there are no longer Christians in the Middle east in articles: Remember, they mean locals who belong to traditional Christian churches.
But there are quite a few Christians from other countries working there, and some of them have been trained to share their faith.
So will the "one belt one road" initiative lead to a secular tyranny under the Chinese communists, and/or a war of civilizations, or will there Peter Berger's prediction that the result will be religious toleration and an open society?
China does have a history of this, and the Penn Museum has a series of lectures discussing how the silk road led to the spread and mixing of ideas, including those of many religions,
and later, when a murderous conqueror reunited the kingdoms of the old silk road, Nestorian Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam met and lived with each other side by side under the benevolent dictatorship of Genghis Khan...
Developing.
Podcasts of the week
John Bachelor has a discussion of Trumpie boy's business connections with Russia, and notes that working with business there means working with the Russian mafia (which supports the government).
Of course, as I have pointed out in many previous posts, this is how business is done all over the world: check my previous post that mentions Brazil
If you check out TrumpJr's Trump tower in Manila, I'm sure you will find lots of connections with crooked Pinoy politicians and businessmen who work in manila, including the crooked Chinese businessmen who run the economy here.
but Hillary's slights of hand with the Clinton foundation quid pro quos, her connections with Wall street, (not to mention Chelsey's husband's shenannigans) suggest she knows how to make money from corruption, but not necessarily make money, start a business that gives people jobs, or construct a building by managing the corrupt you have to work with.
This is one reason that the "Hillary's emails", which were mainly about her dirty tricks, is a nothing burger, as the meme on the internet says.
If "collusion with Russia" just translates to "showing the dirty tricks by your opponant", then a lot of us wonder: Where the fuck was the press in digging up the dirty tricks? Wasn't that supposed to be their job?
Hillary's contempt for ordinary folks was one reason she lost. The press acts as if these "deplorables" were bigoted rednecks from Alabama, but what tipped the scales was the Catholic union workers in the Midwest.
and the anti religion meme of the elite (one reason I avoid reading facebook) who backed Hillary was another problem.
The courts who were busy whittling down freedom of religion (i.e. freedom to live your life according to your conscience) to "freedom of worship" (freedom to go to church one hour a week). This was a big issue with the Catholics, outweighing the immigration issues and even the opinion of the Pope.
Of course, the Pope is popular in the polls because he winks at sins, but most Catholic know he also hates the deplorables who are so "rigid" that they think schtumping altar boys and corruption are bigger sins than using an air conditioner.
Many did not approve of Trumpie boy, but they knew that the kleptocracy and maybe even a low grade persecution of non PC churches and those who believe in old fashioned morality would continue under Hillary.
And then there is this:
update: Read discussion at GetReligion blog, which notes the passing of Peter Berger and his work.
Of course, as I have pointed out in many previous posts, this is how business is done all over the world: check my previous post that mentions Brazil
If you check out TrumpJr's Trump tower in Manila, I'm sure you will find lots of connections with crooked Pinoy politicians and businessmen who work in manila, including the crooked Chinese businessmen who run the economy here.
but Hillary's slights of hand with the Clinton foundation quid pro quos, her connections with Wall street, (not to mention Chelsey's husband's shenannigans) suggest she knows how to make money from corruption, but not necessarily make money, start a business that gives people jobs, or construct a building by managing the corrupt you have to work with.
This is one reason that the "Hillary's emails", which were mainly about her dirty tricks, is a nothing burger, as the meme on the internet says.
If "collusion with Russia" just translates to "showing the dirty tricks by your opponant", then a lot of us wonder: Where the fuck was the press in digging up the dirty tricks? Wasn't that supposed to be their job?
Hillary's contempt for ordinary folks was one reason she lost. The press acts as if these "deplorables" were bigoted rednecks from Alabama, but what tipped the scales was the Catholic union workers in the Midwest.
and the anti religion meme of the elite (one reason I avoid reading facebook) who backed Hillary was another problem.
The courts who were busy whittling down freedom of religion (i.e. freedom to live your life according to your conscience) to "freedom of worship" (freedom to go to church one hour a week). This was a big issue with the Catholics, outweighing the immigration issues and even the opinion of the Pope.
Of course, the Pope is popular in the polls because he winks at sins, but most Catholic know he also hates the deplorables who are so "rigid" that they think schtumping altar boys and corruption are bigger sins than using an air conditioner.
Many did not approve of Trumpie boy, but they knew that the kleptocracy and maybe even a low grade persecution of non PC churches and those who believe in old fashioned morality would continue under Hillary.
And then there is this:
The Trump “base” knew the 2016 presidential election—the contest between Mr. Obama’s successor and whoever would run against her—wasn’t just another election. It was a crucial event, deciding whether America would go on in the Western tradition as it had developed in the U.S. or continue its steady drift away from those ideas.---------------
Progressives have an interest in ridiculing the Trump speech (in Poland) as a stalking horse for the heretofore obscure and microscopic alt-right because it deflects from their own political values—on view and in power the past eight years.
If there is one controlling Western idea developed across centuries in Europe, including by resort to war, it is that the individual person deserves formalized protection from the weight of arbitrary political authority, whether kings, clergy or dictators.
update: Read discussion at GetReligion blog, which notes the passing of Peter Berger and his work.
Modernity is not creating secularization, Berger concluded, but, rather, pluralism, in which adherents of different religions increasingly live side by side. That led to one of his final essays a year ago, contending that pluralism carries great value for religious faith. Reasons: it enhances human freedom, assures faith is no longer taken for granted, strengthens churches because they’re truly “voluntary associations,” and helps distinguish between core beliefs and less important matters.
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