good little compilation of very logical views very highly critical of dogmatic religion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWD25A7VW7Y
Monday, March 3, 2025
Monday, February 17, 2025
Ina May Gaskin / midwifery
i thought i'd posted an entry already in this blog about the work of Ina May Gaskin, but apparently not. acclaimed as a leading light of american midwifery, she's written seceral excellent books on this and related topics. i've read a couple of them and very highly recommend them!
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=ina+may+gaskin&i=stripbooks&crid=1VYZ61N60IV7N&sprefix=ina+may+gaskin%2Cstripbooks%2C91&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
Sunday, February 16, 2025
JFK assassination: the mafia angle
I like watching educational tv; on weekends, this includes checking out book tv on c-span, in which the authors of new nonfiction books are interviewed. Thus i came across louis ferrante, an ex mafioso whose life was transformed by going to prison, becoming an avid reader and eventually a highly acclaimed author of a memoir and a book series on the history of the american mafia. In part 2 of this series, among other things he delves into the relationship between the kennedys and the mafia and how it soured, eventually leading to JFK's assassination. According to ferrante, this assassination was primarily a mob hit. He may actually believe this, although he also acknowledges that 'rogue' CIA officers and FBI director gay edgar hoover also were involved. My own extensive research into this assassination has led me to believe that the mafia's involvement was secondary to the CIA's involvement, which was at the highest level (of course LBJ was also in on it) with director allen dulles, whose central role on the whitewashed government 'investigation' warren commission afterwards made sure to place all the blame on the 'patsy' 'lone nut' supposed shooter, lee harvey oswald.
link to this fascinating c-span interview. the part pertaining to the kennedys is towards the end of part 1:
https://www.c-span.org/event/qa/author-louis-ferrante-on-the-history-of-the-american-mafia-part-1/430594
this link is just to the audio of this interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MbgBV5LChw
For a different angle on the assassination, more focused on how JFK's desire to end the cold war upset the war establishment and CIA, this interview of jeffrey sachs by chris hedges, which i posted in a previous blog entry:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqm9Yl1gGEY
And of course there's this excellent series the history channel did on the 25th anniversary of the assassination, also posted elsewhere on this blog, which quite extensively covers many facets:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2agPurqFJk&list=PLy4tRfNwO8cxuDX65cpj_qJ-9m2jzC7pn
Monday, February 3, 2025
maturity and mortality
now that i'm old, i think about mortality a lot more than i used to. thoughts like i'll likely be dead in 20 years, or i likely only have perhaps 20 more years of relatively robust mental and physical health. this makes me more aware of fleeting time and the necessity of trying to use it well, wisely. by doing or trying to live my best life, focusing on what's most important to me, and also by trying to maximize pleasure and fulfillment (which is quite frustrated by living in a dystopia of puritanical prohibitions and inhibitions).
do u have such thoughts?
like i've written b4, i think practically every aspect of our society/culture is insane/irrational. for example we don't appropriately value the wisdom that comes with age. we don't encourage older adults to share the most valuable lessons they've learned by experience. one such lesson i've learned is that we should prioritize the pursuit of pleasure and fulfillment throughout life, particularly when we're young, healthy, vigorous, in our primes. because with age, everything goes downhill, everything deteriorates. i think the idea that we must wait til our so called golden years to prioritize our own well being and fulfillment is absurd and tragic. i feel like my own youth was sacrificed on the altar of being indoctrinated with puritanical dogmas which instilled much fear, shame, and inhibition (the primary reason i've become very critical of religion in general and puritanism in particular).
in becoming a (mostly closeted) advocate of what i'll call youth liberation, i've come across some interesting scientific articles regarding human brain development and shrinkage as we age. according to one of these articles, by age 70 our brains have shrunk back to the size they were when we were 3 years old! this was an article which presented evidence in favor of youth liberation, of treating post pubescent teenagers like adults (in science, 'puberty' delineates between juveniles and adults, at least for other species. once an animal can reproduce, it's considered an adult). it was published in scientific american. i posted about it in my blog a while back. it's author is quite distinguished and has also written a book making the same argument.
https://dystopiananddoomed.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-myth-of-teen-brain.html
https://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-Adolescence-Rediscovering-Adult/dp/188495670X
Monday, December 30, 2024
the bible is bs
i've come across better critiques of the bible than this in the past. stumbled upon this one, which is good enough to warrant this post:
Sunday, December 15, 2024
truth
Saturday, November 9, 2024
dueling narratives
earlier today i heard a report on american lamestream media that israeli soccer fans had been the victims of anti semitic violence in amsterdam. later on the internet a much different narrative emerged from independent sources which claimed the israeli fans had been acting like racist hooligans, tearing down palestinian flags, chanting and singing vile things about slaughtering arabs, and had been violent themselves, backed up by video / audio evidence.
dueling narratives. who to believe?
this is a question which doesn't get near enough attention in my opinion among american progressives. of course it's highly controversial to take the stance that establishment media is a source of propaganda and misinformation, and that to be well informed one must rely upon non establishment sources, with appropriate discretion and discernment, for many independent sources are also dishonest or misinformed. which is why it's best to trust those which back up their positions with credible primary source documentation.
this is why sheeple who like myself have concluded that lamestream media is indeed untrustworthy are reluctant to assertively promote this view. it tends to promote division and alienation among those who disagree.
but without accurate honest journalism one must be either poorly informed or misinformed, and thus misopinionated. one may be brainwashed, indoctrinated without one's knowledge, as i believe a vast majority of americans are. thus i feel some obligation to try to alleviate this problem.
here's a few examples of this dueling narrative, first from an establishment source, then from a couple of others which beg to differ.
which do u believe? if it's not the establishment, are u surprised? if not, how much thought have u given to this problem? what have u done to try to fix it, and how successful have your efforts been?
if we want a better world, we need a better informed world.
have u seen this documentary from al jazeera english about the israeli palestine conflict? i think it's excellent as it includes both zionist and anti zionist views, with a focus on one particular young american jew whose views have evolved tremendously as she came to be exposed to both sides after having been exposed to only one side growing up. it's helped educate me, and is rather optimistic in outlook as it's title suggests:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)