Best Documentary Video So Far On The Global Warming Hoax

Posted: 7/17/2017

Recently watched this documentary on YouTube:

The Great Global Warming Swindle Full Movie

I can highly recommend it! It is a great summary of why Global Warming (aka Climate Change) is a pseudo science foisted on us citizens.

It covers many subjects and thoroughly debunks the myth told by so called climate scientists. The dominant influence of the sun, the heat convection of the oceans, and importance of water vapor are explained. The temperature record over hundred and thousands of years is discussed.

The IPCC is almost completely discredited. Many so called deniers or sceptical scientists are interviewed in this documentary and so on.

The United Kingdom's Long Tryst With Socialism

Posted: 7/15/2017

Introduction

This is not an exhaustive or complete attempt to describe how socialism came to dominate in the UK in the 20th century. This is more a work in progress.

Motivation

Why did the United Kingdom, of all countries, had such a severe and lasting tryst with socialism, sadly enduring to this day, in the immediate aftermath of World War II.

The UK was the birthplace of classical liberalism and Scottish enlightenment in the 18th century. By the 20th century or so the UK increasingly turned towards socialism.

Evidence Of Socialism

The much acclaimed, but infamous socialist Beveridge Report of 1942. This report is said to have laid the groundwork for introducing a massive welfare state in the UK.

The UK established the government run, socialist National Health Services in 1948. Why this abominable NHS has never been repealed since then is even more disturbing. Not even the Third Churchill government (first purely conservative too) from 1951 - 55 was not able or willing to dismantle this socialism when it was perhaps doable without the usual, but not yet entrenched, interests to defend it. The NHS is proud to employ more than 1.5 million people “putting it in the top five of the world’s largest workforces” (Source).

A timeline of significant nationalizations in the UK:

1927: British Broadcasting Corporation (aka BBC)

1933: London transport

1939: British Airways

1946: Coal industry

1946: Bank of England

1948: National rail, inland (not marine) water transport, some road haulage, some road passenger transport and Thomas Cook & Son under the British Transport Commission. Separate elements operated as British Railways, British Road Services, and British Waterways

And more

Reasons For This Socialism

I am still baffled!

A brief list of some reasons:

1. Influence of Karl Marx, who emigrated to London. His comrade in arms Friedrich Engels was a British industrialist
2. Influence of the socialist Fabian Society
3. Influence of John Maynard Keynes

American Exceptionalism: Domestic POW Camps During WW II

Posted: 7/15/2017

I recently visited for the first time the Arizona Heritage Center in Phoenix, AZ. This large museum is run by the Arizona Historical Society (founded in 1864).

To my surprise, this museum also featured a department on prisoner of war camps of World War II in Arizona. Apparently significant numbers of German and Italian prisoners were held there.

The testimonials by some of these POWs I have seen at the museum suggest that these prisoners almost had the time of their lives given the situation they were in. Some prisoners were even paid a salary for their work in the POW camp.

I have taken pictures of some of their testimonials see below.

Here is a list of all WW II POW camps in Arizona:

These guys did not realize that rivers in the desert can be dry for extended periods

This Italian prisoner was paid 80 cents a day for his work

How To Reform The Judiciary In Western Civilized Countries

Posted: 7/15/2017

Unsatisfactory Current System

I strongly believe Western civilization has made a huge mistake to create or evolve a special elite or class of exclusively academically trained professionals. This has lead to unnecessary lofty theories, specialization, and complications for complications and professional relevancy sake.  

Common sense justice often suffers. Too many justices have ulterior motives like ideological motivations, and seeking fame or power etc.

An Independent Judiciary Of The People, By The People, And For The People

I propose to select adult citizens by random selection no matter what their age, have them trained for 2-3 years in jurisprudence, and then after successfully passing an examination have them be appointed to become judges. On which court they serve should also be determined by random choice.

The appointment will be term limited.

The examination could be carried out by current or former judges.

The Ends Of Government

Basically, government has only two ends: justice and protection

If we really mean government of the people, by the people, and for the people, then random choice selection of citizens needs to be seriously considered as an election method.

A Speculative Theory Of The Universe

Posted: 7/11/2017   Amended: 9/4/2017 Revised: 1/31/2019, 7/12/2017

Amendment Of 9/4/2017

What if the known universe created by the Big Bang is just something

like another galaxy within something much larger than the known universe?

Not until the early 20th century did humans realize that our solar system

is part of a galaxy and later that the Milky Way is surrounded by 100 billion or so other galaxies. Now, the reader may start speculating about the sheer size of space beyond our planet earth!

Original/Revised Post

Introduction

I am certainly not the first one to make such claims, I suppose!

A Fancy Aquarium

What if the whole universe as we humans perceive it is nothing but a very advanced, fancy aquarium created by some intelligent aliens? Or is it a sort of virtual universe? Or is our universe only a simulation or experiment? Are we humans just laboratory mice or guinea pigs? Or is our universe only part of a multiverse?

The Unconvincing Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang theory suggests that our universe came into being about 14 billion years ago. At present, this is still the best theory humans can offer. However, it does not make much sense.

Questions abound:

1. What came before the Big Bang?
2. What ignited the Big Bang?
3. Where did all this matter/energy come from that formed our universe?
4. What if some yet undetected fast forward was involved to give humans the illusion of 14 billion years and so on

Universal Principles

Perhaps one of the most constant features discovered so far about our universe appear to be very general principles that may apply throughout.

Possible principles are:

1. The beauty and wonders of mathematics, communication, and information processing
2. Life and evolution in all its forms
3. The possible presence or existence of consciousness, ideas, intelligence, and love among the living
4. The Golden Rule
5. Voluntary cooperation and exchange
6. The widely held belief of humans in a God or in an an eternal soul
7. The ultimate and recurring triumph of optimism over pessimism, hope over despair, friendship over adversary, improvement over stagnation

I am not sure whether our current laws of nature or physics really qualify as

universal principles. These laws may only be specifications, parameters, or constraints placed on our universe by these

intelligent aliens.

Trends In Self Driving Vehicles

Posted: 7/9/2017

It appears the realization of self driving vehicles on our streets and in our lives will first happen with commercial trucks (like the T-Pod truck made by Swedish startup Einride, see e.g. here) and with vehicles driving in warehouses.

China may also be using self driving buses for public transportation in e.g. cities.

Once this is generally accepted and the insurance questions are settled, I bet we consumers will finally get a chance to buy one in a few years.

Highly Progressive Income Taxation In Germany

Posted: 7/9/2017

Trigger

The German federal statistical office just released the latest income and taxation statistics for 2013 (latest available year, see e.g. here)

Tax And Expropriate The Rich

The German income taxation is highly skewed against those with higher incomes.

Only 2.2 million taxpayers of a total of 39.8 million pay about 55% of all income taxes in Germany. The top income tax rates of those 2,2 million taxpayers is either 45% (at annual income of about 251,000 Euros or higher) or 42% (at about 53,000 Euros or higher). Not to be outdone, 9.6 million taxpayers pay no income taxes at all.

Besides income taxes, the VAT (general sales tax) is 19% in Germany and you pay about 70% taxes on high priced gasoline and so on.

The situation is worse than in the U.S. if I am not mistaken, but it is not much better in the U.S.

On Plato's Famous Cave Allegory

Posted: 7/9/2017

Trigger

Recently, I watched a YouTube video on Plato’s book Republic (514-520 BC) when I was reminded of the famous cave described by Plato. I had learnt about this cave allegory before, but only now I feel I have perhaps gained a deeper insight in the profound meaning of it.

What We Owe To The Ancient Greeks

Western people are largely defined by their greco-judeo-christian background. The greco part is unfortunately often omitted. Antisemitism tries to eliminate the judeo part.

My late father used to say something like the ancient Greek philosophers, writers, and poets have already discovered everything essential about human nature. Everything that came after is refinement, expansion or so.

Relevance Of The Allegory Of The Cave

Here is the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_Cave

I will not repeat here the story of the cave, but instead focus on its import or implications even today:

1. More than 250 years ago since the era of Enlightenment began, many people, including many well educated people,  in Western countries still live in such a cave (or prison of their own making) as described by Plato.
2. These prisoners live blind in a very narrow reality and they cannot or would not free themselves from their imagined shackles
3. Many of those people who claim to be knowledgeable are in fact often very pretentious and prone to enormous hubris
4. The prisoners do not even desire to leave their prison. False fear and anxiety prevent this since they know no better life
5. Many of these prisoners would even voluntarily return to their prison once they were freed and escaped the cave

Hope Springs Eternal And Is Last To Die

What can be done to free more people from their cave at last:

1. Public education (government monopoly and a government instrument of control and power) needs to be phased out or greatly reduced. More variety and pluralism through private education like in Socrates and Plato’s times
2. Corrosive philosophies such as  historicism, scientism, and relativism need to be thoroughly debunked
3. Collectivist or other central plan ideologies that deny individual freedom and responsibility, or voluntary human cooperation, or human ingenuity, or charity, or humanity  are to be exposed as such
4. To restore more freedom and responsibilities to individual citizens instead of crave to cradle government paternalism and power and control over citizens
5. To restore more freedom to businesses and markets
6. To restore more federalism and smaller government

The Return Of Civilian Supersonic Flight By Early 2020s

Posted: 7/9/2017

Never quite understood, why there were only two civilian supersonic airplanes flown commercially since the invention of jet engines (i.e. the soviet Tupolev TU-144 and the western Concorde). Let’s be sarcastic for a moment and blame the aggressive, intolerant environmentalists for that.

There were recently several news reports about plans to build two different new civilian supersonic airplanes. Apparently, big players like Airbus, Lockheed, Virgin Atlantic, NASA and small startups like Boom are in the game. Read e.g. here, here, here

The supersonic boom may not be such a problem anymore with latest technological improvements.

Looking forward to buy my first ticket for a flight around the world in less than 10 hours! :-)

How Thomas Jefferson Defended The Right To Bear Arms

Posted: 7/8/2017

A Very Remarkable Quote

I recently discovered following quote by Thomas Jefferson, which, I believe, I have never seen before (emphasis added):

“As to the species of exercise, I advise the gun. While this gives a moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise, and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body, and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be the constant companion of your walks. Never think of taking a book with you.” (Letter to Peter Carr 1785)

Much More Than A Right To Self Defense

I don’t think, I have ever seen such an ingenious argument for owning a gun by an individual citizen in a civilized society. I was truly amazed by the power of Thomas Jefferson’s argument.

Indeed without owning and carrying a gun humans would be less bold, enterprising, and more dependent on others. With a gun, a human has more courage to go places where others without good armament would not go. Owning a gun changes the mindset of a human.

On The Massive Violence Against The G20 Summit in Hamburg

Posted: 7/7/2017  Amended/Revised: 7/8/2017, 7/9/2017

Principles First

There is absolutely no excuse whatsoever for violent and destructive protests in a civilized society!

If one accepts for a moment the premise that civilization is only a thin veneer hiding an otherwise selfish and brutish nature of humans, then it is even more important to indict and jail violent and destructive protesters as swiftly as possible.

General Observation

Extreme violent and destructive street protests by a minority of militant and fanatical radicals committed in inner cities of Germany is nothing new. Those protests have been observed frequently since the 1960s or so. They don’t occur on a regular schedule, but perhaps more in waves with periods of peace in between.

The Excessive Leniency Of German Law Enforcement & Justice System

The widely used German term for excessive leniency displayed by German law enforcement and the justice system is “Kuschelstrafe” (something like cuddly punishment).

There is a strong and prevailing intellectual mainstream in Germany based dishonesty and self delusion: Criminals are not guilty, but society is; violence and destruction is excused like the end justifies the means and so on.

Who Are The Instigators?

Perhaps, it is not much more than a conspiracy theory of mine, but I suspect that these groups and their leaders receive financing and perhaps even other support from somewhere.

If you were able to follow the money trail and if you consider who would benefit the most from this kind of turmoil, the usual suspects come to mind: rogue country sponsors like Russia, Iran, North Korea or even China.

It is also possible, as suspected in Germany, that major, political parties in Germany are giving support to the organisers of these violent and destructive protesters.

Do Global Summit Meetings In One Location Still Make Sense

It seems, there is an increasing number of citizens who seriously doubt whether such gigantic events are still necessary in our time.

From a purely technological vantage point such meetings could be held like a video teleconference.

Thomas Jefferson Defends Religious Baker Before U.S. Supreme Court

Posted: 7/4/2017

On this patriotic day of the Declaration of Independence over 240 years ago, I want to introduce Thomas Jefferson as the Solicitor General.

Thomas Jefferson feels humbled to defend before the U.S. Supreme Court the baker from Denver, Co. (i.e. Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop), who declined to make a wedding cake for a same sex couple based on religious objections.

Thomas Jefferson would probably argue along these lines (emphasis added):

“Be it enacted by the General Assembly, that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.” (Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, 1786)

The mass media and other usual suspects are celebrating these two young men who sued the baker as heroes! These two, ignorant and arrogant young men are everything but heroes! They are trying to ruin a small business for their mistaken hubris and their pretentious craving for fame!

North Korea: China Shirks Responsibility As An Ascending Superpower!

Posted: 7/1/2017

Trigger

Just read China’s Moment to Lead on North Korea. Unlike the author of this article, I would not argue that the U.S. has to offer more to make China move on ending this horrible, dynastic dictatorship in North Korea to finally and long overdue reunite the Korean peninsula.

No Doubt About China’s Role Of Buttressing North Korea

Without communist China’s enduring, extensive and decades long support in many ways, communist, stalinist North Korea would have long collapsed.

What is the purpose? To be a constant thorn in the flesh of or to maintain a distraction for capitalist countries? Quite possible!

Would China have to face up to their own communist dictatorship if they help to rid the world of the communist dictatorship in North Korea? Probably!

Is China a wretched, economic beneficiary (e.g. import of slave labor, natural resources) of supporting North Korea? It appears so.

Russia’s Or Iran’s Role

Will these two country remain the last two rogue powers to support North Korea?

Pleading With The Ascending Superpower

Reunite the Korean peninsula in a peaceful and humanitarian way! Plan a transition for the reunification!

What does China want to get rid of the dictatorship in North Korea? A nuclear weapons free Korean peninsula? A neutral Korean peninsula like Austria or Switzerland? None of this is impossible!

Previous, Related Blog Posts

I have blogged about the subject of North Korea, reunification etc. several times before.

The Gop Debacle About Obama Care!

Posted: 7/1/2017

This disaster created and self inflicted by the GOP in Washington, DC is so deplorable! Yes, we all understand that the GOP has only a small majority and it is very difficult. And the incorrigible Democrats are obstructing all the way!

YES, complete repeal of socialist and unconstitutional ObamaCare FIRST!

Hopefully, the GOP is competent and capable enough to accomplish this repeal first and reform of health care later!

Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell ought to be fired immediately for being ineffective and lousy communicators!