tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243639092024-03-04T23:45:15.910-05:00WorldoReasonA blog of the writings and thoughts of free thinker, teacher, engineer and all-around knowledge buff. Topics covered include: Philosophy, Global Politics, Education, Physics, English Football and Speculative Fiction.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger899125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-6247376225511719572018-07-21T21:01:00.000-04:002018-07-21T21:01:25.246-04:00Ending this Blog.This blog has come to an end. I will be posting on my new Blog <a href="https://worldohistory.blogspot.com/">Nexus of Thought.</a><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-39357467143855285652017-02-05T13:59:00.000-05:002017-02-05T13:59:18.209-05:00The Anti-Trump Grandstander<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
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We all have one in our pantheon
of friends and family. Many of us have several. You know the type - Homo
trumpus erraticus better known as the Anti-Trump Grandstander (ATG).</div>
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While appearing normal on the
outside and indeed reasonable on most fronts the ATG is not always easy to
spot. They carry very little of the outer baggage of SJWs, rarely wear their
politics on their sleeves and more often than not disappear into the political
ether appearing rather clear thinking across most axes. </div>
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That is until the subject of one
Donald J. Trump comes to the fore. Then as if ignited by a trigger catalyst the
ATG springs to life. Gone is the previous demeanour of controlled rationalism,
enter stage left is a symphony of vents, ridicules and desperation pleas that draws
uncritically from the memosphere of the Anti-Trump world.</div>
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Trump we are told is the
harbinger of a Brave New World, a reactionary of the worst type, a fanatic but
most importantly all that there is wrong with western civilization wrapped into
one. There is no debate. He is both evil and stupid and all arguments to the
contrary are ridiculous. So goes the reasoning.</div>
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Although I have much reservations
about Trump (I wanted Rubio to win the nomination for all of those reasons) I
take great pains to hear such an individual out, supplying the necessary
counter balances as there is some pedagogic value to be obtained in
understanding how emotion drives political thought. The ATG is a textbook case
as they have chosen to filter all information through a confirmation strainer
and therefore see no grey in a polarized world where they are clearly on the
side of good. The fact that Trump supporters have a completely different
interpretation is therefore of little value. Not when parameters are so clearly
defined.</div>
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With Trump there is no middle
ground as ATGs see it, so even giving ‘The Donald’ a fair chance makes no
sense. The best that can be done is to grin and bear these next four years with
the hope that Congress and indeed the Supreme Court rein in the excesses of his
Administration. In short it is dystopia for now. One ATG even told me that he
was thinking of moving to New Zealand, so dismal is the outlook.</div>
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Now Trump is certainly an unknown
quantity when juxtaposed against the current political environment. On words
alone he appears to have bucked the consensus with respect to the global focus
and when one distills out the root cause of such opposition to him I suspect
that his walk away from the Hegelian notion of historical direction is at the
epicentre of such grievance.</div>
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Many people have invested
strongly, not only financially but more importantly emotionally, on the emergence of a global
worldview. Free Trade is a belief shared by both the centre left and right
across the West and the vast majority of those in the supposed ‘know’ see it as
a necessary step in the march of history (an illusion if ever there was one).
While opinions differ with respect to technicalities, Internationalism is
viewed as a forward looking policy that will benefit humanity in the long run.
To oppose it smacks of a regression to a bygone era of nationalism that ripped
open the planet with global war. Trade brings peace and who in their right mind
doesn’t want peace?</div>
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Trump of course on the surface
enters as the antithesis of such a worldview – his buy America, anti-illegal
immigration stance and apparent backtrack from Internationalism fly in the face
of the vested paradigm. While much of his words have been distorted and need to
be analyzed in context, at first glance they tap into the visceral and pour
cold water on the emotional commitment that has underpinned a near uniformity
of thought. Consequently they are attacked with a rigour of disdain as if he is
cutting at the essence of what defines the individual.</div>
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This need not be the case.
Trumpism is not anti-Internationalist. That ship has long since sailed on that
front. What he will do though is to redefine and readjust America’s role within
the broader global spectrum. The nation needs it. High U6 unemployment for much
of the Obama tenure and an extremely slow recovery are indicative of problems
within the larger economy that could have implications for the future. Whether
his plans will prove productive are of course debatable but something has to be
done.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I have mentioned this to many an
ATG but most are unreceptive. While some acknowledge the argument especially
when framed in the context of blue collar jobs I sense that there is another
factor which makes the anxiety around Trump even louder and its much more than
the coarseness of his personality and his way with words. It comes down to the
issue of control. </div>
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With Trump there is a sense that
control of the environmental factors that impact one’s lives will be lost
especially if a status quo is disrupted. ATGs give lip service to change but in
their heart are resistant to it. Despite this apparent irony there is a
conservatism that runs through progressive and liberal thinking and like some
of the conservatism on the right it wants to safeguard its gains. With
progressives/liberals this drive may even be stronger as environmental factors
are so much more powerful within this thought base.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-59848404803051797142017-02-05T13:57:00.003-05:002017-02-05T13:57:41.293-05:00The New Alignment<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a certain urgency about the Trump Presidency that
has forced many a denizen of the West to question the direction that the
civilization has been moving. As a classical liberal I have entertained these
thoughts for some time.</div>
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<br /></div>
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While I celebrated the collapse of Soviet style
Marxist-Leninism in the early 1990s I was not convinced that the finality of
the great struggle between the powers as envisioned in Francis Fukuyama’s work <i>The End of History and the Last Man (1992), </i>was
about to dawn . Samuel Huntington’s <i>The</i> <i>Clash
of Civilizations</i> <i>and the Remaking of
World Order</i> (1993) made more of an impression then and I believe that it
looms even larger now.</div>
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Now Huntington himself was not a Republican. During the Carter Administration he served in
a coordinating capacity at the National Security Council and for more than half
a century he played an integral role on the Harvard Faculty where he headed the
Center for International Affairs. At one time he was a speech writer for Adlai
Stevenson.</div>
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His understanding of
foreign affairs has almost a prophetic feel to it. Huntington argued that the
pivotal clash defining the near future would be a series of confrontations
between specific civilizations. These civilizations share very powerful cultural
values, historical connections and in group similarities that set them apart
from each other thereby transcending both economics and political constraints
(and in many cases superficialities).</div>
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Huntington delineated several civilizations that he aptly
named the West, Orthodoxy, Buddhist, Confucian, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin
America, Muslim and Hindu. He also identified some cleft countries that were split
between various civilizations such as Nigeria and Sri Lanka, as well as ‘standalones’
like Japan. Most civilizations gravitate
toward a nexus of power - China in the case of Confucian, Russia with respect
to Orthodoxy and India in the Hindu context.</div>
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In defining the West Huntington grouped together the United
States, Canada, Western and Central Europe, Australia and Oceania. While most
of the nation states draw somewhat from a Christian (Catholic-Protestant) moral
core they have incorporated within their framework a universalism (certainly evident in
the elite) that at its root sees a world that would be all the better if others
adopted enlightenment driven western values. </div>
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Standing in opposition to the West is the Muslim world of
the Middle East, Northern/Western Africa, Albania, Bosnia, Bangladesh,
Pakistan, the Maldives, Comoros, Brunei and Malaysia (as defined by Huntington).
Many of these states are gripped by an Islamic resurgence that is hostile to
Western Civilization and sees itself as a viable alternative worldview.</div>
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Strife and conflict would be inevitable and indeed in the
post 911 world Huntington’s view carries some weight. However this is not the
only fault line as we have seen with Russia and China reinvigorating themselves
globally and India likely to follow suit making the Hindu claim at least on an
economic level. In a further analysis Huntington even identified a civilization
clash point in the United States with the inflow of Latin American immigrants
into the nation (his solution a slow down followed by assimilation).</div>
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Huntington was invariably challenged on his model. Both the
far left and free trade liberals criticized him for downgrading the role of
economics (for different reasons of course) and playing to the vestiges of a
worldview that had been swept aside by the ideological struggle of the Cold
War. Others accused him of minimizing the nationalist (and religious) splits
within the civilizations that he outlined. His view certainly stood in contrast
to Fukuyama’s belief in a triumphant Western liberalism, let alone Karl Marx’s
stance of a Hegelian march towards Communism. Huntington though was resolute in
defending his paradigm and constantly warned optimists about the folly of
believing that the path of history was fixed along their specific ‘utopic’
trajectory. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Reflecting on Huntington I see him in a slightly different
light that makes him ever more relevant today. He articulated the reality that
Particularlism would not be discarded and indeed would live to define a future
that was already in the making (at the time of his writing the Balkan conflict
was in full swing). International universalism could not celebrate and would
have to put the champagne on hold for a while. From a Western perspective this
would come to haunt our civilization as it had the most to lose from a
resetting of a world order. Demographic
imbalance would speed up this transition.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Civilization Theory to some extent is what drives Trumpism. It
is a reinvention of the defencse of Western Civilization (albeit more American
focused) against the other. It is a reaction to the failed Internationalism of
the Bush presidencies, the Clinton Administration and its obvious fall from
grace under Obama. What drives Trumpism is a need to reverse decline. On one level it represents the Huntington view
reasserting itself against the consensus of the Fukuyama outlook. All the key
tropes of Trump – The Wall, Trade Protection, Non-Intervention, ‘Make America
Great’ are consistent with such a philosophy that has identified the threat and
is acting with deliberate intent. Protecting the civilization is key.</div>
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Brexit and other Anti-EU sentiments sweeping across the
European continent are a further illustration of the Civilization impulse
rejecting the perceived false messiah of Internationalism. It carries with it a
defense of culture that sees survival in a return to republic and away from the
promises of an amorphous empire centered on platitudes.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In a sense it has replaced once ossified left versus right
divide with a dichotomy of Civilization opposing Internationalism that seems to
cut across class lines and will in all likelihood emerge in the forefront of
policy across the West. The change may appear to have been sudden but the
potential was always there. What was needed was time and the right combination
of events to catalyze the realignment. It appears to have already happened.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-45070016037936241112017-01-10T19:41:00.002-05:002017-01-10T19:41:46.007-05:00Why do so many US Political arguments involve attacking the extremist positions of each side?<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;">Its a version of the Strawman argument. Define your opponent’s position in the worst possible light, frame it as such and then attack the frame. The frame will crack creating the false illusion that you have discredited the opposing side. Its a cheap trick and is extremely dishonest (not to mention illogical). Why is it used? Because in the eyes of a partisan audience it appears as though you have pulled one over on your opponent.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-53225385781062566392017-01-10T19:32:00.000-05:002017-01-10T19:32:05.617-05:00Was the GOP the popular choice for African-Americans before 1960?<div class="MsoNormal">
African-Americans, who could only join the Democratic Party
from 1924 onward, started leaving the Republican Party as early as 1936 not
1960 as is often believed. In fact in the election that year 71% of the Black
vote went to FDR. This appears to be largely a consequence of the New Deal
although the tireless campaigning of Eleanor Roosevelt may have played a role. </div>
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<br /></div>
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The voting trend held firm over the next three elections
with African-Americans voting by a
margin of over 3 to 1 in favour of Harry Truman over Thomas Dewey in the 1948
election. Truman of course was a key figure in ending racial discrimination in
federal hiring often running afoul of key segments of his own party on this
issue.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Even Eisenhower who would fully integrate the army (a
process started by Truman but rejected by FDR) and opened up the schools to
Black students was regularly outvoted at the polls by a margin of 76% to 24% in
1952 and 61% to 39% in 1956, with respect to the black voting demographic.
However his appeal among African-American voters was a lot better than the
last four Republican Party candidates (Alf Landon, Wendell Wilkie and Thomas Dewey-
twice)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">In short the shift had been ongoing for at least two
decades before the Civil Rights debates of the late 1950s and 1960s. Economic
rather than racial issues, a reflection to a
larger degree of the difficulties of
urban migration, appeared to be the key driver as the entrenchment of a
racist core within the Democratic Party was still very much a truism.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-23691093722089957622017-01-08T19:31:00.000-05:002017-01-08T19:31:01.829-05:00What irritates me about Quora?<div class="qtext_para" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">
I generally like Quora but I do find that it has a number of irritations</div>
<div class="qtext_para" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">
Here are a few</div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 2em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;">Many Writers are condescending and rude when there is no reason to be so. I suspect that a great deal of those asking questions are kids who may be ignorant of certain facts. Responding politely with a well thought out answer is a far better option.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;">Top Writers dominate key questions despite supplying answers that very often don’t live up to the hype associated with these writers.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;">Obvious liberal bias. While Quora itself has no bias as an organization (as far as I can tell) the Quora community appears to be somewhat of a liberal echo chamber. Even conservative related topics are routinely dominated by liberals who regularly skew Conservative opinions to the applause of a Hurrah chorus.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;">Too many questions are answered with anecdotal evidence only. While these are often great to read they don’t do justice to the broader question being asked.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;">Questions on more nebulous topics are regularly answered with the language of certainty indicating that the author is reluctant to reflect on the strength of their argument.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; position: relative;">The Trump obsession - enough is enough…let’s move on here.</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-63680007398480980812017-01-08T19:29:00.002-05:002017-01-08T19:29:25.607-05:00Are neoconservatism and neoliberalism the same thing?<div class="qtext_para" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">
Neoliberalism is more of an economic philosophy driven by laissez-faire economics, deregulation, free trade and a reduction in government spending.</div>
<div class="qtext_para" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">
Neoconservativism often include neoliberal principles in its worldview but is more focused on an foreign relations, promotion of democratic ideals and necessary action to spread such ideals. Some of the basic ideas of Neoconservatism are outlined in this list of statement from the Henry Jackson society.</div>
<div class="qtext_para" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">
The Society Believes that modern liberal democracies set an example to which the rest of the world should aspire.</div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 2em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;">Supports a ‘forward strategy’ – involving diplomatic, economic, cultural, and/or political means—to assist those countries that are not yet liberal and democratic to become so.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;">Supports the maintenance of a strong military, by the United States, the countries of the European Union and other democratic powers, armed with expeditionary capabilities with a global reach, that can protect our homelands from strategic threats, forestall terrorist attacks, and prevent genocide or massive ethnic cleansing.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;">Supports the necessary furtherance of European military modernization and integration under British leadership, preferably within NATO</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;">Stresses the importance of unity between the world’s great democracies, represented by institutions such as NATO, the European Union and the OECD, among many others.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;">Believes that only modern liberal democratic states are truly legitimate, and that the political or human rights pronouncements of any international or regional organisation which admits undemocratic states lack the legitimacy to which they would be entitled if all their members were democracies.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;">Gives two cheers for capitalism. There are limits to the market, which needs to serve the Democratic Community and should be reconciled to the environment.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; position: relative;">Accepts that we have to set priorities and that sometimes we have to compromise, but insists that we should never lose sight of our fundamental values. This means that alliances with repressive regimes can only be temporary. It also means a strong commitment to individual and civil liberties in democratic states, even and especially when we are under attack.</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-33673487427069257662017-01-08T19:26:00.001-05:002017-01-08T19:26:00.719-05:00What are the Voting trends of American Jews?<div class="qtext_para" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">
Still looking for better stats but the American Jewish Party Identification study undertaken by Gallup in 2014 may be a start. Here are some of the findings.</div>
<div class="qtext_para" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">
Key findings</div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 2em 1em 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;"><i>29% of American Jews are Republican, up from 22% in 2008</i></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;"><i>61% of Jews are Democrats, down from 71% seven years ago</i></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><i>Highly religious and male Jews are most likely to be Republican</i></li>
</ul>
<div class="qtext_para" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">
Let R = Republican/leaners D = Democrat/leaners</div>
<div class="qtext_para" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">
Highly religious R - 42% D-46%</div>
<div class="qtext_para" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">
Moderately Religious R -32% D - 59%</div>
<div class="qtext_para" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">
Not Religious R -24% D -67%</div>
<div class="qtext_para" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;">
These results are based on 2014 Gallup Daily tracking interviews with 4,116 Americans who identified their religion as Jewish.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-15042877090155580082017-01-08T19:24:00.002-05:002017-01-08T19:24:48.610-05:00Why is Physics so badly taught?<div class="qtext_para" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">
This is an excellent question and one that teachers have been wrestling with for some time. In fact I will be giving a presentation along these lines to a group of teachers in February of this year. Here is a list of key factors that have been identified</div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 2em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;">There is all too often not enough time spent making sure that the students understand the key concepts (Big Ideas) before moving on to the problem solving;</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;">Overuse of poor analogies in explaining concepts that lead to further problems down the road when application situation become more complex;</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;">Many physics teachers are transplanted math teachers who teach the subject as a type of Applied Math - Physics of course is much more than that;</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;">Lack of Laboratory work and Demonstrations that allow students to consolidate big ideas on a visual/hands-on level;</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;">North American courses are often too focused on breadth and not on depth with respect to curriculum content - in a rush to cover many teacher’s often sacrifice the deeper analysis to check off all the topic boxes;</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;">Instruction methodology often lacks diversity - Various Combinations of teacher and student orientated approaches should be intermixed as is necessary to target the broader student mosaic (and variety of learning styles);</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; position: relative;">Too much focus on formula memorization - Formulas are important but students need to understand where they come from, how they apply and what are the limitations of each formula based on the Assumptions inherent in their derivation</li>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-75834300930891013742017-01-08T19:20:00.002-05:002017-01-08T19:25:02.986-05:00Liverpool can win 2016/17 but its not going to be easy<div class="qtext_para" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: q_serif, Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">
Liverpool can win the title but they have to keep their focus and momentum. They have arguably the finest striking force in the English game as is evident by their lead in the goals ‘for’ category but have an Achilles heel in defense that continues to be problematic. Jurgen Klopp may address this in the January transfer window.</div>
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In addition the Reds will be without the very influential Sadio Mane for several weeks and will need some time to reintegrate Philippe Countinho back into the side following his injury.</div>
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Their greatest strength this season though is that they have proved to be tremendously capable in distributing the scoring load which makes them less vulnerable ultimately to a single injury . Lallana, Henderson, Milner and Firmino have all been wonderful.However problems could arise if injuries and suspensions pile up.</div>
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Fortunately for Liverpool have only Domestic fixtures to concern themselves with and while this is true of Chelsea as well it make work in Liverpool’s favour who after the Old Trafford match up this coming Sunday (Jan 15) will have a schedule that is even more biased towards home games for the Reds.</div>
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We will have to wait and see. Still predicting good times ahead for the Reds. YNWA.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-30099348275070307782016-12-27T08:19:00.004-05:002016-12-27T08:19:48.682-05:00No Free Lunch for Putin<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Posted to Quora and a few other sites</div>
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The problem with partisan politics – and we have seen on more than our fair share of it in this particular election cycle – is that we often herald the virtues of our supporters and downplay the concerns of our opponents.</div>
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Vladimir Putin has made no secret of his support for Donald Trump. He detested the Clinton-Obama Axis and openly championed the Trump campaign. Whether he went so far as to order an e-mail hack remains very much in doubt. Official evidence is lacking and ratcheting up the rhetoric on a bunch of hearsays and supposed ‘secret’ investigations by the CIA, as have the Washington Post, is irresponsible at best.</div>
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However our alarm bells should be ringing. Putin is no friend of the West and with the Trump victory two big questions emerge – What does he stand to gain? and How will this impact the US/Western World in the long term?</div>
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The first question is the easier of the two to answer. Putin needs the US to sit back while he continues spreading his footprint in the Ukraine and other parts of Eastern Europe (from all accounts the Baltics). As the latest in a line of Russian strongmen he understands the importance of power through territory but can’t afford the resistance that will likely occur in the face of such an approach. NATO has to be weakened and he is hoping that Trump’s appeal to this once buried isolationist tradition in American foreign politics will resurrect itself.</div>
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However as we have seen in Aleppo and elsewhere it is not just Eastern Europe that Putin sees as falling under his sphere of influence. Indeed he has offered feelers to the current Libyan hierarchy and is certainly giving the Iranian mullahs - in what can only be described as a deal with the devil - the muscle to make their presence felt in the face of the Sunni/Shi’ite pan-regional conflict.</div>
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While I would not rush ahead to see Putin as a modern day political Svengali. I wouldn’t for one moment underestimate his shrewdness. He is extremely calculating and although he appears to transcend ideological conformity he does see himself as the embodiment of a Russian nationalism. We should all be concerned.</div>
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It remains to be seen how the Trump administration will respond. Mike Pence appears to be a product of the Cold War Reaganite school and has on more than one occasion expressed his displeasure with the Russians.</div>
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James Mattis has made no secret that he favours a more forceful approach when dealing with the Iranians which could extend to their Russian backers. Rex Tillerson looks, at least from his oil industry pedigree as a player not eager to jeopardize the US-Saudi relationship. The three look set to dominate foreign affairs in the Trump White House.</div>
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If Trump’s election rhetoric is to believed then it appears that he wishes to distance himself from the neo-conservative nation building of George W. Bush and its variant under Barack Obama. He is correct on this issue. The US cannot afford more ill—conceived ground troop interventionism in regions of the world based on the export of some nebulous transfer of Wilsonian democracy. Pragmatism has to rule. However on the other hand it should not be subjected to the spirit of a nativist isolationism. The global economy of 2017 is a far cry from what it was in 1927.</div>
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The free world cannot afford to see the US sit back while Russia and indeed China, not to mention unsavouries in Iran and the various Jihadist alliances run amuck. This can only lead to more bloodshed, an exporting of anti-Enlightenment tropes and the likely jeopardizing of valuable resource flow lines. The world will worsen under strict isolationism and it will undoubtedly come back to haunt the US.</div>
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What is necessary then is a process of involvement through informed backing – a checking of oppositional ambitions by a support of local regional elements that stand in the face of this greater belligerency. The US ought to re-evaluate its NATO commitments, but to drop the Alliance at this point would be a catastrophe.</div>
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This should be Trump’s message and if it conflicts with the ambitions of Russia, Tehran, the Saudis or any other party so be it. The US is still the principal superpower. Putin may have cheered for Trump but this does not give him a free hand in anything. Its critical that the White House make this clear from the get go. Failure to do so will not only embolden Putin but other opportunists as well.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-18190753767562454952016-12-17T16:30:00.003-05:002016-12-17T16:30:47.840-05:00More Tales from Teaching Physics<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
As a Physics teacher I never feel truly comfortable that I have figured it all out and that (for want of better words) is a good thing. If I did I would be tempted to sit back and relax which may have its benefits in the short run but from a growth perspective offers dubious value in the long term.</div>
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Over the course of the last week I have been working with my Grade Twelves on Special Relativity - a notorious pitfall for conceptual errors. I have taught (not to mention learned <span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">and re-learned) the sub-unit over twenty times in my career and I still find oddities that compel me to rethink my understanding of what is arguably one of the most counter-intuitive areas in all of Physics (notwithstanding Quantum Mechanics of course).</span></div>
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You see Special Relativity takes so much of what we formalize in classical physics and turns it on its head. Absolute space - gone, Absolute time - dead, Absolute momentum - see you later, KInetic Energy - we need a rethink. To top this off we teach the topic in a week (due to time constraints - I will avoid the pun) and tantalize the students with such notions as the Twin Paradox and the notion that events that are simultaneous in one frame of reference need not be in another.</div>
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Serious stuff - but the kids love it and boy do they challenge me with a series of 'What happens ifs..?' .This in turn makes me hit the books/internet for solutions which in turn improves my own understanding. A wonderful positive feedback loop if ever there was one and for this I am thankful</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-17600692722441356332016-12-17T16:29:00.001-05:002016-12-17T16:29:38.285-05:00Liberal Privilege<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Definition time</div>
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Liberal Privilege - The gift of being able to fully express your liberal viewpoint in virtually any urban bubble city setting in the Western World knowing full well that:</div>
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a) everyone agrees with you because you are 'correct' and <span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />b) if they don't they can be easily dismissed with the appropriate<br />-ism that need not carry any intellectual water.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-51732055828537223522016-11-28T16:39:00.002-05:002016-11-28T16:39:27.322-05:00Quora Questions #2 <h1 style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="rendered_qtext" style="tab-size: 2em;">Can Democrats overcome Electoral College outcomes by a policy of relocating liberals to non-liberal states?</span></h1>
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I think Sarah Silverman tried to do this with a tongue-in-cheek invitation to Jewish grandparents to head to Florida. Could it work on as broader level? Unlikely. The amount of organization needed would be daunting and Republicans could counter with a population transfer move of their own. However what concerns me is that you appear to be looking at human beings as cattle - various dictators have tried such approaches - but would you really want to live in a country governed by a Party who sees such a hideous approach as a way of maintaining and winning power?</div>
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<span class="rendered_qtext" style="tab-size: 2em;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px;">If phenomena occur that do exhaust all reasonable explanations then by necessity our paradigms would have to shift. However at present there is no evidence (or reason) to indicate why they should.</span></span></div>
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<span class="rendered_qtext" style="tab-size: 2em;">Why many people in the world are set believe in political liberation instead of economic liberation?</span></h1>
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<span class="rendered_qtext" style="tab-size: 2em;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px;">Political Liberation has a romantic appeal than economic liberation doesn’t have. Also Political Liberation is also viewed by some as the overriding vehicle through which economic liberation will happen anyway - hence the appeal of Dialectic Materialism</span></span></div>
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No but there may be a need to reorganize how the EU is managed and what the function of the Brussels elite is. The grouping may need to decentralize and and allow the individual countries to have a greater say on specific trade deals, immigration and regulation.</div>
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<span class="rendered_qtext" style="tab-size: 2em;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px;">Right wing populism is on the rise and much of it may becoming at the expense of traditional conservatism and center left liberalism. Most of this is a reaction to the apparent weakness of globalization, the rise of Islamism and the inability of the political center to provide a vision that can navigate past the obvious decline in the continent’s international standing.</span></span></div>
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<span class="rendered_qtext" style="tab-size: 2em;">I know many liberals are asked to reexamine their politics to be more understanding of conservatives, do conservatives attempt to understand liberals?</span></h1>
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<span class="rendered_qtext" style="tab-size: 2em;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px;">Yes we do. Speaking of myself of course. I have changed my position on gay marriage for one as well as public education after a more thorough look at the issues that included an assessment of the liberal viewpoint. However I still find the general liberal positions on some of the bigger issues (civilization decline, foreign policy, race relations, economics) to be unsubstantial despite immersing myself daily with an equal feeding of source material from both sides of the political equation.</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-5477507270846298322016-11-28T16:32:00.000-05:002016-11-28T16:32:00.635-05:00Changing positions<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">I often wonder about people who hold the identical political beliefs at fifty as they did at seventeen.Did they figure it all out at the young age or are they simply immune from self-reflection? There are other explanations but it seems as though the flow of history would necessitate shifts from certain positions (even if they are somewhat ossified). The shifts need not be major. Then again I may be underestimating the strength of inertia</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-37680630911720337102016-11-28T16:31:00.002-05:002016-11-28T16:31:17.186-05:00Religion v Cults<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">Its still not easy to draw the fine line between some religious denominations and cults other than numbers, historical acceptance and longevity. However there seems as though there should be more than this - How about an obsession with converts, the intimidation of those who have left the cult/religion and the irrationality of the worldview? While all three adjuncts need not be met it does appear that if all the boxes are easily ticked off one ought to be concerned.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-65032420713129937562016-11-28T16:28:00.004-05:002016-11-28T16:28:38.745-05:00Chomsky...vote for Hillary...Whatever dude?<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">Chomsky is a serial liar so I wouldn't take what he says with much credence. However for a man who has made a career of knocking US interventionism you would think that he would least admit that on this key issue that the more isolationist Trump is closer to his worldview than the globalist philosophy of Clinton. I have heard Chomsky speak favorably about both Messrs. Rand Paul and Bernie Sanders for their less interventionist policies as well. Show a bit of consistency...not everyone is part of the groupie audience.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-14222280596537710062016-11-28T16:27:00.003-05:002016-11-28T16:27:46.989-05:00Trump Nazi Comparisons...More Nonsense<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">There are many reasons to attack Trump politically (as the case of any politician) but calling him a Nazi/Neo-Nazi or a future Adolf Hitler is ridiculous....No better then the Obama is a secret Muslim nonsense that we heard in 2008. If you don't know what a Nazi is then read a history book. Not only is such rhetoric beyond stupidity but it does nothing to advance our understanding of the real forces in action. Also enough with the screams of racism at every turn...all it shows is that you have run out of rational criticism and have completely defaulted to emotion.</span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-5275157832127776972016-09-17T10:40:00.000-04:002016-09-17T10:40:15.771-04:00Quora Questions #1<h1 style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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Answer - <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Not so much biological senses as we can build better equipment to increase the range but there are likely order of magnitude restrictions as we approach the extremes of the micro and macro world - Planck Time and Planck Length for example. We are already aware of the various innate limitations associated with Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle.</span><br />
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<span class="rendered_qtext" style="tab-size: 2em;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Many of them knew about it they just talked about it in different terms - such as a natural attractor. Newton’s greatest breakthrough in this area was not so much gravity itself but the universal notion of gravity, or his realization that the same force responsible for the terrestrial phenomena acts as well in the celestial sphere and is key to our understanding of planetary/lunar motion.</span></span></div>
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<span class="rendered_qtext" style="tab-size: 2em;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">No because the Germans cheated and included Beckenbauer in their line up.</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-47781632973649906462016-08-30T10:33:00.000-04:002016-08-30T10:39:08.416-04:00The Alt Right<div class="MsoNormal">
The banter around the political grouping Alt-Right seems to
be trending lately largely as a result of its association with Trumpism and
more recently Hillary Clinton’s reference to this linkage. But what exactly is
the Alt-Right? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I first became aware of the phrase Alt-Right about a year
and a half ago and have since learnt much about the streams of ideas that
surface in the political sphere that it dominates. What follows is a
combination of my observations, realizations and opinions regarding this movement.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">The
Term ‘Alternative Right’ was first coined by the Paleo-Conservative
thinker Paul Gottfried about a decade ago. However the derivative
Alt-Right is more commonly used on the net. The term Dark Enlightenment is
often employed synonymously with the Alt Right (read the work of Nick
Land) but many Alt-Righters are not fond of the sinister implications of
this designation.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Alt-Righters
tend to be unified in their opposition to both illegal and in many cases
legal immigration (which sets them apart from most conservatives). Many
are hostile to liberal democracy in its current form, champion
isolationism, oppose free trade and as a whole are guided by a philosophy
of a rigidly defined Race Realism that is opposed to miscegenation. </li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Many
Alt-Righters are White Nationalists and believe in a shared European
identity that needs to be cultivated through education, political activism
and ultimately the physical separation of race groups. Ingroup preference,
it is argued, is followed by all ‘races’ therefore it should not be wrong
if whites act accordingly.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">The
movement is very much driven by the philosophy of decline (as are some
Conservatives) but their race based ‘solution’ to this realization sets
them apart from mainstream conservative support. For Alt-Righters the rot
has set in and Western Civilization as it stands is heading toward an
abyss driven by incompetent politicians, feminist shrills (SJWs),
political correctness and toxic liberalism.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Alt-Righters
largely detest mainstream conservatives who they see as sell outs to a
liberal establishment and thereby worthy of the crude epitaph
cuckservative (a derivative of cuckold and conservative). </li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Leading
voices in the Alt-Right include Jared Taylor (of American Renaissance and
Richard Spencer (a promoter of the Identitarian Movement) however
Alt-Righters are largely decentralized and exert most of their footprint
through the internet which has proved to be fertile ground for many of its
‘techsavy’ ground troops. </li>
<li class="MsoNormal">It
is incorrect to label Alt-Righters as Neo-Nazis, while some certainly
align with this mindset the framework is broad enough that it includes Libertarians,
traditionalists, paleo-conservatives and a host of other peripheral
positions. It is not a Christian specific grouping and seems from what I
have observed to contain many atheists, agnostic theists and European
pagans. The commonality being an affection for European Civilization
rather than a metaphysical belief system. Oddly enough many Alt-Righters
are fairly liberal on social issues such as gay rights and abortion.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Alt
Righters are very much opposed to Islam however many are not fans of
Judaism and in particular the Jewish impact on Western Civilization
either. In the mind of many Alt Righters the Jewish elites have supported
a policy of liberalism in order to water down establishment based
anti-Semitism (a thesis advanced by the controversial academic Kevin MacDonald).
The Jew is seen as the internationalist whose ultimate impact on European
Civilization is negative (borrowing from Henry Ford). This opinion however
is not shared by all Alt-Righters.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Since
it exists on the periphery the Alt-Right (just like the leftist
radicalisms) has attracted more than its fair share of wackos, conspiracy
nuts, hatemongers and marginal voices however it has several reflective
thinkers who are well versed in philosophy, critical thinking and reasoned
argument. Taylor comes across as such an individual as does the rising
blogger star Millennial Woes.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Alt-Righters
tend to support Trump although some have probably come to their positions
from various source backgrounds (not necessarily Republican). Most are
Millennials or Gen Xers but don’t necessarily hold to the same positions
of nostalgia that defines Paleo-Conservatives such as Pat Buchanan.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">While
News Outlet Breitbart does at times articulate the Alt-Right position on
some issues - particularly illegal immigration and Islamism - it is not
seen as an Alt-Right publication by adherents to the movement. </li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Genetics
plays a key role in Alt Right philosophy which views almost all issues
through the prism of race as a hereditary construct.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">While
some Alt-Righters are white supremacists many are not preferring to couch
their white Nationalism in the same veneer as any other type of
nationalism viz. Asian, Black, Italian, Thai etc - That is the focus
should be more about the in-group than the other. </li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Many
Alt-Righters are anti-capitalist and most are opposed to free trade. In
this respect they again differ from Conservatives. In fact on economic
issues some of the anti-capitalism drivers are not too distinct from that
of the Radical Left.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">The
Alt-Right is not (yet) a significant force in and of itself and would
probably vanish into the political ether if it were not for the pro-Dem
media and indeed the Clinton’s campaign to exaggerate their association
with Trump. </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">As a Classic Liberal (Modern Day Conservative) I
myself take issue with the Alt Right. Their fascination with race is
wrong-headed, destructive and ultimately corrosive to Western Civilization. In
a sense they are advocating a modern version of Fascism that is utopic in
structure and at odds with the fundamental tenets of Burkean Conservatism. I
am not convinced that the Alt-Right is even a philosophy of the right but more
a mutation of identity politics, pseudo-science and a national socialism.
However they do raise some valid points about the collapse of traditional
structure within the nation state, top down social engineering and the
challenges to our value system brought about by ill-conceived government
policy. While I wouldn’t give the movement more credit than they deserve a free
and open discussion of some of these ideas (however harsh they are) should be
part of our own self-reflection, not necessarily for acceptance but to increase
our propensity for informed decision.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-63690400827867816182016-08-12T13:46:00.001-04:002016-08-12T13:46:01.086-04:00Quick NoteI am working on a website that should be up and running by month's end. It will include a substantial amount of my writings on History, Philosophy and Science.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-16030963595521403502016-07-02T10:34:00.001-04:002016-07-02T10:35:41.347-04:00Brexit III<div class="MsoNormal">
The EU in itself is not an economic success at all and the
fact that certain areas have been successful (parts of England) and the
turn-of-the millennium Irish Celtic Tiger (in the past not as much at present)
are a consequence of much needed free market reforms (Thatcherite revolution in
the 80s and competitive opening up of the Irish economy) that occurred despite,
rather than as a result of, the EU influence. In fact the Left largely rejected
both of these drives when they were proposed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Defenders of the EU often point to historical German (or
West German) success however the economic groundwork for this country can
largely be attributed to the pro-free market (less regulation intense) policies
that came to define the Wirtschaftswunder (Economic Miracle) after WWII. These
were engineered by Konrad Adenauer and his economic minister Ludwig Erhard and
preceded the formation of the Common Market in 1957.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The claim that that the EU is in a better economic state
than the US also lacks foundation. The numbers don’t bare this out both at
present and in the past. Unemployment (U3 numbers) in the US is less than the
EU average and regularly sits at a lower level than its Euro rivals (only 4 out
of the 28 European countries currently have a lower unemployment rate than the
US). Spain for one has an unemployment
rate that sits at a horrific 21.4% with youth unemployment residing in the
stratosphere at the unbelievable number of 51%.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As for Scotland and Ireland both their respective
unemployment rates are above the UK average. In fact at present Ireland sits at
9.6% well over double the German average. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Norway and Switzerland, both non-EU members, boast
unemployment rates of 4.6 % and 3.4% each of which is ahead of the US. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In addition GDP per capita is 1.4 times higher in the US
than it is in EU with only the Banker’s Republic of Luxembourg (hardly
representative of the Bloc) exceeding the US. In fact 49 out of 50 US states
have a higher GDP per capita than the EU Average. If the UK were an American
state it would rank about somewhere around the 40 – 45 mark in state GDPs per
capita. Forbes takes an even grimmer view.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2014/08/25/britain-is-poorer-than-any-us-state-yes-even-mississippi/#246ca5f83fab">http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2014/08/25/britain-is-poorer-than-any-us-state-yes-even-mississippi/#246ca5f83fab</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Economic issues aside. The key driver for the population’s
rejection of the EU mandate ie. The loss of local autonomy. For me this was the
greatest concern (followed closely of course by the over regulation hysteria of
the EU). I am surprised that a proud Celtic nationalist would not be more
concerned? What’s the point of winning independence from the UK only to hand it
over to faceless bureaucrats in Brussels? The Scots especially will be deeply
impacted especially with regards to their North Sea Oil. This is one of the big
reasons that Norway stayed out of the Union to begin with.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For more reading outside the echo chamber check out</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/11949038/Europes-glory-days-at-an-end-warns-Juncker.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/11949038/Europes-glory-days-at-an-end-warns-Juncker.html</a></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-22936156449534732312016-07-01T18:33:00.006-04:002016-07-01T18:33:58.042-04:00Brexit IIThis is my reply to an Irish Nationalist who pretty much damned the English to hell over the Brexit result and then called for union of the various Celtic Nations....<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">The EU is far from the success that you make it out to be. It has failed to stall the drop in European clout that has seen a drop in the region's Global GDP footprint from 25 to 15 % over the last thirty years or so. Many of the countries in the EU con</span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">sistently demonstrate high levels of unemployment and wealth disparity in England in particular has actually widened (compare London to the rest of the country). </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">My biggest problem with the EU and is that it has added a layer of government that is overwhelmingly bureaucratic. This has decreased the efficacy of grassroots activism and fostered a new elite focused on entitlement. Key autonomy has been lost and this is anti-democratic.It also has created unnecessary barriers to potential imports from outside the Bloc which have been particular tough on African and Asian producers (Is this fortress Europe concept not racist in itself?) while ensuring that prices in Europe remain high (fine for the elite but not everyone else). </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">I am not convinced that Scotland will leave the UK (despite your wishes). I think that you are overselling the numbers. If they do so the Scots would likely have to forgo their investment in the British State mechanism (pensions and all) and drop the Pound (which is still a solid option as a currency for Third world investors particularly the Middle East). The Euro is highly volatile and has already been rocketed by several crises in Greece, Italy and Portugal to name a few. Others are likely to follow. It seems to me that your position is more motivated by an anti-English Irish jingoism than anything else although I could be wrong. Damning the English to history considering the brave stance of this people in facing Fascism in WWII is particularly galling (where were the Irish nationalists then?) . </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">As for your take on Northern Ireland a closer breakdown on results from the referendum indicates that the vote was split along sectarian lines with many Protestants (who regard any union with Ireland to be toxic) voting to leave. I doubt as well whether the large Scottish protestant core would also back such an alliance with Ireland in a Greater Celtic Band.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-58433754581452005122016-07-01T18:30:00.002-04:002016-07-01T18:30:16.641-04:00Life thought<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">I think that one of the most important realizations one has to make as a parent is that your kids are not, nor ought they to be, a replica of yourself.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24363909.post-5656171440457239842016-07-01T18:29:00.002-04:002016-07-01T18:29:33.371-04:00Brexit I<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">I think its too early to judge what the long term ramifications of the exit will be. Economists have a poor track record in long term forecasting and markets have a tendency to readjust rapidly (look at the Dow). One cannot judge any decision in purely economic terms as there are other numerous factors involved but I think that the Brexit vote is a welcome win for grassroots democracy.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0