On Intellectual Myopia

I often give more credit for the human intellect than it deserves. A friend of mine, who I have not seen for some time, but who I remain connected to through the medium of Facebook recently posted on his wall a link showing an outrageous act performed by religious Christians (the details are not important right now but suffice it to say it involved crucifixion). The act was either denounced or ignored as insignifican by the mainstream Christian world. He then argued, that if the world can see that such an isolated act is clearly that of fanatics and is not representative of Christianity itself, then why does the world not apply the same line of reason in judging Islam, with respect to the 911 attacks for example. . While the fact that Islamists have committed over 20,000 violent attacks since 911 was not evidence enough that the dreadful events of that day was not isolated, the existence of Islamist related groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, the Iranian Twelvers, the Salafists, Hezbollah and Hamas as poweful forces within the Islamic World poured cold water on his poorly thought out argument. But as I pondered further upon the issue, what was more frightening is that my friend, who is highly educated, could draw such a faulty parallel that was so easily deconstructed. How was it that he was duped? Was he operating with wishful thinking? Was he in denial? or as a liberal - does he just not want to give credence and admit that anti-Islamist voices have been correct all this time. Either way he is either intellectually dishonest or just plain naive...but if this is the case with him...how many others are following suit? Its no wonder that Jihadists have been so successful in their propaganda strategies to date.

Obama's Folly

While there are some holding out for a long-term improvement in the Middle East’s smoking cauldron as a result of the Arab Spring, what is most evident is that the gains that have accrued to date have come at too high a price. One could very easily argue that the Middle East is in fact worse now than it has been with both Syria and Egypt enmeshed in civil war, and Turkey heading down a similar path perhaps in the not-too-distant future. With his Cairo speech and his cheerleading of the Anti-Mubarak drivers, Obama must take some responsibility for the debacle (his lack of common sense and political street knowledge were abysmal) and the arena is worse now for his ill-conceived interference than it was prior to his foibles.

Now it looks as though the US will be more actively backing the anti-Assad forces in Syria despite the reality that this apparent ‘lesser of the evils’ is aligned with the serpent head of Al Qaeda. While it is true that Assad and co. are in bed with the Iranian Mullahs such policy will not bear fruit for the US, it certainly didn’t in Libya where Obama’s short sighted approach in backing the anti-Gaddafi insurgency led directly to the Benghazi embassy attack –one of America’s worst foreign policy disasters in years (made worse by Obama and then Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s cover-up).

The US would be advised to stand back and let both sides in the Syrian conflict beat each other to a pulp. The same is true in Egypt despite the fact that the military offers a better alternative to regional stability than do the thugs of the Brotherhood. US interference has done enough damage – Obama needs to tread lightly.

If he is tempted to involve himself in the region’s politics then he should offer his support for the Green Revolution in Iran. He let down the revolution early in his term while later on paving way for the Brotherhood in Egypt. To say that he got it ass backwards is an understatement. Smart vision can help but I doubt whether his team of Kerry, Hagel, Brennan and co. are blessed with such insight. If they do I have yet to see the evidence.

Race relations deteriorate..this is a tragedy

Front Page Magazine has an interesting article on how race relations have worsened under Obama. http://frontpagemag.com/2013/arnold-ahlert/obama-back-to-the-future/

Debbie Schlussel - Reality Check

Debbie Schlussel has done a great job in the past exposing the Islamist threat, illegal immigration and the degradation of American society. Her research is for the most part very thorough and her writing at times hilarious albeit poisonous. However she has a nasty habit of throwing under the bus those who disagree with her in the very slightest. The following is a list of some of those on the right who have earned her scorn (note that Schlussel is a Conservative Commentatator) and have been vilified by Schlussel in one form or another.
Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Bill O' Reilly, Dennis Prager, Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, Jonah Goldberg, Neil Cavuto, Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, David Horowitz, Pat Buchanan (deservedly so), Aaron Klein, Daniel Greenfield, Andrew Breitbart, Ben Shapiro, Walid Shoebat, Brigitte Gabriel, John Hawkins, Mark Levin, Jenn Q. Public and Matt Drudge to name a few.
It seems that Schlussel has gone to great lengths to isolate herself as she continues to play the lone wolf card...I pity her as she has much to offer in the cultural war but her methodology of bashing so many of her potential allies is short-sighted and plays into the hands of her ideological foes, such as the Jihadist chorus at loonwatch.

United and Chelski drop points

Never thought I would be so happy to watch a goaless game but when these two teams drop points then I have to smile. United looked better than the Blues and Rooney was clearly the best player on the field but its the score line that counts.

Racial Violence...The rest of the story

The Big Question: Why does the MSM conveniently ignore black on white crimes? Here are the stats: http://www.examiner.com/article/federal-statistics-of-black-on-white-violence-with-links-and-mathematical-extrapolation-formulas

- 45% of black crime is against whites - Blacks commit murder at as rate that is seven times higher than other races - Blacks are 39 times more likely to commit a violent act against whites than vice versa.

White Aussie jogger, Christopher Lane, was targeted and gunned down in Oklahoma recently. There was the brutal twin murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom. Why have these acts of violence not received the same media outrage as the Trayvon Martin story?
This is not to diminish in any way the significance of white on black acts of racial violence but it is important in the ongoing fight against racism that all issues of hate are equally addressed.

Season starts off well...lets hope the train doesn't derail.

Liverpool are off to their best start in several seasons. Two games played, two wins, zero goals conceded. This may end on the weekend against United but it doesn't harm to dream. All of City, the Scum, Chelski and the Arse have dropped points. So far so good. There is still however an urgent need for another forward plus a central defender. Selling Suarez for 45 million pounds could solve both issues. The Reds have to move quickly.

The 5Gs

I am working on a system of personal development known as the 5Gs that I have developed. The system is holistic but builds on a super-structure similar to the sefirot from the world of the Kabbalah. What are the 5Gs? In short they are Gains, Goals, Giving, Gratitude and Growth.
The first two elements pair together as do elements three and four producing the Growth hiatus. More to follow as I work on the details.

The following is a list of my influences.
· Judaic Philosophy: Kabbalah – Concept of the Soul – Extension of Self, Good Deeds - Unity of One.
· Classical Wisdom: Plato- Unexamined Life – not worth living, Aristotelean Logic + Rationalism, Seneca on Expectations – Stoicism
· Hume: Reasonable Skepticism, Descartes – Critical Reductionism
· Nietzche –Becoming a Superman – Exercising your intent/will
· Kierkegaard – Necessary Leap of Faith
· Frankl – Man’s Search for Meaning
· Four Agreements

The Obama Economy

The Fall of the US…..Some signs of the turmoil that has no doubt been expedited by the Obama Presidency….possibly the worst in American history

Sources: http://www.usdebtclock.org/#

1. The US has a national debt of $16.88 trillion and counting….No country in history has suffered such a staggering shortfall. The debt per US citizen stands around $53,300.00 or $148,027 per taxpayer. Total interest on the debt for 2013 is $2.88 trillion. $5.6 trillion dollars is owed to foreign countries.

2. Gross debt to GDP stands at 106% as the country continues building a bigger hole for itself.

3. There are over 11.5 million unemployed Americans officially. Almost double that for the actual number (22.2 million) and likely to grow.

4. Over 50 million Americans are living in poverty with close to 48 million using food stamps…..This is what happens when the mechanism for job creation is stifled by the regulation fanatics in government.

5. Over 19 million Americans work for state and local governments and a further 4.8 million are employed by the federal government. Talk about bloated bureaucracies….

6. Social security liability is almost $16.5 trillion, prescription drug liability is $21.8 trillion and the medicare debt is a whopping $86.8 trillion as Obamacare kicks in….Factor all this together and the liability per taxpayer is $1.096 million….I know that I have that money lying around. Assets per citizen is only $0.318 million… so those on left who see wealth distribution as a solution (which it never is) will fall hopelessly short of the mark.

7. Stimulus packages by the Obama regime has escalated the collapse by adding over seven trillion to the National debt – more than any other president in US history….think of this as a ‘gift’ to future generations of Americans.

Twitter Feed

Have re-activated my twitter feed. Several new tweets..yesterday was a busy day.

Skepticism

In many a way I am a skeptic. My strong adheherence to the efficacy of scientific rationalism makes this a natural position. However I differ from the strong skeptic positions advocated by Messrs Shermer, Carroll, Randi etc in that I believe in the presence of the God (Ein Sof) essence that transcends but encompasses all that there is. I reconcile these two beliefs (scientific rationalism and my own theism) with an understanding that the Ein Sof could but doesn't break the rules of physics. Asuch, I reject all of the paranormal (a position that was not the case when I was younger) and cast much doubt on New Age, Alternative Medicine, most conspiracy theories and other avenues of supposed reasoning that fail to measure up to the stringencies of critical thought.

Well Done Andy Murray

Although I am not a fan of Andy Murray (Roger Federer is my player of choice) he must be congratulated for winning his first Wimbledon title - the first by a Brit in 77 years (maybe the poms can shut up about that now....they are real-broken records in this department). The game seemed like the longest straight set victory on record with both players struggling in the service department. Novak Djokovic clearly had an off day, and is still in my opinion a better player than the Scot. Nevertheless the Djokovic-Murray rivalry promises much with the entire sport being the real winner in the future if such competition persists.

Barack Obama and the Demise of the US Space Program

It amazes me how so many in the scientific community have fallen in lock step behind Barack Obama. In fact its not uncommon to hear scientists describe Obama as a president who truly understands Science. Yet like so many other platitudes associated with the' Great One' the Obama-Science meme is lacking in substance.

The crown jewel of American Scientific brilliance since the 1960s has been the Space Exploration Program. Indeed JFK centralized it as such with his rousing speeches on the issue, which although framed in cold war swagger undoubtebly galvanized an enthuzed two to three generations of American high school science students. From such endeavours came breakthroughs in biomedical research, telecommunications, engineering and architectural design and looking back at such ab era one can only glow at its achievement. Many spin off technologies that we enjoy today can trace part of their genesis to such an initiative. Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton and Bush II followed in suit with varying degrees of success but never veering from the primacy of the drive, Yes there were some awful moments (the explosions of the Challenger and Columbia) but all scientific advancements are not immune from setbacks. At the end of the day the successes far outweighed the failures (if indeed they are failures...another point to debate).

Yet it is under Barack Obama that historic role of NASA as an engine for American scientific passion has been all but neutered. No great missions appear on the horizon, a return to the moon is off the agenda (and with it a possible moon base), Mars exploration is dogged in bureaucracy, the space shuttle program has been left to rest while the US (the apparent winner of the Cold War) is forced to resort to Russian transportation to access the International Space Station. We are now further behind in our Global Space Initiatives. So why is it that Obama is still seen as the visionary Science President? For in this realm his record is one of abject disappointment.

British Lions Defeat Wallabies

It was wonderful cheering on the British Lions to their first tour series victory since 1997  The Lions, made up of a majority of Welsh internationals defeated the Aussies to record a 2-1 series truimph. Although the rubber game's final score, 41-16 in favour of the Lions,  appears to be one-sided the reality is that the Wallabies tested the full mettle of the Lions and only a late flurry at the end ensured the enormity of the outcome.

While victory is sweet, I am not convinced from what I saw that this Lions team would have defeated the All-Blacks (or the Springboks) in a similar series. Still its sweet revenge for the men in red who came out on the wrong side of the outcome against the Aussies twelve years ago. Well done.

On the Kabbalah

The Kabbalah has always attracted me - primarly as it offers a  model for understanding the interaction between the spiritual and physical (material) aspects of the universe. I really appreciate the logical structure of the ten Sefirot and believe that the Ein Sof conceptualization of G-d is brilliant in its description of this great intangibility. However the discipline is suffused with its fair share of nonsense mongers and charlatans who advocate a level of knowledge that exceeds their own grasp of the nuances. I am very much conscious of this pitfall. Therefore I approach Kabbalah study with a guarded caution - awareness of its dynamism coupled with a critical appraisal of its limitations and reach. Fortunately such a strategy is consistent with my overall life philosophy in the epistemological realm ie. moderate scepticism.

25 Threats to Western Civilization

1. Public Indifference to the 11 Great Attributes listed in the previous post
2. Over regulation of Industry - barriers to small business
3. Anti-meritocratic policies eg. affirmative action
4. Collapse of Judeo-Christian Ethics
5. Corruption - Corporate, union + political
6. Weak and Poor Leadership
7. Political Correct constraints on thought and deed ie. the isms
8. Greed Capitalism
9. Inappropriate use of Technology
10. War on Freedom of Speech
11. Islamism and its apologists
12. Poor and ill-conceived immigration policies
13. The Rampant growth of private and personal debt
14. Chinese unilateralism
15. Culture of Victimhood - legacy of state socialism
16. Moral Relativism
17. Growth of the welfare state - culture of entitlement
18. Over deference to the Elite - loss of grassroot power
19. Weakening Education Structure - Grade Inflation, over emphasis on university education as a panacea, neglect of the trades, political indoctrination in the classroom
20.  De-emphasis on history and tradition - Loss of Identity - Inability to appreciate one's own
       exceptionalism
21. Russian meddling in foreign politics - made all the worse by their nuclear resolve
22. Global Arms Dealing
23. Ideology driving our legal system - Activist Judges
24. Growth of the no values culture - Hollywood et al.
25. Inability of post-Christian Europe to find direction and inspire itself - EU has been a dismal failure

11 Attributes that are key to the success of Western Civilization

1. Free Speech/Free Thought

2. Rule of Law

3. Education Excellence - Emphasis on Rationalism and Empiricism

4. Private Ownership of Property

5. Democracy and Representative Government

6. Human/Civil Rights

7. Judeo-Christian Ethics/System of Values - Dignity of Human Life and Charity

8. Commitment to its own defence

9. Strong Emphasis on Science and Technology

10. Culture of History and Tradition

11. Checks and Balance on Power

Now for the tough question.....How many of these are under threat?

Another Silly Trend in Education

What is it about teachers that they love dogma and simple solutions? In my area of teaching (Physics + General Science) the latest dogma that appears to be gaining ground is Peer Group Work (PGW). While such a mechanism of teaching physics through group work is not new and indeed it has manifested itself under the exotic newspeak term Collaborative Learning in an earlier era, the latest incantation of the phenomenon seems to be gaining a stronger clout largely driven by the zealotry of its followers. This is not to say that Group Learning is without merit, indeed it has its usefulness (I myself make use of it for certain aspects of the curriculum  viz. Hooke's Law and Linear Momentum) but the latest radicalism champions it as the panacea for all the woes associated with misconceptions in physics learning. In fact left to their own devices the PGW crew would use their teaching methodology exclusively in the classroom claiming the support of selective data interpretation of quasi-performance indicators, such as the limited force concept inventory for justification. A cursory glance at their reasoning evidently reveals an emperor without clothes but such a critique will hardly suffice for those who have chugged with passion on this pedagogical kool-aid.

The reality is that there is no single methodology that should be followed for teaching Physics or any of the scientists. Teachers have diverse strengths and skills and the myriad of learners types in a class are too varied to pigeon hole a class into a one-size fits all mentality. The best teachers will employ a variety of learning strategies from formal lecturing, to Problem Based Learning, to careful use of the Socratic and indeed will dabble with Constructivism. Misconceptions can be addressed effectively in such a millieu as I have personally witnessed, The Key is to know your learners and be prepared to differentiate. Approaches vary.

Binding yourself to a dogma - no matter how progressive it seems - ignores the reality of the learner (not all students are extroverted which is what PGW favours) and minimizes to its very detriment the powerful and critical role of the teacher in the classroom. PGW sees the role of a teacher changing to become that of a facilitator. This would be a tragedy especially for those who have traditionally learnt so much over the years from the active role of the knowledgeable other.

Stephen Hawking joins the league of Anti-Semites

In signaling out the Jewish State for boycott based on a selective reading of the facts on hand (while simultaneously ignoring the Human Rights violations of Iran and China - which he has pandered to over time) Stephen Hawking makes common ground with the many anti-semites who have poisoned debate on the Israeli-Palestinian issue in the last ten years. That his position was endorsed by the loathsome Noam Chomsky is not grounds for credance. What a shame that such a great mind has stooped to such poverty of thought. It really stains a legacy of ecumenical academic achievement.

Lawrence Krauss - Another atheist charlatan

Atheist Evanagelist and all around know-it-all  Lawrence Krauss is quick to write off the Old Testament (Tanakh) as a source of moral guidance (see Intelligence Squared Debate - Does Science refute God?). Such reasoning is both sloppy and intellectally dishonest. Charity,  employee-employer relationships, assisting your fellow human being in times of need, ethical treatment of animals, dealing with the sick and the old are some of the many topics discussed at length in the Tanakh with solutions that are more Just than those in vogue today. A study of the Tanakh would reveal this immediately. The fact that Krauss chooses to denigrate such a line of thought and ignore the vast wealth of study associated with the Oral Torah, is further evidence of a mental bankruptcy that typifies his straw man approach to this important pillar of Western ethics. To the converted atheists his approach brings plaudits but to anyone aware of a deeper philosophy his line of attack is nothing more than fraudulent sophistry.

Atheist versus Theist Debates

I have seen several of these debates on you tube and after a while they become tiring (both sides rehashing the same dogma over again). As a theist I have my bias but I do admit that I miss those debates where the atheist viewpoint was espoused by the late Chris Hitchens. I did not agree with Hitch on several issues but he certainly livened up the discourse with his wit and his combative rhetoric. Sam Harris is the best of the remaining New Atheists and seems far and away a more deeper thinker than the over-hyped self indulgent Richard Dawkins. Lawrence Krauss is nothing special as is AC Grayling while Daniel Dennett is a tad on the dry side. Michael Shermer's approach is overly reductionist and he lives by the art of the false dichotomy. On the theist side I have no time for Chris Hedges, Al Sharpton, Deepak Chopra and Dinesh D' Souza  but like listening to Ian Hutchinson, Dennis Prager and Rabbi Wolpe (all of whom are extremely logical in their arguments). The debate has lost some of its zest as of late but I am sure that it will resurrect itself when the Jihadists commit their next atrocity in the name of religion (something you can almost bet on).

A New Pope is Chosen

Its a bold move by the Vatican to choose a Pope from Latin America but in selecting Argentine Francis I the Holy See is reaffirming the international outreach of the Church and perhaps stop the post- modernist rot that has infected the faith in the Old World. Only time will tell if this was a shrewd move (which I suspect it is) but as I outlined in an earlier post the new Pope must place at the forefront of his agenda  an activist approach that still sees Catholicism as a vital entity in the ongoing survival of Western Civilization.

The better candidate drops out

Marc Garneau has dropped out of the Liberal Leadership race clearing the way for Justin Trudeau to move one step closer to heading the Grits. This is a sad day for those looking for a meaningful candidate from the Liebrals. Trudeau is rich on cheap glitz (a glance at his silly comments and his naivety with respect to radical Islam are testament to this) but critically short on substance and so far looks like a less adept version of his father -  arguably the most over-hyped politician in Canadian history. Still the Libs have a while to go before they storm Sussex Drive. They have much
sympathy in the Toronto area (who would vote for a muppet if he were a Liberal) but need to build goodwill elsewhere in Canada. Muclair and his socialists have a few minutes left on their fifteen but any Liberal leader needs to return to the pragmatism of Pearson if they wish to govern effectively . So far Trudeau being the latest incarnation of the party that gave us Dion and Ignatieff does not seem to be that man, Garneau from most accounts seems more likely to aspire to this role.    

A Message for the New Pope

I am intrigued like many as to who the next Pope will be but part of me cannot help but reflect on the irrelevancy that the position has fallen to in the new geo-politics. The Catholic faith has been in retreat for some time and has certainly lost ground in the Americas not to mention Post-Modern Europe. While John Paul II led with authority in opposing the evils of Marxist-Leninism (especially in his homeland of Poland) the church has largely sat back while Islamist regimes continue to persectute Christians in the Middle East. The previous pope Benedict XVI whimpered a bit about the insanity of Islamism but appeared to back down under pressure. The Eastern Orthodox churches are just as stilted  (although not as damaged by the cancer of liberation theology as are so many of the mainstream Western churches), while the Anglicans are caught in a never land crippled by the curse of accomodation, a dreadful doctrine  espoused by the feel good philosophy of new agers such as the former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.

Catholicism needs a strong pope who who will stand up to the belligerency of Islamofascism, call out moral relativism when he sees it and champion the Western Ideal against the impending barbarism that have moved too close to shore.  Right now it is only the evangelical Protestant groups who carry this  mantle - Catholicism is at a cross roads but to survive intact and continue its importance as one of the gatekeepers of Western Civilization (and indeed global history) it must rethink its pacifism and offer no apologies for opposing the all too many excesses of radical Islam. If it fails to do so then its inertia will carry it to obscurity along the road  which it currently travels.

Yawn...When is the EPL over???

I never thought I would say this (as a die hard English football fan) but I can't wait for the EPL to finish. No its not sour grapes over my team Liverpool's inconsistency (although I do think they are on the right path), but this season more than any in recent memory has lacked both excitement and high quality football that has defined the Premiership. Man U have pretty much led from start to finish playing the type of soccer which would barely garner them a fourth spot in La Liga or the Bundesliga. Manchester City have been anemic as is the case of Chelsea. While Spurs have have performed with style (perhaps more than any other team) its only a matter of time before their season unravels in typical faction allowing Arsenal (a euphemism for mediocrity) to edge ahead of them towards the last remaing CL spot (I hope that I am wrong on this account). Yes I have enjoyed the play of Southampton and that other minnow Swansea but the presence in the top half of the EPL of Stoke, Everton and West Brom (three team's genuinely lack creativity) does not auger well for a league that six years ago provided three out of the four CL Finalists. This year there will most likely be no English teams in the Champion's League Quarterfinals (Arsenal's chances of overturning Bayern are slim) and deservedly so. Spain, Italy and Germany all have stronger leagues and English footer needs a serious wake up call  for right now it appears as though it has jumped on the wrong side of the salary/performance utility curve. Lets hope that it can stop the rot soon.

Chavez is Dead....but its too soon to be optimistic

One shouldn't celebrate the death of another human being but I for one shall not shed a tear for this passing of this South American demagogue. Chavez destroyed his country's economy, cavorted with the vile Iranian leadership, commited himself to a philosophy of anti-semitism and greatly curtailed freedom of speech in Venezuela. While admired by many on the left (the usual voices who continue to show affection for Mao, Castro and Che) Chavez represented a regional menace who used simplistic populism to boost his status with the poorest of the nation while championing a statism that has ruined many an economy elsewhere. He should not be missed but I am not optimistic that his successor will curb the folly's of Chavez's realized egoism. We will wait and see.

Human Silliness

60 Memes that should have been put to rest  but haven’t yet

1.       Young Earth

2.       Faith Healing

3.       Reiki

4.       Utopias of any sort

5.       Homeopathy

6.       Ghosts   

7.       Illuminati Conspiracy Theories in all their myriad of forms

8.       Hollow Earth

9.       Afrocentrism as History

10.   911 Conspiracy Theories

11.   Birther Conspiracies

12.   Fake Moon Landings

13.    Fluoridation  Hoopla

14.   The Roswell Saga

15.   Men in Black

16.   UFO sightings

17.   Communication with the Dead

18.   New Chronologies of World History eg. The Invention of Rome, Greece and Egypt

19.   Ancient Astronauts

20.   Extra Terrestrial Origins of the Pyramids, Nazca Lines, Stonehenge

21.    Werewolves, Vampires and other demons

22.   David Icke and his Reptillian nonsense

23.   Scientology

24.   The evil Eye

25.   Zombies

26.   Holocaust  Denial

27.   Polio Vaccine  Conspiracy

28.   MMR Vaccine Conspiracy

29.   Jewish Blood Libel Accusations

30.   Denial of the Armenian Holocaust

31.   The goodness of all that is natural

32.   Creationism

33.   Astral Travel

34.   Kirlian Photography

35.   Near Death Experiences

36.   Philadelphia Experiment

37.   Ectoplasm Production

38.   The Bible as a book of Science

39.   Biblical codes

40.   Numerology – Numerical  coincidences

41.    Repressed memory

42.   Time Slipping

43.   Fortune Telling

44.   Possession by Demons

45.   Astrology

46.   Magical effects contradicting the laws of science

47.   The French Merovingian Dynasty originating from Christ

48.   Orgone Energy

49.   Chakras

50.   Mayan Armageddon Theory

51.   Indigo Children

52.   Hypnosis unlocking Past Lives

53.   Perpetual Motion Machines

54.   Recent Sightings of Elvis, Jim Morrison etc.

55.   Telekinesis

56.   Stalinist atrocities as Western Propaganda

57.   Alien Abduction

58.   Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot and the Yeti

59.   Hell and the Devil

60.   Atlantis

 

First 40 Songs on my Song list

1. Time – Pink Floyd
2. Ziggy Stardust – David Bowie or Bauhaus version
3. London Calling – The Clash
4. Sultans of Swing – Dire Straits
5. A Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum
6. Lust for Life – Iggy Pop
7. Electricity – OMD
8. Highway to hell – AC/DC
9. Satisfaction – Rolling Stones
10. Spanish Train – Chris De Burgh
11. Sunday Bloody Sunday – U2
12. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
13. True Faith – New Order
14. Bizzare Love Triangle – New Order
15. Suburbia – Pet Shop Boys
16. Boys Don’t Cry – The Cure
17. Bullet the Blue Sky – U2
18. People are Strange – The Doors
19. Lovecats – The Cure
20. Space Oddity – David Bowie
21. China Girl – David Bowie
22. Riders on the Storm – The Doors
23. We are the Champions – Queen
24. Our House – Madness
25. Goodnight Saigon – Billy Joel
26. Sometimes - Erasure
27. Angie – Rolling Stones
28. All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix
29. Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin
30. Nena-99Luft Balons – Nina Hagen
31. One Night in Bangkok – Murray Head
32. Rock me Amadeus – Falco
33. Shout – Tears for Fear
34. A Little Respect – Erasure
35. Rebel Yell – Billy Idol
36. Me and the Farmer – Housemartins
37. Break on Through – Doors
38. Hotel California – Eagles
39. Eye in the Sky – Alan Parsons Project
40. White Rabbit– Jefferson Airplane

Recommended Books of Faith

Rick Warren's the Purpose Driven Life was an inspiring read even from the perspective of a non-Christian. It dragged on toward the ends (as do most books of faith) but his exercise-driven practical approach is worth considering for those seeking to renew their connection with G-d and improve their quality of life. Ranking (B+).

Harold Kushner is always a hit with me - I read Who needs God about five months ago and recently completed Living a Life That Matters: Resolving the Conflict between Conscience and Success as a Theistic  Both books provide a needed boost for the reader constantly struggling with an understanding of the working of G-d. The former makes a great case for using G-d as a lens to see the universe while the latter challenges us to think clearly about our notion of success in a world that often seems chaotic.Kushner's prose (which is live with real life examples) adds an added dimension to his analysis in 'Living a Life' by juxtaposing our individual struggle against the challenge faced by the patriarch Jacob in Bereshit (Genesis).
Ranking for Each: (A-)

Canadian David Adams Richards, a past winner of the Governor-General's Award did much to justify his reputation with a wonderful defense of theism in God Is. His first fifty pages where he deconstructs the mocking-of-god cultural meme, that has been for some time in vogue amongst the intelligensia, resonates as one of the best treatments of this topic that I have read for some time.  Ranking: (A-)

15 Greatest Cricket Batsmen of All-Time

1. Don Bradman- Aus
2. Sachin Tendulker - Ind
3. Viv Richards - West Ind.
4. Brian Lara - West Ind
5. Gary Sobers - West Ind
6. Sunil Gavaskar - Ind
7. Sourav Ganguly - Ind
8. Ricky Ponting - Aus
9. Rahul Dravid - Ind
10. Graham Pollock - SAf
11. Len Hutton - Eng
12. Muhammad Yousuf - Pak
13. Javed Miandad - Pak
14. SteveWaugh - Aus
15. Jacques Kallis - SAf

Honourable Mentions: Graham Gooch, Adam Gilchrist, Muhammad Azaruddin and Yuvraj Singh.

15 Greatest Heavyweight Fighters of All-Time

1. Joe Louis
2. Muhammad Ali
3. Jack Johnson
4. Gene Tunney
5. Jack Dempsey
6. Rocky Marciano
7. George Foreman
8. Joe Frazier
9. Lennox Lewis
10. Mike Tyson
11. Larry Holmes
12. John Sullivan
13. Evander Holyfield
14. Vlad Klitschko
15. Ken Norton

Home Opener at Anfield

After last week's dreadful performance (a 3-0 loss to West Brom at the Hawthorns) Liverpool got their act together and tied 2-2 with Man City at  Anfield. The Red's passing was crisp (something that was missing last year) and one can clearly see Rodger's Tiki Taki strategy taking hold. Both the Skrtel header and the Suarez free kick goal were first rate and if it weren't for the habit of shipping cheap goals (especially the second one that tied the game finely) Liverpool would have been worthy winners, Nevertheless the match was a definite upper from the season opener and if Liverpool can keep up the style and solidify the lack of concentration weakness then they may indeed challenge for a Champions League Spot (not a title - City, United and Chelsea will fight over that). Still a concern though is the need for a striker to relieve some of the pressure off Suarez. I would suggest that the brass persist with Andy Carroll but somehow he doesn't seem to be part of Rodgers' bigger plan - expect Clint Dempsey to ship in by the trade deadline.

Top 10 Most Evil People

According to Listverse the ranking is as follows

1. Josef Stalin
2. Adolf Hitler
3. Ivan IV of Russia (Ivan the Terrible)
4. Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler)
5. Pol Pot
6. Leopold II of Belgium
7. Idi Amin Dada
8. Ayatollah Khomeini
9. Maxilmilien Robespierre
10. Attila the Hun

My comments: Genghis Khan and Mao Zedong are conspicuously missing. I would place Mao ahead of Stalin (based on the number of people murdered). Genghis Khan would definitely be in the Top Five as well using the number murdered criterion as a reference. Robespierre, who initially started out with promise as a champion of the lower classes did play a major role in the Reign of Terror, but in terms of absolute numbers killed is properly a minor player. Tamerlane and several of the Mughal Emperors ought to be in this list as well.

In the News LXX

Obama and Romney are neck and neck
Its too close to call although in situations like this its normally the incumbent that will win out. Romney will pick up a boost with the RNC but he has to become more deliberate in his attack on Obama with respect to the economy. The Akin fiasco has not helped him out either.

Hugo Chavez threatens the UK
It seems as though he has invoked a Monroe Doctrine of his own to establish Venezuela as the guardian of South American interests. I doubt whether the Brits arre quivering in their shoes about this one. Despite Chavez's rhetoric Venezuela is still a marginal force and Chavez the caricature of the proverbial South American despot.

A Christian girl with Down's Syndrome is arrested for blasphemy in Pakistan
The 11 year old could face the death penalty. This is completely insane (as is all religious fundamentalism) but somewhat to be expected in the increasingly intolerant 'islamist' milieu of  the failed Pakistani state.

More bloodshed in Syria
This is one conflict that the US should definitely avoid getting involved in. On one side you have the Assad-Iran-Russia-Hezbollah alliance on the other you have Brotherhood-Al Qaeda- rebel alliance. Its really a no win situation. Assad has lost much credibility amongst his population and would be ousted if it weren't for foreign backing. He has also been hit by some high profile defections. Either way the outcome looks poor from Israel's perspective.  Although the weakening of the supply line to Hezbollah may help the Jewish state temporarily. The 'whining western left' doesn't know who to back either - where is the United Church boycott of Syria when you need it? 

Al Qaeda rears its ugly head
The Al Qaeda serpent is alive and well in Yemen. It blows up oil pipelines but the irony is, is that Al Qaeda has been built up indirectly from oil money. Such is the nature of the political beat in the middle east.

Aftermath of the Miner shootings reverberates throughout South Africa
This does not bode well for the ruling ANC which I have predicted for some time will eventually split.  The individual most likely to gain from this debacle is the former ANC youth leader Julius Malema. His star is on the rise against the falling profile of President Zuma. Interesting side line from the World Bank - South Africa is one of the most unequal societies in the world - 10% of the country controls 60% of the wealth and 20 million out of a total work force of 38 million are unemployed. The ANC is so riddled with cronyism that its collapse is more likely now than ever.

Last 30 Books on Judaism that I have read

The following is a list of the last 30 books on Judaism that I have read (not including the Garfinkle book - described in an earlier post) and their subsequent ratings.

1. Traces of God – Neil Gillman (B-)
2. Permission to Believe – Keleman (B+)
3. Why Faith Matters – Wolpe (B)
4. Soul Prints – Gafni (B)
5. God is a verb – Cooper (B+)
6. DNA & Tradition – Kleiman (B+)
7. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt – Waldman (C+)
8. Nine Questions People Ask about Judaism – Prager/Telushkin (A)
9. Fingerprints on the Universe – Pollack (B+)
10. I Asked for Wonder – Heschel (A-)
11. The Aryeh Kaplan Anthology – Kaplan (A-)
12. Immortality, Resurrection and the Age of the Universe – Kaplan (B+)
13. The Path of G-d – Luzzato (A-)
14. Endless Light Kabbalah – Aaron (B+)
15. Inviting God In – Aaron (B)
16. Discovering the Divine Within You – Aaron (A)
17. Kabbalah Inspirations – Rosen (B+)
18. Life’s Daily Blessings – Olitzky (B+)
19. More Answers to Questions of the Spirit – Bulka (B+)
20. The Hidden Face in God – Schroeder (B)
21. Ten Commandments of Character – Telushkin (B+)
22. Everyday Holiness (Path of Mussar) – Morinis (B-)
23. John Lennon and the Jews - Maghen (B+)
24. The God Upgrade – Korngold (B-)
25. Climbing Jacob’s Ladder – Morinis (B-)
26. Seeing God: Ten Life Changing Lessons of the Kabbalah – Aaron (A)
27. Finding God : Ten Jewish Responses – Sonsino & Syme (A-)
28. Why the Jews? The Reason for Antisemitism – Telushkin & Prager (A)
29. Genesis and the Big Bang – Schroeder (B)
30. We Have Reason to Believe - Jacobs (B+)

On Infinities

Kurt Godel realized that there were limits to Mathematics (as shown by his Incompleteness Theorem) and he was wiling in part to accept these. However at the same time a part of him hoped that he could access intuitive knowledge through logic. His quest to do so eventually caused his life to spiral out of control ending in the unfortunate circumstances of his death. A genius he stretched the limits of rationality but could not access with the same conviction what lay beyond it.
Georg Cantor took Mathematics into regions nobody has dared to venture. However he found a world that surpassed the limits of human logic and like a sailor drawn by the songs of a siren was adversely eventually engulfed by its illusiveness.

All of this makes me wonder: Are there certain truths that we are just not supposed to know?

A praise for the intellectual journey

I have spent a substantial part of my life trying to make sense of the universe. A cynic would claim that such a task is futile, fraught with obstacles and ultimately a bridge to disappoint. Perhaps this is true, but I would not renege on the journey, its path may be convoluted but the serendipity that it invites is overwhelmingly rewarding.

While I have shifted back and forth between worldviews, I have discovered much that has made me a better human being. They say that there is a certain power associated with knowledge, but its not really power that excites me but the gradual unveiling of a complexity to reveal its essence.

A Quick Thought

As a teacher, one must always be prepared to come to terms with our limitations and inadequacies. These are numerous and become more apparent as we reach out to others, only to discover that the worlds that the students inhabit are seemingly so inconsistent with ours.

A Religious Struggle

I have struggled for most of my life to qualify my religious belief. I was born and remain proud of my Jewish identity, celebrate many aspects of the culture and relish in the study of its history. Indeed I continue as always to be a strong and passionate supporter of Israel and Jewish Nationalism. While at times I have flirted with benign forms of atheism and deism such indulgence has never held me for too long as the reasonable arguments of theism have been too persuasive. Although I place much credence in science I reject the view espoused by Dawkins, Harris, Russell, Hitchens et al that belief in religion and logic is ultimately inconsistent with faith in a higher power. In fact I have had no problem entertaining both frameworks in my personal psyche.

My struggle though is at a deeper level and involves the step of consolidating my theistic belief with that of Judaism as a revealed religion. My attempts so far have not yielded the progress that I would have liked. Ultimately it seems I cannot accept the idea of revealed religion having any grounding at all. I am not convinced that many of the events described in the Torah (including the critical revelation at Sinai) even occurred and as a person of science I cannot give credence to miracles passed on from ancient times that seem to defy the established well documented Laws of Nature. I realize that there have been numerous arguments made through the ages to substantiate these miracles including a deference to a bygone ‘Age of Miracles’ but such reasoning seems to carry a ‘magic quality suffused with superstition ’ that is more akin to a primitive tribalism than to post-enlightenment reasoning. It is this hurdle that ultimately caused me to reject Orthodox Judaism and its emphasis on the 613 Commandments despite the fact that I have great respect for such organizations as Aish Hatorah and the various Lubavitch groups.

In short I don’t believe that their overall worldview, with its strict emphasis on both the written and Oral Torah as direct instruments from G-d, can be bought into the mix of the science-soft theism maxim that makes sense to me. A part of me wishes that it would as this seems to simplify life but I cannot lie to myself and believe what at the very end I cannot justify.

Olympic Games - Some Observations

The Olympic Games are over and only the most die-hard naysayer would admit that they were unsuccessful. What follows is a list of eight personal observations and my respective opinions for most of them.

1. The Jamaican 100m and 200m running select are the best ever. Usain Bolt is the undisputed king of the sprint and Yohan Blake is clearly one for the future (expect him to regularly pip Bolt in the next 2-3 years) and take over the athletic mantle at Rio. The Americans performed admirably but will have to wait for this tide of Jamaican runners to wash through before they can exert themselves as the primary sprinting power. Both Justin Gaitlin and Tyson Gay are currently grabbing at straws in these events.

2. The US can console themselves with an excellent Olympic performance. The American medal haul of 46 Gold, 29 Silver and 29 Bronze meant that they finished first in all three categories. They won the Lion’s Share of the medals in Athletics (29) and Swimming (31) and continued to show strength across the board (taking medals in Judo, Shooting, Soccer, Volleyball, Water Polo, Rowing, Basketball and Tennis etc). One area of weakness though is boxing where the Americans (who once dominated this sport) are now at the periphery of the discipline. I suspect that the rise of MMA (which seems to have come at the expense of boxing) may have something to do with this outcome.

3. Brazil needs to up their performance if they want to duplicate the British success when they host in 2016 in Rio. Both the Men’s Soccer and Volleyball Teams literally blew Gold Medal opportunities that should have been theirs for the taking. Kudos to the Brazilian Women’s Volleyball for salvaging some pride by taking Gold in their final.

4. Olympic Soccer showed once again why it is a poor relative to both the World Cup and the European Championships. The Asian teams excelled in the Mens tourney and the Mexicans ground their way to the finals defeating a Brazilian team that lacked heart. The Women’s competition was far more enjoyable with Canada being robbed by some awful officiating from a rightful place in the final that might have led to a Gold Medal for my country. In any event the American team should be congratulated for successfully tilting the balance of power in Female Soccer in their favour.

5. The Biggest Winners of this tournament was team GB who put behind them a series of historically inept British Olympic performances to take home 29 Gold and 65 medals altogether. The Brits finished 3rd in the first category and 4th in the secondary well ahead of the Germans and French. Performances in Cycling and Rowing were especially noteworthy but like the US and China for that matter the Brits showed much promise in spreading their medal haul across a variety of disciplines. A special mention must be made of the success of Track and Field Stars Jessica Ennis and Mo Farrah as well as cyclists Victoria Pendelton and Chris Hoy. I doubt whether the British medal success will continue in Rio but its certainly something to aim for.

6. The Kenyans had disappointing running results. The East Africans were hoping for seven or so Gold medals in London 2012 but had to settle for two instead. Nevertheless the 800mk world record set by David Rudisha (somebody finally cracked the 1 minute 41 second mark) was one of the game’s highlights. It was also neat to see a Botswana athlete pick up a silver in this event.

7. Other nations who disappointed in this Olympics included: Turkey (5 Medals), Canada (17 Medals but only 1 Gold), Morocco (1 Bronze), Greece (2 Bronze medals – didn’t they invent the Olympics? Cheez….), Portugal (1 Medal), Egypt (2 Medals), India (6 Medals for 1.2 + billion people – none of the medals were Gold), Indonesia (2 medals for 200 + million people), Belgium (3 medals – none Gold), Bulgaria (2 medals – none Gold – weren’t they once a Weightlifting powerhouse?), Argentina (4 Medals – only 1 Gold), Venezuela (1 Gold), Pakistan and Israel (no medals).

8. Some of countries that performed at a very high level included: South Korea (13 Gold and 28 Medals overall – the South Koreans finished fifth on the Gold Medal count ahead of Germany, France, Italy and most importantly for them – Japan), New Zealand (6 Gold Medals – 13 Medals altogether), Jamaica (12 Medals – four Gold all in the prestigious sprint events), Kazakhstan (13 medals of which 7 were Gold – they tied Japan for Gold) and North Korea (4 Gold).

The US Civil War

The US Civil War was a terrible but fascinating time in American History. Here are some important facts concerning the war.

1. It was the bloodiest war in American history. 620,000 people died or 2% of the population.


2. Eleven states withdrew from the Union to form the confederacy. They were:

South Carolina (first to secede), Mississipi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas - first round - followed by Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina.

3. First Battle of the War - Attack on Fort Sumter (April 1861)

4. Strength of the Union forces: 2.1 million. Strength of the Confederacy troops: 1.1 milion.

5. Number of Union dead: 360,000. Number of Confederacy dead: 260,000. On both sides about a third of these deaths were a direct result of KIA (Killed in Action).

6. Key Union Generals: Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, George Meade, Winfield Scott, Joseph Hooker, George McClellan, John Pope, William Rosecrans and Ambrose Burnside.

7. Length of the War - Almost 4 Years - April 12, 1861 - April 9, 1865.

8. Last battle - Battle of Palmito Ranch was actually fought after the war ended in May 1865.

9. States loyal to the Union: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachussets, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.

Nevada and West Virginia also joined the Union.

10. Territories on the Union side included: Colorado, Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mesxico, Utah and Washington.

11. Major Confederate Battle Wins: Chickamauga, Chancellorsville, First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), Fredericksburg, Second Battle of Bull Run (Virginia).

12. Inconclusive Battles: Spotsylvania, Antietam and Wilderness.

13. Major Union Battle Wins: Gettysburg, Stones River, Shiloh, Vicksburg and Fort Donelson.

14. Three Battles with the biggest number of casulaties: Gettysburg (51,112), Chickamauga (34,624) and Chancellorsville(30,099).

15. State where the most number of battles were fought: Virginia

16. Place where the South surrended (under Robert E. Lee) - Appomattox Courthouse (1865)

17. Key Generals of the Confederacy: Robert E.Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Braxton Bragg. James Longstreet, John Hood, John Pemberton and Pierre Beauregard.

18. At the Battle of Shiloh - more Americans fell than in all previous wars combined.

19. Over 3500 Native Americans fought in the war for the Union. Just less than a third were killed.

20. Disease killed twice as many men as did actually battle wounds.

21. The US Congress issued the first ever paper currency - Greenbacks.

22. African Americans made up 1% of the northern population but supplied 10% of the Union's troops

In the News LXIX

Romney picks a Running Mate
Paul Ryan is young, vibrant and conservative (paricularly on the Fiscal side of the equation). He is not the more ethnic candidate that Jonah Goldberg was hoping for but he is streets above Sarah Palin and will more than give the former Massachussets governor a boost amongst the core Republican constituency. Needless to say the usual suspects will be out to break the new VP candidate. Meanwhile in taking a leaf from George Bush Senior Obama gets creative with his criticism of the Republican ticket.

Final Curtain for 2012 Olympics
The 2012 Olympics, which in my opinion were the best ever with respect to overall atmosphere, opening and closing ceremonies, doping problems and athlete performance, ended yesterday. Again Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt wooed the crowd but the highlight of the competition were the performances of team GB and the recapture of the #1 medal spot by the USA. This is a wonderful boost for the English speaking nations.

Boris Johnson shines again
As a fan of Boris Johnson I am delighted that the Olympics have helped his rising star. If he can reduce the gaffe count its possible that he may emerge as a future British PM. Only time will tell.as far as Londoners are concerned those he is at least an order of magnitude better than uber-leftist and radical Islam appeaser Ken Livingstone.

Gore Vidal and Alexander Cockburn are both dead
I can't say that I am upset by the passing of these two anti-Israel zealots. I never liked Vidal's vitriol (which bordered on the anti-semitic) and his disdain for the great American institutions was loathsome.As a writer he was overrated. Cockburn was less of a name but equally as quick to tarnish the American brand (the country that adopted him - talk about biting the hand that feeds you). He was unapologetic in his support for leftist terror and like Chomsky, Pilger and Cole did much to put a positive spin on the Islamist threat to the West.

A real tragedy - Earthquake in Iran

Evil incarnate Mohammed Ahmadinejad and his gang of thugs that run the exceutive n Iran were criticized for their poor handling of the Iranian earthquake disaster. Maybe if he focused less attention on the Jews (his obvious obsession) Ahmadinejad could actually do something productive like care for the well being of his people.

US Economy still in the doldrums four years later despite the message from liberal spin doctors

Having come close to virtually bankrupting the Treasury Department and saddling futuire generations with the greatest debt in economic history, Barack Obama and his 'brain' trust will have to work overtime to sell the American public on the sucess of his clearly flawed  Neo-Keynesian Economics policies. However with a compliant mainstream media, taking cues from the New York Times and such windbags as Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz  he may just pull it off. So much for facts. Romney really needs to go for the jugular here.Some indications are that he already has.

Yes I know that both Stiglitz and Krugman are Nobel Prize winners in Economics but lets face it Economics is not a real science and together with  Literature and Peace the contrived Economics Prize is an overhyped  award that is most ofteb driven by politics than merit.

The real Nobel Prizes are Physics, Chemistry and Medicine (Biology).

Two Books I have just read

I have just finished two books (at any point in time I am always reading three or four books – I can’t stand the tedium of one book unless it is unusually exceptional – which they rarely are).


Jewcentricity by Adam Garfinkle is a worthwhile read as it attempts to answer the question – Why does it appear as those the Jews (for better or for worse) are at the centre of everything? Or to put it another way: Why is the world so obsessed with Jews? He looks at both the antisemitic and philosemitic trends throughout history and provides some useful insight especially into the latter (using a historical chronology that I am always partial to). I found the first part of the book refreshing but the second portion dealing with Jewish centric issues in the US and the Islamic World has been better handled by others. Dennis Prager, Alan Dershowitz and George Jonas to name but three.

Garfinkle is too forgiving of the anti-Judaism of George Soros and says virtually nothing about the way Jewcentricity in the most negative sense has infiltrated the campus dialogue. He also downplays the role of the Jewish gift of ethical monotheism (arguably one of the most critical developments in philosophy) and its tremendous impact on Western Civilization while virtually sidelining the vast Jewish role in the sciences (and academics as a whole) to a cynical and childish swipe at those Jews who too often bring this up. His arrogance (as an armchair intellectual) is both unnecessary and uncalled for.

Jews have a right to be proud of their achievements as they have batted way above average on many fronts – science, education, philosophy and ethics - and we as Jews should not have to apologize for it nor should we forget it. The world is a far better place because of Judaism and the Jewish contribution to the historical narrative. Jews have every right to feel proud of such a success. Garfinkle's tragedy is that he has allowed his internationalism to forget that. One cannot help but notice that his argument (which I don't believe was his intention) is closely linked to the same relativistic cods wobble (and post-modern nihilism) that Obama and co. follow when conveniently dissing American exceptionalism. Garfinkle should have explored in depth the interrelationship between Jewish philosophy and achievement before commenting on this issue. He did not, and clearly leaves the reader disappointed and devoid of a more thoughtful discussion.

While Garfinkle’s conclusion that both Jews and non-Jews need to ‘relax’ and lessen their focus on Jewish importance in the global sphere is appealing it also sparks of a simplicity and indeed a luxury that belies the safe and secure position that Garfinkle enjoys as a very fortunate American Jew. In short Garfinkle fails to emerge from his localized milieu and his book reflects this. While I would urge a read there are clearly far better works on the subject.
Ranking: 6.5/10

Thinking with your Soul by Richard Wolman deals with the fascinating topic of spiritual intelligence (something that has been on radar very much as of late). Wolman has created a test to identify seven aspects of spirituality (Psychomatrix Spirituality Inventory - PSI). The aspects are described below on his website:

· Mindfulness - attention to bodily processes such as conscious eating, regular meditation, and exercises such as Yoga or Tai Chi.

· Intellectuality - a commitment to reading and discussing spiritual material and sacred texts.

· Divinity - a sense of divine source of energy, Higher Being or awesome wonder of natural phenomena.

· Childhood Spirituality - explores the spiritual experiences of youth, including attendance at religious services or being read to by parents from sacred texts.

· Extra Sensory Phenomenon - experiences that pertain to "sixth sense" or the paranormal.

· Community - social activities including PTO or work of a charitable nature.

· Trauma - crisis oriented stimulus to spirituality such as illness in self or others or the death of a loved one.


Source: http://www.psychomatrix.com/inventory.php


I personally scored well above average on six of these seven psychometrics (which I expected as spirituality is central to my life however on mindfulness I was only average..so much for more scientific scepticism). Wolman’s breakdown has much promise. I am particularly interested in the nexus around Divinity, Childhood Spirituality and Intellectuality but his follow through when further analyzing how each of these attributes can be more rigorously quantified lacks real rigour. Wolman is full of apologies and seems to realize this truism but does not provide a plan as to how he will attempt to deal with this shortfall. Part of his problem is that Wolman is too wedded to the appealing but empirically poor model of multi-intelligence that  Howard Gardiner advocates (the model is more an exercise in feel good psychology than anything else). He needs to step up and become his own man, unafraid of the niceties of political correctness and solid in his own defence as his ideas are to valuable to be compromised by the wishy-washy anything goes mantra that his book quickly devolves into.
Ranking: 6/10

Olympic Medals - A Realistic Approach

Ever since I began following the Olympic Games in earnest – the boycotted 1980 Moscow Spectacle – I have always wondered why the games have not adapted a more realistic evaluation criteria to compare the medal performances for the different countries. Comparison by the number of medals won makes no sense as Gold is clearly a higher achievement than silver which of course is greater than Gold. Listing by Gold medals won distorts the table and virtually negates all other medal accomplishments. Clearly a better system is needed. One that is simple apply but at the same time yields data that is worthy of comparison. So here it is: The Worldoreason Medal Analysis

Criteria – 3 Points for a Gold  - 2 Points for a Silver - 1 Point for a Bronze

Based on these parameters here are the scores for the top 10 countries as of August 6th 2012.

1. China – 145 (kudos to the Chinese for continuing their Beijing trend)

2. US – 136 (need to up their haul in Track and Field - and diversify a bit more)

3. GBR – 87 (the true stars of the games...incredible)

4. Russia - 73 (how the mighty have fallen)

5. France – 51 (about where they should be..)

6. S. Korea – 49 (excellent...must love the fact that they are ahead of Japan)

7. Japan - 44 (need more Golds. Strong in silver and bronze)

8. Germany – 42 (Disappointing if you consider historical performances)

9. Australia – 38 (Have crashed down to Earth...Population game has caught up with Aussies)

10. Italy – 37 (Could up it a bit..but are on target)

Where does my home country of Canada fit on this list.- Answer 20th - behind Kazakhstan, Hungary, Belarus and Denmark.

Early thoughts on a political evolution

I have always been a political junkie. Some would say it’s a passion others a misfortune. In retrospect is a combination of many streams that have defined my life so far. However at the very core I believe that it is ultimately an extension of my true intellectual disposition toward history, as politics is in a sense the footprint of history played out in the present.

My early childhood was spent in the South African city of Pretoria – the executive capital of South Africa. Pretoria is a fairly attractive locale that is nestled in a valley. The city is known for its jacaranda trees, its attractive residential areas, parks and laser straight main streets that offer urban area a sense of order that sees it as the Jekyll to the ‘Hyde’like status of Johannesburg (the sister city that resides less than fifty kilometres to the south). Pretoria is also South Africa’s executive capital (the Government offices are located in the Union Buildings) and was during the apartheid years the brain trust for these hideous policies. Today it serves, virtually in the same offices, the ruling elite of the governing African National Congress (ANC).

Not a business city, port or vacationing hot spot (those accolades go to Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town respectively), Pretoria by its very nature has been at the centrality of South African politics. Growing up in the city it was not uncommon to run into diplomats and their families and in my schooling I did so on many occasions. This gave Pretoria a slightly international and highly welcoming flavour that contrasted sharply with the provincial numbness of is bureaucracy that continues to rubber stamp in drone like fashion the agenda of the ‘apparatchiks’ of the relevant statism.

 It was in this contrast that I believe my political consciousness was born. I welcomed the internationalism but in doing so invariably grew to detest the bureaucracy, which seemed to loom as a joy kill over all that was human with Kafkaesque intent. One could argue that my early appreciation for small government emerged from this reality.