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Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

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I recently watched a video with Shaolin Master Shi Heng Yi, in the interview he said that there is no democracy in the temple between student and master. The master is in charge and the student is there to learn from him.

Society here in the West could certainly benefit from adapting this model and returning to the idea of the adults being in charge. The ‘students’ have been allowed to take over, the ‘masters’ have relinquished responsibility, and political correctness has mutated into ‘Equality, Diversity and Inclusion’.

However, in the striving for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, some simple facts have been forgotten, like the fact that people are not equal, in many different ways. People, also, naturally gravitate towards the groups or cultures they identify with, their tribe, so to speak, and not everyone wants to be included. As the late, great Groucho Marx said ‘I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member’, a sentiment I share.

Men, on average, are physically stronger than women, some people are academically gifted, others talented with their hands, some people are great dancers and singers, others are tone deaf with two left feet. Now, just supposing you could equalise people on, say, intelligence, how could that be achieved? You cannot make someone smarter than they are so would everyone have to be lobotomised to the lowest level of intelligence. And what intelligence would it apply to, academic, spatial, emotional? Some estimate that there are between 8 and 12 types of intelligence. How could you possibly equalise that and, let’s be honest about it, the powers that be do not want a population that is too intelligent which explains why they are continually dumbing down the education system.

It is the differences that make people interesting which is the beautiful thing about humanity. And who said everyone should be treated equally anyway? You would not treat a four year old the way you would treat a teenager, or a pensioner, although, I have heard many a teenager and pensioner spoken to as if they were four years old.

Equality is a nice idea, but it doesn’t work in reality. I used to believe in equality of opportunity but I’m even re-thinking my belief in that because sometimes not having the opportunity is the very driver that motivates people to achieve. I do believe that the basics of life, like access to food, water and shelter are a must, and there is no excuse for children being deprived of those basics in any country in the world now. Although, on the positive side, world poverty has declined by a massive 85% since the 1980’s so we are moving in the right direction. This is partly due to the industrialisation of eastern and some African countries as companies and corporations moved their manufacturing to lower waged economies and which has, in turn, fuelled the decline of the west. Hopefully, in the not too distant future we will be able to develop a more balanced system so that a gains for some does not mean losses for someone else.

However, in pursuing the equality agenda, I do look forward to all those ‘traditional’ roles being equalised and diversified, where men are represented in social work and nursing in proportion to their numbers in the population, and women the same on the building site or the coal mines. Or even the suicide figures, a step too far, maybe, but considering just how miserable they are making life at present, they are certainly driving those figures up for everyone. Helped again by the useful idiots in the media and the ‘wokies’ (social justice warriors/neo-liberal fascists, whatever you wish to call them) and their relentless whining and doom-mongering.

In the West, we have raised a generation with an overblown sense of their own importance and a belief in their entitlement to ‘have it all’. They demand equality and inclusion without having done anything to earn it. This year at Wimbledon, one of the lower-ranked, female tennis players (I think she was ranked 17th) was complaining about not getting as many complimentary passes as Novak Djokovic. Novak is a seven times Wimbledon champion with 23 titles in total to his name. The number of passes he receives reflects his expertise and status as a great tennis champion, and how he can draw the crowds. He has earned them.

However, the most high profile example of the overly entitled, self-righteous, pontificating, spoilt whingers has to go to none other than Emma Watson who played the character of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films. Emma has been one of the most vocal critics of JK Rowling for her views on ‘transgenderism’ (which I agree with btw, JK that is, not Emma) and was the main instigator in ensuring JK was not invited to the 20 year anniversary of the first Harry Potter movie. Thanks to JK, Emma Watson starred in one of the biggest and most successful movie franchises in the last 20 years, and catapulted Emma into fame and a considerable fortune. But is Emma the least bit grateful? Not at all, just like the character she played, who Professor Snape called, ‘an insufferable know it all!’ Emma in her egotistical desire for attention and self-righteous, virtue signalling has become confused between reality and the character she played, and ‘thinks’ she knows it all!

Sadly, Daniel Radcliffe seems to have gone down the same road. I look forward to them coming back, when/if they ever grow up, and apologising to JK for their arrogance but I won’t hold my breath. If Emma and Daniel are really so offended by what JK has said, why don’t they give back all the money they made from the Harry Potter movies, or give it to all those worthy causes they support? But I won’t hold my breath on that one either.

As for diversity, how is that to be achieved, is every organisation to have a representative percentage of the ethnic/religious breakdown of the population on their staff regardless of ability or qualification? And if that was actually achieved, would that be enough to satisfy the whingers, or would they then move on to our private lives and demand we all have a selection of friends from different ethnic/cultural/religious backgrounds to prove we’re not racist/misogynist/misandrist etc. Although, I don’t know if ‘misandrist’ would apply since men are the group who are most under attack, and white men, in particular.

How is it right to just lump people into their ethnic group and assume they all share the same abilities and beliefs? Isn’t that a bit racist or culturist or whatever fake offensive ‘ist’ they can make up because these are all fake issues. These so-called battles for ED&I, have already been fought and won back in the 1960/70’s, the legislation is in place and is regularly updated, it’s called the Equality Act (2010).

The main focus at present is around ‘trans’ rights and, as I said before, they have the same rights as everyone else. And like a bunch of parasitical Pharisees looking for a cause to attach themselves to, in order make themselves appear ‘liberal and progressive’, we have none other than Irelands most hypocritical reformed tarts, Sinn Fein, now calling for puberty blockers to be given to children as part of ‘normal’ health care. Just in case anyone doesn’t know what Puberty Blockers do, they will sterilise anyone who takes them. (See article below, if you read the whole article you will also see how cowardly the rest of the politicos were in calling out the insanity)

It isn’t that long ago that the West were condemning Africa for allowing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and now we are lining up our minor children for castration and sterilisation. You can’t legally buy alcohol or get a tattoo under 18 years of age but you can be sterilised or castrated. This is where we are now! And where did this idea even come from? Was someone sitting in a lab one day and thought, ‘Gee, I’ve just had an idea, let’s make a tablet that stops children going into puberty’. Now who would want that to stop children developing adult bodies? Is it part of some collective Western Peter Pan complex, or is it more insidious and part of trying to normalise paedophilia as an acceptable ‘sexual preference’, as demonstrated by the name change to Minor Attracted Persons.

The West, unlike the East, no longer values or respects age and wisdom. You only have to look at how we treat our elderly to see that. We also used to protect our children and it’s not that long ago that it would have been considered insane to allow children to make decisions around life-changing and irreversible surgeries that are too often regretted in adulthood. (see below article on trans surgery.)

Being confused as a teenager is par for the course, you are transitioning out of childhood and into adulthood with the added bonus of raging hormones, and it is normal to be confused. There is a high percentage of autistic children in the ‘trans’ community and 80% are gay. (I know two and they are both high on the autistic scale). Autism is challenging at the best of times and certainly not helped by modern pressures and the toxic mix that social media can be.

The medical profession has profoundly damaged the public’s trust in them, in the last three years, and their willingness to go along with this this is further evidence of their moral corruption. Where are the adults and where has courage and common sense gone?

Dr Jordan Peterson is renowned for speaking up in defence of men and has advocated for people to take responsibility for themselves and their lives. He is one of the most interesting and intelligent modern day thinkers in the West but the lefty loons, and the media minions, continually insult him as right wing and anti-feminist, and go off like a pack of rabid dogs on anyone who does not agree with their ‘narrative’.  Intelligent debate is becoming almost non-existent and freedom of speech, a distant memory. But there are no concerns about ED&I when it comes to those who disagree with the narrative, try to call out the insanity, or point out the blindingly obvious, that men cannot become women or vice versa. It seems that everyone is equal but some are more equal than others. Hmm…where did I hear that before?

I was never homophobic or had any problem with anyone who was ‘trans’. As a child I enjoyed watching Danny LaRue on the telly, although he was a called female impersonator back then. We all loved Dr Frank N Furter, the sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania, from the Rocky Horror Picture Show and I even have Sylvester’s album, Step Two.  I remember when ‘trans’ seemed exotic, different and fun. Yes, fun, a concept that appears to have died a death in the relentless march of the po-faced self-righteous and their dictatorial edicts. And I don’t care what consenting adults do in the privacy of their intimate relationships, it’s no one else’s business. Another concept that seems to have been forgotten, privacy!

I, like many others, am sick of hearing about all this and the never-ending whining and doom mongering, as evidenced by the viewing figures for mainstream media dropping off a cliff. It’s getting so bad even the gay community is coming out against being lumped in with the insanity.  And far from winning support, all it is doing is creating bigger and deeper divisions, and turning people against their causes. And I don’t care how vociferous the crowd becomes, or how loud they shout, or who is offended, I will never agree that castrating teenage boys or cutting the breasts off teenage girls and removing their wombs and ovaries is morally right.  

There’s an old saying ‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions’ and that was never more relevant than it is now. I seriously wonder just how well-intentioned the fomenters of all these movements are and what outcome they are aiming for. We would do well to remember how Jimmy Saville hid his perversions and paedophilia behind the mask of charitable ‘good works’. And let’s not forget the fraud that was perpetrated on the population under the disguise of the ‘greater good’, in the last three years, and now excess mortality is at almost 15 million across the world. (see link below, Dr John Campbell).

This insanity all began back in the 1990’s with political correctness but as the late George Carlin said ‘Political correctness is just fascism masquerading as manners’. It really is time for the adults to step up and take back control before this nonsense destroys the mental & physical health of an entire generation, as if they hadn’t enough to deal with in the last few years. (see link below)

And just to end on a positive note, if you’re feeling worn down by it all and in need of a good laugh, I strongly recommend checking out that most irreverent and politically incorrect cartoon of all, South Park, as an antidote to all the misery and a reminder of what it was like to laugh and you could take the p*ss out of someone without being censored, hounded or arrested for ‘hate’ speech.

9 Types of Intelligence (And How to Know Your Type) - LifeHack

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/other/puberty-blockers-sinn-fein-calls-for-a-guarantee-in-law-that-trans-drugs-can-be-given-to-children/ar-AA1eKaLx#:~:text=Ms%20Sheerin%20confirmed%20that%20it%20“needs%20to%20be,the%20south%2C”%20the%20party%20said%20in%20a%20statement.

Massive Increase in Euthanasia Referrals for Transgenders (shiftfrequency.com)

European excess deaths - YouTube

Damage to children’s mental health caused by Covid crisis could last for years without a large-scale increase for children’s mental health services | Children's Commissioner for England (childrenscommissioner.gov.uk)

British Police Arrest At Least 3,395 People for 'Offensive' Online Comments in One Year (breitbart.com)

TRY NOT TO LAUGH - South Park (FUNNIEST MOMENTS 2023) - YouTube


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Illuminat, Evil and Enlightenment

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Friday, 25 Aug 2023, 09:10

You can’t go online and research anything without coming across the ‘illuminati’.  Apparently, these are the elite who really run the world (and you can see just what a great job they’re doing!), they rope in all the top celebrities and are soooo evil because they believe in and worship the devil!!!  Wooooh! Scary stuff!

They’re supposed to be interconnected with the Freemasons and a load of other secret societies who, allegedly, possess old ‘knowledge’ or ‘magic’. They share symbols (pentagons, all seeing eyes etc) and you go through a ceremony or initiation when you join. Miley Cyrus is supposed to be one, and that would be enough to ensure it’s a club that I, and I’m sure many others, would never want to join!

I have actively avoided mentioning any of this up until now because I think it is all just another load of old crap, designed to distract and divide us, while the mega-rich continue to plunder the world’s resources for themselves.

Now if you want to run around with your trousers up over your knees, give secret handshakes (like a bunch of schoolboys), cover one of your eyes in photos and make hand gestures to signify your loyalty to Satan, then you really need to take a long hard look at yourself and grow up. Just writing that shows how absurd and rather pathetic it all is, ‘Oh, look at us! We’re Satanists, how evil are we?!’

If you look at it logically, if you believe in the devil, then you have to believe in God, I mean, you cannot have the ultimate evil without the ultimate good, it goes against the laws of physics. And I know whose side I would want to be on.

In the Navajo tradition, they believe that man is bad and has to learn to be good, a bit like the old Catholic teaching on original sin but not as fascist. I don’t think the Navajo would have excluded a child from the family burial plot because someone hadn’t poured water on its head and said some ‘magic’ words. The more you break this stuff down, the more ridiculous it all appears.  How could competent and intelligent people have been persuaded to believe this?! Then again, look around!

There was a time when I believed that man was inherently good but the events of this last year have made me reassess that belief. When you look at it logically, again, we have to learn to be, not only good, but to be human/humane. As M. Scott Peak pointed out in The Road Less Travelled series, it is natural to defecate in your pants, but you learn to control it, just as you can learn how to behave and control your emotions and actions.

There are several well known cases of children brought up with animals who adopted the behaviour of the animals. Psychology will also tell you that if language and a host of other ‘human’ behaviours have not been acquired by the age of 7, then the chances of acquiring them after that become slim. It would appear therefore, that there are no inherent instincts or behaviours that make us human and our ‘humanity’ is something that has to be learned. We are animals, whether we like to believe it or not; I was going to say animals with manners, but I don’t think our manners are as good as many other animal species (eg: elephants).  In the face of that, I think we need to show a lot more humility, and a lot less arrogance, about who we think we are and what we know.

M Scott Peck in People of the Lie pointed to laziness as the source of underlying evil in humanity. Being good requires effort, being evil requires no effort at all. Consciousness is that effort and begins early in humans, anyone who has children will remember the three year old who asked why, why, why? We also learn what we are allowed to question and what we are not. If you live in a society where you are forbidden from challenging or asking questions about that society and/or the belief systems you live under, you never develop beyond the psychological boundaries of childhood and mature into full adult consciousness. You remain passive and obedient, mindlessly accepting and believing everything you’ve been told or, at least, pretending to.

Ireland has had one of the hardest lockdowns in the world over the ‘pandemic’ and has been one of the least vocal in speaking out against it and the restrictions. The consciousness of the majority of the population remains undeveloped and immature. Centuries of British rule and the autocracy of the Catholic Church have created a passive and cowardly population. Here in the north, there is an additional factor to that submissiveness.  On the nationalist side, many people still fear Sinn Fein and what they, or their cohorts, might do if they go up against them. The silence against lockdown has been deafening on the nationalist side, a side many would have thought would have been the first to object to having their freedom taken away. But it’s amazing what the Council for Foreign Relations (aka CIA) can buy for €4.6m (Political principles, Ms McDonald?  That’ll do nicely, Mr Haass.) See link below.

There have been several voices of dissent on the Unionist/Protestant side (Sammy Wilson, Van Morrison) which, when you look at history, comes as no surprise. The first ‘Irish rebels’ were Presbyterians, going back to Wolfe Tone in 1798 and, in the Easter Rising, there were many from the Presbyterian tradition initially involved in the fight for freedom and equality. It was only afterwards, on the issue of Home Rule, that the divide opened up across religious grounds, leading to the political division of a mainly Protestant North and a Catholic South. These were the same tactics the British used to divide India from Pakistan and set Muslim against Hindu, and vice versa.

The false humility promoted by ‘Christianity’, along with nationalism/republicanism, has created a culture of victimhood and martyrdom. The nodding assent on display is the result of a population who are not used to thinking for themselves, or questioning authority, or rather the authorities who are supposed to be on their side. Religious, political and community leaders continue to exploit this victimhood mentality to maintain power and control over the masses. (A strategy not confined to Ireland and now being used by the manipulators behind the BLM movement). This is not to say that the Irish haven’t endured some horrific abuses over the centuries and there is a kind courage in bearing suffering that is beyond your control. But none at all, when it is fully within your control as a grown adult.

When it comes to being good or evil, I don’t care if you worship God or Satan.  I do however, believe that both those entities are the excuse many use for a lot of self-righteous hypocrisy and some extremely questionable behaviour. I believe the choice between good and evil is ours and our alone, but it does require consciousness, and that can only be fully achieved with the right support and advice growing up, and begins with observing, thinking and asking questions. People may be able to control your actions at times, and we may not always be allowed to openly question what we are being told, but the majority of us still have the capacity to think, even if we can’t always express those thoughts.

Some believe that we need religion to provide the moral framework for the development of a conscience and that, without religion, people would not be good at all and evil would flourish. I disagree; there are some religions/belief systems that are fairly benign, eg: Buddhism, but the evils committed under Christianity would do Hitler proud and are no guarantee that a person will act morally or from a place of consciousness.  Religion may tell us what to believe but consciousness makes us think.

When we think about evil, we think about the great evils of Stalin or Hitler who as I pointed out in previous posts, never actually killed anyone. As Scott Peck pointed out, there is another low level of evil, within all of us that we need to be aware of and recognise. We would consider breaking a child’s bones an evil act, but would we feel the same about a resentful and jealous parent breaking a child’s spirit? Or what about the overly involved parent, who gives their child everything, as a way of emotionally manipulating the child and sabotaging their autonomy?

Then there are the diabolical horrors committed by humans against each other when in a state of war, or in defence of an ideology. I’m only a couple of chapters into the Gulag Archipelago and I’m appalled to think about the minds that dreamt up the tortures detailed in it. It’s easy to think the perpetrators were psychotic, and I’m sure there were a few psychos among them, but they couldn’t all have been, or maybe the devil made them do it.

As Solzhenitsyn points out in Chapter 4, ‘If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil, cuts through the heart of every human being’.

He acknowledges the potential within himself to do what his tormentors are doing. He wonders how he would behave if his life had taken a different direction, and questions what makes decent men complicit within these types of situations. He concludes that it is because they believe they are doing good and, as the old saying goes, ‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions’.

The corruption on display around the world by those in power today could make one think that maybe they are minions of Satan and Old Nick, himself, is running the show. But I’m not convinced.  They say the devil makes work for idle hands but I think it is the weak minded who are most easily led towards corruption.

I don’t know if the Illuminati are a real thing or are just a few deluded celebrities desperately trying to give themselves some ‘street cred’. Illuminati means enlightened and if they really are seeking enlightenment, then they will have difficulty finding it in the vileness that Satan represents. As Jordan Peterson says, ‘truth is the path to true enlightenment’ and truth is the very antithesis of the devil, aka, the Father of Lies. 

The population, at present, are being lied to on a grand scale. The powers behind the lies have been doing this for decades and are well practised in making a lie appear as truth, and the truth, a lie. They use censorship and propaganda to confuse and misdirect us, and people have been manipulated into believing they are doing good by wearing masks, social-distancing and taking ‘vaccines’, without any real scientific truth being presented to validate those claims . Debates rage in families and online regarding the efficacy of these measures and keep us divided and distracted, again.

The only defence against a lie is to consciously seek the truth and be authentic, and that begins with us and us alone. We have within us the power to do good or evil, and recognising and acknowledging our capacity for evil, as well as good, is the first step towards consciousness, and that requires honesty and effort. As we try to navigate our way through the web of lies and deceit that has been created as part of this ‘crisis’, remember the words of Edmund Burke, ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing’, so think on.

Apologies forgot to add in the links:

https://theirishsentinel.com/2021/03/20/sinn-feins-deal-with-the-devil-e4-6-million-was-just-the-start/

https://rense.com/general81/miley.htm


Permalink 5 comments (latest comment by Aideen Devine, Monday, 7 Jun 2021, 21:19)
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Tyrants

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Thursday, 1 Sep 2022, 12:58

So, what did I do in my six weeks of off? Well, I read the entire Harry Potter series, and very enjoyable they were too. I didn’t want to read anything political or anything ‘real’ and I’ve carried on reading more fiction since. I’ve just finished the excellent Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith. It is about a serial killer and is set at the end of the Stalin era in Russia. It is based on the story of the real-life serial killer, Andrei Chikatilo who murdered 56 people in Russia in the 1980’s and 90’s. I’ve also ordered the two sequels, The Secret Speech and Agent 6.

There are some statistics at the back of the book relating to Russia under Stalin that are chilling. The two that stood out for me are; it is estimated that 14.5 million people died during this time (the proletariat whom communism was supposed to free) and they would even execute children as young as 12. Absolutely brutal!

If the detail in the book is anything like it really was, the levels of paranoia and fear, it must have been hell for the citizenry. I remember in Wild Swans how people were the same under Mao, paranoid and ready to sell out their family, friends and neighbours, and how in the blink of an eye you could fall out of favour with the authorities and the dangers that brought.  The frightening thing about this is when I look around me today, I see we have learned nothing. It would take very little to turn society into that again, we are halfway there already. I’ve seen and experienced first-hand in the last year, how people who I thought had a modicum of sense and intelligence, completely caved into the fear and propaganda. I have been ostracised by family members for not taking the virus ‘seriously’. (What was I supposed to do, invite it around for dinner and talk to it?!) And the ‘covid cult’ has caused divisions that debates about Trump, global-warming and Brexit never even came close to.

I have also refused to wear a mask, (I will not be complicit in my own enslavement) something which pisses some people off. I think part of it is because it highlights their own cowardice - they don’t want to wear it but haven’t the nerve to go out without it. I tell people now I have a rare condition, it’s called CSIT, it stands for common sense and independent thinking, and believe me it’s a rare commodity around here, I just didn’t realise how rare!

The ‘covid cult’ also reminded me of the early days of the Troubles, especially Bloody Sunday, when a wave of collective insanity seemed to grip the population and which I’ve seen again this year. The change in society was palpable after Bloody Sunday, you could almost taste the anger and hate. Northern Ireland descended into darkness and fear, paranoia and brutality reigned, and every nut job with a grudge had an outlet in which to exercise it. There were also those who took advantage of the anger and the nut jobs, and used them for their own ends, financially and politically. The fear generated then still haunts NI, (they haven’t gone away you know) I see it when I post anything critical about Sinn Fein on Facebook, and it is collectively ignored.

People have remarked privately, that they thought I would be burned out or shot after my letters to the paper. I really didn’t care and knew they wouldn’t because what I have realised is that, underneath it all, Sinn Fein and the rest of them are just another bunch of cowards, who are just as corrupt as the rest and always were. If the last year has shown me anything, it is that all the ‘hard’ men around here are nothing more than a shower of gutless wonders. Pathetic!

Anyway, getting back to the books, I’m reading Carl Sagan’s Contact at the moment, (and hoping for a worm hole to open up to another galaxy!). I had started it before Lent but set it aside to read the Harry Potter’s. I will then get back to some of the heavier stuff which is starting to pile up. Next up is Solzhenitsyn’s, The Gulag Archipelago, for some real insights into life under Stalin and Nietzsche’s, Beyond Good and Evil.

It was good to take that time away from the world and switch off from all the hysteria and misery, especially when the government denies you the right to live your life. There’s another year gone which I’ll never get back. Man cannot live for work alone and neither can I.

The fear is also starting to recede and I can see people beginning to question themselves and their actions. The media are still doing their best to ramp it up, with all eyes on India, but with a bit of sunshine and people getting out and about again, the tensions are definitely easing.  Well done too, to all who turned out to march last week in London, it was great to see, especially for those of us living in the outer reaches with little or no support.

When you look back at history and read the literature, whether fictional or not, from the Roman Empire to the present day, you wonder why tyrants never learn and continue with their insane plans for world domination and human enslavement. Because, it doesn’t matter how successful they are initially, in the end, empires always fall and their leaders die, whether it’s Josef Stalin, Mao or Lord Voldemort. Could someone please tell the Rothschilds/ Rockefellers, George Soros , Henry Kissinger, Klaus Schwab, Bill Gates, the Democrats, the Zionists and Xi Jinping? It could save us all a lot of time and trouble, and spare us a lot of pain and misery.

Enslavement is not sustainable in the long term, not matter how brutal they make it. Eventually, some people tire of it and decide to fight back for freedom, to die on their feet rather than live on their knees. What is the point of a life, if you cannot live it as a free human being, especially when none of us are going to be here very long anyway!

The one factor that could have stopped Mao and Stalin was the people, if people had not complied with the orders and stood together, they could have done nothing. Because there are always more of us, than there are of them.

I watched a lecture of Dr Jordan Peterson’s recently where he talked about what a miracle it was that we existed, and how many pairs of males and females it took to successfully mate and produce a healthy child over thousands of millennium for us to be here now. Our ancestors in Europe have lived through the rise and fall of many empires, the Black Death, the Inquisition, famine, starvation, invasions and wars, and here we are cringing in fear with our face nappies, over a flu that has a 99.97% recovery rate. Just think about that for a moment then, grow a pair, take that rag off your face and man up, ffs!  

Vivir con miedo es como vivir a medias!

 


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Courses, books & movies

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Friday, 25 Aug 2023, 09:07

My brain has been itching for something to do recently so I tried out one of the OU's free online courses, Living Without Oil.  I had started it when I was off after my op (which I had forgotten) but I finished it this week.  It was interesting, at some point in the future humanity may have to live without oil and as we have lived without it for many more years than we have had it, I don't really think it will be a problem. Humans have shown themselves to be incredibly creative when needed and are great problem solvers.  The thing is, we could easily cut back our consumption if the will or necessity was there.  All houses could be insulated to a much higher standard than they are at present and there is always the option of ground source heat.  Public transport could easily be improved too with trams and trains.  I'm not losing any sleep over it, we'll adapt when the time comes, I'm sure.

I've now moved on to a Philosophy course, Faking Nature.  I have too much on this year to commit to formal study but I think I may have to do something after the summer, my brain needs it.

I've still been reading a lot too.  2 outstanding reads are; The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and Educated by Tara Westover.  They are both on similar themes, growing up in highly unstable environments, I would recommend reading The Glass Castle first.  You can also watch the movie of it on Netflix, I haven't checked it out yet so I can't comment on what it's like.  

Talking about movies, I ventured out to see the new Mary Poppins this week.  It started off well enough and was in keeping with the original but then it just went on and on, about 25 minutes too long and there was a bit at the end which didn't make sense.  Spoiler Alert!  They were racing to turn back the hands on Big Ben and then Mary Poppins flew up with her umbrella and did it.  I thought, 'well, why didn't you just do that to start with?'  And it's not that I don't enjoy a long movie, I'm actually sitting here at the moment watching one of my all-time favourites, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (today on Channel 5).  I actually have a limited edition Directors cut of this on video so when it's good, the longer the better!  

I've also just finished Jordan B Peterson's 12 Rules for Life, An Antidote to Chaos.  I only recently got to know about Jordan Peterson (again when I was off after the op) by watching videos on Youtube.  I am most definitely a fan and he has transformed my thinking and consequently, my life.  He is every man I wish I'd ever known, I wish there were more like him.  The book was a much more intelligent and spiritual read than I expected and I think listening to him has rekindled the desire in me to get back to study.  I'm now re-reading CJ Jung's Memories, Dreams and Reflections since Jung gets quite a few mentions in it.

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