Peter and I want to travel to Sydney next week to have a look at these Sculptures by the Sea.
Month: October 2016
“Good vs Evil”
Reducing Foreign Policy to Good vs Evil
Last year in March Dr. Stuart Bramhall published a Film Review by Adam Curtis (BBC).
At the moment I was mostly interest in what it said about Good vs Evil. I copy it here:
“Reducing Foreign Policy to Good vs Evil
Like Ronald Reagan, George W Bush attempted to reduce the US role in Afghanistan to a simple battle of good vs evil. The political reality was far more complex. US and Saudi intervention during the Soviet occupation brought corrupt warlords to power who supported their fiefdoms through Afghanistan’s heroin trade.
The Taliban, consisting mainly of Afghan orphans raised in Pakistani Madrassa, were primarily driven by a desire to end the heroin trade and this endemic corruption, which they (rightly) blamed on the interference of western imperialists in their country’s domestic affairs.”
A simple battle of good vs evil? Certainly not. I think it still has not become clear to us what is at spiel. It still is not simple, on the contrary, it seems to become more and more complicated. See here:
Brexit,Trump, Syria and the Fabricated War on Terror
I reblogged the avove!
Brexit,Trump, Syria and the Fabricated War on Terror
Adam Curtis Forced Hypernormalisation BBC
Directed by Adam Curtis
Film Review
Curtis, one of my favorite documentary makers, has a unique ability to conceptualize and describe the collective psychological conditioning the political elites subject us to – and the unintended consequences of their use of public relations (as opposed to diplomacy and statecraft) to retain power. In this fascinating documentary, he explores the link between the rise of Putin and Donald Trump, the Brexit vote in Britain and the fabricated War on Terror. He also explains Syria’s critical role in this process, dating back to Hafeez al-Asaad (1970-2000) and his dream of unifying the Arab world against western exploiting.
The Concept of Forced Hypernormalisation
According to Curtis, “forced hypernormalisation,” is a term coined by the Soviets to describe a psychological control technique in which politicians retain power by projecting a vastly oversimplified view of world. Curtis maintains that Ronald Reagan…
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Some more Pictures that I took yesterday
As I said I went for a little walk yesterday and took some pictures. Here I went along first:
The path led up to here:
Before I entered the path I had taken these pictures from a tree in a neighbour’s front yard:
The above path leads to Lakelands Park. More pictures of my walk in my next post.
All I had to do was place the form under his door, and then he would sign it for me.
This is what the Care Plan Sister had told me. So the General Practitioner did sign it for me when I went to the Medical Centre on Monday. The following day was my appointment with the podiatrist. An appointment with the podiatrist goes for thirty minutes. I asked, how much a session like this was worth. She said sixty-one Dollars. The Care Plan Sister had told me that I am entitled to five sessions per year. I do not have to pay for it at all. What a great saving this is for me! I love it.
I went for another walk this morning taking some more pictures.
Robert C. Koehler, Articles by this Author
http://www.commondreams.org/author/robert-c-koehler
| VIEWS Thursday, October 20, 2016 – 9:00am If Only We Could Vote for Peace Instead of a ‘Commander-in-Chief’ Maybe it’s the phrase — “commander in chief” — that best captures the transcendent absurdity and unaddressed horrors of the 2016 election season and the business as usual that will follow. I don’t want to elect anyone commander in chief: not the xenophobic misogynist and egomaniac, not the Henry… Read more |
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VIEWS Thursday, October 13, 2016 – 12:30pm Nuclear Standoff Values the size of Planet Earth are at stake, as the American presidential election grows ever smaller, ever pettier, ever more certain that rancor triumphs over relevance. Can you imagine, let us say, an issue the size of global nuclear disarmament emerging in this race, somewhere between the… Read more |
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VIEWS Thursday, October 6, 2016 – 8:30am The Politics of Fear “This politics of fear has actually delivered everything we were afraid of.” Well, OK, let’s think about these words of Jill Stein for a moment, as the 2016 presidential race enters, oh Lord, its final month — and the possibility still looms that this country could elect a hybrid of Benito… Read more |
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VIEWS Thursday, September 29, 2016 – 11:00am The Debate: They Both Bombed It Painful, stupid, trite . . . America! There was more than one loser in the big debate, but that’s no surprise. I hardly expected any issues of substance to get serious air time, let alone intelligent commentary, in Monday’s 90-minute presidential race spectacle, but something — something — matters… Read more |
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VIEWS Thursday, September 22, 2016 – 8:45am Stop the Killing Maybe half a million dead, half a country — 10 million people — displaced from their homes, jettisoned onto the mercy of the world. Welcome to war. Welcome to Syria. This is a conflict apparently too complex to understand. The U.S. brokered a ceasefire with Russia, then proceeded to lead a bombing… Read more |
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VIEWS Thursday, September 15, 2016 – 9:30am The Future Cries Out: ‘Water Is Life’ The dogs growl, the pepper spray bites, the bulldozers tear up the soil. “ Water is life !” they cry. “Water is life!” This isn’t Flint, Michigan, but I feel the presence of its suffering in this cry of outrage at the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota. No more, no more. You will not poison… Read more |
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VIEWS Thursday, September 8, 2016 – 8:45am War vs. Democracy The paradox of democracy is that it depends on the integrity of those who have the most to lose if an election goes the wrong way — you know, the people in power. That’s a particularly thorny dilemma when the “fourth estate” — the speakers of truth to power, the public’s counterforce against… Read more |
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VIEWS Thursday, September 1, 2016 – 10:15am Reflections on the Anthropocene “However these debates will unfold, the Anthropocene represents a new phase in the history of both humankind and of the Earth, when natural forces and human forces became intertwined, so that the fate of one determines the fate of the other. Geologically, this is a remarkable episode in the history… Read more |
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VIEWS Thursday, August 25, 2016 – 8:15am The Heart of Order He’d left the water running, flooding neighbors’ apartments. He’d been running around outside naked. By the time police arrived, he was standing in the window of his fourth-floor apartment on Farwell Avenue — a few blocks from where I live in the diverse, unpredictable Chicago neighborhood called… Read more |
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VIEWS Thursday, August 18, 2016 – 8:30am Beyond Winning and Losing It’s the smallest thing in the world. Does the tennis ball land inside the line or outside? But somehow, as I watched this 60-second YouTube clip of an Australian tennis match last January, and heard an explosion of joyous approval surge from the crowd, I could feel the planet shift. Or at least it… Read more |
To Build the Political Revolution, Grassroots Group Endorses 22 “People’s Candidates”
Offering hope to those who feel “dispirited” by the presidential contest, the grassroots political organization People’s Action on Tuesday released its list of 22 down-ballot endorsements for the 2016 election.”These candidates come from out of the justice movement in America—some as leaders within our own organizations,” said LeeAnn Hall, co-executive director of People’s Action.
Source: To Build the Political Revolution, Grassroots Group Endorses 22 “People’s Candidates”
The Waning Moon, 19th Oct 2016
I got up early and took these pictures.
RESILIENT LIVING: This Wind-Powered Device Pulls 11 Gallons Of Drinkable Water From The Air Each Day
It looks like this invention could help a lot of people.
Source – trueactivist.com
– “… A constant stress for approximately 2.3 million people on the planet has to do with obtaining clean, drinking water. Fortunately, a solution to the latter conundrum has been presented…the Water Seer collection device relies on simple condensation to collect drinkable water from the atmosphere and can provide up to 11 gallons of clean aqua without one external power source each day”:
(This Wind-Powered Device Pulls 11 Gallons Of Drinkable Water From The Air Each –
This low-cost, low-tech water condenser could help create water self-sufficiency in communities around the world that lack regular access to clean, drinkable water.
Credit:
Whereas many individuals in developed nations often worry over catching their favorite television show, a constant stress for approximately 2.3 million people on the planet has to do with obtaining clean, drinking water. Fortunately, a solution to the latter conundrum has been presented…
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Weekends in October 2016
Exactly two weeks ago we had our son Martin here. We picked him up from Sydney Airport on Saturday morning. He had been flying in from Melbourne. Today, our daughter Caroline has been flying in from Darwin. We left at 5 o’clock in the morning to pick her up from Sydney Airport. We were back home at 8 o’clock. A bit after 10 o’clock Peter drove Caroline and Matthew to Dapto Train Station. They’re on their way to Sydney now, looking forward to a party to which they’ve been invited.
On the 3rd of October I wrote the following about Martin’s 24 Hour Visit:
Last Saturday Peter and I were at Sydney Airport at 9,30 am to pick up our son Martin who had arrived from Melbourne. Martin stayed overnight at our place. Then, 24 hours later, he was picked up by Monika and Mark for a drive to Sydney. Martin went along with them to go to the Grand Final Football game: Cronulla Sharks versus Melbourne Storms. It turned out to be a very exciting game. Cronulla earned their first Premiership crown in 50 seasons, defeating the Storm 14-12!
Monika’s twin sons, Troy and Ryan, are great fans of the Sharks. Several months ago they had purchased ten tickets for the Gran Final. So Martin, Monika and Mark were in good company with the twins and family and friends. Ryan’s two little boys were included in the party, wearing Cronulla shirts like most of the other supporters. In one of the pictures that they published on Facebook we noticed Martin wearing a Sharks’ cap.
For 24 hours – less sleeping time of course – we had Martin to ourselves. On Saturday Martin watched on television at our place how the Melbourne Bulldogs did beat the Sydney Swans at the AFL Grand Final in Melbourne.
We had some nice meals together with Martin. Before we went to bed we played a few games of Rummy with him. During the night we went on daylight saving time, that means we lost one hour! But, anyway the sun was up already at about 6 am. It turned out to be a a wonderful day with no wind
After breakfast we drove down to the lake to enjoy the scenery on a wonderful bright day.
AuntyUta 