Worthy reblog of a reblog of a reblog impacting today’a youth, most recently by Lloyd Lofthouse
Archives
All posts for the month October, 2023
I’m Against War
Published October 31, 2023 by Nan Mykel
All war. Whenever, wherever, whyever. Both sides, all sides.
We need to start attending to our genetic out-of-date blueprints that may have been useful so the earliest primitive man could survive, but…
We have the ability to think, figure, plan, speak and write now. From my point of view, we need our work to be done not with our version of monetary economics, power and competition but with an international halt-fire and focus on rational problem-solving. Perhaps it’s a pipe dream, but better and more humane, clear-minded and rational than what the world has unloosed on itself, unloosed in the world, despoiled all. No end in sight, save “armageddon” in 2050.
Rationality, in all languages. Back to the drawingboard with intellectual capacity available but rusty. A.I. needs to be re-formatted, with different values imbedded, but it’s the humans who need it most urgently.
A United World, not just Nations. No more sports competitions; more barn raising bees. A long period of engineering climate change, and helping refugees everywhere.
The Earth is large and there is space for everyone. Sharing is the magical word, and mutual respect. Elevating “our civilization,” “our race,” “my family” and “me” over others has led us to the current deadly impass, in my opinion. Pollyanna thinking? What do you suggest?
Piffledinger!
Published October 29, 2023 by Nan Mykel
Saying it feels a little better than “dammit,” but neither addresses the situation sufficiently. Politics so often trumps morality. (This post is sorta stream of consciousness):
In Michigan, Muslim and Arab American Voters Reconsider Support for Biden
From <https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/28/us/michigan-democrats-biden-palestinian.html>
Don’t misread me; I think I see both sides of the conflict, but….Piffledinger!
________________________
HOW DID I MISS THAT
You probably don’t know who Buckel was, which is a point in the “individual actions are futile” column: A prominent L.G.B.T.-rights lawyer, Buckel was as responsible as almost anyone else for making gay marriage the law of the land. Then, in 2018, he set himself on fire in a park in Brooklyn to protest inaction on climate change. Opinion Today by Ron Currie. NY times 10/28/23
________________________
CALMING
Edward O. Wilson calms me, somehow. When I get riled up by current reality or Ernest Becker’s The Denial of Death, I calm down with Wilson’s words. Becker writes that “Creation is a nightmare spectacular taking place on a planet that has been soaked for hundreds of millions of years in the blood of all its creatures,”
Wilson’s words tend to calm me. For instance: “The arts are not solely shaped by errant genius out of historical circumstances and idiosyncratic personal experience. The roots of their inspiration date back in deep history to the genetic origins of the human brain and are permanent….The reason is that the exclusive role of the arts is the transmission of the intricate details of the human experience by artifice to intensify aesthetic and emotional response. Works of art communicate feeling directly from mind to mind, with no intent to explain why the impact occurs. In this defining quality, the arts are the antithesis of science.” Concerning metaphors, favorites of mine, Wilson writes that metaphors are the building blocks of creative thought and are the “consequence of spreading activation in the brain during learning.” It saddens me that A.I. can be creative.
Consilience, the Unity of Knowledge 1998 by Edward O.Wilson. ( p 218-19).
The Denial of Death 1973 by Ernest Becker. (p 283)
________________________
RED HERRING IN OHIO
False leads started to become known as “Red Herrings” in the early 1800s when an English journalist named William Cobbett used the term to compare the media’s premature reporting of Napoleon’s defeat to the practice of using smelly fish to distract hound dogs from chasing rabbits.
In Ohio we will vote on state Issue One, a State Constitutional Amendment Relating to Abortion and Other Reproductive Decisions this Nov. 7. I was surprised to get partisan mail from both the pros and cons this year. Although the amendment does NOT address or change any laws involving parental rights over minors, that is the loudest song being sung by the Republicans against the issue: definitely a red herring non-issue.
Jill’s Right On…
Published October 28, 2023 by Nan Mykel
Thought you’d like to know…
What Keeps Me Awake …Posted on under Bits ‘n Pieces, Global Issues, guns, Political commentary, Social commentary
Tonight, I have much detritus bouncing around in my mind. So much so that I skipped my afternoon post earlier (Friday) because I was sick and tired of writing about Mike Johnson, about Donald Trump, about Republicans, about the war between Israel and Hamas … is there nothing upbeat to write about anymore? So … here are just a few of the thoughts bouncing around in my head and destined to keep me awake until the wee hours again tonight …
__________________
Refreshing….
Published October 28, 2023 by Nan Mykel
Ohio’s Grab for Education
Published October 28, 2023 by Nan MykelBetter read Diane Ravitch’s entire post today: Ohio: Lawyer from State AG Office Advised Both Sides in Blatant Conflict of Interest
dianeravitch.com
HODGE PODGE
Published October 27, 2023 by Nan Mykel• The U.S. hit targets linked to Iran in eastern Syria. The airstrikes were intended to deter both attacks on American forces in the region and a wider war. ny Times 10/27/23
[Definition: deter: discourage (someone) from doing something by instilling doubt or fear of the consequences]
Does this mean that WE are now at war too?
___________________
• The Texas House voted to allow local police agencies to arrest migrants, a challenge to the federal government’s power over immigration.
• ny Times 10/27/23
___________________
• Representative Dean Phillips, a moderate Minnesota Democrat, is running for president in a challenge to Biden.
• ny Times 10/27/3
___________________
I know what I resolved, and I’m trying to just write for myself too — just backslid a little temporarily, I hope.
___________________
Sorry about the following, too. I just wanted to get some of my earlier research off my “N”. Have included earlier definitions:
What are the five major religions in the world? Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism are considered the five major religions. However, the five most popular religions are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Shintoism. Judaism, compared to these, is a fairly small religion. From <https://study.com/academy/lesson/different-religions-world-overview-facts.html>
What are their gods?
CHRISTIANITY: Yahway or Jehova. [Or, I presume, God] — Elohim, the first name of God mentioned in the Bible, emphasizes His role as Creator. In addition to the personal name of God YHWH (pronounced with the vocalizations Yahweh or Jehovah), titles of God used by Christians include the Hebrew titles Elohim, El-Shaddai, and Adonai, as well as Ancient of Days, Father/Abba which is Hebrew, “Most High”. (Also known as “GOD,” I presume)
ISLAM: Allah. The word “Islam” means “submission to the will of God.” Followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslims are monotheistic and worship one, all-knowing God, who in Arabic is known as Allah. Followers of Islam aim to live a life of complete submission to Allah. From <https://www.google.com/search?q=islam+definition+simple&sca_esv=575511268>….Muhammad[a] (Arabic: مُحَمَّد; c. 570 – 8 June 632 CE)[b] was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam.[c] According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets.[2][3][4] He is believed to be the Seal of the Prophets within Islam, with the Quran as well as his teachings and practices forming the basis for Islamic religious belief.ISLAM Jihad Definition & Meaning The meaning of JIHAD is a holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty; also : a personal struggle in devotion to Islam (Also jehad) https://www.merriam-webster.com › dictionary › jihadhttps://www.merriam-webster.com › dictionary › jihad …. Its original Charter identified Hamas as the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine and declares its members to be Muslims who “fear God and raise the banner of Jihad in the face of the oppressors.” The charter states that “our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious” and calls for the eventual creation of an Islamic state in Palestine, in place of Israel and the Palestinian Territories,[3] and the obliteration or dissolution of Israel.[4][5] It emphasizes the importance of jihad, stating in article 13, “There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.”[6] The charter also states that Hamas is humanistic, and tolerant of other religions as long as they “stop disputing the sovereignty of Islam in this region”.[7] The Charter adds that “renouncing any part of Palestine means renouncing part of the religion [of Islam]”.[1] The original charter was criticized for its violent language against all Jews, which some commentators characterized as incitement to genocide.[8][9]
BUDDHISM: Siddhartha Gautama was the first person to reach this state of enlightenment and was, and is still today, known as the Buddha. Buddhists do not believe in any kind of deity or god, although there are supernatural figures who can help or hinder people on the path towards enlightenment
HINDUISM: Hindu God name: the one supreme god Atman or Brahman has three major forms known as the trinity. All of existence is also a form of god, as he created creation from himself. The Hindu trinity is of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. They are respectively the creator, preserver and destroyer of the universe. List of Hindu Gods Hinduism is the dominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. It comprises three major traditions, Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism, whose followers considered Shiva, Vishnu And Gods from the Vedas, Ramayanaand Mahabharata. Shakti (also called as Devi) to be the supreme deity respectively. Most of the other deities were either related to them or different forms (incarnations) of these deities. Hinduism has been called the “oldest religion” in the world, and many practitioners refer to Hinduism as “the eternal law”. From <https://budaipedia.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Hindu_Gods> Formed in 1982 in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, Hizballah (the “Party of God”), a Lebanon-based Shia terrorist group, advocates Shia empowerment globally. From <https://www.google.com/search?q=hezbollah+meaning&sca_esv=575511268z>
JUDAISM: Yahweh, name for the God of the Israelites
SHINTOISM: “Shinto gods” are called kami. They are sacred spirits which take the form of things and concepts important to life, such as wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers and fertility. Who is the main god of Shinto? The Sun Goddess Amaterasu is considered Shinto’s most important kami. Some prominent rocks are worshiped as kami. In contrast to many monotheistic religions, Shinto does not have absolutes.
________________
LEBANON definition: country in SW Asia, at the E end of the Mediterranean : formerly a French mandate …
Collins Dictionary (My former dictionary source was in error, saying it was on the W end of the Mediterranean)
________________
DEFINITIONS
HAMAS — see also ISLAM way above. The Hamas Covenant or Hamas Charter, formally known in English as the Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement, was originally issued on 18 August 1988 and outlines the founding identity, stand, and aims of Hamas (the Islamic Resistance Movement). A new charter was issued by Hamas leader Khaled Mashal on 1 May 2017 in Doha.
________________
JORDAN — If your map calls Palestine “Jordan,” then be advised that per Wiki, “In 1946, Jordan gained independence and became officially known in Arabic as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.[11] The country captured and annexed the West Bank during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War until it was occupied by Israel in 1967. Jordan renounced its claim to the territory in 1988, became the second Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, and since supports Palestinian statehood within a two-state solution.[12] From <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan> So…Israel…Under the British Mandate (1920–1948), the whole region was known as ‘Palestine‘…. And speaking of Palestine, I read in the Times today that they may be being unfairly maligned.
_________________
The above info is as correct as I can make it. I obtained all this info via Google. If you spot any error please let me know!
TIME’S RUNNING OUT
Published October 25, 2023 by Nan Mykel
The Israeli War, Climate Change, Ohio Politics, me….
I read in one of your blogs that it’s okay to blog for yourself, so I’ll take you up on that, especially since I’m the most frequent reader….
Maybe I’ll ask Shannon tonight to help me get a new blog layout. But I don’t know what to do with my pages. I didn’t understand at the get-go about pages, and I filled them with things that by-passed my blog. In other words, little if anything in them is also on my blog. Duh…I blew it. Also, some of my pages have been marked “Private” by someone apparently who thought they shouldn’t be read by others. Maybe I can undo that, with Shannon’s help tonight. I also didn’t realize folks would have to scroll down to the very bottom to read an addition. So, if anyone should stumble across one of my pages, beware.
That out of my way, I turn to this blog. My recent reading informs me that I’ve become astonishingly ignorant of the world out there. My psychological training was inward focussed, and so much has transpired “out there” that I’ve dropped irretrievably behind. Besides, the need for sleep is growing, robbing me of time otherwise spent. My daughter — let’s call her Elvira for privacy–has come to live with me and that gives me a little more time to spend. As mentioned before, I don’t spend my time volunteering out there in the world…(having quit driving gives me one excuse).
Recent attempts to understand world religions suggests that part of one major religion is dangerous, and that if I don’t want to be visited–maybe from another country– and killed for mentioning them I’d do well to skip that topic.
I’ve gotten way behind in my filing of articles, since no one will want them “later,” just as I had to discard hundreds of articles from my dissertation and my book Fallout.
This is disgusting! Here I am feeling sorry for me–even for my imaginary reader–for being ignorant! When I looked back through my filing and came across 9/11, I got to thinking again. Shut up, Nan! More later, if there is a later.
Arms for Human Rights Violators?
Published October 21, 2023 by Nan MykelState Department Official Resigns Over Arms Transfers to Israel
From <https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/19/us/state-department-official-resigns-israel-arms.html>
This is just a portion of the ny times article by John Ismay about Josh Paul’s State Department resignation:
Mr. Paul, whose resignation was reported earlier by HuffPost, said that he had seen the U.S. government approve numerous sales or shipments of matériel to other Middle Eastern countries, even when he believed federal law should have prevented them from going forward.
“On all of them there’s a moment where you can say, OK, well, you know, it’s out of my hands, but I know Congress is going to push back,” he said, by issuing a hold on the transfer or grilling officials in hearings at the Capitol. “But in this instance, there isn’t any significant pushback likely from Congress, there isn’t any other oversight mechanism, there isn’t any other forum for debate, and that’s part of what got into my decision making.”
Continuing to give Israel what he described as carte blanche to kill a generation of enemies, only to create a new one, does not ultimately serve the United States’ interests, Mr. Paul said.
“What it leads to is this desire to sort of impose security at any cost, including in cost to the Palestinian civilian population,” he said. “And that doesn’t ultimately lead to security.”
“This administration, I think, knows better and understands some of the complexity but brought very little of that nuance to the policy decisions that are being made.”
A CONFESSION
Published October 20, 2023 by Nan MykelHard to believe that I may be the only U.S. citizen ignorant of the current war situation. Most of what I’ve learned about Judaism has come from the Kellermans’ mystery novels.
Oh I know about the pogroms and the holocaust deniers, and even visited Auischwitz in 1989, and know about Anne Frank too. And the lines “Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out. Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me. And there was no one left.”
And I remember I was puzzled by Bush’s rather extreme “Anti-Semitism” Law. (Fortunately I filed it at the time:) “Today I signed the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004. This law commits the government to keep a record of anti-Semitic acts throughout the world, and also a record of responses to those acts.” (Rense.com)
Fact Sheet U.S. – Israel Economic Relationship U.S. Embassy in Israel (.gov) https://il.usembassy.gov › … › Israel is home to more than 2,500 U.S. firms employing some 72,000 Israelis, … Policy & History Cisco, Intel, Motorola, Applied Materials, and HP are just a few examples.
21 Journalists Have Been Killed in Israel-Palestine War Since October 7
So, I tried to educate myself just a tad (I’m sure an extension is needed in tomorrow’s post):
DEFINITIONS–
ZIONISM is a nationalist movement that emerged in the 19th century to espouse support for the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine, a region roughly corresponding to the Land of Israel in Jewish tradition.
________
HAMAS is an acronym meaning “Islamic Resistance Movement” The group’s charter calls for establishing an Islamic Palestinian state in place of Israel …HAMAS’ strength is concentrated in the Gaza Strip and areas of the West Bank.
_________
PALESTINE Historic region on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, comprising parts of modern Israel, Jordan, and Egypt
_________
HEBRON Hebron is in the southern West Bank of Palestine and is holy for Jews, Muslims, and Christians. That’s why sharing it peaceably is a challenge.
From <https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/the-intensity-of-hebron-in-palestine>
________
ISRAEL Two definitions–a republic in southwest Asia, on the Mediterranean: formed as a Jewish state May 1948. 7,984 sq. mi. (20,679 sq. km). Capital: Jerusalem (but not recognized by the international community).
and
- the people traditionally descended from Jacob; the Hebrew or Jewish people. From <https://www.dictionary.com/browse/israel>
NANMYKEL.COM 