A definition of insanity has been offered as doing the same things but expecting different results.
I see that in action, every single day, amongst a large majority of people.
People that then look suspiciously at me, as I fail to participate in or seek to escape from their insane ways.
I ask, what is more insane, continuing to do insane things that continue to result in negative consequences, or refusing to participate in those insane things?
Where you have growing dependence, you have a lack of independence.
Where you have a lack of independence, you generally have an absence of true liberties, freedoms, rights, justice, etc.
There are massive power & profit motives behind growing levels of systems of dependence.
You can start & run your own company, doing your own things, outside the establishment system. You are only limited in scope by your own mind, your own self-imposed constraints.
You can conceive of ideas & thoughts outside the established narratives, breaking free of both manufactured consent and manufactured dissent.
You can grow more of your own foods, even your own medicines.
You can live more off the land. Even with little land, even with rented land.
The U.S., and much of the world, is often abundant with beneficial natural resources, resources largely untapped, as corporations and the Establishment are constantly herding us towards conformity, reliant on the same resources, that they control and profit from.
Independence takes effort, hard work, dedication.
But those things we have to work (not work in the sense of slaving for someone else) for often provide so much more joy, appreciation, ambition.
You can’t have your cake and eat it too is a popular English idiomatic proverb or figure of speech.
The proverb literally means “you cannot simultaneously save your cake and eat it” (some people get confused over the use of the word “have” in the idiom, which is used to mean “save”).
In order to save it, you can’t indulge in eating it.
If you eat it you can’t save it for later.
Thus you simultaneously can’t have two opposing conditions, which can’t exist at the same time.
I bring this up because I keep reading articles from people that keep griping about things like the actions & abuses of Big Tech, but they simultaneously continue to support that same Big Tech.
Or people that are griping about billionaires and the vast concentrations of wealth that are occurring in modern times, but whom continue to engage in the systems set up by those billionaires that continue to send more wealth towards those billionaires.
Or people that complain of the massive corruptions in politics, whom continue to support the systems that send the same corrupt politicians back to office.
You can’t have it both ways.
Choosing between two opposing conditions illustrates the concept of trade-offs.
I’m often largely a fan of more alternative media, but most of that “alt” media that exists today is emerging as one among the most hypocritical.
Many of those media are remaining reliant on Big Tech companies for marketing (i.e. maintaining social media pages for reference to their own sites), but simultaneously complaining of the growth of and increasingly restrictive policies of those Big Tech platforms.
So they’re doing business with those companies, actively supporting those companies in the process, but complaining of having to comply with the terms of doing business with those companies.
Try as they might, they can’t have it both ways.
This post is also partially directed at Protestors and Demonstrators, of both “opposing” sides, like many in the BLM, Antifa, and Capital Stormers.
Those that are (rightfully) complaining of the systematic abuses occurring, like losses of liberty, freedom & justice, but whom then engage in actions that require greater police & security presence, and more laws that are more restrictive of those actions.
You can’t commit crimes, but then complain of an increase in laws aimed at preventing those crimes.
I was chatting with a fellow the other day whom was complaining of certain actions in Congress, yet when I asked if he engaged in contact with his Congress persons to express his opinions and desires, he replied “no”.
I asked simply “How can you expect Lawmakers to even consider representing your views if you don’t express those views to them?”.
You can’t have or expect a representative government to function if you don’t reach out to and hold those Representatives accountable.
And though reaching out to them may not produce the results you want, or demand, you can’t simply give-up (keeping in mind that a “democracy” requires constant compromise, and we can’t always get just our way).
One of my favorite slogans/phrases is
Talk – Action = Zero (Talk minus Action equals Zero).
If you simply engage in empty rhetoric, without taking meaningful actions yourself, your words are largely useless.
There has obviously been a lot in the news & media over the past year regarding pneumonia and bronchial infections.
I wanted to share my own personal experiences dealing with such.
Note: This is absolutely NOT intended as medical or healthcare advice, this is just recounts of my own personal experiences.
I used to suffer from chronic pneumonia, bronchitis and bronchial issues for over 20 years.
Every single year, at least once to twice a year I would contract a cold or the flu, which would then become bronchitis or pneumonia.
And I would go through the same old routine, to the hospital or clinic, be prescribed antibiotics or antivirals, which would take 7-10 days to clear that infection.
Only to have it recur again in 6-12 months.
Then someone once mentioned Eucalyptus to me, and told me there was clinical evidence of its effectiveness against such infections.
So I began experimenting with that Eucalyptus (E. Globulus), first by just inhaling fumes from the bottle, which was ok but not as effective as I had hoped.
Then I began experimenting with steam inhalation, by dripping Eucalyptus oil, or whole or crushed leaves, in steaming water, and inhaling that steam.
Which proved much more effective.
But I noticed that symptoms of my infections would disappear within 24-48 hours after that steam inhalation.
When using Eucalyptus oil I had to learn to better regulate the amount of oil I dripped in the water, as too much proved too strong to inhale comfortably.
I have now not succumbed to either bronchitis or pneumonia for over six years, since starting that steam inhalation.
If/when I do start to feel ill, muscular pain, sore throat, fatigue, cough or such, I simply do that steam inhalation treatment, and am back to 100% within 24 hours.
Every single time.
I haven’t even had the flu during that six years.
I work with compost and make numerous soil amendment by using forest products.
Thus I am frequently exposed to large populations of numerous microbes, including “Black Mold” like Aspergillus Niger, which has proven quite harmful when inhaled.
There have been times when I was exposed to those microbes, and experienced serious bronchial issues, when I was experimenting with that Eucalyptus steam inhalation, but was able to clear those infections right away.
On one particular occasion, after inhaling large quantities of a mineral powder I make from certain forest products, and suffering serious infection and severe breathing difficulties for several days, literally gasping for breath, that I did one of those Eucalyptus steam inhalation treatments, and had that infection and breathing troubles clear by the next day.
I’ve been curious about any studies that have been done to investigate this treatment, and was surprised to find several studies that have shown how Eucalyptus does act as a natural antiviral, by inhibiting virus replication and binding.
Note how that study focused on the A/H1N1 virus (the swine flu), and then read & take note of numerous RT-PCR data sheets, like this one, in that they target viruses with genes shared with the so-called “covid” virus.
I have also been experimenting with Tea Tree oils, as numerous research studies have shown similar antiviral qualities, and have noticed similar effective results.
Note – I do urge caution when using Tea Tree oil as there is toxicity associated with internal use, thus I use it quite sparingly.
Despite my past, former chronic issues with bronchitis & pneumonia, I have absolutely no fear of coronavirus.
I encourage everyone to learn to investigate, observe and experience things for themselves.
To take more independence in, and personal control of their health & wellness.
I have learned that Nature is often the best steward of Nature.
That Nature takes care of, and often remediates itself.
I find it interesting that during this pandemic the healthcare industry is pushing even more antibiotics, sterilizers, and such.
Which have been recorded as one of the most concerning issues of the CDC prior.
Those lab-created synthetic antibiotics and sterilizers are leading to increased antibiotic resistance.
But antibiotics and antivirals are produced by interactions between microbes, enzymes, secondary metabolites, and such.
Those natural antibiotics and antivirals are a sort of germ warfare, that microbes use to defeat other microbes.
Microbes are among the quickest mutating/evolving organisms known to humans.
They develop resistance quickly.
But as harmful pathogens develop resistance, other microbes respond in-kind by similarly mutating/evolving and producing new antibiotics to overcome that resistance.
There are more and more studies being conducted on the effectiveness of allelochemicals contained in plants to fight bacterial and viral pathogens.
Globally some 50%-70% of all pharmaceuticals are based on these allelochemicals.
Allelochemicals are secondary metabolites, like polyphenols, terpines, lignans, and other compounds that are produced by, and used by microbes, as they live & function in healthy plants.
Despite many traditional & herbal medicines often simply being castigated as mere “quackery” by the medical & pharmaceutical industries, those same industries are increasingly studying the benefits of those plant allelochemicals.
Following are some studies regarding the effectiveness of Eucalyptus and Tea Tree oils:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0021850213000086
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00284-007-9045-0
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/mbo3.459
https://sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1365-2672.2003.02026.x
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02786826.2012.708948
Despite the constant bickering & fighting I see going on between opposing tribes, I’m more concerned about what is being obscured by those tribal narratives, and I have serious concerns about what I see as the failing systems behind those narratives.
Like a healthcare system that is failing.
And an agricultural system that is failing.
It seems to me we simply keep placing bandages over wounds that are continually growing bigger.
And virtually nothing known has the exact same effect on everyone.
Penicillin, for example, which is created naturally by microbes, has life-saving benefits for many, but can be dangerous for others.
Thus I feel it important for people to try things and find those things that work best for them.
Note – I have absolutely no investment in nor stake in anything related to this post (including no short positions in any other treatments or therapies related to bronchial issues).
I just believe in the power of sharing information and personal experiences, in the interest of advancing human knowledge.
A cognitive bias can be described as a pattern of deviation from rationality in judgment.
But cognitive biases can also have some degree of validity that underlie those biases.
Like a victim of several dog attacks may develop a tendency to be scared of most all dogs.
And that subsequent fright may have both positive and negative consequences, which may occur simultaneously like enabling a person to keep their distance from dogs, helping prevent any future attacks, but preventing them from approaching friendly dogs and developing a trusting relationship.
I’ve no stats but tend to believe that most everyone, if not everyone, has cognitive biases.
And some are better able to recognize, identify and admit those biases.
I’m more concerned about those that cannot recognize those cognitive biases in themselves.
If one can’t recognize their own biases, they likely cannot transcend beyond those biases.
Some cognitive biases are a “by-product” of human processing limitations,resulting from a lack of appropriate mental mechanisms (bounded rationality), impact of individual’s constitution and biological state (see embodied cognition), or simply from a limited capacity for information processing.
But I argue here that, despite any positive aspects of cognitive biases, people can learn more, and make better decisions, if they learn to first identify, then let go of any cognitive biases.
This certainly does not mean negating or forgetting any past experiences or observations, but better incorporating those into thinking processes.
The longer I live, learn, observe, discover, and seek knowledge, the more I recognize the seeming inherent biases in most everything.
Donald Trump helped usher in the phrase “fake news”, but virtually no one I know, truly knows what that means.
Trump himself, despite using it, is an frequent abuser of that concept.
As are most people that claim to be aware of biases.
But a problem that arises with cognitive biases is that once you allow something to affect your thinking to the point that it becomes an automatic process, it becomes nearly impossible to expand your overall knowledge base.
This has been identified as an “echo chamber” effect in the example of news.
Those identifying as “Democrat” are unlikely to consider the views of those identifying as “Republican”, and vice versa.
Neither side is likely to get truthful information about the other, thereby limiting their logical decision making.
Plus, feeding on people’s cognitive biases is an excellent ploy for marketing and propagandists campaigns.
I’ve been interested in reading more “Scientific” journals of various topics as of recently, and am noticing a disturbing trend wherein even the “educated” and “learned” professions and people tend to resort to biases, often failing to take more objective studies and/or make more objective observations.
Which then go to influencing their conclusions.
Rather than allowing evidence and facts to determine their beliefs, they’re seemingly allowing their biases to drive their beliefs, and skewing the data, and/or using only that data that supports those beliefs.
Human error is quite natural, and numerous studies have demonstrated the link between many of those errors to cognitive biases.
It becomes a bit frightening, and highly disconcerting, when you realize that supposed “experts” are little better than common “lay persons” at discovering the truths, often influenced by the same biases and thus assumptions.
Types of Cognitive Biases to be aware of:
Attentional Bias:
The tendency of perception to be affected by recurring thoughts.
Authority Bias:
the tendency to attribute greater accuracy to the opinion of an authority figure (unrelated to its content) and be more influenced by that opinion.
Automation Bias:
The tendency to depend excessively on automated systems which can lead to erroneous automated information overriding correct decisions.
Availability Heuristic:
The tendency to overestimate the likelihood of events with greater “availability” in memory, which can be influenced by how recent the memories are or how unusual or emotionally charged they may be.
Backfire Effect:
The reaction to unwanted and/or disconfirming evidence by strengthening one’s previous beliefs.
Belief Bias:
An effect where someone’s evaluation of the logical strength of an argument is biased by the believability of the conclusion.
Confirmation Bias:
The tendency to search for, interpret, focus on and remember information in a way that confirms one’s preconceptions..
Dunning Kruger Effect:
The tendency for unskilled individuals to overestimate their own ability and the tendency for experts to underestimate their own ability.
Experimenters Bias:
The tendency for experimenters to believe, certify, and publish data that agree with their expectations for the outcome of an experiment, and to disbelieve, discard, or downgrade the corresponding weightings for data that appear to conflict with those expectations.
Groupthink & Bandwagon:
Doing or thinking a certain way because your peers are doing or thinking that thing.
Conformity. Following the crowd.
Illusory Correlation:
Inaccurately perceiving a relationship between two unrelated events.
Status Quo Bias:
The desire to keep things relatively the same. A fear of change.
And numerous others.
I believe if you can be mindful of, and avoid using these biases, you are perhaps much more likely to open & thus free your mind
I have absolutely no stake in the “covid” narrative.
I am far more interested in the stories behind the stories, and in finding empirical data, evidence, stats, etc.
Looking at one single snapshot is virtually meaningless.
Examining trends can often shed more insight.
Hearing so much about supposed increases in deaths in 2020 has led me to compiling population versus death stats, from several countries.
Stats can be tricky.
They can used in various ways to make pre-determined conclusions.
Like stating 2020 has seen “excessive” deaths as compared to 2019.
I’ve completed two spreadsheets, one for Sweden and one for Canada.
I’m working on other countries but just awaiting official national stats from the government stat keeping agency from each country, rather than rely on data from third parties.
But what I’m finding in most all preliminary data is that while most countries have had “excess” deaths in 2020, that is based on side-by-side comparison of raw death numbers from 2019.
In other words countries are seeing more total deaths in 2020 as compared to 2019.
But their also seeing increases in population.
Thus one would expect more deaths as populations increase.
Another interesting thing I’m finding is that while most countries are seeing increases in death rates in 2020 as compared to 2019, but most every year is seeing similar increases from the prior year.
And those increases in 2020 are not out of the ordinary, compared to increases in previous years.
In other words, where a country may see a 0.109% death rate in 2020, versus .107% in 2019, 2019 similarly saw an increase from 2018, which is was at .105%.
So year after year is seeing a steady .002% increase.
Does this count as “excessive” deaths?
It results in more total deaths, but again as would be expected with rises in population.
What I’m perhaps most fascinated about is the continual year-after-year rise in death rates, in most every “industrialized” country I’ve checked.
Why are supposedly “more developed” & “advanced” countries seeing higher death rates year after year?
With advancements, shouldn’t those rates be going down, not up?
And what is that really saying about healthcare systems in these countries?
It seems rather than focusing on one single year, 2020, and on one cause, coronavirus, we should be examining the steady year-after-year increases.
Feeding your biases:
But both sides, pandemic believers and pandemic disbelievers can both make claims to support their own beliefs.
Yes, total death numbers are up in 2020 versus 2019.
Yes, death rates are up slightly in 2020 versus 2019.
But total death numbers have gone up in most years.
And death rates continue to climb.
So both sides have winnable arguments.
Or do they both have unwinnable arguments?
Maybe they should be arguing about that.
Rather than focusing on the fact that people in industrialized countries are dying at increasing rates, year after year.
Examples of Japanese Population, death and birth stats by year (note that since 2007 total deaths have exceeded total live births in Japan):
(Above chart from knoema.com)
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(Above chart from indexmundi.com)
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(Above chart from Japan Ministry of Health, Labour & Welfare)
“The beast was nurtured in the marshes of Lerna, from where she would go out onto the flatland to raid flocks and ruin the land. The Hydra was of enormous size, with eight mortal heads, and a ninth one in the middle that was immortal.”
─From Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2. 77-80─
According to Hesiod in the Theogony,, the Hydra was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna. It had poisonous breath and blood so virulent that even its scent was deadly. The Hydra possessed many heads, the exact number of which varies according to the source. Later versions of the Hydra story add a regeneration feature to the monster: for every head chopped off, the Hydra would regrow two heads. Heracles required the assistance of his nephew Iolaus to cut off all of the monster’s heads and burn the neck using a sword and fire.
Beware the rebirth of the Hydra, via the emergence of Big Everything.
The 2007-2008 economic meltdown revealed the existence of the “Too big to fail” banks.
Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke defined the term in 2010: “A too-big-to-fail firm is one whose size, complexity, interconnectedness, and critical functions are such that, should the firm go unexpectedly into liquidation, the rest of the financial system and the economy would face severe adverse consequences.”
These banks, which made vastly speculative & risky investments, eventually required extraordinary banking charters to obtain additional Federal Reserve support, plus the government provided bailout funds via the Troubled Asset Relief Program in 2008.
Little did many know that was just the beginning.
Rather than learning from their mistakes in that reckless investment strategy, the wealthy owners of those banks seemingly learned the government would simply bail them out, to avoid risking larger economic impacts.
Now it’s not just banks.
The Cartel of largest investment banks, like Vanguard, BlackRock, State Street, Fidelity, The Capital Group, and others have been busily gobbling up massive shares of stocks, becoming the largest shareholders of the largest “competing” corporations, in most every single industry.
From Big Banks, to Big Tech, to Big Oil, to Big Medicine, to Big Manufacturing, to Big Food, to Big Ag, to Big Chem, to Big Media, and so one.
These are the multiple heads of the new Hydra.
Big Everything.
All controlled by the same Cartel of largest investment banks.
A seemingly undefeatable monster, with so many different heads that simply chopping off one leaves many left still intact, sustaining that monster as a new head grows back.
Various people, like Politicians, have often discussed the dangers of individual heads of this Hydra, like Congressional Hearings on the monopolistic practices of Big Tech, or Journalists writing of the concentrated ownership and control of media outlets, and other such.
Likely any attempts to break-up these large corporations will simply result in numerous smaller corporations, each that will come under ownership & control by the same Cartel of largest investors.
Just obscuring their ownership & control.
For Politicians are just as subservient to the Hydra are is most everyone else.
The Cartel that own these investment bank firms own the corporations that have become that largest campaign contributors of the most powerful Politicians.
Thus they similarly exercise massive control over public-policy & legislation, which will be crafted firstly to their whims & needs.
But the true power of this Hydra rests largely on its vast size, on those numerous powerful heads, it’s omnipresence in multiple industries and facets of every day life.
Like the fact that most Americans now work for corporations that are owned by this Cartel of investment banks that make up that Hydra.
Thus they have become dependent on that Hydra for financial support, via wages.
But as inflation continues to erode away at income, far outpacing dwindling wage growth, more Americans are also becoming increasingly reliant on these largest investment banks for personal investments in funds owned & controlled by the firms in this Cartel, as they look to supplement their dwindling wealth.
These investment banking firms are the ones that exercise actual voting power & thus control over the corporations in their funds, not individual shareholders whose investment money is being used to secure those shares.
Americans are also becoming increasingly reliant on the Hydra for means of production.
Those that don’t work directly for corporations owned by the Cartel that controls this Hydra, often rely on the Cartel that controls this Hydra for their tools of their trade.
From machinery, to materials, to equipment, to chemicals, to ingredients, to methods of distribution, to energy, etc.
Even small businesses spend most their revenue with Big Everything.
Consider this:
Total market capitalization in the U.S. is ~$38.5 trillion.
The Big Three investment banks (Vanguard, BlackRock, State Street) control over $16.5 trillion of that (thus ~43% of the entire market).
The top five control over $21.8 trillion (thus ~57% of the entire market).
Add another handful and you hit 85% of the total market, or so.
(check SEC 13 D/F/G filings for proof, for those that don’t believe any of this – as it’s all publicly available & easily found info).
Each of the heads of the Hydra are powered & protected by that cartel.
Thus nearly everyone has become heavily reliant and dependent on this Hydra, the same monster that is slowly devouring & destroying those same people.
20th century Thinker, Philosopher, Logician, Mathematician, and genuine Polymath Bertrand Russell is one of the few people I truly admire & respect.
In his 1957 book Why I Am Not A Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects, edited by Paul Edwards. London: George Allen & Unwin, he wrote:
“A habit of basing convictions upon evidence, and of giving to them only that degree of certainty which the evidence warrants, would, if it became general, cure most of the ills from which the world is suffering. But at present, in most countries, education aims at preventing the growth of such a habit…“.
I’m a fan of stats, and info, and data.
One of my hobbies is to search the relevant data on which to base any of my beliefs, or judgements, or values.
And to find the relevant data that may cause me to think differently, even change my mind on the conviction of any of my currently held beliefs.
But I was recently reading an article stating that in Ontario, the “covid” death count includes people that didn’t die of “covid”.
It’s just one of many articles that have had the same theme.
And it piqued my interest as to the actual yearly death toll in Canada, in regards to population and deaths rates.
Following is a spreadsheet detailing that data:
Canada death rate by year
And upon analyzing this data, I realized the complexity, and underlying larger trends of this data.
Notes/highlights on attached stats:
1. The death rate of Canada has increased in data-year 2020 (which includes stats from July 1, 2019-June 30, 2020 – which is how Statistics Canada compiles this data-set, thus it is not directly correlated with population trends), and is the highest it’s been for 11 years.
But that death rate has been seeing steady increases, across most years (with the exception of 2012, 2014, 2016 & 2019).
2. Year-toYear increase (total numbers) in deaths in 2020 (compared to previous year) is above average, but not at it’s peak, but is sitting at it’s second-highest increase.
3. The Year-to-Year increase (percentage) in deaths in 2020 is above average, but not at it’s peak, but is sitting at it’s third-highest increase.
In my opinion, there are several ways to interpret this data.
• In regards to national/global lockdowns, if total deaths are the factor in that decision, why wasn’t there a lockdown in 2017 or 2015, when the death number increases were at peak levels?
• Whilst total deaths have increased in 2020, that increase has happened in prior years, has been a temporary situation, and thus may not be grounds for such possible over-reactionism.
• Year-toYear death rate has been seeing a general upward trend (though not consistent), thus though Canada has seen a higher rate this year, that same can be said for many years. Thus may not be grounds for such possible over-reactionism (or perhaps needs to be grounds for a larger discussion on the larger historical trend).
And there are many other ways to analyze this data.
But I think it’s important to put things into historical perspective & analysis, which I haven’t seen very many media outlets doing.
I also feel it important for more people to take the initiative to perform their own inquiries, and studies, to better educate themselves, and continually seek to gain greater knowledge.
And we should make ourselves aware of the complexities of any thoughts, beliefs, analysis, etc.
Each of us should beware of reliance on others to tell us of their own version of reality.
QUESTION EVERYTHING – BUT DO SO WITH INTELLIGENCE & WITH THE USE OF EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE.
It has long been known the benefits of proper human and natural nutrition & health.
The phrase “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”, often attributed to ancient healer and the “Father of medicine” Hippocrates, though perhaps misattributed, still highlights the necessity of proper nutrition as the factor of truly natural health.
Our world is increasingly becoming dominated by synthetics.
Synthetic fabrics, synthetic fuels, synthetic medicines, synthetic ingredients in foods, synthetic vitamins, etc.
In fact, most vitamins sold and/or added to foods for “enrichment” are synthetic derivatives, not born of Nature.
Many are byproducts of the mining, gas & oil industries.
Sure, we are told they are equivalent to their natural counterparts, but they aren’t (they may have similar, even identical basic chemical structures, but this is reductionism, and there are many more aspects to natural vitamins than single chemical compounds).
German-Jewish Chemist Fritz Haber, recognized as the Inventor of the Haber Process for nitrogen synthesis, recognized this in his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize, stating “…Nitrogen bacteria teach us that Nature, with her sophisticated forms of the chemistry of living matter, still understands and utilizes methods which we do not as yet know how to imitate.“
That recognition of the role of bacteria is key.
As is the benefit of enzymes, secondary metabolites, and other compounds that may accompany the natural versions of vitamins.
Synthetic antibiotics are another example.
Most all natural antibiotics known are produced via the interactions of bacteria, fungi, enzymes, and other microbes & compounds.
They are used as a sort of germ warfare, as species of microbes battle other species microbes for control & dominance of wherever they reside (plant roots are a great example, as they exist as virtual battlegrounds of microbe vs. microbe, each looking to control the nervous system of that plant).
But bacteria are one of the quickest mutating/evolving forms, and they develop resistance to those existing natural antibiotics, but in equal response those other microbes mutate/evolve and generate evolutionary antibiotics to counter that resistance.
It’s a naturally balancing and evolving system.
Whereas synthetic antibiotics don’t evolve to match the evolution of the bacteria it’s suppose to fight.
The purpose of all this goes back to natural nutrition, and more of it.
It’s been often reported by numerous Scientists, Researchers, Historians and such that decreasing human nutrition likely exacerbated the Black Plague during the Middle Ages.
That decreased nutrition resulted in severely deficient immune systems.
I’ve little doubt the same is happening today.
Our grown foods have been shown in numerous studies to contain only a fraction of the nutrition as it did just 60 years ago.
Plus, with increased fertilizer use, there is increased harm to natural microbes, which need organic matter to feed on to live & thrive.
Fewer microbes means not only fewer natural vitamins but fewer natural antibiotics too.
And it’s true – you are what you eat.
I’m honestly astonished when people express surprise over any typical or recent health scares.
Like “The Virus”.
How can our bodies possibly be expected to properly fight infection when we constantly shovel garbage & toxic stuff into it?
And when even our “health promoting” supplements are low-quality substitutes, at best?
To make matters worse, rather than tackling the source of the problem, we’re demanding purely reactionary measures.
Perhaps just a mask today, but what about tomorrow?
Fully enclosed personal bubble?
To ward off the growing number of potentially harmful things attacking our increasingly weakening bodies?
I prefer a stronger body.
But synthetics are not providing for that stronger bodies.
But rather than attack our own terrible habits & failings, we can blame “The Virus”.
The Soft Drink Example:
I consider the history & evolution of soda/soft drinks as an epitome of that rise of synthetics, and as an analogy of the downfall of humanity.
Patent medicines of the 18th to 19th centuries, though holding a complicated and controversial history, often had roots in beneficial natural remedies.
Cough drops, bitters, root vegetable brews, and other such originally contained vegetables, oils, herbs and other compounds that were effective at treating numerous ailments.
Though largely unknown at the time, these natural products contain various allelochemicals, plant phytonutrients, of which a growing number of pharmaceuticals are based.
White Willow Bark, for example, contains natural Salicin, the original source of Salicylic Acid for aspirin.
Or Menthol and Eucalyptus used for cough suppression, throat irritation, even as antibiotics and antivirals.
Coca-cola & root beer were originally formulated as patent medicines, using natural ingredients (despite the stigma of coca, which is deserved due to abuse, it does have beneficial medicinal properties, when used correctly).
Ginger Ale and Sarsaparilla have also demonstrated medicinal properties.
But the quest for profit and greed quickly consumed the patent medicine industry.
Today, few of these drinks contain any of their natural ingredients anymore.
Most are just artificial flavorings, colorings, and highly-processed sugars, or sugar substitutes.
None of which provide any medicinal benefits.
How much has that move away from natural beneficial compounds to most purely synthetic ingredients affected human health?
There is plenty of evidence that increased consumption of soft drinks leads to more negative consequences on health.
The Tobacco Example:
There is perhaps little doubt that smoking & tobacco use can cause cancer, or that use of tobacco products is linked to greater incidences of cancer.
But tobacco products are highly-processed, and contain much more than just tobacco.
There are some ~600 known additives contained in processed tobacco products.
Many are demonstrable carcinogenic.
Of all the studies that have linked tobacco use to cancer, none have focused on pure, unprocessed (no additives) tobacco (to be fair & accurate, tobacco smoke itself has been shown to create carcinogenic chemicals – thus I am excluding smoking herein).
And in fact, tobacco was used for centuries as a medicine (see here, and here for example).
“…when the use of Nicotiana by the indigenous populations in the New World was first observed by Columbus and the plant was brought to Europe…“
“Indeed, Nicotiana [the tobacco plant] acquired a reputation as a panacea, to the extent of being called the ‘holy herb’ and ‘God’s remedy’.“
“For three hundred years following its importation into Europe, tobacco came to be considered a universal remedy highly prescribed by physicians. In the early history of tobacco, the literature on its medicinal benefits was voluminous.“
Many native American tribes used tobacco for both medicinal and spiritual purposes.
And as of recent, there have been several studies conducted by numerous research universities and other Researchers demonstrating that pure natural tobacco contains anti-cancer compounds.
See here, here and here, for example.
There are obviously several factors involved here, but the increased synthesis and processing of tobacco is most likely a large factor.
Marijuana has been noted for numerous potential medicinal benefits, but the marijuana industry is see similar increases in synthesis of the plant.
I’ve little doubt today’s “legalization” movement will lead to increasing health consequences in the future.
As has happened with tobacco.
As has happened with fertilizers.
As is seemingly happening with the increased synthesis of most all other products, including food & vitamins.
“A habit of basing convictions upon evidence, and of giving to them only that degree of certainty which the evidence warrants, would, if it became general, cure most of the ills from which the world is suffering. But at present, in most countries, education aims at preventing the growth of such a habit, and men who refuse to profess belief in some system of unfounded dogmas are not considered suitable as teachers of the young…”
-Bertrand Russell Quoted in G Simmons Calculus Gems(New York 1992)–
I’m a tough person to convince, of most anything. I don’t necessarily deny that I’m not convinced of, but neither do I necessarily believe in that.
I often hold what I consider a sliding-scale of beliefs.
I may, for example, give something 80% belief / 20% disbelief.
And I constantly reevaluate that scale, based on available and new information, data, stats, experience, etc.
And one of the main forms of evidence I rely on is personal experience & observation.
I don’t care so much about what other people tell me, as I do what I observe.
Many of the greatest Thinkers, Philosophers, Inventors, Discoverers, etc. (or at least most my favorites) refused to allow others to them how to think, or act.
What to believe & not believe.
And one of their main motivations for diversion & innovation ware personal observation and experience.
People in Charles Darwin’s time generally believed in the strict hierarchy of species. A specific order for the food chain.
But Darwin personally observed carnivorous plants (which he wrote about in Insectivorous Plants [1875]).
And reports of his peers and foes widely criticizing Darwin, many making claims of fraud, and fabrications.
They were all taught that plants are near the bottom of the food chain.
That plants could not possibly prey on insects, let alone animals.
Nicolaus Copernicus in the 16th century. Aristarchus of Samos before him in the third century BC, faced criticism as they rejected geocentrism, and promoted heliocentrism instead.
They refused to simply believe what they were told, and used personal observation to make theories and discoveries.
But like them, I need more verifiable data & info. before I put much belief in anything. I’m often not convinced of anything until I observe it for myself.
So I say, if you want me to put belief in anything, show me that thing is true.
The Milgram experiments on obedience to authority figures was a series of social psychology experiments conducted by Social Psychologist Stanley Milgram.
The experiments measured the willingness of study participants, men from a diverse range of occupations with varying levels of education, to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts conflicting with their personal conscience.
Milgram elaborated two theories:
• The first is the theory of conformism, based on Solomon Asch conformity experiments, describing the fundamental relationship between the group of reference and the individual person. A subject who has neither ability nor expertise to make decisions, especially in a crisis, will leave decision making to the group and its hierarchy.
• The second is the agentic state theory, wherein, per Milgram, “the essence of obedience consists in the fact that a person comes to view themselves as the instrument for carrying out another person’s wishes, and they therefore no longer see themselves as responsible for their actions. Once this critical shift of viewpoint has occurred in the person, all of the essential features of obedience follow”.
Milgram conceived of his theories and experiments based on the events of the Nazi movement, the events of the Holocaust, and especially the trial of Adolf Eichmann (whom, as per observers like Hannah Arendt, was actually not a fanatic or a sociopath, but instead an extremely average and mundane person who relied merely on clichéd biases rather than thinking for himself, was motivated by professional promotion rather than ideology. Banality, in this sense, does not mean that actions by the likes of Eichmann were in any way ordinary, or even that there is a potential Eichmann in all of us, but that his actions were motivated by a sort of complacency which was wholly unexceptional, and devoid of true intellect, individualism, ethics and morals).
Milgram’s experiments seemed to show that it wasn’t just “Nazi’s” that were susceptible to this obedience to authority.
But that traits exhibited by many of those followers of Nazism were similarly exhibited by many in the general populations.
Now, heading into the 21st century, I’m noticing some incredibly disturbing trends: the rise of the same sort of unexceptionalism; growing reliance of presumed “authority” figures; blind obedience; increasing complacency; large decreases in true intellect; and other such banal traits and behaviors.
Divergence and diversity, creativity and eccentricity, individualism and disparity, rather than being accepted and/or celebrated, are increasingly feared, abhorred, even punished.
Even many people I know personally, whom consider themselves keen & aware to the conditions and effects of that obedience to authority, are largely falling victim to the exact traits, conditions and effects, but most completely unaware of own traits & habits of such.
And perhaps one of the worst aspects of what I’m observing is that many of those falling victim of this trend of obedience are those in the ranks of the considered “educated” and “learned” classes.
But what is “authority”, whom defines those hierarchies, and why do people choose to obey those systems?
In his book The Republic, Plato wrote “The people have always some champion whom they set over them and nurse into greatness. . . . This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears above ground he is a protector. . . . having a mob entirely at his disposal, he is not restrained from shedding the blood of kinsmen; . . . he brings them into court and murders them . . . at the same time hinting at the abolition of debts and partition of lands. . . . After a while he is driven out, but comes back, in spite of his enemies, a tyrant full grown.“
Thus those “authority” figures are most often created by their own peers, not born of some divine origin nor often in possession of special characteristics.
In fact, the Public Relations industry is one of the largest creators of “authority” figures.
It is like the Marketing and Advertising industry for the product of people and personalities.
Their job in that function is to create campaigns to cast those people in the best possible light.
One can see this in a source like Wikipedia, for example.
Read the articles on most any billionaire and you will most always see words like “Philanthropist” to describe that billionaire.
But these are not objective, factual definitions, but mere labels in marketing campaigns with the intent to persuade.
Billionaires hire PR people and agencies to purposefully edit those articles with those favorable words & tags.
That is image building.
Television stations do it for their Anchors & On-air personalities.
As do radio stations.
Authorities on news. Authorities on music.
Much of a cops uniform is designed to instill authority.
Authority therefore is just determined, by whomever chooses to determine or accept it, not based on any innate quality or value.
Kings of old used to promulgate the belief they were divinely chosen by god to lead.
They were the authority because they placed themselves (or were placed by backers/supporters) in a position of authority.
And people often simply accept it.
Massive wealth concentrations, nationalism, authoritarianism, fascism, insecurities over scarcities, rising geopolitical tensions, etc., these are some of the conditions that were present in the early 1900’s.
Fast forward ~100 years, massive wealth concentrations, nationalism, authoritarianism, fascism, insecurities over scarcities, rising geopolitical tensions, etc., these are again some of the conditions that are present, in 2020.
What is “guilt“?
“Guilt” can be defined as:
Blackstone’s ratio as expressed by the English jurist William Blackstone in his seminal work, Commentaries on the Laws of England, published in the 1760s, said that:
“It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.“
Without such presumption of innocence, citizens can therefore be convicted and imprisoned without any evidence.
Assuming or presuming that a person, every person, is infected with some disease, results in the same type of consequences.
Social stigmatization, consternation, alienation, rejection and other such similar penalties often result.
So, in 2020 heading towards 2021, why is a person’s health status treated differently than their status as free human beings?
In his 1776 pamphlet Common Sense, Political Activist, Political Theorist, Philosopher and Revolutionary Thomas Paine wrote:
“I know it is difficult to get over local or long standing prejudices, yet if we will suffer ourselves to examine the component parts of the English constitution, we shall find them to be the base remains of two ancient tyrannies, compounded with some new republican materials.
First.—The remains of monarchical tyranny in the person of the king.
Secondly.—The remains of aristocratical tyranny in the persons of the peers.“
“To say that the constitution of England is a union of three powers reciprocally checking each other, is farcical, either the words have no meaning, or they are flat contradictions. “
18th century Britain had seen tremendous concentrations of wealth.
Those Aristocrats that had accumulated that wealth, used it to massively influence the Monarch (the King), and Parliament, to their advantages.
The Declaration of Independence was not mere a declaration of independence against the British government, but similarly against the Aristocracy that were corrupting that British government.
The Boston Tea Party was similarly an action against the special privileges being afforded those Aristocrats, often via their corporations, like the East India Co.
British Authors John Trenchard & Thomas Gordon, in their Cato’s Letters, wrote of the same abuses.
“For if any crimes against the publick may be committed with impunity, men will be tempted to commit the greatest of all; I mean, that of making themselves masters of the state; and where liberty ends in servitude, it is owing to this neglect. Caesar thought that he might do what he had seen Marius and Sulla do before him, and so enslaved his country: Whereas, had they been hanged, he would, perhaps, never have attempted it.“
-Cato’s Letters #2-
This Aristocratic Tyranny is what led Political Enlightenment Philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau to write:
“Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. Here’s
one who thinks he is the master of others, yet he is more
enslaved than they are.“
-The Social Contract – The Subject of the First Book-
“In the word’s precise sense, a
tyrant is an individual who grabs the royal authority without
having any right to it. That is how the Greeks understood
the word ‘tyrant’: they applied it even-handedly to good and
bad princes whose authority wasn’t legitimate. . . . ‘Tyrant’
and ‘usurper’ are thus perfectly synonymous terms.
So as to have different labels for different things, I call
someone who usurps the royal authority a tyrant, and him
who usurps the sovereign power a despot. The tyrant is
someone who illegally forces his way in, so as to govern in
accordance with the laws; the despot is someone who sets
himself above even the laws.“
There has been much press regarding supposed “excessive” deaths from “covid”.
Even much of the alt-media is jumping on the bandwagon.
But most all are simply publishing numbers provided them, without any deeper analysis.
Below is the example of Sweden’s population vs. deaths, from 2010-2020.
These are deaths from all causes.
Sweden has been in the news, a lot, regarding the country’s policies over handling of the “covid” event.
But what hasn’t made the news is these detailed numbers, nor greater analysis.
I’m using Sweden as an example here simply because Sweden is about the only country I’ve found that keeps regularly updated stats, and makes those stats readily available.
Sweden Deaths 10-yr Average:
So, since 2010 Sweden has seen an average annual death rate of 0.92486%.
2019 was an anomaly, at a lesser 0.88444%.
If December continues to play out with the rest of the year, we can expect a death rate of ~0.92181%, which is less than the 10-year average.
* Note – numbers for 2020 are through the end of November.
The estimates take the 11-month, monthly average, and provide an extended estimate for 12 full months using that monthly average.
So I ask, did people in Sweden stop dying of all other causes in direct proportion to the supposed increase in “covid” deaths?
Is this really what’s causing global panic?
And Sweden is reported as being the Nordic country with the highest number of deaths from “covid”, thus this is a worst-case scenario.
Something isn’t adding up in this “covid” narrative.
And too few people are willing to question the official narratives.
Note – This is similar to findings of supposed “covid” deaths in the U.S. by GENEVIEVE BRIAND in the Nov. 26, 2020 issue of the Johns Hopkins News-Letter.
In that article, Briand states:
“These data analyses suggest that in contrast to most people’s assumptions, the number of deaths by COVID-19 is not alarming. In fact, it has relatively no effect on deaths in the United States.“
“This comes as a shock to many people. How is it that the data lie so far from our perception?“
In other words, the number of deaths in the U.S. in 2020 have not increased.
Just like in Sweden.
The supposed “excess” deaths being attributed to “covid” have come at a reduction of deaths from all other causes.
Deaths are just being reclassified as “covid”.
I find that to be a huge problem.
If a person died while suffering a heart attack, but a Physician determined they had “covid” during that heart attack, the cause of death is being listed as “covid”, rather than the heart attack.
This practice is leading to false numbers, and causing irrational panic, fear and “covid” hysteria.
A closer look at U.S. deaths being considered due to COVID-19.
Synthetic fertilizers.
Synthetic ingredients.
Synthetic foods.
Synthetic vitamins.
Synthetic fibers.
Synthetic materials.
Synthetic medicines.
Synthetic fuels.
Humans have supposedly originated from the natural world, but exist, more so than any other species I know, as violent opponents, and even destroyers of that natural world.
“`Man’s conquest of Nature’ is an expression often used to describe the progress of applied science.”
“In what sense is Man the possessor of increasing power over Nature?”
-C.S. Lewis – The Abolition of Man-
Perhaps one of the most dangerous aspects of an increasingly synthetic world, is the ability of a few to control that synthetic world.
Where you have dependence you lack independence.
Where you lack independence you have an absence of freedom, liberty, human rights, justice, etc.
There are most often massive power & profit motives in crating those systems of dependence.
It is foolish to willingly cede your personal power to others, but then expect them to relinquish that control over you, or expect them to exercise control over you, in your preferred method.
Another consequence of an increasingly synthetic world lies in the nature of Nature.
Nature, not humans, is the best steward of Nature.
Nature can control natural processes.
Nature has trouble controlling, even dealing with, synthetic processes.
The increasing use of synthetic fertilizers is largely being attributed to declining plant health, and nutrient content.
And yet those synthetic fertilizers are not necessary.
Nature provides the nutrients necessary for self-sustainability.
Many media outlets were dubbing 2019 as the “Year of the Street Protests”, in response to popular global dissatisfaction with the way the “Elite” were destroying economies, environments, and lives, in search of ever-greater profits.
My, how things have completely changed so drastically in just a few short months.
Now, many of those formerly protesting that massive & growing inequality across the globe are complacently isolating themselves, relegated to massive fear over a supposed health threat.
Those street protests have largely died-down.
The opposition to those Elite easily quashed.
The Nazi Party in Germany were effectively able to generate mass fear & hysteria, over supposed threats.
That fear & hysteria were instrumental in instilling & maintaining systematic complacency, and compliance.
What do face masks/face coverings, vaccines and cigarettes/tobacco have in common?
They are all largely produced and sold by companies that are largely owned by the same Cartel of largest investment banks.
They all also produce relatively high profit margins & revenues, which ultimately end up in the hands of those largest investment banks (which largely exist as among the largest shareholders/investors of each other – like one huge Cartel).
I am absolutely perplexed at the massive hysteria being generated by the “covid” scare, but that same hysteria is most completely absent regarding the negative health effects of the use of processed tobacco products.
The human race have most completely lost their minds, and thus ways.
I know a large number of people that can recite the daily briefings of the supposed “covid” infections and deaths, but whom do not and cannot recite the number of new daily cancer cases and deaths (which average over 600,000 yearly deaths in the U.S. alone).
Cigarette and tobacco use remains legal, but not wearing a mask often does not (I’m certainly not advocating for laws against smoking, though I certainly don’t condone it, people need to take more responsibility for their own actions and lives, I am advocating against laws forcing certain actions).
I am similarly absolutely perplexed at the massive hysteria being generated by the “covid” scare, but how that same hysteria is most completely absent regarding the negative health effects of the increasing use of synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge on farmlands, and the increasing use of antibiotics & sterilizers (which are killing the very microbes that work to keep us alive & healthy).
The quest and accumulation of more profit by the Elite is the determining factor of most everything these days, including the legality and criminality of individual actions.
The largest shareholders of 3M:
https://investors.morningstar.com/ownership/shareholders-major.html?t=mmm
The largest shareholders of vaccine maker Pfizer:
https://investors.morningstar.com/ownership/shareholders-major.html?t=pfe
The largest shareholders of vaccine maker Moderna:
https://investors.morningstar.com/ownership/shareholders-major.html?t=mrna
The largest shareholders of tobacco company Phillip Morris:
https://investors.morningstar.com/ownership/shareholders-major.html?t=pm
The largest shareholders of tobacco company Altria:
https://investors.morningstar.com/ownership/shareholders-major.html?t=mo
Appeal to Authority (argumentum ad verecundiam) is a logical fallacy wherein a statement or conclusion is regarded as truthful simply because it originates or comes from a recognized authority figure (or “expert”).
Regularly, the recognized “learned” individuals, like Doctors, Lawyers, Politicians, Mechanics and such are regarded as experts simply because systems have been established recognizing them as such (like degrees, or titles, or certifications and such).
Scholasticism was a medieval school of philosophy that employed a method of philosophical analysis based upon a Latin Catholic theistic curriculum which dominated teaching in the medieval universities in Europe from about 1100 to 1700.
Scholasticism was not so much a philosophy or a theology as a method of teaching and training.
As a program, scholasticism began as an attempt at harmonization on the part of medieval Christian thinkers, to harmonize the various authorities of their own tradition, and to reconcile Christian theology with classical and late antiquity philosophy.
The terms “scholastic” and “scholasticism” derive from the Latin word scholasticus, the Latinized form of the Greek σχολαστικός (scholastikos), an adjective derived from σχολή (scholē), “school”. Scholasticus means “of or pertaining to schools”. The “scholastics” were, roughly, “schoolmen”.
As such, Scholasticism was not so much an education on the development and uses of higher-order cognitive skills as it was merely a way of training people how to think (i.e. training people to engage in systematic methods designed to lead them to predetermined conclusions, not in learning to question those predetermined conclusions by relying on evidence, or logic, or reasoning skills to validly refute them. For example, rather than teaching people how to use logic & reason to determine what ethics are, training them instead to justify certain actions as ethical, even when true ethics are absent from those actions).
It’s a system of training in merely how to conduct inquiry, not to question that conduct.
It forces people to think and act in certain ways, via certain systematic procedures, despite those systematic procedures perhaps being erroneous at their cores.
It is, as the saying goes, placing the cart before the horse (an analogy for doing things in the wrong order).
A horse usually pulls a cart, rather than a cart pulling a horse.
Scholasticism was the procedure of forming a conclusion first, then developing an argument that solely fits that conclusive narrative.
Rather than objectively seeking information and evidence to come to a logical conclusion.
The Scholastic period is often viewed as the origins of the degree and certification based systems of recognition of knowledge and expertise.
The University of Salerno, offered a degree in medicine by 1050.
The University of Bologna was the first to offer a degree in Roman law.
The University of Paris was the first to offer all four degrees – arts, theology, medicine, and law.
These first universities offered a Bachelor of Arts, a Master of Arts, and Doctorate degrees. To get a BA, students had to complete four years of trivuum: grammar, rhetoric, and logic. The MA required studies in the quadrivium: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. The MA degree allowed one to teach. Doctorate degrees were available only in theology, medicine, and law.
It can be witnessed, for example, in the evolution of the U.S. legal system.
Prosecutors and Defense Attorneys, rather than seeking absolute truths & facts to come to conclusions regarding the guilt or innocence of an individual, each merely craft cases that suit their predetermined conclusions (either guilty or innocent), ignoring those facts that refute those predetermined conclusions.
I have worked amongst a wide variety of individuals in various occupations, in a wide variety of industries and disciplines.
I have seen, for example, professionally-certified Mechanics that lacked the comprehensive troubleshooting skills to accurately diagnose mechanical problems and/or failures.
I have seen, for example, Doctors and other healthcare “professionals” that lack the biochemical, nutritional, microbiotic (and other forms of related knowledge) to properly diagnose illness and/or treat disease.
I have seen, for example, Prosecutors, Judges and Lawyers that fail to properly analyze relevant evidence to make more factual determinations (often resorting to biases & emotions, rather than empirical, evidence-based facts).
I have seen, for example, Politicians that rely on highly-skewed data provided by Lobbyists, rather than more broad and/or objective data.
The “covid”/”cornoavirus” narrative is one case in point that immediately comes to mind.
I’ve seen way too much conflicting “expert” opinions coming from people largely reliant on bias and/or insufficient evidence.
This is coming from both “covid” believers and “covid” deniers alike.
In fact, of all the info & data I’ve read on the topic (from hundreds of sources), only one or two of those sources have presented truly objective data.
Most all the “experts” have preformed conclusions, and are then gathering, using & relying solely on the info & data that supports those preformed conclusions.
Again, the truth is the real casualty in this ongoing narrative and dispute.
People are being recognized as “experts” simply because they engage in those systematic processes of training (often schools), and posses a degree and/or certification from the institutions that engage in that training.
If a person simply tests well, without actually accumulating true & comprehensive knowledge, they are determined and officially recognized as an “expert”.
Often, simply because a person can memorize and recite words, ideas, concepts and such that they’ve been told, they are considered “learned”, often despite their inabilities to more deeply & thorough analyze those words, ideas, concepts and such.
A Mechanic, rather than properly troubleshooting a specific failing mechanical part in a system, can simply replace all the parts in that system.
They think they are “experts” because the trouble has likely disappeared, but they’ve failed to truly identify the specific source of the cause of the failures.
Example 1 – a faulty tire that is causing irregular wear in the tread pattern may be causing shimmy problems in an automobile, and a poor Mechanic may, in not recognizing that faulty tire, replace the entire front-end suspension of that auto, including the tires, consider it a job well-done if that shimmy problem goes away. Yet that Mechanic has failed to identify the true source of the cause of that problem, that faulty tire.
Example 2 – A Doctor may prescribe pharmaceuticals to block the symptoms of a health problem (like a Diuretics for high blood pressure – that remove excess water and sodium from a body, so there’s less fluid flowing through veins and arteries. This reduces pressure on the walls of blood vessels), but likely fail to understand the specific causes of that excess water and/or sodium (which can result from numerous causes).
The Doctor relieves symptoms, but fails to relieve the underlying causes.
There are numerous studies showing how the human microbiome affects everything from the mental psychology to physiological health of living things.
The microorganisms interact & react in ways that affect chemical balances, hormones, and other functions and factors.
And yet neither the medical nor scientific communities have begun to understand the microbiome, nor the effects it has on behaviors, thoughts, health, illnesses and such.
But they still largely consider themselves experts on the functions of the human body, and on their diagnoses, treatments and prescriptions.
They are experts in presumption only.
At best they maintain only a very mall fragment of knowledge.
But most people tend to take their words and opinions as gospel.
Example 3 – An organic Farmer may simply apply animal manures in place of synthetic fertilizers on their fields, but fail to recognize the microbiotic activity necessary for truly healthy soils & crops, and/or fail to posses knowledge of the allelochemicals and secondary-metabolites necessary for the natural sustainability of the soil biota, and greater production of vitamins, flavonoids, minerals, natural antibiotics, and such.
They are often told that natural amendments are better than synthetic amendments, but often likely don’t know why (and subsequently often engage in similarly damaging practices, without being aware of the damage they’re causing).
In each case/example these are people doing simply as they’ve been told to do, without gaining deeper knowledge, nor true expertise in their respective fields.
So why would they be considered experts?
Going back to the first part of this essay, as a program, scholasticism began as an attempt at harmonization on the part of medieval Christian thinkers, to harmonize the various authorities of their own tradition, and to reconcile Christian theology with classical and late antiquity philosophy.
Thus that medieval Scholasticism was more about aligning views, about leading students and scholars to accepting a certain conclusion.
Rather than teaching thought, it taught conformity.
I charge the same is widely occurring today, in what I see as the Neo-Scholastic movement.
Schools and institutions are more about teaching tradition that in teaching cognitive abilities.
Schooling is a preparation for the working world of the “learned”.
With the massive consolidation of corporations (the number of publicly-held companies has decreased by more than half since just the mid-1980’s), and the massive concentrations of wealth we’re seeing in contemporary times, students are mainly being prepped to conform with the standards set forth by those mega-corporations, which are largely owned by the same Cartel of Elite.
Again, this can be seen with the recent events of the “covid”/”coronavirus” narrative.
There are reports that many Doctors and healthcare workers that are refusing to buy into the “covid”/”coronavirus” narrative are being fired.
Thus experts are only still “experts” when they promulgate official conventional narratives.
There is a definite system of quid pro quo in this world of scholasticism.
Participants (those educated in degree-based, professional or certified fields) adhere to officially promulgated systems, and they are rewarded for that adherence, not just with titles, but with prestige, power (often Supervisory roles), and money.
In other words, they help the establishment system, and that establishment system in turn helps them.
It’s rare, for example, for a Doctor to rail against the medical industry.
Similarly, it rare for Attorneys to rail against the legal industry.
These supposed “experts” are also given systematic bolstering and constant recognition of that supposed expertise, by both the industries, their peer groups, and often other professional groups.
I have worked in PR and Consulting for decades.
One of my primary functions has been in working to establish that public image for those professionals.
Constantly promoting and presenting them as “experts”, often by highlighting their titles, and ensuring positive public images.
Working in Broadcasting, for example, Journalists, Reporters, Anchors, Writers and such are constantly given promos highlighting their supposed skills and expertise as presenters of facts.
They are built-up to increase public perception of their roles.
Similarly, in medical journals, scientific research articles, etc., Authors of those pieces often rely on these professional, including their titles, as evidence to support certain positions.
Which not only serves to lend credibility to their positions, but similarly serves to lend credibility to the professionals they are sourcing, via that press, recognition & notoriety.
This is a self-serving and self-perpetuating system.
Professionals are presented as “experts” thus they are widely viewed as “experts”, which then continues to present them as “experts”.
It also often instills a false-sense of self-recognition as “experts”.
These professionals are so frequently told they are experts that they naturally believe that designation.
The more a person is presented as an expert, they more both they, the public at-large, and their colleagues begin to believe it.
In my work in PR and Consulting, I’ve worked with many professionals, whom are frequently looked up to, often by underlings, and that stature forces them to assume a growing sense of self-recognition.
For instance, a CEO is expected to have answers, and thus will answer as if they know more than they truly know about a topic or subject, as they have gained over-confidence in their titles and roles.
A basis of the Dunning Kruger effect is in the statement “ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.”.
“If you can influence the leaders, either with or without their conscious cooperation, you automatically influence the group which they sway.“
–Edward Bernays – Propaganda–
“Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. One man thinks himself the master of others, but remains more of a slave than they are.”
–Jean-Jacques Rousseau – The Social Contract–
Donald Trump has played the perfect fool.
He is stupid enough to serve as a mere puppet for the true Ruling Elite.
The paraphrase “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing” points to the danger of knowing too little, but thinking you know much.
Forming false conclusions that are based on insufficient evidence.
Acting in such a way, Donald Trump has engaged in the fallacy of Black & White (aka false dichotomy), where just two alternate, often opposing states are presented as the only possibilities, when in fact numerous more possibilities exist (i.e. “fake” versus “real” news).
Trump has mindlessly labeled the “Liberal” news as fake, but largely embraced the “Conservative” news as real.
Likely unaware that both sides of the corporate news are largely owned by the same Cartel of largest investors.
And similarly likely unaware that both largely engage in the distractionary propagandist tactic of mindless entertainment.
Trump has also frequently engaged in many cognitive biases, including Confirmation Bias, In-group Bias, Belief Bias, the Dunning Kruger effect, and numerous others.
Trump is a man (a man-child, really) of little true intellect and knowledge.
Trump serves as an example of people that use & rely on poor and improper sourcing of evidence, and of using too little evidence to justify grandiose claims, statements and conclusions.
Is there really such thing as fake news?
Absolutely.
But is that charge applicable only to those outlets & sources that Trump disagrees with?
Absolutely not.
The Boy Who Cried Wolf is one of Aesop’s Fables, about a boy that falsely warned of a wolf so many times that when a wolf actually appeared and presented danger, no one would believe him.
Like the Boy who cried wolf, Trump has made so many false (inaccurate) claims, that now so many people simply disregard the complete truths behind those claims.
The moral stated at the end of the Greek version is, “this shows how liars are rewarded: even if they tell the truth, no one believes them”. It echoes a statement attributed to Aristotle by Diogenes Laërtius in his The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, in which the sage was asked what those who tell lies gain by it and he answered “that when they speak truth they are not believed”.
The world of “news” and “journalism” have largely become heavily-corrupted.
In an era of amongst the greatest concentrations of wealth in modern history, the same Cartel of wealthy Elite now own and control the largest shares of the largest “competing” media companies, of both the “left” and “right” slants.
Worse, those media companies are subsidiaries of entertainment corporations.
Increasingly, that entertainment is being spun as “news”.
For those that don’t know, many “news” stories and shows contain media (images, video & audio) that are simply purchased from media libraries.
If an outlet were to do a story on a fight/war, say a fight/war in Afghanistan, rather than the expense of sending a Reporter to that location for actual footage, they often simply rely on immediately-available stock footage of any past fight/war.
Thus what you’re seeing or hearing is not sourced from the event being covered.
This makes “news” a lot more like Hollywood-style entertainment (as many movies and entertainment-based books use the same stock footage).
It’s not only cheaper to work in that way, but many of those media libraries are similarly owned by the same Cartel that largely own those media/entertainment companies.
Thus money spent on using that footage (expenses on the part of the media company using those media files) are revenue for the media libraries holding those.
The money essentially stays in the same Cartel family (portfolio holdings).
Though it’s a clever investment strategy, it results in a degradation of journalistic integrity and truths.
It blurs and convolutes the lines between fact and fiction.
Taken to extremes, it presents as “fact” what can be completely made-up.
Benjamin Franklin warned that “Historians relate, not so much what is done, as to what they would have believed.”
It results in historical revisionism at least, and in complete lies & propaganda at worst.
Consider if every Hollywood produced fictional movie was presented as absolute fact & news.
We may not be as far away from that as one thinks.
What has seemingly resulted from Trump’s continued poorly used cries of “fake news”, is a sort of Backfire Effect, of both opposing camps (“Conservatives” and “Liberals, “Dems” and “GOP”).
Trump supporters more strongly believe in those outlets that are supporting their biases, Trump opponents more strongly believe in those outlets that are supporting their biases.
Both claiming their preferred outlets are “real”, but that the opposing outlets are “fake”.
The truth and real knowledge in both cases becomes the real victims.
Continued massive propaganda, aimed against both sides, emerges as the clear winner.
Now, too few people from both camps realize & understand the massive fake news being pumped out as fact, from most all “news” outlets.
As do those that own those entertainment-based media outlets promulgating that fake news across all their media holdings.
As such, Trump has enriched and empowered the same Elite he purported to fight.
Trump has been played for the complete fool & ignoramus he truly is.
This is not intended as merely a criticism, nor to single out Donald Trump, but as a warning of the results of propaganda.
He just happens to be the current puppet-in-chief.
As observed by both Bernays and Rousseau, “leaders” are often the first targets of well-coordinated propagandist techniques & campaigns.
The U.S. “news” media were experiencing serious declines in public trust prior to the appointment of Trump to the presidency.
And one of the true primary purposes for the existence of the “news” media is to sell advertising, to generate revenue.
That is a truth that not many people in the public know or understand.
And yet, with Trump’s help in further dividing the nation between supposed opposing groups (take note in how many of the largest & most powerful institutions [like the WEF], think tanks [like the Atlantic Council, CFR, et al], and NGO’s transcend those phony partisan politics), those biased news outlets are gaining loyalty amongst their most ardent fans (group-thinkers).
The true Ruling Elite are making massive gains in power & wealth in the process.
Beware – we can expect even more of the same with the appointment of the ignorant dumbass Biden.
National “leaders” are rarely strong sovereigns.
They are often simply those most easily controlled by the Aristocracy.
We were told the supposed dangers of “The Virus”.
We were told of the supposed extreme contagiousness of “The Virus”.
But I’ve yet to wear a mask.
I’ve yet to isolate.
I’ve yet to socially distance from people.
I’ve yet to confine myself indoors.
In fact, I haven’t changed my daily habits one iota.
And yet I haven’t yet become “infected”.
Nor has anyone I personally know.
And I’m in one of those supposed “high-risk” groups (formerly succumbed to chronic pneumonia, for over 20 years).
But I don’t scare easy.
And I seek to take care & control of my own body & health.
I haven’t allowed myself to become dependent on the corrupted, failing & dangerous medical & pharmaceutical industries.
Throughout history, many of the greatest Thinkers, Discoverers, Inventors, Philosophers, and such have not allowed conventional narratives to define their determinations, insights, thoughts, discoveries, etc.
They were often those brave enough to challenge conventional “wisdoms” and myths.
They often relied on their own personal experiences & observations, rather than rely on the words of phony authorities, experts, and other often celebrated persons.
They offer lessons to be learned for each of us.
First, some definitions:
Tyranny – The word derives from Latin tyrannus, meaning “illegitimate rule”.
The Greeks defined both usurpers and those inheriting rule from usurpers as tyrants.
Thus the usage of tyranny & tyrants is not limited to the singular. It is the not the illegitimate rule of just one person, but can also be the illegitimate rule of a group.
Though many have been misled to believe tyranny is abuse of power by only a single person, a group of people can similarly engage in tyranny.
For example, the Framers of the Constitution and the Founders of the U.S. were concerned of a tyranny of the majority.
Democracy meant freedom for all, not freedom for the majority at the expense of the minority.
Authoritarianism – Is a form of government characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of a strong central power to preserve the political status quo, and reductions in the rule of law, reductions in separation of powers, and reductions in democratic voting.
Political scientists have created many typologies describing variations of authoritarian forms of government.
Authoritarian regimes may be autocratic, oligarchic in nature, and/or of any nature that violate the freedoms, liberties, rights and justice of any members of a plurality (a diverse group of individuals).
Fascism – is a form of authoritarian ultra-nationalism, characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and of the economy.
From the Latin word fascis, often meaning bundled, banded, or together.
It was often applied in ancient Rome to mean a bundling of Executive, Judicial and Legislative powers.
Each have come to represent a general lack of broad-based freedoms, liberties, and justice.
But a serious problem exists in that far too many people are assigning these traits solely to the right-wing movements, when many left-wing movements are engaging in the same traits & activities, by similarly suppressing the freedoms of those they oppose.
Many “left-wing” followers and movements claim to adhere to principles of Liberalism, yet the classical basis of the word Liberalism is from the Latin liber, which means “free”.
In seeking to stifle the freedoms of others, in pursuit of their own freedoms, we can see that the ‘left-wing” can engage in tyranny, authoritarianism and fascism, just as easily as can the “right-wing”.
This is not intended as a criticism of either one side or the other, neither as support of one over the other, but as a warning of both.
True liberty, freedom, innate rights, justice and such are not dependent on mere partisan loyalties.
What’s even worse than trying to stave off the oppression of tyranny, authoritarianism and fascism from either the “left” or “right” is trying to stave off the growing oppressions of both the “left” and “right”.
As both sides continually point blame at the other for their attacks on freedoms, but sides continue to strip away ever-more rights & freedoms.
We, The People are the true losers.
Where you have dependence, you lack lack independence.
Where you lack independence, you generally lack true liberty, freedom, and justice.
Have you ever stopped to truly consider the reasons behind the American Patriots and U.S. Founders quest for independence?
They had personally witnessed, and understood this statement from above.
Their pursuit of independence was a pursuit of true liberty, freedom, and justice.
They were aware that once people gain power over you, those people are not likely to surrender or relinquish that power.
In fact, those people are quite likely to seek even greater power over you.
For as long as known recorded human history, including the 18th century prior to the American Revolution, systems of dependence have been sought by certain people, as methods of control over all other peoples.
The Elite, whom truly controlled “King” George III and the British government at the time (read the essays titled Cato’s Letters by 18th century British Authors John Trenchard & Thomas Gordon for more info), sought to ensure the American Colonies remained dependent on that British government.
That dependency helped ensure control over those Colonists.
It also helped ensure healthy profits of public-private corporations, like the South Sea Co., the East India Co., among others.
From economics, to food production, to politics, to governance, to health care, to occupations/labor, and so on (now including most every facet of human life & existence), those seeking control over the masses have continued to build greater systems of dependence.
Dependence that ensures continued power and profit of those Elite.
When people can’t do for themselves, they must turn to others to do things for them.
They become reliant on that dependence on those others.
Those others then most often abuse that reliance.
Consider the example of the domineering, controlling, abusive partner/spouse in a personal relationship.
A spouse that seeks control over finances, housing, possessions, social activities, and most all other aspects of their partners life.
They engage in establishing those systems of dependence to implement that control over the other spouse/partner.
That dominated partner is often too frightened to leave that relationship, fearful of losing all that they have.
Fearful of not being able to provide for themselves, and surviving.
They become trapped.
The exact same is occurring with greater frequency in & of most all aspects of human life.
The exact same is occurring across most all systems of politics, governance, and society.
Regardless whether a “socialist”, “communist”, or “free” economic system.
Regardless whether a “democratic”, “oligarchic”, “autocratic”, or others systems of governance.
Regardless whether “presidential”, “monarchy”, “constitutional monarchy”, “parliamentary”, single-party or multi-party state.
The problem is vast, and wide-spread.
The problem is a global one.
Too many people worldwide are able to recognize the mass corruptions of dependence in others, without being able to recognize the same in their own.
U.S. citizens can look towards countries, like Russia, China, North Korea, and such, and criticize their complete dependence on strong “leaders” & systems, yet fail to recognize their own complete dependence on their own strong “leaders” & systems.
Terms like “freedom”, “liberty”, “justice” and such have become mere labels, devoid of the true ideologies those terms should be built upon.
Independence, or self reliance, is often considered the virtue by which you are self-supporting in the sense that you consume nothing that you haven’t earned.
Independence is not only applicable to production, though. In fact, production isn’t even the most important place where this virtue should be practiced. The most important is the independence of one’s mind. Life requires humans to act in order to achieve their values. This requires the proper use of judgment to not only pick the right values, but to understand the best way of achieving them. To substitute another’s thoughts for yours makes it impossible to judge the accuracy of them. It makes it impossible to build off of them to achieve better understanding. This is the area where independence is most critical. To default on one’s responsibilities is to default on one’s life. The degree to which one abandons their intellectual, emotional, financial, dietary, wellness, etc. independence is the degree to which they are helpless to act. The degree to which they cannot pursue their own life and values.
Nothing is ever free. By accepting the unearned, a human loses their grasp of what it means to earn something. They loses their assurance of their own self-efficacy. Every independent act is a reaffirmation of one’s ability to deal with reality. Every unearned gift is a blow to one’s true confidence.
The philosophy of independence means that no one can do your thinking or do your actions for you.
The most sinister form of incompetence is the subjugation of your mind to that of another. An example is that of blindly accepting the words of authority or authority figures because of their “appeal”. To take their claims as immediate facts and not research them or put them through a critical thinking test.
The philosophy of independence requires the ability to deal with reality. Simply putting yourself in a bubble and refusing to accept outside influences will not help you find independence. You need to be able to see reality in its terrible glory. And then re-assess your ideas and beliefs to fit this reality.
“One failure on your own accord is safer than a million truths accepted on blind faith.”
-unknown-
One frequent habit I’m continually noticing during this “covid-19” narrative is the illogical and peculiar habit of people that don’t don masks when in the presence of close friends or family members, but whom then quickly proceed to put their masks in place as they encounter/approach not-so-close friends and/or strangers.
I’m interested in how these folks determine the perceived threat.
And how simple familiarity seemingly determines that perception.
Is a person any less infectious simply because they are familiar?
Can’t a close friend or family member be an asymptomatic carrier just as easily as a stranger?
What’s the logic here?
I ask, whom is crazier, the person that refuses to engage in a completely crazy system & society, or the persons that continue to participate & engage in that completely crazy system, but also continue to gripe about how crazy that system & society are?
History is full of examples of people whom have been reported as choosing to buck the corrupted & crazed systems, seeking to free others from the shackles of the systems, but whom have been persecuted, even prosecuted for bucking those systems.
From Jesus, to John the Baptist, to Socrates, to Plato, to Thomas Paine, the list goes on and on.
Each suffered at the hands of the corrupted & crazed systems, often either by, or with the complicity of those they sought to free.
Each of those persecuted individuals had tried to reach out to the populace, trying to get them to see the failures of those corrupted & crazed systems, and make necessary changes, but only to succumb to a crazed populace.
Rather than railing against the corrupted & crazed systems, the masses often rail against those railing against those corrupted & crazed systems.
So whom is truly crazier here, the person constantly complaining of a corrupted & crazed system, but actively participating in that system, or the person that refuses to participate in that system in the first place?
