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A gay werewolf tale from the 12th century
Posted 9 years agoThis was such a nice find, apparently in 12th century France, there was a story about a king and a werewolf, and it was gay :P
http://www.dailyxtra.com/world/blog.....century-207710
http://www.dailyxtra.com/world/blog.....century-207710
Meet the Goat Man
Posted 9 years agoWell...this is interesting. A guy did an experiment on what it's really like to be a good for three days, so he made prosthetics, a helmet, and other modifications to do this and then wrote a book about his experiences. To many, including me, I thought it was really bizarre but thinking about it, well I always been a fan of transformation, I guess he just went further than what most TF fans I know would want to do, using technology to experience being the animal of their choice to the fullest. Though this is probably why I honestly prefer to be an anthro canine(though being feral might be fun from time to time) if I had the choice :P
Life updates, Syria, The Dog Who Can Fly
Posted 9 years agoHey guys, finally got to writing here again, so a few things, so far my semester is doing fine, and working is the usual to say the least, but everything has been mostly steady.
Syrian Refugee crisis:
Anyway, seeing the Syrian Civil War, that sparked the refugee crisis and the horrid racism and discrimination Syrian refugees face I think I should try to humanize the situation a little more. Lately I've become more open to the fact that I'm half Syrian, my father was born and raised in Aleppo, one of the main battlegrounds of a civil war that so far has taken the lives of over 400,000 over the last 5 years, for a country of over 20 million, we're talking 2% of the population is dead, that's equivalent of the US Civil War's deaths, 1 in every 50 people, and countless more wounded and millions displaced.
I became more open about this part of my cultural heritage mostly because I want people to know my dad's side of the family that they all came here for a better life, and all became educated and productive society, my dad worked for public sector, his cousins and other relatives were in business, and a few doctors in the family too, and they were always pretty chill when it comes to religion, most are traditional but otherwise are pretty well integrated into American society, my dad knows English extremely well that he has no accent, since my mother and my mom's side is Latino and Catholic mostly, they never really had any problems with religion, and I grew up being immersed in both before I made my own decision of what spiritual path I wanted to follow. I've met many Syrians in my local mosque with my dad, and people just need to get to know them really.
Compared to a lot of other Middle Eastern nations, Syria was pretty secular(along with Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq etc), I think if people get to meet Syrians and get to know them more, they might change their perception. People seem to change their opinions on a group of people when they get to know them and hear their side of the story, we need more empathy and to stop hating on each other and giving into politicians who want to divide us or blame certain groups of people for their own benefit.
The recent comparison of comparing Syrian refugees to skittles is just fucking stupid, and horrifically discriminatory. Cause if we go by that logic, most crime is done by men, you're way more likely to get shot by another American(or a policeman for that matter), or die from a car accident, or simply trip on yourself then you are to die from a terrorist attack. ISIS plainly said they want to divide society with these terrorist attacks to turn people against the Muslim minorities so as to force them to make a choice to either abandon their traditions or join them.
As it is I don't talk religion in public much anymore, and I'm pretty lucky, given I look white, and don't dress or look "Muslim" so I never really suffered discrimination from it, but many others aren't so lucky, especially people who have the "look"(like Sikhs being mistaken for Muslims) or especially Muslim women who decide to wear the headscarf which is a clear marker, they've been numerous hate crimes lately that I haven't seen since after 9/11, some woman had her hijab burned, a guy got flat out murdered, and a mosque set ablaze in another state, so whoever says Islamophobia doesn't exist is just denying what's going on the ground.
A stereotypical map of pre-war Syria done by Syrians
Sorry for the long talk on that, it depresses me with the lack of empathy but anyway, here's something a bit more light hearted, I found a link on Reddit where a Syrian guy made a pre-war stereotpyical map of Syria, kinda like those map memes we made of our own country, it's amusing and I think it'll humanize them a bit.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/co.....e_war_1228866/
"ALEPPO: My city! In my opinion no place has better food than Aleppo does, and it's mostly known for Kebbeh and Mihshi. The dialect of Aleppo is very unique and hard to master. I personally can not speak the dialect of my own city. Aleppines also think their city was the rightful one to be the capital, since it economically was better than Damascus and when the Republic of Syria was first forming there were real considerations about making Aleppo the capital."
^ This is so damn true, knowing my father and his family, and I have eaten a fair amount of Kebbeh and Mihshi, find a Mediterranean place and try it!
Book Review: The Dog Who Can Fly
*Spoilers here*
This is a really good read, I loved it, it's about a Czech pilot, named Robert Bozdech after escaping his country that became occupied by the Nazis. He goes to France to continue the fight and after being shot down with his friend, they ended up in no man's land in an abandoned house and found a German shepherd puppy, and he ended up taking him back to the French lines under fire. This dog would soon become inseparable from him as they bonded, the dog shown to be a real survivor and extremely loyal to Robert. He would name him "Ant"(though when he arrives in Britain he'd change it to "Antis"). The dog turned out to love being in an airplane, so much so he started taking him up in the cockpit with him(it was easier for him since he was typically a gunner), and they would go through a lot of crap together. They escaped from France, nearly starved to death, and he had to smuggle his dog onto a British ship to get to Britain to continue the fight further against the Germans, and smuggle him off the boat otherwise they would've put him down(it's a sad part of history that the UK is estimated to have put down over a 100,000 pet dogs and thousands of other pets during the war).
He would end up at an air base for training in the RAF which he and his other fellow Czech pilots who grew fond of Ant, helped him bend the rules and regulations to allow Antis to stay with him. But throughout their career he had to constantly fight with the authorities to keep his dog and often would risk court martial to do so. But Ant would prove his worth since he often can detect danger before the sirens go off several times which would save his master's life as the Luftwaffe made some surprise attacks on them a couple times. But soon he would be assigned to a bomber squadron as a tail gunner, doing night raids over German controlled Europe, and his dog would loyally wait for him in the hangar not moving an inch till he came back. But one night he snuck into the plane before they took off and Robert didn't realize he was there till they were 15,000 feet over Germany, and he was having trouble breathing because of their altitude so they shared oxygen and survived night fighters and flak, and when they returned they made him a regular member of the crew even making a modified oxygen mask for him. He would fly 30 missions with his master before he got badly wounded and had to be grounded for the rest of the war.
They would do several missions, but Antis would get wounded in combat twice, and become a sensation in Britain in the newspaper, and Ant would survive much more, but the bond between Antis and Robert was unbreakable and they would both end up surviving the war, and Antis would live to be 14 before passing away.
Here's a video of Antis being awarded the Dicken medal, the animal version of the UK's Victoria Cross for saving lives, one incident, the local town near the air base that Antis and Robert were in was bombed, so they rushed to the scene, and managed to save several people who were trapped in the wreckage of their houses and for this along with his war escapades would be awarded in 1949 after the war.
So I highly recommend this book, it was one of the best war dog stories I ever read, and the bond between Robert and Antis where they would risk their lives with each other, "together to the end" sorta theme, so I was definitely touched by it and definitely buying myself a copy of the book after borrowing a copy from the library I work at.
For more Information on Antis, look these links up:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art.....ria-Cross.html
http://nypost.com/2014/06/01/the-am.....o-dog-of-wwii/
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/wa.....wwii-hero.html
Syrian Refugee crisis:
Anyway, seeing the Syrian Civil War, that sparked the refugee crisis and the horrid racism and discrimination Syrian refugees face I think I should try to humanize the situation a little more. Lately I've become more open to the fact that I'm half Syrian, my father was born and raised in Aleppo, one of the main battlegrounds of a civil war that so far has taken the lives of over 400,000 over the last 5 years, for a country of over 20 million, we're talking 2% of the population is dead, that's equivalent of the US Civil War's deaths, 1 in every 50 people, and countless more wounded and millions displaced.
I became more open about this part of my cultural heritage mostly because I want people to know my dad's side of the family that they all came here for a better life, and all became educated and productive society, my dad worked for public sector, his cousins and other relatives were in business, and a few doctors in the family too, and they were always pretty chill when it comes to religion, most are traditional but otherwise are pretty well integrated into American society, my dad knows English extremely well that he has no accent, since my mother and my mom's side is Latino and Catholic mostly, they never really had any problems with religion, and I grew up being immersed in both before I made my own decision of what spiritual path I wanted to follow. I've met many Syrians in my local mosque with my dad, and people just need to get to know them really.
Compared to a lot of other Middle Eastern nations, Syria was pretty secular(along with Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq etc), I think if people get to meet Syrians and get to know them more, they might change their perception. People seem to change their opinions on a group of people when they get to know them and hear their side of the story, we need more empathy and to stop hating on each other and giving into politicians who want to divide us or blame certain groups of people for their own benefit.
The recent comparison of comparing Syrian refugees to skittles is just fucking stupid, and horrifically discriminatory. Cause if we go by that logic, most crime is done by men, you're way more likely to get shot by another American(or a policeman for that matter), or die from a car accident, or simply trip on yourself then you are to die from a terrorist attack. ISIS plainly said they want to divide society with these terrorist attacks to turn people against the Muslim minorities so as to force them to make a choice to either abandon their traditions or join them.
As it is I don't talk religion in public much anymore, and I'm pretty lucky, given I look white, and don't dress or look "Muslim" so I never really suffered discrimination from it, but many others aren't so lucky, especially people who have the "look"(like Sikhs being mistaken for Muslims) or especially Muslim women who decide to wear the headscarf which is a clear marker, they've been numerous hate crimes lately that I haven't seen since after 9/11, some woman had her hijab burned, a guy got flat out murdered, and a mosque set ablaze in another state, so whoever says Islamophobia doesn't exist is just denying what's going on the ground.
A stereotypical map of pre-war Syria done by Syrians
Sorry for the long talk on that, it depresses me with the lack of empathy but anyway, here's something a bit more light hearted, I found a link on Reddit where a Syrian guy made a pre-war stereotpyical map of Syria, kinda like those map memes we made of our own country, it's amusing and I think it'll humanize them a bit.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/co.....e_war_1228866/
"ALEPPO: My city! In my opinion no place has better food than Aleppo does, and it's mostly known for Kebbeh and Mihshi. The dialect of Aleppo is very unique and hard to master. I personally can not speak the dialect of my own city. Aleppines also think their city was the rightful one to be the capital, since it economically was better than Damascus and when the Republic of Syria was first forming there were real considerations about making Aleppo the capital."
^ This is so damn true, knowing my father and his family, and I have eaten a fair amount of Kebbeh and Mihshi, find a Mediterranean place and try it!
Book Review: The Dog Who Can Fly
*Spoilers here*
This is a really good read, I loved it, it's about a Czech pilot, named Robert Bozdech after escaping his country that became occupied by the Nazis. He goes to France to continue the fight and after being shot down with his friend, they ended up in no man's land in an abandoned house and found a German shepherd puppy, and he ended up taking him back to the French lines under fire. This dog would soon become inseparable from him as they bonded, the dog shown to be a real survivor and extremely loyal to Robert. He would name him "Ant"(though when he arrives in Britain he'd change it to "Antis"). The dog turned out to love being in an airplane, so much so he started taking him up in the cockpit with him(it was easier for him since he was typically a gunner), and they would go through a lot of crap together. They escaped from France, nearly starved to death, and he had to smuggle his dog onto a British ship to get to Britain to continue the fight further against the Germans, and smuggle him off the boat otherwise they would've put him down(it's a sad part of history that the UK is estimated to have put down over a 100,000 pet dogs and thousands of other pets during the war).
He would end up at an air base for training in the RAF which he and his other fellow Czech pilots who grew fond of Ant, helped him bend the rules and regulations to allow Antis to stay with him. But throughout their career he had to constantly fight with the authorities to keep his dog and often would risk court martial to do so. But Ant would prove his worth since he often can detect danger before the sirens go off several times which would save his master's life as the Luftwaffe made some surprise attacks on them a couple times. But soon he would be assigned to a bomber squadron as a tail gunner, doing night raids over German controlled Europe, and his dog would loyally wait for him in the hangar not moving an inch till he came back. But one night he snuck into the plane before they took off and Robert didn't realize he was there till they were 15,000 feet over Germany, and he was having trouble breathing because of their altitude so they shared oxygen and survived night fighters and flak, and when they returned they made him a regular member of the crew even making a modified oxygen mask for him. He would fly 30 missions with his master before he got badly wounded and had to be grounded for the rest of the war.
They would do several missions, but Antis would get wounded in combat twice, and become a sensation in Britain in the newspaper, and Ant would survive much more, but the bond between Antis and Robert was unbreakable and they would both end up surviving the war, and Antis would live to be 14 before passing away.
Here's a video of Antis being awarded the Dicken medal, the animal version of the UK's Victoria Cross for saving lives, one incident, the local town near the air base that Antis and Robert were in was bombed, so they rushed to the scene, and managed to save several people who were trapped in the wreckage of their houses and for this along with his war escapades would be awarded in 1949 after the war.
So I highly recommend this book, it was one of the best war dog stories I ever read, and the bond between Robert and Antis where they would risk their lives with each other, "together to the end" sorta theme, so I was definitely touched by it and definitely buying myself a copy of the book after borrowing a copy from the library I work at.
For more Information on Antis, look these links up:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art.....ria-Cross.html
http://nypost.com/2014/06/01/the-am.....o-dog-of-wwii/
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/wa.....wwii-hero.html
How to correct Trump in real time
Posted 9 years agoOk so this election is getting more intense, and people still put Trump and Hillary as if they're both equally vile, well I would say first and foremost, yes Hillary is shady as f*ck, but Trump is an entirely different thing all together. Firstly, Trump's a bigot, to be honest if I had to pick between one guy who might benefit some but screw over some other groups and one that'll screw everyone over equally, I'd prefer we'd all be equally worthless :P
But if one looks at politifact, just look up Trump and Hillary and look at the percentage of lies and truths they made, about 50% of Hillary's statements are true or mostly true, while 15% for Trump, 22% of Hillary's statements are half truths, 15% for Trump, 26% of Hillary's statements are false or mostly false, while Trump is 52%, 2% of Hillary's statements are flat out lies, while Trump is 18%.
The fact that Trump shows clear signs of narcissism, and flip flopping like crazy, making outrageous statements and denies them or twists them later, shows an unstable and dangerous man, Many people would point out the corruption Hillary is involved in and some controversial things she's done which to me I'd say, I'm pretty sure Trump would do way worse if he's given power. I'm not saying Hillary is good or whatever, we're basically facing the two most unpopular and corrupt candidates we ever had in a long time, I have no love for Hillary, but I definitely would prefer her over a nativist, xenphobic, islamophobic, and sociopathic downright asshole, who proclaims himself as a business man but really he failed in a lot of his businesses and only got ahead because he had a rich family. According to the Economist, Forbes and Bloomberg, Trump's net worth is actually about half of what he claims, and his net income about a third of what he claims, in his long term record he does poorly if you start from 1985, outperforms in 1995, and lags slightly in 2005. Overall yes he's rich but his businesses and his wealth are not as great as he says it is.
From everything I've seen of him I don't think he's fit to be president, I mean for one he has really thin skin and can't take criticism without whining, and simply has no manners, people defended him saying he tells it like it is unless it's something controversial and people say "that's not what he meant!", so to me telling it like it is, is speaking truth to power, and not being an asshole about it. I mean think about it, if any other presidential candidate or major official says anything near what Trump has said and did, they'd be crucified, so why Trump gets off easy? It's a clear double standard and he's getting away with it, and of the so many choices people had with the GOP, they pick the worst candidate of them all, so we see the GOP imploding while the Democrats are clearly corrupt and overconfident that they'll win so they choose their worst candidate to go against the GOP's worse candidate, it's like some kind of joke.
Here's a video about how journalists should be harder on the presidential candidates and not shy away from key issues. Trump to me is like a guy who brags he has a big dick, and when we ask for him to prove it, he shys away, makes excuses, probably hiding the fact he's probably smaller than he says he is :P
One ad I've seen compared Hillary to the mob, which is basically the devil you know, while Trump is the joker, basically the devil you don't know who might do anything. I think either way, we're gonna have a one term president but where we ended up shows a clearly flawed electoral system and I think should be reformed and changed to a more proportionally representative system.
But if one looks at politifact, just look up Trump and Hillary and look at the percentage of lies and truths they made, about 50% of Hillary's statements are true or mostly true, while 15% for Trump, 22% of Hillary's statements are half truths, 15% for Trump, 26% of Hillary's statements are false or mostly false, while Trump is 52%, 2% of Hillary's statements are flat out lies, while Trump is 18%.
The fact that Trump shows clear signs of narcissism, and flip flopping like crazy, making outrageous statements and denies them or twists them later, shows an unstable and dangerous man, Many people would point out the corruption Hillary is involved in and some controversial things she's done which to me I'd say, I'm pretty sure Trump would do way worse if he's given power. I'm not saying Hillary is good or whatever, we're basically facing the two most unpopular and corrupt candidates we ever had in a long time, I have no love for Hillary, but I definitely would prefer her over a nativist, xenphobic, islamophobic, and sociopathic downright asshole, who proclaims himself as a business man but really he failed in a lot of his businesses and only got ahead because he had a rich family. According to the Economist, Forbes and Bloomberg, Trump's net worth is actually about half of what he claims, and his net income about a third of what he claims, in his long term record he does poorly if you start from 1985, outperforms in 1995, and lags slightly in 2005. Overall yes he's rich but his businesses and his wealth are not as great as he says it is.
From everything I've seen of him I don't think he's fit to be president, I mean for one he has really thin skin and can't take criticism without whining, and simply has no manners, people defended him saying he tells it like it is unless it's something controversial and people say "that's not what he meant!", so to me telling it like it is, is speaking truth to power, and not being an asshole about it. I mean think about it, if any other presidential candidate or major official says anything near what Trump has said and did, they'd be crucified, so why Trump gets off easy? It's a clear double standard and he's getting away with it, and of the so many choices people had with the GOP, they pick the worst candidate of them all, so we see the GOP imploding while the Democrats are clearly corrupt and overconfident that they'll win so they choose their worst candidate to go against the GOP's worse candidate, it's like some kind of joke.
Here's a video about how journalists should be harder on the presidential candidates and not shy away from key issues. Trump to me is like a guy who brags he has a big dick, and when we ask for him to prove it, he shys away, makes excuses, probably hiding the fact he's probably smaller than he says he is :P
One ad I've seen compared Hillary to the mob, which is basically the devil you know, while Trump is the joker, basically the devil you don't know who might do anything. I think either way, we're gonna have a one term president but where we ended up shows a clearly flawed electoral system and I think should be reformed and changed to a more proportionally representative system.
Is the Gender Wage Gap in the United States real?
Posted 9 years agoThe short answer is yes, but why? Is it because we're in a sexist society? My answer would be, I think it's a bit more complicated than that, if there's anything I learned lately, truth typically likes to resist simplicity. (They are citations for their sources in the description of the video).
Life Updates and other things
Posted 9 years agoHey guys, it's been awhile. I've been busy with a lot of real life stuff and issues, doing well in my job. I did spend 4 nights in Seattle with some friends for a much needed break to get away from things for awhile before Fall semester started two weeks ago. Then last week fall semester began, and with Labor day weekend, I had some time to relax and plan out that I'd want to write more regularly again. As far as school's concerned, the good news is I got 12 credits to go, and got 9 locked in...which the bad news is the last 3 credits, which was a math class I had to take, they put me on a waiting list, which means I may or may not get in the class. So if I get it I can finish and get my degree by December, if I don't I'll have to wait till spring semester just to finish that one class, which I find frustrating nonetheless :P Either way, I plan to switch to full time work with my job once this semester is over, and make plans to move out of my parent's place, still all these factors have been a bit stressful, thinking about the near future among other things but I think I'll do fine God willing.
Politics
Well ain't this election a clusterf*ck, I never seen a crazier election in my life between a clearly corrupt politician(you know the usual) and a con snakeoil salesmen who's xenphobia, anti-Muslim and Latino, which...I'm the eldest son of immigrant parents, I'm half Syrian, I'm half Latino, and of Muslim background...sooo definitely not voting for that guy! Just nope! I mean since when is it ok to be a total asshole to people? There's a difference between "telling it like it is" that is telling the truth, and being an asshole. Though by the looks of the polls and his cowardly attack on an American Muslim couple who lost their son in Iraq, proved to be the nail in the coffin for his campaign. His thin skin, and textbook narcissism makes him unfit to be president, on the other hand, Hillary clearly is shady as hell but she's at least presidential material and you know what you're getting. I highly doubt he'll win but I'll be sure to vote. Gary Johnson would've been alright despite I don't agree with a lot of Libertarian policies, at least he's not 1. corrupt, or 2. an asshole, but that was what Bernie held as well, though thinking about it if either Gary or Bernie being president, they'd probably be blocked by congress at every turn so they would've had to compromise almost everything they want to do. But people shouldn't take compromise as weakness.
Book Review:Fifteen Dogs
If any of you are interested I might make this a thing where I'll periodically make book reviews of books that stood out for me or would like to recommend it to people to read for themselves. In my job at the library I'm cataloging books, and sometimes a returned book stands out for me and I check it out myself. Normally I read nonfiction as most of you who know me would probably figure out, but once in awhile I'd read a novel. One that stood out for me is Fifteen Dogs, in a nutshell the gods Hermes and Apollo made a wager that if they gave an animal species the gift of human level intelligence they'd be miserable and none of them would be happy. So they went into a vet clinic and gave 15 dogs the gift of human level intelligence and it goes into pretty deep themes of the challenges they faced once they had that level of awareness.
*spoilers ahead*
So right off the bat this book is pretty graphic, in terms of violence and sexual themes(it don't bother me but just so y'all know), but it basically follows these dogs which they debated whether they should embrace their new awareness or try to be normal dogs again. Which kinda goes into the theme of how to react to change, some people want to keep things as they are and would downright surpress or use violence to keep it that way. However forces for change can often do the same, but this something one of my college professors often summed up human history, that of forces for change versus forces against change which either can be good or bad(not all change is good, not all forces against change are bad). But anyway, so the pack is split and there is conflict, death and fighting between the groups that wanted to embrace their awareness while others, scared of what it might mean, want to keep order and stick with their old ways.
So skipping ahead I'd like to focus on the two characters that stood out for me, especially Prince, a mutt who helped articulate their own language and made poetry out of it, which to the other dogs seemed rather strange, and despite him not being a threat, some still saw him as a threat. The other character, Majnoun,a black dog took another path, he ended up being adopted by a married woman after he was nearly killed though he was mutilated but eventually recovered from most of his injuries, and this woman soon learned of his high intelligence, and after awhile they grew closer, and it goes into themes of Majnoun trying to understand the concept of love. But it'd be something he'd wonder for a long time till the end of his life, his fate is actually very similar to the old Sufi story of where his name came from. Leila and Majnoun was of two lovers who were forbidden to be together due to circumstances in society but they continue to long for each other, especially Majnoun but in the end it was an unfulfilled longing, where it was never consummated, despite all the hardships he would go through, so it was a similar thing.
Going back to the character of Prince, he took his passion for poetry above all else, which he enjoyed for most of his life. Despite the challenges he faced he always stayed content, and as he grew older, he realized that if he passes away. Who will remember his poetry? It'll be lost forever, so at the last minute almost he tried to pass it on, though humans have trouble understanding dog language, but as he was about to die, he still remained content that perhaps it'll be passed on to another(it isn't clear whether he passed his genes to somewhere), and one thing about Prince is he never lost hope, no matter the odds. This is something a lot of people might think about, what legacy would you leave? Would people remember you long after you're gone?
*End of spoilers*
There's a lot more to this book, but it's a good read and I highly recommend it, I'm currently reading another book which I'll post a journal by itself of a review on that book pretty soon.
History stuff
Lastly I like to share a history thing, one thing that fascinated me lately, is aerial night fighting and electronic warfare in world war II. It is one of the lesser known parts of the war but it's worth looking into, and found it quite interesting, here's a good article on the subject:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/.....arfare-in-WWII
Other things
Well after awhile I'm thinking there shall be an art dump, uploading commissioned art in my gallery and scraps of artworks I've had recently there's quite a few, so you'll see more art appearing in my gallery soon enough.
I also got persuaded to play Pokemon Go by a local friend of mine(damn you! :P) I haven't been into Pokemon really in like over a decade, but I find it pretty fun which of course, remember to play responsibly!(my best pokemon is a Vaporeon btw...and go Team Instinct! :P)
Anyway, they'd be more journals on the way, and I'll back to all the past comments as well, good to see you all, there'd be more educational and thought provoking and some entertaining journals coming soon!.
Politics
Well ain't this election a clusterf*ck, I never seen a crazier election in my life between a clearly corrupt politician(you know the usual) and a con snakeoil salesmen who's xenphobia, anti-Muslim and Latino, which...I'm the eldest son of immigrant parents, I'm half Syrian, I'm half Latino, and of Muslim background...sooo definitely not voting for that guy! Just nope! I mean since when is it ok to be a total asshole to people? There's a difference between "telling it like it is" that is telling the truth, and being an asshole. Though by the looks of the polls and his cowardly attack on an American Muslim couple who lost their son in Iraq, proved to be the nail in the coffin for his campaign. His thin skin, and textbook narcissism makes him unfit to be president, on the other hand, Hillary clearly is shady as hell but she's at least presidential material and you know what you're getting. I highly doubt he'll win but I'll be sure to vote. Gary Johnson would've been alright despite I don't agree with a lot of Libertarian policies, at least he's not 1. corrupt, or 2. an asshole, but that was what Bernie held as well, though thinking about it if either Gary or Bernie being president, they'd probably be blocked by congress at every turn so they would've had to compromise almost everything they want to do. But people shouldn't take compromise as weakness.
Book Review:Fifteen Dogs
If any of you are interested I might make this a thing where I'll periodically make book reviews of books that stood out for me or would like to recommend it to people to read for themselves. In my job at the library I'm cataloging books, and sometimes a returned book stands out for me and I check it out myself. Normally I read nonfiction as most of you who know me would probably figure out, but once in awhile I'd read a novel. One that stood out for me is Fifteen Dogs, in a nutshell the gods Hermes and Apollo made a wager that if they gave an animal species the gift of human level intelligence they'd be miserable and none of them would be happy. So they went into a vet clinic and gave 15 dogs the gift of human level intelligence and it goes into pretty deep themes of the challenges they faced once they had that level of awareness.
*spoilers ahead*
So right off the bat this book is pretty graphic, in terms of violence and sexual themes(it don't bother me but just so y'all know), but it basically follows these dogs which they debated whether they should embrace their new awareness or try to be normal dogs again. Which kinda goes into the theme of how to react to change, some people want to keep things as they are and would downright surpress or use violence to keep it that way. However forces for change can often do the same, but this something one of my college professors often summed up human history, that of forces for change versus forces against change which either can be good or bad(not all change is good, not all forces against change are bad). But anyway, so the pack is split and there is conflict, death and fighting between the groups that wanted to embrace their awareness while others, scared of what it might mean, want to keep order and stick with their old ways.
So skipping ahead I'd like to focus on the two characters that stood out for me, especially Prince, a mutt who helped articulate their own language and made poetry out of it, which to the other dogs seemed rather strange, and despite him not being a threat, some still saw him as a threat. The other character, Majnoun,a black dog took another path, he ended up being adopted by a married woman after he was nearly killed though he was mutilated but eventually recovered from most of his injuries, and this woman soon learned of his high intelligence, and after awhile they grew closer, and it goes into themes of Majnoun trying to understand the concept of love. But it'd be something he'd wonder for a long time till the end of his life, his fate is actually very similar to the old Sufi story of where his name came from. Leila and Majnoun was of two lovers who were forbidden to be together due to circumstances in society but they continue to long for each other, especially Majnoun but in the end it was an unfulfilled longing, where it was never consummated, despite all the hardships he would go through, so it was a similar thing.
Going back to the character of Prince, he took his passion for poetry above all else, which he enjoyed for most of his life. Despite the challenges he faced he always stayed content, and as he grew older, he realized that if he passes away. Who will remember his poetry? It'll be lost forever, so at the last minute almost he tried to pass it on, though humans have trouble understanding dog language, but as he was about to die, he still remained content that perhaps it'll be passed on to another(it isn't clear whether he passed his genes to somewhere), and one thing about Prince is he never lost hope, no matter the odds. This is something a lot of people might think about, what legacy would you leave? Would people remember you long after you're gone?
*End of spoilers*
There's a lot more to this book, but it's a good read and I highly recommend it, I'm currently reading another book which I'll post a journal by itself of a review on that book pretty soon.
History stuff
Lastly I like to share a history thing, one thing that fascinated me lately, is aerial night fighting and electronic warfare in world war II. It is one of the lesser known parts of the war but it's worth looking into, and found it quite interesting, here's a good article on the subject:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/.....arfare-in-WWII
Other things
Well after awhile I'm thinking there shall be an art dump, uploading commissioned art in my gallery and scraps of artworks I've had recently there's quite a few, so you'll see more art appearing in my gallery soon enough.
I also got persuaded to play Pokemon Go by a local friend of mine(damn you! :P) I haven't been into Pokemon really in like over a decade, but I find it pretty fun which of course, remember to play responsibly!(my best pokemon is a Vaporeon btw...and go Team Instinct! :P)
Anyway, they'd be more journals on the way, and I'll back to all the past comments as well, good to see you all, there'd be more educational and thought provoking and some entertaining journals coming soon!.
Some good News in 2016+ Life Update
Posted 9 years agoSo quick update for you all, I went through my summer classes, so I got two weeks totally to myself and work, but end of August I should be finishing up my last full time semester, hoping to graduate at the end of the year or doing one or two classes in spring if necessary but otherwise im getting real close. I'm also doing fairly well at my job so I'm confident ill move up quickly and continue on my path to being independent. Otherwise things are slowly improving and just have to work at it and put in the effort really. So hopefully it'll all work out :P
2016 seemed to be a year full of bad news, but is it really totally that bad? Thankfully we got John Green to remind us of at least 16 good trends that are happening in the world right now.
2016 seemed to be a year full of bad news, but is it really totally that bad? Thankfully we got John Green to remind us of at least 16 good trends that are happening in the world right now.
Should the US government adopt a parliamentary system?
Posted 9 years agoWith all the gridlock we get with our current system, congress being among the least productive periods we had in a long time, our two party system locked in with the first-past-the-post voting system(there is an alternative to that, look up CGP Grey's video on the alternate voting system). I would ask..what if we reform the structure of US government from top to bottom? We done it before, the Articles of Confederation were found to be inadequate early on and so we adopted what is now our current constitution and government structure. But doing so would be extremely difficult in terms of breaking tradition, all the vested interests involved, even though it seems it would be way more efficient and be less about "voting for the lesser evil" and more about voting who you really agree with the most in terms of who you want to represent your views and interests. Here's a pic from the Economist on if the US had a Parliament this is how the American people would be represented.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ClDm2uPUgAAoDnk.jpg
In my opinion this probably would work out better in representing what Americans think. Proportional representation in a Parliamentary system plus also using an alternative voting system(similar to Australia) where you rank your candidates(like if your vote for your preferred candidate doesn't make it, it'll go to your next choice till there's a winner, but CGP Grey would explain it better than me), would all I think help the government both be more efficient and represent the interests of the American people more who are feeling increasingly disenfranchised by the current two party system which one is corrupt and the other has gone off into the politics of fear and insanity.
For further reading:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine.....tution/403237/
http://washingtonmonthly.com/2013/1.....like-germanys/
npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2013/10/12/232270289/would-the-u-s-be-better-off-with-a-parliament
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ClDm2uPUgAAoDnk.jpg
In my opinion this probably would work out better in representing what Americans think. Proportional representation in a Parliamentary system plus also using an alternative voting system(similar to Australia) where you rank your candidates(like if your vote for your preferred candidate doesn't make it, it'll go to your next choice till there's a winner, but CGP Grey would explain it better than me), would all I think help the government both be more efficient and represent the interests of the American people more who are feeling increasingly disenfranchised by the current two party system which one is corrupt and the other has gone off into the politics of fear and insanity.
For further reading:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine.....tution/403237/
http://washingtonmonthly.com/2013/1.....like-germanys/
npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2013/10/12/232270289/would-the-u-s-be-better-off-with-a-parliament
Fighter aces who wore glasses?
Posted 9 years agoSo after being busy with life stuff, and preparing for hopefully my last full time semester before graduation, not being the most gifted in terms of vision having to use visual aides(ie, I wear glasses :P), yet I like military aviation, and know I won't be a fighter pilot and many other people out there with glasses would probably have their dreams of that bummed out as well. So it led to me thinking...where there...if any fighter aces(meaning a fighter pilot that scored 5 or more "kills") that wore glasses? Usually in a lot of air forces, if you don't have 20/20 vision you won't be able to sit in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft but despite this, doing a little research I actually found a considerable number of them. Most of them from World War I of the German Luftstrietkrafte, here's a short list of individuals who became aces and had one thing in common in that they all wore glasses, they were more that I found but this is a list of what I can confirm :P
Fritz Otto Bernert:27 kills
http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/ge.....ny/bernert.php
Otto Kissenberth:20 kills
http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/ge.....issenberth.php
Kurt Wintgens: 19 kills
http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/ge.....y/wintgens.php
Walter Kypke:9 kills
http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/kypke.php
Fritz Otto Bernert:27 kills
http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/ge.....ny/bernert.php
Otto Kissenberth:20 kills
http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/ge.....issenberth.php
Kurt Wintgens: 19 kills
http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/ge.....y/wintgens.php
Walter Kypke:9 kills
http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/kypke.php
Would you eat Lab-grown meat?
Posted 9 years agoThree years ago, the first example of "Lab grown meat" was invented, and there's a lot of potential for this technology, does this mean we may in the future wouldn't have to slaughter animals for our food(at least most of the time)? This can be great cause, most people get their protein from meat(and protein is kinda vital to have), and for many vegetarians and vegans, refuse to eat meat because of the cruelty involved(especially if you look at our cooperate controlled factory farms which to me the methods and how they treat the animals is against every ethical system I can think of unless your a Descartes fan). In my opinion as long as it doesn't give you cancer, or make you sick or have weird chemicals in it or whatever, I'd be on board with this.
If one looks at nature things die for other things to live, we eat meat to live(at least we used to), and to me if the necessity for slaughter is no longer needed, then perhaps it might be a new coming era of animal welfare. Presently I see eating meat as permissable as a wolf eating an elk in my opinion, they do it cause they're hungry and need to keep their bodies going so it's a necessity. Take away the necessity to raise animals for meat and I think animals in the nations capable of producing this having better lives.
But some may say, wouldn't this mess with the natural order? would there be consequences or huge risks to it? But if it doesn't involve these risks, why not go for it? SCIENCE!
If one looks at nature things die for other things to live, we eat meat to live(at least we used to), and to me if the necessity for slaughter is no longer needed, then perhaps it might be a new coming era of animal welfare. Presently I see eating meat as permissable as a wolf eating an elk in my opinion, they do it cause they're hungry and need to keep their bodies going so it's a necessity. Take away the necessity to raise animals for meat and I think animals in the nations capable of producing this having better lives.
But some may say, wouldn't this mess with the natural order? would there be consequences or huge risks to it? But if it doesn't involve these risks, why not go for it? SCIENCE!
Worried about Muslims?
Posted 9 years agoBassem Youssef now has a solution for people's anxiety towards Muslims. To let you all know, I've been tested, and the result is I like hummus(which is true, it's healthier than a lot of junk food to say the least), so you guys have nothing to worry about(except for maybe hugs and possibly getting your leg humped). :P
Human history in a nutshell
Posted 9 years agoCause really, a lot of our issues revolve around these things mentioned in the video :P
Life Update, and current events+Gary Johnson
Posted 9 years agoHey guys, how's everyone? So.... apparently the US and the UK are in a contest on who can screw themselves the most, the UK is in the lead, but the US has a Trump card :P Is it just me or over the last three weeks since I posted, people are getting crazier lately? Many people wonder how do societies elect crazy or authoritarian leaders? Well we're kinda in the process of that now and I noticed the biggest thing is the politics of fear, make people scared of the other, you can easily manipulate them more therefore control them more. I see the DNC shoot themselves in the foot with the wikileaks thing, and I'm like seriously? How badly do they want to lose? I mean it's the GOP is down for the count and you have a clear penalty shot and shoot the damn ball over the bar, I mean, really the candidates now are so unpopular they can only beat each other, put any other candidate and it would've been an easy win for that side.
It's just depressing, and with a bunch of recent terrorist attacks, it was actually part of ISIS' plan all along to alienate the Muslim minorities so they can in a sense make Muslims in the West either leave their faith/cultural practices, or join them, the fact they're doing these terrorist attacks shows their desperation since they are losing. Though I have to say, this year is by the shittiest Ramadan I've had, it's just so spiritually draining. Most Muslims who just want to live their lives are both under threat by both ISIS and other puritans who want to "cleanse" the faith of all that is human and good in it, and on the other end, right wingers who want to exploit and blame "the other", or what they perceive as the other. Though many on the right are a mixed bag, some are racial purists(which is stupid, because we're all pretty mixed as it is, and I don't see how having melanin in your skin effects how you are), some are misguided, others want to go back to the "good old days"(though the good old days were good for some people but not for others), and everything in between, including a lot of people who often are easily manipulated(but that can go for the left too, they have their fair share of ideological purists). But one thing is for sure, both sides want to define Islam at the expense of all other definitions of Islam. Both ISIS and Islamophobes want to force this definition of Islam on the vast majority of Muslims that oh Islam preaches you should kill the unbeliever, and Muslims not practicing enough or the "right" way, or that women have no rights, and you can't be gay or whatever(I disagree with all of that), but I hope they won't succeed and that people would be judged by their own action and not the actions of others.
For further reading on the subject read here: https://geopoliticsmadesuper.com/20.....2016s-ramadan/
To me I don't believe in collective punishment, and the idea of Trump wanting to "ban" Muslims from coming um...you know someone can just lie about it right?It's in no way enforceable unless you just go after people with "funny sounding" names, which usually means Arabs or something like that, though not all Arabs are Muslim(there's a sizeable Arab Christian minority) but you get the idea, ignorant, narcissitic rich man who has no experience in politics(last time we had someone like that was Eisenhower, but he was a general that helped defeat Nazi Germany in WWII, and he did nothing close to that), who has a thin skin, and really, it seems our choices is between bigotry or corruption.
The next 4 years are gonna be interesting, just as I'm starting to get ahead with my new career, and onto finally being independent. I used to care a whole lot but it's just too much now, the hate is just toxic, I'd like to live through life to be friendly towards others and try to minimize harm, at least by my own actions, which according to Prophet Muhammad is the least one can do, if you can't do good deeds for others, for God's sake do no harm. One maxim I try live by is "Do no harm and accept no harm".
But anyway enough of my rambling, let some articles and vids do the talking to catch up on the last three weeks :P
John Oliver on the RNC, and why Trump's an asshole :P (To be fair I don't like Hillary either, it's just a matter of voting for who would do the least damage).
Yeah...seeing all that's happening put me in this mood for the last 3 weeks as I work and study
But not all is lost, there is some good news, no other election cycle has given third parties a bigger chance than ever before, and as of now, Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, seems like a decent guy, despite I think the idea of getting rid of the IRS, Income and Corporate tax is insane, he at least has a social policy of not imposing your religious morality on everyone else.
From my observation(I could be wrong), Libertarians at least as represented by Johnson seem more consistent with their views than the current Republican or Democratic parties, some Republican politicians say they want limited government but that usually means limited government for business and upper classes, while expanding government on most people(especially women, minorities, LGBT etc), so really they should shut up about being limited government, and at least the Democrats don't pretend they are limiting government(to me that's my concern I'm more for an efficient government in my opinion), at least the Libertarians when they say they want limited government, they mean it both fiscally and socially. That you live your life how you want without the government interfering, as one Libertarian politician put it, you can have a gay married couple, guarding their marijuana farm with AR-15s :P
Here's an interview on Gary Johnson, to be honest after Bernie/Hillary, Gary Johnson would be my next choice, if he truly had a chance to win the election, I'd might cast my vote to him, mostly cause one he was a successful governor of New Mexico, so he has experience, and he's a very down to Earth person, so he has experience that Trump doesn't, and not an asshole(he doesn't believe Mexicans are rapists or whatever other bullshit Trump talks about), and he would continue to promote a progressive/tolerant society rather than trying to divide it and form a hierarchy. Though I would disagree with Johnson in most of his economic views, since a lot of them are frankly unrealistic, and would never realistically get through congress.
This summer and fall is gonna be crazy, so buckle up, pray, meditate, whatever, and also continue to try and enjoy your lives or the terrorists win :P We shall now return to our regular programming, this would not be possible without readers like you, thank you, gracias, shukran, danke schon, what have you :P
It's just depressing, and with a bunch of recent terrorist attacks, it was actually part of ISIS' plan all along to alienate the Muslim minorities so they can in a sense make Muslims in the West either leave their faith/cultural practices, or join them, the fact they're doing these terrorist attacks shows their desperation since they are losing. Though I have to say, this year is by the shittiest Ramadan I've had, it's just so spiritually draining. Most Muslims who just want to live their lives are both under threat by both ISIS and other puritans who want to "cleanse" the faith of all that is human and good in it, and on the other end, right wingers who want to exploit and blame "the other", or what they perceive as the other. Though many on the right are a mixed bag, some are racial purists(which is stupid, because we're all pretty mixed as it is, and I don't see how having melanin in your skin effects how you are), some are misguided, others want to go back to the "good old days"(though the good old days were good for some people but not for others), and everything in between, including a lot of people who often are easily manipulated(but that can go for the left too, they have their fair share of ideological purists). But one thing is for sure, both sides want to define Islam at the expense of all other definitions of Islam. Both ISIS and Islamophobes want to force this definition of Islam on the vast majority of Muslims that oh Islam preaches you should kill the unbeliever, and Muslims not practicing enough or the "right" way, or that women have no rights, and you can't be gay or whatever(I disagree with all of that), but I hope they won't succeed and that people would be judged by their own action and not the actions of others.
For further reading on the subject read here: https://geopoliticsmadesuper.com/20.....2016s-ramadan/
To me I don't believe in collective punishment, and the idea of Trump wanting to "ban" Muslims from coming um...you know someone can just lie about it right?It's in no way enforceable unless you just go after people with "funny sounding" names, which usually means Arabs or something like that, though not all Arabs are Muslim(there's a sizeable Arab Christian minority) but you get the idea, ignorant, narcissitic rich man who has no experience in politics(last time we had someone like that was Eisenhower, but he was a general that helped defeat Nazi Germany in WWII, and he did nothing close to that), who has a thin skin, and really, it seems our choices is between bigotry or corruption.
The next 4 years are gonna be interesting, just as I'm starting to get ahead with my new career, and onto finally being independent. I used to care a whole lot but it's just too much now, the hate is just toxic, I'd like to live through life to be friendly towards others and try to minimize harm, at least by my own actions, which according to Prophet Muhammad is the least one can do, if you can't do good deeds for others, for God's sake do no harm. One maxim I try live by is "Do no harm and accept no harm".
But anyway enough of my rambling, let some articles and vids do the talking to catch up on the last three weeks :P
John Oliver on the RNC, and why Trump's an asshole :P (To be fair I don't like Hillary either, it's just a matter of voting for who would do the least damage).
Yeah...seeing all that's happening put me in this mood for the last 3 weeks as I work and study
But not all is lost, there is some good news, no other election cycle has given third parties a bigger chance than ever before, and as of now, Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, seems like a decent guy, despite I think the idea of getting rid of the IRS, Income and Corporate tax is insane, he at least has a social policy of not imposing your religious morality on everyone else.
From my observation(I could be wrong), Libertarians at least as represented by Johnson seem more consistent with their views than the current Republican or Democratic parties, some Republican politicians say they want limited government but that usually means limited government for business and upper classes, while expanding government on most people(especially women, minorities, LGBT etc), so really they should shut up about being limited government, and at least the Democrats don't pretend they are limiting government(to me that's my concern I'm more for an efficient government in my opinion), at least the Libertarians when they say they want limited government, they mean it both fiscally and socially. That you live your life how you want without the government interfering, as one Libertarian politician put it, you can have a gay married couple, guarding their marijuana farm with AR-15s :P
Here's an interview on Gary Johnson, to be honest after Bernie/Hillary, Gary Johnson would be my next choice, if he truly had a chance to win the election, I'd might cast my vote to him, mostly cause one he was a successful governor of New Mexico, so he has experience, and he's a very down to Earth person, so he has experience that Trump doesn't, and not an asshole(he doesn't believe Mexicans are rapists or whatever other bullshit Trump talks about), and he would continue to promote a progressive/tolerant society rather than trying to divide it and form a hierarchy. Though I would disagree with Johnson in most of his economic views, since a lot of them are frankly unrealistic, and would never realistically get through congress.
This summer and fall is gonna be crazy, so buckle up, pray, meditate, whatever, and also continue to try and enjoy your lives or the terrorists win :P We shall now return to our regular programming, this would not be possible without readers like you, thank you, gracias, shukran, danke schon, what have you :P
Happy Independence Day!
Posted 9 years agoAka Traitor day according to the British :P So yesterday, sadly, Iceland did not make it to the Semifinal but put up a decent fight against France but lost 5-2, still for a nation that never went to a major tournament, getting to the Quarterfinals for a tiny nation was a job well done(along with helping Britain not only leave the EU but the Eurocup too ;P, speaking of which Farange pussed like a bitch! read about here: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/05/w.....exit.html?_r=0)
But anyway, more on Independence day, and as
kraminian91 pointed out, July 4th is not only the day the United States declared it's independence from Britain, on July 4, 1776, but it was also the day the Union defeated the Confederacy at Gettysburg and Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, providing the decisive battle that would prevent the US from splitting apart.
And now allow John Oliver to comment on the 4th of July.
But anyway, more on Independence day, and as
kraminian91 pointed out, July 4th is not only the day the United States declared it's independence from Britain, on July 4, 1776, but it was also the day the Union defeated the Confederacy at Gettysburg and Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, providing the decisive battle that would prevent the US from splitting apart. And now allow John Oliver to comment on the 4th of July.
Go Iceland!
Posted 9 years agoSo little Iceland is kicking ass in the Euro cup this year. In case any of you didn't know, as of Sunday, they'll be a huge quarterfinals game with Iceland versus France. 2-3 years ago Iceland was a "minnow" in the football world. That is you're almost guaranteed a win against such a team but now they not only qualified to the 2016 Euro cup, not only did they managed to get themselves out of their group, but managed to defeat England 2-1 in the Round of 16(probably the worst thing to happen to England within the same week :P). And now they managed to get to the last 8, the quarterfinals of the Euro cup, against France. This is unheard of in their football history, ever.
I mean look at this guy, he's so happy after they beat England XD(also some shots are fired with his commentary on Brexit lol) The fact that right now, 25-30,000 of Iceland's total population of 325-330,000 people is now in France shows the whole tiny nation is backing their team, and I really respect them for the passion they have.
So how did Iceland make it this far? They may not have the most talented players but they sure do have a team, here's a cool documentary on them.
For further reading:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/s.....ance.html?_r=0
I mean look at this guy, he's so happy after they beat England XD(also some shots are fired with his commentary on Brexit lol) The fact that right now, 25-30,000 of Iceland's total population of 325-330,000 people is now in France shows the whole tiny nation is backing their team, and I really respect them for the passion they have.
So how did Iceland make it this far? They may not have the most talented players but they sure do have a team, here's a cool documentary on them.
For further reading:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/s.....ance.html?_r=0
Terrorism and Mass Survellience
Posted 9 years agoIsn't it funny when terrorism happens, our government started doing mass surveillance, and spying on everyone? You know...30-40 years ago that used to be seen as a bad thing(I highly recommend the German film "The Lives Of Others" highlighting the life of a Stasi officer spying on a famous artist in East Germany). Though I would say it wouldn't be fair to compare the NSA to the Stasi, cause we can still have freedom of speech without us being taken to a correction camp or have informants everywhere and whatever, it is still a concern though to have things like the Patriot Act and the NSA around, the question is...is it worth it, are we safer because of it?
I mean to me the idea of mass survellience is implying that we're all potential criminals, I always thought they only do that with suspects, but I guess I'm wrong.(It's also the same reason why I'm against profiling, I'm Muslim and to me to be ok with that, is to admit guilt by association and admitting I might go "savage" so I need extra security, I thank God that American Muslims haven't been put in internment camps). But I think many of you will find this video educational on why mass survellience doesn't make us safer, and is a danger to our personal liberties and right to privacy, that it's not the government's business of what we do with our lives unless it endangers the rights of others.
I mean to me the idea of mass survellience is implying that we're all potential criminals, I always thought they only do that with suspects, but I guess I'm wrong.(It's also the same reason why I'm against profiling, I'm Muslim and to me to be ok with that, is to admit guilt by association and admitting I might go "savage" so I need extra security, I thank God that American Muslims haven't been put in internment camps). But I think many of you will find this video educational on why mass survellience doesn't make us safer, and is a danger to our personal liberties and right to privacy, that it's not the government's business of what we do with our lives unless it endangers the rights of others.
Trevor Noah on Colonisation
Posted 9 years agoHere's Trevor Noah doing a skit on colonization, isn't it ironic many of the immigrants that many Western countries love to complain about are from the same countries they colonized? When European countries came to these lands, they didn't bother to learn the language, assimilate or anything they expect immigrants to do, it's really about who's the stronger nation really, though not just with European nations but other empires such as China, Japan etc, it's a human thing. Karma is a bitch.
If the independence day speech was done today.
Posted 9 years agoYou know...after awhile I kinda slowly losing my faith in humanity,our current political climate, not to mention any political debate on the internet, makes me want to just not give a damn anymore, because politics have become so toxic and bad for mental health. Some people only seek information within their bubbles and don't want to compromise or look at the reality of the situation expecting unrealistic goals. Sure principle should be very important but in the face of reality, compromises need to be made. It just seems in the Western world people are going batshit crazy, and Fascism, and nationalism based on perceptions of race or ethnicity is becoming fashionable again. It seems some parts of humanity often needs to have the most terrible events to happen to them before they get some sense knocked into them. Or have no empathy for others unless it happens to them etc etc, sure I'm not perfect in any of this by any means, and I definitely have my own bias no doubt.
I think a lot of this happened because of anti-intellectualism, people are rebelling against all authority, not just political and religious but of experts and other intellectuals(who spent a large part of their lives studying their subject of choice) as well, or the fact the Humanities is not seen as something you can make money, it's always STEM, sure the sciences and math is hugely important for growing our economies and the material needs of society, however just cause for example in science you can do a thing, a humanities person would tell you whether or not that's a good idea. The thing is I see this happening with both sides of the political spectrum, and the rise of authoritarianism, wanting to impose one view over the other.
This doesn't mean I think the masses can't do anything, people should have the freedom to do what they choose, to live and let live, to not violate the rights of others, to choose whatever faith or interpretation of faith they want, what I am concerned about is when the people are to make a choice that'll effect everyone else in the society. But anyway here's an article on the current political chaos in the United States:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine.....insane/485570/
And finally here's a video about the independence day speech was done today and how people would supposedly react :P
I think a lot of this happened because of anti-intellectualism, people are rebelling against all authority, not just political and religious but of experts and other intellectuals(who spent a large part of their lives studying their subject of choice) as well, or the fact the Humanities is not seen as something you can make money, it's always STEM, sure the sciences and math is hugely important for growing our economies and the material needs of society, however just cause for example in science you can do a thing, a humanities person would tell you whether or not that's a good idea. The thing is I see this happening with both sides of the political spectrum, and the rise of authoritarianism, wanting to impose one view over the other.
This doesn't mean I think the masses can't do anything, people should have the freedom to do what they choose, to live and let live, to not violate the rights of others, to choose whatever faith or interpretation of faith they want, what I am concerned about is when the people are to make a choice that'll effect everyone else in the society. But anyway here's an article on the current political chaos in the United States:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine.....insane/485570/
And finally here's a video about the independence day speech was done today and how people would supposedly react :P
Brexit Aftermath
Posted 9 years agoWell...it seems the British people have decided to leave the EU, as misguided it was, with many of the Brexit leaders having no real plan and going back on their promises. It's why sometimes, I can consider myself a technocrat, cause sometimes the will of the people is not in their best interest mostly because it's not that we have a lack of information but an overwhelming amount of it. It makes one feel the situation that Hadith scholars had to deal with, lots of information but you gotta sift through them to see what is true and what's less true if not fabricated information. It seems as if that according to your political party you get your own facts too, and people get into these bubbles and ignore the other side, it seems Fascism and right wing nationalism is becoming fashionable again with the rise of right wing parties in Europe, and the Brexit campaign in the UK and Trump back home in the US. Many of these groups getting people behind them through fear and prejudice(especially minorities of the "other"), which to me I think the politics of fear and prejudice is a threat to freedom and harmony between people. When I hear for example white nationalists spew their nonsense, if you really think about it, all humans are mixed of something, very few humans would be "purebred" (cause really if you look at a lot of messed up purebreed dogs, that's not exactly a good thing), I mean really, according to anthropologists all humans are genetically almost the same, closer than two groups of chimps, so I always find the idea of race a bit misleading, it's more of cultural/ethnic groups than anything. But anyway here's John Oliver explaining the Brexit aftermath.
And top this off if you think about whether in the US or the UK, we're all essentially migrants or descendents of migrants, remember the bullshit Trump is spewing against Mexicans was similar to what people said about Irish, Italians, Germans, Jews, Chinese and Japanese over the years. The US has this habit of both celebrating its diversity but then get drunk with Nativism for a time before settling down. I often compare the US to a fraternity, when a new guy comes in, we treat them like crap for awhile but after taking a beating, and when its over, they are accepted as one of us, and then do the same thing to the next newcomer :P Anyway here's a great speech by an MP in UK parliament who essentially said we're all immigrants.
And top this off if you think about whether in the US or the UK, we're all essentially migrants or descendents of migrants, remember the bullshit Trump is spewing against Mexicans was similar to what people said about Irish, Italians, Germans, Jews, Chinese and Japanese over the years. The US has this habit of both celebrating its diversity but then get drunk with Nativism for a time before settling down. I often compare the US to a fraternity, when a new guy comes in, we treat them like crap for awhile but after taking a beating, and when its over, they are accepted as one of us, and then do the same thing to the next newcomer :P Anyway here's a great speech by an MP in UK parliament who essentially said we're all immigrants.
Life Update, Orlando, other things(Big post ahead)
Posted 9 years agoHey guys sorry I haven't posted any journals lately, just been busy with stuff soo wow a lot of crap has been happening both at home and abroad so let me catch up on everything!
Life Update
Well I'm settling in with my new job in the public library system over the past month, even at an entry level position I'm paid pretty decently with room for full time work and better pay and benefits after six months, assuming I do well and I'm confident that I can do well here, with opportunities to do work that can give me relevant job experience that's closer to the skill set I'm getting on my degree(Bachelor's in History). I get along with my co-workers and unlike the cafe job which I worked for a total of around almost two years, it felt like a dead end job because I was never promoted or got a raise, I did outright say once in response to "employee of the month" signs that for the money spent on that employee of the month award they could've used for a raise, maybe that's why XD. Anyway I like my new job and I think I'll stick with it. I see a clear path in front of me that if I do my work well, I'll be rewarded(like what a job should be), and I feel more than just a number in their labor costs, and frankly it's way better than food service, for anyone who works in that industry I salute them because it's rough and not enough pay for it. So I feel that if I stay committed and do well, I can apply for a better position get better pay and work full time with the type of money they offer in the next position up(like computer lab or circulation), it would be enough for me to move out and get on my own where I can probably get a car, get my own place(either by myself or rooming with another furry friend), and get a dog. I'll hopefully will graduate by December so attaining my short term life goals seem within sight, just gotta keep focused and work at it. Ramadan has been in full swing since June 5 to July 5, and I have to say, this has been a shitty Ramadan with all the recent events that made my soul sad :c
Death of Muhammad Ali
I was so surprised at both of these events, apparently Muhammad Ali is everyone's favorite American Muslim where so many people don't even know he was Muslim, Donald Trump again fires off that mouth of his on Twitter which he said to name him one Muslim athlete and then supposedly honors Muhammad Ali, and I'm like WTF, he's incredibly ignorant it hurts my brain, I'm sorry I can't vote for a bigot as someone who's Muslim, half Syrian(my grandmother is a Syrian refugee my family got her out of the country two years ago while the war was still raging there) and half Hispanic, I say I will not vote for him under any circumstances.
Further reading:
http://newcenturytimes.com/2016/06/.....ily-responded/
The Orlando tragedy and LGBT Muslims
When I first heard of the Orlando massacre done by a very troubled individual, I was in shock, and went into a bout of depression for two days before I can read on it again, and it was just a mess, with the political factions taking advantage for their own ends. But before jumping to conclusions we should stay rational about all this, the guy as far as I know was a closeted gay man forced into a marriage with a woman he didn't want, and the internal sexual repression combined with religious extremism drove him to mass murder, but the fact he talked about having allegiance to ISIS and Hezbollah at the same time(one is Sunni extremist, the other is Shia extremist and they hate each other and currently fighting each other), shows he doesn't know what he's talking about and the fact he got investigated by the FBI twice, and still got an assault rifle legally shows there's a problem with a lot of things in our society, so I have to go at them one by one
Though in the wake of the tragic deaths of 49 Americans, it seems homosexual topics and Islamic tradition have clashed as many Muslim organizations within the US condemn the act of terrorism which is good but said they back the LGBT community, which I find kinda weird cause up to this point, I haven't seen a lot of them support LGBT people, and me being Muslim and not straight, I'm like "where the hell have you guys been?".
Last time I checked I'm closeted with my family because I worry of their reaction because they religiously believe it's a sin(though I think my mom would be ok with it, my dad however is another story), the only one who knows are my friends(especially here), the fact I can be myself more with my friends than my family I think is a huge shame cause I used to feel real close to my family but feel sooner or later I gotta move out cause I get nagged on why I don't have a girlfriend yet and things like that, my parents are well meaning, but anti-homosexuality within religious traditions I find a bit outdated and misunderstood. I tried to pray it away and be straight for a good 7 years till I accepted myself 5 years ago, so to me I feel finding a partner would bring the best in me than to be celibate, alone and miserable. When people believe that homosexuality or whatever is a sin it's easy for them to say if they're straight because they'll find a partner, but just imagine for a moment that you're condemned to be forever alone because otherwise God would supposedly punish you, that's what people are asking of those who don't prefer or need an opposite sex partner, something 99% of the time they're not gonna do themselves(in Islamic tradition there's little value in celibacy), so to me it's a big reason why I think it's not a sin, if you look at its fruits of a partnership the joy and how it improves the life of people, I don't see why it can be considered wrong.
Homophobia I think is irrational, mostly because for example, Ancient Greece and Rome, homosexuality was tolerated and was seen as a part of life and society didn't collapse, with the advent of medicine, birth control methods, the fact we live longer and way less likely to die infancy, reproduction is nowhere near as essential as it was in the past, they are 7 billion people, I don't think they need my contribution to survive(I was never ever interested in having kids), so to me I don't think God makes a big deal if you're not straight cause really we should get to the heart of the matter. People who prefer same sex partners are motivated with the same needs a straight person has, which doesn't matter one's orientation from my observation and my own experience most people are motivated by three things when seeking someone either opposite or same sex: people want companionship, affection and intimacy(as far as I know procreation is not a requirement in Islamic tradition to validate a marriage, though traditionally it's always been highly recommended), the only difference is preference of sex or whatever. The fact that when people think of a straight relationship they usually think of romance, going out, enjoying each other's company, of course sex is in there somewhere but it isn't the whole thing, but any other relationship not of the heterosexual norm, people obsess over the sexual aspect, I think for some they think of gay sex more than gay people :P (you can read more detail in my argument that homosexuality can be accepted in Islamic tradition given it's as diverse as Christianity)
But thankfully people are coming to grips with that, and if it was 40 years ago, an Orlando massacre would've been celebrated(though even with this tragedy they are some heartless assholes who know nothing of Christianity celebrating it), but over 40 years after the Stonewall riots, people pray for them, respect them, and the police came in not to arrest them but to save them, if change like that can happen in 40 years, then I have hope for our society to be more tolerant to different sexual orientations.
Further Reading:
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/junaid....._10595560.html
http://www.advocate.com/commentary/.....ned-homophobia
Also, for gun control, I disagree with the idea of an assault weapons ban, because they are so many loopholes people can use to go around it, however, I am for universal background checks, gun licenses etc, basically how you'd treat a car, we have those things for cars, and the government has not taken away our cars, so to me this is more than a fair compromise, but it seems no one wants to budge or compromise for the good of the country. Why we issue car licences? because we want to make sure someone's competent in driving and they're not crazy or bent on murder, so people are less likely to die from car accidents, you get the idea.
But the whole Orlando ordeal is just terrible, and I hope and pray for the families effected, and it seems as a side effect from all this LGBT Muslims seem more visible now so if there's anything you'd listen to me about is this: your sexual orientation does not effect your ethics or morals, being straight doesn't make one inherently good, and being gay doesn't make you evil(which is one of the more ridiculous things I've heard) all what sexual orientation is that it just determines who you'd prefer to fulfill a very human need for what I said before, companionship, affection and intimacy. A gay person's life should be valued just as much as a straight person, if people just to get to know groups that their leaders teach them to hate or to dislike, they probably would be less likely to accept such notions and have a bit of empathy. I must end this part with a vid from the Vlogbros on Orlando.
Brexit
And now the last thing I'll talk about is Brexit, though my friend
zearfox actually knows more on this issue than I do, and if you follow one of his facebook posts, he did a really well thought out article on the subject, that it's imperative that the UK stays in the EU. As far as the Brexit crowd goes, their reputation was tattered with a right wing extremist who murders the British MP Jo Cox which shocked a nation, I never had much respect for Britain First, cause for one when Sadiq Khan, a competent, and progressive British Muslim MP(his views have pissed off the ultra conservative Muslim crowd and right wingers at the same time, which to me that's an achievement :P) got elected mayor of London, the BP representative turned his back on him and to me that's all I need to know about the British right wing because they bitch and complain not because he's not qualified for the job because he's not white and Muslim, so as far as I'm concerned, Britain should stay within the EU though some on the Brexit side not associated with BP or the UKIP do have some arguments that can be reasonable, I haven't found a compelling argument so far. Here's John Oliver who can illustrate it further, overall it'll be a huge decision for the UK.
Anyway I think I'm caught up, sorry for the long ass post and things seem a bit controversial and crazy so for something a bit more pleasant, I never expected this from Housepets but WTF XD
http://www.housepetscomic.com/2016/...../22/nuff-said/
Even Further reading:
https://geopoliticsmadesuper.com/20.....ke-of-orlando/
https://goplifer.com/2016/06/15/dar.....trol-equation/
Life Update
Well I'm settling in with my new job in the public library system over the past month, even at an entry level position I'm paid pretty decently with room for full time work and better pay and benefits after six months, assuming I do well and I'm confident that I can do well here, with opportunities to do work that can give me relevant job experience that's closer to the skill set I'm getting on my degree(Bachelor's in History). I get along with my co-workers and unlike the cafe job which I worked for a total of around almost two years, it felt like a dead end job because I was never promoted or got a raise, I did outright say once in response to "employee of the month" signs that for the money spent on that employee of the month award they could've used for a raise, maybe that's why XD. Anyway I like my new job and I think I'll stick with it. I see a clear path in front of me that if I do my work well, I'll be rewarded(like what a job should be), and I feel more than just a number in their labor costs, and frankly it's way better than food service, for anyone who works in that industry I salute them because it's rough and not enough pay for it. So I feel that if I stay committed and do well, I can apply for a better position get better pay and work full time with the type of money they offer in the next position up(like computer lab or circulation), it would be enough for me to move out and get on my own where I can probably get a car, get my own place(either by myself or rooming with another furry friend), and get a dog. I'll hopefully will graduate by December so attaining my short term life goals seem within sight, just gotta keep focused and work at it. Ramadan has been in full swing since June 5 to July 5, and I have to say, this has been a shitty Ramadan with all the recent events that made my soul sad :c
Death of Muhammad Ali
I was so surprised at both of these events, apparently Muhammad Ali is everyone's favorite American Muslim where so many people don't even know he was Muslim, Donald Trump again fires off that mouth of his on Twitter which he said to name him one Muslim athlete and then supposedly honors Muhammad Ali, and I'm like WTF, he's incredibly ignorant it hurts my brain, I'm sorry I can't vote for a bigot as someone who's Muslim, half Syrian(my grandmother is a Syrian refugee my family got her out of the country two years ago while the war was still raging there) and half Hispanic, I say I will not vote for him under any circumstances.
Further reading:
http://newcenturytimes.com/2016/06/.....ily-responded/
The Orlando tragedy and LGBT Muslims
When I first heard of the Orlando massacre done by a very troubled individual, I was in shock, and went into a bout of depression for two days before I can read on it again, and it was just a mess, with the political factions taking advantage for their own ends. But before jumping to conclusions we should stay rational about all this, the guy as far as I know was a closeted gay man forced into a marriage with a woman he didn't want, and the internal sexual repression combined with religious extremism drove him to mass murder, but the fact he talked about having allegiance to ISIS and Hezbollah at the same time(one is Sunni extremist, the other is Shia extremist and they hate each other and currently fighting each other), shows he doesn't know what he's talking about and the fact he got investigated by the FBI twice, and still got an assault rifle legally shows there's a problem with a lot of things in our society, so I have to go at them one by one
Though in the wake of the tragic deaths of 49 Americans, it seems homosexual topics and Islamic tradition have clashed as many Muslim organizations within the US condemn the act of terrorism which is good but said they back the LGBT community, which I find kinda weird cause up to this point, I haven't seen a lot of them support LGBT people, and me being Muslim and not straight, I'm like "where the hell have you guys been?".
Last time I checked I'm closeted with my family because I worry of their reaction because they religiously believe it's a sin(though I think my mom would be ok with it, my dad however is another story), the only one who knows are my friends(especially here), the fact I can be myself more with my friends than my family I think is a huge shame cause I used to feel real close to my family but feel sooner or later I gotta move out cause I get nagged on why I don't have a girlfriend yet and things like that, my parents are well meaning, but anti-homosexuality within religious traditions I find a bit outdated and misunderstood. I tried to pray it away and be straight for a good 7 years till I accepted myself 5 years ago, so to me I feel finding a partner would bring the best in me than to be celibate, alone and miserable. When people believe that homosexuality or whatever is a sin it's easy for them to say if they're straight because they'll find a partner, but just imagine for a moment that you're condemned to be forever alone because otherwise God would supposedly punish you, that's what people are asking of those who don't prefer or need an opposite sex partner, something 99% of the time they're not gonna do themselves(in Islamic tradition there's little value in celibacy), so to me it's a big reason why I think it's not a sin, if you look at its fruits of a partnership the joy and how it improves the life of people, I don't see why it can be considered wrong.
Homophobia I think is irrational, mostly because for example, Ancient Greece and Rome, homosexuality was tolerated and was seen as a part of life and society didn't collapse, with the advent of medicine, birth control methods, the fact we live longer and way less likely to die infancy, reproduction is nowhere near as essential as it was in the past, they are 7 billion people, I don't think they need my contribution to survive(I was never ever interested in having kids), so to me I don't think God makes a big deal if you're not straight cause really we should get to the heart of the matter. People who prefer same sex partners are motivated with the same needs a straight person has, which doesn't matter one's orientation from my observation and my own experience most people are motivated by three things when seeking someone either opposite or same sex: people want companionship, affection and intimacy(as far as I know procreation is not a requirement in Islamic tradition to validate a marriage, though traditionally it's always been highly recommended), the only difference is preference of sex or whatever. The fact that when people think of a straight relationship they usually think of romance, going out, enjoying each other's company, of course sex is in there somewhere but it isn't the whole thing, but any other relationship not of the heterosexual norm, people obsess over the sexual aspect, I think for some they think of gay sex more than gay people :P (you can read more detail in my argument that homosexuality can be accepted in Islamic tradition given it's as diverse as Christianity)
But thankfully people are coming to grips with that, and if it was 40 years ago, an Orlando massacre would've been celebrated(though even with this tragedy they are some heartless assholes who know nothing of Christianity celebrating it), but over 40 years after the Stonewall riots, people pray for them, respect them, and the police came in not to arrest them but to save them, if change like that can happen in 40 years, then I have hope for our society to be more tolerant to different sexual orientations.
Further Reading:
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/junaid....._10595560.html
http://www.advocate.com/commentary/.....ned-homophobia
Also, for gun control, I disagree with the idea of an assault weapons ban, because they are so many loopholes people can use to go around it, however, I am for universal background checks, gun licenses etc, basically how you'd treat a car, we have those things for cars, and the government has not taken away our cars, so to me this is more than a fair compromise, but it seems no one wants to budge or compromise for the good of the country. Why we issue car licences? because we want to make sure someone's competent in driving and they're not crazy or bent on murder, so people are less likely to die from car accidents, you get the idea.
But the whole Orlando ordeal is just terrible, and I hope and pray for the families effected, and it seems as a side effect from all this LGBT Muslims seem more visible now so if there's anything you'd listen to me about is this: your sexual orientation does not effect your ethics or morals, being straight doesn't make one inherently good, and being gay doesn't make you evil(which is one of the more ridiculous things I've heard) all what sexual orientation is that it just determines who you'd prefer to fulfill a very human need for what I said before, companionship, affection and intimacy. A gay person's life should be valued just as much as a straight person, if people just to get to know groups that their leaders teach them to hate or to dislike, they probably would be less likely to accept such notions and have a bit of empathy. I must end this part with a vid from the Vlogbros on Orlando.
Brexit
And now the last thing I'll talk about is Brexit, though my friend
zearfox actually knows more on this issue than I do, and if you follow one of his facebook posts, he did a really well thought out article on the subject, that it's imperative that the UK stays in the EU. As far as the Brexit crowd goes, their reputation was tattered with a right wing extremist who murders the British MP Jo Cox which shocked a nation, I never had much respect for Britain First, cause for one when Sadiq Khan, a competent, and progressive British Muslim MP(his views have pissed off the ultra conservative Muslim crowd and right wingers at the same time, which to me that's an achievement :P) got elected mayor of London, the BP representative turned his back on him and to me that's all I need to know about the British right wing because they bitch and complain not because he's not qualified for the job because he's not white and Muslim, so as far as I'm concerned, Britain should stay within the EU though some on the Brexit side not associated with BP or the UKIP do have some arguments that can be reasonable, I haven't found a compelling argument so far. Here's John Oliver who can illustrate it further, overall it'll be a huge decision for the UK.Anyway I think I'm caught up, sorry for the long ass post and things seem a bit controversial and crazy so for something a bit more pleasant, I never expected this from Housepets but WTF XD
http://www.housepetscomic.com/2016/...../22/nuff-said/
Even Further reading:
https://geopoliticsmadesuper.com/20.....ke-of-orlando/
https://goplifer.com/2016/06/15/dar.....trol-equation/
America: Country or Continent?
Posted 9 years agoHere's a cool video on the origins of the term "America" and also, screw Columbus :P
The Japanese Legal system is nuts
Posted 9 years agoDespite Japan's reputation for being a very clean and low crime nation not to mention being quite wealthy and tech savvy, Japan's legal system however has a lot of troubling aspects to it. It boasts having an almost 100% conviction rate and would force confessions out of suspects whether they did the crime or not through all kinds of methods which have been criticized by human rights organizations, give the video a watch. PS, to be fair, Americans often have a bad habit of sueing for everything and made it a sport :P
Zaatari: Thoughts From a Refugee Camp
Posted 9 years agoWell Ramadan started on Monday, a time of reflection, and improving one's self spiritually. And to kick it off, here's a video from the Vlogbros about Syrian refugees in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, keep in mind Jordan had a population of 6.2 million in 2010, and took in over 1.2 million refugees, that's almost a fifth of its population, compared to Europe. In Germany they had around a million Syrian Refugees trying to get into the country, of a nation of around 81.1 million, that's just over 1% of the population, so really..1% compared to over 20% in Jordan and people think it's gonna be the end of Europe? I call BS, and xenphobia,however yes I'm sure there's a small number of them that are causing trouble and doing some stupid shit and making the rest look bad, but that doesn't mean a whole sale ban. Individuals should be treated as such and not being bound to collective punishment.
Take for example the brother of the suicide bomber in Brussels(for one they're not refugees they're home grown), Mourad Laachroaui who will represent Belgium in the Olympics(he's a champion in Taekwando, martial arts), it's definitive proof that really, collective punishment is stupid, they were both raised in the same family, same values, same neighborhood, one integrated into Belgian society(or at least kinda), the other went the opposite and got attracted to extremism and went on mass murder, it shows really human beings are complicated, no matter their gender, ethnicity, religion or lack of it, or sexual orientation, if there's anything I learned is that none of those things makes one inherently good or evil.
Here's a link to that news story: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-e.....-idUSKCN0YC0DG
Take for example the brother of the suicide bomber in Brussels(for one they're not refugees they're home grown), Mourad Laachroaui who will represent Belgium in the Olympics(he's a champion in Taekwando, martial arts), it's definitive proof that really, collective punishment is stupid, they were both raised in the same family, same values, same neighborhood, one integrated into Belgian society(or at least kinda), the other went the opposite and got attracted to extremism and went on mass murder, it shows really human beings are complicated, no matter their gender, ethnicity, religion or lack of it, or sexual orientation, if there's anything I learned is that none of those things makes one inherently good or evil.
Here's a link to that news story: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-e.....-idUSKCN0YC0DG
Why so much tax money is wasted
Posted 9 years agoHere's a food for thought video on how a lot of our tax dollars are wasted, and the reasons being is way more complicated than what people think but like the author I believe government is necessary, and having an infrastructure and social services which in the end helps our industries flourish, though we must try to limit waste as much as possible to make the best use of the tax money they have, and only raise it when absolutely necessary, but anyway give it a watch. Making a government run more efficiently based on science I think would benefit us all, technocrats rule :P
Life Update and a couple things
Posted 9 years agoHey guys sorry I haven't posted here in awhile. Things have been getting better for me, I got a new job at the public library. It pays more and get benefits compared with my last job in a cafe, The best thing is after I work there for like six months or so they'd be doors open for better position and more pay, which I'm hoping to graduate with my Bachelor's in December, so if everything goes well I'm hoping to become independent if I can do that, and move out of my parent's place and start life in the real world :P So things are getting better and I see a clear path now where I can attain independence.
As for Memorial day yesterday, I would like to say, some people are confused of these holidays but here's the get go of the differences: Armed Forces Day is about the people currently serving or are going to serve shortly, veterans day is about those who used to serve and gave some and are commemorated for their service, Memorial day is about those who served who never came back, and gave their all. The US military is practically the other 1% there's a huge disconnect between the populace and the military. They are 320 million people in the US, of which roughly 2.1 million are serving in the US military, less than 1% of the population. Most people probably don't know someone in the military so there's a lack of empathy for many, and this disconnect is related to the fact super majority of our congress and our last three presidents never served. I think if we're ever going to war again, I think politicians would think twice if it was them or their kids serving but anyway here's an article on that:
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na.....524-story.html
But anyway on a happier note, you know you suck as a goalkeeper when a dog does it better than you :P
As for Memorial day yesterday, I would like to say, some people are confused of these holidays but here's the get go of the differences: Armed Forces Day is about the people currently serving or are going to serve shortly, veterans day is about those who used to serve and gave some and are commemorated for their service, Memorial day is about those who served who never came back, and gave their all. The US military is practically the other 1% there's a huge disconnect between the populace and the military. They are 320 million people in the US, of which roughly 2.1 million are serving in the US military, less than 1% of the population. Most people probably don't know someone in the military so there's a lack of empathy for many, and this disconnect is related to the fact super majority of our congress and our last three presidents never served. I think if we're ever going to war again, I think politicians would think twice if it was them or their kids serving but anyway here's an article on that:
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na.....524-story.html
But anyway on a happier note, you know you suck as a goalkeeper when a dog does it better than you :P
