Thoughts on History

While the Persian made many contributions to Western Civilization their greatest legacy arguably lies with the religion of Zoroastrianism – one of the earliest attempts at monotheism and the dualism of good and evil as forces in nature. The Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – have all placed considerable emphasis on these notions within their respective theological philosophies

The Milesian thinker and mathematician Thales is considered to be one of the fathers of the Western Philosophical tradition. Why is that? While many of his contemporaries were running around blaming natural events on the ongoing strife of the gods Thales believed that such phenomena could be BEST understood by rationally unravelling the structure of matter that he believed was centred around water as the originating principle. In doing so Thales helped take explanation beyond the scope of the supernatural and so galvanized the earliest school of philosophy named after the Ionian City in which he resided (Miletus).

If ever you wish to reflect on the Brilliance of Western Civilization look no further than the great cathedrals that define Gothic Architecture. Majestic, tall and inspiring these incredible buildings revolutionized our collective heritage with a unique fusion of science, design, artistic flair and constructive brilliance. Gothic Architecture continued the tradition of representing a celestial paradise on Earth.

Relections XXXVI - Sunday Simmerings

 We worship many false gods today. The worst of these is the notion that we ourselves are deserving of respect.

Once the physics fails the rest of the science comes crashing down.

At the end of the day every political system produces a ruling elite.

Canada itself is somewhat of a forced alliance. A marriage of convenience between English and French segments who from the get go never trusted each other. The fact that it has stayed together this long is a miracle of deception perpetrated by an elite who have used an elaborate system of transfer payments, necessary bullying and smokescreens of Canadian Identity to add filler to the fractures

. A sound mind is free to choose but one must realize that there will be consequences to your decisions. This is the definition of adulthood.

Reflections XXXV - December Digressions

 How much anti-Semitism is driven by jealousy? Methinks at its core...all of it.

There is always a surplus of bad ideas.

The biggest impediment for the Kurds and their quest for international homeland recognition is that they are not in direct conflict with the Jews but rather other Muslim nations.

As  sports evolve they lose their diversity and become captive to a uniform style – baseliners dominate tennis, grapplers control MMA and the high press is universal in football.

Putin has bitten off more than he intended to chew with the Ukraine however he will fight to the last Russian soldier to convince the public that this is not the case. He will welcome any pyrrhic victory.

Watching some conservatives cheer on Putin’s Russia must make the Gipper roll over in his grave.

If a war doesn’t kill a country the post war malaise augmented by socialism will.

The problem with so many intellectuals is that they cannot distinguish the ought from the is. Nor do I think they care to.

Reflections XXXIV - Digesting reality

It doesn’t matter if your heart is in the right place if it is disconnected from your head.

The problem with punditry is that there is often no consequences,  to their failed predictions. Having nothing to lose should be the first warning sign in heeding their analysis.

Put your money where your mouth is was a phrase that was customized for Muhammad Ali.

Ali is the not the greatest for the number of fights he won but he ranks #1 for the quality of opponents he defeated.

It intrigues me to think how great Spain may have become if they had not made the ill fated decision to expel the Jews in 1492 as they approached the zenith of their power.

Keir Starmer took a growing trend of national decline in the UK and gave it the accelerated boost downward to expedite the rot.

If you have faith in humanity remind yourself that over 80 million people voted for Joe Biden despite obvious signs of the onset of dementia.

Liverpool Football Club are in dire straits.

 As a diehard Liverpool fan this kills me to say it but we look terrible at present. This from a comment I wrote on an Anfield Agenda youtube video.

My biggest concern, as Craig (owner of the channel) indicated several weeks ago, centers around the dressing room environment. It looks fractured. The players clearly didn't respond to Slot's half-time talk v City or Forest in a meaningful manner. If slot has lost the dressing room then he has to go. If the players still respect him then at least you have something to build on. The chief problem on the field though is the defence. It is an absolute shambles. We have conceded two or more goals in 8 of the 12 league fixtures. If Slot cannot fix this ny returning to the basics ASAP he will have to go.

I also wrote this elsewhere.

Liverpool's defence lacks a sense of urgency. They almost appear at times to play at a testimonial pace and I say this as a diehard Liverpool fan. Forest on the other handed defended as though their lives were on the line. No chemistry in the back four as is the case with the rest of the team.

Antisemitic tunnel vision

In 2024 the US Federal budget stood at $6750 billion. Aid to Israel was 3.3 billion of which well over $2 billion had to be spent in the US (on American military items). Therefore the aid to Israel makes up less than 0.05% of the US Federal budget. But hey, according to some it is the Israel lobby that has the greatest impact on the US

Reflections XXXIII - Saturday musings

Chinese leadership is loyal to the party not the state and even less so to the people. The party is the God. Western observers rarely understand this which explains the shock it sensed with the Tiananmen Square Massacre and before that the Cultural Revolution.

We need to articulate and celebrate Western exceptionalism for it has been leading driver in the advancement of science, commerce, the legal system and the war against poverty.

Great societies need people of vision. Inventions don’t matter much if you don’t have people with clear ideas who can utilize them with efficacy.. A competitive free market selects for such vision.

We can be certain of change but not certain of the direction of change.

If Japan can turn its falling birth rate around without the destructive resort to mass immigration it will emerge once again as a force to be reckoned with. A leader who prioritizes this will become the saviour of the nation. The same is true of South Korea.

Taking comfort in lies seems to be a unique human trait. So is parroting those lies.