Our daily arms

“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”

- Wayne LaPierre, the N.R.A. vice president

p.s.: Yee Haw, we are going back to the wild west days.
On a more serious note: if we are all armed, how do you determine prior to shooting who is the bad guy, because in our minds we are all good guys.
As far as I'm concerned this was only fun while watching the western movies.

Evolution 'Plagiarized'

"One should then look at the world of creation. It started out from the minerals and progressed, in an ingenious, gradual manner, to plants and animals. The last stage of minerals is connected with the first stage of plants, such as herbs and seedless plants. The last stage of plants, such as palms and vines, is connected with the first stage of animals, such as snails and shellfish which have only the power of touch. The word "connection" with regard to these created things means that the last stage of each group is fully prepared to become the first stage of the next group. The animal world then widens, its species become numerous, and, in a gradual process of creation, it finally leads to man, who is able to think and to reflect. The higher stage of man is reached from the world of the monkeys, in which both sagacity and perception are found, but which has not reached the stage of actual reflection and thinking. At this point we come to the first stage of man after (the world of monkeys). This is as far as our (physical) observation extends."

- Ibn Khaldun:  Muqaddimah 1377

p.s.: I wonder if Charles Darwin gave him any credit for his theory...

Classes

Low.
Middle.
High.
Call them whatever names, they are essentially layers of people within society who:
- have nothing
- have enough
- have too much
The middle one carries the society on their physical shoulders, the high on it's financial ones. And those who have nothing are watching to see what's going to happen next. No bad feelings here, just hard, cold facts.
In a free society the movement between these three levels is also free. Up or down. But it's minimal and is largely dependent on individual skill and educational levels. It is highly unlikely (however possible) to see examples of extremes, or somebody crossing the boundaries from bottom to the top or vice versa. The boundaries, however imaginary and consequently flexible are almost like set in stone as a guideline for all of us: "you belong here, and no, you don't".
We are all born the same, tabula rasa waiting to get filled up with teachings and experiences. We are all going to become princes or the paupers based on the circumstances and  who raised us.
So, it isn't genetics. It is money, and our insatiable appetite for more. Again. 

MG

Distraction

The other day I was driving along NJ Rt46 and in the distance spotted one of those overhead digital info signs that I could not read at first. Curiosity prevailing, I kept my eyes on it until I was close enough to read it.
It said: "Distracted drivers kill!"
What an ironic application of paradox.

Joke of the month

While in China, an American man is very sexually promiscuous and does not use a condom the entire time he is there. A week after arriving back home in the States, he wakes one morning to find his penis covered with bright green and purple spots. Horrified, he immediately goes to see a doctor. The doctor, never having seen anything like this before, orders some tests and tells the man to return in two days for the results.
The man returns a couple of days later and the doctor says: "I've got bad news for you. You've contracted Mongolian VD. It's very rare and almost unheard of here in the US. We know very little about it.  I'm sorry, there's no known cure. We're going to have to amputate your penis.."  
Perplexed and horrified the man seeks a second opinion from a Chinese doctor, figuring that he'll know more about the disease. The Chinese doctor examines his penis and proclaims:  "Ah, yes, Mongolian VD. Vewy ware disease."  
The guy impatiently replies: "Yeah, yeah, I already know that, but what can we do? My American doctor wants to cut off my penis!"  
The Chinese doctor shakes his head and laughs. "Stupid American docttah, always want opawate. Make more money dat way.. No need amputate!"
"Oh, thank God!" the man exclaims.
"Yes." says the Chinese doctor. "Wait two week. Faw off by itself...!"

I.M.F.

When you really look just a bit deeper into it, the International Monetary Fund is nothing else but the worlds biggest loan shark. But, to be fair, the IMF is different from your typical loan shark who gives you the money with the expectation that you pay it back with enormous interest attached to it. This one has somewhat different attachment: a set of conditions that will make the borrower become subservient to it. It is not good, it is not necessary for your existence, but when you (and your country) are down on your financial luck and have greedy and unscrupulous people in charge of your country's future, you can be rest assured you will be even further down on your luck. And not only the financial kind.

Evolution

"In past ages, the law governing the survival of the fittest roughly weeded out the less desirable strains. Then man's new sense of pity began to interfere with the ruthless workings of nature."

 - Nikola Tesla

Poverty

"The poverty of our century is unlike that of any other. It is not, as poverty was before, the result of natural scarcity, but of a set of priorities imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich. Consequently, the modern poor are not pitied, but written off as trash."

 - John Berger

Colonization

"When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. Than they said: "Let us pray". We closed our eyes and we prayed. And when we opened our eyes we had the Bible and they had our land."

 - Bishop Desmond Tutu

Straight talk

"Dear Mrs. Prime Minister, you keep saying that you are and always will be giving everything for the country and it's people. Well, dear Mrs. Prime Minister, you really do not have to give everything. Your resignation should suffice."

 - Dragutin Lesar, member of Croatian Parliament (My translation)

Elections

Election time is the only time when some of the real truths about our politicians will surface. Thanks to their opponents.

1% vs 99%

If 99% of our population is not capable of getting their message across effectively, can you imagine what would their life be like if their number drops down to, let's say 90%?

Ignorance

"Are you talking about the North Korea, the bad guys? Why did we allow them to participate in the first place?"

- My co-worker's comment on hearing that North Korea was in 3rd place by total number of medals won in the beginning of the London Olympics

Pussy Riot

If they did, what they did in Moscow, anywhere in the Bible Belt there would be no judicial process (let alone the just one). They would be mob lynched.

Socialism

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy. Its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."

- Winston Churchill

p.s.: what else can you expect from someone who was born into wealth and power...

Freedom

I believe that in today's democracy we can sum up all the freedoms into two basic categories: political and financial (economic) freedom.
 One is alleging political freedom through a concept of our right to be heard through our representatives in government. On the other hand, the same system is keeping a tight reins on our economic dependence placing the focus on our own ability, combined with market forces, to find work and consequently provide for our existence and well being or barely make ends meet.
The other one, au contraire, is alleging freedom from having to worry about our financial dependence by providing an equal opportunity to all of us to get a fair employment and not to worry about our health, education and economic downturns. On the other hand, it is telling us that political decisions should be a matter of public policy where the leaders decide what is good for us and what is not.                                     Bottom line is that both systems have been complementing each other, taking some of the features from one another in order to balance relations between those who have and lead and those who don't have and therefore have to follow. We live in the era of representative democracy which also has a lot of issues and loopholes making it not perfect in both types of socioeconomic systems.
Maybe, a new wave of social capitalism will bring some new ideas to the table.
Or maybe this issue is to be battled for just as long as we are here.

MG

Occupy...

The only unrest that will ever work is the one held on an empty stomach.

MG

Our purpose

Can you imagine the world in which the human kind would invest all their energy, money and knowledge that is currently being wasted on wars, political intriguing and never ending greedy business scamming, into finding our real purpose and place on earth and in the universe?
I can not possibly imagine the above being our real purpose, and would be very disappointed if it really was.