Support the Blog — Buy This Book!
For Kindle and with free ePub version. Only $9.49 Great reading.
Here is what Gary Shapiro CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) said: Dvorak's writing sings with insight and clarity. Whether or not you agree with John's views, he will get you thinking and is never boring. These essays are worth the read!
Put this ad on your blog!
Syndicate
Subscribe to Main Blog feed here:
Subscribe to Comments too (below):
Junk Email Filter
#179, Ah Ya,
YES or NO:
Did the Jews declare war on Germany?
Did the Jews specifically state their intention to destroy Germany and all within?
Has Hamas and Gaza declared war on Israel?
Has Hamas and Gaza declared their intention on destroying Israel and all within?
When did Palestine declare war on Israel? Can you point us to that date? Maybe show us a declaration? Maybe you can show us the declaration of war by Israel against Gaza, the West Bank, or any other Palestinian government?
#188, Benny,
Radical Islam is a cancer on humanity and needs to be stopped. Otherwise freedom goes away in exchange for forced conversions or dhimmitude. The goal of Islam is to convert the whole world to be under the authority of Sharia law. You might like the separation of church and state. It’s gone under Sharia law.
A neat summation of why the Christian Taliban are little different from their Muslim Taliban cousins.
“Onwards Christian soldiers, marching off to war, … “
#203, Bryan,
The Jewish gift to the world, for which we have been mercilessly persecuted for thousands of years, is the very concept of personal responsibility and freedom. The ethos of Judaism is not rights, but obligations. I am obliged not to murder or steal. By my observance of those obligations, your rights to life and property are preserved. Where this philosophy runs into trouble is at its boundary with people who don’t follow those obligations (and there is a lot of amazing philosophy within Judaism about how to handle this and it culminates in rules of when it is correct to pre-emptively kill someone you believe is coming to kill you).
Prior to the emergence of early Jewish philosophy, slavery was a natural state. It seems to have existed in almost every spontaneous civilization ever to have existed. It certainly exists in early Jewish history. However, and stemming directly from recognizing that man is created in the image of God it becomes, in the end, impossible to practice discrimination on physical attributes (at first) and then even beliefs if those don’t impinge on others’ freedoms (later). Thus slavery becomes an un-natural state. Now we are so passed slavery (and it really did take 5000 years) we can’t even remember why we think “All Men are created equal”. They’re only equal because a Jewish philosopher wrote that men are the image of God (or God wrote it down for Moses if you prefer).
Such crap.
Jews did not give anything to this world. Personal responsibility is a cornerstone of every religion. Taking an ethic and claiming it for your own is laughable.
All of mankind is obligated NOT to murder or steal. Since long before we left Africa man has lived in tribes. We have had to co-exist morally and work in the interests of the tribe. There is nothing “philosophical” about it. It’s called survival.
Early Jews owned slaves. Later Jews owned slaves. Society evolved and decided slavery wasn’t good. Now it is internationally banned.
The concept that “God” was created in Man’s image is consistent with all religions. Isolated North and South American natives held to Gods created in the same image. Hinduism created their gods in human image. Even the Egyptians used human form gods.
One of the most perplexing questions in history is what did God write on those other five Commandments that Moses dropped and broke.
#208–BrianofLondon==the corruption to Brain is my own little device to find humor where I may. When there is none, I make it up? Usually, if I like someone’s posting, I merely juvenilize the name as I do my own. If I particularly don’t like what someone is saying, I put a negative twist on it. Like Braino perhaps, a corruption near Draino, a toilet cleaning product here in the USA. Just a private exercise.
Makes me wonder just exactly how to address Mr Fusion. We actually agree on so much. Once again, the Middle East comes between men of good will.
Homo Sapiens developed as family/small group hunter gatherers millions of years ago. Without long term child raising and care for the old/lame, humans would have died out eons before religion, as opposed to spiritualism, ever came on the scene. Think gravity.
#212–Confusion==you say: “You imply that what Thomas said was wrong or something. Not one word typed here has refuted anything she has said.” /// Thats right because as I posted, the issue was one of Freedom of Association so what she said is irrelevant. Speaking of Freedom of Speech, the right pertains to freedom against action by the US government==again NOTHING TO DO with what your boss or association of fellow journalists do. You are being fatally imprecise regarding the concept of Freedom of Speech, but you are confused about most of what you post.
Was Helen wrong about what she said? Oh yes. The issue is too moronic to discuss, unless you want to make a specific point. If you disagree with me, then I think you should return to whatever country your grandparents came from—or just go up your family tree until you leave the continental US, and if you aren’t in the US, then just go up your family tree until you leave your current continent. And if you live in Africa, then return to the Rift Valley and swim in rivers until Natural Justice overcomes you. Hee, hee!
Helen Thomas’s statement should be criticized not for hits political content but because it is devoid of reason, and THAT is reason to remove her from any professional organization. We don’t have to wait until she is wearing depends on the outside of her dress.
#169–Confusion Reigns==so now I’m Christian Taliban huh? Thats actually kinda funny Fusion. If someone dropped 500 pound bombs on me, I’d stop fighting and figure out a way to get along. Is your point about the legality of the conflict by way of formal declaration? or is it the practicality of unequal warfare, or what? You are confused on so many levels, I don’t know where to start, except back in the Rift Valley, or maybe the old chestnut of making some vague reference to you needing to google it or to read some books? Really a total fail on your part Fusion.
MR FUSION. Can you help Ah Yea and me out? You say my position if motivated by pro-Israeli views in spite of my protest that my inquiry is purely historic and pragmatic. From my viewpoint, your position looks to be driven by anti-Zionism. Care to provide any motivating elements of your attitude?
I stopped reading anything by “Rubin” years ago, but this is a new author. Let’s see what he has to say?
When did Palestine declare war on Israel? Can you point us to that date? Maybe show us a declaration? Maybe you can show us the declaration of war by Israel against Gaza, the West Bank, or any other Palestinian government?
Obviously the formal declarations of war came from the governments of Syria, Jordan, Egypt and even Iraq upon the declaration of Israel’s Independence. There never has been a Palestinian state and in fact no Palestinian people as they are known today before the Yom Kippur war because the Arabs only invented that designation at that time. Prior to that it was only ever known as the Israel Arab conflict. The Palestine Post, of course, is today known as the Jerusalem Post.
As for declarations of war from non state entities, the PLO charter (probably never rescinded properly) which remains the founding document for Fatah and the Hamas Charter both declare the intent to remove a Jewish state from the Levant. Where I come from that’s fighting talk.
#217–Well Fusion, you are being unnecessarily aggressive and nasty there don’t you think? ((said the pot to the kettle)).
I think it is obvious that the Jews are currently acting more nobly towards human freedom and DUTY as Brian points out. That is unique to the Jews and they should be honored for that. How these ideas played out on the world stage is more debatable but I still have moved one step toward the idea. Why else would the Jews be causing themselves all this trouble by not annihilating their enemies, with the jawbone of an ass or otherwise? I think most other religions will say they have the same thoughts, but they come on the scene much more rarely and later in the course of human events than as they are on display in the Middle East today.
Mr. Fusion said,
#216 “”The goal of Islam is to convert the whole world to be under the authority of Sharia law.”
A neat summation of why the Christian Taliban are little different from their Muslim Taliban cousins.”
Do you wish to live under Sharia law? Or do you wish for freedom to worship how you choose?
#217
I won’t attempt to dissuade you, and your views are sometimes valid but I will clarify something I said about Man created in the image of God.
That’s only half the story and I should have elaborated. You’re completely right, all through time man’s visualizations of God have largely resembled themselves with the addition of extra, limbs, heads, animal features and whatever else seemed like a good idea at the time.
The link is between the importance of not murdering (6th commandment) and honoring God (1st commandment). In certain aspects of Torah study the commandments are viewed 1-6 2-7 3-8 4-9 5-10. It’s really rather subtle but it elevates all men to having the importance of God, but without lifting any man higher. Rather egalitarian and different from many years of believing a King was the representative of God on earth.
And I mis-spoke earlier and referred to the Yom Kippur war when I meant the 6 day war 1967.
Thats a good point Benjamin. Read an article a while back as that issue being the key difference between Muslim religion and Christian/Jewish tradition. “Render unto Cesar, what is Cesar’s”==then get on with worshiping God in a separate and distinct way. A TOTAL separation of church and state. The Muslims want to become Cesar and make no distinction between life, politics, freedom==its ALL religion, nothing else.
Anyone who equates a Muslim Taliban with a so called Christian Taliban makes the grossest of rhetorical errors.
#218, Bobbo, who only see what he wants to see,
Helen Thomas’s statement should be criticized not for hits political content but because it is devoid of reason, and THAT is reason to remove her from any professional organization. We don’t have to wait until she is wearing depends on the outside of her dress
Yet where is your criticism of all those FOX regulars? How about Krauthammer suggesting the “Environmentalists” are responsible for BP’s oil well? How loudly are you condemning him? Yet, as far as I can see, he is still writing for the Washington Post and still commenting on FOX.
How many stupid things has Bill O’Rielly claimed? Or Gretchen Carlson? Or George Will? What makes what Thomas said worse than turning Gaza into glass?
How about your opinion? I find it so offensive, maybe you should be banned from DU.
#217 Mr Fusion said, “All of mankind is obligated NOT to murder or steal.”
Most people believe murdering or stealing is wrong. Islam, however, teaches:
“When you meet the unbelievers, smite their necks, then when you have made wide slaughter among them, tie fast the bonds, then set them free, either by grace or ransom, until the war lays down its burdens.” – Koran Surah 47:4
That is not a religion of peace and is definitely not freedom.
#217 Mr Fusion said, “One of the most perplexing questions in history is what did God write on those other five Commandments that Moses dropped and broke.”
Mel Brooks just made up the 15 commandments becoming 10 when Moses dropped them.
In the Bible, Moses smashed both of the two tablets down when he saw the people worshiping the calf and had to go back up to the mountain. When he came down from the mountain the second time, he had two tablets. Each tablet probably had all ten commandments on them. One was an identical copy of the other. The ten commandments were a covenant between God and Israel. Back then in that region when two groups made a covenant, they carved two copies into stone tablets. That is the reason why there was two.
http://rubinreports.blogspot.com/2010/06/news-flash-obama-meets-with-mahmoud.html
I only read the first 5-6 paragraphs. In general, I get little pleasure from reading that which I am in total agreement with. No meat.
I also find it hard to read *anything* about what political leaders say. ” blah, blah, is UNSUSTAINABLE?” That is true about just about every subject I can think of.
I don’t know who is being appeased by making such vacuous statements.
“Obama” ((add Fusion, amodedoma, Phydeau, Helen Thomas)) doesn’t understand Hamas–just try to imagine a “prosperous” Gaza under the control of Hamas? Yea verily. Or maybe the non-obama group are part of Team-Hamas? Thats what I think until they explain the deeper roots of their complaints, but its only nonsense on the surface.
#224–awh Confusion==that earnest befuddlement makes it hard to dislike you.
I need your direction why a discussion of Helen Thomas retiring after 50 years of being a gadfly was “caused by” her most recent inane off the record comment is informed by what Charles Krautheimer thinks about BP Oil spill. Silly to think you find support wholly separate from the issue at hand. You argue just like Helen Thomas===no, thats not right, at least she stuck to the subject. Silly.
If/when I get banned from DU for what I say, my free speech rights will not have been violated. You make an excellent point.
#222 bobbo, the evangelical anti-theist said, on June 10th, 2010 at 11:12 am
“That’s a good point Benjamin. Read an article a while back as that issue being the key difference between Muslim religion and Christian/Jewish tradition. “Render unto Cesar, what is Cesar’s”==then get on with worshiping God in a separate and distinct way. A TOTAL separation of church and state. The Muslims want to become Cesar and make no distinction between life, politics, freedom==its ALL religion, nothing else.”
Right. As a Christian I an supposed to proselytize to you. It is still in your power to accept or reject Christianity. That is freedom. If I go beyond proselytizing and try to take away your freedom of choice to accept or reject Christianity, I am sinning against God and you. Even infighting among believers is sin. I am sure God never wanted Protestants and Catholics to kill each other in His name.
Sharia Law says you must be killed or forced you to lie as a perpetual serf ruled over by Muslims if you reject Islam. Islam means submission. The Koran demands that a Muslim convert a infidel by any means possible. That is not freedom.
“Anyone who equates a Muslim Taliban with a so called Christian Taliban makes the grossest of rhetorical errors”
Not sure what this theoretical Christian Taliban would be like. Can they use soap? Is rattlesnake touching necessary?
Benjamin–you ask “Does the Christian Taliban use soapy snakes?” and I am embarassed to answer: I don’t know, ask Confusion. He’s the one that agressively thinks using violence to attack someone is the same as the violence necessary to defend against such an attack.
Go figure.
I did google, or try to google, christian biblical verse regarding treatment of infidels to make the equation with the Koran. Couldn’t do it in 10 minutes. Maybe there is a difference between the major cults?
#219, Bryan,
In other words, you can NOT show us a declaration of war between two peoples. The Jewish conquest and subjugation of Palestinian people happened long before the PLO originated.
The splitting of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states was assured when Britain and the US agreed to support a homeland for the Jews. American Jews from WWII flew surplus warplanes against the Arabs. American Jews brought their military experience against the Arabs.
Only the Jews weren’t happy and took more land than they had been given. They expelled many of the people who had lived there for centuries. They tore up Arab land and put in communes. They took water from Arab areas and diverted it to Jewish areas. They denied Arabs membership in their society. Then they denied Arabs the right to sell their land without offering it to a Jew first. They denied Arabs the right to travel freely. They denied Arabs the right to defend themselves from Jewish aggression. They uprooted Arab families and pushed them into ghettos. And on and on and on.
The only problem for the Jews is that the world was watching. Other than a few well seen cases, the Jews couldn’t commit mass genocide as the Germans had done. They couldn’t use techniques such as gassing, though I’m sure many Jews wanted to. That never stopped them from imprisoning Arabs because of who they were, not what they had done. Even today, tens of thousands of Arab men are in Jewish jails without charge. Without reason though, the IDF storm troopers do shoot without provocation.
#228, Benny,
Have you ever read the Koran? It seems to me that you know what you have heard from others. Who probably heard it from someone else. Yet you proselytize that it is evil while your religion is good.
Regardless of the amount of truth, blind people like you will never see.
#225, Bennie,
Mr Fusion said, “One of the most perplexing questions in history is what did God write on those other five Commandments that Moses dropped and broke.”
Mel Brooks just made up the 15 commandments becoming 10 when Moses dropped them.
Can you prove it? The title was “History of the World, part 1”. There were hundreds of people that worked on the movie. Only Moses wrote about the Exodus. Who are you going to believe, hundreds of people or one old man who later in life became President of the NRA even though he was senile with Alzheimer.
Hey Confusion: nice review. I see where you are coming from.
Take the World History Morality Challenge: take a black crayon on mark off the areas of on a World Map where land was taken by force against an unwilling original occupier. If there is any white area left on the map, read another history book until it too is blacked out.
I can accept everything you say as true and still respond: so what?
No one has a right to land anywhere. Land is gained and held by force of arms. If you want some piece of land but don’t have the force to take and keep it, and then you continue to want that piece of land, thats called being real stupid.
Only idiots give credence to claims of land based on morality. Its the very denial of reality that causes all these problems to continue.
#218, Bobbo,
MR FUSION. Can you help Ah Yea and me out? You say my position if motivated by pro-Israeli views in spite of my protest that my inquiry is purely historic and pragmatic. From my viewpoint, your position looks to be driven by anti-Zionism. Care to provide any motivating elements of your attitude?
I don’t believe I ever said what your motivation was. Nor do I believe your position is “historic and pragmatic”. Nothing I have written in this thread is “anti-Zionist”.
I am against discrimination based upon a person’s race. Currently, Israel discriminates against Palestinians. They have created an apartheid society. That you defend this action I find disturbing but I will defend your right to be an asshole.
#232 said “Who are you going to believe, hundreds of people or one old man who later in life became President of the NRA even though he was senile with Alzheimer.”
You forgot about his science knowledge when he cured vampirism, his discovery that futuristic food was made from people, and where he damned everyone to Hell for nuking New York City. I say his accomplishments spoke for themselves, so I believe him over the people who made the Mel Brooks movie. Have any of them cured vampirism or damned everyone for nuking New York or discovering that Soylent Green is people? No? Well until those hundreds of people in the Mel Brooks movie do those things, I will believe Moses.
Mr Fusion–I find your post number 234 to be quite disturbing. Is that what you “really” think? Such an appeal to justice.
So, what is your solution to the ME conflict? What do you believe one side or the other should actually do?
Do you think a return to the 67 borders with a right of return is the correct thing for Israel to do, or what?
#234 “I am against discrimination based upon a person’s race. Currently, Israel discriminates against Palestinians.”
But it doesn’t follow that the discrimination is based on race. It might be discrimination against a group of people with a stated goal of killing Jews and a history of lobbing rockets at them. The Palestinians brought this on themselves with their words and actions. That is a fact.
Let me put this in a way you can understand. Let say we are neighbors and you are rich and I am poor. I spend all my money at the expense of my family on buying bottle rockets that I constantly shoot at your house. One day a bottle rocket sets your kid’s hair on fire. Then you come over and beat me up. I claim that you are evil and beat me up with no provocation because you are rich and I am poor. Everyone condemns you. One day you see the UPS guy left a box of bottle rockets by my door. You take the bottle rockets. I get mad and call all my neighbors who call you evil. Now that is what is going on in the Israel.
#233, Bobbo,
No one has a right to land anywhere. Land is gained and held by force of arms. If you want some piece of land but don’t have the force to take and keep it, and then you continue to want that piece of land, thats called being real stupid.
Then toss me your address and we can fight over your land.
That argument has been used countless times in the past to justify genocide and theft. Today, we have this internationally recognized thing called “civility”. There are now International Laws that countries are expected to abide by.
After the last horrific war that killed tens of millions, we created the United Nations in order to settle international disputes. No, the UN isn’t perfect, but it is a lot better than using guns to settle disputes. And most major conflicts have been resolved. Viet Nam, Kuwait and Iran being the exceptions.
“Law”–the last refuge of a scoundrel.
Its all nice words Fusion, now join the real world.
What do you think Israel, or the Palestians, should actually DO? I did give my answer above, so this is not a trick question. You actually surprised me by having an arguable position. Ambiguous so far, but “I” could make an argument from where you start.
I’m hoping for another surprise. Not expecting it, but hoping nonetheless.
What do you think Israel should actual DO?
#237, Benny,
But it doesn’t follow that the discrimination is based on race. It might be discrimination against a group of people with a stated goal of killing Jews and a history of lobbing rockets at them. The Palestinians brought this on themselves with their words and actions. That is a fact.
How many Israelis have been killed by Palestinians since 2000 then compare that number to the number of Palestinians killed by Israelis in the same period? Of course, you will claim every Palestinian death as justified and every Israeli as a murder. You will ignore that the Israelis have stolen the very land the Palestinian rockets are aimed at.
But that is OK. Someone who claims there is a big invisible dude in the sky cannot be expected to understand that maybe the people mentioned in his holy book may be bad people.
Notice how Fusion joined the post without reading anything first, just like all the other unhinged posters.
Hey Fusion, how about getting up to speed, if you can. Start with #106 and #183.
Bobbo said: “I find your post number 234 to be quite disturbing.”
His post is an extension of his thoughts.
Fusion himself is quite disturbed. Another unhinged leftist radical who cannot use reason, but instead creating a half-baked pseudo reality while appealing to some undefined and undefinable “morality”. And then he uses this faux morality to claim and assert he is superior to the rest of us inferior beings.
It’s a sure sign of mental illness. He simply cannot deal with reason and logic, it’s beyond his grasp. Therefore he needs to appeal to an imaginary concept which no one can dispute.
And of course, the last resort is adolescent name calling.
Maybe we will get lucky and he will follow amodedoma lead in #127!
Mr Fusion: c’mon. I asked you a fair question.
I see your position as legitimate “as far as it goes.” By that I mean as if you were from another planet and arrive on earth today and you look around.
WITH THE SAME MORALITY, if you just track back in time to see the difficulties morality only analysis raises, I’m thinking you might modify your position, or surprise me with a stronger position that what you present: which is silence in view of any challenge.
Surely the depth of your analysis is more than paper thin?
What do you think Israel, or Palestine (sic) should actually DO?
Speaking of the flag and tv educating too many:
Is it legal or not to burn the US flag?
Hint: yes and no.
Great video, brainoflondon!
Looks like a nice vacation spot.
PS. don’t look toward people like Fusion, GregAllen, Dallas, etc. to listen.
I meant what I said in post #241 about Fusion being insane. The same goes for quite a few on this blog.
I am researching types of delusions as a hobby, and this blog is so full of these types that it really should be called,
“Dvorak Unhinged!”