Beauty

Fra Angelico, Nativity, Convento di San Marco, Florence

It’s really true that, as Pablo Picasso once said, with age, art and life become one and the same. I mean, as you grow older you learn to understand life a little better, but since art and life are inseparable, then if you understand one you understand the other, and therefore you become aware of how much of your life is … art! Ars vivendi, of course, and not only this, but also art per se, that is an endless search for beauty.

But what is beauty? Well, it’s not an easy question to answer, so let’s start more modestly with the meaning of the word itself. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the term beauty indicates “the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit.” But, apart from the effects of beauty (“gives pleasure,” etc.), what is beauty in itself? This is clearly a philosophical question, and a very wide one, indeed. A bit too wide for a blog post! So, let’s just simplify and say that Greek philosophers Plato and Socrates were the first at attempting to define beauty. They thought of objects or nature as being inherently beautiful: beauty is inside us and all around us. In their attempt to define characteristics of a beautiful thing they focused on “simplicity” and “symmetry.” Their concrete and simple concept of beauty was enlarged by Plotinus, according to which beauty cannot be described as just symmetry, but rather as a quality that “irradiates” and moves us. Let’s also say that, in general, according to the traditional Western thought, beauty is a supreme value and a constitutive element of the cosmos, associated with order, harmony, truth, goodness, love, being, and the divine. Modern philosophy, in turn, shifted the study of beauty from ontology to the sphere of human faculties. Hence the “emancipation” of art from traditional religious and social bonds, namely from the constraints and the burden of demonstrating a moral truth or of bearing a moral message, as it was used in the Middle Ages, until just before the Renaissance. And finally the arts themselves were separated from the traditional concept of beauty (but in the Twentieth Century metaphysical discussions of beauty were revived by German philosophers Martin Heidegger and Hans-Georg Gadamer).

Yet, with all due respect for philosophy (and Aesthetics, which is the branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty), for us believers one thing is certain: there is no real beauty but that which God has bestowed around us and upon our lives. As it is written, “He hath made everything beautiful in its time” (Eccles. 3:11). That’s why beauty draws us back to the Creator, who is the very source and essence of beauty, back to the deep core of things. This beauty emanates from the self-giving love of God, love that pours out of the heart of God into ordinary, everyday people and relationships and circumstances.

Unfortunately, in our time beauty has become reduced, both at the popular level and among elites, to being fit or young or rich and glamorous—not to mention other and far worse perversions and aberrations. Thus, beauty leads to lifestyles that are, in the best cases, vain, self-centered, wasteful, and personally destructive in the worst. Thus, art has sometimes become synonymous with corruption and artist with “decadent”—morbidity is a characteristic of the so-called Decadent movement... That’s not the kind of art I was talking about at the beginning of this post. So, what is art for me? Well, art is for me one of the most straightforward and effective ways of worshipping God, showing our gratitude for His gifts, and at the same time of experiencing His presence.

That’s why I have a predilection for the kind of art of which the following video is a precious example. This is also my way of reminding you that the Fourth Sunday of Advent is quickly approaching…

~ First written for The Metaphysical Peregrine ~

Fewer Than Half of American Children Growing Up In Intact Families

The Family Research Council’s Marriage and Religion Research Institute (MARRI) defines an intact family as “a biological mother and father who remain legally married to one another from the time of their child’s birth.” Well, according to a survey—the first annual Index of Belonging and Rejection—produced by the above mentioned institute and advocacy group, only 45 percent of American children have spent their childhood in an intact family. This means a majority of American teenagers’ parents have rejected each other, either through divorce, separation or choosing not to marry.

Now, considering that providing children with intact families holds immeasurable benefits—including financial, educational, legislative, legal and judicial gains—for children, adults and society in general, we may conclude, along with Pat Fagan, director of the Marriage & Religion Research Institute, that “American society is dysfunctional, characterized by a faulty understanding of the male-female relationship,” and that its culture “needs a compass correction, learning again how to belong to each other when we have begotten children together.”

I must confess I’d be tempted to add that I feel sorry for America, but unfortunately I don’t think Europe is in any better shape. [Via CnsNews.com]

Not The Worst Nightmare

So yesterday Berlusconi narrowly won a confidence vote in the lower house of Parliament—his government received only three votes more than its opponents—soon after rather easily winning the vote in the Senate. To me (and many others) it was no great surprise, though. Of course, it’s true that there was much uncertainty about the outcome of the vote in the Chamber of Deputies, unlike that in the Senate: everybody knew it would be a photo-finish. But in the end common sense prevailed, 314-311.

The no-confidence motion was put forward by opponents who argued that Berlusconi’s scandal-ridden private life, his alleged attempts to head off investigations into his business dealings and the lackluster state of the economy made his continued tenure as prime minister impossible. And all of this is true to a degree, but this is only half of the truth, one of the two sides of the coin, the other of which is the nature itself of the opposition, made up of a jumble of left-wing, centrist and center-right political parties, without a clear leader and with little common ground other than the will to get rid of Berlusconi—enough to seriously undermine the government’s ability to work effectively, too little to present themselves as a reliable, alternative government. And that’s perhaps the real trouble with Italy, or, depending on your point of view, the greatest luck: with such an opposition, Berlusconi’s only opponents are the formidable problems of the country. But the ideal would be a decent government and a decent opposition—and, if I don’t expect too much, less severe problems for the country …

Be it as it may, the worst was avoided: a crisis without any foreseeable solutions. And now? Speaking at the presentation of a book in Rome, soon after winning the vote of confidence, Berlusconi said it was possible he might expand his parliamentary majority. He also said Italy did not need to have elections now but that he was sure his party would win them if they were held. And this is not an unlikely scenario, nor the worst nightmare. Yeah, there’s always something worse, and in life, you need to know how to make do with what you have. After all, aren’t we in the age of Kali Yuga?

It's the Political Correctness, Stupid!

Heidi Harris’ version of the “12 Days of Christmas” (outstanding!) from The Heidi Harris Show, Las Vegas :



[Thanks: Rich Hilts]

Italy And The Euro Crisis

Giulio Tremonti and Mario Draghi

Olli Rehn, EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner, speaking at a press conference in Rome alongside Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti: Italy is “coping well” with the eurozone crisis and its financial position has deteriorated less than others thanks to its prudent fiscal policy and despite high levels of public sector debt. So sorry for the many international and (above all) domestic cassandras writing off the country’s economy—but, if you want to see the glass half empty, it’s also true that, as Rome-based national statistics agency Istat said last Friday, Italy’s industrial production fell 0.1 percent in October after a 2.1 percent drop in September...

Italy’s Central Bank governor, Mario Draghi, in an interview with the Financial Times (article and video): The euro is not in question, and “Europe is moving in the right direction of creating the rules and institutions to address future crisis in a systemic and comprehensive way.” But the large-scale purchases of government bonds could threaten the ECB’s freedom to act without political interference and break European Union rules.

The Murderers of Christianity

In Baghdad and in other places in Iraq the killing of Christians continues: the last two, a married couple attacked in their home on the night of Sunday, December 5. What is worse—as the October 31 massacre in the Syriac Catholic cathedral in Baghdad demonstrates (the terrorists opened fire and threw grenades shouting, “You will all go to hell, but we to paradise. Allah is most great” …)—is that the attacks denote a hatred that is ever more distinctly religious, Islamist.

As a result, the exodus of Christians from Baghdad and Mosul to the safer Kurdistan, in the extreme north of the country, continues.

The situation in Egypt—where a few weeks ago two Coptic Christians were killed by the police and 50 were wounded during a demonstration calling for the construction of a church in the city of Giza—is not much better. Hence the Pope’s call for the respect of human rights in Iraq and Egypt, as the video below shows. Meanwhile the international community continues to turn a blind eye to what is going on.

Ron Paul: “What We Need Is More WikiLeaks On The Federal Reserve”

One may not agree with Ron Paul on certain points (or many). Likewise, one may not disagree more with Julian Assange and what he stands for. But this is worth mentioning …

[Via Tea Party -- One Lump or Two?]

Please Help Free Liu Xiaob

Not that, to be honest, I am overly confident that this Call to Action will be crowned by success (and this for at least two quite obvious reasons I won’t mention here), but I can’t help doing my own little part to help support Tibetan and Chinese political prisoners in China, including Chinese literary critic, writer, professor, and human rights activist Liu Xiaobo, who has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China,” and is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence for “inciting subversion of state power.” That’s why I accept the call to action launched by the International Campaign for Tibet:

Liu Xiaobo, Chinese literary critic, writer, professor, activist and supporter of the Tibetan people, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China." Currently serving an 11-year prison sentence for "inciting subversion of state power," Liu Xiaobo is the first Chinese person to be awarded a Nobel Prize of any kind while residing in China.

Thousands of prisoners - Tibetan as well as Chinese - continue to be held behind bars, serving long sentences for speaking out and voicing their opinions. They include Dhondup Wangchen, a Tibetan film-maker; Migmar Dhondup, a Tibetan tour guide and writer ; Runggye Adak, a Tibetan nomad; and Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, a Tibetan religious and community leader.
The Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, which the Chinese government is not allowing Liu or his family to attend, will be held on December 10, which is International Human Rights Day.

Please add your voice before December 10, 2010 by sending a message to President Obama to urge him to stand up to press China for the release of all political prisoners detained for exercising their right to free expression, and to implement the political and human rights reforms that multitudes of Chinese and Tibetan advocates risk their lives to promote.
Take action and send your message now!

A Couple of Questions About WikiLeaks and The New York Times

Is Wikileaks motivated by stopping deciet, lies, fraud and abuse of the power, or just the United States? Why did the New York Times ignore other things against the left?

When a newspaper allows its personal beliefs and agenda to color not only the news, but what it selects as the news, it becomes no better than the newsstand rag used to attract the illiterate and stupid at the supermarket checkout to look at the same blurred out alien baby picture for the 600th time.

[...]

WikiLeaks has shown a chink in its armor. WikiLeaks is simply concentrating on one “evil”. This does not match up with its founders’ “purpose” of defending everyone against abusers of power everywhere.

It is understandable if someone wants to reveal something as dastardly as the Abu Gharab situation or the incident with the helicopter, shooting what definitely appeared to be innocent people. But to release millions of documents because of a few abuses, the white knights of the world become the abusers and not the defenders of the abused.

Read the rest.

Let’s Be Inspired By Beauty!

The Virgin Adoring the Sleeping Christ Child, by Sandro Botticelli, Edinburgh National Gallery of Scotland 

Tired of bleak political news? Here is a more optimistic view of the world, made up of beauty and true joy of life : just put together Sandro Botticelli and J.S. Bach—The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude And Fugue No. 1 In C Major, BWV 846—and you’re done… [Thanks: Riflessi d'acqua]



This is also meant to remind you (and me) that last Sunday was the First Advent in the Christian calendar—because Beauty and true Joy, a joy that is certainly different from the illusory feelings advertised through publicity…, both come from God’s love, and “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9). The Lord is coming—that’s what Advent means! So, let’s wait for Him in Joy and Hope, and let’s be inspired by the Beauty He has surrounded us with!

“Serious Questions about the Obama Administration's Incompetence in the Wikileaks Fiasco”

From Sarah Palin’s Facebook page:

We all applaud the successful thwarting of the Christmas-Tree Bomber and hope our government continues to do all it can to keep us safe. However, the latest round of publications of leaked classified U.S. documents through the shady organization called Wikileaks raises serious questions about the Obama administration’s incompetent handling of this whole fiasco.

First and foremost, what steps were taken to stop Wikileaks director Julian Assange from distributing this highly sensitive classified material especially after he had already published material not once but twice in the previous months? Assange is not a “journalist,” any more than the “editor” of al Qaeda’s new English-language magazine Inspire is a “journalist.” He is an anti-American operative with blood on his hands. His past posting of classified documents revealed the identity of more than 100 Afghan sources to the Taliban. Why was he not pursued with the same urgency we pursue al Qaeda and Taliban leaders?

What if any diplomatic pressure was brought to bear on NATO, EU, and other allies to disrupt Wikileaks’ technical infrastructure? Did we use all the cyber tools at our disposal to permanently dismantle Wikileaks? Were individuals working for Wikileaks on these document leaks investigated? Shouldn’t they at least have had their financial assets frozen just as we do to individuals who provide material support for terrorist organizations?

Most importantly, serious questions must also be asked of the U.S. intelligence system. How was it possible that a 22-year-old Private First Class could get unrestricted access to so much highly sensitive information? And how was it possible that he could copy and distribute these files without anyone noticing that security was compromised?

The White House has now issued orders to federal departments and agencies asking them to take immediate steps to ensure that no more leaks like this happen again. It’s of course important that we do all we can to prevent similar massive document leaks in the future. But why did the White House not publish these orders after the first leak back in July? What explains this strange lack of urgency on their part?

We are at war. American soldiers are in Afghanistan fighting to protect our freedoms. They are serious about keeping America safe. It would be great if they could count on their government being equally serious about that vital task.

- Sarah Palin

Unexceptionable.

The True Source of Our Thanksgiving Holiday

~ “LETTERS FROM AMERICA” - by The Metaphysical Peregrine ~

Each year, on the forth Thursday of November, we celebrate and give thanks for all the good things we have. It’s a truly pure holiday in that it's an expression of its original intent. No costumes to dress up in, no gifts to give, no Easter egg hunts and all the rest. Family and friends get together for one reason only, to participate in a feast to express love and gratitude for each other and the bounty provided to us in our country, and for some of us to thank God for his blessings and grace. 

The story of the first Thanksgiving has been distilled and over simplified, the true story not told by revisionists. Like many things, what we're taught in school just ain't so. Thanksgiving is more of a celebration of an economic miracle and thanking God for abundance. The original charter for the colony in the early 1600’s stated everyone should share all the fruits of their labor. No private property, no division of labor. The result of this economic structure was that half of the settlers died or went back to England. Disease killed many more because the low production of crops led to malnutrition and lowered immune systems. Some of the settlers were calling in sick, slacking in their work, and others stole food. Why put in the extra effort, if the results of that effort provided no more than what it got the low producer? After three years of starvation and illness, Governor Bradford decided to violate the charter and implement the principles they had set out in the Mayflower Compact and the principles for living set forth in the Bible.

Governor Bradford:

"'The experience that we had in this common course and condition tried sundry years...that by taking away property, and bringing community into a common wealth, would make them happy and flourishing – as if they were wiser than God."

By giving each family a parcel of land and to produce as much of whatever they wanted:

"'This had very good success,' for it made all hands industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been." 

 That bounty allowed for profits, and their debts to the charter companies were paid off. The families had savings and began to create personal wealth. Those things did not happen using socialist principles of the commune. Though the Indians did teach them how to grow corn and other vegetables and showed them how to fish, the success of the colony didn’t result from that, but from rejecting socialist, communal principles. Bradford wrote the new system "…had very good success for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been. By this time harvest was come…the face of things was changed, to the rejoicing of the hearts of many."  

What’s identified as the first Thanksgiving was to rejoice in their success, that they wouldn’t face starvation again. They applied the story of Joseph of reduced taxes and putting a percentage of crops produced away from the productive years to keep the people fed during lean years. What they did was thank God with a feast.

Governor Bradford’s Thanksgiving Day Proclamation:

Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as he has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience.

Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty-three and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty

God for all His blessings.

--William Bradford

Ye Governor of Ye Colony

It was not the Indians and Communalism that saved the Pilgrims, it was capitalism and the Bible that did. For these we are grateful and thankful, and we praise God and thank Him for these things, on this day. The original proclamation for our national holiday was made by George Washington, October 3, 1789. Part which reads:

"Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to"recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

“The Plumber is Clearly Smarter Than The Ben Bernank” (Quantitative Easing Explained)

“So has the Fed ever been right about anything?”

“Let me see if I can think of anything....(long pause)....no, nothing.”

“Who runs the Fed?”

“The Fed is run by the Ben Bernank.”

“Does the Ben Bernank have a lot of business experience?”

“No. The Ben Bernank has no business experience.”

“Does the Ben Bernank have a lot of policy experience?”

“No. The Ben Bernank has no policy experience.”

“Has the Ben Bernank ever run in an election?”

“No. The Ben Bernank has never run in an election.”

“So what qualifies him to run the Fed?”

“I don't know. Maybe the fact that he has a nice beard.”

“But my plumber also has a nice beard and I would not trust him to play god with the economy.”

“No, although when you call the plumber to fix something that is broken they usually fix it, not break it more.”

“This is true, the plumber is clearly smarter than the Ben Bernank.”

“Well, that is why he became a plumber and not an economist.” [...]


More than two million views on YouTube in just a week! Is this the best explanation of Fed monetary policy (easy money policy of artificially low interest rates, etc.), as TMP thinks? Well, see if you can disagree with the flawless logic of this cartoon video... (there’s a partial transcript here)

Has the Fed Been a Failure?

In a working paper from the Cato Institute three American scholars assess whether the U.S. experiment with the Federal Reserve has been a success or a failure. In the light of a wide range of recent empirical research they found that

1. The Fed's full history (1914 to present) has been characterized by more rather than fewer symptoms of monetary and macroeconomic instability than the decades leading to the Fed's establishment.
2. While the Fed's performance has undoubtedly improved since World War II, even its postwar performance has not clearly surpassed that of its undoubtedly flawed predecessor, the National Banking system, before World War I.
3. Some proposed alternative arrangements might plausibly do better than the Fed as presently constituted. We conclude that the need for a systematic exploration of alternatives to the established monetary system is as pressing today as it was a century ago.

The scholars are George A. Selgin, professor at the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, William D. Lastrapes, professor at the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, and Lawrence H. White, professor at the Department of Economics at George Mason University.
Here is the full text of the working paper:

Has the Fed Been a Failure?, Cato Working Paper No. 2

Kali Yuga

“ And when the end of the Yuga comes, the right hand will deceive the left; and the left, the right. And men with false reputation of learning will contract Truth and the old will betray the senselessness of the young, and the young will betray the dotage of the old. And cowards will have the reputation of bravery and the brave will be cheerless like cowards. (…) And the inhabited regions of the earth will be afflicted with dearth and famine, and the highways will be filled with lustful men and women of evil repute. ”

~ The Mahabharata, “Vana Parva,” Section CLXXXIX, translated by Sri Kisari Mohan Ganguli.


Don’t be deceived by the title, nor by the above quotation—this is just a political post about Italy…

But first of all, let’s say that Kali Yuga (literally “Age of Darkness”) is the last of the four stages of development (Yugas) that the world goes through as part of the cycle of eras, as described in Hindu scriptures. This age is characterized by degeneration, violence, ignorance, sorrow, materialism, waning religion, chaos and evil.

What has that to do with Italy? Well, apart from the fact that most interpreters believe that, unfortunately, earth—not just Italy—is currently in Kali Yuga, I think it may actually have more than something to do with today’s Italian politics, if not with Italy tout court. And believe me, I’m not kidding at all, rather I sometimes suspect that someone else does—e.g., Italian politicians (most of them, at least). But then again, what’s going on down here, seen from the inside, is more a nightmare, though a burlesque one, than anything else—please, see here, here, here, and here to learn more about the whole thing, I ask to be relieved from the task of reminding you (and me!) the not-so-uplifting series of events and situations that led to the current political crisis.

Gianfranco Fini

And there is no doubt that this is a very serious crisis. “This is an important moment, […] there’s a sense that Berlusconi’s reign is ending,” said Giuliano Ferrara, editor of the conservative and pro-Berlusconi newspaper Il Foglio. Nor is there any doubt that, as Ferrara again put it, Berlusconi himself is the source of practically all of his troubles. But notwithstanding this, his fiercest rival Gianfranco Fini, the co-founder (with Berlusconi) of the center-right People of Liberty  party (PDL), who in July split with the prime minister accusing him of running an anti-democratic party, is no less to blame. In fact, if Berlusconi made a terrible mistake when he expelled Fini from the party, his opponent, in turn, made an even worse mistake when he withdrew four members from the cabinet on Monday, deepening a political crisis that is expected to bring down the government in a matter of weeks and likely lead to early elections. This—apart from any consideration about Fini’s concept of loyalty, honor and coherence (well, I must confess that I harbor few illusions on these matters, given the times—or the Yuga—we live in…)—is the most irresponsible action anyone could take in this period of economic and financial crisis. And nothing and nobody will ever convince me that he acted on behalf of the Country and without consideration of personal political ambitions.

That being said, however, Berlusconi’s People of Liberty party  has proved to be a huge failure and perhaps Fini isn’t entirely wrong when he criticizes it for being “anti-democratic.” As columnist Ernesto Galli della Loggia wrote in the Corriere della Sera newspaper,

the PDL, like Forza Italia before it, may or may not be made of plastic but it is not a real party. At best, it is a bunch of sightless, voiceless followers chosen irrevocably by the boss and at worst, it is a court of jesters, dwarfs, deal-makers, dancers and holders of miscellaneous offices. Of course, the PDL is also a party for which many highly respectable Italians voted, but we all know that those votes were actually for Silvio Berlusconi, not the PDL.

If that’s the way things stand, he continues,

it means that the Berlusconi’s epoch-making operation of legitimizing the Right within the Italian political system – it is epoch-making and the Left would do well to acknowledge the fact in deference to objectivity – is only half complete, and it is his fault. Mr Berlusconi has re-established the Right electorally and in government, but has failed to restore its social or cultural legitimacy. He has failed in the only way this is ever accomplished, by creating and establishing at grass roots a real party, organized and structured as such, a vehicle for demands, a hub for relations with various circles and people, a formulator of proposals and a collector of ideas. Above all, to some extent, an effective centre for decisions that are binding for all, even its leaders.
Mr Berlusconi has failed because of course he didn’t want such a party. And he didn’t want it for three reasons: fear that it would diminish his power; the knee-jerk reaction of a man who for decades ran a company, where “if I’m paying (and getting the votes), I call the shots”; and finally because of a lack, monumental in his case, of any genuine political culture.

But it is also to be said that nearly all of the issues that seem to be at stake here, if we credit what Berlusconi’s fiercest opponents—led by his former ally Gianfranco Fini—claim, or pretend to claim, are not what is actually at stake. In fact, as another Corriere della Sera columnist, Piero Ostellino, wrote yesterday,

[a] social issue burns beneath the ashes. When the South discovers that under fiscal federalism, it will have to get by on its own, and then can’t, it could become for Italy what Algeria was for France’s Fourth Republic: the spark that lit the flame of crisis. If the North realizes that the federal solidarity equalization fund is merely the continuation of welfarism for the South, it will regress into secessionism, which will be compounded by the crisis-igniting spark of the South.

Needless to say Fini’s new Future and Liberty party, as well as Pier Ferdinando Casini’s Christian Democrat UDC party, has its electoral basis in the South. This explains almost everything you need to know about the real issue at stake. The rest is propaganda: particular interests masked as universal interests, national unity, public ethics, and “morality.” That’s politics, of course. Or, better still, that’s politics in the present (Italian) Kali Yuga phase.

----

UPDATE: November 17, 2010, 9:00 am

“(Reuters) - Italy's parliament will decide the future of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's struggling center-right government on December 14 in two confidence votes that may trigger early elections, a political source said Tuesday.” Read the rest.

“I Want To Listen To The People”

Aung San Suu Kyi’s first interview (BBC) since being released.

A New Era For Franco-British Military Relations

Yeah, once upon a time such a title might have been astonishing. Right now, it's just a way (among others) to describe what happened in London a few days ago...

Read the article in the Financial Times online.

Aung San Suu Kyi Set For Release

Breaking News — Reports are coming out of Burma saying the military authorities—after the election farce—have signed an order authorizing the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. But the Nobel laureate pro-democracy leader is not expected to accept a conditional release if it excludes her from political activity. (BBC)

Bjørn Lomborg's Movie. Alternative Ways To Protecting The Environment

Bjørn Lomborg

Before becoming the “Skeptical Environmentalist” by antonomasia, Danish author Bjørn Lomborg was a pro-environmentalist and a Greenpeace supporter who began his research as an attempt to counter some of the most common anti-ecological arguments. But he was bound to change his mind very soon after starting to analyze the data. And that’s how The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World came to be.

In his influential and controversial book—first published in Danish in 1998 and translated into English in 2001—Lomborg argues that claims on overpopulation, declining energy resources, deforestation, species loss, water shortages, certain aspects of global warming, and a variety of other global environmental issues are unsupported by analysis of the relevant data.

Now Lomborg’s most recent book, Cool It (2007), has become a film-documentary. Directed by filmmaker Ondi Timoner, Cool It follows Lomborg on his mission to bring the smartest solutions to climate change, environmental pollution, and other major problems in the world. “Global warming is real, but it’s not the scary, end-of-all-things that it's been made out to be in Al Gore’s film,” Lomborg told in an interview. “And in some way that’s crucial, because that scare diminishes life quality. I mean, we talk to kids who think they’re going to die because of global warming right now.”

Here is the trailer of the movie:




Lomborg is the founder and director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, a globally respected think tank that brings together the world’s leading economists to prioritize major global problems—among them malaria, the lack of potable water and HIV/AIDS—based upon a cost/benefit analysis of available solutions.

The Aftermath of the Electoral Tsunami and Why It Happened

~ “LETTERS FROM AMERICA” - by The Metaphysical Peregrine ~

The elections last week reflected where US citizens are socio-politically, more than expressing any great sea change. Before and after the election, polls showed 22% of Americans consider themselves liberal, 34% consider themselves conservative, and 44% consider themselves moderate. That 44%, the “swing vote”, when the internals are looked at, moderates measure themselves leaning more conservative.

Since Obama and the Democrats assumed power of the Executive and Legislative branches of government, the national debt has tripled and unemployment has doubled. They are seen as anti-business, as reflected in their recent attack on the US Chamber of Commerce, the most powerful business lobby in the US. They are also adamant about raising taxes on business.  

In exit polls election day, 4 of 10 voters said they supported or were members of the TEA Party movement. Obama, the Democrats, other Leftists, and the lap dog media called all those people racists and stupid. It’s gone on for about two years. That started a culture war beyond politics when elected officials began name calling and personally insulting their political opposition.

Addressing the racist issue, which the Statists throw out whenever they can because it’s the only response they can come up with, here’s some interesting information. Fourteen Blacks ran as Republicans and were supported by the TEA Party. Only two of them won. The “racist” Tea Party supported all the way to victory, not only those two black Republicans to congress, but a female Hispanic Governor (first in our history), a Native American Governor (who is also a Sikh), a black Lt. Governor, and a Cuban-America Senator.  Look for the Dems and Jurassic Press point out the small number of Republican Blacks in Congress in the coming weeks and months, supporting their contention that Republicans are racists. What they won’t report is how many non-whites and women Republicans at all levels of government were elected. What they don’t and won’t report is the Congressional Black Caucus refuses to let Republican Blacks join. This will be challenged by newly elected African American Allen West of Florida.  The National Association of Colored People (NAACP) refused to endorse any Black Republican, also not noted in the Jurassic Press.  

Then there’s Obama’s statement on a Hispanic radio station just before the election, referring to his political opposition, as “enemies that must be punished”, once again attacking citizens of the US. He’s also attacks citizens of the US, bringing in several foreign countries to help out, to sue the state of Arizona for passing legislation that enforces already exiting federal border and immigration law. Anyone that supports that law is of course, a racist, both for opposing the Justice Department lead by a racist black man Eric Holder, black man Obama, and for being anti-Hispanic. One only needs to read Obama’s ego building self aggrandizing books to understand he’s a racist too. The things he says about white people alone should have kept him out of the White House, but those statements were not reported by the Jurassic Press.

Beyond that, citizens don’t like it when the Justice Department refuses to prosecute African Americans for crimes yet investigates white people. They don’t like it when illegal immigrants vote and the Justice Department doesn’t investigate. There was massive voter fraud by Democrats, unions and racist and illegal Hispanics reported this past election, and the Justice Department refuses to investigate. All that creates the perception this Administration and the Democrat Party is not interested in the rule of law. Americans are serious about law enforcement. Relating to Justice, the Judicial Branch frequently throws out legislation or propositions voted on by the public. The biggest recent example is a gay California Superior Court judge that tossed out a voter approved amendment to the California Constitution stating that marriage is defined by the union of a man and a woman. It passed by 7 million votes. One judge trumps 7 million votes. The citizens don’t like that kind of thing, and it happens a lot all over the US.  

Senior citizens also came out against Obama and the Democrats. The primary reason is that when the new health care legislation is peeled back, a lot of medical care for seasoned citizens is reduced or eliminated. In the last election, seniors (over 65 years old) pretty much split evenly. This election Republicans got a shift, and increase of 20% over Democrats. More seniors came to the polls too, up from 19% to 23%, and voted against the Democrats. A primary concern for them is the newly passed health care bill that cuts $500 billion from Medicare programs. A standard tactic of the Democrats is the charge Republicans are going to end Social Security. Seasoned citizens didn’t buy it this time. They understand Republicans want only to give younger voters an opt out, or at least take a portion of their social security deductions and invest it in retirement funds. The Democrat scare tactic is being reinterpreted by seniors as insulting their intelligence, and demeans them. We’re glad our seasoned citizens are catching on.

The young too are finally realizing Democrats and Obama don’t have their best interests at heart. The health care bill requires all citizens to buy health insurance under penalty of imprisonment, fine, or both. That is coupled with three to four generations of debt that will have to be paid off, which means higher taxes and reduced income for them and their kids.

In the aftermath of all this, the Democrats and Obama are still blaming George Bush and the Republicans for all these economic woes. This is viewed as a lack of leadership. The budget of the US is created by Congress, controlled by the Democrats the past four years. Obama ran for office saying he would assume responsibility and do a better job. It hasn’t happened and things are worse. There has’t been such a huge political turnover since 1947, and no one on the Statist side will own up to it. Many of them are saying they didn’t push their extreme Leftist agenda far enough, and that’s why they lost. That could only make sense to a Liberal, ‘we didn’t pass enough Leftist legislation, so the citizens voted massively for racist right wing extremist Republicans’. Say what?

Ultimately voters saw a failed TARP, failed stimulus packages, bailouts of companies that should have been allowed to restructure after bankruptcies, payoffs to fat cats on Wall Street with taxpayer dollars, failure to enforce immigration law and protect the borders, failure to protect citizens, the Federal government suing its own citizens for policy disagreements, name calling and charges of racism. The promise Obama made was that he would create a “post partisan, post racial society”. The opposite has occurred. We are divided more than any time, at least my lifetime (over half a century). They see more economic bad news coming down the pike with more money being printed to make it appear the deficit is being reduced. They see businesses not hiring or growing their businesses because the health care costs and taxes for doing so are unknown. The Democrat congress did not pass, as required by law, a budget this year, nor did they say if tax cuts passed early in the Bush administration were going to be extended, left to expire, or increased. They heard the president tell his political opposition to ‘get in back and shut up’ and they are enemies to be punished. The American people don’t want to hear their president talking like that.

The next election in two years sees even more Democrat seats up for reelection. The results will be even more devastating to them. The people that are raising their kids, going to work, paying taxes and minding their own business have had enough of more government, more taxes, more regulation, more everything that violates their sensibilities of personal liberty, free markets and free minds.