The Real Meaning of 911: This is not a war on terror – it is a war on democracy
A brief overview of the past ten years, and where we stand now 911 marked the beginning, not of a global war on terror, as the official story line…
jtoddring
Judging by the cover
It’s an easy fault, and we all have done it: judging the book by the cover – making assumptions without bothering to find out what the real story is, or…
Self-Power and the Power of the Enlightened Ones
Self Power, Other Power II – from Zen Philosophy, Zen Practice, by Thich Thien-An – excerpts The methods of self-power and other-power were both originally taught by Sakyamuni Buddha, the…
Health Notes: Pesticides shown to cause Parkinson’s – as well as other diseases
Go organic, eat well and take your anti-oxidants! A new study from the University of Missouri School of Medicine shows that pesticides are a major cause of neurological degenerative diseases,…
The wisdom of cats
I wouldn’t say that cats are enlightened, or that we should take them as our role models, but they do have a few things to teach us, from what I…
The path of the writer and the path of heart
The bodhisattva reaches out his hand to the drowning man, and says, “Give me your hand.” The man replies, “I’m not going to give you my hand.” So the bodhisattva…
To thine own self be true
Just a fun post – no serious politico-philosophical stuff here…gotta take a break some time.. And yes, I am an unabashed head-banger… I do love music that gets your energy…
Light and fluffy time: delicious and hearty Mediterranean-style stew
Ok, I realize that stew is not something we would generally think of as light and fluffy – but I meant that this is not a serious political or philosophical…
Puritanism and the reversal of opposites: dissolution of extremes and the coming end of an age
The West – or rather, the North West corner of this small planet – is by tradition and by psychology, puritanical in bent, still, even though this tradition is recent,…
Obama: pseudo-populist, crypto-fascist, corporatist, globalist
(Ya, I’m subtle – I have to call it as I see it) Obama and the Democrats are being framed and blamed for every evil in America, and the country’s…
Thoreau, the dharma and the dark age
In the view of Buddhism, Hinduism and also the ancient Greeks, among others, we live in a dark age, or what in the East is called the Kali yuga, the…
Divide and conquer, or United we stand
Community has been greatly eroded: human social bonds of solidarity and mutual aid have been severely eroded, the extended family is largely gone in the modern world, and even the…
Built to crash: the coming economic tsunami
`Would you rather have a perfectly efficient system that, if hit by a pebble, would shatter? Or, would you rather have an adaptable system that may not give you the…
The greatest of dangers
The challenge is not to become a machine. The greatest danger is not from outside: the greatest danger is ourselves – that is, the greatest danger is losing touch with…
Trivia question for the day: hint, Bonacieux
Ok, total lightness time – nothing serious whatsoever here. Today’s trivia question: are you ready? Pencil in hand? Alright then, here `tis. Four gold stars for anyone who get this…
The system is broken: strategic voting, coalitions, and the political regime under which we live
While I can of course see the rationale for strategic voting, there is much to be said for voting with one’s conscience. When we consistently choose the lesser of two…
Libertarianism, Anarchism, Socialism and Democracy
Fundamental questions And The future of humanity on earth Or, Further reflections on political economy in the real world The questions of philosophy, and in particular, political philosophy, are of…
Uniting the People: On the need for a left-right coalition
The struggle is not between left and right: it is between democracy and tyranny – that is, it is between the people and the power elite. If the people do…
“How globalization can save the planet”
A response to a very glowing review of Flannery’s new book on the state of the earth (Toronto Star, Porter) http://www.thestar.com/news/article/975785–porter-how-globalization-can-unexpectedly-save-the-planet There is always hope. Life never en...