El Dirko

"You do your worst – and we will do our best."

(Winston Churchill, 1941)

This is Pretti impressive and really Good!

After watching "Best of Enemies" about Gore Vidal and William Buckley, I thought it would actually be quite nice to listen to a current intelligent and articulate conservative.

But I really can't think of anyone.

“If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools.”

(Plato)

Excellent point! I can't figure out why even my intelligent American friends don't understand that human dignity is more important than unfettered free speech.

I am only staying on Facebook, because I have 3 family members on there who don't use any other social media (not even emails)...

Oh, I was not allowed to elaborate. Just ticked the box "I strongly disagree".

If I were more cynical than I am, I might assume that for the Dems to react, it would have to be closer to the midterms.

Facebook just sent me a survey with one question being: "Do you think Facebook is a force for good in the world?"

I wonder if they appreciate my honesty... 🤪

Allegedly, up to 95% of our reactions are based on instincts or emotions and in a world of 8 billion people and very complex problems, those reactions are often counterproductive.

So, step back, take a deep breath and allow yourself to be better than your instincts.

Unearned privilege lowers empathy.

I want people to be politicians who had to work hard to be successful, not who were groomed or expected to become "leaders".

"The difference between Europeans and Americans is that a European thinks 100 miles is a long distance, and an American thinks that 100 years is a long time."

(Diana Gabaldon)

Trump's approach to diplomacy:

"You can't make an omelette without ruthlessly crushing dozens of eggs beneath your steel boot and then publicly disemboweling the chickens that laid them as a warning to others."
(with credit to Rich Burlew)

"One of the real dangers of leader selection: leaders are selected for overconfidence."

(Daniel Kahneman)

#trump #gop #politics

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu advanced class?

Does anyone know if there are studies showing whether social media has made people more likely to think in simple dichotomies (black/white, true/false)?

So many people don't seem to be able to consider more complex viewpoints or even properly discuss them anymore.

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."

(Marcus Aurelius)

I would always vote for the party with the good intentions. I don't care if I get a tax break as a consequence of a politician enriching himself and his cronies. I would rather have someone in power who tries to help the less fortunate, even if their end results turn out to be less than perfect.

Der Spiegel cover 3/26: All mine!

If you enjoy the present, you will have a nice past in the future!

I normally drink a lot of Diet Coke. Hadn't had a bottle for 10 days due to traveling and just took a sip. That stuff is horrible!

Fantastic example!

3. The Harvard Implicit Association Test is an interesting tool to check for biases: implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/tak...

My favourite way of finding out about our biases is simply finishing sentences:

"I'm not a racist, but..:"
"Muslims are..."
"There should be more women in power, but..."

2. When we are in a state with fewer inhibitions (medication, booze, strong emotions), those biases come out sometimes and we are shocked afterwards about what came out. When we protest "That wasn't me! I would never say something like that!", this is partially correct.

1. I just delivered an event on unconscious bias. This is always fascinating, because most of us tend to think that we don't have any biases.

On some other than conscious level we all have biases and prejudices that were installed by authority figures or the media at some point in our lives.

“Our world is not divided by race, color, gender or religion. Our world is divided into wise people and fools.
And fools divide themselves by race, color, gender, or religion.”

(Mohamad Safa)

"What this world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left."

(Oscar Levant)

"Human nature is what we are put in this world to rise above."

(From the movie "The African Queen")

Also, it went through the courts. It wasn't some Government interference, so really no reason to contact/blame the Federal Minister of Health, whose name is Warken, not Workin, btw.

Why I don't like cycling in England...