5/7/14

The Abstract Form of Monarchy, Corporatism, Hierarchy and Sectarian Conflict

This is a starter (like Windows 7 starter I suppose) on the abstract form of hierarchical power precipitating social conflict inclusive of sectarian war. Perhaps I will write more on the issue later. One finds the U.S. Government bureaucracy stimulating wars in Syria, conflict in Egypt and strife in Ukraine with sectarianism being an issue in each instance. There are other parties involved of course, and the assignment of blame isn’t plain and simple or evens my intention here. The purpose of this post is to not the action of social hierarchy as the causative agent for religious conflict.

The philosopher Thomas Hobbes’ wrote a brilliant conservative thesis named The Leviathan describing the right of the absolute monarch to be in effect the only real individual around whom every citizen receives light. That is an extreme representation of the nature of hierarchy manifesting in imperial, corporate and ecclesiastic power. As power and wealth are concentrated dissent is increasingly eliminated. Absolute power tolerates no dissent. Free expression and political independence dies. In the Orwellian state thought is for-itself usurped by hierarchical programming of citizens. The nature of bloody religious wars is inextricably linked to hierarchical government and church structures. Especially in Erastian or government rule of religion, yet also in established hierarchical bureaucracy doctrine is all-important. Free thought and reform are verboten. Absolute hierarchies are intolerant of doctrinal differences and any sort of pluralism politically or ecclesiastically. Thus Martin Luther’s world-changing concept of justification by faith rather than doled out by bishops.

Luther; a monk, learned of the problems of monastic life and the corruption of Rome and the papacy after visiting Rome himself. He found the sale of indulgences and more church practices that weren’t justified by Biblical guidance. Various Popes had become too powerful believing that had a right to rule not only Christians but government too. This isn’t then place for a critique of the troubles of the papal form of church government with a more equal than other bishops primate-they were at war with themselves too now and then even with as many as three rival popes at once. The issue is the hierarchical structure of the church. Pope Hildebrand thought it best for priests to be celibate in order that they would be more like an international collection of soldiers (of a spiritual sort). A Pope would be something like an Eisenhower. Pope John Paul II-just canonized, was a Polish Catholic, and Polish catholic historical efforts to take over Ukraine for Poland resulted in the formation of a half-catholic, half-orthodox Uniate Church as well as an Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Today there are Protestants in Ukraine too.


‘Bloody’ Mary Queen of Scots and England executed nearly 300 Protestants and other Catholic persecutions of Protestants occurred. She died in 1578 and with her the brief Catholic restoration. In 1572 Catholics massacred Protestants across France and Ireland in the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. The back and forth 16th and 17th century reprisals against the reformation of the Christian Church probably was a probably reason that the Puritan Cromwell invaded Ireland and treated them so badly in 1649. John Milton-the author of Paradise Lost was a member of Cromwell’s government. Puritans were founders of the U.S.A. too.

The Bishop’s war of 1639 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishops%27_Wars is said to have been a prelude to the English civil war. Charles I wanted an Episcopal church form (with Bishops) instead of that of a Presbyterian (elders) structure. There are innumerable historical examples of church hierarchies ruled by government as well as of governments ruled by religious hierarchy. The problem is not religion-at least not Christian religion-as a source for conflict, but the sociological structure of hierarchies exerting the taught controlling power over citizens.


Hierarchy cannot tolerate doctrinal dissent and political free thought. The Inquisition and other government and church executions of individuals killed far more people of faith than scientifically inclined people, yet of course moderns would almost have one think that the church was a great repressor of science generally rather than its sponsor. The church with the benefit of modern science and technology ought easily move toward a priesthood of believers egalitarian structure with three ranks-beginner, intermediate and elder reading standardized with room for improve liturgies in role sharing groups. That might help the ecumenical movement, support real rather than corporate democracy and reduce international conflict.

5/5/14

Positional Initiative and Dynamic Advantage in Political Play

The art of positional advantage is the title of a chess instruction video by  GM Roman Dzindzichashvili. He produced a simple to follow yet excellent lecture. It is a metaphor of analysis for political and weather related ventures too. Humans  inevitably look for an advantage in market economics, land acquisition , taking and holding political power and in myriad work assignments. Positional advantage is demonstrated in a chess game between Rybka and Shredder-to of the top computer programs in the World Championship for Computer Programs .

Computer programs generally have great calculating powers. They have the ability to calculate moves that produce the best acquisition of pieces and advantage mathematically. One of the programs-Rybka- a chess engine, wasprogrammed to not only calculate but to take initiative, make sacrifices etc in order to force through a winning dynamic advantage.

American politicians since Ronald Regan have failed to use general principles of conservation of position for national advantage. Rybka follows general chess principles and won the computer chess championships. Taking shortcuts in political economy for short term gain usually results in degradation of the well being of the nation in the long run.

Reform Points About Basketball Bigotry (repost from Jan. 1 2014)

Some believe that the purpose of capitalism is to concentrate wealth. During the Second World War when the tax rate on the rich was 90% America’s rich suffered. Finally after the end of the cold war Clinton deregulations followed by the Bush II tax cuts lowered the rates on taxes to 35%. Yet it required the first black millionaire President to make those tax cuts permanent by singing them in to law proving that the nation’s affirmative action class millionaires are loyalists to the rich too. So how can affirmative action theory be used to further advance the concentration of wealth? Plainly that can only be accomplished with more diverse sports millionaires.

http://www.amazon.com/Temporal-Currents-Garrison-Clifford-Gibson-ebook/dp/B00KSC1SKG free novel download

Plainly the N.B.A.’s allocation of points per field goal has worked against an egalitarian assortment of player personnel in the league. As professional players setting an example for civil society one would expect inclusiveness rather than exclusiveness in the point distribution. Reforming the bigoted, anti-affirmative action N.B.A. point structure is the better approach to assuring social equality with a fair concentration of wealth to the owners.

Because of the history of slavery created by foreign slave importers in the colonial era, straight white male basketball players would get one point per field goal, desendants of former slaves two, underrepresented Hispanic players three, vastly underrepresented Chinese players four, women five and a pair of homosexual players making a one hand each on the ball field goal ten points. With that redistribution of points per field goal market forces can go to work bringing basketball social equality an invisible hand of government making brilliant behind the back passes.

It would be fair for the U.S. Congress to appoint a points allocation Tsar to determine if endangered basketball player species require new points distribution to bring their numbers up to a sustainable level. N.S.A. and I.R.S. behavior monitor teams could over-watch the citizens to detect sentiment of non-compliance wherever it may exist in the homeland or in the dar al harb.

Joyce Kilmer's Poem; 'Trees'

Joyce Kilmer was killed at the second battle of the Marne at the age of 31. A sniper shot him as was common. A few years before he wrote the poem 'Trees' about the simple natural things of life. Some have criticized Kilmer for being too sentimental. Kilmer was a priest of course. He may have contemplated trees in the denuded landscape of western Europe during the First World War when shell craters filled with cold water, leftover poison gas and ubiquitous mud effected a bleak landscape.

French soldiers ditch 1914.jpg
Trees
I THINK that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
  
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;
  
A tree that looks at God all day,         5
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
  
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
  
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.  10
  
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

5/4/14

Media Lynch Mob Exacted Corporate Power Over Donald Sterling

If Donald Sterling isn' racist the quick summary judgment and pulling of the trigger on L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling is a remarkable example of corporatism executing thought and speech control, political correctness and so forth. Mussolini actually invented corporatism and Adolph Hitler used it in developing NAZI Germany, yet George Orwell best described the matured corporatist or communist state in his novel 1984.

Corporate control of the broadcast media made the sports networks a lynch mob of the Clipper's billionaire owner. While one shouldn't be synthetic with the inadequately taxed billionaire class neither should Americans that value free speech be unconcerned about the illegal surveillance of what they say in private and the way it's interpreted by the broadcast media after two or three seconds of analysis.

 http://time.com/86690/v-stiviano-says-donald-sterling-is-not-a-racist/

Sterling's former employee or girlfriend has said that he is not racist. The administration and broadcast media have an Al Sharpton approach to issues seeking an opportunity to profit from anything that might be useful for racial populism. The better approach would be to raise taxes on billionaires to 60% and increase earned income credits for the poor. The broadcast media wavelengths should be given over by act of Congress to ordinary citizen podcast rebroadcast use locally and not be a toy for the rich to control and dumb down the masses.

The U.S.A. Today is one of a number of media outlets that are working a this is your life racist job on Donald Sterling.  They ran an article with a story of how a Clippers basketball player who is white encountered racism. It is sort of a mystery though what exactly the racism described is; to much pay for white players that don't necessarily play so well perhaps being over rated, or not enough pay or what. Maybe the implication is that Sterling like Isaah Thomas who believes Larry Bird was overrated and was the equal of an ordinary black player considers white players as having an inherent advantage of being over-rated.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/playoffs/2014/05/04/donald-sterling-jj-redick-los-angeles-clippers-owner-racism-ban/8698265/

J.J.Redick is quoted as saying he isn't even conscious of basketball players being black or Mexican (Do the Clippers have Mexican players?). He may have a call awaiting him to the ministry after his playing days are over if so, yet with a $27 million dollar contract the color of money may be what he sees in team mates that play the game well. Even so better stories about racism need to appear if someone is to be seriously financially harmed and given such arbitrary punishment. Of course the corporate world has a different, higher standard of ethics than mere ordinary people. They are just not free to talk about  anything  that might be politically incorrect.

It is remarkable that political correctness rises to make puerile claims about character and the perfect lambs within lions mind set of the present generation of basketball players. If J.J. Redick is colorblind towards male players maybe that's sexist. It is improbable that he didn't notice the race of women he dated. 

I am a little skeptical about the lambiness of minorities playing basketball. That seems a convenient tactic to take until they become a majority before they drop the boom and become 'a black league' as Charles Barkley described the N.B.A. I recall travelling to San Francisco and promptly getting arrested and held in the San Francisco juvenile detention facility when 16. When playing basketball I was one of only two white guys in the game. The blacks exercised ball control and I just never got an opportunity to shoot. Basketball seemed inherently a gang sport.

All the b.s. about race is no substitute for competent politics, full employment, recovery of the ecosphere and less of a gap between rich and poor.

Predestination of the Elect and Divine Mechanics

The doctrine of predestination of the Christian elect is a difficult one for those contemplating theology to work out. The reformation of the church by Martin Luther and others from one stressing works and even the sale of indulgences forgiving sin to one of justification by faith was developed further by John Calvin to an Augustinian paradigm of salvation by election of God with no elements of human works involved in it. Arminianists such as john Wesley took exception to that with the belief that such a doctrine would make the intervention of Christ and his atoning sacrifice meaningless. So how does one work that out?

One approach might be with analogies from quantum mechanics and quantum cosmology. The divine mechanics of God might be as challenging for ordinary humans to understand as is the math of M-Theory. The strong force binding quarks together actually gets stronger with separation to a certain distance. Some of the answers to divine mechanics may not be so simple. Even so let us take our shot at it in order to clarify the issue a little.

Jesus Christ is the solution to the problem of predestination. The Lord brought a blank check for the sins of humanity to the temporal world. Jesus Christ transcends temporality. The Lord inherently predestines any elements an individuals of the temporal for-himself and those that are saved are given, post hoc, the election of predestination. John Wheeler the late cosmologist-physicist developed the idea of retro-causality for the Universe's history. How much so the Lord has the capacity for retro-causality or ex-temporal causality reconciling the saved from among the lost unto himself existing before time or space existed.

The creation story in the book of Genesis is challenging to interpret in several respects. The work of the J writer perhaps from the court of Solomon or Rehoboam in redacting a prior paper dating to as early as the origin of the aleph beth possibly by Moses as an Egyptian prince adapting hieroglyphs to the Jewish language for their own writing may recount a common story also found in the tale of Gilgamesh about a flood and end of Eden perhaps under the whole prior world of a lower Persian Gulf plain. It may describe an exile of Adam and Eve from an Eden in Yemen or Saudi Arabia during the late Wisconsin Ice Age before they migrated to Mesopotamia. The actual pre-history of the world referred to in Genesis is difficult to be certain of. It is said thought that four cherubim guard the gates of Eden-perhaps those are the space-time dimensions that make it impossible to re-enter the past or even a non-temporal realm of being that Adam and Eve existed in-it's interesting to consider.

The problem of original sin as the entry of Adam and Eve from a non-temporal existence into a temporal Universe and world is consistent with the control of the disobedient nature of Adam and Eve in eating of the tree of knowledge. Temporality and mortality limited their ability to go wrong with their 'little godhood' level of learning. God said he reduced them to a mortal condition before they ate of the tree of eternal life. If Adam and Eve having eaten from the tree of knowledge had then ate from the tree of immortality that would have created a permanent and powerful schism between God and his creations.

Where does that leave us with the problem of infants that die in the human condition of original sin and had no chance to be saved? Some theologians of the past have battled strenuously with different sides of the issue. Anabaptists were even burnt alive about it. Zwingli was liberal and the topic and Calvin took a different turn. It is the problem of human linear reasoning that makes it such a difficult to answer question.

If God were to predestine all infants to salvation simply by dying too young for accountability that too would seem to negate the problem for original sin. If the unsaved are given eternal life what if they turn out to repeat the same errors of Adam and Eve without being at all remorseful? What if they become arrogant idiots for all of eternity? All of that sort of reasoning avoids considering that humans simply can't comprehend the eternal God at all well.

I would think that God has the capacity to just suspend judgment about infants that die without a chance of being saved and let them try again in some other realm of God. Anything is possible with God. One doesn't know well how the hell the willfully unsaved choose to go to for-themselves in effect by disregarding the call of the Holy Spirit during life will be. It is far better to be saved and respond to the call to all of the Lord.

5/2/14

World Chess Championship in Alaska.?

There were no bids to host this years World Chess Championship between Magnus Carlsen and Vishy Anand. With another round of bidding perhaps the U.S.A.-even Juneau Alaska, could enter into the bidding process for the exciting match. Of course E-Bay is the last resort for bidding.

Former Champion Gary Kasparov blamed the current F.I.D.E. administration for the problem with a lack of professionalism. Kasparov; one of the best five chess players of all-time, is seeking to be President of F.I.D.E. for-himself and for-others.

http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/sport-others/carlsen-versus-anand-the-sequel-gets-no-bids-for-hosting-rights/

Change Name of Washington Redskins to D.C. Doofus-Demons

Accuracy in naming is sometimes a virtue. The D.C. Doofus-Demons,  Econo-Turkeys or Deficit Spenders could relieve the team of victimizing those with a hint of red skin further.  Onomatopoeiac names such as the Washington Grunt might be good alternatively.

Some might argue that they are too smart to care and old enough to know better than to be interested in the controversy. Washington Blue Skins marching to a different drummer might foe something non-traditional-not sure what exactly.

Notes on Ukrainian Wheat Production in the Russia and Soviet Empires

The Russian bread basket-the Ukraine is of inestimable value to the north Rus people (some Congressmen probably believe Russians should buy their bread from Wal-Mart). Democrat and Republican policies since 2001 in effect have supported the rise of a constellation of new Al Qaeda training camps all over North Africa, the Middle East and central Asia. Daft policy brings unintended consequences to fruition. As a result of the ineffective interventionist policies the U.S. Government may want to stimulate the rise of Madrassas and Al Qaeda cells in the Ukraine.

In a sad note the western supplied Ukraine militia attacked pro-Russian Ukrainians in Slovyansk with much loss of life of civilian dissidents to rule by Wall Street puppets. The Obama administration has specialists at stimulating civil conflict. I hope they do not build another large one in Ukraine. It may be that President Putin's perceived slight to queer propaganda during the Olympics required revenge from Obamanites.

 http://news.msn.com/world/ukraine-many-insurgents-killed-in-slovyansk

It might be informative to compare the historical grain production from the Ukraine shipped to the rest of Moscow since the 18th century to determine how much is lacking presently. It should be noted that Russia itself exported 20 million metric tons of wheat in 2010-2011. 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/russia-ukraine-surging-in-global-grain-markets-2012-05-14

 http://www.fao.org/docrep/017/aq344e/aq344e.pdf Ukraine wheat export economy 1990-2000

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_the_Russian_Empire

 http://www.nass.usda.gov/Education_and_Outreach/Reports,_Presentations_and_Conferences/Yield_Reports/Grain%20Production%20in%20the%20USSR%20Present%20Situation,%20Perspectives%20for%20Development%20and%20Methods%20for%20Prediction.pdf

Illegal Alien Labor Supply and the Retardation of Minimum Wage


With of millions of illegal alien workers in the U.S.A. and the potential for millions more arriving whenever the economy improves a little the demand for labor imposes a natural governor retarding the rise of the natural minimum wage. One feels the Democrat Party efforts to force through a minimum wage increase high enough to stimulate the transfer of jobs to Mexico and China is a King Canute sort of aloof Ivy League idiocy of those detached from the reality of the sun belt and non-blue states full of government workers.

Consider Phoenix temporary employers for the homeless and others without quality permanent employment. If the minimum wage is $15 an hour then Labor Ready and Labor Finders would need to charge employers about $25 an hour per temp worker. With illegal aliens working for $3 an hour the possibilities of an American citizen getting a job would be slim to none. No one besides large corporate employers that can't hide illegal temporary workers would hire. Americans. With N.A.F.T.A. making cross border production easy-breezy production might preponderantly shift south of the border. That's a  small act of Congress but a giant leap for Mexico.

Democrat Party leadership doesn't seem to understand the fundamentals of supply and demand. Like King Canute they seem to feel that they just need to command something to happen and it will be so. Reality is an externality to not only global warming deniers but to Democrat economic analysts.

So Nancy Pelosi is ansy to get illegal aliens by the millions made legal so they can work for $15 an hour too. No worry about the cheap labor for Democrats though-they expect millions and millions of new illegal aliens to arrive to take the jobs Americans are legally able to take for less than $15 an hour. They ought instead to consider the actual facts of labor supply and real wage compensation in relation to demand for labor and seal the border against illegal immigration entirely. If jobs that can't be outsourced are must be filled by legal workers the value of labor will increase and wages will naturally rise. It would be a simple matter to create hundreds of thousands of new temporary jobs building a vast Mexican border boundary control zone that is ecologically advanced with canals for desalinating seawater to make fresh water for irrigation and drinking along the desert .

The Democrat Party, deficient of rational economic reason since the loss of Tip O'Neil has no sense of nationalism and benefits foreign nations equally as well as that of the United States. They simply don't know about ball control, and like the Republicans who are incomprehending of how the Russian bread basket-the Ukraine, is of inestimable value to the north Rus people (some Congressmen believe Russians should buy there bread from Wal-Mart), or Democrats and Republicans that support the rise of a constellation of new Al Qaeda training camps all over North Africa, the middle east and central Asia as a result of the ineffective interventionist policies probably want to stimulate the rise of Madrassas and Al Qaeda cells in the Ukraine.

It might be informative to compare the historical grain production from the Ukraine shipped to the rest of Moscow since the 18th century to determine how much is lacking presently. It should be noted that Russia itself exported 20 million metric tons of wheat in 2010-2011. 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/russia-ukraine-surging-in-global-grain-markets-2012-05-14

 http://www.fao.org/docrep/017/aq344e/aq344e.pdf Ukraine wheat export economy 1990-2000

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_the_Russian_Empire

 http://www.nass.usda.gov/Education_and_Outreach/Reports,_Presentations_and_Conferences/Yield_Reports/Grain%20Production%20in%20the%20USSR%20Present%20Situation,%20Perspectives%20for%20Development%20and%20Methods%20for%20Prediction.pdf

There is a choice of building the United States toward rational ecologically efficient lines with secure, responsible boundaries and population or just incompetantly increasing a sprawl of a few hundred million new Americans, destruction of the remaining environmental health and continuation of cheap labor, low-tech driven boom and bust economic cycles premised on exploiting cheap labor and avoiding environmental and social responsibility wherever possible. Without a Democrat Party that is competent and responsible there is no one to reign in the economic aggression of Republican capitalism when it needs to be moved into constructive channels.

Imperfect Character is Universal

The question of why anything exists rather than nothing was a question that Plotinus considered in The Enneads. Why would The One order anyt...