[Leofric]

I am sure Putin will be trying his hardest to invent some Ukranian connection with
the terrorist attack !

[him a layin]

I am sure Putin will be trying his hardest to invent some Ukranian connection with
the terrorist attack !

i'm almost amused at the notion that anyone cares what the former KGB officer says or thinks.

[GlennF]

i'm almost amused at the notion that anyone cares what the former KGB officer says or thinks.

Well sort of former, in a weird way the KGB have stuck together and still exist in an informal way, and they were the ones that put Putin in power.

[him a layin]

and now, ISIS-K
https://www.npr.org/2024/03/24/1240488528/isis-k-moscow-concert-attack-explained?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

[Leofric]

i'm almost amused at the notion that anyone cares what the former KGB officer says or thinks.

I know what you mean . The notion that anybody still believes what he says is difficult to understand.

[Aitrus]

I know what you mean . The notion that anybody still believes what he says is difficult to understand.

I don't find it difficult at all.  He and his people are a lite version of what the Kim family has done in N. Korea and Xi in China.  It follows a very predictable pattern.

Step 1: Acquire power by any means necessary. Death squads, cheating in elections, etc.  Anything is allowed because the ends justify the means, and anything is possible as long as one gives one's self the moral authority.  The hubris of thinking that one individual (or group of anointed individuals) know best how others should live their lives knows no bounds.

Step 2: Control the media and the schools.  If you control what information people have access to, you control what they think because they don't know any better.

Step 3: Indoctrinate the kids for a decade or two with the idea that there are victims and oppressors, that the kids are victims (as long as they meet certain demographic / socioeconomic classifications), and the Great Anointed One will save them from the evil oppressors.  Note: said oppressor can be a target demographic group (whites and/or "the rich" in the West), or could be an external enemy (America for N. Korea and China) - either way, the approach and outcome is the same: a populace that buys whatever the leader / media says without any critical thinking getting in the way.

You can tell who has the society's best interests at heart.  If they want to control the flow of information (media / restricting free speech) and control the education of the youth, then you know they don't have the nation's best interests at heart in the long term.  Those who champion the free exchange of ideas, want kids to learn how to think (as opposed to what to think), and encourage liberty - they are the ones who want the nation to thrive. 

It's control, authoritarianism, and collectivism vs liberty, free association, and the ability to make personal choices.

It's easy to see in Russia.  It's been happening since the end of the Cold War.

[AzCal Retred]

Yeah I'm with you for sure. I am aghast when minority opinions sculpt Supreme Court decisions, or major media outlets promulgate disproven opinion pieces in lieu of actual news. It would be terrible if judicial and legislative representatives were afraid for their lives due to daily threats from those debunked media driven opinions. It's really sad when fear is openly used to drive a wedge between groups of Americans largely at the bottom of the economic pecking order. Authoritarianism is certainly on the rise in America, promoting disrespect for our political process, lawlessness, control through collective victim-mentality thought & behavior and reducing personal choice for at least 50% of the population. The long-term defunding of public education has dramatically reduced our youth's critical thinking & logical cognition ability.

[Richard230]

I heard a news report today saying that a California state legislator has introduced a bill requiring schools to teach children at least one semester before they graduate from high school regarding how to manage their money. It sounded like there was going to be push-back on that idea. One thing big business, banks and credit card companies (and maybe the government too?) don't want is for the public to know how to save and efficiently spend money. 

[GlennF]

I presume some people would see that as an infringement of their basic right to do what they please when they please and indoctrinate their children as they see fit.

[AzCal Retred]

It's likely a cultural thing. People aren't supposed to know or talk about money. Coincidentally this keeps them working cheap and keeps them broke. Kind of a good thing if you are looking for working folks to keep your Company coal town or textile town making record profits. Only a stupid guy would spread the word about dealing with money. Generally the Golden Rule folks don't rewrite the rules to benefit the unwashed masses.

When I was a kid high schools had shop classes, music classes, home ec, civics, foreign languages, etc. All the things that make well rounded citizens. Marginal tax rates were near 90% but we built highways, bridges, paid for schools & not a single millionaire went to bed hungry. The money people rewrote the rulebook to reduce their taxes, conveniently eliminating a lot of "costly" opportunities previously afforded the lesser people. Dumbing down the workforce seems to go hand in glove with lowering corporate costs & jacking up profit.

The only "enemy" here is the time-honored tendency for money to self-protect, accrete and concentrate power over time. Getting the people at the bottom to fight each other over crumbs is just the entertainment. Short term, self-serving thinking is bad for the country. Lack of critical thinking ability is also bad for the country. Creating and living in an alternate woo-woo reality is likewise bad for the country. In the words of Ann Richards "If your hair's white, you can't say you don't know it."  It's really looking like we're going to have an all-hands effort soon, so we all need to be on the same page.

[him a layin]

ever played "monopoly"? capitalism in a nutshell. one player wins, everyone else loses.

[Leofric]

re reply 200. Yes exactly,you sum it up perfectly. I should have said difficult to understand unless you live in Russia and are lied to and misled by the regime.

[AzCal Retred]

Gotland island, a strategic location in the Baltic Sea, remilitarises as Sweden joins NATO

https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/focus/20240329-sweden-nato-s-newest-member-ends-traditional-stance-of-neutrality

[AzCal Retred]

Ukraine war: UN body urges restraint after Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant hit
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68757082
Mr Grossi specified there had been "at least three direct hits" against the plant's "main reactor containment structures".
"This cannot happen," he said. "No one can conceivably benefit or get any military or political advantage from attacks against nuclear facilities. This is a no go."
Both Russia and Ukraine regularly accuse each other of shelling the plant and risking a serious nuclear accident.


https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/nuclear-cloud-will-trigger-natos-article-5-us-warns-russia/
The US Senate has introduced a resolution which proposes that the actions of Russia, Belarus “or proxy of Russia” be considered as an attack on NATO, if their actions lead to radioactive contamination of the allies’ territory.

[Aitrus]

ever played "monopoly"? capitalism in a nutshell. one player wins, everyone else loses.

With one major exception: in Monopoly, there is a limmited supply to compete for.  In the real world, there is no limited supply.  There's always new ideas, new products, people selling property / business interests, etc.  There's not a shortage as there is in Monopoly.

Thus, in the real world, everybody who plays can win.