Category: Politics

Historical Oddities Tuesday: Meiji Era a Case Study in the Dangers of Neo-traditionalism

On By Alex V. WeirIn Alex Weir, Current Events, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, Social Commentary, The Fractal Journal, UncategorizedLeave a comment

While researching the Shindo Renmei, which was for all intents and purposes a Shinto terrorist group in Brazil, during WWII  – I stumbled across the following article:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242494954_The_Failed_Prophecy_of_Shinto_Nationalism_and_the_Rise_of_Japanese_Brazilian_Catholicism

Which describes the transition from Shintoism to Catholicism of the migrants. What I extrapolated from this for the purposes of this unfortunately necessarily surface level video is that when cultures feel under threat they can have allergic reactions with catastrophic consequences.

I then tie this observation to some troubling trends in the present.

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TFS – Episode Three – Professor Xu, Dr Li, and why Censorship Backfires

On By Alex V. WeirIn Alex Weir, Current Events, Philosophy, Politics, The Fractal Journal, Uncategorized, VlogLeave a comment

There are many problems that the Coronavirus outbreak has brought to light.

Our own tendency to hyperbolize and politicize everything, media spin, spooky research, and the stifling of the free flow of ideas.

I examine the latter through the eyes of an English academic/scientist type by the name of John Derbyshire who is married to a Chinese woman.

You can find his article discussing the cases of Professor Xu and Dr. Li at the Unz Review: https://www.unz.com/jderbyshire/still-90-chance-coronavirus-not-catastrophic-but-chinese-and-western-censors-arent-helping/

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TFS – Episode II – Muh Neuroscience, DARPA’s Bat Hobby, and Bittersweet Vulnerability

On By Alex V. WeirIn Alex Weir, Current Events, Environment, Humor, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, Social Commentary, The Fractal Journal, Uncategorized, VlogLeave a comment

Dude with a cold hunts down stories about this whacky world with the aid of caffeine and liquor.

Sources

https://massivesci.com/articles/neuroscience-behavior-vs-technology/

https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/2016/06/02/we-were-guinea-pigs-documentary-puts-atomic-veterans-in-limelight/

https://www.unz.com/wwebb/bats-gene-editing-and-bioweapons-recent-darpa-experiments-raise-concerns-amid-coronavirus-outbreak/

https://www.unz.com/article/swimming-in-the-government-sewage/

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TFS ~ Beer is Healthy! – The Economy Ain’t?! – Muh Russia… (Vlog)

On By Alex V. WeirIn Alex Weir, Current Events, Humor, Philosophy, Politics, Social Commentary, The Fractal Journal, Uncategorized, VlogLeave a comment

TFS (The Fractal Standard) is a daily show that I decided to launch today.

Summary

Beer contains a wide variety of helpful things. Things like the bitter acid, humulone, which offers hope for fighting respiratory infections. Bitter acids are also generally known for anti-inflammatory effects.

In other news there is only a 7% correlation between GDP and the S&P 500! We’re literally running on hot air! But it’s working? For now…?

So, I’m just chillin listening to some Rogan pocast and boom suddenly Russia is an epicenter of pessimism!

I, of course must respond, as the sheer volume and frequency of random fingerwagging and ignorance, towards my country of origin grows exponentially!

Hugh J Lee even!

Intro Music Credits

  “The Riverside Dweller”

Addeddate 2019-03-24 01:20:02
Identifier Nerdy202CreativeCommon
Scanner Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1.6.4
Year  2019

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Variety Show – Mission Trips, Citizenship, and Uncanny Existence

On By Alex V. WeirIn Alex Weir, Current Events, Humor, Philosophy, Politics, Social Commentary, The Fractal Journal, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Lack musical ability? Tune to DADGAD and play pentatonic shapes! You too can sound like a bayou mystic!

In this video I discuss a really neat thing somebody did for people and how we can do an even greater thing for the world by being informed citizens.

Then I prattle on a bit about the problems with appeals to emotion and how they obfuscate the truth. I drive the point home by citing the Dhayan airstrike in which US bombs were used by the Saudis to kill 40 children under 15 years old. A citation made to contrast the moral preening on display as regards US vs Soleimani.

I finish up with a ramble about the ucannines of reality and why the hell is everything just so?

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War is Business by other Means

On By Alex V. WeirIn Alex Weir, Current Events, Philosophy, Politics, Social Commentary, Uncategorized, VlogLeave a comment

 

A regular schmuck talks geopolitics.

Topics 
Coronavirus, Iran, Trade, War, Public Discourse

Sources

# 1

https://www.unz.com/article/the-donalds-assassination-of-general-soleimani-as-stupid-as-it-gets/

David Stockman served as a Republican Congressman and Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan, later having a twenty year career on Wall Street.

# 2

Ron Paul Videos like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmdlVPaLM8c Various

# 3

Articles By Vietnam Veteran and Journalist Fred Reed https://www.unz.com/author/fred-reed/

The Importance of Principle

On By Alex V. WeirIn Alex Weir, Current Events, Philosophy, Politics, Social Commentary, The Fractal Journal, UncategorizedLeave a comment

“All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” Is a rather famous aphorism.

But how do you know that you are a good man? How do you know what you should do?

I use this aphorism and the resultant questions to highlight the importance of preparation. That is of preparing ones mind for struggle and moral quandries through establishing and examining principles.

The establishment and examination of principles is perhaps the most important function of philosophy.

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Donut Operator – YouTube and Selective Enforcement

On By Alex V. WeirIn Alex Weir, Current Events, Politics, Social Commentary, Technology, The Fractal Journal, Uncategorized, VlogLeave a comment

Donut Operator is a former police officer turned YouTuber whose recent breakdown of an arrest video was removed by and resulted in a warning from YouTube. The grounds under which the video was removed were: “graphic content”.

The arrest video appears on a number of other channels including mainstream news.

This is a clear case of selective enforcement and part of a wider problem with large platforms.

~ Donut’s Video ~

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The 20’s, The Many Evils of Beans, and Soleimani

On By Alex V. WeirIn Alex Weir, Current Events, Humor, Philosophy, Politics, Social Commentary, The Fractal Journal, Uncategorized, VlogLeave a comment

It’s the 20’s again! Meaning it’s no longer hipstery to wear fanciful hats. Where’s my flatcap?

The Pythagoreans thought consuming beans an evil. I think this idea of sin and many ideas of sin in general, as well as the whole drive to mysticism via asceticism has to do with homeostasis. I expand on this via fart jokes.

I also give a few impressions of the Suleimani situation due to all the ethical ramifications it, and the region, presents.

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