Like a sharp constant pain that slowly raws the nerves and turn into a dull persistent ache and eventually forgotten completely, people in the West should be shocked at the every day repressions that they suffer, where their "freedoms" are restricted with the bare minimum of justifications of moral platitude. If you watched the movie "V for Vendetta", the opening scenes … [Read more...] about Every Day Repressions in the Police States (US and others) now common place
Re-Examine a Historical Moment of Western Bias: Emperor Qianlong vs. Macartney Mission 1793
If one must examine Western bias, one can easily begin in a single historical moment of confrontation: In 1793, England sent envoy George Macartney to China. The mission was a failure of many disagreements and no agreements, and ultimately led directly or indirectly to the 2 Opium Wars. The story goes (from the British perspective): China required the British personnel to … [Read more...] about Re-Examine a Historical Moment of Western Bias: Emperor Qianlong vs. Macartney Mission 1793
Rethinking Cults Today
Last night, I woke up thinking incessantly about "Cults". What makes a "Cult" a "Cult"? Is it not a "religion", or is it? What's the difference between a "spiritual movement" and a religion? If a child pretends to talk to an imaginary friend, is that a "Religion", a "Cult", a "spiritual movement". … [Read more...] about Rethinking Cults Today
The Strange Non-Intuitive (but real) Contradiction: Free Speech vs. Truth, Rule of Mob vs. Rule of Law
If there are things impressed upon modern Western Liberal Democracy, there are 2 arguably essential things claimed: Free speech and Rule of Law. Indeed, "free media" in the West touts these 2 things often enough, and the Courts of the West equally pay tribute to these 2 things often enough. Yet, underneath, the reality is a strange contradiction of these 2 things butting … [Read more...] about The Strange Non-Intuitive (but real) Contradiction: Free Speech vs. Truth, Rule of Mob vs. Rule of Law
On Meritocracy, some recent observations
Some of us have heard much ado in the news about the sexual discrimination lawsuit of Ellen K. Pao recently, (which she lost). http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/2/8328115/ellen-pao-kleiner-perkins-venture-capital-verdict It got me into some discussions with some friends about discrimination, particularly in employment, which led to some interesting questions: What is … [Read more...] about On Meritocracy, some recent observations