Podcasts about potemkin

Slovensko sa tejto vlády musí zbaviť čo najskôr. Vedenie SMERu zrástlo s oligarchiou a vstúpil do toho i Robert Fico. Premiéra pravidlá demokracie vyrušujú, ministri sú údržbári a budúcnosť štátu je im úplne ukradnutá. Takto to hodnotí po 20. rokoch od prvého vládnutia SMERU jeden zo zakladateľov Boris Zala. Ako sa z tejto “tretej cesty” stal stroj obsluhujúci záujmy vlastných ľudí či oligarchie?Práve pred 20 rokmi po prvá raz zasadol do premiérskeho kresla Robert Fico. Z kedysi ambiciózneho politika tzv. Tretej cesty sa však postupom času stal unavený patrón klientelistického štátu no a Slovensko sa pod jeho vedením mení na čoraz viac sa rozpadajúci Potemkin. Ako sa zo strany protestu voči Mečiarovi i Dzurindovi stal už len unavený stroj obsluhujúci výlučne záujmy “našich ľudí,” ktorý úplne rezignoval na moderný sociálny štát? A je Robert Fico dnes už iba bábkou v rukách oligarchie a straníckej partokracie? Vo veľmi otvorenom rozhovore pre Ráno Nahlas na to odpovie jeden zo zakladateľov SMERu a bývalý predseda Sociálnych demokratov Boris Zala.V týchto dňoch, práve pred dvadsiatimi rokmi po prvý raz triumfoval Smer vo voľbách a jeho predseda Robert Fico po prvý raz zasadol do kresla premiéra. Vtedy ešte s víziou modernej tretej cesty, kde novopečený premiér deklaroval ambíciu vytvoriť zo Slovenska silný sociálny štát, ktorý bude garantovať dôstojný život pre každého občana.Dnes však médiá - namiesto dôstojnosti nás všetkých, riešia dôstojnosť života príbuzných či blízkych Roberta Fica - ako i ďalších vplyvných straníkov, pričom na Slovensku žije podľa oficiálnych štatistík takmer milión ľudí pod hranicou príjmovej chudoby a sociálnej vylúčenosti.Po dvoch dekádach jeho takmer nepretržitého vládnutia sa tak pôvodný sen o slovenskej sociálnej demokracii rozplynul v realite nacionálneho populizmu, systémového klientelizmu ako i čoraz viac upadajúceho štátu. Dve desaťročia dominancie jednej strany zanechali na Slovensku hlbokú stopu, no namiesto skutočného sociálneho štátu dnes čelíme rekordnému zadlžovaniu, sociálne necitlivej konsolidácií a prejedaniu vlastnej budúcnosti. Vládna moc si cez plošné rozdávačské balíčky už celé roky opakovane kupuje voličské hlasy, zatiaľ čo kľúčové systémy štátu ako zdravotníctvo či školstvo zlyhávajú a pomoc ľudia namiesto štátu hľadajú v internetovej charite.Od “SMERom k ľuďom,” ako znelo prvé predvolebné heslo Smeru sa tak táto strana prepracovala k realite smerovania k "našim ľuďom". Hanákove Papierové hlavy sa vrátili.Je toto ešte stále autentická ľavica, alebo sa slovami Roberta Kaliňáka “transformovala” do sofistikovaného klientského štátu, ktorý namiesto pravidiel a výkonu odmieňa slepú stranícku lojalitu? Kam sa za tých 20 rokov posunul samotný Robert Fico a prečo namiesto moderného európskeho štátu vybudoval systém politických trafík, hľadania nepriateľov, vyvolávania konfliktov a koketovania s extremizmom?Ráno Nahlas s bývalým poslancom, europoslancom a jedným zo zakladateľov SMERu Borisom Zalom. Pekný deň a pokoj v duši praje Braňo Dobšinský.

It's war in our time. After flirting with peace for a few miserable hours, the US and Iran are back to what they know best: taking uneven chunks out of each other amidst the world's prime oil pathway. This week, Iran levelled a terminal of Kuwait's airport, and attacked the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. Then there was that mysterious Apache helicopter crash off Hormuz. Now, after the crisp kinetic strikes of the first few weeks – then the tentative tests of strength – the war is entering a new phase.One in which Iran shows that the US will not be able to achieve on the negotiating table what it did not achieve on the battlefield. Meanwhile, it's a thriving Asian tiger, the skyscraper skyline of its capital shows the bustle and optimism of the Rising East. Mobile phones. Electric cars. That's right — North Korea is this year's big economic success story, according to a new piece in the Wall Street Journal. Turns out the Hermit Kingdom is less hermetic these days. North Koreans have made good money providing weapons to Russia in Ukraine, and China has turned on the trade taps. Pyongyang no longer rations electricity to a few hours every day. So what happens when North Korea is no longer a Potemkin village but a Potemkin megalopolis? Meanwhile, lose a war, get voted back in. Three years after the catastrophe in Nagorno-Karabakh, what inspired the Armenian people to re-elect Nikol Pashinyan? Perhaps it was precisely because of how vulnerable the country feels itself to be. The strategy is to buy off and shore up: peace with Azerbaijan, EU candidacy, and normalisation with old enemy Turkey. But how low can you lie in a region that Russia sees as its backyard?Do check out our Substack if you can - https://multipolaritypod.substack.com/

If past practice is any guide, Chinese dictator Xi Jinping's state visit to North Korea yesterday afforded an opportunity for more  “strategic arson” aimed at distracting the United States from his increasing preparations for acquiring Taiwan via force if coercive pressure and/or elections don't have that effect. That could entail a manufactured ratcheting up of tensions with South Korea now controlled by another of Xi's Communist allies, President Lee Jae-Myung. He's long wanted to remove U.S. forces from the peninsula and would probably happily play along with a bit of PRC-directed theater to do so to avert a Potemkin crisis. Another ominous possibility is that Xi covertly directed Kim to join him in rearming Iran, building on their Chinese-approved collaboration on nuclear weapons by transferring one or more of them from Kim's burgeoning arsenal to Tehran.   Brace for impact. This is Frank Gaffney.

Foi apresentado em finais de Maio em Paris, o terceiro e último volume do livro "Memórias em tempo de amnésia" de Álvaro Vasconcelos, especialista de relações internacionais e voz bem conhecida das nossas antenas. Nesta obra em três partes, o autor relata as épocas que atravessou, o salazarismo, o colonialismo português em África, nomeadamente em Moçambique onde viveu, os anos de militância política na África do Sul, em França e em seguida em Portugal, onde regressou na altura do 25 de Abril. No terceiro volume das suas memórias intitulado "O futuro para além do apocalipse", Álvaro Vasconcelos recorda a conquista da independência das ex-colónias, assim como os primórdios da democratização de Portugal e a sua adesão à União Europeia. O antigo director do Instituto de Estudos de Segurança da União Europeia e fundador em Portugal do Instituto de Estudos Estratégicos e Internacionais também evoca a viragem autoritária a que se assiste actualmente em várias partes do mundo, a que ele chama de «brutalismo» e que tem a ver com a corrente 'tecno-totalitarista', encabeçada nomeadamente por alguns magnatas da Silicon Valley. Álvaro Vasconcelos fala também da urgência ambiental, da urgência de não nos esquecermos que somos humanos, numa época em que tendemos a colocar tudo nas mãos da Inteligência Artificial. No fundo, ele fala da urgência de pensarmos. Neste livro denso que é uma chamada de atenção, ele começa cada capítulo com uma espécie de guião de filme e fala com um gosto não dissimulado de todas as fitas que o fizeram reflectir de outra forma sobre o mundo, porque este texto, ainda mais do que os anteriores, é uma declaração de amor à sétima arte. E evidentemente não podíamos deixar de falar -antes de mais- da importância que o cinema tem para Álvaro Vasconcelos. "O cinema é algo que me formou porque eu vivia na África colonial, na Beira, em Moçambique. E como era lá no fundo do Império, a ditadura era certamente muito mais suave para os brancos, para os negros era mais brutal do que em Portugal era para os portugueses. E os brancos da cidade da Beira, onde eu vivia, tinham acesso ao Cineclube da Beira, às grandes obras do cinema mundial, por exemplo, nós vimos o ‘Couraçado Potemkin', que em Portugal era absolutamente proibido. (…) E como o cinema, começamos a vê-lo mesmo muito, desde muitos miúdos, não só nos cineclubes, os cinemas eram a maravilha da época, era aquilo que nos educava, nos abria novos horizontes, que nos fazia rir com Charlot, com os irmãos Marx, que nos ensinava os problemas graves do mundo, como ‘Hiroshima mon amour', o neo-realismo italiano, ‘Os ladrões de bicicletas', etc. Evidentemente que o cinema teve para a minha geração e em particular para aquela que viveu no Império, mas não só, também também em Portugal, um impacto enorme, portanto, foi formativo. E ao escrever o último livro da minha trilogia, senti a necessidade de fazer um livro que fosse mais de reflexão que apenas descritivo da minha vida e de reflexão. Não sou filósofo, portanto, não podia ser uma reflexão filosófica. Mas era uma reflexão à volta das ideias que são veiculadas pelo cinema, que foram veiculadas pela grande literatura que eu li desde miúdo, que sempre me apaixonou e continuo a ler e que me ensinou imenso sobre o mundo. Eu descobri muitas coisas no cinema e na literatura que não era capaz de descobrir com o mesmo grau de profundidade dos ensaios", explica o autor. Nas suas memórias, Álvaro Vasconcelos fala da época colonial e também de uma descolonização das mentes que ainda não foi totalmente feita. "Em África, descobri a violência colonial e que a palmatória é um símbolo absoluto dessa violência. Palmatória com que iam castigar os empregados negros por coisas, não importa o quê. Mas mesmo que fossem coisas graves, era a mesma palmatória que era usada contra os escravos, como eu vi no Museu Afro-Brasileiro, em São Paulo. Infelizmente não temos em Portugal, nenhum museu sobre a escravatura. Temos um pequeno museu em Lagos, mas não temos um grande museu, como têm os brasileiros. E essa palmatória era usada também pelo professor primário para nos manter. Identifico a violência brutal de que era vítima pelo professor primário, que tinha um poder absoluto sobre mim, com a violência, de que eram vítimas os negros, que não tinham direitos nenhuns, nem direito à vida. E para que isso pudesse ter acontecido, foi preciso criar uma narrativa de que eles não eram gente civilizada. E essa narrativa perdurou no pós 25 de Abril, porque nunca se fez um trabalho verdadeiro de descolonização das mentalidades. E hoje, quando os imigrantes são tratados como são tratados com desumanidade, é porque não são considerados humanos iguais a nós. E como não são considerados humanos iguais a nós, podem ser vítimas da arbitrariedade. Não têm os direitos iguais. Isso é uma questão fundamental", considera o estudioso. "Quando se deu o 25 de Abril, podia-se ter feito uma coisa extraordinária e teria ficado para a história. Era considerar que toda a gente que reside em Portugal tem os mesmos direitos. Há um país no mundo em que isso, pelo menos já acontece, que é na Nova Zelândia. E, portanto, se os imigrantes tivessem o direito do voto, seriam tratados de forma completamente diferente ", diz ao referir que, em vez disso, "são vítimas da desigualdade mais absurda da escravatura às vezes da violência da morte no Mediterrâneo. Em vez de irem socorrer, acham que é uma forma dissuasiva que eles morram no Mediterrâneo. Isso, evidentemente, é feito posto em prática por políticos democráticos, mas evidentemente que estão a abrir o caminho à extrema-direita que fará disso uma doutrina de poder." No capítulo que reserva a estes aspectos, o autor escreve que “o silêncio sobre a verdadeira natureza do colonialismo é um dos grandes fracassos da democracia portuguesa” e que “a Europa assumir que o colonialismo foi um crime contra a humanidade tornaria o seu discurso sobre a democracia muito mais legítimo.” "O 25 de Abril foi uma revolução extraordinária. Libertou os portugueses da ditadura e criou um sistema de liberdades públicas, de Estado de Direito. Isso deve ser sublinhado e eu sublinho no livro, porque é único no século XX, uma revolução que não foi só uma libertação, mas trouxe a liberdade. Podemos pensar, por exemplo, que a Revolução de Outubro libertou os russos do Czarismo, que era um regime terrível. Mas não construiu um regime de liberdade. Isso aconteceu em Portugal. Simplesmente, Portugal era ao mesmo tempo uma ditadura e um império. E quando se construiu a democracia, fez-se um trabalho mais ou menos profundo sobre o que era a ditadura, o que é que era o fascismo. Existem vários museus, o Museu do Aljube, um museu em Peniche, existe um trabalho de memória. Existem nos livros de História. Conta-se o 25 de Abril, todo esse passado ditatorial. As pessoas sabem que houve a tortura, que havia a PIDE, que as pessoas não tinham direito à palavra. Tudo isso faz parte da memória colectiva dos portugueses", constata Álvaro Vasconcelos. "O que não se fez nenhum trabalho. O que é que era o colonialismo? Não se explicou o que é que era a tortura em África, o que era o trabalho forçado. Qual era a origem que isso tinha na escravatura? Manteve-se um mito do lusotropicalismo, ou seja, que Portugal tinha contribuído para criar um mundo diferente, um mundo não racista, um mundo multiétnico. Até se dizia isso : ‘Deus criou os homens e os portugueses criaram as mulatas' escondendo que as mulatas nasciam muitas vezes de actos de violação absoluta, porque as mulheres negras não tinham direitos e, portanto, o senhor tinha um direito de pernada sobre a mulher negra. Isso acontecia frequentemente. Eu, aliás, entrevistei para um dos meus livros uma senhora africana que conta exactamente a história de uma mulher que, depois do 25 de Abril, andava à procura do homem branco, que tinha sido o pai dos seus filhos e que o homem branco tinha desaparecido. Tinha regressado a Portugal e que nunca mais soube dele. E as crianças queriam conhecer o pai. Mas isto é um caso de uma pessoa que se movimentou. A maior parte das vezes ficaram e são vítimas de toda a discriminação. Isso é o aspecto em que o 25 de Abril não fez esse trabalho", diz o politólogo. "Quando em Portugal surge um movimento de sociedade civil poderoso, hoje formado por intelectuais afro-descendentes que defendem o direito à igualdade, que tem voz no espaço público, quando nos lembramos, por exemplo, da Joacine Katar Moreira que foi deputada na Assembleia da República, a campanha racista contra ela. No Parlamento, a extrema-direita dizia ‘Volta para o teu país'. Estou a falar numa deputada, membro do Parlamento. Mas depois as intelectuais todas que são superactivas na sociedade portuguesa, que é aquilo que há hoje de mais vibrante na sociedade portuguesa, mais criativo. Publicam, fazem filmes como a Pocas Pascoal e outros. Ainda recentemente a Kitty Furtado organizou na Gulbenkian um ciclo sobre o cinema africano produzido em Portugal, com numerosos filmes, numerosos realizadores. Portanto, na Bienal de Veneza, há dois anos, a representação de Portugal foram artistas negros. Portanto, temos um movimento extraordinário. Esse movimento choca com esta mentalidade dominante. E então são acusados de serem ‘wokistas'. ‘Wokistas, quer dizer que são pessoas com consciência", sublinha o universitário. Relativamente às lições que se podem tirar do pós 25 de Abril, Álvaro Vasconcelos faz um balanço agridoce : apesar de considerar que “os seus objectivos essenciais foram atingidos: liberdade, fim do colonialismo e um estado inspirado nos modelos sociais europeus”, ele constara que “o que triunfou não foram os mecanismos que permitiriam compatibilizar a democracia liberal com o desejo de participação dos cidadãos (...) com o tempo, os partidos tornaram-se organizações fechadas (...) foram-se impondo como actores únicos do sistema politico”. "Portugal fez uma revolução que permitiu a existência de partidos políticos que não existiam antes. Mas a revolução, no momento em que ela aconteceu, despertou uma vontade de participação enorme na sociedade portuguesa. Todos os portugueses queriam participar na vida política pública. Eu próprio participei na criação de um jornal que era a voz do trabalhador e aquilo vendia-se como pãezinhos quentes. Quer dizer, toda a gente cria jornais. Toda a gente queria ler. Toda a gente fazia um pequeno comício. Enchiam-se de pessoas. Criaram-se cooperativas, associações de bairro, associações, moradores, associações agrícolas, movimentos cooperativos por todo o lado. Ao mesmo tempo, os partidos políticos foram-se consolidando como forças dominantes da sociedade portuguesa. E esses movimentos participativos foram vistos pelos partidos que acabaram por triunfar como movimentos que eram contrários à consolidação da democracia representativa liberal, como havia no resto da Europa. E foram desaparecendo. E o sistema político português ficou concentrado nos partidos políticos. Esses anos todos passaram e as pessoas hoje, como têm acesso às redes sociais, já têm outra forma de expressão, sem passar pelos partidos políticos. Exprimem-se nas redes sociais. Muitas vezes, o que dizem alguns? Nós não gostamos nada. Mas outras coisas dizem coisas correctas. Estes movimentos que eu referi, ecológicos, anti-racistas, de solidariedade social, também usam as redes sociais. Mas há muita gente que usa as redes sociais e que diz coisas horríveis. Mas não interessa, diz. Acha que tem direito à palavra. E acha que os partidos não dão direito à palavra. Então vão atrás de um demagogo que diz ‘Eu dou vos a palavra. Eles não vos dão a palavra'. Os partidos políticos são organizações fechadas. Em Portugal nunca se fez a regionalização, porque os partidos acharam que aquilo era fugir ao controlo central dos partidos de Lisboa. Era abrir o controlo da sociedade a nível regional. E tudo isso foi enfraquecendo a democracia portuguesa", comenta. “Foi nas redes sociais, espaço sem regras, que descobri que estávamos perante um brutalismo neofascista. O significado das palavras e a verdade deixaram de ser facilmente reconhecíveis. O algoritmo privilegia a violência verbal, exponencia o número de visões e partilhas. Acreditei – e escrevi –, depois das revoluções árabes de 2011, que as redes sociais tinham potencial de empoderamento dos cidadãos e poderiam ser um factor de emancipação democrática, mas hoje sou obrigado a constatar que não tive em conta a capacidade de manipulação, seja pelos algoritmos ou ainda mais pela IA, dos Estados e grupos que controlam as empresas da indústria do mundo virtual", escreve Álvaro Vasconcelos no capítulo que dedica ao regresso do que chama de 'brutalismo'. "A nível europeu, nós não podemos separar de um fenómeno mundial, que é aquilo que atravessa bastante o meu livro, que é a ideia do colapso do pensamento. E esse colapso do pensamento. O que significa que quando os homens deixam de pensar, diz Hannah Arendt, são capazes dos piores crimes. E esses homens são capazes dos piores crimes. E o homem banal, o homem comum que pode seguir um líder que vai destruir as suas liberdades e a liberdade dos outros. E isso pode se chamar ‘tecno-totalitarismo'. Porquê tecno-totalitarismo? Porque grande parte da economia mundial hoje está a ser dominada pelas grandes empresas tecnológicas. Estamos numa nova revolução tecnológica. E as grandes empresas tecnológicas que dominam a inteligência artificial, que dominam as redes sociais, como o Musk, é o exemplo mais claro, defendem aquilo que eu chamei de ‘tecno-totalitarismo'», explica o autor das "Memórias em tempo de amnésia". "Há uma politóloga francesa, Asma Mhalla que diz que ‘este século não vos proíbe de pensar. Ele ocupa-vos até que já não se saiba como fazer. Isto vem, como eu digo aqui no livro, do desenvolvimento da Inteligência artificial. O desenvolvimento da inteligência artificial cria um mundo onde os humanos deixam de pensar. A banalidade do mal passa a ser a norma. Isso acontece em muitos actos quotidianos. Quando recorremos à inteligência artificial para tomarmos decisões. Quando manipulados por algoritmos, ficamos de tal forma hipnotizados que somos levados a acreditar nos líderes populistas como Trump, como Bardella em França como em Portugal, o André Ventura, como Bolsonaro no Brasil", diz Álvaro Vasconcelos. "Há um aspecto deste ‘tecno-totalitarismo' que também nos deve inquietar, que é menos presente em França, mas está presente em muitos países, que é a relação dele com uma determinada corrente religiosa. Ele é religioso na sua essência, porque ao mesmo tempo, fala de Apocalipse, destruição do mundo pelo aquecimento global, pela guerra nuclear e está a propor uma solução tecnológica para estes problemas. Ora, isto é típico da crença religiosa. A ideia do Apocalipse, se pensarmos no apoio dos evangélicos americanos a Trump e em cenas em que Trump se reúne com os evangélicos e os evangélicos rezam na Casa Branca a volta do Trump ou quando o Bolsonaro tomou posse rodeado pelos evangélicos, a primeira coisa que fizeram, foi um ato religioso. (…) Vemos que o ‘tecno-totalitarismo' muitas vezes é também uma ‘tecno-teocracia'. E, portanto, esse problema, que é um problema mundial, que é da criação do mundo em que os homens deixam de pensar, a inteligência artificial substitui o pensamento humano. É um mundo em que o brutalismo, que é o tema do meu livro, se torna possível. É possível que o Trump decida destruir o Irão, que o Netanyahu faça o genocídio de Gaza e agora esteja a fazer no Líbano o que fez em Gaza, no sul do Líbano. É exactamente a mesma coisa. Vai destruir o sul do Líbano completamente", diz o especialista em relações internacionais. No capítulo em que aborda o que chama de dever de hospitalidade, Álvaro Vasconcelos considera que é neste aspecto que a Europa pode fazer a diferença "para superar o brutalismo contemporâneo, porque, por um lado, é uma das regiões do mundo onde as democracias ainda resistem ao assalto da extrema‑direita neofascista, e por outro porque a hospitalidade é a essência da sua sobrevivência". "Estamos a falar da União Europeia, a que se podem juntar alguns Estados, como a Noruega, como hoje o Brasil do Lula. Têm a mesma ambição de escapar ao brutalismo de Putin, Trump, Netanyahu, ao ‘tecno-totalitarismo' que domina a China. Verdadeiramente o único sítio do mundo em que ainda há um grupo de Estados que pode e quer resistir é na União Europeia, mas que tem estes aliados muito importantes que tem que procurar no Canadá, já procura no Brasil. Por isso, o acordo com o Mercosul é tão importante, apesar de a Argentina do Milei estar completamente na mesma linha de brutalismo. Mas o Brasil é um país importantíssimo. Na Ásia, o Japão, a Coreia do Sul. (…) Portanto, a Europa é a nossa esperança. Mas para que essa esperança não passe de uma utopia não realizada, para ser uma utopia realizada, é preciso que a Europa integre toda a sua vitalidade num projecto comum, (…) é preciso uma mudança radical de política. Ou seja, é preciso uma política que seja alternativa à política da extrema-direita. Claramente. E o que é que se deve fazer? Os imigrantes que são grande parte da população europeia ou originários na imigração devem ser cidadãos plenos, activos, integrados nas nossas sociedades, dando-lhes o voto. Aqueles que ainda não têm, damos-lhe a palavra, ouvindo-os e tornando as nossas democracias muito mais participativas", preconiza o autor. No seu livro, Álvaro Vasconcelos estabelece um elo directo entre o ‘tecno-totalitarismo', a negação dos direitos de boa parte da humanidade e a destruição do meio ambiente. "Um dos temas que eu acho que é muito importante é a questão do ambiente. Eu, aliás, começo o meu livro com uma citação do Camus que diz ‘A minha geração quis mudar o mundo. Não o mudou, mas pelo menos lutou para preservar o que de melhor tinha sido conquistado'. (…) O aquecimento global está a ser um problema gravíssimo que pode pôr em causa a vida na terra. E aí é lembrarmo-nos de Edgar Morin, um grande pensador. Eu cito Edgar Morin dez ou 15 vezes no meu livro. Ele diz que nós não estamos só perante um mundo que destrói a vida humana. Estamos num mundo em que a globalização foi extremamente destrutiva do ponto de vista económico e social. Criou também a consciência de um destino comum da humanidade a consciência de que estamos todos no mesmo barco. Ou seja, no barco da vida. Nós sabemos que a vida não é eterna. Mas enquanto estamos no barco da vida, não vamos cair no niilismo. Nem vamos cair na melancolia de esquerda. Isto é uma conclusão que alguém tirou do meu livro que eu sou contra a melancolia de esquerda. A melancolia de esquerda é nós pensarmos em tudo aquilo por que a gente lutou está a desaparecer e já não podemos fazer nada. Vai tudo acabar. Vai acabar a democracia, a liberdade. Vai voltar o racismo como política de Estado. Vai desaparecer a ordem internacional. Vai desaparecer o multilateralismo", diz o universitário. "Estamos perante uma guerra cultural. É um tema central, porque a guerra cultural é algo que acompanha a civilização europeia desde o Iluminismo e desde a Revolução Francesa. Houve sempre uma corrente que se opôs às conquistas de liberdade, igualdade, fraternidade da Revolução Francesa. Considerou sempre que a compaixão pelo outro não fazia nenhum sentido, que o homem era um animal fundamentalmente egoísta e violento E que tinha que ser treinado desde criancinha para a competição. E por isso, a cooperação não é uma questão fundamental da aprendizagem. As pessoas não aprendem a cooperar, aprendem a competir. Já vimos no sistema escolar como é terrível a competição. A infância nas grandes escolas. O que é que é difícil chegar lá acima. Portanto, formam-se elites que foram treinadas para a competição e não foram treinadas para a cooperação. E se nós não cooperarmos neste barco da vida, se não percebermos que o clima não tem fronteiras, que o aquecimento é global, que os calores do Norte de África chegam à Europa, que as transformações da Amazónia transformam as correntes do Atlântico e nos atingem também como europeus. Então não perceberemos que estamos todos no mesmo mundo. Mundo, terra, pátria, como diz o Edgar Morin. E que neste mundo, terra pátria, nós somos todos cidadãos, mesmo quando não somos considerados cidadãos", conclui Álvaro Vasconcelos.

Politiku ovládol súboj vládneho, ale aj opozičného alibizmu a namiesto vládnutia nám politici ponúkajú potemkinovsky marketing. Slovensku pritom hrozí stopnutie eurofondov, ako i dôsledky nezvládnutej konsolidácie či stagnujúcej ekonomiky.Hrozba straty eurofondov, PPA a jej trestnoprávne kauzy všakovakých Fafokanov, pozastavenie výstavby strategickej prešovskej nemocnice či dobre známa kauza “Langoš.” Na strane druhej zasa kauza matky lídra PS Marty Šimečkovej, ale aj absencia zmysluplnej opozičnej alternatívy.Vládne nám už knieža Potemkin a nie premiér Fico? A zmenila sa politika zo správy vecí verejných už definitívne na obsahovo vyprázdnený a alibistický marketing?Téma dnešného podcastu so šéfom oddelenia politiky Aktualít Martinom Slizom.Sledujete Aktuality Nahlas, pekný deň a pokoj v duši praje Braňo Dobšinský.

Politiku ovládol súboj vládneho, ale aj opozičného alibizmu a namiesto vládnutia nám politici ponúkajú potemkinovsky marketing. Slovensku pritom hrozí stopnutie eurofondov, ako i dôsledky nezvládnutej konsolidácie či stagnujúcej ekonomiky. Hrozba straty eurofondov, PPA a jej trestnoprávne kauzy všakovakých Fafokanov, pozastavenie výstavby strategickej prešovskej nemocnice či dobre známa kauza “Langoš.” Na strane druhej zasa kauza matky lídra PS Marty Šimečkovej, ale aj absencia zmysluplnej opozičnej alternatívy. Vládne nám už knieža Potemkin a nie premiér Fico? A zmenila sa politika zo správy vecí verejných už definitívne na obsahovo vyprázdnený a alibistický marketing? Téma dnešného podcastu so šéfom oddelenia politiky Aktualít Martinom Slizom. Sledujete Aktuality Nahlas, pekný deň a pokoj v duši praje Braňo Dobšinský.

Nemenežujene verejné výdavky, ani ich nekontrolujeme. Nemáme určené základné priority a hoci centrálna vláda neplní ani svoje základné úlohy, mieša sa do všetkého - i toho, čo by regióny zvládli oveľa lepšie. Našim najväčším problémom však je, že nevieme riadiť svoj vlastný štát. Hovorí ekonóm Anton Marcinčin. Ako z toho von a máme ešte šancu?Slovenská ekonomika uviazla, podľa najnovších prognóz Národnej banky sa rast spomalil sa biedne pol percento. V kombinácií so stále vysokou infláciou, ale aj veľmi vysokým daňovo odvodovým zaťažením, to na naše hospodárstvo vytvára enormný tlak. Nevyhnutné ozdravenie verejných financií, ktoré sa stále nachádzajú v pásme vysokého rizika vláda neúspešne rieši už tretím konsolidačným balíčkom no zatiaľ - napriek stúpnutiu štátneho dlhu o miliardy, stále bezvýsledne. Aktuálne nám fakt, že nie sme na dobrej ceste potvrdil aj znížený rating renomovanej agentúry Standard and Poor‘s Slovensko pritom sužuje obrovský investičný dlh na cestnej, mostnej či železničnej infraštruktúre, v zdravotníctve miznú miliardy bez adekvátnej efektivity, vzdelávací systém ukazuje zhoršujúce sa výsledky, krajinu opúšťa stále viac mladých chytrých mozgov, ale aj firiem no a vláda nemá prakticky žiadny zmysluplný ozdravný plán či koncepciu ako ďalej. Víziu ako skutočne reštartovať Slovensko však neukazuje ani opozícia pričom naša krajina sa deň po dni mení na rozpadajúci sa Potemkin. Sledujete ráno Nahlas s ekonómom Antonom Marcinčinom. Pekný deň a pokoj v duši praje Braňo Dobšinský.

Nemenežujene verejné výdavky, ani ich nekontrolujeme. Nemáme určené základné priority a hoci centrálna vláda neplní ani svoje základné úlohy, mieša sa do všetkého - i toho, čo by regióny zvládli oveľa lepšie. Našim najväčším problémom však je, že nevieme riadiť svoj vlastný štát. Hovorí ekonóm Anton Marcinčin. Ako z toho von a máme ešte šancu? Slovenská ekonomika uviazla, podľa najnovších prognóz Národnej banky sa rast spomalil sa biedne pol percento. V kombinácií so stále vysokou infláciou, ale aj veľmi vysokým daňovo odvodovým zaťažením, to na naše hospodárstvo vytvára enormný tlak. Nevyhnutné ozdravenie verejných financií, ktoré sa stále nachádzajú v pásme vysokého rizika vláda neúspešne rieši už tretím konsolidačným balíčkom no zatiaľ - napriek stúpnutiu štátneho dlhu o miliardy, stále bezvýsledne. Aktuálne nám fakt, že nie sme na dobrej ceste potvrdil aj znížený rating renomovanej agentúry Standard and Poor‘s Slovensko pritom sužuje obrovský investičný dlh na cestnej, mostnej či železničnej infraštruktúre, v zdravotníctve miznú miliardy bez adekvátnej efektivity, vzdelávací systém ukazuje zhoršujúce sa výsledky, krajinu opúšťa stále viac mladých chytrých mozgov, ale aj firiem no a vláda nemá prakticky žiadny zmysluplný ozdravný plán či koncepciu ako ďalej. Víziu ako skutočne reštartovať Slovensko však neukazuje ani opozícia pričom naša krajina sa deň po dni mení na rozpadajúci sa Potemkin. Sledujete ráno Nahlas s ekonómom Antonom Marcinčinom. Pekný deň a pokoj v duši praje Braňo Dobšinský.

1. Nury Turkel introduces his book, *No Escape*, detailing systematic brutality against Uyghurs in East Turkestan. He shares the harrowing account of scholar Abduweli Ayup, who witnessed the sadistic behavior of official Zhu Hailun. The segment highlights China's use of "Potemkin villages" to deceive international human rights observers. (1)1793

Patrick McKenzie (patio11) explains how compliance regimes designed to be viral brought many more firms into the scope of frameworks like SOC 2. This created a market demand for compliance-on-the-cheap by companies like Delve. Delve has been accused in an anonymous bit of investigative journalism as engaging in Potemkin compliance.Patrick contrasts what real audits look like with what Delve allegedly delivered. He argues that selling compliance theater as compliance is fraud, not the sort of benign rule-breaking celebrated in startup culture.–Full transcript available here: https://www.complexsystemspodcast.com/delve-into-compliance-theatre/ –Presenting Sponsors: Mercury, Meter, Granola & FramerComplex Systems is presented by Mercury—radically better banking for founders. Mercury offers the best wire experience anywhere: fast, reliable, and free for domestic U.S. wires, so you can stay focused on growing your business. Apply online in minutes at mercury.com.Networking infrastructure has a way of accumulating technical debt faster than almost anything else in IT. Meter handles the full stack (wired, wireless, and cellular) as a single integrated solution: designed, deployed, and managed end-to-end so there's only one vendor to call when something goes wrong. Visit meter.com/complexsystems to book a demo. If meetings consistently leave you with hazy action items and lost context, Granola handles the transcription so you can actually participate and gives you searchable notes afterward. Try it free at granola.ai/complexsystems with code COMPLEXSYSTEMSBuilding and maintaining marketing websites shouldn't slow down your engineers. Framer gives design and marketing teams an all-in-one platform to ship landing pages, microsites, or full site redesigns instantly—without engineering bottlenecks. Get 30% off Framer Pro at framer.com/complexsystems.–Links:Fake Compliance as a Service - Part 1: https://substack.com/home/post/p-191342187Editorial independence episode: https://www.complexsystemspodcast.com/episodes/editorial-standards-and-independence/ Dan Davies episode: https://www.complexsystemspodcast.com/episodes/dan-davies-organizations-fraud/ –Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(02:14) The taxonomy of compliance(04:11) Why compliance is viral(09:08) Defense in depth(14:19) Accountability and liability(16:05) The allegations against Delve(19:53) Sponsors: Mercury | Meter(22:41) The allegations against Delve (cont'd)(24:31) The response and evidence(29:38) Implausible patterns(38:22) Heuristics for truth(40:10) Sponsors: Granola | Framer(42:52) Heuristics for truth (cont'd)(44:28) Naughtiness vs. fraud(51:16) A voice in the startup community(53:05) Advice for the exposed(56:38) Wrap

AI flyttar kunskap från hjärnan till fingertopparna.Men utan domänkunskap blir kunskap bara Potemkin-kulisser – snygga fasader utan bärande struktur.Handelshögskolans Erik Wetter ser redan en tydlig trend:Studenter lämnar in mer polerade arbeten än någonsin.Men när de ombeds resonera kring innehållet brister det ofta.Tänkandet har delvis outsourcats.Domänkunskap är förmågan att skilja signal från brus.Att förstå vad som faktiskt spelar roll – och vad som inte gör det.AI är en multiplikator.För den som kan lite skapar den volym.För den som kan mycket skapar den hävstång.I en AI-värld kommer kunskap i 99:e percentilen att betala sig exponentiellt mer än kunskap i 95:e.När produktion blir billig blir omdöme extremt dyrt.

In this second part of our series on engineering organizations, Jeff and Luca explore how companies that build products should focus their efforts differently depending on their stage and scope. We start with startups and early-stage companies desperately searching for product-market fit, where the brutal truth is: quality doesn't matter yet. Your MVP should embarrass you—if it doesn't, you waited too long. We discuss the critical mental shift from throwaway prototypes to proper engineering once validation arrives, and why technical founders often fail by solving the wrong problem brilliantly. Moving up the ladder, we examine narrow-focus companies that have found their niche—like the German firm that does nothing but maintain a 100-year-old anchor chain machine, or specialists in medium-power electrical switches. These companies win through efficiency and deep expertise, but face existential risk if the market shifts. Finally, we tackle wide-focus companies introducing multiple product lines, where the challenge becomes running internal startups while managing established products, each requiring radically different approaches. The key insight: your focus must match your product's lifecycle stage, whether that's ruthless speed, cost optimization, or high-level process learning. Key Topics [02:30] Startups and early-stage companies: the existential search for product-market fit [06:45] The MVP philosophy: if you're not embarrassed, you waited too long [11:20] Quality vs. speed vs. scope: why quality doesn't matter in early stages [15:40] The Potemkin village approach: building facades to validate demand [19:15] Embedded products and MVPs: when physical products need creative shortcuts [23:50] The critical switch: from prototypes to proper engineering after validation [28:30] Narrow-focus companies: German hidden champions and deep specialization [34:10] Wide-focus companies: running internal startups within established organizations [40:25] Product teams and parallel focuses: managing different lifecycle stages simultaneously [45:00] Large established companies: high-level process learning and avoiding organizational weight Notable Quotes "If you read the Lean Startup, they will explicitly say: if you weren't embarrassed by your MVP, you waited too long. It really has to be painfully flimsy because you cannot afford to do it well." — Luca "Quality doesn't even factor because you're very explicitly building mock-ups from chewing gum and paper mache. They are fully intended to be thrown away." — Luca "Getting that product-market fit is existential. You will die if you do not get it and get it relatively quickly." — Jeff Resources Mentioned The Lean Startup - Eric Ries' book discussing MVP philosophy and the importance of being embarrassed by your first product The Mom Test - Rob Fitzpatrick's book about getting real customer feedback and validation through financial commitment The Art of Innovation - Tom Kelley's book on IDEO's design process, including the clothespin switch story Luca's Website - Trainings on embedded agile, AI in embedded systems, and more Jeff's Website - Consulting services for medical device software development You can find Jeff at https://jeffgable.com.You can find Luca at https://luca.engineer.Want to join the agile Embedded Slack? Click hereAre you looking for embedded-focused trainings? Head to https://agileembedded.academy/Ryan Torvik and Luca have started the Embedded AI podcast, check it out at https://embeddedaipodcast.com/

AI flyttar kunskap från hjärnan till fingertopparna.Men utan domänkunskap blir kunskap bara Potemkin-kulisser – snygga fasader utan bärande struktur.Handelshögskolans Erik Wetter ser redan en tydlig trend:Studenter lämnar in mer polerade arbeten än någonsin.Men när de ombeds resonera kring innehållet brister det ofta.Tänkandet har delvis outsourcats.Domänkunskap är förmågan att skilja signal från brus.Att förstå vad som faktiskt spelar roll – och vad som inte gör det.AI är en multiplikator.För den som kan lite skapar den volym.För den som kan mycket skapar den hävstång.I en AI-värld kommer kunskap i 99:e percentilen att betala sig exponentiellt mer än kunskap i 95:e.När produktion blir billig blir omdöme extremt dyrt.

Join Lionel on The Other Side of Midnight as he peels back the "Potemkin village" of Washington D.C. to reveal the seamy dark underbelly of reality. In this "red-pilled reality check," Lionel dissects the "conspiratorium" surrounding everything from Kurt Cobain's death and the JFK assassination to the shadowy Senior Executive Service (SES) and the "Neo-Illuminati" network of Jeffrey Epstein. From the "death of newspapers" to the "collapse of American culture," this show finds the "dust bunnies" the mainstream media ignores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Lionel on The Other Side of Midnight as he peels back the layers of the "Potemkin village" we call government. In this episode, Lionel argues that the classic Illuminati has evolved into a modern, decentralized network of elites—like the one surrounding Jeffrey Epstein—who rule through blackmail and leverage rather than ancient rituals. From the concept of "learned helplessness" that keeps the population passive to a deep dive into the impossibilities of the JFK assassination official narrative, Lionel challenges you to question the "bread and circuses" meant to distract you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"The enemy is not at the gate—the enemy has infiltrated our classrooms." Join host Robert Bortins for the first episode in a powerful School Choice Week series as he sits down with Dr. Joshua Pierson, who contributed to "Woke and Weaponized: How Karl Marx Won the Battle for American Education and How We Can Win It Back." In this eye-opening conversation, Dr. Pierson—a retiring counterintelligence agent with 25 years of experience—reveals the shocking history of Soviet infiltration into American education. Drawing from his extensively researched appendix, he traces a direct line from 1917 Soviet intelligence operations to today's classroom controversies. Dr. Pierson exposes how Soviet strategist Willi Münzenberg architected a century-long disinformation campaign targeting American education, media, and government. He explains how Columbia Teachers College became a hub for communist influence, and why influential educators like John Dewey and George Counts became "useful idiots" after visiting carefully staged Potemkin villages in Soviet Russia. The conversation explores why communist ideology persists generations after its architects have died, how tactics like ANDEMKA (Admit Nothing, Deny Everything, Make Counter Accusation) still shape today's debates, and why accepting government funding transforms institutions into "agents of the state." From SEL programs to modern educational policy, discover how the Soviets succeeded in their strategy beyond their wildest expectations—and what Americans were willfully ignorant about as it happened.   This episode of Refining Rhetoric is sponsored by: Woke and Weaponized: How Karl Marx Won the Battle for American Education—And How We Can Win It Back – A new book written by Robert Bortins and Alex Newman. Discover the shocking truth about how current education reform efforts may actually accelerate the destruction of educational freedom. Through meticulous research, Woke and Weaponized traces the philosophical roots of educational corruption from Robert Owen and John Dewey to critical race theory, while offering practical strategies for families ready to pursue genuine educational independence. Join our exclusive list to be notified the moment it becomes available — plus receive special launch updates and insider information. www.WokeAndWeaponized.com

Panzerkreuzer Potemkin von Sergej Eisenstein gilt als Meisterwerk der Filmgeschichte. Der Grafiker und Musiker Jaroslaw Schwarzstein hat das Werk von 1905 mit Noten aus dem Moskauer Filmarchiv vertont und die Bilder zu einer Graphic Novel verarbeitet. Schwarzstein, Jaroslav www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Lesart

Panzerkreuzer Potemkin von Sergej Eisenstein gilt als Meisterwerk der Filmgeschichte. Der Grafiker und Musiker Jaroslaw Schwarzstein hat das Werk von 1905 mit Noten aus dem Moskauer Filmarchiv vertont und die Bilder zu einer Graphic Novel verarbeitet. Schwarzstein, Jaroslav www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Lesart

Berndt, Christian www.deutschlandfunk.de, Kultur heute

To quote the great Tom Gordon: "My office blew up."As we wait for new equipment in the wake of a mild electrical explosion incident, the crew discusses one of our oldest topics of interest: Buccini Pollin's attempts to reshape Wilmington's downtown into this video, and how it has played out in their new boutique grocery store.Show Notes:Donate to the Delaware CallCrepes, craft brews & more headed to Wilmington's Market StreetSneak peek of downtown Wilmington's only grocery store opening on Market StreetJordan Howell's east side pieces

Slovensko nie je len v hlbokom úpadku, my dnes padáme strmhlav do priepasti. Hovorí v Ráno Nahlas šéf NKÚ Ľubomír Andrassy. Tento pád nás bude veľmi bolieť. Nebude však bolieť tých, ktorí tu dlho parazitovali na verejných i EÚ zdrojoch, ale bude to bolieť nás - teda tých, ktorí odtiaľto nemajú kde a ani začo odísť, dodáva predseda Najvyššieho kontrolného úradu. A prečo nám zdravotníctvo ukradli lobisti?Úrad na ochranu oznamovateľov končí, po zániku verejnoprávnej RTVS je scenár už evidentne úplne jasný. Priveľa nezávislosti v tomto štáte môže mať fatálne následky. Môžete byť síce nezávislou inštitúciou v zmysle zákona, no ak sa tejto vládnej moci znepáčite, proste vás vygumujú. Bude ďalším na rade i samotné NKÚ?Najvyšší kontrolný úrad totiž už pol roka nepokryte a veľmi hlasno hovorí, že naše verejné zdravotníctvo ovládli záujmy súkromných lobistických skupín. To zdravotníctvo, do ktorého síce smeruje 10 miliárd ročne, no napriek tomu sa v ňom na drahé lieky pre našich blížnych zbierame po rôznych internetových charitách. Na miliónové zisky majiteľov Zdravotných poisťovní však akosi peniaze vždy sú. A premiér? Ten mlčí, k zisteniam NKÚ sa nevyjadruje a naše zdravie i životy - ako premiérsku tému, verejne uchopiť nechce. Miliardy z eurofondov pritom dokáže Slovensko čerpať iba v žalostnej desatine toho, čo sa nám ponúka. Ako to čerpanie vyzerá v praxi, nám priam demonštratívne predviedla takzvaná penziónová výzva. Penzióny, ktoré penziónmi nikdy neboli a v ktorej sa z vyše 50. skontrolovaných penziónov našli pochybenia v deviatich z nich, pričom šesť už vyšetrujú aj OČTK. Minister pôdohospodárstva problém nevidí no a PPAčka - známa aj z kauzy Dobytkár, stále nedisponuje pečiatkou dôveryhodnej inštitúcie. K tomu môžeme pripočítať aj kauzy ministra Migaľa či dnes už bývalého vicepremiéra Kmeca, ktorý po odvolaní z vlády mieri do čela parlamentného výboru. Natíska sa preto zásadná otázka. Naozaj vieme, kam všetky tie zvyšujúce sa dane či odvody, ktoré od nás táto vláda žmýka už v treťom konsolidačnom kole, smerujú, čo s nimi vláda robí a ako to, že ich nevidieť v zlepšujúcich sa službách tohto čoraz viac kolabujúceho a rozpadajúceho sa štátu? A ak to nevidieť a ani necítiť, prečo máme tento "Potemkin" - oficiálne zvaný aj ako Slovensko, vlastne financovať? A prečo nevyvodzujeme zodpovednosť za chyby či hriechy politikov a štátnych manažérov? Témy a otázky pre šéfa Najvyššieho kontrolného úradu. Ráno Nahlas, tentoraz opäť pravidelný rozhovor so šéfom NKÚ Ľubomírom Andrassym. Pekný deň a pokoj v duši praje Braňo Dobšinský.

Slovensko nie je len v hlbokom úpadku, my dnes padáme strmhlav do priepasti. Hovorí v Ráno Nahlas šéf NKÚ Ľubomír Andrassy. Tento pád nás bude veľmi bolieť. Nebude však bolieť tých, ktorí tu dlho parazitovali na verejných i EÚ zdrojoch, ale bude to bolieť nás - teda tých, ktorí odtiaľto nemajú kde a ani začo odísť, dodáva predseda Najvyššieho kontrolného úradu. A prečo nám zdravotníctvo ukradli lobisti?Úrad na ochranu oznamovateľov končí, po zániku verejnoprávnej RTVS je scenár už evidentne úplne jasný. Priveľa nezávislosti v tomto štáte môže mať fatálne následky. Môžete byť síce nezávislou inštitúciou v zmysle zákona, no ak sa tejto vládnej moci znepáčite, proste vás vygumujú. Bude ďalším na rade i samotné NKÚ?Najvyšší kontrolný úrad totiž už pol roka nepokryte a veľmi hlasno hovorí, že naše verejné zdravotníctvo ovládli záujmy súkromných lobistických skupín. To zdravotníctvo, do ktorého síce smeruje 10 miliárd ročne, no napriek tomu sa v ňom na drahé lieky pre našich blížnych zbierame po rôznych internetových charitách. Na miliónové zisky majiteľov Zdravotných poisťovní však akosi peniaze vždy sú. A premiér? Ten mlčí, k zisteniam NKÚ sa nevyjadruje a naše zdravie i životy - ako premiérsku tému, verejne uchopiť nechce. Miliardy z eurofondov pritom dokáže Slovensko čerpať iba v žalostnej desatine toho, čo sa nám ponúka. Ako to čerpanie vyzerá v praxi, nám priam demonštratívne predviedla takzvaná penziónová výzva. Penzióny, ktoré penziónmi nikdy neboli a v ktorej sa z vyše 50. skontrolovaných penziónov našli pochybenia v deviatich z nich, pričom šesť už vyšetrujú aj OČTK. Minister pôdohospodárstva problém nevidí no a PPAčka - známa aj z kauzy Dobytkár, stále nedisponuje pečiatkou dôveryhodnej inštitúcie. K tomu môžeme pripočítať aj kauzy ministra Migaľa či dnes už bývalého vicepremiéra Kmeca, ktorý po odvolaní z vlády mieri do čela parlamentného výboru. Natíska sa preto zásadná otázka. Naozaj vieme, kam všetky tie zvyšujúce sa dane či odvody, ktoré od nás táto vláda žmýka už v treťom konsolidačnom kole, smerujú, čo s nimi vláda robí a ako to, že ich nevidieť v zlepšujúcich sa službách tohto čoraz viac kolabujúceho a rozpadajúceho sa štátu? A ak to nevidieť a ani necítiť, prečo máme tento "Potemkin" - oficiálne zvaný aj ako Slovensko, vlastne financovať? A prečo nevyvodzujeme zodpovednosť za chyby či hriechy politikov a štátnych manažérov? Témy a otázky pre šéfa Najvyššieho kontrolného úradu. Ráno Nahlas, tentoraz opäť pravidelný rozhovor so šéfom NKÚ Ľubomírom Andrassym. Pekný deň a pokoj v duši praje Braňo Dobšinský.

If I were the Devil - by AI. Scary stuff, but always be weary of AI because it could just be written by a person attributed to ai. Campbells soup PR nightmare,95 dollar steak at the co-op according to Rath,Vivik wants to extend school to 4pm and make it year round,If you don't follow the wef plan they will destroy your economy,National guard attack in washington,Checklist for going live:Name of stream changedIntro songGood Morning, Everyone! Today is date#Cpd #lpc, #ppc, #ndp, #canadianpolitics, #humor, #funny, #republican, #maga, #mcga,Sign Up for the Full ShowLocals (daily video)Sample Showshttps://canadapoli2.locals.com/ Spotify https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/canadapoli/subscribePrivate Full podcast audio https://canadapoli.com/feed/canadapoliblue/Buy subscriptions here (daily video and audio podcast):https://canadapoli.cm/canadapoli-subscriptions/Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/c/CanadaPoli/videosMe on Telegramhttps://t.me/realCanadaPoliMe on Rumblehttps://rumble.com/user/CanadaPoli Me on Odysseyhttps://odysee.com/@CanadaPoli:f Me on Bitchutehttps://www.bitchute.com/channel/l55JBxrgT3Hf/ Podcast RSShttps://anchor.fm/s/e57706d8/podcast/rsshttps://LinkRoll.co Submit a link. Discuss the link. No censorship. (reddit clone without the censorship)

The church at Sardis reminds us that it is possible to appear spiritually alive while internally dying. A dying church is unacceptable to Jesus, and we should do everything possible to strengthen what remains and pursue life within ourselves and our church.Preached on October 26th, 2025 by Jared Kress. Series: "Revelation: Behold, He Is Coming" Primary Text: Revelation 3:1-6. Join us in person Sundays at 10:30am at 6325 Poplar Ave, Memphis TN or online at https://www.kirbywoods.org/live. Follow us online! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kirbywoodsmemphis Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirbywoodsmemphis YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kirbywoods Podcast: https://kirbywoodspodcast.buzzsprout.com

Legendary journalist and author Elizabeth Becker, who has spent her career bearing witness to the frontlines of history, joins us to talk about her new book, You Don't Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War ,a riveting account of three trailblazing female correspondents who shattered gender barriers to cover the Vietnam War. The book tells the stories of Frances FitzGerald, Kate Webb, and Catherine Leroy, but Elizabeth herself reported from Cambodia and Vietnam in the 1970s. Her courage and insight—captured in You Don't Belong Here—help redefine how we understand both war and the craft of journalism. We'll also explore Becker's earlier, haunting book, When the War Was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution. Drawing on her harrowing reporting in Cambodia, Becker offers an account of the Khmer Rouge's genocide. She became one of only two Western journalists to meet Pol Pot—an experience that forever shaped her understanding of power, propaganda, and human tragedy. That historic meeting has now inspired the new feature film Meeting with Pol Pot (2024), directed by acclaimed Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh. The dramatization follows three Western journalists navigating a tightly controlled “Potemkin village” as the regime teeters on the brink of collapse and mass murder is underway behind the scenes. The film, which premiered at Cannes in 2024, brings Becker's gripping firsthand account to life and raises questions about truth, memory, and the moral responsibility of journalists. As the character based on Becker—Lise Delbo, played by Irène Jacob—observes, “Genocide is also about silence. You don't see anything, you don't hear anything.” Elizabeth Becker is a pioneering journalist and author. She began her career as a war correspondent for The Washington Post in Cambodia and later served as The New York Times' Senior Foreign Editor. She has covered politics, economics, and international affairs for decades and is a sought-after commentator and lecturer. Her books—award-winning, deeply reported, and beautifully written—have reshaped how we understand Vietnam, Cambodia, and the role of women in war. Learn more: elizabethbecker.com/about | Reviews We're grateful to UPMC for Life  for sponsoring this event!

About a month ago, the foreign affairs and geopoltical media was abuzz with talk about the Victory Day military parade in Beijing. What had shocked was that, unlike the standard communist bloc military parades, with their thousands of Soviet-style tanks and armoured personnel carriers and well trained goose-steppers, this one showcased weaponry that could have come from a science fiction film: mobile, directed energy laser weapons; hypersonic glide vehicles; futuristic looking, fighter jet sized, loyal wingmen stealth drones; robot wolves; space defence systems.But was it real, or just a Potemkin arsenal driving past the Forbidden City? And if they were real, what do these things actually do? What do they mean for the balance of power in the western pacific? And, finally, as China climbs at breakneck speed up the military tech ladder, what does it mean for Washington's efforts to hold its defensive perimeter at the first Island Chain?Anybody interested in China's military tech, and especially its military aviation, will know TP Huang, an invaluable provider of detailed analysis on Beijing's ever greater military arsenal, and China's Beijing's technological progress more generally. He joins us for a special interview with Andrew. Multipolarity dialogues is a series of interview that scan the geopolitical horizon. We talk to some of the sharpest analysts, thinkers and experts about how they see the world beyond the visible edge of the geopolitical now.Remember you can get special paywalled premium episodes of Multipolarity every month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/multipolarity or by becoming a member on our YouTube Channel.

Uma trilha sonora memorável, uma praia cheia de turistas desavisados e um tubarão mecânico rebelde. Esses foram os elementos necessários para que um novo clássico do cinema estadunidense surgisse.Com filmagens conturbadas e o título de primeiro blockbuster de verão, Tubarão estreou nas telonas em 20 junho de 1975. Com um enredo relativamente simples, Steven Spielberg criou uma obra-prima que mudou para sempre nossa relação com as águas do mar.Para celebrar os 50 anos dessa joia cinematográfica, hoje nos dirigimos até Amity Island para conversar sobre como um simples tubarão branco entrou para a história do cinema e redefiniu todas as regras do jogo. O Cabana RdM começa agora.O RdMCast é produzido e apresentado por: Gabi Larocca, Thiago Natário e Gabriel Braga.ARTE DA VITRINE: Estúdio GrimESTÚDIO GRIM – Design para conteúdo digitalPortfólio: https://estudiogrim.com.br/Instagram @estudiogrimcontato@estudiogrim.com.brPODCAST EDITADO PORFelipe LourençoSEJA UM(A) APOIADOR(A)Apoie o RdM a produzir mais conteúdo e ganhe recompensas exclusivas!Acesse: https://apoia.se/rdmConheça a Sala dos Apoiadores: https://republicadomedo.com.br/sala-dos-apoiadores/CITADOS NO PROGRAMATubarão (1975)Tubarão 2 (1978)Tubarão 3 (1983)Tubarão 4: A Vingança (1987)off topicO Encouraçado Potemkin (1925)Encurralado (1971)Piranha (1978)Orca: A Baleia Assassina (1977)Megatubarão (2018)EpisódiosRdMCast #348 – Horror na estradaRdMCast #284 – Animais no HorrorTem algo para nos contar? Envie um e-mail!contato@republicadomedo.com.brTwitter: @RdMCastInstagram: Republica do Medo

Chris Brown plays clavinet and hammond organ on Potemkin City Limits! Chris's music: https://wolfeislandrecords.com/hughchristopherbrown/ Chris's record label Wolfe Island Records: https://wolfeislandrecords.com/ Pros and Cons Program: https://prosandconsprogram.com/podcast/

Mark Carney Potemkin Village Press Conference, Liberal Budget TrickeryBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/radio-baloney-the-richie-baloney-show--4036781/support.

In 1905, a Russian battleship crew said “enough.” Starving, abused, and fed up with maggot-ridden meat and brutal officers, the sailors aboard the Potemkin launched one of the most famous mutinies in naval history—an act of defiance that sent shockwaves through the Russian Empire. What followed was a chaotic, bloody standoff that played out across the Black Sea and the port of Odessa, inspiring revolutionaries and terrifying the Tsar. In today's episode Ben and Andrew tell the story of how one battleship became a symbol of resistance, rebellion, and revolutionary firepower.

Episode 43 pivots off of two emails received from followers of our reporting. Their observations lead to an analysis of the potential issues in next year's Mayoral and civic election. 5.53 Part 2 - "Fabulous results from your articles"A resident in the East Exchange notified us of two separate actions taken against illegal encampments- and gave credit to our reports about the relentless misery inflicted by homeless criminals on the neighborhood. Another listener told about their scary experience at the Alexander Docks the night before the sanitized 'Potemkin presser' held by The Forks and city officials.17.00- An overview of the continuing decline of the city and that may be alienating swing voters who supported Scott Gillingham in 2022. 25.44 - Listen to a letter from another follower, who put the ongoing hiring of Safety Officers and cadets under the microscope. "The public is misled. They don't understand thenuances and limitation of these roles. This includes no enforcement... No enforcement, Crime increases. Law Enforcement 101. ""What a mess for the tax payer," he concludes. Hear who he blames. The episode ends with a few observations about the state of public services- be it Happyland Pool, potholes, policing, paramedics or permits - and if that will influence whether people think the city is going in the right direction or in the wrong direction, when they go to the ballot box in 2026. *****In the Winnipeg Sun on Sunday- It seems that government housing units in Beausejour are being used to provide an address for justice-involvedpeople to be in compliance with conditions of their release. But this allows drug addicts, drug dealers, thieves and domestic abuse offenders to be released into the community to live alongside tenants of Manitoba Housing. Those folks -including mothers, children, caregivers and seniors – have not been warned of the increased risk being placed next door.Mayor Ray Schirle says he pressed Housing officials about that danger, only to be rebuffed with “we can't go into the house without giving them 48 hours notice. We can't do this, we can't do that, there was every excuse under the sun, except for how are we actually going to clean up this problem.”Read the exclusive report-Beausejour Mayor asks why criminals are being lodged in Manitoba Housing*****Our exclusive reports have earned the support of readers and listeners just like you- and whether it's $50 or $500, it helps us pay the costs of being on the beat, acting as Your Watchdog! To learn how to support our platform and the Season 6 campaign, email martygoldlive@gmail.com or go to https://actionline.ca/2024/02/donate-2/

President Donald Trump federalized DC law enforcement this week, raising all sorts of questions — about democracy, authoritarianism, sovereignty and legitimacy — that are natural fits for us to discuss here at Wisdom of Crowds. Yes, Trump's use of emergency powers to justify the takeover is constitutional, even if he is stretching the concept of what counts as an emergency. But Damir Marusic feels like things took a much darker turn this week, and nobody seems to have noticed. Weren't people in the streets at the mere suggestion that Trump would deploy troops to American cities four years ago — when doing so was arguably much more justified? Shadi Hamid thinks many Democrats are just too disgusted by their own party to be able to muster a response. What's the point? Anyway, like most Trump stuff, this is all just theater — Potemkin policing. Our democracy is still fine, isn't it?…isn't it?Required Reading:* “Trump has brilliantly orchestrated a legal coup,” by Kathleen Parker (WaPo).* “Donald Trump, DC Police Commissioner,” b y the Editorial Board (WSJ). This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wisdomofcrowds.live/subscribe

Darrell Castle discusses how thoroughly, completely, and totally the American people have been lied to and how Joe Biden's diagnosis of metastasized cancer is evidence of those lies. Transcription / Notes: THE OPPOSITE OF DEMOCRACY Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today's Castle Report. This is Friday the 23rd day of May in the year of our Lord 2025. This is Memorial Day weekend which is a time we are supposed to pause and remember those who fell in battle throughout the 250 years of America's existence. Just a three-day weekend for most people but for some a sad time and a reminder of lives that could have been. The purpose of this report today is not to discuss Memorial Day but to discuss how thoroughly, completely, and totally we have been lied to and how Joe Biden's diagnosis of metastasized cancer is evidence of those lies. The lies I just mentioned are of such profound importance because they go to the very heart of this Constitutional Republic or what the Democrat Politicians often refer to as “our democracy.” The lies were not just the usual wink of a politician's eye as if to say you know what I mean, right. No, these lies were not subtle and they were designed to systemically and ruthlessly mislead us as to the condition of Joe Biden and to deceive us in order to place an unelected cohort in the office of president of the United States. Every institution and every person that vouched for him and told us that he was sharp as a tack and that he ran rings around everybody should lose all credibility and should never be believed or trusted again. When he was a non-campaigning candidate in 2020 apparently just sitting at home while others did the work and spoke for him most of us knew something was wrong. He was elected anyway or was he.  Now, with this open deception I suppose it's OK if I say publicly, no, that election was not fair it was stolen. How do I know that, well, I don't but these people apparently lie about even the fact that their candidate is not the real candidate but who knows. I just know now without a doubt that the entire four years of his presidency was a complete lie and a fraud against the American people and their guarantee of the ability to freely select leaders. We could see the confusion in his eyes—his inability to complete a sentence—his stumbling walk—his falling asleep at critical moments, his shaking hands with ghosts. To point these things out was just pandering to extremists or cruelty, or worst of all, disinformation. We all saw it, but they covered it up. The White House staff insisted that he was sharp as a tack behind closed doors. Jake Tapper, who now spends his time selling his book refuting everything he once said was different when the machine he once worked for had power. Back in those days he told us that he knew the man and never saw any evidence of decline.  The sycophant media told us he was more engaged than ever. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, blamed a cold or a childhood stutter for the fact that he couldn't make a 10 minute speech and remain coherent. This was warfare conducted psychologically against the American people and against common sense. The old quip—who are you going to believe me or your lying eyes became reality instead of just a clever line. Leaked memos and emails from the White House admit the issues he suffered from and the treatment including stimulants used to keep him going. Whoever was exercising power in his place wanted desperately to keep it. He became, in effect, a Potemkin president or kind of like a movie set which is designed to confuse and hide the reality that the great naval battle just filmed was fought in a small swimming pool. Every decision made during his entire presidency is now in question. When I say in question I really mean discredited and invalid. The $93 million green energy spending scam-- the 1500 last minute pardons—the open borders admitting known criminals from the prisons of the world...

Es war ein feierlicher sogenannter Aufstellungsappell am Donnerstag in Vilnius. Die Panzerbrigade der Bundeswehr ist in Litauen in Dienst gestellt worden. Über die deutsche Brigade spricht Host Anna Engelke mit Marco Seliger. Für den Journalisten der NZZ und Bundeswehr-Kenner hat das eine historische Dimension. Erstmals seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg werde deutsches Militär mit einem Kampfverband außerhalb Deutschlands dauerhaft stationiert. Dies sei „tatsächlich im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes eine Zeitenwende“. Die Brigade der Bundeswehr soll bis Ende 2027 einsatzfähig sein. Laut aktuellen Umfragen stehen bis zu 90 Prozent der Litauer der Stationierung positiv gegenüber, erklärt Seliger. In ihrer Perzeption seien die deutsche Brigade und das deutsche militärische Engagement im Rahmen der Nato ihre Existenzversicherung. Allerdings gebe es Zweifel, ob Deutschland - wenn es zum Schwur käme - sein Beistandsversprechen einhalte. Kai Küstner fasst die aktuelle Lage in der Ukraine zusammen. Auch nach dem Telefonat der Präsidenten Trump und Putin gebe es nicht das geringste Anzeichen für eine Bewegung Richtung Feuerpause. Kai spricht mit Blick auf Friedenshoffnungen von “Potemkin'scher Diplomatie” Putins, weil vieles darauf hindeutet, dass er echte Verhandlungsbereitschaft nur vortäuscht. Während die EU ein 17. Sanktionspaket verabschiedet hat, scheint US-Präsident Trump den Druck auf Moskau nicht erhöhen zu wollen. Kai erläutert auch, was hinter der Aussage Putins steckt, in der Grenzregion zur Ukraine eine Pufferzone schaffen zu wollen. Lob und Kritik, alles bitte per Mail an streitkraefte@ndr.de Alle Folgen von “Streitkräfte und Strategien” https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/info/podcast2998.html Das ganze Interview mit Marco Seliger https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/info/Seliger-Paradigmenwechsel-in-der-deutschen-Sicherheitspolitk,audio1879272.html NSA-Report zu russischen Cyberangriffen https://www.nsa.gov/Press-Room/Press-Releases-Statements/Press-Release-View/Article/4193749/nsa-and-others-publish-advisory-warning-of-russian-state-sponsored-cyber-campai/ Link zu neuer Staffel von “Killed In Action – Trauma Bundeswehr” https://1.ard.de/Killed_in_Action_1 Stefan Niemann über NATO-Manöver an der Ostflanke auf tagesschau24 https://www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/video/video-1469548.html

American taxpayers may have flown Donald Trump to the Middle East, but he's not there to negotiate on behalf of our strategic or national interests—he's on the prowl for goodies, and happy to make policy changes in return. Like, the new Syrian president offering a Trump Tower in Damascus: Zap, sanctions on Syria are over. Or the jumbo jet-giving Qataris requesting that Trump go 'easy' on Iran: 'Not a problem, no sirree.' Sorry to all the hawkish Trump voters out there who thought he'd deliver a maximum pressure campaign on Tehran. Plus, Russia's Potemkin peace talks with Ukraine, and another installment from ICE's cold-blooded deportation campaign. Michael Weiss joins join Tim Miller. show notes Details on Qatar's 747 that no one wanted and is now being 'gifted' to Trump NYT on Trump's expensive mini war vs. the Houthis that achieved nothing (gift)  Rep. Garcia confronting Kristi Noem about Andry, the gay makeup artist The Triad on the new Afrikaner refugee who has thoughts about Jews 

Čo všetko je schopný urobiť premiér tejto krajiny aby zakryl svoju neschopnosť riešiť reálne problémy Slovenska? Premiérskou témou je kvalita života na Slovensku a od toho Fico neustále uteká, hovorí bývalá premiérka Iveta Radičová. Podľa nej sa premiér Fico dnes už ani netají snahou zmeniť režim na Slovensku, vládnuť krajine však zjavne nevie. Reč bude aj o zásadnej zmene chorého zdravotníctva.Pri príležitosti osláv konca Druhej svetovej vojny navštívil slovenský premiér Moskvu a tam rokoval priamo s Vladimírom Putinom, ktorý dnes vedie vojnu na Ukrajine. Opozícia v tom má jasno a označila to za akt vlastizrady a kolaborácie s nepriateľskou mocnosťou. Medzitým ako sa slovenský premiér klaňal vládcovi Kremľa, sa však štát, ktorý vedie - či by ho aspoň viesť mal, rozpadá doslova v priamom prenose.Stav verejných financií sa napriek opakovanej konsolidácií, ktorá nám zvýšila dane a zhoršila služby štátu, príliš nezlepšil no a to nás čaká ešte ďalšie uťahovanie opaskov. Zatialčo vláda siahla na daňové bonusy na deti či šikanuje podnikateľov bizarnou transakčnou daňou, sama sa ukromniť odmieta. Ministrom rapídne narástli platy, šéf rezortu vnútra objednal pre policajtov kávové uniformy a počítače za tritisíc no a pod rukami PPA nám tu rozkvitli penziony - nepenzióny.Namiesto riešenia reálnych problémov sa ale vládna koalícia neustále zaoberá sama sebou, utočí na média či mimovládny sektor no a dokonca vedie ľúty boj za práva extrémistu Bombica či konšpirátora Kotlára..Asi najlepšie úpadok štátu definoval šéf NKÚ, ktorý v rozhovore pre Aktuality povedal, že ministerstvo zdravotníctva ovládli lobisti a štát v oblasti zdravia na verejný záujem jednoducho rezignoval. Kam teda smeruje Slovensko pod touto vládou? Podari sa Robertovi Ficovi uniesť krajinu z Európy a dokedy sa vôbec dá tento Potemkin - vydávaný za štát, ešte predstierať a imitovať modernú a funkčnú demokraciu? Naozaj práve toto voliči chcú a stačí im to? No a kde je silná, jednotná a najmä zmysluplná alternatíva politickej opozície? Témy pre bývalú premiérku a profesorku sociológie Ivetu Radičovú.Stále častejšie som svedkom "úteku od slobody," kde mnohým ľuďom je sloboda na príťaž. Máme v sebe veľký potenciál prispôsobovania sa, ktorý v nás táto vládna garnitúra živí vetami typu: Nechajme Rusa, veď on raz odíde. Nie, neodíde. Keď raz príde, buď ho pošlete preč alebo zostane - v našich hlavách, " hovorí expremiérka Radičová. Počúvate Ráno Nahlas, dnes s bývalou premiérkou a sociologičkou Ivetou Radičovou. Pekný deň a pokoj v duši praje Braňo Dobšinský.

V brunejskom sultanáte, kde neplatia žiadne civilizované pravidlá, by sa to azda dalo, ale tu - v európskej krajine, je to čistý Potemkin, kritizuje vládny zámer výstavby nemocnice v Bratislave poslanec KDH Peter Stachura. A ako sa dokázala ficova vláda vyrovnať s neobvykle ostrou kritikou zdravotníctva z dielne NKÚ?Zdravotníctvo, to je téma, ktorá i podľa opakovaných prieskumov trápi Slovákov asi najviac zo všetkého. Niet divu. Napriek tomu, že do systému nalievame čoraz viac miliárd, jeho úroveň sa prakticky vôbec nezlepšuje, ba práve naopak. Asi najvýstižnejšie - a na základe hĺbkových kontrol, to pomenoval šéf NKÚ. Podľa neho ministerstvo zdravotníctva ovládli lobisti súkromných finančných skupín a štát rezignoval na verejný záujem i záujmy nás - pacientov. No a premiér - namiesto toho, aby si zo zdravia občanov spravil kľúčovú agendu svojho vládnutia, vsadil na podporu konšpiračných teórií vládneho splnomocnenca Petra Kotlára.Počúvate Aktuality Nahlas, dnes o slovenskom zdravotníctve. Hovoriť budeme o výstavbe koncovej nemocnice v hlavnom meste Slovenska - Bratislave. Tá sa síce začala už za bývalého socialistického režimu, no ani za takmer 40 rokov "slovenského" kapitalizmu, nemocnica stále nijako neexistuje.No a ako si má verejnosť preložiť slová šéfa Najvyššieho kontrolného úradu, ktorý - v Aktualitách, na základe hĺbkových kontrol, hovorí o absolútnom rozklade systému solidárneho zdravotníctva na Slovensku a jeho ovládnutí parazitujúcimi lobistickými záujmami?Čo s tým a dá sa táto chobotnica ozaj veľkých peňazí a čisto privátnych záujmov vôbec rozpliesť? No a prečo premiér namiesto boja s lobistami radšej podporuje taženie antivaxerov? Téma pre poslanca KDH a lekára Petra Stachuru. Vypočujete si však aj slová šéfa LOZ Petra Visolajského a predsedu NKÚ Ľubomíra Andrassyho.Počúvate Aktuality Nahlas, pekný deň a pokoj v duši praje Braňo Dobšinský.

THE POTEMKIN PEACE PLAN by The Charles T. McDowell Center for Global Studies and Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center

Former Conservative and UKIP MP Douglas Carswell recently published his nine ‘Milestones' to fix Britain's many problems. We go in depth on these with Douglas for the latest episode of The Current Thing, as we discuss: -How to fix Britain's legal and illegal migration problem -Why the ‘Boriswave' happened -How Tony Blair's legacy ruined Britain -Why we have ended up with radical left ‘activist judges' -Why the cabinet system of government is a ‘Potemkin charade' -How ministers can take back control from the Blob -Why we need a ‘moral awakening' -Why he is sceptical about the imminent threat of civil unrest -His take on Reform UK and the Tories -Why he is still optimistic about Britain And loads more The full version is only available to paid subscribers, so click here: https://www.nickdixon.net/p/douglas-carswell-how-to-fix-britain Get all full episodes with top guests, join Nick's private chat group, and of course support the podcast and help us save Britain, all for just £5 by going to nickdixon.net Or make a one-off donation here, thanks: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/nickdixon Nick's links Substack: nickdixon.net YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nick_dixon X: https://twitter.com/nickdixoncomic

In this episode, the Goods from the Woods Boys are THRILLED to welcome comedian John-Michael Bond back to Disgraceland for an extremely funny episode. We start in our own backyard as Sam and Rivers investigate Kanye West's recent casting call for a VERY controversial music video right down the street from Disgraceland. We finally try out the original Red Bull from Thailand and Rivers talks about the new local villain from his hometown Facebook page. Blue Oyster Cult's "Burnin' for You" is our JAM OF THE WEEK! Give us a listen, folks.  Follow John-Michael on TikTok @JohnMichaelBond, on Instagram @JohnMichaelsMistakes, and on Twitter @BondJohnBond  Follow the show on all the socials @TheGoodsPod   Rivers is @RiversLangley  Sam is @SlamHarter  Carter is @Carter_Glascock  Subscribe on Patreon for the UNCUT video version of this episode as well as TONS of bonus content!  http://patreon.com/TheGoodsPod   Pick up a Goods from the Woods t-shirt here:  http://prowrestlingtees.com/TheGoodsPod

Listeners-we're sorry! We uploaded this episode but it disappeared off the podcast distributor for some reason. -The left half of the country, and a good portion of the right, is defenseless against covert narcissism. They're treating Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a poor bullied little boy, and castigating Trump and Vance as "bullies." This is the biggest moral reversal of the current Trump era. -As children pay for the crimes of their abusive parents, so do normal, tough men pay for the crime of setting limits and boundaries. The reaction to the oval office meeting this week shows more than half the country will turn on their own president working in their own interests. It's a pure form of Cluster B reversal that should be preserved in amber for posterity. -Potpourri due Moquerie takes on Wisconsin's ban on the words "mother" and "husband," troons gone wild who still get called ladies in headlines, and deviant demands to Kenyon College to venerate trannies above all other gods. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Language Failure: How Words Shape Our RealityA Long-Form Summary of the PodcastOpening Hook: The Illusion of RealityImagine walking through downtown San Francisco. On your phone, you see pristine streets and a bustling city. But when you look up, the reality is starkly different—crumbling infrastructure, vacant storefronts, and widespread urban decay. This isn't an episode of Black Mirror; it's what happened in 2023 when San Francisco created a Potemkin village—a facade meant to impress foreign dignitaries while hiding the city's deeper issues.This phenomenon isn't just about urban aesthetics; it signals something deeper: the failure of language to accurately reflect reality. When we manipulate language, we manipulate perception, and when perception detaches from truth, society begins to collapse.The San Francisco example proves that we know what a functional city looks like—we can manufacture an illusion of order when necessary—but we don't maintain it. Instead, we mask the problem rather than solving it. This mirrors the broader theme of the podcast: language, like infrastructure, is breaking down, and instead of repairing it, we disguise its failure with illusions.The Problem: The Breakdown of RealityWhat happens when our words and perceptions no longer match reality?We see this in:Infrastructure decay: Baltimore's bridge collapse, failing subway systems, and deteriorating roads.Media and distraction: Instead of addressing problems, we divert our attention—scrolling through TikTok instead of engaging with real-world issues.Social and political discourse: Headlines inflame emotions, but we rarely engage with the underlying facts.We live in a loop of anxiety and escape, toggling between existential threats and dopamine-fueled distractions. This is not just modern life—it's a historical pattern that has preceded societal collapse before.Historical Warning Signs: Orwell, Cuenco, and the Soviet UnionMost people remember 1984 for its themes of surveillance and thought control. But Orwell also illustrated a world where physical reality itself was decaying—the elevators don't work, the food rations shrink, and yet, the Party insists everything is improving.Michael Cuenco builds on this idea in his 2021 essay, Victory Is Not Possible, arguing that today's culture wars function in the same way as Orwell's language control. The ruling elite isn't just lying—it's actively shrinking language, making dissent impossible because people lack the vocabulary to express opposition.The Soviet Union offers another chilling parallel. Adam Curtis's documentary, HyperNormalisation, explores how, in the USSR's final years, everyone knew the official narrative was false—record-breaking harvests were announced while store shelves were empty. But rather than resist, people played along, creating a world where fantasy replaced reality.The result? A world where illusions become more real than facts. People, exhausted by the gap between truth and propaganda, retreated into cynicism, vodka, and pop culture.Today, we are experiencing a similar detachment from reality—not through authoritarian control, but through semantic drift, emotional manipulation, and digital distractions.The Mechanism: How Language Becomes UntetheredHow does language lose its connection to reality? Through concept creep and false logic.Concept Creep (Semantic Drift)Words broaden in meaning, diluting their original precision.Example: Trauma once meant a physical wound (1850s), but by 1895, William James and Freud extended it to psychological wounds. Today, it describes any discomfort—I was traumatized by cold coffee.Hyperbole and Semantic InflationOveruse weakens terms: Abuse now includes neglect, fascism is applied to trivial disagreements, bullying can refer to mere criticism.Example: Courage once meant facing real danger, but now can mean avoiding offense.Semantic InversionWords flip in meaning—what was once good can become bad and vice versa.Example: Freedom increasingly means freedom from reality and consequences rather than actual agency.When words become unanchored from objective meaning, they create ideological vacuums—leaving us drifting like astronauts in space, weightless, disconnected, and incapable of grappling with reality.The Ladder of False Logic: How We Convince Ourselves of LiesThe Ladder of Inference, or false logic, explains how we trick ourselves into believing distorted realities:Observable Facts – A politician says, Education is declining despite higher spending.Selected Data – You focus on a single phrase that confirms your bias.Interpretation – This sounds like something a dictator would say.Assumption – They must have a hidden agenda.Conclusion – They're trying to destroy public education.Belief – They are evil and must be stopped.Action – Post an outraged rant online, comparing them to Hitler.Each step takes you further from reality—until your worldview becomes purely ideological, detached from objective facts.At this point, we are radicals—not because of some external manipulation, but because we self-radicalized through unchecked emotional reasoning.The Philosophical Root: Kant's Detachment from RealityMatthew Crawford critiques Immanuel Kant, arguing that his philosophy set the stage for modern detachment from reality.Kant suggested true freedom means acting according to self-imposed rational laws, independent of external influences.This led to a view of reality as subjective—where internal logic overrides external truth.Instead of grounding ourselves in the real world, we live in a mental space station, floating free but becoming increasingly weak and incapable of dealing with reality.Astronauts in zero gravity may enjoy their detachment, but their bones and muscles deteriorate. Likewise, the more detached we are from reality, the weaker our ability to engage with it becomes.Contemporary Crisis: The Illusion EconomyModern financial markets and politics operate not on productivity or value, but on perception and emotion.Stocks rise and fall based on optimism, not output.Presidential campaigns are waged on vibes, not policy.Social movements focus on interpretations rather than material outcomes.In San Francisco, the government hid homelessness rather than solving it. This is how language manipulation replaces action.When words detach from material reality, truth becomes contingent, and society drifts into ideological orbit.The Challenge of Re-Entry: Reclaiming RealityHow do we return from orbit and reconnect words with truth?Verify personally – Base beliefs on direct observation, not media narratives.Reality-check assumptions – Climb down the ladder of inference before reacting.Resist semantic drift – Demand precision in language.Closing: The Fight for TruthWe are at a turning point. We can either continue floating in ideological orbit, or we can re-enter reality.Re-entry is painful. It requires effort, humility, and engagement with the material world—but it's necessary.In the next episode, we'll explore specific tools for resisting semantic drift and maintaining a clear connection to reality.Until then, stay grounded.

In this episode of Spirit Box, I'm joined by the multitalented Carl Abrahamsson, a photographer, a writer, filmmaker, and magician deeply embedded in the world of esotericism.We discuss his latest book, Meetings with Remarkable Magicians: Life in the Occult Underground, which explores his encounters with some of the most fascinating figures in contemporary esotericism, offering unique insights into their practices, philosophies, and influence on modern occult culture.Carl shares his creative journey, from his early influences—shaped by avant-garde art and music—to his academic work on Aleister Crowley's influence in cinema. He provides insights into his experiences with notable occult figures, including his time with the Church of Satan and his connections to Kenneth Anger and Genesis P. Orridge.In the Plus show, we delve into the role of artists as vessels for magical currents, the impact of psychedelic experiences on art, and the necessity of holistic approaches to modern challenges. Along the way, we touch on everything from the power of old films to the importance of trusting one's inner voice. We also explore the evolving landscape of occult publishing, the mainstreaming of esoteric thought, and the importance of creativity as a means of self-discovery.Join us for a wide-ranging conversation on magic, creativity, and the ever-changing nature of the occult underground.Show Notes:Carl's websitehttps://www.carlabrahamsson.comMeetings with Remarkable Magicians: Life in the Occult Undergroundhttps://www.amazon.com/stores/Carl-Abrahamsson/author/B0773LJ92XCarl's Substackhttps://thefenriswolf.substack.comPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/vanessa23carlLucifer Risinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yc24lIdb_8The Holy Mountainhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avTOLTUqf1w&rco=1Sergei Eisensteinhttps://www.britannica.com/biography/Sergey-EisensteinBattleship "Potemkin" by Sergei Eisensteinhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_bkBbrdyywEisenstein on Joycehttps://www.nova-nevedoma.com/eisenstein-about-joyce/Kenneth Angerhttps://www.anothermag.com/design-living/14890/cult-filmmaker-kenneth-anger-on-his-relationship-with-the-occultAnton LeVayhttps://www.britannica.com/biography/Anton-LaVeyGenesis P. Orridgehttps://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/mar/15/genesis-p-orridge-obituaryKeep in touch?https://linktr.ee/darraghmasonMusic by Obliqkahttps://soundcloud.com/obliqka

Did you know that Joseph Stalin could sing with perfect pitch? Or that he was so scared of his wife that he would hide from her in the bathroom? Did you know that Peter the Great liked to surround himself with naked dwarfs? Did you know that Catherine the Great—long smeared as a nymphomaniac—was actually a lovelorn monogamist? Or that King Herod's genitals once exploded with maggots? Most historians bore you with dry accounts of battles and treaties, and it's hard to remember any of it. But not Simon Sebag Montefiore, who writes 900 pages that you cannot put down. Sebag is one of the most important historians alive today. His many books, like Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar, The Romanovs, and Catherine the Great & Potemkin are essential to understanding power, politics, revolution, dictatorships, and above all, human nature. While most of Sebag's books are biographies of people, Jerusalem is a biography of a city—a city, as he writes, that is “the house of the one God, the capital of two peoples, the temple of three religions, and the only city to exist twice in heaven and on earth.” The book takes you through Jerusalem's 3,000-year history, from King David to Bibi Netanyahu. It is a must-read. It has sold more than a million copies, and it has just been reissued in paperback. With the ceasefire deal underway in Israel and with Trump a few weeks into his second presidency, we could not think of a better person to talk to than Simon about this moment and how to understand it.  Header 6: The Free Press earns a commission from any purchases made through all book links in this article. If you liked what you heard from Honestly, the best way to support us is to go to TheFP.com and become a Free Press subscriber today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Swapping out Biden for Kamala has been such a big mood boost that consumer confidence among Dems and independents is suddenly surging. Meanwhile, Trump keeps having Potemkin press conferences as a ploy to reclaim the narrative. Plus, Bond-style villains have made hating Project 2025 so easy, and the 'suckers and losers' guy again shows that he doesn't respect the troops.  Brian Beutler joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod. show notes: Brian's piece on mass psychology Tim's playlist