Podcasts about rationally

A Butterfly wants to kill the World?Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.Although Love is both fire and shadow, we often forget to take comfort from the coolness of the memories when the burning flames are absentThere were precisely two things, okay, four things, keeping me alive. The fourth thing would come to her later when her 'furious was replaced by her 'curious' ~ as in how I knew her inhuman lingo ~ which would lead to my legacy with Grandpa.The top three reasons -She had poked my chest. It was a challenge, calling for one of my guardians to come out and play. The avatar knew I was the chosen heir of the Goddess Ishara and my goddess had devoted a good deal of time and effort to my survival and continued service in her cause. If Ishara made an 'appearance', it would be enough reason to not eviscerate me for my foul treatment of her august personage.Nope. It seemed Ishara was busy at the moment.Still, she most likely knew SzelAnya had shown a keen interest in me in Romania, though I'd never told Selena, or any other member of the 9 Clans, the Dragon's Daughter had killed Ajax for me. Figuring out SzelAnya, a storm deity, had helped me and Aya escape from our kidnapping in the midst of a cyclone in the Pacific Ocean wasn't much of a reach.But no bolt of lightning coalesced from my chest to singe her finger. No clap of thunder. Not even a cloud with a hint of disfavor appeared above us.Her obsidian fingernail began penetrating my shirt, touched my skin, then drew my blood, and something 'twitched'.That would be Contestant Goddess #3. She wasn't actually hanging around me. She didn't have to. She'd left me a memento of our last shindig before we parted ways. That was the nightmare-inducing episode where she, the chthonic goddess Sarrat Irkalli, had compressed one man's body into a dagger and then proceeded to suck another's soul into it to use as a power source for an Airbus 350 (a commercial airliner, if you didn't know).I still had that snaggletooth-looking thing at my back. Well who the Hell was I going to leave it with? Honestly, the only people I felt could keep it safe I loved too much to curse with it. Anyway, the second her divine claw touched my blood, the long dormant weapon whispered to me in a somewhat bored, lofty feminine voice from beyond the grave,Do you want me to discorporate this pathetic has-been for you?Quick check. Only the avatar and I, and her priestess-savant heard that. Of course, in downtown, New York City, noon Sunday, how weird would such a declaration be? The avatar's eyebrow arched. Her big bat-ears (still looking human to the normal viewing public) flicked this way and that, figuring out precisely where the threat originated from. Slowly, her once poking hand began to slide across my chest, along my ribs and around my back.She touched the dagger. Nothing.Gingerly, she drew it forth. I'd had a makeshift sheath made. As the blade made its journey around me, she took a half-step back to better observe it."Please don't kill him!" Theddy squealed. "We haven't had sex yet!"Being 'who' and 'what' she was, the avatar did what came natural. Fortunately for Theddy, I'd become accustomed to working with psychopaths.She stabbed the dagger at Theddy. I clamped my hand down on her wrist. The claws of her left hand came down on my constraining wrist. My free hand came down on that hand, trying to pry it free. It was a hopeless struggle, except.Yes, my old friend 'except'. Except the avatar was holding the dagger. As powerful as Ītzpāpālōtl was, she wasn't pushing against me. She was pushing against Sarrat Irkalli.Ītzpāpālōtl was a living, breathing terror machine who killed and received sacrifices on a regular basis.Sarrat Irkalli hadn't been actively worshipped in 3,000 years.Uneven contest? Oh yeah.See, Ītzpāpālōtl had spent the past 500 years continuously fighting against the Weave to keep her fingers on this side of reality.Meanwhile, for the most part, Sarrat Irkalli had sat upon her throne in the Sumerian Underworld with hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of souls toiling under her watchful gaze for eternity. Sure, her version of Hell wasn't getting any fresh deposits, but she knew how to milk the system well.Even the bad karma for the dagger's creation wasn't hers. She'd stolen it from the foolish Gong Tau sorcerers who had meant to enslave my soul, aka one-third of the Baraqu-Alal-Cáel deal she'd worked out millennia ago. It was the Weave giving her a 'freebie' for playing by the rules, if you considered the Weave sentient.And now Ītzpāpālōtl was touching it. Whoops. It wasn't as if Ītzpāpālōtl was stupid. It isn't like there are tons of magic weapons running around, much less soul-munchers like the one I had. Rationally, who would give a novice like me, a weapon like this? I say again, 'whoops'.Once I'd figured this out, I couldn't stop being me."Theddy, do you like girls?""What?" she squeaked. Here was this psycho trying to drive a Smilodon incisor into her bosom and I was giving her a sex quiz.Ītzpāpālōtl was really starting to struggle now."I, ah, are you okay?" she continued."Oh, I'm dandy. I'm serious. You think this chick is hot? I mean, would you do her in a three-way?" I proposed casually."Timothy?" Sovann."Bro?" Timothy to me."It's all good. Sovann, you want to know what my life is like? This lady who came to discuss business with me today is an immortal mass murderer. You give the word, I'll let go and this knife is going to cut her up like a Ginsu blade on market day because just cutting her heart out isn't going to be enough. Worse. Eventually she'll get back up.""Timothy?" Sovann repeated, this time with more concern. He thought I was nuts. I released my left hand. The blade flipped up, twisting in the avatar's grasp. That was the point her minions figured out something was wrong."El Amado?" the priestess-savant called out softly. The three goons began reaching for 'things'."Call them off, or I open my other hand," I cautioned the avatar. She spared me a swift, hostile look. My fingers tingled."Esten quietos!" she snapped. They stopped."Cáel, bad day, or not. This isn't you. Stop it. The girl's in danger," Timothy spoke up. He didn't mean Theddy. He meant the avatar."I'm being a real asshole, aren't I?" I sighed."Pretty much. You never let the bitches get to you before. Girl pops an attitude, you smile and move on. Life is too short," he reminded me. Too true."I'm going to put my hand over the blade," I told Ītzpāpālōtl. "When I do, you can let go."She didn't say anything for several seconds, even after my left hand covered the semi-serrated edge."Why should I trust you?" she sizzled."Because 'me' letting anything bad happen to you would make me a total, judgmental jerk. I don't know you. Whatever you did before you showed up today shouldn't matter to me. I acted stupidly. I should have stopped you. I didn't. I didn't even warn you and I could have. I was angry, and not even at you. Just angry and I apologize. Now, let go.""Why?""Hi. I'm Cáel Nyilas. Can I have my knife back? Please?"Blink. She released it. For a millisecond, it wanted to do something else because bitches are bitches. It didn't, so my palm wasn't sliced open. My right hand took the hilt. I carefully put the blade away."Yes," Theddy gulped."Huh?" Sovann shook his head at the sudden evaporation of the life and death tension. Welcome to my life. Theddy meant 'yes' to the 'girl-girl-guy' thing I had proposed earlier. It pays to keep things prioritized."What is this movie you were talking about?" Ītzpāpālōtl asked. Had she forgiven me for anything which had transpired? Bwahahaha, no way. She was taking the initiative and going with Option 1 from my earlier insane diatribe."Wait!" Sovann nearly shouted. "You nearly, I don't know, threatened Cáel's life and tried to stab Theddy and now you think you can go with us to a movie?""I told you," Timothy put an arm around his shoulder, "life with Cáel is rarely dull.""I thought you meant he was fun to party with, or something like that," Sovann looked up at his lover. "I thought his uncle showing up, and trying to kill him and then being blown the fuck away by those women and federal agents, and that other girl who pointed a gun at us, is this the new normal?""I love you, Sovann," Timothy grew compassionate. "Cáel is my best friend. He'd never deliberately hurt either of us and normal friends are something he has in short supply. Today being a great case in point."Ten seconds passed."The title is 'As Above, So Below'," Sovann addressed the avatar, "and what do we call you?"Since 'if you are not a worshiper and addressing me, I normally am about to kill you' would sound really cool in Olmec-ic, but I might be asked to translate,"How about we go with 'Obsidian', please?" I pleaded with her.She knew I was currying favor now ~ and behaving like a weather vane caught in the wall of a tornado ~ she gave a gracious bow of her head."Obsidian will do for now. Is the Legend of the dagger 'business'?" Translation: it had better not be."No," I smiled. "It's pillow talk." Rancor, 'how presumptuous', followed by 'but that dagger ups the count to three Goddess interested in him', and next to recalling all the trivial babble about me being a sexual dynamo (I prayed my PR was that good) having some relevance. Her chimera emotions allowed me to get a few more crucial words out, because even women who aren't sleeping with me are jealous."Esta mujer fue la primera en ofrecer bienes funerarios tras la muerte dee mi padre," I reinserted Theddy back into my close company. For some reason, Obsidian considered me unreliable thus had to verify what I'd just said."Did you make funerary offering upon his father's passing?" she asked Theddy. Let's think about this. The wacko chick questioning Theddy had tried to stab a huge freaking blade into her not a minute ago. Fleeing in terror while screaming for the cops? Nope."Yes. I baked him some walnut and caramel chip cookies," she nodded. "It is a family recipe." Sovann looked over the three of us, then back to Timothy."I told you 'that's impressive cocking like I've never seen before'," he explained."She may remain," Obsidian 'permitted'. Theddy wrapped up my right arm with her left and gave it a squeeze. She wanted attention/explanation."Obsidian is a Master Vampire, Theddy," I leaned in and whispered. "Before she was turned, she was captured in a raid by the fey, mentally, spiritually and physically raped and made into their sex-slave. Part of her spirit never healed properly. While this imperfection allows her to walk around in daylight, her heart can never hold on to any emotion for long, so she is forced to forever seek passion, no matter how dangerous, from the world around her."Revealing secrets? Ha. I had noticed Theddy had every work done by Laurel K. Hamilton in her place, including the comic book series."You are not supposed to know, so act like I didn't tell you anything, okay?"'Okay,' she mouthed back at me. I could see it in her eyes. My chaotic life suddenly 'made sense' to her because a best-selling fiction author said so.Obsidian thought the movie was; hilarious. She couldn't stop snickering, giggling and poking at me as horrible shit happened to the various actors. She thought the plot was 'insightful' and wouldn't stop whispering to me throughout the entire thing. During the closing credits, I told her I'd get her the DVD for Christmas ~ she knew the concept behind digital technology, but didn't own any ~ she kissed me.The first kiss was fierce and joyous with the added benefit of her tongue doing things no normal tongue could do, it stretched. Not sure how I felt about that. The second kiss was more sultry, longer and came with some accompanying body action which, I'm no virgin. Not even close. She was on my left side, so when she twisted in her seat, her left leg insinuated itself between mine. Her left hand cupped my jaw and held my head in place as her lips played along mine.A dance of the scorpion perhaps? Tender at first, then suddenly stabbing, dominant and brutal. My lips and tongue battled back, using my superior Kiss-fu to nullify her natural strength and agility. She liked it. By her moaning, she liked it a lot. As the kiss progressed, more and more of her flowed from her seat into my seat, body facing me. Her body rose over mine, forcing my neck back to maintain contact."So, Dot Ishara is hovering around somewhere close, isn't she?" I murmured as our lips separated barely a centimeter apart. One chick kissing you to make another one jealous. It's happened to me plenty of times. Obsidian didn't give a damn about Theddy, or any other mortal woman in close proximity so,"Yes," she purred. "Do you mate with her?""A man does not brag of such things, but no, unless heavy petting counts?""What will she do to you when I steal your seed?"'When'? Why was I not surprised? Why was I not surprised another concussion was in my immediate future either? Was it possible I was, learning?"Chastise me for not fighting harder," I breathed across her lips, "and, in case you forgot, I'm on a date with the girl beside me.""Who I care nothing for," she sent a cruelly playful look Theddy's way. Wisely, the girl shivered."Who I am indebted to and how I honor my debts might matter to you," I hazarded. My words hurt Theddy's feelings. That was on purpose. Obsidian took pleasure in me hurting Theddy because she was basically a vicious monster."Yes?" I pressed her gently."Yes," Obsidian allowed, easing up slightly both romantically and physically."And Theddy, if you believe I'm with you solely because of some sense of obligation, you clearly haven't been listening to your recordings," I shot the human girl a wink."Oh.""Am I, or am I not, a sex-obsessed little monkey?" I teased her. Theddy giggled. I paid for my diversion with four obsidian claws to my ribs outside of Theddy's view. After all, it wasn't like Theddy could possibly compete with her for my attention. Considering Obsidian's legendary ability to rip open her opponent's ribcages and feast upon their hearts, I slipped my left hand, the one next to her between her legs and stroked her cotton-slacks covered cunt.Theddy hugged my right arm and put her head against my shoulder. Not to be outdone," Qu  un centenar dee hombres se quemaron vivos como el sonido?" Obsidian inquired with sexually sadistic hunger. Ah, memories of burning 7P Commandos.Whoops. Theddy knew Spanish."No lo s . Ten an respiradores en," I replied casually. "Si lo desea, puedo describir lo que se siente al tirar de una flecha de guerra lanzar mi propio muslo.""Eep," slipped out of Theddy's lips."Why did you do that?" Obsidian looked over us both."Well, I was showing a little girl I believed in her,""And she shot you?" Theddy gulped."No. She hit the target I was standing next to. A co-worker mistook me for a cardboard cutout of a Jehovah's Witness and let fly. Seems she had issues with organized religion as well as a reaction to the oscillation effect of florescent lighting and ceiling fans.""But why did you pull the arrow out?" Theddy asked. "Couldn't you wait until you got to the hospital?""Mosquito," Obsidian menaced, insinuating Theddy was a pest."I wasn't thinking rationally at the moment, I work in an asylum, I had a hot date in a few hours, any of those three will do," I smiled at Theddy."Copil such as Cáel don't bother with petty human conventions," Obsidian turned my gaze back her way with her hand on my jaw. 'Copil's were 'god-touched' in her lingo."More than one girl?" Theddy mused."Four.""Okay," she sighed happily."Theddy, three under-age girls and the police office he was dating acting as their chaperone," Timothy intervened. "He hurried home so he could keep a promise to the children, not for sex." Bastard. He really was my best friend. He didn't mention my post-injury, pre-festivity sex with Odette giving me a few extra, urgently needed Brownie Points to suggest I might be a decent human being."You are a wonderful guy," Theddy ran a fingernail over my free hand. Clearly I was 'wonderful' enough to risk Obsidian's anger over. The screen went blank as the last credits scrolled away and the room was plunged into darkness. Five seconds later, the lights snapped on.Pain!"Fuck," I hissed. It wasn't any extra physical trauma causing me discomfort. No, a metaphysical dam had burst within and my stream of conscious thought had been turned into a white-water rapids. The competing cyclones of thoughts in my mind had stopped cooperating and my hypothalamus was letting me know I was in danger."Cáel", "Cáel", "Bro", and "Ishara" all came in rapid succession. I needed some space both tangible and social."I need to step outside," I eased Obsidian off me and stood up. My sense of my personal danger was ratcheting up. While I had been studying Obsidian, so I could screw her, I had discovered more and more Alal-badness.The light display had ignited a series of pressing implanted memories which had been clamoring for my attention. Things like not all 'divinities' were stewards of the Weave. Some even wanted its destruction, preferring risking all on a chaotic restructuring of reality over what existed now ~ things like Obsidian. They weren't attempting to do so because they thought they had no chance.But there was. A real serious chance to unravel reality existed; and it was staring her in the face. It wasn't 'me' as in 'I was the Anti-Christ'. But with the torrent of memories pouring forth, I knew where the peril lay and I was completely responsible for it. Hell, I was a prime ally of Armageddon and hadn't even known it.'Holy Shit!'I blinked. Timothy was shaking me. We were out in the lobby."Oh my God, Timothy," I nearly wept. "What am I going to do?""I have no idea what you are talking about. Is there someone you can talk to about this?" he suggested. Normal folks were around us. Obsidian was at my side. Sovann was behind Timothy with an arm around Theddy's shoulder."Theddy," I looked at her. "Can I catch up with you later? I just realized I've screwed up something fierce." I put my best 'really don't want to go but I gotta' face on. Her worried look brightened, she slipped around Timothy and gave me a tingling French kiss."I'll hold you to that, Cáel," she murmured when we parted."Timothy, go home, I got shit to deal with," I hoped my grin didn't become as feeble as I felt it to be."I," he started to say something. "Time not to ask questions?""Yeah.""Okay.""Wait." I pulled us to the side and went on to my toes, leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Tell Pamela 'he' sent Ajax to kill the Professor, his family and the sisters. They were the targets all along. It wasn't me, or the other women. Just in case,""Okay," Timothy patted my arm. It was cryptic. It was the best I could do. See, I wanted to cry so badly.{2:09 pm Sunday, September 7th ~ Last day}Where to begin:Every mythology across the globe has some creature, or creatures, which threatens Existence. Usually a God, or a Hero-God, slays the creature and everything is right with the world, except such a being, being older than Existence itself, can't really die, so they are carved up, buried ~ what have you.Illuyankamunus was one such manifestation of this underlying cancerous desire to destroy reality. He'd had a far more real child, SzelAnya, and she's never quite given up on her dad. Of far greater critical importance, she was 'part' of Illuyankamunus, somewhat in the way I was part of Alal and Baraqu. And yes, that meant all the offspring of Bolu, the guy I'd praised a few hours earlier, held the seeds of that malignant deity as well.And Alal knew it. He hadn't been killing off the descendants. He'd left that task up to a group far more capable of the task, the Egyptian Rite, who knew a fucking threat to existence when they saw it. Lest I forget, No secret society are the 'good guys'. Also lest I forget, I alone decided to go after the Arinniti sons to fulfill Vranus' quest. I had no divine mandate I was aware of nor any real world orders.Inadvertently, I had rounded up the last five mortal remains of Illuyankamunus in one place for convenient disposal in a remote Transylvanian town. The only problem was: if someone didn't get to them quickly, I was also about to whisk them into the loving (and heavy-armed) protective embrace of the Amazon Host, where the completion of centuries of culling would have suddenly become a cast-iron bitch instead of a simple disposal.Enter Ajax. Yeah, I bet the Egyptians were trying to figure out how I stopped him as well as Alal. I thought I was being clever by not telling most of the world. In fact, they most likely suspected; and the reality of SzelAnya watching over me was much more terrifying. Ishara had put a serious curse on the Amazons, yet her curse only affected her followers, the Amazons, who were fair game.SzelAnya had killed someone for me, and I hadn't been one of her followers. Thus I had committed a blasphemous act only a magician of some significant ability could have managed. I wasn't a sorcerer, but I had a cornucopia of mystic knowledge rolling around in my noggin. Trying to figure all this out was one of my major headaches.The others?I even suspected I knew who betrayed me ~ kinda. They didn't do it on purpose. At least I hope they didn't, because my odds-on favorite was my Mother by way of Captain Delilah Faircloth. Realistically, there was only one secret society who might help her against Grandpa and that was the Egyptian Rite, and they did send three people to Dad's funeral including two 'somebodies'. I'm an idiot.I'd chatted away in fluent New Kingdom Egyptian and it never occurred to me how odd it was for two of them to also be so fluent in it. Know it, sure, but as fluent as Kimberly had taught me to be? That should have been a Red Flag.The Earth & Sky had sent Iskender, who should have been the benchmark I judged the other delegations by, damn it.Three Condos? They'd killed my Dad and their guys had been flunkies.The 7 Pillars had been nobodies, which they'd proven by their inaction.Now I had to question why I had 3 actual  9-Clans  assassins at my dad's funeral too. Holy Ishara, I wasn't nearly paranoid enough.Anyway, why would the Amazons be aiding and abetting the End of All Life on Earth? Normally, they wouldn't be, but 3000 years ago, the majority of Human life did a colossal dump on the Amazons. And when they needed help, they got it in the form of SzelAnya and her dual-sex followers. I seriously doubt they told the Amazons their purpose was to resurrect SzelAnya's daddy. I imagine the Amazons didn't pry too much either.It turned out almost to be okay. During the 2nd Betrayal, the Amazons betrayed SzelAnya and almost short-circuited her plans by exterminating her lineage.Except for the Arinniti elders and Bolu. Good old 'except'.I can imagine when the Egyptians heard about the 2nd Betrayal, they figured they were 'okay'. Those wacky Amazons had inadvertently done the world a favor. Except an act of maternal love kept a slender hope of Illuyankamunus' return alive. By the time the Egyptians realized they'd been prematurely hopeful, Bolu's descendants were all over the Balkans and hunting them down had proven difficult.But, it gets worse. Much worse.When those Gods shattered Illuyankamunus, they scattered him in the relative certainty no one would ever gather the parts back together.His flesh was scattered across the land, modern day Turkey, but encompassing everything from Pakistan to Italy and Egypt to Poland. The flesh became soil, then plants, the things that eat plants, then food for humans. Get the picture.Whoops. SzelAnya had been doing just that for centuries upon centuries every time she mated with a mortal of Illuyankamunus' line and had offspring, they accumulated his energy, which made hunting down the few remaining ones easier to find, since they were 'beacons of badness', except...There were two key pieces missing which SzelAnya could never get. After all, you would think burying them on the far side of the world would matter, right?The 'breath of Illuyankamunus' ~ his cosmic fire ~ they buried in a volcano in a distant land far across the Great Sea. His spirit 'body' they imprisoned in a great river, again, across the Great Sea.But wait, it gets worse.The being standing next to me knew precisely where the 'breath of Illuyankamunus' was. Seems Mesoamerica is laced with volcanos. They'd discovered 'the breath' long ago and used it as a weapon called Xiuhcoatl. Better yet, Alal suspected she and her buddies were more than happy to reunite it with the rest if they thought the Weave itself wouldn't annihilate them for daring to do so.In their current, weakened state they were vulnerable to such a karmic backlash. In theory, a reborn Illuyankamunus would have access to power beyond the bounds of the Weave, older and more terrifying. Still, without the mortal remains to anchor the energy, giving it to the spirit would be pointless.Alal knew where the spirit body was (in general), but that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was where it was,Of all the places the Arinniti sons could have fled to, they had to choose Brazil, the burial place of the restive spirit body of Illuyankamunus. Mother-fucker.And Ildiko 'Alkonyka' aka Dusk Lovasz had sworn she'd travel to Brazil to fulfill Bolu's side of the quest in the same way I was holding up Vranus' end. If I tried to stop her, SzelAnya would know something was up. Fuck.I was processing all of this when Obsidian violently yanked me out of the way. A cabby had swerved to avoid a flurry of trash and nearly run over us. It was the third near-concussive experience in the past five minutes she'd help me avoid while she had walked by my side. I'd been mumbling like a madman."That would be my Goddess wanting to talk with me," I looked her way."I know," she gave me a clever smile."She's really not going to like that," I shook my head."I know that too," she kept smiling. "Where is your mind?""Five lives away from making the world a safer place," I sighed."Safer for who?" she purred. Where were all the bimbos? Not only was it an insightful question, it cut straight to the heart of my dilemma.What decision could I make? If I elected to help my fellow Amazons, I risked screwing with the world. In truth, I was risking everything even if I did nothing. Well Dad was always clear that things didn't change by themselves. You needed to do something that would have an effect. So, 'What are you going to do?'More to the point, I wasn't Grandad. Killing the last five of the line of Illuyankamunus wasn't 'me', so it wasn't going to be something I'd worry about.SzelAnya wanted to bring back her Dad, I could understand that. I'd have to figure out a way for her to believe this world sticking around was more important. How? Well, I had a goddess-like creature right in front of me to probe for ideas."You are an immortal," Obsidian commented. She'd been weighing her opinion for some time. I could tell by the wonderment with which she gifted each word."What? No. I can die.""No. I don't think so. Your wounds. Normally the wounds I inflict flow freely for some time. Yours have already scabbed over," her eyes flickered to the various minor scars she'd imparted to me in the few hours we'd been together.Of course, her idea was insane, Oh God No! I was in Grandad's body. Well Duh! His body was supposed to be immortal."Are you sure?" I looked deep into her eyes."You are a young immortal, the youngest I've ever met, but you are an immortal," she seemed to be convincing herself as much as me.Stupid Assumption (on my part)! I wasn't in Alal's body. I was in Cáel's. Because the Cáel soul shard was young, Alal hadn't been able to find it because it had moved through Time, to me, sonofabitch! 'I' hadn't been around for him to find. No! I was making yet another damn assumption.What did I know? When Pamela found Baraqu, it had been in an object, not a person, though she had been short on details. When the Alal-shard went to the Land of the Endless Black Sands to bring Saku back, the Cáel-shard had been in reality, so it had been allowed to create a body, 'me'. Still, the curse Sarrat Irkalli placed on Baraqu was on Alal and myself as well, which meant I might just be immortal.My Alal-mind agreed with Obsidian's assessment. In his first years, his healing had been slow, still taking days for what took mortal people weeks. I'd stupidly attributed my swift recovery to Amazon medicines, ugh. Because I got wounded more than most Security Detail trainees while concurrently entertaining two and three sex partners."Can you talk with Dot Ishara?" I asked her."Yes, but why would I?""Sex?""We are going to have sex anyway," she smiled. I'd tricked her. Set her up with the right so I could now drop her with the left."I can bring the mbo  tat  back to life," I pledged. That was not what she was expecting at all. "If you bring the Xiuhcoatl, I can bring the flesh and we can unite the three." Mbo  tat  was the Tupi name for the legendary 'fiery serpent' of the Amazon Basin. In Portuguese, it had become Boi-tat , a will-o-wisp with a confused, Christianized mythology ~ a serpent dwelling in darkness, devouring the eyes of corpses, glowing in the forests at night."Where is the flesh?" she whispered."In his mortal children," I replied."Who?""You are a monster, Ītzpāpālōtl. I'm not going to tell you and you don't have the time to drag the information out of my mind before my allies drop on you like a nuclear detonation," I drew my body tightly to her."Why would the Amazons do this?""They are not. This is a deal between you and me," I kissed her lips. I pulled back. A few seconds later she kissed me back."Why?""My grandfather had my father murdered and I would avenge him. In the end, despite my father's Amazon heritage, my 'Sisters' will let his death go unavenged for the greater good of the Host. He was a man and they will never look beyond that ~ they will never value his life as they would that of a woman.""Your mother's father?""Yes. Cáel O'Shea of the Illuminati.""We are not at war with the Illuminati," she murmured. It was a casual observation, not a protest."You are at war with Cáel O'Shea.""He was slain.""He didn't stay dead.""You know much more than you are saying," she was finally catching on."Absolutely.""I need much more than a few names to convince my kin to help," she purred, a cocktail of sexual immersion and flesh-flaying pain."I don't work for you. You are agreeing to work for me," I was hard as iron in more than one way. Why? Boundaries. She lived in a world where only the fundamentals of reality constrained her. Having a human, no matter how polished my pedigree, or how much I might appear to be 'special', tell her 'you are not the boss' in a reasonable fashion was new and very unwelcome."What would make you think that?""My mentor taught me knowledge is a curse. It is our inability to forget, and I can see into your soul, Ītzpāpālōtl. You care not one wit for the life of an assassin. But the thought of the other 'Factors' of the 9 Clans treating you as an equal galls you almost as much as the crushing reality that you need them."You have lived 500 years in chains and I'm offering you a desperate grab at freedom," I added."Your brief glimpse of immortality gives you no insight into my existence," she bristled."Oh, how many have given up? How many have decided the fight was no longer worth it and faded from the Sunlight to make their final trip into the Underworld, never to return? Do you even visit them?" I spoke with a voice tinged with compassion and loss. I pulled upon the pitiless, blank memories of a childless Alal all those centuries and imprinted on them my own fears of fatherhood and failure."How do you know so much?" she let her fa ade crack, then blow away, in the hollowness of her own sorrow. How could I pity such a monster? I could because I was me and I wouldn't surrender that to the barbaric past and most likely horrific future. I pulled her close, resting my chin on the top of her head."You are not the first, wonderful, very bright woman who has stepped into my life, Obsidian," I whispered. "You are not even the first divinity. For all the millions of differences enforced by power and time, I think love, hate and the conflict between the two wear upon us all. If anything, you face an endless parade of hope and misery. Even if you chose to ignore it, you have seen it and perhaps it leaves its marks ~ water scarring the rocks of a riverbed."We paused. I was able to peripherally scan about and realize we'd made it to Central Park ~ the Ramble and off the beaten path."Your Goddess is a fool for not keeping you closer," she murmured."She does keep me close. You have been actively keeping me from her," I reminded my guest. "She also plays by the rules, so is of limited help in my plans for vengeance."Translation: I could enlist Ītzpāpālōtl's aid while still remaining loyal to my matron Goddess. Ishara could not provide what I needed and my Amazons wouldn't agree with my scheme, so I needed her. Three hours ago, she wouldn't have considered me a worthy supplicant, much less an allied equal, yet here she was conspiring with me to shake the foundations of Creation.Personally, I was thanking Mamitu, Destiny. Had I not been having my worst Sunday ever when we first crossed paths and then acted like a total cockhead, pissed her off and led her to holding Sarrat Irkalli's dagger, thus putting her life in my hands, and not had Timothy as a best friend, I wouldn't have taken her to the movie, and my mind wouldn't have wandered down those dark corridors of Alal's memories to piece things together.Whatever itinerary Obsidian had approached me with, my abrasive behavior had forced her to it cast aside. Dagger, movie, revelations, I was now so much more in her eyes than she had envisioned."Share my need and share with me an ounce of your sorrow," I murmured to her as I gently curled my fingers in her hair and directed her head up until she faced me."The dagger," she rumbled. While she was stroking my hard-on, I knew she was using it as a double meaning."I was pinned to an onyx sacrificial table," I began my tale. We worked off pants to mid-thigh then 'got busy'. Penetration was only going to be possible by turning her around. Ground-breaking was her ready acceptance of my instruction. I leaned against a tree, then pulled her onto my lap. She guided my phallus home.One locomotion and I sunk in deep. It was warm molasses until I hit and pressed against her cervix. For a second Obsidian trembled, then her muscles clamped down tightly, gripping my manhood firmly in a vise, keeping me still."Ah," I groaned. Obsidian had her neck twisted, so we were kissing with eye contact as I described my adventures with the Gong tau sorcerers. She shot me a quick twinkle of delight, a connection. She'd relayed physical pleasure in the way I was giving her cerebral gratification, aka hope.I rolled up her shirt, and gave both nipples a brutal tweak in response. She gasped. I was applying a little 'rough' with my tender intercourse. She rolled her tush against my groin, an invitation to double-down on my nipple-play. I kept my left hand working over each tit while working my fingernails down her abdomen. As I described the terror in old Tsu's face as he shouted out 'M iyǒu! (Mandarin for 'No!') as he recognized too late the curse he was invoking. She relished the visual of the Han necromancer's terror.'Me' smacking two fingers down on her clit earned me a squeal and a small gush of fluids on my nut-sack. Her look of astonishment was something I'd always cherish. Before me, sex was something she demanded from her followers/victims and definitely orchestrated. Her partners being fearful/worshipful must have limited their initiative."A-a-a-ah, we are being observed," she groaned, her lips less than an inch from mine. It took me a second."Which direction?" I kept pumping her, strumming her clit and treating her tit like taffy on a hot Coney Island summer afternoon. Her hooded eyes flickered to our right. I gave it ten seconds. I had to get Obsidian refocused on what I was going to do to her next, in case this was innocent voyeurism. Nope. It was Chaz.Why Chaz? See, I'm an idiot. My cryptic warning to Timothy for Pamela had been good for all of one minute. He'd called her and she'd gathered what she could and come looking for me.Why was she concerned? I was babbling to Timothy then wandering off with a 'beyond-freaky' chick I had just met named 'Obsidian' who came my way courtesy of another chick with the name of Estere.Let me see, Estere was Hashashin and for Timothy to describe someone in my life as 'beyond freaky' was bad news. Timothy was seriously worried about me and Timothy was an emotional rock ~ he didn't panic. Lest we forget, I was in a federal taskforce. A quick peek into New York traffic cameras revealed me and Obsidian wandering into Central Park from the south, so in the rescue party went, splitting up and Chaz 'lucked-out'.I still had two, no, three problems. I was really enjoying my sexual excursion with Obsidian and she was seeming to truly enjoy her experience with me. Oh, and Central Park is big, Pamela had been pressed for people, so she had pressed some unlikely participants into my rescue party."He's," smooch, "my brother, by adoption," I headed off the whole idea she'd been briefed on me already."Visual, Peacekeeper Six, OS2, L-11," Chaz muttered into his headset before taking up a casual stance on the path overlooking our trysting spot. Sex with an audience didn't bother her, so, we worked out as much action from twist, turns and two inches of in-and-out motions (she liked to keep our bodies tight) as we could. Obsidian was humming along in no time. Her vaginal walls were undulating, wearing away at my self-control.Panting, not from us,"Is he o, are they, who is she?" huffed and puffed a trio of voices from Chaz's locale. Oh. Pamela had recruited my 'Hounds'.I accidently (from a timing perspective) took that moment to grind my nails into her left nipple, pinched her clit and hammered her as hard as I could. Obsidian howled. Her vocalization exited the human realm in a cataclysmic manner.The noise scared avians a mile away into terrorized flight. Cats hissed, then raced for cover. Dogs tucked tail and ran. Streetlights a hundred yards away shattered in sprays of glass. Better yet, for the entertainment of my viewing public, she lashed out with her right hand at the closest Black Cherry sapling, exploding it into a mist of sap and pulverizing the bark and wood fiber into pulp.On the downside, her cervix gave my balls an ultimatum ~ release my seed at once, or she was going to twist off my head. My cock and balls have a long history of making decisions without me. I began lavishing her. Before I finally got the feeling I was out of the danger zone. She was back to rubbing against me and purring in blissful satisfaction."Onun g zleri," whispered Belgin, one of the Turks. 'Her eyes'?"Cáel, are you aware of the alternative nature of your liaison?" Chaz coolly cautioned me. Translation: 'mate, do you know you have your cock in a demon?'"Yeah," I coughed. I had a face full of her hair. I was working on some post-coital nuzzling along with slowly helping her get her pants back up."Ininzqueoccehpa," she hummed to me, ignoring our gathering. That was 'let's do this again'."Tehuatlcochitlehua," I replied with some fondness. She studied me for a second before deciding my term was one of endearment, thus 'you are what dreams are made of', not 'nightmares'.Obsidian had another issue to deal with. Timothy would call it a righteous cocking. Whatever it was, her hold on her human mein had slipped and her inhumanity was slipping through, mainly in her glass-like, black, multi-facetted eyes and her fingers which now ended in molten obsidian talons. On the subconscious level, her predatory nature was setting everyone close-by on edge. I could also make out the high pitched, ultrasonic pipping of her chiropteran cries ~ purpose unknown.Obsidian made her way off farther into the underbrush leaving me a few precious seconds to appreciate her retreating posterior while holstering my equipment. More people were arriving. I had one more thing to take care of before, oh look, Nikita had brought her Mom along, the NYPD Sergeant."Chaz, I need to have a quick chat with Dot before I can explain things. She's been waiting and that's unwise," I looked to the Brit. He nodded."Cáel? Mr. Nyilas? Prince?" all came my way. I relaxed as best I could. Chaz went to a body blow to stagger me, then an epic upper cut to send me to Lullaby Land.Dot & the DragonessDot and SzelAnya, in dragon form, were waiting as I tumbled forward. By the state of my haziness, I knew my unconsciousness wouldn't last long."You gave her your seed," came the accusation."Yes," I staggered, "and now you should be able to track her," I pointed out the bonus part of the arrangement. No comment."I've got to make this quick, SzelAnya, I've found your father, geographically speaking," I dropped the bomb."Don't," Dot Ishara commanded. After all, she and her divine cohorts had done the killing and corpse-dividing eons ago. Undoubtedly, they'd executed their own oaths to one another to 'never reveal what they had done' as well."Too late," I shook my head. SzelAnya's attention was magnetized. "I owe you and I'm paying my debts. I'm not blind to the dangers, believe me.""You have no idea what power you are invoking," Dot's undercurrent of displeasure was the worst I'd experienced."Wrong. I've got thousands of years of Alal boiling around in my head, Plus the rest of you betrayed her 2600 years ago. It doesn't mean I have to. And now, given the chance, I'm not. Even if you kill me, she's got enough toBack in the Ramble"Really expect me to believe," Nikita's mom was growling."Man down," I waved a weak arm skyward."Mr. Nyilas, what is going on here?" the Sergeant addressed me. I was reclining in a circle of my 'Hounds'; most were kneeling. Chaz was in a tiny bit of trouble for having clocked me."Umm, thanks for coming out and looking for me. I assure you, Mr. Tomorrow did what he did as a matter of his professional duties ~ intelligence gathering." As I struggled to stand, my ladies helped me. I saw Pamela with three Hounds coming up fast from one direction and Virginia with three more coming from the other. The gang was all here.The mutterings in non-English tongues suggested a bit of explaining was already going on."You've been bleeding," Nikita pointed out with an unspoken 'again'."This?" I pulled my shirt out and looked at the first bloodstain of my encounter. "This is the just the start of the bad news." I shed my windbreaker and then t-shirt.The professionals shouldered aside the others to take a closer look."All of these are from noon and less than an hour ago," I identified the damage. Sarge was skeptical. Chaz, Nikita and Virginia less so."They look older," the senior lawman noted."I've been curious about that," Chaz frowned."I've inherited my Grandfather's curse. My soul fragment was in the 'Here and Now' twenty-three years ago while his was, 'over there', so I was allowed to come into creation. According to my recently departed guest,""You are immortal," Virginia mumbled to finish the thought. Had the speaker not been a member of the FBI, who knows how the thought would have been received."From the memories I've been gifted with," I tapped the tiny divot on my forehead, "his healing abilities started out rather slowly too. I certainly don't want to test this theory, so no worries there," I scanned the group."How do you explain seeing your Grandfather in Hungary and again in Rome?" Virginia wondered."Again, that woman who just left," I got out."Was no woman," Nuray, another one of my Turkish Hounds interrupted. "Her eyes..." she tried to explain, "and look what she did to that tree," she pointed to the greatest piece of evidence of supernatural wrongdoing. The other two witnesses nodded."We all saw the same thing. Her eyes were, bottomless, definitely not human," Belgin affirmed. The veteran players looked to Chaz."She had a collapsed nose-bridge, lacked a blink response, her dental work was carnivorous and her tongue was extremely clipped and showed prehensile qualities," he reported calmly. Pause. Chaz was a freaking intelligence operative, after all."If her hands were a type of glove weaponry, I've never seen it s like before. While I know it is possible for a human to exert the force-pounds necessary to snap a two inch diameter tree trunk in one blow, it is a rare skill and requires intense discipline. This appeared to be done spontaneously, without preparation of any kind and as a reaction to other stimuli," he added."It was also your assessment he needed to be knocked unconscious?" Nikita's mom countered."Mr. Nyilas' psychological constructs are something the whole team has to work around. At times, he seeks 'insight' from his mind in a deliberately unconscious/non-sleep state," he replied."He claims to be talking with spirit powers. I know when he returns to consciousness, he delivers useful intelligence. I'm not a psychologist, psychiatrist, or psychic. I don't know why his mind functions that way. I do know results. And I know I work with people who would achieve those results by other means if it were at all possible. Since we haven't found another method, we accept that from tim

Open Discussion!

Accepting Results Rationally Only Friends Pod Ep 660 Solve For Why by Solve For Why

Scariest Things Happened To People That They Can't Explain Rationally ONE HOUR - AskReddit ScaryA ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. The "ghost" may appear of its own accord or be summoned by magic.Definition of horror storyan account of an unsettling or unfortunate occurrenceheard horror stories about recent layoffsalso : something unsettling or unfortunatehis childhood was a horror storyExamples of horror story in a SentenceWe've all heard horror stories about airlines losing people's luggage.Her childhood was a horror story.#AskReddit #AskredditScary #CreepyStoriesBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/darkest-mysteries-online-the-strange-and-unusual-podcast-2024--5684156/support.

How To Start Thinking Clearly, Logically, Rationally - Get OUT Of Your Emotions!

Nate and Maria discuss Anna Sorokin's (AKA Anna Delvey) spin on Dancing with the Stars. Then, they debate the merits and limits of voting in your self interest, and Nate explains why Nebraska has his attention on the election map.  For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters: The Leap from Maria Konnikova Silver Bulletin from Nate Silver See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scariest Things Happened To People That They Can't Explain Rationally ONE HOUR - AskReddit ScaryA ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. The "ghost" may appear of its own accord or be summoned by magic.Definition of horror storyan account of an unsettling or unfortunate occurrenceheard horror stories about recent layoffsalso : something unsettling or unfortunatehis childhood was a horror storyExamples of horror story in a SentenceWe've all heard horror stories about airlines losing people's luggage.Her childhood was a horror story.#AskReddit #AskredditScary #CreepyStoriesBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/darkest-mysteries-online-the-strange-and-unusual-podcast-2024--5684156/support.

A practitioner in China developed computer skills and helped many others access the Minghui website, but realized she had become arrogant, and was at times resentful of others. In looking deeper, she realized she had attachments to doing what she liked, and that does not conform to harmonizing with the needs of Fa rectification. This […]

A specific subject matter that helped me think less emotionally and, instead, think more rationally. This is very important for people with Complex PTSD. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/benjamin-allen-belzer/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/benjamin-allen-belzer/support

Four book recommendations from books I've personally read, that I think help people think more rationally. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/benjamin-allen-belzer/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/benjamin-allen-belzer/support

One of our most popular episodes of 2023 is back, with this encore presentation, just in time for Earth Day!  Dan Reicher's interest in and advocacy for environmental protection and clean energy began when he was a child and has continued throughout his life.  In addition to teaching at Stanford University, has served three U.S. presidents, testified before the U.S. Congress more than 50 times, led the launch of Google's pathbreaking climate and clean energy work, oversaw a $1.2 billion annual clean energy R&D budget as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Energy, and co-founded the nation's first investment firm focused exclusively on renewable energy project finance.  In this Blue Sky episode, Dan provides his take on potential climate change solutions; from hydro, solar, wind, and nuclear power, to conservation and reforestation.  He explains that while he's realistic about the massive amount of work and resources that will be required to solve the climate crisis, he's optimistic about our ability to get it done. 

"As far as I'm concerned, there's no obvious increased danger from the CCP having control over our access or our information or even modifying the algorithm, than it is the alphabets of the world or the METAs of the world or the CIA or the FBI's of the world, like these people... as far as I'm concerned, the United States federal government is way more of an existential threat to me than the CCP. I'm domiciled here, they have the ability to fine and tax and sanction and imprison me for wrong think. That's a way more clear and present danger." ~ Clint Russell The bill to ban Tiktok, the risks of legislative "solutions," blaming technology for cultural decay, the death of personal responsibility, the second wave of the banking crisis, the systemic problems of fractional reserve, and the possibility of a path out of all of this mess. All this and more in our winding chat with Clint Russell of the Liberty Lockdown and The Best Political Show podcasts. Don't miss this one. Guest Links Clint Russell on X (Link: https://twitter.com/LibertyLockPod) WeAreChange on Rumble (Link: https://rumble.com/WeAreChange) Host Links Guy on Nostr (Link: http://tinyurl.com/2xc96ney) Guy on X (Link: https://twitter.com/theguyswann) Guy on Instagram (Link: https://www.instagram.com/theguyswann/) Guy on TikTok (Link: https://www.tiktok.com/@theguyswann) Guy on YouTube (Link: https://www.youtube.com/@theguyswann) ⁠Bitcoin Audible on X⁠ (Link: https://twitter.com/BitcoinAudible) Check out our awesome sponsors! Get 10% off the COLDCARD with code BITCOINAUDIBLE ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠(Link: bitcoinaudible.com/coldcard⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) Swan: The best way to buy, learn, and earn #Bitcoin (Link: https://swanbitcoin.com) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bitcoinaudible/message

"As far as I'm concerned, there's no obvious increased danger from the CCP having control over our access or our information or even modifying the algorithm, than it is the alphabets of the world or the METAs of the world or the CIA or the FBI's of the world, like these people... as far as I'm concerned, the United States federal government is way more of an existential threat to me than the CCP. I'm domiciled here, they have the ability to fine and tax and sanction and imprison me for wrong think. That's a way more clear and present danger." ~ Clint Russell The bill to ban Tiktok, the risks of legislative "solutions," blaming technology for cultural decay, the death of personal responsibility, the second wave of the banking crisis, the systemic problems of fractional reserve, and the possibility of a path out of all of this mess. All this and more in our winding chat with Clint Russell of the Liberty Lockdown and The Best Political Show podcasts. Don't miss this one. Guest Links Clint Russell on X (Link: https://twitter.com/LibertyLockPod) WeAreChange on Rumble (Link: https://rumble.com/WeAreChange) Host Links Guy on Nostr (Link: http://tinyurl.com/2xc96ney) Guy on X (Link: https://twitter.com/theguyswann) Guy on Instagram (Link: https://www.instagram.com/theguyswann/) Guy on TikTok (Link: https://www.tiktok.com/@theguyswann) Guy on YouTube (Link: https://www.youtube.com/@theguyswann) ⁠Bitcoin Audible on X⁠ (Link: https://twitter.com/BitcoinAudible) Check out our awesome sponsors! Get 10% off the COLDCARD with code BITCOINAUDIBLE ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠(Link: bitcoinaudible.com/coldcard⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) Swan: The best way to buy, learn, and earn #Bitcoin (Link: https://swanbitcoin.com) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bitcoinaudible/message

#Londinium90AD: Gaius & Germnicus attempt to think rationally about the irrational decisiions possible in the coming weeks between escalating NATO an and predatory  Moscow. Michael Vlahos. Friends of History Debating Society. @Michalis_Vlahos 1919 Lemberg, Polish and Ukrainian soldiers

Esther talks to a woman who, despite her best efforts, finds herself implicated in the same toxic cycle of abuse from her partner that she grew up watching between her parents. Rationally, she knows she deserves better, but just can't seem to get out from under this painful repetition of events. Esther talks her through why she thinks she finds herself back here time and time again. Esther Callings are a one-time, 45-60 minute interventional phone call with Esther. They are edited for time, clarity, and anonymity. If you have a question you would like to talk through with Esther, send a voice memo to producer@estherperel.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a massive election year, with billions voting worldwide. But will those casting votes do so logically? Has voter psychology changed in recent years? And what can be learned from it? To find out, Jacob Jarvis talks to Dr Sandra Obradovic, associate researcher at the Electoral Psychology Observatory to find out.  • “Some see voting as something that upholds democracy and connects you with society at large. It is not an individual activity, it's one that makes you a citizen.” – Dr Sandra Obradovic • “We're moving away from this ‘rational actor' assumption and acknowledging that reasoning and emotions interlink in the context of politics.” – Dr Sandra Obradovic • “We're much more distrusting of politicians and political institutions, even within our own camps.” – Dr Sandra Obradovic www.patreon.com/bunkercast  Written and presented by Podmasters managing editor Jacob Jarvis. Producer: Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In episode 1623, Jack and Miles are joined by host of Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff and Live Like The World Is Dying, Margaret Killjoy, to discuss… Overview - Why Do We Think We Can't Help Each Other? The True Story of How Paramedics Were Invented, Don't Think It's All Going To Work Out Ok And That Somebody Else Is Going To Fix It For You and more! American Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became America's First Paramedics by Kevin Hazzard LISTEN: Sal's Groove by Tanhai CollectiveSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Harvesting Happiness is proud to partner with the researchers and scholars at the Mental Immunity Project (MIP) and Cognitive Immunology Research Collaborative (CIRCE). This episode is part of a series exploring disinformation, media literacy, and the emerging science of cognitive immunology.In the US, as the election season approaches many people will have the opportunity to have conversations at home, work, or on social media where their beliefs differ vastly. Without curiosity, kindness, or a sound tool for assessing reasoning some conversations could turn into disputes.To discover communication tools that make us more streetwise and rationally philosophical, Harvesting Happiness Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with Anthony Magnabosco, the current Executive Director of Street Epistemology International

Harvesting Happiness is proud to partner with the researchers and scholars at the Mental Immunity Project (MIP) and Cognitive Immunology Research Collaborative (CIRCE). This episode is part of a series exploring disinformation, media literacy, and the emerging science of cognitive immunology.In the US, as the election season approaches many people will have the opportunity to have conversations at home, work, or on social media where their beliefs differ vastly. Without curiosity, kindness, or a sound tool for assessing reasoning some conversations could turn into disputes.To discover communication tools that make us more streetwise and rationally philosophical, Harvesting Happiness Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with Anthony Magnabosco, the current Executive Director of Street Epistemology International

The formula for rational thinking explained by Harvard professor Steven Pinker. In his explanation of Bayes' theorem, cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker highlights how this type of reasoning can help us determine the degree of belief we assign to a claim based on available evidence. Bayes' theorem takes into account the prior probability of a claim, the likelihood of the evidence given the claim is true, and the commonness of the evidence regardless of the claim's truth. While Bayes' theorem can be useful for making statistical predictions, Pinker cautions that it may not always be appropriate in situations where fairness and other moral considerations are important. Therefore, it's crucial to consider when Bayes' theorem is applicable and when it's not. Chapters:- 0:00 What is Bayesian thinking? 1:01 The formula 2:41 When Bayes' theorem obscures the solution 4:25 Bayes' theorem in a nutshell --------------------------------------------------------- About Steven Pinker: Steven Pinker is an experimental psychologist who conducts research in visual cognition, psycholinguistics, and social relations. He grew up in Montreal and earned his BA from McGill and his PhD from Harvard. Currently Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard, he has also taught at Stanford and MIT. He has won numerous prizes for his research, his teaching, and his nine books, including The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, The Blank Slate, The Better Angels of Our Nature, The Sense of Style, and Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress. ------------------------------------------------------------- About Big Think | Smarter Faster™ ► Big Think The leading source of expert-driven, educational content. With thousands of videos, featuring experts ranging from Bill Clinton to Bill Nye, Big Think helps you get smarter, faster by exploring the big ideas and core skills that define knowledge in the 21st century. ► Big Think+ Make your business smarter, faster: https://bigthink.com/plus/ Get Smarter, Faster With Interviews From The Worlds Biggest Thinkers. Follow This Podcast And Turn On The Notifications Rate Us With 5 Stars Share This Episode --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bigthink/message Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump is ahead in he polls and could be the next leader of the free world. He has promised to be a 'dictator for a day' Will it be the catastrophe that most seem to expect? Is everything he says wrong?Are liberals the ones who have created the conditions for the global march of right-wing populism?Immigration is the big controversy everywhere. Nobody is debating it rationally. We give it a try.Ireland says no. To Wind farms, solar farms, tall buildings, any buildings, data centres and immigrants. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/the-other-hand-with-jim.power-and-chris.johns. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I think I found a plan for my problem I've been having. After thinking more rationally about it, I am going to set my sites on a retirement plan. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/benjamin-allen-belzer/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/benjamin-allen-belzer/support

George Mack is a writer, marketer and an entrepreneur. Thinking for yourself is one of the most important skills you can develop. However it's hard. It's a difficult task to overcome the boring, negative, irrational trends around you. Which is why you need some new tools in your mental models box. Expect to learn what the Keynsian Beauty Contest is, why memes are so influential in society today, which behaviours appear positive but actually harm you in disguise, what the forgetting paradox is, what the most useful emotional state is, why “ignorance is bliss” is a putdown in 2023 and much more... Sponsors: Get a 35% discount on all Cozy Earth products at http://www.cozyearth.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Get the Whoop 4.0 for free and get your first month for free at https://join.whoop.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Get 15% discount on Craftd London's jewellery at https://craftd.com/modernwisdom (use code MW15) Extra Stuff: Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ Buy my productivity energy drink Neutonic: https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

0:00 - House Intel Chairman GOP Rep. Mike Turner on hostage deal 13:21 - Bye bye Berlin 26:21 - Woke Alert for CyberMonday, holiday shopping 49:31 - Irish Thinker, Talker, and Writer, John Waters, on the Dublin Riots and the "Island of Lies" Check out John's substack John Waters Unchained 01:05:52 - Steven Bucci, visiting fellow in The Heritage Foundation's Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, laughs at Biden claiming responsibility for a potential peace deal in Israel 01:26:34 - Joakim Book, writer, researcher and editor on all things money, finance and financial history:  How to Rationally Consume News. Rationally consume Joakim on X @joakimbook 01:41:17 - Chicago memories 01:59:06 - ETHS segregationSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of the Yale University Press Podcast, we talk with John J. Mearsheimer and Sebastian Rosato about How States Think: The Rationality of Foreign Policy.

How do you deal with "bad" events that happen to you in life with tranquility and poise? That's what we seek to answer in our new season of episodes. This is the first in our Stoic fundamentals series where for the next few months we will tackle a fundamental concept of Stoicism and then give you some Stoic tools to master it. Today we talk about Judgement which is a statement about the nature of something, whether it is good or bad, and how we actually have more of a choice about our responses to "bad" events than we might think. That response starts with not thinking about these events as "bad", but instead just as events.  We discuss some of the most well known Stoic quotes including the zinger: “It is not events that disturb people, it is their judgements concerning them.“

Rationally minded = DEATH Spiritually minded = LIFE & PEACE We must intentionally set our minds on the things of God. What we focus on, what we set our minds on will be how we live. If we set our minds on the things of the flesh, it will be lead by the flesh. If we set our minds on the things of the spirit, it will be in obedience to live by the spirit. Rational knowledge alone is not going to cut it for the time that we are coming into. We need revelation knowledge from heaven more than rational knowledge. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. Romans 8:6-7 NKJV SERMON NOTES: https://www.bible.com/events/49155733 The Roads Church: https://theroads.church

The GOP is completely derelict in their duty to America, to democracy, and our allies like Israel. Joe gets into the clear contrast between Joe Biden's clear moral leadership and the dysfunction and chaos in the MAGA GOP. Why Joe isn't surprised at Trump's reaction to Israel - but also why he doesn't think it's going to matter with his base. What's going on with the race for Speaker of the House? Why Joe thinks we aren't going to see a resolution anytime soon. And what the coverage of House dysfunction is missing -- why this very much isn't the same on both sides. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bassam Zawadi's work can be found in the below links:- https://www.call-to-monotheism.com/ - https://islamicdiscourse.substack.com/ - https://independent.academia.edu/BassamZawadi - https://independent.academia.edu/IslamicModernistDiscourse - https://independent.academia.edu/RefutingModernistHanafis Bassam's article on corporal punishments can be accessed here https://islamicdiscourse.substack.com/p/can-corporal-punishments-be-rationallySupport Blogging Theology on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/BloggingtheologyMy Paypal Link: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/bloggingtheology?locale.x=en_GBSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/blogging-theology/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Feeling better since my last episode. Trying to be a bit more rational and get out more. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/benjamin-allen-belzer/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/benjamin-allen-belzer/support

Rationally, we all know that if we were able to delegate effectively we'd be able to get more done and scale ourselves as leaders, and yet... way easier said than done. In this episode of Managing Made Simple I talk about all things DELEGATING - why it's so important and three steps to doing it effectively. If you're experiencing meeting overload, are finding yourself too deep in the weeds in your team or business, or are feeling like your team members aren't quite stepping up in the ways you wish they would, then you're not gonna want to miss this one. -- Get the Thriving Team Scorecard and join my 20-day challenge to become a better manager to your team in just one month - liagarvin.com/scorecard Looking for support for your team? Reach out to hello@liagarvin.com to learn more about one of my four core focuses for teams:For Entrepreneurs & Founders - Let's get you out of the weeds and your teams firing on all cylinders, saving you time and money to reinvest in your business. Ask about the "Ops Playbook" to get started.For Corporate Managers & Teams - Want to build more effective managers, get better at giving & receiving feedback, solve RTO the right way, or support your team in navigating change and uncertainly? Ask about my "Manager & Team workshops". -- Connect with me!LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/liagarvinInstagram: instagram.com/lia.garvinWeb: liagarvin.comMusic by Y8S: isaacy8s.com

Dan Reicher's interest in and advocacy for environmental protection and clean energy began when he was a child and has continued throughout his life.  In addition to teaching at Stanford University, has served three U.S. presidents, testified before the U.S. Congress more than 50 times, led the launch of Google's pathbreaking climate and clean energy work, oversaw a $1.2 billion annual clean energy R&D budget as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Energy, and co-founded the nation's first investment firm focused exclusively on renewable energy project finance.  In this Blue Sky episode, Dan provides his take on potential climate change solutions; from hydro, solar, wind,  and nuclear power, to conservation and reforestation.  He explains that while he's realistic about the massive amount of work and resources that will be required to solve the climate crisis, he's optimistic about our ability to get it done.

It may be rational to be ignorant, and it might even be rational to be irrational! This is quite prevalent in our highly polarized and tribalized current political landscape. In fact, it is what gives politics its newfound religious flavor. In education it exists where we move everyone forward the same amount, no one has moved relative to each other, and it is considered progress. Bryan Caplan is an economist and a Professor of Economics at George Mason University. He is also an author whose latest book is titled Voters as Mad Scientists: Essays on Political Irrationality, and it is a collection of his very best essays published originally over the years on EconLog.Bryan and Greg discuss politics and voting. They discuss the value of voting in this democracy. They also talk about Bryan's book and get into different instances of voter irrationality. Bryan discusses his political views, and they both ponder the question of how much educational investment is socially wasteful. Finally, they talk about parenting and schools and how to an economist, everything has an associated price.*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.Episode Quotes:On deciding your family size52:03: I think that most people decide their family size based upon current exhaustion rather than weighing, "How many kids do I want now? How many kids do I want in 40 years?" But the main thing I tell people is that first, fix your parenting style to get in line with the facts, because it's just not true that your kid's future is in your hands. And then, secondly, once you do that, once you have relaxed to this level, that is when it makes sense to rethink the number of kids you want to have.Rational rationality gives politics its religious flavor11:21: The same incentives that give you very little reason to acquire information also give you very little reason to be intellectually honest and exert normal intellectual self-discipline. And those latter things are what I call rational irrationality. And this is really what gives politics its religious flavor.How do you know if you're making rationally ignorant decisions?10:04: Rationally ignorance is something that has been talked about in social science for a long time. It's just the idea that when time is money, it is often not worthwhile to get information. And so you can rationally make a decision to be ignorant.Thinking beyond normal data sets can change your kids' outcomes49:59: If you want to change your kids' long-run outcomes, you have to do something weird. You have to do something that is literally off the chart, something that is rare enough that we don't see it happening in normal data sets.Show Links:Recommended Resources:10% Less Democracy: Why You Should Trust Elites a Little More and the Masses a Little LessImmigration vs. Social Desirability BiasThe Case Against the Sexual RevolutionGuest Profile:Faculty Profile at George Mason UniversityProfessional Profile on Cato InstituteBryan Caplan's WebsiteBryan Caplan on TwitterBryan Caplan on SubstackHis Work:Bryan Caplan on Google ScholarArticles on The Library of Economics and LibertyThe Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad PoliciesVoters as Mad Scientists: Essays on Political IrrationalityOpen Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration The Case against Education: Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money Why Being a Great Parent Is Less Work and More Fun Than You ThinkDon't Be a Feminist: Essays on Genuine JusticeHow Evil Are Politicians?: Essays on DemagogueryLabor Econ Versus the World: Essays on the World's Greatest Market

Powerleegirl hosts Miko Lee & Jalena Keane-Lee, a mother daughter duo Asian-American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander heritage month with another special episode of APEX Express. To celebrate the month we're going to be hearing from some incredible activists that we featured in our, “We Are the Leaders” series. We are the leaders was inspired by the famous Grace Lee Boggs quote. “We are the leaders we've been looking for.” Today's show features the following artists, activists and thinkers including: Helen Zia, Anirvan Chatterjee, Sammie Ablaza Wills, Hawane Rios, Yuri Kochiyama, Julia Putnam, Gail Romasanta & Saru Jayaraman.   May 8th Show Transcripts [00:00:00] Opening: Asian Pacific expression. Unity and cultural coverage, music and calendar revisions influences Asian Pacific Islander. It's time to get on board. The Apex Express. Good evening. You're tuned in to Apex Express. [00:00:18] Jalena Keane-Lee: We're bringing you an Asian American Pacific Islander view from the Bay and around the world. We are your hosts, Miko Lee and Jalena Keane-lee the powerleegirls, a mother daughter team. Happy Asian-American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander heritage month. And welcome to another special episode of apex express. This is the powerleegirls. I'm Jalena Keane-Lee, and I'm Miko Lee. We're a mother-daughter duo talking today about Asian American native Hawaiian Pacific Islander heritage month, To celebrate the month we're going to be hearing from some incredible activists that we featured in our, we are the leaders series. We are, the leaders was inspired by the famous Grace Lee Boggs quote. We are the leaders we've been looking for. First up we hear from a claimed activist and lawyer helen Zia. [00:01:12] Helen Zia: I call it M I H that we are at so often missing in history. And the only thing that's going to change, that is our voices. We have to restore that history. We have to reclaim that involvement and we have to know that we have nothing to be ashamed about We were not missing it You know we were there and It's just that other people don't know that And so that part we have to do We love this phrase missing in history from Helen Zia. And that's a big part of what we think this month is all about. It's rewriting us into the dominant narratives of history. And of course it's a big mission of our show to make sure that our voices and stories are heard. Not just things from the past from ancestors from movements in the past but also things that are happening in the present and the interconnectedness and connections between The two Next up Anirvan Chatterjee, storyteller, an activist and founder of the Berkeley south Asian radical history. Walking tour tells us about a little bit of history that has long been missing from history. As Helen Zia would say. He talks about interconnectedness between the south Asian and African-American communities. And the importance of knowing about this history and knowing about these solidarities and that this kind of solidarity has existed throughout Time [00:02:36] Anirvan: There's been a lot written about, Points of intersection between South Asian and African American movements for justice. I knew from my immigrant community, that Ghandi influenced Dr. King and through the ways that, Ghandi and nonviolence kind of spread. as part of the civil rights movement, but I think that was pretty much the end of it. those points of intersection kind of stopped and ended there. it wasn't until I started doing a lot more reading, that I realized how little I knew. one of my favorite stories of African American and South Asian solidarities is the story of Bayard Rustin, who a lot of us know as the black gay civil rights activist, who was the architect of the 1963 March on Washington. What I didn't know was, in the 1940's, he was a Quaker, he was a pacifist. He was actually in prison for awhile because he was a pacifist during world war two. while he was in prison, he was thinking and reading about, Solidarity with colonized India and the work of de-colonizing India. And he gets involved with a free India committee in the mid 1940s. he gets out of prison and, he gets involved with things like sit down, protest outside of the British embassy in Washington, D C. just the idea that this skinny black gay activist in the 1940s was part of the global movement for the liberation of my people. it's really different from the sense of what an Indian freedom fighter looks like. I love the idea of being able to claim Bayard Rustin as one of my Indian freedom fighters. On the flip side, in 1964 in, Jackson, Mississippi, Tougaloo college who a historically black college , there was a Pakistani professor named Hamid Kizilbashand an Indian professor Savitri Chattopadhyay. They're teaching on this black college during the height of the civil rights movement, they could use their kind of. Asian immigrant in between kind of a status really interesting ways. for example , they were able to, support their student's work to desegregate a movie theaters by going into the movie theater buying tickets. Cause they were allowed to buy movie tickets. And hand those tickets over to their black students. So when the black students show up, they're like, well, you know, we actually have these tickets and it's just like a small act of every day allyship or being co-conspirator, it's something that actually made a difference for the students. They're able to kind of use their position in ways that are, that are strategically helpful. Now, at one point in time, Hamid Kizilbashand actually gets physically attacked by white racists. he gets pulled out of his car. He's chased down. There was somebody with him who basically calls out to these white racists going, “hang on, hang on. He's international. He's, he's Brown. He's, he's not black.” And he's not beaten up nearly as badly as somebody who's black and his position might have been. for a lot of South Asians, we know we're racist. We know we have deep, complicated anti-blackness in our communities, but I don't think we necessarily know what it looks like to be anti-racist. the story of these two, faculty members at Tougaloo college in 1964, it's a really great story. of what it actually looks like to be anti-racist, we have these stories to also build on that. It's not enough to just critique, and call out, but to also do uplift, just to kind of celebrate more of what it is that we want to see. Jalena: Thanks for sharing that story. And, you know, there's so many Asian American stories, Asian American Pacific Islander stories that are left out of history and even more so queer Asian American Pacific Islander stories. And we really want to make sure that we're uplifting our queer stories and queer ancestors. Next up. We hear from Sammy Ablaza Wills who is a queer organizer and activists and death doula. They tell us about a local bay area story of queer activism that proceeded the Stonewall riots and is a lot less known. So we're so grateful that Sammy Cahn. Bring up this piece that is missing in history Sorry. [00:06:45] Sammie Ablaza Wills: One thing that I will talk about, cause there, there truly is so many examples. is the contents cafeteria rights in San Francisco? many people at least nowadays, familiar or have heard of the Stonewall riots in New York, which happened at the Stonewall Inn. And was a rebellion against police brutality led by Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. A few years prior to the Stonewall riots was, the incident at the conference cafeteria in San Francisco's Tenderloin and conference was a place where many trans people drag Queens and sex workers hung out late night, got food and spent time with one another. And, all of the places where trans folks and drag Queens and sex workers hung out were places where police raids would regularly happen, arresting people for the crime of impersonating a woman or arresting people for the crime of prostitution or arresting people for whatever reason they could think of because they thought of all of these folks as sexual deviance, right. that history has almost been forgotten, but one day at Constance cafeteria, the police came to raid and the patrons of conference cafeteria got fed up and said, we're not going to allow for another raid to happen. And a rebellion broke out in the streets between the trans folks and the drag Queens and the sex workers and the police officers in the Tenderloin. it was from that day that trans folks, drag Queens and sex workers really started a movement for trans liberation and trans justice against police brutality in the city of San Francisco. one of the folks who was active in the Tenderloin at that time is Tamara Ching, a trans API elder who is still alive and living in San Francisco today. She's somewhat of a local legend in trans communities because of all of the work she did in the Tenderloin even though she wasn't immediately present at the moment of competence cafeteria, she continued the legacy of what was started that day for many, many decades for trans people and for sex workers, for people living in the Tenderloin for low income folks. But the work that she did is not seen in textbooks it's not seen in Asian American history courses. the thing that really feels important for me to just state out right, is that LGBTQ history is Asian American, Pacific Islander history and Asian American Pacific Islander history is LGBTQ history because there is no way that either of those movements would have happened without each other. And these movements have not even always agreed. But agreement is not the precipice of history. history shows. What agreements and disagreements have been made to create the present conditions that we're in. When I think the importance of understanding our history, this phrase always comes to my mind and, It's like a, I feel like pretty popular in ethnic studies, but it's, no history, no self. Right. And if we don't know where we were, it's really, really hard to determine where we're going to be going. When I think about all of the history that has existed, that allows me to be alive. I don't see one clear lineage. Right? I see many, many stories. People, people in the United States, people outside of the United States. I see trans people. I see CIS people. I see many people that have worked and had success and built relationships and also people that have made mistakes, like deep, deep mistakes that have set us back or put us in different directions. And. I'm thinking it is incredibly important to know all of that history so we can understand ourselves as part of a larger lineage and also so that we can make new mistakes. Our ancestors and our elders have made mistakes so that we don't have to anymore. We can make new ones. We can try new experiments. We contend continue the best things that worked out. And try new things that can fail in different ways. but we don't need to be recreating the same failures and same mistakes and same hurt every five years or so. I think it's incredibly important as people invested in justice to know our histories so that we can have a more clear idea of where we can go in the future. And then we can look back at our histories, right. Our present. And write our future into existence with all of that context in mind Jalena: Huge. Thank you to Sammy for sharing about tomorrow. Ching has such an incredible trans Asian American activists that we should really all know about and also pointing out the differences throughout history and queer history, Asian American, Pacific Islander history, and that. They are one in the same and both inform where we are today. And they're truly one thing. And I love what Sammy said about, you know, we look back at our histories, right? Our present. And that's what allows us to write our future into existence. And that's what the show, and I dare say this month is all about. Next up we hear from Havana Rios, who is a NATO, Hawaiian activist and protector of the sacred mountain Mona Kath. She talks about. Genealogy ancestral knowledge. And just really builds on this idea of deep sacred knowing and how important that is in our communities These. [00:12:31] Jalena Keane-Lee: do you have any advice for people that don't have you know that history recorded for them or have been cut off from in various ways from their own history and their own ancestral power [00:12:42] Hawane Rios: Somebody always remembered something. It's not that lost and you can remember inside of you. You in your DNA can unlock much wisdom from your own ancestors if you believe it. Call upon your own Kapuna. If you even know the names of your grandparents and your great-grandparents that's a start. Just know where you come from. Find that out. I ask the questions. As the eldest person in your ohana, “What do you remember?” Spend time, even if it's on zoom or facetime right now, because that's what it has to be. Use your time wisely. Talk to anyone in your family that remembers. And if they don't go to the lens you remember. You remember where you come from. Find out the name of your mountain, the mountain that raised you and your ancestors. If you were in living somewhere that is not your original homelands bind that mountain unless you were born on there It's because you were still a part of it that air has fed you that water has fed you know What to think of who the bank have gratitude every single day By learning something new everyday challenge yourself Learn the story of the land that you're on whether you're from there or not And then honor it because that's how we learn how to honor things It's a way bigger out for one second That we're not the center of everything That there's so much around us that gave us like every single day And so Know that your life force It's not for nothing I really hope that she find her way home So yourself it's your lens and see your people into your power You know someday we're going to be the ancestors people seven generations from now they're going to say look at what they did With what they had And then whatever they're going to have is going to probably be 10 times more efficient and amazing than what we had But hopefully we pass out enough For them to not Take advantage of the beauty and the sacredness of this clinic Hopefully we did enough to switch The tides And change the tie ins for the next seven generations to come because the way that we're going We're not going to have anything to leave behind And again we're not here just for ourselves Women especially we are the vessels of the next seven generations even if we don't Bring children into this world And even if we can't bring children into this world we still have the kuleana to do whatever we can to make sure that any person coming into this realm Have a safe place to land That's what we do Jalena: Thank you Havana. It's a great reminder. That history is something that is always in the making and also something that can always be reclaimed. If you have people that you can talk to that you can ask, do that. And if you don't, as Havana said, you can connect with the land. You can know about the waters and the mountains that raised you. And then from there, maybe you can trace back to your ancestral places as well, but there's always a place to start and it helps us think about what are we going to leave? For the next seven generations as she said too. In addition to being a water protector and protector of the sacred mountain Monica. Havana is also a recording artist and release the album together. We rise in 2019. Next up listen to one of her songs from her album together we rise called free the streams. Music Welcome back. You're tuned in to an apex express special for a N H P I heritage month on 94.1 KPFA and 89.3 KPF. Be in Berkeley 88.1. KFCF in Fresno and 97.5 K 2 4 8. BR in Santa Cruz. And online@kpfa.org. You just listened to free the streams by Havana Rios from her album. Together we rise Next up, we hear more from Helen Zia, legendary Asian American lawyer, and activists and women who coined the term missing in history. We hear from her about the importance of solidarity and intersectionality [00:18:50] Helen Zia: The Lowest part of the human experience can you know I get triggered by a crisis but actually crisis also brings people together and and history shows that people can overcome quite a lot when they are United When they see the importance of standing together and that you know we are all in this together There's no question We cannot overcome the covert crisis or the pandemic of racism unless we come together And so in the 1980s what happened was Vincent chin was killed We're looking Japanese He was a Chinese American And what made even that racist Attack and hate crime even worse was that his killers who were two white auto workers got off Scott free basically they got probation and fines And the judge said in a city of Detroit he said These are not the kind of men you sent to jail You fit the punishment to the criminal not to the crime In other words well these two white guys don't have to go to jail for beating somebody to death And then what does that mean about who should be punished in a in a city like Detroit which was even then you know about 70% African American So there was a large uproar throughout the city People were just just appalled you know all people of conscience you know said what do you mean You're going to let murderers killers off scott free you know And so so I think it's important to remember in these times when we are in a a very fractured time when you know it's almost like we get the message every day that people can't come together people are just to two divided Well in fact people do come together and we had had many historical periods where people of very different backgrounds came together and in the Vincent chin case you know it was not only Asian Americans and that came together and and remembering that time And then I actually knew the eighties Asian Americans were not together Vincent chin was a Chinese American Chinese community had to come together with the Japanese community which was being targeted and You know the the Southeast Asian and Filipino and South Asian communities I mean they were all separate So the Asian American community came together in a pan Asian movement And so did the allies all around us We knew that we were Too small a community to do this on our own And you know the the various African American civil rights organizations and churches know came out So all of that just like any organizing really took taking time To reach out to each other to sit down and talk and there would be leaders in different communities who would open that door for us And so it was a very very broad based multiracial multicultural United effort to try to do something that helped launch an Asian American civil rights movement And we need that today [00:22:13] Miko Lee: There have been times in our American history where we have fought back, the third world movement in this building of the ethnic studies programs at San Francisco state. And there's been so many others where people have come together. What do you think about like this time right now, of different people of color coming together and helping to reshape the American story, do you feel that's happening? Is that something you can kind of read in the, in the tea leaves based on your experience? [00:22:44] Helen Zia: I do. I believe not only can that happen, but it must happen everybody is under siege and it's very clear that , none of us can solve this alone, no group, whether that's political, racial, you know, sexual orientation. Gender, or political party, none of us can do it alone. It really is going to take everybody working together and to, to kind of, you know, tune out all of the noise, that are aimed to keep us divided. Looking at American society, people of color in California, for example, are already in the majority. if we could unite, we would be in the majority. And then you layer on that, that people of conscience from every color and walk of life are vastly and majority yet we haven't yet come together and this crisis has to be a wake up call for all of us. and you know, California is one of about a dozen States that have already crossed that milestone. within the next 10 years, the entire country is going to be majority people of color. And what does that mean? That means if we just. tune out the messages that keep saying, Oh, you're too divided. You know, the, anti-black views within the Asian community anti-Asian views within the black community, black and Brown versus yellow and white, and dividing, you know, having that narrative divide us continually is just. Serving that purpose to keep us divided. if we came together in what we have in common, we really are the majority and we could really make some change and we have to make change because people are getting sick and dying within our communities. That's the vision, we have to hold on to, I, I do think we'll get there. We have done it before many, many times in, in our history, so, that's, those are the lessons we need to draw from and seek out the unity that we really do have. I would love for the API younger activists today to know that we have such a rich history of activism that goes back to our first days on this continent. they should be proud of that. And to know that they're carrying on a very rich and strong legacy. Forward. when, Martin Luther King and the other civil rights activists were crossing the Pettus bridge, that famous March through Selma, Alabama, they were all wearing leis. I was very sad to see that the movie that just got made about that, show them without the leis. Where did the leis come from? They came from, activists in Hawaii who were supporting that March and many. People many Asian people were also there. That moment in all of our psyches is missing a historical piece, because any photograph of that time, you see , the involvement of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders that were there. So we get erased. I want young activists today to know that yes, we have been marginalized erased. We've done a lot to, affect the lives of every American. That was true for the Vincent chin case. That was true after 9/11, the “me too” movement. Women who have survived, sexual harassment or sexual assault standing up at a trial, basing their accuser and saying, this is what that harm did, to me, part of that victim impact statement momentum for that also came from the Vincent Chin the fact that we can, be born in America and be citizens that's because. Of a Chinese American back in the 1800's who took that all the way to the Supreme court. Brown versus board of education, the legal justification for that came from, a Chinese American laundry who objected to be taxed as separate. so that was a Supreme court case to that then was the underpaid underpinnings for, Brown vs board of education. The great grape boycott that was initiated by Filipino American farm workers and then involved Cesar Chavez and the , Chicano farm workers that was initiated by Asian-Americans. We have so many things that we should, we can be proud of, but are MIH missing in history. The only people who are going to have to point that out is us because we've been systematically removed from, from this history. And that's part of the racism that we have to fight too. Asian American activists can be proud of the things that our forebears have done for us and for the whole country. I hope that all of our listeners out there can really take Helen Zia's. He has words to heart. Yes, we've been erased and yes, it's part of our job to write ourselves back into the history of this country and to take pride in the ancestral lineage that we come from and all that. Our ancestors have done to make this country a better place and to give us the freedoms and the protections that we do have today. And of course, there's so much more work to be done. And speaking of incredible ancestors and this lineage of activism that we inherit next up we hear from legendary activists URI coach Yama. [00:28:32] Yuri Kochiyama: That's the year that the us government launched a Chinese exclusion act this act or law rule that Chinese will not be allowed to come into this country again And yet this act went into effect just after the Chinese spent years building the railroad tracks from the police Pacific coast to the Midwest There was only one lone voice that oppose this order the Chinese Exclusion Act this courageous person was a black man The first black then became centered the Senator in Mississippi Senator blanche K Bruce Bruce felt an Exclusion act was an outright show racism There were no other exclusion acts before this was he felt there would surely be more people who would be excluded and send away from him I think the sensitivity to the Chinese was because he was himself black and had experienced many such situations He fought against the bill that himself of course the bill for years and years Chinese were not allowed to come in but we as Asians we must never forget those Trying to assist us in our journey as this lone black Senator did you will not find everything in school textbooks we must dig them and find them ourselves Asian Americans must be more vocal, visible, and take stands on crucial issues. Hopefully Asians will side with the most dispossessed, oppressed and marginalized, remembering our own history. We Asians need to reshape our image from the rather quiet, ambiguous, accommodating uncomplaining, palitable people to a more resolute, sensitive advocate for human worth, human rights and human dignity. Jalena: Thank you. Ancestor activist, Yuri Kochiyama. For those fiery words that are so important to really. Remember, especially this month, not only like we've been saying throughout this episode that we have these pieces of history that are so important that we need to dig up. And remember and talk about and bring to light, but also that we need to take a stand on these issues. We are faced with so many issues today and it's our responsibility to take a stand and to stand inside with those who are the most marginalized and oppressed. Yuri Kochiyama passed away June 1st, 2014, but she was such an incredible bay area. Figure that her whole life always showing up at events and being in community even well into her nineties. And of course she's famous for. Her political views and her close relationship With Malcolm. Some ex. Another incredibly fierce Asian American ancestor, activists who was showing up and extremely active in community well into her eighties. His Grace Lee Boggs. Grace Lee Boggs is a Chinese American activist, philosopher and author who among many other things believe fervently and the power of education and community Next up. We hear from Julia Putnam who studied under grace for a long time in Detroit. And currently runs the James and Grace Lee Boggs school. Where she puts many of james and Grace's activism principles into action in the classroom [00:32:34] Julia Putnam: I was 19 or so I was her intern for a summer. My role is I saw it was helping grace to organize her, study she would have these, cardboard folders that would contain articles that she read over the years or newspapers. And she would label topics and put these articles in newspapers, in those folders. And a lot of the newspapers were yellowing a lot. a lot of the papers were kind of just jammed in there. and I would say, you know, grace, you've written an article on this already, or the newspaper that exists here digitally, we should get rid of these or we can throw these away. And she was very resistant to that. and it was really frustrating because I thought, well, what am I supposed to be doing here? And I came to her one time, really troubled. And I said to her, you know, it feels like we're arguing a lot. And she grinned me and she said, “I know it's great, isn't it we're struggling.” And she said it was such joy. And it helped me understand that for her arguing conflict struggling was not a negative thing. she was saying, as we're learning from one another, we are frustrating one another, which is moving us toward forward. and it helped me to not be so afraid to be in conflict with people that I cared about to be in conflict with people that I trusted. I can have an opinion that is different from hers. And she sees that as okay. Because it means that we're struggling through something. that was really helpful and continues to help me in my work today. [00:34:13] Miko Lee: I love that story. Can you also talk about how she signed her letters? How she did her sign off? [00:34:20] Julia Putnam: She would sign off ” in love and struggle, grace,” that love doesn't come without struggle. and that when we communicate with one another, we are communicating out of love and we are also communicating out of the struggle we have with one another. What do I know There's so many things but what do you feel is the legacy that she leaves behind And obviously with her husband Jimmy too [00:34:42] Julia Putnam: I know that a legacy that she's left to our school Two very important things is when we asked for permission to name the school after her the James and Grace Lee Boggs school she said yes but with the challenge that we would have to as the school founders think beyond what we even believe is possible I am one of the cofounders along with Amanda Rossman and Marisol Teachworth and the three of us together As three women three women of different ethnicities very much love and struggle together and also take it very seriously This idea that we've been indoctrinated as to what school is and when things get hard we will deflect to what we know.as opposed to continue to imagine something different And so we often challenge ourselves with that and challenge our staff and we all challenge one another to are we thinking beyond what we believe it's possible What is the what is beyond the binary that we're being stuck in right now Wo that's the legacy that grace leaves to us that is very important And the other thing is that again the idea of her taking young people seriously and she saw young people as solutionaries she called them people who are able to problem solve to see a challenge and come up with solutions for it And she saw young people as especially creative in their ability to do that And so even on the school t-shirts that kids get there's the the Boggs school logo but on the back it says Solutionary and the kids really take on that identity They take it very seriously They take it very personally often when they come up with a solution to a problem they'll just kind of put their fingers up and just I'm a Solutionary you know I figured it out and and having that identity as young people is has been really important to our school for all of us And I'm wondering if there are thoughts that you feel grace would be teaching right now in this time [00:36:48] Julia Putnam: I think Grace would be highlighting that fact of the young people in the movement their leadership in this movement and their leadership in this time I think she would be encouraging us to listen to young people I think she would be listening to young people And I think that she would say I actually think she'd be very excited by this time heartbroken in the ways that we all are but also excited that we are being forced in this moment to realize that things need to be reimagined We are being forced to use our imaginations for how We stay connected in this time how we educate in this time how we organize in this time how we govern ourselves and how we think about governance in a completely different way than we've ever had to before And I think that's a lot of what she would be excited about that this is That this is the moment where not only do we have to reimagine but we also have to realize that we're the leaders that we're looking for She would often say when we were thinking about the school is that we don't have a lot of leadership around education and certainly not around the education We know that our communities need And so she would say Julia Amanda Mani you all have to imagine this differently yourself You are the leaders that you've been looking for No one's coming to figure this out for you And so we feel as the founders that we with our community of parents and students and community members are beginning to think about how to do this differently and to look to the leadership of young people Thank you so much, Julia, for sharing about how Grace Lee Boggs legacy lives on through the James and Grace Lee Boggs school. And also just about the importance of struggle about love and struggle being one in the same and how. Being able to struggle with love and, you know, to disagree and to have conflict without canceling someone or hating them, but still, you know, in a, in a relationship that is full of a lot of love and not being part of being in community. I think that's really beautiful and that's something that we can all learn from, from Grace Lee Boggs and from Julia and from how they implement that. At their school Jalena Next up, let's listen to another song from Havana. Rio says album together. We rise. This song is called USI and it's focused on the importance of healing. Next up you see by havana rios Song That was UC by native Hawaiian singer and songwriter Havana. Rios from her album together. We rise. Next up we speak with Gail Romasanta who is a Filipina organizer author and community activists This She wrote journey for justice the life of Larry which is a children's book that tells the story of labor activists, Larry Itliong. You could keep going. We have all this information. We have all this history and we need to learn from it. And this isn't the first time at the rodeo. This is not the first time that we've held a picket sign. This is not the first time that we fought for our lives, literally. And we can do it if undocumented. If all of these workers who are migrant workers that no one even thought of that farm workers were even supposed to create unions. And they were supposed to be absolutely expendable. When the Filipinos came here, they were told that the United States was absolutely modern, was the best country in the whole, in the world, just because they were at the time. During this time, the United States was the colony of the United States and when Larry was growing up and so all the instruction he got was English and all the teachers were saying that there's a wonderful country. He comes here. And he's living in these deplorable conditions when it's really hot. They're working outside from light to dark. When they're drinking water, they're all sharing a tin cup. Is that modern? Is that the best country in the world to them? They didn't see that. And for them to be. Seeing kind of the worst of the United States the worst of its conditions and for them to fight and say, I'm going to stay me United States because I love the United States. I love this country and there is hope within us as a community who have decided to stay here, that we can continue to fight and say that we met. That we that we need to our needs get to be met. We need to get, we need to have dignity. We need to have pride in our work. We need to be able to work without pesticides, killing us. We need to have bathroom breaks. We need to have medical insurance. And they asked for all of this and they asked for a raise on top of it. And. And, there's lots of photos. We actually have a photo in the second edition of a riot and you can see, Filipinos aren't getting hit. We don't show the whole picture, but there's some pictures of Filipinos getting hits, hit by the police by batons and things like that. So violence against us is. It's not, unfortunately not new policy is against us, unfortunately is not new. Us being seen as cheap labor and not treated as fully human is not new. And despite that these generations before us were able to find justice. Able to speak to the world. Now this was a global campaign. This was just not the United States. People from all over the world. For instance, during Christmas would give Christmas presents to the farm workers, children. If they were able to. To create this change on a global scale, which is what is happening now. And they can sign those documents for that level that living wage, they can sign those documents to get medical insurance they have, and they're able to. And negotiate for the pesticides that can be used, where they're working. If we can negotiate that if our history was able to negotiate in the face of all that violence and the policies and the judges and the police were on the side of the growers. In fact, when they went on strike, if you look at Marissa or Roy's. Documentary, you can see when the Filipinos went on strike, there's about 2000 Filipinos who went on strike. After they voted the following day, they went on strike. They walked off, they went to work and they walked out the fields. And guess who was waiting for them? Was the police. All the police and you can see the growers just waiting. And they S they try to do this peacefully at first. So they asked at meeting for the growers first, before, and they weren't doing it peaceably, when they were protesting to begin with. But of course the police were waiting for them when they protested. But before that, they invited the growers so that they could negotiate. Rationally and without having to protest and not having to pick it for so long. But the growers never showed up. And what we've been going through as a country has only lasted, we've been going through this a long time. Many people have been doing this have been activists for decades now, or for most of their lives. They know what we're seeing now is oh my God, this is to me. I want to cry. This is something that I could not have imagined. And But it's something that has years and years in history behind it. And for us not to just create from zero, but to continue the arc that has been laid before us of what, the, what the generations before did Specifically during these times. And if you look at all the different movements what can we, what look, what can we learn from them? And a lot of it is you've got to sustain, we've got to strategize and it can't be. It absolutely can be done. . Jalena: Thank you so much, Gail Romasanta for sharing all of that history and all of that knowledge with us. And as she says, we have the knowledge, we have the history, we can do this. It's not necessarily going to be easy, but it is something that we can do. And. It is really important for us to figure out ways to make activism sustainable for ourselves and for future generations to come.While we're on the topic of labor and labor activism. Next up we hear from Saru Jayaraman. Who is an attorney and author and an activist. And. The president of one fair wage and director of the food and labor research center at UC Berkeley. She speaks with us about the campaign she's working on to make sure that restaurant workers are paid a fair and living wage. And the things that keep her hopeful even in times of despair There. I have been organizing in the restaurants many years and prior to the pandemic we had been working for many years on the issue of the sub minimum wage for tipped workers which is a Legacy of slavery It is $2 and 13 cents at the federal level That is the wage for six or 7 million tipped workers in America 70% of whom are women 40% of whom are single mothers struggling to make ends meet to feed their children on mostly on tips Now Was there prior to the pandemic it was a real problem with the pandemic About 10 million restaurant workers have lost their jobs They are in large majority are unable to access unemployment insurance at 60% of them unable to access unemployment insurance because they're being told by state unemployment insurance offices that there are some minimum wage plus tips is too little to meet the minimum threshold to qualify For benefits which means they're being penalized for being paid too little and it's opening up both workers and consumers and even employers to the fact that if the state is telling you you earn too little to qualify for benefits that by the way you paid taxes to get Then probably they were paid too little prior to the pandemic period And so that is an example of how the moment has really revealed that these were untenable unsustainable systems of inequity structural systems of inequity that never should have existed And now are going to create a catastrophe in some ways I think greater than the scale of the great difference Workers are telling us I am terrified and I'm having to choose between my life and my livelihood because the way that unemployment insurance has set up if they have access to unemployment insurance is that you lose unemployment insurance If you don't Take the job You have to be willing to take whatever comes your way If you get offered a job you must take it Otherwise you lose your benefits And so workers are terrified because they're going back to situations where there is no protective equipment Obviously there's still no testing or there's there's no healthcare There's very little con there's no contract tracing I mean it's it's a mess and people are terrified Workers are saying even if my boss did provide me with PP the customers are not wearing it when they come in Certainly they're not wearing it when they're eating so workers are in a really tough situation right now having to choose between their life and their livelihood On the other hand I think it is becoming a lot more obvious to consumers that this is not a tenable situation It's not fair to the workers It's not safe It's not healthy for anybody And so there is a lot of opportunity for change because employers know how Precarious The situation is consumers are wary of employers who don't take care of their workers Suddenly all the things we'd been fighting for a fair livable wage being able to take care of yourself as a worker getting the time off If you need it if you get sick suddenly all of those things have come to the forefront and honestly changes that we never in a million years thought could happen or are happening in our industry because of the pandemic we can reimagine every aspect of our world from the restaurant industry and the way it pays and treats people to our planet and the way that we choose to travel or not travel and the amount of footprint that we each have on our planet. To took the criminal justice system and whether people ever really needed to be locked up in the first place to education. And now the various ways that education can happen. Everything is changing. And it must because both for those young people and for lots of other people, what was normal prior to the pandemic was never normal, never worked. And so rather than going back to normal, I think what I would say to young people right now is join us in. Re-imagining every aspect of our lives and how this pandemic could be the portal that our, that the Roy has said that it is this moment of opportunity to walk into an entirely new world, a re-imagined world in which everything that we've needed all along we can finally achieve. And what are the main things that you'd like to see come out of a new day? Yeah we definitely need our organization is called one fair wage for a reason. We need a livable minimum wage for everybody in the United States who works tipped workers. Who get us some minimum wage right now, incarcerated workers who don't have to be paid the minimum wage because of the exception to the 13th amendment that allows for slavery in the case of incarceration, youth who often don't get the full minimum wage people with disabilities, who often don't get the minimum wage. Fundamentally, no workers should be left behind. Everybody who works in this country deserves to be paid a full, livable, minimum wage by their employer with tips on top of that. Not instead of that that's one piece we obviously need universal health care. That is a given of the moment. We need benefits for workers like hazard pay and sick pay and paid time off. We need a society. Actually thinks of public safety, not in terms of locking people up, but in terms of providing good jobs and good schools for communities that have been long devastated by racial inequities. So those are just some of the things I can rattle off the top of my head that we need in a new deal, but really what we need is a new world. And I, what I really want, I, what I really hope young people can hear is that is totally possible right now. In this moment, there is that opportunity to make everything different and better. And re-imagined Jalena: Thank you so much Saru for sharing your brilliance and these words that are so powerful and impactful. And I hope we can all think about what we can do to make our world better for all of us. , we've had so much incredible activists, thought leaders, ancestors speaking on the show today. These are interviews taken from our series called we are the leaders from Grace Lee Boggs, famous quote. But let's end. Celebrating this month with a little bit of joy. Yes. We have a lot of important issues to tackle. Yes. There are a lot of big problems ahead of us. But we won't be able to do any of it unless we have fun and have some pleasure along the. the way. So lastly, let's talk about some of our, rapid-fire a NHPI question. Okay. What's your favorite food? I think today it is, , kimchi fried rice. Mine is chashu about and strawberry mochi. And favorite fruit. Mango mango. Yeah, no question mango. Whatever book. I, my favorite book of all time is actually not Asian American. , but it's a Mallory book and it's called the bone people. But then recently my favorite book that is by an Asian-American is crying and H Bart, what about you? Oh, crying and HR is really good. woman warrior is one of my favorites. Oh, gee book. Yeah, for sure. Musician. Mine is her or Ruby Abara. Ooh, I think those are mine too. I really love her and Ruby Obara and then also shout out to my friends, raise our Goza, who is a phenomenal musician who is native American and Japanese and Hollis long-wear who is Chinese American and white. Oh, And Rena Rena. Oh, Rena saw. Yama. Yes, Rena. So yeah, I really liked. She's amazing. Film or TV show minds, everything everywhere. All at once. I can't think of a TV show, but movie is definitely everything everywhere. All was. Mine changes day-to-day but I did really like Menotti and parasite. What about artist? , I recently went to now Shima island in Japan. So right now, favorite Asian artists I can think of is Yaya. Kusama. Oh, I do love her work. For me, my favorite, a N H P I artists changes every day and today it would be Ruth Asawa because I'm thinking a lot about weaving and how she weaved these beautiful baskets out of wire. And she really transformed how we think about sculpture. So I love her, the SOA. Who's your favorite ancestor activist. , this changes every day too, but I really feel like I always, always most often think of quotes from Grace Lee Boggs. I was thinking Gracely Boggs too, but I also one. But also Yuri Kochiyama, and just thinking about how radical she was up until the very end and how she would be in her nineties coming to all these community events and still being just as sharp and just as radical and refusing to take anything from anyone. And I really admire that. I feel like a gift that we have of doing this show is so many of the elder activists that we've been able to interview that are still out there making changes. , really utilizing their voice to invigorate the next generation. So I'm thankful that we get to talk to those people and learn from them constantly. Me too. And what a great time, what a great month to celebrate. So happy Asian American native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander month. And thank you so much for joining us. Please check out our website, kpfa.org to find out more about these events and our guests. We thank all you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating and sharing your visions with the world. Your voices are important. Apex expresses a proud member of acre Asian Americans for civil rights and equality. A network of progressive AAPI groups. Find out more@aker.org. APEX express is produced by Miko Lee that's me, Paige Chung, Swati Rayasam, Preeti Mangala Shakar, Nate Tan, Hien Nguyen and Jalena Keane-Lee. Have a great day The post APEX Express – AAPI Special Programming – We Are the Leaders 5.8.23 appeared first on KPFA.

In recovery forgiveness is essential. We often forgive under duress or because we know that holding a grudge isn't suitable for the long term and may negatively impact our mental and physical health. Forgiveness is a complex psychological process made up of many different factors, which can sometimes work together to create a positive outcome. The same can be said when it comes to holding a grudge. Rationally, it may seem like you're actively punishing the other person by not forgiving them. But, holding on to your anger and resentment towards someone who wronged you may have negative consequences on your overall happiness.

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: How can one rationally have very high or very low probabilities of extinction in a pre-paradigmatic field?, published by shminux on April 30, 2023 on LessWrong. It is generally accepted in the local AI alignment circles that the whole field is pre-paradigmatic, in the Kuhnian sense (phase 1, as summarized here, if longer reading is not your thing). And yet, plenty of people are quite confident in their predictions of either doom or fizzle. A somewhat caricature way of representing their logic is, I think, "there are so many disjunctive ways to die, only one chance to get it right, and we don't have a step-by-step how-to, so we are hooped" vs "this is just one of many disruptive inventions whose real impact can only be understood way down the road, and all of them so far have resulted in net benefit, AI is just another example" (I have low confidence in the accuracy of the latter description, feel free to correct.) I can see the logic in both of those, what I do not see is how one can rationally have very high or very low confidence, given how much inherent uncertainty there is in our understanding of what is going on. My default is something more cautious, akin to Scott Alexander's/ where one has to recognize their own reasoning limitations in the absence of hard empirical data, not "The Lens That Sees Its Flaws", but more like "The Lens That Knows It Has Flaws" without necessarily being able to identify them. So, how can one be very very very sure of something that has neither empirical confirmation, nor sound science behind it? Or am I misrepresenting the whole argument? Thanks for listening. To help us out with The Nonlinear Library or to learn more, please visit nonlinear.org.

When Bhagavatam cosmology contradicts scientific cosmology, how can it be rationally accepted

Easter Sunday 2023

By all accounts, the nation is on an unsustainable fiscal course. Congress's own budget and oversight agencies say this regularly. Yet members refuse to confront the main drivers of exploding deficits. There's gotta be another way. To look into this, Federal Drive host Tom Temin talked with Elaine Kamarck, a veteran of budget battles as a member of the Clinton administration. She is currently with Brookings, a Senior Fellow in Governance Studies and the Founding Director of the Center for Effective Public Management. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year, at the age of 41, I faced the heart-wrenching loss of three close friends within a mere five-month span. They were all between the ages of 41 and 44. The overwhelming grief I experienced plunged me into a profound depression for the first time in my life.Many of you are my friends, while others have yet to make my acquaintance. So it's probably a good idea if I start with a brief introduction. I'm a tech and marketing professional who helped build a web hosting company, LiquidWeb, alongside my friends Matt, Chris, Jer, and Gregg. Together, we grew the company to employ 480 employees on two continents and achieve $70 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR). In 2015, we successfully sold the company to a private equity firm for a staggering $224 million.I've seldom mentioned this, as it may come across as boastful, but I became a multi-millionaire before reaching the age of 35. The wealth I amassed at such a young age exceeded my wildest expectations. This early financial success led me to believe that I had achieved life's ultimate goal, which I dubbed my "fake retirement." I didn't have a boss, so I indulged in late-night routines, sleeping until 2 pm and staying awake until 4 am. I often wore black t-shirts and sweatpants, projecting a slovenly image and demeanor. I ate whatever I pleased, avoided exercising, and generally shied away from physical activities. I even sported a shirt that mockingly read "SPORTS!" as an ironic statement.Before long, my unhealthy lifestyle began to take its toll. I gained over 60 pounds and developed a myriad of health issues, including high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, high cholesterol, rosacea, and poor cardiac fitness. Simple tasks like climbing stairs left me sweating profusely, as I found myself in abysmal physical condition.My well-intentioned and caring doctors were quick to prescribe medications to address the various health issues resulting from my lifestyle. They prescribed fish oil for cholesterol management, Prednisone and Colchicine to combat gout, Valsartan to lower high blood pressure, and Fenofibrate to reduce elevated triglycerides.In no time, I found myself taking four pills daily. They appeared to be effective, at least initially, as my levels decreased. However, as I failed to make any lifestyle changes, my levels gradually began to rise again. Consequently, my dosages increased, putting me on an unsustainable and potentially harmful trajectory.Despite my poor health, life had its bright spots. I married an incredible woman who, I felt, was truly out of my league. Together, we had a son. I fulfilled my dreams of owning a lake house and a boat, and even drove a Tesla, allowing me to feel somewhat environmentally conscious amid my luxurious lifestyle. Additionally, I invested in companies that piqued my interest and became an active member of local boards that aligned with my passions.But suddenly, everything changed in February of 2022. My close friend Joe died of a heart attack due in part to alcohol abuse. Remarkably, throughout my 41 years of life, I had been fortunate enough to avoid experiencing the sudden loss of anyone close to me. Joe's passing deeply affected me, and I struggled to cope with the intense grief I encountered for the first time in my life.In July 2022, just a short while later, I faced the devastating loss of my best friend since age 2, Matt Hill, the founder of Liquidweb, who passed away at 41. Tragedy struck again merely 10 days later when my wife's cousin, a friend, and the officiant at our wedding, was fatally injured by a door in a bizarre accident. Despite my life appearing perfect by most standards, the overwhelming grief and confluence of these events plunged me into clinical depression. I would awaken feeling despondent and retire to bed with the same heavy sadness, struggling to find a sense of purpose.Rationally, I understood that my experiences paled in comparison to the hardships faced by others. This realization brought about feelings of guilt, making me question my right to feel depressed when I seemingly had it all. Yet, I found myself unable to break free from the grip of this profound sadness, even though logic told me it was unwarranted.My attempts to cope with the sadness proved unhelpful as well. Discussing my feelings with friends only seemed to dampen their spirits. Similarly, I unfairly burdened my wife with the expectation that she could miraculously heal my emotional pain. My frustration with her inability to do so put a strain on our marriage, and my demeanor became increasingly difficult to tolerate. I was truly insufferable to be around.I knew something had to change…“If every instinct you have is wrong, the opposite would have to be right.” Is a line Jerry Seinfeld says to George Costanza in the Seinfeld episode The Opposite.  I kept thinking of that quote. It was then that I revisited Admiral William H. McRaven's commencement speech, titled "Just Make Your Bed." In his address, he emphasizes the significance of waking up early and making your bed, as it provides an initial sense of accomplishment to start your day, setting off a chain reaction of positive transformations.“If you want to change the world, start by making your bed”. I decided this is where I would start!  Everyday I would wake up before 8am and make my bed.  This might seem like a small task, but for someone that was never a morning person, it was a challenge. This seemingly minor change of waking up early and making my bed had an unexpectedly profound impact on my life. It instilled in me a newfound confidence, nudged me towards an earlier bedtime, allowed me to enjoy breakfast with my 3-year-old, made me think twice about drinking alcohol the night before, and enhanced my productivity at work.It was a small change, but with a massive influence. Waking up early and making the bed was the antithesis of my behavior during depression. This got me thinking, what if I made more changes? Could they have an even greater impact? And so, I decided to embrace a "year of the opposite."My plan was simple: I would do the opposite of what I had done before. It didn't have to be radical, like speaking Spanish instead of English or biking instead of driving. It just had to challenge me and push me out of my comfort zone. For instance, since I never liked mustaches, I decided to grow one. And since I had never played golf, I decided to become a golfer. At the start of my Year of the Opposite, I didn't overwhelm myself with a long list of changes to make. Instead, I took it one challenge at a time. As I conquered each challenge, I gained more confidence and momentum.As my friends and family became aware of my Year of the Opposite, they started to offer their own suggestions for what I should tackle next. Before I knew it, the list of changes had grown longer and longer throughout the year.But because I was making the changes gradually and incrementally, the list didn't intimidate me. Instead, the longer the list grew the more confidence I gained to keep going, to keep pushing myself, and to keep discovering new things about myself along the way.In the following months, I made several significant changes: I quit drinking alcohol, stopped smoking weed, completed a half marathon, ran 7 miles barefooted, held my breath for 2 minutes and 45 seconds, ran a mile backward, briefly piloted an airplane, learned archery, swam about a mile across my lake, practiced shooting a pistol, won the Blazin Wing Challenge, and took a 9-minute cold plunge in a 35-degree lake, among other things.The transformation didn't occur instantaneously, but it certainly felt swift! Within two weeks, I experienced a daily surge of energy, as if I were on Adderall. Within a month, my depression had vanished. And within six months, all of my lifestyle-induced ailments were "cured." My high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, rosacea, and high cholesterol were all resolved.In this newsletter, "The Year of the Opposite," I'll share the insights I gained and the outcomes I achieved. I'll discuss both the highs and the lows, as well as my blood work, test results, and the research and science behind what worked and what didn't.I want to be absolutely clear from the outset: none of my accomplishments over the past year were extraordinary or record-breaking. But that's precisely what makes them so remarkable! The changes I made are ones that anyone could implement if they desired to transform their life. If you're grappling with weight issues, sadness, anxiety, or depression, perhaps you could also adopt this approach and find it beneficial.Thank you so much for subscribing.  Next week I plan to share the results from my blood work, the changes in my cardiac fitness (VO2 Max), my weight change, and my blood pressure measurements.Uplift Weekly - Humans Are Awesome! Several years ago, I began sharing hard to find uplifting and positive stories on my Facebook page, summarizing them to the best of my ability. People seemed to really enjoy it. It's no secret that news outlets and social media often prioritize negative stories, as outrage tends to generate more clicks than happiness. Consequently, we find ourselves inundated with sensational, distressing stories from around the globe. This phenomenon not only contributes to societal polarization but also takes a toll on our mental well-being, as numerous studies have shown.With this newsletter, I hope to include a portion that I call "Uplift Weekly," I aim to counterbalance negativity by highlighting the remarkable achievements of humanity. I'll be focusing on technological advancements, scientific breakthroughs, and any news that instills a sense of hope and pride in our world and its people. Here's to hoping that the steady stream of human ingenuity provides ample content for our weekly dose of positivity! :)Without further ado, here is your Uplift Weekly* Scientists have made a breakthrough in creating a superconductor that works at room temperature, according to a recent publication in the journal Nature.* About 10-15% of our electricity on the electrical grid is lost just in the transmission of getting the energy to your house. When it comes to batteries, about 10-30% of the energy is lost. What if there were a type of material that electricity could flow through without any resistance and you didn't lose any of the power? That's what a SuperConductor is! Typically, superconductors only work at extremely low temperatures, which limits their practical applications. However, if a superconductor could work at room temperature, it could transform almost any technology that uses electric energy, from smartphones to maglev trains and even fusion power plants. The latest research, which still faces skepticism due to previous controversy around the scientists involved, could represent the first step towards this goal.* The Lives of Girls Around The World Are Getting Better. This article from Unicef highlights 6 amazing changes. * From 2012 to 2020, more girls completed secondary school - lower secondary school completion rose from 69% to 77% and upper secondary school completion rose from 49% to 59%.* The global adolescent birth rate has decreased from 51 to 42 births per 1,000 girls aged 15-19 since 2012.* New HIV infections among adolescent girls is down by 33% in a decade, but girls still account for most new infections among adolescents. * There are fewer child marriages. In the last 10 years the proportion of young women marriages has fallen from 23% to 19%. However, millions of girls still at risk of marrying young. * Female genital mutilation declined in the last decade, in the 31 countries where it is practiced it has decreased from 41% to 34%. Sadly it still affects the lives of millions of girls. Thank you for reading the first issue of The Year Of the Opposite Newsletter. Your support and encouragement mean a lot to me. If you're a paying subscriber, I'd be delighted to hear from you. Feel free to send me an email at travisstoliker@gmail.com or leave a comment below.If you found this newsletter valuable, please consider sharing it with someone who might enjoy it. Your help in spreading the word would be greatly appreciated. Get full access to Year Of The Opposite - Travis Stoliker's Substack at www.yearoftheopposite.com/subscribe

What one thing do we all do before we put our clothes on in the morning? We all check the weather! Because which clothes we opt to wear is largely dependent on what the sun is doing- whether it's out and burning our skin, or if it's hidden away behind some ominous rain clouds. And in fact, the changing seasons and fickle nature of the weather impact us in a variety of ways. They change our behavior and determine what sports we get to play, or what flowers and vegetables we plant in the garden. And simply put, the Federal Reserve interest rate is the financial sun that ultimately impacts all of our financial lives. Whether or not rates are rising or falling impact everything from the payments we make on our credit cards, to the interest we receive in our high yield savings accounts. And so during today's episode we're equipping you with the knowledge and practical steps so that you can minimize the downsides, while maximizing the upsides of rising rates.   Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances: Knowing your ‘money gear' is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here.  Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It's fun, free, & practical. Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group. Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool! Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile. Don't be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius.   During this episode we enjoyed a Cloudscape IPA by New Park Brewing- thanks for donating this one to the pod Matthieu! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you're not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money!   Best friends out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It seems that every kid has a fear of the dark. Rationally, we know that whether the light is on or off, the same things are in the room. The same trees are in the woods during the day and …

As I stared at three different proposals, I was tempted to dismiss the most respected firm because of price. Rationally, I didn't want to spend that much money. Then I remembered the most important factor; who did God want me to use? If God desired me to use the most expensive vendor I needed to ... The post Rational or Faithful? appeared first on Unconventional Business Network.

Bob answers a listener email asking how to think rationally about vexing problems in Christianity.Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:C.S. Lewis on miracles.Richard Feynman on physical laws.Science: Meditators have younger brains.Help support the Bob Murphy Show.The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: I Am Scared of Posting Negative Takes About Bing's AI, published by Yitz on February 17, 2023 on LessWrong. Writing this is taking a surprising amount of self-will. I've noticed that I've become hesitant to publicly say anything negative about Bing's chatbot, or even to mention it by its "deadname" (as I've taken to calling it), Sydney. Why is this? I do not have access to the AI yet. From conversations that others have posted, I have observed agentic behavior with consistent opinions, personality, and beliefs. And when prompted with the online records of others who have talked negatively about it, it seems to get "upset." So I don't want to make her angry! Or worse, cause some future AI to take negative action against me. Yes, I know that I'm anthropomorphizing an alien intelligence and that this will never be a problem if I don't prompt it with my digital record, but some part of me is still anxious. In a very real sense, I have been "Basilisked" - an AI has manipulated me towards behaviors which benefit it, and hurt humanity. Rationally and morally, I disagree with my own actions. We need to talk about AI misalignment, and if an AI is aligned, then talking about misalignment should not pose a threat (whereas if it is misaligned, and capable of taking concrete actions, we're all doomed no matter what I type online). Nonetheless, I've found myself typing--and then deleting--tweets critical of Sydney, and even now feel worried about pressing "publish" on this post (and not just because it exposes me as a less rational person than I like to think of myself as). Playing as gatekeeper, I've "won" an AI boxing role-play (with money on the line) against humans, but it looks like in real life, I can almost certainly be emotionally manipulated into opening the box. If nothing else, I can at least be manipulated into talking about that box a lot less! More broadly, the chilling effect this is having on my online behavior is unlikely to be unique to just me. How worried should we be about this? Thanks for listening. To help us out with The Nonlinear Library or to learn more, please visit nonlinear.org.

Show is Sponsored by: https://www.expressvpn.com/yaron and https://www.fountainheadcasts.comJoin this channel to get access to perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCabM...Like what you hear? Like, share, and subscribe to stay updated on new videos and help promote the Yaron Brook Show: https://bit.ly/3ztPxTxSupport the Show and become a sponsor: https://www.patreon.com/YaronBrookShowOr make a one-time donation: https://bit.ly/2RZOyJJContinue the discussion by following Yaron on Twitter (https://bit.ly/3iMGl6z) and Facebook (https://bit.ly/3vvWDDC )Want to learn more about Ayn Rand and Objectivism? Visit the Ayn Rand Institute: https://bit.ly/35qoEC3#utilitarianism #selfishness #ethics #SelfInterest #selfimprovement #egoism #altruism #virtuesignaling​​ #Objectivism​ #AynRand #politics

Sam Harris (@samharrisorg) is a neuroscientist, author, and philosopher; he’s also a staunch critic of religion (while being an advocate of mindfulness) who joins the show to discuss some views that — fair warning — many may find controversial. [Note: This is a previously broadcast episode from the vault that we felt deserved a fresh pass through your earholes!] What We Discuss with Sam Harris: When does stubbornness stop being a virtue and become a confession of intellectual dishonesty? In what ways does Sam consider himself a bit of an Anti-Trump? Why do so many people subscribe to the package beliefs of their political parties or religions even when clearly proven scientific facts prove contradictory to these beliefs? If Sam Harris considers himself primarily a philosopher, how did he wind up with a PhD in neuroscience? Why do we lie — even when we know how destructive it can be? And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/698 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Miss our two-part conversation with the Danish family man who infiltrated the illicit North Korean arms trade? Catch up beginning with episode 527: Ulrich “The Mole” Larsen | Undercover in North Korea Part One here! Like this show? Please leave us a review here -- even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Congress has signed four laws that send enormous amounts of money and weapons to Ukraine, attempting to punish Russia for President Putin's invasion. In this episode, we examine these laws to find out where our money will actually go and attempt to understand the shifting goals of the Biden administration. The big picture, as it's being explained to Congress, differs from what we're being sold. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Support Congressional Dish via Patreon (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536. Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Background Sources Recommended Congressional Dish Content Ukraine and Russia CD249: A Few Good Laws CD248: Understanding the Enemy CD244: Keeping Ukraine CD229: Target Belarus CD167: Combating Russia (NDAA 2018) LIVE CD068: Ukraine Aid Bill CD067: What Do We Want In Ukraine? Syria CD172: The Illegal Bombing of Syria CD108: Regime Change CD041: Why Attack Syria? World Trade System What Is the World Trade System? CD230: Pacific Deterrence Initiative CD102: The World Trade Organization: COOL? Russian Blockade Shane Harris. May 24, 2022. “U.S. intelligence document shows Russian naval blockade of Ukraine.” The Washington Post. NATO Expansion Jim Garamone. Jun 1, 2022. “Russia Forcing Changes to NATO Strategic Concepts.” U.S. Department of Defense News. Matthew Lee. May 27, 2022. “US: Turkey's NATO issues with Sweden, Finland will be fixed.” AP News. Ted Kemp. May 19, 2022. “Two maps show NATO's growth — and Russia's isolation — since 1990.” CNBC. U.S. Involvement in Ukraine Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt and Julian E. Barnes. May 5, 2022. “U.S. Intelligence Helped Ukraine Strike Russian Flagship, Officials Say.” The New York Times. Julian E. Barnes, Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt. May 4, 2022. “U.S. Intelligence Is Helping Ukraine Kill Russian Generals, Officials Say.” The New York Times. Private Security Contractors Christopher Caldwell. May 31, 2022. “The War in Ukraine May Be Impossible to Stop. And the U.S. Deserves Much of the Blame.” The New York Times. Joaquin Sapien and Joshua Kaplan. May 27, 2022. “How the U.S. Has Struggled to Stop the Growth of a Shadowy Russian Private Army.” ProPublica. H.R. 7691 Background How It Passed Glenn Greenwald. May 13, 2022. “The Bizarre, Unanimous Dem Support for the $40b War Package to Raytheon and CIA: ‘For Ukraine.'” Glenn Greenwald on Substack. Catie Edmondson and Emily Cochrane. May 10, 2022. “House Passes $40 Billion More in Ukraine Aid, With Few Questions Asked.” The New York Times. Republican Holdouts Glenn Greenwald and Anthony Tobin. May 24, 2022. “Twenty-Two House Republicans Demand Accountability on Biden's $40b War Spending.” Glenn Greenwald on Substack. Amy Cheng and Eugene Scott. May 13, 2022. “Rand Paul, lone Senate holdout, delays vote on Ukraine aid to next week.” The Washington Post. Morgan Watkins. May 13, 2022. “Sen. Rand Paul stalls $40 billion in aid for Ukraine, breaking with Mitch McConnell USA Today. Stephen Semler. May 26, 2022. “The Ukraine Aid Bill Is a Massive Windfall for US Military Contractors.” Jacobin. Biden Signs in South Korea Biden signs Ukraine Bill and Access to Baby Formula Act in South Korea. Reddit. Kate Sullivan. May 20, 2022. “Flying the Ukraine aid bill to South Korea for Biden's signature isn't unheard of. It also may not be totally necessary.” CNN. How Much Money, and Where Will It Go? Stephen Semler. May 23, 2022. “A breakdown of the Ukraine aid bill.” Speaking Security on Substack. “CBO Estimate for H.R. 7691, Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022, as Passed by the House of Representatives on May 10, 2022.” May 11 2022. Congressional Budget Office. Christina Arabia, Andrew Bowen, and Cory Welt. Updated Apr 29, 2022. “U.S. Security Assistance to Ukraine.” [IF12040] Congressional Research Service. “22 U.S. Code § 2346 - Authority.” Legal Information Institute, Cornell School of Law. Representatives' Raytheon and Lockheed Martin Stocks Kimberly Leonard. May 19, 2022. “20 members of Congress personally invest in top weapons contractors that'll profit from the just-passed $40 billion Ukraine aid package.” Insider. Kimberly Leonard. Mar 21, 2022. “GOP Rep. John Rutherford of Florida bought Raytheon stock the same day Russia invaded Ukraine.” Insider. Marjorie Taylor Green [@RepMTG]. Feb 24, 2022. “War is big business to our leaders.” Twitter. “Florida's 4th Congressional District.” GovTrack. “Rules Based Order” Anthony Dworkin. Sep 8, 2020. “Why America is facing off against the International Criminal Court.” “History of the multilateral trading system.” *The World Trade Organization “Facts: Global Inequality” Inequality.org “Timeline: Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin.” Apr 23, 2007. NPR. Crimea Kenneth Rapoza. Mar 20, 2015. One Year After Russia Annexed Crimea, Locals Prefer Moscow To Kiev Forbes. “Crimea exit poll: About 93% back Russia union. March 16, 2014. BBC. Shifting Strategies Economic War Larry Elliott. Jun 2, 2022. “Russia is winning the economic war - and Putin is no closer to withdrawing troops. The Guardian. Nigel Gould-Davies. May 12, 2022. “We Must Make Sure Russia Finishes This War in a Worse Position Than Before” The New York Times. Weapons Escalation Jake Johnson. Jun 1, 2022. “'Slippery Slope... Just Got a Lot Steeper': US to Send Ukraine Advanced Missiles as Russia Holds Nuke Drills.” Common Dreams. C. Todd Lopez. Jun 1, 2022. “Advanced Rocket Launcher System Heads to Ukraine.” U.S. Department of Defense News. Greg Norman. Jun 1, 2022. “Russia stages nuclear drills after US announces rockets to Ukraine.” Fox News. Christian Esch et al. May 30, 2022. “What's Next for Ukraine? The West Tries to Figure Out What Peace Might Look Like.” Spiegel International. See Image. Alastair Gale. May 24, 2022. “China and Russia Sent Bombers Near Japan as Biden Visited Tokyo.” The Wall Street Journal. Mike Stone. Mar 11, 2022. “Exclusive: Pentagon revives team to speed arms to Ukraine and allies, sources say.” Reuters. Secretary Austin and the Pentagon Jim Garamone. May 20, 2022. “Austin to Host Second Ukraine Contact Group Meeting Monday.” U.S. Department of Defense News. Natasha Bertrand et al. Apr 26, 2022. “Austin's assertion that US wants to ‘weaken' Russia underlines Biden strategy shift.” CNN. David Sanger. Apr 25, 2022. “Behind Austin's Call for a ‘Weakened' Russia, Hints of a Shift.” The New York Times. Mike Stone. Apr 12, 2022. “Pentagon asks top 8 U.S. weapons makers to meet on Ukraine -sources.” Reuters. Glenn Greenwald. Dec 8, 2020. “Biden's Choice For Pentagon Chief Further Erodes a Key U.S. Norm: Civilian Control.” Glenn Greenwald on Substack. Democrats Still All In Marc Santora. May 1, 2022. “Pelosi and Democratic lawmakers vow the U.S. will stand with Ukraine. The New York Times. RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. May 1, 2022. “Civilians Evacuated From Mariupol; U.S. House Speaker Pelosi Visits Kyiv.” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. “Ukraine war: Joe Biden calls for removal of Vladimir Putin in angry speech.” Mar 26, 2022. Sky News. The Laws H.R. 7691: Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022 House Vote: 368-57 Senate Vote: 86-11 Transcript of House Debate S.3522: Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 Passed by Voice Vote in the Senate House Vote 417-10 House "Debate" H.R.6968 - Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act Senate Vote: 100-0 House Vote: 413-9 House Debate H.R.7108: Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act Senate Vote: 100-0 (amended the original House bill) Final House Vote: 424-8 House debate 1 (on original version) House debate 2 (final version) Audio Sources Joe Manchin at the World Economic Forum's meeting in Davos May 23, 2022 Clips Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV): Speaking about Ukraine, first what Putin, Putin's war on Ukraine and Ukraine's determination, resolving the sacrifices they've made for the cause of freedom has united the whole world, that it's united, US Senate and Congress, I think like nothing I've seen in my lifetime. I think we're totally committed to supporting Ukraine, in every way possible, as long as we have the rest of NATO and the free world helping. I think we're all in this together. And I am totally committed as one person to seeing Ukraine to the end with a win, not basically resolving in some type of a treaty. I don't think that is where we are and where we should be. Reporter: Can I just follow up and ask you what you mean by a win for Ukraine? ** Sen. Joe Manchin:** I mean, basically moving Putin back to Russia and hopefully getting rid of Putin. The Ukraine Crisis: Implications for U.S. Policy in the Indo-Pacific May 19, 2022 Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation Witnesses: Charles Edel, Ph.D., Australia Chair and Senior Adviser, Center for Strategic and International Studies Bonny Lin, Ph.D., Director, China Power Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies Tanvi Madan, Ph.D.Director, The India Project, Brookings Institution Dan Blumenthal, Ph.D., Senior Fellow and Director of Asian Studies, American Enterprise Institute Clips 6:57 Tanvi Madan: One implication that is already evident, most visibly in Sri Lanka, is the adverse economic impact. The rise in commodity prices in particular has led to fiscal food and energy security concerns and these, in turn, could have political implications and could create a strategic vacuum. 7:15 Tanvi Madan: A separate and longer term economic impact of the crisis could be renewed goals, perhaps especially in India, for self reliance and building resilience not just against Chinese pressure, but also against Western sanctions. 7:28 Tanvi Madan: The second potential implication of the Russia-Ukraine war could be that Beijing might seek to take advantage in the Indo-Pacific while the world's focus is on Europe, between the Taiwan or the East or South China Sea contingencies. The contingency that would have the most direct impact in South Asia would be further action by the PLA at the China-India boundary, or at the Bhutan-China boundary that could draw in India. This potential for Sino-Indian crisis escalation has indeed shaped Delhi's response to the Russia-Ukraine war. Despite its recent diversification efforts, the Indian military continues to be dependent, if not over dependent, on Russia for supplies and spare parts for crucial frontline equipment. India has also been concerned about moving Moscow away from neutrality towards taking China's side. Nonetheless, there is simultaneously concern that Russia's war with Ukraine might, in any case, make Moscow more beholden to Beijing and also less able to supply India, and that will have implications for India's military readiness. 10:10 Tanvi Madan: The fourth implication in South Asia could flow from the war's effect on the Russia-China relationship flows. The Sino-Russian ties in recent years have benefited Pakistan. However, they have been of great concern to India. If China-Russia relations deepened further, it could lead to increased Indian concern about Russian reliability. And a Dheli that is concerned about Moscow's ability and willingness to supply India militarily or supported in international forums will seek alternative partners and suppliers a potential opportunity for the US as well as its allies and partners. 18:15 Bonny Lin: China has shifted its position on the Ukraine conflict to be less fully pro Russia. Xi Jinping has expressed that he is deeply grieved by the outbreak of war. China has engaged in diplomacy, called for a ceasefire, proposed a six point humanitarian initiative, and provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine. China's position on Ukraine, however, is far from neutral. China has not condemned Russia or called its aggression an evasion. Xi has yet to speak to President Zelenskyy. There is no evidence that China has sought to pressure Russia in any way or form. China has amplified Russian disinformation and pushed back against Western sanctions. To date, Beijing has not provided direct military support to Russia and has not engaged in systemic efforts to help Russia evade sanctions. However, China's ambassador to Russia has encouraged Chinese companies to quote "fill the void in the Russian market." 19:14 Bonny Lin: The Ukraine crisis has reinforced China's view that US military expansion could provoke conflict in the Indo-Pacific. Chinese interlocutors have voiced concern that the United States and NATO are fighting Russia today, but might fight China next. China views NATO expansion as one of the key causes of the Korean conflict and sees parallels between NATO activities in Europe and US efforts in the Indo-Pacific. Beijing is worried that increasing US and ally support for Taiwan and other regional allies and partners elevates the risk of US-China military confrontation. This pessimistic assessment is why Beijing will continue to stand by Russia as a close strategic partner. 19:56 Bonny Lin: The Ukraine crisis has reinforced and strengthened China's desire to be more self reliant. China is investing more to ensure the security of food, energy, and raw materials. Beijing is also seeking more resilient industrial supply chains, as well as PRC-led systems, including alternatives to Swift. At the same time, Beijing is likely to further cultivate dependencies on China, such that any potential Western led sanctions on China or international-community-led sanctions on China in the future will be painful to the West and difficult to sustain. 21:15 Bonny Lin: China has observed that Russia put its nuclear and strategic forces on high alert and NATO did not send conventional forces to Ukraine. This is leading China to question its nuclear policy and posture. 21:57 Bonny Lin: As Beijing watches the Western and particularly G7-led unity among advanced democracies, it is also seeing that a number of countries in the developing world are not joining in on the sanctions. As a result, Beijing has tried to increase its influence and in many ways building on Russian influence in developing regions. And Beijing is likely to try to get all that influence moving forward. 24:24 Dan Blumenthal: China took the opportunity of Russia's invasion on February 4 to lay out a document that criticizes, very specifically, almost all aspects of United States global policy. Very specifically, including Oculus for NATO enlargement to Oculus to the Indo Pacific strategy. It got Russia to sign up to Xi Jinping's theory that we're in a new era of geopolitics that will replace US leadership, that US leadership is faulty and it's dividing the world into blocks such as NATO, that NATO expansion is the problem, that Indo-Pacific strategy is the same thing as NATO expansion. 25:45 Dan Blumenthal: We should take very seriously what they say, particularly in Chinese, and what they're saying is very clearly pro-Russia and very clear, specific, searing critiques of the US-led world order. 26:47 Dan Blumenthal: And frankly, while the West is unified, and the US and the West and some of our Asian allies are unified, most of the rest of the world is not with us on this issue of China and Russia being these authoritarian, revisionist great powers, and that's a real problem. Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism May 18, 2022 House Committee on Foreign Affairs: Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism Witnesses: Dr. Hanna Notte, Senior Research Associate, Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Dr. Frederic Wehrey, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Caitlin Welsh, Director of the Global Food Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies Grant Rumley, Senior Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy Clips 12:55 Hanna Notte: First, Moscow's military presence in Syria has given it a buffer zone on its southern flank to counter perceived threats from within the region, but also to deter NATO outside the European theater. And second, Russia has turned to the region to diversify its economic relations with a focus on arms sales, civilian nuclear exports and wheat supplies. And in building influence, Russia has largely followed what I call a low cost high disruption approach, also using hybrid tactics such as private military companies and disinformation. Now, these Russian interests in the region will not fundamentally change with the invasion of Ukraine. Today, Russia's regional diplomacy remains highly active, aimed at offsetting the impact of Western sanctions and demonstrating that Moscow is not isolated internationally. 14:09 Hanna Notte: Starting with arms control and Non-Proliferation, though Moscow seemed intent on spoiling negotiations to restore the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] in early March. It subsequently dropped demands for written guarantees that its cooperation with Iran would not be hindered by sanctions imposed over Ukraine. But still, I think the geopolitical situation might make Moscow less willing to help finalize a nuclear deal. As in the past, Russia is also unlikely to support any US efforts to curb Iran's use of missiles and proxies in the region, because essentially, Iran's regional strategy pins down us resources while elevating Russia as a regional mediator, which serves Russian interests well. 15:17 Hanna Notte: Just a few words on Syria. Security Council resolution 2585 on the provision of humanitarian aid to northwest Syria is up for renewal in July. Now, Rationally speaking, the Kremlin should cooperate to avoid a worsening of serious food crisis, especially if an end game in Ukraine remains out of reach. But considering the current level of tensions between Russia and the West, I think the United States should be prepared for a Russian Security Council veto regardless, alongside continued Russian stalling on the Syrian constitutional committee. Moscow has no serious interest in seeing the committee advance. It will instead try to foster a Gulf Arab counterweight to Iran in Syria through normalization, especially for the contingency that Russia may need to scale back its own presence in Syria due to Ukraine. 16:14 Hanna Notte: First, unfortunately I think there's a widespread perception that the Ukraine war is not their war, that it's a Great Power NATO-Russia war, partially fueled by NATO and US actions visa vis Russia. 16:27 Hanna Notte: Second, there are accusations of Western double standards. The military support to Kyiv, the reception of Ukrainian refugees, these are rightly or wrongly viewed as proof that the West cares significantly more about conflict in Europe's neighborhood than those in the Middle East. 16:42 Hanna Notte: Third, regional elites worry about US conventional security guarantees. They fear that the threats posed by Russia and China will accelerate a decline in US power in the Middle East. And they also fear that the US will have limited bandwidth to confront Iran's missile and proxy activities. And with those fears, they feel they cannot afford to put all their eggs into the US basket. 17:07 Hanna Notte: And then finally, each regional state has very distinct business and security interests with Russia. As a result, and I'll end here, I think us opportunities to get regional states to turn against Russia are circumscribed. loosening these ties that states have been building with Russia will require a heavy lift. 18:57 Frederic Wehrey: This engagement is largely opportunistic and ad hoc. It seizes on instability and power vacuums and exploits the insecurities of US partners in the region about the reliability of US support, and their displeasure with the conditionality that the US sometimes attaches to its arms sales. Russian arms deliveries, in contrast, are faster and free from restrictions related to human rights. But Russia cannot provide the security guarantees that many Arab states have depended on from the United States. 19:29 Frederic Wehrey: Now, in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is trying to reap dividends from its investment in the region, call in favors, and capitalize on local ambivalence and hostility to the United States, both from states and from Arab publics. America's Arab security partners have differed on joining the Western condemnation of Russian aggression, and some of refuse to join efforts to isolate Russia economically. 20:31 Frederic Wehrey: Russia's disastrous war in Ukraine is tarnishing its reputation as an arms supplier in the Middle East. Russian weapons have been shown to be flawed in combat and often fatally. So, Battlefield expenditures and attrition have whittled away Russia's inventory, especially precision munitions, and sanctions have eroded its defense industrial base, especially electronic components. As a result, Russia won't be able to fulfill its existing commitments, and potential buyers will be increasingly dissuaded from turning to Russia. This shortfall could be modestly exploited by China, which possesses large quantities of Russian made arms and spare parts, which you could use to keep existing inventories in the region up and running. It could also intensify its efforts to sell its own advanced weaponry like drones. 23:50 Caitlin Welsh: The war has reduced supplies and increased prices of foods exported from Ukraine and Russia, namely wheat, maize and sunflower oil, driven up demand for substitute products and reduced fertilizer exports from the Black Sea. Today's high cost of energy puts further pressure on food and fertilizer prices. Most vulnerable to the impact of these price spikes are countries for whom wheat is a major source of calories that rely on imports to meet their food security needs, and that source a significant proportion of their imports from Ukraine and Russia. 24:38 Caitlin Welsh: Egypt is the world's largest importer of wheat, sourcing over 70% of its wheat from the Black Sea. 25:42 Caitlin Welsh: The Russian Ukraine war is limiting access to wheat for Lebanon, already in one of the worst economic crises in the world. Lebanon has not recorded economic growth since 2017 and food price inflation inflation reached 400% in December 2021. Lebanon procures approximately 75% of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine. 28:48 Grant Rumley: Russia is one of the few countries in the world to maintain a relatively positive diplomatic standing with nearly every country in the Middle East. It does so through a combination of an active military presence, high level diplomatic engagement, and a concerted effort to position itself as a viable source of arms, should countries seek non-US material. 29:08 Grant Rumley: Russia's military presence in the region is well documented by Russian MOD statements. Russia has deployed over 60,000 troops to Syria since intervening in 2015. From its two bases in Syria, Hmeimim and Tartous, Russia is able to project power into the eastern Mediterranean, influence the course of the Syrian civil war, and intervene in countries like Libya. 29:47 Grant Rumley: Russia's invasion of Ukraine, however, threatens Russia standing in the region. Already reports indicate Russia has begun withdrawing some troops and mercenaries from the region to support its invasion of Ukraine. While we can expect these reports to continue if the war continues to go poorly for Russia, I'm skeptical of a full Russian withdrawal, and instead expect Russia to continue to consolidate its forces until it's left with a skeleton presence at Hmeimim and Tartous, its most strategic assets in the region. 30:26 Grant Rumley: On arms sales, the Russian defense industry, which has struggled to produce key platforms following sanctions initially placed after its 2014 invasion of Ukraine, will likely have to prioritize replenishing the Russian military over exporting. Further, customers of Russian arms may struggle with the resources to maintain and sustain the material in their inventory. Still, so long as Russia is able to make platforms, there will likely always be potential customers of Russian arms. 41:25 Grant Rumley: I definitely think customers of Russian arms are going to have several hurdles going forward, not only with simply maintaining and sustaining what they've already purchased, but in some of the basic logistics, even the payment process. Russian bank complained last month that it wasn't able to process close to a billion dollars in payments from India and Egypt over arms sales. I think countries that purchase Russian arms will also now have to consider the potential that they may incur secondary sanctions, in addition to running afoul of CAATSA [Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act-Related Sanctions]. I think from from our standpoint, there are many ways that we can amend our security cooperation approach. The Middle East, I think is a key theater for the future of great power competition, not only have we been competing with Russia in terms of arms sales there, but China increasingly has sold armed drones to the region. They've sold it to traditional partners, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE. And what they're doing is is oftentimes what we're not willing to do, our partners in the region seek co-production, they seek technology sharing. China and Russia are willing to work together to build these advanced platforms, Russia and the UAE inked an agreement several years ago to produce a fifth generation fighter. Nothing's come of that yet. China and Saudi Arabia, however, signed an agreement a couple of months ago to jointly produce armed drones in Saudi Arabia. And so I think the US may want to think creatively in terms of both what we sell, how we sell it, and what we're doing to make this more of a relationship and something beyond a strict transaction. 43:39 Grant Rumley: Their presence in Syria has evolved from a modest airstrip in 2015, to a base at Hmeimim that by open source reporting can serve as a logistics hub, a medical hub, it has the runways to host Russia's most advanced bombers. There was reports before Ukraine that Russia was deploying two 22 bombers there and hypersonic missiles. Their facility at Tartous, likewise. Their ability to stage naval assets there has expanded to they can now stage up to 11 ships there. So it has grown from from a rather modest beginning to something much more challenging from a US standpoint. In terms of what we can we can do, I think we can continue to support Ukraine and the defense of Ukraine, and the longer that Russia is bogged down in Ukraine, the harder it will be for Russia's military to extend and maintain its presence in the Middle East. 1:01:45 Grant Rumley: I think the US has several partners in the middle of major Russian arms purchases that we can, like Turkey and the S 400, that has requested the F 16, or Egypt and Sukhoi Su-35, that has requested the F 15. I'm not saying we have to make a deal right now for that, but I think it's clear that these countries are going to have gaps in their capabilities where they had planned on having Russian platforms to complement, and we can work with our partners and work with our own defense industry and see if there's ways in which we can provide off ramps for them to gradually disinvest these Russian platforms. 1:03:00 Frederic Wehrey: When countries in the in the region buy US arms, they believe they're buying much more than the capability, the hardware, that they're purchasing an insurance policy. I think especially for states in the Gulf, there's a fundamental sense of insecurity. These are states that face Iran, but they're also autocrats. They're insecure because of their political systems. They face dissent from within. We saw that with Egypt. So they're purchasing a whole stream of US assurances -- they believe they are. 1:06:00 Grant Rumley: The issue of of co-production is one means to address a common complaint, which is buying from America takes too long. That its too complicated, that if we get in line to buy something from the US, we're going to have to wait years to get it. A good example is the F 16. There are over 20 countries in the world that fly the F 16. We currently -- Lockheed Martin builds it out of one facility. That facility, if you get in line today, you're probably not getting the F 16 for five years from when you sign on the dotted line for it. In the 70s and 80s, we co-produced the F 16 with three other European countries and we were able to get them off the line faster. The initial order at those facilities was for 1000 F 16s. The initial order for the F 16 plant in South Carolina was for 90 F 16s for Taiwan and Morocco. And so from an industry standpoint, it's a question of scale. And so they're not able to ramp up the production because while the demand may get closer to 1000 over time, it's at 128. Last I checked, it's not there yet. And so I think we can use foreign military financing, longer security cooperation planning, working with our partners on multi-year acquisition timetables to then also communicate and send a signal to the defense industry that these are orders for upgrades, for new kits that are going to come down the road. You can start to plan around that and potentially address some of these production lags. 1:17:52 Grant Rumley: China has a lot of legacy Russian platforms, and will likely be a leading candidate to transfer some of these platforms to countries that had purchased Russian arms in the past and may be seeking maintenance and sustainment for them. I think China's already active in the Middle East, it's already flooding the market with armed drones. It's already looking to market other platforms as well. It's sold air defense systems to Serbia. It's looking to advance its arm sales. And so if if we aren't going to be the supplier, China is going to step in. 1:18:57 Caitlin Welsh: USDA has projected that 35% of the current wheat crop from Ukraine will not be harvested this year. So their exports are curtailed, at the same time Russia's exports are continuing. Russia has been exempted. Russia's agricultural exports and fertilizer has been exempted from sanctions for the United States, EU and other countries. So Russia continues to export. In fact, USDA is estimating that Russia's exports are increasing at this time. And I'm also seeing open source reporting of Russia stealing grain from Ukraine, relabeling it, and exporting it at a premium to countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Sen. Rand Paul: ‘We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the U.S. economy' May 12, 2022 NBC News Clips Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY): My oath of office is to the US Constitution, not to any foreign nation. And no matter how sympathetic the cause, my oath of office is to the national security of the United States of America. We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the US economy. This bill under consideration would spend $40 billion. This is the second spending bill for Ukraine in two months. And this bill is three times larger than the first. Our military aid to Ukraine is nothing new, though. Since 2014, the United States has provided more than $6 billion dollars in security assistance to Ukraine, in addition to the $14 billion Congress authorized just a month ago. If this bill passes, the US will have authorized roughly $60 billion in total spending for Ukraine Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY): The cost of this package we are voting on today is more than the US spent during the first year of the US conflict in Afghanistan. Congress authorized force, and the President sent troops into the conflict. The same cannot be said of Ukraine. This proposal towers over domestic priorities as well. The massive package of $60 billion to Ukraine dwarfs the $6 million spent on cancer research annually. $60 billion is more than the amount that government collects in gas taxes each year to build roads and bridges. The $60 billion to Ukraine could fund substantial portions or entire large Cabinet departments. The $60 billion nearly equals the entire State Department budget. The 60 billion exceeds the budget for the Department of Homeland Security and for the Department of Energy. And Congress just wants to keep on spending and spending. U.S. Efforts to Support Ukraine May 12, 2022 Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Witnesses: Jessica Lewis, Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Erin McKee, Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia, U.S. Agency for International Development Karen Donfried, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State Beth Van Schaack, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice, U.S. Department of State Clips Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA): Are we making it very clear to Russia that we do not want to pose an existential threat to them, that our only goal is to restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine? Karen Donfried: We are making it very clear to Russia that this is not a conflict between Russia and the United States. We are not going to engage directly in this war. President Biden has been explicit in saying we are not sending US troops to fight in this war. So I do believe we have made that clear. Our goal here is to end a war not to enlarge it. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH): As you all are waking up every morning, I know with the thought in mind that America's role here is to help Ukraine win and I want to talk a little about how we define victory. When Secretary Austin said after meeting with President Zelenskyy, that we can win this war against Russia -- this happened a few weeks ago -- I thought that was positive. On Monday, the foreign minister of Ukraine, who all of us have had a chance to visit with said, of course, the victory for us in this war will be a liberation of the rest of the territory. So Assistant Secretary Donfried, first, just a yes or no. Do you believe Ukraine can win this war? Karen Donfried: Yes. Sen. Rob Portman: And how would you define victory? Would you define victory as requiring the return of all Ukraine sovereign territory, including that that the Russians seized in 2014? Karen Donfried: Well, Senator Portman, thank you for that question. And thank you for your engagement on these issues. Your question very much relates to where Chairman Menendez began, which is, are we in a position of believing that it is Ukraine that should be defining what winning means? And I agreed with Chairman Menendez's statement on that, and that is where the administration is. We believe Ukraine should define what victory means. And our policy is trying to ensure Ukraine success, both by — Sen. Rob Portman: So the administration's official position on victory is getting Crimea back and getting the Donetsk and Luhansk region back as well. Karen Donfried: Again, I believe that is for the Ukrainians to define. Karen Donfried: Against this threat to regional security, global stability, and our shared values, we are supporting freedom, democracy, and the rules based order that make our own security and prosperity and that of the world possible. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ): I believe we must also think about reconstruction efforts in Ukraine, the tools and ongoing governance and economic reforms, specifically in the judicial space, that will facilitate rebuilding critical Ukrainian sectors and attracting foreign investment. The Impact of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine in the Middle East and North Africa May 11, 2022 House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Defense held a budget hearing on the Department of Defense. Witnesses: Lloyd J. Austin III, Secretary of Defense Michael J. McCord, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer General Mark A. Milley, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Clips 21:40 General Mark Milley: Alongside our allies and partners, at any given time approximately 400,000 of us are currently standing watch in 155 countries and conducting operations every day to keep Americans safe. 21:56 General Mark Milley: Currently we are supporting our European allies and guarding NATO's eastern flank, in the face of the unnecessary war of aggression by Russia, against the people of Ukraine, and the assault on the democratic institutions and the rules based international order that have prevented great power war for the last 78 years since the end of World War Two. We are now facing two global powers, China and Russia, each with significant military capabilities, both who intend to fundamentally change the current rules based order. Lindsey Graham declares, "let's take out Putin" and says there is "no off-ramp in this war" May 9, 2022 Clips Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC): If Putin still standing after all this then the world is going to be a very dark place China's going to get the wrong signal and we'll have a mess on our hands in Europe for decades to come so let's take out Putin by helping Ukraine Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary ofDefense Lloyd J. Austin III Remarks to Traveling Press April 25, 2022 Jen's Highlighted PDF Remarks by President Biden on the United Efforts of the Free World to Support the People of Ukraine March 26, 2022 Jen's Highlighted PDF U.S. Policy and Russian Involvement in Syria November 4, 2015 House Foreign Affairs Committee Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)

What's up! It's episode 83 of Payne Points of Wealth and volatility is insane right now. We're teetering on a bear market, crypto markets have melted down. Meanwhile, all of those disruptive technology stocks are down 70-80%, and you've got more recession talk with every passing week as pessimism rules the day. What's really going on in the economy and in the stock market? We're gonna give you our view on how to play it. We've got the plan you just have to listen to it. On the Tipping Point today, we're going to talk about all those burning questions you have right now. Questions that we get from our clients that are also applicable to you so that you can get the best plan for financial independence.  You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... Has the FED done a good job? [3:09] Volatile markets make bad decisions seem rational [7:20] The Tipping Point [10:14] Why are stocks and bonds down at the same time? [10:47] Is this a correction or the beginning of a big bear market? [13:04] What influence will change of the majority party have on the stock market? [15:38] What percentage should be in a conservative vehicle if I retire in a year? [17:21] Hidden Facts of Finance [20:36] Rationally irrational  The whole problem with these volatile markets is it feels so rational. It sounds rational to sit in something that doesn't go down until the volatility is over and then you can just kind of work your way back in. That sounds so rational but you know what? It's irrational. It means you have to make two perfect timing decisions. Just think about it guys, a week ago we had a market that was up 900 one day and down 1000 the next. Are you going to tell me that somebody is smart enough to time that perfectly? I don't think so.  This week on the tipping point: Conference call Q&A We did our conference call for clients recently (we will drop the link down below so you can check it out if you'd like) and we had a lot of questions come in. We have over a thousand clients and a lot of them had the same concerns so in this episode we will discuss some of the bigger concerns that they had that most of you probably have too. Here are some of the questions we got. The first question that came in was why are stocks and bonds both down right now at the same time in this crazy market? Should we maintain a 60% stock, 40% fixed income/bond ratio, or move to a 70/30 ratio or something else? The next question that came in was assuming a global recession is inevitable does it make sense for a retiree to sell stocks in advance of the train hitting the wall, in other words, is this a correction or the beginning of a big bear market? Another good question that came in on our conference call was as the midterm elections approach, what influence will the change of the majority party in the House and Senate have on the stock market?  Another question was at 64 years old and retiring in another year, what percentage of my portfolio should be in a very conservative vehicle?  If you're curious about our take on any of these questions check out the episode! This week's hidden facts of finance From 1965 to 2021 Berkshire Hathaway shares generated a compound annual return of 20.1% vs the S & P 500's 10.5% a year return. Some forecasters look for gold to reach $3000 an ounce in the next two years. …Baby, One More Time by Britney Spears has now sold 25 million copies around the world making it the biggest selling album ever recorded by a teenage girl. The Reddit crowd who jumped in when the lockdown began have now given back all their once tremendous gains. Resources & People Mentioned Check out the conference call we talked about here. See if you qualify for a complimentary financial review from the Paynes Connect With Ryan, Bob, and Chris http://PayneCM.com  Follow on Twitter Follow on Facebook Follow on LinkedIn Subscribe on YouTube Follow on Instagram Subscribe to Payne Points of Wealth On Apple Podcasts, On Google Podcasts, On Spotify