Month: April 2017

Two graphs on EU asylum seekers

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

These graphs reveal either willful blindness among EU “leaders” or deliberate deep-state policies that are designed to harm Europeans.

My guess is the “consensus culture” among EU leaders is difficult for anyone in that culture to oppose. Who controls that culture is another story.

A similar “establishment culture” exists within the USA with somewhat similar results, chief among them being profound alienation from the people it supposedly represents.

Click images for larger.

View post on imgur.com

View post on imgur.com

Source: Asylum and first time asylum applicants by citizenship, age and sex Annual aggregated data

FIML and Symbolic Interaction Theory

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

Symbolic Interaction Theory, also called symbolic interactionism, provides the best large-scale framework I have found so far for explaining FIML practice.

Three basic premises of symbolic interactionism are:

  • “Humans act toward things on the basis of the meanings they ascribe to those things.”
  • “The meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with others and the society.”
  • “These meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretative process used by the person in dealing with the things he/she encounters.”

These basic premises have been taken from the Wikipedia article linked above. I tend to agree with most of the general framework, as I understand it, of symbolic interactionism and believe that FIML practice can reasonably be understood as a method that can fit fairly comfortably within that framework.

FIML differs from symbolic interactionism in that FIML is much more a form of interpersonal psychotherapy than a sociological theory. FIML is a communication technique that focuses on meaning as it arises and is apprehended during short periods of time. FIML’s focus on very small units of interpersonal communication is what allows partners to understand how their sense of meaning intertwines with their emotional responses.

From a FIML point of view, society does not appear very well structured in many of its contexts, especially interpersonal contexts involving emotions, friendship, and intimate bonding. From this point of view, a great deal of social structure appears to be a substitute for authentic interaction between individual minds.

FIML seems also to show that a great deal of human suffering arises from the paucity of meaning that can be exchanged between individuals in most social contexts. Indeed, even in intimate contexts, most individuals, if not all of them, have great difficulty in attaining profound mutual understanding. This happens because our perceptions of our selves and others—due to how we use language and semiotics—are too crude and vague to allow for communicative complexity equal to the complexity of our minds/brains.

FIML corrects this problem by focusing on the details of interpersonal communication. Incidentally, FIML theory/practice can be falsified by having many couples do FIML practice and measuring the results. A criticism of symbolic interactionism is that it is not falsifiable. FIML differs from symbolic interactionism in that it is a practical technique that uses objective data (agreed upon by both partners) to optimize communication and improve psychological well-being.

Explosion at Egypt Nile Delta church kills at least 25, injures 60

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

At least 25 people were killed and 60 injured on Sunday when an explosion rocked a Coptic church in Egypt’s Nile Delta, state television reported, the latest assault on a religious minority that has increasingly been targeted by Islamist militants.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility and the cause of the blast, just one week before Coptic Easter and the same month that Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Egypt, was not known.

The bombing in Tanta, a Nile Delta city less than 100 kilometers outside Cairo, comes as Islamic State’s branch in Egypt appears to be stepping up attacks on Christians and threatening them in messages blasted out to followers. (Source)

Reflections on the History of the Jewish Hoax

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

…Of particular interest are the actions and posturing of the Anti-Defamation League, shameless in its immediate assertion that the perpetrator was a White anti-Semite, again demonstrating great tenacity in the exercise of its considerable political and cultural influence. Employing the flimsiest of narratives, underpinned by an equally suspect “history of persecution,” the ADL was able to disseminate the myth of Jewish victimhood in the media, secure top-level consultation with the FBI, and even publicly chide the President of the United States for his “inadequate” response. (Source)

Very good, very clear and concise essay by Andrew Joyce. Highly recommended. ABN

The importance of seeing the small in the large and the large in the small: repost

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

When the subject is human behavior and we see the small in the large and the large in the small, we will be much better able to appreciate the spectrum of thought, feeling, and behavior that underlies whatever is in question.

For example, the self-centeredness of individuals scales from the individual (small) to society (large) and everything in between. Two friends can be self-centered together as can larger groups and entire societies comprising millions of people.

Similarly, when we see self in other and other in self, we are more likely to grasp the spectrums of thought, feeling, and behavior that underlie the actions of all individuals.

For example, alcoholics often make false accusations against others as their conditions worsen. They take the seed of unreasonable defensiveness that resides in all of us and expand it into malicious attacks against “adversaries” that do not even exist.

In FIML practice, partners will discover many kinds of small mistakes in themselves. Usually, it is easy to see how these small mistakes, if left uncorrected, can lead to much more serious misunderstandings and bad (because it is based on a mistake) behavior.

For example, the alcoholic who falsely attacks a friend is almost certainly magnifying some little misunderstanding into something huge, something  worrisome or insulting that demands revenge.

Nations can behave like children and all good people have at least the seeds of a malicious drunk in them.

FIML discussions can be greatly enhanced by seeing almost everything as part of spectrums that underlie all people and societies.

Military thought experiment Part 1

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

The game: Gain control of a large society by using a small number of military operatives.

Let’s use clandestine military operatives numbering .0001 of the targeted society.

100 million times .0001 = 10,000.

So 10,000 clandestine military operatives will play this game to win against a society with a population of 100 million.

The clandestine force can achieve its goal by:

  • infiltrating and blending into the large society
  • distributing 10,000 clandestine operatives widely across the society
  • this may take several generations
  • once in place, operatives identify natural leaders inside the host society
  • then they attack those natural leaders in such a way that they become poor leaders
  • this is better than killing them because they are rendered ineffective while their weaknesses demoralize others in the community
  • this method of attack is unlikely to be detected by law enforcement
  • they must be attacked in ways that are not easily discoverable, including socially, financially, reputationally, through bad grades, misdirection, poison, maiming, psychosurgery, and so on
  • it is best to begin attacking natural leaders while they are young and continue as long as effective, even for many decades
  • this tactic is greatly facilitated by hostile operatives being born and raised in the large society
  • at the same time operatives work to help those who favor their cause(s) or position(s)
  • this might include harming the competitors of those people being favored
  • within 20-30 years, social disorganization will be noticeable due to the large number of disabled natural leaders
  • within 50 years social disorganization will be obvious
  • during the same time-frame, people favored by the hostile operatives will gain positions of power
  • soon, the larger society will succumb to the hostile takeover and a small number of military operatives will have won against a much larger society

The cost is minimal and the methods are almost undetectable. Once achieved, the goal can be proclaimed a victory by those who gained it.

While the goal is being pursued, operatives will discover ways to extract resources from the host society, thus paying their own way without funding from abroad.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Strong signs chemical attack in Syria is a false flag

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

Pretty sure Trump understands the use of sarin looks very much like a false flag attack, despite his rhetoric.

I hope he is maneuvering himself into a better bargaining position and not making excuses for a war we don’t need and few want.

Anatoly Karlin has a good rundown on why the attack looks suspicious: This Fishy Smell of Sarin, or Was It Chlorine?

Bottom line is the worst political loser of the sarin attack is almost certainly Assad, so why would he have done it? In like manner, the worst political loser of an attack on Assad will be Donald Trump (for falling for the ruse), so why would he do it?

Hannity: Susan Rice has a lot of explaining to do

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

Edit 3:30: Judge Napolitano on if Susan Rice did anything illegal. His take on what she did is it might be espionage.

___________________

This scandal can and should be compared to Watergate, though it is vastly worse.

Watergate was a break-in of one office to get info on the campaign. This scandal is about undermining the incoming president of the USA through the use of America’s intelligence agencies.

If the unmasking of American names was done by Rice, that action is not in itself technically illegal as far as I understand. If Rice unmasked for any reason other than “national security,” it is illegal. Similarly, Obama’s lowering the secrecy status of that unmasked information so that more eyes within the intelligence community would be on it is not in itself illegal as far as I understand.

Leaking those names to the press is illegal. Since both Rice and Obama were responsible for setting up the conditions to make those leaks possible, it does seem that there is very significant moral culpability on both of their parts.

Here is a reasonable back-and-forth on this issue: Rice unmasked as Team Trump unmasker: What it really means.

An important point missed by Carlson in this discussion is: Not only is there no evidence of Russian hacking but the DNC refused multiple times to allow the FBI to examine the hacked server.

“The crime is so serious, we don’t need no evidence”

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

Adam Schiff walks back his bullshit on camera.

Adam Schiff: There Is No “Definitive” Proof Of Any Trump-Russia Connection

Five months of this nonsense. Watch the video at the link above.

What seems most likely to me is the Obama administration used claims of Russian hacking to go on a witch hunt during which they illegally spied on Trump and his campaign, then illegally unmasked American citizens caught up in that, and then illegally leaked some of their names to the press.

Each one of these illegal behaviors is a federal crime.

Consider also that the sole source of the “Russian hacking” claim is a private company’s investigation into the DNC server, a claim that company has also walked back. Moreover, the DNC refused to allow the FBI to look at those servers and Comey was good with that.

The low level of the Democrat argument, epitomized by Adam Schiff, is truly an insult to the American system. I do not see how any reasonable person can countenance this kind of behavior. It’s much worse than normal partisan politics.

Here is a good cartoon on the subject.

Stephen Cohen on Russia “hacking the election”

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

Five months of this story and still not a shred of evidence. Cohen is a Russian expert. Hear what he has to say in the video below.

In tandem with the false Russian hacking claims, is the truthful claim that people within the Obama administration illegally leaked and illegally “unmasked” illegally gathered intelligence on Trump and members his campaign.

(See this for a good wrap up on the Obama spying story: Former intel officer: Nunes WH meeting was done right)

Stephen Cohen on the false Russian hacking claims:

The following short piece is not directly related to the issues above, but will give you a whole new perspective on Russia and thus on those issues. Highly recommended: Searching for Russia.