Tag: morality ethics
This school board is an example of the snowballing mediocrity that is ruining our schools and our country. They stand up and run away from a rational 14 year old girl as if reason cannot be part their agenda
The primal basis of good manners
You are responsible for your own safety
Women against gun ownership are irrational. Guns are called the ‘great equalizer’ because they allow the physically weak to protect themselves from the physically strong. Gun-control in USA originally started to keep guns out of the hands of blacks, who to this day have by far the highest murder rate in USA. American whites as a group have a lower violent crime rate than Europe. It’s no longer a secret that our ruling cabal hates white people and white culture. We are down but not out. At least learn how to protect yourself and then do it. Even the Dalai Lama supports this position. ABN
Japan criticized as treating death-row inmates ‘inhumanely’
The inhumane treatment of inmates who have been sentenced to death has come under increased scrutiny in Japan, with legal experts criticizing authorities for giving little to no warning of an impending execution and denying those on death row basic human contact.
Japan has no established regulations regarding how much warning an inmate on death row should be given before they are sent to the gallows, but anecdotal evidence shows they were informed the day before at least until the 1970s. Currently, inmates are notified just one or two hours before they are hanged.
Inmates’ contact with anyone other than prison guards is also heavily restricted, with interactions by writing or in person prohibited after rulings are finalized. Previously, inmates were permitted to see family members prior to their executions.
‘Why did you have to call in artillery fire on yourself?’
Russia should not be our enemy, Ukraine’s enemy or Europe’s enemy. USA/NATO forced Russia’s hand and is right now escalating toward WW3 for no reason that is good for any Western country, including Russia, which is properly an integral and extremely valuable part of Europe. Whatever your feelings, Danilov’s act of heroism is worthy of respect. ABN
In defense of Jeffrey Sachs — Ron Unz
A few agitated commenters have once again begun denouncing Prof. Jeffrey Sachs for allegedly being responsible for the Western looting of Russia during the 1990s.
Frankly, a decade or two ago I’d vaguely had the same opinion since I’d always seen him described in the newspapers as one of the key economic advisors to the Russian government of that period and had read some article somewhere making that claim. But I’d never explored this matter and over the last couple of years I’ve become convinced that my impression was entirely mistaken.
Therefore, I’d urge that people read Sachs’ article providing his version of the history, very similar to what he’d said in his 2005 book, which I’d read earlier this year. I’d also strongly suggest that people watch his detailed interview, which he apparently arranged after Taibbi and the other hosts had casually made that same mistaken accusation in a previous show.
Over the last couple of years I’ve watched a number of his interviews in which he discussed these matters, and all I can say is that he’s either being honest or he’s about the best liar in the history of the human species.
As far as I can tell, the only reason people believe Sachs was responsible was one 1998 article published in the Nation plus portions of Naomi Klein’s 2007 book. Mistaken ideas sometimes get into circulation and are then repeated back and forth so many times that everyone assumes they’re correct. But I’ve carefully read those two sources and I found Sachs’ account much more persuasive.
More importantly, President Putin and the top Russian leaders have denounced the 1990s policies as one of the greatest economic disasters of the 20th century and have been scathing in their denunciations of the American advisors who they blamed for the looting of their country and the total impoverishment of the Russian population. However, they’ve never included Sachs in that category, and instead they have always treated him with respect and friendship.
I think that Putin and his leadership team have a much better idea of what really happened during the 1990s than any of us do, and the identities of the heroes and the villains. So I trust Putin’s judgment on such things.
This issue has major importance because of Sachs’ current status as one of the foremost critics of American policies. Indeed, in my articles I’ve made that point that Sachs has probably now become the highest-ranking American ideological defector of the last one hundred years, or at least no other obvious names come to mind:
I have been extremely suspicious of Sachs and avoided posting any of his material on this site. I am willing to consider Ron’s argument but also can’t not notice, once again, it’s one Jew defending another. ‘The best way to control the opposition is to lead them’. If you click on the link to Ron’s comments and read some other comments, you will get a fuller picture of this issue. I, for one, remember the rape of Russia and that Sachs was a prominent exponent of economic ‘shock therapy’ not only in Russia but also South America, if memory serves. I may be wrong and am willing to change my view of Sachs but am not eager to do so. Below is a recent video of Sachs commenting on Ukraine. In that video, he blames everything on ‘USA’ when the reality appears to be different and rife with his tribe always at or near the top. So, I dunno. Best to be suspicious, yet at the same time ready to forgive anyone who honestly repents and changes their ways. Of course, Sachs is claiming he never was doing bad things in Russia and Ron’s use of Putin’s non-criticism of Sachs is illuminating, but there are surely many dark wrinkles inside of that. A non-confession, non-repentance, I-was-always-right-and-good argument might be true, but consider the sources. ABN
Kamala vs Kamala
FLASHBACK: Howo is not always wrong
Ethics, morality, and signaling
If we consider our minds to be networks of signals, then we can say that it is better that the signals be more efficient and contain fewer errors.
This might be a good definition of a sound ethical position—to reduce signal error and increase signal efficiency.
In many ways, the two are the same. When we reduce signal error, we increase the efficiency of the entire system.
Thus, for any one system, such that there is a such a thing, the best ethical position would be to reduce signal error while increasing signal efficiency. That one system might stand for one human being.
But what if there are two or more systems that interact with each other?
In one sense we might say they are the “same” system, especially if interaction is imperative. In another sense, we can treat them as different systems.
If they are seen as the “same,” then reducing error and increasing efficiency will benefit the whole system (of two or more).
If they are seen as separate and not the same, there are two possibilities. Separate systems within the whole may decide to lie or cheat or they may decide not to lie or cheat.
If none of the separate systems within the network ever lies or cheats, efficiency will be increased and error will be reduced.
If one or more of the separate systems within the network decides to lie or cheat, efficiency will decrease and errors will multiply.
The separate systems can be understood to be people while the large network can be understood to be human groups. Lying and cheating or refraining from lying or cheating must be conscious acts.
Errors that just happen non-consciously (misspeaking, mishearing, misunderstanding, data mistakes, etc.) are not moral errors unless they could be or could have been avoided by a reliable method.
No network without lying or cheating has ever been achieved by large numbers of human beings. Even very small groups, as few as two people, rarely are able to achieve an ideal ethical state of no lying and no cheating. And even if they do get pretty good at that, it is very difficult for even just two people to remove non-conscious errors from their interactions.
FIML practice can greatly reduce non-conscious error between partners while at the same time providing a robust basis for increased moral awareness and increased understanding that both partners are benefiting greatly from the honesty (or ethical practice) of both of them.
My honesty with you greatly improves my understanding of and honesty within my own network and also gives me much better information about your network. And the same is true for you. Together we form an autocatalytic set that continually upgrades our mutual network and individual systems.
Clarity, honesty, and efficiency in interpersonal communication is satisfying in itself and also it improves efficiency between partners as it upgrades the self-awareness of each.
One partner could lie and cheat while doing FIML practice, but since FIML is fairly involved and somewhat difficult to learn, it is likely that most partners will do their best by each other and that most individuals will come to realize that honesty benefits them much more than lying.
I think it is fair to conclude that the best ethical or moral position to take is one that increases efficiency of signalling (talking, doing, etc.) while also reducing signalling error. The problem with doing that is people can and will lie and cheat and we do not (yet) have a reliable way to tell when they are lying and cheating.
A good way to tell if someone is being honest will be an accurate lie-detector, but even that may not be efficient or work well with the dynamics of real-time human communication.
Thus some other technique is needed. FIML can be that technique and I know of no other one that works as well. Thus a sound ethical position in today’s world would be having the aim of reducing signal error while increasing signal efficiency through the practice of FIML.
Without FIML, interpersonal communications is at least an order of magnitude cruder and thus much less efficient. FIML is not perfect, but it is much better than what we ordinarily do. If you can increase resolution and detail at will within any system, it will improve that system. If you can do that with interpersonal communication, it will improve all aspects of that system.
UPDATE: Notice that the fear people have about AI destroying the world is based on its learning how to deceive us. How to lie to us. When I introduced this idea to my partner this morning, she very convincingly argued that DARPA already has a much more powerful AI that is able to control the GPT programs we are now seeing and that our overlords will use the excuse that AI has gone rogue to further enslave us. That went right onto my Bayesian probability pie-chart as a big slice. ABN
IRELAND: Teacher Enoch Burke arrested at Wilson’s Hospital School after refusing to endorse and affirm transgender ideology
Judge Barry O’Donnell, who made almost €400,000 from 2016-2018 representing TUSLA as a barrister, ordered his arrest.
TUSLA is the Irish State ‘Child Protection’ agency, an organisation saturated with LGBT ideology, urging staff recently to learn about cross-dressers and drag performers, and making acceptance of LGBT and transgender ideology a condition for fostering children.
What a mockery to expect Enoch Burke, a Christian teacher, to sit before this man and expect justice.
RFK Jr on childhood vaccines and the perverse incentives behind them
The more of us know this, the more doctors will feel pressure to cut their shit. Voting is always dubious in USA, but our collective grapevine is always strong when enough of us have the right information. Share what you know with others. No need to argue. Just let others know what you think — that someone else has different information, a different opinion. Being too polite and not talking is big part of what got us into the mess we are in today, on this and many other issues. ABN
‘It’s a story of people involved in really terrible, terrible, immoral, homicidal criminal behavior ‘ — RFK Jr on Fauci and others in government who banned IVM and coerced the vaxxxes
American Buddhist Net 