In North Korea, this forum wouldn't be banned, it would be revered and taught in schools as a palatable and preferable version of Western history. And in many ways, that's all the truth the children of North Korea need
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Lies.
Russian speaking people aren't allowed to smile. Ever. They get exiled if they look like they might be doing anything but staring moodily and in a vaugely hostile manner at everyone around them,
I had a similar experience last weekend, jamming with some good friends for four solid hours in the twilight hours of night. It was a magical evening. Completely sober.
According to the Fish head documentary I linked to elsewhere, people with psychopathic tendencies tend to rise to positions of leadership and then make decisions without the ability to have empathy for those that their decision affects adversely. They point to examples in both business and politics... they also draw some interesting conclusions about the effects of SSRI's and how they create symptoms that are similar to psychopathy, then parallels between the increased use of SSRI's among leaders and the increase in bad/poor/self-interested decisions due to the fact that their emotions are muted by the drugs.
Interesting stuff, though of course, its all theory/supposition/belief/agenda etc.
Sounds similar, but not quite the same, im pretty sure it was on the Less Wrong Wiki.
By the way, am I the only person here who thinks that anyone who is against legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults but is also pro-choice when it comes to abortion is a HUGE FLAMING HYPOCRITE?
No! Because being pro-choice is about people having control over their own bodies and health! And legalizing recreational use of drugs would mean people having control of... no, it would mean enabling... uh... would mean hurting children and...
OH WAIT-
By the way, am I the only person here who thinks that anyone who is against legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults but is also pro-choice when it comes to abortion is a HUGE FLAMING HYPOCRITE?
I used to roll with the idea of Libertarianism as the least awful form of government, these days I've decided they're all equally crappy in one way or another. A non-crappy government would be one thata focused on maximum personal freedom and on providing a support structure for citizens that needed assistance. Sadly, I doubt something like thata would ever be implemented usefully in the US.
However, I have found a glimmer of hope. Some Psychologists/Psychiatrist claim that through their studies they find that most people are Good but passive, rather than Evil, Selfish etc. Additionally, through the study of 'social networks' (not Facebook, the actual human social network) an individuals behavior influences the behavior of their friends, their friends friends and their friends friends friends (3 degrees of influence). If we behave in a Good-Active way, it influences 3 degrees of the social network to behave in a more Good-Active way. So while there may never be a government that is actively good, if these theories and observations are correct, humans could influence each other so that society becomes more actively good.
Hell, its better than voting for the psychopaths at the top and hoping they fix something, or ranting about obviously failed political belief systems.
ETA: There an interesting documentary on the topic: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/i-am-fishead-are-corporate-leaders-psychopaths/
Psychologists (psychiatrists don't typically do behavioral research, as they are clinical doctors), and primarily the fellow who has been doing this research for over 40 years is Philip Zimbardo, who gave the TED talk I posted in another thread. He wrote an excellent book called The Lucifer Effect, and is now studying heroism, which he defines simply as resisting the influence of evil. Zimbardo, Milgram, Sapolsky, Cacioppo, and Cialdini are all great people to read up on if you're interested in that sort of thing.
Zimbardo has done a lot of work studying the situation at Abu Ghraib, and his conclusions are pretty chilling; essentially, he is convinced that evil isn't "a few bad apples" or "a bad barrel", but "bad-barrel-makers". Now he's working on understanding how we can influence the whole social-political-military system to mitigate the "bad-barrel-maker" effect.
A non-crappy government would be one thata focused on maximum personal freedom and on providing a support structure for citizens that needed assistance.
The big disconnect is the mistaken notion that these are mutually exclusive.
https://wikispooks.com/wiki/ALEC#How_do_corporations_benefit.3FQuoteAlthough ALEC claims to take an ideological stance (of supposedly "Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty"), many of the model bills benefit the corporations whose agents write them, shape them, and/or vote to approve them. These are just a few such measures:
Altria/Philip Morris USA benefits from ALEC’s newest tobacco legislation -- an extremely narrow tax break for moist tobacco that would make fruit flavored tobacco products cheaper and more attractive to youngsters.
Health insurance companies such as Humana and Golden Rule Insurance (United Healthcare), benefit directly from ALEC model bills, such as the Health Savings Account bill that just passed in Wisconsin.
Tobacco firms such as Reynolds and pharmaceutical firms such as Bayer benefit directly from ALEC tort reform measures that make it harder for Americans to sue when injured by dangerous products.
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) benefits directly from the anti-immigrant legislation introduced in Arizona and other states that requires expanded incarceration and housing of immigrants, along with other bills from ALEC’s crime task force.
Connections Academy, a large online education corporation and co-chair of the Education Task Force, benefits from ALEC measures to privatize public education and promote private on-line schools.
I wanted to address this here so as to not derail the other thread.
So, ALEC is working with Big Tobacco, who, if/when marijuana is legalized federally, will be jumping in whole hog into the marijuana market.
So, you can talk all you want about the (phony) connection to Prevention, but it looks like ALEC will also be connected to the Green Machine when it gets up and running.
Some food for thought.
Isn't fruit flavored tobacco illegal in the states now? Last time I was in the States, I couldn't even get cloves (yeah, there a little goth hiding in this hippie).
No, it isn't. It's perfectly legal, and is an example of the kind of marketing CLEARLY aimed at kids that we'll see when marijuana is legal.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today a ban on cigarettes with flavors characterizing fruit, candy, or clove. The ban, authorized by the new Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, is part of a national effort by the FDA to reduce smoking in America. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in America.
The FDA's ban on candy and fruit-flavored cigarettes, effective today, highlights the importance of reducing the number of children who start to smoke, and who become addicted to dangerous tobacco products. The FDA is also examining options for regulating both menthol cigarettes and flavored tobacco products other than cigarettes.
"Almost 90 percent of adult smokers start smoking as teenagers. These flavored cigarettes are a gateway for many children and young adults to become regular smokers," said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. "The FDA will utilize regulatory authority to reduce the burden of illness and death caused by tobacco products to enhance our Nation's public health."
https://wikispooks.com/wiki/ALEC#How_do_corporations_benefit.3FQuoteAlthough ALEC claims to take an ideological stance (of supposedly "Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty"), many of the model bills benefit the corporations whose agents write them, shape them, and/or vote to approve them. These are just a few such measures:
Altria/Philip Morris USA benefits from ALEC’s newest tobacco legislation -- an extremely narrow tax break for moist tobacco that would make fruit flavored tobacco products cheaper and more attractive to youngsters.
Health insurance companies such as Humana and Golden Rule Insurance (United Healthcare), benefit directly from ALEC model bills, such as the Health Savings Account bill that just passed in Wisconsin.
Tobacco firms such as Reynolds and pharmaceutical firms such as Bayer benefit directly from ALEC tort reform measures that make it harder for Americans to sue when injured by dangerous products.
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) benefits directly from the anti-immigrant legislation introduced in Arizona and other states that requires expanded incarceration and housing of immigrants, along with other bills from ALEC’s crime task force.
Connections Academy, a large online education corporation and co-chair of the Education Task Force, benefits from ALEC measures to privatize public education and promote private on-line schools.
I wanted to address this here so as to not derail the other thread.
So, ALEC is working with Big Tobacco, who, if/when marijuana is legalized federally, will be jumping in whole hog into the marijuana market.
So, you can talk all you want about the (phony) connection to Prevention, but it looks like ALEC will also be connected to the Green Machine when it gets up and running.
Some food for thought.
