How do i get to level 2 & 3 so I can actully interact with people?

brentan comments on Jan 11, 2020:

Gosh, write anything to anybody and you go up the lower levels quite fast.

I enjoy the interchanges of thoughts and feelings with many others on this site.

brentan comments on Jan 11, 2020:

I can't help thinking that sort of thing should be private because everybody is doing their best.

Something for the Mods to Think About

brentan comments on Jan 11, 2020:

Mowbray explains all this to Richard II, the moderator on the English forum. Bolingboke has got him banned: Myself I throw, dread sovereign, at thy foot; My life thou shalt command, but not my shame: The one my duty owes; but my fair name, Despite of death, that lives upon my grave To dark dishonour's use thou shalt not have. I am disgrac'd, impeach'd, and baffl'd here; Pierc'd to the soul with slander's venom'd spear, The which no balm can cure but his heart-blood Which breath'd this poison.

Could philosophical discussions be better and more productive? [aeon.co]

brentan comments on Jan 11, 2020:

I've watched political discussions on TV for decades. They are definitely adversarial and seem utterly non-productive. Recently, I've been reading about dialectics and the idea of thesis, antithesis and synthesis. This is about presenting an idea, someone else countering that idea and another idea being created from the combination of the two. A viewer watching that political discussion on TV might understandably ask what's the difference between what the two politicians are doing and the dialectic. The answer might be that the politicians are behaving as if only the thesis or the antithesis are true while the viewer is in a position to make a synthesis if he or she wishes. The politician has no interest other than furthering the objectives of the party; the philosopher might be bound to a certain school of thought. Ego, loyalty, finance and other issues affect schools of philosophy like they do all the sciences. The only way I see to improve discussion is to hunger after truth more than other consideration.

Time to get me banned:::: Wake up: Woke-libs:::::Minneapolis’ ‘Little Mogadishu’ Sees 56 ...

brentan comments on Jan 11, 2020:

Immigration does cause problems everywhere. Nobody likes change. Ghettoisation becomes the norm and gradually the immigrants assimilate. Uncontrolled immigration makes the situation worse but it must be remembered immigration is not necessarily a bad thing and uncontrolled immigration comes from the greed of the powers-that-be for lower labour costs. I'm constantly meeting these immigrants and not seeing them as primitive people. Perhaps my understanding of the experiences of my own people has coloured my judgement but I think these immigrants are as good as anyone else, and sometimes even better. There are bad ones, of course, people being people, and the authorities are prioritising the demand for lower wages over the demand for justice.

The best thing about being agnostic is knowing (as much as it is humanly possible) there is no hell.

brentan comments on Jan 11, 2020:

I agree that being in a position to meditate on the meaning of life is a privilege not everyone can enjoy. I'm grateful I get to do it. Socrates seems a little callous when he talks about 'the unconsidered life being meaningless'. That would rule out all the people who brought meaning into their lives by their characters rather than their education. I completely see eye-to-eye with your comments on hell and the likelihood there is no afterlife in the sense of a heaven or a paradise. But I suspect those Buddhist monks are on to something....

A wiser one said: The Internet is a pool of mixed vibration.

brentan comments on Jan 11, 2020:

It sounds very like being bound to ideology and never learning through engaging with people who think differently.

"There are a score of great religions in the world .

brentan comments on Jan 10, 2020:

What did he mean by graft in this context?

Do atheists overreach?

brentan comments on Jan 10, 2020:

I think the source of the notion that humans have an innate dignity is religious. For the western world, it's the idea that man is made in the image of God. I wouldn't call that a fact. I think it's a belief - a very good one! So if humanists adopt it, that's a good thing but it's still a belief. Here's the rub. When an idea is thought to have come from God, it holds true no matter how opinions sway and behaviour demonstrates the opposite. If the idea is human, it can sway and become relative and serious decay. A possible solution might be that people agree that it is a code beyond questioning and pin it to the top of legal codes. In other words, they give it super-human status in the hope it can better hold up under pressure. It's only a pretense but perhaps better than nothing.

John Mayall - Room to Move [youtube.com]

brentan comments on Jan 10, 2020:

Hard to beat a bit of chica-chica from time to time.

After all, no one is stupid enough to prefer war to peace; in peace sons bury their fathers and in ...

brentan comments on Jan 10, 2020:

'And you who build these altars To sacrifice our children You must not do it anymore'. - Leonard Cohen Song of Isaac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr0HCqiD1C8

"No snowflake falls in an inappropriate place." ---- Zen proverb

brentan comments on Jan 10, 2020:

Lots of snowflakes would want to sue if they fell in what they thought was an inappropriate place.

Anyone who claims to know what god wants you to do is clearly lying.

brentan comments on Jan 10, 2020:

This is, in a sense, what Immanuel Kant concluded in his Transcendental Dialectic. He showed that our minds only ever see the appearances of objects and not objects in themselves so God could never be seen or proved. But belief is another thing, and believing that ethics come from God and create social order is a matter of faith and not a given. Kant remained a nominal Christian for the sake of that social order.

A bunch of assholes trying to prove shit

brentan comments on Jan 10, 2020:

The bastards!

Montana Court Reverses $35 Million Child Abuse Verdict Against Jehovah's Witnesses : NPR

brentan comments on Jan 10, 2020:

I guess the judges were bound to the law as it was written. I sincerely hope this leads to a change in the law in Montana, and anywhere else where needed.

My initial thought on going to war where the draft needs to be reinstated to fill the ranks: Total ...

brentan comments on Jan 9, 2020:

Which way to Canada?

The context that goes unmentioned in coverage of the Soleimani assassination

brentan comments on Jan 9, 2020:

I saw that on YouTube about Sulemani being on a peace-keeping mission: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEAp_UouT2Q&t=625s

Should Donald Trump be required to have a mental health evaluation? [ipetitions.com]

brentan comments on Jan 9, 2020:

Welcome to the forum! I think if we could get evaluations on demand, we would all demand them for each other.

How can you tell how many people have blocked you? I might have the record for the most in one day.

brentan comments on Jan 9, 2020:

It would be funny to see the stats for people being blocked and making judgments on whether they were righteous blocks or sensitive souls.

Caesar adsum jam forte Pompey aderat Caesar sic in omnibus Pompey sic in at (que) Does anyone ...

brentan comments on Jan 9, 2020:

I did a few years of Latin in school but never came across that one. The only thing I remember from my Latin For Today Book III was 'Caesar in Gallium profiscuruntur' - Caesar set out for Gaul. Is the idea behind this Caesar had some (strong?) jam Pompey had a rat Caesar (got) sick on the bus Pompey (got) sick in (his) hat.

Nationalism. Don't you just love it

brentan comments on Jan 9, 2020:

'Us, us and them And don't you know we're all just ordinary men'.

This song saved my life.

brentan comments on Jan 8, 2020:

It's a wonderful song. There are several versions (I'm sure you lnow) and the one with Youssou N'Dour is my favourite.

Moms Kicks Out Her Gay Son From Home, Grandpa Steps In And Disowns Her

brentan comments on Jan 8, 2020:

Yay granpa!

Iran strikes US bases in Iraq as Pentagon deploys B-52 bombers - World Socialist Web Site

brentan comments on Jan 8, 2020:

Whatever you do, don't mention the elephant in the room!

Yesterday I was on a little road trip and grabbed a few old CDs to play in the car .

brentan comments on Jan 8, 2020:

She sang that beautifully!

Jesus tries to feed the 5000, but he just can't catch a break.

brentan comments on Jan 7, 2020:

Moses would have sorted that lot out in a heartbeat.

😏 That quote tho.

brentan comments on Jan 7, 2020:

He might have made that mistake himself.

Yikes thats a bad day

brentan comments on Jan 7, 2020:

That must have been a blast!

“Think about it: what weakens us is feeling offended by the deeds and misdeeds of our fellow men.

brentan comments on Jan 7, 2020:

It's not always down to our failings. Some people are pro-active evil bastards.

Popularity is fleeting. Martyrdom is forever!

brentan comments on Jan 7, 2020:

I don't think we'll ever know the difference between an act of war and an act of terrorism again.

Definitely makes sense

brentan comments on Jan 7, 2020:

I hoped that he might bring some humour into politics with his irreverence towards the political system but the joke, if there ever was one, is over now.

Tradition.

brentan comments on Jan 7, 2020:

It's also about passing on what has proved to work to the next generation. But it tends to get corrupt the longer it stays stagnant and that's where the next generation comes in. They have a natural tendency to buck the system and modifications are made. Those young people then become the upholders of tradition in later life and the cycle goes on.

Do the math!

brentan comments on Jan 6, 2020:

Educated stoners.

AmeriKKKa first?

brentan comments on Jan 6, 2020:

Real Murricans. Native, even.

"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public." H. L. Mencken

brentan comments on Jan 6, 2020:

I couldn't claim to be a globetrotter but I've seen a few places and I'm convinced the IQ level of people is similar everywhere. I think the thing that makes American stupidity more noticeable is that their education system makes many of them arrogant and that seems to make it come across worse.

Satan Refuses To Accept Any More Catholic Priests In Hell

brentan comments on Jan 6, 2020:

It probably gets boring like Hannah Arendt said about evil.

Telling the truth...

brentan comments on Jan 6, 2020:

Well, the ungrateful fucker!

Sign of the times.... and that he might be an idiot...

brentan comments on Jan 6, 2020:

This is when you compete against yourself and win.

"Great and good are seldom the same man" (Sir Winston Churchill)

brentan comments on Jan 6, 2020:

We only seem to get that in the religious archetypes.

[yahoo.

brentan comments on Jan 6, 2020:

That's not likely.

What is the one Truth or Method of finding the truth that you hold sacred above all others?

brentan comments on Jan 6, 2020:

In ordinary situations, I look for patterns of behaviour to tell me the truth about people.

We are 50 people! Just to celebrate this landmark.

brentan comments on Jan 6, 2020:

I thought this group was gone.

“Why is propaganda so much more successful when it stirs up hatred than when it tries to stir up ...

brentan comments on Jan 6, 2020:

That was a curious statement for me because it seems meaning in life is equated with material goods. If true, the Internet is bringing the meaning of life right into the living rooms of poor people to shove their lack of meaning right in their faces. Poverty is felt keener when wealth lives next door. It seems such a shame to think people are risking their lives to get to countries where lack of meaning is actually a disease.

Again Mexico killing Americans.

brentan comments on Jan 6, 2020:

The government at the moment is too busy ensuring that hundreds of American citizens get killed around the world.

[youtu.

brentan comments on Jan 6, 2020:

I enjoyed that. One point that struck me was that man's own innate sense of justice protects people from the extremism written into the texts. The other point is that people realise the impracticality of the texts in everyday life and mostly just get on with making a living.

Sick bastard.

brentan comments on Jan 5, 2020:

I guess it's all relative!

In Case of Emergency...

brentan comments on Jan 5, 2020:

If he wasn't so cute....

Forever young?

brentan comments on Jan 5, 2020:

Would anyone want to be Fried?

You don't have to scratch very far below the surface of the Soleimani assassination to get a whiff ...

brentan comments on Jan 5, 2020:

People all over the world went out and protested at the war on Iraq's supposed weapons of nuclear destruction. I have my fingers crossed that people understand the increasing level of cynicism of these hawks and refuse to go along with it. My hope is that hatred for manipulation and utter contempt for human life on this level will cross the ideological divide and protest for sanity.

Congrats to Hippieland.

brentan comments on Jan 5, 2020:

Darn hippies. Get back to work!

A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world. (Leo Buscaglia)

brentan comments on Jan 5, 2020:

Emphasis on 'can', I guess. In that way, I think he's right.

Some days....

brentan comments on Jan 5, 2020:

The effort!

The Cure - Charlotte Sometimes An especially melancholy ‘80s pop song by your favorite sad ...

brentan comments on Jan 4, 2020:

I find his voice strangely reassuring. Perhaps it's nostalgia.

"Solas," a 1999 Spanish language drama about a trio of lonely people - an embittered, alcoholic ...

brentan comments on Jan 4, 2020:

I must look out for that one!

"In the World Wars, people were perfectly able to shoot other people just because they belonged to ...

brentan comments on Jan 4, 2020:

Part of the attack was to villify the enemy so as to dehumanise them.

I'm there: 🙄

brentan comments on Jan 4, 2020:

I'm forced to wear braces (suspenders?) these days. I've no arse left.

So a 5 time draft dodger orders the illegal assassination of a foreign political figure without any ...

brentan comments on Jan 4, 2020:

Apparently, Trump put the guy on his Official List of Killable Terrorists so everything's legit.

Pay attention and remember

brentan comments on Jan 4, 2020:

The two premises are suspect.

The arithmetic teacher proposed the following to the class, "If there are three crows on a fence and...

brentan comments on Jan 4, 2020:

Good try, Johnny!

AJ Lee, Molly Tuttle, and Jack Tuttle -- Cherokee Shuffle [youtube.com]

brentan comments on Jan 4, 2020:

Finger pickin' good!

"We cannot, of course, disprove God, just as we can't disprove Thor, fairies, leprechauns and the ...

brentan comments on Jan 4, 2020:

We're still baffled by the Prime Mover. I don't think the Big Bang can be called the first cause. Something made that happen and I think it might be a reaction to what was happening in another universe.

"The value of the quote we post here is what we think, not the quote itself.

brentan comments on Jan 4, 2020:

That's a good observation.

"Geopolitical and Energy Implications of Qasem Soleimani's Death"

brentan comments on Jan 4, 2020:

One of the problems for people is that the Middle East is a total mystery. Curiously, I watched a film just the other day (Queen of the Desert) about a woman called Gertrude Bell who lived there and became so knowledgeable about the people and the place that she was sought out by the British Army for advice. T.E. Lawrence too was another of those rare individuals. What do I know? I never heard of this general and it seems I'm not alone. So the article gave me some insight into the situation. I'm also looking forward to watching a video about this situation from a YouTuber who has a channel called Caspian Report. I hope he does it soon.

“I know of no society in human history that ever suffered because its people became too desirous ...

brentan comments on Jan 3, 2020:

Maybe societies suffer, even fall apart, when they realise their belief system - culture - whatever you want to call it, is full of shit.

If this is accurate.... "IF" is the pivotal word here, we could be in for a hell of a year: 😳

brentan comments on Jan 3, 2020:

Not to worry. This is not to start war but to stop it.

Visit [www.

brentan comments on Jan 3, 2020:

My son gave me an ID on his Netflix account recently. I must see what I can access. From what I've read, we don't get access to as many films as Americans get. I really like foreign films, especially Spanish ones.

Kadim Al Sahir, is an Iraqi singer, composer and songwriter. [youtu.be]

brentan comments on Jan 3, 2020:

Rockin' the kasbah in his own language!

...again. He's about to do something stupid again.

brentan comments on Jan 3, 2020:

I fear he has already done it, and for that terribly cynical exercise in detracting from things at home.

Happy New Year to everyone

brentan comments on Jan 3, 2020:

Back at you! May it be a great one!

If you not already have seen Japanese Manga "Spirted Away" I highly recommend it.

brentan comments on Jan 3, 2020:

Yes indeed. I love that film!

It's a calcium-enriched Miracle!

brentan comments on Jan 3, 2020:

That's the power of logos!

When she has no idea what she is doing.

brentan comments on Jan 3, 2020:

She has lovely teeth.

Return to the basics

brentan comments on Jan 3, 2020:

The horror!

I've been watching 'Messiah' on netflix recently and it is a surprisingly good show.

brentan comments on Jan 3, 2020:

I think the messiah idea is an archetype of the leader, that is, the best leader one could wish for, who could save his people and give up his life for them if necessary. The context, I feel, must be hierarchy which, according to Jordan Peterson, goes back as far as lobsters.

“The Fertile Shore” story of the first people to inhabit the Americas.

brentan comments on Jan 3, 2020:

I think of Asian and Native Americans as the same people. They must have been superb boat people to cover that distance!

I'm dedicated to bringing skynet online.

brentan comments on Jan 3, 2020:

We'll be back!

There are 96 people who have been banned from this group.

brentan comments on Jan 3, 2020:

It might you boring yourselves to tears.

take that happy couples! 😂

brentan comments on Jan 2, 2020:

Yeah, fuck them bastards!

Love this guy!

brentan comments on Jan 2, 2020:

Well said!

Groooooan! :P

brentan comments on Jan 2, 2020:

Now look! This is only the second day of the year. We can stop this now.

Oh how sweet🤣😂🤣😂

brentan comments on Jan 2, 2020:

That larger bum will be very useful in winter too!

Depressing. But realistic? Are we there??? 🤔

brentan comments on Jan 2, 2020:

I must admit that's something I never thought was happening. I thought it was just happening now.

Been watching the Linda Ronstadt documentary on CNN.

brentan comments on Jan 2, 2020:

I have that album Hasten Down The Wind with all those Karla Bonoff songs. It is a gem!

"One of the things that is wrong with religion is that it teaches us to be satisfied with answers ...

brentan comments on Jan 2, 2020:

The assumption that this cannot happen in science is challenged by Rupert Sheldrake here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HybPD0VsFP0

"Natural selection will not remove ignorance from future generations." - Richard Dawkins

brentan comments on Jan 2, 2020:

There was a hope that education might solve the problem but since it became caught up in the ideologies of our time, people haven't stood a chance.

for the vast majority, that ember of fairness, deep inside us, is all we have that needs to be ...

brentan comments on Jan 2, 2020:

I wonder if fairness is innate or does it need to be cultivated. I'm inclined to think babies are born thinking the world revolves around them, then we support that view for a while and then teach them gradually that other people matter too. I read that if this isn't done by age four, you can forget about it.

Public service announcement

brentan comments on Jan 2, 2020:

Noted.

"God exists, if only in the form of a meme with high survival value, or infective power, in the ...

brentan comments on Jan 2, 2020:

I think Dawkins meant it in the context of the Jehovah/Allah patriarchal type of god; the demiurge, as some people call it. I don't think he considers the existence of a 'god' behind the demiurge, which might better be described as universal consciousness.

“I’m not perfect, I’m just forgiven” is the most enabling statement ever made! Christians...

brentan comments on Jan 2, 2020:

The casual attitude to sin is based on ignorance of scripture. In my old religion, the expression "I'm working on it" was the flippant response to criticism. Repentance is not like that at all. It involves heart-felt sorrow for sins committed and a determination to do better. Repentance comes from the Hebrew word teshuvah and the elements involved in it can be easily found on the internet. For those who completely ignore the responsibilities of teshuvah, they are understood as 'the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace' - Hebrews 10:29.

Economics is the study of costs and benefits. What are the costs?

brentan comments on Jan 1, 2020:

Economic growth. Nothing else matters. Except to the poor. But they don't matter,

The impeachment crisis and US war plans against Russia - World Socialist Web Site

brentan comments on Jan 1, 2020:

Happy New Year to you too!

brentan comments on Jan 1, 2020:

At least they won't get thrown out of a garden. Well, who knows?

Tuba Skinny -"Gotta Give Me Some" [youtube.com]

brentan comments on Jan 1, 2020:

Hey, the girl with her bum on the drum stood up!

Was their other sign not working?

brentan comments on Jan 1, 2020:

I'm sure they don't really mean it!

A very happy and healthy 2020 to all you lovely people who lighten the load with all your good humor...

brentan comments on Jan 1, 2020:

Happy New Year to you too, AC!

That's one way to carry a six-pack! 😂🤣😂

brentan comments on Jan 1, 2020:

Nietzsche coping with his thoughts.

Hello all! Are any of you as amazed as I am to find myself waking up in 2020 :-D

brentan comments on Jan 1, 2020:

When I was a boy, the year 2000 seemed very, very distant.

“It is the responsibility of intellectuals to speak the truth and expose lies.” - Noam Chomsky

brentan comments on Jan 1, 2020:

And comedians too. They do a great job!

One of my kids was trying to be in every conversation and the other one was in his room with a ...

brentan comments on Jan 1, 2020:

Let Boris do it!

The Truth as we now understand it can be idiosyncratic at best and blurred to the point of ...

brentan comments on Jan 1, 2020:

In the Bible, when Christ claims to be the witness for the truth, Pilate responds by saying "What is truth?" - John 18, 37, 38. In the musical Jesus Christ Superstar,his response is expanded to "We all have truths. Are mine the same as yours?" I think, in a kind of a mix of Hegel and Jordan Peterson, that truth is what works for most of the people most of the time. In other words, truth is functional rather than normative.