A few people have been commenting on the current “death by semantics”, or what Orwell called “doublespeak.” I used that image just in October, but it’s too on-the-nose not to use it again here. T. Ryan Gregory wrote, “Death by semantics. It’s spread in the air, but it’s not airborne. It’s
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Scripturient: Reading Animal Fairm
Animal Fairm is a 2022 translation into Scots of George Orwell’s classic satire on Stalinist (and in far too many ways, modern conservative) politics and ideology. As the cover of this edition says, it was “translatit intae Scots by Thomas Clark.” I recently purchased the book for my reading entertainment.
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Conspiracy Theory Revisited
We should remember that the cult of authority, the cult of obedience, and the cult of conformity, are profoundly anti-intellectual, anti-science, anti-empirical, and anti-democratic, as well as extremely dangerous. And these three cults now reign supreme across the Western world, as Western societies close down, having imported the authoritarian model
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Medieval Society – Then and Now
“You’re still fucking peasants as far as I can see.”- John Lennon Great short video, linked below, but the view of medieval peasant life is too one-sided – as is typical. Oh the smugness of modern society. Medieval peasants had little freedom, and were bonded to the landowner class. But
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Who Are The CIA?
Who are the CIA? This will tell you everything you need to know. Here’s where things really started to go wrong: 1947, the National Security Act, which created the National Security Council and the CIA, giving the CIA sweeping, ultra-secretive, unconstitutional powers, and near limitless budget through the legalized, covert
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Video Calls: Communication In A Hyper-Connected & Deeply Dissociated Society
Thoughtful commentators to the Smithsonian and BBC recently “recommended limiting video calls to only those that are necessary. Petriglieri adds that positioning the video screen to your side may make it feel like you’re in a nearby room instead of under scrutiny. University of Québec psychologist Claude Normand tells National
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Glenn Gould On Orwell
Yo, listen up, blokes! (He says, in order to mash and mangle and generally have fun with various voices, inflections, accents and colloquilisms, as Gould was fond of doing himself, rather playfully, but with very serious thought and musings injected into his playfulness – very much like the dark humour
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Cognitive Dissonance, Mass Insanity & Covid Hysteria
Check the numbers. The disease is not ravaging us, is not unprecedented, but has killed 1/3rd the death toll of a typical year of the common flu. DOES ANYBODY FACT-CHECK ANYMORE?! If 300,000 to 700,000 deaths per year from the common annual flu, which is typical, and happens every year,
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Myth Of Progress – Pricking The Bubble
Again and again, I am reminded of the need for humility, as well as dignity and confidence. I am reminded not only by my own faults and errors, which are numerous enough, but also by many of the people I respect the most. Again, and again, I read an exceptionally
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Fantasy and Indoctrination: Rough notes on a few fantasy novels: part two
Here are two more fantasy books that I could not get through. That makes three in a row. And to think, I had a love affair with Terry Brookes’ Shannara series! (I read something like 20 Shannara novels in a row, and loved all of them, other than the last
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Viral Fads? Collective Escapism Through Displaced Fear?
I could be wrong, but every indicator to me so far is that the latest virus scare is vastly over-hyped, as they almost always are. Still it’s at 2,800 death toll globally, and that is in comparison to 650,000 deaths a year from the flu (actually non-influenza flu-like infections,
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Very Timely Reminder
In 1984, the Enemy of the State was the elusive Emmanuel Goldstein, likely a contrived figure upon whom the masses could hurl their hatred, while Big Brother, the real enemy, surveilled and controlled the masses. In the noir world of Trumpland, it appears the first of what will likely be
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Empiricism and Dogmatism
Or, Evidence-based opinion versus ideological fundamentalism There is a major difference between evidence-based opinion and opinion-based evidence. The former is empirical, and sane, the latter, dogmatic, and either insane or dishonest. There are always a few people, many in fact, who adopt an ideology first, then mold the facts to
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Empiricism and Dogmatism
Or, Evidence-based opinion versus ideological fundamentalism There is a major difference between evidence-based opinion and opinion-based evidence. The former is empirical, and sane, the latter, dogmatic, and either insane or dishonest. There are always a few people, many in fact, who adopt an ideology first, then mold the facts to
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: CNN lies, distorts, while its own polls tell the truth: Bernie won the debate
CNN’s own polls show Bernie Sanders won the Democratic presidential debate last night, Tuesday, October 13, 2015, hands down. When CNN polled, and asked “Who won the debate?” 83% of people said Bernie Sanders. 83%. Yet, CNN headlines are splashing the big, bold message, Hillary wins debate by landslide. Can
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: ISIS and Terrorism – A Reality Check
“The responsibility of intellectuals is to speak the truth and expose lies.” – Noam Chomsky “In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” – George Orwell According to a February 2015 Gallup poll, Americans consider the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant — abbreviated as
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: On Civil Obedience
“Laws control the lesser man… Right conduct controls the greater one.” – Mark Twain Never be obedient. Obedience is for dogs. No offence to dogs – I love dogs, and dogs are very admirable, as well as lovable, and there is much that we can learn from dogs. But we
Continue readingLeft Over: Let’s Not Face the Truth….
Canadians of all stripes oppose face coverings at citizenship ceremonies: Vote Compass Conservative and BQ supporters most opposed; Liberals, NDP and Greens more mixed CBC News Posted: Sep 21, 2015 3:58 PM ET Last Updated: Sep 22, 2015 11:11 AM ET Do I think that politicians of all stripes
Continue readingLeft Over: Let’s Not Face the Truth….
Canadians of all stripes oppose face coverings at citizenship ceremonies: Vote Compass Conservative and BQ supporters most opposed; Liberals, NDP and Greens more mixed CBC News Posted: Sep 21, 2015 3:58 PM ET Last Updated: Sep 22, 2015 11:11 AM ET Do I think that politicians of all stripes
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: John Pilger on Ukraine Situation
The US is doing it again. “In February, the US mounted one of its “colour” coups against the elected government in Ukraine, exploiting genuine protests against corruption in Kiev. Obama’s national security adviser Victoria Nuland personally selected the leader of an “interim government”. She nicknamed him “Yats”. Vice President Joe
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