01) Waking Up With Sam Harris #84 – Landscapes of Mind (with Kevin Kelly)
“In this episode of the Waking Up podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Kevin Kelly about why it’s so hard to predict future technology, the nature of intelligence, the “singularity,” artificial consciousness, and other topics.
Kevin Kelly helped launch Wired magazine and was its executive editor for its first seven years. He has written for The New York Times, The Economist, Science, Time, and The Wall Street Journal among many other publications. His previous books include Out of Control, New Rules for the New Economy, Cool Tools, and What Technology Wants. His most recent book is The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future.”
01) Sam Harris Speaks His Mind about Religion in a Synagogue
“Sam Harris gives a lecture about the dangers of dogmatic beliefs, specifically, religious beliefs and the misunderstood notion of atheism. Harris also talks about the strange proposition for believing that the creator of the universe demands recognition of it’s existence upon insufficient evidence and threatens eternal damnation with hell fire for those who don’t believe.”
…I’m generally very careful [especially when I’m not giving any commentary of my own] to pick content that emphasizes both productive dialogue, and clear communication of ideas.
No…I’m confident not everybody is going to like what is being discussed, in every bit of media I share here…And I cannot please everyone, so I am at peace with that.
I’m most concerned with bringing issues to the surface, where they can be observed and talked about in the open…and people getting emotional, is just part of the process…It’s not something to run away from, or imagine that “the process is a failure” just because some people are getting upset.
I do follow a few loose rules, though…
…such as, I don’t normally share content from people who swear a lot, or behave especially belligerent…
…That doesn’t mean you can’t find a few examples of that here…After all, people who troll Social Justice Warriors, often bring up a lot of vital, important issues…and they usually just cut to the point, of what is so wrong in SJW rational and tactics.
Even in those rare cases…the media creator is sharing good insight…which is why the media was chosen.
Sometimes I share the media of people I fundamentally disagree with…and I provide a counter argument, viewpoint and related thoughts, myself…
…Again…it is all about the dialogue, and the pieces of wisdom shared.
It’s clear that some people leave “drive by” comments, where they’ve not even taken the time to understand…much less appreciate, this fact about Our Love Frontier…
…This blog is a dialogue aggregator [with a bunch of other fun, atmospheric stuff mixed in, because it reflects the type of person I am]…With a tiny bit of genuine looking around here…you cannot possibly miss this fact.
…Some people find this alien and offensive?…
…I expected this, yes…And keep in mind…their venom laced commentaries only attest to the sorts of people they are…
…They display that they are the sorts who shout down, threaten, intimidate and silence others…
Our Love Frontier, fundamentally, is an antidote to what they do and how they think.
Of course…they are going to get riled up, wherever they see a place of calm, respectable, orderly dialogue, existing in defiance of their chaotic tyranny.
That is all they are…chaotic noise, meant to disrupt the clear headed dialogue…
Here at Our Love Frontier, we don’t let disruptive noise rule the day.
01) Daniel Dennett – Is There Any Good Reason to Believe in God?
“In this talk, Daniel Dennett is introduced by Richard Dawkins and gives a lecture about the existence of god and whether there are good reasons to believe in god in the first place.”
…The name of this series was taken from the actual movement, of the same name…It is my intention, to highlight the issues and media concerning the pursuit of death with dignity.
I’ve been a strong supporter of this movement for many years…And however depressing the issue may come off…it is a very important social issue…and a personal issue for everybody.
I hope none of this comes off morbid…That’s not my intention…
Having lived with health issues most of my life…I’ve spent a lot of time, contemplating my own mortality…It just comes natural to me, to want a culture where this can occur as smooth and dignified, as possible…respecting personal wishes…and personal needs.
Here, I will highlight media concerning assisted suicide…the assistance of people going through death…plus philosophies and coping skills, dealing with death.
I feel I should add one thing…
…I do not support or endorse suicide, as a method to just simply end ones life…especially for the young, who are dealing with mental health issues.
While I respect that each persons life is their own, to choose what to do with…I do not believe suicide is a good option, unless one is facing a condition which will kill them in the near future…and they simply cannot deal with their condition any longer.
All choices of this manner, must be made by the person who is to undergo the procedure, and nobody else.
In my opinion…elderly people should have the right to choose this, as a method of ending their life…every bit as much as they should have the right, to choose to continue living.
It’s a very heavy issue, but…
…I hope this series proves to be a useful one…Maybe even uplifting, in some manner.
Note:
What I post in this series is an exploration of ideas and opinions…Some of these may come from people who are religious, or putting forward concepts I don’t personally embrace…but I find something useful, in the observance of what they have to express.
01) Ask an Atheist: Celebrating our Independence From Religion
“Co-President’s Annie Laurie Gaylor, Dan Barker, and Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel host this weeks edition of Ask an Atheist. Join us each week on Wednesday at 12PM Central Time on Facebook to watch live.”
01) Post-WW2 Anti-Fascist Educational Film – Don’t Be a Sucker – 1947
“Don’t Be a Sucker! is a short educational film produced by the U.S. War Department in 1943 and re-released in 1947. The film depicts the rise of Nazism in Germany and warns Americans against repeating the mistakes of intolerance made in Nazi Germany. It emphasizes that Americans will lose their country if they let themselves be turned into “suckers” by the forces of fanaticism and hatred. The film was made to make the case for the desegregation of the United States armed forces by simply revealing the connection between prejudice and fascism.
This film is not propaganda. To the contrary, it teaches how to recognize and reject propaganda, as was used by the Nazis to promote to bigotry and intimidation. It shows how prejudice can be used to divide the population to gain power. Far more significantly, it then shows how such tactics can be defanged by friendly persuasion; that protection of liberty is a unifying and practical way to live peacefully.
Plot:
A young American Free Mason is taken in by the message of a soap-box orator who asserts that all good jobs in the United States are being taken by the so-called minorities, domestic and foreign. He falls into a conversation with Hungarian professor who witnessed the rise of Nazism in Berlin and who tells him of the pattern of events that brought Hitler to power in Germany and how Germany’s anti-democratic groups split the country into helpless minorities, each hating the other. The professor concludes by pointing out that America is composed of many minorities, but all are united as Americans.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND / CONTEXT
Nazi Germany is the common English name for the period in German history from 1933 to 1945, when Germany was governed by a dictatorship under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP). Under Hitler’s rule, Germany was transformed into a fascist state in which the Nazi Party took totalitarian control over nearly all aspects of life. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Großdeutsches Reich (“Greater German Reich”) from 1943 to 1945. The period is also known under the names the Third Reich (German: Drittes Reich) and the National Socialist Period (German: Zeit des Nationalsozialismus, abbreviated as NS-Zeit). The Nazi regime came to an end after the Allied Powers defeated Germany in May 1945, ending World War 2 in Europe.
Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by the President of the Weimar Republic Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933. The Nazi Party then began to eliminate all political opposition and consolidate its power. Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, and Hitler became dictator of Germany by merging the powers and offices of the Chancellery and Presidency. A national referendum held 19 August 1934 confirmed Hitler as sole Führer (leader) of Germany. All power was centralized in Hitler’s person, and his word became above all laws.
Racism, especially antisemitism, was a central feature of the regime. The Germanic peoples (the Nordic race) were considered by the Nazis to be the purest branch of the Aryan race, and were therefore viewed as the master race. Millions of Jews and other peoples deemed undesirable by the state were murdered in the Holocaust. Opposition to Hitler’s rule was ruthlessly suppressed. Members of the liberal, socialist, and communist opposition were killed, imprisoned, or exiled. The Christian churches were also oppressed, with many leaders imprisoned. Education focused on racial biology, population policy, and fitness for military service. Career and educational opportunities for women were curtailed. Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels made effective use of film, mass rallies, and Hitler’s hypnotizing oratory to control public opinion. The government controlled artistic expression, promoting specific art forms and banning or discouraging others.
Following the Allied invasion of Normandy (6 June, 1944), Germany was conquered by the Soviet Union from the east and the other Allied powers from the west and capitulated within a year. The victorious Allies initiated a policy of denazification and put many of the surviving Nazi leadership on trial for war crimes at the Nuremberg trials.
Post-WW2 Anti-Fascist Educational Film | Don’t Be a Sucker | 1947
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NOTE: THE VIDEO REPRESENTS HISTORICAL EVENTS. SINCE IT WAS PRODUCED DECADES AGO, IT HAS HISTORICAL VALUES AND CAN BE CONSIDERED AS A VALUABLE HISTORICAL DOCUMENT. THE VIDEO HAS BEEN UPLOADED WITH EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. ITS TOPIC IS REPRESENTED WITHIN HISTORICAL CONTEXT. THE VIDEO DOES NOT CONTAIN SENSITIVE SCENES AT ALL!”
“A documentary about the making of the Grammy nominated album THE WIND, Warren Zevon’s final recording
Featuring guest appearances:
Jackson Browne, Billy Bob Thornton, Bruce Springsteen, Jorge Calderon, Ry Cooder, Waddy Wachtel, Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, Mike Fleetwood, Tom Petty, Timothy B.Schmit, Joe Walsh, Dwight Yoakam, David Lindley, David Letterman…
“Bruce Springsteen walks into the studio where Warren Zevon is recording his final album and delivers a magnificent and inspired guitar solo, the sort of performance that only occurs when a musicmaker is truly inspired to leave his mark.
Standing at death’s doorstep and given three months to live late last year, Warren Zevon went on a writing and recording rampage that resulted on a winning album, “The Wind”, and he wisely allowed cameras to follow him through his last public moves.
“(Inside)Out” is a heartbreaker not just for fans of this one-of-a-kind artist but for anyone who loves sardonic and writing to go with their music.”
—– Phil Gallo, Daily Variety.
“A visceral document of a man determined to squeeze the most out of his remaining time on earth.”
—– Frank DiGiacomo, The New York Observer.
“Watch it with someone you care about.”
—– Erik Pedersen, Hollywood Reporter.”
01) Waking Up With Sam Harris #84 – Landscapes of Mind (with Kevin Kelly)
