#nothing i have to do re work is related to malaria

[songofwizardry]

ways we know that i have a mountain of work-related stuff i have to get done before term begins on monday: i have just spent two hours reading about different plasmodium species and going down a rabbit hole of malaria prevention programmes and finding on youtube those very 2000s videos that used to come on tv about using mosquito nets

[fierceawakening]

Against empathy 17

“Finally, empathy is related to compassion and concern, and sometimes the terms are used synonymously. But compassion and concern are more diffuse than empathy. It is weird to talk about having empathy for the millions of victims of malaria, say, but perfectly normal to say that you are concerned about them or feel compassion for them. Also, compassion and concern don’t require mirroring of others’ feelings. If someone works to help the victims of torture and does so with energy and good cheer, it doesn’t seem right to say that as they do this, they are empathizing with the individuals they are helping. Better to say that they feel compassion for them.”

But what’s compassion? In the neuroscience it seems to be “empathy + motivation to help” or sometimes, if the study is noting thei differences, something like “awareness + motivation to help.” Which would make compassion something more than a feeling?

I’m not as wedded to this, most common usage suggests compassion is a feeling. But If it is... if it’s com with + passion suffering/intense feeelong, that sounds a lot like affective empathy. So ???? What is

“But this claim about the relationship between empathy and certain good traits is an empirical one, something that can be tested using standard psychological methods. For instance, you can measure someone’s empathy and then look at whether high empathy predicts good behaviors such as helping others. Now this is easier said than done. It’s hard to accurately measure how empathic a person is. But there have been various efforts, and it turns out that the relationship between empathy and goodness is weak. In fact, we’ll see that there is some evidence that high empathy for the suffering of others can paralyze people, lead them to skewed decisions, and often spark irrational cruelty.”

Oo! Data! Forthcoming data, at least.

“If it turned out that the first fact follows from the second—that the nastiness associated with psychopathy is due to an empathy deficit—that would be an excellent case for the importance of empathy. But this is also the sort of thing that you can test in the lab, and it turns out to be unsupported. As we’ll see, the problems with psychopaths may have more to do with lack of self-control and a malicious nature than with empathy, and there is little evidence for a relationship between low empathy and being aggressive or cruel to others.”

Oo! Data! x2!

Very interested in what a malicious nature is, and whether it includes responses to others emotions. Nonconsensual sadism, for example, seems malicious and also seems like a response grounded in emotion. “I feel happy re your pain” vs “I feel sad re your pain”

“Think about your judgments about throwing garbage out of your car window, cheating on your taxes, spraying racist graffiti on a building, and similar acts with diffuse consequences. You can appreciate that these are wrong without having to engage in empathic engagement with any specific individuals, real or imagined.”

But those are bad because they upset or harm other people. Being aware that they do is part of why I don’t do them. Have we established that not wanting to upset or harm others is distinct from empathy? You assert that it is but I’m still not sure what you’re saying the mechanisms are. To the data!

“But, again, it’s easy to see that this is a mistake from everyday examples. I see a child crying because she’s afraid of a barking dog. I might rush over to pick her up and calm her, and I might really care for her, but there’s no empathy there. I don’t feel her fear, not in the slightest.”

Do you have to literally feel her fear to empathize with her? Or is it enough to, say, wince when she cries?

“Then there is all the laboratory evidence. We’ll see research from the lab of Tania Singer and her colleagues showing that feeling empathy for another person is very different from feeling compassion for that person—distinct in its brain basis and, more important, in its effects.”

That will help.

“We’ll learn about research into the effects of mindfulness meditation suggesting that the boost in kindness that this practice results in part because meditation allows one to stanch one’s empathy, not expand it.”

So will that. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen studies claiming the opposite. Huh.

““Reason,” David Hume famously said, is the “slave of the passions.” Good moral deliberation requires valuing some things over others, and good moral action requires some sort of motivational kick in the pants. Even if one knows the best thing to do, one must be motivated to do it. I believe this—I’ve never heard a good argument against it.”

Dances in the end zone.

“But it’s a mistake to see this as an argument for empathy. The “passions” that Hume talks about can be many things. They can be anger, shame, guilt, or, more positively, a more diffuse compassion, kindness, and love. You can be motivated to help others without empathy.”

Once again, I’m wondering how you define more diffuse here, but if you dohave data, I concede you may be right.

“He considers empathy but then rejects it as too weak: “it is not that feeble spark of benevolence which Nature has lifted up in the human heart.” Instead he pushes for some combination of careful deliberation and a desire to do the right thing.”

Where does the desire to do the right thing come from? That’s the dispute we’re having, or part of it anyway.

“I agree with this as well. Empathy can be used to support judgments and actions that, when we reason about them coolly, are morally virtuous. If the right thing to do is to give food to a homeless child, then empathy for the suffering of the child can motivate this giving. If the right thing to do is to expand our moral compass to include members of a once-despised group, empathy for members of that group can bring us there.”

Are you me? Because this is what im saying, that we have feelings and we check them against our reason and then act.

Sometimes we don’t have to check them against our reason, though, and that’s where we disagree. If my friend is sad, I can generally assume I don’t have to doubLe check whether I should comfort them (though I might ask if they’re a hugger) because daily life involves lots of shortcuts and they’re not alwTz bad.

“I have a personal example of this. When I was a graduate student, I read an article by Peter Singer arguing that citizens of prosperous countries should direct most of their money toward helping the truly needy. Singer argued that choosing to spend our money on luxuries like fancy clothing and expensive meals is really no different from seeing a girl drowning in a shallow lake and doing nothing because you don’t want to ruin your expensive shoes by wading in to save her. I was moved by this argument and would repeat the analogy to my friends, often when we were in bars and restaurants, and it suddenly occurred to me that we were engaged in the moral equivalent of killing children.”

I’m... I’m glad you don’t do something you believe is evil but that doesn’t hold at all.

“In Larissa MacFarquhar’s recent book, Strangers Drowning, she talks about the lives of do-gooders or “moral saints.” These are people who devote their lives to others. They know that there is immense suffering in the world, and unlike almost everyone else, they can’t direct their attention elsewhere; they are driven to help. Some of the individuals she profiles are deliberative and rational, similar to Zell Kravinsky.... But others who are profiled by MacFarquhar are individuals of feeling; they are emotionally moved by the suffering of others. This sensitivity often makes them miserable, but it can also push them to make a difference in ways that most of us would never even contemplate.”

Thanks for poin ting this out. It’s fascinating for one, but for two...

I do not at all consider myself a moral saint, but I do think I attempt to do good for the second reason. I suffered a great deal as a child and I feel strongly that the buck stops with me. I can’t save everyone, but the thought of anyone going through what I did if I can stop it revolts me, so I act.

When you tell me this revulsion SHOULD NOT motivate me, I don’t know what to do with that, sir.

Because I suspect you would approve of the actions I take or try to, but I don’t know that I can promise you I will keep doing them if I try to somehow force myself not to imagine the suffering of disabled kids like me.

THAt is why I disagree with you. Because I literally can’t promise I’ll keep going if I ignore the way I feel. And I know you’d rather I be mr. Kravinsky because you’re a singer fanboy

But I’m not.

“Or consider a recent study by Abigail Marsh and her colleagues, of people who choose to donate their kidneys to strangers. Consistent with my argument, these exceptionally altruistic individuals do not score higher on standard empathy tests than normal people. But they are different in another way. The researchers were interested in the amygdala—a part of the brain that is involved in, among other things, emotional responses. Their previous research had discovered that psychopaths had smaller than normal amygdalae and lessened response when exposed to pictures of people who looked frightened, so they predicted that these do-gooders would have larger than normal amygdalae and greater than normal response to fear faces. This was exactly what they found.”

I’ve heard that too but I heard that having the big amygdala IS associated with high empathy. Which I figured stood to reason because higher abilitgy to pick up fear from faces is reading emotions and parsing people’s emotions is necessary to vicariously feel them.

Interested to look that one up.

“Our bias shows up when we think about the power of fiction to stir up our empathy. Many, including myself, have argued that novels like Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Bleak House prompted significant social change by guiding readers to feel the suffering of fictional characters. But we tend to forget that other novels push us in different ways. Joshua Landy provides some examples: For every Uncle Tom’s Cabin there is a Birth of a Nation. For every Bleak House there is an Atlas Shrugged. For every Color Purple there is a Turner Diaries, that white supremacist novel Timothy McVeigh left in his truck on the way to bombing the Oklahoma building.”

This I agree with. I just think it’s important to use both empathy and reason because of this thing.

“The good news is that there are other ways to change people’s minds. We can, for example, use the truth. I know, that’s very old-fashioned. But consider An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore’s documentary about climate change. That film did a huge amount for the environmental movement, all without making up a single lovable character or a single line of witty repartee.”

Okay but are you sure no one is empathizing with victims of climate disaster when watching it?

“But there is a continuum here. On the one extreme is empathy. This is the worst. Then somewhere in the middle is compassion—simply caring for people, wanting them to thrive. This has problems as well but fewer of them, and we’ll see that there is experimental evidence—including both neuroimaging studies and research on the effects of meditative practice—suggesting that compassion has some advantages over empathic engagement.”

A definition! Stop hiding those in walls of text, bruh.

Still interested in how caring doesn’t ultimately come from emotions about others also. To the data!

“Reason is subject to bias—we are imperfect beings—but at its best it can lead to moral insight. It is reason that leads us to recognize, despite what our feelings tell us, that a child in a faraway land matters as much as our neighbor’s child, that it’s a tragedy if an immunization leads to a child getting sick or if a furlough program leads to rape and assault—but if these programs nonetheless lead to an overall improvement in human welfare, we should keep them until something better comes along.”

Agree.

“I don’t mean to rag on my colleagues, but there is a certain lack of self-awareness about this point. It is one of the ironies of modern intellectual life that many scholars insist that rationality is impotent, that our efforts at reasoning are at best a smoke screen to justify selfish motivations and irrational feelings. And to make this point, these scholars write books and articles complete with complex chains of logic, citations of data, and carefully reasoned argument. It’s like someone insisting that there is no such thing as poetry—and making this case in the form of a poem.”

I’ve noticed that too. But I’m not sure this is totally fair. What I see (that I think makes sense) is the argument that we are more emotion driven creatures than we admit, and that often we hold to the idea that something is rational if we THINK we haven’t emoted about it.

I think this is often untrue, and that were actually less likely to err if we are reflective enough to admit “my emotions and my reason seem to concur on this point.”

“To take a specific case, I will argue that our empathy causes us to overrate present costs and underrate future costs. This skews our decisions so that if, say, we are faced with a choice where one specific child will die now or twenty children whose names we don’t know will die a year from now, empathy might guide us to choose to save the one. To me, this is a problem with empathy.”

Not a utilitarian, so unsurprisingly I don’t automatically agree. If I kill someone and explain I meant to save others in the next generation, cool motive. Still murder.

[nondu21]

The Significant Role of Occupational Therapy in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals in Low Economical Communities

As I ventured deep into the community, I encountered idle women, gazing at their children who are wandering on the streets instead of the enriching knowledge of their books. Young healthy men meeting at the same shelter daily to sit and discuss sweet nothings and within the shanty town the sickly elderly stowed away to care for the young that have fallen victim to the system. Why are South Africans continuously falling into the cracks? Are the “regulations” of Sustainable Goal Development that government has set in place really serving the people or decorative measures? How do we as Occupational Therapists fit into the grand scheme of things?

Sustainable Development Goals are interconnected goals that are aimed to improve on the economic growth, health wellbeing and protection of the environment (Pradhan et al., 2017). These goals were formulated by the United Nations to have a united front to resist the everchanging and increasing issues that are arising within the world. However, we find that the implementation of these goals especially on a local level is not often as simple and straight forward as written down on paper. And that the implementation of these SDGs into communities is often poorly constructed for the community and contextually unsustainable. Therefor there is a gap for occupational therapy due to our “focus and knowledge” (Wagman et al.,2020) to work within the communities as we have an in-depth understanding of human occupation, contextual factors impacting t aton individuals and how individuals are integrated and form their community. At Kenville Community we have implemented programmes that are sustainable that will empower the community aligned with 5 of the goals of outlined in the SDG. Below we will discuss how we met these goals through projects and interventions we conduct at the clinic.

("PAGE and the Sustainable Development Goals | PAGE", 2021)

Goal 2: Zero Hunger

This SGD is directed in ensuring food security, nutritional food, and sustainable food systems for all people within the world. However, we find that there is difficulty in achieving this goal because of way in which food is produced and consumed in the globe ( Franzo, 2019). We have a gardening project placed at Kenville whereby community members are encouraged to cultivate the crops that are planted. In reward for taking care of the gardening they are also able to take fresh produce home. This project not only provides them with organic foods that are not processed but also providing the community with farming skills. This is a very important skill that can be carried out throughout their lives. This will aid in alleviating the financial difficulties that members of this community face.

Goal 3: Good Health and Well Being

This SDG is aimed to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages” (Micah,2020) This we achieve through providing health promotion talks at the clinic to provide the clients with an increase understanding of what health is. As defined as Who health promotion “enables people to increase control over their own health. It covers a wide range of social and environmental interventions that are designed to benefit and protect individual people’s health and quality of life by addressing and preventing the root causes of ill health, not just focusing on treatment and cure.”( WHO as cited in "Defining Health Promotion and Disease Prevention - RHIhub Toolkit", 2018) We highlight health issues that are prevalent such of HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria, Pneumonia, COVID 19 etc to bring awareness and reinstate the importance of prevention of the spread of these illnesses. We have designated weeks to speak about each issue comprehensively. We also focus on issues that communities especially of color do not view as ‘health issues’ pertaining to mental health and mental health (depression, anxiety and stress). This is especially important in our one-on-one interventions to highlight mental health especially in mothers. We speak to mothers about the importance of self-care and invite them to maternal health groups that can provide them with strategies to cope with motherhood and being individuals.

Goal 4: Quality education

In South Africa we have a constitution that stresses that we all have the right to education.We aid in the achievement of this goal through providing intervention at different scholastic levels. At Kenville we attend creches and aid in supplying the owners with materials that stimulate prerequisite scholastic skills kids for the children. Such as engagement in fine motor skills that improve on their ability to write, sensory stimulation and Cognitive stimulation to improve the children’s skills in memory, following instructions and basic concepts like counting and reciting alphabets. We also screen for developmental milestones in children to aid in the children meeting the level that his/her peers are on. We also intervene in primary school to screen for difficulties in scholastic performance to see if the child can competently compete against those in his grades. We look at handwriting skills, visual perceptual skills, and social skills to find areas to assist the child in improving on. We also work hand in hand with teachers by giving comprehensive feedback and what the teachers can apply in the classroom specifically for that child’s needs in order for them to compete with children in their class. We also work with the youth development at the Sea Cow Lake high school. We provide the children with study strategies in conjunction with other topics that are prevalent within their society. Due to occupational therapists deep understanding on human performance and skills we are able to identify intrinsic issues that teachers are not skilled in identifying. This way children receive a well catered for education that is sensitive to their needs. At the school we also provided the students with education on varsity and how to apply at a university level we aim to encourage continued learning for individuals for improved occupational performance in all stages of their life.

Goal 5 Gender inequality

As noted in my previous blogs beforehand that there is still a huge a between females and males in our country due to a system of patriarchy that is persistent within our society. We at Kenville aim to combat gender inequality by speaking out on these issues when we view them both within and outside the clinic. This way we are fixing the views and perspectives on a large spectrum. We also have programmes such as the KITE programme (a women empowerment programme) that aim to bridge the financial difficulty that women are encountering by employing them and providing them with entrepreneur skills that would not be exposed to otherwise.

Goal 8 Decent work and economical growth

The beauty of the KITE project mentioned above is the dynamic function as it aids in alleviating the eighth SDG aimed at providing inclusive work and providing economic growth within communities for all (Rai, 2019). We are able to provide women within the society that are prone to having higher numbers of unemployment in the community to alleviate the burden of unemployment. However, I did find that due to little exposure to work the women often have no understanding of job requirements and ethical practice this project will definitely aid in the base line vocational training of the women. We also are planning to re-implement a Jumbo tyre project to train women to make equipment from the tyres. This will also aid in improving skills that they can utilise in other jobs such as in factories etc.

As noted above we do not merely provide projects that are therapist directed but our scope of practice ensures that there is a learning of skill so that individuals are self-sustaining. So that even if the projects at Kenville fall through or government is unable to provide, they are able to take what they have learnt and apply it in different settings and contexts. That is the crux of our practice is to enable and empower individuals and to remove the crutches that obstruct them from their growth and independence.

Reference Lisit:

Defining Health Promotion and Disease Prevention - RHIhub Toolkit. (2018). Retrieved 21 May 2021, from https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/toolkits/health-promotion/1/definition

Fanzo, J. (2019). Healthy and sustainable diets and food systems: the key to achieving sustainable development goal 2?. Food ethics, 4(2), 159-174.

Micah, A. E., Su, Y., Bachmeier, S. D., Chapin, A., Cogswell, I. E., Crosby, S. W., ... & Moghadaszadeh, M. (2020). Health sector spending and spending on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, and development assistance for health: progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 3. The Lancet, 396(10252), 693-724.

PAGE and the Sustainable Development Goals | PAGE. (2021). Retrieved 21 May 2021, from https://www.un-page.org/page-and-sustainable-development-goals

Pradhan, P., Costa, L., Rybski, D., Lucht, W., & Kropp, J. P. (2017). A systematic study of sustainable development goal (SDG) interactions. Earth's Future, 5(11), 1169-1179.

Rai, S. M., Brown, B. D., & Ruwanpura, K. N. (2019). SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth–A gendered analysis. World Development, 113, 368-380.

Wagman, P., Johansson, A., Jansson, I., Lygnegård, F., Edström, E., Björklund Carlstedt, A., ... & Fristedt, S. (2020). Making sustainability in occupational therapy visible by relating to the Agenda 2030 goals–A case description of a Swedish university. World Federation of Occupational Therapists Bulletin, 76(1), 7-14.

[geekade]

Little House: Revisiting a Childhood Classic

To a girl who grew up in the 90s in New Jersey, the Laura Ingalls Wilder’s America, with her family constantly and directly affected and impeded by their environment and at times struggling just to survive, is an alien one. But in another sense, it is a very appealing picture. The Ingalls family were one another’s only entertainment, often only company, and though we often picture old-fashioned families as very stern, the Ingalls’ story is one filled with song, laughter, and love. Irecently reread this series after about a decade and a half, and it was a totally new experience. I engaged with the characters in a way I didn’t think would be possible, considering differences in time and lifestyle, and while I was reading, I felt like I was a member of the Ingalls family.

The series begins with Little House in the Big Woods, which takes place in the Big Woods in Wisconsin. This book centers around the Ingalls homesteading, and is probably the ‘coziest’ of the books, as it doesn’t touch as much on the dangers and difficulties of survival as much as the other books do. Laura, her older sister Mary, (and their baby sister Carrie, included in the story though chronologically not born yet), alternate playing and helping around the house, sometimes combining the two, and spend their evenings being entertained by their Pa’s fiddle and vivid storytelling. While living in Wisconsin, the Ingalls were near their cousins and grandparents, so we also get a glimpse into what it was like visiting family and hosting social visitors in this time period.

Growing up, this was my favorite book in the series and has had a massive influence on who I am as a person. I love gardening and homesteading-related hobbies. I love to sew. I hope one day to own enough land to grow the majority of my own produce, and to preserve and store it as the Ingalls did. But more than the influence it had on me, I treasure the impressions it left me with as a child. The lively family in this story is nothing like how they appear in photographs - stern, and grayscale, their clothes restrictive and mouths tight. The young Ingalls family read just like any other family - loving, interdependent upon one another, and truly pleased with their lot in life.

Little House on the Prairie, technically the third book and the namesake of the TV series based loosely on the books, was the second book that I read during my re-read. I chose to omit the books centering around the childhood of Almanzo Wilder because when I initially read the series as a child, I had no idea they even existed. (I plan to follow up with them in future.) Little House on the Prairie chronicles the events of 1869-1870, in Kansas, where the Ingalls moved, following rumors that the nearby Indian Territory would soon be settled. Moving in a covered wagon from the Big Woods, the Ingalls suffer a number of hardships that come in as a stark contrast to those in the first book. One such is the “fever n’ ague” that the family comes down with (later identified as malaria) which puts them out of commission while a neighbor, Mrs. Scott, cares for them along with her own family. Mrs. Scott is one of a few companions of the Ingalls family in this book, another being Mr. Edwards, a bachelor from Tennessee, who later on plays “Santa Claus” for the children. At great risk to themselves, the Ingalls’ neighbors weave into the story by helping them through times that the Ingalls mightn’t have gotten through on their own. In 1870, the government announced that the land would not be open to settlers, and so the house that Pa Ingalls built on the land, and all of the work he’d done tilling the field came to nothing, and the family packed up to move East, closer to ‘civilization,’ where the girls could get educated.

I have to say, this particular re-read was the most incongruous to my memory. I may have conflated it with the following book in my mind, but the easy laughter and confidence of the Big Woods book is gone in this one. Pa Ingalls comes across as a more imposing, decisive character; moving his family from place to place on nearly no notice. Though the trek certainly was fascinating, and brings back old memories of playing Oregon Trail, I didn’t enjoy this book nearly as much as I expected to--ruined by my own memories and ideas about it, I guess. One thing I will say is that I grew an unexpected and truly fierce love for Jack the dog, though. Jack is the Ingalls family companion, and though he squares off against mountain lions and bears in the Big Woods, his protectiveness and stalwartness along the trail to Kansas is incredibly endearing, and his near loss is heartbreaking. (In real life, it wasn’t a heartbreaking near-loss, but an actual loss, and Jack didn’t journey from Kansas to Minnesota with the Ingalls.)

On the Banks of Plum Creek is what I had been expecting from Little House on the Prairie: community, family, adventure, and history, all within the setting of an untouched landscape in Minnesota. Living in a pre-“built” dugout home near the banks of Plum Creek, the Ingalls begin working on their wooden, above-ground home, while also gathering wild grass as hay for their horses and beginning again to till the land. Mary and Laura also go to school for the first time in this book, and the infamous Nellie Oleson is introduced. Nellie, I think, is a more infamous TV character than in the book, where she comes across as your average schoolyard bully, but Laura makes you hate her either way. Nellie is a shopkeeper’s daughter from New York State, and she makes sure everyone knows it and how many advantages it's given her. Rubbing her considerable wealth in everyone’s face, Nellie hosts a “town party” and invites the “farm girls” to join, almost for the purpose of flaunting her resources. Laura’s resulting jealousy inspires her to host her own, more fun party later in the year.

Unfortunately things take a turn, and a swarm of Rocky Mountain locusts literally wipe the traces of the Ingalls’ entire year's work from the earth, leaving them in debt, without food, and a little later, trapped by a snowstorm. Pa goes missing just before the blizzard, and is gone for two days before the blizzard lets up and he can make his way home--apparently having been trapped behind a hill only a few hundred yards from home.

Gosh this book was exciting, and immersive enough to get me saying “gosh.” As Laura ages and the Ingalls’ lives become more and more complicated, the story reveals more about America’s past and the private lives of citizens in the late 1800s than I could have imagined. The humanity and relatability of these characters is something I never would have applied to the early settlers of America’s farmland if I hadn’t read them.

The following book, By the Shores of Silver Lake, follows the Ingalls’ life in De Smet, South Dakota and introduces the fourth Ingalls child, Grace, as the baby. With ‘baby’ Carrie now getting a little older, she is responsible for helping around the house like Laura and Mary were, and is a more apt playmate for Laura as time goes on. However, this book opens with the surprise that Mary has gone blind from her illnesses previously mentioned in the other books, along with a bout of scarlet fever. (Mary’s blindness was later theorized to be due to a thyroid disease, and diabetes that plagued the entire Ingalls family.) Along with Mary’s sight, in this book, we lose Jack, a device Laura moved to this story to help signify the change from childhood to young adulthood. Jack’s peaceful death the day before the family’s long journey to South Dakota is sad, but they give him a wonderful last day filled with his favorite foods and games.

We gain some insight into Laura’s story-telling ability when Pa tells Laura to “be Mary’s eyes” and Laura becomes responsible for describing to Mary the many sights of their new home, and the move, and even the train that the family takes and its passengers. The train is also an exciting part of this story, and begins the relationship throughout the series between the train’s advancement, and America’s encroachments over unsettled land. Pa Ingalls even gets a job working for the railroad company as a paymaster, and the family is able to winter in the surveyor's house, making friends with the local Boast family and hosting workers and pioneers. The Ingalls home became almost an inn during that time, making the family a great deal of money by charging 25 cents for meals and board overnight, and thus begin saving to send Mary to a college for the blind that their former Reverend told them about on a visit. This story is the first to truly engage in the technological advancements and travel capabilities of America’s settlers. The Ingalls not only get visits from family, but make friends and see old ones as they travel across the country, settling in different states.

In The Long Winter, we not only get a true scope of the hardships faced by a family genuinely on their own as far as resources go, we also begin to get a sense of the small-town communities we know to be a big part of American culture today. Shops, inns, and homes begin to crop up in the area, and the Ingalls family winters in the center of town, to be closer to the train as well as the shops and fellow homesteaders. We also first meet Almanzo Wilder in this story, who in the fictionalized account was pretending to be 21 (actually 19) in order to lay a claim to unsettled land, but in reality was closer to 23 (Laura was 13.) Laura and Carrie attend school as often as possible, but are hindered and ultimately stopped entirely by successive blizzards which bury the town and make the roadsimpassable. Food dwindles and even the innovative methods of stretching their stores fail the Ingalls eventually. The blizzards continue for 7 months, and many throughout the town go without food until Almanzo Wilder shares his seed-grain with the locals, and the trains finally thaw, delivering a Christmas barrel of supplies and donated clothing to the weakened Ingalls’ home.

Despite being one of the shorter books, The Long Winter was certainly drama-packed, and at times I truly was scared while reading it, but ultimately I felt it could have been rolled into Little Town on the Prairie. Undoubtedly one of the most formative times in Laura’s life, this book was one where Laura began to really seize on adulthood and responsibility, often talking about protecting her younger sister Carrie, who’s discussed as being a sickly child (despite going on to be quite athletic in her adulthood). Little Town on the Prairie, however, is less focused on hardship and more focused on economy. Laura gets a job sewing for a shop in town in order to pay for Mary’s college education. When she’s let go, the family tries to sell crops, only to have their harvest destroyed by blackbirds. Finally, selling a cow for the money, Mary gets ready to go off to school with Pa and Ma escorting her, leaving Laura, Carrie, and Grace at home.

Again demonstrating her responsibility, Laura leads her sisters in the fall chores, leaving the house sparkling for Ma and Pa’s return. Nellie Oleson befriends the new schoolteacher, Almanzo Wilder’s sister, whose father is on the school board and who had consistently clashed with Nellie in the past, and turns her against the Ingalls girls. The younger students rally behind Laura and torment the new teacher, halting lessons essentially until Nellie joins in the bullying of Ms. Wilder and she eventually leaves. The new teacher helps Laura to achieve her teaching certificate, which Laura wants only to earn more money for Mary, and not because she wants to be a teacher (which she makes clear she does not). Around the same time, Almanzo Wilder begins walking Laura home from church, which Laura seems not to fully understand, but comes to appreciate. At the end of this book, Laura is offered a teaching position in a nearby town, and she prepares to move away from home for the first time.

I have to say, the minute Almanzo enters the story as Laura’s suitor, I began to get giddy. Laura’s narration seems almost willfully naive about his romance attempts, and I found myself rooting for their relationship hopefully, despite knowing that in reality, the couple were married until Almanzo’s death at 91. This feeling intensified in the following book, as Almanzo became Laura’s only rescue from her teaching position and boarding situation.

  The book These Happy Golden Years starts out miserable, with 15-year-old Laura being driven by her Pa out to the teaching position from the previous book. Laura boards with the Brewster family, who, unlike her own family, allow animosities and arguments not only to surface, but to come to light in front of her. Mrs. Brewster begins with the silent treatment, but rapidly progresses to shouting at Laura, her husband, and anyone who will listen to her. Eventually, Laura wakes up to the sound of the Brewsters arguing because Mrs. Brewster was standing over her sleeping husband with a knife and he woke up. Almanzo Wilder, fond of Laura and having gotten permission from her Pa, appears each weekend to take Laura home. Throughout the season, Laura proves to be a good teacher; eventually gaining the respect of her students (some of whom were older than she was) and completing her school term, earning $40 for Mary’s college fund. When Laura returns to town, however, Nellie makes a move on Almanzo.

I have never hated anyone as much as I hated Nellie Oleson while reading this book. Nellie, in previous books, boasted about getting whatever she wanted from boys, often flirtily stealing their candy and gifts for other girls, and frequently mentioning that she wanted to go for a ride with Almanzo Wilder and his beautiful horses. Nellie gets her wish, and Almanzo takes her along on a few of his rides with Laura. Laura is eventually able to trick Nellie out of these rides by urging the horses to go faster and scaring Nellie out of repeat trips. Shortly afterwards, Nellie moves back to New York State due to financial hardships, and around the same time, the Ingalls are visited by a relative. Laura’s Uncle Tom, Ma’s brother, comes bearing tales of a terrifying trip to try to mine gold in the Black Hills. Laura later takes a short job helping a family with housework on their homestead, returning for a summer visit from Mary, and to attend singing classes with Almanzo. On their last day of class, Almanzo proposes to Laura, almost casually, and she accepts. On his next visit, he gives her a garnet ring with pearls, and her first kiss. A few months later, Almanzo finishes building their house, and asks if Laura would mind a quick wedding, so that his mother and sister don’t take over and host an enormous one. Laura agrees, and the two are quickly married by Reverend Brown, have a wedding dinner with Laura’s family, and settle into their marital home.

Maybe it’s the effect of having my own schoolhouse love in my life, but Almanzo and Laura’s three-year courtship took my breath away. In a time where most girls are more restrained, Almanzo admires Laura’s bravery and sense of adventure, and while she doesn’t admit much of her own admiration, Laura behaves possessively of Almanzo almost from the start. When Almanzo and Laura kiss for the first time, and Laura tells her parents about her engagement, I was just about jumping with joy, which was really embarrassing, because I was on the subway. It’s impossible not to feel caught up in their love, which is another thing that confronts expectations about old-fashioned families and courtships. Sure, there were fewer fish in Laura’s sea, but it’s obvious from the first time they walk home from church together that Laura and Almanzo were right for one another--just enough thirst for adventure and freedom, just enough seriousness and responsibility. Laura doesn’t want to be a “farm wife,” but promises Almanzo a few years of ‘trying it out,’ hence the title of the next book, The First Four Years.

The first four years of the Wilders’ marriage do not go very smoothly. Almanzo becomes briefly paralyzed, a condition which would continue to hinder him throughout his lifetime, and the environment and loans take their toll on the family’s resources. Much of the material in this book is more adult-oriented than the other books, but not by much. It was never finished by Laura, or edited by her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane (one of the founders of Libertarianism), but was found by Lane’s adopted grandson and subsequently published, and thus is less poetic and polished than the other books.

Unfortunately, the first crop of wheat the Wilders raise is destroyed by hail, and Almanzo mortgages his homestead claim. What they grow on the claim helps to pay for some of their debts and supplies, and Rose Wilder is born in December following Laura’s confusion at her own illness, which turned out to be her first pregnancy. Almanzo and Laura both get diptheria, and Almanzo subsequently struggles with physical disability. As he can no longer work all of his land, they sell their claim and move to their first home. Heat destroys their next crop, but they stay afloat with a flock of sheep Laura invests in. Hot winds destroy the harvest the following year as well, and their son is born in August, but dies a few weeks later, unnamed. At the end of the story, their house burns to the ground, but the story ends on an optimistic note, and the Wilders move to Mansfield, Missouri, where they lived out the rest of their days on a successful dairy farm.

While I was disappointed by The First Four Years because I’d hoped Laura and Almanzo lived joyfully together ever-after, it was incredible to see how the young family faced their struggles. While Laura’s family was never far off, while they lived in South Dakota, the Wilders were ultimately independent during this time, occasionally trading help with neighbors and family. I was also a little bummed to find out that the (to me) infamous Rose Wilder Lane was actually Laura Ingalls Wilder’s daughter, but even this brought some revelations. Most of the struggles that the Wilder family, and to a certain extent the Ingalls, faced were made worse by government intervention, or lack of government protection, and it’s easy to see how Lane could have gotten the impressions on which she based her ideology. As a story arc, including The First Four Years in the Little House series makes it somewhat anti-climactic, with no real solution for the problems set up by this book, and no sequel, (after Almanzo’s death, Laura stopped writing) this story, for me, is a bit of a downer. However, knowing the historical fact of the Wilders’ happy lives together and the joy which Laura expressed and received from sharing her stories with the nation brings the tail end up again.  Rereading these books felt like going on Laura’s adventures with her, and particularly from the perspective of a young adult, framed the incredible courage and strength of will put forth by my peers of over a century ago. It was a unique experience capable of being shared by anyone, which in my mind, is exactly what Laura meant to do--bring the entire world into her little house--and she succeeded.

[gregoryferrell]

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[fqtoxicity]

New Post has been published on My Quin Story

New Post has been published on http://www.myquinstory.info/chloroquine-zinc-covid-19/

Chloroquine, Zinc & COVID-19

The Coronavirus or SAR Cov2 or COVID-19, depending on what name you prefer, continues to rage on around the world.  Chris Martenson of Peak Prosperity calls the virus the “Honey Badger” because of its reputation as being a relentless mean enemy.  It just keeps coming, often underappreciated, in its relentless growth around the globe.

I first heard of this new SARS ‘like’ virus in December.  My first sources that something was amiss were not medical sources but were instead statisticians.  Guys who were financial ‘number crunchers’ that were sounding the alarm that the numbers were not adding up, both in the disease statistics and the money markets.  I started to pay attention in a cursory fashion.

I started seriously taking notice when, shortly thereafter, a Facebook friend, who is an ex-navy seal and an individual who analyzes global flash-points as a profession, started raising the alarm.   Having been around the world extensively, even in the midst of other outbreaks, he told me that this outbreak was one to keep my eye on.  He went on to tell me to ‘have a plan in place.”

In January I started telling my family to prepare, hoping that this information was wrong.  So far, these sources have proved to be very accurate in their predictions.  As a matter of fact the number crunchers are predicting very dark times ahead for the U.S.; a perfect storm so to speak, where global supply chains, just in time inventory, and a very real and nasty pandemic, are converging to set the stage for a perfect storm.  

I have to admit it was very awkward at first and I did meet with some resistance and even ridicule from some friends but when the first wave of panic hit the U.S. those in my immediate family and even a few of my friends, were not caught up when the third stage of truth, (acceptance) set in.  When acceptance sets in, that is when toilet paper flies off the shelves according to Martenson.

Ambiguity

One thing that has fascinated me since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak is the ambiguity.  Having had extensive education in psychology, the various personal viewpoints about this virus and the public presentation of information regarding this virus is fascinating.  I have heard every conceivable conspiracy theory that ranges from the plausible to the outright insane.  What is really fascinating is the how various biases and paradigms create extreme barriers to truth.  

The same ambiguity that surrounds COVID-19 in a general sense, filters down, more specifically, to proposed treatments for this dreaded virus.  Again, I have heard a massive amount of speculation, and a massive amount of misinformation.  

Although my goal with this article is not to clear up all the speculation, for that feat would be insurmountable, what I can do is clear up a few bits of speculation surrounding Zinc and Chloroquine.

I have been writing about quinine on and off for the last decade in its relation to the quinolone family of antibiotics, more specifically the fluoroquinolones (FQ’s).   I have even begun a book about the Dark History of the Fluoroquinolones in which I am documenting the traceable history from quinine’s discovery through the creation of the FQ’s. You can read the first section here.

Enter Chloroquine

When Chinese scientists first started using Chloroquine to fight the COVID-19 virus I started receiving questions and comments from floxed individuals who had justifiable concerns.  The sheer amount of opinion and misinformation surrounding Chloroquine was staggering.   But before I get to the point of this article, I want to state something right up front: 

I am not a fan of any drug that is based on the quinoline pharmacophore.  I believe there is something inherently wrong with the all drugs that are based on this substrate.  There is a thread of idiosyncratic toxicity that is poorly understood that spreads out like a crack in the foundation and loosely affects all of the drugs based off of this platform.

The Zinc Connection

It has been known for a very long time that Zinc inhibits viral replication. That is why, in the past, that zinc has been used to shorten the duration or stop the onset of viruses like the common cold.  It is known that Zinc can block the replication of the coronavirus.

Researchers found that the more Zinc in the cell, the more inhibition in viral replication.

While on the surface it is great that Zinc appears to stop the replication of a viruses, it is not as simple as that. 

Zinc has a hard time entering the cell without help. 

In order for Zinc to enter the cell in needs the help of something called a “ionophore.” An ionophore is a substance which is able to transport particular ions across a lipid membrane in a cell.  In other words it makes the cell wall permeable so that Zinc can enter the cell and inhibit the viral reproduction.

Why Use Chloroquine?

Chloroquine, despite its toxicity, is a Zinc ionophore, in an of itself.   The greater the concentration of Chloroquine in the cell, the great amount of zinc (as seen in the chart to the right).

Often in drastic situations, when you are faced with a terrible foe, such as the coronavirus, scientists will look for ‘off the shelf’ treatments that do not have to go through the clinical trial testing.

We have seen this with researchers who work with FQ’s.  They do not They will often look for older drugs that, are available in sufficient quantities, and can be obtained easily to handle the situation.

Is Zinc A Treatment?

Like I mentioned earlier, it is not an easy answer.    I do know that, like toilet paper, Zinc has been flying off of the online supplement stores like crazy for the last few weeks.   The stockpiling of Zinc seems to have been caused by the same fear that caused many to stockpile toilet paper and can also be traced, in part, to the advice of a veteran pathologist, James Robb, that has circulated social media in recent days.

The following was is the excerpt from the post that caused the flury of Zinc hoarding…

“Stock up now with zinc lozenges. These lozenges have been proven to be effective in blocking coronavirus (and most other viruses) from multiplying in your throat and nasopharynx. Use as directed several times each day when you begin to feel ANY “cold-like” symptoms beginning. It is best to lie down and let the lozenge dissolve in the back of your throat and nasopharynx. Cold-Eeze lozenges is one brand available, but there are other brands available.“

In defending himself Dr. Robb said, “It was my email to my family and close friends ONLY. Someone put it on their Facebook page. It was intended to be a monologue – not a dialogue. I do not use any social media and may have been too naive about what “sharing” means today.“

Dr. Robb went on to clarify, “In my experience as a virologist and pathologist, zinc will inhibit the replication of many viruses, including coronaviruses. I expect COVID-19 [the disease caused by the novel coronavirus] will be inhibited similarly, but I have no direct experimental support for this claim. “

Robb didn’t intend, or predict, reaching a global audience, or triggering a zinc buying spree.

Zinc often needs help getting into the cell in sufficient quantities to inhibit viral replication so loading up on Zinc may not be an easy answer. 

I am not a medical doctor, but I do believe that Zinc, in general, is a good supplement for various reasons and I have taken 30mg a day with trace cooper for many years. However, in some, too much Zinc can be toxic and cause unwanted side effects including the leaching of copper from the body or interference with iron absorption.  

If I were to attempt to use Zinc as a preventative measure I would consult with a trusted medical expert and be on the lookout for the Signs and Symptoms of Zinc Overdose.

Chloroquine: History Repeating Itself

It is important to note that Chloroquine, after its discovery, was initially ignored for a decade because it was considered too toxic to use in humans.  Basically, Chloroquine was “re-discovered” during World War II by the United States because of it was desperate to find a treatment for malaria (source). 

It is my belief that nothing changed about the toxicity of Chloroquine. The U.S. Government just ignored Chloroquine’s toxicity to be able to use the drug to combat the scourge of Malaria that the G.I.’s were facing in WWII.

Will Chloroquine be used, or possibly be pushed, in the same manner to fight COVID-19?  Only time will tell.

For more information:

To learn more about Chloroquine toxicity or researching medical disorders caused by poisoning by mefloquine, tafenoquine, chloroquine, and related quinoline drugs please visit the Quinism Foundation.

Also see my article “Fluoroquinolones: Their Connection to Older Anti-Malarial Drugs” where I discuss the Chloroquine/FQ connection and also touch on Chemotherapy. 

[swipestream]

The Dead: When Making a Zombie Movie Almost Kills You

The Dead is a legitimate cinematic achievement. Shot on location in Burkina Faso, in West Africa, the twelve-week shoot saw the cast and crew face corrupt cops and officials (who demanded bribes to do their jobs and who occasionally mugged members of the production team), food poisoning, dysentery, and malaria, and the sudden death of a bureaucrat who’d authorized their filming.

The unexpected appearance of a real military unit—during a scene in which their fake military unit was shooting zombies as they drove along a road—added some extra frisson to the proceedings. Unbeknownst to them, they were shooting a few hundred feet from the President’s house, and the Military thought they were an actual invading force. Fortunately, no shots were exchanged. (A more full version of the tale can be found here.)

No one died during the shoot—except for a bureaucrat who died of a heart attack, but that had nothing to do with the movie, it was just bad timing—but sometimes it was a near-run thing. The co-director lost so much weight from dysentery, he couldn’t carry his Steadicam any more, and the lead actor was hospitalized for two weeks with malaria.

Given all the problems (so many, they even wrote a book about it), it’s amazing that they got any kind of movie out of the ordeal, much less a pretty solid entry in the genre. The Dead is about an American soldier, an engineer, in Africa (there are some references to a US military intervention in the region), who’s caught in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. The plane he’s on goes down off the coast, and he has to trek across the countryside to reach safety, dodging the walking dead all the way.

Is it a good zombie movie? Yeah, it’s pretty good. They were running on a shoestring budget, and it shows, but that isn’t necessarily bad. The performances are passable, if not perfect, and up until the end the story is fairly satisfying. Seeing two men (he picks up an African partner along the way) face the elements, the African wilderness, and the relentless zombie hordes is entertaining. This is not a big studio production, but it’s far more watchable than many modern movies, though the downer ending kills rewatchability (at least for me).

I caught both movies in the last couple of weeks, and they hold up pretty well, except for the endings. Both end on downer scenes which make the previous hour and a half spent with the main characters completely pointless. There are other resemblances—both movies are about Americans in exotic foreign locales who have to make their way across stark and forbidding countryside (that’s never appeared on screen before, in most cases), finding aid among the locales and avoiding or killing zombies along the way.

The second film was strangely similar to the first behind the scenes as well, wherein just making the movie became a hazardous endeavor all on its own, though this time for very different reasons. The second was shot on location in India—without official permission. The directors and actors relate stories of police chasing them across the Indian province of Rajasthan, arriving just barely too late to stop them from shooting desired scenes. Then there’s the hostile locals, who stabbed a director, or threw dung or stones at them and, on one memorable occasion, drop kicked a live dog into one of the brothers.

The sequel is about an American electrical engineer, assigned to keep India’s wind turbines in perfect working order, whose native girlfriend is (as he finds out in the first scene of the movie) pregnant with their baby. A zombie apocalypse breaks out (being brought in from Africa, the malady from the first movie spreading) and he’s forced to cross large swathes of the subcontinent to find and rescue his future wife. Along the way he hooks up with an orphan boy who serves as his guide to India’s back roads and watering holes.

It’s unfortunate, but the second movie wasn’t as good as the first. The callbacks to the first movie work well, the acting was better, the production values notably higher, and the story more involving, but the significant number of glaring plot holes and inconsistencies undermined the authenticity the exotic terrain lent the production. The first-time Indian actors turned in good performances, but the movie never quite jelled, and the ending threw it all away.

The two movies are NOT bad movies, at least by my standards. (Though I go to the effort of watching truly bad movies every now and then, just to re-normalize my expectations.) They have many strengths, and are better than many zombie flicks. Having been made and released before the zombie movie glut really got going, they still had something to say without recycling earlier and better movies.

Ultimately, though, the stories behind the cameras are far more interesting than what was filmed, printed, edited, and displayed. Were it not for the tale of how the directors and crew almost died, I’d likely never have watched the duology.

The movies are mostly notable for how the Ford brothers almost died making their zombie films, and that’s tragic.

Jasyn Jones, better known as Daddy Warpig, is a host on the Geek Gab podcast, a regular on the Superversive SF livestreams, and blogs at Daddy Warpig’s House of Geekery. Check him out on Twitter.

The Dead: When Making a Zombie Movie Almost Kills You published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames

[eternalweight]

Why study (more) theology?

A few months ago, in September, 2017, I entered Ph.D studies at the University of Toronto, School of Theology, and started a new journey in academic theology. Taking Christian theological studies to such an extreme level may seem for some an odd enterprise—are there not more lucrative and less churchly areas of research into which one might enter? Perhaps. But here are two less obvious reasons why I think studying theology is still queen of them all. Maybe these reasons aren’t appealing to you, but they were among the many I considered in choosing to pursue theology further.

1) Studying theology exposes those fundamental beliefs that hide beneath our everyday decisions.

Aristotle held that in every line of inquiry into something we achieve knowledge when we come to know and grasp its principles and causes. Most of us agree that we understand a thing when we know its primary causes and principles down to its very elements, like stripping a car engine down to see how it runs, or disassembling my sister’s dollhouse to help her understand the basics of how annoying it is to trip over. Theology, the study of God, shares in philosophy’s quest to go beyond the first principles of the natural order, the province of, say, physics, and seeks after those things beyond what we see and touch, meta-physics. Zoomed out wide, theology asks, “if God exists, then what is reality and how does the world work”? Taken down another level, it asks, “if God exists, how might that impact what is good, true, and beautiful”? Theology is less concerned with vindicating belief in God (apologetics) than it is seeking out the implications of that belief on our other beliefs, customs, and everyday decisions—something I think is a worthwhile endeavour. After all, most of us go through life believing that being nice is a good thing, that two and two is four, and that Nickelback is a crummy band. But why? I should add that theology isn’t a philosopher’s riddle, reserved only for those who can untangle every God-related conundrum. But it does come to grips with those stable assumptions lurking beneath what we believe and how we think and act. Indeed, in this way studying theology affords one the opportunity to see how this issue of ‘God’ bears on every angle of their lives—what we believe about music, literature, and even motocross reflects a fundamental theological belief, which is to say, a belief about God.

2) Studying theology is an act of Western self-reflection.

It dawned on me one day in graduate school that a person can’t come to understand Western science, philosophy, or literature until they appreciate the full measure of theology’s bearing on Western civilization. I mentioned that theology, rather than seeking to prove God’s existence, attempts to get at how God makes a difference on how the world works and why things are the way they are. And indeed Western thinkers made great advancements in science, philosophy, and literature which arose from certain beliefs about God and how his world must work. Atheism in the Western world never really became fashionable until well into the Enlightenment (c.1680–1800). Belief in God prior to and even during this time was thus no mere religious preference, but the fabric into which science and philosophy were woven. In the Middle Ages, Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) was one of the West’s greatest philosophers, setting the stage for the study of politics, ethics, and psychology, all while campaigning for the centrality of God on every aspect of reality. His lengthy arguments, which philosophers still grapple with today, were the direct results of his quest to uncover the concord between faith and reason—a pivotal moment in the advancement of the observational sciences. Following in Aquinas’s footsteps, William of Ockham (1287–1347) was driven by a desire to safeguard God’s freedom and give a more robust account for the natural order—he sought in particular to place emphasis on the study of the unpredictable creation of a free God. Both these medievals were practitioners of science and philosophy, and yet their scientific and philosophical contributions can only be fully appreciated when their theological concerns are taken seriously. That is to say, we cannot understand them until we see the theological edifice into which their thought is crafted, for beliefs about God profoundly shaped such thought.

Theology’s influence on Western literature can also hardly be neglected. Augustine (354–430) practically invents the genre of autobiography with his Confessions, moved not by matters pertaining to his own self-absorbed existence, but by a deep desire to reflect on the loving character of a long-suffering God who forgives him even in the face of his sin and shame. Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) crafts a sonorous, poetic masterpiece filled with wondrous cosmic and celestial order, riffing off the literary giants who came before him all while filling out with remarkable detail in the Divine Comedy the remarkable vision of God and all things in relation to God. I could go on about art and music, about Rembrandt or Handel or others in the West whose theological vision stirred their head and heart. But at this point I hope you understand the centrality of theology in Western learning: reflection about God and his world served as the cradle of the academic disciplines, the canvas of the artistic imagination, and the jewel in the crown of the liberal arts. Theology gave traction to intellectual development and furthered creative freedom as indeed contemplating the divine prompted deep reflection about the world and our place in it. You might say that theology served as a mere crutch until humanity came to full adulthood with the advent of the modern age and the coming of the scientific revolution, being promptly disposed of when the study of God became disjointed from the study of the heavenly bodies and earthly matters. While I cannot here address this concern (for it is a serious one) the truth is that many in modernity’s shadows do not rejoice at theology’s quiet slide toward obscuration.

Studying theology therefore inches one towards a more robust understanding of the Western mind; it captures the symphony of tension at work in Western artists and scientists who hundreds of years ago sought to make sense of and depict their place in God’s big, mysterious world. Studying theology is thus a refreshing way to sit alongside giants from the past and come to understand our story better, for it is a story about our journey, and God cannot be passed over. Indeed as we stand along the banks of western intellectual curiosity, peering into the river of theological thinking we see our own reflection. For the theological currents that so shaped Western habits, customs, and beliefs are the very ones that forged our own.

—

I could go on, but here I’ve given you two reasons theology is an exciting field of study for me and a worthwhile topic to consider engaging more. Maybe I’ll share more later. Its worth noting however that theology is a discipline with its own set of challenges. For example, one doesn’t better understand and take advantage of the stock market, or know how properly to diagnose and treat malaria as a result of studying theology. In this way theology is a field with little ‘practical’ import. But that is precisely the way it should be. Theology is more concerned with the kinds of people who use stock markets and diagnose and treat others. In this way theology need not look beyond itself to justify its existence: studying God is a good in itself. But theology does not, as it were, remain by itself. For as surely as faith works through love so the student of theology is moved to a labour of love, moved and motivated to action by the very object of their study, who is Love (1 John 4:8). Theology is a journey, and this quote by Augustine captures its spiritual dimensions. For me, the photo below also depicts the wonderful embarkation on this journey. 

“God is the fountain of our happiness, He is the end of all our desires. Being attached to Him, or rather let me say, re-attached…we may rest in Him, and find our blessedness by attaining that end. For our good, about which philosophers have so keenly contended, is nothing else than to be united to God. It is, if I may say so, by spiritually embracing Him that the intellectual soul is filled and impregnated with true virtues. We are enjoined to love this good with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength. To this good we ought to be led by those who love us, and to lead those we love.” 

Augustine, City of God Book 10, Chapter 3.

[bangkokjacknews]

How Lockdown has ENDED your freedom for ever

The black leather party masks that performers May and Som wear for their fetish shows in Bangkok will not stop the coronavirus from spreading.

Nor will any of the other face-nappies people are being shamed into wearing throughout the free world. Yet behind closed doors, May and Som still practise for the day when health restrictions in  Bangkok are lifted and tourists return, but they have no idea when and worry that the city's infamous red-light district will be very different by then. 'This kind of place will be the last to re-open,' said May 31. Like Som, she goes only by her Thai nickname. 'Even when it does re-open, customers will be worried about their safety.' May and Som have, understandably, failed to realise that it is already over for them. There may be a re-birth of the bar and sex industry in Bangkok, in a sort of fashion. But it will only be in the image their government permits. Their freedom to do what they like and to think for themselves has gone now. That's over - if they allow it. Thailand continue to shut bars and clubs and then permit them to re-open at random, apparently without any real evidence that 'lockdown measures' actually work. In fact the real evidence points to them not working at all. It is hard to say under the current government of Thailand who lie about absolutely everything and there is no reliable information at all. But evidence from other countries reveal 'lockdowns' as disastrous for people's health and well-being. (continues below) https://bangkokjack.com/2020/09/12/dying-lockdown-restrictions/ Even so, lockdowns and other restrictions appear to have put an end to Thailand's lucrative sex industry. For some people this is a good thing, but for those who were part of it, and earning the sort of money never available back in the villages, this has been a disaster. Not only the sex industry. Have a thought for the tens of thousands of tour-guides whose money has long since run out. Hotel workers, taxi drivers and just about everybody else in the service industry catering for Thailand's forty-million tourists each year have also run out of savings. This can only lead to desperation, suicide, starvation and a rise in crime. How's that for an outlook? And all this is for a minor flu virus with a 99.4% survival rate. Have you not figured this out yet? Last April I asked everybody I knew if they knew anybody at all who had died from COVID-19. I definitely did not mean somebody they had heard about through the media or from a government statistic. I asked if they personally knew anybody who had been affected. The answer was nobody. This April, one year on, and the answer to the same question is that still nobody knows anybody at all who they can reliably say has died FROM COVID - personally. Not with it, but FROM it. Words matter. I will give you an example. An acquittance of mine, when I asked that question openly in a bar, replied, 'yes, my mother died of COVID last month.' 'I am very sorry to hear that,' I told him. 'How old was she?' It turned out she was 93-years-old and they thought she contracted COVID-19 in an ambulance. 'Why was she in the ambulance?' I thought that was a obvious question. 'Ahh, she was very ill and being taken to hospital. She tested positive on arrival and died later that day. So she must have contracted it in the ambulance because she hadn't been out anywhere for months.' Now, I am very sorry for him. Losing your mother at any age must be horrible, and a reminder that we are next in line. But, a 'very ill' 93-year old who is being rushed to hospital in an ambulance then tests positive for a flu virus and passes away..? Why are you closing the airports...? Dengue Fever is worse. Malaria is more deadly. Drink Driving in Thailand claims more lives every two days than COVID-19 has in a year. For all I know Chicken Pox is a more dangerous virus, but I cannot be bothered to look up the figures. Now, of course, as I predicted one year ago, the experts in government will tell you that their response to COVID has been the reason the death rate is so low. And so, by this crooked logic, we can all expect suffocating restrictions and lockdowns to keep us all safe every rainy season from now onwards - can we? Are we to be locked in every Songkran, during the so-called seven deadly days in terms of road accidents?' I should be careful in what I ask. Perhaps they haven't thought of that yet. Perhaps they have. How long will it be before the pressure builds and for people to revolt against all this childish nonsense? I am amazed it has taken so long. I am disappointed in my fellow countrymen who remain locked up and shackled, too afraid to stand up for themselves and even protest the restrictions so randomly imposed and without any merit. Just to remind you - the death rate in Great Britain did not increase last year from any of the previous forty years. It remained at roughly the same level it always has, per 1000 people. What did change is the number of COVID-19 related deaths. They appeared from nowhere. And the regular number of influenza deaths dropped to zero. Why has nobody asked why this is? Why have so few people in the media failed to point out that there is a big difference between dying with COVID-19 and from it. Well, the reason for that is to have millions of people locked-down, in fear inside their houses and watching the modern 24-hour news roll-outs is good for them. It increases their audience and, in turn, increases their subscription base and advertising revenue. These people really are this cynical. Trust me, I know some of them personally and they are laughing at you. Have you seen or heard the current TV and Radio adverts in the UK pushing this COVID message and that. Buy this mask or that item for your house that will make staying inside for months on end that much easier. It doesn't bear listening to. Sales of toilet rolls and preserved foods have gone through the roof. Kerching..... Who are we, what have we done to ourselves and why aren't we outside, in the tens of millions, protesting the COVID lockdown nonsense? As a friend of mine says, 'there are more of us than there are of them. We could drown these people in our urine.' Then why don't we? Why aren't we all out there pissing all over them until they go away and leave us alone? When will people start to realise that sleazy politicians, such as the UK Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, who is behind the awful UK COVID control measures, has friends who are winning contracts to the tune of TENS OF MILLIONS OF POUNDS, as a direct result of him shutting down the UK economy through the fear of the flu he is helping to create. And how long will it be before everybody comes to their senses and realises the media and their 'elected' representatives are doing this to you for their own profit. How long will it be until citizens of the free world genuinely understand they have committed the health, welfare and livelihoods of their families to a bunch of incompetents who are so drunk on their power and influence that they have no idea what to do next. I have to think like that. I want to believe this. Because the alternative is that they all know exactly what they are doing and that would be nothing short of sinister. Then I would have no idea what to do next. But, the only fear I have is that the general public in modern times have been educated down to a level where they do not, will not, and even cannot think for themselves anymore. In which case the answer to my own question is NEVER. We are stuck with this sort of government interference now and it is only going to get worse. Before long you will be showing your 'papers' every time you want to buy a pint of milk or board a bus. And your taxes are about to dramatically increase too. Within a few years you will be paying 70% of everything you earn to the government, which is just going to grow bigger, more powerful and wealthier. They even call this themselves a New Normal. And it will be your own fault. A wise man once said that societies always elect the governments they deserve and this is proven to be true. If you are not paying attention, if there is no opposition, then from this point onwards you are going to get exactly what you deserve. And that will come with all the face-masks, temperature checks, police road-blocks, ID carrying, health passports, unemployment and taxation you can handle. You have already bent over for your dear-leaders, now it's time to take your trousers off too. - Albert Jack   Albert Jack AUDIOBOOKS available for download here

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