"He was a man, take him for all in all,
I shall not look upon his like again."
Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 2
And so ends the extraordinary life of Hugo Chavez.
Prior to his 14 year tenure as president of Venezuela, the country was a mess. Although rich in oil reserves, most of the natural resources of the country were used to enrich a small elite while the population suffered. After taking power and making constitutional reforms, Chavez was able to provide universal education, universal medical care, and a functioning social safety net. The quality of life for most Venezuelans improved dramatically.
Upon learning of Chavez's death, thousands of mourners poured into the streets of Caracas, expressing their grief over the loss of a man who had become something of a father figure to the South American nation. The American media wants to hear nothing of it. Most American and British news reports continue to focus on a single narrative--that Chavez was a "polarizing" figure. Whenever reporters on the ground begin to mention the great love and admiration the overwhelming majority of Venezuelans felt for Chavez, the American reporter would immediately cut them off and distract them with more nonsense about how a small group of Venezuelan ex patriots disagreed with his policies. The purpose of this is to discredit Chavez and the tremendous success of his movement.
Chavez had the audacity to reject American imperial power and claim that the natural resources of Venezuela should be used for the benefit of Venezuelans instead of multinational oil cartels based in the United States and Britain. Although we couldn't find it in the American press, Al Jazeera and RT News reported that several world leaders, including Ban Ki Moon, the president of Argentina, and many other countries expressed their sadness and praised Chavez for his accomplishments in bettering the lives of millions of average Venezuelans. RT News reported that the majority of the nations of the world--excluding the U.S. and Britain--saw Chavez and his Bolivar Revolution as a success.
There is no formal conspiracy by the American media to condemn Chavez. People aren't meeting in backrooms to smear his name. It is just that the American and British media select journalists who support the corporate interests of their respective countries. Even NPR, which is supposedly liberal, offered nothing but anti-Chavez propaganda. The sad truth is that to have learned anything useful about Hugo Chavez, you had to go to Google News, type in "Hugo Chavez," and research several international and independent sources of media to find fair coverage of his life. The American media doesn't hire journalists who support leftists or those who have opinions which significantly deviate from the interests of their corporate owned masters and sponsors.
The "Polarizing" Death of Chavez
World Mourns Chavez as Hero
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Teach Yourself and Change the World
Sugata Mitra noticed a problem--the children who needed education the most were the least likely to get it. Where teachers were most needed, they would not or could not be. Therefore, he set out on an experiment to see if children could teach themselves:
Ted Talk
Mitra embedded computers into walls in the slums of India and South Africa. He gave the children problems and left them to figure things out for themselves. Using just an Internet connection, Google, and Google translate, the children were able to learn a remarkable amount of information. In some cases, the children tested as well as those instructed by real teachers. Weeks earlier, the children had never used a computer. When he followed up, they were teaching each other how to take photos with the computer, do Google searches, and much more.
Mitra's conclusion was that given the right conditions, education and knowledge are a self-emergent, self-organizing phenomenon. Which brings us to the the interesting proposition that formerly information was a scarce commodity. Not every community could afford libraries. Disseminating information via paper costs money due to its physicality. The digital age has made information practically free, assuming you have Internet access and a computer. For thousands of years, poor children in poor countries were shut out from the vast breadth of human knowledge. Their mental powers were essentially wasted.
Mitra's experiments show that when children are given access to the right tools, they can and will teach themselves some amazing things. Knowledge itself tends to be empowering. This is the idea behind the One Laptop Per Child Project, which attempts to provide computer access to the poorest of the poor children around the world.
Imagine the ingenuity and brainpower that can now be utilized now that technology makes information access affordable. Combine this with the power of these tools to allow children to create their own content, and you might have a real revolution in our world. This is why the open source movement is so important. When people can share information, great things can result. Examples include the open sharing of courses taught at MIT and Stanford. One can follow along and "take" classes in biotechnology, computers, and mathematics and receive the same information as those in the Ivy League paying $50,000 per year. You don't get a degree, but you do get the education.
In a world now dominated by information and knowledge work, education is a great levelling factor. The potential for empowerment here is very exciting. Will it be a cure all for vast inequalities? Of course not, but it certainly cannot hurt, and each step in the right direction is one step away from falling backward.
Ted Talk
Mitra embedded computers into walls in the slums of India and South Africa. He gave the children problems and left them to figure things out for themselves. Using just an Internet connection, Google, and Google translate, the children were able to learn a remarkable amount of information. In some cases, the children tested as well as those instructed by real teachers. Weeks earlier, the children had never used a computer. When he followed up, they were teaching each other how to take photos with the computer, do Google searches, and much more.
Mitra's conclusion was that given the right conditions, education and knowledge are a self-emergent, self-organizing phenomenon. Which brings us to the the interesting proposition that formerly information was a scarce commodity. Not every community could afford libraries. Disseminating information via paper costs money due to its physicality. The digital age has made information practically free, assuming you have Internet access and a computer. For thousands of years, poor children in poor countries were shut out from the vast breadth of human knowledge. Their mental powers were essentially wasted.
Mitra's experiments show that when children are given access to the right tools, they can and will teach themselves some amazing things. Knowledge itself tends to be empowering. This is the idea behind the One Laptop Per Child Project, which attempts to provide computer access to the poorest of the poor children around the world.
Imagine the ingenuity and brainpower that can now be utilized now that technology makes information access affordable. Combine this with the power of these tools to allow children to create their own content, and you might have a real revolution in our world. This is why the open source movement is so important. When people can share information, great things can result. Examples include the open sharing of courses taught at MIT and Stanford. One can follow along and "take" classes in biotechnology, computers, and mathematics and receive the same information as those in the Ivy League paying $50,000 per year. You don't get a degree, but you do get the education.
In a world now dominated by information and knowledge work, education is a great levelling factor. The potential for empowerment here is very exciting. Will it be a cure all for vast inequalities? Of course not, but it certainly cannot hurt, and each step in the right direction is one step away from falling backward.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Adblock Plus: Freeing Your Internet From Annoying Pop Up Ads
Adblock Plus
Adblock Plus is an add on for Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome that stops annoying pop up ads. It is free and works extremely well. On Youtube, it allows you to avoid the annoying banner ads, commercials, and other ads which detract from your browsing experience. On Facebook, it stops the clutter on your page.
Now that I have been using Adblock Plus for the last six months, I don't think I could ever go back to surfing the web without it. While I appreciate the fact that Google and Facebook are giving me "free" services by forcing me to look at ads, Adblock Plus gives me a break from these annoyances.
I don't recommend Adblock Plus for Android. It is too overzealous and blocks legitimate pages you might actually want to see. The ads in mobile browsers like Google Chrome and Firefox aren't overbearing anyway. If you are a Windows or GNU/Linux user, Adblock Plus will make your desktop browsing experience much more sane.
If you are really worried about computer security and use Firefox, instead of Adblock Plus you can install NoScript. This add on stops Javascript, Java, and Flash from running on your computer. The benefit is that it really stops potential viruses and malware in their tracks. A Windows computer using NoScript is going to be much, much safer than one not running it. The bad part is that NoScript will disable your ability to view many Youtube videos. Fortunately, however, you can disable NoScript on the Youtube page to re-enable the viewing of videos. If you play online games, you will also need to disable NoScript for those particular pages.
While the web is fun, it is also a dangerous place for those who click on the wrong ads. Sometimes you can acquire a malicious program simply by going to a website. Most viruses come from opening email attachments infected with malware and viruses. Taking measures to protect your computer from the annoying frustrations of slow downs, pop ups, and other problems can save you time and your pocketbook, particularly if this saves you a trip to the Geeksquad to clean your infected computer.
Adblock Plus is an add on for Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome that stops annoying pop up ads. It is free and works extremely well. On Youtube, it allows you to avoid the annoying banner ads, commercials, and other ads which detract from your browsing experience. On Facebook, it stops the clutter on your page.
Now that I have been using Adblock Plus for the last six months, I don't think I could ever go back to surfing the web without it. While I appreciate the fact that Google and Facebook are giving me "free" services by forcing me to look at ads, Adblock Plus gives me a break from these annoyances.
I don't recommend Adblock Plus for Android. It is too overzealous and blocks legitimate pages you might actually want to see. The ads in mobile browsers like Google Chrome and Firefox aren't overbearing anyway. If you are a Windows or GNU/Linux user, Adblock Plus will make your desktop browsing experience much more sane.
If you are really worried about computer security and use Firefox, instead of Adblock Plus you can install NoScript. This add on stops Javascript, Java, and Flash from running on your computer. The benefit is that it really stops potential viruses and malware in their tracks. A Windows computer using NoScript is going to be much, much safer than one not running it. The bad part is that NoScript will disable your ability to view many Youtube videos. Fortunately, however, you can disable NoScript on the Youtube page to re-enable the viewing of videos. If you play online games, you will also need to disable NoScript for those particular pages.
While the web is fun, it is also a dangerous place for those who click on the wrong ads. Sometimes you can acquire a malicious program simply by going to a website. Most viruses come from opening email attachments infected with malware and viruses. Taking measures to protect your computer from the annoying frustrations of slow downs, pop ups, and other problems can save you time and your pocketbook, particularly if this saves you a trip to the Geeksquad to clean your infected computer.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
My War Against Planned Obsolescence
"Use it up, wear it out, or make do without." --Depression era saying.
Planned obsolescence, or "PO," is the intentional design of products to fail, even though the product might be designed differently so it lasts longer. Manufacturers use PO to encourage product sales and stimulate new demand. Products used to be designed to last as long as possible. It was known early in the development of the light bulb, for example, that bulbs could be made which would last for a very long time. Manufacturers found, however, that making the bulbs too reliable hurt sales because people wouldn't continue buying new bulbs. Therefore, the makers of light bulbs got together and decided to make inferior bulbs and not compete against each other. This conspiracy worked for a very long time. It should be of no surprise that the light bulbs made by Edison over 100 years ago still work while a modern light bulb burns out after six months.
Another example would be cars. Before Japanese competition in the late 1980's, American cars were designed for style, not reliability. When Japanese auto makers started making vehicles which were twice as reliable, American manufacturers were forced to redesign their products to last longer. The consequence has been that some American brands, such as Ford, are now more reliable than brands like Toyota.
Software is not immune. Microsoft continues to produce new operating systems, each one larger and more bloated than the last. As a consequence, your once fast computer is now slow. Therefore, you feel the need to upgrade to a new computer as well. This works out great for the computer manufacturers and the software makers. Microsoft also produces new proprietary versions of Microsoft Word. Wait long enough, and your computer will have difficulty reading an older version of a Word document.
If we lived in a world of infinite resources, then PO wouldn't be a problem. It would be a way to stimulate the economy by purchasing new goods. The problem is that the energy needed to build these products is non renewable. Oil and coal aren't infinite resources. One day they will be either used up or become so scarce that the production cycle will crash. We are currently on a non sustainable path. This may change with the introduction of highly efficient solar power and more efficient means of recycling. Right now we aren't there yet.
My Fight
Cars
In 1999, I bought a 1996 Toyota Avalon. It had 57,000 miles on it. The engine went at 202,000 miles. Instead of junking it, I had a used engine installed in 2007. Since that time, I still own my Avalon and I plan on keeping it until this "new" engine goes. Hopefully it won't be for another ten years. Rebuilding a used car instead of replacing it with a new one every two years goes a long way to avoiding car payments and saving money.
I also have a 2002 Ford Escape. It has 116,000 miles on it. I plan on driving it until the engine goes. Again, I am hoping this won't be for quite some time. Considering the great shape of the body, I may just get a new engine put in this one as well.
Computers
My office computer is a Pentium 4 Alienware Computer. I got it in 2002. It is still my primary work computer. It has no trouble surfing the Internet, doing research, editing Microsoft Word documents, checking email, and even watching Youtube videos. Five years ago I had to replace the hard drive, which failed. I replaced it myself. One year ago the graphics card burned out. I replaced this for $50. So long as my computing needs are met, there is no reason for me to junk this computer. The keyboard is 9 years old and still works great.
In 2006 I bought a Dell laptop for mobility. Two years ago it began overheating and shutting down after using it for 20 minutes. I almost threw it out the window in frustration. Instead I put it in the freezer. That bought me a bit of time for the both of us to cool down. Considering this wasn't a long term solution, about six months ago I decided to see what could be done. I found a Youtube video that explained how to take the laptop apart and clean the heat sink above the CPU. I dismantled the computer and cleaned out the heat sink with my air compressor. I cleaned the area with a microfiber cloth. It worked. My computer can now run for several days and it doesn't overheat. For Christmas I received a laptop cooling mat, which also seems to help keep it cool. No new laptops for me--at least for now.
One of my hobbies is fixing up old computers and installing lightweight versions of the GNU/Linux operating system on them. This allows them to have new life as working machines. Combined with my mini junkyard of computer parts, many computers can be repaired or upgraded for almost nothing. Instead of filling landfills, these computers can then go to people who can use them.
Cell Phone
My wife and I refuse to pay for data plans and be subject to cell phone contracts. So we use a regional carrier named Revol that charges $47 per month for unlimited text and telephone calls. There is no contract. You have to buy your own phone. Six years ago we both bought flip phones. We are still using those same phones. About two years ago my phone cracked and the hinge was about to come off. Recently it got worse. So I decided to get creative--I used Liquid Nails construction adhesive to glue the phone back together. We both have been through about 3 batteries each over the years, but the phones keep going. The more I can keep my monthly phone costs down, the better.
Cameras
I also collect old Nikon photo equipment. While I use digital much of the time, I also use my 35mm film cameras. Combined with good lenses, these old cameras take beautiful photos and color slides. There is no sense in getting rid of equipment that still has functional value.
Conclusion
I like to be in charge of my life and not be dependent upon manufacturers to meet my needs. Being able to use products for a long time not only saves money and the environment, but it also is empowering. You feel less alienated from the goods which are such a big part of your life. Not having to worry about making extra credit card payments and car payments is kind of nice. While getting new stuff is fun, the credit card statement that follows is also a hangover I would like to avoid.
Planned obsolescence, or "PO," is the intentional design of products to fail, even though the product might be designed differently so it lasts longer. Manufacturers use PO to encourage product sales and stimulate new demand. Products used to be designed to last as long as possible. It was known early in the development of the light bulb, for example, that bulbs could be made which would last for a very long time. Manufacturers found, however, that making the bulbs too reliable hurt sales because people wouldn't continue buying new bulbs. Therefore, the makers of light bulbs got together and decided to make inferior bulbs and not compete against each other. This conspiracy worked for a very long time. It should be of no surprise that the light bulbs made by Edison over 100 years ago still work while a modern light bulb burns out after six months.
Another example would be cars. Before Japanese competition in the late 1980's, American cars were designed for style, not reliability. When Japanese auto makers started making vehicles which were twice as reliable, American manufacturers were forced to redesign their products to last longer. The consequence has been that some American brands, such as Ford, are now more reliable than brands like Toyota.
Software is not immune. Microsoft continues to produce new operating systems, each one larger and more bloated than the last. As a consequence, your once fast computer is now slow. Therefore, you feel the need to upgrade to a new computer as well. This works out great for the computer manufacturers and the software makers. Microsoft also produces new proprietary versions of Microsoft Word. Wait long enough, and your computer will have difficulty reading an older version of a Word document.
If we lived in a world of infinite resources, then PO wouldn't be a problem. It would be a way to stimulate the economy by purchasing new goods. The problem is that the energy needed to build these products is non renewable. Oil and coal aren't infinite resources. One day they will be either used up or become so scarce that the production cycle will crash. We are currently on a non sustainable path. This may change with the introduction of highly efficient solar power and more efficient means of recycling. Right now we aren't there yet.
My Fight
Cars
In 1999, I bought a 1996 Toyota Avalon. It had 57,000 miles on it. The engine went at 202,000 miles. Instead of junking it, I had a used engine installed in 2007. Since that time, I still own my Avalon and I plan on keeping it until this "new" engine goes. Hopefully it won't be for another ten years. Rebuilding a used car instead of replacing it with a new one every two years goes a long way to avoiding car payments and saving money.
I also have a 2002 Ford Escape. It has 116,000 miles on it. I plan on driving it until the engine goes. Again, I am hoping this won't be for quite some time. Considering the great shape of the body, I may just get a new engine put in this one as well.
Computers
My office computer is a Pentium 4 Alienware Computer. I got it in 2002. It is still my primary work computer. It has no trouble surfing the Internet, doing research, editing Microsoft Word documents, checking email, and even watching Youtube videos. Five years ago I had to replace the hard drive, which failed. I replaced it myself. One year ago the graphics card burned out. I replaced this for $50. So long as my computing needs are met, there is no reason for me to junk this computer. The keyboard is 9 years old and still works great.
In 2006 I bought a Dell laptop for mobility. Two years ago it began overheating and shutting down after using it for 20 minutes. I almost threw it out the window in frustration. Instead I put it in the freezer. That bought me a bit of time for the both of us to cool down. Considering this wasn't a long term solution, about six months ago I decided to see what could be done. I found a Youtube video that explained how to take the laptop apart and clean the heat sink above the CPU. I dismantled the computer and cleaned out the heat sink with my air compressor. I cleaned the area with a microfiber cloth. It worked. My computer can now run for several days and it doesn't overheat. For Christmas I received a laptop cooling mat, which also seems to help keep it cool. No new laptops for me--at least for now.
One of my hobbies is fixing up old computers and installing lightweight versions of the GNU/Linux operating system on them. This allows them to have new life as working machines. Combined with my mini junkyard of computer parts, many computers can be repaired or upgraded for almost nothing. Instead of filling landfills, these computers can then go to people who can use them.
Cell Phone
My wife and I refuse to pay for data plans and be subject to cell phone contracts. So we use a regional carrier named Revol that charges $47 per month for unlimited text and telephone calls. There is no contract. You have to buy your own phone. Six years ago we both bought flip phones. We are still using those same phones. About two years ago my phone cracked and the hinge was about to come off. Recently it got worse. So I decided to get creative--I used Liquid Nails construction adhesive to glue the phone back together. We both have been through about 3 batteries each over the years, but the phones keep going. The more I can keep my monthly phone costs down, the better.
Cameras
I also collect old Nikon photo equipment. While I use digital much of the time, I also use my 35mm film cameras. Combined with good lenses, these old cameras take beautiful photos and color slides. There is no sense in getting rid of equipment that still has functional value.
Conclusion
I like to be in charge of my life and not be dependent upon manufacturers to meet my needs. Being able to use products for a long time not only saves money and the environment, but it also is empowering. You feel less alienated from the goods which are such a big part of your life. Not having to worry about making extra credit card payments and car payments is kind of nice. While getting new stuff is fun, the credit card statement that follows is also a hangover I would like to avoid.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Making Sense of the Connecticut Shootings
The recent shootings in Connecticut were so heinous, so senseless, and so beyond the grace of God that we shudder with horror just thinking about it. Imagining how those massacred teachers and children must have felt while that devil made his way through the school shooting away is not easy.
This type of tragedy brings to mind the reality of pain, suffering and death. It forces you to reconsider the basic notions of good and evil. One question that comes to mind for me is, "How could a good God allow this to happen?" Why isn't there an upper limit on the amount of evil that God might permit? These were young children. They did nothing to the shooter. They had barely begun their young lives and now their stories are over. It is absolutely sickening. These same sorts of questions come to mind when I consider the Holocaust.
Hearing about the shooter's mental illness, or his troubled upbringing with a mother paranoid to the point of stockpiling supplies for the "end times" does little to make the basic problem of evil remain. The standard reaction is "This happened because human beings have free choice." If this is so, then that freedom seems to be more important than human suffering, which to me seems incompatible with the basic notions of a good and just God.
Mr. Rodgers once said that in the face of suffering and tragedy, we must "Remember the helpers." We must look to those who despite the overwhelming force of evil and wrongdoing, there are those who come together to help those in need. It is through this that we see God's grace to work through the loving actions of others to bring healing to a broken world.
Perhaps our basic notions of God as divine chessmaster are all wrong. Perhaps God is impotent to directly influence human action. It may be that God is a divine lover, but one who simply lacks the power to prevent some actions from happening. At least this position makes sense. I don't believe it diminishes God to reduce his metaphysical power. It may be that we are ready for a real reconsideration of God's divine powers. It certainly would be more consistent with the notion of a loving God who works through the loving example of Christ on the cross and influences the world through love, not divine power. If God knew this tragedy was going to happen and could have prevented it and He chose to not do so, then he is directly implicated. At the very least, he could have prevented the shooter from having been born, considering the circumstances.
The argument that this world is broken and we can expect better in heaven is unconvincing. Even if this is true, it still remains fundamentally unjust that children should be dealt such a terrible hand in life while others live long and prosperous lives. There are escaped Nazi war criminals still living. How is it right that they are given a long and relatively prosperous life while little children are senselessly slain?
This tragedy is so horrible. We want to feel in control. We want to feel that if we do the right things, our children will be safe. The unfortunate reality is that we cannot prevent these shootings. There will be more. Nothing is going to stop them. There are simply too many guns in America right now, and God help the sheriff assigned to round up the guns owned by those who won't give them up unless they are pried from their cold, dead fingers. Both those on the Left and those on the Right all want the same thing--they want our children and teachers to be safe. They want to live in a safe America. Liberals believe that if you take away people's guns or have more restrictive gun laws, gun violence will decrease. Conservatives believe that if you allow people to have guns to defend themselves, gun violence will decrease because of the deterrent effect.
Norway, a country with restrictive gun laws, suffered a massacre by an extremist that killed 77 people. Apparently gun control laws in Norway did little to stop the violence there. When asked by forensic psychologists about the most effective way to end gun violence, the answer was interesting--they said not to publicize the details of the killings because these facts encourage other people with mental problems to act in a copycat like fashion. Inevitably there will be an increase in school shootings now.
From a mathematical point of view, the likelihood of your child being killed in a school shooting is insanely low. 70 million children are currently in school and this year less than 50 were killed by school shootings. The problem with this is that human beings are not statisticians. We react emotionally to senseless violence because it defies our sense of justice and goodness. Hurricane Sandy created much more destruction and death than the recent shootings, but because this was an act of nature, we look at it differently.
I believe in mental illness as a potential contribution toward violence. I believe in evil as a cause of violence as well. In this case, I think there was both. There are plenty of people with mental illnesses who don't hurt people. Most autistic people, Asperger's Syndrome patients, paranoid schizophrenics, and depressed people don't hurt anyone. In this case, the shooter was trained by his mother to mistrust the world. He was taught the end times were near and that he needed to be ready. It is telling that the shooter had the rationality to wear protective armor before he went on his rampage. He had the malice of forethought to do as much damage as possible before the police arrived. He attacked a school because he wanted to hurt and destroy what his mother loved most--little children that she taught. This was more than just mental illness. It was unspeakable hate and evil combined with insanity.
I don't know whether there is a heaven or hell. But I hope he's in hell. I don't believe that we can only heal by forgiving this madman. I believe we should hate evil and wish that it be banished from our midst. Telling the families of the victims that they must forgive this man is an insult to how they are feeling. They must be given the right to heal in their own way without theological or pop psychology platitudes. Anything else diminishes the pain they are suffering, a pain that only someone who has lost a loved one to senseless violence can understand.
The truth is that this tragedy is beyond our ability to make sense of it. It is beyond our ability to easily dismiss. As Shakespeare once said:
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Hamlet Act 1, scene 5, 159–167Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore Website Review
The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore is a website, blog, and podcast created by Jimmy Moore. Moore used to weigh over 400 pounds. Using the Atkins diet, he lost more than 180 pounds. The dangers of obesity are no stranger to Moore. His brother died as a result of complications from morbid obesity. His mother underwent bariatric surgery. Moore recognizes that he faces a daily struggle in keeping down the weight to stay healthy. Since losing the weight in 2004, Moore has since regained some of the weight, despite following a low carb diet. Refusing to give up, he reexamined his diet and through research discovered that for his body, low carb was simply not enough. He needed to be mindful of the amount of protein he ate along with the carbohydrates because the protein in sufficient quantities was being turned to sugar in his system and causing weight gain. Moore has recently been on a ketogenic diet. He has reduced his protein and carbohydrate levels and consumed additional levels of fat. The results of this have been successful. He has recently lost over 50 pounds over the last few months.
Moore interviews a variety of health experts, diet gurus, and scientists on his podcast. Many of the guests are fantastic. A few are total crackpots. Moore shows all of them respect, and is a skilled interviewer. He also is co-host of a podcast entitled Low Carb Conversations with Jimmy Moore and Friends. This podcast is informal and is similar to a paneled talk show like "The View." The difference is that the focus of this program is diet, health, and nutrition. Not risking any down time, Moore also hosts Ask the Low Carb Experts, a live call in show in which callers pose questions to nationally renowed health and nutrition experts.
The best part of Moore's programming comes from Moore himself. He is optimistic, determined, and energized. Despite facing some very serious setbacks--including failed fertility attempts with his wife and having regained some of the weight he initially lost--Moore doesn't keep his head down for long. He doesn't feel sorry for himself. He doesn't give up. He just picks up and keeps moving on. Sometimes, when I am having a difficult day, I tune into the podcast just to feel perked up. "If Jimmy Moore can face challenges and not give up, then maybe I should, too" I think to myself.
Moore also has a Youtube channel in which he films diet and nutrition programs. Some of the best, however, are those related to his personal life. Through his channel we get to meet his wife Christine. She is a delightful person who helps Moore with his low carb adventures. She frequently travels with him to out of state locations for diet and nutrition conferences.
Having lost 30 pounds on the Atkins diet over two years ago, I believe in the low carb message. My wife suffers from Type 1 Diabetes. Her body cannot produce insulin as a result of an autoimmune disorder. If she eats a moderate or high carb diet, she becomes incredibly sick. Eating low carb has kept her blood sugars in check and helped her avoid having to give massive doses of insulin, which can cause wild blood sugar fluctuations which can lead to her dying. The Atkins diet has worked wonderfully for her. Like any other diet, sometimes you lose a bit of your self-discipline. This has happened to me lately and my belt is starting to show it. I've been listening to Moore more lately, and becoming more inspired to not give up and get back on track. Considering Jimmy has had struggles much more difficult than mine, it feels empowering to listen to his show.
His podcast is ultimately much more than one man's journey to maintain his health despite difficult genetic tendencies toward weight gain. It is about maintaining a can-do attitude despite enormous challenges and not giving up. Because when you have stopped fighting, they have beaten you. And this is something Moore refuses to let happen. Whether you are struggling with weight issues or not, the website is highly recommended.
Moore interviews a variety of health experts, diet gurus, and scientists on his podcast. Many of the guests are fantastic. A few are total crackpots. Moore shows all of them respect, and is a skilled interviewer. He also is co-host of a podcast entitled Low Carb Conversations with Jimmy Moore and Friends. This podcast is informal and is similar to a paneled talk show like "The View." The difference is that the focus of this program is diet, health, and nutrition. Not risking any down time, Moore also hosts Ask the Low Carb Experts, a live call in show in which callers pose questions to nationally renowed health and nutrition experts.
The best part of Moore's programming comes from Moore himself. He is optimistic, determined, and energized. Despite facing some very serious setbacks--including failed fertility attempts with his wife and having regained some of the weight he initially lost--Moore doesn't keep his head down for long. He doesn't feel sorry for himself. He doesn't give up. He just picks up and keeps moving on. Sometimes, when I am having a difficult day, I tune into the podcast just to feel perked up. "If Jimmy Moore can face challenges and not give up, then maybe I should, too" I think to myself.
Moore also has a Youtube channel in which he films diet and nutrition programs. Some of the best, however, are those related to his personal life. Through his channel we get to meet his wife Christine. She is a delightful person who helps Moore with his low carb adventures. She frequently travels with him to out of state locations for diet and nutrition conferences.
Having lost 30 pounds on the Atkins diet over two years ago, I believe in the low carb message. My wife suffers from Type 1 Diabetes. Her body cannot produce insulin as a result of an autoimmune disorder. If she eats a moderate or high carb diet, she becomes incredibly sick. Eating low carb has kept her blood sugars in check and helped her avoid having to give massive doses of insulin, which can cause wild blood sugar fluctuations which can lead to her dying. The Atkins diet has worked wonderfully for her. Like any other diet, sometimes you lose a bit of your self-discipline. This has happened to me lately and my belt is starting to show it. I've been listening to Moore more lately, and becoming more inspired to not give up and get back on track. Considering Jimmy has had struggles much more difficult than mine, it feels empowering to listen to his show.
His podcast is ultimately much more than one man's journey to maintain his health despite difficult genetic tendencies toward weight gain. It is about maintaining a can-do attitude despite enormous challenges and not giving up. Because when you have stopped fighting, they have beaten you. And this is something Moore refuses to let happen. Whether you are struggling with weight issues or not, the website is highly recommended.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
How Obama Won
Many seem surprised that now the election is over, the media coverage of the campaign seems to have born no resemblance to how the actual election turned out. This shouldn't be surprising. The media has no interest in reporting accurate, real news. It is selling a product--middle class and upper middle class audiences to advertisers. An election cycle without a horse race is boring. One candidate cannot seem too far ahead of the others or things become too mundane and people tune out. This means less revenue from advertising dollars. The half dozen or so large corporations that own the media don't like that.
An excellent example of this is the Republican campaign. Judging by the numbers, it was very clear that Mitt Romney was ultimately going to win the Republican nomination. But the media had to pretend each week that somehow Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, or Newt Gingrich were going to unseat the presumed candidate. This never happened. It never was going to happen.
The same goes with this presidential election. Looking at the swing state likely outcomes, it has been clear for months and months that Obama was ahead just enough to pull off a reasonably large victory. Nate Silver, a statistician, has been saying this for months, but the media refused to listen because it made for a boring news cycle. Instead, the media reported on daily polls which didn't factor in the electoral college, which is the real decision maker when it comes to deciding the presidential outcome.
Now we hear about how the Republican "War on Women" has cost Republicans the election. We hear about how the Republicans must now remake themselves or face permanent defeat. This is nothing more than media hype once again. The numbers themselves show how Obama won, and most of it has to do with his favoring of the auto bailout in Ohio, which tipped working class Ohioans toward him. Romney also did worse with minorities and with women, but this had more to do with general Republican policies which are simply unfavorable to these groups. Republicans spent a great deal of their time trying to disenfranchise voters, cut programs for the poor and sick, and Mitt Romney himself was the perfect avatar of Wall Street greed and outsourcing. So was Paul Ryan in all his Ayn Randian glory.
The truth is that although the economy is improving slowly, most of the damage to it was not caused by Obama and so people didn't blame him for it. Considering we were close to another Great Depression when he took office, things are certainly better than they were four years ago. Obama hasn't been a terribly effective leader. He is not a strong and confrontational personality. But people also remember how the Republicans fought him every inch of the way and defeated his jobs bill, along with every other thing he tried to do. His competent handling of Hurricane Sandy was a stark contrast to the inept disaster that was George W. Bush's Hurricane Katrina response. Obama is no FDR, but he isn't George W. Bush or Herbert Hoover, either, and people could see this.
Reporters keep saying that if Republicans intend to regain power, they must move to the middle of the political spectrum. Tom Brokaw spent considerable time pontificating about this on election night. You would think that years of reporting would have been instructive to him. He seemed amazed that the two parties refuse to work together for the good of the common people. The reason they don't work together is simple--it's because they have different principles and don't agree. People like Paul Ryan and Michelle Bachmann are true believers. They aren't going to throw their ideals out the window just to gain political power. The same goes for members of the Tea Party. To assume that these folks will do so just to gain power is incredibly naive. After the massive Republican defeat in 2006, the party didn't become more moderate. To the contrary, it became even more right wing. In 2010, the Republican party bounced back and regained the House. Moderates might be willing to move to the middle to gain power, but these folks are not the true believers. The reality is that we are going to have far right Republicans, and they aren't going away. The same goes for members of the left. People like Jill Stein, Noam Chomsky, and Chris Hedges are not suddenly going to sell out their ideals to support candidates who are moderates. This is contrary to their nature. Members of the left and right aren't going to hold hands and sing Kumbaya any time soon.
The most stunning thing about this election is not that Obama won. The stunning thing is that Obama did not win by a landslide. Even with the economy being lackluster and the jobs growth meager, Mitt Romney was an absolutely horrible candidate. He stood for nothing. He spent his career destroying jobs and playing financial games. He had no tact and was prone to frequent verbal gaffes. His flip flopping on issues and incessant lying made him totally transparent.
I am glad the election is over. I feel relieved that the war mongers in Israel won't be given the go ahead to start a major war in the Middle East concerning Iran. I feel happy that the Obama support for net neutrality will keep the Internet growing and vibrant. And I feel relieved that health care reform is here to stay. Most of all, when it is time to appoint new Supreme Court justices, those chosen won't be crypto-fascists like Antonin Scalia. Obama getting reelected is a very good thing for this country compared to a Romney presidency. Four more years of peace is a hell of a lot better than four more years of war. I would have been even happier with a Jill Stein presidency, but I will take what I can reasonably get.
God bless America.
An excellent example of this is the Republican campaign. Judging by the numbers, it was very clear that Mitt Romney was ultimately going to win the Republican nomination. But the media had to pretend each week that somehow Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, or Newt Gingrich were going to unseat the presumed candidate. This never happened. It never was going to happen.
The same goes with this presidential election. Looking at the swing state likely outcomes, it has been clear for months and months that Obama was ahead just enough to pull off a reasonably large victory. Nate Silver, a statistician, has been saying this for months, but the media refused to listen because it made for a boring news cycle. Instead, the media reported on daily polls which didn't factor in the electoral college, which is the real decision maker when it comes to deciding the presidential outcome.
Now we hear about how the Republican "War on Women" has cost Republicans the election. We hear about how the Republicans must now remake themselves or face permanent defeat. This is nothing more than media hype once again. The numbers themselves show how Obama won, and most of it has to do with his favoring of the auto bailout in Ohio, which tipped working class Ohioans toward him. Romney also did worse with minorities and with women, but this had more to do with general Republican policies which are simply unfavorable to these groups. Republicans spent a great deal of their time trying to disenfranchise voters, cut programs for the poor and sick, and Mitt Romney himself was the perfect avatar of Wall Street greed and outsourcing. So was Paul Ryan in all his Ayn Randian glory.
The truth is that although the economy is improving slowly, most of the damage to it was not caused by Obama and so people didn't blame him for it. Considering we were close to another Great Depression when he took office, things are certainly better than they were four years ago. Obama hasn't been a terribly effective leader. He is not a strong and confrontational personality. But people also remember how the Republicans fought him every inch of the way and defeated his jobs bill, along with every other thing he tried to do. His competent handling of Hurricane Sandy was a stark contrast to the inept disaster that was George W. Bush's Hurricane Katrina response. Obama is no FDR, but he isn't George W. Bush or Herbert Hoover, either, and people could see this.
Reporters keep saying that if Republicans intend to regain power, they must move to the middle of the political spectrum. Tom Brokaw spent considerable time pontificating about this on election night. You would think that years of reporting would have been instructive to him. He seemed amazed that the two parties refuse to work together for the good of the common people. The reason they don't work together is simple--it's because they have different principles and don't agree. People like Paul Ryan and Michelle Bachmann are true believers. They aren't going to throw their ideals out the window just to gain political power. The same goes for members of the Tea Party. To assume that these folks will do so just to gain power is incredibly naive. After the massive Republican defeat in 2006, the party didn't become more moderate. To the contrary, it became even more right wing. In 2010, the Republican party bounced back and regained the House. Moderates might be willing to move to the middle to gain power, but these folks are not the true believers. The reality is that we are going to have far right Republicans, and they aren't going away. The same goes for members of the left. People like Jill Stein, Noam Chomsky, and Chris Hedges are not suddenly going to sell out their ideals to support candidates who are moderates. This is contrary to their nature. Members of the left and right aren't going to hold hands and sing Kumbaya any time soon.
The most stunning thing about this election is not that Obama won. The stunning thing is that Obama did not win by a landslide. Even with the economy being lackluster and the jobs growth meager, Mitt Romney was an absolutely horrible candidate. He stood for nothing. He spent his career destroying jobs and playing financial games. He had no tact and was prone to frequent verbal gaffes. His flip flopping on issues and incessant lying made him totally transparent.
I am glad the election is over. I feel relieved that the war mongers in Israel won't be given the go ahead to start a major war in the Middle East concerning Iran. I feel happy that the Obama support for net neutrality will keep the Internet growing and vibrant. And I feel relieved that health care reform is here to stay. Most of all, when it is time to appoint new Supreme Court justices, those chosen won't be crypto-fascists like Antonin Scalia. Obama getting reelected is a very good thing for this country compared to a Romney presidency. Four more years of peace is a hell of a lot better than four more years of war. I would have been even happier with a Jill Stein presidency, but I will take what I can reasonably get.
God bless America.
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