Guantanamo's Wreckage

I have recently become involved in a BBC effort that solicits commentary and analysis of BBC-produced programs.  It gave me the opportunity to listen to this documentary broadcast on the Guantanamo Bay prison - but  with the emphasis on prisoners who have been released.

It is a program that does not spoon-feed the listener the viewpoint they are supposed to be adopting like so many US "cable news" programs these days.  You actually need to think here - the story is told through the experiences of real people who were incarcerated at Guantanamo.  The story eventually tells itself very well, and it is not a pretty one for US citizens who in a very real way are responsible for the unjust, inhuman, and quite frankly invented reasons for keeping some of these people there at all.

Land of Oppportunity? Not so Fast

If you are open-minded enough, here is a presentation that tells the economic story of America today in concrete, factual terms.  I checked the data behind this, and it is pretty accurate.  For links to the references behind the presentation, go to the YouTube page and open the 'References' section:

The BS Squad

Here is a TED Talk that should appeal to thinkers everywhere - the professional "bad ideas and just plain BS cops":






I have to say it...and then they voted!

Navy Yard Shootings Part II

I was listening to an NPR report on this tragedy this afternoon, and while it wasn't the major focus of the report, I could not help but think to myself as I listened..."social media" blew it again!

It turns out that almost every salient fact that was reported on social media during or immediately after the incident at the Washington Navy Yard yesterday was pretty much 100%, unequivocally wrong.  Just like the Newton shootings, Hurricane Sandy, and endless other domestic incidents.

It turns out that:

• The shooter had no assault rifle, nor 'multiple weapons', only a shotgun.
• There was no accomplice, the shooter acted alone. 
• The shooter used his own legal and valid ID to get in, not a stolen one.
• The shooter did have a grudge against the military, the Navy in particular.
• The shooter had multiple run-ins with the law previously, including some involving illegal discharge of firearms. 
• The shooter had a valid, current "Secret" security clearance.

Which is why I don't use Twitter, Facebook, or any other "social media" as a source of information for so-called "breaking stories". 



  

The Real Meaning of Jihad

If you are a real thinker, here is something you need to see and understand from someone who knows.  The word "jihad" has been universally misused and misinterpreted  by every US President, media outlet, and virtually all "pundits" particularly since 9/11.   Here is a rational, factual explanation of the term and its true meaning.





Happy thinking!