Free Download: Erich Fromm, “The Fear of Freedom”

“Automaton Conformity”

by Erich Fromm

“In the mechanisms we have been discussing, the individual overcomes the feeling of insignificance in comparison with the overwhelming power of the world outside himself either by renouncing his individual integrity, or by destroying others so that the world ceases to be threatening. Other mechanisms of escape are the withdrawal from the world so completely that it loses its threat (the picture we find in certain psychotic states), and the inflation of oneself psychologically to such an extent that the world outside becomes small in comparison. Although these mechanisms of escape are important for individual psychology, they are only of minor relevance culturally. I shall not, therefore, discuss them further here, but instead will turn to another mechanism of escape which is of the greatest social significance.

This particular mechanism is the solution that the majority of normal individuals find in modern society. To put it briefly, the individual ceases to be himself; he adopts entirely the kind of personality offered to him by cultural patterns; and he therefore becomes exactly as all others are and as they expect him to be. The discrepancy between “I” and the world disappears and with it the conscious fear of aloneness and powerlessness. This mechanism can be compared with the protective coloring some animals assume. They look so similar to their surroundings that they are hardly distinguishable from them. The person who gives up his individual self and becomes an automaton, identical with millions of other automatons around him, need not feel alone and anxious any more. But the price he pays, however, is high; it is the loss of his self.”

- Erich Fromm, “The Fear of Freedom”

Freely download “The Fear of Freedom”, by Erich Fromm, here:

- http://realsociology.edublogs.org/files/

"The Wisdom Of Erich Fromm"

“A person who has not been completely alienated, who has remained sensitive and able to feel, who has not lost the sense of dignity, who is not yet "for sale", who can still suffer over the suffering of others, who has not acquired fully the having mode of existence - briefly, a person who has remained a person and not become a thing - cannot help feeling lonely, powerless, isolated in present-day society. He cannot help doubting himself and his own convictions, if not his sanity. He cannot help suffering, even though he can experience moments of joy and clarity that are absent in the life of his "normal" contemporaries. Not rarely will he suffer from neurosis that results from the situation of a sane man living in an insane society, rather than that of the more conventional neurosis of a sick man trying to adapt himself to a sick society."

- Erich Fromm, "The Art of Being"

“If other people do not understand our behavior - so what? Their request that we must only do what they understand is an attempt to dictate to us. If this is being "asocial" or "irrational" in their eyes, so be it. Mostly they resent our freedom and our courage to be ourselves. We owe nobody an explanation or an accounting, as long as our acts do not hurt or infringe on them. How many lives have been ruined by this need to "explain," which usually implies that the explanation be "understood," i.e. approved. Let your deeds be judged, and from your deeds, your real intentions, but know that a free person owes an explanation only to himself - to his reason and his conscience - and to the few who may have a justified claim for explanation.”

- Erich Fromm, "The Art of Being"

“It is naively assumed that the fact that the majority of people share certain ideas and feelings proves the validity of these ideas and feelings. Nothing could be further from the truth. Consensual validation as such has no bearing on reason or mental health.”

- Erich Fromm

“It is naively assumed that the fact that the majority of people share certain ideas or feelings proves the validity of these ideas and feelings. Nothing is further from the truth. Consensual validation as such has no bearing on reason or mental health. Just as there is a "folie a deux" there is a folie a millions. The fact that millions of people share the same vices does not make these vices virtues, the fact that they share so many errors does not make the errors to be truths, and the fact that millions of people share the same forms of mental pathology does not make these people sane.”

- Erich Fromm, "The Sane Society"

"If There Is A Nuclear War Between The U.S. And Russia, Most Americans Will Die By Starving To Death"

"If There Is A Nuclear War Between The U.S. And Russia,

 Most Americans Will Die By Starving To Death"

by Michael Snyder

"Can you imagine what it would be like to literally starve to death? Most Americans believe that if a nuclear war with Russia actually happens the vast majority of the U.S. population will be instantly wiped out. But that is not what the science says. What the studies have shown is that only about 20 percent of the U.S. population will be instantly killed during a nuclear exchange. If you live near a military base or some other highly strategic target you will probably be among that 20 percent. Otherwise, it is likely that you will starve to death during the horrifying “nuclear winter” that follows.

A study released has concluded that average global temperatures would immediately drop by a whopping 13 degrees following a full-blown nuclear exchange… Firestorms would release ash and smoke into the upper atmosphere that would block out the Sun, resulting in crop failure around the world, according to researchers from Louisiana State University. In the first month following these catastrophic detonations, average global temperatures would plunge by about 13 degrees Fahrenheit, more than during the most recent Ice Age.

With much less sunlight reaching the Earth, the food chains in our oceans would collapse very rapidly… "The sudden drop in light and sea temperatures, especially from the Arctic to the North Atlantic and North Pacific, would kill algae - the bedrock of the marine food web. Researchers said that fishing and aquaculture would be halted by the creation of ‘essentially a famine in the ocean.’ And as average temperatures plummeted, very little would be able to be grown for an extended period of time.

Since the U.S. and Russia are both in the northern hemisphere, the northern half of the globe would be affected much more than the southern half of the globe. One study that was conducted in 2019 determined that temperatures in Iowa would ultimately stay below 0 degrees celsius for 730 days in a row…"A massive drop in temperature follows, with the weather staying below freezing throughout the subsequent Northern Hemisphere summer. In Iowa, for example, the model shows temperatures staying below 0°C for 730 days straight. There is no growing season. This is a true nuclear winter." (0 degrees Celsius equals 32 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Nor is it just a short blip. Temperatures still drop below freezing in summer for several years thereafter, and global precipitation falls by half by years three and four. It takes over a decade for anything like climatic normality to return to the planet.

Since so little food would be grown during this period of time, we would see starvation in the northern hemisphere on a cataclysmic scale…"In the 4,400 warhead/150 Tg soot nuclear war scenario, averaged over the subsequent five years, China sees a reduction in food calories of 97.2 percent, France by 97.5 percent, Russia by 99.7 percent, the UK by 99.5 percent and the US by 98.9 percent. In all these countries, virtually everyone who survived the initial blasts would subsequently starve."

So can you see why I am so passionate about avoiding a nuclear war?

The Russians can see where the proxy war in Ukraine is heading, and they are sounding the alarm. Dmitry Medvedev warned that this conflict “potentially poses a threat to the existence of humanity”…"Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned the US against trying to punish Russia for its war in Ukraine, saying that doing so would risk humanity since Moscow has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal. “The idea of punishing a country that has one of the largest nuclear potentials is absurd. And potentially poses a threat to the existence of humanity,” Medvedev wrote on Telegram."

Here in the United States, there are a handful of politicians that soke out rationally about this war. One of them is Marjorie Taylor Greene…“The American people do not want war with Russia, but NATO and our own foolish leaders are dragging us into one. We should pull out of NATO,” said right-wing Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene in a Twitter post on Thursday while referring to the Biden administration’s massive military aid to Ukraine as a “proxy war” against Russia that Americans have no appetite for."

Ukraine is the “new Iraq wrapped up with a pretty little NATO bow, with a nuclear present inside,” she further added in a series of tweets in which she has expressed fierce criticism of Washington’s response to the Ukraine conflict by sending billions of taxpayer dollars to the country and risking a potential nuclear war.

Sadly, she is right on target. The longer this war goes on, the greater the risk that it could eventually become a nuclear conflict. The Russians have been preparing for such a conflict for a very long time, and we learned that they have conducted more successful nuclear drills…"Vladimir Putin has staged nuclear drills with his road-launched intercontinental Yars missiles in a forest in western Siberia. The 7,500-mile range of the missiles means they would be capable of striking Britain or anywhere in Europe."

Meanwhile, our most recent missile test exploded just 11 seconds after launch…"A test missile launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California exploded seconds after being fired ,according to officials. The Minotaur II space launch vehicle exploded approximately 11 seconds after launching off the test pad at 11:01 p.m. local time, Vandenberg officials confirmed."

The U.S. desperately needs to develop new systems, because right now Minuteman missiles that went into service back in the 1970s still form the backbone of our strategic nuclear arsenal…"Vandenberg Space Force Base was testing the Air Force’s new missile rocket, expected to be used with the developing LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, according to The Tribune of San Luis Obispo County, Calif. Both are set to replace the U.S. military’s aging Minuteman missiles."

At this point, the Russian strategic nuclear arsenal is far superior to our own, and our anti-ballistic missile systems are not even worth comparing to what they possess. But most Americans don’t understand any of this. I was sounding the alarm about a military conflict with Russia long before the war in Ukraine ever started. Unfortunately, most of the population was not interested in such warnings.

Now a nuclear war with Russia has become a very real possibility thanks to the war in Ukraine, but most of the population is still not alarmed. Meanwhile, tensions on both sides continue to escalate the conflict in Ukraine, and that is an extremely dangerous game to be playing."

- https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/

And this is what we face...

"Russia Puts Its Longest Range Nuke-Capable Missile 

On Combat Duty, Nicknamed 'Satan II'"

By Tyler Durden

"Russia announced its Sarmat ICBMs are on "combat duty". RIA has quoted the head of the country's space agency Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, to confirm: "the Sarmat strategic complex has been put on combat duty." The nuclear-capable Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile system was previously touted by President Putin as being capable hitting "any target on Earth" - and is widely believed to be by far the longest-range missile in Russia's arsenal (or in the world for that matter). It's been nicknamed by NATO the "Satan II".

The Sarmat, which is in a "superheavy" class of missiles, has a short initial boost phase which gives it better ability to elude all conventional anti-missile defense systems, given this results in a much smaller window of time to track it. By design, its super long-range gives it the ability to reach targets thousands of missiles away in the United States or Europe.

According to its specifications, it's by far the heaviest missile Russia possesses - at over 200 tons - and heavier than all foreign competitors: This allows it to carry around 15 warheads, up to 750kt. (The bomb US dropped on Hiroshima was 15kt.) This would be enough to wipe out a country the size of France. It can also carry hypersonic missiles, rendering most missile defense systems ineffective.

It has reportedly been in development since 2009, and has been in testing phase for several years, some test flights of which may have failed. The Sarmat has been touted as being able to reach speeds of nearly 16,000 mph. Last year, after a successful test, Putin described: "The new complex has the highest tactical and technical characteristics and is capable of overcoming all modern means of anti-missile defense. It has no analogues in the world and won’t have for a long time to come."

"This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russia’s security from external threats and provide food for thought for those who, in the heat of frenzied aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country," Putin added at the time. Without doubt, the timing of Friday's announcement is also meant to spook Western leaders, as nuclear rhetoric related to the Ukraine war continues to rise, particularly in the context of Moscow having positioned tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory."

- https://www.zerohedge.com/

o

"Meanwhile, the Russians have developed a new intercontinental ballistic missile that is the most advanced in the world by a wide margin. It is called “the Sarmat”, and it is absolutely frightening…"The Sarmat is a three-stage, silo-based, liquid-fuel, heavy ICBM with a reported range of 18,000 kilometers. Dubbed “Satan II” by NATO, the missile is a Russian-built replacement of the Soviet-era SS-18 “Satan” ICBM, which is reaching the end of its life cycle. The Sarmat reportedly can carry a 10-ton payload consisting of 10-plus multiple independent reentry vehicles along with penetration aids used to evade missile defenses. Moscow says the new missile can also carry several Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles. A single Sarmat can carry enough firepower to destroy an area the size of Texas."

o

RS-28 Sarmat

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-28_Sarmat

11,000 mile range, 15 warheads, 15,880 mph speed...

o

Full screen recommended.

"In the chilling broadcast the presenter also showed how the Kremlin's latest world-ending Satan 2 nuclear missile could also annihilate Britain. The warning comes as the Kremlin raised the prospect of devastating military strikes on Britain. Pro-Putin TV pundits previously threatened the use of the world ending RS-28 Sarmat missile – spouting its ability to wipe England from the map. And now raising further plans for all-out war, host Dmitry Kiselyov heralded Russia’s second option to “plunge Britain into the depths of the sea" with its “underwater robotic drone Poseidon”. In a chilling graphic he warned the missile would raise a giant tsunami wave up to 1,640ft high."

The 1,640 foot high tidal wave from a single Poseidon would destroy the entire East Coast of the United States from Maine to Florida inland as far as West Virginia. There is no possible defense against this. Do we really want to do this?

The Daily "Near You?"

Robstown, Texas, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

The Poet: Mary Oliver, "One"

"One"

"The mosquito is so small

it takes almost nothing to ruin it.

Each leaf, the same.

And the black ant, hurrying.

So many lives, so many fortunes!

Every morning, I walk softly and with forward glances

down to the ponds and through the pinewoods.

Mushrooms, even, have but a brief hour

before the slug creeps to the feast,

before the pine needles hustle down

under the bundles of harsh, beneficent rain.

How many, how many, how many

make up a world!

And then I think of that old idea: the singular

and the eternal.

One cup, in which everything is swirled

back to the color of the sea and sky.

Imagine it!

A shining cup, surely!

In the moment in which there is no wind

over your shoulder,

you stare down into it,

and there you are,

your own darling face, your own eyes.

And then the wind, not thinking of you, just passes by,

touching the ant, the mosquito, the leaf,

and you know what else!

How blue is the sea, how blue is the sky,

how blue and tiny and redeemable everything is, even you,

even your eyes, even your imagination."

~ Mary Oliver

"The Fire Of Reality..."

"Friedrich Nietzsche in ‘Beyond Good and Evil’ holds that only a few people have the fortitude to look in times of distress into what he calls the molten pit of human reality. Most, studiously, ignore the pit. Artists and philosophers, for Nietzsche, are consumed however by an insatiable curiosity, a quest for truth and a desire for meaning. They venture down into the bowels of the molten pit. They get as close as they can before the flames and heat drive them back. This intellectual and moral honesty, Nietzsche wrote, comes with a cost. Those singed by the fire of reality become ‘burnt children’ he wrote, eternal orphans in empires of illusion."

- Chris Hedges

Freely download "Beyond Good And Evil", by Friedrich Nietzsche, here:

- https://www.holybooks.com/

○

"We work in the dark. We do what we can to battle the evil that would otherwise destroy us. But if a man's character is his fate, it's not a choice but a calling. Sometimes the weight of this burden causes us to falter from the fragile fortress of our mind, allowing the monster without to turn within. We are left alone staring into the abyss, into the laughing face of madness."

- Fox Mulder, "X-Files"

○

"Life, Reality..."

"Life is not what you see, but what you've projected.

It's not what you've felt, but what you've decided.

It's not what you've experienced, but how you've remembered it.

It's not what you've forged, but what you've allowed.

And it's not who's appeared, but who you've summoned.

And this should serve you well until you find what you already have."

- The Universe

“Reality is what we take to be true.

What we take to be true is what we believe.

What we believe is based upon our perceptions.

What we perceive depends upon what we look for.

What we look for depends upon what we think.

What we think depends upon what we perceive.

What we perceive determines what we believe.

What we believe determines what we take to be true.

What we take to be true is our reality.”

- Gary Zukav

"It's Not Such An Easy Business..."

“Over the years you get to see what a struggle life is for most people, how tough it is, how easy it is to be judgmental and criticize and stand outside of situations and impart your wisdom and judgment. But over the decades I've got more tolerant of people's flaws and mistakes. Everybody makes a lot of them. When you're younger you feel: "Hey, this person is evil" or "This person is a jerk" or stupid or "What's wrong with them?" Then you go through life and you think: "Well, it's not so easy." There's a lot of mystery and suffering and complication. Everybody's out there trying to do the best they can. And it's not such an easy business.”

- Woody Allen

"Dead Romans Agree: Don’t Let The Small Stuff Bother You"

"Dead Romans Agree: 

Don’t Let The Small Stuff Bother You"

by John Wilder

"I woke up this morning just irritated. No particular reason. In all fairness, it was entirely an internal feeling, and I imagine most people never noticed. I was nice and polite to nearly everyone I interacted with. And why not? None of them were my ex-wife. I wasn’t irritated with them, I was just irritated. There were no issues. I wasn’t in pain. No one around me was in particular trouble. Thankfully I’m not an electrician – people might dislike me not being positive at work.

As I thought about it, what was irritating me? I couldn’t quite put a finger on it. There was no rational reason at all. During a conversation lat night, though, I had a reason to quote Marcus Aurelius: “If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.”

Sure, Marcus Aurelius’ kid was an utter tool, but when you become Caesar at 18, well, it might tend to go to your head – think of Commodus as Miley Cyrus, 180 A.D. Back to Marcus, though. Marcus genuinely did his best for the Roman Empire. As near as I can tell, Marcus was a pretty good leader. And that little quote above wasn’t written for you and me. It was written for Marcus, by Marcus. He was reminding himself that the external things in the world had only the power he gave them. He was giving himself a pep talk.

Marcus Aurelius was right. In the conversation I was having lat night, the person was very upset (most of you don’t know the person, though specific readers in California and Indiana do – hi guys!). The reason she was upset? Nothing rational at all. So I quoted a dead Roman emperor. Did it help? I don’t know. I’m beginning to see a pattern where crying people don’t stop crying when I quote dead Roman emperors. I’m beginning to see why the kids call The Mrs. when they want actual human sympathy.

My irritation (I think) came from the same place. Nowhere. I felt fine (except for my right knee which is much better now) and the day generally went fairly well. I realized that the advice I gave was meant just as much for me as for the person I was talking to. I was just being irritated because I let myself be irritated.

Once I was done and realized I didn’t have to be irritated? My irritation disappeared. I know that the way I feel is (generally) my choice. I can choose how I feel: salty, Wednesday, or even drunk. The only reason that I’m not happy every morning is if I choose not to be happy on some particular morning.

Are there actual reasons why I might have different feelings? Sure. If I had mental problems (other than an unseemly affection for awful jokes and a desire to consciously be able to make my fingernails grow absurdly fast) that might be a reason to have a feeling other than what I choose.

Don’t know. I do know that there are people with actual mental problems. There’s proof: some people actually voted for Biden. But, going back to Marcus, that’s not external. Being sick or goofy enough to vote for Biden isn’t external.

Physical pain also is an internal source that can destroy moods. I once (for a few months) had sciatica. I was irritable enough every morning to chew nails and spit bullets. Then I discovered that I could work out for a few hours on an elliptical trainer to make the pain go away. A week later? I was fine. My irritation vanished along with my sciatica, never (hopefully) to return. That was nearly 15 years ago. Sure, I’ve felt pain since then, but most of it was the good pain from a hard workout. Heck, most days the worst thing that happened was the crisp morning breeze running through my back hair.

My mood depends on me. My attitude depends on me. Does that mean that I can’t see the actual situation we’re in? Of course not. I see a nation tearing itself apart. It’s worse: it’s not just a nation, Western Civilization seems to be happily thrashing about as it marches down a path to extinction.

Is that good? Of course not. Does it mean that I should walk around every day being sad? Of course not. I am doing, I assure you, everything I can think of to stave off that darkness. I mean, those memes won’t make themselves. And I am doing it cheerfully. I laugh every day. I smile because I know that most of the things that I worry about can have no power over me unless I give them that power.

Make your choices, and understand that while you might wake up irritated – it’s your choice if you wish to stay in that mood for a minute or an hour. Me? I like being happy, so I choose that, even in moments where it might not be appropriate. I might even need to stop high-fiving people at funerals.

So, I got started late typing this after a day I chose to just be irritated. And, I’m going to choose to end now. With a smile on my face. Go and have a great day. Most of the time, having a great day is just a choice. Choose wisely."

- https://wilderwealthywise.com/

○

"The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable,

or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same."

- Carlos Castaneda

"How It Really Is"

 

Dan, I Allegedly, "You Are Stuck With Joe Biden"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly AM 7/7/24

"You Are Stuck With Joe Biden"

"The people have spoken. Joe Biden has been selected as the Democratic nominee for president of the United States for 2024. All of the talk that he’s just going to miraculously be replaced is preposterous. There has been over $1 billion pledged to his candidacy that would have to be refunded."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

"'The Sh*t Is Going To Hit The Fan On Monday':

 DC In Turmoil As Biden Says Only 'Act Of God' Will Dislodge Him"

Gregory Mannarino, "Markets, A Look Ahead: A New Phase Of Hyper-Debt Has Already Arrived"

Gregory Mannarino, 7/7/24

"Markets, A Look Ahead: 

A New Phase Of Hyper-Debt Has Already Arrived"

- https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Greg Hunter, "Pandemics, Financial Collapse, War & Terrorism Designed to Overwhelm"

"Pandemics, Financial Collapse, 

War & Terrorism Designed to Overwhelm"

by Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

"Renowned radio host, filmmaker, book author and archeological dig expert Steve Quayle describes the evil demons of the Bible we are up against. He lays it out in a mind-blowing new DVD called “Earth in the Crosshairs.” Quayle contends, “The interdimensional Gates of Hell have opened, and the world is under attack by Satan and his demons.” How else could everything in the world go terribly wrong all at once?

There is war and military conflict in multiple places, a new Bird Flu pandemic brewing, terrorists and illegals are flooding across the southern US border and a little talked about financial meltdown that Quayle says is going to catch the vast majority off guard when it implodes. Quayle points out, “This is Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals.” You simply overwhelm the target with accusations and so many problems that you could be ‘Ricochet Rabit’ and try to duck everything coming, but you can’t duck it all, especially when it is all dumped on you at once. Again, this is Saul Alinsky, and the idea is to overwhelm the target. Hillary Clinton wrote one of her college papers on Alinsky. Now, you see this with the Obama nation of desolation. That’s what I call him. You see the entire taking over of communities. Look at all these Democrat prosecutors and mayors, and look at the absolute fraud that has been initiated against everybody. Anti-abortion people are praying and going to prison. Look at Donald Trump and all these false charges. Their entire reason for doing this is to bring total destruction to America.”

On the economic front, Quayle says, “This is a heavy responsibility for people to understand, and bank bail-ins are coming. We have so many banks on the problem list or the ‘watch list.’ Even Fed Chairman Powell said, ‘our debt is unsustainable.’ For the first time, all IRS revenue cannot cover the interest on the debt, which is $1.5 trillion. That’s trillion with a ‘T.’ Banks are desperate, and what I am seeing is people who have had full access to their money are being prohibited from wiring money out. A lot of people do not realize this, but banks now have the right, if they get into trouble, to bail themselves out with your funds.” Quayle’s sources say that both Japan and Germany are facing huge financial trouble right now, and either of them could start a daisy chain of financial implosion around the world at any time.

Quayle also brought up news about the construction of FEMA type camps popping up around the country. Quayle says they are not holding centers, they are extermination centers. There is much more in the 62-minute in-depth interview."

- https://usawatchdog.com/

Join Greg Hunter on Rumble who goes one-on-one with 

Steve Quayle as he talks about his new DVD called “Earth in the Crosshairs”.

- https://rumble.com/

o

The religiously based assertions and beliefs expressed by Hunter 

and Quayle are presented for your consideration. Believe what you will...

Canadian Prepper, "Something Unexpected Happened to Our Family... A WARNING About SHTF"

Canadian Prepper, 7/6/24

"Something Unexpected Happened to Our Family... 

A WARNING About SHTF"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Jeremiah Babe, "President Sleepy Joe Interview, Dazed And Confused; Broke Friends Moving Into Your House"

Jeremiah Babe, 7/6/24

"President Sleepy Joe Interview, Dazed And Confused; 

Broke Friends Moving Into Your House"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: Liquid Mind, "Shadows of White"

Liquid Mind, "Shadows of White"

"A Look to the Heavens"

“The beautiful Trifid Nebula, also known as Messier 20, is easy to find with a small telescope in the nebula rich constellation Sagittarius. About 5,000 light-years away, the colorful study in cosmic contrasts shares this well-composed, nearly 1 degree wide field with open star cluster Messier 21 (top right).

Trisected by dust lanes the Trifid itself is about 40 light-years across and a mere 300,000 years old. That makes it one of the youngest star forming regions in our sky, with newborn and embryonic stars embedded in its natal dust and gas clouds. Estimates of the distance to open star cluster M21 are similar to M20's, but though they share this gorgeous telescopic skyscape there is no apparent connection between the two. In fact, M21's stars are much older, about 8 million years old.”

- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140828.html

Chet Raymo, “The (Unattainable) Thing Itself”

“The (Unattainable) Thing Itself”

by Chet Raymo

“Clear water in a brilliant bowl,

Pink and white carnations. The light

In the room more like a snowy air,

Reflecting snow. A newly-fallen snow

At the end of winter when afternoons return.

Pink and white carnations - one desires

So much more than that. The day itself

Is simplified: a bowl of white,

Cold, a cold porcelain, low and round,

With nothing more than the carnations there.”

"Simplicity. Morning. Forty minutes till sunrise. Coffee. An English muffin. Sit on the terrace. The sky a deep violet. Then rose. Then gold. Simplicity. The senses fill to overbrimming, displacing thought. The moment is sweet and pure. Distilled. The shackles of conscience fall away. One simply is.

“Say even that this complete simplicity

Stripped one of all one's torments, concealed

The evilly compounded, vital I

And made it fresh in a world of white,

A world of clear water, brilliant-edged,

Still one would want more, one would need more,

More than a world of white and snowy scents.”

Now I wait with my eyes fixed on that place along the horizon where the Sun will rise. The sky itself holds its breath, anticipates the flash of green. I try, I try to empty myself, Zenlike, to become an empty vessel for nature to fill. A gathering vessel, brilliant edged. To exist entirely in the moment, outside of time, this moment, just now, now, as the disk of the Sun bubbles up on the sea horizon, that orb of of molten gold.

“There would still remain the never-resting mind,

So that one would want to escape, come back

To what had been so long composed.

The imperfect is our paradise.

Note that, in this bitterness, delight,

Since the imperfect is so hot in us,

Lies in flawed words and stubborn sounds.”

It's no use, of course. No way to obviate the conscious mind. Perhaps a Zen master might do it, a mystic in transport, a drunken sailor who walks into a lamppost. Even as the Sun's disk inflates, swells, unaccountably huge, the mind parses, frames, construes. I close my eyes to shut out thought and the words fill up the space behind my eyelids. The thing itself is out of reach, the moment adulterated by mind. The blessing of consciousness. And the curse."

- http://blog.sciencemusings.com/

(The three stanzas are Wallace Stevens' "The Poems of Our Climate.")

"Knowing..."

“Knowing can be a curse on a person’s life. I’d traded in a pack of lies for a pack of truth, and I didn’t know which one was heavier. Which one took the most strength to carry around? It was a ridiculous question, though, because once you know the truth, you can’t ever go back and pick up your suitcase of lies. Heavier or not, the truth is yours now.”

- Sue Monk Kidd

Dan, I Allegedly, "The Mafia Shakedown - State Farm's Shocking Move"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly, 7/6/24

"The Mafia Shakedown - 

State Farm's Shocking Move"

"Insurance companies have raised their rates over 20% in the last year. Some people have gotten triple and quadruple increases. They want more or they’re going to leave."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Wars And Rumors Of Wars: The Middle East"

"‘Hamas Has Never Been Stronger':

Israel Is Stuck In A War It Can’t Win"

by Leo Hohmann

Excerpt: "Through April, the IDF had targeted more than 32,000 military sites belonging to Hamas and its allies. In June, Israel announced that 15,000 of the group's militants had been eliminated. But experts are certain those measures won’t eradicate the Islamic group that has been in charge of Gaza since 2007.

“We are advancing to the end of the stage of eliminating the Hamas terrorist army,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday, addressing the cadets of Israel National Defense College. “I was very impressed by the achievements above ground and below ground, and by the commanders’ fighting spirit. With this spirit we will achieve our objectives: Returning our hostages, eliminating Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, ensuring that Gaza will not constitute a threat...” he added.

Since October 7, 2023 – when hordes of Hamas militants attacked Israel and killed more than 1,500 people – Israel has eliminated dozens of Hamas tunnels. It has seized weapons depots and cash, destroyed various military sites, killed operatives of Hamas and of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and captured thousands others.

Victory Is Still Remote? But almost nine months in, Israel’s victory over Hamas still seems remote.Before the deadly October 7 attack, the Islamic group that has been in control of the Strip since 2007, boasted five brigades or 25 battalions with a total number of active combatants standing at 30,000. In June, Israel admitted that it had only eliminated half of that original force, or 15,000 Hamas combatants. On Tuesday evening, the country’s chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, said Israeli forces had killed at least 900 militants in Rafah, south of the Strip.

Reports suggest that Hamas is now actively recruiting new cadets, many of whom are 18 year-olds, to replenish its ranks, but even if they fail to reach their initial numbers, the existing battalions are more than enough to challenge Israel."

Full article is here:

- https://www.rt.com/

"Actively recruiting new cadets?" There's no shortage from the families of the slaughtered 38,000 old people, men, women and 16,000 CHILDREN these monsters have killed...

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Full screen recommended.

Scott Ritter, 7/6/24

"Will Israel Launch 10 Kiloton Nuclear Weapon 

At Hezbollah? Worst Nightmare!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

If the Israelis used a neutron bomb an hour later 

Tel Aviv would be a huge bowl of radioactive molten glass...

o

Full screen recommended.

Times Of India, 7/6/24

"Hamas Surprises Israel, U.S., And Arab Nations 

With This New Move On Gaza"

In a surprising turn of events, Hamas has tentatively agreed to a U.S.-supported proposal for a phased ceasefire in Gaza, dropping its demand for an upfront commitment from Israel to end the war. This unexpected move by Hamas could pave the way for a ceasefire for the first time since November. However, a truce deal is still not guaranteed.

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Free Download: Alexander Solzhenitsyn, “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”

“One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”

by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

“One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” is, as the title suggests, a simple story of one day in the life of Ivan Shukov Denisovich, a prisoner in a Soviet concentration camp. Shukov, a simple Russian peasant fighting for Stalin in WWII, is imprisoned for treason – a crime he did not commit – and has spent the last 8 years in concentration camps. Shukov’s day begins at 5.00 a.m. with the clang of the reveille – he is, along with the other prisoners, marched out into the bitter cold, stripped and searched for forbidden objects, and then sent to work until sundown, without rest, without a full stomach. In this slim 143 page-novella, we follow Shukov’s grueling routine and see how he struggles to maintain his dignity in small, subtle ways. On this day, he has scored some small triumphs for himself – he has swiped an extra bowl of mush at supper, found a piece of metal that can be used as a knife to mend things, replenished his precious tobacco supplies and also has had a share of a small piece of sausage before lights out. Thus, at the end of the day (and the novel), he thinks to himself that it has been “A day without a dark cloud. Almost a happy day.” He must survive only another 3653 days more.”

- http://www.book-review-circle.com/

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Freely download “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”,

by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, here:

- http://www.kkoworld.com/kitablar/

The Daily "Near You?"

Perryville, Arkansas, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Meaningful Warnings..."

“There are meaningful warnings which history gives a threatened or perishing society. Such are, for instance, the decadence of art, or a lack of great statesmen. There are open and evident warnings, too. The center of your democracy and of your culture is left without electric power for a few hours only, and all of a sudden crowds of American citizens start looting and creating havoc. The smooth surface film must be very thin, then, the social system quite unstable and unhealthy. But the fight for our planet, physical and spiritual, a fight of cosmic proportions, is not a vague matter of the future; it has already started. The forces of Evil have begun their offensive; you can feel their pressure, and yet your screens and publications are full of prescribed smiles and raised glasses. What is the joy about?”

- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

"Lady In Red Coffee Hour"

"Lady In Red Coffee Hour"

Be kind to yourself, take a break from it all, view the many short works

 and savor this exquisitely beautiful website. Sound on. Incredibly wonderful...

- https://www.facebook.com/

Adventures With Danno, "Outrageous Price Increases At Walmart!"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, AM 7/6/24

"Outrageous Price Increases At Walmart!"

In today's vlog, we are at Walmart and are noticing some outrageous price increases on groceries! This is not good as grocery prices have already reached an all-time high! It's getting rough out here as more and more families struggle to put food on the table!

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"How It Really Is"