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The cult of ignorance in the U.S.: Anti-intellectualism and the dumbing of America – 2nd of two parts

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR:

Dear readers,

Do you believe the people in the U.S. are becoming less and less intelligent and that their increased use of artificial intelligence like computers and social media have anything to do with it? The following article, written by Ray Williams in the science magazine Psychology Today could open a new way of thinking on the subject. This is the Second Part of a Series of Two.

by Ray Williams
psychologytoday.com

According to a 2006 survey by National Geographic-Roper, nearly half of Americans between ages 18 and 24 do not think it necessary to know the location of other countries in which important news is being made. More than a third consider it “not at all important” to know a foreign language, and only 14 percent consider it “very important;”

According to the National Endowment for the Arts report in 1982, 82% of college graduates read novels or poems for pleasure; two decades later only 67% did. And more than 40% of Americans under 44 did not read a single book–fiction or nonfiction–over the course of a year. The proportion of 17 year olds who read nothing (unless required by school ) has doubled between 1984-2004;

Gallup released a poll indicating 42 percent of Americans still believe God created human beings in their present form less than 10,000 years ago;

A 2008 University of Texas study found that 25 percent of public school biology teachers believe that humans and dinosaurs inhabited the earth simultaneously.

In American schools, the culture exalts the athlete and good-looking cheerleader. Well-educated and intellectual students are commonly referred to in public schools and the media as “nerds,” “dweebs,” “dorks,” and “geeks,” and are relentlessly harassed and even assaulted by the more popular “jocks” for openly displaying any intellect. 

These anti-intellectual attitudes are not reflected in students in most European or Asian countries, whose educational levels have now equaled and will surpass that of the U.S.  And most TV shows or movies such as The Big Bang Theory depict intellectuals as being geeks if not effeminate.

John W. Traphagan, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Texas, argues the problem is that Asian countries have core cultural values that are more akin to a cult of intelligence and education than a cult of ignorance and anti-intellectualism. In Japan, for example, teachers are held in high esteem and normally viewed as among the most important members of a community. There is suspicion and even disdain for the work of teachers that occurs in the U.S. Teachers in Japan typically are paid significantly more than their peers in the U.S. The profession of teaching is one that is seen as being of central value in Japanese society and those who choose that profession are well compensated in terms of salary, pension, and respect for their knowledge and their efforts on behalf of children.

In addition, we do not see in Japan significant numbers of the types of religious schools that are designed to shield children from knowledge about basic tenets of science and accepted understandings of history–such as evolutionary theory or the religious views of the Founding Fathers, who were largely deists–which are essential to having a fundamental understanding of the world, Traphagan contends. The reason for this is because in general Japanese value education, value the work of intellectuals, and see a well-educated public with a basic common knowledge in areas of scientific fact, math, history, literature, etc. as being an essential foundation to a successful democracy.

We’re creating a world of dummies. Angry dummies who feel they have the right, the authority and the need not only to comment on everything, but to make sure their voice is heard above the rest, and to drag down any opposing views through personal attacks, loud repetition and confrontation.

Bill Keller, writing in the New York Times argues that the anti-intellectual elitism is not an elitism of wisdom, education, experience or knowledge. The new elite are the angry social media posters, those who can shout loudest and more often, a clique of bullies and malcontents baying together like dogs cornering a fox. Too often it’s a combined elite of the anti-intellectuals and the conspiracy followers – not those who can voice the most cogent, most coherent response. Together they foment a rabid culture of anti-rationalism where every fact is suspect; every shadow holds a secret conspiracy. Rational thought is the enemy. Critical thinking is the devil’s tool.
Keller also notes that the herd mentality takes over online; the anti-intellectuals become the metaphorical equivalent of an angry lynch mob when anyone either challenges one of the mob beliefs or posts anything outside the mob’s self-limiting set of values.

Keller blames this in part to the online universe that “skews young, educated and attentive to fashions.” Fashion, entertainment, spectacle, voyeurism – we’re directed towards trivia, towards the inconsequential, towards unquestioning and blatant consumerism. This results in intellectual complacency. People accept without questioning, believe without weighing the choices, join the pack because in a culture where convenience rules, real individualism is too hard work. Thinking takes too much time: it gets in the way of the immediacy of the online experience.

Reality TV and pop culture presented in magazines and online sites claim to provide useful information about the importance of The Housewives of [you name the city] that can somehow enrich our lives. After all, how else can one explain the insipid and pointless stories that tout divorces, cheating and weight gain? How else can we explain how the Kardashians,or Paris Hilton are known for being famous for being famous without actually contributing anything worth discussion? The artificial events of their lives become the mainstay of populist media to distract people from the real issues and concerns facing us.

The current trend of increasing anti-intellectualism now establishing itself in politics and business leadership, and supported by a declining education system should be a cause for concern for leaders and the general population,one that needs to be addressed now.

Ten reasons not to vaccinate

by D. Samuelson

How difficult it must be for parents to make a decision whether or not to vaccinate their child. In today’s increasingly draconian society, the right to exempt out of injecting your tiny ones with a concoction of toxic ingredients is being fought in legislators’ offices, and not in the hearts and minds of parents. The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) reported that in 2015, “state legislatures across the United States experienced an unprecedented flood of bills backed by the pharmaceutical and medical trade industries to restrict or remove personal belief vaccine exemptions, expand electronic vaccine tracking systems, and require more vaccines for children in school and adults in the workplace.” The stakes are high.

Here are ten reasons to not take the word of pharmaceutical companies or physicians over your own common sense. Natural News has the details, with excerpts republished from Michelle Goldstein’s article on Vactruth.com.

“1. Vaccines have never been proven safe or effective. Vaccine studies funded by pharmaceutical companies compare vaccine “side-effects” from one vaccine to another. True, scientific, double-blind placebo studies have never been conducted on vaccines to determine their safety.

2. Vaccines do NOT work. They may create a temporary increase in antibodies for a particular disease, but this does not equate to immunity to disease.

3. The very first vaccine was a disaster. . .The history of small pox vaccines demonstrates that the first vaccine resulted in an increase in the disease and created additional serious health consequences including syphilis and deaths.

4. Vaccines are highly profitable for pharmaceutical companies and the health care industry. Strong financial incentives exist to continue this practice, not effectiveness.

5. All vaccines contain a number of toxic poisons and chemicals that are linked to serious neurological damage including aluminum, thimerosal (methyl mercury), antibiotics, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and formaldehyde. Other dangerous substances found in vaccines include antifreeze, lead, cadmium, glycerine, acetone, and yeast proteins.
6. Every study comparing unvaccinated to vaccinated children demonstrates that unvaccinated children enjoy far superior health. Unvaccinated children generally do not suffer from upper respiratory illnesses, ear infections, autism, ADHD, asthma, allergies, auto-immune disorders and other diseases, in comparison to those vaccinated.

7. Vaccines cause a host of ‘chronic, incurable, and life threatening diseases,’ including autism, asthma, ADHD, auto-immune disorders, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, food allergies and brain damage.

8. The only way to create true life-long immunity to a disease is through natural exposure to the disease in which the body creates true antibodies and immunity on many levels.
9. Vaccines kill infants, children and adults. Strong evidence links vaccines to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). More than one hundred previously healthy young women have died as a result of the HPV vaccine. The flu vaccine has been documented as awarding the most money for serious health injuries, including death.

“The long term effects of vaccines are unknown. It is a medical experiment of one’s health for which no one knows the long-term health consequences. US children are given far more vaccines at younger ages compared to other countries. Infant mortality rates for US children are one of the worst in the world, especially compared to countries who vaccinate their children less and who have wisely raised vaccination ages.

10. If you or a loved one suffers from a vaccine injury, pharmaceutical companies and physicians hold no medical liability. In 1986, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act was formed, eliminating the ability to directly sue pharmaceutical companies or health care practitioners responsible for vaccine injuries.”
Make your choices carefully.

The fight isn’t over for farmworkers overtime work hours pay

ARVIN, CA - 11JUNE14 - A crew of farm workers pulls weeds in a field of organic potatoes. Because it is an organic crop, the grower, Cal Organics, can't use herbicide, and has to hire workers to remove the weeds before harvesting the potatoes. The crew is made up of immigrant Mexican families, and works for forelady Aurora Gonzalez. Copyright David Bacon

by David Bacon

For the state’s first hundred-plus years, certain unspoken rules governed California politics. In a state where agriculture produced more wealth than any industry, the first rule was that growers held enormous power.

Tax dollars built giant water projects that turned the Central and Imperial Valleys into some of the nation’s most productive farmland. Land ownership was concentrated in huge corporate plantation-like farms. Growers used political power to assure a steady flow of workers from one country after another-Japan, China, the Philippines, Yemen, India, and of course Mexico-to provide the labor that made the land productive.

Agribusiness kept farm labor cheap, at wages far below those of people in the state’s growing urban centers. When workers sought to change their economic condition, grower power in rural areas was near absolute-strikes were broken and unions were kept out.

The second unwritten rule was therefore that progressive movements grew more easily in the cities, where unions and community organizations became political forces to be reckoned with. In the legislature, these rules generally meant that Democrats and pro-labor proposals came from urban districts, while resistance came from Republicans in rural constituencies.

That historic divide in California politics is changing, however.

On June 2 the State Assembly failed to pass a bill that would give farm workers the same overtime pay that workers in urban areas have had since the 1930s. In the outcome, echoes can still be heard of those old rules. But the vote also makes clear that past certainties are certain no longer.

Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, which established the nation’s first overtime pay requirement-time and a half after forty hours in a week. In the debate, Congress members from the South, heavily dependent on Black workers in cotton and tobacco, opposed making the law apply to farm labor.

Representative J. Mark Wilcox of Florida openly justified this exclusion: “Then there is another matter of great importance in the South, and that is the problem of our Negro labor,” he declared. “There has always been a difference in the wage scale of white and colored labor… You cannot put the Negro and the white man on the same basis and get away with it. Not only would such a situation result in grave social and racial conflicts but it would also result in throwing the Negro out of employment and in making him a public charge.”

The enslavement of African Americans set a pattern of inequality that lasted long after slavery itself was abolished, and the pattern was then applied to other people of color. While the descendants of slaves worked without overtime pay on the farms of the South, immigrants from Mexico and Asia faced the same exclusion in the West.
The rise of California’s farm worker movement began to change the power equation in the 1960s, however, forcing some growers to agree to union contracts, an unprecedented step. Yet even when the legislature debated the Agricultural Labor Relations Act in 1975, the nation’s first law guaranteeing union rights for farm workers, the votes in favor came from urban Democrats, while rural Republicans maintained a solid front against it.

Nevertheless, the farm workers movement sparked a sea change in the politics of rural California. Growers did not lose their power, but even in rural communities that power was no longer uncontested.

In 1975, the year the ALRA was passed, Democrats in the legislature also passed the first proposal to give farm workers overtime pay. But it was still a standard below that of other workers – time and a half after ten hours in a day instead of eight, and 60 hours a week instead of 40. Growers have to pay overtime on the seventh day of work, but only if none of the previous workdays are less than six hours. In practice, few California farm workers today get overtime pay.

Through the 1980s and ‘90s, when Republicans held the governorship and a majority in the legislature, changing that overtime rule was not in the cards. Even when Democrats regained their legislative majority and passed a bill to restore the 8-hour day to most California workers in 1999, farm workers were still excepted. Finally, in 2010, Democrats passed SB 1121 to remove the exception for farm workers in the 8-hour overtime standard. Then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed it.

In his veto message, Schwarzenegger said the 8-hour day and 40-hour week would “not improve the lives of California’s agricultural workers and instead will result in additional burdens on California’s businesses, increased unemployment and lower wages.” He used the argument put forward by grower groups in every overtime battle, predicting that “multiple crews will be hired to work shorter shifts, resulting in lower take-home pay for all workers. Businesses trying to compete under the new wage rules may become unprofitable and go out of business.”

In 2012 Assemblymember Michael Allen introduced a similar bill sponsored by the United Farm Workers. It passed the Senate, but this time it failed in the State Assembly. Fractures in the Assembly Democratic Caucus surprised even the state horse breeders association, part of the grower opposition to the bill. It listed five Democrats “all of whom voted ‘no.’ (Amazing!),” including urban liberals like Joan Buchanan, Fiona Ma and Toni Atkins, as well as others, like Susan Bonilla who skipped the vote.

“Unfortunately, there are a lot of terrible reasons why farm workers have been excluded for 74 years,” UFW President Arturo Rodriguez commented bitterly at the time. “Often people ask us why? As should now be apparent, Democrats are just as vulnerable to big money as Republicans are.”

Due to lack of space we were unable to publish the complete story. To read the entire story please visit: http://davidbaconrealitycheck.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-fight-isnt-over-for-farm-worker_16.html

The stock market crash of 2016: stocks have already crashed in 6 of the 8 largest economies

The Chinese economy is the second largest on the entire planet, and since this time last year Chinese stocks are down an astounding 40 percent

by Michael Snyder
Economic Collapse

Over the past 12 months, stock market investors around the planet have lost trillions of dollars.

Since this time last June, stocks have crashed in 6 of the world’s 8 largest economies, and stocks in the other two are down as well. The charts that you are about to see are absolutely stunning, and they are clear evidence that a new global financial crisis has already begun. Of course it is true that we are still in the early chapters of this new crisis and that there is much, much more damage to be done, but let us not minimize the carnage that we have already witnessed.

In general, there have been three major waves of financial panic over the past 12 months. Late last August we saw the biggest financial shaking since the financial crisis of 2008, then in January and February there was an even bigger shaking, and now a third “wave” has begun in June. Not all areas around the globe have been affected equally by each wave, but without a doubt this new financial crisis is a global phenomenon.

The charts that I am about to show you come from Trading Economics. It is an absolutely indispensable website that is packed full of useful data, and I encourage everyone to check it out.

Let’s talk about China first. The Chinese economy is the second largest on the entire planet, and since this time last year Chinese stocks are down an astounding 40 percent…

As things have started to unravel in China, the Chinese have been selling off U.S. debt and U.S. stocks like crazy. The following comes from Bloomberg…

For the past year, Chinese selling of Treasuries has vexed investors and served as a gauge of the health of the world’s second-largest economy.

The People’s Bank of China, owner of the world’s biggest foreign-exchange reserves, burnt through 20 percent of its war chest since 2014, dumping about $250 billion of U.S. government debt and using the funds to support the yuan and stem capital outflows.

While China’s sales of Treasuries have slowed, its holdings of U.S. equities are now showing steep declines.

Unfortunately for China, their economy just continues to slow down, and George Soros is so alarmed by this and a potential “Brexit” that he has been selling off stocks and buying enormous amounts of gold in anticipation of an even bigger global downturn.

Japan has the third largest economy in the world, and over the past year Japanese stocks are down a total of 26 percent from the peak…

Personally, I have been extremely alarmed by what has been happening in Japan lately. Japanese stocks were down almost 500 points last night, and overall the Nikkei is down a whopping 1,800 points so far in June.

Of course the Japanese economy as a whole is essentially a basket case at this point. For a detailed analysis of this, please see my previous article entitled “Watch Japan – For All Is Not Well In The Land Of The Rising Sun“.
Germany has the fourth largest economy in the world, and over the past year their stocks have fallen 19 percent from the peak of the market…

The key thing to watch for in Germany are serious troubles at their biggest bank. I wrote a long article about the slow-motion implosion of Deutsche Bank last month, and just this week Deutsche Bank stock hit an all-time low.

The fifth largest economy on the planet belongs to the United Kingdom, and since last June their stocks have fallen about 13 percent…

One week from today, the “Brexit” vote will be held in the UK, and if they vote to leave the EU that could have very serious economic and financial implications for them and for the rest of Europe as well. For an in-depth look at this, please see my previous article entitled “June 23, 2016: The Brexit Vote Could Change EVERYTHING And Plunge Europe Into Financial Chaos.“

France has the sixth largest economy in the world, and over the past year French stocks are down 20 percent from the peak of the market…

The French economy is really struggling these days, and we have not heard much about it in the U.S. media, but there have been tremendous riots in major cities in France in recent weeks.

The seventh largest economy on our planet belongs to India. Even though India is facing some very serious economic problems, their stocks are doing okay for the moment. Even though stocks in India are down over the past 12 months, we have not seen a major financial crisis over there just yet.

But there is definitely a major crisis in the eighth largest economy in the world. Italian stocks are down a staggering 32 percent from the peak of the market. That means approximately a third of all stock market wealth in Italy is already gone…

Earlier this year, I wrote about the horrifying collapse of the Italian banking system that has greatly accelerated since the start of 2016. It looks like virtually all of their big banks will ultimately need to be bailed out, and this threatens to become a far bigger crisis than the crisis in Greece ever was.

And let us not leave off the ninth largest economy in the world. Not too long ago, CNN ran an article entitled “Brazil: Economic collapse worse than feared“. So not only are they admitting that the ninth largest economy on the globe is collapsing, they are also admitting that it is even worse than what the experts had anticipated.
So did I leave anyone off the list?

Ah yes, I haven’t even addressed what has been going on in the United States yet.

U.S. stocks did crash last August, but then they recovered.

Then they crashed again in January, but then they recovered again.

Now U.S. stocks have been taking another tumble here in June, but we are being assured that there is nothing to worry about.

Meanwhile, the underlying numbers for the U.S. economy just continue to get worse and worse and worse. If you have any doubt about this, please see the article that I posted yesterday entitled “15 Facts About The Imploding U.S. Economy That The Mainstream Media Doesn’t Want You To See.“

Hopefully this article will clear a lot of things up. In this piece, I have presented undeniable evidence that a new global financial crisis has begun over the past 12 months. We have not seen global stock declines of this nature since the great financial crisis of 2008, but much worse is still to come.

I would love to be wrong about that last part.

It would be wonderful if the worst was now behind us and good times for the global financial system were ahead.
Unfortunately, every single indicator that I am watching is telling me just the opposite.

Remembering probably the founder of the first Spanish newspaper in SF – my father

by Marvin Ramírez

José Santos Ramírez Calero (1916-2004)

For most of us, perhaps there aren’t more important and impacting dates like the ones when a very loved one passes away, to continue the journey we all will take sooner or later.

To me, this memorable date is June 12, when my father José Santos Ramírez Calero, a warrior of letters succumbed to his dead after a short but fast illness of cancer, and Alzheimer. It happened just a few days before Father’s Day on June 15. And as this month of June is almost history, and my father has been gone since 2004, I can only remember and share with you my readers, what a great guy was Ramírez Nieto, as he used to sign his name in El Nuevo Demócrata, his twice-a-month newspaper he started in 1938 in Nicaragua.

He republished it for a few years when he migrated to San Francisco in 1945, and stopped publishing it when he returned to his country, where he resumed his work at the daily, La Noticia. He worked there for 45 years.
When I am writing and putting together every edition El Reportero every week, I feel the pain of not having him with me, watching me write, checking the spelling or correcting the style, as he did in the beginning when I started the paper. But soon he started complaining that he was forgetting things, so he didn’t want to do a bad job. So he quit helping me.

Ramírez Nieto, which means grandson, was the son of José Santos Ramírez Estrada, a U.S.-graduated electrical engineer who became famous and wealthy in Managua, when he brought from the U.S., giant and loud speakers that he placed on top of his car, which helped him grow a very profitable advertising business. People in Nicaragua still call the whole ensemble, “barata,” which means bargain, cheap, big sale. Its used to announce sales or events in the absence of radio or television at the time, as was the case in the 1920s.

My dad, Ramírez Nieto, however, left his own legacy, and Nicaraguan people in this part of the world, San Francisco, should have good reasons to remember him.

A journalist since he was 10 years old – he published the first newspaper in Spanish, unless there is evidence to proof the contrary.

El Nuevo Demócrata, of similar tabloid-size as El Reportero, so far it’s the only known to be the first newspaper published in San Francisco in Spanish.

I hope some day be able to erect a statue of José Santos Ramírez Calero in his honor to commemorate his work on behalf of the freedom of the press and his contribution to Spanish-language journalism in San Francisco.

La Gente with its Trío Show

Compiled by the El Reportero’s staff

The best deal in town for live music, artisan tapas and art exhibitions is back! Arte y tapas at 83 Proof! This event features live concert by La Gente Trio, Artwork by DJ Agana and 3 courses of delicious artisan tapas by Lovage Cooking all included with admission.

So we are really excited to invite you to our intimate Trio show
this Sunday June 19th @ 83 Proof as part of arte y tapas! 
At 83 1st Street, SF, at 6 p.m. Cover charge $13.

El “Día de San Juan” salsa festival brings hottest sounds to the Bay Area

Bay Area Puerto Ricans celebrate their heritage with a day of live music, salsa dancing and authentic food at History Park in San Jose on Saturday, June 18, 2016. Keeping the Puerto Rican culture alive and now in its 38th year, El “Dia de San Juan” festival is by far one of the most favored events within the Puerto Rican community, nationalities of all flavors, salseros y salseras, and the public at-large. This scholarship fundraiser event features talented musicians playing the best that salsa offers– both classico‘ y nuevo.

This Puerto Rican festival has grown into a significant family and community event with over 2,000 supporters enjoying the open space of History Park. The music-filled day includes NYC favorite Jose Mangual, Jr. “Campañero” and local talents of Mazacote with Louie Romero, Julio Bravo y Orquesta Salsabor, Eric Rangel y Orquesta America, La Mixta Criolla con Hector Lugo.

The public is invited to celebrate the day. Doors open at 11:00 am. Advance tickets are $15 online and available at wrprc.org. Admission is $25 day of the event.

Saturday, June 18, 2016 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., at History Park, 1650 Senter Road, San Jose.

John Leguizamo Returns to the Bay Area with John Leguizamo: Latin History of Morons

The outrageous, multifaceted performer attempts to teach his son (and the rest of us) about the marginalization of Latinos in U.S. history and the vital roles they played in building this country. From a satirical recap of Aztec and Incan history to stories of Latin patriots in the Revolutionary and Civil War and beyond, Leguizamo breaks down 3,000 years into 90 irreverent and uncensored minutes in his trademark comedic style.

History was never so mind-blowing…or hysterical! Latin History for Morons plays July 1-August 14 at Berkeley Rep. Discounts for under 30. Bring a group: Buy 10, save $10 (each ticket!). Visit BerkeleyRep.org for tickets. 
“My Brother’s Keeper? Expressions of Our World Today” art exhibition.

Are we our brother’s keeper? When it comes to the earth, equality, and the harmony of our fellow humans, do we bear a responsibility, regardless of who or where we may be? Back To The Picture presents six artists and their vision of our world today through powerful depictions on our present state.

Join us in July for a commentary, sometimes raw and intense, sometimes playful. What at first may seem light on the surface, soon pulls a deeper truth from within.

On display works of Art Hazlewood, Jessie Aquire, Kathy Aoki, Consuelo Jiménez-Underwood, Mark Harris, Robyn Kralique. July 3 – 31, 2016 Curated by Derek Hargrove.

Opening reception with the artists Saturday, July 9, 2016 7-10 p.m.

Cuba will premiere German film in European Film Festival

by the El Reportero’s news service

The German film No System is Safe is premiering today on the third day of the first European Film Festival in Cuba.

The 106-minute film, directed by Bahan Bo Odar, tells the story of shy Benjamin. His life changes when he meets Max, with whom he shares a love for hacking.

Winner in the Bavarian Film Awards Prize 2015 for Best Director, the film will be screened at La Rampa theater movie in Havana the main venue of the event.

Ana Guallarte, cultural and cooperation attache of the European Union embassy in Havana, stressed the interest of the members of the regional bloc in making this event an reality.

The Festival, which was held from June 11 to 18, proposes to Cuban film goers about 20 films from Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Slovakia, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Portugal and Romania.

The usual German Film Week will take place here in late June. It is co-sponsored by the German embassy in Havana and the Cuban Film Library.

Leonardo DiCaprio as Persian poet Rumi in new film

An Oscar-winning screenwriter has agreed to work on a biopic about the 13th-century Persian poet and philosopher Jalaluddin al-Rumi who could have Leonardo DiCarpio as lead actor.

David Franzoni, who wrote the script for the 2000 blockbuster Gladiator, and Stephen Joel Brown, a producer on the Rumi film, said they wanted to challenge the stereotypical portrayal of Muslim characters in western cinema by charting the life of the great Sufi scholar.

Producers hope to begin shooting the film next year.

Rumi’s spiritual and mystical epics, the Masnavi and the Divan, are widely considered among the best poetry ever written and have been translated into numerous languages.

Franzoni and Brown said they would like Leonardo DiCaprio to play Rumi, and Robert Downey Jr to star as Shams of Tabriz, though they said it was too early to begin casting.

With things like this one, Hollywood once again goes in to the custom of using caucasian actors to represent people from other ethnic origins.


Eric Clapton struggling to play guitar because of nerve system damage

Eric Clapton, one of the most iconic guitarists of the rock era, is struggling to play the instrument on which he made his name.

Nerve damage and age are robbing Eric Clapton’s ability to play the guitar. For years Clapton,also known as Slowhand, whose career encompassed playing with John Mayall, Cream and the first “super group” Blind Faith, lived a life of rock and roll excess.

The 71-year-old revealed his condition in an interview with Classic Guitar magazine, saying that he’s “been in a lot of pain the last year.”

“It started with lower back pain and turned into what they call peripheral neuropathy, which is where you feel like you have electric shocks going down your leg. And I’ve had to figure out how to deal with some other things from getting old.”

Despite these setbacks, the rocker remains prolific, recently releasing I Still Do, his 23rd solo album that he support with performances in Tokyo. He even expressed surprise at his own longevity.

He is considered one of the best guitar players in the world. He was born in March 30 of 1945 and stated his music career in the seventies.

One detailed chart exposes exactly how the Bilderberg group controls the world

by Jay Syrmopoulos

Dresden, Germany – It’s one of the most secretive and powerful organizations you’ve probably never heard of; the Bilderberg Group. With virtually no mainstream corporate media coverage of the event, the ultra-exclusive 2016 meeting of the Bilderberg Group, being held at the Taschenbergpalais hotel in Dresden, kicked off on June 9.

Nearly 130 politicians, financiers, and industrialists are attending this year’s conference, with the guest list including the chief of the International Monetary Fund, as well as the former heads of the CIA and MI6. What was once considered among the world’s most secretive meetings, the Bilderberg Meeting, has been held annually since 1954. Until recent decades, the actual existence of the meetings had been generally disregarded by the mainstream media as nothing more than a fringe “conspiracy theory.”

The annual meeting of the global power players — including representatives from government, private industry, media, finance, think tanks, academia, as well as numerous other organizations representing both private and public interests — began their closed-door sessions amid a heavily-armed security presence, and extremely little in the way of transparency — with journalist being arrested.

“No minutes will be taken. No reporters will be allowed in. There will be no opening press conference, no closing statement, and participants will be asked not to quote each other,” the UK Independent says of the 64th Bilderberg Conference, which began on Thursday at the Taschenbergpalais hotel in Dresden, Germany.

Participants are bound by what’s known as the Chatham House Rule, which allows people to make use of the information they’ve received, but not reveal the identity or affiliation of the person who gave it to them. With so many high-powered attendees and so little media coverage, many question the actual intent of the annual meeting.

Some perceive the gathering as a giant “corporate lobbying” event, while others assign more nefarious intentions of creating regimes of global governance to the meetings. The one thing that is certain is that the gathering allows for the world’s power players to meet in secret and have “off the record” discussions without the public being aware of the details discussed, nor the informal agreements agreed to by attendees.

“All those finance ministers sitting round discussing the ‘geopolitics of energy and commodity prices’ with the group chief executive of BP, the vice-chairman of Portuguese petroleum giant Galp Energia, and the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell. And then afterwards saying nothing to their respective parliaments about what they discussed. It’s so off-the-chart inappropriate that it beggars comprehension,” according to The Guardian
.
Make no mistake that the fortunes of kings are created at this event, as the fates of future presidents and prime ministers have seemingly been decided at Bilderberg.

“Bill Clinton was a conference attendee in 1991, as a mere governor of Arkansas, a year before he was elected U.S. President. Tony Blair was only a shadow minister when he got his invitation … in 1993,” said The Independent.

Coincidentally, (or more likely not) Blair became the prime minister of the United Kingdom in 1997.

While there is a publicly posted agenda, this does little in the way of allowing for the public to have an informed say in, or understanding of the frameworks and decisions made in these private meetings between some of the most powerful individuals in society, who essentially control the levers of Western power, and whose decisions have an inordinate amount of influence over the lives of almost every person on the planet.

Considering that these attendees have such a significant presence within private industry, state and global governance, and the overall geopolitical direction of the world, the fact that the details are hidden from public purview is deeply disturbing to anyone that believes in an accountable and transparent global society.

To help readers better understand this complicated web of top-down control, Zero Hedge has created a chart laying out the linkages and various connections of those in attendance. The graphic below exposes various connections and links – public, private, financial, political, statutory and otherwise – between a small group of individuals that are at the core of Bilderberg and the rest of the world. See the chart:
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/bilderberg-group_1.jpg

Jay Syrmopoulos is a political analyst, free thinker, researcher, and ardent opponent of authoritarianism. He is currently a graduate student at University of Denver pursuing a masters in Global Affairs. Jay’s work has been published on Ben Swann’s Truth in Media, Truth-Out, Raw Story, MintPress News, as well as many other sites. You can follow him on Twitter @sirmetropolis, on Facebook at Sir Metropolis and now on tsu.
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/bilderberg-group_1.jpg

The cult of ignorance in the U.S.: Anti-intellectualism and the dumbing of America – Part 1 of two

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR:

Dear readers,

Do you believe the people in the U.S. are becoming less and less intelligent and that their increased use of artificial intelligence like computers and social media have anything to do with it? The following article, written by Ray Williams in the science magazine Psycholgy Today could open a new way of thinking on the subject. This is the First Part of a Series of Two.

by Ray Williams
psychologytoday.com

There is a growing and disturbing trend of anti-intellectual elitism in American culture. It’s the dismissal of science, the arts, and humanities and their replacement by entertainment, self-righteousness, ignorance, and deliberate gullibility.

Susan Jacoby, author of The Age of American Unreason, says in an article in the Washington Post, “Dumbness, to paraphrase the late senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, has been steadily defined downward for several decades, by a combination of heretofore irresistible forces. These include the triumph of video culture over print culture; a disjunction between Americans’ rising level of formal education and their shaky grasp of basic geography, science and history; and the fusion of anti-rationalism with anti-intellectualism.”

There has been a long tradition of anti-intellectualism in America, unlike most other Western countries. Richard Hofstadter, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1964 for his book, Anti-Intellectualism In American Life, describes how the vast underlying foundations of anti-elite, anti-reason and anti-science have been infused into America’s political and social fabric. Famous science fiction writer Isaac Asimov once said:

“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”

Mark Bauerlein, in his book, The Dumbest Generation, reveals how a whole generation of youth is being dumbed down by their aversion to reading anything of substance and their addiction to digital “crap” via social media.
Journalist Charles Pierce, author of Idiot America, adds another perspective:

“The rise of idiot America today represents – for profit mainly, but also and more cynically, for political advantage in the pursuit of power – the breakdown of a consensus that the pursuit of knowledge is a good. It also represents the ascendancy of the notion that the people whom we should trust the least are the people who best know what they are talking about. In the new media age, everybody is an expert.”

“There’s a pervasive suspicion of rights, privileges, knowledge and specialization,” says Catherine Liu, the author of American Idyll: Academic Antielitism as Cultural Critique and a film and media studies professor at University of California. The very mission of universities has changed, argues Liu. “We don’t educate people anymore. We train them to get jobs.”

Part of the reason for the rising anti-intellectualism can be found in the declining state of education in the U.S. compared to other advanced countries:

After leading the world for decades in 25-34 year olds with university degrees, the U.S. is now in 12th place. The World Economic Forum ranked the U.S. at 52nd among 139 nations in the quality of its university math and science instruction in 2010. Nearly 50 percent of all graduate students in the sciences in the U.S. are foreigners, most of whom are returning to their home countries;

The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs commissioned a civic education poll among public school students. A surprising 77 percent didn’t know that George Washington was the first President; couldn’t name Thomas Jefferson as the author of the Declaration of Independence; and only 2.8 percent of the students actually passed the citizenship test. Along similar lines, the Goldwater Institute of Phoenix did the same survey and only 3.5 percent of students passed the civics test;

According to the National Research Council report, only 28 percent of high school science teachers consistently follow the National Research Council guidelines on teaching evolution, and 13 percent of those teachers explicitly advocate creationism or “intelligent design;”

Eighteen percent of Americans still believe that the sun revolves around the earth, according to a Gallup poll;
The American Association of State Colleges and Universities report on education shows that the U.S. ranks second among all nations in the proportion of the population aged 35-64 with a college degree, but 19th in the percentage of those aged 25-34 with an associate or high school diploma, which means that for the first time, the educational attainment of young people will be lower than their parents;

Seventy-four percent of Republicans in the U.S. Senate and 53 percent in the House of Representatives deny the validity of climate change despite the findings of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and every other significant scientific organization in the world;

According to the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress, 68 percent of public school children in the U.S. do not read proficiently by the time they finish third grade. And the U.S. News & World reported that barely 50 percent of students are ready for college level reading when they graduate. SECOND PART TO CONTINUE ON NEXT WEEK EDITION.

Five weeds that are actually pretty good medicines

by usafeaturesmedia

(Homesteading.news) Many people agree that weeds can cause a large amount of damage in their garden. For example, invasive weeds like Johnson grass and cogongrass expand rapidly and choke other low-growing flora.

Parasitical weeds that depend upon a host for sustenance, such as dodders and witchweed, are even more destructive. Then, of course, there are the noxious weeds, such as poison ivy and poison sumac, which contribute to little except worry amongst parents with small children. These are plants that deserve to be called “weeds.”

Many plants that are called weeds, however, are not so deserving. A few of them, such as lamb’s quarter, contain strong, penetrating roots that bring beneficial nitrogen and trace minerals from the subsoil to the surface. Others, like those listed below, contain considerable medicinal benefits — far more so, in fact, than any pharmaceutical drugs.

Dandelion

Think twice before you decide to throw away the latest dandelion growing in your garden. These yellow-headed plants are one of nature’s greatest sources of beta-carotene (from which the essential antioxidant, vitamin A, is made), and are also rich in protein, minerals, vitamins and essential fatty acids. Every part of the dandelion plant — from root to flower — is edible, and long-term consumption of them has been linked to improved cardiovascular and liver function, digestive benefits (including treatment for constipation) and, due to their diuretic properties, cleansing of the kidneys.

Stinging nettles

Anyone who’s been stung by the hairs of the nettle plant can easily understand why they’ve developed a reputation as an undesirable weed. In reality, though, the nettle plant is a powerhouse of nutrition. Its roots and leaves are rich in iron, calcium, and vitamins A and K, and it has been used to treat intestinal weakness, malnutrition, diarrhea and countless skin conditions for centuries in Europe. Moreover, 1 tablespoon of fresh nettle juice taken a couple of times a day has been shown to eliminate uric acid, a byproduct of protein digestion that accumulates in the tissues and joints, leading to painful inflammatory conditions like gout.

Burdock

The burdock — yes, that irritating plant that constantly attaches its hooked burrs to our clothing to spread its seed — is another weed with a heart of gold. In fact, burdock (including all its subspecies) is packed with phytochemicals that contain antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Consequently, burdock is good at treating skin conditions (especially acne, eczema and psoriasis), cardiovascular issues, and degenerative diseases like arthritis and cancer. Like dandelion, burdock also aids digestion by stimulating digestive secretions.

Amaranth

Though the West commonly regards amaranth as a pest, other countries acknowledge it as a vital grain and leaf vegetable. Like quinoa and buckwheat, amaranth grains are gluten-free, a complete protein and also a fantastic source of fiber, iron, fatty acids and numerous trace minerals. Regular consumption of them has been shown to reduce cholesterol levels and blood pressure, boost the immune system and treat a host of serious diseases (including cancer). Amaranth leaves, which are often boiled or steamed, are 90 percent digestible when cooked and contain similar health benefits to other leafy green plants such as kale, spinach and broccoli.

Purslane

Purslane, also called pigweed, is another medicinal weed that is a popular source of nutrition in the Third World, mostly because it thrives in poor soil. According to researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio, purslane leaves (which can be eaten as a cooked vegetable) contain more omega-3 fatty acids than any other edible plant, making them good for improving brain and cardiovascular function. The researchers also discovered that purslane contains between 10 and 20 times more of the cancer-inhibiting antioxidant, melatonin, than any other fruit or vegetable tested! (Natural News).

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