I don't suffer from any type of autism to my knowledge. But I do suffer from bipolar disorder. Which means when people label schizophrenic actions by leaders. Jumping from position to another contradicting themselves as being bipolar. Pisses me off a little I must admit. Supposed educated people do it all of the time. Bipolar is a condition where the sufferer, may be on the euphoric mood position for 3 or 4 months. Then swing to a low or depressive mood for months. Luckily I'm pretty much under control, not through medication. But eating the right diet & not drinking alcohol has stabilised me massively. I did tend to be mainly on the euphoric & bit manic side most of the time. Never did I get to a suicidal low level. Just reclusive & a loner. They were my most severe low traits. But it caused me all kinds of trouble in my younger days. You cope really well with your autism it must be said & your writings are greatly appreciated.
One of my best Japanese friends, who recruited me to work for Toyota's MENA division is bipolar. Yeah, he is up and down a lot but I worked well with him -- he was also very creative-- and we had synergy in developing programs for the ME and working within the framework of Islamic culture. I noticed he got a long quite well with Arabs and Muslims. I was able to set up a ME network of various specialists and at that time studied the Qu'ran and Hadiths. Bipolar people are sometimes very creative. Think of all the famous people who are bipolar. The genes for bipolar are likely inherited from our Paleo ancestors -- and were once useful for survival in the challenging last stage of the Pleistocene 50,000 years ago when we evolved "behavioral modernity" , a concept often challenged by those who see evolution as a long gradual process, rather than triggered by ecosystem challenges. The odd thing is that cognitive divergence, is once again being seen as a survival capability as it was 50, 000 years ago under the pressure of artificial ecosystems.
The Earth's climate & stages the Earth has went through. Are exactly the reason we've evolved the traits we have today. I do get on with all different ethnic groups I come into contact with & as for reading historic scriptures. I spent 12 months reading a couple of translations of a lot of the Sumerian tablets. As there was more controversy over the translations then.
Their psychological warfare against Venezuela and Iran has flopped. Trumps' Gaza Peace Board is dead on arrival. Trump has nothing to show for his MAGA cult followers but a fascist
police state.
NOW is the time for a Renaissance of humanity. The BRICs alternative led by Chinas' Xi Jinping and Putin, without letting its guard down, can march forward with the idea of Progess, a John Kennedy - Martin Luther King New Deal for America. The Peace Corps.
I like the direction you want us to go in, however, I'm not confident the US Empire is dead and I don't believe it's sponsors will let anything good happen.
The Dark Enlightenment religion of the TechnoNuts in dump's genes are out to kill off freedom for us and everybody else. They have glomed onto a belief system that fits into their particular pathology and they have huge amounts of money, attitude (sense of entitlement and NO empathy), greed, power and they now have a shared goal. That's a powerful concoction.
Yes, collective action can defeat even nut cases like them and their religion. The collective action, though, has to be multinational and include the majority of citizens. They know that and that's why they want to kill freedom and majority action and rule.
As I said, I like what you propose. I hope that it will happen.
By their actions, the empire is demonstrating its fear not its power.
They keep changing targets and narratives because they keep losing. From Gaza, to Caracas, to Tehran, humanity sees the roadkill of their deeds. A dying and desperate empire in its last gasp. Using a sledgehammer to kill a mosquito.
A course correction for the collapsing USA would require many things that are unlikely, if not straight up impossible, to happen: a sane, selfless, honest leadership in politics, economy and military (extremely unlikely in a system designed to put the most greedy idiot sociopaths in charge), long term planning (again, extremely unlikely in a system plagued by constant election cycles and doomed to short term demagoguery) and especially acceptance that the USA's time is over (and following Dimitri Orlov's suggestions: dismantling the MIC, repatriating military personnel from abroad, shutting down bases, mothballing a small part of military equipment and dismantling the rest - including especially the nuclear arsenal- , issuing a debt jubilee for common people and getting Wall Street and the bank-financial sector under tight governmental control, all of this also implying a radical change in habits and lifestyle for the average American making it a lot less wasteful and energy-consuming). Even one of these looks pretty impossible already, all of them at the same time - the only miracle that could soften the inevitable collapse - sound as likely as a supernova turning into a jar of lemon curd overnight. It's going to be bad, REALLY bad, and sooner than anyone thinks.
The rot is too deep by now. It's kinda like a terminal case of heroin addiction, cutting it off may very well be fatal, but doing nothing is assured to be lethal. There's no salvation to be had from the leadership (no KGB loyalists and no American Putin anywhere) so the only possible way would be a full blown revolution, but as far as I can tell there's zero human material for that. My guess would be a messy collapse not unlike the late Roman empire.
RE: autism- Spirit Horse International, a Handicapped Horse Riding group that certifies instructors who assist handicapped riders (Autism/spectrum disorder, special needs and PTSD)begun by Charles Fletcher in 2001. Early on he posited that autistic children had fewer Left lobe/Right lobe cross connections in their physical brains. He designed a method -riding in large left directed circles, then right directed circles- theorizing that the different directions would cause the alternate use of one lobe and then the other as the child concentrated on the riding, and would cause those connections to multiply. He was correct. 2 and 4 year old children who had never spoken, suddenly spoke for the first time. Subsequent MRI studies confirmed his theories.
My wife and I became certified instructor in 2009 and we opened an adjunct facility in 2009. We followed Mr Fletcher’s desires and never charged a fee for the dozens of students we worked with in Rhode Island at our farm for over 10 years, finally retiring as old bones caught up with us.
I write this not to seek attention but rather to note that even autism spectrum people can improve their sometimes limited communication and interactive abilities merely by interacting with the horses. And to further note that high functioning autistic individuals are in fact, people with a different physiology and perspective who can improve their interactive skills and in many cases can excel in society .
My congratulations to Mr. Macfarlane and thanks for his terrific writing and insights. I don’t always agree with him, but I never miss an article
Kudos to you. For a while back in Canada I worked as a substitute teacher in a BC school district. I alway seemed to get the same classes -- the ones that teachers didn't want to "teach" -- the "difficult kids". A lot of them were autistic. I enjoyed them. I liked them. We got along well. As you point out, ASD is not one thing. It can be severely debilitating for some, especially in learning to communicate. In that regard, animals help. You are right about horses, I think. I learned to ride at 12 and spent a lot of time talking to horses....LOL (who else would talk to me?). And, as you know, I saw animals as my best friends. As for "people" (the legged kind) that took time because I do not understand language quite the same way as "normals". You probably noticed that already in my writing. Please feel free to disagree. I can learn from that. Autistic people can be self-isolating. Your thoughts break my Bubble!
The one person who could have talked to you was my amazing wife. She couldn't stand crowds and noise, but was a true horse whisperer and thrived when working with handicapped kids, almost all of them on the spectrum and many with multiple issuse,e.g. Downes Syndrome. We suspected she was a highly functional Asperger Spectrum individual. A licensed R. N. who I met while she was reviewing medical records in medical malpractice cases in a law firm. (Early in her career in Emergency Care two doctors prescribed contra-indicated medications to a patient Her warnings went unheeded. The patient died. She got angry and quit. Forever. She’s of Irish descent, as am I. We hold grudges).
Her patience and low key approach with kids who barely interacted with their parents plus the presence of the horses lead to significant improvement in the kid’s interactive abilities. The parents almost immediately reported positive changes in parent/child relations, with the kids more verbal and attentive. Truly remarkable. And endlessly rewarding to have the opportunity to work with an amazing woman who taught me the rewards of patience and quietude.
Bye the bye-your writing style and your ability to research subjects tirelessly and distill the subject matter into an understandable position is effective-even when we disagree.
Why does Julian and many other writers always state that Israel could not do this or that without US support? Like the US is the fount of modern weaponry.
Unfortunately for Israel, the US's naval arms component would only last around a week before having to replenish their arms. This has been categorically stated by many military analysts on this matter. And most of these arms will probably be confused by Iranian drone swarms.
US aviation in the region will also not be much help since they cannot reach Iran to do any damage. The result is that US Air Force strategic aircraft will have to be used for the job. However, with he Russian advanced equipment that have been supplied to Iran recently, there is now a good likelihood that such aircraft could be shot down as well.
Israel may have long-range F15-XI aircraft that can get into Iranian space, but they would have to be refueled on the way and would also be faced with a severe defensive threat from the ground.
Finally, US production of weaponry is in the tank. Trump and his cronies believe the US is still in the position to ramp up weapons production as if we were back in WWII. However, the US is completely incapable of such production numbers today and can barely supply its own forces. This means that the US would have to transfer existing stockpiles o the region, which are also limited in supply.
So how exactly would US support for Israel's constant war mongering assist that POS nation in such an attack on Iran beyond the same type of attack that was performed months ago, which was nothing more than a PR stunt?
You raise an interesting point. You're right . The US is not the fount of modern weaponry. However, Israel would collapse without American financial and diplomatic support, I think. Perhaps, that "support" is more psychological than real?
Everything about AmeriKKKa -- education, media, Press, the entire society -- is counterfactual, misanthropic, and, well, the belly of the beast, which is of course, the rhetorical kings of the trade, those money changers, those Talmudists and Torah Torah TOrah neuroperverse goons running the show, a la 130 Jewish billionaires and a whole lotta millions of Jewish millionaires who have the White Man's House and their Minyans all at the ready for, disinformation war(s) as you call it.
I don't suffer from any type of autism to my knowledge. But I do suffer from bipolar disorder. Which means when people label schizophrenic actions by leaders. Jumping from position to another contradicting themselves as being bipolar. Pisses me off a little I must admit. Supposed educated people do it all of the time. Bipolar is a condition where the sufferer, may be on the euphoric mood position for 3 or 4 months. Then swing to a low or depressive mood for months. Luckily I'm pretty much under control, not through medication. But eating the right diet & not drinking alcohol has stabilised me massively. I did tend to be mainly on the euphoric & bit manic side most of the time. Never did I get to a suicidal low level. Just reclusive & a loner. They were my most severe low traits. But it caused me all kinds of trouble in my younger days. You cope really well with your autism it must be said & your writings are greatly appreciated.
One of my best Japanese friends, who recruited me to work for Toyota's MENA division is bipolar. Yeah, he is up and down a lot but I worked well with him -- he was also very creative-- and we had synergy in developing programs for the ME and working within the framework of Islamic culture. I noticed he got a long quite well with Arabs and Muslims. I was able to set up a ME network of various specialists and at that time studied the Qu'ran and Hadiths. Bipolar people are sometimes very creative. Think of all the famous people who are bipolar. The genes for bipolar are likely inherited from our Paleo ancestors -- and were once useful for survival in the challenging last stage of the Pleistocene 50,000 years ago when we evolved "behavioral modernity" , a concept often challenged by those who see evolution as a long gradual process, rather than triggered by ecosystem challenges. The odd thing is that cognitive divergence, is once again being seen as a survival capability as it was 50, 000 years ago under the pressure of artificial ecosystems.
The Earth's climate & stages the Earth has went through. Are exactly the reason we've evolved the traits we have today. I do get on with all different ethnic groups I come into contact with & as for reading historic scriptures. I spent 12 months reading a couple of translations of a lot of the Sumerian tablets. As there was more controversy over the translations then.
The Anglo-American Militarist Empire is doomed!
Their psychological warfare against Venezuela and Iran has flopped. Trumps' Gaza Peace Board is dead on arrival. Trump has nothing to show for his MAGA cult followers but a fascist
police state.
NOW is the time for a Renaissance of humanity. The BRICs alternative led by Chinas' Xi Jinping and Putin, without letting its guard down, can march forward with the idea of Progess, a John Kennedy - Martin Luther King New Deal for America. The Peace Corps.
I like the direction you want us to go in, however, I'm not confident the US Empire is dead and I don't believe it's sponsors will let anything good happen.
The Dark Enlightenment religion of the TechnoNuts in dump's genes are out to kill off freedom for us and everybody else. They have glomed onto a belief system that fits into their particular pathology and they have huge amounts of money, attitude (sense of entitlement and NO empathy), greed, power and they now have a shared goal. That's a powerful concoction.
Yes, collective action can defeat even nut cases like them and their religion. The collective action, though, has to be multinational and include the majority of citizens. They know that and that's why they want to kill freedom and majority action and rule.
As I said, I like what you propose. I hope that it will happen.
By their actions, the empire is demonstrating its fear not its power.
They keep changing targets and narratives because they keep losing. From Gaza, to Caracas, to Tehran, humanity sees the roadkill of their deeds. A dying and desperate empire in its last gasp. Using a sledgehammer to kill a mosquito.
I agree the empire is dying, but not before a lot of death and destruction. I'd rather it changed course the way you described.
A course correction for the collapsing USA would require many things that are unlikely, if not straight up impossible, to happen: a sane, selfless, honest leadership in politics, economy and military (extremely unlikely in a system designed to put the most greedy idiot sociopaths in charge), long term planning (again, extremely unlikely in a system plagued by constant election cycles and doomed to short term demagoguery) and especially acceptance that the USA's time is over (and following Dimitri Orlov's suggestions: dismantling the MIC, repatriating military personnel from abroad, shutting down bases, mothballing a small part of military equipment and dismantling the rest - including especially the nuclear arsenal- , issuing a debt jubilee for common people and getting Wall Street and the bank-financial sector under tight governmental control, all of this also implying a radical change in habits and lifestyle for the average American making it a lot less wasteful and energy-consuming). Even one of these looks pretty impossible already, all of them at the same time - the only miracle that could soften the inevitable collapse - sound as likely as a supernova turning into a jar of lemon curd overnight. It's going to be bad, REALLY bad, and sooner than anyone thinks.
Agreed. And I like the steps that you identify that should be taken NOW, but honestly, won't be.
The rot is too deep by now. It's kinda like a terminal case of heroin addiction, cutting it off may very well be fatal, but doing nothing is assured to be lethal. There's no salvation to be had from the leadership (no KGB loyalists and no American Putin anywhere) so the only possible way would be a full blown revolution, but as far as I can tell there's zero human material for that. My guess would be a messy collapse not unlike the late Roman empire.
RE: autism- Spirit Horse International, a Handicapped Horse Riding group that certifies instructors who assist handicapped riders (Autism/spectrum disorder, special needs and PTSD)begun by Charles Fletcher in 2001. Early on he posited that autistic children had fewer Left lobe/Right lobe cross connections in their physical brains. He designed a method -riding in large left directed circles, then right directed circles- theorizing that the different directions would cause the alternate use of one lobe and then the other as the child concentrated on the riding, and would cause those connections to multiply. He was correct. 2 and 4 year old children who had never spoken, suddenly spoke for the first time. Subsequent MRI studies confirmed his theories.
My wife and I became certified instructor in 2009 and we opened an adjunct facility in 2009. We followed Mr Fletcher’s desires and never charged a fee for the dozens of students we worked with in Rhode Island at our farm for over 10 years, finally retiring as old bones caught up with us.
I write this not to seek attention but rather to note that even autism spectrum people can improve their sometimes limited communication and interactive abilities merely by interacting with the horses. And to further note that high functioning autistic individuals are in fact, people with a different physiology and perspective who can improve their interactive skills and in many cases can excel in society .
My congratulations to Mr. Macfarlane and thanks for his terrific writing and insights. I don’t always agree with him, but I never miss an article
Kudos to you. For a while back in Canada I worked as a substitute teacher in a BC school district. I alway seemed to get the same classes -- the ones that teachers didn't want to "teach" -- the "difficult kids". A lot of them were autistic. I enjoyed them. I liked them. We got along well. As you point out, ASD is not one thing. It can be severely debilitating for some, especially in learning to communicate. In that regard, animals help. You are right about horses, I think. I learned to ride at 12 and spent a lot of time talking to horses....LOL (who else would talk to me?). And, as you know, I saw animals as my best friends. As for "people" (the legged kind) that took time because I do not understand language quite the same way as "normals". You probably noticed that already in my writing. Please feel free to disagree. I can learn from that. Autistic people can be self-isolating. Your thoughts break my Bubble!
The one person who could have talked to you was my amazing wife. She couldn't stand crowds and noise, but was a true horse whisperer and thrived when working with handicapped kids, almost all of them on the spectrum and many with multiple issuse,e.g. Downes Syndrome. We suspected she was a highly functional Asperger Spectrum individual. A licensed R. N. who I met while she was reviewing medical records in medical malpractice cases in a law firm. (Early in her career in Emergency Care two doctors prescribed contra-indicated medications to a patient Her warnings went unheeded. The patient died. She got angry and quit. Forever. She’s of Irish descent, as am I. We hold grudges).
Her patience and low key approach with kids who barely interacted with their parents plus the presence of the horses lead to significant improvement in the kid’s interactive abilities. The parents almost immediately reported positive changes in parent/child relations, with the kids more verbal and attentive. Truly remarkable. And endlessly rewarding to have the opportunity to work with an amazing woman who taught me the rewards of patience and quietude.
Bye the bye-your writing style and your ability to research subjects tirelessly and distill the subject matter into an understandable position is effective-even when we disagree.
Keep up the good work!
Why does Julian and many other writers always state that Israel could not do this or that without US support? Like the US is the fount of modern weaponry.
Unfortunately for Israel, the US's naval arms component would only last around a week before having to replenish their arms. This has been categorically stated by many military analysts on this matter. And most of these arms will probably be confused by Iranian drone swarms.
US aviation in the region will also not be much help since they cannot reach Iran to do any damage. The result is that US Air Force strategic aircraft will have to be used for the job. However, with he Russian advanced equipment that have been supplied to Iran recently, there is now a good likelihood that such aircraft could be shot down as well.
Israel may have long-range F15-XI aircraft that can get into Iranian space, but they would have to be refueled on the way and would also be faced with a severe defensive threat from the ground.
Finally, US production of weaponry is in the tank. Trump and his cronies believe the US is still in the position to ramp up weapons production as if we were back in WWII. However, the US is completely incapable of such production numbers today and can barely supply its own forces. This means that the US would have to transfer existing stockpiles o the region, which are also limited in supply.
So how exactly would US support for Israel's constant war mongering assist that POS nation in such an attack on Iran beyond the same type of attack that was performed months ago, which was nothing more than a PR stunt?
You raise an interesting point. You're right . The US is not the fount of modern weaponry. However, Israel would collapse without American financial and diplomatic support, I think. Perhaps, that "support" is more psychological than real?
One can’t be sane using lies like the West does.
Power for powers sake is the ultimate drug for dark delusions.
So true!
Everything about AmeriKKKa -- education, media, Press, the entire society -- is counterfactual, misanthropic, and, well, the belly of the beast, which is of course, the rhetorical kings of the trade, those money changers, those Talmudists and Torah Torah TOrah neuroperverse goons running the show, a la 130 Jewish billionaires and a whole lotta millions of Jewish millionaires who have the White Man's House and their Minyans all at the ready for, disinformation war(s) as you call it.
https://paulokirk.substack.com/p/ahh-belly-of-the-beast-when-do-you