Bill Ryan's personal Question-and-Answer thread. Pile it on. :)

[Wilbur2]

Posted by Thevortexpurple (here)
Hey: I would consider being more involved with Free Range Scientology. I'm seriously considering the process. Do you know how or where I could get started? As in: Meeting people to work together towards that with?
I would like to be involved in person with meeting people and making more progress within Free Range Scientology.
I wanted to walk into the Church of Scientology building inside of New York. However, I was prevented somehow. I wanted to be involved, however I understand Free Range Scientology may be better from what I have seen. After all: I feel as if I would be quite constrained if I were to limit myself or join the actual Church itself.

If I were you, I'd stay well clear of the Church of Scientology itself (I know this doesn't really answer your question). The trouble is, a lot of the ideas in Scientology are quite good and useful, particularly at the lower end of their "Bridge to Total Freedom". So you go in and take a couple of basic courses, which are quite inexpensive, and you start to think "these are really good ideas". Ten years later, you've got a ten-year hole in your resume and are trying to escape from the Sea Organization, where you've been working seven days a week for free trying to "save the planet".

If Scientologists are good at anything, it's high-pressure sales tactics. I did this myself in my early days on staff. My first three months were spent convincing people to buy the Dianetics book. I became quite adept at it, and my ability to "confront" people was transformed doing that job. The job was tedious as hell, and the only way I escaped it was when I said I was leaving, and the Executive Director (ED - everything in Scientology is an acronym or initialism) of the local organisation offered me full-time training as an auditor instead of me leaving. I was working for them seven days a week from morning 'til night selling books. I lived in the next city over, and so HAD to be on the last train at 11pm to get home. Then one day, the ED decided at 10.30pm that, before anybody could leave, we had to read a particular policy letter relating to sales. The policy letter was long, and would have taken me a couple of hours to read, meaning I would miss my train. I remonstrated with him, and offered to read it on the train on the way home. No, that wasn't good enough for him. So I ended up missing my train home. It was a pure act of demonstrating to the staff that "we own you".

I was so angry that I decided to walk home. It took me all night to walk the 30 miles home. I didn't go back in for several days, and was intending to "route out" when I went back (Scientology-speak for initiating the staff-leaving process). The ED pursuaded me to go to their UK headquarters and spend a year doing auditor training instead. It took me another year and a half to finally leave staff. The time spent at St. Hill (their headquarters in East Grinstead, in the UK) and then in Los Angeles for three months was very interesting, as a 19-year-old kid. I was lucky - I had the sense to get out early. But I know people who spent decades in there, and some of them are still in the Sea Organisation (their version of a totally-full-time monkhood). So your inclination to explore "Free Range Scientology" (most people call it Freezone Scientology or Independent Scientology, by the way) is sensible - stay away from the CoS, would be my advice. And once you've been in Freezone Scientology, the CoS won't touch you anyway after that. You are tainted by evil once you've been in the Freezone (i.e., know too much).

I worked alongside Sea Org members closely for about a year-and-a-half, and saw how dismal their lives were. Some of the people I worked alongside got out of the SO (I discovered this by finding their facebook pages); some are STILL in 35 years later; the rest, I don't know what happened to them. Perhaps I'll tell my Scn story on another thread someday. But I'm conscious that I'm derailing Bill's thread here, so I won't say anymore here.

[onawah]

The psychic Gigi Young has some pithy criticisms of the Church of Scientology in her latest series entitled "Occulted". Starting with the most recent, see: https://projectavalon.net/forum4/sho...=1#post1682603

Posted by Wilbur2 (here)
If I were you, I'd stay well clear of the Church of Scientology itself

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Thevortexpurple (here)
Hey: I would consider being more involved with Free Range Scientology. I'm seriously considering the process. Do you know how or where I could get started? As in: Meeting people to work together towards that with?
I would like to be involved in person with meeting people and making more progress within Free Range Scientology.
I wanted to walk into the Church of Scientology building inside of New York. However, I was prevented somehow. I wanted to be involved, however I understand Free Range Scientology may be better from what I have seen. After all: I feel as if I would be quite constrained if I were to limit myself or join the actual Church itself.

You could contact James Newell ('Jim' to his friends), who is an Avalon member, living in Idaho, with a huge amount of experience in Free Zone Scientology. His website is https://getmoreable.com and he helps his clients over the internet at any distance (formerly using Skype, but probably now via Zoom).

There are many Free Zone organizations in Europe and Russia — believe it or not, Russia is where Free Zone Scientology really thrives now — but none other that I know of in the US any more.

Posted by Wilbur2 (here)
If I were you, I'd stay well clear of the Church of Scientology itself.

Yes, I can't endorse that more strongly. Do NOT go anywhere near them.

[Thevortexpurple]

Do you ever have fear of speaking out against them, or standing against, the official church, directly? After all: They do, themselves, and have: Infiltrated various Governments, to various extents, and that is a crucial fact. In fact, what if they could be, or have been, behind various reports of gang-stalking, and/or the Targeted Individual phenomenon, that many have described witnessing, or experiencing themselves?

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Thevortexpurple (here)
Do you ever have fear of speaking out against them, or standing against, the official church, directly? After all: They do, themselves, and have: Infiltrated various Governments, to various extents, and that is a crucial fact. In fact, what if they could be, or have been, behind various reports of gang-stalking, and/or the Targeted Individual phenomenon, that many have described witnessing, or experiencing themselves?

No, I've never been concerned about that.

[Bruce G Charlton]

Bill - A mountain-related aside...

This news story about "robot legs" for mountaineers.

It strikes me as rather like trying to lift yourself off the ground by pulling your own bootlaces! - but what do you think?

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Bruce G Charlton (here)
Bill - A mountain-related aside...

This news story about "robot legs" for mountaineers.

It strikes me as rather like trying to lift yourself off the ground by pulling your own bootlaces! - but what do you think?

Ha. That was really about assisting mountain rescuers in arduous situations by augmenting the power and endurance of their leg muscles, like a kind of partial mini-exoskeleton. I can actually appreciate that... after all, rescuers do use helicopters and drones to help them save lives!

But high-tech assistance for regular mountaineers (and even elite ones) is quite something else. This is increasingly controversial in mountaineering circles.

The debate started a hundred years ago with the advent of bottled oxygen for mountaineers at extreme altitudes, though pioneers like Reinhold Messner (and a small number of others soon after him) showed this wasn't strictly necessary for those with exceptional physiology and training. (And of course, not needed at all by the Sherpas, who don't require any assistance of any kind. ) Now, many Himalayan mountaineers use drugs, but that's almost completely taboo to discuss.

There are similar issues in regular rock climbing, with super-sticky rubber shoes now used by everyone, even novices. These were unknown and unavailable 20+ years ago — making it almost impossible to compare the highest-bar achievements of different generations. I have the strong view that there were quite a few climbers and mountaineers from many decades past who would be able to exceed the performance of most of those today — given the same equipment to use.

A legendary college math professor called John Gill, who did much of his climbing in the mid-1950s and early 1960s, is considered by many climbing historians (and yours truly!) to be the best of all time. But again, this issue of technological advantage for new generations is hardly discussed at all.

And the same is definitely true of high-tech sports like motor racing, which is FAR more about engineering than driving skill. Veterans like Juan Fangio, John Surtees, Ayrton Senna, and Jim Clark would almost certainly be able to beat the best today given the same cars to drive.

There's a fascinating video of a race in 1984 when all the elite racing drivers at that time were given identical cars. The race was won by Ayrton Senna, then an almost unknown youngster but now acknowledged by many as the greatest of all time

[sdv]

Posted by Mike (here)
I'm not trying to nerd out on you Bill or be a grammar Nazi, but the word "multiculturalism" actually refers to different groups of people (different races, cultures. ethnicities, religions etc) existing in the same space but all in their own little bubbles, with no unifying values re the other cultures around them and no attempt to assimilate or integrate into the dominant culture.

In that way, Russia is indeed multicultural, but it's not really a good thing in my view. There's less violence there between Muslims and everyone else but mainly because Russia is so huge and a more punitive country that it's western counterparts (I wish the west was more punitive like Russia). If you took those same Muslims and Russians and squeezed them into the UK I think it would be just as much of a disaster.

I only found out what the word "multiculturalism" really meant maybe 1-2 years ago, so again I'm not lecturing anyone. But what most people really want to say when they use the word "multiculturalism" is the word "pluralism".

Or maybe you already knew all that and meant exactly what you meant

The above is a complete misunderstanding of multiculturalism. It is the the coexistence of diverse cultures, races, and ethnicities within a single society. You emphasise the separateness but overlook the different 'groups' being part of one country. You also ignore the interaction and overlapping between the groups that does happen in reality, without destroying either culture, and what different cultures have in common. It is kind of like a human body being composed of different parts joined together ... one body and one identity ... I could stretch that analogy until it bursts like a balloon with too much air! The nature of humankind is diversity and there are many parts of the world where it is normal. Americans (like Israelis) are rejecting multiculturalism and embracing fascism to do so. Unless you live on North Sentinel Island or perhaps North Korea, imposing monoculturalism in a country is impossible in this world without suppressing others.

Take a walk in the mountains like Bill does and you will notice that everything on planet Earth is about diversity. The clouds are never the same, the vegetation may change in the same valley, the stones in the streams are never the exact same shape or colour, the soil changes colour and texture, and even your hiking companions will be different from one another.

[Mike]

Posted by sdv (here)

Posted by Mike (here)
I'm not trying to nerd out on you Bill or be a grammar Nazi, but the word "multiculturalism" actually refers to different groups of people (different races, cultures. ethnicities, religions etc) existing in the same space but all in their own little bubbles, with no unifying values re the other cultures around them and no attempt to assimilate or integrate into the dominant culture.

In that way, Russia is indeed multicultural, but it's not really a good thing in my view. There's less violence there between Muslims and everyone else but mainly because Russia is so huge and a more punitive country that it's western counterparts (I wish the west was more punitive like Russia). If you took those same Muslims and Russians and squeezed them into the UK I think it would be just as much of a disaster.

I only found out what the word "multiculturalism" really meant maybe 1-2 years ago, so again I'm not lecturing anyone. But what most people really want to say when they use the word "multiculturalism" is the word "pluralism".

Or maybe you already knew all that and meant exactly what you meant

The above is a complete misunderstanding of multiculturalism. It is the the coexistence of diverse cultures, races, and ethnicities within a single society. You emphasise the separateness but overlook the different 'groups' being part of one country. You also ignore the interaction and overlapping between the groups that does happen in reality, without destroying either culture, and what different cultures have in common. It is kind of like a human body being composed of different parts joined together ... one body and one identity ... I could stretch that analogy until it bursts like a balloon with too much air! The nature of humankind is diversity and there are many parts of the world where it is normal. Americans (like Israelis) are rejecting multiculturalism and embracing fascism to do so. Unless you live on North Sentinel Island or perhaps North Korea, imposing monoculturalism in a country is impossible in this world without suppressing others.

Take a walk in the mountains like Bill does and you will notice that everything on planet Earth is about diversity. The clouds are never the same, the vegetation may change in the same valley, the stones in the streams are never the exact same shape or colour, the soil changes colour and texture, and even your hiking companions will be different from one another.

Nature is a poor metaphor, because it's organically diverse. That's entirely different than forced diversity, which is what multiculturalism is today - a deliberate cramming of polar opposite cultures into one space. There's nothing poetic or pleasant about it.

In a plural society, you have one dominant culture surrounded by minority cultures that recognize the dominant culture as being dominant. It's hierarchical, which allows for a certain degree of order. In a multicultural society you have a number of separate cultures without any kind of unifying/dominant culture or value set, which makes it mostly chaotic and violent.

Back to Bill...

[Bluegreen]

Hey Bill

What's your favorite color?

[Agape]

Bill , to everyone's disappointment , "many Himalayan mountaineers use drugs" is not a taboo anymore but "hot topic of discussion" as themselves have been rather vocal about it.
Their latest "invention" seems to be rare gas Xenon that for some allegedly works better than epinephrine shots , reduces hyper organic reaction , possible brain oedema in high altitude levels since most foreign mountaneers are not accustomed to low oxygen environments.

They never touch ANY local product anymore , out of fear that it would spoil their trip.
There's high level paranoia attached to most high performance sports so of course all they take and bring is under their own control and the amount of illegal substances they can bring in is severely restricted by most governments.

We fight to tackle illicite drug trade , chemically synthetised heroin and its derivatives, imported cocaine , MDMA etc. leading to many accidents , loss of life and chronic disability among younger populace.

Even then "high mountain climbers" are usually very well checked, health super conscious people who do not take even one spoon of sugar over the measure.

If they take boosters ( other than in emergencies) they do so before and after the whole trip as their time here is usually limited.

So , in all, no worries. Compared to South America most Northern Hemisphere functions solely as "security state".
Drug tests are being routinely performed at checkpoints . In the eastern direction , that is China , Korea and Japan all medical items brought to the country are monitored and may be prevented from entering, including some personal prescription drugs.

Kuddos 🙏

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Mike (here)

Posted by sdv (here)

Posted by Mike (here)
I'm not trying to nerd out on you Bill or be a grammar Nazi, but the word "multiculturalism" actually refers to different groups of people (different races, cultures. ethnicities, religions etc) existing in the same space but all in their own little bubbles, with no unifying values re the other cultures around them and no attempt to assimilate or integrate into the dominant culture.

In that way, Russia is indeed multicultural, but it's not really a good thing in my view. There's less violence there between Muslims and everyone else but mainly because Russia is so huge and a more punitive country that it's western counterparts (I wish the west was more punitive like Russia). If you took those same Muslims and Russians and squeezed them into the UK I think it would be just as much of a disaster.

I only found out what the word "multiculturalism" really meant maybe 1-2 years ago, so again I'm not lecturing anyone. But what most people really want to say when they use the word "multiculturalism" is the word "pluralism".

Or maybe you already knew all that and meant exactly what you meant

The above is a complete misunderstanding of multiculturalism. It is the the coexistence of diverse cultures, races, and ethnicities within a single society. You emphasise the separateness but overlook the different 'groups' being part of one country. You also ignore the interaction and overlapping between the groups that does happen in reality, without destroying either culture, and what different cultures have in common. It is kind of like a human body being composed of different parts joined together ... one body and one identity ... I could stretch that analogy until it bursts like a balloon with too much air! The nature of humankind is diversity and there are many parts of the world where it is normal. Americans (like Israelis) are rejecting multiculturalism and embracing fascism to do so. Unless you live on North Sentinel Island or perhaps North Korea, imposing monoculturalism in a country is impossible in this world without suppressing others.

Take a walk in the mountains like Bill does and you will notice that everything on planet Earth is about diversity. The clouds are never the same, the vegetation may change in the same valley, the stones in the streams are never the exact same shape or colour, the soil changes colour and texture, and even your hiking companions will be different from one another.

Nature is a poor metaphor, because it's organically diverse. That's entirely different than forced diversity, which is what multiculturalism is today - a deliberate cramming of polar opposite cultures into one space. There's nothing poetic or pleasant about it.

That's completely true in the US and Europe. But I'm not at all convinced it's nearly so true in Russia.

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Bluegreen (here)
Hey Bill

What's your favorite color?

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Agape (here)
Bill , to everyone's disappointment , "many Himalayan mountaineers use drugs" is not a taboo anymore but "hot topic of discussion" as themselves have been rather vocal about it.
Their latest "invention" seems to be rare gas Xenon that for some allegedly works better than epinephrine shots , reduces hyper organic reaction , possible brain oedema in high altitude levels since most foreign mountaneers are not accustomed to low oxygen environments.

They never touch ANY local product anymore , out of fear that it would spoil their trip.
There's high level paranoia attached to most high performance sports so of course all they take and bring is under their own control and the amount of illegal substances they can bring in is severely restricted by most governments.

We fight to tackle illicite drug trade , chemically synthetised heroin and its derivatives, imported cocaine , MDMA etc. leading to many accidents , loss of life and chronic disability among younger populace.

Even then "high mountain climbers" are usually very well checked, health super conscious people who do not take even one spoon of sugar over the measure.

If they take boosters ( other than in emergencies) they do so before and after the whole trip as their time here is usually limited.

So , in all, no worries. Compared to South America most Northern Hemisphere functions solely as "security state".
Drug tests are being routinely performed at checkpoints . In the eastern direction , that is China , Korea and Japan all medical items brought to the country are monitored and may be prevented from entering, including some personal prescription drugs.

Kudos 🙏

Yes, Xenon-doping is a strange new thing, as best I know entirely for guided clients on Everest. And yes, that has been openly discussed.

Here's one of many articles: (the title says it all)

• Xenon gas as a performance-enhancing drug: doping or just hot air?

Sherpas aside (who don't need drugs at all!), when Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler first climbed Everest without oxygen in 1978, astounding everyone who had believed (with very good reason) that this was very close to humanly impossible, the list of far lesser mortals who have reportedly done the same is now pretty long. (Photos below: Messner left, Habeler right)





98% of those who tried to emulate their feat had help. Here's a list of pharma drugs regularly used by 'professional' high-altitude mountaineers. This is RARELY discussed.

• Acetazolamide (Diamox): This is the most commonly used medication and helps climbers acclimatize better and improve sleep at high altitude. It is technically on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited list as a diuretic but is routinely used in mountaineering for safety.

• Dexamethasone: This powerful corticosteroid is a life-saving emergency treatment for severe altitude illnesses like High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE). However, it is also controversially used by some as a prophylactic or performance enhancer to push for the summit, a practice associated with significant health risks.

• Phosphodiesterase inhibitors (Viagra, Cialis): These erectile-dysfunction drugs decrease pulmonary-artery pressure and are used to prevent High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE).

• Amphetamines and Stimulants: Historically, amphetamines were used in the 1950s and 60s, and similar stimulants have been used to aid performance and maintain focus during long summit pushes.

• EPO (Erythropoietin): This red blood cell booster, famous in professional cycling, has been rumored to be used by some climbers to increase oxygen-carrying capacity.

[Agape]

Bill , discuss by all means , in the relevant community. Discuss here, someone will read it . Perhaps they will head your better advice .

Todays average human populace is not "as healthy" as people used to be like earlier, in the previous centuries.

It's largely due to multi spectral pollution in the environment leading to new forms of toxicity and infection. Since most "mountain tribes" eat better than in past even while relying on their own milk , grains and diary, most middle age plus people suffer from high blood sugar and high blood pressure ( precondition to heart failures and many metabolic issues ) if not worse.

Hunting and consumption of wild meat is legally banned in India. Nepal is more liberal but internally, also better controllable.

But then there is an advantage in today's import-export food market and domestic food products quality , especially true for milk products like different types of packed cheese has improved to the state of "ultra pure". Indian Vedic culture ( not typical mountain culture) is a "purist culture".

Following "wild meat ban" that led to many embarassing news of the type ( chief minister got served wild hen but did not taste it ), that is a type of "absolute prohibition" when "even the chief can not be served" plenty of mountain tribes turned vegetarian.
It serves well this generation and the next due to reduction of hereditary "loading" that isn't acutely needed .
Most people have and use cars and bikes instead of walking especially for any longer distances.

In order to cope with the destructively fast and dirty style of today people - including indigenous populace - lost much cherished health in the process.

There's advantage in being better well informed, better educated , with far better availability of medical care than in "advanced countries".

Not everyone "wants to eat meds" but doctors and big pharma are as common here as elsewhere.


To look at it from entirely different perspective , most foreign mountaineers are not prohibited from either "red meat" and "blood transfusions" in their own country and while import of meats is tightly controlled and beef eating is banned in India ,
there is difference in life style of top sports people and the rest of us at all times so they can load and adjust their physical parameters in long term before coming.

To me the list you have described does not seem any exceptional ( save for amphetamines and viagra ) and it is recommended to have "all you need" in your medical kit instead relying on accidental help.

On the Chinese / Tibetan side of Himalayas, cordyceps ( yarcha gumbu - the caterpillar eating fungus ) has become very popular since and is recommended for heart support , improves pulse regularity and adaptation rate in high altitudes .

On our side ( more vegetarian) rhododendron flower juice and local fruit wines can be a healthy booster or aftersnack.

Since human populace is so diverse there are probably "many pathways" to get there .



On the other hand .. 🙏... people who chronically "fail to adjust" and feel uncomfortable in high altitudes ( such can not "sit at one place" for prolonged time, always "complain" - while it's not their habit, have sleeping or breathing difficulty ) should not be pushed "to try again" but have to be brought down before it's too late.

There's huge deal of responsibility on the guides who act without offering "complete life responsibility" for the client. Even a professional mountaineer can do the mistake of pushing self too hard but then we have "newbies" and "first timers" , 20 plus olds who understand a "bit" about their body and are physiologically in advantage but more vulnerable than people well experienced


It's also much warmer than in the past so people occassionally scale mountains with light clothing and equipment, occassionally die for hypothermia .

Keep them moving


🙏🐏🙏


https://www.google.com/amp/s/timesof.../116312271.cms

It's a real story about "wild chicken". The CM had to swear he did not eat it.

Security turns up matter of major concern . There's all times IS terrorism threat. There are other types of threats, tourism overload hence traffic jams hence land slides all over the Himalayas. The whole town of Joshimath ( Uttar Pradesh, famous for one of the Shankaracarya Maths ) collapsed during several monsoon flash floods.
This year too, many highways were destroyed and whole villages washed to river. The monsoon floods have taken more than 350 human toll ( and hundreds of animals) .

It's clear we are facing "bigger purification cycle" on the planet rolling out that isn't clearly predictable.

[Mike Gorman]

Posted by sdv (here)

Posted by Mike (here)
I'm not trying to nerd out on you Bill or be a grammar Nazi, but the word "multiculturalism" actually refers to different groups of people (different races, cultures. ethnicities, religions etc) existing in the same space but all in their own little bubbles, with no unifying values re the other cultures around them and no attempt to assimilate or integrate into the dominant culture.

In that way, Russia is indeed multicultural, but it's not really a good thing in my view. There's less violence there between Muslims and everyone else but mainly because Russia is so huge and a more punitive country that it's western counterparts (I wish the west was more punitive like Russia). If you took those same Muslims and Russians and squeezed them into the UK I think it would be just as much of a disaster.

I only found out what the word "multiculturalism" really meant maybe 1-2 years ago, so again I'm not lecturing anyone. But what most people really want to say when they use the word "multiculturalism" is the word "pluralism".

Or maybe you already knew all that and meant exactly what you meant

The above is a complete misunderstanding of multiculturalism. It is the the coexistence of diverse cultures, races, and ethnicities within a single society. You emphasise the separateness but overlook the different 'groups' being part of one country. You also ignore the interaction and overlapping between the groups that does happen in reality, without destroying either culture, and what different cultures have in common. It is kind of like a human body being composed of different parts joined together ... one body and one identity ... I could stretch that analogy until it bursts like a balloon with too much air! The nature of humankind is diversity and there are many parts of the world where it is normal. Americans (like Israelis) are rejecting multiculturalism and embracing fascism to do so. Unless you live on North Sentinel Island or perhaps North Korea, imposing monoculturalism in a country is impossible in this world without suppressing others.

Take a walk in the mountains like Bill does and you will notice that everything on planet Earth is about diversity. The clouds are never the same, the vegetation may change in the same valley, the stones in the streams are never the exact same shape or colour, the soil changes colour and texture, and even your hiking companions will be different from one another.

The thing about multiculturalism is that it seems very natural, fair minded, reasonable & in-keeping with the very essence of biological reality - after all none of us can determine where we are born, which cultural group we find ourselves living among: why should our national/cultural origin prevent us from living wherever we choose?
Of course like everything in our world, the details matter!
Nothing about existence, or human life is fair, reasonable or compliant with universal ideas of "Justice" unless we choose to impose these.

I recall being introduced to this academic concept of "Multiculturalism" in the 1980's from my Bachelor studies in Philosophy, Sociology & the very fashionable (in the 80's) subject
of 'Cultural Linguistics' which had been inserted into the Tertiary world by Noam Chomsky, but most vigorously by the French/Swiss/German academics of this time (philology & psychology had made enormous contributions) & we had that hideous concoction of word salad analysis termed 'Semiotics' - this really was the origin of what we all see coming out from Brussels, & the EU Commission's entrails, it gave rise to the open borders and Merkel's suicidal immigration policies, the ideas of the Fabian heroes such as Tony Blair, really this Post Modern club is an expression of the European intellectual class, terms such as 'Cultural Marxism' began to be exchanged, it is the true history of our present calamity: gad Sadd has produced some excellent work on this, his expression of "Suicidal Empathy" is now doing the rounds on all of the 'Right wing' Podcasts, (Far Right me dear)...I recognize all of this so clearly from my nascent analysis of the 'Semiotics' days, I recall feeling very uneasy about the post-modern intellectual landscape, everything about this clashed with my innate knowledge & appreciation of the Classical traditions, and our Western solidity of generating "Meaning"
Words matter, because all of our ideas & ability to co-create our social reality is dependent on our language - our Western academic foundations were systematically dismantled by this post-modern disorder, creating dis-ease, unease & anxiety about our very essential nature.
Multi-culturalism CAN take place, but not through political compulsion, and imposed rejections of Caucasian culture: in favor of an imported raw, often contrary mix of cultural groups. The tyranny of multiculturalism is what we are all experiencing in our '5 eyes countries' - you look at this today & you propose that multiculturalism is a benevolent matter?
It is not, nor is it natural, or desired: we cannot force white culture to kneel at this altar of multiculturalism, we can see clearly this is not having a very nice result, at all.

[Johnnycomelately]

Thanks, Mike Gorman, I think that you raise important points. I wish us well.

Reminds of the ongoing fight for constitutional rights in my southern neighbour country. 2nd Amendment. Please see ender vid.

Posted by Mike Gorman (here)

Posted by sdv (here)

Posted by Mike (here)
I'm not trying to nerd out on you Bill or be a grammar Nazi, but the word "multiculturalism" actually refers to different groups of people (different races, cultures. ethnicities, religions etc) existing in the same space but all in their own little bubbles, with no unifying values re the other cultures around them and no attempt to assimilate or integrate into the dominant culture.

In that way, Russia is indeed multicultural, but it's not really a good thing in my view. There's less violence there between Muslims and everyone else but mainly because Russia is so huge and a more punitive country that it's western counterparts (I wish the west was more punitive like Russia). If you took those same Muslims and Russians and squeezed them into the UK I think it would be just as much of a disaster.

I only found out what the word "multiculturalism" really meant maybe 1-2 years ago, so again I'm not lecturing anyone. But what most people really want to say when they use the word "multiculturalism" is the word "pluralism".

Or maybe you already knew all that and meant exactly what you meant

The above is a complete misunderstanding of multiculturalism. It is the the coexistence of diverse cultures, races, and ethnicities within a single society. You emphasise the separateness but overlook the different 'groups' being part of one country. You also ignore the interaction and overlapping between the groups that does happen in reality, without destroying either culture, and what different cultures have in common. It is kind of like a human body being composed of different parts joined together ... one body and one identity ... I could stretch that analogy until it bursts like a balloon with too much air! The nature of humankind is diversity and there are many parts of the world where it is normal. Americans (like Israelis) are rejecting multiculturalism and embracing fascism to do so. Unless you live on North Sentinel Island or perhaps North Korea, imposing monoculturalism in a country is impossible in this world without suppressing others.

Take a walk in the mountains like Bill does and you will notice that everything on planet Earth is about diversity. The clouds are never the same, the vegetation may change in the same valley, the stones in the streams are never the exact same shape or colour, the soil changes colour and texture, and even your hiking companions will be different from one another.

The thing about multiculturalism is that it seems very natural, fair minded, reasonable & in-keeping with the very essence of biological reality - after all none of us can determine where we are born, which cultural group we find ourselves living among: why should our national/cultural origin prevent us from living wherever we choose?
Of course like everything in our world, the details matter!
Nothing about existence, or human life is fair, reasonable or compliant with universal ideas of "Justice" unless we choose to impose these.

I recall being introduced to this academic concept of "Multiculturalism" in the 1980's from my Bachelor studies in Philosophy, Sociology & the very fashionable (in the 80's) subject
of 'Cultural Linguistics' which had been inserted into the Tertiary world by Noam Chomsky, but most vigorously by the French/Swiss/German academics of this time (philology & psychology had made enormous contributions) & we had that hideous concoction of word salad analysis termed 'Semiotics' - this really was the origin of what we all see coming out from Brussels, & the EU Commission's entrails, it gave rise to the open borders and Merkel's suicidal immigration policies, the ideas of the Fabian heroes such as Tony Blair, really this Post Modern club is an expression of the European intellectual class, terms such as 'Cultural Marxism' began to be exchanged, it is the true history of our present calamity: gad Sadd has produced some excellent work on this, his expression of "Suicidal Empathy" is now doing the rounds on all of the 'Right wing' Podcasts, (Far Right me dear)...I recognize all of this so clearly from my nascent analysis of the 'Semiotics' days, I recall feeling very uneasy about the post-modern intellectual landscape, everything about this clashed with my innate knowledge & appreciation of the Classical traditions, and our Western solidity of generating "Meaning"
Words matter, because all of our ideas & ability to co-create our social reality is dependent on our language - our Western academic foundations were systematically dismantled by this post-modern disorder, creating dis-ease, unease & anxiety about our very essential nature.
Multi-culturalism CAN take place, but not through political compulsion, and imposed rejections of Caucasian culture: in favor of an imported raw, often contrary mix of cultural groups. The tyranny of multiculturalism is what we are all experiencing in our '5 eyes countries' - you look at this today & you propose that multiculturalism is a benevolent matter?
It is not, nor is it natural, or desired: we cannot force white culture to kneel at this altar of multiculturalism, we can see clearly this is not having a very nice result, at all.

Here’s the mirror:

URGENT: Congress Puts Pam Bondi & DOJ On Notice Over Defending NFA Registration

Guns & Gadgets 2nd Amendment News

771K subscribers

Dec 19, 2025

In this video, I read the official signed letter sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi, in which lawmakers make it clear that once Congress eliminated NFA taxes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the constitutional justification for NFA registration collapsed with it.

This document directly challenges the DOJ’s position in ongoing litigation and raises serious questions about executive overreach, unlawful gun registration, and the future of the NFA.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=lzMSpFwAFFM

[sdv]

Westerners go to great lengths to reject multiculturalism. Americans themselves destroyed much of the culture that existed on the continent and herded the remnants of the indigenous inhabitants into 'reserves', framing it as a noble and enlightened series of acts.

Do you think that theft, violence, rape, and so on is a product of certain cultures? That is absurd. To paint Muslims with that brush and ignore the long and violent history of Christianity is ignorance. Muslim countries share many of the moral values that Westerners do. Sharai has complex lauers (not everything is imposed like laws, with risk of punishment). Part of Sharia is a prohibition against making money through interest and speculation, but not punishable by law, and the obligation to give to charity. This terrifies capitalists! Althoigh Musk cannot legally marry all his baby mamas, and so automatically give them legal protections, he does practice polygamy, as do Muslims (governed by Sharia so wives must be treate equally). Is Musk going to be expelled for being 'un-American', or does his billionaire status give him a free pass? Tucker Carlson insists that America is a Christian country (he is fanatically andamant about this), and posted the most vile racial post about Somalians, but the president he supports has now revealed that he converted to Judaism, and Vance does not have a white Christain wife.

There are places in the world, and I have lived in such a city, where people of different races and religions and traditions live together in harmony. Neighbourhoods tend to be dominated by one group in terms of demographics, but in the workplace, shopping malls, places of entertainment, schools, hospitals, on public transport ... there is no separation and people blend together easily, instinctively respecting other customs. The violence and criminality comes from the inherent potential bad in everyone (to steal, murder, rape, verbally abuse ...). Everyone is affected by that and there are no cultural or other barriers between victims.

Oh course there are countries where monoculturalism is imposed on all, and in colonial countries, this has been problematic because indigenous culture is replaced. Israel replaced multiculturalism with a violent monoculture, which has now progressed to genocide as the indigenous people did not go quietly into the shrinking reserves that they were herded into. In places like America, the indigenous people learnt the harsh lesson about resistance and mostly stay in their reserves and do not cause trouble.

I do not reject monoculturalism as it does exist in parts of the world (North Sentinel being an extreme and perhaps unsuitable example). But multiculturalism does work very well in many parts of the world. In rejecting multiculturalism for themselves, many countries, especially in the West, are demonizing entire groups of people and committing violence against them. America sold the myth that it was an open country that welcomed immigrants (the oppressed, and so on). It probably had that policy because it needed immigrants to margnalize the indigenous population. Black people ended up in that country because of slavery, the Chinese because of a system similar to indentured labour, Latin Americans becase the society needed cheap labour, and along the way, successive presidents and administrations opened the doors to populations of refugees (Jews destined to become Zionists were reluctantly accepted as they tried to flee a continent where they felt unsafe for obvious reasons) ... America is a multicultural country, but many, including some here, want to reverse that. It is your country and you have a sovereign right to make your own choices, no matter how wise or foolish they are. But stop bullying and disparaging the rest of the world and insisting you are exceptional and insist on dominance, and that your beliefs and choices are superior, or going to great lengths to explain why multiculturalism does not work when it quite clearly does.

Multiculturalism is not bad and it is myth that it does not work. Monoculturalism usually requires increasing facism and violence to impose and maintain where a multicultural society already exists. If you live on North Sentinel Island and the world leaves you alone, it is easy. If you are Israel, you require increasing, constant violence and stealing of land to maintain monoculturalism.

Uncontrolled immigration, in my opinion, causes problems. But not because of multiculturalism but because it is uncotrolled. I live in a country that is very multicultural and embraces that identity, but we have a problem with immigration. The illegal immigration problem is remarkably similar to what America and other Western countries experience (including a large population who fled an oppressive leader, and were given shelter with special visas, but now that the leader is gone, they won't go home and scream human rights abuse when any attempt is made to get them to go home!). Race, religion, culture has nothing to do with the xenophobia that inevitably happens.

Who benefits when you make the problems around immigration about culture ... race, religion, language, customs? Who needs division and violence and obscene self enrichment in order to maintain power and why?

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Agape (here)
On the Chinese / Tibetan side of Himalayas, cordyceps ( yarcha gumbu - the caterpillar eating fungus ) has become very popular since and is recommended for heart support, improves pulse regularity and adaptation rate in high altitudes.

Yes! My young super-athletic friends Pema and Noam take cordyceps, first researched by the Chinese, as a regular part of their supplements regime. One of many interesting articles:

• Cordyceps: Mushrooms For Athletic Performance
  
  

[Agape]

Some edible ferns and dark leaf vegetables found in wild are great energy boosters, why, because they actively detoxify liver . Due to high amount of iron, minerals, antioxidants plus vitamine A and C they provide protection against UV radiation.

Check especially such types of leaf vegetables that contain both dark green and purple complex.

If such can not be found vitamin A in large doses may help to protect strong eye sight both before and after exposure /damage.

The truth ..is more like ..🍆. The Aubergine.

It needs to be well cooked.


🙏