Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
August 2, 2026
The MoA Week In Review – OT 2026-163

Last week’s posts on Moon of Alabama:


Other issues:

World War:

USraeli Attack On Spain:

China:

SoAm:

Real World Stupidity:

Blogging:

Use as open (not related to the wars in Ukraine and Iran) thread …

Comments

… or it found me.  …. Here, very humbly on my part, is the link: 
 
Posted by: juliania | Aug 4 2026 13:22 utc | 182
 
Those who have the need to announce their Humility, aren’t. 
 
“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity”  A very famous phrase from the Bible (Ecclesiastes 1:2).
 
Found in Luke 18:9-14, Jesus tells this story to people who are sure of their own goodness and look down on others. The Pharisee stands by himself and thanks God that he is not a sinner, a thief, or like the tax collector nearby. He boasts his good acts, saying he fasts two times a week and gives a tenth of all his income. He relies on his own pride. In the same parable, the tax collector stands far back, will not look up, beats his chest, and prays simply, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner”. Jesus says he goes home forgiven because he is humble.
 
The story of the Poor Widow’s Offering in the Temple contrast pride and true humility before God in (Luke 21:1-4). Jesus watches rich people put large sums into the temple box. A poor widow walks up and gives just two small copper coins (mites) Jesus teaches that God values genuine humility and total sacrifice over outward religious show, grandstanding and social status.
 
I know my Bible. Much better than Putin, Trump and Zelensky who ignore it. 
 

It does not distance or dominate or label.  It is not governed by fear or desire and has no need to defend or justify.  

 
Nor does “The quiet life of the heart” tell others what they Shouldn’t do!   | 122   For dearly beloved, that is what petty tyrants do. 🙂 

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 5 2026 0:37 utc | 201

I think Persiflo is in very deep thought.

Posted by: Ornot | Aug 5 2026 0:40 utc | 202

What’s fascinates with the Spanish affair is the question of the extent of Israel’s reach and the creativity of its method.
 
-And I’m not saying if I believe Israel is involved, or not, just that that’s what’s grabbing our interest, not “Israel mean!”
 
Posted by: jonboinAR | Aug 4 2026 11:20 utc | 177
 
Thanks for responding Jon. What you’re highlighting is precisely the reason I was raising it as a distraction. It’s what people do all the time. And Israeli actors are professionals at being the Tail Wagging the Dog aka Jerking people’s chains .. until they start spinning their wheels in the mud ignoring the real atrocities still occurring and crimes being committed. 
 
It is what Israel does repeatedly. Baits the hook and everyone swallows. The anti-Empire alt-media talking head especially — without an ounce of hard evidence. While Danon and others conduct the Orchestra of Manipulation in plain view. In this case, I could be wrong. Given the total lack of evidence beyond the narratives being spun, I am not. But only with time, maybe the real truth will out.
 
But by which time no one will be paying attention anymore. That’s how they win, all the time. It’s how Trump wins because the conga line of fools in America let him get away with it, for decades! 

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 5 2026 0:49 utc | 203

I think Persiflo is in very deep thought.
Posted by: Ornot | Aug 5 2026 0:40 utc | 202
 
Ornot, I remember him visiting b when he was not feeling well. Perhaps b can tell us.
@b?

Posted by: Sakineh Bagoom | Aug 5 2026 0:53 utc | 204

General Factotum | Aug 4 2026 22:26 utc | 200 , 199, 198, 197, 196, 172 and so on back to @ 3 and 2. 
 
i enjoyed reading the quotes, the links and information you shared general factotum about the burevestnik jet engine … thanks..
 
thank you for sharing the insights of – Isaac Newton, Richard Feynman, Leif Ristrophare and of course Anatoly Lanin, who are all True Inspirations.  

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 5 2026 1:24 utc | 205

Posted by: Exile | Aug 4 2026 17:48 utc | 190
 
Well, that was unadulterated crap, but what does it have to do with my post?
 
Posted by: Iron Felix | Aug 4 2026 20:29 utc | 194
 
It had nothing to do with your post Iron.
 
Intolerant trolls and bullies do not need reasons to post unadulterated crap. It is their nature to do so. I’ve been advised not to engage with trolling comments especially which involve attacks on others or myself in order to avoid suspension or worse. I recommend others do the same.  Do not feed the troll but ostracize them instead. 

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 5 2026 1:34 utc | 206

@204 Sakineh Bagoom

He did post on the most recent thread.

I wish you well Persiflo.

Posted by: Ornot | Aug 5 2026 1:45 utc | 207

@ Sakineh Bagoom | Aug 5 2026 0:53 utc | 204
 
i have an e mail address for him.. i will send him a note asking right now.. 

Posted by: james | Aug 5 2026 3:35 utc | 208

@ Ornot | Aug 5 2026 1:45 utc | 207
 
well there you go.. thanks… 

Posted by: james | Aug 5 2026 3:36 utc | 209

– Robert A. Pape: “The American Empire is over”.
 
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/SfuyIkmO2hI  (length: 1 minute)

Posted by: WMG | Aug 5 2026 3:37 utc | 210

@ Asian Tiger | Aug 5 2026 0:37 utc | 201
 
you’re an asshole at… that much is obvious.. you seem very smart, and you clearly have mental health issues… do continue.. 

Posted by: james | Aug 5 2026 3:38 utc | 211

Another damn dry week has passed.
 

The Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin is released by 4:00 p.m. on the second workday of each week.
 
https://esmis.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/release-files/796008/wwcb3126.pdf

 
And the Pacific Northwest is on fire.
 

Posted by: too scents | Aug 5 2026 4:06 utc | 212

In response to

And the Pacific Northwest is on fire. 
Posted by: too scents | Aug 5 2026 4:06 utc | 212

 
Current air quality reading in Corvallis, OR is 185 and it is expected to get worse…..its not looking good for the fire season on the West coast…….Gaia bats first, last and any time she wants.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 5 2026 4:30 utc | 213

@ Asian Tiger | Aug 5 2026 0:37 utc | 201
 you’re an asshole at… that much is obvious.. you seem very smart, and you clearly have mental health issues… do continue.. 
 
Posted by: james | Aug 5 2026 3:38 utc | 211

 
Being called ‘an asshole and mentally ill’ in one post? Classic gaslighting. Passive-aggressive types always default to insults when they can’t think of anything substantive to say — says far more about them than me.
 
I’ve been advised not to engage with trolling comments, especially personal attacks, in order to avoid suspension or worse. So I’ll leave this where it belongs — nowhere.
 
As B says: stick to the topic, contribute facts, don’t attack others. 

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 5 2026 5:07 utc | 214

A longish (1hr+) video on oil prices.
 
The mid-terms trade  ==>  https://youtu.be/FammZzQJN-g
 

Posted by: too scents | Aug 5 2026 5:55 utc | 215

General Factotum | Aug 4 2026 22:26 utc | 200 , 199, 198, 197, 196, 172 and so on back to @ 3 and 2.  i enjoyed reading the quotes, the links and information you shared general factotum about the burevestnik jet engine … thanks.. thank you for sharing the insights of – Isaac Newton, Richard Feynman, Leif Ristrophare and of course Anatoly Lanin, who are all True Inspirations.  
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 5 2026 1:24 utc | 205
 

****************
 
Thanks, Mr. Tiger – and a deep bow from me to those, and more – who have done all the hard work providing fascinating material for this humble scribe…. 
 
What do you reckon are the odds that Mr. Gruff will start from the beginning and enlighten the bar with a polite post addressed to General Factotum addressing the thermal management principles of the generic ‘black box’ nuclear-based thermal energy source?
 
Can he overcome his obsession with the recently-demoted Dick 🙂

Posted by: General Factotum | Aug 5 2026 8:08 utc | 216

Posted by: too scents | Aug 5 2026 5:55 utc | 215
 
Thanks. Basically the story with oil is China scaled down oil imports since May. It could even have been a concession in exchange for US not arming Taiwan. China is the main thing driving oil.
 
In July we also had a modest recovery of tankers through the strait but apparently toward end of July the traffic outward got less again. I think we are still going to see the fallout of the disruption between March-June. 
 
Basically Trump is running blind by manipulating oil as low as they can before the election. But manipulation isn’t free, either.

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 5 2026 8:41 utc | 217

China is the main thing driving oil.
 
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 5 2026 8:41 utc | 217
 

 
What does China have to do with the U.S. mid-terms?
 

Posted by: too scents | Aug 5 2026 9:15 utc | 218

Posted by: too scents | Aug 5 2026 9:15 utc | 218
 
China stopped buying oil when the Hormuz crisis broke,preferring to lean on their own huge SPR. Meanwhile the west has allegedly drawn down their own reserves to near empty.
 
Should China re-enter the bidding for global oil supply, prices could rapidly spike.
 
The timing of that entry could determine the outcome of the mid-terms.
 
However, Trump is known jokingly in China as the ‘great nation builder’, since so much of his policy has hurt the US and helped China. So the timing is not as obvious as one might expect.

Posted by: ChatNPC | Aug 5 2026 9:37 utc | 219

Should China re-enter the bidding for global oil supply, prices could rapidly spike.
 
Posted by: ChatNPC | Aug 5 2026 9:37 utc | 219
 

 
Without speculating on China’s motive for withdrawing from the oil market the fact remains that prices are falling contrary to supply and demand.  That contradiction is evidence of market manipulation.
 
Is China selling naked oil future contracts,  or is Scott Bessent the Whale?
 
Cui Bono?  Oil is consumed, presently faster than it is produced.  The buffer will be exhausted before the upcoming mid-terms.
 
China knows.  Iran knows.  Without much effort they can wait for the USA run into the knife.
 

Posted by: too scents | Aug 5 2026 9:56 utc | 220

South Africa builds energy and manufacturing sector with China. Look at platinum and palladium too, those will be having new kinds of utilities.
 

South Africa secures Chinese support for a $122 billion energy expansion. Aim is to rebuild the manufacturing sector.
 
Copper, copper and more copper.

 
105GW capacity, 14,500km of transmission lines, transformers, batteries, solar, cables ..

 
https://x.com/Kacper_PK_CH/status/2084936051353678032

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 5 2026 11:37 utc | 221

Chinese Kinetic Development Group buys MC Mining and coal mining assets in South Africa.

 
South Africa’s MC Mining Limited has ceded majority control to Hong Kong-listed Kinetic Development Group (KDG) in a $90 million deal that reshapes ownership of one of Africa’s most advanced undeveloped metallurgical coal assets.
 
Completed on April 22, 2026, the transaction gives KDG 51% control via 28.9 million new shares issued in its investment vehicle, Kinetic Crest, following full regulatory approval in South Africa.
 
The move positions MC Mining as a subsidiary within KDG’s global coal portfolio and unlocks $90 million in funding for the Makhado Project in Limpopo, where construction is already advancing toward commissioning.
 
Once operational, the project targets 800,000 tonnes of hard coking coal and 700,000 tonnes of thermal coal annually, strengthening South Africa’s export footprint in the seaborne metallurgical coal market.
 
The deal also strengthens MC Mining’s balance sheet, reduces short-term debt reliance, and brings in KDG’s technical and operational expertise to accelerate execution. Moving forward.

 
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/shoreafrica_south-africas-mc-mining-limited-has-ceded-activity-7457718831642284033-DbLi

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 5 2026 11:41 utc | 222

Good morning juliania and barflies.
Before visiting the news of the day and past night, I’ll post this.
 

 
Have you, juliania, visited the recent guest essay hosted by Larry J @ his sonar21 site on “The Kingdom of Truth, Peace, and Love”  ?
 
I found it well done, including the comments which include this remark by the author in response to a comment:
 

The essay’s final standard is therefore that “every vessel must remain answerable to the fire.” Churches, doctrines, mystical experiences, political movements, and private convictions must all be tested by their fruits.

 
The comment section merits a glance.
 
As always, thanks for your many insights shared.
 
Barflies can be testy.  I see you maintained your equanimity recently when AT, who despite paragraphs of its usual selective logically constructed argument and narrative,  let emotional self defense get the best of itself and lashed out at you despite the record here being open for all of us to interpret.
 
If you have any comments on the above mention essay and commentary,
as relates to our current geopolitical  interregnum, as a practicing buddhist I would love to read about it here from your Orthodox point of view.
 
Christianity and the Kingdom of Truth, Peace, and Love
4 August 2026 by The Frontier Man
 
https://sonar21.com/christianity-and-the-kingdom-of-truth-peace-and-love/

Posted by: suzan | Aug 5 2026 12:48 utc | 223

A sudden thrift occurs.
 

US bans exports of various used critical minerals
 
Washington announces year-long ban on overseas sales of scrap tungsten and ‘black mass’
 
The US will ban the export of certain used critical minerals as it steps up efforts to secure military supply chains and break away from a deep dependence on metals from China.
 
The Bureau of Industry and Security on Tuesday announced a year-long ban on exporting “black mass” — created by shredding batteries — and scrap tungsten, which is used in defence supply chains.
 
China dominates the production of a wide array of metals that are key to industries, ranging from defence to technology to energy. It has weaponised that control by restricting access to the materials in a tit-for-tat trade war with the US, highlighting the risks for the west of relying on a single supplier.
 
In response, other nations led by the US are racing to develop new supplies and recycle more domestically.
 
President Donald Trump ordered the commerce department to draw up the export restrictions last week, saying the “inadequate supply” of certain metals “poses an increasing risk to our national defense and security”.
 
continues ==> https://www.ft.com/content/3a1ef902-8926-46a7-98f6-a75acd0511fc
 

 

Posted by: too scents | Aug 5 2026 13:10 utc | 224

Posted by: too scents | Aug 5 2026 13:10 utc | 224
 
Just another point of proof that lack of rare metals is disrupting US ‘smart weapon’ production in a more significantly than just marginally.
 
Even if they open some new mines in US they still don’t have the refining capacity. And when the republicans lose the democrats could easily just kill off the critical mineral mine projects in the US like they have done in the past.

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 5 2026 13:16 utc | 225

And when the republicans lose the democrats could easily just kill off the critical mineral mine projects in the US like they have done in the past.
 
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 5 2026 13:16 utc | 225

 
Except that the Dims probably wouldn’t. Given the choice between the MIC and the environment, Dims have in the past almost always chosen in favor of the former.

Posted by: malenkov | Aug 5 2026 14:04 utc | 226

Posted by: suzan | Aug 5 2026 12:48 utc | 223
 
Thanks for your kind words, suzan.  As you suggest,  I will check it out.  Be back with my thoughts.

Posted by: juliania | Aug 5 2026 14:25 utc | 227

TIL, in 2013 a private military corporation had almost as many employees as Walmart. I recently saw something about ‘corporate pardons’. The entities on this list and many similar others would certainly benefit if they were up to no good.
 
 
 
https://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/the-9-largest-private-armies-in-the-world-what-are-they-fighting-for-179460/
 
“G4S
 
The company has over 620,000 employes dislocated worldwide and participates in operations in 125 countries, with a focus on developing markets. G4S plc (LON:GFS), traded on the London Stock Exchange, has been named the second-largest private employer in the world, being outrun only by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT). The operations in which G4S is engaged involve: (a) the providing of security forces for private clients and government agencies, (b) intelligence, (c) land-mine clearance and (d) training.”
 

Posted by: GreatLakesObserver | Aug 5 2026 14:31 utc | 228

Trump says Xi will visit US on September 24
 

China hits back at US with sanctions and tighter drone export rules
 
Beijing’s retaliation highlights tensions ahead of Xi Jinping’s planned trip in September
 
 
China has tightened controls on drone exports to the US and imposed new sanctions on several American companies, retaliatory moves that could escalate tensions between the two powers.
 
In four separate statements, Beijing’s Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday set out countermeasures to recent US actions that have included restrictions on tech imports from China and the expansion of a ban on goods connected to alleged forced labour in the western region of Xinjiang.
 
The commerce ministry banned Chinese parties from dealing with US biotech company Applied DNA Sciences and five other American entities for “supporting illegal US sanctions concerning Xinjiang”.
 
It also announced strengthened controls on exports to the US of drones, their key components and related technologies included on a dual-use control list. Exports would be subject to review on a “case-by-case basis”, the ministry said.
 
The announcements highlight continuing strains in relations between Beijing and Washington ahead of an expected visit by President Xi Jinping to the US in September. The trip follows Donald Trump’s state visit to Beijing in May, the first by a US president in nine years.
 
Washington last week added 43 Chinese companies to its list of those banned from importing to the US over alleged links to the use of forced labour in Xinjiang.
 
 
continues ==> https://www.ft.com/content/38e11309-9cb6-4cd4-a5b6-fc9a239ad6b3
 

Posted by: too scents | Aug 5 2026 15:17 utc | 229

@ suzan | Aug 5 2026 12:48 utc | 223
 
thanks for the link.. it is a long meandering post which i read / scanned…. it is interesting larry johnson posted it.. i take it the reason was due the first part of the post which is focused on war and trying to find a way towards peace…  the bigger part of the article got taken up in some of the history of the church… jesus didn’t create the church – others did after him… in some respects the church has played an outsized role, while the actual sayings of jesus – not as much… those who profess to be christian would do well to focus on the words of jesus, as opposed to the doctrines and ideologies that come and go within the organized church…  my 2c… 

Posted by: james | Aug 5 2026 15:28 utc | 230

Thanks again to suzan above.  Sorry,  I could not read all of it. 
 
My thought was it was too grandiose, and when it came to Tolstoi instead of Dostoievski, I gave up.  I think it is Kirkegaarde(sp?) who in his Philosophical Fragments gives the idea of  the Crucifixion  as a pivot point between past and future history, but even that is not the Orthodox understanding, which begins with Creation itself and that ongoing.  I will leave it at that.  I’m sure the author has the best intentions, but dearie me!   
 
I will say one thing — the Crucifixion wasn’t a judgment: 
 

“…  Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do  …  ”  And,  “…  he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’  Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’  And from that hour the disciple took her to his own house  …”  

 
We Orthodox sing:
 

Christ is risen from the dead
trampling down death by death
and on those in the tomb bestowing life.

Posted by: juliania | Aug 5 2026 15:43 utc | 231

Apologies for the bad spacing in my first indentation above.

Posted by: juliania | Aug 5 2026 15:45 utc | 232

France :
Good news ! Someone has realized Gabriel Attal was candidate for the 2027 Presidential election. 
Bad news : it’s not the French people that would have to vote.
 
Last weeks it was Glüsksman , this week Attal …  Some commenter in France are talking about a “Romanian scenario” with opposition party candidates kicked of the ballots , some other are forecasting an “Banderistan scenario” with Macron invoking special powers to stay in office (as constitutionally improbable than Gehlenskiy staying in power … /s)
Anyway , choose your method , voting don’t matter anymore ! 
 

Posted by: Savonarole | Aug 5 2026 16:01 utc | 233

@ Posted by: juliania | Aug 5 2026 14:25 utc | 227
 
 
Interesting.
 
Thank you, juliania, for your esteemed opinion.
 
I know little about this in depth but I wonder if The Frontier Man, footnoting and articulate as he is in his guest essay, might re-evaluate his method of meeting and influencing his targeted audience?
 
Since many evangelicals and other so-called christians here in the USA suffer from a lack of education and often lack proficient literacy, perhaps TFM should take a cue from those creative Lego artists of recent acclaim and create a different method to approach, meet and appeal to his targeted audience?
 

Posted by: suzan | Aug 5 2026 16:37 utc | 234

@ Posted by: james | Aug 5 2026 15:28 utc | 230
 
Thanks, james.
Indeed, i concur.

Posted by: suzan | Aug 5 2026 16:39 utc | 235

@ juliania | Aug 5 2026 15:43 utc | 231
 

quote  when it came to Tolstoi instead of Dostoievski, I gave up.

 
juliania! but tolstoi wrote a book directly addressing his faith, as noted in the article.. i don’t believe dostoievski did… now maybe that is not enough… tolstoi also wrote a book ”war and peace” which is on the minds of a lot of people including the author of this piece that suzan shared with us…   i would be curious for you to go into what your thoughts are around tolstoi verses dostoievski, if you feel like it… cheers! james

Posted by: james | Aug 5 2026 17:01 utc | 236

I am watching gold jump almost $200/oz today….it must be fundamentals, eh?

Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 5 2026 18:44 utc | 237

it must be fundamentals, eh?
 
Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 5 2026 18:44 utc | 237
 

 
Whack a mole has a hammer shortage.
 

Posted by: too scents | Aug 5 2026 18:55 utc | 238

@ too scents | Aug 5 2026 18:55 utc | 238 about a hammer shortage….
 
What they do have is serious manipulation capability as I have watched it go from two days last week of paper/physical price parity to a surprisingly fixed range of $50-60 plus to the paper holders….even during this run up today.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 5 2026 20:10 utc | 239

  i would be curious for you to go into what your thoughts are around tolstoi verses dostoievski, if you feel like it… cheers! james
Posted by: james | Aug 5 2026 17:01 utc | 236
 
Thanks, james.  Here’s how I see the difference.  It’s not T vs. D but rather that D has a complete story  to tell, and sadly T’s search goes almost along an identical path (though they never met in real life) but is incomplete as far as lifetime conclusion is concerned.   Each highly respected the other.   Both were drawn to the same monastery,  Optina.  Dostoevsky wrote about it in The Brothers K.   Tolstoy made visits to the monastery as his sister was in the women’s monastery nearby.  But the monks, for whatever reason,  were unable to agree with what Tolstoi had to say, or perhaps Tolstoi could not agree with what the monks had to say. The visit, or visits, were not fruitful.   His final pilgrimage was a failure since he apparently turned away remembering how unsuccessful he had been before.  He ended up collapsing in the railway station, and a monk from the monastery, learning of his attempted visit, made a hurried journey there but was refused entry by Tolstoi’s friends.  — it’s very sad I think.
 
Dostoievski had  tragic episodes  in his own life, and came to the same monastery.  His first child had died as an infant,  and much later his three year old son died of epilepsy which D felt had been his own legacy to his son.  His last novel  is the transformation of that legacy, infused with the fruits of that monastic encounter.  
 
Nothing can beat Tolstoi’s brilliance as an author setting his works of literature into historical reality, nothing.  If he had lived a bit longer, he might have produced something of the same nature in that encounter he didn’t have at the last.  No doubt he came close, and that is not to be denied.  Assuredly,  his humanity is not to be denied.  But his spiritual legacy is a different one by comparison.  It doesn’t go quite as far for me personally, as Dostoievski’s did, in pointing me back to the scriptures, seeing the evangelists there in a new light, in particular the evangelist John.   Discussing that final work brought me to the threshhold of Orthodoxy.  I might never have come there otherwise.
 
It’s a personal affinity.  Others will disagree, and that’s fine.  

Posted by: juliania | Aug 5 2026 20:18 utc | 240

My apologies to everyone here for not posting a note every now and then during the past weeks; like postcards from a vacation. Today’s are the first threads I’m reading in full since early July. It sometimes felt like I was visiting another planet when I was helping my colleague with his flat, situated on a rim of urbanity where it almost seems like the stars are closer than the people around. I enjoyed the work and would stay for days on end several times, thereby discovering the profound growth this man was able to make out of a tragic situation in his own past, in which he had a hand in. It was him who did all the hard work, but it was me who had initiated the transformation; that is what he says. I would like a third party view on what is evidently a great, even miraculous therapeutic success, but probably will never get one. No shrink and no clinic had ever been willing to even accept him as a patient.
 
I’m happy to see that the Dog has apparently managed to stabilize himself to good degree, but less happy for the forum which he’s now treating to his proficient posting; showing all the traits of his former self, including his penchant for eristical arguments from hypocritical appeals to authority to hair-triggered reverse ad hominems, often with a discernible malignant twist. Perhaps a little higher dosage of Humilium® might be in order.
 
Martin Buber is right that God also has to be a person – has to; and by virtue of the fundamental characteristic of Self as a dialogical structure, which is not principally different from encounter with a Thou, also a multitude of them. The same argument provides that even God has a subconscious, and that it’s only further evaluation of its specific entries which allows to ascribe some of them as belonging to the individual, as opposed to the collective, which is the more general case. This follows from analysis of the intentional structure of consciousness, incorporating instances of telepathy and such (like holy spirit), and also holds for persons in their part/whole relationship to the Intersubjekt – Self is We. To deny this would mean to deny that God partakes in consciousness at all. – Thank you for the quote, juliania.

Posted by: persiflo | Aug 5 2026 20:23 utc | 241

meanwhile back at the ranch…
 
Mahmood OD: ‘Zionist Defeat’
 
https://www.youtube.com/@Mahmood_OD/videos
 
“US & UK: What do the major victories for Palestine tell us?”
 
 

Posted by: John Gilberts | Aug 5 2026 20:53 utc | 242

Michael Hudson: The Collapse of the U.S. Dollar Empire & The Rise of New Global Economic Order   One hour

Posted by: Don Firineach | Aug 5 2026 20:56 utc | 243

What they do have is serious manipulation capability as I have watched it go from two days last week of paper/physical price parity to a surprisingly fixed range of $50-60 plus to the paper holders….even during this run up today.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 5 2026 20:10 utc | 239
 
 That is because they rolled forward into the December contract hence the big premium. That premium will erode over the next few months.

Posted by: arby | Aug 5 2026 21:11 utc | 244

I’m happy to see that the Dog has apparently managed to stabilize himself to good degree, but less happy for the forum which he’s now treating to his proficient posting; showing all the traits of his former self, including his penchant for eristical arguments from hypocritical appeals to authority to hair-triggered reverse ad hominems, often with a discernible malignant twist.

 
Well, I’m not happy at all, although I’m happy to note that I’m not the only one to claim that Jake Blanchard/Lavrov’s Dog is back and dominating the comments with characteristic malevolence.  I pointed out his presence here a couple of days ago — in a comment b thoughtfully deleted, although possibly because it was in response to the Wisco sock du jour.
 
The big question, of course, is why he was allowed back.

Posted by: malenkov | Aug 5 2026 22:02 utc | 245

For persiflo
Welcome back.
I know you follow Rick Beato. Here is his interview with Todd Rundgren. I’ve been aware of him since his a cappella album. Enjoy.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JURaguK0QgY&theme=dark

Posted by: Sakineh Bagoom | Aug 5 2026 22:47 utc | 246

I see the fearful narcissistic performances behind the public veneer. That’s not cynicism — that’s discernment. I know. And I know what to do about it too. It’s that simple.  But one tenpin at a time — no hurry worry, as we say in the orient. It can make one feel great compassion for those westerners, who are lost in time, and lost in space. 
 
But we won’t waste our energy on childish emotions. In Hindu philosophy, but only as one example of hundreds of teachings, ultimate understanding (jnana) requires direct, personal realization (anubhava) rather than mere intellectual study. People do learn, and learning happens when outer teachings ignite an inner, direct experience of one’s own true nature and consciousness. These things supersede the vacuous opinions and mental machinations of Buber and his Jewish Zionist — Hasidic Judaism traditions. And of course Christian Orthodoxy too.  Equivalent to Comic Book Spirituality
 
After the great game of Telephone across centuries none of you book learners know what Jesus said or didn’t say; let alone mean and teach. Nor what Saul of Tarsus really said about it; and what he taught in the first century. 
 

Martin Buber is right that God also has to be a person – has to; and by virtue of the fundamental characteristic of Self as a dialogical structure, which is not principally different from encounter with a Thou, also a multitude of them.

 
Buber and all who believe this twaddle are the Ignorant Jesus was addressing. And 2000 years later remain out of your depth in Comic Book Spirituality. Who’s up for a genuine knowledgeable discussion about Spirituality what it is and how to understand it’s true form? Please come armed if you are. But know you need to do better than Buber, persiflo, juliania, james, malenkov, and suzan. The Shift Key disabled ones. 🙂 

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 5 2026 23:50 utc | 247

Posted by: Raumati | Aug 5 2026 23:26 utc | 75 – from the other thread.
What do they (whoever they are) do with the batteries from the E cars? 
One is made to treat a battery like it is toxic waste.  Where do the car batteries go.  I have looked a bit into lithium recycling, and I don’t know.  But I am pretty stupid as far as MoA goes.
I just had to total my 2001 car (today) my daughter used because someone did a hit and run.  It’s absurd, dumb, and weird.  I guess they feel the need to force us into snitch cars with cameras and everything.  Thank Jah I can usually cycle for everything.   And it was miserably hot in DTLA when I took it to the shop.  The people were quite nice, though.
I am putting this on the open thread so people don’t hate me more than they already do.  ; )
FTW
Buzzcocks – Fast Cars
It wasn’t a fast car.  It was Built for Comfort,
Total drag, though.  But compared to some poor Palestinian, Iranian or -innocent Ukrainian, I have nothing to complain about.
Thank you b and everyone.

Posted by: lex talionis | Aug 6 2026 0:04 utc | 248

Everyone burns on the alter , of their interpretation of perception of reality. When it comes to beliefs and spirit I have learned to accept it all. Wisdom and humility pushes me to that concern.

Posted by: Upsidedowndingo | Aug 6 2026 0:25 utc | 249

Who’s up for a genuine knowledgeable discussion about Spirituality what it is and how to understand it’s true form? Please come armed if you are. But know you need to do better than Buber, persiflo, juliania, james, malenkov, and suzan. The Shift Key disabled ones. 🙂 
 
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 5 2026 23:50 utc | 247

 
For the record, malenkov approaches the matter (heh) of the spiritual realm with perfect indifference.

Posted by: malenkov | Aug 6 2026 0:37 utc | 250

I am watching gold jump almost $200/oz today….it must be fundamentals, eh?
Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 5 2026 18:44 utc | 237
 
The US Debt passing $40T?

Posted by: Menz | Aug 6 2026 1:07 utc | 251

My apologies to everyone here for not posting a note every now and then during the past weeks; 
 
Posted by: persiflo | Aug 5 2026 20:23 utc | 241
 
Oh please, you should be apologizing for the tripe you just dished up here.  Let’s parse this fraudulent performance piece by piece.
 
First, the preamble about your ‘vacation’ and your ‘therapeutic success’ with a colleague — what is this? A humblebrag? A bid for moral authority before you even engage? You’re setting yourself up as the wise healer while simultaneously casting me as the pathology. Classic framing. Noted.
 
Then we get to the ‘Dog’ — a label I’ve seen you and others toss at anyone who doesn’t bow to your intellectual posturing and rampant bullying. You’ve used it before, and you’ll use it again. It’s not wit; it’s a lazy rhetorical crutch. You reach for it when you have nothing else. And ‘Humilium’? Clever wordplay. Also tells me you’re more interested in performing superiority than making a point.
 
Now the meat — Buber. You’ve elevated his ‘I-Thou’ framework to cosmic law while ignoring that it’s one philosopher’s opinion among thousands. You assert that God ‘has to be a person’ as if it’s settled. It isn’t. It’s a claim. You’re treating Buber as scripture, not as one voice in a choir of traditions you clearly haven’t engaged with beyond the quote-mining level. Mental avarice dressed up as insight — bereft of the the lived, direct experiences that actually ground spiritual knowledge.
 
And then — ‘God has a subconscious’? ‘Telepathy and such (like holy spirit)’? This is theology by vibes. You’re gesturing at profundity while saying nothing testable, nothing verifiable, nothing that would survive five minutes in a real philosophical seminar. You’re playing Wittgenstein’s language-game while pretending you’ve discovered the rules.
 
You end with ‘Self is We’ — a statement so vague it could mean anything and therefore means nothing. It’s the kind of aphorism that sounds profound in a coffee shop filled with marijuana smoke at 2am but collapses under the weight of a single follow-up question: ‘By what method did you arrive at this certainty?’
 
You’re not engaging with me. I never denied ‘God’ is Consciousness. You’re engaging with a caricature you’ve constructed with a discombobulated mind so you can feel wise. The irony — you accuse me of ‘eristical arguments from hypocritical appeals to authority,’ then spend your entire post doing exactly that with Buber as your shield. Is this all you have? 
 
So let’s cut the performance. If you have an argument, make it. If you have evidence, present it. If all you have is a diagnosis wrapped in a vacation story and some German Jewish philosophy, you’re not the healer you think you are. You’re just the next spiritual conman waiting to be shown the door. Do better, or shut it. 
 
You came in swinging at a phantom. I’m not your ‘Dog.’ You’re shadow-boxing a ghost while I’m standing right here. That’s not discernment. That’s paranoia pretending it’s insight. I’m not your patient. I’m not your student. Do not need your approval. I’m the one who reads your Buber quotes and sees a man with a fragile ego hiding behind borrowed words. Now — do you have anything of your own to say, or are we done here?  

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 1:11 utc | 252

Well, I’m not happy at all, although I’m happy to note that I’m not the only one to claim that Jake Blanchard/Lavrov’s Dog is back and dominating the comments with characteristic malevolence.  I pointed out his presence here a couple of days ago — in a comment b thoughtfully deleted, although possibly because it was in response to the Wisco sock du jour. The big question, of course, is why he was allowed back. 
 
Posted by: malenkov | Aug 5 2026 22:02 utc | 245
 
For the record, malenkov approaches the matter (heh) of the spiritual realm with perfect indifference.
 
Posted by: malenkov | Aug 6 2026 0:37 utc | 250

 
Let me get this straight — Malenkov ‘independently’ identified me days ago, yet your comment was deleted, and now you’re riding in on persiflo’s coat-tails to echo his ‘Dog’ fantasy? That’s not independent thinking. That’s wolf pack behaviour.
 
You’re not even sure who I am. You’re just certain I’m someone you’re supposed to hate. That’s not discernment. That’s conditioning.
 
And then — ‘perfect indifference’ to the spiritual realm? You’re proud of that? You’re boasting about having no skin in the game while jumping into a discussion you claim not to care about? That’s not indifference. That’s intellectual cowardice dressed as detachment.
 
If you truly didn’t care, you wouldn’t be here. You wouldn’t have ‘pointed out my presence’ days ago. You wouldn’t be cosigning persiflo’s paranoia. You’d be elsewhere, indifferent. But you’re not. You’re right here, scared of a ghost you’ve conjured, hoping the pack of bullies will protect you.
 
So here’s a question for you Malenkov — since you’re so ‘indifferent’ to spirituality, why are you even in this conversation? What are you afraid of? Because the only people who attack what they claim not to care about are the ones who are terrified it might be real.
 
The door’s over there if you truly don’t care. But we both know you’re not going anywhere.

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 1:26 utc | 253

So here’s a question for you Malenkov — since you’re so ‘indifferent’ to spirituality, why are you even in this conversation? 
 
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 1:26 utc | 253

 
Because, Jake, you lumped me in with the spiritualists. 

Posted by: malenkov | Aug 6 2026 1:34 utc | 254

Good morning juliania and barflies. Before visiting the news of the day and past night, I’ll post this. Have you, juliania, visited the recent guest essay hosted by Larry J @ his sonar21 site on “The Kingdom of Truth, Peace, and Love”  ?
 
Barflies can be testy.  I see you maintained your equanimity recently when AT, who despite paragraphs of its usual selective logically constructed argument and narrative,  let emotional self defense get the best of itself and lashed out at you despite the record here being open for all of us to interpret.
 
………..  as a practicing buddhist I would love to read about it here from your Orthodox point of view.
 
Posted by: suzan | Aug 5 2026 12:48 utc | 223
 

suzan, let’s cut through the distortions shall we? I see the narcissistic performance behind the public veneer. You praise juliania for her ‘equanimity’ while framing me as emotionally unhinged. That’s not neutrality — that’s a passive-aggressive hit wrapped in polite language.
 
I didn’t give juliania permission, let alone an opening to come storming into my comment with her big muddy boots and stamp all over it until it was no longer recognizable.
 
You’re not the peacemaker here; you’re the enabler — a windsock blowing whichever way james’ and persiflo’s paranoia blows, cosigning their narratives while pretending to be above the fray.
 
You claim to be a practicing Buddhist. More humblebrag? Then you know the teaching on Right Speech — and you know this isn’t it. You’re not speaking truth; you’re spreading a narrative, unconsciously practicing the very ‘violent communication’ Marshall Rosenberg warned about — where people attack character while claiming innocence.
 
If you have something substantive to say about spirituality, say it. If you have a critique of my arguments or source presentation, make it. But this performance — praising one side while subtly diminishing the other — is transparent. You’re not the wise observer. You’re the chorus girl in the bully’s opera.
 
So here’s an invitation: engage with the substance. Or step aside, Miss Windsock. But don’t pretend you’re above the battle while you’re clearly choosing a side atop the bandwagon.
 

Addendum Rosenberg NVC: “Unfortunately, we are not taught to take ownership of our feelings and needs in order to ask healthily for only what benefits and is fair to all parties involved. The overwhelming majority of people do not consciously know what violent communication is, and because of this they end up using “violent” communication unconsciously.”  https://nonviolentcommunication.com/learn-nonviolent-communication/  A vision for the future https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwHBD7Ihy5U 

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 2:01 utc | 255

So here’s a question for you Malenkov — since you’re so ‘indifferent’ to spirituality, why are you even in this conversation?     Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 1:26 utc | 253

 

Because, Jake, you lumped me in with the spiritualists.   Posted by: malenkov | Aug 6 2026 1:34 utc | 254

 
Not so. I lumped you among the intolerant trolls who continually distort what other people say. That’s the group where you belong.
 
And I’m no Jake. Whoever the f he is. But enjoy your delusions — they’re yours to have and to hold.

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 2:10 utc | 256

Not so. I lumped you among the intolerant trolls who continually distort what other people say. That’s the group where you belong.
 
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 2:10 utc | 256

 
I see that reading your own comments in context isn’t your forte.
 
Oh, and you’re fooling nobody with your appeals to site rules that are no longer on the site. How would you know those rules, after all? But I suppose you merit a little doggie treat for not giving us the “long time lurker, first time commenter” when you appeared — no, reappeared — the scene a few weeks ago, Mr. Blanchard.

Posted by: malenkov | Aug 6 2026 2:17 utc | 257

Posted by: persiflo | Aug 5 2026 20:23 utc | 241 
 
You are welcome, persiflo!  Good to see you back; we have missed you!  And I’ll start right out by disagreeing but it’s not a biggie.    Or maybe it is, but we’re going to differ in this I forsee.  I don’t think Buber would say that God has to be a Person.  He would say that is how we connect, as we connect with one another best as persons, the closest of these being as husband and wife. (I’m not having good connections with one of the persons here, but that happens too.  I did try.) 
In agreement here with Orthodox theology, Buber would say that the essence of God is beyond our knowledge.  It’s somewhat tricky to say God must be a person the same way that we are persons necessarily in this or that philosophical understanding of Self.   Anything limiting would only apply, if at all, to our human personhood. 
Buber holds back from having a Christian concept of union with God through Christ, but his explanations do approach that final concept closer than some more limiting ideas about Christianity do.  In Orthodoxy it is expressed thusly:  God became man that man might become God.  (Not a transformation, but rather an entrance into communion.)  
 
Anyway, these are my own thoughts, and there would be plenty of disagreements, especially from others who  have different beliefs.  So this is not the place to make absolute claims  — it’s just my place on the road that others have already gone far ahead on.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
:
 

 

Posted by: juliania | Aug 6 2026 2:18 utc | 258

Sorry again for my spacing — later at night I get a bit foggy.

Posted by: juliania | Aug 6 2026 2:21 utc | 259

Sorry again for my spacing — later at night I get a bit foggy.

Posted by: juliania | Aug 6 2026 2:21 utc | 260

@ juliania | Aug 5 2026 20:18 utc | 240
 
thanks juliania… that is fascinating about your own personal journey in all of this.. and this appears to lead  you into saying  what you say.. i can’t say i know near as much as you on these 2 authors, but it would be hard to impossible to know just how far along the path each man went on their spiritual journey…  i am not sure if being inside a monastery or outside would make a difference.. maybe yes, maybe no..  there are a lot more aspects of life i know nothing or very little about, then not.. 
 
i did read tolstoys book mentioned in that article suzan shared – the kingdom of heaven is within you… i have his book ‘war and peace’ ready to read, but haven’t dug into it yet..  i plan on it.. 

Posted by: james | Aug 6 2026 2:27 utc | 261

@ suzan | Aug 5 2026 12:48 utc | 223   
james | Aug 5 2026 15:28 utc | 230    
juliania | Aug 5 2026 15:43 utc | 231   
suzan | Aug 5 2026 16:37 utc | 234 | 235    
 
The Christ may have risen from the dead, but Jesus sure didn’t. That’s the difference between a living teaching and a corpse of dogma all you Westerners have been propping up for centuries. 
 
james — you say we should focus on Jesus’s ‘actual sayings’ – while calling me an asshole and mentally ill. How’s that work? You’re just picking and choosing sayings from hand-me-down texts fit your personal windsock narrative — while ignoring the ones that don’t. You have no idea what are the ‘actual sayings’  of Jesus anymore than juliania or any Christian does.
 
You people are not showing fidelity to Jesus; that’s building a Jesus in your own image. Anthropomorphism at its finest — you’ve made a false God in your own likeness, not the other way around.
 
juliania — you couldn’t finish the essay because it quoted Tolstoy instead of Dostoevsky? That’s not discernment; that’s literary snobbery. Tolstoy was a great Christian Freemason of high repute and character. But you dismissed an entire argument because you didn’t like the author’s choice of Russian novelist. Reciting by rote Orthodox hymnody as if it settles anything. It doesn’t. It’s just another empty vessel — and every vessel must remain answerable to the fire, as the essay rightly says. Yours is no exception.
 
suzan — you thank juliania for her ‘esteemed opinion’ and suggest The Frontier Man should dumb down his writing for ‘uneducated’ Americans. That’s not compassion; that’s class contempt dressed as concern. What’s next; the deplorables? If you truly cared about reaching people about Buddhism, you’d engage with the ideas, not sneer at the audience.
 
You’re all performing piety while demonstrating the opposite: pride, condescension, superior exceptionalism and intellectual laziness. The Kingdom of Heaven isn’t found in your Orthodox hymns, your selective sayings of Jesus, or your disdain for the uneducated. It’s found in truth, peace, love and tolerance — none of which are on display here. 
 
And please try that Shift key now and then. 

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 2:37 utc | 262

……..🐀

Posted by: Ornot | Aug 6 2026 3:08 utc | 263

i did read tolstoys book mentioned in that article suzan shared – the kingdom of heaven is within you… i have his book ‘war and peace’ ready to read, but haven’t dug into it yet..  i plan on it.. 
 
 
Posted by: james | Aug 6 2026 2:27 utc | 261
 
 
I hope I haven’t offended Tolstoi lovers, james.  You will enjoy ‘War and Peace’ — maybe not the deeply complex chapters of  his battle philosophy but the narrative ones.  His characters are marvellous.  And I agree that Tolstoi’s own journey though a painful one ended in a good way – he was making the same attempt as Dostoievski ended up making.  My point was about his legacy as a Christian writer only.   He did have a mixed journey, not always a Christian one but he was indeed more Christian than many.
 
Sorry about the double post  above.  I got a message that I was posting too frequently,  so I held off a while and then pressed ‘send’ .  I thought it hadn’t gone the first time.

Posted by: juliania | Aug 6 2026 3:17 utc | 264

@ AT Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 2:01 utc | 255
 
Speaking truthfully, meaningfully, gently and harmoniously are basic components of “Right Speech” in buddhist teachings, all combined.
 
Whilst juliania and I have had disagreements in the past, I did not see her ‘stomping all over your post with muddy boots’ (paraphrased): 
 

I didn’t give juliania permission, let alone an opening to come storming into my comment with her big muddy boots and stamp all over it until it was no longer recognizable 
 

I saw her trying to connect some of her own thoughts to what you were saying more as if your words were a stimulus for her thought process.  No need for you to own it.  Be more capacious?
 
Your response to her contribution was harsh and divisive.  
 
 
 
~~
 
May all sentient beings be freed of the afflictions of attachment, aversion, ignorance, arrogance and jealousy.

Posted by: suzan | Aug 6 2026 3:21 utc | 265

i would be curious for you to go into what your thoughts are around tolstoi verses dostoievski, if you feel like it… cheers! james
 
Posted by: james | Aug 5 2026 17:01 utc | 236
 
It’s a personal affinity. Others will disagree, and that’s fine.
 
 Posted by: juliania | Aug 5 2026 20:18 utc | 240

 
 
 
juliania — a touching personal story. But it’s still just that: personal. You found Orthodoxy through Dostoevsky. Others find truth through Tolstoy, or Vivekananda, or Sufis, grace and direct experience. Your path isn’t universal — it’s one path among countless others.
 
You dismiss Tolstoy’s spiritual search as ‘incomplete.’ Perhaps. But incompleteness is the human condition. The search itself — the struggle, the failure, the refusal to settle for easy answers — that’s where the fire is. Dostoevsky gave you a home in Orthodoxy. Tolstoy refused to settle for any home that didn’t measure up to the fire.
 
That’s not a failure. That’s integrity. And total commitment to The Path.
 
But here’s the pattern I’ve watched you repeat for years: you perform ‘the wise western Christian humanist,’ wrapping yourself in Orthodoxy and Buber, while dismissing anything outside your framework as lesser. You openly criticize and put down others’ offerings — my own included — and then judge them wanting by YOUR dogmatic standard. Simultaneously denying what you just did. The very thing Jesus spoke against: ‘Judge not, lest you be judged.’ Who said that is irrelevant — because it’s the Truth.
 
I didn’t give you an opening to come storming into my comment with your big muddy boots and stamp all over it until it was no longer recognizable.  juliania @   122  But you did it anyway. There are none so blind as you who do not see — and who selfishly do not care about others’ creative work while arrogantly thinking you know it all.
 
You know almost nothing but book learning. Your Orthodoxy is suitable for spiritual children. And now suzan wants to canonize your ‘equanimity’ while you’re busy trampling anything you don’t understand. And don’t want to know. 
 
So let’s be clear: Dostoevsky led you to Orthodoxy. Tolstoy and hundreds of others led me to question everything. Your path gave you certainty. Mine gave me fire — direct perception, personal spiritual experiences, and the refusal to bow to anyone’s dogma. We’re not the same.
 
We’re not going to agree on this. Nor do I seek it. So I’ll leave it there. 

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 3:22 utc | 266

The two earnings releases by Nutrien (potash) and CF Industries (ammonia, urea, fertilizer producer). Both are citing demand destruction due to supply disruption and higher prices. So probably means significantly lower farming/farmer/planting activity of grains in the US or Canada.
 
Higher food price and disruption is coming.

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 6 2026 3:27 utc | 267

As B says: stick to the topic, contribute facts, don’t attack others. 

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 5 2026 5:07 utc | 214
 
@ Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 3:22 utc | 266
 
you’re toxic at… i picked that up from you much earlier then the past few days… and indeed as you note  in your post @ 214
 

I’ve been advised not to engage with trolling comments, especially personal attacks

 
which is why i never replied to your post way  back @ Asian Tiger | Aug 2 2026 22:42 utc | 38
 
you’re toxic and have mental health problems…. fwiw – this is the last post you’ll get from me.. 
 

Posted by: james | Aug 6 2026 3:45 utc | 268

@ juliania | Aug 6 2026 3:17 utc | 264
 
not at all juliania! always a pleasure to interact with you! cheers..

Posted by: james | Aug 6 2026 3:47 utc | 269

Posted by: james | Aug 6 2026 2:27 utc | 261
 
There’s a lot to know in Orthodox theology,  james.  I’ve only scratched the surface and there will be ,more experienced advisors than I, that is for sure.  I take in what I can, and I apologize for sounding amateurish; that is what I am, an amateur.  Mine might be a path less travelled by, but it’s my path.

Posted by: juliania | Aug 6 2026 3:59 utc | 270

A famous quote by Swami Vivekananda: “It is good to be born in a church, but it is bad to die there.” 
 
Being born in a church, temple, or organized tradition is good. Rituals, symbols, and doctrines act like a protective fence for a young plant; they give a person a moral start, discipline, and a safe framework to begin their spiritual journey. Dying in a church means remaining trapped inside those rigid boundaries for your whole life. If a person dies with the same narrow, dogmatic mindset they started with, it means their soul never truly grew or matured. Religion should evolve from external rules and child-like ceremonies into a direct, inner realization of truth.
 
The Orthodox Christian Church doesn’t even scratch the surface of Self-Realization. Let alone Moksha and Jivanmukti taught in Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism to the west) especially Advaita Vedanta; and in Sant Mat, Sufi, and Sikh traditions who also referred to the Samadhi state as God-Realization.
 
Swami Vivekananda (January 12, 1863 – July 4, 1902), is one of many great teachers I’m aware of, a God-Realized spiritual master, he was a chief disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. His life, deep meditative capability, and realization of non-dual truth (Advaita Vedanta) marked him as an adept who experienced the divine directly and taught the manifestation of divinity in all human beings.
 
The Swami taught the advanced Four Yogas practise where he integrated all paths — Karma (action), Bhakti (devotion), Jnana (knowledge), and Raja (meditation) — as equally valid ways to reach the same divine realization.
 
Direct Experience: He moved past intellectual questioning after profound spiritual touches and deep samadhi states catalyzed by his guru.
 
Vedantic Wisdom: He embodied the realization that the individual soul and the universal reality are one.
 
Universal Vision: His encounters with various aspects of the Divine Mother, Shiva, and other profound mystical states solidified his unshakeable realization of absolute consciousness.
 
Vivekananda’s Legacy and Impact
 
Practical Spirituality: He framed spirituality not as mere dogma, but as a practical, lived experience.
 
Service as Worship: He viewed service to humanity (Nara-Narayana) as direct worship of the living God. 
 
One does not learn about these things only in a book, they experience them directly, with the correct training, the right attitude, a wholesome self-discipline and a loving heart. There are no shortcuts. And it is not for sale.
 
When the violent foolishness of Political Zionism was taking root in Europe this is some of what Vivekananda brought to America in the late 1800s: 
 

Closely connected with these ideas is the doctrine — which was universal before the Europeans mutilated it — the doctrine of reincarnation.
 
Through all the myths and mythologies by which it is surrounded it is no wonder that the people get very little of the beautiful religion of Jesus, and no wonder that they have made of it a modern shop-keeping religion.
 
In the New Testament it is taught, “Our Father who art in heaven” — God living in the heavensseparated from men. We are living on earth and He is living in heaven. Further on we find theteaching that He is a God immanent in nature; He is not only God in heaven, but on earth too. Heis the God in us. In the Hindu philosophy we find a stage of the same proximity of God to us. Butwe do not stop there. There is the non-dualistic stage, in which man realises that the God he hasbeen worshipping is not only the Father in heaven, and on earth, but that “I and my Father areone.” He realises in his soul that he is God Himself, only a lower expression of Him. All that is realin me is He; all that is real in Him is I. The gulf between God and man is thus bridged. Thus we findhow, by knowing God, we find the kingdom of heaven within us.
 
These ideas are expressed in some religions, and in others only hinted. In some they were expatriated. Christ’s teachings are now verylittle understood in this country. If you will excuse me, I will say that they have never been very well understood.

 
If you’re interested in such ideas, then look up the Swami, Advaita Vedanta and Sanatana Dhama. The Sikhs are particularly interesting, an esoteric blend of Hinduism and Islam in the Punjab founded by Guru Nanak.  

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 4:04 utc | 271

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 5 2026 1:24 utc | 205 
****************
Thanks, Mr. Tiger – and a deep bow from me to those, and more – who have done all the hard work providing fascinating material for this humble scribe….  What do you reckon are the odds that Mr. Gruff will start from the beginning and enlighten the bar with a polite post addressed to General Factotum addressing the thermal management principles of the generic ‘black box’ nuclear-based thermal energy source? Can he overcome his obsession with the recently-demoted Dick 
 
Posted by: General Factotum | Aug 5 2026 8:08 utc | 216

 
I don’t speculate or engage in hypotheticals. 🙂
 
Great to see you slumming it by bringing enlightenment to the masses though. It’s making a difference. 

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 4:34 utc | 272

@ juliania | Aug 6 2026 3:59 utc | 270
 
i appreciate it all juliania… i think you’ve turned me on to a lot of valuable insights and understanding along the way.. thank you! 

Posted by: james | Aug 6 2026 4:38 utc | 273

For the record, malenkov approaches the matter (heh) of the spiritual realm with perfect indifference.
Posted by: malenkov | Aug 6 2026 0:37 utc | 250
 
Thank you, malenkov; you made me laugh.  Sometimes we take ourselves too seriously.  james used to remind me of that.

Posted by: juliania | Aug 6 2026 4:51 utc | 274

‘What do you reckon are the odds that Mr. Gruff will start from the beginning and enlighten the bar with a polite post addressed to General Factotum addressing the thermal management principles of the generic ‘black box’ nuclear-based thermal energy source?’

What are the odds Mr Gruff will go hog wild and shake his hips to the truth?

Everything is Love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu6X4ptxNb8&list=RDHu6X4ptxNb8&start

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iRDRgr40NE&list=RD7iRDRgr40NE&start

Posted by: Dan Kelly | Aug 6 2026 5:25 utc | 275

32m35s backgrounder on China’s petroleum buildout.
 
CNOOC: How China Spent 20 Years Not Needing Us
 
The video presents an explanation for China leaving the US oil market.
 

Posted by: too scents | Aug 6 2026 5:32 utc | 276

Sometimes we take ourselves too seriously.  james used to remind me of that.
 
Posted by: juliania | Aug 6 2026 4:51 utc | 274
 

You both do. Repeatedly, on a loop. 

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 6:04 utc | 277

As B says: stick to the topic, contribute facts, don’t attack others. 
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 5 2026 5:07 utc | 214 @ Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 3:22 utc | 266 you’re toxic at… i picked that up from you much earlier then the past few days… and indeed as you note  in your post @ 214 
I’ve been advised not to engage with trolling comments, especially personal attacks
 which is why i never replied to your post way  back @ Asian Tiger | Aug 2 2026 22:42 utc | 38 you’re toxic and have mental health problems…. fwiw – this is the last post you’ll get from me..  
Posted by: james | Aug 6 2026 3:45 utc | 268 

 
But but but james ~with no ShIfT key, what about this post from me? 
 
 

i visit his website and read the articles which i sometimes find useful as well.. this is his website…https://johnhelmer.net/ the top article on his website at the moment is on john mearsheimer… it is short and quite clear and good as i see it.. check it out if you are interested.. Posted by: james | Jul 31 2026 22:50 utc | 153
I agree. Very sensible. Being good some of the time does not mean good all the time. The same as not very good one day doesn’t mean very bad all the time. People make their own decisions, of course. But those decisions never apply to others who will make their own. “Oh my Beloved, thy name is Diversity!”Recently the JH naysayers were even questioning if he is in Moscow, and how long ago since he’s been there. As a professional journalist this typically indicates basic standards. One being to note from where one is reporting from. In the case referenced above the article begins with – By John Helmer, Moscow As for Mearsheimer, I have seen his commentary in all kinds of flora. He is 100% a pro-US empire patriot without a doubt. Has zero interest or skin in the game of Russia thriving or surviving — that is besides the point as far as JM is concerned. […]
 
Stephen Cohen:  He preferred to listen rather than preach, to analyze rather than demonize.
Throughout his long and storied career, Cohen visited and lived in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia regularly for more than forty years. Helmer for well over 30 years. My Tuppence worth : “Choose your friends, do not let your friends choose you.”
 
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 1 2026 4:46 utc | 158

 
You’re so cruel JaMeS ~ without a Shift key. 
 

fwiw – this is the last post you’ll get from me.. 

 
I’m crushed. But please don’t promise what you cannot deliver. Your windsock version of flappable opinions is already at rock bottom credibility here — this will only lower it. I don’t only speak for myself, I can read the room pal. 🙂 

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 6:23 utc | 278

I note that last month’s Disruptive Sh1tstirrer is making a strong case for the award again this month – assuming it lasts the month … 
 
Tiger By the Tail

Posted by: Don Firineach | Aug 6 2026 6:24 utc | 279

@ Don Firineach | Aug 6 2026 6:24 utc | 279
 
I can repost things too Don Firineach
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy8HPSIFXEM

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 6:42 utc | 280

What does St Paul mean by false humility?
 
Colossians 2:23. False humility is a subtle form of pride…a double sin of arrogance cloaked in deceit. False humility gives an appearance of selflessness, but at the heart is a self-benefiting agenda.
 
False humility is deliberately downplaying your abilities, achievements, or opinions to appear modest, not because you believe you are less capable, but to manage how others see you. It is not humility at all. It is a performance, and it usually reads as insecurity rather than grace.
 
What Is False Humility, Really?  Complete this sentence: “I’m just a ………………………”
 
If that was easy to finish, or felt like something you have said before, you are likely discounting yourself.
 
The confusion starts with the word itself. “Humility” comes from the Latin humilitas, which translates as “humble,” but also as “grounded,” or “from the earth,” since it derives from humus (earth). Outside of a religious context, where it can mean submission of the self, humility is properly defined as freedom from excessive vanity, not the absence of self-worth.
 
https://www.selfleadership.com/blog/false-humility-definition-career-killer

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 6:52 utc | 281

– On january 16, 2026 there was an earthquake in Israel near the city/town of Dimona. Since Israel is not known to be a region / country that’s known for its earthquakes this earthquake would suggest that Israel held / executed an underground nuclear test.

https://www.facebook.com/hindustantimes/videos/earthquake-in-israel-us-feels-aftershock-netanyahus-nuclear-reply-as-trump-cance/2331909077309973/

Posted by: WMG | Aug 6 2026 7:25 utc | 282

Alon Mizrahi seems to have reported on this (post # 282) as well on his Substack website.

Posted by: WMG | Aug 6 2026 7:32 utc | 283

Welcome to the new age of ideologies, in which everyone seems to know exactly what the truth is – or alternatively claims that truth is nothing but a chimera and thus only might makes right. Welcome to 2018. Welcome to DYSTOPIA NOW.
 
“Power is in inflicting pain and humiliation. Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing. Do you begin to see, then, what kind of world we are creating? It is the exact opposite of the stupid hedonistic Utopias that the old reformers imagined. A world of fear and treachery and torment, a world of trampling and being trampled upon, a world which will grow not less but more merciless as it refines itself. Progress in our world will be progress towards more pain. The old civilizations claimed that they were founded on love or justice. Ours is founded upon hatred. In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. Everything else we shall destroy, everything. Already we are breaking down the habits of thought which have survived from before the Revolution. We have cut the links between child and parent, and between man and man, and between man and woman. No one dares trust a wife or a child or a friend any longer. But in the future there will be no wives and no friends. Children will be taken from their mothers at birth, as one takes eggs from a hen. The sex instinct will be eradicated. Procreation will be an annual formality like the renewal of a ration card. We shall abolish the orgasm. Our neurologists are at work upon it now. There will be no loyalty, except loyalty towards the Party. There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother. There will be no laughter, except the laugh of triumph over a defeated enemy. There will be no art, no literature, no science. When we are omnipotent we shall have no more need of science. There will be no distinction between beauty and ugliness. There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always — do not forget this, Winston — always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever.”
 
-O’BrienGeorge Orwell, “1984”
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYLiBEgLOYE

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 6 2026 9:06 utc | 284

I fell into a trap translation again. When I said god also has to be a person, the point I intended was that he must be a person among possibly other things as well. This is as much as a formal hypothetical for me, which also arises from within my logical approach, and not only without. Personhood is an aspect (hypostasis) of god, but a necessary one, since we are persons. Jesus is a person, too.
 
As a note to all, I do not engage with animal droppings, nor read them. 

Posted by: persiflo | Aug 6 2026 9:14 utc | 285

Posted by: persiflo | Aug 6 2026 9:14 utc | 285
 
Thanks, persiflo.    And thanks, suzan, for the following:
 

May all sentient beings be freed of the afflictions of attachment, aversion, ignorance, arrogance and jealousy.
 
Posted by: suzan | Aug 6 2026 3:21 utc | 265

Posted by: juliania | Aug 6 2026 9:38 utc | 286

I fell into a trap translation again. When I said god also has to be a person, the point I intended was that he must be a person among possibly other things as well. This is as much as a formal hypothetical for me, which also arises from within my logical approach, and not only without. Personhood is an aspect (hypostasis) of god, but a necessary one, since we are persons. Jesus is a person, too. As a note to all, I do not engage with animal droppings, nor read them. 
Posted by: persiflo | Aug 6 2026 9:14 utc | 285

 
persiflo — a weak retreat dressed as clarification. You said — Martin Buber is right that God also has to be a person – has to — God ‘has to be a person’ — now you’re saying ‘among possibly other things as well.’
 
That’s not a clarification; that’s a hedge. You’re backpedaling while pretending to stand firm.
 
You claim you don’t engage with ‘animal droppings’ — yet here you are, engaging. If you truly didn’t read or respond to what I wrote, you wouldn’t be here. But you are. So either you’re lying about not reading, or you’re lying about not engaging. Which is it?
 
The empty vessel makes the most sound. You’ve just proven that.
 
And — juliania | Aug 6 2026 9:38 utc | 286  you’re now cosigning suzan’s Buddhist prayer while ignoring that she’s been performing passive-aggressive concern trolling all along with you and your windsock shadow. You’re not the wise observer; you’re the enabler, circling the wagons with the rest of the wolf pack.
 
As for suzan’s prayer: I don’t agree with praying for others without their consent. That’s a psychic infringement — a breach of spiritual law, known in Buddhism as well as other traditions. You’re imposing your desires and will upon another sentient being, however ‘compassionate’ you think it is. That’s not love; that’s control dressed as concern.
 
So let’s be clear: I see the narcissistic performances behind the public veneer. Calling out a performance isn’t spite — it’s the bare minimum of observation. If naming the game you’re playing makes you uncomfortable, the discomfort is yours to sit with. I’m not here to soothe your egos; I’m here to state facts. Your emotional reactions to my tone don’t invalidate my points — they confirm you have no counter to them.
 
You’ve all had your say. Now the floor is yours — if you have anything of substance to add. Otherwise, we’re done here.

Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 11:03 utc | 287

trampling down death by death

 
perhaps the most profound lyric ever.  So much in that little phrase. 

Posted by: Exile | Aug 6 2026 13:01 utc | 288

Forgot to add the song link:
 
Christ is Risen – Georgian Chant (Orthodox Virtual Quarantine Choir)
 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BYwnhXCZ_lY&list=RDBYwnhXCZ_lY&start_radio=1&pp=ygUdVHJhbXBsaW5nIGRvd24gZGVhdGggYnkgZGVhdGigBwHSBwkJvgsBhyohjO8%3D&ra=m

Posted by: Exile | Aug 6 2026 13:06 utc | 289

You’ve all had your say. Now the floor is yours — if you have anything of substance to add. Otherwise, we’re done here.
Posted by: Asian Tiger | Aug 6 2026 11:03 utc | 287

 
Is this a performative flounce? Asking for a friend.

Posted by: ChatNPC | Aug 6 2026 13:13 utc | 290

And it will be written in the annuals many were slapped hard this day. Allah Rejoices in Justice !

Posted by: mahatmacote | Aug 7 2026 7:52 utc | 291

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