The death knell of Evangelicalism

When president Trump was elected, he had the support of the majority of evangelical Christians in the USA. President Trump was the most unchristian president the USA had ever seen.

In Brazil, Bolsonaro has the support of most of the evangelical Christians. He is the ‘Trump of the tropics’. He is on his way to destroying the environment and has the support of the ruling class of Brazil’s billionaires.

What is happening here? I believe that this is what is happens when one worships Jesus and then does not pay attention to what he said.

Facts and Emotions

The world is heading into a climate crisis. The overwhelming majority of the world’s scientists have warned us that as fossil fuels heat up the environment, global temperatures will rise – and then extreme weather events ( wildfires, hurricanes, droughts and floods ) will soar. It is already happening.

How to face the coming environmental crisis

Welcome to 2020 and happy new year. If you are young, it may not be a happy new year. Science says with a high degree of probability, that in 10 years (2030) the planet may be unliveable.

Why I now travel less

I am retired. One would assume that this would be the time to travel and see the world. However, for several reasons, I am now travelling much less than I did before. 

(1) One reason is environmental. George Monbiot spent most of his life analyzing the forthcoming environmental crisis. He then sought to find practical ways to cope with it. For example, when he approached aviation, apart from using more electronic means of communication (phone, Skype, internet) he could see no workable alternative to air travel. To quote him,

When I come to examine aviation, I discover there are simply no effective technological solutions… I am forced to conclude that the only possible answer is a massive reduction in flights (emphasis mine, from “Heat” by George Monbiot, 2006).

Fake News

You really have to be on your toes with news these days – and that takes work! We now have a superabundance of news sources. International news is easily accessible. Social media is awash with ‘information’. But how much of it is true? What is biased, exaggerated, cleverly spun, or just plain fabricated?

The world wide web (www) was supposed to join us together – and I suppose that means, unify us. However, if anything the world seems to have become more divisive. Opposing groups are accusing each other of broadcasting ‘fake news’.

Who perpetrated the nerve gas attack in Syria?

When presented with conflicting stories about important events, I resort to the following:

- I prefer credible reports on the ground rather than those of visiting outsiders.

- I like to listen to multiple sources, even conflicting ones, rather that relying on single sources that may be dominated by ideology.

- I put more trust in verifiable facts rather than opinions. Here are some facts about Syria:

1. The rebels have no air force. It is well documented that hospitals and schools have been systematically bombed. Who might have done that?

2. In 2015 Assad’s regime was about to collapse due to widespread opposition victories. Russia than stepped in with a massive bombing campaign on Syria’s behalf.

3. Syria is obviously a strategically placed country. Gulf oil could be shipped through it to Europe and beyond. It is Russia’s sole exit point to the Mediterranean Sea.

4. During the Obama time, Syria promised to get rid of gas weapons. This was a tacit admission that they had these weapons.

5. After over six years of dreadful warfare in which all kinds of war crimes have been committed, I think the best news sources are the people on the ground who have suffered through all of this and know the results first hand.

Now with regard to the recent nerve gas attack and the US response, I have seen Paul Jay’s interview with Lawrence Wilkerson, and I have read the reports that a rebel nerve gas factory or holding station has been bombed.  On the other hand, I have been following the situation carefully in Syria over many months. My primary source is Al Jazeera news (AJ). They have Arabic speakers on the ground. They have developed a reputation for objectivity. They have offended many Arabic countries (i.e. Egypt, Syria etc.) and their journalists have been harassed by countries who do not like their reporting. I also look at other news sources, BBC, RT, PBS, CBC. CNN.

What to do about an unbalanced president? Post script

As usual, it is not enough to rail against the ills of the world. In addition, we need to point to possible solutions. The following has been suggested to me by a colleague.

What to do with an unbalanced president?

The evidence is so overwhelming that we are becoming inured to it. President Trump’s erratic behaviour is becoming the new normal. We poor souls, bewildered by it all, hardly know how to react anymore.

He lies and he flip flops on his story about Russia. First he knew nothing about Russia. Later he knows Russia well. Then he has never met Putin. Then later he admits that he did meet him (at a beauty pageant in Russia). This behaviour is all captured on video. However, all of this recorded evidence does not seem to phase Donald Trump, nor his ardent followers.

He has made outlandish claims about himself, and he has done it so often that we hardly know how to respond.

Trump, Democratic Dictator

Africa

I have spent a lot of time in Africa. I have seen dictators at work. They are characterized by:

- They usually take power by a coup d'etat (but not always).

- At the beginning of their reign they make wonderful promises to all.

- With time these dictators surround themselves with a group of sycophants. These surrounding henchmen (they are usually all men) share in the power and perks of office. They also make it difficult to remove the dictator.

The End of Environmental Protection? or, So heavenly minded as to be of no earthly good

It has been a tumultuous beginning to the Trump presidency. Resistance numbers have been greater than his support numbers. Denial has reached new heights with the emergence of “alternative facts”, otherwise known as lies that fly in the face of clear evidence.

Reflections on interview from Davos with Anthony Scaramucci on the US Outlook

I just watched the recent interview from Davos with Anthony Scaramucci on the US Outlook, the new Assistant to President Donald Trump and Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs.

The basic question here is, can a wealthy business man come up with a political policy that really benefits a wide swath of the working middle class?

Civil Rights -- Again

Two days ago, John Lewis, an American congressman from Georgia was interviewed on CBC radio here in Canada. Listening to him brought my mind back to an event in August, 1965 which occurred in Americus, Georgia.

A group of six of us, John Lewis, two black friends, a Jewish woman, with my wife and I, tried to enter an all white Baptist church to worship. We were stopped at the door by a group of church deacons and leaders. John Lewis had some words with them.

Book Review: The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis

I am afraid to say that I would probably not rate The Undoing Project very high. I know it details the life of a Nobel prize winner and I should not be critical of something that I know so little about, but here goes anyway.

There appears to be one huge flaw that rides throughout the volume. There seems to be no acknowledgement of the vast differences that exists among people. Tversky and Kahneman keep talking about how the “people” would evaluate, decide and react. And who are these “people”? The average person in a conglomerate of people no doubt. Though these results may apply to group of people (assuming that you have a statistically correct sample), when considering individual actions, the results can be hopelessly flawed, since they do not distinguish among people who may be neurotic, bi-polar, psychotic, schizophrenic – or just plainly very confident persons, or on the other hand very dependent individuals.

Media: Checking the critics

One must beware of one’s tendency to overestimate the accuracy of critics. They themselves do not always get it right and also need to be corrected.

Religion and US politics: The collapse of evangelical Christianity in the post-truth age

During the US presidential campaign Donald Trump

-        Verbally abused many (Mexican immigrants, Muslims, the disabled)
-        Denied the reality of human activity causing climate change
-        Habitually lied
-        Made promises that he won’t/can’t keep
-        Boasted of sexual assault

Despite all of this 70% of evangelical Christians in the US voted for him.
How could this be?

It seems like these evangelical Christian completely abandoned their supposedly moral principles and voted for him for very worldly reasons.