Sunday, December 07, 2014
Wednesday, December 03, 2014
Friday, November 28, 2014
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Monday, July 14, 2014
Monday, June 30, 2014
Sunday, June 15, 2014
The Philosophical Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
The Meditations of the Emperor Marcus Antoninus
The Physical, Ethical, and Logical actions of a wise man are a matter of properly training the body, soul, and mind. Before one can appreciate the abstract arguments of the great philosophers, one must first tame one's passions and train one's mind, else further self actualization toward enlightenment is nothing but intellectual masturbation.
From a modern perspective Marcus Aurelius is certainly not in the first rank of ancient philosophers. He is no Plato or Aristotle, nor even a Sextus Empiricus or Alexander of Aphrodisias. To a certain extent this judgement is perfectly fair and reasonable. However, in order to assess the philosophical qualities that Marcus does have and that are displayed in the Meditations it is necessary to emphasize that in antiquity philosophy was not conceived merely as a matter of theoretical arguments. Such arguments existed and were important, but they were framed within a broader conception of philosophy as a way of life. The aim was not merely to gain a rational understanding of the world but to allow that rational understanding to inform the way in which one lived. If one keeps this understanding of ‘philosophy’ in mind, then one becomes able to appreciate the function and the philosophical value of Marcus’ Meditations.
Marcus Aurelius (121—180 C.E.)
The Physical, Ethical, and Logical actions of a wise man are a matter of properly training the body, soul, and mind. Before one can appreciate the abstract arguments of the great philosophers, one must first tame one's passions and train one's mind, else further self actualization toward enlightenment is nothing but intellectual masturbation.
From a modern perspective Marcus Aurelius is certainly not in the first rank of ancient philosophers. He is no Plato or Aristotle, nor even a Sextus Empiricus or Alexander of Aphrodisias. To a certain extent this judgement is perfectly fair and reasonable. However, in order to assess the philosophical qualities that Marcus does have and that are displayed in the Meditations it is necessary to emphasize that in antiquity philosophy was not conceived merely as a matter of theoretical arguments. Such arguments existed and were important, but they were framed within a broader conception of philosophy as a way of life. The aim was not merely to gain a rational understanding of the world but to allow that rational understanding to inform the way in which one lived. If one keeps this understanding of ‘philosophy’ in mind, then one becomes able to appreciate the function and the philosophical value of Marcus’ Meditations.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Creating a Digital Ecology that Works-A World Economic Forum Discussion-...
I don't usually share advertisements, but when I do it's because they challenge a fundamental philosophical underpinning of world trade theory and expose its fundamental flaw. The problem with Natural Law Theory of Austrian Economics is its premise about human nature, not all humans live in constant conflict and competition, only Austrians.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Sunday, March 09, 2014
Thursday, March 06, 2014
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Saturday, February 08, 2014
Friday, February 07, 2014
Thursday, February 06, 2014
Faulconer and Alvarez's Personal Finances
inewssource.org
Sources:
- state salaries posted online
- glassdoor.com
- most recently filed tax return
- Tax returns
- Faulconer’s 2012 Statement of Economic Interests
- Faulconer's 2007 financial disclosure form
- Public records
- Alvarez says he has no other sources of income, and his most recent economic disclosure form lists no investments
- San Diego CityBeat reported an old roster from the yacht club lists Faulconer as the owner of a 19-foot powerboat named Everlasting Moon, 2008 Jeep Commander Hemi and 2003 Mercedes E320, house at 3330 Quimby Street in Point Loma.
How We Did It
- To determine if either candidate owned property in San Diego County, we started with theAssessor/Recorder’s Grantor-Grantee index. This website enables the public to search for property records by name and retrieve document numbers.
- Unfortunately, it doesn’t include information on the location of properties, mortgage amounts, or any other details. For all of that, we had to spend many hours in the San Diego County Assessor’s Office at 1600 Pacific Highway in San Diego.
- Trust deeds refer to loans on property--whether it’s a first, second or third mortgage, a line of credit or a refinance. There were also reconveyances, which usually mean a loan was paid off by the homeowners or another bank purchased it as part of a refinance. Lastly, there were records showing the couple had transferred the property between themselves and Faulconer’s trusts.
- With each home’s parcel number, which is listed on their trust deeds, we also found property details using SANDAG’s interactive maps.
- To see if the candidates or their spouses were currently listed on the boards of directors or as highest paid employees of nonprofit organizations, we used a new tool at CitizenAudit.org, which enables the public to search the most recent annual reports filed with the Internal Revenue Service. There were no matches.
- To find possible connections to publicly traded companies, such as positions on boards of directors, we used the Security and Exchange Commission’s full text search. It contains records filed during the past four years. We did not find any reference to either candidate or their wives, though the search for Alvarez was more tricky since his name is so common. The California Secretary of State also offers a similar records search online, and it also provided no matches.
- Since both candidates are currently on the City Council, they must file financial disclosure forms known as Form 700s. We reviewed these forms, which are available online at theCalifornia Fair Political Practices Commission.
- The most recent disclosure for Alvarez showed his wife earned between $10,000 and $100,000 working for Nativity Prep Academy in 2011. She is not listed as one of the highest paid employees on the nonprofit group’s tax filings, which we searched using the websiteGuideStar.com.
- Faulconer’s 2012 disclosure form showed he had up to $10,000 in stock invested in San Diego-based ImageWear Systems Inc., which has federal contracts and a partnership with a local defense contractor. Faulconer also reported his wife’s business, Restaurant Events Inc., an event planning company in downtown San Diego, brought in between $100,001 and $1 million in 2012.
- We searched for both candidates and their spouses in San Diego County Superior Court Records, which are available online.
- We also sent questionnaires to Faulconer and Alvarez asking them for the information printed here. We verified the information that was publicly available.
Tuesday, February 04, 2014
Monday, January 27, 2014
Marxism = Capitalism -> Socialism -> Communism = Zeitgeist Movement
"For orthodox Marxists, socialism is the lower stage of communism based on the principle of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution" while upper stage communism is based on the principle of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need"; the upper stage becoming possible only after the socialist stage further develops economic efficiency and the automation of production has led to a superabundance of goods and services.[68][69]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism
Friday, January 24, 2014
Noam Chomsky (2013) "What is Anarchism?"
Noam Chomsky (2013) "What is Anarchism?"
Watch this - If anarchism is just self-rule, and you have no choice but to live with others, then isn't democracy the only just solution. A Republic is a Representative Democracy, and with a Constitution such as ours, isn't anyone who TRULY supports Anarchism obligated to supporting the Government of the USA?
Watch this - If anarchism is just self-rule, and you have no choice but to live with others, then isn't democracy the only just solution. A Republic is a Representative Democracy, and with a Constitution such as ours, isn't anyone who TRULY supports Anarchism obligated to supporting the Government of the USA?