Nabeel

Maybe you've heard about Muslims who convert to Christianity. Why would they do that?

Nabeel Qureshi was brought up Muslim, strong in his faith. But he changed his mind. This is his story.

Elon's opinion

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Elon Musk answered questions from the audience when he made that announcement about the first passenger who's going to the moon on his BFR rocket in 2023.

A journalist wanted to know Elon's response to the Boeing CEO who said that the first human going to Mars would go on a Boeing rocket. Elon's response (1:33), "GAME ON!!"

Somebody wanted to know when Elon thinks he himself will go to the moon, now that this other man is going to be the first. 

Elon may be choked up as he replies: "This has done a lot to restore my faith in humanity, that he's willing to do this. It's risky, it might not succeed, it's dangerous. He's, like, donating seats. These are great things. As far as me personally, maybe we'll both be on it!"

"It's guaranteed to be an exciting journey. I'm super fired up! This is going to be great."

Dear moon

Elon Musk made a major announcement recently. When SpaceX's biggest rocket (BFR) orbits the moon in 2023, it will take private citizen Yusaku Maezawa. Whatever he's paying for this is undisclosed, but the Japanese billionaire wants to take eight artists with him.

He calls it an "awe-inspiring global universal art project."



"Clair de Lune" is playing in the background, usually translated "Moonlight."

Chinese approve

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

"Interestingly, socially advantaged citizens – wealthier, better-educated and urban – show the strongest approval of social credit systems, along with older people."

Of course. Those who win at this game of pleasing the government get the perks, like internet speed.

Shanghai sales woman Joyce Hu says, "As long as it doesn't violate my privacy, I'm okay with it." Don't 600 million government surveillance cameras threaten her privacy?

But exactly what the government monitors is not completely clear. "Once citizens find that they are unable to understand how assessments of trustworthiness are made, or experience unfairness, it is unlikely that approval will remain high . . ."

China's cameras

The "Social Credit Score" was the subject of my posts dated Sept. 13,14,17,18. To citizens of freer countries, it's repulsive that China's government would monitor the details of its citizens' daily lives, judge each one, keep score, and punish or reward based on that score

"China's growing network of surveillance cameras makes all of this possible. The country already has an estimated 176 million cameras. It plans to have more than 600 million installed by 2020."

Unapproved activities may include not paying fines on time, fraud, jaywalking, smoking in non-smoking areas, tax evasion, things we agree on. 

But if "Big Brother" is always watching . . we in the West are definitely uncomfortable with that.

photo: cbsnews

Who do you think would give the system their high approval? A study has answered that question, though the system is not completely rolled out yet. And yes . . many approve . . so far. 

Try to guess who approves of the Social Credit Score - the topic of tomorrow's post.

(cont'd tomorrow)

Bear attack

Four men met at church and became friends. They went hiking together in bear country when the one way in front of the others was attacked by two bears. His friends took action - including fervent, out-loud prayer.

Religious

Western Civilization was based on Christian values and philosophical foundations from the very beginning. Today both are regularly attacked. In fact, militant atheists may even claim that kids shouldn't be brought up by religious parents.

Maybe they would be interested in this study by T. H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard. Its subject is the effect of religious upbringing on the well-being and health of adolescents.

Their conclusion?  Religious upbringing is associated with:

• greater life satisfaction
• character strengths

"Despite the general trends of declining religious participation, there is still considerable intergenerational religious continuity in the United States". That is good news.

(cont'd tomorrow)

Not more storms

Have you seen the Facebook memes mocking media reporting of Hurricane Florence? It seems there has been some exaggeration. 

Have you heard claims that "scientists say" hurricanes are getting more numerous and destructive because of climate change? That too is questionable.

A branch (GFDL) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) updated their report on "Global Warming and Hurricanes" dated June 8, 2018, looking for this connection over the last 120 years.

Here is their summary statement: 

In summary, neither our model projections for the 21st century nor our analyses of trends in Atlantic hurricane and tropical storm counts over the past 120+ yr support the notion that greenhouse gas-induced warming leads to large increases in either tropical storm or overall hurricane numbers in the Atlantic.

Untrustworthy 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Wu Fei (yesterday's post) refused to say whether he trusts the government to use his company's technology. How could he go on record with anything but a canned approval of the government? Who would dare to dissent from Pres. Xi on anything?

The fear, of course, it that the government may use this social credit scoring system to punish people that it deems not sufficiently loyal to the communist party . . And trying to clear your name or fight your score is nearly impossible, because there’s no due process.

"In early 2017, the country’s Supreme People’s Court said during a press conference that 6.15 million Chinese citizens had been banned from taking flights for social misdeeds."

President Xi and his government are now going to watch and judge over a billion Chinese. In his words, "Once untrustworthy, always restricted."

photo of cameras being installed

Untrustworthy 1

(cont'd from last week)

If you are politically incorrect in America, you will be looked down on by certain groups or you may not get a job in certain companies. But in China the government is literally keeping score, your "social credit score" that is. If you're bad, you will be punished.

"China said it will begin applying its so-called social credit system to flights and trains and stop people who have committed misdeeds from taking such transport for up to a year."

image: cbs

Chinese journalist Liu Hu "was told he was banned from flying because he was on the list of untrustworthy people. . . I can’t buy property. My child can’t go to a private school,” . . You feel you’re being controlled by the list all the time."

"Police in Beijing have been seen wearing glasses that can recognize faces linked to the government's national database, boosting arrests. Wu Fei is CEO of a company that makes the glasses, and he claims he doesn't know how the government intends to use it.

"I have no idea," he said.

"We asked if he trusts the government with the way they're using the technology. "Sorry, I can't answer this," he responded."

Of course he can't answer this question! Would you? 

(cont'd tomorrow)

Losing freedom 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

China's "Social Credit System" is rolling out, aimed at getting all its 1.35 billion people under its thumb by 2020. Citizens earn points for doing what the government wants, and lose points for doing what the government does not want.

image: medium

With a high "social credit" score, life is easier in many ways. "[T]hose with high scores can receive rental bikes without a deposit, $50 heating discounts in the winter, and advantageous terms on bank loans."

"A social credit score is not just a ticket to access certain services—a score signals a person’s character, elevating the status of some while stigmatizing others."

Low scores will be punished. "A poor Chinese social credit score can lead to bans from travel, certain schools, luxury hotels, government positions, and even dating apps."

Note: More information on the Social Credit System next week

Losing freedom 1

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

"Freedom is not free" (you or someone else fought for it) . . because somebody somewhere thinks they can make better choices for your life than you can. Power lovers will force you into doing and saying and thinking what they want you to do, say, or think. 

How to do it, how to take some of your freedoms from you - that is the question. In the U.S., you have to get Americans to voluntarily give up freedoms, to willingly give you their vote. But in some parts of the world, it's much easier to take away citizens' freedoms and amass power for yourself.

China's President Xi Jinping shows us how it's done. You already know that he managed to to give himself unlimited time as the head of state. Now he and his government are taking more power for themselves with a new system that goes way beyond political correctness.

It's called the Social Credit System, digital totalitarianism right out there in plain sight.

(cont'd tomorrow)

It's not free

Dan Shanower wrote an article, "Freedom Isn't Free," for the Naval Institute in 1997:

"It seems that anyone who has spent a few years in uniform has a story of a shipmate who died in combat or while preparing for it. Those memories are something that many of our civilian counterparts cannot fathom. 

"They realize that those of us in the military are expected to make the ultimate sacrifice when called, and they are willing to take the day off in observance of the many who have, but few realize – and fewer have experienced – the incredible price the military pays to ensure freedom in both peacetime and war."

He wrote about his friends who died on a training mission - where no one really expects anyone to die.

Dan himself died on 9-11 while working at a conference table in Washington D.C. with other analysts trying to collect data on the NY attacks. He was killed when one of those hijacked planes plowed into the Pentagon.

Freedom is far from free.

(freedom continued tomorrow)

9-11 Memorial

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

People who vividly remember it - including me - vow that they will never forget the day that passenger planes flew directly into American buildings and about 3000 people died.

Flight 93 (yesterday's post) has its own memorial in a rural Pennsylvania field, far from the targets in New York and Washington D.C. 

A new building was dedicated at the memorial site on Sunday. It's 93 feet tall, concrete and steel, with a chime for each of the 40 people murdered. Each chime will have a distinctive sound created by the wind passing over it.

9-11 story

Deena Burnett said of her husband Tom, "He just felt that whatever God's plan was for him, it had something to do with the White House and was going to impact a lot of people."

On September 11, 2001, Tom was on Flight 93. He and three others determined to "do something" when terrorists took over the airplane to use it as a weapon against the United States. 

It is thought that the terrorists planned to crash the plane into the White House. Tom and the others formed a plan to gain control of the cockpit, but somehow the plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field. Tom's God-given destiny was to help save the White House from Islamic terror.

"Tom Burnett’s strength was problem solving: it was practically a job description for the COO of a medical technology firm. Working the problem is what he did best, his wife says... and that day was no exception:

"Deena Burnett: He was very busy. He was taking down information. He was planning what they were going to do. And he was not interested in reviewing his life or whispering sweet nothings into the telephone, I assure you. He was problem solving, and he was going to take care of it and come on home."

He grew up in Bloomington MN and is buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

(cont'd tomorrow)

U.S. Emissions

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Since the United States has cut its CO2 emissions so much, the question should be asked: how did that happen? Here's the answer from this energy industry engineer:

"From 2000 to 2017, power generated by coal fell by 700 billion kWh. Meanwhile, at the same time natural gas generation increased by 700 billion kWh.

"Over the past 17 years, the natural gas share of power production doubled from 16% to 32%. Natural gas is now the largest source of power in the U.S." And natural gas produces much less carbon dioxide than coal.

Solar and wind also have grown as part of the U.S. energy profile, and contributed to the CO2 reduction.

Emissions 2017

Last year the United States pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord, to the angry criticism of many. But if the critics were worried that America's CO2 emissions would rise, they can relax.

Ten countries led the way in lowering CO2 emissions in 2017. America reduced emissions the most.

image: capital research

Ten countries led the way in raising CO2 emissions. China increased emissions the most.

Click on the image to enlarge it.

(cont'd tomorrow)

Improvement 3

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Two more points about the TED Talk by Steven Pinker.

First, how many of those improved parameters of global life are dependent on prosperity? Most of them. 

An impoverished society doesn't do medical research to find new cures for disease. That society doesn't build hospitals with cutting edge diagnostic equipment. Its people can't give enough to fund charitable medical teams. The health of a community improves when its members become wealthier.

An impoverished society can't afford to educate all its kids for decades. That society probably can't afford free education at all. 

When a society starts creating its own wealth, life improves in so many ways.

Second, the obvious - humanity is never perfected by wealth. Like Jesus Christ said, "one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

Improvement 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Pinker described (yesterday's post) improvement of aspects of life for people around the world, things that we all want to see improved: health, education, life expectancy, prosperity, peace, freedom, safety, knowledge, leisure. 

Glancing at the comments on youtube, I'm surprised at the people who flat refuse to believe there's been progress - like the one who is sure this is wrong because, as he says, he's been to China ( . . ?) I think the World Bank is a better authority, and here's what they say:

"Despite the clear evidence, many people are not aware of the fact that extreme poverty is declining across the world.

"The chart below shows the perceptions that survey-respondents in the UK have regarding global achievements in poverty reductions. While the share of extremely poor people has fallen faster than ever before in history over the last 30 years, the majority of people in the UK thinks that the opposite has happened, and that poverty has increased!"

image: world bank

(cont'd tomorrow)

Improvement 1

Has the world gotten better? After many decades of charities, missionaries, government aid, social workers, welfare, the Peace Corps, redistribution, humanitarian giving, is there any progress?

If by "progress" you mean longer life expectancy, then yes. If by "progress" you mean safer from war, then yes.
If by "progress" you mean less time in drudgery work, then yes.
If by "progress" you mean more and better food, then yes.
If by "progress" you mean better education, then yes.



And there's much more in this video by a professor at Harvard.

(cont'd tomorrow)