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)

Good men

"Bad men don't stop being bad when they stop being men. They become good when they stop being bad."

Most oil

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Venezuela has been under socialism since Hugo Chavez began his rule as president in 1999, and then he was succeeded by the current president Nicolas Maduro (his follower). So the government has controlled most of the economy for 19 years.

As you know, people are fleeing the economic disaster that is Venezuela. In 2001 it was the richest country in South America. Today it's in free fall, despite the fact that it has the biggest petroleum reserves in the world.

"But how can it be that the country with the world's largest proved oil reserves can't afford to feed its people? The current crisis can be traced to the historical management of the country's oil industry."

(cont'd next week)

Limiting freedom

Millions upon millions of Chinese have tolerated government control of their lives for a very long time--forced urbanization, severe birth limits (last two posts), etc. The predicted change in birth policy is just one example of government control that had to be revoked because of negative results.

But there are other examples of government overreach, according to this article. With tepid support for free enterprise and tolerance for socialism, this Bloomberg article nevertheless issues a warning to socialists: some government controls can be a bad idea.

• United Kingdom nationalized whole industries (steel, coal, railroad, electricity, more) after World War II ended in 1945. By the time that Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979, the UK's wealth per capita had fallen below both France and Italy. She privatized industries, and by 1997 the UK caught up to and passed them both.
• 
  
• America tried price controls under President Nixon in the 1970's. It led to soaring inflation. By 1974 Americans were suffering scary gasoline shortages.

These case histories "show that it’s possible for well-intentioned democracies . . [to] implement government interventions that almost certainly leave those citizens worse off than before."

(from Bloomberg)

End limits

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

In early 2016 China relaxed its one-child policy, giving permission to women to have two children. There was a slight rise in the number of births that year, but then a decrease last year--no surge after the change in policy.

So policy seems to be changing again, predicted to allow families to have any number of children.  People's Daily, "mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party," warned that "the impact of low birth rates on the economy and society has begun to show."

"China's pool of workers is shrinking, with many young people supporting their parents and two sets of grandparents, in a country where social services for the elderly are still lacking. In 2017, the country's total fertility rate was 1.6 children per woman, well below the 2.1 rate estimated to be necessary to keep the population steady.

photo: independent 

3+ kids

Around 1980 China began restricting families to only one child, and according to their authorities it's been working. They've prevented about 400 million births. But are they happy about that?

The working age population has declined every year since 2011, and in only twelve years (2030) one out of every four people (including kids) will be 60 or older.

In 2016 the limit was raised to two children. Now there is talk at the highest levels setting the limit at 3 children, or ending the limit altogether.

But the birth rate in nations all over the world has been falling, without a government-imposed limit like China has had. It's a very strong global trend.

image: Bloomberg

China's government likes to exert a lot of control over their citizens' lives. Will they find a way to coerce a new baby boom? Denmark, Japan, and Singapore have been trying to encourage more births for years, unsuccessfully. But China is much more heavy-handed, more controlling. Maybe they can get it done.

(cont'd tomorrow)

Not a beast 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

That predator bear saw a healthy animal (article author Maxim) that could be her next meal. That's what she saw and that's what she went after. Maxim and his partner on the trail are, yes, animals. But they're more.

Maxim says, "To be human today is to deny our animal nature."  What is he talking about? Nobody denies we are animals. We are that, but we are more than that. He describes bad behavior on the part of some people, then claims that we are no different or better than animals. It's a silly argument.

When they saw the bear at a far distance, they admired it and appreciated its beauty, and continued their hike. When the bear saw them, did she appreciate their beauty? Did she feel guilty as she set out to hunt and eat them? No. And no.

The "bear didn't see everything" that Maxim is--his human transcendence--because the bear is just an animal. Maxim is an animal too, but he's also much more. He's a human being. 

(Note - go to the article to find out how they were saved)

Not a beast 1

"I realized the bear was following us, I realized she wanted to eat us, and I realized that I was an animal."

The fact that we humans are animals should not be a revelation to anyone. But this man, writing about the time he was hunted by a bear, realized it in a new way when he became the prey.

photo: wp

"To be human today is to deny our animal nature . .  . I had always been an animal . . but it wasn’t until I was prey, my own fur standing on end . . that the meat-and-bone reality settled over me. I was smaller and slower than the bear. My claws were no match for hers. And almost every part of me was edible."

Yup, the "meat-and-bone reality" was that he instantly saw himself just as the bear did--smaller, slower, weaker, and edible. That's all the bear saw.

But the bear didn't see everything.

(cont'd tomorrow)

Flee disaster

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Over a million Venezuelans have fled their country in just the last two years.  Little food, little water, murder rate is one of the world's highest . . it's understandable.

"Colombia recently deployed 3,000 troops along its border . . to control the influx of more than 250,000 refugees." They already have at least 750,000 Venezuelans in the country.

image: ontheworldmap

"Brazil declared a state of social emergency, deployed 100 more troops to the border, established new checkpoints and a field hospital to deal with the more than 60,000 Venezuelan refugees."

Peru was flooded with 149,000 just last year.

According to this article, the goal of these countries should be to integrate the Venezuelans as quickly as possible - so that they can take care of themselves and so that they will not overwhelm social services.

That means: 1) expedite work permits, 2) keep order

Venezuelans flee

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Venezuelan doctors who work under these conditions are frustrated. 

A recent graduate of medical school now works in a fast food restaurant instead of in medicine. He says he feels bad about not practicing his profession but "right now it is my life and future . . to help my family to get out of this madness." He plans to leave.

“In Venezuela, it feels like we are all just dying slowly and there’s no hope for a change. I don’t care if I’m gonna work as a doctor or not. I just want to have food, medicines, security, a house, a car, and be able to give a good life to my loved ones."

"Every day we see people dying for diseases that we know exactly how to cure but when you don’t even have gloves, masks, gauzes, medicines or some big but necessary equipment, it’s too hard."

Last May my husband and I met a young Uber driver from Venezuela in Orlando. He's married, going to school, working, and has big plans. He sends money to his parents in Venezuela, and says it's just too hard for them to leave at this time in their lives.

He's on trend: "More than half of Venezuelans between 15 and 29 want to move abroad permanently."

photo: washingtonexaminer

(cont'd tomorrow)

Just gets worse

What's a hospital with no reliable water for drinking, washing, flushing? That's life at a big hospital in Caracas, the capitol of Venezuela, where the economy continues to collapse.  Patients fill jugs from a tap and operations are postponed.

photo: yahoo

"I have gone to the operation bloc and opened the tap to wash my hands, as you must do before a surgery, and nothing comes out," said gynecologist Lina Figueria.

Caracas is nestled in a verdant valley . . and its water is pumped from much lower sources. But the pumps have not been maintained . . and President Nicolas Maduro's administration is short of cash.

"For many years this deterioration process was not noticeable. But now the water transport systems are very damaged," said Jose De Viana, former president of Hidrocapital, the state-run utility in charge of Caracas' water supply.

Venezuela's socialist government typically says water cuts are due to sabotage by right-wing "terrorists."