Thursday 28th of March 2024

sharing marbles: the game stops when the others don't have any...

bin-chicken

There will always be bigger birds than others... It's in the genes and adaptation thereof. In this glorious pictorial spectacle, the Sydney Bin-Chicken (Royal Ibis) is busy retrieving food from a refuse bin.

In the next frame, the Ibis jumps inside, gobbling as much as it can while bringing back big morsels to the "surface". The beaks of pelicans, armed with a sharp hook at the end, is not that friendly for the gulls to fight against. But there will be some bits for everyone. The Bin-Chicken knows it's a dirty job but someone has to do it, including parade for the tourists.

Sharing accidentally or deliberately is a way for life to continue.

One cannot be too greedy. Spiders cannot eat all the insects or their next generation will starve. Birds will leave partly consumed fruit for seeds to germinate. Contrarily, we, humans, go for the holus bolus and selective deadly treatment, by using poisons and systematic eradication programmes which reduce our sharing adventures with nature to nil. Even when we grow crops, we rely on the nasties and Monsanto's exclusivity... We are too greedy. 

And we are doing it to each others as well...

Some people are thus called "influencers". There is a lot of them on the net, especially women selling fashion and make-up items, to create birds of a feather — for profit.

Other influencers are a bit more discreet and actually want to share their money. Some like Bill Gates are still strict controllers of their philanthropy, while a person like Philippe Villers WANTS TO PAY MORE TAXES...

 

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Millionaires from Mass. join call to raise their tax rates


“This country has been good to me,’’ Villers, 76, said. “I’d like to do my part to give back.’’

As part of his effort to give back, Villers has made an unusual request to the federal government: Raise my taxes, please.

Villers is one of a handful of Massachusetts members of a national organization called Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength, which supports a 30 percent effective tax rate on million-dollar annual earners under the “Buffett Rule.’’ The Senate will hold a procedural vote on the proposal Monday.

The US tax code’s top income tax rate is 35 percent but imposes only a 15 percent levy on capital gains on investments, where many affluent Americans earn much of their money. Billionaire Warren Buffett, for whom the rule is named, has complained publicly that he pays an effective tax rate of just 17.4 percent, while his secretary pays 35.8 percent.

Senator Scott Brown has said he opposes the Buffett Rule and is expected to vote against it. The bill is not expected to garner enough votes to prevent a Republican filibuster.

President Obama and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney have taken opposing stances on the measure. Obama last week said the Buffett Rule is a matter of “basic fairness,’’ while Romney characterized it as an effort to “find the very most successful in our country and say they’re bad guys.’’

Villers and his fellow Patriotic Millionaires say they do not feel cast as villains.

“Not at all,’’ said Arnold Hiatt, the former chief executive of Stride Rite. “The bad guys are the ones who don’t want to share their marbles. They must have had trouble as children.’’

Hiatt said he remembers paying a 70 percent tax above a certain income threshold in the 1970s and that he was “delighted to pay that.’’

“It’s not all about income,’’ Hiatt said. “That’s not what this democracy was built on. I always thought it was built on fairness.’’

Romney says higher taxes on top earners will further stunt a sluggish economic recovery.

“Does anyone think that raising taxes is going to create more jobs?’’ he said last Wednesday at a rally in Warwick, R.I. “It’s time to recognize that the success of some makes us a more prosperous nation.’’

But Paul Egerman, who made his millions as founder of the digital medical transcription company eScription, argues that individual windfall seldom assists others. He estimates that tax cuts under President George W. Bush have saved him roughly $10 million over the last decade and asserts the money has helped no one but himself.Continued...

 

Read more:

http://archive.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2012/04/16/millionaires

 

But this was in 2012...

 

EARLY YEARS

The Washington Post has described Villers as a “longtime Democratic donor”;[3] he has involved himself in Democratic politics since at least 1988. the New York Times identified Villers as a major supporter of then-Massachusetts Governor and Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis. [4]

CLINTON ADMINISTRATION

Villers and his organization Families USA were both closely tied with former President Bill Clinton, when he was in office. A 1994 article published in the Baltimore Sun noted that Families USA had begun its relationship with Clinton prior to the launch of his campaign. [5] Villers and Families USA were criticized by other left-wing organizations during this period due to their relationship with the Clinton administration, which some suggested was overly close. [6]

Villers and Families USA were closely aligned with the unsuccessful campaign for government-run health care led by then-First Lady Hillary Clinton. Following the loss of a Democratic majority the House of Representatives and the Senate in the 1994 midterm elections, President Clinton would scrap his government-run health care plans, which represented a major loss for Villers and Families USA. [7]

POST-HILLARYCARE

Following the failure of his 1994 health care campaign, Villers largely shifted focus during the following decade, towards international activism and food security in the developing world. [8] Politico reported that, starting in 2005, Villers efforts began to return to the implementation of greater government intervention in health care, ultimately hosting a three day conference for others committed to expanding federal control over the health care market. [9]

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

By 2009, Villers was again considered a key individual within the broader campaign for what would become Obamacare. That year, Villers’s organization Families USA was listed by Politico as a regular participant in weekly call-in meetings with organizations like the AFL-CIO and Health Care for America Now, in an attempt to coordinate political efforts to achieve greater federal intervention in the U.S. health care market. [10]

Villers efforts to ensure the passage of Obamacare included his role as a board member at the Herndon Alliance. [11] Dissolved in 2014, the Herndon Alliance formed partnerships with major left-wing and left-of-center groups, like the Service Employees International Union and AARP, to pass the law which would eventually become Obamacare. [12]

Herndon Alliance courted controversy when it was revealed that the organization, which was primarily focused on “messaging” efforts, were the creators of claims by Obama administration officials that those who liked their healthcare could keep it under the Obamacare scheme. [13] This claim was listed as 2013’s “Lie of the Year” by left-of-center fact checking organization PolitiFact. 

 

Read more:

https://www.influencewatch.org/person/philippe-villers/

 

 

Then Trump came along... Sharing marbles became problematic because of... ideology... Trump brought in a bowling ball to a carefully poised game of marbles...

unique opportunity, usually with negative result...

 

Biden Euphoria Already Over

 

Donald J Trump believes he was set up. Perhaps he was. And, understandably, he wants revenge for three years of harassment on Russia. After all, that’s how he is when crossed. But the bigger picture is that Trump owes Sheldon Adelson $80M+ in tribute because that’s what Adelson paid him. President Trump owes much of his political existence not just to hedge fund managers and casino billionaires like Sheldon Adelson and Rebekah Mercer* -- but to Israel as well. In this article we'll explore the related mix of foreign policy scenarios that may result going forward, where the playing field has already evolved since the US election. 

Trump’s crew has only a few weeks to appease its donors. Clearly, the current regime has got little time to settle scores and the donors want results for their money. Trump needs to provide those results, since the family knows such tribute will protect them from prosecution going forward. As such, Trump may leave a war legacy for Biden despite all the talk that he is ultimately a man of peace. That won't sit well with the “Deplorables,” even if the five-layer chess match is far more complex than imagined. 

Likewise the residual regime may be intent on setting up Democrats to fail, since Beltway Neoliberals screamed for years about Russian-state election meddling with constant diatribe about collusion. Note how the major media's Russophobia has largely vaporized now since the Beltway Blob has its mouthpiece in office -- or almost does. 

Most of all, the Evil Empire wants to sucker punch Iran into war because this is seemingly the ideal time (the end of this presidential term) to do so. But first, a little history. The end -- or beginning -- of any US regime offers unique opportunity, usually with negative result. CIA Operation AjaxOperation CycloneThe Bay of PigsIran Contra. CIA’s Timber Sycamore, CIA Project Fubelt, etc etc. Recall that Reagan gave free reign to George Schultz to enable Israel's aggression in southern Lebanon, especially at the end of Reagan's second term. Schultz's euphemism to Shamir was essentially, “knock yourselves out” (to defeat Hezbollah). Israel failed. And that was all under cover of the “Schultz Peace Plan” which had no possibility to succeed. Sound familiar? The current regime follows the same playbook… with the same failed result. 

Now giving Israel free reign in Syria and attempting to sucker-punch Iran into war by assassinating its top nuclear scientist is somewhat reminiscent of Reagan's Iran policy at the end of his term, but with a difference. Reagan's donors were not so entrenched, nor so wealthy, nor so powerful as Trump's -- or Biden’s. And the United States was not so politically beholden to Israelas it is now... not to mention the Kingdom

The assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh occurred just subsequent to Netanyahu “secretly meeting” with US Secretary Pompeo and Crown Prince bin Salman in Riyadh. Iran blames Netanyahu, but covert Israeli operatives seldom truly put themselves in harm’s way. So this political assassination was certainly a joint covert action between the Kingdom, Israel, and US State. The United States and the Kingdom do engage in political assassinations, where Israel employs political assassination as a matter of national policy

Such toxic adventurism puts Joe Biden’s foreign policy on toxic ground right here, right now. And the Empire’s assassination of Fakhrizadeh has ended “peace talks” between Israel and the Kingdom. That’s Because bin Salman is a rogue actor, acting independent of the current King who is essentially unaware of what’s happening in his Kingdom. The foregoing is of course a US foreign policy failure, one which the Trump-Kushner axis is unlikely to care much about when the US is obsessed with its contagion and a blown general election, and their own politically numbered days.

Ongoing issues in Iraq, the US stealing oil in Syria, the Saudi war on Yemen,America’s endless war in Afghanistan, and the Israeli siege of Gaza are all coming to a head – the real head of the snake where the Evil Empire is concerned. And Mr. Warfare State Biden will be in a real bind if Trump-Pompeo continue to poison the foreign policy well, not just on Iran, but with China and Russia, too.

A greater pattern certainly exists. For example, the much-touted Israeli “deal” with the United Arab Emirates -- where the UAE has been a weapons trader with Israel for many years as well as an illegal gold trader-- proves that “normalization” of trade with Israel is simply a formality. The same applies to Sudan, whose caretaker government agreement entered into a baseless agreement with Israel on false pretenses. The foregoing bodes poorly for peace with Arab nations, especially those that cannot be bought by the west. 

Virtually unreported in the west, attacks on a tanker and Saudi oil terminal provide a window on how Iran may avenge the assassination of its scientist. Iran has options in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, too. So how will Mr. Blinken address that? Especially when Mr Pompeo – a Statecraft subversive run amok if ever there was one -- further poisons the well. Where do Pompeo’s State orders come from? Hark back to the donor class and to the hands behind them whose names we do not know. 

Point being, the media euphoria about Biden and that America is back! – is a concept that is as eerie as it is surreal. The very thought that common sense will now prevail in a landscape that has lost its collective geopolitical mind is not only misplaced, but abjectly delusional. And false. 

It’s a complex matrix of an unworkable system based upon MMT, corruption, graft, and Grifter’s Rule too… not just about murderous Pentagon/CIA planners and foreign policy. It’s a world where political assassination is accepted as the rule of law, then whitewashed as “targeted killing”. One can only conclude that this amorality and chaos will continue. 

Truly this chaos is just beginning. It’s engineered and it’s inevitable with the plutocracy we have. As examined in Anarchy in the USSA we are all in for a very rough ride. Not by our failings, but by those “leaders” and the media we have allowed to program us, to manipulate our media, our thoughts, and our beliefs. It’s not just Joltin’ Joe. It’s going to be a real rough ride going forward. Real rough. Hang on. 



*Mercer is an anti-Islam advocate https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/mercer-funding-trump-anti-muslim-advert-group-claims-2016-election-documents-open-secrets-a8290986.html 



Nothing is guaranteed except change. Follow Steve Brown on twitter: @newsypaperz

 

 

Read more:

http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2020/november/28/biden-euphoria-already-over/

 

 

Read from top.

 

See also: 

the bombers are back...

 

https://sputniknews.com/us/202011291081311018-biden-reportedly-mulls-promoting-taliban-bounties-story-congresswoman-to-be-cia-director/

and the guns will become silent...

… the 1880s were indeed a dark time for America. But though the sky seemed to be falling, Americans managed to work together to revive the country and set it on the path to prosperity. And if we overcame one Gilded Age, perhaps we can overcome another today.



Gus-note: This does not make sense, unless I’m wrong on the English meanings. Whoever (Robert Bellafiore) wrote "we overcame one Gilded Age" would have meant "we overcame the Doldrums” or overcame whatever nasty, to bring in a gilded age...



Putnam sees America’s communal life as exhibiting an inverted U-curve—dismal at the turn of the century, gradually rising to a peak in the 1960s, and then beginning a slow decline to the present day. This parabola, which Putnam dubs the “‘I-we-I’ curve,” reveals America’s transitions from individualism to solidarity and back. Putnam brings to this sweeping historical vision the sensibilities of a progressive communitarian, making The Upswing something like the liberal counterpart to Yuval Levin’s The Fractured Republic, which similarly described America’s “drawing together and then pulling apart.”

Much of the book documents how, across economics, politics, society, and culture, the first half of the century saw an “upswing” in Americans’ dedication to the common good. Americans saw rising living standards across the board—in fact, growth was strongest among the lower and middle classes—declining income inequality, and rising intergenerational economic mobility. Polarization declined, as politicians united across parties and earned their constituents’ trust. Americans founded and joined clubs, unions, and churches to bond over common causes and beliefs. The sense of collective purpose was apparent even in our language, as words like “compromise,” “unity,” and “agreement,” rose in prevalence. Together, these trends attest to a profound shift in Americans’ self-conception, from “I” to “we.”


Read more:
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/robert-putnam-searches-for-the-common-good/



Then Kennedy got assassinated… Beforehand, the USA was travelling in a systemic soft brainwashing propaganda. Nothing wrong with the power of this glorificationing illusion, but below in the engine room of power, the levers were being pushed and pulled by various profiteering gangsters and politicians. The US had “won” two world wars by sheer brain and brawn output, the USA had solved a few financial crises on the hop and had turned to a mild form of fascism in McCarthyism and the prohibition — during which the gangsters loved the wowsers for increasing the value of booze.

Meanwhile, average Americans, on factory floors and in modern kitchens, were not aware that their pay-packet or homely bliss came because their country was involved in little wars (including economic robbery) to consolidate the empire. 

The “we” is still a possibility, but the illusions are wearing bit thin as the disparity between the fortunate and the poor has gone beyond stratospheric levels. One can hope that Joe Biden can pull this off with a mighty honest sigh: “we will share the planet without trying to impose our will on nations. Cooperation shall be our contribution if you so democratically desire, not 'globalisation' imposition…

And the guns will become silent...

Read from top.

no interest in sharing...

Children below the age of about seven were indifferent to whether their playmates shared in a candy giveaway, but older kids were more sensitive about fairness. Karen Hopkin reports

 

 

[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.] 

If you’ve ever spent time with toddlers, sooner or later you’ll hear the word “Mine!” It’s usually followed by an adult saying, “Now, now, you have to learn to share.” But a study in the August 28th issue of Nature suggests we may be wasting our breath. Because kids in the preschool set have no interest in making sure everyone gets their fair share.


Scientists from Switzerland wondered if, and when, young children begin to consider the welfare of others. So they gathered up over 200 Swiss schoolchildren and a small mountain of candy. And one-by-one they gave each child a choice that goes something like this: I can give one M&M to you and one to one of the other kids. Or I can give one to you—and none to anyone else.

Children who were three or four years old didn’t much care whether or not their friends also got an M&M, or a jellybean or any other sweet. But that attitude changed by the time the kids were seven or eight, when almost 80 percent of them opted to be fair. Okay, that doesn’t exactly make them candidates for a Nobel Peace Prize. But maybe magnanimousness begins with an M…&M.

 

—Karen Hopkin 

 

60-Second Science is a daily podcast. Subscribe to this Podcast: RSS | iTunes 

 

 

Hear more: https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/08C250B3-EF7D-0A15-0C34B5CB246CA195/

 

 

Read from top

 

 

Note: seven is usually the time of life when the so-called "age of reason" starts... This "age of reason" gets challenged usually by age 12 and does not come back to adults until they are 25. According to a research, between 12 and 25, the brain of individual "reconstructs itself" and during this time "adolescents" can rebel or do some stupid crazy things... This is also why, the insurance industry premiums are about 3 times more for people under 25 than above... Check it out...

 

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Adolescence is the developmental epoch during which children become adults – intellectually, physically, hormonally, and socially. Adolescence is a tumultuous time, full of changes and transformations. The pubertal transition to adulthood involves both gonadal and behavioral maturation. Magnetic resonance imaging studies have discovered that myelinogenesis, required for proper insulation and efficient neurocybernetics, continues from childhood and the brain’s region-specific neurocircuitry remains structurally and functionally vulnerable to impulsive sex, food, and sleep habits. The maturation of the adolescent brain is also influenced by heredity, environment, and sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone), which play a crucial role in myelination. Furthermore, glutamatergic neurotransmission predominates, whereas gamma-aminobutyric acid neurotransmission remains under construction, and this might be responsible for immature and impulsive behavior and neurobehavioral excitement during adolescent life. The adolescent population is highly vulnerable to driving under the influence of alcohol and social maladjustments due to an immature limbic system and prefrontal cortex. Synaptic plasticity and the release of neurotransmitters may also be influenced by environmental neurotoxins and drugs of abuse including cigarettes, caffeine, and alcohol during adolescence. Adolescents may become involved with offensive crimes, irresponsible behavior, unprotected sex, juvenile courts, or even prison. According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the major cause of death among the teenage population is due to injury and violence related to sex and substance abuse. Prenatal neglect, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption may also significantly impact maturation of the adolescent brain. Pharmacological interventions to regulate adolescent behavior have been attempted with limited success. Since several factors, including age, sex, disease, nutritional status, and substance abuse have a significant impact on the maturation of the adolescent brain, we have highlighted the influence of these clinically significant and socially important aspects in this report.

 


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3621648/

 

 

 

See also: 

of competition and cooperation...