Scuffling On The Temple Mount

But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

Revelation 11:2 KJV

Doesn't it seem to you that EVERYONE now scuffling on the Temple Mount falls into the category of "the Gentiles"?

https://news.vice.com/story/palestinians-and-israelis-are-killing-each-other-over-jerusalems-holiest-site

What is a "Gentile"? Someone who is not Jewish.

What is a Jew? Someone who keeps G-d's Covenant and follows the Law.

Are the Israelis keeping the Covenant and following the Law?

Not according to the "True Torah Jews":

http://www.truetorahjews.org/jerusalem-day-profaning-holy

So, what are we to make of this?

I think we should stay out of it and not give support to either side. G-d will sort things out. His will be done.

Thought For The Day - July 22, 2017

The very idea of freedom presupposes some objective moral law which overarches rulers and ruled alike. Subjectivism about values is eternally incompatible with democracy. We and our rulers are of one kind only so long as we are subject to one law. But if there is no Law of Nature, the ethos of any society is the creation of its rulers, educators and conditioners; and every creator stands above and outside his creation.

We should value those who solicit our votes by other standards than have recently been in fashion. While we believe that good is something to be invented, we demand of our rulers such qualities as “vision,” “dynamism,” “creativity,” and the like. If we returned to the objective view we should demand qualities much rarer, and much more beneficial – virtue, knowledge, diligence and skill. Vision is for sale, or claims to be for sale, everywhere. But give me a man who will do a day’s work for a day’s pay, who will refuse bribes, who will not make up his facts, and who has learned his job.

CS Lewis, The Poison of Subjectivism

Robot Cargo Ships ???

Two Norwegian companies are taking the lead in the race to build the world’s first crewless, autonomously operated ship, an advance that could mark a turning point in seaborne trade.

Dubbed by shipping executives the “Tesla of the Seas,” the Yara Birkeland now under development is scheduled in late 2018 to start sailing fertilizer 37 miles down a fiord from a production facility to the port of Larvik. Using the Global Positioning System, radar, cameras and sensors, the electric ship is designed to navigate itself around other boat traffic and to dock on its own.

You can read the rest @
https://www.wsj.com/articles/norway-takes-lead-in-race-to-build-autonomous-cargo-ships-1500721202

Wait just a minute ...

Soon all goods will be manufactured in robot factories; all food will be grown and picked by robots. Both will be delivered by robot ships, robot trucks, and robot drones.

Q: So, without any jobs how will the intended customers be able to pay for this?

A: Obviously they can't, and this FACT puts the lie to the "robot world" fantasy of Jeff Bezos and others.

Social Darwinism In The Market-State

According to this silly piece, Trump is guided by "social Darwinism". If you believe the author, this is a truly horrible state of affairs:

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/06/social-darwinism-is-what-truly-guides-trump.html

The reality is that ALL the powers that be are guided by social Darwinism. It is a philosophy which has contributed to the destruction of our once compassionate culture.

Did it, as some believe, stem from the writings of Ayn Rand? Perhaps, but it can be found in its purest form in the core beliefs of the "market-state" concept:

The “market-state” is the latest constitutional order, one that is just emerging in a struggle for primacy with the dominant constitutional order of the 20th century, the nation-state. Whereas the nation-state based its legitimacy on a promise to better the material well-being of the nation, the market-state promises to maximize the opportunity of each individual citizen.

Philip Bobbitt

The market-state guarantees everyone "equal opportunity", but then social Darwinism takes over. The rich get richer, and the poor are squeezed into lifeless husks.

And we're supposed to blame this on Trump? What a crock of shit!

Visualizing US Wealth Inequality

You can see it here through a myriad of graphics:

http://stockboardasset.com/insights-and-research/visualizing-americas-wealth-inequality-aerial-experience-baltimore/

You definitely should watch the video.

This already is having tragic consequences we completely fail to address.

Bezos Is Bonkers

According to this report, Jeff Bezos thinks there can be one trillion humans living in our solar system:

https://www.space.com/37572-jeff-bezos-trillion-people-solar-system.html

Dear Jeff - I hate to pee on your cornflakes, but here are some inconvenient facts:

• Earth can barely support the nearly 8 billion we already have;
• Mars and the Moon have no atmosphere, and they are much smaller than Earth; and
• All the other planets are extremely inhospitable.

Have you been watching "The Wrath of Khan" again? Terraforming will be a LOT harder than what was depicted in the movie.

It's great to have dreams, but I'm too old to chase after your BS schemes.

Texas Polluters In The News Again

A Washington, D.C.-based environmental advocacy group sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, arguing the federal government isn’t properly policing air pollution permits the state of Texas issued to some of the largest industrial facilities in the U.S.

The Environmental Integrity Project - founded by former EPA officials - alleges that permits the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) issued to mega-plants across the Houston, Dallas and East Texas regions are illegal because the limits set on their emissions are too high, allowing them to spew too much pollution into the air.

The suit, filed in federal court, also claims the permits are so vague and complicated that TCEQ employees aren’t always sure if a plant is in violation, and therefore fail to adequately punish bad actors.

The Texas Tribune explored that low penalty rate in a recent investigation, finding that the TCEQ has so far fined fewer than 1 percent of the 3,723 emissions events that occurred in 2016.

“EPA knows that Texas issues unenforceable permits with illegal loopholes that render useless some of the most basic pollution control requirements of federal and state law,” said Gabriel Clark-Leach, a lawyer for the Environmental Integrity Project, which says it filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Texas environmental groups Air Alliance Houston, Sierra Club and TEJAS (Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services).

You can read the rest @
http://www.mintpressnews.com/former-epa-officials-sue-epa-failure-enforce-air-pollution-rules/230008/

I worked for TCEQ in a former life. I have seen some of these permits. They are in fact EXTREMELY complicated.

But these are extremely complicated plants, and as I understand it the law allows them to operate under their existing permits until changes are made which would trigger implementation of newer federal and state laws.

In my opinion, the amount of toxins spewed into the air, buried in the ground, and dumped into the water in Texas is an affront to nature and a dire threat to all life on this planet. But laws alone will not fix the problem.

As long as we continue to extract "wealth" from the earth, there will be waste dumped into the environment. Only a complete change in our way of life is going to make a difference. The earth cannot heal if we continue to act like a cancer.