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Friday, October 20, 2017

Is Putin truly a friend & defender of Christendom, Christians, Christianity & enemy of the Antichrist? Is Russia a true safe haven for Christian belifs, morals, & values, & a model for the west?

During my patrols on certain parts of the internet, I've seen a handful of people, usually related to alt-right, western nationalist, or paleoconservative circles praise Russia for things such as opposing the New World Order, & how the supposed rise of Christianity in Russia (& Eastern Europe) is saving Russian (& Eastern European) culture & how the West should embrace Christianity to save itself.

I'm here to respond to these views, provide facts on the matter, & provide commentary.

Part 1: What is Russia's & Putin's relationship with the New World Order?

In reality, Putin does NOT oppose the New World Order, NOR is he a White Nationalist. He is an authoritarian.


Freedom Alternative has addressed Aleksandr Dugin's plans in his video


Vigilante Intelligence has came to a similar conclusion;

James Corbett has also touched on the Eurasian Union, and both he and Ryan Dawson has criticized having a sports team mentality in geopolitics:


Also, I'm sure that many on the socio-political alt-right & paleoconservative related circles value their right to free speech, religion, & right to keep & bear arms, & sticking to a country's constitution (& rightfully so).

In Russia, what I just described hardly really exists. 

James Corbett already described censorship in Russia, but the Russian constitution supposedly PROHIBITS censorship by the government (except for "propaganda or agitation instigating social, racial, national or religious hatred and strife" & "propaganda of social, racial, national, religious or linguistic supremacy", not that I agree with it) (http://www.constitution.ru/en/10003000-03.htm). 
Russia even prohibits so-called "Rehabilitation of Nazism" (https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Rehabilitation+of+Nazism+site%3Awww.rt.com&atb=v69-4__).

Funny enough, it doesn't seem like MTV (which many American social conservatives dislike for their depiction of crime, gangs, drug use, & sexualisation) has been taken down in Russia (though I don't know how Russia's MTV compares to the U.S.'s).

In 2016, Vladimir Putin has also imposed quite a few restrictions on religious freedom, as explained in the article Is persecution returning for Russia’s Christians? – New laws make evangelism illegal.

You'll probably be surprised about Putin's relationship with Muslims (there are even Muslims who support Putin);
PUTIN DECLARES RUSSIA AN 'ALLY' TO ISLAMIC WORLD
As ties with the West suffer, Russia embraces its east


Russia does NOT have a right to keep or bear arms. While I haven't found particularly strict weapon laws on irritant/inflammatory (ie pepper) spray, or melee weapons (ie knifes, batons), I have found strict laws on the elephant in the room: firearms.
Russian firearm laws are actually quite strict, & in some areas of regulation (especially the number of firearms one can privately own), are even stricter than some U.S. states & European countries (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_of_gun_laws_by_nation gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/russia). While there is a group called Right to Arms in Russia, about 70% of Russians aren't seriously supportive of the right to keep & bear arms, & seem to be rather contempt with their country's firearm laws (http://rbth.com/society/2013/04/03/russian_public_has_no_problem_with_gun_laws_24581.html).
So Russia has "may issue" licenses, & limits one to owning up to 5 shotguns, 5 rifles & 5 trumatic guns (though I've read that someone said 2) combined, with heavy restrictions on handguns, short barreled shotguns & rifles, & machine guns. Most western countries are not that arbitrary.
Also, Russia has a gun ownership rate of about 8.9 per 100 individuals, which is relatively low & is comparable to, say, the United Kingdom (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estimated_number_of_guns_per_capita_by_country#List_of_countries_by_estimated_number_of_guns_per_capita).
Even countries such as Germany & Sweden, major culprits to cultural Marxism & outright stupidity, are better off than Russia in terms of firearms ownership rate.

Here are a few comments (some parts which I cut out) made by an individual named masterspaaaaark on the video New Cuban Missile Crisis, US and Russia Now In Standoff In Syria;

"Russian msm, which is controlled by government, already pushing propaganda that Trump is worse than Obama was. They do it to fool Russian people, because when people have outer enemy it's easier to manipulate them. Putin is building authoritarian state so his corrupt oligarchy friends could continue to exploit and rob Russia and it's people. I'm Russian and I know what I'm talking about. We already have less freedom than were in damn communist Soviet Union."

"Putin is the leader of Russian establishment and I really doubt that he will come to terms with Trump to de-escalate the Syrian conflict. The only hope is next presidential elections in Russia, but corrupt government will do anything to stay in charge and if Russian people won't overthrow it Russia will completely turn into dictatorship and world will face new cold war."

"Putin used to fight deep state 17 years ago when he became president for first time, but now he is a part of it. Putin escalates international conflicts to distract Russian people's attention from inner problems. Russian economics is dying because of oligarchs, and millions of people are facing poverty. Corrupt state clerks illegally taking people's property, but to keep high ratings Putin is making aggressive outer politics. He escalated Ukrainian conflict and MSM brainwashed people so Russians and Ukrainians started to hate each other, when Ukrainian situation started to became smoother Putin started Russian military campaign in Syria."

"I live in Russia and I see that shit with my own eyes. Putin abuses Russian people and escalates international conflicts to fool them. Also if you'd see Russian MSM you'd think the exact opposite way."

For icing on the cake, Russia is an observer state of the Organisation of Islamic Corporation.


Part 2: Is Russia (& Eastern Europe) really coming back to Christianity? How "morally Christian" do people in Russia statistically act?


According to http://www.pewforum.org/2014/02/10/russians-return-to-religion-but-not-to-church/, while Russians may be returning to religion, they aren't returning to church, and don't always return to Christianity.

According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Importance_of_religion_by_country, about 34% of Russians say that religion is important to them, which is actually on-par with the Netherlands (which is liberal about sexuality &, to a lesser degree, drug use), & lower than Germany & Canada at 40% & 42% respectively.

Substance use:
Russia, along with parts of eastern Europe, still has some of the heaviest alcohol consumption in the world (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_consumption_in_Russia), & still suffers from heavy drug use (https://gizmodo.com/why-russias-heroin-addicts-are-going-through-hell-1787892724), & was once on the rise (https://sputniknews.com/society/20100601159275131/
https://web.archive.org/web/20170916114821/http://one-europe.net/eurographics/drug-use-increases-in-eastern-europe).


I'd also like to mention that Russia, despite how seemingly both the government & the people are gung-ho are about the drug war, actually decriminalized the possession of up to six grams of marijuana (& the transport of it) or two grams of hashish, & the cultivation of up to twenty plants (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_cannabis_by_country#.C2.A0Russia). Up to that amount is essentially a slap on the wrist (it's treated more like, say, having beer in public).
In that regard, Russia is actually more liberal than many western countries, & the line between criminalized & non-criminalized possession of marijuana is a gram higher than the Netherlands.
So in that sense, Russia is even more liberal than Sweden, the latter of which literally punishes people for having marijuana than people who have raped young kids (this is NOT an exageration).


Sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases & marriage:

Russia still has higher teen birth rates than some western countries (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevalence_of_teenage_pregnancy#UN_Statistics_Division.2C_estimates_1995-2010), has a higher presence of HIV/AIDS than some western countries (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_HIV/AIDS_adult_prevalence_rate), & has the highest per-capita abortion rate in the world (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_Russia). 
File:Teenage birth rate per 1000 women 15–19, 2000-09.svg


As for prostitution, it's treated like an "administrative" offense in Russia (which is treated like drinking beer in a public or being naked in public & is punished with a slap on the wrist), Romania & Slovenia does not criminalise it, & non-organised prostitution is perfectly legal in Poland, Hungary, & Slovakia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_Europe)

While Russia has a high marriage rate, it still has the world's highest divorce rate & a fairly high divorce-to-marriage ratio (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divorce_demography#Divorce_statistics_by_country).

As for allowing homosexuals to serve in the armed forces, Russia & many other eastern European countries allow homosexuals in their armed forces, some even have policies to specifically protect them.
These countries in alphabetical order are:
Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_orientation_and_military_service#Countries_that_allow_openly_gay.2C_lesbian_and_bisexual_people_to_serve).


Do you now really think that Russia & eastern Europe is becoming more Christian, especially with prostitution laws in some places being more liberal than San Francisco, California, where prostitution is absolutely illegal (even though it is the most liberal city in the United States of America), & socially conservative Russia being less religious than relatively liberal countries such as Germany & Canada?

I'm glad to see at least two or three comments on the article Vladimir Putin, Christian Crusader? that sees through the "Holy Russia" myth.


Can Christianity Save Western Civilization (Condensed version of the video below)


Christian Nationalism is a Bad Idea (Not necessary, just a longer version of the above video.)

I'll link to three Ryan Dawson videos for good measure:

Black Pigeon Speaks Atheism and makes no points

Dawson vs Fuentes (debate.)

Ryan's Analysis of The Taylor vs. Jones Debate


All of this is happening in a place that some people think is better off than the west because of Christianity. I'm not sure how much religion influences all of this, but I definitely know that culture & standard of living will. I believe that everything I just shown happens in places such as Russia & Eastern Europe because they are overall poorer than many of their western European or Scandinavian counterparts & a significant number of people 

Along with this, it is typical for people who are uneducated &/or (especially in the cases I'm talking about) going through hard times to turn to religion for comfort.

European culture actually started long before Christianity was established. Also, culture & religion are NOT the same things. There are many articles just about the differences between religion & culture.

Many people who truly supported liberty, such as Voltaire & some the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, were quite critical of religion, were deists, or at least supported a form of government other than hardline theocracy.

You can oppose the New World Order without religion or a religious theme.

Singapore is a secular but extremely socially conservative country, with Syria being a similar case. Singapore and Syria proves that traditionalism/social conservatism is compatible with secularism. 

Syria is neither a Islamic fundamentalist nor Muslim fundamentalist country, but is one of the best countries that stand up to Israel because of Civic Nationalist unity and a respectable public image in contrast to the likes of Iran and the Houthi rebels who also opposite Israel but have a toxic public image with their tribal hatred of the United States of America and western civilization. Syria even has one of the lowest divorce rates in the world, especially before the Syrian War and Wuhan Bat Lab Flu scare.

Japan. Same point as with Singapore and Syria, but unlike Singapore, has less immigration, and is homogeneous, even though the vast majority of Japanese people are irreligious. South Korea and Taiwan are not far off.

Mongolia is mostly irreligious, but both prostitution and pornography are illegal.

Czech Republic and Estonia are two of the world's least religious countries, yet also some of the most the most skeptical countries towards immigration, and have shall-issue licenses to own and even conceal carry handguns, and are two of the five countries in Europe that have shall-issue licenses to conceal carry firearms (the others being Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania).

Geert Wilders & the Party for Freedom (not that I agree with endorse their beliefs) come across with a very nationalistic public image, but they're in one of the most sex-positive developed countries on the planet. 


Part 3: Is there a better way to save Western culture & the West? What should western society do to save itself & become great again?

It is not so hard when you get down to it. Here are 6 things that the west should do:

6. Have people boycott entertainment media that promotes stupidity & what is virtually anti-intellectualism.


5: Learn how to bring real change while avoiding violence. Also learn the non-aggression & common ground principles.

(Also read When is violence justified? | StormCloudsGathering & Six Reasons Libertarians Should Reject the Non-Aggression Principle, the latter article of which gives detail, insight, & information not presented in the former article.)

4. Boycott the government schooling system & have children be educated through home education.

3. Boycott the mainstream media & support the alternate media, & always support independent media that talks about issues of importance & does NOT sensationalise, promote wedge issues, or otherwise divide potentially educable people:
2: Support individual liberty with the keeping of rule of law & promote ethical philosophy. Giving government more power is the key to more tyranny.

1: Most importantly on a geopolitical scale, get western governments to stop messing with the world, bring our troops home, & overall, quit wasting money killing people. We can save a lot of tax dollars if we cut the interventions.

To go with this, cut-off unnecessary free-welfare programs, since they encourage laziness.

If you're concerned about demographic decline, if push came to shove, maybe governments should start paying people to have kids. I'm reluctant to do this considering how parenting isn't for everyone. However, using religion to reverse demographic decline can lead to situations in developing countries where they get overpopulated & parents are unable to provide for their kids, or otherwise provide a result other than what we would want.

The west should also promote economic freedom (hopefully you also already support this).

So in a nutshell:

1: Putin is NOT an enemy of the New World Order.
2: Returning to Christianity will NOT save the west in of itself. Pragmatic philosophy would probably work better than superstitious faith. I would rather have people be cultural nationalists (Styxhexenhammer666 identifies as a "Civic Nationalist") than religious fundamentalists, even though I (along with people such as Ryan Dawson & Ron Paul) do not identify as any nationalist.
3: If one listens to the right sources, it should almost be a no-brainer to connect the dots & figure out how to save the West (& the World at large).

P.S: an article that inspired this one came from Russia Insider, which is a questionable source:

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Ultimate education reform article list & video list. Problems with public education/schools, & how to fix them.

Part 1 will show the problems. Part 2 shows some ideas for solutions.



The video below is the most important one here, condensing almost all of the problems and solutions into a single 45 minute talk.



Summary: government schools waste time teaching concepts that have little real application for most people, and do so inefficiently with cookie-cutter style collectivized memorizing for tests.
For the most part, government schools do little to nothing to teach actual life-skills, such as growing a garden, fixing machinery, balancing a checkbook or making a healthy meal, or organizing and leading groups,  resolving conflicts nonviolently, and so on and so forth.
They certainly don't teach people logic, how to think for themselves .


Substance to back this summary up are in the videos and articles listed below.

Articles to read and additional resources:

LewRockwell.com on schools
LewRockWell.com on education

Unplugged Mom

School Sucks project

Laurette Lynn

HSLDA

John Taylor Gatto

Fixing Our Local Schools

Seven Ways School Has Imprisoned Your Mind

How Schooling Leads to War

The Schools Are Becoming Prisons

How to Control Society: Education and “National Security”

The Horrors of Public Education

Anti-Authoritarian Personalities & Standard Schools

The Case Against Public School

How Stupid Are High School Students?

Why Public Schools Don’t Teach Critical Thinking — Part 1 (Huffington Post)

Are Our High School Students Dumb? Are Our High Schools Disastrous?

How America Outlawed Adolescence

America's Public Schools Are Prisons

Pavlovian classical conditioning in school

A warning to U.S. about ‘educational authoritarianism’ — from a Chinese scholar (Washington Post)

"Children Are Not Second Class Citizens": Can Parents Stop Public Schools from Treating Their Children Like Guinea Pigs?


Psychology today:

The Danger of Back to School

Schools Are Good for Showing Off, Not for Learning

“Why Don’t Students Like School?” Well, Duhhhh…

Militarism (Narcissism-in-uniform) Stinks by whoever lives it!


Part 1:

Major problems with government/state schooling:






(The relevant part below starts at 50:51. The direct part about school ends at about 1:02:48.)









TED/TEDx Talks:




Are schools prisons, plus student's rights:

If you prefer to read the Rutherford institute's statements about school:



Part 2: Solutions:

There is some talk about making public education better. But the real problem is HOW do we make education better?

Ideally, we'd have home-education for everyone. But, if that is not viably possible, then have school choice combined with charter schools, with maybe a few conditions to receive funding such as respecting student's rights, having a secular curriculum, teaching basic values and principles, and so on and so forth. 
That would force competition becuase now for schools to receive students and funding, they must perform well. A school can't hold a monopoly over a rotting ghetto just becuase of geography (which I find to be terribly unfair to the poor); the kids in that ghetto have an option to go to the same school with the kids from the snobby top-upper-middle class kids in the nice part of town that give a hoot about successful, efficient teaching that truly prepares kids for the future.

Along with this, offer more vocational and apprenticeship types of problems and look at on-the-job training as an alternative to inadequate Jack-of-all trades (more like a Master-of-nothing) style to teaching, which is shown to not work.

Yes, this can cost some money in the short term, particularly with transportation. 
But what will cost more money in the long term? Kids today being apathetic about learning becuase they're made to memorize minutia that has little to no real-life application to the extent that they learn very little that will be useful to their futures, and a lot of potential that these people had when they were little kids is wasted, plus a culture of ignorance, anti-intellectualism and apathy towards real philosophy, vaules, and principles. Along with that, an ignorant society that sorely lacks creativity, intellect and deep critical thinking.

Also, be sure to pay teachers fairly for what they do, and encourage freedom to experiment with teaching styles and allow teachers to individualize (such as having a kid read a book that they are interested in and doing work that is on their level and at their pace).

Encourage that people send their kids to schools that follow the Montessori model, which solves many of these problems.

Ron Paul curriculum:




Do you like my "Read if you're making assumptions about me" post?