“The most striking difference between ancient and modern sophists is that the ancients were satisfied with a passing victory of the argument at the expense of truth, whereas the moderns want a more lasting victory at the expense of reality.” Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951) (p9) Our lives have been hijacked by insane […]
Photo — ancient tree, Phimai — by Paul Dunbar Carbon is the element of life, the chemical core of all known life-forms. It is the fourth most abundant element in the universe, and the second in the human body, after oxygen. It is the unique and, indeed, astonishing properties of carbon that make life possible. […]
“If it isn’t showing up in my atmospheric monitoring, what am I doing wrong?” appeals Lord Monckton in a 2013 interview with Jonathan Eisen. In fact there are many competent professionals and citizen researchers into the ‘chemtrails’ phenomenon who could give him a lead in how to conduct a methodical investigation, and enlighten him as to what […]
Kristen Meghan’s first reaction on hearing talk of “chemtrails” was to feel personally offended. She was an industrial hygienist and environmental specialist working for the Air Force in bio-environmental engineering. She had joined up after 9/11 and was committed to her oath of service, and when in 2006 friends started coming to her with questions […]
The appeal to ignorance is an appeal to lack of imagination. Without imagination, new knowledge is impossible. How can you believe something you cannot imagine? When deployed by a trained mind, the argumentum ad ignorantiam represents a cynical ploy to exploit these limitations. One man who has argued with keen logic and clarity against the […]
(PHUKET, 2017) I spend the day writing, and before sunset I drive a couple of miles to Ya Nui, a small beach where I can watch the sun go down. I need to refocus my eyes after hours too close to a screen. Holiday families are packing up and drifting away from the beach. Thai […]
I first observed it in Amsterdam, relaxing in friend’s motorboat as we pottered around town and out into the countryside south of the city. It must have been 2009 or 10. All afternoon, lying back in the bow, I watched plane after plane laying down white trails in a blue sky — trails which twisted like […]
ON THE POSSIBILITY AND DESIRABILITY OF PEACE In 1967, a book was published by Dial Press which purported to be the report of a secret government commission, leaked by one of its members. Entitled The Report from Iron Mountain – On the Possibility and Desirability of Peace, the book exposes the kind of thinking, cold, […]
In late 2011, I was walking through rainforest in the hills above Chiang Dao in northern Thailand with about a hundred twelve-year-old children and a handful of teachers. The forest was quiet, apart from the whooping and chattering of kids happy to be away with their friends for a few days. The guide had told […]