Tag: Integrity

Patrice Ayme and truth

Intelligence at the core of humanism

A while ago a comment on Baseline Scenario jumped off the screen at me. I was intrigued because the author of this comment used words with power and insightfulness. That author was Patrice Ayme. It’s a nom de plume. [NB. Not it isn’t, see comments below] The sub-heading at the top of this Post is from his Blog. Here’s an extract from the About section of that Blog.

This is a site that tries to find out what is really happening, and what is not, what is right and what is wrong, on many important questions, and in all sorts of ways. In other words thinking is applied relentlessly, the way evolution made it, as the ultimate instrument of domination of anything in sight (be it domination of oneself, of one’s own ideas and emotions, or domination of the universe). Thinking evolved to predict effectively and ambitiously, not to cower in a corner, modest and dazed. Prometheus’ punishment was a regrettable misunderstanding: we did not steal fire from someone, we created our mastery of fire, and fire made us what we are, as we wished. Mastering fire was not a sin, the Greco-Romans were wrong on that one. Fire was part of what we have evolved to be; masters of the universe, for better or worse.

Cell phones and cancer

Is the mobile telephone industry being honest?

A report released by the International EMF Collaborative last week has some disturbing information in it; that cell phones (mobile phones in Europe) are more likely than not to be a causative factor in some cancers, most notably brain cancers.

That information will not come as a surprise to anyone as rumours have been circulating for many years. What is worse (if brain cancer wasn’t bad enough) is a growing view that the cell phone industry may have been trying to skew the results in favour of the industry. If proven, that sort of corporate behaviour underlines the value of integrous living as the only way of creating a society fit for all.

The International EMF Collaborative claims that the Interphone study, which begun in 1999, was “intended to determine the risks of brain tumors, but its full publication has been held up for years. Components of this study published to date reveal what the authors call a ’systemic-skew’, greatly underestimating brain tumor risk.”

Know of young people using cell phones? Then read more and pass this Post on to them.

Good old-fashioned service values

What a delight to come across people who care.

This is a personal story with a wider message. That great after-sales service matters and in these difficult times will make the difference between surviving and even growing, or failing.

I drive a 2005 5.7 litre Jeep. It was bought (second-hand) when I arrived in the US about a year ago, en route to Mexico.

Just recently the automatic transmission failed. There was no choice but to commit it to the local Mexican Jeep dealership for repair. This is a sophisticated transmission system and I was seriously worried that it was going to be a nightmare.

I didn’t account for the help from AASTRO in Tucson, where the Jeep had been serviced a couple of times.

Continue reading “Good old-fashioned service values” →

Help save 5,000 pets in one week!

Let’s help Pilot’s N Paws achieve something wonderful.

Unless one is familiar with this fine organisation, you may be scratching your head wondering how is it that 5,000 pets can be rescued in a week.

The Pilots N Paws 5000 will take place during the week of September 12th through the 20th. This event was conceived as a means to draw public attention to three issues. The first and most important message that needs to be conveyed is that we have a serious problem in this country and as a result about 4,000,000 animals or more are euthanized annually.
This would not be the case if there were more and better spay and neuter programs and laws regarding owners’ responsibility for their animals.

The second issue is that because the problem is primarily regional a lot of these innocent animals could find permanent “forever” homes if they could be transported from high kill regions to areas with homes available. To accomplish this we desperately need more pilots to help with transports.
The final issue is that while aviation has proven to be a successful way to transport animals to safety, general aviation in this country is threatened. The threats range from onerous Homeland Security directives to crippling and expensive fees imposed on general aviation. We want to see general aviation perceived by the public accurately as a driving force in our economy, and one that contributes far more than its economic impact would suggest. We want to see general aviation free of these threats.

Their website has a special section devoted to PNP 5000, so do read more. The home page has a link where you can donate to support this excellent cause.

Let’s face it, rescuing these animals is only returning the favour.

Rescue dogs

By Paul Handover

STS 128 is away!

Shuttle Discovery launches without a hitch.

At 23.59 EDT, Shuttle Discovery lifts off from launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Centre.

sts 128 launch

America frequently gets a bad press around the world but events like this are a reminder of the pioneering spirit of the American people. Long may that continue.

By the way, ever wondered what it is like to be inside the Shuttle during a launch?

A little later than I would have wished!

Jon Lavin.

You will see from the Hello World post at the head of Learning from Dogs that the idea of integrity being a topic for wider discussion arose a while ago. Busy lives (and a big misunderstanding about Blogging!) put off us doing something until Paul got the Blog under way in July, this year.

I still have, thank goodness, plenty of work demands on my time and a busy family life but, at last, will be finding time to explore the importance of integrity.

As I say in About this Blog, I had noticed that businesses that were operating largely with integrity, tended to be happier places, got better results and it was possible to develop levels of awareness within teams that enabled them to work together far more effectively. Levels of self-awareness are important because they allow people to develop closer business relationships with everyone internal and external and this leads to increased levels of trust.

By Jon Lavin

Muslim demographics – an update.

A calm and rational destruction of the Dangerous Demographics YouTube video

On the 20th August, a Post was published on Learning from Dogs called Doing nothing! It was largely an emotional response to the video on YouTube that has been watched by over ten millions and claims that Europe and North America are close to becoming dominated by Muslims. The unspoken implication being that this would be ‘dangerous’ for those present societies. The YouTube film was clearly made with a racist agenda in mind.

The vision of this Blog is to support the notion that integrity is not only a noble inspiration but on a day-to-day basis delivers better outcomes for you and me. Integrity is being true to one’s beliefs, or as defined in the free dictionary, “Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code“. Morals and ethics rely on understanding the truth, as best we can, of the world around us. Thus it is enormous pleasure to find the BBC presenting a statistical rebuttal to the YouTube video.

Please watch it.

The web address is ….. see below

UPDATE NOTE: For some reason the BBC have removed that video. However, the material that debunks the YouTube video may be seen here, and here.

And when you have seen it, if you know of anyone who has emailed you the link to the YouTube video, please email them the link to the truth spoken by the BBC.

As the English philosopher Edmund Burke said,

‘The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing.’

By Paul Handover

Senator Edward Kennedy, a big loss for all of us.

Veteran US Senator, Edward Kennedy, dies at the age of 77.

Senator Kennedy had been battling a brain tumour for a long time; his death makes this a very sad day.

The BBC has a good tribute to him.

James Kwak of Baseline Scenario makes his tribute personal, and all the better for it.

I have nothing new or insightful to add, but it feels wrong to go back to blogging without paying respects to Ted Kennedy. When I was younger and perhaps more idealistic, I used to carry around a copy of his speech at the 1980 Democratic National Convention. He was a man who cared about the poor, the unemployed, and the sick, even as their cause became less and less fashionable over the past four decades. He believed that justice went beyond formalistic legal rights and extended to economic and social conditions as well. The Senate needs another person like him, but sadly will not find one.

By Paul Handover

Doing nothing!

Freedom and justice needs active participation.

Let me start with an extract from the Henrik Hudson School District Library Media Centre:

Perpetrators, collaborators, bystanders, victims: we can be clear about three of these categories. The bystander, however, is the fulcrum. If there are enough notable exceptions, then protest reaches a critical mass. We don’t usually think of history as being shaped by silence, but, as English philosopher Edmund Burke said, ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing.’ (My source for this is here.)

So what has prompted this Post?

Continue reading “Doing nothing!” →

10:27 August 14th 2009

A glimpse into the soul of a Nation

My view is that this Blog should be (much) less about the lives of the Blog authors and more about the world we live in within the self-imposed theme of the Blog; integrity.

However, what happened at 405 West Congress in Tucson, Arizona, last Friday morning is an exception to the rule.

The entrance to the Courthouse in Tucson

405 West Congress is the address of the Courthouse in Tucson.

So what brings 50 people, family and friends to a court house in Tucson on a Friday morning in August?

The swearing-in of a group of people to be US Citizens or more properly described as the Order of Admission to Citizenship; the actual process of becoming a US Citizen, other than having been born in the Nation.

It gave me an amazing insight into the generosity of the United States of America and, indeed, of all other free countries in the world that welcome incomers.

Let me explain.

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