DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF INTELLIGENT? GET OVER IT!

     Do you consider yourself intelligent? If yes, how about explaining the concept of eternity?....... Not easy, is it?

 I am a perpetual student without the authority from authorities to label myself a BA or PHD or master of anything. I don't worry about it because there are zero authorities who can explain eternal energy.

And so, I don't label myself an authority of any kind. I do, however, question everything as for example, how and why does energy constantly change within eternity?

 In my very early years in school, one particularly intelligent teacher proclaimed to his captive students, that energy cannot be created or destroyed but constantly changes from one form to another.

A few years later it dawned on me that we humans created the concept of Time to measure changing energy, and if energy cannot be created or destroyed, but merely changes from one form to another, then Time itself is eternal and does not exist except as a measure of changing energy, created by and for humans to measure how long we have to live. The other species basically don't care.

We humans created Time as a measure of our own changing energy in order to understand life and death.

Since my own death is close, I wonder if I should take dancing lessons? O.K. not funny!  Bye for now!

J.N.R. signing off!

Sophie Scholl would laugh at: Putin, Netanyahu and Trump.

Which is the iconic photo ever taken in human history?

The photos of Sophie Scholl taken right before her execution by the Nazis in 1943, really gets to me. She knows her days are numbered, she’s only 21 years old and the portable guillotine that will soon behead her is already brought in. And yet she looks like a defiant punk rocker with her short hairstyle. She laughs in the face of unavoidably certain death.

Scholl, together with her brother who’d be executed alongside her, had been leaving leaflets in books. Leaflets against her own government. That was her “crime” — little notes. Unbelievably poignant, to-the-point and powerful little pieces of writing. Her final words are worth reading even today: Scholl, together with her brother who’d be executed alongside her, had been leaving leaflets in books. Leaflets against her own government. That was her “crime” — little notes. Unbelievably poignant, to-the-point and powerful little pieces of writing. Her final words are worth reading even today:

“The real damage is done by those millions who want to 'survive.' The honest men who just want to be left in peace. Those who don’t want their little lives disturbed by anything bigger than themselves. Those with no sides and no causes. Those who won’t take measure of their own strength, for fear of antagonizing their own weakness. Those who don’t like to make waves—or enemies. Those for whom freedom, honour, truth, and principles are only literature. Those who live small, mate small, die small. It’s the reductionist approach to life: if you keep it small, you’ll keep it under control. If you don’t make any noise, the bogeyman won’t find you. But it’s all an illusion, because they die too, those people who roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe. Safe?! From what? Life is always on the edge of death; narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues, and a little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does. I choose my own way to burn.”

“A little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does. I choose my own way to burn.” Powerful. Incredibly powerful. This is the sort of thing worth reading. I just woke up and wanted to share it here because it moved me. Did something to me. Stirred the soul, and it’ll stir yours, too.

Scholl’s words ring as true in the year 2024 as they did 81 years ago when she penned them down — too many of us are, indeed, living small and unremarkable lives, scared not to “rock the boat”, trying to avoid trouble. Few of us have the moral and physical bravery to put it all on the line for a higher purpose.

TODAY’S ARMED CONFLICTS

Our Rule of Law in Armed Conflict Online Portal (RULAC) classifies all situations of armed violence that amount to an armed conflict under international humanitarian law.

Today, it monitors more than 110 armed conflicts and provides information about parties, the latest developments, and applicable international law. Some of these conflicts make the headlines, others do not. Some of them started recently, while others have lasted for more than 50 years.

DISCOVER