Au Cochonnet Marin

It might be unpleasant to acknowledge, but regardless of where we live, we have all been (to some extent) brainwashed. And America is no exception.

“One believes things because one has been conditioned to believe them.” – Aldous Huxley

The Cambridge Dictionary defines brainwashing as “To make someone believe something by repeatedly telling him or her that it is true and preventing any other information from reaching him or her.”

 Today, the most conspicuous victim of this phenomenon is Russia. Since Ukraine had the impudence of declaring independence a few years ago, Russian citizens have been brainwashed into believing that “this province” had to be “denazified” and purged from evil western thoughts.

The Ukraine situation is of special interest to me, and I have been spending a lot of time researching the subject. YouTube has been particularly helpful in this endeavor and helped me through various sources to better understand this Shakespearian tragedy.

My sources of information are various news channels, but also independent Russian English-speaking vloggers who specialize in broadcasting to the West. They wander mainly through the streets of St Petersburg and Moscow and query passersby about Ukraine. Older folks are staunchly supporting Putin, but younger people (when they dare) clearly opposed him but are often reluctant to talk candidly. Fear (reminiscent of the Nazi Germany era) is now omnipresent in the Russian Federation.

Most of Russia, especially the elderly population, has been brainwashed into believing that the country is under imminent attack from the West. These people, with scant computer knowledge or access, rely almost exclusively on state-sponsored news and fully believe everything they see on the tube. Just like my own mother did, 60 or 70 years ago.

The computer-savvy younger set on the other hand, with VPN access to foreign sources, is not as gullible and knows exactly what is happening in Ukraine. They oppose Putin’s policies but are visibly afraid to frankly say so.

The tragedy of this conflict is that the Russian people are not war-hungry monsters who want to conquer the world. Many are highly educated, speak fluent English, and are open to the West. But the muzzling of the press and the alarming suppression of foreign news leave many citizens highly susceptible to distortions and lies.

Brainwashing and bloody conflicts will only stop when the main instigator is silenced and neutralized by his peers.
The sooner, the better… for the world’s sake.

Alain

A man’s home is his castle. “A proverbial expression that illustrates the principle of individual privacy, which is fundamental to the American system of government.”

 What I do in my home is my own private business. I can smoke weed, watch porn, wear pantyhose, worship Satan, drink absinthe and engage in any sexual practice I desire.

This is fundamental to the American system of government.

 By the same token, whatever a woman chooses to do with her own body is her own private business, and hers alone. It is not up to her neighbor, church, government, or any other entity to decide for her, no matter what their motivation is.

I am a strong advocate of democracy and women’s rights, and I am horrified and angry at the prospect of the Roe v. Wade ruling reversal.

This historical 1973 decision clearly stated that “A person may choose to have an abortion until a fetus becomes viable, based on the right to privacy contained in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”

 I have already seen it, and I hope that there will be massive demonstrations all over the country to stop what clearly goes against the will of the American people.

According to Forbes magazine (updated May 3, 2022) “Gallup polls show Americans’ support for abortion in all or most cases at 80% in May 2021, only slightly higher than in 1975 (76%), and the Pew Research Center finds 59% of adults believe abortion should be legal, compared to 60% in 1995—though there has been fluctuation, with support dropping to a low of 47% in 2009.”

No matter what the nosy do-gooders will dictate, abortions won’t stop. If banned, they will become more dangerous and will primarily affect people who need it most, juveniles and people of modest means.

America is becoming an increasingly oppressive society and if we are not careful, we will end up in an autocratic state where obscene Special Military Operations will be forced on people and lauded as patriotic deeds.

The Supreme Court’s impending, politically motivated decision, must be fought on all fronts and not be allowed to become the law of the land.

Alain

If you look up the word “best” in the dictionary, you will find the following definition “the most excellent, effective, or desirable type or quality.” So naturally, everybody wants that… in every domain. It is everyone’s Holy Grail pursuit.

As the saying goes, “I am too poor to buy cheap stuff” so when I need something, I want to buy a good product… sometimes the best available (if I can afford it). But is there such a thing as “the best?”

After many disappointing queries, I tend to doubt it. When I navigate the internet looking for the best frying pan, for instance, I get plenty of recommendations, but none of the so-called experts seems to agree on which is the “best” product. Lots of lists with all kinds of different rankings, but no consensus. It is not even close. I find this rather strange… If you are the best, everybody should agree that this is so, don’t you think? And if nobody agrees, how can anybody claim to have the best?

In the good old days, you could easily settle this matter with a duel, and with a body lying on the ground, nobody would question who was the best.

I have the feeling that all these so-called “experts” quoted on the internet are probably a bunch of kids (or chimpanzees) on their first professional assignment and throwing darts in the dark. Or maybe it is just the old payola story, financed by shady operators… I would not be surprised… Money talks… softly, but effectively alas.

So how do you track down the elusive “best”? Difficult to say. Some people have tracked the best mate, deal, car, coffee maker, mattress, etc. for years without ever finding it. To succeed, it helps to be lucky, because absolutely nothing beats luck.

“We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don’t like?” Jean Cocteau

To find the finest, you must test, compare and take plenty of notes. It seems that Zsa Zsa Gabor did so when she married and divorced 9 times before finding her “best mate”.

In 1986 she wed a charlatan named Prinz von Halt (26 years her junior) and the pair stayed together until her death in 2016. To each his own.

Looking for the best of everything could be time-consuming, and if you want perfection, you will have to try harder, many times harder. Good luck my friends.

Alain