I have had my bitch on other topics this morning. I would just like to wish everyone a happy Friday, and I hope you all have a great weekend.

and one more thing, remember to turn on your headlights before entering a pothole!!

Phronesis

The most important word ever forgotten by mankind. IMO the thought behind the meaning of phronesis is probably the most important virtue ever conceived by man. Understanding its importance separates the boys from the men.

Alexander the Great used his knowledge of this, taught to him by Aristotle his mentor, to transform a loose gang of tribes in Macedon to a world confederation of semi-sovereign states governing the known world… united in the idea that all of humanity is equal before the law. Completely unthinkable in an era of tribalism purely enabled by the power of understanding the value of phronesis, which was Aristotle’s most important gift to the world. Alexander was poisoned early in his years at 32 by his closest general Ptolemy’s dark connections in Babylon… so as to secure the superior race idea before it was extinguished by Alexander’s designs. Ptolemy went on to name himself Pharaoh of Egypt using Alexander’s body as a shrine to his deity… creating the Ptolemy dynasty that lasted nearly 300 years as overlords of the Egyptians until Rome under Octavian Augustus ended the dynasty by removing his rival in Cleopatra’s lover Mark Antony.

Since the power of phonesis thought first made its dramatic recognized debut in the 4th century BC it has been the efforts of all kings, monarchs, organized religions, and yes political parties that sell a creed of rigid philosophy… to erase this word and its meaning from history and from the consciousness of the general masses deemed unworthy of making real decisions that effect our shared future and its outcomes. I don’t think it is a widespread conspiracy, but it is a remarkable coincidence... you may find the word in history books, but it is scrubbed from all dictionaries and most encyclopedia’s. There is nothing there move on sums it up.

Phronesis essentially is a word to describe a virtue… a virtue of moral thought in reflecting upon the outcomes of a given action or decision… recognizing that every decision has unique circumstances that influence the outcome of any policy, and unless the decision is made to fit with the particulars of any circumstance it is likely to fail.

Political parties today sell you policy that comes from the top of the party down as a creed that requires acceptance for membership. One size fits all policy that is inflexible with hidden agenda’s and unknown outcomes that are to be taken at face value to be good policy. Independent thinkers need not apply. This is the failure of political parties in there ability to coral power behind a system that allows them to attain power with election rod issues, threats, or blackmail, and implement their blind ideology in all other areas of governance leading to bad ideological political solutions that ultimately fail… and the cycle swings the other direction to further failure from the next ideology after the next election with little accountability to the party power themselves for their failures and often unintended consequences as a result of the excesses of their own ideologies.

Phronetic social science however focuses on four value-rational questions: (1) Where are we going? (2) Who gains and who loses, by which mechanisms of power? (3) Is this development desirable? (4) What should we do about it?

The liberals, the ndp, and the neocons, could all learn from this. Its an equal opportunity issue for them ;)

The point being that we are entering an election… one that will see profound changes as a result of the outcome that will have huge effects on the well being of our province. If ever there was a time to employ the power of phronesis in our life times it may just be the decision we make in the voting booth on May 12th. Granted, that we will have no control over the decisions the politicians will make in following their given creeds they must stick to as per their respective party arrangements after they are elected (part of the problem). Still it is important I think to look at the individual candidates and the implications of their personal ability to shape events in our favor regardless of party influences. We can apply phronesis by reflecting upon and questioning the likely outcome of specific policies, and the particulars that will influence how they will have unintended as well as intended outcomes on our lives, our province, its environment, and our economy.

Therefore Eagleone’s word of the day is…

Phronesis

Thanks Heaven one item from the Free Press ( April 1st edition) did not materialize -a statue of Colin Kingsley - scary thought!!
Pat Quinn would have been an asset to the Cougars.

About that farmer in Alberta who is facing seven charges for dealing with a low life thief; they should give him a medal, not charge him. Swift justice is the only type of message that a thief is likely to respect, the law in this country makes a mockery of honest, hard working, and may I add: TAXPAYING citizens.
metalman.

I thought the free press front page was a breath of fresh air, it was funny, and it was subtle it made me look twice and that was the whole point. Good on them, it was nice to see a light hearted approach to the news for once.

I know I am sick and tired of all the death destruction plastered all over every spare piece of paper in the free speaking world, about who died, who went broke, who lost their job, etc..

it was nice to see someone out there still has a sense of humor and remembers what its like to live in small town central BC where there are other things going on than gang realted death and abject poverty of the masses.

I think if the media spent as much time on finding the good in each story, we may see public fear and anxiety lessen a bit and people may find it easier to live a more relaxed life, and focus on freinds, family and community a bit more.

I think the news is important yes, but the sensationalism of todays media is all about selling papers and air time. The crime will continue to happen, but so do our childrens lives.

I think the attention could be focused on something more positive, and more important.

Just a thought.

I have some serious questions about the two stories on the front page of the Free Press April 1st.

I expect that story items in a news source are true.

While I realized immediately that this was a prank, I really must ask what has the Free Press done to its credibility? How about the two reporters whose names were attached to the stories? Can we really trust what they write anymore?

While I would expect a radio disc jockey to launch such a prank, I am really really disappointed that a so called "news" outlet would do this.

I agree there needs to be more "good " news, but out and out lies just don't cut
it with me.

You are right highlanderpg, people were talking about the Free press this week, however, I don't think the talk was all positive, nor do I think it did anything to instill the idea that the FP is a news source you can trust.

The front page of the Winnipeg Free Press on April 1st had a storey about IKEA deciding to build in Saskatoon instead of Winnipeg. Turned out to be a joke.
It is a little harsh to call these jokes lies don't you think? It is good to see that some people still have a sense of humour.

Years ago all newspapers would make up a big storey for April Fools day. Some were pretty good.
Lighten up.

Oh trudy - you need to take a chill pill! We all could use a little humour in our lives and if you couldn't see the humour in that then I feel sad for you.

Plagiarism

As taken from Wikipedia.
"Plagiarism is the use or close imitation of the language and ideas of another author and representation of them as one's own original work."

http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/plagsep.html

Lostfaith's word of the day...

Plagiarism

The Free Press Pat Quinn headline caught my eye, filled my heart with a surge of hope and joy,,, for a moment. It was fun while it lasted, and since I do not trust the media anyway, the April fools gag did not offend me at all.
metalman.

I think the best April Fools joke was the one about the "Spaghetti Trees"

Road conditions.... why are they talking about, or considering, imposing tax increases to deal with the road conditions??

Would it not make more sense to make roads a top priority, and decrease spending from other areas. The $100,000 used to study the Performing Arts Center would have filled at least a few potholes I would imagine.

I know when I dont have the money to buy something, I have to decide whether I need it or not. If I do need the item, I have to re-arrange my spending to get it.

Why does city council have the attitude that if the money is not there, they can simply raise taxes. All the while spending on frivilous luxuries and ignoring the common necessities.

I realize that many of the councillors have changed. The ones that are there currently should think about the reasons their predecessors were booted out in the last election and take note.

STOP WASTING MONEY AND TAKE CARE OF WHAT IS NECESSARY FIRST!!!

The front page of the Free Press was great, it made me smile and that is a pleasant change of pace from what the front page of a newspaper usually does. That it actually bothered someone amazes me.
And yes, dan is right. Fix the %#$ roads already. That would be a great legacy and save the whole town money in front end repairs. Imagine that - our taxes saving us money.

Thumbs up to the Free Press for the giggle.

Ha ha.
It was the April 1 edition of a news paper and the unbelievable headline was taken as truth?!
First: one can never take any headline as truth or correct.
Second: Pat Quinn would indeed have been fantastic for the cougars. He would have had to take a significant pay cut.
Third: A freely distributed print publication had real news?

Now that spring is here, I wish to make a prediction. Later this year Canada will be inundated with many people from Mexico coming here from the US for a better life. What is not like about Canada? Free health care, free education, government funds for coping while claiming "refugee status". Aye, but they don't qualify as refugees, you say? Once they get their foot on Canadian soil, they automatically get their own copy of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The tazering happy Mounties won't be putting them in a van and taking them back to the US. These poor Mexican people looking for a better life will appeal their deportation claims for more than eight years. If this doesn't come to pass later this year, feel free to label me. Wait and see first. Meanwhile, why not just welcome them with open arms to our fine country? Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver only, thanks.

Spent a day at our local hospital the other day and found it quite interesting.People who decided that they would eat or drink and then come in for their surgery.Watching them get annoyed because they'd have to go last( what an inconvenience-so is choking to death)or getting annoyed because a nurse would question why they'd do that when they were given directions not to.Get with it people!

People who are coming from the USA (a safe country) can not claim refugee status. Only if they are being persecuted in the USA and they can prove it can they make a refugee claim.

"Meanwhile, why not just welcome them with open arms to our fine country?"

Great idea! I have met many fine people from Mexico (many come highly educated with good professions) and other Latin American countries - not all Spanish speaking immigrants are from Mexico.

Perhaps one day you will be lucky enough to spend some time with them and really appreciate them.

The closest I ever got to be near a Mexican was at a line up at a buffet in a casino in Las Vegas. Sorry to say. Highly educated with good professions, eh? Hopefully they will outnumber the gangster drug dealing ne'er do wells that will most likely be here eventually. Once word gets to them about our lax criminal justice system with slap on the wrist penalties added to the revolving door and easy bail requirements. Mexicans can claim persecution in the US if they say the system down there doesn't like them. Claim refugee status? Yes they can. Then it is up to our overworked Refugee Claimant Board to get them deported through our system after years of appeals.Never ending of course. Kinda like that Chinese criminal in Vancouver who is rich, and was under house arrest. China wants him. But that ain't enough.

Kind of like the white gangsters killing people in Prince George and Vancouver right now?

Looks like racism is alive and well in good ole PG, lets add that to the list of features.

I'm still laughing from Trudy's comments.
You were joking.....right ?

Is a Mexican a race of people? I like the UN gang. They're not racists, I bet.

Plagiarism... of an idea? Thats interesting. I first realized the importance of phronesis in the book 'Sailing from Byzantium' (I think?) as an aside from the real story. I did some research on the internet when I couldn't find it in any encyclopedia or dictionaries, and so found out more through internet searches. It turns out Aristotle had three intellectual virtues... episteme (natural science),techne (technecal science), and phronesis (lost in history, but judgements in decisions science).

The rest of my post on the application of phronesis in history I gleaned from various books including: "Alexander the Great" - Harold Lamb, "The Rise and Fall of Alexandria" - Justine Pollard, "Caesar's Legion" - Stephen Dando-Collins, "Augustus" - Anthony Everitt, "Roman Lives" - Plutarch... and many other books, but those ones are sufficient to confirm what was my opinion on the matter.

I did copy one idea in the paragraph on the phonetic social science concept as a practical application of modern phronesis. I got that from the Wikpedia search and its some interesting follow up worthy of more research IMO.