NEED ANY MORE EXAMPLES OF STUPIDITY?

 NEED ANY MORE EXAMPLES OF STUPIDITY?

“Kyle Rittenhouse will go on trial next week for shooting three people, two fatally, during a protest against police brutality last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder has a standard rule prohibiting use of the term "victim" until someone is convicted of a crime, and Schroeder said the people shot by Rittenhouse could not be called victims.”

Another example of how the justice system has deteriorated into a verbal wasteland where language and political correctness overrides the principal issue. A man shot and killed two people. The two dead people are victims whether anyone is convicted of a crime or not. If they are not “victims”, should they be called “unwilling participants in a homicide” or “unfortunate bystanders”? Any admiration or respect for the legal system just continues to be eroded by nonsense like this.

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Do you ever find yourself shaking your head at the disparities that exist in our society compared to other places in the world? For example:

“A pair of trainers worn by the US basketball star Michael Jordan have sold for a record $1.47m (£1.1m) at auction. Jordan used the pair of red and white Nike Air Ships during his first season with the Chicago Bulls in 1984.”

“A Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps baseball trading card sold at auction for $2 million.” It was originally part of a five-cent package of bubble gum!

“Afghanistan is facing the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world, with the country seeing a sharp deterioration in the situation since the Taliban seized power in August. This week an Afghan baby girl was sold for $500 by a starving family in order to survive.”

Don’t the disparities bring tears to your eyes?

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Three high-level Alberta Education jobs are up for grabs in the curriculum department — in the midst of a highly controversial curriculum rewrite — and critics are concerned by a lack of specific qualifications for those who will be tasked with leading the process. The jobs, posted publicly this month, are assistant deputy minister of the curriculum division, executive director of learning and teaching resources and executive director of high school curriculum. 

None of the three jobs posted specifically requires a teaching certificate, bachelor of education or expertise in curriculum studies. 

I would suggest that the Alberta government not hire any surveyors, engineers, or companies with railway construction experience when they build the high-speed rail line from Calgary to Edmonton. and see how that unfolds. This project has been on the government's agendas since the 1950s and it appears that a decision is imminent! Ha ha!

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In 2015, Derek Saretzky was found guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of two adults and a two-year old child. He was sentenced to life with no chance at parole for 75 years. Of course, a lawyer is now appealing the sentence believing that it is unconstitutional (?). The lawyer also notes that the killer will not be eligible for parole until his is 95 years old and that this is cruel and unusual punishment. 

How much court time and expense were already expended in the initial trial? Why does the justice system now feel that they need to re-examine the verdict’s severity by hearing an appeal? The three dead victims do not have a chance for appeal and I have little sympathy for the perpetrator. 

Our legal and justice systems have become never-ending circuses where the guilty get more attention than the victims. It’s time to stop! 

DO YOU KNOW THE FIVE LAWS OF STUPIDITY?

 DO YOU KNOW THE FIVE LAWS OF STUPIDITY?

My random reading resulted in me stumbling upon the above topic and teased me read on. Often feeling stupid on many occasions, I was interested to learn that someone thought that there were actually laws that govern stupidity. Who knew? I list the laws below and try to provide an example or two to see if they really exist.

Law#1: everyone underestimates the number of stupid people.

Well, this one is not hard to substantiate. We see examples every day - people who still smoke, those who natter on their iPhones while driving on freeways and anyone who enjoys rock climbing without any safety ropes or harnesses.

Law#2: The probability that a person is stupid is independent of any other characteristics.

I really like this one. It does not matter if you are a doctor, a lawyer, a minister, a black person, a senator, a gay person, a prime minister, a movie star or a retired teacher, no category is immune to stupidity.

Law#3: A stupid person causes losses to others without gains to themselves.

My favourite example is the millions of individuals who choose not to be vaccinated against Covid, thus endangering others and remaining totally vulnerable themselves. Or the millions who use hard narcotics or excess alcohol or who smoke or those who partake of all three vices.

Law#4: non-stupid people underestimate the danger of the stupid.

Although I try not to think for one-second a day about this individual I have to nominate Donald Trump as the most obvious example of this law. Over 60 million people (I assume many of them non-stupid) voted for Trump and we are all aware of the destruction he has reeked upon us all in so many different ways.

Law#5: Stupid people are the most dangerous people on the planet.

Again, because we underestimate the number of stupid people, we do not consider the massive impact of their behaviours. Examples are endless. How many US states did not institute any Covid precautions until it was too late? How many governments have developed billion and even trillion-dollar national debts that will ultimately create financial havoc in the future?

The following quote possibly by Einstein, says it all, “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe!”

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A STEWARDESS STRIPPING?

 HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A STEWARDESS STRIPPING?

Former Alitalia flight attendants protested this week against job losses and pay cuts in a particularly Italian way -- by taking their clothes off. In the centre of Rome, about 50 female former flight attendants turned up in their Alitalia uniforms, then removed them to stand in their underwear, chanting "We are Alitalia." This event stirred a memory of a flight from hell that I was on that offered a similar scenario.

I was on a trip from the Canary Islands to Freetown in Sierra Leone with three fellow teachers who were heading for a volunteer summer teaching assignment. Our flight provided me with the most bizarre experience I have ever had. My companions and I were waiting for our flight in an empty Las Palmas airport with only about four other individuals at 3 a.m. awaiting our 4 a.m. departure. The TV flight destination monitors did not indicate that there was a 4 a.m. flight until about 3 a.m. It was heartwarming to know that there was in fact an actual flight. 

We were shopping in Duty Free when a loud speaker announced our names and indicated the plane was waiting for us on the tarmac. It was only 3:30 a.m. but we hustled out to our Sierra Leone Airlines flight and rushed up the moveable stairs to the plane.

Only a few lights illuminated the interior because most passengers were asleep. We had not been given any seating assignments and the stewardess told us to choose any empty seat. Two trips up and down the aisles indicated no vacant seats. I finally stopped at a row of seats occupied by a rather large lady who was stretched over three seats and asked her if I could sit in the aisle seat. She told me to F-off and pulled her blanket around her. I finally had a hostess cajole another person to sit up so that I might sit down rather than fly standing up for three hours.

As the plane ascended with a roar all I could concentrate upon was the noise from the glass bottles (I am assuming empties) that all began rolling toward the back of the plane bouncing off the supports under the seats. If that was not scary enough, at least a dozen or more overhead bins were wide open as we took off and various items were dumped out on to the floor. I am just surmising that these might have been violations of takeoff regulations even for Sierra Leone Airlines.

My final memory occurred as were preparing to land. I was seated near the rear of the plane and as the plane descended, I detected a commotion right behind me. The three stewardesses were taking their clothes off and dressing in their native dresses. When the plane finally taxied and stopped at the gate - the stewardesses opened the back door and they were gone down the stairs and off into the night. They were in far too much of a rush to possibly assist any passenger who might have needed any help. 

So, the girls at Alitalia are not the first to strip in the airline's world. Obviously, the attendants of Sierra Leone Air have been doing it for years!