Ravi S. Iyer: Worldly

Trump sees black America as a dystopian hellhole. So do most white people., https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/08/26/trump-sees-black-america-as-a-dystopian-hellhole-so-do-most-white-people/ , dated Aug. 26th 2016 The article quotes Mr. Trump as saying (in the context of black/African-American America), "Poverty. Rejection. Horrible education. No housing, no homes, no ownership. Crime at levels that nobody has seen. You can go to war zones in countries that we are fighting and it’s safer than living in some of our inner cities that are run by the Democrats." The article then provides a repudiation of this view. Please note that I have a PUBLICLY NEUTRAL informal-student-observer role in these posts that I put up about the USA presidential elections. Of course, as I am an Indian citizen living in India, there is no question of me voting in these elections.

Hillary Clinton Denounces the ‘Alt-Right,’ and the Alt-Right Is Thrilled, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/27/us/politics/alt-right-reaction.html , dated Aug. 26th 2016. [To know more about Clinton's speech, readers may want to read my blog post, Trump's Immigration Town Hall; Clinton's speech against Trump and Alt-Right, http://ravisiyermisc.blogspot.in/2016/08/trumps-immigration-town-hall-clintons.html , dated Aug. 26th 2016.] A small extract from the NYT article above, "The alt-right claims to support the preservation of white culture in the United States, and many of its members want to see an overhaul of the entire political system. However, its views are widely seen as white supremacist and anti-Semitic." The article quotes a Richard B. Spencer. First some info. about him from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_B._Spencer : Richard Bertrand Spencer (born May 11, 1978) is an American writer, publisher, and self-described "identitarian" known...

This video covers the Trump side view of the super sensitive immigration issue. Readers/viewers who prefer not to get into such stuff may please ignore this post. Hannity 8/23/16 - Donald Trump Immigration Town Hall with Sean Hannity in Austin Texas, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cblBRiYQYk , around 41 minutes. There is a part 2 of this Town Hall which I have not seen yet. [Update: I saw it. Here's part 2 of the Town Hall, Hannity 8/24/16 Full: Donald Trump Town Hall - Austin, Texas, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7-o9EmLUdg , around 39 mins.] Related WaPo article, Donald Trump polls Texas audience on the fate of 11 million people, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/08/25/donald-trump-polls-texas-audience-on-the-fate-of-11-million-people/ ===================================================================== This campaign speech (prepared speech delivered using teleprompter) video of Clinton makes very strong allegations against Trump's cam...

How Millennials Became Spooked by Credit Cards, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/15/business/dealbook/why-millennials-are-in-no-hurry-to-take-on-debt.html , Aug. 14th 2016 Ravi: I think it is a good thing that millennials in the USA (and elsewhere hopefully) are somewhat spooked by credit card debt. Some analysts say that it is credit card binge spending and other debt beyond their means that many USA citizens took over years (decades perhaps), that precipitated the Financial Crisis of 2008. Some level of debt may be necessary for young people to move on in life (especially those who start a family and need to buy a home). But taking on debt irresponsibly (beyond one's means of paying back) and making a habit of it, is terrible, not only for the individual but if many people behave similarly it is bad for the community and even the country as a whole.

1) World Population, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khFjdmp9sZk , 5 min. 46 secs, published by Population Education on Mar 26, 2015 Description: Watch human population grow from 1 CE to present and see projected growth in under six minutes. One dot = 1 million people. Ravi: I don't know how accurate the data is. Presuming the data (including past population estimates) is reasonably accurate I think it is a fascinating video showing how human population has clustered in certain areas and then exploded into huge growth, over a period of two millenniums. 2) The World in 2015: Global population and the changing shape of world demographics, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwfH1gYkXTw , 4 min 15 secs, published by The Economist dated Nov. 13, 2014. Ravi: This video shows with an animated pyramid graph how the world's population was previously having a maximum of young children and that as the ages in the age group increased the relative population size reduced. This created...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rOUYlZV914 , nearly 50 mins, Hillary Clinton Economic plan & rally in Michigan, Aug. 11th 2016. Ravi: An extract from the transcript here that I find very interesting (being a former teacher who imparted job worthy skills to students in the Sai university), www.newsweek.com/hillary-clinton-full-transcript-economic-speech-489602 : So here’s what we’re going to do. We will support high-quality union training programs. We will propose new tax credits to encourage more companies to offer paid apprenticeships that let you earn while you learn. We will do more, including a national campaign, to dignify skills training across the board. I think we’ve got to reverse what has become a kind of commonplace view, which is everybody needs to go to college. Well in fact, more than half of the jobs that are going to be available in 2020 do not require a college, four-year degree. So, for welders and machinists and tool and die makers and health technicians...

You may want to see the video, Trump Calls Obama the ‘Founder’ of ISIS: They’re ‘Honoring’ Him!, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wLHAkMhwyM , 0 min 24 secs, published Aug. 10th 2016. In this video clip Mr. Donald Trump, Republican party nominee for USA President says (at a Florida rally): "ISIS is honouring President Obama. He is the founder of ISIS. He's the founder of ISIS. Okay. He is the founder. He founded ISIS. And I would say the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton." Ravi: I think I have to move away from my PUBLICLY NEUTRAL informal-student-observer role for this post. Of course, as I am an Indian citizen living in India, there is no question of me voting in these elections. This is a horrendous allegation against current USA President Obama as well as against Democratic party nominee for USA president, former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton!!! Such allegations can be made by a serious political contender for the top political office position,...

Last updated on 13th August 2016 I am confused about this matter. But it is a hot topic now in this USA presidential race, and so I felt I should post some info. on it. The matter is about some remarks made by Mr. Donald Trump about 2nd Amendment rights (gun rights) and (former) Secretary Hillary Clinton, which some say can be viewed as an incitement to violence against Hillary Clinton. So the allegation is on a very serious matter. But the question is whether the allegation itself is a wild one. Here's Mr. Trump's tweet text on it, "Media desperate to distract from Clinton's anti-2A stance. I said pro-2A citizens must organize and get out vote to save our Constitution!", https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/763198483927011329 , 7.21 PM, 9th Aug. 2016 Here's an LATimes article on it, www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-guns-clinton-20160809-snap-story.html . It quotes Trump as saying, "Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish t...

Himmler diaries found in Russia reveal daily Nazi horrors, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36951548 , dated 2nd August 2016 Himmler was in Adolf Hitler's elite circle, and had the official title "Reichsfuehrer SS". He commanded the death squads who murdered Jews, Poles, Soviet prisoners-of-war, Roma and others categorised as "racially inferior". ... German researcher Matthias Uhl said he was struck by Himmler's enormous concern for his elite SS, family and friends - while meticulously implementing mass murder. --- end extracts --- Ravi: We should know about such things so that we remain aware of how society can slip into the hands of madmen intent on "final solutions" unless good people fight such madmen. [I thank bbc.com and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above short extracts from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoev...

Rural America confronts a new class divide, http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2016/0730/Rural-America-confronts-a-new-class-divide , dated July 30th 2016 A few short extracts are given below: “What most people think of as family farms don’t exist in large numbers anymore, but what exists are large family businesses … in the $3 to $5 million range,” says Mr. Peters, the Iowa State sociologist. ... .. says Jonathan Bryant, a history professor at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, who studies small-town life in the South. “That’s become a difficult situation for a lot of folks, and many just leave. Those that don’t are the people you see in those clustered groups of rotting trailer houses: They’re stuck as much as some person in a Central American country is stuck.” ... “We have seen this kind of inequality before, and it’s when we were highly agriculturally dependent in the nation,” says Linda Lobao, a rural sociologist at Ohio State University in Columbus. “It’s alwa...

"Bernie Sanders: I support Hillary Clinton. So should everyone who voted for me", http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-sanders-message-bernie-bros-20160805-snap-story.html , dated Aug. 5th 2016. Ravi: The article is authored by former Democratic party candidate for USA President, Senator Bernie Sanders. Please note that I have a PUBLICLY NEUTRAL informal-student-observer role in these posts that I put up about the USA presidential elections. Of course, as I am an Indian citizen living in India, there is no question of me voting in these elections.