An overview of the Mormon LDS faith- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFZ1jVO3-OE

A look at the rise of secular culture, or the rise of reason over blind faith-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixi7kVvb9Ps

ON the debate of right vs wrong: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjhL1xlkt5U

“Religious Outlier”—a chart of GDP and religion.

Vysu lobu,
/P

Thanks a lot for the vids, Talisman, though the second one was removed. I never actually watched Hitchens speak before, just read him.

Vysu lobu,
/P

I’ll be gentile… (Oh, I guess I really mean “gentle”.)

PC exclaims a “truer truth"via: The Latvian National Awakening had begun in the 1850s.

And then, is this not where the Germans might fit in?

But Into remains abrasive…

As to ethnic minorities in the “USofA”, he attempts to continue to claim “clarity” via:...

Is he trying to tell us that similar to the USofA, the ethnic minorities in LV consider themselves true Latvians?

Well Into, as you had pointed out, US and Latvia are different. It is obvious that one has not ever been occupied by another country. (Hmmm, what of a possible viable perspective by the American-Indian?—-So then those invaders have never left? But did not the American-Indians welcome these European “invaders” at the beginning? (Hey, didn’t they wheel-and-deal with the French as well with those opposing English!) So again, really still no valid comparison as this had not occurred in Latvia; especially of WWII/Cold-War “foreigners”?)

Mikus E.

P.S. In the US (...regards to Japanese-Americans at about the time of WWII), some of those soon-to-be interned American-Japanese actually did return to Japan. But of the ones who did remain, they later received about $20,000 per person in the 1980’s for their “cautious/unjust” internment.

Would Latviaj’s political landscape been sooo very different had Russia/USSR actually later agreed to pay for the personal suffering/losses experienced during Latvia’s double “internment”?—- instead of Russia/USSR insisting upon pensions for their “retired resident” military members, or Russia/USSR’s demands for compensation for all those “wonderful” buildings they just “had” to leave behind?

BTW Into, I did take a literary approach, a device often practiced by PC, in presenting “true American”. So then instead of writing Japanese-American, I wrote American-Japanese with the intention to first draw attention to “American”. (this then becomes: “... Japanese-American ... continued to see themselves as true to Americans”)

While these “American-Japanese true (to) Americans” will obviously continue to express their sense of actually belonging to the US, it may sometimes take years/decades for this to become “very common knowledge” among the “others”—- the US.

I am reminded of the level of miss-facts that once prevalently existed in the “South” ... (These “facts” were of different origin—- so do not blame the South for everything.)

Consider this true story…
A slave-holder one late evening, found one of his slaves sitting in the house library room; intently reading a book from his “master’s” bookshelf.
The next day, instead of then whipping/punishing this slave, the “master” exclaims to his “white” friends (and for days after day—-almost as if this master had some new information to share with others), that “his” slave can read. And with little surprise, this “slave” does manage to write the book titled “He Can Read” (...honoring his slave-holder or being in the same step of his owner as he started to see things in a different light?)

—-This is not a racially biased story, but merely a story of how too many false assumptions commonly “understood”, do influence society.—-Isn’t this why the “slave” was often miss-read by the “South”? (And in the interest in not obscuring the point being made here, let us then ignore for the time being, another social-shaper, the economics of the “South”.)

But again, very different from Latvia? No?
Should Latvia then continue with the official requirement of being able to speak, read, and write Latvian; with expectations for a developed/learned willingness to become true to Latvians? So does this include/assume what that one US slave instinctively knew? ... that in order to become true to “Americans”, he had to understand what was written, not just be able to read the words/book.

P.P.S. “Ints -a wannabee i.e.; not a “true” contributor” via his response to:

  “other persuasion…is there really another true persuasion beyond ethnicity or religion?

Who might this arbiter of “true persuasion” be? (oops) :?
Consider gender (about half of the population being female), political or sexual persuasions unless these are not “true”.

Hmmm, is Vidas aware of a mini-me-wannabe (no deference to “Pjeras/Petras”—- hmmm, just what is the spelling of Pierre in Baltic-ese?) stomping about? Vidas “contributed” unawares once too often?
Be it as it may, Into mixes the notion of voting with persuasions. (Yes, even politics!) BTW Into, I reluctantly used your term “persuasions”.—-only doing so to continue by some “wish” of yours? (For had you not unsuccessfully penned about the same rant string before?)
If politics as well, personifies “persuasion”; then it is back to communism or some form of it. No Into, I put it that any persuasions you claim a want for, they can only mirror some self-doubt.

P.P.P.S. As to your (Into) faux elementary deduction: “Is he trying to tell us that similar to the USofA, the ethnic minorities in LV consider themselves true (to) Latvians?”, I will answer this with another question.—-Have Latvians been the ones over-filled with miss-facts?

Mikus E.

P.P.P.P.S.
Here’s though something very elementary ... In the US, there is a difference between an American and an “American”. Is this not true about everywhere else? But in Europe, there is an added level of “confusion”. Aside from: a Latvian, a “Latvian”, is there not now an EU citizen.—- So just which will prevail?

This now begs the question:
Pierre, just what are your thoughts of the recent expulsion of the “Romanian” Gypsy [although reconized as a EU citizen!] from France?—- but don’t feel too sadly, as some accepted an offered stipends to facilitate their “forced relocation”.—- Still Pierre, didn’t the Gypsy originate from India during the 14th or 15th century? So by their constant reluctance to adopt anything “French”, can one deem them as both non-French and non-“French”?—-Even so, will his “newly” defaulted EU citizenship finally now “save” him?—-Or will he merely enjoy his welcomed “pension”?

Happy Eid Mubarak Mikus ! Kul ‘am wa enta bi-khair!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXFb82WxR9s

Vidas, Muslim I am not. But I thank you for your thought!