Deradicalization Techniques & Hans Scharff Info

here are a few links for deradicalization papers and information as well as the book on Hans Scharff:

The Interrogator: The Story of Hanns Joachim Scharff: Master Interrogator of the Luftwaffe
Wiki article on Hans Scharff


Articles on modern Deradicalization:
Article on Deradicalization # 1      -You have to download the PDF.
Article on Deradicalization #2



If you haven't seen my podcast on Hans Scharff you can see it here.

Apocalypse Now

Are we living in a spiraling death cycle as many would have you believe?

I advise you to watch that link posted above if you're interested, but I fall firmly in the camp that of worried non-believers in global catastrophic events anytime soon. For years and years scientists have been telling us "the sky is falling!", but it hasn't. Well, that's debatable as the Great Depression and both World Wars may disagree. What I'm talking about is something of that nature. One that is apocalyptic in scale and destroys our way of life as we know it.

Now, to be an economist, believe in the free market, and think that it will suddenly completely pull our feet out from underneath us is foolish. It may have a hiccup, and the market may even seem to completely collapse, but there are very few ways that it could completely give out. New oil reserves are constantly being found, tapped, or expanded. Green energy technology is pushing forward at breakneck speed, nuclear war is unlikely, and the most pressing problem, the debt, is unlikely to kill millions. The US is able to pay the debt back and we have no current problems doing that bit by bit. Furthermore, companies don't feel afraid to lend to the US and that is reflected in incredibly low interest rates. Politicians are beginning to try to hash out solutions (a long problem) and the government doesn't look like defaulting any time soon. The economy would have to get better before interest rates went up (because of better investments) and that would mean future debt would simply become more expensive. That would also make the current debt easier to pay off with a larger income from taxes. Certainly, if the government today defaulted on all of its debt the nation would be put into a crisis, but that won't happen. Anything else is to make a critical mistake about the market.

The Word Feminazi

I hate and love the word Feminazi. I hate that it was created by Rush Limbaugh. I hate that it is often a term used to beat women into a second class position. I hate that it's been used to attack women from Gloria Steinem to Michelle Obama. And yet the term has stuck in my brain as something that does describe a certain theme of the modern American zeitgeist. The women's movement (God bless them) can roughly be divided into two camps: the camp that welcomes both men and women to explore and understand sexuality of both genders and the camp that has its doors locked with a sign saying "no boys allowed". This is the group that demonizes men and turns them into monsters.

It is not that some men don't deserve to be demonized; basically 100 percent of rapes are carried out by men, most murders are carried out by men, and both the political and the financial sectors of society are dominated by men. Still, to carry assumptions to another person based on statistics is wrong.  It is not that women shouldn't be smart and go out with groups at night, or that women should put their faith entirely in the hands of some stranger. I just don't like it when it is proclaimed (sometimes in front of me) that "men are pigs".

Let me also say that I have never met a feminazi. I have no friends, enemies, or acquaintances that preach this. Even books such as The End of Men by Hanna Rosin comments more how the differences that are present in women lead them to do better in the current environment. However, the simple phrase "The End of Men" reminds me of this second camp. Clearly it's not the End of Men - and it will never be the end of men - as none of Hanna Rosin's numbers have hit zero percent for male participation and it would be ludicrous to suppose that they ever will. Some boys do well in a "girl's world". Perhaps young boys do better when they have a more active system of learning that doesn't pin them to a desk. I've always been one that has to walk while talking. It gives some of my friends strong callouses on their feet, but studies do show that male mental activity is higher when engaged while learning. Perhaps young men should be taught while on the treadmill? I grew up listening to history while riding my bike around town and it has turned into a lifelong passion.

The debate between what is feminist sexism, what are facts, what is male sexism, and what are the correct differences between males and females. Differences in the brain, body, and thought process are all there, but most of these are just averages or trends and do not justify the individual cases. The word Feminazi, in the end, is a worthless word used mostly by the wrong people for the wrong reasons. However, while nobody I know is an out and out Feminazi by saying that women are better than men, there is a tendency to make judgments over individuals by what group they are in.


If you want to hear a fantastic debate on the subject from NPR: click here and then watch the full audio and not the broadcast version.