Connect with us

Published

on

Two old friends are having a discussion about Benjamin Netanyahu and his level of intelligence; one says he’s “stupid,” and the other disagrees.

Now, I don’t follow Israeli politics as closely as either of these two, but here’s my take on the matter: Insofar as he’s a demagogue, and an extremely effective one at that, we need to grant that he possesses intelligence along a certain dimension that is sufficient to enable him to figure out, with fabulous precision, how to address his audience and control their behavior at the polls.

It’s unclear if he’s capable of solving differential equations, speaking half a dozen languages, or following the advancements in particle physics, but that’s completely irrelevant.  The only matter at play here is his love of power, and his capacity to manipulate “common” people, using rhetoric to stir up the passions of the masses so as to push him into power and keep him there.

Here in the U.S., we frequently have the same conversation about Trump.  Those outside his base see him as unintelligent, a conclusion we draw from his childish use of the language, and his total lack of interest in information that would have helped him do his job (Where is Israel? Should COVID patients ingest bleach?)  But again, this is irrelevant, in the same way that characteristics like charisma and height are irrelevant to the success of chess players.
In addition, Trump is clearly a criminal sociopath.  Now, most people don’t think of people like Netanyahu (or Hungary’s Orban or Turkey’s Erdogan) as kind and decent people, but they don’t seem as deeply disturbed as Trump.

The Intelligence Level of the World’s Demagogues

Renewable Energy

Nordex Invests in Türkiye, Vestas Wins First V182 Order

Published

on

Weather Guard Lightning Tech

Nordex Invests in Türkiye, Vestas Wins First V182 Order

Allen covers Nordex’s Türkiye expansion, Chinese turbine makers seeking European partners, Vestas’ first V182 order, and two Pennsylvania repowers.

The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast is brought to you by Weather Guard Lightning Tech, creators of the StrikeTape Ultra LPS retrofit. Subscribe to Uptime’s Substack newsletter. And check out Rosemary’s “Engineering with Rosie” Youtube channel. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us!

Nordex Invests in Türkiye, Vestas Wins First V182 Order

Continue Reading

Renewable Energy

Is There a Pattern in Republicans’ Behavior?

Published

on

I’m not sure it’s as simple as this, insofar as Bush 41 and 43 weren’t criminal sociopaths.

I happened to be driving through Manhattan on the very day that Colin Powell was addressing the United Nations just a few miles away and claimed, and I think honestly, that Saddam Hussein had “weapons of mass destruction,” and must be stopped by a U.S. military invasion.

Contrast that against what we’re doing in Iran.  Fifteen years ago, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), included Iran, the P5+1 nations (the United States, China, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany), alongside the European Union made an agreement in which most of the developed world agreed that Iran must not have a nuclear weapon.

That stood firmly in place until Trump’s latest war crime, which is costing lives and choking the world economy, solely to defend our president’s neuroses.

Is There a Pattern in Republicans’ Behavior?

Continue Reading

Renewable Energy

Illegal Immigrants Are Voting Huge?

Published

on

The Brennan Center at NYU’s seminal report on this issue, The Truth About Voter Fraud, found that most reported incidents of voter fraud are actually traceable to other sources, such as clerical errors or bad data matching practices. The report reviewed elections that had been meticulously studied for voter fraud and found incident rates between 0.0003 percent and 0.0025 percent.

Does that stop liars like Mike Lee from spreading disinformation of the subject?  Of course not.

There is no judgement day.  There is no Saint Peter standing in front of the Pearly Gates discerning good from evil and acting according.

That’s a lucky break for Mike Lee.

Illegal Immigrants Are Voting Huge?

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2022 BreakingClimateChange.com