Here are just a few good links for today…
Science historian cracks the ‘Plato code’
Court rules for gun rights, strikes Chicago handgun ban
Terrafugia Transition ‘flying car’ gets go-ahead from US air authorities
Enjoy your Tuesday! 
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Dr. Thomas Szasz, a medical doctor and psychiatrist, in his book Psychiatry: The Science of Lies finishes it, with the last sentence stating that, “…serious persons ought not to take psychiatry seriously — except as a threat to reason, responsibility, and liberty”.
So it is about 5PM here. And here is what I have to say. There is not much for me to say. But there is. What is the point of this? Well, you know, of course. Right? Maybe. Unemployed humans should start businesses. Africa should shelter and feed itself. Humans living in Africa should become researchers, doctors, and farmers. Disabled humans should be pro-active in their own recovery. Jeeze. Is this world a mess? Is society messed up? Are humans dishonest? Should humans be more honest? Do you ever wonder what justice is? Are weblogs a waste of breath? No. Yes. Who knows?
Will Afghanistan settle down soon? Will the surge work? Will we successfully ween ourselves off oil and use clean fuels? Let’s hope so.
There are certain things about the whole mental health field that seem like a bunch of “BS”.
It seems like the mental health field attempts to be like the medical field. There are diagnosis for various “mental disorders”.
No one ever wrote a book called “The Myth of Broken Bones”.
If you have a skin infection, you aren’t always labeled as having a skin infection after the infection has been treated.
If you have a broken bone, you aren’t always labeled as having a broken bone, even after the cast has been removed and you go back to doing whatever it is that you do.
Yet, it seems with certain mental health diagnosis, you are labeled as just having them. You have this! Are you that? Is it a defect within your mind? Is your mind sick? Or… ??????
I’m going to end this here right now. Maybe more later.
A summary can be found here.
A link to an interview with Thomas Szasz
The interview took place in July of 2000.
Highlights include:
- Humans can suffer from problems in living, not “psychological diseases”
- A quote: “I have always challenged the “psychoses.” Why don’t you have a right to say you are Jesus? And why isn’t the proper response to that “congratulations”?”
Check it out.
- Mutual prosperity (mutual benefit for both self and others)
- Maximum efficiency
- Minimal effort
This is my understanding of the philosophy of Judo.
You’ll look better.
You’ll feel better.
You might live longer.
Others will appreciate it.
You’ll be able to do more.
Yay. Be healthy.
Why write anything? Why do humans write anything? Clearly it is to better their own situation and/or the situations of others. In the case of things like hate speech, clearly, it is with the intent of bettering one own’s situation, while making another’s situation worse. This is unproductive in the long run. Humans also keep records to be more efficient and/or keep order. This would fall under making one’s own and/or another’s situation better. My writing is so efficient, it surely must be impressive. 
No, I don’t really have much to say today. Good to know? Right?
So, Afghanistan is still going. Iran is still around. North Korea is… quiet? Poverty is still rampant in the world. Disease is still a problem. Humans still age. Clean water is probably not available to all humans, yet. The economy is recovering, it seems. Things may still be a bit tenuous. We are probably slowly weening ourselves of imported energy from not-so-friendly nations. We are still making new scientific discoveries. They are probably finding new exoplanets, fairly regularly. Oh well. Time will go on, it seems.
Thomas Szasz posits that there is no such thing as “mental disease”.
There is only bodily diseases.
The mind cannot be sick, being an abstract thing.
He does not deny that the mind can experience distress.
He does not deny that humans can act like crap towards one another.
He frames what we might label as “mental disorders” as experiencing “problems in living”.
He is a psychiatrist who describes psychiatry as “the medicalization” of something like – - social, political, economic, and moral problems.
There is good news and there is bad news. Is news always a political activity? Reporting the bad news can serve the purpose to say that there is a problem. And reporting the good news is meant to say that there are possible solutions to our problems, there are humans working on the solutions, and also, not only bad things happen on this Earth. Is there neutral news, that is not “good” news or “bad” news? Probably. What is the best news and what is the worst news? Humans can make money off of news. Content can be monetized. There are all sorts of news. There is new news, and there is old news. Then there are opinion pieces and there are classified ads. Bla bla bla bla bla. That is all for today.
Currently, in many places, when someone poses “an immediate danger” to their-self, police and in turn psychiatrists can detain them for treatment. This is despite not having broken any laws. If someone’s life is so miserable and weary of life that they want to end it, should not they be allowed to? Should not they be allowed to do this in as peaceful a way possible? It seems they should be offered help. They should be offered help to fix their situation. There are likely specific problems in life that are causing distress to someone who wants to end their life. Help SHOULD be offered to individuals facing problems. However, should treatment ever be forced? If clinicians are not tactful and sensitive enough to sell an effective treatment, should treatment ever be forced? Does forcing treatment, like it is sometimes done now, produce a net benefit for society? In many ways, it seems it doesn’t. Effective, non-coercive help for those experiencing problems in life should be offered and available. No one should have to experience stigmatization or shame for encountering problems in society. Society should be setup in such a way as to provide maximal freedom.