Silas

My brother was a professional boxer, I fought amateur in Europe, and I had 2 cousins that were also pros. Boxing was excellent exercise, self-discipline, and sportsmanship. There was also great fraternity among fighters--everyone was equal when he entered the boxing ring, and only skill, courage, and fortitude mattered.

So near is falsehood to truth that a wise man would do well not to trust himself on the narrow edge. Cicero

As a westerner, I was not exposed to the poetry of Hafez while in school I discovered it recently and thought to myself "how could this have been kept from me"!? Such authenticity, beauty and insight. My Farsi isn't good enough to read the poems in the original (I only speak a bit), but even in translation the lyrics are amazing I have a friend who is finishing a difficult graduate program in December, and as a gift I purchased a two volume set of illuminated, calligraphic poems in Farsi and English (at great expense) for her.

An interesting article in regards to this. There is a pretty large contingent on the American right (paleo-conservatives) who want to normalize relations with Iran and pull our troops out of the middle-east. Up till now, the Zionist neocons have been dictating foreign policy, but that is starting to change. Bolton was fired, and Trump seems to be exercising military restraint. That being said, his policy towards Iran is still bad, as this article outlines https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/pompeos-upside-down-worldview/

Trump's people now claiming that the drone attack originated inside Iran, which I find very hard to believe. A pretense for war is being constructed. Neocons I talk to think the US can simply wipe out the Iranian military, reduce Tehran to rubble, and then install a new government. 78% of Americans are completely opposed to military action against Iran, but Israel and the KSA are puppet-masters

Remember that home-schooling does not mean you never use teachers (either online or in person). We use tutors, online lessons, and even courses outside the home at the community college and technology center. But the other issue is that the philosophy of homeschooling dictates that kids take ownership over their education, and enjoy learning new things. Ideally, they become self-motivated and curious. The days of 30 kids packed in a classroom being lectured to are coming to an end. That model alienates kids and makes them hate school.

We have home-schooled our two boys (ages 13 and 17) for their entire education. We live in an area of the US where it is permissible, and there are few laws or regulations that get in the way. Typically, parents want to homeschool in order to do two things: create an environment that better suits their children's needs, and keep their children away from bad influences, ideology, and other things that can be found within the public (or even private) schools. There are benefits and drawbacks to home-schooling Benefits: 1. You can create a customized curriculum for your children based on their interests, needs, and your objectives. You can avoid subject matter that is of little value or even harmful, while emphasizing things that will help them build careers. My oldest son studies the typical subjects such as math and literature, but he also has a Farsi tutor, takes courses in technology outside the home, learns accounting and finance, etc. 2. Your children will receive individualized instruction and much more attention. Studies have proved that home-schooled kids have a higher college attendance rate, better standardized test scores, and higher collegiate graduation rates. 3. You can integrate religious instruction and guidance into your curriculum. 4. You can keep your kids away from all the nonsense that goes on in the public system: the bullying, bad teachers, etc. Drawbacks: 1. You will have to find groups outside the home for your kids to attend. Soccer clubs, activities at the mosque, tennis lessons, meetup groups, etc. This can get expensive and involve a lot of driving around. 2. High-level instruction in things like math and science can be challenging. You might need tutors, online lessons, etc. --this can be expensive.

Excellent, thank you!

Can anyone here recommend a good book on Husayn ibn Ali? (preferably in translation to English--I only speak a little Farsi, and my reading is quite weak)

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is issuing orders to mainstream media outlets like CNN, MSNBC, and others to bury the story, and if it does come up, to change the narrative and start proclaiming that Trump is spreading "conspiracy theories" This nonsense about "overworked guards leaving Epstein alone", or that he was somehow moved out of suicide watch (hours after the explosive documents were unsealed) is laughable. And now we find out that the cameras somehow malfunctioned or were turned off, and that his cell-mate was moved just before the suicide? The big question remains: where did Epstein get 550 million dollars? Why was he "given" a 77 million dollar mansion in New York? Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak was a close friend and associate of Epstein, and it is unclear what "business dealings" the two had. I am convinced that the real issue here is the money, and if it is followed, it goes back to Israel and elsewhere

I think Epstein was doing a lot more than trafficking under-aged girls. He might have been laundering money for Israel, acting as a middle-man to move money to criminal groups and radicals in the Middle-East. He might have been involved with obtaining funds from the Saudi Royal family in order to move into the Clinton Foundation. He was too dangerous to be allowed to live. Everyone knows the guards were either paid to look the other way (after giving him tools for suicide), or Jeffrey was simply murdered.

On a side note. I was reading some history from a Russian scholar who specializes in Middle-Eastern and Byzantine history, and he pointed out that the early Arab conquests in the Levant were not driven by religion, as the commanders of the tribes at that time (in the years immediately after the Prophet), were not even technically Muslim--they knew little of the faith, and had minimal exposure to the confidants and family of the Prophet. The conquests were driven by economic and political factors. I didn't know this, and I wonder how many people int he west realize it.

Because of demographic changes, the US will be a permanently controlled by the Democrats after 2020. Texas, Georgia, and Florida are all going to flip blue, as Hispanics continue to come into the country, have more children than whites, etc. We then go into one-party rule, and that is a very bad thing. In order to placate their voting base, the Dems will continue to pursue more radical, socialistic policies, which involve property confiscation, wealth redistribution, high taxes (especially regressive taxes, like a 20% national sales tax, or VAT). They will also try to pack the Supreme Court, pass "hate speech" laws (which will simply outlaw speaking out against the Democratic Party), and ramp up the surveillance state As thing progress, and whites become a despised minority, violence against them will increase. Citizens will flee the county, businesses will relocate, an the economy will collapse Where will people from the Middle-East end up in all of this? Well educated people from places like Iran or Egypt will find themselves surrounded by Mexicans and people from South America who have little-to-no education, and who are used to living in failed narco-states. Persians will be considered "white" in all of this, and the Persians I know have large houses and good careers--they will be coming for you, just like they are going to come for me. America will be a violent, unstable place, like Mexico or Venezuela. It won't happen right away, and may take a couple decades, but that is where we are going to be

The claims made by the left against the GOP and right are wildly overblown and hysterical While there is an anti-Islamic sentiment within some sectors of the GOP, it isn't widespread. Likewise, not wanting to admit un-vetted former ISIS fighters into the country is hardly an extremist position. As the Salafi radicals were getting defeated in Syria by Assad, Russia, and Iran, they began fleeing to the west. Trump's "Muslim ban" was largely a response to this. While I didn't agree with the ban, I understand why he felt he needed to do it. Obama turned a blind eye to radicalism and terrorism. The GOP is anything but Nazi. At worst, they are Zionist Neocons funded by guys like Sheldon Adelson. Ben Shapiro, Rush Limbaugh, and other media personalities who shill for the Republicans are huge supporters of Israel, and suspicious of Muslims, but a lot of mainstream, centrist Republicans think those guys are clowns. There is also a Zionist element within the Democratic Party, to the extent that any criticism of Israeli foreign or domestic policy will get someone labeled an antisemite, or even thrown out of the party. And then conservatives and centrists get the race-baiting and vicious identity politics of the left--it only serves to turn these people off to Democrats, and it is one of the reasons Trump won in 2016. Democrats have gone hard left in the last couple of years, with people like Warren, Sanders, and Harris leading the charge. Those people are full-on socialists. So not much to choose from these days--we really need a third party.