Quotes

[go2]

More quotes from Lord Bertrand Russell, Imperial strategist of the Cold War

At present the population of the world is increasing at about 58,000 per diem. War, so far, has had no very great effect on this increase, which continued through each of the world wars. ... War ... has hitherto been disappointing in this respect ... but perhaps bacteriological war may prove more effective. If a Black Death could spread throughout the world once in every generation, survivors could procreate freely without making the world too full. ... The state of affairs might be somewhat unpleasant, but what of it? Really high-minded people are indifferent to happiness, especially other people's.

It is entirely clear that there is only one way in which great wars can be permanently
prevented, and that is the establishment of an international government with a monopoly of
serious armed force.

Russia, since it is a dictatorship in which public opinion has no free means of expression,
can only be dealt with on the governmental level. Stalin and Molotov, or their successors,
will have to be persuaded that it is to the national interest of Russia to permit the creation
of an effective international government. I do not think the necessary persuasion can be
effected except by governments, especially the government of the United States. Nor do I
think that the persuasion can be effected by arguments of principle. The only possible way,
in my opinion, is by a mixture of cajolery and threat, making it plain to the Soviet
authorities that refusal will entail disaster, while acceptance will not.

Persuasion in the United States, where there is freedom of propaganda, is a different
matter. If things do not go as we might wish, the fault is usually not with the politicians,
though they get the blame; the fault is with public opinion, to which the politicians, as
democrats, quite legitimately give way.

To meet this difficulty it is necessary to bring home, not only to adminstrators and
Congressmen, but to the average American citizen, the dangers to which, within a few
years, America will be exposed, and the impossibility of warding off the dangers except by a
partial surrender of sovereignty.

The appeal to fear has its function, especially in providing an intitial shock which may
compel attention.

Q. Is it true or untrue that in recent years you advocated that a preventive war might be made against communism, against Soviet Russia?"
RUSSELL: It's entirely true, and I don't repent of it now. It was not inconsistent with what I think now.... There was a time, just after the last war, when the Americans had a monopoly of nuclear weapons and offered to internationalize nuclear weapons by the Baruch proposal, and I thought this an extremely generous proposal on their part, one which it would be very desirable that the world should accept; not that I advocated a nuclear war, but I did think that great pressure should be put upon Russia to accept the Baruch proposal, and I did think that if they continued to refuse it it might be necessary actually to go to war. At that time nuclear weapons existed only on one side, and therefore the odds were the Russians would have given way. I thought they would ...

 

[Mountain Crown]

[quote author=go2]More quotes from Lord Bertrand Russell, Imperial strategist of the Cold War...[/quote]

What a contrast to the quote that opened this thread.

 

[henry]

Here's a good one from Charles Fort:

"I don't know what the mind of an astronomer looks like, but I think of a fizzle with excuses revolving around it," he wrote in New Lands.

Cited by John Keel in Disneyland of the Gods.

 

[Buddy]

"A fool with a plan can beat a genius with no plan."

T. Boone Pickens

 

[spyraal]

"In speaking of evolution it is necessary to understand from the outset that no
mechanical evolution is possible. The evolution of man is the evolution of his
consciousness. And 'consciousness' cannot evolve unconsciously. The evolution of
man is the evolution of his will, and 'will' cannot evolve involuntarily. The evolution,
of man is the evolution of his power of doing, and 'doing' cannot be the result of
things which 'happen.'

:)

 

[gotogo]

[quote author=Carlos Castaneda 'The Wheel of Time' p166 (from 'The Second Ring of Power')]
A warrior knows that he cannot change, and yet he makes it his business to try to change, nevertheless. The warrior is never disappointed when he fails to change. That's the only advantage a warrior has over the average man.
[/quote]

 

[beherenow]

"

 

[Adaryn]

All can say no, nobody can say yes. Th'one (sic) that (sic) has the smallest power can prevent a small thing from being done, but the one that has the biggest power can't allow a small thing to be done.

The power to say no, in fact, doesn't ex... does exist, and the power to say yes, no, because each power… balances the other one in an overall movement of paralysis.

Nicolas Sarkozy during a speech in a special care unit, explaining his future policy for... mental hospitals.

 

[Mountain Crown]

All can say no, nobody can say yes. Th'one (sic) that (sic) has the smallest power can prevent a small thing from being done, but the one that has the biggest power can't allow a small thing to be done.

The power to say no, in fact, doesn't ex... does exist, and the power to say yes, no, because each power… balances the other one in an overall movement of paralysis.

Nicolas Sarkozy during a speech in a special care unit, explaining his future policy for... mental hospitals.

That quote reads like it came from someone in a mental hospital!

 

[Adaryn]

That quote reads like it came from someone in a mental hospital!

Precisely, scary isn't it?

A few ones to up the level (Ambrose Bierce):

Absurdity, n.: A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion.
Academe, n.: An ancient school where morality and philosophy were taugh
Bigot: One who is obstinately and zealously attached to an opinion that you do not entertain.
Brain: an apparatus with which we think we think.
Bride: A woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her.
Cabbage: a familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as a man's head.
Conservative, n: A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal who wishes to replace them with others.
Consult: To seek approval for a course of action already decided upon.
Convent - a place of retirement for women who wish for leisure to meditate upon the sin of idleness.
Corporation: An ingenious device for obtaining profit without individual responsibility.
Doubt, indulged and cherished, is in danger of becoming denial; but if honest, and bent on thorough investigation, it may soon lead to full establishment of the truth.
Edible - good to eat and wholesome to digest, as a worm to a toad, a toad to a snake, a snake to a pig, a pig to a man, and a man to a worm.
Land: A part of the earth's surface, considered as property. The theory that land is property subject to private ownership and control is the foundation of modern society, and is eminently worthy of the superstructure.
Patience, n. A minor form of dispair, disguised as a virtue.
Philosophy: A route of many roads leading from nowhere to nothing.
Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.
Religion. A daughter of Hope and Fear, explaining to Ignorance the nature of the Unknowable.
Revolution, n. In politics, an abrupt change in the form of misgovernment.
Saint: A dead sinner revised and edited.
War is God's way of teaching Americans geography.
What this country needs what every country needs occasionally is a good hard bloody war to revive the vice of patriotism on which its existence as a nation depends.

:D :P :(

 

[Mountain Crown]

When you're born you get a ticket to the freak show. When you're born in America, you get a front row seat.

George Carlin

 

[kenlee]

Here's one from Einstein. I always loved to read about his ideas when I was a kid.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
--Albert Einstein

 

[henry]

All can say no, nobody can say yes. Th'one (sic) that (sic) has the smallest power can prevent a small thing from being done, but the one that has the biggest power can't allow a small thing to be done.

The power to say no, in fact, doesn't ex... does exist, and the power to say yes, no, because each power… balances the other one in an overall movement of paralysis.

Nicolas Sarkozy during a speech in a special care unit, explaining his future policy for... mental hospitals.

Sarko is sounding more and more like George W.!

 

[Gaby]

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
--Albert Einstein

A similar one: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.-Albert Einstein

 

[Mountain Crown]

Lao Tzu

Those who understand others are intelligent
Those who understand themselves are enlightened

Those who overcome others have strength
Those who overcome themselves are powerful

Those who know contentment are wealthy
Those who proceed vigorously have willpower

Those who do not lose their base endure
Those who die but do not perish have longevity