The Path to Violence, and the Responsibility of the Citizen.

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A Podcast by Frank Kaufmann

Podcast transcript

Reflections on Russia, Ukraine, Hamas, and Israel

We are in a time of war.

The title of this podcast is, “The Path to Violence, and the Responsibility of the Citizen.”

There are now two active, world-level wars cursing our planet, the Russia-Ukraine War, and the Israel-Hamas War.

These are happening during a period in which the perennial symbol for the harmonization of international differences, the United States of America has sunk into unimaginable internal strife in which the US government is holding political prisoners, and efforts are being made to imprison opposition party political candidates. Imprisoning political opposition is the characteristic of primitive, unstable dictatorships.
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Did I Just Say That Out Loud?

Professors World Peace Academy Posted on by

A Podcast by Frank Kaufmann

The Transition from Thought to Speech and the Three Freedoms Required for Dignity.

Podcast transcript

Human beings have two parts to our makeup, our spiritual side and our physical side. There are a great many inclined to deny human spirituality because it is not easily measured by the tools by which material reality is measured and tested.

There are two things to note among groups and individuals prone to deny human spirituality, 1. Almost none do so rigorously (a close look almost always reveals full affirmation of spiritual reality, but by a different name. In truth it is usually established religion, with all its hideous blemishes that is being rejected (in a great many cases understandably so.) And 2. A tendency to flatten the range of human genius and creativity to the thin phantom of “fact,” over the rich,  abundant fascination of knowledge or wisdom.

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This attempt at denying spiritual reality is a form of materialism called “scientism.”

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Sovereignty and Harmony

Professors World Peace Academy Posted on by

A Podcast by Frank Kaufmann

Podcast transcript

A workingman’s guide to assessing what’s going on around us.

The nature of reality is hierarchical and manifests strength, power, and size as elements of a functioning and harmonious cosmosphere.

Our beef should never be with the fact that some things and some people are stronger, more powerful, and larger than others. The only problem with that fact is when these realities result in injustice or interference with opportunity and self-expression.
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Sovereignty in Times of Radical Uncertainty

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Podcast Transcript

We are living through a time of extreme uncertainty, instability, and insecurity. 

There are two forces driving this. 

One is the blinding speed of technology. 

In itself, this should be positive. It is progress. But as pointed out by those who know the matter best, it also carries great threats. According to many, tech such as AI even threatens our very existence. 

We are reaching a point where progress exceeds our capacity to keep up with needed safeguards and guard-rails.

We have come to a point that the power of the technology itself is potentially dangerous even under ideal circumstances. How much more dangerous does this become when we add to this the moral poverty, greed-addiction, and ideological zealotry that abounds among those developing or governing these developments? 

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AFRICA AT THE CROSSROADS: THE ROLE OF SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS

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On July 20, 2023, Professors World Peace Academy President Dr. Frank Kaufmann spoke to the IAPD webinar titled Africa at the Crossroads: The Role of Spiritual and Religious Leaders.

His assignment and presentation was on how to overcome the divisive tendencies that may emerge within religion, and work to promote dialogue, mutual respect, and cooperation so that we may more effectively work to solve the critical challenges of our time, atheism, secularism, and religious persecution, including poverty, hunger, injustice, environmental degradation, family breakdown, immorality, corruption, conflict, and violence?

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Totalitarianism by Labeling Information

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Podcast Transcript

There are two terms that have become commonplace, which to me are as dangerous as any that now infect our language. I refer to the terms misinformation and disinformation.

They are pervasive. They flood our lives every day and are taken for granted as meaningful, and part of our common concern. 

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AI and the Singularity

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AI seemed to burst into our lives suddenly.

One day it seemed not to exist at all, and the following day it seemed to exist everywhere, in countless inscrutable forms, brands and promises.

It instantly seemed to erupt a class of people as immersed in AI as fully as the rest of us count on our eyes to see.

There’s the Chatbot app itself, the people, the companies, and as suddenly a billowing industry of experts, programs, seminars, and teachers and trainers. 

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In classic fashion, consumers dive in blindly, anything and everything for convenience, shortcuts, and entertainment. Continue reading →

Hopes and Dangers: Hopes and Dangers: The Future of Technology

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 WHEN IS TECH GOOD, WHEN IS TECH BAD

The punchline is always this: To the extent that humans are impulsively driven by compassion and concern for others and for the good of the whole there is not a single prospective technological or digital breakthrough that bodes ill in its own right. To the extent that humans are impulsively driven for self-gain with others and the good of the whole as expendable in the equation, even the most primitive industrial/technological development is to be feared.

This view is simple, fundamental, and universal. For example, if humans were fixed in an inescapable makeup characterized by care and compassion, the development of an exoskeletal, indestructible, AI-controlled, military robot that could anticipate my movements up to 4 miles away, and morph to look just like my loving grandmother could be a perfectly wonderful development for the good of humankind. On the other hand, if humans cannot be elevated above the grotesque makeup in which others and the greater good are expendable in the pursuit of selfish gain, then the invention of a fork is a dangerous, even horrifying thing. Continue reading →

Comments on the April 4, 2023 Indictment of President Trump

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Frank Kaufmann, April 5, 2023, New York — The indictment of President Donald J Trump yesterday at the Manhattan Courthouse in the southern district has drawn literally gallons of print ink and miles of video and media commentary.

This is one of the reasons why I have been reluctant to speak on the matter. with so much being said by important, thoughtful and knowledgeable people, it is a bit intimidating or feels a form of hubris to imagine that you have something in particular that also needs to be said on the matter.

On the other hand, the event is so world historical that there would be an element of being irresponsible not to speak publicly in response.

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The external facts of the case are well known. Continue reading →

The Voice of the Voiceless: PWPA President Speaks on Religious Freedom

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PWPA President Speaks on Religious Freedom 

On December 27, 2022, the PWPA President, Dr. Frank Kaufmann, spoke at the Universal Peace Federation sponsored event, The Voice of the Voiceless: Responsibility of the Media to Defend Religious Freedom. Dr. Kaufmann gave a brief presentation on Religious Illiteracy and Religious Freedom.

Mass communication media is given two great responsibilities. They are (1) to relentlessly fight for freedom of the press in places where it does not exist and (2) to demand the strictly ethical exercise of that freedom by their colleagues in places where it does exist. The International Media Association for Peace, as an open forum in which journalists and scholars can discuss issues freely, promotes the defense of human rights, of which the most foundational is freedom of religion. Other speakers include Ms. Susanna Kaneer on “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a Church’s Campaign for its Application” and Mr. Luke Higuchi on “The Current Religious Freedom Crisis in Japan.”

 

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