Happy New Year Professor and to my classmates......I must say the video lecture you assigned is eye opening to say the least.. The lecture from 1983 explains Q, alternative facts, lying, basically American society today.. As one commentator said, this lecture should be basic course work in high school and college. Many thanks for recommending this video to our class. Fred C.
Great logo, and happy new year. As a retiree, my accomplishments are perhaps less grand than they were when I was working. Looking back, 1) I remained married to the same lovely woman for over 42 years; 2) I learned how to make croissants from scratch; 3) I trained our cat to flip over when requested while brushing; and 4) I stuffed several hundred donor thank you notes in envelopes for a local land conservancy. There may be others, but this is what I can remember... :-)
Hope you have a wonderful 2023, Asha, and I'm so pleased you have embarked upon "The Freedom Academy" initiative. Going forward, I hope to become involved as an active participant. On the "accomplishment front," I am associated with a group of fine folks (non-profit) who work to save rural and historic landscape in central Virginia and this past year we saved hundreds of additional farmland that otherwise would have been destroyed by commercial developers. This is gratifying work, as you can imagine. And so it continues, unabated.... Terrific logo, by the way!
Happy New Year! May we all have an exciting, productive year of new beginnings and successes. You've always been a personal inspiration to me. I strive to be someone like you. Fondest regards for the year ahead.
And now post-rant - hope you all had as my German friends would say a 'good slide' into the new year, and that your 2023 is better than your 2022 but not as good as your 2024 will be.
To Asha and all of you, thanks for keeping my grey cells engaged, and hope your 2023 is filled with joy, happiness, health, and "prosperity" (how ever you define it!)
First off, the logo - love it! Put it on a coffee mug, and I'm purchasing!
As to video, half an hour in, and lots of eyebrow furrowing. (1) Much of Bezmenov's perspective seems to reflect the ideology in which he was raised, e.g., social workers who are in it for the money. Good Marxist analysis of the what motivates one in a capitalist system - however, theory ≠ reality. (2) How media was used: I'm a product of the 60s and 70s. The media uncovered the lie of the Tonkin Gulf Incident; the lies revealed by the Pentagon Papers; the lies surrounding Watergate. That wasn't Soviet long game exploiting our media, those were own goals the media accurately reported. With or without Soviet manipulation there would have been a credibility gap; Labor - Employer relations and unions being ineffective and only being exploited for their leadership's gain. I'll take that into the present. I'm a former public school teacher in WA state. Do I have some issues with our union leadership - Yes. Would you like me to quote chapter and verse hour our WEA made concrete gains in both pay and working conditions? Would you like me to discuss how they improved education for the students in the classroom? Do you have an hour? And, of course, Mr. Bezmenov didn't know in 1983 how it would all turn out, but yeah, how did the Soviet 'long game' in psychological warfare do in the long run? At the same time, lots of very scary insights, particularly in the context of the social media environment in which we live today, and my fear of many fellow travelers in the US today as far as Russian goals are concerned.
Love the logo! I am very proud of POTUS and his administration for getting so much done in two years. I am proud of the Dems for holding onto the Senate and look forward to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries minority leadership election in the House.
Jan 2, 2023·edited Jan 2, 2023Liked by Asha Rangappa
Happy New Year, everyone! Love the logo, Asha! It really needs to be a hat! I would wear it 😂
Had an absolutely transcendent holiday with family and friends, and good music provided all around Pittsburgh by my son and his his brilliant and beautiful Gen Z friends (they make me feel very hopeful).
Biggest accomplishments for me this year were settling into a new job at Pitt, moving into a new home with beautiful trees on the property (and deer that come right up to the kitchen window), and still managing to make some progress on mandolin.
Oh yeah! Rewatched the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy with my daughter. Achievement unlocked! 😂😂😂
Looking forward to digging into the next assignment!
I have viewed the YouTube assignment and have disagreements with parts of it, particularly concerning the presenter’s views on religion as panacea. That horse left the barn long ago. Will there be any opportunity to discuss it in depth ? I do not understand where and when, or even if, such discussions take place.
For sure — both the discussion threads that are posted with the lecture (which is a written post along with audio), as well as the office hours 1-2x a month, are opportunities to discuss the material.
Love the new logo! Asha, Thank you for doing this important class. I’m just a bit confused. I could not find the time for class on this Wednesday Jan 4. Could you confirm the time? Happy New Year everyone!
Hi Barbara — the classes are asynchronous, meaning I post the lecture along with a video recording (usually every other Wednesday). We discuss the material in real time during office hours. I hope this helps!
This logo is perfect! I don’t know how you sat on this news! Very cool. What an interesting way to look at a new year. Thinking of past accomplishment is better. There seems to be a lot of pressure with resolutions because that just what we are expected to do. Everyone talks about that. Thanks for this new perspective! Happy New Year to you and your family. Special boops and purrs to Pancake!
Happy New Year Professor and to my classmates......I must say the video lecture you assigned is eye opening to say the least.. The lecture from 1983 explains Q, alternative facts, lying, basically American society today.. As one commentator said, this lecture should be basic course work in high school and college. Many thanks for recommending this video to our class. Fred C.
Great logo, and happy new year. As a retiree, my accomplishments are perhaps less grand than they were when I was working. Looking back, 1) I remained married to the same lovely woman for over 42 years; 2) I learned how to make croissants from scratch; 3) I trained our cat to flip over when requested while brushing; and 4) I stuffed several hundred donor thank you notes in envelopes for a local land conservancy. There may be others, but this is what I can remember... :-)
Hope you have a wonderful 2023, Asha, and I'm so pleased you have embarked upon "The Freedom Academy" initiative. Going forward, I hope to become involved as an active participant. On the "accomplishment front," I am associated with a group of fine folks (non-profit) who work to save rural and historic landscape in central Virginia and this past year we saved hundreds of additional farmland that otherwise would have been destroyed by commercial developers. This is gratifying work, as you can imagine. And so it continues, unabated.... Terrific logo, by the way!
Clark, what land trust were you working with? I’ve been very involved in the land trust community over the years.
Happy New Year! May we all have an exciting, productive year of new beginnings and successes. You've always been a personal inspiration to me. I strive to be someone like you. Fondest regards for the year ahead.
Thank you, Roger! All the best to you in the New Year!
And now post-rant - hope you all had as my German friends would say a 'good slide' into the new year, and that your 2023 is better than your 2022 but not as good as your 2024 will be.
To Asha and all of you, thanks for keeping my grey cells engaged, and hope your 2023 is filled with joy, happiness, health, and "prosperity" (how ever you define it!)
First off, the logo - love it! Put it on a coffee mug, and I'm purchasing!
As to video, half an hour in, and lots of eyebrow furrowing. (1) Much of Bezmenov's perspective seems to reflect the ideology in which he was raised, e.g., social workers who are in it for the money. Good Marxist analysis of the what motivates one in a capitalist system - however, theory ≠ reality. (2) How media was used: I'm a product of the 60s and 70s. The media uncovered the lie of the Tonkin Gulf Incident; the lies revealed by the Pentagon Papers; the lies surrounding Watergate. That wasn't Soviet long game exploiting our media, those were own goals the media accurately reported. With or without Soviet manipulation there would have been a credibility gap; Labor - Employer relations and unions being ineffective and only being exploited for their leadership's gain. I'll take that into the present. I'm a former public school teacher in WA state. Do I have some issues with our union leadership - Yes. Would you like me to quote chapter and verse hour our WEA made concrete gains in both pay and working conditions? Would you like me to discuss how they improved education for the students in the classroom? Do you have an hour? And, of course, Mr. Bezmenov didn't know in 1983 how it would all turn out, but yeah, how did the Soviet 'long game' in psychological warfare do in the long run? At the same time, lots of very scary insights, particularly in the context of the social media environment in which we live today, and my fear of many fellow travelers in the US today as far as Russian goals are concerned.
Love the logo! I am very proud of POTUS and his administration for getting so much done in two years. I am proud of the Dems for holding onto the Senate and look forward to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries minority leadership election in the House.
Echoing Roger's comment. You are a role model and inspiration for how to approach family and country. Thank you for creating this course!
Happy New Year, everyone! Love the logo, Asha! It really needs to be a hat! I would wear it 😂
Had an absolutely transcendent holiday with family and friends, and good music provided all around Pittsburgh by my son and his his brilliant and beautiful Gen Z friends (they make me feel very hopeful).
Biggest accomplishments for me this year were settling into a new job at Pitt, moving into a new home with beautiful trees on the property (and deer that come right up to the kitchen window), and still managing to make some progress on mandolin.
Oh yeah! Rewatched the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy with my daughter. Achievement unlocked! 😂😂😂
Looking forward to digging into the next assignment!
Happy New Year to you and all your krew. The logo is awesome. I especially like the colors. Pls give Pancake an extra treat from me 😊
I have viewed the YouTube assignment and have disagreements with parts of it, particularly concerning the presenter’s views on religion as panacea. That horse left the barn long ago. Will there be any opportunity to discuss it in depth ? I do not understand where and when, or even if, such discussions take place.
For sure — both the discussion threads that are posted with the lecture (which is a written post along with audio), as well as the office hours 1-2x a month, are opportunities to discuss the material.
Love the new logo! Asha, Thank you for doing this important class. I’m just a bit confused. I could not find the time for class on this Wednesday Jan 4. Could you confirm the time? Happy New Year everyone!
Hi Barbara — the classes are asynchronous, meaning I post the lecture along with a video recording (usually every other Wednesday). We discuss the material in real time during office hours. I hope this helps!
Hi Asha. Thank you. Look forward to office hours. That was a thought provoking YouTube video.
Barbara
Thank you for sharing your vast knowledge and keen insights. I am looking forward more of that in 2023.
Wishing you and yours the happiest new year!
This logo is perfect! I don’t know how you sat on this news! Very cool. What an interesting way to look at a new year. Thinking of past accomplishment is better. There seems to be a lot of pressure with resolutions because that just what we are expected to do. Everyone talks about that. Thanks for this new perspective! Happy New Year to you and your family. Special boops and purrs to Pancake!
Happy New Year, Asha! All the best to you and your family for good health, peace and prosperity in 2023!