Jill Shalvis (1963) American writer
Source: Simply Irresistible
As reported http://www.vox.com/a/barack-obama-interview-vox-conversation/obama-foreign-policy-transcript by Vox; "Obama outrages by calling 4 Jewish victims of Paris terror 'a bunch of folks' shot randomly", by Cheryl K. Chumley, The Washington Times (10 February 2015) http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/feb/10/obama-outrages-by-calling-4-jewish-victims-of-pari/ <br class="br">2015
Jill Shalvis (1963) American writer
Source: Simply Irresistible
“They are a bunch of exploiters, thriving on the gullibility of the people.”
U.G. Krishnamurti (1918–2007) Indian philosopher
Part 1: U.G.
The Mystique of Enlightenment (1982)
Context: People call me an enlightened man — I detest that term — they can't find any other word to describe the way I am functioning. At the same time, I point out that there is no such thing as enlightenment at all. I say that because all my life I've searched and wanted to be an enlightened man, and I discovered that there is no such thing as enlightenment at all, and so the question whether a particular person is enlightened or not doesn't arise. I don't give a hoot for a sixth-century-BC Buddha, let alone all the other claimants we have in our midst. They are a bunch of exploiters, thriving on the gullibility of the people. There is no power outside of man. Man has created God out of fear. So the problem is fear and not God.
I discovered for myself and by myself that there is no self to realize. That's the realization I am talking about. It comes as a shattering blow. It hits you like a thunderbolt. You have invested everything in one basket, self-realization, and, in the end, suddenly you discover that there is no self to discover, no self to realize.
“Americans are an odd bunch, but they grow on you.”
Rick Riordan book The Serpent's Shadow
Source: The Serpent's Shadow
Charles Krauthammer (1950–2018) American journalist
Source: 2010s, 2013, Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics (2013), Chapter 14 : The Age of Holy Terror, "September 11, 2001"<br> "To War, Not to Court" in The Washington Post (12 September 2001) https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/2001/09/12/to-war-not-to-court/86d5f7a6-b901-4a70-93be-01e718471169<!-- also "This is Not Crime, This is War" http://townhall.com/columnists/charleskrauthammer/2001/09/12/this_is_not_crime,_this_is_war --> <br class="br">Context: We no longer have to search for a name for the post-Cold War era. It will henceforth be known as the age of terrorism. Organized terror has shown what it can do; execute the single greatest massacre in American history, shut down the greatest power on the globe and send its leaders into underground shelters. All this, without even resorting to chemical, biological or nuclear weapons of mass destruction. This is a formidable enemy. To dismiss it as a bunch of cowards perpetrating senseless acts of violence is complacent nonsense. People willing to kill thousands of innocents while they kill themselves are not cowards. They are deadly, vicious warriors and need to be treated as such. Nor are their acts of violence senseless. They have a very specific aim: to avenge alleged historical wrongs and to bring the great American satan to its knees.
The 10 Worst Congressmen, 2007-06-07, Dickinson, Tim, 2006-10-17, Rolling Stone http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12054520/the_10_worst_congressmen/3,
“All I ask of life, he says, is a bunch of books, a bunch of dreams, and a bunch of cunt.”
Henry Miller book Tropic of Cancer
Source: Tropic of Cancer
“Artists don’t live in the everyday world. That’s why people think they’re an odd bunch.”
Bram van Velde (1895–1981) Dutch painter
1960's, Conversations with Samuel Beckett and Bram van Velde' (1965 - 1969)