Jim: Phileas Frogg: Wait! I know this one… “Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting”. - Sun Tzu Indeed, the Chinese martial philosophy is that of topping from the bottom.
Phileas Frogg: Wait! I know this one… “Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting”. - Sun Tzu
Gaikokumaniakku: Living in Taiwan, I do not fear breach invasions. If anything concerns me, it is that the PRC might blockade trade routes and cut internet cables. The will to resist is the most vital thing. Technologically, I am mostly optimistic. Diplomatically, I think ties to the USA seem strong.
Jim: Consider taxing a good with a perfectly inelastic supply—say, land in a specific location. Mortgage interest is effectively a private tax on real estate, and the bankers’ tax usually exceeds the “public” tax.
Bruce: This logic must also apply to regulatory burdens. Small fines for small patronage shakedowns = good place to do business. But even medium fines for medium patronage shakedowns and you get runaway shops, industry moved out of the country.
Bob Sykes: By Christian, the author means Roman Catholic. It is interesting that at the height of the Roman Empire a significant number of gentiles attended Jewish synagogues. They did this for the moral guidance provided by Judaism. The pagan religions provided no moral guidance. Philosophy did, but its audience was limited to a few members of the Ruling Class, but not enough to matter. As Christianity dies out, we are stranded in a neopagan world without meaning, or morality, or mercy.
Jim: I find it astonishing that anyone can look at what happened during the Rona and come to any conclusion other than that there is one world power and the visible states are but its puppets.
Phileas Frogg: The “Standard Care” from that time period was very revelatory concerning the capacity (both professional and moral) of the individuals in our medical system, and the ability of that system to promote or curtail the diffusion of potentially successful treatments and ideas. I find it astonishing that anyone in any Western country can look at what happened and come to any conclusion other than that it was, at minimum, a massive money laundering scheme.
Isegoria: Something Wicked This Way Comes is now streaming on Disney+.
Jim: Contrast this to American government culture, where the first and primary function of government is collective defense against adversaries. The first and primary function of “American” “government” “culture” is the internal suppression of young white men, and the collective defense of every other group therefrom. The second is the collection of taxes. The third is guaranteeing the continuing flow of capitalist rents. Fourth, probably, is the enormously costly artificial social and economic...
Bruce: Scarlett Johansson was way too slutty for The Girl with the Pearl Earring.
Phileas_Frogg: I just do what makes me feel better and avoid what makes me feel like shit. - Exercise ~5 hours a week - Skip breakfast - Sleep 7-9 hours - Lots of fat and protein - Few beers while doing yard work (really hits the spot on hot days). Love cigarettes, pasta and popcorn, but they make me feel like shit, so I don’t really do them. My wife is always looking for reasons, and occasionally she’ll find a real gem, but to paraphrase the end of, “At Woodward’s Gardens,” by Robert Frost:...
Felix: Always good for a laugh: https://www.tylervigen.c om/spurious-correlations
William Tarbush: In Iraq (I was in Ramadi in ’05) and Afghanistan, we were funding the enemy or funding those who would fund the enemy instead of breaking the enemy’s back before we funded anyway. I guess Firebombing Dresden (or Baghdad) has fallen out of style.
Richard Morchoe: So we got good at fighting wars we would lose (Afghanistan) or meander stupidly in (Iraq), which is also a loss. Whoopie!
Dean Walton: I enjoy this so very much. I revisit this at least twice a year. I cared for many WWII vets as a CNA, and one WWI vet. I can easily imagine the two lovely seniors. I truly hope “the boys” had a fine time playing.
T. Beholder: The author puts an effort into arrival at the desired conclusion stated first. But fails to do it without leaps.
Bruce: Freddie running cover for D muscle backed by D party courts, D media, and D outriders like Freddie.
Jim: Do the other 75% of working-age Britons make anything of more value than they would were they out of work?
Jim: Freddo: “Someone tell Zelensky he should ask for solar panels rather than Tomahawk missiles.” Who?
I remember watching that in theaters; quite surprised when the actor for Sheldon suddenly popped up.