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Post by Kapitan on Jul 15, 2020 19:57:37 GMT
As something of an afficionado of creative curses, I'm actually sad to see it "go mainstream." As the article says, once it's mundane, what's the point?
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 28, 2020 13:09:50 GMT
Has anyone else heard of this? BIZARRE!
"Scores" of Minnesotans have received in the mqail packages of seeds they did not order, apparently coming from China or Kyrgyzstan. It isn't clear what the seeds are. Similar packages have been reported in Washington, Utah, Louisiana, and Texas. Dept. of Agriculture officials say not to plant them.
Harmless but strange effort? Prank? Nefarious plot?
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 28, 2020 15:56:26 GMT
Another story caught my attention today. It's not some huge deal, but it does deal with something that has always been a pet peeve of mine, even though it hasn't directly applied to me.
I have always, ALWAYS hated when people refer to old men and women as "young man" or "young lady." I know it isn't meant as anything but a nicety, but it has always struck me as patronizing and demeaning.
Apparently "Ma" (actress Karen Grassle) from "Little House on the Prairie" thinks so, too. She discusses it from a specifically female perspective, but to me the same basic problem applies across the board.
I think of when my paternal grandpa neared the end of his long life--he died in the 00s, in his mid-90s--and people would speak to him as if he were a toddler. Some of that was speaking loudly, slowly, clearly, to ensure he could hear. But some struck me as condescending in the extreme, as if getting older were actually getting younger, reverting to babyhood, just because the physical side of things falls apart. I'd want to yell "this man was born on a farm without electricity or automobiles; he attended union meetings led by gangsters who shot up the place; he worked his entire life, bought a house, raised a family ... he is not a toddler needing a patronizing pat on the head from the water at Baker's Square!"
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 1, 2020 13:09:45 GMT
Today was the first I've heard of what probably should have been making the news here for weeks now: anti-Kremlin protests are in their fourth week in eastern Russia (Khabarovsk). The protests reportedly started after President Putin dismissed, arrested, and replaced a popular governor there who had defeated the candidate from Putin's party.
Over 10,000 people participated Saturday despite pouring rain.
Putin has also recently changed the Russian constitution to allow himself to retain power for another 12 years; when he initially took the office, the limits were two terms, or 10 years. He then pulled the little temporary switcharoo to get around that, putting Medvedev in as president while he was prime minister for one term before returning to the presidency.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 1, 2020 15:51:23 GMT
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 1, 2020 16:08:11 GMT
That's amazing. I have in the past few months watched assorted footage of people who lived through what many of us would have to consider pre-modern times: 19th century life, slavery or reconstruction eras, etc. I find such videos astounding, alternating between thinking "life is all the same and always has been;" and "that world is entirely alien to ours."
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 7, 2020 13:41:03 GMT
Well I can't imagine anything going badly from this:
"MOSCOW (AP) — Russia will perceive any ballistic missile launched at its territory as a nuclear attack that warrants a nuclear retaliation, the military warned in an article published Friday.
"The harsh warning in the official military newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) is directed at the United States, which has worked to develop long-range non-nuclear weapons."
Virtually nobody--at least in the U.S.--seems remotely concerned about the potential for nuclear war, which hasn't diminished. The Cold War is not really over, it's just different. Programs that were reducing the number of existing nuclear weapons have been squashed. "Tactical" nuclear weapons programs in the U.S. have been increased. Our New START treaty with Russia is likely to expire without being renewed or replaced (as the president doesn't like it, it being an Obama-era treaty).
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 8, 2020 15:01:30 GMT
I might have shared this before. If so, apologies (because I didn't go back through the thread to check).
I recommend the YouTube channel Voices of the Past. It consists of someone reading primary source material from throughout history on all kinds of topics. Sometimes it's reading from important historical documents (e.g. the Magna Carta, the Dead Sea Scrolls), but most often it is letters or histories from around the world.
For example, the newest video is a reading of the first written documentation by a Chinese person of a visit to Europe, from the 1200s. There are videos reading from Roman sources describing ancient Scandinavia, Japanese sources describing 19th century America and England, Greek sources describing Egypt, Arabic and European sources describing the Crusades, and on and on.
It's fascinating stuff!
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 9, 2020 15:19:15 GMT
The rarely discussed nation of Belarus is holding elections today, with the longest-reigning dictator in Europe on the ballot yet again (after 26 years in power so far). There have been protests against him, made worse by his bungling of coronavirus. He has responded to protests with the typical arrests and tear gas (as well as jailing his political opponents, another favorite move of dictators everywhere...like Russia).
Really interesting is, apparently he hasn't toed the line with Russia over issues like recognizing Georgia or their invasion of Ukraine. However, Russia may help him remain in power, knowing he has no alternatives in the West, either, and they'd prefer keep someone manageable in office.
I can't say I recall having ever read a single story about modern Belarus. Our media, obsessed with domestic partisan bickering and celebrity gossip, is a failure.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 20, 2020 11:41:36 GMT
Russian political opposition leader Alexey Navalny is hospitalized and in a coma from suspected poisoning.
As awful as U.S. politics are, at least opposition figures don't have the bad luck to repeatedly find themselves sick, dead, or imprisoned. Remarkable "coincidence" how often that happens with people who oppose dictator Putin. It's a shame for the Russian people.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 22, 2020 13:17:10 GMT
Russian political opposition leader Alexey Navalny is hospitalized and in a coma from suspected poisoning.
As awful as U.S. politics are, at least opposition figures don't have the bad luck to repeatedly find themselves sick, dead, or imprisoned. Remarkable "coincidence" how often that happens with people who oppose dictator Putin. It's a shame for the Russian people.
Imagine this situation in the U.S.: what if Al Gore and John Kerry, or John McCain and Mitt Romney, had coincidentally fallen ill and required hospitalization (or died) while campaigning against George Bush or Barack Obama. Then consider that Bush and Obama--both two-term presidents--would have had to be in office THREE TIMES LONGER, with this pattern still happening.
Coincidence. No poisoning. Mmm hmm.
There is a lot wrong with every state. But I am thankful to live in one that hasn't degenerated into this corruption.
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Post by B.E. on Aug 23, 2020 17:36:47 GMT
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 23, 2020 17:41:21 GMT
Thanks for this! Super interesting, I also began this article at approximately ZERO knowledge. (I knew there was a China and a Yangtze river ... and not a lot more than that! [slight exaggeration...])
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 28, 2020 12:02:41 GMT
Wata, do you have any comment on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's resignation? How do you think he fared as PM, and what do you think lies ahead? I'd love to hear your observations/opinions.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 28, 2020 16:57:00 GMT
Cathy Smith, girlfriend of Gordon Lightfoot who also injected John Belushi with a fatal drug dose, passed away:
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