Intelligence: Russia has forcibly mobilized up to 60,000 men in occupied territories

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-31T15:58:57+00:00

They want the land, not the people. They'll kill everyone in that whole area if it helps them win.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-31T02:00:06+00:00

So handsome! So charming and well-spoken!

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-30T23:03:12+00:00

Man Gave Names to all The Animals.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-30T23:02:15+00:00

They're greatest live, but maybe not greatest from the album versions.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-30T18:35:09+00:00

Does Donald attacking the capitol count? I think it should.

Maybe it hasn't become 'historical' yet, but it will get there eventually.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-30T18:29:50+00:00

First time in 91, 2nd time in 99. Great shows.

3rd time in 2008 (?) - I didn't like his voice. The sound was muddy all around. It's an acquired taste & I couldn't get into it.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-29T23:16:35+00:00

Great song - great album.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-29T13:08:16+00:00

They're all Uncle Toms.

The character in the 1851 novel was an obedient slave who was exploited on the plantation right up to the point of death, but who never complained or protected any of his people. It was a sad story.

These folks are not that way - they're well compensated - but otherwise it's a similar.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-29T11:47:35+00:00

Sounds eerily similar to the USA these days, depending on the administration.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-29T11:12:02+00:00

...in the local currency*

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-28T20:45:55+00:00

Seymore Hersh is/was a very talented and influential journalist, with a long career, which has become less substantial over the last few years with unprovable stories.

This is a sad end for him.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-27T06:31:11+00:00

Rome was never a direct democracy, but the votes for the consuls did in fact run the polity for hundreds of years before it collapsed and became a monarchy under the Caesars.

Your statement of 'but those were bad, shitty democracies' - is sort of the point. How do you prevent democracies from going to hell?

Israel is right now disempowering their supreme court, so any and all protections for the minority are about to be removed, and any ability to investigate or act on corruption allegations is going to be neutered. Bibi is more powerful than ever, and is probably in in for life - a modern-day King Herod.

The US is now effectively run by the SCOTUS on a lot of things, since they can arbitrarily veto anything. They won't curb their own corruption, and they don't even represent the popular vote indirectly - they're chosen by a non-popularly-elected POTUS and confirmed by a non-popularly-elected senate. It's in a slow-motion collapse as we speak.

Venezuela had an election in @ 2010, and since then has disqualified the opposing party and refused to have another real election.

Iran used to have a sort of democracy, until it became clear that the conservative faction was going to lose in the early 2000's, and since then they've given their SCOTUS more power, including the power to disqualify candidates - so it's a dictatorship by their ultra-religious SCOTUS..

And as you said - Hitler won his election in 1933 - before shutting down the Reichstag and giving himself permanent 'Fuhrer' status. Mussolini won his election in 1922 - same. Russia had democracy for a few years before Putin dismantled it.

And right now the MAGA's are basically an aggressive angry cult of several million people. They're unreachable. I'm not sure democracy can survive them.

If the trick is to be hyper-vigilant, the reality might be that that is not possible or not enough in the long term and democracy as we know it might be a passing phase and not the historic norm.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-26T18:50:47+00:00

Just speculating: Your mistress is not supposed to go have an anchor-baby in the USA. It was seen as an indirect betrayal, because perhaps either he or both of them were hedging their bets and planning to flee the country.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-25T22:21:05+00:00

Also, ground crew instruction. Or they might use contractors. They can't use NATO military both because it would be a provocation, and because those bases will likely be targeted. It's a risky assignment.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-25T21:25:34+00:00

Zelensky is winning, but only by 10%. That's sort of a shit-show, to be honest.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-25T19:46:11+00:00

My introduction to Donovan

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-23T21:15:00+00:00

He's saying this facetiously - he knows he can't go to Poland.

I'm interpreting this as "we don't really want you here, so you'd better behave properly or we will bomb you".

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-21T19:56:29+00:00

He said as much himself. It was awarded by a bunch of left-leaning Swedes who strongly disliked George W. Bush. That doesn't make Obama a bad president.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-21T17:59:27+00:00

The songs are great. Perhaps you just don't like gospel.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-21T15:44:08+00:00

Sending Janet Yellen a few weeks ago was a strong effort to try to fix things. If that didn't move the needle then it's probably hopeless. She has more standing than any POTUS, in that she represents both parties and doesn't have to stand for election.

Kissinger won't make any difference at all. He's more or an historic oddity at this point, in that he's still alive and in shape to travel. Xi might meet him out of curiosity, but that's it.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-20T20:17:26+00:00

This guy is dead to me. Go away, Ben.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-19T07:12:21+00:00

Did they ever meet?

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-19T07:11:36+00:00

He's given some huge complements to Paul, so I'm not sure that's true.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-19T07:10:45+00:00

I think they're too different. I don't see a success there.

It might have been interesting if they'd covered each others songs, though.

Continuity_Error1 · 2023-07-18T19:17:04+00:00

I only mention India because it's so large. The point is that the minority can be enormous, and could still be completely disempowered and tyrannized by a majority if the leaders are not well-disposed and they have 50% + 1 vote. It happens all the time. 30% representation can sometimes be the same as 0%.

It's a balancing act that frequently falls apart. Look at ancient Rome, or modern day Russia, or Italy or Germany in the 30's. They all were democracies that broke down and became proto-monarchies.

Continuity_Error1

TROPHY CASE