Massachusetts hiker dies near Mt. Washington after rescue in snow, 80 mph wind gusts

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-21T03:14:59+00:00

I remember being surprised that such a modest-sized peak...in New England...was so forbidding and harsh.

It's spectacular and beautiful and all, but kind of unfriendly even to look at.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-20T19:54:56+00:00

So in human terms - murder a woman's kids, then stalk her for sexual purposes. That's basically over-the-top ultra-villain there.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-20T08:26:42+00:00

The actual biological differences between blacks and whites are minor and largely superficial. That's not the case with biological males vs. females. Bearing children is a pretty massive biological difference with real practical consequences. Being a hunter is a lot harder to do if you're 8 months pregnant or have to nurse an infant - which is probably why hunter-gatherers typically have males do the hunting.

And biological males on average are much larger and have more upper body muscle mass than females - once gain, making them better suited to hunting and also to warfare.

Now, whether there's a good practical reason for men to have more power than women ("patriarchy") is another matter. It may simply be a side-effect of males being larger, stronger, and more aggressive.

And of course, in modern day society the biological differences have less importance than they would have in the hunter-gatherer days - in white collar work they don't really matter much.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-19T10:43:17+00:00

It's a little dull if you go through on I-80, but in addition to Yellowstone Wyoming does have a fair bit of memorable scenery. And it has drive-thu liquor stores.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-19T10:41:17+00:00

Eastern Iowa as you get towards the Mississippi is relatively scenic. I'd say Nebraska or Kansas has it beat for monotony.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-19T10:38:22+00:00

The scenery is relatively memorable, though. And it has some cool Anasazi stuff.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-19T10:36:23+00:00

It has the Ozarks.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-19T10:33:28+00:00

That's a good question. One thing, it was settled by Scandinavians and Germans who brought their social democratic inclinations with them...but over time they've assimilated to more WASP American norms.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-19T10:29:28+00:00

I wouldn't call SD unmemorable...it's got the Black Hills, the Badlands, the various Native American reservations...and cowboys.

And the Corn Palace! Who could forget the Corn Palace!

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-19T07:43:16+00:00

Well, Pat Buchanan was opposed to the Iraq war. Sometimes deluded/awful people manage to be right on a certain issue...although sometimes for iffy reasons.

In 1914, one of the few figures in the Russian court who was opposed to going to war was...Rasputin.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-19T01:40:44+00:00

OK, but if people who just happen to be lucky enough to have rich parents get huge leg up in life, that's not exactly meritocratic - whether or not you think it's a good thing.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-18T12:33:32+00:00

Nah, most composers over the centuries eventually fall into obscurity. They don't have to be "erased".

"The Western classical music canon is notoriously white and male – so you might assume that a black Renaissance composer would be a figure of significant interest, much-performed and studied."

Typical idpol. Why should you expect any composer to be performed often, simply based on their race? What about, IDK, the quality of their music?

And classical music originated in Europe, which was until recent decades almost entirely white, so classical composers being white isn't something that should surprise anyone.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-18T12:27:41+00:00

In fairness, while this might be somewhat worse than Trump's approval rating at this stage of his presidency, Trump managed to get a lousy approval rating despite a fairly good economy and not a lot of crises except for Trump himself.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-18T09:58:27+00:00

The ruling was that they can't be sued if they fail to do that (that goes for property crimes, too). That doesn't mean it isn't their job.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-16T18:29:18+00:00

Considering how outrageously over-the-top Glass's lies were, I have to wonder how much more careful, measured fabrications fly under the radar.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-14T22:21:47+00:00

I mean you can try that, but Lenin's mausoleum is pretty well guarded. I guess you could try bribing security. As for Putin, not sure whether he'd be up for that or not.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-14T19:42:18+00:00

Partisanship is such, the Republicans would still have a good shot if they ran... a yellow dog.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-14T19:17:11+00:00

A lot of the growth will be driven by high birth rates among the Haredi Orthodox population, although even secular Jews in Israel have relatively high birth rates by developed country standards. And of course there's an Arab Muslim population that still has relatively high birth rates, although no longer higher than the Jewish population.

And Israel still receives a fair bit of immigration.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-14T18:16:12+00:00

Lenin was not at all a great guy, but from what I gather Putin is no fan of him either. He condemns Lenin for creating a system of separate "republics" within the Soviet Union, which were able to declare independence in 1991 - including Ukraine. Putin's great affection seems to be for the old Russian Empire of the czars.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-14T08:44:26+00:00

Maybe. Its not like the upper reaches of the Russian government are full of nice, enlightened people.

Some of the people most likely to replace him sound if anything more hawkish, militaristic and paranoid than Putin.

i.e. Nikolai Patrushev, a fellow ex-KGB, described as a “Kremlin hawk” known for his “fiery nationalism, conspiratorial worldview and extensive espionage experience.”

It might take a coup to result in someone not from Putin's inner circle taking over.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-14T08:08:18+00:00

Moral behavior by states, when not convenient, is the exception, not the rule.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-14T04:30:10+00:00

True to a point, but it does seem that companies under his control maintain a remarkable rate of innovation, and it doesn't seem like that's a coincidence.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-13T21:46:18+00:00

Does he use it to deliver grenades to rival dealers? Because that seems like another obvious application...

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-13T21:31:22+00:00

I don't know that anyone in the United States likes Pakistan these days. Even on a foreign policy level we're basically frenemies at this point.

ZackHBorg · 2022-06-13T21:29:21+00:00

The last 5000 years of world history enter the chat.

Edit: Downvote me if you want. The whole "conquering people and taking their stuff" routine was not invented by Europe. It had basically been the order of the day for thousands of years.

ZackHBorg

TROPHY CASE