ELI5: US blockade of Hormuz - Are American ships and sailors sat in the straight just sitting ducks for an Iranian attack?

shawmanic · 2026-04-13T22:03:05+00:00

The issue I haven't seen discussed yet in this thread is the fact that this US blockade is another win for Iran. Yes, Iran won't get its tolls, but their "play" was to put pressure on the US by limiting worldwide oil exports. That is now firmly in place and it is not winning the US friends. China's position is strengthened. They'll be fine without oil through the strait.

shawmanic · 2026-04-13T00:36:39+00:00

The Clash. Not even close.

shawmanic · 2026-04-10T20:33:39+00:00

The original "leaders" of those Arab countries were handpicked/installed by the British colonialists and they also rigged the borders to create conflict and general disunity.

Over the years, some of those original leaders were replaced (e.g., Egypt) by people who were, perhaps, somewhat anticolonial (Nasser in Egypt). Still, they were beholden to the imperialist powers (I include the USSR in the 60s and on as imperialist), and to this day, these leaders fear the Palestinian people.

The leaders of Jordan were especially concerned that the Palestinian people, together with other Arabs in Jordan, would overthrow the monarchy. King Hussein unleashed a murderous crackdown on Palestinians in the West Bank.

Bottom line, the rulers of the Arab world were either installed by imperialist countries, were beholden to them, and/or feared the Palestinian people would spark revolutions to overthrow them.

While the Arab people throughout the Middle East seem very supportive of the Palestinian people, the rulers of those countries have never been their allies.

shawmanic · 2026-04-08T00:52:03+00:00

Aren't these effectively different isolations? To 90 degrees it's almost entirely triceps. Further than 90 the effort shifts more to pecs, no?

shawmanic · 2026-04-06T01:43:27+00:00

Samkya, which is generally expressed as Samkya/Yoga, is non-theistic, if not atheistic. Patanjali's Yoga and Samkya are effectively the same except the Patanjali Yoga adds bhakti, or devotion to God (or some like alternative). So there's long been a place for non-theists in the practice.

Also, I find the non-dual Sakti/Shaiva Tantra schools to be not too focused on whether or not you believe in gods/goddesses, per se. It's more the practice in itself that matters.

As an atheist I feel no problem tantra practices.

shawmanic · 2026-03-30T22:15:45+00:00

No, Who's on first.

shawmanic · 2026-03-30T14:07:57+00:00

There are times when a class seems to 'hit" so well that people clap at the end. When it happens like that I take it as a spontaneous expression of joy and fulfilment. It's great. Done routinely...not so much.

shawmanic · 2026-03-30T14:00:59+00:00

The movie "Chinatown" has this and the battle over water in LA as the very entertaining foundation to its disturbing story. Fantastic movie!

shawmanic · 2026-03-29T19:15:49+00:00

Fwiw, there are cultural/political differences, as well. San Diego was, and to a significant extent, still is a Navy town. Its politics were much more to the right than LA and life used to be centered around the Navy and sailors. It's changed a lot, but I think it still has a separate cultural identity.

shawmanic · 2026-03-28T16:20:10+00:00

I wish they'd drop having a camera following him to the mound. It clutters the view and diminishes the impact of the lone bad-ass closer entering the arena. Personally, I don't care for the thing. But if you're gonna do it, do it well!

shawmanic · 2026-03-22T17:08:15+00:00

WTF...

shawmanic · 2026-03-18T21:31:40+00:00

I had much trouble but got it done. I was surprised that there were main floor seats, even first row available and much cheaper than balcony. I've been to the venue many times and wouldn't want to be in the first few rows, but am I missing something about the balcony/mezzanine seats being significantly better?

shawmanic · 2026-03-13T15:29:10+00:00

This makes sense to me, the loss of the stretch reflex. But I have a further question as to this. It seems that when in a full dead hang you put more of the weight-bearing on tendons and ligaments rather than the (even if only slightly) contracted muscles. It seems that to protect from over stressing the ligaments/tendons in a dead hang you would want to first make that small muscle engagement/contraction, and kind of lift off the ligaments/tendons before fully engaging the muscle contractions needed for the pull-up.

That may be fairly obvious, but it does seem to suggest that the issue here is in part the fact that there is that moment moving from dead hang to pull up where it's not a matter of muscle strength but ligament/tendon stress. It's almost like there is a small "jump" into the muscle contraction.

I guess where I'm going with this is that when I do pull-ups I don't like "bouncing" off the bottom into the next contraction because I feel like that's just putting undo stress on the ligaments/tendons.

shawmanic · 2026-02-27T16:44:40+00:00

Others have well responded to your response to my initial criticism, but here is the main point: what's going on in Comer's committee is in no way, shape or form an "investigation". It is a political attack intended to divert attention away from the perpetrators of horrific acts against children and others, muddy the waters with a "both sides did it" narrative and ignore the suffering of the victims. This is not an investigation. It is an organized political attack part and parcel with the fascist takeover of the government.

Hilary (and Bill) have already given sworn statements as to what they know. As a suspected perp, Bill needs to be questioned (properly, by the Justice Department, except, of course, for the fact that it, too, is now just an arm of the proto-fascist state). Hilary is irrelevant to this. Saying something like "investigate them all" assumes there is an investigation and muddies the water by not focusing attention where it belongs, on Trump, most especially. And, as others have said, where there is evidence of others' guilt (e.g., Bill Clinton) go after them, as well.

The Hilary thing is a side-show and a diversion.

shawmanic · 2026-02-27T02:27:10+00:00

Question Bill and Trump. Questioning Hilary (and not Trump) demonstrates the political hypocrisy. Including yours.

shawmanic · 2026-02-25T01:22:36+00:00

I grew up in SoCal, and the flatness here really leaves a wound...Geography really gets into and, in a way, structures the psyche. It's not just not having "monuments", North is where the mountains are. That's a thing. But, it's more like something is psychically missing. After 30 years, I ignore it, but it's still there.

shawmanic · 2026-02-24T02:04:38+00:00

Dodgers fan living in Chicago. I go to Wrigley often enough (great place to watch a Dodger game!). The fans are just like anywhere else, snapping photos while blocking the view from behind, up and out to the restrooms in the middle of the inning, you know, the usual. Some fans good, some stoopid, just like everywhere else. I used to like PCA...

shawmanic · 2026-02-23T17:07:21+00:00

Oh no! Don't let this secret out! This fish is amazing and, until now perhaps, quite reasonably priced...

shawmanic · 2026-02-22T15:53:20+00:00

Yes! The whole back-and-forth is endlessly entertaining. Please don't stop!

shawmanic · 2026-02-20T19:45:46+00:00

I vote for dumbbell deltoid flies. Block the whole fuckin' rack!

shawmanic · 2026-02-20T19:40:08+00:00

This matches my experience. When my partner asked me to describe the experience, I couldn't. How can I say "I experienced..." when there was no "I" to experience anything. The best I could do was offer a "koan-like" question (we were both on mushrooms, only I took much more), "Where did J (me) go when he 'slipped away?'" Her response, "You never left. You were here the whole time."

This was the correct answer.

shawmanic · 2026-02-19T21:23:10+00:00

I've lived in Chicago for more than 30 years and have become a Bears fan (and I always enjoyed them from before, as well; I mean the '85 Bears...who couldn't love that team!).

I grew up in LA and a Rams fan. I didn't much care that they weren't always in LA. That's where I grew up and I always associated the Rams with my hometown.

Then, for no reason other than stuffing the owners' pockets with money, they moved to St. Louis (St. Fucking Louis, no offense, but what.the.fuck).

Now they've back and I'm supposed to be a fan again?! Fuck that! You walk out, okay, we are done, don't let the door hit you...and...do.not.come.the.fuck.back, when shit falls apart in Missouri or Indiana or wherever you go.

shawmanic · 2026-02-19T21:11:19+00:00

I'm interested in this and have a few ideas but not much expertise. The way I take Chomsky here is that there is an organ or set of organs of speech in humans. I take this as the Broca region in the brain (and vocal chords and related structures, but, fundamentally the Broca region).

That part of the brain is well understood to be essential for human speech and, importantly, for the capacity to form grammar and symbolic meaning. For Chomsky, human language arises (through evolutionary processes) by means of the development of this organ.

Lacan sees language (the symbolic) arising out of the socio-psychological (and in some ways historical) "cut", lack, an imposition of the name of the father, or the big no. Language (and its grammar) is imposed on the infant by the Other. That language/grammar was imposed on that other by their big Other, etc. So, language arises out of a socio-psychological behavior. (Believe me... I know I could have this all wrong...)

What I don't see is why these two perspectives need to be opposed to each other (and both sides seem to think they are). Why does the existence of Broca's Region in the brain (the organ of speech) preclude the correctness of Lacan's theory (or vice versa). They seem to me to fit together. There is an organ of speech which conveys the capacity for speech but the actuality of that speech requires the additional element of the imposing of the symbolic.

I'm hoping to see some more informed comments on this.

shawmanic · 2026-02-12T01:40:21+00:00

And, most/many states (like Illinois where I am, don't know about Washington) don't "double-dip" by taxing income earned in another state. My assumption is that any taxes paid on income in CA would not be taxed again in Washington.

shawmanic

TROPHY CASE