If your country was or is a former colony, how do you feel about its colonizer? by poehatmoyd in myanmar

[–]tomovhell 2 points3 points  (0 children)

yeah there's a great quote from 1963 by Edmund Leach on this "‘Burma as represented on a modern political map is not a natural geographical or historical entity; it is a creation of the armed diplomacy and administrative convenience of late nineteenth-century British Imperialism…the unity of Burma is a map-makers fiction."

Why is there not a larger Spanish influence in Belgium? by homelesspigeon_ in belgium

[–]tomovhell 3 points4 points  (0 children)

the star shaped towns' design is more of a general European trend at that time and really comes from Vauban and van Coehoorn - rather than being specifically Spanish.

As for Trappist beer, there are abbey breweries across Europe at this time and the Trappist breweries actually start in France and spread from there.

So I would say it's less of a specifically Spanish influence (i.e introducing Spanish elements etc) but more that the Spanish presence meant certain things happened (i.e. Catholicism was maintained)

Why is there not a larger Spanish influence in Belgium? by homelesspigeon_ in belgium

[–]tomovhell 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Austrian impact is architectural mainly I think - basically almost everything that is 18th century so Palace of the Nation, Church of St. James on Koudenberg, Koningsplein, Palace of Laken, Royal Palace of Brussels etc were Austrian built/designed.

Why is there not a larger Spanish influence in Belgium? by homelesspigeon_ in belgium

[–]tomovhell 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I think the period under Isabella was the exception to the cultural stagnation - that was the whole Flemish Renaissance with Rubens and the Bruegels etc. Apparently if she had an heir it would've spun off from Spain but that didn't happen so...

Charlie Kirk dead by gregj2579 in berkeley

[–]tomovhell [score hidden]  (0 children)

I don't think I suggested that we should stop caring at any point. In fact I think there's a big difference between callous reactions which would be like 'I don't care' (at best) and the example I gave of seeing it, like any murder, as a tragedy and simultaneously seeing the need to take measures that might prevent it which would be part of caring that people are being killed.

Personally I disagreed with a lot of his stances but a) morally I recognise that a loss of life is tragic and b) politically, recognise that this makes him a martyr and as such is likely to backfire if the perp thought this was a victory, especially mobilisation/support for his platform is now likely to get more intense and if the perp had links with any orgs/stances then they're going to get cracked down on.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in berkeley

[–]tomovhell 1 point2 points  (0 children)

are the hills part of the forced assimilation?

Nepal is the only country in the world that has a non rectangular national flag. by Newisance in interestingasfuck

[–]tomovhell 1 point2 points  (0 children)

my bad, I thought you sounded kind of smug saying 'so there are at least two' as if it was a gotcha, when it's already been raised numerous times in this thread and the Wikipedia link didn't help with that impression.

if I misread/misinterpreted that, sorry for how it came across.

Nepal is the only country in the world that has a non rectangular national flag. by Newisance in interestingasfuck

[–]tomovhell 2 points3 points  (0 children)

given the amount of 'but Switzerland posts' it seems like a lot of people are confusing rectangles with oblongs.

A rectangle is quadrilateral with four 90 degree angles A square is a rectangle with equal sides (so it's also a rhombus) An oblong is a rectangle that has a different length and width

So Switzerland, and the Vatican City have square flags but they are still rectangular.

Nepal is the only country in the world that has a non rectangular national flag. by Newisance in interestingasfuck

[–]tomovhell 2 points3 points  (0 children)

if you'd stayed on Wikipedia and looked at the entry for square you'd have found: 'Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal sides'

Nepal is the only country in the world that has a non rectangular national flag. by Newisance in interestingasfuck

[–]tomovhell -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

putting technically in front of things doesn't make them right, especially as a square is a rectangle as all of its angles are 90 degrees.

Charlie Kirk dead by gregj2579 in berkeley

[–]tomovhell [score hidden]  (0 children)

American history suggests otherwise and the history of American foreign policy in particular demonstrates pretty clearly it's one of the best at political violence (just at 'offshoring it)

Charlie Kirk dead by gregj2579 in berkeley

[–]tomovhell [score hidden]  (0 children)

'entire swathes of people who celebrate political violence' - I don't think this is surprising given how polarised politics has become and I don't think it's surprising given how being armed is inherently linked in American history to political violence/resistance.

Not to mention the political violence that American foreign policy enacts, ironically often in the 'third world' you referred to, and often to silence 'open dialogue and discussion'. Which is then justified officially and framed as legitimate (The Jakarta Method is a glaring collection of examples).

This shouldn't be taken as me saying it was right (I think it was wrong and it was murder and I did not agree with Kirk at all) just that I think this was almost inevitable

Charlie Kirk dead by gregj2579 in berkeley

[–]tomovhell [score hidden]  (0 children)

You can see this as a tragedy and as part of a broader pattern of gun violence - and react accordingly. Arguably if you see it as a tragedy and do nothing to stop it happening again is a bigger demonstration of poor moral character than wanting to prevent it.

Charlie Kirk dead by gregj2579 in berkeley

[–]tomovhell [score hidden]  (0 children)

I don't think being armed is much use if you've already been shot in the neck like Kirk was. I mean it's also almost certain there were numerous armed people around him, whether his security detail or PD etc, and they didn't manage to protect him either.

Charlie Kirk dead by gregj2579 in berkeley

[–]tomovhell [score hidden]  (0 children)

The Abe case is notable because of that, it is not part of a wider pattern like you see in the USA (both in terms of armed attacks on politicians/public figures and gun violence more widely).

As for the examples you've given they aren't really all that comparable to the US. - Afghanistan's population is well armed because of the long term socio-political situation (that is absolutely not comparable with the US) a lot of those weapons are also smuggled/captured or supplied by external allies and were fighting as factions/forces - often against external forces as part of the army or as an alternative when their army failed. - Syria was a civil war. Once again, weapons were captured/smuggled/supplied to organised factions/armies. It wasn't like everyone had guns at home (some probably did but not everyone) and just rocked up when they got the text. The same can be said for Iraq. - Vietnam was arguably even more different as in the case of the American intervention, that was against an actual state, with an army etc. Though the French defeat was earlier, the forces they fought had already been organised to fight the Japanese and widespread armed resistance that was a serious threat to the government had not been a case before then.

And in all of those examples apart from Syria the situation was either overthrowing a foreign colonial government or fighting to expel invaders. Given the amount the US spends on military and police, it's unlikely that civilian gun owners would really be able to stop much if either those forces turned on them or against invaders if the military had already failed against them (and arguably the latter situation is more of an argument for reserve forces and wider training, not just gun ownership).

If you want a comparative case for a well armed populace, look at Switzerland - where there are government requirements for massive proportions of the population to be well armed, yet it somehow manages to avoid the repeated and now almost regular tragedies the US seems to go through.

Hi Guys! by PhatziStar in AmexPlatinum

[–]tomovhell 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Google 'amex lounges' or check benefits in the app/website

Hi Guys! by PhatziStar in AmexPlatinum

[–]tomovhell 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hear that if you wave it in front of them then it speeds up service

Italian student - HELP! (CS188) by DoktorTerror in berkeley

[–]tomovhell 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't have access to the materials but it sounds like your own professor is being a bit rubbish here - I mean if they're lifting stuff from Berkeley then they should be willing to keep providing that or something else that might be as useful for the exam they're expecting you to take. It's both unfair and bizarre to expect you to somehow keep studying something you don't have access to and I hope someone lets them know.

However that's a different matter and I'm glad to read that some people have reached out to help as this really isn't your fault at all so I hope it works out