Nelson Lowhim's Blog, page 38

Eco Terror, State Terror

Again, the real terrorists are corporations and state actors backing them, but you know what matters is who has the microphone. Same with eco-issues. Mountains of evidence that many US corporations are destroying things, and, well, when some small country calls them out on their bs, well, you know our judges are getting cash (not always a direct bribery, but it's there) from the oligarchs to crush all resistance. 
tbf, I'm kinda impressed at times at how corrupt the entire system is, and I also worry. This means another demagogue can easily take the reins of power and... well all the fascistic tendencies in our government (courts kinda corrupt, police very... etc etc etc), well that doesn't bode well for anyone. 
See the police. The largest civil rights protests ever and what did we get from that? No change, or not much. Police unions everywhere said fuck you [1]. Now we have evidence that the amount of people the police kill is more than double than what they claim. Note that the attempt to start killing more minorities than whites starts in 2000. I always thought it started in 2008, but that might have just been the proliferation of cameras that allowed that to seem that way. 
Again, think about that. More than double. Combine that with corrupt (not always bribery, sometimes this speaks to a caste of people in the legal profession who don't want their decrees undermined and want to use that to mold the world in their dominionist ways). 
Like I said, many corrupt and entrenched powers (many on the right, but look at the MSM or moderate dems) and it truly boggles the mind at how we get out of this. Meanwhile the twitter verse twitters away about random "putdowns" instead of ways to act. 
Note, Biden still fucking up and allowing ICE too much leeway. So give 💰 cash to RAICES. 

And a final note on how useless google is for any nuanced search of anything. I was looking for more info on the 90 famine in N.Korea. Well, there's nothing worthwhile, just the main talking point of they brought it on themselves. Fine, I think this is my take on the situation as well, but no good discussion that perhaps looks into other views? (the left one I just heard is that the US caused it. And since we had sanctions on them it's worth looking into). Just impressive. And yeah, some of you righties will say, see? They're cutting on vaxx misinformation, but I dare say they take too long to do that, while for the left they cut down on just about anything. 

[1] Hell, and while we're talking murder spike, how do we know it's not the cops doing it on the side? I'm guessing it's as likely as "BLM caused this". 

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The Squid Game, Korea.

The Squid Game, [1] [image error] a show on Netflix,

 is a brilliant piece of golden era TV. Seriously... I will have to allow the filter of time to run through my experience, but I do think that it is a great example of Koreans doing social commentary very damn well [2]. I'll talk more about it later, but check it out when you get the chance. 
Here's one aspect of society that the show doesn't look into: the women and what they have to deal with. Hence the low unmarried rate. One commenter:

Ooh I have a lot to say on this one. I myself am an umarried female in 30s in South Korea, and it's not housing prices, it's mysogny. Women are starting to realize the depth of the sexual discrimination that has been going on for so many decades. If they stay single they only need to earn money for themselves and care for themselves, but if they get married they need to earn money (but not more than the husband, because you'd be seen as a fucking bitch trying to belittle your husband. If you do earn more money, you better not boast about it or expect the husband to do the laundry) be a housewife, have kids and take care of the kids(but don't even think about asking the husband to take care of the kids), care for the in-laws(but of course the husband doesn't need to care for his in-laws or even his own parents. That's a woman's job). I have friends who are married and some who are unmarried, but housing isn't really the issue for getting married or not. *Edit: Never knew I get the chance to say this but, wow I am surprised by all the responses! I am trying to answer any genuine questions but that might take some time. And to answer some common questions, yes the situation is much better than the past decade, but still has a long way to go. I heard that mostly the gender issue comes from women who now know that they don't have to live like their mothers did, while men still want to live like their dads did. Yes there are some good men too, and a few are my friends but I wasn't romantically interested in them. I know housing costs can be a problem, but that's not the reason my unmarried friends stay unmarried.

Sounds a little like Japan. Some more comments on asian culture (who knows how accurate, right?)

I'm told parts of China like Shanghai are surprisingly matriarchal and women basically control the relationship & household

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[–]SonnieTravels 225 points 9 hours ago 

Women run the household in many countries. But that's part of misogyny.

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[–]iamnotamangosteen 61 points 5 hours ago 

You’re not wrong. I know exactly what you’re getting at. I knew a guy in South Korea who told me “Actually women have more power!! Have you seen korean women?! They run the household, they’re scary!” And he just didn’t get that it was precisely because household affairs and duties are seen as the woman’s domain and she’s expected to take care of all the domestic stuff. That’s not empowering or being in control, it’s being forced to take on all the responsibilities of a realm that most women would probably like to share instead of shouldering alone.

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[–]SonnieTravels 26 points 5 hours ago 

That's an incredibly common phrase in Japan as well. "Japanese women are so strong! They run the household and boss their husbands around!" But it's actually used against them to keep them in the house. I've had female Japanese students who say, "We're strong!" "Awesome! So who of you is going to run for Prime Minister!?" "Eh... Hahaha..." Most of them say they want to be a teacher, nursery school care worker, flight attendant, etc. But often plan on quitting once they're married. I was SHOCKED when our vet quit after getting married. Why would you go to so much schooling and she seemed so good at a job she loved! (I do know she was really tired from the hours though) 

Things are definitely changing, but women are now made to choose. More women are opting to work rather than have relationships. This is really creating issues for the government who refuses to change because less and less people are having babies and there's an aging population here. Its really interesting tbh.

then this:

I agree with you as a Korean American 30s male.

But we do feel the same way. Men are pressured to earn more money, to not show weak emotions, to be expendable for their family, and have kids. I am not being sarcastic at all. I am not saying misogyny doesn't exist or that it was and is fair for women. Just that this generation is dealing with the change of culture by ourselves-for both sexes. This is relatively new for us. Hell we were a monarch state untill 1877 and was liberated only in 1945. The change in social norms in recent years has been very confusing for everyone. 

Also, getting housing for 2+ people inside 2hr commute from downtown Seoul is very expensive. I work freelance and earn around 4000 dollars a month(which is about 6000 dollars above average annual wage. But when I work, its around 80hrs/3wk and have to be reachable by text 24/7) . I would need to work 50 months without spending anything to live in a 12m^2 home. excluding taxes and maintenance fees. So housing definitely is a factor.

Finally, Korean parliament is a mess. It's basically a reality show at this point. There is 0 news on environmental policies from potential presidential candidates. They say they care about the future generation, but they really don't. There is no reason to trust the government and the country for 30s Koreans.

TLDR; It's a collection of so many reasons for male and female populations. Including misogyny and it's fallouts, the housing market, government polices, and many more."

Some pointing out that the Korean males are angry because of th emendatory 2 year service they do in the army. 

There's also a HUGE amount of resentment from Korean men for being forced to serve in the military for 2 years and thus start their careers later than most women. It seems to be a huge sticking point for them that none of the feminists crying out for equal treatment also advocate for forced military service for women and believe that the 2 years they've effectively "wasted" should come with perks and advantages (mainly, upholding traditional gender roles that can look like outright sexism to non-Koreans).

then the whole conservative view gets toasted:

Omg that’s so much like Indians as well. Like there are just unspoken expectations that the female should be earning less than her husband. However, times are changing and women are challenging this behaviour too. May SK have the strength and support to do it as well. :)

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[–]tea-and-chill 320 points 8 hours ago* 

Thailand pitching in. We're in the same boat. I wonder if this is a general plague that affects all of Asia.

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[–]TScottFitzgerald 264 points 7 hours ago 

Well it's just an old school traditionalist view, pretty much every conservative community has elements of this regardless of the continent.

This part also is a good view:

Lived in Korea for the better part of a decade, so I can give you my input.

Those who get married are expected to have children. Children are pressured to get married and once they are, they are then pressured to have children.

Korea has many of the same issues as most first world countries who fertility rates are decreasing, but a few additional ones as well.

Stagnant wages. Wages haven't kept up with the cost of living. This makes it very difficult for a single person (presumably the father) to be a breadwinner for their spouse and their children. Even both spouses working can still not make enough money to afford the cost of living. Furthermore if both spouses are working, there's no one to really take care of the children.

Cost of housing. Cost of housing has exponentially grown over the last decade in Korea. Families can't afford housing while also trying to support a family. People can't afford housing that can accommodate a family, so they simply don't have children.

Gender equality. Many women in Korea no longer want to be the stay at home housewife. This means they are much less reluctant to have children who will "burden" them with staying at home. They want financial independence, even if married. Without a parent to remain at home with the children, couples don't want to have children. This is one of the reasons why a lot of women don't want to get married. Many are aiming to become a "Gold Miss", which is a term for a financially independent older woman.

Lack of a support network. Maternity/Paternity leave, lack of daycares, etc. If both parents want to work, there's really no one but relatives/grandparents who can help take care of children. Not everyone has access to this and many don't want to burden their families. Without providing a safety net, parents won't have children.

Work - Life balance. Working 9-6 plus overtime 5-6 days a week is not uncommon in Korea. This means people who work long, hellish hours are less likely to want to go home and then take care of their children or spend money to care for their children. They would rather relax and rest and spend that money on ways to help them cope with their work life. Furthermore many men simply don't want to go home to their spouse and children because of how exhausting their work is, so they simply make up an excuse and find a way to relax. This only creates more of a burden for the spouse at home. 

Some countries have found ways to handle all 5 of these issues with varying levels of success. Korea has not and they keep trying to combat the symptoms or outright ignoring them instead of dealing with the root of the problem.

Until there's a better support network in place in the form of daycare and company support for paternity/maternity leave, cheaper housing, an increase in wages, improving the situation for women in the workplace, and improvements in work-life balance, the fertility rate will continue to fall. 

Then the real problems begin. What happens to a society that is too top heavy? Where there are too many old people who vote and set the policies while no longer contributing to the economy? The young then have to shoulder the responsibility for dealing with that issue. Its not going to be a pretty picture.

Meanwhile, in other places of the internet... 

Lotta hate, people, and it's mainly because of the machinations of those above us. As seen with the dems like Manchin etc threatening to destroy the nation by being moderate. Just absolutely crazy to see it. A great nation just trying to implode. Like the old greek story, after Zeus heard that Prometheus gave humanity fire (or knowledge), he then cursed humanity to chase its own destruction after knowledge was acquired. Damn apes. 

[1] Ok, look at this find (the suit they wear in the show) on amazon. You can't get the dvd, but you can get notebooks and the tracksuit they wear. Odd, huh? Seems AI generated. I mean the masks, the front man masks, the oligarchs' masks, the foot soldiers' masks, cloth pandemic masks, posters...man, this shit really travels fast, doesn't it? I mean the whole das kapital system on a show that critiques das kapital. 
[2] Another death game genre, done in Japan, is Alice in Wonderland (AIW), and that doesn't have anywhere near the same level of social commentary. In fact, one big difference is that in AIW, you are forced to play, not to mention the apocalyptic aspect of the game (in downtown tokyo when everyone suddenly disappears), while TS has people choose to play the death games over their lives... yeah that's a statement about people, isn't it?
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AITA?

I've always talked about the tribal nature of the internet. 
I've heard of the Marine Lt Col who talked shit about the withdrawal. Now, my fault was listening to the hive mind of the center that claimed he was crazy. I also thought he was one of those forever war types (and tbf, he may. well be) just angry with Biden. But then I go and see this: 

One of his posts, supposedly:

Guy went crazy, take a look at his post from 25 Sep https://www.facebook.com/stuart.scheller

 

Fear cannot exist in the pursuit of love and truth. I believe in love. I believe in America. I believe in strength. I believe in honesty. I believe I am ready to go to jail based on these beliefs.
First you pulled the chain of retirement. I broke that chain. Then you pulled the chain of family stability. That chain also broke. All you have left is the threat of Court Martial. “It’s a felony Stu. No one wants that. It will ruin your whole life.” But you never understood me. I’m comfortable going back to Cincinnati and working at Applebees again. Do you want freedom fries with that?
“Effective immediately upon your receipt below, you are hereby ordered to refrain from posting any and all material, in any form without exception, to any social media. In this context, the term 'social media' shall be construed very broadly to include any medium by which you may share information with groups of people. It includes more traditional forms of social media (e.g., Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn) as well nontraditional methods one might use to circumvent established social media (e.g., mass emails, group text messages, electronic bulleting boards). You are also prohibited from communicating through third parties or proxies.” What happens when you communicate an order that stipulates you to stop communicating? Remember… I have only spoken truth.
Another truth… WE don’t want our children abused in the same failed systems. The systems remain, despite their repeated failures, because key holding hypocrites have safe haven within the system. “Why not just get out and say that Stu? Why not stay quiet and work within the system?” WE say this to you… if you are making a difference on your current path… why is the Republic in decline? The Apathetic American convinces himself to apply pressure in other ways only because he can’t see the invisible chains. The keyholders refuse to take accountability when it is so obvious. They are unable or unwilling to do what is right. But WE are not like the Apathetic American. WE have faith. WE believe what you stand for can only be defined by what you’re willing to risk. They need US scared. They need US silenced. They need US divided. Fear, division, and ignorance facilitates control. WE the people are not republican/democrat, black/white, straight/gay, christian/atheist, mask/nomask, police/community, wallstreet/mainstreet… so on and so on. We are Americans. Adjectives are not required. Don’t dim your light to walk into their darkness. Walk into their darkness and light shit up.
President Trump. I was told by everyone to kiss the ring because of your following and power. I refuse. While I respect your foreign policy positions, I hate how you divided the country. I don’t need or want your help. You do not have the ability to pull US together. You may even win the next election. But your generation’s time is running out. Tell your son to stop tweeting about me. Your whole family knows nothing about US or our sacrifices. I could never work with you. I’d rather sit in jail and be released with a dishonorable than make compromises in my beliefs.
President Obama. Great at speeches… obviously weak in any intestinal fortitude. President Bush Jr. great at speeches… obviously ignorant in thinking he could import democracy. President Clinton. Great at bringing Congress together… obviously morally bankrupt. This includes his wife.
General Mattis. The warrior monk. We all know you became a monk because you are gay. To be clear, my generation don’t care about sexuality. We are better than that. But our generation does care about honesty. You brought to my Infantry Officer Course 1-06 what can only be described as a female prop. It was uncomfortable for all of us. As soon as you left, we all knew you were a liar. We were young, but not stupid. Back then Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was still a policy. We understood why you lied. But as the policy was rescinded, and we continued to hear the rumors, it bothered us that you kept up the lie. You weren’t a monk. You were dishonest. And for all your talk about the 5-3-5 and counter-insurgency… can we go back and review the record? The academics loved you. You talked about reading books all the time. The only problem… you didn’t win any wars. Maybe you should have read different books.
General Petraeus. The counter-insurgency genius. We all know you went to Yale. We all know that you walked around the wars without PPE. But what if you used that education to offer insight on the ineffective nature of counter insurgency? You led Iraq and Afghanistan because you were such an influential leader. However, history demonstrated you didn’t have the insight of George Bush Sr. who knew when to pull out of a military campaign once the objectives were achieved. History somehow forgot George Bush Sr.’s genius. If you were half as smart as him, you would have recommended an efficient withdraw much sooner than the long wars you promoted. But that would have marginalized the theory of your genius. And without your celebrity… there are no adulterous escapades.
General Flynn. You gave interviews about me. Pretending to understand me. You are the same as the rest. You were caught in a lie. My generation is sick of your lies. We are not the same. Stop speaking my name as if you understand me. You could never understand US.
PHDs teaching at military academies. Bill Lind just wrote an article about my moral courage titled The View from Olympus: The Scheller Affair and Moral Courage. Let me be clear Mr. Lind, despite your contributions to the Marine Corps, you could never understand me. And my contempt for the academics who have attached themselves to the military machine runs deep. I will never relate to a person who refused to fight in the arena, yet feels entitled enough to offer opinions as if the lions should listen. Critics. Mr. Lind… General Berger’s opinion matters more than yours, despite your condescending opinion towards him. Please let all the PHDs in the military education system know the same. And tell General Gray to get off the MCU stage. He had his turn. Maneuver Warfare is outdated. It’s not attrition vs. maneuver. It’s decentralization vs. synchronization. And the critical question of where that balance occurs is the question you failed to address in the current version of MCDP 1. Marines all think decentralization should occur at the lowest levels despite a deeper understanding of how to maximize combat power. But I’m sure your generation of deep thinkers knew that… To General Alford adjudicating my legal situation. When I briefed you in July you said, “We have an entire generation of LtCols who don’t know how to make decisions. They feel the need to ask permission.” Ask Tom and Sung, they were there. My generation is sick of being bullied. Maybe my generation knows a little bit more than you think. We’ve watched you play politics for 20 years. You thought we were too stupid to learn?
General Donovan, thanks for finishing my fitrep multiple months late as soon as I hit the news. Is it safe to assume you processed the report when I hit the news so that you didn’t look bad? It’s about your optics, it’s never been about US. But if your angry about me speaking the truth, send your Regimental Commander to come find me again. You could have him repeat, “If you interrupt me again, I’m going to fillet you. I will cut you in half.” “I’m going to work you like a slave. I’m going to work you like a dog. I’m going to work your dick into the dirt.” Ask Lobo… he was there for some of it.
Task and Purpose, despite your factually incorrect article about my legal right to prefer charges on General McKenzie (which still has been denied by the same people trying to hold me accountable… even after the news of the drone strike), you don’t understand me. I do plan to bring the whole system down. Yes, Task and Purpose, I am brave enough to say it again. What say you now?
What happens when all you do is speak truth and no one wants to hear it. But they can probably stop listening because… I’m crazy… right?
Col Emmel please have the MPs waiting for me at 0800 on Monday. I’m ready for jail.
VR/ US

So, yeah, it's a mixed bag, but he's definitely not all for tRump or anything like that, and I'm thinking it's a bitch session rather than anything coherent in terms of being a policy criticism (though I'll take some of the anti-boomer stuff). But the reactions to this is that, "this is a Wendy's, sir" [1] to hes batshit insane, seem beyond useless to me. Hell, it's more cogent a statement than many thing's you hear or read on the internet, especially about our foreign policy (the easy china hate, which I assume this guy may be for, and so forth). 
The other aspect of the comments is the bullying, and very sad, schadenfreude at his punishment. We all, left or right, enjoy this, apparently. But it only allows the untenable status quo (and that is what it is, in the military, in our foreign policy, in other entrenched corrupt regimes in our nation) to continue as we give it power. 
But it also goes to show why the level of distrust is as high as it is, and only going to get higher. You hear about this and it seems like a crazy guy. You read his stuff and think, okay, this isn't great, but it's better than 90% of points being made on the internet. 
Don't know what else to say about this. Guess I'm an old man screaming at the clouds, but not really, because I feel that I'm idiosyncratic enough and irreverent enough for that pull to not have been all that much of a pull for me. Or so I tell myself. You?

[1] An example of tribalism in the internet in that this can be useful at time, but it's more often than not used to dismiss any long response which may even be worthwhile, or make sense, but not in line with the circle jerk of the moment. 
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DV and the murder spike.

Interesting stuff here on femicide, which is usually an ongoing historical kind of killing, but might be worse int he pandemic. Hell, I'm certain and have been certain about this DV stuff and, apparently, as the twittering masses scream about blaming BLM or what have you, for the murders spike, I was asking what the numbers were for DV vs Gang warfare (cops either letting their informants know it was open season for them to do whatever as they stopped doing their jobs or gangs knowing that cops will always target the political rather than them and using that to up their activity). But, people are too busy with their tribal markers. So it goes. How's you?
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Huh

So how's this for a conspiracy theory? Trump lifts ban on working with deadly viruses at the end of 2017. 
I'm talking this:

In October 2014, all federal funding was halted on efforts to make three viruses more dangerous: the flu virus, and those causing Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

But the new regulations apply to any pathogen that could potentially cause a pandemic. For example, they would apply to a request to create an Ebola virus transmissible through the air, said Dr. Collins.

Which is damn near some playing with god shit. Then this: 

Tensions rose in 2014 after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention accidentally exposed lab workers to anthrax and shipped a deadly flu virus to a laboratory that had asked for a benign strain.

That year, the N.I.H. also found vials of smallpox in a freezer that had been forgotten for 50 years.

Confidence not exactly rising at this point. 

Recent disease-enhancing experiments, he said, “have given us some modest scientific knowledge and done almost nothing to improve our preparedness for pandemics, and yet risked creating an accidental pandemic.”

Of course, not a single conspiracy theory out there posits fuck face, I mean Trump, at the center of it. Because, he obviously did push this for whatever reason. That being said, I haven't really trafficked much covid conspiracies, though our lack of knowledge is large and plenty of stories could fill that. Still, this would show why Trump acted the way he did, right? 
Which gets to my next theory, not only about the right being bedfellows with tech oligarchs (though not always as Trump's boot from FB/twitter show or H1B visas etc), which means the algorithms are meant to show more conspiracies that would benefit right wing grifters (not necessarily the voters), while signal boosting also means very specific ones get rewarded or more eyeballs [1] and thus more people and even more conversations. 
So it goes. 
Meanwhile, apparently people were in NA up to 23kya. Which is way more than the 10kya I thought it was. Very cool adding to what we know and that's science, mafaws. I've got nothing else, other than some shorts I've been penning. 

[1] This would also better explain some of the mix of left and right wing conspiracists. There is much truth to lots of left wing stuff, but some is simply lack of information. One can see the slow bending of a left winger slowly being bent by the drip of positive reinforcement, and slowly coming around to some of these rw conspiracies. All naturally and through the (good) idea of asking questions. Which isn't to say I'm saying don't just ask questions, but that one needs to think about the feedback loops to these things. 

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Another one

Short Story, that is. And how's the internet buzzing with its stories? Well here's one of a man who left prison after 44 years. Just nuts. Crazy thing is that I agree with quite a few of the comments (sounds like he got all that time on a trumped up charge). 

So yeah, a black man charged in the 60s or 70s (or ever, really) would be... oh wait, in the comments, there's him saying he didn't do it. Then him meeting his family. Funny how it's the foreign news channels that are doing bits on him. 
Then there's this, where people who died while unvaxxed are mocked. There's so much of a bullying aspect to the judging on the internet. And I'm one to tell everyone to get vaxxed, but the mob does thrive there. 
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House Prices and Such.

Just wrote another short story for the young one. Will share over at Patreon. Now I have to think of some good art to go with it (though this might be a tad too dark for his age group)
Well, I talked about the worldwide increase in prices for houses (Iceland etc). Something that seemed to be caused by airbnb and the such. But, apparently, this is even worse post covid (not because of airbnb because we know how bad that is). Even places with public housing like Singapore are hurting (80% is public housing there). Crazy. I'm guessing this is partly because mountain ranges of cash was printed out and given to the superrich and banks and corporations [1] during Covid. Thus that money must go somewhere. 
This may sound way off, and plenty of centrists (read the thread here) will call it a conspiracy theory, but with the likes of Yanis etc agreeing, Think I'm in good company. I think rent regulation and other forms of ending foreign (read non-residential) investment, will be a good way forward. I also think allowing micro housing to flourish (these for singles would have been fine to younger me) as that's better than homelessness. 
Plenty of biases out there, but density, again, is the only hope moving forward. 

[1] Random aside is that in NYC a cabbie told us about how a hospital was gobbling up all the property nearby. In a prime area, no doubt. And guess who was fed the most $ over the past decade? 
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deep state blob

It would appear that this article is not paywalled (for the day, Apparently). It's about the blob or the deep state actors who are behind the forever war. Important stuff when you have to think about how Biden, though he did the most popular thing, saw his polls drop to their lowest yet (and not as bad, but getting to Trump numbers...). Why? That blob basically in control of the entire media without a single attempt to show an opposing voice. So it goes. 
This guy was apparently in the midst of the blob, honing arguments for more war always. And rubbing elbows with the likes of Friedman. Makes sense, as it's as good a gig as any.

What I didn't do was actually go to Iraq or Afghanistan. Instead, I ate free buffet lunches, collected business cards, and mainlined off-the-record propaganda that both of America's long-running wars were worthy undertakings, steered by capable hands.

Well, he was part of the blob. 

I didn't know it at the time, but I was being absorbed into what Ben Rhodes, Obama's speechwriter and longtime policy advisor, called the "Blob," the amorphous pro-war Washington establishment that Obama was supposed to oppose. In the Blob's view, it's the role of the Blob, not the voters or even the White House, to decide when America goes to war.

And like many forms of propaganda nowadays, it's certainly smarter than the 20th century authoritarian kind:

 Into one end of the Blob goes the money — gifts from corporations, wealthy individuals, and, in some cases, foreign governments. Out the other end comes white papers, books, op-ed articles, salaries, fellowships, and panel discussions. The content of the output varies widely, and contains occasional notes of disagreement, which is what makes it so much more slippery and effective than the classical authoritarian propaganda of the 20th century, which was intended to awe and manipulate crowds by playing to their basest emotions.

Anyhow, we all know about the revolving doors of our government. Essentially a quiet way to do bribery (and a more classy, long term one too, I suppose). 

At that same conference, Gen. Joseph Dunford, then the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave a public talk to a large gathering. In 2019, when he retired, he joined Lockheed Martin's board.

And yes, they do make sure that the viewpoints presented are never too far off spectrum:

Not much airtime is given to dissent from what's often called "the rules-based order" or "the liberal international order." These terms sound technical and boring and unobjectionable; perhaps that is by design. In plain English, "rules-based order" has effectively come to mean "war is good." The foreign-policy establishment is ideologically committed to the faith-based proposition that America can use force against a country thousands of miles away and, if not remake it in our own image, then at least leave it better than we found it. 

And when I hear this:

The Blob's raison d'être is to control the conversation around war by putting it on a plane above politics, in the domain of experts who supposedly know something about the world that voters and elected officials do not.

I get a strange feeling that so many more people are trying this in other areas, making for something like a theocratic militancy in our country (SCOTUS etc). And yeah, I think this here, sounds like much of what I've heard, though I think through weapons deals Trump (any president, to be certain) tried to assuage the blob:

Trump was a problem. He was the first president since Jimmy Carter who didn't care about the Blob. He wanted to leave Afghanistan, but he couldn't find a secretary of defense or a national security advisor who would help him to do it. So he wound up settling for a deal with the Taliban that passed the question of withdrawal on to his successor.

Then Biden, of course, surprised them as they surprised us:

The Blob was optimistic that Biden, like Trump, could be deterred from following through on his campaign promise to exit Afghanistan. Like Trump, Biden could not find a secretary of defense who shared his vision. He chose Lloyd Austin, a retired general who had made as much as $1.7 million from serving on the board of Raytheon, one of the biggest contractors in Afghanistan. Not surprisingly, Austin wanted Biden to extend the deadline for withdrawal past September 11. In April, according to the Times, Biden had to personally tell Austin that he expected the military to carry out his decision.

And indeed, these people aren't really good at war, but in getting money. And so, since Bide not only ended that money spigot, but showed how full of shit they were, they will forever be intent on punishing him:

What may have started as an earnest bid for victory evolved into a domestic opinion-managing campaign to perpetuate an expensive war that voters did not want, without much to show in the way of progress or results. We're seeing the tail end of that campaign now, as the Blob insists that Biden should have kept a small force in place, in perpetuity. If victory was not an option, at least no one had to know that we had already been defeated. 

Interesting, though I wish this article talked more about how these think tanks had such connections with the media and journalists who can't seem to get enough of them. 




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Troll Farms

Apparently, FB just loves them some troll farms. Now, that FB is basically the most immoral publisher on earth, one that doesn't seem capable of ever making a moral choice that affects their bottom line, is without doubt. But the interesting thing about this article is how these troll farms (not clear if they are actually political at this point) get famous. Mere reposting. 
IOW, original content doesn't get you far. So if my initial or more recent mental image of the internet was of a massive content mining operation. The mine being the human psyche or human imagination, that would appear to now be only a small part of the internet hive mind or content as a trillion widgets or memes or pieces of the human mind where you say, ah, well there is another human who feels like me. 
In fact, as a person who at least thinks they create something original on the regular, that someone can just repost shit like that and get famous and paid, is disheartening to say the least. 
So it goes, you say. Indeed, it highlights that much of the internet is not exactly novelty, or not only that, but seeing the same thing over and over in a kind of mind rut. The variations can be slight but it works in a comforting manner. 
I've been thinking about that, about the so called novelty dopamine hit that so called talking heads claim the internet is about, and this proves that this is not exactly true. I too get into these mind ruts on the internet and click at things that either shock my sensibilities or confirm them, but rarely dig deeper. And I have bookshelves of books with new info, but I don't crack them open with the same regularity because they may offer novelty, but this is something else. 
I'm talking about the straight to the brain stem access many of these memes and short snippets of people's lives that's presented on the internet. 
Books require more effort to get into. Hell so does TV. You already know my example of being sick. Couldn't read a book or magazine. That happens if I've even just a little sick. Then I tried to watch TV. But even that required too much from my tired fighting a virus mind. So I scrolled twitter, and that was more than enough for me to absorb, no matter how tired. 
Get it? So the content mine is for something else, and I wonder how much webnovels are only an aspect of this, rather than being some long form exception. That's not entirely looking down on memes or headlines that shock, but pointing out how they and the comments below them are usually just surface stuff that rarely changes minds. 
Why is that?
I don't know, reader, I really don't know. 
And here's a damn sad situation. Well, damn, it's certainly something I thought about when we had our son, though luckily we were not high risk. Answers to this one, are mostly on point. It's just one of those life situations where either way you lose. But one hope they make it through no hard choices to make. 
So now I'm wondering if something like this post is an example of regurgitating reposting content that's already out there. I mean, I think I'm adding a little something to it, but am I? And true, this is different than a troll farm just taking a meme etc and reposting, but it's in the same vein. Hell, I suppose in many ways that's what one could say about even creations of original content, right?
Your thoughts?
In the interest of original content that's not mine, here's a good short story I just read. Enjoy!
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Fog of War 960

Chess.com has fog of war 960 style. Which means no set opening moves and man is it fun. Much more of a mind-melt than normal FOW, though that's fun. Th game below, I'm white. 
I started out strong enough, but then lost my queen in a risky move (should have known that rook was defended). 
But then I went back to the basics and protected my king and made some easy recon moves. But my opponent then made a series of mistakes that were easy enough to capitalize on (the first free knight was unexpected, tbf). 


The queen move they made was a gift, and I'm not sure why they did it. From there, I knew a pawn was free, closed down on it and after that it was another mistake that gave me the game. 
Then they resigned after gifting their rook as well. 

Not the best game, but you can see how fun it could be, right? Maybe this version of king of the hill would also be worthwhile. 
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