Things in Catalonia could be coming to a head, soon. Actually, tomorrow. The central government in Madrid has not been shy about making somewhat pointed threats. As with any political strife, there are lots of stresses involved, beyond borders, laws and trade. Rumblings from some news sources are pinning this recent drive on the Left. But a small far-Left movement would not be enough to push this over the line, into a full blown secession. There appears to be a sizable part of the populace in the region does appear to want out of Spain.
What this will end up looking like will have a possibly large impact on “Europe” – the EU, NATO and the like. I will be watching for several things:
- Will Madrid use force to prevent any formal breakaway? If so, in what manner – send in the Army and National Police, or just arrest the political leadership and lay off the ordinary people?
- If force is used, what do the Catalan people do in response?
- If force is employed, what will France do? [keeping in mind that the Basque ETA used to cross the border and hide in France]
- If Catalonia does break away – would the EU, NATO, et al ask them in? [Slovenia, as an example, comes to mind].
- Will crazed soccer fans demand that FC Barcelona continue to play in the Spanish League?
Here is hoping the whole thing ends up a non-story and there is no violence…but that ain’t the way I am betting.
Stay tuned, as they say.
UPDATE: Splitting from the splitters?
I wonder how the military would react. If there is enough separatists in the military leadership, then things could get damn ugly. I have no idea how the Spanish military leans.
From what I can tell, the Army will stay loyal to the King and Madrid…Jesus, that I am typing such words at this point in time….wow.
Yeah, it’s fucked up that can be an applicable utterance.
Luckily, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.
Goodnight, and have a pleasant tomorrow.
He..he is?!
Consider this your very late Weekend Update.
Somebody tell Lou Reed
Death can’t stop zombie Franco.
“Will crazed soccer fans demand that FC Barcelona continue to play in the Spanish League?”
Probably, but they may get an invitation to play elsewhere: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/fc-barcelona-premier-league-la-liga-catalunya-catalan-independence-vote-ballot-a7975266.html
And a joke invitation to join the Russian 2nd division:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/barcelona-invited-join-russian-league-11285328
I just KNEW one of you would find something on that…thanks, Raven!
I find this a fascinating situation. The wiki page for active separatist movements in Europe is quite lengthy.
Do these areas of traditional ethnic and cultural groups hate being governed by distant multi-cultural internationalists? Some are in areas where thousands of refugees have been dumped just to make life more interesting. Is Europe going to come apart and divide itself up into little nations, making the map look more like pre-19th Century Europe?
Are small kingdoms the natural state of Europe? Was the unification of Italy, Germany, Belgium, and the UK sort of artificial order imposed on disparate peoples – and has that model outlived it’s usefulness?
The thing is i am.all for descentralization but it is mostly oportunistic politicians and locals who need a cause. I would like to.see.clearer plans for post independence.
Is Europe going to come apart and divide itself up into little nations, making the map look more like pre-19th Century Europe?
I think so. I don’t know if it will be bloody or not, or how long it will take, but I think it is coming.
Its almost like the larger states get, the more difficult it is to keep them together.
It’s almost like statism for the purpose of statism is self-defeating. It’s almost like civilization exists for the benefit of the individual and not the other way around.
It’s basically white tribalism. Something that the USA doesn’t have to deal with much thankfully.
There’s an understandable assumption that Brexit would make Scotland leaving the UK more likely (understandable given the noises the Scots have made and the way they voted). In the long term, though, it seems just as likely that being in the EU makes nation states less cohesive, in the same way your marriage might start to look a bit ropey if you moved into a commune.
it seems just as likely that being in the EU makes nation states less cohesive
No question. The EU makes nation states less powerful and relevant. Small wonder that makes them less cohesive.
It’s the long death of the European nation-state-as-empire model – they definitely took some severe hits from the two world wars, now their new attempt at empire is gradually failing spectacularly.
There is a region in romania with mostly ethnic hungarians – bozgori is the local ethnic slur should you care – which want autonomu and make.the romanian nationalists mad. The problem.is the region os a net tax drain and from my point of view they can have autonomy as.long as they dont expect any money from.the central government. But mostly.it is a way for the hungarian politicians to have an issue cause otherwise they have no politics
Hey now, those are my relatives. If they really wanted to start shit, they’d advocate for reversing the treaty of Trianon and handing that territory back to Hungary proper. Pretty sure that’s how you get world war III though.
So, Romania’s Scotland then.
Na, Cymru Rwmania.
Or Romania’s Quebec.
But isnt.quebec richer than average Canada?
Not really, they’re about average.
Curse you!
We’ve already established that my family comes from the part of Romania so poor that the rest of Romania can look down on them, do you have any idea how many gypsy curses I already suffer from?
Thankfully some of them cancel out or you’d be in real trouble.
No way… check per capita GDP (second chart down) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_provinces_and_territories_by_gross_domestic_product
Hell no. They’ve chased away a ton of industry and the only thing they really have going for them is hydroelectric dams. Quebec’s been getting funding since the 1950s from the equalization payment system (where provinces are given money if they’re seen as falling behind the others).
Sounds positively Randian, frankly.
Not to mention that French nationalism and a desire to enforce their strict French language laws over the past couple decades effectively killed Montreal as the primary center for business and commercial interests in Canada, shifting to Toronto instead. French nationalism has actively impoverished Quebec.
Bela Lugosi was born in Lugoj, a Hungarian town in what is now Romania, and took his stage name Lugosi from the town.
So I just want to clarify something from the morning links. The article on the pro gun bills? That came out last sunday morning. As in, before the Vegas shooting. Wanna take a guess on the status of those two bills right now?
Dead? Mostly Dead? Completely Dead?
Dead. Dismembered. Burned. And the ashes paraded before the peasantry to teach them their place.
MARK STEYN: Theory Of The Case.
A very interesting read regarding possible motive of the Vegas shooter.
So that voice in the back of my head telling me this guy was a lefty activist wasn’t crazy after all, or at least isnt the only one who is.
That is quite interesting. One reason why is this:
It would probably be difficult to find a lefty who wouldn’t agree with that 100% or who wouldn’t hail this guy as a hero if they believed this theory is the correct one.
Shit like this is a big part of why I am looking at handguns.
Fuck these people.
I still think it will turn out to be tied to Islamic terrorism. If that theory is correct though, there has to be some evidence. I don’t think he could be a huge anti-gun guy and no one would know anything about it.
One thing for sure, it was very premeditated and he definitely had a motive.
Not all nutcases are Islamic-inspired. Sometimes crazy fucker is just crazy.
A non-null percentage of the population are quite capable of dissembling very effectively and hiding their real agenda, and really, this guy seems like aside from his ‘housemate’ to have been quite an insular guy.
Every year, a hand-full of the 323 million people in the US decide to shoot up the joint before exiting stage left. Each and every one of them has a motive regardless of whether or not it makes any sense to rational people. Your odds of being struck by lightening are a couple of magnitudes of order than being shot by one of these people.
But the number of “ordinary” people who think it’s OK for innocent to die for some political cause to be achieved is non-trivial. And when they gather together, they are fucking dangerous.
Yeah, they’ll eventually run out of statues to kill.
One of the great things about rights is that you are free to exercise them as you see fit. However, I’d strongly recommend you go ahead and buy yourself a handgun. And an AR-15.
There was a two part episode of the 70s Amazing Spider-Man TV show where left students stole nuclear material and built a bomb to show how easy it would be for bad guys to do. Maybe he watched that show.
I shot a Springfield Armory 1911-A1 in 9 mm at the range Saturday and rather liked it. Do you have an opinion on Springfield?
Aside from their management’s politics, they’re good, if you have to have a 1911.
I have a buddy at the range who carries one, and practices with it a lot – and he’s very satisfied.
I saw the posts last weekend. It appears they attempted to buy off an enemy and failed spectacularly in doing so.
I’m not a 1911 fan in general, so it costs me nothing to be dismissive of the firm and say I’d never buy a handgun from them, but they’re well made, and particularly if you like their ‘loaded’ variants, you’re getting a good gun for a fair price.
I own an M1A Scout built by them and the fit and finish on it is excellent – and I have had no problems with its reliability.
Aside from their management’s politics,
Am I still supposed to mad at S&W?
You can be if you like. Me? I’ve been on the Olympic Grudge team for almost 50 years.
I didn’t ease up on Ruger until 6 years ago.
I get that if you are in a heavily regulated industry, sometimes its pay to play, but don’t screw your customer base.
In terms of quality Springfield is a solid brand. They had a bit of a scandal recently when it came to light that they’ve been paying off anti gun politicians in order to get exemptions on Illinois gun control laws that they would then support. If you really don’t care much about Illinois politics then there’s no reason not to buy from them.
I’m amazed how good they can make a double stack feel in my hand…no homo!
Small hands, eh?
*stuffs hands in pockets*
Nooooo…
SCUM!!!
/trapped in Illinois
It’s not even made in USA but has the Made in USA™ price tag. I give it meh out of 10. Rather have a sig, glock, or 8 other brands.
I’m pretty sure their 1911’s are in fact made in America. Their XD pistols are croatian made.
At least some of the 1911 range are fabricated in Brazil. Final fitting etc might be here in the US, but I really don’t see the problem paying “American Price Tag” if the product you’re buying meets or exceeds whatever standard you think of as “American”.
I looked it up. All of the new ones (after 2012ish) are all 100% American made.
I have a Springfield .45 caliber 1911. I like it, reliable, shoots nice.
Thanks all.
I have been doing a little reading on Springfield 1911’s. I talked to at least three people that have had rounds fire before they are fully chambered. No injuries just alarm. They had their gunsmiths tune them up and now they work fine.
I have no personal experience with this, just repeating what I was told. If I bought a springfield I would have a smith check it out before I shot it.
If you like 1911s and don’t want to go custom, Springfield is probably your best bet.
I will warn you, any 1911 that retails under $1500 is gonna need work. Prepare for this upfront.
What kind of work? How much will this cost (for budgetary purposes)?
Well, a trigger job is one quite common – and it’s usually considered pretty much a must-have. A good idea at the time is to have the action worked-over so that the trigger let-off is changed, and then a general clean-up of all surfaces. The problem is that once you have one 1911 that has been worked on like this, you’ll never want to try shooting one out of the box again.
Most other ‘traditional’ guns benefit from being worked over by a gunsmith – it’s just that it’s particularly true of a 1911.
As with most things gun-related, try and find a gunsmith that is recommended by someone you trust.
Oh, and the really experienced 1911 guys will often have a ‘standard enhancement job’ that covers all the things you should care about, and a few cosmetic changes.
Some will offer things like re-crowning the barrel, or fitting a tighter barrel bushing. This kind of work is intended to improve accuracy of the firearm, but you could always have them done later if you need them.
The reality is that yeah, a *nice* 1911 build is going to run at least 1200, whereas another gun like a Browning Hi-Power, SIG and CZ-75 family will cost a few hundred less to get the same kind of enhancements. If you’re at all serious about shooting, the difference in price will become irrelevant compared to the cost of your ammo.
Let me guess, Paul Ryan is going to fuck us again?
*Edit Fairy says…OK*
You say it like it hasn’t already happened multiple times.
Edit fairy, add an “again” kthnxbai
Does the edit fairy live in an edit aerie?
Your question, I should bury.
*narrows gaze, looks wary*
Things around here are getting hairy.
And nairy a wand to carry.
I’m kinda chary of doing anything with a “fairy aerie”.
I am confident any verbal thrusts you could parry.
I prefer puns, so I hope this is only temporary.
The decision would be primarily budgetary.
I knew a young lass from Derry.
“Bury me in a Y-Shaped Coffin” Mary?
yeah, me too.
Don’t blame me, I voted for Gary.
A vote for Gary was a vote for Trump, though involuntary.
At least that’s the media narrative, YMMV.
mary mary quite contrary
Better that you should summon Carrie than ****.
Yay! New Fairy.
That was the silliest Person of Interest episode I’ve ever seen.
tl;dr.
Thought you were talking about the board game.
-1 Settler
Anyone want to trade sheep for bricks?
I have a home brewing, gamer friend who made “2 Sheep for 1 Wheat” Beer. It was tasty.
I totally read that as “California”
Stop. My penis can only get so erect.
Winston’s mom nods enthusiastically.
UP THE BIG BEAR REPUBLIC!!!!
Leave me out of this.
Sort of weird it would be a leftist thing. Aren’t the Catalonians pissed because the poorer parts of Spain has been raping them for taxes? That doesn’t sound like something leftists would get behind. Europeans are weird though, I’m not sure right an left mean the same thing there. The limey’s even drive on the wrong side of the road.
Also, isn’t Spain in the EU? I didn’t even know they were allowed to take a piss without asking Brussels.
Its the sort of others are using up our wellfare thing very common in Europe.
The logical endpoint of every welfare system as multiple identity groups compete for shrinking dollars. The USA will follow suit, but it will be along ethnic lines as opposed to geographic.
The USA will follow suit, but it will be along ethnic lines as opposed to geographic.
Both, I think. The crisis will come when certain cities/states hit the insolvency wall and demand that the solvent parts of the country bail them out.
We should just let Cali secede, but as a compromise, we take enough of the northern part of the state that we sill have a port on the left coast. I mean because I don’t think WA and OR would be far behind them.
Fuck that, take San Diego. The naval base is there and we can still keep the messicans out. Plus, San Diego.
I remember Santa Cruise being neat. Let’s take that.
That’s already happening. Look at Illinois, California, Michigan, Puerto Rico.
Kentucky too.
Also to be fair it is easier.to administrate anything smaller including wellfare
Definitely, Chicago and New York come to mind.
If only Chicago wanted independence.
My understanding is that the leftists see an opportunity to gain power and control in a smaller area, in a way they couldn’t manage in Spain as a whole, despite Catalonia being relatively more prosperous than a lot of Spain.
And let’s face it, there’s plenty of evidence that leftist authoritarians can gain considerable power in prosperous areas.
“despite Catalonia being relatively more prosperous than a lot of Spain”
That’d definitely one thing that leftists can fix.
Basically more per capita other peoples money to run out of on a longer timescale
Catalonia has a 20th century history of leftist opposition to Madrid: Tragic Week in 1909, a second attempt in the 1930s prior to the CW.
I’m sorry, but what does this story have to do with Trump being a giant poopyhead? Do you even news?
Trump caused global warming which caused the Med to heat up which pissed off all the Barcelona slackers and stirred them to action.
Therefore, Trump’s fault.
TRUMP – SPREADING FREEDOM WHEREVER HIS TWEETS ARE READ!
You see, before the rise of the Great Orange Trumpalo, all of Eurotopia was the happiest place on earth and everyone was content and well taken care of, just like people should be. Not a worry in the world in Eurotopia. Free healthcare, free ponies, rainbow and unicorns. And now? Brexit, Greece, and this Catalonia thing. Paradise corrupted and ruined by right wing Trumpets. If only Hillary would have won, we’d be more like Eurotopia and most things would already be free. And now we live in this hellish land where nothing is free and we don’t have enough mosques.
Salon would like your resume.
Don’t be daft. Trump started all of this.
I want Europe to start collapsing, so I say GO CATALONIA GO!
Hey some of us live in europe. Maybe its time to give the green.card lottery a shot
I’m assuming he meant the EU.
Honestly overall in the short term the EU is good for Romania maybe just.for visa free.travel and work permit. Plus free trade and the corporations investing more then they would. Over the long term.Romania is fucked.anyway
I don’t get it. What about tourism? You guys need to really hype that vampire stuff, people love it.
The real problem with the EU for you guys (and many others) is that the Common Agricultural Policy was founded with the expectation of the Common Industrial Policy. It should come as no surprise that the beneficiaries of the CAP were going to be France, Italy and to a lesser degree Spain. The benefit for Britain and Germany was going to be support via the CIP, but all anyone ended up with was a shitload of tariffs, which ended up supporting the CAP and the bureaucracy.
A CIP might – 30 years ago – have helped new entrants to the EU in increasing their manufacturing base (assuming that you believe anything good can come from being subsidized by government grants/gifts), but the boat has sailed on that one and if you can’t “do” tourism, you’re stuck in whatever position you were in when you joined, except you get money for “infrastructure projects”.
We are incapable of absorbing infrastructure money. The main benefit is Romanians working easily in EU and sending money home and companies coming to Romania – companies like the one I work at.
As an anecdote the only area where all EU money was absorbed was vineyards and it did lead to a significant increase in wine quality. Also some of the new craft breweries got EU money.
So….Romania has it’s priorities straight!
Well, that’s probably somewhere on the CAP budget.
Yeah, EU, not all of Europe. The collapse of the EU would be great for European people.
not Romanians…
We would sponsor you…wait, having us as references might not be a good thing.
He’ll never even get a tourist visa if they find out about this place.
Oh wait, it’s the EU, he can get in anyway, right?
no. I need a tourist visa. But I don’t think I’d have trouble getting it. just have to pay 100 something dollars and go for an interview. its a hassle
Oh, ok. I was thinking that the USA has a visa waiver agreement with the EU. Maybe it’s only certain countries.
It was (depressingly) hilarious how my friend from Bucharest described some of the questions on the visa application, stuff along the lines of “I certify that I am not involved with any group intending to overthrow the US govt” and such.
The bureaucratic brain at work, as it were.
Just make sure you don’t show up with a shovel and say you’re going to dig up Marilyn Monroe’s grave. Apparently they don’t think that’s funny.
Yeah, that one took the cake. What else did she (or he) say? “We’re going to destroy america” or something. Two twenty-something limeys are going to “destroy” the country.
OT: I saw a larger one of these on the way into work. Pretty neat.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fpJOeKwv1hw
Wonder how many stray cats that sucker’s taken out.
The cat will probably just ride on top like a Roomba
That thing is a tool of the patriarchy. Right now there’s some lazy man who ain’t at work or mowing the lawn. Women hardest hit.
Well the guy was standing there watching it, so I guess he was sort of mowing. I was driving and it took a minute for my brain to take in what I was seeing. I kind of want one.
I’m waiting for the onboard AI first. If that thing is going to mow, I shouldn’t be involved.
Last I checked, they didn’t take hills well — for safety reasons, the blades cut out if it was pitched more that 15 degrees (20?), but my lawn was at the time pretty steep. I saw one in Lowes and thought about it. But damn, $3000 is a lot of lawn mowing, even if I charge myself my billing rate.
Yep, they use one to mow the local dam, I drive past quite often, the guy who used to mow now sits in his truck and watches. I’d bet money they sold the thing on saving manpower.
I saw a couple similar ones 15 years ago that you didn’t even need a remote for. You buried cable around the perimeter, like an invisible dog fence, and the robot mowed everything within the boundary.
What I want to know is how they think they are going to be successful long term. It is a very small region, and one third of their border is going to be hostile for the near future. That doesn’t sound like a recipe for success.
Speaking of the EU. 200k relatively small based on total pop but not sure how that translates to the major pop centers.
https://hotair.com/archives/2017/10/09/angela-merkel-forced-agree-german-limit-migrants/
Muslims in Germany
80 million people in Germany, about 15% are Muslim. Their birthrates are 6x that of the rest of the pop, and 80% are on welfare. I read somewhere recently that something like 86% of England’s Muslims are on welfare.
Yeah, I know, Islamaphobe.
It’s because the racist English won’t hire Muslims, so they have to get welfare.
You’re probably right. I bet the limeys also want the Muslims to learn real English like Americans speak.
Well, when you go to the Benefit Office and look at the jobs board, they don’t have a section titled “Rapist Openings” – probably for at least one good reason.
The Welsh and Scottish sheep herders don’t need any help at the moment?
The filthy sluts are covering too much of their bodies.
They’re just being sensitive to Islamic sensibilities.
STEVE SMITH ALREADY FILL ALL RAPIST OPENINGS!!
HAVE TO ASK BRITISH COUSIN, STEPHEN SMYTHE, IF ANY LEFT UNFILLED!
“Pardon me, good sir, but my name is Mr. Stephen Smythe Esq., and I wish to sodomize you in those bushes over there. I’m afraid you have little say in the matter, so just lie back and think of England.”
Well, at least he said “please” and “thank you”.
Chances are he even had clean underwear on too.
I figured something more along the lines of Barry the Baptist
Wanna take a guess on the status of those two bills right now?
Pining for the fjords?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/10/09/dianne-feinstein-oldest-u-s-senator-announces-reelection-bid/?utm_term=.2d32ca72f3f9
“Dianne Feinstein, oldest U.S. senator, announces reelection bid”
Time to nudge California out of the union.
She’ll die in congress, so will McCain. Ok, I mean both may still be alive but brain dead when they make their exit.
Feinstein isn’t already brain dead?
Well, maybe we keep an old fool, instead of seeing a new fool come in?
Yeah, it’s Cali, so getting something other than a far left loon is probably completely out of question.
Yes, to freshman loons don’t chair (or lead the opposition) in critical senate committees.
Wasn’t there a Louisiana politician who’d been convicted of stealing public funds who ran for reelection on a slogan like, “At least you know I’m crooked.” And if the story isn’t apocryphal he won because people were basically like, “Yeah, he’s a thief, but he’s our thief and we already know what he’s going to steal.”
Edwin Edwards?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Edwards
That guy I remember, just not that particular incident. He did about a hundred things like that, who can remember it all.
I dont remember that guy.
Hey Bill, have you got an email I can get in touch with you on?
If you do please email it to me at ccbphot1@gmail.com
I have a little story for you.
Carlin had a bit about Clinton (Bill) and how at least he was honest about being full of shit.
Feinstein’s eventual successor will most definitely be a pinko, the only question is which pinko it will be. Some on this board have mentioned Sean Penn as an option, which should satisfy the leftist appetite. If limiting myself to Congressmen, I think “Mr. Impeach” Brad Sherman or “RUSSKIES!” Adam Schiff will do the trick.
Honestly overall in the short term the EU is good for Romania maybe just.for visa free.travel and work permit. Plus free trade and the corporations investing more then they would.
This is my default response to protectionists. Would it make us richer if trade from Ohio into Indiana was subject to customs, tariffs and border inspections? If a carpenter from Columbus, Indiana had to apply for a visa and work permit to do a job in Columbus, Ohio?
-1 x Railroad
Does that remote control lawnmower come with a snowblower? I know somebody who might want one.
*raises hand*
Just get a heated driveway.
Does that remote control lawnmower come with a snowblower? I know somebody who might want one.
I’m not exactly the guy to ask about snow and snow accessories.
Wait until the battery dies for the remote to one of those things and it mows down 23 children. It will be worse than Lawnmower man I’m telling you.
I woke up to a few inches of snow. still coming down, but it’s pretty light and warm.
Light and warm?
FAKE SNOW!!!!!
oh it’s a heavy snow. it’s just arriving in this nice little mist looking stuff.
also, i work for CNN-boulder.
In other secessionist news:
***
During meetings with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the Ayatollah Khamenei, Erdogan stated “that Kurdistan’s vote was a scheme designed by the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.” Now he is continuing to blame Jews and Israel for the Kurdistan referendum on independence; a vote he called “treason” as he threatened the Kurdish leadership with a “dark end.”
***
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/10/erdogan-blames-the-jew-for-kurdistan-treasonous-referendum-threatens-war
great moments in tolerance from non-whites
***
Many of the most famous Arab writers and Islamic scholars were certainly “racists” in the full meaning of that word.
Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406) was, among other things, an Islamic jurist, Islamic lawyer, Islamic scholar, Islamic theologian, and hafiz (one who has memorized the entire Qur’an). He is one of the most important figures in Islamic history. Here are two (among many) remarks he makes about black Africans in his Muqaddimah:
“Therefore, the Negro nation are, as a rule, submissive to slavery, because [Negroes] have little [that is essentially] human and have attributes that are quite similar to those of dumb animals, as we have stated.”
“Beyond [known peoples of black West Africa] to the south there is no civilization in the proper sense. There are only humans who are closer to dumb animals than to rational beings. They live in thickets and caves, and eat herbs and unprepared grain. They frequently eat each other. They cannot be considered human beings.”
Ibn Sina or Avicenna (980-1037), was another celebrated figure in Islamic history: a Hafiz, an Islamic psychologist, scholar, and theologian and, by our lights, a racist: “[Blacks are] people who are by their very nature slaves.”
Ibn Qutaybah (828-889), was a renowned Islamic scholar from Kufa, Iraq: “[Blacks] are ugly and misshapen, because they live in a hot country.”
Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī (1201-1274), was a Shia Muslim Scholar and Grand Ayatollah:
“If (all types of men) are taken, from the first, and one placed after another, like the Negro from Zanzibar, in the Southern-most countries, the Negro does not differ from an animal in anything except the fact that his hands have been lifted from the earth –In no other peculiarity or property – except for what God wished. Many have seen that the ape is more capable of being trained than the Negro, and more intelligent.”
“[The Zanj (African) differ from animals only in that] their two hands are lifted above the ground,… Many have observed that the ape is more teachable and more intelligent than the Zanj.”
***
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/10/hugh-fitzgerald-snapshots-from-a-muslim-photographer-islam-rejects-racism-part-2
That’s just a part of Islam. They don’t really mean that in a bad way like if a white non-Muslim person said it.
… all part of their rich and vibrant culture … that would be arrogant for us to appropriate.
I’m not really coming up with a part of their culture I want to appropriate. Oh, they don’t let women drive, so there’s one plus.
He is one of the most important figures in history.
Jesus Christ, I know that JihadWatch likes to harp on the “MUSLIMS NEVER DID NOTHIN’ FOR US” idiocy, but Khaldun’s one of the most influential scholars/historians/economists of the Middle Ages. Motherfucker invented the Laffer Curve and had a primitive concept of evolution in the 14th century for Christ’s sake.
I think the point he’s trying to make is that progs are foolish for getting outraged about racism from Jefferson and Washington while assiduously ignoring racism among groovy brown people who can do no wrong.
They should talk to some Asians about this belief that only white people can be racists. It pisses them off because they swear they’re more racist than anyone else. It’s like they’re proud of it. They’re even racist about other Asians.
A few hundred years ago, Japan and China tried to negotiate. There was never a meeting because both sides claimed their emperor as the supreme being and refused to meet until the other side acknowledged their superiority.
“Our shit doesn’t stink!”
“Oh yeah?! Our shit smells like sunshine, our dicks are a hundred miles long, and ALL our dads can beat up your dads!”
FTFY
I don’t believe the progs have any goddamn idea who Khaldun was, and if they did they’d probably view him as an Uncle Tom considering he promoted a ton of free market economics. My complaint is their attempt to frame his work purely in the context of the Islamic world as if it has no value outside it. When his work was disseminated in Europe most scholars viewed him on par with freaking Aristotle.
So what US states want out? we know California has a few movements. VT has the second republic. I assume the free staters in NH have something close.
Texas. any others?
There’s that Idaho/Oregon movement that was talked about 5 or so years ago. Dunno if it got anywhere.
Ah, forgot about that. I wonder if they could be East Jefferson.
Oregon and Washington have separatist movements as well. Many in PA and New York want New Jersey to leave.
West Maryland.
Cali wildfires
I blame Trump.
Florida man stages photo shoot in front of trash-eating bear
https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2017/10/09/Florida-man-stages-photo-shoot-in-front-of-trash-eating-bear/4751507553203/
God bless America.
They are a problem in some Orlando neighborhoods. The good news is they are pretty skittish and usually runaway when confronted.
What about bear vs gator?
You mean in a straight fight? I give it to bear over gator. More dangerous to humans, I give it to gator.
Yeah, but if you can cajole ’em to get up real close, you can put a jacket on them and pose for selfies!
Student calling himself ‘Karl Marx’ stabs YAL’s free speech ball with knife
https://www.thecollegefix.com/post/37645/
***
A student at University of California San Diego has been referred to its Office of Student Conduct after writing communist propaganda on the Young Americans for Liberty’s free speech ball — then stealthily stabbing it with a pocket knife, causing it to deflate.
The suspect was led away in handcuffs after students tracked down the bandit.
***
They’ll wind up giving that student tenure as a prof.
” campus communist bookstore”
You can’t even make this shit up.
[Picture of KGB agents shaking their heads. “they are not even useful idiots anymore”]
I really hope someone was on hand to play “yackety sax”
“oh, you had a *reasonable excuse*? well, that changes everything”
here’s the thing that these ‘no platformers’ don’t seem to grasp: if their reasons were any good to begin with? You wouldn’t need to silence your opposition. You could merely beat them down with reason. But their reasons, whenever actually examined, turn out to be, so…. they only ever employ them as an after-the-fact excuse.
“After police seized his knife, the student explained that the free speech ball was promoting rape culture and that was why he decided to stab it”
“Nathan Fatal, the West Coast regional director at YAL on hand that day to help the students, said…”
OT
https://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2013/09/global-trade-imbalances
Official statistics show that the world runs a trade surplus of $500 billion with itself. Either the governments collecting the information can’t be trusted or….
don’t have time to read the article… but wouldn’t that be a measure of black markets?
I’m thinking Space X is a a lot more successful than we led to believe. Yes, it’s aliens.
I’m just spitballing… isn’t it possible that companies are selling lots of goods which they officially characterize as “exports” ….which never officially arrive anywhere as “imports”, but are rather diverted into unmeasured black/grey-market sales?
See, future generations owe us.
Pardon me if I am not up to speed on macroeconomics, but how is that possible? Since the world is a closed system it should be zero should it not?
There are a few dozen really large IOUs sitting in some (((lockboxes))) in Zurich
The economists are just as confused as you are.
It should be zero. The issue is one of data collecting. The worldwide economy really is too big with too many moving parts to get a completely accurate picture. That’s assuming the governments collecting the information are capable and honest.
zero-defect thinking
I think a lot problems come from people wanting perfection. Many people can’t understand that it is impossible to make the world perfectly safe, but that doesn’t stop them from demanding more laws.
There are no solutions; only trade-offs. Making one thing a little better usually makes something else a little worse. Most problems don’t get solved. The best you can do is minimize the inevitable chaos.
Sure, but also: if you advocate for a law, and it comes into being, you can feel some ownership over it.
That is, you’re an impotent moral busybody who, too lazy to try to change people through reason and the strength of your views, derives satisfaction through siccing govt thugs on those who don’t behave as you wish.
And, there are multiple levels of this; below those described above are the basically vacuous non-thinkers; here’s a rule of thumb of mine: if I hear a person say anything beginning with “well you just need to”, I find it to be nearly certain that whatever follows will be nothing but a lump of brainless verbal refuse. And “there oughtta be a law” is a subset of that.
Yeah. I get a similar feeling when I hear things like “we need to be united.” People who say that really mean “everyone must agree with me.”
Conor Friedersdorf haz an outrage
Pence is not compelled to agree with how players protest. But by fleeing the entire NFL game, he adopted the tactics of a childish, petulant snowflake who reacts to speech he dislikes by misrepresenting it, expressing umbrage, and retreating to a “safe space.”
The major difference?
When an immature teenager makes a show of fleeing from expression that he regards as politically incorrect, he’s typically evading ideas he ought to confront on his own dime. Whereas Pence spent taxpayer money to get to that NFL game. Lots of it.
Oh, no. The Vice President of the United States travels around the country at government expense. Why was I never made aware of this previously?
I swear I have to stop going to DU and reading their unhinged lunacy. Everyone of them believed that Jill Stein’s recall scam was going to work. They all believed that Comey was going to take down Trump. And they religiously believe that this Russia probe non-sense is going to be the downfall of Trump. They’ve even proclaimed McCain and Graham as their own personal saviors who are going to take out Trump. It’s really just almost beyond belief what these people will buy into. Anything, doesn’t matter how stupid it is. If the democrats decide tomorrow that the world is actually flat, not even one of them would question it.
And I guess Pence just proved himself to be the mastermind of the whole Russia affair by walking out of a football game.
But by fleeing the entire NFL game, he adopted the tactics of a childish, petulant snowflake who reacts to speech he dislikes by misrepresenting it, expressing umbrage, and retreating to a “safe space.”
Of course, Pence leaving the game was an expressive act in and of itself. He disagreed with and disapproved of the protest, and one wonders how else he could have expressed his disagreement/disapproval at the game.
How did leaving the game misrepresent the protest, anyway? Did he leave the game because he felt threatened? I doubt it, which means he was not retreating to a safe space.
So, looks to me like Conor is the one misreprenting what he disagrees with and expressing umbrage, here.
Projection. Is there anything it can’t do?
When it suits them to do so, the media ignores Donald Trump’s tweets.
—-Donald Trump
Twitter
11:16am, October 8
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/917091286607433728
I don’t think it would have been appropriate for the Vice President to defy the the President’s “request”.
I don’t think it would have been appropriate for the Vice President to avoid attending a football game out of fear of protest.
I think it might have been inappropriate for the Vice President to sit there grinning while overprivileged athletes dis the flag–and American volunteers are risking their lives on patrol in Afghanistan.
I think Pence did exactly what he should have under the circumstances, and I find it interesting that no one in the media seems to be bringing up Trump’s tweet when covering this story.
Would they have thought it appropriate for Joe Biden to defy Barack Obama?
The media obsesses over Trump’s tweets otherwise. Why ignore this one? Trump posted that tweet in, what, less than an hour after Pence had left the stadium?
Richard Thaler Wins Economics Nobel for Recognizing People Are Irrational
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/10/09/richard_thaler_wins_economics_nobel_for_recognizing_that_people_are_irrational.html
***
Richard Thaler of the University of Chicago, considered one of the founding fathers of behavioral economics, won the 2017 Nobel prize in economics for his influential work on how human nature affects markets. Thaler won the $1.1-million prize for “understanding the psychology of economics,” Swedish Academy of Sciences secretary Goran Hansson said. Although it may seem like an obvious feat, the truth is economists were once fond of thinking about humans as robots who always made choices that maximized their outcomes. But Thaler showed how very human traits, such as lack of self-control, habits, and fear of losing pushed people toward decisions that were not the most advantageous in the long term.
…
Thaler is perhaps best known as one of the main proponents of “nudge theory,” the idea that small interventions on how things are presented in the environment can push people to make certain decisions that would benefit them or their environment. The book he co-authored with professor Cass Sunstein, Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness, pushed that idea to the mainstream when it was published in 2008.
***
“If the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to permit people to be free, how is it that the tendencies of these organizers are always good? Do not the legislators and their appointed agents also belong to the human race? Or do they believe that they themselves are made of a finer clay than the rest of mankind?”
― Frédéric Bastiat
Freddy, they believe the are the best PlayDoh in ToysRUs.
So the economics department finally went over and talked to the psych department? Took them long enough.
No, this has been going on for a long time. The committee just waits until there are roughly 1000 citations to a single paper.
German Green Initiative
So, Germany admits that their green energy transition has cost hundreds of billions, not lowered emissions, and has led to drastic increases in energy prices, which has hit the poor the hardest. Decide to double down anyway.
The tears of laughter quickly turn into tears of despair when we realize we are on the same train to Boondoggleville.
Or do they believe that they themselves are made of a finer clay than the rest of mankind?
This belongs in the Silly Question Hall of Fame.
by the numbers
Napoleon won 52 of the 60 battles he fought in. Unfortunately, all the ones he lost were at the end.
***
According to historian Niall Ferguson: “of the 125 major European wars fought since 1495, the French have participated in 50 – more than Austria (47) and England (43). Out of 168 battles fought since 387BC, they have won 109, lost 49 and drawn 10.”
***
***
France’s achievements help to explain another French “military victory”. Whether it is ranks (general, captain, corporal, lieutenant); equipment (lance, mine, bayonet, epaulette, trench); organisation (volunteer, regiment, soldier, barracks) or strategy (army, camouflage, combat, esprit de corps, reconnaissance), the language of warfare is French.
***
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/qi/8080884/Quite-Interesting-the-QI-cabinet-of-curiosity.html
France’s achievements help to explain another French “military victory”.
I wonder how much of that is due to French military prowess, and how much is due to the fact that French was the common language among European countries/the aristocracy for centuries (hence, the term “lingua franca”).
***
Because of Washington’s importance in the early history of the United States of America, he was granted a posthumous promotion to General of the Armies of the United States, legislatively defined to be the highest possible rank in the US Army, more than 175 years after his death.
***
He made love like an eagle falling out of the sky. He killed his sensei in a duel and he never said why.
I read that a US division in WW2 had 14 generals. I guess most of them were staff officers. Still pretty top heavy.
good stuff here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commanders_who_never_lost_a_battle
I understand the opposition to this secession movement is partly about tax revenue.
It’s sort of like when the San Fernando Valley tried to secede from Los Angeles County. The Valley paid out far more in taxes than they got in spending–which is why they wanted to leave–and why Los Angeles County wanted them to stay.
”Secession is not an ethnic issue as much as it’s more or less a tax revolt of sorts,” Mr. Alarcón said. ”This is coming from the grass roots, not some anti-busing folks who had other reasons for backing this. The Latino working people and the working poor feel this city’s services are stressed”
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/10/us/move-to-secede-splits-latinos-in-the-valley.html
Why would LA County just let their cash cow go free?
Same thing with Catalonia:
—-CNBC
Link to follow.
Think about what that would do to Spain’s current debt. The market bought Spain’s bonds on the strength* of their economy. If 20% of that “strength” walks out the door, It isn’t just that the markets will demand a higher yield for Spain’s debt in future auctions, it’s also that the debt market will offer a lower price to banks, investors, and other interests for all the old Spanish debt they’re currently holding.
What does that do to the balance sheets of Spanish banks? Weren’t they already in trouble?
*”strength” is a relative term here.
Spain probably can’t afford not to fight secession.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/21/heres-how-bad-economically-a-spain-catalonia-split-could-really-be.html
The big Catalan banks (Sabadell and CaixaBank, as well as some other businesses) are making preemptive moves to relocate headquarters to Spain, at least partially because they would ostensibly lack ECB guarantees/protections (read: access to bailouts) in an independent Catalonia.
On the topic, I find it mildly humorous how many Spanish flags you see draped over balconies in Madrid these days; I recall it was similar when Catalonia was pushing for a referendum in 2014. Humorous, in that I do not think I ever saw so many ‘murican flags displayed, at least in my corner of the US, even during the recent election; US progs often propound the idea that europeans are somehow universally superior, more refined and civilized, though in my experience they are no less likely to be racist/nationalist/zenophobic than people from the US. On the contrary, really; you should hear how one guy I know talks, after the Nice attack. Or how many of them speak of the Romani.
But then, my information is anecdotal, while theirs (progs) pertains to a group… of people… that they generalize…