Quotulatiousness

May 22, 2021

QotD: King Edward I

Filed under: Britain, History, Humour, Quotations — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 01:00

Long before Henry III had died (of a surfeit of Barons, Bonifaces, etc.) Edward I had taken advantage of the general confusion and of the death of Simon de Montfort (probably of a surfeit of Vergers) to become King before his reign had begun.

Edward I was thus a strong King, and one of the first things he did was to make a strong arrangement about the Law Courts. Hitherto there had been a number of Benches there, on all of which a confused official called the Justinian had tried to sit. Edward had them all amalgamated into one large Bench called the King’s Bench, and sat on it himself.

Edward I, who had already (in his Saladin days) piously decimated several thousand Turks at Nazareth, now felt so strong that he decided to Hammer the Scots, who accordingly now come right into History.

The childless Scotch King Alexander the Great had trotted over a cliff and was thus dead; so the Scots asked Edward to tell them who was King of Scotland, and Edward said that a Balliol man ought to be. Delighted with this decision the Scots crossed the Border and ravaged Cumberland with savage ferocity; in reply to which Edward also crossed the Border and, carrying off the Sacred Scone of Scotland on which the Scottish Kings had been crowned for centuries, buried it with great solemnity in Westminster Abbey.

This was, of course, a Good Thing for the Scots because it was the cause of William the Wallace (not to be confused with Robert Bruce), who immediately defeated the English at Cambuskenneth (Scotch for Stirling) and invaded England with ferocious savagery. In answer to this Edward captured the Bruce and had him horribly executed with savage ferocity. Soon after, Edward died of suffocation at a place called Burrowin-the-Sands and was succeeded by his worthless son Edward II.

W.C. Sellar & R.J. Yeatman, 1066 And All That, 1930.

May 21, 2021

Andrew Potter – “the greatest gift you can give a generation is to ignore them”

Filed under: Cancon, Media, Quotations, Technology, USA — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 05:00

In The Line Andrew Potter speaks up for those forgotten folks who were born after the end of the Baby Boom but before the Millennials appeared:

Generation X Word Cloud Concept collage background
Best Motivation Blog: What Generation Is X https://fatinsl.info/?arsae=https%3A%2F%2Fbestmotivationblog.blogspot.com%2F2020%2F04%2Fwhat-generation-is-x.html

… just as a sense of futurelessness, futility and invisibility catalyzed the original Generation X mentality in the early 90s (as well as the music, art, film and writing that mentality made manifest), this atavistic indignation spurred [Generation X author Douglas] Coupland to write his wonderful screed. It’s great stuff, with quotable lines in every paragraph. (I especially liked “Immunology is not a smorgasbord. How dare you make us subsidize your cluelessness with our bodies.”)

But I want to take issue with the claim that this is a case of Gen X getting screwed yet again. As a fully paid-up member of Gen X, I’ve grown to appreciate over the decades the extent to which the greatest gift you can give a generation is to ignore them.

Let’s back up a bit. Does Generation X even exist? Does any generation exist for that matter? Sociologists and demographers argue that the concept of a “generation”, be it Boomer, Millennial, Zoomer, what have you, is just the result of confusing cohort effects with generational effects. The idea of distinct generations might be good for selling soft drinks or cars or condos or nostalgia, but there is nothing remotely predictive or explanatory about it.

But as I’ve argued before, this just misunderstands what a generation is, and the role they play in our ongoing cultural self-understanding. Whatever else it is, a generation is something that has its own tastes and moods and fashions and jargon, its own sense of what is in and what is out, what is cool and what’s square, and who belongs and who does not. In short, more than anything else a generation is a scene. It is about who and what you claim as your own, and who claims you.

A big part of what helps define a generation are the battles it chooses to fight. The Boomers spent decades obsessed with their countercultural campaign against The Man, while Millennials have spent their time and energy mining the deepest recesses of identity politics. As for Generation X, our principal preoccupation was the question of authenticity and the fear of selling out.

It is hard to underestimate the role of technology in all of this. It is commonly argued that a generation is formed by the technological ecosystem in which it grows up, and while there’s obviously something to that, what is important for Gen X is not what our technology allowed us to do, but what it protected us from.

In particular, what we were protected from was surveillance. I don’t know a single person I grew up with who doesn’t thank their lucky stars that there were no cellphones with cameras around when we were growing up, that there was no Twitter or Facebook or YouTube or TikTok. I can’t imagine what it is like to grow up under the glaring distributed panopticon of social media, knowing that all your friends, everyone at your school, and even your parents are watching your every move, judging your every utterance.

Life Inside a Japanese PoW Camp – WW2 Special

Filed under: Britain, History, Japan, Military, Pacific, USA, WW2 — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published 20 May 2021

The inhuman, torturous, and deadly Japanese PoW Camps famous from Bridge over the River Kwai, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, Empire of the Sun, and more recently Unbroken are a world of abuse and mistreatment managed by willfully incompetent and sadistically brutal men.
(more…)

Mission creep – to “make the web giants pay”, the feds will “need” to regulate everything Canadians view or post online

Filed under: Cancon, Government, Liberty — Tags: , , , , , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

Michael Geist explains why we can safely discount any new lies that the Heritage Minister spews about his Bill C-10 censorship bill:

Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault has tried to deflect public concern with the regulation of user generated content under Bill C-10 by claiming the intent is to make the “web giants” pay their fair share. Yet according to an internal government memo to Guilbeault signed by former Heritage Deputy Minister Hélène Laurendeau released under the Access to Information Act, the department has for months envisioned a far broader regulatory reach. The memo identifies a wide range of targets, including podcast apps such as Stitcher and Pocket Casts, audiobook services such as Audible, home workout apps, adult websites, sports streaming services such as MLB.TV and DAZN, niche video services such as Britbox, and even news sites such as the BBC and CPAC.

The regulations would bring the full power of CRTC regulation over these sites and services. This includes requiring CRTC registration, disclosure of financial and viewership data, Canadian content discoverability requirements (yes, that could mean Canadian discoverability for pornography services), and mandated payments to support Canadian film, television, and music production. The list also notably identifies potential regulation of Youtube Music, Snapchat Originals, and other social media services whose supposed exclusion has been cited as the rationale to extend regulation to user generated content.

The document was obtained by Postmedia journalist Anja Karadeglija, who first reported it last weekend, focusing on departmental warnings about the importance of excluding user generated content from the scope of regulation in Bill C-10 and the necessity of Sections 2.1 and 4.1 (Section 4.1 was removed by the government). The memo states:

    Social media services like YouTube and Facebook greatly expand the number of individuals and other entities that can be said to be transmitting programs over the Internet. This provides an important limitation on the application of the Act by ensuring that under the Act the CRTC cannot regulate the audio or video communications of individuals (or other entities) simply because they use a social media service.

The government obviously ignored the warning and removed the limitation. The document continues by identifying a non-exhaustive list of services that “are likely to regulated under the Act.” The department acknowledges that some services may be exempted by the CRTC, though there are no specifics in the bill that identify thresholds for exemptions. Even if exempted, services may still be required to register with the CRTC and provide confidential commercial data in order to obtain an exemption. Indeed, the default approach is that all services are subject to Canadian regulation, leading to a dizzying array of regulated services identified by the department.

Emphasis mine.

Tank Chats #107 | T-62 | The Tank Museum

Filed under: History, Military, Russia, Weapons — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

The Tank Museum
Published 9 Oct 2020

Here The Tank Museum’s Curator David Willey discusses the Soviet T-62, including its development and service life. Introduced in 1962, it was a further evolution of the T-55 series, which David discussed in Tank Chat #104.

Support the work of The Tank Museum on Patreon: ► https://www.patreon.com/tankmuseum
Visit The Tank Museum SHOP & become a Friend: ► tankmuseumshop.org

Twitter: ► https://twitter.com/TankMuseum
Instagram: ► https://www.instagram.com/tankmuseum/
#tankmuseum #tanks

QotD: Avoid situations that can “escalate fast”

Filed under: Law, Quotations, USA, Weapons — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 01:00

… we don’t know what sort of history these neighbors had leading up to this. Still, it’s a good example of why it’s a good idea to not just start cussing people in public.

Also, this is an answer to the question “You mean you carry a gun when you’re just doing yard work or shoveling snow?” Oh hell yes I do.

Also also, this is why I generally try and avoid getting involved in anyone else’s crazy day.

If someone’s acting up in public, I can apologize and disengage from the situation. If I really feel the need to, I can go complain about them on social media in private later and nobody’s gonna pop off and trigger a gunfight if I do.

If you carry a gun, any altercation can escalate into a gunfight. Deescalate. Avoid altercations.

Lastly, there is a problem experienced by people who haven’t been exposed to interpersonal violence of any type; they have no experience in reading the differences between bluffing and the real deal. It’s why you see these “You ain’t gonna shoot me!” situations.

People waving a gun just to let you know they have a gun is a very real phenomenon and doesn’t necessarily mean violence is imminent; they’re just letting you know that certain off-ramps from the situation are closed. Okay, you have a gun and I need to stop pushing. Cool, cool.

This guy? He was not that guy.

People say “You wouldn’t…” to people who are practically lighting off signal rockets to tell you that oh, yes the fuck they would and are, in fact, fixin’ to.

Tamara Keel, “Finding Out”, View From the Porch, 2021-02-05.

May 20, 2021

True Beginner: Learn to Crosscut by Hand!

Filed under: Tools, Woodworking — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 06:00

Rex Krueger
Published 19 May 2021

Follow a true beginner in learning efficient and proper sawing technique!

More video and exclusive content: http://www.patreon.com/rexkrueger
Get a good saw and other tools! (Scroll down)

Tool links (affiliate):
Bahco RESHARPENABLE Saw: https://amzn.to/3yoUAE7
Carpenter’s Speed Square: https://amzn.to/3hD5ujH
Carpenter’s Pencil: https://amzn.to/3yruz75
(Won’t roll; fat line)
Mechanical Pencil: https://amzn.to/3wm4JiW
(no sharpening, thin line; bright colors won’t get lost)

———————————————————————-

Learn more about Saws

Restore a Vintage Saw
https://youtu.be/cN8yMAXp54s

Build a Turning Saw
https://youtu.be/8Agk6tJtRs0
Get the plans!: https://www.rexkrueger.com/store/diy-…

Pick a Dovetail Saw
https://youtu.be/KkG01bkZs1k
Get the Saws (Affiliate):
Suizan Dozuki: https://amzn.to/2O4xjCj
Small Zona (Marketed as Olson): https://amzn.to/2r9UySq
Large Zona saw: https://amzn.to/35ui8IH
Scatter Lee Bone Saw (good for a Halloween costume; not great for woodwork): https://amzn.to/2XtzJO0

Hot Rod a Cheap Joinery Saw
https://youtu.be/kBJ3Wm2DMA0
Get the Saw (Affiliate): https://amzn.to/2zykhs6

Build your own Saw Vise
https://youtu.be/_e4rqp0yPzg
Get the Plans (Affiliate): https://www.rexkrueger.com/store/plan…

Learn about Japanese Pull Saws
https://youtu.be/Q7bL61cSUpw
Get the Saw: https://amzn.to/2GS96M0

Watch and learn All About Hand Sawing: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR…
———————————————————————-

The True Beginner Series:

Sandpaper Sharpening
https://youtu.be/gY6pOKQRw74

Learn to Use Your Hand Plane
https://youtu.be/J0-sP9pOFvA

———————————————————————-

For sawing, you need a good bench, build the English Joiner’s Bench:

Building the Bench
https://youtu.be/zcq1LQq08lk

Viseless Workholding
https://youtu.be/kzv27STMnvY

Adding a Leg Vise
https://youtu.be/eiwtBs-9Dco

———————————————————————-

Sign up for Fabrication First, my FREE newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gRhEVT?

———————————————————————-

Wood Work for Humans Tool List (affiliate):
*Cutting*
Gyokucho Ryoba Saw: https://amzn.to/2Z5Wmda
Dewalt Panel Saw: https://amzn.to/2HJqGmO
Suizan Dozuki Handsaw: https://amzn.to/3abRyXB
(Winner of the affordable dovetail-saw shootout.)
Spear and Jackson Tenon Saw: https://amzn.to/2zykhs6
(Needs tune-up to work well.)
Crown Tenon Saw: https://amzn.to/3l89Dut
(Works out of the box)
Carving Knife: https://amzn.to/2DkbsnM
Narex True Imperial Chisels: https://amzn.to/2EX4xls
(My favorite affordable new chisels.)
Blue-Handled Marples Chisels: https://amzn.to/2tVJARY
(I use these to make the DIY specialty planes, but I also like them for general work.)

*Sharpening*
Honing Guide: https://amzn.to/2TaJEZM
Norton Coarse/Fine Oil Stone: https://amzn.to/36seh2m
Natural Arkansas Fine Oil Stone: https://amzn.to/3irDQmq
Green buffing compound: https://amzn.to/2XuUBE2

*Marking and Measuring*
Stockman Knife: https://amzn.to/2Pp4bWP
(For marking and the built-in awl).
Speed Square: https://amzn.to/3gSi6jK
Stanley Marking Knife: https://amzn.to/2Ewrxo3
(Excellent, inexpensive marking knife.)
Blue Kreg measuring jig: https://amzn.to/2QTnKYd
Round-head Protractor: https://amzn.to/37fJ6oz

*Drilling*
Forstner Bits: https://amzn.to/3jpBgPl
Spade Bits: https://amzn.to/2U5kvML

*Work-Holding*
Orange F Clamps: https://amzn.to/2u3tp4X
Screw Clamp: https://amzn.to/3gCa5i8

Get my woodturning book: http://www.rexkrueger.com/book

Follow me on Instagram: @rexkrueger

The Birth Control Movement and Eugenics – A Curious Link | B2W: ZEITGEIST! I E.18 – Winter 1923

Filed under: Books, Britain, Europe, Greece, Health, History, Law, Media — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

TimeGhost History
Published 19 May 2021

In the winter of 1923, a controversial activist takes a Catholic doctor to trial for libel. The proceedings capture a much bigger moment in the history of the interwar period: the controversial — but inherent — link between birth control and eugenics.
(more…)

Men Will Be Boys (1970)

Filed under: Britain, Gaming, History, Railways — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

British Pathé
Published 13 Apr 2014

Men will be boys. Various locations.

M/S men round lake with boats. C/U man in lake with waders with model boat. C/U another man with model boat. Man lighting boiler. C/U engine working. M/S as model of paddle boat moves through water. M/S paddle boat on water. In foreground a swan. C/U another model boat going through water. M/S pan scale model of Hitler’s yacht. M/S men playing with model cars on race track. C/U cars going round race track. C/U men’s hands on controls. C/U men looking at cars go past. L/S of cars going round race track.

L/S men playing war games with model soldiers. on large table. C/U as man moves soldiers out of line laying them on ground. M/S man moves horses forward. C/U hand placing cannon into position. C/U hand places horse troops in position. M/S lines of soldier. Hand places another in position. M/S of troops being moved.

M/S Mr Victor Martin and wife go through gate by railway crossing dressed up in their uniforms, carrying lamps etc. M/S as they make their way to their signal boxes. C/U railway notice ‘By Midland Railway’. Pa off notice to show Mr Martin approaching his signal box. M/S Martin going into signal box. M/S Mrs Martin going into signal box. C/U Mrs Martin going into signal box. C/U interior. Mr Martin hanging up his jacket inside signal box. He then sits at the controls. C/U signal controls working. C/U of Mr Martin operating signals. Camera zooms back and we see train going past him along track. C/U model train over track. C/U Mrs Martin working in her signal box.

M/S Mrs Martin working signal controls. C/U Mrs Martin. M/S showing trains going over track. C/U trains moving. Camera zooms out to show tracks . C/U trains moving. C/U looking along tunnel showing trains moving. C/U exterior. Signals working. Then camera pans to show where the trains run on an enclosed section out in the open. C/U goods train and passenger train moving. M/S Interior. Trains going over track and Mr Martin at controls.
FILM ID:2241.18

A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATHÉ. EXPLORE OUR ONLINE CHANNEL, BRITISH PATHÉ TV. IT’S FULL OF GREAT DOCUMENTARIES, FASCINATING INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSIC MOVIES. http://www.britishpathe.tv/

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES VISIT http://www.britishpathe.com/​

British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 136,000 items from the news agencies Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932), Empire News Bulletin (1926-1930), British Paramount (1931-1957), and Gaumont British (1934-1959), as well as Visnews content from 1957 to the end of 1984. All footage can be viewed on the British Pathé website. https://www.britishpathe.com/

QotD: Jeeves

Filed under: Britain, Humour, Quotations — Tags: — Nicholas @ 01:00

Jeeves — my man, you know — is really a most extraordinary chap. So capable. Honestly, I shouldn’t know what to do without him. On broader lines he’s like those chappies who sit peering sadly over the marble battlements at the Pennsylvania Station in the place marked “Inquiries.” You know the Johnnies I mean. You go up to them and say: “When’s the next train for Melonsquashville, Tennessee?” and they reply, without stopping to think, “Two-forty-three, track ten, change at San Francisco.” And they’re right every time. Well, Jeeves gives you just the same impression of omniscience.

As an instance of what I mean, I remember meeting Monty Byng in Bond Street one morning, looking the last word in a grey check suit, and I felt I should never be happy till I had one like it. I dug the address of the tailors out of him, and had them working on the thing inside the hour.

“Jeeves,” I said that evening. “I’m getting a check suit like that one of Mr. Byng’s.”

“Injudicious, sir,” he said firmly. “It will not become you.”

“What absolute rot! It’s the soundest thing I’ve struck for years.”

“Unsuitable for you, sir.”

Well, the long and the short of it was that the confounded thing came home, and I put it on, and when I caught sight of myself in the glass I nearly swooned. Jeeves was perfectly right. I looked a cross between a music-hall comedian and a cheap bookie. Yet Monty had looked fine in absolutely the same stuff. These things are just Life’s mysteries, and that’s all there is to it.

But it isn’t only that Jeeves’s judgment about clothes is infallible, though, of course, that’s really the main thing. The man knows everything. There was the matter of that tip on the “Lincolnshire.” I forget now how I got it, but it had the aspect of being the real, red-hot tabasco.

“Jeeves,” I said, for I’m fond of the man, and like to do him a good turn when I can, “if you want to make a bit of money have something on Wonderchild for the ‘Lincolnshire.'”

He shook his head.

“I’d rather not, sir.”

“But it’s the straight goods. I’m going to put my shirt on him.”

“I do not recommend it, sir. The animal is not intended to win. Second place is what the stable is after.”

Perfect piffle, I thought, of course. How the deuce could Jeeves know anything about it? Still, you know what happened. Wonderchild led till he was breathing on the wire, and then Banana Fritter came along and nosed him out. I went straight home and rang for Jeeves.

“After this,” I said, “not another step for me without your advice. From now on consider yourself the brains of the establishment.”

“Very good, sir. I shall endeavour to give satisfaction.”

And he has, by Jove! I’m a bit short on brain myself; the old bean would appear to have been constructed more for ornament than for use, don’t you know; but give me five minutes to talk the thing over with Jeeves, and I’m game to advise any one about anything.

P.G. Wodehouse, “Leave it to Jeeves”, My Man Jeeves, 1919.

May 19, 2021

Racism of the US Army – Fighting for Freedom? – WW2 Special

Filed under: History, Military, USA, WW2 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published 18 May 2021

While the US was fighting for freedom and liberty across the globe, their home country and armies are still deeply segregated, causing minority groups in the USA to fight not one but two wars.
(more…)

The ginger Windsor loose cannon on “bonkers” free speech protection in the United States

Filed under: Britain, Law, Liberty, USA — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

James Delingpole on the latest unfortunate burble from one of the much lesser members of the House of Windsor:

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit Titanic Belfast in March 2018.
Photo from the Northern Ireland Office via Wikimedia Commons.

Prince Harry’s epic stupidity is probably inherited from his presumed father, the Prince of Wales. Prince Charles, too, only got two A levels — a B in History and a C in French — yet somehow strings were pulled to land him a place at Cambridge University (normally it would have required something like three A grades at A Level, plus a decent performance in the entrance exam), where he scraped a lowly 2:2 in History.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with being epically, fabulously, unbelievably stupid. Many upper-class men successfully make their brainlessness part of their comical charm. Where stupidity becomes unattractive and culpable, though, is when it’s deployed to comment on issues far, far above its pay grade, and when it’s afforded undeserved prestige.

No one as thick as Harry, it’s surely a given, ought ever be allowed on to a public platform to pronounce on issues as vital as the protection of free speech. Yet this is exactly what happened when Harry was given space to expound his half-baked views on a podcast. Sure, Harry had the good grace to admit that he hadn’t a clue what he was talking about:

    I don’t want to start going down the First Amendment route because that’s a huge subject and one which I don’t understand because I’ve only been here a short time.

Unfortunately, that didn’t stop him declaring that he thought the First Amendment was “bonkers”.

His explanation as to why he thought so was a bit incoherent, but it seemed to involve his belief that it could be used for something bad called “ideology” and could be used as an excuse to “spread hate”. He added: “Laws were created to protect people.” What I’m guessing Harry was struggling to do was to try to wheel out the woke cliche that while free speech is fine, “hate speech” isn’t fine and should not enjoy constitutional protection. This threadbare argument can be demolished in a second by anyone with more than two A Levels. Essentially if “free speech” laws don’t protect “hate speech” then they are not really free speech protection laws at all.

Like Prince Harry, I wouldn’t consider myself to be an expert on U.S. history. But I do dimly recall that round about the second half of the 18th century America’s colonists successfully freed themselves from rule by one of Prince Harry’s ancestors. The U.S. Constitution — and that pesky First Amendment — was one of the consequences.

Why Did We Stop Wearing Hats?

Filed under: Europe, History, USA — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Karolina Żebrowska
Published 28 Apr 2020

should we bring hats back? what do you think?
_____________
My Instagram: https://bit.ly/2Qo9rrI​
My nudes: https://bit.ly/2UHHY6N​
My merch: bit.ly/2CCq5jE

QotD: School is prison for kids

Filed under: Education, Health, Liberty, Quotations — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 01:00

I try to review books in an unbiased way, without letting myself succumb to fits of emotion. So be warned: I’m going to fail with this one. I am going to get angry and write whole sentences in capital letters. This is one of the most enraging passages I’ve ever read.

School is child prison. It’s forcing kids to spend their childhood — a happy time! a time of natural curiosity and exploration and wonder — sitting in un-air-conditioned blocky buildings, cramped into identical desks, listening to someone drone on about the difference between alliteration and assonance, desperate to even be able to fidget but knowing that if they do their teacher will yell at them, and maybe they’ll get a detention that extends their sentence even longer without parole. The anti-psychiatric-abuse community has invented the “Burrito Test” — if a place won’t let you microwave a burrito without asking permission, it’s an institution. Doesn’t matter if the name is “Center For Flourishing” or whatever and the aides are social workers in street clothes instead of nurses in scrubs — if it doesn’t pass the Burrito Test, it’s an institution. There is no way school will let you microwave a burrito without permission. THEY WILL NOT EVEN LET YOU GO TO THE BATHROOM WITHOUT PERMISSION. YOU HAVE TO RAISE YOUR HAND AND ASK YOUR TEACHER FOR SOMETHING CALLED “THE BATHROOM PASS” IN FRONT OF YOUR ENTIRE CLASS, AND IF SHE DOESN’T LIKE YOU, SHE CAN JUST SAY NO.

I don’t like actual prisons, the ones for criminals, but I will say this for them — people keep them around because they honestly believe they prevent crime. If someone found proof-positive that prisons didn’t prevent any crimes at all, but still suggested that we should keep sending people there, because it means we’d have “fewer middle-aged people on the streets” and “fewer adults forced to go home to empty apartments and houses”, then MAYBE YOU WOULD START TO UNDERSTAND HOW I FEEL ABOUT SENDING PEOPLE TO SCHOOL FOR THE SAME REASON.

I sometimes sit in on child psychiatrists’ case conferences, and I want to scream at them. There’s the kid who locks herself in the bathroom every morning so her parents can’t drag her to child prison, and her parents stand outside the bathroom door to yell at her for hours until she finally gives in and goes, and everyone is trying to medicate her or figure out how to remove the bathroom locks, and THEY ARE SOLVING THE WRONG PROBLEM. There are all the kids who had bedwetting or awful depression or constant panic attacks, and then as soon as the coronavirus caused the child prisons to shut down the kids mysteriously became instantly better. I have heard stories of kids bullied to the point where it would be unfair not to call it torture, and the child prisons respond according to Procedures which look very good on paper and hit all the right We-Are-Taking-This-Seriously buzzwords but somehow never result in the kids not being tortured every day, and if the kids’ parents were to stop bringing them to child prison every day to get tortured anew the cops would haul those parents to jail, and sometimes the only solution is the parents to switch them to the charter schools THAT FREDDIE DEBOER WANTS TO SHUT DOWN.

I see people on Twitter and Reddit post their stories from child prison, all of which they treat like it’s perfectly normal. The district that wanted to save money, so it banned teachers from turning the heat above 50 degrees in the depths of winter. The district that decided running was an unsafe activity, and so any child who ran or jumped or played other-than-sedately during recess would get sent to detention — yeah, that’s fine, let’s just make all our children spent the first 18 years of their life somewhere they’re not allowed to run, that’ll be totally normal child development. You might object that they can run at home, but of course teachers assign three hours of homework a day despite ample evidence that homework does not help learning. Preventing children from having any free time, or the ability to do any of the things they want to do seems to just be an end in itself. Every single doctor and psychologist in the world has pointed out that children and teens naturally follow a different sleep pattern than adults, probably closer to 12 PM to 9 AM than the average adult’s 10 – 7. Child prisons usually start around 7 or 8 AM, meaning any child who shows up on time is necessarily sleep-deprived in ways that probably harm their health and development.

School forces children to be confined in an uninhabitable environment, restrained from moving, and psychologically tortured in a state of profound sleep deprivation, under pain of imprisoning their parents if they refuse. The only possible justification for this is that it achieves some kind of profound social benefit like eliminating poverty. If it doesn’t, you might as well replace it with something less traumatizing, like child labor. The kid will still have to spend eight hours of their day toiling in a terrible environment, but at least they’ll get some pocket money! At least their boss can’t tell them to keep working off the clock under the guise of “homework”! I have worked as a medical resident, widely considered one of the most horrifying and abusive jobs it is possible to take in a First World country. I can say with absolute confidence that I would gladly do another four years of residency if the only alternative was another four years of high school.

Scott Alexander, “Book Review — The Cult of Smart”, Astral Codex Ten, 2021-02-17.

May 18, 2021

What is Maskirovka? Russian Military Deception #Military101

Filed under: History, Media, Military, Russia — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

Military History Visualized
Published 5 May 2017

A short introduction into Russian Military Deception — called Maskirovka. “Maskirovka is most simply defined as a set of processes designed to mislead, confuse, and interfere with accurate data collection regarding all areas of Soviet plans, objectives, and strengths or weaknesses.” (Smith, Charles L.: “Soviet Maskirovka“, in: Airpower Journal – Spring 1988)

Military History Visualized provides a series of short narrative and visual presentations like documentaries based on academic literature or sometimes primary sources. Videos are intended as introduction to military history, but also contain a lot of details for history buffs. Since the aim is to keep the episodes short and comprehensive some details are often cut.

» HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT MILITARY HISTORY VISUALIZED «
(A) You can support my channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/join/mhv

(B) You can also buy “Spoils of War” (merchandise) in the online shop: https://www.redbubble.com/people/mhvi…

» SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS «
twitter: https://twitter.com/MilHiVisualized
tumblr: http://militaryhistoryvisualized.tumb…

» SOURCES «

Maier, Morgan: A Little Masquerade: Russia’s Evolving Employment of Maskirovka
http://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/si…

Smith, Charles L.: “Soviet Maskirovko“, in: Airpower Journal – Spring 1988
http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/ai…

Lindley-French, Julian: NATO: Countering Strategic Maskirovka. Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute. (2015)

Glantz: The Red Mask: The Nature and Legacy of Soviet Military Deception in the Second World War

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian…

Keating, Kenneth: The Soviet System of Camouflage
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/…

Krueger, Daniel: Maskirovka – What’s in it for us?
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/…

» TOOL CHAIN «
PowerPoint 2016, Word, Excel, Tile Mill, QGIS, Processing 3, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Audition, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Animate.

» CREDITS & SPECIAL THX «
Song: Ethan Meixsell – “Demilitarized Zone”

« Newer PostsOlder Posts »

Powered by WordPress