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A Man With A Plan posted:This is true. There was a plant that was known in greek/roman antiquity to be an abortifacient, and they loved that poo poo so much they harvested it to extinction. Well it makes sense. In a time when starvation was a very real possibility having another mouth to feed meant it was that much more likely that someone or everyone wouldn't have enough to eat that year, so controlling when a pregnancy comes to term would be an enormous blessing.
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Nov 30, 2015 18:06
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Fried Chicken posted:I need a good source on finance/banking/economics in the revolutionary and napoleonic era. One on Jackson would probably be good as well A Nation of Counterfeiters is a fun read on banking from the revolution through the Civil War.
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Nov 30, 2015 18:06
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Fried Chicken posted:What are people's thoughts on The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson? I know the man himself is a blood-gargling rich-fellating imperialist asshat who hasn't been right about anything relating be to economics, domestic policy, or foreign policy since at least 2000. But is the book good as a descriptive text and explainer? Or is it too embedded in his ideology? I've never read The Ascent of Money but I just want to pause and highlight this. No offense Fried Chicken, but this is a perfect example of a major problem in our political culture. An intellectual is revealed to be not just wrong, but mendacious, not once or twice but habitually, and the default response isn't shunning or even EXTREME skepticism, it's slight concern. Again, sorry for singling you out, but this is a cultural problem we have in American politics. It's the same BS with the Bush National Security team - they were wrong about approximately everything, but still respected. It's one thing where someone is wrong and publicly reevaluates, it's another where they're wrong and double down with dishonesty. Fried Chicken posted:Debt: The First 5000 Years There's been a lot of criticism of Debt, mostly focused around the modern chapter, which contains gems like "Apple Computers is a famous example: it was founded by (mostly Republican) computer engineers who broke from IBM in Silicon Valley in the 1980s, forming little democratic circles of twenty to forty people with their laptops in each other’s garages." To me, the million dollar question is - "if he's hosed up the modern chapter so badly, can we still trust his harder-to-verify stuff in his earlier chapters?" icantfindaname posted:if they can't find a way to give Rubio the nom it'll go to Cruz. Trump isn't getting it no matter what. and if Cruz runs vs Hillary he'll get stomped in a 64 or 72 or 84 style landslide. if Cruz gets it i don't think there will be any room to run 3rd party for Trump. if, however, they manage by some miracle to get Rubio's numbers up enough to give it to him there's a decent chance Trump will go third party, especially depending on how shady the nomination is. so of 3 possible scenarios, Hillary vs Rubio vs Trump, Hillary vs Cruz, and Hillary vs Rubio, 2 of 3 are catastrophic failures for the Republicans that will provide historic levels of entertainment Trump's decision to go third party or not won't be based on whether or not he can plot out a path to victory, it'll be based on how slighted he feels (how shady the nomination is). I can see a world where Cruz wins the nomination and Trump doesn't go third party, but it would be because Cruz has been sucking up to him. (Emphasis added, in both of the above quotes)
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Nov 30, 2015 18:17
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Ted Cruz was asked a question about education by a 6th grader at a campaign stop in Iowa today. His reply was a rant about Department of Education executive orders that let boys and girls shower together.
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Nov 30, 2015 18:25
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Going Postal is well worth the read but you really have to force yourself to read through the slave rebellion section. It makes sense when you read the whole thing but I distinctly remember thinking "hahaha bullshit" at first.
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Nov 30, 2015 18:26
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To me Ted Cruz is the current candidate for people that don't want Trump especially now that the stink isn't coming off Jeb. Once people see what a melty faced creep he is I think he will fall in the polls similar to how Walker did.
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Nov 30, 2015 18:27
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Luigi Thirty posted:Ted Cruz was asked a question about education by a 6th grader at a campaign stop in Iowa today. His reply was a rant about Department of Education executive orders that let boys and girls shower together. Scaring kids with infowars nightmares is a hobby for him.
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Nov 30, 2015 18:28
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Luigi Thirty posted:Ted Cruz was asked a question about education by a 6th grader at a campaign stop in Iowa today. His reply was a rant about Department of Education executive orders that let boys and girls shower together. The sixth grader then explained to the Republican candidate that isn't how transgender people work.* *poo poo I wish would happen
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Nov 30, 2015 18:29
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Swan Oat posted:Going Postal is well worth the read but you really have to force yourself to read through the slave rebellion section. It makes sense when you read the whole thing but I distinctly remember thinking "hahaha bullshit" at first. Going Postal by Terry Pratchett or a different Going Postal? Because if it's the former, hell yes everyone should read it.
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Nov 30, 2015 18:30
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Radish posted:To me Ted Cruz is the current candidate for people that don't want Trump especially now that the stink isn't coming off Jeb. Once people see what a melty faced creep he is I think he will fall in the polls similar to how Walker did. He would, but I'm pretty sure Trump does Cruz's job better than Cruz. Cruz will probably only rise noticeably if Trump somehow collapses
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Nov 30, 2015 18:31
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cheese eats mouse posted:It's great fun hearing the backlash to your decision to not want children. I'm going on 28 and apparently some baby alarm clock is supposed to be going off, but really I'm wanting to stay away from something that so heavily ties down my independence. Some women couldn't be so lucky as me. You saw this when childhood abandonment was made legal in Arkansas (I think), but kids of all ages from different states were getting dropped off until the law was restricted to under 1 year and in state only. Something like 10% of kids are not wanted at all with 30% unplanned. So 40% of kids are unwanted/unplanned. Studies have found parents of unwanted kids harbored resentment, which can have damaging psychological affects. I always loved the "Why would you want a cake from a bakery that hates you?" argument whenever a bakery refuses to make a cake for a gay wedding because those same people are MORE than happy to force someone who doesn't want a child to have one
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Nov 30, 2015 18:32
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Your Dunkle Sans posted:
Edited for brevity.
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Nov 30, 2015 18:36
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Confessions of an Economic Hitman is a good introduction to economic imperialism as it is practiced, but there's some pretty eye-rolly spy novel bits, particularly toward the beginning. also Who What Now posted:Going Postal by Terry Pratchett or a different Going Postal? Because if it's the former, hell yes everyone should read it. Hell yes to Pratchett's Going Postal, but he's referring to Mark Ames' Going Postal, which is about mass shootings in America in the 90's.
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Nov 30, 2015 18:42
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Pope Guilty posted:Confessions of an Economic Hitman is a good introduction to economic imperialism as it is practiced, but there's some pretty eye-rolly spy novel bits, particularly toward the beginning. It''s all just hook in the beginning, because unlike D&D the material may be considered a bit dry. Good book A+
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Nov 30, 2015 18:50
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Alkydere posted:He would, but I'm pretty sure Trump does Cruz's job better than Cruz. Cruz will probably only rise noticeably if Trump somehow collapses Isn't that just Ted Cruz in a nutshell, people doing what he wants to do better? Just look at him compared to Huckabee at the Kim Davis Rally.
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Nov 30, 2015 18:53
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https://vine.co/v/iB672iddPJp rscott posted:Kicking Away the Ladder, Bad Samaritans and 21 things I didn't know about capitalism, all by Ha-Joon Chang are three good books that analyze and debunk the myth that free trade economics is what powered the assent of every industrialized/advanced economy during the industrial revolution through to the economies of South Korea and Singapore Reminds me that I need to pick up a People's History of the U.S. again; I got a few chapters in months back and found it to be quite the interesting take compared to the sort of glorified view of American history.
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Nov 30, 2015 18:56
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Yeah I definitely am talking about Mark Ames, haha. Has anyone read Mark Lofgren's The Party Is Over? I quite liked his essay Goodbye To All That about the state of the GOP. It's a few years old if you haven't read it, but then again not much has changed in four years. Gotten worse in some ways.
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Nov 30, 2015 18:57
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Who What Now posted:Well it makes sense. In a time when starvation was a very real possibility having another mouth to feed meant it was that much more likely that someone or everyone wouldn't have enough to eat that year, so controlling when a pregnancy comes to term would be an enormous blessing. Everything you just said, except it's still true 2000 years later.
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Nov 30, 2015 18:59
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Fried Chicken posted:What are people's thoughts on The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson? I know the man himself is a blood-gargling rich-fellating imperialist asshat who hasn't been right about anything relating be to economics, domestic policy, or foreign policy since at least 2000. But is the book good as a descriptive text and explainer? Or is it too embedded in his ideology? Oooh boy. Here's what I've read/heard good things about recently. Most (all) of this is MENA stuff though since that's the region I specialize in. Others on this list are recommendations from other goons in the Middle East thread that I've taken and reposted here. Military/tactics: Arabs at War by Kenneth M. Pollack. It perfectly encapsulates the failures of the armed forces of the Arabic world from Libya to Iraq and beyond. The primary conclusion from the book seems to stem primarily from the lack of initiative among junior officers, and the lack of NCO's. Moving onto Iran, there's a shitton of philosophical analysis exploring the revolution and its underpinnings. I'm not super big on Foucalt or Fanon so much of the subtleties are lost on me, but these are some, occasionally theory heavy, recommendations: Iran: All the Shah's Men by Stephen Kinzer is a great read on the '53 coup. Not terribly academic but it is well supported, and draws direct links between '53 and '79. Not remotely theory heavy and it's where I'd start. Foucault and the Iranian Revolution by Afary. It's very readable and surprisingly comprehensive. Best of all, it includes a number of newspaper articles on the revolution originally published in French and Italian, some written by Foucault, others written in response to him. -The Revolution: Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution by Nikki R. Keddie A History of Modern Iran by Ervand Abrahamian (Abrahamian is a Marxist and the preeminent English scholar of the Tudeh Party, so I was surprised to see this book on CSA Odierno's 2012 reading list) The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran Roy Mattahedeh -The Ideology: Marxism and Other Western Fallacies : An Islamic Critique and Jihad and Shahadat By Ali Shariati Gharbzadegi: Plagued By The West by Jalal Al-i Ahmad (the title has been translated many different ways- here's one version: http://www.amazon.com/Occidentosis-Plague-Jala-Al-i-Ahmad/dp/0933782136/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8) Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth was also influential (Shariati himself translated it into Farsi). Theology of Discontent by Hamid Dabashi Khomeinism: Essays on the Islamic Republic by Ervand Abrahamian -Feminism and The Revolution: Women with Mustaches and Men without Beards by Afsaneh Najmabadi Foucault and the Iranian Revolution by Janet Afary and Kevin B. Anderson (Also has a good understanding of the Battle of Karbala, as well as an overview of the European left's initial optimism and eventual disenchantment with Khomeini.) -Competing notions of martyrdom in revolutionary Sunni and Shia Islam: Martyrdom in Modern Islam: Piety, Power, and Politics Meir Hatina The Siege of Mecca: The Forgotten Uprising in Islam's Holiest Shrine and the Birth of al-Qaeda Yaroslav Trofimov As for general US involvement in the Middle East, you'll want to start with these two: A History of the Modern Middle East by William L. Cleveland Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History by Thomas Barfield More general histories: A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East by David Fromkin Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World through Islamic Eyes by Tamim Ansary There are also a number of popular books by Bernard Lewis, although I can recommend no one in particular. For more narrowly focused histories: Eternal Iran: Continuity and Chaos by Patrick Clawson, Michael Rubin The Siege of Mecca: The Forgotten Uprising in Islam's Holiest Shrine and the Birth of al-Qaeda by Yaroslav Trofimov Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia by Robert Lacey general interest: The Missing Martyrs: Why There Are So Few Muslim Terrorists by Charles Kurzman The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright is a fantastic look at the rise of militant Islam, including the mujahideen, and the lead up to 9/11. Cleveland's History of the Modern Middle East is also pretty good. A little dry, but less so then you would expect from a textbook. First hand accounts: Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger The Marsh Arabs by Wilfred Thesiger Howling in Mesopotamia: An Iraqi-American Memoir by Haider Ala Hamoudi Raed Jarrar and Salam Pax are classics for leftish people who want on the ground impressions of what was going down as it went down in Iraq. And of course Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence, although that's more for entertainment. general international relations theory: The Tragedy of Great Power Politics by Mearsheimer is a great look at one of the two main consensus..es? Consesusi? Either way, it's a great book all about offensive realism. Theory of International Politics by Waltz is of course a seminal text in IR theory. Though I've not read it, Kenneth Waltz's new book (well, 2008) Realism and International Politics is supposed to be good as well. Most of IR theory is done in articles though. Some I can recommend are: Realism John Mearsheimer, Why We Will Soon Miss the Cold War Kenneth Waltz, Why Iran Should Get the Bomb Both argue that nuclear proliferation is a good thing, arguing that it creates a balance of power that cannot be broken, for fear of the consequences. Samuel Huntington, The Great American Myth Racist bastard that Huntington is, he nevertheless offers a compelling argument for a given vieww of American hegemony, and argues for a uni-multi polar system. This article perhaps best portrays how important polarity is to neorealism. Fouad Ajami, Response To Huntington Written in response to the Clash of Civilizations, this is a neorealist critique of Huntington's 1993 article, not to be confused with the article directly cited above this. Neoliberalism: Michael Doyle, Liberalism and World Politics A piece that essentially outlines neoliberalism and touches on a lot of the theories Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye, International Institutions: Can Interdependence Work? Another basic intro to neoliberal theory Democratic Peace Theory (a theory from neoliberalism) Michael Doyle, Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs One of the earlier works on the democratic peace theory Christopher Gelpi & Michael Gresidorf, Winners or Losers? Democracies in International Crisis, 1914-1994 A wonderful summation of several liberal explanations of the Democratic Peace Theory Constructivism Alexander Wendt, Anarchy is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics One of the defining papers of constructivist theory Thomas Risse, Democratic Peace - Warlike Democracies ? A Social Constructivist Intepretation of the Liberal Argument While Risse is less prominent than a multitude of other scholars, I feel that this article (in particular) gives an interesting perspective on the Democratic Peace Theory, critiquing from a constructivist view. World Systems Theory Immanuel Wallerstein, The Rise and Future Demise of the World Capitalist System I would be wrong if I didn't at least point you to one of the alternative/radical theories out there. This theory is derived from a Marxist theory of the world, and is one I reject utterly, but it might be worth reading
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Nov 30, 2015 19:07
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Cat Army 
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Swan Oat posted:As an aside if I could officially register as an antifascist, that would be really cool.  An anti-fash party would be the best thing.
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Nov 30, 2015 19:10
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Thump! posted:
I bet even they would find some way to split over what exactly fascism is. Pretend I linked that one Orwell essay.
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Nov 30, 2015 19:11
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A Man With A Plan posted:Everything you just said, except it's still true 2000 years later. Yeah, definitely, I wasn't trying to imply that it wasn't. Although people are less likely to die of the rickets these days. Who What Now fucked around with this message at 19:14 on Nov 30, 2015 |
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Nov 30, 2015 19:12
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A bad thing about being a registered antifascist is that it would be easy to identify and purge you after the fascist takeover.
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Nov 30, 2015 19:13
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Swan Oat posted:A bad thing about being a registered antifascist is that it would be easy to identify and purge you after the fascist takeover. Which is why you have to work twice as hard, your life is actually in the balance.
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Nov 30, 2015 19:14
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rkajdi posted:All that said, less people having kids means we need more immigration to make up the additional population growth. I see it as a win-win since I'm all for seeing the current ruling demo made less dominant, but I have to think that maybe part of the issue the right has with people not having kids is that they're scared as hell of any non-European gracing our shores and possibly altering the culture. I mean, just little things like adding more different kinds of food is something that halfway set old people off. Anecdotally, I saw this with my 80 year old father a few years ago when I suggested eating at a Mexican place. Man never in his life had Mexican food (or even the American version) and the whole concept was pretty ripe with challenges for him. If small stuff like that is offputting, or dare I say triggering, then the whole idea of a bunch more people for places you've never really understood must be frightening. Not saying he's justified at all (he's an old racist coot) but part of the less kids thing is definitely fear of no longer being in the majority. But it's definitely in second place behind continuing the family line in way that costs you exactly the amount of dollars and effort that you feel like putting forward that day. Though there is a fear of altering the culture, and the right's distinct fear of losing the (white) majority, there are legitimate fears to go with increasing immigration. Primarily it's the increased job competition in an already stagnant economy for the lower and middle class. The benefits outweigh the costs in the long run absolutely, but that short term fear is hard to get over. I'm not sure how we can alleviate that sort of thing, while also increasing immigration. Though possibly lowering the amount of tech visas while increasing permanent residents/whatever the term is by that amount or larger could be an answer.
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Nov 30, 2015 19:16
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Who What Now posted:Going Postal by Terry Pratchett or a different Going Postal? Because if it's the former, hell yes everyone should read it. Going Postal and Making Money and I think a few of his other later works are really good ways to introduce children to how and why certain state and civic institutions exist
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Nov 30, 2015 19:17
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Thump! posted:
Not until we get rid of FPTP. Until then, an antifascist party would actually help the fascists.
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Nov 30, 2015 19:19
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Smearing someone as "anti-fascist" to identify them as The Enemy says more about Ted Cruz than about the shooter.
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Nov 30, 2015 19:23
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Swan Oat posted:A bad thing about being a registered antifascist is that it would be easy to identify and purge you after the fascist takeover. Doesn't even have to go that far, just look at what happened to American anti-fascist volunteers who'd fought in the Spanish Civil War when the red scare rolled around.
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Nov 30, 2015 19:24
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Jackson Taus posted:I've never read The Ascent of Money but I just want to pause and highlight this. No offense Fried Chicken, but this is a perfect example of a major problem in our political culture. An intellectual is revealed to be not just wrong, but mendacious, not once or twice but habitually, and the default response isn't shunning or even EXTREME skepticism, it's slight concern. Again, sorry for singling you out, but this is a cultural problem we have in American politics. It's the same BS with the Bush National Security team - they were wrong about approximately everything, but still respected. There is a difference between being descriptive (which the book is) and prescriptive (everything he has been terrible on). It is quite possible to have full command of the facts and, due to other factors, draw a different conclusion from it. That doesn't have any bearing on their knowledge of and ability to explain the facts. I wouldn't trust Colin Powell on how to be a leader, on how to adhere to your moral principles in the face of adversity, or how to respond to the threat of terrorism. That doesn't mean the Frontline documentary on the Gulf War, where he plays a prominent role by recounting what was going on at the White House between them, intelligence services, and the DoD, is incorrect. Now obviously it is possible for the descriptive to be twisted in service of the prescriptive. That's why I'm asking if that is what happened here. But the two are not intrinsically linked, and particularly in the case of a history book where there would be countervailing evidence if he did (eg: that Delong post on Graeber)
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Nov 30, 2015 19:24
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Who What Now posted:Going Postal by Terry Pratchett or a different Going Postal? Because if it's the former, hell yes everyone should read it. By Mark Ames
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Nov 30, 2015 19:25
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Out of left field: Does anyone know a way to get information on a company (such as executive compensation, number of employees, other seemingly basic things) if the company has made use of the "safe harbor" SEC rule 506? EDIT: D&D is probably not the place for this question but you're good people.
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Nov 30, 2015 19:26
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Fried Chicken posted:There is a difference between being descriptive (which the book is) and prescriptive (everything he has been terrible on). It is quite possible to have full command of the facts and, due to other factors, draw a different conclusion from it. That doesn't have any bearing on their knowledge of and ability to explain the facts. Yeah, but twisting the descriptive in the service of the prescriptive is basically naillferguson.txt - his most famous attacks seem to be the ones where he switches contexts mid-sentence or deceptively mingles stocks and flows. Plus his whole "the West is in decline" thing where he flips rising "rest of world" GDP-per-capita around to claim that the West is declining because it's only 4-5x richer than SE Asia or wherever instead of 40x richer. Saying technically true things in a deceptive way is Ferguson's MO.
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Nov 30, 2015 20:21
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Colorado Springs PD reporting that Penrose Hospital, where many of the shooting victims are being treated, is under lockdown. http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/2015/11/30/penrose-hospital-lockdown/76569748/
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Nov 30, 2015 20:29
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The Maroon Hawk posted:Colorado Springs PD reporting that Penrose Hospital, where many of the shooting victims are being treated, is under lockdown. 
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Nov 30, 2015 20:32
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Still no word on why they're locked down, but it sure isn't hard to assume the worst right now  I drove by that hospital this morning, too...
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Nov 30, 2015 20:37
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The Maroon Hawk posted:Colorado Springs PD reporting that Penrose Hospital, where many of the shooting victims are being treated, is under lockdown. I really hope this is unrelated. 99% chance that it is. But still...
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Nov 30, 2015 20:42
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Okay, looks like the lockdown was dropped about twenty minutes ago. It was over a "suspicious person" in the area. Can't blame 'en for being cautious.
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Nov 30, 2015 21:04
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I hope it's just an unfounded bomb threat. E: oops, that's even better I think.
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Nov 30, 2015 21:05
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Ignoring that of course there is zero precedent for UAF = anti fascist, don't they see an issue with outright stating that a vote against fascism is a vote against us? How much of this GOP base is literally on board with literal fascism advertised as such?
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Nov 30, 2015 21:09
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