Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Devote the rest of your life to making progress." - Epictetus
"The present is the past rolled up for action, and the past is the present unrolled for understanding." - Ariel Durant
"I expect no remuneration until I have created value for someone else." - Dan Sullivan
"A European war can only end in the ruin of the vanquished and scarcely less fatal commercial dislocation of the conquerors." - Winston Churchill
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Laughed way too much at this. I have the sense of humor of a 12-year old boy.
- Noah Smith on Indiamerica. India is a country we should be closer with - for many reason.
- High school debates have become the new woke target. This trend needs to be reversed. These people cannot take the light of day.
- Is this the beginning of the end for Vladimir Putin? Article asks, "Is this too good to be true?" and I agree (but for different reasons). Learn to spot propaganda.
More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Glenn Reynolds on how Jimmy Lai may outlast Hong Kong's evil regime.
- Interesting - VDH on the Ukrainian Gordian Knot. Did not know Ukraine now has the third largest defense budget in the world (thanks to America).
- So Hunter Biden reached a plea deal with the feds on two tax evasion charges and gun charges. Some view this a sweetheart deal but to me it wasn't unexpected. Plus he gets probation for the charges. What are the odds he's able to keep his nose clean or not have new charges?
- Top Canadian official apologizes to unvaxxed. The cynic in me thinks that some people who say anything t avoid prosecution
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Heh Heh
- Hoover Institution (always thought it was the Hoover Institute) looks at the War in Ukraine. How we got here, where it stands, and can a peace settlement be reached.
- Interesting (and scary) - are we in the endgame of the US financial system? "What you are witnessing is the consolidation and nationalization of the banking system in real time." Yes - this may be a pitch for crypto but it makes you wonder.
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Unemployment rate projections by country in 2023. Looks encouraging.
- Joe Rogan explains the origin of the Proud Boys
- The War in Ukraine in 8 photos
- US can't keep up with China's warship building. This is a problem (although are you surprised at an Admiral arguing for a larger Navy?).
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Wow - talk about dark predictions for Russia's future.
- The Top 50 most visited websites in the world. Google and YouTube have more daily traffic than the next 48 sites combined!
Interesting analysis and update of the events in Ukraine (remember the war is still going on).
Americans and their short attention spans have mostly replaced "thoughts and prayers" for Ukraine with thoughts and prayers of how they are going to pay for winter heating and Christmas gifts at the same time but there's still a war going on.
The effort to post and share this update is appreciated.
Interesting analysis on the situation in Ukraine and the possible endgame. Agree with the author that use of even a single nuclear device is unlikely, According to the author, "The war ends when Ukrainian military victories alter Russian political realities, a process which I believe has begun."
"...as the instability created by the war in Ukraine comes home, Russian leaders who wish to gain from that instability, or protect themselves from it, will want their power centers [troops] close to Moscow, And this, of course, would be a very good thing, for Ukraine and for the world."
Sounds plausible. Bit of a long read but I thought it worthwhile.
HT Stephen Landry.
Holy crap! This should be bigger news. "The United States has shipped about a third of its existing arsenal of Stinger anti-air and Javelin anti-armor missiles to Ukraine - systems that are not quickly replaced." The Stinger production line is actually shut down (as of this article's posting in April).
Even with the Javelin, we are probably five years' away from replenishing that stock despite its manufacturing line remaining open.
This is a potential disaster waiting to happen. What if the War in Ukraine continues to drag on and then the Chinese invade Taiwan? Logistically we'd be screwed because someone prioritized green policies and 87,000 more IRS agents? Screw that! Use Title 3 of the Defense Production Act now.
The military would be much better served worrying more about their missile stockpiles than their correct pronouns.
I agree with the conclusion that it's too early to write off the tank. I'd also add that tanks are most vulnerable against well armed military forces but I fear the most common use of tanks in the future will be by governments against their own citizens.
After three months of fighting the battlelines clarify.
The Soviets Russians have gained a lot of territory in Eastern Ukraine but the invaders could be bled white trying to keep it. This war is going to be long and ugly.
VDH with the history lesson for the day. "Deep and brutal strife in 1930's Spain was a prelude to the barbarity of World War II. Now with the war in Ukraine, we're reminded that the veneer of civilization is very thin."
Human nature is constant, despite radical changes in technology, social systems, and physical landscapes. That bleak reality should remind us that the veneer of civilization is always very thin, while the innate barbarity of humankind is forever very deep.
Professor Hanson also draws the parallel of how impotent the League of Nations was to the Spanish Civil War just as the United Nations is completely impotent today regarding the war in Ukraine.
