Right, because being America’s whipping boy (yeah, I said it) is really working out for Ukrainians.

America needs Ukraine to buy obsolete weapons now, use them against Russia’s current military capacity so that there’s real-world applications for next generation weapons. Also, all the strategies designed to contain a more militant Russia needed to be gamed out. Ukraine will be paying this war back for generations. Think Haiti’s reparations to France, but with bigger numbers.

A years-long conflict also “softens” Russia up for the next round of sanctions — maybe they’ll be effective this time!

Chomsky said, in effect, ‘Nope, that’s dumb’ (not a quote). Also, there were months and months of Russian build-up on the border. Before that, years of signals, comments, and overt actions showing that they are legit pissed that NATO came knocking. There should’ve been diplomacy, dialogue, deal making. ‘Nope, that’s dumb. War is profitable.’

NATO (read: USA) wasn’t about to be told who can be in their little club. Russia wasn’t about to be told that ICBMs would be parked on their doorstep. So, conflict.

So, what else has Chomsky said?

“the U.S. seems to be fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian, reiterating the conclusion of Diego Cordovez and Selig Harrison that in the 1980s the U.S. was fighting Russia to the last Afghan.”

"It is, surely, worthwhile to think seriously about the history of the past 30 years since Bill Clinton launched a new Cold War by violating the firm and unambiguous U.S. promise to Mikhail Gorbachev that “We understand the need for assurances to the countries in the East. If we maintain a presence in a Germany that is a part of NATO, there would be no extension of NATO’s jurisdiction for forces of NATO one inch to the east.”

"Those who want to ignore the history are free to do so, at the cost of failure to understand what is happening now, and what the prospects are for preventing “much worse.”

Sources: Chomsky.info and Truthout

Dissident voice: Noam Chomsky

The greatest of all time make changes to whatever game they are playing. Chomsky changes the realm of ideas. He questions narratives and provides damning evidence in support of his claims. His books reveal the inner workings of the Military-Industrial complex. He contests the positions of US Presidents of both parties. He follows the money, the use of language, and the differences between official fantasies and concrete realities. He raises others up, never sought fame, just did the hard work. Took all the heat that naysayers threw.

Read:

• Manufacturing Consent (1988)

• Understanding Power

• Hegemony or Survival (2003)

• On Palestine (2015), w/ Ilan Pappé

View:

• The Corporation (2003) - features Chomsky

• Imperial Grand Strategy

• Distorted Morality (2003)

A straight rainbow IS queer.

Good on you, friend.

Now, 2w later, have you done any more?

Also, what remains challenging?

Travelers, The Expanse (noted by OP), Beef, and Breaking Bad are all solid. Add Mare of Easttown, the Morning Show, and the Newsroom and you’ve got half of my favourite shows of the past 15 years.

Ted Lasso was the big surprise to me here. The characters are lovable, caring, and well-crafted, and the story is simple but compelling. In all, only the most heartless, isolate, human beings would get nothing from this show.

Would materialism or consumerism, then, be the turn-off? Making more of “possessing” than “being” or “doing” is a real turn-off for me.

And, materialism/consumerism is — truly — promoted everywhere.

Seen the following?

Very Bad Things (1999)

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

the Nice Guys (2016)

Miller’s Crossing (1990) — I love this film.

Grosse Pointe Blank (1994)

Happiness (1998)

Hope you’ve seen the Animatrix, those shorts are worth it. Especially the first 6 of the 9.

Actually, I’m wondering now what you thought of the 2002 Solaris remake. I’ve not seen the Tarkovsky version, and I’m assuming you have. Of his other films, I’ve heard of Stalker. Recommend any others specifically?

I’ve seen it. I enjoyed it very much.

I picked Her for my A.I. entry because it was so much simpler, more understated, and close to our everyday experiences.

I also skipped Primer (2004) because I steered clear of time travel.

2001 is timeless.

Political intrigue, technological advancement, piercing the unknown, all drawn on the backdrop of an innocuous, normal exploration mission.

Until things go awry.

As directly inspired by 2001, I’d count a bunch of modern classics: Children of Men (2006), Sunshine (2007), Passengers (2016), the Expanse (TV series), and more.

What Kubrick did write the story with Arthur C. Clarke, slow the pace to reflect the long-haul nature of the mission — let alone the slow pace of human development — and focus on the sheer scale of progress needed to achieve such exploration. He also ensured that the conflict was truly tangible and high-stakes. Simple and human in its genesis, but devastating in its execution. Then, confronting ET intelligence as truly “other.”

Perfect.

Sci Fi top 6 ‐ focusing a bit on the soft sci-fi

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) dir: Stanley Kubrick

2. Arrival (2016) dir: Denis Villeneuve

3. Her (2013) dir: Spike Jonze

4. BladeRunner (1982) dir: Ridley Scott

5. Children of Men (2006) dir: Alfonso Cuarón

6. GATTACA (1997) dir: Andrew Niccol

Going with MacBooks. Used to be you could upgrade RAM and other components. Now, you have to get a new machine.

Heliocentric model.

Cosmic distance and time. Light speed as a limit.

The geological age of the Earth.

Dinosaurs.

Evolutionary theory.

Continental drift.

The periodic table of the elements.

Quantum theory, including wave-particle duality.

The Heisenberg uncertainty principle.

Black holes.

Watch, wallet, keys, phone, BT headphones.

MEC sling bag containing: (nicest $1 store) notebook, (Sharpie and/or 0.38 mm Muji) pens. Prescription sunglasses.

Assuming right-hand side of road driving and right-hand (anti-clockwise) directionality of travel.

1. Look left. Clear? Proceed. Not clear? Yield.
2. When safe to do so, enter the roundabout. Locate your exit.
3. Exit the roundabout.

Corollary: never stop in a roundabout. Go around more than once if you have to, but don’t stop.

I assume roundabouts in Australia and England and UK colonies that drive on the left, all instructions are direction-opposite.

Assuming left-hand side of road driving and left-hand (clockwise) directionality of travel.

1. Look right. Clear? Proceed. Not clear? Yield.
2. When safe to do so, enter the roundabout. Locate your exit.
3. Exit the roundabout.

Corollary: never stop in a roundabout. Go around more than once if you have to, but don’t stop.

The combination of critical thinking and critical evaluation leads, inexorably, to critical theory. This is where critical race theory, critical psychology, critical sociology, and critical pedagogy arise.

Yes. But, also, it’s not.

Let me explain.

The act itself is an exercise in either selfishness, selflessness, or synchronicity. Tuning into another person while still enjoying your own experience can be very challenging.

Then, there are trust issues. What are your sexual histories? What are your desires or qualms? How will your relationship look after? What if one of you doesn’t like what the other did, said, smelled like, etc.?

Finally, there’s the social element. Are you exclusive? Are you ok with being exclusive? What do you friends and family think of your sexual partner(s)? Does that matter to you? Are you going to have children? Does that matter to you?

Selfishness is great for the sex act, but you may not have sex often. I think it’s the road to truly being an incel.

Selflessness is a great way to get hurt often, but you’ll probably have lots of sex. Some sex addicts turn themselves over to their addiction.

The hard work is in developing a relationship with yourself, your needs, your partner(s), and their needs. Honesty, clarity, and uncomfortable conversations are all a part of the process.

When you find someone to experiment with, and there is ENTHUSIASTIC consent, be sure to be clear about what you’re agreeing to. And, for universe’s sake, foreplay is for everyone. Use protection, lubricate appropriately, and check in regularly whether everyone is still having a good time.

Then, yes. It can be mind-blowingly great.

Remember, you can do everything right and still not end up having the sex. Live to try another day.

Had a couch surfer stay with us a while in Kuwait. He’d been everywhere. He said that, of all places, Moldova had no redeeming qualities. Granted, things might have changed in 10 years. Does anyone care to weigh in?

Viewed. Thought it’d be even more catastrophic.