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Oct. 7th, 2013 01:39 am* It sounded like there was a major crack down on the Muslim Brotherhood by the Egyptian military going on over the weekend, followed by retaliation in the form of terrorist bombings.
* Remember how the US was fairly popular in Libya because we actually consulted the inhabitants about what they wanted before intervening and how the new government was cooperating with us? We just pissed on that by renditioning someone from there without consulting the government thus undermining the new government there. Yes, the guy we renditioned was Al Queada. The thing is though, How would we feel if another country sent people to kidnap Bush, Cheney, or Rove for their war crimes? Clearly these are war criminals involved in ordering the torture of prisoners and they ought to be brought to trial at the Hague, but kidnapping people from other countries is a serious asshole maneuver and violates international law. I'm in favor of international law and not pissing on your friends just generally.
* They are still retrieving bodies from the African refugee ship off the coast of Italy. The refugees were mostly from Eritrea and Somalia. There are 150 survivors at the over crowded migrant center, with people sleeping in the open and winter coming. Conditions at the site have made body recovery hard. They have found 83 out of three hundred or so they believe to be dead. They've started taking DNA and photographs to try to identify the dead. It is horrifying. I can only imagine the trauma the survivors and islanders are going through. The survivors face harsh fines they can't afford by the Italian government as well. These are people pulled out of the water who have lost what little they have. The Italian government is debating what to do with them.
* The Koch brothers spent 10x the money on closing pre-schools that provide education and child care than they spent building a child care facility for the families that work at MIT. Why are people praising them for this? It seems to me that folks working minimum wage are the ones needing child care the most, not the least.
* Once Upon a Time the line between Rent, Taxes, and Fines was blurry in England. This changed everything. (Also feudalism was way messier than gets presented a lot of the time):
( Cut for length: )
Meanwhile, French nobles had the expectation of military service only and Salic Law meant there was less pressure to convert to other payment types. There was less bleed between forms and types of taxation. Over time, the system of military duty for the aristocracy died out in favor of a standing professional army paid for with taxes on the poor and Middle Class. They never converted levy requirements into taxation on the rich. As the expense of running an early modern state increased over time, it got harder and harder for the productive members of society to carry the tax burden that supported while also dealing with skyrocketing rents to pay for increasingly more expensive aristocratic life styles. England had a progressive tax system and significantly higher social mobility; France had a massively regressive tax system and the gap between hereditary nobility and people who worked for a living got wider and wider. The connection between money and power led to non-nobles having fewer and fewer rights and opportunities. The English system was more flexible and so survived despite civil wars and uprisings. The more rigid French system became financially bankrupt and so oppressive that killing noble families down to the children started looking like a good idea. (I do not condone the murder of innocent children and babies, I am just explaining where all that anger comes from). A noble could do literally anything to a commoner without expectation of repercussion by the end. When the Nobles attempted to leverage the discontent of ordinary people in a power struggle with the monarchy, they released centuries of pent up fury.
* It has come to my attention that there is a lot of assholery going around about Darren Criss and his girlfriend:
( Cut for length: )
Short Form? Don't Be a Dick!
* "2014 Olympic Flame Lit And Headed To Sochi:" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2013/10/2014-olympic-flame-lit-and-headed-to.html
* "Bigotry Costs You Big Money:" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2013/10/bigotry-costs-you-big-money.html
* Today was a really bad leg day and I am really cranky. Luckily, my errands were low key.
* Glee 4.5-7 (The last bit of 5, parts of 7):
( Embed: )
* Remember how I said they keep finding or reconstructing old lost classic Doctor Who episodes? They have found the mother load. "106 Doctor Who episodes uncovered in Ethiopia featuring William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton:" http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/106-doctor-who-episodes-uncovered-2343474
* Last week during the pre-inspection chaos, Mozart balls came in the mail. I have taken to sucking them instead of gobbling them. Yes, I know how that sounds. Thank you, whoever sent them.
It just occurred me I have been sucking on balls of unknown provenience all week.
* "The Last Trick or Treaters:" http://www.rhymes-with-witch.com/rww10072013.shtml
* Remember how the US was fairly popular in Libya because we actually consulted the inhabitants about what they wanted before intervening and how the new government was cooperating with us? We just pissed on that by renditioning someone from there without consulting the government thus undermining the new government there. Yes, the guy we renditioned was Al Queada. The thing is though, How would we feel if another country sent people to kidnap Bush, Cheney, or Rove for their war crimes? Clearly these are war criminals involved in ordering the torture of prisoners and they ought to be brought to trial at the Hague, but kidnapping people from other countries is a serious asshole maneuver and violates international law. I'm in favor of international law and not pissing on your friends just generally.
* They are still retrieving bodies from the African refugee ship off the coast of Italy. The refugees were mostly from Eritrea and Somalia. There are 150 survivors at the over crowded migrant center, with people sleeping in the open and winter coming. Conditions at the site have made body recovery hard. They have found 83 out of three hundred or so they believe to be dead. They've started taking DNA and photographs to try to identify the dead. It is horrifying. I can only imagine the trauma the survivors and islanders are going through. The survivors face harsh fines they can't afford by the Italian government as well. These are people pulled out of the water who have lost what little they have. The Italian government is debating what to do with them.
* The Koch brothers spent 10x the money on closing pre-schools that provide education and child care than they spent building a child care facility for the families that work at MIT. Why are people praising them for this? It seems to me that folks working minimum wage are the ones needing child care the most, not the least.
* Once Upon a Time the line between Rent, Taxes, and Fines was blurry in England. This changed everything. (Also feudalism was way messier than gets presented a lot of the time):
( Cut for length: )
Meanwhile, French nobles had the expectation of military service only and Salic Law meant there was less pressure to convert to other payment types. There was less bleed between forms and types of taxation. Over time, the system of military duty for the aristocracy died out in favor of a standing professional army paid for with taxes on the poor and Middle Class. They never converted levy requirements into taxation on the rich. As the expense of running an early modern state increased over time, it got harder and harder for the productive members of society to carry the tax burden that supported while also dealing with skyrocketing rents to pay for increasingly more expensive aristocratic life styles. England had a progressive tax system and significantly higher social mobility; France had a massively regressive tax system and the gap between hereditary nobility and people who worked for a living got wider and wider. The connection between money and power led to non-nobles having fewer and fewer rights and opportunities. The English system was more flexible and so survived despite civil wars and uprisings. The more rigid French system became financially bankrupt and so oppressive that killing noble families down to the children started looking like a good idea. (I do not condone the murder of innocent children and babies, I am just explaining where all that anger comes from). A noble could do literally anything to a commoner without expectation of repercussion by the end. When the Nobles attempted to leverage the discontent of ordinary people in a power struggle with the monarchy, they released centuries of pent up fury.
* It has come to my attention that there is a lot of assholery going around about Darren Criss and his girlfriend:
( Cut for length: )
Short Form? Don't Be a Dick!
* "2014 Olympic Flame Lit And Headed To Sochi:" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2013/10/2014-olympic-flame-lit-and-headed-to.html
* "Bigotry Costs You Big Money:" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2013/10/bigotry-costs-you-big-money.html
* Today was a really bad leg day and I am really cranky. Luckily, my errands were low key.
* Glee 4.5-7 (The last bit of 5, parts of 7):
( Embed: )
* Remember how I said they keep finding or reconstructing old lost classic Doctor Who episodes? They have found the mother load. "106 Doctor Who episodes uncovered in Ethiopia featuring William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton:" http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/106-doctor-who-episodes-uncovered-2343474
* Last week during the pre-inspection chaos, Mozart balls came in the mail. I have taken to sucking them instead of gobbling them. Yes, I know how that sounds. Thank you, whoever sent them.
It just occurred me I have been sucking on balls of unknown provenience all week.
* "The Last Trick or Treaters:" http://www.rhymes-with-witch.com/rww10072013.shtml