Shit you give a fuck about

[Repugnant Abomination]

Airsea Battle VS Offshore Control: Can the US Blockade China? | The Diplomat

...Colby mounts a defense of the ASB doctrine. He maintains in effect that the U.S. armed forces must develop some way to kick in the door should China slam it shut in the Western Pacific. In his rejoinder, Hammes denies that AirSea Battle is a strategy while propounding his alternative concept of "offshore control.” It's a good, and necessary, debate. Have a look at all three installments.

In a nutshell, offshore control means sealing off the first island chain to keep PLA Navy shipping from reaching the broad Pacific; waging submarine and aerial warfare to deny China access to its own offshore waters and skies; and imposing a distant blockade to bring economic pressure on Beijing. Over time, China might relinquish its goals to stop the pain. Offshore control abjures strikes at sites on the mainland — the most objectionable part of AirSea Battle — as needlessly escalatory in a campaign for limited aims.

A very interesting debate and the biggest emerging geopolitical issue of the 21st century.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ag-gag

Ag-gag is a term used for a variety of anti-whistleblower laws in the United States of America. In Utah and Iowa, the recording of undercover videos showing animal cruelty in farming practices is now illegal

Seriously, what the fuck.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering

In the process of setting electoral districts, gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries to create partisan advantaged districts. The resulting district apportionment is known as a gerrymander.

This is the biggest reason we have such polarization in congress -- gerrymandering enables the most far right and far left candidates, making their most likely challenge coming in the primary rather than general election.

[Repugnant Abomination]

Shit you don't give a fuck about:

This thread.

[DJ FC]

I care about the NSA, taxes, tensions with Russia, and the utter devastation of Earth's climate.

I also care deeply about technology, the markets, real estate, morality, maps, champagne and fine dining, the inevitable technological singularity, and the ever growing influence our governments have on the lives of individuals.

I'm interested in issues of equality and systematic biases, bitcoin, running and cycling, beer, partying in Europe, privacy, and fear of nuclear and biological weapons in the hands of fundamentalists.

I'm paranoid about drones, big money in politics, and no term limits for Congress.

I'm fascinated by all physics from sub-atomic to astrophysics.

I'm addicted to reddit and twitter.

[THEINCREDIBLEdork]

8 Reasons Why You Should Never Declaw Your Cats | Companion Animals | Living | PETA

[Saint DH]

Originally Posted by DJ FC

I care about the NSA, taxes, tensions with Russia, and the utter devastation of Earth's climate.

I also care deeply about technology, the markets, real estate, morality, maps, champagne and fine dining, the inevitable technological singularity, and the ever growing influence our governments have on the lives of individuals.

I'm interested in issues of equality and systematic biases, bitcoin, running and cycling, beer, partying in Europe, privacy, and fear of nuclear and biological weapons in the hands of fundamentalists.

I'm paranoid about drones, big money in politics, and no term limits for Congress.

I'm fascinated by all physics from sub-atomic to astrophysics.

I'm addicted to reddit and twitter.

Reddit.

Into the trash it goes.

[Mr. Blonde]

The funny part about you hating Reddit is that you still probably go there a lot.

If you have any reason to hate Reddit, let it be because you see yourself becoming one with the hivemind...stay in there too long and you'll forget how to come back...

[Orgazmo]

I am also addicted to reddit.

[Dent]

Cheating swines.

[Saint DH]

I just wanted to be the trashman.

Honestly though, most of redbit sucks. If you alter your subs enough and rarely scope the comments, it's basically fine, maybe even useful.

[DDTempest]

I've only been to reddit twice ever

[THEINCREDIBLEdork]

Reddit is sifting through shit for gold. The gold is there, but your hands are going to get dirty.

I read to find humor or amusement, or I dig through the comments to try to find interesting differing opinions but take everything with a grain of salt.

Even when you figure out how to separate the shit from the gold it's sometimes its still hard to tell. Sometimes you think you taste gold but really you're eating shit for ten minutes and then you see a comment is buried near the bottom that debunks everything you just read.

I'm sure it's a heavenly place for people who believe whatever they read and have not learned critical thinking. Never use it as a primary source of knowledge and keep in mind a lot of people game it's karma system, anonymity, and ease of creating multiple accounts. Some don't just do it for karmawhoring, but have an agenda.

[DJ FC]

Not all subreddits are created equal. Some are much, much better than others. /r/nfl and /r/soccer are two good examples. 99% of reddit doesn't care about sports. But the 1% that do have created these two communities which are very good.

[Saint DH]

Reddit is ok for content aggregation.

For discussion, there are much better places available.

[Mr. Blonde]

Thanks for that input DH

[Saint DH]

Do you agree?

[DJ FC]

AskHistorians is awesome

[Saint DH]

[Dent]

1. Effective Animal Activism
2. Reducing wild-animal suffering
3. Animal Cognition
4. Science, Technology & the Future
5. Hedonistic Utilitarianism
6. Rational Transhumanism
7. Reducing Future Suffering
8. Moral Enhancement
9. Stanford Transhumanist Association
10. I Am You - Discussions on Open Individualism
11. UKH+
12. Utilitarianism
13. Techno-Optimism
14. Land Value Taxation
15. Ending aging: SENS, SENS Foundation, Aubrey de Grey
16. Humanity+
17. Effective Altruists
18. Evolutionary Psychology
19. Analytic Philosophy
20. Less Wrong
21. Abolitionists against suffering
22. Augmenting Intelligence - Mind Uploading
23. Quantum Physics

[THEINCREDIBLEdork]

Whats is the purpose of this list Dent? I'm wikipeding my ass off here. Why is the animal related stuff at the top?

[f3lix]

Originally Posted by THEINCREDIBLEdork

Whats is the purpose of this list Dent? I'm wikipeding my ass off here. Why is the animal related stuff at the top?

History of Bestiality - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Who's next?

[Dent]

Originally Posted by THEINCREDIBLEdork

Why is the animal related stuff at the top?

Not sure, I didn't order them in any way.

[Mr. Blonde]

Originally Posted by Dent

10. I Am You - Discussions on Open Individualism

I highly suggest you look into the works of Joseph Campbell. I think you'd find them quite academically interesting --- he has spent his life working with comparative mythology (more than comparative religion, as myths were the protean forms of religion). He was an intellectual force to be reckoned with, able to delve into these topics while keeping an open mind and not ascribing to any particular religion throughout his life, which I greatly admire.

Thou Art That: Transforming Religious Metaphor: Joseph Campbell: 9781458757739: Amazon.com: Books

The Hero With a Thousand Faces - Joseph Campbell | Wikipedia

The Power of Myth: Lessons from Joseph Campbell (i just received this book yesterday, an ongoing dialogue with Bill Moyers derived from a PBS documentary back in the day: http://video.pbs.org/video/2201676017/


apologies for link dump, slightly hypocritical I know, but no rush on checking these out, and I'm always open for further discussion. Mythology has always interested me greatly, particularly what I now am starting to suspect is a more esoteric, hidden meaning of Greek mythology beyond the surface intepretation. I plan on incorporating lots of mythological motifs in my music.

Originally Posted by Betty Sue Flowers, Editor of 'The Power of Myth'

...I recalled also when one of my colleagues had been asked by a friend about our collaboration with Campbell: "Why do you need all the mythology?" She held the familiar opinion that "all these Greek gods and stuff" are irrelevant to the human condition today. What she did not know -- what most do not know -- is that the remnants of all that "stuff" line the walls of our interior system of belief, like shards of broken pottery in an archaeological site. Rituals evoke it.

Consider the position of judges in our society, which Campbell saw in mythological, not sociological, terms. If this position were "just a role", the judge could wear a gray suit to court instead of the "magisterial black robe". For the law to hold authority beyond mere coersion, the power of the judge must be ritualized, mythologized. So must much of life today, Campbell said, from religion and war to love and death.

[Dent]

That group isn't as active anymore, two members committed suicide earlier this year.
I'll look into your post later tonight, very short on time but I think this is the discussion that you might find interesting, I'm leaning towards empty but the ethics between the two is negligible

[Mr. Blonde]

I am firmly against the concept of Solipsism, I find it difficult to believe one can truly adopt that view and stay sane, and if it was true, I doubt the human race would have lasted this long. That being said, much of Eastern philosophy (particularly Hinduism) (Although on a much more "Cosmic-consciousness" level, does seem to have solipsistic overtones, although in a much more positive and diverse framework. If we ascribe to the Big Bang, then we must admit that all that is comes from a solid point of singularity, divided potentially in infinite forms, which means whatever THAT, the Ultimate Ground of Being is, conscious or otherwise, may be experiencing Solipsism, but I doubt it is subject to the human constructs of fear, terror, and loneliness that a human solipsist may be subjected to.

Also, really funny clip from The Atheist Experience, back when I used to get into it. They spent 10+ minutes arguing with this guy only to hear he was a solipsist (which would basically mean he's willingly arguing with himself, which is HILARIOUS. Good 30 second video to brighten your day.)

YOU'RE A SOLIPSIST!!!!!! - The Atheist Experience - YouTube

YOU'RE A SOLIPSIST!!!!!! - The Atheist Experience - YouTube

And yeah, as I said, no rush at all. I'm just throwing out thoughts I've had that you may find interesting. I'm much more partial to literature-based exploration of reality and I understand that not everyone shares that penchant.

Originally Posted by Dent

That group isn't as active anymore, two members committed suicide earlier this year.

What is this in reference to?

[Dent]

The I Am You Open Individualism group, no one there is a closed so the discussion is generally open vs empty, it hasn't been as active as it was before the suicides, but the group are awesome.
I agree with diachronic identity but not synchronic.
Identity Over Time (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)


This guy is a monist idealist, and also believes in the Christian god, his knowledge of philosophy and physics is above mine.
I think the bald guy says he's a solipsist here too?

Introspective Argument Presentation on the Atheist Experience -03/23/2013 Episode #806 - YouTube

Introspective Argument Presentation on the Atheist Experience -03/23/2013 Episode #806 - YouTube

very tired atm so apologies for mistakes.