SirPalomides

"Freedom" in this context is a cynical ideological abstraction and propaganda weapon. When the US invaded Iraq, armed jihadist thugs in Syria, installed paramilitary coup governments in Latin America, what, precisely, did that have to do with "freedom"? Thanks to US "freedom" there are slave markets in Libya for the first time in 50+ years and women in most of Afghanistan can't go to college. In "free" Ukraine the fascists and holocaust deniers are openly in government and naming streets after their Nazi collaborationist heroes. The Darwinian "freedom" found in the USA is not worth fighting or dying for, though unfortunately many have indeed been killed for it. Neoliberalism is freedom only for the ruling class. It is clear that the superficial civil liberties provisionally enjoyed in the US are afforded because the nation is powerful and comfortable enough, and the population is indoctrinated enough, that dissent is effectively marginalized and poses no threat to the ruling class. When it does, this civil liberties have a funny way of evaporating. So instead of this nonsensical ideological abstraction of "freedom" it is better to ask about quality of life and culture, community and mutual aid. It is US imperialism, not socialism, that is fomenting chaos and bloodshed globally and trying again and again to drag the world into barbarism in the service of capital. The weakening and curbing of this imperialism is the top priority for humanity today, and the PRC is the strongest bulwark in that struggle. Regarding Uyghurs, so much of the Western reporting has been revealed to be shameless propaganda that it's hard to know where to start. These two articles do a fine job dissecting it in detail: https://thegrayzone.com/2019/12/21/china-detaining-millions-uyghurs-problems-claims-us-ngo-researcher/ https://thegrayzone.com/2020/03/05/world-uyghur-congress-us-far-right-regime-change-network-fall-china/ While I would be tempted to get into a protracted argument about all this, I don't have the time or energy for it so this will be my last post on this thread.

I can't agree there, judging by the hundreds of millions lifted out of poverty and the drastic improvement in life expectancy and standard of living, over the past few decades, readily observable by both PRC citizens and visitors, including staunch PRC critics. And while Mao is rightly condemned for his policies leading to the great famine, what anti-PRC critics consistently fail to note is that it was also the last famine in a country that was having a famine roughly every decade, whether under imperial, republican, or warlord rule. The KMT government ran the country into the ground; only the PRC was capable of lifting it up. Those calling for the overthrow of the CCP are effectively clamoring for China to have the same fate as the former Soviet Union- a balkanized neoliberal hellzone where oligarchs and foreign interests chop up and sell off the infrastructure and strip the resources, life expectancy plummets, and life generally sucks until, if you're lucky, some gangster like Putin stabilizes things. That's what would happen if the idiots in Hong Kong had their way. There is plenty the CCP has gotten wrong but there is no realistic alternative and calling it a monstrosity, ignoring the many things it has gotten right, plays into the hands of the powerful interests in the West who are eager to make China their playground once again.

A lot of folks still wish China was a dysfunctional warlord state easily stripped of resources and they get furious when it displays competence, leadership, or independence. World’s smallest violin for them. Propaganda war indeed.

No, this is bullshit. This blame China game is just going to get more people killed.

Or keeping it with a Yellow Peril theme...

And here I was picturing the Reverend Thulsa Doom

Among various proposed treatments, one from Cuba is showing promise: https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Cubas-Interferon-Alpha-2B-Successful-in-Treating-COVID-19-20200317-0015.html

I heard it pronounced Ahk-Sho-Bee-Ya by a Tibetan guy.

I don't know if attempting to profiteer from the epidemic makes one a dark sorcerer, but it definitely makes one a scumbag.

Sometimes people are so eager to have an edgy, clever take that they ignore some basic stuff and say ridiculous things. Like characterizing MBS' latest shakedown of his fellow royals as something to do with "draining the swamp", as if the Crown Prince is some sort of purifying reformer. Imagine a dysfunctional mafia family running a country and that explains a lot of what happens in Saudi politics.

Your political analysis makes almost as much sense as a Joe Biden livestream

Maybe start with Trump's cabinet, state department, etc? Bank execs, Reagan-era war criminals, and other swamp creatures abound. Anyone who still thinks Trump is draining the swamp in 2020 is the chump of chumps.

My suspicion is that at least some in the Democrat elite are happy with four more years of Trump, if the alternative is a very slight shift to the left a la Bernie Sanders. Whether Biden or Trump wins people in the Dem machine keep their jobs and keep getting paid. They can keep working at think tanks, pushing Russiagate conspiracies on cable news, or whatever other hustle they're in. If Sanders won then a lot of patronage networks would be weakened, a lot of cash flow gets interrupted, people who are highly influential are suddenly out in the cold.

Biden is pretty obviously at the onset of dementia. The past few livestreams coming from his campaign have made this clear. His relatively competent (but hardly sharp) performance at the Sunday debate would not surprise anyone who has dealt with someone with dementia- they have their "good days" which do not change the fact of overall decline. Attempts by the Dems to spin this as a "stutter" or "gaffes" have a very Emperor's New Clothes flavor to them. They fool only themselves. Bernie of course continues to be proven right, and Biden a shameless liar and all around scumbag, but reality has very little relevance in American politics. My hunch is that Trump will defeat Biden, not only by brutalizing him in debates (Americans love cruelty) but by running to his left in some ways, promising this or that social concession that Biden and his backers have steadfastly resisted. Right now of course he is about to send everyone money which is always appreciated. Trump is a moron in many ways but his political cunning is unmatched and the Dems continually underestimate it. It's hard to predict though how the pandemic will alter the landscape- the full devastation has yet to come and this country is utterly unprepared for it. For the sake of humanity, the continued decline and defeat of the US empire is essential, no matter who wins the election.

Yeah, I'd be very curious to see some examples. I can't find any mention of these revisions via Google.

I grew up with the David Lynch movie, and also with hearing fans of the book say how terrible it is. Having finally read the book, I still love the Lynch film. It has its flaws but it has extraordinary atmosphere, beautiful images, and an eerie, mystical soundtrack by Toto of all people. Some scenes I think it does remarkably well... the Box, for instance. Anyway, reading the book, it was impossible for me to imagine Paul as anyone other than Kyle MacLachlan. I had seen the series too, and while it does get a lot more things technically right, it doesn't have the same soul. I didn't play Dune 2 but I played the first Dune PC game by Cryo and I thought it was an excellent military strategy game. Anyway I loved the book. My favorite character is easily Lady Jessica. Such a thoroughly formidable person. Compared to her I felt that Paul was a bit of a cypher, though being a cypher goes with the territory of messianic youth protagonists. I was somewhat disappointed with the level of Frank Herbert's prose. Not that he's a bad writer by any means, but it's very... functional. I was expected something a bit more elevated like Gene Wolfe. Oh well. I wasn't aware that the texts had been revised- are you saying Brian Herbert actually altered the text of the novel itself, beyond just adding appendices? I'm hearing a lot of different opinions as to the quality of the sequels in general (including Frank's own). I guess I'll have to find out for myself.

Stop whining, hippy.

I read Frank Herbert's Dune for the first time last week. Also re-reading Mencius and the Analects. On Netflix I've been watching the Kingdom (Korean Joseon zombie show, quite excellent so far). Also watched King Hu's wonderful wuxia film A Touch of Zen (俠女).Eating a fair amount of pasta, will be making lentil soup tonight.

I had read that a fan, with talismanic inscriptions, could also serve as a mobile altar; however, the website I read that on is less than reputable so I'm not sure if this is solid information.

I thought it might be fun to talk about the various ways Daoists appear in popular culture. An influential work in this regard is Pu Songling's Qing dynasty collection Liaozhai Zhiyi (usually translated as "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" or something similar). So far I've only read about a fifth of these stories but they are a ton of fun. Many of them revolve around poor scholar-bureaucrats in backwater posts falling in love with ghosts, fox spirits, and other strange beings, some of them malevolent, some friendly. Daoist priests sometimes feature- again, sometimes as villains and sometimes as heroes who rescue foolish scholars from dangerous situations. Tons of films have been made from these stories, including the Chinese Ghost Story series (dir. Ching Siu-Tung) that @Zhongyongdaoist and I were talking about. (I'm ashamed to say I've only seen the first film) This story shows the priest in his role as exorcist and also as someone who rescues souls from hell. The climax of the film sees the Daoist (played by Wu Ma) storming the underworld to rescue the soul of the scholar's ghost lover. I suppose this could be thought of as a reimagining of the popular Daoist pudu rite.

A few of our petty earth weeks are a million years in BSMaster's Neckbeard Pure Land

For one thing, I believe even at that time the Chinese states were fielding much bigger armies than Europeans could ever imagine. I heard that when Marco Polo talked about the army sizes that he observed in Yuan dynasty China his fellow Italians dismissed him as "Marco Millions" because they could not seriously believe anyone could have that many men. I think I do enjoy the Odyssey more too, albeit I have read them both only in translation. By the way, anyone wanting to read a really fun, funny translation of the Iliad: I highly recommend The War Nerd Iliad by John Dolan.

Sounds like you’re forgetting more and more things, Barfjuggler. Like the weeds that still haven’t been whacked. It’s really time to move out of the mountains. Your grandkids scoped out a really nice community in Quito, go have a look, give it a chance. They’ve got Tai Chi lessons every week. You’d really like it.

Having technical troubles? Use the force Darth Dumber. Or have one of the grand kids help out. Too bad they all hate you.

Cool ignoring Fartpumper