No more right-wing bullshit.

[Apech]

1 hour ago, Taomeow said:

 

 Within oneself, definitely.  Within a whole society, definitely.  Both the individual human self and civilized human society are very impermanent phenomena while tao is eternal.  It is possible to destroy anything eternal locally even though it's not possible to destroy it on its own scale. Does it matter on the local level, of an individual, or a whole society where it has been destroyed, that on the nonlocal level it's indestructible?  Hardly.  One's own scale is where things matter.  

 

Imagine a man whose hair naturally manifests to always grow and renew itself -- continuously a few individual hairs fall out every day and a few new ones sprout to replace them.  At all times this lucky individual, impervious to male pattern baldness, would have a full head of hair if he were to just "go with the flow."  But what if he's a monk and the monastic code demands that he shaves his head daily, so that not a single hair can emerge.  What if he shaves his head for 70 years, since he's been admitted as a boy and throughout his life?  One can say hair on this man's head has been eliminated.  "Destroyed" for all practical purposes -- maybe it isn't "really" destroyed, maybe all he needs to do for it to manifest is stop shaving it.  But he never stops.  He always shaves his head.  So, it's not that all hair everywhere has been destroyed -- unless the society, for whatever reasons, decrees that everybody must shave their heads.  Besides some varieties of monks, there's other groups that do it, for religious reasons (e.g., in a few communities, married orthodox Hasidic women shave their heads and wear a wig instead), or hygienic (in Russia, an army conscript and a prisoner alike had their hair shaved off to prevent the spread of lice in confined settings), or fashion mixed with this or that ideology (skinheads), or iatrogenic (chemo patients), and so on.  If one of such groups were to gain universal power and demanded that everybody shave their heads, and if it happened ten thousand years ago, we would probably never even know what human hair looks like.

 

Well, in our practical case, it didn't happen with human hair.  It happened with human life as a whole.   It got shaved off and replaced with a wig, or a head scarf, or a burqa, or a tinfoil hat, or a soldier's helmet, or just remained bare -- metaphorically speaking, not in terms of what we do with our hair universally, in terms of how we do nearly everything with all things natural.  That's what taoist sages meant I think.  Of course they knew better than everyone else that tao is indestructible on the nonlocal level.  But they also knew it's zero consolation and zero redemption for those dwelling on the local one and destroying tao just about as far as their local size allows them to reach.    

 

 

Hmmm good , thanks.

[Nungali]

20 hours ago, Taomeow said:

Maybe none of it applies because I suspect we don't know the real situation, we see the tip of the iceberg and we can't find a solution because, well, the tip has been dissolved many times and it didn't affect the invisible part of the iceberg at all, and the new structure growing on top of it just replicated itself, with this or that level of precision.  That's one reason I don't pay much attention to what's going on on the visible top.  Sometimes I get glimpses of the invisible though, and that's when I start scrambling for a time machine to get the hell outta here.

 

A casual item on some TV show I saw perhaps 20 years ago.  About what wealthy people are into, about "it's not what you plebeians think."  No, not foie gras and black ties.  Not champagne and caviar.  They are into "whatever the hell I please," that's the name of the bigger game.  And that tip of the iceberg that gave me one of the memorable glimpses into what lies beneath was a few minutes' worth of a documentary within that show about a woman in California, in a place that "will remain anonymous," who -- the narrator informed the viewers in a  voice full of admiration -- does not collect cars or works of art but likes to collect live lions.  She doesn't do anything with them, just collects them.  At the time she had 56 of them -- in rows of small cages on her property, much like prison cells in an ordinary jail.  She was a young woman, perhaps in her 30s, looking like a regular California trophy wife.  There's no way she earned, or any which way deserved, to have the resources to be doing what she's doing.  Why?  Why inflict unimaginable misery on the magnificent, endangered animals in this manner, toward no imaginable purpose?  What can possibly be happening in a head that came up with this hobby?  How many heads of this kind are out there, in control of 99% of everything there is to have and to control?  And how scary is it if you stop and think about it?  What else is going on?  We all love to think "nothing much," horror scenarios are for movies and tinfoil hat wearing cooks, what's going on is, at most, champagne and caviar in excess of what we have access to but that's it. 

 

Nope.  That's not it.  Secret wealth and secret power and secret infernal madness go hand in hand -- that's what I think is the part that doesn't even occur to most about the invisible underwater part of the iceberg.  No one wants to "go there" and there's no proof anyway, ever.  But, man, circumstantial evidence...  Damn...   

 

 

Bravo !

 

Time for some musical social commentary on that  ;

 

 

 

 

[Nungali]

18 hours ago, liminal_luke said:

 

You´ve got a point.  My idea of wealthy is a pantry full of great condiments, Red Boat fish sauce and aged balsamic vinegar.  There´s no point collecting lions.  I think it´s challenging maintaining mental balance with too much money, just as it can be challenging maintaining mental balance with too little.

 

 Mine is  -  I 'collect'   and breed rainforest plants  .... then I release  em  into the wild     

 

Look what happens when you get too much money .... or too much power , or too much popularity  ......

 

 

[sean]

BLOOMBERG:

 

 

ME:

 

 

[Nungali]

Hold on everyone !

 

Stand back !  I know how to deal with this ... I  did a first - aid course , in my youth .

 

 

lets see now ....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nungali]

It has been estimated  that Aboriginal people, in Australia , in good season and good country 'worked'  2 -4 hours a day . That includes hunting, gathering,  taking care of shelter and necessities .  The rest of the time was for leisure,  social activities ( a LOT of singing and dancing ) learning and teaching, travel visiting and feasting, playing with the kids. 

 

( Although I am not sure where tool making and repair fits in with that .  Some see things like net making and repair as  'leisure', some as 'work' )
 

 

They LOVE dancing - do it all night if they can   ... even 'old fellah'  get up and have a go

 

 

 

 

 

 - Currently it is 35 hr / week but up to 45 for some  and stats show up to 2 months unpaid overtime a year .

 

Edited August 21, 2019 by Nungali

[joeblast]

On 7/30/2019 at 4:32 PM, Kar3n said:

I've spent the better part of 3 years upholding and enforcing the egalitarian principles of this forum and defending the thing you, @sean set into motion years ago.

 

I left the day you chose to show how little respect you have for the team who kept this place afloat by closing reports and refusing to answer questions.

 

I've come back here to inform you that I believed in what you had going here. I loved that it was a diverse community awash with different view, people and practices. 

 

Sad you've chosen this path and shat on those who had real faith in you and TDB as a whole. It's really sad...

 

 

See ya bums. 

Quoted for emphasis 

 

 

 

 

@sean you will still owe an apology to the community after its unequivocal that I'm correct about the transnational criminal organizations

 

which only has anything to do with politics insofar as most of the nations of the world have had some measure of their politicians bought, blackmailed, etc. 

 

again not a left or right thing! (its both!) except insofar as the media has convinced people of certain persuasions that any unsavory thinking on certain subjects is automatically to be equated with alt right far right etc.   I mean that's the entire reason I backed up plenty of what I wrote with news articles, doj articles, etc., just to show that there are indeed things happening that support my assertions.  that it happens to be more guilty D than R right now is only reflective of this point in history.

 

why this needed to be made into a L<>R thing from up on high above, I can only surmise that its because logical fallacies need to be employed as a means to prevent as many people from consuming the information as possible.

 

 

( *shrugs* do not be surprised when I'm right, that's the last I'll say of it.)

 

( and that goes for the unproven, unfalsifiable co2 conjecture also!)

Edited August 22, 2019 by joeblast
truth withstands inquiry

[ralis]

1 hour ago, joeblast said:

Quoted for emphasis 

 

 

 

 

@sean you will still owe an apology to the community after its unequivocal that I'm correct about the transnational criminal organizations

 

which only has anything to do with politics insofar as most of the nations of the world have had some measure of their politicians bought, blackmailed, etc. 

 

again not a left or right thing! (its both!) except insofar as the media has convinced people of certain persuasions that any unsavory thinking on certain subjects is automatically to be equated with alt right far right etc.   I mean that's the entire reason I backed up plenty of what I wrote with news articles, doj articles, etc., just to show that there are indeed things happening that support my assertions.  that it happens to be more guilty D than R right now is only reflective of this point in history.

 

why this needed to be made into a L<>R thing from up on high above, I can only surmise that its because logical fallacies need to be employed as a means to prevent as many people from consuming the information as possible.

 

 

( *shrugs* do not be surprised when I'm right, that's the last I'll say of it.)

 

( and that goes for the unproven, unfalsifiable co2 conjecture also!)

 

Still stirring up trouble with fallacious reasoning, Joe! Your post wreaks with false equivalencies and sweeping condescension. Further, there are rules in place regarding AGW denial! 

[sean]

4 hours ago, joeblast said:

 

@sean you will still owe an apology to the community after its unequivocal that I'm correct about the transnational criminal organizations

 

which only has anything to do with politics insofar as most of the nations of the world have had some measure of their politicians bought, blackmailed, etc. 

 

again not a left or right thing! (its both!) except insofar as the media has convinced people of certain persuasions that any unsavory thinking on certain subjects is automatically to be equated with alt right far right etc.   I mean that's the entire reason I backed up plenty of what I wrote with news articles, doj articles, etc., just to show that there are indeed things happening that support my assertions.  that it happens to be more guilty D than R right now is only reflective of this point in history.

 

why this needed to be made into a L<>R thing from up on high above, I can only surmise that its because logical fallacies need to be employed as a means to prevent as many people from consuming the information as possible.

 

 

( *shrugs* do not be surprised when I'm right, that's the last I'll say of it.)

 

( and that goes for the unproven, unfalsifiable co2 conjecture also!)

 

Sir, this is an Arby’s drive thru.

 

[Apech]

7 minutes ago, sean said:

 

Sir, this is an Arby’s drive thru.

 

 

 

Could this be translated for non-US members?

 

 

[joeblast]

3 hours ago, sean said:

 

Sir, this is an Arby’s drive thru.

 

Yep, it might as well be.  Mostly a bunch of horse meat passed off as something else.  Except Arby's would go out of business if their owners didnt show up for 10 years then all of a sudden one day showed up and decided they wanted to be a rotisserie joint instead. 

 

Funny that you acted on my good luck wish to completely homogenize the mindset of the forum - but hey, what else can one expect from the Borg.  We're all for free speech, except when you disagree with us.

 

Move the signposts of the dao around, and once the new center of the yinyang is defined as the edges of far left - and you new caricature will more assuredly be unbalanced.   Its still stupid that Off Topic things generated this much of a reaction.  But I guess when people are so fragile that their lives become unbalanced by seeing things that disagree with their beliefs....I dunno, it just makes me think what do you do when reality says f you you're wrong, reality is exactly the way you are sensitive to?  lol.  That's why they call it "cold, hard reality."  They dont call it comfy touchy feely you'll always be taken care of its ok let me pat your ass reality. 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah ralis I know, "only approved utterances" and anything proclaimed by banksters and their money cannot be questioned, because even though "we on the left are way against corporations running/dominating things," we're going to sit here and support the very biggest of corporations running & dominating everything.  Cuz Central Banks and international loan sharking operations dont count (lol)

 

(and we'll call you a crazy right winger if you attempt to point this or any of the other myriad hypocrisies out.)

 

Why it is acceptable to break the laws of countries so that "leftist ideals" may be implemented?  (Yes, inventing new powers beyond the delegated powers of a republic is actually breaking said republic's laws.)    Yeah, ya dont want to answer the difficult questions.  "Cuz its fair?"  lol, as if you could come up with a good answer aside from "breaking and subverting the laws of nations - its the compassionate thing to do."

 

*poke, poke*  this is reality *poke* is all I have done

 

 

anyway, I'm outski, yall have fun in your isolation tank that keeps you away from actual reality.

[thelerner]

6 hours ago, Apech said:

Could this be translated for non-US members?

 

I believe its an existential dismissal,

like after someone's long rant saying 'Would you like fries with that?'

 

[sean]

 

How is it news to anyone that grotesquely rich, capitalist gargoyles on "both sides" of the entirely right-wing U.S. political spectrum coordinate to control capital while participating in all manner of utterly depraved behavior?

 

My conspiracy theory is that right-wing libertarian bros are so incomprehensibly dense that it took a ludicrous B-horror-movie yarn to help them discover a tiny, misinterpreted flicker of class consciousness. Reality is far, far colder and harsher than goofy-ass QAnon screenplays.

 

Sean

 

[dawei]

2 hours ago, thelerner said:

I believe its an existential dismissal,

like after someone's long rant saying 'Would you like fries with that?'

 

 

With no offer of ketchup 

[joeblast]

lol when your spectrum looks like this

[sean]

14 hours ago, joeblast said:

( *shrugs* do not be surprised when I'm right, that's the last I'll say of it.)

 

5 hours ago, joeblast said:

anyway, I'm outski, yall have fun in your isolation tank that keeps you away from actual reality.

 

18 minutes ago, joeblast said:

lol when your spectrum looks like this

 

Narrator: But everyone knew this was surely not the last joeblast would say of "it". Their poor, out of control boy was never really "outski" at all. <FADE OUT>

 

[joeblast]

25 minutes ago, sean said:

 

 

 

Narrator: But everyone knew this was surely not the last joeblast would say of "it". Their poor, out of control boy was never really "outski" at all. <FADE OUT>

 

what are you responding for, then?

Edited August 22, 2019 by joeblast
shooting your ideology to shit is as difficult as shooting fish in a barrel, please...I'd still be doing it probably if you hadnt received your 4am talking points from the central Leftist Hive that we need to shut em down now asap use whatever means need

[sean]

[Apech]

Well, we've gone from TM on on the destruction of the Tao to some (pointless) memes in the space of one page.

[ralis]

JB just won’t give up. I guess one who poses being the smartest most well informed person in the room must be beyond reproach.  Reminds me of the most recent Trumpian quote, “I am the chosen one.” 

[Nungali]

35 minutes ago, Apech said:

Well, we've gone from TM on on the destruction of the Tao to some (pointless) memes in the space of one page.

 

I think its always good to have at least one thread running with such    .......   'obscure diversity '  .

 

A 'pressure valve'  ,  so to speak .

 

---------

 

American in foreign restaurant   :

 

' Bring me  American   rissoles  ,  God damn it !  I want American rissoles  !  "

 

Waiter :  " I am sorry Sir, we do not call them that in this country ."

 

" Oh no ?  Well, whaddaya call em then ? "

 

Waiter ;   " Arseholes "  . 

[Apech]

2 minutes ago, Nungali said:

 

I think its always good to have at least one thread running with such    .......   'obscure diversity '  .

 

A 'pressure valve'  ,  so to speak .

 

---------

 

American in foreign restaurant   :

 

' Bring me  American   rissoles  ,  God damn it !  I want American rissoles  !  "

 

Waiter :  " I am sorry Sir, we do not call them that in this country ."

 

" Oh no ?  Well, whaddaya call em then ? "

 

Waiter ;   " Arseholes "  . 

 

 

Whose pressure is it valving?

 

 

[Nungali]

8 minutes ago, Apech said:

 

 

Whose pressure is it valving?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, it helps to reveal  people's  'true colours ' 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

[C T]

18 minutes ago, ralis said:

JB just won’t give up. I guess one who poses being the smartest most well informed person in the room must be beyond reproach.  Reminds me of the most recent Trumpian quote, “I am the chosen one.” 

 

There was once a truly great sage in China who roamed from village to village debating with all comers on any subject, and never once lost a debate. One day, he came upon an orange elephant in a glass house, and began to marvel at it. Soon, people gathered round, and word got out that such a magnificent beast was discovered, and large crowds began making a beeline to witness this wonder of nature. Fearing that something untoward may happen due to ever-increasing number of curious onlookers, this sage began addressing the crowd. With his masterful eloquence, gradually he convinced them that this orange elephant is something other than what they think it is, and no matter what, they must not believe whats right in front of their eyes - the existence of an orange elephant in a glass house. The crowd was pacified, and eventually they began to disperse. Of course the elephant wasn't too pleased at losing all the attention save for that given by one mere mortal human, and one whose intelligence and skilfulness meant nothing to the elephant, whose only desire is to bask in the adulations of the throngs of people that came to see it. He became at first dejected, then angry, and in a sudden clouded moment of irrationality, he went charging out of the glass house. Needless to say, it got badly wounded by all the splintering glass that pierced him in a million places, and it eventually died, not as a direct result from the physical injuries, but mainly from that deep sense of feeling neglected and abandoned. Before its final breath, the elephant muttered to the sage, "If only you knew I was the chosen one." And with that, it went to elephant heaven. 

 

Doubly tragically, the sage became most forlorn from losing the one thing that truly captured his deepest admiration and devotion. Alas, he wouldn't have had to endure this scorching pain had he realised that his own powers of persuasion, when not able to be appreciated from deep within his own being, was in itself his own little elephant in a glasshouse. 

 

The end. 

[sean]

1 hour ago, Apech said:

Well, we've gone from TM on on the destruction of the Tao to some (pointless) memes in the space of one page.

 

 

😜