Vanderbilt Vanderbilt retweetledi
Can these Brits build a city?
Watch the full podcast about Forest City with project co-founders @isnit0 and @shivmalik
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Vanderbilt Vanderbilt
2.5K posts
Vanderbilt Vanderbilt retweetledi
Opposing the obliteration of millennia-old civilisations is conservative, actually
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@colingorrie Very cool. Can follow it through to Chaucer, but it all comes apart with Norman times where i'm doing some educated guessing, and no shot at the Old English last paragraph.
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Vanderbilt Vanderbilt retweetledi
Written English has barely changed in 300 years. If you can read Harry Potter, you can read Robinson Crusoe (1719).
The Spelling of our Tongue was in the main ſettled ere the eighteenth Century, & the Grammar has ſuffer'd but little Alteration ſince. Yet before this happy Settlement, things were exceeding ſtrange.
In Shakeſpeares dayes, ſpelling was much more variable, & you ſhall finde notable differences in the grammar: "thou" could bee intimate or inſulting, depending vpon whom you ſayd it to; to chooſe amiſse had conſequences.
Wende we now tuo hundred ȝeer bifore, to Chauceres tyme. It seemeth ȝit as Englisshe, but it nis nat esy to reden withouten greet connynge.
Yet tuo hundred wintre er, sone after þat the Normans comen to þis londe, is Englisch on muchel wandlunge. Þe tunges work is tobroken, Frensce wordes comeþ in, and þe writunge is al totwemed.
Þy furðor þu underbæc færst, þy gelicor biþ Englisc gesewen þære Deniscan spræce. Englisce bec þæs m. geare ne mæg nan mann rædan buton he sundorlice geleornad sy.
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Vanderbilt Vanderbilt retweetledi
There was never the slightest chance that Republican terrorism could undo British rule in Northern Ireland, which is ultimately a function of brute demography. All the "armed struggle" ever accomplished was to murder innocents and to sow fear, distrust and hatred for generations.
Sage Despatches@SageDespatches
The Disneyfication of terrorism. Edward O'Brien was an IRA terrorist, killed in 1996 by his own bomb, whilst he was engaged in an act of terrorism. His bomb contained Semtex plastic explosives. It exploded prematurely whilst he was on a double-decker bus in London. O'Brien, as with so many other terrorists, didn't give a damn about the people around him, the people he was knowingly endangering, whilst carrying a bomb in a public place. His fellow IRA terrorists regularly transported bombs, including van bombs containing a tonne or more of explosives, through heavily built up areas, full of people. The explosion killed O'Brien the terrorist. It also injured the other passengers and people in cars that were adjacent to the bus. The bus driver lost his hearing. That's the truth about the IRA terrorist named Edward O'Brien. He wasn't a patriot or a hero and he's not a martyr. He's just a dead terrorist, killed by his own bomb, whilst fighting for a "cause" in an "armed struggle" that his leadership had long before realised was doomed to fail.
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@HistoryBoomer Perfectly happy with descent from murderous cattle thieves in the Scottish borders who went to Ulster and then to America and then back to Ulster (and then back to America in my case). I do not understand this need to big up who had the better civ. None of that was you anyway.
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"Whose civilization is best?" is a stupid game.
Europe has been very impressive over the last 500 years, but for the first 2700 years after civilization began in Sumeria (3500 BCE), it was a relative backwater. The Middle East, India, and China were where the cool stuff was happening (literacy, construction, extensive trading networks). Europeans were pre-literate peoples until the Greeks learned to write by copying the Phoenicians in the 8th century BCE. (Unless you want to count the Minoans.)
The Greeks and then the Romans did some pretty cool stuff from 600 BCE to 476 CE, but they were regionally dominant, not world powers.
In 1492, Europeans were about to begin their rise to global power, but even then, no European state was as strong as the Ottoman or Ming Empires (or the about-to-be-born Mughal Empire in India). Even as late as 1683, Europe was threatened by outside invasion (the Ottoman siege of Vienna).
It's probably not until the 1757 British victory at Plassey (over the Nawab of Bengal) that Europeans could be said to be truly globally dominant (although their naval preeminence was clear well before that). And today that dominance is threatened by the rise of China (although that country has its own problems).
Western Civilization is pretty cool—I'm a fan—but it has not "always" been exceptional, and if history is any judge, it will eventually be replaced by some other contender (although that newcomer will borrow and build up on what Western Civilization created).
Matt Walsh@MattWalshBlog
It’s amazing to consider that four populated continents border the Atlantic Ocean but for centuries none of them, except Europe, produced a single person who managed to navigate it from one side to another. In fact there is no evidence that any tribe anywhere in the Americas ever even thought to cross it. There was one possible reported expedition from west Africa going the other way but all of the ships were lost, if they were ever actually sent at all. Outside of that, as far as we know, no Africans ever tried to cross it either. Certainly none ever succeeded. Europeans alone had the vision, the courage, the skill, and the ingenuity to pull it off. They not only traversed the unknown sea, but built empires that stretched across it. They don’t want you to learn much about the true history of western civilization because if you do you will learn how incredibly exceptional it is, and has always been.
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@estherzelda0514 The entire history of the gay rights movement has been retconned into a glorious exercise in sparkly gay Pride activism, when the truth is Justice Kennedy and a bunch of other conservative law types actually supported the legal arguments. Can't fundraise or preen off that tho.
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Nope, the gay rights movement headlined normie gay couples with strict message discipline. The trans right movement has now become synonymous with mentally ill scolds with severe mission creep. People really don't like being lectured to by annoying people, that's all.
high tori amos 🦇🇵🇸@kidairbag
@_Jason_Dean_ The gap between trans acceptance and gay acceptance really shows that a lot of people never really internalized the ethical principle at their core but rather just go along to get along.
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@englishcounties @MemoryMedieval @RoyalFamily I thought it got changed to "Defender of Faith" by Charles or he's said that's how he interprets it? However, since it got awarded by the Pope to Henry VIII and considering how that turned out, I've always felt using that particular title is a bit of a pisstake.
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@MemoryMedieval @RoyalFamily Yes, he is ‘Defender of the Faith’
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Wishing all Muslims in the UK, the Commonwealth and around the world a blessed and peaceful Ramadan.
#RamadanMubarak
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Vanderbilt Vanderbilt retweetledi
I've said it before but we need a luxuriously produced drama series conveying the visual richness, historical intrigues, and sheer beauty of Byzantium.
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@nonregemesse They are generously awarding the Palestinians the status of Second Most Oppressed People Ever. It is terribly gracious.
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The endgame for Paddystinians is to appropriate the sympathy and victimhood of the Palestinians for themselves
╰┈➤ 🇮🇪 Brònzy 🇮🇪@BronzyGuevara
➡️ Guys this is not the West Bank in Palestine, Thou it has the seem similarities, It's actually West Belfast Occupied North of Ireland 1984, Children continue to play hurling despite British troops controlling their street. A picture that captures the true spirit of Irish resilience that can never be erased from history books. 🇮🇪
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@residentadviser True. A Protestant Obadiah Mbatang would be welcomed around certain parts of Belfast (seriously, ppl forget the missionary connections which is why they have Orangemen parading from Ghana, etc, each July 12) than a Catholic Charlie Downes.
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Downes claims to be a Catholic. He’s in a Protestant country. Forged in large part by Protestantism. We had black people voting, black officers and black MPs before years before Catholic Emancipation. Does he genuinely think this line of argument is going to work well for him?
Charlie Downes@cfdownes_
Reform UK believe that anyone from anywhere can become British. Restore Britain believe that Britain is a people defined by indigenous British ancestry and Christian faith.
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@defossardf Used to have British soldiers crouched in corners of the street while shopping in Belfast with my Mum. If you actually lived through that time then you'd know that is an incredibly banal picture.
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Nice pic of British soldiers keeping British kids safe from terrorists.
╰┈➤ 🇮🇪 Brònzy 🇮🇪@BronzyGuevara
➡️ Guys this is not the West Bank in Palestine, Thou it has the seem similarities, It's actually West Belfast Occupied North of Ireland 1984, Children continue to play hurling despite British troops controlling their street. A picture that captures the true spirit of Irish resilience that can never be erased from history books. 🇮🇪
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@NicholasOShaug1 And everybody speaks French, since England did not have an Industrial Revolution and none of the scientific advancement that happened downstream of getting rid of Popery and adopting the Protestant work ethic. Nightmare. Thanks for pointing it out.
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Imagine UK with its monasteries still intact, RC Abbotts still sitting in the House of Lords, one third of the land owned by the monasteries, monks in Tesco etc. And all Chaucer's people- Summoners, Pardoners etc, still around.
BoozeBattlecruiser@SnoozeCroozer
@_britmonkey They looked even better before they were dissolved
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Vanderbilt Vanderbilt retweetledi
C. S. Lewis tried to warn us about AI
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Vanderbilt Vanderbilt retweetledi
Today I'm thrilled to be announcing a new show - THE BOOK CLUB (@bookclubpodhq).
Every week we'll explore some of the world's greatest stories, starting with WUTHERING HEIGHTS on Tuesday 17 February.
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@BradRTorgersen My head canon is that because OG Harry Kim died in I-forget-what-episode they kept the alt Kim an Ensign because it made them more comfortable than acknowledging the original Kim was dead. Still very unfair tho.
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This always rubbed me wrong. Harry Kim absolutely should have had two full pips by the time Voyager made it back to Earth. Ensign to full Lieutenant in 7 years is not unreasonable. He's not even really competing on boards until Lieutenant Commander.
ARMUS Skin of Evil (parody)@Doomer_Armus
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@BradRTorgersen I'd argue Ensign Beckett Mariner over Michael Burnham in the newer Star Trek.
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They demoted Worf, Guinan, and Tuvok to the corners, while shoving Burnham up to the center next to Uhura. Admirals Morrow and Cartwright omitted. Commodore Stone also omitted. As is Captain Terrell. This is laughably bad franchise awareness. Nobody cares about Burnham. Nobody cares about all the Kurtzmantrek characters slopped into this. Might as well have put Stacie Abrams in there as UFP President.
Stacie Davis 🛍️🦋💐@StacieD62931641
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Vanderbilt Vanderbilt retweetledi
Trump may think he's got away with this Venezuela business but he may need to think again. AFAIK Belfast City Council doesn't meet until tomorrow night. Let's wait and see what motion they pass. Could be a game changer. Plus the Saturday protest ladies haven't been out yet.
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Vanderbilt Vanderbilt retweetledi
Here is where I split off from the left on interventions. *Nothing has changed* for Xi/Putin. Their restraints remain the same: What they think they can get away with. For a group of people who endlessly study power relations, the left is so blind to it in Int'l Relations.
Amy Remeikis@AmyRemeikis
The US has lost any pretence of legitimacy - Xi can do what he wants with Taiwan, Putin can play out his plans - and the US has nothing. And the Coalition is like ‘this is great’ and Labor is silent/‘gravely concerned’. Fab times.
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