Aerrol's recent activity
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Comment on Syria's defiant Kurds vow to 'fight until last breath' despite government push in ~society
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Comment on What healthy habit has made a difference for you? in ~health
Aerrol (edited )LinkAs someone who hates standard work outs and gyms but can no longer find time for martial arts or otherwise stay active, a suggestion that's helped a lot is "just stretch for one minute a day"....As someone who hates standard work outs and gyms but can no longer find time for martial arts or otherwise stay active, a suggestion that's helped a lot is "just stretch for one minute a day". Especially doing a position I don't enjoy. It's short and easy enough that I don't want to skip it like a real workout and often leads me to being motivated enough to do some small workout way more frequently than I used to.
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Comment on US Democrats determined to squander advantage on Department of Homeland Security funding in ~society
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Comment on MLB San Francisco Giants star Jung Hoo Lee released from US Customs and Border Protection detainment after forgetting documents in ~society
Aerrol Link ParentThis isn't on the same level as ICE abductions, but it's absolutely not just a simple bureaucratic error: In a normal country, the regular practice would be to refuse entry and tell them to go...This isn't on the same level as ICE abductions, but it's absolutely not just a simple bureaucratic error:
Pelosi’s office said the congresswoman worked with the Giants, congressional partners, and federal liaisons to secure Lee’s release.
In a normal country, the regular practice would be to refuse entry and tell them to go home and get their documents. Not require reaching out to multiple levels of government (via representatives!) to secure your release.
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Comment on China pulls back on funding African projects in ~society
Aerrol LinkWhy continue to maintain high spend on building good relationship when you rival is actively making you look good by comparison for free? Plus, China is also struggling with a lot of simmering...Why continue to maintain high spend on building good relationship when you rival is actively making you look good by comparison for free? Plus, China is also struggling with a lot of simmering problems that they're trying to tackle with increased spend, so it makes sense.
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Comment on MLB San Francisco Giants star Jung Hoo Lee released from US Customs and Border Protection detainment after forgetting documents in ~society
Aerrol LinkJust...wow. I try not to focus too much on the ongoing fascism explosion in America, but holy shit. Even being a MLB star with hundreds of millions isn't enough to save you anymore. I really hope...Just...wow. I try not to focus too much on the ongoing fascism explosion in America, but holy shit. Even being a MLB star with hundreds of millions isn't enough to save you anymore. I really hope we see the World Cup boycotted.
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MLB San Francisco Giants star Jung Hoo Lee released from US Customs and Border Protection detainment after forgetting documents
9 votes -
Comment on Blocking Claude in ~comp
Aerrol Link ParentNooooooooooooooo :( I thought they were actually trying to be good and have some kind of robots.txt update. Bah.Nooooooooooooooo :( I thought they were actually trying to be good and have some kind of robots.txt update. Bah.
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Comment on New books aren’t worth reading in ~books
Aerrol Link ParentYeah, this feels like low-quality reddit ragebait to me... What's the best way to report a post again? Just tagging @Deimos?Yeah, this feels like low-quality reddit ragebait to me... What's the best way to report a post again? Just tagging @Deimos?
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Comment on Creative people with ADHD: how do you handle execution and follow-through when doing small business work for yourself? I feel like I need to hire a business partner or assistant. in ~creative
Aerrol Link ParentGreat recommendations in here, especially the very last one. As an ADHD business owner, I can definitely confirm that not only is it hard to remember to care for yourself, it's a constant mental...Great recommendations in here, especially the very last one. As an ADHD business owner, I can definitely confirm that not only is it hard to remember to care for yourself, it's a constant mental battle to even feel like you're "allowed" to do anything but work or chores. Always remember: the worse condition you drive yourself into, the worse your work output will be. Caring for yourself is literally a key part of the job, not a reward after your tasks are complete (also, they'll never all be complete sorry).
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Comment on Creative people with ADHD: how do you handle execution and follow-through when doing small business work for yourself? I feel like I need to hire a business partner or assistant. in ~creative
Aerrol LinkI'm sure others will have opinions on tools and strategies, but this is literally one of the most important reasons to go find an assistant, manager, or business partner - ADHD or not. Teams...I'm sure others will have opinions on tools and strategies, but this is literally one of the most important reasons to go find an assistant, manager, or business partner - ADHD or not. Teams almost always work better because you cover for eachother's blind spots and weaknesses. Ideally I'd say you want a business partner so you don't get the added overhead of paying them directly (AWFUL for ADHD to handle payroll).
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Comment on A new anti-political fervor in ~society
Aerrol LinkAn excellent, if IMO overly long break-down on the historic similarities in what we see now to interwar European politics. That said, as with many of these pieces I am infuriated at the lack of...An excellent, if IMO overly long break-down on the historic similarities in what we see now to interwar European politics. That said, as with many of these pieces I am infuriated at the lack of proposed solutions after all that. This is all we get:
"Any successful future movement will have to position itself as both part of the public and prove it can deliver pro-social, material results. A healthier civil society has to be rebuilt from the bottom up. Despite lacking coherence, anti-politics is effectively the real movement: a symptom of a deep fissure that can no longer be ignored."
So... politics needs to deliver results and include people? You don't say. I don't see how you effectively do that any differently than mass participation in existing systems, or recreating systems of voting and hierarchy all over again. Mass-consensus like Occupy Wallstreet tried is a recipe for inaction, misrepresentation, and failure.
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Comment on We are witnessing the self-immolation of a superpower in ~society
Aerrol (edited )Link ParentMmmmm, not exactly. There was certainly an underestimation of the Mongols early on, but the Mongol successes were much more impressive displays of incredible strategic and tactical acumen +...Mmmmm, not exactly. There was certainly an underestimation of the Mongols early on, but the Mongol successes were much more impressive displays of incredible strategic and tactical acumen + discipline than Chinese total failure. The stories you've heard likely relate more to the fact that when the Mongols invaded China, China was split in three between the Jin Dynasty in the North, the Xia in the West, and the Song in the South. There was certainly a lot of let's say... sub-optimal... choices made by the Jin after their initial defences failed, but the Song actually held on a very long time: roughly 50 years. The city of Xiangyang in particular held out for 5 years and the small fortress of Diaoyu in Southwest China was famous for never falling over "two hundred+ military confrontations in a miracle of "persistent resistance" that endured for thirty-six years."
The most comparable story is the tale of the Xi Xia (Western Xia) Dynasty - a Tangut-ruled (a former Tibetan-ish central asian ethnicity) Dynasty that ruled over northwestern China and a large part of central Asia. They submitted to the Mongols early on, but then repeatedly tried to ally with the Jin and others to try and fight for independence. This culminated in them refusing to aid the Mongols against the Khwarazm. Genghis died during a final punitive campaign against them afterwards and while records aren't too great for his death and afterwards, he was furious about their betrayal and demanded their total destruction. Having died during this campaign, his successors were clearly not in a mood to be lenient in any way and, to quote the great wikipedia article: "According to John Man, Western Xia is little known to anyone other than experts in the field precisely because of Genghis Khan's policy calling for their complete eradication."
EDIT: @bakers_dozen, I realize now as I cleaned up my comment (damn links and the square-round brackets always being in the wrong order) that what you've probably heard about relates not to the Mongol conquest but the Jurchen/Manchurian Jin conquest of Northern China roughly 100 years before the Mongol invasion. The Jurchens were also a nomadic steppe people, but they had adopted much more Chinese norms even before the invasion, and the Song were laughably incompetent in the face of their invasion. As I said in another comment in here, the Song established the long-standing Imperial Chinese tradition of the Imperial Court working against, smearing and then executing their best generals during moments of crisis. The most famous example is Yue Fei, who came close to ousting the Jin out of Northern China before being recalled on trumped-up charges and executed. The Minister responsible for Yue Fei's death, Qin Hui, became so reviled that statues of him and his wife were erected so people could spit and piss on them for eternity, and the Chinese baked good youtiao is said to have been invented as a way to symbolize frying them to death and then eating them in vengeance for Yue Fei.
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Comment on We are witnessing the self-immolation of a superpower in ~society
Aerrol Link ParentSure, there is the hypothesis that he didn't trust them to honour a deal (though at this point the Mongols had only unified in Mongolia and not yet built their reputation for shocking brutality...Sure, there is the hypothesis that he didn't trust them to honour a deal (though at this point the Mongols had only unified in Mongolia and not yet built their reputation for shocking brutality and strict adherence to their rules). But regardless the hubris behind killing envoys was absolutely shocking. The inviolability of messengers is one of the few global norms that's existed for thousands of years. It happened occasionally but was pretty much universally condemned in every single time period and culture I'm aware of.
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Comment on What are your favourite historic anecdotes or stories? in ~humanities.history
Aerrol (edited )Link ParentThis one is particularly fascinating as a picture of how mental disorders can leave you absolutely cognizant in other areas while totally non functional in some (I haven't had time to dig into...This one is particularly fascinating as a picture of how mental disorders can leave you absolutely cognizant in other areas while totally non functional in some (I haven't had time to dig into your links so sorry if it's addressed there)!
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Comment on What are your favourite historic anecdotes or stories? in ~humanities.history
Aerrol Link ParentThese are all great - I'd love more anecdotes from that book! Thanks for sharing :)These are all great - I'd love more anecdotes from that book! Thanks for sharing :)
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Comment on "Tax us more". Nearly 400 millionaires and billionaires call for higher taxes on super-rich. in ~society
Aerrol LinkHonestly shocked this hasn't been shared yet. You know it's bad when people are literally saying "MAKE ME PAY MORE!" Snark aside, I'm very happy to see some accountability among some of the...Honestly shocked this hasn't been shared yet. You know it's bad when people are literally saying "MAKE ME PAY MORE!"
Snark aside, I'm very happy to see some accountability among some of the ultra-wealthy. Maybe it makes a dent one day.
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"Tax us more". Nearly 400 millionaires and billionaires call for higher taxes on super-rich.
41 votes -
What are your favourite historic anecdotes or stories?
Inspired by @Fiachra's question in this post, I wanted to asked the broader tildes community: What are some of your favourite historic anecdotes or stories? The original question is more narrow,...
Inspired by @Fiachra's question in this post, I wanted to asked the broader tildes community: What are some of your favourite historic anecdotes or stories? The original question is more narrow, but I'm honestly curious to hear any fun or intriguing ones from any period of history.
Re-posting what I responded there:
OH man, time to share my favourite example of how one person being an asshole changed history: Shah Muhammad II of Khwarazm. The Khwarazmian Empire was roughly the Persian/Iranian Empire from 1077–1231. A massive, rich, culturally leading Empire at the centre of the Silk Road.Genghis Khan, seeking to increase trade in preparation for his invasion of China, sent envoys to Khwarazm to ask to open trade. The Shah, in his supreme arrogance, decided these smelly Mongols insulted him by their very presence, and had them executed. Genghis, who very famously established the Imperial Mongol tradition of absolute protection for envoys, was furious. And yet, focused on his goal, he sent a SECOND group of envoys to demand an explanation and try to smooth things over. And the Shah executed them too. This pissed Genghis and his leadership off so much they paused the invasion of China, and launched a punitive expedition to conquer Persia/Khwarazm. I want to stress again that the records we have make it clear that the Mongols at this point had no interest in going further West. They were very focused on achieving victory over their arch-nemeses in China.
Within two years the entire Empire had fallen, the Shah was dead, and its fabulously rich cities torched and massacred. Following this, the Mongols realized they could continue to press on and ended up invading the rest of the Islamic world, famously including the destruction of Baghdad, the world's finest city of learning and culture at that point. The fall of Baghdad is widely considered to be the end of the Islamic Golden Age. Estimates of deaths in the Islamic World vary widely, but it is undeniable that many of the most populous and prosperous cities from the Mediterranean to the Caspian Sea were totally destroyed and depopulated. All because one jackass decided he couldn't be bothered to take some smelly Mongols seriously.
Also, I have no idea what to tag this, sorry lol.
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Comment on We are witnessing the self-immolation of a superpower in ~society
Aerrol (edited )Link ParentOH man, time to share my favourite example of how one person being an asshole changed history: Shah Muhammad II of Khwarazm. The Khwarazmian Empire was roughly the Persian/Iranian Empire from...- Exemplary
OH man, time to share my favourite example of how one person being an asshole changed history: Shah Muhammad II of Khwarazm. The Khwarazmian Empire was roughly the Persian/Iranian Empire from 1077–1231. A massive, rich, culturally leading Empire at the centre of the Silk Road.
Genghis Khan, seeking to increase trade in preparation for his invasion of China, sent envoys to Khwarazm to ask to open trade. The Shah, in his supreme arrogance, decided these smelly Mongols insulted him by their very presence, and had them executed. Genghis, who very famously established the Imperial Mongol tradition of absolute protection for envoys, was furious. And yet, focused on his goal, he sent a SECOND group of envoys to demand an explanation and try to smooth things over. And the Shah executed them too. This pissed Genghis and his leadership off so much they paused the invasion of China, and launched a punitive expedition to conquer Persia/Khwarazm. I want to stress again that the records we have make it clear that the Mongols at this point had no interest in going further West. They were very focused on achieving victory over their arch-nemeses in China.
Within two years the entire Empire had fallen, the Shah was dead, and its fabulously rich cities torched and massacred. Following this, the Mongols realized they could continue to press on and ended up invading the rest of the Islamic world, famously including the destruction of Baghdad, the world's finest city of learning and culture at that point. The fall of Baghdad is widely considered to be the end of the Islamic Golden Age. Estimates of deaths in the Islamic World vary widely, but it is undeniable that many of the most populous and prosperous cities from the Mediterranean to the Caspian Sea were totally destroyed and depopulated. All because one jackass decided he couldn't be bothered to take some smelly Mongols seriously.
There's a lot of terrible failure to intervene stories in Syria and the broader Middle East, but I will always be deeply saddened by the West's collective failure to help the Kurds. They were/are everything our governments purported to be fighting for: Western inclined, educated, relatively secular, in favour of equality of the genders (Kurdish women formed a significant part of their defence forces!), and happy to trade their oil with the West for support. But because they had no independent state we apparently forgot all about self determination and largely left them to die, even after they showed themselves to be by far the most effective fighting force in the chaos of Syria and Iraq. I hope they can maintain some safety and independence at least in the years to come.