Great Quotes III: Source and Context are Key

[ReindeerThistle]

I don't think he was talking about the assassination attempts

He was.

 

[gay_Aleks]

Yeah, it's not really clear whether any of the more sillier attempts were real. Now, the CIA was obviously interested into taking out Castro, but using a pen filled with poison? What the hell?

 

[ReindeerThistle]

One of my comrades' grandfather an OSS veteran from WWII, was the Director of the Office of National Estimates (and one of its founders) and the CIA named their school of intelligence after him. So, I can speak with a bit of authority that none of y'all likely possess.

The attempts were real, according to the CIA's own records. End of discussion.

 

[JollyRoger]

Who Is Jon Gruber?
A Stain on U.S. History

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I miss thread juxtapositions

 

[Arakhor]

"If you've got Mystique as your girlfriend the fun you could have in bed - I've just imagined X-Men 3 might open with me in bed with Patrick Stewart." ~ Sir Ian McKellen

 

[Kyriakos]

Goes on to mention how different-looking groups of people imagine their god in their likeness, eg the Thracians of his time who usually had red hair had gods with red hair too (Herodotos includes this information as well about Thracians).

 

[Arakhor]

That seems perfectly reasonable.

"And then Ewe took the straw that was from the Sty of Warmth and Happiness and she gave it unto her mate and bade him snuffle from it."

 

[Kyriakos]

He also appears to be the first to speak of a god who is greater than others and has the form of a perfect sphere. Parmenides was his student (and more spheres followed, naturally)

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

“We put camp attendees in the shoes of dedicated NASA scientists whose attempts to further scientific understanding through the analysis of asteroid composition are halted by one of our camp staffers playing the role of a U.S. senator targeting all ‘nonessential’ initiatives. When they take their seats in our mock congressional chamber, campers will work together to deliver an impassioned yet ultimately futile request for continued support of NASA until they have no choice but to stand up and leave, having just witnessed their life’s work go up in smoke.”
-Tyler Campbell, interview in "Modernized Space Camp Allows Kids To Simulate Frustration Over Lack Of Funding"

 

[classical_hero]

Goes on to mention how different-looking groups of people imagine their god in their likeness, eg the Thracians of his time who usually had red hair had gods with red hair too (Herodotos includes this information as well about Thracians).

I am wondering why so many gods of mythology had some animal features?

 

[Kyriakos]

^That is a different category though, one of gods thought by humans, who had elements of beasts/insects etc (most common in Egypt ).
Xenophanes refers to gods which animals might dream of, and would draw if they could, etc

 

[Kyriakos]

And a gloomier quote:

He was of the view that he was advancing on the path to knowledge way too fast. That was because he was going it backwards.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Have you ever been so mad you ripped a door off its hinges and carried it with you?
"One rioter was reportedly so enraged that he single-handedly tore the massive door from [late 19th century Moroccan Minister of Finance Muhammad] Bennis' house and carted it off down the street, finally collapsing under its weight."
-Susan Miller, p. 51, A History of Modern Morocco

 

[madviking]

"We live only to discover beauty, all else is a form of waiting"

Kahlil Gibran

 

[Borachio]

When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.

Mark Twain

He (Alexander) captured ten of the Gymnosophists who had done most to get Sabbas to revolt, and had made the most trouble for the Macedonians. These philosophers were reputed to be clever and concise in answering questions, and Alexander therefore put difficult questions to them, declaring that he would put to death him who first made an incorrect answer, and then the rest, in an order determined in like manner; and he commanded one of them, the oldest, to be the judge in the contest. The first one, accordingly, being asked which, in his opinion, were more numerous, the living or the dead, said that the living were, since the dead no longer existed. The second, being asked whether the earth or the sea produced larger animals, said the earth did, since the sea was but a part of the earth. The third, being asked what animal was the most cunning, said: "That which up to this time man has not discovered." The fourth, when asked why he had induced Sabbas to revolt, replied: "Because I wished him either to live nobly or to die nobly." The fifth, being asked which, in his opinion, was older, day or night, replied: "Day, by one day"; and he added, upon the king expressing amazement, that hard questions must have hard answers. Passing on, then, to the sixth, Alexander asked how a man could be most loved; "If," said the philosopher, "he is most powerful, and yet does not inspire fear." Of the three remaining, he who was asked how one might become a god instead of man, replied: "By doing something which a man cannot do"; the one who was asked which was the stronger, life or death, answered: "Life, since it supports so many ills." And the last, asked how long it were well for a man to live, answered: "Until he does not regard death as better than life." So, then, turning to the judge, Alexander bade him give his opinion. The judge declared that they had answered one worse than another. "Well, then," said Alexander, "thou shalt die first for giving such a verdict." "That cannot be, O King," said the judge, "unless thou falsely saidst that thou wouldst put to death first him who answered worst." These philosophers, then, he dismissed with gifts.

Plutarch

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

"The weapon in whose name the A-10 is being phased out is its opposite in almost every way. In automotive terms, it would be a Lamborghini rather than a pickup truck (or a flying tank). In air-travel terms, the first-class sleeper compartment on Singapore Airlines rather than advance-purchase Economy Plus (or even business class) on United. These comparisons seem ridiculous, but they are fair. That is, a Lamborghini is demonstrably “better” than a pickup truck in certain ways—speed, handling, comfort—but only in very special circumstances is it a better overall choice. Same for the first-class sleeper, which would be anyone’s choice if someone else were footing the bill but is simply not worth the trade-off for most people most of the time.

Each new generation of weapons tends to be “better” in much the way a Lamborghini is, and “worth it” in the same sense as a first-class airline seat."
-James Fallows, "The Tragedy of the American Military", The Atlantic

 

[Kozmos]

While the US arms development is exceedingly wasteful it keeps its pool of talent sharp and they have a wealth of experience to draw upon on what works and what not. This more then anything gives the US a leg-up in keeping the cutting edge.

 

[Kyriakos]

Gymnosophists bit

I wasn't aware that this term existed So, were they philosophical while being naked? Seems like a cool idea- if they looked good anyway, and not like Socrates

 

[Borachio]

Well, the present day Jains have a gymnosophist branch, don't they?

It's surprisingly not that uncommon. Even C17th England had its neo-Adamites.