Random Thoughts XI: Listen to the Whispers

[Takhisis]

Given that the Soviet Union was the continuation of the Russian Empire (continued Russification of oppressed peoples, same territorial expansionism, leader personality cult, etc.) WWII could count as just the la(te)st bout of expansion before an imminent collapse after overreach, if we stop denying that the Warsaw Pact was anything other than indirect colonial rule.

 

[Samson]

I have just realised that today's date is kind of an palindrome, whether you write it as 12.2.21 or 12.02.2021.

 

[Takhisis]

It bloody well is, I hadn't noticed!

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I have just realised that today's date is kind of an palindrome, whether you write it as 12.2.21 or 12.02.2021.

Just wait until we get to November 11, 11,111.

 

[Zardnaar]

How often do empires come apart other than dramatically and with a high body-count? I suppose the Soviet Union's body-count didn't happen towards its end, and instead of going out in a Viking Funeral, it just kind of sat down, sighed and slumped over. I tend to think of empires as dams holding back a great deal of pressure until they fail.

Soviets defeated themselves into the top didn't even believe in Communism.

 

[Paul in Saudi]

You know, at this point if the Chinese are not upset with you, you are probably doing something wrong.

 

[Takhisis]

Just wait until we get to November 11, 11,111.

Maybe I could have a postcount of 1,111,111 posts by then… to live is to dream.

 

[Paul in Saudi]

You know, it would really be bad if President Trump died all of a sudden. All sorts of conspiracies.

 

[Takhisis]

Technically he's been dying for the last seventy-odd years, so it can hardly be called all of a sudden.

 

[Kyriakos]

I contacted the german consulate here, for some Kafka-related stuff. They seem to be interested, and will call me in a few days - for some reason they didn't wish to discuss by email, maybe because there you can't really hear the german charm of being stingy and more than likely not want anything to be paid (which, of course, will mean we won't work together).

 

[EgonSpengler]

A small program for teaching police officers some non-lethal hand-to-hand fighting techniques, specifically Brazilian jiu-jitsu, has shown some promising early results.

Jiu-Jitsu Times, 16 Feb 2021 - "Marietta Police Department Improves Officer Outcomes Through Jiu-Jitsu Training"

Marietta Police Department BJJ Program Data
To date, 95 of the 145 sworn MPD officers have opted in to the BJJ program and 50 officers have not. The officers who averaged at least (1) BJJ class per week, are referred to as “BJJ officers.” Here is a summary of the data collected thus far:

Training Injuries
• MPD has had 95 officers attend over 2,600 civilian-operated BJJ classes with one (1) reported training injury.

Taser Deployments
• Since the inception of the program, non-BJJ officers used their Taser in 77% of Use of Force (UOF) incidents.
• BJJ officers used their Taser in 54% of UOF incidents (85% of which were used to stop a foot pursuit – not to end the physical altercation)
• 23% reduction in Taser deployments in the BJJ officer group.

UOF Injuries to Officers
• In the 18 months prior to instituting mandatory BJJ training, 29 officers were injured while carrying out arrests.
• In the 18 months after instituting mandatory BJJ training for new hires, 15 officers were injured while carrying out arrests.
• 48% reduction in officer injuries department wide.
• None of the injured officers were BJJ officers.

UOF Injuries to Suspects
• In 2020, there were 33 UOF incidents involving Marietta PD officers: 20 incidents involving non-BJJ officers, and 13 incidents involving BJJ officers.
• In the 20 incidents involving non-BJJ officers, the suspect sustained injuries requiring hospitalization 65% of the time (13 incidents of suspect hospitalization).
• In the 13 incidents involving BJJ officers, the suspect sustained injuries requiring hospitalization 31% of the time (4 incidents of suspect hospitalization).
• Serious injuries to a suspect are 53% less likely when interacting with BJJ officers.
• BJJ officers are 59% less likely to engage in UOF than non-BJJ officers.

Financial Implications
• Based on an average workers’ comp claim of $4,768, the total estimated savings from the reduction in officers’ injuries is estimated at $66,752.
• Training Investment: $26,000 (2600 department-sponsored classes charged at $10 per class).
• Net Savings for MPD: $40,752

 

[AmazonQueen]

My mum observed today that I seem much happier during lockdown than normal. I don't think its lockdown itself I like, just the lack of all the other normal stuff.

 

[Chicken Pizza]

https://www.finn.agency/blogs/35-techniques-politicians-use-avaid-answering-interview-questions

Very nice, my eyes have been opened and I don't have to get upset anymore when a politician has managed to not answer a single question during a five minute interview.

I think my favourite is starting the answer with saying "we take this very seriously", maybe repeating it later.

I don't have the brains to analyze it, but isn't it kind of condecending, you get away with it by complimenting the citizens' concern and the journalist's question, and at the same time take political points for their work?

Everybody should be happy, no need to fight and now you can say (or not say) almost anything or at least get away with a little bit more.

 

[Ajidica]

https://www.finn.agency/blogs/35-techniques-politicians-use-avaid-answering-interview-questions

Very nice, my eyes have been opened and I don't have to get upset anymore when a politician has managed to not answer a single question during a five minute interview.

I think my favourite is starting the answer with saying "we take this very seriously", maybe repeating it later.

I don't have the brains to analyze it, but isn't it kind of condecending, you get away with it by complimenting the citizens' concern and the journalist's question, and at the same time take political points for their work?

Everybody should be happy, no need to fight and now you can say (or not say) almost anything or at least get away with a little bit more.

You need to watch more classic British political comedy:

 

[Birdjaguar]

Let me know if this link works please. It is to an article with photos from Moldova from the 1950s and 60s.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/phot...0-images-vanished-village-life/?itid=hp_world

In 2016, Victor Galușca, a Moldovan filmmaker and photographer, happened upon what he called a “treasure”: some 4,000 negatives documenting village life in the former Soviet republic from the 1950s through the 1970s by an unheralded Moldovan photographer.

Galușca was then a student at Moldova’s main film institute and working on his final project, which focused on the many villages that have been hollowed out by the country’s ongoing depopulation crisis.

In the village of Roșietici in northern Moldova, Galușca entered a deserted house and noticed discarded photos in the trash. He then uncovered a giant cache of negatives in the attic.

“I felt it was something unique and incredible,” Galușca said by telephone from the Moldovan capital, Chisinau. “I felt very excited. For me, it was a kind of magic.”

The photographs, all in black and white, were the work of Zaharia Cușnir, the house’s former owner, who had eked out a living by taking passport and other photos for residents of the surrounding villages, which were part of a local collective farm. He died in 1993.

Cușnir would bicycle from town to town with his Soviet Lyubitel, or amateur, camera, interspersing his professional work with personal shots of the villagers and moments in their lives — celebrations, weddings and, sometimes, funerals.

“I think what he managed to capture in these photos was the sincerity of the people looking at him,” Galușca said.

Since the fall of communism, Moldova has lost about a third of its population from mass emigration and low birthrates. Those few who remain in the villages are overwhelmingly the elderly, who will probably spend their remaining years there.

And a link to the picture website: https://www.zaharia.md/en/

 

[Valka D'Ur]

https://www.finn.agency/blogs/35-techniques-politicians-use-avaid-answering-interview-questions

Very nice, my eyes have been opened and I don't have to get upset anymore when a politician has managed to not answer a single question during a five minute interview.

I think my favourite is starting the answer with saying "we take this very seriously", maybe repeating it later.

I don't have the brains to analyze it, but isn't it kind of condecending, you get away with it by complimenting the citizens' concern and the journalist's question, and at the same time take political points for their work?

Everybody should be happy, no need to fight and now you can say (or not say) almost anything or at least get away with a little bit more.

One veteran Liberal cabinet minister had this standard response for questions he didn't like (paraphrased): "I do not accept the premise of the Honorable Member's question." And then he'd blather away for the next minute or so about something else and call it done.

I'm fairly immune to politicians' condescending attitudes by now, and any time they want to tell me that I asked a good question, I'm inclined to say, "Thank you. Now would you please answer it in a meaningful way."

 

[Samson]

Let me know if this link works please. It is to an article with photos from Moldova from the 1950s and 60s.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/phot...0-images-vanished-village-life/?itid=hp_world



And a link to the picture website: https://www.zaharia.md/en/

WaPo does not for me, picture website is pretty cool.

 

[AmazonQueen]

Let me know if this link works please. It is to an article with photos from Moldova from the 1950s and 60s.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/phot...0-images-vanished-village-life/?itid=hp_world



And a link to the picture website: https://www.zaharia.md/en/

Both worked for me. very interesting.

 

[Birdjaguar]

If I had just seen the pictures without any text, I would have guessed they were taken earlier in the 20th c.

 

[EgonSpengler]

If I had just seen the pictures without any text, I would have guessed they were taken earlier in the 20th c.

And I bet everyone in these photos is like 20 years younger than they look, to our eyes.