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THE POET AS SCIENTIST

THE POET AS SCIENTIST, THE POET AS SCIENTIST

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The Geek's Raven
[An excerpt, with thanks to Marcus Bales]

Once upon a midnight dreary,
fingers cramped and vision bleary,
System manuals piled high and wasted paper on the floor,
Longing for the warmth of bedsheets,
Still I sat there, doing spreadsheets:
Having reached the bottom line,
I took a floppy from the drawer.
Typing with a steady hand, I then invoked the SAVE command
But got instead a reprimand: it read "Abort, Retry, Ignore".

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Monday, December 23, 2024

Hitler ruled much of Russia for years. Do Russians perceive Hitler, historically, as a Russian Tsar?

I've always been surprised by how positively Adolf Hitler is portrayed in the Russian media, and always has been. After all, the Russians suffered some twenty million deaths, military and civilians as a result of Hitler's invasion of Russia, how could they possibly portray him in positive terms? But they do! Hitler is always portrayed as inspired, rational, brilliant and charming. A great guy! In contrast, the British and Americans always portray Hitler as a total lunatic, raving and screaming at everyone for no very obvious reason, at every opportunity, and they tend to refer exclusively to the most violent passages in his speeches -- which, of course, were pure theatrical acting on Hitler's part, to entertain the audience -- as if these represented Hitler's true, habitual personality. The Germans tend to have a rather more nuanced portrayal of Hitler. He is portrayed as brutal, and crude, but, also rather inspired, at least at times. So why would the Russians "like" Hitler? Does this make any sense at all? Well, first of all, the Russians, unlike the British and Americans, who ridicule their enemies, tend to treat their enemies with respect. The Russians tend to see this as the best strategy to deal with their numerous enemies on all sides, lest the Russian people become complacent about them. Your enemies are smart, your enemies are dangerous, deal with them accordingly, is the traditional Russian view. However, there may be more to this, in the case of Hitler. Napoleon, for example, does not tend to be portrayed as positively in Russia films and TV series as Hitler is. Napoleon is portrayed as being capable, but, also, rather arrogant, and unable to perceive his own limitations. A fairly accurate portrayal, of course, in terms of his 1812 invasion of Russia, and disastrous retreat from Moscow. So, why do Russians seem to actually "like" Hitler? Well, bear in mind, Hitler actually did conquer and rule much of Russia for years. He didn't just rush down the road to Moscow, and, then run away with his tail between his legs, having lost his entire army, like Napoleon did. Hitler genuinely was a Russian leader, at least rather briefly. And, when you consider some of the leaders Russia has had, Hitler really may not have been any crazier, more brutal, or more destructive than some of them, like Stalin, Ivan the Terrible, or even Peter the Great, by some accounts, anyway. So, to the Russians, was Hitler, effectively, just another Russian Tsar, who didn't last too long, or do a particularly good job? But, as an actual Russian leader, do the Russian people actually accept Hitler up to a point, and admire him up to a point? Is this a possibility, anyway?

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

The Trump mandate

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/polarized-america-41-americans-have-favorable-view-trump-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2024-12-17/

Monday, December 16, 2024

A brief summary of Hitler's life.

Hitler was spoiled by his mother, and beaten by his civil servant father. His father died when Hitler was in his early teens, and Hitler’s mother supported him until she died, a few years later. He was a mediocre student, probably more from lack of interest than lack of ability, but reasonably popular. With his mother’s death, Hitler was on his own. He became an indigent vagrant, eventually supporting himself modestly as a painter of street scenes, living in charity rooming houses. Eventually, with the coming of WWI he signed up, and, in his first infantry engagement, his entire battalion was wiped out, other than himself. This experience, combined with his ability to survive suicide missions as a messenger, gave him a sense of divine protection, and divine mission. Having survived WWI almost unscathed, and having received an Iron Cross first class for bravery, he was able to secure employment with the military authorities. He discovered a talent for public speaking. With the unsuccessful communist Spartacist uprising in 1919, his nascent antisemitism became inflamed, as a result of Jewish involvement in this plot. The authorities felt a need for a Hitler’s speaking ability in this uncertain period, and, he became more important. Eventually, he built up the Nazi Party, as a major political force. He tried to take over Bavaria in 1923, but, his attempt was crushed by the Weimar authorities. It wasn’t until the Great Depression that Germans were desperate enough to support the Nazis, and put them into power. Hitler made himself all powerful dictator, and showed some political brilliance in systematically building up the German economy, and taking over Austria, and Czechoslovakia. However, Britain and France had had enough, and when he invaded Poland, they declared war. During this period, Hitler was living the life of a very rich man, enjoying a life of luxury and power. When he invaded Russia, Hitler bit off more than he could chew, and his situation became progressively more desperate as the US joined the fight against him. Hitler aged rapidly trying to control the situation. He was injured badly by a failed assassination attempt less than a year before the end of the war. And, when he finally committed suicide at the end of the war, he was a broken man.

Tuesday, December 03, 2024

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police always get their men!

https://www.yahoo.com/news/alberta-rcmp-officer-charged-sexually-232423640.html