Tollund_Man4
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User ID: 501
Lots of wars don't have much to do with deterrence. The purpose of armies has as much to do with potential gain (more geopolitical and ideological than resource related in the modern day) as it does with defence.
I know some offensive wars can legitimately be justified by the logic of self-defence, but if you want to spread democracy, or communism, or set up some colonies, or intervene in some far away atrocity, you need a bigger army than if your sole concern was defence.
Both gain and deterrence rest on the ability to kill your enemies, and the more credibly you can show your ability there the better you'll do at both. Armies don't go on killing endlessly because it's generally a stupid idea and they ultimately exist to achieve the goals of the state.
Tollund_Man4
8d ago
If we're talking about nostalgia in music, hip-hop has been nostalgic about the 90s since about 1999.
While it's niche enough for not everyone to know you don't need to do much digging to see it. Part of this is just the rediscovery and popularization of strange underground 90s stuff like Texas chopped & screwed tapes or Memphis underground, part of it is redoing the most popular G-funk and boom bap styles from L.A and New York.
Tollund_Man4
16d ago
Doing ok on my stated goals of quitting nicotine, reducing alcohol consumption and gaming, but probably more importantly I'm spending all day at work speaking French which will improve my life a lot more than anything else. Half the point of trying to get more disciplined was so I could improve my French, the other half of getting back into the gym and reading more will come easily enough I think. My girlfriend will also be moving in with me in a month or two and she's not a big drinker so I'll just naturally be better on that front.
I still think it's good to try and waste less time and be healthier but I think I'm on the path I wanted to be on without needing to be super disciplined like I thought I'd have to be. New Year's Resolutions accomplished I guess.
Generally drinking less because I don't have the ability to both speak French and learn a bunch of cooking techniques while hungover, though I did go heavy on Monday when the head chef brought us out to the family oyster farm supplying their daughter's restaurant and to a barbecue at his place after.
Still off the nicotine as it's impossible to buy here, although a friend of mine did sneak in a can of snus from Ireland and I did notice being able to work much better with it. I'm out again so it's back to sobriety here (smoking doesn't hit the same way) so hopefully my decent reputation in the kitchen holds up without 10mg pouches to help me out.
I'm not sure if I'm going to keep replying to these in future but I appreciate the mention. I find talking about ongoing progress doesn't work for me and it's better to keep it private until you've got something to brag about. For now my disciplined ideal is kind of almost there but I'm going to go back and forth for a while week by week as I move towards the target.
You just reminded me of how people in Northern Ireland would go and exchange their Northern Irish sterling for 'English money' before travelling. Even when I was younger I had relatives giving me specifically English notes as a gift when they heard I was going to England.
Armies have a purpose the way a tool has a purpose, and like a tool they don't decide when and where they are used or whether it's a good idea to use them as that type of purpose is decided by the state.
They can take on more functions like disaster relief, and they can threaten the state and overthrow it, but though a kitchen knife can be used as a screwdriver or a weapon it's still a kitchen knife.
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