Drowsy Emperor

Surprised at the amount of salt here. Castro is one of the most remarkable politicians and leaders of the 20th century. He turned Cuba from a US gambling den and whorehouse into a country with one of the best healthcare systems in the world (relative to what can be had for what is essentially a very poor country) and very good free education. The price was the centralization of political power and a cult of personality. Poverty too, but then Cuba is never going to be an economic powerhouse. But, so what. To achieve that, while defying the worlds largest power at their own doorstep - that is something no one in Latin America can claim. In fact - no leader in Europe post WW2 can claim a comparative demonstration of political independence and sheer willpower. Even de Gaulle caved in eventually - Castro never did. With him die the great politics of the 20th century, and even though they brought a lot of misery as well as progress, its still sad to witness the end of an era.

Okay, so 60+ million people voted for him because they had nothing better to do that day That's an ass backwards way of looking at it too. Its much harder to get votes as Donald Trump than it is as McCain or Romney. If they had the kind of media machinery against them that he did they probably get half as much. Actually if they had that kind of bias against them they'd never get to run a campaign in the first place.

Then I am not sure how you can possibly characterize the west as in decline. Growth amongst lower and middle classes is terribly stagnant compared to the wealthy, but compared to the past most people are still seeing an improvement in most areas. Food, shelter, clothing, health care, etc. Which past? You can take any time period you want. Food production, medical technology, and housing have all become better over time. We aren't even a generation removed from asbestos in the walls. Just look at the infant mortality rates over the last 80 years. We've had this argument before. Give me some real evidence that the western world is in decline as a whole, not a handful of tragic examples. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/10/09/for-most-workers-real-wages-have-barely-budged-for-decades/ http://www.mybudget360.com/cost-of-living-2014-inflation-1950-vs-2014-data-housing-cars-college/ http://prospect.org/article/40-year-slump https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2012/07/31/wages-arent-stagnating-theyre-plummeting/ I am not disagreeing that the stagnant wages are a major problem in our society, in fact it is the one thing I mentioned earlier. But that is one issue among many, and despite decades of it being a problem, people are still driving around in their increasingly safe cars, getting increasingly sophisticated medical care, and eating fairly inexpensive junk food that makes that medical care so important. Those developments apply worldwide to some extent. Do you think that maybe sitting in the richest state of the richest country in the world has skewered your viewpoint a bit? If not, then explain why America elected Trump. If things are good, and both Trump and Sanders pointed out many times that they are not, why was the most criticized, underdog candidate the one to win at the end?

Then I am not sure how you can possibly characterize the west as in decline. Growth amongst lower and middle classes is terribly stagnant compared to the wealthy, but compared to the past most people are still seeing an improvement in most areas. Food, shelter, clothing, health care, etc. Which past? You can take any time period you want. Food production, medical technology, and housing have all become better over time. We aren't even a generation removed from asbestos in the walls. Just look at the infant mortality rates over the last 80 years. We've had this argument before. Give me some real evidence that the western world is in decline as a whole, not a handful of tragic examples. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/10/09/for-most-workers-real-wages-have-barely-budged-for-decades/ http://www.mybudget360.com/cost-of-living-2014-inflation-1950-vs-2014-data-housing-cars-college/ http://prospect.org/article/40-year-slump https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2012/07/31/wages-arent-stagnating-theyre-plummeting/

Then I am not sure how you can possibly characterize the west as in decline. Growth amongst lower and middle classes is terribly stagnant compared to the wealthy, but compared to the past most people are still seeing an improvement in most areas. Food, shelter, clothing, health care, etc. Which past?

Your view that the West is in economic decline is horribly inaccurate ... Come on the Internet is easy to use ? http://howafrica.com/worlds-largest-economies-2016/ Decline is defined by having less of something than you had yesterday, not whatever one figure is relevant at any given moment.

Frankly Bruce, I've had my fair share of disagreements and arguments in this forum with a lot of people, but if there is one person that strikes me as being genuinely incapable of empathy, its you. And I don't say this because of your well known comments regarding the bombing of Yugoslavia, I say it because you speak like a political mouthpiece and its simply impossible to tell what is your genuine opinion (if you even have any) and what is just passive-aggressive baiting of others.

Its true. Europe has become an old society, a gerontocracy, without the fire necessary for genuine political upheaval. The sort of idea of having this stagnant state where everyone is permanently wealthy because they all never split their wealth among multiple children simply doesn't work. With civilizations, its expand or die. You have to create wealth, not just shuffle it around. The funny thing is that the EU is immensely powerful in aggregate. But they're all just pissing it away. 300 million people and not one real leader at the head of any single state? Okay. The only politician in Europe that can say he achieved a major political goal in his lifetime is Nigel Farage. Dwell on that for a moment

Oh the ultimate reason that the whole of the western world is shifting to the right is that economics have been going down the drain for decades. Its been a very slow trickle downwards, but problems have finally accumulated to the point that they can have serious political implications. At one point one man's work was enough to feed and house a family. Now both partners work like dogs and never see their children for the same result. The lower classes lack political organization and numbers to drive these changes. But enough of the middle class has eroded and is resembling the lower classes in many things except for the physicality of the work - so that when their numbers add up they can put someone like Trump in power. The intellectuals that voted out of spite because of the dishonesty of the current system are surely a minority. I don't think anything lesser of either the lower or the middle class for it - the reaction has been long overdue.

A billionaire usurped the democratic party's status as champions of the lumpenproleteriat Barkeep, get me another

Alle Juden wait

Most bizarre thing I've heard in a while.

Clinton foundation? Heard they're in need of some comfort right now

Aaand, all my tests are negative - yay. I went through the most horrible medical exam in my life for nothing - boo.

Wow, the flow is indeed much improved! The versions I posted are more burdened by old English than yours.

Quite so. The English translation took some liberties with the translation in order to keep the text flowing - the original text is slightly more gory with his "white liver" showing (perhaps not included because its sexual slang in English?). With these sort of pictures I always wonder how much authenticity the artists could portray. Some clothing and items were still available in the XX century but a lot of things had to be a "creative interpretation". Jovanovich's "Crowning of Tsar Dushan" barring some details, looks like a scene from Western Europe to me, but then there is no reason it couldn't have looked like that either.

It took us a couple of centuries to write up that one, but once we got that ball rolling, we were pretty thorough. The other day I learned that at one point Belgrade had 170 mosques. There is one now.

I can never remember the login details

"The Maiden of Kossovo" , from the same period, is a much more personal affair - describing an unnamed maiden's search for her betrothed husband among the wounded and the dead on the field of the aforementioned battle. The scene of the poem would be portrayed by a Serbian painter in 1919 The Maiden of Kossovo Early rose the maiden of Kossovo, Early rose she on a Sunday morning, Rose before the brilliant sun had risen. She has rolled the white sleeves of her robe back, Rolled them back up to her soft white elbows; On her shoulders, fair white bread she carries, In her hands two shining golden goblets, In one goblet she has poured fresh water, And has poured good red wine in the other. Then she seeks the wide plain of Kossovo, Seeks the noble Prince’s place of meeting, Wanders there amongst the bleeding heroes. When she finds one living midst the wounded Then she laves him with the cooling water, Gives him, sacramentally, the red wine, Pledges with her fair white bread the hero. Fate at last has led her wand’ring footsteps Unto Pavle Orlovitch, the hero, Who has borne the Prince’s battle-standard. From his gaping wounds the blood is streaming, His right hand and his left foot are severed-- And the hero’s ribs are crushed and broken, But he lingers still amongst the living. From the pools of blood she drags his body And she laves him with the cooling water, Red wine, sacramentally, she gives him, Pledges then with fair white bread the hero. When at length his heart revives within him, Thus speaks Pavle Orlovitch, the hero: “Oh dear sister, Maiden of Kossovo, What great need compels thee here to wander, Thou, so young, amongst the wounded heroes? What dost thou upon the field of battle? Dost thou seek a brother’s son, or brother, Dost thous seek perchance an aged father?” Answered him the Maiden of Kossovo: “Oh dear brother! Oh thou unknown warrior! None of my own race am I now seeking, Not a brother’s son nor yet a brother, Neither do I seek an agéd father. Wast thou present, oh thou unknown warrior; When for three whole weeks to all his army Prince Lazar the Sacrament was giving By the hands of thirty holy fathers, In the splendid church of Samodreha? When Lazar and all the Serbian army There the Holy Sacrament have taken, Three Voyvodas last of all did enter: First of them was Milosh, the great warrior, Ivan Kossanchich was close behind him, And the third, Toplitza Milan, followed. “I by chance stood then within the doorway When there passed young Milosh, the great warrior, In the whole world no more splendid hero; On the ground his clanking sabre trailing, Silken cap with proudly waving feathers, Many-coloured mantle on his shoulders And around his neck a silken kerchief. Then he gazes round and looks upon me, He takes off his many-coloured mantle, Takes it off, and gives it to me, saying:-- ‘Here, oh Maiden, is my coloured mantle, By it thou wilt keep me in remembrance, By this mantle shall my name live with thee. Now, dear Maid, must I go forth and perish There where camps the noble Prince’s army; Pray to God for me, dear Maid, my sister, That I may come back again in safety. And that all good fortune may attend thee I will marry thee to my friend Milan, Him whom God has given me as brother, My friend Milan who is my sworn brother. In God’s name and good Saint John’s, I promise I will be a groomsman at they wedding.’ “Ivan Kossanchitch was close behind him, In the whole world no more splendid hero; On the ground his clanking sabre trailing, Silken cap with proudly waving feathers, Many-coloured mantle on his shoulders And around his neck a silken kerchief, On his hand a golden ring is shining. Then he gazes round and looks upon me, Takes the golden ring from off his finger, Takes it off and gives it to me, saying:-- ‘Here hast thou my ring of gold, oh Maiden, By it thou wilt have me in remembrance, By this gold ring shall my name live with thee. Now, dear maid, must I go forth to perish There where camps the noble Prince’s army; Pray to God for me, dear Maid, my sister, That I may come back again in safety. And that all good fortune may attend thee I will marry thee to my friend Milan, Him whom God has given me as brother, My friend Milan who is my sworn brother. In God’s name and good Saint John’s, I promise I myself will give thee to the bridegroom.’ “Then Toplitza Milan follows after, In the whole world no more splendid hero; On the ground his clanking sabre trailing, Silken cap with proudly waving feathers, Many-coloured mantle on his shoulders And around his neck a silken kerchief, On his hand a golden ring is shining And upon his arm a golden bracelet. Then he gazes round and looks upon me, From his arm he takes the golden bracelet, Takes it off and gives it to me, saying:-- ‘Here, oh Maiden, is my golden bracelet, By it thou wilt have me in remembrance, By this gold ring shall my name live with thee. Now, dear maid, must I go forth to perish There where camps the noble Prince’s army; Pray to God for me, dear soul, my darling, That I may come back again in safety; Then, dear Maid, that good luck may attend thee, I will take thee for my true belovéd.’ “And then went away these mighty leaders, And to-day I seek them here, oh brother, Seek them here, upon the field of battle!” Pavle Orlovitch then makes her answer: “Oh dear sister, Maiden of Kossovo, Dost thou see, dear soul, those battle-lances Where they lie most thickly piled together? There has flowed the life-blood of the heroes; To the stirrups of the faithful horses, To the stirrups and the girths it mounted, Mounted to the heroes’ silken girdles, And the three have fallen there together. Now return thee to thy fair white castle Lest thy skirts and sleeves with blood be spattered.” To the hero’s words the maiden listens, Down her white face are the fast tears falling; She returns then to her fair white castle. From her white throat pour her lamentations: “Woe is me, what fate I bear within me, I but touch the young and tender sapling And the fair green pine must surely wither.”

It occurred to me that anyone who loved the poems that Tolkien (or tales of King Arthur and other European epics from the middle ages) so often created for his works would enjoy these, because, even though they aren't fantasy, they are of the sort of inspiration Tolkien might have used in the first place. The first one is "The Fall of the Serbian Empire", created and retold through the oral tradition after the battle of Kosovo in 1389 until it was collected among other such works and published in the 19th century. The battle itself was a military draw as both the Serbian prince (tsar in the poem) and the Ottoman Sultan lost their lives along with most of their men. However, the Turks could replace these losses and the Serbs could not. Therefore the poem rationalizes the death of the Tsar as a deliberate form of Christian sacrifice in order to attain the "Kingdom of Heaven" and blames his defeat on treachery - although there likely was none, with the battle simply being fought to the bitter end. The Serbian medieval state would cease to exist and become incorporated in the Ottoman empire shortly afterward. The Fall of the Serbian Empire From Jerusalem, the holy city, Flying came a swift grey bird, a falcon, And he carried in his beak a swallow. But behold and see! ’Tis not a falcon, ’Tis the holy man of God, Elias, And he does not bear with him a swallow, But a letter from God’s Holy Mother. Lo, he bears the letter to Kossovo, Drops it on the Tsar’s knees from the heavens, And thus speaks the letter to the monarch: “Tsar Lazar, thou Prince of noble lineage, What wilt thou now choose to be thy kingdom? Say, dost thou desire a heav’nly kingdom, Or dost thou prefer an earthly kingdom? If thou should’st now choose an earthly kingdom, Knights may girdle swords and saddle horses, Tighten saddle-girths and ride to battle— You will charge the Turks and crush their army! But if thou prefer a heav’nly kingdom, Build thyself a church upon Kossovo, Let not the foundations be of marble, Let them be of samite and of scarlet.... And to all thy warriors and their leaders Thou shalt give the sacraments and orders, For thine army shall most surely perish, And thou too, shalt perish with thine army.” When the Tsar had read the holy letter, Ponder’d he, and ponder’d in this manner: “Mighty God, what now shall this my choice be! Shall I choose to have a heav’nly kingdom? Shall I choose to have an earthly kingdom? If I now should choose an earthly kingdom, Lo, an earthly kingdom is but fleeting, But God’s kingdom shall endure for ever.” And the Tsar he chose a heav’nly kingdom, And he built a church upon Kossovo,— Did not bring foundation stones of marble But he brought pure samite there and scarlet; Summon’d there the Patriarch of Serbia, Summon’d there with him the twelve archbishops. Thus he gave the warriors and their leaders Holy Sacrament and battle orders. But no sooner gave the Prince his orders Than the Turkish hordes swept on Kossovo. And the Jug Bogdan leads there his army, With his sons, the Jugovitch—nine brothers, His nine sons like nine grey keen-eyed falcons, Each of them commands nine thousand warriors, And the Jug Bogdan commands twelve thousand [1]. With the Turks they fight there and they struggle, And they smite and slay there seven pashas. When the eighth advances to the battle Then doth Jug Bogdan, the old knight, perish, With his sons the Jugovitch—nine brothers, His nine sons like nine grey keen-eyed falcons, And with them doth perish all their army. Moved their army three Mernyachevichi: Ban Uglyesha and Voyvoda Goïko, And the third, the mighty King Vukáshin; And with each were thirty thousand warriors, With the Turks do they there fight and struggle, And they smite and slay eight Turkish pashas. When the ninth advances to the battle Then there perish two Mernyachevichi, Ban Uglyesha and Voyvoda Goïko; Many ugly wounds has King Vukáshin, Turks and horses wade in blood above him, And with him doth perish all his army. Moved his army then Voyvoda Stefan; And with him are many mighty warriors, Many mighty warriors—sixty thousand. With the Turks do they there fight and struggle, And they smite and slay nine Turkish pashas. When the tenth advances to the battle, There doth perish the Voyvoda Stefan, And with him doth perish all his army. Then advances Tsar Lazar the Glorious, With him moves a might host of Serbians, Seven and seventy thousand chosen warriors. They disperse the Turks upon Kossovo, No time had the Turks to look upon them, Still less time had they to stem the onslaught; Tsar Lazar and all his mighty warriors There had overwhelm’d the unbelievers, But—the curse of God be on the traitor, On Vuk Brankovitch,—he left his kinsman, He deserted him upon Kossovo: And the Turks o’erwhelmed Lazar the Glorious, And the Tsar fell on the field of battle; And with him did perish all his army, Seven and seventy thousand chosen warriors. All was done with honour, all was holy, God’s will was fulfilled upon Kossovo.

He really does play his accent for all its worth

At this point I'm pretty sure Bernie voted Trump

Political correctness is already on its way out. It will be replaced by some other form of social oppression, like being a communist in the US in the preceding period or being critical of the government, in favor of capitalism etc. in the USSR. What is taboo in a society just depends on the particular ideology of the time.

What we do in the shadows is really good as well. In a big budget Hollywood movie, the director has little say over how the final product turns out so I wouldn't be expecting much of the next Thor film. Then again, I think superhero films are a trashy, formulaic waste of money so for me Kubrick and Tarkovsky working together on the next Batman probably couldn't make it good. Incidentally I saw Dr. Strange recently. Here's my take on it in two sentences. So Cumberbach plays Dr. Sherlock House that gets his career ruined due to his arrogance and bad driving after which he departs to Kathmandu in the mystical east where in an asian temple, he meats a bald buddhist Englishwoman and a kung-fu black guy that instruct him in the ways of sorcery so he can combat a Mads Mikkelsen you wish you didn't recognize because his facial paint makes him look Avril Lavigne that's been crying for the past hour only with more purple, which is incidentally the third adjective applicable to the main antagonist, the other two being bald and wannabe-Cthulhu. He is defeated when they discover the rewind button on a mystical VCR, making the bad guy's whole gig neatly and ironically as pointless as the film itself.