Nigel Rodgers, who has a degree in history and history of art from Cambridge University, has written widely on history, philosophy and art. (Barnes and Noble)
Roman Empire by Nigel Rodgers and Hazel Dodge - seen now as the Chinese empire is rising, with weaker Russia as ally 9 out of 10
"What have the Romans ever done for us, except sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, public health and peace’ this is part of a joke from Monty Python’s Life of Brian https://realini.blogspot.com/2017/03/... the best comedy ever for the under signed
To summarize for you, so that you can stop reading, with a sense of what this fellow thinks of the Roman Empire – it makes sense reading this, because then we can see the ‘future’, as in that old quote ‘who does not know history is bound to repeat it’ or something along these lines, but from here, I will concentrate on the now Better said, it looks like it will be the present, so feel free, encouraged to abandon the following, albeit they could be filled with Sagesse and clairvoyance…it will strike many that the things happening now will lead to a decline in the power of the west, and the East will take over, in particular China, which is bullying all around it
Why The West Rules For Now https://realini.blogspot.com/2017/10/... is a spectacular book by marvelous Ian Morris that looks at what the title makes clear, explains how the Chinese could have welcomed the conquistadores, the latter had ships that were much smaller than the oriental vessels What is of intense concern for yours truly is the fact that we have butchers, mass killers, frauds, Confidence Men https://realini.blogspot.com/2023/09/... as leaders in multiple countries, in fact, the majority of humans are led by them, a sensible conclusion is that just very few escape that plague
One of the best-known examples is Orange Jesus, friend of the Butcher in the Kremlin, the former was baptized by leaders in Congress, where they have the likes of Marjorie Taylor Green – speaking of the Roman Empire, in contrast to some of the glory days of that phenomenon, this is no Cato, she could say indictable, which is part of her job profile, as Seth Meyers made clear on his excellent show- and other creatures In the past few days, one of the sycophants of Orange Jesus, Tucker Carlson, has had an interview with the Kremlin Mass Killer, which is best summarized and exposed in The Economist (where else) which concludes that you cannot admire someone like that, and the wondrous author of the article is having fun at the expense of the two morons Carlson starts with NATO and then The Butcher talks at length about…Rurik, a Varangian chieftain of the ninth century, the medieval reign of Yaroslav the Wise…’he came across as one of those cranks who fixate on an arcane bit of history, except that his obsession – Russia’s historical claim to Ukraine – is backed by a nuclear arsenal’
The would-be czar gave the ghoulish guest the letters of some medieval Cossack leader, showed no interest in the audience – as the journalist from The Economist points out, the new Ivan The Terrible does not care about the lectorate, indeed, about anything, anywhere, all at once – and the fool in front was hand picked ‘Mr. Carlson looked like a man who has drifted into a reverie over whether he left the oven on’ continues the article which also reveals that Putin lied about – well, everything it seems to me – Poland and the collusion with Hitler (remember, the latter invaded and crushed the former, though not for the Kremlin) and more
If you recall the embarrassing (for the occupiers) first days on the invasion, which they thought will take all of a couple of days, and hence they had not prepared for, well, anything, and had no supplies of fuel, provisions, they had only packed the parade uniforms, because they had been sure they would have a triumphal march Instead, the ‘strategy’ proved idiotic, they had a ten-kilometer-long traffic jam and easy targets for the brave Ukrainians, something that the Kremlin Despot turns into the opposite, he said in the interview that they actually did not enter Kyiv ‘as a sign of good will’, yes, that is surely the truth…the conclusion of The Economist article is ‘Mr. Putin is not a leader to be trusted, still less to emulate or admire’ and it is right on the money
However, the situation favors the tyrant now – when we compare the Roman Empire with America, we can see that the latter might have reached the phase of the decline, though we will surely hope it is just a passing shadow, the once Grand Old Party has been transformed into the Cult of Orange Jesus and the results are catastrophic Ukraine has been fighting valiantly for two years now, it has been running out of ammunition, means to defend against multiple missile attacks and will be facing more territorial losses, just as the Republicans, under the heel of Orange Jesus, have refused systematically to provide support for the brave allies
No drop of American blood has been spilled, and there is no danger for their troops in fighting the most redoubtable foe, and yet, despite the fact that this is in the American interest, the defeat, or at least the weakening of the most important foe, they do not do that, because they have been transformed into a bunch of loonies and bastards, or just weaklings We admired America here, it still is the hope that they will somehow redeem themselves, elect Biden (for all his flaws, he is not dangerous, crazy and a sick bastard, like OJ) and see to it that they return to the period of greatness, and not fall like The Roman Empire
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know
Some favorite quotes from To The Heritage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’
“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”