ACalamityOfJanes

Approximately ten cats, who share a computer.

If I respond to your tweet I'm probably not trying to change your mind, just give others something to think about

[ACalamityOfJanes @approxtencats]

@ShortStoryTell @galesto80979644 Centrists who are happy with the incumbent but maybe not fully on board with the incumbent's party.

[ACalamityOfJanes @approxtencats]

@Dodge5_9rt @Pablovi77 @RBizzle7 @DropAPinShow My conclusion is the term "continent" is pretty pointless. May as well just say "region" and retire continent completely unless talking about continental crust.

[ACalamityOfJanes @approxtencats]

@Pablovi77 @RBizzle7 @DropAPinShow Thanks for responding. "Has no definition" is probably closest to the answer. Always good to get other perspectives.

[ACalamityOfJanes @approxtencats]

@Pablovi77 @RBizzle7 @DropAPinShow Genuine question, if north and south america are one continent why are europe and asia two continents? Seems inconsistent. How do you define the word "continent"?

[ACalamityOfJanes @approxtencats]

@PupettaMassicot @LargeBubs @LibertyTemen @NoContextHumans Thanks for replying :) I think I have to just accept that the term "continent" has no agreed meaning. It's really more of a cultural term than a geographic one I feel. I appreciate your help.

[ACalamityOfJanes @approxtencats]

@PupettaMassicot @LargeBubs @LibertyTemen @NoContextHumans Hi, I'm from a different country/ generation to those who are taught Oceania is a continent. Can I ask what definition of continent you are taught that would make this so? Genuinely asking because it seems to change a lot.

[ACalamityOfJanes @approxtencats]

@cowboy_postbop @nikicaga I only know her from the REM song.

[Maiko Konutz 🦃 @eguic]

@9chabard I don't get it

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@SolW7960955 @hobday_jon Whoops, Oh-shee-ah-nee-ah.

[ACalamityOfJanes @approxtencats]

@SolW7960955 @hobday_jon I would put an "a" in the middle. O- shee-a-nee-a.

[ACalamityOfJanes @approxtencats]

@hobday_jon The word "continent" is useless. You have to define it as it has so many different meanings now depending on who you are speaking to. Personally I do not consider Oceania a continent, but if the definition has changed so be it.

[ACalamityOfJanes @approxtencats]

@evelingtxn 4 rHopefully

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@Seda33554179 You guys have (mostly) moved past the bopping people on heads thing, you can move past this too. Iced buns are great when fresh.

[ACalamityOfJanes @approxtencats]

@Seda33554179 🫤

[ACalamityOfJanes @approxtencats]

@Seda33554179 I'd say both but that might be me being generous and it probably veers closer to B.

[ACalamityOfJanes @approxtencats]

@Seda33554179 I can't believe you've been engaging in inauthentic behaviours! That's the sort of thing I do when I'm nervous in social situations.

[Yishan @yishan]

The original architects of American global power did something very clever that no other empire had ever done before: they deliberately hid the instruments of their power.

Specifically, they institutionalized the hard power of the post-WW2 American military into a "rules-based international order" and the organizations needed to run it.

These include the UN, IMF, World Bank, NATO, and numerous philanthropic NGOs like (as has been in the news recently) USAID.

The reason they did this is because repeated use of hard military power is fragile and self-defeating: it engenders resentment and breeds defiance. The British learned this and used prototypical methods of institutionalization in the declining years of their empire, but their American successors perfected it.

(If you don't understand how this works, I will link a post in the replies explaining how one example works - NATO)

The more sophisticated rivals of the US obviously know what's up, so they try to oppose or circumvent these institutions, but obviously the institutions are backed by hard power in the end. It sounds fair enough to say "if you don't abide by the 'rules,' we will invade you." It works well enough because it it sounds more fair to say that than "if you don't do what we tell you, we will invade you." Rival governments aren't fooled, but a lot of their ordinary citizens are, and combined with media dominance and control of the reserve currency (economic dominance), it's enough to keep everyone in line.

An unanticipated problem seems to have arisen:

It turns out that if you hide the levers of power, your own successors may have trouble understanding them. Especially if you failed to educate them, or let various cultural forces undermine the indoctrination of your elites.

With that happening, once the new generation of elites gains power, they don't recognize that the complicated weird control panel you built that doesn't seem to do anything but costs $10 billion a year to maintain is actually how you're controlling everything around the world and they take it down to save money. All because you did too good a job hiding the levers of power.

Soft power isn't "soft." It's real power. It's just soft because it's hidden.

I don't know how to solve this problem because I think hidden levers of power are definitely better, but you have to train a priesthood generation after generation to understand them, and that kind of thing corrupts itself too. Open power is much more honest, but no one likes it and it's hard to hold on to.

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@Seda33554179 @SRMiracle I think it's totally fine to lurk (considering that's essentially what I do here now). Lurking and blocking is my Twitter life. I started off lurking, then I interacted for a while, then back to lurking. You never know how you will feel about these things.

[ACalamityOfJanes @approxtencats]

@Seda33554179 That's understandable, I guess it will take time to trust that the trend lines really are going in the right direction. Long may it last!