Next notables, metaphors and bright ideas included

December 9th, 2018 by Charles Cameron

I don’t know if this is still true, but I once read about exploited workers in the ship-breaking industry who were worked so hard, and paid so little, they could not even afford to buy enough calories to sustain themselves. They were slowly starving to death. I call this phenomenon entropic ruin, a generalization of the idea of gambler’s ruin to open-ended games that can be non-zero-sum and need not involve gambling. In this case, it’s a deterministic death march. If you systematically consume fewer calories than you expend long term, you will die a premature death.

Via John Kellden

**

Did Venkatesh mention “the idea of gambler’s ruin“? How about nuns’ ruin as a subset?

Two nuns allegedly stole $500,000 for trips to Las Vegas

We do know that they had a pattern of going on trips, we do know they had a pattern of going to casinos, and the reality is, they used the account as their personal account,” Marge Graf, an attorney representing St. James, told a group of parents at a meeting last Monday night, according to the Beach Reporter.”

**

Mask dancers, Bhutan:

21 Breathtaking Photos Of Isolated Tribes From All Around The World

The dancers are gorgeous, but look to the left and see the monasteries perched on plateaus in a towering rock-face..

I’m pretty sure “isolated tribes” are of particular interest about now because of the evangelical boundary-pusher killed (martyred? now there’s a koan) because he hoped to bring the gospel to Andaman tribal peoples whose isolation is protected by the Indian government.. see my tweet:

"He reprimands himself for removing the arrow that was shot into his waterproof Bible. He should have kept it, he wrote. Instead, he handed it back to the boy who shot at him, then paddled away." https://t.co/cfett1cBRb

John Chau’s Death on North Sentinel Island ..

— hipbonegamer (@hipbonegamer) December 9, 2018

**

A whole lot more..

This Nancy Pelosi chyron, for instance:

Which brings me to #2 below:

— with #3 also deserving a metaphor-mention..

And we might as well go for the revolt chyron here:

And that in turn allows for a splendid graphic with both metaphorical and real resonance..

**

That should be enough. I’ll collect further items of interest in the comments section.

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Posted in Charles Cameron, christianity, Doublequotes, graphical thinking, hinduism, India, jihad, koan, metaphor, monasticism, photography, series, strategy, tribes, Uncategorized | 10 comments

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  1. Charles Cameron:

    December 15th, 2018 at 7:29 am

    We’re off to a good start, I think..
    .
    I’m collecting this one because the Clown or Fool ia s sacred figure, where sacred (as with the Lakota) means something close to “high tension” — having a high enough valence that you shouldn’t mess with it unless you have the requisite (shamanic) training. Not nevessarity super-good, as in Christian ideas of the sacred, but having positive or negative possibilities.

    The Fool can have either disastrous foolishness or miraculous folly, cf the Holy Fools of Orthodox tradition.

  2. Charles Cameron:

    December 15th, 2018 at 9:00 am

    “THIS WAS A BIG REPUDIATION OF JARED”: AFTER THE AYERS CHIEF-OF-STAFF FIASCO, TRUMP IS EYEING BANNON ALLY DAVE BOSSIE

    When Donald Trump summoned John Kelly to the White House on Friday to give him, at long last, his walking papers during a meeting with Nick Ayers and Mike Pence, it appeared that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump had notched a major victory. For weeks, Kushner and Ivanka had been lobbying the president to replace Kelly with Ayers, a generational peer and ally who would increase their influence in the West Wing.

  3. Charles Cameron:

    December 16th, 2018 at 5:25 pm

    Here are a bunch of quotes I noted, I’m not sure of the dates..
    Hardball:
    they are playing mobsters in that tape ..
    it strikes at the heart of what we are as a nation ..
    beating those neo-Khan war drums .
    12/12 scrum chyron:

    the president’s theater
    lion tamer
    don’t mansplain me ..
    we will defeat the enemy and win this war ..
    katyal: nah, nah i’m the presiden, i have a get outnof jail free cardnunder the constitution ..
    who then can dictate the rules of the game? ..the senate is not a reality show, this is not theater ..
    is the kind of ?atty? that would dare just slap a client upside ..
    nicolle:
    may i take your decision and raise you one ?officer? ..
    what we have her’s a president who’s very much on the ropes ..
    chyron: stop the war:

    since i’ve been sitting here, there have been two bombshells ..
    it all circles back [ourob] ..
    this is a desperate measure, when defence lawyer does this, it’s really game, set and match
    the beat melber:
    pay for play ..
    alex witt msnbc:
    i think there is going to be some musical chairs, so to speak ..
    catch as catch can ..
    the people as blame sponges ..
    he was down a rabbit-hole, not a witch hunt!

  4. Charles Cameron:

    December 18th, 2018 at 6:31 pm

    Howzzat?!! as we say in cricket?
    .
    Trump Foundation agrees to dissolve under court supervision

    Our petition detailed a shocking pattern of illegality involving the Trump Foundation — including unlawful coordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and willful self-dealing, and much more. This amounted to the Trump Foundation functioning as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests,” Underwood said in a statement Tuesday.

    Self-dealing is a straightforward example of the ouroboros, a pattern regular readers here will recognize.
    .
    Here’s another, from my reading for a piece on the Templarios I’m (still) working on:
    .
    Steven Marx, Northrop Frye’s Bible:

    The descent to the bottom of the cosmos, Frye states, is the source of genuine human power. That descent is often shown in tragedy to be self-destructive or anti-social. It involves a final confrontation with Nothingness, such as Macbeth’s realization that life is a tale told by an idiot or Ahab’s encounter with the whiteness of the whale or Mr. Kurtz’ discovery of “the horror.” But in a titanic descent, such an experience of absolute negation ultimately negates itself and leads to an affirmative ascent. This is achieved by the counter-gravitational energy of the creative imagination.

    But in a titanic descent, such an experience of absolute negation ultimately negates itself — The whole para describes boustrophedon at least, enantiodromia if viewed at speed, with “absolute negation ultimately negates itself” being an “absolutely” powerful instance of ouroboros!
    .
    Pine Gap (Netflix) s 1 e 4:

    There are three ways to play any game: A, Plan your moves so far in advance your opponent can’t predict them, B, Make your opponent watch what you’re doing with one hand while your other is busy with your real game plan., or C, Play your cards very, very close to your chest..

    Sometimes all you can do is wait.. until your opponent makes the next move.

    Another game rule, this one from MTP 12/18/2018:

    Whatever comes of this, both sides have got to save face.

    Back to Pine Gap s1 e 5:

    Good game,
    .
    A loss is always a bad game.

    Oak, that bunch made a post..

  5. Charles Cameron:

    December 20th, 2018 at 5:41 am

    Various:
    .
    U.S. preparing to withdraw all American troops in Syria

    The White House did not offer a timeline for the removal of troops, referring questions to the Pentagon, which referred inquiries back to the White House.

    T

    ******************** image ***********************************

    As discord between the United States and Iran continue to rise in 2019, Tehran will reach deeper into its bag of deadly tricks to counter pressure from Washington. While the huge imbalance of power will restrain Iran from engaging in direct military conflict with the United States and its allies, it will retaliate with its asymmetrical arsenal. These weapons include cyberattacks, terrorism and support for its regional militant allies, and they pose a threat to companies and organizations in the Middle East and beyond. But what is most notable is how Iran’s strategy for handling conflict in cyberspace mirrors its game plan for physical clashes.

  6. Charles Cameron:

    December 20th, 2018 at 4:38 pm

    Okay, this is a misc dump.
    .

    .
    How Iran’s Cyber Game Plan Reflects Its Asymmetrical War Strategy

    As discord between the United States and Iran continue to rise in 2019, Tehran will reach deeper into its bag of deadly tricks to counter pressure from Washington. While the huge imbalance of power will restrain Iran from engaging in direct military conflict with the United States and its allies, it will retaliate with its asymmetrical arsenal. These weapons include cyber-attacks, terrorism and support for its regional militant allies, and they pose a threat to companies and organizations in the Middle East and beyond. But what is most notable is how Iran’s strategy for handling conflict in cyberspace mirrors its game plan for physical clashes.

    **
    .

    .
    US admits it is POWERLESS to defend against Russia’s ‘game changer’ hypersonic weapons

    The Russian leader, who is at loggerheads with his US counterpart Donald Trump over Washington’s proposed withdrawal from a key Cold War nuclear arms treaty, said his new advanced weapons, “will force those who got accustomed to militarist rhetoric to think”.

    loggerheads
    .
    WAR GAMES: Russia and China team up to test controversial RADIO-BLOCKING experiments
    .
    **
    .
    MTP yesterday 12/19/2018 had a chyron: “Facebook takes pages from Trump playbook” — unable to get a screen-grab at present.
    .
    **
    .
    MTP at m 45 Noah’s ark quote.. “pairs of democrats from every state” ..
    m50 American power is often the lid on the pressure cooker there.. ***
    .
    The Beat, Melber, 19:
    a lot of dots, a lot of data points ..
    .

    .
    work can work — definitive — ourob — careerbuilder ad
    .
    Ari m 21? smackdown ..
    42: just give me a time out ..
    m52 chyron to collect:shutdown .. winners and losers ..
    m54 shutdown fight ..
    .
    Hardball 12/19/2018
    there’s no doubt the master of dark arts in trump world is roger stone ..
    bluymenthal: he has been such a close advisor on dirty tricks, dark arts ..
    it sounbds kike dick cheney speaking, back alley stuff ..
    nance: he’s going to build a cage for roger stone to jump into and then try to lie himself out of ..
    m 5/6 he’s been doing this strip tease for years
    he wanted joe mccarthy’s worst guy, and he wanted nixon’s worst guy, and he went out and recruited them, that’s his team ..
    a hostile foreign intelligence service ..
    alcindor [check transcript, hard to make out but interesting] the best toys .. didn’t want to play ..
    all this hail mary stuff .. they come with their chalices for you, daddy ..
    pick and roll kind of play and then you roll around the back .. show fighting spirit and then roll ..
    .

    .
    he’s their warrior ..
    this isn’t a church, but let’s talk character ..
    .
    All In Chris Hayes
    chyron needed, m 01/2 ISIS defeated
    two-timing with the russians ..
    nancy pelosi is a very, very skilled player, but let’s give credit where credit is due, she’s playin against a guy who turns all of his cards face up and then tries to bluff ..
    you’ve got one of the worst bluffs in the history of poker ..
    he is going to find it really hard to go toe to toe with nancy pelosi ..
    hallie: m58 bronco quote
    the next 6 months are going to make the last 6 look like a dress-rehearsal ..
    .
    the ball’s in the house’s court ..
    they’ve knocked the ball down the field 3 or 4 times now..

  7. Charles Cameron:

    December 20th, 2018 at 10:14 pm

    Another job lot, date recent but uncertain..
    . ..
    james comey was breathing hot fire at donald trump ..

    Melber:
    to burn down the entire FBI ..
    rudy giuliani back on offense, which often looks like .. defense ..
    they are willing to call up down, and left right
    the trump-whisperer ..
    who wants to take bets on beto ..
    .
    chris matthews?
    .
    rats ..
    the mob talk never stops .. danny aiello .. cagney ..
    sort of like spiro agnewe
    godfather, goodfellas &c and trumo – research
    .
    they held? the ball, and they didn’t allow ..
    more powerful than a russian troll ..
    .


    .

    .
    we’re going tinto a sloww game of jenga .. ***
    all in chris hayes
    rat.. acting like a mob boss .. [see above ]
    hold some things back if you possibly can, so that .. pack a punch ..
    .
    12/20/2018:
    i’d argue this isn’t a punt .. this is a fumble ..
    job is to land the the plane of the mueller ?probe..
    .
    only donald trump could administer a coup to himself.. [ourob] ***

  8. Charles Cameron:

    December 20th, 2018 at 11:14 pm

    History is going to record thar Secretary Mattis handed in his resignation the day after .. [withdrawal] ..
    .
    **

    What Is Grand Strategy? Sweeping a Conceptual Minefield

    After nearly three decades in which overwhelming grand strategic continuity rendered the “Kennan Sweepstakes” little more than an inside-the-Beltway parlor game, Washington faces raised geopolitical stakes.

    **

    republicans now have no top cover at all ..
    geoff bennett m 02 casey? 8am pacific “insert your metaphor” .. ***

  9. Charles Cameron:

    December 22nd, 2018 at 4:45 pm

    12/21/2018 MTP:
    by leaving syria you’re inviting black flags .. to return, or even worse, suleimani and the irgc ..
    [suleimani] will have a land bridge all the way from Bandar Abbas in the Persian Gulf to Beqaa Valley in Lebanon ..
    what they don’t want to do, is they domn’t want to take military options off the table and weaken our hand in the diplomatic game ..
    the president is still a very unpredictable wild card here ..
    .
    Ari Melber The Beat handover from MTP:
    Chuck Todd: all right, Ari, I’ve got the announcement of the announcement of a deal to have a deal to create the process to create a process for the deal ..
    .


    .
    ourobs?
    .
    stacks in stacks ..
    .
    Howard Fineman:

    Donald Trump views the world as an array of mob families where he’s the king-pin of one mob, and he’s got to know .. to approach and get inside the bubble of the other mob leaders around the world, and those would be Putin and Erdogan and Xi and all the other dictators that he seems to feel sympatico with, because it’s one mob boss talking to another .. It’s an extremely crude and jungle-like view of the world as seen through the eyes of mob families ..
    .
    If there is a Trump Doctrine, it comes from Queens ..*****

    Fox ISIS: “he’s really on the griddle with this ..
    .
    You want his masters wanting his masters? [quote, rap] .. ourob?
    .
    Hardball:
    he had no plans, but was spoiling for a fight ..
    .. calling the plays on the field. cheerleaders are supposed to cheer, they’re not supposed to call the plays in the football game — and here you got sean hannity, ann coulter, laura ingraham and rush limbaugh ..
    who’s leading the conga line? rush limbaugh is calling the shots ..
    this was a cri de guerre ..
    he seems like peter the hermit .. hiding in the white house, quaking in his boots ..
    it’s like he had all these plates that he was spoinning, you know, and at some point you knew it was not going to stay that way, and this week seemed to be the week they all started crashing down, and the big piece was mattis ..
    Heidi Przybyla: i’m so disturbed that i actually want to go out in flames, and tell the emerican people..
    where does the bike go without the training wheel?
    brought in the cameras son he could win the fist-fight ..
    tripwire [?? 35/6] ..
    41 hold themselves hostage .. ourob ..
    54 opening salvo .. [ ?? ]
    All In 12/21/18
    he is a puppet ..
    .
    Okay, a couple of screen-grabs:
    .

    .
    and while we’re on tailspin:
    .

  10. Charles Cameron:

    December 24th, 2018 at 4:51 am

    a couple of chyrons from cnn newsroom not sure which hour — ana —
    6 pacific?
    m21 military gamble
    .
    .
    .
    7.01 how do you move the ball forward?
    7.04 they’ve been running an adult child-care center at the white house ..
    maria teresa kumar, 2018 soul of america: he went from a dog-whistle to a bull-horn ..
    article: “donald trump’s breathlessly self-??” ourob if i can find it ..
    .
    12/24/2018
    trump says jump — how high?

    .
    and then there’s golf: