Quotes, notable snippets

Fearful Thing to Love by Yehuda HaLevi (Judah HaLevi)

Tis a Fearful Thing

‘Tis a fearful thing to love what death can touch.

A fearful thing to love, to hope, to dream, to be –

to be, And oh, to lose.

A thing for fools, this,

And a holy thing,

a holy thing to love.

For your life has lived in me, your laugh once lifted me, your word was gift to me.

To remember this brings painful joy.

‘Tis a human thing, love, a holy thing, to love what death has touched.

Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut

American planes, full of holes and wounded men and corpses took off backwards from an airfield in England. Over France a few German fighter plans flew at them backwards, sucked bullets and shell fragments from some of the planes and crewmen. They did the same for wrecked American bombers on the ground, and those planes flew up backwards to join the formation.

The formation flew backwards over a German city that was in flames. The bombers opened their bomb bay doors, exerted a miraculous magnetism which shrunk the fires, gathered them into cylindrical steel containers, and lifted the containers into the bellies of the planes. The containers were stored neatly in racks. The Germans below had miraculous devices of their own, which were long steel tubes. They used them to suck more fragments from the crewmen and planes. But there were still a few wounded Americans, though, and some of the bombers were in bad repair. Over France, though, German fighters came up again, made everything and everybody good as new.

When the bombers got back to their base, the steel cylinders were taken from the racks and shipped back to the United States of America, where factories were operating night and day, dismantling the cylinders, separating the dangerous contents into minerals. Touchingly, it was mainly women who did this work. The minerals were then shipped to specialists in remote areas. It was their business to put them into the ground, to hide them cleverly so they would never hurt anybody ever again.

1995 Cold War thriller Crimson Tide

“We’re here to preserve democracy, not to practice it.”

Pushing Daises, Pie-lette 2007

Ned: I'm not a fan of the hug. Charlotte 'Chuck' Charles: Then you haven't been hugged properly. It's like an emotional Heimlich. Someone puts their arms around you and they give you a squeeze and all your fear and anxiety come shooting out of your mouth in a big wet wad and you can breath again.

The Hippocratic Oath

HIPPOCRATIC OATH: MODERN VERSION

I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:

I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.

I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.

I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug.

I will not be ashamed to say “I know not,” nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient’s recovery.

I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.

I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person’s family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.

I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.

I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.

If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.

—Written in 1964 by Louis Lasagna, Academic Dean of the School of Medicine at Tufts University, and used in many medical schools today

Rocannon's World by Ursula K Le Guin

"You're not master here. The lawless man is a slave, and the cruel man is a slave, and the stupid man is a slave. You are my slave and I drive you like a beast. Out!"

THE LAST WORD HAS NOT YET BEEN SAID

Between us we can change this rotten society. Now, put on your coat and make for the nearest cinema. Look at their deadly love-making on the screen. Isn’t it better in real life? Make up your mind to learn to love. Then, during the interval, when the first advertisements come on, pick up your tomatoes or, if you prefer, your eggs, and chuck them. Then get out into the street, and peel off all the latest government proclamations until underneath you discover the message of the days of May and June.

Stay awhile in the street. Look at the passers-by and remind yourself: the last word has not yet been said. Then act. Act with others, not for them. Make the revolution here and now. It is your own. C’est pour toi que tu fais la révolution.

— Daniel and Gabriel Cohn-Bendit, Obsolete Communism: The Left-Wing Alternative

Hélder Câmara

When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.

ARAGORN

A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of Men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand! Men of the West!

Don't judge someone just because they sin differently than you.

FDR

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Poem_for_your_sprog

askreddit about near-death experiences

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/99q9n5/redditors_who_have_been_clinically_dead_what_did/

And when the darkness comes for me To take me where I'm meant to be - To guide me out beyond the black, Forever on, and never back - To lead me through the final door Till all that is and was before Is nothing more than dreams at night -

I will not fret.

I will not fight.

A FINAL ACT

From Hell's heart, I stab at thee; For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee!"

(in Moby Dick)

Obama

These are extraordinary times. And they're dangerous times. But here's the good news. In two months we have the chance, not the certainty but the chance, to restore some semblance of sanity to our politics. Because there is actually only one real check on bad policy and abuses of power, and that's you. You and your vote. …

I happen to be a Democrat. I support Democratic candidates. I believe our policies are better and that we have a bigger, bolder vision of opportunity and equality and justice and inclusive democracy. We know there are a lot of jobs young people aren't getting a chance to occupy or aren't getting paid enough or aren't getting benefits like insurance. It's harder for young people to save for a rainy day, let alone retirement. So Democrats aren't just running on good old ideas like a higher minimum wage, they're running on good new ideas like Medicare for all, giving workers seats on corporate boards, reversing the most egregious corporate tax cuts to make sure college students graduate debt-free. …

Making democracy work means holding on to our principles, having clarity about our principles, and then having the confidence to get in the arena and have a serious debate. And it also means appreciating that progress does not happen all at once, but when you put your shoulder to the wheel, if you're willing to fight for it, things do get better. And let me tell you something, particularly young people here. Better is good. I used to have to tell my young staff this all the time in the White House. Better is good. That's the history of progress in this country. Not perfect. Better. The Civil Rights Act didn't end racism, but it made things better. Social Security didn't eliminate all poverty for seniors, but it made things better for millions of people.

Do not let people tell you the fight's not worth it because you won't get everything that you want. The idea that, well, you know there's racism in America so I'm not going to bother voting. No point. That makes no sense. You can make it better. Better's always worth fighting for. …

I am hopeful because out of this political darkness I am seeing a great awakening of citizenship all across the country. I cannot tell you how encouraged I've been by watching so many people get involved for the first time, or the first time in a long time. They're marching and they're organizing and they're registering people to vote, and they're running for office themselves. Look at this crop of Democratic candidates running for Congress and running for governor, running for the state legislature, running for district attorney, running for schoolboard. It is a movement of citizens who happen to be younger and more diverse and more female than ever before…

we've got first-time candidates, we've got veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, record numbers of women – Americans who previously maybe didn't have an interest in politics as a career, but laced up their shoes and rolled up their sleeves and grabbed a clipboard because they too believe, this time's different; this moment's too important to sit out. And if you listen to what these candidates are talking about, in individual races across the country, you'll find they're not just running against something, they are running for something. They're running to expand opportunity and they're running to restore the honor and compassion that should be the essence of public service.

And speaking as a Democrat, that's when the Democratic Party has always made the biggest difference in the lives of the American people, when we led with conviction and principle and bold new ideas. The antidote to a government controlled by a powerful fear, a government that divides, is a government by the organized, energized, inclusive many. That's what this moment's about. That has to be the answer. You cannot sit back and wait for a saviour. You can't opt out because you don't feel sufficiently inspired by this or that particular candidate. This is not a rock concert, this is not Coachella. You don't need a messiah. All we need are decent, honest, hardworking people who are accountable – and who have America's best interests at heart.

And they'll step up and they'll join our government and they will make things better if they have support. One election will not fix everything that needs to be fixed, but it will be a start. And you have to start it. What's going to fix our democracy is you.

People ask me, what are you going to do for the election? No, the question is: What are you going to do? You're the antidote. Your participation and your spirit and your determination, not just in this election but in every subsequent election, and in the days between elections.

Because in the end, the threat to our democracy doesn't just come from Donald Trump or the current batch of Republicans in Congress or the Koch Brothers and their lobbyists, or too much compromise from Democrats, or Russian hacking. The biggest threat to our democracy is indifference. The biggest threat to our democracy is cynicism - a cynicism that's led too many people to turn away from politics and stay home on Election Day. To all the young people who are here today, there are now more eligible voters in your generation than in any other, which means your generation now has more power than anybody to change things. If you want it, you can make sure America gets out of its current funk. If you actually care about it, you have the power to make sure we seize a brighter future. But to exercise that clout, to exercise that power, you have to show up.

In the last midterm election, fewer than one in five young people voted. One in five. Not two in five, or three in five. One in five. Is it any wonder this Congress doesn't reflect your values and your priorities? Are you surprised by that?

This whole project of self-government only works if everybody's doing their part. Don't tell me your vote doesn't matter. I've won states in the presidential election because of five, ten, twenty votes per precinct. And if you thought elections don't matter, I hope these last two years have corrected that impression.

So if you don't like what's going on right now – and you shouldn't – do not complain. Don't hashtag. Don't get anxious. Don't retreat. Don't binge on whatever it is you're bingeing on. Don't lose yourself in ironic detachment. Don't put your head in the sand. Don't boo. Vote. …

If you're tired of politicians who offer nothing but "thoughts and prayers" after a mass shooting, you've got to do what the Parkland kids are doing. Some of them aren't even eligible to vote, yet they're out there working to change minds and registering people, and they're not giving up until we have a Congress that sees your lives as more important than a campaign check from the NRA.

You've got to vote. When you vote, you've got the power to make it easier to afford college, and harder to shoot up a school. When you vote, you've got the power to make sure a family keeps its health insurance; you could save somebody's life. …

Thirty minutes of your time. Is democracy worth that? We have been through much darker times than these, and somehow each generation of Americans carried us through to the other side. Not by sitting around and waiting for something to happen, not by leaving it to others to do something, but by leading that movement for change themselves. And if you do that, if you get involved, and you get engaged, and you knock on some doors, and you talk with your friends, and you argue with your family members, and you change some minds, and you vote, something powerful happens.

Change happens. Hope happens. Not perfection. Not every bit of cruelty and sadness and poverty and disease suddenly stricken from the earth. There will still be problems. But with each new candidate that surprises you with a victory that you supported, a spark of hope happens. With each new law that helps a kid read or helps a homeless family find shelter or helps a veteran get the support he or she has earned, each time that happens, hope happens. With each new step we take in the direction of fairness and justice and equality and opportunity, hope spreads.

And that can be the legacy of your generation. You can be the generation that at a critical moment stood up and reminded us just how precious this experiment in democracy really is, just how powerful it can be when we fight for it, when we believe in it. I believe in you. I believe you will help lead us in the right direction. And I will be right there with you every step of the way.

striking

You have to start it. What's going to fix our democracy is you. People ask me, "what are you going to do in this election?" No the question is: what are YOU going to do? you're the antidote! your participation, your determination, and your spirit — not just in this election, but in every subsequent election, and in the days between elections…

The biggest threat to our democracy is indifference… and cynicism

1 in 5 Is it any wonder this congress doesn't reflect your values and your priorities?

If you thought elections don't matter, I hope these last two years have corrected that impression.

If you don't like what's going on right now do not complain, don't hashtag, don't get anxious, don't retreat, don't binge on whatever it is you're bingin' on, don't lose yourself in ironic detachment, don't put your head in the sand, don't boo, VOTE! VOTE!

The best way to protest is to vote! not just for senators and representatives, but for mayors, and sheriffs, and state legislators.

If you're tired of politicians who offer nothing but "thoughts and prayers" after a mass shooting, you've got to do what the Parkland kids are doing, they're out there working to change minds, registering people A congress that sees your lives as more important than a campaign check from the NRA.

not by waiting for others to do it but by leading that movement themselves

https://youtu.be/66TSD2YiNhg 9/7/2018

if it doesn't make sense, it makes money

e.g. $200 school chairs

to a surrounded enemy, you must leave a way of escape

The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose

JAMES A BALDWIN

lana suya, lana baja el señor q la trabaja

collapse

At this point the only aim I can follow is to live frugally, try to reduce my impact, enrich my relationships, enjoy my sprouting career and quietly begin to prepare for the inevitable and unrelenting future that is already here. And I can't help but worry every day as the cracks in our environment and society stand silently right in front of us; hidden in plain sight and slowly growing towards that shatter.

Murphy's law was invented by a grunt

http://www.murphys-laws.com/murphy/murphy-war.html

  • Friendly fire - isn't.
  • Recoilless rifles - aren't.
  • Suppressive fires - won't.
  • You are not Superman; Marines and fighter pilots take note.
  • A sucking chest wound is Nature's way of telling you to slow down.
  • If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.
  • Try to look unimportant; the enemy may be low on ammo and not want to waste a bullet on you.
  • If at first you don't succeed, call in an air strike.
  • If you are forward of your position, your artillery will fall short.
  • Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than yourself.
  • Never go to bed with anyone crazier than yourself.
  • Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
  • If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush.
  • The enemy diversion you're ignoring is their main attack.
  • The enemy invariably attacks on two occasions:
  • when they're ready.
  • when you're not.
  • No OPLAN ever survives initial contact.
  • There is no such thing as a perfect plan.
  • Five second fuses always burn three seconds.
  • There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.
  • A retreating enemy is probably just falling back and regrouping.
  • The Ol' Ranger's addendum:
  • Or else they're trying to suck you into a serious ambush!
  • The important things are always simple; the simple are always hard.
  • The easy way is always mined.
  • Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy other people to shoot at.
  • Don't look conspicuous; it draws fire. For this reason, it is not at all uncommon for aircraft carriers to be known as bomb magnets.
  • Never draw fire; it irritates everyone around you.
  • If you are short of everything but the enemy, you are in the combat zone.
  • When you have secured the area, make sure the enemy knows it too.
  • Incoming fire has the right of way.
  • No combat ready unit has ever passed inspection.
  • No inspection ready unit has ever passed combat.
  • If the enemy is within range, so are you.
  • The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.
  • Things which must be shipped together as a set, aren't.
  • Things that must work together, can't be carried to the field that way.
  • Radios will fail as soon as you need fire support.
  • Radar tends to fail at night and in bad weather, and especially during both.)
  • Anything you do can get you killed, including nothing.
  • Make it too tough for the enemy to get in, and you won't be able to get out.
  • Tracers work both ways.
  • If you take more than your fair share of objectives, you will get more than your fair share of objectives to take.
  • When both sides are convinced they're about to lose, they're both right.
  • Professional soldiers are predictable; the world is full of dangerous amateurs.
  • Military Intelligence is a contradiction.
  • Fortify your front; you'll get your rear shot up.
  • Weather ain't neutral.
  • If you can't remember, the Claymore is pointed toward you.
  • Air defense motto: shoot 'em down; sort 'em out on the ground.
  • 'Flies high, it dies; low and slow, it'll go.
  • The Cavalry doesn't always come to the rescue.
  • Napalm is an area support weapon.
  • Mines are equal opportunity weapons.
  • B-52s are the ultimate close support weapon.
  • Sniper's motto: reach out and touch someone.
  • Killing for peace is like screwing for virginity.
  • The one item you need is always in short supply.
  • Interchangeable parts aren't.
  • It's not the one with your name on it; it's the one addressed "to whom it may concern" you've got to think about.
  • When in doubt, empty your magazine.
  • The side with the simplest uniforms wins.
  • Combat will occur on the ground between two adjoining maps.
  • If the Platoon Sergeant can see you, so can the enemy.
  • Never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you can sleep.
  • The most dangerous thing in the world is a Second Lieutenant with a map and a compass.
  • Exceptions prove the rule, and destroy the battle plan.
  • Everything always works in your HQ, everything always fails in the Colonel's HQ.
  • The enemy never watches until you make a mistake.
  • One enemy soldier is never enough, but two is entirely too many.
  • A clean (and dry) set of BDU's is a magnet for mud and rain.
  • The worse the weather, the more you are required to be out in it.
  • Whenever you have plenty of ammo, you never miss. Whenever you are low on ammo, you can't hit the broad side of a barn.
  • The more a weapon costs, the farther you will have to send it away to be repaired.
  • The complexity of a weapon is inversely proportional to the IQ of the weapon's operator.
  • Field experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
  • No matter which way you have to march, its always uphill.
  • If enough data is collected, a board of inquiry can prove anything.
  • For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism. (in boot camp)
  • Air strikes always overshoot the target, artillery always falls short.
  • When reviewing the radio frequencies that you just wrote down, the most important ones are always illegible.
  • Those who hesitate under fire usually do not end up KIA or WIA.
  • The tough part about being an officer is that the troops don't know what they want, but they know for certain what they don't want.
  • To steal information from a person is called plagiarism. To steal information from the enemy is called gathering intelligence.
  • The weapon that usually jams when you need it the most is the M60.
  • The perfect officer for the job will transfer in the day after that billet is filled by someone else.
  • When you have sufficient supplies & ammo, the enemy takes 2 weeks to attack. When you are low on supplies & ammo the enemy decides to attack that night.
  • The newest and least experienced soldier will usually win the Medal of Honor.
  • A Purple Heart just proves that were you smart enough to think of a plan, stupid enough to try it, and lucky enough to survive.
  • Murphy was a grunt.
  • Beer Math: 2 beers times 37 men equals 49 cases.
  • Body count Math: 3 guerrillas plus 1 probable plus 2 pigs equals 37 enemies killed in action.
  • The bursting radius of a hand grenade is always one foot greater than your jumping range.
  • All-weather close air support doesn't work in bad weather.
  • The combat worth of a unit is inversely proportional to the smartness of its outfit and appearance.
  • The crucial round is a dud.
  • Every command which can be misunderstood, will be.
  • There is no such place as a convenient foxhole.
  • Don't ever be the first, don't ever be the last and don't ever volunteer to do anything.
  • If your positions are firmly set and you are prepared to take the enemy assault on, he will bypass you.
  • If your ambush is properly set, the enemy won't walk into it.
  • If your flank march is going well, the enemy expects you to outflank him.
  • Density of fire increases proportionally to the curiousness of the target.
  • Odd objects attract fire - never lurk behind one.
  • The more stupid the leader is, the more important missions he is ordered to carry out.
  • The self-importance of a superior is inversely proportional to his position in the hierarchy (as is his deviousness and mischievousness).
  • There is always a way, and it usually doesn't work.
  • Success occurs when no one is looking, failure occurs when the General is watching.
  • The enemy never monitors your radio frequency until you broadcast on an unsecured channel.
  • Whenever you drop your equipment in a fire-fight, your ammo and grenades always fall the farthest away, and your canteen always lands at your feet.
  • As soon as you are served hot chow in the field, it rains.
  • Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do.
  • The seriousness of a wound (in a fire-fight) is inversely proportional to the distance to any form of cover.
  • Walking point = sniper bait.
  • Your bivouac for the night is the spot where you got tired of marching that day.
  • If only one solution can be found for a field problem, then it is usually a stupid solution.
  • No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy.
  • The most dangerous thing in the combat zone is an officer with a map.
  • The problem with taking the easy way out is that the enemy has already mined it.
  • The buddy system is essential to your survival; it gives the enemy somebody else to shoot at.
  • If your advance is going well, you are walking into an ambush.
  • The quartermaster has only two sizes, too large and too small.
  • If you really need an officer in a hurry, take a nap.
  • The only time suppressive fire works is when it is used on abandoned positions.
  • There is nothing more satisfying that having someone take a shot at you, and miss.
  • Don't be conspicuous. In the combat zone, it draws fire. Out of the combat zone, it draws sergeants.
  • If see you, so can the enemy.
  • All or any of the above combined.
  • Avoid loud noises, there are few silent killers in a combat zone.
  • Never screw over a buddy; you'll never know when he could save your life.
  • Never expect any rations; the only rations that will be on time and won't be short is the ration ofshit.
  • Respect all religions in a combat zone, take no chances on where you may go if killed.
  • A half filled canteens a beacon for a full loaded enemy weapon.
  • When in a fire fight, kill as many as you can, the one you miss may not miss tomorrow.
  • The last six laws were sent by Hank Samples. A Viet Nam combat veteran (70-72) 11th ACR-101st Abn.
  • It is a physical impossibility to carry too much ammo.
  • Sent by - Baseka@aol.com
  • If you survive an ambush, something's wrong.
  • Sent by - CPL Nagel
  • Some General last words (as his aides tried to get him to get his head down):
  • "What! what! men, dodging this way for single bullets! What will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of you. They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist…"
  • Sent by Yael Dragwyla
  • The General was General John Sedgwick, said on May 9, 1864 at the Battle of Spotsylvania.
  • Sent by Mike Gottert
  • If you can see the flashes from the enemies' guns in battle, he can see yours too.
  • Flashlights, lighters and matches don't just illuminate the surrounding area; they illuminate you too.
  • Just because you have nearly impenetrable body armor and a hard-ass Kevlar helmet, doesn't mean you don't have exposed areas.
  • There are few times when the enemy can't hear you: When he's dead, you're dead, or both.
  • Addendum: When he's not there, when you're not there, or both.
  • Never cover a dead body with your own in hopes of looking like you're one of the casualties. Even using his cadaver is a stretch to avoid being shot "just in case."
  • You're only better than your enemy if you kill him first.
  • The last seven laws were sent by Charlie.
  • Complain about the rations all you want, but just remember; they could very well be your last meal.
  • Never underestimate the ability of the brass to foul things up.
  • You have two mortal enemies in combat; the opposing side and your own rear services.
  • You think the enemy has better artillery support and the enemy thinks yours is better; you're both right.
  • Three things you will never see in combat; hot chow, hot showers, and an uninterrupted night's sleep.
  • "Live" and "Hero" are mutually exclusive terms.
  • The last six laws were sent by Donald J. Cheek, CPT, US Army (Ret) - Gulf War vet.
  • Don't be a hero
  • Sent by Bo Zhang
  • Once you are in the fight it is way too late to wonder if this is a good idea.
  • NEVER get into a fight without more ammunition that the other guy.
  • Cover your Buddy, so he can be around to cover for you.
  • Decisions made by someone over your head will seldom be in your best interest.
  • Sometimes, being good and lucky still is not enough.
  • If the rear echelon troops are really happy, the front line troops probably do not have what they need.
  • If you are wearing body armor they will probably miss that part.
  • Happiness is a belt fed weapon.
  • Having all your body parts intact and functioning at the end of the day beats the alternative…
  • If you are allergic to lead it is best to avoid a war zone.
  • Hot garrison chow is better than hot C-rations which, in turn, are better than cold C-rations, which are better than no food at all. All of these, however, are preferable to cold rice balls even if they do have little pieces of fish in them.
  • A free fire zone has nothing to do with economics.
  • Medals are OK, but having your body and all your friends in one piece at the end of the day is better.
  • Being shot hurts.
  • Thousands of Veterans earned medals for bravery every day. A few were even awarded.
  • There is only one rule in war: When you win, you get to make up the rules.
  • C-4 can make a dull day fun.
  • There is no such thing as a fair fight – only ones where you win or lose.
  • If you win the battle you are entitled to the spoils. If you lose you don't care.
  • Nobody cares what you did yesterday or what you are going to do tomorrow. What is important is what you are doing – NOW – to solve our problem.
  • Always make sure someone has a can opener.
  • Prayer may not help . . . but it can't hurt.
  • Flying is better than walking. Walking is better than running. Running is better than crawling. All of these, however, are better than extraction by a Med-Evac even if it is, technically, a form of flying.
  • If everyone does not come home none of the rest of us can ever fully come home either.
  • Carrying any weapon that you weren't issued (e.g, an AK) in combat is Not A Good Idea!
  • A combat vet will know the sound of an unfamiliar weapon in an instant and will point and shoot.
  • Not only that, AKs use green tracers which mean "shoot 'em all and let God sort them out".
  • As has been noted, "Friendly fire isn't!"
  • The last 25 laws were sent by Jim
  • When the going gets tough, the tough go cyclic.
  • Sent by SPC Chris
  • Military Intelligence is not a contradiction in terms, "Light Infantry" is!
  • Sent by CPT Sean M. Murphy, FA, USA
  • Proximity factor: The need for relief is directly related to the distance of the relief station.
  • Sent by Joe Garcia
  • Always keep one bullet in the chamber when changing your magazine.
  • Sent by J.E.S.
  • In peacetime people say, "War is Hell". In combat, under fire from artillery, airplanes, or whatever, a soldier thinks, "War is really really really LOUD as Hell!!!".
  • f you can think clearly, know exactly what's happening, and have total control of a situation in combat, then you're not in combat.
  • When you get the coveted 1,000 yard stare, don't forget about the enemy who is 30 yards away and about to pop your ass.
  • Stay away from officers in combat, they're clever decoys for noncoms.
  • If you think you don't need something for your combat load for an OP PLAN, you'll probably wish you had it after the shit hits the fan in combat.
  • Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
  • The last six laws were sent by Michael Desai
  • Failure of plan A will directly affect your ability to carry out plan B.
  • Sent by Lenny Quites
  • If you drop a soldier in the middle of a desert with a rock, a hammer, and an anvil, tell him not to touch any of it, and come back two hours later, the anvil will be broken. "Because soldiers gotta fuck with shit". (quoted from an Officer during an interview in which the Officer was asked why barrels were thickened on the M-16A2).
  • Sent by Darrell A. Pierce
  • War does not determine who is right, war determines who is left.
  • Sent by Quenya. Aus. (didn't know there were Elves in Australia, didn't know that elves were interested in war).
  • The best sniper position is always the hardest to reach
  • Snakes aren't neutral
  • When you need to use the bathroom - the enemy is watching your position
  • Last three laws were sent by Mitchell Jones, Law Enforcement Precision Marksman, Arkansas
  • Never trust a private that says "don't worry I learned this is in basic".
  • When your warrant starts to laugh and says "watch this" LEAVE.
  • Bring extra rations when you hear the lieutenant is leading the recce patrol.
  • Everything you packed for the field is everything you don't need, and everything you need is at your FOB.
  • Be prepared to go defensive when your vehicle breaks down until support arrives.
  • Your vehicle is a civilian car painted tan, with less security features.
  • Last 7 laws were sent by Dane Prosper
  • An escaping soldier can be used again.
  • Sent by Asier Zabarte
  • If you think you'll die, don't worry you won't.
  • Near death, but still a live? There is nothing wrong with physics. God doesn't like you.
  • It is better to be lucky than good in the battlefield.
  • Sent by Rob
  • If it's worth fighting for…it's worth fighting dirty for.
  • Sent by former Lt. C. Harper (Vietnam '65)
  • if god wanted boots to be comfortable he would have designed them like running shoes.
  • Sent by Pv1 Goetze
  • If you survive the extraordinary things, it will often be the little things that will kill you.
  • Give an order, then change the order, will get you disorder.
  • Sent by Samuel
  • You never have fire support in heavy firefight but you always have it on a silent recon mission
  • Sent by Roswell
  • Revision to Marine Corp. Motto "If it makes sense, we won't do it".
  • Sent by Larry Wotring
  • The only thing more dangerous to you than the enemy, is your allies
  • Sent by Marc Underwood
  • Night vision - isn't
  • Sent by truga
  • When you need CAS, they'll be on last weeks radio fill and you won't be able to reach them
  • When you need Apache's, they'll be busy escorting the generals bird around
  • Last two laws were sent by Warpig, saying they are "A couple of additions to the law I picked up in Afghanistan".
  • Supply & Demand law
  • Whatever you have, you won't need; whatever you need, you won't have.
  • Last two laws were sent by Sylvia Steward

Lackland's Laws:

    1. Never be first.
    1. Never be last.
    1. Never volunteer for anythin

Leadership law

  • If it was risky, it worked and no one got hurt: you were brilliant
  • If it was risky, it worked and someone got hurt; you were courageous
  • If it was risky, it didn't work and no one got hurt; you were lucky
  • If it was risky, it didn't work and someone got hurt; you were stupid (and probably dead)

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal. Love leaves a memory no one can steal.

Your brother was surrounded by the people he loved when he passed. He got to experience an entire community reaching out and rooting for him to be able to achieve his goal. I know you wanted him to be able to experience seeing all the characters and wanted no stone left unturned for him, but I promise you he passed with a lot of love in his heart and wouldn't have traded that feeling for any amount of characters in a video game.

You can always look back and wish there was more. More you could have done. More time you could have shared, and nobody will ever blame you for that.. but what matters most is what you made of the time you had together. From what I can tell, you and your family certainly gave him a time he wouldn't trade for anything. I hope in these tough times you can a least take the tiniest bit of solace in knowing that.

sometimes you have to turn around to get back to the exit you were supposed

to get off at

Even the longest days are twenty-four hours.

A raindrop never feels responsible for the flood

Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't. - Mark Twain

Worrying means you suffer twice -Newt Scamander

A coward dies a thousand deaths a hero dies but one.

Comparison is the thief of joy.

True nobility is not in being superior to your fellow man, but in being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway

ideas

If I have an apple and you have an apple, and we trade apples, then we both still have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea, and we trade ideas, then we both have two ideas.

A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor -FDR

A ship is always safest in the harbor, but that's not what it was built for.

Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. -Mike Tyson

Do you want to be right or do you want to learn?

The master has failed more times than the novice has even tried.

A true master, is an eternal student -Master Yi

10000 mistakes

A novice asked master Banzen: “What separates the monk from the master?”

Banzen replied: “Ten thousand mistakes!”

The novice, not understanding, sought to avoid all error. An abbot observed and brought the novice to Banzen for correction.

Banzen explained: “I have made ten thousand mistakes; Suku has made ten thousand mistakes; the patriarchs of Open Source have each made ten thousand mistakes.”

Asked the novice: “What of the old monk who labors in the cubicle next to mine? Surely he has made ten thousand mistakes.”

Banzen shook his head sadly. “Ten mistakes, a thousand times each.”

You can let people walk all over you and they'll still complain that your not lying flat enough.

"Work hard in silence, and let your success make the noise." - Unknown

there's only two things in this life you can control: your thoughts and your behaviour

socialism dies

https://www.reddit.com/r/socialism/comments/9qp5js/brazilian_comrades_prepare_to_move_underground/

WinyTheWizard 96 points · 9 hours ago · edited 9 hours ago

I translated a great text I found on facebook, from Luis Felipe Miguel, political science professor at UnB.

Come to think of it, I guess I’ll be able to get through a “bolsonarian” era.

I’m a male. I’m straight. I’m what’s called “white”, in Brazil.

If I don’t wear my red shirt, nobody is going to assault me on the street.

I can stop talking about Brazil and be back to just work on political theory. Maybe I’ll have to use one or two euphemisms, but, at large, they won’t understand what I’m saying anyway.

They’ll indeed cut my research funds. But looking on the bright side: it’s less work to do. They’ll also cut my researcher fellowship, but I can compensate that as I’ll pay less taxes with Paulo Guedes’ tax reform, which the poor will pay even more, and the rich even less.

I’ll see my students decreasing, as the inclusion policies are being dismantled and scholar tuition will be charged. It’s also less work to do. The university is going to be grayer, more silent, lifeless, but I can always take refuge at home.

But my home will also become more silent and grayer. And some of my friends won’t have the same luck as me, and will disappear: they have the wrong skin color, they drive their affection to the wrong people, they say the wrong words. Maybe it’s even better. In time to come, friendships might be dangerous.

If artists are getting silenced, it’s alright: there are so many classics I have yet find out!

I don’t know how to shoot, but I have money to buy a pistol and a flashy holster, so I can show off my Good Citizen status.

Yes, I may survive. Unlike what happens to many others, there is no risk to my physical integrity, my life or my material survival. All it takes is for me to mind my own business. All it takes is for me to become insensitive to all suffering around me. All it takes is for me to betray people I like. All it takes is for me to give up my dignity, my humanity, the possibility of facing myself in the mirror. All it takes is for me to become a monster.

Eat when you can, sleep when you must, and never fuck with the pancreas

It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.

"Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first." - Charles de Gaulle

ask not the sparrow how the hawk flies

you find what you look for

Sophie Scholl, hero

It’s the reductionist approach to life: if you keep it small, you’ll keep it under control. If you don’t make any noise, the bogeyman won’t find you. But it’s all an illusion, because they die too, those people who roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe. Safe?! From what? Life is always on the edge of death; narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues, and a little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does. I choose my own way to burn.

source disputed

As quoted in O2 : Breathing New Life Into Faith (2008) by Richard Dahlstrom, Ch. 4 : Artisans of Hope: Stepping into God's Kingdom Story, p. 63; this source is disputed as it does not cite an original document for the quote. It is also used in The White Rose (1991) by Lillian Garrett-Groag, a monologue during Sophie's interrogation.

country wisdom

At a small Moroccan village an imam was thinking about the only well of the entire region. Another Muslim approached him and asked: “What is in there?” “God is hidden in there.” “God is hidden inside this well? That is a sin! What you may be seeing is an image left by the unfaithful!” The imam asked him to get closer and lean out on the edge. Reflected on the water, he could see his own face. “But that is me!” “Right. Now you know where God is hidden.”

if you have to eat a frog, eat it first thing in the morning. if you have to eat two frogs, eat the bigger one first.

raze

I'm white but grew up in a majority Hispanic neighborhood. I was definitely solid middle class but the neighborhood in general was very much working class. Because of that as an adult I still will drop some sayings that some people would consider "hood" without realizing it

But when I do it, people look at me amazed and say "wow, Ivegotagoldchain can related to people of all backgrounds. That is awesome!"

When my hispanic coworkers do it, people say "told you they are ghetto." Despite the fact that we work in an office environment

We share the exact same characteristic, which for me is looked at as a positive, while for them isn't even a neutral, it is a negative

88th

FUUUCK I feel this.

I'm brown. Born in the US and raised by white people. Grew up speaking only English.

I learned Spanish and I want to be super proud of being bi-lingual, but it's like you said. When a White person speaks Spanish it's "Wow, look at that guy, educated enough to learn a second language and he chose the language of the peasant, how noble"(exaggeration of course) with me it's "must be from a poor neighborhood or be 2rd generation immigrant)

There is almost a hierarchy when it comes to speech.

Only Spanish(won't even make eye contact)

Some English(will treat like they are mentally slow)

English with accent

English with no accent, still speaks Spanish

English with no accent, refuses to speak Spanish

EDIT: Thank you guys so much for the upvotes. I can't even express how good it feels to be validated. I don't have a lot of brown friends(I don't have any friends right now) and my family is white. So sometimes I feel like I'm just making this stuff up in my head. It feels good to know I'm not alone in recognizing this.

99

You may not know this but there are poor brown people on the other side of the world we may need to kill.

Unfortunately, killing those poor brown people is more important that taking care of our own poor brown people.

EDIT: Well fuck, while you’re here.

Talkin bout you don’t support a crack head?

What you think happen to the money from your taxes?

The government an addict

Spend a billion dollar a week kill brown people habit

Brother Ali - Uncle Sam God Damn

Edit Again: Do y’all mother fuckers go to cure breast cancer walks and yell ”cure all cancer!”

Yeah, white people suffer from poverty. I’m white and grew up in a trailer park. I make six figures now and my career path has been propped up by people who look like me giving my promotions and cops who look like me letting me off with warnings when I was a kid.

Brown folks suffer much more from generational poverty, DA and judicial “discretion”, etc. It’s just what it is. A rising tide that brings up our most oppressed (brown folk) is going to raise us all (poor white folk).

Be an ally y’all.

FFS:

Ok. Accepting your privilege doesn’t mean being burdened by guilt. Chill, y’all.

Privilege is: if when you are playing monopoly and when your fellow player gets to pull from community chest they pull 1 card. You get to pull 2 cards.

Doesn’t mean you won’t ever go to jail. But you are twice as likely to have a get out of jail free card. It means you are more likely to have the judge find in your favor and award you $400.

It means you were more likely, not certain, to start the game owning 3 rail roads. Meanwhile your homie is born on Baltic Ave.

Accepting your privilege is not accepting guilt it’s accepting power. You are not responsible for the rules - but you are responsible for your behavior within their context.

For example: Are you in charge of hiring? If so, does the diversity of your staff reflect that of your community and customer base? Will you call an applicant if you are unsure how to pronounce their ethnic name? Are there women who would celebrate you as a mentor?

Again, y’all - be an ally.

Again, and slowly - advocating for the well being of others takes absolutely fucking nothing from your own personal well being and will in fact enrich your life.

Source: the Bible, the Old Testament, the Koran, and my grandpa. Of coarse, you’d need to be selective with all 4.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk. Now get the fuck out of my mentions.

Sun Tzu's art of war

“To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength; to see the sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight; to hear the noise of thunder is no sign of a quick ear.”

Simulated disorder postulates perfect discipline, simulated fear postulates courage; simulated weakness postulates strength. In order to make the translation

trolling

  1. In night-fighting, then, make much use of signal-fires and drums, and in fighting by day, of flags and banners, as a means of influencing the ears and eyes of your army.
  2. A whole army may be robbed of its spirit; a commander-in-chief may be robbed of his presence of mind.

moods

  1. Now a soldier's spirit is keenest in the morning; by noonday it has begun to flag; and in the evening, his mind is bent only on returning to camp.
  2. A clever general, therefore, avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return. This is the art of studying moods.

five dangerous faults

“There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general: (1) Recklessness, which leads to destruction; (2) cowardice, which leads to capture; (3) a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults; (4) a delicacy of honor which is sensitive to shame; (5) over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble.”

the nine varieties of ground

Sun Tzu said: The art of war recognizes nine varieties of ground:

  1. Dispersive ground;
  2. facile ground;
  3. contentious ground;
  4. open ground;
  5. ground of intersecting highways;
  6. serious ground;
  7. difficult ground;
  8. hemmed-in ground;
  9. desperate ground.

When a chieftain is fighting in his own territory, it is dispersive ground. # When he has penetrated into hostile territory, but to no great distance, it is facile ground. # Ground the possession of which imports great advantage to either side, is contentious ground. # Ground on which each side has liberty of movement is open ground. # Ground which forms the key to three contiguous states, so that he who occupies it first has most of the Empire at his command, is a ground of intersecting highways. When an army has penetrated into the heart of a hostile country, leaving a number of fortified cities in its rear, it is serious ground. Mountain forests, rugged steeps, marshes and fens—all country that is hard to traverse: this is difficult ground. # Ground which is reached through narrow gorges, and from which we can only retire by tortuous paths, so that a small number of the enemy would suffice to crush a large body of our men: this is hemmed in ground. Ground on which we can only be saved from destruction by fighting without delay, is desperate ground.

The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire by Edward Luttwak

Once the empire was no longer sustained by the logic of collective security, it could only endure because of the unsustainable will of its rulers, and by men's waning fear of the unknown

The Internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn’t understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had.

-Eric Schmidt, Google

"If you awaken in our time, you awaken with a sob." ~Steven Jenkinson

"This is a fight for the soul of our democracy; nothing less, and so I'm going to work hard to make sure we save that democracy, and I will fight until I die." -Elijah Cummings

You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear

if you want to go fast, go alone. if you want to go far, go together

Democracy to Corporatocracy

They rose from the shadows in the street.

From the places where the oppressed meet.

Their cries echoed loudly through the air.

As they once did in Tiananmen Square.

Loudness in the silence, Darkness in the light.

They came forth with power and might.

Once the beacon of democracy, America was first.

Its pillars of society destroyed and dispersed.

Soon the cries rose everywhere, with revolt and riot.

Until one day, finally, all was quiet.

From the ashes rose a new order, corporatocracy was its name.

Rome, Mongol, Byzantine, all of history is just the same.

For man will never change in a fundamental way.

And now democracy is dead, in the USA.