background preloader

The Art of War

The Art of War
Inscribed bamboo slips of The Art of War, unearthed in Yinque Mountain, Linyi, Shandong in 1972, dated back to the 2nd century BC. The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise attributed to Sun Tzu, a high-ranking military general, strategist and tactician. The text is composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare. The book was first translated into the French language in 1772 by French Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot and a partial translation into English was attempted by British officer Everard Ferguson Calthrop in 1905. Themes[edit] Sun Tzu considered war as a necessary evil that must be avoided whenever possible. Sun Tzu emphasized the importance of positioning in military strategy. The 13 chapters[edit] The Art of War is divided into 13 chapters (or piān); the collection is referred to as being one zhuàn ("whole" or alternatively "chronicle"). Chapter summary[edit] Timeline[edit] Traditionalist viewpoint[edit] Later criticism[edit] Quotations[edit] Related:  Politics

Madness and Civilization Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason (French: Folie et Déraison: Histoire de la folie à l'âge classique) is a 1964 abridged edition of a 1961 book by the French philosopher Michel Foucault. An English translation of the complete 1961 edition, titled History of Madness, was published in June 2006.[1] Background[edit] The book developed out of Foucault's earlier writing on psychology,[3] his own psychological difficulties, and his experiences working in a mental hospital, and was written mainly between 1955 and 1959 while working in cultural-diplomatic and educational posts in Sweden (as director of a French cultural centre attached to the University of Uppsala),[4] Germany, and Poland.[5] Summary[edit] Foucault traces the evolution of the concept of madness through three phases: the Renaissance, the "Classical Age" (the later seventeenth and most of the eighteenth centuries) and the modern experience. ...modern man no longer communicates with the madman ...

Kakistocracy A system of government which is run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens A kakistocracy [kækɪ'stɑkrəsi] is a system of government that is run by the worst, least qualified, and/or most unscrupulous citizens.[1][2] The word was coined as early as the seventeenth century,[3] but gained significant use in the first decades of the 20th century to criticize populist governments emerging in different democracies around the world. Etymology[edit] The word is derived from two Greek words, kakistos (κάκιστος; worst) and kratos (κράτος; rule), with a literal meaning of government by the worst people.[4] History[edit] The earliest use of the word dates to the seventeenth century, in Paul Gosnold's A sermon Preached at the Publique Fast the ninth day of Aug. 1644 at St. American poet James Russell Lowell used the term in 1877, in a letter to Joel Benton, writing, "What fills me with doubt and dismay is the degradation of the moral tone. Usage[edit] See also[edit] References[edit]

10+ Amazing Examples Of “Crown Shyness”, A Phenomenon Where Trees Avoid Touching The next time you're out walking through the forest, take a moment to look above you and you might be pleasantly surprised by what you find. Show Full Text Check out these incredible pictures to see what we mean. The naturally occurring phenomenon is called "crown shyness" because the uppermost branches of certain tree species don't like to touch one another. The intriguing behavior was first observed in the 1920s, and various hypotheses have been presented since then in an attempt to explain it. Some believe it occurs to reduce the spread of harmful insects. Diary of a Country Priest Diary of a Country Priest (French: Journal d'un curé de campagne) is a 1951 French film written and directed by Robert Bresson, and starring Claude Laydu. It was closely based on the novel of the same name by Georges Bernanos. Published in 1936, the novel received the Grand prix du roman de l'Académie française. Diary of a Country Priest was lauded for Laydu's debut performance, which has been called one of the greatest in the history of cinema; the film won numerous awards, including the Grand Prize at the Venice International Film Festival, and the Prix Louis Delluc.[1] Plot[edit] An idealistic young priest arrives at Ambricourt, his new parish. The older priest from Torcy talks to his younger colleague about his poor diet and lack of prayer, but the younger man seems unable to make changes. Cast[edit] Production[edit] Two other French scriptwriters, Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost, had wanted to make film adaptations of the novel. Guy Lefranc was assistant director on the movie.

Kleptocracy Government with exploitative rulers who seek to extend their personal wealth and power Kleptocracy (from Greek κλέπτης kléptēs, "thief", κλέπτω kléptō, "I steal", and -κρατία -kratía from κράτος krátos, "power, rule") is a government with corrupt leaders (kleptocrats) that use their power to exploit the people and natural resources of their own territory in order to extend their personal wealth and political powers. Typically, this system involves embezzlement of funds at the expense of the wider population.[1][2] Kleptocracy is different from a plutocracy (society that is ruled or controlled by people of great wealth or income) and oligarchy (a form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people distinguished by wealth, education, religious status etc.). Characteristics[edit] Kleptocratic rulers often treat their country's treasury as a source of personal wealth, spending funds on luxury goods and extravagances as they see fit. Financial system[edit] Effects[edit]

Benzoic Acid - A Harmful Preservative - StopKillingMyKids.com Preservatives are used in all processed foods to keep them from spoiling; unfortunately, most of these chemicals are extremely dangerous to our health and to the health of our children. In fact, many of the problems our society is facing today, including the high number of obese children, child diabetes and rising cancer rates, can be traced back to these artificial preservatives. Most people will say that the preservatives keep food “fresh”; you’ll notice I didn’t use that word, because in my opinion, once you add deadly chemicals (or any chemicals for that matter) to a food, it’s no longer fresh. Benzoic Acid is one of these preservatives that you should avoid. If Benzoic Acid is inhaled, it can cause damage to the nervous system. To keep our children from contracting many of the problems that are plaguing our nation’s children, we should do our best to keep them away from chemical preservatives like Benzoic Acid.

The Black House The Black House (1981) is a collection of short stories by American author Patricia Highsmith. Overview[edit] An intense, macabre anthology focusing not only on murder, but also on more unusual crimes and misdemeanours that are beyond the reaches of prosecution. Contents[edit] "Something the Cat Dragged In""Not One of Us""The Terror of Basket-Weaving""Under a Dark Angel's Eye""I Despise Your Life""The Dream of the Emma C""Old Folks at Home""When in Rome""Blow It""The Kite""The Black House" Reception[edit] "Her short stories represent a relatively minor part of her achievement; but within their limits they are almost always compelling, as they are here." – The New York Times"The Black House runs true to a beguilingly upsetting form." – Event"Her stories are masterpieces of misanthropy and futility." – Irish Times

Matt Taibbi: Flathead: The Peculiar Genius of Thomas L. Friedman Flathead: I think it was about five months ago that Press editor Alex Zaitchik whispered to me in the office hallway that Thomas Friedman had a new book coming out. All he knew about it was the title, but that was enough; he approached me with the chilled demeanor of a British spy who has just discovered that Hitler was secretly buying up the world's manganese supply. Who knew what it meantbut one had to assume the worst "It's going to be called The Flattening," he whispered. Then he stood there, eyebrows raised, staring at me, waiting to see the effect of the news when it landed. I said nothing. It turned out Alex had bad information; the book that ultimately came out would be called The World Is Flat. So I tried not to think about it. Here's what he says: I stomped off, went through security, bought a Cinnabon, and glumly sat at the back of the B line, waiting to be herded on board so that I could hunt for space in the overhead bins. Forget the Cinnabon. Start with the title.

I Make Surreal And Dreamy Artworks That Explore Psychological Mindfalls For the longest time, I had been spending time being someone rather than identifying who I really am. And to tell you the truth, it felt good and sometimes, really really good. I was comfortable being someone, it felt like I was wearing a use and throw mask. Diana Vreeland Diana Vreeland 1978 (Fotograf Lynn Gilbert) Leben[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten] Geboren als Diana Dalziel in Paris, war sie die älteste Tochter eines britischen Vaters (Frederick Young Dalziel) und einer amerikanischen Mutter (Emily Key Hoffman). Vreeland entstammte einer amerikanischen High-Society-Familie, deren Vorfahren bis zu George Washington zurückreichen sollen. Die Familie übersiedelte Ende des Ersten Weltkrieges nach Amerika. Diana Dalziel (Vreeland) heiratete 1924 den Bankier Thomas Reed Vreeland. 1937 zogen die Vreelands zurück nach New York City. Diana Vreeland hatte eine Schwester (Alexandra Dalziel) und war die Kusine von Pauline de Rothschild, einer Mode- und Stilikone der 1960er, über die oft in zahlreichen Magazinen, für die Vreeland arbeitete, berichtet wurde. Literatur[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten] Dokumentation[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten] Weblinks[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten] Einzelnachweise[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten] ↑ Nicht verifiziert.

Paul Krugman: March of the Peacocks March of the Peacocks: Last week, the Center for American Progress, a think tank with close ties to the Obama administration, published an acerbic essay about the difference between true deficit hawks and showy “deficit peacocks.” You can identify deficit peacocks, readers were told, by the way they pretend that our budget problems can be solved with gimmicks like a temporary freeze in nondefense discretionary spending. One week later, in the State of the Union address, President Obama proposed a temporary freeze in nondefense discretionary spending. Wait, it gets worse. To justify the freeze, Mr. What’s going on here? The nature of America’s troubles is easy to state. In the long run, however, even the U.S. government has to pay its way. How can this apparent conflict between short-run needs and long-run responsibilities be resolved? The sad truth, however, is that our political system doesn’t seem capable of doing what’s necessary.

Experiment Reveals How Surprisingly Easy It Is To Become A Fake Instagram Star And Get Brands To Pay You Instagram influencer marketing is now a $1 billion dollar industry, and you don’t need a cute dog or a book-worthy lifestyle to get into the game. According to an investigation by marketing agency Mediakix, anyone can fake their way into signing profitable contracts with brands. Show Full Text The agency created two fictitious Instagram accounts: 1) ‘a lifestyle and fashion-centric Instagram model’ and 2) ‘a travel and adventure photographer.’ For the first account, Mediakix hired a model and generated the entire channel content through a one-day photo shoot. Introducing Alexa Rae (calibeachgirl310). After setting up fake personalities and generating their content, the agency started purchasing followers. Essentially, if the followers don’t like or comment on posts, they’re kind of worthless. The results are worrying for everyone spending money on influencer marketing campaigns. More info: mediakix.com (h/t: highsnobiety) Then all they needed to do was to purchase some followers

Related: