[conspire] Federales in Portland?

[Ruben Safir]

On Thu, Jul 23, 2020 at 07:12:39PM -0400, Ruben Safir wrote:
> On Thu, Jul 23, 2020 at 01:28:11PM -0700, Rick Moen wrote:
> > Quoting Paul Zander (paulz at ieee.org):
> > 
> > > Leif's "problem" is that his discovery was not well known outside of
> > > Scandinavia.  And the settlements that followed his exploration didn't
> > > last.
> > 
> > Like a lot of early settlements, the make-or-break factor was
> > economics.  Which also apparently doomed the Norse colonies in
> > the two settled valleys of Greenland.  Even Iceland and the Faroe
> > Islands were ever only barely sustainable.
> > 
> > To be a settler in the boonies, in those days, was to be at the mercy
> > of a very long, very slow, very tenuous supply chain.  
> > 
> > Also, in the Newfoundland area _and_ in Greenland, the Norse seem to
> > have antagonised the native Amerindian population, which was a
> > particularly stupid thing to do.  Their arrogant attitude was apparent
> > in the name used for the locals, 'Skrælings', which basically means
> > 'primitive ones'.
> > 
> > (Like, dudes, have a little respect for the people who could have taught
> > you how to survive there without metalworking.  The Inuit are still
> > there and you variously starved to death and had to evacuate in panic,
> > so who are the primitives, now?)
> > 
> > [Columbus:]
> > 
> > > Actually IMO, he was the world' worst navigator.  He claimed he was
> > > halfway around the world from where he actually was.  Can't get much
> > > more wrong than that. 
> > 
> > I've heard claims that he knew perfectly well that his estimate of 
> > the distance sailing west to China was low by about half.  The
> > correct size of the planet had been known since Hellenistic times,
> > courtesy of Eratosthenes of Alexandria.  (You may remember Carl Sagan
> > demonstrating how he did it, using elegant logic and measurement of
> > shadows.
> > 
> > Unlike the wanderings of Leif Erikson and the Norse, Eratosthenes's 
> > achievements were common knowledge all over Europe, North Africa, the
> > Middle-East, and South Asia, and were the best available (and damned
> > good, considering he did it in about 240 BC) until better methods were
> > found in the 1600s.
> > 
> > Anyway, it should be remembered that one of Columbus's key skills was as
> > a salesman pitching his expensive proposals to the marks.  Today, he'd
> > have been a stockbroker.  ;->
> > 
> 
> 
> Except for one thing.  Have you ever tried to take a Caravel into the
> deep ocean with just sales, and no map?
> 
> These guys had balls.
> 

20% off all sails

> 
> > 
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> 
> -- 
> So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
> that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
> proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
> http://www.mrbrklyn.com 
> 
> DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
> http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
> http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/resources - Unpublished Archive 
> http://www.coinhangout.com - coins!
> http://www.brooklyn-living.com 
> 
> Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and extermination camps, 
> but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
> 
> 
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-- 
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://www.mrbrklyn.com 

DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/resources - Unpublished Archive 
http://www.coinhangout.com - coins!
http://www.brooklyn-living.com 

Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and extermination camps, 
but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013