Pat @Pat@qoto.org

@JonKramer @LouisIngenthron

Also, just to further confuse things...

The word "insult" can be a noun or a verb.

@JonKramer @LouisIngenthron

(It's also a very old joke.)

@JonKramer @LouisIngenthron

There are tangible and intangible nouns. And some words can be used as nouns or verbs.

If you said, "You are a dick.", then it's a noun. If you said, "The woman at the car dealership was trying to sell me the car and asked me to come into the office to dicker." That's just a verb, not a noun.

@JonKramer

A tone is not a part of speech. That's the point.

@LouisIngenthron

I'm not sure intent is required for something to be an insult. I (apparently) insult people all the time without even knowing it.

@mc

I don't mean it specifically by country, I mean generally after a large-scale war (hot or cold), the one(s) who come out on top will provide economic assistance and expertise to the countries whose failure would be problematic to global stability and to the interests of the victors. Plus it helps the winning country to solidify their influence postbellum.

I meant it generally. So if China came out on top in WWIII, then they would be faced a bunch of countries in sick shape, perhaps on the verge of societal collapse, which would be bad for China. So they would need to help stabilize or prop up those countries, while at the same time firming up their influence.

@LouisIngenthron @JonKramer

I did not say that an insult is a noun. I said an insult is tone.

A specific type of insult, known as an epithet (the word epithet has different meanings - I'm referring to a derogatory epithet for this context), is usually a noun or a phrase with a noun. But an epithet is not the only type of insult.

There are lots of different types of insults. A gesture or even just silence could be an insult in some contexts.

@JonKramer

Insults are not a part of speech, they are a tone of speech. The specific phase could be declarative, interrogatory or even an interjection. (e.g. -"You're stupid" or "Are you stupid?")

An derogatory epithet is usually a noun or a noun with an adjective or some other modifier.

It is usually better to characterize what a person says or does, rather than name calling when you need to critique their actions. (e.g.- "That was a foolish thing to say", rather than "You are a fool.")

(I assume this was a legit question, and not just a setup for the joke at the end of your toot.)

@lupyuen

Here's a clip from I Robot (2004) that shows a holographic AI video bot of a deceased person...

I think the tech depicted in this scene is, in some ways, less capable than what we have today.

(fair use)

@mc

That's how it worked when the US won the cold war. The USSR collapsed and Russia and many soviet countries were on the verge of societal collapse. So the US poured a ton money into Russia and the other countries.

Unfortunately, all the money pouring into a society that was utterly corrupt just made things worse. That how Putin and his buddies got so rich.

The Chinese would have no choice. If the US collapsed into a state of complete lawlessness and the entire economic structure failed, then so would China.

And of course the Marshall Plan for Europe and rebuilding Japan and other Asian counties. After WWII, the same thing basically.

@EvilK

Who are you talking about?

@fisunov

The longer that a project gets delayed, the more money they get to spend.

@lajlev

I don't think this pirate can see very well, so pirating shouldn't be an Olympic sport.

(fair use image)

@mc

The good news is that once they take over, they'll have to assume our debt, and then implement a Marshall Plan to rebuild our infrastructure.

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***** spoiler ****

Here is the solution to the TruthBeTold. A lie berry (library). That's it.

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#mispronunciation #truthbetold

(Image: wikimedia commons, ragesoss, CC-BY-SA-2.0, modified to add speech balloon)

@tripu

I get the sense that anarchism is more of a philosophical concept to facilitate thought experiments, rather than an actual system to be implemented. It's kind of like philosophers used to speak of a "state of nature" as a starting point for the development of political philosophies. It's not an actual situation that actually exists or existed, it just a way to help conceptualize a problem.

@tripu

I was thinking they acted more like anarchists -- no laws or formal gov't. But, as you say, that can't last long since someone always wants to be king.

The US started out mostly libertarian.

After a libertarian or anarchist group/society starts, they quickly run into situations where something harmful needs to be addressed with some kind of regulation.

And if there is no harmful thing, then some wanna-be king will invent a harmful thing so they can justify creating enough regulations that they can exploit to become king.

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skid mark (n.) - mark left by any solid which moves against another

(wikipedia)

😂

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What is Marx's first name?

( #underwear #comedy #politics #philosophy #wordplay #poop #poll )

@szescstopni

I think the % of people who know that there is any N2 in the air, is lower than the % of O2 in the air.