james choice

if you know you know.

(see: roman abramovich)
(see: mikhail khodorkovsky)
(see: boris berezovsky)

there are a few different ways in which psychologists have attempted to explain masochistic epistemology. one explanation is that it may be related to an individual's sense of self-worth and their feelings of worthlessness or inadequacy. according to this perspective, masochistic individuals may believe that they are not worthy of knowledge or understanding, and that they must suffer in order to earn it.

another explanation is that masochistic epistemology may be related to a person's attachment style. individuals with an insecure attachment style may have a harder time trusting others and may be more likely to engage in masochistic behaviors in order to feel a sense of control or to avoid abandonment.

it is worth noting that while masochistic epistemology may be a belief held by some individuals, it is not a widely accepted or mainstream view in psychology. most psychologists would argue that knowledge and understanding can be gained through hard work and effort, but that suffering is not necessarily a necessary component.

reno's wildest flood? gotta be the one from 1997. it wasn't just a bad storm. it was chaos.

back-to-back warm pacific storms hit right after heavy snowfall. rain melted snow fast, and the truckee river couldn't handle it. water levels peaked at 13.9 feet in downtown reno. that's major flood stage.

the stats?
• over $1 billion in damages across nevada and california
• reno's downtown underwater for days
• more than 1,500 homes and businesses damaged
• thousands evacuated
• unr and the airport shut down

bridges were submerged. roads turned to rivers. even the casinos took a hit. fema had to step in. locals still call it the "new year's flood" because it hit just as 1997 started.

the aftermath pushed reno to rethink flood control completely. today, the truckee river flood project is a direct response to what happened back then.

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the term "coup de grace" is a french phrase that translates to "blow of mercy" or "stroke of grace." it is typically used to describe a final, decisive action taken to end someone or something's suffering, often in the context of war, battle, or other violent situations. in essence, it is a merciful act that brings about a swift end to something that is already in a state of defeat or decline.

here are a few examples of how the term "coup de grace" might be used:

in a battle between two armies, one side might inflict a significant amount of damage on the other, leaving their opponents weakened and struggling. at this point, the victorious army might choose to deliver a "coup de grace" to their foes, launching a final, decisive attack that ends the battle and puts their opponents out of their misery.

in a more personal context, imagine that someone is seriously injured and in great pain, with little hope of recovery. in this situation, a doctor might decide to administer a "coup de grace" by ending the person's suffering through euthanasia or other means.

in some cases, a "coup de grace" might be used metaphorically to describe the final, decisive blow in a non-physical conflict. for example, a company might be struggling financially and on the brink of collapse. a major investor might step in and provide a significant amount of funding, essentially delivering a "coup de grace" to keep the company from going under.

doublethink is a term coined by george orwell in his famous novel 1984 to describe the act of simultaneously accepting two contradictory beliefs as true. in the novel, the ruling party of oceania uses doublethink as a tool of propaganda to control the thoughts and actions of its citizens.

it refers to the ability to hold two conflicting ideas in one's mind and believe them both to be true. this is a dangerous concept because it allows people to accept lies and manipulation as truth, leading to a society where facts are distorted, and reality is constantly being redefined.

here are a few examples of doublethink in action:

war is peace: in 1984, the government convinces its citizens that war is necessary for peace. this is a prime example of doublethink, as it is impossible for war to bring peace.

freedom is slavery: another example from 1984 is the idea that freedom is actually a form of slavery. the government claims that by taking away people's freedom, they are actually freeing them from the burden of making decisions.

ignorance is strength: the ruling party of oceania encourages its citizens to be ignorant and uninformed. they claim that this ignorance is a form of strength, as it allows people to focus on their work and not worry about the world around them.

political correctness: in modern times, the concept of political correctness can be seen as a form of doublethink. while it aims to promote tolerance and respect, it can also be used to silence dissenting opinions and limit free speech.

advertising: advertisers often use doublethink to sell products. for example, a company may claim that their product is both "all-natural" and "scientifically proven." these two claims are contradictory, but by using both, the company hopes to appeal to a wider audience.

a failed state is a political entity that is unable to perform the basic functions of a sovereign government. this can include failing to provide security and basic services to its citizens, having an illegitimate or ineffective government, and being unable to control its territory. failed states can be a source of conflict, terrorism, and instability in the region.

there have been many failed states throughout history, including somalia, yugoslavia, and afghanistan. currently, some examples of failed states include south sudan, syria, and yemen.

there are many different approaches to taking revenge, and some argue that seeking revenge is not a productive or healthy way to deal with conflicts or wrongdoings. here are a few examples of different philosophies and approaches to taking revenge:

an eye for an eye: this approach is based on the idea of reciprocity, and holds that when someone does something wrong or harmful to you, it is justified to do something wrong or harmful to them in return. this approach is often associated with the saying "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

forgiveness: this approach involves letting go of anger and resentment towards someone who has wronged you, and choosing not to seek revenge or retribution. many religions and spiritual traditions advocate for forgiveness as a way to find inner peace and move on from conflicts.

restorative justice: this approach focuses on repairing the harm caused by wrongdoing, rather than seeking punishment for the person who caused the harm. restorative justice involves bringing the offender and the victim together to discuss the harm that was caused and finding ways to make things right.

holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. - buddha

if i’ve learned anything from my major, and if all the articles and research have taught me a bit about social science, it’s that it is impossible for him to win the election.

(see: 2020 united states general election)

after becoming chancellor of germany, he survived 44 assassination attempts or plots, large and small. hitler was guarded by an eight-man personal protection team, a 50,000-person ss security regiment, and a thousand palace guards. these attempts failed by chance, poor planning, or reasons that remain uncertain. some of the most notable:

one plot involved placing a bomb on hitler’s plane. by 1943, germany’s heavy losses on the eastern front created widespread frustration in the public and strong opposition to hitler inside the military. major general hans oster in military intelligence had despised hitler from the beginning and searched for a chance to act. colonel von tresckow volunteered to carry out the plan, but they first needed to lure hitler to smolensk, a city near the front. field marshal von kluge agreed to issue the invitation. tresckow originally planned to shoot hitler during an inspection meal, but von kluge objected, saying such a killing would dishonor the army and ruin its reputation. they instead created a time-delayed bomb hidden in a liquor bottle and had hitler’s aide, heinz brandt, carry it as a gift. the bomb was powerful enough to split the plane apart midair and make the death appear accidental. however, it never detonated. the cold conditions inside the aircraft may have prevented it from activating, but even after landing the device remained inert. the failure was never fully explained. tresckow later took his own life to avoid arrest, and oster was eventually executed for his role.

another attempt came from georg elser, a carpenter who viewed hitler as a dangerous warmonger and wanted to stop him before a world war began. in 1938, elser stole gunpowder from army supply depots and traveled to the burgerbraukeller beer hall in munich, where hitler had delivered speeches early in his political career. elser hid inside the building at night and constructed a concealed chamber in the speaker’s platform to hold a time-delayed bomb. on the day of the speech, hitler left earlier than usual because of weather conditions affecting his travel schedule. thirteen minutes after he departed, the bomb exploded, killing eight people and injuring sixty-three. elser was captured while trying to flee to switzerland, tortured, and later imprisoned in a concentration camp. he survived for several years but was executed in 1945 on hitler’s personal orders as germany faced defeat.

a third attempt came from maurice bavaud, a 22-year-old devout catholic angered by hitler’s harsh treatment of the church and rumors that he intended to replace christianity with a racial, nationalist belief system. to get close to hitler, bavaud read mein kampf and dressed to blend in as a nazi sympathizer. he attempted to approach hitler at his mountain residence, but guards turned him away. he then traveled to munich for an annual parade where hitler would appear in an open motorcade. armed with a small pistol, he positioned himself to fire at close range. however, when the crowd raised their arms in salute, his view was blocked, he panicked, and he fled. while trying to stow away on a train to france, he was caught, interrogated, and executed by guillotine at ploetzensee prison in 1941.

the most famous attempt was operation valkyrie. by 1944, most of germany’s military leadership believed the war was lost. soldiers at the front described death as relief compared to continued fighting. many senior officers believed hitler had to be removed so peace could be negotiated with western powers while germany continued resisting the soviet union. colonel claus von stauffenberg, who had lost an eye and a hand in battle, volunteered to plant a bomb during a meeting at hitler’s wolf’s lair headquarters. stauffenberg placed a briefcase containing explosives near hitler and left under a prepared excuse. the bomb exploded, killing four and injuring twenty, but hitler survived with minor wounds and partial hearing loss because the meeting table had been moved, redirecting the blast. the conspirators were quickly arrested, put in show trials, and executed. stauffenberg himself was killed by firing squad the same day by general fromm, who hoped to hide his own knowledge of the plot. hitler then spoke to the nation by radio, claiming destiny had protected him. his rule continued until he died by taking cyanide the following year.

this is a system china has used for a decade now. it has become normalized and its main shape is set, but it has turned people against each other and poured gasoline on an already rotten moral landscape.

don’t treat it like a black mirror episode that only affects citizens. that ship sailed a long time ago. it is not limited to individuals. companies, vehicles, public agencies, public services, all have different credit frameworks managed by different ministries.

for example the people’s bank of china tracks financial credit records, the ministry of transport records drivers and logistics companies’ violations, and the supreme people’s court collects criminal and legal violations. each agency feeds data into national and provincial platforms and those records are later shared across administrative levels for scoring.

the state also gets data from private companies for the commercial side. the famous sesame credit is run by a private company. that company watches millions of businesses tied to supposedly private groups like alibaba and tencent and shares that data with the relevant ministries. on paper it sounds reasonable and rational, right? yeah it sounds smart. you think wow what a system they built, but the reality is not so clean.

say a driver didn’t stop for pedestrians at a crosswalk. the transport ministry lowers the vehicle and driver’s traffic score. a criminal court could lower the driver’s overall credit score in addition to license penalties. if the vehicle belongs to a company, the company’s score drops a bit as well. so the citizen, the vehicle, and the company all get penalized in a chain. the citizen gets yelled at by the company, the state, and traffic police. sure, that motivates someone to not repeat the mistake.

but this system, which seems logical in theory, is full of gaps and errors. first, it ignores human context like in the example above. in a country like china there are so many people who will exploit those gaps. conditioning citizens like pavlov’s dogs to obey the system does more harm than good.

on top of that, when people do good deeds they often do them for points. and if they think doing something will cost them points, they will avoid doing it. so instead of a real moral conscience you get a reflex to chase points. a culture of surveillance and snitching spreads. people are constantly encouraged to report each other. that kills empathy. if you want another show analogy, think squid game.

exploiting these gaps is common and happens all the time. for example, if you hit a pedestrian in china your worry is not just your credit score. you must cover that person’s entire expenses. because of this, some drivers try to run over victims multiple times to kill them. yes you read that right. i am not joking.

if you kill them and are not tried for murder, you only pay funeral costs. if the person survives you have to pay all medical costs plus hush money to avoid a public lawsuit and those sums can be huge. you might close a death case with 50,000 dollars, but if the victim lives the compensation could reach 500,000 dollars. there are dozens of reports and videos about this online.

meanwhile, fake pedestrian scams are common in china. that’s why many cars install multi-angle camera systems. even if cameras record the incident and you are right, a scammer can still file a complaint and it can affect your social credit. the appeals process exists but it is slow and bureaucratic. and since there is no independent watchdog, even if you are right you might not be able to prove it.

this system has deeply damaged neighborhood, family, and institutional trust. mao and the cultural revolution already wounded china’s guanxi culture, the personal connection networks people used to rely on. villagers used to have tight bonds. those bonds shrank down to family and close friends, and now the system is even attacking the last safe zone, the family.

so if a man doesn’t beat his wife, it may be because he fears a complaint will lower his score rather than because of moral principles. china no longer has a natural trust or universal morality. instead there is a system that treats everyone as a potential risk. people even avoid helping obviously injured strangers because they might be scammers. scammers exploit those gaps to the fullest.

there is also a status and class angle. this supposedly equal, communist, socialist country has well-known rigid social classes. i won’t even get into oppressed ethnic minorities who in some cases aren’t treated as fully human. there is a de facto hukou system and an untouchable elite of ccp members. take families of former princely lines, called taizidang. no one touches them. their social credit never drops.

say a boss from this class sexually harasses his secretary and fires her because she refused. then someone writes a complaint about the woman. she won’t just lose her job or be slandered. the system will publicly shame her on giant led screens with her name and photo, making her life even harder.

they don’t stop at name and photo. they post home addresses. they’ll claim she sold company data or robbed the till. those specifics don’t matter. what matters is the system offers no help for the poor. if your credit was already low, a single strike can ruin you. you become ostracized, can’t buy bread at the grocery, might not be able to ride the bus. the victim is the poor person again and that is exactly the black mirror part.

even before the system came online these people had a hard life. civil service used to be miserable. now it’s worse because the credit system creates a special tier for state employees. i’m not saying public servants can’t trade on the stock market like in other countries. even getting a passport is subject to state control.

for example if you are a random civil servant and want to travel abroad you must apply to your superiors and to the communist party. they review it and if they approve they tell you how many days you can go. if you get a week you must take your passport to your boss, get a signed stamp, then return the passport after a week. in strategic sectors even family members need permission to travel.

civil servants absolutely cannot participate in religious ceremonies, go to hajj, or visit church. opening a foreign bank account, buying property abroad, or sending children for long-term education is banned or needs prior approval. these days even using a vpn is grounds for investigation. people can lose their jobs for accessing twitter. how do they know? because being a civil servant often requires installing government apps on your phone. they literally know everything down to the color of the mess you made.

state workers must get permission before publishing academic papers, giving press interviews, attending foreign conferences, or appearing on podcasts. even having an alcoholic relative affects your record and social credit. you can be penalized because your brother-in-law is a scumbag. as i said, civil servants have a separate discipline scoring system that affects salary, promotion, and loyalty measures.

it will only tighten more in the future and it will hit the lower classes hardest. almost every device we use today is electric and networked. if your electric car’s score drops it could be disabled until you raise it or pay your fine. in a country where even a hand towel in a restroom might work with face recognition or fingerprint control, none of this is far-fetched.

a coup attept.

this isn't a legal case, it's entirely political. erdogan knows he would lose against this man, so he's doing everything he can, even illegally, to block imamoglu. erdogan likely won't enter an election he knows he'll lose and won't allow power to change hands through democratic means. imageimageimageimageimageimage

mesa selimovic was born in tuzla (then part of the kingdom of yugoslavia), selimovic was educated in philosophy and literature. his experiences during world war ii, when he joined the partisans (the yugoslav resistance movement), had a profound effect on his worldview.

writing style: selimovic's prose is often introspective, nuanced, and laced with philosophical musings. rather than focusing solely on action-driven plots, he meditates on the nature of identity, freedom, and moral dilemmas.

literary significance: he is widely regarded as one of the greatest bosnian authors, praised for merging local balkan storytelling traditions with universal existential concerns.

why is he important?
psychological depth: selimovic's works delve into his characters' inner lives, revealing profound moral and psychological struggles.

cultural reflection: his novels are deeply rooted in the cultural and historical contexts of bosnia and herzegovina, capturing the region's social fabric, multi-ethnic heritage, and ottoman legacy.

universal themes: while his settings are often geographically and historically specific, selimovic's reflections on power, justice, and self-realization transcend cultural boundaries.

notable works
death and the dervish, 1966
revolves around a dervish (a member of a sufi muslim ascetic order) named ahmed nurudin. he grapples with the imprisonment of his brother by ottoman authorities.

the novel depicts moral quandaries about loyalty, revenge, faith, and the cost of remaining silent. it's often described as a metaphor for living under repressive regimes.

considered selimovic's masterpiece, it presents a philosophical journey examining how fear and power structures corrode personal integrity.

the fortress, 1970
taking place in an ottoman-era balkan town, this story follows a soldier returning from war, struggling to reintegrate into society.

the tension between personal faith and social expectations, the complexities of love and marriage, and the haunting after-effects of war.

alongside death and the dervish, this novel cemented selimovic's reputation for blending historical context with enduring questions about belonging and identity.

elvis presley's "suspicious minds" is a masterpiece for a number of reasons. it is a perfectly constructed pop song, with a catchy melody, driving beat, and soaring vocals. the lyrics are both relatable and universal, exploring the themes of jealousy, insecurity, and the importance of trust in a relationship.

the song was also a critical and commercial success, winning a grammy award for best male pop vocal performance in 1969. it reached number one on the billboard hot 100 chart in the united states and the uk singles chart, and has since been covered by numerous artists.

here are some of the things that make "suspicious minds" a masterpiece:

the song's structure is perfect. it begins with a simple, yet haunting melody, which is gradually joined by the beat and other instruments. the song builds to a climax in the chorus, with elvis's vocals soaring over the top.

the lyrics are both relatable and universal. they explore the themes of jealousy, insecurity, and the importance of trust in a relationship. everyone can relate to feeling suspicious of their partner at some point, and elvis's vocals convey this emotion perfectly.

the song's production is top-notch. the sound is clean and crisp, and the arrangement is well-balanced. elvis's vocals are the star of the show, but the other instruments provide excellent support.

numbers, awards, and fun facts about "suspicious minds":

the song reached number one on the billboard hot 100 chart in the united states and the uk singles chart.

it won a grammy award for best male pop vocal performance in 1969.

it has been covered by numerous artists, including aretha franklin, mark james, and fine young cannibals.
the song was featured in the film "home alone" (1990).
in 2004, rolling stone magazine ranked "suspicious minds" number 91 on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
fun fact: the song's original title was "can't help falling in love". however, elvis presley's manager, colonel tom parker, suggested that the title be changed to "suspicious minds", as he thought it would be more appealing to the public.

droit du seigneur, also known as "the right of the first night," was a feudal practice in medieval europe in which a lord or nobleman had the right to sleep with a subordinate woman on her wedding night. the lord or nobleman would typically demand that the woman spend the night with him before consummating her marriage with her husband. this practice was considered a privilege of the feudal lord and was often enforced through intimidation or force.

although there is some debate among historians as to whether the droit du seigneur was ever actually practiced, it has been immortalized in literature and popular culture. one of the most famous examples is in the play "the marriage of figaro" by pierre beaumarchais, which was later adapted into the opera "the barber of seville" by gioachino rossini. in the play, the character of count almaviva attempts to exercise his right of the first night with figaro's fiancee, susanna, but is ultimately foiled by the clever schemes of the other characters.

another example of droit du seigneur can be seen in the legend of robin hood. according to some versions of the legend, robin hood's love interest, maid marian, was to be married to the sheriff of nottingham, who planned to exercise his right of the first night with her. robin hood intervenes and saves maid marian from the sheriff's clutches, leading to their eventual marriage.

in modern times, the droit du seigneur is widely regarded as a myth or a cultural trope rather than a historical fact. however, it continues to be referenced in popular culture and serves as a symbol of the abuses of power and privilege that have occurred throughout history.