james choice

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.

every time i hear that phrase, i think of soldiers during world war i or world war ii. they were writing letters to their loved ones from the trenches while bullets and shrapnel flew overhead.

how busy are you, really? are you busier than a soldier who's about to take a bullet to the chest?

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.

elon musk’s twitter takeover was one wild ride! it all started back in april 2022 when musk revealed he’d bought a 9.2% stake in twitter, making him the largest shareholder. people were shocked, wondering what his plan was. soon after, twitter’s ceo announced musk would join the board, but then, in true musk fashion, he changed his mind and decided not to join. this left everyone guessing his next move.

not long after, musk dropped a bombshell by offering to buy twitter outright for $54.20 per share, valuing the company at about $44 billion. he said twitter needed to go private to become a true platform for free speech. to fund this massive deal, musk planned to use $21 billion of his own money and got banks to pitch in with $25.5 billion in loans.

twitter’s board wasn’t too keen on this idea initially and put up a “poison pill” defense to stop musk from easily taking over. but as the days went by, they eventually caved in and accepted his offer, probably because the shareholders liked the 38% premium on their shares.

then things started getting messy. musk suddenly announced that the deal was “on hold” because he was worried about the number of fake accounts on twitter. this threw the whole deal into doubt, and some people thought musk was just looking for an excuse to get out or lower the price.

things escalated when musk said he wanted to pull out of the deal, claiming twitter wasn’t being transparent about the number of bots. twitter wasn’t having any of it and took him to court in delaware to force him to go through with the buyout.

just as they were gearing up for a big court battle in october, musk did another 180. he decided to go ahead with the purchase at the original price. by the end of october 2022, the deal was done. musk took over twitter, fired top execs like the ceo and cfo, and immediately started making big changes. he laid off about half the workforce, relaxed some content moderation rules, and even hinted at turning twitter into an “everything app” called x.

now, with a massive debt to handle and some big changes to twitter’s direction, the platform is in a pretty uncertain spot. musk’s moves have made waves, and it’s still unclear where he’ll take twitter (now x) next. it’s been a rollercoaster, and the ride isn’t over yet!

the 2024 united states presidential election is scheduled for tuesday, november 5, 2024. voters will elect a president and vice president for a term of four years.

the incumbent president, joe biden, has announced that he is running for re-election. his predecessor, donald trump, has also announced that he is running for re-election to a second, nonconsecutive term. a number of primary election challengers have also declared their candidacies for the nomination of both major parties.

the 2024 election is expected to be a close race, with biden and trump as the two leading contenders. other potential candidates include florida governor ron desantis, former south carolina governor nikki haley, and former secretary of state mike pompeo.

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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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

adolescence on netflix: a brutal look at family, trauma, and guilt

"adolescence" is not your typical coming-of-age story. it delivers real-time storytelling that makes you feel the tension and stress alongside the characters. what sets it apart? the central figure isn't the child — it's the father. the show is divided into four episodes, each mirroring the four stages of trauma: shock, denial, blame, and acceptance.

--spoiler--
episode 1 – shock and denial
the father is shaken to his core when his son is accused of murder. his immediate reaction is to defend him — because his son couldn't be a killer, right? he refuses to believe it, convinced that there's some mistake.

episode 2 – blame
the second episode pulls back from the crime and examines the larger social picture. the focus shifts to how the education system and generational disconnect create pressure on kids. the show explores how children face emotional neglect, peer pressure, and a brutal survival hierarchy where bullying becomes a form of dominance. kids who are bullied either shut themselves off from the world or form fragile alliances with other outcasts — a bond that, when broken, leaves them vulnerable and isolated. this isolation and sense of rejection pushes them toward destructive behavior. the lack of connection with parents and the feeling of being unseen create a dangerous emotional void.

episode 3 – adaptation
by the third episode, the child begins to adapt to his circumstances. he grows into his anger and aggression, developing a defensive arrogance that shields him from guilt. he starts blaming everyone but himself — his parents, his peers, the system. the psychologist working with him focuses on deep-rooted issues in his upbringing, suggesting that the parents are to blame for the way he turned out. the father remains loyal to his son despite everything — a reflection of subconscious guilt and a desperate need to protect him.

episode 4 – acceptance and atonement
in the final episode, the child confronts what he's done. he accepts himself for who he is and confesses to the crime — not out of guilt, but as a way of reclaiming his identity and taking control of his narrative. it's less about remorse and more about owning his darkest truth. the father, meanwhile, faces his own guilt. he realizes that he failed his son as a parent, that he made critical mistakes, and that he's partially responsible for what happened. rather than run from it, he chooses to stay in town, fully aware that he'll live under a cloud of suspicion and judgment for the rest of his life. he accepts this as his punishment.

the weight of reality
some viewers have called the show "slow" — but that's the point. a police interrogation that only lasts an hour feels like it drags on for eternity because it's so emotionally charged. the audience feels the weight of the process because the show forces you to sit in the discomfort. it's uncomfortable because it's so real — the kind of nightmare any parent could face.

in the last episode, the family's emotional state is laid bare. they grieve and blame themselves in silence, trying to hold it together. no one wants to be the first to crack, because if one person breaks, the whole fragile structure could collapse. months later, they act like life has returned to normal — but you can sense the tension. a single crack could shatter them forever.

this isn't a show about fantasy or melodrama. it's a brutal, realistic examination of guilt, trauma, and the fallout of a single violent act. the natural dialogue and understated performances make it feel like you're watching real life unfold through a hidden camera. after seeing something this raw, it's hard not to reflect on the distance between reality and the polished fiction we usually see on screen.
--spoiler--

tesla's grip on the european ev market just took a serious hit. in january, the company sold only 9,900 units—a staggering 45% drop compared to the same time last year. its market share shrank from 1.8% to just 1%.

this decline comes as ceo elon musk doubles down on his controversial political stances in europe, including backing germany's far-right afd and clashing with the eu. meanwhile, overall ev sales in europe surged by 37%, with chinese automaker saic leading the charge.

has become one of twitter's biggest shareholders (slightly bigger than 9% stake).

keith sapsford was a 14-year-old australian boy whose tragic curiosity led to one of the most haunting accidental deaths in aviation history. in 1970, driven by an adventurous spirit and a longing to see the world, he snuck into the wheel well of a japan airlines plane at sydney airport. as the aircraft ascended, the compartment door opened mid-flight, and he fell to his death from 200 feet.

ernest shackleton was a prominent british polar explorer renowned for his leadership in the heroic age of antarctic exploration. born in 1874 in county kildare, ireland, shackleton moved to london at a young age. his adventurous spirit led him to join the merchant navy, where he quickly climbed the ranks and developed a fascination with exploration.

shackleton's legacy is largely defined by his leadership in the 1901 discovery expedition and, more notably, the 1907-1909 nimrod expedition, where he and his team set a new record by reaching the latitude of 88 degrees south, just 97 nautical miles from the south pole. this expedition was notable not only for its near success in reaching the pole but also for the spirit of endurance and courage that shackleton instilled in his crew.

however, it is his 1914-1916 imperial trans-antarctic expedition aboard the ship endurance for which shackleton is most remembered. this expedition aimed to achieve the first land crossing of antarctica. the endurance became trapped in pack ice and was eventually crushed, leading shackleton and his crew on a harrowing saga of survival. displaying extraordinary leadership, shackleton led all 28 of his men on a perilous journey over ice and open sea to safety. notably, he managed to keep his crew motivated and alive for over 500 days in the brutal conditions of the antarctic, a testament to his remarkable skills in crisis management and leadership.

shackleton's approach to leadership, characterized by his commitment to his crew's welfare and morale, his capacity to adapt to changing circumstances, and his unyielding perseverance, has become a model in both leadership studies and popular culture. his ability to foster deep loyalty and optimism among his men under the most adverse conditions is often cited as a benchmark of great leadership.

despite his financial troubles and less successful later ventures, shackleton's exploits during the heroic age of exploration have immortalized him as a model of courage and endurance against overwhelming odds. his final expedition, the quest, ended with his death in 1922 from a heart attack while his ship was moored in south georgia. yet, ernest shackleton's legacy lives on, inspiring not only future explorers but also leaders in all fields who seek to embody his indomitable spirit.

socrates believed that the only true wisdom is the knowledge of one's own ignorance. he believed that he was the "wisest" person because, unlike others who claimed to know things that they did not truly understand, he was aware of his own ignorance and was constantly seeking knowledge and understanding.

socrates believed that by acknowledging his own ignorance, he was better able to question and challenge the beliefs of others, and thus more likely to discover true wisdom. this idea is known as the socratic paradox.

in his famous apology, socrates says "i am conscious that i am not wise at all. what is probably happening is that those who meet me take me to be wise because i really do differ from the majority of mankind in that i do not think that i know what i do not know."

so in summary, socrates believed that he was the most wise because of his awareness and acknowledgement of his own ignorance, and his constant questioning and pursuit of knowledge.

if you know you know.