Different Peoples, Situations Require Different Styles Of Government (5-27-24)

Michael Hirsh writes for ForeignPolicy.com May 7, 2024:

So why are so many observers putting the worst possible face on the conflict?

In an interview with Foreign Policy, [Randall] Schweller said that when he first entered the academic job market in 1993, just after the collapse of the Soviet Union, international security (IS) studies were fizzling fast. Now, they’re hot again.

“Promoting the idea of Cold War 2.0 definitely promotes the careers of IS scholars,” Schweller wrote in an email.

And that’s true on the Chinese side as well, said political scientist Eun A Jo of Cornell University. “Hawks in competing states benefit from each other in their domestic battles,” she said in a phone interview. Like the Soviet and U.S. hard-liners of the Cold War, the militarists in China are eagerly promoting the idea that the United States seeks to contain China. “The deepening ideological tensions between the two countries today are more likely a product of this dynamic than China’s growing evangelism” about becoming a world power, Jo said.

August 13, 2018, Randall Schweller wrote for ForeignPolicy.com (copy):

Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 U.S. presidential election heralded nothing less than certain catastrophe. At least, that was and remains the firm belief of “the Blob”—what Ben Rhodes, a foreign policy adviser in the Obama administration, called those from both parties in the mainstream media and the foreign policy establishment who, driven by habitual ideas and no small amount of piety and false wisdom, worry about the decline of the U.S.-led order. “We are very probably looking at a global recession, with no end in sight,” the New York Times columnist Paul Krugman forecast after Trump’s victory. Others prophesied that Trump would resign by the end of his first year (Tony Schwartz, the co-author of Trump: The Art of the Deal), that he would be holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in six months (the liberal commentator John Aravosis), or that the United States might be headed down the same path that Germany took from the Weimar Republic to the Third Reich. That last warning came from former U.S. President Barack Obama last December at the Economic Club of Chicago, where he invoked the specter of Nazi Germany. “We have to tend to this garden of democracy or else things could fall apart quickly,” he said. “Sixty million people died, so you’ve got to pay attention—and vote.”

So far, the world has not come to an end, far from it. A year into Trump’s first term, the Islamic State, or isis—a fascist organization, by the way—had been virtually defeated in Syria and eliminated from all its havens in Iraq, thanks to the Trump administration’s decision to equip the largely Kurdish militia fighting isis in Syria and give U.S. ground commanders greater latitude to direct operations. All the while, Trump has continued the Obama doctrine of avoiding large-scale conventional wars in the Middle East and has succeeded where his predecessor failed in enforcing a real redline against Bashar al-Assad’s use of nerve gas in Syria by launching targeted air strikes in response. In North Korea, Trump’s strategy of “maximum pressure” has cut the country’s international payments by half, forcing Kim Jong Un to realize that his only choice is to negotiate.

On the domestic front, the unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent in May, a level not seen since the heady days of the dot-com boom— with unemployment at an all-time low among African Americans; at or near multidecade lows among Hispanics, teenagers, and those with less than a high school education; and at a 65-year low among women in the labor force. Meanwhile, on Trump’s watch, the stock market and consumer confidence have hit all-time highs, the number of mortgage applications for new homes has reached a seven-year high, and gas prices have fallen to a 12-year low. Finally, with Trump pledging to bring to an end the era in which “our politicians seem more interested in defending the borders of foreign countries than their own,” illegal immigration was reduced by 38 percent from November 2016 to November 2017, and in April 2017, the U.S. Border Patrol recorded 15,766 apprehensions at the southwestern border—the lowest in at least 17 years.

As his critics charge, Trump does reject many of the core tenets of the liberal international order, the sprawling and multifaceted system that the United States and its allies built and have supported for seven decades. Questioning the very fabric of international cooperation, he has assaulted the world trading system, reduced funding for the un, denounced nato, threatened to end multilateral trade agreements, called for Russia’s readmission to the G-7, and scoffed at attempts to address global challenges such as climate change. But despite what the crowd of globalists at Davos might say, these policies should be welcomed, not feared. Trump’s transactional approach to foreign relations marks a United States less interested in managing its long-term relationships than in making gains on short-term deals. Trump has sent the message that the United States will now look after its own interests, narrowly defined, not the interests of the so-called global community, even at the expense of long-standing allies.

This worldview is fundamentally realist in nature. On the campaign trail and in office, Trump has argued that the United States needs its allies to share responsibility for their own defense. He has also called for better trade deals to level a playing field tilted against American businesses and workers and to protect domestic manufacturing industries from currency manipulation. He is an economic nationalist at heart. He believes that political factors should determine economic relations, that globalization does not foster harmony among states, and that economic interdependence increases national vulnerability. He has also argued that the state should intervene when the interests of domestic actors diverge from its own—for example, when he called for a boycott against Apple until the company helped the fbi break into the iPhone of one of the terrorists who carried out the 2015 attack in San Bernardino, California.

This realist worldview is not only legitimate but also resonates with American voters, who rightly recognize that the United States is no longer inhabiting the unipolar world it did since the end of the Cold War; instead, it is living in a more multipolar one, with greater competition. Trump is merely shedding shibboleths and seeing international politics for what it is and has always been: a highly competitive realm populated by self-interested states concerned with their own security and economic welfare. Trump’s “America first” agenda is radical only in the sense that it seeks to promote the interests of the United States above all.

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Decoding The Arab-Israeli West Bank Conflict (5-27-24)

01:00 Racial reckoning after George Floyd’s death leads to 50,000 extra deaths, https://www.unz.com/isteve/repeat-after-me/
03:00 Steve Sailer on Filthy Armenian Adventures, https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/72-sailer-on-the-green/id1591842383?i=1000653626248
12:00 Eucalpytus as an invasive species, https://www.cal-ipc.org/plants/profile/eucalyptus-globulus-profile/
15:00 Israeli settlers, https://www.nytimes.com/video/magazine/100000009469710/west-bank-settler-violence-israel.html
17:00 NYT: The Unpunished: How Extremists Took Over Israel, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/16/magazine/israel-west-bank-settler-violence-impunity.html
25:30 ‘I Love Peace,’ Says Boyle Heights Cafe Owner Of Protest Over Support Of Trump Immigration Policies
30:30 Is Boyle Heights Coffee Shop Vandalism An Anti-Gentrification Message?
32:15 Jesse Lee Peterson: Antifa Attacks Pro-Trump Jewish Cafe (Asher Caffé, Boyle Heights)
50:00 The end of gentrification, https://www.takimag.com/article/the-end-of-gentrification/
1:03:00 White gentrification of South-Central L.A. , https://isteve.blogspot.com/2014/04/white-gentrification-of-south-central.html
1:07:00 Ethnic conflicts in elite school admissions, https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2023/07/on-white-flight-from-the-comments.html
1:08:00 UCLA Medical School’s DEI Admissions Push Is Letting in Incompetents, https://www.unz.com/isteve/ucla-medical-schools-dei-admissions-push-are-letting-in-incompetents/
1:14:00 This Invasive Species Caused The Most Costly Fire In California History, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh8Vd6JLWc8
1:21:00 Elliott Blatt joins – the nihilism of illness
1:23:00 The craft of effective writing, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=154774
1:24:00 How Rony Guldmann ran into trouble at Stanford Law School, https://ronyguldmann.com/
1:25:00 Two Orientations Toward Human Nature by Rony Guldmann, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N5C2KQU
1:31:00 Iceplant, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aizoaceae
1:39:00 The Mysterious Disappearance of JF Gariepy’s Wife, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df8SFEOGUmE
2:07:00 Nick Fuentes: The Fake Controlled Right Wing, https://rumble.com/v4x1vd5-the-fake-controlled-right-wing.html
2:34:30 Destiny fans resent my assertion that the average IQ of his audience is about 100 while my audience median is about 130
2:58:00 “It’s called love, you eediot”- Destiny Debate Debacles ft. Jean-François Gariépy

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Decoding The Campus Protests (5-26-24)

01:00 Philosopher and author Rony Guldmann, https://ronyguldmann.com/
17:00 Why the swift crackdown on the protests?
33:00 Conservative Claims of Cultural Oppression, https://ronyguldmann.com/conservative-claims-cultural-oppression/
36:00 Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, Stanford Law profs and progenitors of disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. https://ronyguldmann.com/faq/
42:00 Affirmative action and student protests
57:30 Rony’s memoir: The Star Chamber of Stanford, https://ronyguldmann.com/
58:20 The Craft of Writing Effectively, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=154774

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Decoding Destiny aka Steve Bonnell Part IV (5-26-24)

00:10 Decoding Destiny Part One, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=154833
00:20 Decoding Destiny Part Two, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=154837
00:30 Decoding Destiny Part Three, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=154910
00:50 DTG: Destiny- Discussing Debates, Drama, Depravity & ‘Doing Your Own Research’, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf1IjlbQ33E
05:45 Destiny wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destiny_(streamer)
12:30 Destiny clip on allegations about JF and the missing Mama JF, https://www.youtube.com/clip/UgkxyEzHYoVQjxMCV2S_AJBBy4qq96yqEy-G
13:00 Race Realism – Destiny Debate with JF, Andy Warski, Tara McCarthy, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRHTD0YMfpM
21:00 You’re Being Lied To By Billionaire-Funded Fake Racialist Boomers | JFGT #1108, https://odysee.com/@JFGTonight:0/jfgt1108:f
55:00 DTG Reddit discusses Destiny, https://www.reddit.com/r/DecodingTheGurus/
1:20:00 Simple ways to raise IQ, https://www.unz.com/isteve/micronutrient-supplementation/
1:25:00 Is vegetarianism healthy for children?, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10408398.2018.1437024
1:30:00 Duke: LEAD EXPOSURE IN LAST CENTURY SHRANK IQ SCORES OF HALF OF AMERICANS, https://today.duke.edu/2022/03/lead-exposure-last-century-shrunk-iq-scores-half-americans
1:32:00 Lead exposure reduces the average American IQ by 3 points
2:33:00 Destiny says his show became less dramatic since he got on vyvanse
2:37:00 DTG: Destiny: Debate King and/or Degenerate?, https://decoding-the-gurus.captivate.fm/episodes/2#showEpisodes
2:40:40 Will and ‘Destiny’ debate what it is to be American | Will Cain Show, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkrGv7Zrhf0
2:44:00 Signs of Emotional Maturity – Know Who’s Worth Your Time & Who Isn’t!, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqJJ0imOR50
2:52:00 5 Reasons Why People DON’T Understand You, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voSHsrvErKk
3:08:00 Ben Shapiro vs Destiny Debate: Politics, Jan 6, Israel, Ukraine & Wokeism, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYrdMjVXyNg

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Wisecracks: Humor and Morality in Everyday Life

Philosopher David Shoemaker writes in his new book:

* The funniness in jokes is found primarily in their logical or semantic structure. Many writers like to point to the incongruity of jokes as the source of their funniness, perhaps involving the introduction of some unexpected mismatch, the exploitation of some ambiguity in the language, or a switcheroo in how ordinary scripts might go.

* Wisecracks, by contrast, are intentional bits of humor whose funniness is found not just in their formal features but also in their interpersonal features. When we tease others, for instance, often what’s funny isn’t found just in our quips themselves but in the reactions of those we are teasing. When I pull your leg, its funniness isn’t going to come simply from the false remarks I make; it will come, in addition, from the fact that I fooled you for a bit with those remarks, that I “got you.” When two people of shared ethnicity make a crack that exploits some stereotype about their group, its funniness may come only from their shared disdain for that stereotype or for the people who believe that stereotype. These are all contextual, interpersonal matters… Wisecracks are the kinds of witticisms we make with each other.

* Wisecracking, as we all know, can have many dark sides. First, some wisecracks are exclusionary. Humor among members of in-groups about members of out-groups often seals the borders between them. Private jokes do this by speaking a language deliberately obscure to outsiders. Mockery may do this by presenting those outsiders as lower, as lesser, than insiders.

Second, sometimes there are asymmetrical relationships in which only one side gets to engage in teasing or mockery of the other, and this hardens hierarchy. We see this phenomenon most clearly in studies of organizations in which bosses tease or mock their employees, and the employees (for fear of losing their jobs) have to “take it” and can’t tease or mock their bosses back.

Third, some humor just plain hurts. Mockery, in particular, when it’s done by insiders to outsiders (to those who are “different,” socially excluded, nerds, the disabled, etc.) can reinforce exclusion, difference, and the pain of being an outsider. This is the kind of humor that involves “laughing at” someone, and we all know how painful being laughed at can be.

Fourth, some hurtful humor has “next-generation” bad effects, shaping otherwise innocent people in ways that cause them to become hurtful to others down the line.

Fifth, certain kinds of identity-based humor, wisecracks directed at people that reference their group membership (e.g., their gender, class, ethnicity, or race) can generate what’s known as a “social identity threat,” where what’s communicated to the targeted person is “that they are at risk of being devalued, rejected, or of becoming the target of discrimination because of their group membership.”5 It also just plain hurts, as it reminds people of their oppressed or marginalized status.

Sixth, because of their context dependence, occasional reliance on hard-to-read intentions, or serious subtlety, lots of wisecracks may be easily misunderstood, and that can fracture relationships.

Seventh, some wisecracks are deceptive, involving pulling the wool over someone’s eyes, deliberately preventing them from seeing some truth that everyone around them can see.

…First, those who make you feel amusement’s pleasure are going to be people you’re likely to gravitate toward, to want to hang around. Amusing people are likable, they’re fun, and they make you feel good. Humor brings people together. Debbie Downer doesn’t have any friends.

Second, many wisecracks involve self-deprecating anecdotes. In telling these, you invite listeners’ sympathy and protective warmth. A self-deprecating humor style generally also seems to increase one’s emotional and psychological well-being, better enabling one to cope with various setbacks.7 And other people are obviously drawn to emotionally healthy
people.

Third, in making wisecracks about your experiences, you create or reinforce enjoyable bonds with those who also have had similar experiences, inviting empathy and identification. Wisecracking between close friends assumes lots of shared background and knowledge, generating or buttressing intimacy between wisecrackers.

Fourth, wisecracking signals, and can bring about, reconciliation. As John Morreall insightfully notes: “When two people are quarreling, one of the first things they stop doing together is laughing; they refuse to laugh at each other’s attempts at humor, and refuse to laugh together at something incongruous happening to them. As soon as they begin to laugh once more, we know that the end of the quarrel is at hand.”

Fifth, between those who aren’t yet in a personal relationship, humor can reduce uncertainty and social distance, increase cooperation, and generate trust. In general, a good sense of humor is strongly correlated with social competence. Humorous people are more cheerful, and so, again, are more likely to attract friends. They are better able to manage their emotions, so they seem far less volatile and more inviting.10 Sixth, wisecracks of various kinds also serve to create and reinforce group boundaries.

* We are more fearful when our ideological biases are threatened than we are when our more clearly and solidly grounded beliefs are threatened, and so we tend to be more defensive and inclined to lash out, or lash out more vociferously, against perceived attacks on them. When we know full well the clear-cut rational or evidential grounds of our other beliefs, attacks on them pose no such threat. …If you get angry when your beliefs are mocked, that’s typically a sign of defensiveness, a sign that you may have
some kind of ideological bias at work, and such bias is precisely the sort of thing that can prevent you from seeing any funny in the mock. For you to see that funny, you’ve got to identify and eliminate—or at least detach yourself momentarily from—your ideological biases…

* Emotions in general are urgently attention-grabbing, action-readying, affectively-laden evaluative responses to the world around us. Fear evaluates things as threatening or dangerous (as fearsome), admiration evaluates something as having gone well above and beyond some standard (as admirable), and shame evaluates something about you or yours as worth hiding (as shameful). These evaluative responses include action tendencies: fear includes a motivational impulse to avoid the threat (either by fleeing, fighting, or freezing), admiration (of people) includes an impulse to emulate them, and shame includes the impulse to hide (or to cover your metaphorical or literal nakedness).

* Amusement is a lean-in emotion: it’s delicious, it feels good, and when we experience that particular form of enjoyment, we want to roll it around in our mouths, as it were, soaking in all its particular flavors.

* Amusement feels good. Those who have a heightened facility for amusing people are themselves extremely likable, as is anyone who makes others feel good. People want to be around them. They make gatherings fun and easy. In addition, those who are amused are fun to be around. Causing them to be amused is enjoyable as well. When they enjoy your wisecrack, they are enjoying you, and that feels good in its own way. They make gatherings fun and easy too.

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