Links 12 September 2017

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  1. Jacob

    Every story in the Asia section involves China!

    Britain in decline? “Britain fares badly, with a desperately weak export sector overfocused on financial services and a few manufacturing industries.”

    The ALP/LNP in AUS killed manufacturing and I suppose we are headed for Malaysia-levels of per capita income.

  2. Wiley Wolf

    Surfing update: Drugs in surfing: “There clearly is – absolutely,” a recreational drug problem on the tour. “There’s no denying that, it’s rampant, it’s full-on.” Kelly Slater.
    Surfing has openly embraced the consumption of illicit substances as a kind of anti-authoritarian statement. Testing at events won’t help those with a recreational drug problem, says Slater
    “Those are personal, private matters and it’s really hard to dredge them up publicly and come to any kind of conclusion.
    Take Andy Irons, sponsored by billabong, “died a natural death from a sudden cardiac arrest”.
    The family’s statement also reveals that traces of cocaine and methamphetamine were present in Irons’s body when he died. “The official autopsy report, lists a second cause of death as ‘acute mixed drug ingestion.’
    Billabong, knew of irons drug use but billabong says the company tried to help Irons kick his illicit habits.
    There is a stone memorial up here to the surfer Michael Peterson, a heroin addict.
    That should be knocked over.
    But, those are sports stories, we are interested in the business.
    It is well known that the directors of Surstitch used drugs , while they were managers of the company. They say drugs affect you to the extent you are not allowed to operate a motor vehicle. Did their drug use affect the successful management of the company, and if so, those 2 should be in with their recently jailed their criminal fraud mate from billabong.
    Lets not forget surfer tim warner of ch7 infamy, his drug use has probably sunk the company.
    And how about t abbott, turning up pissed for work in parliament.
    If he gets re elected we are fools. WW

    • 8millMEMBER

      Really?
      I’m 50, work in finance and half my mates have used drugs on and off for 30 yrs. all are very successful, well rounded individuals with happy families. you need some realitivity re this issue. I also grew up on the coast where surfers had a habit of not really doing much, far too much free time to grow weed and chase pretty girls?

      • Wiley Wolf

        8m we knew that, add a heap of others on this site, but if you ever float an IPO and dont disclose your drug use, you are going to find yourself in deep do do. Especially if the company goes tits up.
        Cant see any reference to drug use by the managers of the surfstitch in the IPO PDS.
        Those guys can rehabilitate in jail. Looking forward to that class action.

  6. migtronixMEMBER

    “Fragment of a clay tablet, 35 + 32 lines of inscription. Part of the astronomical compendium MUL.APIN. Late Babylonian. Lower half, part of a text containing astrological forecasts taken from observations of various stars.”

    Remember that one time when parchment and paper were introduced and we lost the ability to chisel marks on rock or mold with clay? You remember that right skip, or is it hand writing with ink that you think makes us smart..

    http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=297135&partId=1&searchText=astronomical&images=true&page=2

    • Wiley Wolf

      Mig, that reads like the opening lines of a revised chariots of the gods,
      cept I read somewhere they also found calculus about the same date. ??
      so what happened after Aristotle.
      Looks like it was peer reviewed, by the romans

      • migtronixMEMBER

        “Looks like it was peer reviewed, by the romans”

        Correct – but we know how much skippy loves consensus…

    • Wiley Wolf

      Mig, one day you will walk along hadrians wall, and consider his thoughts
      We are going to do some peer review of this scottish behaviour
      chapter 1 is to the north of this wall, the remainder of the book of civilisation is to the south
      Same as the Donald thinks. and me. and that wall is still there.
      and if you go to Glasgow , north of the wall ,anything can happen.

      • migtronixMEMBER

        Apparently the Scotts would have built the wall themselves had they the organisational skills, because those walls didn’t do much in Dalmatia, even the Rhine, Danube and Alps were of limited defensive value.

      • Wiley Wolf

        Different walls, what they say pissed the scotts off mostly was the romans had glass ad hot baths, and would walk around naked in full view of the shivvereing scotts to show em the value of roman technology.
        this made the scots so mad all they could think about was fighting rather than building a bath for emselves.
        once they perfected the bagpipes and could march in formation and marshal their anger, they were formidable warriors, as it is to this day,
        But the romans just sat on the wall and threw a few rotten tomatoes over to em
        How about the siege of Masada, same story.

      • migtronixMEMBER

        Siege of Masada was one of the greatest, but Alexander’s siege of Tyre was truly bold

        “On his way towards Egypt, Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) led his Macedonian troops to victory at Sidon and then continued south towards Tyre. Tyrian envoys met with Alexander and assured him that their city was at his disposal. “However, he put their goodwill to the test by expressing his wish to sacrifice at the shrine of Heracles inside the city; for the Tyrians recognized a Phoenician god who was identified by the Greeks as Heracles, and from this deity Alexander claimed descent. Tyrian goodwill unfortunately did not extend so far as to grant him the permission he sought In short, they would not admit him into the city.” (David Chandler, Alexander 334-323 B.C., p. 41).

        Alexander was tempted to bypass the island fortress and continue his march towards Egypt. He sent messengers to Tyre, urging them to accept a peace treaty. Believing themselves to be safe on their island, the Tyrians killed Alexander’s ambassadors and threw their bodies from the top of the walls into the sea. This act served only to anger Alexander and embitter his troops.

        Alexander determined to build a mole to get his troops from the mainland to the island. The mole is said to have been at least 200 feet wide. It was constructed from stones and timber from the old city of Tyre on the mainland. In fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy, the very foundation stones, timbers and dust of the city was cast “in the midst of the water” (Ezek. 26:12).

        For a while the Tyrians laughed at Alexander’s project. At first they would row boats across the channel and harangue the Macedonians. Their laughter turned to concern when they saw the mole was going to be completed. The Tyrians ignited a barge and drove it into the first mole. The towers on the mole caught fire and several of Alexander’s men lost their lives. Alexander gave orders for the work to continue, and that the mole itself should be widened and more protective towers be built.

        Alexander was able to obtain ships from Sidon, Greek allies and Cyprus to form a blockade around Tyre. When the mole was within artillery range of Tyre, Alexander brought up stone throwers and light catapults, reinforced by archers and slingers, for a saturation barrage. Battle engineers constructed several naval battering rams which smashed through the walls of Tyre. Though courageous, the Tyrians were no match for Alexander’s troops. Over 7,000 Tyrians died in the defense of their island. In contrast, only 400 Macedonians were killed.

        The seven month siege, from January to July 332 B.C., was over. “The great city over which Hiram had once held sway was now utterly destroyed. Her king, Azimilik, and various other notables, including envoys from Carthage, had taken refuge in the temple of Melkart, and Alexander spared their lives. The remaining survivors, some 30,000 in number, he sold into slavery. Two thousand men of military age were crucified. Then Alexander went up into the temple, ripped the golden cords from the image of the god (now to be renamed, by decree, Apollo Philalexander), and made his long-delayed sacrifice: the most costly blood-offering even Melkart had ever received.” (Green, p. 262).

        One historian wrote, “Alexander did far more against Tyre than Shalmaneser or Nebuchadnezzar had done. Not content with crushing her, he took care that she never should revive; for he founded Alexandria as her substitute, and changed forever the track of the commerce of the world.” (Edward Creasy, Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World, ch. 4).

        The small southern Lebanese town of Tyre (Sur) now has a population of about 117,000. “Today, deep under asphalt streets and apartment blocks, the stone core of that fantastic causeway still stands: one of Alexander’s most tangible and permanent legacies to posterity.” (Green, p. 263).”

    • Wiley Wolf

      Ah Mig excellent tale on Alexander TG
      Alexander’s coach and mentor was ?? Aristotle
      that is why the Romans silenced , peer reviewed,, Aristotle. WW.
      Who would have thought history was so important.

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