Language is another issue between cultures. Consider Iran (Farsi), Russia(n), and China(ese)...no wonder it took so long for them to unite. Of course the US facilitated the unification.

Working today on a new wood rack. I enjoy having projects, and a homestead provides plenty!

Hope all is well on your holding! Thanks for the OT.

It seems that the geniuses at our so-called intel agencies are at it again. Not unlike the (off the top of my head here) bogus, comprehensive lists of gang signs, gang garfitti, terrorist words and phrases, and similar hokum, they now have a compilation of "tren de agua" emojis. I can't fathom how any of those people ever got out of high school, let alone college.

be well and have a good one

Thought provoking but I have to say, that I disagree with a number of his observations. The essay seems to be permeated with cultural bias, which I find common in most UK trained scholars.

The Mediterranean was a vast, open area bordered by three continents and six other seas, a geography that for centuries prevented its political unification. It was unified only once, by the Romans – a feat never achieved again. Although the sea remains a fiercely contested battlefield to this day, its unity was never pursued after Rome.
...
The Chinese space was profoundly different. First, it was enclosed. To the north lay the steppes, to the west the desert and mountains and to the south more mountains and dense jungle. To the east was an archipelago and a peninsula, and beyond that, a vast, endless ocean. This limited space was challenging to access.

Actually the US has been pursuing Mediterranean political unity since WWII. It's called the war on terror, MENA, NATO etc.

First I ever heard China referred to as "this limited space." It was readily accessible from the sea, in the coastal regions where much of its wealth lay. The north wasn't defended by the vast steppes imo. Pirates were a problem, then came the west and Japan. Most analysts refer to China's strategic depth rather than its "limited space." I know he's looking at the ancient period, but any study of modern military campaigns in the twentieth century reveals its size and internal geography to be a military and organizational challenge that would daunt any potential invader.

The "harmony of the rowing" and the "phalanx" in warfare, as opposed to "harmony" as a social value.

Democracy and equality are touted as ideals in the west, when citizens, even citizens subjected routinely to discrimination are called upon to go to war. At other times those values are downgraded, if not entirely ignored on behalf of the oligarchy. Slavery was a thing in the west right up until the modern era. Victims of western democracy imperialism were typically denied democracy or any rights, or role in their governance.

A healthy meritocracy learns from its mistakes, something noticeably absent in contemporary western politics.

Because the organization is only as good as its leader, the ruler is the key.

Disagree entirely. In China, the emperor was only as good as his scholarly advisor class, and his generals. This is why meritocracy is so important in governance; corruption of the institutional processes that ensure competent government officials leads to dissolution and defeat. Unwise counsel is the thing a kingdom or dynasty could not survive for long. Thus an ethic evolved that an advisor should give sound advice even at the cost of his own life. This is the highest virtue.

A few, equal, highly motivated individuals can defeat larger, poorly motivated crowds who may dislike their own generals more than they dislike the enemy.

This is in the realm of western imperial thinking. A model of warfare is advanced as a virtuous historical civic principle, while China's success as an enduring entity is attributable to geographical accidents of history.

I find the East to be eclectic rather than dogmatic. I don't see Sun Zu as being opposed by Fei Gong 非攻. Factions at court tend to become dogmatic at the expense of good advice to promote their faction. Sun Zu regarded engagement in open warfare, as the last resort, and perhaps the tool of the incompetent who had failed to avoid such outcomes by other means. Whereas the ancient Greek model seems to be portrayed in the destruction of Melos. If you have to resort to armed force, you've already lost.

Noted the reference to Zhuanzi's butterfly dream, cited in Brocade Zither and many other writings as I understand it.

Possibly, the chapter Fei Yue 非樂 (Against Music) (or perhaps it should be read as Fei Le, Against Fun-Enjoyment, as A.C. Graham suggested) targets Zhuangzi and his followers, who preferred to spend time in the forests singing and dancing rather than working hard for the state.

Got a laugh out of this. God forbid you get some enjoyment out of life after being rejected at court.

Happy Friday!

Pengpeng Original Song｜Mulan] Guzheng and Cello "Traveling Thousands of Miles to the Battlefield, Crossing Mountains and Passes Like Flying"

My day was longer and busier than I anticipated.
Thanks for the videos!
As for the location, location, location causing civilization and cultural trends, I found that quite interesting.
Blumenthal and Hedges were great.
By the time we discover more evidence pointing to Israel as the culprit, our government will be frantically supporting Israel's attacks on Iran and Turkey, so there will be no discussion.
Thanks for the OT, friend!