Just when you thought it was safe to eat at Taco Hell again…

Today, the 6th of August, in 1284 the little known naval battle of Meloria was fought between the  powerful city states  of Genoa and Pisa. It was a Genoese victory, which marked the end of Pisa as a power in the region and would see it absorbed in 1406 by the flourishing banking and textile rich city of Florence. A position as leading Tuscan city which she would hold for hundreds of years, under the clever and super rich Medici family.

One of the losing Pisan Admirals, Count  Ugolini, can be found in the Florentine poet Dante’s Inferno.
He is in the Ninth Circle with Satan punished for treason, found forever gnawing on the Archbishop Ruggieri who betrayed, imprisoned and starved him and his family.

Still MIA… Worth a thread Necro!

there are many ideas a man can think but if he thinks it twice he thought about another idea which makes his idea nonsense…

Your karma just ran over my dogma.
:-) :-) :-) :-)

@cystic:

"she’s Married?!?!  Did i just s**t myself?!?!

Speaking of Custer
Didja’ hear the one about:

a wealthy history buff commissions a painting
“i want Custer’s last thoughts on the canvas.  Paint it just like you were there, reading Custer’s mind”

Several weeks later, the painting is brought before the buyer.  He is shocked to see a number of naked native people in various very sexual poses.  In the middle is a large fish with a halo over its’ head.
“what the hell is this?” the history buff asked?
“well, it’s like you asked - you wanted Custer’s last thoughts!  I imagined it was something like:
holy mackeral - where did all of these f**king indians come from?”

LOL

Love it CC!

Any updates of what’s going on in Liberia? I know US troops are there and are facing a massive problem from rioting civilians.

The point is: Liberia is a country founded by you. It is what comes closest to an ex-colony.
Just as you accuse that the French go in when their ex-colonies have trouble, we want you to go in when your ex-colony has trouble.
You have responsibility for them (sure we could discuss the degree, but not the fact).

No, Liberia was a country founded by the American Colonization Society in 1816 by Robert Finley, not by the United States Government. The US government is not responsible for it (except if you mean providing the ACS with some government grants). It’s like saying, I went to start set up a small communist country in the Pacific, but since things didn’t turn out right, the US government has to bail me out. Also, Liberia was set up with good intentions - not exploitation. Were any of the French colonies in Africa like that?

After reading the article i wondered how any USies ever have traveled abroad or even overseas.
All those that were in France seemed to have seen something else than expected. Who or what might have made them expect the “wrong” thing?
How many will keep their prejudices as they do not/ can not/ can’t afford to travel?

“we get 70% of our oxygen from the algae…save the algae!!! and who’s to say a communist socieity gives a damn about the environment???”

I’m sure if the algae population was threatened or exploited by capitalist (who knows?) there would be an attempt to save it. But the rainforest provides a lot more than just “oxygen.”

"The problems and corruptness of capitalism would not be eliminated by communism. "

Kind of ambiguous. What exact problems are we talking about?

“You base that off no one you know. My father, my landlord, my father’s students…all made money because of hard work.”

Hmmm… how is it that a worker makes less money than a CEO sitting in his/her office building when that worker does more hard work? Again, I find you definition of hard work ambiguous.

“And stop denouncing being rewarded from hard work as “American.””

Whoa… who said that? I think that’s more of a compliment. :roll: