BC CULTURE
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Today we start the last book of #AdamSmith's #WealthOfNations.

Allons-y!

#WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

 Book Five of #WealthOfNations is all about the duties of the sovereign and how to pay for them. In this first part of chapter 1, we’re talking about the cost of defense. (V.i.a) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
The sovereign's duty to protect the country can only be done through military force, but how you get the money to pay for that military varies according to time, place, and circumstance. (V.i.a.1) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
In a hunter/gatherer society, everyone is always already a warrior, and since there isn’t really a sovereign or nation, no expense is required to maintain defense. Much the same is true of shepherding cultures. (V.i.a.2) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Armies of hunters are limited in size to a few hundred men (as they have to sustain themselves through the available game). Shepherds can muster larger forces because they bring their sustenance in the form of flocks. (V.i.a.3–5) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
#AdamSmith thinks wars among Indigenous American populations are contemptible because they’re small, but large invading cultures like the Tartars are impressive & dreadful.
We SmithTweeters boldly support smaller & fewer wars. (V.i.a.5) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Farmers are also prepared for soldiering as a result of their daily labor. If the fighting can happen after planting and before harvest, farmers can usually afford to join the fight. So a farming culture is also fairly inexpensive to defend. (V.i.a.7) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Once you move away from these forms of society, though, the increasing sophistication of manufactures and war make it impossible for professional soldiers to support themselves. (V.i.a.8) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Leave your fields for a bit? Crops keep growing.
Leave your loom? There's no loom-fairy to do your weaving. With no weaving, you don’t make money.
(We know there's no field-fairy, work with us.)
If you want soldiers, you have to pay them. (V.i.a.9) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Plus, wars are way longer now. Extended campaigns instead of stand-alone skirmishes mean there’s really no way for soldiers to maintain another trade.
The more developed a society, the fewer inhabitants are willing or able to go to war. (V.i.a.10–11) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
In the ancient world, learning to be a soldier was a standard part of becoming educated. But as the art of war becomes more sophisticated, it becomes a specialty. (V.i.a.12–15) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
(We, the SmithTweeters, never quite know what to make of Smith’s claim that war is “certainly the noblest of all arts.” Does he mean it? Is he being ironic? Is he questioning what it means for something to be “noble?”) (V.i.a.14) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
When soldiering becomes a specialty the government can either force people to learn how to be soldiers or treat soldiering as a profession.
The first gives you a militia, the second, a standing army. (V.i.a.16–19) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
The invention of firearms means that the fitness and skill level of individual soldiers is no longer as important. Instead of skill, you need regularity, order, and obedience in your soldiers. (V.i.a.20-21) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Smith notes, with confidence that a militia is always going to be inferior to a well-disciplined and well-exercised standing army.
*American SmithTweeting contingent whistles Yankee Doodle in upstart colonial*
(V.i.a.23–25) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Oh, okay. The colonials get some props from Smith a little later. If the war with Britain drags out long enough they may become a match for the standing army. (V.i.a.27–28) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
That said, standing armies are just irresistibly superior unless militias are engaged in such long campaigns that they equalize. (V.i.a.27–28) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
And now...a brief history of standing armies.

There were a lot of them. (V.i.a.29–38) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
When one nation develops a standing army, other nations must follow suit for their own protection. (V.i.a.37) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Oh, hey, here’s that “savage nations” thread. Just in case that's something you might be thinking about right now as Smith carefully explains that only standing armies can protect against barbarian invasions... (V.i.a.39–40) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

https://t.co/40ylHzfS6v
...And equally carefully explains that you need a standing army in order to civilize barbarians and establish the law of the sovereign with “irresistible force.” (V.i.a.40) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
Lots of people argue that standing armies are dangerous to liberty. That can be true. But if the king is the general, the nobility are the chief officers, and the commanders support the civil authority, a standing army isn’t a threat. (V.i.a.41) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
(Does anyone else think that’s a whole pile of conditions that need to be met before a standing army isn’t a concern? Especially given the references to Caesar and Cromwell? Maybe it’s just us…) (V.i.a.41) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
On the other hand, says Smith, a standing army can give a sovereign a sense of security that means he doesn’t have to crack down as hard on the people as he would otherwise.
So, weirdly, a standing army can→more liberty. (V.i.a.41) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
The duty of maintaining national defense gets more expensive as society becomes wealthier and war becomes more complicated. Cannons cost more than javelins. (V.i.a.43) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
This means that, unlike in ancient times, it’s now easier for developed and wealthy nations to defend themselves. That’s good, Smith says, for preserving and extending civilization. (V.i.a.44) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
(We, the SmithTweeters, are not military historians. But we’re pretty sure that a lot of what Smith says here doesn’t hold up throughout the 20th century... Anyone want to help us out with that before we come back tomorrow to talk about justice?) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

More from @AdamSmithWorks

@AdamSmithWorks
@AdamSmithWorks
@adamsmithworks
#WealthOfNations I.ii is all about the secret sauce origin story: why does the division of labor happen in the first place? #AdamSmith illustrates (in part) with doggos to hold our attention. (I.ii.2,5) 🐶 #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets #DoggosDontTrade

Divsion of labor, Smith said yesterday, is responsible for a whole heckuva lot. But who thought of it? Nobody! It's "not originally the effect of any human wisdom, which foresees and intends that general opulence to which it gives occasion." (I.ii.1) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

There's no mastermind behind economic exchange, our "propensity to truck, barter, and exchange one thing for another" (I.ii.1) arises out of our natural tendency to persuade one another and better our condition. #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

Yeah, there's a lot in that first paragraph. #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

You know what's coming, right? 🍖🍻🍞 Butchers, brewers, bakers: they don't make us things because they love us. They're not our moms. (I.ii.2) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
ECONOMY , GOVERNMENT
@AdamSmithWorks
@AdamSmithWorks
@adamsmithworks
Today, in #WealthOfTweets, more rude produce, #AdamSmith's opinions about Scottish Cheese, and, to be perfectly honest, an irresponsible amount of poop. #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

The second kind of rude produce is the kind humans can produce more of in response to demand. This includes stuff like sheep, 🐄🐄, and fruits & veg that farm well.(I.xi.l.1) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

We don’t bother to cultivate this stuff until we reach a certain level of wealth because it reproduces well on its own. But as we get wealthier, we want more stuff and can pay for it, so it’s profitable to herd and farm these things. (I.xi.l.1) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

But unlike the wild and rare stuff, there’s a limit on the price of this kind of produce, because when the price goes higher, we make more of it, which brings the price back down.(I.xi.l.1) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

(We also find more profitable uses for, say, the wild grazing land, crowd the sheep out, and then *need* to cultivate them.) (I.xi.l.2) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweet
FOR LATER READ
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@AdamSmithWorks
@AdamSmithWorks
@adamsmithworks
Here we go! Tweeting our way through #WealthOfNations! It’s a marathon, not a sprint, so be sure to stretch, stay hydrated, and keep a steady pace. #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

That’s one heck of a first sentence, Dr. Smith. No dithering here. The division of labor is the secret sauce that increases productivity. (I.i.1) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

We always forget the pin factory comes this early and that Smith looks at it not because pins are important (though they are!) but because it’s a small industry that you can look at all at once.(I.i.3) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

How many pins can the SmithTweeters make in a day? How bad do you want them to be? (I.i.3) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

Do you think the pin guys were all “Dude, we let you observe our work, told you how many pins in a pound, showed you every step in the process...and you call us a ‘trifling manufacture’? Not cool, Smith!” (I.i.4) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
SOCIETY
@AdamSmithWorks
@AdamSmithWorks
@adamsmithworks
Wages, profits, and rents have “natural rates” regulated by the general conditions of the society in which they exist. (I.vii.1) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

When the price of any commodity = price of rent + profit + labor + price of getting it to market, the commodity is sold at its “natural price.” (I.vii.4–5) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

And that all means the commodity has been sold for what it is worth—what it really costs. (I.vii.5) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

The price for which a commodity is sold ought to include a seller’s profit, because that’s how sellers pay themselves, just like they pay the wages of the laborers who work for them, who get their goods to market, etc. (I.vii.5) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweet

Nerds among you may recognize the concept of economic profit here: it matters to the owners of stock whether they could have done better by using their stock elsewhere, not just whether they covered their costs. (I.vii.5) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets #WeLoveNerds
SOCIETY
@AdamSmithWorks
@AdamSmithWorks
@adamsmithworks
#DivisionOfLAbor, we love it! Except it *does* make it a lot harder to provide for our own wants directly. We live by exchanging and cooperating with others. (I.iv.1) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

#AdamSmith is too smart to think all this exchanging and cooperating got worked out easily from the very beginning. There must have been bumps in the road. (I.iv.2) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

Butchers could have so much meat to trade with bakers/brewers that they could end up with an unusable surplus of bread/beer. That stalls trade. Smart people would work to have a supply of an always-useful trade item on hand. (I.iv.2) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

(We, the SmithTweeters, have never encountered a surplus of bread or beer we couldn't handle. But let’s assume Smith knows what he’s talking about.) (I.iv.2) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets


This is how we get money, folks! We want a stable, always desirable, easily stored, and easily transportable thing we can trade for other stuff! (I.iv.2) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
SOCIETY

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Pulp Librarian
@PulpLibrarian
Pierre Boulle was born today in 1912, so what better time to look back at his sociological science-fiction classic that paved the way for Star Wars and the MCU.

This is the story of Planet Of The Apes!


Pierre Boulle is probably best known for his 1952 novel Bridge On The River Kwai, based on his wartime experiences in Indochina. So it was possibly a surprise when 11 years later he authored a science fiction novel.


However Boulle had been a Free French secret agent during the war. He was captured in 1943 by Vichy forces in Vietnam and sentenced to hard labour. This experience of capture would shape his novel La Planète Des Singes.


Published in 1963 La Planète Des Singes recieved good reviews. An English translation - entitled Monkey Planet - was issued the following year. It was a story that seemed to strike a chord with readers.


In the novel two rich travellers find a manuscript written by journalist Ulysse Mérou. It tells a fantastical tale: how he travelled with two wealthy explorers to Betelgeuse. They land on the planet Soror, a world of primitive humans ruled by advanced civilised apes.
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Adam McKay
Adam McKay
@GhostPanther
1) My Stan Lee story happened when I was in 5th grade. I was visiting NYC with my Dad and had read the address for Marvel in the comics I read constantly. I begged my Dad to take me and to his credit he did. And guess what? It was just an office.

2) We were down in the lobby and I was kind of crushed. I don’t know what I expected, The Thing and the Yancy Street Gang to be sitting around smoking cigars? Anyway, my Dad was taking a beat to figure where we were going next and a guy came up to us.

3) He was wearing a white shirt and tie and said to Dad “Is he disappointed because. The Marvel offices were just offices?” My Dad said yes and then the guy who had gray around his temples and a mustache said “hold on a second” and opened one of those office mailboxes with a key.

4) He then handed me a thick stack of EVERY SINGLE MARVEL COMIC COMING OUT THE NEXT MONTH. “Here you go. Keep reading Marvel comics” he said and then walked off. I left in a daze and about 15 minutes later it hit me “Gray around the temples, mustache... That was Stan Lee!”

5) Later when I wrote on the Ant Man movie I told Kevin Feige the story, the year, look of the guy etc and Kevin said “That’s exactly the kind of thing Stan would do and he would have been there then. That was him.” Rest In Peace Stan Lee and thank you for the comics.
CULTURE
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Cory Doctorow #BLM
Cory Doctorow #BLM
@doctorow
Inequality requires narrative stabilizers. When you have too little and someone else has more than they can possibly use, simple logic dictates that you should take what they have.

1/


The forbearance exercised by the many when it comes to the wealth of the few isn't down to guards or laws - rather, the laws and the guards are effective because of the STORY, the story of why this is fair, even inevitable.

2/

Think of the story of monarchy and its relationship to the Church: the Church affirms that the monarch (and the aristocracy) was chosen by God ("dieu et mon droit") and the monarchy reciprocates by giving the Church moral and economic power within the kingdom.

3/

Capitalism replaced the story of divine will with a story of a self-correcting complex system: humans are born and raised with a variety of aptitudes and tastes, and at any moment, historical exigencies dictate that some individuals are better suited than others to do well.

4/

When it's railroad time, there are people who were born to oversee the laying of track and the coordination of rail networks: markets find those people, allocate capital to them, and allow them to mobilize that capital to produce shared prosperity for all of us.

5/
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Pulp Librarian
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@PulpLibrarian
In the shadowy corners of the shortwave spectrum lurk the Numbers Stations: strange radio broadcasts of mysterious blocks of numbers in creepy monotone voices!

It's actually an old form of spycraft which is still in use today. And as it's #WorldRadioDay let's take a listen...


A Numbers Station is a type of one-way voice link for sending information to spies in foreign countries.

Operating on Short Wave radio bands they transmit a secret code of spoken numbers. Use of Numbers Stations peaked during the Cold War, but some are still operating today.


Numbers Stations are operated by various national intelligence agencies. At set times on a pre-arranged frequency a musical tone is played, followed by a speech synthesised voice reading out blocks of numbers. To most listeners it sounds both creepy and meaningless.


However to spies it can be vital. The numbers can be decoded to reveal a message, provided the spy has the right One Time Pad (OTP) - a random number key that is only used once before it is destroyed. OTP encryption is impossible to break if done correctly.


Why broadcast your secret message on Short Wave? Because it can be picked up across the globe. All a spy needs is a shop bought SW radio, a pencil, and the correct One Time Pad and they - and only they - can decipher the message. No complex kit is required.
CULTURE
Piers Robinson
Piers Robinson
@PiersRobinson1
.@bellingcat's attempt in their new book, published by
@BloomsburyBooks, to coverup the @OPCW #Douma controversy, promote US and UK gov. war narratives, and whitewash fraudulent conduct within the OPCW, is an exercise in deception through omission @marydejevsky @freddiesayers


1) 2000 words are devoted to the OPCW controversy regarding the alleged chemical weapon attack in #Douma, Syria in 2018 but critical material is omitted from the book. Reading it, one would never know the following:

2) That the controversy started when the original interim report, drafted and agreed by Douma inspection team members, was secretly modified by an unknown OPCW person who had manipulated the findings to suggest an attack had occurred. https://t.co/QtAAyH9WyX… @RobertF40396660


3) This act of attempted deception was only derailed because an inspector discovered the secret changes. The manipulations were reported by @ClarkeMicah
and can be readily observed in documents now available https://t.co/2BUNlD8ZUv….

4) .@bellingcat's book also makes no mention of the @couragefoundation panel, attended by the @opcw's first Director General, Jose Bustani, at which an OPCW official detailed key procedural irregularities and scientific flaws with the Final Douma Report:
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5 star RSI Strategy by @VishalMalkan

Unconventional approach of 60-40 RSI and range shift concept.

According to him,
whenever the market is bearish,
it won’t be able to cross 60,
and whenever in a bullish trend,
it won’t be able to cross 40.

Like & Retweet for Maximum Reach.

So, instead of the 70-30 Relative Strength Index,
we will use the 60-40 range for the RSI indicator for this strategy.

When the
Monthly and Weekly RSI>60,
& when the RSI takes support at 40 in the daily chart,
it may bounce back and most probably it will not go below 40.

If a bullish candle is formed at the 40 RSI level,
the prices may bounce back, and one can enter the stock.

The stoploss can be placed at the low of that bullish candlestick,
and the target can be the 60 RSI level.

When the
Monthly and Weekly RSI<40,
& when the RSI takes resistance at 60 in the daily chart,
it may bounce back and most probably it will not go above 60

If a bearish candle is formed at the 60 RSI level,
the prices may bounce back from there, & 1 can enter the stock 4 shorting

The stoploss can be placed at the high of that bearish candlestick, and the target can be the 40 RSI levels.

#banknifty

This range shift concept can be applied in any timeframe,
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GREG ISENBERG
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Life is crazy. Today is a good day to stop and reflect

10 simple questions that CHANGED my life

(startup life, personal life)

Here they are:

Q: Can you really control that?

Smart people know what they can and cannot control

If you're living in the past, you're nostalgic
If you're living in the future, you're anxious
If you're living in the present, you're at peace

Q: Did you start today with a victory?

Starting every day with a victory sets you up to win

I don't care what it is:

- Make your bed
- Make a wonderful coffee
- Hug your wife or children

No such thing as a small win. It's a win!

You'll win more, if you start winning early

Q: What are you optimizing for?

#MFSA
1. Money
2. Freedom
3. Stability
4. Ability

The world rewards those who are focused

Perfectly prioritize

Are you being optimistic?

Guaranteed: more luck when you're optimistic
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In 1937, a trucker got frustrated waiting for his cargo to be unloaded. He later sold his company for $1.1 billion.

Here’s the story of how Malcom McLean made a billion dollars and which startup could be following in his footsteps. (Inspired by our episode with @laurabehrenswu)


In the early 1950s, the shipping industry was a dying business.

New York’s docks were handling half as much domestic cargo in the early 1950s as they had been in the depressed 1930s.

In thirty years, no one had invested significant money in coastal shipping.

Why?

As McLean found out, loading ships was difficult and slow.

A truck or train would deliver items to the port. Each item was unloaded separately, recorded, and carried to storage.

When a ship was ready, each item was taken from storage, counted again, and hauled on-board.


The cost of this labor was significant. As one expert at the time explained:

“A four-thousand-mile voyage for a shipment might consume 50 percent of its costs in covering just the two ten-mile movements through two ports.”


Yet, despite the industry’s issues, it felt little pressure to change.

Foreigners were barred from operating domestically. Cartels ran international routes. And gov. subsidies eased the pain of labor costs.

Reshaping the industry needed an outsider.

Enter Malcolm McLean.
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Thuravoor Narasimha Swamy Temple
Alappuzha, Kerala
#KeralaTemples 🚩

Thuravoor Narasimha Swamy or Thuravoor Mahakshetram is situated in Alappuzha with Narasimha Swamy and Sudharshana Moorthy as main Prathishta.
Temple has separate Sannidhi for Vadakkanappan ( Narasimha) and 👇


Tekkanappan ( Sudarshana).

Sthala puranam says that Vigraham of Narasimha was brought from Varanasi. Swami Padmapadar, shishya of Adi Sankaracharya, had worshipped the same Vigraham at Kashi.
A Namboodiri, on his way to Kashi saw a powerful light which disappeared here 👇


Namboodiri dug the place and he found a beautiful beautiful Vigraham made of Anjanasila. It is said that the vigraham occupied a site, which was the place of Durga Devi
Sudarshana Moorthy is about 6 Ft, Chaturbahu. Deepavali is famous festival here.
Om Narasimha Swamine Namah
🕉
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