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Posts by Steven Brust

Medical researchers say that cancer is typically caused by a complex combination of factors. A guy who snorts cocaine off toilet seats says it's mostly caused by the radiation from offshore windmill farms. For busy Americans, it can be hard to know who to trust.

5 days ago 864 135 14 6

The closest I can come to is to tell you to say the hard G, but say it so far back in your throat that your tongue is forced to the roof of your mouth (also far back) so there is also a hint of "d" in there somewhere. I'm sure an actual Hungarian, or a linguist, could do a much better job .

6 days ago 2 0 0 0

Something like that. The "g" is has a sound kind of like the hard g, kinda like the j in judge. It's a tricky one.

6 days ago 1 0 1 0

On this day in 1775 the world's first abolition organization was founded in Pennsylvania.

6 days ago 24 2 1 0

Information that could save your life:
European swallow: 11 m/s
African swallow: 9.5 m/s
Please note that these are *averages*. Should anyone ask, be certain to clarify if the individual wants average, or maximum.

2 weeks ago 42 7 4 0

That is kind of you to say, but I didn't reinvent a genre. I'm just playing with Michael Moorcock's toys in Fritz Leiber's sandbox.

3 weeks ago 22 0 2 0

Awww. πŸ™‚

3 weeks ago 2 0 0 0

Guilty

3 weeks ago 2 0 2 0
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You know, John, it's kind of scary how much you've started to resemble Gene Wolfe.

1 month ago 8 0 0 1
Preview
Oppose the US imperialist war on Iran! The attack on Iran ordered by Donald Trump and his war-crazed cabal is a massive political crime, illegal under international law and in direct violation of the US Constitution.

The attack on Iran ordered by Donald Trump and his war-crazed cabal is a massive political crime, illegal under international law and in direct violation of the US Constitution.

#Iran #NoWar

www.wsws.org/en/articles/...

1 month ago 10 4 0 0

I dunno. I've run into people who are pretty sure Ireland IS the Holy Land.

1 month ago 2 0 0 0

That's nice to hear, thanks. And best of luck with your work.

2 months ago 2 0 0 0

I accept that, yes, there could be extreme circumstances like that.

2 months ago 2 0 1 0

Oh, speaking specifically of its limits--a time of insurrection, or of facing active counter-revolution. For example, to have denied Trump a platform on January 6 while he was actively engaged in an attempted coup would have been entirely justified.

2 months ago 2 0 0 0

Also, permit me to say that, while we differ on this, I respect that you are willing to carry on this discussion on a fraught and important issue without resorting to cheap shots or personal attacks. That is rare on this medium.

2 months ago 2 0 1 0
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The principle that free speech, however hateful, is a human right, and short of extreme circumstances, we should not infringe human rights. Yes, there are exceptions; there are times when it is necessary to abrogate human rights, even the right to life. But they must be seen as rare exceptions.

2 months ago 2 0 0 0

Block your account? Yes. Fire the person? In a socialist society we attack such ignorance not with firing, but with education and social pressure. We do not use economic coercion to control speech--or, at least, that would be by my argument to my local soviet if the issue came up.

2 months ago 2 0 0 0

Yep. And we cannot rally support for our fight against that by saying, "Well, but it's okay to fire someone for speech in support of our enemy."

2 months ago 1 0 0 0

I disagree. It is not about our enemies--you are correct, they cannot be convinced. Rather it is about the working class. We must show we are worthy of trust by being worthy of trust, and that means maintaining our principles however unpleasant we might find it.

2 months ago 1 0 1 0

I strongly urge all of those who believe we should deny free speech rights to our enemies to google the Weimar Fallacy before you do any more damage to our fight against fascism.

2 months ago 20 4 3 0

There is no paradox of tolerance. It is a non-issue, because tolerance is not and never has been the central question. It is about using the weapons we have effectively. The oppressed battled long and hard for the right of free expression; this is the worst possible time to give it away.

2 months ago 2 0 1 0

I am not a free speech absolutist. However, it is not a question of what the right will do, nor is free speech a principle that stands above the class struggle. It is, however, an important weapon, and one we cannot effectively deploy while denying to our enemy.

2 months ago 1 0 0 0

I, like all other decent human beings, hate ICE with the passion of a thousand fiery suns. But I have to agree with Popehat on this. We cannot defend our right to free speech without also defending the rights of those who say things we find abhorrent.

2 months ago 30 3 3 0

Actually, that's pretty close.

2 months ago 4 0 1 0
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It’s day 70 of the ICE occupation of MSP.

ICE continues to terrorize our neighbors, there are still 2,000 agents here, even as the attention of the world has moved on.

When we say ICE OUT, we mean ICE out everywhere.

2 months ago 152 55 4 1

Mark Twain, a strong supporter of the Russian Revolution of 1905. famously said of the Czarist regime, "If such a government cannot be overthrown otherwise than by dynamite, then thank God for dynamite."

I wonder what he would have said of the US Government today.

2 months ago 17 6 0 0

Well, everything hasn't quite worked. LIGHTNING RUNES has slipped to April 16 for ebook and April 28 for dead trees. But you can still preorder. You won't be charged till it's out.

3 months ago 161 24 10 0

The comfort is in the millions now coming into the struggle for the first time. The work is preparing them for the difficult tasks ahead.

2 months ago 2 0 0 0

Anyone remotely in touch with reality knows we're beyond that, not because people are polarized, but rather people are polarized because it is impossible to deny the depth of the crisis, the inability of capitalism to meet human needs.

Socialism, or barbarism. Which side are you on?

2 months ago 31 4 1 0

That "sane, middle ground" was never possible, never reasonable, never realistic except in the short run; and the crisis of capitalism has now made that apparent to anyone without self-imposed blinders.

2 months ago 26 2 1 0