What Led You to First Listen to BTS?
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Will the Germany led European Union be a Fourth Reich?
A lot of anti-EU propaganda (probably mostly Russian funded, though at some point it gains a life of its own) seem to think so, but I dont think it is.What it is a collection of treaties binding countries legally together. Some of these treaties include things like standard conditions for drinking water, what constitutes edible food, regulation of things like gas and oil, etc.
If the EU (its THE EU in English by the way: English has articles, much like other Germanic and Latin languages, but unlike some Slavic languages) is just a another German Empire than its a surprisingly toothless and benign one. Countries that flaunt EU laws may be fined and they may have funds aimed at stroking their economy withheld; but they are still reaping the lucrative benefits of living in a land without borders or much customs bureaucracy or tariffs.That is not to say that the Germany isnt a powerful player in the EU. It is. But the EU is not an extension of Germany and only lies from the East would make anybody believe that it was so. Literally no one but Russia benefits from a weakening of the European Union. Sure, its a bit of a mess but its no evil empire.
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What bands should I listen to if I like Rush, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd?
Both Zep and Floyd are at the pinnacle of the styles of music they played. They have a lot in common - they were virtuosic musicians making complex music in England around the same time.But their styles are utterly different; Zep were bluesy, rocky, ragged and loud, classic Floyd were not. Zep were guitar-led; Floyd were not, and Id suggest their classic (1970s) sound was all about Rick Wrights keys.And then theres Rush. Ive tried and tried and tried again to appreciate their music, which again is virtuosic and complex, but they leave me cold; I suspect its the vocals. So I struggle to put them in a basket alongside Zep and Floyd.
That aside, you seem to have a musical taste similar to me, so here goes with some more virtuosic (mostly) English non-mainstream music from the 70s and later, mostly prog. Youll see a lot of these names in other answers. In many cases there is a whole ecosystem of bands and performers which descended from them - these are the key names to begin with.
Alan Parsons, Camel, Cream, Flaming Lips, Genesis, Gong, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Marillion, Radiohead, Yes.Finally Id like to mention Greta Van Fleet - astonishing. Youtube them immediately
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Why is it so easy for people to believe in God?
I dont think it is necessarily easy at all.I remember being maybe seven or eight years old, lying on the grass on a very clear summer night looking up at the stars. I started to wonder how far away they were. A thousand miles? A million miles? A billion miles? A trillion miles? I started to feel dizzy like I was falling and spinning as the reality of the immenseness of everything donned on my young mind.How did it all get here? There had to be a unfathomably powerful Creator, I thought! I asked Who are you?Even though years later I came to know the Creator as a loving person who calls himself Jehovah, It was extremely difficult for me to believe that there are millions of angels besides the son of God existing in a realm beyond the physical.Yet they are real, and have existed since before the universe came to be. Is that easy for me to accept? Far from it! I struggled for probably 40 years to truly believe in the existence of angels. But Jesus came to earth to bear witness to the truth of unseen realities, having personally observed it all unfold as the Master Worker alongside his (and our) Eternal Father.God does not need you or I to believe in him. It is for our sake that he invites us to do so. And, as far as I know, nobody ever said it would be easy
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What led to the first Marvel/DC comic crossover?
In 1974, both DC and Marvel discovered that they were working on separate treasury-sized adaptations of THE WIZARD OF OZ. Marvel's was the one which appeared in August of 1975 as MGM's MARVELOUS WIZARD OF OZ, written by Roy Thomas and drawn by John Buscema and Tony DeZuniga. It was adapted from the 1939 MGM film which had been airing yearly since the '50s, and fell into the public image of the characters. DC's was going to be adapted from the 1902 book written by L. Frank Baum, and was going to be written and drawn by veteran DC artist Sheldon Mayer. Wind of Marvel's plan to publish their adaptation reached DC publisher Carmine Infantino, and after considering what a head-to-head confrontation of warring WIZARD OF OZ adaptations would do to sales of either one, got in contact with Martin Goodman at Marvel and worked out a deal in which, essentially, Marvel shared profits with DC to keep DC's version off the stands. Both Marvel's and DC's colphons appear on the cover, though DC had very little input at all in the finished comic. Part of the deal set up the next, and in this case, true Marvel-DC crossover, which was SUPERMAN VS. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, issued in April 1976. That one was written by Gerry Conway and drawn by Ross Andru and Dick Giordano, with various touch-ups by Neal Adams and John Romita to make the characters look a little more like the style guide, with the production almost entirely DC's. From that point until the final crossover, the production would alternate between companies
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What event or politician led you to switch political allegiances?
In 2000 I was living in NYC and was not registered to vote locally. I was registered in Illinois, and wasnt willing to drive 1000 miles to vote for either Bush or Gore.By 2004 I was fully aware of what a nightmare President Bush had been. I was between assignments, so I gave two months to internet propagandizing for John Kerry.I read about the election chicanery in Florida in 2000, and about the Supreme Courts Bush v. Gore decision that shut down the vote count in Florida, and about Jeb Bushs phony felons list in Florida that may have cost Gore 50,000 votes.
I sensed that the Iraq war was a fraud, and was much disturbed by the use of depleted uranium in Iraq. And I found out about the crooked computerized voting machines.Kerry and Edwards acknowledged that 2 million black votes fall through the cracks in a normal election, and pledged that they would see that every vote was counted.
And then guess what happened. After egregious election irregularities in Ohio, No-toes John Kerry caved in after a couple of days. It was left to the Greens and the Libertarians to raise the money for an Ohio recount.Later I learned from Lawrence Lessig about the corrupting influence of the legalized bribery of campaign contributions. The Democrats are up to their eyeballs in filthy money.Democrats can not be trusted. The Greens do not accept any corporate campaign contributions
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Has an increased access to almost infinite knowledge, caused partly by the Internet, led to shallowness and cynicism among this generation?
The Internet has given those, who view this world as a global school, an opportunity for growth. For those who are, on the contrary, opportunists, it has become a dark place to exploit.While the Internet is becoming a network for learning and exchanging ideas, it also raises barriers and opens doors. More choices. More connections. People can always engage anonymously in these shadows and find a lower common frame of reference. But people can also grow and mature without feeling trapped in their own culture. With open and accessible instant communication, some users will get hedonistic. Even as some will live in a shadowy world of self-absorption, the majority will learn and benefit from a border less community.The Internet is not the cause for cynicism, but rather a larger cultural aberration from using the Internet as an escape. In freeing yourself from interaction you can escape. You can enter an expanded reality of your own making. This is where a cynic finds nourishment and thrives. Alone. Leaving societal norms in their former, and now abandoned, real world.
It is not the Internet that is the change agent, it is the individual. It is his cyber-drug if you will. It is always the sum of human interaction, not the vehicle they use. Going to darker and more cynical places is a personal choice. Always.
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What led to the overthrow of the Ottoman sultanate in 1908?
The Ottoman Empire did not end until 1923 when the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed. I believe you are talking about the Young Turk Revolution against Sultan Abdlhamid II.For centuries, people believed that a king had the divine right and to rule and exercise all executive/legislative power. However, corruption and ambitions of these kings gradually turned people against the monarchs as there was almost no representation of the common people in some form of governance. By the 20th century, the ideology of enlightenment and nationalism took significant hold into the common people and it was gradually demanded throughout Europe that the power of a monarch be reduced and that people should be able to participate as well.Abdlhamid II still believed in this policy of divine right to rule. Yes, he did do a lot of contributions to the Empire such as building the Hejaz railway or reducing the national debt, but he was still to some degree autocratic. In addition, the Ottoman constitution of 1876 was abolished by him and parliament was dissolved so that Abdlhamid could rule with his absolute power.Because of this, Abdlhamid was held in unfavourable views especially by the Young Turks or other nationalist groups who felt they may have been restricted in power (evidently when Abdlhamid dissolved the parliament). Therefore, in 1909 Abdlhamid was overthrown by politicalized sectors in the army and a new government was installed
