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Grant writes about the The Fall of the Roman Empire, in his book by that title. He focuses on “the decay wrought by clinging to the alluring fantasy that past success guarantees future success, without any nasty sacrifices by the ruling elites.”
"Enmeshed in classical history, all [the Roman] can do is lapse into vague sermonizing, telling other Romans, as many a moralist had told them throughout the centuries, that they must undergo an ethical regeneration and return to the simplicities and self-sacrifices of their ancestors.
There was no room at all, in these ways of thinking, for the novel, apocalyptic situation which had now arisen, a situation which needed solutions as radical as itself. His whole attitude is a complacent acceptance of things as they are, without a single new idea.
This acceptance was accompanied by greatly excessive optimism about the present and future. Even when the end was only sixty years away, and the Empire was already crumbling fast, Rutilius continued to address the spirit of Rome with the same supreme assurance.
This blind adherence to the ideas of the past ranks high among the principal causes of the downfall of Rome. If you were sufficiently lulled by these traditional fictions,
there was no call to take any practical first-aid measures at all."
“Roman elites in Gaul were still writing letters to one another complaining of the breakdown of everyday life right up until the system collapsed.”
“I would say to my soul, O my soul, this is not the place of despair; this is not the time to despair in. As long as mine eyes can find a promise in the Bible, as long as there is a moment left me of breath or life in this world, so long will I wait or look for mercy, so long will I fight against unbelief and despair.”
-- John Bunyan
...to bomb Iran's energy network "back into the stone age," how will Iran respond?
Strategic jihad? Will they level central Washington with ten, explosive fifteen-passenger vans?
No, something far worse.
Iran announced today that it will strike the world’s most important energy facilities, located in Arab countries and Israel, all within range of Iran’s precision missiles, in response to any new US and Israeli strikes:
1. Ghawar Oil Field, Saudi Arabia, backbone of Saudi production, disruption puts 5%+ of world oil supply at risk
2. Abqaiq + Khurais, Saudi Arabia, 7M+ bpd throughput, world’s largest oil stabilization plant
3. Ruways Refinery + Zakum Oil Field, UAE, 2nd largest offshore oil field, 1M+ bpd
4. North Ghadir Gas Field + Ras Laffan LNG, Qatar, world’s largest gas field with 25% of proven reserves, 20% of global LNG trade
5. Burgan Oil Field, Kuwait, 67B barrel reserves, 2M bpd
6. Sitrah Refinery + Al-Mihaj, Bahrain
7. Leviathan + Tamar Gas Fields, Israel, ...
The Trump Administration has banned all new humanoid robots from China, which the FCC terms "unacceptable risks" to U.S. national security.
Many major robotic vacuum brands like Roborock and Ecovac are either based in China, or source parts from foreign countries — even iRobot's Roomba. Among other features, robot vacuums often have the ability to map your home, listen to conversations, and there have been security breaches that demonstrate the devices' vulnerabilities.
"Advanced robotic devices collect data that could be leveraged by malign actors to surveil Americans, enhance the capabilities of foreign intelligence services, or to remotely commandeer the robots," the FCC said. It cites several use cases for robots: guarding data centers and other "critical infrastructure" protection, manufacturing and "U.S. military dominance" that the FCC says illustrate the need to have a "secure domestic advanced robotics supply chain."
Earlier this year, the FCC banned imports of new ...
