The AMK MP was right. MAS could have done better if it acted a little quicker.
Thinking about something I mentioned in the last rant and linking it with something from Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer, I realized that all non-believers of either Islam or Christianity (or any other similar religions) really burn in Hell for eternity, it must be extremely unfair for all American Natives who lived before the arrival of Europeans. They never knew anything about these religions! Yet with a simple rule like this, millions were condemned if there is even the tiniest sliver of truth in it, for no reason other than ignorance!
After reading about these people, I also find that they have one of the most tragic history in the world. Europeans did not wipe them out directly. Instead, it was the diseases they brought, like smallpox, that killed millions of them, weakening their infrastructure and eventually bringing them to the point that they could be easily toppled and destroyed by a few thousand Europeans.
And even before that, it is known that the Americas were never a fertile land. It was only with the advent of European colonization that the land was dramatically changed. I can't say if it was improved, but I can easily and correctly say much of what used to be, no longer is.
For example, the Indians ate mainly corn then. Corn was the easiest to cultivate in the poor soil. They also didn't have cows, chickens, pigs and etc. They did have buffaloes, but still, it must have been a horribly boring diet. Even their spiced cocoa drinks sound disgusting, and it was only available to the nobles!
Compare this with the ancient Egyptians, who lived in a very fertile area of the ancient world. Archaeological evidences show that the slaves who built the pyramids were paid in bread, onions and beer. B-E-E-R! They got fucking paid in beer! Apparently, onions were enough to supplement most of your nutritions. And personally, I find onions that are slightly cooked quite delicious. What kind of slaves were those?!? I guess how badly people are treated depends on the overall situation of the society.
But anyway, Europeans also brought their own bees, rats, diseases transmitted by rats and many other flora and fauna, which eventually took over much of the lands and replaced the local animals and plants, especially the plants, in many regions.
But not the jungles. Jungle soil is always some of the worst in the world. In every jungle, the soil is usually constantly being drained of nutrients and supplied with dead stuff to the limits. There is almost no surplus of anything stored in it. This is because everything in jungles are adapted to everything else, the soil included. By extracting as fast as dead stuff is converted to nutrients, the efficiency is maximised. There is no room for error after so many milleniums of doing the same thing. Therefore, it is very expensive to convert jungles into arable land after deforestation. Can be done, but not easy.
NTU Inspyre's Halloween chapter meeting was a refreshing experience for me. I've never been to any sort of Halloween party or anything similar, and going to a Halloween-themed meeting was something totally new. I didn't wear a costume there though. And it was interesting because I only know a few members there. Actually attending one of their meetings gave me an opportunity to both see what it's like over there and know other members.
The most important thing I noticed is that they aren't as formal as my club. In fact, if NTU TMC fears a General Evaluator (who evaluates the meeting as a whole), then Inspyre's greatest nightmare must be a GE. They don't seem to follow many protocols, like greeting the club president first before district officers. For example, though their Area Governor and club prez were present, they were often greeted together with everyone else in "ladies and gentlemen".
It was much more fun there than in our own meetings though. Maybe it was because everyone was more relaxed with this Halloween theme, but who knows? I need to attend another meeting to find out.
http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2008/10/23/11601_local-news.html
Holy fuck! This is a picture of spider eating a bird. Holy fuck! It can weave a web strong enough to catch a freakin BIRD! Apparently, this species of spiders can grow as large as a human hand. I believe they were referring to its body size excluding the length of its limbs.
Australia is scary.
No comments:
Post a Comment