Published over a decade ago but Jeremy Scahill's book on Blackwater and the rise of Prince's mercenary-centric idea of warfare is worth a read.
This family and people like them are pure fucking evil. They give no fucks about the lives they destroy.
Read the book "Blackwater" if you want an idea. Also pretty relevant because it discusses a lot of Erik Prince's political views as well as the DeVos family. Disgusting to see Betsy DeVos in a position of power ESPECIALLY concerning education.
I agree, Vietnam had project 100k one of the most retarded programs we ever had. There this book about it called Mcnamara's folly. They took the low IQ, the drop-outs, the criminal and the intellectually disabled and decided they would be perfect candidates for fighting a brutal jungle war.
These soldiers couldn't tie their shoe, read, write, some of them had down syndrome and some didn't know the difference between left or right. There's cases where the officers either killed outright or "unintentionally" (through things like heatstroke during training), they couldn't deal with it. Some of the low IQ soldiers would fight back and kill their officers, throw a grenade on them. These soldiers make up nearly 10% on the Vietnam memorial wall. This is why things like the my lai massacre happened when you had inept soldiers with little reasoning skills fighting it.
The author btw is pro-millitary and defends the US government.
Except that few did anything heroic. Instead, they suffered far higher death rates than average I.Q. soldiers, and got normal soldiers killed around them as well.
"Many military men, including William Westmoreland, the commanding general in Vietnam, viewed McNamara’s program as a disaster. Because many of the substandard men were incompetent in combat, they endangered not only themselves but their comrades as well. Their death toll was appallingly high." https://www.amazon.com/McNamaras-Folly-Low-IQ-Troops-Vietnam-ebook/dp/B0108H60MG
"The low IQ soldiers were incompetent in combat, putting themselves and their comrades in danger. Inevitably, their death toll was appallingly high." https://www.veteranstoday.com/2018/11/01/mcnamaras-morons-vietnam-was-war-for-profit-american-lives-be-damned/
The world's foremost international relations experts, including, e.g., the extremely respected Graham Allison, are almost universally agreed that the international system is destabilizing and transitioning to a bipolar arrangement between two adversarial powers, China and the United States. There are obviously distinctions between this period and the Cold War, notably the very strong commercial ties that exist between China and the West. But even a brief perusal of the publications of Canadian foreign policy think tanks, of respected outlets such as Foreign Affairs magazine, etc., would indicate that the world is entering a period of substantially heightened strategic competition.
That said, whatever this athlete wants to do is her choice. She clearly has some family reasons for wanting to compete for China and honestly, it's not like track and field is of geopolitical significance.
And this is what the author intends to do with the book:
> It is not the intention of this book to be critical of Nehru, but historical facts, that have often been distorted or glossed over or suppressed must be known widely, lest the mistakes be repeated, and so that India has a brighter future.
Check out the book Kill Anything that Moves. It uses data collected by the US military about atrocities committed in Vietnam, all of which were covered up by the military. This involves individual acts by troops, but also policy by the higher ups. This is what makes people dislike the US military.
I think others have given you some good links to the ways the US destabilizes countries and overthrows legitimate governments.
If you are looking for Buddhism related books, I'm not sure I would recommend Alan watts, as he is not, nor ever claimed to be, a Buddhist, he mixes and matches a lot with a variety of traditions and i'm not sure you will not come away from him with any clarity regarding Buddhist teaching.
I'd recommend the classic " what the buddha taught" , which you can find pretty cheap on amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003OYIG00/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
or in pdf form : https://web.ics.purdue.edu/~buddhism/docs/Bhante_Walpola_Rahula-What_the_Buddha_Taught.pdf
There's a theory that this was not a mistake in the movie:
LOOOOOL ok Ryanna Ayub chill out. Bose went to the jerries and Japanese b/c they were brits enemies during the WWII not b/c he agreed with there war and domestic policies. Enemy of my enemy is my friend. Ever heard of that??? I guess not. Ok now run along and go spend time with cong youth leader Rahul Gandiji. Bose asked for Indian soliders who were taken prisoners in Europe and Asia to be added to is NIA to fight under his banner against Brit India LOOOOL hardly begging dumbass. More like a great plan to defeat your colonizers. While gandiji and Nehru were urging Indians to fight and die for the brits in WWI and WWII and expect independence as a reward. First independence is won and fought for not handed. Two this what begging looks like.
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Pls Rani Read book:
https://www.amazon.com/Nehrus-Major-Blunders-Rajnikant-Puranik-ebook/dp/B01J93IFWS
Educate your ass.
LOL yeah I am speaking of if bose had lived and won out, you do realize we got "independence" due his efforts and the NIA. NOT Nehur or gandiji. they were nothing but beggars who went around begging the brits for independence. As for Patel was actually elected by the congress assembly but your gandiji arm twisted them to make the idiot the PM. Bose winning out with NIA would have been a huge step for us would have had a proper leader who would have set us on the right path meaning no partition/PAKIs no mulla appeasement. Patel would have been just as good. Please read up on the actual facts not some bs.
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here
https://www.amazon.com/Nehrus-Major-Blunders-Rajnikant-Puranik-ebook/dp/B01J93IFWS
PRIME DAY
As a destroyerman myself, I highly recommend "Japanese Destroyer Captain" by Tamaichi Hara.
Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Midway - The Great Naval Battles as Seen Through Japanese Eyes https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CW0T4HQ/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_70MC1FYMK4GMYXBH527G
He was one of Japan's most successful destroyer commanders in WWII and helped pioneer long range night torpedo tactics before the war.
The obvious book from the American perspective is "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" but that's just one of the best history books period!
Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam
A book that all leftists should read IMO, alongside open veins of Latin America.
Nehru's 97 major blunders Link below - https://www.amazon.in/Nehrus-Major-Blunders-Rajnikant-Puranik-ebook/dp/B01J93IFWS
Is manushya ne itna sare bure kaam kiye hai ki iske upar ek Puri pustak uplabdh hai , plz read it
McNamara's Folly: The Use of Low-IQ Troops in the Vietnam War
One of my favorite stories about Vietnam, and what happens when you drastically lower entrance requirements.
I'm not a historian, and this isn't necessarily an unknown event, but I want to say this (book)[https://www.amazon.com/Rape-Nanking-Forgotten-Holocaust-World-ebook/dp/B005XQ973M] was really eye-opening for me. Mainly because we think of adults killing adults in these situations, but the Japenese killed baby's in very gruesome and unimaginable ways. That book was really sad, but I'm glad the history of the event was well documented and not swept under the rug.
The captain of the cruiser Yahagi, Captain Tameichi Hara, beat the odds and survived the war. His memoirs Japanese Destroyer Captain are an excellent read and glance into a side of the war most westerners don't hear about.
https://www.amazon.com/Kill-Anything-That-Moves-American-ebook/dp/B008FPSTOQ
kill anything that moves, very eye opening book on the massacres in Vietnam.
Not really sure about US Navy, but there are quite a few on the Japanese Navy that could be turned into a mini-series.
Japanese Destroyer Captain comes to mind for me - https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Destroyer-Captain-Tameichi-Hara-ebook/dp/B00CW0T4HQ
Gonna take this opportunity to post a book here.
https://www.amazon.com/Destined-War-America-Escape-Thucydidess-ebook/dp/B01IAS9FZY
Title sounds like paranoia, but IMO it isn't. It's not about how the US & China are going to definitely go to war, but rather all the issues that need to be addressed and different ideas on how to address them in ways that don't lead to a conflict.
Very good book, but admittedly I have no idea how other people generally view it.
How do you define a "single event"? Does Genghis Khan count? I really like this book about him and the influence the Mongols had over the direction of the world.
> Suppose that, in expectation, a candidate in this category will do an adequate job 99 times out of 100, but that the remaining 1% results in an actively abusive or harmful outcome. This is a field with a long tail of unacceptably harmful outcomes.
Here is a speech from the author of Mcnamera's Folly. From the amazon blurb:
> In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara were desperate to find additional troops for the Vietnam War, but they feared that they would alienate middle-class voters if they drafted college boys or sent Reservists and National Guardsmen to Vietnam. So, on October 1, 1966, McNamara lowered mental standards and inducted thousands of low-IQ men. Altogether, 354,000 of these men were taken into the Armed Forces and a large number of them were sent into combat. Many military men, including William Westmoreland, the commanding general in Vietnam, viewed McNamara’s program as a disaster. Because many of the substandard men were incompetent in combat, they endangered not only themselves but their comrades as well. Their death toll was appallingly high. In addition to low-IQ men, tens of thousands of other substandard troops were inducted, including criminals, misfits, and men with disabilities. This book tells the story of the men caught up in McNamara’s folly.
Some of the stories are horrific. Soldiers who couldn't tell their left from their right. Perimeter guards who shot their own soldiers.
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I have read The Art of Living, Waking Up, The Doors of Perception, and a handful of other literature in the last year that I have been exploring Buddhism. The book that I linked above is scholarly, but sober, clear, and practical. Everything about it is really incredible. It will give you a great view of the structure and meaning of Buddhism and pretty much covers all aspects of everyday thought.
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It can be a little dry at times, but I have read it twice in the last few months because it has been so helpful to my understanding.
Doing is not the only thing that happens. Sometimes intelligence just is the limiting factor. This was established in the Vietnam War.
For Genghis, Sebutai, and a good number of other Mongols, I just finished this book and would definitely recommend it. They (brilliantly, in my opinion) approached warfare in a way that reflected what they knew on the steppes: hunting and herding. Hunting tactics were employed when dealing with armed militaries, while herding strategies were used to control civilian populations.
https://www.amazon.com/Genghis-Khan-Making-Modern-World-ebook/dp/B000FCK206
Fair enough, cheers for the recommendation though. Is this the book you’re referring to? If so I’ll try and give it a read soon.
https://www.amazon.com/Destined-War-America-Escape-Thucydidess-ebook/dp/B01IAS9FZY
I really liked this book What the Buddha Taught it's pretty accessible to a newbie IF you're already comfortable reading stuff you have to go slow on and think about
Read the book What the Buddha taught and listen to Secular Buddhism and that should get you started in the right direction
Thoughts on Fukuyama? Should I look forward to your review of Destined for War by Graham Allison? edit: Kissinger reviewed it, as a reminder that he's still alive. And it got a blurb by Biden too.
I'm stalking you just briefly out of interest.
It really does sound like you've come a long way!
If you're interested in zen, r/zen may get kinda crazy about the Buddhism/not-Buddhism debate but knowing some stuff about it is helpful and out of books I've encountered I'd recommend the book What the Buddha Taught for a basic rundown of general concepts/terminology if you're brand new to it.
You don't actually need to memorize the eightfold path, six whatevers, four whatevers, and so on and so on, but having a working idea of how Buddhists talk about consciousness is a good thing to have.
You may already know that but I wanted to let you know just in case!