Mastodawn

There is the moral of all human tales;
   ‘Tis but the same rehearsal of the past,
   First Freedom, and then Glory — when that fails,
   Wealth — Vice — Corruption, — Barbarism at last.

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824) English poet
Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto 4, st. 108 (1818)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/byron/76512/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #byron #corruption #cycle #decadence #history #riseandfall #decline #declineandfall

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Canto 4, st. 108 (1818) - Byron, George Gordon, Lord | WIST Quotations

There is the moral of all human tales; 'Tis but the same rehearsal of the past, First Freedom, and then Glory -- when that fails, Wealth -- Vice -- Corruption, -- Barbarism at last.

WIST Quotations

Daniel Dvorkin Apr 30

A lot of what the regime does is driven by greed, of course. Make as much money as possible as fast as possible. But I'm increasingly convinced just as much of it is toddler-like gleeful destruction for its own sake.

https://blog.ucs.org/science-blogger/ten-vital-services-provided-by-noaa-beyond-the-national-weather-service/

#NOAA #Trump #DeclineAndFall

Ten Vital Services Provided by NOAA (Beyond the National Weather Service)

Far too much of the media coverage supporting NOAA only mentions one of many things they do: here are 10 more.

The Equation

Wen Apr 15

Trump is halfway to making America a police state

To some extent it always has been. A rag tag of local forces, often racist, badly trained and poorly run by elected police chiefs and judges. But now the constitution is being ignored by El Presidente as well.

'It seems a matter of time before other less besieged western legal systems hear petitions by US citizens for asylum. '

https://archive.is/20250415113443/https://www.ft.com/content/4c4b0f14-3e85-4436-94de-204d3f518f3c (archive)

#USPol #Policing #PoliceState #DeclineAndFall #FascistState

Wen Apr 13

Sayonara USA?

As (from the outside at least) the US seems to be deteriorating into #fascist state, it seems as though it will be one that has relinquished its admirable scientific heritage, not to mention one that is incapable of monitoring its own #environment or providing advanced warning of tumultuous times to come. The tech bros never learnt that their wealth came from #public funding of #science and is maintained by public #education.

http://archive.today/2025.04.12-014506/https://www.thetimes.com/us/american-politics/article/proposed-nasa-budget-cuts-would-plunge-agency-into-a-dark-age-lhgmbz

#USA #DeclineAndFall #Trump

tinydoctor Apr 4

I'm in a quandary. I'd buy tickets for this now--one of the first jazz albums I ever bought was Hancock's VSOP Ouintet album, back in ...'77. I'd love to hear Hancock playing with anybody live--but for all I know by November I may be a refugee or in hiding or...

#herbiehancock #jazz #livejazz #declineandfall

https://tickets.kentuckyperformingarts.org/24449?fbclid=IwY2xjawJc7DZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHlhTLWlpIePvGoVVBE1pGtVLvwES_KUP0PKUFHgUEbTzOHxjVesuS7S_vwTi_aem_lOEnAC6FbOgwprK9AINn8g&queueittoken=e_tnewsafetynet~q_aeea73c2-9f75-4189-a268-5c6234250380~ts_1743785371~ce_true~rt_safetynet~h_c89cd114247df38f31eb5eb81a6b0192fe26c2ed3111c9d43faedc3f26b282f1

Wen Mar 29

Analogies to the Nazis driving scientists and artists out of Germany before WW2 are apt.

Once upon a time I ‘did’ mathematics and science in a very welcoming and vibrant US. I left for other reasons, but this should scare the shit out of everyone.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/29/when-the-physicists-need-burner-phones-thats-when-you-know-americas-changed

#science #politicisation #DeathOfEmpires #DeclineAndFall #USPoli

When the physicists need burner phones, that’s when you know America’s changed

US academics, fearing persecution by their own government, are becoming ideological refugees. Europe, and Britain, must offer them sanctuary

The Guardian

Post-Punk.com Mar 27

Burn This Asylum — Lisbon Darkwavers Decline and Fall Debut Video for “As All Ends”

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://post-punk.com/burn-this-asylum-lisbon-darkwavers-decline-and-fall-debut-video-for-as-all-ends/

Burn This Asylum — Lisbon Darkwavers Decline and Fall Debut Video for "As All Ends" — Post-Punk.com

Decline and Fall is where the wires now hum for Armando Teixeira, a man who’s marched through Portugal’s musical underbelly for decades. From the skeletal mechanics of Ik Mux’s EBM to the industrial clang of Bizarra Locomotiva, from the sampled swagger of Da Weasel to the brooding elegance of Balla, Teixeira has long treated genre like clay: something to bend, break, and remake. His soundtrack work, which has won him three Sophia Awards, drips through screens across Portuguese film and television like ink in water.

Post-Punk.com

Tuckers Nuts Resist! 🇺🇦 Mar 22

"America's willful blindness to external reality is the defining symptom of a power in decline. Experience teaches us that empires don't recognize their fall until it's irreversible; by the time America finally peers beyond its borders, it will find a world that has moved on without it." --Joan Westenberg

https://www.theindex.media/the-new-world-order-is-here-and-america-isnt-part-of-it/
#InternationalOrder #WorldAffairs #JoanWestenberg #DeclineAndFall #TuckersBalls

The New World Order Is Here, And America Isn't Part Of It

The age of American centrality in Asian affairs is over.

The Index.

Nate Cochrane Feb 13

When the US is a smouldering, smoking husk of a ruin, how will you describe what it was like before the 'Mump' coup? Give it your best shot in the comments below. #DeclineAndFall

Bluesky

Bluesky Social

Waywords Studio Jan 31

𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: "𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗹" 𝗯𝘆 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆𝗻 𝗪𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵 -

Absurd and comedic satire on British "appearances" and class with plenty of lowkey digs at other topics along the way. Unfortunately, 100 years later, we are reminded that not all "humor" ages equally well.

https://buff.ly/3PWRDVm

#bookreviews #books #bookworm #readreadread #evelynwaugh #declineandfall #satire #britishhumor #absurdism

Review: "Decline and Fall" by Evelyn Waugh -

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