Freebsd Fortunes 6: 518 of 2171 |
The entire work force of the Communist countries is sunjected to periodic
purges (called verifications in Newspeak). One of the most severe took
place in 1957 when Novotny, rattled by the Hungarian Revolution the year
before, tried hard to weed out "radishes" (red outside, white inside) from
all but insignificant positions. Any one of the following would often
result in the loss of one's job: Bourgeois or Jewish family background,
relatives abroad, contacts with former capitalists, having lived in a
Western country, insufficient knowledge of Communist literature, and others.
A man is interviewed by a "Verification Committee."
"What kind of family do you come from?"
"A rich, Jewish family."
"And your wife?"
"A German aristocrat."
"Have you ever been to the West?"
"I spent most of my life in England."
"How did you make a living there?"
"A friend supported me."
"Where did you get the money from?"
"He owned a textile factory."
"Who was Lenin?"
"Never heard of him."
"What is your name?"
"Karl Marx."
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Freebsd Fortunes 6: 519 of 2171 |
[The ERA] encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children,
practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.
-- Pat Robertson, Man of God and serious Republican
presidential aspirant.
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Freebsd Fortunes 6: 520 of 2171 |
The error of youth is to believe that intelligence is a substitute
for experience, while the error of age is to believe experience is
a substitute for intelligence.
-- Lyman Bryson
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Freebsd Fortunes 6: 521 of 2171 |
The eternal feminine draws us upward.
-- Goethe
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Freebsd Fortunes 6: 522 of 2171 |
The executioner is, I hear, very expert, and my neck is very slender.
-- Anne Boleyn
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Freebsd Fortunes 6: 523 of 2171 |
The explanation requiring the fewest assumptions
is the most likely to be correct.
-- William of Occam
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Freebsd Fortunes 6: 524 of 2171 |
The eye is a menace to clear sight, the ear is a menace to subtle hearing,
the mind is a menace to wisdom, every organ of the senses is a menace to its
own capacity. ... Fuss, the god of the Southern Ocean, and Fret, the god
of the Northern Ocean, happened once to meet in the realm of Chaos, the god
of the center. Chaos treated them very handsomely and they discussed together
what they could do to repay his kindness. They had noticed that, whereas
everyone else had seven apertures, for sight, hearing, eating, breathing and
so on, Chaos had none. So they decided to make the experiment of boring holes
in him. Every day they bored a hole, and on the seventh day, Chaos died.
-- Chuang Tzu
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Freebsd Fortunes 6: 525 of 2171 |
The eyes of taxes are upon you.
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Freebsd Fortunes 6: 526 of 2171 |
The eyes of Texas are upon you,
All the livelong day;
The eyes of Texas are upon you,
You cannot get away;
Do not think you can escape them
From night 'til early in the morn;
The eyes of Texas are upon you
'Til Gabriel blows his horn.
-- University of Texas' school song
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Freebsd Fortunes 6: 527 of 2171 |
The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence that it is not
utterly absurd; indeed, in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind,
a widespread belief is more often likely to be foolish than sensible.
-- Bertrand Russell, in "Marriage and Morals", 1929
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