Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)

[unclevlad]

1 hour ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

Texan honor killing.  😡

 

Countless people said the state abortion bans would get women killed who didn't have to die. I don't think they factored in this possibility, though.

 

 

Or they did factor it in...as a nice little bonus.  Clearly, a woman getting an abortion is Not Our Kind of People, so at the least...who cares?  This is particularly true where they're aiming to make what the victim did, by traveling out of state, a crime in itself.  

 

They have clearly established the precedent that the life of the child has near-absolute priority over almost anything.  An event like this is rare, fortunately, but that means it's an acceptable consequence.

[BoloOfEarth]

4 hours ago, Ternaugh said:

 

There's a certain blindness that consequences will only happen to other people. 

 

 

 

Two things:

 

First, that was some SERIOUS overacting there.  I mean, really.  

 

Second, didn't someone do a riff on this, where before the guy can even finish telling them what happens, the person pushes the button.  And then repeatedly pushes it as the guy keeps trying to explain the whole thing.  (quick search)  Yeah, here it is.

 

 

[unclevlad]

The Funny or Die is really about selfishness.  Someone dying that you don't know, is of no consequence.

 

The TZ episode is a variant of the Monkey's Paw;  another parallel would be Farslayer, from Saberhagen's Swords books.  Pick a target, swing it round, recite a simple verse...Farslayer buries itself in the chest of your target.  Almost no defenses...one of the other Swords *might* block Farslayer, but nothing else.  The problem is...Farslayer stays buried in the target's chest.  There was at least one case of a Hatfield-McCoy Farslayer feud that obliterated the leadership of both sides.  

 

I wouldn't characterize it as "it won't happen to me" so much as making an unfounded assumption that the person to die, when you hit the TZ box, is picked randomly, so the risk to me, or anyone I know for that matter, is vanishingly small.  This is actually an example of a point about lying...the best lies come from telling part of the truth.  Yes, someone you don't know, will die.  Truth.  Lie by omission:  that it's the last person who used the button for profit.

[Old Man]

2 minutes ago, unclevlad said:

I wouldn't characterize it as "it won't happen to me" so much as making an unfounded assumption that the person to die, when you hit the TZ box, is picked randomly, so the risk to me, or anyone I know for that matter, is vanishingly small.

 

I mean, there are eight billion of you.  I think you're more likely to win the lottery.

[Lectryk]

39 minutes ago, unclevlad said:

The problem is...Farslayer stays buried in the target's chest.  There was at least one case of a Hatfield-McCoy Farslayer feud that obliterated the leadership of both sides.  

 

It is a Saberhagen book, he does get graphic sometimes - were there descriptions of digging a used Farslayer out of the chest(s) of victims?  Or did the blade regenerate like that cheesy Sword and the Sorcerer sword that had three blades that could shoot out?

[Old Man]

47 minutes ago, Lectryk said:

It is a Saberhagen book, he does get graphic sometimes - were there descriptions of digging a used Farslayer out of the chest(s) of victims?  Or did the blade regenerate like that cheesy Sword and the Sorcerer sword that had three blades that could shoot out?

 

That series wasn't terribly graphic that I recall.  You did have to pull Farslayer out of its last victim to use it though.  And IIRC the only defense against Farslayer was Shieldbreaker.  It's been like thirty five years since I read the series so I'm hazy on the details.

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

4 hours ago, BoloOfEarth said:

 

Two things:

 

First, that was some SERIOUS overacting there.  I mean, really.  

 

Second, didn't someone do a riff on this, where before the guy can even finish telling them what happens, the person pushes the button.  And then repeatedly pushes it as the guy keeps trying to explain the whole thing.  (quick search)  Yeah, here it is.

 

 

 

Re: 80s TZ overacting: yeah, pretty much the hallmark of that revival. 

 

Re: Video: That's one of my favorites. Best take on the story I've seen.  

[unclevlad]

Nope.  All the Swords were physical, if god-forged, blades.  They had to get taken out.  I don't recall any graphic depictions of doing so offhand, but it's been a while.  And the point was more about the near-inevitable consequences if it got back into circulation...it was being guarded there for awhile by one of the Important People in the books.  A Farslayer war was Mutual Assured Destruction, in a drawn-out kind of way.

 

The Swords are often pretty cool, but

--they're all quite literal

--and almost all of em have a Monkey's Paw aspect, or critical flaw.  Shieldbreaker makes you undefeatable in weapons combat...but you can't put it down until the battle's over, it draws upon your strength to operate, and...it does nothing against an unarmed person.  The Mindblade can control others, and make them your tools...until you stop using it.  Then their reaction flips.

[Sociotard]

Russian aircraft are having a no good ver bad day

Two Mi-8s, one Su-35 and one Su-34 were shot down in Bryansk region.

[Old Man]

4 minutes ago, Sociotard said:

Russian aircraft are having a no good ver bad day

Two Mi-8s, one Su-35 and one Su-34 were shot down in Bryansk region.

 

Note that Bryansk is 75 miles into Russia.  Word is that the Russians are so spooked by Storm Shadow that they're just shooting down any radar return they see, and this is all friendly fire.

[unclevlad]

Politico.EU says the Russians are hunting for saboteurs, too.  There were plenty of reports about sabotage to tanks last year, IIRC, so...this is plausible too.

[IndianaJoe3]

4 hours ago, unclevlad said:

I wouldn't characterize it as "it won't happen to me" so much as making an unfounded assumption that the person to die, when you hit the TZ box, is picked randomly, so the risk to me, or anyone I know for that matter, is vanishingly small.  This is actually an example of a point about lying...the best lies come from telling part of the truth.  Yes, someone you don't know, will die.  Truth.  Lie by omission:  that it's the last person who used the button for profit.

 

I wonder what would happen if you wished that the box vanishes forever immediately after it leaves your posession?

[wcw43921]

Why Is Stormy Daniels Always A "Porn Actress?"

[unclevlad]

13 minutes ago, IndianaJoe3 said:

 

I wonder what would happen if you wished that the box vanishes forever immediately after it leaves your posession?

 

Presumably nothing.  Why would something happen?  The box/button didn't give you any powers.

[Iuz the Evil]

14 hours ago, Old Man said:

 

Note that Bryansk is 75 miles into Russia.  Word is that the Russians are so spooked by Storm Shadow that they're just shooting down any radar return they see, and this is all friendly fire.

Possibly true, they’ve also been using glide munitions to fire at Ukrainian targets from within Russian airspace. I can see Ukraine looking at that as a reason to make them fair game.

 

Edit: I see Russia pulled back their report on shooting down “two Ukrainian jets” in the area. Looks like Friendly Fire incidents, Ukraine is having a field day. Impossible to know for sure, but sure looks like Russia hitting their own aircraft.

Edited May 14, 2023 by Iuz the Evil

[Old Man]

Rumors popping up on social that Lukashenko is already dead. 

[unclevlad]

23 minutes ago, Old Man said:

Rumors popping up on social that Lukashenko is already dead. 

 

We all know the value of material on social media, tho...

 

Reports appear solid that he's having a health crisis;  the events he didn't attend are very suggestive, but going beyond that is, I suspect, wishful thinking.

 

Feel free to join in on it..................

 

 

[Old Man]

14 minutes ago, unclevlad said:

 

We all know the value of material on social media, tho...

 

Reports appear solid that he's having a health crisis;  the events he didn't attend are very suggestive, but going beyond that is, I suspect, wishful thinking.

 

Feel free to join in on it..................

 

 

The point isn't so much that he might be dead, it's that social media will rush to fill an information vacuum with incredible speed.

[unclevlad]

14 minutes ago, Old Man said:

The point isn't so much that he might be dead, it's that social media will rush to fill an information vacuum with incredible speed.

 

.......anything for a Follow or at least a click

[Lord Liaden]

43 minutes ago, Old Man said:

The point isn't so much that he might be dead, it's that social media will rush to fill an information vacuum with incredible speed.

 

Gas usually does that.

[Cygnia]

11 hours ago, Old Man said:

Rumors popping up on social that Lukashenko is already dead. 

Any windows nearby?

[unclevlad]

Another incident.  A man with a baseball bat enters the offices of his Democratic congressman and assaults people.  2 are in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries...but that doesn't mean non-life-changing.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/15/politics/gerry-connolly-staffer-attacked/index.html

 

And ANOTHER (#$@$ shooting incident...in Farmington.  Shooter dead at the scene.

 

Not a good day.  Yet another Not A Good Day.

And in Florida, DeSantis continues his mission to ensure Floridians are exposed only to Approved Ideologies....signed a bill today to completely defund any diversity, equality, or inclusion programs at all Florida public colleges and universities.  There is a possible silver lining:  if he gets the Republican nomination, he's SO extreme that I think he'll get very much movement from any undecideds.  

He's making Trump look almost palatable.  One would never have conceived that to be possible.

[Lord Liaden]

On 5/13/2023 at 2:54 PM, unclevlad said:

 

They have clearly established the precedent that the life of the child has near-absolute priority over almost anything.

 

Until it's born.

 

54 minutes ago, unclevlad said:

He's making Trump look almost palatable.  One would never have conceived that to be possible.

 

I'm starting to wonder whether DeSantis is straight-up sadistic. A lot of his moves seem to have causing suffering as their main emphasis.

Edited May 15, 2023 by Lord Liaden

[Old Man]

12 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

Until it's born.

 

 

I'm starting to wonder whether DeSantis is straight-up sadistic. A lot of his moves seem to have causing suffering as their main emphasis.

 

Don't forget: the cruelty is the point.

 

Meanwhile, Lukashenko lives!

 

 

[Lord Liaden]

 I found this to be a fascinating insight into "intelligence operation" tactics in the context of the Ukraine war.