Christopher

Except Lybia was a proper NATO Mandate, not some custom American action without International approval. So was the ending of the Mandate. There was never even a ground invasion, only air support:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_military_intervention_in_Libya
 
And even despite all taht, Trump somehow manages to make it worse:
 
Trump is a Troll. Distraction is Troll tactic 101. This action was expected.
 
I would prefer a Euroean Nuclear Arsenal. France already has a decent one (people often forget that).

The Legitimate part is where it all lies.
Claiming Obama got campaign money from ISIS or was not born in Hawai is clear rightwing bullshit.
6 of the 8 Investigations into Bengazhi had no reasons to exist.
 
A thought I once had in the Bush Jr. days crosses my mind:
The US needs a Republican to start problems (Iraq War, now Israel Conflict)
That a Democrat has to fix.
So you can blame the Democrat for his reallife solutions (Obama made more dronestrikes).
And can vote for a Republican next time.
 
We have somethign similar in germany:
The conservate Government delayed a rework of the pension and social secutiry systems for 16 years.
So the socialists had to do it. So everyone was pissed as the socialists and the conservatives got elected again after 8 years.
 
This pattern of convervatives creating problems that the others have to fix so the consveratives get re-elected next time is really getting tiresome.

The Legitimate part is where it all lies.
Claiming Obama got campaign money from ISIS or was not born in Hawai is clear rightwing bullshit.
6 of the 8 Investigations into Bengazhi had no reasons to exist.
 
A thought I once had in the Bush Jr. days crosses my mind:
The US needs a Republican to start problems (Iraq War, now Israel Conflict)
That a Democrat has to fix.
So you can blame the Democrat for his reallife solutions (Obama made more dronestrikes).
And can vote for a Republican next time.
 
We have somethign similar in germany:
The conservate Government delayed a rework of the pension and social secutiry systems for 16 years.
So the socialists had to do it. So everyone was pissed as the socialists and the conservatives got elected again after 8 years.
 
This pattern of convervatives creating problems that the others have to fix so the consveratives get re-elected next time is really getting tiresome.

Of course he did. The first stupid thing like this happened before he was even in office, when he called Taiwan. Ignoring that whole "One China" thing.

The Force really, really wants to be with you.

Maybe rewatch it again, especially the Directors Cut? For some reason DC Films are really plagued by too many scene being cut. As I german I usually get a less cut version and those extra scenes make all the difference.
 
I really liked that the trailers had a lot of "false flag" scenes in the Trailers, that did not make it into the movie. That keeps the story a lot less predictable for me, especially the later part. I jsut watched it today, so I will try to use my favourite lines (and the associated scenes).

Batfleck:


 
Flash:



Superman:


 
Diana:


 
Aquaman:


 
Cyborg:

Champions - Return to Edge City - Professional Stalkers
Flux: Speaking of supervillains...
Fireflash: We're superheroes. Even if sometimes it doesn't seem like it.
Hero Shrew: Honestly we're just another gang.

GM: I'm going to - and I can't believe I'm saying this - going to assume basic level competence from Gareth Lowell (Hardlight).

Basically Hardlight is doing some solo investigation into Edge City's mystic shit, without involving Flux, because he doesn't want to endanger Flux's secret identity. One of the people he discovers is one Elsa, who overdresses for a Californian summer.

GM: No Frozen jokes please.

Hardlight hires Elsa to carry on the mystic investigation.

GM: Flux wants to stay low-profile. And LoCarb is more -
Flux: Let It Grow, Let It Grow?
GM: I thought I said no Frozen jokes.

Hardlight also notes that somebody, a red-headed young woman, seems to be keeping tabs on Elsa.

Flux: Well, we know she isn't a vampire.
Hero Shrew: Could be a daywalker.
Flux: Well in that case we're fucked.
Fireflash: Could be a Daewooker, which are vampires that can go out in daylight but only in Korean cars.

The mystery woman does dress quite like one of Elsa's associates, but it's the chrome studs and logo on her denim vest that might identify her for us. If we can get a better photo. Hardlight calls in the rest of the superteam.

Hardlight: Time for a meeting of the Knitting Club.
Hero Shrew: I've learned to purl.
Flux: Of course Scooter is the one who doesn't realise 'Knitting Club' is code.
Hardlight: You do realise that you're the only one who comes to these things and actually knits, right? And you're knitting with rebar.
Flux: Where did you get that rebar?
Hero Shrew: *shrugs* I forget.

Hero Shrew: So we're working from bad photos and your hunch.
Fireflash: We've worked from worse.
Flux: Yes, and if I recall correctly we ended up in a sewer.

Hardlight: Can we use the photo to make some kind of empathic link?
Flux: ..... ....
Hero Shrew: You're just making stuff up at this point, aren't you?
Flux: Why don't we just follow the person who's being followed so we can follow the person who's doing the following?
GM: Did you follow that?

Flux shadows Elsa and what seems to be her girlfriend, Misty, and notices a few things, Misty seems to have a wandering eye, which may bode ill for the relationship, and whoever is supposedly shadowing them is invisible.

Flux: I may have been misinformed about the situation.
Hero Shrew: Or Hardlight is just paranoid.
Flux: EVERYBODY says that.
Hardlight: Wait, they do? Who says that?

Elsa IS doing magic whenever she and Misty think they aren't being watched, but they're really bad a spotting observers.

Hero Shrew: No wonder this mystery red-head is following them around. I mean, if I saw somebody turning invisible and visible again and conjuring novelty bondage chains around her girlfriend, I'd want to know what the hell is going on too.

They also walk from one end of town to the other. Flux finally spots the red-headed pursuer when she steps out in front of him - she was somehow following Elsa and Misty without needing a line of sight on them. The logo on her vest is a rearing cobra.

Hero Shrew: Not Disco Stu then.

The redhead is making notes on a PDA - not a FreeWeb device - but doesn't seem to be using obvious magic or technology to follow Elsa and Misty.

Flux: So all we actually have is that she's being mildly creepy following Elsa and Misty around.
Hero Shrew: So she's mildly creepy for following them around? Remind me what you're doing again?
Flux: Following the creepy girl around.

Elsa and Misty eventually go back to their hotel. The redhead leaves on a motorbike she had parked nearby.

GM: She's Comeliness 18 and maaaybe goes to college.
Hero Shrew: *deadpan*Yeah, not creepy at all.

Of course, Hero Shrew, Hardlight, and Fireflash lost interest in the pursuit hours ago - Hero Shrew needs sleep before he starts his night shift at the strip club, Hardlight has a civilian ID to maintain, and Fireflash has a RPG session to get to. Flux texts Fireflash to get the redhead's plates run - her motorbike comes from Michigan, and is registered to one Megan Grey, out of Millennium City.

Hero Shrew: Ah. The thing you need to know is that Millennium City is filled with rats in capes.
Flux: Huh?
Hero Shrew: Ubiquitous supers.
Flux: But you don't wear a cape.
Hero Shrew: I'm not a rat, either. You don't see me making a big deal about it.

Megan is a private investigator.

Hero Shrew: So she's not a stalker, she a PI. I guess that makes her a professional stalker.


Doesn't explain how she's following them without line of sight though. She's also a decade older than she actually looks. And her vest logo is the old of the Cobra Lords, a rather alarming westside gang in Millennium City. At this point the game derails because the GM and Flux's player get distracted by photos of Allison Scagliotti.

Flux: And we don't have our own vehicles to follow her. Which is probably just as well - picture Scooter on a scooter. The jokes write themselves.

Flux sends his own photos to the others. The redhead looks very familiar to Hero Shrew, since he just just let her into the strip club, where she's quietly playing steel guitar in one of the corners.

Flux: Oh dear.
Hero Shrew: 'So, what's it like, being a PI?'
GM: Please don't - you don't have the Disad 'Clueless'.

Hardlight points out that Flux can always go into the club himself, and buy the redhead a drink.

Flux: I hadn't thought of that.
GM: I know, you keep forgetting social interactions are a thing. And the rest of you keep letting him.

Hardlight: Scooter, do you have social skills?
Hero Shrew: Sure, but I'm working. And I'm not human.
GM: You think that matters? She's just come to a furry tittybar.

When the redhead leaves, Scooter notices something else. When she came in her hair was merely red. When she leaves it's an improbable fire-engine red. So she's clearly got high-end training and Image Inducer tech. Who the hell are are we dealing with here?
 

Betrayal At The House On The Hill: Rick and Morty Halloween Special
Played Betrayal At The House On The Hill for Halloween, with the usual bunch of weirdoes. Naturally, since the game involves exploring a troperiffic Creepy Old Mansion, we played them Rick, Morty and Summer, and two slightly more expendable NPCs, such as the suspiciously innocent little girl, and the sports jock.

Rick: Twenty bucks says he dies first.

Morty: Ah jeez, Riiick, my flashlight is going out!
Rick: That's impossible, Morty, that flashlight is powered by a collapsing star.
Morty: Then maybe it's finished collapsing?
Rick: That doesn't make the slightest scientific sense, Morty.

Despite Rick explicitly warning everybody not to split up, the party promptly did. Since Rick never expected any better, he presses on to the Master Bedroom alone to catch whoever is behind the creepy and architecturally impossible building, and reemerges dragging an demented and raving alternate Rick.

Rick: Anybody even remotely surprised to find out this guy is behind the Overlook Hotel here?

The impossible architecture includes an elevator that keeps reappearing at random places around the house.

Rick: Calm down Summer, it's only a Class Four Wonkavator.... barely Class Four.

Rick: We're going to get through this Morty! Do you trust me? Do. You. Trust. Me!
Morty: No!
Rick: Good, you can't trust anybody.

Especially not when Rick turns himself invisible and starts hunting the rest of the party down. Of course, it turns out that the killer Rick was the architect all along, and had drugged and switched clothes with Rick Prime when they were separated from everybody else.

Real Rick: What, none of you BRRAARRP figured out he was the fake? Nice to know who I can rely on.

Something that the DCEU definitely has up on the MCU is the Music.
The only part that comes even close are the Guardians Movies and even they are not quite on the same level as these:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fctMc6SxVFY
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4OdIOGBW2Q
 
Usually the only songs that manage to carry that much emotion for me are the Original Soundtracks of games. Because there I have the interactive experience and story memory embedded with the song.

A cessna private aircraft has a ceiling of 13,500 feet. See:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_172

good god these people are true idiots. foir a fraction of what he spent on this suicide ride he could have chartered a cessna and gone like 7x higher.

1800 feet?! I can get higher than that by standing next to my neighbor's window in summer and inhaling...
 

I will be honest: With this name I expected a Superintelligent Gorilla. Took me 2 readings to realise she was a human.

At least 9 months like human babies? We can asume slightly slower growing up as result of longer life expectancy (that is a fantasy trope).
V spend longer studying Level 1 magics then most other members of the OOTS are alive. It is just one of the many wierdnesses of the D&D settings.

Velvet Reaper
 
In Folklore reapers carry two weapons for reaping: A sickle for the common folk. A sword, for royalty*. However there is a partial missinterpretation of things in that Folklore. Due to them being based of previously reaped souls, it is usually possible to block or imprision a common reaper. As people have been trying "cheat death" literally since the start of human history, such indicents became very common. Any such "blind spots" could cause issues with the balance of souls. And there were even cases where reapers themself became corrupted, taking the reaped souls for themself and using them to become too powerfull for any normal reapers. That is where the living reapers come in.
 
Every "common" reaper has a sense for people that might become a living reaper and are tasked to accordingly reap them with the sword, when their time comes. For most cases those people still just go to the afterlife. Not every prospect is a instant win. Usually it is those candidates that "have something worth living for" that are the most likely to become a living reaper.
Being a living reaper has a number of perks, but also disadvantages:
they effectively have another shoot at live. By all rights (down to having a Reaper come for them) they should be dead anyway. Wards against normal reapers do not apply to them. While there are special wards against them, their living nature allows them to think "outside the box" to overcome those. As they are still alive, it is entirely possible to kill them. And doing so usually ends their career and sends them straight to the afterlife, usually without becomming a normal reaper They are practically cursed to the job or a quick death, if they want it or not. People that try to cheat death naturally want to see them dead and developed tricks or even senses to detect them. Some of the oldest entities might even be to powerfull to be normally overcome by a living reaper As they are not quite dead yet (they only had a "brush with death" from their contact with the sword) they miss all the usual reaper powers, so they have to complement them with equipment: The purple Robes seemingly made of velvet (both ancient signs of Royalty) give them protection. They come with a build in mask and even a enchantment to "hide the face in impenetrable shadows" as long as they want and there is even a bit of natural shadow. This is a very powerfull protection against having their identities revealed and it even works into the modern age of cameras The "Soul Sickle" is actually just a holder for the Latern and ceremonial weapon, not a combat weapon. This latern allows them to see souls and normal reapers in their surrounding. As they are still alive, they lack any of the special senses unreaped souls and normal reapers have Most importantly for the job however are the "trinkets". These small items can store the other gear and even store their personal gear. They are usually related to their cause of death and/or reason of wanting to stay alive (engagement rings, memorial lockets, etc.). The rest of their equipment is unique and stored in the remaining trinkets. As such their nature varries highly between any two living reapers
  One current Living Reaper goes by the living name of "Purple Velvet". And no, that is not a joke. Apparently Velvet is a old family name for Velvetmakers. And her parents really were into the rockband Deep Purple when they picked the name. Her "unfillfilled wish" was to become a Hero herself. Her trinkets are a locket of with a image of her mother - who died in childbirth - and a limited edition Defender Fanclub Ring (again, no joke).
Accordingly she is very active in the superheroic scene (usually relying on the Powers provided by the Ring), on top of her normal "duties". Interestingly living reapers have no issues with "nobody should have survived that" or "resurrected" cases. Apparently those people were not actually fated to truly die that moment. Unfortunatley she also can not tell if the person is still alive or who will die when, as that is something normal Reapers will simply not discuss.
 

*To be honest I have issues finding that now. I am pretty sure I read it in Terry Pratchet but I have issues finding a reference now. It is also something Royals would totally talk themself into believing.

Manson was a sad pathetic little insane  man who spent about 75% of his life in prison and died in it. There was no mystique to him. He had some form of charisma that appealed to a pack of mixed up alienated teens and used it to make himself into a little god to lost children. His whole life out of prison was a sad pathetic quest for attention and relevance. His plans for a race war were incredibly stupid and all he'll be remembered for is creating a lot of misery and suffering for his victims and those who followed him and ended up in prison forever too. In the end he suffered nearly 50  continuous years in a cold, hard, uncaring, grey steel and concrete warehouse waiting to die surrounded by people who had no real feeling for him. He never even had his mother's love from what's known of his early life. 
 
Personally I'm glad he's finally free of the insane, miserable, loveless, empty suffering of his life.

Maybe rewatch it again, especially the Directors Cut? For some reason DC Films are really plagued by too many scene being cut. As I german I usually get a less cut version and those extra scenes make all the difference.
 
I really liked that the trailers had a lot of "false flag" scenes in the Trailers, that did not make it into the movie. That keeps the story a lot less predictable for me, especially the later part. I jsut watched it today, so I will try to use my favourite lines (and the associated scenes).

Batfleck:


 
Flash:



Superman:


 
Diana:


 
Aquaman:


 
Cyborg:

I will be honest: With this name I expected a Superintelligent Gorilla. Took me 2 readings to realise she was a human.

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0043.html
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0044.html
AND
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0079.html
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0082.html

I'm a high-school teacher. It's damn sure not the first option.
 
Dead End Job:
Fast food worker vs. Telemarketer 
 

Given Valkyrie's affection for Hulk, I was thinking after the movie that there should be a love triangle where Valkyrie loves Hulk and Black Widow loves Banner. 

Nur Al-din Ali is a fighting man from another world, where the society of al'Kitab alf Laylah wa Laylah (the Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night) is actuality, including ill-tempered sorcerors and vengeful Djinn. To lay with a wizard’s concubine is a dangerous thing, even with the wizard’s permission; he did not have that permission, and was forced to flee, along with that concubine. Yet his flight was overly headlong, and though he knew it not, he broke an ancient bottle that held a mighty Djinni, who was pleased to be free but very irritated at the loss of his home. As he begged for his life and that of his companion, the wizard caught up with the pair, and wrought a mighty charm to fling the faithless concubine and the betraying guest into a thousand other worlds. But the Djinni interfered, and so they were flung away, into a far different world. Something in the translation altered his armour and his weapons; they are seemingly indestructible, and the armour can at least blunt any strike, and the blades can cut, it seems, anything, at least slightly. Particularly hard, strong materials can only be scratched. Beyond this, he is simply a very capable fighting man; his goals are quite simple: find Anis al’Janis, the concubine with whom he lay and thus started this whole mess, and return them both home. It has not yet occurred to him that Anis might want to stay.

Episode 8: The Battle
 
This episode saw extensive use of Mind Control. Damon Bok had set a Trap to avenge his son: Finding the USS Stargazer, he procured 2 Mind Alteration Devices (one main and a relay) and faked a personal Logentry by Picard. The he requested the presence of the Enterprise, to wich Starfleet Command obliged. Only to let them wait for 3 days, while the devices were doing their work. He then revealed the Stargazer, where he had placed the relay device among Picard belongings. Wich he took to his cabin as planned.
He then controlled Picard into releasign the Stargazer, and soon after boarding it. He was under a Illusion that made him think he was back in that old battle with the Enterprise as enemy, wich would result in him trying the Picard Maneuver on teh Enterprise. Something Riker had to responed to save the ship or find a way to stop it without killin the captain.
 
Enterprise vs Stargazer:
This was not really a fair fight. While the Computer had been modified by Bok to respond to Picard Commands (to simulate the Old Crew), it no longer hard torpedoes and his plan was predictable due to the levels of Peotic Justice Bok wanted to maintain. Data was able to find a way to stop the Stargazer using the Tractor beam (wich would also decrease accuracy) and reinforcing the shields where the gazer would hit. But luckily that last part was never nessesary.
 
Faking the Log:
The faked log where Picard admitted he did not act in self defense was well made on the Audio level - no signs of tampering there. However some of the timestamps/checksums did not match up.
The Log was used to trick the 1st Ferengi Officer into thinking Picard was a evil guy. That did not last long ocne Riker revealed the truth.
The Log entry (while not prooven wrong) required Riker to send a report to Starfleet. However the Transmission time was about 1/2 day both ways, giving them about a day to "figure that out".
The log might have been complimentary to the mind control. Picard admitted "not being sure" anymore of whatwas real.
 
Mind Alteration Device:
- Deana was incapable of noticing the mental attack. Meanwhile the Sensors of the Enterprise could detect it on higher settings and idneed Wesley noticed them by accident. It is noticeable that they later establish that Ferengi are inherently immune to Telepathy as practice by Betazeds. So it was likely operating in the Radio, rather then the Mental Sense Group. This would account for it having issues working "into" the Enterprise.
- The range was extremely limited. The main device was placed on Bok's Ship in a laboratory.  However he flew in formation with the Enterprise D the entire time, keeping only a few hundred meters of distance at tops. In the middle her relied on the Relay Device. At the end he actually palced the main device on the Stargazer Bridge.
- The relay device was a smaler version of the main device. It was not exactly inconspicous. The only way he got Picard to take it with him, was by placing it in a chest, among his belongings on the Stargazer and preventing him from ever looking into it. Once they did look, it was easily found.
- One can roughly seperate the effect into 3 Phases:
Phase had Picard complaining about headaches and poor sleep. Possibly in the skill roll penalty area. Phase had Picard hallucinating. The headaches could be weaponized (hitting him so hard, he did not look at his belongings further and just had them brought to his cabin). In this phase Dr. Crusher noticed odities in Neural Scans Phase was reached when picard went to bed after having brought the Relay to his cabin. This allwoed full halucinations and control. Picard was not able to attack Bok when he stood right in front of him explaining his plan, the device in arm. At this point the Wesley noticed it on the Ship Sensors. - the device was single-target only. It hit picard and only picard. It is possibly that it must be adjusted to one specific brain. Possibly Bok got enough old Scans from the Stargazers Medical to start the process, then finetune it over the first 3 days
- It seems the device also provided a neural Scan, similar to what Dr. Crusher had near the end.
- apparently it is not suiteable for fully automatic sequences. It seems even in Phase 3, Bok had to relay general orders via the device. Even just being stuck by teh Tractor beam in the middle of hte Picard Maneuver allowed Picard to be talked into shooting the device by Riker. It is possible the device was not working so well thanks the Picards high resistance to mental attacks and torture
- the device was forbidden even among Ferengi, but Starfleet had no knowledge of it. Indeed it was enough for the timid 1st officer of the Ferengi to go and put Bok into the Brig. And we later learn Bok lost his Damon (Captain) License over this.
- it is entirely possible that Bok simply dragged this out so long for other reasons, including the Stargazer not being in range (yet) or because he was very vindictive
 
Build:
I would say a multipower with Mental Blast and Mind Control. In the beginning Bok kept it on a low Mental Blast setting to cause longterm Headaches. Possibly he was trying to determine Picards level of Mental Defenses. With the Relay device, he went for full on STUN damage, possibly beyond CON levels. He used this to force Picard not looking closer at his stuff.
I can not tell if the Illusiosn were actually Mental Illusions as a form of alternate setting,  Mental Illusiosn used Complimentary to the Mind Control due to nessesity or just the special effect of the mind control
Thought Alteration Device Mode Proper Mental Power; Affected and Detected as Radio Group. Inobvious Attack (was hard to detect on low settings), Inobvious Effects (was hard to detect the changes in Picards brain on low settings).

... That is irate. An irate ingrate irradiated tardigrade kaiju.

A Zombie Star (original posted on teh other news Thread):
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-41916738