Pattern Ghost

You're right; threatening to withhold money from a foreign government isn't a crime.  And it does happen all the time.  What doesn't happen all the time is for US presidents to blackmail foreign governments for personal political gain in direct violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 as well as other federal statutes against bribery, misappropriation, and conspiracy.
 
The confusion is understandable, of course, since there's a concerted effort in certain circles to obfuscate what's happening.  The talking points I've seen so far are "But Biden is guilty" (irrelevant); "State leaders do this all the time", (not exactly, see above); and "It's a deep state conspiracy!" (come on, man).  In reality, America is a nation of laws, Trump is not above the law, and he has broken laws intended to prevent US elected officials from soliciting foreign help to interfere in elections.  If he genuinely felt Biden was guilty of something, the proper thing to have done was ask the FBI to look into it and stayed out of it while they did so.  It is the FBI who has jurisdiction over crimes committed by Americans overseas, not the Ukrainian police.  Trump also cannot arbitrarily withhold or redirect public funds--it is a violation of the Constitution for him to do so, as Congress is solely endowed with the power of the purse.
 
You're also right in that Trump should be impeached not just for Ukraine but for everything else he's done--public obstruction of justice, flagrant violations of the emoluments clause of the Constitution, and sexual assault, at least.  I mean, none of this rises to the level of a BJ in the Oval Office, but still. 

I also have better taste in hats.

Troll was pure awesome. I don't really see how they could improve it, save for having better SFX.

Troll was pure awesome. I don't really see how they could improve it, save for having better SFX.

Damn.
50 is way too young (Says a guy getting there)
 
I adored the character development of Nog. They took what was at best a 'dead end kid' character from a previously joke species, and developed his storyline into an amazing immigrant experience where he took what was best from the culture of his heritage and used it to make his way into the culture of his choice.
 
Aron Eisenberg has said of Nog, "The thing that I thought they did so well with Nog was that they didn't make him perfect. He joined Starfleet with the determination and the tenacity to succeed, but he didn't always make the right decision, but he always kept trying again. And I always felt that Nog was one of the most Human characters on that show."
 
 
 

I'm of the opinion that a lot of bad movies could be salvaged
 
One of my own guilty pleasures I'd like to see redone would be the 1986 movie "Troll" 
Now there has been talk of this, mostly capitalizing on the fact the hero of the story was named "Harry Potter Jr.!" 
But I don't think for one Minute Rowling took the name from this despite what the makers of the 1986 film claimed.
 
The idea of a troll remaking an entire apartment complex into his fairie kingdom? A young boy the only one at first aware of his sister's possession, and a witch in the apartment on the top floor? Oh the CGI alone would be worth it as a fun flick
 
 
 

I think this could work if you were running it as a turn-based strategy with autorun option, and running a super team instead of solo. Kind of like Baldur's Gate or Divinity: Original Sin crossed with Freedom Force conceptually.

The Starship Troopers I read was a thick pro-fascist political lecture bookended by two chapters that vaguely depicted powered armor. But someone should make a movie that’s true to the source material so people will finally realize this. 

The obvious answer is anything Hollywood screwed up the first time around. Avatar the Last Airbender. Eragon. Earthsea. Lightning Thief. Ghost in the Shell. 
 
To follow on with PG’s point, someone ought to make a Highlander sequel sometime. 
 
Edit: almost forgot—The Dark Tower. 

Looker, by Michael Crichton.  Its about a company scanning real models and actresses to use in computer simulations, then killing them so they don't have to be paid.  In the ages of deepfakes and CGI, its just begging for an update.

I've lived in a lot of rural areas, and this isn't necessarily the case. I've also lived and worked in several major cities, and have seen quite a number of highly educated boneheads in that environment. The real issue, IMO, is that the VAST majority of people make major decisions based on emotions rather than facts or sound reasoning. City mice are NO better in that regard than country mice.

I've lived in a lot of rural areas, and this isn't necessarily the case. I've also lived and worked in several major cities, and have seen quite a number of highly educated boneheads in that environment. The real issue, IMO, is that the VAST majority of people make major decisions based on emotions rather than facts or sound reasoning. City mice are NO better in that regard than country mice.

I've lived in a lot of rural areas, and this isn't necessarily the case. I've also lived and worked in several major cities, and have seen quite a number of highly educated boneheads in that environment. The real issue, IMO, is that the VAST majority of people make major decisions based on emotions rather than facts or sound reasoning. City mice are NO better in that regard than country mice.

I've lived in a lot of rural areas, and this isn't necessarily the case. I've also lived and worked in several major cities, and have seen quite a number of highly educated boneheads in that environment. The real issue, IMO, is that the VAST majority of people make major decisions based on emotions rather than facts or sound reasoning. City mice are NO better in that regard than country mice.

I've lived in a lot of rural areas, and this isn't necessarily the case. I've also lived and worked in several major cities, and have seen quite a number of highly educated boneheads in that environment. The real issue, IMO, is that the VAST majority of people make major decisions based on emotions rather than facts or sound reasoning. City mice are NO better in that regard than country mice.

Well, I consider such an allegorical story from Plato to be the equivalent of a folklore/mythology mashup. I put the story of Atlantis in the same category as Arthurian legend, which is to say folklore/myth. Scholars are of course free to quibble with my terminology, but I think everyone grasps what I mean.

The helmet was made by Harmon Labs.

The latest official visual for the Champions Universe character, James "Defender" Harmon, as designed by Cryptic Studios for Champions Online:
 

 
The fact his face and neck are apparently exposed by his armor has been the subject of much criticism and jokes.

It did sound like Boris, though.

I am not a fan of the NRA, but I think this is a mistake.

Even if the policy is walked back, it serves the spiteful purpose of cruelty and fear. But as Ranxerox says, it's also deeply stupid. The radio report I heard noted that it could affect noncitizens who serve in the US military, of which there are more than a few. If I understood correctly, existing law says if their children are born on US military bases, they are considered born on US soil.
 
Well, we can't have that, now can we? Those cunning foreigners, taking advantage of our laws by following them! So we're going to frighten, anger and alienate people who have shown by their deeds that they want to bind themselves to this country.
 
As I have said before in this thread, the desire of people from other countries to become American citizens -- and their belief that this is possible -- is power for the US. It is a power our most dedicated enemies lack and cannot obtain without abandoning fundamental aspects of their own identities. Like, they'd have to stop being tyrannical kleptocracies or religious dictatorships. To give up such an advantage is just, well, stupid.
 
Dean Shomshak

Definitely not forgetting, but she won't be the target for the trolls. Unless they gripe that she's of Asian and not Greek descent. I hope to see Gemma Chan in lots more movies.

F-Bomb warning. Which is to be expected in a song titled "IDGAF," but still. Also one in the second video. If you scroll down a bit in the comments on the second one, you'll find someone posted timestamp links to the song.
 
 

I'm wondering what the actual acreage burned is from year to year.  It seems like that might be a better indication of seriousness than the number of fires.  One huge long-burning fire might destroy as much as ten smaller short-term fires combined. 

I found this kind of interesting.