archer

... I can't promise that. 

Power Bands?  You mean like this guy?
 

It will be interesting to see how much Trump's position will alienate people, because from what I've seen, support for Russia's only been on the very fringe.

He just couldn't let us be free of him.
 
https://bucswire.usatoday.com/2022/03/13/tom-brady-comeback-nfl-news-tampa-bay-buccaneers/

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/6869/all-actions?s=1&r=203&overview=closed

I fully expect that in any Gamma World campaign that somewhere in the world there'll be a HERO games office still faithfully putting out one or two supplements per year.

I figured you more for a Hymie man.

I fully expect that in any Gamma World campaign that somewhere in the world there'll be a HERO games office still faithfully putting out one or two supplements per year.

What about his sister:
 
Judy Judy Dread

A strange virus causes anyone who dies to return to life as a law obsessed lantern jawed law man. It is...
 
Night of the Living Dread.

Does anyone have a picture of the Ukrainian Olympic Javelin Team?
 
edit: Nevermind, found one.

Yeah, there's a lot of movies which are deliberately bad. Or which have tiny budgets and can't accomplish whatever they wanted to accomplish based on the money available.
 
But The Last Jedi was just bad. And not in a way which had anything to do with not being able to afford good actors, good writers, good directors, or good special effects.
 
It violated the universe's own rules about how the universe worked multiple times. And not only that but made those violations into major plot points. And not just how the Force works but also how hyperdrive works because apparently you can no longer go faster than light to get ahead of a starship you're very, very slowly chasing across realspace.
 
It made no sense, objectively.
 
The military leaders on both sides of the fight have less of an idea of how a military conflict should happen than 5 year olds playing with plastic soldiers.
 
It stole scenes from the previous Star Wars movie as if the writer was too lazy to come up with new scenes.

Does anyone have a picture of the Ukrainian Olympic Javelin Team?
 
edit: Nevermind, found one.

Does anyone have a picture of the Ukrainian Olympic Javelin Team?
 
edit: Nevermind, found one.

Does anyone have a picture of the Ukrainian Olympic Javelin Team?
 
edit: Nevermind, found one.

My wife got excited because of a delivery she received. She got a new heavy-gauge wok that she had her eye on for a while.
 
I asked her if she remembered to get the special footwear for it.
 
She looked puzzled for a moment. Then she sighed and said, “Okay, lay it on me. Tell me your dad joke.”
 
I said, “I don’t know what you mean by that, but it is my understanding that they have boots that are made for wokking.”

Didn't Jonathan Swift do something with this concept?

When a business makes its employees read Who Moved My Cheese, that's a sign that the business is planning on screwing over its employees and is actively planning to keep finding new ways to screw its employees.
 
Hey, change is inevitable.
 
But you don't make change any easier by getting employees all worked up about changes which haven't happened yet and which might never happen.
 
An anxious and fearful employee is not a happy nor a productive employee.

The thing is we're talking about  company approved products to be marketed as the official campaign.
 
It just makes sense that there would be an overall editor that makes final company approvals.
 
We can get general guidelines for submissions but before they get the official stamp of approval and are sent to PDF/printer, they need to be vetted so they are consistent with those guidelines. There has to be a line and quality control editorial system in place.
 
Will this have problems? I can see authors not wanting too many changes to their creations and there is a danger of too much of the same old thing min each product. But this is the only way to consistency. Otherwise we will end up repeating the mistakes that led to Dr. D and Takofanes.

Lady P would like to nominate Who Moved My Cheese? 
 
I will happily second the nomination. Corporate-driven tripe, rife with platitudes formulated to keep the peasants from getting too uppity. 

insomnia news roundup
 
====
 
Oil was at $139 per barrel on Monday but has dropped daily since then down to $108.
 
A good portion of that is due to the UAE agreeing to increase output to compensate for lost Russian production.
 
====
 
Biden rumored to be requesting Friday that Congress revoke most-favored-nation status for Russia (aka permanent normal trade relations).
 
That used to be a status which countries had to earn and Russia and China each at one point in time made concessions in order to try to get it. (And I've argued for years that China should no longer have it.)
 
In any case, with Russia stealing over 500 leased commercial airplanes and openly saying their businesses can violate patents whenever they want to, it's time to not treat them as if they are friendly trading partners. Not to mention their latest threat to seize the assets of any company that's stopped doing business in Russia and open it back up again under Russian government management.
 
Losing MFN status opens the door to imposing tariffs on goods from a country which wouldn't otherwise be allowed under World Trade Organization guidelines. It also means that things wouldn't automatically snap back to normal if Russia ended the invasion or negotiated a deal with Ukraine.
 
====
 
Putin is publicly asking for foreign fighters to join the invasion of Ukraine.
 
Ukraine alleges Russia is trying to recruit Ukrainian prisoners and citizens to fight for them but Russia denies that at this time. Of course a couple of days ago Putin denied he was using conscripted troops in Ukraine until his Ministry of Defense confirmed that they really were, so who knows?
 
====
 
WHO advises Ukrainian health facilities to destroy any dangerous pathogens they might be studying due to the increased rate at which Russia is targeting healthcare facilities.

News roundup
 
====
 
Russia says its businesses can steal patents from anyone in ‘unfriendly’ countries - Washington Post
 
====
 
"Panic is spreading among the personnel of the Russian troops due to the huge losses in manpower and equipment." The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on Facebook the day before yesterday.
 
Normally such I wouldn't take such claims as being newsworthy because it's practically the boss's job to claim the other side is falling apart, whether it's true or not. But then we get this from a number of sources out of an area in the north-central part of Ukraine.
 
 
That's a lot of equipment to abandon all at once. That area is defended by the Ukrainian army's 1st Tank Brigade so it's not like the Russians are running away in panic from just poorly-trained civilians armed with random anti-armor weapons...but still.
 
====
 
550 of the Canadians who've arrive to fight have been formed into their own brigade and are deployed in the Kiev area.
 
====
 
The US House of Representatives has approved a massive spending bill that would rush $13.6 billion in US aid to Ukraine. The Senate is expected to approve it today before they break for the weekend. Have of it is humanitarian aid, the other half is military aid.
 
So basically $6.9 billion in military aid.
 
To put that in perspective, Ukraine before the war spent around $5 billion per year on its military.
 
That amount was 3% of its GDP. To put that in perspective, NATO members are supposed to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense spending but most of them don't bother.
 
And of course this is in addition to the previous money and equipment that's already come from the US and the billions in money and equipment that's already come from other countries. Ukraine is getting likely more than a decade's worth of military spending poured into their country over the course of one month.
 
So now you have the context to appreciate the video. This is very recent, at least since the coldsnap/snowstorm went through the Kiev area. That's a heck of a lot of gear....
 
 
 
====
 
< tongue-in-cheek >
 
Russia has been claiming Ukraine belongs to it because they were for a short time part of the same country together.
 
In historic terms, India was part of England for much longer. Could England reclaim India? How about Australia?
 
Putin claims Lithuania as Russian territory because it was once part of Russia for a decade then the Soviet Union. But Lithuania and Poland were (voluntarily) one country for much longer (more than two centuries).
 
Doesn't Poland have a superior right to conquer Lithuania because it's Polish territory?
 
Russia's been financially supporting the Texas separation movement despite the fact that Texas was a republic for only a couple of decades and has been part of the United States for more than 170 years. Isn't that inconsistent?
 
California has never been a separate nation but Russia financially supports the California separatist movement. The same goes for the Quebec separatist movement. Inconsistent?
 
====
 
Facebook and Instagram temporarily allows calls for violence against Russians soldiers and officials
 
====
 
Russia helps out with sanctions against Russia
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60689279
 
Russia implements an export ban of telecoms, medical, vehicle, agricultural, and electrical equipment, as well as some forestry products such as timber...so that no foreign country can buy such things.
 
The economy ministry said further measures could include restricting foreign ships from Russian ports...so that they couldn't deliver goods to Russia nor take on exports from Russia.
 
The article's a little unclear, to me, whether the sanctions extend to just the countries which have sanctioned Russia or whether it applies to all countries except for the ones specifically on Russia's list of friends.
 
====
 
US officials deny reports that it is sending Patriot anti-missile systems to Ukraine. (I hadn't thought that very likely.)
 
====
 
Interpol decides not to kick Russia out. But says it will now begin monitoring Russia's use of Red Notices to harass and track down dissidents and Ukrainian politicians.
 
Also Russia is now forced to send requests through Interpol central, so it can decide on the validity of the request, rather than send requests directly to individual nations in Interpol.
 
Russia is currently responsible for 44 percent of the publicly available Interpol red notices. - The Guardian
 
That's as reasonable of a compromise as I guess anyone could expect, if they weren't going to kick Russia out.
 
====
 
The stalled Russian convoy forces are starting to deploy off of the road. Some appear to be just moving off into nearby trees. Other vehicles appear to be deploying in a coordinated fashion, likely as part of an effort to encircle Kiev enough to cut off resupply or utilities.
 
I've lost track of how many days they've been stalled in place but "hey, let's move off into the trees where we're less visible" should have dawned on someone PDQ. Or maybe they were just looking for shelter from the wind and snow.
 
Of course, perhaps the drop in temperature and the snowstorm has made moving off the road itself more feasible. But if that's the case, as soon as it warms up a bit, a large number of them will get stuck.
 
====
 
Russia’s energy ministry has claimed that Belarusian specialists have restored electricity supply to the Chernobyl. No corroboration. - Reuters
 
====
 
A humanitarian convoy trying to reach Mariupol today has been forced to turn around due to fighting. Civilians still haven't been allowed to evacuate from there despite it being one of the first places where humanitarian corridors were supposed to have been established by agreement with Russia. It hasn't had operational power or water for days. Or food/medicine shipments. - Reuters
 
====
 
Following the end of the cold war, Sweden’s defense spending as fallen from 3% of GDP in the early 1980s to around 1% in recent years. Sweden’s government plans to increase military spending to 2% of GDP “as soon as practically possible” - prime minister, Magdalena Andersson.
 
Sweden is considering NATO membership where governments are expected to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense.
 
====
 
Greece sending busses and airplanes to Poland to help relocate refugees from there to Greece. It's already taken in over 50,000 Ukrainian refugees while Poland has taken in around 1.3 million.
 
====
 
The Kyiv Independent, said the Kharkiv institute - home to experimental nuclear reactor - had been bombed, citing an announcement from the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine.
According to the inspectorate, the facility was struck with damage to the exterior and possibly numerous labs throughout the building.

I nominate Free Guy for the best movie of the year.

News roundup
 
====
 
Russia says its businesses can steal patents from anyone in ‘unfriendly’ countries - Washington Post
 
====
 
"Panic is spreading among the personnel of the Russian troops due to the huge losses in manpower and equipment." The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on Facebook the day before yesterday.
 
Normally such I wouldn't take such claims as being newsworthy because it's practically the boss's job to claim the other side is falling apart, whether it's true or not. But then we get this from a number of sources out of an area in the north-central part of Ukraine.
 
 
That's a lot of equipment to abandon all at once. That area is defended by the Ukrainian army's 1st Tank Brigade so it's not like the Russians are running away in panic from just poorly-trained civilians armed with random anti-armor weapons...but still.
 
====
 
550 of the Canadians who've arrive to fight have been formed into their own brigade and are deployed in the Kiev area.
 
====
 
The US House of Representatives has approved a massive spending bill that would rush $13.6 billion in US aid to Ukraine. The Senate is expected to approve it today before they break for the weekend. Have of it is humanitarian aid, the other half is military aid.
 
So basically $6.9 billion in military aid.
 
To put that in perspective, Ukraine before the war spent around $5 billion per year on its military.
 
That amount was 3% of its GDP. To put that in perspective, NATO members are supposed to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense spending but most of them don't bother.
 
And of course this is in addition to the previous money and equipment that's already come from the US and the billions in money and equipment that's already come from other countries. Ukraine is getting likely more than a decade's worth of military spending poured into their country over the course of one month.
 
So now you have the context to appreciate the video. This is very recent, at least since the coldsnap/snowstorm went through the Kiev area. That's a heck of a lot of gear....
 
 
 
====
 
< tongue-in-cheek >
 
Russia has been claiming Ukraine belongs to it because they were for a short time part of the same country together.
 
In historic terms, India was part of England for much longer. Could England reclaim India? How about Australia?
 
Putin claims Lithuania as Russian territory because it was once part of Russia for a decade then the Soviet Union. But Lithuania and Poland were (voluntarily) one country for much longer (more than two centuries).
 
Doesn't Poland have a superior right to conquer Lithuania because it's Polish territory?
 
Russia's been financially supporting the Texas separation movement despite the fact that Texas was a republic for only a couple of decades and has been part of the United States for more than 170 years. Isn't that inconsistent?
 
California has never been a separate nation but Russia financially supports the California separatist movement. The same goes for the Quebec separatist movement. Inconsistent?
 
====
 
Facebook and Instagram temporarily allows calls for violence against Russians soldiers and officials
 
====
 
Russia helps out with sanctions against Russia
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60689279
 
Russia implements an export ban of telecoms, medical, vehicle, agricultural, and electrical equipment, as well as some forestry products such as timber...so that no foreign country can buy such things.
 
The economy ministry said further measures could include restricting foreign ships from Russian ports...so that they couldn't deliver goods to Russia nor take on exports from Russia.
 
The article's a little unclear, to me, whether the sanctions extend to just the countries which have sanctioned Russia or whether it applies to all countries except for the ones specifically on Russia's list of friends.
 
====
 
US officials deny reports that it is sending Patriot anti-missile systems to Ukraine. (I hadn't thought that very likely.)
 
====
 
Interpol decides not to kick Russia out. But says it will now begin monitoring Russia's use of Red Notices to harass and track down dissidents and Ukrainian politicians.
 
Also Russia is now forced to send requests through Interpol central, so it can decide on the validity of the request, rather than send requests directly to individual nations in Interpol.
 
Russia is currently responsible for 44 percent of the publicly available Interpol red notices. - The Guardian
 
That's as reasonable of a compromise as I guess anyone could expect, if they weren't going to kick Russia out.
 
====
 
The stalled Russian convoy forces are starting to deploy off of the road. Some appear to be just moving off into nearby trees. Other vehicles appear to be deploying in a coordinated fashion, likely as part of an effort to encircle Kiev enough to cut off resupply or utilities.
 
I've lost track of how many days they've been stalled in place but "hey, let's move off into the trees where we're less visible" should have dawned on someone PDQ. Or maybe they were just looking for shelter from the wind and snow.
 
Of course, perhaps the drop in temperature and the snowstorm has made moving off the road itself more feasible. But if that's the case, as soon as it warms up a bit, a large number of them will get stuck.
 
====
 
Russia’s energy ministry has claimed that Belarusian specialists have restored electricity supply to the Chernobyl. No corroboration. - Reuters
 
====
 
A humanitarian convoy trying to reach Mariupol today has been forced to turn around due to fighting. Civilians still haven't been allowed to evacuate from there despite it being one of the first places where humanitarian corridors were supposed to have been established by agreement with Russia. It hasn't had operational power or water for days. Or food/medicine shipments. - Reuters
 
====
 
Following the end of the cold war, Sweden’s defense spending as fallen from 3% of GDP in the early 1980s to around 1% in recent years. Sweden’s government plans to increase military spending to 2% of GDP “as soon as practically possible” - prime minister, Magdalena Andersson.
 
Sweden is considering NATO membership where governments are expected to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense.
 
====
 
Greece sending busses and airplanes to Poland to help relocate refugees from there to Greece. It's already taken in over 50,000 Ukrainian refugees while Poland has taken in around 1.3 million.
 
====
 
The Kyiv Independent, said the Kharkiv institute - home to experimental nuclear reactor - had been bombed, citing an announcement from the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine.
According to the inspectorate, the facility was struck with damage to the exterior and possibly numerous labs throughout the building.