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- A gentleman and a scholar.
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Phylum of Alexandria reacted to a post in a topic: What Grinds Your Gears, Again
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It's a genuine problem. Digitial storage does not actually appear to be all that durable long-term, contrary to the idea that something is effectively permanent once it's on the internet. I would suggest that if you've already paid for the tracks once and now lost them, there's nothing unethical in just pirating them now to restore them. But of course, in the age of streaming, there's significantly less demand for pirated music and therefore no guarantee that you'd actually be able to find the same tracks again anyway. In essence, in the digital age it's apparently suprisingly easy for a particular piece of art or culture to just...disappear.
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Liffguard reacted to a post in a topic: What Grinds Your Gears, Again
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Durckad reacted to a post in a topic: US Politics: Losing Appeals
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Larry of the Lawn reacted to a post in a topic: US Politics: Losing Appeals
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True. Not true. It took air strikes supporting ground operations for that. And not solely from the US. I think Bret Devereaux did a pretty decent overview on the limits of strategic air power. TLDR, using air power alone to achieve strategic goals has a very poor track record. Look, I don't want nuclear weapons to proliferate further. People sometimes talk about the threat of nuclear annihilation as if it ended in 1991, when that is very much not the case. The weapons still exist, and the more parties who have them, the more complex the situation becomes, the more likely circumstances line up in such a way that they get used. I do not want more states to get nuclear weapons. But the reasons states pursue nuclear weapons is because they frankly have a very rational security incentive to possess them. And there appear to be a lot of people in the US - including lots of powerful, prominent people - who really, really seem to desperately want a war with Iran for some reason. And it's frightening, because a war with Iran would be a fucking disaster for everyone. So Iran has very rational reasons to develop a nuclear weapon. And in the long run the best way to counter that is to allay those security fears.
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Durckad reacted to a post in a topic: US politics - Yes country for old men
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UK politics - not inspiring but effective
Liffguard replied to BigFatCoward's topic in General Chatter
If it were up to me, organisations would be banned from donating entirely, only donations from individuals allowed, with a maximum of £500 per person per year. -
AncalagonTheBlack reacted to a post in a topic: US politics - Yes country for old men
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Larry of the Lawn reacted to a post in a topic: US politics - Yes country for old men
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US politics - Yes country for old men
Liffguard replied to IheartIheartTesla's topic in General Chatter
"Something must be done. This is something. Therefore we must do this." I genuinely don't know if you're just doing a bit, but gung ho American defaulting to "let's solve this problem with lots of bombs" is a little on the nose, no? -
US politics - Yes country for old men
Liffguard replied to IheartIheartTesla's topic in General Chatter
Do you think maybe that frequent rhetoric similar to this from multiple American politicians and media outlets over the years (along with seeing what happened to Saddam and Gaddafi) might possibly constitute a very strong incentive for Iran to develop a nuclear weapons program? Do you think that the USA adopting your position might constitute a very strong incentive for Iran to develop functioning nuclear weapons as quickly as they possibly can, no matter the cost? Like, I know you're being facetious, but come on. -
US politics - Yes country for old men
Liffguard replied to IheartIheartTesla's topic in General Chatter
To be fair I think there's a qualitative difference between these and social media platforms which a) deeply surveill their users and b) algorithmically push content designed to maximise eyeball time above all other factors. Not that Tiktok is unique in that obviously. -
UK politics - not inspiring but effective
Liffguard replied to BigFatCoward's topic in General Chatter
Back in 2016, PJ O'Rourke said about Hilary Clinton vs Donald Trump, "She's wrong about absolutely everything, but she's wrong within normal parameters." I guess that's kind of how I feel about May. In fact, I've taken it to be a somewhat useful rubric for assessing how much and in what ways I disagree with someone. Some people I can't even disagree with as such, because we exist in effectively totally different reality spheres. There's definitely a large contingent of the current Tories who fall into that category. -
US politics - Yes country for old men
Liffguard replied to IheartIheartTesla's topic in General Chatter
It's an honest question. Terrorism is a notoriously slippery concept to define properly. Is there a clear distinction between a terrorist and a guerilla fighter? Is a guerilla fighter necesserily less morally praiseworthy than a uniformed soldier? Is the difference between terorrisim and "legitimate" military violence in the choice of target? Is it in possessing the sanction of a recognised state? Is a terrorist who suicide bombs a civilian street to be condemned and a military pilot who drops a bomb on a civilian street to be praised? All genuinely thorny questions IMO. Not as easy as praiseworthy soldiers and despicable terrorists. -
US politics - Yes country for old men
Liffguard replied to IheartIheartTesla's topic in General Chatter
First, what is terrorism? Secondly, even if we extend our special appreciation only to the uniformed armed personnel of legitimate states, does that include the invaders of Ukraine? Iraqi soldiers invading Kuwait? -
US politics - Yes country for old men
Liffguard replied to IheartIheartTesla's topic in General Chatter
Again, was that what I said? You said that you think soldiers are special because they put their lives on the line. I pointed out that lots of people put their lives on the line in pursuit of evil. Therefore, putting one's life on the line should not automatically be worthy of respect. -
US politics - Yes country for old men
Liffguard replied to IheartIheartTesla's topic in General Chatter
I didn't compliment their bravery, I pointed out they put their lives on the line. I was implying that the mere act of risking or sacrificing one's life is not inherently noble or worthy of respect. The respectability of an action also has to be judged in the context of the broader cause that the action is in aid of. -
US politics - Yes country for old men
Liffguard replied to IheartIheartTesla's topic in General Chatter
Did I say that? -
US politics - Yes country for old men
Liffguard replied to IheartIheartTesla's topic in General Chatter
The 9/11 bombers put their lives on the line as well. Russian soldiers are putting their lives on the line right now. Surely there also has to be some assessment of what someone is putting their life on the line for? -
My girlfriend and I are flying into Austin for this one. Really hoping for clear skies, it's a long way to go to end up staring at clouds!