Ser Scot A Ellison

Just now, DMC said:

The House bill does not order Biden to send ATACMS, it simply encourages it.

Is the bill bi partisan in construction?

On 4/16/2024 at 12:32 PM, shortstark said:

Doing a re read of Blade of Dreams and am just realizing that the Gods that exist in the World are like Andats that exist in Long Price.. although these are not bound..

@DanielAbraham am I bugging?

I got the impression during LPQ that the binding created the Andat.  Yes there was sort of ambient magic that allowed the creation of Andat but it wasn’t like they were running around doing things until the poet defined and created the Andat with their writing.

14 hours ago, HexMachina said:

Great rebuttal, your lawyer-ly skills are on full display here  

It has been a really long month…

On 4/15/2024 at 5:47 PM, Jerol said:

Herbert's prose hasn't aged well for me but the story, especially in the first book, is quite strong. I reread it just before Villeneuve's first film and enjoyed it thoroughly. However I did not go any further. I remember as a young man noping out in the later books when Paul went full worm. 

Paul never does that.

4 minutes ago, Ran said:

Even to upgrading the north tower windows? Remember, the spire and stained glass are from the mid-19th century. Nothing says that the Cathedral needs to be entirely stuck in the mid-1800s. Something that's a clear upgrade seems reasonable.

Meh…

3 minutes ago, Ran said:

It is, but there were debates about it, and Macron has been a big proponent for adding modern touches. He wanted a modern spire, that was vetoed, then he proposed replacing the (perfectly intact) stained glass from 1859 with modern stained glass, I think that's also been vetoed or at least people aren't keen. I saw a nice proposal of replacing the north tower's plain glass windows with contemporary stained glass as a way to update.

Yeaaaaaaaahhhh…

No.

17 minutes ago, Clueless Northman said:

Hopefully, Denmark will be spared the French nonsense of "should be rebuild the roof and spire in concrete and glass modernistic-brutalist fashion, or build it back like it was?".

 

Huh?  I thought Notre Dame was being rebuilt as it was.

12 minutes ago, Altherion said:

I don't think this is within the bounds of expected behavior. Embassies and consulates are supposed to be left in peace, but, as has been pointed out multiple times within this thread, in practice, this is not actually the case and one can find multiple instances of attacks on both diplomatic personnel and diplomatic facilities. Typically, the response to this ranges from a complaint to the host country to attempts to track down the perpetrators to a strike on something associated with the perpetrators similar in scale to the original attack. Nobody -- and I mean literally nobody -- has ever replied to such an attack with a barrage of hundreds of missiles and drones aimed at both civilian and military targets.

And Netanyahu will still be wrong if he pushes on Iran… but I fear it helps him personally and that’s all that really matters to him.

5 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

And no, that doesn't mean picking a third party; that means not participating in the system as it is at all, and trying to bring down that system. 

If the US is “brought down” what happens to Palestinians without the US there to attempt to restrain the Israeli government?

4 minutes ago, kissdbyfire said:

Do you think the people who are protesting against the Biden administration irt its positions on the war aren’t aware that Trump will be worse and worse for them more so than your average white American? I think they’re very aware of that, especially b/c they’ve already had 4 years of trump and know a 2nd term would be significantly worse. 

They aren’t behaving, as far as I can tell, as if they know that.  But, as Kalbear points out perhaps I don’t understand why they equate Trump and Biden.

2 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

Again, this means that literally there is no criticism of your leader because the other side might use it against that person. That is an obviously illiberal viewpoint. It is quite remarkable to me to see what values get left by the wayside when people are afraid. 

So I guess the response I have is - so what? Many of them are more than well aware that Trump will be harmful to their lives, possibly far more directly than it will be to yours. Telling people whose families and friends are being killed that they should be quiet because their anger, displeasure and choice of expression might not be politically expedient for you is...well, that's definitely something. 

There is a difference between criticism and chanting “Genocide Joe” in the streets giving ammunition to people who want to hurt them and who wouldn’t blink if Bibi nuked Gaza city.  Biden is a long way from perfect but he is trying to restrain Israel in ways Trump never would.

The way they criticize Biden is short sighted and self defeating in my opinion.

20 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

That's the viewpoint of those left folks who are calling him genocide Joe. My point is that if you're afraid of criticizing your leaders because the other side may use that as ammunition you've got a lot bigger problems than them using your own slogans against you. 

 

They’re helping Trump and his supporters.  Including rather nasty anti-semites.

4 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

Perhaps supporting war crimes is a bad thing to do?

Is Biden “supporting war crimes”?

16 minutes ago, Zorral said:

Wahhhhhhhht?  Do even They known what They mean?

Trump supporters echo pro-Palestinian ‘genocide Joe’ chant
It’s unclear what they meant by it, as Trump has pledged similarly strong support for Israel

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/14/genocide-israel-gaza-iran-trump-biden/

Perhaps giving shouting points to Trumpanistas is a bad thing for the left to do?

15 hours ago, Zorral said:

Face it fella -- the Iranian is a much more savvy guy at war and politics than deaf bibi et al.

Also, we're arguing over what was agreed/arm twisted/negotiated in way or another behind the scenes by all the actors in this -- action, so everybody's face is saved.

Bibi isn’t deaf or stupid.  He’s served personally by increasing the scale of conflict.  The wonder of narcissists with serious political power.

Season 5 will be the last for “Star Trek: Lower Decks”.  I’m not happy…

https://tvline.com/news/star-trek-lower-decks-ending-final-season-5-release-date-1235199957/

4 minutes ago, IheartIheartTesla said:

For those of you thinking the ballot measures will make Florida competitive, I just saw a recent Emerson College poll (and they are decent pollsters if I remember Silver's ratings from last cycle) that had Trump up +13 (1000 RV). Still early days, but my prognosis at this time is that Florida will flatter only to deceive come election day.

Bloody trumpanista retirees.  They’re too old to worry about Abortion as an issue.

2 hours ago, Week said:

This is what happens when terminally unserious and dishonest people are in charge:

 

 

How can anyone seriously support the Republican Party?  How?  
 

@mcbigski

Just now, Heartofice said:

Again, I don't think it's really relevant to look at overall population values in this context. It doesn't tell you anything useful. 

It tells you that “alarming” increases are still a statistically small percentage of the overall population.  You can argue an increasing trend line.  

But exposure to discussions of these issues that were not to be had twenty years ago may explain that trend.  

1 minute ago, Heartofice said:

That might be the case if the numbers hadn't been consistent over a period of time and then jumped up. Remember the major finding is that GIDS clinics couldn't cope with the huge increase in numbers because they were set up based on what was considered a 'normal' amount of cases, which then changed very rapidly across numerous countries at basically the same time.

I get the urge to try and dispute the data and try and handwave it, but it's really not relevant here. The numbers jump was exponential, nobody is suggesting anything other than that. 

I’m not disputing the data.  I’m agreing with DMC that raw totals need to be held up against that data to put the changes described as alarming into perspective.

1 hour ago, Heartofice said:

All you need to do is look at the number of referrals over the previous years and compare. The relevance is that the number was relatively consistent prior to 2009, then started rising, then shot right up from 2014. The relevant question is to why that number increased so massively in such a short space of time. There isn't a question as to whether it shot up or not. It certainly isn't explained by an exponential growth in population. 

I agree with DMC… a large increase of a very small number to a slightly larger number that is still in aggregate small is interesting… but not necessarily alarming.  

That’s the nature of statistics it is relatively easy to make “scary” percentages and percentage changes out of small numbers… because changes to small numbers look bigger than they are when held up against total population numbers.

I just think Marijuana smells like skunk.  It bothers me smelling it from people… while… they are driving.

On 4/9/2024 at 12:21 PM, Ninefingers said:

Hey everybody, there is no new update. 

Repeat, no update. 

And no “super geek Avengers read through” of a full non-introduction chapter from TDoS either…

3 minutes ago, TrackerNeil said:

This from Arizona is hilarious.

Even assuming that some of these folks are serious, I don't think there's anything the Arizon GOP can do. I'll bet half the legislative caucus thinks the 1864 law is good, and they're unlikely to go along with anything that rolls it back. I suppose legislative leaders could try to force a bill through with Democratic votes, but splitting your party in an election year is never a good thing. Half the caucus will be denouncing the other half, while Democrats run hard against the both of them.

Remember when conservatives said that throwing the issue of abortion back to the states would lower the temperature? Sure, Jan.

 

That Rep. Representative in AZ sounds… self aware… at least.  Why he is still a Republican when saying that is beyond me.

2 minutes ago, kissdbyfire said:

This is us, Scot, us humans.
We have very terrible people… on both sides.
 

I know…