The Refuge of the Toads

[Kirbmarc]

@Kirbmarc

What is missing from your analysis is that Assad is not our enemy, he is the enemy of Israel and some factions in Lebanon.
Iran is also not our enemy, it's Saudi Arabia and Israel's enemy.

Incidentally, if you dig deep, Saudi Arabia was in the news yesterday for bombing hospitals in the Yemen. I am sure that produced bloodied 5 year olds too.

Israel is worthless as an ally, Saudi Arabia has oil. Iran has been a great bogeyman for the US and Syria has been a kicked around like a football. I am not really sure what set of moral principle lead us here.

In short, i am happy to step back and let the Russians sort it out.

Whether Assad is "our" enemy or not depends on "our" policies. The same is true for Iran.

Incidentally, who are "we"? The US? The EU? The UK? Australia? Switzerland? Germany? France? The answer varies according to who "we" are. I don't believe in a monolithic "West" or a monolithic "East". Countries do their own interests, and lobbies within countries do their own interests. This is true in every country. I think that a liberal democracy is always much, much better than any "populist" dictatorship, and that even populist dictatorship are better than religious theocracies.

Of course Saudi Arabia kills children in Yemen. They've been bombing Yemen for months. They probably cheer if the dead children are Shia children. The Saud dynasty and their cronies are self-serving opportunists, and Sunni Muslim supremacists (Salafis and all the assorted sympathizers) are the Nazi Party, Muslim version.

Not that the Iranian regime is much better, mind, they're only less powerful. If they had the money and connections of Saudi Arabia they'd happily massacre Sunni Muslims everywhere. They've oppressed their own minorities for years.

I have no strong feelings for or against Israel. They have enacted terrible policies and are lead by religious idiots and an ideology of Jewish supremacy, but they are the closest thing that the Middle East has to a democracy. Overall they're no better or worse than Assad's Syria. They're better than Iran or Saudi Arabia, and at the very least we don't have to deal with Jewish terrorists and Jewish supremacists who want to take over the "West", because Judaism isn't a missionary religion.

They've aligned themselves with the Saudis and Turkey against Iran for strategic reasons, but there's no love lost between Sunni Muslim supremacists and Israel, or between Salafis and Jews in general.

Incidentally I don't think that Palestinian situation is going to get better anytime soon. Hezbollah is fighting with Iran against the Islamic State (of course, as Shia they're the next on the Islamic State's list). Hamas is still carrying on their Muslim brotherhood shtick. The non-religious or multi-religious Palestinian forces (like Fatah) are losing power and support. I think that if Israel collapsed the Palestinian territories would probably become a Muslim-majority authoritarian state at best and the Islamic State 2.0 at worst.

It's no coincidence, for example, that many Druzes support Israel. (except for those who live in Golan Heights, who are more sympathetic to Assad). They know that some of the "Palestinian freedom fighters" are ready to slaughter them if they come to power.

Incidentally I think that Palestinian Christian have it bad now but wouldn't have it much better (or probably even worse) under a Hamas government of Palestine.

[Matt Cavanaugh]

Are you talking about the crap that happened while we were there? Or the power vacuum that allowed Isis to grow to the size of Belgium and take over about 60% of the Iraqi & Syrian oil fields?

If IS is the size of Belgium, it stands to reason that Germany should overrun it. They have vielfache Erfahrung with that.

The Spanish and French are more experienced.

[Easy J]

"Gawker.com to End Operations Next Week

After nearly fourteen years of operation, Gawker.com will be shutting down next week. The decision to close Gawker comes days after Univision successfully bid $135 million for Gawker Media’s six other websites, and four months after the Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel revealed his clandestine legal campaign against the company."

http://gawker.com/gawker-com-to-end-ope ... 1785455712

:lol:

This puts Hogan on track to become the highest paid porn actor in history, right? Pulling this off at his age in an industry where men earn way less than half of what women make for the same work is quite an accomplishment. Social justice activist of the year, for sure.

[Phil_Giordana_FCD]

Incidentally, who are "we"? The US? The EU? The UK? Australia? Switzerland? Germany? France? The answer varies according to who "we" are. I don't believe in a monolithic "West" or a monolithic "East". Countries do their own interests, and lobbies within countries do their own interests. This is true in every country. I think that a liberal democracy is always much, much better than any "populist" dictatorship, and that even populist dictatorship are better than religious theocracies.

That's a very good question when it comes to what we call "Western Countries". Would you consider Australia Western? What about Japan? What about Mexico? Guatemala? Colombia?

I think "western" these days is more about the way a country is run than about its geographical location. Maybe some new words could be invented to differentiate?

[Phil_Giordana_FCD]

Also, off to the mountains in 15 minutes. If Ali posts a message here by Sunday, consider the wedding postponed for medical reasons...

[CommanderTuvok]

http://i.imgur.com/qx4CCRT.png

APE: YOU ARE ON YOUR LAST WARNING.

PZ is under the impression we have to "word hard" to make him look ugly.

Deluded ugly fucker.

[CommanderTuvok]

Interesting background to the Nate Parker case. I think this could cause some serious rifts along the BLM/SJW intersection.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... n-celestin

Notice how all the campus black student groups rallied around Parker back in 1999? I wonder if modern-day black campus groups, with their SJW indoctrination, would do the same? Also, Penn State seemed to have acted rather callously towards the victim. Like many colleges, it under-acted in the past, and now over-reacts to alleged rapes today.

If any of those SJWs who shout loudly about Woody Allen and Roman Polanski, decide to give Parker a pass, they should be called out.

[DrokkIt]

That was at the time when Elyse got weight loss surgery on her stomach... and made fishy claims that-- while they were doing the surgery, they found cancer (so the surgery was accidentally non-elective). She gave the Cancer Survivor identity a shot. Shaved her head & seemed content to let people assume she was bald from chemo (she didnt do chemo). Likewise, she sported the showy wig, like the way chemo patients wear jaunty hats & wigs to keep their spirit up. Im pretty-sure she had a cancer fund-raiser.

Urgh really? Pretty despicable.

[Spike13]

http://i.imgur.com/qx4CCRT.png

APE: YOU ARE ON YOUR LAST WARNING.

PZ is under the impression we have to "word hard" to make him look ugly.

Deluded ugly fucker.

Many folks don't really see themselves as they actually present to other people.

Pizzy has cultivated his "frumpy professor" look for some time. I guess he sees that as the ideal for himself. Tossled, unkempt, rumpled. As if the act of dressing and hygiene are beyond his concern. He us bigger things to occupy his time, his mind too full scientific inquirery for such mundane concerns.

But there is a fine line between stylish precise disarray and looking like a slob. Pizzy has more than crossed the line, he's down the street and around the corner. Greasy looking hair, outgrown pubic hair looking beard, always wrinkled clothes. I've never met him, but he looks like he smells awful. I would be hesitant to strike up a conversation for fear of having to endure BO or halitosis breath. It's quite off putting, and rude to those around you, that you couldn't be bothered to show up presentable.

And the ugly? That's your nasty vindictive little man personality where that truly comes through.

[Barbie's Boyfriend]

Since Gawker is a subject today:

Perhaps Richard "Average Caucasian" Carrier should take a hint from Terry Bollea, and create an alter ego with a huge penis ??

[youtube][/youtube]

[Dave]

But there is a fine line between stylish precise disarray and looking like a slob. Pizzy has more than crossed the line, he's down the street and around the corner in an alley, rummaging through a dumpster. Greasy looking hair, outgrown pubic hair looking beard, always wrinkled clothes. I've never met him, but he looks like he smells awful. I would be hesitant to strike up a conversation for fear of having to endure BO or halitosis breath. It's quite off putting, and rude to those around you, that you couldn't be bothered to show up presentable.

FIFY.

Seriously, the man looks like a wino. Not many, but Ive actually seen homeless people who had better grooming than he.

[Dave]

But there is a fine line between stylish precise disarray and looking like a slob. Pizzy has more than crossed the line, he's down the street and around the corner in an alley, rummaging through a dumpster. Greasy looking hair, outgrown pubic hair looking beard, always wrinkled clothes. I've never met him, but he looks like he smells awful. I would be hesitant to strike up a conversation for fear of having to endure BO or halitosis breath. It's quite off putting, and rude to those around you, that you couldn't be bothered to show up presentable.

FIFY.

Seriously, the man looks like a wino. Not many, but Ive actually seen homeless people who had better grooming than he.

[Dave]

But there is a fine line between stylish precise disarray and looking like a slob. Pizzy has more than crossed the line, he's down the street and around the corner in an alley, rummaging through a dumpster. Greasy looking hair, outgrown pubic hair looking beard, always wrinkled clothes. I've never met him, but he looks like he smells awful. I would be hesitant to strike up a conversation for fear of having to endure BO or halitosis breath. It's quite off putting, and rude to those around you, that you couldn't be bothered to show up presentable.

FIFY.

Seriously, the man looks like a wino. Not many, but Ive actually seen homeless people who had better grooming than he.

[Dave]

But there is a fine line between stylish precise disarray and looking like a slob. Pizzy has more than crossed the line, he's down the street and around the corner in an alley, rummaging through a dumpster. Greasy looking hair, outgrown pubic hair looking beard, always wrinkled clothes. I've never met him, but he looks like he smells awful. I would be hesitant to strike up a conversation for fear of having to endure BO or halitosis breath. It's quite off putting, and rude to those around you, that you couldn't be bothered to show up presentable.

FIFY.

Seriously, the man looks like a wino. Not many, but Ive actually seen homeless people who had better grooming than he.

Like Hitler, I did nothing wrong! Dunno why it double posted.

[feathers]

I think this is the effect she was after:

http://assets.catawiki.nl/assets/3/d/2/ ... 9428b1.jpg

In that case, I might have watched the entire 50 minutes- with the sound off.

[VickyCaramel]

@Kirbmarc

What is missing from your analysis is that Assad is not our enemy, he is the enemy of Israel and some factions in Lebanon.
Iran is also not our enemy, it's Saudi Arabia and Israel's enemy.

Incidentally, if you dig deep, Saudi Arabia was in the news yesterday for bombing hospitals in the Yemen. I am sure that produced bloodied 5 year olds too.

Israel is worthless as an ally, Saudi Arabia has oil. Iran has been a great bogeyman for the US and Syria has been a kicked around like a football. I am not really sure what set of moral principle lead us here.

In short, i am happy to step back and let the Russians sort it out.

Whether Assad is "our" enemy or not depends on "our" policies. The same is true for Iran.

Incidentally, who are "we"? The US? The EU? The UK? Australia? Switzerland? Germany? France? The answer varies according to who "we" are. I don't believe in a monolithic "West" or a monolithic "East". Countries do their own interests, and lobbies within countries do their own interests. This is true in every country. I think that a liberal democracy is always much, much better than any "populist" dictatorship, and that even populist dictatorship are better than religious theocracies.

Of course Saudi Arabia kills children in Yemen. They've been bombing Yemen for months. They probably cheer if the dead children are Shia children. The Saud dynasty and their cronies are self-serving opportunists, and Sunni Muslim supremacists (Salafis and all the assorted sympathizers) are the Nazi Party, Muslim version.

Not that the Iranian regime is much better, mind, they're only less powerful. If they had the money and connections of Saudi Arabia they'd happily massacre Sunni Muslims everywhere. They've oppressed their own minorities for years.

I have no strong feelings for or against Israel. They have enacted terrible policies and are lead by religious idiots and an ideology of Jewish supremacy, but they are the closest thing that the Middle East has to a democracy. Overall they're no better or worse than Assad's Syria. They're better than Iran or Saudi Arabia, and at the very least we don't have to deal with Jewish terrorists and Jewish supremacists who want to take over the "West", because Judaism isn't a missionary religion.

They've aligned themselves with the Saudis and Turkey against Iran for strategic reasons, but there's no love lost between Sunni Muslim supremacists and Israel, or between Salafis and Jews in general.

Incidentally I don't think that Palestinian situation is going to get better anytime soon. Hezbollah is fighting with Iran against the Islamic State (of course, as Shia they're the next on the Islamic State's list). Hamas is still carrying on their Muslim brotherhood shtick. The non-religious or multi-religious Palestinian forces (like Fatah) are losing power and support. I think that if Israel collapsed the Palestinian territories would probably become a Muslim-majority authoritarian state at best and the Islamic State 2.0 at worst.

It's no coincidence, for example, that many Druzes support Israel. (except for those who live in Golan Heights, who are more sympathetic to Assad). They know that some of the "Palestinian freedom fighters" are ready to slaughter them if they come to power.

Incidentally I think that Palestinian Christian have it bad now but wouldn't have it much better (or probably even worse) under a Hamas government of Palestine.

It is interesting to hear this perspective from the here-and-now, as I have stepped out of the subject for a number of years, and left it with a very different perspective.

For example, the Druze have always supported Israel, if you can call it support. They and the bedouin are very insular, so they kind of go with the flow, if that makes sense? They have never had power, instead they have learned to rub along with whoever is in power.

I agree, the Palestinian situation is more of a mess than ever. When the media says Hezbollah are fighting IS, they may be talking about Palestinian refugees in Syria. It is interesting... we find ourselves on the same side as the Palestinians.

Iran is complex. My understanding is that it is a rather schizophrenic country. They were a fairly secular, modern, dictatorship until 1979, then they had an Islamic revolution. Ever since they have been trying to find a balance. At least this is the impression i have always got. Nobody is trying to drag Iran back to the Middle Ages, many of the favoured clerics through the years have been modernizing (although i have often been left with the impression that the Ayatollah 's supporters are more conservative than the Ayatollah). It is as if they want to be a modern country, but in a respectable way. If you are looking for an Islamic Reformation, it is going to happen in Iran.
And I also don't get the impression it is two different factions struggling against each other, a modern and Islamic, I believe they as a nation are struggling to find a balance. In real terms, there are actually three factions in Iran, the Principlists (conservatives), moderates and reformers. I think to a greater or lesser degree, the country is trying to move to modernity with the conservatives (who have veto through the Ayatollah) with their hand on the brakes. Despite this, these are factions in a one party state. They are all broadly on the same page or they wouldn't be allowed in the party.

The problem is that Islam is at the core of their identity, just as being British for me means having a head of state who is also head of the state church, just as I have a crusader cross on my national flag.

Iran has had a shit ton of outside pressures. Aside from the US declaring Iran to be public enemy #1, (and yes, we in "the west" have to fall into line. Nobody here gives a fuck but you won't seen anyone breaking the sanctions), but you have to wonder what kind of peer pressure Iran is feeling from it's Sunni neighbours? When the Saudis are virtue signalling by stoning people to death, it is rather hard for Iran to legalize nudist beaches. It has been described as a middle east cold war.

Iran is nothing like Saudi Arabia. In recent elections, the Ayatollah encouraged women to vote, telling them they don't need their husband's permission, they voted, they elected women, they elected moderates. Their parliament now contains more women than clerics.

This is at least what I have heard, it is such a complex picture I don't claim to be an expert, to it all looks very grey but the media seem to paint it as black and white. I certainly wouldn't be quite to write them off as another bunch of extremists, especially as they seem to be winning their cold war and we could possibly look forward to a moderate Iran/Iraq power block, I wouldn't want that opportunity to be missed.

[Spike13]

He does! It's way past rumpled and well into wino territory.

The beard is unkempt in an attempt to cover up the fact that he has thin facial hair.( kind of like a beard comb over.) even so he would be better off having it neatly trimmed. It would look much better.

[feathers]

So, after c. 30 hours of grind, I'm done with NMS. 10^18 star systems -- all different, yet all the same. The game has, in effect, no content whatsoever.

Neither has the universe, in a manner of speaking. So finally a game that mirrors reality.

[Gumby]

He us bigger things to occupy his time, his mind too full scientific inquirery for such mundane concerns.

Yep. It takes so long to dump Round-Up in a fish tank it's a wonder he has enough time to put on pants at all.

[Barbie's Boyfriend]

Uh oh. Just received a letter from a lawyer. It seems if I don't immediately correct the error from my last post, I will be sued into oblivion.

So here goes:

DOCTOR Richard "Average Caucasian" Carrier, PHD.

[Kirbmarc]

He us bigger things to occupy his time, his mind too full scientific inquirery for such mundane concerns.

Yep. It takes so long to dump Round-Up in a fish tank it's a wonder he has enough time to put on pants at all.

He can do it without pants. It's more practical, and if he happens to have a cephalopod at hand, well, you know...

[Malky]

So long as Syria remains a total shitshow here is the VERY MOST action I could contemplate:
A. We don't fuck with Assad. Russia has a legitimate interest in that area.
B. We don't support or arm ANYONE. Esp not 'insurgents'.
C. We can bomb ISIL directly or we can let Russia do it. Believe it or not, they were fighting ISIL too. Some of our fucking "allies' have turned out to be ISIL or otherwise extreme anti-US muslim groups. This is fucking obscene.
D. We go in there and establish a military perimeter and a fleet to EVACUATE as many CIVILIANS (not involved in the war, mostly old men, young boys, women, girls) as possible. We let everyone know we are going to do this and then we do it, and then we LEAVE.
Problem is then we have to resettle them somewhere, and I'd rather it not be HERE , since even noncombatants in that area tend to be fundamentalist Muslim.

E. We (the entire West, not that just the US) gradually disentangle ourselves from deadly "alliances" with Muslim supremacist theocracies like Saudi Arabia or the other Gulf States. And we need to stop licking Recep Erdogan's boots. If he keeps doing what he's doing he needs to be booted off NATO, and the EU needs to rescind all ties with his government.

Yes, this requires a very different oil policy, and reopening diplomatic channels with Russia and Iran. They're the lesser of two evils right now: Putin at least is never going to pay Russian supremacists to spread ideas of a Russian supremacist government in the West, and Iran is too busy fighting their local wars to care about "taking over the West". Of course this needs to be done carefully, from a position of strength, not by crawling on our bellies. We also need to make it clear to them that this is a temporary agreement based on mutual interest, not an alliance. In order to come to this agreement we'll probably need to come to a compromise about the oil market.

It wouldn't hurt to try and develop ways to be less dependent on Middle East oil. Fracking, nuclear reactors and the like.

F. We expel all Muslim supremacist, foreign-paid preachers by our countries and cut their funding. We ban religious courts. We also create mandatory classes which teach the values of liberal democracy in our schools, and we make it mandatory for people to have a clean record, a job and a working knowledge of the local language to stay in our countries as immigrants. We make quotas for immigration and strict requirements for citizenship (including not having attended anti-democratic rallies, and explicitly accepting the rules of liberal democracy).

G. IF we want to intervene (and that's a big IF) we need to do it directly, with no proxies, and accept a relatively high number of casualties on our side (5000-8000). Hopefully we need to do it with some kind of legal international recognition, to show that we're there to bring order to the area, not to stay. We need to have a clear goal (i.e. getting rid of the Islamic State as soon as possible) and focus all of our attention and military strength in that area ONLY on that goal. Once the Islamic State is taken care of we need to pull out quickly and let Assad back in power. He's the lesser evil in the area. All the "rebels" are Sunni Muslim supremacists, and other than him, Russia and Iran (and other Shia Muslims) the only ones who are fighting the Sunni Muslim supremacists are the Kurds, who are doing it for their own reasons. I think that Assad and the Kurds can come to a reasonable compromise.

Assad isn't a "good guy", but at least he's pragmatic enough to accept an autonomous Kurd region in the area as long as they help him keep the Sunni Muslim supremacist in line. The Russians and Iran wouldn't mind too much because their real enemies are the Saudis and the other petro-states.

I'm no fan of Putin's or Assad's, and even less so of the Iranian regime, but right now in Syria they're the lesser of two evils, because they mostly stick to their own countries instead of spreading their authoritarian ideas abroad.

So when do we invade North Korea? They only have a few nukes. And they've held whole families in what are basically death camps for 40 or 50 in some cases. I actually consider a nuclear armed nutty North Korean leader to be the single greatest danger to the US or its allies , but we've let them fester because it would cost us something to either fight them or we'd have to kowtow a bit from our stupid pride to make a deal with China to reign them in.

Nobody really wants to fight North Korea, not because they're powerful, but because once you've defeated them you're left with a useless country with no resources, no real industry to speak of, widespread famines and a population of shell-shocked, brainwashed drones. North Korea is an army with a country, not a country with an army. They don't really want to attack the US, either. Every time they've launched a missile it's because South Korea and the US have organized military operations at their borders.

It's all theatre: North Koreans know that if they really started a war they'd be history in a month. Our real beef there is with China. We flex their muscles at North Korea to show China that we're still there and we're never giving up South Korea or Taiwan. And China lets North Korea run loose to make us known that they won't give up anytime soon. Nobody really gives a shit about North Korea. They're proxies for China, and both we and the Chinese know it.

And what about our own country? You know Hillary's election means more continuation of Obama's Unconstitutional Drone Hit Lists. Probably more hijinks in the use and abuse of the IRS against her political enemies. Continued feminist control of education policies and more attacks on the rights of armed service members to fair trials. More open borders. More trade pacts that don't take AMerican workers into account. Possible war with Russia as there's never been a single Neocon foreign policy proscription she seems to have ever opposed.

Hillary Clinton will never start a war with Russia. Nobody is THAT stupid. She will probably bungle any diplomatic discussion with them, though.

Kirb while I agree with most of this a major problem with Islam is the concept of taqqiya where ut is ok to disimulate when not i a position of power. How you would deal with this in sorting out who stays and who goes I don't know. Additionally you will have to overcome bleeding heart liberals/ SJWs resistance to this. One is almost drawn to using at least some of Steers solution and removing some of the source of the problem by nuking Mecca ;) although I think this would not improve matters. I am at a loss to know what to do but we should certainly push back against the creeping Islamisation of the West.

[Clarence]

Do I really need to show you the changes to military law and policy that have often made sexual assault trials Kangaroo courts?

Yes

http://www.cotwa.info/2016/06/ash-carte ... gy-of.html
http://www.ucmj-defender.com/military-a ... e-process/
http://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php ... 81&EXT=pdf

The second is a rare piece of good news.
If you only have the spoons to pick one, please take your time and do the third one though. It's the most comprehensive & important.

[Kirbmarc]

This is at least what I have heard, it is such a complex picture I don't claim to be an expert, to it all looks very grey but the media seem to paint it as black and white. I certainly wouldn't be quite to write them off as another bunch of extremists, especially as they seem to be winning their cold war and we could possibly look forward to a moderate Iran/Iraq power block, I wouldn't want that opportunity to be missed.

If you want to get technical the picture is complex everywhere. Even Saudi Arabia is not as simple as I write them off. Even the Soviet Union went through alternating phases of reformation (Ottopel', thawing) and regression. I simplify things because I already write walls of text, but the reality is that paradoxically one of the reasons why Iran is such a complex country is that they're practically isolated from the international community (mostly the "Western" nations anyway).

The Saudis had "Western" support no matter what, and have exploited it to finance and train the Salafis and other Sunni Muslim supremacist groups, while the Western praised them as "moderates". They had the money and the support to stomp out any attempt at change or reform. People have been made completely dependent on the public sector, which is part of the Salafi/Wahabi propaganda machine.

On the other hand Iran had to adapt and struggle to get by, and as a result the government doesn't have such a strong grip on society as in Saudi Arabia. The Iranian government is too inefficient to enact totalitarian policies and create such a persuasive propaganda machine. To say nothing of the fact that as Shia they can hardly set up a network of explicit Muslim supremacists like the network of Salafi preachers.

They still spread anti-Western propaganda, but have to do it in a more subtle, less open way, often by allying themselves with neo-Nazis and neo-fascists in Europe (they've hosted a Holocaust cartoon award, they have invited David Irving and other negationists to talk, they have ties with many neo-fascist groups, from the Italian Casa Pound to the BNP). They get along wonderfully with them through conspiracy theories about "Zionist media" and about the "decadence of the West".

They are, in a way, very similar to Spain under Franco: they had a secular government which was overthrown and replaced by a one-party state which has close ties to the local religious authorities. Franco's Spain was similarly schizophrenic, with an incredibly old fashioned old guard, a faction of moderates within the government, and modernizers, with Franco playing one side against the other. And Franco's regime was another pariah in the international community. Franco's Spain eventually modernized completely, but it was largely because the King had been secretly working to restructure the Spanish institutions from within and eventually he got into power and was able to do it openly.

I'm mostly talking about their foreign policy. As you said there's a cold war of sorts between them and the Saudis, but unlike you I don't think that Iran is clearly winning, or that the modernization process is inevitable. If anything I think that as you wrote there's a lot of pressure on them towards being "good Muslims" (i.e. Muslim supremacist authoritarians).

Young Muslims are becoming more and more radically religious and authoritarian: there's a Muslim revivalism movement which fascinates the Muslim youth through identity politics just like the SJW moral superiority fascinates the "Western" youth. The Islamic State is the Muslim equivalent of Tumblr and Twitterput together (in a more proactive way of course, those are real warriors, not keyboard ones :lol: ).

I also think that the Saudi establishment isn't going to go away anytime soon and most of all that Muslim supremacist ideas will continue to be popular for a lot of time, especially since all the other movements which have channeled the Arab and in general the Sunni Muslim political youth have all failed miserably: Communism is pretty much over and the last bastions of Arab Nationalism (Saddam's Iraq, Gaddafi's Lybia) have fallen one by one, so the disaffected Sunni Muslim youth is being easily led towards Salafism.

I agree that in this precise moment Iran is the lesser evil, and could eventually, slowly and gradually modernize and set a much better example than the Saudis. What I don't like is the kowtowing which some Western governments show towards Iran when they invite Iranian ambassadors, which is pretty much identical to the kowtowing which they show to Saudi bigwigs.

Italy for example covered up naked statues when they invited a representative from Iran. The funny thing is that the Iranian representative didn't even ask them to do so. The Italians did it automatically, and it was a sign a weakness, of voluntary submission, because "we Westerners" are used to crawl on our bellies before Muslim theocrats, in order not to "upset" or "offend" them.

I agree that right now I'd rather deal with Iran than with the Saudis, but "the West" needs to deal with Iran from a position of strength, not of weakness. We have to make them understand that by opening diplomatic channels with them we're doing them a favor, and we have to make requests, not simply beg on our knees like we have done with the Saudis.

I'd say that we have to "Make Liberal Democracy Great Again" if a ginger asshole hadn't stolen my idea for this slogan. :lol:

I also don't like the ties between Iran and Western neo-fascist and neo-nazi groups, or their anti-Western propaganda. True, it's peanuts compared to the Saudi-sponsored Salafism, but it's a red flag, and if we have to deal with them that shit has to go. I think that if we're careful we can get Iran to drop it rather easily: we don't mess too much with them, they don't mess to much with us. The same cannot be said for the Saudis.

So yeah, let's find a way to talk with the Iranians, but as people who want to give them a chance, not as sniveling dhimmis. Open channels but proceed with caution.

[Kirbmarc]

Kirb while I agree with most of this a major problem with Islam is the concept of taqqiya where ut is ok to disimulate when not i a position of power. How you would deal with this in sorting out who stays and who goes I don't know.

There are many ways. The first is really get to know who they are (especially the imams). Keep them under close control, see where they've studied, where does their money come from (set the IRS on them), listen to the speeches they make, etc. Nobody lies 24/7, no disguise is perfect. Taqqiya isn't a superpower, it's just an authorization to lie.

Additionally you will have to overcome bleeding heart liberals/ SJWs resistance to this.

Yes, this is a big obstacle. This is why I'm doing my small part here and elsewhere by trying to make the SJWs look like the idiots they are and by educating people on them. I think that the Pit has won many small but precious victories, and that we've contributed to the collapse of FTB (and FTB has failed, big time) and to more awareness of SJW tactics in the atheism movements, which has weakened SJW in atheism (they've switched to trying to infiltrate humanism instead).

I think that the SJWs and the bleeding heart will wipe themselves out eventually through infighting and/or becoming extremely unpopular or they'll change their mind. Our job is to make this happen sooner rather than later.

One is almost drawn to using at least some of Steers solution and removing some of the source of the problem by nuking Mecca ;) although I think this would not improve matters. I am at a loss to know what to do but we should certainly push back against the creeping Islamisation of the West.

a) Defend the freedom to criticize Islam, always, with no ifs or buts or concerns about "offending" people. Smash political correctness to bits.

b) Get them when they're young: introduce effective courses which teach the principles of liberal democracy, of the scientific method and of skepticism in schools. Finance those courses by getting rid of all the "X's studies" useless po-mo crap. Too many times we let the religious indoctrinate children without doing anything against it.

c) Moderate immigration: no open gates, but a process of selection. Standards to enter, heavier standards to stay, even heavier to get citizenship. Also more controls of things like age (through medical examinations if necessary), criminal records, family history etc.

d) The whole "monitoring of imams" thing I wrote about above.

e) One Law for All. No religious arbitration tribunals. It's easy to rewrite the law to exclude them, Ontario has done it.

f) No special concessions to Muslims. No "burkini time", no burqas, no gender segregated party meetings. Those are signs of weakness.

g) In foreign policy a gradual disentanglement from our alliances with the Saudis and other petro-states.

h) Zero tolerance for religiously-inspired crimes, and not just throwing back home those who physically assault or steal or deal drugs. If you're an immigrant and you harass women dressed in clothes you don't like you get the boot. If you try to set up a religious police, lie about your age or country of origin, spread violent ideas, support terrorist organizations, etc., you also get the boot.

I don't know if all of this can happen. I know that we have to at least try.

[sp0tlight]

Dick C?

http://img.pr0gramm.com/2016/08/19/c5a3643cc4564788.png

[Tribble]

Made it a few minutes in. Insufferable and entitled whining.
Reminds me of how many girls I know think that when men are uncomfortable with talk of menstrual blood it's because they hate women, and not anything to do with it being literally gross.

I would most certainly not drop smug references about my bellend's propensity for smegma into idle chit-chat at work. Because it's unpleasant, not because women hate men*


*even though they all do, right fellas....?

Maybe this will make it better... Or, perhaps, worse....:

Menstrual fluid contains some blood, as well as cervical mucus, vaginal secretions, and endometrial tissue.

See, it's not just blood though there is blood in it. It's also the uterine lining being sloughed off and drained out.

[VickyCaramel]

I also don't like the ties between Iran and Western neo-fascist and neo-nazi groups, or their anti-Western propaganda. True, it's peanuts compared to the Saudi-sponsored Salafism, but it's a red flag, and if we have to deal with them that shit has to go. I think that if we're careful we can get Iran to drop it rather easily: we don't mess too much with them, they don't mess to much with us. The same cannot be said for the Saudis.

Really? I find that shit hilarious!
Where freedom of speech failed in Europe, they give it a venue in Iran. They know it pisses off the Israelis too.

The west called for sanctions which essentially shut the whole country down, all for a nuclear weapons program which doesn't exist. You have to expect some pushback.

[Tribble]

Also, off to the mountains in 15 minutes. If Ali posts a message here by Sunday, consider the wedding postponed for medical reasons...

Is it just me, or does this smell of Phil figuring out a way to get out of the wedding...

1. He has taken up the highly dangerous art of motorcycle riding.
2. He tries to frequent large, terrorist friendly gatherings.
3. Now he's off to the mountains where the score is probably something like Mountains 4, Phil 0.

[Malky]

Kirb good answers all and I agree we should certainly try. By the way does anyone know what has happened to Aneris?

[Kirbmarc]

I also don't like the ties between Iran and Western neo-fascist and neo-nazi groups, or their anti-Western propaganda. True, it's peanuts compared to the Saudi-sponsored Salafism, but it's a red flag, and if we have to deal with them that shit has to go. I think that if we're careful we can get Iran to drop it rather easily: we don't mess too much with them, they don't mess to much with us. The same cannot be said for the Saudis.

Really? I find that shit hilarious!
Where freedom of speech failed in Europe, they give it a venue in Iran. They know it pisses off the Israelis too.

The west called for sanctions which essentially shut the whole country down, all for a nuclear weapons program which doesn't exist. You have to expect some pushback.

I agree that Europe has some freedom of speech problems and that censoring anyone, even neo-Nazis, is a stupid idea, but I don't find the alliance between European fascists and Iran Muslim fascists hilarious. More like "birds of a feather, flock together".

There are many in the European far-right who admire Iran for how they deal with LGBT people and for their "strong traditions". The followers of Celine, Pound or Guenon, the admirers of Heidegger (the most important philosopher of reactionary right) and of anti-modern, anti-Enlightenment ideas in Europe all love Iran. I find this rather worrying.

It's not just the po-mo SJWs who reject Enlightenment values, the far-right is authoritarian too, in the name of "tradition" and of the "sacred".

[Scented Nectar]

Instead of PREmenstrual syndrome, it's NOmenstrual syndrome. I'm an old fuck now and no longer get periods.

Ohh, poor girl, here are some:
. . . . . . .

that was cheesy, wasn't it?

Oh thanks a lot! I'm sending you the bill for a bunch of pads that I never thought I'd have to buy again. :x

[Mr. X, Indeed]

Instead of PREmenstrual syndrome, it's NOmenstrual syndrome. I'm an old fuck now and no longer get periods.

Ohh, poor girl, here are some:
. . . . . . .

that was cheesy, wasn't it?

Oh thanks a lot! I'm sending you the bill for a bunch of pads that I never thought I'd have to buy again. :x

Just free-bleed. I've heard it's all the rage with the young people.

[Scented Nectar]

So, after c. 30 hours of grind, I'm done with NMS. 10^18 star systems -- all different, yet all the same. The game has, in effect, no content whatsoever.

Depends what you're doing and how quick you go. I only just got my first Atlas Pass today. I'll be there quite a while more.

I've got to not be stubborn though. I was on this one planet and I really wanted to leave. But my strategy for avoiding space pirates was that I wouldn't carry valuables in my ship's inventory, and I had a ton of stuff. I couldn't find any planetside galactic trade terminals, so I kept looking and looking. For hours. Finally, I thought fuck this and discarded a bunch of stuff like some Gek Charms I had found and took off into space.

So, a bunch of pirates attacked me anyways. They even detected stuff when it was completely empty! So, long story short, they killed me the first time when they attacked a few days ago, but then my aim got better over the last couple days, and I've killed 3 of the fuckers' ships now. I didn't have any valuables on me - they were picking a fight with me! I'm getting better at killing animals that attack me too. Nasty little crablike fucker came at me earlier today and I had to take him out. Whipped out my boltcaster and killed it dead.

Anyways, I'm almost ready to break into one of those secured steel door facilities now. I'm not looking to pick any fights with sentinels, but I think I better break into at least one during my travels.

I'm trying to be like, "make peace not war, man", and the pirates are like, "no we want to kill you and steal your stuff". I'm starting to think some pirates are just not very nice people at all!

On the nicer side of things though, I helped a Vy'keen make an important decision today (or was it yesterday?) to get married I think. It was enamoured with one who had nice facial tendrils. Yolo, so I told him to go for it. He was happy and even gave me part of his dowry.

[Scented Nectar]

Ohh, poor girl, here are some:
. . . . . . .

that was cheesy, wasn't it?

Oh thanks a lot! I'm sending you the bill for a bunch of pads that I never thought I'd have to buy again. :x

Just free-bleed. I've heard it's all the rage with the young people.

Too many restaurants that unfairly won't let me do that in their fine establishments. Bunch of misogynists!!! Sure, they SAY it's a biohazard and disgusting, but I know they just really deep down inside hate women!!! :snooty:

[comhcinc]

Do I really need to show you the changes to military law and policy that have often made sexual assault trials Kangaroo courts?

Yes

http://www.cotwa.info/2016/06/ash-carte ... gy-of.html
http://www.ucmj-defender.com/military-a ... e-process/
http://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php ... 81&EXT=pdf

The second is a rare piece of good news.
If you only have the spoons to pick one, please take your time and do the third one though. It's the most comprehensive & important.

I promise to read this later this weekend. I just got from the emergency room with my mother. Doesn't seem to be anything serious but I am drained and I still have to do all the dad stuff that needs to be done.

[Clarence]

http://www.cotwa.info/2016/06/ash-carte ... gy-of.html
http://www.ucmj-defender.com/military-a ... e-process/
http://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php ... 81&EXT=pdf

The second is a rare piece of good news.
If you only have the spoons to pick one, please take your time and do the third one though. It's the most comprehensive & important.

I promise to read this later this weekend. I just got from the emergency room with my mother. Doesn't seem to be anything serious but I am drained and I still have to do all the dad stuff that needs to be done.

Fair enough.
Good luck with the rugrats(what my dad used to call me and my brothers) and especially
your mom.

[Sunder]

"Gawker.com to End Operations Next Week

After nearly fourteen years of operation, Gawker.com will be shutting down next week. The decision to close Gawker comes days after Univision successfully bid $135 million for Gawker Media’s six other websites, and four months after the Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel revealed his clandestine legal campaign against the company."

http://gawker.com/gawker-com-to-end-ope ... 1785455712

:lol:

This puts Hogan on track to become the highest paid porn actor in history, right? Pulling this off at his age in an industry where men earn way less than half of what women make for the same work is quite an accomplishment. Social justice activist of the year, for sure.

That twitter thread is some stupid shit indeed. Their fantasy is that Peter Thiel used his magic billions to buy a verdict and Gawker just needs their own angel billionaire and they'll win an appeal for sure.

Fuck Gawker, and especially fuck Gawker sycophants. I hope every last one of them finds themselves on the wrong end of some revenge porn someday.

[comhcinc]

Fair enough.
Good luck with the rugrats(what my dad used to call me and my brothers) and especially
your mom.

I normally call mine assholes, fuckheads, or a bunch of little cunts.

[dogen]

On the nicer side of things though, I helped a Vy'keen make an important decision today (or was it yesterday?) to get married I think. It was enamoured with one who had nice facial tendrils. Yolo, so I told him to go for it. He was happy and even gave me part of his dowry.

I had the same encounter. Even though the planets, flora and fauna are procedurally generated, the story isn't -- and IMHO, what's provided is weak tea for a $60 game.

Here's a review which hits the nail on the head: https://www.1843magazine.com/culture/th ... o-mans-sky

The more I played “No Man’s Sky”, the more these weird and niche qualities became apparent. The first of them was a peculiar sublimity, as I wandered alien landscapes in a haze of psychedelic colours and swooshy, trance-like music. The second, after 20 or 30 planets, was a creeping feeling of boredom with the vistas and creatures: another goat-shaped being, another grey chain of islands. I became frustrated that there were so few ways I could engage with the glorious worlds. I reflected on the comment that Ricky Gervais attributed to his mother: “Why do you want to go to Paris? There are bits of Reading you’ve never seen.” You could say the same of Zelovorcin Arcorr.

[comhcinc]

That twitter thread is some stupid shit indeed. Their fantasy is that Peter Thiel used his magic billions to buy a verdict and Gawker just needs their own angel billionaire and they'll win an appeal for sure.

Fuck Gawker, and especially fuck Gawker sycophants. I hope every last one of them finds themselves on the wrong end of some revenge porn someday.

I am a little out of it. Are you saying Calacanis is pro Gawker or people responding to him?

Calacanis is a big supporter of Thiel in this case.

I really respect this guy ( not matter how much Service Dog wants to hate fuck him).

[comhcinc]

Oh and on the menstruating thing. My wife would use a menstrual cup. She liked it and it worked pretty good.

http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/ ... iginal.jpg

[Gumby]

Fair enough.
Good luck with the rugrats(what my dad used to call me and my brothers) and especially
your mom.

I normally call mine assholes, fuckheads, or a bunch of little cunts.

You're in some fine company.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/18/health/ar ... index.html

[comhcinc]

Fair enough.
Good luck with the rugrats(what my dad used to call me and my brothers) and especially
your mom.

I normally call mine assholes, fuckheads, or a bunch of little cunts.

You're in some fine company.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/18/health/ar ... index.html

My children are well fed.

but really I love the little fuckers. They are awesome.

[Badger3k]

So, after c. 30 hours of grind, I'm done with NMS. 10^18 star systems -- all different, yet all the same. The game has, in effect, no content whatsoever.

Depends what you're doing and how quick you go. I only just got my first Atlas Pass today. I'll be there quite a while more.

I've got to not be stubborn though. I was on this one planet and I really wanted to leave. But my strategy for avoiding space pirates was that I wouldn't carry valuables in my ship's inventory, and I had a ton of stuff. I couldn't find any planetside galactic trade terminals, so I kept looking and looking. For hours. Finally, I thought fuck this and discarded a bunch of stuff like some Gek Charms I had found and took off into space.

So, a bunch of pirates attacked me anyways. They even detected stuff when it was completely empty! So, long story short, they killed me the first time when they attacked a few days ago, but then my aim got better over the last couple days, and I've killed 3 of the fuckers' ships now. I didn't have any valuables on me - they were picking a fight with me! I'm getting better at killing animals that attack me too. Nasty little crablike fucker came at me earlier today and I had to take him out. Whipped out my boltcaster and killed it dead.

Anyways, I'm almost ready to break into one of those secured steel door facilities now. I'm not looking to pick any fights with sentinels, but I think I better break into at least one during my travels.

I'm trying to be like, "make peace not war, man", and the pirates are like, "no we want to kill you and steal your stuff". I'm starting to think some pirates are just not very nice people at all!

On the nicer side of things though, I helped a Vy'keen make an important decision today (or was it yesterday?) to get married I think. It was enamoured with one who had nice facial tendrils. Yolo, so I told him to go for it. He was happy and even gave me part of his dowry.

I broke down a door early on, not much in there that was worth anything. Did fight off a sentinel dog robot, which is what gets called if you don't get the sentinels in time. you get some titanium, IIRC, from the robot.

One thing that is annoying is that you can't even look into a container if you don't have an open inventory slot. It would be nice to be able to see what is in a container to decide if you want to pick it up, like just about every other game in existence. The developers made some puzzling design choices (the run button being R3 on PS4, the destiny-style inventory/menu system, which is not the best - using the d-pad is a lot easier and faster, having the inventory slots in all equipment in those bizarre patterns instead of a simple square or other common shape - not sure what they were going for but it's clunky as hell, the bad choice to have to dig through menus to recharge things like weapons and life support - a shortcut would be good, or a system like Ark where you can repair items with a button push - it does force you to recharge at every opportunity so you don't get low because you can't recharge fast in a pinch). Maybe these were deliberate choices, or maybe they just had no clue how to do things differently.

I'm trying to figure out why there are atlas pass items and doors in these early stages. Since I don't have any and from what I can tell, finding my way back to some of these locations is almost impossible (once I discover something all waypoints to it seem to disappear, so it is pretty much luck to find the same location twice - any help on that?) - so that tells me that these locked boxes and doors aren't really important and I am not missing anything by skipping them. Is an Atlas pass the same as the chips - one use, or is it something you keep? I assume the second, but seeing the other design choices they made I am not sure that is smart to do.

[Brive1987]

Ha. Thank you. I have to say I've never really researched Bigfoot that much. It just plainly doesn't interest me.

Patterson–Gimlin pace analysis gives me a woody.

Yeah? At what angle?

[youtube][/youtube]

:? Haven't approached 70 degrees since my teens.

[Matt Cavanaugh]

Hemant leads the charge of the White Knights For Transgenders Brigade. Court denies relief for MtF funeral home employee claiming sex discrimination. Plaintiff's case was shit, but none of the White Knights have bothered to read the ruling, just interwebz agitprop.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyat ... ng-a-suit/

[AndrewV69]

When I say "we" I don't mean just the US (as I pointed out in a post up page) but I agree it's complicated. I disagree that nothing can be done. That is the first time anyone has ever called me a bleeding heart.

OK so your heart is in the right place but man you are so ignorant it is amazing. Recent experienceces in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya have made no impression at all. Not to mention the current war going on in Yemen.

[Brive1987]

This Israel debate requires my input.

http://i2.wp.com/cdn.wanderingpioneer.c ... =800%2C511

Now waiting for the Iranian riposte.

Thank you.

[CommanderTuvok]

That twitter thread is some stupid shit indeed. Their fantasy is that Peter Thiel used his magic billions to buy a verdict and Gawker just needs their own angel billionaire and they'll win an appeal for sure.

Fuck Gawker, and especially fuck Gawker sycophants. I hope every last one of them finds themselves on the wrong end of some revenge porn someday.

Agree completely. You'll notice a lot of SJWs who are supportive of Gawker. Amazing how being anti-GamerGate and a panderer to the SJWs means that a media company that publishes revenge porn and other trash can get such a free pass.

[comhcinc]

When I say "we" I don't mean just the US (as I pointed out in a post up page) but I agree it's complicated. I disagree that nothing can be done. That is the first time anyone has ever called me a bleeding heart.

OK so your heart is in the right place but man you are so ignorant it is amazing. Recent experienceces in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya have made no impression at all. Not to mention the current war going on in Yemen.

Look dude, like it is pretty apparent you don't know what you are talking about. So unless you are willing to actually show where I am "so ignorant"* then shut the fuck until you can.



*I was stating an opinion you fucking moron

[AndrewV69]

Hillary Clinton will never start a war with Russia. Nobody is THAT stupid. She will probably bungle any diplomatic discussion with them, though.

She might not directly herself but, Neocons like the Nuland and Kagan familys are quite capable. Involvement in the Georgian/South Ossetia debacles and the more recent ones in the Ukraine do not exactly leave me with much confidence in their competence or perception of reality.

[AndrewV69]

When I say "we" I don't mean just the US (as I pointed out in a post up page) but I agree it's complicated. I disagree that nothing can be done. That is the first time anyone has ever called me a bleeding heart.

OK so your heart is in the right place but man you are so ignorant it is amazing. Recent experienceces in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya have made no impression at all. Not to mention the current war going on in Yemen.

Look dude, like it is pretty apparent you don't know what you are talking about. So unless you are willing to actually show where I am "so ignorant"* then shut the fuck until you can.



*I was stating an opinion you fucking moron

LMAO! Dude. You gave up the right to call anyone a moron.

[DrokkIt]

Agree completely. You'll notice a lot of SJWs who are supportive of Gawker. Amazing how being anti-GamerGate and a panderer to the SJWs means that a media company that publishes revenge porn and other trash can get such a free pass.

It is... illogical.

Sorry, been watching Voyager all day.

[HunnyBunny]

By the way does anyone know what has happened to Aneris?

Someone mentioned the war.



Or it might have been an argument about how the glorious German press weren't quite so glorious. Whatever, someone suggested Aneris might have been wrong, and poof, s/h/it vanished in a puff of German pride to bunker down for a bit.

[HunnyBunny]

So, after c. 30 hours of grind, I'm done with NMS. 10^18 star systems -- all different, yet all the same. The game has, in effect, no content whatsoever.

This is suggestive of your failure to understand life...apparently

[katamari Damassi]

has there been a change in how you embed youtube videos here? I can't seem to do it.

[Brive1987]

has there been a change in how you embed youtube videos here? I can't seem to do it.

Full URL apparently.

Which fucks me on a iPAD.

:x

[Bourne Skeptic]

has there been a change in how you embed youtube videos here? I can't seem to do it.

You didn't get the memo?

[dogen]

I broke down a door early on, not much in there that was worth anything. Did fight off a sentinel dog robot, which is what gets called if you don't get the sentinels in time. you get some titanium, IIRC, from the robot.

Plus some tech, sometimes. FYI The dog (elite) sentinels go down real quick with a grenade launcher. Killed a whole bunch while raiding planets for vortex cubes and gravitino balls.

One thing that is annoying is that you can't even look into a container if you don't have an open inventory slot. It would be nice to be able to see what is in a container to decide if you want to pick it up, like just about every other game in existence. The developers made some puzzling design choices (the run button being R3 on PS4, the destiny-style inventory/menu system, which is not the best - using the d-pad is a lot easier and faster, having the inventory slots in all equipment in those bizarre patterns instead of a simple square or other common shape - not sure what they were going for but it's clunky as hell, the bad choice to have to dig through menus to recharge things like weapons and life support - a shortcut would be good, or a system like Ark where you can repair items with a button push - it does force you to recharge at every opportunity so you don't get low because you can't recharge fast in a pinch). Maybe these were deliberate choices, or maybe they just had no clue how to do things differently.

I'm trying to figure out why there are atlas pass items and doors in these early stages. Since I don't have any and from what I can tell, finding my way back to some of these locations is almost impossible (once I discover something all waypoints to it seem to disappear, so it is pretty much luck to find the same location twice - any help on that?) - so that tells me that these locked boxes and doors aren't really important and I am not missing anything by skipping them. Is an Atlas pass the same as the chips - one use, or is it something you keep? I assume the second, but seeing the other design choices they made I am not sure that is smart to do.

If you follow the Atlas path, you'll eventually wind up with a pass. The pass is a one-and-done -- it doesn't get used up like bypass chips. And, you're not really missing much by not being open the boxes -- they are typically electron vapor or suspension fluid.