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#1
Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...
Last post by Josquius - Today at 04:44:11 AMStreeting a real monkey's paw Starmer replacement for sure.
Whatever happened to Burnham's move for the leadership?
Heard an interesting interview from Polanski the other day- he said the quiet bit out loud, of course he doesn't expect to be PM, but he hopes to scare Labour into moving left and actually doing something to benefit normal people.
I've been saying this for years. Labour trying to out-reform reform just isn't going to work. Losing voters to the left is a far bigger issue- not to mention that policies in this direction are actually the right thing that needs to be done.
Whatever happened to Burnham's move for the leadership?
Heard an interesting interview from Polanski the other day- he said the quiet bit out loud, of course he doesn't expect to be PM, but he hopes to scare Labour into moving left and actually doing something to benefit normal people.
I've been saying this for years. Labour trying to out-reform reform just isn't going to work. Losing voters to the left is a far bigger issue- not to mention that policies in this direction are actually the right thing that needs to be done.
#2
Off the Record / Re: The Population Decline Thr...
Last post by Josquius - Today at 04:01:52 AMReading the Unmitigated Pedantry bit about about medieval people.
He speaks a lot about how high birth rates were a necessity due to the high mortality rate. That people not getting married and having kids just wasn't much of a thing because it wasn't for you that you got married and had kids, but for the community. It needed the people to survive.
This got me thinking then. Could this be a factor in birth rates today.
Having kids just...doesn't seem very good. So many people choose not to do it. It's entirely their individual choice. The social expectation from your parents has dwindled away and before that the expectation of the broader community where you spent your whole life also died.
A counter-point though. Those countries leading the way on plummeting birth-rates are the least individualistic countries on the planet. If its people no longer giving a shit about societal expectations that is to blame then explain Japan?
Sure...it could well be Japan had a hard shift to controlling your birth rates and efforts to push it back the other way haven't been enough.
Or maybe that this cultural shift is very sticky. Its hard to undo once it has happened....
I do think there's something in the community point. I've long said this is a key factor- live in a car centric dystopia where you have to drive to go to work and the shop then where the hell are you ever going to meet someone to hook up with?
Though the community pressure point, as well as the more recent parental pressure point, is something to think about.
Maybe the issue is that this is all coming from the government, in a very "government says don't eat the mercury? I better eat the mercury" age. There's not such a low level ground pressure as there would once be.
The Japanese government is panicking about its birth rates but your average little old lady in modern Japan? meh. She'd like to see more kids about. But she gets why young people aren't doing it. Its their choice.
He speaks a lot about how high birth rates were a necessity due to the high mortality rate. That people not getting married and having kids just wasn't much of a thing because it wasn't for you that you got married and had kids, but for the community. It needed the people to survive.
This got me thinking then. Could this be a factor in birth rates today.
Having kids just...doesn't seem very good. So many people choose not to do it. It's entirely their individual choice. The social expectation from your parents has dwindled away and before that the expectation of the broader community where you spent your whole life also died.
A counter-point though. Those countries leading the way on plummeting birth-rates are the least individualistic countries on the planet. If its people no longer giving a shit about societal expectations that is to blame then explain Japan?
Sure...it could well be Japan had a hard shift to controlling your birth rates and efforts to push it back the other way haven't been enough.
Or maybe that this cultural shift is very sticky. Its hard to undo once it has happened....
I do think there's something in the community point. I've long said this is a key factor- live in a car centric dystopia where you have to drive to go to work and the shop then where the hell are you ever going to meet someone to hook up with?
Though the community pressure point, as well as the more recent parental pressure point, is something to think about.
Maybe the issue is that this is all coming from the government, in a very "government says don't eat the mercury? I better eat the mercury" age. There's not such a low level ground pressure as there would once be.
The Japanese government is panicking about its birth rates but your average little old lady in modern Japan? meh. She'd like to see more kids about. But she gets why young people aren't doing it. Its their choice.
#3
Gaming HQ / Re: Dwarf Fortress
Last post by Sophie Scholl - Today at 03:05:39 AM
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#4
Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...
Last post by Richard Hakluyt - Today at 02:50:33 AMI was thinking to myself the other day, "why are people getting so cross about a continuity government?"; but then I reflected "that is precisely why they are so cross". I think we have a huge shakeup coming, I would like Labour to start that shakeup as the alternative is a shakeup starting in 2029 led by Farage (and I don't think he is up to the job).
Is there anyone who can implement a shakeup and get us out of this long, slow decline? Looking at the array of 3rd-raters I doubt it.
It would be helpful if they started thinking about the country more, and a bit less about their parties.
Is there anyone who can implement a shakeup and get us out of this long, slow decline? Looking at the array of 3rd-raters I doubt it.
It would be helpful if they started thinking about the country more, and a bit less about their parties.
#5
Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...
Last post by Tamas - Today at 02:41:30 AMStreeting? Wes Streeting? Seriously?
#6
Gaming HQ / Re: Europa Universalis V confi...
Last post by Syt - Today at 01:35:46 AMBiggest conundrum for me to wrap my head around at the moment is diplomacy. Glancing at the map it appears to be covered with teeny tiny entities, begging to be conquered.
But then you look at it and they're vassals or fiefdoms of someone who has a personal union with someone and is also allied with someone else who has vassals etc. and it quickly becomes a crazy game of Jenga where you have to figure out which block you (i.e. your country and army) you can safely remove. That list is longer if you're, say, France, less so if you're Holstein-Rendsburg or Meissen or other midsized country.
It's also confusing how some interactions work in personal unions or regencies. The countries are separate entities, so when I was playing Brandenburg and the ruler of Lower Bavaria died, it created a personal union, but while I initially had leadership, Lower Bavaria took it over within months (since they are much stronger in 1337 start).
Which feels weird; it's a bit hard for my brain to internalize that I'm running the country, and its ruler is one factor of many in that - and just because they are also ruling another country, it doesn't mean I can do whatever towards them. I am not playing as the ruling dynasty.
Similar with Holstein-Rendsburg. Your count starts is also the regent of Denmark at game start. But at least at first glance I couldn't see many direct benefits (it was my first game, so didn't look into diplo bonuses etc. that it might give).
But then you look at it and they're vassals or fiefdoms of someone who has a personal union with someone and is also allied with someone else who has vassals etc. and it quickly becomes a crazy game of Jenga where you have to figure out which block you (i.e. your country and army) you can safely remove. That list is longer if you're, say, France, less so if you're Holstein-Rendsburg or Meissen or other midsized country.
It's also confusing how some interactions work in personal unions or regencies. The countries are separate entities, so when I was playing Brandenburg and the ruler of Lower Bavaria died, it created a personal union, but while I initially had leadership, Lower Bavaria took it over within months (since they are much stronger in 1337 start).
Which feels weird; it's a bit hard for my brain to internalize that I'm running the country, and its ruler is one factor of many in that - and just because they are also ruling another country, it doesn't mean I can do whatever towards them. I am not playing as the ruling dynasty.
Similar with Holstein-Rendsburg. Your count starts is also the regent of Denmark at game start. But at least at first glance I couldn't see many direct benefits (it was my first game, so didn't look into diplo bonuses etc. that it might give).
#7
Gaming HQ / Re: Europa Universalis V confi...
Last post by crazy canuck - November 11, 2025, 09:41:31 PMYes, there is a region map mode you can toggle. It's worth taking a look at that, and the tactical map mode before starting a war.
#8
Off the Record / Re: Israel-Hamas War 2023
Last post by Razgovory - November 11, 2025, 09:28:42 PMReally weird to go to Sudan to explain to kids in a refugee camp about how hard people in Gaza have it. https://www.tiktok.com/@soha_x/video/7566743964896873750
#9
Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...
Last post by Tonitrus - November 11, 2025, 09:26:53 PMQuote from: Razgovory on November 11, 2025, 09:17:03 PMWho was asking for that?
QuoteHe (Sen. Rand Paul) and hemp industry insiders have blamed Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for the inclusion of the hemp ban after he advocated for closing a "loophole" in the 2018 Farm Bill that allowed for the unregulated sale of the products.
#10
Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...
Last post by Razgovory - November 11, 2025, 09:17:03 PMWho was asking for that?