Recent posts

#1

Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...

Last post by crazy canuck - Today at 07:17:36 PM

Do you think that is conceiveable?!

Seriously what kind of a comment is that, if we are only allowed to comment on speculate on things that we have the most detailed understanding of of anyone on the planet, there won't be much left to discuss.

You said you hoped they have data to reach the same conclusion. 

#2

Off the Record / Re: Israel-Hamas War 2023

Last post by Admiral Yi - Today at 05:42:47 PM

Didn't she actually sail there are get arrested or something? Seems bizarre to have such sneering contempt for somebody who actually put their ass on the line.

Also what exactly is your criticism here? Is there some concrete action one individual person can do that would instantly solve all these problems? I mean if US Presidents have flailed importently for decades it seems insane to direct your ire at some random powerless private person. Seems like the people who actually have power, money, and resources and still miserably fail at everything would be more worthy of your contempt.

My criticism is that Squeeze gets what he wants, which is a cease fire and the IDF "fucks off" from at least parts of Gaza, Hamas starts shooting Palestinians, and he can't accept that's a result of exactly what he was asking for.

#3

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Tonitrus - Today at 05:40:55 PM

Again, that is a very American centric view if the world. A parliamentary system does have competing branches of government.  The flaw in the US system is it did create competing branches and hoped each branch would be a check on the others. 

The Parliament system encourages cooperation.  For a third time (because you keep ignoring this point) a non confidence vote, like a budget vote, means there is a new general election.  That tends to focus the mind on what compromises are possible.

It also gives a lot of power to back benchers if someone like Trump (or Vance) were to arise.

I still think you are very much wrong, or coming from a similarly Canadian-centric parliamentarian view.  The "non-confidence vote" only works if the members/backbenchers of the party in power think it is to their advantage/ambition to scuttle the current leader.  You would be hard-pressed to convince me that if we translated Trump/MAGA/GOP into a parliamentary system, that Trump would be under any kind of threat.  Sure, he might be more vulnerable in theory, but only marginally so. 

And even then...what stops a Prime Minister, with a loyal cabinet and administrative control of the police/security services from doing anything different than Trump is doing now?  What happens if a PM says "fuck your vote of no-confidence, I am not leaving power...try and stop me"...or "nope, no new general election is necessary just because we didn't pass a budget...we'll just keep going as we were"?  And has enough support, or I suppose, apathy, in the cabinet or other gears of power to stop it? 

There are no really superior, real safeguards in a parliamentary system than in ours...other than the theoretical hope that the administration, security services/military, or other pillars of power (including the willingness of the people/society to engage in mass protest), will do the right thing and stop the wannabe-dictator at the top.

These are the flaws of any democratic/republican system...and ours was always as subject to failure, just as Hungary was, or others.  They can all sink when those involved lose their ethics to ambition, nationalism, or some other anti-democratic drive.  Ultimately, "my system is better" doesn't get one very far if the other more important factors are crumbling around us.

#4

Off the Record / Re: Israel-Hamas War 2023

Last post by Valmy - Today at 05:14:44 PM

Clearly Greta Thunberg needs to chant from the river to the sea some more.
Like the previous dozen times.
They obviously have to do it again.  Next time it'll definitely work and Hamas will stop killing Palestinians by sheer moral force.

Didn't she actually sail there are get arrested or something? Seems bizarre to have such sneering contempt for somebody who actually put their ass on the line.

Also what exactly is your criticism here? Is there some concrete action one individual person can do that would instantly solve all these problems? I mean if US Presidents have flailed importently for decades it seems insane to direct your ire at some random powerless private person. Seems like the people who actually have power, money, and resources and still miserably fail at everything would be more worthy of your contempt.

#5

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Tamas - Today at 04:00:51 PM

just seems like Presidential systems have authoritarianism much more baked into them

I agree

#6

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Valmy - Today at 03:45:28 PM

A parlamentiary as opposed to presidential democracy is better no argument there, but just from my limited knowledge I can raise Hungary as a parlamentiary democracy that has failed. It even had a very modern two-rounds election system which was far superior to something like the British first past the post nonsense but once an actor like Orban got a constitutional majority it all went to hell.

You got me there.

My point here is that in the Parliamentary system the Parliament just matters. In Presidential Systems it always seems like eventually the President just ends up in charge of everything. The prestige of Head of State just dwarfs everything and the people just blame everything on the President, and so logically the President is very motivated to control the things he is held accountable for and our House and Senate seem delighted to not take the blame or responsbility for anything.

But of course any system can become corrupted. It just seems like Presidential systems have authoritarianism much more baked into them and it wasn't like people weren't warning us about this back in the 1780s when we wrote our current Constitution. If anything it is impressive it took a few centuries for this to come to pass.

Naturally any system is just a piece of paper at the end of the day.

#7

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Tamas - Today at 03:19:58 PM

Concentrating power just concentrates power - you concentrate power in a few hands with no checks in balances to fight the rich and suddenly you have created your own enemy.

Checks and balances are annoying when your guy is being checked and balanced but the best system invented so far to maintain a democracy.

Where are the checks and balances to which you refer? Sounds great in theory - it's in practice that it starts crumbling.  Take the US as the most recent tragic example.

Sure but no matter what system you build (and this is in reply to Sheilbh as well), anything beyond sheer physical coercion requires the consent of the ruled and the powerful to accept the rules.

First stop is the ones in power agreeing implicitly not to use their power to diminish other branches of power. If they try those other branches should push back before it is too late. Failing that, the electorate should step in to stop those efforts.

Obviously if all those steps fail then the system fails but this is not something you can remedy except by giving up and just going straight for your preferred form of autocracy.

Again, that is a very American centric view if the world. A parliamentary system does have competing branches of government.  The flaw in the US system is it did create competing branches and hoped each branch would be a check on the others. 

The Parliament system encourages cooperation.  For a third time (because you keep ignoring this point) a non confidence vote, like a budget vote, means there is a new general election.  That tends to focus the mind on what compromises are possible.

It also gives a lot of power to back benchers if someone like Trump (or Vance) were to arise.

A parlamentiary as opposed to presidential democracy is better no argument there, but just from my limited knowledge I can raise Hungary as a parlamentiary democracy that has failed. It even had a very modern two-rounds election system which was far superior to something like the British first past the post nonsense but once an actor like Orban got a constitutional majority it all went to hell.

#8

Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...

Last post by Tamas - Today at 03:16:17 PM

Do you think that is conceiveable?!

Seriously what kind of a comment is that, if we are only allowed to comment on speculate on things that we have the most detailed understanding of of anyone on the planet, there won't be much left to discuss.

#9

Gaming HQ / Re: Elite: Dangerous

Last post by Tamas - Today at 03:14:05 PM

What a bummer.

The system I chose to colonise has a good number of planets but all of them are ice ones with two exceptions, a gas giant with ammonia-based life and a planet close to the sun made one third of metals. The plan was to build around and on the latter figuring that's gotta give a nice bonus to some extraction bases.

The coloniser ship when it arrived parked around one moon of a twin-moon formation orbiting one of the gas giants. I thought whatever I will just build up the metal planet afterwards.

I grind out this first outpost, just to realise when trying to select a second site that the metal planet is too unstable for construction.

Goddamit.

Kicked off a planetary industrial port construction on the moon orbited by the outpost, but FFS it needs even more materials than the outpost, plus of course it needs to be hauled to the surface. Yeah, I prpbamly won't bother.

What I should do instead is save up 5 billion credits for a fleet carrier so I can load that up with the build materials and then at least I would only need to haul from orbit.

With the time I have available to play I recon I can buy that thing in a few years. :p

#10

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by The Brain - Today at 02:50:53 PM

We shall see if the Republicans bother to repeal the 13th amendment or decide just to ignore it.