Recent posts

#31

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

Last post by garbon - Today at 03:35:35 AM

And The Brain makes some good points: The "larger concept of peace" has been problematic, to say the least. While plenty of good causes have gotten some welcome attention, these causes have had a rather tenuous connection to peace...

Agreed. However, I'm not all that bothered if people want to deviate from his will. More than a century on, I'm not sure why we should feel obliged to indulge his personal rehabilitation scheme.

#32

Off the Record / Re: US - Greenland Crisis Thre...

Last post by Zoupa - Today at 03:23:30 AM

I would approve of it much more than what's going on now.  At the least I could respect the people doing it.

What do you mean by "what's going on now" that you disapprove of and don't respect? I'm not aware of any counteractions to the ICE stuff.

#33

Off the Record / Re: US - Greenland Crisis Thre...

Last post by Richard Hakluyt - Today at 03:10:41 AM

There are always extremists who exploit protests for their own ends. These people are useful to whoever is against the protest, they can be shown breaking the law or with offensive slogans or signs, which is then used to blacken the name of the entire protest movement.

#34

Off the Record / Re: US - Greenland Crisis Thre...

Last post by The Brain - Today at 03:10:33 AM

Best one so far. 

#35

Off the Record / Re: US - Greenland Crisis Thre...

Last post by Admiral Yi - Today at 02:34:51 AM

I would approve of it much more than what's going on now.  At the least I could respect the people doing it.

#36

Off the Record / Re: US - Greenland Crisis Thre...

Last post by celedhring - Today at 02:27:10 AM

I feel like a lot of people don't really get Ghandi's peaceful resistance, and that Yi wouldn't approve of it if it was really deployed in the US. It does involve breaking the law if you believe the law is unjust, as long as you do it peacefully. And keep doing it persistently (and massively) until the other side has to chose between violence or the law.

In this case, it would involve people physically obstructing ICE and forcing them to exercise violence to carry out their duties. Given that they are shotting people that are even getting out of the way, we know how that would end.

For what is worth, all the protest calls I'm seeing floating around don't call for breaking the law (many, in fact, also inform protestors of what they can or can't legally do). I'm not saying they should break the law - here I am sitting on my couch in a geopolitically irrelevant Euro nation - but that the Ghandi method is much more disruptive than that.

#37

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

Last post by Norgy - Today at 02:23:15 AM

The Peace Prize is worth as much as a Burger King paper crown or the FIFA Peace Prize now.

And The Brain makes some good points: The "larger concept of peace" has been problematic, to say the least. While plenty of good causes have gotten some welcome attention, these causes have had a rather tenuous connection to peace...

#38

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

Last post by The Brain - Today at 02:12:43 AM

I think it's a bad thing that the Peace Prize committee has, for a very long time, strayed from its mission. The Peace Prize is about peace. Not freedom, not democracy, not opposition to oppression. All those were very hot topics during Nobel's later life, if he had wanted to create a Prize for those things he would have. I think the peace movement is wrong, but what I think doesn't matter, it's what Nobel wanted in his will that matters. The committe has taken Nobel's name and money and used it for their own personal agendas. This is a bad thing.

A potential counterargument could be "but freedom etc are good things, and improves the chances of peace". Sure, but when you let your own pet areas trump Nobel's will, then you're fine with political winds deciding the Prize. In the not-too-distant future maybe the idea will be "lasting peace is only possible with racial purity, cleaning the gene pool should therefore be rewarded".

There is a cost to ignoring wills. I for one would be reluctant to set up a Prize that I know is likely to be hijacked for other purposes. So we won't see a Brain Prize for Non-Douchery.

#39

Off the Record / Re: STAR TREK

Last post by Syt - Today at 01:52:48 AM

The cast famously got along real well. Supposedly when Frakes was first on tbe DS9 set (directing i think) he was thrown off by the atmosphere.

Patrick Stewart said that the show saved him. He was an unbearable stick in the mud by his own account when he joined the cast and the atmosphere and "family" of TNG helped him loosen up and get over himself.



Starfleet Academy then. I thought it was ok. I like the characters. Trek Culture did a spoiler free video about Ep. 1-6 saying eps 1 and 2 are fine, but 3 and 5 are probably the best ones they've seen so far. But yes, it does a lot of the "college drama/comedy", so if you don't like that, you may not enjoy it. It's not quite on the silliness of Lower Decks, but not as dour as Discovery often was. But every new show needs to find its tone.

Paul Giamatti was quite fun as cartoon villain in Ep. 1. Really enjoyed the Doctor, Gina Yashere as the half-Klingon/half Jem'hadar Cadet Master, and of course Tig Notaro as Janet Jett Reno. Holly Hunter plays the part Lanthanite chancellor, and I guess Lanthanites are just inherently quirky hippies, see also Carol Kane as Pelia on Strange New World - though fortunately toned down from Pelia. She does a great job IMO. And Dadmiral Vance is back, too. I also like the young cast so far. The opening of Ep. 1 was maybe a bit stretched out, but eh.

Let's see where it goes, but I expect the usual "too diverse" "too woke" "not Trek enough" "not my Trek" backlash. So far I don't hate it, but I try to take each show on its own merits.

#40

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

Last post by Crazy_Ivan80 - Today at 01:37:57 AM

Ah, thanks.