The Off Topic Topic

[Admiral Yi]

Haven't looked at Johnny Depp's trial.  Not my thing.  I haven't read the news either.  But I keep seeing videos mocking Amber Heard on Reddit, Facebook, Tik Tok and Twitter.  I believe Depp has already won, no matter the final verdict.  I did like the one where Heard appears to be snorting a line of coke in the tribunal.   

I've seen a bunch of clips.  I'm wondering if he paid people for positive youtube coverage to influence the trial.

[The Larch]

Haven't looked at Johnny Depp's trial.  Not my thing.  I haven't read the news either.  But I keep seeing videos mocking Amber Heard on Reddit, Facebook, Tik Tok and Twitter.  I believe Depp has already won, no matter the final verdict.  I did like the one where Heard appears to be snorting a line of coke in the tribunal.   

I've seen a bunch of clips.  I'm wondering if he paid people for positive youtube coverage to influence the trial.

His PR people must have been acting behind the scenes to kickstart a positive online movement in his favour, that wouldn't surprise me.

[Eddie Teach]

Well, he did already have lots of fans. Nobody cares about Aqua Girl.

[grumbler]

Yeah, the Littoral Combat Ships (which weren't really ships, being too small) were, like the Zumwalt class destroyers, just an attempt to gain efficiencies that were beyond current technology.  The combat module size was selected for its easy fit into the ship, rather than the size needed for the sensors and systems needed for the mission.  Unsurprisingly, the tech then wouldn't fit in the modules.  The fact that neither hull variant was good enough to choose over the other, resulting in both being built, was another warning sign.

One would think that the decommissioned LCS would be desirable in foreign military sales, but the ships are too expensive to maintain for any other navy to be interested besides Taiwan.  And the US is reluctant to poke the Chinese bear by selling them to Taiwan.

[The Minsky Moment]

It was never clear to me what the mission fit for LCS was supposed to be.  It's overkill for dealing with stuff like the Iranian boats in the Gulf; too squishy and expensive to risk against the PRC in their controlled waters.

[grumbler]

It was never clear to me what the mission fit for LCS was supposed to be.  It's overkill for dealing with stuff like the Iranian boats in the Gulf; too squishy and expensive to risk against the PRC in their controlled waters.

It was originally conceived as an expendable, lightly-manned-and-highly-automated inshore patrol vessel for places like the Taiwan Straight and the Persian Gulf.  The design process, like that for the DDG-1000 class, ended up adding "just a bit more" so many times that the result did not fit any requirements whatsoever.

With computer software so capable, making design changes is too easy, unlike the old system that required a lot of consideration before you paid someone a lot of money to make a design change and all the other changes that rippled from that change.

Not that the old system always worked; the US was interested in the Washington Naval Treaty process in part because the old system had delivered designs for the six South Dakota class battleships that were obsolescent before they were laid down.

[CountDeMoney]

All part and parcel of "the irregular warfare" fad of the post-9/11 thinking: make it cheap, make it modular, do a lot of things good but nothing specifically well.

Of course, like you wrote,

The fact that neither hull variant was good enough to choose over the other, resulting in both being built, was another warning sign.

Because why not.

[Admiral Yi]

Heard on NPR that scientists have discovered that the cause of Gulf War Syndrome was Iraqi stocks of Sarin that got hit by US munitions.

[viper37]

Haven't looked at Johnny Depp's trial.  Not my thing.  I haven't read the news either.  But I keep seeing videos mocking Amber Heard on Reddit, Facebook, Tik Tok and Twitter.  I believe Depp has already won, no matter the final verdict.  I did like the one where Heard appears to be snorting a line of coke in the tribunal. 

I've seen a bunch of clips.  I'm wondering if he paid people for positive youtube coverage to influence the trial.

From what I've read way before this trial, he's nearly broke.  Well, not by out standards, but by Hollywood's standards.  Drugs, booze, compulsive buying and lots of mismanagement of his assets.

I don't think he can afford a huge PR team.  Maybe his lawyers can recruit a couple of influencers on social medias, but that's about it.

[Sheilbh]

He had one of the most prominent/expensive PR firms in London during and after the libel trial here trying to plant soft stories (they eventually got GQ) and launch social media content (more difficult with no cameras and reporting restrictions).

Maybe he's a lot poorer now but I'd be amazed if he didn't have some form of PR support. And a lot of the anti-Heard content is getting pretty nasty, misogynist and very much not great.

[celedhring]

He had one of the most prominent/expensive PR firms in London during and after the libel trial here trying to plant soft stories (they eventually got GQ) and launch social media content (more difficult with no cameras and reporting restrictions).

Maybe he's a lot poorer now but I'd be amazed if he didn't have some form of PR support. And a lot of the anti-Heard content is getting pretty nasty, misogynist and very much not great.

I haven't followed the trial at all, but I'm betting the anti-Heard camp is benefitting from a lot of volunteer service from the Misogynist International, so not that many money is required.

[Legbiter]

Eurovision is today. My prediction is Ukraine wins.   

[Maladict]

Eurovision is today. My prediction is Ukraine wins.   

Why do you think politics will influence a professional music contest?

[Eddie Teach]

I wonder what the betting odds are.

[Threviel]

My wife is forcing me to watch Eurovision. Jeesusss fucking christ  someone shoot me, this is horrible. 

Why are the most anti-gay countries the most obvious gay?