The Off Topic Topic

[Valmy]

Is Macedonian actually a significantly different language than Bulgarian?

Of course we already did something kind of ridiculous by pretending Croatian and Serbian are significantly different languages already right? I have no problem keeping that going if it keeps the madness in check.

[Sheilbh]

I think it very much depends who you ask.

[Josquius]

Yeah, it's curious.
A Bosnian I know sees no issue with filling in her cv that she knows 3 languages (as recruiters won't get that they're the same)
I mentioned this to a Croatian and she thought it stupid and said she'd only ever put Croatian since that's the accent she has.

On Internet shenanigans apparently in France you now need a credit card to verify your age before accessing p0rn sites.

The UK has hinted that way but surprised to see it enacted. And by France of all countries.

For legit porn sites I guess, the ones that don't get much traction anyways. 
Did not see it reported around here so I will wait for a confirmation. 

I did an experiment with a vpn.
It happens with PH

[Sheilbh]

Yeah, it's curious.
A Bosnian I know sees no issue with filling in her cv that she knows 3 languages (as recruiters won't get that they're the same)
I mentioned this to a Croatian and she thought it stupid and said she'd only ever put Croatian since that's the accent she has.

Yeah I mean that is the dark side of it because even for an EU member state like Bulgaria - I can't think of a reason for denying Macedonian exists and they actually speak Bulgarian from a little bit revanchism.

Semi-related the BBC documentary, which I think is on YouTube, and accompanying Death of Yugoslavia is incredible. One of those documentaries the BBC seemed to have specialised in in the 90s with insane access - they've got interviews with Milosevic, Izetbegovic etc (I think maybe because it was pre-Kosovo?).

[crazy canuck]

As I had it explained to me Croatian and Serb are essentially the same, but there are some differences - apparently there are some weird conjugations in Croatian that make it a bit more complex.  The advice to me - don't bother trying to learn it, it is way too complex.

[Sheilbh]

As I had it explained to me Croatian and Serb are essentially the same, but there are some differences - apparently there are some weird conjugations in Croatian that make it a bit more complex.  The advice to me - don't bother trying to learn it, it is way too complex.

A friend of mine used to live and work in the area. He had multiple experiences with taxi drivers in Serbia who he chatted to. After the cabbie complimented him on his language, he'd explain he learned it living in Bosnia and each time the cabbie would just shut up and not say another word for the rest of the trip.

[crazy canuck]

As I had it explained to me Croatian and Serb are essentially the same, but there are some differences - apparently there are some weird conjugations in Croatian that make it a bit more complex.  The advice to me - don't bother trying to learn it, it is way too complex.

A friend of mine used to live and work in the area. He had multiple experiences with taxi drivers in Serbia who he chatted to. After the cabbie complimented him on his language, he'd explain he learned it living in Bosnia and each time the cabbie would just shut up and not say another word for the rest of the trip.

 

[The Larch]

I pity their CM. 

Absolutely love the two Bulgarians picking up on Macedonian being offered

Chatting to a friend in the region recently and he was saying that seems to be the current issue with North Macedonia joining the EU. Bulgaria's stance is that there's no need to add an official language for them because their language is already an official language: Bulgarian! The Macedonians (not unreasonably in my view) say they've already given up their country name, they're not willing to give up their language too.

The perverse slippery slope issue with that is that if you start by accepting that Macedonian is not a true language, the next step for some people in that neck of the woods is denying that Macedonian is a true nationality, and that instead of being independent they should (re)join their true motherland, in this case Bulgaria.

What Bulgaria is doing to Macedonia in this topic is BS nationalistic bullying, picking a fight with someone even smaller, poorer and weaker than them. To wait until they resolved their problems with Greece to bring this up is downright abusive.

Although he also pointed out that even in a region with a lot of beef like the Balkans, North Macedonia is the only country that has running arguments with literally all of their neighbours

I believe they actually get along reasonably well with Serbia. Back in the day they got independence from Yugoslavia without almost any issue and completely peacefully. I think they were even the first ones to separate, even before Slovenia, or right after them.

[The Larch]

Semi-related the BBC documentary, which I think is on YouTube, and accompanying Death of Yugoslavia is incredible. One of those documentaries the BBC seemed to have specialised in in the 90s with insane access - they've got interviews with Milosevic, Izetbegovic etc (I think maybe because it was pre-Kosovo?).

It is a brilliant documentary. It is indeed from between the war in Bosnia and the one in Kosovo. It actually starts presenting stuff from the late 80s and how Milosevic cut his nationalistic teeth actually defending the Serbian minority in Kosovo, which I had no idea about. That's quite a karmic closing of the circle.

[HVC]

Looks like the capital of Mississippi ran out of water.

[garbon]

Looks like the capital of Mississippi ran out of water.

I'm not sure that is the most accurate way to describe what has happened.

[The Larch]

Huge oil tanker runs aground in the Suez Canal briefly blocking all traffic in echo of chaos caused by Ever Given – before being refloated by authorities

Let's all cheer for the Suez Canal tugboat crews, once again!

[Tamas]

16 years old Czech tennis player girl ass-fondled by her father and coach to celebrate victory. Kind of disturbing but of course I have seen several commenters defending it as "why do we care if she doesn't"

https://twitter.com/i/status/1563631168066568192

Also, I am sorry, but if you kiss your kid on the lips you should just stop doing it. Especially if you proceed to then fondle their ass for half a minute.

[The Larch]

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner: arrest after attempted shooting of Argentina vice-president
Fernández de Kirchner was greeting supporters outside her home when a Brazilian man approached her and raised a handgun to her face

A man has been detained after he aimed a handgun at point-blank range at Argentina's vice-president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, in what the president said was an attempt on her life.

Fernández de Kirchner survived only because the gun – which was loaded with five bullets – did not fire, president Alberto Fernández said.

The incident, in which Fernández de Kirchner appeared unharmed, took place as she was greeting supporters outside her home in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Recoleta at 9pm on Thursday.

"A man pointed a firearm at her head and pulled the trigger," the president said in a national broadcast. "Cristina is still alive because, for some reason yet to be confirmed, the gun ... did not fire."

He called it "the most serious incident since we recovered democracy" in 1983 and urged political leaders, and society at large, to repudiate the incident.

The Argentinian newspaper Clarín reported that a 35-year-old Brazilian man had been arrested at the scene.

The dramatic events were captured by television cameras outside Fernández de Kirchner's home, where supporters had been gathered for days protesting against corruption charges filed against her at court.

The footage shows the man pushing through supporters, raising a gun to Fernández de Kirchner's face and apparently attempting a shot, which seems to misfire. Some reports said the man pointed the gun at Fernández de Kirchner but did not fire. The two-time former president, Argentina's leading political figure, can be seen reacting, covering her face and hunching down. She was reportedly unharmed.

Security minister Aníbal Fernández told local cable news channel C5N that a man had been detained. "A person who was identified by those who were close to him who had a gun was detained by [the vice-president's] security personnel. They set him aside, found the weapon, and now it must be analysed," he said.

Fernández said the firearm had five bullets "and didn't fire even though the trigger was pulled". He declared Friday a national holiday to allow people time to "express themselves in defence of life, democracy and in solidarity with our vice president".

The level of verbal violence has been growing alarmingly among opposition politicians in Argentina this year, mainly centred around corruption charges filed against Fernández de Kirchner in court. Some extreme opposition politicians have called for the death sentence to be reintroduced for the vice-president.

After the incident, a statement from Fernández de Kirchner's Frente de Todos party said: "The incitement to hatred emanating from different spheres of political, media and judicial power against the former president, only led to a climate of extreme violence."

The economy minister, Sergio Massa, called the incident an "attempted assassination".

"When hate and violence prevail over debate, societies are destroyed and situations like these arise: attempted assassination," he said in a tweet.

The former president Mauricio Macri demanded an immediate investigation into this "extremely serious" attack, "which fortunately caused no harm to the vice-president".

"They wanted to kill [Kirchner]," tweeted Argentina's foreign minister, Santiago Cafiero. "This is the most serious act of political violence since the return of democracy."

Fernández de Kirchner, a powerful and divisive figure in Argentina, is embroiled in long-running accusations that she favoured the construction firm of a close ally for road contracts during her two terms as president from 2007-2015 in her home province of Santa Cruz.

Prosecutor Diego Luciani last week urged a 12-year sentence if convicted, provoking widespread protests across Argentina, including in front of Fernández de Kirchner's Buenos Aires home. She responded saying that the charges were politically motivated and that she is facing "a judicial-mediatic firing squad".

Fernández de Kirchner has been widely expected to run for the Senate and possibly the presidency in next year's general elections.

Reports that the alleged culprit was Brazilian sent shock waves through Brazil where fears have been growing that the extremist rhetoric of its far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, might inspire some kind of violent incident.

Brazil is a month away from a presidential election in which Bolsonaro will face off against his bitter rival, the leftist former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Lula has reportedly taken to wearing a bullet-proof vest at rallies for fear of a similar attack from right-wing extremists.

Last week, the Guardian saw federal police agents checking dustbins for explosive devices before Lula, who is an ally of Fernández de Kirchner, gave a press conference for the foreign media in São Paulo.

In 2018 Bolsonaro notoriously called for supporters to "machine gun" their leftist opponents.

The Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said his country was "appalled" and called the incident "attempted murder".

"Hate will not prevail," tweeted Sacha Llorenti, Bolivia's former ambassador to the United Nations.

Gleisi Hoffman, the president of Brazil's Workers' party, said the attack was "the result of political violence and hate speech".

"Thank God she emerged unscathed," wrote Lula, who blamed the attack on "a criminal fascist".

The image of the attempt, which was captured on video, is quite chilling, looks like something out of a FPS.

[Josquius]

16 years old Czech tennis player girl ass-fondled by her father and coach to celebrate victory. Kind of disturbing but of course I have seen several commenters defending it as "why do we care if she doesn't"

https://twitter.com/i/status/1563631168066568192

Also, I am sorry, but if you kiss your kid on the lips you should just stop doing it. Especially if you proceed to then fondle their ass for half a minute.

Interesting the replies all seem to be based around the fact she is 16

Yeah...thats...absolutely not the issue here whatsoever.