Recent posts

#1

Off the Record / Re: Iran War

Last post by Darth Wagtaros - Today at 06:11:16 AM

Its good that he did that.  Real good.  It shows shrewdness and Godliness. 

#2

Off the Record / Re: MLB 2026

Last post by Grey Fox - Today at 06:06:03 AM

It's a transition period, it's meant to be unsatisfying. On our way to 100% robo umpire.

I like it, incompetent Umpire have plagued the sport for decades now.

#3

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

Last post by Tamas - Today at 04:29:13 AM

Recent Amherst/UMass poll giving the Don a 33% approval rating.  I had seen another recent poll that on the question of "is Trump corrupt?" had a ~31% "Not at all" response...so I figure that 30-33% are those in his thrall and that is round about likely his absolute bottom. 

The PDF with some interesting deets (on Iran and Epstein and voter regret etc.) can be found here:https://www.umass.edu/political-science/about/reports/2026-0#toc-toplines-and-crosstabs

Yeah anyone still supporting him is a hopeless case who will never turn on him. Which also explains why the Republicans lick his boots.

#4

Off the Record / Re: TV/Movies Megathread

Last post by Syt - Today at 04:24:44 AM

Crap, I missed that The Longest Day was playing as Sunday movie at Gartenbaukino. 

#5

Off the Record / Re: TV/Movies Megathread

Last post by crazy canuck - Today at 03:52:40 AM

Babylon 5 is now available on Prime in Canada. So I am now binging it.

A few things didn't age well.  Garibaldi reading a newspaper for example.

I am looking forward to seeing the show unfold in one go this time.

I remember binging it (on vHS!) not too long after it ended, and had a very different appreciation for the foreshadowing than when watching it weekly. That ended up being the best feature of the show for me.

Yeah, that is the thing that stands out now that I missed the first time around.

[Pete Hegseth's broker attempted to make defense investments before Iran war: Financial Times]

#6

Off the Record / Re: Iran War

Last post by Syt - Today at 03:30:42 AM

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/31/pete-hegseth-defence-investments-iran-war-pentagon.html

Pete Hegseth's broker attempted to make defense investments before Iran war: Financial Times

A broker for U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to make a large investment in major defense companies in the lead up to the Iran war, according to the Financial Times. The Pentagon has dismissed the report.

The Financial Times reported Tuesday that Hegseth's broker at banking giant Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February about making a multimillion-dollar investment in its iShares Defense Industrials Active ETF.

The ETF, which has about $3.1 billion in assets, counts companies such as RTX Corp, — formerly known as Raytheon — Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman among its largest holdings, Blackrock data showed.

The Defense Industrials Active ETF has lost 12.4% in the past one month, about the time when the Iran war started, according to LSEG data.

The FT also said that the investment discussed by Hegseth's broker did not ultimately go ahead as the fund was not yet available for Morgan Stanley clients to buy at the time. It was also not known if the broker had found another defense-related investment.

Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell dismissed the FT report in a post on X, calling it "entirely false and fabricated," and demanding the FT retract the article.

Parnell said that neither Hegseth nor any of his representatives approached BlackRock about any such investment. "This is yet another baseless, dishonest smear designed to mislead the public," he added.

The U.S. war against Iran has stretched into its fifth week, and the conflict does not seem to show any sign of abating.

U.S. Marines have arrived in the region, with the Washington Post reporting that the Pentagon was "preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran."

Trump on Monday had also said that the U.S. will "completely" obliterate Iran's electric generating plants, oil wells and Kharg Island if the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz is not "immediately" reopened and a peace deal is not reached "shortly."

 

#7

Off the Record / Re: The EU thread

Last post by Norgy - Today at 03:18:00 AM

I have an old comparative politics book about European party systems, and I think it's mostly redundant. There is no PASOK, no typical Gaullist party, and little is left of voter loyalty for the old working-class parties. Of course, no mention was made of the Soviet bloc.

I have re-joined the Labour Party of Norway.

There is one problem: I no longer understand politics. I know a lot, but I don't get voter behaviour. Voters are as fickle as cats. One day they like cheese, the next, we want meat.

The alignment of parties in Northern Europe is strange. The outer left and right have both eaten quite a bit of what used to be solid social democracy or centrist voters. There was also a green wave where the old parties slept on watch.

What is happening with The Greens in the UK (and Reform), seems very reminiscent of how the party systems in the north have changed.

#8

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

Last post by Sophie Scholl - Today at 01:42:13 AM

"Fully one third", eh? How very Book of Revelations of them. 

#9

Gaming HQ / Re: Crusader Kings III

Last post by Syt - Today at 01:12:56 AM

 

I do like the rework of the Acclaimed Knights. Their bonuses are much more straightforward. You select a bonus when they are created. When they level up, you can add to that bonus or select an additional one (up to three). Also, they train squires who will take over when they tap out (no more constant looking for successors). Yay.

Disasters seem a bit meh. You get a notification about a flood or earthquake that will affect a region. Then there'll be a disaster recovery phase where you can pledge money or good will to help the affected baronies back on their feet (some options come with a temp penalty on your income/levy refresh). There's three "must haves" (without which there's no concerted recovery) and three optional ones. Makes sense historically, but repetitive.

Though I did appreciate some of the events that you can sometimes can get. I mentioned above that my Emperor defeated Prince Helié who tried to take his throne and had him executed.

At the successor's coronation to Emperor, I got an event with the pretender's successor that followed up on it. I could either forgive the family (giving opinion boosts etc.) or "make it a tradition" to imprison/harrass the family. Since they hadn't caused trouble (and lost their claim ) I was magnanimous.

But in hindsight we now have this tale of Prince Helié. He helped depose a child king to enthrone that boy's father. He later became best friends with the boy even though he had also a claim on the French throne. When the son died and his less capable (and unpopular) successor took the throne he rose up to take what was his. He was defeated and killed.

Their successors, however, mended the rift during the next crowning ceremony.

(I guess I could have done what early German Emperors did in the pre-1000s: more often than not, after they defeated an rebel, that insurgent still remained as advisor/ally.)

I did a save and switched the HRE to administrative realm briefly. But after poking around the menus and so on I reloaded, because I couldn't be bothered to figure out how to run this. I will keep it for whenever I do a Byzantium game.

Btw, one of the crusades got diverted and took Byzantium. A Latin Empire (with a Cathar Empress ) persisted for a bit, but Byzantium now reformed, though much diminshed thanks to the Muslims.

#10

Off the Record / Re: TV/Movies Megathread

Last post by Syt - Today at 01:00:38 AM

I remember binging it (on vHS!) not too long after it ended, and had a very different appreciation for the foreshadowing than when watching it weekly. That ended up being the best feature of the show for me.

Agreed. And how some things that seemed less important then tied back into the bigger story.