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#21
Off the Record / Re: Israel-Hamas War 2023
Last post by Admiral Yi - Today at 04:37:12 PM
Quote from: Zoupa on July 18, 2025, 05:57:23 PMAnswer to your first question: I don't know, data is insufficient.

What additional data do you have about Raz that leads to a different conclusion?
#22
Off the Record / Re: TV/Movies Megathread
Last post by Darth Wagtaros - Today at 04:04:55 PM
Quote from: viper37 on Today at 01:46:37 PMSo, I kept hearing about this series Barbarians, how historical consultants were hired for the 1st season and all quit thereafter because it was so bad, and the 2nd season was trash.

I kept telling myself "this wasn't actually that bad?  I quite liked this actually.  It didn't seem so historically inaccurate.  It skimmed on the details here and there, maybe got a few things wrong, but it was actually decently done.

Ah, but here where I was wrong... What I saw was Barbarians rising...  Totally not the same thing!  :lol:
My wife's Italian grandmother went to see what she thought was "Murder Inc" many years ago but instead it was MOnsters Inc.  She said it was good but not what she was expecting. Don't think she realized the error, though everyone else did.
#23
Off the Record / Re: TV/Movies Megathread
Last post by viper37 - Today at 01:46:37 PM
So, I kept hearing about this series Barbarians, how historical consultants were hired for the 1st season and all quit thereafter because it was so bad, and the 2nd season was trash.

I kept telling myself "this wasn't actually that bad?  I quite liked this actually.  It didn't seem so historically inaccurate.  It skimmed on the details here and there, maybe got a few things wrong, but it was actually decently done.

Ah, but here where I was wrong... What I saw was Barbarians rising...  Totally not the same thing!  :lol:
#24
Next example:

Brett Hankison was convicted of depriving Breonna Taylor of her civil rights, most notably her right to exist as a living person on this Earth.

In a federal case, sentencing procedure is that the Probation Department issues a Pre-sentence report including a sentencing recommendation based on the federal sentencing guidelines. Then the Government and the defendant each submit their own sentencing memorandum with their sentencing proposals.  The judge reads them all and decides.

The Government sentencing memo is always submitted by local US Attorneys office that prosecuted the case, usually the trial team. Unless the defendant was a cooperating witness and pled guilty, the Government recommendation is almost always at or higher than the Probation recommendation.

In Hankison's case, Probation recommended a sentence of 11-13 years, based on a direct application of the federal sentencing guidelines.  The Defendant argued that the Probation Department used the wrong offense level.  if the defendant were correct, the guidelines sentence would be about 3 years.

At this point, the procedure departed sharply from the norm. The Government sentencing memo was not written by the US Attorney's office that prosecuted the case.  Instead, the Chief of the DOJ Civil Rights division personally intervened from DC to submit a sentencing memo.  The memo does not advocate for the Probation Dept recommendation, or anything close.  It proposes a sentence of a single day, time served.

In 2025, the Black lives do matter at the Justice Department.  They are worth exactly one day of a white man's life, no more. There is no question that if the victim's name was Eric Trump instead of Breonna Taylor, that we would have seen a very different sentencing memo. That is troubling enough, but as troubling is that it was so important to DOJ to make this point that senior leadership overrode the USAO attorneys to make it, in the process expressing utter contempt for the jury verdict.
#25
Off the Record / Re: STAR TREK
Last post by Bauer - Today at 12:37:36 PM
I wasn't a fan of the first two episodes.  They just didn't feel trek like to me.

Need more episodes like the Romulun one.
#26
Off the Record / Re: Mongerings - The Banal, Od...
Last post by garbon - Today at 12:23:44 PM
I used to take taxis a lot in New York, basically never in London as the cost is too dear. I have taken what I would call a car service a few times. In London the app minicabit is great for getting a discount on Addison Lee.
#27
Quote from: grumbler on Today at 08:25:14 AM
Quote from: viper37 on July 18, 2025, 11:12:16 PMWill they placate him or will they fight?

It's a 10 billion$ lawsuit, so totally frivolous.  There's a lot of anger toward Trump from the Q-Anon Maga.  Murdoch could exploit the anger and turn against Trump to make a killing out there.

They'll fight until the point where Trump has to make his sworn deposition in the case (when the defense will get to ask him all about his relationship with Epstein, under oath) and Trump drops the suit.  Suing was the most moronic possible response to the WSJ piece, because it opens up Trump's relations with Epstein during discovery.

You say sworn deposition, but the lawsuit was filed in federal court. Trump can lie with utter impunity in his deposition, because no one will prosecute him for perjury.

It's going to take some time for us to adjust to the reality that rule of law no longer applies in the US, at least with respect to federal functions.
#28
Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...
Last post by grumbler - Today at 11:43:10 AM
Apparently, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution requiring the DoJ to maintain all records in the Epstein case file. House Republicans yesterday refused to allow the House to do the same.

More grist for primary challengers?
#29
Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic
Last post by Josquius - Today at 11:32:43 AM
Spain for the eclipse does sound like a decent idea. Though figures it's fully booked already.
Quote from: viper37 on July 18, 2025, 02:25:39 PM
Quote from: Valmy on July 17, 2025, 02:37:25 PMMaybe they were just good friends?
Yup. Every man has a good friend who lets him fondle her breasts.  :P

A woman who doesn't let me do that is no friend of mine.

... Yes. I have no friends.
#30
Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic
Last post by Sheilbh - Today at 10:50:16 AM
In and around Asturias is fantastic - one of my favourite bits of Spain. Beautiful coast and mountains, tasty cider - it's very nice. Looks like it'll go over somewhere like Luarca or that sort of area and not far from the Picos de Europa national park.

Not camped or anything round there but it's a very nice area.