Recent posts

#21

Off the Record / Re: (Great Power) War in Our T...

Last post by mongers - January 11, 2026, 09:54:08 PM

We're already in it, trump has flipped the US to side with Putin.

#22

Off the Record / Re: (Great Power) War in Our T...

Last post by Jacob - January 11, 2026, 09:53:43 PM

Turkey won't flip to Russia. Their whole thing is playing the middle to get the most out of it, while being a regional power.

Russia is a direct threat to Turkey, and they are competitors in the Caucasus (and Syria / Iran fir that matter).

If Turkey igns with Russia it'll only be because Europe is broken and the US really fucked up.

#23

Off the Record / Re: The Shooting Gallery: Poli...

Last post by DGuller - January 11, 2026, 09:53:10 PM

It's even more general than that.  Clearly if the threat has passed, you shouldn't be shooting anymore.  However, even if the threat hasn't passed, if shooting is not going to stop the threat, then you can't shoot either.  Shooting is not a punishment for creating a threat, past or present, it's a tool to stop it.

Let's see  if I  have this right. A car is barreling towards me, it gets to 10 feet, I can't shoot because even if I  kill the driver I  won't stop the threat due to inertia?

As a general principle, yes.  If shooting can't reasonably be expected to stop any harm, then you shouldn't be shooting.

[Federal Reserve Chair Powell says DOJ has subpoenaed central bank, threatens criminal indictment]

#24

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

Last post by Tonitrus - January 11, 2026, 09:49:29 PM

Sure, why not...

https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-trump-subpoena-bf4fc6c690fa248fbc531bc9bc7f1758

Federal Reserve Chair Powell says DOJ has subpoenaed central bank, threatens criminal indictment

Zombie Andrew Jackson approves?

#25

Off the Record / Re: The Shooting Gallery: Poli...

Last post by Admiral Yi - January 11, 2026, 09:39:06 PM

It's even more general than that.  Clearly if the threat has passed, you shouldn't be shooting anymore.  However, even if the threat hasn't passed, if shooting is not going to stop the threat, then you can't shoot either.  Shooting is not a punishment for creating a threat, past or present, it's a tool to stop it.

Let's see  if I  have this right. A car is barreling towards me, it gets to 10 feet, I can't shoot because even if I  kill the driver I  won't stop the threat due to inertia?

#26

Off the Record / Re: The Shooting Gallery: Poli...

Last post by DGuller - January 11, 2026, 09:23:00 PM

I don't think that's the right question to ask.  I think the right question is whether shooting was going to stop the threat.  Cops aren't supposed to shoot to retaliate for being threatened, they shoot to stop the threat, and when that's the only thing that can stop the threat.

So your point is whether the  driver constituted a threat at the moment she hit the gas, she clearly did not constitute   a threat at the instant the shots are fired? That's a reasonable POV.

It's even more general than that.  Clearly if the threat has passed, you shouldn't be shooting anymore.  However, even if the threat hasn't passed, if shooting is not going to stop the threat, then you can't shoot either.  Shooting is not a punishment for creating a threat, past or present, it's a tool to stop it.

#27

Off the Record / Re: The Shooting Gallery: Poli...

Last post by Admiral Yi - January 11, 2026, 09:17:11 PM

I don't think that's the right question to ask.  I think the right question is whether shooting was going to stop the threat.  Cops aren't supposed to shoot to retaliate for being threatened, they shoot to stop the threat, and when that's the only thing that can stop the threat.

So your point is whether the  driver constituted a threat at the moment she hit the gas, she clearly did not constitute   a threat at the instant the shots are fired? That's a reasonable POV.

#28

Off the Record / Re: (Great Power) War in Our T...

Last post by frunk - January 11, 2026, 09:10:56 PM

I think the odds of "regional" conflicts with widespread consequences that would have been unthinkable before are much more likely now with the US incoherent and unreliable.  This is medium to long term, not anytime soon.  I'm thinking India vs. Pakistan and China.  South Korea getting overrun by China on behalf of North Korea.  Turkey becomes an even bigger question mark, possibly flipping to a Russian ally if NATO gets effectively dissolved.  If Iran collapses and the war in Yemen ends I could see relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia going south rapidly without their common enemy.

#29

Off the Record / Re: The Shooting Gallery: Poli...

Last post by DGuller - January 11, 2026, 09:02:39 PM

I find the discussion on whether she was complying, whether she was a protestor, what went before etc to be fairly pointless.

None of that should carry the penalty of point blank execution. Whether it's legal or not, it's clearly disproportionate, amoral, incompetent and so very unnecessary. Nothing necessitates this, nothing is achieved by it, except human tragedy.

I agree.  The only thing that matters in terms of the shooting is whether the movement of the car constituted an immediate threat.

I don't think that's the right question to ask.  I think the right question is whether shooting was going to stop the threat.  Cops aren't supposed to shoot to retaliate for being threatened, they shoot to stop the threat, and when that's the only thing that can stop the threat.

#30

Off the Record / Re: The Shooting Gallery: Poli...

Last post by grumbler - January 11, 2026, 06:02:48 PM

The killer did not shoot until the car was past him (and there is video showing that it did, indeed, brush him in passing, though not, at Trump claims, running him over and leaving in the hospital fighting for life).

In particular, the two shot fired into her head through the open driver's-side window cannot possibly be excused as anything but an attempt to kill her long after any danger existed.

The shooter screaming "fucking bitch" after killing her is a tell, I think, as to his motives. This was hot-blooded murder.