Wolff has been like this for decades. He’s as craven as the rest of them. But he’s also very often right.

As a Norwegian: seconded. It’s tough to get real close and personal with Nordic people. We have smaller friend groups and don’t swap out friends often, but that is largely because we are quite loyal. So when you’re in, you’re in to stay.

NYT tomorrow: “Harris under fire for [placeholder] after controversial Trump radio interview”

Except no one is being “replaced”. We’re all still here. And if I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt you’re merely forgetting all that goes with GRT. The supposed intentionality, the inherent value judgment, the conspiracies, the implication that it’s somehow a “problem”… the less charitable interpretation is that you’re intentionally glossing over it and pretending naivety.

“There’s no diplomatic solution if the US decides there’s none”… way to remove the agency of the Taiwanese people with one assertion. Well done.

The fact is that deterrence is a valid posture with which to meet a belligerent. And if the Taiwanese decided a rapprochement with China was the right choice there is nothing the US could do about it. But that is not what they want.

There is no “diplomatic solution” with regards to Taiwan. As seen in Hong Kong. What China wants, China will take. (This is an acquisition strategy the US knows well too…) Right now a majority of Taiwanese prefer the status quo. That is de facto independence. That does not mean they’d be okay with more interference from China. (It also does not automatically mean they’ll be cool with a war of independence either)

Contrapoints’ latest video is a very good one you might find interesting. It’s sort of a PhD in video form, very deeply researched. The topic is heterosexuality, framed through the Twilight stories. It’s long and pretty meaty

Yeah AvE was a punch in the nuts

That’ll fix it

Kitchen stuff: a carbon steel wok, a Dutch oven and a bread form. Also an electric toothbrush.

But most of all: a fully automatic bean to cup coffee machine

Uh, yes. The UN has condemned Hamas’ acts of terror. Does that clarify things for you?

Just shooting from the hip here, but I think maybe you can see cults as a subset of cultures.

A cult is a small group defined by an authority figure, how it treats its members and its relationship with the rest of the world. They are often small groups, but can be large like Jehova’s Witnesses.

Cults are usually a subset of a religious faction, like baptists or Lutherans, which in turn is a subset of for example Protestantism. (There are non-religious cults as well of course).

And confusingly religions exist within cultures and can be a core part of their identity, but one religion can also exist in a totally different culture.

So I think you’re trying to compare all apples with a specific type of oranges here.

Give it some lettuce.

But seriously that man should be at home spending time with his family for the rest of his life. He’s done as much damage to the US as any other politician in the past 30 years but one still feels some compassion for and old man losing the plot.

It’s so ironic that the best part of the show is the one they wrote from scratch

Haven’t seen s2 so can’t comment on that but aside from the emperor(s) storylines s1 was just awful in my view. Didn’t make sense, very incoherent, just badly written…and that’s without comparison to the books. I listened to the podcast related to the show and it’s clear the show runner has a vision that strongly contrasts with what I like in sci-fi

That’s precisely the reason I liked it so much though

When I was doing the same research a few years back Fastmail was recommended to me and I’ve been very happy with it. It was fairly easy to set up with an email address from my own domain too.

Could be this? https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/17/us/florida-math-textbooks-critical-race-theory

“ DeSantis said state officials “got rid” of Common Core, a standardized teaching method rolled out in 2010. The method requires children to group numbers to solve arithmetic problems, rather than the vertical “carry the one” method familiar to most adults. The approach goes beyond simple computation to emphasize deeper mathematical concepts. The department said some of the rejected textbooks incorporated Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and references to critical race theory – two frameworks or philosophies that some conservative groups claim are being used to indoctrinate students. Some schools around the country have recently used SEL strategies to help students cope with stress and the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning defines SEL as a teaching framework aimed at helping “young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.” More than a dozen states have set standards for teaching SEL in grade schools, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But as more states consider SEL strategies, conservative groups have claimed critical race theory is embedded into the framework.”

After the first season, which was an obligatory “Star Trek Type Show Finds Its Feet” season, it really hit its stride to become the best Star Trek since DS9. Not in name, but certainly in spirit. So earnest, with a great message throughout. Sure it had some mediocre jokes here and there but so did TNG, let’s not forget. I was sitting around just the other day thinking how I missed watching The Orville

Windows 11 also does that. You have to jump to the command line and do some stuff mid-install to get it to install without an internet connection. Boggles the mind