What's in the News? 2.0

[Keelan]

[...] PROC, [a] notoriously brutal totalitarian regime [...]

And that is why Veks has it sectioned off and tucked into a corner with it's own special rules.

[TheGlyphstone]

And that is why Veks has it sectioned off and tucked into a corner with it's own special rules.

*Sad trombone*

(Technically this is PRAOC though.)

[Keelan]

*Sad trombone*

(Technically this is PRAOC though.)

Things like of and and are not usually included in the acronyms. Hence why it's PROC not PRAOC. and PRC for the People's Republic of China and not PROC.

When they are included, I've usually seen it lower capitalized such as WotC for Wizards of the Coast.

[Beorning]

Of course there are but how much time would people spend watching a series about good people doing good things and living good clean lives?

I'd absolutely watch a series about ethical corporate people striving to do good with their money! Seriously...

I mean, Succession is great, but I'm halfway through Season 2 and I'm already totally frustrated with all the characters.

[Chulanowa]

Okay, I have to step in here. Chula, you're objectively wrong. The point of socialism is not, by necessity, the transition to communism. This is simply not true.

In the year of our lord Two Thousand and Twenty-three, when we are discussing "socialism" without further qualifiers, it's assumed we're talking about scientific (or Marxist) socialism. Which does have communism as an end goal. Yes of course there have been non-communist angles on Socialism, however since the 1870's these have either fallen by the wayside (Utopianism) or adopted some variety of end-stage communism (Syndicalism, modern anarchism).

Certainly when Americans are polled on socialism, their first thought probably goes to whatever their understanding of Marx might be (however incorrect), and not, like, Charles Fourier.

[Al Terego]

Introductory reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_model

[Chulanowa]

Introductory reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_model

I really hate repeating myself, so I'll let that article do it for me:

(Quote)The Nordic model is underpinned by a mixed-market capitalist economic system that features high degrees of private ownership,[36][37] with the exception of Norway which includes a large number of state-owned enterprises and state ownership in publicly listed firms.[6]

The Nordic model is described as a system of competitive capitalism combined with a large percentage of the population employed by the public sector, which amounts to roughly 30% of the work force, in areas such as healthcare and higher education.[/quote]

Capitalism with welfare, some nationalized industries, and trade unions.

[Chulanowa]

Let's pretend that was formatted correctly. It'll be our little secret 

[Oniya]

In the Common Era year of Two Thousand Sixteen, a fair percentage of the US population got an education on the subject of socialism, as a result of a self-identified democratic socialist entering the presidential race.  Many of his opponents used the term 'socialism' as a buzz word when that candidate espoused policies that many of his supporters rallied in favor of.

[Al Terego]

And now to something completely different:
https://www.wired.com/story/fourth-amendment-is-not-for-sale-act-2023/

[Keelan]

https://www.wfsb.com/2023/07/27/montville-officers-weapon-discharges-during-arrest/

I am sharing the above article for two reasons. First is it's a decent example of why you should read past the headline, but more importantly:

NEVER BUY A SIG P320.

For those who don't want to open the article: while arresting someone for trying to steal prescription drugs from what seems to be an amnesty drop-box, an officer bends over to check the detainee as part of the search, and BOOM! Round discharges! Thankfully, nobody at all was injured.

Was he holding the gun? No, hand was nowhere near the gun and it was holstered.

Was it improperly holstered? Nope, it was seated properly in a Level 3-4 Duty Holster.

Was his uniform loose or was there anything that would indicate something got between the trigger-guard retention and the trigger? Nope, uniform was tucked in, nothing found otherwise.

However, it turns out the handgun was a Sig Sauer handgun, most likely a P320 because that is the model most popular (SIG) nowadays for duty with LEO/Military/etc. They have a bit of a reputation for having some very... strange discharges however. Not all of them, not most of them, but enough that it's kind of 'a thing' if you're someone who has an interest in firearms. Especially if you compare it to something like a Glock, which is what the department where this occurred is replacing all their SIGs with and of which I have 0 room to criticize them for doing.

Moral of the story: If you are looking to buy a handgun, don't buy Sig Sauer P320s unless you plan on wearing IIIA armor in front of the barrel in case the gun decides your thigh, groin, or etc needs a superfluous new fistula.

[GloomCookie]

So apparently NBC Universal Studios trimmed several trees that were providing much-needed shade for striking writers despite the trees being owned by the city and not filing a license, claiming it was purely for the trees' best interests. The city has since issued a fine for cutting the trees.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-07-18/sag-aftra-wga-nlrb-complaint-universal-pickets

[Al Terego]

The city has since issued a fine for cutting the trees.

When you're rich enough, fines are meaningless.

[GloomCookie]

I think it was only $250, which is such a tiny slap on the wrist it's like what is the point?

[Twisted Crow]

Faith in capitalism is falling in the US.

I have full faith it will get worse. The situation is not sustainable, and to quote Warren Buffet, an unsustainable process will eventually cease.

Heh. Not surprised with this, I continue to have this 'generational' battle with members of my family. From the 'lazy millenial' spiel to this 'quiet-quitting' stuff that media is telling me to be up in arms about. Which, as I've been reading... quiet-quitting just appears to be doing the job they're paid to do while distancing from any additional responsibilities that aren't going to matter to the paycheck in the end.

I say it there and I'll say it here: Why be loyal to a company that continues to show no loyalty to its employees?

Gone are the "golden watch" 'atta-boy days for being a commited and backbone employee. The same guy could slave away at the company for his entire life and basically get a boot out the door when it's his time to go. And that's assuming he doesn't get the axe before that whenever a company wants to fake its own growth to investors and shareholders. Old timers complaining about how employees 'aren't loyal to their jobs like they used to be'... why would anyone be loyal, anymore? Why be 'ambitious' to climb the ladder in the company when the big money makers are the first ones to get canned to cut expenses? They've been putting the screws to us for YEARS.

In fact, I'd argue that it actually somewhat is ironically the very capitalistic spirit that we traditionally envision in 'Muricaland. It is generally more to the advantage of the worker (financially) to just quit their team after a year or two only to jump on to another team (same job, different company) that is willing to pay more.

(SNIPPED at Poster's Request)

Link to Youtube Video

[Twisted Crow]

Posted early, but... I like this guy. ^^

[Sara Nilsson]

https://www.archaeology.org/news/11600-230719-unknown-kushan-script

According to a statement released by the University of Cologne, a team of linguists has partially deciphered a writing system found in inscriptions on cave walls and on pots unearthed in Central Asia called “unknown Kushan script.”

Rather fascinating. They found a Rosetta stone style writing making this breakthrough possible.

[Twisted Crow]

Uh, rewatching the vid I posted, I honestly didn't realize a little something about it before I shared it... but can I please staff to just snip and link it? Sorry!

[Keelan]

Well now you have my curiosity.

[Oniya]

Uh, rewatching the vid I posted, I honestly didn't realize a little something about it before I shared it... but can I please staff to just snip and link it? Sorry!

Is the You-Tuber under 18?  I know Ben Franklin isn't a minor...  (Ink's changed it over, anyways...)

[Sara Nilsson]

There are kids in the vid at 13:49 or so.

[Twisted Crow]

Yeah, I didn't wanna put that on blast but it was one of those situations where I was remembering the information in the video and didn't realize the snippets of imagery in a couple places. So I thought I'd ask to have that corrected. That's my bad!

[Keelan]

Yeah, I didn't wanna put that on blast but it was one of those situations where I was remembering the information in the video and didn't realize the snippets of imagery in a couple places. So I thought I'd ask to have that corrected. That's my bad!

Ah, far less interesting than I hoped; last time I saw someone regret a video they linked was because they only watched up to a point and then the video went and undermined their argument entirely. No it wasn't on here, fyi.

Video wasn't bad though.

[TheGlyphstone]

https://www.archaeology.org/news/11600-230719-unknown-kushan-script

Rather fascinating. They found a Rosetta stone style writing making this breakthrough possible.

Sorry, but when you said Kushan script my first question was if it taught us how to build a hyperdrive...😄

https://www.deviantart.com/boskov01/art/Fate-of-the-Mothership-767369758

[Keelan]

Carlee Russell whom I previously provided details about faking her own kidnapping has been charged with filing a false report with law enforcement, and falsely reporting an incident.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/carlee-russell-arrest-warrant-rcna96158