What's in the news?

[Beguile's Mistress]

He's learned all he knows from Trump and his Twittering Thumbs.

[LisztesFerenc]

He may not *actually* mean that black slavery should be reinstated (wait...?!), there could be another meaning he was trying to make - but anyway it's one of the most dismally phrased tweets I've ever seen.

  The article mentions that the 13th ammendment also ended the practice of forcing prisoners to work, so that is likely what he was referring to. Stop outsourcing jobs to China, and instead convert American prisons into sweat shops.

[TheGlyphstone]

  The article mentions that the 13th ammendment also ended the practice of forcing prisoners to work, so that is likely what he was referring to. Stop outsourcing jobs to China, and instead convert American prisons into sweat shops.

I think it's the other way round - the 13th amendment explicitly does permit penal labor as an exemption to the ban on slavery, and current prisons are very much built around exploiting the population for dirt-cheap labor. His wife is a prison reform advocate, so I suspect in his brain-dead upside-down way he's trying to promote the end of prison-based labor systems.

[LisztesFerenc]

I think it's the other way round - the 13th amendment explicitly does permit penal labor as an exemption to the ban on slavery, and current prisons are very much built around exploiting the population for dirt-cheap labor. His wife is a prison reform advocate, so I suspect in his brain-dead upside-down way he's trying to promote the end of prison-based labor systems.

  Right, I misread that. Makes sense then. Not sure how that will help reduce US reliance on China, but its a good move that was very, very stupidly handled.

[gaggedLouise]

I think it's the other way round - the 13th amendment explicitly does permit penal labor as an exemption to the ban on slavery, and current prisons are very much built around exploiting the population for dirt-cheap labor. His wife is a prison reform advocate, so I suspect in his brain-dead upside-down way he's trying to promote the end of prison-based labor systems.

That's how I read it too (from the article linked up the thread). I was trying for irony when saying that maybe he wasn't aiming for the return of black slavery after all, but well, the ironic note got muffled. :)

[RedRose]

While I'm not familiar with Kanye West except by name, I think many "celebs" should just not express their weird opinions :)

[Lustful Bride]

While I'm not familiar with Kanye West except by name, I think many "celebs" should just not express their weird opinions :)

+1 and the public needs to stop listening to celebrities. They are not more qualified to espouse political wisdom to the rest of us. If anything 90% of them are less qualified to do so.

[Flower]

People should do their research regardless of the source, celebrity or not.

[Beguile's Mistress]

Ye has always been outspoken whether he knows what he is talking about or not.  He's on the fringe of Trump's circle and keeps trying to move closer to his god.

[Deamonbane]

Tens of thousands of women have taken to the streets of Brazil to protest against the far-right presidential election front-runner Jair Bolsonaro.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45696677

[RedRose]

People should do their research regardless of the source, celebrity or not.

Right. That works for fake news (security, health…) too. But some people need the adrenaline. They'll tell me how my city or my country is, and if I don't agree with their fake news, then I'm lying or "mistaken" 

[Beorning]

A new movie by Wojciech Smarzowski (a Polish director who has already made a number of well-received movies) hit the cinemas last Friday. The movie's title is Kler (Clergy) and it deals with the dark underside of Polish Catholic Church: pedophilia, hypocrisy, greed and the Church's strong ties with the politicians and state institutions. The movie is causing quite a lot of furor:

https://www.dw.com/en/poland-film-stokes-debate-about-sexual-abuse/a-45709171

I'd agree that the movie is definitely a taboo-breaker. Seriously, never before has the clergy been potrayed that way in the Polish cinema - these people are usually treated as saints. And, just like the article in the link says, the movie has been condemned by some of the conservatives. One ultra-Catholic MP said she was going to check if it was possible to withdraw the movie from the cinemas, at least in one town a mayor tried to block the movie from being shown in the local theatre. An organisation of Catholic journalists issued a statement saying that the movie was disgusting and slanderous. And so on... Meanwhile, there seems to be an enormous demand for this movie, with literal crowds wanting to see it.

Personally, I hope that this movie will open the eyes of some people. IMHO, Polish Catholic Church is horribly rotten - and, at the same time, it has really strong grip on Polish politics and society. The fact that Polish society is religiously conformistic and many people who don't agree with the Church's teachings attend masses and give the Church their monetary offerings anyway doesn't help...

[Lustful Bride]

French Security forces stop terrorist attack and freeze Iranian assets that were found to be connected to the attack.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/france-freezes-iranian-assets-after-attempted-terror-attack/ar-BBNPAvx?ocid=spartanntp

[Beorning]

Something for gamers and fantasy fans - Andrzej Sapkowski decided to try forcing CD Projekt Red to pay him 60 million PLN (about 16 million USD) as royalties for the studio's Witcher games:

https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/the-witcher-andrzej-sapkowski-royalty-dispute-1202964998/

The thing is, CD Project Red already paid for the rights to the Witcher. They actually did offer Sapkowski a share of the profits, but... he declined, as he didn't believe that the game would be successful. So, he just sold the right for a reasonably small sum of money (I've heard it was about 30 000 PLN - under 10 000 USD). Only now, after the three Witcher games turned out to be hugely profitable, he says he also deserves "royalties". Eh. I've never been a fan of the man...

[Lustful Bride]

Something for gamers and fantasy fans - Andrzej Sapkowski decided to try forcing CD Projekt Red to pay him 60 million PLN (about 16 million USD) as royalties for the studio's Witcher games:

https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/the-witcher-andrzej-sapkowski-royalty-dispute-1202964998/

The thing is, CD Project Red already paid for the rights to the Witcher. They actually did offer Sapkowski a share of the profits, but... he declined, as he didn't believe that the game would be successful. So, he just sold the right for a reasonably small sum of money (I've heard it was about 30 000 PLN - under 10 000 USD). Only now, after the three Witcher games turned out to be hugely profitable, he says he also deserves "royalties". Eh. I've never been a fan of the man...

Considering how much publicity those games gave him, that should be more than enough.

[RedEve]

I'm going to guess that CD Projekt Red will have made sure the initial deal was ironclad.

Not that I have much sympathy for them, there were stories about how they only got "The Witcher Wild Hunt" out in time by making their development team work a ridiculous amount of unpaid overtime.

[Sara Nilsson]

I'm going to guess that CD Projekt Red will have made sure the initial deal was ironclad.

Not that I have much sympathy for them, there were stories about how they only got "The Witcher Wild Hunt" out in time by making their development team work a ridiculous amount of unpaid overtime.

Development crunch is sadly an industry standard. The gaming companies really do treat their workers like shit, it is common to have massive layoffs as soon as a a game is done and then just hire new for the next. After forcing them to work gruelling overtime with honestly rather shitty pay.

[LisztesFerenc]

  I'm no legal expert, but the timing and specifics of the claim make it sound incredably suspect to me. The basis of the claim is the initial agreement was just for 1 game, so everything after that is unlicenced. Witcher 2 came out just over 8 years and would have been announced before then, you'd think he'd have come forth with this detail before now. Then there's the amount. 5-15% of profits? He's claiming Project CD Red illegeally used his interllectual property to make 2 games (three if you count the standalone card game), and in return he wants 5-15% of profits? Seems like if his claim was true he would entitled to way more than that. As I said, I'm no expert, but it doesn't seem to me like he has a strong case.

[Callie Del Noire]

Development crunch is sadly an industry standard. The gaming companies really do treat their workers like shit, it is common to have massive layoffs as soon as a a game is done and then just hire new for the next. After forcing them to work gruelling overtime with honestly rather shitty pay.

And this has me constantly worried about my nephew how wants to do the industry.

[LisztesFerenc]

  Dammit, Witcher 2 came out just over 7 years ago, not 8. Oops.

[Beorning]

I don't have any opinion on CD Projekt Red's working enviroment... But, in any case, what Sapkowski is doing now is kind of pathetic.

He openly admitted that he sold those rights years ago so cheaply, as he didn't believe the game would be any success. He also complained about the game's success later on, claiming that these games *hurt* his popularity, because they made people think that his book were video games novelizations. And he made disparaging comments about gamers in general: when the third game came out, he was asked by a journalist whether he played it - and he replied in the vein of "I did not and I don't know anyone who did - all my friends are *intelligent* people!". And *now* he comes out and says that he actually wants a piece of the cake? Come on...

[gaggedLouise]

A major breakthrough in soldiers' cooking: the US Army has managed pre-cooked and sliced pizza that can be kept sealed in plastic for years in room temperature or even in 100 F heat, then unpacked and served straight away (without any cooking procedures at the time) under battlefield conditions! :)

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/20/us/army-pizza-mre-field-rations.html

[Lustful Bride]

A major breakthrough in soldiers' cooking: the US Army has managed pre-cooked and sliced pizza that can be kept sealed in plastic for years in room temperature or even in 100 F heat, then unpacked and served straight away (without any cooking procedures at the time) under battlefield conditions! :)

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/20/us/army-pizza-mre-field-rations.html

*Adds it to list of things for possible future survival shelter* The end of the world will be much more manageable with pizza.

[elone]

Look less than palatable, but probably better than K-rations.

[RedRose]

Charles Aznavour is dead! The man was a legend in French-speaking circles.
Many of his songs would touch all kinds of people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MRVM76CgVc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADYDZMc1GbU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yILg7NTUfCQ