Maedhros

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/22/us-trump-administration-signs-anti-abortion-declaration "The Geneva Consensus Declaration was signed by a total of 32 countries: Bahrain, Belarus, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Gambia, Haiti, Hungary, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Kuwait, Libya, Nauru, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, the US and Zambia." The holy alliance.

Religion can be a factor, especially in a place where nearly everyone is religious and that adds to people's trust towards each other. However, in many parts of the world where religion isn't that important, you still have the same correlation of violence in rural/urban areas. Personally I think it's got to do more with trust. In places of conformity, there is less conflict and less violence. Also, it's not like irreligeous people don't teach their kids morals. Many of the most peaceful places on this earth are largely atheist.

Agree with your point on bell peppers. On a sidenote for those interested (none?), pyrazines in wine isn't inherently a bad thing, and it doesn't have to mean a wine has turned bad. Herbal aromas from moderate pyrazine levels in wine can be very appealing if done right. All the Bordeaux grapes have pyrazines for example. A Sauvignon Blanc can have an appealing "grassy" aroma, a classic aged red Bordeaux can have a delicious warm red bell pepper scent. The green bell pepper aroma is a trademark of Cabernet franc and not a wine fault. Extreme levels of pyrazine = bad. Moderate levels = can be good and adds complexity.

It's not fake, but yeah, people like to talk tough and it's probably nothing. I remember people talking about civil war the last couple of elections too depending on the result. There's a slight difference now with Trump showing signs of not wanting to accept the election result if he loses though, which could instigate more violence.

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2020/09/23/patriot-coalition-far-right-chat-logs-violence/ Leaked chatlogs from far-right group "Patriot coalition"

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-54284952 - Magawa the mine-detecting rat wins gold medal!

Favorite song of the year, so far

Pretty much anyone and their mother can make a valid nomination, so these crazy nominations mean little. (and likewise the main prize for that matter, as shown with Obama and many others). Do we have a university professor here? If so you can make a submission. Nominate the Obsidian forums! https://www.nobelprize.org/nomination/peace/

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/09/2600-year-old-wine-factory-unearthed-lebanon/ 2600 year old wine factory found in Lebanon. Pretty cool!

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/889pk3/facebook-threatens-to-pull-out-of-europe-if-it-doesnt-get-its-way I wouldn't mind!

Wow that's lame. Season 1 was a show I really enjoyed - there was clearly a lot of passion behind the project. Hope someone else picks it up if that's possible?

Political ads are banned here, both on tv/radio, and on posters outside etc (to avoid the biggest/richest parties dominating airtime), not sure how common that is around the globe? As far as I'm concerned, good riddance. I'm sure there's a lot of shady stuff on social media, but I prefer my exposure to politics be reasonable debates, and politicians actually talking about issues.

CK2 is such a great game, that I've played far, far too much. More developers should make Grand Strategy games with RPG flavour. However, I couldn't really get into CK3 right away, so I'm gonna wait for a few patches before I start playing. Right now it doesn't really feel any better than CK2, despite some welcome changes.

I thought book 4 was very good, and would make for a very fascinating film in the right hands. A guy turns himself into a Giant Sandworm and becomes the Emperor of the Universe for thousands of years to teach humanity a lesson, what's not to like? Book 2 & 3 less so, though they somehow managed to adapt those decently in that Children of Dune miniseries (that sadly doesn't hold up well CGIwise).

It's pretty common for trailers to misrepresent, so there might not even be any internal dialogue in the film. I don't think the trailer was good at all, very generic. I think (and hope) the director had very little to do with it, and that the tone of the film will be quite different. Disregarding how he looks, he seems to be a phenomenal young actor. I've only seen him in The King, and Call Me by Your Name, but he nailed both of those very different roles.

The guy who nominated him is incidentally the most disliked politician in Norway. Far-right guy.

I've always been of the opinion that we should form a "United States of Scandinavia". With somewhere in Norway as the capitol of course.

https://www.businessinsider.com/cohen-trump-hired-obama-lookalike-to-humiliate-in-video-2020-9?r=US&IR=T

I really enjoyed Scott & Amundsen, so gave this one a try. Also very good, gonna read Shackleton next. Found a "summary" of the book here: https://www.badassoftheweek.com/nansen

I don't really affiliate with any political party or politician in Norway either. I tend to vote for the little ones that are good watch dogs, to help ensure they get a seat or two in parliament. The uttermost left party here is actually pretty good in terms of unveiling corruption. I wouldn't want them to govern the country, but I'd prefer they have a public voice.

https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/515244-dhs-to-label-white-supremacists-as-the-most-persistent-and-lethal "“We judge that ideologically-motivated lone offenders and small groups will pose the greatest terrorist threat to the Homeland through 2021, with white supremacist extremists presenting the most lethal threat,” it adds." Not BLM and Antifa? Someone's about to lose their job.

Muslim ban, crotch grabbing, cheating on his wife, bullying, corruption...it all pales against the fact that he eats his steaks well done, with ketchup. (Only slightly joking): https://www.eater.com/2017/2/28/14753248/trump-steak-well-done-ketchup-personality