Zoraptor

It was mostly West Germany that sold them precursors and equipment. Which the US knew about, of course, so the practical difference isn't great. The US mostly supplied intelligence and ran interference for the CW program and its use, especially at Halabja. Yes they were. Rumsfeld 100% didn't know where the CW was, it wasn't around Tikrit and Baghdad because it didn't exist. Saddam didn't try and obtain yellowcake from Niger, and they were told he didn't and they ignored it then burned Valerie Plame in retaliation. The 9/11 hijackers did not get support from Iraq. The 45 minute WMD over London claim was inserted from a masters thesis by Alistair Campbell over objections from British intelligence about it being at very best complete speculation. The Iraqis were not authorised to use the WMD they didn't have. Doesn't matter if they really really really believed it was true. They weren't merely innocent mistaken bumpkins blundering into mass slaughter for the best of intentions, they went out of their way to suppress any and all evidence- including using blatantly illegal means to do so- that didn't support their position Ironically, you use pretty much the exact argument many use for defending 5g/ covid/ antivaxxer. They all really really believe the stuff they spout is true too. So what. It isn't true, there is and was plenty of evidence that it isn't and being a moron and conclusion shopping to fit your beliefs does not mean you're incapable of lying. If they'd said they believed that Saddam still had WMDs they wouldn't have been lying. But no, they said he definitely had them when he didn't, systematically removed all nuance and equivocation and told blatant untruths.

There's nothing that stops it being a conspiracy. Doesn't matter if they genuinely believed the bollocks they were peddling, all they have to do is be organised to systematically lie which they clearly did. And outside of the legal definition of big C Conspiracy it doesn't have to be illegal, just dishonest. Though without a UN resolution it almost certainly was, at least for Bliar. If you have any doubt about them being dishonest then perhaps I can interest you in some nice beachfront real estate in Nightcaps. Parallel intelligence apparatus reprting to Cheney dedicated to conclusion shopping that Iraq still had wmds and removing any and all equivocation about it, plagairising a masters thesis and passing it off as intelligence, embiggening whacky yellowcake stories then illegally burning one of your own assets to get revenge when their husband debunked it, making up Iraqi links to 9/11 etc. They "knew where the WMD was, it's near Tikrit and Baghdad" and the Iraqis were authorised to use it, stated repeatedly and consistently. They most certainly didn't know any such thing, they just believed it. Shame they didn't believe they could fly if dropped from 10,000m instead, then there would be only a few dozen dead from their stupidity instead of millions. It was a systematic and organised promotion of falsehood, an absolutely classic conspiracy in every single respect. The media fell for it hook line and sinker and defenders and deflectors can't deal with being taken for a ride themselves- or the media they put on a pedestal being taken for a ride.

Whenever I see someone like John Oliver suggesting to go with media consensus to avoid conspiracy theories I'm reminded of two things. Firstly, Gulf War 2. Anyone who didn't believe the WMD fabrications of 2002-3 was an unpatriotic conspiracy theorist. Except, it turned out, it was the media which fell for an actual conspiracy. Good thing they learned their lesson, after all the media which was punished for their stupidity and cupidity... oh wait, it was just the BBC that didn't buy into it that got punished, wasn't it? Guess there's an obvious lesson to be learned there, it just isn't a palatable one if you don't like male cattle excreta. Then there's mass surveillance. 'Conspiracy theory' says the mainstream media. Then there's Snowden and most of the mainstream media decides that actually it's not a big deal because we all knew it was happening anyway. And meh, let's barely mention the blatant violation of the Vienna Convention involved in forcing down and searching Evo Morales' plane because Snowden might be there. Yeah, antivaxxers, covid or 5g conspiracy theorists are whacky as; though flat earthers are almost all just taking the mick out of po faced science absolutists. Trouble is that the mainstream media will happily parrot utter rubbish if it's in their best interests or, frankly, even if they're just lazy and don't want to be bothered critically examining what a source or press release tells them; and if they cannot do it via the news they'll do it via opinion pieces that can easily be forgotten about or disclaimed away. That's also why 'propaganda' media which pushes conspiracy theories works in the first place, it doesn't matter if they lie so long as they can prove that the 'trusted media' lies too. And that's all too easy. Ultimately that's where reports like Oliver's fall down if taken as having a proper/ deeper message than just trying to be funny. There's a reason conspiracy theories exist which isn't solely because those that believe them are credulous ignoramuses. It's because the mainstream news is far more concerned with being sensationalist, building narrative and a host of other things than just giving out facts. (Difficult to be too critical of Oliver personally there since like Jon Stewart before him he's primarily entertainment/ satire rather than out and out news, and also like Stewart he's typically better at informing than a lot of mainstream news despite that)

Agreed on India, but China and Russia may have a lot of minorities but they both have a large 80%+ majority Han/ 'Russian' ethnicity which is proportionately larger than the 'white' 'ethnicity' in the US is. I think this is the point where I typically wave my arms animatedly while saying there's little objective difference between a lot of ethnicities anyway and most are used as political conveniences for whatever progressive/ regressive agenda is being driven at the time.

"Biden has stated he plans to 'redirect police funds elsewhere'. Sounds like a 'defund the police' mantra with colourful words. I have no doubt Biden will do what the BLM/Antifa Nazis want him to do. " Hmm. But if he fails to defund the police he'd be doing what the police want him to do- which would make him a Police Nazi. What a quandry.

The unbelievable part would be that dry beans and coconut milk would make a pretty healthy meal*. 'Healthy meal' and 'Donald Trump' don't really go together given his stereotypical meals are overcooked steaks and MaccyDs. *by current orthodoxy at least. Not that long ago coconut milk was considered too high in fat to be healthy, now everyone seems to be using out and out coconut fat for cooking...

A Forward looking replacement for the cancelled E3 trade event featuring informational discourse relating to prominent game software releases from the foremost publisher of entertainment software, Ubisoft (TM)(R). Get all your information on watching dogs, assassinating creeds and crying far in one convenient package and receive award winning Watch_Dogs(TM) 2 for free on Uplay! Due to unprecedented demand the free W_D2 offer has been extended, so anyone who missed out on the live event gets their chance. Thanks, Ubisoft! ie basically a Ubi upcoming release event held a few days ago. You were meant to register beforehand to get W_D2 but the system was unsurprisingly- indeed, that was probably part of the PR strategy- swamped so the giveaway has been extended.

No more deaths from covid in the US, all thanks to Trump. Unfortunately, there's been a lot of deaths from totally unrelated causes like pneumonia this year, but what can you do about that? And on other totally unrelated news, China has suggested there's a far worse novel pneumonic disease in Khazakstan than sarscov2, because Khazakstan have no coronavirus but have had a lot of totally unrelated pneumonia deaths this year...

Yep, but that is precisely why you'd get the 'South East Asia Treaty Organisation' in response. Their leaderships' insularity makes China monumentally tone deaf when it comes to such things, and while a lot of countries in the region don't like each other much- Japan and ROKorea, for example- an aggressive China would drive them together pdq. Published in several Indian newspapers as their new 'official' map of China, I believe. It's all just passive aggression, but there are real pushes to rename the South and East China seas too which speak to the deep antipathy felt by China's neighbours. Yep. (Somewhere around 2011, buried in the depths of these forums, there is a post with me confidently predicting that the Arab Spring wouldn't come to Syria. May have got that prediction a bit off...)

No they're not. Your country wouldn't have got to the point where masks are needed, if you followed the rules to stop transmission. You didn't, so masks are needed now. But if you'd followed the rules they wouldn't be. The factors countries with successful responses all had in common simply do not include compulsory masks. The US is not in the state it is because people refused to wear masks, it's in the state it is because none of the necessary factors for control were consistently applied. Having to have compulsory mask wearing to minimise spread is a sign of and response to failure. Your argument is effectively that because the US didn't stop smoking and got lung cancer chemotherapy is necessary for anyone who wants functioning lungs. Nope, if you have a bit of self control and don't smoke then you don't generally need chemotherapy. And ironically, it's Trump HCQ prophylaxis argument in different clothes.

China and Russia already do transactions in their own currency when possible. The question is whether other countries will use Yuan or Roubles in future for 3rd party transactions as they do with USD today; which they won't. Yuan value is overly manipulated for Chinese benefit too much (USD is now too for US benefit, but it's already the reserve), Rouble ain't anywhere near powerful enough even for gas priocing. If the USD imploded the Euro would take its place as default, though there would be a lot lot more transactions in 3rd party currencies. Sure, but with all respect due to Iran, DPRK, Syria etc they are not overly important in the greater scheme of things, and the umbrella has gone over as a reaction/ response to US actions. Iran wouldn't be anywhere near so much in China's camp if Trump hadn't abrogated the JCPOA, indeed part of the point of the JCPOA was to get Iran integrated into the western (european mostly) economy and away from China/ extremism. China already gets a significant amount of oil from Iran. Saudi and Russia fight over oil quotas occasionally, but generally cooperate. The recent glut was a response to declining US influence as well though, with Saudi going after US shale oil every bit as much as it was going after Russia, which is why Trump got grumpy at them. Saudi under MbS is haemorraghing money way worse than Russia is, indeed Russia actually has more foreign currency reserves than it did in 2014, when some thought it was 6 months from bankruptcy, despite sanctions and lowered oil prices. But, both are big producers going through limited reserves pretty quickly. Turkey is mostly irrelevant for similar reasons to China, only even more extreme since they're smaller and have less economic clout. Turkey's neighbours hate it, and that is barely any exaggeration. They have good relations with the Azeris, some of Libya and Qatar. Greece, Armenia, Cyprus, Syria, Iraq and to an extent even Iran loathe Turkey. Everything else for Turkey is playing off Russia and US/ NATO against each other militarily and trying to gouge Europe while judging how far things can be pushed without making a final break with anyone. Turkey also has the bubbliest of bubble economies with the lid held down by funny money construction boom shenanigans from, iirc, Erdogan's utterly unqualified son in law finance minister. At the moment after the clashes in Ladakh, definitely yes. India has been cancelling Chinese deals and banning their software etc over the last month, and under Modi/ Trump the US focus has shifted from bolstering India's great enemy Pakistan towards India. The anti China sentiment in India has been stoked somewhat by distracting from Covid too, but it is very real. It hasn't really been de-escalated, it's more that China realised they'd shot themselves in the foot acting against an opponent that could and did effectively respond; China . Modi and the BJP are nationalists, they love having external enemies and while Pakistan is more convenient China works too. If the US 'disappeared' the biggest economic power would be Europe, and China would end up facing essentially an ASEAN type military alliance because they're so unpopular with their neighbours. I'd even suspect a military ASEAN would end up including Russia, since they're at best friends of convenience with China, and India.

China maybe, Russia doesn't have the clout and doesn't have a realistic route to get it back either even without the US as a factor. Russian international power is almost entirely oppositional, from offering an alternative to the US (and having a big nuclear arsenal/ UN veto/ hydrocarbons and other raw materials). China, well, they've been busy alienating every single one of their neighbours except Russia and even there the relationship is arms length except when it comes to opposing the US. Their foreign policy is exactly what you get when you come up through a regimented system where orthodoxy and obeying the rules designed to propagate The Party are paramount. The reality of world politics is that the vast majority of countries will happily take Chinese money while their views on the CCP vary from dislike to loathing- and that reality always triggers CCP members because they've grown up with that being near literally unthinkable and with a massive cultural chip on their shoulder when it comes to western nations. Even minor or imagined slights see toys ejected from cots, and that isn't conducive to long term international success. The world is naturally multipolar, if the US declines or collapses it will be China, the EU (assuming it didn't get dragged down by the US) and at some stage India with the big influences, with Russia retaining a role as a spoiler. It's doubtful even combined that they'll have the influence the US has had recently though.

Wearing masks wouldn't stop rest home deaths, unfortunately. Even proper medical masks w/filter only reduce exposure risk, by the nature of rest homes there's constant uncontrollable ongoing contact between residents and carers; even worse if there are a lot of already more vulnerable old people there. We had two outbreaks in specialist dementia rest homes which accounted for ~3/4 of our death toll, and most of the infections occurred after the oldies were out of the rest home and in proper hospitals (and that was also where most of our infected health workers came from too). You couldn't even reliably test most of those patients, trying to shove a swab up someone with dementia's nose or throat or take a blood sample is a non trivial undertaking. We also had panic about mask availability. Pretty sure that's just a consequence of having, well, media. If you listen to the media we would be simultaneously opening our borders while reducing quarantine times, and not letting anyone in; should have gone into lockdown earlier and simultaneously opened up earlier with fewer restrictions and more restrictions; behaved like Australia because their economy was less effected and not behaved like Australia. And yes, we were simultaneously using too many masks and not saving enough for a rainy day. No, it isn't. As always, stuff you agree with = data, stuff you don't agree with = anecdotes. If you follow the social distancing rules properly you don't need to wear masks, full stop. The problem is that people in places like the US won't follow the rules, the rules aren't consistent, people aren't informed properly or practice freedum or whatever. They won't wear masks, but they also won't do anything else. Stay 2m apart, wash your hands, don't go out if you're coughing or sneezing. If people had done that you wouldn't need masks. Much of the reason for masks being advocated is that Asian countries have had successful covid strategies. They weren't using masks as a mitigation factor though, they were countries that got a major scare with previous outbreaks like SARS, had proper plans in place and where mask use and basic prevention tactics was cultural. They had well communicated rules, a populace that understood the issues and was willing to take the steps necessary to deal with outbreaks (or in China's case, a military willing to make sure they did even if they didn't). Those are the factors common to all countries that have dealt successfully with the virus. Cultural level mask wearing was common to some successful countries, but by no means all.

The term you're looking for is 'chav'. Beefeaters are for those who like juniper flavoured alcoholic spirits. The refined gentleman would make a squad of Yeoman Warders.

They're not wacky- they're near exactly the view that got New Zealand to covid eradication. The position here is still that you are not encouraged to wear masks, despite the media constantly trying to drum up hysteria. If you do the other stuff properly you don't need masks. 'If', of course, being the operative word. The pro/ con balance has shifted in places with very extensive outbreaks and minimal other measures taken, but you certainly don't need masks for a successful response- and if I lived in the US or UK I'd be wearing a mask, if for no other reason than me not wanting to be a knob without good cause.

Same thing here as well, with lots of complaints about letting NZ citizens in from 'virus hotspots' like Pakistan and India. Of course, about 3/4 of those who have come home infected actually traveled from the UK and US, but that doesn't trigger the average facebook commentator quite as much because they can pretend they were all their nieces and nephews returning from their OE. Can't legally ban citizens from returning anyway, end of the day they have to be let in unless you're going to do the other stuff the stereotypical FB commentator wants like suspend habeas corpus and give the military (but not that commie Jacinta) power to put civilians into concentration camps- while simultaneously not letting anyone in and reopening the country to overseas travelers. There's definitely no proof of the source, but there is some pretty good evidence. It's also politically damaging to the Vic premier, so there's a bit of a scramble to spread the blame. (For those ouside A/NZ, the most widely circulated rumour is that the minimum wage security guards at Vic isolation facilities completely ignored all the rules, smuggled people in and out of quarantine and even slipped the odd guest the 3" saveloy on the sly; and at least one of the guests they were, to use that most charming ocker phrase, 'rooting', did indeed bring back more little virusy friends than H.simplex. The bonking part is not confirmed, but a very suspicious number of guards have got sick, early in the renewed outbreak, enough that them ignoring the rules and being the source of the renewed outbreak is the most plausible source so far.

I don't think anyone would hold up the xbone as a model of a successful console*. The hardware in the top model is the best, but it never quite got away from Ballmer's typically scatterbrained vision of an all things to all people but always online media device, with MS taking a cut of everything. They forgot that you have to focus on pushing the essentials like being a good console first and treat everything else as nice extras; which is what Sony and Nintendo did. Still, at least that resulted in a lot of funny Untergang and Bane memes. *To be honest I don't think you would hold up any MS console as a success. Even the 360 had the infamous RROD issues which are lethal financially when you're already selling the units at a loss, and was partly successful because PS3 was a relative stumble for Sony.

While no doubt the State of New Jersey would like to make a buck in these trying times it was the State of Rhode Island that ended up owning KoA. And they sold their interest to Nordic*, hence the remaster. *meh THQ/ Embracer/ DerpSilver or whichever legal entity for the same exact company is actually publishing it.

Pulled this off the 'What is to come thread' since it probably fits better here*... That situation is getting closer to confirmed now- consumer 3000 series very likely to be on Samsung '8nm', only pro and above level cards at TSMC. Ultimate source is kopite7kimi on twitter, who is usually reliable, and there are a fair few supporting articles out now as well (eg Igorslab). Power draws may be a near throwback to Thermi as a result, which I guess will at least give a good reason to buy 1000W+ PSUs again. *That first quoted sentence has more run ons than a rugby match in Dunedin during O week.

I'm sure there's a word- probably in some germanic language- to describe the slight feeling of satisfaction you get from finding out Bolsonaro has caught 'the little flu' after insisting it's anything from a hoax to nothing to worry about. Just a shame he'll no doubt get all the plasma transfusions etc he needs which the average native or favela dweller couldn't afford in a million years. Then again he'll probably die from the HCQ he's taking, to really double down on irony.

My friend, have you heard the good news about our Lord and Saviour Lisa Su AMD?

Meh, just buy some dexamethasone for 8 bucks instead, that even improves survival rate rather than just aiding recovery like remdesivir. Then again dexamethasone probably costs hundreds in the US as well despite being generic.

Syndicate, the Assassin's Creed where you were never quite sure if the next person you met would be some eldritch nightmare because the engine decided skin was a bit too difficult to render.

Lee certainly is difficult to judge fairly as a general. Fundamentally he was fighting for the side that ought to lose- and it's doubtful even a Subotai/ Hannibal/ Marlborough tier general would have 'won' in the end. He was pretty much always outnumbered significantly, and always outresourced. The war should have been lost for the confed early in the east, but was actually lost in the west where Lee wasn't. The Union generals he fought were mostly rubbish but still should have won against him multiple times when they had, at times, around double the troops Lee had available for a campaign. The main trouble Lee had was ultimately he had to win the war, which meant eventually he would have to take risks with an underresourced and smaller army while fighting on the enemy's territory rather than his own. He's mostly criticised for Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg but that was pretty much what Napoleon tried at Waterloo when he was in a similar strategic situation. That is also one of the situations where you have the reverse of the 'blame the subordinates' (blaming Stuart for disappearing for days at Gettysburg is perfectly fair though, the initial blunders were thanks to having almost zero scouting from Stuart) with people saying that Lee should have followed Longstreet's plan instead. Lee was clearly a decent general, in a war where most generals didn't even achieve that. Definitely not top tier though. I'd tend to compare him to Rommel in some ways, people tend to hold Rommel up as (relatively) honourable etc and play up his victories (like Lee mostly won with a large dollop of help from enemy incompetence but against larger and better resourced armies) yet he was a committed- though not extremist- nazi, lost every battle he had to win and for the last 30 months of his career won only one fairly minor battle full stop. Both are lionised beyond their objective abilities and achievements.

Of course they offer WIR free, it's a gateway drug for their fairly pricey War in the East. In terms of detail I don't think anything comes close to the old SPI Campaign for North Africa which tracked detail down to the water requirement for Italian units to boil their pasta rations in. And that was a late 70s boardgame...