Gorth

Just calling out "The West" on a bit of its hypocrisy. In this case the otherwise impressive and charismatic Navalny, who the EU thinks is the natural born leader to take over Russia from Putin... So, who is this saviour of democracy and all things right and good? https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56181084 "Amnesty strips Alexei Navalny of 'prisoner of conscience' status Amnesty International has stripped the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny of his "prisoner of conscience" status after it says it was "bombarded" with complaints highlighting xenophobic comments that he has made in the past and not renounced." "Some of the calls to revoke Navalny's prisoner of conscience status quoted a Twitter thread by Katya Kazbek, a freelance columnist published by the pro-Kremlin channel RT amongst others. She reposted Navalny's controversial videos after his arrest in January, describing him as an "avowed racist" and accusing supporters of "whitewashing" his nationalism." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/24/amnesty-strips-navalny-of-prisoner-of-conscience-status "Amnesty International took an internal decision to stop referring to [Alexey] Navalny as a prisoner of conscience in relation to comments he made in the past. Some of these comments, which Navalny has not publicly denounced, reach the threshold of advocacy of hatred, and this is at odds with Amnesty’s definition of a prisoner of conscience,” the statement said, without specifying what those comments were. Navalny has previously advocated for nationalist, anti-immigrant policies and is regularly accused by his critics on social media of being a white supremacist. Fifteen years ago, Navalny filmed a pro-gun rights video in which he compared people from the North Caucasus, home to many Muslims, as “****roaches” and then pretended to shoot one with a pistol." As for what it's all about... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/25/navalny-has-the-kremlin-foe-moved-on-from-his-nationalist-past Muslim ‘****roaches’ In a 2007 pro-gun rights video, Navalny presents himself as a “certified nationalist” who wants to exterminate “flies and ****roaches” – while bearded Muslim men appear in cutaways. He whips out a gun and shoots an actor wearing a keffiyeh who tried to “attack” him. The 42-second video was released by the Russian National Liberation Movement, a nationalist group Navalny had just co-founded with Zakhar Prilepin, a renowned novelist who later fought for pro-Russian separatists in southeastern Ukraine and joined a pro-Kremlin socialist party earlier this year. Shortly before releasing the video, Navalny was kicked out of Yabloko, Russia’s oldest liberal democratic party, for his “nationalist views” and participation in the Russian March, an annual rally of thousands of far-right nationalists, monarchists and white supremacists. A veteran human rights advocate recalled falling out with Navalny over his views at the time. ... "The participants of the Russian Marches rallied against the influx of labour migrants from ex-Soviet Central Asia and Russia’s mostly-Muslim Northern Caucasus region. Some protesters sported closely cropped hair and raised their hands in a Nazi salute." Tl;dr; he's a right-wing ultra nationalist and white supremacist... and a charismatic one at that. Would make a nice populist despot. I still don't get it why the west is so keen to support him.

Did I mention that Australia is, at times, very much a backwater place? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-08/government-responds-sexual-harassment-respect-at-work-report/100055070 "The federal government will amend the Sex Discrimination Act to include politicians and judges, who have previously been exempt from the laws. More than a year after receiving the Respect at Work report, the government has announced it will adopt the 55 recommendations either in full, in part or in principle. Of the 55 it has agreed to 40, agreed in principle to five, agreed in part to one and noted nine." No kidding. Up until now, politicians and judges were immune to prosecution for sexual harassment. The Taliban sends its regards...

Speaking of the English and the Welsh. Hands up everyone who knew Wales provided the manpower to swing the tide of war in the War of the Roses and helped put the Tudors on the throne eventually, supporting Jasper Tudor and Henry Tudor. later Henry VII, the victor of the battle at Bosworth (archeologists were delighted when they dug up Richard III's remains from a parking lot in Leicester, which now covers the old battleground at Bosworth). http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7702913.stm When officials asked for the Welsh translation of a road sign, they thought the reply was what they needed. Unfortunately, the e-mail response to Swansea council said in Welsh: "I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated". So that was what went up under the English version which barred lorries from a road near a supermarket. "When they're proofing signs, they should really use someone who speaks Welsh," said journalist Dylan Iorwerth. The English is clear enough to lorry drivers - but the Welsh reads "I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated."

Northern Ireland doesn't seem to get a break at the moment.... https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-56684571 Police deployed water cannon for the first time in six years in Northern Ireland after coming under attack in a further night of rioting in Belfast. Nineteen officers were injured on Thursday night, bringing the number hurt in week of violence to 74. Crowds rioted on both sides of gates that separate a loyalist area and a nationalist area in west Belfast. I'm not entirely serious, just one of those weird thoughts that pops up in the head sometimes, is this really all due to brexit or is it also a side effect of people being cooped up for too long during lockdowns???

The same reason I decided to hang on to my Danish passport. Last time I checked, Denmark was still (grudgingly and resentful) a member of the EU. I couldn't get Australian citizenship last time I had the chance, because Denmark didn'tallow dual citizenship, so it was either or. Of course, when I moved back to Europe for a few years (Germany and England), Denmark changed it's legislation so I could now go for dual citizenship But, Australia requires you to have lived in Australia for the last 4 years before starting the process, even if I had lived for close to a decade in Australia before going back to Europe for a bit. It's now more than 4 years since I returned to AU, so it's time to pick up the paperwork again I guess and get started on the additional citizenship. That should also give me opportunities to just hop back and forth a bit between AU and Kiwidom with a lot less paperwork involved

Does Brexit mean the end of the peace in Northern Ireland? https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-56664868 Rioting in Belfast on Wednesday night was on a scale not seen in Northern Ireland for years, police have said. During several hours of violence, police officers were attacked, petrol bombs were thrown and a bus was burnt. Eight officers were injured at an interface between loyalist and nationalist areas in west Belfast. For the less history savvy, the peace agreement in Northern Ireland ended a conflict between the provisional IRA and the UK which left 3000 dead and 49000 wounded

Not fan art, but game trailer:

Edit: Split from the weird and interesting thread I think we had a thread once for short cgi movies and animations. Can't find it though An impressive one man job (mostly for Warhammer 40k fans, but other may appreciate the skill that went into the movie making)

Anyone wants to buy a government? The Australian Liberal Party (the governing party) is always for sale... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-55851074 "It started with Zac Efron. Then Mark Wahlberg flew over, Matt Damon jetted in, and dozens of other celebrities followed - all to set up temporary homes in Australia. More recently, Julia Roberts touched down. She's due to film a movie here with George Clooney later this year, one rather aptly titled Ticket to Paradise. Because amid the pandemic, it does appear that half of Hollywood has fled to Australia, viewing it as a Covid-free idyll. Life is good in a country that's largely eliminated the virus - people are freely enjoying beaches, bars, and nightclubs. Most of the famous arrivals are here to work. Australia's government has lured over productions like the next Thor film with tax breaks." ... "They're calling it Aussiewood," one local entertainment reporter told the BBC. ... Just one problem... "But not everyone is pleased. One year on since Australia shut its borders, there are still at least 40,000 Australians stranded overseas. " So yeah, unless you have a few tens of millions on your bank account, don't bother. Even if you're an Australian citizen "The government says it's organised more than 100 repatriation flights, including 20 this year. But with tens of thousands of Australians still unable to get home, anger over the lack of government support has grown."

Not so much TV as something about a TV show, a youtube documentary showing the changes to Battlestar Galactica lore and how it changed over time from Glen Larson's original alien lizards wearing metal armor cylons to the mutation into being droids/mechanical lifeforms because of some restriction on body counts in TV, that you could show in the US at the time. It was quite interesting actually, seeing how they adapted to the circumstances. He (Larson) also introduced "humanoid" cylons to infiltrate the colonies a few decades before the new show. Edit: I guess that would have made the original cylon concept the proverbial "lizard overlords"

Strange, why do they suddenly want to turn the Marines into a naval based, amphibious branch The article brings its own conclusion on the why though, to take on Chinese bases in the South China Sea

(warning, video in article shows violent octopus) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-56612257 Australia: Geologist beaten up by 'angriest octopus' on beach In a video that has gone viral, the octopus can be seen in shallow waters lashing out at geologist Lance Karlson. The creature came after him again later and struck him on the arm, before whipping his neck and upper back.

Maybe it's a geo location check? Works fine in Australia. Would you have access to vpn or proxy servers?

Depends on how things develop on the home front in China. It could be next year, it could be in five years. Depends on how fast Xi needs an external "threat". If none presents itself, he can always assimilate Taiwan (forcefully). Trump set an unfortunate precedent, being willing to sacrifice allies without batting an eyelid. Xi may be expecting more of the same in the White House. In the meantime, China is busy building up its power base and infrastructure for power projection in the Pacific, all the way down to Antarctica. and down through Africa. @BruceVCyou better brush up on your Mandarin too, as Chinese interests are spreading throughout that continent too... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3086968/china-finds-manufacturing-opportunities-low-wage-africa And leaving environmental disasters in their wake, like a passing army ant swarm https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210323-the-factories-turning-west-africas-fish-into-powder

Just some old stuff I happened to listen to quite a bit when it was new.

(sorry)

The rest of us will enjoy some chocolate eggs The latest outbreak in Queensland threw a spanner in the works for my travel planes. Had booked flight tickets, hotel and a night of standup/political satire show and comedy (and dinner) in Melbourne. Less than a week before, something escapes quarantine and the area is now in total lockdown until the next review (but too late for me to change plans, so... everything cancelled).

That's why I always thought @Guard Dog was a leprechaun

Thanks Bruce. We might disagree on the finer details (and I'll still stand by my claim that Ukraine botched the legitimacy of their claims by sending in tens of thousands of troops, annexing it in the first place). But I hope we can agree upon the choice should have been made by the people of Crimea, neither Kiev nor Moscow.