Gorth

A bit late... but it looks like someone still thinks old treaties and promises should be kept: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53358330 "US Supreme Court rules half of Oklahoma is Native American land"

I don't know about horses mate.... they are more deadly than all the spiders and snakes combined! https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-38592390 Edit: "Horses killed more people in Australia in recent years than all venomous animals combined, research has shown."

When will the Amish party run?...

A bit more Rammstein. Sort of rock, sort of metal, all industrial. Touchy subject too (pun unintended) about the rampant sexual abuse of children in the church. Song is close to 20 years old and they (the church) still have to get their **** together and do some internal reckoning. Lyrics translated: He is pious and very sensitive A picture of the Lord on his wall He wipes the stains from the bible He likes to distribute the sacrament He loves the choir boys They keep their souls clean But the tenor worries him That is why he must be closest to him Quiet and silent on his bedside table A picture of the lord He turns it over slowly When the tower clock strikes twice Hallelujah He folds his hands in prayer Hallelujah He lived without a woman Hallelujah So he has to love his next one (literal translation, I think the bible says love thy neighbour) Hallelujah The young man can stay with him Sin nests over my legs He is happy to help drive them out With music and candlelight When the tower clock strikes twice Hallelujah He folds his hands in prayer Hallelujah He lived without a woman Hallelujah So he has to love his next one Hallelujah When the tower clock strikes twice Hallelujah He takes the boy into prayer Hallelujah He is the real Christian Hallelujah And knows what charity is Hallelujah Turn around slowly turn around

How the heck does he do that guitar playing without his fingers bleeding... 🤔

Some very old Rammstein... ❤️ "Heirate Mich" (Marry me)

Hmm.... one for the science thread. Is the killer a real cop or not. Does observing the killing change the status from a cop in name only to a real cop. Shroedingers Cop!

Only of you fancy working from 8:30 to 2am during crunch times (which can be weeks)

RIP Ennio Morricone. My favourite movie music maker 😢

Melbourne... once part of Australia 😢 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-53303317

Some of us grew up in countries where AC is something you look up in a dictionary

Google translate agrees

Because I like the sound of Spanish... not that I understand a word without translated lyrics

Isn't history more than just reciting past events? Part of the excitement I get from studying history is trying to discover causes. Sometimes by reading other peoples interpretations, sometimes by jumping to my own conclusions 😇 E.g. the Holocaust happened, but what caused it? The simpleminded answer would be "The Nazis". But that is just closing ones eyes and ignoring the parts of history that lead to that point. Few things happens in isolation. The better you understand the underlying causes and effects, they better you can work towards avoiding repeats of such events in the future. Even if trying to get an overview of all the threads of history that lead to it, results in your browser crashing from 4096 opened tabs.

Psssst Trump! This is how it's done.... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53233386

I know I usually put my Rammstein posts in the metal thread.... But I don't think this is really "metal" 🤔 As is often the case with Rammstein, their lyrics have multiple meanings and interpretations. Lyrics translated We stick together We endure one another We hold onto one another No one holds us back We stay faithful to you We firmly hold onto that And obey the rules If you leave rules to us* And the shark, that has tears And they run from the face But the shark lives in water So no one can see the tears We keep our speed We keep our word If one can’t keep up Then we immediately stop We keep our eyes open We hold each other by the arm Six hearts that burn The fire keeps you warm And the shark, that has tears And they run from the face But the shark lives in water So no one can see the tears In the deep it is lonely And so many a tear is shed And it so happens that the water In the oceans is salty You can think of us Whatever you want We get compensation We never keep still And the shark, that has tears And they run from the face But the shark lives in water So no one can see the tears In the deep it is lonely And so many a tear is shed And it so happens that the water In the oceans is salty And the shark, that has tears And they run from the face But the shark lives in water So no one can see the tears Translation © Affenknecht.com

@BruceVC I agree that the whole statue thing is indeed an odd thing, because any single person is likely to be many things to many people. One mans villain is another mans hero and vice versa. Which is also why old things sometimes gets torn down to make room for new things (that's my inner anarchist speaking). What does people remember Churchill for? As you sort of hinted at, it depends on who you are. Would a 50%+ approval rate among all people being exposed to the actions of some figure justify a statue? A threshold of 25% if they are all locals (i.e. live in the UK)? And so on. There is no easy answer. I'm sure the Romans tore down a number of statues too when previous historical leaders fell out of favour with the current rulers. Maybe the Brits see him representing something they like to remember. Living in Australia, i think I can say he is more than anything associated with failed WWI campaigns, Gallipoli and tens of thousands of dead Aussies and Kiwis. To the people in India, I'm sure he is perceived in a different way to both the UK and the people down here. Was General Lee (US civil war) a particular bad and evil person? No idea. Did his exploits on the battlefield warrant a statue? Probably. But... his side lost and the climate has changed. As said above, sometimes what was once considered great falls out of favour. As long as history books keeps the deeds of people for posterity, does the world really need statues anyway? Other than to make pigeons happy that is. Edit: Another way of looking at is, the values of society keeps changing. Some day, a the values people attribute to the positive and the negative parts of a historical person changes enough to change the net sum?

I was thinking mostly of computer games. For table top games, I think the biggest time sink my younger brother and i played was a game called "Flat Top". For something more "fast" paced (not trying to be funny) we played Wooden Ships and Iron men. From Avalon Hill iirc.

But Churchill was racist. Yes, he bolstered UK morale during WWII, but he wasn't necessarily a good person. Quoting CNN: "He said that he hated people with "slit eyes and pig tails." To him, people from India were "the beastliest people in the world next to the Germans." He admitted that he "did not really think that black people were as capable or as efficient as white people." Not exactly a humanitarian role model

Playing War in Russia these days... as the Soviet Union taking on Nazi Germany, full campaign 1941-1945 I love the game, even if the interface shows its age. Bring your own dos-box to run it It's originally made by Gary Grigsby, a name that some old wargamers might recognize. The current owner of the game after SSI's demise is Matrix Games, who offers it as a free download from their website (i.e. fully legit). For those who prefer the Pacific War, that game is also there for free. Warning, if WIR was big, PW is humongous, not byte wise, but in scope and time investment. Edit: Link for any fellow wargamers out there who might be curious/interested https://www.matrixgames.com/game/war-in-russia-matrix-edition

Since embedding works again...

Back to your regular Rammstein... 😁 A song with lyrics that are mostly old song titles stitched together to form a song

For Australia, it's a blessing. The Morrison government is hopelessly inept, so the more the states decide to shoulder the responsibility of decision making, the better for all Australians. The governing Liberal Party, not to be confused with the American use of the word 'liberal', is very much a social conservative and fiscally.... owned by the local mining and fossil fuel industry and wont do anything without the blessings and encouragement of their masters, regardless of how ridiculous and irresponsible those decisions are.

The Scott Morrison government (the federal government) is doing what it's really best at doing, i.e. nothing. Unlike the bushfires, this crisis is being handled by the state governments and each state decides its own policy on the subject. The state premiers convene regularly (video conferencing) to discuss the state of the nation and where we're at.