Gorth

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/1/28/ukraine-accuses-us-of-hurting-economy-by-stoking-panic-over-war Tl;dr; Ukraine blames the US for the current mess and it’s hurting Ukraines economy

Make sure you get football tickets!

My kitchen got subjected to a number of strange things over the Christmas and New Years period. Not at least because of that female friend I had staying at my place for a month. Rum Balls, Feta and Ham Filos, Pizzas (New York style), pan cakes. Egg Fried rice (with ham, green onions, carrots and some interesting sauces), various curried. Now in pondering if I should have a go at Kimchi Stew Got a lot of leftover Kimchi that needs to be used soon

Two years of lockdowns and restrictions. People are getting restless and need tangible enemies...

I'm sure those people in Ukrainian uniforms attacking the Russian radio station were just media critics, wanting to deprive the Russian people of their freedom of speech! (what I'm talking about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleiwitz_incident)

I'm not so sure about that. The global chip shortage is *already* hurting the US economy and causing stocks to nose dive on Wall Street. Edit: This is with Taiwan producing at 100% capacity https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60135905 A survey of more than 150 firms found supplies had fallen from an average of 40 days' worth in 2019 to just five days in late 2021. Note, this is not to be confused with the other world wide chip shortage, lack of potatoes leading to a shortage in french fries and chips supplies https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/01/08/potato-shortage-french-fries-japan-kenya-south-africa-pandemic-supply-chains/ In Japan, McDonald’s locations stopped offering large and medium-size french fry orders late last month, after pandemic-related supply chain issues and floods in the Port of Vancouver delayed potato shipments. Days later, South Africa’s leading makers of potato chips warned that potatoes were in disturbingly short supply after a bad frost and excessive rains led to low local yields, on top of global sourcing shortages.

SSD's, when they work, are for me the preferred boot drive. However, I don't keep much important stuff on it. Every now and then, the documents and settings folder gets copied both to an external USB HDD as well as an FTP server (a habit of mine that predates stuff like OneDrive, I-Cloud and Google Drive by decades) as a precaution. I have a repair disk on a USB stick too, if I need to rebuild it on a new drive.

I don't have that much of a history... my first two movies were (IIRC) Akira and Ghost in the Shell and the first show was Macross. Not that I knew they were "Anime" mind you (it would be another 20 years before I heard that term, as well as "Manga"). The latter showed on TV back when European countries first started getting access to satellite TV (mid to late 80's I think) and for me it was just another cartoon, with space travel and giant robots involved. I think I'm going to check out JoJo's bizarre stuff next (no release dates for Mieruko-chan s2 nor Fire Force s3)....

I wonder how many here remember the "good old days" of 8 bit computing, when the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum 48 were competing for the customers attention (and money)? In the early 80's, there were a number of one man armies (Jeff Minter, Andrew Braybrook, Sid Meier, Bruce Carver and Mike Singleton) which produced a disproportional part of the "good" games of that decade. Eventually it turned into another Hollywood, with publishers becoming larger and larger and developers becoming less and less independent, as the budgets and financing costs sky rocketed. There's a difference between providing cash flow for a 1-3 man company and a 100-1000 man company. The tested and tried (and sequels and imitations) were in and innovation was out The last games that truly excited me were probably games like the Master of Orion, Fallout, Baldur Gate, X-Com and Tomb Raider. Since that time, good games have been released intermittently, but expectations and excitement for upcoming releases has been in constant decline. Doesn't mean a game gives me a pleasant surprise and I've played fun games since, but expectations?... nah. Edit: I'll shamefully admit, I don't remember the name of the guy at Cosmi, who did such classics like Caverns of Khafka, Aztec Challenge and Forbidden Forest (the later is to this day the only video game that genuinely gave me goosebumps and cold sweat). He did game design, game development, the graphics and coded the effin music. One man army indeed. Edit2: Google is my friend, his name is Paul Norman.

Sorry, what were you saying? Wasn't really listening... Edit: Still trying to make up my mind, what to look out for next

Nostalgia time... this music was brought to you by The Department for Teutonic Affairs

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-60120997 It might sort of belong in the politics thread, but it doesn't quite fit the doom and gloom there... The Australian government has bought the Aboriginal flag's copyright in a bid to "free" the symbol of identity from bitter fights over who can use it. Indigenous artist Harold Thomas created the flag in 1971 as a protest image but it is now the dominant Aboriginal emblem and an official national flag. Despite this, many Aboriginal people say the flag has been "held hostage" by copyright deals that limit its display. The flag can now be reproduced by anyone without fear of legal threats. "Over the last 50 years we made Harold Thomas' artwork our own - we marched under the Aboriginal flag, stood behind it, and flew it high as a point of pride," said Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt. "Now that the Commonwealth holds the copyright, it belongs to everyone, and no-one can take it away." The government paid more than A$20m (£11m; $14m) in total to secure the copyright from Mr Thomas and to terminate lease agreements, media reports said. The flag can be used either together with or in lieu of the Australian national flag It has followed pressure from Aboriginal groups and controversies in sports such as the Australian Football League (AFL), which began refusing to pay leaseholders to display the flag. "The flag belongs to all Aboriginal people. Why do they have to pay for it?" one petition organiser, Laura Thompson, told the BBC in 2020. "It's a symbol of our people's survival. Many of us don't identify with the Australian flag because for us it represents colonisation and invasion." Now they can use it without constant looking over their shoulders out of fear for the collectors wanting their share of the copyright revenue...

Not sure what you mean by "overall"? Military strength? Other, wiser heads knows more about hardware specs and capabilities than I do. Politically? I think Trump weakened the US so much during his 4 years, that the rest of the world might actually (erroneously and possibly to their own regret) disregard the US as a player in international politics these days. Russia never really had a tradition for being an "extrovert". Their interests (and manipulations) are usually in countries bordering Russia (and previously the USSR). Most of their military doctrine in the past for projecting power was throw ICBM's at it. Then throw more at it. Then add MIRV's to the ICBM's and trow even more at it. Eventually the target breaks. They didn't have specialized units for operating outside their (and their "vassal countries") borders. Afghanistan was a good example of how disastrous it ended up when they tried to deploy troops outside their comfort zone. Putin changed that however. Cutting down on the millions strong conscript army of pedestrians led by corrupt, incompetent polit bureau members. The Russian units deployed in Syria, Libya, CAR etc. *seems* to be at least on par with their western counter parts and they have had a lot of practice the last 10 years in operating outside Russia proper's borders. The doctrine seems to favour lesser numbers of higher quality compared to say 20-25 years ago. Mentally? I think the west tends to forget that Russia has throughout the last 500 years been surrounded by enemies wanting to partition it. Poland would know what it feels like, being surrounded by Sweden, Germany and Russia. Russia is used to western powers invading them in significant numbers whether they be Sweden, France, Germany (twice), The British etc. The point being, the constant encroaching by NATO has reached a point, where Ukraine is the trigger because it's too close to Moscow and industrial centers geographically. If Biden really wants war, inviting Ukraine into NATO is the 100% guarantee that he will get what he wants in that regard. Remember, the west has shown a blatant disregard for international law the last 20 years, chopping up sovereign countries like Serbia when it was expedient to do so (yet, crying wolf if the people of Crimea dare to invoke democracy), applauding Ukraine's invasion and occupation of Crimea at the same time etc. No reason whatsoever for Russia to trust anything said by western leaders. Too much hypocrisy. Hence why negotiations have to take place from a perceived position of strength. i.e. what is the purpose of putting 100000 man on a border if you don't also have the logistics in place to deploy them anywhere other than where they sit on their butts right now? Not to mention, what a surprise it would be if they attacked. Show me a general that would show an enemy his entire hand rather than benefit from a surprise. It's more than anything a warning to the west, hands off or else. I mentioned once in the past, it's the Cuba crisis in reverse. Ukraine is too close for Russian comfort to tolerate NATO troops and it will be seen as a declaration of war as certain as the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941. Economically? We're talking about a people where most of them lived as serfs up until 1917, eating grass and roots while being abused and mistreated by nobility. About a century or two longer than most other countries. Starvation and hardship is almost a source a national pride. Sanctions wont work. It will just force Russia, Turkey, China and possibly India to closer cooperation and harden any resentment towards western countries, adding decades to any chance of a normalization of relations

I'm still a bit surprised by not even having had the common cold for 2 years now. I used to get it at least twice a year throughout living memory... until 2020 and people starting the distancing, mask wearing and hand sanitizer thing. I remember talking to my GP about it about a year ago (the seemingly vanished common cold) and he told me even the normal flu shots were not in demand, as nobody got the flu anymore either. Maybe it shows how much of a strain on our bodies the modern society has become, with everyone living lumped together in large mobs?

The way Hurl explains it, the parents weren't really worried about their kids education, they were worried about being stuck with their offspring all day at home Edit: Note the proper use of 'their'

Bear in mind, the in the 44 years preceding 1991, Hungary and Bulgaria were the enemy. A very existential threat. I grew up and spent my whole childhood and young years knowing my biggest enemies in this world were Poland, DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik aka "East Germany") and The USSR. Implacable foes that could not be reasoned with and not be bargained with, their only goal and reason d'etre was kill me and destroy my way of life. It takes a while to shrug off such deep seated resentment. Bogeymen have a tendency to take on a life of their own and get things attributed to them, that might not be based on anything real. Little surprise really, if people from Eastern Europe were met with resentment at best and outright hostility at worst in that time period. I'm sure nobody in Austria or Germany would have been surprised if your otherwise beautiful woman suddenly grew tentacles and yelled "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn". Heck, it was probably even expected.

That's Ok, not feeling guilty about anything. Serbia's reaction is all about nationalism which I don't like anyway (1), because of an utter and complete **** which I don't like anyway (2) and if the collateral damage is a mining corporation I don't like anyway (3), it's a win-win-win situation as far as see. 3-0 if you want (1) - I'll spare you the long sermon about why I don't like nationalism. Tl;dr; it's a joke created around 1648 to get the gullible to accept he has to die for the benefit of the country's elite like he always has, except now he actually believes he has a stake in the outcome (2) - I'm not necessarily a stickler for rules, but I am in favour of them being applied equally. Some moron is so full of himself and believes himself important enough, that laws and rules are for suckers and not for him, only for "other people" doesn't qualify him in my book. If it had been for humanitarian reasons, come again and maybe we can talk (3) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-55250137 a frigging shame CEO's and boards of directors never gets sentenced to the lengthy jail times they deserve

That's a post for tomorrow, frankly too tired today. I did find this little golden nugget though (fallout from the Djokovic thing) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60081853 Serbia has withdrawn the exploration licences of Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto following weeks of protests over plans for a lithium mine. "All permits were annulled... we put an end to Rio Tinto in Serbia," Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Thursday. The decision comes just weeks ahead of Serbia's general election in April. Apparently something good did come out of it after all. Anything that is bad for Rio Tinto is good for the world, so thank you Serbia! Sometimes things done for the wrong reasons are the right things to do anyway

Only thing from top of my head is not a game per se, but the third expansion (End of Dragons) coming out for Guild Wars 2 at the end of February. Game had already been updated a bit in time preparation with new faces and haircuts in the character generator for all races for the all Asian themed expansion

Apparently, Biden doesn't want press photos of Embassy Staff and their family hanging on the helicopters in a last minute evacuation effort from the US Embassy in Kiev (he's probably old enough to remember the Saigon evacuation photos when they were new) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60106416 The US has ordered the relatives of its embassy staff in Ukraine to leave amid rising tension in the region. The State Department has also given permission for non-essential staff to leave and urged US citizens in Ukraine to consider departing. In a statement, it said there were reports that Russia is planning significant military action against Ukraine. Edit: Dang you Putin, don't you go and make a liar of me, I was certain China would invade Taiwan before the Ukraine situation deteriorated. Edit2: Maybe Putin and Xi struck a deal, if striking simultaneously, who would the west consider more important, Ukraine (a corrupt through and through country) or Taiwan (the very important semi conductor manufacturer that makes so much of the west's industry run)?

I'm a bit lost too I know Jennifer Lawrence played in a movie called Hunger Games, but the rest?... Umm... help?

Oooh.... that was interesting You can almost imagine how the "pressure cooker" underneath the old collapsed crater is busy boiling water on the second picture

The problem is too much nationalism and too little democracy. They could try what Denmark and Germany did post WWII? Rather than claiming all historical Danish territories all the way down to Hamburg, it was agreed to create a number of "electoral areas" (it's been a long time since I read up on it, so I don't remember the correct term used at the time, sorry), where the population is actually asked whether they want to be part of Denmark or Germany. Also with the caveat, that no matter how hard you try, minorities will exist on the other side of the border. Their rights have to be ensured and protected. I.e. the Danish minority in Schleswig-Holstein is exempt from the 5% minimum threshold for seats in the regional parliament and both German and Danish are accepted as languages in education on both sides of the border (the way the border ended up after the 3 regional referendums, 1 area re-joined Denmark, 2 areas preferred to remain German). Of course, Germany had just lost WWII, so it was that or lose all the territory. But I could think of quite a few other places in the world, where a similar approach would be beneficial for long term peace. Ukraine and Russia are both horribly nationalist, so they might need to feel a bit of pain before such good ideas penetrates their skulls. Ukraine is sort of the opposite case, where after the change of government in 1994, the new right wing extremist government decided to go 100% Ukraine uber alles, cracking down on Russian minorities in both Crimea and eastern Ukraine, disallowing the use of the Russian language etc. The reaction was anything if not predictable (referendum in Crimea, which they were fully entitled to, having never been legitimately part of Ukraine post 1991) and violent uprisings in eastern Ukraine. The Kurds is another example (since I mentioned them originally), which is never going to happen with somebody like Erdogan in power, because his power base is entirely nationalist rhetoric. A place that is actually peaceful at the moment is the Swedish occupied parts of Denmark (Scania), where you have to search long and hard for any armed resistance groups. Guess what, the cultural and ethnic differences between Denmark and Sweden is not large enough today to stir up unrest (again, something I referred to in my original post). If you want to do the world a favour, stop thinking like it's 1648 and support democracy instead. Especially local democracy and the right of people for self determination.

Booked myself for a covid booster shot. Decided to try "Moderna" this time. Just to try a different flavour Besides, I've been told, mixing the shots is like a drinking at a bar. You get more bang for your buck

Bruce, you have to stop confusing "sovereign country" with homogeneous country. Lines on a map that ignores the ethnic realities on the ground aren't worth the paper the map makers used. You would have thought the UK of all things, learned that after the cluster**** that was the middle-east after WWI. The Kurds sends their regards btw. Unless you can unify the population culturally, forget about stability. Nationalism only exacerbates the problem. The increased kill count makes for good news coverage, but little else.