CitizenVectron

I am trying to do an evil playthrough but IT IS HARD to be so mean.

It's really weird that conservatism in the UK tends to be far less extreme in some areas compared to the rest of Europe (or the US), but in other areas is far more regressive. 

39 minutes ago, PaladinSolo said:

It is indeed odd that people still think the actual document is the constitution and not whatever SCOTUS says at this point.

The US constitution is a religious document, not a governing document. Quote me on it!

Based on the polling and the leaks about meetings and such, I am changing my prediction to Biden dropping out (possibly even stepping down as President...though I think those chances are slim), and Harris becoming the nominee (who will choose a popular white male governor as her VP pick).

36 minutes ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

Well that's certainly not good for continued support of Ukraine and stopping Putin with anything he does in the future. I assume the citizenry don't care even though Putin is a threat?

I'm pretty sure support for Ukraine remains fairly strong in western Europe...but much like the US, all politics is local, and other things override foreign aid.

9 minutes ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

So immigration. I mean, that's terrible, but white Europeans being racist is the least surprising thing ever. On paper it doesn't seem these far right politicians are like Boebert or MTG at least if they're trying to be liberal on some social values and instituting leftist economic policies. 

They are also all beholden (literally, through loans) to Russia and Putin.

2 minutes ago, Kal-El814 said:

Executive order to prohibit convicted felons from being eligible for the Presidency? Officially and whatnot so it’s very legal, very cool?

All this ruling does is allow the President to make orders and do whatever they want, and have protection. People need to still follow those orders. It would be very hard to order someone not to be allowed to be President. How would that be enforced? You'd need the cooperation of basically everyone. It's easier to just order loyal Secret Service agents to kill them, and then pardon the agents.

From Sotomayor's dissent:

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Even if these nightmare scenarios never play out, and I pray they never do, the damage has been done. The relationship between the President and the people he serves has shifted irrevocably. In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law.

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Orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune.

She ended the dissent without the usual respectful language:

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With fear for our democracy, I dissent.

Just dove back into the game for another play! This time I am going pure evil, and going to kill the Tieflings. My single motivation is going to be to get all the gold, and kill anyone who tries and stop me.

Pressure is apparently mounting from inside the Liberal caucus for Trudeau to resign as PM, and give his successor a year to govern before the next election: 

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/i-know-the-inside-story-of-the-liberal-revolt-against-justin-trudeau-how-i-overheard/article_c3991832-355f-11ef-9617-67661c0a67ed.html

Makes sense to me. If polls were still close like the last two elections, I'd say give him a fourth shot. But Poilievre is really evil (true believer far-right), and anything they can do to reduce his chance at a majority is a good thing.

29 minutes ago, Siebzehn said:

 

French election: Your guide to a vote that is set to shake the EU and NATO – POLITICO

WWW.POLITICO.EU

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Global strategic and financial consequences hang on the outcome of the June 30 and July 7 ballot — a complex, two-round process that needs some...

 

Now we find out what they'll do. Hopefully they join the plan to fuck the National Rally

Centrist parties have a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong history of preferring the right-wing to win, rather than ceding official opposition status to the left-wing, because they know that it means they will be the default choice to win again when the right-wing party gets unpopular. But this assumes that the right-wing doesn't abolish democracy...which today, is unclear.

For anyone wondering, the New Popular Front is the combined left wing, which has banded together under a common banner to try and stop the far-right.

1 minute ago, Greatoneshere said:

I don't understand how conservative governments keep getting elected into power. With more old people dying every year and more young people becoming eligible to vote every year one would think governments would be getting more liberal, not less. 

 

Are there a lot of young die-hard conservatives out there? I know there are some, but enough for clear landslide elections in all these countries? It's strange to me, not sure what I'm missing here. Most young people I see online or in real life are very progressive, moreso than previous generations on average as people get conservative the older the get, not younger. So what's the deal?

There are many factors at play, but I think primarily just vote based on how their own pocketbook is doing, unless there is some major crisis or issue at play that affects them or their loved ones. "Left-wing" parties have been effectively running the western world for the last decade or so, with some exceptions, but they've really just been performative when it comes to economic issues. These liberal governments have continued to allow massive capital densification at the top, along with amazing increases in cost of living, primarily through housing cost increases. So when people are struggling, they tend to care less about the plight of others. Now, that doesn't apply to everyone and everything. Also, people tend to just get tired of governments and vote them out, rather than vote the other side in. That's what's going to happen in Canada, next year, basically.

The right wing is also going to certainly win a majority in Canada next year, as well.

SCOTUS (and even some people here) argue/have argued that allowing regulatory bodies and courts to help govern is a bad thing because the proper solution is fixing Congress (which should be doing this). That is absolutely correct in a vacuum. But if my house is on fire and the fire department is hosing it down, I don't want my neighbour ordering them to stop because the proper solution is to build more fireproof homes, or prevent fires before they spread. The reality is that the entire design of the US government is 200-years out-of-date, and cannot function in modern society. It's the Palm Pilot of 2024: ahead of its time, but ultimately a failed design by modern standards. So unless you're willing to burn it all down and hope to God that your side plays a part in rebuilding it (which, let's be honest, is not realistic), the only solution is to keep it hobbling by whatever means necessary for as long as possible. That includes letting regulatory agencies and courts make governance decisions. The whole point (and the entire point of our existence, as far as I am concerned) is to make life as comfortable and struggle-free for as many people for as long as possible. Ideologies and designs don't count for shit.

A Ukrainian unit is claiming to have taken out the sole S-500 air defense unit that Russia has deployed (and ever produced). Estimated cost is $2.5 billion. Used cluster ATACMS.

I don't know what the right move with Biden is. Removing him has huge risks (Harris is probably even more unpopular than he is, mainly because the American public hates female leaders...Canada, too), but keeping him does, too. I guess it depends on how the media spins this.

If they could replace Biden with "Abortion Rights" then that would be best.

Wow. This would triple the number of Patriot systems in Ukraine. It's believed they currently have 4 full systems deployed, with another 2 on the way. Plus all US contracts for missiles have been diverted to Ukraine.

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The US, Israel and Ukraine are in talks to supply Kyiv with up to eight Patriot air defence systems, dramatically improving its ability to counter Russian air strikes. While not finalised, the arrangement would likely involve the highly prized Patriot systems being sent first from Israel to the US, before being delivered to Ukraine.

The outlines of the deal, which would mark a shift in Israel's relations with Moscow, have been discussed between ministers and senior officials of the three countries, according to five people briefed on the negotiations. Israel said in April that it would begin retiring its eight Patriot batteries, which date back more than 30 years, and replacing them with more advanced systems.

There's a great science fiction novel called A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge that deals with humanity expanding into the galaxy only to realize that the speed of light is different the further away from Earth you get. Anyway, one of the characters, as I recall, had their professional as "Digitial Archeologist." Their skill/job was basically going through all digital records to find useful information, but it was made difficult by standards no longer existing, old file types that couldn't be read with their "modern" computers, etc. 

It makes sense that the further we go into the digital future, the harder it will be to useful find and use anything that was stored online.