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basalisk_respecter


				

				

				

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joined 2023 March 21 08:11:59 UTC
				

				

				

				

				

				

					
				

				

				
				
				

				
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basalisk_respecter


								

								

								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				

				
				
				

				

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					joined 2023 March 21 08:11:59 UTC
				


				
					

					
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User ID: 2280


					
					
					
				

			


					

						
					



		

	

 











			
			

			
			

			




	


		

			
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				Culture War Roundup for the week of November 20, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Is there a reason we haven’t seen this kind of reaction in UK or France?




Median age in France is 42, median age in Ireland is 38.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of September 4, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
That youtube link is an hour long video on a different topic. Did you mean this? https://youtube.com/watch?v=WUOwsRv6MLc


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of September 4, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Disney+ was a big mistake.




Disney had to make an app. The nightmare scenario was Netflix eating the world, and using their audience control as leverage to take all the profits on any given production after it left theaters. Every studio needed an app as a backup play, so they all made them.


The big mistake was the streaming wars. For a decade, every media exec lost their minds and decided the only way to win was to bury their enemies in piles of content. But, as it turns out, there's just not that many competent people in Hollywood. No amount of money will call forth a writer into existence. If in a given year there's 10 good movies and 10 mediocre ones, then an executive mandate to produce 100 movies will... produce 10 good movies and 90 mediocre ones. Disney+ was full to the top with shitty exclusives and interminable Marvel miniseries that went nowhere and meant nothing.


That's fine, they said. We'll just keep going. Eventually our enemies will run out of money and give up. The stock market will always give us infinite amounts of money and interest rates will always be zero. (The Uber/Lyft playbook, or the explosion in scooter rental apps)


But what if the winner of the streaming wars is... nobody? Disney and Netflix are in trouble. Paramount physically cannot stop making Star Trek junk. Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video are side plays run by notoriously ruthless CEOs who will cut anchor the minute they stop being profitable. The studios have picked a moronic fight with both the unions and started a strike that has dragged on for more than a hundred days. What if they all go bankrupt, and Hollywood has to reboot from nothing?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 28, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


they'll lose a senior-ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, Intelligence Committee, Appropriations Committee, etc. They'll be forfeiting whatever favors other senators owe her, losing the web of relationships she's spent decades building, etc.




That's the stated reason, yes. The actual reason is that replacing the senator means replacing the staff. Hundreds of people that the permanent bureaucracy likes and knows how to manage. Firing all those people kicks over the table, which they don't want. And if the permanent bureaucracy doesn't like something, it doesn't happen.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of August 28, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
This is the third time you have copy and pasted the exact same comment.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 31, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


that I decided to see it again with fresh eyes




You paid to watch a three hour long movie twice?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 10, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Women value economic success in men much more than the reverse, while men value a woman's appearance. The upshot for men is that if you spend 10 years developing your economic value you're now richer.




And the downshot for women is if they spend 10 years on their career they are now 10 years older.


The tragedy of female doctors: they go through med school, finish residency, and say okay, time to find Mr. Right. But they're 30 years old. They want to marry another doctor, but male doctors are busy marrying 22 year old nurses.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 26, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Observationally, nation building failed completely in Afghanistan and Iraq. Afghanistan alone received something like 10x more money than Europe did on a per capita basis. All that money was set on fire and accomplished nothing.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 5, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Cop lore holds that tasers are ineffective on men in drug psychosis, like in the following video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=oTQr_lKg_wg (I would bet he simply missed)


At close quarters, the biggest problem with tasers is either missing and then not having enough time to switch to your pistol, or suspects simply knocking it out of your hands: https://youtube.com/watch?v=GPcrIyMFvDo


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of May 22, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


which looks the same as an F-35 but with two engines




So, a F-22?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for April 21, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
It's a tragedy of national proportions that the Naked Chicken Chalupa was a limited-time offer. I was eating that five days a week.


Almost as bad as them canceling the Cool Ranch Doritos taco. (WHY)


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of April 17, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Many US states allow you to claim lottery prizes anonymously.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of April 17, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


A master's degree and a senior dev title at a respectable firm combined with the apartment that is barely affordable with that salary greatly increases one's attractiveness on the dating market.




Fascinating assertion. How many bay area tech wives have you met?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of April 10, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Gwern argued that dateMe.docs are a waste as they repel more than attract, Scott disagreed strongly...




I was surprised to read Scott would weigh in so heavily on a topic that appeared to be... pretty dumb and lightweight. So I looked up the thread, since it wasn't linked in your comment. Scott replies twice in a row, then doubles down! What the heck? Scrolling down further, we find:




I dated Katja for two years and can say with confidence...




Ah. Scott is Katja's ex boyfriend. Much is made clear.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of April 10, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


If you managed to get a clearance then you should know enough to be better at leaking than this.




I mean, you could say the same about Reality Winner.


Zoomers are 0 for 2 on OPSEC so far.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of March 20, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
For the confused: "Post-Cana" appears to be a reference to Pre-Cana, a Catholic counseling/training course done prior to marriage.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 19, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Deepness is dramatically better in every respect. Read A Fire Upon the Deep first, though. (Which takes place later in-canon but several minor plot points only make sense if you have read that book)


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 19, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Amazon also sells used books. If it's a reasonably popular book, and you're willing to read a less than pristine paperback copy, you can pay two or three dollars a book, and two dollars more Media Mail shipping.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 19, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Wow, I just finished that today! It was a much better book when it was named A Deepness in the Sky.


Mildly interesting that both it and We Are Legion (We Are Bob), another book about humans shuttling about in spaceships and describing aliens in a dry, uninteresting manner were published the same year. Something in the air I guess.


The "cooperating is good, war is always bad" theme was slathered on, but not quite as heavily as Perihelion Summer, Greg Egan's global warming book, which I also read recently, and had prose as leaden and mechanical as a row of bricks. I could easily imagine Greg pounding out the entire novel in a month to pay for his mortgage.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				In a recent statement, China has said U.S. relations have left the 'rational path.' What can we call 'rational' in the realm of geopolitics, diplomacy, international relations?
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Most people in the sphere, Zeihan being a notable exception, seem to believe (or at least that's what they claim) that in the scale of a few more years – by 2030 and beyond – the odds will grow to be more favorable to China.




Really? There's a gap in US Navy procurement that has the number of operational ships dropping, without replacements coming online soon enough, the "Terrible 20s". The US would be happy to punt the war to the 30s, so that SSN(X), DDG(X) and the AUKUS submarines could be fielded. The CSIS paper also calls out our current stocks of antiship missiles:




The LRASM was particularly useful because of its ability to strike Chinese naval  forces and directly reduce Chinese invasion capabilities. In every iteration, the United States expended its entire global inventory of LRASMs (about 450 missiles) within the first week of the conflict.




Having another decade to build more of those would be nice!


I'm not sure Chinese demographics support waiting, either. Their population is already dropping, and the narrow age band of "military aged males" being what they are, their fighting population will fall even faster still. China might be in a "use it or lose it" moment regarding their armed forces. I'd expect them to make their move in the next four years.


But does it have to be an armed invasion? A sea blockade would achieve important war goals, (denying semiconductors to the first world) while avoiding their costs. (A Ukraine-style rally in global opinion to defend a small nation against its larger neighbor) The PRC could easily allow food relief through and block everything else, choking out Taiwan economically over decades. The US's blockade of Cuba is a salient example!