It has been quite funny to me watching all of these people who shit on the Prequels suddenly come around and go "Actually, maybe they werent so bad." I have no such need to change as I always liked the Prequels, and took my lumps for it. So I am just over here like John McClane going "Welcome to the party, pal!"
A lot of people forget there is a few years of lag time between when Hollywood does its thing and when it comes out. Most of what we are seeing right now was approved and made during the peak of Trump Derangment in 2018-2020. We havent even seen anything that was approved on Chapek's watch.
If things ever change, we wouldnt even see the results of that until about 2027.
Agreed. I am looking forward to Mission: Impossible because I have been a fan for a long time, and to Oppenheimer because I am a history nerd. But I am not "rooting" for them. Beyond the fact that it would be funny to watch M:I bulldoze over everyone again because Tom Cruise ego makes it so he demands the best movies as free from bullshit as possible.
Do tell
Nothing bad. Just that now I have an idea of your biases and beliefs, so now I can at least look at the things you say and understand where you are coming from.
Same as you would with me being openly an American Nationalist.
A picture of one tank of unspecified time in some location at some particular moment in time is proof positive that the 10+ Bradleys destroyed "lived".
I never said all of them lived. Just that not all of them were fully destroyed.
'Scuse me Sir, I'm a MIDDLE-Eastoid.
Having not known that information before: Suddenly lots of things make a lot more sense.
so you admit that NATO is the "fuck Russia club"
Anyone who said otherwise was lying, and I am not one of them.
expanding NATO is an act of aggression directed against the Russians.
THIS however, is untrue. NATO expanding is NATO expanding. It is a defensive alliance, not an offensive one. If Russia wants to take that as a threat, that says more about their attitude than it does NATO's. Even when the US was doing things against Cuba, we were not that paranoid.
It didn't take much for your to rip off the mask of "we hate invasions!!!!" and "RUSSHER STARTED A WAR"
Dont misunderstand. If Russia invaded and won in 3 days, I would have condemned it while still saying "What choice did Ukraine have." That Russia didnt steamroll Ukraine and left them with a chance of fighting back is why they very much should dig in their heels and keep fighting for what they can, because they have the power to do it. And Russia's own true weakness (once the face of "strength" was ripped away) is what allowed it to happen.
And if you ever thought geopolitics was about anything other than power, someone was lying to you.
I respect that. You openly want to plunder the entire world, rather than hiding behind liberal pieties that your own regime routinely violates.
I wouldnt put it that way, especially since I would still see nations in a hypothetical American Empire being more liberal than they started (much like with the British). But yes, the last 4 years or so have taught me the problem was that we thought we could do empire different and be nice about it. Russia and China have dispelled that notion, while our so-called "allies" in Europe spit in our face.
Message received. Strength and power it is. I guess Rome was right after all.
Link to Reddit, which links to Twitter, of a pro-Ukraine account with Mastodon in bio, which claims that it's undergoing repairs
Today I learned photographic evidence dont real.
I mean, I could have linked to a news article, but all of them were shitting their pants and screaming how the end is neigh because they dont understand how to military. Because they news doesnt actually care as much as you think they do.
No wonder the Westoids have been eerily quiet about their puppet's "counteroffensive".
We call that "Operational Security" here in the West, but knowing how Eastoids fight their wars I wouldnt expect them to understand. Or do you forget that there was also not much about Kherson until there were Ukrainians marching in the streets, and then we got to see everything they had done since it didnt matter anymore.
Got it, Putin isn't tough but Biden is
Not so much Biden is tough. Just Putin is even weaker.
Russia isn't, but the country that places Puppy Play fetishists in charge of nuclear waste is.
I know, right? Now imagine how much more powerful we would be if we stopped doing deliberately retarded shit because we felt like it.
'Memba how Russia was weak in the 1990s and the West used it to plunder the country and expand NATO up to its borders?
Looks at the things the Soviets did to them over the course of 50 years
Gee, I wonder why they all wanted to go join the "Fuck Russia" club, and why Poland is constantly looking for a reason to go smash some Russian skulls. Or are you so far gone you think they were forced into it instead of joining willingly?
Or China's Century of Humiliation? Or how Mexico was invaded by the US and had half its territory stolen?
Correct. When you are weak, then the terms are dictated to you whether you like it or not. Especially when you are so weak you get wailed on by someone with one hand behind their back.
And in case you're not just playing dumb, obviously Rome had a territorial empire long before its rule transformed into an empire.
And then it formalized it, expanded to eat the entire known world, and continued to live for over 1,000 years. Sounds like a good deal to me. Especially since I consider a Woke American Empire superior to anything China or Russia would offer me (I can at least get rid of the Woke and get new elites, but keep the Empire).
Are you talking about those wreckages of the Bradleys and Leopards?
Leopard: "I lived, bitch"
Bradley: "I lived, bitch"
Also, in both cases they suffered extremely minor crew losses. So I would suppress that boner over "dead Nazis" if I was you.
You sound more enthusiastic about getting nuked
More like I have learned that when you are dealing with someone who acts tough but isnt, you respond by taking their gun, putting it up to your head, and saying "Pull the trigger! You wont, no balls!" Because they dont have the balls, and that is when you pull your own gun.
The way you invite the danger you fear is by acting weak.
US Empire
Honestly, I have come to learn the Republic was overrated. People say we are Rome 2.0? Sure, why not. Bring on the Empire! You aint seen Pax Americana yet, boy!
More importantly, it is very typical to put your demands higher than they actually are so that when you negotiate down you still get what you want. Perhaps something along the lines of "We give up claims to Crimea if you give up claims to Donbas" sort of deal.
Either way, I dont see Putin agreeing either. This was really his only shot. If he does pull back, and then try again in a few years ready for round 2, Ukraine is going to be dug in and ready to rock and roll. This time with even more Western weapons that even just the samples have been rolling the Russians, not to mention Ukraine likely being in NATO or some sort of alliance protected by the US and other Western nations.
Not all of them, but as many as he could. Same with Jefferson.
Also dont tell them that most of the Founding Fathers were against it and did what they could to try and overturn it. Or that Jefferson pretty much set up "All Men are created equal" with the knowledge that it conflicted with Slavery and thus the argument would eventually have to be settled.
But no. We must destroy Jefferson and Washington because they kept their slaves. Please ignore that Virginia had a law that made it virtually impossible to free your slaves even if you wanted to, and both engaged in legal shenanigans in their wills to sidestep it as much as possible (like Washington "gifting" his slaves to relatives in states that just so happened to not have such "eternal slave" laws).
It is honestly part of why I have been burned out on Antiheros these days and just want ultimate good characters and mustache twirling villain's. We have had so many cases of jaded, nihilistic antiheros that I can stand them anymore. Although I do still like some of the more classic examples such as Judge Dredd.
Incidentally, this is probably why it is so hard for modern creatives to create a good Superman story. Superman is supposed to be the ultimate paragon of a moral character, who has absolute power and through sheer force of will refuses to let it corrupt him, because it is the right thing to do.
Most modern creatives consider such a notion to be both laughable and impossible.
Oh god, I remember that Tweet.
For what it is worth (since I watch Valliant for most of my sourcing), he has 2 advantages.
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He actually does financial analysis and risk planning as a day job, and Youtube is just a hobby. He also frequently shows his work that you can tell he isnt just pulling numbers out of his ass when it comes to the financial work, and his analysis of the typical "Hollywood Math" seems to line up with people who are known Hollywood insiders (like Chris Gore).
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He is close friends with WDW Pro, who is one of the most accurate Disney insiders in that sphere, and who has provided him with documents that back up some of his stances.
So it absolutely could be wrong. But he is probably a lot more right than just some rando.
They have also let a lot of the park fall into disrepair compared to the old Disney tradition of being anal about cleanliness and maintenance. Plus they are losing a ton of people to Universal Orlando, which doesnt have the same issues with reputation and state of the park, as well as having attractions that are rapidly becoming more popular. And that is before Epic Universe comes around.
It is almost comical how much money they lose on Disney+. A financial guy I watch put it in comparison of the money they lose on it is equivalent of a Disney Cruise Ship just straight up sinking every quarter (in terms of cost).
It is one of my main points used to show that ESG-money actually doesnt help. If it did, Disney wouldnt be withering like it has a vampire draining it.
And it is also why you see the breakdown between states the way you do. States in the South and the Plains still have lots of "you're on your own" attitudes that seem wild to people outside, because we still have natural predators. I live in a "city" of 50K people and I still see deer and coyotes near my house from time to time. And that is before we get around to the smaller scavengers like rabbits and raccoons.
Do you think anyone in New York City has seen anything more wild than a pigeon? So of course they are going to think that things are easy, and that if they ever go out to Yellowstone on vacation, they can go try and pet the Bison since it is just a furry cow (instead of, you know, a highly aggressive, extremely territorial, furry tank with hooves). Meanwhile, those of us who actually live out there knows if a rabid coyote shows up in the yard, you get a gun and put it down because if you called the sheriff for that he would scold you for wasting his time.
Its all good. But like I said, if you are wanting to do a more closed off country, Cultural Exclusion is probably your best bet. Because it makes it so that pops only have to have one trait be the same as your primary culture to avoid discrimination, and therefore assimilate. So you can get away with people only knowing, say, English and still have them start having to assimilate. Or have them be Protestant and have them start assimilating, etc.
The USA is indeed probably one of the better countries for a tutorial though. They are just such a way that you basically have to use Multiculturalism to not have major issues (although you can get away with Cultural Exclusion).
As someone who loves Vicky 3, I will agree that the agitators are kind of busted at the moment. I am waiting until the next update since they are going to fix the agitators as well as some new military upgrades.
Also, if you are wanting to do a more enclosed country, I highly recommend rushing automation tech. Yes, factories and farms need a lot of workers, but if you replace the need for workers with tractors and steam engines you dont need the immigrants. I have played through as a Nationalist, Culturally Exclusive Netherlands and did just fine (although it did mean imports for some of my goods).
As for myself:
I am currently doing one last build in Cities: Skylines before they drop CS2 later this year. Highly looking forward to both, and intend to build a city with the same name and build philosophy just to see exactly what differences exist.
After that, I have been playing Chivalry 2, Snowrunner, Stellaris, and Railway Empire 2.
Kansas City at least has shit to do if you avoid the worst parts, so I still go there a lot for day-cations. I can walk through downtown KC and still feel relatively safe.
I cant say the same for when I was in Denver.
The jobs are also moving to new locations. Austin and Miami have both been seeing a ton of growth in the Tech sector as of late. But unlike Silicon Valley, most of these companies are striving to be practical and actually make money, so it is less of a boom situation.
Will be interesting to see what happens as Silicon Valley continues to fall apart though.
I want to see the actual numbers come the end of the year. Because something tells me it wasnt any more than normal, it was just the media started reporting on them more. Like what happened with the supposed jump in fires at food processing plants that turned out to be in line with the average.
The only unusual derailment was the one in Ohio, and that seems like a situation where I am going to blame the railroad, since if my dad's hunch is right (from experience as a retired firefighter), it sounds like the railroad may have been cooking the books resulting in the wrong technique to fight the fire, causing the chemical fire we all saw.
When I heard they made the damn thing of carbon fiber, I called that it was either crushed like a soda can or just shattered.
I would argue it is not the West as a whole who has lost it. It is the ones who control this culture (or claim to) in a very specific area who have lost that, largely willingly in the name of political goals and a smug belief that they are somehow "enlightened" compared to those rubes outside.
It is the same reason that whenever they change things to "Reflect the world as it is today", it actually looks more like downtown LA than the actual world.
Considering how many times I have seen videos of people trying to fight grease fires with water? Apparently it is indeed a skill that many smooth brains dont know.