Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Ghengis Jon]

Let the pandering commence!

[crashcourse]

I think you don't need a spoiler for that

[Hannibal]

far as GOT goes I thought they got it right

not sure all the gnashing of teeth and why they are asking for the heads of the two davids (weis and benioff) over the last season

SPOILERbran really needs to change his name

The finale was one unintentionally funny moment after another.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Very predictable outcome. Judge shoots down the Trump team's audaciously stupid argument. Trump hops up and down repeating "Obama judge! Obama judge!" right after.

As the Judge pretty succinctly puts it, it's simply "not fathomable" that the same Constitution that entrusts Congress with the power to impeach the President also denies Congress the ability to investigate the President. It's ridiculous to think Congress must first vote to impeach, and only then start the investigation.

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6019022/20-19-Opinion-House-v-Trump.pdf

[Dr. Strangelove]

The finale was one unintentionally funny moment after another.

While it never stopped being entertaining, they had a lot of big problems after season 6.

SPOILER1) No more source material. Most of Season 6 was 'original' but there were still some leftover bits from Books 4 & 5.

2) Deciding to reduce season 7/8 to 13 total episodes instead of 20 was in retrospect a disaster. Meant the story had to be accelerated rapidly. People teleport across Westeros now whereas in the earlier seasons it might take a character 5 episodes to get from the north to King's Landing. Those traveling scenes might be 'boring' to dull minds but they help develop characters as they talk or face danger on the road.

3) On top of reducing the number of episodes, they used 3, arguably 4, of the remaining 13 episodes on mostly dialogue free battle scenes. While those episodes can be fun spectacle, you're again taking away lines from the actors that might've, I don't know, been used to more subtly set up that Dany was going mad with power?

4) I feel like the writers were told somewhere around the end of season 6: "here's how it ends. figure out how the characters get there". Martin couldn't help because he himself hasn't figured all that out yet.

5) This will sound mean but comparatively speaking, Emilia Clarke and Kit Harrington are two of the weaker actors on the show. And they turn out to be probably the two most important. People can feel free to disagree, but I never got much chemistry between them. Really good actors can elevate mediocre material but those two aren't quite at that level.

Oh well. The latter seasons weren't terribly good but it wasn't unwatchable either. Few shows go out on top.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Don't know if it's trade war anxiety or what but Trump's approval has been sliding since he crested that first week of May.

Just as proof it's no liberal conspiracy, here's good old faithful Rasmussen showing Trump at only 44% approve-54% disapprove. That's the worst he's done in that poll since February 1st

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/publ..._index_history

[Kapture1]

I was really curious about when abortions are performed and per an article I found on Fox, 91% occur in the first trimester. Almost all the rest are second trimester. Only a hundred cases more or less are performed each year in the third trimester.

I don't think percentages is the argument to hang your hat on.

D7DiVlsWkAEz8nP.jpg:large.jpg


source http://ahca.myflorida.com/MCHQ/Centr.../Reports.shtml

[Jeff Buchanan]

This is a good article if you want to understand the likely calculus involved in the trump administration's ME policy regarding Iran.

intelligence now that such an attack may be pending.

The Trump administration has responded by reducing the exposure of likely targets, such as the embassy in Iraq, and threatening reprisals by air and sea to deter the regime. The risk of the latter is that, if Iran attacks anyway, the administration will have to respond, the response could trigger escalation, and the escalation could lead to the losses ............

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/iran-conflict-and-accepting-risk/

[Ghengis Jon]

What do you think the impact on the ME will be when the so-called Kushner plan is released, which denies a Palestinian state but offers only economic incentives to stop the bloodshed?

[Jeff Buchanan]

What do you think the impact on the ME will be when the so-called Kushner plan is released, which denies a Palestinian state but offers only economic incentives to stop the bloodshed?

[*JD*]

Cookies!

https://twitter.com/RepKatiePorter/status/1130889201455685633

[Hannibal]

While it never stopped being entertaining, they had a lot of big problems after season 6.

SPOILER1) No more source material. Most of Season 6 was 'original' but there were still some leftover bits from Books 4 & 5.

2) Deciding to reduce season 7/8 to 13 total episodes instead of 20 was in retrospect a disaster. Meant the story had to be accelerated rapidly. People teleport across Westeros now whereas in the earlier seasons it might take a character 5 episodes to get from the north to King's Landing. Those traveling scenes might be 'boring' to dull minds but they help develop characters as they talk or face danger on the road.

3) On top of reducing the number of episodes, they used 3, arguably 4, of the remaining 13 episodes on mostly dialogue free battle scenes. While those episodes can be fun spectacle, you're again taking away lines from the actors that might've, I don't know, been used to more subtly set up that Dany was going mad with power?

4) I feel like the writers were told somewhere around the end of season 6: "here's how it ends. figure out how the characters get there". Martin couldn't help because he himself hasn't figured all that out yet.

5) This will sound mean but comparatively speaking, Emilia Clarke and Kit Harrington are two of the weaker actors on the show. And they turn out to be probably the two most important. People can feel free to disagree, but I never got much chemistry between them. Really good actors can elevate mediocre material but those two aren't quite at that level.

Oh well. The latter seasons weren't terribly good but it wasn't unwatchable either. Few shows go out on top.

[froot loops]

A lot of those science fiction or fantasy sagas have a hard time sustaining quality over many books. The first couple establish your idea or world but it is hard to keep on coming up with new stuff.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Leaked IRS draft memo shows that their in-house attorney believed they were required by law to hand over a President's tax returns to Congress when requested. Memo never circulated, never sent to Treasury. Only way around it was for the President to assert privilege, which Trump hasn't done.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...=.eaf7505de96c

[Jeff Buchanan]

This short and not sufficiently detailed article shines a light on how China views the Trump administration's FP. It also highlights the two sides of the FP debate that have been fundamental to the pursuit of two different approaches over the past 40 years or so.

On one side is the Reagan/Cheney/Trump view of the world where a well defined threat, in these two cases the then USSR, more recently Iraq/Iran in the ME and the now China, shaped the FP of these administrations and the other side - Carter/Clinton and esp. Obama - were less confrontational and more conciliatory negotiators. IMO, both approaches driven by very different views of the world have merit.

I think it remains to be seen if the threats to US security and international interests identified in the current administration can be addressed with the more confrontational approach - both economic and military - taken by Trump. Certainly, the Europeans are uncomfortable with this approach and it's clear China, fighting for it's place - preferably the top - in the pecking order of military and economic world powers, is pushing back.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-nuclear/china-u-s-resembles-don-quixote-in-seeing-other-powers-as-threats-idUSKCN1SS1E5?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews