Re: The Bigger, Badder, Even More Serious Thread [4]

by azriel Wed Mar 04, 2015 8:03 am

Ive often wondered how it felt to be involved in an Earthquake, not a big one you understand but a rumble would be ok.

by Mrs Figg Wed Mar 04, 2015 12:48 pm

Its funny. you can hear a dull roaring sound as billions of tons of rock get shaken under you. and it shakes from side to side not up and down. It feels like the worlds heaviest tractor passing by your bedroom window, and everything vibrates. You don't notice it when you are outside, only if you are lying in bed or sitting down.

by Pettytyrant101 Wed Mar 04, 2015 1:05 pm

I have experienced one tremor, years ago, there's a fault line (the Highland Boundary Fault) goes right through here and the entire width of the country. It was the sound that struck me most more than the trembling.
Unfortunately it set off every alarm on the US Naval Base and every horn and klaxon, and as a quake is so rare here for a brief moment most of us thought this was it- 3 minutes to meltdown.

So weirdly enough the earthquake itself wasn't the scary bit!

by Mrs Figg Wed Mar 04, 2015 1:25 pm

yep that would be scary.

by Pettytyrant101 Wed Mar 04, 2015 1:33 pm

Wasn't the worse time- that would be the time my primary school decided to hold a mock nuclear attack drill- without telling us it was mock so we thought it was really happening. 200+ terrified children who thought they were all about to die horribly along with everyone they ever knew ridiculously crouched under desks (like that would have helped!) holding onto each other in sheer terror Mad

by halfwise Wed Mar 04, 2015 2:38 pm

The Bigger, Badder, Even More Serious Thread [4] - Page 39 Bloomc10

(Copyright: Bloom County, Berkley Breathed)

by Mrs Figg Wed Mar 04, 2015 8:04 pm

Pettytyrant101 wrote:Wasn't the worse time- that would be the time my primary school decided to hold a mock nuclear attack drill- without telling us it was mock so we thought it was really happening. 200+ terrified children who thought they were all about to die horribly along with everyone they ever knew ridiculously crouched under desks (like that would have helped!) holding onto each other in sheer terror

that would be classified as child abuse these days. Shocked

by Mrs Figg Wed Mar 04, 2015 8:05 pm

halfwise wrote:

(Copyright: Bloom County, Berkley Breathed)

I thought it was going to be a tale of beans for dinner. but it wasn't. Laughing

by Eldorion Thu Mar 05, 2015 4:05 pm

From the "continuing proofs that Russia is wacko" category:

Russia's only Gulag memorial is redesigned to celebrate the Gulag - Meduza

Perm-36, Russia’s only Gulag memorial, has announced its first exhibit since the state seized it from a local nonprofit. What was a museum of Soviet political repression will now showcase the technical means used to keep prisoners detained, focusing more on the guards than the inmates.

Viktor Shmyrov, the director of the nonprofit that until recently managed Perm-36, told the BBC that the museum is being maintained, but its public presentation is getting a complete overhaul. “Now it’s a museum about the camp system, but not about political prisoners. There’s nothing said about the repressions or about Stalin,” Shmyrov said.

“Now Perm-36 will be a museum dedicated to the difficult and noble work of the Gulag’s valiant workers, and about the technologies they used to protect the great [Soviet] people from the fifth column and various Nazis from Ukraine.”

by halfwise Thu Mar 05, 2015 4:10 pm

Oh god. Putin has some balls to be glorifying Stalinist policy. This is probably the clearest declaration of his intent ever.

by Eldorion Thu Mar 05, 2015 4:15 pm

The Russian nationalist reclamation of the Soviet legacy is a little weird, but what's much weirder is Western leftists who are still in denial about the Soviet Union being a nationalist and imperialist state.

by Pettytyrant101 Thu Mar 05, 2015 4:26 pm

I think the Russian people might get rid of him, with any luck.

by halfwise Thu Mar 05, 2015 4:37 pm

Actually most Russians seem to feel that their country needs a strong leader, and will accept what goes along with that. How many Russians defended Pussy Riot? My impression is they were let go mainly due to western pressure, but I may be wrong about that.

by Pettytyrant101 Thu Mar 05, 2015 4:54 pm

There were protests. And every dodgy event since the protestors have grown. There were 50,000 going to protest Russian involvement in Ukraine and when the opposition leader was assassinated twice that number turned out.
Russian people have always wanted strong leaders, but I am not so sure they want one that seems increasingly paranoid and crazy. Not any more.

by Mrs Figg Thu Mar 05, 2015 5:11 pm

oddly Russia has a much better record with wimmin being employed as managers in the sciences, around 40% are wimmin, whereas in Japan its 8% and here its pretty crap too, in the last 5% in the world. Theres something in the Soviet legacy which promotes equality in the science industry. odd that. it was on the news today as theres still a lot of stereotypical attitudes to girls taking science in schools in the UK. The US did better at around 20%.

by Eldorion Thu Mar 05, 2015 6:26 pm

Yeah, one thing the Soviets were actually pretty good about was gender equality. They had an integrated military as early as the '40s and they put the first woman in space something like 20 years before the United States did.

by Bluebottle Thu Mar 05, 2015 7:32 pm

I remember reading about old security council meatings where the US would lambast the Soviets for their lack of democratic freedom, and the Soviets would lambast the US for segregation. I guess flaws are a large part down to perspective.

by Bluebottle Thu Mar 05, 2015 7:33 pm

Perspective. Nod

The Bigger, Badder, Even More Serious Thread [4] - Page 39 Tumblr_mlugd8pRqZ1rsvzv3o1_1280

by Pettytyrant101 Thu Mar 05, 2015 8:35 pm

Nice.

by Pettytyrant101 Thu Mar 05, 2015 10:29 pm

If anyone is interested Question Time is about to start on BBC1 in about 5 minutes (10.45 apparently)- should be interesting tonight- its from Glasgow.

If you dont have access to iplayer or bbc1 try here-

https://www.filmon.com/tv/bbc-one

by halfwise Fri Mar 06, 2015 12:17 am

Mrs Figg wrote:oddly Russia has a much better record with wimmin being employed as managers in the sciences, around 40% are wimmin, whereas in Japan its 8% and here its pretty crap too, in the last 5% in the world. Theres something in the Soviet legacy which promotes equality in the science industry. odd that. it was on the news today as theres still a lot of stereotypical attitudes to girls taking science in schools in the UK. The US did better at around 20%.

though 20% is still pretty crappy. I'm happy to say meteorology does better, but still less than half I believe.

by Pettytyrant101 Mon Mar 16, 2015 11:39 am

What the buggery is wrong with you Americans- and in particular Republicans. The open letter to Iran is the stupidest political stunt Ive ever seen- but worse than that its not your fucking deal to ruin! Mad

Honestly one hysterical, fact free war and scare-mongering speech from an Israeli PM to Congress and all Americas Jewish Lobby strings get pulled and the idiot brigade rides into action.
The deal, if there is one with Iran, is being struck between the UK, Russia, China, France, Germany and the US on one side and Iran on the other. Thats five other allies in this you just severely pissed off. Years of difficult diplomatic work behind the scenes in preparation just to get this far and it all could be cocked up big time by the sheer arrogance and ego of forty odd Republicans no one has ever heard of before or will ever hear of again who treat politics like a school yard game of one-upmanship and will do anything to undermine the black guy in their white house.
Disgraceful behaviour, simply disgraceful.

by David H Mon Mar 16, 2015 2:45 pm

Most of the Republicans want to distance themselves from that thing as well. A freshman congressman, still wet behind the ears, wrote that inane little document and passed it around Capitol Hill to try to call attention to himself.

Many of the signers probably gave it no more than a cursory glance before signing. Petitions are always floating around by the hundreds in DC. Nothing comes of most of them. "Let's help the kid out" they thought and scribbled their name on a blank line.

Then he posted it on his website and all Hell broke loose.

I think I recently heard that there are more than 300,000 signatures on a petition to charge all 47 signers with treason under the old Logan Act. Of course it will never happen, but all 47 congressmen will now have to live with that treason label for the rest of their political careers.

Maybe it will teach them to read before they sign.... Nod

by Pettytyrant101 Mon Mar 16, 2015 4:59 pm

I rather hopes it ends some careers- this sort of cavalier party politics has no place in international diplomacy.

by David H Mon Mar 16, 2015 6:10 pm

The internet is a double-edged sword in the world of international politics. It keeps important voices from being suppressed, but it also gives every loony a megaphone whether they know how to use it or not.

In this case, even though the "letter" was nominally addressed to the leaders of Iran, I suspect Tom Cotton put it up on his website with no greater purpose than to show off to his FOX-News-watching constituency who'd just put him into office. That's the kind of grandstanding that gets politicians elected, but once in office it gets them into trouble. Surely British politicians aren't above such things?