Fal's recent activity

  1. Comment on The co-opted Chinese word that broke risk management - crisis is not danger plus opportunity in ~humanities.languages

    Fal
    Link Parent
    Probably not, there's some good discussion in the comments here!

    Probably not, there's some good discussion in the comments here!

    10 votes

  2. Comment on How UI helps you hate breakable weapons a bit less in ~games

    Fal
    Link Parent
    I could be misremembering due to something in my modlist, but unlike other games Rimworld's weapon durability doesn't decrease with weapon use does it? It just tracks the conditions the weapon is...

    I could be misremembering due to something in my modlist, but unlike other games Rimworld's weapon durability doesn't decrease with weapon use does it? It just tracks the conditions the weapon is stored in when not being carried by a pawn?

  3. Comment on More than a dozen US states have passed new laws that led to restrictions on pornography. Now, the Supreme Court will weigh in. in ~society

    Fal
    Link Parent
    r/fightporn Featuring tags such as:

    r/fightporn

    Talk shit, get hit.
    Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

    Featuring tags such as:

    Rocked Hard/Brain Damaged

    Nudity

    Knocked Out

    Mob/Group Fight

    Intergender Fight

    Bar/Nightclub Fight

    12 votes

  4. Comment on Republicans introduce constitutional amendment to impose term limits in ~society

    Fal
    Link

    Republicans in Congress led by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, introduced a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to impose term limits for members of Congress.

    The amendment would limit U.S. senators to two six-year terms and U.S. House members to three two-year terms. The two-page resolution states that after the amendment is passed by Congress and ratified by the states, the amendment would go into effect “within seven years after the date of its submission by the Congress.”

    The resolution proposes that after a member of the U.S. House has served three terms, they aren’t eligible to be reelected to the House. After a U.S. senator has served two terms, they are no longer eligible to be elected or appointed to the U.S. Senate.

    “Term limits are critical to fixing what’s wrong with Washington, D.C.,” Cruz, who was just reelected to this third term in the Senate, said. “The Founding Fathers envisioned a government of citizen legislators who would serve for a few years and return home, not a government run by a small group of special interests and lifelong, permanently entrenched politicians who prey upon the brokenness of Washington to govern in a manner that is totally unaccountable to the American people. Term limits bring about long-overdue accountability. I urge my colleagues to advance this amendment to the states so that it may be quickly ratified and become a constitutional amendment.”

    11 votes

  6. Comment on Taiwan investigating Chinese vessel over damage to undersea cable in ~society

    Fal
    Link
    This follows an incident last year in which a Chinese cargo ship was suspected of damaging an underwater cable in the Baltic sea (Guardian Article, Tildes Discussion)

    Taiwanese authorities are investigating a Chinese-owned vessel that is suspected of damaging an undersea internet cable, causing limited disruption.

    The Cameroon-registered vessel Shunxing 39 was briefly detained by Taiwan’s coastguard on Friday on suspicion of dragging its anchor over an international subsea cable north-east of the island. The cable runs to the US and is co-owned by several international companies.

    The Guardian understands the incident is being treated as a possible act of sabotage. Taiwan’s coastguard said on Tuesday it was collating evidence and referring the case to Taiwan’s district prosecutor’s office for investigation. It also said it had asked for assistance from the ship’s destination port of Busan, in South Korea. After identifying the ship, Taiwan’s coastguard had ordered the vessel to return to Taiwanese waters for investigation but was unable to board due to rough weather. The Shunxing 39 then sailed to South Korea.

    This follows an incident last year in which a Chinese cargo ship was suspected of damaging an underwater cable in the Baltic sea (Guardian Article, Tildes Discussion)

    1 vote

  8. Comment on What to know about the siege outside South Korea’s presidential compound in ~society

    Fal
    Link

    A standoff between rival government forces outside the presidential compound in South Korea has been startling even for those used to the country’s famously rough and tumble politics.

    For weeks, impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol has remained inside and refused to respond to detention and search warrants. Scuffles broke out late last week as dozens of investigators were stopped from entering the compound by hundreds of presidential security forces and a barricade.

    The spectacle followed Yoon’s astonishing decision last month to impose martial law during a seemingly routine impasse with the opposition, which dominates parliament.

    1 vote

  10. Comment on The best way for America to help the new Syria in ~society

    Fal
    Link

    Choices that the United States makes in the near term will affect the ability of the new regime to extend its writ throughout Syria and rebuild. As Washington considers how to respond to the change in government, there are reasons to give Syria’s new leaders the benefit of the doubt. One is the dire state of the war-torn country: more than 70 percent of Syrians are living below the poverty line, Syria’s GDP has fallen from $60 billion to $10 billion since 2011, and the cost of reconstruction is projected at $400 billion. Shara has also demonstrated his ability to adapt to new circumstances. After capturing Syria’s Idlib Province in 2017, he proceeded to build a proto-state from scratch, expelling many foreign fighters from HTS to embrace a Syrian nationalist agenda. He disavowed previous jihadist ambitions to win the military and financial support of Turkey and Qatar, which enabled HTS’s eventual march to Damascus. Shara also reached out to the province’s small Christian and Druze communities and embraced women’s education, opening the door for humanitarian assistance from Western states and nongovernmental organizations.

    Perhaps most pertinent for Washington, the United States’ objectives in Syria have largely been met. Assad’s rule is finished. The Iranian and Russian troops that supported the regime have withdrawn from the country. For Iran, in particular, the loss of a friendly government in Syria is a significant blow: Tehran has lost its main route for shuttling arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon, and thus its path to rebuild its severely weakened “axis of resistance.” U.S. forces and the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish militant group based in northern Syria, have also badly damaged the Islamic State, known as ISIS. Washington no longer has a pressing need to maintain its military presence or the crushing sanctions that were initially designed to incapacitate the Assad regime.

    The best outcome for Syria and its neighbors is a unitary, cohesive state that can negotiate and deliver on diplomatic agreements that foster long-run regional stability. The alternative is a weak, divided, and conflict-prone Syria—an outcome that would require a longer-term and increasingly costly U.S. military presence in the region, create problems for Turkey (a U.S. ally), jeopardize a delicate rebuilding process in Iraq, and generate another wave of Syrian emigration. To avoid that scenario, the United States should give the new Syrian government a chance. It should withdraw its troops from the country, allowing Damascus to regain control of the agricultural and oil-rich provinces in Syria’s northeast. First, however, Washington needs assurances that Shara and HTS have the capacity and will to keep ISIS in check and that the new government will guarantee the safety and inclusion of Syria’s Kurds, if necessary distancing itself from Ankara to do so. Using the leverage at its disposal—including a commitment to lift sanctions, which will permit foreign investment in Syria and give the government access to the international banking system—Washington can convince Shara’s government that cooperating to facilitate a U.S. military departure is in its best interest.

    4 votes

  13. Comment on You make friends *HERE*?! in ~tildes

    Fal
    Link Parent
    The youngest person on Tildes that I know of is I believe Kuromantis, though he isn't as active nowadays. I'm also around the middle of Gen Z, though I do think that most of Tildes' users are...

    The youngest person on Tildes that I know of is I believe Kuromantis, though he isn't as active nowadays. I'm also around the middle of Gen Z, though I do think that most of Tildes' users are comparatively fossilized 30- and 40- year olds (respectfully :p)

    5 votes

  14. Comment on Looking for board game suggestions for non-gamers in ~games.tabletop

    Fal
    Link Parent
    In my experience, the tutorial cards also are a big help in onboarding new players by simulating a couple rounds of the game. While there are some mechanics that aren't explained, the meat of the...

    In my experience, the tutorial cards also are a big help in onboarding new players by simulating a couple rounds of the game. While there are some mechanics that aren't explained, the meat of the gameplay is taught relatively quickly.

    2 votes

  15. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: Holiday 2024 in ~games

    Fal
    Link Parent
    Happy holidays! Could I grab the copy of Kingdom Two Crowns? The review will come shortly :)

    Happy holidays! Could I grab the copy of Kingdom Two Crowns? The review will come shortly :)

    1 vote

  16. Comment on Sudan's biggest refugee camp was already struck with famine. Now it's being shelled. in ~news

    Fal
    Link Parent
    I agree, and I touch on this somewhat in my other comment, in that awareness of Ukraine and Gaza are both greater in part because the US funds both conflicts. US involvement doesn't seem to be a...

    I agree, and I touch on this somewhat in my other comment, in that awareness of Ukraine and Gaza are both greater in part because the US funds both conflicts. US involvement doesn't seem to be a guarantee of public awareness in the US though; I would argue that American troops in the Sahel, or even weapons sales related to the Yemeni civil war have brought nowhere near the same level of attention that Gaza and Ukraine have received (though this may be due to the different natures of those conflicts, or the differing nature of involvement in each conflict).

    Overall, I'm pretty interested in what factors lead to one conflict having a larger presence in public discussion in the US compared to another.

    2 votes

  17. Comment on Sudan's biggest refugee camp was already struck with famine. Now it's being shelled. in ~news

    Fal
    Link Parent
    You definitely bring up a good point here, and I was probably a little ungenerous in my original comment in putting most of the focus on the marketability of certain conflicts. It is definitely...

    But I know I also feel really stuck when it comes to the "what should we do" part. Aid? Military something? Nothing because we shouldn't be the world police? Something with the UN? Will the UN do anything?

    You definitely bring up a good point here, and I was probably a little ungenerous in my original comment in putting most of the focus on the marketability of certain conflicts. It is definitely understandable for an American (or Canadian or EU citizen, etc.) to focus one's attention towards the conflicts that their country are most publicly involved in, since those are the issues that you can influence more directly.

    4 votes

  18. Comment on Sudan's biggest refugee camp was already struck with famine. Now it's being shelled. in ~news

    Fal
    Link Parent
    In the US, at least, it feels like part of the reason is that neither side is particularly 'marketable', so to speak. In the most hotly-discussed conflicts, each side has some sort of appeal to a...

    It's a forgotten war and I don't quite understand why.

    In the US, at least, it feels like part of the reason is that neither side is particularly 'marketable', so to speak. In the most hotly-discussed conflicts, each side has some sort of appeal to a public audience. In the case of Gaza, those who support Israel can point towards October 7th as justification, and argue online as such; those who opposed Israel's actions can point towards the humanitarian issues, and argue online as such. There's a narrative of good-and-evil, to some extent, that can be very appealing. For Ukraine and Russia, a similar story, to some extent. But in the case of Sudan, or even other conflicts like Myanmar or the Sahel, people in the US just don't seem to have the same attachment to the narrative being presented.

    3 votes

  19. Comment on Elon Musk’s attack on F-35s fuels debate over expensive fighter jets in ~society

    Fal
    Link Parent
    I agree, ~society or ~misc would probably fit best

    I agree, ~society or ~misc would probably fit best

    2 votes

  20. Comment on Why the Soviet Union was obsessed with corn in ~humanities.history

    Fal
    Link Parent
    I don't think that the characterization is quite as malicious as you make it out to be. I think that American media depicts foreign leaders' interest in corn as 'obsessions' because it's an...

    Would we describe this as an obsession when the US does it? Or only when scary foreign governments learn from us and do the same thing?

    I don't think that the characterization is quite as malicious as you make it out to be. I think that American media depicts foreign leaders' interest in corn as 'obsessions' because it's an interest in, well, corn. It's as common a crop as it gets to us in America. But to leaders of countries with historical issues with food production, like the Soviet Union, or countries with potential future food insecurities, like China, corn is interesting as a way to solve current or future food supply issues.

    To make up an analogy, if Biden started speaking about the potential of taro, and started traveling abroad to the most rural parts of Nigeria and China to speak to taro farmers, I wouldn't find it odd at all if local media described his actions as an 'obsession' with taro.

    9 votes