KapteinB's recent activity

  2. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of April 6 in ~society

    KapteinB
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    Pentagon Threatened the Pope After He Criticized Trump (The New Republic)

    Pentagon Threatened the Pope After He Criticized Trump (The New Republic)

    Relations between the U.S. and the Catholic Church have not been the same since January, when senior U.S. defense officials shared an abrasive message with a Vatican official.

    Days after Pope Leo XIV delivered his State of the World speech, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby summoned Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s U.S. representative, to a closed-door Pentagon meeting for a bitter lecture.

    “The United States,” Colby said, according to a blistering new report by The Free Press, “has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side.”

    5 votes

  3. Comment on US and Iran agree to provisional ceasefire with Tehran saying it will reopen Strait of Hormuz in ~society

    KapteinB
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    Negotiators face huge task to close gaps in rival Iran peace proposals (BBC)

    Negotiators face huge task to close gaps in rival Iran peace proposals (BBC)

    In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the US had received a 10-point proposal from Iran which he described as "a workable basis on which to negotiate".

    Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also mentioned the US 15-point proposal Trump's chief negotiators have said could end the conflict.

    Neither set of proposals has been formally unveiled – even though reported versions of both have been leaked and published and appear to be oceans apart when it comes to what each side expects to happen.

    4 votes

  4. Comment on Babylon 5 S01E06: "The Parliament of Dreams" - Episode Discussion in ~tv

    KapteinB
    Link Parent
    I actually got moved seeing that long line of religious leaders, all of humanity represented. When they were standing outside, I was sure Sinclair was going to demonstrate the tenets of atheism...

    I appreciate how Sinclair was like "we don't have planetary religion, meet everyone." Which doesn't really demonstrate anything but it's nice not to have humanity flattened.

    I actually got moved seeing that long line of religious leaders, all of humanity represented. When they were standing outside, I was sure Sinclair was going to demonstrate the tenets of atheism and explain how science had replaced religion, or something along those lines. That would have been disrespectful though, after their guests demonstrated their ancient traditions and beliefs. I'm sure there was an hours-long Q&A session after, with possibilities of demonstrating rituals and explaining doctrines.

    1 vote

  5. Comment on US-Israeli plan for Kurdish invasion of Iran reportedly collapsed amid leaks, distrust in ~society

    KapteinB
    Link
    Brings to mind the famous words of another war criminal.

    Amid all of this, the Kurds themselves expressed wariness about their prospects against the Iranian regime, as well as about Washington’s reliability. They began demanding “political guarantees” as opposed to just military support, the report said.

    The concern came after recent events in Syria, where the US relied on Kurdish fighters to defeat the Islamic State group in the country’s civil war only for Trump to back new president Ahmed al-Sharaa’s offensive to take over Kurdish-held areas and re-integrate them into the central state.

    Brings to mind the famous words of another war criminal.

    19 votes

  7. Comment on Babylon 5 S01E05: "Infection" - Episode Discussion in ~tv

    KapteinB
    Link
    Many of the themes of this episode feel current. Common public good versus private for profit research projects? We can draw a parallel to our current space tech boom where governments want to...

    Many of the themes of this episode feel current.

    Common public good versus private for profit research projects? We can draw a parallel to our current space tech boom where governments want to discover and inspire, while private companies want to profit.

    An AI system committed genocide because it couldn't tell friend from foe? In our time, an AI system recently blew up a girls' school because it couldn't tell it from a military target.

    An arms race between competing factions with new technology? Right now it's drones and artificial intelligence.

    Earth First and anti-alien extremism? America First and anti-Latino extremism.

    But wait. Did they describe the Ikarran home world as a dead world, even a desert world? Did the weapon system not stop at eliminating intelligent being, but go so far as to eradicate all life on the planet?

    Another explanation might be that the Ikarrans ruined their own world with global warming and pollution and such to the point where it required active terraforming to keep it liveable, and when they were eradicated, all ecosystems they were maintaining collapsed.

    Or maybe some other alien species saw the threat of the weapon as so serious that they decided to turn the planet into a dead world.

    2 votes

  8. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 23 in ~society

    KapteinB
    Link Parent
    I'm sorry, what? Truly the dumbest timeline. But if the US Dollar loses its status as the world's reserve currency due to economic and diplomatic mismanagement, it's only appropriate that the name...

    Bessent said in a statement that the move was appropriate for the U.S. 250th ‌anniversary, given ⁠strong U.S. economic growth and financial stability during Trump's second term.

    I'm sorry, what?

    The current treasurer, Brandon Beach, whose name has not appeared on the currency, also issued a supportive statement, saying Trump was the architect of a "golden ​age economic revival."

    Truly the dumbest timeline. But if the US Dollar loses its status as the world's reserve currency due to economic and diplomatic mismanagement, it's only appropriate that the name of the corrupt moron who caused it is printed on them.

    4 votes

  9. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 23 in ~society

    KapteinB
    Link
    Trump signature to appear on US currency, ending 165-year tradition (Reuters)

    Trump signature to appear on US currency, ending 165-year tradition (Reuters)

    WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. paper currency will bear ‌President Donald Trump's signature starting this summer, the first time a sitting president has signed American money, the Treasury Department said on Thursday.

    The redesigned notes, planned to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence, will also for the first time in 165 years drop the signature of the ​U.S. treasurer, who reports to the Treasury Secretary and oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the U.S. ​Mint and other Treasury functions.

    2 votes

  10. Comment on Possible first European rocket launch to reach orbit taking place in ~20minutes, livesteam here! in ~space

  16. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 16 in ~society

  17. Comment on Afroman emerges victorious in ‘Lemon Pound Cake’ defamation case in ~music

    KapteinB
    Link
    Went down a bit of a video rabbit hole. Legal Eagle did a video about the case. Nebula YouTube Also found an interesting little documentary by Vice: The Story of 'Because I Got High' by Afroman

    Went down a bit of a video rabbit hole.

    Legal Eagle did a video about the case.
    Nebula
    YouTube

    Also found an interesting little documentary by Vice:

    The Story of 'Because I Got High' by Afroman

    11 votes

  18. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 16 in ~society

    KapteinB
    Link
    TSA officers are quitting rather than working without pay during another shutdown as eviction notices, car repos, and empty fridges weigh (Fortune)

    TSA officers are quitting rather than working without pay during another shutdown as eviction notices, car repos, and empty fridges weigh (Fortune)

    Eviction notices. Vehicle repossessions. Empty refrigerators and overdrawn bank accounts.

    Union leaders and federal officials say these are just some of the financial pressures Transportation Security Administration agents are facing during an ongoing government funding lapse — the third shutdown in less than six months that has forced the officers who screen airport passengers and luggage to keep working without pay.

    6 votes

  20. Comment on New Firefox features: Built-in free VPN, split view, tab notes in ~tech