KapteinB's recent activity

  2. Comment on The "why does this movie exist" scene in ~movies

    KapteinB
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    In The One, the Event is a superpowered Jet Li fighting ... himself! And I'm pretty sure they worked backwards from there. It's not a great film, but it's a great film, if that makes sense.

    In The One, the Event is a superpowered Jet Li fighting ... himself! And I'm pretty sure they worked backwards from there.

    It's not a great film, but it's a great film, if that makes sense.

    10 votes

  3. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of January 5 in ~society

    KapteinB
    Link
    Trump withdraws US from key climate treaty and dozens of other groups (BBC)

    Trump withdraws US from key climate treaty and dozens of other groups (BBC)

    US President Donald Trump has withdrawn the US from dozens of international organisations, including many that work to combat climate change.

    Among the 66 groups, nearly half of them are bodies of the United Nations, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change - a treaty that underpins all international efforts to combat global warming.

    6 votes

  4. Comment on US discussing options to acquire Greenland, including use of military, says White House in ~society

    KapteinB
    Link Parent
    I would say it's the US invasion of Denmark that destroys NATO, not the rest of NATO's response to it. Though I would also say NATO was effectively destroyed in 2016. Trump has all the time been...

    I would say it's the US invasion of Denmark that destroys NATO, not the rest of NATO's response to it.

    Though I would also say NATO was effectively destroyed in 2016. Trump has all the time been very clear that he would not assist allies against a Russian attack.

    What could a more proportional response be, preferably one that doesn't result in further escalation or the destruction of NATO?

    7 votes

  5. Comment on US discussing options to acquire Greenland, including use of military, says White House in ~society

    KapteinB
    Link
    We need British and French nuclear submarines near the east coast of the USA, ready to launch nukes at the White House, Mar-a-Lago, and large military bases. No hesitation; launch them the moment...

    We need British and French nuclear submarines near the east coast of the USA, ready to launch nukes at the White House, Mar-a-Lago, and large military bases. No hesitation; launch them the moment US troops set foot in Nuuk. Fuck it. Humanity had a good run.

    3 votes

  7. Comment on US strikes Venezuela and says its leader, Nicolas Maduro, has been captured and flown out of the country in ~society

    KapteinB
    Link
    Trump wants Venezuela's oil. Will his plan work? (BBC)

    Trump wants Venezuela's oil. Will his plan work? (BBC)

    The US president wants American oil firms to pile billions of dollars into the South American country, which has the largest crude oil reserves on the planet, to mobilise the largely untapped resource.

    He said US companies will fix Venezuela's "badly broken" oil infrastructure and "start making money for the country".

    But experts warned of huge challenges with Trump's plan, saying it would cost billions and take up to a decade to produce a meaningful uplift in oil output.

    5 votes

  8. Comment on US strikes Venezuela and says its leader, Nicolas Maduro, has been captured and flown out of the country in ~society

    KapteinB
    Link Parent
    Rubio seems to be preparing for his post-politics career as a writer for The Onion.

    On Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Cuba as a "disaster" run by "incompetent, senile men".

    "If I lived in Havana, and I was in the government, I'd be concerned - at least a little bit," Rubio said.

    Rubio seems to be preparing for his post-politics career as a writer for The Onion.

    4 votes

  9. Comment on US strikes Venezuela and says its leader, Nicolas Maduro, has been captured and flown out of the country in ~society

    KapteinB
    Link
    Thirty-two Cubans killed during US attack on Venezuela (BBC)

    Thirty-two Cubans killed during US attack on Venezuela (BBC)

    The Cuban government has said 32 of its nationals were killed during the US operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

    It said the dead were members of its armed forces and intelligence agencies, with two days of national mourning declared.

    A short statement did not elaborate on the role of the Cubans in Venezuela, but the two governments are long-standing allies, with Cuba providing security support in exchange for oil.

    5 votes

  10. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    KapteinB
    Link
    Dune Messiah (1969 - Frank Herbert) While I thought Dune was a bit overrated, I got invested in the universe and wanted to know what happens next. The sequel is much shorter, and written in a more...

    Dune Messiah (1969 - Frank Herbert)

    While I thought Dune was a bit overrated, I got invested in the universe and wanted to know what happens next. The sequel is much shorter, and written in a more conventional style, but also less interesting. It starts out very engaging, introducing some cool concepts (face dancers and gholas) and an interesting conspiracy, but it grows stale about halfway through. Since it's so short, I was able to finish it, and I quite liked the ending, but probably won't bother with the rest of the series.

    Blood Ties (2024 - Jo Nesbø)

    The sequel to 2020's The Kingdom, which is one of my favourite recent crime novels. It's set several years after the events of the previous books, with the protagonist involved in some (this time non-violent) crime, and the police picking up again investigation of the events in the previous book. I'm about 40 pages in, and so far I'm really enjoying it.

    4 votes

  11. Comment on Ukrainian "Sub Sea Baby" drones hit Russian submarine in Novorossiysk for the first time in history in ~society

  12. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of December 15 in ~society

    KapteinB
    Link
    Trump shifts NASA priority to Moon mission, not Mars (Le Monde)

    Trump shifts NASA priority to Moon mission, not Mars (Le Monde)

    In an executive order, President Donald Trump shifted his previous goals for NASA, now aiming to get Americans to the Moon by 2028, instead of a goal to put the American flag on Mars before the end of his four-year term.

    2 votes

  13. Comment on Ukrainian "Sub Sea Baby" drones hit Russian submarine in Novorossiysk for the first time in history in ~society

  14. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of December 15 in ~society

    KapteinB
    Link
    Found this on Reddit: Take a Tour of Ivanka Trump's Childhood Bedroom in New York City 💰 🏙️ 👑 If you have any friends or family who were at all into Qanon or Pizzagate, send them this video and...

    Found this on Reddit:

    Take a Tour of Ivanka Trump's Childhood Bedroom in New York City 💰 🏙️ 👑

    If you have any friends or family who were at all into Qanon or Pizzagate, send them this video and ask them about her expression at 30 seconds in; see if the people who care so much about child abuse can actually recognise it when they see it.

    5 votes

  15. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of December 15 in ~society

    KapteinB
    Link
    US suspends green card lottery scheme after Brown shooting (BBC)

    US suspends green card lottery scheme after Brown shooting (BBC)

    President Donald Trump has suspended the US green card lottery scheme in the wake of a mass shooting at Brown University last week in which two people were killed.

    The suspect, a Portuguese man who was found dead on Thursday, entered the country through the diversity lottery immigrant visa programme (DV1) in 2017 and was granted a green card.

    5 votes

  16. Comment on Ukrainian "Sub Sea Baby" drones hit Russian submarine in Novorossiysk for the first time in history in ~society

    KapteinB
    Link Parent
    I used to post about the Ukraine war in ~news, but they all got moved here, so now I save the mods the trouble and post them directly here instead.

    I used to post about the Ukraine war in ~news, but they all got moved here, so now I save the mods the trouble and post them directly here instead.

    4 votes

  17. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of December 15 in ~society

  18. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of December 15 in ~society

    KapteinB
    Link
    US strikes another boat in eastern Pacific, killing 4 (CNN)

    US strikes another boat in eastern Pacific, killing 4 (CNN)

    The US military conducted a strike against another alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, killing 4 people, according to US Southern Command.

    5 votes

  19. Comment on Ukrainian "Sub Sea Baby" drones hit Russian submarine in Novorossiysk for the first time in history in ~society

    KapteinB
    Link
    Russian border guards crossed into Estonia with unclear motives, minister says (ERR)

    Russian border guards crossed into Estonia with unclear motives, minister says (ERR)

    Three Russian border guards crossed the Estonian-Russian border in eastern Estonia on Wednesday morning without permission, the minister of the interior said. The reason is unknown but there is no threat to Estonia's security, he added.

    6 votes

  20. Comment on EU drops 2035 combustion engine ban as global electric vehicle shift faces reset in ~transport

    KapteinB
    Link Parent
    It was much too optimistic. There was a time, after that doomsday climate report from the UN and the successful Paris Agreement, where most western countries tried to outdo each other in promising...

    It was much too optimistic.

    There was a time, after that doomsday climate report from the UN and the successful Paris Agreement, where most western countries tried to outdo each other in promising deep greenhouse gas cuts. The 2030 deadline was so far ahead that few of the sitting politicians would likely be in office by then, so it would be someone else's problem, and they had no problem making ambitious promises they knew couldn't be kept.

    On top of that, Covid happened. Then Russia. Then Trump (again, and somehow worse than the first time he happened). The inevitable became inevitabler.

    10 votes