America - The Official Thread

[Stotty]

Population decline combined with increasing longevity will become one of the major challenges for Governments over through the 21st century.

The population of Europe (including the net effect of immigration) is forecast to fall by c.10% by 2100, whilst longevity is forecast to increase 6 years by 2060 alone.

Paying for the old will become an increasing financial drain.

 

[Famine]

Just because I can:

(seems appropriate, nerdy, and appropriately nerdy)

 

[Roo]

Just because I can:

(seems appropriate, nerdy, and appropriately nerdy)

I'd turn the brightness up to read it, but it probably just says "nice try".

 

[Famine]

I'd turn the brightness up to read it, but it probably just says "nice try".

The language is similar to an ancient Celtic text I found in Wales. It says "Medicine from the newcomers causes..." followed by some word I can't translate.

 

[UKMikey]

"Vaccine from newcomes (sic) causes sterility"... I've never seen Stargate or its spinoffs but The Volian Voice must be their equivalent of the Grauniad.

 

[Famine]

I've never seen Stargate or its spinoffs but The Volian Voice must be their equivalent of the Grauniad.

Jeez, spoiler alert.

Top, top episode that one. The alien vaccine (from the Aschen) helped the Volians recover from a 'flu pandemic and...

Spoiler

... cut the birth rate by 90% to allow the Aschen to conquer the planet and turn it into farmland

Seemed appropriate, nerdy, and appropriately nerdy

 

[UKMikey]

From what I can google it's a nineteen year old episode. Nice to know I got it right despite the initial lack of context. They should've made their code harder to crack than "shift one letter up".

 

[Famine]

From what I can google it's a nineteen year old episode. Nice to know I got it right despite the initial lack of context. They should've made their code harder to crack than "shift one letter up".

Well, it's a Celtic language on an alien world, and the newspaper was shut down the next day - and quite literally buried along with the rest of the civilisation.


Also my post is a direct quote of Dr. Daniel Jackson in the episode. It's a good one, and follows on from a previous season episode ("2010") set in the future in which they send a warning message back to the past not to visit the Aschen homeworld (not by name, but by gate directory reference), only for them to encounter the Aschen by chance elsewhere. The ending of that particular episode is a peach too.

 

[UKMikey]

Well, it's a Celtic language on an alien world, and the newspaper was shut down the next day - and quite literally buried along with the rest of the civilisation.

Today I learnt that Alien Celts was a thing. I just saw a transliteration puzzle.

 

[Famine]

Today I learnt that Alien Celts was a thing.

That's sort of the basis of SG-1. The Goa'uld discovered a well-populated Earth 5,000 years ago and, posing as various Gods, took humans as slaves (and hosts; Goa'uld are parasitic snake-like creatures which possess other beings by direct contact with their central nervous system) through the Stargate to other worlds. They keep the slaves from advancing, so the cultures are effectively preserved (we see many throughout the course of the series), while humanity itself progressed on Earth due to revolting against Ra and burying the Stargate to prevent gate travel to Earth.

In the Stargate film, humans uncover the Earth Stargate in Giza and begin to research and operate it, eventually sending people through to Ra's new home base on Abydos*. After the events of the film, the gate is effectively mothballed, but the Goa'uld System Lord Apophis (Egyptian deity of chaos) comes through and takes some USAF personnel as a host for his queen Amaunet (a primeval Egyptian deity of creation), so the USAF restarts the program and the TV series happens.


*There are questions on the whole timeline of this, like how come literally only one Goa'uld came through the gate in the 80 years it wasn't buried, or two if you count the one that sent Jaffa (soldiers) through to the same address but who ended up... elsewhere and never came back...

... and why did Ra never come back in a Ha'tak (mothership) or seven and turn Egypt into glass?

 

[Brett]

Jeez, spoiler alert.

Top, top episode that one. The alien vaccine (from the Aschen) helped the Volians recover from a 'flu pandemic and...

Spoiler

... cut the birth rate by 90% to allow the Aschen to conquer the planet and turn it into farmland

Seemed appropriate, nerdy, and appropriately nerdy

We have a TV channel, Comet, that airs three hours of SG-1 four night a weeks. That particular episode aired within the last few months. Definitely a good one. I do not go out of my way to watch episodes, but they do bring back memories of watching them when they originally aired. There are only a few episodes that I remember well. I have a pretty foggy memory of most episodes.

 

[Famine]

We have a TV channel, Comet, that airs three hours of SG-1 four night a weeks. That particular episode aired within the last few months. Definitely a good one. I do not go out of my way to watch episodes, but they do bring back memories of watching them when they originally aired. There are only a few episodes that I remember well. I have a pretty foggy memory of most episodes.

I have them all on official DVD

Season one is slowish (and 18-rated, thanks to Showtime's absolute insistence on full-frontal nudity of Vaitiare Bandera during the implantation of Amaunet in the first episode), but for the most part there's very few totally skippable episodes. Urgo can piss off though.

It's packed with anthropological stuff, so it's quite educational. Anyone who has a mental image of Chris Hemsworth as Thor (or Tom Hiddlestone as Loki) will be in for a shock, mind


Anyway, enough SG-1 shilling from me. If the COVID vaccine causes a 90% drop in the global birthrate, Stargate did it first. Back to American things

 

[Blitz24]

I have them all on official DVD

Season one is slowish (and 18-rated, thanks to Showtime's absolute insistence on full-frontal nudity of Vaitiare Bandera during the implantation of Amaunet in the first episode), but for the most part there's very few totally skippable episodes. Urgo can piss off though.

It's packed with anthropological stuff, so it's quite educational. Anyone who has a mental image of Chris Hemsworth as Thor (or Tom Hiddlestone as Loki) will be in for a shock, mind


Anyway, enough SG-1 shilling from me. If the COVID vaccine causes a 90% drop in the global birthrate, Stargate did it first. Back to American things

Pfizer then gets an unintended benefit from this for their "other" sales.

 

[Danoff]

Population decline combined with increasing longevity will become one of the major challenges for Governments over through the 21st century.

The population of Europe (including the net effect of immigration) is forecast to fall by c.10% by 2100, whilst longevity is forecast to increase 6 years by 2060 alone.

Paying for the old will become an increasing financial drain.

Turns out immigration can be opened up. In fact, global warming may cause a mass migration in the direction of the UK. I wouldn't worry about having too few people.

 

[TexRex]

Democrats need to end the filibuster, which will essentially only ever be overcome by a republican senate.

They won't and it's super frustrating. The For the People Act is dead in the Senate if the filibuster is respected, which is what Republicans--who don't give a flying **** about the filibuster but for how it benefits them in situations like this--are counting on.

 

[Danoff]

They won't and it's super frustrating. The For the People Act is dead in the Senate if the filibuster is respected, which is what Republicans--who don't give a flying **** about the filibuster but for how it benefits them in situations like this--are counting on.

Yea the democrats are in a tricky situation with individual members who could switch parties and give the majority back to the republicans. But perhaps the filibuster can be curtailed rather than abolished.

 

[Stotty]

Turns out immigration can be opened up. In fact, global warming may cause a mass migration in the direction of the UK. I wouldn't worry about having too few people.

I'm 53 years old, semi-retired, own a house in the UK and another in Spain, and have a final salary pension that pasy out until death. I have no worries about population decline and the risks it presents long term... but I would be seriously concerned if I was 20 years younger!

 

[Danoff]

I'm 53 years old, semi-retired, own a house in the UK and another in Spain, and have a final salary pension that pasy out until death. I have no worries about population decline and the risks it presents long term... but I would be seriously concerned if I was 20 years younger!

Can you articulate exactly what that concern is?

 

[Touring Mars]

Can you articulate exactly what that concern is?

"I'm alright Jack"

I have no worries about population decline and the risks it presents long term... but I would be seriously concerned if I was 20 years younger!

Isn't that a straight up contradiction? You have "no worries about... the risks it presents long term" but you would be "seriously concerned" if you faced being elderly 20 years later than you are??

As such, it comes across that the operative phrase in your statement is "I"... you will be fine, so you don't care?

 

[Jezza819]

Cawthorn the Repugnant now has a challenger. County commissioner and long time LGBTQ advocate Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara will oppose Cawthorn in the 2022 mid-terms. I really REALLY hope she gets the job done. My favorite quote from her announcement video is "Some people will say a gay woman who's a Christian minister just can't get elected in the South,". "Not to mention, she's a Democrat. But I say an insurrectionist who flirts with Nazis and fires up a violent crowd to attack our democracy -- well, he shouldn't get reelected anywhere." 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/03/politics/jasmine-beach-ferrara-madison-cawthorn-challenge/index.html

 

[GranTurNismo]

I've said it once and I'll say it again. Democrats not fulfilling their campaign promises, as well as not doing anything to protect voters' rights and make it easier for people to vote,

Cawthorn the Repugnant now has a challenger. County commissioner and long time LGBTQ advocate Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara will oppose Cawthorn in the 2022 mid-terms. I really REALLY hope she gets the job done. My favorite quote from her announcement video is "Some people will say a gay woman who's a Christian minister just can't get elected in the South,". "Not to mention, she's a Democrat. But I say an insurrectionist who flirts with Nazis and fires up a violent crowd to attack our democracy -- well, he shouldn't get reelected anywhere." 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/03/politics/jasmine-beach-ferrara-madison-cawthorn-challenge/index.html

I'm not optimistic. People in solidly conservative Southern districts will always vote for the candidate with the (R) in front of their name. It doesn't matter whether it's a some normal establishment Republican or Marjorie Taylor Greene; a Republican, to them, is better than the Democratic alternative by default. Because Republicans are the party of freedom, good ol' hardworkin country folk, gun lovin, and are against baby murder. Democrat means socialism, handouts/welfare, big government, baby murder, banning guns, and of course, diversity; all things rural white southern conservatives are against. And as someone with conservative relatives from the rural south (half of my dads side hails from southeast Alabama), there still seems to be the sentiment that the Democratic party is the colored person's party and the Republican party is the white party.

Loonies like MTG, Cawthorn, and Boebert should be more concerned with a more sane Republican primary-ing them. Sadly, no Democrat would stand a chance in these definitively right-leaning rural districts, as aforementioned.

 

[Stotty]

Can you articulate exactly what that concern is?

Lower population with a higher percentage of retirees means an ever increasing tax burden on those not retired to cover state pension costs.

 

[Danoff]

Lower population with a higher percentage of retirees means an ever increasing tax burden on those not retired to cover state pension costs.

What about that immigration bit?

 

[Stotty]

What about that immigration bit?

As I said in my original post, population in the EU in 2100 is forecast to have declined by 10%, including the effects of immigration.

World Bank forecasts a $400trn global pension shortfall by 2050.

 

[Danoff]

As I said in my original post, population in the EU in 2100 is forecast to have declined by 10%, including the effects of immigration.

...and yet immigration is a dial that can be turned up if that's a problem...

 

[UKMikey]

...and yet immigration is a dial that can be turned up if that's a problem...

But they'rll take err jerbs!

 

[McLaren]

Womp womp.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Congress is currently throwing things out of the stimulus bill that are considered wasteful spending and have nothing to do with COVID, such as a $140 million tunnel in Nancy Pelosi's district, and a bridge in New York (Chuck Schumer's state) was also thrown out.

Explained in here: (recommend this guy's channel)

 

[UKMikey]

Womp womp.

They should've sent Klepper down to interview Karyn and her chums.

 

[GranTurNismo]

What in the world...

My husband, Paul always says, ‘I just wonder how long into a speech it will be before Nancy starts talking about her grandchildren.’ Our grandchildren, my grandchildren, have for many, many years, been longtime friends of Joe Biden. They have a range in age, but all of them love Joe Biden. But let me tell you one story,

I think was like 2013, four and five year old, two of mine, Paul and Thomas. We were at an event, the DCCC in New York, and Joe Biden was the keynote speaker. They were so excited to see him because they'd heard so much about him from their cousins. And they met him they talked about pets and things like that. And afterward, after the luncheon was over, I took them got candy. Don't tell their mom. I took them for candy at a place, Dylan's in New York, where they have sort of like swinging doors. You have to get through the doors from one part of the store to the next. So, here they are, the place is packed and jammed. Kids are making all this noise over there on the side. And all of a sudden, I hear them pronounce, ‘In order to open these doors, we do not say open sesame, we say “Open Biden.” That's our magic word.’

Open Biden? I love it.
https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/3321-2