Smuel's good morning extravaganza

Somehow I think the old ones have already returned.

Good morning.

 

Jarinor and Snowmane are back?

Good morning.

 

I literally bought that film within the last week, due to it being directed by the same director as the Exorcist. Haven't got round to watching it yet.

Don't ever say the details of my life I share these days aren't riveting.

Good morning.

 

What I'm wondering is, why if you click media at the top of the page and then go to first example picture, is there a scantily clad woman?

Perverts, the lot of you. I always knew people had been trying to hide their scantily clad women from me, and now it's been confirmed.

Good morning.

 

I just see loads of pictures of Kim Jong Un. Why can't my life be as exciting as yours?

Good morning.

 

If you go down to the bottom, and select page 4 of 4, that's where the magic is.

Good morning.

 

I'm a bit sad about the decay of civilisation.

I mean, I tend to make a moral stand about everything and you might suppose that that's my nature, but it's not. Like, I was born, bred and taught to be properly elitist, and utterly ruthless, but above all else prejudiced. It's taken some exercise of intellect and will to be, instead, nice.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still an ubermensch, still disgusted by the bovine masses and I've never once bowed to peer pressure. But, you see, I know quite well how supervillains think, because I was educated to be one myself. So, despite the persona you've come to know and presume, I don't just knee jerk lash out at nazis because I'm moving with the herd, and following the trends.

I lash out against the trend of nationalistic fascism because I have considered it myself and understand the conclusions the rhetoric is steering us towards. Most of our level of information is puppet shows in a room full of elephants, but believe me, the legion of evil has nefarious plans.

So anyways, I'm of the opinion that the big power players are aiming for genocide - gaiacide even. With a kind of Stark scheme to jump ship while the world burns.

Good morning.

 

The power players are going to kill all the gays? Well that's just beyond the pale, and I won't stand for it!

I watched the Guardian mentioned above. If you're after a film featuring an evil tree, then Poltergeist and Evil Dead are garbage compared to how evil this tree was. A 7/10 for me, would recommend.

Good morning.

 

I see what you did there.

No, I meant they'd kill the world but yes, since you mention it, they will kill the gays, and yes, you'll stand for it.

It's a really short hop skip and a jump from where we are to where we've already been.

Good morning.

 

It helps when you try and pronounce gay like this.

An interesting theory I heard a few days ago, from my dad no less who normally has a borderline conspiracy theorist level of paranoia about current events, is that Trump is playing such hard ball as to force China's hand into bringing North Korea to heel. I guess it's a risky strategy, but more reassuring than just believing Trump is mental and is spouting scary nuclear war rhetoric for no reason.

Good morning.

 

My guess is that Trump has realised that pretty much the only thing he can do to rescue his dwindling popularity in the US is to win a war against someone. But only if they start it. So now he's amping up the provocation to North Korea because he personally has nothing to lose - if they do nothing he can say "My strong stance was effective! So presidential!" If they attack any US/Allied bases or units, then he can retaliate and will look like a strong presidential president.

So, not quite "mental", but not exactly reassuring. Our only hope is that, contrary to ytzk's conspiracy theories of doom, nobody else on either side really wants a war, especially not a nuclear one.

Good morning.

 

That doesn't make sense, although Trump has put on a good show of doing that, behind the textbook madman theory at play.

Behind that though are more 'reasons'. Firstly, he has business in China that he wants rubber-stamped. This seems to me actually more insane than merely being a loose cannon, or playing high-stakes diplomatic poker.

Secondly, and this is textbook tyranny, it would suit him very well to have a war. He would get emergency powers, a boost in the polls, a war that can be "won" and, worst case scenario, some goddamned liberal Jewish mexican east coast cities turned to glass.

I've concluded long ago that the people who are decent just cannot imagine what the nasty people are willing to do, and those who can can't be trusted when it happens.

Time will tell.

Good morning.

 

I think you're giving Trump too much credibility. I see no evidence that he knows what he's doing at all. Every time he's tried to actually do something, it's gone wrong. The only talent he's displayed is an ability to say things that appeal to a subset of people. Goading North Korea fits into this - it makes him look good to a proportion of the US population, whichever way things turn out. There's no deeper thinking than that, because Trump isn't capable of it.

I agree that decent people will find this hard to relate to. How can he not care about the consequences of his actions on millions of people around the world? But those people just don't factor into his decision-making. He's not even being nasty and saying "I don't care about those people" - he is simply unaware of their existence in any tangible sense.

If you created an AI whose only function was to say things that made itself look good, it could just as well get accidentally elected to the US Presidency if it chose to tweet about crooked opponents, fake news, and how America was great and other countries were bad. Then once it became president it would carry on doing the same thing, because that's all it knows how to do.

Good morning.

 

He is a cunning political animal and what he lacks in finesse he more than makes up with appetite.

I agree, though, that he doesn't think strategically. Interesting quote from one of Putin's surviving political opponents, an erstwhile chess grandmaster: "These tyrants, you know, they always think tactically."

However, that's not his magic power, however good or bad his instincts may be. His special gift is being a relentless narcissist.

I suppose that more ideological and strategic supervillains are hovering behind the throne, egging him on.

Good morning.

 

I should have known better than to float out a more optimistic idea on here and not have it ruthlessly and logically crushed.

Good morning.

 

"The world will soon cease to exist!"
Claimed ytzk, while shaking his fist.
"I know this because
I grew up in Oz,
And I used to be a fascist."

 

Good god Smuel, this is the good morning extravaganza thread, can you at least respect the rules?

Good morning.