What made you laugh today - Fifth Edition

[Adorno]

Reading a book on war theory from 2014*, and the final paragraph on the (recent) war in Afghanistan reads (my translation):

"The result will likely be that when ISAF* withdraws, Afghanistan will fall apart."

I know many people predicted it, but it's fun to see an analysis step by step poignantly predict it, early on

* The War - An Uncontrollable System by Gorm Harste, Univers, 2014
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Security_Assistance_Force

 

[Mad Vader]

Reading a book on war theory from 2014*, and the final paragraph on the (recent) war in Afghanistan reads (my translation):



I know many people predicted it, but it's fun to see an analysis step by step poignantly predict it, early on

* The War - An Uncontrollable System by Gorm Harste, Univers, 2014
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Security_Assistance_Force

Unless he deals with poppy field politics and finance, as well as Pakistan ISI's agenda, he was just guessing.

 

[Adorno]

Of course. A qualified guess.

 

[NPC99]

Trump's tax returns declared negative income in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2020. He paid a total of $1,500 in income taxes for the years 2016 and 2017. On their 2020 income tax returns, Trump and his wife Melania paid no federal income taxes and claimed a refund of $5.47 million.

Read how much Trump paid — or didn't pay — in taxes each year

Donald Trump has guarded his income tax returns from public disclosure. A House committee has voted to release them in redacted form.

www.cnbc.com

Where's Eliot Ness when you need him?

Capone tax evasion trial: 90 years ago, the T-Men had the goods on Mob chief

Part 1: Witnesses detail Capone’s untaxed income from an array of illegal operations

themobmuseum.org

 

[Adorno]

Isn't that just the typical tactics by wealthy people in finance?
If you compared Trump's taxes with other, similar people, you'd probably see the same. There's no crime involved in that. Just stupid tax laws.
The New York Times also posted his previous tax returns and it showed the same picture.

Spoiler: Trump's Taxes

Among the key findings of The Times’s investigation:

• Mr. Trump paid no federal income taxes in 11 of 18 years that The Times examined. In 2017, after he became president, his tax bill was only $750.
• He has reduced his tax bill with questionable measures, including a $72.9 million tax refund that is the subject of an audit by the Internal Revenue Service.
• Many of his signature businesses, including his golf courses, report losing large amounts of money — losses that have helped him to lower his taxes.
• The financial pressure on him is increasing as hundreds of millions of dollars in loans he personally guaranteed are soon coming due.
• Even while declaring losses, he has managed to enjoy a lavish lifestyle by taking tax deductions on what most people would consider personal expenses, including residences, aircraft and $70,000 in hairstyling for television.
• Ivanka Trump, while working as an employee of the Trump Organization, appears to have received “consulting fees” that also helped reduce the family’s tax bill.
• As president, he has received more money from foreign sources and U.S. interest groups than previously known. The records do not reveal any previously unreported connections to Russia.

18 Revelations From a Trove of Trump Tax Records (Published 2020)

Times reporters have obtained decades of tax information the president has hidden from public view. Here are some of the key findings.

www.nytimes.com

 

[NPC99]

$70,000 in hairstyling for television

I guess his barber charged danger money.

 

[Adorno]

Mission Aborted: Why China’s ‘Top Gun’ Never Took Off

‘Born to Fly’ was supposed to be the country’s answer to Tom Cruise’s blockbuster sequel — until the producers saw the American hit and grounded it.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

Chinese authorities never comment directly on censorship decisions, but the word within the Beijing film industry is that Born to Fly‘s producers were made to realize that their movie’s stunts and visual effects were far inferior to Top Gun: Maverick’s and that the Chinese version risked ridicule in comparison ...

 

[Mad Vader]

Well, if you look past the visual effects, Maverick is about a pathetic old man trying to do youth stuff, all packaged in militaristic nationalism with hardware porn. So let's take a second to laugh at the Americans too (or shrivel in a cringe spasm).
The US film is actually more jarring because you don't expect (much) government involvement, but there was plenty. We don't expect much from China though where the state has a much larger role.

 

[Adorno]

Well, you're no fun.
I think one can look past the politics and see the humour of the Chinese about to release a big budget movie, only to watch "Maverick", with their jaws in their laps, completely blowing it out of the water.

I actually liked Top Gun Maverick and have little criticism. Saying it's "militaristic nationalism" is just the story of Hollywood war movies the past 60 (?) years, with a few (good) exceptions. I buy into that watching it.
Top Gun is so over the top silly and far from reality that it's practically a fantasy hero movie. Notice how the enemy is literally anonymous. An odd change from classic war movies where they'd at least invent a fictitious Slavic/Middle Eastern sounding country (with -ia or -stan suffix). It's an ideal world where even the enemy doesn't "exist".
How the world has changed...

 

[Mad Vader]

You are right, and I'm not getting invited to parties, but it is scary how much leeway we implicitly give to the Americans because they dominate our entertainment. Only when you describe what they are doing without mincing words, just as for any other countries, you realize that plenty of what they are doing is not okay and that we internalized their flimsy justifications from watching too many damn American movies.
The anonymous enemy is obviously Iran, but it is remarkable they showed restraint in not calling it Iran like they would do in the 80s. I wonder who the Chinese chose as their enemy in their movie. The Americans?

If the Chinese released the movie and it contained terribad special effects or even stolen scenes from other movies (not beyond them), it would have been even more hilarious. It's remarkable that they canceled the release and are fixing the movie, even though we don't really know just how bad it is.

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Here's something fun for Adorno, but may also maek him cri.

 

[Adorno]

Christ!

In a modern world Maverick almost transcends the classic war movie propaganda.
It exists in its own fantasy world, like superhero movies, and I see it as such: fantasy entertainment.
But criticising the war propaganda is totally legitimate - with this movie and all the others.

 

[Adorno]

Danish Billiards Union did a routine alcohol test before an elite division match.
Turned out 3 out of 4 players had too much alcohol in their blood to play.
The 4th. player refused to be tested and was also given a 2 day quarantine

(Danish) https://www.dr.dk/sporten/seneste-s...ddeler-karantaener-efter-dumpede-alkoholtests

 

[Orion]

Wait, too much? I figured they'd be barred from playing if they hadn't had enough. What else are you supposed to do while playing any form of billiards?

 

[NPC99]

Twitter’s recommendation algorithm is open source, revealing that it tracks four groups: power_user, republican, democrat and elon.

“According to Twitter's own explanation of how this metric tracking is being used, if an algorithm change benefited an entire group of users, but negatively impacted the group made up solely of Elon Musk, it would not implement that algorithm change.”

https://mashable.com/article/twitter-releases-algorithm-showing-it-tracks-elon-musk-tweets

 

[Mad Vader]

The level of unintended comedy is too great here. The radio song is featured in the anime and makes all the anime boys cry, so it's supposed to be an emotional footage.
https://www.reddit.com/r/cyberpunkg...going_to_the_movies_with_rogue_and_this_song/

 

[NPC99]

‘We’ve got no plan. What will we do?’: Boris Johnson ‘shock at Brexit result’ revealed in new book

 

[Adorno]

It's hard to believe Johnson would react that way. He's much too arrogant or indifferent.

‘The Little Mermaid’ Criticized By Prominent Diversity Advocate For Its “Dangerous” Erasure Of Slavery

Disney should have referenced Caribbean slavery in the 'The Little Mermaid,' according to top diversity advocate Marcus Ryder.

deadline.com

“Setting the fantastical story in this time and place is literally the equivalent of setting a love story between Jew and Gentile in 1940 Germany and ignoring the Jewish holocaust.”

 

[Mad Vader]

Marcuses are literally writing propaganda for the (far) right and alienating neutral voters from the moderate left. **** those people and their echo chambers.

 

[NPC99]

Unreal combat footage

 

[Mad Vader]

Lord British is still somehow relevant!
Titanic debacle news excerpt:

Underwater sounds can come from a variety of sources but the reports have sparked hope in some, including Richard Garriott de Cayeux, the president of The Explorers Club who said it had “much greater confidence” now after speaking to officials in Congress, the US military and the White House.

Spoiler: Sadly, can't find him posing in tights, but this will do

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Also hearing "banging noises" is hilarious in a dark way. *giggle*