Post Archive

Region: The Confederacy of Free Nations

History

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:I would say not much. At least that's how I see it.

Fair enough. Theresa May is using the distraction of the royal wedding to stuff the House of Lords with extra Tory peers to stop the chamber voting against so much of her Brexit BS.

Penguania And Antarctica

Nuremgard wrote:Fair enough. Theresa May is using the distraction of the royal wedding to stuff the House of Lords with extra Tory peers to stop the chamber voting against so much of her Brexit BS.

What do you think should happen to the House of Lords? Should it be abolished? Should it be turned into a democratic upper house, or should it be turned into a technocratic upper house made up of only the People's Peers?

Nuremgard

Nuremgard wrote:Fair enough. Theresa May is using the distraction of the royal wedding to stuff the House of Lords with extra Tory peers to stop the chamber voting against so much of her Brexit BS.

Hmm. That's devious.

Nuremgard, Jaslandia, Lex Caledonia

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Hmm. That's devious.

Delightfully devilish, Theresa!

Nuremgard, Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Hmm. That's devious.

That's the Tories for you! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Nuremgard, Penguania And Antarctica

Gualimole wrote:What do you think should happen to the House of Lords? Should it be abolished? Should it be turned into a democratic upper house, or should it be turned into a technocratic upper house made up of only the People's Peers?

Hmm. Well I don't believe in having an aristocracy so I dislike the very idea of the Lords, especially since they're hereditary and politically appointed party stooges. But they have been good in opposing Brexit recently. I think having it be democratically elected would just turn it into another polarised Commons. So I'd say a technocratic house of experts would be best.

The West Country

Nuremgard wrote:Hmm. Well I don't believe in having an aristocracy so I dislike the very idea of the Lords, especially since they're hereditary and politically appointed party stooges. But they have been good in opposing Brexit recently. I think having it be democratically elected would just turn it into another polarised Commons. So I'd say a technocratic house of experts would be best.

In the US, our upper house is democratically elected and is only slightly less polarized than our lower house.

Nuremgard

Gualimole wrote:In the US, our upper house is democratically elected and is only slightly less polarized than our lower house.

I might be more prone to a democratically elected upper house if it was done via PR. But then again, I think the Commons should be elected via PR. If the Commons was elected with PR, I'd want a technocratic upper house.

Jaslandia

Nuremgard wrote:I might be more prone to a democratically elected upper house if it was done via PR. But then again, I think the Commons should be elected via PR. If the Commons was elected with PR, I'd want a technocratic upper house.

But wouldn't PR take away power from local communities, especially those outside of England? Why not elect the Commons using MMP or STV?

Gualimole wrote:But wouldn't PR take away power from local communities, especially those outside of England? Why not elect the Commons using MMP or STV?

I don't see how it would take away power from local communities. We'd still have local councils. MMP is okay but I'm not overly keen on it. That's what we have in Scotland. It's better than FPTP though. STV is a good choice though.

Axeldonia

It seems Bavaria gets it's modern day version of the Stasi.

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:It seems Bavaria gets it's modern day version of the Stasi.

Why's that?

Penguania And Antarctica

Nuremgard wrote:I don't see how it would take away power from local communities. We'd still have local councils. MMP is okay but I'm not overly keen on it. That's what we have in Scotland. It's better than FPTP though. STV is a good choice though.

It would take power away from local communities on the national level because you would simply have one election throughout the entire nation instead of having various different elections in different parts of the country that then decide the makeup of the Commons. However, now that I think about it, that problem could be solved in large part by giving each constituent country a certain number of seats in Parliament with each constituent country having its own separate election under PR to decide the makeup of the Commons. That's very similar to what Iraq has done in its implementation of PR.

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:It seems Bavaria gets it's modern day version of the Stasi.

Who needs Stasi when the NSA is already spying on your country and its government?

Nuremgard, The West Country

Gualimole wrote:It would take power away from local communities on the national level because you would simply have one election throughout the entire nation instead of having various different elections in different parts of the country that then decide the makeup of the Commons. However, now that I think about it, that problem could be solved in large part by giving each constituent country a certain number of seats in Parliament with each constituent country having its own separate election under PR to decide the makeup of the Commons. That's very similar to what Iraq has done in its implementation of PR.

I've heard people say constituencies should be made up with reference to population sizes rather than the nations of the UK. But I refuse to have Scotland reduced to a "region" of Britain.

Axeldonia, Gualimole

Nuremgard wrote:I've heard people say constituencies should be made up with reference to population sizes rather than the nations of the UK. But I refuse to have Scotland reduced to a "region" of Britain.

Isn't that kind of how it already works?

Gualimole wrote:Isn't that kind of how it already works?

Not necessarily. Some unionists like to claim that Britain is a country and that Scotland, England etc. are simply regions of Britain. But that's not how the Act of Union works. It's a union between two kingdoms, two countries with their own legal systems, education systems and churches. Scotland is a devolved nation, not a devolved region.

There were attempts after the union to try and turn Scotland into Greater England. This was done through cultural imperialism such as naming places and army units in Scotland "North British..." An example of this is the Millennium Hotel was once known as the North British Hotel. But they failed to stamp out people's distinct feeling of Scottish-ness. This sense of Scottish-ness only became enhanced after Thatcher's deindustrialisation policies. The loss of people's identity which they had through their work increased the desire for more political autonomy in Scotland.

Blair and Labour reconvened the Scottish Parliament in an attempt to "kill nationalism stone dead." This backfired. The genie is out of the bottle and is not going back in, no matter how much unionists or the Westminster establishment wishes it would. That's why May is using Brexit as a way of grabbing power for Westminster. It's a way to destroy devolution by the backdoor and render the Scottish Parliament toothless, perhaps to a point where they hope Scots will actively support its abolition.

Axeldonia

Gualimole wrote:Isn't that kind of how it already works?

It's a whole complicated deal at the moment. Each nation in the UK has a 4 dude boundary commission who draw that sh!t based on a series of criteria including having each constituency be no bigger than 13,000 square km and each having to be within an electoral quota of 5% which is this whole complex deal with electors and electors are figured out by dividing the electoral register by the number of constituencies not including non-mainland constituencies like the Shetland islands. And then after that you have exceptions, and they're not allowed to inconvenience people a whole bunch, and they gotta try to make each constituency a nice shape, and respect local government boundaries if they can.

It's kinda dumb, really.

The West Country

Nuremgard wrote:Not necessarily. Some unionists like to claim that Britain is a country and that Scotland, England etc. are simply regions of Britain. But that's not how the Act of Union works. It's a union between two kingdoms, two countries with their own legal systems, education systems and churches. Scotland is a devolved nation, not a devolved region.

There were attempts after the union to try and turn Scotland into Greater England. This was done through cultural imperialism such as naming places and army units in Scotland "North British..." An example of this is the Millennium Hotel was once known as the North British Hotel. But they failed to stamp out people's distinct feeling of Scottish-ness. This sense of Scottish-ness only became enhanced after Thatcher's deindustrialisation policies. The loss of people's identity which they had through their work increased the desire for more political autonomy in Scotland.

Blair and Labour reconvened the Scottish Parliament in an attempt to "kill nationalism stone dead." This backfired. The genie is out of the bottle and is not going back in, no matter how much unionists or the Westminster establishment wishes it would. That's why May is using Brexit as a way of grabbing power for Westminster. It's a way to destroy devolution by the backdoor and render the Scottish Parliament toothless, perhaps to a point where they hope Scots will actively support its abolition.

But the constituencies are already made up taking population into account. Doesn't every British constituency have about 100,000 people in it?

Gualimole wrote:But the constituencies are already made up taking population into account. Doesn't every British constituency have about 100,000 people in it?

I don't know the numbers. Unf talks about constituencies above.

Unfallious wrote:It's a whole complicated deal at the moment. Each nation in the UK has a 4 dude boundary commission who draw that sh!t based on a series of criteria including having each constituency be no bigger than 13,000 square km and each having to be within an electoral quota of 5% which is this whole complex deal with electors and electors are figured out by dividing the electoral register by the number of constituencies not including non-mainland constituencies like the Shetland islands. And then after that you have exceptions, and they're not allowed to inconvenience people a whole bunch, and they gotta try to make each constituency a nice shape, and respect local government boundaries if they can.

It's kinda dumb, really.

At least your constituencies aren't decided on by legislators, which is what most of the US has to deal with. However, fortunately, some states have their districts (the American equivalent of constituencies) redrawn by nonpartisan or bipartisan redistricting commissions. I happen to live in a state like that, fortunately. California is also unique for its two-round voting system.

Gualimole wrote:At least your constituencies aren't decided on by legislators, which is what most of the US has to deal with. However, fortunately, some states have their districts (the American equivalent of constituencies) redrawn by nonpartisan or bipartisan redistricting commissions. I happen to live in a state like that, fortunately. California is also unique for its two-round voting system.

Our boundary commissions are still influenced by politics. The Tories have been accused of gerrymandering the constituencies to suit their party. I heard they are reducing the number of MPs from 650 to 600 at some point.

Gualimole wrote:At least your constituencies aren't decided on by legislators, which is what most of the US has to deal with. However, fortunately, some states have their districts (the American equivalent of constituencies) redrawn by nonpartisan or bipartisan redistricting commissions. I happen to live in a state like that, fortunately. California is also unique for its two-round voting system.

Yeah, gerrymandering in the UK has been pretty difficult to do since they introduced boundary commissions. It used to be quite ridiculous, though. In the UK you're technically allowed to have designate some constituencies as being able to return 2 MPs and, until 1955, many did. In the 1800s this was routinely abused so that all the London constituencies were tiny and returned 2 MPs whilst the rest of Britain made do with large constituencies returning 1 MP.

Jaslandia, The West Country

Nuremgard wrote:Our boundary commissions are still influenced by politics. The Tories have been accused of gerrymandering the constituencies to suit their party. I heard they are reducing the number of MPs from 650 to 600 at some point.

That's supposed to conclude this year, actually. Its been ongoing since 2013.

Nuremgard wrote:Our boundary commissions are still influenced by politics. The Tories have been accused of gerrymandering the constituencies to suit their party. I heard they are reducing the number of MPs from 650 to 600 at some point.

Still better than what the US has. And BTW, are your boundary commissions nonpartisan?

Unfallious wrote:That's supposed to conclude this year, actually. Its been ongoing since 2013.

They should be reducing the size of the Lords, not the Commons.

Gualimole wrote:Still better than what the US has. And BTW, are your boundary commissions nonpartisan?

I have no clue who draws the constituencies in the UK.

Gualimole wrote:Still better than what the US has. And BTW, are your boundary commissions nonpartisan?

There's a different commission for each of the home countries and I believe they're all nonpartisan. The Speaker of the Commons is included in each commission, but he doesn't partake in the proceedings and a Justice takes his place instead.

Gualimole, The West Country

Unfallious wrote:There's a different commission for each of the home countries and I believe they're all nonpartisan. The Speaker of the Commons is included in each commission, but he doesn't partake in the proceedings and a Justice takes his place instead.

Who makes sure these people are nonpartisan? Who picks them? Who are they?

Nuremgard wrote:Who makes sure these people are nonpartisan? Who picks them? Who are they?

The Chairman is appointed by the Lord Chancellor, so that's political, but they must also be a High Court Justice. The rest of the commission is actually selected through some sort of public appointments process which I'm not familiar on.

Unfallious wrote:There's a different commission for each of the home countries and I believe they're all nonpartisan. The Speaker of the Commons is included in each commission, but he doesn't partake in the proceedings and a Justice takes his place instead.

Speaking of the Speaker, I think it's hilarious that May has launched an inquiry over his "stupid woman" remark but she "lost" the paedophile dossier.

Kiddies getting molested and raped? Totally fine. Someone making a vaguely misogynistic remarks? Release the hounds!

Nuremgard wrote:Why's that?

The state parliament approved a new police law that allows the police extensive observation and detention privileges without judicial warrants or orders. A "possible crime" is justification enough to do so. They say it's just to counter terrorism before it can take place.

They also want to establish a database of mentally ill people and give access to it to all state authorities. They say it's to make things easier for the mentally ill to get their bureaucracy work done. Critics warn that such a database could lead to discrimination and stigmatisation of mentally ill people. They also want to make treatment against the will of the mentally ill easier.

Nuremgard

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:The state parliament approved a new police law that allows the police extensive observation and detention privileges without judicial warrants or orders. A "possible crime" is justification enough to do so. They say it's just to counter terrorism before it can take place.

They also want to establish a database of mentally ill people and give access to it to all state authorities. They say it's to make things easier for the mentally ill to get their bureaucracy work done. Critics warn that such a database could lead to discrimination and stigmatisation of mentally ill people. They also want to make treatment against the will of the mentally ill easier.

Sounds very sinister. I hope they repeal all that at some point.

Penguania And Antarctica

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:The state parliament approved a new police law that allows the police extensive observation and detention privileges without judicial warrants or orders. A "possible crime" is justification enough to do so. They say it's just to counter terrorism before it can take place.

They also want to establish a database of mentally ill people and give access to it to all state authorities. They say it's to make things easier for the mentally ill to get their bureaucracy work done. Critics warn that such a database could lead to discrimination and stigmatisation of mentally ill people. They also want to make treatment against the will of the mentally ill easier.

If it prevents terrorism, then good enough for the first. Still, here's hoping they avoid falling down that particular slope >.>

Nuremgard wrote:Sounds very sinister. I hope they repeal all that at some point.

Some parties and some other organisations already lodged a constitutional complaint at the Federal Constitutional Court

Kalaron wrote:If it prevents terrorism, then good enough for the first. Still, here's hoping they avoid falling down that particular slope >.>

They can arrest anyone regardless of the severity of the crime they could commit. Like they could technically arrest me for a crime they think I'm going to commit in the near future but they can't say with certainty. So if they think I could burgle a house they could arrest me for an undefined amount of time without a judical warrant. They also can observe my home with thechnical means (microphones, cameras, wiretap), my computer and general telecommunication without a judical order.

Nuremgard, Axeldonia

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Some parties and some other organisations already lodged a constitutional complaint at the Federal Constitutional Court

They can arrest anyone regardless of the severity of the crime they could commit. Like they could technically arrest me for a crime they think I'm going to commit in the near future but they can't say with certainty. So if they think I could burgle a house they could arrest me for an undefined amount of time without a judical warrant. They also can observe my home with thechnical means (microphones, cameras, wiretap), my computer and general telecommunication without a judical order.

True enough, again, I hope they don't go down that particular road with this, though I can defo see it's applications with regards to preventing terror attacks.

Kalaron wrote:True enough, again, I hope they don't go down that particular road with this, though I can defo see it's applications with regards to preventing terror attacks.

If you ask me it has features that remind me of "Minority Report"

Alruniea, Nuremgard, Axeldonia

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:The state parliament approved a new police law that allows the police extensive observation and detention privileges without judicial warrants or orders. A "possible crime" is justification enough to do so. They say it's just to counter terrorism before it can take place.

Horrid and a clear act of tyranny.

Alruniea, Nuremgard, Axeldonia, Penguania And Antarctica, Mercunova

Sulania wrote:Horrid and a clear act of tyranny.

A satire magazine titled: "Bavaria aka the most Western part of Turkey"

Nuremgard, Jaslandia, Axeldonia, Mercunova, The West Country

Question to all:

Can you swim?

Jaslandia, Axeldonia, Percyton, The West Country

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Question to all:

Can you swim?

Yes but I haven't been swimming in years.

Penguania And Antarctica

Kalaron wrote:If it prevents terrorism, then good enough for the first. Still, here's hoping they avoid falling down that particular slope >.>

I'm surprised by your complacency with such an easily abusable law by an already authoritarian state government. Anti-terrorism laws have a very long history of being abused by governments, from Turkey to the United States.

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Question to all:

Can you swim?

Yep.

Jaslandia, Axeldonia, Penguania And Antarctica

[spoiler=Today is May 19 and today are:]

Today is May 19 and today are:

- Boys Club Day

- Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day (Turkey, Northern Cyprus)

- Do Dah Day

- Erev Shavuot (Judaism)

- Europe Day (Ukraine)

- Greek Genocide Remembrance Day (Greece)

- Hồ Chí Minh's Birthday (Vietnam)

- Malcolm X Day (United States)

- Mother's Day (Kyrgyzstan)

- National Armed Forces Day (United States)

- National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States)

- National Devil’s Food Cake Day (United States)

- National Hepatitis Testing Day (United States)

- National Learn to Swim Day (United States)

- National May Ray Day (United States)

- O. Henry Pun-Off Day

- Pentecost Eve (Western Christianity)

- Plant Something Da

- Preakness

- World Fiddle Day

- World Whisky Day

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=This day in history:]

This day in history:

- 0639 – Ashina Jiesheshuai and his tribesmen assaulted Emperor Taizong at Jiucheng Palace.

- 0715 – Pope Gregory II is elected.

- 1051 – Henry I of France is married to Anne of Kiev.

- 1445 – John II of Castile defeats the Infantes of Aragon at the First Battle of Olmedo.

- 1499 – Catherine of Aragon is married by proxy to Arthur, Prince of Wales. Catherine is 13 and Arthur is 12.

- 1535 – French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnacona's two sons (whom Cartier had kidnapped during his first voyage).

- 1536 – Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, is beheaded for adultery, treason, and incest.

- 1542 – The Prome Kingdom falls to the Taungoo Dynasty in present-day Burma.

- 1568 – Queen Elizabeth I of England orders the arrest of Mary, Queen of Scots.

- 1643 – Thirty Years' War: French forces under the duc d'Enghien decisively defeat Spanish forces at the Battle of Rocroi, marking the symbolic end of Spain as a dominant land power.

- 1649 – An Act of Parliament declaring England a Commonwealth is passed by the Long Parliament. England would be a republic for the next eleven years.

- 1655 – The Invasion of Jamaica begins during the Anglo-Spanish War.

- 1743 – Jean-Pierre Christin developed the centigrade temperature scale.

- 1749 – King George II of Great Britain grants the Ohio Company a charter of land around the forks of the Ohio River.

- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: A Continental Army garrison surrenders in the Battle of The Cedars.

- 1802 – Napoleon Bonaparte founds the Legion of Honour.

- 1828 – U.S. President John Quincy Adams signs the Tariff of 1828 into law, protecting wool manufacturers in the United States.

- 1845 – Captain Sir John Franklin and his ill-fated Arctic expedition depart from Greenhithe, England.

- 1848 – Mexican–American War: Mexico ratifies the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo thus ending the war and ceding California, Nevada, Utah and parts of four other modern-day U.S. states to the United States for US$15 million.

- 1911 – Parks Canada, the world's first national park service, is established as the Dominion Parks Branch under the Department of the Interior.

- 1917 – The Norwegian football club Rosenborg BK is founded.

- 1919 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk lands at Samsun on the Anatolian Black Sea coast, initiating what is later termed the Turkish War of Independence.

- 1921 – The United States Congress passes the Emergency Quota Act establishing national quotas on immigration.

- 1922 – The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union is established.

- 1934 – Zveno and the Bulgarian Army engineer a coup d'état and install Kimon Georgiev as the new Prime Minister of Bulgaria.

- 1942 – World War II: In the aftermath of the Battle of the Coral Sea, Task Force 16 heads to Pearl Harbor.

- 1950 – A barge containing munitions destined for Pakistan explodes in the harbor at South Amboy, New Jersey, devastating the city.

- 1950 – Egypt announces that the Suez Canal is closed to Israeli ships and commerce.

- 1959 – The North Vietnamese Army establishes Group 559, whose responsibility is to determine how to maintain supply lines to South Vietnam; the resulting route is the Ho Chi Minh trail.

- 1961 – Venera program: Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly-by another planet by passing Venus (the probe had lost contact with Earth a month earlier and did not send back any data).

- 1961 – At Silchar Railway Station, Assam, 11 Bengalis die when police open fire on protesters demanding state recognition of Bengali language in the Bengali Language Movement.

- 1962 – A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe's rendition of "Happy Birthday".

- 1963 – The New York Post Sunday Magazine publishes Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail.

- 1971 – Mars probe program: Mars 2 is launched by the Soviet Union.

- 1986 – The Firearm Owners Protection Act is signed into law by U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

- 1991 – Croatians vote for independence in a referendum.

- 1997 – The Sierra Gorda biosphere, the most ecologically diverse region in Mexico, is established as a result of grassroots efforts.

- 2007 – President of Romania Traian Băsescu survives an impeachment referendum and returns to office from suspension.

- 2010 – The Royal Thai Armed Forces concludes its crackdown on protests by forcing the surrender of United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship leaders.

- 2012 – Three gas cylinder bombs explode in front of a vocational school in the Italian city of Brindisi, killing one person and injuring five others.

- 2012 – A car bomb explodes near a military complex in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, killing nine people.

- 2015 – The Refugio oil spill deposited 142,800 U.S. gallons (3,400 barrels) of crude oil onto an area in California considered one of the most biologically diverse coastlines of the west coast.

- 2016 – EgyptAir Flight 804 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea while traveling from Paris to Cairo, killing all on board.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Famous Birthdays:]

Famous Birthdays:

- 1762 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher and academic

- 1861 – Nellie Melba, Australian soprano and actress

- 1881 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkish marshal and politician, 1st President of Turkey

- 1890 – Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese politician, 1st President of Vietnam

- 1893 – H. Bonciu, Romanian author, poet, and journalist

- 1898 – Julius Evola, Italian philosopher and painter

- 1909 – Nicholas Winton, English banker and humanitarian

- 1914 – Max Perutz, Austrian-English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

- 1925 – Malcolm X, American minister and activist

- 1925 – Pol Pot, Cambodian general and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Cambodia

- 1928 – Colin Chapman, English engineer and businessman, founded Lotus Cars

- 1941 – Nora Ephron, American director, producer, and screenwriter

- 1945 – Pete Townshend, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

- 1948 – Grace Jones, Jamaican-American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress

- 1955 – James Gosling, Canadian-American computer scientist, created Java

[/spoiler]

Facts of the day

- Even quitting smoking at the age of 60 or older could prolong your life.

- There's a massive abandoned supercollider in Texas.

- After water, Concrete is the most used substance in the world.

- About 60 million Reichmarks, equivalent to £125m today, was generated for the Nazi state by slave labour at Auschwitz during the Holocaust.

- Before Nazis used the salute commonly referred to as the ‘Hitler Salute,' Americans did it while saying the Pledge of Allegiance, called the Bellamy salute.

- "Rain of fish" is an annual weather event in which hundreds of fish rain from the sky onto the city Yoro in Honduras.

Quote of the day

My motto is: Contented with little, yet wishing for more.

- English Critic (1775-1834) -

Note: Penguania_And_Antarctica assumes no responsibility or guarantee for correctness of any given information. Any recourse to courts of law is excluded.

Jaslandia, Axeldonia, Lex Caledonia, Mercunova, Percyton, The British Islands Confederacy

Nuremgard wrote:Yes but I haven't been swimming in years.

Same. And it's a shame.

Nuremgard

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Question to all:

Can you swim?

I haven't swum for over a decade because of how I once almost drowned, which caused me to develop a fear of swimming.

Penguania And Antarctica

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Question to all:

Can you swim?

Yes

Alruniea wrote:I'm surprised by your complacency with such an easily abusable law by an already authoritarian state government. Anti-terrorism laws have a very long history of being abused by governments, from Turkey to the United States.

Eh. Like I said, my hope is that they don't go down that path, but if it's used solely to target terrorists before they can finish their attempt then it's all good.

Penguania And Antarctica

An Act entitled the Political Organization (Reform) Act 2018 has passed in Parliament, thereby repealing the Political Organization Act and amending the Chartered Organization Act.

Bearlong, Mercunova

Is Shakespeare's "Richard II" worth to read?

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Is Shakespeare's "Richard II" worth to read?

Richard III is better but II is definitely worth a read.

Penguania And Antarctica

Gualimole wrote:Is this a new meme?

New this meme is a?

Bearlong wrote:Anything, as long as it isn't trains.

Gualimole wrote:Jas is offended.

What's that supposed to mean?

Just for that, train talk time! Best Big Four company? Outer or inner locomotive frames? City of Truro or Flying Scotsman? Go!

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Question to all:

Can you swim?

Yes. Considering I live in Florida, and my house has its own pool, I kinda have to know how to swim.

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:

- O. Henry Pun-Off Day

Oh, Henry! Why would Henry create this holiday? jk

Axeldonia, Penguania And Antarctica, Percyton

Kalaron wrote:Eh. Like I said, my hope is that they don't go down that path, but if it's used solely to target terrorists before they can finish their attempt then it's all good.

The problem is that it will go down that path. There hasn't been one example of unabused anti-terrorist laws in human history.

Axeldonia, The West Country

Jaslandia wrote:What's that supposed to mean?

I was responding to Bear saying, "Anything, as long as it isn't trains."

Alruniea wrote:The problem is that it will go down that path. There hasn't been one example of unabused anti-terrorist laws in human history.

Sure, depending on the level of abuse I might consider it bad later.

I'm not privy to the situation in Germany, nor on the law enforcement's opinion of it there. Depending on their situation and opinion I might be swayed, but for the moment I'll say "Maybe".

Gualimole wrote:I was responding to Bear saying, "Anything, as long as it isn't trains."

My comment was more directed toward Bear anyway.

Jaslandia wrote:Yes. Considering I live in Florida, and my house has its own pool, I kinda have to know how to swim.

Uh nice. #AthleticSwimmingJas

Tho there are people that have a pool and can't swim.

Jaslandia

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Uh nice. #AthleticSwimmingJas

Tho there are people that have a pool and can't swim.

I wouldn't call myself an 'athletic swimmer', but the title is appreciated. And I know not everyone can swim or has their own pool, but I think both pools and swimming skills are more common here in Florida than in other places.

Penguania And Antarctica

Jaslandia wrote:I wouldn't call myself an 'athletic swimmer', but the title is appreciated. And I know not everyone can swim or has their own pool, but I think both pools and swimming skills are more common here in Florida than in other places.

As kid you can do a test over here. You have to make jump into the pool from its edge and swim 25 meters. And you have to pick up an object with your hands in shoulder-high water. You get a certificate and a patch you can sew on your swimwear. Because the patch depicts a seahorse the test is commonly refered to as "Seepferdchenprüfung" (sea horse test).

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/thumb/f/f4/Seepferd.svg/240px-Seepferd.svg.png

Jaslandia, Percyton

So, apparently I'm 9th for most rebellious youth? Well, I guess I'm not TOO surprised. The children of Sodor have gotten into a lot of trouble over the years. Like when a group of boys threw stones at Henry and his coaches, or when a couple of boys fiddled with James' controls and caused him to become a runaway.

https://youtu.be/yJtef4CDX9U

https://youtu.be/8wznS5bBjSI

https://youtu.be/AVd1B25LWi8

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Question to all:

Can you swim?

Sorta. Let's just say I've had mixed experiences with water.

https://youtu.be/2vhzJbZ5S2I

https://youtu.be/tubevUGMTWQ

https://youtu.be/DaFGVIhUfVk

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:

- 1961 – At Silchar Railway Station, Assam, 11 Bengalis die when police open fire on protesters demanding state recognition of Bengali language in the Bengali Language Movement.

How awful! Railway stations are supposed to be places of connection and togetherness, or at the very least, places where people can quickly catch a ride from one place to another. Not places to kill peaceful protestors! I know I'd be shocked if the police opened fire on protesters in front of Knapford Station! My condolences to all the victims of this tragedy.

Jaslandia wrote:

Just for that, train talk time! Best Big Four company? Outer or inner locomotive frames? City of Truro or Flying Scotsman? Go!

Duck: 1. The Great Western Railway, of course.

2. Outer frames

3. City of Truro

Duck: That was easy.

Gordon: I disagree with everything you just said!

Duck: Of course you do, Gordon. Let me guess: LNER, inner frames, and Flying Scotsman?

Gordon: Of course! Those are the preferences of a proper engine!

Arthur: It's always LNER or GWR on this island. Isn't there any love for the LMS here?

Rosie: Or the Southern Railway, for that matter?

Gordon: The Southern Railway? Ha! Don't be ridiculous, Rosie! Who cares about the runt of the Big Four? If it were up to me, it would be called 'the Big Three and the Southern Railway'.

Rosie: It's still my old railway, and I think it deserves more respect.

Neville: It's my old railway too, and I agree with her.

Gordon: The fact that the Southern Railway put out ugly ducklings like you is hardly an argument in the SR's favor, Neville.

Neville: Hey! I take offense to that!

Rosie: Actually, he's got you there. Your class really were called ugly ducklings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR_Q1_class

Neville: Drat!

Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:As kid you can do a test over here. You have to make jump into the pool from its edge and swim 25 meters. And you have to pick up an object with your hands in shoulder-high water. You get a certificate and a patch you can sew on your swimwear. Because the patch depicts a seahorse the test is commonly refered to as "Seepferdchenprüfung" (sea horse test).

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/thumb/f/f4/Seepferd.svg/240px-Seepferd.svg.png

Interesting. Didn't know that. Does the test give you any sort of certification or license to swim, or is mainly a show of you skill level?

Penguania And Antarctica, Percyton

Jaslandia wrote:Interesting. Didn't know that. Does the test give you any sort of certification or license to swim, or is mainly a show of you skill level?

You get an 'early swimmer certificate'. Tho it's recommended that parents still practice swimming with their kids to improve their skills and make them safe swimmers.

https://shop.dlrg.de/var/harmony/storage/images/dlrg_thumb_big/1/2/2/-12201300_dlrg_thumb_big.png

Jaslandia, Percyton

Continental Commonwealths wrote:An Act entitled the Political Organization (Reform) Act 2018 has passed in Parliament, thereby repealing the Political Organization Act and amending the Chartered Organization Act.

There are many who I would like to thank: Unfallious and The Valleian Orders for their countless hours of discussion and ideas for amendment, many of which ended up in the final Act. I would also like to thank the Chancellor, Mercunova, for ensuring his - and his Government's - support of this Act even while it was in the more conceptual stages in addition to his uncanny ability to put up with all my other bs ideas that may or may not be proposed soon. I also wish to thank everyone who came out to vote.

Mercunova

Percyton wrote:

Duck: 1. The Great Western Railway, of course.

2. Outer frames

3. City of Truro

Duck: That was easy.

Gordon: I disagree with everything you just said!

Duck: Of course you do, Gordon. Let me guess: LNER, inner frames, and Flying Scotsman?

Gordon: Of course! Those are the preferences of a proper engine!

Arthur: It's always LNER or GWR on this island. Isn't there any love for the LMS here?

Rosie: Or the Southern Railway, for that matter?

Gordon: The Southern Railway? Ha! Don't be ridiculous, Rosie! Who cares about the runt of the Big Four? If it were up to me, it would be called 'the Big Three and the Southern Railway'.

Rosie: It's still my old railway, and I think it deserves more respect.

Neville: It's my old railway too, and I agree with her.

Gordon: The fact that the Southern Railway put out ugly ducklings like you is hardly an argument in the SR's favor, Neville.

Neville: Hey! I take offense to that!

Rosie: Actually, he's got you there. Your class really were called ugly ducklings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR_Q1_class

Neville: Drat!

Speaking of the LNER, apparently it's being revived to replace two of the East Coast Main Line's private train operating companies.

https://thelincolnite.co.uk/2018/05/lner-13-things-need-know/

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/19/chris-grayling-east-coast-mainline-nationalisation

Penguania And Antarctica, Percyton

I have remade Westeros and got rid of Shazria.

Penguania And Antarctica

Nuremgard wrote:I have remade Westeros and got rid of Shazria.

Fickle fvck

Nuremgard, Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica

Mercunova wrote:Fickle fvck

Fire & Blood, baby.

Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica, Mercunova

Jaslandia wrote:Speaking of the LNER, apparently it's being revived to replace two of the East Coast Main Line's private train operating companies.

https://thelincolnite.co.uk/2018/05/lner-13-things-need-know/

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/19/chris-grayling-east-coast-mainline-nationalisation

Gordon: Ah ha! The LNER lives on!

Duck: Beg pardon Gordon, but the Great Western revived itself long before Grayling even thought of reviving the LNER.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Western_Railway_(train_operating_company)

Duck: Although, I personally think this new Great Western is a far cry from the glory days of the old GWR, I imagine you'll find the same thing with this new LNER.

Gordon: We shall see about that...

Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica

Today is probably one of the happiest days of my life

Jaslandia, Vista Major, Penguania And Antarctica, Mercunova

Au Minbo wrote:Today is probably one of the happiest days of my life

What makes you say that?

Penguania And Antarctica

Jaslandia wrote:What makes you say that?

Only a game I have been waiting 10 years for was announced.

Paradox Development Studio announced the creation of Imperator: Rome, a spiritual successor to Europa Universalis: Rome, one of the first computer video games I ever played and probably still #3 on my favorite Paradox games ever

Jaslandia, Vista Major, Penguania And Antarctica, Lex Caledonia, Mercunova, Confederal States, The West Country

Au Minbo wrote:Only a game I have been waiting 10 years for was announced.

Paradox Development Studio announced the creation of Imperator: Rome, a spiritual successor to Europa Universalis: Rome, one of the first computer video games I ever played and probably still #3 on my favorite Paradox games ever

Ah yes, I've heard about that. Not a big Paradox player, but I am a big Rome buff, so I might get that game when I have the money.

Penguania And Antarctica

Au Minbo wrote:Only a game I have been waiting 10 years for was announced.

Paradox Development Studio announced the creation of Imperator: Rome, a spiritual successor to Europa Universalis: Rome, one of the first computer video games I ever played and probably still #3 on my favorite Paradox games ever

I assume it'll be the same Paradox style of real-time strategy?

Penguania And Antarctica, The West Country

Jaslandia wrote:I assume it'll be the same Paradox style of real-time strategy?

It shall. From what Ive seen/heard/inferred Im betting it will be more similar to Crusader Kings: II with aspects of Victoria II (Population/ pops). Both great games and #s 1 and 2 on my favorites of theirs.

Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica

Au Minbo wrote:It shall. From what Ive seen/heard/inferred Im betting it will be more similar to Crusader Kings: II with aspects of Victoria II (Population/ pops). Both great games and #s 1 and 2 on my favorites of theirs.

Alright. I have CKII, so I'm familiar with that style.

Penguania And Antarctica

Legalises gay marriage > crime increases.

I guess the faithful didn't like that so they broke the law to make their displeasure known.

Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica

Nuremgard wrote:Legalises gay marriage > crime increases.

I guess the faithful didn't like that so they broke the law to make their displeasure known.

That, or those new gay weddings are really crazy.

Bearlong, Nuremgard, Penguania And Antarctica

Au Minbo wrote:It shall. From what Ive seen/heard/inferred Im betting it will be more similar to Crusader Kings: II with aspects of Victoria II (Population/ pops). Both great games and #s 1 and 2 on my favorites of theirs.

I’d love Victoria III

Penguania And Antarctica

The West Country wrote:I’d love Victoria III

https://chapelcomic.com/i/84.jpg

The West Country wrote:I’d love Victoria III

Check out this poll.

https://wingsoverscotland.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/engfed.jpg

This is not to bait you. I am genuinely curious. What do you think can be done, if anything, to save the UK if this is the majority view among England's residents?

Penguania And Antarctica

Au Minbo wrote:Only a game I have been waiting 10 years for was announced.

Paradox Development Studio announced the creation of Imperator: Rome, a spiritual successor to Europa Universalis: Rome, one of the first computer video games I ever played and probably still #3 on my favorite Paradox games ever

MUH DIIIIIIIIIIIICK

Nuremgard, Penguania And Antarctica, Mercunova

Lex Caledonia wrote:MUH DIIIIIIIIIIIICK

Can I see it? :P

Penguania And Antarctica, Lex Caledonia, Mercunova

Nuremgard wrote:Can I see it? :P

simmer doon

Nuremgard, Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica, Mercunova, The Scottish Twins, The West Country

Lex Caledonia wrote:simmer doon

What does that even mean?

Penguania And Antarctica

Au Minbo wrote:Only a game I have been waiting 10 years for was announced.

Paradox Development Studio announced the creation of Imperator: Rome, a spiritual successor to Europa Universalis: Rome, one of the first computer video games I ever played and probably still #3 on my favorite Paradox games ever

EXCITE

Vista Major, Penguania And Antarctica

Gualimole wrote:What does that even mean?

It's a Scottish way of saying calm down.

Penguania And Antarctica, The Scottish Twins

Nuremgard wrote:It's a Scottish way of saying calm down.

Scots English should not be classified as a part of the English language anymore.

Gualimole wrote:Scots English should not be classified as a part of the English language anymore.

Simmer down is also used in American English. Douchebags in school used to tell me to simmer down all the time.

Penguania And Antarctica

Mercunova wrote:Simmer down is also used in American English. Douchebags in school used to tell me to simmer down all the time.

Lex said "simmer doon," not "simmer down." It's the "doon" part that confused me.

Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica, Mercunova

Gualimole wrote:Lex said "simmer doon," not "simmer down." It's the "doon" part that confused me.

Doon is just the Scottish slang way of saying down.

Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica, The Scottish Twins, Gualimole

Gualimole wrote:Lex said "simmer doon," not "simmer down." It's the "doon" part that confused me.

If you think that's bad, you should see how Donald and Douglas talk. Lex and Nurem speak perfectly normally by comparison.

Penguania And Antarctica, The Scottish Twins

Jaslandia wrote:If you think that's bad, you should see how Donald and Douglas talk. Lex and Nurem speak perfectly normally by comparison.

Trains can't talk, you wee man.

Nuremgard, Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica

Gualimole wrote:Lex said "simmer doon," not "simmer down." It's the "doon" part that confused me.

Ah, alright

Jaslandia wrote:If you think that's bad, you should see how Donald and Douglas talk. Lex and Nurem speak perfectly normally by comparison.

Oh jesus

Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica

Gualimole wrote:Trains can't talk, you wee man.

Hey. Do not offend highly respected members of our community.

Russkov Soviet, Jaslandia, The Scottish Twins

Nuremgard wrote:Doon is just the Scottish slang way of saying down.

It's a common North-East expression, too.

Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica, The Scottish Twins

Penguania And Antarctica wrote:Hey. Do not offend highly respected members of our community.

Hey, I'm a wee man too!

Nuremgard, Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica

Unfallious wrote:It's a common North-East expression, too.

Fair enough.

The Scottish Twins

Nuremgard wrote:Fair enough.

I think Geordie borrows heavily from Scottish expressions in the borders. I'd go as far as to say it's more Scottish than Southern

The Scottish Twins

Unfallious wrote:I think Geordie borrows heavily from Scottish expressions in the borders. I'd go as far as to say it's more Scottish than Southern

I think some Northerners also use wean or bairn like Scots instead of kid.

Penguania And Antarctica, The Scottish Twins

Nuremgard wrote:I think some Northerners also use wean or bearn like Scots instead of kid.

Bairn was always my gran’s fav word

Penguania And Antarctica, The Scottish Twins

Lex Caledonia wrote:Bairn was always my gran’s fav word

Bairn is an east coast thing though. We don't use it here. We say wean.

Penguania And Antarctica

Gualimole wrote:Trains can't talk, you wee man.

Douglas: Och, ye dornt hink we're real, dae ye lassie? I'll hae ye know we're as real as can be!

Donald: Aye. An' if ye hae any doubts, jist come tae Sodor an' try tae say we're nae real efter we push some trucks ontae ye.

Douglas: Och aye. Fowk hae nae problem watchin' shows an' movies wi' talkin' animals, an' e'en ones wi' talkin' teddy bears! But somehaw real takin' trains are th' crazy ones.

Donald: A lot of pish, if ye ask me!

Russkov Soviet, Jaslandia, Penguania And Antarctica, Lex Caledonia

The Scottish Twins wrote:Douglas: Och, ye dornt hink we're real, dae ye lassie? I'll hae ye know we're as real as can be!

Donald: Aye. An' if ye hae any doubts, jist come tae Sodor an' try tae say we're nae real efter we push some trucks ontae ye.

Douglas: Och aye. Fowk hae nae problem watchin' shows an' movies wi' talkin' animals, an' e'en ones wi' talkin' teddy bears! But somehaw real takin' trains are th' crazy ones.

Donald: A lot of pish, if ye ask me!

I sometimes just have a feeling that I want the manager of these nations to come forward and tell us who they really are. Wouldn't that be interesting?

Penguania And Antarctica

Assembled with Dot's Region Saver.
Written by Refuge Isle.