I was raised Catholic so I think I understand a bit.

In 2019 the US withdrew from the US/Russia treaty that forbade the use of these kinds of weapons, the INF Treaty. It could simply be that the R&D and ground crew training for these new weapons wasn’t complete until recently.

The natopedia article on the Oreshnik is masterfully propagandistic. It opens with:

Oreshnik (Russian: Орешник, lit. ‘Hazel tree’),[2] according to Russian president Vladimir Putin, is a Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).

Before even describing what it is, the writer wanted to plant in the reader’s mind “you can’t trust anything that inscrutable person says!”

It was later reported that the strike likely did not contain any explosives, and was done merely for political purposes.[8]

I’d think that having 36 big blocks of white-hot metal coming through one’s roof at mach 10 is just a teeny bit more than a political stunt.

Fascinating stuff, thanks!

Churches being able to administer social services and other horrible shit.

Let me guess - only the “correct” kind of churches, too? Only the ones that are quieter on the tolerance thing and louder on the duty thing perhaps?

surrealist cyberpunk-ish dark comedy

Comrade, that is my jam.

Thank you!

Thanks, I’ll give them all a shot! I am a little familiar with the Magdalene laundries but I’ve never delved deep into the topic.

So I got around to watching that “Transformers One” movie. Was it written by an LLM?

“Conventionalized ICBMs” wasn’t on my 2024 bingo card of horror, but here we are.

Paul Verhoeven understood the assignment. It is seriously good satire. Unfortunately a lot of the moviegoing audience at the time didn’t.

Using the word “complexion” to describe a neighbourhood, especially in combination with opposition to apartment building construction.

Launches just after sunset or just before sunrise are always a treat. The sunlight catches the expanding exhaust gases from the main engines and thrusters, and lights up the gases while the sky is still dark to us. They’re often called a “space jellyfish”.

We really ought to watch Dr. Strangelove on the hextube sometime.

🎶 We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when! 🎶

My favourite local indie theatre is showing “Showgirls” tonight. I’m not feeling well so I probably won’t get to go, but it sounds like a fun time.

I haven’t found many technical details on this test. It seems to be roughly equivalent to NASA’s BEAM module now attached to the ISS. BEAM was originally just going to be a temporary test, but it’s worked so well that it’s been left permanently attached and is used for cargo storage. “Inflatable” is the common reporter jargon but “unfoldable” is more accurate.

I understand the urge to use insults against those who deserve them. But it’s helpful when discussing news for the reader to understand what you’re talking about. Maybe we can all talk like adults so that people aren’t reading posts in confusion, wondering what the fuck a “diaper fart” is referring to.

Honestly Biden is a contender for worst American politician in history. His entire adult life has been him delivering pain to the American working class in the service of his Wall Street masters. His presidency is just a small part of his crimes.

Nobody has a cowboy hat in the original poster.

Miss Vickie’s “Sweet & Spicy Ketchup”.

The project plans to send up 15,000 satellites by 2030.

Yeah, that’s this project. I wish them luck, but they’ll need something like 300 to 400 launches (depending on exact inclinations, more polar launches means more launches required) to complete that constellation. 60 to 80 launches per year is extremely expensive without at least reusable first stages. I don’t think they can make it work with just disposable Long March 6A rockets unless they start assembly-lining the 6A production. They’d also need to build more 6A towers at Taiyuan, or add 6A facilities and towers to the other spaceports, or both.