It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, it's back - another dose of news and not-so-news from around the world - and beyond.
Please remember that, when it comes to the state of the world, not everyone will agree with you. You're free to state, discuss, and defend your viewpoint (provided it does not violate the Constitution), but please don't use that fact to attack others.
Fandom News
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Over in comic-books, Dark Nights: Metal has begun, a series which promises to be absolutely bananas. Evil Batman-themed AU Justice League? Inexplicable giant robot? The return of old, vanished characters, including one coming over from one of the best comic series of all time? Yes plz.
(Note that I do not actually read comics on publication, but someday this will make it into the library system, and I shall claim it.)
Silly News
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Back in 2014, a coronal mass ejection left the sun and swept across the solar system. By sheer fluke, its path took it across not just one, but ten of our spaceships - everything from the Curiousity rover to Voyager 2, right out on the edge (it took a year and a half to get that far!). And, in the biggest accidental experiment of all time, all of those probes were able to detect the speed and density of the CME, giving us a clear look at its entire lifespan. The article was published this week.
Serious News
I'm not going to put up a picture for this.
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A week ago, a large crowd of neo-Nazis and their supporters gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia for a rally in support of racism, prejudice, and, ultimately, genocide. They brought guns. They brought Confederate flags, symbols of a nation which died in its attempts to maintain slavery as an institution. They brought Hitler salutes, Nazi chants, and they brought a man who was happy to ram his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one.
Afterward, the President of the United States made it clear that he found both sides - the neo-Nazis and the counter-protesters - responsible for the violence that ensued. I can see the logic behind that, in that the counter-protesters also came armed (though not with guns), and according to the linked article, started the violence at some points. And, y'know what, I'm personally inclined against the idea that starting a fight with neo-Nazis is the best way to deal with them, though again, I can understand why other people think differently. But let me be entirely clear: the counter-protesters were precisely as responsible and culpable for the violence in Charlottesville as the Allies were on the beaches of Normandy in 1944.
Not News
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If you're a fan of the Civilisation games, specifically Civ 4, then you might be interested in the third season of Civ 4 AI Survivor, a livestreamed/written-up-afterwards tournament with every AI in the game fighting it out for the crown of Best AI. I can't speak for his livestreams, but Sullla's written reports are an absolute delight to read. (To be entirely clear: I have nothing to do with this project, I just think it's cool.)
hS