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[TheBiggerFish]

I don't even what?

[Max™]

I don't even what?

Chryssalid's are terrible.

[smjjames]

I don't even what?

Chryssalid's are terrible.

Could you seriously have an 'alien artifact' turn out to be a bar of soap or something otherwise mundane in Xcom?

[itisnotlogical]

Not sure if it was in the original X-COM, but in Xenonauts certainly you can choose between four attacks with rifles: snap, single, burst and aimed

Oldcom had snap shot, aimed shot and I think burst was probably the third one. There was never a reason to use anything other than snap shot because the aiming bonus was minimal and it took the least TUs.

[Max™]

I'm very confused in all this because I don't know what X-Com is besides the old one I used to play, and the pile of dead rookies, dead civilians, dead tanks (I know tanks aren't alive, but dammit I loved my tanks more than any one of my agents!), dead agents, more dead civilians, uh... you get the idea.

[Wolfhunter107]

I don't even what?

Chryssalid's are terrible.

Could you seriously have an 'alien artifact' turn out to be a bar of soap or something otherwise mundane in Xcom?

One of the things you could get off of the bigger UFOs (Battleships and supply ships, iirc) was basically an alien TV.

[Loud Whispers]

Spoiler: I CAN'T HANDLE THE SMUG (click to show/hide)

[MetalSlimeHunt]

One day, when banter has finally finished its exponential growth and consumed all matter and energy in the universe, our descendants will look back on us and just sort of sigh in resignation.

[Starver]

Even our future decendents are resigning? That's pretty much everyone, then. Except for Corbyn and Hunt.  Choosemyour irony according to taste.

[Max™]

One day, when banter has finally finished its exponential growth and consumed all matter and energy in the universe, our descendants will look back on us and just sort of sigh in resignation.

It's true, the Downstreamers reached back to trigger a new period of infinite inflation so smug banter would never run out.

[Loud Whispers]

One day, when banter has finally finished its exponential growth and consumed all matter and energy in the universe, our descendants will look back on us and just sort of sigh in resignation.

It's true, the Downstreamers reached back to trigger a new period of infinite inflation so smug banter would never run out.

SMUG HAS GONE TOO FAR

[Radio Controlled]

Sorry for the necro, but I thought it better to keep using this thread than to create a new one.

Anyways, some news (or 'news', ymmv). Remember I didn't include the full news posts, just the first paragraph and maybe additional lines I thought were important. Also, as usual, I'm a biased bean, fair warning.

EU nationals living in UK 'cannot be identified'

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

There is no reliable data to identify EU nationals in the UK or the length of their stay in the country, immigration minister Robert Goodwill has said.
He told MPs this lack of detail would not affect Brexit negotiations as he could not foresee a situation in which all EU nationals were told to leave.
Ministers say they cannot guarantee EU nationals living in the UK the right to stay without reciprocal assurances.
But Labour's Chuka Umunna said this stance was now just a "pretence".
Prime Minister Theresa May has said she would expect to guarantee all EU citizens currently living in the UK the right to remain after the UK leaves the EU but this will depend on other EU countries offering similar assurances to British citizens living there.
[...]
Giving evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee for the first time since he was appointed in July, Mr Goodwill said EU nationals made a major contribution to the UK economy and society - in areas such as the health service and agriculture - and he could not envisage a circumstance in which they were told to go home.
Pressed by Mr Umunna, he said the government did not have the means of tracking down all EU nationals were it deemed necessary to remove them.
"No we are not in a position and I could not foresee a circumstance where we would want to be in that position," he said.
[...]
Mr Umunna said the disclosure that the UK government "did not have a clue" about the number or identity of EU nationals undermined the government's whole public position and ministers should stop "carrying on with the pretence" that they had the ability to ask all EU nationals to leave.
"If you can't identify all the EU nationals in our country and be in a position to remove them, what on earth is the point carrying on with the pretence that somehow if you weren't to guarantee them the right to stay, you could get rid of them," he said.

(Alternative source from bbc: Australia trade minister: No deal until Brexit
Australia says there will not be a Brexit trade deal with UK for years

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Britain is also at the 'back of the queue' for a trade deal with Australia after the country's minister in charge of striking them said a UK agreement could be almost three years away and would come after an EU pact.

Trade Minister Steven Ciobo warned that negotiaing deals are "fraught with complexity" as he and his UK counterpart Liam Fox launched a working group to scope out a potential British arrangement.

Mr Ciobo's admission on timings tempers the bold tone adopted by the UK Government in the wake of Theresa May's meeting with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull  at the G20 in Hangzhou.

The minister indicated that real detailed progress on an actual agreement could not begin until Brexit was complete, adding: "Based on what I’ve been told, if Article 50 [launching formal Brexit talks] is presented quarter one or quareter two next year, and then a two-year window in relation to that, so you would expect that it’s at least two and a half years off.”

He emphasised that once formal talks did begin, trade deals can be difficult to complete: "Negotiating trade deals is fraught with complexity. There is always domestic sensitivities between negotiating parties, concerns and consideration that need to be given to particular industries or particular approaches or certain regulatory frameworks, but it's important that you also don’t get too caught up in the detail.”

Asked whether an EU deal would take precedence he said "it will" because early discussions with the European Union have begun and are more advanced than they are than with the UK. A scoping study for the EU talks is due to report back in the new year, with formal talks on an Australia/EU deal expected to start in the first half of 2017.

'Diehard European' to lead Brexit talks for European parliament

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Guy Verhofstadt, the federalist former Belgian prime minister, appointed to represent views of MEPs across the EU
The former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt has been appointed lead Brexit negotiator for the European parliament, as the other 27 EU member states gear up for the complex negotiations ahead.

Any deal on Britain’s new relationship with the rest of the EU after Brexit will have to be ratified by the European parliament, and Verhofstadt, regarded as a diehard European, will represent the views of MEPs from across the EU. He said he was “honoured” to take on the role.

The politician insisted that after the EU referendum result in July Britain should not be allowed to restrict immigration – a central demand, according to Theresa May – yet retain access to the other aspects of the single market.

“The European parliament will never agree to a deal that de facto ends the free movement of people for a decade, while giving away an extra rebate in exchange for all the advantages of the internal market. What would stop other countries from asking the same exceptional status?” he said.

Instead, Verhofstadt said, some form of associate status for Britain would be a better approach “with less obligations but equally less rights”.

Vincenzo Scarpetta, of the thinktank Open Europe, in a blogpost about the appointment, suggested that Verhofstadt’s role would be less critical than that of Michel Barnier, the French former EU commissioner who will negotiate on behalf of the more powerful commission.

Alternative source, again bbc:

Brexit talks role for Belgian EU veteran Guy Verhofstadt

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A veteran European federalist, Belgian ex-Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, will be the European Parliament's negotiator in Brexit talks with the UK.
Mr Verhofstadt, leader of the liberal MEPs, tweeted that the parliament would play a "central role" in the talks "and any future EU-UK agreements".
Talks on the UK terms for leaving the EU are expected to start next year.
The other top EU negotiators on Brexit will be Belgian Didier Seeuws and French finance expert Michel Barnier.
The European Parliament's approval will be required for any deal on UK withdrawal from the EU. Mr Verhofstadt was given the role of negotiator by the leaders of the main party blocs in parliament.
[...]
The Council - representing the other 27 EU governments - and the Commission, which enforces EU treaties, share power with the parliament. But the Council and Commission are expected to have the most muscle in the Brexit talks.
Alyn Smith MEP of the Scottish National Party (SNP) welcomed Mr Verhofstadt's new role. The Leave vote was 52% overall, but in Scotland 62% voted Remain - and Mr Verhofstadt believes Scotland has a right to stay in the EU.

In July Mr Verhofstadt scorned the Council's reaction to Brexit, saying it was not good enough to "just implement existing European policies".
"I find this shocking and irresponsible," he said.
"What are you waiting for? When will the Council recognise that this type of EU - you cannot defend it any more. Europe needs to be reformed... European citizens are not against Europe, they're against this Europe."

Senior civil servants warn over Brexit resources funding

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A lack of resources in Whitehall threatens the UK's successful exit from the EU, the head of the senior civil servants' union has warned.

Brexit will mean a cut in public spending unless funding is increased, the First Division Association says.
A Conservative MP who voted to leave the EU warned the work could take two decades to complete without more support from ministers.
The government said it would deliver Brexit.

Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA, which represents senior civil servants, said the government could not demand that civil servants deliver public services, cuts to budgets and Brexit at the same time within current budgets.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the success of exit from the EU was threatened if it was not adequately resourced.
He said: "If you take those resources from elsewhere within government spending, it threatens the delivery of public services.
[...]
He said without more resources, "Brexit will simply mean a further cut in public spending - because departments will have to cut other work to deliver the resources that are required to support the new policy areas or support the negotiating process itself."
The Conservative MP Stephen Phillips, who voted to leave the EU, said: "Rather than being the work of two years, I fear it may actually be the work of two decades unless we devote considerably more resources than the government appears to be doing at the moment to the task."

Recession fears 'fade' as UK's service sector grows

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The UK's services industry rebounded strongly in August, suggesting the country will "avoid recession", according to a closely-watched survey.
The Markit/CIPS purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed activity in UK services recorded the biggest month-on-month rise in the survey's history.

The index rose from 47.4 in July to 52.9 in August. A score above 50 indicates growth.
It effectively takes services back to pre-referendum levels, Markit said.
The PMI is a survey of business managers, gauging whether their firm's activity has increased compared with the previous month.
The return to growth for the services industry - which accounts for nearly 80% of the UK economy - adds to signs of recovery in manufacturing and construction last month.

There had been fears of two consecutive quarters of falls in economic growth - the usual definition of a recession - but Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said the survey findings suggested there would be a modest 0.1% expansion in GDP in the three months to September.
[...]
It is still too early to call the "start of a sustained post-shock recovery, but there's plenty of anecdotal evidence to indicate that the initial shock of the June vote has begun to dissipate", he said.
He added: "Many companies are seeing business return to normal either simply by customer confidence rising or a stoic determination to 'Buck Brexit' and carry on regardless."
[...]
Other analysts, however, warned the PMI findings should be treated with some caution.
"Just as the July survey probably overstated the economy's underlying weakness, the August survey probably overstates its subsequent recovery," said Scott Bowman, UK economist at Capital Economics.
Growth in services was already subdued before the EU referendum, with a score of 52.3 in June - the lowest in more than three years.
Meanwhile, manufacturing body EEF says output from Britain's factories slowed down in the last three months and is unlikely to grow until the end of year.

Finally, not news but an analysis of the leave voters:
It’s NOT the economy, stupid: Brexit as a story of personal values

[Starver]

Brexit: The process that is annoying 17 million Brexiters for being too slow/not right, 16 million Bremainers for not being proportional¹ and 13 million non-voters² for whatever individual reasons they each have to be annoyed.

Nobody is getting what they want. So, politics as usual.

¹ We all know 16 Brexiters to 17 Bremainers would not have silenced the Leave camp...
² And yet apparently it was an "overwhelmingly large vote for Leave". False even before adding in the absentees.

[Starver]

No more bitter than if the positions had been reversed.  (As some had anticipated.)

Thus quite bitter, yes. Again, politics as usual.

[Neonivek]

No more bitter than if the positions had been reversed.  (As some had anticipated.)

Thus quite bitter, yes. Again, politics as usual.

I find it kind of funny how he is proclaiming that the Remainers are sore losers

When the entire reason the petition was created was to pre-emptively "in his own words" sore-loser for Leavers.

Double Standards are thick in Brexit. Well unless they left out where he specifically stated why wanting a second referendum if Remain won is fair democracy while wanting it in a leave majority is being a sore loser without it just being "well I support one, but not the other".